Terribly Interesting

I love when publishing companies include random things with books they send out for review. #poprocks #thebibleinpopculture #kevinharvey A photo posted by Stephanie Cherry (@stephaniecherryartist) on Mar 27, 2015 at 9:54am P Sometimes publishing companies do fun things to get your attention when sending our books. This is the first time I have ever received Pop Rocks. I did what any self-respecting mom would do and I lined my girls up and had them open their mouths. We created a symphony of Pop Rock fizzing and giggles. Who knows what to think when you read a synopsis of a book comparing the Bible to pop culture. We are either going to get something really wacky or find something meaningful in the ordinary. I actually thought it was a pretty good. I am sure you could go through and wonder why he is watching some of these shows or movies, but I bet you could do that with any of us. I tried not to look down my nose at anything and just listen to what the man had to say...

A few weeks ago, just days before I received this book, our family was chatting as we cooked in the kitchen. My husband made a comment to my eight-year-old that she had great biceps and told me to look at them. She responded by saying, "What? Of course I am blossoming into womanhood." I leaned in close to Denbigh and asked him if my ears were bleeding and if he could please make it stop.  She's eight. Oh how I would love to keep her innocent until it's time for her to experience the beauty of sex in marriage. Alas, they tell us that we need to slowly start talking about this now. At eight. A friend of hers tried to explain sex to her when she was four. Thankfully she felt comfortable enough to talk to me about it. I too learned about sex at this age. This is what we are up against. I appreciated this book because it really gives you a battle plan. I don't think anyone ever gave me any sort of guidance growing up in this area. It's a hard topic to ta...

I wanted to post some Easter pics. We had a lovely gathering of family and friends here throughout the day. I am sad to say that I did not get a picture of the table full of people, but know that it was awesome. We had so much food and lovely fellowship. There were six pies, five kinds of meat, homemade beans and mashed potatoes. Let's all shout a hardy amen. It was joyous. If you don't have plans next year, join us at our table. Look at the cute rosettes on this pie. Daisies are the friendliest flower. We love our semi-half adopted son, Cat. He came and entertained us all with his wit, brilliance, and musical prowess. Some of our other favorite people came as well. You can see a couple of the Guenther family here in this photo. I'm sure you will see more of them later. I would also like to thank my step-dad (Babe) for cooking so much of the meat and those mashed potatoes. My mom made rocking cream corn and my neighbor Fritz heated it all up while we were at ...

A few years back, I purchased this book on my iPad to read with Lulu. I can remember both of us tearing up in the forward. The story is beautiful and powerful. Recently, my littlest girl had been waking in the middle of the night. As I would hold her for an hour or two, I began rereading this book on my phone. If you have not read it yet, I want to encourage you to do so. It is full of grace and truth. It started when Katie went on a short term mission trip to Uganda while still in high school. During her time there she fell in love with the people. God began to draw on her heart to return and it became a burning desire to go back there. Somehow she then convinced her parents to let her leave her comfortable life in Tennessee and go teach Kindergarten in Uganda before starting college. We follow her story from there. She attempts to go to college, but cannot stop this desire to be in Uganda and so returns. We can see how God used her time here in the States to raise money and aw...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could read or hear stories about lives impacted by God all day every day. Jesus Christ does the most beautiful work in broken down people. It is interesting to read about how each of these people came to this unrelenting faith in Jesus Christ. It would not die or let go. Each one overcame terrible odds. The glory of their stories is rooted in the fact that they overcame these factors by submission. They said a humble yes to Christ and it changed everything. The seven men in this book are George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, and Chuck Colson. I have read a bit about most of them, but not this in depth. I did not know much of the back story of Jackie Robinson or the Pope. Each one told a remarkable tale. The sacrifices and torment that they suffered are hard to wrap your mind around. Washington's willingness to relinquish power made him great. William Wilberforce went ag...

 Somehow my artwork has been purchased and shipped all over the world. In that I have been given an opportunity that I know was God-given. People continually purchase things from me to send to others who are going through a hard time. I cannot even tell you the countless times this has happened. I realize that I am walking on holy ground in this. The reason that I love it is because first and foremost, I love to pray. I'm not talking about big, lofty prayer...just facedown in the quiet saying, "Oh, Abba, I know this is hurting you. Bring your healing for your glory. Let them know that you see them." Inside my paintings, I generally include a note to that end. I pray and paint and pray and write. I know God hears me. Usually I keep the stories to myself and simply cherish them in my heart, but I wanted to share this one with you. May you be encouraged that God sees you in your distress. I think most people love red birds. The cardinal is a gorgeous picture that brig...