You Gotta Keep Dancin'...

A few good quotes from the book-

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There are only two ways to approach life-as a victim or as a gallant fighter-and you must decide if you want to act or react...A lot of people forget that.

Merle Shaine
When Lovers Are Friends

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Have you wept at anything during the past year?
Has your heart beat faster at the sight of young beauty?
Have you thought seriously about the fact that someday you are going to die?
More often than not do you really listen when people are speaking to you instead of just waiting for your turn to speak?
Is there anybody you know in whose place, if one of you had to suffer great pain, you would volunteer yourself?
If your answer to all or most of these questions is No, the chances are that you're dead.

Frederick Buechner
Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC

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--how fortunate are you and i, whose home
is timelessness; we who have wandered down
from fragrant mountains of eternal now

to frolic in such mysteries as birth
and death a day (or maybe even less)

E.E. Cummings
Complete Poems--1913-1962

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Baby-Steps on the Fiddle...

What else can you take but baby-steps when you only practice once every couple of weeks? But, I'm sticking with it. Someday my schedule will allow for more practice time. With all three of my children moving out in about a two month period we'll be needing some noise to fill the void around our house!

Today I graduated to my fourth fiddle tune by the name of Cripple Creek. That's right, only my fourth. But an auspicious fourth. Today I played notes on THREE strings for the first time. Not simultaneously, but still an accomplishment. I may never get good enough on the violin to play in front of anybody, but it's a little thing I do just for the joy it brings to myself. To feel like I'm learning and growing. Over the years I've wimped out on trying many things because I wasn't sure I would ever be good enough to "do anything with them". So what?!? It adds some spice to life and we all need that!

Awash in Literary Pursuits...

So many good books, so little time!

I've just finished "You Gotta Keep Dancin'", the story of Tom Hansel's journey through pain after falling from a glacier while mountain climbing. A very inspiring story full of inspiring quotes from all kinds of people. I'll have to post some of those here in the future.

I just started reading "Child From the Sea" by Elizabeth Goudge on my break at work yesterday. It's the story of Lucy Walter, the secret wife of Charles II. I love Elizabeth Goudge's writing. She takes you into the world of an eight year old girl and you can see and smell and feel what it's like to be an eight year old girl living in a castle in Wales in the 1600's. I'm prepared to really enjoy this book!

I also just started reading "The Shack" by Wm Paul Young. I think this book is making the rounds among Christians (and others?) right now and my son, Jordan, brought it home. It was given to him by one of his Bible study friends and I started reading the intro and was really drawn into it. As I understand it, it's a true story of a spiritual encounter, but on the back cover the reviewers refer to it as a work of fiction. Is it possible they just don't BELIEVE it's true? Diggin' into it!

I've also started proofreading for the Gutenberg Project. I think this is a great website, offering e-versions of thousands (?) of old out-of-print books free of charge. Being a proofreader is a volunteer position and they are looking for more of us to help so that they can offer more books, faster. Here's a link to find out more. http://www.pgdp.net/c/default.php

CAUTION: As in all things in this world, reading can absorb more of our time than it should. Take care. =0)

Shalom!