reviews

The Mesmerizing Miss Marple Author: Agatha Christie When Colonel and Mrs. Bantry awaken in their swank mansion, it’s not to domestic bliss. The ghoulish body of a young woman is found, clutching her strangled neck, abandoned in their library. It’s not long before the town gossips start wagging tongues and the distressed Mrs. Bantry calls in the elderly Miss Marple to deduce the mystery behind the strange girl’s appearance and death. Everyone is a suspect: the girl’s professional dancing partner, her wealthy benefactor, her benefactor’s financially ruined relatives, a local film star known to have dealings with the girl, a [...]

The Wisdom of Discernment Authors: Suzanne G. Farnham, Susan M. Ward, Joseph P. Gill, R. Taylor McLean, Parker Palmer (Foreword)  Warm cinnamon buns, walks in the chilly afternoon forest, and a loving community of fellow Christians, all strangers coming together to share our most intimate thoughts and continual search for God and call: this is one of the brightest memories I will be taking away from 2014. Healing, meditation, and a growing ease with people my own age (not the easiest for a self-proclaimed hermit), were all accomplished when I attend the Listening Hearts three day Discernment retreat. It was [...]

Remembering History: Avarice and Cunning in Congo Author: Adam Hochschild In 1885, a megalomaniac King bought his own country. King Leopold II of Belgium, with all his austere regalia and severe beard, painted himself as the picture of beneficence for the little heard of territory along the Congo River, setting up societies and companies dedicated to the elimination of the Arab slave trade and the supposed “betterment” of the indigenous people. The world saw him as a hero, a man before his time, a humanitarian, a savior, a marvel. In reality, he was a murderer, a rapist of the land, [...]