Book Review: Seeking the Secret Place

This time, for my supplemental reading in my devotions, I selected another book by my former boss and great friend Lyle W. Dorsett. Seeking the Secret Place outlines the spiritual formation of C. S. Lewis. This is a beautiful book published two decades ago. I knew I owned this book, but when I found it on my shelf, I discovered something rather perplexing. My book's inscription is addressed to my husband.

I thought the book was mine. During our time in DeKalb, I attended a lecture Lyle gave in Wheaton. I went up to speak with him at the end. Perhaps I purchased a copy of his book to give to my husband for a gift. Who knows!

Somehow, this was another book I read without writing a review. I did not pepper it with tabs to return to later as I did with the E. M. Bounds book on prayer. The title is fantastic! Several scripture passages emphasize meeting God in the secret place (Psalm 27:4-5; 31:19-20; 91:1; Matthew 6:6). Click here for an excellent blog post by John Van Wagoner on "Living in the Secret Place."

This book is special to me because I was involved in the research. Lyle interviewed 42 people who were close to Lewis. Indeed, Lyle and Mary took me on a small trip around Scotland after my time in the Wheaton-in-England program of 1984. We visited Lewis' first cousin, Ruth Parker, in her home near the Firth of Forth in Scotland. I watched as Lyle performed an oral history interview. I remember I sat on her small couch with her big black lab. No doubt, this played a part in nurturing my desire to pursue a master's degree in history. I recorded several of my own oral history interviews for a project related to an oral history course I took at the University of Illinois in 1989.

I wasn't aware of the encouraging role of my Wheaton German professor, Carol Kraft. She was on the Wade Center Advisory Board. She provided prayer support and financial backing for the travel involved in these oral history interviews. What an opportunity I snagged during that blessed time of youth! On a later trip to Edinburgh, I made another personal visit to Ruth Parker, bringing her favorite, a madeira cake.

The Table of Contents alone gives a glimpse of C. S. Lewis' spirituality. He strove to say things "helpful to salvation," to make prayer a "sustained and regular habit," to seek scripture, to participate in the body of Christ (the church), and, when facing conflict, to keep his eye "on the Helmsman." Dorothy L. Sayers (another Wade Center author) called Lewis "God's terrier," and spoke of his "missionary zeal." Lewis met with a spiritual advisor. He pursued a deeper walk with the Lord. If you are interested in learning more about Lewis' life and works, this biography is a great place to start. I don't think my husband ever read it, but I'm grateful for the copy so I could. Many others are seeking this book as well. It has an Amazon Bestseller Rank of #191,914 in Books! That's a very good figure for a book published two decades ago.

Book Review: The Miracle Morning

With a bright yellow cover emblazoned with a sun, The Miracle Morning promises to change your life. I noticed the buzz surrounding this book (#804 in Books on Amazon and #29 in Motivational Self-help Books on the day I wrote this review). It begins with the author's incredible story of change implemented in his own life. His first challenge occurred when he was involved in a devastating car accident. It was such a harrowing description I read it aloud to my husband and youngest son. The extensive damage Hal Elrod faced when he was 20 is astounding. Yet, this near-death experience wasn't the lowest point in his life.

Elrod's second rock-bottom came with the financial devastation brought on by the Great Recession in 2008. Drowning in despair and feeling helpless to climb out of the hole, Elrod wanted to give up. Then a friend challenged him to go for a run, something he despised doing. The positive result led Elrod to research the practices and rituals of highly successful individuals. In the end, he came up with his Miracle Morning routine. Over time it took off and people joined the Miracle Morning Community, sharing their successes found through using these strategies. The number of book endorsements is staggering!

The author breaks 7 practices down into the acronym SAVERS. I love how you can personalize the plan. Observe these elements for as short or as long as you desire, in whatever order works best for you. SAVERS stands for Silence, Affirmation, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing. I wasn't expecting anything earth-shattering or new. 

I already have an extensive morning routine. After I wake between 4:30 and 6, I drink a black coffee with a small spoonful of coconut oil (this, together with a word puzzle, gets my brain charged and my body further into ketosis). Then I head to my basement desk. I begin with my prayer time (both for my Facebook friends and a list I keep in a prayer journal). Next, I spend some time studying God's Word and read daily passages from 2 devotional books. After I complete my daily BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) homework (heartwork) and pray for the women in my group, I write my "morning pages." (I learned this from Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, many years ago. If you're curious about morning pages, take a few minutes to watch this video by Martin Sketchley - I love his videos because he incorporates doodles into his explanations and talks about the writing process.)

