Calvary Road

Calvary Road, Colin Buchanan

Everyone here has appreciated the depth of Colin Buchanan’s new offering for adults, Calvary Road. There are songs about faith and family, many with his usual Australian and outback perspective. He has used a new producer, Matt Fell, on this album, and while my musical talents don’t extend to spotting these types of things in detail, even I can tell it’s very well produced with Colin’s usual musical skills evident, along with arresting lyrics and very importantly, it’s easy to hear each word.

Miss 12 loves The Hardest Thing, the life story of his father and the insight it gives into the life of one man who was loved and cherished. I really like Will I Be Missed, which questions how many of us will be remembered in the future – and whether what we do now matters. Mr 14 likes You’d like Jesus, pointing out that if you struggle with hypocrites and want people to be real and true, you’ll like Jesus.

A highlight of the album for me is It Was His Idea, attributed the glory of the world to God and his creative work:

It was his idea
He’s the reason that we’re here
Jesus got his fingerprints
On everything that’s good.

Upon continual listening, all of us have reflected that it seems there is a deeper side to this album that reflects grief and the loss that comes through in the telling in the music about his father. I know none of the story and it’s not my business to, but the same happened in listening to Nathan Tasker’s album Home and his hymn albums. Those also echo stories of personal grief and they show in the depth of the music.

Songwriters have a gift and a privilege to turn music and words into stories that connect, and enable people to give a voice to their own experience, especially when they don’t have the skills to do it themselves. We have always enjoyed Colin’s music – from his kids and family Christian albums, to his adult offerings, and more recently his TGIF songs from ABC Drive Radio. I’m thankful to God for Colin’s ability, he has encouraged a generation of Christian children, families and adults, and this album is an excellent addition to his canon.

Prayer

Prayer, Timothy Keller

Sometimes you read something and think “Yes! This now THE book I will recommend to people on this topic”.

Timothy Keller states that as a pastor he “didn’t have a first book to give someone who wanted to understand and practice Christian prayer”. I think he has certainly met his own goal, outlining the theological, experiential and methodological in one volume. Long term readers will know I am a big fan of prayer having been challenged and encouraged by numerous books on the topic, such a A Praying Life, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Praying the Scriptures for your Children, Pray for the World and books of prayers such as the Valley of Vision. I have done a series on praying with your family and once had a blog of prayers.

So, I am deeply committed to prayer, but by no means consider myself to be an expert. There is always more to learn, and I have been encouraged by Keller’s insights.

He arranges his work into five logical parts:

1. Desiring Prayer. As he explores both the necessity and the greatness of prayer, our vision is immediately lifted to seeing the extraordinary privilege of being able to pray and the need to prioritise it.

“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change – the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us may of the things we desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.” (p18) 

“Prayer is awe, intimacy, struggle – yet the way to reality. There is nothing more important, or harder, or richer, or more life-altering. There is absolutely nothing so great as prayer.” (p32)

2. Understanding Prayer – expanding that prayer is both conversing with God, through immersion in his word, and encountering God personally.

“Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.” (p48)

It must however, be tethered to our knowledge of God through Scripture:

“Without immersion in God’s words, our prayer may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like.” (p62)

3. Learning Prayer

This was where I found the true gold. Taking us through the thoughts of Augustine, Calvin and Luther on the topic, Keller helps outline a way to closely link our bible reading and our prayer.

I particularly appreciated Luther’s two patterns. The first is to look at every part of scripture four ways: determine the point, praise God for the truths found in it, confess our failings regarding it, and pray for change for ourselves and others in response. I have started this practice myself and have been so encouraged by the breadth and depth to which I can understand and respond to God’s word. His second suggestion is to ‘riff’ the Lord’s prayer, taking each phrase in turn, and expounding on it in depth in prayer. I have heard this suggestion before, but am now encouraged to return to it in my own practice.

4. Deepening Prayer

By thinking about both what meditating on God’s word can look like, and encouraging us not to fear experiencing God in prayer; Keller expands both the evangelical practice of careful bible reading and more mystical, experiential expressions of prayer, and argues there is a way forward which embraces the biblical aspects of both, in a way that enables us to truly experience the presence of God.

“an encounter with God that involves not only the affections of the heart but also the convictions of the mind. We are not called to choose between a Christian life based on truth and doctrine or a life filled with spiritual power and experience. They go together.” (p17)


5. Doing Prayer

Breaking this down in four categories, he starts with awe – the importance of praising God. Then to intimacy, or finding God’s grace, that is rejoicing in forgiveness through confession and repentance. Thirdly he moves to struggle, or asking for help. Very insightfully, he applied Packer’s ideas as to what we should do when we ask God for things:
       1. Think about why we ask for it (this may revise our list to start with)
       2. Acknowledge God may will otherwise with the assurance that he wants what is best for his children.
       3. Consider what we might need to do for the prayer to be answered (what does it tell us about our own motivation, sin, etc). This can place limits on what we pray for.
He finishes with the strong encouragement to daily prayer, with his suggestion actually being 2-3 times per day.

