The Middle Way is divided into three main parts, covering the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community of followers). These three aspects of Buddhism are often referred to as “the three jewels.” Through these three parts, the origin and basic teachings of Buddhism are explored, making this essentially a “survey of Buddhism” or “brief introduction to Buddhism.”

An explanation of “the middle way” is also given through a helpful analogy. Anyone who is familiar with stringed instruments will easily understand: if the strings of the instrument are too loose, the instrument will not play properly; likewise, if they are too tight, the instrument cannot be properly played, either. So, the musician must find “the middle way.” Using this analogy, the middle way is not merely adjusting the strings so they randomly neither too tight or too loose, but in order to play the instrument well, each string must each be finely tuned. This is what “the middle way” seeks to be. (And though this analogy was used to specifically explain what Buddhism attempts to be, I found it a helpful analogy to explain lots of other aspects of life.)

The final portion of this book also discusses the variants of Buddhism that have developed in the regions surrounding it’s Indian birthplace, such as Buddhism as expressed and practiced in Japan, Nepal, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other regions.

Although for many years the teachings of the Buddha were passed on through oral tradition (this is why many of the teachings begin with “thus have I heard”), many were eventually compiled in what is known as the Dhammapada. The Voice of the Buddha: The Dhammapada, the Mangala Sutta and Other Key Buddhist Texts is a narration of a good number of the teachings found in the Dhammapada, plus several other key texts. This was helpful in understanding an overview of Bhuddhist teachings.

(Actually hearing readings from the Dhammapada was helpful in realizing many of the differences in the teaching of the Buddha and the teachings of Jesus.)

I recommend these as helpful resources to provide a basic introduction to Buddhism. (Though, for those with exposure to a good world history course, much of the first book was likely discussed there.)

“When something is amiss, it is only natural to become preoccupied with “what to do.” For today’s parents, this has become an obsession. We are looking for the right technique, the right strategy, the right thing to say, the right way to act. Experts and publishers are not only indulging this obsession, but fueling it outright. We have even invented a word — parenting — that until recent times, was not even in the dictionary. Parenting has become an activity. This was not how it was in previous generations.”

-Dr. Gordon Neufeld

It seems that Christian parenting isn’t much different. But our labels are better–we have “Christian” obsessions. Tack on Bible verses here and there, and maybe a label to prove that this book is at long last the book that describes “How to Change Diapers God’s Way.” Or perhaps it’s slightly more spiritualized, presuming to speak for God, “How to Retain the Heart of Your Teen in Three Easy Steps.” Ultimately, these types of teachings serve to bind consciences into thinking that such formulas (or zeal) will save our children’s souls, rather than serving to encourage parents to trust God in this journey of faith.

Overall, we focus so much on getting the formulas right, the activity of parenting correct, or learning the perfect techniques that we fail to realize the essential foundation: love.

Parenting Hangs on Love

In both the Old and New Testaments, God made it clear that the two greatest commands are 1) to love God and 2) to love our neighbors as ourselves. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that “all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Although specifically speaking of a different loving-our-neighbors-relationship, Robert Lupton remarks:

“So fundamental to the life of faith are these twin teachings of loving God and loving neighbor that they are given top priority in God’s original handwritten instructions for daily living. Christ later underscored their central importance by declaring that the entire law is contained in these two inseparable commands. A Christian training institute (or church, for that matter) that steps over these basics on the way to “deeper” theological pursuits can hardly be considered biblically faithful.”

Likewise, a parenting philosophy that makes its foundation on claims such as “establishing authority from day one is the most important thing you can do as a Christian parent” or “keeping your child totally separate from the world is the only way to Biblically parent” (just to name a few popular options) with no mention of these commands, is a philosophy that we should examine carefully to see if it is truly and fully biblically faithful.

What Wondrous Love Is This?

The love that parenting (and all relationships) hangs on isn’t just some sort of “feel-good-I’m-happy-love,” but neither is it “tough love parenting.” Instead, it is the type of love that Jesus portrayed through His parable of the Good Samaritan, the kind of love that we see described in 1 Corinthians 13, the love that ultimately led Jesus to lay down His life for us.

1 Corinthians 13 gives us a matrix through which we can test our love for our children. Perhaps we’ve become desensitized to think this type of love doesn’t apply to our children. “Tough love? Oh, yeah! That’s how you gotta get through the trenches parenthood!

