wordy imagery

having a little fun with Wordle (word clouds).



Romans 3 (NIV), the passage Drew is currently preaching through at Grace Pres.



Lyrics for the 143 hymns contained in the RUF Hymnbook

Wall-E discussion

Last Friday, I led a discussion of Pixar's 2008 release, Wall-E. It was a great discussion, and I enjoyed getting even more out of the film through hearing other people's reactions and reflections.

In preparation for the discussion, I covered a lot of [internet] ground finding interviews and articles on the film in hopes of further enriching our discussion. Here is a handful of worthwhile reads. After you read them, what thoughts do you have about the film? Did reading the interviews with Andrew Stanton change your opinion of the film, whether positively or negatively?

• Interview with Andrew Stanton, by Christianity Today
• Interview with Andrew Stanton, by Movies Online
• Interview with Andrew Stanton, by Jeffrey Overstreet
• Review by Josh Hurst
• Review by Roger Ebert
• Comparing Wall-E with Charlie Chaplin

UPDATE: Interested in films with similar themes to Wall-E? The LA Times has a photo essay on film characters that are almost human. Notice who comes in at #10!

John Newton hymning on Prayer

this Sunday, Pastor Drew is preaching from Matthew 6 on the Lord's Prayer. if you didn't catch his post about how well you know the Lord's Prayer, check it out here.

one of the quotes from this week's reflection is taken from a hymn by John Newton. the first line is a beautiful invitation: "Come, my soul, thy suit prepare". the hymn provides us with wonderful guidance in the posture of prayer (see full text below).

I'm a firm believer that the second most important book in a Christian's library is a hymnal, and this text demonstrates this superbly. as with the Biblical Psalms, hymns give voice to the heart of the worshiper. not only that, they teach us the language of prayer. regularly supplementing your study of the Bible with reflection upon hymn texts is a prescription for a healthy devotional life.

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Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare
available in Trinity Hymnal #628 (1990 edition)

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare;
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee, Nay.

Thou art coming to a King:
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.

With my burden I begin:
Lord, remove this load of sin;
Let thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt.

Lord, I come to thee for rest;
Take possession of my breast;
There thy blood-bought right maintain,
And without a rival reign.

While I am a pilgrim here,
Let thy love my spirit cheer;
As my guide, my guard, my friend,
Lead me to my journey's end.

Show me what I have to do;
Every hour my strength renew;
Let me live a life of faith;
Let me die thy people's death.


links:
More information at Hymnary.org
Full text of Newton's "Olney Hymns"

eat this film

this summer, we've been going through a series of film discussions I've called Eat This Film. we've watched and discussed films that might be termed as "Foodies". additionally, we've served a meal that is tied closely to the film. in June, we watched Mostly Martha, and enjoyed an authentic Italian meal with spaghetti as the main dish. in July, Eat Drink Man Woman, along with a Taiwanese/Chinese meal with (almost) no takeout. in August, we'll finish the series with Sideways, which will include a lesson in wine tasting.

it's been great to discuss a subject that our part of the country cherishes with such gusto. through my scouring of IMDB and my local library, I'm seeing a trend in recent decades of filmmaking toward more films that center on chefs and eating, typically with gorgeous scenes documenting the process of food preparation.

the most recent addition to the Foodie Canon is Julie & Julia. I have not seen it yet, but I've heard positive reviews from critics and friends. it's not official yet, but I'm planning on taking an extra credit Eat This Film field trip to go see this as a group. here are two recent posts about it from the NYTimes, one by Michael Pollan, the other by Kim Severson.

*UPDATED, 8/31 - Great article from The Curator on the Art of Marriage in Julie & Julia.

during the summer, I've been blogging in my head (I seem to do this a lot) about this series. I was thinking that this very post--the one that you're reading right now--would be a brilliant compilation and commentary of all that I've come across in my research and our discussions. but someone beat me to it, and someone who is a far better writer and a far more experienced film journalist than I ever will be. check out Jeffrey Overstreet's Tribute to Films about Feasting over at Filmwell. he touches on many films that we've already discussed, suggests a few more tantalizing options, and ties it all together wonderfully with the great film that started this whole Eat This Film exploration, Babette's Feast.

