Mini Reviews (Part 2)

Here are a few more mini book reviews - one from a book I just completed on the weekend, and the others from books I read later in 2010.

Tea With Hezbollah (Ted Dekker & Carl Medearis)

This book chronicles a journey of discovery that the two authors took through the Middle East, with stops in such unlikely places as Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudia Arabia and Syria, in hopes of answering the question of whether Jesus' greatest teaching to love your neighbor as yourself, and his story of the good samaritan had any relevance in the Middle East today.  I had high hopes for this one, knowing of Dekker's skill as a storyteller, and having read Medearis' excellent "Muslims, Christians, and Jesus."  Unfortunately the book mostly fell short.  It was an interesting dialogue, with some good questions, but was slow, lacking story telling.  The most compelling part of the book, a story about a young woman named Nicole, turned out to be a modern sort of parable, concocted by Dekker, and in this, his skill as a storyteller shone.  However, discovering that the story of Nicole was a parable, at the very end of the book, was disappointing, and felt like a deception, thanks to the way it had been presented, woven through the very real dialogues of the authors.  I can't decide if I'd say that this was worth the read or not.  I'm not sorry I read it, and it certainly added to my thoughts on travel, Islam, the middle east, and even terrorism, but it did fall significantly short of the hopes I'd had for it.

The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)

The Silver Chair has long been my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia, and Jill Pole amongst my favorite of the various children the series depicts.  I would be sold on the book for a scene in the first few pages alone - a scene discussing thirst and truth, and one which is well worth the price.  But I love The Silver Chair for it's themes of light and darkness, for it's idea of journeying, for the ways it depicts deception disguised as truth, for it's discussion of how easy it is to become distracted in our focus.  I honestly can't say enough good things about this one!

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (Rob Bell & Don Golden)

This book was another disappointment.  I'd loved the "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" sermon series that Bell preached several years back, and I'd loved both of Bell's previous books, "Velvet Elvis" and "Sex God", but "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" fell short for me.  Within days of finishing the book, I felt like I couldn't tell you what it was about, or whether it had important things to say - to me, this is a sign of less than stellar communication.    Looking back, I feel like it raised some important challenges for the western church, but I'd be hard pressed to define or repeat those challenges without actually opening the book and turning to find the bits and pieces I'd marked as I read through it.  Not really a recommended read, though I would be curious to listen to the audio version, as I've often found that the more stale written parts of Bell's work come alive when he is reading them and giving them a life and voice.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 167

Today's Daily 5:
(an introduction to the Daily 5 can be found by clicking the link in the sidebar, to the left)

1. A good sleep last night
2. feeling healthier
3. peanut butter toast
4. a lazy morning watching the food network
5. getting several nagging tasks on my list either at least started, or all the way completed
6. homemade, still hot from the oven yorkshire pudding with butter and jam (also good with gravy, but better, in my opinion with butter and jam)
7. a ride to the library this afternoon - essential since I had about a dozen books to return, and a few new ones to pick up
8. first day of using my Feel Good list
9. planning for the week ahead
10. curling up to sleep in my own bed

Sunday's are for Resting

Yes, yesterday finished slowly.

But I ended up spending a great deal of it feeling fairly ill, as some health stuff that flares up occasionally flared.

I cooked a fabulous new dish, part of my goal to make at least 12 over the course of the year, and ended up barely being able to eat any of it.

A long treatment from mom left me feeling a bit better, and I headed towards bed.  The bonus is that for the first time in several days, I slept fairly well.

And so, today is mostly for resting.

I haven't changed out of my pajamas yet. I'll get up in a while and shower.

I'm working on some things that need to be accomplished, but I'm doing them from a chair, watching Top Chef, wrapped in a blanket, and with magic bags across my sore hips and neck.

So I'm resting.  Because today, caring for me, letting myself heal, looks like rest.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 166

Today's Daily 5:

1. Still loving the dried mango that dad brought from Ghana
2. took another yoga class this morning, still loving it
3. I love the cleanness that snow brings to a gray, dirty winter.  I generally hate the snow, but I do like how pretty it looks out the window!
4. A totally funny moment, standing next to mom at the kitchen window, watching a neighborhood cat navigate it's way through the very deep snow in our back yard.  It was a particularly fat cat, and managed to look quite disgusted as it sort of gingerly made it's way through snow that was easily up to it's shoulders or more.
5. pilsbury cinnamon rolls, shared with J & R and dad this afternoon while chatting
6. a long treatment from mom
7. magic bags across my feet in bed
8. cooked a new recipe tonight - sauteed pork chops with pears and gorgonzola - SO good!
9. another day with reasons to laugh
10. the therapy of letting a few honest tears fall

Fast Start, Now Slow

I started the morning with lots of activity.  That is, I started the morning by taking a 9am 90 minute warm yoga class with a friend.

We were two of only about 8 students who ventured out today.  The reason the class was small?  Well, it snowed overnight.  Probably close to six inches.  And it's still coming down.

But hey, in that room it was warm and cozy, and always, I finished the class relaxed and stretched out.

The first 15-20 minutes of every class is brutal.  My body is saying to me, "what the heck are we doing?"  And then it somehow relaxes and goes with it.  Yoga is the first form of exercise (other than maybe swimming) where my body has ever gotten past the "what the heck are we doing, it hurts" phase.

And now, it's snowy outside.

I was supposed to go to a party at a friend's house tonight, but haven't been able to sort out a way to make my way there and back again, so it's looking like it's going to be a quiet evening, cooking dinner at mom and dad's and hanging out.  I'll probably do a bit of homework today, maybe venture into some reading and writing.

I think we're going grocery shopping to pick up some necessities for the next week, but mostly my plan is for a super mellow day.  And I'm excited for that, a day of quiet rest.  Of thinking and praying, and maybe making a few decisions, but mostly just resting.  The perfect way to spend a very snowy Saturday.