MrsGJ

God’s light and love shines in “Fish Town”

Revisado: 08-18-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

“Bread from Home” is a fictional but very believable collection of short stories of an orthodox priest named Fr. Naum of St. Alexander the Whirling Dervish Orthodox Church in an area of North Philadelphia called “Fish Town”. I was surprised at the harshness of many of the situations chronicled in “Bread from Home” since I have never read the other short story collections of Fr. Stephen Siniari. Even so, I was inspired by the beautiful, kind, Christ-like manner in which Fr. Naum handled, at times, and took care of, at other times, the people in these situations. Fr. Siniari’s reading of his stories was on point whether he was narrating with the accent of Philadephia’s “Fish Town” or that of an Albanian American. Father Siniari’s descriptions of people, places, and even food paint a picture so vivid, I felt like I was with those people, in those places and could smell and taste the food described.

At first, I really thought that I wouldn’t like this book and I didn’t really want to hear the sad, scary, depressing situations depicted. But as I pressed on, I soon discovered how much I enjoyed hearing about the humble and Holy Spirit-filled Father Naum. He brought God’s love to all the people in these sad, scary, depressing situations. He brought God’s light into the very dark places that too many people live in. Now, I can hardly wait to read the other collections of short stories that Fr. Siniari wrote.

Despite having a couple of unnecessary political comments here and there, I recommend this book of short stories for the reader who can bear the reality of what some priests experience in their calling and who want to experience how God’s love is shared to others through the gentle Father Naum.

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Humbling and inspiring food for thought

Revisado: 06-05-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Listening to "Thinking Orthodox" was an eye-opening or rather “mind-opening” experience. Even though I have been an Orthodox Christian for almost forty years, Dr. Constantinou’s book helped me realize that my twenty or so years of being a Protestant Christian affected my thinking in ways I hadn’t realized – mostly good but sometimes limiting my ability to fully embrace some of the joy and freedom found in Orthodoxy.
I especially enjoyed that Dr. Constantinou read the audio version of her book. Her voice was familiar from listening to her podcast, Search the Scriptures, and her personal experience of Orthodoxy along with her years of academic study and teaching comes through in her voice.
Part I describes the Orthodox mindset or phronema and how it colors and affects our understanding of both Scripture and Tradition in important ways. The chapters in Part I were the most profound and easily understood of the three parts. Among other things, Dr. Constantinou discusses how the Orthodox phronema helps one avoid the temptation of a pharisaical approach to the Orthodox lifestyle.
Parts II and III were very interesting but I think would be better understood in printed form – easier to review and use the material in the footnotes. Because of the depth of this material, I would recommend acquiring the printed or at least the e-book along with the audio version of this book.
Dr. Contantinou’s frequent references to quotes from the Church Fathers throughout the book are pearls of wisdom that many of us may not have had a chance to hear before. This is a long book, but well worth the time to listen to and to read.

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Search for meaning not happiness!

Revisado: 01-20-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

One can learn quite a bit by listening to this book. "Gratitude in Life's Trenches" helps one see that seeking happiness can actually cause one to be unhappy. Meaning is what makes life worth living. Additionally as a Christian, seeing life's harder moments through the lens of God's good and perfect plans for us and being grateful for His plans helps us "reframe", events and see the good that can come through these tough times. This is a simplified summary of the author's main points. Robin Phillips amplifies these points by giving us stories and quotes from saints, Christian authors, and persons such as Victor Frankl and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who endured the horrors of concentration camps. He doesn't stop there. He also includes the findings of scientific research on living with gratitude, attitude, and meaning. Although I enjoyed this audio book, I found myself wanting to have the traditional book form so that I might highlight some of the inspiring quotes, research, and stories that Phillips included. I found the narrator's voice was a bit too "perfect" at first yet it grew on me as I continued to listen. I highly recommend this book to those who are going through hard times presently and also to those who are not, as a preparation for rough patches that are sure to come.

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