Wise Words - Dr. Peter Leithart

Wise Words: Family Stories that bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter Leithart
Canon Press (2003)


Rating: 8
Readability: 9
Impact: Very interesting look into this sort of writing...


Read it Again: Already have. :-)
Recommend It: Of course.



What to Expect

Simple stories that are grounded in a specific Proverb but build off much more Biblical symbolism and typology. Unpretentious. Good for all ages.

My Squib

This is, of course, a very different sort of read from Dr. Leithart, but still holds all the thought and honesty of his other books. He opens with a quote I am completely in love with--

"Stand fast! And keep your childishness.
Read all the pendant's creeds and strictures,
But don't believe in anything
That can't be told in colored pictures."
~G. K. Chesterton

Dr. Leithart holds true to this principle and does so beautifully in Wise Words.
I rationed this book because I didn't want it to be over. The stories are short, simple, playful, serious, and imperfect, but they will continue to roll around and grow in your noggin if you let them in.

From the Book

I had many favorites but "Ivy and the Prince" was near the top. The allegory aspect may or may not have made me bawl like a baby. :-P Quotes out of context might sound a bit strange, but this sentence was beautiful-- "Her heart broke with pain and joy and the terror of love."

Deep Comedy - Peter J. Leithart

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, & Hope in Western Literature by Peter J. Leithart

Canon Press

This is another book I am totally unqualified to review. I'm going to try anyways because I want you to be inspired to read it. (If you haven't...I know I'm always shamefully behind.:-)

It's quite simply amazing.

We had a wonderful Sunday school class talking through David Bentley Hart's book on beauty. Deep Comedy was mentioned and I knew I wanted to read it. :-) I have an awesome mama and a brother who works at a book store, so it was diligently acquired. Thanks Mama! I know your going to like it as soon as you get done with Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl...already. ;-)

This book was both easier and harder than I anticipated.
Easier because Leithart is a gifted and hard working genius and can make the difficult clear and direct so people like me can understand.

Harder because I'm not very sharp and don't know very much about many of the people and stories he mentions.

Still, I could understand the concepts he was writing, even if I didn't always understand the people he was quoting or arguing against. I never felt completely lost, just vaguely stupid.

I loved the book. It wasn't a hard read. I read all but the last 10 pages in two sittings and I'll want to read it again.

It's direct and eye opening. It is laced with good humor (I literally LOLed in several parts). It is a book about story and about hope. By the end I was feeling disgustingly cheerful. :-) It was amazing.

Since I know I'll fail at trying to paraphrase I strongly suggest you pick the book up yourself. It's only 157 pages. Anyone can manage that.

Leithart crams a lot in. I really can't begin to summarize. He gave me a whole new dimension to understanding the way our faith in the Trinity shapes our world view. He gave me a clearer understanding of story and all that goes along with it. It was simply thrilling. :-)

I know I'm raving now, so I'm going to move on.

Here are two of my favorite quotes...

"If the Gospel is true, if new life was unleashed in the world on Easter morning, then we would expect there to be some signs that this is the case."

Unleashed. I love that. How often do we think of new life as unleashed?

"Satan digs a pit for the merry, but Satan falls into the very pit of merriment. And it tortures him forever."

And here was a quote that really got me thinking...

"Christian literature not only produces deep comedy but also, and for precisely that reason, deep tragedy. Christian tragedy can no longer mean what ancient tragedy meant. There are still sad stories, but Christians cannot believe the world is a sad story without abandoning their fundamental convictions about the triune God and the incarnation of the Son. So I should add to this book a companion book on deep tragedy."

I hope he does.

I particularly liked what he said about Christian tragedies. It seems like too much modern Christian thinking tries to ignore sad stories because it spooks them. We know that life isn't a tragedy but sometimes we can't understand why tragedies happen. We try to ignore them so we write fuzzy feel good fiction or try to shelter ourselves from reality.

He also mentions in passing that many "Christian" tragedy's are even sadder because there was an unrealized hope of redemption.

This helped me understand myself in relations to The Mayor of Casterbridge. I'm not sure where Thomas Hardy was when he wrote it. I know he was bi-polar when it came to his "faith" but I think the movie gives an interesting interpretation. It is so extremely sad because there was hope of redemption. He could have turned around.

