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| My hands are not that red and wrinkly in real life. Wait. Okay. Maybe they are. |
Yes, I pre-ordered Something Other Than God. No, thankfully I did not suffer any shipping delays. Yes, I did read the whole thing in 24 hours, give or take, but the dryer was broken so what else was I going to do?
I'm going to have to read it again, much more slowly, and take the time to underline things. So glad I ordered a print copy because A: How's Jennifer going to autograph my Kindle? and B: I can loan out my print copy as many times as I want, but Kindle copies can only be loaned once.
A few quick takes about my take on Jennifer Fulwiler's book:
I don't know if she goes by Jen or Jennifer. I used to call her Jen (in my head) but after reading her book, I get the sense that she goes by Jennifer. I go by Jessica, unless you are one of my parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, then I will respond to Jessie, but only because I don't have a say in the matter. #Missourigirlproblems
I have met Jennifer IRL, but I didn't ask her about the Jen/Jennifer thing then.
I don't know if she goes by Jen or Jennifer. I used to call her Jen (in my head) but after reading her book, I get the sense that she goes by Jennifer. I go by Jessica, unless you are one of my parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, then I will respond to Jessie, but only because I don't have a say in the matter. #Missourigirlproblems
I have met Jennifer IRL, but I didn't ask her about the Jen/Jennifer thing then.
I did not realize at that time that Jennifer and I are total opposites.
The way she thinks about things, the way she comes to conclusions, she is pure logic, like a Vulcan or an engineer or something totally rational. I thought I was logical and rational until I read Jennifer's book. She takes logic to a whole new level, and I realize that I am just a hot mess of emotion.
She likes rap. Is Salt 'n Pepa's Push It rap? Because that would be the only rap I'm familiar with. My playlists have everything but rap. I like Caribbean music, ska, reggae, Shaggy, Rayvon, etc. That doesn't count though, does it?
Jennifer and I share an intense affinity for Mexican food and margaritas, so I think we could still be friends.
The chapter where she compares C.S. Lewis and Tupac Shakur is just brilliant. Her brilliant mind creating connections between those two minds and their approaches to human suffering is just mind-blowing.
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| GIFs. Do we love them or hate them? Let me know if you're a hater and I'll stop using them. |
Throughout the book, you can just see God's fingerprints (Cari Donaldson's phrase) all over Jennifer's life, in little ways and in really big ways.
After I read this book, I must confess I felt a huge wave of jealousy. First of all, I'm jealous of converts and their amazing conversion stories. There. I said it. #cradlecatholicproblems
Also, I took a look at my life, and lately I'm not seeing God's fingerprints all over it. I mean, I know I'm not alone, but the biggest sign I have of His involvement in the mundane day-to-day here in the Thornton house is that the ice maker started working again.
I know that not every.single.prayer. Jennifer utters gets answered with the efficacy and immediacy of the prayers she mentions in her book. But sometimes (lately) it seems that NONE of my prayers get answered. Or at least none of them get answered the way I want.
Not even the tiny hopeful prayer that Edmund would have One decent inning on the pitching mound. No. He gave up a billion runs and walks before the coach took him out, and after the game he got in the car and said, "I suck." That was definitely NOT the answer I was hoping for, God, and You know it.
I am pretty sure that Mary at Better than Eden wrote this piece just for me.
So Jen's Jennifer's book. It's good. It's very good. It's a very different kind of conversion story than Cari's. Cari's book made me laugh and cry, Jennifer's book made me think hard and it made me a wee bit (whole lotta) crazy.
But I'm pregnant and moody, so I'll take the blame for the crazy jealousy stuff.
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| Then Mama Bear said, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed..." Gratuitous picture of God's fingerprints in my life. [Thanks for putting a picture of me looking like the white whale. At least you cropped out Ishmael who is off to the right and about to jab a harpoon into my white belly. --Your Loving Husband, Shamu.] - Aaaand that's the last time I let Patrick proof-read my posts. |
Since you asked....I hate gifs (but that's probably just me being jealous because I don't know how to use them).
ReplyDeleteSecond, I haven't read SOTG yet...but I can so, so relate to almost everything you wrote about feeling jealousy and not seeing God's fingerprints and feeling like none of your prayers have been answered. I'm jealous of exciting conversion stories as well. I'm jealous of the zeal of convert and the consolations that seem to come with big conversions (that as a cradle Catholic who has never really strayed, I don't seem to get). I really needed Mary's post as well, because I do feel like I'm in the darkness.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.
