Journal: July 4, 2021

It would not be proper if I did not begin by wishing you all a happy 4th of July! Our nation is now 244 years old. All those years ago we seemed to have been a child that was far too wise for its age, but today… well, we seem to have reverted to some other child, pitching temper tantrums in the middle of the grocery store aisle. That said…

We may not always be happy with the direction of things, but we’ll defend the leaders and the rest of the motley crew to the death.

Yesterday, as I was writing on The Marble Finger and at the end of an intercalary chapter, I added: The Rev. Timothy Powell was always a bit of a coward. And all this talk of the talons of hell had brought on a severe case of nerves in his bowels…. (I’m not going to give things away here!) The question I have: who the hell is this guy? I was minding my own business, writing a book, and then this Rev. Timothy Powell with the bowels shows up! What the heck is he up to? That is one of the joys of writing fiction, but it also makes you feel a bit schizophrenic. There you are, minding your own business, and… BAM!… somebody shows up that you don’t know or someone does something unexpected…. Yeah. It is fun. Tomorrow will be another day of edits… two chapters for that… and writing. I still like Hemingway’s advice on this: “Write drunk. Edit Sober.” Well, I won’t be getting drunk, but the adult beverage on a day off is a given… “Cheers to you!”

For me, with books or movies, if it ain’t no good, I don’t bother finishing. I’ve got other things to do with my time, which is why there is no movie report today. I started several, got a few minutes in (one even 30 minutes) and hit the exit button. Awful. If you’ve got a title, please feel free to pass it along. And, let’s be honest, watching foxes bounce on trampolines are hard to beat, which reminds me… I have discovered the short films on YouTube. Why did I not know they were out there? Between eight and thirty minutes… sci-fi, drama, comedy… some of these are quite brilliant. They are like the “tweet” version of a regular movie. Here’s a good sci-fi short with an excellent moral teaching…

Whichever genre you’re a fan of, you’ll likely be able to find some pretty amazing shorts. I tend to go for the sci-fi or comedy, but there are some that are brilliant, but will break your dang heart.

I’m not real sure how today’s preachy thing went, but I liked the message. Perhaps the Spirit worked in the midst of my ramblings and someone heard a note that resonated with them. Each week I try and do better than I did the previous…. that is accomplished at times and at others… not so much. Like writing fiction, if you are trying to listen, you don’t always know where things are going or the message that is trying to spoken, but the LORD does and I’m confident he will use our most floundering attempts for his purposes. I do know that if I apply myself fully to the task and do the best I can, then I feel that I’ve been faithful to the calling. I’ll find out at the end of days.

I planted rocks a month or so back, but now I’m wondering if I should have planted wildflowers instead. They are lovely… I’m a fan of symmetry, but I think to break it up enhances it in other ways. Thoughts?

What did I learn today? Within each of us is another that is who we truly are. That other wants to be known, because that other is the one that is true. How many layers must be excavated before the other is revealed? There will always be one who knows it… just one… but seek to make the other known, for that is who you were meant to be. Who you were created to be. I said it during the sermon, but perhaps not so clearly: Allow the other one to shine. He / She is your purpose.

Thought for the day: “When I look through God’s eyes at my lost self and discover God’s joy at my coming home, then my life may become less anguished and more trusting.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal Son // What if… and just play along for a minute, because most don’t believe this to be true… What if God really loves you? What if you are a miracle of God and God desires to perform miracles through you? What if it is all true? Then………….

…………. why are you still sitting there?