Dwell

Every year the Chaplains choose a theme that will guide our spiritual conversations and chapel talks for the first few weeks, and this year the theme is dwell. Our theme verse is John 1:14 "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us," and I've been amazed at just how often I come across either "dwell" or "dwelling" in God's word, now that I'm looking for it. Take Psalm 84, for example, where being a doorkeeper in the dwelling place of God (v.1) is contrasted as far lovelier superior than dwelling in the tents of the wicked (v.10). Or how about Colossians 3:16, which prompts us to “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.”

So far this year, in both HS and MS chapels, we've been seeking to craft a grand narrative for our students. It’s the story of our God, whose love so compels him to want to dwell with us, that he constantly pursues his people, desiring to come near. We see it in the Garden, in the wilderness through the Tabernacle, in the imagery of the prophets, and of course loudest of all in Jesus. I’m just emerging from a deep dive into Exodus and the Tabernacle, amazed that the New Testament would make the comparison from that beautiful and intricately designed structure to our own bodies (1 Corinthians 6). What a crazy idea that the God of the universe would send his Son so that we could be given new hearts (Ezekiel 36) so that he could then move in and dwell with us!?

Images from Spiritual Emphasis Week

Book-Loving

 

Summer reading plans are a thing, right? I might be the world’s slowest reader, so here’s a recap of some of my favorite books of the year, not just the summer:

Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
This one had been appearing on people’s reading lists for a couple of years now, so I was excited to have access to it via Amanda’s library card this summer. It’s a memoir written by an artist with a Korean mom and an American dad, and her journey back and forth between her parents’ two worlds while trying to shape her own. I didn’t love it. Maybe I’d been a little ruined because it was the second memoir this year by a Korean-American I’d read, but I preferred the first one (Happy Birthday or Whatever) for its honesty mixed with humility whereas I found Crying in H Mart to be a bit more of a self-absorbed retelling of events. 2/5 stars

Anne of Green Gables, Books 1-3, by L.M. Montgomery
I’m pretty sure I read the first one as a girl, maybe the second, but the third one (Anne of the Island) was definitely new to me. As the Middle School is getting ready to put on the play of Book 1 this fall, it was a wonderful refresher and so easy to read. 4/5 stars

The Things We Leave Behind, by Clare Furniss
This was a somewhat random purchase the last time I was in London. I am not usually drawn to young adult fiction, but one of the characters had the same unique name as one of my small group girls, and I saw it took place partly in Scotland. In the end, this barely dystopian novel, set in such a near future that I eerily saw how possible it could be, was really well written. Furniss dealt with the themes of grief and trauma in such a delicate way that I completely didn’t see the big twist coming, and yet the end, while sad, was distinctly hopeful. 5/5 stars

Gentle and Lowly, by Dane Ortlund
Honestly, I’d heard quite a few ravings about this book from people I trust, that I expected it to be riveting. Hardly. It took me the better part of 20 chapters to find my way into it, but then chapter 22 just blindsided me. This is one I plan to re-read again as soon as I can. 4.5/5 stars

Some new ones that I’m either tackling currently or about to very soon:

• Life on Other Planets (a memoir), by Aomawa Shields

• Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer

• The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man, by Jonas Jonasson