Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Waiting
To be honest, I struggle with waiting on God. There is one issue in my life that reallllllllllllllllllly makes me angry, and I want God to fix it. Like five years ago. I've prayed about it. I've cried about it. I've railed about it. I've about given up on God about it.
And there are other areas where I no longer wait. I gave up on God ever doing anything in those areas.
So, I saw this in a church newsletter the other evening and have reread it a few times because it speaks to me concerning how I handle waiting.
-- Paul David Tripp, A Shelter in the Time of Storm
And there are other areas where I no longer wait. I gave up on God ever doing anything in those areas.
So, I saw this in a church newsletter the other evening and have reread it a few times because it speaks to me concerning how I handle waiting.
When God asks you to wait, what happens to your spiritual muscles? While you wait, do your spiritual muscles grow bigger and stronger or do they grow flaccid and atrophied? Waiting for the Lord isn't about God forgetting you, forsaking you, or being unfaithful to his promises. It's actually God giving you time to consider his glory and to grow stronger in faith. Remember, waiting isn't just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become while you wait.
Waiting always presents me with a spiritual choice-point. Will I allow myself to question God's goodness and progressively grow weaker in faith, or will I embrace the opportunity of faith that God is giving me and build my spiritual muscles?
It's so easy to question your belief system when you are not sure what God is doing. It's so easy to give way to doubt when you are being called to wait. It's so easy to forsake good habits and to take up habits of unfaith that weaken the muscles of the heart.
-- Paul David Tripp, A Shelter in the Time of Storm
Monday, April 29, 2013
April Books
A Year in the World by Frances Mayes --
pleasant enough book, but not my favorite; I did think often "oooh, I'd
like to go there!" Too bad I don't travel more
Posted on Facebook:
"How glamorous Ed looks in his Italian tuxedo, his 'smoking' as it's called by Italians who frequently leave off the second word of an imported term: basket, instead of basketball, night instead of nightclub." -- Reading this just now in A Year in the World by Frances Mayes made me remember my conversation the other night about why some of us call knit hats "toboggans." It must be our Italian ancestry! Toboggan hat becomes plain old toboggan.
They learned the importance of patients
getting up and walking as an aid to healing. Also, the importance of
antibiotics - and more widespread use of them was "tested" on these
ailing soldiers.
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
by Madeleine Albright -- If you are interested in Czech history
especially during World War II, you may like this book. It also talks a
bit about Bohemia, Czech and Slovak breaks and the rise of Communism in
this section of the world. Of course Ms. Albright talks about her
family's experiences during these years which makes it even better.
War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters Who Covered Vietnam
-- this book is a collection of accounts by 9 women; I enjoyed the
variety of experiences, and especially enjoyed the account of the lady
who adopted two daughters from Vietnam and went back years later with one of
them
Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac -- this
book tells the story of a group of French resisters during the time
Germany occupied France during WII; it's told from the point of view of
Lucie - and covers 9 months of her life; pretty interesting book
Saturday, March 30, 2013
March Books
The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community
by Mary Pipher -- I saw this book while I was with Michael at Barnes
& Noble, and found it available at my local library. The author
discusses her experiences with various refugees who moved to her home in
Lincoln, Nebraska. In this book you will be introduced to Kurdish
sisters who fled Iraq, school settings - one with elementary-aged
refugees, another with high school students, also you will meet people
from Kenya and Sierra Leone. The author also gives tips and other
observations about cultures. Of course I enjoyed this one although
halfway through the book I felt inviting refugees here was a mistake as
America is too difficult to understand, too cruel in many ways. Then I
recalled what these people left, and was heartened with stories of
refugees who seemed happy and more adjusted to life here. The book made
me want to be more cognizant of foreigners among us, to be open to
helping them, to offering friendship...and for the hundredth time it
made me wish my city were more international! Why am I stuck here??
The author noted how an Ethiopian man caught many fish, and she, thinking he'd want to save them for himself and his family, offered storage space in her freezer. He looked at her quizzically and said he had no need to store them as he was giving them away to friends. Also she told how Afghan women were very upset with the artwork their children brought home from school because they used dried beans and macaroni. People in our country are starving and they use food in art here!
A couple quotes from the section on "Home" towards the end of the book that I liked:
"The love of your own country hasn't to do with foreign politics, burning flags, or the Maginot Line against immigrants at the border. It has to do with a light on a hillside, the fat belly of a local trout, and the smell of new-mown hay." Bill Holm (pg. 320)
"American restlessness is overstated. We all come from immigrants, but if we look far enough back in our family trees, we will find a farmer. In Grass Roots, Gruchow makes the point that the average settler wasn't in search of a new world to conquer, but of a refuge, 'a place with a few cows, a garden, a house of one's own, as far away from trouble as possible.'" (pg. 324)
Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée -- This is a memoir by a Korean-born woman adopted by a couple from New Orleans who ended up moving to Europe for many years as a young adult. Her story is so unlike my own, and I was sad that she had such a hard time fitting in and felt so adrift. I kept hoping I could introduce her to Someone who could fill this void in her life. This book made me appreciate food that I'm familiar with. I am sure her food is superb (she includes recipes at the end of nearly every chapter), but, eh, I just like my normal Southern-American food. This book was in my local library biography section.
