Monday of the First Week in Lent
It remains true that loneliness often leads to hostile behavior and that solitude is the climate of hospitality. When we feel lonely we have such a need to be liked and loved that we are hypersensitive to the many signals in our environment and easily become hostile toward anyone whom we perceive as rejecting us. But once we have found the center of our life in our own heart and have accepted our aloneness, not as a fate but as a vocation, we are able to offer freedom to others…We can only perceive the stranger as an enemy as long as we have something to defend. But when we say, “please enter- my house is your house, my joy is your joy, my sadness is your sadness, and my life is your life,” we have nothing to defend, since we have nothing to lose but all to give….Who will be our robber when everything he wants to steal from us becomes our gift to him?...Who wants to sneak into our back door, when our front door is wide open?”
Show Me the Way, Henri Nouwen
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
God vs. Neighbor
First Sunday in Lent
“Perhaps we must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God. At least we feel that our attention should be divided evenly between God and our neighbor…It is this unconditional and unreserved love for God that leads to the care for our neighbor, not as an activity which distracts us from God or competes with our attention to God, but as an expression of our love for God who reveals himself to us as the God of all people. It is in God that we find our neighbors and discover our responsibility to them. We might even say that only in God does our neighbor become a neighbor rather than an infringement upon our autonomy, and that only in and through God does service become possible.”
-Show Me the Way Henri Nouwen
“Perhaps we must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God. At least we feel that our attention should be divided evenly between God and our neighbor…It is this unconditional and unreserved love for God that leads to the care for our neighbor, not as an activity which distracts us from God or competes with our attention to God, but as an expression of our love for God who reveals himself to us as the God of all people. It is in God that we find our neighbors and discover our responsibility to them. We might even say that only in God does our neighbor become a neighbor rather than an infringement upon our autonomy, and that only in and through God does service become possible.”
-Show Me the Way Henri Nouwen
Friday, March 18, 2011
Lent Readings...
I'm reading through Show Me the Way, an anthology of Henri Nouwen for Lent. There have been quite a few things that I've wanted to think about harder, and that I believe are worthwhile to share with others. So here is the first installment.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
“[When our lives are transformed]…What is new is that we no longer experience the many things, people, and events as endless causes for worry, but begin to experience them as the rich variety of ways in which God makes his presence known to us.”
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
“[When our lives are transformed]…What is new is that we no longer experience the many things, people, and events as endless causes for worry, but begin to experience them as the rich variety of ways in which God makes his presence known to us.”
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Death with Interruptions...
a couple gems from Jose Saramago's Nobel Prize for Literature winning book...
“Context gives not only the background, but all the innumerable other grounds that exist between the subject observed and the line of the horizon.” -69
“It is still too early...so it can sleep a little more. This is what insomniacs say when they have not slept a wink all night, thinking, poor things, that they can fool sleep by asking for a little more, just a little more, when they have not yet been granted one minute of repose.” -204
“Context gives not only the background, but all the innumerable other grounds that exist between the subject observed and the line of the horizon.” -69
“It is still too early...so it can sleep a little more. This is what insomniacs say when they have not slept a wink all night, thinking, poor things, that they can fool sleep by asking for a little more, just a little more, when they have not yet been granted one minute of repose.” -204
Friday, December 31, 2010
Books Read 2010
So this is the list of books I read this year. It's a nice list- I probably overachieved a bit, but didn't quite make the goal of 2 books a week like I was trying. I don't anticipate reading this much in the coming year as I plan on taking more classes (in addition to work, church, friends, etc.) I didn't finish reading my Bible in Spanish like I'd planned. I think that's something I really need to do in 2011. I also would like to read more theology books. This year was full of "classics" which was nice, because I think I've mostly avoided them in the past. Although reading some of the "classics" always makes you wonder how they achieved that status. I didn't read as much non-fiction as I usually do. If anybody wants specific feedback/recommendations/etc. on particular books I would love to share!
Girls Gone Mild by Wendy Shalit
Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton
Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis -*
Light at Tern Rock by Julie Sauer
Stitches: a memoir... by David Small -G
Night by Elie Wiesel -O*
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis -*
Flush by Carl Hiassen -*
Living Well on Practically Nothing by Edward H. Romney
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov -O
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier -*
Interworld by Neil Gaimen -*
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -*
Chile: Death in the South by Jacobo Timerman -O
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson -O*
February
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury -*
Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff
The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli -O*
When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead -*
Babylon By Bus by Lemoine and Neumann
The World Is Flat [Updated]: A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas Friedman-* (I quit 3/4 of the way through though. I couldn't bear to finish it.)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding -*
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Two Reds by Will and Nicholas
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
March
Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes by Robert Brown -T
The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry -T?
Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo
Confessions of St. Augustine; translated by Outler by St. Augustine -*T
Antiquities of the Jews: Books I-V by Flavius Josephus -*T
The Lost Gospel of Mary by Frederica Mathewes-Green -T
April
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card -*
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (read and listened. great combo.)
