A few days ago I listed my fiction reading from last year (2010) and wrote a short intro that relates to some of this as well.
I’m determined to read a bit more widely this year in non-fiction, but I don’t really have much of a plan. As a reader, I’m kind of like the kid just getting used to playing the sport, learning to love it. (FYI: The sport is reading.) I will need more and more coaching as I go along. I will say that, of all these books, I think Greg’s was the closest to home. But these were all good.
The Lives of The Kings and Queens of England (Antonia Fraser)
Walt Disney: The Triumph Of The American Imagination (Neal Gabler)
A Sweet and Bitter Providence (John Piper)
What is the Gospel? (Greg Gilbert)
The Four: Survey of the Gospels (Peter Leithart)
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old Testament (James Pritchard, editor. I did not read the entire thing, but selections)
The Literary Structure Of The Old Testament (David Dorsey)
Every year I mean to write down the books I read as I read them, but I never remember to. So, below you’ll find a list of what I can remember that I read this past year. So fascinating, I know. Please don’t hyperventilate.
I’d love to bore you with more details, like which books I loved and which not so much, but I won’t. Most were good (Winter’s Tale), some were transporting (Paradise Lost). I’m linking only to books of friends and a few others, because of a long and complicated reason, best summed up by the following: I don’t want to do the rest. You can find ‘em if you want to. I’d be glad to answer individual questions about any in an e-mail, or in person (like age appropriateness, negative depictions of Appalachians, etc.). I’m psyched out of doing a Top 10, or any ranking, so don’t look for that.
I’m a very slow reader, but audiobooks have rescued me. I listen to a lot of them. They do count, by the way. Don’t hate, participate.
I do read a lot of fiction (compared with my non-fiction reading). Part of that is to try to learn the craft of novelizing and improve at what I think is a calling on my life. Another is that I love fiction and think it is very valuable –even to Bible study. Of particular value to Bible study (which I love) is reading old literature from another culture which has been updated or translated. I got a few shots at that by reading Gilgamesh, Beowulf (and their excellent accompanying essays), and Ancient Near-Eastern Texts Related To The Old Testament. These are of great value for understanding how language works, how cultural idioms are related in verse, and how the world that is past is still understandable (to some extent).
Another value that relates specifically to understanding the Bible is the form of genre. It helps to read poetry, history, tales, prayers, etc. The Bible is a collection of a lot of different kinds of writing and it helps to see what those genres are like, to better interpret what is intended. I’d love to write a little more (on the very little I know) about Bible study, but for now I’ll just say this. To me, it seems really important to notice what the author is emphasizing (repetition, location in text, etc.) and to remove as many barriers to interpretation as possible (ignorance of genre, history, language, idioms etc.). More on that later? Or, do yourself a favor and read some one who knows what they are talking about, like David Dorsey in The Literary Structure Of The Old Testament (especially the first few chapters).
This will be the Fiction list, with the Not Fiction edition coming in a couple of days.
Gilgamesh (New English Version by Stephen Mitchell)
Beowulf (Seamus Heaney)
The Children of Hurin (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootten Major (reread, J.R.R. Tolkien)
Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (reread, ed. Walter Hooper)
This morning I asked my baby boy an important question.
“Who made you, son?”
His response?
“Oh….Muffins!”
Talk about your god being your belly.
Does this mark a passing of the torch in the funny comments division from my oldest son to his little brother? Well, he’s only 19 months old, so I doubt it. But the future of comedy in our offspring is looking good.
“If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.
“If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.
“Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow.”
D.A. Carson
Boy, is this super challenging, or what? And so true. This really hits me full on as a father. In so many ways I am tasked with tone-setting in our home. I hope and pray that the Gospel is the song, the story, and everything else issues from there. -Sam
This one’s a shameless plug. (First I wrote “shamless plug” and it’s that too.)
My wife is a super-swell lady and I’m way proud of her. One thing, among many, she does well is make handmade things. (Handmakes things?)