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman -- curious what it's like to be incarcerated in a women's prison? Read this book.
Hide: A Child's View of the Holocaust by Naomi Samson - a Polish Jew recounts her life in hiding from the German soldiers and the Polish "friends" and neighbors who tried to kill them; She, her mother, brother and sister hid for a year and a half in a hayloft or under the house of a couple Polish women who fed them reluctantly -- when the children were finally free, two of them had to crawl as their muscles had attached to their legs wrongly during their growing while curled in a fetal position all that time --- so sad! And again I wonder HOW can people be so cruel to other people?!
Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption by Shon Hopwood -- found this in the new books at the library; it's the story of a Nebraskan man who committed bank robbery and served more than a decade in a federal prison. During that time he finds he has a knack for legal things and his story is quite a testimony to the power of grace and redemption - and it helps you better understand the people in prisons (somewhat...) and what's with my reading two prison memoirs in recent days?
Stolen Years: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi -- Wow, what a book! It seems jail is a theme this month. Malika's jail experience isn't like the others however. Her family (mother and siblings) were imprisoned - banished to a place where they only had themselves and their jailers as company. Quite a story out of Morocco. Don't mess with the king!
Freedom: The Story of My Second Life by Malika Oufkir -- the sequel to the above book; the author tells how she readjusts to life. Can you imagine being locked away for twenty years and how much things changed in that time? Like automatic sinks...how does the water come out? She also tells of her first experiences with love (or lust) after her escape.
Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother's Story by Diki Tsering -- I enjoyed hearing some of the customs and expectations of the people in Tibet. The wedding preparations and the way people consulted their astrologers and the way ghosts killed their children - fascinating!
Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi -- a book of memories of growing up in Iran; I enjoyed reading about events in Iran through the eyes of this lady and her family
Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison -- I saw this at Barnes & Noble and found it at the local library; I enjoyed learning more about Asperger's as it affected this person's life. I have friends with this condition (not a disease) and some of what the author wrote seems true of them.
The Poet of Baghdad: A True Story of Love and Defiance by Jo Tatchell -- this story is about Nabeel Yasin's early years in Iraq and how he escaped his home country and lived in exile until the Iraq War. I enjoyed reading about the life of a family during these years in Iraq as the story spans many decades.
The author noted how an Ethiopian man caught many fish, and she, thinking he'd want to save them for himself and his family, offered storage space in her freezer. He looked at her quizzically and said he had no need to store them as he was giving them away to friends. Also she told how Afghan women were very upset with the artwork their children brought home from school because they used dried beans and macaroni. People in our country are starving and they use food in art here!
A couple quotes from the section on "Home" towards the end of the book that I liked:
"The love of your own country hasn't to do with foreign politics, burning flags, or the Maginot Line against immigrants at the border. It has to do with a light on a hillside, the fat belly of a local trout, and the smell of new-mown hay." Bill Holm (pg. 320)
"American restlessness is overstated. We all come from immigrants, but if we look far enough back in our family trees, we will find a farmer. In Grass Roots, Gruchow makes the point that the average settler wasn't in search of a new world to conquer, but of a refuge, 'a place with a few cows, a garden, a house of one's own, as far away from trouble as possible.'" (pg. 324)
Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée -- This is a memoir by a Korean-born woman adopted by a couple from New Orleans who ended up moving to Europe for many years as a young adult. Her story is so unlike my own, and I was sad that she had such a hard time fitting in and felt so adrift. I kept hoping I could introduce her to Someone who could fill this void in her life. This book made me appreciate food that I'm familiar with. I am sure her food is superb (she includes recipes at the end of nearly every chapter), but, eh, I just like my normal Southern-American food. This book was in my local library biography section.
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman -- curious what it's like to be incarcerated in a women's prison? Read this book.
Hide: A Child's View of the Holocaust by Naomi Samson - a Polish Jew recounts her life in hiding from the German soldiers and the Polish "friends" and neighbors who tried to kill them; She, her mother, brother and sister hid for a year and a half in a hayloft or under the house of a couple Polish women who fed them reluctantly -- when the children were finally free, two of them had to crawl as their muscles had attached to their legs wrongly during their growing while curled in a fetal position all that time --- so sad! And again I wonder HOW can people be so cruel to other people?!
Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption by Shon Hopwood -- found this in the new books at the library; it's the story of a Nebraskan man who committed bank robbery and served more than a decade in a federal prison. During that time he finds he has a knack for legal things and his story is quite a testimony to the power of grace and redemption - and it helps you better understand the people in prisons (somewhat...) and what's with my reading two prison memoirs in recent days?
