I’m so glad spring time is finally here! I might not be saying that when the pollen count reminds me about my allergies, but at the moment I’m happy to see flowers bloom here and there in the middle of patches of green grass. In between stints of spring cleaning and trying to complete a few house projects, here’s what I’ve been reading:
- Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power by Andy Crouch — I started reading this book with a friend last month, and have been pleasantly surprised by it. According to Crouch, although power has often been a destructive force in the world, it has always been intended to make human flourishing possible. The key, and this applies to global geo-politics as well as personal and family relationships, is to steward power well through sabbath and spiritual practice.
- The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark Noll — An interesting take on how theology intersected with politics during a pivotal event in American history.
- Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution by James P. Byrd — Different event, but a similar theme to the book above.
- One Foot in Eden: A Celtic View of the Stages of Life by J. Philip Newell — Started this on retreat last week and haven’t finished it yet, but so far I resonate with Newell’s approach to life stages, especially on recovering some of the wonder and freshness that we typically lose during our childhood. I’ve read other good books on the topic of life stages, including The Critical Journey, but this one takes enough of a different approach to make it worth a read.
- The Complete Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton — Picked up this oldie but goodie recently to read to my daughter.
