Book Reviews

365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life John Kralik

Lately, I’ve been pondering gratitude. How can I be more grateful? How can I better express my gratitude? I was delighted to find this book, 365 Thank Yous. Sadly, my disappointment with this book began almost immediately when on page 14 I read, “Then I heard a voice: ‘Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have,’ it said, ‘you will not receive the things you want.’ (14).”

Wait a minute! We are not called to have a spirit of gratitude so we can accumulate more things. We are called to be grateful because our very existence is a gift. We are loved more than we know-another gift! We have been gifted with talents to use and share with others.

I cannot recommend this book because I do not agree with his premise. In spite of this, I did finish reading this book. Instead of reading this book, I recommend that we all write a thank you note or two or 365 to people who we need to thank! Thank you, dear reader, for faithfully reading and encouraging me to keep reading and writing! I am grateful for each of you!

 

Benedict’s Way: An Ancient Monk’s Insights for a Balanced Life

Lonni Collins Pratt and Father Daniel Homan, OSB

Emotional Response-4

Scholarly Response-3

I didn’t want to hurry through this book that has lived unopened on my shelf for years. I decided to read one chapter a day and live with this book. And I’m glad I did. This is a book I’ll return to my “to read” pile. It deserves to be read again. I know I need to read it many more times before all the lessons sink in and become part of my life.

After introductions on retreat, St. Benedict, and the concept of a rule, this book has 30 chapters each highlighting a theme from the rule that is still very relevant today. Each chapter began with a quote from Benedict’s Rule. Next the authors selected quotes from other, often more modern voices that inspire further reflection. One of the authors does his or her reflection on the theme before asking us to go inward which is where all that has been said is applied to life today with suggestions for how we might live out the rule. Each chapter closes with a prayer.

This book is almost deceptively easy to read and understand. The challenge comes in living out what you are reading. I recommend this book as a great introduction to Benedict’s Rule. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an opportunity to strengthen one’s faith. I would recommend this book as a great Lenten book. (I know there are 40 days in Lent and only 30 chapters in this book. You could go back for the last 10 days and reread your favorite chapters or, if you are like me, having an extra 10 days to complete the book means you might get it done on time!). I highly recommend this book!

“A rule, in the sense used by St. Benedict, means a plan for living with others in a certain way…Despite personal differences, inclinations, and preferences, a rule determines how individuals will respond and behave and live together” (9).

“Regardless of what is happening, the monk shows up for prayer day after day, all the days of his life. There is nothing supernatural inside the monk that enables him to do so. He just puts his feet into his shoes and walks to the chapel. How he feels about it is not relevant. When it is time to pray, you pray. Period. You don’t have words? Don’t know how to address God? Not a problem. The psalms are full of words that we make ours when we pray them. This kind of prayer anchors us” (23).

“We do very ordinary things, and God breathes life into the act. God breathes life into us” (47).

I found the idea of Reasonable Balance (#13) inspiring. How can I live this? How can I help others live this way?
As one who is currently struggling to persevere, I took great comfort in #19 Perseverance. “Most often, perseverance simply means outlasting whatever is getting in the way” (157).

 

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar Cheryl Strayed

This book is not the typical book that I share with you. It is filled with strong language and lots of talk about sex and sexual abuse. And the author states that she doesn’t believe in God. None of these things make this a bad book, in fact, I enjoyed this book. And what surprised me while I was reading it was how much sacredness was present in this book.

This book is a collection of emails sent to Dear Sugar who “gave advice” on TheRumpus.net. This was not your typical advice column. Dear Sugar shared her own triumphs and failures in her answers. She rarely tells the questioner what to do. With wisdom and compassion and the occasional kick in the backside, Dear Sugar helps most of her readers realize they knew what they needed to do before they even asked. They needed affirmation that what they felt inside was the right thing for them to do. She answers letters about miscarriages, and marriages that didn’t work, love triangles, betrayals, grief, life not happening as planned, and money.

