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It's been awhile since we've talked about books, so how about something solid and excellent and easy-to-read to add to your reading list for the fall?
You may remember that I formally gushed about a book called Unoffendable. If you find yourself constantly offended by someone or someones, did you know you can set it all aside and find freedom in the truth? Author and radio host Brant Hansen does an excellent job discussing whether or not it's our right to be angry and offended.
You can also hear the interview my husband and I did with Brant on the Homeschooling in Real Life podcast: How the Gospel Makes Us Unoffendable
But back to Brant's latest book, Blessed Are the Misfits. From a lifetime of neurological disorders and Aspbergers, Brant Hansen writes of his struggle to find any kind of emotional connection with God. He paints himself a "misfit", the kind of Christian who doesn't feel at home in every small group or in an emotion-driven worship service, who doesn't experience God the way other believers seem to say they do.
It's not easy to be the intellectual in the crowd, either. Brant writes about how his faith is largely cerebral. Facts stemming from scientific research and concrete evidence speak more to his belief in God than emotions, and that can be tough when the subject is faith.
And then there's the social awkwardness. Brant's inability to read most social cues keeps him feeling disconnected with people, and church life is all about people. How do you find a community when relationships are the thing you struggle with the most?
And yet, even as a church "misfit", Brant knows that God has relentlessly, lovingly, and patiently pursued him over the course of his lifetime, and that he won't stop pursuing him, even if he never feels God "there".
When I mentioned that Blessed Are the Misfits is easy to read, I didn't mean that it is shallow and meaningless. It's easy because it reads like a balm; soothing and relatable. If you suspect you're a misfit or you love someone who is, you (and they) will find yourself saying, "Yes, me too!" over and over again.
My copy is dog-eared and passed on, and yet, I keep thinking I need to get it back because there are pages and chapters I want to re-read. Blessed Are the Misfits is just that kind of book.
