Week 2 (2024)
monastic libraries & Vodolazkin's novels, the magi & epiphany, technique & tech vs. our humanity, parenting's habits, virtues & deaths
(Click title to open in browser, on the Substack website)
to read: books
The Aviator, Eugene Vodolazkin — audio — Loved it.
The Secret Place Of Thunder, John Starke — audio — Great reminders in here.
to read: essays, articles, newsletters
Who Can Repair The World? — Nadya Williams, Plough — “Yes, there is much death all around. Yes, the innocent will suffer, see their bodies broken for no purpose other than the whims of those who abuse power – that is a story that Vodolazkin tells… But these abuses too are mere commas in the story that someone greater is writing. Tikkun olam, the repair of the world, requires a physician, one both great and good.”
The Accidental Community — Heather Hawkins, Memoria Press — “ [The Rule of Saint Benedict] taught the monks the axiom ora et labora—pray and work. His efforts helped usher in a monastic age that, during the ensuing “Dark Ages,” would preserve learning, scholarship, and the Christian faith in the West. Our library has become like a little monastery.”
The Notebook Rule — J.E. Petersen, Dispatches From Inner Space — “In short, my humanity flourishes. And that’s the point… I realized last year that everything I care about, everything that matters the most to me — my family, my career, my personal and spiritual development, all of my creative endeavors — all of it is downstream of my ability to break free of my addiction to digital dope.”
(related: sharing yet again Ruth’s work at School Of The Unconformed, whose posts I always enjoy printing off!)
Parenting Will Kill You Too (And That's Good) — Sarah Silflow, Front Porch Republic — “And so I die daily. I repent quickly and listen slowly. I surrender seeds of self-preservation and self-promotion, letting them fall to the ground and die. And as I wait for their resurrection—a harvest of righteousness in my life and my kids—in faith I laugh. Like a burbling stream, laughter flows from childish antics and childlike jokes; laughter bubbles up at idiolects and innocent delight. Though impediments come, as I contemplate these priceless treasures I’ve been gifted, the astonished laugh of Sarah of old wells up. All really is grace.”
The Little Years Are For Sowing Virtue In Ourselves — Brianna Copeland, Circe Institute — “Although my days are full of caring for their needs, I will venture to say, the little years of toddlers and babies offer more pockets of hidden time than I dare to admit. For that reason, I must take every thought and effort captive to be formed into the woman I want my children to look to and learn from.”
(related: Annelise on mundane habits & virtue over outcomes)
What If There Is No Such Thing As 'Biblical' Productivity? — Brady Bowman, Mere Orthodoxy — “Jacques Ellul was broadly correct when he argued that modern societies now have an overwhelming preoccupation with technique—with constantly looking to find more efficient means and methods for production… I don’t know about you, but I feel that imperative. That sentence perfectly encapsulates the orienting outlook of our society. Many of us feel an intense pressure to optimize every aspect of life, and not just our professional lives.”
Tabernacle — Steven Searcy, Ekstasis — “He stoops to wrap himself in rags of skin,
to coat his gorgeous gleam in cracking clay.
He hides his holy glow in humble limbs
and meekly mingles in the mess of men.”Heaven Meets Earth — Rowan Williams, Plough (audio version available) — “When we pray or celebrate the sacraments of the new creation or sing Advent carols, we affirm just this promised reality: heaven and earth are not mutually remote territories but closer to one another than we could think.”
Part Of The Drama: An Epiphany About Epiphany — Gina Loehr, Hearth & Field — “So, I now begin to think, the great Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the audience. It is not until the guests appear that we have the crowning moment of the Christmas story.”
Why The Magi Matter — Derek Sweatman, Mockingbird — “The magi lived with a particular view of reality, they gazed at the world through a certain window. In the story, God knocks on their window. It’s that simple, and that scandalous. This knock was more of an invitation than a correction of thinking or a call to change what they believed to be true about the world – God simply tapped on their lens, saying, in their own cosmic language, “I want to show you something you wouldn’t expect.”
to watch, listen to
Continuing On:
Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer — Episode 126 — Identifying a Counterfeit Gospel (Church History Series) — This series has been a great primer alongside easing into my first proper church history book (this one by Justo L. González… recommended by multiple people, included in her Ultimate Church History Book List).
The Commonplace with Autumn Kern — Charlotte Mason Tea Time With Little Kids
to glean from: tip, product, resource
This Sensory Sand — The boys got over 10 pounds of this stuff for Christmas, and I don’t know why we didn’t get some sooner. It’s very cool, kinda freaky, quite satisfying, and provided hours of play the first day we took it out.
This Mug n' Poetry Combo Meal — from Zach Winters — His music has been the background to my life for almost the last decade. Besides Josh Garrels (who I once saw perform along with Zach and his wife), there’s not a musical artist who has created more melodic continuity between my life’s twists and turns in San Antonio, Atlanta, New York, Missouri, Long Island, and Wisconsin, through all those phases of life. (I mean, his album Other Side was even my soothing motivation during the last stage of labor with Augustin, up until the epidural.) So I’m happy to now have these tangible goodies to enjoy!
to look back on
This Week:
You can reply directly to this email if received in your inbox — I always enjoy hearing from y’all that way.
I loved this quote you highlighted from Copeland's piece: "I must take every thought and effort captive to be formed into the woman I want my children to look to and learn from.”
I love your post-it note plans! I’m a post-it note addict. They are so useful for everything