Trudy J. Morgan-Cole's Blog, page 62

Writing Wednesday 45: Adventures in Research

This video is all about the type of books I like to call “Adventures in Research” novels (here’s a link to some of my reviews of these types of novels) — books that focus on the discovery of an ancient, rare and explosive document, that trace the history of the document, and that are often built around an attempt by someone unscrupulous to steal or destroy the document. Sometimes when I’m in the midst of researching I fantasize that I’ll come across something like that, and, well … the video above shows where my rambling mind gets to.

Here are Amazon links to all the books I mentioned in the video:

Wilton Barnhardt’s wonderful novel GOSPEL, the novel that should have gotten all the hype that went to The Da Vinci Code

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks lacks the “bad guys trying to steal the valuable manuscript” element but has plenty of thrills as it takes you through the life story of an ancient Jewish text

Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land by John Crowley – Not very well known but I really enjoyed it.

The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovet – A recent release I enjoyed, about a rare book that may prove or disprove the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. This one has lots of chases and intrigue

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – A lot of people loved this but it wasn’t one of my favourites, and not just because I’m not that into the vampire/Dracula thing — it just didn’t grab me. But it might grab you

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – What can I say? I’m not a fan, but I had to include it because it’s one of the best-known examples of this genre.

Enjoying Summer

Sorry, there was no Searching Sabbath video yesterday, although I will try to do one for next week, and a Writing Wednesday for the next two weeks — but I’ll have to admit I’m pretty much in the thick of enjoying my summer vacation and sometimes instead of exploring deep thoughts about spirituality or writing, I just want to do this: 

That’s Jason and me on a river rafting trip our family took on the Exploits River with Riverfront Chalets and Rafting, which I recommend very highly. Our whole family had a great time.

So yeah, not a lot of deep thoughts this week … but hey, enjoying family and sunshine and summer is what it’s all about.

Writing Wednesday 44: 15,000 Words, Free to Good Home

Editing continues. I was thrilled to discover I had trimmed the manuscript down considerably just by eliminating unnecessary wordiness on this draft. Then I got to thinking … where do all the unwanted words go?

Searching Sabbath 22: Christian Behavior

I’ll admit, this week’s video is long. But I hope you have seven-plus minutes to watch it, because there’s a lot in there. And, of course, there could be a lot more. If you want to see something long, take a look at the text of this actual SDA belief, #22:

We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven. For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those things which will produce Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from them as well. Instead, we are to engage in whatever brings our thoughts and bodies into the discipline of Christ, who desires our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness.

For a surprising number of Seventh-day Adventists, and even more former Adventists, this doctrine IS Seventh-day Adventism. Forget the 21 statements that led up to it and the 6 to come; for some people, their entire experience of being a Seventh-day Adventist has centred around being expected to live up to a fairly rigid code of behavior. And for many former Adventists, this code — or the way in which it was applied, or the way in which they were judged for not keeping it — was the reason they left. We are not entirely innocent of the accusation that though we teach righteousness by faith, we often act as if we’re saved by works — and often a collection of works that are quite obscure even among conservative Christians, such as not piercing your ears or not eating meat.

Adventist and ex-Adventist subculture is dominated by discussions over these things, and there’s a lot more I could have said here, so that even getting it down to 7+ minutes was a challenge. I’ve tried to hit on two key points in the video: 1) all of these rules sprang originally from deeply-felt and very worthy principles developed by our Adventist pioneers, but turning a principle into a rule and handing it down to the next generation is a tricky business, and 2) I do believe that as a Christian, while our works do not save us, how we live matters … but I’m sorry that our focus here is so much on personal purity and so little on our behavior as it relates to social issues. (This is true to such a great extent that the one traditionally Adventist position that advocates social justice — our pacifism and refusal to serve in combat positions in the military, is not even mentioned in this statement of belief or in the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe…, and I think that omission, and the general disregard of that traditional teaching, is a terrible thing … but again, that’s something I didn’t have time to touch on in the video).

