Authors and Books to Consider

http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Fiction

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/

G.K. Chesterton - Shrewd business tactics

"In the heart of a plutocracy tradesmen become cunning enough to be more fastidious than their customers.   They positively create difficulties so that their wealthy and weary clients may spend money and diplomacy in overcoming them.  If there were a fashionable hotel in London which no man could enter who was under six foot, society would meekly make up parties of six-foot men to dine in it.  If there were an expensive restaurant which by a mere caprice of its proprietor was only open on Thursday afternoon, it would be crowded on Thursday afternoon."  G.K. Chesterton (Father Brown - The Queer Feet)

N.D. Wilson -- Trouble Makers

The first time I posted this link it was to something else.  I think this will work now. 
http://www.canonwired.com/featured/trouble-makers/

Fruit, the Devil, and Texas

Today someone at work had an Osage Orange he brought from home.  The trees are native to Texas and have the highest BTU of any wood in this part of the world when burned.  It reminded me of an old Texan folk song called The Devil Made Texas.  Here's a link to the fruit and the song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osage_orange

http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/devlmade.htm

A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty

Stumbled across this in Smithsonian while waiting in the lobby of the dentist today.  I'll pile it up on all the other stuff I have linked to.

  http://books.google.com/books?id=1HoFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

On the Power of Sound

Here's a bit of poetry from William Wordsworth worth trying to figure out.  The ending is very thought provoking.

http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww746.html

humility

C.S. Lewis once said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less."

Paul's marks and the gospel of grace

Just finished reading Galatians tonight and was struck by Paul's closing statement: "From now one let no one cause me trouble, for I bear in my body the marks of the Jesus."  This is in contrast to those who want to boast about their "marks" of circumcision and adherence to the law in order to avoid the persecution that fell on those who professed the true gospel of salvation by faith and grace alone that Paul preached.

Paul had previously asked, "But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?  In that case the offense of the cross has been removed."  And then followed by saying, "It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ."

Paul would rather suffer in his body for the righteousness by faith than endure a false gospel of man centered, works based righteousness.  "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

Mark Twain: Ken Burns film

http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/

Mark Twain's learning about people

"During the two or two and a half years of my apprenticeship, I served under many pilots, and had experience of many kinds of steamboatmen and many varieties of steamboats; for it was not always convenient for Mr. Bixby to have me with him, and in such cases he sent me with somebody else.  I am to this day profiting somewhat by that experience; for in that brief, sharp schooling, I got personally and familiarly acquainted with about all the different types of human nature that are to be found in fiction, biography, or history.  The fact is daily borne in upon me, that the average shore-employment requires as much as forty years to equip a man with this sort of an education.  When I say I am still profiting by this thing, I do not mean that it has constituted me a judge of men--no, it has not done that; for judges of men are born, not made.  My profit is various in kind and degree; but the feature of it which I value most is the zest which that early experience has given to my later reading.  When I find a well-drawn character in fiction or biography, I generally take a warm personal interest in him, for the reason that I have known him before--met him on the river."  from Life on the Mississippi

--The pilots and characters that Twain describes in this book are indeed "well-drawn" and full of color.

Voyage of the Paper Canoe

Here's a travel journal from 1874 about a guy who paddled from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico in a 16' paper canoe (he seems to have traded an 18' canoe for the paper one in NY).  Part of his journey took him inside the NC Outer Banks.  The NC section begins on page 88.  Fascinating stuff. 

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1444506&pageno=6

Early criminal transportation to the Carolinas

http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/convict-transportation/epilogue/epilogue

Adventures into the Tidewater Past

This is a must read for eastern North Carolinians or those attached to the region.  Check it out at Wake Co. Public Library.

http://wakeipac.co.wake.nc.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1PC58979M4347.67409&profile=wcpl&uri=link=3100006~!80608~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=basic&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!horizon&term=A+historian%27s+coast+%3A+adventures+into+the+Tidewater+past+%2F&index=ALLTITL

Reading Music

Found this on grooveshark.com this week.  Good for relaxing with a book or other meditative activities.