Like Saul, which he resembles, Henchard is given a good life (numerous times) and good friends, but because of his sin and pride he will not repent and be reconciled. And it's absolutely, terribly heart rending!

The story is not meaningless. It is not a story meant to depress you. It shows the stupidness of sin. The depravity of man. But also the mercy of God. Henchard is blessed over and over again, he just never gets it.

And in the end the long-suffering daughter gets a good life with a righteous man (whatever is ultra-weird, irrational behavior towards woman comes in).

My conclusion seemed to be this-- Christian stories can be sad (even sadder then non-Christian) but they can not be ultimately depressing.

I know I'm not explaining this very well, but it helped things line up in my mind...

Okay, one last quote (sorry about the longness, but it's worth it).

"The conclusion of the matter is this: for the ancients, for the moderns, and for postmoderns, human existence is fundamentally tragic. The world is built for tragedy. As a matter of sheer observation, we all die, and this is one of the few things that can be guaranteed about life. Time marches toward death and in the end we all die. Change can perhaps be good, but change is ultimately decay, because in the end we all die. Desire is either fulfilled in the motionless statis that might as well be death, or is never fulfilled leaving us frustereated, and in the end we all die. Law gives a semblance of order to the process of decay and the forces of chaos, but law is uncertain, and in the end we all die.
With their tragic narratives of human history, Hesiod and Ovid give mythical expressions to the story of the world that ancient, modern, and postmodern all tell.

Apart from the Gospel, what other story is there?"

I consider this book invaluable to readers, writers, and Christians.

Now, if you haven't, go read it. :-)

Thanks for reading.
Miss Pickwickian

Building Her House - Nancy Wilson

Building Her House: Commonsensical Wisdom for Christian Women by Nancy Wilson

Canon Press

I know I'm behind the times. This book came out in 2006 and I've been trying to read it for awhile. I grabbed it on the way out the door thinking I needed something short between A House for My Name and Deep Comedy. I finished it that morning. :-)

Building Her House is awesome.

Okay, now that we understand each other, I shall continue.

This book is a compiling of numerous Credenda Agenda articles. As such, they cover a lot of topics, are concise, and applicable.

Here's an excellent quote from the preface that helps you get an idea of the book.

"As we pray and labor for reformation in the church in America, we have to keep our eyes on the little things that are not as little as we think--things like feasting together around our tables, loving the little people in our families, and living sacrificially for one another. These seemingly 'insignificant' duties are far more potent than we realize, for God sancfifies them and uses them to bless us, transform our communities, and bring glory to His name. It is my prayer that God might use these little essays to encourage faithfulness and joyfulness in the women who read them."

The book covers all sorts of aspects of Christian womanhood. I learned from and enjoyed all of it, even though some if it is beyond my stage in life. I recommend it for women of all ages.

Earlier this year I was talking to a very wise woman about the problems young ladies face. She began talking about the idea of pursuing maturity. I was like..what? That is so cool! I'd never thought of it that way and it has certainly given me a different perspective.

Nancy Wilson had a chapter entitled "Pursuing Virtue" that helped me think more about this concept. It was completely amazing. Even if you aren't planning on reading the whole book, you should get it for this chapter.

Here is a quote from the conclusion...

"Living and walking worthy of Christ means dressing in modest, chaste clothing that is consistent with a life of virtue and godliness. This requires wisdom, and most young women don't want to exercise wisdom in this area. They care more about attracting attention from the young men than they care about pleasing God.
Walking worthy means our behavior is governed by a desire to glorify God and obey Him in all things. It means actively pursuing virtue, not coasting. If we want to be known in our community as virtuous women, we must embrace God's standard of holiness in every area of our lives and reject every worldly standard that conflicts with this.
Ruth was a relatively young woman when she was praised this way by Boaz. Young women need not think this is something for them to think about later. It is essential now."

What a difference we would see in Christian young ladies if we could just remember these words!

She kept reminding me that no matter what we are doing, we should be remembering that we are Christian women. We are God's people. Shape up and act like it.

As a writing obsessed person, I also enjoyed examining how she fit her ideas into short, article length chapters. They are both interesting, direct and concise.