By this time, my husband is up and has brewed the "good coffee." I fire up my computer to tend to emails and often waste too much time on Facebook. Eventually, I pull myself away to exercise for a half hour. While I cool down, I clean the kitchen, play Wordle and Connections, then shower and begin my day officially. So, I've already had a routine that hits many of the words in Elrod's acronym (all but affirmation and visualization). 

I hesitate to believe adding those activities could lead out of mediocrity and into passionate purpose fulfillment. Yet, I wouldn't say this was a wasted read. He is highly motivational. Indeed, I may purchase this book for Bryce. I encouraged my husband to read the brief section on night routines. The author dealt with a similar bout of insomnia, like my husband's lengthy foray into sleeplessness. I suppose I even liked the book enough to consider purchasing it (despite my current purging goals), if I ever see it on the cheap at a thrift store or garage sale. It was a worthwhile and life-affirming read, full of inspiration for living a life without regrets.

Book Review: Forty Autumns

So many times, I read stories about real individuals who did astounding things and I cannot even begin to put myself in their shoes. My heart ached for this family. They were the victims of political and social pressures that no individual should have to face. They lost their freedoms. Life became a tenuous and troublesome challenge. It is soul-crushing, what they experienced.

The story begins when the author, at age five, learns that her grandparents, Oma and Opa, live behind the Iron Curtain. Her tiny mind cannot grasp what that means. Then, the story unfolds - how her grandparents had 9 children and family was all-important to them. When her mother, Hanna, was only a teenager, the communists took over East Germany. Hanna, longing to be free, escaped to West Berlin, leaving her family behind. For forty years, they suffered almost absolute separation (visits denied, letters and packages absconded, connections feared because of the outcome of associating with a defector). Hanna eventually married and moved to America, where she raised six children with freedoms unimaginable to her family back in Germany.

The atrocities and injustices that the East German people endured were both shocking and cautionary. Communism required that they surrender their food, with the promise of equal distribution. They were subject to propaganda and misinformation, painting the West as evil, Eastern ways as most beneficial, and communist loyalty as imperative. Those in power confiscated their food, took away their jobs if they didn't agree with the political/social narrative, and threatened their lives because of the informants' greed. How shocking and disturbing to learn the statistics of those informants! "At the height of their power, the Stasi had employed one informant for every sixty-six residents; factoring in part-time informants, the number more accurately approximates one in six East German citizens."

It was harrowing to read of individuals shot while attempting to reach freedom. The oppression broke their spirits. They lived under constant suspicion that someone might report on their disloyalty. If only we could read of this historical period and learn, so as not to repeat this again. Sadly, I believe it will come to that again. Indeed, the Bible foretells such persecutions:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good," 2 Timothy 3:1-3

"But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." Luke 21:12-15

Even relatives will turn against the godly:

"And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." Luke 21:16-17

"And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." Matthew 10:21

They will believe they are serving a greater good:

"yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me." John 16:2-3

Men will be oppressed if they refuse to cooperate with the marking system:

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16-17

Praise be to God, though evil seems to triumph, we know God wins in the end! His justice will prevail! Those who oppress and put down believers will pay the price - eternal separation from God. May I be counted among those who endure:

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." 1 Peter 4:12-13

"ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." Hebrews 10:32-34

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12

I am grateful for this riveting history as preparation for coming days. How I pray I may endure and receive the crown of life!

Book Review: Do You Pray? - Highly Recommend

What a powerful pamphlet! J. C. Ryle (1816-1900) was Bishop of Liverpool. His passion for prayer is inspiring! His simple question is, "Do you pray?" If not, why not? If so, how so? I would have loved to have held this pamphlet in hand, but I settled for listening to it in audio form available through Hoopla. I discovered one available from Christian Books.

The author argues passionately for the power of prayer. I wonder how much we believe in the power of prayer. We read about miracles wrought by prayer in the Bible, yet fail to trust our own prayers will change the lives of those we love. His words are convicting and comforting. The author argues that backsliding begins with the neglect of private prayer. He encourages the reader to take everything to God in prayer. He addresses the prayerless reader, "Who and what are you that you will not ask anything of God?"

The above quote (found on Facebook, by worshipblog) is not from Ryle, but illustrates the power of prayer!

