Sola Christus

For all of those patrons who asked me where the Kinkades were

I worked for two years in a sacred art museum where there were there were paintings by Tinteretto, Orazio Gentileschi, and Botticelli, just to name a few. It was one of the best jobs I have ever had. But, it never failed to surprise me that patrons would ask the docents where the Thomas Kinkade paintings were. I know this is a late article, but Vanity Fair did a good job at exposing his "art." Enjoy fellow art lovers. 

Good Reading

Check out this website for some great articles. Especially the theater reviews, which are written by my friend Stephanie .

ipod joys

One of them is that you can have podcasts. Podcasts can be found all over the internet. In the itunes store or on church's websites. But, now for the boring moments when I am stuck in a cube doing menial work, my ipod makes those moments a little more bearable. I no longer have my very own cozy little office where I can listen to NPR's Poetry Almanac, but I do have a little box that fits in my pocket that can hold months and months of Poetry Almanac shows. Or Cartalk episodes that make me stifle laughs so much I almost choke at my desk. Or Dave Ramsey podcasts where people cheer that  they are debt free. Ah yes, I love my ipod.

Just in case you aren't familiar with Poetry Almanac, Garison Keillor spends about five minutes mentioning birthdays and literary landmarks for the chosen day before reading a poetry selection. Some poems may be familiar, but most of them are not. I have discovered several gems through this show. This one came from the October 9, 2007, episode. I hope you enjoy it.

They'll
by Cheryl Denise

take your soul
and put it in a suit,
fit you in boxes
under labels,
make you look like the Joneses.

They'll tell you go a little blonder,
suggest sky-blue
tinted contact lenses,
conceal that birthmark
under your chin.

They'll urge you to have babies
get fulfilled.
They'll say marriage is easy,
flowers from Thornhills
are all you need
to keep it together.

They'll push you to go ahead,
borrow a few more grand,
build a dream house.
Your boys need Nikes,
your girls cheerleading,
and all you need is your job
9 to 5 in the same place.

They'll order you never to cry
in Southern States,
and never, ever dance
in the rain.

They'll repeat all the things
your preschool teacher said
in that squeaky too tight voice.

And when you slowly
let them go,
crack your suit,
ooze your soul
in the sun,
when you run through
the woods with your dog,
read poems to swaying cornfields,
pray in tall red oaks,
they'll whisper
and pretend you're crazy.

Goosepimples!

You have got to see this clip on You tube. See what Simon Cowell called fantastic. Then see the cell phone salesman's finale. Hat tip to Joy.

a confession

I like American Idol. There I said it.

I enjoy having my friends Will and Alison over every week to revel in the highs and lows of American culture. Melinda, Lakisha, Blake, and Chris Sligh are my favorites. I was in school with Chris quite awhile ago, and I also taught one of his former band members. He has a bluesy/rocky kind of style that I like. Melinda is almost like a pro! She is very talented. I hope these four make it to the end, although I might have to vote for all of the!

BUT, American Idol also shows the low points of American culture, maybe even American stupidity! One word: Sanjaya.

if you are in Grand Rapids

go to this festival for me! Lauren Winner and EmmyLou Harris are going to be there!

This Friday

Friday 7pm is the Andrew Peterson and Derek Webb concert at North Hills Community Church.
I am pretty excited. If you haven't discovered these singers and songwriters, you need to. But be there early!

Andrew Peterson is a soulful/folksy/bluesy singer. He writes most of his songs; one of my favorites is on the Far Country CD. Here is part of "For the Love of God." It is a song he wrote to sing at one of his friend's weddings.

Now, love is not a feeling in your chest
It is bending down to wash another’s feet
It is faithful when the sun is in the west
And in the east

It can hurt you as it holds you
In its overwhelming flood
Till only the unshakable is left
“This new command I give you,” He said,
“Love as I have loved”
So brother, love her better than yourself
And give her your heart

For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

Still alive

in spite of the craziness!

Here are two of my new favorite cds. I have been listening to them a lot while grading my myriad (not a hyperbole) of papers:

Both Sides Now

and Half the Perfect World

3 weeks to Christmas vacation and getting my life back.

Christian as an adjective?

Jan over at The View from Her has started a great discussion on what makes a work of art "Christian." Her first post lists some qualities that some Christians put forth to try to define "Christian art." Some of these include "Books written by Christian authors" equal a Christian book. Obviously, this is problematic. This seems to assume two things:

1. Once the person is saved, he or she will now produce only perfect, nice, (insert appropriate adjective) work.

2. When does that moment of salvation occur? When do the works of Tolstoy or Eliot or Lewis (all of whom were writers and all of whom would not point to a moment of belief) become "Christian?"

The second post tears those previous ideas apart. Good for her!

I have some things brewing in response, but if you care to read her intelligent posts first, please do.

Graffiti

I changed my author picture again. This one is a picture of first century graffiti found in The Garden Tomb near the Damascus gate in Jerusalem. This graffiti is one of the evidences that convinces some that this tomb was Christ's. The beauty of this Garden was breath taking. Especially after the viewing the much more gaudy and shall I say idolatrous Tomb of the Holy Sepulchre. The simplicity of this sign says it all. The Alpha and Omega.