So the question begs to be asked. Am I being patient to my children? Am I being kind to them? Am I not envying or boasting? Am I responding to them in a way that is arrogant or rude? Or how about…am I insisting on my own way? Am I irritable or resentful? Am I rejoicing in the wrongdoing or in the truth? Am I loving them by bearing all things, believing all things, enduring all things? At this, perhaps the cymbals begin to tinkle, or maybe the gongs are clanging quite loudly.

Parenting in Love Views Big and Little People Correctly

When we look at people, ourselves and others, we know at least three things are true: 1) People come into the world a with sin nature, 2) people are created in the image of God and 3) God loves people.

It’s easy to skew these views as we look at little people in particular. We assume the worst (opposite of “believing all things”) and assume all actions and responses are flowing forth from as sinful ones. This is a view that demonizes children and often causes adults/parents to give well-intended responses with reactions that are not exemplifying love, especially not a love that “bears all things” or “believes all things.”

Here’s an example: A crying baby because he is alone in a room?=definitely trying to manipulate and that’s sinful behavior. An adult crying because her husband just left on a trip?=Well, of course she’s simply exhibiting true sorrow and sadness of heart and that’s the sign of true love for her spouse. Both may be expressing the same emotions about similar situations, but when the emphasis is misplaced, it’s easy to view the little person’s actions through a lens that can only see actions as sinful. Another: A child has difficulty falling asleep at night?=showing signs of rebellion. The parent has difficulty falling asleep at night?=an adult has had a hard day and has difficulty falling asleep at night. And the list could go on…

Perhaps as we seek to disciple our children, we should ask, “If I were mentoring a new believer or discipling another Christian and they sinned (let’s just say an adult for the sake of this illustration), would the way I respond to my children be an acceptable (or, even ethical?) way to respond to an adult believer? Would my response, if given to an adult, be considered impatient, arrogant, rude, or irritable?

Galatians 6:1-2 is not limited to how we should disciple adult believers, but also the little believers, even if their faith and bodies seem small to us. Little people are more vulnerable and physically needy than big people. This doesn’t mean their needs are wrong or need to be eliminated. Usually we fail to take into account that their bodies and emotions are not yet developed in the ways that ours are. They need to be restored gently and to have their burdens carried, too; but perhaps with even greater gentleness and with more sensitivity to their burdens.

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins. While I was yet being unloving toward my children, God was demonstrating His love for me, laying down His life for me. While my children are “yet sinning,” what is my reaction?

Jesus’ death on the cross was more than a one-time love-demonstration. It was the constant heart-stance of His time on earth as He interacted with sinners. It was the whole heart of God in sending Jesus to die in our place—love that was see glimpses of from Genesis onward. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I do not merely view this passage in a way that makes me think because God did this for me, I must show God to my children by doing this to my children. (God doesn’t call parents to be God to their children.) Rather, these reflections of God’s love for me  are seen in light of the parable of the unmerciful servant. I am one who has been richly forgiven: when others seek mercy and forgiveness from me, I remember that my far greater debt has been removed.

The distance between God and me is infinite. He is Creator, I am but clay. He is sinless, I am sinful. He is righteousness, I am unrighteousness apart from Christ. By contrast, the space between my children and myself is about 24 years of life experience and life skills. With the exception of Abraham and Sarah and perhaps a few other parents, at most we’ve got about 40 years on our kids–not much. I am weak and clay, and so are they. I am sinful, they are sinful. They are unrighteous apart from Christ, and so am I.

With a host of parenting books stating that parents must act as “God” to their children, it’s helpful to remember that we’re more like our children than we are like our God. Realizing that I too stumble and make mistakes even while trying my hardest makes it easier to have compassion on my children as they do the same. It also reminds me that I am quite capable of misunderstanding, misinterpreting, and even misdirecting my children’s actions.

When I see them in their sin, I remember how God has dealt graciously with me and my sin. When I see them in their neediness, I remember the compassion and care God pours out on me.

Ann Voskamp states it this way for difficult days of parental relationship-building with children: “Just for today, I will ask for His grace, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.”

Seeing my own weakness and shortcomings, it’s a lot easier to realize I can’t be a better parent or create godly children by striving harder, harder, harder on my own…anymore than a drowning man can be rescued by being told to swim harder. What my child needs is a rescuer, and that is exactly what I need, too. (Note:  I can’t be that rescuer!) (Of course, this perspective doesn’t remove my position as parent, nor does it remove the unique roles God has given to parents and children.)

