Books Read in 2019

Well, this year has definitely been a year of books. I joined the Goodreads Challenge last January 1 with the goal of reading 80 books in 2019. I exceeded this goal, reading 94 books, much of those mystery novels in series forms as well as many Austenesque novels of varying sorts.

My favorite find of 2019 was the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear, starting in Maisie's childhood as the daughter of a costermonger; her mother died when she was thirteen, and her father, unsure of how to raise a teenage daughter himself, sent her into service at the London home of Lord and Lady Compton, philanthropists and well-known in the social scene. Lady Rowan soon discovered Maisie's thirst for knowledge and offered her time to study under the tutelage of Dr. Maurice Blanche until Maisie was accepted at Girton College. The first book takes us through Maisie's experiences in the Great War, her recovery, her return to college, and her position as Dr. Blanche's assistant.

The second book sees Maisie take over Maurice's investigative business, and currently, I'm starting the most recent 15th book which takes place during the opening years of the Second World War, published earlier this year. I had hoped to read the entire series in 2019, but this last book brought forth a character from a previous case, so I wanted to re-read that book before starting this most recent. It's a brilliant series where less is more, where characters run deep and are fallible yet so, so real that I feel I would know Maisie on sight should I see her walking down the street (yes, even in modern clothing). I can't recommend this mystery series highly enough; there is so much to ponder over beside the mysterious cases Maisie takes on in each novel.

Some of my other favorite mystery series from 2019 are the Daisy Dalrymple series by Carola Dunn (23 books in series), the Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris (14 books in series), and lately, the Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber (7 books in series).

So, Goodreads seems to have a glitch in their Reading Challenge set-up in which some books I've read are listed twice (despite my only reading them once), and the connection between my Kindle and Goodreads added several books as "read" although I only accidentally opened them when scrolling through my libraries. I've now severed the connection and will add my finished books to Goodreads by hand in 2020. So please know that despite the apparent 103 books Goodreads claimed I read in 2019, it's truly only 94. I checked twice. ;)

So here are my books in reverse order, starting with the ones read in December and working our way back to January 2019:

If you would like more information on the books I read in 2019, most of which include reviews I wrote for most of the books, you may also check out my Goodreads page by clicking on my Goodreads widget in the sidebar of this blog or by going to my page on Goodreads: Susanne Barrett's Goodreads.

So have you read any amazing books in 2019? I'd love to hear about them! Please share the Goodreading bookish goodness!!

Happy New Year, everyone!! I wish you all a healthy, joyous, and blessed 2020!!

Warmly,

Fourth Sunday in Advent

This season of Advent has been amazing. On the Sunday before Advent began, I approached our associate pastor and asked if we could celebrate Advent this year. We were already looking forward to Pastor Joe Murrell's return to Pine Valley Community Church after a four-year absence following ten years of pastoring here previously. Pastor Joe and his lovely wife, Jenny, were packing their home in Paradise, California in preparation to return to Pine Valley when the Camp Fire swept through Paradise, destroying their home along with nearly 16,000 additional residences, businesses, and other structures. So Pastor Jeff thought that celebrating Advent, which Pastor Joe had done in his time previously at PVCC, was a great idea. We worked out the details, and it's been wonderful celebrating Advent as a church together, especially during this time of transition. 

Since Pastor Joe returned, he has preached on "Advent and Joy" and, today, on "Advent and Love." So Advent at PVCC this year has not merely been about families coming up to light the Advent candles and read the Scriptures covering the four themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Advent has permeated the entire service, from the sermons to the prayers to the worship songs. And this morning four members of our worship team sang a lovely arrangement of the German Advent carol "Es ist ein Rose entsprungen" which was first published in 1599 and was translated into English by Theodore Baker in the 1890s and renamed "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming." The poetry of this hymn is absolutely incredible, and hearing it sung in four parts acapella was even more impressive. Here are the English lyrics: 

1. Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
   From tender stem hath sprung!
   Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
   As men of old have sung.
   It came, a flow’ret bright,
   Amid the cold of winter,
   When half spent was the night.
2. Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
   The Rose I have in mind;
   With Mary we behold it,
   The virgin mother kind.
   To show God’s love aright,
   She bore to men a Savior,
   When half spent was the night.
3. This Flow’r, whose fragrance tender
   With sweetness fills the air,
   Dispels with glorious splendor
   The darkness everywhere.
   True man, yet very God,
   From sin and death He saves us,
   And lightens every load.
4. Although I know best the version sung in German by the Kings Singers of Kings College, Cambridge, Charlotte Church sings a lovely version in English that I've included for you here, with the lyrics included. 

