Good Books, Excellent Speech, and a new bunk bed project
Friends,
Since there is nothing interesting going on in the American political sphere, I thought I would fill your inbox with a few short personal updates.
But first, allow me to sell you on a good book and a great practice, both at the same time.
A little over two years ago I finished reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It is the first in a now four-book series spanning roughly five centuries and centered on the life of a cathedral in fictional Kingsbridge, England. The town—and in some ways the series—are reminiscent of Wendell Berry’s works about the fictional but entirely plausible Port William, Kentucky.
As I made my way through Pillars of the Earth, I found myself both comforted and challenged by the protagonist, Prior Phillip. In many ways I saw parallels between his work and mine, and similar parallels between his attitude and mine—good, bad, and ugly.
When I first finished the book, I thought to myself:
“This book was published when I was 4, but seems to have been written for me to read at this exact moment in my life and career.”
Great books tend to feel like that, don’t they?
Well, fast forward to this past April. I received some surprise difficult news—a “no” from the city council for a permit to move our school to a permanent facility—and made the short drive home fairly devastated.
After talking with our President and some Board members on next steps, and rehashing the evening with Viv, I did two things that night.
First, I watched the last 30 minutes of the second leg of the 2019 Champions League semifinal between Tottenham and Ajax. I knew what was going to happen, because as a Tottenham supporter I watched that match live years ago. With a late hat trick from Lucas Moura, Tottenham climbed back from a seemingly impossible deficit to advance to the Finals. Pochettino, Tottenham’s coach at the time (and the now leading contender for the USMNT!), collapsed onto the field in a mixture of unbelief, relief, and pure joy. In that moment, I needed to see a come from behind victory to be reminded that they still happen.
But the second thing I did was crack open Pillars of the Earth, and flipped to a number of scenes in which Prior Phillip was himself faced with surprised disappointing news. Because I also needed to know that, even in the realm of fiction, there are those who react well to surprise setbacks.
So, read good books. But keep them around. You never know when you might need to read them again.
(We are back before the City Council on Monday evening. I covet your prayers for our efforts on that front!)
Some Other Updates
Neither the USMNT nor England have reached out to me about their coaching vacancies, despite my experience playing Football Manager and helping coach 2nd grade and below boys soccer for the past several years.
My latest essay was published today at Covenant: the online journal of The Living Church. It is a reflection on the role of excellent speech and the Art of Rhetoric in crafting a Sunday sermon.
My interest in the Anglican tradition and the classical Christian approach to education developed at roughly the same time for roughly the same reasons. The first two in a series of short reflections exploring this reality are now up on my Not-a-Podcast. So are a few of my recent sermons.
My last most consistent approach to regular exercise was my daily running streak that lasted 366 days in 2021 and 2022. I started the streak up again this summer, and just passed the 75 day mark this week. One of those runs happened while I had the stomach bug on the first day of our two-week road trip, and was completed in small chunks (pun intended) at gas stations and parking lots in three different states: Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
After thinking about doing so for several months, we finally started and finished a built-in bunk bed set for the kids room. This is the second time that Viv has drawn out an idea that I have mostly executed, with plenty of advice from friends and the internet along the way.