The Violence of Love by Oscar Romero -T
You Must Kiss a Whale by David Skinner
May
Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global eds. Eidse and Sichel
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger -*
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri -*
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi -*
June
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri -*
Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill -*T
¡Gracias! A Latin American Journal by Henri J.M. Nouwen -T
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane -*
July
Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill -* T(and skimmed the book for footnotes)
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card -*
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer and Barrows -*
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Drops like Stars by Rob Bell -OT
On the Road by Jack Kerouac -O* (listened mostly, it's worth being listened to simply for the rhythm of Dean Moriarty's words...but I read the last bit)
August
King Lear by Shakespeare
At the Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green -T
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen -*
Rex Libris Volume 1: I, Librarianby James Turner -G
Around the world with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
Organization of Information: Third Edition by Arlene Taylor (read parts, skimmed parts)
Home Economics by Wendell Berry -O T?
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson -*
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather -*
September
Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe by Thomas Cahill -* T (listened and read, pretty pictures!)
October
How to Be a Gentleman: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy by John Bridges
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. by Bart Ehrman -* T
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton -* T (definitely need to re-read)
November
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris -O T
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card -*
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho -*
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld -*
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro -*
A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary by Alain De Botton
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton -*
The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 by Trudy Bell
Simply Christian by N.T. Wright -T
December
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waughn -*
To Know Him: Beyond Religion Waits a Relationship that will Change Your Life by Gloria Copeland -O T
Books I REALLY REALLY wanted to read but didn't get to in a timely manner...
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor
A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories by Flannery O'Connor
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (10 pages in)
Nectar In A Sieve by Kamala Markandaya (80 pages in)
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago
All the Names by Jose Saramago
Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago (really, all of the books by Saramago that I've never read. but these are the ones I had from the library)
March
Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes by Robert Brown -T
The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry -T?
Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo
Confessions of St. Augustine; translated by Outler by St. Augustine -*T
Antiquities of the Jews: Books I-V by Flavius Josephus -*T
The Lost Gospel of Mary by Frederica Mathewes-Green -T
April
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card -*
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (read and listened. great combo.)
The Violence of Love by Oscar Romero -T
You Must Kiss a Whale by David Skinner
May
Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global eds. Eidse and Sichel
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger -*
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri -*
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi -*
June
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri -*
Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill -*T
¡Gracias! A Latin American Journal by Henri J.M. Nouwen -T
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane -*
July
Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill -* T(and skimmed the book for footnotes)
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card -*
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer and Barrows -*
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Drops like Stars by Rob Bell -OT
On the Road by Jack Kerouac -O* (listened mostly, it's worth being listened to simply for the rhythm of Dean Moriarty's words...but I read the last bit)
August
King Lear by Shakespeare
At the Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green -T
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen -*
Rex Libris Volume 1: I, Librarianby James Turner -G
Around the world with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
Organization of Information: Third Edition by Arlene Taylor (read parts, skimmed parts)
Home Economics by Wendell Berry -O T?
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson -*
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather -*
September
Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe by Thomas Cahill -* T (listened and read, pretty pictures!)
October
How to Be a Gentleman: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy by John Bridges
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. by Bart Ehrman -* T
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton -* T (definitely need to re-read)
November
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris -O T
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card -*
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho -*
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld -*
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro -*
A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary by Alain De Botton
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton -*
The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 by Trudy Bell
Simply Christian by N.T. Wright -T
December
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waughn -*
To Know Him: Beyond Religion Waits a Relationship that will Change Your Life by Gloria Copeland -O T
Moving Pictures by Kathryn and Stuart Immonen -G
A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld -G
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery -*
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -* (set in Spain and Europe? holla.)
Forget Sorrow by Belle Yang -G
The Cincinnati Subway: History of Rapid Transit by Allen Singer
My Antonia by Willa Cather -*
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway -*
Pride and Prejudice by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus -G
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett -*
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James -*
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy -*
Daisy Miller by Henry James -*
Garden of Eating: Food, Sex and the Hunger for Meaning by Jeremy Iggers -O
Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton compiled by Bauer and Cleary -O T
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald -*
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -*
(91) Total
(48) Audiobooks-*
(11) Owned books-O
(6) Graphic Novels-G
(19) Theology Related- T (of course, every book has theology in it, some are just more focused on it than others)
A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld -G
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery -*
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -* (set in Spain and Europe? holla.)
Forget Sorrow by Belle Yang -G
The Cincinnati Subway: History of Rapid Transit by Allen Singer
My Antonia by Willa Cather -*
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway -*
Pride and Prejudice by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus -G
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett -*
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James -*
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy -*
Daisy Miller by Henry James -*
Garden of Eating: Food, Sex and the Hunger for Meaning by Jeremy Iggers -O
Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton compiled by Bauer and Cleary -O T
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald -*
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -*
(91) Total
(48) Audiobooks-*
(11) Owned books-O
(6) Graphic Novels-G
(19) Theology Related- T (of course, every book has theology in it, some are just more focused on it than others)
Books I REALLY REALLY wanted to read but didn't get to in a timely manner...
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor
A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories by Flannery O'Connor
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (10 pages in)
Nectar In A Sieve by Kamala Markandaya (80 pages in)
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago
All the Names by Jose Saramago
Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago (really, all of the books by Saramago that I've never read. but these are the ones I had from the library)
One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (partway through)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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