Yesterday was beautiful. We went out as a family in the afternoon, just as the sun was starting to dip into that late afternoon angle and it made our walk through the woods shimmer and shake with gold. I love being with my kids, on the move, breathing deeply of wet leaves (a smell which Zoë wrinkled her nose at and I worried for the state of her soul) and pine and the faint hint of woodsmoke. They were all being silly and talkative, and I tried to enjoy their chatter instead of wishing I could just hear the silence of the woods.
Being out there was so life giving. It was a small sampling of the Beauty-first idea that Timothy Patitsas does more than take a deep dive into in his book, The Ethics of Beauty. I’ve been astounded by this read. I’m only a short way in and am already so moved by the insights, or perhaps affirmations that come from his exploration of an entire way of looking at the world through the Orthodox Christian tradition. He begins in a place I would not have guessed: the trauma and PTSD experienced by war veterans. That’s all I can say for now. This book is probably not for everyone. It’s a tome, and it is expensive. But it tells a story that on some level I both recognize and feel the need to listen to.
Being Elisabeth Elliot: The Authorized Biography
If you’ve read Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s, Jesus and John Wayne, and have never read anything by Elisabeth Elliot, you may have a bad taste in your mouth when you see her name. I grew up on EE, as we fondly called her. I wasn’t fed her books from a Purity Culture standpoint, but rather from a mother who wanted me to read words from a woman who thought deeply, lived radically, and wrote with power and conviction. I had read most of what Elisabeth wrote before I graduated high school. To say I was shaped by her thinking, and this before I had much of any life or faith experience to work it out in, is to put it lightly. I say all that because I read this two-part biography of Elisabeth’s life with love and appreciation for her, and without a need for hagiography or happy endings— neither of which this book offers.
How Far To the Promised Land: One Black family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South
I have followed Esau McCaulley’s work for several years now. He is a rare and special breed these days. He is able to write and see things from a perspective that is often baffling to all sides. His orthodoxy is strong and clear and uncompromising, but he toes no party lines. And this memoir is no different. Somehow, he has the ability to see his life and the history of his people with both clarity and mystery, with fire and also forgiveness. He will not tell the story the way anyone thinks he should. But his effort, his aim, is not to defy the system or please, or even displease. He wants to see things as perhaps only God can see it. And for that you need a vision— and the veil lifted. How can you see the suffering of an enslaved people and also see God’s faithful hand in it? How can you see your own life and not overplay the struggles or undersell God’s presence? Somehow, in this book— he is able to do it all.
The Fellowship of the Ring
There is nothing new here. I just wanted to include it because I’m reading it with Quinn, and I haven’t read it in years. Oh Gandalf, with your wisdom for the ages, and Sam with your depth of friendship and loyalty, Frodo with your unlikely courage and strength, and all the stories that make your heart ache (Gollum’s pathetic fall into ruin, the weakness of Men, the tragic fall of Isildur). I feel strengthened each time I sit down and mouth the words of these great heroes.
Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy
This is a rather academic read, though accessible. Here’s the thing I appreciate about it: I love Augustine’s Confessions, and I have great appreciation for this great theologian. But he gets a bad rap in some circles, and I always have a feeling the people who have a hard time with him don’t tell the whole story, or understand his points in their breadth and depth. I’m grateful for the way Ortlund breaks down some of those misunderstandings, and gives a very thorough and scholarly outline of Augustine’s views. The creation debate is just one of those areas of dispute and this book takes a deep dive into this great theologian’s thirst for understanding. To read him and to experience his highest respect for the Scriptures is to lift your eyes higher and be bolstered on all sides. Even if you don’t agree with his conclusions, you will not match his scholarship, his spiritual seeking, his humility, his desire for and worship of God in Christ. Amen. That is all.
I picked this up because I’ve heard David Brook’s refer to it as one of the pivotal books that helped him in his long conversion to Christianity. Well, it’s a poet who writes this memoir of sorts and… I’m hooked.
I realize there is not a lot of critique in these blurbs. It would appear I can only love everything I read, and have no thoughtful criticisms. It reminds me of a class I took in college, where every new reading that was handed to me I ate up with new fervor. I remember feeling a little sheepish that I was so quick to hang my hat on every new thought I was being exposed to. It was an exciting time for sure.
Maybe it’s just been a good couple days. Or I need to read something outside of my comfort zone. Maybe I’m just feeling agreeable.
I could tell you all the things I listened to this week that I disagreed with, but that just feels mean. So I’ll leave you with this very cheerleader-y booklist and count it a win that there are good stories and memoirs and thoughtful theologians and insightful poets to enjoy.
I always enjoy when you share book lists! I end up with a few new titles that intrigue me and usually a reminder of one that I had wanted to get...Becoming Elisabeth Elliot has been on my peripheral for a while now.