January Books

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls  - one of my favorite books last year was a memoir by this author.  This book was a "true life novel" about Jeannette's grandmother, Lily.  An interesting read especially if you are curious about how people grew up in the Southwest a hundred years ago.

Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell -- I pretty much hated this book from the beginning.  I really don't like books that say the same thing over and over. The first chapter was about a dirt poor family conniving to steal turnips from a passing neighbor. If I heard them say one more time about how much they love turnips, but their turnips had "damn-blasted green-gutted worms in them" so please give me yours  -- grrr.  Thankfully the next chapter dropped this subject, but it was disturbing!  Books like this feed contempt for the poor, the backward farmers, women preachers (or any perverted preachers because Bessie was perverted), the southerners who dare think like this. I guess it's for the best that people like this starve and/or burn to death with few people caring. Wouldn't want to bother any one with these lazy, perverted lowlifes, and the sooner this breed dies out, the better for all of us.

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls  - since I read her memoir and her true-live novel, I decided I should read this novel since my library had it.  Pretty interesting book.  I didn't really love the ending, but the story itself was pretty good up until the last bit. It just ended a bit "happily ever after" which is good, but was too abrupt perhaps.

A Jewish Understanding of the New Testament by Rabbi Samuel Sandmel - I saw this book recommended to Rachel Evans sometime last year and put it on my wishlist. I got it for Christmas and decided it would be the first book I began in 2014.  It took me nearly the whole month (some days I read more than others), but I finished it earlier today (the 27th). 

I enjoyed reading how the New Testament comes across to a rabbi.  He wrote it for Jews, and many things that were familiar and innocuous to me in the NT, came across differently when I considered them from his perspective.  I enjoyed how he concluded the book (see below.)

 Here are a few notes I took.

One example of why Paul is difficult for many Jews to understand:

"Rabbinic Jews and modern Jews believe that man is by nature good; Paul, that he is by nature bad.  Jews hold that a man may commit sins and by repentance re-establish himself in God's grace; Paul, that man, in possessing a physical body, is gripped by inherited sinfulness from which he himself cannot extricate himself.  Jews believe that each person, through repentance and good deeds, works out his own personal atonement; Paul, that helpless man requires atonement to be made for him, and that the death of Jesus was this atonement."  (pg. 38)

Page 41 dealt with Jewish missionaries and how missionary activity was "by no means unsuccessful" in the Greek Diaspora.

The Jewish view of sin vs. Paul's view was interesting.  "In the Jewish tradition, man atones and, it is believed, God graciously pardons him. In Paul's view, man cannot atone, but needs to have his nature changed from the bodily to the spiritual."  (pg. 59)

When the author talks about the gospels, he speaks of Matthew and Luke borrowing heavily from Mark yet recasting the stories to suit the emerging needs of the church.  Since Paul seems to abolish the use of the Law, the gospels were written due to "the urgent need for some regulation."  This is why Matthew introduces Jesus' version of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. 

"The differences between Mark, on the one hand, and Matthew and Luke, on the other, show us  with unmistakable clarity how the problems, doctrines, and needs of the church developed and reached a crystallized expression."  (pg. 143)

"The Gospels do not in reality tell us about Jesus; they tell us about the faith, the problems, and the interests of the church which created them."  (pg. 195)

"In the Jewish tradition there have been many men who have inspired in modern Jews ideals such as self-effacement, nobility, and exaltation, yet neither the Old Testament nor rabbinic literature depicts the ancient worthies - Abraham, Moses, David - as perfect. Not perfection, but goodness, has been the Jewish demand from the individual, a goodness which we Jews have urged upon ourselves as a personal responsibility to be nearly as perfect as possible.  But we Jews have not equated strict perfection and goodness as interchangeable.  If this standard seems deceptively to be lower than Christian perfectionism, we Jews would reply that the standard is not less exacting, but only more humanly tolerable.  In the Jewish view, there have been many great men, but not any perfect man to be exalted above all others."  (pg. 209)

And the conclusion:

"For Jews, the New Testament is not and cannot be a literature sacred to us.  But the sacred literature of others can be enlightening and broadening to us, even giving us fresh perspectives on our own beliefs, if we try to understand sympathetically the profound perplexities and deep aspirations which human beings have been inspired to express, and how the lives of our contemporaries are moved by those ideals and institutions which embody them.

