Summer Reading

I love keeping a running book list going all year on my phone. There are actually two lists: one for “books to read,” and one for “books read in 2014.” Keeping track of both of these has helped me read more books, read more books that I actually want to read, and also to feel encouraged when I look back over the list! Win-win-win.

Blogging about my favorite books this year has been so fun, especially because so many friends are taking me up on the recommendations! I love that!

Here’s what I’ve been reading lately::

1. The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence by Gary Haugen [2014]

Gary Haugen is the President and CEO of International Justice Mission (IJM), and this book explains why their work is necessary and crucial in our world. To be clear, this is a difficult book to read. However, as a member of a generation full of non-profit startups out to save the world, it is incredibly important to understand the systems in place. For example, a micro loan or a job won’t actually help a widow buy a house if her property is seized unjustly by men in her village. The loan or job becomes pointless when the police and justice systems won’t step in to stand up for her. This book is important and extremely well-written.

2. North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson [Book 2 of 4 in the Wingfeather Saga] [2009]

On a lighter note, you’ve heard me talk about this beloved Wingfeather Saga before, and I think #2 is miles ahead of book #1. If you enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia, you’ll love these books. These stories take creative writing to a whole new level. I love them!

3. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion [2013]

I hesitated to put this book on the list, because I didn’t love it as much as the others, and there was a fair amount of language in it. However, I read it over a month ago and I’m still missing and thinking about the characters! Set in Australia, a quirky older professor with Aspergers sets out to find a wife in true scientific form, called “The Wife Project.” This is a quick read, and I have heard a few movie rumors for the future.

4. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand [2010]

If you haven’t read this yet, stop what you’re reading and go buy it right now. Seriously. It is THAT good. Apparently I’ve been living under a rock because everyone else I know seemingly has read this and loved it as much as I did. I don’t say this lightly, but this may be the most inspiring stories I have ever read. It’s also the craziest; I was sitting in our living room gasping out loud during 60% of it. This true story is being made into a movie releasing Christmas Day 2014!

5. Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist [2007]

Shauna has become on of my favorite people ever. Yes, we’re on a first name basis. No, we’ve never met. ((Although, I did see the back of her head and sat in the same room as her in February at the IF: Gathering. So we could probably totally count that.)) She’s a beautiful writer/blogger/speaker, and it’s a little crazy I didn’t read this book till this summer! My roommate Rebe told me it was a life-changer for her, so I picked it up immediately! It’s a memoir format, written with one story per chapter so you can pick this up & put it down as often as you like. Truly lovely.

6. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens [1838]

I’m convinced I need more classics in my “book diet,” so every once in a while I’ll tackle a highly-referenced one like this. To make life easier, I checked this one out at the library on audio book, and settled into some highly detailed prose every day. I can see why Oliver Twist has become a classic though, and why it’s one we should all read. Dickens does not shy away from difficult topics, including a lot that still exist today. As someone invested and interested in the plight of the orphan in the world, this was a significant read. If you only read this back in 8th grade, it might be time to give it another go.

 

Full Disclosure:: Some of these books were heavy. And we went to the beach. While we were at the beach, I wanted to read something light and escape-like. Enter the NYT bestselling series: The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter [2007-2013]. Feel free to mock my young-adult fiction taste, but this six-book series was so perfect! My sister and I could not put them down, and they were such fun to read! So, if you’re up for a page-turning, fun, clean, girly spy book, this is your jam.

Happy reading! xo

Holiday Weekend

I love the idea of a 3-day weekend. The very name redefines “weekend,” giving it an extra day to travel, eat, and sneak in some quality time with those nearest and dearest.

This weekend, in celebration of those brave men and women who have stood up to fight for our country, I have felt especially grateful. I’ve lately been reading The Locust Effect by IJM president Gary Haugen, and whoa has it rattled me. (I’m sure I’ll write a blog post once I finish it.. In the meantime, I highly recommend it!) This nation, with all of its flaws is at the very least free, and my goodness what an un-free gift that has been!

Thankful.

