CSFF Tour - The Resurrection Day 1

Now THIS should be interesting!

The CSFF Tour for March is featuring my blogging buddy Mike Duran (of Decompose fame) and his first book, The Resurrection.

I have to say, some of the most interesting tours and best books that we've reviewed in the CSFF Tour have one thing in common. No, it's not that they're speculative fiction - that category is too wide (sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural suspense, etc).

It is the fact that they are controversial.

Last year we featured Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. It was a complex book both in its writing structure and its themes. Some loved it (like me), and others responses ranged from didn't like to not being able to recommend due to theological issues. 

Mike has been a prolific blogger who asks hard questions about the world of Christian fiction and whether its boundaries are too narrow. It is no surprise that his own fiction pushes said boundaries. I don't think in any way he is trying to do it out of a rebellious spirit - the flow of the story naturally takes him places, and he doesn't dodge the hard stuff.

I've already reviewed the book here, so I invite you to check it out. Tuesday and Wednesday I will be running an interview with Mike, and he has some thought-provoking answers. I'm also interested in what the other tourmates have to say. I'll leave today with my own synopsis of The Resurrection, and you can check out the other good folks on the tour below it.

Reverend Ian Clark is ready to resign his post at Canyon Springs Community Church, being haunted in multiple ways by failures in his past and by his rising doubt. Ruby Case is a young mother with a lifelong limp, a steadfast faith, yet a weariness that there is not more life in their church.


Little does Ruby know how she will help bring life back to Canyon Springs.

When she visits the funeral of a friend's young son, she isn't expecting a miracle. But when the boy sits up after she touches him, a firestorm is lit in this quiet California town. Some people come to Ruby for their own miracle. Some denounce her and the resurrection as a fraud.

Rev. Clark must wrestle with his questions, while both he and Ruby find that other forces do not take kindly to invasion of their dark territory. As the back copy of the book states: When the dead come back to life, someone must pay the price...

One more thing - many of the participants got a free review copy. I paid cold hard cash for this. So my opinion is my own. Thank you. (So is their opinion, they're great people here)
Noah Arsenault
Brandon Barr
Red Bissell
Book Reviews By Molly
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Wanda Costinak
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Janey DeMeo
Cynthia Dyer
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Joleen Howell
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Carol Keen
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McNear
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
John W. Otte
Gavin Patchett
Sarah Sawyer
Andrea Schultz
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Dave Wilson
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Linked up

Every so often I will post some writing related links that I have enjoyed over the last week. There's plenty of info out there, but some of it is worth repeating.

Have you ever been told to "kill your darlings?" If so, you might be a writer, and you should check out this post from Wendy Palmer.

What kind of story do you want to tell? It may come down to if you are a dreamer or a keeper. 

If you have other good articles/links, leave a comment or shoot me a message, and I can put them here.
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Potholes in the Writer's Road



Didn't see it coming!





 I don't know about where you live, but where I live the potholes this time of year have been known to eat cars.

At least it felt like it that one time.

I hit a monster-sized pit on the right side of the road one time. I noticed in the glint in my headlights a hubcap careening off into a parking lot. I pulled over to see if I could find it. Walked around to the right side of the car.

I heard a loud "hissing" sound.

It wasn't snake season, so I looked at my car. The pothole was so bad that it caused a flat tire. I limped my car to the closed tire store, parked it, and begged a ride home. It was ready for the nice repairmen in the morning.

I hit a pothole in my writing this week as well.

I hadn't shown much of my latest work to my lovely wife. Seeing as I have a female protaganist, I asked her to read it with an eye for the female aspect, in case I wasn't accurately writing the female mind (tall task, I know). She came back to me last week with a look on her face that said, "I'm sorry."

She doesn't like my main character.

She called her a "poop" actually. Didn't see anything nice about her. I was a little shocked. Jenna is the woman I spend the most time with aside from my wife (writers are weird like that). I couldn't see it. I read through chapters again, observing areas where I could change a few words. I really didn't think of any major changes.

I guess I have a blind spot.

I have a couple of friends looking at it with a critical eye now, giving me suggestions on why Jenna is acting like such a meanie. It makes me realize that writing is an activity that can't be totally isolated. Yes, I do most of the work with me and a keyboard. I still need other imput to help my blind side and avoid potholes. Hopefully I've got my story in with the right mechanic that can help diagnose any problems.

For my fellow writers out there - what are some of the potholes you've hit in your stories?
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Stop Human Trafficking

This blog has long made a point of highlighting the plight of human trafficking. The world is slowly growing in awareness about how big this problem has become. It is worse in scope at this time than at the height of the African slave trade.

When I saw CNN launching their Freedom Project highlighting the evils of human trafficking today, I was excited. The global resources of CNN added to the other work done by fine organizations can only bring more light to these dark areas.

I've redesigned my sidebar to the right, collecting links for organizations that fight human trafficking together and placing it more prominently in the list. Small changes, to be sure. I will link to updates from CNN and others as they come.

I encourage everyone reading this to consider participating with me in the Fast for Freedom sponsored by the Not for Sale Campaign. It is being held this Sunday, March 13 around the globe. Talk to your friends about it. Bring it up at church. Consider fasting - remembering the victims in prayer and donating the cost of eating that day to a group that fights this evil.

See Not for Sale Campaign for details

I am making my pledge today. Will you join me?
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Book Review - The Resurrection

What happens to a pastor who may be losing his faith when a resurrection happens in his town?


Last week we had another interesting Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy Tour with the book The God Hater. This book was based around a specific message, with the story enveloping it. It was overall popular with the tour, with me in the minority view that the story didn't carry the potent message.

I did a little compare/contrast with the book I read just following The God Hater, Mike Duran's debut novel The Resurrection. Mike's blog is one that I frequent, and have often linked from here for his thought-provoking articles on Christian fiction. I promised a review of Mike's book afterwards, so here we go.

Reverend Ian Clark is ready to resign his post at Canyon Springs Community Church, being haunted in multiple ways by failures in his past and by his rising doubt. Ruby Case is a young mother with a lifelong limp, a steadfast faith, yet a weariness that there is not more life in their church.