I would recommend this book for people who don’t mind watching R-rated movies. This book has too much “foul” language for some people I know.  I would recommend this book if you are ready to cry, laugh, and squirm in your reading chair as you read about people who are just like you and not exactly like you too.

And although she doesn’t believe in God, she has answers like this one where you can clearly see that she has grappled with the existence and nature of God. “Countless people have been devastated for reasons that cannot be explained or justified in spiritual terms. To do as you are doing in asking If there was a God, why would he let my little girl have to have the possibility of life-threatening surgery?–understandable as that question is–creates a false hierarchy of the blessed and the damned. To use our individual good or bad luck as a litmus test to determine whether or not God exists constructs an illogical dichotomy that reduces our capacity for true compassion. It implies a pious quid pro quo that defies history, reality, ethics, and reason. It fails to acknowledge that the other half of rising–the very half that makes rising necessary–is having first been nailed to the cross” (145).

“I supposed this is what I mean when I say we cannot possibly know what will manifest in our lives. We live and have experiences and leave people we love and get left by them. People we thought would be with us forever aren’t and people we didn’t know would come into our lives do. Our work here is to keep faith with that, to put it in a box and wait. To trust that someday we will know what it means, so that when the ordinary miraculous is revealed to us we will be there, standing before the baby girl in the pretty dress, grateful for the smallest things” (323).

 

The 6 Marks of Progressive Christian Worship Music Bryan Sirchio

Emotional Response-3

Scholarly Response-5

As a youth, I went to multiple Bryan Sirchio concerts in neighboring churches. So his name has been familiar to me for decades. A few years ago, a congregation member asked me about this book, and I wholeheartedly recommended it to her based only on knowing that Bryan Sirchio wrote the book. Finally, I have read it and now I can recommend based on the book.

Music is very important to many people in the church. In this book, Bryan Sirchio takes a reverent look at how to select music for worship. He looks at this thoughtfully, theologically, and faithfully. His book is easily readable and would be a great discussion starter in a church with music questions. It would also be a good book for anyone wondering how to be more intentional about music selection for worship. He doesn’t provide the answers. He provides the framework for each church to discern its own answers. And that truly is a gift!

This book is divided into 3 sections. Section 1 is the essential features of progressive worship music.

The 6 Marks-

1-An Emphasis on Praise, Justice, and the Fullness of Human Experience

2-Inclusive Language

3-Progressive Theology

4-An Emphasis on both the Individual and the Community

5-Emotional Authenticity

6-Fresh Images, Ideas, and Language

Section 2 is entitled “Worship, Songs, and Ego Work”. This section of the book tackles issues like what is worship, musical styles, and performance.

Section 3 is entitled “The Bible and More about Progressive Theology.” This is a great section for anyone that wants more information about the biblical basis for progressive theology and all the marks mentioned earlier.

Who should read this book? Anyone who cares about music in the church should read this book. I highly recommend this book to pastors, musicians, worship planning teams, and seminarians. This book would work well as a discussion starter for a small group in your church. If your council or session is brave enough to tackle the world of music in the church, this is a great starting point. Each chapter ends with discussion questions which make this an easy to discuss book! This book is accessible and easy to read and anyone can do it!

Worship “helps us to find ourselves once again inside of God’s greater Story, instead of trying to somehow make God fit within the confines of our smaller stories” (92).

“I’m convinced that congregations grow in healthy ways not because of the style with which they worship, but because the church is helping people to experience God’s transforming and healing Love” (110).

“But it’s precisely because we can be wrong, even when it comes to positions we hold passionately, that we need to do our own wrestling and questioning of Scripture together with other people who also love God, who doesn’t always agree with us, and who can challenge us and keep us honest and open” (145).

 

Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed Glennon Doyle Melton

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Scholarly Response-3

 

This book came highly recommended from a number of my colleagues, and it did not disappoint me. Her honesty and her faith shine through on each page. She has wrestled with faith and that comes out not because she knows all the answers but because she is living in the questions. This book was easy to read not because she wrote about easy things-it was easy to read because I liked her and was rooting for her. This book will make you laugh and cry. Maybe don’t read it on an airplane like I did. If you enjoy stories, give this book a try.

