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 3

Written by Michael Worrall

“So is Tiger King spoiled meat?” My buddy Andrew sent me that text in reference to the meat and bones conversation from last week’s article. Though I haven't watched the wildly popular new Netflix docu-series, I think the question draws attention to a fascinating phenomenon - we live in a time of viral media. 

Viral means quickly and widely spread (an ironic term in our current moment)--media that seemingly pop up out of nowhere and shout for our attention. Tiger King is the newest in a lineup of Serial, Making a Murderer, and Birdbox. Viral media (or at least the conversation surrounding it) is often gone as quickly as it arrives, but while it lasts it is demanding - like a waiter insisting you try a certain dish. 

How do you know whether or not to indulge? You could do a tasting (watch 20 minutes and then stop and review) but often unhealthy choices are sweet & alluring. Let me propose that you ask good waiters, connoisseurs, men and women who have palates developed through years of tasting & seeing that the Lord is good. In humility ask, “What would you recommend?”

Here is week 3 of Quarantine Corner from an amateur connoisseur. Might I suggest you try…

Listen: Fall & Winter by Jon Foreman 

These six song EPs are half of a four-part project called Seasons. Though spring is in bloom, Fall & Winter seemed the more fitting choices on the eve of Good Friday. With lyrics like, “Thought I was learning...how to live not how to cry, but really I’ve been learning how to die” and “O my Lord, to suffer like you do...it would be a lie to run away” Fall & Winter are a beautiful, thoughtful, folksy lament to lead into your Easter celebration.

Read: Untangling Emotions by J. Alisdair Groves & Winston Smith 

Speaking of lament, Untangling Emotions is a fantastic practical theology of emotion. Whether you tend towards stoicism or emotionalism you will benefit from this read. Groves & Smith help readers to see that emotions (even “negative” emotions) are good and needed while giving tools to help readers engage and understand emotions rather than being ruled by them. This was one of my favorite reads of 2019. I’d recommend reading it alongside the Psalms.

Watch: Inside Out (Disney+ or Rental on Amazon)

Keeping this train on the emotion and lament tracks, Inside Out is a Pixar movie about the mixed emotions of a young girl who moves to a new city. Though Inside Out paints human beings as primarily “feeling things” that are ruled and run by our emotions, it is nonetheless a creative, thoughtful story that helps us see the beauty and value of our emotions - even sadness and lament.

If you watch with your kids here is an article with some helpful conversation points at the end.

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.