Finally, Ryle launches into specifics of how we should pray. He articulates the importance of reverence and humility, earnestness and faith in prayer, the importance of praying regularly, the importance of boldness, fullness, and particularity in prayer, and the importance of intercessory prayer. I found so many helpful nuggets of truth: "Never think that time is wasted which is given to God.... A Christian never finds he is the loser in the long run by persevering in prayer." "Faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow. Without it, prayer will not hit the mark." If the batteries driving your prayer life are flagging, this book will jump-start your petitions to a God who loves hearing from His children and longs to meet their needs.

Book Review: Tactics

I've recently felt conviction about my intentionality in witnessing. We're most comfortable around those who are similar. If I'm only surrounded by like-minded believers, how will I lead anyone else to the truth of the gospel message? Thus, I listened to Gregory Koukl's book, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. Like another recent read about listening, I know I need to improve my listening skills. Koukl's tactics draw on the use of questions to guide discussion.

Some of Koukl's suggested questions: "What do you mean by that? How did you come to that conclusion? Why do you think that's how it happened?" By using questions, you can draw the individual out and learn where they are coming from. You need to know what their perspective is if you plan to advance a Christian perspective to them.

I took notes thoroughly from this book. The book is a series of lectures and I went into it as a student. I hope I retained some of the tactics offered (things like the suicide tactic, taking the roof off, and what a friend we have in Jesus tactic). I appreciated that Koukl's goal is to make you an ambassador for Christ, to teach you how to build a bridge to others. Another great take-away was Koukl's reminder we are not all harvesters. Sometimes your role is simply a gardener. Don't assume that your conversation with another will be that one conversation that leads them to salvation. Plant your seed and leave it to the Lord.

Book Review: Like a River

Granger Smith addresses his book, Like a River, to anyone who has experienced loss. That's a wide audience. Personally, this book resonated a bit too much for me. From the start, I could not stop reading. Although much of his story differs from mine, so many things feel the same. Not to mention the date of their trauma in 2019 matches the date of my traumatic event in 2023. I could relate to his struggles with intrusive thoughts and nightmares. I, too, have sought therapy using rapid eye movement. Parts of this book were excruciating to read. His story resonated more than I wanted.

Granger Smith was outside with his three young children (London, age 7, Lincoln, age 5, and River, age 3) when he noticed silence. Any parent of boys knows to suspect that sinister silence. When he identified the dread, he discovered his 3-year-old son lying face down in the water of their gated and locked pool. Despite efforts to revive the boy, River died that horrible day in 2019. Many responded with judgement and condemnation. Why is it so hard for people to tread cautiously when someone is sitting in fresh grief?

Granger's book emphasizes his drive for self-improvement and his efforts to carry the load with his own strength. No surprise! Those efforts failed miserably. My timing in reading this book coincided with sentences in my BSF Bible study that support Granger's message: "We can do nothing to revive ourselves and restore our relationship with Him. No noble act, payment, right thinking, or self-help program will do what only God can do." (Ephesians 2:8-9) When Granger surrendered himself to the river God had placed him on, and placed his total trust in Jesus, he gained the resources needed to thrive in life once again. This heartfelt testimony has a heavy emphasis on the gospel message of salvation. I identified with his struggles and his solution. Perhaps you might as well.

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On this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the Lord's protection and preservation of my children. It is a gift I do not take for granted and one that blesses me daily. I'm grateful that in our times of lament, the Lord hears our anguish but never feels offended when we struggle with His plan for our lives. He carries us, shelters us, and guides us. He redeems our broken pieces! He makes beauty from ashes! Praise God!

Book Review: The Unsaved Christian

That title sounds like a misnomer, doesn't it? The unsaved Christian? Isn't a Christian, by name, a saved individual, a follower of Christ? But, Dean Inserra points out, though a person may call themselves a Christian, they may ignore who Christ is or the critical role he plays in salvation. They may think they're on the right track. After all, they attend church, live by a moral code, sing the hymns with gusto, may even know Bible verses. Yet, deep down, Christ isn't key. He's perhaps a good person to follow or emulate. 

For some, the Bible, God's holy Word, is just a book of stories meant to illustrate the ideas of God's love. They don't see themselves as "unsaved" or "lost." Their belief that God exists and wants us to be happy should be sufficient, right? Yet, the Bible says God will deny some entrance to heaven because, although they consider themselves followers of Christ, they do not trust in Christ's atoning work. Christ's death on the cross is the only path to cancel out the debt of sin and bring reconciliation with God. As Inserra states, many will say, "Didn't WE...?" instead of "Didn't HE?" If your trust is in what you're doing, you are trusting in self not Christ's sufficient work.