The New Testament, although it is not ours, is closer to us than any other sacred literature which is not our own.  It shares in a legacy which is eternally precious to us. For American Jews it is the Scripture of our neighbors - and, happily, of fellow citizens and friends."  (pg. 321)

The Butler: A Witness to History by Wil Haygood -- This short book (fewer than 100 pages) was pretty good. I wish it had been more about 'the butler' and his time in the White House, serving 8 Presidents. The first part is, but much of the end is about the making of the movie by the same title.  That part was just OK.

December Books

Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner -- I've had this one for awhile, but never took the time to read it.  Pretty neat book. Two brothers - one left at the altar - travel around the world and record their experiences. I tend to enjoy these types of books and this was no exception.

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg  -- A fiction book I got at a book exchange. Rather cute and fun and easy for when you want something light to read.

Jesus, The Middle Eastern Storyteller by Gary M. Burge -- I got this last Christmas, and had it in my "to-be-read" pile. I picked it up before Christmas this year and finished it today.  I enjoyed reading this short book and thinking of Jesus' parables in their cultural context.  The author discusses honor and shame in a community and how people would uphold it.  He talked about the story of the lost sheep, coin and son.  He discussed extending grace, and compassion.  I may have to read this one again soon!

Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women by Sarah Bessey  -- I saw Rachel Held Evans mention this as one of her favorite books of 2013.  Since it was near Christmas, I added it to my Amazon Wishlist and although it was out of stock when I put it on there, it must have come back in stock 'cause I got it for Christmas.  I received seven new books for Christmas, and decided to read this one first.  It's really not at all like I thought it would be.  Maybe I thought it would be more snarky, have more fightin' words...not sure. But I found a lady who adores Jesus, and His compassion and grace oozes from her words!  I read this book and found encouragement, hope, purpose, love and a desire to serve others more.  I found a lady who didn't yell at all those people trying to keep her (and other women) down, but one who loves anyway. One who seeks to follow Christ, do her part, but allow HIM to right wrongs.  I found a sense of unity that is rare in my divisive world.  What a wonderful book to finish right before a new year.  She leaves me much on which to reflect.

2013 Meme

Some years I don't post this until January, but I've been working on this off and on since November 13, and I have it ready before 2014!


1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?

went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any that I recall. I decided just the other day (December 26) to keep a gratitude/service journal of sorts.  I want to be less negative in 2014 by focusing on all the good things in life.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

no

4. Did anyone close to you die?

I wasn't super-close to her, but a blogger friend died in late May. I'd been following her blog for a few years.

5. What countries did you visit?

France and Belgium

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?

 
less negativity, more serving others

7. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

April 19/20 -- it was this day that Samer's mom died (it was the 20th in Dubai, but due to the time difference I was online on the afternoon of the 19th when he told me via Gmail chat)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I can't think of any achievement

9. What was your biggest failure?

doing little to make the world better

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I got the stomach virus going around my family (and community) the other week, but thankfully I just vomited once and immediately felt much better, and have had no other problems.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

plane tickets

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Andrew's - he's most always a cheerful, helpful guy

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Syrian regime, Egyptian harassers, the US gov't, mine at times

14. Where did most of your money go?

health insurance

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Have I ever mentioned that I am not a "really, really, really excited about" type of person?  But I really enjoyed our trips (mostly to the NC mountains and beach).

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2013?

the made-up "Zachariah Mordecai-yuh" song that Zach and I sing in my car; the other version is "Zacharooshka Mooshkatooshka Zah kuh roosh kuh....kuh, kuh, kuh"

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

ii. same

iii. Thinner of fatter?

iv. fatter

v. richer or poorer?

vi. richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

helping the poor; making a difference

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
griping

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent it with my inlaws for lunch, and my family in the evening at Mema's apartment.  We played Taboo and Apples to Apples with my family.

21. How many one-night stands?

forty-six*

22. What was your favorite TV program?

The Amazing Race  -- I love seeing other parts of the world, their cultures and the people  -- sometimes I see a place I've actually been (like Vienna in the last season)

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

no

24. What was the best book you read?

This is always a tough one for me because how can I pick the best out of dozens of books?  Among my favorites were


Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien



Coming Home to Jerusalem by Wendy Orange



Stolen Years: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi


Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions by Rachel Held Evans



The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls -- I'm not sure why I liked this book so much, but my sister just finished it and said she enjoyed it as well. It's amazing what some kids endure!


Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison  -- This wasn't the most interesting book ever, but I learned quite a lot from this book so I feel it was among my most worthwhile reads of this year.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

"The Little Drummer Boy" by Pentatonix

26. What did you want and get?

books, memory cards, trips to the mountains and beach, many things!

