Dr. Harold Berry Guests at the Next VSM Book Brunch

The next Vital Signs Book Brunch will be at our home on Saturday morning, September 21 from 10 until noon. And the book under discussion will not only be one “hot off the presses,” it has been written by our old friend and ministry colleague Dr. Harold Berry. At 90 years old, Harold is still researching and writing for Back to the Bible as well as teaching, mentoring, and pursuing a diligent prayer ministry with his newlywed wife, Mary Dee. It’s going to be an important adventure to read Harold Berry’s new book, Genesis: Daily Scriptures to Receive, Reflect, and Respond so don’t miss out.

Oh, did I mention that Harold Berry will be with us in person? That’s right; he will introduce the book, help lead the discussion, and patiently answer questions. Again, don’t miss this unique opportunity.

We are asking for prompt RSVPs in order for us to plan the brunch menu and be thoroughly prepared. For instance, if the gathering exceeds the space limits of our home, we will set up the Book Brunch at another location. So, please, let us know if you will be attending ASAP. There is no charge for the Book Brunch…except the cost of actually reading the book!

By the way, here’s more on the book from the publisher, “Genesis: Receive, Reflect, and Respond unveils profound truths about God, creation, sin, marriage, and the family. It also illuminates the depth of God’s love for humility and the path to salvation. Read with an open mind and ready heart, and be prepared to have God change you spiritually.”

Dr. Harold J. Berry is a former professor of Bible and Greek at Grace University of Omaha. He served for many years as personal assistant to Theodore H. Epp, founder of Back to the Bible. Dr. Berry holds a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. and a Doctor of Divinity from Grace University.

FYI -- You can get Harold Berry’s Genesis: Receive, Reflect, and Respond through Amazon as either a Kindle version ($10) or a 300-page paperback ($15). 

An Eclectic Assortment: The Latest Reading Review

The purposes for these book lists are to provide for myself accountability and motivation, to provide for my bookish friends a spur to their motivations regarding reading, and finally, to pass along, when appropriate, recommendations to those same friends.

I begin this brief note with the admission that my reading has been limited this first part of the year. Usually winter provides more time for reading and so my book totals are normally quite high during the months when temperatures are cold and snow is on the ground. But not so much this year -- there have been too many Vital Signs of responsibilities, sermon preparations, quick trips to Kansas and northwest Iowa, and so on. Nevertheless, however busy the schedule, I will always make some time for reading and so I now submit my 2024 list to date.

The most important among the group was a re-reading of Charles Dickens’ hefty novel, David Copperfield. And, no surprise, I still recommend it with a four-star rating. However, the only other four-star reads in these 10 weeks was a manuscript copy of Christy Anne Collins’ riveting account of her pro-life career. The tentative title of her book is From Prison Ministry to Prison. It was excellent and I will certainly let you know when it is published. And then there was this short but very enlightening and inspiring story of Tony McFadden, Redeemed: My Journey After Abortion.

And the others? Well, there was a re-read of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; a re-read of C.S. Forester’s The African Queen; and a re-read of David Karsner’s Silver Dollar: The Story of the Tabors which has had particular interest for Coloradans like myself. There were also a few “pure pleasure” reads as well: It’s Your Turn, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand, Fear Is the Key by Alistair MacLean, A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh, and the highest quality of this lot, The Romantic Prince by Raphael Sabatini.

And finally, the most unusual book in my recent reading was a book by Nebraska’s former Attorney General, Don Stenberg. It is a book using a Screwtape Letters format. And although the formula is somewhat overused, and Mr. Stenberg’s writing isn’t exceptional, and the ending is heterodox (bizarre might be a better word), I still rate it three stars and recommend it for the important information he imparts, the calls to action he makes, and the moral courage he displays in seeking to make a difference for Christ in a darkened culture. That book? Eavesdropping on Lucifer.

Yes, The Christmas Room Is Seasonal Reading -- All Seasons!

The Yuletide may be behind us but reading The Christmas Room is always in season. Just yesterday a request came in for us to send out a couple of copies. And the day before, we received this very encouraging note:

“Mr. Hartford, I received a copy of your book, The Christmas Room as a gift for my birthday in October. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated so much of it. My husband passed away 3 years ago after being in a wonderful caring center for about 8 months. I actually experienced many of the kind people that you had in your book and it made my Christmas much easier.  Thank you for writing it and I just wanted you to know it meant a great deal to me.”

Many thanks for that kind note.

The Reading Year in Review

It was an excellent year “between the covers.” Book covers, that is. My total number of books ended up at 71 with several sizable challenges among them. 

The highlights (almost all of them being re-reads) included the whole of the Sherlock Holmes canon; 3 Dickens novels and a couple of Sabatini’s; The Lord of the Rings trilogy (plus The Hobbit, of course); Lewis’ space trilogy and his Chronicles of Narnia; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Ben-Hur; Cripple Creek Days; Seabiscuit; The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization; a couple of Paul Tournier’s works; Malcolm Muggeridge’s Confessions of a Twentieth Century Pilgrim; 4 of Shakespeare’s history plays; Fahrenheit 451; Killer Angels; Cal Thomas’ Watchman in the Night; 10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help; and the massive collection rightfully entitled, The Ultimate Christmas Collection.

