Answers from Brent

No name asked:
Well I don't know if this is a question that you would like to answer or not but how do you learn to deal with what has happened to your child? How do you learn to except it? How do you learn to believe that when you wake up everything is gonna be okay?

That's what trusting God is all about. As far as learning how to deal with difficult circumstances and trials, you simply wake up each day and do what you must do. It's the lost art of discipline and perseverance. As long as you place your whole trust in God, you cannot help but think that everything is going to be "okay" (God's definition) no matter what the actual earthly result is.

That's not some sort of blind faith or childish thinking. It is a deep understanding that whatever God allows and whatever God chooses is the perfect thing, therefore we can take rest in knowing that everything will be okay because by default, everything will end up the way God wants it to end up. And in the end, an eternity of joy awaits for God's children.

I've written extensively on the topic of trials and enduring suffering. Here's an example: http://www.seriousfaith.com/dvo/devotionseriesdetail.asp?seriesid=25


Penner Clan asked:
By my count, 493 is 1/2 of 986. Abby is half way home. Praise the Lord!

Yes, halfway there. It's been a long road and we still have a long road ahead of us but it's easier to so many people who care and encourage us. We are very blessed to have such a large extended "family" who keeps up with us, and Abby.

Emma asked:
Do either of you have a favorites *guilty read*? You know, that author/book that is just junk-food-for-the-brain? Not a great writer....but a fluffy story? How about non-faith based authors? Ones that are a good read? My *junk food* author is Maeve Binchy: Not the best *writer* but a great story-teller. My favorite authors are: Janet Frame and Mark Salzman.

My wife will have to give her answer. She likes a lot of different books. I wish I had time for a guilty read but the closest that I get is probably history books or an occasional political book. I don't have time to read many fluffy books nor, to be honest, have much desire to. There's just too many other things that I want to read and to many other books I want to write for the idea of spending casual time reading to have much appeal. I usually have several books going at once and read several a month.

I do love the Bathroom Reader series though! If anyone has old copies of those they want to send me, I would love to have a collection of them (brent@brentriggs.com). Note: could you spray them with some Lysol before you send them?

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The many faces of the SpideyLandis...