Against Nothingness

(This post picks up on the story I told in my last post , though you can start here to. This is another long one folks. I'm having fun writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it. If you want to hear about the book and not about me, jump down to the end of the pictures) I returned to following the call of Jesus during my first year of university. Through a crucial relationship with a Power to Change staff member (Thank you Trevor!) I signed up for a national summer project.  I know, some of you have no idea what that means. Let me tell you. University students from across Canada sign up to go to one city (Toronto for us) for the summer and, while there, work during the day and do leadership training and outreach during evenings and weekends. Power to Change staff hand over leadership to the students after 6 weeks.  A lot happened that summer for me. I learned how to scramble eggs, cook perogies, and survive on a rice only fast for several weeks (with multi-vit...

(My last two posts in this series, here and here , picked up on the story I started in my introductory post , and therefore didn't have as much story themselves. This book requires quite a bit more of an introduction. You've been warned!) During my high school years God called me into ministry. I balked. I could wax philosophical about how a calling to ministry is so much more involved in terms of what it requires of the whole person. I could point out that Forbes article that lists being a pastor as the 5th toughest leadership position available. But the truth was two-fold: The call scared me and to obey would cost me the things I really wanted - money and security.  What teenager looks at a potential career path and says, 'You know, that sounds utterly terrifying. I'm in!' For that matter, what adult does this? In hindsight, if what you think of as your calling doesn't scare you in some way then you probably haven't identified your calling,...

I once blogged through a list of 20 questions from readers, family, and friends. Question 11 asked: What is one book (besides the bible) that has had the greatest influence on your life? I gave my answer in two parts: The Screwtape Letters  because of how it set me to reading so many other great books.  The Celebration of Discipline because of how it guided and formed my walk with God. I stand by this answer.  The Screwtape Letters , as I noted in my last blog post , brought with it a new awareness of sin in my daily life. This is an incredible gift, but it comes with an immediate question: What do I do about it? How do I respond to this when part of the problem is how sin is so baked-in?  I tried the whole "will it away" approach. I'm going to be more patient! I'm going to work really, really, really hard at it! And, by all that is holy, I'm going to start getting this right!  I think we all know how well that went.  Imagine try...

(With this book we pick up the story where I left you hanging in my last post. ) I could not have had a more fantastic introduction to non-fiction reading. This was a non-fiction which felt comfortable to one used to the world of fantasy. Letter's from an elder demon to his nephew? Instructions on how to lead a human into destruction? It piqued my interest. In letter after letter Screwtape is full of helpful advice for his nephew Wormwood as they seek to lead their subject down to hell. What is truly displayed in these letters, however, is Lewis' own uncanny insight into human nature. From recognizing how easily we get irritated with the people closest to us to how often we are self-deceived, Lewis' ability to catch and shed light on daily moments of sin and temptation is unmatched. Some of my favorite quotes: "It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out....

As far back as I can remember books have been an important part of my life. My wife would be quick to tell you that this isn't as far back as you might think. My memories of life before the age of 13 are episodic at best. But, alongside of family and the outdoors, those episodes regularly feature books.  Some of the first books I sought out, rather than having on hand, were Calvin and Hobbes  and Choose Your Own Adventure books. I wanted to make my own choices but not miss anything. So I made bookmarks (pieces of paper with numbers on them), marked each choice and, after reaching an end, backed up and choose again until I had read every possibility. Thanks to my father I transitioned into science fiction. He passed on to me the works of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, and Robert Heinlein. You can't read just one of those and then stop. This is just one of the many ways I have been blessed by my father.  When I was a young teenager I joine...

Silence.  I think of the servant watching Rebekah intently, waiting to see if his mission is a success.  I think of the darkness of the ninth plague; I wonder if there was silence. I think of the Canaanite woman crying for help and Jesus not saying a word.  I think of the disciples in the storm as they find that Jesus is asleep. Were they speechless? I think of Jesus in the Garden, his friends all asleep, his prayers rising as his sweat falls.  Or the three hours of darkness while Jesus hung on the cross. Was there silence then? I think of the silences I have experienced.  The brief pause, the in-drawn breathe, that stretches into an imaginary eternity, when I asked the woman I love to marry me and she had yet to answer.  That moment of silence before our baby cried for the first time.  The first rays of sun hitting the side of the mountain, when I realized I couldn't hear the highway anymore. The pause in the wind...

Jorge Luis Borges, A Universal History of Iniquity . Penguin Classics, 2004. Translator: Andrew Hurley.  A long time ago a good friend of mine recommend Borges to me. At the time I read Fictions and quite enjoyed his short stories. I remember them being strange, thought-provoking, and genre bending. Somehow I never gave Borges another thought. Never, that is, until I came across this book and, stirred by the distant association of the name "Borges" with enjoyable reading, started reading. I was not disappointed.  This is Borges first book and it is a kind of non-fiction. I am fairly certain the stories are embellished, but this only makes them better. What you have here are short stories from the old west, medieval Islam, ancient Asia, and more, each focused on the highly colorful life of one individual. These stories are crafted with genius and very enjoyable to read.  Borges is a master writer. I regularly sat back from reading this book just to marvel...