Turning Pages

The past two weeks have been filled with an excellent J-term class on Educational Ministry with Adults. Imagine an entire semester of coursework crammed into eight days of classes. With four books to read and five written assignments to complete, plus a class session to teach, we have spent most all of our time focused on this class. It has been a great course – one which I’m sure will have tremendous impact on our future ministry – but I’m glad to be done and have the weekend to relax before the regular semester starts next week.

In the meantime, I’ll take advantage of the breather to write about two books that Ray and I both read over break – we highly recommend both of them!

The first is Once Around the Track by Sharyn McCrumb. Ray and I have enjoyed many of her other books. Most of them are mysteries with an historical theme, set in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee – countryside which we know pretty well.This time, she has written a book of fiction about NASCAR, set in the town of Mooresville, North Carolina – which is just north of Charlotte. Ray’s a big NASCAR fan, the characters are bigger than life, the story is captivating, and the scenery is familiar – a winning combination! It should be available in your favorite local bookstore or public library.


The second book we took time to read while we were on vacation is Sunday by Sunday which is written by a friend of ours from the seminary campus, Cristy Fossum. Sunday by Sunday is written as the journal of a woman, who is determined to grow old not-so-gracefully, but by living each day fully! Her journal entries reflect on her experiences with her family and friends, her life of faith, her experiences in worship, and the weekly lectionary texts from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). This is a work of fiction, but so true to life that it will make you laugh and cry – sometimes both at the same time. I am already waiting impatiently for the next volume to be published – hurry, Cristy!

If you can’t find this in a local bookstore, you can purchase it directly from the author’s website. I also understand that there will soon be a downloadable study guide available – this would make a great resource for a women’s study group. And after the past couple of weeks, I feel fully qualified to make that recommendation!