Read Diverse Books

I have just finished reading two books that are fairly different from my usual reading diet. I usually read fairly widely, but my preferred fiction genres tend to be historical fiction and gentle mysteries with some light romance thrown in as well, particularly bonnet fiction. Non-fiction wise, I read professionally for work which encompasses works specifically for librarians but also more widely in business, marketing, leadership, etc. I also read a lot of Christian books since I am employed at a Christian university. I stumbled upon the title Where Jasmine Blooms by Holly S. Warah when the title appeared on a list of recommended books somewhere. The synopsis sounded interesting so I promptly requested a copy through our local public library system. The second title, I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown was recommended by a friend on FaceBook and also promptly requested. Both titles were highly engaging and well worth the time to read.

Where Jasmine Blooms is a fiction work centered around the lives of three women in a multi-generational family. Two of the women are white Americans who have married or are marrying into a Muslim family. The third woman is their recently widowed Muslim mother-in-law who is living with one of the families. This book was intriguing for many reasons. The story shows the difficulties of an intercultural marriage as the women interacted with and learned about the expectations of their husband's family. The character of the "Mother," as she is referred to, demonstrates the difficulties of living in a new country where one is unfamiliar with the language and customs. Learning about the Muslim culture and their religious practices was also eye-opening such as when the women attended Qu'ran study just as I would attend a Bible study. Stepping into their lives and learning about the prejudices and fears they experienced as Muslim-Americans and their experiences when traveling to their homeland in the Middle East was also eye-opening. This book is highly recommended as a warm, engaging story that opens your eyes to the experiences of others.

I'm Still Here is a memoir by Austin Channing Brown. From the moment I began reading, I was drawn in to her experiences as her writing demonstrates the often heard adage of "show, don't tell." As her experiences unfold via the pages of the book, conviction sets in as you see yourself or someone you know mirrored in the stories told of interacting with white people at church, school, and the work place. While your heart breaks for her experiences and the experiences of others you know, you are also led to examine your own practices and those of organizations. While familiar with the concept of white privilege, I'm Still Here made the concept much more vivid than previously understood. In one section, Brown shares the experience of white people confessing their sin of racism to her and that now she issues a "challenge toward transformation" asking "So what are you going to differently?" (110). After finishing this book, that is the exact question I am asking myself and of the organization in which I am involved. I enjoyed this book so much and desire others to read it so a copy is being purchased for the library where I am employed. A free discussion guide for this book is available as well as an online course to delve into the content.

My challenge to my readers today is not only to read these books, particularly I'm Still Here, but also to seek out other diverse books. The opportunity to travel geographically (or through time) may not be available, but books provide the opportunity to experience other places and cultures and to walk in the shoes of others. Happy reading!

Sustainable Children's Ministry

Are you a children's minister or do you work or volunteer in your church's children's ministry? Are you a parent, church leader, or church member how is interested in children's ministry? Then you need to read Sustainable Children's Ministry by Mark DeVries and Annette Safstrom as soon as possible!

Sustainable Children's Ministry: From Last-Minute Scrambling to Long-Term Solutions was published this year by IVP and written by Ministry Architects who previously produced Sustainable Youth Ministry and provides a wide range of church consulting services. Individuals familiar with Sustainable Youth Ministry will find similarities between the previously published book and the newer Sustainable Children's Ministry, but will also find that the content has been completely re-written with examples and information pertinent to children's ministry staff. In fact, the introduction provides the fascinating story of how Annette Safstrom, whose voice and story you hear throughout the book, helped to initiate the writing of this book.

Anyone who has worked in children's ministry in any capacity, knows that there is one thing after another, you always have to plan for the next event, and are searching for that elusive event that will entice parents and their children to participate and stay involved in your children's ministry. The tasks involved are tiring just to think about! Reading Sustainable Children's Ministry is like having an experienced children's minister come along side you to commiserate and share what has worked for them. Knowing that the author has been in your shoes and is sharing practical tips is so reassuring. While not wishing to divulge all of the gold nuggets of information from this book, the number one item Safstrom shares is to plan ahead instead of living week to week. She then provides step by step suggestions on how to do so.

