It Ain't Regular

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we find the classic character of Tom Sawyer steering our imaginations to get all fixed in some mischief. There are a few priceless moments in Huck Finn when Tom Sawyer lays down the "law" of the matter. For Tom, there's thieving the right way, and thieving the wrong way. "Tom's got his principles", as Huck says.

In perhaps one of my favorite lines in the book, after being pressed on why Tom's gang have to rob in a certain way, he simply states in a hilarious childlike way..."I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do."

Later on in the classic when Huck and Tom reunite further down the Mississippi River, they hatch a plan to spring Jim, the black slave and friend of Huck. While they could have simply helped Jim escape by distracting the guard and pushing Jim out the front door, it wasn't "regular" enough. You see Tom's read books. He knows that when prisoners escape it takes them years, digging with case knives, and scrawling messages in blood on cell walls. So of course, this is how it should be done, because if it's not done in this great manner, there's no glory. And why would you want to escape if no one would talk about it anyways?

When Huck asks Tom about giving Jim a feather quill to write his messages on the wall, Tom snaps back with his correction:

"Prisoners don't have geese running around the donjonkeep to pull pens out of, you muggins. They always make their pens out of the hardest, toughest, troublesomest piece of old brass candlestick or something like that they can get their hands on; and it takes them weeks and weeks, and months and months to file it out, too, because they've got to do it by rubbing it on the wall. They wouldn't use a goose quill if they had it. It ain't regular."

Sometimes things happen in life where we know for sure there has to be an easier way. There has to be a sure fire, flash in the pan answer to every stinkin' sitiation.

But come on...
There's a process, a way to do things...
What would Tom Sawyer say anyway if you weren't lookin' for the adventure!?

"...It ain't regular"

In this Valley of Tears

I don't know where you're at today. Happy. Sad.
Scared, nervous, or elated..
I read this today and it brought such comfort and peace.
Such beauty and promise.

We shall be led through. Safely through.


Heidelberg Catechism

Question 26. What believest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"?

Answer: That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.

What I'm Reading

This summer I feel like I've read more than at any other time in my life, and to my greater surprise, have been blown away at how much I have enjoyed it and seen written words feed my soul. From the trivial and fun, to the moving and intellectual, reading has become something new and different for me these past few months.

I'm always intrigued to know what others are reading and so routinely I'll check other sites and blogs to find out what some of you and other friends are reading. So I thought I'd do the same and every once in a while share with you what I'm reading.

So here's what I'm reading this week...

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

An American classic that as Dr. Lamerson wrote, "everyone should read at least once." Just be wary, the N word is used thoroughly. A fun adventure, that speaks to the heart of Americana and history.


2. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero

My passion as a baseball fan continues to grow and grow. Baseball history captivates me. And this biography that has been hailed as one of Sport's best in recent years, depicts the stoic and proud Clemete. The "royal" Pirate, whose "eyes burned with the fire of dignity". A portrait of a baseball icon, a rifle arm, and a humanitarian. More than just a baseball book, Clemente, speaks to race, homeland, and grace.

Until next week...
Happy Reading

Much Afraid

lyrics by Jars of Clay

Empty again
Sunken down so far
So scared to fall
I might not get up again

So I lay at your feet
All my brokenness
I carry all of my burdens to you

All of these things
I've held up in vain
No reason nor rhyme
Just the scars that remain
Of all of these things
I'm so much afraid
Scared out of my mind
By the demons I've made
Sweet Jesus, you never ever let me go
Oh, sweet Jesus, never ever let me go

So happy to love
Yet so far to go
You lead me on to where I've never been before

All of these things
I've held up in vain
No reason nor rhyme
Just the scars that remain
Of all of these things
I'm so much afraid
Scared out of my mind
By the demons I've made
Sweet Jesus, you never ever let me go
Oh, sweet Jesus, never ever let me go

Man vs. Wild

So, there's this show on the Discovery Channel that I've just recently gotten into.

Man vs. Wild.

Needless to say, it's incredible. It follows Bear Grylls, an ex-SAS British Special Service agent, and the youngest briton to ever scale Mt. Everest at age 23.

The premise of the show - Bear drops into remote parts of the world, often parachuting or paragliding in. From there, he's on his own. With just a water bottle, a knife, and a flint, he begins his survival campaign in search of civilization.

Many have knocked the show for the simple fact that this guy, who is slightly crazy, is followed around by a camera crew, so I mean, how bad could it really be, and come on, they have supplies don't they? Apparently, a camera crew of 2 follows his exploits with the proper food, supplies, and protection they need. But they're not aloud to help Bear... And if that really keeps you from enjoying the show, or thinking he's credible, then just chill out, relax, and be entertained.

From eating snakes, to drinking his own urine, Bear does things you thought were impossible. Like the time he was in the Sierra Nevadas, carved an Indian throwing stick, and from 20 yards away, flung it at a rabbit, struck it, and killed it for food. What was I doing while this was happening? Sitting on my couch eating fritos.

I love this show. Not just because he's fun to watch and does things you know you would never have the guts to do, but because it makes me think about survival.

