Working my way through The Last Battle now by C.S. Lewis, the seventh and final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. So good. I had mentioned recently how The Silver Chair might be my favorite of the series, but going through this one makes me think this is the best of the lot. The way Lewis mingles hope and devastation together in this story is palpable. Also, it must have been many years since I last read this book because I don’t remember most of it, so it feels like I’m reading the story for the first time. And listening to Patrick Stewart narrate it has been amazing.

Loving Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite. It's the first of four forthcoming volumes of a new epic poetic Arthuriad, and this first volume is beautiful – both the story and poetry, the incredible illustrations by Stephen Crotts, and the actual physical book itself. Thankful for the incredible gift Malcolm Guite is to the world of literary art.

It is a bit sad to me to watch the ending of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Tonight will be his final show. Of all the current late show hosts, he’s the one I have found to be the classiest and wittiest. Watching David Letterman and Colbert together from last week’s show made me laugh a lot! Excited for what he is doing next – writing a Lord of the Rings movie directed by Peter Jackson.

Of all the clips I’ve seen of Colbert, this one is my favorite.

Finished two books this week!

The first is C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

It had been some years since I last visited the world of Narnia. This one is one of my favorites from the series. I love the sea voyage (reminded me of Odysseus’ sea-faring adventures in the Odyssey), Eustace’ transformation and reformation, meeting an embodied star, Reepicheep’s undaunted courage, and the beauty and wonder of crystal sea at the world’s end. Completing this story feels like I’ve been to the edge of the world and back. Most of all, I love the way Lewis can depict beauty and goodness. For some reason, I feel like goodness and beauty is much harder to describe in these modern times. But he, along with J.R.R. Tolkien, are master’s at not only showing the ugliness of evil, but the glory of goodness. It’s like they have sat with both, but become completely enamored with the deeper reality of truth, goodness, and beauty.

One of my favorite quotes from this story:

“In our world,” said Eustace, “a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.” “Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.” [said Ramandu, an embodied star]

Read more…

My reading break ended last Thursday. This was part of the week-4 tasks in The Artist's Way. Basically, I didn't read any blog posts, articles, personal emails or any other social media, and didn't read any books. Here are a handful of things I learned during that down time.

• I have more “free time” available to me than I realize
• I want to distract myself with social media… Why is that?
• When I gave up looking for something to pre-occupy my attention, I actually ended up choosing action:
  • going to bed early
  • working out
  • getting laundry done
  • writing a blog post about a wildflowering date I took with my wife
  • enjoying listening to full albums
    • Ethan Nathaniel's latest album, River of Gladness
    • Andrew Peterson and friends' tribute concert to Rich Mullins, A Liturgy, a Legacy, & the Songs of Rich Mullins (Live)
    • JJ Heller's album, Love
    • Jess Ray's latest album, MAMA
• My thoughts are not as terrifying to be with as I originally “thought” they would be… I can sit with a calm mind
• I can “Do one thing at a time,” and my life is richer for it

Also, when I came back from the break – and this is not to diss anyone's sharing online as I am doing now – but I found that I really didn't miss much online in one week. When I take some space from the stream of data and content, I can see with better perspective. This was a good exercise in discerning what is really worthy of my time and attention, like my family, nature, and my own soul. I recommend giving it a try!

Rich Mullins on where his songs come from:

My songs are not particularly inspired. The Scriptures were inspired; my songs are provoked.

I love this idea of songs, or any art, being provoked from us. When I encounter the reality of God's grandeur, what is provoked out of me? Songs, poetry... love? I hope for more of all of the above.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife Tiffany and I visited the LBJ National Grasslands as part of a small group of people interested in “wildflowering.” We like learning about flowers, but we didn’t know that “wilderflowering” was a verb until this trip.

I thought this trip was going to be more of humdrum kind of experience. Just hike up and down trails, looking at fields of lots of pretty flowers everywhere, take some photos, but keep hiking to some agreed upon end. It was not really like this at all.

Read more…

Part of this week's practices of The Artist's Way is to partake in a "reading deprivation." I am going to work on being with my own thoughts throughout the day instead of my normal daily habit of reading a book, a selection of articles, or any other kind of social media post. This will be a good challenge. I'm looking at it this way: whatever I want to read, I need to write. So I may still share some posts on my blog throughout this time.

I'm curious if removing reading for a bit will increase writing and other ways of being present to the moment. Looking forward to finding out.

"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."

– Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

Watching the Artemis II crew returning to earth. Praying for a safe landing!

What an incredible shot of earth taken by astronaut Reid Wiseman from the Orion 95,000 miles away!

We trace our past, present, and future
around this moment of infinity,
circling in and out continuously,
the threads of time serving as the suture
where Death and Life meet together
and die. What a strange mixture of hope and loss
here at the place of the cross.

Finished Marilynne Robinson's Home today. Such a beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful story. It contains that quality of bright sadness. The novel stirred up my own thoughts and questions about home. I wrote about them here.

Deeper than our wanderlust and desire for adventure is the desire to find our way back home. Ultimately, we want the adventure only so that we can savor it and tell it around the fire-place at home. – Sacred Fire by Ronald Rolheiser

When does home become home?

Do we recognize it when we’re in it, or only after we have left?

Is there a moment that solidifies home? Or has it always existed and we’re just born into it?

Is home the place we can’t seem to get away from fast enough? Or is home the place we regret leaving and can’t wait to get back to?

How long do you stay in one place before it becomes home?

Can you have more than one home, or is there ever only one?

Is home something that can be wiped away by time, memory, fire, flood, or other disaster? Or is home something indestructible?

Is home some superposition of the soul?

Is home a place we carry with us, and also carries us when we are too tired to go on?

Can home be all of these at once somehow?

In the end, despite all its complexities, one thing seems sure:

Home is the place always patiently and hopefully awaiting our arrival.

Ye who are weary, come home.

Starting The Artist's Way today with a good friend for quarter two. It's like a 12-steps program over 12 weeks for those who want to connect again to that creative part of themselves. I'm looking forward to the challenge!