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How’s your reading going? As the weather gets cooler and the season gets ready to change from fall to winter, I get excited for more time to read. Well maybe it’s not more time, but the rhythm and activity of family life shifts, and the fireplace gets lit in our basement, and it’s time to cuddle up with a cozy blanket, a hot drink and a good book! Are you with me?
This month I’m sharing about a book I finished just at the end of October. It’s one of four in a series that I kept hearing about over the years and everyone who’d read them was a huge fan. I’d seen some of the movies, including one about the author, but never read them myself-which is very unlike me who prefers to read the book before I watch the movie. Have you guessed it yet? If you thought of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Hobbit you’re right!
This book was surprisingly wonderful. I even tried to watch the movie as I went, since it’s sooo long I felt I could just stop watching once I got got up, and I never even made it that far, as I was finding the book even better, so I made myself quit watching the movie-at least for now. Having just read The Princess and the Goblin over the summer, by George MacDonald, who wrote Phantastes (also on my reading bucket list), that really inspired C.S. Lewis, I definitely felt strong influence here. Whether or not Tolkien was also inspired by MacDonald I don’t know as fact, but I’m sure the Inklings group that both Tolkien and Lewis were a part of, encouraged each other, as the Narnia series also includes fantasticle creatures. That being said, I was surprised to see an actual “rubric,” or shared identity of the nature of these creatures. It was as if the world MacDonald created and the description he had for goblins set the tone for who they really were in The Hobbit.
Also like Lewis, there were magical elements throughout the series (though I haven’t read it all yet) there is a spiritual undertone that Tolkien acknowledged in letters he exchanged with Father Robert Murray, you can read more on that here*. I looked into this as I pondered whether Gandalf and his 13 dwarves was supposed to be a Christ-type figure? Now, I don’t see this in the movie in the same way I see it in the books-again another reason the book is better, in my opinion. But the way Gandalf directs, gathers, intercedes and leaves his crew, brought strong sentiments to mind of Jesus calling his 12 disciples, performing miracles, and then sending them like when he sent them out two by two (Mark 6:7-13 ESV). Now, I don’t know all the ways that Tolkien meant for this book to point toward Christ, but I’m excited to read the whole series and see if it unfolds some more.
The second book I read in October (and I’m still reading) was The Lifegiving Parent by Clay & Sally Clarkson. I shared about The Lifegiving Table in last month’s book reviews, and this one equally does not dissapoint. The past year or so I’ve been on a kick of reading lots of books on motherhood, which is how I originally stumbled across Sally in her book The Mission of Motherhood. (Thank you to Christen over at The Cultivation of Cozy for making a reading list on homemaking that inspired me in this journey!). This book is incredible on encouraging both moms and dads on principles to follow to raise kids in what they deem the most impressionable window of their childhood 4-14 years, to point them toward a life of not just Christian living, but loving Christ.
What originally drew me to Sally, was that not only was her writing incredibly biblical and Christ focused, but it was also incredibly practical. Sadly, what I’ve seen lost in some Christian books is that in their effort to be Christ focused they lose the practical piece. Out of good intentions to not paint a “one size fits all approach to parenting” they won’t give any examples of how to parent biblically, and at least for me, leaves me feeling lost and asking-“That’s great-now what does that look like?” Not so with Sally & Clay, they give real life stories of where they have both failed and succeeded, and are quick to explain that each family will look unique in their parenting. However this is within a biblical framework that which forces us to acknowledge, there is real truth and there is a right way that God calls us to parent, but that way does offer freedom in the Holy Spirit, as long as we are seeking His guidance as we follow His Word.
All right, all right, enough chit chat-though I think I could talk about books and Christian living ALL day longggg. But I will refrain and let you go get your hands on these books. Whether you choose your library, audible, or choose to ask for these for Christmas to keep on your bookshelf at home, I hope you are blessed by these books as much as me!
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Many links in this post are affiliate links. If you choose to use them I may make commission off of purchases, thanks for supporting our family if you do.
Looking for the whole Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit set? Check out this one I got for my birthday!
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