Probably the essay that people bring up to me the most. I’ve had writers in crowded magazine parties tell me how much they liked it.

I waited a month for the audiobook after reading this review. Well worth the wait! Both the story and voice recording by @yangszechoo.bsky.social are enchanting. Following behind the two detectives, one a man, and one a fox, was delightful! 🦊 www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

The story of perfect joy from *The Little Flowers of Saint Francis*. www.plough.com/en/topics/co...

"Examine and do not even listen if they speak of the glorified Jesus, unless you have first heard of the crucified Jesus." @benjamindcrosby.bsky.social quoting Martin Luther in this new and insightful article: www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

A beautiful piece by my friend Alice about dependence and Christian community. "To become a parent is fundamentally a radical act of hospitality, a promise to welcome and care for a tiny stranger who comes along, whoever he or she may be." www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

Thomas Traherne wants you to enjoy the world. @gracehammers.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

Wittgenstein, Cassirer, Heidegger, and Benjamin Walk into a Bar A review of two group biographies: Wolfram Eilenberger’s *Time of the Magicians* and Benjamin J. B. Lipscomb’s *The Women Are Up to Something*. @dwaldenwrites.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

I like this poem @plough.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

We loved this story about books and libraries—from the beloved public ones on the outside to those imagined, created, and built book by book on the inside—by incarcerated writer Dan Grote via @plough.bsky.social. 📖 As Dan says, "Long live the magic of the book!"

The @plough.bsky.social quarterly has been a rich and delightful reading discovery. If you’re looking for a new enriching resource, I commend to you their good work.

Superbly written and devastating. #JosephKanon's *Leaving Berlin* sums up the moral mess that world WWII unleashed. I could not bear the ending.

It is criminal that I am only now discovering Georges Simenon at this point in my life. How is it possible that I knew of Tintin, but not Maigret?!

"When you are in prayer, do not ask to be entirely free of mental wandering, which is impossible, but seek to wander following something that is good." Isaac the Syrian www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Those who enter religious communities accept these counsels literally. But, in one way or another, they apply to everyone who desires to follow Christ. I love the writings of Evelyn Underhill: www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Masefield’s novels are a glorious hodgepodge of boat voyages, witch covens, flying cars, gun battles with gangsters, talking cats, and time travel. @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

Rhina Espaillat Poetry Award Ceremony 📅 Aug 28 at 7 pm Eastern 📍 Livestreaming on YouTube RSVP to watch: www.plough.com/en/events/20...

He entered my room and said: “You poor wretch, who understand nothing and know nothing – come with me and I will teach you of things you have no idea of.” I followed him. Simone Weil www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

What if Jesus’ teachings actually shaped public life? If that sounds absurd, it’s because it is. Paul said the cross would look like foolishness, and yet maybe that foolishness could still bless the world. Here’s my article at @plough.bsky.social.

"Whatever the cause of human frailty, the question becomes: What is to be done? #Nietzsche described the life of the übermensch (superman) as the way for man to rise above a fallen state;" the story of my grandparents... www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

You will have to read the article to find out why a rock badger is the thumbnail 😂 thanks to @plough.bsky.social and the wonderful Caitrin Keiper who edited the piece.

"Another inevitable condition of happiness is work: first, the intellectual labor that one is free to choose and loves; secondly, the exercise of physical power that brings a good appetite and tranquil and profound sleep." Leo Tolstoy www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

"When you are in prayer, do not ask to be entirely free of mental wandering, which is impossible, but seek to wander following something that is good." Isaac the Syrian (Here's encouragement in the face of the human condition.) www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

"The primary fodder for the fire of the conflict between motherhood and the world of work is how we, societally and politically, define 'work.'" By Birgit Kelle www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

"Both my grandfathers would have infuriated George Orwell." Thank you to #PeterMommsen for explaining why violence is not our default mode in @thepointmag.bsky.social thepointmag.com/examined-lif...

"If a person cannot endure the sight of the suffering about him, he tries to build a cloak of armor about his heart. But that makes him insensitive to good influences also." Corrie ten Boom www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Books are a kind of freedom.

‘“When there is loving attention to how the process of life unfolds, the human heart yearns to join in”’ From a review essay by @philipchristman.bsky.social in @plough.bsky.social

"How touching it must be to a soul standing in dread before the Lord to feel at that instant that for him too there is one to pray, that there is someone left on earth to love him." Fyodor Dostoyevsky www.plough.com/en/topics/ju...

Looking forward to digging in to this issue of @plough.bsky.social

“I have friends who think that our society is destroying itself through sheer hedonism. I am far more pessimistic than that.” My latest book column for @plough.bsky.social is fun, I promise!!

*David Copperfield* and *Little Dorrit* are up near the top. And perhaps mismatched, but nonetheless awesome, *True Grit*. All the movies of these are good too....

“We seek numbness, avoidance of pain, oblivion...I wake up every day aiming at Christianity, and often can’t even land on Epicureanism.” @philipchristman.bsky.social sums up our times in his amazing @plough.bsky.social Book Tour Reviews: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

I have a lot more to say about all of this - some of which - about ideas of cure and nature - I’ve already said in my best words in Some of Us Just Fall and various shorter pieces including most recently in @plough.bsky.social www.plough.com/en/topics/li...

"Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil; it spells death to evil."

How does Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek stand up to the reality of evil? By Dietrich Bonhoeffer www.plough.com/en/topics/ju...

Capitalism can’t be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth – or so claims the New Testament translator David Bentley Hart www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

🧵 With the force of this “machine” sucking us in, how can we remain human? How can we fend off despair and cynicism when it threatens to crush our very soul? Is another life really possible after the “machine”? www.plough.com/en/events/20...

What is yours! Who gave it to you so that you could bring it into life with you? Why, you are like a man who pinches a seat at the theater at the expense of latecomers, claiming ownership of what was for common use. Basil the Great www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Delighted to listen to *The Gabriel Hounds* by #MaryStewart. Read superbly by Davina Porter.

Boston Reader Meetup next month – Join us! 📅 Aug 12 ⌚ 7 pm 📍 An event space at 660 Washington St., Boston You don't have to be a Plough reader to attend! Learn more and RSVP here: www.plough.com/en/events/20...

"For #EberhardArnold, the church-community of Jesus’ disciples – is the “extraordinary, new aristocracy,” the “higher type of humanity” that #Nietzsche had invoked." www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

"When I told people I had a flight that evening to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – until fairly recently, a very unlikely destination for an American, let alone a Jewish American female solo traveler – their reactions ranged from skeptical to terrified." www.plough.com/en/topics/ju...

If you could be alone with Christ for a few hours...no, you wouldn't ask him why life is unfair; you would only adore. Clarence Jordan 💯 www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...

Joy Clarkson: "What does a day of work look like when you are writing poetry?" #ChristianWiman: "Chaos. I move around, mutter, curse, stare at the sky for an hour, occasionally stop all this to hastily scribble a flurry of words..." www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

"I was not prepared to find such a believable depiction of love for one’s enemies and such heartbreaking reflection on the cost of redemption." Thomas M. Ward on Andrew Peterson’s *Wingfeather Saga* www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

"When important issues have to be decided, to ensure true dialogue communities and groups must learn to conduct that dialogue within the context of a passionate waiting on God." Elizabeth O’Connor www.plough.com/en/topics/co...

"Even in his final days, Kierkegaard made clear his uncompromising defiance against the state church of Denmark." Daniel Goodman www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...