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Read a Book in October: National Book Month
Who knew? I didn’t know until yesterday there’s a National Book Month. “Since 1950, the National Book Foundation has highlighted the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and YA literature. In 2003, the organization created the first National Book Month.” [1] That month, October. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Anne of Green Gables I’m so glad to read books that arouse my imagination. While walking my dog Kona, I’ve been listening to Rachel McAdams read Anne of Green Gables on Audible. Rachel’s narration is rapturous, positively and elegantly expressive. One characteristic of this classic novel relates to Anne’s extraordinary imagination, her ability to…
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Not All Who WONDER Are Lost
On August 15, 2022, Frederick Buechner died at age 96. My daughter said, “I thought he died a long time ago, like Shakespeare, or some of the other people you quote.” I laughed. “Authors pass but books persist.” [1] And books offer a window into the soul of their writers. Introduced to Buechner’s writing while I was in seminary, God has used his writings to help me think. About life. About doubt. About how Christians fear the challenge of thinking deeply about their faith and default to letting others think for them. Frederick Buechner, author, preacher, and theologian, shared life-giving words through books and sermons that conveyed deep faith underlying…
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Was Queen Elizabeth a Saint?
The Washington Post referred to Queen Elizabeth “as the most famous woman in the world.” One television commentator said, “She was the biggest star in the world.” Another said, “[We have] celebrated a woman who defined history.” And again, “With unswerving devotion to the gospel, she brought vigor to the monarchy.” If you are among the estimated four billion people worldwide who tuned in early Monday morning to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, you witnessed an unprecedented historic event. Formal services were held first inside Westminster Abbey, followed by a funeral cortege through the streets of London, ending at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle.…
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Develop Discernment by Reading
C.S. Lewis wrote in The Screwtape Letters how devils would plot strategies against a newly converted Christian: simply keep him from reading. Or at least keep him from reading and learning things written in the past. “Great scholars are now as little nourished by the past as the most ignorant mechanic who holds that ‘history is bunk.’ . . . And since we cannot deceive the whole human race all the time, it is most important thus to cut every generation off from all others.” C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters Reading Between the Generations Is it enough to simply read old books, as if referencing and then checking off a…
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The Death of Queen Elizabeth: Beneath the Robes of Royalty Lies a Human Being
Flesh and blood, bone and frailty, “for dust thou art unto dust thou shalt return” [1], this singular reality leaves even the greatest among all monarchs subject to death. And each of us as well. The reign of Queen Elizabeth II, longest in British history, extended over 70 years. During that time, 13 American presidents and 15 British prime ministers came and went, and countless world rulers have exited the stage of history. This image shows some world rulers during her 70 year reign. Her picture underneath them all, as if looking up, made me think of The Lord of the Rings. Only in this case, “One Queen to rule…
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A Labor of Love
Dear Readers of Footnotes2Stories, “I am writing this to you, and I hope that you will read it so you’ll know . . .” how much I care. When summer ended and school used to start after Labor Day, often the first day assignment included writing: “How I spent my summer vacation.” Writing was good practice for thinking about what I had done, what I read, and which experiences stood out. Swimming lessons, Camp Fire Girls Day Camp (raising and lowering the flag each day), and weeks spent at the Friends of Youth Camp at Mt. Charleston outside of Las Vegas, Nevada made summer fun. Although I never had an…
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Read to Expand Your Heart
My husband bought me two toy giraffes. I had admired these in the hardware store after I had finished reading the novel West with Giraffes. Surprising me, he said, “I guess you are in your Giraff-ic period. It follows your Llam-ic period.” He knows how to make me laugh. Previously, I have been a bit obsessed with llamas. Although I still “llove llamas,” I have a newfound love for giraffes. I am smitten. And here’s why. Nancy H. recommended this book. I have come to trust the recommendations of certain friends. They are like a rudder on a boat, steering me to discover books I would never come across otherwise.…