Legends from the NC Coast

Fascinating stories told by an old storyteller from eastern NC.

 http://books.google.com/books?id=zCK1I1407dcC&pg=PA19&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

Two Years Before the Mast -free online

A good  book. 
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1455294&pageno=8

CCM Magazine

http://www.ccmmagazine.com/

French/Asian Fusion

I've been toying with the idea of a French-Asian restaurant.  The name Poodles and Noodles has a ring to it...

Dispatches from the Front

This is a great DVD series on Frontline missions.

http://www.dispatchesfromthefront.org/

William Clark Russell

http://www.wcr.sovemule.dk/index.php

Check out these stories of sea adventure.

Ashtown Burials #2

Release date:  September 11, 2012

Shepherd Press Teaching Guide for Herein is Love

http://shepherdpress.com/downloads.php

Bleak House Spoiler

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/bleakhouse/context.html

Hello Kidney

Walkabout

http://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=12151

Project Gutenberg

Free e-books.

http://www.gutenberg.org/

Mystery of Occurrance

Last night I watched a 1984 Sherlock Holmes video called The Final Problem.  Tonight, we chanced to see what was on Masterpiece Theater and behold the latest version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes series and which episode?  The Reichenbach Fall which is based on the original Final Problem.  The story was originally written to literally kill off Holmes so that Doyle could move on to other writing.  He eventually brought him back though as did the screenwriters for the new series at the end of the Reichenbach episode.   What mysterious circumstances.

Great Scripture Memory Music for Young Folks

We've been listening to Seeds Worship Family in the van lately.  The kids love it and they're learning scriptures at the same time.  We have the Character Seeds album and I just found four more on Grooveshark.  Check it out!

http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/

A Lion

Martin Luther once said, "The Bible is like a lion; it does not need to be defended; just let it loose and it will defend itself."

Triangle John Locke Foundation

http://www.johnlocke.org/

http://triangle.johnlocke.org/

http://www.carolinajournal.com/?__utma=1.1832382141.1336440507.1336440507.1336440507.1&__utmb=1.6.10.1336440507&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1336440507.1.1.utmcsr=avg%7Cutmccn=%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd=organic%7Cutmctr=john%20locke%20foundation&__utmv=-&__utmk=13432119

Louis Agassiz Fuertes (Natural Artist)

This guy was a die hard explorer and an excellent artist.  He is famous for his paintings of birds.
http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/Fuertes2000/fuertes.asp

A Ship of the Line

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Warship_diagram_orig.jpg

Read G.A. Henty Online

http://www.online-literature.com/ga-henty/

19th century whaling documentary

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/whaling/player/

William Federer's Faith in History

http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=y2b99484

An Old Western

http://archive.org/stream/texascowboyorfif00siri#page/n9/mode/2up

A Couple More Selections from Silas Marner

--"In old days there were angels who came and took men by the hand and led them away from the city of destruction.  We see no white-winged angels now.  But yet men are led away from threatening destruction:  a hand is put into theirs, which leads them forth gently towards a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's."

--"Eppie was now aware that her behavior was under observation, but it was only the observation of a friendly donkey, browsing with a log fastened to his foot--a meek donkey, not scornfully critical of human trivialities, but thankful to share in them, if possible, by getting his nose scratched; and Eppie did not fail to gratify him with her usual notice, though it was attended with the inconvenience of his following them, painfully, up to the very door of their home.
     But the sound of a sharp bark inside, as Eppie put the key in the door, modified the donkey's views, and he limped away again without bidding.  The sharp bark was the sign of an excited welcome that was awaiting them from a knowing brown terrier, who, rushed with a worrying noise at a tortoise-shell kitten under the loom, and then rushed back with a sharp bark again, as much as to say, "I have done my duty by this feeble creature, you perceive"; while the lady-mother of the kitten sat sunning her white bosom in the window, and looked round with a sleepy air of expecting caresses, though she was not going to take any trouble for them."