I loved a teaching principle Inserra learned in seminary: "Never preach a sermon that would still be true if Jesus hadn't died and risen from the grave." Cultural Christians can stand in church singing, "Up from the grave He arose," yet still live with no impact from that statement. Cultural Christians want Christianity without Christ, "a belief system in which God's love and acceptance are assumed." Many wrongly suppose everyone will get to heaven because God loves all of us. This negates the truth of the gospel. There is only one way to get to heaven. You must believe in and accept the gift of Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross to pay your debt of sin that estranged you from the Father. Without recognizing sin and turning to Christ to cover that sin, you can say you're a Christian and still be far from entering the kingdom of God.

First, Inserra identifies many of today's false beliefs and false gospels. Then, he walks the reader through ways to approach these deceptions. His goal is to point the lost to the narrow way that leads to life. The Bible says few find it. Many follow the wide way. "God is love. He loves everyone. He wants us to love everyone, too." This wishy-washy, touchy-feely view of Christianity isn't Christian at all. God is holy. He cannot abide sin. To do so would be unloving. 

Another significant statement Inserra makes is, "There's no bench for true followers of Christ." Convicting! What am I doing to reach those who don't even consider themselves outside the kingdom? Am I articulating the true gospel? If nothing else, this book makes me want to reach out to those around me. Time is slipping away. The gospel is "good news." I, for one, don't want to hold it in.

Book Review: Safe People

I struggle with boundaries. I run from conflict. To be honest, I'd rather pacify you with inauthenticity than confront difficulties I'm experiencing in relationship. This is something I need to work on. Ages ago, I read the Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend book on Boundaries. I have obviously allowed that wisdom to slip from my practice. In Safe People, this duo offers insight into the process of finding and engaging in relationships with safe people.

Safe People is a well-structured and easily followed book. The authors break down the problem. To begin with, they outline 20 traits of "unsafe" people. I must admit, some of those traits I see in the mirror. They discuss why we get into enmeshed relationships with unsafe people. Then, they provide encouragement and steps for establishing safer relationships in life. My opinion? This is all fine and dandy, but implementing, when you struggle with boundaries, is far harder than reading a book with tips and target behaviors. I'd love to find safe people. But, then again, I need to learn how to be a safe person myself first. Perhaps I would do well to seek the study guide for this book, or at least listen to the full-length version (my audio book was abridged).

Book Review: Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

I've said before how much I despise cleaning, that thankless task that needs to be done ad nauseam. No sooner are the dishes back in the cupboards than the counter is full again. As soon as I fold the last pile of laundry, one is crying out that a particular garment is unavailable because I haven't washed clothes. Frustrating! Yet cleaning has to be done. We can't sit around in filth, let dishes pile up, and wear the same clothes all year. [Side note: They did in Elizabethan times. This is the source of the term "spring cleaning." All winter long, individuals would bind feathers around them to add warmth. Once the temperatures calmed, they would go down to the river and remove the feathers and clothes for their annual cleaning. I learned that in a lecture given at Anne Hathaway's house.]

So, too, your brain can get messy. Anxious thoughts can take control and threaten your peace and sanity. Dr. Caroline Leaf is convinced, after years of research and counseling experience, that what you think determines how you feel. Of course, I picked up this book because I sought advice on how to rid myself of invasive thoughts. The advice is sound. The steps probably work. My difficulty is in mustering passion enough to put in the work. Just like housecleaning, it seems an endless and repetitive task. Indeed, she insists that in order to establish new habits of thought, you should practice her "neurocycle" steps for 63 days.

So, what are the steps, you ask? They didn't show until 168 pages in. The first half of the book provides background information on the brain and how it ends up in a mess. 1) Gather, 2) Reflect, 3) Write, 4) Recheck, and 5) Active Reach. While I want the promised results, I lack enthusiasm for pursuing the steps. If you have more willpower than me, you can even access an app that helps you establish these habits. Keeping a spotless home, a trim waistline, and a peaceful brain takes work. There's no easy way. I believe the steps outlined in this book will help. However, believing is not enough to make it happen. Every chapter ends in a testimonial. I'll let you know if I ever have one to share.

Book Review: To Be Told

Although I'm not new to counseling, my last stint of life-coaching happened over a decade ago. At one point, I attended individual, marital, and group sessions. I don't miss those days. It was a lot of work. If only all that work remedied the problems. Alas, it didn't. Some of it is rearing its ugly head again.

