I’m currently in Minnesota for ReachGlobal training and interviews, and I’m enjoying the gorgeous fall colors that can’t be matched in Southern California.
Here are some articles and books from the last month that I recommend:
Why Americans May Spend $12 Billion on Halloween in 2023
“This spending is largely recession resistant, and continues during tough economic, political and social climates. Wood says spending on ritual artifacts, such as costumes, is “fairly price insensitive”; consumers will continue to shop, even if times are bad.”
“If Newsom signs the YIGBY bill into law, churches wouldn’t have to go through this drawn-out process. The law gives churches the right to build low-income housing…’It clears a pathway for churches to know, with certainty, that they can build housing on their property.'”
Playing to Win: Why Africa is the new prize in the struggle for global power
Most people don’t realize that colonialism in Africa is still happening — but in this century, from China and Russia. We saw this firsthand in Tanzania.
“Beijing has become Africa’s largest creditor with total borrowing at around $160 billion. The terms of these loans are not publicly available, but some analysts believe Beijing will insist on being paid in full. That’s not good for Africa, and it might not be good for global democratic interests if China uses that debt as a bargaining chip.”
How Joni Eareckson Tada Blessed Me (Forty Years Ago)
This is such a cool story! “All the way back in the early 1980s, Joni ministered to my grandmother after the loss of her daughter. Forty years later, she ministered to me after the loss of my son.”
Retirement: The New Afterlife? (https://gentlereformation.com/2023/10/17/retirement-the-new-afterlife/)
“The fastest growing metro area in the United States is called The Villages. It’s a retirement community that takes up eighty square miles of central Florida and is home to one hundred and forty thousand people. It contains nine state-of-the-art hospitals, a dozen sprawling shopping centres, over one hundred bars and restaurants, and more than fifty golf courses.
Retirement is certainly big business. The US has a total GDP of twenty-three trillion dollars, but the assets of all American pension funds are nearly fifty percent larger, making them easily the biggest players in the financial markets. In the words of journalist Sam Kriss, ‘mass consumer pensions have turned our entire adulthood into a preamble to old age. You work for three, four, five decades—all so you can enjoy those few, brief, useless years between retirement and death’. He goes as far as to say that ‘the entire global economy is now a machine for producing satisfied retirees’.
The Villages attempts to sell people the thing they have been working for all their lives – perfect leisure before they die. Sounds ideal? Kriss visited the Villages and says that it’s the worst place he’s ever been to.”
I referenced You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and How That’s Good News by Kelly Kapic in my previous post. His book not only challenged my perfectionism, but also my desire for independence. I also really appreciated what he had to say about identity — especially since I’m trying hard to help my transracially adopted kids figure this out. It’s an excellent, thought-provoking book on a subject I’ve never heard explored before.
And pictures from this month…
Gil took Grace’s senior pictures this month. Here’s a couple fun ones of my wonderful girl!
