Here are two suggestions for reading as summer activities wind down and our fall schedules begin:
A Spiritual Field Guide: Meditations for the Outdoors, by Bernard Brady and Mark Neuzil. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005. Pb., 192 pp. $12.99. ISBN 1- 58743-118-1.
Here is a collection of reflections that begs to be taken on a hike, to a chair in the backyard, or even to a seat beside an open window. Once there, the reader can share in the thankful appreciation for God’s good creation expressed in these pages. Brady and Neuzil gather psalms, biblical narrative, prayers, and meditations from such folk as Martin Luther, Francis of Assisi, Barbara Kingsolver, Annie Dillard, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Mother Teresa, Wendell Berry, and many more.
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott. New York: Riverhead, 2005. Hb., 336 pp. $24.95. ISBN 1- 57322-299-2.
Struggling with the Bush administration, significant deaths, parenting a teenager, life at 50, the burdens of her family of origin, and much more, Presbyterian Lamott offers reflections (many laugh-out-loud funny) on the fragile nature of human existence and relationships, and on the goodness of God who is merciful toward us. Those who enjoyed Traveling Mercies will be rewarded by Lamott’s further thoughts here.