The opening paragraph indicates this book is not just for practicing children's ministers but also for church leaders and church members. Sustainable Children's Ministry is recommended to a wide audience as it helps readers to better understand the needs of the children's ministry department and will allow better advocacy for this important area of church ministry. As a sporadic church ministry volunteer, my appreciation for this ministry area grew. Sustainable Children's Ministry will be useful as a textbook in children's and family ministry classes, definitely belongs in libraries serving ministry students, and on the shelf of every children's minister. Beyond the specific church ministry applications, many of the concepts shared are applicable to a wide variety of careers and life circumstances. Numerous items mentioned in Sustainable Children's Ministry will be tweaked and then applied in my own workplace, family, and personal life. With that said, I'm going to go find some balcony time and figure out my rhythmic week as well as re-read this book and take better notes!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book, Sustainable Children's Ministry, free from InterVarsity Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Aging Brain

Recently I participated in a launch team for Timothy Jennings, M.D. new book The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind. This title excited me as I am now closer to retirement than to the beginning of my working career. As a participant in the launch team, I received a free pre-release copy of this title.

I eagerly began to read this book and found the initial chapter immensely interesting. Specifically, the idea that the top 5 leading causes of death are not due to poor health necessarily but due to longer life spans (17). From this point, Dr. Jennings continued with chapters on the importance of overall health and information on genetics. The fourth chapter on "Genes and Aging" was a more challenging read. While Dr. Jennings explains everything well and includes excellent documentation, I found I had to pay very careful attention while reading this section.

Part 2 on "Oxidative Stress and Aging" mentioned the typical health concerns but delved more deeply into their impact on aging. Part 3 moved on to lifestyle changes that should be made. Again, the items listed were items we all know we should do. The final section of the book focuses more on dementia. An entire chapter is devoted to vitamins and supplements useful to combat onset of Alzheimer's. This section was particularly useful and covered topics that aren't addressed in all of the leading magazines.

The best part of this book is the section at the end of every chapter titled "Learning Points" and a section titled "Action Plan: Things to Do" which appears in most chapters. These bulleted lists cut to the heart of the book in an easily memorable format. The Amazing Brain is well documented with extensive endnotes. I would have enjoyed the addition of charts to provide another explanation of the material particularly to depict a process.

Overall I recommend this book with some reservation. While it is a good book and well-documented, I found there was not a lot of information that I couldn't find by reading Prevention Magazine or some other health source. The benefit of the book is the convenience of having all of this content in one place and being able to reference it when desired.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book, The Aging Brain, free from Baker Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Under Prairie Skies

Cynthia Roemer's second book does not disappoint! Under Prairie Skies, sequel to her first book Under This Same Sky, picks up where her first book left off but turns the reader's attention to Charlotte. Charlotte was briefly introduced in the first book but takes center state in the second. The character development that takes place in Charlotte's story, and to a lesser extent Chad's, is truly what sets this story apart from others.

Readers who have not read the first book will have missed some of the background as to why there is animosity between Charlotte and her cousin, Becky, but will find they can easily jump into the story. However, having read the first story will certainly benefit the reader. Without giving away too much of the story, cousin Becky has returned to their community and marries the local minister. Chad, a newcomer, has arrived as well. The interactions between Charlotte and Becky create opportunities for Charlotte and Chad to get to know each other but the interactions are not always pleasant. I found in the early part of the book that I wanted to slap or shake Charlotte frequently as her character is decidedly self-centered and shallow. However, as the story progresses her character develops and matures significantly as she looks to the needs of others--particularly young Johnny.

This book is highly recommended for all readers. As Charlotte is a young woman, her story will appeal to high school readers as well as anyone who enjoys a prairie romance in the tradition of Janette Oke. Christian themes are definitely present but are weaved into the story unobtrusively. This book is also a quick read as you really want to get to the end and find out what happens. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book via Kindle prior to its release date of April 10. I was then excited to find that I won a print copy via the author's giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sensible Shoes Series: Spiritual Formation Plus Story

Recently, I received a review copy of An Extra Mile by Sharon Garlough Brown. Noting this book was the fourth book in a series, I decided I wanted to read the whole series in order to better understand the story. I'm very glad I did as I proceeded to read the entire four book series in just over a week and the whole story is really necessary to reading the fourth book.

This series is unique in that it combines a wonderful story with spiritual formation exercises that are included right in the midst of the book. The premise of the series is that in Sensible Shoes, four women meet when they each individually sign up to attend a multi-week spiritual journey group. The four women are quite disparate in their life stages and station but through the books come together to form a small group of sorts. The story follows each woman both individually and as a group centering on how they are being changed as a result of their spiritual journey and the spiritual exercises they are doing. The exciting aspect of having the spiritual exercises included is that the reader not only reads about how the exercises are life transforming for the character but also has the opportunity to experience life transformation as well.