And among the books specifically planned for the first quarter or so of this year? We Will Not Be Silenced by Erwin Lutzer; David Copperfield by Charles Dickens; No Little People: Sixteen Sermons for the 20th Century by Francis Schaeffer; Witness by Whittaker Chambers; What’s So Great about Christianity by Dinesh D’Souza; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne; Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church by David Limbaugh; Heaven by Randy Alcorn; And in the End: The Last Days of The Beatles by Ken McNab; and Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace. 

Want to join me for any of these?

Postscript: The full reading list for 2023 is below with the highest recommendations shown by 4 asterisks. 

January
*** 1) A Study in Scarlet (Arthur Conan Doyle)
*** 2) The Sign of Four (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 3) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 4) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 5) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 6) The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan Doyle)
** 7) The Valley of Fear (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 8) His Last Bow (Arthur Conan Doyle)
*** 9) The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
*** 10) The Master of Ballantrae (Robert Louis Stevenson)
*** 11) R.U.R. (Karel Capek)
February
**** 12) Scaramouche (Rafael Sabatini)
**** 13) Henry VI Part One (William Shakespeare)
**** 14) Henry VI Part Two (William Shakespeare)
**** 15) Henry VI Part Three (William Shakespeare)
**** 16) Richard III (William Shakespeare)
March
**** 17) The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Anthony Esolen)
*** 18) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving)
April
**** 19) Confessions of a Twentieth Century Pilgrim (Malcolm Muggeridge)
**** 20) The Old Curiosity Shop (Charles Dickens)
**** 21) The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
**** 22) The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
**** 23) The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
May
**** 24) The Return of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
**** 25) Holy Disorders (Edmund Crispin)
June
*** 26) Swan Song (Edmund Crispin)
*** 27) Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)
*** 28) Perelandra (C.S. Lewis)
**** 29) That Hideous Strength (C.S. Lewis)
July
**** 30) The Seasons of Life (Paul Tournier)
**** 31) Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
**** 32) Submarine (Edward L. Beach)
**** 33) The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (William Shirer)
August
*** 34) The Strong & the Weak (Paul Tournier)
*** 35) Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide (Champ Clark)
**** 36) Killer Angels (Michael Shaara)
**** 37) The Stars in Their Courses (Shelby Foote)
*** 38) Watchman in the Night (Cal Thomas)
**** 39) The Snare (Rafael Sabatini)
**** 40) The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis)
September & October
**** 41) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
*** 42) Fire Over England (A.E.W. Mason)
**** 43) Shaken (Tim Tebow)
**** 44) Ben-Hur (General Lew Wallace)
** 45) The White Company (Arthur Conan Doyle)
**** 46) 10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help (Benjamin Wiker)
**** 47) The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis)
**** 48) Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
**** 49) Nicholas Nickelby (Charles Dickens)
*** 50) The Johnstown Flood (David McCullough)
*** 51) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)
*** 52) The Shepherd of the Hills (Harold Bell Wright)
November
**** 53) Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
**** 54) Seabiscuit (Lauren Hillenbrand) 
** 55) The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Joan Aiken)
** 56) The Beast In Me and Other Animals (James Thurber)
57) Cripple Creek Days (Mabel Barbee Lee) 
December

From The Ultimate Christmas Collection:
**** 58) Christmas story collection (Louisa May Alcott) 
*** 59) Christmas story collection (Henry van Dyke, Ellis Parker Butler, O Henry, et al)
** 60) The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (ETA Hoffmann)
*** 61) Christmas story collection (Self Lagerlof, Washington Irving,William Dean Howells, et al)
** 62) The Nutcracker & the Mouse King (E.T.A. Hoffman)
**** 63) Christmas story collection (Lucy Maud Montgomery)
*** 64) Christmas story collection (Damon Runyan, Frank Stockton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, et al)
**** 65) Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Stories (Anthony Trollope)
*** 66) Beasley's Christmas Party (Booth Tarkington)
**** 67) The Birds' Christmas Carol & Other Stories (Kate Douglas Wiggin)
**** 68) The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
**** 69) The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
* 70) Letter to the American Church (Eric Metaxas)
** 71) The Golden Ring (John Snyder)

The Very Best of Christmas Reading

4 Star Christmas Reading (And a Few Honorable Mentions)

With no time in this hectic (but happy) holiday season to give individual reviews, I am merely going to list my favorite Christmas reading in hopes that you will find it of value when you’re looking for literature that is high quality, wholesome, inspirational, and satisfyingly Christmassy. You’ll find in my list a wide range of genres including classic novels and short stories, theology, poetry, and history.  

So here to start are (in no particular order) my 4 Star Recommendations.

* Shepherds Abiding (Jan Karon)

* A Christmas Longing (Joni Eareckson-Tada)

* A Christmas Carol, Cricket on the Hearth, The Chimes, The Battle of Life, The Ghost’s Bargain, and The Haunted Man (Charles Dickens)

* Spirit of Christmas: Stories, Poems, Essays (G. K. Chesterton)

* "The Tailor of Gloucester" (Beatrix Potter)

* The Christmas Room (Denny Hartford)

* The Quiet Little Woman, Tilly’s Christmas, Rosa’s Tale, The Abbott’s Ghost, A Merry Christmas, and A Country Christmas, and more (Louisa May Alcott)

* O Little Town (Don Reid)

* Christmas Every Day (William Dean Howells)

* Joy Born at Bethlehem: 19 Christmas Sermons
(Charles Spurgeon)

* Christmas at Thompson Hall (Anthony Trollope)

* God With Us (John MacArthur)