So, yes, it's a worthy read. The chapters are short enough to do with your daily Bible study. Or you can read it in a single morning, like I did...maybe you don't have a hideously long drive to go visit your sister though. ;-)

It has food for thought that will last much longer then the time it takes to read.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

P.S. If nothing else, it's a good read because the cover is SO CUTE!

Writing and Reading

This last week we had a three day writing and planning trip. I was able to get a lot done and it helped me refocus and work out some concrete goals. Very productive.

Besides writing, obviously, I got a lot of reading done. I'm hopelessly behind in reviews, so here are a few quick squibs.





I finished His Rules by Christopher L. Burge & Pamela Toussaint.


This book was an extremely good one that really covers any age or predicament for someone who is single.




Really enjoyed it and it was an easy read. The main thing that bothered me was their use of the MSG and sometimes their strange use of Scripture totally out of context...but really, an excellent book!

You can read my sister's squib on it here.

I read two Elie Wiesel novels, which I have mixed feelings about... I felt like his writing style wasn't as deep as Night. (If that makes any sense.) Of course, his personal memoir will probably remain the deepest.





I also think that because he wrote these novels in French (at least not his first or second or third language) which was then translated to English by two different translators, they might have lost some of their potency.
Night was written in Yiddish and the version I read was translated to English by his wife. I imagine she probably has a better understanding of what he wanted to say then a normal translator.

Interesting and thought provoking, but certainly not easy, warm-fuzzy reads.

I finished On Writing by Stephen King. I had some extremely mixed feelings about it. I would not recommend it because of language and crudeness, which is really to bad because King has a lot of excellent things to say about writing.





Books on writing are written by writers who feel like writing about writing. Duh? Yes, but I have a point.
I think these writers in general tend to be plot-first novelist and learn a certain way (I know I'm greatly generalizing here, but this has been my experience.) They don't cover everything.

I honestly don't think Stephen King would have woken up one morning thinking he'd love to write a book on writing. His publisher or agent told him to.

He has a unique perspective and writes from the hip, which is something most writers that have written books on writing don't do. He actually bashes plotting (which I do not entirely agree with). He emphasises more of the feel and rhythm of writing.

While I didn't agree with some of what he said I could feel the balance this book helped me take. I was very inspired to write and it felt more carefree again.

I know a lot of this book was things I needed to hear. Unfortunately some of it was things I really didn't need to hear too. So...yeah, what a bummer to have objectionable content in such a good book!

One specific thing he talked about was writing as telepathy, which was something I'd never heard before.

Here are a few quotes. There was so many good ones, but I'm only including two.

"All arts depend upon telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation. Perhaps I'm prejudiced, but even if I am we may as well stick with writing, since it's what we came her to think about."

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut."





I read The Chosen by Chaim Potok which is something that has been sitting on my desk-shelf for some time. Mama has been telling me for awhile that I would like this book and I've finally got around to reading it!




We were able to watch a live play version earlier this year, which was very good and already gave me a grasp of the story. Reading this book was certainly an interesting experience.

I'll be giving this novel it's own post soon. :-)



So, yeah. That's what I've been doing.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl - N.D. Wilson

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken Word by N.D. Wilson
Thomas Nelson




Rating: 9+
Readability: 9
Impact: 10+




Read it Again: Yes, actually I went back through to write some quotes and ended up just reading it all again... And I want to do it again soon. :-)
Recommend It: Yes! I think as soon as I can afford it, this will be my next giveaway! You can buy it here. :-)

If you read nothing else of this post, read the last, longer quote on this review!

What to Expect

A book that does not go strait, but one that revels in God's creation and sees the story the Master Author is weaving.
Funny, artistic, wise, heart tugging, and thought provoking. I cried and laughed and took hundreds of notes.

Note: Some of the material may not be considered suitable for younger ages.

My Squib

Loved this book to death. :-)

So much food for thought, deep (but understandable) discussion, random humor, all bundled up in an awesome writing style.
I can see some people not liking this book because of it's meandering and style, but everyone can benefit from what it has to say and what it makes you think about.

I, of course, loved what N.D. Wilson said about art, especially using evil in art. Besides it all being directly applicable to Christian life, it was particularly amazing to one interested in writing.

His whole section of evil existing in the world with an all powerful, all knowing, all good God was especially influential.

