Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Book of God

Raised as a good Southern Baptist, it is not surprising, I suppose, that I have read through the Bible more than once and memorized a fair portion of scripture. Now that is NOT to say that I totally understand/understood everything I read. In the first place, what may have been written and understood in context 100 to 1000 years ago may not have the same meaning to us today. However, the other night I finished reading The Book of God by Walter Wangerin, Jr. I highly recommend that anyone interested in reading a good--and I do mean GOOD--book read this one.

Not too far into the book, I felt I had run into an inaccuracy and almost stopped reading due to my prejudice--or obsession--for accuracy. But the point in question was debatable, so I kept reading. That was a good decision. The book begins with Abraham and ends with the empowerment of the apostles at Pentecost. This is one book I want my grandchildren to read. Years ago I would have thought that The Robe and The Big Fisherman by Loyd C. Douglas were about the best works around to make biblical history feel personal. Now I want to read other books by Wangerin and see if they are as good as this one has been. Zondervan publishers chose a good book in The Book of God, so now I am hoping that Paul, a Novel and Jesus, a Novel will be as good.

I am interested to know if others have read these books and what their thoughts might be.

Viewpoint/Perspective


Viewpoint or perspective is partially created through experience and partially created through what we read or see in media. Whether positive, negative, or indifferent that viewpoint still has to sift its way through moods and circumstances. Experience includes what happens to those around us and how they react to their circumstances. A friend lost her breasts to cancer. Then she wore prostheses instead of having implants. One night she returned from the bedroom and told her husband that she had injured herself seriously. Concerned, he asked what had happened. She told him that she had dropped her boob on the floor and stepped on it. I am still laughing.


My father drives an old Ford truck that he calls “Budweiser” because it had a “Bud” can in it when we took it to him. He says he can’t drive it right now because it is in mourning. It just can’t accept that Budweiser has sold out to a foreign company. Besides, it has just enough gasoline in it to get to the filling station to get more motion lotion. He is driving a little personal scooter down to the post office every day or so to get his mail. The scooter is slow and maybe not as dignified as sitting up in the cab of a truck, but it gets the job done.


Mother invented a new kind of doughnut that she deep fries and Dad calls them “hooters.” The parents had no idea why their children and grandchildren were laughing about the “hooters.” We explained. Then Mom created a new kind of cookie roll and Dad called them “poopers.” Rolling eyes . . .Don’t ask.

Somehow it always seems to help us along in life if we can bend our viewpoint to the funny side—some called it warped, but I think of warped in a good way. No matter how bad things can get—and let’s face it, things can get pretty bleak—calling things something other than what it is can make life a little easier to accept. A wreck on the Harley was a failed attempt to straighten out a California highway; a horrendous hail storm was an opportunity to fill up cups for a cool root beer for the kids; a long drought is a good excuse for planting cactus.


We need some humor in this life almost as much as we need love. No, I can’t see the evening news person making jokes about the economy or the weatherman giggling when the heat index reaches 110 degrees. But I can tell you about the guinea hens that froze in the trees back in ’85 and then thawed in the trash cans where we pitched them. I would have felt sorry for the man who opened the lid and nearly fell over when they flew out, but I was too busy falling over laughing. Yes, the pipes froze that year and water went everywhere when it thawed, but I still just remember the frozen guineas and the man who opened the trashcan. That’s perspective.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Springtime in Texas

It has been awhile since I posted anything here because I have been writing for SlightlyCreaky.com and have had my book--Destinations--published there. It was very exciting to have it published online, but not many people let me know what they are thinking about it as they read it. Hal Rosengarten has divided it into 'chapters' in order to manage the size of each section he puts online. It really doesn't matter to me how it gets on there as long as it can be read.

So much can and has happened in our lives lately. We are so grateful for all the blessings we have, but we are especially grateful for our children and our home. We even appreciate the silly ole black dog who likes to ride in the truck with us and the long-haired gray cat who sleeps on our bed with us. Oh, life is bound to bring some miseries around eventually, but right now we are just hobbling along together with love and laughter.

It's storm season now. Each year when I was a child we had a tornado on my birthday--or at least a storm. I guess we have a couple of weeks yet, so for now we could just use some nice rain on my new rose bush.

My work is cut out for me this week. Rachel colored pictures for her daddy's birthday book. She had to ask her mom what a couple of them were after she put them aside for a bit. I guess we may have to use more than one version or at least label what her pictures are supposed to be. She did a good job on a bicycle, however. I could not draw one that well.

Reece and Gary have gone on a trip to Austin and San Antonio for the fourth grade kids field trip to learn about Texas history. We took our children there one year and never regretted it. Even the adults have a lot to learn.

Well, back to Facebook to check on a post from the oldest son and then to bed. Posted a congratulations to our niece for graduating tonight with her master's degree. Sent her a check, but I think it is the idea that means more to her than the money. It took a lot of work to get that degree and she can be proud of it. Now we will watch Tracy graduate with her second masters and Lance with his first degree. Glad it is them and not me. I am too tired to study.