Stolen Years: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi -- Wow, what a book! It seems jail is a theme this month. Malika's jail experience isn't like the others however. Her family (mother and siblings) were imprisoned - banished to a place where they only had themselves and their jailers as company. Quite a story out of Morocco. Don't mess with the king!
Freedom: The Story of My Second Life by Malika Oufkir -- the sequel to the above book; the author tells how she readjusts to life. Can you imagine being locked away for twenty years and how much things changed in that time? Like automatic sinks...how does the water come out? She also tells of her first experiences with love (or lust) after her escape.
Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother's Story by Diki Tsering -- I enjoyed hearing some of the customs and expectations of the people in Tibet. The wedding preparations and the way people consulted their astrologers and the way ghosts killed their children - fascinating!
Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi -- a book of memories of growing up in Iran; I enjoyed reading about events in Iran through the eyes of this lady and her family
Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison -- I saw this at Barnes & Noble and found it at the local library; I enjoyed learning more about Asperger's as it affected this person's life. I have friends with this condition (not a disease) and some of what the author wrote seems true of them.
The Poet of Baghdad: A True Story of Love and Defiance by Jo Tatchell -- this story is about Nabeel Yasin's early years in Iraq and how he escaped his home country and lived in exile until the Iraq War. I enjoyed reading about the life of a family during these years in Iraq as the story spans many decades.
Friday, March 1, 2013
February Books
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
by Loung Ung -- sad story about a family torn apart by the Khmer Rouge
regime as told by one of the youngest children; this book made me cry
as I (kind of, sort of, not really) experienced her hardships through
her words and thought of others who have endured such horrible times at
the hands of evil people
The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore -- a novel I found at the library; probably attracted to it by the author's name and it was in the new book section; an Irish lady goes to Germany and lives with a family during World War II; interesting to hear of this family and her time in Germany through her eyes
The Silenced Cry by Ana Tortajada -- a Spanish lady and two friends travel to Pakistan to meet Afghan refugees and are able to take a short trip to visit Kabul; each chapter is a day from their travel
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk -- a look at Istanbul through the eyes of a secular man who grew up there; he focused quite a bit on the melancholy of the city, its attempts at westernizing and how it appeared through western eyes; some of it was interesting, but I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped I would (library book)
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa -- I really enjoy these types of books. A Canadian lady decided to teach two years in Bhutan instead of going for her doctorate. So this book tells of her experiences - trying to fit in, meeting people, seeing the place through her eyes. I especially enjoyed her days of teaching the younger children and what they taught her about survival (lighting her stove and cooking for one thing). Here is an interview with her.
The Gate by Francois Bizot -- A French man tells about his time in Cambodia. The part about his being a prisoner was my favorite.
After the Wall: Germany, the Germans, and the Burdens of History by Marc Fisher -- An American journalist lives in Germany for four years telling about people he interviewed and interesting things in the news. I enjoy cultural books so this was an interesting read for me. Germany interests me as well since I've been there,my uncle lives there and Samer lives there presently. I was surprised to learn how traditional western Germany was compared to East Germany as it relates to women and children. I liked reading some of this to Samer and would love to hear how things have changed in Germany if this same author/journalist lived there now and wrote about it. Oooh, here is a CSPAN interview with him that I'll have to watch one day.
Prejudice Across America by James Waller -- a professor takes about twenty students to various cities in the country in order to learn more about prejudice against American Indians, blacks, Jewish Americans and so forth. I enjoyed the brief history of each place, its significance in race relations, and feeling as if I were on the trip as I read what they did and how they reflected on what they experienced each day.
One quote from the book that I put on Facebook
"What will not make headlines are the ironic facts that the founder of the original Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest, is buried in a Memphis park that is now used mostly by blacks; that the Klan members who planned the rally had to ask a black mayor for permission to assemble and a black chief of police for protection; that most of the Klan members who actually participated in the rally came from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Maryland; that the Klan only has about five thousand members nationwide and the South no longer stands as its membership stronghold; that the city of Memphis now has more blacks than whites and that, generally, substantial and tangible process has been made in the arena of race relations." (pg. 159)
Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World by Jan Goodwin -- although this book is about twenty years old, I enjoyed reading about the author's reflections as she traveled the Islamic world and listened to women in various countries. She talked to some about polygyny, others about their lives under US sanctions in Iraq, some about their conversions to Islam and other interesting topics.
"The first and last person who suffers under sanctions is always a child. These are not economic sanctions, but sanctions against life."
"Raskia Mansi, heavily pregnant, was asleep in the sweltering afternoon heat next to her six-year-old daughter, Zara, who had been hospitalized with late-stage malnutrition. Raskia awakened as we drew level with the bed. The wife of a factory worker, she was expecting her thirteenth child the following week. 'I didn't want to get pregnant again,' she said, 'but I can't afford or find the birth-control pills I used to take.' She also cannot afford to feed the children she already has. Twenty-five days before, her eighteen-month-old daughter, Marwa, had died in this same hospital from the same problems as Zara has. Her husband...receives a pension of D. 220 a month.