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

The Help

28. What did you do on your birthday?

I took Zach and Michael to the local children's museum

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?

practical, comfortable

30. What kept you sane?

several short trips just to get away and enjoy nature

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Vladimir Putin, the savior of the world...  nah, kidding.  Ummmmm....I'm not much for celebrities.   *thinks* Grumpy Cat?

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

Syria especially when Obama was talking about getting rid of the chemical weapons

33. Who did you miss?  

Pop

34. Who was the best new person you met?

David - a Korean guy we met at our hostel in Paris. He spent our first day with us.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

be quick to extend grace and mercy

* kidding! just seeing if you were paying attention!  I find that a silly question. 

November Books and Movies

I cannot recall another month where I actually watched more movies than read books, but this month that is exactly what happened!   Well, we went to France and Belgium. I don't read much while traveling by plane, but I did watch three movies on the 9.5 hour flight from Brussels to Atlanta.  They were

The Help

Admission (chosen because it was about 90 minutes)

The Breakfast Club (chosen because it was only 90 minutes)

When I got home I had to catch up on blogs and articles I missed while gone. Plus I was falling asleep around 8 every night and sleeping like the dead until 4:30 in the morning due to jet lag.  And now it's Thanksgiving and I've been doing stuff with pictures since Walgreens has had some free offers lately.  All that to say, I didn't read many books this month.  I only finished two.

Where's the Duck in Peking: Glimpses of China by Cliff Schimmels - The author went to China to teach for a year and shares experiences of his life there. I really enjoyed these aspects of Chinese life.  A few things I'd heard before, while others were new to me.  For instance he reports of a female student coming to class with nasty bruises on her neck.  He later found out that if the Chinese feel they are getting sick, they will often pinch their necks to help with healing.  He told other stories about names and the three or four different translations for "ma" depending on the tone you used while saying it. I loved the last chapter when he mentioned their leaving China and how 250 students lined up to watch them depart. 

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards -- I found this in a book exchange recently. Pretty interesting book. Fiction. I like that it takes place in an area of upstate New York that a friend of mine lives.

Visiting My Roots

In a souvenir shop

 We went on a short trip to see our friend (well, he's really family), Samer, for a few days.  He told us to meet him in Paris this time, so that's what we did.  The flight was supposed to leave Raleigh and connect in Atlanta, but a maintenance issue prompted me to call the Delta helpline and we got an earlier flight to Paris through Detroit. Nice. I'd never been to Michigan so it was good visiting another state even if it was just the airport.  The flight over took 6.5 hours. I guess we had a good tailwind because even the airline ladies seemed surprised that it was so short.  It wasn't the most comfortable trip for me, however. I desperately wanted to sleep because I knew once we got there at 7 AM local time (1 AM back home), we'd be out and about all day without resting.  Alas, the more I tried to sleep, the less I did.  I resigned myself to just being tired, and I was for the first bit.  I felt like I could crawl up beside Napoleon's grave and just sleep for hours.    Thankfully, once we got outside in the cool (but not cold) air and sunshine, I felt more alert and happy and started feeling more peppy. I was able to make it until around 10 or 11 that night and fell asleep pretty readily!

This photo is from the first day. See how upbeat I look despite not sleeping for hours?

 We had a great visit with Samer. To be honest, Andrew and I aren't big-city type people, and I probably would never choose to go to Paris because it's not a place I've ever dreamed of going.  I am content hiking in the mountains or walking along the beach. That said, I really do enjoy most everywhere I've ever been.  I try to see the good in each place, and enjoy what is there. And Paris had some great sights!  Samer had been there before so he acted as our guide.  Of course.

It was raining a bit when we got to Versailles Palace.
November 5, 2013

 One thing Andrew really wanted to do was go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Samer had not gone all the way to the top. I think it might have been closed last time he was there.  Since Andrew wanted to, we went back to the tower one night. Actually it was the night of our visit to Versailles, and the weather had cleared so the view was great!  We saw for miles and miles. Samer took some great photos (a few of which I shared on Facebook), but here is one of just the three of us that someone offered to take for us.

It was cool up there - especially the two sides where the wind was whipping!

We did other stuff in Paris, but I won't bother with that now.  (Oh, we found the American Hospital where my mom was born.) I knew Paris for 6 days would be (or could be) museum overload for at least one person in our group, so I told Samer we should probably look for another destination.  He chose Belgium. He had never been to this country so it was the first one we'd all visit for the first time together. And it was lovely!  We landed in Brussels, but took a couple day trips to Bruges and Ghent. 