Back to the Greatest Commands

It is truly paradigm-shifting to live life through the lens of Matthew 22: 37-40. In pointing to this, Jesus both simplifies things and calls us to go deeper. He moves us from just seeking to obey the letter of the law, to searching to live the spirit of the law. Surprisingly, it is the latter that is both harder and freer—the latter that compels us to see we cannot do this in our own strength, but to rest in the Spirit to write His law within our hearts. Thus, we are compelled to seek God’s grace to relate to our children in a way that is flowing forth from loving God and loving our neighbors, here our tiny little neighbors who also happen to be our children.

I am loving watching our girls interact at this age. I also love listening in on their conversations. This is one they had recently:

E: Dis book is scary. (The book was called something like, “How Animals Eat Their Prey”)
HK: Are the penguins scary?
Eden:Yeah, dah ping-pings are scary.

HK: Do you want me to read it since it’s scary for you?

This photo is of two-year-old Eden enjoying her favorite book (well, technically it’s a catalog), The American Girl Doll Catalog. While up at my mom’s house for New Year’s, we discovered her fascination with this magazine. When we got home I was delighted to open the mailbox a week later and pull out this catalog. She was even more excited. I was extra tired one afternoon and had her sit on the bed with me while I rested. (Meanwhile, her big sister wasn’t feeling so well, and went to curl up on her Daddy’s lap while he worked, which turned into a nap for her.)

Later that day my husband asked me with a grin on his face, “Did Eden like her catalog? I went online and signed us up for the mailing list as soon as we got home.” I love seeing my husband love his little girls in little ways like this. (And, should I mention that last night he made cookies with them? ) Not my finest in photography, but a moment I’m still happy I captured.

Neo-fundamentalism (excellent but somewhat lengthy essay) – Roger Olson gave that as the title to the post in which he shared a lengthy essay written by Michael Clawson.

Also on my first 10 to read list for 2012 was N.T. Wright’s Evil and the Justice of God. Although it is just five chapters long and a relatively short book (176 pages), it is one which I needed to work through slowly.

The book is divided into five chapters:

Chap­ter 1 — Evil Is Still a Four-Letter Word: The New Prob­lem of Evil

Wright addresses what many call “the new problem of evil.” With the innovation, technology, and advancements of Western civilization, it has become easy to think that the problem of evil is behind us (or, at least not on our turf). Yet with the recent terrorist attacks, the large-scale and frequent natural disasters, and the violence seen in America and modern Europe, we’re being frequently reminded that “evil” is still present.

He explains it  this way (23):

["I]t seems remarkable that the belief in progress still survives and triumps. The nineteenth century thought it had gotten rid of original sin; of course, it had to find replacements, and Marx and Freud offered some, producing explanatory systems and offering solutions to match: new doctrines of redemption which mirror and parody the Christian one. And somehow, despite the horrific battles of Mons and the Somme during World War I, despite Auschwitz and Buchenwald, despite Dostoyevsky and Barth, people still continue to this day suppose that the world is basically a good place and that its problems are more or less soluble by technology, education, “development” in the sense of “Westernization,” and the application, to more and more regions, of Western democracy–and, according to taste, either Wester social-democratic ideals or Western capitalism, or indeed a mixture of both.”

Wright goes on to say that this type of belief leads to three ways of characterizing evil, which he further expands on throughout the first chapter (23,24):

1. “We ignore evil when it doesn’t hit us in the face.”
2. “We are surprised by evil when it does.”
3. “We react in immature and dangerous ways as a result.”

The present-day problem of evil has left postmodernists baffled and seeking ways to explain it away. Clearly, the solution is not in Westernization or advancement. That makes it a problem for today, too.

Chap­ter 2 — What Can God Do About Evil? Unjust World, Just God?

In the second chapter, Wright works through Old Testament examples of evil and also explains what the historical and ancient understanding of evil was. Wright goes through many Old Testament passages and stories, but focuses in on the life of Job, the books of Isaiah and Daniel, as well as portions of the Psalms.

He ends the second chapter with these conclusions (71):

“First, the personified force of evil, the Satan, is important but not that important. The origin of evil itself remains a mystery; and the Satan, when he or it appears, is kept strictly within bounds. We are still some way from the dragon of Revelation, or even from the whisperer of the Mount of Temptation.Second, human responsibility for evil is clear throughout. And, though no theory of this is offered, all humans appear to share in the problem – or virtually all; Ezekiel lists Noah, Daniel and Job as the three most righteous men who ever lived, and we remind ourselves of Noah’s drunkenness, Daniel’s prayer of confession, and Job’s hand across his mouth with nothing more to say in his own defence. Abraham got it wrong; so did Moses, sometimes; David, a great saint, was also a great sinner; and so on. God chooses to bring the world back to rights through a family who are themselves composed of deeply flawed human beings, and who thereby generate second- and third-order problems of evil which in their turn have to be addressed and solved. Only the strange, silent figure of Isaiah 53 stands before us as one of whom it is said that he remains innocent and righteous.

Third, the evil that humans do is integrated with the enslavement of creation. This is seldom a matter of one-on-one cause and effect, but there is a nexus, a web of rippling events that spreads out from human rebellion against the creator to the out-of-jointness of creation itself. In the same way, when humans are put back to rights the world will be put back to rights. No theory is offered about earthquakes or other so-called ‘natural disasters’, though no doubt the prophets would have been happy to identify them as divine warning signs.

Fourth, the Old Testament never tries to give us the sort of picture the philosophers want, of a static world order with everything explained tidily. Instead, we are given a narrative of God’s project of justice within a world of injustice. This project is a matter of setting the existing creation to rights rather than scrapping it and doing something else instead; and for that reason God decides to work through human beings, even though their hearts think only of evil; and through Israel, even though from Abraham onwards they make as many mistakes as they do acts of obedience. Both in the grand narrative itself, and in many smaller moments within it, we observe a pattern of divine action, to judge and punish evil and to set bounds to it, without destroying the responsibility and agency of human beings themselves; and, also, both to promise and to bring about new moments of grace, events which constitute new creation, however much they are themselves necessarily shot through with ambiguity. This is not, I think, exactly the same as the ‘free will defence’ beloved of some theodicists; it is more a ‘commitment to action’ on God’s part, to act within the world he has created, to affirm that world in its created otherness even as he is putting it to rights.”

Chap­ter 3 — Evil and the Cru­ci­fied God. The third chapter deals with the understanding of evil that was prevalent during Jesus’ time on earth, how Jesus confused many of the ancient and Jewish religious understanding of evil, and with the atonement.

He shows how evil was misunderstood by Israel (80-81):

“The Gospels thus also tell the story of corruption within Israel itself, as the people who bear the solution have themselves become (with terrible irony that causes Paul to weep every time he thinks of it) a central part of the problem. The Pharisees are offering an interpretation of Torah which pursues a kind of holiness but only makes matters worse. The priests in the temple are offering the sacrifices which should speak of God’s grace but which instead speak of their own exclusive and corrupt system. The revolutionaries try to get in on the act of God’s in-breaking kingdom (Matthew 11:12), but their attempt to fight violence with violence can only ever result in a victory for violence, not a victory over it. This means that the death of Jesus, when it comes, is bound to be seen as the work not only of the pagan nations but of the Israel that has longed . . . to become “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5, 20) and now is reduced to saying that it has no king but Caesar (John 19:15). “

Often, Jesus interacted with the very people that the religious leaders thought to be the source of or result of evil (84):

“Jesus celebrates the kingdom with all the wrong people. He incurs anger and hostility from those who knew in their bones that God’s kingdom was about holiness and detachment from evil, and who never suspected that evil people could be, and were being, redeemed and rescued.”

Chap­ter 4 — Imag­ine There’s No Evil: God’s Promise of a World Set Free.

The fourth chapter reminds us that while there will always be evil in this present kingdom, one day there will be a new world without evil. There were profound quotes in this chapter, too, but my memory fails me and this post is already too long for being mostly padded with quotes.

Chap­ter 5 — Deliver Us from Evil: For­giv­ing Myself, For­giv­ing Oth­ers.
This last chapter was full of personal application and food for thought. A thought-provoking portion at the end:

“The tough, many-sided offer of forgiveness should be the ultimate aim as we think about the problems of global empire and international debt, of criminal justice and the problem of punishment, and of war and international conflict … but forgiveness is not the same as tolerance. It is not the same as inclusivity. It is not the same as indifference, whether personal or moral. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we don’t take evil seriously after all, it means we do. In fact, we take it doubly seriously.” (160)

 You won’t leave this book having the age-old question of evil settled, but you will likely come away with a greater appreciation for the sovereignty, supremacy, and omnipotence of God. There were some parts that I couldn’t agree with; but overall, it is a helpful book and one I recommend reading. (My husband, Daniel, has a review here.)