Little does Ruby know how she will help bring life back to Canyon Springs.

When she visits the funeral of a friend's young son, she isn't expecting a miracle. But when the boy sits up after she touches him, a firestorm is lit in this quiet California town. Some people come to Ruby for their own miracle. Some denounce her and the resurrection as a fraud.

Rev. Clark must wrestle with his questions, while both he and Ruby find that other forces do not take kindly to invasion of their dark territory. As the back copy of the book states: When the dead come back to life, someone must pay the price...

Mike Duran is a pastor who has hit the place of burnout in ministry, something I'm realizing comes all too often for a profession that doesn't get allowance for struggle or failure. Moved to minister through the power of fiction, he has written a dynamic and haunting first novel that is an excellent exploration of faith, doubt, and the collision between the two.

The story carries an ominous tone throughout, keeping the suspense high as the reader always wonders when something bad might happen. We know books are supposed to have happy endings, but Mike manages to keep the outcome in question up until the climax, which isn't an easy feat. The characters have real struggles. Ruby didn't want to become a miracle worker, and she is challenged when others' expectations are that she can turn the power on at will. She wants to help people, but doesn't have "the formula" handy. Meanwhile young Rev. Clark wrestles with powers both worldly and spiritual as he's forced to confront his doubt instead of nursing it to a full denial of his beliefs.

Ruby is a well-rounded person. I felt a lot of connect with her. Rev. Clark was a little distant, without quite as much depth of character as I would have liked. There's not much on his life outside of being a smart but conflicted minister. Still, he is honest in his queries, and he probably represents a lot of pastors with his concerns. Other characters in the book are vivid and unique, keeping the fictional Canyon Springs grounded as a real place.

There are a lot of ideas in this book. Mike does a good job of bringing them into the story organically. Little seems forced, although there are times when the explanation of the religious theories undergirding the plot get a little too thick. Otherwise, he has a gift for description, and I felt like I was in California with the pictures of local flora and the atmosphere of the town were evocative. There's a few glitches in the craft, like any new author would face, that are minor and shouldn't distract from this enjoyable fiction escape.



I've followed Mike's blog for a long time, and I was excited to see him get a contract. My curiosity could finally be satisfied whether his fiction talents matched his thoughtful blogging style. I'm happy to say that The Resurrection sucked me in, made me think, and has stayed with me after two weeks of finishing. The book is a suspenseful exploration of deep questions of faith, while giving hope in the power of Jesus to touch lives today, even in the darkest night.
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An Image in My Head

Most people don't wonder about a body floating in the water.

Unless you are a writer.


The body is just to the left



That's the image that came to me many moons ago. I saw in my mind a body floating in the water, in the ocean to be specific. Then I saw a boat run into the body, and the shocked fisherman frightened by his find.

Did I mention the man was from Thailand?

This is how my work in progress started. An image in my head. I started asking questions. Who is this person? Why are they dead? How did they end up here?

I learned that it was Travis Dawson, and that he was a missionary in Thailand. I discovered he had a sister named Jenna who was in medical school. She was a spunky younger sister type, and she didn't take too well to the news of her brother's death. She was impulsive enough to jet off to Asia to try and figure out what happened. Oh, and her slacker friend Derek Stephens, who had done a backpacking trip in Thailand previously, decided to tag along.

I don't know how other authors come up with their story ideas, but I usually have images that beg to be explored. Yesterday for the end of the CSFF Tour I talked about whether a writer has their basic thrust as message-first vs. art-first. The responses from Dona, Becky, and Morgan made me think about my own process.

You have the set-up for my novel above. I thought for a time that there would be an aspect of spiritual warfare between the Christian missionaries and the strongholds in SE Asia. That didn't fit the story though. Then I saw how Jenna had been estranged from her faith due to family trials when younger, and she would be challenged in them while dealing with something bigger than she could handle in Thailand. Travis uncovered a human trafficking ring, and this lead to his death and would be a major challenge to Jenna.

It seems that I had the story kernel that wanted told at first, and the themes of faith and human trafficking came out from there. I believe there's always a theme when we write - otherwise what is the point of writing? Even if a writer says there's not, there is something of their worldview getting in there.

Both the message and art pathways are valid ways to begin, and both have their strengths and weaknesses. Like I said in yesterday's post, a message driven book must have a strong story and sparkling writing to not be bogged down by the message. It may not appear organic. But the "let's see where the muse takes us" approach can end up with a wishy-washy theme that doesn't give a work of fiction the power only a story can bring.

What say my writing buddies? What is your approach, and why do you do it that way?
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CSFF Tour Day 3 - The God Haters

Okay, so I'm in the minority in this one.

Yesterday I gave my review for The God Haters by Bill Myers, in which I didn't have a great opinion of the book. It seems that a majority of the CSFF Tour is enjoying the book. There are a few that REALLY love it, a wider majority that likes it a lot, and there are a couple of stragglers with me saying "Meh." (I love to say "meh" even when I don't have a reason for it. Meh.)

That's alright. Everyone's going to have an opinion, and I admire what he tried to do, and he's published way more books than me, so take this for what it is.

I followed The God Hater by reading The Resurrection, the debut novel from internet buddy Mike Duran, and the subject of next month's CSFF tour. The back-to-back reading was an interesting contrast to me.

Bill Myers said in a Q&A in the back of his book that he likes to have a significant quiet time each morning with God to seek ideas about his writing. He seems to write books directed at opening Biblical truth in new ways via fiction. This is my take at least, and I consider it an admirable goal.

Mike Duran has been blogging for quite a while at Decompose, and he is a strong proponent of the "art first/message second" school of thought.

I mentioned yesterday that there seems to be two philosophical schools in CBA fiction (and in Christian entertainment in general, i.e. film, music, etc.). One way has a message or theme that they craft a story around, and the other comes at a story open-ended, and in the creative process the theme works out from that. Of course these are simplifications and these type of things never fit neatly into a specific box.

I would say that there was a different tactic taken by the two authors I'm contrasting. My perception is that Myers was inspired to write a story that presented God's logic as a creator through an imperfect vessel, an atheist professor, and had to weave around that framework. I would guess Duran asked a question: What would happen if a resurrection happened today, and wrote his story exploring that a little more open-ended.

