Book Reviews

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).

 

Seamless Faith: Simple Practices for Daily Family Life Traci Smith

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-4

What a wonderful gift this book is. Churches should gift it to all families in their congregations. No matter what your family looks like this book has something for you. You’ll find ways to see the sacred in your daily life no matter where you are on life’s journey!

Here’s what you find in this book-Part 1 is traditions. You’ll find ways to mark the holy days and the regular days of life. Part 2 is ceremonies. “For the purposes of this book, a ceremony differs from a tradition or spiritual practice in that a ceremony is an isolated event and does not happen with regularity, as a tradition or spiritual practice does” (15). Part 3 is spiritual practices. You will find ways to pray, learn about ancient and more modern spiritual practices. These three parts of the book will give you 50 ways to be more attentive to God at work in your life and in the lives of those you love. Each practice gives you an introduction, appropriate age, time required, materials to have ready, an explanation for how to do the practice with notes and variations.

This book is perfect for anyone who is busy (everyone) because it is not a story. You don’t need to read through page by page. You can search for the next upcoming holy day (Easter, page 34). You can look for a different way to pray (Candle Prayer, page 78). You can read two practices I do regularly (New Year’s Eve, page 32 or Almsgiving, page 93). There is no wrong way to read this book.

I recommend this book for all families (whatever your family looks like-seriously an Aunt can use this with her nieces and nephew, a Grandpa could use this book with his grandchildren, a parent and children, spouses could read it together, you can read this book by yourself too). I recommend each church have at least one copy of this book for their staff and education ministry team. It is an amazing resource for an intergenerational workshop. I recommend that everyone read this book and (if it is within your budget) buy a copy to share with someone who needs it. And after you’ve read it, I’d love to know your favorite practices.

To find out more about Traci Smith, check out her website.

Call the Midwife Jennifer Worth

At the suggestion of many friends, I have watched and fallen in love with the BBC series, Call the Midwife. I highly recommend watching it. You can enjoy it on Netflix or on PBS. Because I love to read, I wanted to read the books too. On a recent road trip, I listened to the first book on CD. It is wonderful.

This is the memoir of Jenny Lee. She is a midwife who served in the East End of London in the late 1950s. She enters the homes and lives of families and gives us a glimpse into their world. She is a gifted storyteller who transports us back to a previous time. We meet large families, prostitutes, young mothers, the other midwives and the nuns who live and work together, and the children of the East End.

I love that the nuns are presented as faithful followers of Jesus who live out their faith without forcing it on others. They gather for prayer regularly. The midwives who live with them are welcome to join them for prayer but are not required to worship with them. One difference between the show and book is that this book ends with Jenny feeling inspired by Sister Monica Joan’s words, “Go with God.” As the book ends, Jenny is beginning to read the Bible.

I recommend both the book and the series to history lovers, women, mothers, and anyone who wants an engaging read or good television. This story is not typical of the theological works that I review and yet, I loved seeing faith in action in the lives of the nuns. I hope you’ll give Call the Midwife a try.

Peas on Earth Todd H. Doodler

A wonderful book that I have read three times today at the request of the young one in the picture. I love this book because it inspires us to believe that peace on earth is really possible. She loves the book because she thinks it is a little silly, and she likes the animals and peas in the story. I find the silliness inspiring. Maybe we all could get along and live together in peace. I recommend this book for those days when you need a reminder that peace is possible if we work together. I recommend this book for the children you love and want to inspire to live lives of peace.

The back of the book tells us, “What if there really was peace on earth? Open this book and see! Charming artwork and playful text introduce the youngest readers to peace, harmony, and being green. And there’s even a peas-ful pop-up at the very end!”

A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah

Emotional Response-3

Scholarly Response-1

Years ago, a colleague of mine encouraged me to read this book. I am glad I finally did. This is Ishmael Beah’s story of how the war in his home country of Sierra Leone affected him. He reminisces about his childhood before the war. He tells us how unexpectedly his life was changed forever when his village was destroyed by the rebels. He spends years on his own and with a group of other young boys struggling to survive. And then he becomes a child soldier. If your heart wasn’t already broken, this part of his story will break it. My favorite part (although still not easy to listen to) is the story of his rehabilitation after his years of fighting.

This story is difficult and awful and maybe this is why it took me so long to pick up this book. I listened to the book on CD which is read by the author. Hearing his stories in his own voice was very emotional for me. There were times when I wanted to swoop in and save him. And yet, I kept listening allowing him to tell me his story. It is not easy to listen to his stories of killing people and doing drugs and think about how young he was. It is horrific to hear how he and others resisted rehabilitation. It is hard to hear how much the boys hurt and abused those who were trying to help them as they began the rehabilitation process. The good news is that those working to help stuck with it and loved the boys even when the boys seemed unloveable and when they thought they were unworthy of love.

This book is not like the other books I have recommended so far. It received a low scholarly score because that isn’t the aim of the book. It received an average emotional score because I wanted to stop listening because I hoped if I stopped listening his awful story would never have happened. I kept listening because he and others like him need to tell their stories. And we need to listen.

I’m glad I read this book. I recommend it for anyone who wants to know what life is like for too many children in our world whose childhood’s are stolen from them due to situations outside their control. I recommend this book for anyone who remembers hearing about the war in Sierra Leone and wants to hear firsthand what it was like there. I recommend it for anyone who loves children and is willing to listen to horrible stories of violence and abuse and tragedy so that we might protect all of God’s children and do our best to make sure this stops happening.

