Book Review: Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot

After I finished reading and blogging on Quest for Love by Elisabeth Elliot, I decided to read the book that precedes it. It's called Passion and Purity. When I finished, I wasn't quite sure whether or not I should write a book review on it. There's something about the book that's very personal. Elliot shares the story of how her and Jim met and then continued in their relationship. He basically told her that he was head-over-heals in love with her but that he couldn't date her because he was being called to be single.

Jim believed that at that point he was called to be single so that he could do missionary work that married men couldn't necessarily do. This is all great, but I would have been extremely frustrated if I was Elisabeth. He went on in that way for about 9 years. They had contact at some points more than at others. Ultimately they were both called to Ecuador individually to work with the Quichua Indians. 3 years later, Jim Elliot died.

Elisabeth Elliot's story was heart wrenching. I cannot imagine having something dangled in front of me that I've desired for so long, waiting for another long period of time to get it, and then have it ripped away from me.

I've said before that I sometimes wished that I could be a great spiritual leader/mentor, but then I see all of the trials that they go through. Though I know that there will be hard things that happen in this life, and I know that the Lord will be with me through them all, I hope that he never makes me go through something as difficult as what Elisabeth Elliot went through.

It was so refreshing to hear about her views on love though. Elliot is intent upon men being the ones to pursue women. When we're constantly bombarded in our culture about how women need to step up and take the initiative, it's nice to hear godly wisdom from ones who have gone before me. Women are supposed to be feminine and wait for men to pursue them like Christ pursues the church. I love that picture. Maybe because I'm a sappy, sentimental girl who has been planning my wedding since my oldest sisters were planning their weddings. (I was nine years old.) But the idea of a marriage being an earthly picture of the relationship that we have with the Father is so incredibly beautiful to me.

Book Review: Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp

Unlike the other books that I've blogged about so far, this one was a semi-difficult read. It was packed full of information and conviction.

As I began the book, I found myself thinking that it wouldn't apply to me. Tripp often addresses his reader as "pastor" which made me believe that I, as a lowly middle school ministry summer intern, was not who he was talking to. After all, I'm not even a full time staff member! I'm only here for the summer, and I have one of the lowest jobs on the totem pole. When it comes to pride in a certain status in a job, I have no right to have any at all! Well, I was completely wrong. Tripp is addressing every member of the church from the head pastor to the Sunday morning volunteer.

Tripp talks about the pride involved in being involved in a church ministry. He talks about a disconnect in the public and private lives of people in the church. He gives story after story of other people in the church who he's had council who have gone through these situations. These stories make it real. This book also helped me to realize that my pastors aren't perfect. Yes, that's cliche, but it's true! I have put David McNeely, Randy Pope, Steve Brown, and more on a pedestal for so long that I forgot that they're real people. They have families, and they sin. They go through hardships, maybe even more than normal people do. (Side note: I've always said that I could see myself marrying a pastor, but after reading some of the stories, that thought was terrifying to me! Not super relevant, but hey, that was my thought.)

As always with books, the author can say things better than I can, so here are some of my favorite quotes.

“If you aren’t daily admitting t yourself that you are a mess and in daily and rather desperate need for forgiving and transforming grace and if the evidence around has not caused you to abandon your confidence in your own righteousness, then you are going to give yourself to the work of convincing yourself that you are okay.”

“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do.”

"One of the things that makes a sermon compelling is that the preacher is worshiping his way through his own sermon.”

“If you are not feeding your soul on the realities of the presence, promises, and provisions of Christ, you will ask the people, situations, and things around you to be the messiah they can never be.”

“He had his identity too attached to his opinions and ideas and felt that rejection of them was rejection of him.”

“Autonomous Christianity never works, because our spiritual life was designed by God to be a community project.”

Are you convicted yet? I encourage you to read this book. You know that verse that talks about how The Word never comes away void? Well, I know it's talking about the Bible, but I think that it can apply to many books too, and this is one of them. I don't think you can read this book and come away the same. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing this to the Bible! The Bible is the infallible word of God and this is a book written by a flawed person.)

Book Review: A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

Hey y'all!

As my internship is coming to an end, I'm tying up some loose ends and finishing things up. Part of my job this summer was to read 3 books and then write something reflecting on my thoughts on the book and my take-aways.