Isn't it amazing to see at what lanks humans will go to survive? We all have heard the stories, the heroism. That hiker who was trapped under a boulder a few years back and cut his own arm off with a pen-knife. What brings a person to do that? There's something deep within humanity. An innate desire to live. Breathe. That, cannot be duplicated.

Although Man vs. Wild presents a more lighthearted approach to survival, I can't help but think of what I'd do to live.

What we all would do to live.

What a Song

Some songs become part of American Pop history. They just keep appearing in various forms, versions, and interpretations.
"To Love Somebody", was originally written and recorded by the
Bee Gees in 1967, but was made famous as the title track of Nina Simone's 1969 album. Since then, all kinds of artists, from every genre have covered the song.

From, Rod Stewart, to Billy Corgan, Michael Bolton, Simone, and a handful of others, the song just keeps breathing on its own.

This version linked below is my favorite though. When a great song meets the raw emotion of an artist... it breathes anew. And there's no doubt, whenever Damien Rice opens his mouth to sing, and plucks the first string on his guitar, he's letting it all hang out... its all emotion. Here he's joined by another great folk based artist, Ray Lamontagne, a "present day Cat Stephens"... the rest speaks for itself.

The key to a great cover... be true to the original, be true to yourself. This version is light, fun, and emotional...

Click the link below and it will take you to YouTube. I'm still not sure how to post the video straight on this page with the new version of Blogger. If any of you know the trick let me know... Enjoy.

Damien & Ray "To Love Somebody"

Escape

Stephen Lawhead is an author I've recently come across. His writing focuses on Celtic mythology, and Old Engligh legend, mixed with the supernatural. If you're in any kind of school still, especially some form of grad school, or about to start, you know how much reading is ahead of you that will be exclusive to your field of interest. That reading can be great, enlightening, and of course its growing our minds in the area we want to specialize in.But sometimes that reading can get really old.

This summer I've tried to escape through reading, by diving into books I wouldn't normally read and genres I was unfamiliar with before. It's been awesome.

I came across an interview with Lawhead about why he writes the kind of stories he does... I thought it was incredible.

"In fantasy, the author echoes the creation of this manifest world, in which we live, with the fashioning of a sub-created world, in which the story's characters live. A common feature of such literature is a portal- C.S. Lewis' wardrobe must surely be the most well known, through which the reality-bound protagonist travels into a more stylized imaginary, yet somehow more true, world. ..

J.R.R. Tolkien, was criticized in his day for indulging the juvenile whim of writing fantasy, which was considered- an inferior form of literature and disdained as mere "escapism".

'Of course it is escapist', he cried. 'That is its glory! WHen a soldier is a prisoner of war it is his duty to escape- and take as many with him as he can.' He went on to explain, 'the money lenders , the knownothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we're partisans to liberty, then its our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as possible."

That is the aim of the great story, the grand narrative, the great epic of fantasy.

Enjoy reading something this summer that takes you into another world, a more beautiful place, where your mind can be free, where it can relax, where it can "escape".

quiet eyes

I'm not usually the kind of person that spends a lot of time in front of the mirror. This morning was different...

Beneath the surface there are many layers. Things piling up so tall they conceal the very heart of something. They hide meaning.

We all know it. We feel it.

Our bodies become vessels of stories. Carriers of secrets and dreams, desires and problems. Day to day, month by month, you'd think the sheer troubling load of life would sneak out from under you and scream to all those standing in the line at the coffee shop, "Hey! Look at me! You wanna know who I am!?"

And at the end of every day, as sleep creeps upon us, we drift into what once was called Never Never Land, but now feels more like a forest so thick, even the best analyzing via- staring at the ceiling - can't lead you out.

This morning though, the moment at the mirror lasted longer...

You know there is a leak in this vessel. A crack in the belly of this boat carrying my hopes and dreams, my problems.

It's the eyes...

The half inch below your forehead and above your cheek bones. There it is. The one place the layers can't reach. The only part of my entire life that lay exposed for anyone to truly see if they'll just look close enough. The eyes. Someone called it the "windows to the soul." You see, when you first realize this, you can't turn away. What usually is a quick trip to the mirror has suddenly become an hour of introspection.

What do my eyes reveal? When people look at me, what do they see? How come the layers, the whatever, the stuff, how come they can't reach the eyes!? It's just a little further!

When others look, what do they see? Do they see happiness? Anxiety? Peace? Do they say things like trust and faith, or "don't worry, I'm here"?

Do these eyes show heartache or disappointment? Hope... love? Are these eyes so open, so clear that even the youngest child could stare me down and know me through and through?

Can broken eyes laugh as Ryan Adams sings? Maybe the eyes do hold everything Peter Gabriel says, "the light, the heat...the doorway to a thousand churches, in your eyes, I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes" Can such small things hold so much?

What do my eyes hold, what do they say?

God I hope they say, "grace". I hope they can say the words,
"I love you". Please God let them smile... can you smile with your eyes? I want to smile with my eyes.

There's so much going on inside, and standing here, staring at this mirror, I can't believe how much I'm saying without even speaking. Do I always talk this much? Are my eyes always this loud?

And thats when I prayed, "God, give me quiet eyes". Not to conceal, but to love. Not to withhold, but to receive. To smile so delicately, someone knows you care.

God, may my eyes say, "grace"... please...can they say,
"I love you".