No so out of character

I'm sure you've said it or heard it said- things like “what they said was so out of character” or “That really wasn't like me to do that”. We'd like to think that underneath the stupid things we say or do, we are really pretty good and don't have a problem.

The problem is these excuses don't really stack up. Listen to what Jesus has to say-

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 NIV)

This serves as a real challenge. I can't claim anything I say or do in the heat of the moment to be out of character because here Jesus says that what we say comes out of our hearts.

It makes the needed change more challenging. If what we say comes out of our hearts, just learning to keep our mouths shut doesn't solve the problem like it would be if it was just a matter of a few out of character words. It means that we have to examine our hearts and deal with whatever nasty is lurking in there and showing up in our speech and actions. That can be a pretty scary and difficult thing. It might be anger, greed, selfishness of any of a number of nasties. While of course we work on these things with God's help, it can still take time and effort. It's effort we just have to make sometimes.

So next time you say or do something stupid, don’t brush it off as out of character, but take the chance to check your heart,

Book review: Mary-Ann Kirkby- I Am Hutterite

I Am Hutterite
Mary-Ann Kirkby
Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Koorong


In I Am A Hutterite, Mary-Ann Kirkby tells her story of growing up in a Hutterite community in Canada and the shock of adjusting to the outside world after her parents decided they needed the community. The Hutterites are a conservative Christian group who live in their own communities largely separated from the rest of society.

I quite enjoyed this book. It reads a lot like a novel. The book really vividly describes Hutterite customs, food and way of life. Christian readers will probably find especially interesting her descriptions of the Hutterite way of practicing the Christian faith. Her tales of adapting to the non-Huterrite world are fascinating because it was often things in mainstream culture that we wouldn’t expect that fascinated and frustrated her.

The one thing I didn’t like about the book was that it felt like it finished too early. I was left wondering how she had continued to wrestle with finding her place in the world into her later teen years and adulthood.

Overall, it is a quite interesting and enjoyable read. I recommend it.


Review copy provided by booksneeze.com

Featured song: Christa Wells- I want to know that man

This time I don't have a video of the featured song, but if you click on the widget below you can stream the song or download it and a few other of Christa's songs for free.

Photos: At the beach #2

More musings on worship songs

Last week an article I co-wrote about some of the things we say to God in worship songs was published on stuffchristianslike.net. The article was largely satirical but I hope it got people thinking about what they sing. It is very easy to get swept up by the catchy melodies and moving music and as a result sing rather mindlessly. It is easy to be singing on auto-piliot because we have heard the songs so many times before.

Often we sing songs that express big commitments and total dedication to God. He is surely worthy of all of our lives, hearts and dedication. If I’m honest with myself though, I often don’t live up to what I sing. Sometimes I struggle to give God little things, let alone the big things the songs promise. Sometimes I sing about Jesus being my everything but I know my heart is all to easily captivated by things other than God. It can kinda feel like I am lying to God. Don’t get me wrong, I love God and want to get better honouring him, I just don’t have it all together yet. Because I don’t have it all together (and probably won’t at any time this side of heaven) I have mixed feelings on whether I should sing or not sing the songs. I doubt I am alone in struggling with what I sing in church sometimes being different to my reality.

We can find hope in the fact that Christianity is not about us living up to the standards in our songs- or any other standard for that matter. It is all about what Jesus has done for us. Jesus didn’t wait for us to reach some super level of holiness and dedication before he loved us and gave himself up for us- he did it while we were still sinners deep in rebellion (Romans 5:6-8) What we’ve done might not be worth singing about, but what Jesus has done certainly is. Certainly we should strive for holiness, but out of gratitude that Jesus was perfectly holy on our behalf. How well I’m doing might change from day to day, week to week, but God does not change. That’s a very comforting thought sometimes.

So think about what you sing, but don’t let your thinking drive you to despair at your failure to measure up. Instead, use it as a chance to repent where needed and be thankful that Jesus is more than enough for you.

Interview with Sarah Cunningham, author of Picking Dandelions

Sarah Raymond Cunningham is a high school teacher, part-time college prof, and chief servant to the nine month emperor Justus. She is a popular church and conference speaker, the author of Dear Church, and a contributor to several books, including unChristian. Sarah, her husband, Chuck, and their son live with their manic Jack Russell terrier in Jackson, Michigan. They attend a church plant called Rivertree. Find out more at www.sarahcunningham.org.

How would you describe Picking Dandelions to people who haven't read any of your writing before?
Picking Dandelions is a collection of stories--a memoir really--about change. It follows my life, so there are stories from various stages--from working with the homeless, to leading a disaster relief trip to Ground Zero, to working with inner city kids. All of it is honest. Some of it is funny. Its a transparent look at the ups and downs of religion, of figuring out how to have and keep faith.

How do you hope the book will impact people?
I hope people will enjoy themselves as they read it. That they'll laugh. But mostly, I hope they'll relate. Every one of us faces what can feel like the monotony of adulthood. We clean the house or mow the lawn or clock into work again and again. Subconsciously it can send us a message: life has leveled off. This is all there is. But I don't think that's true. I think faith is a never ending journey that grows and stretches and breathes new energy into us, no matter where we are in life.
I think we can't afford the boredom and stagnation of unchanged living.