Thanks, Amelia. Do you ever feel that you (we) are the older brother in the Prodigal Son story? I am so that guy. Jealous. Stupidly jealous.
DeleteI know what you both mean. Sometimes I feel like either Martha or the non-prodigal older brother. Just kind of plodding along as a good cradle Catholic and following all the rules, without those dramatic WOW moments that converts experience. But at the same time, I'm awfully glad I've always been a Catholic--and never had to go through all the tough things people go through when they're spiritually empty and searching for the Truth.
DeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteTHANKS MARY ELLINE! :D
DeleteI had some of the same thoughts about Jen's logic--I thought I knew how to use my brain! :)
ReplyDeleteI love gifs, although I must admit my sense of humor is not the most refined. And I think you should let your husband keep proof reading your posts. His comic relief did have a literary basis after all!
ReplyDeleteYou and others below might have swayed my rash judgment to ban him.
Delete1) Happy Birthday!!
ReplyDelete2) yes to a small amount of GIFs.
3) I'm in the same boat with regards to not really seeing God's fingerprints right now. Harrumph.
4) Put me on your borrowing list, mmmmmkay??
Do you want to borrow my Kindle version? Or are you looking for a real copy?
DeleteOooo! Can i? I have the kindle app on my iPad; that will work, right? Or no?
DeleteTotally empathize with your thoughts on Jen/Jennifer's book. So much so that now I'm having to rewrite my post for today! Personally… I hate gifs. They were cute for the first 5 seconds of their existence but now that they are everywhere, they make my eyes hurt. Your husband cracked me up. Please tell him that the adorable little blonde babe next to him detracted from any potential beluganess in that picture (which I'm sure was just a result of a bad angle anyway). “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.”
ReplyDeleteGIFs, I love them, the visual aid, but after I've seen it once, I just want it to STAAAHP! So no mas GIFs.
DeleteNow, I NEED to read your take on SOTG, STAT!
OK… it's up.
DeleteOh my gosh, you are funny. I absolutely love the way you write. (I would buy your book! And I plan to buy Jennifer's.)
ReplyDeleteYour husband is exactly like mine. He always makes some hyperbolic comment if he feels like a picture makes him look like he's got even the hint of a belly. And he's actually in great shape (I'm sure your husband is, too). But when I read that caption, I did LOL.
Laura, your comments always make me feel loved! Thank you!
DeleteLaura, I am not in great shape. That's why I look like a narwhal sans horn and with a beard.
DeleteHa ha! Between the two of you, there must be a lot of laughing going on in your house. :)
DeleteJessie, (I'm such a smartass)...you may be jealous of conversion stories, but I'm jealous of your huge extended Mass-attending family. Maybe you are so used to it, having grown up that way, but it is an absolute head-shaker to most other people in the pews! You take for granted what other people long for--parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that are on the same page! It is not only a fingerprint of God, but a palm slap on your forehead from God!
ReplyDeletePreach it, sister. I need the kick in the (smart) ass, from you, from Him, anyway I can get it.
DeleteThanks, Madeline, and I totally feel your pain this week on wasting time on a bad book. Never liked The Maze Runner. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteYou can't see God's fingerprints because he usually wears gloves. And he always wipes down his prints like a crime scene. He's like a spy.
ReplyDelete#cradlecatholicproblems - ha! So funny!
ReplyDeleteJessie, I've been lurking here for a while, but today it's official... I love your blog! This was a beautiful review of, and personal reflection on, SOTG. (I haven't read it yet - the book, not your post! - but am looking forward to it!)
ReplyDeleteSo now that I've broken the ice with my first-time comment, I'll stick around!
-Theresa
I'm so glad to "meet" you, Theresa. Thanks for sticking around!
DeleteUh, did I just call you Jessie, even though you go by Jessica?? That's embarrassing. Sorry!
DeleteLOVE GIFs, can relate to not feeling like prayers are answered (in fact, up until rather recently both my husband and I were about to have a long, irritated talk with St. Joseph, he of the novena that was not being answered). Happy birthday, and thanks for hosting WWRW from this first time linker-upper.
ReplyDeleteLOL! My husband and I are also in a 30 day "negotiation" with St. Joseph. Thanks for linking up and for the birthday love!