* Snow (Calvin Miller)

* A Treasury of Christmas Stories (Including "The Other Wise Man") (Henry Van Dyke)

* "The Gift of the Magi" and Other Christmas Stories (O. Henry)

* The Freedom Train Christmas, The Winter in the Woods, and Christmas of the Talking Animals (Denny Hartford)

* "The Tailor of Gloucester" (Beatrix Potter)

* Beasley’s Christmas Party (Booth Tarkington)

* "The Beggar Boy at Christ’s Christmas Tree" (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

* Old Christmas (Washington Irving)

* The Bird’s Christmas Carol (Kate Douglas Wiggin)

* Dakota Christmas (Joseph Bottum)

* Christmas Sermons (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

* "A Christmas Inspiration" and Other Christmas Stories (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

* A Child’s Christmas in Wales (Dylan Thomas)

Honorable Mention

* Letters from Father Christmas (J. R. R. Tolkien)

* Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Agatha Christie)

* Christmas Stories (Selma Lagerlof)

* The Drum Goes Dead (Bess Streeter Aldrich)

* The Nutcracker & the Mouse King (E.T.A. Hoffmann)

* Good Tidings of Great Joy (Sarah Palin)

* Finding Noel (Richard Paul Evans)

* The Golden Ring: A Christmas Story (John Snyder)

* Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce (Stanley Weintraub)

* The Christmas Train (David Baldacci)

* "The Little Match Girl" (Hans Christian Anderson)

* Miracle on 34th Street (Valentine Davies)

* "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" (Arthur Conan Doyle)

* From Babylon to Bethlehem, The Original Christmas Carol, and The Chronicles of Christmas (Pastor Stephen Davey) 

* Home for Christmas (Lloyd C. Douglas)

* A Christmas Most Foul: A Collection of Holiday Mysteries (A variety of mystery’s Golden Age authors)

* Gifts for a Joyous Christmas (Fr. Val J. Peter)

* The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas (Madeleine L’Engle)

* The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (L. Frank Baum)

 And don’t forget, of course, the exquisite Christmas-themed poetry of G.K. Chesterton, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Dylan Thomas, Leslie Norris, Edgar Guest, T.S. Eliot, Christina Rossetti, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Norman Nicholson, Leslie Norris, and many more. 

Also, there are several books I love in which Christmas plays but a part. Still, because of the tender, memorable scenes of Christmas they depict therein, I’ll mention a few of my favorites: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte; Little Women by Louis May Alcott; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis; The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder; Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery; Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; and Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Merry Christmas reading!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: The 3rd Lyric Change

Judy Garland’s singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” made the song a Christmas standard. It’s certainly one of the favorites we present in the Christmas version of “When Swing Was King” to senior care facilities. And when we come to that number in the show, I sometimes explain that the lyrics of that song have actually been changed twice -- first at the insistence of Judy Garland herself when the film was still being made and then again in the 1950s at the whim of Frank Sinatra.

Well, here from a memorable devotional from Joni Eareckson Tada comes the very moving story behind yet a third change in the song’s lyrics. Check it out…

Have Yourself a Blessed Christmas 

One of the Christmas classics you hear so often this time of year is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The composer of that poignant song is my friend Hugh Martin. Years ago, when Hugh came to Hollywood after leaving New York, he fell on difficult times, which led this dear man to the feet of Jesus. And sometime after his conversion, Hugh went back to the piano and composed new lyrics to his beloved classic. This time, he wanted his Lord and Savior to be honored in the music. Hugh went home to be with Jesus in 2011 at the age of ninety-six, but before he died, he was a guest on our radio program, and I sang those new lyrics for him: “Have yourself a blessed little Christmas, Christ the King is born. Let your voices ring upon this happy morn.” The old lyrics were tender and sweet; the new lyrics may go on ringing into eternity.

Thank You, Lord, for the story of Hugh Martin’s changed life. It’s a story that can be told millions upon millions of times. You change lives, King Jesus. You lift up people from darkness, heartbreak, and impossible situations and give them hope, happiness, and a new song to sing.

And thank you, Joni, for passing along this wonderful Christmas account.

An Article for Fellow Book Lovers: 10 Books That Made Us…And 5 Others That Also Helped (Denny & Claire Hartford)

As I mentioned in a recent Book Den post (October 31), I finished a most enlightening and relevant book entitled 10 Books that Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn’t Help by Benjamin Wiker. That book easily makes my Top 10 for the year and I couldn’t recommend it more highly for those who want to know more about why Western Civilization has so tragically “devolved” in the last century. I truly hope many of you will take the challenge and read it yourself.

But reading that book also prompted Claire and me to think about the books that had actually made the world better -- at least, our world. We decided to make it a project, one that would cause us to look back, remember, and evaluate the books that had most shaped our lives for the better. It proved to be a very worthwhile exercise for us both and we have decided to share it. We hope you find our answers of interest even as we suggest that you consider pondering a similar experiment. So, let’s go. Aside from the Bible itself, we are going to tell you the 10 Books That Made Us…And 5 Others That Also Helped. 

You'll find that piece on the Vital Signs Ministries website right here.

What Recent Reads Earned 5 Stars?

The reading of late has been absolutely exceptional with most of the books of the last couple of months earning the whole 5 stars possible.  Let’s run down the list.