I'm not trying to say one way or the other is right. I would say that there are potential pitfalls with both approaches. Myers' book is a loose allegory, and to try and work a Biblical tale into modern fiction is a difficult task. An author really has to nail it to make it work. I think Francine Rivers has done that very well with her book Redeeming Love, which is mentioned often as a great book that is a Western take on the story of Hosea. I've also seen books written closer to Duran's work that don't make a strong statement one way or the other on its premise, which is a let down to a reader.

I remember a heated debate in the mid 90's (yes, way back then) when the editor of CCM Magazine slammed the latest album by Carman, considering it to be inferior art and only a vehicle for preaching a message with a beat associated with it. The two sat down in an interview and cleared the air, but it was an interesting event nonetheless. I do side more with the editor, because I think Christian art (whether fiction, music, or film) gets a bad rap when we produce weak product but sell it because it is "ministry." Brandilyn Collins is a prolific suspense author that has been praised by Publishers Weekly. She has said many times her job is to entertain first, but as a Christian author she gets to put in truth to varying degrees based off what fits the story, which only adds depth to what she is doing. I like this statement, and I would say it sums up my philosophy well.

I can't really state where either author comes from. I can only give my opinion and relate it to the idea of how do we write. The two different novels served as a jumping off point is all. Obviously The God Haters didn't work for me, but I also don't like those that get sanctimonious about a work of art being inferior. Give your opinion, but don't take it personal. I've seen other Christians get on their high horse over such issues. I wish Bill Myers much success in his writing career. But I won't be passing it on to other readers either.

If you're curious about The Resurrection, I'll have a review of it for my next post. If you want to see what the other tourmates are saying about The God Maker, check out Becky Miller's blog, as she keeps track of all the posts for the tour. The CSFF tour is always enjoyable in seeing the varying opinions, so check them out!
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CFBA Tour - Save the Date

We interrupt this blog tour with another blog tour.

I also review for the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. This week they are featuring Jenny B. Jones and her latest book, Save the Date.

I hope it has been established now that I'm a dude. I like explosions, football collisions, and helicopter/car chases. All three mashed together is awesome sauce.

I found out about Jenny B. Jones through Chip MacGregor, fiction agent extraordinare who is enough of a dude that he wears a kilt. In public. He highlighted her as a very funny writer. So I decided to get her book to review, likely having my wife read it.

*Ahem*

I didn't get it in time to finish it for the tour, but I am laughing out loud while reading it. And it is a ROMANCE. Now, it does have an ex-football player, which gives it a few manly points, but note that he is an EX. I don't care. I'm enjoying her writing style, the prose, the witty sense of humor. And I really want to see what happens to Lucy and her girls' home.

*Sniff*

Take that for what it's worth, and check out her book.
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(Time to blow something up...virtually...like in a video game...hey, don't look at me like I'm weird...)
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CSFF Tour Day 2 - The God Haters

Welcome back to the CSFF Tour for February. This month's featured book is The God Hater by Bill Myers.

For a synopsis, check out yesterday's post introducing the book.

This book fits a "speculative fiction" category by supposing that we can build an artificial computer world, with completely independent artificial intelligence, that can be used to see how humanity will respond to variables and make better predictions.

My prediction is that this book will do well with general Christian fiction (specifically CBA readers). And that is perhaps a shame.

This book is written for a purpose. It has a specific aim - to show the logic God used in creating our world and the need for divine intervention (per the Questions to the Author in the back of the book). The book is designed to be a challenge to the New Atheists who are challenging Christian belief with old arguments and renewed fervor. It is a noble purpose, certainly. From a personal standpoint I would love to see it succeed.

Reviewing it for artistic purposes is another story.

Often Christian art is considered to be in one of two categories: it is made with creativity as the primary goal, and the theme taken from the book is incidental, or it is made with a message as the anchor, and the story is conceived and created around it. I don't think it is necessarily bad to have a book written with the second point as the motivation, but it means that the story will require a very deft touch to make the work stand on artistic merits, apart from the theme (however holy it may be).

The God Haters, in my opinion, fails to rise above the forced preconceptions and stand as a quality piece of fiction. The story suffers from several flaws. The characters are generally 2D cut-outs, created to hold a place in the story without much depth or empathy. The Christian professor Annie escapes this to a degree, but she doesn't carry enough of the story to overcome the other flat people. He uses several writing techniques that jarred me out of the imaginary world he was attempting to create, from using parentheses for several asides to a character with an annoying vocal tic ("bro!"). There were also a couple of scientific mistakes that threw me as a biology major, but that is me being overly picky.

The suspense and plot is pulled along well enough, and isn't all that bad. It just isn't all that good either. I didn't get bored, but I wasn't invested in what was happening. There are some touching moments as he delves into the computer simulation and the professor's avatar gains more and more compassion for the "creation," but it is too little, too late to save the book. A major issue seems to be that the book is too short to give the depth needed to make everything more believable. Perhaps it would be a different story if it had the length to give the depth required.

The book gives the whole back copy to quotes of endorsements. There's no place to get a synopsis of the book, and I think that will be a disservice to readers as well.

I don't like to give such negative reviews, but I have to be honest in my impression of a book to have some integrity as a reviewer. Christian art can be especially tricky, because the charge can be brought that I'm harming a brother in their ministry or something similar. Like I said, I admire the intent, and wish it could have worked out better. It was an ambitious project, but my opinion is that it isn't a great book for those looking for a story with in-depth characters and a carefully crafted plot. If you're looking for a book to shore up your Christian beliefs, then this book would be entertaining enough. I wouldn't recommend it to a non-believer, but I really won't be recommending it anyway.

If you make it past this gloomy review, tomorrow I want to talk about the issue of art and theme raised by this book, and compare it with another recent read.

I did receive a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes, and was obviously not required to give a positive endorsement in exchange for the book. The opinions are my own.

Oh, and check out my tourmates at Becky's blog for the latest and greatest from the others in the CSFF Tour.
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CSFF Tour Day 1 - The God Haters

I hate God, and you too!

I had one of *those* professors.