-from George Eliot (Silas Marner)

-The first quote reminds me of Isaiah's verse, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.  Isaiah 11:6

-I like the contrast between the donkey and the cat in the second selection.  The poor old donkey is striving for a just a scratch on the nose and the lazy cat just feels entitled to attention.

Different Perspectives on Child rearing

Silas Marner's determination to keep the "tramp's child" was matter of hardly less surprise and iterated talk in the village than the robbery of his money.  That softening of feeling towards him which dated from his misfortune, that merging of suspicion and dislike in a rather contemptuous pity for him as lone and crazy, was now accompanied with a more active sympathy, especially amongst the women.  Notable mothers, who knew what it was to keep children "whole and sweet"; lazy mothers, who knew what it was to be interrupted in folding their arms and scratching their elbows by the mischievous propensities of children just firm on their legs, were equally interested in conjecturing how a lone man would manage with a two-year-old child on his hands, and were equally ready with their suggestions:  the notable chiefly telling him what he had better do, and the lazy ones being emphatic in telling him what he would never be able to do. --George Eliot (Silas Marner)

Twelve

Ladybug's Picnic

One two three
Four five six
Seven eight nine
Ten eleven twelve
Ladybugs
Came to the ladybugs' picnic

One two three
Four five six
Seven eight nine
Ten eleven twelve
And they all played games
At the ladybugs' picnic

They had twelve sacks so they ran sack races
And they fell on their backs and they fell on their faces
The ladybugs 12
At the ladybugs' picnic

They played jump rope but the rope it broke
So they just sat around telling knock-knock jokes
The ladybugs 12
At the ladybugs' picnic

One two three
Four five six
Seven eight nine
Ten eleven twelve
And they chatted away
At the ladybugs' picnic

They talked about the high price of furniture and rugs
And fire insurance for ladybugs
The ladybugs 12
At the ladybugs' picnic
12!

some folks are so wise...

We heared tell as he'd sold his own land to come and
take the Warrens, and that seemed odd for a man as had land of his
own, to come and rent a farm in a strange place. But they said it
was along of his wife's dying; though there's reasons in things as
nobody knows on--that's pretty much what I've made out; yet some
folks are so wise, they'll find you fifty reasons straight off, and
all the while the real reason's winking at 'em in the corner, and
they niver see't.  - George Eliot's  Silas Marner

Easter scripture meditation

I thought of this verse today during worship.  I'm glad for the truth of this statement and the hope it gives to sorry sinners like me.  What a merciful and gracious God we serve!

 "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."  1 Timothy 1:15-17

A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted...

The bible teaches that God sets the boundaries where people live and sovereignly orchestrates the movements of people through many different means, like famine, war, exile, persecution, mass exoduses, etc.  Here is an interesting quote from Victor Hugo's The Toilers of the Sea, written while the writer was in exile on the Isle of Guernsey for his political views.

     "It is probable that she was French [the mother of the main character].  Volcanoes cast forth stones, and revolutions cast forth men.  Families are thus sent to great distances, destinies are expatriated; groups are dispersed and crumbled to pieces: people fall from the clouds, some in Germany, some in England, some in America.  They astonish the natives of the country.
     Whence come these strangers?
     That Vesuvius smoking yonder has spit them out.  Names are conferred on these aerolites, on these expelled and lost individuals, on these people eliminated by fate; they are called emigres, refugees, adventurers.  If they remain, they are tolerated; if they take their departure, people are relieved.
     Sometimes they are absolutely inoffensive individuals, strangers--the women at least--to the events which have driven them forth, cherishing neither hatred not resentment, greatly astonished and involuntary projectiles.  The take root again as best they may.  They have harmed no one, and do not understand what has happened to them.  I have seen a poor tuft of grass dashed wildly into the air by an explosion in a mine.  The French revolution, more than any other explosion, was characterized by these distant projections.
     The woman who was called "la Gilliatt" in Guernesey was, perchance, such a tuft of grass."

