Best books of 2021: Q3

Another 3 months has gone by! Gosh life has been so meaningfully busy that I’ve only completed another 5 books (4 non-fiction & 1 local fiction), but I’ll just highlight 2 today –

1. World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathi
2. Side by Side, by Edward T. Welch

Part nature writing, part memoir, this was a lovely and easy read. Through a collection of short essays, Aimee draws the reader in by providing us a fresh lens to look at the world around us. Using various creatures like the firefly, peacock, corpse flower – we learn not just interesting facts about these creatures and their unique traits, but also how they intersect with the author’s life.

What I enjoyed was how the author weaved in her personal stories – struggles faced in childhood, precious family moments, prejudice faced as a brown-skinned girl in a majority-white school – with creatures big and small.

Here’s an excerpt of her writing on the cassowary:

The phrase “I can feel it in my bones” is synonymous with “I know it to be true”. What if the cassowary’s famous boom is also nature’s way of asking us to take a different kind of notice of them? To not just appreciate and admire cassowaries for their striking looks and deadly feet, but to sense their presence on this earth? Suppose that boom shaking in our body can be a physical reminder that we are all connected – that if the cassowary population decreases, so does the proliferation of fruit trees, and with that, hundreds of animals and insects then become endangered. Boom, I want to tell the people at Siesta Key, whom I see dumping empty potato chip bags into the shrubs of sea grapes from my blanket on the beach.

Here’s a cassowary!

A tad melodramatic perhaps, but it’s the kind of book that makes for a lazy afternoon read. Go check it out! 🙂

This next book is also a short but good read. The central premise is that as human beings made in the image of a divine God, we are both needy and needed. God is pleased to use ordinary people and ordinary conversations to do heavy lifting in kingdom work, and those who help best are people who need and give help. Indeed, a healthy community is dependent on us being both!

Here’s an outline of the book, divided into two parts:

Part I: We are Needy

There is no shame in acknowledging our basic human condition; understanding and practicing this will make us better helpers. We should share our burdens because:

1. Life is hard
   • We do best when we take our hardships to God and at least one other person (Psa 30:8)
   • Consider these concentric circles of both good and hard things we experience in:
     • Our body
     • Our relationships
     • Our work & money
     • Our world
     • God and His kingdom
2. Our hearts are busy
   • Our hearts guide all thoughts and actions and are most readily revealed in our emotions
   • Here’s his definition of emotions; note how it links to the concentric circles in the previous chapter:
     • “Emotions usually proceed from our heart, are given shape by our bodies, reflect the quality of our relationships, bear the etchings of the meaninglessness and goodness of work, provide a peek into how we fare in spiritual battle, and identify what we really believe about God.”
3. Hard circumstances meet busy hearts
   • This is when trouble usually begins; we can choose to respond wisely or foolishly
4. Sin weighs a lot
   • Suffering often feels like our greatest problem and avoiding it our greatest need; but it is sin that is really our greatest problem, and rescue from it our greatest need
   • Suffering exposes sin in our hearts in a way few things can

Because of all the above, we are called to say help to both God and to others. While we often wish to appear competent before others (#totallyrelate), ironically, our neediness may serve others better than our competence can. How to ask for help? Here are some practical guidelines:

• Ask often
• Ask for prayer for both circumstances and matters of the heart (i.e., seen & unseen)
• Put your burdens into words and attach scripture (e.g. “I feel so tired from work… can you pray for me that I will rest in Jesus? cf Matt 11:28-30)

Our goal: to become transparent and humble friends who are at ease with our neediness. We see our hardships and sins, speak openly about them to the Lord, and ask others to pray for us. God knows how much I need to grow in this area!

Part II: We are Needed

This is how the Church moves forward – through mutual love and care. How to do it?

1. Remember, we have the Spirit
   • He gives us wisdom rooted in the Cross and resurrection of Christ
   • He works in ordinary people like you and me! (1 Cor 1:26-29)
2. Move toward and greet one another
   • Recognise that desperate people are slow to ask for help; we have to take initiative.
   • Just as how God moved toward us, we move towards others in His name.
   • If you’re feeling awkward? Good! We do these things not because it’s easy, but because of Jesus.
3. Have thoughtful conversations
   • Initial convos may involve events & circumstances, but we want to go deeper, into the heart.
   • How? Follow the affections, and you’ll start to see what are their fears and hopes, pleasures and griefs. Listen for God’s place through it all.
   • Knowing others well enough to pray for them is help at its most basic and its best.
4. See the good, enjoy one another
   • Would you listen to someone who doesn’t really like you? Help takes place in a context of love and respect.
   • Our goal: to keep our eyes open for good in others, even when we encounter hard and unattractive things.
   • Notice character qualities, gifts and talents, pleasures and preferences, and spiritual vitality in others.
5. Walk together, tell stories
   • Ask for their stories!
   • What is most meaningful to them about this? What’s the hardest part about this problem?
6. Have compassion during trouble
   • Compassion grieves with those who grieve, and remembers.
7. Pray during trouble
   • This puts compassion into words, as we match what’s upon our hearts with God’s heart.
8. Be alert to Satan’s devices
   • “This is so hard, and Satan is a persistent adversary. How can we pray?”
9. Prepare to talk about sin
   • “In not talking about sin, we are not polite people who want to avoid meddling. We are like Pharisees who see dying people and choose to walk another side. We are neglecting matters of life and death.”
   • But first, check yourself: are we angry/ frustrated? Wait till we can speak with humility and patience.
   • See and speak the good in others first before the bad – and aim to speak respectfully, in love, to build up.
10. Help fellow sinners
    • When to speak up about sin?
      • When someone faces temptations;
      • When we have seen sin – share the facts (not your interpretation) & ask for clarification. Be prepared for negative reactions, and let love orient us;
      • When someone discloses and confesses sin – don’t just commiserate, offer patience & partnership (“What can I do to help? How can we fight this together? Let’s develop a plan.”)
    • Recognise the messy nature of growth and change; the struggle itself is evidence of God’s power at work.
11. Keep the Story in view
    • Seek to retell the master story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in a fresh way even as we help one another

Conclusion? Just as how Christ came down as Emmanuel – God with us – we are meant to live in community, side by side. We are not solo helpers; we need co-helpers with us, for “the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Cor 12:14).

Overall, a really edifying and practical guide. As its subtitle says – it really teaches one how to walk with others in wisdom and love. Highly recommended!

That’s it for this quarter, hope this has been helpful 🙂 Till next time!