As we celebrate with that extra day to breathe deeply this weekend, the outdoors was exactly needed. Met with giant crawfish boils under great Texan skies, kite-flying, and catching up with old friends, this was a weekend living up to the hype. There was a tent wedding reception, joining two families of a daughter and son who were delightfully ecstatic to be wed at last, and within hidden blooming gardens the night was perfect.

The long days left time for reading and resting and remembering. Days for sipping coffee outside and marveling How He Loves Us deeper than we could know. The days were for ending a prayer with “we love you and trust you, and may my life reflect that every.single.moment.” 

Cheers to you, Summer. We’re officially ready for you.

The Story of Malala and Praying for the World

I just finished reading possibly my favorite book of the last several years: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. Think of her as the Katniss of the Middle Eastern world.

I cannot imagine a better contrast of the depravity of humanity, and the impact of one courageous person. Malala was raised in a culture which did not value women, especially the education of women. She loved to learn, was admittedly “bookish,” and enjoyed competing to be at the top of her class. Her own father was an outspoken advocate for education (even for girls) in Pakistan, owning and running several schools himself.

Then everything changed. The Taliban slowly and subtly took over in her area of the country, and the results were horrifying. She writes of beheadings in the street, public floggings of both men and women, bombings every night, and – even worse, she says – they shut down the schools. She tells the terrifying details of evil infiltrating the everyday. I simply could not believe what I was reading. Everything in me cried out for justice and hope and this is not as it should be.

“All this happened and nobody did a thing. It was as though everyone were in a trance.” (Malala, kindle location 1433-34)

“Some people are afraid of ghosts, some of spiders or snakes – in those days we were afraid of our fellow human beings.” (Malala, kindle location 1934-36)

One day Malala went with her family to the beach. It was the first time she had seen the ocean, and her father noticed she seemed far away as she sat staring out over the horizon. “I sat on the rocks and thought about the fact that across the water were lands where women were free.” (Malala, kindle location 2525-26)

I’m embarrassed to admit I knew nothing of the history of the Taliban in Pakistan. I had no idea how long they had been in control, or how they had come to power.

On her way home from school one day, Malala, at age 15, was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban in October 2012.

October 2012. Not even two years ago.

Since then, she has miraculously healed and is now living in England, unable to return to her beloved homeland. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Price, her book almost won a Pulitzer, and she spoke to the United Nations on her sixteenth birthday last July.

I cannot believe I didn’t know more of the story before. Her narrative comes with dates and times- dates I specifically remember in my own life:

• 2005: Maulana Fazlullah [notorious Taliban leader; still at large] starts [propaganda] radio in Swat [the name of the valley Malala called home]
• 2005: I graduate from high school
• 2007-2009: Taliban extend influence across Swat
• 2007-2009: I complete my sophomore and junior years of college. I work at a Christian camp in the summers.
• 15 January 2009: Fazlulla announces all girls’ schools to close in Swat
• January 2009: I begin my final semester in college, and begin to plan a trip for the following semester abroad in Australia
• 12 October 2012: Malala shot in the head by the Taliban
• October 2012: I begin interviewing for a new job in Dallas. Our family has recently begun the adoption process for James and Betty, two people I only know by names and one picture, living in the far away nation of Uganda.

This is what I love about writing. Stories like Malala’s humanize the news. I’m simultaneously amazed and thankful for the bravery of one young girl; the impact she has had worldwide is enormous.

There is deep depravity in the hearts of people, and only Jesus can bring hope and healing to our hearts. The light only comes through Him (John 14:6), and I know the light of Christ beats out the darkness. The darkness will not overcome it (John 1:1-12).

However, I fear we have forgotten the depravity of humanity. I often get so wrapped up in my small life (the psalms call it “but a breath“), and I don’t think about what’s happening one house over, or certainly not one ocean over. I don’t think about the hope I have, that same one others desperately need.

