The Joy Challenge by Randy Frazee
Reading a chapter from this devotional book each morning has provided a good start to my day. The chapter begins with a verse from Paul’s letter to the Philippians and provides a principle to live by.
Here are some principles that were especially meaningful for me: #1 Recall happy memories, #9 Celebrate other people’s success, #12 Recalculate what really matters.
Frazee offers 20 principles from his study of Philippians. I enjoyed reading examples from his life experience.
Communion by J.D. Vance
It took me a while to get used to Vance’s intellectual style of writing. He is a deep thinker and begins the book with his questions about Christianity. During his college years he embraced atheism.
As I stuck to it and continued to read, I found his life story and reflections on family and faith to be fascinating. Despite many problems in his family throughout his youth, he comes to see clearly the value of family bonds and relationships that endure.
My son-in-law wondered why Vance married someone who is not a Christian. The book chronicles Vance’s relationship with Usha. He tells of her support for him as he made decisions to return to the church.
As the book continues, he reflects on current political issues. He sees the immigration problem from a worldwide perspective. He writes: If you look at majority-Christian societies in the advanced world, every single one has been set on fire by the immigration issue. And it is easy to see why: Immigration raises deep questions of identity and charity that require moral leadership. [p.208]
I found the chapter addressing economic values and decisions to be interesting. He raises the question about the focus on GDP and increasing financial success. Is our GDP more important than having families with children?
The book is engaging and thought provoking.
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