DeleteThis may be too personal of a question, but here goes anyway...When was the last time you went on a spiritual retreat? I could hear myself in your blog today...well actually I mean I could hear the me that until last month hadn't had/taken the time to feed my own spiritual side on a big way for about 10 years. After talking it over with my husband...the feeling of the dessert...the jealousy...he promptly orchestrated the taking over of the family for a weekend, and sent me off to the mountains for a women's retreat.
ReplyDeleteFind the time! In fact, for everyone else who also commented with these struggles, please talk to your spouses, or parents, or friends, or whoever can look after your kids, and GET YOUR TANK REFILLED! The daily/weekly feeding at Mass and adoration is good, but we need more than just a night out with our girlfriends to laugh. We need to rediscover Him and sometimes that can be just as powerful and earth shaking as conversion.
OK, end lecture. Bottom line, don't forget to feed yourself while you're feeding your whole family. Blessings to all of you in the trenches!
The way she thinks about things, the way she comes to conclusions, she is pure logic, like a Vulcan or an engineer or something totally rational. I thought I was logical and rational until I read Jennifer's book. She takes logic to a whole new level, and I realize that I am just a hot mess of emotion.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I laughed out loud at that. You are hilarious, and it was fascinating to read your review!
And I don't have a preference between Jen and Jennifer. :)
Thanks!
new to your blog; via http://www.waltzingm.com/; enjoyed reading your review; I got the book right away too; it is a really great read! * I've been through periods in my life where all of a sudden it was like God stopped talking; except I started reading things all about God's silence/absence and that this too is part of the Christian life. The book "my sisters the saints" deals with this too from what I remember. Years ago I read a letter by CS Lewis to a woman, who I believe was called Mrs. Graham or something close to this and it was to the effect that if God was not calling us, then we would not want Him... we may not always see our prayers answered as we wish but the very fact that we are praying is perhaps what matters. Remember also that your family is indeed one of the ways God may be answering you... :) Appreciated this post! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I didn't even read The Maze Runner, but I am still upset about the time I wasted reading the prequel to this same series called The Kill Order. Being the last to the party kind of person I usually am I was looking for another YA dystopian type of novel last summer and came across The Maze Runner…maybe from Madeline's blog…anyway. When I looked for it on Amazon, I saw that there was now a prequel and figured, well, I should just start there instead of backtracking. AHH…so horrible. I kept waiting for it to get better, but no, it just kept getting worse and worse and when I did finish it confirmed to me that there would be no point in reading The Maze Runner because if I couldn't stomach this one, well then what was the point. So yes, I feel your pain Madeline…when there are so many other good books out there, it makes me regret spending time on those that are just bad (at least IMHO). I guess the only upside to this was that I was so mad at myself for finishing the book that I vowed not to read a book all the way through if it made that upset and yeah, I didn't finish Divergent earlier this year for that very same reason. Not going to commit the same mistake twice. Ugh! Okay, stepping down off my soapbox now…thanks for letting me vent…I do feel better now. :) Oh and P.S. Happy Birthday Jessica!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your review of SOTG as well! Actually,I like all of your reviews about books, not just because of the subject matter covered, but the way you weave in your own personal anecdotes.
ReplyDeleteOh and I am pregnant and moody as well…all the better reason for me to shut myself away and get immersed in a good book. :)
This is a great review! As a 2014 Easter Vigil convert, I am surprised to hear that cradle Catholics sometimes have jealousy of converts. I am overjoyed by my conversion, but it was so hard at the beginning. I've been feeling kind of jealous of people who were raised Catholic and maybe didn't do some of the stupid things I did because they had a more clear moral stance to base their decisions on. I love all of my grandparents to pieces, but I've always been envious of my husband's sweet, rosary-toting grandmother :)
ReplyDeleteI personally think that converts often feel the same way you do. Or, at least I do. The grass is always greener on the other side. Often I think of unanswered prayers as my lack of knowledge of what to say or how to do it "right". I constantly feel "behind" and like I should know more than I do; more like I'm Catechist-retarded and can't keep up with "cradle catholics". I am lucky to have married into a wealth of knowledge since no one in my family is Catholic or practicing. It's trying when having to explain to my kids why certain family and friends live a "different" life style than we do. (I'm sure lots of parents, converts or not, have to deal with that too.) Or, having to look up or rely on my husband to answer questions for our children that I should know. My path to my faith was very difficult and I'm ashamed of things I did/thought out of ignorance, but I'm so grateful to know the "truth" now and wouldn't trade it for anything.
ReplyDelete