For more information on this and other film series at Grace, visit the Movies @ Grace page on our website.

For discussion:
What's your favorite Foodie movie and why?

Summer Reading 2009

Now that summer is here, what are you planning on doing with your time? Is there a book that's been sitting on your shelf that needs the dust blown off? I certainly have more than a few books that I'd like to get through while enjoying a glass of sweet tea on the back patio.

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Theology: Truly the Community - Marva Dawn
Dawn has written many scholarly yet accessible works on the church as a worshiping community. This volume tackles Romans 12, systematically applying its principles to modern communities. I have already read the first few chapters and have found her insights to be both challenging and creative.

Non-Fiction (Science): Musicophilia - Don Sacks
Okay, so I'm already about 200 pages into this one, but I'll be finishing it in summer, so it counts, right? Sacks is the neurologist/psychologist who wrote the book Awakenings, which had a film based upon it. This time he writes about his studies of the brain and music. A fascinating read so far, his work is full of compassionate case studies into the lives of people who suffer from maladies that effect their ability to process sounds, specifically music.

Non-Fiction (Cultural): The Great-Good Place - Ray Oldenburg
I bought this in hopes of it being my summer 2008 reading, but I ended up doing other things. I figure that if I put it on this list for all to see, I'll have to read it. Oldenburg presents the case for Third Places, those places in a culture that are outside of the home and workplace where people go to find a sense of place and community. In Europe, it's street cafés and public houses. In America, we've separated ourselves so much from the world outside that we've lost our sense of third place, and Oldenburg argues for a reclamation of this important type of institution. A highly influential book, it has already inspired the establishment of coffee shops and book stores around the country (one of which is in Seattle, called Third Place Books).

Fiction: ??
I have a long list of books that I've been collecting on my shelf to read. I'm sure I'll get around to finishing a Dashiell Hammett mystery or two (The Thin Man, Red Harvest), some Cormac McCarthy (Sunset Limited, No Country For Old Men), and hopefully a classic (Brothers Karamazov has been staring at me for a while).

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So now it's your turn to join the conversation. What books are you planning on reading? Please post at least one book in the comment section below, and maybe even include a short description.

Happy Reading!!!

photo courtesy bookmonger on Flickr.

Give To The Winds

Download Chart

Download Live Recording

I recently wrote a new melody for the Paul Gerhardt hymn, "Give To The Winds", which was originally written in German and later translated into English by John Wesley nearly a century later. JS Bach has set the German text. For my setting, I had to modify a few of the lines to help the melodic phrasing. Brian Wren in "Praying Twice" says that this is a no-no as it ruins the author's original voice to change that much (more than just the archaic language or other more subtle modifications). Oh well, can't please everyone!

The recording is from May 31, 2009 at Grace Presbyterian of Silicon Valley. I wrote the melody with The Weepies in mind, so I was pleased to have a fellow Weepies fan, Anne-Marie Strohman, taking the lead vocal. Hopefully the arrangement will expand a little bit when I get a chance to do a fuller demo.

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Give To The Winds

Give to the winds your fears,
Hope and be not dismayed;
God hears your sighs and counts your tears;
God will lift up,
God will lift up,
God will lift up your head.

Leave to God’s sovereign guide
To choose and to command,
Wand'ring, as you own His way,
How wise, how strong,
How wise, how strong,
How wise, how strong His hand.

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears your way;
Wait now, since in His time, this night will
Soon end in joy,
Soon end in joy,
Soon end in joyous day.

Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1653; tr. John Wesley, 1739; alt. Music: Luke W. Brodine, 2009. © 2009 Rare Sunshine Music. UBP. ARR

twittering

I am now on twitter.

http://twitter.com/raresunshine