Adam Shields
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adamrshields.bsky.social
Adam Shields
@adamrshields.bsky.social
I read a lot. I blog my reading at http://bookwi.se My spiritual direction website is at http://aspiritualdirector.com
Click through for some more thoughts. bookwi.se/in-search-of...
December 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
All that is Good orients you toward what is good, not just avoiding what is wrong. In Search of God's Will orients the reader toward paying attention to our own desires and needs and God's work in the world around us. We need both of those parts if we are going to rightly discern what God has for us
December 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
In Search of God’s Will: Discerning a Life of Faithfulness and Purpose by Trevor Hudson is one of the books that I will widely recommend. I still think that the best starting place for most people is Hannah Anderson's All that is Good, but then this is the second book that I would recommend for most
December 9, 2025 at 1:14 PM
We could have 30 minutes a letting someone else get us to or from work. But instead as a society we resisted and embraced indivdualism and racism. Which then required attention, money and time from everyone.
December 7, 2025 at 5:03 AM
But it also is a 301 level book on ignatian rules of discernment, in the way that is assumes familiarity with those rules, so it isn't a good introduction to discernment.

I still think the best introduction to discernment for most Protestants is Hannah Anderson's All that is Good.
Weeds Among the Wheat by Thomas H. Green – Bookwi.se
This was my second reading of Weeds Among the Wheat. I read it the first time as part of my spiritual direction training. I think it is really what started me thinking of spiritual direction as significantly oriented toward developing discernment. That isn’t the only role of spiritual direction, but I think it is a significant part of the role of spiritual direction.
bookwi.se
December 6, 2025 at 5:16 PM
and The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families By: Kelsey Kramer McGinnis and Marissa Franks Burt $1.96
December 4, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Today I bought.

Slow Theology: Eight Practices for Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World By: A.J. Swoboda, Nijay K. Gupta $1.96

Holy Hurt: Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary McBride $1.96
December 4, 2025 at 4:41 PM
But they are about 1700 pages if you just read those two and not the first in their series.

How we interpret words does matter. And what we think of as the point of those words, whether it is the role of govt or the role of the church, your priors influent your reading.
Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920 by Akhil Reed Amar – Bookwi.se
Part of why I compare them is that both are trying to contextualize their subject to a modern reader. Noll is trying to show how central the bible was rhetorically to public life. But Noll is also pointing out how much the view and use of the bible was shaped by people molding the bible to fit their point, not allowing scripture to shape them. I do not know if Amar is religious, but he is known for being a progressive originalist. While most legal originalists are ideologically conservative, Amar regularly points out that originalism is not about political conservatism but about paying attention to the words.
bookwi.se
December 4, 2025 at 3:07 AM
If you have a lot of time, reading Amar's 2nd part of a planned trilogy on the history of the consitution should be read with Mark Noll's 2nd part of the history of the use of the bible in American life. They both cover roughly the same era and each fills in the other.
Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920 by Akhil Reed Amar – Bookwi.se
Part of why I compare them is that both are trying to contextualize their subject to a modern reader. Noll is trying to show how central the bible was rhetorically to public life. But Noll is also pointing out how much the view and use of the bible was shaped by people molding the bible to fit their point, not allowing scripture to shape them. I do not know if Amar is religious, but he is known for being a progressive originalist. While most legal originalists are ideologically conservative, Amar regularly points out that originalism is not about political conservatism but about paying attention to the words.
bookwi.se
December 4, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Deep Reading by Rachel B. Griffis, Julie Ooms, Rachel M. De Smith Roberts $1.96

King of the North By: Jeanne Theoharis $3.03 (about MLK struggle with civil right progress outside the south.)

(I had $20 Audible credit, so I got this for $1.02)
December 4, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Ted Lasso and Philosophy edited by Mary Beth and David Baggett $2.41

Untangling Critical Race Theory by Ed Uszynski $2.41

Awakening to Justice: Faithful Voices from the Abolitionist Past $2.41

Why I Am Protestant By: Beth Felker Jones $4.45
December 4, 2025 at 1:44 AM
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee $1.99 amzn.to/48scGIl

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky $1.99 amzn.to/48fyHes

Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships by Curt Thompson M.D. $3.99 amzn.to/4iARbts
To Kill a Mockingbird (Enhanced Edition) (Harperperennial Modern Classics)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Enhanced Edition) (Harperperennial Modern Classics) - Kindle edition by Lee, Harper. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading To Kill a Mockingbird (Enhanced Edition) (Harperperennial Modern Classics).
amzn.to
December 2, 2025 at 2:17 AM