Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

My nose has a terrific memory. In times of forgetfulness it is my unwritten travelogue, and Friday was no different. To get There, we took a tube to east London and stood next to someone who did not take personal hygiene seriously. We passed a modern museum and the stench of a dumpster. Finally we turned a corner to a fresh breeze blowing off the river, smelling of fish and industry and centuries of secrets. We had arrived.

I couldn’t help but stare at the freshly painted structure. The grass that was to be our shelter for the next three hours promised a truly authentic experience (with the exception of the modern fire retardant.) Wooden beams crisscrossed upward to form a certain solidarity that made it possible for me to pretend that the building was an original—that the famed house of entertainment had survived through thousands of generations.

We were lucky that day with warm weather. The first weekend of October could have brought rain or clouds or a thick wind. But today’s afternoon sun was friendly. It wound between people in the queue and roughed up their anticipation of the event. We couldn’t tell if many people had attended before, which was good. No matter if it was the first time or the tenth, it appeared that it was always worth coming back to. People laughed and the energy was high. Strangers smiled to strangers. An American next to me whistled a familiar hymn. A women in an apron sold programs, some people ate a quick sandwich, and one girl enjoyed a brownie (I made a mental note to buy one after the performance.) While we all took in the view across the river, we mostly kept our eyes fastened on the door that would soon be the gateway to our reason for being here.
And finally the queue started moving.

When we entered the sphere, I was immediately transported to seventeenth century England. I couldn’t help but think of the commoners that had experienced laughter and tears through the original players—the masters who were the first to interpret William’s bantering. I wondered what they wore, if they had shoes, and how often they were able to come to experience it. Did they come with their families? Did parents allow their children to come? How racy was the dialogue? How violent the fights? So many questions bounced around my head as I turned in circles to look at the open-aired space around me. The brightly painted rafters told the story of the sky. The forest hung on banners in front and informed me we would spend an afternoon in the woods. Above us were decks of chairs and benches, and for a few select few, rented cushions that promised a more comfortable stay. (But we had the cheapest and the better view.)

My husband and I set our bags on a slab of cement right outside “the wedge” where only 25 people were allowed in. Our view was close, but not so close so that we would leave with neck spasms. We snapped pictures while we could. We chatted with a woman who wore a maroon apron. She was pleasant to talk with, but it was more fun to see how quickly she became stern when she needed to manage the crowd. She was not a softie by any means. (But she did gladly offer to take our picture at the end.)

The people trickled in and eventually filled the entire space. Amid the crowd conversation, we suddenly heard minstrel music. Two musicians had emerged from behind a curtain, quieted the crowd, and began to set a mood reminiscent of the Renaissance. Soon after, we were enthralled in the story.

The hilarity began.

What is Good Writing?

I write about God. I don’t think it’s for the general public. Or is it? If what we write is truly good literature, anyone should be able to read it without thinking it's narrow minded and un-intellectual just because it involves faith. People like Madeleine L'Engle and Marilyn Robinson have bridged the gap and made it possible for the general public to read novels about the Christian faith. But how do they do it? What makes their writing good?

In the past two years or so I've visited Christian publishing editor's blogs (who work with CBA, which stands for Christian Booksellers Association) who discuss at length the pitfalls and bad writing they find in contemporary Christian literature. Today’s lit is often (not always) catchy and slightly trendy, but it would not stand the test of time. It resorts to clichés and formulaic writing. Discussions like that scare me out of writing because I wonder if I write lazy lit. Do I write tedious prose? Cheap dialogue? Fuzzy, feel good narratives that don’t display the delicate intricacies of our faith in a meaningful and entertaining story? I’m tired of being paralyzed out of writing because I don’t know if it’s “good” or not. And what is good?

That's why I've started to create a specific, manageable list about what makes good writing. Eventually I want the list to be short and sweet, so that after I've written something I can measure it to my criteria. I've included it here so that you can all include your own guidelines if you have them. This is what I have so far (it's a little long):

“Good” Writing Guidelines

1. Write what you know
2. Inventory your passions
3. Consider if enough is at stake to make a story
4. Do not let the writing serve you; serve the writing
5. Big picture focus through small picture experiences (universal truths with real people/s/character’s stories)
6. Increase your reader’s imaginative grasp
7. Invent the form that will best serve your subject. The form is not the point. The idea, the question, the thing to know is
the point.
8. Show, don’t tell
9. Be precise
10. Define your terms
11. Don’t generalize
12. Avoid hyperbole
13. Don’t assume your reader agrees with a word you’re saying
14. Don’t cast the subject as a dichotomy
15. Personalize the issue
16. Use indirection
17. Explain/portray/show why the issue matters
18. Avoid sentimentality, aesthetic or psychic distance, and didacticism
19. Find harmony in chaos
20. Do not be self-conscious
21. Do not censor yourself
22. The writing will depend on what the writer learns
23. Examine what you write
24. Edit what you write

Save the Squirrels

"Since the 19th century, gray squirrels, an American import, have been overtaking Britain’s native red squirrels and claiming their territory. . ."