There is so much more that could be said here in terms of the specific teachings about behavior, the principles underlying them, and how we interpret them — but as usual I think I’ll leave this open to comments and see if anyone is interested in discussing it further. I hope so!

Writing Wednesday 43: Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Yup, that’s me in a towel, washing my hair. Don’t worry, it doesn’t get anymore revealing than that — you don’t have to watch me shower or anything (although I do have to say, the acoustics in the bathroom are great — I may need to find more excuses to film there). I decided that the “lather, rinse, repeat” shampoo instructions were a good metaphor for the process of editing a novel. “Edit, Rest, Repeat” would be the appropriate cycle for the writing/revision process, as I explain in the video above.

Why Walk When You Could Run?

Yesterday was the 86th running of St. Johns’ biggest annual road race, the Tely 10. That’s 10 miles not 10 kilometers, btw. Above are Jason and I just past the finish line with our finishers’ medals. We covered the 10 miles (about 16K) in a non-record-setting 2 hours and 40 minutes. The winner made it in 51 minutes, so you can see that we weren’t exactly leaders of the pack. In fact, we’re not even runners. We walked the course, for the third time. Our goals are usually 1) to beat last year’s time, and 2) for Jason not to come last in his age category (it’s easy for me not to come last since many women in the 40s walk the course, but men in their 40s tend to either run or not bother, so Jason generally has to pick a slower-looking guy about his age and try to stay ahead of him).

We didn’t achieve either of our goals yesterday. We were making pretty good time, for us, till about Mile 8 Jason’s knee started hurting a lot and we had to slow down (I didn’t have to slow down, of course, but we like to finish together). Then, at the very last second just as we were crossing the finish line, the slower guy Jason had been keeping ahead of suddenly burst into a little jog, passed us, and finished three seconds ahead of Jason. That guy was #141 out of #142 in their age group; Jason was #142. (BTW, the numbers we’re wearing above are just our randomly-assigned race numbers, not the positions in which we finished). 3320 people finished this race and Jason and I finished up in positions #3242 and #3243 — in the last 100 people to finish. My real hero is the guy who kept moving till he finished dead last in three hours and fifty-seven minutes.

(Here we are crossing the finish line: me in triumph, Jason in a considerable bit of pain. His knee is OK now though.)

Are we happy with our results despite slowing down? Absolutely! We finished the course and that’s what matters. Actually, even if Jason’s knee had completely failed him and he hadn’t been able to finish we’d still consider it a success if we’d walked as far as we possibly could.

Some people may wonder why you’d bother walking in a running race? While I’ve blogged and even vlogged about the Tely 10 before, I thought this year I’d actually address that question. Some Tely10 runners don’t even realize there are a couple of hundred people walking (some bursting into occasional short jogs, like the guy who passed Jason). But the philosophy of this particular race is that everyone is welcome (after paying the entry fee). Not every road race is like this: the Cape to Cabot Race here in St. John’s, for example, has a cut-off number of participants and many races require qualifying times to make sure that only the best runners get in. But I think every community also has some road races like our Tely 10, races that are open to everyone who wants to participate. The point is not to compete with others but to set a goal for yourself and meet it.

I am not an athlete. I will never be an athlete. I don’t even care about being an athlete. I hate most sports and I’m not good at them. Walking is my preferred form of exercise and it’s just as much about mental health as it is about physical — walking helps me feel sane and centred (as much as I ever do). And while I could quite happily go for short and long walks (usually with my dog) all over the place without ever entering a road race, setting a challenge and meeting it is for me a kind of celebration. I like to celebrate the fact that I live in a body and it can do things. And I encourage everyone to find their own challenge — something you like to do that’s maybe a little farther than you’d normally push yourself — and do it. Not as a competition but as a celebration.

Searching Sabbath 21: Stewardship

The SDA church’s teaching on “stewardship” is as follows: 

We are God’s stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use. We acknowledge God’s ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellowmen, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. The steward rejoices in the blessings that come to others as a result of his faithfulness.