What a way to celebrate the fourth and final Sunday of Advent with Christmastide peeking around the corner!! 

And here is the Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent from the Book of Common Prayer 2011:

O LORD, raise up your power, we pray, and with great might come among us; And, as our sins and wicked ways greatly hinder us in running the race that is set before us, let your abundant grace and mercy come quickly to help and deliver us; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, belongs all honor and glory, now and always. Amen. (References: Isaiah 51.9; Hebrews 12.1; Romans 3.24-26)

Wishing you all a blessed Advent and a joyous Christmastide!!

With love,

 

A Variety of Reviews of Summer/Fall Reads

I spent a couple of hours this past week, catching up on my summer reading list at Goodreads, so now I can share them here on my blog as well. I won't post all at once--but about half a dozen at a time. I read more mysteries and other novels this summer rather than Austen-inspired literature...the last two are seriously amazing books that I first read several years ago on FanFiction.net, so I'm thrilled that the author has published them now in e-book form. Yay!!

Now that I've caught up, I'm within only nine books of my 2018 Reading Goal of 70 books, eight books ahead of the pace I need to finish my goal by the end of the year. I've actually just finished another book this week, so I'll have to add that one, too. So only seven left to finish. Perhaps I ought to try a really long one, such as Les Miserables, to slow me down a bit. Our librarians love me, though!! 

So here are the next six books I read over the summer--quite a variety!

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This thirteenth Mitford novel is focused less on Father Tim and more on Dooley and Lace as they prepare for their potluck wedding at Meadowgate Farm where Dooley, now Dr. Kavanaugh, is taking over Hal's veterinary practice. We see most of the events through Lace's POV, but also through Dooley's and Father Tim's viewpoints. The Mitford folks are out in full force, and we also get to meet some newer friends as well...including a notorious bull!! :)

This novel is bittersweet as Lace faces health issues and a hard prognosis, yet joy arrives with the challenges, as is almost always the case in Mitford. It's the kind of place where tears and laughter are consistently intermixed, where hardness is healed and difficulties are prayed over with "the prayer that never fails": "Thy will be done."

Welcome home to Mitford once again--or, in this case, Meadowgate, and see the joyous craziness of the Big Day coming ever closer...until it arrives at long last.


Where Serpents Sleep by C.S. Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this fourth of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries, Sebastian is sought out by the daughter of the Prince Regent's cousin and advisor, Hero Jarvis, after the murder of eight former prostitutes in a Quaker house of refuge (which was also set afire to conceal the murders). One of the women obviously came from quality and was giving Hero an interview when the men broke in and started killing the girls. Hero and the woman ran away, but the woman was shot as she and Hero tried to escape. In frustration over the resulting cover-up of the murders, Hero approaches Sebastian to help her to discover the young woman's real identity and the reason and culprits behind the murders.

Once again, Sebastian finds himself working with a strong-minded woman, this one extremely powerful because of her father's position, in solving the mystery of the women's deaths and bringing their murderers to justice.


Cold Terror by Susan Sleeman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hannah Perry and her son are in Cold Harbor where Hannah, a forensic artist, is helping with a murder case when their cabin is breached and they flee in a boat to the mainland. When their boat capsizes, they are rescued by former Navy SEAL Gage Blackwell, Hannah's former fiance who abandoned her years previously.

Gage vows to protect the recently-widowed Hannah and her son, especially since Hannah's husband had been one of Gage's SEAL team members. He takes her to his compound, Blackwell Tactical, which is manned by former SEALs as they try to solve the mystery of the young woman's death and, in the process, are faced with the possibility that one of their former SEAL members may have not only murdered the young woman but also Hannah's husband as well.

Gage, the father of an autistic daughter and now a widower, finds himself falling in love all over again with Hannah. But can Hannah trust the man who left her a decade previously? And can she learn to trust God again, as well as Gage?

This mystery dragged at times and seemed focused too much on simplistic faith and vacillating emotions. It was okay, but I don't have any desire to continue reading the series.

Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first of the thirty-something Miss Silver mysteries, which have all been republished in e-book form (yay!!!), this 1928 novel focuses on a young and very "blonde" (in every way imaginable) heiress named Margot after the death of her father. A young man named Charles overhears a plan to "remove" Margot so that the next heir, her cousin Egbert, can inherit all of the riches after the death of Margot's father. In overhearing this plan, Charles finds that he has stumbled onto a criminal syndicate of sorts, led by a completely amoral man wearing a grey mask.

Margot, only just eighteen, is vapid and innocent and has no idea of the danger she is in; she is far more interested in eating chocolates. Fortunately, the other young people she befriends, including Charles, his former fiancee Margaret, and Charles' friend, try to protect her, with the help of Miss Silver, a former governess-turned-private investigator, who is always invisibly present when needed.

This was a fun British mystery, and I really enjoyed it. The characters are appealing and even compelling, the twist was really twisty and one I did not see coming (Yay!), and the ending wonderfully suspenseful. I loved the 1920's slang and Miss Silver's cleverness which was masked perfectly beneath her primness. It's difficult to get ahold of the series in book form; I believe I checked out the only copy available in the entire state of California which sported a sticker from the San Francisco Library stating "Last Copy." But the books are available as e-books, and I may have to go that way for the second book since I can't find a copy anywhere in the Link Plus statewide library system.

This series reminds me of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter series although this one is much more lighthearted...and just lighter in general. It's as if Miss Wentworth were gently spoofing her own time/place of late-1920s London, and I loved every minute. I'm hoping to read through the whole series eventually, even if I need to check out e-books rather than the actual book-books. ;)

A Constant Love: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation by Sophie Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read Sophie Turner's books on FF.net, so I'm thrilled to find them published as well! I think I've read this series at least three times, and I loved it more every time I read it. My favorite Austen fanfics are continuations: what happens after Pride and Prejudice (and other novels). Sophie shows us such delightful relationships being developed after the events of Pride and Prejudice such as the friendship between Elizabeth and Georgiana. It's a lovely story...and the first of a series, too! Read 'em ALL!!!

We get to see Elizabeth and Georgiana take on a London Season and the ton, and both succeed well. But becoming "Mrs. Darcy" is a stretch for Elizabeth who becomes much happier after returning to Pemberley at the end of the season. Georgiana gains more experience with gentlemen, finding that sometimes being an heiress is more challenging than being relatively poor like Elizabeth was before her marriage. Both learn a great deal about society and themselves along the way. And we get to see Darcy and Elizabeth fall even more in love as their marriage progresses. A lovely, thoughtful novel.



A Change of Legacies: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation by Sophie Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this second novel in the Constant Love series. This book focuses more on Georgiana and her marriage but still on Elizabeth and Darcy as well as they prepare for the birth of their first child. We also get to see Mary, the unmarried sister, perhaps start to fall in love, too--or at least she's interested in the younger brother of Georgiana's naval husband. There is so much wonderful development of the characters we know and love--and some intriguing angst, too--that this series remains one of my favorites. I don't want to say too much and give away spoilers, so I'll stop here. I'm so glad that Sophie Turner published her books so that I can re-read them over and over!! They are utterly delightful!!

* * * * *

Obviously, I did a good deal of reading over the summer, as usual. The heat just saps my energy, so I end up reading a lot. Also, when my pain levels get rather nasty, reading helps me to ignore it as much as possible. So from my reading list, I think we can tell it was rather hot and my pain levels were above normal as well. ;)

Happy reading, everyone! 

Michaelmas

Updated from the Archives...

Today, 29 September, is the celebration of the Feast Day of St. Michael and All Angels (although Father Acker and I celebrated it yesterday at our Friday Morning Prayer and Healing Service with Holy Communion). This was a feast that I was not terribly familiar with, so I was glad to read an informative explanation in the "Saint of the Day" e-mail from AmericanCatholic.org:

Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are named.

Michael appears in Daniel's vision as "the great prince" who defends Israel against its enemies; in the Book of Revelation, he leads God's armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Devotion to Michael is the oldest angelic devotion, rising in the East in the fourth century. The Church in the West began to observe a feast honoring Michael and the angels in the fifth century.

Gabriel also makes an appearance in Daniel's visions, announcing Michael's role in God's plan. His best-known appearance is an encounter with a young Jewish girl named Mary, who consents to bear the Messiah.

Raphael's activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit's son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah's marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit's blindness and the restoration of the family fortune.