N.T. Wright introduces the book in this brief video:

Today (Friday) marks three years since my dad left his earthly home. I’m so thankful that he was able to meet at least one of my children and that he was able to build a good relationship with Daniel. I’m thankful he still had enough strength to walk me down the aisle for our wedding. There are a lot of times out-of-the blue that I’m reminded of him and miss him: seeing someone drive by in a truck with a mustache like his and a ball cap on his head, going to a yard sale and seeing someone selling a bunch of hunting gear–wishing I could buy some for him, getting excited that the dollar store carries his old favorite horehound candies, but realizing I can’t buy them since I don’t think anyone else I know likes them…

This picture was taken less than a month before he passed away. I knew he was sick then, and knew by his skin color that his liver was failing. We just didn’t know it would happen so fast. It seems like a blur now, but I’m thankful for those years in between my start of college and his final years when our relationship was good and I knew he’d always be ready to listen and ready to talk. In his final year, I was a stay-at-home mom and he was sick enough that he was at home during the daytime while my mom worked. Sometimes he’d call me in the afternoon or mornings–I wish we’d had more years like that, but am thankful for the year of phone calls we had.

“We of the churches often gather our robes away from contamination, and thank God that we are not as other men. We don’t despise God’s name; in fact, we call upon it constantly to justify ourselves. How few parents, annoyed past bearing by a young child, can resist the facile, “God will punish you!” How few strait-laced churchwomen, outraged by the shamelessness (and popularity) of the town’s bad girl, can keep from secret satisfaction at the thought of the divine judgment awaiting her! If we object to meat-eating, we declare that God is vegetarian; if we abhor war, we proclaim a pacifist Deity. He who turned water into wine to gladden a wedding is now accused by many of favouring that abominable fluid grape juice.

There can hardly be a more evil way of taking God’s name in vain than this way of presuming to speak in it. For here is spiritual pride, the ultimate sin, in action-the sin of believing in one’s own righteousness. The true prophet says humbly, “To me, a sinful man, God spoke.” But the scribes and Pharisees declare, “When we speak, God agrees.” They feel no need of a special revelation, for they are always, in their own view, infallible. It is this self-righteousness of the pious that most breeds atheism, by inspiring all decent ordinary men with loathing of the enormous lie.”

Happy 26 months (this week) to our little Eden who keeps us busy and keeps us laughing. Here are some things I want to remember about her current stage:

Sleeping and Eating:

Not only does Eden have a lot of her Daddy’s looks, but she apparently has his metabolism, too. Although she still has a sweet tooth, she’s realized that she doesn’t get chocolate chips everytime she asks for it. So what to ask for instead? Corn. She like frozen corn or “ho-corn,” which is hot corn but sounds like “popcorn.” Of course, she likes popcorn, too.

She also loves any type of fruit, but fresh blueberries, clementines, and bananas are some of her current favorites. She doesn’t like spicier or heavily flavored foods, but in general likes most good food. She eats at least one heaping bowl of oatmeal in the mornings and sometimes two. She and HK also love the special toast that Daddy taught them how to make: toast with butter and cinnamon/sugar. This means we go through a lot of bread.

I’m thankful to have been able to nurse Eden until she was 23 months. Up until 22 months, though, she was still nursing at night, too. I’d thought it was mostly just for comfort and closeness, but now I’m starting to think she might have actually been hungry. (She started eating solids gradually around 12/13 months.) Around Thanksgiving, Eden started sitting up in the middle of the night and asking for food. I remember on the night after Thanksgiving, she woke up crying and saying, “I’yant some moowe chicken!” which is what she called the turkey we had for Thanksgiving dinner.

Now, she usually wakes up at least 3 or 4 nights of the week asking for food or drink. Last week, she woke up one night and was crying and said, “I want some cheer-os wiff milk and boo-bew-ies.” She had one bowl, asked for another and ate it, and promptly went back to sleep. Sunday night she woke up several times, one time, “I want a bam-bana (banana),” the next time, “peeae, need my ‘rink (drink),” and then another time “I want you to peese get me some oaf-meal and feed it to me wif a ‘poon.” Thankfully, I was able to get her to calm down and fall back to sleep before having to hunt down some food or cook up oatmeal at 4.a.m.

Thankfully, it’s not every night and usually only once a night when it does happen. And thankfully, it’s also still funny to me, in spite of interrupted sleep. (Though, last night it was on the verge of not funny when she woke up and asked for an orange.) Daniel and I have joked about keeping a fridge in our bedroom. Amazingly, although she wakes up to eat at night, she rarely needs to go potty at night. She’s only had 2 nighttime accidents (a week during which our whole family was sick) since she learned to go potty.