Still, I'm hopeful. I appreciate my new counselor's willingness to offer book and podcast suggestions. My kind of person! Not to mention, he's trained in EMDR, a new method of dealing with past traumas that trigger PTSD symptoms. So, I jumped onboard for his first suggestion, To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future by Dan B. Allender, PhD.

I appreciated the author's emphasis that God weaves themes into the stories he's written with our lives. Every tragedy and trial will speak something about God through our experience. Like what Alan Noble mentioned in On Getting Out of Bed, our lives are a witness to others. Each witness is important. I like to think of it as a kaleidoscope. We each bear out God's light in a different hue and the composite of all our stories blended together creates a beautiful and brilliant image. Allender encourages readers to write out their life story and share with a community. Even though I consider myself a writer, I balked. I get it though. As I mentioned in my review of The Sand Bucket List, we relate to one another through our individual stories. It is in community that our stories blend and ricochet off one another. Someone else's story can trigger something in one's own story.

I loved the idea of the story feast. How neat to gather with others in a feast celebrating God's goodness! Sharing food. Sharing remembrances. Illustrating how God has been present in our lives.

It blessed me to see he incorporated, in later chapters, sections on prayer and fasting. As if he was saying, "Writing your story is good. Sharing it with others is great. But sharing it with God and allowing Him to fill emptiness is of utmost importance." He writes of the wrestling match of healing prayer. This "takes our stories of heartache and inserts Jesus into the memory to whiten the stain and take away the anguish." Bold stuff! Instead of whitewashing our painful memories, we must wrestle with God's allowance of this into our lives. We must seek what it is He wishes to make of those wounded places.

Allender also talks about being available to others. "Not to be cluttered with oneself is to embrace enough of our story to say to God and to others, 'He is good. And he has written me well' And perhaps even more, being uncluttered calls me to wrestle with those stories that confuse me, the stories I continue to hold at arm's length." Oh, to be uncluttered! To use my story to encourage others toward God's redemption.

Book Review: The Sand Bucket List

One of my favorite things to do is meet other self-published authors. It is an uphill climb. It's good to know there are other climbers around on similar journeys. Plus, there's something special about reading a book after you've met the author. I met a local author, Brad Fischer, at my library in July. Brad received a terminal cancer diagnosis at age 46. He captured funny stories from his past to convey to his beloved daughters the lessons he hoped they might learn from this crazy life we're given. Although The Sand Bucket List was written with this fine-tuned lens, the lessons are such that anyone can derive meaning and insight from them. The excellent writing sucks you into these life lessons with ease.

Brad has a knack for finding hidden nuggets of wisdom amid humor. He shared the story of the prank he and his buddies played in their youth. They left a manure-filled purse on the side of the road to observe reactions. Now, he experienced similar feelings of being cheated by the cancer purse, a bag he wished he hadn't found along life's road. Another story he shared, with purpose, was about a time he and his wife went snorkeling. He accidentally allowed his wife to float away from him. This related to his cancer journey, as well. He explained how difficult it was for him to vocalize his fears or despair and that left his wife floating alone with all that emotion.

After reading his book, I feel even more kinship with him. Like Brad, a dog bit me in the butt once. And like Brad, my husband used to entertain our oldest son with a puppet show. Brad gave the Frog and Duck Show, while my husband's antics animated a Ronald McDonald puppet and a Dopey dwarf puppet. Sometimes a Woody (Toy Story) doll joined the mix. One night, a naughty Woody simpered, "Roses are red, violets are blue, poops are stinky, and so are you." We were mortified the next morning at church, when Bryce parroted Woody aloud to the girl in the pew in front of him.

I wish Brad all the best in this endeavor. His writing skills shine. He begins each chapter with a short blurb or lesson and wraps up each chapter honing in on that lesson again. Plus, he tackles even difficult subjects like religious belief with honesty and vulnerability. He struggles with the bad that sometimes comes from good people of faith. His questions are valid and voiced with sincerity. We may not share the same spiritual perspective, but we found common ground. His stories reminded me of my stories, and that is the beauty of books. We can always see something of ourselves in the stories of others. 

Book Review: You're Not Listening

A quick library search for new audio fare led me to Kate Murphy's You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why it Matters. Like many respondents to her driving question of "Who listens to you?" I would probably struggle to answer. And, I would admit that I am not a wonderful listener. My brain outpaces the conversation, looking for what I might add. Plus, I jump to articulate what I think people are trying to say, sometimes finishing their sentences. I should remain silent until they summon the words they desire. As she points out, "Despite living in a world where technology allows constant digital communication and opportunities to connect, it seems no one is listening or even knows how."