You know, one of those college PhD's who enjoyed destroying the faith of unsuspecting freshmen coming to college with their parents' religion shackled to them like mental bungie cords, holding them back from truly learning in the world of higher learning. (See, you can tell by that sentence that I'm a college graduate!)

The only problem for Dr. Bob Anderson is that I didn't take him as a freshmen.

I would have done fine if I had. I'd done enough study into my own faith to shore it up. But I took him as a senior majoring in biology, taking the long put-off Botany 101 that I was hoping to avoid by getting into the physician assistant program before I had to take some rabbit classes (you know, botany, ecology - all the plant stuff). I'd also spent 9 months in YWAM's School of Biblical Studies, so I wasn't worried when I showed up to the first day of class and Dr. Anderson was at the podium (he wasn't supposed to teach it, but they must have needed a switch, since he was an entomologist).

He required us to buy his own little screed in addition to our botany textbook. He spent six weeks discussing his philosophy of science and learning, while spending less than one full lecture on photosynthesis (which seems to be a fairly important biochemical reaction, but whatever dude). It was quite frustrating, but it didn't shake me up at all. It was my main experience with this common college happenstance.

This leads us to this month's feature book, The God Hater by Bill Myers. The book features such an atheistic professor, Nicholas Mackenzie, who delights in tearing down religion and showing it for the farce he believes it to be. He's a cranky curmudgeon who is only really close to sweet Annie Brooks, another professor who happens to be a Christian, and her young son Rusty.

He is estranged from his computer genius brother Travis, but he gets a cryptic message from him asking for help. It seems that Travis has managed to create a true artificial intelligence, with a computer world filled with about 1000 denizens who keep wiping each other out in simulation after simulation. Travis needs his philosphical brother to create a worldview that will allow the simulation to proceed with a foundation that will keep them from obliterating each other. The key part is that their free will must be kept intact, or it will be no better than the programmers telling their creation what to do.

While the Mackenzies wrestle with their philosophical dilemna, it seems Travis has had to do some questionable hacking to rustle up enough computer power to keep this "super-secret" project going - and some people are interested enough in the outcome of this experiment that they are willing to use Annie and Rusty as leverage against Nicholas.

As they dodge the guys in black suits, Nicholas is failing in his attempts to influence the program's inhabitants to follow a simple, materialistically-devised philosophy. Maybe if he has a digital avatar go and explain the rules of life to the simulations, he will have better success...

And with that, I leave you for my review of the book tomorrow. But check out my tourmates below for more discussion and other antics.

Noah Arsenault
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Rachel Briard
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
April Erwin
Amber French
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
MollyBuuklvr81
John W. Otte
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Donna Swanson
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Nicole White
Dave Wilson
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Thoughts on Violence in Word and Deed

It seems in the blogosphere there has been new conversation on the topic of language use and violence in Christian art. Note that the ideas presented aren't necessarily new, but a healthy conversation is brewing in a few different sectors. 

Mike Duran is always up to stirring up contention, discussion on his blog Decompose. He uses the example of the counting of different potentially offensive terms in the movie The Blind Side to springboard into a discussion of language in Christian fiction. His recent novel The Resurrection had a jaded construction worker, who couldn't say damn or hell because it was produced for the CBA market.

In the recent issue of Relevant, Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay asks if "offensive art can be Christian." He starts off talking about a secular band declaring their allegiance  to Jesus in a song that also drops an F-bomb. Does the fact that they used such a word demean their otherwise Christian content? For a little more food for thought, check out this quote from the article:

We have come so far from reflecting the rebel Jesus in our art and cultural engagement that we do not recognize Him when He surfaces. I still wrestle with the fact that Jesus hung out with prostitutes not simply to tell them what they were doing wrong, but to love them where they were. He was in the world, and His agenda was to love. He was not looking for reasons to be offended. He was not looking for reasons to stay home, safely out of harm’s way. We weren’t set apart in order to live apart. We were called God’s own so we could confidently go into the world. 

 In a contrary grain, another author writes in Relevant that "Christian artists should (not) use violence." He uses the term "violence" to include gratuitous sex and language. His contention is that the world is so jaded that using rough violence or stark violence or sex doesn't faze the world anymore. When our morals were on a similar level, works like Flannery O'Connor's provided a shock that hit complacency. Now when modern art tries to find new levels to shock and awe, then perhaps the answer  for the Christian artist is to paint a picture of beauty to be the contrast.

Whatever should be done, it is clear the Christian artist faces a peculiar enemy today: the expanding boredom of the modern age, which has the power to wash out even the severest expressions, and violence is its latest casualty. It is the constant duty of the Christian artist to outwit this amoebic tendency to consume and excrete, to make retail of riches. She must forge new paths of expression and restore old ones. When the world builds for itself a Tower of Babel, then she must paint a pile of rubble, and then when it is knocked down and the peoples wander in the refuse, she must paint a glittering city with jasper walls and foundations of precious stone. 

 A very intriguing article, and if you have to pick one, I think this would be it.

Finally, the flavor du jour here has been The Civil Wars. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, Joy Williams describes the freedom she now experiences being out of the Contemporary Christian Music realm.

“The process of being with John Paul  (White, her band partner) is this wonderful discovery of creative freedom that I didn’t know that I had,” she said. “I started in a very restrictive genre of music. But the reality is that I’m able to write a lot more about the world around me, if it’s about faith or about cigarettes, or about murder or adultery, or about a movie that I saw, or a book we’ve both read.”  Emphasis mine.

I like to put out interesting thoughts and articles for people to explore more. If you have thoughts on it, I'd enjoy your comments here as well.
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Challenging Creativity

Call it a case of "put your money where your mouth is."

Last week I blogged about The Civil Wars and their debut album, Barton Hollow (or as they pronounce it, "Barton Hawller"). This beautiful set of songs has really captured my attention. It has also forced me to stand on some of the principles I've stated at this blog.

Many times I have proclaimed that Christian artists should have the freedom to produce the art they feel called to make, whether it is specifically "Christian" (which is a tricky definition) or not. So many times, we pigeon-hole Christian artists to make a certain type of music, or write only uplifting, God-honoring lyrics.

