R.A. Nelson's Blog, page 8

A “Deep”-er Epiphany

Well, hi there, 2019.

And greetings, dear readers! I hope your holiday season was full of the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love upon which we meditated poetically during Advent. We are now still in the Christmas season – it really is twelve full days, folks – but, this Sunday is the feast of Epiphany.

Epiphany, as I wrote in the first post of my How I Became R. A. Nelson blog series, celebrates the visit of the three wise men/kings/magi to the baby Jesus. It symbolizes the revelation of Ch...

Christmas Eve

As promised, a sonnet for Christmas Eve.Merry Christmas, friends.

Christmas Eve 2018

We come at last to this wide-open door
This Hope that, though we oft have been waylaid
The promise stands: a way will still be made
Ahead, built on the road here laid before
We come, unsure, to mercy’s gate, unlocked
In search of Peace to guard against despair
Behold: our insecurities laid bare
Our posturing unmasked, our pride defrocked
We come in tears to seek the portal bright
Beyond which all our longings...

The Grip of Love

The final candle in the Advent wreath is the Love candle.

It’s been a pleasantly busy week. As I said in last week’s post, I love every part of Christmas – the activities, the music, the presents, the decorations, the food . . . the food. Here’s some of the fun I’ve been having:

We’ve been busy celebrating with dear ones and preparing for next week’s festivities. I am even getting this blog ready a few days in advance, that I may greet Christmas week with a free mind an...

Joy: A “Small” Study

We watched Small One on Sunday.

For those of you unfamiliar with this gem, ’tis a classic animated short from the days when Don Bluth was still working for Disney. It tells the story of a little boy and his pet donkey, Small One – the donkey who ends up (spoiler alert) being the beast that bears Mary to Bethlehem. This film is a favorite in our household, and one of our steadfast holiday traditions thus far.

I grew up in a home rich – nay, abundantly wealthy – in Christma...

Peace: A NON-Non-Entity

The second week of Advent, we light the Peace candle.

Last week’s poem addressed some common misconceptions of Hope: that it is naïve, blind, or vain. Continuing the theme, this week I have tried to refute some mistaken notions about Peace.

Too often, Peace is seen as a non-entity: merely the absence of war or pain or unpleasantness. However, the Hebrew word, shalom, contains so much more than this. It is fullness and wholeness and prosperity and harmony and completion. I...

Hope: A Literary Chorus

Advent is here!

As I described in last year’s post, Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas, and it is just as significant for the Christmas celebration as Lent is for Easter. Both are meant to be seasons of reflection, repentance, and preparation – a “quieting” of one’s soul, making room for the wild joy of the Day itself when it comes.

Furthermore, I shared in last week’s blog that Advent is the start of the Church calendar year.

So . . . Happy New Year, everyo...

A Tale of Launch, Longing, and Love

Friends, The Ancient launched this week.

On Sunday, November 25, 2018, my first post-Gatekeeper novel child set out to meet the world. And, what’s more, the world welcomed it. We were close to the “top 100” list on Amazon in three different categories!

That, my friends, is worthy of celebration. See? Even Daniel Radcliffe is excited!

Of course, one always longs for a bigger launch. One cannot help but be discouraged when one peruses the actual “top 100” lists...

Sneak Peek of The Ancient!

I have much for which to be thankful this week, friends.

First, next week is Thanksgiving. That’s always fun. Anticipation is one of my favorite bits of any happy occasion. Add the first snow of the season, and you have a lovely sense of “holiday” in the air.

Secondly, tomorrow is the second anniversary of the rather horrific car crash in which I lost my beloved 2006 Corolla, Percy. (You can read the full tale – plus the lessons it provided – in last year’s first anniversary post, Ac...

An Interview with the Author

Well, hi there, readers!

It certainly has been a while. My apologies for the fortnight of silence; ’twas unintentional, and for a host of very good causes.

Here be the causes – or, rather, photographic evidence thereof:

My first full autumn in New York has been a good one.

Think not, however, that I have been idle. I have devoted all the time I could find over the past few weeks to preparing The Ancient for publication.

Further photographic evidence:

Doc helping...

Running: Chariots of Fire Meets Lord of the Rings

There are times when running can be absolute bliss.

(There are, of course, also times when it can be the exact opposite of bliss – but I prefer to dwell on the good of any situation, always.)

Sometimes, you hit just the right song with just the right weather at just the right point in the run – and then, if you’re anything like me, you fling out  your arms and throw back your head and imagine you are flying.

It is in those moments that I feel deep kinship with Eric Liddell, the Olymp...