He concludes with a great bibliography, explaining why he recommend each of the books. As a result I have four more books on order, so that I can push my thinking further and also encourage me in my practice.

Did I have any hesitations? Only a few. His method of prayer rightly asserts that if you pray like this, you will not have time for long prayer lists, because you will praying in much more depth about each person or thing. I agree, but I don’t want to reduce the range of people that I pray for. I think a wide variety of people and situations broadens our minds and hearts to include those not in our immediate circle. Related to this, I didn’t find a lot of encouragement to really pray about mission, world situations, the persecuted church, etc. I think it was implied, for really praying God’s word should lead us to those far-reaching, outward-looking prayers, but I didn’t overtly see it.

What have I concluded as a result? I can now understand how some of the great people of faith of the past (and surely some of the saints of today) spent hours in prayer. With the tools I am grasping, plus the desire to apply them, I now want more time to pray.

This book is theological rich, pastorally astute and practically applicable. Keller has met his own goal and produce a definitive book on prayer for a generation. I have read and appreciated other excellent books, but for now, this is my favourite.

Dunstan

Dunstan, Conn Iggulden

Having loved Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses books and with his other series already on my ‘must read’ list, I was pleased to spot this new offering Dunstan. Charting Dunstan’s life in 10thC England, you follow his progression from Benedictine monk apprentice, to abbott of Glastonbury, to archbishop as well as instigator of the building of Canterbury cathedral. Along the way, his fortunes rise and fall with the English kings of the age; and his life span covers seven of them, from Æthelstan to Ethelred over a period of 80 years.

“Of all the estates of man in the world, the best is the born the fine, shrieking son of a king. I have seen mighty lords fall to their knees at the sight of a babe, all for a crown pained on its crib… If you can’t be born a king, be made a king, though that has thorns. When violent men secure your crown, they keep a knife at your throat ever after. Last, and not the least of these, is this: if you can’t be born a king, or made a king, you might still anoint one… I chose the Church.”

I really appreciate Iggulden’s writing. Even this though this was a period of history completely foreign to me, he’s very skilled at making it readable and accessible. He creates characters with real depth. I wasn’t sure at any point that I actually liked Dunstan, but I loved the first-person portrayal of him. He was arrogant, convinced of his own rightness, yet at times he did question his motives and some of the choices he made. You can hear the writer’s interpretation of the man coming through, and that’s a skill to do well. It’s a book that requires a bit more concentration, but it was worth it.

Dead Letters

Dead Letters, Caite Dolan-Leach

This intriguing mystery had me hooked quite early on and kept me wondering the whole way through.  Identical twin Ava gets a garbled message from her alcoholic, demented mother that her sister Zelda has died in a mysterious fire. But Ava refuses to believe it, for it’s much more likely Zelda is playing a game again, keeping her guessing as to what really occurred.

And that seems to be the case, as emails from Zelda start to appear. It seems that Zelda is leading Ava through the alphabet with clues for each letter explaining what has happened over the two years of their estrangement.

As such, their messy past is revealed. A dysfunctional, split family with financial problems. Two sisters entwined in every aspect of their lives, able to love and care completely, yet also hurt and betray absolutely. For those that prefer a warning - there is a fair amount of swearing, and a lot of references to alcohol and drug abuse.

It was a well-crafted mystery with a creative way to tell a story.  It’s an impressive first novel from Dolan-Leach, hopefully she will go on to write more.

Spiderman: Homecoming

For the first time ever, we were beaten by Mr 14 to the movies for this one. His youth group of Yr 9 boys went and bonded over superheroes and teen angst (as well as junk food and video games). Having worked his way through all the Marvel Avenger movies with Husband over the last year, he was very excited by this new release and the chance to see it on the big screen.

A few weeks later, we managed to get to the movies ourselves and had a very enjoyable time in the latest Marvel movie event. Spiderman made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, a plot line I hinted at in that review. It’s about a year later and Peter Parker is 15, a sophomore with a crush on senior Liz and regularly bullied by the cool kids along with his friend Ned. Little do they know that every afternoon Peter dons his red suit and helps out with local crime fighting, all the while waiting for Tony Stark (Iron Man) to call and invite him to rejoin the Avengers.

The Avenger movies are all good entertainment for those who like their superhero fix, yet they really did need to come up with something new, especially as the production company is now turning out 2-3 of these movies a year. Having Spiderman as a teenager adds a whole new dimension, making it a coming of age superhero movie. He can outrun baddies with ease. He’s a powerful fighter, and works to protect others; but has no idea how to interrogate someone, to talk to girls, or to stand up to the school bully when not suited up. It was a clever mix of Superhero power in a doubtful and uncertain teen body. A good movie for teens and their parents alike!

Liz Kessler Books

This review was written by Miss 12. 

I have recently discovered a great author, Liz Kessler. She’s written two series, Emily Windsnap and Philippa Fisher, as well as stand-alone books: Has anyone seen Jessica Jenkins?, A year without Autumn and North of Nowhere.

