Reading

Five Favorite Epistolary Books

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

What is it about books written in epistolary format (a series of letters) that I love so much? Not all epistolary novels are good, of course, but when they are, they seem to find their place more quickly onto my list of favorite books.

Here’s what I love about them:

  • They give you all of the advantages of a first-person narrator (personal insights and viewpoints in usually a more conversational or revealing tone)—but they are once-removed and multi-faceted. The narrator isn’t talking to you, the reader, but to someone else. The letters are sometimes to or from more than one person, as well.
  • They require you to pay attention to details like dates, locations, means of correspondence, and who the letter is to/from in order to follow what’s going on, both in the plot of the book and sometimes from your knowledge of the real world at the time.
  • They assume you can fill in the blanks. Depending on the author’s skill (and all of these books below have very skillful authors), you, the reader, will need to make inferences based on what is said, or not said, in the letters in order to connect the dots.
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Faith

Dear Friend, You’re Already Found

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

“What is it that keeps you from looking for God?”

When I heard this question in a sermon last week, I had just seen an excellent live performance of Dear Evan Hansen a mere 12 hours before. If you’re one of the many who have seen this show, you know the song that’ll be in your head for days: “You Will Be Found” (lyric video here).

The main character in this musical, Evan Hansen, is a high school student who has social anxiety and great difficulty fitting in. He feels awkward and out of place most of the time. During the course of the show, he struggles greatly with the idea of being found—not necessarily because he feels lost, but because he feels invisible. So I suppose that the theme is not just about being found, but being seen. And really, aren’t they just two sides of the same coin?

Evan has no true friends, so when he sings these lyrics, they’re especially poignant:

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Faith

Scripture Writing in Philippians—Join Me at Bible Copy Club

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

I’ve been invited to be a guest writer at Bible Copy Club for a four-week series on Philippians! Join me there and let’s copy out this book together.

If you’ve been thinking about trying Scripture writing (copying out the Bible by hand), or if you’re just feeling the need to do something different in your daily Bible time, I have some good news!

Beginning next week and continuing through July, I’ll be collaborating with Andy at Bible Copy Club to walk you through copying the entire book of Philippians, a few verses at a time (use this link to receive this series). We start on Monday, July 7, and by August 1, you’ll have written out the entire book. And because you’ve taken it slowly and had time to think about what you’re writing, you’ll have more of it stored away in your heart than you might have by just reading alone.

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Reading

“Screwtape for Women” — Times Two

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone got the idea that women ought to have their own version of The Screwtape Letters. It turns out that two people got this idea, seemingly at the same time.

Have you already read C. S. Lewis’s 1942 classic satire, The Screwtape Letters? If not, you should go do that. The letters are written from the point of view of a senior demon talking to a younger, inexperienced demon. The topic is a certain young man that they are trying to wrest away from “the Enemy” (God) and win to the side of “Our Father Below” (Satan). If this idea intrigues you, or if you loved this book as millions of Christians have, and especially if you are a woman, then read on.

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Faith

Why and How to Begin Scripture Writing

Rebekah Matt11 Comments

“Be sure to spend time in the Bible every day.” Every Christian hears this often. We know that it’s important. But we also know that it’s easier in some seasons of life than in others.

Almost seven years ago, I began a new way of spending daily time in the Word: I started copying Scripture (verse by verse or book by book) by hand. Over the years, I’ve done this both instead of and in addition to a Bible reading plan. With very few exceptions, I’ve been writing out Scripture for about 2,500 consecutive days, and I can honestly say that Scripture writing has completely transformed the way I approach the Bible and how I interact with God’s Word.

And it’s not just me. I can tell by the popularity of the Scripture writing posts on my blog that many Christians—both male and female, and of all ages—are eager to try something that will refresh and reinvigorate their daily time with the Bible. And for some, Scripture writing is just the thing.

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Faith

Hello, Sixty

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

“I’ll be sixty in a couple of months.”

At the present time, I can say this casually and effortlessly, without cringing, whispering, or grimacing. It was not always this way.

Last year, I could hardly say the number aloud, so I’ve actually come a long way from my state of utter denial. I’m not sure why it’s been so hard for me to accept this number, sixty. I’ve heard that “sixty is the new forty,” but honestly, sixty is the age where you can no longer even remotely pretend that you are still young. Sixty actually sounds kind of old.

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Faith

This (Life) Too Shall Pass

Rebekah Matt2 Comments

There were some days, years ago, when I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I had several children underfoot, some not neurotypical, and there were days when I didn’t handle the stress very well. I cried out to God for help, but it so often seemed like he wasn’t listening. I wondered sometimes how I was going to make it through.

And then my mother-in-law would come over for a visit and in her calm, gentle, non-judgmental way, she would say to me, “This too shall pass.”

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Reading

Two Elisabeth Elliot Bios: One Authorized, One Definitive

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

Soon after I became a Christian, almost 30 years ago, I found an author/speaker that I liked very much—a no-nonsense, straight-talking woman who would help shape many aspects of my early Christian walk. I owe a tremendous debt to Elisabeth Elliot, her books, and her radio program, Gateway to Joy, and I’m grateful to God for placing her in my life at just the right time. Her influence has made me a better person, and a better Christian.

So I was thrilled to see, a few years ago, that new biographies about her were in the works. First came Ellen Vaughn’s Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, part one of a two-volume set published in the fall of 2020 by B&H Books. Then came Lucy S. R. Austen’s Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, published in June 2023 by Crossway. This was followed very quickly by Vaughn’s highly anticipated second volume, Being Elisabeth Elliot, published in the fall of 2023. (I think these dates are important, as you’ll see.)

The two biographies (counting Vaughn’s two volumes as one bio) have similar titles, similar covers, and were published right around the same time. Vaughn’s is officially the authorized biography, but in my mind, Austen’s is the definitive one; of the two, it’s the most complete, must-read biography of Elliot’s entire life.

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Faith

When Trouble Strikes, What Will You Reap?

Rebekah MattLeave a comment

Recently I taught 1 Corinthians 13 (the “love chapter”) to a class of four- to six-year-olds. It’s a famous passage; you’ve probably heard these verses at weddings, or in a sermon about how we should love others. I’m probably not the only one with part of this verse artfully inscribed on a plaque that sits on a shelf in my home.

How do we love others well? If you’ve ever wondered, this chapter will leave no doubt in your mind.

The practical how-to verses (v. 4–8) are right in the middle: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

In this passage, there are eleven straightforward, everyday signs (displays or expressions) of love that we should be attempting with those around us every single day … followed by five looser, more general concepts as reminders of the abiding characteristics of love.

I’ve considered these verses many times during the thirty years that I’ve been a Christian. In fact, I bought that decorative plaque that I mentioned during the time in my life when I had several young children underfoot. During those busy and chaotic years, I realized how much I needed a constant reminder of how to show love to everyone in my household (husband included).

Lately I’ve been thinking about these verses again regarding family … extended family, that is, and how we respond to difficulty or tragedy when it strikes. Because none of us will escape trouble of varying degrees in our lives. At some point, and more than once, it’s going to strike.

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