This was the book that I got to choose, and I'm so glad that I did! I have gotten countless recommendations to read this book and so I finally did it. It always feels good when you can cross one of those off your list. One of the main reasons I chose the book though was because prayer is a hard topic to grasp and though I've been a Christian for a while now, I wanted to understand prayer more.

I'm a very structured person in that I like check lists (and checking things off that list), schedules, and clear steps. Prayer is none of this! It's more abstract, and I've had to learn that that's okay!

I'm sure that as I read I used up at least one pen underlining points that hit me hardest or that I wanted to remember the most. I can't say it any better than Miller did so I'll just give y'all some quotes:

"Dependency is the heartbeat of prayer."
"Learning to pray doesn't offer you a less busy life; it offers you a less busy heart."
"Nothing exposes our selfishness and spiritual powerlessness like prayer."
"The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy."

And those are just from the first 30 pages! Miller exposes stories from his life and his family's life that are so raw and honest. It was a blessing to get a glimpse into the power of prayer and not only how prayers are answered through prayer but also how we are changed by the simple act of communicating with our Father. I often find myself wishing that I could be a great spiritual leader like Beth Moore or Paul Miller, but when I hear stories of the trials in their lives to make them better able to help others, I quickly back up and beg the Lord to keep me small. One of my favorite quotes about prayer says that when we pray for patience, God doesn't just give us patience. He gives us opportunities to be patient. It definitely makes me think twice before I pray for patience, self-control, or any other fruits of the spirit. But then I do it anyway.

Also, praying that God would reveal my sin. That's another scary prayer. What makes is okay is that I know that anything God puts in my life is for my good. Isn't it comforting to know that my Father is all knowing and never makes a mistake?!

I recently had a conversation with my boss about how he likes to poke holes in a mutual friend of ours and gently point out that that person isn't perfect. As I've been praying that God would reveal my sins to me, He's done just that. So I replied to my boss saying, "Please don't pour water in me because I know I have so many holes." But God is working in me. He's pointing out my holes and then slowly patching them as only He can. I'm being completely real with y'all and inviting you to know my heart so that maybe it will be an encouragement to you as well.

This book has changed my prayer life. It's freed me to pray with the randomness and boldness of a child. It's helping me to look for the greater picture that God is weaving in my life. I'm so thankful that life is a process and our eyes aren't opened all at once. The process creates a dependent relationship on the One who satisfies the longing of our souls.

A Thoughtful Friend and a Book Review: Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot

The other day I came home from work and saw a package on my front porch. Since my brother just graduated from high school, I assumed that it was a present from him. What a nice surprise when I discovered that it was for me! It was a sweet note along with a book from one of my mom's best friends. The note said that she had been doing some spring cleaning and found that she had two copies of this book Quest for Love. My name came to her mind when she found the book and hoped that I would read it. (These days I'm doing as much reading as I possibly can since I don't have any reading to do for school so I was very excited to acquire a new book.) I love when God uses people in my life to suggest books, friends, restaurants, etc. It's such a powerful reminder that we are on His mind when He puts us on the minds of others.

Anyway, I immediately picked the book up to start reading it. I was hooked. I had never read a book by  Elizabeth Elliot before, though I had heard of her incredible story and God-given wisdom. I absolutely love her style of writing and her wisdom that bleeds through every page. She's also incredibly blunt, which I appreciate. This book is actually the sequel to another one of her books called Passion and Purity (which I hope to read soon). It contains letters that people have written to Elliot about their quests to find spouses and her responses to them. At the end of each chapter, she bullet points some key parts of the stories: things to imitate, things to avoid, and questions to think about.

When I began the book, all of the ideas presented sounded very archaic. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that I should have lived during the 50's. I love poodle skirts, can't wait to be a stay at home mom one day, love cooking, and feel very uncomfortable talking about inappropriate things. Therefore, this should not have been so strange to me. Elliot firmly believes in men pursuing women, men making the first move, God's will being the first thing thought of, etc. As the book went on, I found myself agreeing with most of the things she said, if not all.

I would definitely suggest this book to other people to read. It's not a self-help, "you will find your soul-mate after you read it", "single girls' Bible" kind of book. It's purely the story of how God has placed couples together when they sought his will and wisdom in their lives.