'To buy food, medicines, we have sold everything - my wedding jewelry, our furniture, our heater, our blankets, even our clothes. This is the only dress I have left,' she said pointing to the one she was wearing. What was a typical family meal? I asked her. 'A soup made with water and rice. One of my children was so hungry, she ate a candle,' she said, as her eyes filled with tears. Raskia is anemic herself, and doctors expect her new baby to have a low birth weight. Six-year-old Zara is expected to die, and doctors believe the new baby also will not survive." (pg. 257-8)
Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende -- Ten days after marrying Mary, this couple moved to a minimalist community for eighteen months of living with little technology. Through this experiment, they learned the value of physical labor, a sense of community and reliance on neighbors. Eric concludes that we shouldn't exclude technology, but its role should be supplemental. "Technology serves us, not we technology."
As Far As You Can Go Without a Passport: The View from the End of the Road by Tom Bodett -- A cute, short book with "comments and comic pieces by Tom Bodett of National Public Radio's 'All Things Considered.'" -- mostly little stories reflecting on life from Alaska
The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore -- a novel I found at the library; probably attracted to it by the author's name and it was in the new book section; an Irish lady goes to Germany and lives with a family during World War II; interesting to hear of this family and her time in Germany through her eyes
The Silenced Cry by Ana Tortajada -- a Spanish lady and two friends travel to Pakistan to meet Afghan refugees and are able to take a short trip to visit Kabul; each chapter is a day from their travel
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk -- a look at Istanbul through the eyes of a secular man who grew up there; he focused quite a bit on the melancholy of the city, its attempts at westernizing and how it appeared through western eyes; some of it was interesting, but I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped I would (library book)
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa -- I really enjoy these types of books. A Canadian lady decided to teach two years in Bhutan instead of going for her doctorate. So this book tells of her experiences - trying to fit in, meeting people, seeing the place through her eyes. I especially enjoyed her days of teaching the younger children and what they taught her about survival (lighting her stove and cooking for one thing). Here is an interview with her.
The Gate by Francois Bizot -- A French man tells about his time in Cambodia. The part about his being a prisoner was my favorite.
After the Wall: Germany, the Germans, and the Burdens of History by Marc Fisher -- An American journalist lives in Germany for four years telling about people he interviewed and interesting things in the news. I enjoy cultural books so this was an interesting read for me. Germany interests me as well since I've been there,my uncle lives there and Samer lives there presently. I was surprised to learn how traditional western Germany was compared to East Germany as it relates to women and children. I liked reading some of this to Samer and would love to hear how things have changed in Germany if this same author/journalist lived there now and wrote about it. Oooh, here is a CSPAN interview with him that I'll have to watch one day.
Prejudice Across America by James Waller -- a professor takes about twenty students to various cities in the country in order to learn more about prejudice against American Indians, blacks, Jewish Americans and so forth. I enjoyed the brief history of each place, its significance in race relations, and feeling as if I were on the trip as I read what they did and how they reflected on what they experienced each day.
One quote from the book that I put on Facebook
"What will not make headlines are the ironic facts that the founder of the original Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest, is buried in a Memphis park that is now used mostly by blacks; that the Klan members who planned the rally had to ask a black mayor for permission to assemble and a black chief of police for protection; that most of the Klan members who actually participated in the rally came from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Maryland; that the Klan only has about five thousand members nationwide and the South no longer stands as its membership stronghold; that the city of Memphis now has more blacks than whites and that, generally, substantial and tangible process has been made in the arena of race relations." (pg. 159)
Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World by Jan Goodwin -- although this book is about twenty years old, I enjoyed reading about the author's reflections as she traveled the Islamic world and listened to women in various countries. She talked to some about polygyny, others about their lives under US sanctions in Iraq, some about their conversions to Islam and other interesting topics.
"The first and last person who suffers under sanctions is always a child. These are not economic sanctions, but sanctions against life."
"Raskia Mansi, heavily pregnant, was asleep in the sweltering afternoon heat next to her six-year-old daughter, Zara, who had been hospitalized with late-stage malnutrition. Raskia awakened as we drew level with the bed. The wife of a factory worker, she was expecting her thirteenth child the following week. 'I didn't want to get pregnant again,' she said, 'but I can't afford or find the birth-control pills I used to take.' She also cannot afford to feed the children she already has. Twenty-five days before, her eighteen-month-old daughter, Marwa, had died in this same hospital from the same problems as Zara has. Her husband...receives a pension of D. 220 a month.
