Resources, Babies, and a Possible Book Club (Off-site Highlights)

Dear Friends,

Greetings! It's been a long time since I posted a round-up of links. I don't know if this is a good time or a bad time to resume blogging--things are a little crazy out there right now, aren't they? Perhaps, though, now is just the time to find good stuff to read that ISN'T the news.


First, a few links related to current events:

• If you haven't already seen them, do check out these encouraging Synodical resources on responding to the novel Coronavirus. 

• In addition, I couldn't help laughing at Pastor Fiene's "interview" with the virus itself (there's some sound theology in his piece right along with the humor). 

• This list of virtual field trips to various places around the world looks like a fun way to take a virtual break from social isolation. 

Secondly, on to the links about books and ideas:

• Fear and the Benedict Option by Leah Libresco Sargeant. "Any sort of retreat will also attract people who are tempted to hate the part of the world they are withdrawing from. Any group gathering in a BenOp spirit should expect to attract people at varying levels of weariness, anger, fear, and despair. Even a legitimate righteous anger can curdle into contempt or despair. To truly mend nets requires us to be aware of these temptations in ourselves and in our friends, and to seek to sin no more." Read more.

• Come Play With Me: Lessons For (and from) My Baby by Lindsey Brigham Knott. "I’ve marveled at how his baby presence can pulse with pure personhood in a way that no adult’s does. As we grow older, we clothe our persons in all the things we do and think, in quirks, hobbies, vocations, habits, places, pasts. A baby’s person is more mysterious, more elemental; he interacts simply through being, and wakes us up to the mystery of every human soul—that from its first hours outside the womb, this flesh-and-blood pulses with fears, joys, and longings that transcend its merely physical needs, and keep it tethered to a world beyond that of food, shelter, and the stuff of earth." Read more.

• By the way, I post regular reviews on Goodreads. Feel free to "friend" me there--I enjoy finding new titles through my friends' reviews. 

• In case you missed it: A while ago I wrote about How To Turn Your Children Into Readers For Life for The Federalist. I also wrote about Building Your Family Library. 

• Have any of you read Wendy Shalit's A Return to Modesty? It sounds really interesting (apparently it's about societal attitudes in general, not just what women ought to wear).

A last question

• I like the idea of starting a one-time SDMW book club, probably by utilizing a private Facebook group. Would anyone be interested in reading through C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces together? 

Blessings!

Anna