This week’s links are meant to be both a bit of a diversion, and an encouragement. We’re staying away from politics and focusing on prayer, good books, some fun apocalyptic movies, pictures from around the world, and Lenten devotional. Our prayer is that you will find this week leading up to Easter, however difficult, to be meaningful and full of God’s gracious presence.

 

Tish Harrison Warren mourns the small things lost in social distancing: “And though I’m an introvert, I miss gathering together, watching the sanctuary slowly fill, hearing the soft murmur of the crowd, the trills of children, the coughs, the handshaking, strangers sitting side by side, everything that is now most dangerous.”

 

World Vision offers a good prayer guide for Christians around the world: “As Christians, we turn to God in times of fear and uncertainty as we do in times of joy and celebration. Please join us as we pray for God’s heart of love, mercy, and truth to dwell in us and show us how to face the challenges posed by the new coronavirus.”

 

Karen Swallow Prior reminds us of a good book. She concludes: “It is the gift of all good literature to help us see the world through the eyes of others. But it is also the gift of good literature to help us see ourselves through others’ eyes. Even though the surface level story of Black Beauty is one that takes us into the interior experience of the horse, the ultimate effect of that imaginative journey is not in knowing what it is like to be a horse. Such a thing is impossible. Rather, it is in helping us know who we are.”

 

Elisabeth Egan and Tina Jordan compile an excellent list of classic books: “Sometimes you want to blot out the news by picking up the latest thriller or romance novel. At other times, though, the books that give you the most solace are the ones that have stood the test of time.”

 

Michael Dirda remembers some good books for social isolation: “While sheltering in place, as we all should be doing, I’ve sought temporary respite from anxiety by reorganizing the garage and culling the Smaug’s hoard that passes for my library. Every evening, though, I find myself considering a second beer until I think, ‘Why stop at two?’ At night, staring into the darkness, I frequently recall far too many friends, colleagues and relatives who now live, often quite vividly, only in my memory. Given half a chance, I can grow impressively maudlin.”

 

Krystie Yandoli rounds up some thrilling pandemic movies: “Things took a turn when I streamed How It All Ends, a random Netflix movie from 2018 starring Forest Whitaker and Theo James. Their characters drive from Chicago to Seattle in search of Whitaker’s daughter and James’s girlfriend after a mysterious seismic event happens on the West Coast, shutting down national flights and leaving people across the country in panic about the unknown disaster. Then I watched the 2009 film Carriers, about a couple of brothers and their girlfriends living in a postapocalyptic society after a mysterious virus has spread around the globe and killed the majority of the population. Neither of the two movies is critically acclaimed — nor are they popular or realistic! — but that didn’t stop them from being very unsettling and stressful to watch.”

 

For pictures from around the world, check out Africa, Wuhan, and the World.

 

Catch up on Biola’s lent project which continues through this week.

 

And finally, the Sacred Season Podcast has some good encouragement.

 

Good Links will be on a hiatus the week of April 11, 2020. A Blessed Easter Season from the Pelican Project!