Review: Picking Dandelions by Sarah Cunningham

Note: This blog is part of Sarah's summer blog tour.  I appreciate Sarah giving me the chance to participate.

The Christian Book industry has changed rather drastically over the past decade or so.  It used to be you couldn't pick up a book in the "Christian Living" section without its author telling you what kind of awful tragedy they had overcome, or what three step process will make your life better.  But with the maturation of my generation (X) and the generation right under us, things have changed.  We don't want simple and quick fixes to our problems.  We don't want somebody to tell us how they have overcome a hurt and now they are perfect.  We want to know that other people realize that life, and consequently our faith, are so daily. Sarah Cunningham is one of these authors. And her new book,Picking Dandelions is a prime example of someone reaching through the muck and mire of perfect fixes and telling us a story where it does not all work out in the end.

"Dandelions" is a quirky memoir with a serious message.  Cunningham believes that through life's weeds, we are all striving to find a little piece of Eden. Some of us may go through extremes to find it, but at it's core perhaps Eden is in front of us-even inside us.

Through light hearted dialogue laced with poignant insights, Picking Dandelions walks us along Sarah Cunningham's road of life as we see experiences that have brought her to a deeper understanding of what Eden may actually be.  Some of her memories are perhaps not that profound, such as her memory of her dad telling her about the "watch cow" that protected their small town from "lions, tigers and bears".  Some of her memories are more serious including a great chapter of her experience at ground zero after the attacks of 9/11.  Through it all, we see an image of grace emerging that helps Miss Cunningham see that Eden can become clear even in the midst of overwhelming tragedy.

The book is laid out in nine very defined sections chronicling her life from childhood growing up with a pastor for a dad, to teaching school to a bunch of obnoxious high schoolers.The sections are short and can easily be read in a sitting.  Each section begins with an attribute of the rather prolific weed known as the dandelion. Cunningham suggests that if we look beyond the obvious traits of a dandelion being a weed, we may find rather extraordinary. 

With wit, charm, and an ample supply of grace Sarah Cunningham shows in her memoir that Eden can be found in the strangest and most unlikely places.  From the farmlands of Wisconsin to the melted and warped metal of ground zero, Eden can be found.  Perhaps if we look hard enough, we be able to find a little Eden inside of us.  It isn't a destination, it is a state of being.

As I said, the Christian book industry is changing drastically.  And if Sarah Cunningham's book is any representation (and I believe it is), it is for the better.

On a side note- Sarah is collecting a list of books for summer reading, these are mine in no particular order.

-Blue Like Jazz/Donald Miller
-To Kill a Mockingbird/Harper Lee
-The Outsiders/S.E. Hinton

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Faithbook of Jesus: Connecting with the Twenty-Something Generation

Over the years, I have read many devotionals spanning the spectrum from Oswald Chamber's classic My Utmost for His Highest , to the small quarterly devotionals that can be picked up at almost any church published by Radio Bible Ministries. Most devotionals fit a relatively standard format of daily one page readings. Usually these readings are based on some section of scripture, and more often than not it rests on one verse. Faithbook of Jesus by Renee Johnson is no different.

Faithbook.. is a fifty-two week, daily devotional that is specifically geared towards a "twenty-something" audience. As such, most of Miss Johnson's devotions are based around things that most young adults would be dealing with in this new millennium. Originally written for her blog, these devotionals have been edited and put in book form. She deals with issues that run the gamut from pre-marital sex to how we deal with the culture around us.

As I stated before, the format of the devotionals is nothing new. There is a pithy title at the top of the page, a verse to draw inspiration from, the devotional (consisting of 3-4 paragraphs), and then an insight at the bottom of the page. The insight is meant to either get people to dig deeper or call people into action.

What is unique about the format are a few new features at the bottom of the page. Not only does Renee offer insight, but she also has taken quotes from people that have posted to her website and used them to enhance the devotional. She also has added little prayers where she addresses Jesus with different names such as "Design-Label Jesus", or "Thirst-Quenching Jesus". Granted some of these names are little distracting and kind of hokey, but all in all they help the reader see that Jesus is more than one dimensional.

My favorite feature is the call to interact and be part of the "community".  At the end of each devotional, Renee asks a question and then invites the reader to respond on her website. In this post-modern culture, this is what people are looking for. We just don't want to read someone's idea of something, we want to interact with them and share our ideas as well.

The devotions themselves are at times really good and at times rather quaint and full of bubble gum. The moments that are the most brilliant and bright are the ones in which Renee gets very personal with her struggles to stay pure and to stay satisfied in her singleness. It is these sections that draw the reader in the most, connecting with them on a level other devotionals don't.

Faithbook of Jesus is not for everyone. But the target audience will most likely receive it with open arms. The twenty-something age group is a market that has not been targeted effectively by this type of genre. Although there is room for improvement, Faithbook does connect on many levels and is worth checking out. Renee Johnson is a bright light in the next generation of Christian authors.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Wild At Heart Chapter 3

In chapter 3, Eldredge deals with the question that haunts every man.  He lays the thesis of "why won't we, as men, be what we are called to be."  I am assuming that means what he has already proposed-a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

He goes on to present a rather solid case that we as humans, whether female or male, are not living up to our true calling as either gender.  Men especially are hiding behind their masks or security features such as sports, work, or other more darker things.

The chapter spoke true to me in many ways. I have spent my life running from things.  If they get to hard, or if they get too deep; I bail.  I have started and quit college 4 different times.  I have had more jobs than I can count on two hands (and probably both feet).  Even within my jobs, I have avoided the hard things just so I didn't have to deal with the conflict that was sure to follow.