As mentioned previously the characters in this story are quite disparate and most likely would have never met and definitely would not have formed a small group if they hadn't met at the spiritual journey group. The characters range from a young newly married PhD student, a single associate minister on sabbatical, a widowed empty-nester who recently buried her mom, and a mom in the midst of a messy home life and subsequent divorce whose story resembles that of the Samaritan woman at the well. The college age daughter of the empty-nester appears prominently in book two, Two Steps Forward and book three, Barefoot, and as a main character in book four. As noted before, they are a random group of women and as they initially meet some of the characters exhibit disdain towards others based on prior experiences, but over the course of the books they women form extremely close bonds that go well beyond friendship. In addition to the main female characters, readers are introduced to their families, the men in their lives, and numerous other characters that cross their paths. As they all live in the same town, they find they know many people in common which serves to increase their close bonds.

As noted previously, I read these books in just over a week. I will admit that while enjoying the spiritual formation aspect, during this first read, I concentrated mostly on the story which draws the reader inside. Although there are four books, the techincal time span of the series is just over 9 months although the author skillfully uses flash backs to weave in the story of each woman's life. During the 9 months in which the books take place, even though the women have just met, they travel with each other through nearly all of the major events a woman can experience which made me have difficulty putting them down (hence the really rapid reading). While reading, I rejoiced and weeped with the characters. I enjoyed that the characters in the book are real and are working through significant life issues and wondering "God, where are you in this situation?" or "Jesus, how can I follow you when I've made such a mess of everything?" These are definitely not "fluffy" reads by any means. A particularly poignant section for me was reading about the premature birth of a baby and remembering feeling the exact same emotions when my own children were born premature. Having read the books initially for the story, I look forward to re-reading the books more intently for the spiritual formation. I want to journey with the Sensible Shoes ladies once more as an active participant in their spiritual journey.

Author Sharon Garlough Brown draws upon her experience as a spiritual director and retreat leader throughout these books. Her website provides information on her speaking schedule and suggested resources related to the books. I highly encourage women's groups to read these wonderful books in a study or book club setting. Many women will find these books are their first introduction to the concept of spiritual direction and will desire to locate either a spiritual director or spiritual retreat opportunities. The books also kindle a longing for the tight relationship these women have.

Having journeyed with the characters in this book, I must confess to being sad that An Extra Mile is the last book in this series. There are many loose ends to the story that simply begs a further installment in the series. I hope author Sharon Brown will continue to write.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the fourth book, An Extra Mile, free from InterVarsity Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Goodreads: Strangers in the Kingdom

Strangers in the Kingdom: Ministering to Refugees, Migrants and the Stateless by Rupen Das
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Strangers in the Kingdom is an amazing book that needs to be added to your reading list. The authors helped me to see new threads in the biblical narrative and brought out theological themes that I had not fully considered before. The explanations of the terms used to describe refugees, migrants, and the stateless are extremely useful and help you to see the numerous situations that create these groups and are truly heartbreaking. Beyond the biblical and theological aspects, the book contains numerous examples of how various churches, organizations, and individuals are ministering to these groups. The examples are all non-U.S. in origin. I finished reading the book desiring to explore how churches in the U.S., and specifically churches in my home community, can perhaps work together to sponsor a refugee family. This book is brief but life changing.

A full and official review of this book will eventually appear in The Christian Librarian as this book was provided in return for a review in their publication.

View all my reviews

Maggie Hope WWII Spy Series

Last month while at our local library perusing the new books, the title The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal caught my attention. As I looked through it, I noted it was the most recent book in the Maggie Hope series and seemed to recall that I had read at least one of the books in the series previously. As I dislke hopping into a series part way through, I proceeded to check out every copy of this series available in the library. I was delighted to find that the copies not available in print were available as ebooks for check out as well. As this was just before Christmas, I anticipated plenty of time to read through this series.

As I revisited the first book in the series, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, I quickly found myself caught up in the adventures of American raised but British born main character Maggie Hope who finds herself in London during World War II. Life finds her working at #10 Downing Street and soon she is in the midst of a variety of intriguing situations. As the series continues, Maggie and her friends find themselves interacting with numerous famous individuals and participating in spy and espionage activities. Over the course of the novels, Maggie interacts with not only the Prime Minister but also the royal family, the President and First Lady, and famous generals. I was most disappointed to reach the end of The Paris Spy only to be presented with a huge cliff-hanger and discover the next book The Prisoner in the Castle doesn't come out until August. I'm waiting on pins and needles to find out what happens!

I highly recommend this excellent and award winning series. It is an adult series with some minor adult language (it is set in war time) and veiled references to the characters sexual activity. Even so, I do not hesitate to encourage my teenage daughter to read these books.