Murphy does an excellent job of dissecting the problem and suggesting ways to improve our listening skills. Plus, she talks to a variety of researchers and people whose jobs require listening. I love the analogy she shared from one researcher who likened conversation to a game of catch with a lump of clay. "Each person catches it and molds it with their perceptions before tossing it back. Things like education, race, gender, age, relationship with the other person, frame of mind, connotations of words and distractions all influence how the clay is shaped. Add more people to the game of catch and the complexity and range of meanings increases."

The true test will be whether I listened well enough to improve my conversational and listening skills. Did I gain conversational sensitivity? Will I pause more frequently to allow others to complete their thoughts? This may have been a better book to read visually to retain the lessons included. While I tried to pay attention, I may not remember enough to implement what I heard. Still, better listening is a noble goal. So, if I cut you off to share my related insights or to finish your sentence for you, tell me to take a breath and give you time. I'll know exactly what you're saying.

Book Review: On Getting Out of Bed - Highly Recommend

Do you have a person whose book recommendations move you to seek a book immediately? When Catherine, of A Spirited Mind, recommends one, I jump. She isn't frivolous in handing out 5 stars. Her 5 star Good Reads attribution to this book, On Getting Out of Bed, by Alan Noble, sent me straight to my library website. Within minutes, I was reading the e-book. At only 44 e-book pages long, this essay was a quick and excellent read.

After reading The Body Keeps the Score, I returned to therapy, this time for trauma therapy (EMDR). In addition, I'm weaning from my clinical depression meds. Down days will be inevitable. I well remember days when getting out of bed was a supreme challenge. Alan Noble articulates this struggle well. Mental affliction is not a case of the blues. It isn't a bad day. It is far more pervasive and debilitating. But God...

Noble's main point is that life is a gift and, even in suffering, it is good. God made us with a purpose and He gives each day with divine intent. He writes, "Your being in the world is a witness and 'it counts for something.' Your existence testifies. There is no mitigating this fact. There is nowhere you can hide where your life will not speak something to the world." Even more than his affirming persistence, I loved his discussion on the seriousness of sin. "Our sin proclaims to others that God's promises are not enough.... [they] make sin more plausible for others." This world winks at sin. But even if you don't want to be, you are a witness. Your life bears a message to others. So, what is it you want to say with your one brave life?

Finally, Noble breaks down our motivations for living. You can live because it glorifies God. Or you can live for the world, the flesh, or the devil. How many are trying to live self-sufficient lives? As definer of their own identity, they have no use for God. But God doesn't want us for our usefulness. We have nothing to give to God that He needs. Yet, He delights in us. Moreover, getting out of bed testifies to our trust in God. It proves we believe He knows what each day holds and will carry us through it for as many days as He gives.

Book Review: The Lost Airman

After a couple of poor choices for audio books, I secured this title from the library, The Lost Airman: A True Story of Escape from Nazi-Occupied France. While the start was slow, once I got into the story, it was engaging. This true tale of Arthur Meyerowitz is a testament to the goodness of some people during the devastating horrors of World War II. On only his second mission in the air, they shot down his bomber and he parachuted into enemy-occupied France. Thanks to the brave souls in the French Resistance group Morhange, Meyerowitz faced down many obstacles but made it safely back onto neutral ground. While novels can submerge the reader into war-time suffering, there is nothing like a true story to elevate the experience tenfold. I'm so glad his official version of the story made it into the light of day, thanks to his grandson's research.

Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score

I attempted to read this book a year ago. A friend had raved about it on Facebook. However, only a few pages in (though I cannot remember why), I returned it to the library unread. Now, I'm quite sure the stars were not yet aligned for the best absorption. Sometimes that's how it goes. You try and nothing clicks. Then, you try again and wonder why it didn't work out before. For this particular book, I fully understand the timing.

After my traumatic event in early June (followed by PTSD intrusive thoughts), I was ripe for this book. In The Body Keeps the Score, author Dr. Bessel van der Kolk shows how unhealed trauma wreaks havoc on the mind and body. Oh, how I wish this book had not resonated with me. But it did. The trauma stories are hard to read, yet fascinating. Whether trauma comes in war or in childhood, it does not leave the body unscarred. The marks are there. So often, they simply need the right person to interpret them and the right therapy to heal them. 

