- My reading list April 2015 (4/28) – Mini-reviews of books I read in April
- Everybody is scared of something (4/27) – Even Navy SEALS
- Ruby – Book review (4/24) – Novel by Cynthia Bond about an abused woman’s return to her Texas hometown
- How to think better thoughts (4/22) – Memorize scripture with mental maps
- What time is it now? (4/20) – How to find balance between past, present, and future
- When you show up, you bring heat (4/16) – Whether you say a word or not, your presence matters
- Searching for Sunday – Book review (4/14) – I love Rachel Held Evan’s new book on church
- Do you believe in miraculous healings? (4/13) – Whether physical or spiritual, when I see healing I need to praise God for it
- You must read this one – Just Mercy (4/9) – Review of Bryan Stevenson’s wonderful and compassionate look at our criminal justice system and death row
- How do you hug God (4/8) – When our hugs have to look different
- Unfinished business? (4/6) – I may have unfinished opportunities here, but no unfinished work
- “Death row inmate to walk free” (4/3) – Anthony Hinton gets to go home; I think I’ve heard this story before
- What I’m into – April 2015 (4/2) – Links, happenings, and pictures from the month
- Another cemetery miracle (4/1) – Miracles still happen in our cemeteries too; I just can’t see them
What I’m into for May 2015
AROUND THE WEB
- What does Philippians 4:13 really mean? I agree with Nathan Busenitz here, “I Can Do All Things”
- An important test question for your church: Who is invisible and how do you see them? From Scot McKnight
- If you blog, have you seen this tool to write better headlines? Headline Analyzer
- This is short (1:20) but important. Watch if you can. “Homeless people read mean tweets about themselves to end stereotypes”
If you can’t see the video above, watch here
THINGS I LOVE
- Richard Rohr. What can I say? I love his writings. His thoughts. I don’t agree with him on everything, but he challenges me to keep going deeper and wider in how I live Christianity. Nice (although long) talk here about “Becoming Stillness”
- Proud of my oldest daughter Morgan running her first half-marathon last weekend!
- Yet another podcast. I gave in and subscribed to This American Life instead of picking up individual episodes here and there. All interesting so far.
- This song from Matt Maher from Psalm 23, “Rest,” at the end of his new album Saints and Sinners (which is also very good, by the way). The harmonies. The gentleness. The words. The Lord.
If you can’t see the video above, watch here
- I always love watching baptisms of friends! Got to witness around 200 last Sunday night.
WHAT I’M READING
- I’m so enjoying 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha even more than I expected. Love hearing these stories of radical women in their time (and some, even for our time!).
- A fascinating book so far—The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens by Stephen Apkon about the need for visual literacy
- In journaling through the Bible, I’m in 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament and Acts in the New Testament
- More of what I’m reading here
ON THE BLOG
LOOKING FORWARD TO
- Andrew’s wedding (son of one of the 4 Corners) Saturday night and spending time with 3 of my life-long best friends
- My baby girl Jenna’s graduation from Auburn next weekend! Then her internship in Guatemala. And then her moving back home (I am right in looking forward to this, yes? ha) until she finds a teaching job
- Watching our flowers grow
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What are you looking forward to in May? Please share in the comments.
Linking at Leigh Kramer’s
Previous Daybooks
My reading list – April 2015
Once a month we share the books we’ve finished reading and are reading now at 5 Minutes for Books.
Here is my list for April. I successfully finished some books from my TBR list–always a good feeling. And I finished a few books that I’ve been reading for months. Several of the other books I read were short though, so altogether it looks like I spent lots more time reading this month than I actually did.
BOOKS I’M READING NOW
1. The Age of the Image
Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens
by Stephen Apkon
Visual literacy has grown to be important in our society. How literate will we be? A great book addressing and teaching on this subject.Very interesting so far!
2. The Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
This classic is about the troubles of a man who finds himself invisible. It’s short and is moving along quickly. It’s an enjoyable novel so far. Somehow I’ve never read it before (first published in 1897).
3. 50 Women Every Christian Should Know
Learning from Heroines of the Faith
by Michelle DeRusha
I’m learning so much from Michelle’s breakdown of Christian women I wish I could talk to in person. It’s not just a book of facts (although it is full of facts); it also reaches deeper into virtue and inspiration.
4. When Mockingbirds Sing
by Billy Coffey
Have you read this book? I hear Billy Coffey is an amazing author so I’m looking forward to reading this novel that I know nothing about.
BOOKS I FINISHED FROM MARCH’S LIST
5. Searching for Sunday
Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church
by Rachel Held Evans
Such an encouraging book from Rachel Held Evans about church and community and God. She opens up about her journey of faith—the ugly and the pretty—and helps us see our own journey through the lens of these seven sacraments of baptism, confession, holy orders, communion, confirmation, anointing the sick, and marriage.