Mr. Jaggers: A delightfully serious lawyer [Great Expectations]

You wouldn't want to stand before Mr. Jaggers in a court of law.  He is no nonsense.  He could get a confession out of anyone.  He is one of the most famous lawyers in London and feared by many.  He and Pip are just finishing a dinner with Miss Havisham, a wealthy old spinster who has taken a peculiar interest in Pip.  Jaggers is Pip's guardian until the day he can inherit his "great expectation" of a  fortune from a mysterious benefactor.  And so...

"And when he and I were left alone together, he sat with an air upon him of general lying by in consequence of information he possessed that really was too much for me.  He cross-examined his very wine when he had nothing else in hand.  He held it between himself and the candle, looked at his glass again, smelt the port, tried it, drank it, filled again, and cross-examined the glass again, until I was as nervous as if I had known the wine to be telling him something to my disadvantage.  Three of four times I feebly thought I would start conversation, but whenever he saw me going to ask him anything, he looked at me with his glass in his hand, and rolling his wine about in his mouth, as if requesting me to take notice that it was of no use, for he couldn't answer."  Charles Dickens

The Lord's Supper - A prayer

From the Valley of Vision

GOD OF ALL GOOD,

I bless thee for the means of grace;
teach me to see in them thy loving purposes
and the joy and strength of my soul.
Thou hast prepared for me a feast;
and though I am unworthy to sit down as guest,
I wholly rest on the merits of Jesus,
and hide myself beneath his righteousness;
When I hear his tender invitation
and see his wondrous grace,
I cannot hesitate, but must come to thee in love.
By thy Spirit enliven my faith rightly to discern
and spiritually to apprehend the Saviour.
While I gaze upon the emblems of my Saviour's death,
may I ponder why he died, and hear him say,
'I gave my life to purchase yours,
presented myself an offering to expiate
your sin,
shed my blood to blot out your guilt,
opened my side to make you clean,
endured your curses to set you free,
bore your condemnation to satisfy
divine justice.'
O may I rightly grasp the breadth and length
of this design,
draw near, obey, extend the hand,
take the bread, receive the cup,
eat and drink, testify before all men
that I do for myself, gladly, in faith,
reverence and love, receive my Lord,
to be my life, strength, nourishment,
joy, delight.
In the supper I remember his eternal love,
boundless grace, infinite compassion,
agony, cross, redemption,
and receive assurance of pardon, adoption,
life, glory.
As the outward elements nourish my body,
so may thy indwelling Spirit invigorate
my soul,
until that day when I hunger and thirst
no more,
and sit with Jesus at his heavenly feast.

The well thought out lament of Jeremiah

John Piper has an article about the book of Lamentations.  He mentions that it's one of the most "formally crafted books in the Old Testament."  Its chapters contain 22 stanzas each.  Three of the four chapters are in acrostic form fitting the Hebrew alphabet.  The structure is very organized and well thought out.  The interesting thing is that it's also one of the most emotional books of the bible.  Written during a dark time in biblical history when God's people were suffering the horrible judgment of God.  Here is a good example of how we can channel our emotions in a way that expresses the depths of our experiences.  He mentions that people usually need time to reflect on what they are feeling and afterwards are better able to put it into words (sometimes through poetry).  His point is that there is a place for spontaneous emotional expression, but there is still a greater place for sharing meaningful experiences after much reflection and meditation.  Both are critical to a healthy spiritual life.  Here is a quote from the article.

"Emotions are like a river flowing out of one's heart. Form is like the riverbanks. Without them the river runs shallow and dissipates on the plain. But banks make the river run deep. Why else have humans for centuries reached for poetry when we have deep affections to express? The creation of a form happens because someone feels a passion. How ironic, then, that we often fault form when the real evil is a dry spring."--John Piper

Injustice and Children from Great Expectations

I came across this quote recently from Charles Dickens.  It is a good reminder to take care around the little ones, lest they be offended.