'To buy food, medicines, we have sold everything - my wedding jewelry, our furniture, our heater, our blankets, even our clothes. This is the only dress I have left,' she said pointing to the one she was wearing. What was a typical family meal? I asked her. 'A soup made with water and rice. One of my children was so hungry, she ate a candle,' she said, as her eyes filled with tears. Raskia is anemic herself, and doctors expect her new baby to have a low birth weight. Six-year-old Zara is expected to die, and doctors believe the new baby also will not survive." (pg. 257-8)
Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende -- Ten days after marrying Mary, this couple moved to a minimalist community for eighteen months of living with little technology. Through this experiment, they learned the value of physical labor, a sense of community and reliance on neighbors. Eric concludes that we shouldn't exclude technology, but its role should be supplemental. "Technology serves us, not we technology."
As Far As You Can Go Without a Passport: The View from the End of the Road by Tom Bodett -- A cute, short book with "comments and comic pieces by Tom Bodett of National Public Radio's 'All Things Considered.'" -- mostly little stories reflecting on life from Alaska
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
January Books
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien -- I really enjoyed
this book because I love cultural stuff. This book points out areas
where we as people living in the West may have "cultural blinders" which
make us misunderstand parts of the Bible. Or maybe not understand the
verses in the ways the people living back then did.
They deal with such things as race and ethnicity, languages, individualism, honor/shame, time, rules, relationships, virtue and vice and everything being all about me. Good stuff! Challenging stuff! I want to read this one again to soak it all in.
1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke -- I saw this book nearly a year ago at a train station in Germany. I guess I forgot how long it was, but I put it on my Amazon Wishlist and received it for Christmas. It was a rather interesting and amusing way of learning/reviewing/reading new stuff about the French and English conflicts (or should I say annoyances?) over the centuries. The author looks at people, events, places, food with interesting twists and humor. I think I learned quite a bit.
And God Said by Dr. Joel M. Hoffman - I put this one on my Amazon Wishlist because I read something on HuffPo Religion about how shepherds (think Psalm 23) didn't convey today what they did back then. And the Ten Commandments were not translated quite right (kill is more like murder and covet more like taking). Also the Song of Songs "my sister, my beloved" - that's not an incest thing, but a sign of equality in the relationship. Also the Hebrew levav incorporates emotions and rationality together. So loving the Lord your God with all your heart includes both emotion and rational thinking. So I saw a post online about this author and got the book. It was more technical than I thought, but not in a bad way. Just a bit deeper and more into linguistics and translating than I might have thought.
In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language by Joel Hoffman -- another book by the same author, this book was a bit more technical and while I enjoyed some of it, I realized I am not all that interested in how the pronunciation of ancient languages may have changed. I did like the chapters about the Jews' magic letters - the consonants they used also as vowels - and the information about the Dead Sea Scrolls and reviving the Hebrew language in modern Israel.
Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman -- the author "invites you to release your tight hold on that familiar, try-hard life and lean your weight heavy into the love of Jesus"
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed, MD -- After reading this, I wondered if one of my favorite bloggers who writes about Saudi Arabia had read it, and found this interview from a few years ago. Apparently I'd seen it back then, but I reread it since I just finished the book last night. The author tells about her impressions of the people in Saudi Arabia. At times I was giggling at her descriptions. Not necessarily that the people were so funny, but her word choices were amusing. Who describes someone's beauty this way? "I studied her for a long time, searching for the source of familiarity in my attraction to ineluctable good looks. After a few moments I found it: the squared-off jaw leading to a subtly cleft chin; the perfect symmetrical nasolabial folds, deep lines stretched across full, high cheeks flanking the wide, warm smile; and finally, the endearing yet slightly imperfect alignment between her incisors peeping between wide bow-shaped lips were all very familiar. She was the Saudi Gloria Steinem." (pg. 372)
I was sad during parts of this book especially the chapter on the lost boys: those the author claims are products of polygamous families and don't know quite where they fit because they often are sons of second, third or fourth wives. Many of these came to her hospital intoxicated or with arms showing their drug usage. My heart went out to them. I enjoyed reading about her hajj experience. The way she felt absolved of her sins from performing these rituals made me think of people who feel similar when they come to Jesus.
Dear Zari: The Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar -- I'm not sure how this book ended up on my Amazon Wishlist, but I received it for Christmas and really enjoyed it. Whenever I'm tempted to complain about my life, I should recall the truly awful reality for many women in this world. Not every story had a tragic ending, but most did. In this book you can read about a woman (a girl of 9 in reality) given to a family to settle her brother's gambling debt. She was badly mistreated and when she started her period, she was given to one of the son's as a vessel to produce his babies. Another lady was married to a man who was known in the village as a homosexual. Her marriage to him was only to give some respectability to the family, and she was sorely mistreated in this culture that dislikes homosexuality. Another woman grew up as a boy - and this continued through adulthood so that she had no chance for marriage and having a family of her own. Instead she was mocked as a eunuch. Throughout the book Zari speaks of her own life and I found this interview online just now if you are curious to learn more about her. In the epilogue she wrote how the radio show was useful in helping women in Afghanistan so I was sad to read that the British government no longer funded the Afghan Women's Hour. Apparently the show empowered women and gave information to them that was turning the tide. Here is more about the book.