I appreciated the refreshed view I came away with about all of creation.
Sometimes I worry about myself and how uninterested I am in sight seeing and scenery. If it has to do with history it's all very well and good, but if it's just a pretty tree or a piece of rock my attention span is limited. (Okay, those things have history too, but you know what I mean.)
I guess I'm not a natural romantic. And sometimes that actually bothers me...

I know some awesome people who can tell me all about something beautiful and it truly sounds amazing. They could write a poem about a tree or a mountain they would sound honest. I think mine would sound like it was laughing at itself.

Somehow this book helped me get a clearer view. I'm trying to appreciate those things more. And if I can't stand and look at a tree for an hour, that's okay.

I think I have a tendency towards cynicism and this book is one of many amazing things God has used to keep me from becoming even more messed up. ;-)

So, I don't know if any of that made any sense. Basically, I am just really thankful for this book and grateful for God bringing it into my life at just the right time.

I really can't think of anything to add. It's awesome. Go read it.

From the Book

There is seriously way too much amazingness, so you are going to have to go check it out for yourself. :-)

"And I move on, with the sun on my face. Clouds are growing in the west, glorious clouds piled up with rowdy care and sparked electric life.
I feel my lungs with the world, with this life, with this gift beyond containing. There is only one thing I can say.
Thank you. And I must say it with my life. Through my life. To the end of my life. And after."

"Why do Christians think of purity, holiness, and even divinity as something with big eyes and soft fur? Why do we so often ignore the beautiful in exchange for the cute?"

"The trite is more comfortable. I like angels I can hug. Forget the pillar of fire; a teddy bear is a more fitting icon of holiness."

Read this-
"Do not resent your place in the story. Do not imagine yourself elsewhere. Do not close your eyes and picture a world without thorns, without shadows, without hawks. Change this world. Use your body like a tool meant to be used up, discarded, and replaced. Better every life you touch. We will reach the final chapter. When we have eyes that can stare into the sun, eyes that only squint for the Shekinah, then we will see laughing children pulling cobras by the tails, and hawks and rabbits playing tag.
But we cannot hope to reach the final chapter by dreaming, by holding our collective breath and staring a unshaded acrylic escape paintings. The only road to that final chapter began a the garden and led into the wilderness. It runs through these chapters. Live now. Relish the tensions, the challenges, and laugh at the petty pains."


If you've read it or when you read it, tell me what you think. :-)
Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

In This Story

"In this story, the sun moves. In this story, every night meets a dawn and burns away in the bright morning. In this story, Winter can never hold back the Spring... He is the best of all possible audiences, the only Audience to see every scene, the Author who became a Character and heaped every shadow on Himself. The Greeks were right. Live in fear of a grinding end and a dank hereafter. Unless you know a bigger God, or better yet, are related to Him by blood."

~N.D. Wilson in Notes from a Tilt-a-Whirl

A Thousand Miles in a Million Years - Donald Miller

A Thousand Miles in a Million Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller
Thomas Nelson, Inc


Rating: 9
Readability: 9
Impact: 10+


Read it Again: Yes, again and again
Recommend it: Yes! Go buy it here. Right now.



What to Expect

Donald Miller uses the concept story to show us the changes in life and in ourselves, while inspiring us to create an epic.

Even if you didn't like Blue Like Jazz you should give this one a try. Especially if what bothered you about his first book was its rambling, style, or "peace-loving" issues. Of course in my opinion Blue Like Jazz was totally awesome. ;-)

My Squib

This book resonated with me on every level.
What could be more awesome for a wanna-be-author then an amazing word smith directly applying the idea of Story to everyday life?

This is an amazing quick read that really helps you dig down and think.

His style is heart warming and honest. I seriously was teary eyed through the last 100 pages.

My only complaint is his need for a better proof reader...

(His writing is sometimes a little too 'honest' and/or borderline. Because of this I think its more directed towards 14+, but it certainly has principles that apply to everyone.)

Basically, a must read. :-)

Read Polka Dot's thoughts on A Million Miles in a Thousand Years here.

Thank you again, Ellen, for "introducing" me to Donald Miller! You are an awesome friend.

From the Book

I seriously copied so much of this book into my journal! Here is just enough to whet your appetite...