I love books that help me see things better-books that clarify through a story or explanation. This book brought God a little more into focus for me. Without explaining God, she made God seem a little closer and more involved in my life. And I am thankful for that gift she gave me.

As I said, I was impressed by her honesty.  It is refreshing because it seems so rare despite all the books that claim to tell all. You’ll quickly realize that there is much more to this woman than you expect or guess. In one story, she tells about her inability to volunteer because she has a criminal record. It saddens me that she couldn’t volunteer because of her record. I’m wondering how do we keep people safe while still allowing people to share their gifts?

In the story, Smelly Coughy Guy, she ponders peace. And this made me wonder what is peace? What does peace look like in my life? Am I so busy looking for a perfect version of peace that I miss peace as it exists within me?

So who needs to read this book? I needed to read it. Maybe you do too. If you need some inspiration and encouragement to see God in the everyday, you should read this book. If you appreciate honesty, you should read this book. If you enjoy short chapters, you should read this book. If you like books where you are invited to journey alongside someone else for awhile, then you should read this book.

“It hit me that maybe the battles of life are best fought without armor and without weapons. That maybe life gets real, good, and interesting when we remove all of the layers of protection we’ve built around our hearts and walk out onto the battlefield of life naked” (4).

“I like to compare God’s love to the sunrise. That sun shows up every morning, no matter how bad you’ve been the night before. It shines without judgment. It never withholds. It warms the sinners, the saints, the druggies, the cheerleaders–the saved and the heathens alike. You can hide from the sun, but it won’t take it personally. It’ll never, ever punish you for hiding. You can stay in the dark for years or decades, and when you finally step outside, it’ll be there. It was there the whole time, shining and shining. It’ll still be there steady and bright as ever, just waiting for you to notice, to come out, to be warmed. All those years, I thought of God and light and the sun as judgmental, but they weren’t. The sunrise was my daily invitation from God to come back to life” (19).

“Maybe because other people are the closest we get to God on this side. So when we use them to find God in each other, we become holy” (21).

She made me wonder-what God-given gifts have you been hiding that need to be shared with the world? She said, “If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to worry about whether you’re good enough. Just do it. Be generous. Offer a gift to the world that no one else can offer: yourself” (25).

“Grief and pain are like joy and peace; they are not things we should try to snatch from each other. They’re sacred. They are part of each person’s journey” (49).

“Repentance is a fancy word used often in Christian circles. I don’t use fancy religious words, because I don’t think they explain themselves well. Also, fancy language tends to make in people feel more in and out  people feel more out, and I don’t think that’s how words are best used. Words are best used to describe specific feelings, ideas, and hearts as clearly as possible–to make the speaker and the listener, or the writer and the reader, feel less alone and more hopeful” (85).

“I don’t believe in advice. Everybody has the answers right inside her, since we’re all made up of the same amount of God. So when a friend says, I need some advice, I switch it to, I need some love, and I try to offer that. Offering love usually looks like being quiet, listening hard, and letting my friend talk until she discovers that she already has the answer” (117).

She shared how she takes time each night to talk with her child about any sadness or worries he had during the day. “I think this worry talk is a ritual worth keeping. Because if we empty our hearts every night, they won’t get too heavy or cluttered. Our hearts will stay light and open with lots of room for good new things to come” (135).

“Much of the Bible is confusing, but the most important parts aren’t. Sometimes I wonder if folks keep arguing about the confusing parts so they don’t have to get started doing the simple parts” (141).

“Being a child of God is a free pass to be brave and bold and take great risks and spin around in circles with joy. If and when I fall, who cares? He will always be there to pick me up. That’s his job. He’s my Father. So if I seem noncompetitive, if I seem as if I don’t care if I’m the “best” parent or housekeeper or dresser or whathaveyou, it’s not because I don’t care about being important. It’s because I believe I am the most important thing on earth. Why would I care about competing in any other category when I am already a child of God?” (175).

