{"id":10496,"date":"2020-10-16T15:16:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T20:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=10496"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:38:06","slug":"making-good-trouble-and-the-trouble-with-goodness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2020\/10\/16\/making-good-trouble-and-the-trouble-with-goodness\/","title":{"rendered":"Making good trouble and the trouble with goodness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s Sunday and four-year-old P\u2019s turn to pick the movie. The eight-week ban on \u201cFrozen 2\u201d has expired and so, to her older brother\u2019s chagrin, that is what we are watching, again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I admit that, aside from the film\u2019s flaws and how tiresome it is to watch it for the hundredth time, it is a beautifully animated story of two courageous women and an epic journey to find a truth that will heal a divided land. Not the worst narrative to be streaming into my daughter\u2019s mesmerized gaze. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image contributed by AmyNee Walker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In \u201cHoly Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints,\u201d author Daneen Akers writes, \u201cHumans are storytelling creatures: Stories are how we share values, cope with life\u2019s challenges, cherish beauty, and celebrate the resilience of the human spirit \u2026 we are made of stories and stardust.\u201d Akers is a self-proclaimed lover of stories and disaffected Christian who longs for \u201cbetter faith-based stories\u201d to share with our children and within homes, schools and communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working from the premise that the stories we consume feed and grow the values we live, Akers presents a cornucopia of imperfect \u201choly troublemakers\u201d who, from the grounding of their particular faith, may sometimes challenge conventions and even break rules in order to \u201cmake our society work for everyone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the sentiment of working for the good of all is a noble one and feels right and reasonable it is, in my perception, quite a sticky one. In fact, for me, it is not only the stickiest point in this book but also in my lived experience in which it seems that however much I believe myself to be wholeheartedly working for good, there are others who perceive my actions as harmful; at best, misguided. Even within a single faith tradition, family or community, reaching consensus about how to define and apply moral values is a messy business indeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be that as it may, I was delighted to find among her troupe of loving disruptors some of my own heroes \u2014 Mr. Rogers, Rumi, Mary Oliver and Wangaari Mathai among others \u2014 and happy to examine the beautifully articulated (and illustrated) highlights of their lives through the eyes of a child who might be \u201cmeeting them\u201d for the first time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within each narrative, Akers not only introduces people but also concepts, terms and historical events. For example, in the section about Bayard Rustin, she includes comments (and glossary notes) on segregation, Quakers, discrimination against people in the LGBTQ community, pacifism, social justice organizing, chain gangs, the civil rights movement and the March on Washington.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"illustration-man-black-hair-glasses-white-shirt-red-background\"
Bayard Rustin, illustrated by Sister X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Akers\u2019 intended audience for the book is children ages third through seventh grade. While she writes with cognizance of young readers, she honors their intelligence and does not diminish her subjects through over-simplification. She manages to layer in complexity and careful attention to terminology without bogging down or overloading the reader. She also includes resources like \u201cSome Notes on Language,\u201d which outlines the sources and reasoning that influenced her in navigating the complex realm of words, as well as a glossary designed to invite further exploration of some of the loaded or unfamiliar terms sprinkled throughout the texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At times the common thread between the stories may seem loose or frayed or occasionally redundant. Yet where else can I read about sage and beloved Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and also meet Maryam Khatoon Molkara, the transgender Iranian woman and devout Muslim whose remarkable story of courage, commitment and certainty in her own identity led her to endure beatings and gain an audience with the Ayatollah himself to plead her case! Akers closes each narrative with a question, much like similarly-styled books might include a short prayer that draws from the theme. After telling Molkara\u2019s story, she asks, \u201cHave you ever had to do something scary in order to be true to yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Budhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, embroidered by Carla Madrigal <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"illustration-woman-flowers-orange-dress\"
Maryam Khatoon Molkara, illustrated by Justine Lecouffe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In my own home, with my children young in age and my personal reservations regarding some of Akers offerings, I will be selective with whom I introduce from this book and how we frame the conversations around it. But naturally, over time, they will make their own selections and find the guides that best inspire and serve them on their own hero’s journey. I can only hope to offer them a scaffolding of my values over which they will build their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are finally nearing the climax of \u201cFrozen 2.\u201d My little one clings to me and watches with rapt attention as Queen Elsa enters the ancient cave, A\u2019tahalan. No matter how many times I have seen it and how silly I feel, my eyes inevitably fill as Elsa hears her mother\u2019s voice sing out, \u201cShow yourself \u2026 you are the one you\u2019ve been waiting for all of your life \u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope the stories that we tell our children will give them the confidence to show their true selves while also providing the framework to question the impulses and influences that may not serve themselves or the \u201ccommon good.\u201d Hopefully the stories we tell and \u201csaints\u201d we introduce will guide them toward the path preached by the prophet Micah: \u201cdo justly, love mercy and act humbly\u201d (6:8). And if \u201cdoing justly\u201d sometimes means making \u2014 in the words of the late John Lewis \u2014 \u201cgood trouble,\u201d may they have stories to stand on that give them the courage to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT THE RABBLE ROUSER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Amy Nee-Walker<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Nee-Walker grew up in the middle of a large and lovely family in Central Florida. Living into questions about truth and love has led her to the Catholic Worker, the Catholic Church, her incredible husband, three audacious, adorable children, and (for the time being) a home in the hills of Appalachia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Sunday and four-year-old P\u2019s turn to pick the movie. The eight-week ban on \u201cFrozen 2\u201d has expired and so, to her older brother\u2019s chagrin, that is what we are watching, again. I admit that, aside from the film\u2019s flaws and how tiresome it is to watch it for the hundredth time, it is a...","protected":false},"author":4256190,"featured_media":10502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755598,115341],"tags":[698755506,698755375,4277,698755499,698755502,698755500,698755498,698755504,698755507,242743,698755503,2282,698755505,698755501,698755508],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-10496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-family-life","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-bayard-rustin","tag-book-review","tag-childrens-stories","tag-daneen-akers","tag-faith-tradition","tag-faith-based-stories","tag-holy-troublemakers-and-unconventional-saints","tag-mary-oliver","tag-maryam-molkara","tag-mr-rogers","tag-rumi","tag-social-justice","tag-wangaari-mathai","tag-working-for-good","tag-young-readers","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Book-cover-1-rotated.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Making good trouble and the trouble with goodness<\/a><\/blockquote>