Quarantine Corner: Curated content for life on lockdown - Week 5

Written by Michael Worrall

There is a right way to eat bacon. It has been handed down through generations by John Edwards who taught his sons who will teach their sons…It is the way of savoring - you close your eyes, chew slowly without swallowing, hum, and sway side-to-side. 

Not everyone knows the way of savoring. 
Some of us devour our food like Fantastic Mr. Fox - barely tasting it on our tongues. 
Some of us disinterestedly push our food around the plate until dinner is done.

How we consume matters as much as what and why.
We shouldn’t come to the table to thoughtlessly glut ourselves. 
We shouldn’t come to the table to numbly pass the time.
We should come to the table intending to attend - to savor, enjoy, and give thanks.
And when we taste something good we should close our eyes, hum, and sway side to side.

Here is week 5 of Quarantine Corner:

Listen: Jess Ray & Mission House

Jess Ray is a singer-songwriter and half of the band Mission House. She writes well-crafted, folksy, indie-pop songs about life and faith. If you want to dip your toes I’d recommend Runaway, Gallows (especially the Christ Church Cathedral version), and I Don’t Have Much.

Read: Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer 
(Available on Hoopla)

I waited 5 weeks before recommending Bonhoeffer on the Bonhoeffer Haus Journal! Life Together is Bonhoeffer’s classic work on community and the Christian life. This short book is filled with exhortation and encouragement towards Christ-centered community and faith. “He who looks upon his brother should know that he will be eternally united with him in Jesus Christ.” I cannot recommend Life Together highly enough.

Watch: A Quiet Place (Amazon Prime)

A Quiet Place is not a horror movie (message me if you want my reasoning). It is a movie about holding onto life, hope, and family amidst real and present fear. It is a movie about guilt and shame overcome by a Father’s love. Last week I said that ‘Til We Have Faces left lasting images in my imagination and the same is true of A Quiet Place. You will not find many more compelling, well-crafted narratives.

*Disclaimer* This movie is suspenseful and scary. 

Bonus Read: The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller 
(Available on Hoopla)

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness is a short (45 page) booklet on the life-giving effect of humility. Keller shows from 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7 how peace and flourishing don’t come through self-focus or self-help but self-forgetfulness. This little book produced large and lasting changes in my own soul.

Quarantine Corner: Curated content for life on lockdown - Week 2

Written by Michael Worrall

Last week I said we want to be choosy eaters, not gluttonous consumers. Being a choosy eater doesn’t only involve choosing which foods, but also portions and parts. When having fried chicken (or fresh fish), a choosy eater will eat the meat and leave the bones. If you’re vegan - eat the pistachio and leave the shell. 

Many things we consume in our listening, reading, and watching will contain some bones, shells, gristle, or stems - that doesn’t necessarily mean we shouldn’t consume them. It means we should make sure what we chew and digest is nourishing. 

With that, here is week 2 of Quarantine Corner - eat the meat, spit out the bones. 

Listen: This Cultural Moment - by John Mark Comer & Mark Sayers
(Available on any podcast platform - Spotify, iTunes, etc…)

This Cultural Moment is a podcast about following Jesus in the post-Christian world. If you are curious about how to wholeheartedly follow Jesus amidst the shifting sands of our social, political, and cultural landscape you will find this podcast engaging and enlightening. Make sure you begin with episode 1 entitled - “What is Post-Christian Culture.”

Read or Listen: The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr. 
(Audiobook available on Hoopla)

The Book of the Dun Cow is technically young adult fiction, but don’t let the genre dissuade you. Walter Wangerin Jr. portrays the battle between good and evil in a vivid and heart-wrenching story. There are few stories that better depict the corrosive and corrupting effect of sin, pride, guilt, and shame. Likewise, there are few stories that better depict the beauty and power of compassion, sacrifice, and love. Read or listen and be swept up into longing for the restoration and reconciliation of all things.

Watch: Dunkirk (for Rent on Amazon)

Sticking with the “Dun” theme. Dunkirk tells the story of Allied troops trapped on the French beaches of Dunkirk awaiting rescue by sea as the German army closes in. The film creatively follows key characters to give you a full picture of the rising tension between hope and fear, sacrifice and safety. Will rescue come? Can the Allied troops hold onto hope while they wait? Watch to find out and to be formed in your own longing & waiting.

Bonus Read or Listen: “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace 
(Listen here)

“This is Water” is David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement speech to Kenyon College. Wallace reflects on much of life and culture in this speech, but he powerfully addresses the importance of thinking with compassion and charity in a world that breeds self-centeredness. While Wallace ultimately concludes that life and truth are subjective, his speech is nonetheless worth your time and consideration.

Quarantine Corner: Curated content for life on lockdown

Written by Michael Worrall

I grew up hearing the Jif peanut butter slogan, “Choosy moms choose Jif.” The ad claimed Jif looked, smelled, and tasted better than bargain PB because it was made with the real stuff. 

Jif had real substance, not filler. The clear implication was that “choosy moms” knew substance when they saw, smelled, and tasted it.  

I’m proposing that we be “choosy moms” in our media consumption - in our listening, reading, and watching. In this season of social distancing and quarantining, it can be easy to become media gluttons who unthinkingly scroll social media, watch Netflix, or follow the news. Let’s not be gluttonous consumers but choosy eaters. Let’s follow Paul’s exhortation to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy using Christ as the standard and the substance of our consuming. 

With that, here are some suggestions for your listening, reading, and watching from a (hopefully) choosy dad and pastor.

Listen: Spiritual Songs - a Spotify playlist by Josh Garrels

This playlist is filled with almost 13 hours of songs about Jesus: everything from folk to hip-hop, It was Jesus by Johnny Cash to Doxology by Beautiful Eulogy. Put this on and have a dance party, get some house cleaning done, or just sit back and listen.

Read: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

This short story is particularly relevant to this cultural moment. It is a jarring look at living in view of death/eternity--how our character is formed and changed when we keep ours and our neighbor’s end in mind. This story challenges us with the question, “When COVID-19 passes, will we continue to sacrifice to love and serve our neighbor?”

Watch: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Netflix)

The title is a mouthful, but the movie is easy to digest. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (T-GLAPPPS for short) follows an English author who sets out to write about a small community formed during World War II on the German-occupied island of Guernsey. What she uncovers is a beautiful picture of community, sacrifice, and compassion.

Bonus Read: “Learning in War-Time” by C.S. Lewis

This essay, written just after England entered World War II, sets out to answer the question: Should the university continue education during war-time? Should we continue to study philosophy, make art, and conduct scientific exploration when the nation is in crisis? His answer is timely and applicable for us in our own crisis.