Review: The Ministry of Ordinary Places

If you read FALLING FREE, Shannan Martin returns with an even more lyrical and soulful memoir of her life as a radical neighbor lover. As a member of her launch team, I received an advance copy.

I was blessed so much by THE MINISTRY OF ORDINARY PLACES and I especially appreciated the very tactical ideas Martin offers for loving our neighbors. The author also takes a necessary and admirable stance against a lot of what I can only refer to as ministry "gimmicks" that churches in the First World have adopted as de rigueur. Examples of this included "pop-up" ministry events, short-term missions that do more harm than good, or just ill-advised donation drives. The love the author has for her neighbors and her neighborhood is so palpable, and the book is an inspiring look at how one family can be a beacon simply by choosing to stay. 

Pairing my own fave coffee mug with this book’s darling cover.

The only aspect of the book with which I really struggled was the lack of discussion of boundaries. Much of the ministry of being embedded in a community was familiar to me, since I have lived at the schools where my husband and/or I worked. It can be very overwhelming at times to field requests at all hours of the day and night from those one has been called to serve. As a mother, I believe my first order of ministry is to my family. Sometimes living in an insular community, one has to set hedges around one's family in order that the family not get exploited. The author makes mention of how her husband sought counseling for anxiety, and I was grateful for that. As a Christian, we can see from Jesus' example that there were times he reserved only for his prayer time, that he disappointed people by being unavailable because of his priorities. I wanted to hear more about that -- that giving freely of ourselves is still something we need to have discretion about so that we're not placing our family as a sacrificial lamb on the altar. The Martins are fully committed to their ministry of being present, and there are certainly instances mentioned where simply being present is hard. Still, I was left to wonder what they did when and if their children just sort of wanted their parents to themselves (?) Projecting here, but my kids help alongside me in ministry but sometimes they have bad attitudes about it and it's usually because I'm not devoting enough time to them. I think this begs the question: Can you live in the upside-down kingdom while still keeping your priorities in order? I don’t have the answer and I think anyone living in close community is looking for guidance about how to do it well.

I think my favorite chapter was about the Jail Ministry house. Martin explains the real disparity for families with an incarcerated person reentering society and the high cost of housing, job hunting that befalls individuals/families because of time served. I was so moved by the story of the Jail Ministry house and feel inspired to explore opportunities to serve inventively in this vein in my own sphere of influence.

I highly recommend this book if you are impressed to live and experience the Gospel in a less abstract and more practiced way, to have your eyes wide open to the biddings and beckonings of Divinity that hasn’t given up on our spinning planet yet.

8 things am j'adoring

Labor Day weekend presents a variety of opportunities to mow lawns and transition seasonal wardrobes.  Whatever your self-care/soul-care practice, here are a few and sundry things I am enjoying. A couple contain affiliate links, but most are just gratuitous for fun and sharesies. 

1. The Nike Training Club app.

It's free and very functional. It's exactly what I want in an exercise app. I'm doing some kind of 4-week ramp-up regimen right now that makes me sweat a lot while doing a reasonable number of burpees (which may be an oxymoron because when is rising into a jumping jack from plank position ever reasonable (?) But it's very encouraging (the narrator says, "Come on! You've got this!" as if she can read my soul's true feelings about burpees). Most importantly, I don't have to think or tally my reps. I just do what the Nike boss tells me to do. 
 

2. NATIVE Deodorant

Speaking of sweaty betty, this stuff works. The coconut is my favorite, especially since it conjures the smell of being on a tropical beach with an umbrella in your drink when you're just standing still waiting at the bus stop not doing anything besides sweating. 

NATIVE Deodorant

3. LUSH hot oil treatment

I don't think anyone can say "scalp" without starting to itch their own or triggering someone to do the same, so let's not dwell on this too long. Just getchoo some. I was skeptical of a $11 wax lollipop and its powers to treat my hair and scalp but, trust. It works wonders. I've tried the new cinnamon and the hair doctor and I think I like the spicy cinnamon best.

4. Staring at puppies online

Did you know that the application to adopt a puppy is akin to applying to board a major aircraft into outer space? It's really intense. So instead I mostly just stare at puppies online and gather name ideas for someday. 