The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father's War by Louise Steinman -- I like reading about history this way. The author discovers a Japanese flag that her father sent home from his time in World War II. After an acquaintance translates the writing on it, the author decides to find the man or his family and return it. This takes her to Japan where she met the man's family, and later to the Philippines where she saw where her father had served. I especially enjoyed her recollection of visiting Hiroshima and the peace museum there. Also it was interesting "seeing" Japan and the Philippines through her eyes.
Whose Land? Whose Promise? by Gary M. Burge -- "what Christians are not being told about Israel and the Palestinians" -- I enjoyed this book as the author identified the background to the problem, the Old Testament and the land, the New Testament and the land, and introduced us to several Palestinian Christians and evangelical Christian groups working for justice in Israel/Palestine. I really wish many people I know would read this book because too many have a very lopsided view and stance on their nearly unconditional support for Israel. I understand why they support Israel, but willful ignorance is not a good reason. Not when you can read books, search online for news and talk to people who have been there and can share the realities of life there.
Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America by Kati Marton -- Can you imagine receiving a file from the State where you glean more about your childhood than your parents ever told you? This was the "gift" left for the author when the Hungarian government made her parents' files eligible for her to receive. The stories are told by informers to the State. A rather interesting book if you enjoy this sort of thing. I liked reading more of Hungary during the Communist rule and how this brave couple defied their government to realize their dream of living in the United States.
Sacrilege: Finding Life in the Unorthodox Ways of Jesus by Hugh Halter -- This unorthodox pastor gives tips on how to be Jesus to the world. I enjoyed many things he said especially entering into people's pain although I don't always like the commitment that takes. Challenging book.
Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to Hell and Back by Jedwin Smith -- the author tells the story of his family, his childhood memories and his brother's death in Vietnam. He shares of his eventual meeting with his brother's fellow soldiers and takes a trip to see where his brother died. I got this from the library - good book overall
In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS by Uwe Timm -- a German man reveals his thoughts and research as he reads his brother's diary. I enjoyed this look into a German family's life during the war. It was especially interesting hearing his thoughts about the silence of the German people: did they really not know what was happening to the Jewish people?; also see this post
Coming Home to Jerusalem by Wendy Orange -- The author, a Jewish American, decides to visit Israel, falls in love with it so much that she decides to move there with her young daughter. This book describes her first days and weeks, first winter there (which she hates). Later she meets many Palestinians, traveling for her work as a journalist to the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem. Many things stood out to me in this book: how Israelis fear, the racist banter that flows freely, the sense of community, the fact that the Sephardim are looked down upon by the Ashekenazim. I understood a little how she felt. Just reading the book made me want to move there..and I've never even wanted to visit Israel! Really though it made me remember my days in Syria. And how I missed it so much even though I was only there for twelve days. I wanted to move there if I could. (By the way, we left four years ago today - January 28 - for Damascus.) Wendy was in Israel when the IDF left Gaza, when Arafat returned, she reported on Jordanian and Israeli leaders signing a peace accord, she talked to settlers, men in Hamas, and many many others. (I only wish I could have sat in on some of those conversations!)
She quoted both a Jewish woman and an Arab man telling how Palestinians are the Jews of the Arab world. (pgs. 59 & 169) I found that interesting, but it makes sense now that I consider how Palestinians have been treated by other Arab countries.
I like the story of how she and another leftist Jew were invited to present the Israeli viewpoint on a (then) recent PBS documentary. She knows the two Palestinians asked to join the panel and all during lunch, the four of them are agreeable and having fun while the host tries to create divisions in order to make the upcoming discussion more... well, whatever TV people look for in panels. She was amazed that once they started talking about the documentary, how those divisions came up. They'd just been together laughing and talking and being so agreeable - what happened? Upon reviewing it, she realized what was "minor for Jews leapt out as central for the Palestinians, and vice versa. ... I hear Charles and myself as sounding exactly like right-wing Jews." (pg. 220)
Also interesting was Bibi Netanyahu's election - and how the Sephardim (who tend to be the working, poorer, darker, from-Arab-countries Israelis) were elated that "their guy" won! I never would have guessed that. Of course this book was about things in the 1990s...perhaps this has changed.
They deal with such things as race and ethnicity, languages, individualism, honor/shame, time, rules, relationships, virtue and vice and everything being all about me. Good stuff! Challenging stuff! I want to read this one again to soak it all in.
1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke -- I saw this book nearly a year ago at a train station in Germany. I guess I forgot how long it was, but I put it on my Amazon Wishlist and received it for Christmas. It was a rather interesting and amusing way of learning/reviewing/reading new stuff about the French and English conflicts (or should I say annoyances?) over the centuries. The author looks at people, events, places, food with interesting twists and humor. I think I learned quite a bit.
