Book Reviews

Takeaway: Mr Rogers really was wise.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

Over the weekend there were a bunch of sales on kindle books.  I picked this up for $0.44.  And at that price is was a steal.  The kindle price is now up to almost $10 so much less attractive.

This is a very short books, in paper it looks like a gift book size.  In audio it is only 75 minutes.

It was edited by Fred Roger’s wife from various speeches and articles that he wrote.  Each page has a few lines, just one thought. There are a couple roughly themed chapters, but really this is intended to be browsed through looking for the nugget that will speak to you where you are right now.

I do not have kids of my own, but nanny my two nieces (2 and 3).  I think I highlighted about a third of the book.  What Mr Rogers seems to be good at is encouraging parents to be good parents.  This seems to be the theme of the book:

Looking back over the years of parenting that my wife and I have done with our two boys, I feel good about who we are and what we’ve done. I don’t mean we were perfect parents. Not at all. Our years with our children were marked by plenty of inappropriate responses. Both Joanne and I can recall many times when we wish now we’d said or done something different. But we didn’t, and we’ve learned not to feel too guilty about that. What gives me my good feelings is that we always cared and always tried to do our best. Our two sons are very different one from the other; yet, at the core of each of them there seems to be a basic kindness, a caring, and a willingness to try. I’ve heard young parents complain about the way they were treated by their own parents, and they say, “œI’ll never make that mistake with my kids!” And probably the most honest response to that is, “œPerhaps you won’t make that mistake, but you’ll surely make your own different ones.” Well, we certainly made our share of mistakes.

Read more

It’s been said that females and males can’t be friends because of the big S word involved…..that friendship without sex equals questionable intentions (blame When Harry met Sally!). I’ve always found that to be a very simplistic and stereotypical view of men and women relationships. I personally, have been able to have two very close platonic male friends (they were “bridesmen” in my wedding). As a woman in the book quotes, we have never nor will we ever engage in any sexual intimacy. Instead, we laugh, we talk, and we share stories. I often find myself getting offended that people, especially church people (not all but some!) have relayed to me that having male friends somehow conflicts with God’s view of marriage and intimacy. Luckily, in this book, it seems Mr. Dan Brennan is on my side!

This author presents a different perspective from existing church culture. “Christ came not to just reduce the old disorder of lust, violence, and possession between men and women ,but to usher us into a new world of embodied communication with each other.” He submits that it is possible to live together in Christ without lust or sexual innuendos interfering with the friendship. In focusing on the fact that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, our focus shifts onto our common bond of Christianity rather than our own temptations and desires.

Read more

For as long as I have been a Christian, I remember being taught, repeatedly, the story of Billy Graham and his attempt to always be above reproach.  I have no idea if the stories of the Reverend Graham are true or not but they went something along the lines of:  Reverend Graham would not get on an elevator if he’d be on board with a woman alone, that he wouldn’t counsel a woman unless a third party was present, etc.

I never questioned these stories or Reverend Graham’s intent until recently.  A dear friend of mine, we’ll call her Molly, came home from college and told me the story of how she couldn’t visit a male friend of hers because his wife wasn’t available to “œtag along”.  Molly understood her friend’s feelings but yet she wound up feeling “œicky”; which was quite vexing to her because she did nothing wrong.

Read more

Mary Magdalene had a difficult couple of days after her best friend Jesus was crucified. She was numb all over. When she couldn’t stand it any longer she decided she would go to the place her friend was buried and mourn for him there.

She gathered up the spices of her religious custom to ensure that he was properly buried. She arrived at the tomb and found that Jesus’ body was gone. Immediately, Mary loses it. She goes to find a couple of Jesus’ guy friends to help her figure out what happened.

The guys showed up and sure enough Jesus’ body is no longer in the tomb. The guys totally forgot that Jesus’ was going to rise from the dead and they get angry. They looked at each other and said, “OK, it’s on. Let’s get everyone else and find the punk that took Jesus’ body and teach him a lesson.” They totally forgot that Mary was there and just leave her behind as they go to “save the day.”

Mary was not in a good place emotionally. Her good friend Jesus was crucified and when she came back to the tomb to care for him his body was gone. Her friends didn’t really ask how she was doing; they just came up with a plan to right the wrong and left her in the garden alone. After all of the emotion of the last few days she broke down in front of the tomb weeping for the friend she lost…not once, but twice.

Read more