Doctors have long thrown pills at the aftereffects of trauma. This covers the wound but may not allow it to heal. Thankfully, a new method, EMDR, using rapid eye movement may hold promise to help individuals put the trauma from the front of the brain to the back of the brain. This book thoroughly explains why our bodies respond the way they do when experiencing trauma. Anyone who has been affected by trauma would benefit from reading this book.

Book Review: A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War

I'm grateful for D'Ann Mateer's recommendation of Joseph Loconte's A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War. This book combines my two favorite subjects, history and literature. While at Wheaton College, I spent hours working in The Wade Center, a museum dedicated to the writings of seven Christian British writers. What a privilege to transcribe C. S. Lewis' personal letters! Then I was fortunate enough to travel with the director in Scotland for an oral history interview with Lewis' first cousin. Indeed, that cemented my desire to pursue a Master's degree in history. So I was eager to get my hands on this book devoted to the influences that shaped the writings of two Wade Center writers.

The fires of adversity forge influential writers and form lasting friendships. J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis have both written books that have touched many. Yet we might not have books from either author without the other. Tolkien prodded Lewis' faith. Lewis propelled Tolkien's persistence. 

Loconte shows how God used war's devastation to shape the faith and writings of these two outstanding authors. Their lives and perspectives changed forever. They both sought to embody their stories with small, average people tackling intense battles of good against evil. Tolkien's hobbits became heroes. Lewis' children became kings and queens.

That Tolkien and Lewis found each other in Oxford is a testament to God's grace and purpose in their lives. I loved reading about the power of friendship in the Inklings, a group of like-minded Christian writers. As Lewis remarked, "What I owe them is incalculable. Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?" That truly sounds heavenly. I would love an opportunity to sit with a circle of Christian friends by a good fire! Loconte observes, "Their experience reminds us that great friendship is a gift born of adversity: it is made possible by the common struggle against the world's darkness."

I only recently encountered Tolkien's term "eucatastrophe" in another book. It is "a decisive act of Grace that promises to overcome our guilt, restore what has been lost, and set things right." Then, I heard it again on the When There Are No Words podcast. This concept is intriguing. It is what we see at the end of their books and what we can expect at the end of our world. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Both Tolkien and Lewis teach us we are part of a great story playing out in time. It is an "epic story of sacrifice and courage and clashing armies: the Return of the King... a day when every heart will be laid bare. We will know, with inexpressible joy or unspeakable sorrow, whether we have chosen Light or Darkness." 

What have you chosen? Do you deny the King? Or do you belong to the King? Will the horrors of this battle between good and evil leave you disillusioned? Or will you cling to the hope of our Savior who promises the ultimate eucatastrophe?

If you find this topic appealing yet lack time to read, stay tuned for Thursday's Mid-Month Mention.

Book Review: A Walk in the Woods

I remember rocking with laughter while reading this book years ago, waiting for my husband and oldest son to emerge from a Yu-gi-oh card tournament. Since it held such rollicking memories for me, I decided to revisit it in audio form during my treadmill time. I think my tolerance for crudity and crass humor has dried up. I hadn't remembered those bits. Still, it was a fun listen and I'm always interested in books that explore walking journeys. And, well, it is Bill Bryson. Despite his sometimes raunchy humor, I find him delightful and funny.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail recounts Bryson's attempts to hike with his friend, Stephen Katz. The two were pals back in childhood days in Des Moines, Iowa, but time has taken them in different directions. Bill lived in England for two decades and Stephen sunk into alcoholism. As travel buddies, they are hilarious. Bryson teaches while you laugh. This time around, you learn about the Appalachian Trail (an over 2000 mile trek with a fascinating history).

What do I love about Bill Bryson? His humor is generally delightful. He describes scenes and events with great fervor and zest. Amid laughter, you're always learning. He is perhaps more fit for a trek along the Appalachian Trail than I am. Yet, he honestly shares his struggles. Leaving behind the comforts of home to walk endless paths full of trees, nature, and wild animals requires a certain hutzpah. How convenient to travel along by his side, vicariously experiencing all the enchantment and obstacles the trail offers! A 2015 film version of their journey is available, but may be just as crude. If you can overlook that, you will have a belly laugh or two.