Fire Over England, written by A.E.W. Mason, is an adventure story set against the imminent invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. It is full of page-turning action. There are intriguing parallels drawn between the England of the 16th Century and the England of the 1930s which is facing the threats to its existence from the Nazi ascendancy in Europe. I have read Fire Over England a couple of times before and I enjoyed it once again. Make it a 4-star novel.

Claire agrees with me that Tim Tebow’s Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms is definitely 5-star book. There is plenty of insight, encouragement, challenge, and wise counsel.  Tebow illustrates in various ways his theme that you know “who you are” by knowing “Whose you are.” He also speaks movingly about the necessity of having a tight “circle of trust” for accountability and motivation, about learning the lessons from disappointment that can bring you closer to God, and much more. Claire and I both recommend it highly.

Rereading Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace was another re-reading project that both Claire and I undertook this last quarter. My, what a story! What detailed and fascinating history! What spiritual inspiration! Sure, you’ve seen the movies -- 1907, 1925 (MGM’s version that was the most expensive silent film ever), 1959 (with Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd as the lead actors) 2003, and 2016 – but you’re missing most of the treasure if you don’t read the book. 5 stars? Of course.

I found Arthur Conan Doyle’s 14th century military adventure, The White Company, not quite as enjoyable as my first reading many years ago. So, I’m leaving it in the 3-star category.

Next up is another compelling 5-star read, 10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help by Benjamin Wiker. It’s a wow, no doubt about it. I spent profound hours carefully reading this excellent and extremely important book. I particularly endorse it as a resource for Christians who desire to know the “whats” and “whys” regarding the de-volution of Western civilization…as well as learning the “hows” of reclaiming some of the authority and relevance the Church has so pitifully surrendered in the last century.

We have taken advantage of travel time in recent months to “read” five of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia via the superb radio adaptations done by Focus on the Family produced between 1999 and 2002.  On our way to Colorado and back in August, we listened to The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Then in October, as we drove to Wichita, then Branson, and back to Omaha, we listened with great delight to The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

These productions, by the way, are excellent adaptations with almost all of the text of the original books kept intact. In addition, they utilize the voices of such distinguished actors as Paul Scofield and David Suchet, a fantastic musical score, realistic sound effects, and more. For fans of Narnia, these productions are wonderful. In fact, we suggest you consider putting the series on your Christmas shopping list, perhaps a used CD set. And ratings? 5-star ratings go to all of the above titles except the Dawn Treader. For though there is marvelous stuff in that book, I’m afraid the chapters about the Island of the Voices, the Dufflepuds, and the Dark Island drop the book to a 4-star for me.

My favorite Charles Dickens novel seems always to be the one I’m reading at the time. But it is certainly true that Nicholas Nickleby stands a bit taller than most. I thoroughly enjoyed evenings at our condo down in Branson with Nicholas, Madeline, Smike, Newman Noggs, John Browdie, the Cheeryble brothers and even the despicable villains Ralph Nickleby, Arthur Gride, and Wackford and Mrs. Squeers. Nicholas Nickleby easily earns 5 stars and then some.

At a discount bookstore in Branson, I came across a new edition of David McCullough’s first published book, The Johnstown Flood. It was an extremely interesting, well-written history about one of America’s horrific and most publicized tragedies. It’s a solid 4-star history.

The last title in this Book Den reading update is the classic novel of the Ozark hills and valleys, Harold Bell Wright’s The Shepherd of the Hills. It made for a particularly appropriate re-read for our Branson getaway but, alas, I didn’t actually begin it until our very last night there and finishing it soon after returning to Nebraska. Not to worry, even sitting in my own living room, Wright’s imagination and literary skills made me feel like I was still down in an Ozark “holler” dodging the Baldknobbers with young Matt, Sammy, Pete, and Dad Howitt. The Shepherd of the Hills is an easy, pleasurable read with action, mystery, and inspiration aplenty that earns 5 stars.

On the list for the next few weeks? Well, the current plan includes: re-reads of Bleak House (Charles Dickens), Heaven (Randy Alcorn), A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens), and the last two books in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. And first time readings of We Will Not Be Silenced (Erwin Lutzer), Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church (David Limbaugh), and No Little People: Sixteen Sermons for the 20th Century (Francis Schaeffer).

A Reading Wrap-Up...and an Invitation

As summer nears its end, I find my year’s reading list down from my average number. But then, when I look over the list and realize how many of the books read thus far in 2023 have been particularly hefty -- over 600 pages in Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop, the entire canon of Sherlock Holmes which goes over 600 pages, the nearly 1300 pages of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and the over 1500 pages of the JRR Tolkien saga -- I may be actually higher than my normal page count. So that’s an encouragement -- as is keeping a list in the first place. And, let’s face it, maintaining a successful “reading life” needs every bit of encouragement, accountability, good recommendations, and whatever other motivations we can get.

My most recent reading has all been of exceptional quality. I finally got through (for the third or fourth time in my life) William Shirer’s epic The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich. Then there was Paul Tournier’s The Strong and the Weak. Tournier is a Swiss psychiatrist who wrote in the 1940s into the 1970s with insights and wise counsel derived from his Christian worldview. He is one of the “old friends” in my library as I’ve been reading his books since my very early days as a Christian. This particular book was a challenging study of how a Christian properly responds to his natural personality and tendencies. (By the way, I shared a few stimulating quotes from that book a few days ago in this post.)

