What I've been up to

Well, my life has been pretty boring these past few weeks so I haven't been blogging much. Seriously. It pretty much consists of work and school. And basketball on Saturdays. We lose a lot so I'd rather not talk about that. And then there's church on Sundays. Except last Sunday. We slept in.

With my classes (I've got 5 this quarter plus a lab and an integration group) I've been spending much of my "free" time reading. This does not make for especially riveting blog material. But then I thought "Hey, just because I am having suffer through the drudgery of my life it doesn't mean I can't report on it to anyone with the misfortune of stumbling onto this page." So without further ado, here are some thoughts on five books that I've read in the past few weeks...

The Shack by William Paul Young (3.5 stars out of 5). I read this book in a span of about 3 or 4 days as the winter quarter began. I bought it for Darcy for Christmas and she absolutely loved it and decided to pester me until I put down everything else I was doing and read it as well. I'm not sure anything could have lived up to the effusive praise I'd heard about it (which didn't solely come from Darcy, by the way) but this reading experience was not especially paradigm-shifting for me. I had a few stylistic and theological points of contention, but all in all it was an enjoyable experience and very well done given its earnest (bordering on overwrought) subject matter and presentation.

The Journey Back to Eden by Glen Scorgie (2.5 stars out of 5). While I could hardly agree more with Scorgie's thesis (egalitarian gender relations are ideal and appropriate for Christians) I did not find his book to be particularly interesting or persuasive.

The Family Friendly Church by Ben Freudenburg with Rick Lawrence (1 star out of 5). I consider this book to have been an immense waste of my time and money. I considered giving it a zero, but it scarcely avoided being utterly useless. I cannot figure out why this was required for Family Life Education.

Lament for a Son by Nicolas Wolterstorff (4 stars out of 5). Heartbreaking and tragic. This made me appreciate my loved ones more. Very much worth the time if you've got an afternoon or so to commit to it.

Unexpected Blessing by Cameron Lee (3 stars out of 5). I thought this was a good book, but not a great one. Cameron offers a unique and illuminative perspective on the Beatitudes, which are often over-spiritualized or outright neglected by Christians at their own peril, as a window into Jesus' understanding of the coming reign of God with all of its countercultural implications. It was rather compatible with my Anabaptist faith and I enjoyed it, but it did not ultimately lead me to any profound new insights.

Stay tuned. Hopefully in a week or two I'll be able to talk a little about Every Day Gets a Little Closer, Parenting From the Inside Out, and Blindness. Good stuff there. And maybe I'll work in a little something interesting from my life as well. Provided that there is something interesting to tell.