Christy by Catherine Marshall: Read-Along Discussion

This week we read Chapters 26-32. Check out Amber's blog at Seasons Of Humility to find out all of the details about the read-along. 

Favorite Quotes and Thoughts:

Now THIS is David's problem:

"David looked reflective. "Well, I can tell you one thing, I'm no hell-and-damnation preacher. I believe the ways of God are written into the law of nature and therefore there's a scientific explanation for everything."

     "Are you talking about the Bible, David?"

     "Well, yes--and no.

     "I don't believe that every word in the Bible is true like some fundamentalists do," David continued. "At seminary most of us felt that the seemingly weird and mysterious happenings in the Bible have perfectly natural explanations--if we but knew."This is why David can't get a handle on salvation...he is treating the Word like it is just another good book instead of inspired by God. Here is another example:

"Christy, you're getting into deep theological water which, I'm afraid, will only confuse you more. Let me say this. I don't believe it matters so much what you believe as how you live. Jesus was concerned with ending injustices, with people's health, how they lived, whether they forgave one another--all that. Dogma isn't important. It's the results in the community that count. As for the Bible it's an amazing book, the greatest book of wisdom we have." Just an amazing book? Just a book of wisdom? Sorry, David sure missed the boat here. Basically he is saying that Jesus was a good man and taught us how to be good people. In that case there was no reason for him to die on a cross, if he was just a good man they wouldn't have wanted to kill him. Later on we learn that David's mom and sister wanted one of the boys to go into ministry and David was it. David has no faith, I don't know that he is even searching. He prefers to give Christy a pat on the head and tell her these things are too deep for her to be thinking about...poor little female that she is! But in reality he just can't answer these questions because he doesn't know the answers. He hasn't studied the Word. He has gone to seminary to learn how to be a good speaker, but again I say, he doesn't have a relationship with the author of that Word. 

"So many people never pause long enough to make up their minds about basic issues of life and death. It's quite possible to go through your whole life, making the mechanical motions of living, adopting as your own sets of ideas you've picked up some place or other, and die--never having come to any conclusions for yourself as to what life is all about. But you, Christy, are facing these issues early. That's good." I love Miss Alice's encouraging words to Christy. We all have to make our relationship with the Lord our own and not be riding on the coattails of what our parents or church has taught us. I love that Christy is forming her own personal faith despite David's discouragement. I love how Miss Alice quietly directs and encourages her. 

"The only time I ever find my dealings with God less than clear-cut is when I'm not being honest with Him. The fuzziness is always on my side, not His." Always, always, I am the one that neglects praying, or lets slide some sin that I need to deal with and confess...and that is when the Lord feels far away. Very wise words of Miss Alice's once again.

"By a thought that wouldn't leave, like an order on the inside. 'Go to Opal--Opal needs you--Now--' over and over."

     Slowly my eyes were adjusting to the shuttered gloom, and I could see that Opal's face registered in turn wonderment, then acceptance, then joy. "Then God knows about Tom and me and Bird's-Eye." A note of awe crept in. "He cares--about us." I love Opal's faith slowly but surely taking hold of her. I love that she is seeing that God cares for her. I also love how Opal's faith is helping Christy's faith. So neat to see people's eyes open to the Lord.

"The the tone changed. "Course you're sorry fellows and I don't confidence any last one of you. And if I wasn't a woman, I'd feather into you and knock-fight every last'un of you into the next district. But then on the other side, I never did like nobody t'have gnawin' stommicks--even torn-down scoundrels. So I could tote some of the vittles out to you. Or if you'd druther, you kin come inside." I love how Opal was able to separate Bird's-Eye from the others so she could feed him and talk to him without their influence. But she also made it clear she wasn't holding a candle for him still, she remembers them liking each other, but she is loyal to Tom still and that's that. 