Next up? After watching a couple of extremely interesting interviews with novelist and Civil War historian Shelby Foote, I was prompted to spend a little time in the War Between the States -- more specifically, in the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg which was the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. That trip started with Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide by Champ Clark; then I went on to Michael Shaara’s highly-acclaimed novel, Killer Angels (my 3rd or 4th time through); and finally, I took up Shelby Foote’s Stars in Their Courses, his very detailed history of the battle’s prelude, action, and aftermath.

But now it’s time to move on. First, I’ll be finishing Cal Thomas’ Watchman in the Night and Raphael Sabatini's novel set in Portugal during the Napoleonic wars, The Snare. But what of my reading plans for late summer and fall? Well, they include David Limbaugh’s Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church; Tim Tebow’s Shaken (which is the book to be discussed at the next Vital Signs Book Brunch at our place on Saturday, September 23 at 10:30); and re-readings of Randy Alcorn’s Heaven, Lauren Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, General Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur, and the C.S. Lewis series, The Chronicles of Narnia. 

Want to join me with any of these terrific books? Just let me know.

Upon Reading Tournier’s The Strong and the Weak

One of the first Christian authors I was introduced after finding myself in Omaha, Nebraska (that was just a few weeks after my conversion to the Faith) was the Swiss physician, pastoral psychologist, and popular writer, Paul Tournier. I quickly bought up paperback copies of his small books and I’ve been re-reading them ever since those long, distant days. 

The other day I picked out The Strong and the Weak (1948). Perhaps because I was reading it in between sessions with Cal Thomas’ Watchman in the Night, the Book of Hebrews, and Rafael Sabatini’s novel The Snare, I found Tournier tough going for awhile. But I stayed doggedly with it and, by the time I had started the last third of the book, I was really pleased that I had done so. Not because it had ever become easier reading, but because the Lord was underscoring several of the points Tournier made in the book and letting me clearly know that I had a lot to learn, think about, and apply. 

But because very few of you will take my recommendation so passionately that you’re going to go order the book for immediate reading (!), let me pass along a few of my favorite quotes from Paul Tournier’s The Strong and the Weak.

Speaking of the “great illusion…that there are two kinds of human beings, the strong and the weak. The truth is that human beings are much more alike than they think. What is different is the eternal mask, sparkling or disagreeable, their outward reaction, strong or weak.” (Pages 20,21)

“All men are afraid of God. Open the Bible and you will see that this is their first reaction whenever God speaks to them. They are afraid of God because they have a bad conscience and because they dread the sacrifices which He may ask of them.” (Page 93)

“The reason why so many conversations remain shallow is that the speakers are all running away from one another…They hide their vulnerable selves behind a screen of banal remarks, polite compliments, witticisms, or artificial extravagances. An absolutely honest and direct intercourse, free from subterfuge, pretense, evasion and swank is difficult to maintain. As soon as it becomes dangerous, we wrap ourselves up like warships in a smoke-screen.” (Pages 97, 98)

“One can never foresee the means that God will use to touch a man’s heart, the roads along which He will drive him, nor the moment at which He will intervene in his life. It may be at the height of happiness, or in the midst of a painful crisis. It may be my means of a slow process of evolution, or quite suddenly and unexpectedly. But it is always through the free intervention of the Spirit.” (Page 143)

“For the respect for the human person, the protection of the weak, charity, and the necessity of salvation by God, professed by Christianity, our age has substituted the cult of the State, the veneration of force, the crushing of the weak in the struggle for life, and confidence in the greatness of man, ceaselessly climbing the ladder of progress and power.” (Page 161)

“A man’s true value consists in his likeness to God. What gives value to his thoughts, his feelings and his actions, is the extent to which they are inspired by God, the extent to which they expressed the thought, the will, and the acts of God.” (Page 163)

“We are all equal in sin and in moral wretchedness. It is conventionalism which judges men by their social facade, whereas the gospel looks into the heart…The further we advance in the Christian life, the more we become aware of our sin. It is as if weights were continually being added to one of the pans of a balance; and each time this happens we need more of God’s grace in the other pan in order to reestablish the equilibrium.” (Page 175)

“Faith is a strength, a concrete and practical strength. The Christian life is not abstention. Genuine conversion, far from paralyzing the person, makes it dynamic.” (Page 202)

 “I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am not criticizing the strong. It is right that they should use in His service the natural gifts entrusted to them by God. But the authentic mark of the Spirit is just this sincerity by which the strong may recognize how much of their action is only too human, and admit that they are not as strong as they are reckoned to be by the mass of their followers who have set them up as leaders. The greatest witness the weak can bear is in the victories they can win over their own natures and the strength of the Spirit. The contrary is the case with the strong. The strong man witnesses best not by showing off his strength or his power to dominate others with his mind or his words, but in his victory over himself in becoming humble, tolerant, and gentle. This is the more difficult because he has a part to play that is more in the public eye, and because it is no longer a question of influencing others (which he finds easy) but of mastering himself...The fact is that true faith is as difficult for the strong as for the weak.” (Page 216)

“That day I realized all at once that when my services were called upon in the church, it was much more because of my natural than my supernatural gifts. That evening I was with some friends and told them what God had shown me, and I knelt down with them to pray that thenceforward He would build my service to Him more on what came from Him, and less on what came from me. Let us therefore be careful not to confuse natural strength with that of the Spirit.” (Page 218)

“Faith does help us to accept our nature, to carry its burdens like a cross, to offer it to God to be used in His service, to derive some good from it and not merely suffering.” (Page 241)