She has a store and in this store, she sells items from time to time. This is a newish thing for us. Anyway, today she has a few new items for sale and I wonder if you wouldn’t mind popping over and having a peek at said items? May-hap you could see if you might like to buy one for yourself, or someone you love, for Christmas, or for sheer jocularity.
It’s good stuff. I actually wrote some of the ad copy (we’re literally a mom and pop shop) and you might enjoy reading it because it’s supposed to be intentionally funny and lead to peace in the Midwest.
There’s a tea/coffee cozy. (This picture -below- of the cozy cozy features my mug on a mug. Ha!)
There’s this thing called a “List-maker.” I have no idea what it’s for, but it’s very cute.
UPDATE: I’m informed this is called a “List-TAKER,” not a “List-MAKER.” Very different, certainly, by Jove. Apparently, this thing “takes” your lists. Then you are listless.
And there’s another of her popular banners. This one’s the best yet, by far. The words look cool and have this subtly glittering quality to them. Like magic. The picture doesn’t quite reveal the magicalness (magicality?) of it, so trust me. It says, “Peace To You.” See it.
Act fast while supplies last. (<–Rhyming.) OK, commercial over. Enjoy.
Advent began this past Sunday. For those not familiar with it, it’s not something only Roman Catholics do, but an ancient Christian celebration (begun in 380 AD, I’m told) that is growing in popularity among ordinary evangelicals like me. So, it’ll probably be ruined real soon. (I jest. Sort of.)
For some reason, a lot of people ask us (my wife and I) about Advent. It’s probably because it’s kind of strange to our area and the traditions we grew up in. Sometime I’d like to write more about the subject at length (and not after it’s begun –duh). But today, I’d just like to write briefly about one reason we love it.
It gives us an intentionality we need to focus on the glory of God in Christ.
Like most people, we’re easily distracted and can be prone to “go with the flow” unless we intentionally, directly do something different. There’s a lot of common grace in the “Christmas Season,” and I’m thankful for that. But so much of it, as is well-documented/lamented, is counter-productive to our aims. The Advent season marks a graceful antithesis with the world system and the emptiness that it offers. We do gifts, stockings, trees, etc., so don’t get the wrong idea. In fact, we love all that stuff and feel like it only really makes sense in a Christian world. Otherwise, it just rings hollow. But materialism always makes a holiday into a hollow-day.
Is that the worst play on words ever? I’m not sure we can know the answer to that, but it feels like it.
And speaking of holidays (holy days). Please don’t buy into the “War on Christmas” hype. So much of the political TV-run moralism offers us a fight that we don’t need for ratings and attention they crave.
Advent-then-Christmas is a time when almost the entire world is presented with great blasts of light. Don’t walk in front of that and get cranky because a store employee says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas!”
The customer is not always right-eous. No need to campaign for pagans to keep a tame Christ in Christmas. Keep Christ before you, above you, behind you, below you, as our brother Patrick said. Get surrounded by Christ and not by ginned up political pettiness.
Remember mercy? Remember, mercy.
Instead of being petty, or going with the flow, why don’t we just live on purpose? Be beautiful, people. If we’re in Christ, then everything is ours. Advent is a reminder of the coming that broke open the floodgates of mercy and a focus on that coming again which will cover the earth in the rule of Christ the King.
We love practicing Advent because it’s life on purpose. It’s a named thing, a shaped and placed thing that helps us be who we are.
I just got home from watching The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole with my family. I’m eager to share just “owl” much I loved this movie. And with that bad joke I demonstrate explicitly how far I am from being qualified to review a movie. I have none of the skill of the learned chaps who know what they’re talking about when it comes to “cinema.” This will be a review from a person who has never seen most of the movies that get reviewed by people who know a lot about cinematic art. Most of my male relatives chew tobacco.
Owls movie, regular idiot review, with commentary on raising kids in a toxic world…go.
