Wednesday, August 31, 2016

As Summer Slips Away

As summer slips away, the days stay bright, but bittersweet with the knowledge that often accompanies goodbyes. An ending is about to take place, just on the doorstep, drawing ever nearer with each passing day, but with it also the possibility of renewal and change. So turn the seasons, so turn we all in the rhythms and undulations of life.

Like enjoying a magnificent symphony, I have appreciated the beauty and complexity of these past few months - the contrasts of industry and rest, the mad frantic chaos of social gatherings and the calm healing silence of solitary afternoons, the cool comfort of home and the warm embrace of the sun. Perhaps all of life is a study in contrasts and we simply strive to find balance in them all, alternating between extremes as notes on a scale and seeking the harmony that is often elusive but so incredibly satisfying when we get it *just* right.

This summer in particular has felt like a gift, for which I am utterly grateful. There's always a temptation, isn't there, to want to slow down the best moments of our lives? To prolong the harmony, to just sustain it just a little longer and then just a little more, basking in beauty and unwilling to let go? But this is not how time works, and we all know it. And rather than chafing against its inexorable progression, I am trying to do two things in these moments: to give thanks for all these evidences of grace, and to recognize, in their passing, that they are opportunities to look ahead to a time of unending harmony and beauty that will never fade.

In the meantime, may I savour this season's final, fleeting days. For every ending is a new beginning and in the right light, bittersweet is beautiful, too.

P.S. I know ~~I'm verging into~~ I might be tiptoeing close to purple prose territory here, but I felt rather poetic tonight and didn't want to do another "boring" summer update. So you're stuck with my rusty attempt at creative writing, instead! ;)

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Book Review: The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's probably been almost 20 years since I first read this gem, and it remains one of the most powerful accounts of transformative, gospel-centred love I have ever encountered. Corrie's life is a testament to how the light of Christ really can and does penetrate even the deepest darkness. The wisdom found here has been formative in my own life and walk with God. One of my "desert island" books, so I give this beautiful memoir my highest recommendation. 5 shining stars!

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Favourite Quotes:

“We commented to Corrie about the practicalness of the things she recalled, how her memories seemed to throw a spotlight on problems and decisions we faced here and now. 'But,' she said, 'this is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future that only He can see.'” -p.12 (Preface)

"And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, 'Father, what is sexsin?' He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor. 'Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?' he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. 'It's too heavy,' I said. 'Yes,' he said. 'And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.' And I was satisfied. More than satisfied -- wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions -- for now I was content to leave them in my father's keeping." -p.42

“Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way.” -p.60

“Mama's love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street-- and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in. ” -p.64

“There are no 'if's' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety - Oh Corrie, let us pray that we may always know it!” -p.84

“My job was simply to follow His leading one step at a time, holding every decision up to Him in prayer.” -p.99

“And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” -p.248

Book Review: 13 Hours

It turns out you can't access full reviews on Goodreads unless you make an account, so as of today I'll be sharing mine here as well! One of my goals this month was to read a new book from the library (yay, Overdrive!) and this was the one I chose. I've been on a bit of an autobiography/biography/memoir kick lately, so this fits neatly into that category as well.

13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The story is compelling and the main characters (who are actual people, so "characters" might not be the best designation...) are real-life heroes who are at once easy to relate to and elite combat experts. This *should* make for a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, can't put down-able read, but I did not find the story-TELLING here to be particularly captivating. During the first few chapters I chalked this up to the necessity of quickly introducing a sizable quantity of history, key people, and geopolitical facts to set the scene, which is a legitimate writing challenge. I expected the pace to pick up and the intensity to heighten as I kept reading, though, and in this way the book definitely fell short of my expectations. I applaud the authors for wanting to keep this account completely factual, non-embellished, and as accurate as humanly possible (an expressly stated goal with which they bookend the account), but unfortunately that ended up making this read more like a textbook than a modern tale of heroism and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. My first thought after finishing this title was, "I'm pretty sure the movie was better." (Although I'm equally sure the movie would be way too violent and intense for me to watch.) 2.5 stars.

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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Photo Update: Vacation Days 11-21

Since I have never been much good at keeping a journal (a sad fact for a writer, but there it is), I resolved this month to keep track of my vacation by taking at least one photo every day. This practice admittedly makes for lazy blogging, but has happily helped me remember in vivid detail much of what has transpired over the past ten days (an impressive feat for me at any time, let alone during a month of unstructured, unscheduled living, considering I routinely arrive at our Friday fellowship meeting unable to answer the classic, "How was your week?" with anything more than a blank stare and a hazy feeling of being busy but lacking concrete recollection of a single thing I have accomplished during said week). And so, without further ado or another long-winded aside, I present you with this photo update of the "middle third" of my vacation.