Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Lisa

First Friday Five {February}

Another first Friday means another chance to tell you some of my favorite things. I know, it’s your favorite time of the month, right?

Here’s what I’m loving this month.

  1. Royal dramas. The Crown on Netflix and Victoria on PBS. The first is a historical fiction about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the second about Queen Victoria, obviously. I’m not sure I would recommend having both of these shows “in progress” concurrently but they are fascinating (and yes, they are fiction based on true events) looks at female leadership in male-dominated worlds. (Also, they give me a Doctor Who fix. In The Crown, Matt Smith plays Elizabeth’s husband, Philip and in Victoria Jenna Coleman is the title character. When I can’t watch the Doctor, I can watch my favorite actors.)
  2. Unroll me. I’m not sure where I saw this, but it’s an e-mail service that helps you unsubscribe and consolidate your inbox. You choose what to do with each sender: keep it in your inbox, unsubscribe, or roll it up. Then, each day, you get ONE email with all your rolled up emails (I’ve gotten as few as 2, as many as 11) and you can click on each individual one to read it or just skim over it. My inbox is still out of control, but this is keeping the crazy at bay.
  3. The Price is Right. I used to watch this game show religiously in the summers as a kid, but I’ve stayed away from daytime TV as a stay-at-home mom (unless you count Netflix and I don’t. So there.) until recently. My husband was out of work for a few weeks and we made an 11 o’clock couch date each day to tune in to The Price is Right while we ate lunch. I have another entire blog post brewing about watching this show, but Drew Carey and this game show are one of the highlights of the last month.
  4. Ticket to Ride. We first played this board game with friends months ago and loved it. Then Santa brought us our own game fro Christmas and we have played it almost once a week (or more) with the kids. It’s the kind of game that’s really never boring no matter how many times you play it because it all depends on strategy and planning instead of luck.
  5. Dystopian fiction. Before the last few months, I’m not sure I had read a single work of dystopian fiction. Late last year I read The Hunger Games series and this month I read the Divergent series. Tell me what I should read next in this genre! I preferred the Divergent series but devoured both series in a matter of days.

Favorites in your life from the past month? Share away!

Misguided mission: Review of Dangerous Territory by Amy Peterson

I am not, nor have I ever been, a missionary. Not in the travel to far-off places and share the Gospel sense. Still, I have a bit of wanderlust and a desire to do important things. Which must be why I connected with Amy Peterson’s story in her spiritual memoir, Dangerous Territory: My Misguided Quest to Save the World. (To be clear, this is not just a book for missionaries or would-be missionaries or young people because I am none of those things!)

Peterson’s account of her time teaching English in Southeast Asia and events that led to trouble in her host country, as well as her deconstruction of the faith she’d grown up with is relatable and engaging. It is not a hero’s story but a humble retelling of finding God again and learning that all service to Him, no matter where, no matter what, is important and part of the kingdom work of restoration. (Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author. Review reflects my personal and honest opinion.)

That stories like this exist give me hope that future generations will be encouraged to live a spiritual life wherever they are or are called to, whether that is somewhere across the ocean or down the street from their childhood home. Peterson’s struggle to find meaning and purpose in staying instead of going is a much-needed story in a world that continues to value the big and bold steps of faith.

She writes early in the book about her expectations:

Sermons about lives full of dedication to God rarely made daily floor-sweeping an example of dedication. They seldom lauded people who responded to e-mails punctually and thoughtfully. They didn’t praise those who regularly attended conferences for professional development and stayed up-to-date in their fields.

I wanted an extraordinary life, flush with spiritual vitality and adventure, a life fully committed to God. I wanted to be the greatest.

We do a disservice to believers of all ages when we elevate certain expressions of spirituality above others (missionaries and pastors, for example). And Peterson comes to the realization through trials and silence that maybe she had it all wrong.

“What if God didn’t want me to be useful? Could I surrender to that? Was I willing to be useless for God?” (182)

That’s a question I’m sitting with personally. Maybe God doesn’t need me to do, do, do all the time. Maybe I can just “be” and that’s enough.

Her conclusions by the end of the book are ones I’m making as well. I’ll share more about that when I join the author’s blog link-up to celebrate the book’s launch.

Even though it’s applicable to anyone deconstructing their faith or who has ties to missions, I’d call this one a must-read for anyone new to missions or considering missions for longer than a short-term trip. It’s a realistic and honest look at what it’s truly like “on the field” and not the kinds of stories you typically hear from visiting missionaries during a church service.