Week 30 (2023)
advertising & attention, book buffets & magical downtowns, housing as pro-family policy, majestic places & what beauty is for, over-the-counter hormones & Protestant ethics
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reading: books
Teaching A Stone To Talk, Annie Dillard — paperback — An evening read-aloud for my husband and I. Honestly, I found this collection of essays a bit insufferable, and I’m not a huge fan. Sorry to the Dillard fans. (Though, Grace Olmstead is hosting a Pilgrim At Tinker Creek bookclub if that one interests you.)
Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante — audio — Book three of four and I’m hooked on the drama. These characters are wild and stupid and selfish and so very human. I can’t wait to see what happens to them.
reading: essays, articles, newsletters
Paying Attention — Shira Telushkin, Plough — “We are convinced distraction is a modern problem. It is not. But what does feel modern, by the close of the book, is how vaguely we can define or even describe the goal of our efforts to regain attention. The monks wanted to unite their minds with the divine world through unceasing prayer. We want … to not hate ourselves?”
The Age Of Advertising Must Come To An End — Antonio Melonio, Beneath The Pavement — “It’s mostly a conscious decision to look at one’s phone or watch TV. But that choice is taken away when it gets to public places. People have no control over what they see there. Banning unwanted ads from public spaces seems like a comparably uncontroversial thing to do.”
What Is Beauty For? — Rachel Roth Aldhizer, Mere Orthodoxy — “When beauty is simply a commodity to be bought and sold, a chasm grows between the sexes. We are pitted against each other to win the upper hand on the mating market. But beauty was meant as a road between us—a point of access, a door that leads to something greater than itself.”
Actually, Try Reading Several Books At One — Joel J. Miller, Miller’s Book Review — A hearty AMEN to all five reasons, since I’ve experienced them to be true. (Also, enjoying a balance of fiction to non-fiction is an important addition for me!)
(related: this on Mother Culture, shared last week)
Yes In My Backyard, And In My Front Yard — Patrick Brown, The Public Discourse — “But pro-family advocates of all stripes should adopt a version of saying yes to housing in their backyard for one very simple reason. The direct link between housing costs and family formation means more housing in their backyard will make it more likely their front yards will be filled with neighborhood kids playing.”
(related: Markets And The Strangulation Of The American Family, shared previously)
Show Me The Magic — Tiffany Owens Reed, Strong Towns — “A city that has successfully made magic (and people) visible in its downtown is a city that’s probably doing other things right… These are cities that will make magic and money for the long haul: truly a win-win.”
Moving Past The Mommy Wars: Pro-Family Policy For The Rest Of Us — Patrick Brown & Serena Sigillito, Fairer Disputations — “Now, across the socioeconomic spectrum, increasing numbers of women are trying, in their own way, to cultivate their talents through a professional vocation while also embracing the messy, exhausting, but deeply joyful experience of motherhood.”
Desire Of The Everlasting Hills — Elizabeth Hansen, Dappled Things — “In the most majestic places I’ve ever stood, I can feel my entire body longing to grasp the beauty before me and hold it close. This is impossible, of course, and the most creation offers me is to fill my vision, like that sunset drive towards the Sandias that made me want to cry. But at a weekday Mass, I merely open my mouth and receive. The center has a Name. It has a Body, and a Heart.”
The FDA Just Approved Birth Control Without A Prescription—And I Don't Feel Empowered — Amanda Jenkins, Verily — “Women should be able to understand what is happening in their bodies in order to make informed decisions about what is best for their health and wellness. I learned the hard way how the “quick fix” of hormonal birth control obscured my health issues and created more problems.”
(related: Natural Womanhood, FACTS, reading on birth control & reproductive health, NaPro Technology, Managing Your Fertility podcast, FAbM Base podcast, Guiding Star Project, This Is Your Brain On Birth Control, Taking Charge Of Your Fertility, this essay by Abigail Favale)
The Pill And The Christian Conscience — Katelyn Shelton, World — “Today, the issue of contraception within the evangelical church is left up to each couple’s consciences. That may represent a concession to worldly thinking without adequately understanding the radical consequences of severing sex from procreation. But contraception has ceased to be just that: an issue.”
(related: This One's About Sex, shared previously. And a related conversation as I finish up Theology Of The Body for Beginners. Matthew Lee Anderson started going through JP II’s Theology Of The Body with paid subscribers, so I might steal my husband’s account to follow along.)
watching/listening
Sharing Impactful Spiritual Practices — Makoto Fujimura & James K.A. Smith, Veritas — And read any of their books if you have not. (I had no idea, until reading Keller’s biography, that Fujimura was one of the first elders at Redeemer back in its fledgling days.)
Continuing On:
A little sad my 100 Days Of Dante rhythm is over, as of last week. Do sign up to enjoy the mini-lectures as you slowly work through the (otherwise daunting) book!
Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer — Episodes 100-101 — The Holy Spirit For Dummies & Why Bother With The Church?
The Commonplace with Autumn Kern — Why We Chose The CMEC & Pre-Reading For The CMEC
etc: product, tip, resource
Homemade Playdough — In lieu of food coloring, hibiscus tea & turmeric powder.
Organ Complex Supplements — Should have gotten on the Organ Meat Train sooner (so thanks for the recommendation!)
remembering
One Year Ago:
Two Years Ago:
This Week:
One week into being 32:
I think I’ve only read one Annie Dillard book - it was a long time ago, but I didn’t enjoy it. At all. I hope the organ complex makes a difference! Curious to know your thoughts after you use it.
So grateful for your honesty about not liking something written by a Pulitzer Prize winner -- an example for us all!