“So many of us spend our time trying to find God in books, but maybe the simplest way to God is directly through the hearts of his children” (189).

Even if you never read this book, I do hope you’ll always remember-  “Be confident because you are a child of God. Be humble because everyone else is too” (176).

 

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis Lauren f. Winner

Emotional Response-4

Scholarly Response-5

This is not a book everyone will love. I believe we are made up of our stories, and for me to know someone else I must know her stories. This book is some of the stories of how Lauren Winner found God (again) after her divorce and other events in her life. Although this is her story, you will find yourself in her stories. Your details may be different but the struggle to find God, to remain in relationship with God is not unique to her. I invite you to give this book a try as a companion on your journey when life is a struggle or as a reminder of where you have been if all is well in your world currently.

So what is this book? It is part spiritual memoir, part church history lesson (in a good way), lots of Scriptural interpretations, and so much more. The author describes it in this way, “this book is about the time when the things you thought you knew about the spiritual life turn out not to suffice for the life you are actually living. This books wants to know about that time, and then about the new ways you find, the new glory road that might not be a glory road after all but just an ordinary gravel byway” (xvi-xvii). She often refers to this part of life as not a beginning or an ending but a middle. What are the middles in our lives? How do we live through them?

Here are just some of the places I found her story and my story intersecting…

I love when I learn new ideas in books that I’d like to make happen in my life. She discusses the concept of “dislocated exegesis” (136). Basically this is the idea that you can be very influenced by where you read the Bible. One example she shares is her reading of Isaiah’s text of being on eagles’ wings while flying in a plane. I’d like to see this as a challenge to modify where I read to see how it influences my reading. If this works well, I’ll let you know how it changes my readings.

I was fascinated about her story in the chapter, Visits to My Mother’s Grace, about her singing to her mother. It made me ponder what is it I want my dead loved ones to know? What would I say/do if I visited their graves (if they all had one)? How do our stories today honor those who stories used to intersect with ours?

She shares the prayer of a Hassidic rabbi, “Until such time as I can pour out my heart like water before You, let me at least pour out my words” (51). And this made me wonder what can I pour out for God today?

In multiple places in this book, she makes the words of the desert fathers and mother come alive in ways that are applicable to us today. I appreciated this so much. “These desert people, Christians, left the cities after Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. The desert people knew that the faith’s new fashionableness was every bit as dangerous as the persecuting emperors of old, so they held the cities and the temptations of ease, to find God in the rigors of the desert” (55).

In her chapter, “Busyness during Lent”, she equates the sin of sloth with busyness. What if people remain so busy because they are scared of rest? I think this idea of sloth is everywhere in our overly scheduled world. And thankfully this chapter ends with the reassurance of an unnamed 14th century monk who said, “You only need a tiny scrap of time to move toward God” (108). So no matter how overscheduled our lives become, we all have time for God.

Purim is the Jewish holiday where the book of Esther is read. It is a lively celebration of life. Her are some important words from a rabbi on this holy day, “This may be the only book where God is not named, but God’s hiddenness is in fact shot all throughout the Torah. All throughout the Torah, we find people looking for God, and not finding God, because God doesn’t often conform to our expectations. God is somewhere other than the place we think to look. And our sages show that you can respond to God’s hiddenness in many different ways. You can, like the writer of Lamentations, respond to God’s hiddenness by mourning. Or, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, instead of asking where the God you thought you were looking for had gone, ask what God is like now. Or you can respond to God’s hiddenness by being like Esther: if God is hiding, then you must act on God’s behalf. If you look around the world and wonder where God has gone, why God isn’t intervening on behalf of just and righteous causes, your very wondering may be a nudge to work in God’s stead” (114-115).

Possibly only interesting to me is the fact that the hymn, “I Come to the Garden Alone”, was written by a pharmacist. His name was C. Austin Mills (45). (Just a personal shout out to the pharmacists in the world!).

I’d like to end this review with these words which I found humbling and inspirational. “I am not a saint. I am, however, beginning to learn that I am a small character in a story that is always fundamentally about God” (194).