Book Review

Mosaic: Pieces of my Life So Far, by Amy Grant.

This is a nice collection of essays, song lyrics, as well as bits and pieces of biography of Grant's life. Organized thematically instead of chronologically, it bounces around from her early singing days to her current life with Vince Gill, growing up with lots of sisters to approaching middle age to raising kids and step-kids. She writes about her struggles with depression, touches on her divorce from Gary Chapman, and explains where many of her song ideas came from.

Some of the stories interested me more than others, but I found it overall an enjoyable read.

Podcast Update

As I reported earlier, I got an iPod for Christmas, and was looking for good podcasts to listen/subscribe to. Well, I have now found a bunch of them, ranging from church history to modern culture to music to bible teaching, covering a range of perspectives: orthodox, catholic, reform, evangelical, post-evangelical.

Good ones I've found include: Coffee Cup Apologetics, Converse with Scholars, Daily Audio Bible, Ears to Hear, Generally Speaking About the Church, In the Studio w/ Michael Card, Internet Monk, Kingdom Rain, St. Irenaeus Ministries, SaintCast, Simply Othodox, and Theology Unplugged. I don't recommend to people I don't know well, but I enjoy all of these, and encourage anyone looking for some podcasts to at least check some of these out.

April Reading List

I am going to start poistng my reading lists here, every month. Books read are something I have kept track of for the last few years. {note: books 1-29 were Jan, Feb, & March}

30. Why We Read What We Read, by Lisa Adams & John Heath
31. A Case of Crooked Letters, by Lori Copeland
32. Never Think, Always Know by Walker R. Filbert
33. Now & Then by Robert B. Parker
34. Fantasyland, by Sam Walker
35. Revenge of Innocents, by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
36. The Appeal, by John Grisham
37. America Alone, by Mark Steyn

Currently reading: The 13th Tale (about 60% done), Before I Wake (60%), The Reason For God (< 20%), and Two Towers (just started)

A Celtic prayer

The will of God be done by us;
The law of God be kept us;
Our evil will controlled by us;
Our sharp tongue checked by us;
Our sharp tongue checked by us;
Quick forgiveness offered by us;
Speedy repentance made by us;
Temptation sternly shunned by us;
Blessed death welcomed by us;
Angels' music heard by us;
God's highest praises sung by us.

From Anselm

God of truth,
I ask that I may receive
so that my joy may be full.

Meanwhile let my mind meditate on it,
let my tongue speak of it,
let my heart love it,
let my mouth preach it,
let my soul hunger for it,
my flesh thirst for it,
and my whole being desire it,
until I enter into the joy of my Lord,
who is God one and triune, blessed for ever. Amen.

From the 7th Century (Latin)

I love this, because it manages to honor Mary in appropriate measure. I feel that the pendulum landed in the right spot with this one.

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Hymn of the Virgin

The Word whom earth and sea and sky
Aadore and laud and magnify,
Whose might they show, whose praise they tell,
In Mary's body designed to dwell.

Blessed is the message Gabriel brought,
Blessed is the work the Spirit wrought,
Most blessed to bring to human birth
The long-desired of all the earth.

Lord Jesus, Virgin born, to thee
Eternal praise and glory be,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Spirit evermore.

TV Review

Reaper, on the CW. New, post-strike episodes are on Thursday evenings.

Sam holds a dead-end job at the local mega-home impovement store, and is surprised to learn when he turns 21 that his parents had sold his soul to the devil before he was born. On that fateful birthday, Satan himself drops by to personally explain that Sam must now serve as his bounty hunter, tracking down evil souls that have escaped and returning them to Hell. Sam's responsibilities to the Devil form the basis of the weekly episodes.

The key to the show is Ray Wise's portrayal of Satan. This is the not the "red PJs and pitchfork" stereotype of cartoons. The actor who killed his daughter Laura Palmer 15+ years ago on "Twin Peaks" is pitch-perfect as the embodiment of 21st Century evil. He dresses like a CEO, is a flatterer and charmer, lies skillfully and easily, and is a natural seducer. He hides his power and temper behind this corporate facade, but occassionally reminds Sam what the consequences of disobeying Satan are.

I am not necessarily recommending the show for all -- the escaped souls are violent, the 20-something characters are crude, etc ... but the portrayal of the Devil is intriguing, and I would say accurate.

Page 123 Meme

Dale tagged me for this meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages), or whatever book you are currently reading
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people (I am not a tagger, so ... I didn't do this.)

From The Jesus of Suburbia, by Mike Erre

"This has always been the temptation of the people of God: to tame him. He increases mystery; we desire to remove it. He introduces paradox; we seek to solve it."

Podcast Help?

I was the last person in my family (and probably the developed world) to get an iPod -- though I still occassionally sneak some quality time with Old Faithful, my Sony Walkman, which is literally held together by rubber bands.

I have found a few top-notch podcasts, including the Daily Audio Bible, which will take me through the Bible in one year. This one runs about 20-25 minutes a day, with daily readings in the OT, NT, Psalms, and Proverbs.

I know that the Podcasting world is vast, and I will never "stumble on" to all of the good ones. I'm not looking for sermons or church services, but rather Christians discussing theology, culture, church history, stuff like that.

Any suggestions?

Book Review

A Pagan's Nightmare, by Roy Blackston. Blackston is one of the few funny fiction writers in the Christian marketplace. This one is a funny, bizarre, post-modern read. The story revolves around a literary agent and his client's latest manuscript, and the novel bounces back and forth between the manuscript and people's reactions to the manuscript. There is a lot of poking fun at aspects of modern evangelical culture, so if you can't laugh at yourself, this one's not for you.