And God Said by Dr. Joel M. Hoffman - I put this one on my Amazon Wishlist because I read something on HuffPo Religion about how shepherds (think Psalm 23) didn't convey today what they did back then. And the Ten Commandments were not translated quite right (kill is more like murder and covet more like taking). Also the Song of Songs "my sister, my beloved" - that's not an incest thing, but a sign of equality in the relationship. Also the Hebrew levav incorporates emotions and rationality together. So loving the Lord your God with all your heart includes both emotion and rational thinking. So I saw a post online about this author and got the book. It was more technical than I thought, but not in a bad way. Just a bit deeper and more into linguistics and translating than I might have thought.
In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language by Joel Hoffman -- another book by the same author, this book was a bit more technical and while I enjoyed some of it, I realized I am not all that interested in how the pronunciation of ancient languages may have changed. I did like the chapters about the Jews' magic letters - the consonants they used also as vowels - and the information about the Dead Sea Scrolls and reviving the Hebrew language in modern Israel.
Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman -- the author "invites you to release your tight hold on that familiar, try-hard life and lean your weight heavy into the love of Jesus"
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed, MD -- After reading this, I wondered if one of my favorite bloggers who writes about Saudi Arabia had read it, and found this interview from a few years ago. Apparently I'd seen it back then, but I reread it since I just finished the book last night. The author tells about her impressions of the people in Saudi Arabia. At times I was giggling at her descriptions. Not necessarily that the people were so funny, but her word choices were amusing. Who describes someone's beauty this way? "I studied her for a long time, searching for the source of familiarity in my attraction to ineluctable good looks. After a few moments I found it: the squared-off jaw leading to a subtly cleft chin; the perfect symmetrical nasolabial folds, deep lines stretched across full, high cheeks flanking the wide, warm smile; and finally, the endearing yet slightly imperfect alignment between her incisors peeping between wide bow-shaped lips were all very familiar. She was the Saudi Gloria Steinem." (pg. 372)
I was sad during parts of this book especially the chapter on the lost boys: those the author claims are products of polygamous families and don't know quite where they fit because they often are sons of second, third or fourth wives. Many of these came to her hospital intoxicated or with arms showing their drug usage. My heart went out to them. I enjoyed reading about her hajj experience. The way she felt absolved of her sins from performing these rituals made me think of people who feel similar when they come to Jesus.
Dear Zari: The Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar -- I'm not sure how this book ended up on my Amazon Wishlist, but I received it for Christmas and really enjoyed it. Whenever I'm tempted to complain about my life, I should recall the truly awful reality for many women in this world. Not every story had a tragic ending, but most did. In this book you can read about a woman (a girl of 9 in reality) given to a family to settle her brother's gambling debt. She was badly mistreated and when she started her period, she was given to one of the son's as a vessel to produce his babies. Another lady was married to a man who was known in the village as a homosexual. Her marriage to him was only to give some respectability to the family, and she was sorely mistreated in this culture that dislikes homosexuality. Another woman grew up as a boy - and this continued through adulthood so that she had no chance for marriage and having a family of her own. Instead she was mocked as a eunuch. Throughout the book Zari speaks of her own life and I found this interview online just now if you are curious to learn more about her. In the epilogue she wrote how the radio show was useful in helping women in Afghanistan so I was sad to read that the British government no longer funded the Afghan Women's Hour. Apparently the show empowered women and gave information to them that was turning the tide. Here is more about the book.
The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father's War by Louise Steinman -- I like reading about history this way. The author discovers a Japanese flag that her father sent home from his time in World War II. After an acquaintance translates the writing on it, the author decides to find the man or his family and return it. This takes her to Japan where she met the man's family, and later to the Philippines where she saw where her father had served. I especially enjoyed her recollection of visiting Hiroshima and the peace museum there. Also it was interesting "seeing" Japan and the Philippines through her eyes.
Whose Land? Whose Promise? by Gary M. Burge -- "what Christians are not being told about Israel and the Palestinians" -- I enjoyed this book as the author identified the background to the problem, the Old Testament and the land, the New Testament and the land, and introduced us to several Palestinian Christians and evangelical Christian groups working for justice in Israel/Palestine. I really wish many people I know would read this book because too many have a very lopsided view and stance on their nearly unconditional support for Israel. I understand why they support Israel, but willful ignorance is not a good reason. Not when you can read books, search online for news and talk to people who have been there and can share the realities of life there.
Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America by Kati Marton -- Can you imagine receiving a file from the State where you glean more about your childhood than your parents ever told you? This was the "gift" left for the author when the Hungarian government made her parents' files eligible for her to receive. The stories are told by informers to the State. A rather interesting book if you enjoy this sort of thing. I liked reading more of Hungary during the Communist rule and how this brave couple defied their government to realize their dream of living in the United States.
Sacrilege: Finding Life in the Unorthodox Ways of Jesus by Hugh Halter -- This unorthodox pastor gives tips on how to be Jesus to the world. I enjoyed many things he said especially entering into people's pain although I don't always like the commitment that takes. Challenging book.
Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to Hell and Back by Jedwin Smith -- the author tells the story of his family, his childhood memories and his brother's death in Vietnam. He shares of his eventual meeting with his brother's fellow soldiers and takes a trip to see where his brother died. I got this from the library - good book overall
In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS by Uwe Timm -- a German man reveals his thoughts and research as he reads his brother's diary. I enjoyed this look into a German family's life during the war. It was especially interesting hearing his thoughts about the silence of the German people: did they really not know what was happening to the Jewish people?; also see this post
Coming Home to Jerusalem by Wendy Orange -- The author, a Jewish American, decides to visit Israel, falls in love with it so much that she decides to move there with her young daughter. This book describes her first days and weeks, first winter there (which she hates). Later she meets many Palestinians, traveling for her work as a journalist to the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem. Many things stood out to me in this book: how Israelis fear, the racist banter that flows freely, the sense of community, the fact that the Sephardim are looked down upon by the Ashekenazim. I understood a little how she felt. Just reading the book made me want to move there..and I've never even wanted to visit Israel! Really though it made me remember my days in Syria. And how I missed it so much even though I was only there for twelve days. I wanted to move there if I could. (By the way, we left four years ago today - January 28 - for Damascus.) Wendy was in Israel when the IDF left Gaza, when Arafat returned, she reported on Jordanian and Israeli leaders signing a peace accord, she talked to settlers, men in Hamas, and many many others. (I only wish I could have sat in on some of those conversations!)
She quoted both a Jewish woman and an Arab man telling how Palestinians are the Jews of the Arab world. (pgs. 59 & 169) I found that interesting, but it makes sense now that I consider how Palestinians have been treated by other Arab countries.
I like the story of how she and another leftist Jew were invited to present the Israeli viewpoint on a (then) recent PBS documentary. She knows the two Palestinians asked to join the panel and all during lunch, the four of them are agreeable and having fun while the host tries to create divisions in order to make the upcoming discussion more... well, whatever TV people look for in panels. She was amazed that once they started talking about the documentary, how those divisions came up. They'd just been together laughing and talking and being so agreeable - what happened? Upon reviewing it, she realized what was "minor for Jews leapt out as central for the Palestinians, and vice versa. ... I hear Charles and myself as sounding exactly like right-wing Jews." (pg. 220)
Also interesting was Bibi Netanyahu's election - and how the Sephardim (who tend to be the working, poorer, darker, from-Arab-countries Israelis) were elated that "their guy" won! I never would have guessed that. Of course this book was about things in the 1990s...perhaps this has changed.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Blind Spots
In the book In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS, Uwe Timm reflects on the diary his brother kept for almost six months in 1943. The entries are short
Stuff like that though the author is troubled over a few, such as
But a note home is what prompted me to post. His brother, fighting for the Nazis in the Ukraine, writes home:
"I'm worried about everyone at home, we hear reports of air raids by the English every day. If only they'd stop that filthy business. It's not war, it's the murder of women and children - it's inhumane." (pg. 84)
The author is troubled by his brother's inability (or unwillingness) to see the parallels to what the English are doing in Hamburg with what he, Karl-Heinz, and his fellow Nazis are doing in the Ukraine and beyond.
How often do we see the bad in what others are doing, but don't apply those same standards to ourselves? I think of 9/11 and all the innocents who died. Yet many who protest those murders seem little troubled by those in other countries who are killed by our wars and our drones. You know, that collateral damage.
I'm sure I could think of other examples. Can you? Do you think we have blind spots to our own faults yet clearly see the faults of others? How can we remedy this?
14 February
We expect action any time now. On the alert from nine-thirty.
15 February
Danger over, waiting
14 March
Airplanes. Ivans attacking. My looted Fahr machine gun, too heavy, shoots like a mad thing I can hardly hold it steady, a couple of hits
Stuff like that though the author is troubled over a few, such as
21 March
Donez
Bridgehead on the Donez. 75 m away Ivan smoking cigarettes, fodder for my MG.
But a note home is what prompted me to post. His brother, fighting for the Nazis in the Ukraine, writes home:
"I'm worried about everyone at home, we hear reports of air raids by the English every day. If only they'd stop that filthy business. It's not war, it's the murder of women and children - it's inhumane." (pg. 84)
The author is troubled by his brother's inability (or unwillingness) to see the parallels to what the English are doing in Hamburg with what he, Karl-Heinz, and his fellow Nazis are doing in the Ukraine and beyond.
How often do we see the bad in what others are doing, but don't apply those same standards to ourselves? I think of 9/11 and all the innocents who died. Yet many who protest those murders seem little troubled by those in other countries who are killed by our wars and our drones. You know, that collateral damage.
I'm sure I could think of other examples. Can you? Do you think we have blind spots to our own faults yet clearly see the faults of others? How can we remedy this?
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