Content caution 📒: language, crass humor

Book Review: All My Knotted-up Life

In 2009, I had the time of my life returning to my old stomping grounds in DeKalb, IL, for a women's retreat where we did a Beth Moore Bible Study. I have also read a few Beth Moore books. Way back in 2008, I read Feathers from my Nest. I've even dipped into her poetry, in Things Pondered and Further Still. It turns out that her earliest poetry book was self-published. In this book, All My Knotted-up Life, Beth calls it "an earnest attempt," but "embarrassingly poorly done." Yet, I enjoyed them and found her vulnerability refreshing and real. This memoir hit on a few things that I knew from the poetry books, but extended it with more specifics. In the previous ones, she hinted at childhood sexual abuse. In this memoir, she identifies the perpetrator as her own father.

For the life of me, I cannot understand this dynamic. Yet, it happens repeatedly to young girls. How could a man do such a thing to his own daughter? The damage, the confliction, the abuse of power... all of it is just despicable. One who is meant to protect, turns everything on its head and perpetrates emotionally scarring abuse? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)

Then I read of the trauma Beth's husband experienced at the tender age of two, when his four-year-old brother was killed in front of his eyes in an explosion. My heart aches for Beth and Keith, trying to blend lives with enough baggage to sink a ship. And yet, they have endured. Internal conflicts, along with the external pressures of fame, did not drive them apart. They are to be commended.

This life-story was engrossing and disturbing, in equal measures. In the final chapters, Beth outlines the events and reactions that led her to leave the Southern Baptist denomination. It must have been excruciating to seek another church when your name is so well-known. Yet, they found comfort in an Anglican church and are healing their wounds. I appreciated Beth's vulnerability and honesty, her sincere transparency. It is clear she was not concerned with presenting a sanitized version of herself, the way some might. She lays it all out and admits her weaknesses and challenges. I pray people will cut her some slack and call off the dogs.  

Book Review: Please Sorry Thanks

Ever since I encountered In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, I've been a fan of Mark Batterson's books. He turns a clever phrase. He drives home significant points through story. My goal is to become a better person and follow harder after Christ. His books always bolster that goal.

In Please Sorry Thanks, Batterson highlights three words that, when used honestly, can change people, situations, and relationships. We should all make use of these powerful words. As it states on the back cover, "Nothing opens doors like please. Nothing mends fences like sorry. Nothing builds bridges like thanks."

While please and thanks hold importance, for me the most significant passages fell to the word sorry. I appreciated his explanation for three levels of forgiveness: detached forgiveness, limited forgiveness, and full forgiveness. I know my tendency is to jump just far enough to offer detached forgiveness, but that is insufficient. What we need is full forgiveness, and that is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

I also appreciated the section on sorry because it articulated a difficulty I encountered with our traumatic event in June. He writes, "If someone is grieving, you don't have to solve the situation for them. In fact, you can't.... offer a sincere sorry. Give the gift of tears... of ears." The ones who ministered most effectively offered tears, ears, and prayers. They did so with no accompanying judgment or instruction. Thankfully, God loves us despite our sin and waywardness. Indeed, as Batterson observes, "The love of God is... not contingent upon our performance." And he further articulated something I learn from that trauma, "What God does for us is never just for us, it's always for others."

It is my prayer that I will build on the lessons learned in this book. I want to seek the kingdom success of a giving spirit that serves others. In that endeavor, I plan to implement these three magic words even more in my life. I will pursue with please and apologize sincerely with sorry. I will express gratitude in recognition of the miraculous in my life. Perhaps my words will help change the world. This civility (of please, sorry, and thanks) brings everyone to the table.

Book Review: The Wager

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann showed up on my library's recent acquisitions list. I had heard good things about his book, Killers of the Flower Moon, but that topic wasn't stirring me enough. This seemed to suit my interests more. What an absorbing read! Like I've done with Hillenbrand's Unbroken and Brown's Under a Flaming Sky, I couldn't help but read passages aloud to my sons and husband. Fascinating!

As the story goes, in 1738, a Spanish officer supposedly cut off a British officer's ear. This triggered the "War of Jenkins' Ear." England was desperate to retaliate and assert their imperial superiority. They sent a vessel, the Wager, among a fleet of ships, pursuing a Spanish galleon rumored to hold untold treasure. Thousands of sailors set out on this secret mission; only hundreds returned.

After navigating the treacherous route around Cape Horn, the ship hit a rocky bottom near a deserted island. Food supplies dwindled, morale declined, and anarchy threatened. This book isn't for the faint-hearted. It details amputation, scurvy, and all manner of deaths at sea. Thanks to Grann's narrative skill, you get a feel for the diverse personalities at play in this drama of high stakes. 

The inside cover aptly proclaims: "His portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court-martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spell-bound." I devoured this book in a few days. It was impossible to look away.