As far as I know, The Civil Wars are not a "Christian" band. However, Joy Williams had a career in CCM (contemporary Christian music) prior to joining John Paul White to form The Civil Wars. As far as I know, Mr. White has not had such a career.

In the midst of their moving vocals, there are lines such as:
"Ain't going back to Barton Hollow
Devil gonna follow me e'er I go
Won't do me no good washing in the river
Can't no preacher man save my soul"

or
"If I die before I wake

I know the Lord my soul won't take"

Doesn't sound like typical CCM fare to me. In fact, initially I stumbled on this a little. It bothered me hearing them sing this at first, because I took it as denying that the Lord can save.

Is this really what they're saying?

Of course not! I didn't consider the point of view of the song - from the perspective of a man who has at least robbed a large sum of money, who didn't think he deserved redemption. It's a typical theme in Southern music, but I fell into the trap of taking the song very superficially.

How about their first well-known song, Poison and Wine?
"Your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine"

or
"I don't love you, but I always will"

Honestly, I was disappointed in myself for tripping up over something that wasn't there. Listening deeper, their lyrics like from Poison and Wine talk about the dichotomy in a relationship that is so strong that sometimes you can't stand the person, but you can't be without them. It is honest and provocative in the presentation, but it speaks to a dynamic those of us who have been in a deep relationship can identify with, even if we can't speak the sentiment.

I'm glad that I can realize and own up to my hypocrisy. Quality art, when it has depth, will challenge us in our preconceived ideas if we let it. If we get tangled up with a superficial glance, then we will miss out on the riches beneath.

The Civil Wars are a band that has found a niche the two artists would never have found alone. I applaud them for their music, and I applaud Joy for running in a new direction. By the way, they are produced by Charlie Peacock, head of the Art House, and a strong Christian who is a creative genius. Also, they sing a song in their live set, "Pray", that is a strong tune for crying out to Him, without succumbing to Christianese. The surface can be deceiving - the truth lies deeper than that.

Here's to mining the riches that Jesus our Creator, our Master Artist, has for His people!
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The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

I love it when artists can challenge us.
Hopefully you have heard about The Civil Wars by now. The duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White have made a big splash in the last few weeks with their debut album, Barton Hollow, releasing on Feb. 1. I'd say appearing on The Tonight Show and having their album be #1 on iTunes for its first week as a pretty good start.

Their music is haunting and beautiful, stripped down to the basics: White's guitar, some occasional piano by Williams, the scattered accordian or percussion, and the intertwining harmonies of the two singers. In this day of auto-tuned, electronic noise being blared on iThingies and the random Super Bowl halftime show (brought to you by Lite-Brites), the organic, simple nature of these songs works into your soul. As opposed to bashing us over the head.

Their style would be best described as folk or Americana, although it resists easy labeling. They hail from Nashville and are getting airplay on CMT, but I wouldn't call them country (especially to those who know me - I'm not a country music fan). The point is that they make lovely music together. A majority of the songs are slow paced with a melancholy feel, longing for love. The title track is a foot-stomper with soaring vocal gymnastics, while "Poison and Wine," featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy speaks in a raw, honest way about the dichotomies of love.

The two singers are refreshingly real in a day of pre-packaged artists fed to top 40 radio. I was intrigued when I found they were produced by Charlie Peacock, one of my favorite artists himself. They aren't the typical music I would listen to, but I'm all for quality, and their musicianship and chemistry makes Barton Hollow my first album purchase of 2011, and one of my favorites in a long time.

In my next point, I want to discuss how they are not only easy on the ears, but challenging to some of my convictions as well. Keep your eyes peeled for that, if you will.
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A New Weather Service

For those of us in geekdom that need a better way to appreciate the local weather beyond the tired "sunny" or "rainy", Spoiled for the Ordinary is pleased to point you to a new paradigm:

The Star Wars Weather Forecast.



Forget your Republic-issue thermal underwear?

Is it sunny where you are? It may be like Tatooine. Winter here in Idaho is best idenified by Hoth. The brainchild of Tom Scott, this new weather site is unlike any other in the galaxy. Be sure to read the screen carefully for tidbits only Star Wars fans will love.

And I dare ya to enter a fictitious place...

Hat tip to Technabob via Wired.

Yub-nub!

CSFF Tour - Dragons of the Valley

The CSFF Tour is doing a repeat performance for January!

The featured book is Dragons of the Valley by Donita K. Paul.

I have repeatedly made a mistake.

 Donita Paul is highly regarded in the Christian fantasy realm. My problem is that I have yet to read one of her books. I think I know the problem. It seems she is so prolific she is always doing series - and I find out about her latest book in the middle of the series!

This doesn't make for a good jumping on point.

So I need a little help from my tourmates, and hopefully it can benefit readers of this blog: what Donita K. Paul book would you recommend first?

And for those who want some useful information, you can go to Donita's author site, her blog, or the more knowledgeable blokes down below!

And in conjuction with this CSFF Tour, I did NOT get a review copy of this book because I am sometimes brain-dead.


Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Keanan Brand
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Amy Cruson
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Amber French
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Dave Wilson
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Creating Our Own Idols?

In this blog I've been an advocate for Christian artists to have the freedom to make art for beauty's sake, that our creativity can give glory to God even if it is not specifically relating Jesus or other aspects of Christianity. I made the argument of Francis Schaeffer, that if you look over a Christian artist's work over time, you would see their worldview coming out, even if a specific work did not seem to have a Biblical worldview. This post has the links to my longest run of posts concerning Christianity and art, and it goes into greater detail and nuance.


Made to worship?



Having said this, lately I have concerns. I love to see thoughtful creativity, and I think it is an act of worship to emulate our Creator. However, I think like everything else, it can become an idol.

 

We can't sacrifice truth or faith for creativity.



There are different types of creative people. I believe I'm creative, but I like a certain amount of structure and I do well in a circumstance where I know the expectations and can shoot for a level of achievement. Some creatives are *very much* creative. Their whole personality is geared toward experimenting, pushing, exploring, and having a sense of freedom. They can be great people to be around.