Firstly, Legend… is breathtaking to watch. It’s a visually stunning, captivating movie, with wonderful detail and animation (is it still called animation?). I recently finished reading Neil Granger’s book, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. I couldn’t help but think of Walt. I thought of how he accomplished something incredible with Snow White and how amazed he would be at a film like this. It was a real joy to watch. 3D? I loved it. Maybe that makes me a real hick from the sticks, unable to appreciate how 3D is devastating modern cinema. This was a movie where, for me, 3D aided the suspension of disbelief and the imaginative quality of the picture.
Movies with good “special effects” are in great supply. (Do they still call them special effects?) But there are fewer movies that have a great story and fewer still which don’t undermine the truth about the world God made either in slight, or flagrant ways. This movie, to unholster a tired cliche, has it all.
I loved the story. I bought in like a rich investor, took the bait hook, line, and sinker. Was it a basic good vs. evil story? Yes. I love that. The story was so fundamentally good that I just sat there grinning throughout. My review can be summarized in one word: fantastic. But this has a lot to do with where I am in life and who I was sitting with.
I sat between our 5 and 7 year old kids, my wife held our sleeping baby throughout. Our 5 year old boy has only been so for a few days. Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with a “St. George” party. My older brother dressed as a dragon and our son, distinguished from his comrade knights by the St. George’s cross on his chest, led the attack on the castle to save the princess (well-acted by his brilliant and beautiful sister). It was a great time, though I’m sure if there were any dour, P.C. scolds watching they would have been horrified. (This is unlikely in rural West Virginia farming country.) What we emphasized in that party and what countless tales told to these children over and over emphasize is this: If you have strength, it is not to dominate and control, but to love and serve. If you are a leader, then you are not to rule by lording it over others, but to lay down your life. To serve. To die.
I must say (though I know it is hard for some modern ears to hear) that I especially emphasize this point with my oldest son (and will with his brother in time). My old-fashioned understanding? Boys need to know that strength is not for lording, intimidating, tyrannizing, and it is for dang sure not about serving yourself. We. Look. To. Jesus.
Jesus is our example. The Son of God who, though being rich, became poor; though being strong, became weak; though being Majestic in Glory and Deserving of All Power and Praise, put on a servant’s nature. He came to serve. Husbands are therefore commanded to be like that as they lead. My heart is for that in my own life (though I fail regularly) and my training and instruction for these boys must be “in the Lord.”
So, back to this movie about owls. Inside the story there is a story (I love that kind of thing.) The story within the story is one that our main character, Soren, loves and retells over and over. He believes this story (of the legendary Guardians) with all his heart, though others deride him for his faith. A beautiful element of this movie is how the story that he believes to be true, though he can’t see with his eyes, impacts his entire being. He is different because of how this story works on him, in stark contrast to his unbelieving brother.
This is pretty much the situation for Christians.
Of course Soren is right, his faith eventually becomes sight and he meets his heroes. In a lovely touch, his number one hero is not as physically impressive as he expects. This clever turn points to the underlying theme of the story and the oath of the Guardians. They are charged with, “mending the broken, making the weak strong.” In contrast with the evil “Pure Ones,” (wondrous, ironic nomenclature) who wish to manipulate, dominate, and enslave the weak and vulnerable.
The Guardians protect the vulnerable, they serve the weak. They do not use their power and authority to serve themselves, but fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. The Guardians also have a hierarchical structure; they have a king and queen. But the use of this power and authority, as in Tolkien and Lewis (and Scripture), is operated by the “good side” not for self, but for love and service. It is, frankly, a beautiful thing to see.
It is a rare joy to go to the movies and so explicitly see the values that we emphasize in our home be, not undermined, but underlined. I was ecstatic.
Sure, it’s fine to talk over all the core toxicity of films with our kids, to learn something from the bent expressions of the fallen imagination. These can sometimes be very fruitful –especially, I suppose, with older kids. But man, it’s great to just see something good. Real good.
