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2018 Reading Challenge: Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life co-authored by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Donal P. McNeill and Douglas A. Morrison (The book) “Compassion” is the result of three different authors coming together to discuss the problem of suffering and work through what it means to respond to suffering in light of theirContinue reading “Compassion: What it is, Why I resist it, and How I Can Embrace It More”

Ready Player One. To say I have been looking forward to this film would be an understatement. As a big fan of the book, hearing that Spielberg would be the one directing this big screen adaptation was a dream come true. Looking back on my experience with the book the following things stood out forContinue reading “Ready Player One: Retelling the Story of the Oasis From The Perspective of Its Creator”

The last time I reflected on the Gospel of John I was entering what we know as the farewell discourse, a series of chapters (13-20:31) that prepare us for the passion narrative, a definite transition out of the festival cycle that defined chapters 5-10 and a movement towards a discussion of where Jesus is headedContinue reading “To See and To Hear The Cross in the Light of John’s Gospel”

“It seems people are willing to damn the book without reading it. Nonsense about witchcraft and fantasy. First I felt horror, then anger, and finally I said, ‘Ah, the hell with it.’ It’s great publicity, really.” – Madeline L’Engle I was around 10 years old when I first read Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time.Continue reading “A Wrinkle In Time: A Voice of Reason in an An Age of Intolerance”

2018 Reading Challenge: Read 5 books in the genre of theology/philosophy Book: Newman on Being a Christian by Ian Ker “Newman is a preacher not of glowing words but of harsh realities- realities that arise out of the obligation imposed by baptism to lead the Christian life to the full” – Ker Ian Ker’s NewmanContinue reading “2018 Reading Challenge: A Review of Newman on Being a Christian by Ian Ker”

In my previous blog on the Gospel of John I reflected on John chapters 5 and 6. I suggested that these chapters begin what is a 5 chapter “exposition” on the theme of work, or more specifically the idea of God’s work in our lives and in the world, which structurally speaking brings to aContinue reading “The Work of God, To Believe In the One He Has Sent: Further Reflections on The Gospel of John”

Last year I posted a blog on Valentines Day discussing the upcoming Academy Awards. At the time it made me realize just how far behind I was when it came to seeing all the Oscar nominations. Likewise, the more I caught up with the Oscar nominations the more outdated my personal picks for Top 12Continue reading “The Movies, The Oscars and Catching Up on the Year (2017) That Was:”

“Driving down 93, I realized once and for all, that I love the things that chafe. The things that fill me with stress so total I can’t remember when a block of it didn’t rest on top of my heart. I love what, if broken, can’t be repaired. What, if lost can’t be replaced. IContinue reading “2018 Reading Challenge- Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane”

Have you ever stopped to consider how we measure what qualifies as Children’s literature, or what makes Children’s Literature “children’s” literature? It might sound like an obvious question, but the more I think about it the more I wonder why I have never asked this question before. It is a question I feel author BruceContinue reading “2018 Reading Challenge: Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy”

Christine Gilbert might not be the most distinguished writer or seasoned academic you’ll ever read, but she is a great storyteller. It is her ability to provide a platform for these stories to be told that gives the necessary weight to an impressive and diverse body of work/personal projects (see http://christinegilbert.com/), including a recently releasedContinue reading “My 2018 Reading Challenge: Mother Tongue: My Families Globe-Trotting Quest to Dream in Mandarin, Laugh in Arabic, and Sing in Spanish by Christine Gilbert”