Haystacks

The Pawn by Steven James

Storyteller Steven James weaves a twisting and turning tale of murder and political intrigue.  FBI Agent Patrick Bowers is called in on the case of a serial killer abducting and and murdering women in the Asheville, NC area.  The killer is playing a deadly game of chess. He taunts the investigation team by making contact with future victims and leaving clues at crime scenes. (In chess, if you touch the opponents piece you must then take that piece in your next move.) He is always one step ahead.

To complicate matters, Patrick is trying to come to terms with the death of his wife. He struggles in the role of single parent to his teenage stepdaughter.

The setting of this story was of particular interest to me. The characters fly in and out of my local airport. The monuments and location markers referenced in the story are familiar to me. Because I could picture so many of the scenes, I felt even more involved in James' narrative.

The Pawn is a fast paced, intense thriller. You'll be turning pages trying to keep up with Patrick or maybe, if you're really sharp, get one step ahead of our killer.

(Proud SRC participant)

What book changed your life?

Books are not just companions to pass the time. They contain life altering philosophies. They serve as a mirror and cause us to evaluate our motives. How many readers became lawyers because Atticus Finch inspired them? How many took to the road on a trip to end all road trips after reading Kerouac?

•  I'll first state the obvious, the Bible. I believe the Bible is the word of the living God. It is the text of my faith.

•  Max Lucado's Traveling Light changed my perspective on my faith. I finished that book with a new  appreciation of what it meant to be a child of God.

•  Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller broadened my horizons. I saw other people differently after reading his journey to faith.

• Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak taught me to daydream.

• The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams uses humor and political satire to put things in the universe in perspective.

• I fell in love with words as I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

What book changed your life?

I love my husband!

Every woman (who wants a husband) wants a husband who will love and support her. We often think of that in a positive light. (He will support my dreams and ambitions.) Most of us don't imagine we'll ever need that love and support in times of disability. My wonderful husband spent the last 5 days, waiting on me hand and foot. He dressed me. He helped me walk from the bed the couch. He warmed towels to wrap my feet. I could talk for hours about the wonderfulness of my Jason.

If you are unmarried and looking for the perfect guy, remember this post. It is not always the man who is most handsome, most wealthy, most prestigious who will be your Prince Charming. Sometimes it is the shy, smart kid in the back of the room, who makes you laugh. He may be the one who holds you while you cry and whispers, "I'm right here." And because you believe his presence makes everything better, you believe it will all be okay again.

Next week I will celebrate my 39th birthday. For 23 of those years, Jason has been a major part of my life. We will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary in August. Of all the wonderful things in my life, I am most thankful to God for giving me this incredible man, my best friend.

Thank you for allowing me to share this very personal part of my life with you. Now, go hug someone you love.

The Man in the Moon

Jason is reading "1421: The Year China Discovered the World". He shared the fascinating fact with me that Japanese children do not talk of the man in the moon, but instead of the rabbit in the moon.

Wikipedia has this page about the different perspectives of what resides in the moon.

Four Souls by Louise Erdridge

Fleur Pillager sets out to avenge the theft of her land. She takes her mother’s name, Four Souls. She becomes the laundress in the family home of the land baron who robbed her family. She cures the ailing mogul, because she wants him healthy and strong minded when she kills him. In her close contact with Mauer, she seduces and is seduced by him.

The most fascinating aspect of this narrative is the fact that Four Souls does not tell her own story. Nanapush, an elder tribesman and Polly, the genteel sister-in-law of the land baron narrate Four Souls’ turn from assassin to lady of the house. Readers are kept at a safe distance by seeing the story unfold through another character’s eyes, yet we know the very depths of Four Souls’ heart. It is as if we cannot come any closer, first person, without being scarred as Four Souls’ is.

This story is a raw representation of one of the greatest misdeeds done to Native Americans. In forcing Indians to defend their land, white men taught the natives to see the land as a possession to be bought and sold.

(Proud SRC participant)

 

 

Believing in the person, not the act

Early this morning I awoke to find my left eye did not want to open completely. Considering I am currently in an RA flare up, I freaked out. Rheumatoid arthritis can effect the soft tissues of the body, eyes and lungs in particular, and cause irreversible damage. I tried not to think too much about it. That's called borrowing trouble where I come from.

My prayer as I drove to the doctor's office was, "Strength. Lord, give me strength. Strength to endure, Strength to hold up under the pressures of anxiety. Give me strength."