5. These cute melamine bowls from Anthro
I bought one for my MIL for her birthday because MIL goes to lots of potlucks and it's always nice to bring a pretty pretty with a lid. When I visited MIL, though, she had placed the pretty pretty on her coffee table because she said it was too pretty to stain with kimchi. So there you go. Also, they're on sale! Magnifique. 

6. The Ministry of Ordinary Places by Shannan Martin

I'm on the launch team for Shannan's book because her words are poetry and her heart is golden. And dagnabit if her book cover's not the most darling of book covers for judging. You should probably preorder her book if you feel the tug that maybe you should know your neighbor's name or you need to lay fresh eyes on the ordinariness of the extraordinary little community in which you've been planted. 
 

The Ministry of Ordinary Places

7. Bluprint courses
If you've ever watched a Craftsy video, this is the souped-up version. I'm learning how to embroider and pretending to learn how to quilt. Many of the teachers are funny and the database is pretty comprehensive. Recently when I was learning how to paint a mural, I followed their mural painting tutorial and it saved.the.day. 

Bluprint

8. Dawes "Passwords" album
It took me a few plays to catch on to the vibe since it was such a departure from earlier rockin' albums, but this more subdued, sentimental album is lovely. 

Dawes "Passwords"

What about you? What are you loving these days?

Boston Roller Derby: I was not prepared

3 Things for which I was prepared when we went to see the Boston Roller Derby this past weekend: 1. I bought the Groupon. Wise move, Kendra. Where else can you buy a family four-pack of tickets for your hot li'l Saturday night for $32 (!?!) whilst supporting women in sports? I ask you.

2. I also knew about the clever name game of all the players, probably thanks to Whip It!. I have to say my favorite from the Wicked Pissahs was probably Anita Pierogi. Just yelling that name out in public. Comical and probably truthful. Anita Pierogi!! Because who doesn't need a Polish dumpling? Her appellation obviously appealed to my sensibilities. Daughter liked Tara N Tula, whose acquaintance we made after the bout (see below). If I were going to be a roller derby girl, I decided my name would be Betty Rumbles, as a nod to that ol' Flintstone wifey friend, Betty Rubbles, herself.

3. I was semi-prepared for the body positivity of roller derby in that I had already met the women in Chattanooga Roller Derby and they were all about girl power and the muscles and the inner strength. It was just awesome to see so many women of all different shapes and sizes able to compete with such ferocious intensity. There is a lot of teamwork involved, especially for the defensive blockers, and just watching them caused me to develop bruises all over my imagination. Like ouch, Scoob.

3 Things for which I wasn't prepared at the Derby: 1. There are honest-to-goodness craft booths at the derby. Imagine an ice rink with no ice but in the middle, a bunch of super strong women with adequate padding on rollerskates playing a dysfunctional game of ring-around-the-rosy. You picturing it? At the far end of the rink is a farmer's market but the only goods from the farm are the maple on the maple doughnuts. But around the doughnut table are all these little craft tables. Selling bits and bobs and other notions for dogs and ladies. I DIDN'T KNOW ETSY WOULD BE THERE. I was not prepared for all the merch. Also, there were a couple of great food trucks outside the rink, which is a welcome improvement over your usual sporting event concession fare. Next time I'll know before I go.

2. I was not prepared for the poor audio vibe. I don't know what was happening with the sound in the Simoni Rink but we could not hear anything from the announcer's table. I believe there was some hype music playing throughout, as well, but it was heard at a very low din. I was really hoping there would be some Jock Jams dialing us back to 1993, but we sort of had to make our own good vibrations in the bleachers with our fellow fans. That was my only critique for the event.

3. I was not prepared for how much Daughter would fall head-over-heels in love with Roller Derby, and if her heart was not fully committed by the end of the first bout, this encounter with Tara N Tula of the Harbor Horrors  pretty much etched it there in wet cement. We were both completely enamored of Tara N Tula who promptly told Daughter that she was so hungry after playing so hard that she was prepared to "eat all the pizza and hamburgers and tacos." J'adore!

We can't wait to go back to cheer at the championships in June. Thanks, Boston Roller Derby.