Hi friends! It’s great to be with you again, for another weekly wrapped. This is a bi-weekly post where I share some of my favorite works of writing, what I have been reading (reviews this week!) and what I have been appreciating and pondering.
I usually share life updates here but honestly, there is not much new! My 9-5 has been going well but I am definitely still adjusting to the lifestyle change. Prayers are always appreciated as I attempt to navigate this new season of life well.
Let’s dive into it.
Writing
Tech Broligarchs Want Jesus Out of the Way
Russell Moore, Editor-in-Chief of Christianity Today is one of my favorite writers.
He writes with poignancy and expertise, especially in politics. He tends to ‘punch Right’ since most Christians are too comfortable in their conservatism, but he remains steadfast in his commitment and faith to Jesus.
He also worked in DC for a long time, which means his writing about politics is not just hypothetical but comes from his practical experience.
As this new administration has ushered in a strong alliance with the technology bros — namely Musk and Zuckerburg, it has felt strangely futuristic. Moore’s piece about how these men are being placed in powerful seats, mind you seats they were not elected into, and how their worldview will change our country, resonated with me deeply.
Moore critiques the mechanistic view that tech ‘broligarchs’ bring into the Whitehouse.
He describes this view by saying,
The mindset that sees humanity and society as data to be manipulated naturally gives way to the will-to-power that sees no limits to the appetite and the libido.
He explores the theological implications of this view of human flourishing permeating into some of the most powerful rooms in the world, and how the spiritual impact will far exceed that of this administration.
The tech-bros have inherited the earth, for now. That’s not their fault. It’s ours. We have believed what they told us about ourselves: that we are ultimately just data and algorithms to be decoded, appetites to be appeased. And because of that, we’ve looked for programmers and coders to keep our simulation going—what previous generations would have called “gods.”
Moore acknowledges the allure of worldly power – that these very tech bros yield – but harkens back to the reality that the Christian is to live according to the counter-cultural reality to be weak is strong. Bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth does not require influence or power, even if that is all we are hearing from culture.
He ends with this hope,
After all the promises of the tech-bros are gone, Jesus abides.
We're bed rotting while the wealthy cosplay as us
How our lives are dictated by big tech, and unfortunately the solution isn’t as easy as “go outside, touch grass.”
Bed rotting. Have you heard of it?
It’s a phenomenon amongst us digital natives. It is about laying in bed and doom-scrolling rather than interacting and engaging with others in the real world.
Dizzy Zaba breaks down bed rotting and connects it to the loneliness epidemic young people are experiencing right now.
More and more young people are taking to the internet to say, proudly proclaim even, that they have no hobbies, no friends, no places to go, and no interest in going even if they did.
The writer clarifies that resting is important, but how the culture of ‘bed rotting’ is more sinister than it looks on the surface, and how the seeds for this were planted in the 2010s with the rise of memes about “the feeling of relief when a friend cancels on you.”
This piece put to words so much of what I have felt as a 23-year-old. Also warning, there is a photo of a man’s bottom in her piece. Just letting you know.
Reading
Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
5 stars right off the bat for Order of the Phoenix. I loved this book so much. It took me about 6 weeks to read it because it is a little over 900 pages, but I loved every second of it.
My pride hurt a bit when January came and went and I was not able to log a book on GoodReads. But that is not the point of reading.
If you feel a similar pressure to gamify your hobbies, you should read this piece I published a few months ago.
As I read I should take notes because I tend to forget all of my favorite moments from the book quickly after. Here are a few that have not left my memory yet:
Hermione and Umbridge’s argument in the classroom. Hermione questioning the textbook and Umbridge refusing to budge feels like an interesting commentary on both sides of the political aisle, demanding complete certainty and trust in their authority.
When Umbridge is brought into the forest and taken away by centaurs. I was ready to say goodbye to that woman the moment I met her. Also, she was not doing good PR for those of us who love pink.
Luna Lovegood and her oddness.
Harry and Dumbledore’s conversation about the prophecy and Dumbledore's posture toward Harry. He responded and shared with Harry with honesty, compassion and understanding. He made space for his outbreaks, his frustration and his pain. He did not make excuses for how things had gone for Harry that year and accepted accountability. I love that he did not use his authority to harm Harry, but instead, he approached him with gentleness and humble repentance.
The room of requirement is such a cool concept, one I wish was real! Especially for when I need to use the bathroom…
I have moved on to Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince and I am loving it so far. Hopefully, this one will not take as long for me to finish.
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
I started reading this a few months ago but never got around to finishing the last few chapters until this week.
I really admire Comer’s ability to synthesize complex theological topics and speak about them in our common language without losing the mystery and magic of faith.
Here are a few sections that I highlighted that have stuck with me from PTW:
And the tragic consequence of this faulty logic is this: If we assume that Jesus did the same stuff he did “because he was God,” we will then assume we can’t do the stuff he did because we’re not God, clearly. 1 + 1 = 2.
First, Luke wrote, ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. That was what Jesus did – his mission. Then he wrote, ‘The Son of Man came eating and drinking.’ That was how Jesus did it – his method.
Because in the early centuries of the Jesus movement, a witness and a martyr were virtually synonymous. For us in the democratic West, literal death is not an imminent threat, but there is a kind of death involved if we bear witness to Jesus’ gospel – a death to our reputation as cool or sophisticated or on trend, a death to others’ moral estimation of us, a possible death to our career ambitions and more. To bear witness in our day often means to we choose same. But this is a small price to pay compared to “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
I probably have a highlight on every page, but these were just a few that I thought may pique your interest. If you have not read his work already, I highly recommend it.
Appreciating
This Mary Oliver poem.
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Pondering
Last night, my husband and I curled up on the couch with the books we are reading and listened to jazz music. It is one of my favorite things ever that I married a reader and this is how we can spend our evenings together.
I chose to read The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.
As I was reading a passage about inspiration, the author shared something I have not been able to stop thinking about.
When Brian Wilson first heard the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul”, his mind was blown. “If I ever do anything in my life, I’m going to make that good an album,” he thought at the time. He went on to explain, “I was so happy to hear it that I went on to start writing, ‘God Only Knows.’
When Paul McCartney heard the resulting Beach Boys alum, “Pet Sounds”, he too was blown away and reduced to tears, proclaiming, “God Only Knows” was to his ears the best song ever written. Buoyed by the experience, the Beatles played Pet Sounds over and over while creating another masterpiece, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
“Without Pet Sounds, Sgt. Peppers would have never happened,” Beatles producer George Martin said. “Pepper was an attempt to equal Pet Sounds.”
This blew me away, as a Beach Boys and Beatles fan. This is an incredible example of not seeing another artist's great work as a competition but as inspiration.
Trying to replicate another piece of art or style that you love will certainly produce something interesting. We can only make work from our own perspective, with our own personal spin on it. Our own fingerprint. So copying is not really possible in a sense.
This means even when we try to replicate the essence of somebody else's work, ours will stink of our own personal fragrance. Our signature touch. This can be frustrating. Your own work will always be yours.
For those who are feeling creatively stuck, put on an album you love. Read a few pages of a book you treasure. Stare at a painting that invigorates you. Then try to replicate it. You may be surprised at what will happen next.
And hey. You may be inspiring your biggest inspiration. Who knows.
Thank you for reading this week’s piece. I publish every Monday.
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Your friend,
Jenna