Seth Haines's Blog, page 38
November 2, 2015
A Celebration of the Saints
1.
In my protestant evangelical upbringing, what was November 1st? It was a binge day, a day to continue the feast of peanut butter cups and Tootsie Rolls. (I once spun Tootsie Rolls through a pencil sharpener in an effort to make kid-friendly chewing tobacco, but that’s another story.) It was, quite simply, a day of self-indulgence.
As a child, I don’t recall any sermons about All Saints’ Day, that day set aside in the liturgical year for the celebration of the faithful followers of Christ....
October 31, 2015
Weekend Review: Name Today Rest
By now you’ve heard: Coming Clean came into the world last Tuesday. Instead of sitting at the computer, hitting refresh to see whether anyone was placing Amazon orders or posting photos of the book at Barnes & Noble (I can be a little neurotic, see), I snuck away to Montana, where the full moon rose over every high desert morning.
My internet connectivity was stripped down to about thirty minutes a day, and my cellphone received reception as well as an Acme brick. In Montana, I found a refuge...
October 30, 2015
Forgiveness, Grace, and Mercy for Our Enemies
Today, Ann Voskamp is sharing an excerpt of Coming Clean on A Holy Experience. Would you follow me there? The excerpt from the book is my journal entry from December 5, 2013.
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December 5, 2013
“I thank you, God, for most this amazing day.”
I pray with E. E. Cummings and look through the morning window to see snow blanketing the ground in Fayetteville.
I walk to the front door in my pajamas, open the door, and stand barefoot on the cold concrete of the front porch. A winter chill is an ex...
October 27, 2015
The Art of Sobriety
I’m still in Montana enjoying the big sky and cooler weather. While I’ve been away, Coming Clean entered the world. You can pick up your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Givington’s, or wherever books are sold. In the meantime, today I’m sharing this piece I wrote for addiction.com on the the connection between drinking, sobriety, and creative writing.
Enjoy.
*****
Hi. My name is Seth Haines. I am a writer. I am an alcoholic.
There could be no truer way to begin a piece on the intersection of...
October 26, 2015
Happy Birthday To Me… Again.
On Sunday, I stepped into my thirty-eighth year of life in Billings, Montana. I found a local cafe, McCormick’s—open 7 days, says the pink and blue neon sign—and ordered my birthday breakfast. Two eggs, over easy, toast, bacon. In the McCormick’s, the morning light tendrils through the windows, cuts shafts through the slight mist of floating bacon grease. Bacon grease—could there be a better incense of the people? It’s a beautiful thing.
I opened my laptop and connected to themccormickcafe ne...
October 21, 2015
Clap, Clap, Clap (A Coming Clean Giveaway)
In less than one week, my first book, Coming Clean releases. The final edits have been completed, the design and layout phases are in the bag. The books are boxed in warehouses in Des Moines, Dallas, and Saskatoon (I’ve always wanted to use the word “Saskatoon” in a sentence), and are awaiting the arrival of various and sundry delivery trucks. This is the liminal space, the space between publication and distribution.
What is Coming Clean?
Coming Clean is my story, a narrative account of my wa...
October 19, 2015
A Confession, A Liturgy, And the New Ancient Way
This is a multimedia post. Please take the time to listen to the pieces as you read along.
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This is a thing about which I have not written much. It’s a thing of shame, of hot regret. Lord have mercy.
Fifteen years ago, I was employed by a burgeoning mega-evangelical monster in the heart of the midwest. It was a conservative denominational church, one which touted its full orchestra and hymn-driven worship services. We were put together with buttons and ties, and the lot of us considered...
October 8, 2015
Recovery Room: The Path Through Fear (And a Giveaway)
On the occasional Thursday, I invite guest writers, pastors, therapists, and practitioners to step in and discuss their process of recovery–recovery from any old thing. Today, welcome Deidra Riggs, writer, speaker, and author of the new book Every Little Thing. Deira is powerful voice, a beautiful soul, and an all-around good person. When she’s not skydiving solo, you can find her Jumping Tandem (her blog).Follow her on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.
And if you...
October 7, 2015
That Time I Rearranged An Airport Bookstore (I’m a Rebel, see)
I traveled last week to Story Nashville, a conference hosted by Crosspoint Church in Nashville, Tennessee. I enjoy traveling more than most, in no small part because of the solitary nature of any given excursion. To those who know me, this should come as no surprise—I am an extreme introvert by nature, though a well-practiced extrovert. It’s the introvert that needs the travel, the blending into the airport crowd, the whir of the airplane engine drowning out most conversations, the headphones...
September 30, 2015
For John
For John*
The windows of the world are milked over
with the handprints of smallmen’s delights,
of jelly, peanut butter, religion, government,
money, misery, desire,
whatever.
Where sun once sliced through clear panes,
the morning knives cut rays to stones,
ours is an autumn ofonly dull, diffused days,
all leaf lines
melding.
Whereare the men among the people,
yes, the people
cominga’washing with human poems,
with prophetic baptismal flannel rags,
wiping smears clean with elbow gr...