The rain in Brussels added a pretty sheen to the streets.

Bruges had several quiet streets that we enjoyed.

We got home Sunday night (Brussels to Atlanta to RDU - 9.5 hours, but a much more pleasant flight), and I've been trying to get my body back on North Carolina time ever since. It's 9 PM and I am ready for sleep now. I got up around 5:15 so I am tired.

October Books

The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere by Debra Marquart -- The author tells of her life growing up in North Dakota

Bruchko by Bruce Olson -- what a neat story about a 19-year-old man who went to tell the Motilone Indians about Jesus. I really appreciate how he tried to relate to them, share the gospel within their cultural boundaries and not try to make them into white, Christian Westerners.  Someone at church wanted Andrew to read it, so I decided to read it as well.

The Summer of My Greek Tavérna by Tom Stone - a rather delightful book about the author's attempt to run a restaurant on the isle of Patmos one summer (hard work); this book soooo made me want to visit Greece

Twenty Chickens For a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood by Robyn Scott -- I got this book at a book exchange at a local park. I wasn't sure how interesting it would be, but I enjoyed it even though it had rather small writing and was over 400 pages.  Africa is fascinating to me. And this book took place in Botswana. I had fun trying to imagine growing up there. It was great reading about life through Robyn's eyes.

Forever Lily: An Unexpected Mother's Journey to Adoption in China by Beth Nonte Russell  -- I usually really like these China adoption stories, and I did like this book. The story has a unique twist - or one I'd never heard of before. But I didn't care as much about all the talk of dreams and visions and meditations and past lives since those are just things I struggle with believing. But the story itself is pretty good.

Yao: A Life in Two Worlds by Yao Ming with Ric Bucher -- I saw this book while browsing my library's biographies. Since I'm often interested in China, I thought it would be good to see how Yao talked about his life there - and his life in the United States.  And it had some interesting and humorous facts at times, but it was a little heavy (understandably) on NBA talk.  Some of that was OK, but I tend to prefer more cultural tidbits. Thankfully those were in this book and were among my favorite parts.

Zacarias, My Brother by Abd Samad Moussaoui -- The author talks about growing up in France and the path his brother took from being a nonreligious Muslim to becoming one of the strictest, most intolerant kind.

My Story by Elizabeth Smart -- a friend sent this to me after she finished; great book. I was truly amazed by her story. What a wonderful person!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls  -- I found this in a book exchange box at the park,and, wow, it was so interesting and dreadful to me at the same time.  Jeannette's life could not be more different than Elizabeth Smart's (aside from the hunger part). I couldn't help comparing the two a bit since I'd just finished Smart's book.  I really enjoyed this book, and am amazed by the author's pluck in surviving her childhood. What crazy, crazy parents.  I think you'd judge them, too.

I think the last two books I read made me want to be more aware of a few things.

1.  People who are panhandling may truly be evil deceivers.

2.  If I ever see a young person who doesn't seem like she belongs, probe.

3. Try to question a young person in this situation away from the adult she is with.

4.  Realize there are hungry people not too far away. 

5.  Give to them.

September books

The Lost Heart of Asia by Colin Thurbron - join the author as he travels through parts of Central Asia. I'm not very familiar with these regions so this book was somewhat interesting although I felt it took me a long time to read it.

Between a Church and a Hard Place: One Faith-Free Dad's Struggle to Understand What It Means to Be Religious (or Not) by Andrew Park - I enjoyed this perspective on religion from a "faith-free" guy.  I especially enjoyed reading about his brother's conversion, and the author's visit to a local Bible study group and humanist lecture.

The Girl With No Name: The Incredible Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys by Marina Chapman  -- very interesting book especially about Marina's childhood in the jungle. I only wish the book hadn't stopped when she was 14.  The ghostwriter did mention a sequel...I'd love to know more of this story!

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill  -- what a controlling religion - I guess they all are to some degree, but this one didn't even appreciate family relationships. Scientology: not for me

The Road Out: A Teacher's Odyssey in Poor America by Deborah Hicks  -- A teacher who grew up in a small Appalachian town dedicates herself to a small group of poor girls in Cincinnati.  They bond over their love of reading...well, love for most of them.  This book introduces us to the girls around age 8 and follows them until most of them are twenty.   It's quite interesting to see how they ended up (as if 20 is how they ended..ahem).

The Frozen Leopard: Hunting My Dark Heart in Africa by Aaron Latham -- Another book about safaris in Africa.  I enjoyed visiting the gorillas, zebras, learning about rhinos and elephants and impalas with this group!