patlo's Reviews (1.32k)

Jesus taught his followers to observe and learn from things like sparrows, lilies, storms, olive trees, mountains and fish. In that same spirit, Bruce Stanley writes a delightful and engaging book about leading groups into nature and hearing what God may be speaking through the created world.

I had high expectations for this book, as I learned of it from [a:Kenneth McIntosh|255800|Kenneth McIntosh|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], who wrote the excellent [b:Water from an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life|12555064|Water from an Ancient Well Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life|Kenneth McIntosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393785736s/12555064.jpg|17558089] on Celtic Christian spirituality. Kenneth has been leading Forest Church outings in Flagstaff for a year or so now and raves about the experience.

I can see this concept working well as a meaning-full excursion for all faith backgrounds. Equally it would work for a Christian church's small group. It would also work well for folks interested in earth spiritualities and curious about their intersection with Christianity.

The book contains excellent resources for starting and maintaining a unique approach to spirituality in nature. I have asked a few friends to read this book and then want to sit down and chat about the possibility of doing something similar in my area.

I'm one of the gazillion folks who read Blue Like Jazz years ago and loved it. I loved Searching for God Knows What even more. I've read the others as well, but for whatever reason A Million Miles wasn't an urgent read.

I saw the audiobook at the local library though, so I listened to it on my commute to and from work the last week or so. It starts a bit slow, but once we get into the met of the story - what kind of story am I living in my own life? How am I finding meaning in the way I spend my time? - I was totally hooked. More than once I teared up listening to various bits nearing the end.

I wish I would have read this as soon as it came out. As it is, I've ordered a paperback copy and will go through that - and may re-listen to the audio version again on next week's commute before I have to return this. It's a good message.

It pairs well with [b:Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World|21996226|Overrated Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World|Eugene Cho|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405864746s/21996226.jpg|36716994], which is also challenging us into living a life with meaning by serving others.

I only know Elmore Leonard through the TV series Justified, which is extremely well written (or at least the dialogue is). I was disappointed by this - kind of two short stories put together into a novel. It wasn't particuarly bright or witty, though maybe that's because I heard the audiobook version. But Elmore Leonard's reputation for wit didn't seem to be fulfilled in this one, at least for me.

This book will help you to move beyond both escapism (hoping that everything works out all right for everybody but not doing anything tangible), and wide-eyed idealism. It shows us that we can, and must, spend our lives helping others, and do it wisely. And the benefit of that is that we ourselves change as we participate with God's great story of redemption.

I have had the honor of meeting and working some with Eugene Cho, volunteering for some time with One Day's Wages. I deeply respect the man and what ODW is up to - a grassroots movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty. ODW shows us that anybody can change the world. You don't have to be famous or wealthy, you just have to have a heart, and a small bit of courage.

I'm going to be handing this book out to a lot of friends. I read it at the same time as [b:A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life|1999475|A Million Miles in a Thousand Years What I Learned While Editing My Life|Donald Miller|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410153158s/1999475.jpg|2003288], which speaks similarly (but more from the personal formation perspective, whereas Overrated is a challenge for us to engage the work of justice in our world). They fit very well together, and are wonderful encouragements to all of us - Christian or not; social justice - oriented or not.

This is an extremely well researched, thorough, and careful book. It explores the history of white settlement in the Puget Sound (Seattle, WA) area, through the story of Leschi, a leader of the Nisqually people. Leschi was an early friend of the British and American settlers, but was incensed by the poor treatment of the Washington territory governor's treaty demands, which gave native nations very small and horribly poor quality reservations. Leschi became a guerilla leader staging sporadic attacks on territorial troops in an effort to bring about a more fair treaty allocation for the Nisqually tribe. In the process, he became Gov. Stevens' singleminded focus, and when Leschi was eventually turned in and tried, the process was a farce of justice.

The book wraps up the Leschi tale with a "historical trial" which found that Leschi should not have been tried as a civilian and hanged; but as a combatant in wartime should have been released when the nations were at peace. Finally, the book describes the current state of Nisqually tribal affairs, and their long-awaited hope for a future less desolate than their past under the white empire.

I'm rounding up from 4.25 stars, because this story needs to be told. It's slow and plodding at times, with a dry names-and-dates feel in early chapters, but the story itself is full of twists, turns and intrigue.