What's on My Bookshelf

Dear Friend,

Today I'm linking up to the Modern Mrs. Darcy for the "What's on YOUR bookshelf?" synchro-blog event. This is a marvelous way for bookish types to get to know each other; bookshelves speak volumes about their owners!

Taking a moment to glance over a  person's books will likely glean many more insights about his or her worldview, taste, interests, concerns, and desires than could be disclosed in the same amount of time spent in conversation.

I'm planning to visit all the blogs who participate in the link-up this week.

If you are coming by Classical Quest for the first time -- welcome! I look forward to getting to know you. 

From the top: baskets contain needlework supplies and musical instruments. Boxes contain love letters from my husband and kids, and the seven year correspondence between my friend Jeni and me.

I read most of Willa Cather's works in my early twenties.

The Spy Doll was one of the first chapter books I ever read. (Charlotte's Web was the first.) I wrote a research paper on The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis during the short time I was in college. I purchased One Hundred and One Famous Poems when I was twelve with money I earned from cleaning my grandma's house. I've read it at least one hundred and one times.

If I had to pick one book out of my entire bookshelf that I think says the most about me, it would be Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

Many of the titles on my bookshelf were purchased from public library book sales or consignment shops. I've read everything in this group except Les Miserables.

At age sixteen I discovered English author Daphne Du Maurier. I read every one of her titles that I could get my hands on. (I even read one while spending time on the grounds of a castle in Hungary.) I found My Cousin Rachel about twenty years ago in an antique shop. Du Maurier's style is a bit romantic for my current taste, but it was perfect for my sixteen year old self.

The books in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder are some of my all-time favorites. I've listened to the entire series read by Cherry Jones several times with my kids. I found On the Banks of Plum Creek last week for 50 cents.

I recently came across my copy of Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak. A slip of white paper fell out of it which was marked with a letter "A." On the back there was a note in my mom's handwriting: "Adriana wrote this "A" at age three."

I purchased The Great Palace of the Moscow Kremlin on the street in front of the Kremlin when I was seventeen.

I purchased the French dictionary from a school book sale when I was in grade school. I still refer to it from time to time.

Out of all the books in this stack, the slim unassuming black one has been studied the most. I bought it at the Biltmore Estate when I was nineteen. It's John Singer Sargent by Kate F. Jennings. 

Little Women and Anne of Green Gables were also some of my very first purchases. Strangely though, I just read Anne for the first time last year! (I could quote the entire movie with Megan Follows by heart though.) 

Great Hymns of the Faith is a new version of my childhood hymnal. 

I read Beau Geste when I was fifteen. I was desperate for something new to read, but wasn't yet old enough to drive myself to the library. I found this abridged version in our house. It turned out to be quite the page-turner!

Having Our Say is the autobiography of Sarah and Elizabeth Delany -- African American sisters who lived to be centenarians and never married. I think I'll read it again soon. It's charming, inspiring, and full of wisdom.

Unquiet Soul is a biography of Charlotte Bronte that my friend Jeannie Prinsen recommended. I haven't read it yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck and Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis are excellent chapter books for kids. I read A Year Down Yonder aloud to my family last summer when we went "down yonder" for a week long family vacation. (My kid's have told me I do a good Grandma Dowdel voice.)

I've read all these except for The Princess Bride. I found this copy at a consignment shop for a $1.00. It was recommended by Tim Fall.

Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King Jr. is underlined heavily. 

Redwall is another book we've enjoyed listening to as a family.

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle was recommended by Anne Bogel.  I highly recommend it for all spiritual/creative types.

I can remember listening to my dad read from  The Bible Story Library when I was young. It's full of famous Biblical art. I spent hours flipping through the volumes, studying each picture before I knew how to read.

Q: What do you call people who use Natural Family Planning?

A: Parents! :-)

Most of these are holiday titles that we will use this year for our Advent Literary Countdown.

Young Children and Worship helped me change my methods for imparting faith to my kids. It's kind of like Montessori for Sunday School : less lecture and more wonder.

I bought the John Hopkins Family Health Book before I had internet access. Now it serves as a nice leaf and flower press.

We've read The Child's Story Bible  by Catherine Vos through with our kids three times.

Sewing School was a Christmas gift for my daughter a couple years ago. We've enjoyed creating projects out of it together. The authors of this book also have a fun blog.

I've kept you long enough, but here are two quick bonus shelves --

This is where I store the books I'm working through for my Well Educated Mind project. 

And last but not least . .  . the cookbooks! Yay! 

I often use recipes from Barefoot Contessa, Better Homes, Joy of Cooking, and Fanny Farmer.

I did not include the bookshelf in our office (mostly reference materials), the playroom (children's books), or my virtual library on the Amazon Cloud. 

So that's it! Hope you enjoyed the tour! Don't forget to visit other blogs who have linked up to Modern Mrs. Darcy!