The problem can be they put too much on the freedom. They start to clash with standards, guidelines, boundaries. This can become a problem area for Christians. If too much emphasis is put on creativity and the freedom to explore it, they can lose sight of what we are called to in the Bible. They end up worshipping the creative process over the Creator of it all.

I'm not necessarily talking about their art. I can see a musician writing an angry song that doesn't seem to be Biblical, or an author writing a character or story that don't have any apparent redeeming value - as long as what they do isn't directly advocating sin. In a grander scope of their body of work, there may be a point being made by such work that continues to show a Biblical worldview, but it isn't as apparent taken out of context.

I see more of a problem with their lives getting caught in the "creative life", and the artist leaving behind the Kingdom life. Instead of following Christ and doing art in the wide beauty of His creation and Kingdom, they follow "the muse" wherever it takes them.

This may be an idol...

I think an example of this would be Katy Perry. It is well-known that she started in Christian music, but has evolved into a secular artist that likes to sing and dress provocatively. In reading articles about her, I think she also has let ambition and a desire for fame to drive her life as much as her "art", but I'm sure her creative side contributes as well. 

What is an artist to do? As Christians, we need to offer fellowship and prayer for those who explore the creative life. The beauty that can revealed about God through wonderful art is a true gift we all can and should enjoy. The temptation is letting ourselves go into the creative act so much that we lose our moorings. I've had very creative friends that have been misunderstood. Evangelicalism in America especially can have trouble with the questions raised by these type of people. The artist must choose to stay within the boundaries of Kingdom life, but we can do our best to love and encourage them so they can use their curiosity and imagination without losing themselves to the process.

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Art House America

I've been a fan of Charlie Peacock and his music since I first found out about him in 1991 (sheesh, that sounds long ago...). His music is intelligent, creative, risky, and often has a great beat to dance to.

He's taken his love of God and his artistic nature and fused into something that sounds pretty special. The Art House is the ministry in Nashville with his wife Andi where they host artistic types of all kinds and nurture them in creativity and faith. It has spun off to a physical location in Dallas as well, plus the internet home at Art House America. You can find out more of their vision on the About page.

Not all of us will get the chance to go there (though I'm holding my breath). The website has articles from thinkers on subjects of artistry (music, books, film), justice, creation care, and hospitality, just to name a few. I really enjoyed an article by Andi on raising artful kids, from her perspective as a grandmother. Neat stuff there!

I encourage my creative friends to check out Art House America. Maybe God has something to speak to you from there.
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CSFF Tour - The Wolf of Tebron Day 3



"I always feel like...somebody's watching me!"

 Have you been following the discussion in this month's CSFF Tour featuring The Wolf of Tebron? If not, you're missing out on fairy tales, allegories, and how these can fit into speculative fiction. As always, Becky Miller keeps track of all the rabble and their varied posts - check it out!

If you're wondering what The Wolf of Tebron is about, my synopsis is on day 1 of our tour. Yesterday I talked about the tricky place Tebron is in marketing-wise with it being a "fairy tale allegory." I promised a review today.

Let me start off by saying that in learning more about Ms. Lakin, I can see that she is a well-read individual who has attempted an ambitious project in her Gates of Heaven series, which Tebron kicks off. She has a discussion in the back of the book that describes her desire to meld a fairy tale structure with allegorical images of God's relationship while weaving in apologetics, philosophy, and poetry.

Sounds impressive, and is certainly a lofty goal to shoot for in book.

The book starts with a prologue and then takes the protaganist, Joran, through different journeys as he seeks the Moon, the Sun, the South Wind, and the Western Sea in progression. Lakin enjoys a descriptive style, and it usually serves the story well, creating a vivid picture of the different locales - once Joran gets there. Sometimes though, the journey gets repetitious, and the description struggles at the lack of variety. Other times the action is nebulous (see p182-184), so the description is confusing. I had to skim some sections as there were gaps without a lot going on, it seemed.

There aren't a lot of characters in the book. Joran is an everyman type, and he didn't connect with me very well. A lot of his struggle in the book is internal as much as external. I know that in life we most often deal with internal strife, and it is hard to make that exciting. The other major character is Ruyah the wolf, who becomes Joran's companion throughout the journey. He is a noble creature with a unique voice, and he is the best part of the book. He is a wise mentor to Joran, and even though it would be easy to compare him with Aslan the lion, Ruyah stands apart from his Narnian counterpart. As others have noted, sometimes Ruyah's wisdom seems a little outside of Biblical standing, but he was enjoyable overall.



Do you hear laughing?



The major destinations of the Moon, Sun, etc. are personified, and this technique is used well. The Sun's mother, Sola, was very interested in knowledge, and she offered up some things like listening to specific symphonies and mentioned "rocket science," which threw me out of the fictive world of Tebron each time.

The conclusion of the book ties together various threads from the book with varying success. I felt the most emotional connection to Joran and his wife Charris at this time, but other things came across too contrived.

Overall, I obviously had a hard time with The Wolf of Tebron. I admire what she was trying to do - I just think there was so much attempted it didn't come together well. I don't like being critical, because I realize the hard, hard work it is to pour yourself into writing a book, but as Fred Warren says in his day 3 post, it doesn't work for everyone. Others on the tour really enjoyed the plot, spiritual allegory, and characters. I felt distant to it the whole time. Do check out other people on the tour to get a balanced view, and I wish Ms. Lakin much success in the future.

I think the CSFF is playing catch up a little, and there will be another tour later in January. Hope to see you then!
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CSFF Tour - The Wolf of Tebron Day 2

Welcome back to the second star-studded day of the CSFF Tour. We're featuring The Wolf of Tebron, the first in a series by author C.S. Lakin.

Yesterday I gave an overview of the book, and tomorrow I want to give my review. What do I have in store for today?

A puzzle.

How does an author effectively market their book - to get it into the hands of the type of reader that will appreciate their genre/style?

I ask this today because The Wolf of Tebron is billed as a "fairy tale allegory of God's love." The designation fairy tale isn't used often nowadays outside of the Disney realm. I thought it was an interesting angle to go with this book. Since this tour features fantasy and science fiction novels (more broadly speculative fiction, including alternate history novels like The Gifted series by Lisa Bergren), it is a logical book to spotlight. I don't think anyone in our group, when choosing books, paused when they saw the description.

