Christmas in Plains: Memories

I received Christmas in Plains as a gift and it has been on my shelves for a couple years. I finally picked it up this holiday season and read it. It was a very nice collection of stories from President Carter's life - all the way from when he was a little boy to his years in the White House to the nineties.

I had the opportunity to meet President Carter a couple times through my media relations position with Habitat for Humanity in 2003. So for me, it was fun to read this prose knowing exactly the tone and personality that President Carter would have if he read this aloud.

To recap:

Worth Reading? No

Recommend to a Friend? No...not really unless you're a Carter fan

Worth Buying My Own Copy? No - Use your local library

Stars: 3 out of 5

Under the Overpass

I’ve kind of been on a non-fiction book kick as of late and more specifically books focused on the social justice aspect of the Christian walk. (However, in contrast… I am now reading a completely predictable and sappy WWII Christian romance novel that is lame but I for some reason can’t abandon reading it…)

“Under the Overpass” is the first book in this genre that pulled back the curtain and allowed me to really comprehend the reality of homelessness in America. Instead of encouraging me to do this or that because the Bible says so or because I have been so blessed, the author, Mike Yankoski, took me on a journey to not just “tell me”, but to “show me.”

During college, Yankoski became convicted to experience life on the streets of America. He teamed up with a friend, Sam, and the two of them spent five months living homeless in six different US cities during 2003. The pair each left with a backpack, sleeping bag and guitar and survived by panhandling while playing music and taking advantage of generosity of soup kitchens and hospitality of local churches.

There were four things that stood out to me in this book:

- From the very beginning of the book, I was inspired by the sheer obedience Yankoski displayed in taking on the challenge of living homeless. It’s a crazy idea, but even gutsier to follow through and willingly put himself on the streets. I’m sorry…I don’t think I could do it!

- There’s a section where Yankoski describes homeless men and women who have obvious and severe mental illness issues. We’ve all seen people like he described…living in their own personal “hells” day after day. It makes one wonder how many of them are perhaps living under the power of demons like the man Jesus encountered in Mark 5:1-20.

- I was actually really impressed and surprised that Yankoski and his companion made an effort to attend a local church every Sunday. Yankowski describes many of these experiences and the varying reactions he received from “Christians.” Sadly, I can see that I would react similarly (apprehensive and stand offish) in some of the same instances if I were being completely honest with myself.

Lastly, I kept cringing every time Yankoski described the usual way “nice, normal” people averted their eyes and walked in a different direction to avoid coming close to the author and his traveling companion Sam. I do this all the time…I feel so paralyzed when I get in these situations. You want to help, but society has sold us a lie that we shouldn’t give homeless people money because all they will do is buy drugs or alcohol to support their habit. I thought Yankoski did a wonderful job shedding some light on ways I can navigate this better in the future.

Bottom line, I really enjoyed this narrative about living on the streets. It certainly could have been grittier (all vulgarities and crude language was removed out of respect for the readers and standards of the publisher), yet I felt it deconstructed enough of the wall I have around me to begin seeing men and women living in homelessness. I know I’ll have to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide my steps in terms of how I respond to what I see, but I feel this book has armed me with new a understanding and courage to take my own journey in this area.

You can read the first chapter of the book here.

The publisher has also created a pretty comprehensive action plan for “next steps” after reading the book.

NOTE: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as part of their Blogging for Books program.

To recap:

Worth Reading? Yes

Recommend to a Friend? Yes…to those who have an interest in this topic

Worth Buying My Own Copy? Not necessarily unless you like to lend books out a lot.

Stars: 4 out of 5

Out Live Your Life

I have been praying the last couple months about whether to co-lead our community outreach ministry. A few weeks ago I saw this book and put it on my "to read" list and put in a request at Mead Public Library. I figure I have no idea what I'm doing stepping forward and leading a community outreach ministry so I do what I always do...read a book!

Book Description: (from maxlucado.com)

These are difficult days in our world’s history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God’s love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let’s live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I've only read one other Max Lucado book, but I really like how this book is paced and the direct application that is found within each chapter. I thought the stories were memorable and illustrated key take aways very well. Loved the illustrations using Joshua Bell and Father Damien.

Often times one feels despair after reading statistics such as:

• 1.75 billion people are desperately poor
• 1 billion are hungry
• Each year nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.
• There are 145 million orphans worldwide.

Yet...there are solutions if we only had the courage to seek them out:

• Yet, a mere 2% of the world's grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition around the world.
• Nearly 226 million people in the U.S. call themselves "Christians." From a pure mathematical point of view, there should be fewer orphans in the world.

