Monthly Archives: May 2016

Book Reviews, Food

Book Review: The Rooftop Growing Guide: How to Transform Your Roof Into a Vegetable Garden of Farm, by Annie Novak

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The Rooftop Growing GuideWow. There is no simple, shortcut way to describe the wealth of information found in The Rooftop Garden: How to Transform Your Roof Into a Vegetable Garden or Farm by Annie Novak without creating an outline with a plethora of bullet points. Text, charts, diagrams, sketches, interviews, tips from other professionals…greenhouse, potted, and complete rooftop farming…construction, tools, legal & safety warnings, business tips…water, soil, seeds, pest control…and so, so much more! The photography is not only helpful, but also inspiring for a number of contexts—large-scale rooftop farms with serious soil depth to small potted spaces. Informative and easily navigable for when working on projects, The Rooftop Garden is useful as both an educational tool and reliable ongoing resource. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in using any existing space for some edible growth, but also for those who have space and haven’t even thought about it—the effort appears to be worth it on a number of fronts!

 

For my fellow Coloradans in the Denver-metro area with balconies and/or flat roofs not already covered in solar panels, this is definitely something to look into, pending any legislative barriers like our laws against collecting rainwater. Seriously, check it out!

 

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Longing in Me: How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God, by Sheila Walsh

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The Longing in MeI picked up Sheila Walsh’s The Longing in Me: How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God to add some diversity to my reading. Most Christian books by female authors are explicitly written for women, so I don’t pick them up. However, when the marketing material for this book mentioned nothing of the sort, I figured I’d check it out. I’d not heard of Walsh before this book, so I didn’t know what I was getting into. As with many others, this book written to and for women. (I do wish that had been made known.) That didn’t stop me from finishing it, but I’m certainly not the target audience.

The bulk of the book is Walsh’s story about leaving her ex-husband, later marrying another man, and then the problems they’ve had, and trying to connect her life’s desires with that of King David’s. I didn’t get how the subtitle (How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God) fits with the way these stories are presented. There’s a lot of hopping around between stories and chronology with no real linear thought progression or development.

If you’d like to read about Walsh’s life mixed with a long and loose retelling of David’s story, then you might find this interesting. Some of the anecdotes may tug at your heartstrings, but I don’t think they’re worth the price of the book. This one’s definitely not a book for me.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: The Blessing of Humility, by Jerry Bridges

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The Blessing of HumilityThe Blessing of Humility by Jerry Bridges is really a book on the Beatitudes founded on an old publication of The Beatitudes for Today by John Blanchard (also referencing his 1971 publication Right With God) with the intent of pulling from Blanchard’s hermeneutical approach to the Beatitudes how we can learn humility. While I believe the exegetical and hermeneutical approach is fundamentally flawed, the conclusions Bridges makes on being humble could be quite helpful for one already convinced of his theological perspective (God causes all things to happen, which essentially makes us puppets). Though we certainly do not agree on how we get there from the Beatitudes, there is no arguing that the Bible teaches the necessity of humility, nor can I argue that the Beatitudes have nothing to say about it—they certainly do!

This book is a quick read: 95 pages plus a ten-page discussion guide with leading and author-affirming questions for each chapter. It’s not something I would necessarily recommend, but I understand why many would want to purchase Bridges’ final publication, released posthumously. After shipping the book, Tyndale asked me to include “how the late Jerry Bridges has impacted [my] life with his many wonderful books and messages.” Unfortunately, I’d never heard of him before reading the marketing material for this book, so I cannot contribute in this regard.

 

*This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I offered or provided any compensation.

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: Great Stories of the Bible (I Can Read! / Adventure Bible), Pictures by David Miles

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Great Stories of the BibleGreat Stories of the Bible is a collection of six books in one from the Zonderkiz® Adventure Bible series with an “I Can Read!” level of 2 (reading with help). The stories include:

(There is no table of contents in the book, so I’ve included page numbers below. One may want to write them down on the first page for easy flipping.)

God’s Great Creation (pp.2–33)
Facing the Blazing Furnace (pp.34–65)
Ruth and Naomi (pp.66–97)
Miracles of Jesus (pp.98–129)
A Father’s Love (pp.130–161)
The Good Samaritan (pp.162–192)

Each story is greatly simplified for children and ends with a page that includes some or all of the following: a verse, character profile(s), and a few sentences about the story or another verse. I’m certainly not opposed to paraphrasing, simplifying, and taking a bit of artist liberty in retelling Bible stories, but just with adults (i.e., Eugene Peterson’s popular translation The Message) there’s bound to be some potentially harmful storytelling. Consider the following example from The Good Samaritan: “After a long time, a third person passed by. This person was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans did not get along. The Samaritan saw the man lying in the dirt. He knew that the hurt man needed help. He forgot that Jews and Samaritans did not like each other” (182–183). I’m sure there are those who will disagree, but I think kids pick up on subtle messages like “the Samaritan only helped the Jew because he forgot they didn’t get along,” meaning it would have been okay to ignore or be mean to him if he had remembered. The point of the story is that the Samaritan helped despite his cultural stigma. Perhaps I’m not indicative of your typical American kid, but I would have definitely run with a poor understanding of that parable if I had read this.

