Hey readers,
Here’s my recent round-up of books and articles to read. If you do, let me know what you think!
Keep Complaining to God. Just Don’t Ignore Him by Drew Dyck
“What explains why some leave while others stay? Sometimes the only difference I could see is what they did with their trials. The first group ran away from God while the second ran toward him. Instead of letting doubt and disappointment fester in darkness, they dragged it into the light. They joined the great biblical tradition of prophets who expressed their grievances to God, often in harsh and accusatory language.”
Make Your Life Count: 12 Rules for Teens by John Piper
7 Parenting Errors That Can Influence Adult Children to Leave the Faith by Q. O. Helet
“I can easily identify many things we did—or did not do—that may have contributed to our sons’ departure from the faith. I hope to see others avoid such an outcome. In that light, here are seven parenting errors that can influence adult children to turn their back on Christ.”
The State of the Culture, 2024: Or a glimpse into post-entertainment society (it’s not pretty) by Ted Gioia
Whoa, this is fascinating and scary and super important: “The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction. Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity. The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.
It’s a huge business, and will soon be larger than arts and entertainment combined. Everything is getting turned into TikTok—an aptly named platform for a business based on stimuli that must be repeated after only a few ticks of the clock.”
Who Would I Be If I Was Happy? By Trevin Wax
“We live in a time of self-creation. The traditional markers of identity that once came from outside ourselves—from our family or friends or community or past—are viewed as subpar, even repressive. We’re supposed to chart our own course, to look deep inside to discover our desires and define ourselves as we determine.
This way of life sounds exhilarating at first, but the result is fragility. What happens when we adopt the therapeutic assumptions of our age, when we look into our hearts and find only failures and frailty? Many of us begin to define ourselves by our maladies, to base our identities in suffering.”
Books:
What White Adoptive Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption by Melissa Guida-Richards
This was such a helpful, insightful book–it really is a must-read for anyone who has adopted transracially (or is thinking about it).
Being Elisabeth Elliot: Elisabeth’s Later Years by Ellen Vaughn
I wrote about Part 1 of this biography a couple of years ago here at A Life Overseas. Part 2 did not disappoint. What a fascinating look into what was going on in Elisabeth’s life during the time she wrote the books that influenced me so much.
My garden has started blooming. Happy Spring to you all!