The memorials of Gabriel (March 24) and Raphael (October 24) were added to the Roman calendar in 1921. The 1970 revision of the calendar joined their feasts to Michael's.

Each of these archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides. Earlier belief that inexplicable events were due to the actions of spiritual beings has given way to a scientific world-view and a different sense of cause and effect. Yet believers still experience God's protection, communication and guidance in ways which defy description. We cannot dismiss angels too lightly.

As I've read much British literature over the years (mostly in graduate school but also for my own enjoyment), I have come across the term "Michaelmas" as a British holiday (along with "Candlemas" which occurs on 2 February) and never knew what it celebrated; I only knew it occurred sometime in autumn. So for my own edification and perhaps for yours as well, I discovered an article about Michaelmas from the Historic-UK Web site (read the complete entry here: Michaelmas):

Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days; in England, it is one of the “quarter days”.

There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th September) and Christmas (25th December)). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun. It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming. It was the time at which new servants were hired or land was exchanged and debts were paid. This is how it came to be for Michaelmas to be the time for electing magistrates and also the beginning of legal and university terms.

St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin - the edge into winter - the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months. It was believed that negative forces were stronger in darkness and so families would require stronger defences during the later months of the year.

The Scripture readings for Morning Prayer included Revelation 12:7-12 regarding Michael the Archangel and the War in Heaven:

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers [1] has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
(English Standard Version)

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Book of Common Prayer 2011, and in The Divine Hours series edited by Phyllis Tickle, I found several Collects to pray on Michaelmas, and I liked this one the best -- from Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime, Midday Prayer for Monday nearest September 28:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted the ministries of the angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant now that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Christian season of Michaelmas lasts from 29 September all the way to the beginning of Advent, so we have much time to pray this song during Morning Prayer, immediately following the First Reading of Holy Scripture in the Book of Common Prayer 2011: 

The Angels' Song of the Lamb (Magna et mirabilia):
Great and amazing are your deeds, 
O Lord God the Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations.
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your Name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship you,
     for your righteous acts have been revealed. (Revelation 15.3-4)


So there -- we have the historical and spiritual background of Michaelmas as well as Scripture and prayer with which to celebrate this day and season, remembering that although Angels are both wonderful in their beauty and terrible in their fury, they are created beings, made by the King of kings and the Lord of lords for His purposes and for our help. We humans, formed in the likeness of God, were created but "a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5), made by the Magnificent One, the Lord God of Hosts.

Wedding Bells...

Photo by Heather Winters

Jonathan Todd Barrett married Emily Yvette Bauman (now Barrett) 

on Sunday, June 17, 2018

at Five o' Clock in the Evening

Flinn Springs County Park

El Cajon, California

Officiated by Jeff Clabaugh

Associate Pastor, Pine Valley Community Church

Reception Followed the Wedding

Soli Deo Gloria,

"American Soul"

This week U2 dropped another amazing single from their upcoming Songs of Experience album, and while I've loved "The Best Thing About Me" (especially hearing it live at their concert in September), I think I love "American Soul" even more.

My neighbor (we Pine Valleyans are all "neighbors" up here in a town of 1500) has been working with Jacob Needleman, author of American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders which explains a lot about the mess America is in right now.

We've lost our soul.

And my neighbor, in her eighties, also loved the music and lyrics to U2's "American Soul" because some of the same ideas from Needleman's book--and Judith's latest writings in both poetry and prose--reflect the loss of America's soul.

At the U2 concert in San Diego in September, the pre-concert "show" was a selection of poetry about America. I didn't notice it scrolling down the large screens at first...until I caught a beloved line written by Langston Hughes, one of my top five poets. Poem after poem scrolled...another by Hughes, then Carl Sandburg, Rita Dove, Robinson Jeffers, even Robert Pinsky (whom I met at February's Writer's Symposium by the Sea)...all poems about the heart and soul of America. And the whole concert was backed by the imagery of America--the Joshua Tree songs as well as the new rhythms and lyrics, familiar because of their source and the talent of U2, but new-to-us in an uncomfortable-comfortable way that gently scolded and taught and celebrated.

So U2's "American Soul" reminds us of who we've been...and who we can be again.