(Click on the blog title to read more about The American Invasion of England)

a shocking realization

today i came across a terribly troubling discovery: the english detest reeses peanut butter cups! as do the japanese, the french, the italians, the chinese, and any other nationals that have stayed with our landlords here on 70 Sedleigh Road. incredible! mr. kevin main popped down into our apartment the other day to offer us a giant 5 pound bag (in weight, not coinage) of reeses cups, saying he hasn't been able to get anyone else to eat them. something about the sweet and savoury combination. we also found out that the english aren't so fond of peanut butter and jelly (cue in the ditty "it's peanut butter jelly time! peanut butter jelly time!)

anywho, jonathan and i were happy to oblige his request and took the entire bag for ourselves. hopefully they'll last through the week.

cheers to the land of literature

jonathan and i have been living in London now for two weeks. it's hard to say what it is about a place that makes it so distinctive, because it's really a whole mound of things piled on top of each other. but the thing i can't get over is it's surreal nature. i feel like a broken record, similar to hugh grant when he meets julia roberts for the first time in notting hill. but it's true! london is the quintessential storybook town. i completely understand how j.k. rowling got her idea for the twisty turny, jamaican head driven Knight Bus. the double deckers are massively disproportionate to the streets they rumble through. it seems impossible that they manage to squeeze themselves into the round abouts, and yet somehow the passengers find themselves safely on the opposite side of the road and dropped at the correct bus stop.

not only is the mode of transportation novel-esque, but the fashion, the architecture, the cheese, the tea, the ambulence sirens, the umbrellas, the quirky sophistication, and the bright red post boxes. the five year old boy of the family above us uses the word "pardon?" when he doesn't hear you correctly (mind you, it's in a classic English accent, which seems much too proper for a five year old) and even though it's only been two weeks, i find myself thinking in a british accent. i guess when that's all you hear all day, it has a way of infiltrating the brain.

it still seems surreal to be here--seems impossible to be living in a city i've dreamed about since i fell in love with reading. but here we are! i'm excited to travel, to get my masters degree, but more excited about putting my writing first, since it's always been on the backburner to other studies, work, a social life, etc. i'll do my best to keep you updated.

but now i think i might go and have a spot of tea.

cheers!

Worship Styles: Cultural or Biblical?

I've always believed that our worship styles are founded more on cultural norms than Biblical guidelines. (When I refer to our "style," I don't mean who we worship or for what purpose, but the overall format of the service.) Especially since the Bible only gives us a general outline for a worship gathering.

In light of that, here's an interesting article of quotes about worship from some of our founding fathers.

Craig Groeschel is right--today's contemporary is tomorrow's traditional.

To Be or to Do?

I was praying in the car this morning when I had a revelation: I spend too much time worrying about what I do when I should be concerned about who I be.

Lesson in Theology from Shakespeare #1: to do is not even the question. (Hamlet. . . a Lutheran?)

Then I realized that Paul cares alot about the doing:

"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. No if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. . . For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me" (Romans 7:16-20).

Hamlet and Paul should really get together for a debate. Until then, I might just have to convert to Shakespearian.

The Emptying Qualities of Marriage

I hope it doesn't appear that I'm being lazy by posting quotes instead of writing my own, but this thought in particular is quite a gem:

"A life lived to please one's self is empty, and the journey to become one will finally lead you to empty yourself for the sake of one another." --To Become One, by Seay and Keager (thanks to Alaina who gave me the book :)

For those who are either considering marriage, hoping for marriage, or in marriage, I pray that one day soon, you will take joy in the sanctifying qualities of a selfless "oneness".

We Can Teach Them To Sing

Let choirs sing well or not at all. Otherwise we merely confirm the majority in their conviction that the world of business, which does with such efficiency so much that never really needed doing, is the real, the adult, and the practical world; and that all this culture and religion (horrid words both) are essentially marginal, amateurish, and rather effeminate activities. --C.S. Lewis

X-Box Story

today at work our staff was among the 80,000 some viewers who watched the Maximum Impact Simulcast. Maximum Impact is a program of prominent leaders (some Christian, some not) who share their perspectives on what makes a good leader. specifically, this year's topic was about what it means to provide a stimulating, and therefore positive and productive, work environment for employees.

tim sanders, a consultant for Yahoo!, focused his presentation on happiness--the kind of happiness that comes from a satisfying, meaningful job. our best work will not come from being a clockwatcher, he said, but from being encouraged and supported by our employer and fellow co-workers. he told us about a time once when a CEO once expressed his discontent with the social value at his office. the CEO said that he never spoke to employees face to face--it was always email. he never gave an employee more than a "satisfactory" remark regarding their work because of the fast turnover in the company. thanfully, the CEO had recognized the major problem and wanted to fix it.