"Go on, Christy," she had said to me, "ask questions, never be afraid of truth. Ask questions of yourself and of me. Go back to David and to Neil and ask them more questions. Yes, and your schoolchildren too. You'd be surprised how much children can teach us ossified adults, if we'd only stoop to listen. And ask God. Ask Him ultimate questions--about the why of things: about your place in the world, about life--and death. Ask, Christy, ask. Seek. You'll find. The promise is sure." I love that Miss Alice encourages Christy to seek answers instead of patting her on the head and saying that spiritual things are too deep for her to learn. The Bible does promise if we seek we will find. We aren't to have a blind faith. God gave us His Word for a reason. Study it, learn about Him, He has given us answers and He has given us the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts. Ask the questions!

"So I want you to carry two thoughts away from this service: First, the Master cares. He suffers with us. He weeps when we weep. He aches when we ache. He cares.

    "Second, we can have His friendship only if we are willing to let go our resentments and our bitterness and our hating and our feuding and our name-calling and our shooting and love one another. Tom McHone will not have died in vain, if finally we can drop the quarrels based on false pride, the petty differences that bring us sorrow and are not worthy of our Master.

     "You see, my friends, bitterness is like a weed with a strong root growing in us, like the Spanish needles that harass us here. If we allow that root to get started, soon it will take over the heart and contaminate us, mind and spirit and body.

     "But that does not have to happen. We can trust our Friend. He will root out the bitterness and fill up the hole where the root came out with His love-if we will let Him. 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,' He promised. It is a sure promise." I had to type up that whole speech that Miss Alice spoke at Tom's funeral. I hope it touched hearts. 

"Clean up a pigsty," she commented one evening, "and if the creatures in it still have pig-minds and pig-desires, soon it will be the same old pigsty again. Preach the gospel, David, teach it, preach to the hearts of men. That's your business. Then the fruits, including the reforms in other areas, will follow as fruits." I wish David would open his ears and listen to Miss Alice. He is young and thinks he knows everything, but Alice knows that unless hearts are changed then behavior will remain the same. 

"A watered-down message is as futile as applying rose water to a cancer." AMEN!!!

"Miz Christy, this school is a sight to behold," Lenore Beck enthused. "My eyes are just a-stickin' out for lookin'." Ahhh, the last day of school performances had me laughing at all of the antics. I loved this observation of Lenore Beck's. I loved Mountie's speech! Look how far the little girl has come once she was shown love and value! Love love love!!! Larmie Holt's "Ashes to ashes" cracked me up! I loved the parents enthusiasm over every little thing their children did. The two hound dogs coming in and interrupting Creeds talk about raccoons had me laughing as well! And I can't forget Festus Allen's begat memorization! Bwahahahaha! 

Wow! I had thought I hadn't gotten much out of this week's reading, but going back I see that I did! So much going on in the Cove. I was so sad about Tom being killed. I was horrified that the head of the family would have a child dig his own father's grave! What an awful thing to do which makes us see how hatred is handed down from generation to generation. Anyway, the rest of my thoughts are in response to the quotes I chose. Next week we will be reading and discussing chapters 33-39.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What turn of events shocked or surprised you most in this section?I think when Uncle Bogg made Tom's young son dig the grave for Tom. Fostering the hatred and bitterness that was raging in the Cove. I'm glad David came along to dig for him. Such an awful thing to do!

2. What do you think drove Christy to climb a mountain? Have you ever been driven to do something out of the ordinary or especially challenging for you? What was the experience like?For one, the beauty of that mountain would be hard to resist. But also stubbornness sets in. She wanted to climb to the top and once she started there was no stopping. I did that a couple of years ago when some friends of ours took us to Tinker AFB and we got to go up into an air traffic control tower. The elevator doors opened and I saw how small the elevator was and how rickety it looked and said nope! I am not doing that! But I wanted to go to the top floor. Eleven flights of stairs! So I started climbing! The last story wasn't stairs it was a ladder! I did it! I could hardly move, but I did it! The view was spectacular! My legs were on fire and I could hardly catch my breath, but I did it! ANNNDDDDD, I was just as stubborn about going down, I walked down those steps because there was no way I could get in that elevator. I hurt for days afterwards, but again...I DID IT!!!

3. What was your favorite part or performance from the school's last-day festivities?I mentioned my favorites in one of the quotes above so won't bore you with more. 

Head over to Amber's blog and check out her post and see what others are thinking about the book so far.