Here are the lyrics, courtesy of ATU@.com:

"American Soul"

Blessed are the bullies
For one day they will have to stand up to themselves
Blessed are the liars
For the truth can be awkward

It’s not a place
This country is to be a sound
Of drum and bass
You close your eyes to look around
Look around, around
Look around, it’s a sound
Look around, look around
It’s a sound

It’s not a place
This country is to me a thought
That offers grace
For every welcome that is sought

You are rock’n’roll
You and I are rock’n’roll
You are rock’n’roll
Came here lookin’ for American Soul

It’s not a place
This is a dream the whole world owns
The pilgrim’s face
It had your heart to call her home

Hold on, brother John
Too many mothers weeping
Dream on, brother John
In your dreams you can’t be sleeping

You are rock’n’roll
You and I are rock’n’roll
You are rock’n’roll
Came here lookin’ for American Soul
American, American

Put your hands in the air
Hold up the sky
It could be too late
But we still gotta try

There’s a moment in a life
Where the soul can die
In a person, in a country
When you believe the lie
The lie, the lie, the lie

There's a promise at the heart
Of every good dream
It's a call to action
Not to fantasy

The end of the dream
The start of what's real
Let it be unity
Let it be community
For refugees like you and me
A country to receive us
Will you be my sanctuary
RefuJesus

You are rock’n’roll
You and I are rock’n’roll
You are rock’n’roll
Came here lookin’ for American Soul

You are rock’n’roll
You and I are rock’n’roll
You are rock’n’roll
Came here lookin’ for American Soul
American Soul, American Soul

May our soul be renewed, America!! 

Warmly,

A Writing Workshop Anniversary

This Tuesday marks ten years of the monthly writers' workshop which meets at our local county library, the social hub of our mountain village. We started meeting on the second Tuesday of the month in September 2007, and within a couple of years, I started a website/blog for our group: MECAC Writer's Workshop. The "MECAC" stands for Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council which was started by Judith Dupree and myself back in 2006 and which soon included the writer's workshop meetings. Due to health issues and changes in our lives, MECAC is now concentrated almost solely on the writer's workshop. And that's fine.

Our group has hosted Dr. Dean Nelson, founder of the journalism department at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), several times for Saturday workshops. We've also hosted poetry readings, readings by local and not-so-local writers, and even Write-Ins as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).We've also often attended the annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea at PLNU as a group.

2017 Writer's Symposium by the Sea line-up of speakers

But most of all, we've shared our writing with each other. We bring the next poem, the next chapter, the next editorial, the next blog post, the next reflective essay, and we distribute copies and then read our work aloud, receiving encouragement and constructive feedback. Occasionally we tackle a writing prompt together, sharing the results and commenting on the good and the "needs help" areas.

And often we celebrate publication by the members of our group, whether a poem or an editorial is published in the Valley Views or the Alpine Sun (our town's monthly publication of news & events, or the newspaper of the next-largest town on the way "down the hill" into San Diego, respectively), or an article or poem printed in a periodical, or a book self-published on Amazon, or a book published by a publishing company. It's all happened within our group over the last ten years.

Our group is ever-changing, but usually we end up with six to eight writers showing up on the second Tuesday of the month. I think our record is thirteen writers. Some of our group are published authors, and some are just now trying out their writing wings, and all are welcome. I've been with the group the longest, so by default I've become the leader, with Judith, a poet who most recently published Sky Mesa Journal with Wipf and Stock Publishers, starting to come a year or two after the group began. Teresa, a poet from Campo, has been coming for at least seven or eight years, and Dianne, who started writing memoirs and has recently embarked on a mystery novel, has been attending for at least six years. Others are a bit newer, including Elaine who moved to our mountain communities from the East Coast, and Linda who lives atop Mount Laguna and has published a series of time-travel romances. And the oral tradition remains strong with Elwood and his wife Pearl who drive up the mountain from Alpine. Mary, a new writer, also comes up from Alpine. Teresa and Mary often have their therapy dogs with them, and Lancelot and Pup Pup curl up at our feet, content to listen to stories, too.

At a Write-In at the Pine Valley Library, November 2015. From left to right: Mary, Sermsee, Linda, Judith, Dianne 

Over a year ago we lost a dear member, Betty from Mount Laguna who wrote songs and memoirs, to cancer. But we keep an eye on her rocking chair, knowing that she's ever with us in spirit. And longtime member Maureen moved from Descanso to Oklahoma after the publication of her first book, but the "gang's all here" when she can attend our meetings when she visits San Diego once or twice a year. Others come and go, but these writerly souls are the beating heart of the monthly Writer's Workshop.

