When the apostle Paul wanted to write to Christians at Rome, he could have introduced himself by listing his credentials and experience, then said: “You see how important a man I am and I have something important to say. So listen up!” But that’s not what he said; he introduced himself as a slave, putting … Continue reading Writing as a slave of Jesus Christ
writing
Learning to see
Let us not forget that the greatest composers were also the greatest thieves. They stole from everyone and everywhere. –Pablo Casals Writers do much the same thing, though I do not believe it is proper to call it theft. We learn something from everything we read and everything we see. Often it is just a … Continue reading Learning to see
If you want to be a writer, you first need to be a reader
The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading. In order to write a man will turn over half a library to make one book. -Samuel Johnson, 1705-1784. Johnson was a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, biographer, editor and the sole author of A Dictionary of the English Language, first published in 1755 and … Continue reading If you want to be a writer, you first need to be a reader
I don’t have a talent for baking bread
My mother certainly did. She baked the most wonderful loaves and buns of white bread, brown bread, rye bread. Her cinnamon rolls were the greatest. She baked with a wood stove, then a gas stove and finally an electric stove. The only time the bread didn’t turn out was the day she left for parents’ … Continue reading I don’t have a talent for baking bread
Why am I still here?
It amazed us when Aggie greeted us by name. This was only the second time we had visited her and at our first meeting she had already passed her 100th birthday. Aggie was an amazing lady all round. She did not need hearing aids; she had glasses, but still read a regular print Bible. She walked with a … Continue reading Why am I still here?
The virtue of vulnerability
Last Saturday, Chris and I attended a Christian writers' wordshop (a workshop about words). All the presenters were ladies; the attendees were also mostly ladies, plus four men and one boy. This is cause for much pondering; why are there so few men at this level? Yes.there are many books by male authors on the … Continue reading The virtue of vulnerability
Good things come in small packages
Aphorisms give you more for your time and money than any other literary form. Only the poem comes near to it, but then most good poems either start off from an aphorism or arrive at one. -Louis Dudek
Hospitality as stewardship
Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability … Continue reading Hospitality as stewardship
Lessons about writing from Claude Monet
This is the time of year when many businesses give out free calendars, with illustrations in varying shades of kitsch. As a counterbalance, I like to buy at least one calendar each year with pictures I will enjoy looking at as the months go by. This year it is a calendar with photographs of paintings … Continue reading Lessons about writing from Claude Monet
Inspiration from cryptograms
To exercise my body, I walk or bounce on my rebounder (mini trampoline). To exercise my mind, I solve cryptograms. Some of the quotations thus decrypted seemed worth sharing. Sit down and write down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own … Continue reading Inspiration from cryptograms
Flatlander Faith 