sanders suggested a solution: refrain from emailing employees when they turn in work. instead, go directly to their flourescent-lit cubicle, touch them on the shoulder, and say one positive thing about their work and one positive thing about them personally. the CEO agreed and implemented the new plan immediately when he returned to the office.

the following week the CEO received a visit at his office from one of the employees. the employee handed him a brand new x-box and a game. it wasn't the CEO's b-day and he was very surprised, considering the expense of the gift. the employee's response:

"I traded it in for my 9 millimeter."

the CEO's hair stood up on the back of his neck.

with tears in his eyes, the employee explained that his mom had died two years before, and not having any other friends, he moved to Seattle hoping to start a new life. he did acquire a job, but no friends. in two years no one had made eye contact with him, talked to him, or touched him. his depression led him to suicide chat rooms about the three suicide stages, which involved buying a gun, getting used to holding it without shaking, taking off the safety, and teething: touching it to your teeth. it was while the employee was in the final stage, teething, that the CEO's face-to-face encouragement and human touch had occurred, and the employee had been so shocked that he couldn't even hold the gun anymore. he pawned his gun, and remembering that his CEO had been wanting an x-box, he used the money to buy it for his lifesaver.

i don't think i have to explain why the x-box story is powerful. it exemplifies a few truths our society is quickly forgetting. first, human touch cannot be replaced by electronic communication. i'm not suggesting that technology is the antichrist; it is important for its own purposes, but it does not replace skin-to-skin contact with another human being. second, encouragement and positive reinforcement is vital to a person's survival in work, in family, in community. we rely on each other to be reaffirmed. we can get so busy with our own life that we don't even recognize the dying soul of the man sitting next to our cubicle, or an acquaintance at church. we can become glued to our computers and forget the sound of our friend's voices.

it doesn't take much at all to save a life. but it does take a wake-up call and a realization that we are humans--not robots. how does the x-box story speak to your life?

Why Use Up the Ground?

the concept of church has confounded me now for some time, and it seems i'm not the only one. it's the topic of many conversations, especially among Concordia college friends. is it because church is the most misunderstood aspect of the Christian faith? or is there another aspect of Christianity that is misunderstood more frequently than church? i doubt it. besides the fact that church is considered to be bound within 4 walls, there are plenty of other misconceptions, such as the congregation's absurdly heavy reliance on the pastor. rather than a spiritual leader, a pastor becomes an enabler. the top-down authority is a common perspective among Christians.

i brought this up to this morning's women's Bible study group (made of women ages 40-60--I'm the youngest). the question was regarding Berea, a church in Acts. as knowledgable people, the Bereans examined Paul's teaching against their own knowledge of Scripture to make sure he knew what he was talking about. the question was asked: why was it important that the Berean's were choosey about their intake of information? how is their response to Paul an example to us? I mentioned the fact that it's important we all take ownership of our faith, rather than leave it up to a leader to tell us what to believe. the fact is, leaders/pastors/theological buffs are human. Scripture is not. it is divinely inspired and should be a daily portion of every believer's life. i explained that i became frustrated when at Bible study, our friends often "jokingly" turn down jonathan's request for them to pray for the study--for food, or for closing, whatever. it becomes a five-minute discussion because they'd rather jonathan do it. it's the same thing at many social gatherings where a pastor is present, or for that matter, a church leader is present. who is asked to pray? it's rarely laity. and yet, the priesthood of ALL believers is a core belief of the Christian faith.

the response i received in the women's Bible study really irked me, i'm not gonna lie. one of the women (a good friend of mine, i might add) said "but we all have different talents."

i couldn't even respond. it's not that i don't believe different people have different gifts. some people have the gift of intercession and some don't. but this does not concern the gift of intercession. this is regular, standard prayer we're talking about--and prayer is SO vital to a Christian's walk with God. i wonder--how often do lay Christians pray in their home? with their children? with their spouse? how important is Scripture study/memorization to all of us "regular people" in the church?

we had some interesting passages in church today that i don't think i've noticed before. luke 13:7 is a parable of Jesus: "Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?"

and so i have to ask myself if i am merely a consumer like the fig tree. am i using up ground worthlessly, producing no fruit? is consumerism the only art the church has perfected today? i truly believe that the fruit God is waiting to receive is what he has created us for. he has given each of us gifts, and when we are released to do what we were created to do, to love, to make music, to tell jokes, to serve, to design, etc., when we do it all for him, it will be the fruit he is looking for. but if we sit back and let those gifts go because we'd rather have the "professional" do it, then the church is missing out on the perfect plan God had for us. we all have great things to contribute and should never diminish our purpose.

Clouds Over Cemetery

a picture i found on a photo blog. it reminds me how small the earth is--how small we are.