This is why I love Andrew Peterson’s books. Fantastic stories brilliantly told, but without the core deceptions of a man-centered worldview. A modern author…and we can trust him! Don’t wonder why Christian parents rejoice at such things. It’s a rare treasure found. There are others of course (my kids have read hundreds of good books), but the “total package” thing is pretty rare in my experience. I feel like that’s what you get with AP’s books.
This movie feels pretty close to that as well. I haven’t read the books (The Owls of Ga’hoole), but this movie was a deep delight for me to see with my kids. I enthusiastically stick all the thumbs I have and can borrow from my neighbors in an upward direction.
Note: Some of the action/peril might frighten young kids, but my 5 year old (prepped) was not bothered –and he is not exposed to a lot of scary images/movies.
I got to meet fellow Rabbit Room writer Jason Gray in Nashville a few weeks ago, as well as hear him perform some songs. Then this past weekend got to hear him again here in southern West Virginia (thanks Matt and Mark). Gina and I (and the kids) got to spend some extended time with him and it was really special. I encourage you to check out his music. It’s good, ya’ll.
Fake Scholarship –Jason and Gina, fakers
His emphasis on weakness, brokenness and the power and completeness of God in our weakness is beautiful. His song from several years ago, Blessed Be, has been a welcome reminder of something I have needed to hear lately.
I am going through some health issues now, again (I have a medical test today, in fact, and would appreciate prayer). This idea of being perfected in weakness, of being blessed in brokenness (which is so evident in Matthew, and all of Scripture) has been a comfort to me. Jason’s music has added to the chorus of truth I need to hear now and all the time.
The Gospel is for the broken, the needy, the ones who know they need it. Not for the morally superior. Again, consider this amazing passage in Luke 18. I need that!
So, after the jump here I put Jason’s song, Blessed Be, up for you to hear. I didn’t ask him, so mum’s the word. It’s not the best audio (or video), so I put up the words. But he tells the same story on Acoustic Storytime, which is a great record. Continue reading
It is 2:13 AM (EST) as of this writing. I am back home in West Virginia, with my excellent wife, Gina, and our wonderful kids (all asleep, of course). I am, as the expression goes, a happy man.
I am just now returned from Nashville, where I was privileged to participate in the inaugural Hutchmoot (a conference of The Rabbit Room).
It was a tremendous event. I do not exaggerate when I say that these last few days exceeded my expectations in a great variety of ways.
I am too tired to get to all that at present, but the arch under which my joy grows is a deep thankfulness to my Father, who answered so many of my prayers with an unmistakeable “Yes.”
I intend to say more later. Happy Monday morning to you.
Hutchmoot, the first annual Rabbit Roomconference retreat gathering summit festival event, is happening this weekend in Nashville, TN. It’s the maiden voyage and I’m thrilled to be there for the breaking of the champagne bottle against the vessel. And the hoisting of the anchor. Also, the green-faced sea-sickness.
The last time I went to Nashville it was for a basketball tournament back when I was in shape and could contribute my customary 6 or so points and 5 or so fouls per game. It must be admitted that I sometimes had more fouls than points. But, if memory serves, I think I absolutely went off for 10 in one game in Nashville. (Points, not fouls. Although, if you could have 10 fouls, who knows?)
I look forward to the event, especially to meeting in person so many of the people I have connected with in the Rabbit Room online community. I am also really honored to be inexplicably given a chance to share on the panels. I hope to demonstrate why taking such a generous risk on someone such as myself never pays off. It’s quite possible I’ll have more fouls than points, once again.
I really look forward to the concerts by AP and the Square Pegs, the address by Walter Wangerin Jr., the book release from Jonathan Rogers, and all the planned events. But I think I’m mostly jazzed for the conversation. The talks with new friends who share some of the same passions. (I refer, of course, to physical/lazy defense in basketball.)
I’m also really happy to be traveling with some great saddle-pals. Should be fun. I have no clever/cheesy, fourth reference to basketball to wrap this up. Sorry. That would have been a real score.