Often I think stories like Malala’s are so far off, so distant, and that nothing like that could ever happen in my backyard. But then, I’ve read about the genocide in Rwanda, when people slaughtered their own neighbors and friends with dirty machetes by the thousands. I’ve studied Nazi Germany, where one of the most educated countries in the world committed history’s most wicked crimes. The truth is, it could happen anywhere.

I pray we believers will be people who follow Jesus daily, and in the following we will love our neighbors as ourselves, and intentionally pray for the world. How shall we pray for the world? Read the news. Know the stories. Read Malala’s book (it’s fantastic). Grab a copy of Operation World to reference from your coffee table. Take a trip overseas. Adopt a missionary to support and consistently keep in prayer. (I’ve got some suggestions if you’re looking!) Take a Perspectives class. Pray for those 276 girls who were abducted and sold into marriages just this week in Nigeria. (I can’t get their stories out of my head.) Study and support the work of International Justice Mission.

The world is smaller today than it has ever been, thanks to the technology we use more often to distract and entertain. Let’s courageously leverage it for freedom and light.

Recommended: The Just Church

The past few years, my heart has been awakened to the call for justice and hope in this world. As I’ve read the stories and skimmed through the headlines, my Bible-reading lens has shifted.

I used to think of “the oppressed” in the Bible as those of us who have bad days. You know, the days when the other girls at school are being bullies. ((Stay with me)) I tend to make the Bible as much about me as possible. The brokenhearted? Me. I didn’t get picked for such-and-such. The poor in spirit? Me. I get tired, okay? The poor? Me. Um, I work in ministry. Better- I work in camp ministry.

Honestly, even writing those thoughts down here makes me feel a bit nauseous. Thankfully, the Lord has opened my eyes and I see further than my own stuck-up nose these days. ((Mostly.)) Not to say that I never have bad days, never feel tired, or never feel brokenhearted, because I do. That empathy strength makes everything extra gut-wrenching. I now know why the author of Hebrews called the Word of God “an anchor for our souls.” Oh how I cling to that sweet steady anchor!

I attribute a significant part of my soul-awakening to an organization called International Justice Mission (IJM). I’ve been following them on twitter, watching their videos, and reading their stories. “Inspiring” is an understatement. There are several excellent organizations out there today seeking to end human trafficking, but so far IJM is the best I have seen. They work with the government, lawyers, social workers, and field officers on the ground in many countries worldwide to end slavery in a holistic, gospel-driven model that brings true restoration.

IJM just released a book written by their VP of Church Mobilization, Jim Martin.

I was thrilled when I first heard about this book, since I’m relatively new to the justice-seeking community, and IJM has become an impressive well-experienced authority on the subject. The book is well-written and engaging. Martin takes the reader deeper into the real stories rescue and justice inside the darkest corners of the world. The real stories of hope he tells from his own church are inspiring and encouraging. He challenges us all to be risk-takers. Isn’t that what Jesus wanted too?

I especially appreciated that the book didn’t end there. The whole second half is filled with practical guidelines and steps to engage one’s own church in justice. Something of a roadmap, Martin truthfully advises prayer in and before every step. After reading this book, the excuse of “not knowing what to do next” will be irrelevant.

“So take courage and take humility. Gather your friends and be on your way.”  -Jim Martin, The Just Church

Check out the book here on Amazon, and read more about the author here. Also? All author proceeds go toward IJM. Happy reading!

Sign Your Name: Stand for Freedom

Linking up with International Justice Mission (IJM) today, to ask you to sign a message to Congress to support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2011.

From the IJM website: There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today – more than any other time in history. But there is a simple step you can take now to ensure that this number starts to change.

In 2000, Congress passed an innovative bill called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to combat modern-day slavery around the world. This year, the law must be renewed in order to sustain the life-saving programs it established. Please urge Congress to endorse the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011. Take action and contact your Senators and Representative today!

It will literally take 2 minutes of your time. Sign your name here.

I will be the first to admit, I do not often click on links much in emails, twitter, or blogs. I urge you to make this exception, and add your name to the fight for freedom. I would also encourage you to study IJM further. I have been consistently impressed with the professionalism and effectiveness of the organization.