A place on The Web for Dewey to drop (see what he did there?) his thoughts on books, movies, and anything else that doesn't fit in "Almost the Truth" or "Truth Is..."
"A young boy is born with both a rare brittle-bone disease and autism. But what makes him truly unique is his joyous, funny, life-affirming worldview that transforms and unites everyone around him."
Beloved and I saw the trailer for this when we saw The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever and immediately said to each other, "Yep!"
And we are both very glad we did.
It begins with some voiceover narration by the autistic son, Austin, so you aren't wrong in thinking this is a story about a kid who was born behind the eight ball and how he becomes a great person. And it IS that. But it's also the story of a broken mom and an alcoholic dad and a younger brother who is amazingly well-adjusted. It's about optimism and empathy. It's about...well...it's about the best film I've seen in a while.
And oh yeah...it's a true story.
* * * * * * *
I know I said "You'll Cry" in this post's title, but don't get me wrong. This is no sappy "tear-jerker" of a movie. The dampness of my eyes was more a result of joy than anything else.
When we left the theater, I turned my phone back on and immediately started researching Jacob Laval, the actor who portrayed Austin. No exaggeration, he was jaw-droppingly amazing. I seriously think a Best Actor Oscar nomination is in order.
So yes. Yes you should go see this as soon as possible.
CURVEBALL: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming, or, How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God Peter Enns
World tragedies, devastating personal losses, the incomprehensible vastness of the universe next to the fragility of our planet - there's no preparing for the inevitable curveballs blowing past us from all angles. We're often left doubting God, the Bible, our faith, and even ourselves. Many Christian traditions see these crises as problems that need to be overcome, something Peter Enns tried and failed at. But he found help from an unexpected source - the Bible itself. Rather than denounce our reservations, the Bible models how we need to face them and wrestle with them. Rethinking faith according to life's evidence is part of God's plan. God wants us to question, because doing so actually leads us to building a stronger, more resilient faith.
I read this alongside a friend who was going through our church's elder apprenticeship. I was told the author was well-known for having "deconstructed" his faith, so I was kind of On Guard as I read this. It was interesting to slowly realize that he NEEDED to deconstruct his faith; it was originally a faith in a small, comprehensible diety that didn't match the Bible's picture of a glorious, infinite, too-wonderful-for-words being of perfect love and justice. The author seems to have had trouble accepting a God who is beyond comprehension, but dabbling in quantum physics seems to have cured him of the worship of his own intellect...and that's a good thing. So...though I started reading this with a readiness to rip it apart, I end it saying to Mr. Enns, "It's about TIME you figured it out that you can't figure it out!"
First Line: I spent much of my life unknowingly abdicating the task of taking full responsibility for my faith.
Page 56 / Line 5: John's Gospel (probably written in the 90s CE) comes somewhat close to this way of speaking, but we generally don't find this language in the New Testament.
A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: That is the God I want - not the God of my logical deductions, not the God who behaves according to Newton-like, predictable, deterministic, cause-and-effect, theological laws, but the God I cannot control.
Last Line: And what we decide will make all the difference.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
I borrowed this from a Little Free Library and sat it on my To Be Read shelf for quite some time. I picked it up and started reading about two-thirds of the way into December 2024. The next day, I had picked up SweetCheeks from school and was driving her to our house for a sleepover when she began talking about the book she had just started reading and that its narrator was Death. I gasped and said, "The Book Thief?" We had both started reading this book on the same day! And it really is an engrossing work. After getting through the first chapter with Death's weird depiction of emotions and people as different colors, the story itself is rich and richly told. It spent some time on the New York Times bestseller list, and I'm not surprised. A very satisfying read.
First Line: First the colors.
Page 56 / Line 5: It was 1936.
A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: The words landed on the table and positioned themselves in the middle.
Names are interesting, beautiful, significant, descriptive, and hereditary. ... The multiple names of Jesus and the many descriptive titles given Him run the gamut of everything from the One at whose name "every knee shall bow...and every tongue confess" to the One despised and rejected, and from the world's greatest revolutionary to the Prince of peace. ... This [book] touches base with each day of the year. I feel confident that my enthusiasm at the beginning of the odyssey will not have lessened when I come to the final page. On the contrary, I feel that it will have become even more alive and vibrant because I will have described Him in so many verbal frames, cameos, and contexts that I can say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
This year-long devotional book was one of several volumes from Southwestern Publishing that we were gifted after having allowed a small group of college-aged boys sleep in our basement for the summer. The young men were traveling through Southern Indiana selling the books (encyclopedias, a Bible dictionary, books on study techniques and I can't remember WHAT all else) as their summer job. This particular book was first published in 1986, but it FEELS like it was written in the 1950s. Some of the "names" of Jesus are a reeeeeal stretch in terms of being a Biblical designation for Christ, and Mr. Gabhart quotes a lot of hymns and cheesy poems. But all in all, most of the readings gave me something worthy to reflect on for the day and I don't love Jesus any less for having gone through them.
