Story Castle

Leaving on a jet plane...

2006-06-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know when I'm coming back, so the song doesn't really apply. So if you're wondering why I haven't written in a while, that's why. Oh, I guess the new relationship might have something to do with it too.

No Home

2006-05-18T08:35:00.000-05:00

I have no home that i can see
on this side of eternity

This sometimes is a lonely place
and all i wish is to see a face

We work we play we cry and laugh
there is so much along this path

But in the distance behind a tree
it all will pale for you and me

God Is Good!

2006-04-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

I don't want to get caught in the trap of determining my feelings about God by the circumstances in my life. I know that God is good and that he works all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). But sometimes when I see God working out and in the circumstances of my life I just want to shout from the mountain tops, "GOD IS GOOD!" And I pray that when I am at low points and cannot see him at work in the present circumstances that I will look back and remember what he has done for me and rest in him, knowing that he is still good and will work even those times for my good.

God, you are so good! "But God demostrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) We don't deserve your love but you gave it anyway. Thank you.

What about magic anyway?

2006-04-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

So I am going to do my ethics paper on the use of magic in literature from a Christian perspective. Specifically, is it okay in light of the biblical stance against using magic in real life for a Christian to have magic which is used or endorsed by the protagonists or anyone that would be associated with them and their side. I think the place to start would be to find out what the Bible means when it speaks of magic. Many of the things we do today might have been seen as magic in the ancient world. So what is the Bible prohibiting and why? I have a few ideas already, but does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Do you know me

2006-04-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

This is a song I wrote in college and still sing when it is appropriate. Usually I'll sing the first part a couple of times changing Lord for Jesus, Father, or Spirit.

Lord, do you know me now
do i know you how
can i do the things i do
and still say i love you

(please) send your saving grace right to me Lord
wash away my sin and shame
send your saving grace right through me Lord
so that others might receive the same

Gone

2006-03-28T09:04:00.000-06:00

i woke up today and a little piece of my soul was gone

i don't even know what it was like
there's just a dark hole where it used to be

was it shiny and bright

was it filled with many colors and rich hues
did it smell good and bring back sweet memories

was it melodious to the ear
was it steady and strong
maybe it was fuzzy and hard to pin down
or maybe it was dark and slowly blended into the shadow till it quietly disappeared

did it need the rest of me in order to survive

did i let it down
did i need it

am i less or more than what i was

am i still me

it seems like it was important or else why would i miss it

maybe it will come back

maybe it has left for only a little while

i don't know
i may never know
its just gone

i will trust the Gardener

the sharp shears and gentle hands

He knows

My friend the Poet

2006-03-27T14:11:00.000-06:00

I have noticed something, and I am writing this post to rectify it. I really enjoy reading the poems on Danell's Blog, and I want to thank her for sharing them with us. I like all her poems and many of them speak to me and move me. So I figure I should leave a comment on her blog to let her know how good they are. But then when I try to think of something I can't express anything greater than that I liked the poem, which is fine but it would get repetitive and look a little weird if I put that on all the ones I liked. So, great job Danell, you leave me speechless (until now that is).

Here are some of my favorites by Danell.
Calendar Photograph
Dave
Hey!
Heartsong
Nothing More
Now
Rainy Coffee House Day

Springheel Jack is coming!

2006-03-17T08:59:00.001-06:00

For those of you who don't know and for those of you who do, Springheel Jack is coming!

Be patient.

I'm a hopeless romantic

2006-03-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

As you may have guessed from the title, I'm a hopeless romantic. I think that phrase is funny because to me it is an oxymoron. A romantic is someone who does not lose hope. Now I enjoy a good drama or tragedy now and then, but I always want a happy ending. I always want the guy and the girl to figure out that they are meant for each other and then get together. I hold out to the very last minute for things to work out. I love the scene at the end of Sense and Sensibility where Edward has given up his inheritance and then goes to tell Elinor that he loves her. From the very beginning of the story you are rooting for quiet, gentle Elinor to find her happy ending, and it would be almost criminal if she did not find it. My own life was like that before I knew Christ. I had no reason for thinking this, but I just knew things had to get better. Even when I wanted to give up, something in me couldn't give up hope. I think it is a part of my personality that is a gift from God. Having said all that, sometimes my definition of a happy ending can be a bit broad, and when it comes down to it, my desire for a happy ending sometimes has to take the back seat for the sake of a good story.

Not every good story has a happy ending; not every happy ending is a good story.

Romans 5:5

What will it be?

2006-03-17T08:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've been thinking about what my blog will be like and what I will do with it. I'm sure it will change as I continue to use it and as the teeming hoards flock to the wellspring of my verbosity. But I want it to be a place where good stories are heard and discussed. I want it to be a place to image, inspire, and create. I have several ideas in my head. Some, I hope, are good enough to become a novel and I won't share too much about them (a bloke's gotta eat ya know). But others I think will only become short stories and I think this will be a good place to share them. But for now I hope to introduce some concepts and this will be a muse of sorts. One concept that I'm interested in is the use of magic in literature, particularly in regards to the ethics of using it from a Christian worldview. I'm also interested in the ethics of lying. One of the stories that intrigues me the most is when Rahab the harlot lied to save Caleb and Joshua. My current interests may be influenced by the fact that I am taking an ethics class. So feel free to critique anything you like, even grammar, because I'm always looking for ways to sharpen my pen. My hope is that everything I do, including the stories I tell, will bring honor and glory to God.

am i dead?

2006-03-15T09:23:00.000-06:00

my lungs expand, i gasp for breath, my heart pounds within my chest

is this life?

it seems like i've never lived before this moment

i've had this feeling before

i have beheld the life coursing through my veins and marveled at its newness

but even that moment is a pale shadow compared to now

at first the moments were few and far between

each one a bright star in a dark sky to guide me

now they are coming closer together, the entire sky is changing

a whisper of the coming sun begins to dance within my head

each time this life awakes it makes me think that i've never lived

but now as i look to the east and i wait with hope and fear, i wonder...

am i dead?

Beginning

2006-03-15T08:51:00.000-06:00

As I said, I enjoy a good story in any of its forms. So for my first post (okay second) and in honor of my friend Danell (check out her blog) I will atempt some poetry. Poetry amazes me. The ability to use words to create images and snapshots of life, to show beauty and grace in just about anything, and to pour out a part of who we are that can speak to others is amazing. Any good writing can do that, but poetry seems to be the embodyment of that, the music of words.