Eldredge spoke of a reoccurring dream that haunted him consistently.  He was involved in drama for years and would dream that he was in the biggest play of his life and didn't even know what his lines were although his part was crucial to the entire play.  I have had my own "what if they find me out" dream as well.  Mine is usually based around showing up for a class only to find out that the class had been going on for at least three months and I hadn't attended a single class.  And now it was time for the final!

Our world is screwed up.  It is not as God intended.  We don't know how to be who we are, we don't know how to have fellowship.  We don't even know how to have church!  My desire is to figure these things out before its too late.  I don't want to feel as if I am just filling space.  I want to be involved with my children, my wife, and even humanity as a whole.  But I need Jesus to show me how this is done effectively.

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Win a Copy of the New Book "Divine Commodity"

My friend Chad is offering a copy of a brand new book that he recently reviewed. The "Divine Commodity" asks the questions of how Christians can deal with the consumerism withing the church. He is giving away five free books to readers of his blog, Captain's Blog. All you have to do is go to his blog and leave a comment and your email address. Good luck!

Chad Estes' Captain's Blog

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Wild At Heart Chapter 2

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In Chapter 2, Eldredge makes that case that God is "wild at heart". He believes that most men have a warped idea of who Jesus is and was. People get their attitude of Jesus based on how their father was, the kind of pictures we always see of Jesus, and what the church tells us that Jesus was like. Eldredge says that most people end with the vision of Jesus being "Mister Rogers with a beard". We are told to be nice, be swell, and be like Mother Theresa. He makes the statement that he would rather be told to be like William Wallace from Braveheart.

I would argue that both characters where strong in their own right. William Wallace was strong in his stance against the English. Mother Theresa was strong in her determination to rescue the poor in Calcutta. I truly don't picture Mother Theresa very mild. But I guess I see Eldredge's point. I just would have chose somebody besides Mother Theresa to compare side by side with William Wallace.

Eldredge goes on to state that God has a battle to fight, and adventure to have, and a beauty to win. I think the premise is quite clear that God definitely has a battle to fight (or better said battle that has been fought), and a beauty to win (his bride the church). I am a little tepid to accept the adventure part though.

Mr. Eldredge says that since God created the world and since most of the world is dangerous and wild, then it obviously means that God prefers "adventure, danger, risk, and the element of surprise". I would argue that the world could have been much more tame and not as wild before the fall. Perhaps some of the traits we see around us-danger, risk, etc are products of the fall.

In the garden we have a world that is perfect. We have a world based on God's commands, God's love, and one on one communion with God. Was there death in the Garden before the fall? Was there a need for carnivores to be carnivores? Was there a need for danger until the serpent entered? I really don't have definite answers for that but it seems that if Eldredge's premise is a perhaps a bit skued on this point.

Now having said all this, I do believe that we have white washed the power and judgement of God. He is a lot more wild than we give him credit for. I agree that we associate Jesus with someone of the character of Mister Rogers. But he was much more. He was not timid. He was not mild all the time. God was not "nice" in the OT. God says he is a jealous God. He is righteous. He can be angry. Eldredge uses a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The beaver is talking to the children. The children ask the Beaver if Aslan is safe. Mr. Beaver's response is...

"Safe? Who said anything about being safe? Of course he isn't safe. but he's good."

And that is how it is with our Lord. If we think he is safe, we are sorely mistaken. But he is good.

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Wild at Heart Review: Chapter 1

Again I am by no means a writer. But I will do my best to critique this book and whether or not I think it is worth reading. Since I am taking my time to devour each chapter, I shall try to review the book one chapter at a time.

Chapter 1 Wild at Heart

Eldredge begins his book by saying that "Eve was created within the lush beauty of Eden's garden. Adam, if you'll remember, was created outside the garden, in the wilderness." This statement in and of itself is true. But the premise that Eldredge is trying to draw from it is a bit obtuse. He makes the claim that because Adam was created in the "wilderness" his heart longs to get back there. This has a complete disregard of the fact that the garden was created for Adam, not Eve. Who knows how many years, centuries, or even mellenia, Adam and Eve lived there happily. If Adam was wanting back out into the "wilderness" why didn't he try harder before the fall. Why was it a significant punishment to be cast out of the garden? To say that Adam did not want to be in the garden because he longed for the adventure is to say that Adam did not want or even desire to be with God (which is what the garden was).

Eldredge's thesis for this book is that every man has three desires...A battle to win, an adventure to have, and a beauty to rescue. I have to say that these sound intriguing to me and I am excited to see what he is talking about. Mr. Eldredge does have some good points. He makes the case that the modern church has been so influenced by feminism, that we have emasculated our men. How can the church expect to live up to it's full potential if we are so confused about gender roles? We are confusing what it means to have Christ like traits with what it means to be a woman.

Some of the negative reviews I read about this book complained that it was sexist. One in particular was quite negative and complained about Eldredge wanting the medieval chivalry back. I would argue that maybe we need a little chivalry in this day and age. We need men who are not afraid (or lazy) to open the door for a woman (or anyone for that matter). We need men who know their place in the family structure and are willing to impart what it means to be a man to their sons. We need men who are not afraid to treat their daughters differently than they do their sons.

I am not sure how far Eldredge will take this issue. Will he promote men going up into the wilderness and practicing the "primal scream"? Does he promote working on cars, going to monster truck rallies and banging heads in a football game? He has already laid the premise that we as men want adventure. I concur. But what kind of adventure is he talking about and at what expense?

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