WWRW: Something Other Than God

Tess had her baby!  And Kathryn had her baby!  And Jennifer had her book baby!

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 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.  

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.  

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.  

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