This is pretty straightforward stuff, I think. Within the SDA church, the main manifestation of this doctrine is in the practice of tithing — giving 10% of one’s earnings to God (via giving it to the church). I strongly support this practice as a way of reminding ourselves that we don’t “own” everything; God owns everything and we are merely caretakers. I think that’s a healthy way to view money and resources. I do understand why some people are distrustful of churches and don’t want to tithe to a church, although I think if you’re going to be part of an organization you should support it financially, but I also think the people who choose to give 10% of their income to a charity of their choice are still tithing.

However, I also think the concept of stewardship is much broader than just tithing — and this is well covered in the Seventh-day Adventists Believe… chapter on the topic. One area I think is particularly important and underemphasized — not just by our church but by evangelical and conservative churches in general — is stewardship of the earth. Believing that we own the planet and can exploit everything on it at will is entirely unBiblical. God has given us this earth, not to abuse but to care for. While we might disagree and argue about the best and most sustainable practices for using the earth’s resources while caring for them properly, surely we can’t disagree that we are stewards and that sustainability and conservation should be our goals?

Well, let’s be honest — Christians can disagree about anything, so yeah, some will disagree with that. But I think it’s pretty plain.

Writing Wednesday 42: Seeking Distraction

We’ve had  a few days in a row now of beautiful summer weather and I am doing everything possible to get out and enjoy them as much as possible, which I feel is almost a religious obligation if you live in Newfoundland. But at the same time I’ve been trying to work through edits on this draft of the novel. Sometimes these can be incompatible goals. Even though last week’s vlog was about getting away from distractions, I felt I had to be honest about the fact that sometimes I knowingly waste time — and not even floating around the lake on an inflatable raft, which I think is absolutely appropriate July behavior. No, this is a video about all the dumb time-wasting things I do to distract myself, especially when the writing or editing is difficult and tedious. Oh, and there’s one that’s not so dumb. Plus, you get to see some different parts of my house where I don’t usually shoot videos, so that’s fun. My T-shirt is not quite as cool as last week’s though. Well, no T-shirt on earth is, really.

Searching Sabbath 20: The Sabbath

This week’s topic is another huge one: why Seventh-day Adventists worship on Saturday rather than on Sunday like the majority of Christians, and what that means to me personally. Again, this is another really huge topic with many possible directions to go, some of which I’ll be happy to pursue in comments if people would like to. All I’ve tried to do in this video is present my understanding of the Sabbath teaching, which is probably one of the strongest things that makes me identify as a Seventh-day Adventist — Sabbath is very important to my faith and how I understand the world. Despite this, I’ve tried to keep it brief.

The official SDA statement of belief on the Sabbath is as follows:

The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.

The Dream with the Goats

The two most narcissitic things I can think of to post on a blog are 1) my own poetry (unless it’s bad teenaged poetry posted to make you laugh, and 2) my dreams. So, who’s got two thumbs and is going to be narcissitic today? THIS GAL.

 

 

 

The Dream With the Goats

In my dream I walked down a staircase outside someone’s house

(not a house, or a staircase, or a person

I know in real life)

The stairway was decorated

with kitschy ceramic goats

(like garden gnomes … only, you know, goats).

Big goats and baby goats

arranged in groups

to represent this person’s entire

extended family.

On a step by themselves

the two oldest goats, nanny and billy-goat

curled up in a basket, eyes closed

as if asleep.

On the next step down, my mother was sitting in a chair.

I sat on the step at her feet,

took her hand

laid my head against her leg

and in that tender pose, said,

“How could you just die and leave me?

How could you do that to me?!?!”

Same night, different dream:

My friend Jamie was there

(not on the staircase with my mom and the goats – somewhere else)

alive and well, but not totally well.

He had some little thing wrong that worried him.

He was going to see a doctor about it.

I yelled at him,

“I hope you’re not going to die of cancer AGAIN!

You can’t put us all through that again –

It was too hard last time.”

When people say they wake from dreams crying

I never believe them.

That night I woke already in angry tears

at the terrible audacity of the dead

who made their plans for departure

without consulting me.