Peace & Joy,

Adriana

P.S. Don't forget to "Like" Classical Quest on Facebook! Thank you!

Hear the Voice of Love : A Review of LISTEN

I've recently managed to squeeze in a bit of modern side reading in addition to my classics regimen. Today I'm reviewing Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life by Keri Wyatt Kent. I admit, I don't often take time to read Christian self-help books -- though I probably should! I decided to read this book on a whim. I was drawn to the title when it occurred to me that my listening skills needed some improvement. LISTEN helped me turn down the volume of my own voice and hone in on what God and others have to say to me.

What would happen to you if you learned how to really listen -- how to listen to God through your life, through other people, and through spiritual practices?

What if I could listen, not just to get good at a skill, but for the purpose of transforming my life and relationships? 

What would happen to you as a person if you knew that you were heard, and loved, and that you had the ability to love and listen to others? 

These are some questions Keri Wyatt Kent explores in her book Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life. 

Listening to the voice of Love.

I must give up trying to hear all voices and tune in to just One.

Last week I felt like I was three steps behind in every area of my life. I was weary and discouraged. Then one afternoon -- quite out of the blue -- my 64 year old neighbor, Mr. G, called to say "You've got the night off, Adriana, I'm bringing over homemade chicken noodle soup!"

Mr. G showed up at my back door with a large pot of fragrant soup full of homemade noodles. He smiled at the bubbly chatter of my children. They showed Mr. G their special treasures: basketball medals, a new Hex bug, art work. My three year old smiled shyly and peered at Mr. G from behind me. During dinner we all laughed as the baby slurped up noodles. After dinner Mr. G played relaxing jazz piano while my husband accompanied him on guitar. Some of my children danced; some cuddled on my lap. I felt satiated. It was really wonderful.

The next day I talked to Mr. G over the phone. I told him that his gifts of soup and kindness had come at just the right time. His visit had boosted my spirit.

"I was just listening to the voice of the Father," he said. "When He tells me to make soup for my neighbors, I make soup."

Not only was I blessed, I was challenged. I want to be that person who listens to the voice of the Father too.

 .  .  . the whole point of listening, of finding God in your story [is] to know Him better. Sure you need to know yourself, but not just so you can be more self- aware. It's so that you can be more God-aware.

But sometimes it is hard to decipher when the voice is God and when it's just me. As Kent says in Listen:

God always speaks with the voice of love. That doesn't mean that He always tells you what you want to  hear. The voice that says, "Do the right thing," or, "Its going to be all right" -- that's God. The voice that says, " You have screwed up again, so bad that you're unlovable" -- that's not God's voice. He calls forth the best in us but not by condemning or shaming us. He does indeed call us beloved.

"I ask myself who I am and what I love so that I can take it into the world and share something only I can give."

Listening to God's voice in my life.

I used to grapple with this question: How do I know what the will of God is for my life?

Looking at what brings you joy is a good first step toward listening in your life. By noticing what brings you joy, you get a picture of the unique way that God created you. 

Kent gives some good suggestions for ways to hone in on the things that give us real joy. She shares what gives her joy and exhorts her readers to pay attention to what they love.

Jesus said that He came that our joy would be full. Knowing what you love, noticing the blessings of God -- that is the beginning of listening to Him.

Listening to God in others.

Most of us just want to be heard, to be understood. When we listen, we offer that gift of understanding to others. When we listen we communicate love.

As a wife and mother of five children, I am a sounding board. There is a lot of chatter in my home! My children are constantly exploring new ideas. A ceaseless stream of details that might seem tedious are  important for them to relay. It's validating to feel heard. When I listen, I'm giving each member of my family a valuable gift. One of the most important lessons I brought away from Listen was that listening has the power to transform relationships. Kent quotes authors Dave Ping and Anne Clippard:

Real listening requires a level of sacrifice. It means dying to ourselves and our agendas.

Listening to God through pain.

Looking back over the course of my life up to now, I can see that my greatest struggles have helped me grow. As Kent says,

Listen to your struggles, but then listen to the voice of love that speaks through those struggles . . . Your struggles are unique, but they also connect you to other people and give you a platform from which to shout out the voice of love to others.

Listening as a Spiritual Discipline.

Through listening our spiritual practices will be transformed.

Find a quiet place where you can listen, where you can perhaps read a bit of scripture or just pour out your heart to God . . . offer the Spirit a landing strip in the uneven ground of your life. See what happens. God's is the only voice that will ultimately assure you of your own significance.

To listen to Scripture we have to read and ponder the truth slowly. Allowing the Word renew your mind takes time. We must resist the urge to be in a hurry. The Word of God is a love letter to us. As God's Beloved, we linger over it.

