I first came across the phrase “Read a mentor…” a few years ago from a post by Gretchen Saffles over at Well-Watered Women. (The creator of my very favorite Bible study journal). In her post titled “Read a Mentor” she says, “For years, I have read books [by] recent and older authors that have shaped my walk with Jesus. Having a mentor in my life has always been important in my spiritual growth, but there are several “mentors” that I have never met and will never meet. These people have mentored me through their writing and through their fervent love for Christ.” If you’ve ever read a well written book, I’m sure you can attest to the fact that they have a special way of opening our eyes and expanding our perspectives. To be mentored by someone is to sit under their wisdom and testimony with humility and a willingness to respond to their advice. While “reading a mentor” could never replace being personally mentored, there is still treasure to be found in sitting under the words and testimony of another believer.
In considering the idea of reading a mentor, Charlotte Mason came to mind. (We homeschool our children using a Charlotte Mason philosophy) Charlotte Mason was an early British educator and educational reformer who advocated for educating “the whole child”, viewing them as unique individuals to be nurtured and trained through a life of learning, rather than viewing their minds as mere “buckets to be filled” with information. (You can read more about her here.) One notable aspect of her philosophy that has particularly shaped our homeschool is the idea of “living books” or education by the reading of novels, biographies, and stories, rather than textbooks. This way we are immersed with the person of interest, in the times, thoughts and ideas of another. Rather than memorizing or reciting rote dates and times of an event, the ideas and events become more personal. When we allow ourselves to read from a certain author over a period of time or immerse ourselves in the events of history, the authors and their thoughts, ideas and events, feel like familiar friends. Rather than simply knowing Benjamin Franklin by his name and years lived we become familiar with his accomplishments and to an extent, his thoughts and personality. He goes from a name in a textbook to a sort of friend.
This year I’m planning on “sitting with a mentor” over the course of a few months by reading from several of their works.
Though I‘d call myself a book worm in general, reading non-fiction makes up for the large majority of my reading. At any given time I’m in the middle of 5-7 books and maybe one of those is fiction. (Though I’m trying to cut this down for the sake of being able to have more depth rather than breadth of knowledge.) For a long time reading fiction felt like a waste of time. In high school (pre-salvation) I devoured stacks of young adult romances, high fantasy; vampire, fairie, what-have-you. I used them as a means of escape and beyond that they didn’t add much value to my life. (With the exception of Screwtape Letters and Fahrenheit 451 which were required reads that I found captivating and transformative and revisit regularly.) I considered fiction to be pointless for a busy mother until well into adulthood when I heard others speak fondly of the works of Lewis and Tolkien, Austen and Alcott, in how they impacted their life. Maybe a bit dramatic, I thought, until I read The Pilgrim’s Progress and The Hobbit for the very first time. These books were such a joy and treasure and I’m grateful to experience them for the first time as an adult. It felt very much like I had made new friends with qualities and beliefs that inspired and challenged me. Even still, I struggle to prioritize fiction on account of having a great deal of books I’d like to read and a very limited time with which to do so. (Both in time of day and years of life. Ha!) So, in an effort to read more enriching fiction and make more friends I’ll also be picking a couple of works of fiction from a few authors to go through over the year. I’ll share both of my lists below!
Read a Mentor:
Elisabeth Elliot:
Through Gates of Splendor
Suffering is Never for Nothing
Joyful Surrender
Discipline the Glad Surrender
A Path Through Suffering
Let Me Be A Woman
R.C. Sproul:
The Holiness of God
Unseen Realities
Knowing Scripture Pleasing God
The Last Days According to Jesus
Everyone’s a Theologian
The Invisible Hand
Not a Chance
Are we Together?
Growing in Holiness
Make a Friend:
C.S. Lewis:
The Screwtape Letters*
Mere Christianity
The Great Divorce
The Weight of Glory
Til We Have Faces
That Hideous Strength**
*It’s been a couple years since I’ve reread this one and I’m very eager to read it again!
**I read Out of the Silent Planet and am working through Perelandra currently, this will be the final book in the trilogy.
Frances Hodgson Burnett:
The Secret Garden
Little Lord Fauntleroy
A Little Princess
While I’m fairly certain I won’t cross off every book from this list (I’m known to be a bit overly ambitious), I’m eager to explore with a roadmap. I’ll also read other books on topics of interest but my focus with these authors and works will go much deeper.
Ambitiously,
Abbey
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