I think a lot of the books we feature run into a tricky problem of how to market the story. In 2010 we featured Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. It was set alternately in the 1700's and the modern day. It was labeled as "magical realism." What is that, exactly? And who is the market for that? It worked enough to get us to review it, but it isn't an easy book to summarize. It is not fantasy, but there was a fantastic element that was a key plot item.

The Wolf of Tebron is probably closer to fairy tale than true fantasy, so the designation is appropriate. Will it capture a potential buyer with that moniker? Of course, it also bills itself as an allegory. True allegories are hard to find. The Pilgrim's Progress is probably the most famous one in Christian literature. The publicity letter I received with Tebron considered C.S. Lewis in the allegorical realm. I wrestle with that. I don't think it is a true allegory. In my mind an allegory has point-by-point connection with whatever it is trying to emulate. Yes, Aslan is a Christ-figure, but how many other direct connections are there? There is much symbolism, but I don't think allegory is the best way to describe the Narnia series.

Enough with the nit-picking. The point is, I think speculative fiction has a harder time marketing itself because the term is encompasses several sub-genres. If a book is a mystery or a romance, there can be variations: detective vs. noir, chick lit vs. historical. Still, the category is pretty focused. Speculative fiction is a wide berth, and it is tricky when a fantasy book doesn't match a Lord of the Rings pattern.

So the author and publisher have to call it something. For those in the tour, what do you think? Was "a fairy tale allegory" the best way to market Tebron? Is there a better way for this book to reach its readers?

Check to see what the rest of the CSFF gang is saying on Becky Miller's post. I'll give my review of the book tomorrow, with a little more on marketing...
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CSFF Tour - The Wolf of Tebron, Day 1

Welcome to another Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy blog tour. This is a group passionate about quality speculative fiction with a Christian worldview, and there are always good discussions on the books we highlight each month.

I believe we're having two tours this month, with the first featuring The Wolf of Tebron by C.S. Lakin.

The backcopy to the book says it is a "stirring allegory of God's love in classic fairy tale tradition." It follows the adventures of Joran, a young blacksmith with the gift of mindspeaking with animals. He has a recurrent dream that his wife is trapped by the Moon after he sends her away in a fit of anger. On his journey he rescues a large wolf, who becomes his companion on traveling to the four ends of the world to solve the riddle of his dream and rescuing his wife. Joran suffers through many trials in his journey, but in the end a sacrifice is needed to finish his task. Will Joran risk all for what seems to be a dream?

Ms. Lakin appears to be a prolific writer, as she has another contemporary book that was recently released, Someone to Blame, (the CFBA tour will be featuring it later this month). You can find out more about her from the website for The Wolf of Tebron and her personal blog.

As always, you can find different opinions from my varied tourmates below. I will have a review of the book in a later post as well.

Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
John W. Otte
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
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I did receive an advanc reader copy of this book for review purposes.

Top Books of 2010

A new year already? Sheesh!

I haven't been able to read as much this year. I hope it changes, but I still read some good books and want to feature the best I've read from 2010. The first link is to the book's Amazon page, and the second link is to content here at Spoiled for the Ordinary (SftO).

5. The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead. The opening salvo in the 5 book Bright Empires series, Lawhead continues his skillful use of British legend for story fodder. StfO discusses it here.

4. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes. Good writing is good writing, whether a book is written primarily for a male or female audience. This book is considered "contemporary fiction" even though it may seem geared toward a female audience. Anyone who appreciates well-written fiction will enjoy this tale of a terminal woman making a way for her young daughter in the hometown she left behind years ago. I give it a manly thumbs up in this review.

3. Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. This book sparked a lot of discussion during the CSFF tour, and was one of the most provocative we've reviewed. The book started slow, but those with patience will find a rich tale of faith that wrestles with issues of immigration, legalism, license, and grace set in the Southwest in both the 1700's and modern day in an intricately woven tapestry. There is much more in these posts.

2. Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand.  This book introduces us to Roland March, a Houston detective nearing burnout. In a gritty, true-to-life voice, Bertrand draws us in to the ups and downs of March's last chance at getting back into homicide investigation. Noted in SftO posts here. 

1. Listen by Rene Gutteridge. She has hit the #1 spot in my list before with one of her comedic books. This time she brings a tale of suspense that deals with the power of words. Conversations in a small town start being posted on an anonymous website, causing a lot of strife when private words become public. This is what I wrote in my review this year:

However, the book is more than an entertaining read. The theme of the power of words is well-crafted, and it invites anyone to take a thoughtful look at their own use of language to hurt or heal. Some books try to beat you over the head with a message - this story takes you along for the ride but leaves you pondering it afterwards. It is not preachy, but it is a valuable part of the whole message.

 ---

There was one very near miss that could easily make my list - Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs. It is different from his usual style, but highly entertaining nonetheless.

Here's to more great books in 2011!
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Lessons Learned, Day 3

Well, 2010 is 8 days away from being in the history books. Quite an amazing year, went by amazingly fast!

I've been considering things I've learned in the last year. Lesson 1 and lesson 2 are already up. What is the 3rd lesson for the year?


Lesson #3: Love a lot.

A friend of mine recommended I check out "The Peasant Princess" podcast series by Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I'm not turning into a Reformed acolyte any time soon, but there were many good things in that series. I noticed he liked to talk about being a servant and being generous, and that sums up a heart of love. I have tried to show love to my wife more in the last few months, and I think it has made an impact in both our lives.

Once we get past our selfish nature, loving isn't a hard thing to do. We can do a lot of little things to show love around. I was in a Christmas gift exchange game this week, where we traded around DVD's. When it came to my turn, the movie I wanted was "locked" by being traded too many times, and there wasn't really anything else interesting. One woman was stuck with a set of creepy movies, and was bummed about it, because no one would steal hers.

So I did.

She got to pick out another movie, and was happy to get a chick flick. I don't want the creepy flicks, but it seemed simple to let her have another chance to find a good movie. She was really touched by it. Not a big deal to me, but it meant something to her.

