Reading Between the Lines

I really wish books came with ratings like movies.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not a fan of banning books, but I am a fan of informing users.

The idea that books like To Kill A Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn are banned in some schools, but those same schools shelve Dragon Ball Z manga leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I love books, and the two banned books I mentioned are on my all-time favorite list. I just think the text should fit the maturity of the reader.

Yes, by the time most kids reach high school, almost anything is a go... but I'm talking more about the 6-14 crowd. It terrifies me a little bit knowing that it will be nearly impossible for me to read every book Reily wants to read before she does, but I want to try. I don't want to overprotect her or shelter her so much that she is smothered and naive, but I do want to be a good steward of her childhood.

Most parents are not cognizant enough of their children's entertainment input. They see a preview for a movie that happens to be a cartoon and assume it's child-appropriate. Obviously, that is seriously flawed logic, but the same principles apply to books. Books are more complicated, though, because parents are less likely to ever be exposed to the substance between the covers.

We label movies, music, and video games; why not books?

The argument could be made that books are already labeled as "young adult", but seriously...what does that even mean? I'm not saying they should set up a hard and fast age range for every book, but an indication on the cover about sexuality, language, violence, etc would be extremely helpful.

Hope in Tomorrow

Hope. Perceived as such a simple word. Yet it's a word with an extremely powerful and eternal meaning. Every day, though, we throw "hope" around as a very mortal term of expectation, thus diluting how powerful it really is.

The definition of hope on this earth is "to wish something with expectation of its fulfillment". But the cool thing is that Biblical hope doesn't stop at a wish; it provides an assurance of knowledge that will ultimately be fulfilled. Daily, we "hope" we made a good grade on a test, we "hope" our children make good decisions, and we "hope" life flows in a certain order, but there is no assurance to that hope, no promise to the fulfillment of our expectations. Hope in God, though, is always fulfilled.

So what's the difference? The object of our hope.

Hope is about trust, but when we trust people, there is no guarantee...when we trust God, though, there is an absolute guarantee. The Word of God promises many things, and each of them will be fulfilled in His own time. This is why we are able to find peace in hope. We are able to rest in the knowledge that God works all things for good, that he is covering us with his mercy as we walk this earth, and that one day we will be able to look upon His face and find rest.

I just finished reading Mary Beth Chapman's book Choosing to See. It was, at the same time, the most heart-wrenching and the most acutely beautiful book I have ever read. The Chapmans are a picture of what hope in God truly means. To literally walk through the valley of the shadow of death and come out the other side stronger and closer to God than they were before is a beautiful demonstration of the power of hope in the Lord. That is not to say that life is not a difficult journey. Mary Beth Chapman makes it abundantly clear that she struggles on a daily, if not hourly basis. Pain is a part of her life now, and it will never leave her, but she clings to the hope....the absolute truth....that she will see her little girl again soon!

I have found my hope in the Lord, but I admit, it takes effort each day to keep that focus.