Matthew

https://www.goodreads.com/mattcopeland

Matthew’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (2600)
currently-reading‎ (65)
read‎ (891)
favorite-books‎ (172)
childrens-literature‎ (100)
young-adult-literature‎ (59)
horror-supernatural-thriller‎ (40)
christianity‎ (37)
religion‎ (37)

science-fiction‎ (28)
realistic-fiction‎ (27)
non-fiction‎ (22)
fantasy‎ (20)
mystery‎ (16)
plays‎ (15)
historical-fiction‎ (12)
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graphic-novels‎ (9)
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sexuality‎ (8)
banned-challenged-literature‎ (7)
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psychology‎ (4)
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art‎ (3)

dealing-with-death-grief‎ (3)
multiculural-literature‎ (3)
non-violent-child-reaing‎ (3)
poetry‎ (2)
science‎ (2)
sexual-abuse-sexual-assault‎ (2)
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Matthew is Currently Reading

Matthew is currently reading

Three Plays: Our Town, The Matchmaker, and The Skin of Our Teeth (Perennial Classics)

by Thornton Wilder

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 23, 2025 10:01AM

Matthew is currently reading

Event Horizon: Dark Descent #3

by Christian Ward

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 23, 2025 09:44AM

Matthew is currently reading

New Stories from the Twilight Zone

by Rod Serling

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Oct 26, 2025 06:37PM

See all 65 books that Matthew is reading…

Matthew’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe Is Coming Apart

Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe Is Coming Apart by Kathy Escobar

4 notes & 6 highlights

have experienced a significant shift in my theology or faith perspective and find myself feeling disoriented and unsure.

I no longer believe God is angry and wants to punish me with pain (spiritual spanking, hell). I do not believe God only loves and died to save a limited group of people. I believe God will redeem all of creation. I believe the church advocating spanking children is abusive and I refuse to participate in a church that does support spanking. I believe women can be pastors, ministers, and the leaders of the family. I believe in a redemptive movement hermeneutic. I believe Jesus is the revelation of who God is, and Jesus shows that he is not about vengeance, retribution, or punishment.

Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions

by Rachel Held Evans

3 notes & 16 highlights

Matthew’s Quotes

“The death of a beloved is an amputation.”
― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

tags: bereavement, death

500 likes

“For Ragamuffins, God's name is Mercy. We see our darkness as a prized possession because it drives us into the heart of God. Without mercy our darkness would plunge us into despair - for some, self-destruction. Time alone with God reveals the unfathomable depths of the poverty of the spirit. We are so poor that even our poverty is not our own: It belongs to the mysterium tremendum of a loving God.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

tags: god, mercy, poverty, prayer, ragamuffin, spirit

62 likes

“The story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God. 'They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner.'

'What are you complaining about?' said God. 'They won't let Me in either.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

tags: church, god, organized-religion, sin

196 likes

“Revision means throwing out the boring crap and making what’s left sound natural.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson

tags: rewriting, writing

20 likes

“The art of loving each other well is letting people be where they are and not trying to convince them to be where I am.”
― Kathy Escobar, Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe Is Coming Apart

2 likes

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