Sweet Spots

All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment
Hannah Anderson

–Review by Landrum P. Leavell III, Th.D.

Embracing discernment as part of God’s work of redemption is Anderson’s invitation in this book, seeing the world as He sees it, learning to navigate it with confidence and hope. “But what if God wants more for you than survival? What if He has a plan to restore the goodness of the world? What if you’re part of that plan?”

Hannah lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, working beside her husband in rural ministry, and the author of Made for More and Humble Roots. Her writing focuses on faith, culture, and spiritual formation.

The topic of discernment can make some people nervous, but Anderson points us toward good definitions and good practices to discern rightly. Wisdom has many sides, and this book is an accessible approach to the art of discernment. Her approach is grounded in God’s good creation, believing we need to reconsider how God is at work in His world. We have to develop a taste for God’s goodness. We are living in an age of tribalism and “fake news,” and Christ-followers must develop their discernment skills in order to follow Christ in spite of the challenges of this cultural moment. Good is often hidden within the world’s brokenness. Through her engaging storytelling, Hannah revives the lost art of discernment. As one reviewer put it, “Rather than telling us what to think, Hannah teaches us how to think—and with that skill, we are able to fully embrace the goodness of this life.”

Experiences, people, and objects all help us to understand the goodness of God. Anderson helps the reader to navigate life outside the garden, make sense of the bigger picture, and reflect God’s glory within human limits. She includes backstories and shadows with intentional variety, because for those who have eyes to see it, the earth is full of the Lord’s goodness.

The main body of the book deals with the apostle Paul’s “whatevers” from Philippians 4: “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable…” Each of these virtues traces its roots back to God’s own nature and how Jesus and Scripture reveal it to us. She shows us how far we are from these virtues ourselves, while showing how God preserves us in this world by making us holy—how He sanctifies us through His Word. “The genius of Paul’s advice is that if we seek these virtues in the things we consume, we will also end up transformed.” (58) These are “treasures of heaven.” “When we pursue goodness, He will make us good. And suddenly we come full circle. Suddenly we find ourselves in the center of the record. Suddenly we find ourselves changing.” (59)

Hannah has great stories on the history of pearls as well as the beginning of the coffeehouse. There’s no way to do justice to all of it, so I will simply include a number of the gems found throughout the book:

“Manhandled. What a perfect word to describe what has happened to God’s good world.” (39)

“…in order to be happy, we keep consuming, keep buying, keep indulging—but the whole time, the things we gain leave us empty even as we crave them all the more. We’re not victims of planned obsolescence as much as partners in it.” (51)

“It’s not simply that we have too much information; it’s that we have too little shared reality.” (66)

“It’s not that emotions are bad—indeed, they are good gifts from God. But emotions alone cannot guide us to truth.” (71) “We are relying on our feelings to do something that they were never intended or equipped to do.” (72)

“‘Does this deserve my time?’ disrupts these cultural forces long enough for us to entertain the possibility that not every innovation is an improvement, celebrities do not automatically deserve our consideration, and the latest news story may not be worth reading. We may not yet have figured out what is honorable, but we’ve stopped long enough to get our bearings.” (82)

“God does not intend us to use Scripture simply as leverage in our arguments with each other. The goal of Scripture is to teach us the best way to play the game. It teaches us how to move our pieces, what our goals should be, and how to interact with other players in a just way.” (100)

Regarding purity, “We don’t really understand how faithfulness in our intimate lives predicts and even leads to flourishing in our larger lives.” (113) “The solution to impurity is not simply abstinence or ignorance; it is to pursue whatever is pure.” (119)

Because discernment is learned best in community, the “Benediction” includes a brief review of each chapter, questions for reflection, further reading, and a proverb to memorize—in an effort to move these things from you head through your heart to your hands.

The mention of discernment for some can be a vague, nebulous subject, but Hannah Anderson gives us stories, images, tools, and biblical foundations to approach and apply this much-needed skill in our time and on our watch. All That’s Good is worth your time.

You’re welcome.