First Line: Some things in life cling to us with unbreakable tenacity.
Page 56 / Line 5: A carpenter in those days was a maker of tools, household utensils, and generally considered a worker in wood.
A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Spiritually, the yoke ... calls us to be submissive, responsive, and cooperative to the instructions and leadership of Christ.
THE COMMON RULE: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction Justin Whitmel Earley
Habits form us more than we form them. The modern world is a machine of invisible habits, forming us into anxious, busy people. We yearn for the freedom of the gospel but remain shackled by our screens and exhausted by our routines. What can we do about it? The answer to our contemporary chaos is to practice a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. [This book]'s four daily and four weekly habits transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor.
Borrowed this book from the library as part of our church's elders' current conversational arc about discipleship, which is part of the processing being done as a result of our pastoral staff's attendance at a national conference a few months ago. My knee-jerk reaction was along the lines of "This is kind of Pharisaical, isn't it? Follow all these steps. Habitually do all these things. Tote this barge. Lift that bale." But the more I read, the more I realized he was just sharing what has worked for him and why and was also offering his habits as examples of what might work for me. The suggested habits are logically organized and supported with personal anecdotes that make for simple, understandable reading. Now I just need to decide which ones to adopt, because reading this book without making some positive changes in my time usage would be a crime.
First Line: It was twelve on an ordinary Saturday night when I woke suddenly in a dreadful panic, sweating and shaking.
Page 56 / Line 5: And so we rest.
A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: The former editor in chief of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, after suffering a stroke that left him immobile except for one eyelid, wrote his incredible memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by blinking one eye to a secretary who would read through the letters of the alphabet to spell words.
Last Line: They become the days that become a life spent looking at the beautiful one, the one named Jesus, who with a glance can catch the heart off guard - and blow it open.
January - Curtis turned 37. * We spent a mostly rainy but mostly wonderful week in Rotonda West, Florida, at the beautiful Vrbo house of the mostly wonderful owners, Bobby & Connie Brown.
February - Thomas turned 10. * Had a fun double date with friends enjoying Comedy Sportz Twin Cities at their appearance in Rosemount. * On the 23rd, Shonda turned 41 and Kelly Jo turned 35.
March - Ivy June turned 4. * Debbie did a lot of work on her new 9-week devotional book, Blue Tassels.
April - Anawynn turned 11. * Dewey was MC at our church's 2nd annual Taste & See Fundraiser for our summer mission trips. * Blue Tassels was sent to the publisher. * Debbie spoke to almost 100 women at a one-day event at our home church in Markle, Indiana. (What a trip!) * We both attended, once again, The Well Conference for Christian Creatives in Michigan (enjoyed a day-trip to Holland as well).
May - Loved having everyone (except Shonda and crew) at the house for some Mother's Day pizza (but also loved that Shonda added her crew to the group photo)
June - Blessed by having Ivy and Clay for 4 overnighters and all the days in between while Curtis & Abbey were in California for a conference. * The 9th was our 45th anniversary!
July - A relatively quiet month highlighted by an overnighter with the 3 oldest grandkids and one with the youngest.
September - Ezra Ann turned 3. * Clarence "Clay" turned 1 year old. * Angel turned 44. * The two of us traveled to Wyoming for some time with Debbie's niece and brother and a sobering visit to the Heart Mountain WWII Japanese Relocation Museum. Debbie also celebrated her 66th birthday at Texas Roadhouse. Maverick turned 8.
October - A nice-but-too-short visit in Arkansas with Shonda and her family. The drive down through the Ozarks was beautiful and their almost-completed house is amazing. * Enjoyed the 2nd year of greeting trick-or-treaters as SantaDewey. This time, we handed out candy canes!
November - We were overjoyed to be able to fly to Ohio for Thanksgiving. My (Dewey's) baby sister and her preacher husband open the fellowship hall of their church for both sides of the family to gather, gorge, and giggle. Curtis and Kelly Jo (and their families) drove to the event and were able to spend extra time with us and my sister and brother-in-law. Wonderful.
December - We will experience a Christmas Miracle: All of our Minnesota-based kids and grands will gather at our house at the same time for a big, old-fashioned Christmas dinner! And we're forever grateful.
Since the first episode, Beloved and I have enjoyed the Blue Bloods television series. It has consistently upheld the honor and dignity of those who wear a police uniform, even when it sometimes told the story of those who "went bad." Especially meaningful through the years have been the scenes around the family dinner table...a scene that has been in each of its 293 episodes.
When the episode we watched the other night ended with a dinner table scene that included kids having come home from college and the announcement of a pregnancy, I said, "Gee...that kind of felt like a series finale."
It wasn't until this morning, when I stumbled onto the following clip from "The Talk", that I realized I was right. It includes Tom Selleck repeating a heartfelt "reading" of a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay that he had shared with the cast and crew following the filming of their final scene together around the table.
I hope you can relate to the emotional depth of the words...that you have people and experiences in your life that resonate.
