Category: Reviews and Recommendations
Haven't had much time to think about blogging for a couple of weeks as we have been enjoying time with our temporary housemates--our dear friends, the Morellos. Life is different (read louder) with an extra family in the house (especially when three of them are under five years old, and two are boys). They will be leaving in a couple of days, and I will get back to it then. Briefly, however, I want to draw your attention to three excellent books by CJ Mahaney, his wife, and his daughter which I read during our vacation to St. Louis over the holidays.
Yeah, I know, it's a pink book. When our accountant saw the title on the invoice he said, "Girl Talk!? What are you reading?" I bought it for two reasons. First, it was recommended to me as a possible resource for our women's ministry to use in teaching mothers and daughters. Second, I have three girls in my home--one mother and two daughters. As the head of my home, I am responsible for the cultivation of a godly relationship between my wife and our daughters, so I am always on the look out for things that will help me help them.
I must admit, I did not find myself longing to engage in the kind of talking described in this book by the Mahaney gals, but I did find myself hoping my wife and daughters will. This is an excellent book that I commend to all mothers and daughters. It is filled with godly counsel and wisdom exhibiting a clear understanding of the biblical calling and character of women. But it is not stiff. These women know how to behave as women that give being a woman a good name. Again, if there is a mother and teenaged daughter in your home, I suggest you get this book for them.
Another fantastic read from the Mahaney family is The Cross Centered Life. This brief work by CJ is profound because of its subject, the cross of Christ, but it is also profoundly practical, for the same reason. The content of this book will find its way into FRAC life in one way or another before long. So if you want to get a head start, buy and study it.Finally, I read Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. Husbands, you need to read this book. (Wives, may I strongly encourage you to give this to your husbands for Valentine's Day?) Mr. Mahaney has a deep passion for loving and serving Christ, and this book, in particular, conveys how we do this by loving our wives. It's title is intentionally provocative, but the substance of his instruction is not about anatomy or technique, it is about cherishing the woman you have promised to cherish. It is a celebration of the romantic relationship which ought to characterize marriage. It regards sex, not as a cheap, animalistic thrill, but as a precious gift from our Creator which flows naturally and beautifully from two people who get marriage. It teaches husbands to study their wives, to speak to their hearts and minds prior to touching their bodies, to spend the time and effort necessary to really know them before they know them in the "biblical sense."
All of this is presented in a very masculine way. Mahaney does not try to turn us into the superficial leading men of sappy chick-flicks. Rather, he encourages true, soul-to-soul romance and affection that clearly communicate a man's high value of his wife. I am certain that any man who grasps Mahaney's principles and implements them in ways appropriate to his particular marriage will find his wife to be a very happy and content woman, which in turn will make him very happy and content, not only sexually, but certainly sexually. (My wife can verify these things.)
Okay one more, since we're on a Mahaney kick. A few years ago, Krista came across Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney. Her testimony was that it is among the best books on being a godly wife that she has ever read. The topics are not on the periphery of womanhood, but central to the calling. And it is thoroughly immersed in humble, Christ-honoring femininity. Mrs. Mahaney has a good handle on what our Lord desires a wife to be and do. From the portions I remember reading, I concur completely.
The Mahaney's seem to have a clear and right understanding of marriage and family, and a gift for communicating their beliefs and practices in an inviting way. I exhort you to take advantage of these books which our Lord has graciously given to His bride.
The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright is fantastic. Something inside me wants to say it is the most stimulating theological work I have ever read, and right near the top of the list of the most important books. Part of the reason I enjoyed it so was that he tackled some issues that I have been pouring over for the last several years, and he came to (mostly) the same conclusions that I did. It's always nice to find someone who, independently of you, has followed the same clues and arrived at the same solution of the same problem, especially if that someone is a someone of influence. I must say, at this point, that I am not entirely sure where Dr. Wright is on other major doctrines of the Christian faith; he has certainly roused the hornets in some areas of theology. I have heard others express serious concern over his view of justification. So don't take this as an unqualified endorsement of N.T. Wright. This book, however, I cannot recommend more strongly.
As with everything by Lewis, the essays here taste like honey and set the cognitive wheels to turning. The opening article, which gives its name to the title, is worth the price of the book; but those that follow are also filled with wonderful insights. If you have been a Christian for more than ten years and have not availed yourself of the brain-food of C.S. Lewis' non-fiction, then you are missing out on some good eating, my friend. (If you haven't read the Chronicles of Narnia by now, well, I just don't know what to tell ya.) Much briefer than Wright, but no less worthy, this collection will make you think (in a good way).