I love the idea from the book that we are all trying to recapture a little bit of Eden. Do you have a favourite way you have been discovering a little bit of Eden lately?
I'm a lover, by nature, so Eden hits me deepest when I'm spending time with people. I'm always so taken with people--whether it be the girl who cuts my hair or my coworkers or my family. Loving people stirs goodness--not just in us, but in most cases, in the people around us.

Someone once told me they felt like I fell in love every time I met a new person. And sometimes  I think they're right. Eden is reborn in every moment where my life touches another person's.

Who or what inspires you as a writer?
Real life is probably my steadiest inspiration. Concepts--spiritual truths, for example--sometimes hook onto me in ways that almost feel like they're begging me to write about them.

Picking Dandelions was influenced, in part, by writers like Anne Lamott who talk to their readers openly and aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. I could write something more academic. Part of me is a thinker and likes that sort of thing. But I'd rather write something accessible that a broader group of people want to read, you know?



Sarah also had a question for me. She wanted to know what books I recommend. I had a hard time narrowing it down to a few, but some new books I like are Jonathon Acuff- Stuff Christians Like, Anne Jackson- Permission to Speak Freely and Donald Miller- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

Book review: Anne Jackson- Permission to speak freely

Permission to speak freely
Anne Jackson

In Permission To Speak Freely, Anne Jackson writes about hurt, confession and healing in the Church. The project was born out of her own experiences with abuses, sins and struggles that are not normally talked about in Christian community. The book is also inspired by the many hundreds of responses from hurting people she received when she asked "What is one thing you feel you can't say in church?" on her blog.

In the book, Anne seeks to encourage the church to be a safe place for people and for those who are hurting or struggling to confess the things they have been keeping secret so that they may move towards healing. I really like that she focuses not just on how the struggling can benefit but also how they can use their experiences to help others. I found the encouragement to use my experiences to help others really challenging.

True to the theme of the book, Anne shares a lot from the tough parts of her life. I applaud her honesty because some of it is difficult stuff that we in the Christian community tend not to talk about. It’s stuff we probably should talk about more so people can get the help they need rather than suffering in silence.

I reviewed this book in audiobook format. Anne’s reading of her book was very expressive so it felt more like listening in a conversation than hearing someone read you the book. Because I reviewed in audio format, I can’t comment on the art work I am told is in the printed version.

I highly recommend this book. I found it encouraging, challenging and inspiring. I hope Permission to Speak Freely is widely read because I believe it has the potential to help a lot of people.





I reviewed a pre-release review copy of the book provided by christianaudio.com. The book will be available late August.

Welcome visitors from Stuff Christians Like

If you are visiting Joanna Muses from Stuff Christians Like (and even if you are not), welcome and thanks for visiting! At Joanna Muses I review books, post music I enjoy, ponder life and faith and share photos I've taken. Please do take a look around. Over the next few weeks I plan to post some more serious reflections on worship music and will be interviewing Christian author Sarah Cunningham.




P.S If you have not seen what I co-wrote for Stuff Christians Like and would like to read it, you can find that here.

Photos: At the beach

A few blog updates

There's a few updates and new things happening on the blog. I've added a few more books to the recommended reading page. I'll be continuing to add more books to the list as I come across good ones. I also plan on doing longer reviews on more of the titles on the list. Let me know if there is anything on the list you would particularly like me to review.

Finally the blog has a contact page. It's an ugly one (for the moment at least) but should do the job until I can get to making a less ugly one. You can use the contact form if you have any feedback or ideas for the blog. I may even make an About me page if I can think of anything interesting to say on it.

Coming up soon is my first interview with a Christian author. Interviews are definitely something I'd like to do more of.

Book review: David Platt- Radical

Radical
David Platt
Buy: christianaudio, amazon, bookdepository

In Radical, David Platt challenges Christians to let go of the American dream and live a life of radical dedication to and action for Christ.

In many ways this is a needed book. The American dream does often shape what we think about faith, even for those of us who are not American. Very often it is not for the better. Things like materialism and spiritual laziness are a problem for most of us. The book provides a strong challenge to re-assess our beliefs and actions in light of scripture. I doubt any Christian could make it through this book without being convicted about something.

Despite the much needed challenge the book provides it also has some weak spots.

The book had a lot of focus about what we should do. Without a corresponding strong focus on what Christ has done, it risks creating a unbalanced view of the gospel which is centred on what we do and our becoming radical enough to be true Christians.

The book is a bit confusing as to how exactly we should be radical. At some points in the book it sounds like you should sell everything and be a missionary overseas. At other points we are told to do such not particularly radical things as read through the bible in a year and get involved in a church. Regular clarifications on big statements he made also made it a bit hard to follow at times.

There is a risk that books like this one will prompt people to attempt being radical in unwise ways that are ineffective or even harmful. I don’t think the book provides enough caution in this area. I think that this book would be best read alongside books on relevant topics like skills required for cross cultural ministry or helping the poor in sustainable ways. Those reading this book would also benefit from the council of Godly believers in how to best apply it.

I reviewed this book in audio format. The production was very well done, but the narration did not work well for me. I tried going through some sections in print format and found that easier.

Review copy provided by christianaudio.com