LibraryThing.com

As I went through college, seminary, and several years of ministry…I acquired a lot of books. More books than I’ve been able to read. I soon realized the need to keep them all organized. Enter LibraryThing.com, a cataloging and social networking site for book lovers. It allows users to create a library-quality digital catalog of books (books you own, books you’ve read, books you’d like to read, books you’ve lent out … whatever grouping you’d like) and can assist in finding new books that are recommended by other like-minded readers.

While I don’t really use the social networking aspects of LibraryThing too often, I regularly update my digital catalog. It’s my preferred solution because it keeps me organized, helps me plan what to read, and allows me to keep track of books I’ve let people borrow. If you have more than a shelf or two of books, I highly recommend LibraryThing to help keep things manageable!

“Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson

“Gilead” by Marilynne RobinsonGilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
Published by Picador on January 10, 2006
Pages: 247
Format: Audiobook
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Publisher’s Description: Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America’s heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson’s beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows “even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order” (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life. [Note: All links are to the 2006 Reprint edition]


 

I first became aware of Gilead while in seminary at TEDS. I was part of a “Formation Group” on campus, where a small group of students would meet regularly together with a faculty member for spiritual formation, discussion, and prayer. My Formation Group leader was Dr. Phil Sell, and at some point he asked us to read Gilead together and discuss it. More reading wasn’t exactly what I thought I needed as a seminary student. I think I only read a couple of chapters, as did most everyone else in the group…but I enjoyed what little I read and I always meant to come back to it. I don’t think I knew at the time that Gilead was the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. I also didn’t know that, had I made the effort to read the whole book, it would have been a great benefit to my preparation for ministry.

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A Reminder That Faithfulness Is Success

This article was a great help to me today…especially this section: Will your people find your theology compelling if the theology you claim to hold dear has had little discernible effect on your life? How can you commend grace to others if you are not willing to live a godly, gracious lifestyle? A man of grace must be a gracious man, a wise and godly sage once told me.

“The Secret Art of Contentment” (Philippians 4:10-23)

This sermon wrapped up GracePointe’s summer series on the book of Philippians. My sermon text was Philippians 4:10-23. Since it was the last sermon on the book, I tried to incorporate some references to the rest of the book to tie it all together. Personally, I hope to apply the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, as Paul learned to do. Contentment is something I struggle with at times, so this was a great text for me to spend time studying and reflecting on this week.