The Baker Who Also Writes and Teaches
Earlier this week I linked to Sally because she had some beautiful art work up. Today I am linking for a creative writing piece. Last month I posted The Samaritan Woman. We looked at the first evangelist in the Gospels. Sally has a wonderful reflection written from the Samaritan Woman’s (does anyone else want to give this woman a name?) point of view when she met Jesus: Woman at the Well. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
I have been thinking this whole week that it is Book in a Week, and it’s not. It’s next week: the first full week of February. Now I don’t feel so guilty for doing more reading through what I wrote and outlining to get my head back in my novel. I’ve only written a few pages because it’s been so long since I worked on it. Now I can review and outline all I want, and next week I might actually be in a place where I can crank out 20 pages a day.
When was the last time you were reminded of your humanity (and it doesn’t have to be a mistake or goof up)?
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci is where I found the drawing, and the site has a lot of da Vinci’s drawings available for download.
This week I will be taking part in Book in a Week in order to finish my novel. My goal is to write 20 pages a day for a total of 100 pages by the end of the week. If that doesn’t get the novel finished, it should be close. But the goal is to have the first draft done by the end of this week. All of that to say that I will probably not be posting as much this week. My goal is to write three posts this week.
I am thinking of renaming the Career Women series. The main reason I want to is that I want to include Mary, Hannah, and the Matriarchs. Now I think being a mother (especially a stay-at-home mom) is a full-time career and then some. So I am fine leaving it with the current title.
I have also thought it would be nice to have more a inclusive and descriptive title. The one I’ve come up with that I like the most is: Biblical Women: Prophets, Evangelists, and Mothers. When I wrote my thesis its primary purpose was to show that single woman had a valid place in leadership positions in the church. Now I would like to expand out to show that women have always been single or wives, mothers, and leaders in the Bible, and that these callings are not mutually exclusive.
I would love to hear your thoughts. I would also love to hear any suggestions you have for a new title for the series. Thanks.
First thank you for all the comments that you have left. Mary and Francine, I plan on continuing on Rebekah when I get back from my honeymoon incorporating ideas both of you left in your comments, and yes I will tell what I got from each of you. And thank you to all the RevGalBlogPal’s who have stopped by and said hi.
My Hubby and I are heading to Rome tomorrow for our honeymoon. We should be back Thanksgiving weekend…may be…
I have a new post up at The Scroll: What Married Women Want (Not This One) . Christians for Biblical Equality’s E-newsletter, E-Quality, has also picked up my poem “I Want These Things Written on My Body.” I will let you know when the issue is out.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
I discovered a great site that I wanted to share with other sci-fi/fantasy writers on my site: DeepGenre. DeepGenre is a collabarative blog where nine authors give help, advice, and insight into the general writing business and the specifics of the sci-fi and fantasy genre. This is the entry that introduced me to the site: Contracts 101: Grant of Rights by Madeline Robbins. I now have an idea of what a contract will look like and be about when I see one. Fantasy writers don’t miss Kate Elloit’s 11 Things in Fantasy/SF that I don’t Promise Not to Use (or Keep Using) in My Writing and Kevin Andrew Murphy’s 6 More Things I Could do Without in Fantastic Literature and I don’t plan to use Except to Make Fun of. They also have a discussion board for those of us writing our first novels. It is well worth time to check out and read.
I was working yesterday afternoon at the Canady’s Le Chocolatier, which is in our building. In addition to the wonderful chocolates Michael makes, he also has gelato, paninis, and the best capuccino at the best price (I haven’t had coffee this good since I lived in Barcelona). When I went in yesterday, there was a woman and her son wanting to get candy and gelato for dad’s birthday. The little boy was an exuberant chocoholic. His mom promised that she would get a piece just for him to eat now. But Michael had some special chocolate he had been making: chocolate pieces with cars on them. He gave the boy two pieces. Then before they left, he wrapped up two more pieces and gave them for later. Michael really cares about the people who come in his shop, and he’s not only there for business, but he wants to serve the community. I loved the little boy, and how he was so free in expressing his love for chocolate and his appreciation for the gifts. He reminded me to be open with my own desire and wants, and to be thankful and take joy in receiving the gifts I get.
