Winter's Delight

Through the dark, Christmas shines
bright with tinsel, bulbs and bows.
Children squeal with delight
as gifts abound at their toes.

Snowdrifts piled high and tight
gain speed as sleds take flight.
Ten mittens meet a frosted fate,
Ho,ho,ho, cocoa-filled mugs await!

Rowdy Cat Games

Quick nimble twitching
Cattail mimics whiskery white
the motor rumbles. 

Lighthouse Keepers

Weathered and worn a lighthouse stands
burdened by the danger on shore.
It's steady in its purpose above the peril.
But fellow keepers, Where have you gone?
All along the shore your lights extinguish
broken by waves and storms.
Don't let the clouds chase you inside!
Stand fast, kindle your flame, and remember your cause.
Men are traveling too close to the ragged shore;
their ships will crush against the rocks by the weight of the sea.
Their cargo is heavy and too much to bear.
They will be lost to eternity. 
Protect the light and care for the beam,
there are men's souls at your feet.

BOOK REVIEW: Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson. Tyndale House, 2002

Dee Henderson’s literary craft is a pleasant read for any lazy afternoon and highly recommended if you enjoy reading light romance and/or light detective fiction (light, in that there is neither graphic detailing of crime scenes or love interest, nor is there a shift in narrative to the kidnapper’s perspective). Henderson adds a bonus to her novel, because she writes with a Christian worldview.

Danger in the Shadows by Henderson is loaded with plot details that move the story along easily. The main character, Sara Walsh, is in protective custody with FBI agent Dave Richman in the lead. There are several constant conflicts, external and internal, in Sara’s life. First, there is an underlying one presented by Sara’s long-ago kidnapper who remains unidentified and at-large, but with Agent Richman closing in. Within herself, fear plagues her, manipulates her doubts, and at peak levels of stress, threatens to break her. Lastly, Sara struggles with the intensity of high security protocol and the cost it requires of her – no personal relationships; she longs to be free of fear and to be free to find happiness in her future. Through the course of Sara’s story, her understanding of God’s provision, security, and strength take on new and deeper meaning.

BOOK REVIEW: From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer.

BOOK REVIEW: From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer. Kregel Publications, 2011. ISBN: 9780825426681.

From the Garden to the City by John Dyer is the suggested reading assignment for the group participants of the monthly ILRC Share and Care meetings facilitated by Associate Dean of Administration and Collection Services Lowell Walters. The first review session was only an overview of Dyer’s introduction and first chapter, but it was a full session of philosophical Q&A regarding good versus evil and where technology stacks up. Continued reading will hopefully generate as animated a group review in future meetings. 

The book’s message is wrapped up in its medium (one learns this application by reading the book); its medium begins with its author. John Dyer’s background is one richly mixed with information technology and theology, and so, his insight includes both in equal measure. From the Garden to the City is an easy read, does not require much on the part of its reader, and is logically developed between the points he wishes to make. What are those points? 

There are several points about technology which he investigates, but two speak the loudest to me. First, that technology has been around since the Garden of Eden and, second, that classifying technology as neutral simply because it lacks a moral compass, or soul, is an incomplete and inaccurate summation of its existence. Dyer offers great detail, both with historical anecdotes and Scripture, which argue these points. For me, I appreciate his assessment that technology is “the means by which we transform the world as it is into the world that we desire [and] what we often fail to notice is that it is not only the world that gets transformed by technology,” but us as well.

Romeo Loves Juliet, really?

When bright Montague loves fair Capulet

their terrible path was paved wrong.

What did Romeo think to do

When Juliet slept so still?

He doesn’t stop to find their priest

Who might have spared his pain.

That fair maiden lays in sleep

Waiting for her love to wake

Breathing deep and slow might be

Longing to embrace.

What did Romeo think to do

When Juliet slept so still?

He tore his shirt and found his blade

Cursing his skin to hell.

If he had but waited a moment more

To find love’s eyes still bright

He would have found a beating heart

Renewed with purpose and delight.

Does Romeo love his Juliet

Like Adam loved his Eve?

A garden delight they lived in well

Until the serpent played his dice.

Adam was missing when Eve did make

Terrible plans that designed her thought

Cursing the ground on which she stood

And in one swift stroke caught all hell.

What did Adam think to do

When Eve slipped so far?

He didn’t stop to find their Priest

Who might have spared his pain.

That fair maiden lays in sleep

Waiting for her love to protect

Breathing quick and scared alone

Longing to be embraced.

What did Adam think to do

When Eve slipped so far?

He tore the grass to bind its blades

Covering his regret and shame.

If he had but waited a moment more

Instead of grabbing forbidden fruit

He might have protected his fair wife

And not blamed God for her breath,

Beseeching instead for Him to renew.

What might Adam think to say

When Romeo loved Juliet?

He might have said to "Stay thy hand,

Find the priest who cares for you."

Firelight

Embers glowing orange
White-hot streaks smolder in deep
triumph and defeat.

Waterglobe

Magical transport
Peaceful patchwork quilt
One-hundred soft reminders.