"The thing about trying to remember your life is it makes you wonder what any of it means. You get the feeling life means something, but you're not sure what. Life has a peculiar feel when you look back on it that it doesn't have when you're actually living it."

"Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller."

"I believe there is a Writer outside ourselves, plotting a better story for us, interacting with us, even, and whispering a better story into our consciousness."

"It wasn't necessary to win for the story to be great, it was necessary to sacrifice everything."

"It's interesting that in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the only practical advice given about living a meaninful life is to find a job you like, enjoy your marriage, and obey God. It's as though God is saying, Write a good story, take somebody with you, and let me help."

"We live in a world where bad stories are told, stories that teach us life doesn't mean anything and that humanity has no great purpose. It's a good calling, then to speak a better story. How brightly a better story shines. How easily the world looks to it in wonder. How grateful we are to hear these stories, and how happy it makes us to repeat them."

By Darkness Hid - Jill Williamson

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson
Marcher Lord Press



Rating: 9
Readability: 9
Impact: It certainly restored my faith in fantasy.


Read it Again: Yes
Recommend It: Yes!



What to Expect

An interwoven story of two young people, Vrell and Achan, in an epic clash of good and evil.
A page turner for sure!

My Squib

I haven't tried to read any fantasy for years. Seriously.
In my "youth" (wink) I was a fantasy fanatic.
I read Lloyd Alexander, C. S. Lewis, and Tolkien. I enjoyed some other authors too. (Like Sigmund Brouwer's Wings of Dawn...amazing.) But pretty soon I lost faith in fantasy. Most of it was a weak recap of Lord of the Rings. A lot of it was cheesy, much poorly written, and most of it down right boring.
The only new fantasy I've read in the last several years has been Megan Whalen Turner.

I was able to meet Jill Williamson and hear part of her book in the Author Reading night at the OCW conference. My curiosity was pricked.
I bought the first book.
Why not give fantasy another try?

I am totally thrilled. This book is a treasure. I enjoyed all 500 pages. It was one of those stories that you have to keep reading but you don't want it to end. I thought the ending was cool, but I wasn't ready to be done with it yet!

I can't wait until my next pay check and I can buy book two.

Check out Jill Williamson's blog here.

By Darkness Hid has already won a Christy Award!
Read it and vote for By Darkness Hid for the 2010 Clive Staple Award. Here's how.

Buy By Darkness Hid here!

From the Book

Chapter 1

Achan stumbled through the darkness toward the barn. The morning cold sent shivers through his threadbare orange tunic. He clutched the a wooden milking pail to his side and held a flickering torch to light his way.

And now you must find it and read it yourself. :-)

More on Character...

So, if you've been around you know I've been thinking about characters and character development. (See Character vs. Plot.)

I've also been reading Jeff Gerke's amazing book The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction. He's had some excellent chapters on character.
As a self proclaimed plot-first writer he starts and the basics and really gets into the depths of character creation. It has really made me think. I believe I've found some of the weak points in mine and its helping me mend them.

Here are some really cool quotes out of the book...

"Long after we forget the good feelings a work of fiction produces in us, after we forget the great special effects or the magnificent cinematography or the stirring soundtrack, we are left with the resonance of great characters.
Strong, believable, fully realized characters will make your fiction memorable. Even if you have the most brilliant premise and the best craftsmanship and the most wonderful cover design in the world, what will separate your fiction from the pack will be your characters."

"The only thing that will make your fiction endure will be excellent characters."

~The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke


I'm going to do a give-a-way of this book, so check back. :-)
Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Oregon Christian Writer's Conference (Part 2)

So...I learned so much! I hope I can keep it all crammed in my head and apply it. I did take a lot of great notes. Hopefully I can do some summaries in the weeks to come. It would be good review for me. Writing out things always helps cement them.

Anyways...

I really have no idea how to hit any of the amazing things that happened this week.

I met James Scott Bell.
I brought Plot and Structure and Revision and Self-Editing and got them autographed. Yeah! (If you want to write and don't know those books you should check him out. I've never got hooked on his fiction, but his writing books are extremely good. Plus, he's a cool person and speaker.)

I met Hillary Manton Lodge.
I bought Plain Jayne and got it signed. I'm normally not in to Amish fiction, but this one looked pretty spicy.
And guess what guys? Check out my side bar, Hillary Manton Lodge is following my blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I met Jill Williamson.
I only could afford the first book in her series, Blood of Kings. So now I have an awesome, autographed copy of her Christy Award winning, By Darkness Hid. Hopefully I can acquire the second book soon.