I have decided the Chocolatier will be my working spot outside of home and the library. Because it’s part of the community of my building and block. It doesn’t have the traffic and noise that the other coffeeshops have (and he plays much better music–where else can I work to opera?), and Michael knows everyone who walks through his door by name. And if he doesn’t, he does before you leave, and you feel as if you’ve been visiting a friend’s home. I like being in a place where I can be part of my community, and with a man to whom community is so important to.
A little over a year ago my bedroom became my sanctuary. I let my whimsy take over and designed the room to be my getaway. I painted it to look like twilight right after the sun had went down–my favorite time of day. My doll collection which included fairies were there as well as my icons. I called the motif “spiritual whimsy.” And when I wanted to shut the door on the world and lose myself in writing or a good book, I went in there and lit all the candles. Aaah sanctuary.
I was wondering if the bedroom would feel the same way since my marriage and move. Now I share the bedroom, which means I can’t paint it like twilight. But I do have my dolls out and my icons up. I love the view from the windows, both night and day. The lake is right there, and at night all the lights twinkling in windows make a wonderful mosaic. I put my rocking chair by one of the bedroom windows. Where I can read then look up and see the lake.
I am now on our bed. I decided the bedroom was the only place to be tonight. I needed sanctuary. I am overwhelmed by the violence and barbarism of the world. I have wanted to write on Lebanon and the Middle East, but the truth is I simply cannot. It’s too overwhelming. And I watched far too much news today. I have been careful in the last week to limit how much news I watch. Today I didn’t. Tomorrow I will. So here I sit on the bed, writing, with Bobby Flay’s Throwdown on in the background. (I love The Food Network).The Food Network has sparked another one of my sanctuaries: the kitchen. I love to cook. I love creating dishes and feeding people; my husband loves to eat, so we are well-paired. It renews me, and I can feel the stress from the day slipping away as I rinse, cut, and stir. I have just realized that I have planned a couple of time-intensive meals to make this weekend and in the coming week: time to unwind, to leave the world behind, and to create in contrast to all the tearing down.
I am hoping as I am in my sactuary, building up instead of tearing down, that God will show me ways of buidling up instead of tearing down out in the world. I am praying that I will create peace and be a peacemaker in the world as I receive peace in my sanctuaries. There are four articles that I found that I believe will help me to begin to know how to build up in regards to the Middle East. The links are below. They are very well balanced, and I loved that these two men are listening to each other, and their readers, and responding in Christlike love instead of diatribe. They give me hope that the Church can make a difference in our world instead of being polarized by political crap all the time. They give me a glimpse of what it looks like to be the body of Christ in this world and to act as Christ would act.
The Middle East’s Death Wish and Ours” by David P. Gushee.
Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon by Martin Accad.
We Risk Not Just Suffering, But Annihilation by David P. Gushee.
“Who Is My Neighobor” in the Lebanon-Isreali Conflict? by Martin Accad.
Though you won’t find it in some of the sanitized versions lining the shelves of the children’s section of the library, an unmistakable strain of sheer brutality runs through the traditional folk and fairy tales. It’s frank and unapologetic, this element of violence and cruelty–naked and unadorned. Anyone even moderately familiar with the work of the Brothers Grimm, for instance, knows how truly grim the Grimms can be. Perhaps this is one of the reasons J. R. R. Tolkein suggested that fairy tales were never really meant for the nursery. Their outlook in life is far too broad–and too realistic–for that. –Jim Ware, God of the Fairy Tale, pp. 49-50.
I really like this book, and it will probably wind up in my collection. In this chapter, “Savage World: The Cruelty of Fallen Creation,” Ware reminds us that the brutality and savageness of our world today is nothing new. This world has been a brutal place to live in since the Fall. We live in a fallen and corrupt world where evil lives, and there are no guarantees of safely making it through the forest, down the street, or across the parking lot. In “Hansel and Gretel” we see parental abandonment, child abuse, torture, and cannibalism. Themes with a familiar ring to them. Ware goes on to note brutality in other fairy and folk tales: the giant telling Jack that he will make bread out of Jack’s ground bones, the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood, and the tales of Mr. Fox and Robber Bridegroom who lured young, beautiful women into their lavish homes only to murder them.