We need to be careful how we teach these stories to small children because they stick with them. I remember talking to a friend years ago—both of us missionaries and well educated—who still had flannel-graph (remember that?!) info and stories stuck in his head that didn’t jive with Scripture because it was engrained at an early and impressionable age. Some may say, “But isn’t reading Bible stories helpful and better than other books?” Well, I don’t think that’s a “yes or no” question when it comes to books like these, but if one is going to read these books with a child I recommend reading an actual Bible (not another paraphrase like The Message) and take the time to explain Scripture in a way the child can understand. Am I giving little kids too much credit? I don’t think so, though I obviously can’t speak for everyone’s children.

As for the bulk of the book, the illustrations by David Miles are still a little too clean-cut and Caucasian for my liking, especially in an age where we’re becoming much more culturally sensitive and aware of those in Scripture. Kids, however, will probably like the chalky pastel drawings.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Food

Book Review: The Elements of Pizza: Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home, by Ken Forkish

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Elements of PizzaThough is was just published last month, Ken Forkish’s The Elements of Pizza: Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home is the homemade pizza cookbook I’ve always wanted. Educational on a number of fronts, I feel more competent having only read it, and I hope my practical skills increase in equal measure or more! The photographs of methods are easy to follow, and those of pizzas are inspiring and mouthwatering. Good stuff here!

 

Chapter 1 takes the reader on a journey through the history and methods of pizza making from Italy to the United States. (He even includes the unique pizza of Old Forge, PA—shout out to my in-laws!)

Chapter 2 provides a brief description of how different styles are made and a number of distinctive features to look for. This is especially helpful for someone wondering what kind of pizza to try (or bake!) next.

Chapter 3 gives the reader considerations in achieving any desired pizza crust, pointing out important ratios between moisture, heat, and time, climate differences, and fermentation processes, among many other details.

Chapter 4 discusses specific types of ingredients (e.g., flours, cheeses, and fresh vs. canned tomatoes and their myriad varieties and forms) and equipment used, including some pros and cons of some types (e.g., metal vs. wooden).

Chapter 5 takes 3’s considerations and provides step-by-step instructions in making one’s first pizza using the “water, salt, yeast, flour” method (order of incorporation).

Chapter 6 is full of amazing, detailed dough recipes for both the patient and impatient baker (but be patient and plan ahead!).

Chapter 7 takes those dough recipes and moves into complete pizza recipes. Among sauce recipes and ingredient suggestions for taking one’s own path, there are many tried and true traditional recipes (like my longtime favorite pepperoni, mushroom, and onion, pp.189–191), including some you may have never seen (the mortadella and pistachio needs to get in my belly!).

The book concludes with a couple pages of volume, weight, length, and temperature conversion charts for us ignorant folk.

 

If you want to get into making pizza at home, this would be a good place to start!

 

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, by Mark Dever

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DisciplingLooking for an excellent, quick read on what it means to “disciple” someone? Not looking? Either way, you’ll benefit from Mark Dever’s Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus. Even after over twenty years of teaching, ministering, missioning (Microsoft Word says that’s a real word, so I’m using it), and pastoring in some capacity I received some real gut-checks from this one. Dever provides an approach and some how-to on thinking about and doing discipling without delving into specific doctrine—any book on what to teach when discipling would necessarily be rather lengthy. It’s down to earth, very readable and relatable, and is for worth any Christian’s time. He is a Baptist pastor and thus uses some Baptisty jargon at times, but don’t let that be a deterrent; just ask someone knowledgeable about such things if they don’t make sense.

There are only two things I would publicly push back on in light of my wholehearted affirmation of the text:

1) Dever writes, “Moving into the book of Acts and the Epistles, we find the apostles’ discipling program. They’re not just freely roving disciplers among unaffiliated groups of people. Rather, they baptize people into churches, where any one-on-one discipling and fellowship would then occur” (Kindle Locations 634-635). The apostles were baptizing people into the kingdom of God, not local churches. This does not discount the context within which his words are written, but it’s an important distinction that needs correcting.

2) Dever writes, “If you want to see leaders raised up, your general posture should be characterized by a willingness to advance trust. Based on living in different places and traveling, I know such a disposition varies from place to place. But I do think it’s a property of love: love believes all things, hopes all things (1 Cor. 13:7)” (Kindle Locations 1070-1072). This is a common misunderstanding of the common English translation of “believes all things.” The Greek here is “faith” in verb form, which we do not have in English. In order to keep up the poetic one word format “all things” in the larger context of this specific passage as translated into English, many have chosen “believes” as the closest and best option over something akin to “remains faithful.” Again, this doesn’t really detract from Dever’s argument—developing trust is very important!—but it’s a point I thought worth mentioning.