I met Christina Berry.
Who amazingly lives in the same microscopic town as me! I bought her book Familiar Stranger.

I met Leslie Gould.
In fact, I was in her coaching class! She taught an absolutely amazing class and I got some extremely helpful critics on my story. I am so excited and encouraged. She is awesome. :-)

I met Jeff Gerke. (Fiction pen name Jefferson Scott.)
And he made me the happiest person alive by reading some story and saying "It wasn't terrible." Seriously, I can never remember being so elated in my life! (I'm dead serious here.)
I was also able to purchase his book The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction. It's actually the only new book I've started reading, and it is totally amazing. (I'm still in the middle of three or four I don't want to drop just because I got some new ones.)
Marcher Lord Press
Where the Map Ends

I met so many other totally awesome people I'm not mentioning. Seriously. It was so great. So many people worked so hard to help us all grow and have a wonderful time.

One young lady I met was Rachel. She is just getting ready to launch her blog, The Jesus Adventure. Stop by and follow or encourage her!

Life has been intense.

The night I got home from the conference we went to an outdoor play of Twelfth Night. My sister posted about it. Check it out. It was really good and it's still playing for the next few weeks in Hillsboro. I've always loved Twelfth Night and is was wonderful to see it live.

I'm so inspired to sit down and write, but my computer is sick with a virus. :-P I guess life has been to crazy anyways, but I am determined to amend my schedule so I can and will write everyday!

I've probably bored you by now....
So farewell for the present,
Miss Pickwickian

Loving God with All Your Mind - Elizabeth George

Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George
Harvest House Publishers



Rating: 9
Readability: 7
Impact: I hope 10!



Read Again: Yes, I should
Recommend It: YES!



What to Expect:

Elizabeth George uses six Scripture passages, Philippians 4:8, Matthew 6:34, Philippians 3:13-14, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 11: 33, towards direct application in our thoughts, focus, and walk with God.

Her books is comprised of six sections which are relatively self explanatory: Training your Thoughts, Winning over Worry, Pressing for the Prize, Counting on God's Goodness, Living out God's Plan, and Accepting the Unacceptable.

(There is nothing particularly girly about this book, but its written towards ladies.)

My Squib:

One of the things I appreciated the most about this book was its focus on focus. Something I've already been mulling over a lot.
She encourages us to set goals. Our short term ones and long term ones. And to think about, pray about, and write down our life time goals through the perspective of our ultimate purpose.
To press on towards the goal of the upward call in Christ Jesus!

This book is also an excellent book for anyone struggling with trust or difficult times in their lives. God is good! He may not always be understandable to us, but He is good!

I must say Elizabeth George's writing style has never been my favorite. In this instance, I admit, that she will hit a much wider audience by her conversational tone then she might by a more arty or distinctive tone. A few times she borders on sappy...to many exclamation marks (and in extremely odd places) and 'dear readers', 'dear friends', 'beloved', etc...
That, however, certainly stands far behind in the shadow of her direct and inspiring encouragement from Scripture.

This was an amazing book that came from a friend (a very awesome friend) at just the right time that I needed it. Thanks Ellen. ;-)

From the Book:

"What ever things are true and real...meditate on these things. This is not advise or a suggestion, it is a command. It is a sin not to do this!"

"It's amazing that as we spend less time in melancholy introspection and more time thinking thoughts that are true and real, we have more energy for positive uses and constructive purposes."

"Seven words seem to say it all: 'God is in control of all things.'
That, dear reader, is the truth of Romans 8:28. And theres is no fine print to this promise. There are also no disclaimers.
All things and every thing -- every event, every person, all the past, all the present, all the future -- fall under God's jurisdiction."

"Focusing on Jesus is what enables us to give our wholehearted effort to the race of life. We can only keep on keeping on when we have our eyes on Him, our crucified and risen LORD."

The rest -- please read for yourself! I'm sure you will find a lot that will help you in your thoughts and walk with Christ!