Ware says, “The point here is not to terrify or titillate. Nor is it to echo the all-to-familiar alarmist message that society today is somehow worse than it’s ever been. On the contrary, what ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and the rest of the fairy tales teach us is that terror, cruelty, and savagery are simply ‘business as usual’ in a tainted and fallen world. We shouldn’t be surprised” (p. 51).
Ware notes that Jesus knew this as well. He warned his disciples that his followers would have trouble in this world. John reminds that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Christians should be the least surprised over how brutal and savage this world can be. Christians in other parts of the world aren’t surprised. The ones who are suffering persecution for their faith, and have to leave family when they become a Christian to survive, know the truth of Jesus’ words and of fairy tales.
Yet large sections of American Christianity always seem to be surprised by what happens in our fallen world. It makes me wonder if they pay attention to their own beliefs. This world is not a nice place to live, and it will not be until Christ returns and all people and creation are reconciled in him.
Now this is not to say that we do nothing. There is a section of American Christianity that just wants to cover its head, whine to God how horrible this world is, and beg God to take them out of this evil, evil place. But Jesus showed us a different way. He showed us how to live in this evil world: love our enemies, pray for those who despise us, feed the poor, visit the sick and those in prison, and show this evil world a different way to live. Today in church our senior pastor said, “It’s not enough to pray for peace and then go home and do nothing. You have to become a peacemaker.” Paul would call it redeeming the time.
I want to be a peacemaker, but I’m not sure how to do that, but I am praying for God to show me. I know it won’t be popular in a war-mongering society. The war-mongering part of the church really irritates me. Jesus commanded us to be peacemakers, to love our enemies, to care for our enemies if they need it. So when Christians agree with actions that kill people and encourage even more warring ways, it makes me mad. They always cite Old Testament holy war passages, and I want to say, “So the Old Testament trumps the Son of God?” May be I should say it.
I’m not naive–I know there will be times when nations and societies go to war. It does not mean that the Church encourages it. It may be seen as a necessary evil, but it is still wrong. It is still sin. One of the reason I admire Dietrich Bonhoeffer is he never white-washed his role in the plot to assassinate Hitler. He admitted that it was a necessary evil, and that he had to do something to prevent Hitler from continuing his evil, but he always said it was still a sin. And he asked forgiveness.
There is evil in this world. It is a brutal and savage place to live. But Christians are not to be brutes and savages within it. We are the body of Christ in this world, which means we are Christ in this world. To me this means we should be saying and doing the things Jesus said and did: “Your sins are forgiven” to prostitutes, tax collectors and the worse kinds of sinners; “Father forgive them” to those who killed him. He loved his enemies, fed the poor, and alleviated suffering and the effects of sin. He told us to be peacemakers and reconcile the world to him and the Father.
This essay is also posted at Street Prophets.
I am reading How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci, and I am realizing how important asking questions is:
Although we all started life with a Da Vinci-like insatiable curiosity, most of us learned, once we got to school, that answers were more important than questions. In most cases, schooling does not develop curiosity, delight in ambiguity, and question-asking skill. Rather, the thinking skill that’s rewarded is figuring out the “right answer”–that is, the answer held by the person in authority, the teacher. This pattern holds throughout university and postgraduate education. . . (p. 65).
Michael Gelb then goes on to explain that in order to hone our problem-solving skills, we need to ask questions, and we need to ask the right kind of questions. We have to move away from “Is this the right answer?” thinking to “Is this the right question?” thinking. We have to look at different ways of seeing the problem, which means we will be asking more than one question. We have to reframe our initial question in a variety ways to be able to find solutions.
This led me back to a chapter I read in The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing about ideas. One of the sections of the chapter was on asking questions of your reading. When you read a news article or magazine feature, or something in a book that caught your attention–got your curiosity–you were to ask questions. Not everything that could be said about that person, organization, or situation was in that piece. Ask questions–what wasn’t there? What aspect of the story was glossed over in a line that needs its own story? “Questions lie at the heart of many of the best story ideas. Your job is to select the questions that intrigue you the most and run with them” (p. 45).
It seems all I have right now are questions. That is okay. I will keep asking questions and reframing those questions until I have answers that I can write about. All of my questions will probably have more than one answer, and none of those answers will be “the right answer,” but that is okay. That is how life is supposed to be. It would be nice if there were a right answer for everything, but there is not. All I can do is ask the questions and follow where they take me then tell you about it. And that is what I will do.