Last month when I wrote to you about
my reading updates, I hadn’t yet finished Beth Moore’s memoir, but I did get it
completed before September ended. And today…I share my thoughts with you!
I
know that a lot of people have strong feelings when it comes to Beth. Some
really love her and some find her a bit much. And others did love her and found
themselves put off by her when she spoke her mind and stood up to the SBC. I
can only speak for my own opinions, so if yours differ, it’s okay!
Beth’s
writings and teachings have heavily shaped me through the years. She was the
one who made me believe I could possibly learn about studying God’s Word even
if I didn’t have a graduate degree attached to my name. She was the one who
taught me by her own example to dig in as far as I could, to love word studies,
and to write Bible studies. I’ve done many of her video/book studies and loved
them all. I’ve been to one of her Living Proof Live events.
I
have always believed Beth is the real deal and I believe it even more after
reading her memoir. I have no idea how she has withstood the storm of criticism
that has come her way. Do I believe she has done everything right? No. And you
know what? She would say the same! But do I believe she has done everything she
has done with the best of intentions? Yes. And as a person who also
hasn’t done everything right and also had good intentions, I hope for the same
mercy and grace of God to cover my own failings and faults.
Beth’s
memoir is called All
My Knotted-Up Life, and she writes exactly how she speaks. It’s one of
the things that slowed me down as I read. I had to read it in her voice, and
not being a natural at a southern accent, I had to work at it. (Fun fact: this
is the first book in all my life that I want to follow up by listening to the
audio book because I want to hear it IN her voice.)
Beth
has had a hard life. She was (as she has shared about in her teachings) abused
as a child and it shaped her – as it would shape anyone. She writes candidly
the hard stuff about growing up in a home where her father was known one way in
the community and a very different way by his family. She writes about her
brokenness and how she fought to find her way. She has had a hard marriage –
which she has also shared about candidly in her teachings – yet she and Keith
have worked hard to persevere and show God’s mercy through their own stories.
They love each other deeply, even if life and love haven’t come easily.
To
read the stories of her faith and how it was shaped, the desire of her soul,
the teachings that both enabled and strangled her, was so comforting to me. I
appreciated her vulnerability, honesty, and willingness to say hard things for
the good of the reader who might be living the same hard things.
I
loved this book. I’m so glad I bought it. I underlined in it and really do want
to hear the audio so I can hear it all again in her familiar voice.
**
For
the last five weeks I’ve been doing another Darlene Schacht (Time Warp Wife)
Bible study. This time I did her newest release: Living Faithfully – A Journey
Through James. I knew this book was
going to be the topic of her next study, so all throughout the month of
September, I did a slow, deep dive (personally) on the book of James, and then
I dug in again with her for the duration of this study.
The
last study of hers I did (which I told you about earlier) was on the life of
Jacob, and it was an eleven-week study. This one was just five weeks, and the
study was not only shorter in weeks, but it was also shorter in daily readings.
So if you need a study that isn’t super long and consuming, this would be a
good choice.
James
is such a rich book, and I appreciate the themes Darlene pulled from it to
teach how to live faithfully in specific areas of life, as taught throughout
the book of James. As is her usual writing style, she shares personal stories
as well as important context and word studies from the Scripture that make the
lessons easier to understand and put into practice.
I
am a fan of her study style, so I have yet to find a book of hers I don’t like,
and this one is no exception. I recommend it wholeheartedly! (And a reminder…if
you can’t afford to purchase the book, you can sign up for her newsletter and
receive access to free downloads of all the chapters!)
**
Another
book I read this month was one I found on display in the Swiss Village library.
Ryan checked it out for me so I could read it. I’d never heard of it before,
but it’s called The
Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
– a memoir by Wendy McClure.
This
book fascinated me because I simultaneously loved it and didn’t like it at all.
I agreed and disagreed with the author, sometimes on the same points. How is
that even possible?
The
premise of the book is that Wendy read the Little House books as a child
and found Laura to be a kindred spirit…so much so that when she grew up, she
felt she had to deeply explore the world of Little House to make sense
of how the stories shaped her and how they still impacted her in her adult
life. It was a concept that made sense to me, since many of the books I read
and was shaped by as a child have pushed me to explore the lives and time
periods of those books as an adult. But I’ve never taken it to the lengths she
did with Little House.
She
was quick to say her love of the stories came from the books, not from the TV
show, and if anything, she seems to be opposed to the show and its inaccurate
representation of the true Ingalls family. We parted ways there, because I love
the show every bit as much as the books. She wrestled with the line between
fiction and reality within the books Laura wrote and spent many hours reading
books written by others about Laura to learn more of the truth. I have never
struggled with it. The books were what they are, and I am okay with them, even
if they are somewhat fiction.
She
visited the sites around the country, went to plays and musicals and festivals
– and through it all, she learned to work through her connection to and
distance from Little House. Some of her experiences were funny to read
about, and I giggled. Others were a little too strange for me, and at times, I
wanted to quit reading because I was so annoyed by it.
We
all know I am a Little House fan and hope to finish visiting the real-life
sites I haven’t yet seen. So in this way, I connected with Wendy’s draw to
“Laura World” as she called it. I loved reading her thought process because it
made sense to me. But I absolutely didn’t agree with everything.
I
am loving memoir as a genre more and more, so for that reason, I’m so glad I
read this book and entered into this story. My biggest frustration with the
book was unnecessary use of bad language. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was
there, and it irritated me. Big picture, I’m glad I read the book, and I’m glad
I stuck with it to the end. It isn’t one I need to own and I’m on the fence
about whether or not I would even call this a book I’d recommend. I’ll just
leave the facts here and let you decide!
**
My
final book for this month had been on my to-be-read pile for a little bit, and
I finally got to it! (The pile was shrinking…and then I may have
purchased a bunch more. Oops.) Anyway, thank you, Brompton friends for gifting
me the beautiful book called Parks
Across America: Viewing God’s Wonders Through a Creationist Lens. The book is written by Brian Thomas
and Timothy Clarey, along with some other contributing authors and holds some
of the most stunning photography.
My
friends, the Bromptons, know we aspire to one day travel to see parts of this beautiful
country we have never seen before, and they know we deeply love to learn more
about God’s handiwork across this world. The book includes not only beautiful
photos that reinforce my desire to see these places for myself, but also
explanations about the land formations and how God’s hand and the events of the
Flood and history have formed and shaped the things that make them so
beautiful.
The
book started with the Grand Canyon, which reminds me that I’m not sure I’ve
told you that hiking that rim-to-rim is on our bucket list. So beautiful. The
Painted Desert is an area I’ve learned a lot more about since researching Route
66 (since it is near that). It’s stunning. Acadia National Park in Maine is a must
when we visit the far northeastern part of the country. (We hope to knock out
about six states on that trip whenever we get to take it.) Diamond State Park
in Arkansas was a brand new one for me. How have I not known about it??? I
loved reading about Crater Lake National Park. I haven’t researched much about
it yet, before this book, anyway. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan
is a must-see when we get to visit the UP someday. There were many other places
featured, too, but I loved learning from this book! So much good information
inside! I’ll be referring to it over and over when we actually go to
these places.
So
there you have it! An update on my books read. Two more months to go, and I
really need to sort out which books I definitely want to read before the year
concludes!
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