Not really. It’s still a flower, just not a purple one. Okay, there is some purple (or crimson) in there, but you know what I mean. Oh, and special thanks to Vicki for identifying the last two flowers I posted. Go and visit her blog here. What do you say, Vicki? What is this one?
Technorati tags: flower, white, photo, photography
If you are looking for free books that are no longer in copyright, perhaps the best site on the web is Project Gutenberg. Here you can download books in .txt and .pdf format for your reading pleasure. There are literally thousands of books available, including most of the classics in English literature. But, if you are like me and sometimes feel overwhelmed at either reading an entire book on your computer or going through the process of actually printing out several hundred pages to have a hard copy, there is an alternative.
DailyLit, like like Project Gutenberg contains books in the public domain (though its library is not nearly as large). The unique thing about Dailylit, however, is that you can subscribe to a book by either e-mail or RSS. Further, you can schedule the days and times you wish to have the next section of the book forwarded to you. In this way, you can digest those great works of literature that you have always meant to read one small, easily digestible chunk at a time.
For my first foray into Daily Lit, I am going to read three of the Wizard of Oz books (which I never read as a child, but of which one of my favorite writers – Frederick Buechner – speaks and writes highly. Go and check out this great resource.
Thanks to TechLifeBlogged for the tip.
Technorati tags: photo, photography, flower, purple
I love the way water seems to freeze in photographs.
Alan Creech has a post on his blog in which he talks about parent’s’ responsibility to raise and train his or her children in the faith. I couldn’t agree with him more. He writes, and I quote:
I’m thinking of how I have taught them over the years, what I’ve taught them, and it actually is my primary responsibility to teach them and raise them in the Faith. It’s no one else’s responsibility. It’s mine. It’s Liz’s. If you’re a parent, it’s YOUR responsibility.
You see where I’m going with this. And of course I’ll say that there is a sense in which it takes a… community. It does take the Church, of which we are a part, to fully complete the formation of any person. I’m not just talking about the institutional/official classes and staff members. They may play their part but only as organically real members of Christ’s Body, working in Him and by His Grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to help in the formation of our children into the Image of Christ. If we’re talking front-lines here, though, we’re talking about ME as a parent. If you’re a Catholic, you should know that the Church teaches you exactly what I’m saying. It’s not the Parish council’s job, not the Priest’s job, not the good Sisters at the school, not their job, or the Youth Minister’s job, primarily, to transfer the deposit of Faith into your children. That’s supposed to happen in what is called “the domestic church” – your family. Again, all those things and people will and can play their parts but they cannot, and should not, take the place of YOU, the parent.
My point is that if you abdicate this responsibility to “the Church,” you are doing just that, abdicating a real responsibility that has been given to YOU as a member of “the Church.”
I realize that some parents believe they are busier nowadays than parents in the past. Many two-parent families have both the dad and mom working full-time jobs. Further, when they get home, they find themselves carting their children around to their various activities. And when we consider the plight of single parents, the argument that there is little time for faith formation in the home would seem to be airtight.
But the fact of the matter is, that in the days gone by, life was much more difficult than it is now. We have so many time-saving appliances (microwaves, washers, dryers, cars, etc. . . ), and not many people I know today make their own clothes or grow their own food. What we have is not a lack of time, but an unwillingness to make “training up a child” a priority. It is too easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and let this most important task slide. But parents let it slide to their children’s detriment. After all, they may receive all kinds of good stuff from worship in church, from youth groups and even Sunday School (though I doubt it), but unless a child sees that faith is important to her or his parent(s), then all the encouragement they may receive from other people and organizations will be diluted, perhaps to the point of being all but worthless.
Anyway, that’s my take on this issue. What’s yours? If you have the time, and why wouldn’t you, go on over to Alan’s blog and read more of what he has to say here: train up a child, which was originally posted on Thursday, 26 July 2007.
Vicki (see comment below) tells me that these flowers are wild phlox. Thanks Vicki. If anyone knows the name of these flowers or any of the unnamed flowers in my blog, please don’t hesitate to tell me.
Technorati tags: photo, photography, flowers, purple
I must love the color purple. At least God won’t get pissed at me for not noticing it (see The Color Purple)
Another picture from the Spare homestead. To see more detailed photo, click on the picture.
