American History

This is a big statement, but at least in my reading experience, this is THE definitive survey of the history of the land that is now the United States.  Johnson's humility in titling it "A History" instead of "The History" is admirable.  Starting from the earliest period of (recorded) exploration in the 15th century, the masterful historian Paul Johnson takes the reader on a fast-moving yet detailed adventure through the story of America, ending in the late 1990s during the Clinton Administration.  Johnson's prose is intelligent but pleasant and easy going, he has just enough of a critical tone to keep things interesting, and his eye for little-known, illustrative and memorable detail cannot be beat.  For example, did you know that Calvin Coolidge was sworn into office as President after Warren Harding's death at Coolidge's father's farmhouse in Vermont, with the oath administered by the senior Coolidge?

The length of this book may appear intimidating at nearly 800 pages.  If so, treat it as a collection of books.  There are just a few lengthy chapters, each covering a historical period.  Just read one, then set the book aside until you're ready for another.  Which will probably be within just a few days.

Then go read Johnson's other magnificent works.

What a Nickname

This was a quick but interesting read.  A 1907 biography for young readers of Alexander Mackay (pronounced "Mack-i"), the first Christian missionary to Uganda, one of a small group who responded to the public invitation by Henry Morton Stanley (the British-American journalist who "found" Dr. Livingstone in Africa) for Christian missionaries to go to Uganda after Stanley spent several weeks with Uganda's King Mutesa.  Stanley told the king all about the "white man's religion" of evangelical Protestant Christianity, and the king greatly desired Christian teachers for him and his people.

But all did not go smoothly.  Suspicion, shifting allegiances, exploitation (of the missionaries by the Ugandans), Islamic influence, royal succession issues, a murdered bishop, torture and burning of Ugandan converts, periodic danger of arrest and summary execution, and unrelenting hard work by the missionaries in a culture where men customarily avoided all work unless they were slaves (hence the Ugandans' nickname for Mackay, which translates "White Man of Work"), broken up only by intermittent bouts of "fever", make for an interesting story but an exceedingly difficult life.

Taking the gospel to a non-literate people with no previous exposure to Christianity and deeply ingrained habits of violence and avoidance of physical labor would be an unimaginable challenge.  Probably much more difficult than Mackay and his friends could have guessed.  But their faithfulness is admirable.

A Good Tree Produces Good Fruit

This is a very good book.  When it comes to people changing, I tend toward skepticism.  It's difficult for people to change, and in my experience many do not, at least not for the better.  But this book does a good job of explaining that, while change may take place within, it is not from within, but from without.  The message of the whole book is captured in one paragraph on page 189:

"As we say yes to the Holy Spirit, his living water produces new Fruit in our hearts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These character qualities aren't an ideal standard that God holds over us.  They are gifts the Spirit produces in us.  This change within us changes the way we respond to the things around us . . . .  And this is the Fruit that results: Kind people look for ways to do good.  Patient and faithful people don't run away when people mess up.  Loving people serve even when sinned against.  Gentle people help a struggler bear his burden."

It's a frustrating process, because "working hard at it", at least directly, doesn't really work.  I can't truly be more patient with my children by willing myself to do so, though I might outwardly succeed in reigning in my impatience for a time.  But it would be wrong to say that my problem is that I express my impatience rather than controlling it.  My problem is that I am impatient, even though God has given me all that I need.  The only solution is to let the Spirit produce patience within me.  I can only pursue it indirectly by making use of the means of grace God has made available.  This is the meaning of not pursuing good works "in my own strength".  I have to let the Spirit change my motivations rather than trying to short circuit the process by directly changing my outward behavior.  This is difficult to remember and difficult to wait on, particularly if you struggle with impatience!