One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp

I'm in awe.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Ann is articulate and poetic and observant and real. The bible is imprinted in her heart, and she quotes from it effortlessly. She is a superb example to me of a good Christian woman trying to live a life pleasing to her God. She mentions attending a nondenominational church, so I don't know if she identifies herself with any specific religion ... but I think she's incredible.

A friend of mine sent me this link to watch her discuss her book for an online book club. I love that a simple farmer's wife (though not as simple as she claims) can be such a force for good in so many lives. She lives and breathes devotion.

I think this "book" review has become more of a person review. The book is full of insight into becoming grateful enough to come joyfully close to God. It's about the power of gratitude to open a life and open a heart to powerful potential and capacity. And it's so beautifully written.

5 stars, would recommend to anyone, will read again and again

The Three Weissmans of Westport, Cathleen Schine

I enjoyed this book. It's silly and kind of pointless, but I was in the mood for fiction, trapped in a basement apartment with a sick child during a trip to Provo. I read it for the Jane Austen-ness of it. I read that it's meant to be a tribute to Sense and Sensibility ... and it was fun for me to read in that sense.

Lots of language and adultery and other things I don't appreciate, so I'd never recommend it to a friend. But I kept reading, wanting the Elinor character to find happiness, wanting Marianne to find comfort after her Willoughby character jilted her and took off to be the homosexual doctor in the cast of a famous soap opera.

The only element of the book that brought me any kind of pensive reflection was Mr. Weissman. Unlike Mr. Dashwood, Mr. Weissman chose to leave. But Schine portrays him as regretful, dissatisfied with his choice and sentimental over all he has lost. It made me think of my own life and the choices I make ... It's so ridiculous when pride keeps us from admitting our errors and we sentence ourselves to a lifetime of rejecting what we want over a moment of blindness when we didn't realize we wanted it so much. Terrible grammar. You know what I mean. I think. :)

Worth reading? Not really. Two stars.

Blown Away By The Screwtape Letters -- Mary

Hi Girls,

Thanks for giving me the opportunity and experience to read the Screwtape Letters, as it is one I had planned to read for a long time. I had even started it once a few years ago, but never finished. I apologize for how long it is taking me to read. This is one of those books in which almost every sentence is so profound that I have to go back and read it and process. What that your guys' experience or am I just majorly OCD?

#1 One of the main things this book had me thinking about is how much it applies to my life, and if I had my own personal “Wormwood” how much of my everyday erroneous thinking comes from sources outside of myself, by “beings” that have studied up on me and know my weaknesses and the triggers to my negative behaviors. Do I believe in demons? Absolutely. Not necessarily in the traditional pitch-fork-holding, little devil on your shoulder sense of the word, but I think when we accept that Satan is real (and there is more than enough evidence in the world to support that) we also have to accept that there are followers of his that seek to do his work on earth, and those and some of there most productive work, I’m sure, is what they do to us on an individual basis.
At the same time I don’t think we should believe too much in demons, if that makes any sense, at least not to the extent that we are absolving ourselves from personal responsibility (i.e. the “devil made me do it” syndrome). God gave us agency, and as mortals we have to accept that thoughts and behaviors are ultimately our own, whether we have a tempter’s influence or not. Maybe these “demons” only know how to take us to the edge, be we push ourselves over. Their influence only goes so far, as Screwtape points out to Wormwood so often in the text. I remember learning somewhere that devils cannot read our minds, that are thoughts are uniquely our own. But for the sake of making his point I can see how C.S. Lewis portrays these tempters in the way he does.

#2 I love this question on the “pressure of the ordinary” because this is the downfall of so many good people in the world, myself often included. I thought it was interesting toward the beginning when Screwtape says that distraction is the best ally, when the “patient” is starting to feel the rumblings of “the enemy” (we would call it The Spirit), to fight back directly would be to lose. He advises only to tell the patient to “think about it later,” and then he inevitably rarely does. When we are present with the Spirit we need to stay in that moment. I have a hard time with this often as worldly matters that at the time seem more pressing and important flow in and out of my mind. 

#3 I agree with the statements you both made about this. In fact, I would argue that is it one of Satan’s most effective tools, at least when it comes to church members. We learn about this in the temple. He knows that if we can have any negative association with the church, we will blame the entire organization, thus denying themselves the gift of the gospel of Christ at its core. So I’ve resolved to be better than that. If I ever catch myself focusing more on the people in the pews than the message that is being taught, I try to redirect myself.

#4 This was an interesting question. I love how LDS doctrine emphasizes that the soul is the spirit AND the body. I think we can all agree that we are more receptive to the Spirit when the basic physical needs have been met. But isn’t it interesting how we can be better receptive when we deny our physical needs as well, such as in the case of fasting?

I don’t know about you gals, but I was truly blown away with how insightful and accurate Lewis’ perception is on how we are tried and tempted. This is why I love him so much as a writer. He seems to have a way of just piercing the heart of what is really true and essential. He is truly an inspired man with such a depth of spiritual matters, particularly concerning Christ and the Atonement. I look forward to reading more of his books. -- Mary