Book Review: The Prodigal God by Tim Keller

Like I said in my post a little while ago, I was able to take a "God Day" two weeks ago, and in that time I read The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. Growing up in the church, I've heard people talk about this book for a long time so I put it on my "to read" list. Well, having the day specifically designed for me to spend time with the Lord and do things that I enjoy was the perfect time to pull that book out.

Thankfully, I've been incredibly blessed to grow up in a church focussed on teaching the gospel and not just "feel good" sermons. This includes the sermon on "The Prodigal Son" but not just the story of the first son. Our pastor includes the second son who, according to the book, is just as crucial to the parable as the first son. The parable is a story that Jesus told to the people surrounding him at the time which included the hated/sinful tax collectors as well as the religious leaders of the day who thought of themselves very highly.

The story goes that there was a father that had two sons. The younger son asked the father for his inheritance to be given to him early. This is the equivalent of the son wishing that his father was already dead so that he could have his money. He wanted the money, not his father. The father gave his son the money, and he spent all of it on extravagant living. Eventually the money ran out and the son was to the point that he was feeding pigs and longed for the food that they were getting. At that point, the son realized that his father treated his servants way better than this, so he devised a plan. He would go and beg his father to allow him to be a servant in his house. When he returned, before the son could even start to plead with his father, the father embraced him. He gave the son his finest rings and robe and threw a party for him.

This is when the older son comes into the story.

This son had worked for his father his entire life. He expected to receive everything after the father died, but since his brother came home, his inheritance would be severely diminished. Again. He was angry that his brother was being celebrated while he had been perfect his entire life and wasn't ever celebrated. He too had the attitude of using his father and not enjoying him. He wanted the money, not his father.

Back to the book. The younger brother represented the sinners and tax collectors while the older represented the religious leaders. Some of the things that Keller points out in his book were incredibly convicting. He wrote the book for people looking into Christianity, new Christians, and old/seasoned Christians. For each group there is something to learn.

Some of the most convicting parts were when Keller was talking about the older brother. I've realized that I am very much an older brother in that I am a rule follower and seek approval of my authorities all too often. I often live in fear of not being good enough even though I know in my head that I don't have to be "good enough". That's why Jesus came. Because I can't be good enough. But He was. Praise the Lord! 

If you have any time on your hands or are looking to pick up a book, please read this one! I'm praying that through what was revealed to me, that God will change me to be more like Him.

Love y'all!

Book Review: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

A lot of my internship includes learning whether it's about ministry, myself, or the great God I serve. Part of my job includes reading three books and writing a small paper on what I thought about it and what I learned and this was my first book.

It's call The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni. It's not necessarily a Christian book, but I think that it was very beneficial to read. Lencioni described the five dysfunctions through telling a story of a company. They had an extremely dysfunctional executive board that did not work together well. That same company decided to bring in a woman named Kathryn to help them become a team and be more competitive in their market. I have to say that this was much easier to read than if Lencioni had simply written about the dysfunctions and how to fix them. I found myself engaged in the story and able to identify with some of the team members. It also helped me to picture what these dysfunctions looked like on our staff and how I could be a better teammate. 

The five dysfunctions include:

1. Absence of Trust which leads to Invulnerability

2. Fear of Conflict which leads to Artificial Harmony

3. Lack of Commitment which leads to Ambiguity

4. Avoidance of Accountability which leads to Low Standards

5. Inattention to Results which leads to Status and Ego

Kathryn was definitely my favorite character. She had so much wisdom throughout the entire process of creating a team. Lencioni let us in on her past as well that helped her to gain that wisdom. She was a volleyball player, a teacher, a mom, and a business woman. All of her different experiences allowed her insight into different situations and gave her the authority to speak into the teammates' lives. She also employed incredible restraint when in meetings. She allowed the teammates to fight things out when necessary. I envy her ability to restrain herself when leading meetings. I struggle with that because 1) I like to control things and 2) I like to talk. I'm working on it though, and hopefully this summer I will learn and grow a lot!

The way that Lencioni explains everything is so easy to follow and I really enjoyed it. Our whole staff is reading it together and we will have a meeting to discuss it, so I'm excited to see what other people thought as well.