Good Reading Time.
Beside quality time with my boy, my other main goal was to catch up on my reading across all genres.
My Summer Reading List:
1. Prayer by Philip Yancey
2. Lost for Words; The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language
3. Renovation of the Heart
4. The Hobbit
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Thomas Paine's Rights of Man a short Biography
7. The Color of Water; A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
8. Strange Virtues; Ethics in a Multicultural World

The Hobbit I have finished and hate to admit that I really enjoyed it and look forward to the LTR. I read it somewhat under duress as I agreed to read it alongside of one of my student ( "I will if you will" he said "Fine! Whatever" I responded). So wipe the smirk of your face Kelly. I began salivating from the moment I read that Yancey had written a new book and ws even more intrigued when I learned it was about prayer. Prayer has forever been a stumbling block to me spiritually. Don't get me wrong, I love to talk to God, and I do it all the time! I need to pray, it is a form of thinking for me. I put my thoughts and feelings in order as I offer them to God. BUT all that said sometimes (alot of times) I just don't "get it". The Bible makes it sound so easy and natural, but at least for me, sitting with other people trying to work out my salvation with fear and trembling isn't natural nor easy. For some people it is like their lifeline, they talk about it, they are always doing it, they are always asking for prayer, offering prayer, have a new way to do prayer, outloud, all at once, in solitude, in tongues, through music. Sometimes others sound more satisfied in their prayer life than I ever really feel in mine and I feel guilty, and sometimes I don't ...and that makes me feel guilty. All that said I love reading Yancey because he affirms my questions, and frustrations and somehow that makes me feel better. I give it 2 thumbs up!
I have also finished The Color of Water and loved it! It is by a guy whose mother was white and Jewish and his southern black father. The author grew up a bit confused about his identity and every time he broached the subject with his rather quirky mother she rebuffed him with a lecture on the equality of all people and that color and race doesn't define a person nor a family. I know Caleb will ask many of these same questions one day, starting early with "Why are you so white Mom?" and wondering about his birth parents and his nationality. How will I answer him in such a way that builds identity while not creating insecurity and uncertainty. We are called to be aliens in this world, different among the people we live and walk with, well he and I each are aliens in our own way, that is for sure! But, enshallah he will see that being an alien is his God given identity until they day he is called "home" and assumes his full identity as a child of God.
The English book is just a funny read on how language is changing for good and for bad. My hope with all this reading is that it won't just be an accumulation of more information but that God will work in my heart and mind, and parenting etc... and continue to shape me into his likeness. But who knows I am pretty good at status quo!