She also likes to sleep with her back right up to mine, and prefers for me to lie on my right side and her on her left side. This is how she usually falls asleep. Our bedroom gets particularly cold (compared to other rooms) in the winter, so it is nice to be near my little cuddler.

Playing Together

In the last couple of months, Hana Kate and Eden have become the best of buddies, at least most of the time. Hana Kate has thus far had more difficulty playing by herself, so it is very exciting and fulfilling to her and Eden to have Eden as a playmate. I used to stare incredulously as my friend told me about her girls playing by themselves for an hour or two, but now my girls are doing it, too. One of their favorite things to do right now is to try on their pj’s and shoes (we had to limit it to the pj’s since the entire closet being raided got a little messy), and if it’s an extra special occasion they get to dress up with Daddy or Mommy’s clothes. The love to dress up themselves and their animals. Other times, they just like climbing up in Hana Kate’s bed and laughing and telling stories. Hana Kate does well with understanding and being understanding toward Eden, and Eden does well at being mostly gentle, calm, and gracious with Hana Kate. But they know when to play crazy with each other, too. Sometimes they like to go around the house singing and making up songs…or talking about going potty. When not playing by themselves, their usually busy “doing school,” making crafts (or convincing me to), or baking with me in the kitchen. Or playing with Daddy.

It cracks me up to walk in on their conversations, too. Here’s one I overheard the other day:

HK: “Eden, where do you usually keep your money?”
Eden: “Uh, Um, the door.”
HK: “This drawer?”
Eden: “Uh….no.”
HK: “Well, where is it?”
Eden: “Don’t eat my money.”

or, a fairly common one:

Eden: “Hi, Hannie.”
Hana Kate: “Hi, Eden.”

Eden is still fairly shy in group settings or with people she’s unfamiliar with, but is doing better. She loved being at Grandma’s over the New Year’s holiday and eventually warmed up to everyone there in time for her and Hana Kate to humor us all with their hilarity. She did well sitting through church at Grandma’s, had a rough time the first Sunday back here, but last week sat very still entertained with just a string pretty much the entire time.

I need to measure to see how tall she is, but she and HK are once again somewhat close in height. She got a very mild case of the stomach bug/cold when the rest of our family got it back in early December, but has otherwise been quite healthy over the past few months.

The Kindle edition of Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living is currently listed as free for digital download on Amazon.

This was the first (and still only) home-organization book that I actually liked. I read it this past March and at that time wrote this about it:

“Organized Simplicity is one of the better “home-organizing-books-geared-for-women” I’ve read. I think part of that is due to the fact that, in an interesting twist of irony, so many of these organizing books are quite unorganized and cluttery in appearance themselves (and make you feel guilty if you don’t use their specific methods and become organized within 24 hours of reading the book). Oxenreider’s book appealed to me aesthetically for that very reason: it was a simple, modern, spiral-bound notebook. The first half of the book focuses on a general matrix for simplicity in the home, and the latter half of the book provides practical guides for organizing a house, as well as various appendices on homemade cleaning solutions, helpful checklists, and similar.”

If you plan to use this book a lot, you might find having a spiral-bound copy works best for you, but I’d still download the digital version–especially if you haven’t seen it and want to see what you’re reading before you buy. If you’ve already found Organized Simplicity to be helpful, you may also be interested in Tsh Oxenreider’s One Bite At a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler (one project per week), which is available via digital formats (PDF, Kindle, or Nook) here.

John Piper’s book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, is currently free as a PDF via the Desiring God website here. I mentioned this book briefly (with a link to a video about it) in my post about MLK, Jr. Day.

Also available for free download via Desiring God is Noel Piper’s Treasuring God in Our Traditions, available for download here. It’s been a while since I’ve read this book, but I alluded to it briefly in 2010 when I wrote about our new tradition of Advent. (And actually, you can download PDF versions of most of John Piper’s books (and other authors) via DG here.)

Each month, Christian Audio has a free audiobook download. This month’s book is J.I. Packer’s Knowing God. Download the free audio here through January 31.

 Also currently listed for free Kindle download on Amazon is Robert H. Gundry’s Commentary on James. (To my knowledge, I’ve not read a commentary or work by Gundry.) no longer available for free: now showing as $1.99

Note: I’ve found that with free (or bargain-priced) Kindle downloads, it’s best to act right away, as the price may go back up at anytime.