When caring people see you are hurting, they want to say or do something to ease the pain. That's called compassion. But we sometimes do our friends a disservice in our approach. People have said to me and I have heard it said to others in similar chronic or terminal situations, "I am believing in God for healing." People will take the hand of a sick person and whisper, "I have faith God will heal you."  Unless God has given you this divine revelation, you may have misspoken.

I have faith as well. I have faith in an omnipotent God who knows the minute details of the big picture. I have faith in a God who has told me there will be suffering.  It is my belief that God will not heal me of this chronic disease. Not because he CANNOT, but because, in His infinite wisdom he has chosen not to. God is no less God because he does not heal. He is no less eternal and perfect because our suffering or death is eminent. On the contrary, it is through our suffering and death that He is glorified. Ultimate healing, eternal life is the promise for those who believe.

When you see that one struggling, in pain, take their hand and whisper, "Strength" and trust God to answer your prayer.

50 Third Day shows!

David Carr, Me, Mark Lee, Mac Powell, Jamie, Tai Anderson
(as usual, Jason was behind the camera)

Jamie and I celebrated our 50th THIRD DAY show this weekend in Charlotte, NC. My first THIRD DAY show was in the spring of 2001. My second and third shows were the following years as the band came back to our area on their annual tours. We didn't get hooked on traveling until the LIVE WIRE DVD filming in Louisville, KY in July of 2004. That's when we went hard core.

Jason (who is at a respectable 44 shows, himself) and I have logged thousands of miles and seen the band in 15 states. We have had adventures and misadventures. We have made wonderful friends and found family. Because these 4 guys make great music and create an atmosphere that welcomes fans, we have enjoyed a great run. I can't think of anyone I would rather share the honor with than Jamie.

At the show Saturday night, Mac was gracious to recognize us from the stage. He thanked us for being such loyal fans. It isn't difficult to love a band that inspires such loyalty.

Where The Wild Things Are

 

and he sailed off through night and day

and in and out of weeks

and almost over a year

to where the wild things are

~Maurice Sendak

 

In only 338 words Sendak takes on a journey from our hero's room across the ocean to the Island of the Wild Things and back home again.

Max makes mischief.  He says to his mother, "I'll eat you up!" She sends him to his room without supper. And Max's (and our) adventure begins. Max's room becomes a forest. The walls disappear and his bed becomes a boat. He sails to The Island of The Wild Things, where he tames the beasts by looking into their yellow eyes without blinking once and becomes their king. Max leads them in their wild rumpus, then sends them to bed without their supper.

Max becomes lonely and wants to be where someone loves him best of all. He sails off through night and day and in out of weeks and alomost over a year back home, where he finds his supper waiting for him. And it was still hot.

Max taught a generation of kids how to deal with the conflict and rage. The Wild Things really are the anxiety and pleasure and immense problems of being a small child. The Wild Things grow larger and larger as the story progresses, but Max learns how to be open about his anger and find a resolution.

These are lessons we could all learn, at any age.

(A proud SRC participant)

The Age of Rage

(from TimesOnLine)

Did you know that one person in 20 has had a fight with a next-door neighbour? That one driver in four admits to committing an act of road rage? That cases of “air rage” rose by 400 per cent between 1997 and 2000? That stress has overtaken the common cold as the main reason for taking time off work?

We appear to be living in an age of rage. Earlier this week there seems to have been an incidence of “queue rage” in a supermarket during which a man was punched - and later died. The death raises the whole issue of apparently random acts of violence that are often the product of momentary losses of self-control.

Read the entire article HERE.

My opinion? People are fundamentally unhappy.

Mixed tape: The Remix

Jason Ward loves a good mixed tape. He had dozens of them in high school and college. Most of them have gone the way of the minor bands that inhabited them. But one. One lone mixed tape has survived.
 
In an attempt to show my complete adoration for this wonderful husband of mine, I have attempted to recreate the tape via iTunes.  Believe it or not, Flesh for Lulu's entire catalog is not available on iTunes. Who knew? Out of 23 songs, I was able to get 18 original artists and songs. One song is a cover and another is a clever stand-in. Three songs were untraceable.

Twenty-three 3 minute snippets of life philosophy; I wonder how they stack up now? Will most of them still ring true? Maybe one or two will be slightly off the mark. Maybe a couple will be ironic in the reflection of twenty- some years. And I have no doubt a few will be untraceable.