For as long as she can she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat in the harbour. Oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has kept her away from the water. When her mother allows her to have school swimming lessons, she’s thrilled, but as soon as she’s in the water, she discovers something amazing - her legs can turn in a mermaid’s tail! Find out how Emily becomes best friends with a mermaid, and the fun and danger they get into together! I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and the books 2-6 cover different adventures and new people that they meet. Emily has an exceptionally strong relationship with the mermaid, they both care for each other - and think each other is the best person (or mermaid) in the world! I enjoyed this series as it’s about friendship and magic, adventure and some interesting concepts.

Philippa Fisher is a girl around the same age, with crazy, wacky parents who embarrass her so much. What with the going-away of her best friend, she becomes lonely and depressed. That is, until a magical fairy named Daisy comes and grants her three wishes. At first, Philippa and Daisy don’t get along, but when something goes wrong, they must work together to solve a problem caused by Philippa’s wishes. In the second and third books, Philippa must rescue Daisy from a captor and travel into time itself. They both risk their lives for each other, and their relationship leads to a problem only they can solve; because of the exceptionally strong friendship between a human and a fairy. This series (especially book 3) involved a lot of thinking to understand, but overall, I loved these books. They’re all about differences and how to overcome them, and powerful friendships between a girl and a mythical being.

Has anyone seen Jessica Jenkins? is about having super-powers, being able to turn invisible, stop time, fly, read minds and more, all because of Jessica’s mum’s midwife! This book has some tricky scientific words, and some strange concepts, but it was a great read. I very much enjoyed it and I wish there was a sequel.

A year without Autumn is about a girl called Jenni, who finds that she’s lost a year of her life and doesn’t know how it happened. Jenni and Autumn were the closest of friends, before time tore them apart. It was a bit scary at times, but overall I really liked this book.

North of Nowhere is about time travel and a teenager called Mia. It’s about travelling back in time 50 years without realising and facing the consequences, and the bizarre things that happen. What would happen if your grandmother travelled forward in time 50 years? I liked this book, and it also was about a friendship that didn’t start well, but ended up strong (even though the two girls never meet!). I’d recommend this book to girls and boys around the same age as Mia, from 11 to about 14/15, as it involves interesting adventure and the scary thought of a family member leaving you.

Hidden Figures

We had a very enjoyable family movie night watching this offering. Chronicling the years of NASA’s attempts to get man into space, and the exceptional maths required to be computed by hand, it also charts the issues of race relations at the time. Three remarkable African-American women’s lives are included:

• Katherine Johnson who calculated the flight and landing trajectories for various missions,
• Dorothy Vaughan, trying to be recognised as the supervisor she already is and to be paid for it, and
• Mary Jackson, fighting to be allowed to train as an engineer.

There are strong overtones of the tensions of being African-American at the time, and the challenges for women in the workforce. The story is uplifting as you watch each woman challenge societal norms and use their exceptional intelligence in the service of their country. The people who did the math were called computers, and you also see the beginnings of the takeover of technology as the first IBM is slowly built at NASA. Some of the women trained themselves to program the computer, and ensured their job security for longer. For anyone who likes technology, maths and space, this will really interest as well as open up discussion about how quickly things have changed.

As we watched Apollo 13 last year, everyone already had some understanding of the space element. All of us really enjoyed it, and it opened the kids’ eyes (age 10-14) a little more to some of the challenges and issues of the sixties.

The Tawny Man

The Tawny Man, Robin Hobb

I devoured this third trilogy of Robin Hobb’s. Back to the world of the Bingtown and the Six Duchies, the timing is about 15 years after the end of the Farseer Trilogy. Fitz has been living the life of a hermit, with his wolf companion Nighteyes. A few friends know of his survival, but most have assumed him dead many years previously. His heroic acts of self-sacrifice have never been openly acknowledged by the Farseer Realm, but Queen Kettricken, Chade and the Fool know the truth of what Fitz once did. Slowly Fitz (who goes by the name of Tom Badgerlock) is drawn back into court life, under the guise of being servant to Lord Golden (the Fool’s alter ego). Because I grew to love these characters in the first series, I enjoyed seeing what happened to them all. 

Verity and Kettricken’s son, Prince Dutiful is coming into manhood and there are those who would both threaten him and use him for their own political gain. The main story revolves around the Fool and Fitz, and the depth of their friendship is fully tested. 

There is one moment when a key character is revealed to be something different than what you thought, linking them to The Liveship Traders. I never saw it coming and sat in disbelief for some time, realising, that now I will have to re-read them all sometime to reanalyse it now with the new information. So, definitely a series I will end up reading more than once!

You really need to read these books in order to get the full benefit of these types of revelations, and there are allusions to the second series in both the first and the third, even though at a surface level they don’t appear to be related. 

Next on to the fourth series The Rain Wild Traders – with four books not three!  I’m hoping all the books will merge together even more.  Hobb is fast becoming my favourite author, on a par with Diana Gabaldon, though with a very different style.