Kent describes an ancient practice of Lectio Divina which increased her ability to listen to the Word:

The Latin words Lectio Divina mean "Divine Word." There are various forms of  this method, but the common ground the share is  this: read a short passage slowly, several times, and listen for God to speak to you personally through it. You spend lots of time just being silent, waiting for God to speak through the text, to your heart. It's a simple method that will allow you to try "formational reading" or "spiritual reading" that lets you listen to the text, lets it speak to you.

Kent gives an example of when she practiced this and the words "don't be afraid" stood out to her:

Now, there are still times I get scared. But rather than just look at the Bible and say, "It says we shouldn't be afraid," I can look at that passage and say, "Here's where God said, Keri, don't be afraid." . . . It was His word to me, His interaction with me, something I needed to not only know but also to act on.

Listening in Prayer.

Prayer is not just about what I have to say; it is a conversation. By listening with a trusting, discerning spirit I can respond to God's voice of love.

God cares enough about me to initiate conversation and relationship. I am the beloved. I am not just the seeker, I am the sought. I am the object of God's affection. It's a truth that demands a response.

Ulimately, Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life is a book which helps you find love in the story of your life. Isn't what we all long for?

As God's Beloved, I am not just someone who has mastered some good listening techniques. I am the Beloved. I have received love, heard God's voice calling me Beloved and made that part of my identity. I am a listener. Because of God's love for me, I want to hear His loving words. God . . . has put a desire in my soul, and I long to listen. 

Permission is granted to pin this image to Pinterest.

To purchase Listen for your Kindle go HERE.

To visit Keri Wyatt Kent's blog go HERE.

Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (A Review)

by Adriana I love to read  promiscuously.  If you've followed this blog for any length of time, perhaps this is something you've noticed. Many, perhaps even most, well-meaning Christians from my conservative circle would consider my reading habits excessively liberal. In fact, I've been pressed to defend my preferences more than a few times. Some of the titles I've read could easily have been chosen as fodder for the book burnings I witnessed a few times as a child.  Still I read on.  Now and then my quest feels daunting. I'm always grateful to receive encouragement from Christian intellectuals whom I respect. For the past several months, I have enjoyed being part of the growing community at Tim Fall's blog, Just One Train Wreck After Another. Not long ago, Tim posted a review of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me by Karen Swallow Prior, Professor of English at Liberty University.  The mere idea of Booked intrigued me immensely. Tim quoted Prior's insights on what reading promiscuously means and why it is an important habit to cultivate. I had never heard of an Evangelical apologetic for reading indiscriminately before. The day Tim put up his "Hooked by Booked" review, I flew straight over to Amazon and loaded the book to my Kindle within seconds.

What a joy it was for me to read Dr. Prior's insights! In Booked she articulates the need for stories with candor, grace, and wisdom: 

I know that spiritual formation is of God, but I also know -- mainly because I learned it from books -- that there are other kinds of formation, too, everyday gifts, and that God uses the things of the earth to teach us and shape us, and to help us find the truth.

I am certain that God is leading me on my quest.  He draws me farther and deeper with my reading; consistently nudging me through the Holy Spirit to probe and listen carefully, and to examine ideas in the light of Holy Scripture. 

As Prior says,

. . . God who spoke the world into existence with words is, in fact, the source of meaning of all words. My journey toward that discovery is the story of this book. I thought my love of books was taking me away from God, but as it turns out, books were the backwards path to God, bramble-filled and broken, yes, but full of truth and wonder.

 

In Booked, Prior parallels key moments of her own coming-of-age story with the literature that helped shape her. I was thrilled to find several titles featured which are also part of the reading lists from The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (Jane Eyre, Gulliver's Travels, Madame Bovary, and John Donne's Metaphysical poetry), as well as other titles from authors we WEMers are familiar with now (Dickens and Hardy). Prior cleverly connects her own unique memories with poignant literary scenes any avid reader would find apropos.

Discovering truth is a process that occurs over time, more fully with each idea or book that gets added to the equation. Sure, many of the books I read in my youth filled my head with silly notions and downright lies that I mistook for truth, but only until I read something else that exposed the lie for what it was.

Prior points to John Milton, who held that "the best books to a naughty mind are not unapplicable to occasions of evil"; whereas "bad books, to a discreet and judicious reader serve in many respects to discover, to confute, to forewarn, to illustrate."

Since reading Booked, I've thought a good deal about how literature has shaped my life. There are titles which stand out, in hindsight, as having proved crucial to my formation. Perhaps some of my reflections might show up in future blog posts here.

For me, the experience of reading has always felt much like entering into a conversation. And fittingly, classic literature is sometimes referred to as the "Great Conversation." Through reading widely I'm learning how to listen, discern, and empathize -- how to "examine everything carefully and hold fast that which is good."

I read to better understand both my world and myself. Great literature delights, elevates -- and at the same time it humbles. I am grateful that God often uses it to coax open the eyes of my soul. Ever so patiently He leads me to glimpses of Himself in nature and in the highest works of art which humankind has made.