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The Real YOU Abides
Our souls are the real, substantive part of who we are. Our bodies are the material manifestation. I’m reading through my journal written ten years ago and came across the above statement I had written to summarize what I was learning. At the time, I was attending a Bible study in a friend’s home, a study that referenced George MacDonald’s writing. Both C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers had been greatly influenced by George MacDonald, a writer in the late nineteenth through early twentieth century. Lewis called him his “master” and wrote an anthology for 365 days composed of MacDonald’s writings. At the time, I was preparing to teach at a…
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Do You Know What You’re Doing When You Read?
“You need to know what you’re doing if you’re doing it.” This wisdom came from the mouth of a babe, my then 6-year old grandson. I wish you could hear the way he said it. Like so much of the fast-paced life today, people try to squeeze in (or squeeze out) as much as possible in a 24-hour day, and half the time, do we even know what we’re doing while doing it? Ironically, switching tasks costs time rather than saves it. Like checking email while talking on the phone, one or the other will claim our focus, and when the other intrudes, the brain switches tracks. Imagine a drone-view…
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Choose Your Hero: A Good Man is Hard to Find
Nearly every movie, book, or TV show has shifted from good vs. evil to bad vs. worse. The heroes from the past no longer exist. Heroes in the past used to represent admirable role models. But as Flannery O’Connor wrote, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Stories used to portray discernible character differences tied to moral absolutes. White hats vs. black hats has morphed into 50 shades of gray, and black holes in space where character distinction no longer matters. The outlines have blurred. Dark hearts conceal themselves under public image management. Every character does as he sees fit. Numerous factors and myriad inputs affect the moral compass each…
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The Life Is in the Book: Characters Have a Life of Their Own
Last week, I closed the book Tom Lake, at the part where the character Peter Drake is introduced. I already know what happens because I listened to the book on Audible, read by Meryl Streep. Fantastic reader, by the way. After turning out the light, I went from sleepy to wide awake as I started trying to “cast” the characters in this book for a movie. Who could play Peter Drake? Tom Cruise is too short and Tom Hanks isn’t handsome (though he has throughout his career portrayed endearing characters). I thought of them first because they both have dark hair, yet knowing they are too old now to portray…
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Do You Like This Book?
A close friend began our conversation by saying she did not like a book I had recommended. Though I often repeat, “A book is only as good as it is timely,” in this case, her comments led me to rethink how different readers respond to the same books. Quite incidentally, after that conversation, a blog I read linked to “Fabled Bookshop” in Waco, TX. [1] It’s an independent bookshop and cafe, one that my daughter and granddaughter have visited and had told me about. Online, this bookstore offers what they call “THE STORY BOUND SOCIETY––A Book Subscription for Every Character.” Here, you choose your character for a monthly subscription that…
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Thinking Big Thoughts
When my 7-year-old grandson captured my Queen in five chess moves, I admitted again that I am not a strategist. Or a manager. Or a calculator of wins and losses. Soon after that match, while cleaning my office and clearing out a ton of stuff that no longer serves my purposes, I came across notes from a chapel message by Dr. Larry Crabb [1], notes taken while I was in seminary. Chess Players vs. Poets Comparing chess players and poets, Dr. Crabb argued that chess players maneuver and manipulate in ways that make God subject to their moves. Poets hear the music of heaven, step onto the dance floor to…
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Jayber Crow: The Value of a Small Life
Intrigued by the words “the value of a small life,” which I heard on a podcast in January, those words refer to this book. Jayber Crow : The Life Story of Jayber Crow, Barber of Port William Membership, as Written by Himself (published 2000) is actually a novel written by Wendell Berry as if it is a memoir written by the character the author created. Timely and timeless, Jayber’s story transported me to an unfamiliar setting, a bygone time, and describes people I know. Including myself. An excerpt: “If you could do it, I suppose it would be a good idea to live your life in a straight line––starting say,…
