Book Review: "God in Slow Motion" by Mike Nappa

Have you ever started reading a book and by the beginning of the second chapter you think of all the people you know who could really use this kind of book? (In a good, encouraging kind of way - not a self-righteous, "I'm trying to fix you" kind of way!) Mike Nappa's God in Slow Motion is the latest book to fall into that category for me.

With chapter titles like, "Mysterious Grace," "Stolen Miracles," and "Insulting Greatness," to name a few, this book had my interest before I even started reading. And once I started reading, I was hooked. This was the book I've been looking for - it was rooted in the truth of the Scriptures, but with a very practical, "what this looks like in real life" theme. And for concrete thinkers like myself this book was a true help in my walk.

One of the aspects of this book that was encouraging to me was the section in the “Brutal Love” chapter where Nappa brings to light the promises of Scripture that are not going to be found in current feel-good, prosperity gospel kinds of current literature. You know, the ones like, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Real life can be very difficult and it was a great comfort to be reminded that through it all, good, bad, ugly and everything else, Christ is there with us... even when we don't understand or agree with what's happening – and that's a reminder I really need every once in a while.

At the end of the book, the author requests that you don't keep the book, but instead give it away to someone. And as much as I would love to share this, I can't bring myself to give away my copy. I really will be buying copies for those people that I thought of when I started reading. Then we'll see if they can give away theirs at the end!

Book Review: "Death by Living" by N. D. Wilson

Recently I finished reading Death by Living: Life is Meant to be Spent by N. D. Wilson. According to the publisher, “bestselling author N.D. Wilson reminds each of us that to truly live we must recognize that we are dying. Every second we create more of our past—more decisions, more breathing, more love and more loathing, all of it slides by into the gone as we race to grab at more moments, at more memories made and already fading.”
I'll be really honest - I'm still not entirely sure what I thought of this book. Parts of it I really enjoyed, while some parts left me scratching my head, wondering what I was missing here. My initial thoughts on what a book with this title would be like were completely wrong. I was expecting something of a self-help/encouragement along the road of life for people, like myself, who tend to be more conservative in our actions. What this book actually turned out to be was more of a memoir of the author's generations past and his reflections on his own young family. Honestly, the genealogist in me found the best parts of this book to be the stories of his grandparents. They grew up in a time very different from my own and lived lives that were worthy of being shared. I loved reading them and wished the book had more of them.
All in all, I think maybe my own preconceived notions about what this book would be clouded my thoughts on what it actually was.

Book Review: "Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye"

   My latest read, “Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye” by Len Bailey was an interesting concept that had me intrigued as soon as I read the subtitle: “The World’s Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible’s Ultimate Mysteries.” I am a lover of mystery books, including Sherlock Holmes, and also love gleaning new understanding of Biblical stories.
   Part of what made this book so much fun to read was the set up. The book is designed for use as a Bible study or just as a collection of stories. You, as the reader, have the choice of answering the questions for each story at the back of the book before beginning to read or not – and just reading it like any other book. I do have one caveat in this regard. I chose to read the book as a Bible study, but my Bible is a Study Bible. I made the mistake of reading my Bible’s study notes while I was answering the questions, which unfortunately solved the first mystery before I even read it. So, if you choose to do it as a Bible study, just read the biblical text. It will make the stories much more fun.
   And the stories really are a lot of fun to read. There are ten different mysteries, from both the Old and New Testament, and it is the job of world famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson to figure out the mysteries they have been presented with. Some of them are a little easier than others to solve, and one in particular was actually pretty moving to me as a Christian (“Dead Man Walking”).
   Overall this was a great summer read and was easy to pick up without feeling lost because it had been too long since you put it down last.

Book Review: "What's Your Mark?"

When I first read the description of "What's Your Mark?" by photographer Jeremy Cowart, I was instantly intrigued. It promised to be inspiration in the form of real people making their "mark" on the world as they follow Jesus. These stories would be interspersed within the pages of the gospel of Mark. One of the questions posed in the description was, "What will be your mark?"

Before I received the book, I kept thinking about what kind of mark I am currently making and upon whom said mark is being made. I was a little bit nervous that reading these stories would make me feel inadequate in my attempts to leave a mark as I follow Jesus. However, once I got into the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Aside from being the first time I actually read the gospel of Mark from start to finish, I honestly liked reading the stories of the people Cowart profiled. As I expected, it was easy to relate to some of the "mark makers," and more difficult to relate to others. What I didn't expect was to be blown away by several of the stories I read. Some of the selflessness displayed by the people being profiled was astounding to me.

I think one of my favorite things about this book was that, with a few exceptions, the people being profiled were just "everyday" people who used their passions, talents and love to make a difference in the lives of other people. My kids complain that there are never any good stories on the news... This little book is a collection of good stories that really deserve to be told.

Medieval Unit Study

Having two children with four years and various abilities between them, makes homeschooling a fantastic journey for me. Despite being four years, almost to the day, apart, my children have some similar interests; not identical, but definitely similar. One of their common interests is King Arthur. My daughter loves the thought of chivalrous knights and fair maidens riding horses. My son longs to be a knight on horse fighting a dragon. See what I mean? Similar, not identical.
This makes Social Studies pretty fun for us. This year my daughter is spending her school year learning about various countries around the world. My son is spending his year learning about the various warrior culture associated with the part of the world she studies. So far we studied Mongolia and Genghis Khan; Japan and ninjas/samurai; Scandinavian countries and vikings. Our next trip will be to the British Isles in order to study knights and castles of the Middle Ages.
As a setup project for the unit study, my kids have been given jobs as travel agents. My daughter is in charge of designing a tri-fold brochure all about England (then she'll do Ireland and Scotland). My son will be responsible for creating a post card for each country, as well as "trading cards" of famous people, indigenous animals and the flag of each country.
Once we get through the current day in these places, we will travel back in time to see what they were like during the Middle Ages. I am going to be putting together the nuts and bolts of the unit each afternoon while they are off playing. I do know that I am going to be looking to find a way to make the Unit Study fun and engaging for each of them at their own level. I'm thinking that my son will complete his study by making a lapbook and my daughter by notebooking her way through. I will post updates and pictures as we go along!

The Teaching of the 12 - Part 1

For the past couple of years my husband has been trying to get me to pick up the book, "The Teaching of the 12" by Tony Jones. I'll admit that I tried reading once, but just was not interested at the time. So I put it down and left it down. Recently, however, I picked it up again to see what the book is all about.

According to the back of the book,

The Didache, an early handbook of an anonymous Christian community, "is the most important book you've never heard of." It spells out a way of life for Jesus-followers, including how to love one another, how to practice the eucharist, and how to take in wandering prophets.

So, the plan is to blog briefly on each section of the Didache as I read it. I read Jones' introduction, which for some reason, struck me as more interesting this time around than last. Who knows why? Sometimes you're ready for something and sometimes you're not, I guess!

Introduction
In the introduction, Jones describes what the church looked like in the time that this document is assumed to have been written as, "a small, if growing, band of believers, spreading across the Roman Empire. A blend of educated and uneducated, female and male, poor and rich, slaves and free, Jew and Gentile..." who had to keep their new religion "under wraps." Already this description has me intrigued. To think of so many different types of people all having this one thing in common is kind of interesting to me. It makes me think of my own church (which, admittedly, I love dearly) and makes me wonder what it might look like with such a diverse group of congregants....
The rest of the Intro is the story of how the Didache came to be in our hands today. A brief and fun history lesson. :) The best line in this section is what hit home for me: "The real power of the Didache is its ability to remind us what is truly important in Christianity: showing the love of Jesus to the world."

Now that is something I could enjoy reading.