As I mentioned yesterday, I am struggling to find a balance between freedom and structure. So I am considering ways that I can share some of the many resources I have found over the last several months, but I’m still working on the best approach.
As I plan my next steps, I first acknowledge that I am always an educator, at heart. My motivation to wade into the waters of faith formation has a lot to do with an idea that I can apply what I’ve learned in 24 years as an educator. I have always hoped that this blog would be part of my preparation for such ministry.
That said, I’ve never wanted this blog to be just a forum where I talk at you. I always hoped to build a community to discuss the impact of faith in our everyday lives. So I’m wondering if any of you would be interested in that approach moving forward.
Even though I’ve only ever had a few people who commented on posts, I think I’m going to go out on a limb. I’m going to structure the next phase as a recommended book study, although I will make sure our conversations remain relevant for those who do not feel that they have time to read along with us. But the central focus will be sharing discussion questions – either questions provided in the books we are considering or questions that I develop myself.
The reason for the book study is that I found a collection of books during the research for my most recent theology courses. In fact, the first few that I want to share with you are written by young Catholic women. I found a couple of them while doing research for a course called The Church in the Modern World. I wrote about changing roles for women, and it led me to discover some very interesting things that I can’t wait to share with all of you!
Since finishing that paper, I have discovered related resources from some of the blogs and daily meditations that I read. So now I have this whole collection of things to share with all of you. I’m thinking that we will just look at very small manageable reading chunks at a time, pieces that would take about 5 minutes to read.
If you’d like to read along with me, here is the information about the first book I want to share. Let’s start with I Choose the Sky: A Scriptural Devotion for Women by Emily Wilson. I got the Kindle edition for less than $10. I use the free Kindle apps on my laptop and on my iPhone since I don’t actually have a Kindle. There is also a paperback version of the book available on Amazon for $13. That is where I buy the Kindle versions. Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.
By the way, Emily Wilson writes primarily for youth faith formation, specifically her work with Life Teen. This book was intended for that audience, but I love the themes in the book and find them all very relevant for me, even though I’m in my 50s!
So if you’d like to read along, go ahead and get this book to start. I’ll jump in with our first discussion ideas next week.