Julie Neidlinger’s 2007 installment in the annual blogathon once again featured a beloved creation of hers: Bob. Bob first appeared on the Lone Prairie Blog during the 2005 blogathon (this first appearance was subsequently published in book form, and is available here from Lulu.com.), He has since hung around for these past two years in posts and even calendars (also available from Lulu.com), much to the delight of Lone Prairie readers across the globe. When Julie announced that Bob would grace the posts of her blog again, a shudder of anticipation ran down the back of her collective readership.
This year’s installment was entitled (as you can plainly see in the picture) ”Bob Rogers: Final Frontier Final.” Culling pop culture references from well over a dozen films, TV shows and books, Neidlinger deftly weaves a story that, at first, seems solely an amusing diversion for our entertainment. But, with each successive chapter, she begins to draw us deeper into the mystery that is good and evil, as well as the power of mercy and sacrifice. Of course nothing Neidlinger writes would be complete without her trademark wit and sarcasm. The “Final Frontier Final” contains ample amounts of both, seen particularly in this passage from Chapter 19:
Doogle was, as everyone knew, the most evil force in the galaxy. It’s motto, “Be Evil” was precisely precise. It had evolved from a kind of matrix-based energy force that merely answered questions and served as an information gateway, into a pulsating, living thing, knowing what a person was about to ask before he had a chance, controlling all information and putting a stranglehold on history.
Doogle.
The Great Knower. The Killer of Curiosity, of Scholarship, of Quests. No question it did not answer. Evil, indeed, but perfect for what Rogers had in mind. Questions he had in spades.
An example of Neidlinger’s playfulness is found in this exchange of dialogue between Captain Rogers and the enigmatic Jack Swift, which can be found in Chapter 28:
“That is our version of the Star Queen’s star gate,” he said. “It is by no means as powerful, and can only travel in this galaxy, but the difference is that it can travel in time. Her gate does not allow that, even when working.”
“What is it?”
“It was left here, many centuries ago, by a medicine man.”
“A doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Doctor who?”
“Yes.”
“No, what is the name of the doctor,” Rogers pressed.
“Who.”
“The doctor.”
“Yes, Who.”
Rogers gave up. He recognized the comedy routine from one of three pieces of entertainment that had survived from ancient Earth.
Now if the story Neidlinger presented contained only her wordplay and wit, it would be enough. But, as I mention above, she also dares to venture into the much deeper waters; in this case, the veritable oceans of theology and ontology. For instance, in chapter 21 we find this small morsel:
And now, here they all were, on Planet Doom, the dark half, parched, and in the presence of something evil.
Something dark. Something illogical.
They could all feel it.
Of course, evil has been identified with darkness for millennia. What intrigues me is how Neidlinger also calls evil “illogical.” It is the small touches like this that makes one want to continue reading the story even more than the smiles and laughs the tale produces.
Every chapter of this tantalizing tale is accompanied by a scene that Neidlinger meticulously created to help illuminate her story. One of my favorites is from Chapter 29 where Captain Rogers is given a glimpse of Planet Doom shortly after its creation. The simplicity of the scene perfectly matches the contents of the chapter.
If you have the time, make sure you stop by Lone Prairie Blog and read Neidlinger’s entry into 2007 Blogathon. It will be worth your while, for at times it is as though she is channeling Douglas Adams and C.S. Lewis simultaneously. You can read “Final Frontier Final” by clicking the previous link, or by going to the first post in the series here. Also, if you are willing and able, make sure to make a donation in her honor for completing this 24 hour endurance test. Her charity for this year’s blogathon is Joni and Friends, and you can click here to learn how you can make a contribution to the cause.
PS: If you would like to check out Julie’s 2006 blogathon posts, go here. To look at some of her art work and other crafts for sale, click here. Also please note that the images in this post are the sole property of Julie Neidlinger and are used with permission.
PPS: BTW, having just finished reading the story, let me add that the ending to this tale is perfect. You couldn’t ask for more.
Technorati tags: Blogathon, Julie Neidlinger, Lone Prairie Blog, Bob, review, Final Frontier Final