After the book’s very helpful ten chapters there is a conclusion written by someone else that I found repetitive and unnecessary. Other than that, I again highly recommend this one.

 

*I received a complimentary digital copy of the reviewed book from Crossway through the Blog Review Program in exchange for this honest review.

Book Reviews, Theology

Book Review: 50 Crucial Questions: An Overview of Concerns about Manhood and Womanhood, by John Piper and Wayne Grudem

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50 Crucial QuestionsJohn Piper and Wayne Grudem are fully convinced that reading the creation order as anything other than man being created with authority over woman will result in increasing homosexuality. Seriously. They are so convinced, that they have copied 50 Crucial Questions: An Overview of Central Concerns about Manhood and Womanhood from their previously published book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism because they think people won’t take the time to read the latter in its entirety but would read one of its chapters republished. I’ll just go ahead and say that if one is remotely interested in reading 50…, he or she should just get Recovering… There is nothing that helpful in brevity that, when encountering questions that cannot be sufficiently answered, simply appeals to the authors’ view of the creation order and/or refer the reader to certain chapters in another book. Bottom line: skip this book.

However, if you’re still interested, you may read all fifty questions by looking inside the book within its Amazon.com entry. Some of the answers include the following (my summary and paraphrase):

  • The authors believe that “helper” (Gen 2:18) must mean either someone stronger aiding someone weaker or someone aiding a loving leader. Really? What about a helper being someone who simply helps without being stronger, weaker, submissive, or authoritative? This is an extremely weak argument for the authors’ view of the creation order (Eve being created as a “helper for a loving leader”).
  • The authors agree that there are ambiguities that are difficult, but they do come down very hard on the ambiguities they believe further their view of the creation order.
  • The authors explicitly state that they believe “the issues of infant versus believer’s baptism, of premillenialism, and of Presbyterian, congregational, or episcopal polity are less threatening to the health and mission of the church than questions of gender roles” (82).
  • The authors believe that female leadership occurred in the Old Testament only in service to male leadership or when that leadership was failing. So, does that mean gender roles aren’t as important as they claim? Can women leaders rise up when men are failing? They imply this has been, is, and will be the case in mission work, but aren’t sure what to do about that because it is furthering the spreading of the gospel.

What I find rather telling about books by traditional, hierarchical complemetarianists is that they never address the change from the creation order in Eve’s curse in the fall that “her desire shall be for [her] husband, and he shall rule over [her]” (Gen 3:16, NRSV), nor how their view of the creation order plays out in their eschatological view of the new heavens and new earth. This doesn’t mean that answers to these questions from a complemetarian perspective do not exist; it’s that I’ve never heard one.

 

*I received a complimentary digital copy of the reviewed book from Crossway through the Blog Review Program in exchange for this honest review.

Book Reviews, Health, Theology

Book Review: How to Live in Fear: Mastering the Art of Freaking Out, by Lance Hahn

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How to Live in FearContrary to the witty title, How to Live in Fear: Mastering the Art of Freaking Out is not a laughable memoir or anything of the sort; it’s quite serious. Author Lance Hahn begins by telling his history through the lens of an anxiety disorder he says he’s had since the age of six. Next, Hahn offers advice on living with an anxiety disorder based on his experience. The final third of the book is dedicated to Hahn’s biblical perspectives in helping those go through life as he has. His conclusions:

1) It’s uncontrollable, but your mind is your own, so you can control it. (I’m still not sure exactly where he really stands with this.)

2) Do things to keep your mind off of the source and triggers of your anxiety. (I’m concerned about some of his stated hobbies that appear to only work on symptoms and may be fueling other vices.)

3) Take meds if necessary. (His recalling of conversations imply he has seen an family practitioner and a counselor; no mention of a psychiatrist or anyone who could potentially really help with the mind, not just the body or an ear to hear.)

4) Remember that God is good, sovereign, and will heal you; but until that healing comes, which may not be in this life, have hope, pray, study the Bible, and worship Him. (This can be applied to all who suffer.)

 

A doctor does not write this book; it’s a Christian dude who left a stressful job in insurance to be a career pastor (p. 107) who suffers and hopes to help others through the same kind of struggle. It should be read and understood as such. My observation from the stories and advice given by Hahn, for whatever it’s worth, is that a possible source of his anxiety is a fear of failing and not being in control. Subtleties in the text point to the potential of his current job fueling the problem. One such instance is his assertion of his control by assuming he is the reader’s “temporary pastor through the course of this book” (p. 111). Of course, I’m not a doctor, just a Christian dude sharing his experience.

 

The book contains 199 pages of material, in which thirty or more of filler could be easily trimmed. However, it may prove beneficial to some as is, so long as they remember this ought not be taken as medical advice and should perhaps be read with someone else for perspective.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”