Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m an atheist who grew up in a fundamentalist, high control household, currently living in the south, where Christian Nationalism is really taking hold. I don‘t like preachy things but I like listening to what progressive faith leaders have to say. John Pavlovitz is a much needed voice. Nadia shares her journey of becoming a faith leader, her struggles, her raw humanity. She defies the patriarchal, misogynist lie that women cannot hold⬇️

I learned a great deal from this first book by Nadia Bolz-Weber. I learned a great deal from her second book when I read it a couple of years ago. I guess as long as I learn something, it doesn‘t matter in what order I read them. The author of Pastrix hasn‘t lost her serious case of potty mouth, so if that‘s something that would bother you, avoid anything she‘s written. If you‘d like to know the story of how she went from (cont)⬇️

September reading stats:
🚀SFF: 4
📚Fiction: 3
👧🏽Kids/YA: 2
📕Nonfiction: 1
🖋Poetry: 1
🔍Mystery: 1

🏫Library: 10
📚TBR: 2

📚Print: 9
🎧Audio: 3

💜Favorites: Pastrix, Stay With Me (both #MakeMeReadIt picks!)
❌Least favorite: The Alchemist

LOVE. This goes on the shelf next to Anne Lamott & Rachel Held Evans & all my other favorite honest, vulnerable, strong, hilarious women of faith. This is my favorite kind of spiritual autobiography—an author who speaks of her journey of faith and relationship with God with such openness, humor, and lack of pretension—and a swear or five. This both challenged & encouraged me...now I need to bump up her book Accidental Saints in my reading queue!

I love this memoir. The one after this is pretty spectacular too. Nadia Bolz-Weber is an unconventional Lutheran pastor writing about her call, her path to becoming a pastor, and planting the church she pastors.

Picture from my neighborhood walk this evening—no audiobook tonight, instead I listened to an On Being interview with Nadia Bolz-Weber, whose memoir is tagged and is also on my never-ending TBR stack. This is my second neighborhood walk for week 2; I‘ll be back to walking the campus at work tomorrow! But first, an evening of baking cookies. 😁 #bookfitnesschallenge

“I generally ignore my personal tikis until well into syndication.”

We are all being lazy this morning, and I think Owen is hoping I‘ll forget that I said we‘d all pitch in and clean the house today. While Anthony sleeps in a little longer, Sophie 😻 and I are relaxing with coffee and a good book. I‘ve loved Pastor Nadia‘s videos she did for Maker‘s Women, so I thought I‘d check out her first memoir and I‘m loving it. Just what I needed this rainy, lazy morning.

Cannot get enough of this book!!

Well, turns out that not only do I not own any books with “Hell” in the title, I also don‘t really have any books with #sins in the title. Content is no doubt another matter...😂 But I‘m not feeling particularly creative tonight, so you get this: subtitled “The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint.” From the TBR—it will be read someday! #readingresolutions

Honourable mention to "Unruly Passions" by Kate Charles
#FebStats

Brilliant, funny, thought-provoking memoir

Currently reading

Another from my bookstore trip yesterday. This one reveals the contradictory nature of my existence. Despite questioning everything about the existence of any higher being(s), I am intrigued by this woman's story and style. Those tattoos! And the book description, "...every thinking misfit suspicious of institutionalized religion, but who is still seeking transcendence and mystery." But I passed this time - too pricey. #booksIalmostbought

#RiotGrams shelfie action 💕📚 I read a lot of spiritual memoir, books on progressive Christianity, and Christian antiquity. 🙌🏻

I really enjoyed this memoir about a woman‘s unconventional journey to/through faith and a career as a Lutheran minister. It's very thought-provoking and funny. While the book is probably not for everyone (all the swears! And/or all the God talk! 😛) I think many could appreciate parts of her perspective and voice.

"The greatest spiritual practice is just showing up." Nadia Bolz-Weber. This took me a bit to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed the fresh take on religion. I agreed with a lot, disagreed with some, but the real-life stories and the application of Bible learning to those stories, made the book an easy read. The chapters can be read independently but the theme does progress from early years to more recent. Definitely worth a reading.

Books about religion are not in my wheelhouse, but this one really worked for me. The focus on grace and acceptance was a message I appreciated and was a timely reminder to me that true faith isn't what we often see in the media and it isn't something that should ever be used to exclude or judge. I needed this more than I realized when I picked it up. #NonfictionNovember2016

"And the love and grace and mercy of Jesus was so offensive to us that we killed him... But death could not contain God. God said 'yes' to all of our polite 'no thank yous' by rising from the dead."

When you have the perfect bookmark for a book. ? The ticket from the author's lecture at which I bought her books! #bookmarks #theology #religion #christianity #memoir #nonfictionnovember

I just went to hear Nadia Bolz-Weber speak at my college and was so moved by her lecture that I spontaneously bought both books that were for sale afterwards. There was something in me that needed to hear her tonight, even if I didn't 100% agree with everything she said. #theology #Christianity #religion #bookhaul #memoir #nonfictionnovember

Loved the honesty and faith of this woman.

Nothing else gets to tell you who you are.

Just the introduction and I'm so excited about this book!

I'm starting this today for her fresh take on faith