“If our lives are directed by the Spirit, we may count upon real particular victories over our natures, but we can never expect a total, final victory. It is quite as wrong to deny the partial victories as to exaggerate their importance. Our nature may be transformed in part; but there remains a part of it that we must simply accept as it is. To prefer the fairy-story is in fact to rebel against our human condition, to refuse to carry our cross, to seek to know in this life the complete liberation which will be ours only in the life hereafter.” (Page 246)

“As we travel this road, we find that grace constantly increases...Grace is infinitely bigger than we imagine. All has already been accomplished in Jesus Christ. In proportion as we recognize the evil in our own hearts, we appreciate more fully what he has done for us. In proportion, as we become aware of our wretchedness, we see that He has already answered it in advance by His sacrifice.” (Page 249)

“He is alive. If we open our hearts to Him, He fills them with His presence. Insofar as He thus lives in us, we are delivered from our weak reactions, while at the same time becoming more aware than ever of our weakness. We are delivered also from our strong reactions, while at the same time receiving from Him a strength that is beyond compare.” (Page 251)

A Quarterly Reading Report (Plus a Few Thoughts About Re-Reading)

Claire and I find it very helpful to do some of our planning on a quarterly system. It helps with motivation, organization, evaluation, and even the promotion of certain events and services to others. For instance, we try to schedule the Vital Signs Ministries Book Brunch and the letter-writing parties by quarters as well as the the dinner meetings of the ministry’s governing board. And, on a more personal level, we do quarterly evaluations of how we’re doing on our New Year Resolutions: taking honest stock, giving ourselves grades on our performance, making alterations when necessary, comparing our notes with one another, and making fresh prayers re-dedications regarding the quarter to come.

And this brings me to the subject of reading. Because that’s one of my areas of ongoing resolution, I take a little time at the end of every quarter (or somewhere near there) to review, remember, evaluate, and recommend my recent reading. Here is how I wrote up my “reading report card” for the 2nd quarter.

Grade -- B+. Books read -- 16. “Yes, our schedule seems to be busier than ever, but I can’t let that be the full explanation for my book numbers being a little lower than normal. I need to do better at avoiding distractions; to work on creating a comfortable atmosphere more conducive to reading; to set more time aside for living room reading with Claire; to continue encouraging others to read (including reading the same books as me); and to spend a bit more time on posts for The Book Den blog. Above all, do not let the spirit of the age (a “cancel culture” that dumbs down one’s reading skills, attention span, and appreciation of the crucial importance of reading quality books) make any more inroads into my life.

Of the 16 books read this quarter, 13 books were titles I had read before. Some of them, many times before. But I certainly don’t apologize for that. Indeed, I’m in excellent company with this practice. For example, C.S. Lewis wrote in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, “An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only…We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. Till then, it is like wasting great wine on a ravenous natural thirst which merely wants cold wetness.”

And in An Experiment in Criticism, Lewis explained his convictions this way, “The majority never read anything twice. The sure mark of an unliterary man is that he considers ‘I’ve read it already’ to be a conclusive argument against reading a work…Those who read great works, on the other hand, will read the same work ten, twenty or thirty times during the course of their life.”

Similar observations were made by Francois Mauriac --“Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are’ is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you re-read.”  And by Vladimir Nabokov, “Curiously enough, one cannot read a book; one can only re-read it. A good reader, a major reader, and active and creative reader is a re-reader.”  

With that perspective explained, here’s the reading list.

* I closed March’s reading while we were still in Branson with Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. A fine story. (A re-read.)

* April’s reading (all 5 were re-reads) were all 4-star titles. Confessions of a Twentieth Century Pilgrim (Malcolm Muggeridge); The Old Curiosity Shop (Charles Dickens); The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien); The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien); and The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien).

* May was an extremely busy month and I only got in two books. I finished the series by enjoying The Return of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and then spent a pleasant evening with a Golden Age mystery, Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin.

* June’s reading included another Edmund Crispin mystery, Swan Song (not quite as good as the earlier one of his); Edmund Crispin) and a re-read of C.S. Lewis trilogy -- Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

* And now so far in July, there have been two “old friends,” The Seasons of Life by Paul Tournier and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. And a new read from a longtime favorite, Edward L. Beach. That book was Submarine.

* And so that makes only 15 books. What’s #16? Well, that would be one the reasons I haven’t finished more titles this quarter because, along the way, I have carefully been making my way through William L. Shirer’s classic history, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. This book too is a re-read but one with so much information (startling, detailed, and spiritually challenging information) that it is taking me awhile to move through its more than 1,200 pages.

So, there you go – a quick quarterly reading review written, at least in part, as an encouragement for you to join me in beating back the lethargy and the lure of the television by reading more. Indeed, I close this post with a snappy (and very quick) video apologetic on the matter.  

Revisiting Tournier's Seasons of Life

I have been reading (and, more importantly, re-reading) Paul Tournier since the year of my conversion to Christianity over 53 years ago. And my favorite of all of his brief books? Well, that would be whatever is the one I've just been spending time with again. In this case, that's The Seasons of Life.

“The Bible is the proclamation of God’s love, a love without limit and without condition. It is more than a proclamation; it is a proof. For, as John states it, the supreme testimony of His love is in having sent His only Son, in having assumed in Him all our humanity, in all its suffering and isolation, even unto death.”

