Monthly Love: June

Here are some of the things that I loved in June:

1. Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life by Stephen Nichols

This was more than just a sketch of Bonhoeffer. It was a pastoral/historical look at his teaching on the Christian life. It not only fascinated me as a work on an interesting historical figure, it challenged me to think critically about my own Christian life. You can read my whole review here.

2. Slows BBQ

As part of our anniversary staycation, Krista and I ran around Detroit. We finally hit up this awesome joint, which came to us from loads of recommendations. The meat was amazing, the sauces were even better. I really enjoyed the brisket. I will now be taking everyone who comes to visit me down to Slows!

3. Detroit

I know Detroit has lots of problems, or at least I gather that it does. Truth be told, however, I am loving living in the metro. The city proper has some amazing history, some currently cool locales, and the metro continues to surprise me with all that it offers. This month my love for the Motor City was renewed.

4. “Brown Grass” by Gregory Porter

Every month I get stuck on some song, this month its this track from Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit album. Porter has such an amazing voice and this particular song has some sentimentality to it that I enjoy.

5. Inside Out

This is easily the best Pixar film to date. It was emotional, compelling, beautiful, and unique. I not only found myself laughing out loud at various moments in the film, but I cried too. Everything about it was done to perfection: animation, voice-acting, story, and delivery. It might be the best film of the year. Read my whole review here.

6. Wesley Hill

The issue of same-sex attraction has been on my mind since I was in high school. It wasn’t until last year, however, that I discovered author/theologian Wesley Hill. Hill writes as a conservative Evangelical Christians who also happens to have a same-sex attraction. His writing is both beautiful and insightful. This month, in light of the SCOTUS decision, I was reminded of just how grateful I am that he is writing. Hill regularly gives me hope that Christians can do better on thinking about and speaking about this issue. You can read a number of his works here, at the Spiritual Friendship blog.

7. Dinosauria at the Detroit Zoo

I have always been kind of a huge dinosaur nerd. So, when we found out that the Detroit Zoo was offering a special animatronic exhibit I was as excited as my kids. For a few extra bucks you can walk a path littered with prehistoric giants. Their eyes follow you, their roars unsettle you, and their appearance amazes you as you see creatures spanning the various ages of the dinos. It was a great exhibit and our whole family loved it.