You Are Awesome

9 Secrets to Getting Stronger and Living an Intentional Life

by Neil Pasricha

–Review by Teri Hyrkas

Neil Pasricha, originator of the very successful 1000 Awesome Things blog, author, podcaster, and speaker, has a new book out this month called, You Are Awesome: 9 Secrets to Getting Stronger and Living an Intentional Life. In his mixed-genre, market-savvy and abundantly creative style, Pasricha’s You Are Awesome reads like a memoir but at first glance looks somewhat like a graphic novel with its bright, high contrast, glossy cover, some illustrations that appear to be hand drawn and starburst adorned chapter divisions. Yet seen as a whole, You Are Awesome falls into the self-help book category. Happily, besides being funny, surprising, and at times abrasive, You Are Awesome is indeed helpful. Pasricha is an astute observer of culture and has in this latest offering trained his attention on one of the most painful areas of life – failure. In You Are Awesome, Pasricha offers many solid, workable suggestions meant for developing the ability to bounce back from times of defeat, becoming what he terms “resilient.”

The subtitle for You Are Awesome (Simon&Schuster, November, 2019) says it all: “9 Secrets to Getting Stronger and Living an Intentional Life.” See what he did there? Besides using the key terms “getting stronger” and “living an intentional life,” Pasricha threw in the strategic marketing word “secret” to make readers feel like they are getting special insider information — which, in truth, we are, because the author spills the beans, along with some shock-talk, about his private life. But the subtitle is also humorous and the power of humor plays as big a part in this book as does the pain of failure. Pasricha’s ability to set these opposites in relief one against the other makes this book very inviting.

The “9 Secrets” catchphrase also serves to identify the book’s chapters which include such titles as “Secret #2 – Shift the Spotlight,” “Secret #6 – Reveal to Heal,” and “Secret #8 – Go Untouchable.” Here’s a peek at the secrets:

 In “Secret #2 – Shift the Spotlight,” Pasricha tells how he failed miserably in his first job out of Harvard Business School although he was handpicked and groomed for a high-paying position at a high-profile company. Pasricha acknowledges the pain of that major debacle. “I threw it all away and felt sick and horrible and disappointed and embarrassed and ashamed of myself.” (p57) He also admits that it took him ten years to see how that failure helped him – but help him it did, and in “Secret #2” he explains the process.

 “Secret #6 – Reveal to Heal,” is quite intriguing. In it, the author sets forth a valuable observation: Pasricha says that today, outside of religion and psychiatric counseling, people have no one to confess to about what is weighing on their minds. Particularly in our digital culture – which, Pasricha points out, may be a contributor to loneliness in people’s lives – the sharing of soul shredding burdens is not encouraged.

The author then poses this question: “Why is confession a major part of religion?”  “Because,” Pasricha tells us, “according to the Catholic Church, in addition to earning the grace of God, confession provides healing for the soul.…  Yet even though confession is an incredible mental release, many of us don’t use it. Why? Well, according to the National Geographic, the world’s fastest growing religion is ‘no religion.’ “(p170)

 How then, in this secular age, are we to be healed of our mental wounds other than to seek the costly services of a psychiatrist? Pasricha offers some examples and suggestions about how to participate in contemporary confession in “Secret #6.

What’s your first reaction to the word “untouchable?” Does it trigger negative or positive emotions for you? In “Secret #8 – Go Untouchable,” the author turns a concept that seems impossible and entirely negative – designating one day week wherein you are “literally, 100% unreachable in any way…by anyone,” (p223) – into an advantageous reality. Directed to those who work from a home office, the author suggests marking a day on the calendar as uninterruptible, whether by digital or personal contacts, thus making that day “untouchable.” Pasricha presents this choice as a desirable, doable, and a truly productive experience.  Find this idea hard to fathom? Read “Secret #8”.

All observations and illustrations in the book, although presented anecdotally, are supported by resources cited within the text. Pasricha  writes in his introduction that You Are Awesome, “[Is] a series of nine research-backed secrets, shared through personal stories….” (p xix) This makes the book very reader-friendly, but also provides the curious or serious reader with the means to follow up on specific studies.

 You Are Awesome by Neil Pasricha is a self-help book whose target audience includes people who have recently graduated from college; those who are confused about their first failure in the job market; people who have experienced a failed relationship. The book is also geared toward those who believe that what is presently defined as “success” is the best of all possible goals in life. Pasricha states that success is not what the culture incessantly proclaims, and he has a very convincing and highly original way of making that known in You Are Awesome.

*A copy of You Are Awesome, Advance Reader’s Edition, was sent to me by Kalee Brown, Director of Operations at The Institute for Global Happiness, the hub for Mr. Pasricha’s marketing, writing, and social media activities. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.