For me, one of the most convicting prose in the book was when Lucado recounts a time when he was challenged in a span of one week with the following questions:

1. If you were a Christian German living during WWII under Hitler's rule, would you have stood up to the atrocities that were happening to your fellow Jewish German neighbors?

2. If you were living in the South during the American Civil Rights movement, would you have stood up against the injustices of prejudice and segregation?

For the first two questions, I know I would like to say "yes, I would have" - although who knows if I would have the boldness. I'm kind of a chicken who doesn't like to rock the boat at times.

So the last question that was posed to Lucado was this:

3. If your grandchildren asked you "Why did billions of people go hungry when you were young, but there was plenty of food to be shared?" how would you respond?

A very convicting question... Will our children's children look back on this time in history and be in shock that we did nothing for the least of these when we had the knowledge, technology and resources to do otherwise?

To recap:

Worth reading? Yes

Recommend to a friend? Yes

Worth buying my own copy? Yes - lots of great action items you'll want to go back and reference

Stars: 5 out of 5

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

Shane Claiborne's book "The Irresistible Revolution" wrecked me - in a good way - when I read it last year. So I was excited to stumble across another one of his books - Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. I usually don't pick up books on "prayer," but the title and premise of this book was intriguing. It was also a short read - 120 pages.

Book Description: (from IndieBound)

"Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do." --from the Introduction Activists Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove show how prayer and action must go together. Their exposition of key Bible passages provides concrete examples of how a life of prayer fuels social engagement and the work of justice. Phrases like "give us this day our daily bread" and "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" take on new meaning when applied to feeding the hungry or advocating for international debt relief. If you hope to see God change society, you must be an ordinary radical who prays--and then is ready to become the answer to your own prayers.

I really enjoyed this book, but found at times that perhaps I don't have big enough faith to truly live out the challenges presented in the book. There's a part of me that wants to live radically, but feels suffocated and censored to do anything about it. Living like Jesus is so hard. Yet, as I was reminded on the second to last page of the book:

"You are the only Jesus some people will ever see. We get to become the body of Christ, to be people who remind the world of Jesus. We are God's body. None of us is Christ alone, but all of us are Christ together. We are God's body in this world."

I remember feeling this way last year after reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Irresistible Revolution. My prayer is that I don't let this fire I feel in my heart die out to complacency again, but rather I trust God to take little steps towards becoming more and more like Jesus and loving His people.

To Recap:

Worth Reading? Yes, if you are serious about prayer and social justice

Worth Buying My Own Copy? No

Recommend to Friends? Yes...my poor husband now has another book recommendation

Stars: 4 out of 5

The Book Whisperer

As some of you know, I have a 6-year-old daughter named Gretchen. Gretchen is in first grade and although I feel she is exceptionally bright (what mother doesn't?), she absolutely hates doing her reading and math homework. In particular, I'm surprised she hasn't taken to her reading homework as we find she has always loved having books read to her. I know she can read tough words - she surprises me every day with the words she sounds out and tells me she can read - but she has no interest in reading the 1 page story she has to read to me 3 times each night.

Out of desperation, I came across "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller at my local library. As I have read this book I felt like the clouds parted and the heavens started singing. This teacher - Donalyn Miller - gets it. As she describes how she gets her 6th graders to read 40 books a year, I am in awe of how on the mark she is about why people, like me, end up being life-long readers. The current system we have in American schools for standardized tests, comprehension assignments, etc. nearly extinguishes any passion children may have for reading.

Some of the key things Miller does in her classroom are:

1. Independent reading (upwards of 30 minutes a day) happens in her classroom every single day

2. Students are allowed to select the books they read to achieve their 40 book requirement - making sure they read adequate amounts of books from various genres

3. She rarely requires book reports or comprehension tests; she gauges whether a student is reading by talking with the students and offering recommendations for future reading

Seems too simply, right?

At the end of 2008 I got sucked into reading the Twilight series of books. And when I finally emerged from a 3 week reading binge I realized how much I missed reading. Since finishing college in 2001 I had unintentionally taken a hiatus from the voracious amounts of reading I did in high school and college. As much as I find the Twilight books annoying now, I do credit them with rekindling a love of reading and now a somewhat obsessive hobby to those who know and love me.

I think Donalyn Miller summed up my feelings how books help us to relate to each other as humans. We need to encourage students to become a lifelong readers because of this need to relate.

p. 173 of "The Book Whisperer"

This is how I show my students that I love them - by putting books in their hands, by noticing what they are about, and finding books that tell them, 'I know. I know. I know how it is. I know who you are, and even though we may never speak of it, read this book, and know that I understand you.' We speak in this language of books passing back and forth, books that say, 'You are a dreamer; read this.' 'You are hurting inside; read this.' 'Your need a good laugh; read this.'