6. Scary Close
Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy
by Donald Miller
I happen to be a Donald Miller fan because I love how he keeps it real. He’s at his most vulnerable yet in this book about his fears of getting close and letting himself really be seen.
7. Middlemarch
by George Eliot
I loved this classic and beloved British novel about community and relationships and life in the early 1800s. I’d had this one going for a long time, but I’m so glad I kept at it.
8. Billy Budd, Sailor
by Herman Melville
A very short novel about a good sailor being mistreated. It was okay; not my favorite.
9. Abandonment to Divine Providence
by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
Written by a French Jesuit in the 1700s, this was originally a series of letters to nuns to navigate spiritual concerns they had. I didn’t get all of it (i.e., it was written in the 1700s). That’s ok. I grabbed what I could. It was enough. Fiat! Fiat! Be faithful; submit to God’s will; resign yourself to the present moment in what God is doing. I’ve been reading this one for several months, too, so it was good to finish.
10. Ruby
by Cynthia Bond
This novel is about an abused woman’s return to her small town in east Texas and the way it responds to her and how she responds to it. The writing was beautiful, but the content wasn’t my cup of tea.
11. Coffee Talk with Jesus
Intimate Chats with the Savior
by Barbie Swihart
A small book of 31 devotionals. Each day includes an encouraging devotional thought, Bible verses, and questions for journaling. Barbie also includes recipes here and there. I have a friend that it’ll be perfect for, so I’ll gift it to her this week now that I’ve enjoyed it.
12. In Search of Balance
Keys to a Stable Life
by Richard A. Swenson
I liked Swenson’s book Margin better. This one felt repetitive to me after awhile, restating the obvious—we need more balance. Summary: You’re doing too much. Cram less things into your day. He did offer lots of specific advice though and the message itself of balance is a valuable one.
13. Pride
The Story of the First Openly Gay Navy Seal
by Brett Jones
I met the author Brett Jones at a book signing and speech he gave a couple weeks ago. He’s had an interesting life as a Navy SEAL and being outed during the Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell era. I loved his positive perspective of always taking the high road, reflected in his character and in his book. I left encouraged after meeting him. I wrote about it here.
14. For Women Only
What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men
by Shaunti Feldhahn
I came to this one with a bad attitude—what more can she tell us about how men are different than women? Why should I read this? Well, maybe it wasn’t necessarily new stuff. But it was good reminders that I needed to hear (even if reluctantly). And it was short. I’ll pass it along to younger women in my life who may not have heard this kind of information before.
15. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
This 1950s Newbery Award book is about an orphan girl’s move from her home of Barbados to family in Connecticut in the 1700s. She befriends an outside Quaker woman considered a witch by their Puritan community. I read it as a child and wanted to refresh what I loved about it. It’s still amazingly relevant in our own culture to the discerning reader, and yet appropriate for middle-school readers and up.
16. The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
A philosophizing dog narrates this novel about his owner’s life. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s cute. I listened to the audio version, which was read so well. I don’t always remember to include books I listened to, but this one was so good I couldn’t forget to tell you about it.
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What are you reading this month? Please share here.
My books on Goodreads
Previous reading lists
Everybody is scared of something
I wasn’t sure what to expect Sunday afternoon.
I knew Brett Jones had been a Navy SEAL. I knew his body had been through more than I could imagine. I knew he’d performed dangerous missions around the world.
What I didn’t know was he would be scared to talk to us.
A nice crowd had gathered in the sanctuary to hear Brett speak about his life and about his book, including my sister and me. After being introduced, he openly admitted his fear about talking to the crowd.
Then he launched into his story. He had been in the United States Navy during the Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell era. And he was gay. He spent years keeping it secret from those he served with.
But the truth was unexpectedly unveiled by a disgruntled employee of his boyfriend’s in 2003. Brett suddenly faced the possibility of a dishonorable discharge. After incredibly rigorous training to become a SEAL and 8 years of active duty as one, he didn’t want to leave it all now.
Three months of interrogation ended with the charges against Brett being dropped. But because he knew they’d resurface over time, he chose to leave the Navy honorably and pursue another career. He worked overseas as a security contractor for awhile and now operates a private security firm in Alabama.
I learned a lot of things from Brett’s talk and from meeting him in person.
This was one of the things:
Everybody is scared of something.
Even Navy SEALs.
But fear doesn’t have to stop us. Being afraid doesn’t mean we have to be quiet or sit down or do nothing.
- Scared doesn’t mean don’t.
- Scared doesn’t mean weak.
- Scared doesn’t mean stop.
Scared just means human.
See the fear. Acknowledge the fear. Then keep going despite the fear.
Faith can take us one step further than fear can go. God is honored when we do scary things for his glory.
Sometimes God removes the fear when we face it. Sometimes he doesn’t. Fear can piggy-back on our emotions and refuse to let go.
But even then, we can keep moving. Even with the fear.
Brett Jones did. He kept talking about his life, sharing his stories, answering our questions.
