Category Archives: Books/Magazines

Hear the Words of Lauren Winner…

Posted on by

In the spirit of Dreama’s post today, hear this passage from Mudhouse Sabbath:

… the shopping expedition [where she finds that she can’t fit into a medium dress] was good proof that, though I believe God has something to say about human bodies, I generally tune God out and listen to Cosmopolitan instead.Â? I’m pretty sure that God, if he called to chat about my body, would say things like, “I like your body.Â? I created your body, and if you have read the first chapter of Genesis lately, you might recall that I called Creation good.” (pp.66-67)

I dunno… the quote just came to me while reading the post.Â? And duuuuude, I want the scale from the article that she cites.

(Oh yes… this book needs to be on the wishlist of a certain Episcopalian I know.)

Friday Friday Friday

Posted on by

[PHC] It’s a quiet Friday here in Big Sky Country, my chosen land. [/PHC]

Mr. Sours is off hanging with other Episcos so I’m having to find my own entertainment tonight and find another place to send the large amount of cat pictures I’ve acquired today.

The two ecclesiastical cats (Finian and Edda) are busy trying to kill a moth that is flying around my study. I’ve rarely seen such interesting jumps and acro-catics so it’s rather an interesting show. (I think they’re still cross that I took away their cricket on Monday night.)

I spent a great deal of time on the phone with tech support at Dish Network tonight trying to get the new receiver installed. (Our old one wasn’t giving us DVR features and it was getting really annoying since we pay for that each month.) To the call center person I talked to, thank you for being patient and enduring my attempts to make small talk with you while the stupid stuff was downloading. I appreciated your kindness and I wish I’d had the foresight to speak to your supervisor and tell them how awesome you were.

I’m part way into The Kite Runner and it is definitely an interesting book. I’m hoping to finish it this week and that the library gets copies of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Devil Wears Prada in so that I can get those read and knocked off my list.

We’re going to be headed to SoCal at the end of the month for a wedding and taking I-15 back up to Montana. If any of you want to try and arrange a meet-up (and I haven’t already contacted you), let me know and we’ll see if we can’t do a couple blogger ones on the way.

I think that’s it for now. If my glasses will hurry up and get here and if the post-nasal drip and ear pain would stop, I’d be a very happy Jen.

Book Meme

Posted on by

I haven’t done this so I’ll take Kristen’s tag:

1. One book that changed your life:
What’s So Amazing about Grace? by Phillip Yancey

2. One book that youâ????ve read more than once:
Any of the Chronicles of Narnia books.

3. One book youâ????d want on a desert island:
How to Get Off This Island: A Guide to Making Rafts from Random Flotsam and Jetsam if such a book actually exists.

4. One book that made you laugh:
Any Calvin & Hobbes books.

5. One book that made you cry:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

6. One book that you wish had been written:
God’s Plan for Jen’s Life: This Is Exactly What Jen Needs to Do (OK… this is probably too much to ask, but a girl can dream!)

7. One book you wish had never been written:
The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren.Â? Words cannot describe how much I HATE that book.Â? This is closely followed by most of the eschatological crap that exists (i.e. Left Behind, The Late, Great Planet Earth) and almost everything I had to read for Old Testament classes and Intro to Theology in Seminary.

8. One book youâ????re currently reading:
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

9. One book youâ????ve been meaning to read:
Any of the books on my 101 in 1001 list.

10. Now tag five people:
Pisco
Leenie
Michelle
Richard (once life calms down for him)
Dreama

Patience Was Never My Strong Suit…

Posted on by

Since some of you know about my flirtation with Orthodoxy, I’ll let you in on my search stuff.Â? I ordered a copy of Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy a few days ago and they claim they shipped it on Monday.Â? Granted, it’s going Media Mail so it could be awhile but I’m still haunting the mailbbox daily for a key to one of the big boxes (since I have a tiny PO box as we have no mail delivery where I live) or for a padded mailing envelope.

Tomorrow is Maria’s Fair (the county fair for the surrounding 4 counties) and we’ll be there bright and early. (*grumble* I have to be up at 6 freaking 45 on my day off.Â? *grumble*)Â? I’m excited though to see what people are entering, especially my church kids.Â? I’ll be looking at sewing, swine, steers, rocketry, crafts, and a whole lot more.Â? I loved fair when we lived in Minnesota so I’m excited for tomorrow.

Why Can’t My Church’s Publishing House Be This Cool?!?!?!?!?

Posted on by

I know I’m going to end up enduring the flames of Hades (or the ice depending on how much of a sin reading Dooce is) but…

I heart Heather Armstrong and I so heart the review she does of this book.

*heavy sigh* Lutherans just don’t do the apocalypse thing that well.Â? Heaven for us will be hotdish and jello and singing hymns in “the mother tongue”. (Umm… is that German?Â? Norwegian?Â? Swedish?Â? Danish?Â? Swahili?)Â? We’re too nice to conceive of all the crap in the Left Behind books.Â? Well… I shouldn’t say that because there is a semi-fundie strain in some ELCA churches that is into that stuff.Â? (Isn’t “Focus on the Family” a little *not* in line with some orthodox Lutheran tenets?)