Sharing Four Somethings in July

Something Loved

This guy turned nine last month and we got to celebrate his birthday at a small family-only party.

How has it been nine years since we became grandparents? It seems like I blinked and those nine years flew by.

We have had so many good memories over those nine years, first of just this one precious baby boy, then of him and his younger brother, and finally, his younger cousin was added to the mix.

This summer, we are making memories of playing at the pool, visiting local parks, checking out the ice cream parlor, and playing laser tag (a ninth birthday present).

Something Read

You guys, I was on fire this month as far as reading went. I read a bunch of books. I am going to write here about three of them.

The first, Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk, by Eugene Cho is (as the subtitle says) a Christian’s guide to engaging in politics. I give this book three-and-a-half stars (out of five).

I agree with the premise of the book: our hope comes not from a political party or any single person, but from Christ.

I also believe, as Cho does, that Christians should be involved in politics because politics impact people, and we, as people, are tasked with preparing for God’s kingdom here on earth.

When we engage in politics, we must keep Jesus’ teachings in mind. Cho advises us to “pray for wisdom and advocate for the vulnerable.”

I thought the book was too long by about a third and the author kind of ran out of things to say, but it definitely is a book worth reading.

The second book, The Death Of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, was a page-turner.

An intelligent, well-written suspense novel set in England with echoes of the Daphne du Maurier classic, Rebecca, Ware’s book tells the story of the intrepid, financially challenged protagonist, Hal (a young woman), as she spends the weekend at a country estate that she may have inherited with a family she may belong to.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but this book is well worth the read. I give it four-and-a-half stars.

On to the third book.

Sadly, I was late to the Rachel Held Evans party.

Searching For Sunday was the first book I read by the late author and now I wonder why I waited so long.

While I don’t agree with Evans on every single point (I probably wouldn’t agree with anyone on every single point), I found this book to be an honest examination of a true believer’s doubts and questions concerning her faith.

While Evan’s politics are definitely left-leaning, she does not bash conservative Christians in this book, in fact, quite the opposite. She writes of her evangelical roots with grace and understanding.

Reading this book helped me in my own journey of faith by making me ask myself some of the same difficult questions explored by the author.

I give this book five stars.

Something Treasured

Regular readers of this blog know that we lost our dog, Benji, last month. I wrote about it here.

His death really threw me for a loop.

I received so many encouraging emails, messages, and even some flowers from family members and friends that I treasured.

To everyone who reached out, a heartfelt: “Thank you. You are the best!”

Something Ahead

 

The Colorado Kid’s fifth birthday is at the end of July.

Before the pandemic struck, we made plans to fly out to Colorado to help celebrate his birthday.

As the date of our flight approached and COVID-19 case numbers soared, we became less comfortable with the idea of sitting on an airplane with 100 strangers for 4 hours. We canceled our tickets.

We didn’t cancel the trip outright, however. We thought we might be able to safely drive out to Colorado. We discussed the logistics of the long drive over and over again, unable to come to a decision.

Finally, with the point of no return rapidly approaching, we decided: we are going.

I am facing the prospect of the trip with some trepidation but we have not seen this family since Thanksgiving. I am anticipating seeing my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson with great joy.

I hope to be roasting marshmallows with this boy before too long.

 

I am linking up with Heather Gerwing for her “Four Somethings”. Thanks, Heather, for giving the opportunity to think and write about four such compelling topics.

You can find the places I link up here.