Fear doesn’t win if we go forward anyway. We’ve got things to do, lives to live, people to love. With or without fear.
Everybody is scared of something. So?
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How do you fight against fear? What motivates you to keep moving even with fear? Please share in the comments.
Read more of Brett’s story in his book.
“Ruby” – Book review
I appreciate the premise of this novel: If someone has had to bear abuse, the least we can do is listen.
Author Cynthia Bond has one of the main characters, Ephram, state it out here in Ruby:
He whispered into her ear, “I ain’t going nowhere. If you brave enough to live it, the least I can do is listen.” Ruby fought against the rise of hope. She lost when he said: “Girl, you a miracle of nature.”
The setting is a small Texas town, full of prejudice on all sides. When an original resident, Ruby Bell, returns there after a few years in New York City, her mental illness isn’t met with compassion. As the story unfolds, you start to understand why each character reacts as they do to her.
So I listened. The abuse was horrible. Even though it was a work of fiction, I know these things happen in real life and it is devastating.
But before the halfway mark, I decided to stop. Close this book. I couldn’t take anymore. I didn’t understand the Louisiana voodoo parts. I didn’t like the raunchy telling of sex scenes.
And honestly, I didn’t like hearing so much pain in a novel I was reading for pleasure.
I clicked off the page I was on and was about to delete the whole book from my Kindle. Then I remembered it was a review book that I had committed to read. So I trudged on.
Did it get better? Well, the writing was beautiful. Cynthia Bond can weave magic with her words. Such beauty there. She also was excellent at moving between past and present in unfolding her characters. And she showed me things I didn’t know before. I don’t think we should turn away from pain just because it’s uncomfortable; I did learn things here.
But her words were often just too explicit for me, the plot too burdensome, the spirits too strange.
So did I like this book? Not really.
Would I recommend it to others? Afraid not.
Were there redeeming things in this book anyway? Definitely. Just not enough for me.
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My thanks to Blogging for Books for the review copy of Ruby
How to think better thoughts – Memorize scripture with mental maps
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious–the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
Philippians 4:8 [The Message]
I saw this bumper sticker yesterday:
I agree. Some of my thoughts are crazy. Untrue ones. Judgmental ones. Negative ones. Worrisome ones.
I need supernatural help when my mind starts wandering into the weeds. So God often works through my memory to rein my thoughts back in.
But to have good things there to pull from, I have to put good things in.
One way that works for me is memorizing sections of scripture. It keeps my mind actively attentive on words from or about God, and away from worries and other negative thought patterns.
Because I’m quite creative with worrying, I’ve had to memorize a lot of scripture.
About 11 years ago, I discovered it was possible to memorize several verses in a row (Colossians 3 is still one of my favorites). I was shocked.
Now I’m hooked on it. I love being able to grab a whole chunk of thought from these biblical authors, wherever I am, to keep my own mind occupied and rerouted to better thoughts.
But the hardest part about memorizing a Bible chapter? For me, it’s connecting the verses. I might remember verse 3 and verse 5, but can’t remember where verse 4 goes.
So I’ve started using mental mapping. And it works!
Here’s how you can use mental mapping, too.
- Count the number of verses, or grouping of verses (if you memorize 2 verses at a time), that you want to memorize.
- Select a sequence or flow that you are very familiar with by memory that has an equal number of objects or steps as the number of verses. It can be rooms in your house, items in your kitchen, houses on your street, etc.
- Create a connection in your mind between the object and a key word or theme in your verse. The more creative it is, the more likely you’ll remember it. (But write these down in case you need reminding.)
- As you learn a verse and add on others, mentally walk through your path. After only a few times, you’ll find you connect them effortlessly. You will still need to practice the individual wording, but you should get the gist of it just from your mental map.
Here are some sample steps and connections on my path for memorizing Isaiah 55.
I chose my kitchen, starting at the sink, and worked counterclockwise around the room, one object at a time. You’ll see I had to use my imagination to make the connections work, but hey, they did!
1. Sink. Thirsty.
Isa 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
2. Pantry. Bread.
Isa 55:2 “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”
3. Refrigerator Freezer. Hear ice dropping.
Isa 55:3 “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”
4. Refrigerator Clear Bins. See (witness).
Isa 55:4 “Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.”
5. Microwave. Fast (run).
Isa 55:5 “Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.”
10. Oven. Bread.
Isa 55:10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”
11. Sugar Chest. Full (not empty).
Isa 55:11 “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
12. Kitchen Table. Noisy happy meals.
Isa 55:12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
13. Window view. Trees.
Isa 55:13 “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
I read about this method in Joshua Foer’s book, Moonwalking with Einstein. It’s how he memorized random strings of numbers. But it’s actually a thousands-year-old method. You can google “architectural mnemonic” or “method of loci” if you want to learn more.
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How do you keep your memory strong? I’d love to hear your tips.
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