writing
I was up late last night writing, reading, thinking. Right before bed I wrote this poem (haiku) as I was thinking about life, my own life, the life of dads my age. Then I didn't sleep a wink all night.
Sips of midnight tea
interrupt encroaching fears.
Midlife night terrors.
"Let us never forget the sprawling genius of a midnight dream, and then how silly it seems in the light of day. ... We write to find out how it ends. So let us keep writing. And let us never forget how it feels to hold life in your hands."
I've recently joined the writing staff of ChristandPopCulture.com (CaPC). Here are my first two pieces: "Saintseneca's Dark Arc: Stripping Off The World's Varnish" and "Must Music Be Authentic? Roger, Wilco."
I've known of and read pieces by CaPC for years and have been thankful for their voice(s). Pieces there have often informed me and helped me think about cultural issues through the lens of faith in Christ. Even when I've disagreed I've gained much from interaction, even when only internal.
Now, as a writer, I've been even more engaged with the articles, website, podcast, and in the writer's-only forum where I realize how thoughtful, funny, and engaging these folks are when off the record as well.
CaPC is starting a new phase of life offering memberships that gives you access to some free shtuff (ebooks, music, magazines), a members-only forum to discuss things on CaPC or start discussions on whatever you are engaging with in the culture, and more. As a writer the greatest benefit of CaPC for me, beside having a place to publish my writing, is the discussion happening behind the scenes. Now that gets expanded to include you as you become a member. Really excited about that.
Check out ChristandPopCulture.com, memberships, and even learn how you can become a patron. This website has produced so much for almost nothing for years now and this is a way to help build a CaPC for the future.
Thought-provoking ideas about how to sustain creativity: "10 Creative Rituals You Should Steal." I've listed them and given you one in full so you get the idea. But you should check out the whole article.
One full example from #9 "Get Out of the Building"...
Radio host Garrison Keillor makes sure to get into the “observable world”:
I don’t think that one should sit and look at a blank page. The way around it is to walk around with scrap paper and to take notes, and simply to take notes on the observable world around you. If you walk into this room and see these great columns and think this was once a savings bank, you could put those two things together, and make some notes here – that would be the start of something.
I think everything – everything – starts with the observable world, and even though you may cut that out of your final go, nonetheless I think this is where it always starts, and with overheard conversations. There are a lot of conversations here that could be overheard, and you’re probably more likely to get them in the back of the room.
Albert Mohler - "Some Thoughts on the Reading of Books" - Here are his main points, but you should read his whole article. Reading between the lines, I think he reads lots of comic books.
ScribblePreach.com - "14 Resolutions for Writers" - I encourage you to check out ScribblePreach. I've been reading Nick for a short time and enjoying it. Here's one of his resolutions...
Start a project you can finish. Finish something this year: a short story, a series of essays, a short book. Before moving onto the big novel or book, finish something small to keep your momentum going.
Journal of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - "The Wedding Vows 20 Years Later" - My post was published in the Fall 2013 issue...
I love you, Molly. Keep walking with me in these broken bodies and with these selfish struggles with sin; hold my hand, and let’s stay on this narrow path to something far better than what has so far been so amazingly good.
John Piper - "Don't Waste Your Weaknesses in 2014"
In 2014, I encourage you to identify and exploit your weaknesses for the glory of Christ.
[...]
Since 2007, millions of people have read books and taken inventories designed to find our strengths. These are useful for positioning people in places of maximum effectiveness.
But I am calling you to give attention and effort in finding your weaknesses and maximizing their God-given purpose.
Tim Challies - Evernote Owns Me - Here are his four key points. Go to his post for his explanation.
6 ways to serve your pastor's wife on Sunday by Ryan Huguley
Instead of enslaving the pastor's wife with expectations, we should seek every opportunity to love and serve her; this is especially necessary on Sunday mornings, as she doesn't have the help of her husband. So here are six simple ways you can serve your pastor's wife on Sundays when your church gathers for worship:
How to write a book review - see both Aaron Armstrong & Tim Challies posts
Ansel Adams and the art of framing
“Photography is really perception,” Adams once wrote. “As with all art, the objective of photography is not the duplication of visual reality, but an investigation of the outer world and its influence on the inner world.”
Best albums of 2013 lists are being gathered in one place - Metacritic
9 thoughts on writing from Madeleine L'Engle - Here's one of the nine...
7. Who should write? “In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”
I love Makoto Fujimura's art and reading his thoughts on art, in his book Refractions and elsewhere. Mako lists and gives some comment on his five favorite books on creativity at Christianity Today. Read his comments each book there, but here's his list...
The Death of the Fringe Suburb
For too long, we over-invested in the wrong places. Those retail centers and subdivisions will never be worth what they cost to build. We have to stop throwing good money after bad. It is time to instead build what the market wants: mixed-income, walkable cities and suburbs that will support the knowledge economy, promote environmental sustainability and create jobs.
Seven Tips for Talking with Your Neighbors About Jesus
For whatever reason, it’s easy for Christians to clam up and get weird when talking about their faith in the day-to-day. Here are a few tips to make bridge those inhibitions and get the conversation going...
An Appreciation of Bird By Bird by Anne LaMott (get it at Amazon or on Kindle)
I thought I was teetering on the edge of crazy with no way to explain to anyone for fear they would quickly need to catch a bus. I was not crazy, or at least not in an inordinate way. With each turn of the page a brilliant sky of possibility opened up to gaze in. Now I might look crazy to some when looking up into that firmament. But, I knew I wasn't the only one.
The duty which I press upon thee so earnestly, and in the practice of which I am now to direct thee, is, “The set and solemn acting of all the powers of thy soul in meditation upon thy everlasting rest.” More fully to explain the nature of this duty, I will here illustrate a little the description itself-then point out the fittest time, place, and temper of mind, for it.
Groundhog Day is coming, and it's Groundhog Days in Woodstock, IL -- the movie Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, IL 1992 and released in 1993. Watch it again this Groundhog Day. And if you are in the Chicagoland area, stop by Woodstock for the festivities.
When I write, study for sermons, etc, I often like to listen to music to drown out other distrations and give my work some rhythm. If it's too lyric-driven (which is a lot of the music I like), it doesn't work. Here are a few of the albums I enjoy when I'm doing work that requires concentration and focus. Name in the comments some albums and artists you like to work to.
A number of Kindle books are really cheap right now. I don't necessarily recommend every book on this list, but I put the ones I felt you would be most interested in, even if you disagree with the authors. I will *star ones I recommend most.
$2.99...
$1.99...
$0.99...
FREE...