I can't recommend this book highly enough to parents and educators who want to encourage children to love to read. My prayer is that I have a daughter who soon discovers this love for reading and grabs it and makes it her own.

To recap:

Worth reading: Definitely

Worth buying my own copy: If you're an educator, yes

Recommend to friends: Yes

Stars: 5 out of 5

PS - Donalyn Miller has a blog with teachermagazine.org that is worth checking out. Twitter handle: http://twitter.com/donalynbooks

If I Perish

Book Description:

Remarkable story of the savage persecuation of a Christian in Korea during World War II, Ahn E. Sook (Esther Ahn Kim) stood alone among thousands of kneeling people. Her bold defiance of the tyrannical demand to bow to pagan Japanese shrines condemned her to a living death in the filth and degradation of a Japanese prison. This brave woman remained faithful to Christ in the face of brutality, oppression, and ruthlessness of her captors. The story of how she won many of her fellow prisoners to Christ, in the most deplorable conditions, is an inspirtation to all.

I reviewed Francis Chan's latest book "Forgotten God" this past fall. In this book he cites a Korean Christian woman who spent five years in Japanese prisons during WWII because she refused to worship Japanese shrines (which was a law at that time.) He described how this woman, knowing she would be going to prison in the near future, memorized several books of the Bible and ate rotten food in order to prepare herself for the harsh realities of prison.

Let me just restate that: She ate ROTTEN food BEFORE she was ever put in prison!!!

No one made her.

She did it out of her own choosing.

To prepare.

Wow...

I was intrigued by this story of perseverance and faith, so I check out Esther Ahn Kim's autobiography "If I Perish." Overall, I really enjoyed reading about this woman's life. I have to admit that halfway through it I shook my head and said "this woman can't be real." She was so good. Her compassionate reactions to the persecution of her jailers and fellow prisoners is amazing. Her bravery is inspiring.

It was a great book to read, albeit hard sometimes. It was awful reading about the Japanese cruelty to the Korean Christian prisoners. Yet it was a bold testimony of having undying faith for a God that will never go back on His promises.

To recap:

Worth reading? Yes

Worth buying my own copy? No

Recommend to friends? Maybe...those who are interested in this topic

Stars: 4 out of 5

Forgotten God

Earlier this year I devoured a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Francis is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Semi Valley, California. I had the pleasure of hearing Francis give the closing keystone at the 2008 Willow Creek Arts Conference. The message God spoke through Francis that day was so powerful (and I find myself listening to it a couple times a year to keep the flame alive in my heart that God can do amazing things through the church. This fall he released "Forgotten God" which covers the sometimes overwhelming topic of the Holy Spirit.

Overview of book:

Has today's church forgotten the Holy Spirit?God put His Spirit in us so we could be known for our power. Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent and intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it. In Forgotten God, breakthrough authorFrancis Chan returns us to the Holy Spirit as the Bible describes Him and invites us to understand, embrace and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives.

Before picking up this book I found myself kind of stalled out in my relationship with God. I wasn't angry or disappointed with God...the best way I could describe my feeling was bored. I was bored with God. I was bored "doing church." And frankly I was scared to think that this is all that I have to look forward to living as a Christian. Boredom.

This book has helped me realize that we rely entirely too much on our own strength to reach others with the gospel message. One of the most eye-opening parts of this book was when Chan describes how the disciples of Jesus had scattered when He was arrested, "yet when the Holy Spirit descended and indwelt them, a radical change occurred." From that point on these disciples had power. They healed. They became martyrs. They were bold to share the gospel with the world. They weren't cowardly followers any longer. So...what's happened since then? Why has the church become so tame and timid?

Another powerful takeaway for me was his chapter about discerning God's voice. So often we worry and fret about hearing God's voice clearly before making a radical decision or change. "We focus on what God wants us to do and forget the kind of people He wants us to be. Instead of mustering up more willpower, let's focus our energies and time on asking for help from the One who has the power to change us. Let's take the time to ask God to put the fruit of His Spirit into our lives. And let's spend time with the One we want to be more like."

This book has given me a wonderful shot in the arm. As I read scripture during my quiet time I am recognizing when the Holy Spirit is at work in the passage. It's amazing how many of these verses talk about the Holy Spirit yet I've never given consideration to it. I realize now that the key to busting the boredom is living according to the spirit - not by my power.

I was listening to a podcast from Cornerstone tonight and heard Francis mention that he is writing a book on marriage with his wife Lisa. If it is as good as "Crazy Love" and "Forgotten God," I can't wait to check it out.

To recap:

Worth reading? Yes

Worth buying my own copy? Yes (this may be a Christmas gift for my husband)

Recommend to friends? Absolutely (small group bible study book idea???)

Stars: 5 out of 5