Category: <span>Books</span>

Published August 18, 2007 by

Two hours of Blaise Pascal’s life

Of the five folded corners of Generous Orthodoxy, this one requires the least explanation. Brian McLaren quotes Blaise Pascal on a poem – this guy – Pascal, was a prose-happy, rational being who seemingly had a few fleeting hours of heart filled inspiration and gratefulness that expressed itself.

MEMORIAL
The year of grace 1654
Monday, 23 November…
From about half past ten in the evening until about half past midnight
FIRE.
“GOD of Abraham, GOD of Issac, GOD of Jacob”
not of the philosophers of the learned.
Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace.
GOD of Jesus Christ.
“My God and your God…”
Forgetfulness of the world and of everything
except GOD.
He is to be found only in the ways taught in the Gospel.
Greatness of the human soul.
“Righteous Father, the world has not known you,
but I have known you.”
Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.
I have departed from him:
“They have forsaken me, the fount of living water.”
“My God, will you leave me?”
Let me not be separated from him forever.
“This is eternal life,
that they might know you, the one true God,
and the one that you sent, Jesus Christ.”
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ.
I left him;
I fled him,
renounced,
crucified.
Let me never be separated from him.
He is only kept securely by the ways taught in the Gospel:

Renunciation, total and sweet.
Complete submission to Jesus Christ and to my director.
Eternally in joy for a day’s exercise on the earth.
Not to forget your words. Amen.

I think it is one of the most beautiful and honest things I have ever read.

Books Christianity Words

Published July 24, 2007 by

Everything a bloke needs to know

talking_heads.jpgMy mum is obsessed with op-shops. I mean obsessed. It’s been that way since ever I can remember. Her curiosity has branched into a somewhat more lucrative business in the past years of I which I participated in for six months in selling off secondhand kids books on eBay.

Ever since Geoff’s and my engagement, mum has been showering me with bridal magazines, no joke, I have 20+ on my bedroom floor. Before I go any further, a word of advice. Don’t ever buy wedding magazines new. To start with they’ll put you out of pocket $15 a pop. Indulge in Library/Opp-shop finds and you’ll soon discover that for the most part they are utterly useless for anything other than getting ideas for the kind of wedding dress you’d like – once you’ve got your dress, you’re on your own baby (with Google and your sometimes interested fiancee, sisters, bridesmaids…)!

This endowment of bridal information has thus been nice and good and fun but today she hit the jackpot.

If there is one book you should borrow/steal/buy/find before you go about throwing it all at a wedding then have a shot at, ‘Everything a Bloke needs to know about Marriage’. Does that scare you? Read it. Who cares if you’re taken with frills and swarovski crystals or plastic imitations. This is good to honest practical information that isn’t caught up in the glitz and glam. This is also information that extends through the whole, ‘have a wedding’ thing, to the much more significant, ‘have a marriage’. It’s sound and very funny.

Sad to admit, but this time the boys have done it best.

Everything a BLOKE needs to know about MARRIAGE – Peter Downey

Books Wedding

Published July 19, 2007 by

Circle of Friends

quiet-print-c10046161.jpegA book turned movie is always an interesting thing, sometimes fairly tragic and yet unashamedly I admit – can be enjoyed in their own right if a certain amount of disassociation is present.

For the sake of an indulgent night at home, it served it’s purpose very well. Just me, tea, hotwater bottle, doona and a girly dvd.

Circle of Friends. Based on the Maeve Binchy book of the same title. I read the book a year or so back and loved it. I like her stuff – not all at once, but now and then.

The movie didn’t have the time/space to explore the characters emotional levels – which is a large bit of the good that adds to the standard romantic/friendship thread of the book, but I remembered a fair chunk of it, and Irish accents and ‘the 50’s’ are always good fun.

Here’s to a night in!

Books Movies

Published July 12, 2007 by

The Harry Theory

potterglasses.gifI shouldn’t possibly do 12:15am theories as they can’t be substantiated but here’s my theory on why Harry Potter is so ripping good at worming his way into our imaginations, hearts, bookstores, fan-fiction and movies.

Harry as a character is everything. He’s the nerd, the popular kid, the bullied one, the hero, the kid from the crappy family (and the really fantastic family)…

We all relate.

He also is famous without having done anything – this lends itself to the minor probability of an almost improbability (One we try to pretend isn’t) in today’s world.

If that’s not quite enough, the Harry books have fun things like Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans and photographs where the people move around. Who’s imagination doesn’t delight in chasing that!

I am a Harry Potter fan who quite proudly can say owned the books before they got popular. I don’t think I’ve seen the second latest movie (if so I can’t remember it – and they keep changing directors anyway) – I won’t bother with watching the movie or buying the new book until the hype winds down and I haven’t read the books hundreds of times – just twice, maybe three times for some.

As for my thoughts on the new book:

I think Snape has some good in him. I don’t think xyz person is fully dead. I do think that the last book will be spoilt if it is filled with copious amounts of romance between two certain individuals (but might secretly enjoy some of it) and I’m hoping that there is some question or something left unresolved – just to infuriate people.

Thus endeth my random Harry Potter theorizing, ranting, wondering and whatever else’ing.

Don’t be sucked in by the mania, but do visit the books in say thirty years time and enjoy them as a good – fun read for what they are.

…and I haven’t turned evil yet.

Books Culture Movies

Published July 10, 2007 by

Three things

girl.jpgOn Sunday two of our youth kids, d’Arcy and Jess got baptised! It was really encouraging, I was shell shocked by how well Jess speaks – this is a skill I could do with learning more about. Read more about it and see photos here.

Yesterday I discovered that Alex (one of my small group girls) is reading stuff by Rob Bell (This is rather exciting, but kind of freaky because she’s in Grade 6 – she’s starting to remind me of me except that I didn’t read theology books – I just read too many books long before I should’ve).

And here’s the link to Anne Jackson’s blog for Geoff (who’d forgotten it) and Christina who likes reading the few and far between well-authored Christian female blogs (Of which hers is one of – that’s me saying that).

Blogging Books Christianity Church Ministry