It's a good lesson for this time of year: show some more love, people! Find a way to serve someone, to be generous. You'll get a reward just as good back, I bet.
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Lessons Learned, Day 2

On Tuesday I posted the first of a series of "lessons learned" for 2010. At the end of the post I mentioned that there was a corollary lesson that came from the same event.

Lesson #2 - The Little Things Matter

The things we do day by day matter. Little things can be a blessing to others or come back to bite us. In my first post I talk about a situation that may be overblown, but people are judging harshly. The flip side is that, if the person I know did things a little bit differently, they may not be dragged into this mess at all.

We never know what effect our actions will have. I realized a long time ago that if I act rude to another driver, I could be seeing them the next day in my job, or run into them in a position of needing their help. How would that go over if I acted like a jerk?

When we talk about God as watching everything, that should motivate us to walk in integrity when alone as well as before the crowds. Sadly, it seems we still need motivation. It comes down to our selfishness, doesn't it? We give in to acting without thinking, being petty, joining in with the gossip, the bashing people behind their backs.

Still, I have had experiences where someone commented on something I did that was positive, that touched them, and I don't recall it being a big deal. Little things matter both ways - for good or ill.

--
Lord, this reminds me of the importance of walking in Your Spirit daily. If we keep Your word in our hearts, if we keep our ears attuned to the still, small voice, if we put first the the Kingdom of Heaven, what a difference it makes in our lives. It also spills out to the people around us. Help us to learn to live like this more each day!
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Lessons Learned, Day 1

Last week was the first time I totally whiffed on a Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy blog tour, featuring The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers. I felt bad about it, but some things were going on that took away any spare attention I had (aside from work and family), and I hadn't read the book. Anyway, I heard good things about it, and should perhaps check it out.

One thing that came out of the events of last week: I learned an important lesson, and it made me think about other lessons I've learned through the year. Sounds like fertile ground for a series of blog posts!

Lesson #1 - We are quick to judge

There is a local case of some young men being charged with some crimes. Normally, I would shake my head and condemn such hooligans, and move on with life. In this case, I knew one of the men well, and was sure that he wouldn't be party to such things. Through the week news started to trickle out that brought a question to many of the charges, especially why the one young man was even included in this event.

The reaction from the community has been ugly. Most people are doing what *I* would have done, namely condemning the men and slandering them with nasty comments. The internet doesn't help things, between people leaving comments on articles from local news sites to Facebook. On one news site I posted a comment regarding people being innocent until proven guilty. That...didn't go over well. I reiterated the point, and another reader wrote, "your position is admirable but not practical in our society."

Is that sad, or what?

In this instance, I believe I have inside information that makes me see the case opposite of many people. I have been disheartened by the responses, but I have to confess I would be making similar judgments if not for my familiarity with one of the accused and the case.

Certainly victims of crimes should be treated with respect and taken seriously. I worry though that our instant culture has produced instant judgment. The due process of our judicial system isn't given a chance to work. No matter what comes out later on in this case, there will be a taint on these men.

It makes me realize that I should slow down, consider both sides, and realize a couple of things:
1. I don't have all the information.

2. I am not the final arbiter. Ultimately God is. He knows the hearts of the accusers, the accused, and me as I judge them all.

There is a corollary to this lesson, and I'll share that in the next blog post.

--
Lord, help me to judge not, lest I am judged. We are so quick with our opinion in this internet age, when it is easy to spread it out quickly and often without consequence as we hide behind "screen names." Help me to see with Your perspective when I am presented with a judgment call, to know Your heart above all.
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Holiness and Leslie Nielsen

"Surely you can't be serious!"

"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

The Net was abuzz this week with the sad passing of Leslie Nielsen, the actor who defined the slapstick genre of movies with Airplane!, the Naked Gun series, and numerous other movie spoofs. What a great story. The guy was in the movie machine back in the 50's as a standard handsome leading man, and then was able to find success in his love of comedy after Airplane! took off (groan) in 1980. My mom's name was Shirley, so we always loved that joke and played off of it and the irony for her saying it.

A child of the 80's, I really enjoyed these movies. The slapstick and play on of words were great, but there were lots of things I didn't get watching them initially as a teenager (I was rather naive, thankfully). There's a ton of sexual innuendo, but I didn't understand much of it. I thought they were harmless movies.

In 1991 I went on a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. We had three months of training in Montana, learning about the character and ways of God, the Bible, prayer, evangelism, worship, etc. Then we had a two month practical outreach in Thailand. It was a such an investment for me to make, right out of high school. It really changed so much of my perspective, from learning so much about God and who He is, to seeing the bigger world and all the needs out there. Quite a perspective for this Idaho boy.

What does this have to do with Leslie Nielsen? It's not a cheap attempt to draw search engine traffic here. On the flight back from Thailand the movie was The Naked Gun 2 1/2 (gotta love the 1/2!). I had watched it prior to the DTS and thought it was hilarious. Something was different this time. I saw so much that went against God's standards and ways. It was like I had a different lens to look through, and there was so much junk in it. Maybe it was that my internal lenses were cleaned, and I could see garbage for what it was.

I didn't enjoy it the second time, and I think I ended up not watching the rest of the movie.

Leslie Nielsen was a remarkable comedic actor, with great timing and funny faces galore. Still, those movies too quickly went for lowest common denominator humor. As an immature 17 year old, it was awesome. After spending 5 months pursuing the Lord in a concentrated manner every day, it was repulsive. The show didn't change. I did.

I think of that experience sometimes when I see what goes on in popular culture. I wasn't trying to be holier-than-thou about it, but it was a natural response after getting close to Him. I'm sad to say that I probably am not bothered by a lot of things I watch anymore, because I have to live in "real life" and don't have the time to dedicate to Jesus like I did in those days. When you get to live like that, then your spiritual sensitivity naturally goes up.

I have no excuse for not being there now. I could do a lot better in my relationship with the Lord, even though the DTS was a special time that is hard to replicate in the day to day of living.

So strange as it may seem, when I think of Leslie Nielsen, I think of holiness. I am reminded of such a wonderful time in my life. And I think of Shirley. A laugh, a tear, and a sigh mixed together.

Thanks for the chuckles, Mr. Nielsen, and for the memories. Here's hoping God's grace finds you.
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