Some Books

I've read a bunch of books that were assigned for my Soul Care Institute reading ... Shaped by the Word by Muholand, Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, The Way of the Heart by Nouwen, and I started Care of Souls by Benner ...

I started with Shaped by the Word b/c I thought there may be some grand insight for me in there since scripture just falls off of me -- maybe, I thought, I am doing something wrong? ... or perhaps there is something totally different that I COULD be doing? The book is good ... it talks a lot about shifting our approach to scripture ... not reading to get information - to gain knowledge - not going in to get what I need and leaving again but to let the WORD shape you ... to come open handed letting the Lord really get a hold of me as I read. To let my time with The Word be an experience with The Lord and not just an opportunity to come, take, and go. Certainly, everyone has to study the scripture at some point and just gain insight and knowledge - understand doctrine, grasp theme and content. Far too few actually learn for themselves and instead just accept whatever is spoken in church. But even less I think pick up the Bible to actually let it be an encounter with the Lord ... or let the time in The Word take hold of them and speak. It's truly a good admonition ... he had many strong points. The only problem for me was ... it didn't address any of my particular issues. But that's fine... most books don't address my issues. I am already seeking an encounter with God just about any and everywhere ... especially in The Word ... and it still doesn't come. So moving on ....

Next I started Benner ... this I thought would be amazing b/c he wrote the gift of knowing yourself that was so impactful back in December .... THIS book is not THAT book however... this book is a history of how psychology has impacted the church. Interesting read in small doses ... but not a joy to pick up and dive into. I set it down unfinished and picked another.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, was what I picked next. This is mostly about 1 desert monk in particular - Antony - they say he is the father of this desert monk movement. This was a strange book. The whole thing had such a mythological quality. It was hard to believe the stories that were told in here because they sounded completely crazy. But here's the thing ... I'm usually into the crazy and miraculous. BUT this was something beyond. Antony lived in the desert alone for most of his adult life - and he lived to be a 105 or so. He barely ate, slept, or saw other people. He owned almost nothing and rarely even bathed. But they say that his face was just like an angel. He was filled with such love and compassion and a whole heck of a lot of discernment when others did come to seek out his counsel, and he also was able to perform miracles and prophesy the future. For the first 20 years he lived completely alone in a cave and just did battle with the enemy almost constantly - who appeared to him in bodily form regularly. This proving ground grew his faith to epic proportions.  And thereafter, He NEVER FEARED AGAIN. He loved to be alone with the Lord, loved to be obedient, took scripture at absolute face value and followed it. He found fasting to be absolutely vital to his life with God. He learned to pray without ceasing and often gave up sleep to pray through the night. Yet God sustained and strengthened him ... he was never weak or tired or helpless. Its simply amazing and weird to contemplate ... I mean how does one even begin to apply anything he said or did to an american life? ... even the simplest of american lives are too complex. I left that book kind of dumbfounded, wondering what if anything I needed to take away from it.

That's when I picked up Nouwen's The Way of the Heart. He sort of interprets and boils down the essence of the desert fathers ... so I am really glad I began with the other one first ...