By it I See Everything Else

I stole this quote of my brother's profile because it is absolutely amazing. So, yeah...he was the one who found it. :-)

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
~ C. S. Lewis

Stepping Heavenward - Elizabeth Prentice

Stepping Heavenward
by Elizabeth Prentice




Rating: 8

Readability: 8
Impact: 9





Read it Again: This is the second time, but I certainly hope to read it again. So, yes!
Recommend it: Yes

What to Expect

Elizabeth Prentice carefully weaves the story of a sometimes discouraged and sometimes exuberant Christian through a journal.
Although this book is written in first person by its principle character, Katherine Elliot, we are still able to see the changes and growth in her life.

It is a tale of a inner and outer journey towards peace in Christ.

My Squib

I have read Stepping Heavenward before, but at the suggestion of a friend, we both read it again.

I'm so glad I did!

Although some find it overly pious or troubled, I think others will find it speaks directly to them in a sympathizing way they can understand.
There are certainly some aspects of Katherine Elliot's life that we can all relate too.

As a classic and as an inspiration I believe most readers should enjoy this book, especially young ladies.

Anyways, thanks Aisha for reading through it again with me!

From the Book

"January 15, 1831 - How dreadfully old I am getting! Sixteen! Well, I don't see as I can help it. There it is in the big Bible in father's own hand.

Katherine, born January 15, 1815

I meant to get up early this morning, but it looked dismally cold out of doors, and I felt delightfully warm in bed. So I covered myself up, and made ever so many good resolutions..."

"January 16, 1847 - This is the tenth anniversary of our wedding-day, and it has been a delightful one. If I were called upon to declare what has been the chief element of my happiness, I should say it was not Ernest's love to me or mine to him, or that I am once more the mother of three children, or that my own dear mother still lives, though I revel in each and all of these. But underneath them all, deeper stronger than all, lies a peace with God that I can compare to no other joy, which guard as I would gaurd hid treasure, and which must abide if all things else pass away."

OCW Conference

This summer promises to be insane...

One of the things that I'm looking forward to is the Oregon Christian Writers Conference the first week of August! I haven't heard back, but I'm hoping I the coaching class I signed up for. It looks really amazing. Part of it is getting a 20 page critic!

Although OCW isn't really the type of writing I want to do, I know this conference is going to teach me a lot. I'm very excited.

I'l also get to meet James Scott Bell. He wrote Plot and Structure, which is an extremely amazing writing book. I haven't been able to get into his fiction much....but his educational books are really, very good. I emailed him once to tell him so and he wrote back a very encouraging email that made me happy for weeks. :-)

Anyways....
Miss Pickwickian

Characters - Where do they come from?

I had a crises with my story project the other day. :-P I have so many versions that reach about 12,000 words and then I turn on them and want to tare them apart. I think I've finally diagnosed some of the problems and we are working on a treatment.


My male characters clear to me, my female ones....so boring!

So, I've been doing some serious thinking. I'm making two poster boards with character sketches, pictures, and anecdotes all around the edges and the plot timeline down the middle. I'm using post-it-notes for scenes and events so I can move them around as necessary.

One of the things I noticed after this critical rethinking and remaking was similarities or oddities in my characters.
First, all my cool guys are fall and thin and fiercely loyal. They either have blonde hair or black hair and are the quite thinking types. Yes, they all have differences, but I had to shake them up a bit.

This story has been in progress for a very long time (at least five years now).
Why are my guys this way?
It's not just this story either. All my heroes are pretty much like this.

There just sort of like....Sherlock Holmes meets Erich Hartmann....

I believe that especially at a certain age, we are very heavily influenced by what we read. I guess Sherlock Holmes and The Blond Knight of Germany really hit me during this time. :-)

My sister and I got out Erich Harmann's biography last night and I was pretty amazed flipping through it how much I'd obviously been influenced.

Other assorted influential characters since the beginning of my scribbling (which pretty much started way before I could spell) include: Sir Percy Blakney, Stonewall Jackson, George Washington, the hares in Redwall, and my brothers. :-)

How weird is it all?

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

P.S. For those of you who may not love Germans in general or World War 2 aces in particular and have been to lazy to look up Erich Hartmann on Wikipedia, he was a pretty awesome German Ace.




(And it was okay because he shot down Russians, not Americans, and he was indoctrinated so he didn't know what he was doing. :-) After the war he traveled through England and America and was very sweet to everyone.)