"In the little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small, and its rocking-horse stands as many hands high, according to scale, as a big-boned Irish hunter."
Great Expectations
Chapter 8.

Hope for Depravity

I considered this verse today on the way to church while meditating on the depravity of the human condition as it relates to me and house.  It is a hopeful verse knowing that God is able to intervene in our lives to renew our hearts.  He is sovereign over our struggles with sin and is able to cause us to stand before him in Christ.  He is a faithful Father who has promised to finish what he has begun in us by Christ.

"The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words."  So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.  Then the word of the Lord came to me:  "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord.  Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."  Jeremiah 18:1-6

Writing this I am reminded of another verse I read during worship recently. 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  Ephesians 2:8-10

Praise the Lord.  He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw hear to God through him.  I can rest in this.

Chrysostom on Prayer

Prayer is a haven to the shipwrecked man, an anchor to them that are sinking in the waves, a staff to the limbs that totter, a mine of jewels to the poor, a healer of diseases, and a guardian of health.  Prayer at once secures the continuance of our blessings, and dissipates the clouds of our calamities.  O blessed prayer!  thou art the unwearied conqueror of human woes, the firm foundation of human happiness, the source of ever-enduring joy, the mother of philosophy.  The man who can pray truly, though languishing in the extremest indigence, is richer than all beside, whilst the wretch who never bowed the knee, though proudly sitting as monarch of all nations, is of all men most destitute.--Chrysostom 

On Joy

God seems to be speaking to me about Joy lately.  Joy is like oil.  It helps things run much smoother.  It keeps things cooler.  It strengthens the heart.  Without the joy of the Lord, life becomes stale and stress can build up and lead to bitterness.  I'm convinced that apart from a healthy godly sorrow that Christians need once and again, we must be hungry for more joy.  I want to live what Peter said, "Though you have not see him, you love him.  Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory." (1Peter 1:8)  In the face of life's difficulties I want to maintain that joy.  As James wrote, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." (James 1:2)  It is work, but it is God's work.  We can trust him to establish it in our hearts.

God's Will and a Four Year Old

Tucking Olivia in tonight she asked, "Daddy, can you stay with us for a long, long time until we grow up?"  Yes, I said, ....if the Lord wills.  Not missing a beat she said "The Lord will wills."  I hope she is right.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

I've been listing to 1984 and decided to list some of the conspiracy stories I've read over the years.

The Screwtape Letters and That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis

The Gravedigger Files -  Os Guinness

The Holy War - John Bunyan

Animal Farm and 1984 - Orwell

Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel - inspired by the Holy Spirit

Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness - Frank Peretti

  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." - Paul of Tarsus

Speaking of grass...

Weeds.  It's time to deal with them again.  Here's some wisdom from Spurgeon on the matter.
 
"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof." Note, first, that land will produce something. Soil which is good enough to be made into a field and a vineyard must and will yield some fruit or other; and so you and I, in our hearts and in the sphere God gives us to occupy, will be sure to produce something. We cannot live in this world as entire blanks; we shall either do good or do evil, as sure as we are alive. If you are idle in Christ's work, you are active in the devil's work. The sluggard by sleeping was doing more for the cultivation of thorns and nettles than he could have done by any other means. As a garden will either yield flowers or weeds, fruits or thistles, so something either good or evil will come out of our household, our class, or our congregation. If we do not produce a harvest of good whether, by labouring for Christ, we shall grow tares to be bound up in bundles for the last dread burning.

Following the Shepherd

It is hard to pick a name of a blog that isn't already being used.  Chewing grass came to me from Psalm 23, "He makes me lie down in green pastures."  We need to chew on God's word and give thought to our ways.  Hopefully this blog will have some savory comments from God's meadow of life.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me on this path.