Idea

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

That's all I'm going to say for now, because that's about as far as I'll let my mind go with it at this point. But it IS on my mind...

Adventures in Reading: "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

"Anna Karenina". It could also be called "Perseverance".

That was a long, sometimes tedious book. I don't have much to say about it, despite the fact that it was close to one thousand pages long.

Essentially, it is a book about the way a handful of Russian aristocrats deal with the changing times on of the 18th century. It also compares rural and societal life, and has major overarching themes of religion and morality. And while the writing itself is very good, the story seemed to drag for me. I couldn't wait for the climax, to see how everything tied together...but I was left pretty unsatisfied. The pay-off wasn't big enough compared to all the reading I had to do.

And I found the character of Anna Karenina herself to become less and less sympathetic as the story continued. I found myself getting more and more annoyed with her. I've heard that Tolstoy was enamored with her character. Can't imagine why, unless he loved pathetic women...

Anyway...I did it. I read the whole thing, and I did enjoy a lot about it. The description and writing style are first-rate, and the characters do really come alive, otherwise I wouldn't dislike some of them so much! But I'm very happy to be done with it, especially since I've been collecting books to read when I was finally done. I have a big beautiful stack just waiting for me. Very exciting :)

PS: The best part about reading this book was losing it at a bar on my birthday. Definitely made for a good story!

Always

On a day like today, when things just don't seem to be going the way I want them to...this is what I hold onto:

This is the start
This is your heart
This is the day you were born
This is the sun
These are your lungs
This is the place you were born

I am always yours
I am always yours

These are the scars
Deep in your heart
This is the place you were born
This is the hole
Where most of your sole comes ripping out
From the places you've been torn

And it is always yours
I am always yours

Hallelujah, I'm caving in
Hallelujah, I'm in love again
Hallelujah, I'm a wretched man
Hallelujah, every breath is a second chance

And it is always yours
I am always yours


And since sometimes listening is better than reading:

Perfect match

I little inspiration, graffiti-style.

Here's to love and the sea, two of my favorite muses.

More thoughts for Easter

"Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we are satisfied with sentiment. But NEW CREATION has already begun! The sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds, and stewards of the new day that is dawning. That, quite simply, is what it means to be Christian: to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, God's new world, which He has thrown open before us." - N.T. Wright, "Simply Christian"

He is risen!

Easter...the yearly remembrance of the most important event in human history, and, consequentially, in my life. I've had this song stuck in my head all day, and I think it really says everything better than I can.

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

‘til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Happy Easter!

Nice way to spend a Saturday

I just got home from my first ever writer's conference and workshop...and I loved it!

I actually cried in my car between sessions because I was so overwhelmed with how much I love writing and language and words. Dramatic? Sure. But it was a genuine outpouring of the emotion I was feeling, so I'm unconcerned.

I don't have much to say, other than I am feeling inspired and encouraged, and I hope with the new set of techniques and ideas I was given today I am able to dive more deeply into the writing life.

I hope you are feeling equally as inspired in whatever areas of your own life you are pursuing!