“The self-denial required by the gospel is not at all a withdrawal into a truncated life of perpetual childhood. Self-denial is the renunciation of a self-directed life, for the very purpose of attaining a far greater fullness under the direction of God…In every passage wherein Jesus speaks of self-denial there was a promise which follows, a promise of riches ‘an hundred-fold.’ Even when He calls us to ‘lose’ our life, He adds that it is in order to save it. It is in order that we may find the real life, the life which is far more fruitful. 

Therefore we are faced with the question of life’s fulfillment. It is the law of the greater fulfillment which Christ has given us. Life with God is the greatest adventure imaginable.”

Up Next? That Hideous Strength

The next Vital Signs Book Brunch will be at our home on Saturday morning, June 24 at 10. The book under discussion will be a classic by C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength.  The relevance of this novel is greater than ever and a discussion of it (by thoughtful people who actually READ the book!) will undoubtedly be of significant value. Please let us know soon if you’re interested.

God Has Been Murdered, The Earth Trembles

This sermon excerpt comes from Melito, Bishop of Sardis in the 2nd Century.

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

Pay attention, all families of the nations, and observe! An extraordinary murder has taken place in the center of Jerusalem, in the city devoted to God’s law, in the city of the Hebrews, in the city of the prophets, in the city thought of as just. And Who has been murdered? And who is the murderer? I am ashamed to give the answer, but give it I must. For if this murder had taken place at night, or if he had been slain in a desert place, it would be well to keep silent; but it was in the middle of the main street, even in the center of the city, while all were looking on, that the unjust murder of this just Person took place.

And thus He was lifted up upon the tree, and an inscription was affixed identifying the One Who had been murdered. Who was He? It is painful to tell, but it is more dreadful not to tell. Therefore, hear and tremble because of Him for Whom the earth trembled.

The One who hung the earth in space, is Himself hanged; the One who fixed the heavens in place, is Himself impaled; the One who firmly fixed all things, is Himself firmly fixed to the tree. The Lord is insulted, God has been murdered, the King of Israel has been destroyed by the right hand of Israel.

O frightful murder! O unheard of injustice! The Lord is disfigured and He is not deemed worthy of a cloak for His naked body, so that He might not be seen exposed. For this reason the stars turned and fled, and the day grew quite dark, in order to hide the naked Person hanging on the tree, darkening not the body of the Lord, but the eyes of men.

Yes, even though the people did not tremble, the earth trembled instead; although the people were not afraid, the heavens grew frightened; although the people did not tear their garments, the angels tore theirs; although the people did not lament, the Lord thundered from heaven, and the most high uttered His voice.

But the Lord arose from the dead and mounted up to the heights of heaven. When the Lord had clothed Himself with humanity, and had suffered for the sake of the sufferer, and had been bound for the sake of the imprisoned, and had been judged for the sake of the condemned, and buried for the sake of the ones who were buried.

He rose up from the dead, and cried aloud with this voice, “Who is he who contends with me? Let him stand in opposition to Me. I set the condemned man free; I gave the dead man life; I raised up the one who had been entombed.”

“Who is my opponent? I,” He says, “am the Christ. I am the One who destroyed death, and triumphed over the enemy, and trampled Hades under foot, and bound the strong one, and carried off man to the heights of heaven. I,” He says, “am the Christ.”

“Therefore, come, all families of men, you who have been befouled with sins, and receive forgiveness for your sins. I am your forgiveness, I am the passover of your salvation, I am the Lamb which was sacrificed for you, I am your ransom, I am your light, I am your Savior, I am your resurrection, I am your king, I am leading you up to the heights of heaven, I will show you the eternal Father, I will raise you up by my right hand.”

This is the One Who made the heavens and the earth, and Who in the beginning created man, Who was proclaimed through the law and prophets, Who became human via the virgin, Who was hanged upon a tree, Who was buried in the earth, Who was resurrected from the dead, and Who ascended to the heights of heaven, Who sits at the right hand of the Father, Who has authority to judge and to save everything, through Whom the Father created everything from the beginning of the world to the end of the age.

This is the alpha and the omega. This is the beginning and the end -- an indescribable beginning and an incomprehensible end. This is the Christ. This is the King. This is Jesus. This is the general. This is the Lord. This is the One Who rose up from the dead. This is the One Who sits at the right hand of the Father. He bears the Father and is borne by the Father, to Whom be the glory and the power forever. Amen.

Coming Highly Recommended

Here’s a few reading recommendations for your weekend. (You may well want to pass some of these along to others.)

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (Nicholas Carr)

“What the FDA Hasn’t Told You About Mifepristone” (Erik Baptist, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom)

“The New Great Game” (Joel Kotkin and Hügo Krüger)

“Are We the Byzantines?” (Victor Davis Hanson)

And three from me:

“Nothing Good Does God Withhold” 

“The Real St. Patrick” 

and “Heroes in My Library”

And a book I just finished and loved, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Anthony Estolen)

Heroes in My Library

My library is a special place to me, in part, because it is a place where many of my heroes await meeting with me.  You remember heroes, don’t you?  Those men and women who bravely fought for great causes, sacrificed for lofty ideals, and otherwise broke the bonds of compromising commonality to achieve noble aims.  In addition to my faith in Jesus Christ and my dependence on the Holy Spirit, in addition to my zeal to study the Bible and carefully learn its revelations and precepts, I’ve joyously accepted the gifts God has given me in mortal heroes. And I've cherished the inspiration they have brought me throughout my life -- heroes whose exemplary character and deeds of physical and moral valor compel me to dream bigger, reach further, and relish more the adventures of life.