He is the highest ranking ace ever in aerial warfare with 1,404 combat missions and 352 personal victories!
After the war he spent 10 1/2 years in a Russian prison camp, but was eventually sent home. Here's a short hunk of what Wikipedia had to say about him along with a youtube video at the end... If you couldn't tell, I do recommend reading The Blond Knight of Germany. :-)

Imprisonment

After his capture, the U.S. Army handed Hartmann, his pilots, and ground crew over to the Soviet Union on 24 May 1945, where he was imprisoned in accordance with the Yalta Agreements, which stated that airmen and soldiers fighting Soviet forces had to surrender directly to them. Hartmann and his unit were led by the Americans to a large open-air compound to await the transfer. The number of prisoners grew to 50,000. Living conditions deteriorated, and some American guards turned "a blind eye" to escapes. In some cases, they assisted by providing food and maps.^[41]

After being handed over to the Soviets, the German group was split up into groups according to gender. Hartmann witnessed widespread rape and murder of civilians. When the outnumbered Americans tried to intervene, the Soviet soldiers charged towards them, firing into the air and threatening to kill them. Order was later restored, and some of the guilty soldiers were hanged "on the spot" by a Soviet commander.^[40]

Initially, the Russians tried to convince Erich to cooperate with them. He was asked to spy on fellow officers and become a stukatch, or "stool pigeon". He refused and was given 10 days' solitary confinement in a four-by-nine-by-six-foot chamber. He slept on a concrete floor and was given only bread and water. On another occasion, the Soviets threatened to kidnap and murder his wife (the death of his son was kept from Hartmann). During similar interrogations about his knowledge of the Me 262, Hartmann was struck by a Soviet officer using a cane, prompting Hartmann to slam his chair down on the head of the Russian, knocking him out. Expecting to be shot, Erich was transferred back to the small bunker.^[42]

Hartmann, not ashamed of his war service, opted to go on hunger strike and starve rather than fold to "Soviet will", as he called it.^[43] The Russians allowed the hunger strike to go on for four days before force-feeding him. More subtle efforts by the Soviet authorities to convert Hartmann to communism also failed. He was offered a post in the Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee (East German Air Force), which he refused:

If, after I am home in the West, you make me a normal contract offer, a business deal such as people sign every day all over the world, and I like your offer, then I will come back and work with you in accordance with the contract. But if you try to put me to work under coercion of any kind, then I will resist to my dying gasp.^[42]

[edit]War-crimes charges

Hartmann had gone too far with his resistance. He was falsely charged with war crimes, specifically the deliberate shooting of 780 Soviet civilians in the village of Briansk, attacking a "bread factory" on 23 May 1943, and destroying 345 "expensive" Soviet aircraft.^[44] He refused to confess to these charges and conducted his own defence, which was a waste of time, according to the judge.^[44] Sentenced to 25 years of hard labour, Hartmann refused to work. He was eventually put into solitary confinement, which enraged his fellow prisoners. They began a revolt, overpowered the guards, and freed him. Hartmann made a complaint to the Kommandant's office, asking for a representative from Moscow and an international inspection, as well as a tribunal, to acquit him of his unlawful conviction. This was refused, and he was transferred to a camp inNovocherkassk, where he would spend five more months in solitary confinement. Eventually, Hartmann was granted a tribunal, but it upheld his original sentence. He was subsequently sent to another camp, this time at Diaterka in the Ural Mountains.^[45]

During his long imprisonment, Hartmann's son, Erich-Peter, was born in 1945 and died as a three-year-old in 1948, without his father ever having seen him. (Hartmann later had a daughter, Ursula Isabel, born on 23 February 1957).^[46]

In 1955, Hartmann's mother wrote to the new West German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, to whom she appealed to secure his freedom. A trade agreement between West Germany and the Soviet Union was reached, and Hartmann was released along with 16,000 German military personnel. After spending ten and a half years in Soviet POW camps, he was among the last batch of prisoners to be turned over. Returning toWest Germany, he was reunited with his wife Ursula, to whom he had written every day of the war.^[47]

In January 1997, the Russian government, as a legal successor to the Soviet Union, exonerated Hartmann by admitting that his conviction for war crimes was unlawful.^[2]