partsofspeaking

When I converted at the age of 15, we had three or four services a week. We had watchnight services on New Years. We had sunrise services on Easter. We understood God controlled our time. Now we are kind enough to pencil God and church into our busy schedules.

I did not know this poem until today. Tis spring; come out to ramble The hilly brakes around, For under thorn and bramble About the hollow ground The primroses are found. And there's the windflower chilly With all the winds at play, And there's the Lenten lily That has not long to stay And dies on Easter day. And since till girls go maying You find the primrose still, And find the windflower playing With every wind at will, But not the daffodil, Bring baskets now, and sally Upon the spring's array, And bear from hill and valley The daffodil away That dies on Easter day.

This book was chosen by the faculty development committee at our college for a discussion group. I have not finished it yet, but will. I recommend it, although I had some issues with some of her research design and ethics! (I'm sure it was done correctly and she just didn't write about that.) I used this book in my talk to the Calhoun Area Writers' Group last nigh, applying it to fiction writing.  Specifically the three points of mindfulness : a.   questioning categories, "This is a pen vs. this could be a pen." b.     shifting contexts and perspectives. This is essential to creating characters. My main character in my most recent novel is an agnostic, cynical male editor of a newspaper. That’s not me, yet I have fun writing him. Sort of like the time I played a witch in MacBeth in 1980. c.     stepping away from automatic behavior. Automatic behavior is the kiss of death for a writer.  We think of it a...

These great folks had me as a guest speaker last night. What fun! Thanks to Beth Davis and Karli Land and Amber Nagle and many others. They are a large, active group that draws from quite a distance.  Check them out if you live in the area!

I have struggled with posting all this week. Beyond the traditional--and perfect--"It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!" and "Christ is risen, He is risen indeed" I have nothing to add to the inestimable gospel story embedded in Easter. Our choir sang this song last week, so I share it. I've been studying Revelation, and this song reverbates with the value of Jesus. "Is anyone worthy to break the seals and open the scrolls?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIahc83Kvp4 In my old age, I have shifted from worrying about positions and debates over certain groups to looking at Jesus. He is the only one worthy. 

A colleague posted something on Facebook that seems to have an origin in Buddhism. It said "You are not broken." It struck me that (1) this is an American interpretation of Buddhism (a post for another day) and (2) the Christian worldview is decidedly opposite the secular or pop culture worldview, where we are told we are not broken, we should follow our heart, and we should believe our own truth. We are broken. To deny that is to deny the reality of the world around us and the reality of the heart within us. The question is why and what are we going to do about it. I take some comfort in being broken. I'm not the only one, and I can't fix myself, try as I might, and I've tried. Why are we broken? Because we choose sin and our own way. Just telling people that won't do--the revelation must come from outside because the help for the brokenness must come from outside. What are we to do about it? Admit it, and find the solution in grace provided in the ...

A friend encouraged me to go see this film last night. I was familiar with the story, and I'm glad I went, at least so I can speak of it from intelligence. I am ambivalent about the film. As Christian movies go, it was pretty good in production values and evenhanded treatment of the different sides. Everyone who works at PP is not shown as a monster, but as a normal person doing a "job." Some of the prolifers are portrayed as jerks, as they are.  The characters occasionally swear. Most of the acting is quite good. And the abortion scenes are tough to watch. It's not great, but as one critic said, it's competent story telling. On the other hand, there's some flaws. 1. Don't go expecting a presentation of the gospel. Jesus does not appear in this film. The villain is Planned Parenthood, the salvation pro-life movement. 2. After the dramatic conversion to the pro-life position and resigning the clinic, the sense of time is lost; it seems like her life c...