My library resounds with the presence of these heroes and, even after decades of friendship, I still appreciate my every encounter with them. They include the apostles, Luke the physician, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Christopher Columbus, Ronald Reagan, Francis & Edith Schaeffer, Ulysses S. Grant, St. Patrick, Clarence Thomas, G.K. Chesterton, Old Testament heroes like Joseph and Kings Hezekiah and Josiah, Thor Heyerdahl, Edith Cavell, C.S. Lewis, Audie Murphy, Joni Eareckson-Tada, Malcolm Muggeridge, Paul Tournier, Florence Nightingale, Samuel Eliot Morison, William Wilberforce. The list goes on.

Even the fictional heroes in my library are trusted friends: Sherlock Holmes, Sydney Carton, the Count of Monte Cristo, Robin Hood, Fr. Brown, Richard Hannay, Robinson Crusoe, Badger and Ratty, D’Artagnan and the Musketeers, Mr. Pickwick, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Fr. Tim Kavanagh, Elwin Ransom, Ivanhoe, Horatio Hornblower, Frodo and Sam, the converted Ebeneezer Scrooge, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, and so many others. The Lord uses even these “invented heroes” to yet provide real-life inspiration and direction.

Heroes have shaped my life in ways too numerous and deep to ever fully realize. They have daringly challenged me to venture outside my comfort zones and narrow self-interests and instead embrace the adventurous opportunities life provides for character, integrity, courage, and religious faith.

Where would I be without heroes? I don’t want to even imagine.

Of Stories and Argument

“In the biblical view the issue is not modern versus postmodern.  Both these views are partly right, and both are finally wrong.  Nor is it rational argument versus story or reason versus imagination.  In fact it is not either-or at all.  The deep logic of God’s truth can be expressed in both stories and argument, by questions as well as statements, through reason and the imagination, through the four Gospels as well as through the book of Romans.  

This is one reason why C.S. Lewis has had such enduring appeal.  At times he was coolly rational, as in Mere Christianity, while at other times he engaged the imagination brilliantly, as in The Screwtape Letters or The Chronicles of Narnia.  There is a time for stories, and there is a time for rational arguments, and the skill we need lies in knowing which to use, and when.” (Os Guinness, “Fool’s Talk”)

"Covering" the Latest Reading

It's been a terrific couple of months on the reading front and all of those pictured below make my "heartiest recommendation" status. 

Enjoy.

For the Next Book Brunch, It's Clarence Thomas

Here's giving you plenty of time to get ready...

The next Vital Signs Ministries Book Brunch discussion will be on Saturday, September 10 at 9 AM. And in celebration of the Roe v Wade reversal, we will honor one of the paramount heroes of the struggle by reading and discussing together Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, edited by Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta. Let us know if you're interested.

By the way, here's a bit of what Christian Book Distributors say about the book:

“Who is Justice Clarence Thomas, in his own words? 

In the follow-up to the wildly successful documentary by the same name, Created Equal builds on dozens of hours of groundbreaking, one-on-one interviews with Thomas to share a new, expanded account of his powerful story for the first time. 

Producer Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta, a lawyer who worked alongside Thomas during his confirmation, dive deep into the Justice’s story. Drawing on a rich array of historical documents and unreleased conversations with Thomas, his wife, and those who knew him best, Created Equal is a timeless account of faith, race, power, and personal resilience.”

Reading Together

Reading quality books is a very good thing.  Indeed, as almost everyone would agree, such a practice makes a person smarter, more interesting, and more appreciative.  And discussing those books with others only increases those values.  This is why Claire and I started the Notting Hill Napoleons book club way back in 1992 – a book fellowship involving Christian friends who read a classic novel every month and then get together to talk about it.  That group, by the way, is still going strong for we see how important it has been in not only stimulating us to read more, but also in sharpening our skills in literary criticism, meaningful conversation, and the application of a book’s lessons to practical life.

It was for the same reasons that Vital Signs Ministries began hosting book discussions way back in the 1990s and our current practice includes both small and large group book discussions.  The former is usually an agreement of 1-4 people to read the same book and discuss it over lunch at a coffee shop or cafe, while the latter takes the form of an evening party or Saturday morning brunch which we host at our home. Either way, we're encouraged (and made accountable) to read.

And to waste less time in more trivial pursuits.

The books we choose for these discussions cover a wide range – history, the culture wars, literature, and Christian living.  But they are all selected for the purpose of making us more informed, effective, and consistent servants of Christ’s kingdom. Want a few examples? Sure, let me list a few of the more memorable titles and authors from over the years: 

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan; 
Heaven by Randy Alcorn; 
Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas by Ken Foskett; 
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali; 
A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer; 
A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte; 
Eugenics and Other Evils by G.K. Chesterton; 
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; 
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas; 
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis:
Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America by Mark Levin; 
Check with Chip on Stem Cell Research by Chip Maxwell; 
Enemies and Allies by Joel Rosenberg; 
Heaven: Your Real Home by Joni Eareckson Tada; 
Everlasting: God’s Faithfulness to Israel by Stuart Cunliffe; 
The Rush Revere books by Rush Limbaugh; 
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. 
And the latest?  The Apostate by Dr. Mark Christian. 

If you are interested in joining us for these Vital Signs book discussions, please let us know.  And we will, of course, continue to promote them beforehand in our monthly letters and Vital Signs Blog.