This I Believe 2 (audiobook)

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-3

Listening to 75 people read their own 500 word essays about what they believe was inspiring and wonderful. The essays included beliefs in everything from semi-permanent hair dye to faithfulness to tolerance to baking. While I didn’t agree with each person’s essay, I still found their words intriguing. These essays made me wonder what I would write. Although I haven’t taken the time to sit and write my own essay, I have been thinking about what I’d write and I am inspired to lead others in this practice. You can hear essays and learn about how to write your own essay here.

This website also includes information about how to do this practice in your congregation. I’m looking forward to leading others through this process in my next congregation, and as soon as I finish my essay, I’ll be glad to share it with you too.

I highly recommend the This I Believe essays to everyone. Prepare to be challenged and inspired. Prepare to laugh and cry. Prepare to ponder what you believe as you agree and disagree with the essays you hear. These essays remind us of how much we have in common, how much we need to hear each other’s stories, and how much we need to tell our own stories.

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-4

Kate Braestrup is the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service. I first heard her story while reading her first book, Here If You Need Me. Her first book is a story of love and loss and grief after the death of her husband. I loved that book and highly recommend it! This book is her look at love and marriage. She blends humor, Scripture, and real stories of real people into a book you can’t put down (or in my case a CD I couldn’t stop listening to!).

I have discovered that reviewing a book I heard on CDs is a different task than a book I can hold in my hand and refer back to when looking for quotes and main ideas. This book worked well on CD. The author read it, and as a pastor, she has a great speaking voice, and it sounded authentic.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys memoirs, anyone who loves others even when it isn’t easy, anyone who is married, has been married, or is considering getting married. This book gives us an honest look at love from the Christian perspective with all its imperfections, struggles, and joys.

When describing her job, Kate said, “I bear witness to the ways love resurrects itself in the face of loss.” (This statement was so meaningful that I stopped the CD, so I could memorize it. I think this is the task of any pastor and any Christian.)

When asked to lead a discussion on sex and sexuality for her daughter’s class, she had the class of 8th graders answer this question-Nothing matters more than ________? Her answer was love. The students had a variety of answers. The author believes that however you finish that statement shows what you treasure the most.

When discussing marriage with a soon to be wed couple, she said, “You aren’t promising to feel love but to do love.”

“Being parted by death is your best case scenario” when describing marriages and whether the couple should say “’til death do us part.”

Learning to Walk in the Dark Barbara Brown Taylor

New York: Harper One, 2014.

Emotional Response-4

Scholarly Response-3

Interestingly, I began reading this book in Advent. All around me I heard about the light shining in the darkness as I saw the days getting shorter. In this book, I was being called to embrace the darkness. This is a struggle for me. I am not afraid of the dark, but I do startle more easily at night and in the darkness. I find myself reaching for the light switch when I enter a room whether I need it or not. While reading this book, I tried to be in the darkness a bit more. I still prefer to the sunlight because most things are easier to do when one can see. I do think that a number of great points are presented about how we have demonized the darkness. I’m still learning to walk in the dark. Thanks to this book I’m more willing to keep learning.

I enjoyed journeying with Barbara Brown Taylor into the dark. I appreciated her attempt to reclaim language of darkness as important to our faith lives. I recommend this book for people who don’t always want to be in the light or sunshine, for people who find themselves awake in the dark, for people who dream and wonder about the many dream stories in the Bible, and for anyone wanting to explore and live into their faith more deeply. Step into the darkness. God is there waiting for you.

“We are all seeking company, meaning, solace, self-forgetfulness. Whether we ever found those things or not, it was the seeking that led us to find each other in the cloud even when we had nothing else in common. Sometimes I wondered if it even mattered whether our communion cups were filled with consecrated wine or draft beer, as long as we bent over them long enough to recognize each other as kin” (53).

“According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, sometimes called “the psychiatrist’s Bible,” patients grieving the death of a loved one are allowed two months for symptoms such as sadness, insomnia, and loss of appetite. If their grief goes on longer than that, they may be diagnosed with depression and treated with prescription drugs…emotions such as grief, fear, and despair have gained a reputation as “the dark emotions” not because they are noxious or abnormal but because Western culture keeps them shuttered in the dark” (77).

“Who would stick around to wrestle a dark angel all night long if there were any chance of escape? The only answer I can think of is this: someone in deep need of blessing; someone willing to limp forever for the blessing that follows the wound” (85).

“Resurrection is always announced with Easter lilies, the sound of trumpets, bright streaming light. But it did not happen that way. If it happened in a cave, it happened in complete silence, in absolute darkness, with the smell of damp stone and dug earth in the air” (129).

The Gift of Nothing Patrick McDonnell

New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

In this season of more and more to do, I read this book often. You can probably find it in your local library and return it when you have enjoyed it.

Here’s the story-Mooch wants to give his friend, Earl, a gift. Earl has everything he needs, and Mooch doesn’t know what to give him. He decides to give him nothing but cannot find nothing anywhere he goes. Join Mooch in his search for the perfect gift.

I hope this book reminds you how much you have. I hope this book encourages you to find time to spend with someone you love. You might even spend some time doing nothing together.

And a great resource for linking children’s books with Scripture is Storypath from Union Presbyterian Seminary. Their post on The Gift of Nothing will make you want to read it again.