What I’m Reading and Tweeting

Last updated on: September 27, 2013 at 8:58 am by Amy Julia Becker

What I’m Reading and Tweeting 2013-09-27T08:58:08-04:00 Amy Julia Becker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Where I live, we don’t get consistent cell phone service. Every day, I drive my kids to school for twelve minutes, and we talk and listen to music and observe the changing leaves and babbling brook. For the twelve minutes back, I used to try to listen to NPR, though the signal was scratchy, or pray, but I would get distracted, or just think about things. Recently, I began an Audible subscription, so I’ve been listening to Eugene Peterson’s The Message, a paraphrase of the New Testament. Twelve minutes five days a week of listening to stories about Jesus has been quite a gift.

I finished Me Before You this week. Though I still think the plot is somewhat contrived, I still recommend the book. It’s the story of a young woman who takes a job caring for a man who has become a quadriplegic. It’s a story about social class and dreams and life and death and bodies and love and what it’s like to try to live a new life that you never asked for or wanted. It’s a great book.

Some other books came my way this week–Quiet, by Susan Cain, about those of us who are introverts in an extroverted world. Sun Shine Down, by Gillian Marchenko, a memoir of her experience of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome in a foreign country. Writing in the Margins, by Lisa Nichols Hickman, about taking notes in the margins of the Bible. And the Jesus Storybook Bible elementary school curriculum, which I think we’ll start using with our kids for our new family devotion times on Saturday mornings.

Then there were the articles I tweeted about this week:

Disability and Prenatal Testing related (with great thanks to Mark Leach for his coverage of prenatal testing info):

Milestones for students with#DownSyndrome #Inclusion #StartingSchool#Diversity ow.ly/oWL1v @RachelAdams212

#Writers #VisualArtists, individuals with#disabilities & more – @GeezMagazine needs you to contribute to guest issue ow.ly/p4lTi

Why is “being ahead of the curve” a selling point for Verinata’s verifi? http://ow.ly/pdjke #PrenatalTesting #DownSyndrome@MarkWLeach

#GeneticCounselors paid by testing companies. Potential Conflict?#GeneticTesting #Ethics http://ow.ly/pdsBl@nytimes

Should noninvasive #PrenatalTesting be a secondary screen? #DownSyndrome#Pregnancy @MarkWLeach http://ow.ly/pdtHN

“Monstrous” Sonic Hedgehog Reverses#DownSyndrome http://ow.ly/pdvM2 #Genetics #PrenatalTesting @MarkWLeach

Faith related:

Dear #Parents With Young Children in#Church: “I know it’s hard, but thank you” @hippypastorwife @HuffPostBlog ow.ly/p6vZC #Joy

More than words: #PopeFrancis‘ Radical Whisper http://ow.ly/pa5M5 #EnoughIsEnough #Humility @FrankBruni@nytimes

#PopeFrancis & the “freshness and fragrance of the #gospel” #GodsLove @EllenPDollar http://ow.ly/pdhq9

And a few more that seemed worth passing along:

Experiencing life on the other side of the “fence” ow.ly/p4niw @nytimes #RacialDivide#SocialClass #SouthAfrica

#Expectations vs #Reality: “Why#GenerationY Yuppies Are Unhappy”ow.ly/p4p6C @waitbutwhy

#Photoshopping “[no] wonder women yearn to be #SuperThin when they never see how ugly [super]-thin can be.” ow.ly/pddI9@lisawade

Happy reading!

Articles

Books

Previous Post

September 26, 2013

Small Acts of Gratuitous Love: Friendship House in Durham

Next Post

September 30, 2013 Five Reasons I'm Glad My Husband Went Away for Twelve Days

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Articles Books Disability Down Syndrome Faith family Perfectly Human Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 September 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz