The December Newsletter
Plus a gift guide of great books.
Hello friends.
It’s December.
I hope you’re enjoying Advent so far. In the early 4th century a doctor of the church and a great discipler, Cyril of Jerusalem, explained Advent in his catechetical lectures:
We preach not one coming only of Jesus Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the first. The first revealed the meaning of his patient endurance; the second brings with it the crown of the divine kingdom.
Generally speaking, everything that concerns our Lord Jesus Christ is twofold. His birth is twofold: one, of God before time began; the other, of the Virgin in the fullness of time. His descent is twofold: one, unperceived like the dew falling on the fleece; the other, before the eyes of all, is yet to happen.
…It is not enough for us, then, to be content with his first coming; we must wait in hope of his second coming. What we said at his first coming, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’, we shall repeat at his last coming. Running out with the angels to meet the Master we shall cry out in adoration, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’
Amen!
During Advent, it’s time to sharpen our desire for Christ to come again.
Last year I put out a short liturgy I wrote for an Advent event in our church. You can watch that liturgy here or read it below.
In other news, here are a few of my favorite things from around the internet. There are no affiliate links here (unfortunately). Enjoy, knowing these are unbiased recommendations.
1. Did you see the Lectio Bible Practicing the Way put out? I dig. Of course, if you just got a raise or discovered buried treasure or some such thing and you want to splurge on my favorite Bible ever the folks at Allan make works of art (pro tip: get one used on ebay).
2. A couple books: I skipped Red Moon Rising when it came out two decades ago. But I’m loving it now. Pete Grieg has a voice like a fleece. Listen to Dirty Glory if you already know Red Moon Rising. In terms of new releases, Rod Dreher’s Living in Wonder is my favorite by far.
3. Speaking of books, did you know that there’s an edition of Lord of the Rings that was illustrated by the recently abdicated Queen of Denmark?
Even choosy Tolkien liked her work.
Book lovers beware, you’ll want every (expensive) edition The Folio Society releases. Look at Shakespeare’s Complete Plays, Tom Holland’s Dominion, and Judith Herrin’s Byzantium.
(Not that anyone’s asking me, but Tom Holland gets a lot wrong about early Christianity and even more wrong about early Judaism. But he gets a lot right, too.)
4. Not a book, but still: This year, my favorite carol’s the Appalachian hymn Bozrah. You can find it among other unfamiliar tunes on this album. Listen to Jordan’s Shore and Pretty Home. You’ll thank me.
5. A friend of mine, fellow substack writer Melody Trowell, recently released a fairy tale. My precocious 8-year-old gave the story her seal of approval. Give it as a stocking stuffer to the book-loving kiddos in your life. (If you’re short on kid’s books in particular and you don’t know Read Aloud Revival, check it out.)
That’s all for now. May the Lord Jesus Christ meet you and lead you throughout this Advent season.
Blaine
PS Are you a journal nerd? I’ve been using Shinola Detroit notebooks for years; my current favorite is the large sketchbook. I also use their Runwell Planner to record my daily examen. I suspect the Monk Manual might be even better, but I still haven’t tried it. If any of you do, please let me know what you think.
Blaine, I really enjoyed Red Moon Rising as well. I can see it on my shelf as I’m typing. Maybe I should give it a re-read.
A book that I used to read annually but haven’t in a couple of decades now is Gordon MacDonald’s Ordering Your Private World. I’m planning to pick that one up again in 2025.