I've shared poems and parts of my fan fiction novels and stories with this beloved group, but lately I usually come empty-handed, with too much grading and teaching on my plate to give me time to write regularly, if at all. Even writing in my journal is a rare opportunity. I don't want to lose the joy of writing, the freedom that comes when nib scrolls its path across the page, when words pop into mind and are committed to paper. Writing is a joyous thing, a cleansing thing, a hallowed and holy thing. 

And everyone can do it, from telling a story aloud to publishing a book and everything in between. It's a joy that I pray we can--and I pray we will--expend our hearts and time in accomplishing.

One of my writing students at our homeschool co-op Class Days wrote something in an essay that I immediately jotted into my quotation journal  (I've collected hundreds of quotations on writing in my journals and via Pinterest). Deceptively simple, this seemingly simple sentence says it all. Lydia wrote:

"Words convey far more weight than we often acknowledge." 

And while I added one of my favorite Poe quotes on writing to my Quotation of the Week in the sidebar of this blog, these words spoken by Robert De Niro at the 2014 Academy Awards give us the flip side of writing:

"The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, and consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that's on a good day." 

And Anne Lamott, my favorite writer who writes about writing, wrote:

"If you can't find an hour to write, even Jesus can't help you."       

So when our little group of writers gather on Tuesday evening, I'll share the joy of this tenth anniversary of the Writer's Workshop, and together we'll freewrite to a prompt, listen to each other read our work aloud, offer our two cents' worth of feedback, and, most of all, we'll celebrate the joy of writing!

Writing with you,

Ready For Lent!

Updated from the Archives....

As Elizabeth and I plan to make pancakes (gluten-free and grain-free varieties this year) for dinner this Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Tuesday as it's known in our household), I'm also preparing myself spiritually for the beginning of Lent.

Tomorrow morning I'll attend the Ash Wednesday Imposition of Ashes with the kind folks of Blessed Trinity Anglican as we meet together in Father Acker's home in Alpine. (Message me if you'd like to come, and I'll give you the directions. It's mind-blowing and soul-blowing ancient worship!)

I have my Lenten fast decided and my Lenten additions ready. I don't usually tell either one publicly--only my family knows so that they can help keep me accountable.

A few years ago, I had continued all year with the previous Lent's addition of The One Year Book of Hymns to my Compline prayer time before bed each night, last night's hymn struck me, and I want to share it here as well as copy it into my Common Place Book (quotation journal) as it expresses many of the reasons why Lent is my favorite time of year:

Lenten Hymn
by Claudia Frances Hernaman (1838-1898)

Lord, who through these forty days
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us with Thee to mourn our sins,
And close by Thee to stay.

As Thou with Satan didst contend
And didst the victory win,
O give us strength in Thee to fight,
In Thee to conquer sin.

As Thou didst hunger bear and thirst,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self, and chiefly live
By Thy most holy Word.

And through these days of penitence,
And through Thy Passiontide,
Yea, evermore, in life and death,
Jesus! with us abide.

Abide with us, that so this life
Of suffering overpast,
An Easter of unending joy
We may attain at last!

The Scripture verses accompanying this hymn in this devotional is Mark 1:11-12 from The Living Bible: 

"Immediately the Holy Spirit urged Jesus into the desert. There, for forty days, alone except for desert animals, he was subjected to Satan's temptations to sin. And afterwards the angels came and cared for him." 

So Lent consists of the forty days before the Resurrection, not including Sundays (which are always a celebration of the Resurrection) and thus Lent parallels the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before starting his earthly ministry.

Lent prepares our hearts for the joy of Easter--the celebration of the Resurrection of our Living and Loving Lord. How can we truly celebrate without suffering just a little first? Through fasting and prayer, we draw closer to the heart of the One who loved us first.

Can we fast and pray at any time? Sure. But do we? Not enough--or at least, I know that I don't fast and pray enough. Lent reminds me to do so, to allow the Holy Spirit into the dark corners of my soul and do a spiritual "spring cleaning," showing me my sin so that I may confess it and be cleansed.

To read more about Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Lent you may read my post On Lent using this hyperlink or by going to the "On Lent" page beneath my blog header.

I wish you all a Holy and Blessed Lent as we all draw closer to our Lord and King!

75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

USS Ward photo from 1918, near the end of the Great War (World War I)

December 7th.

Yes, it's Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day--the 75th Anniversary. And it's so much more.

You see, my grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, the most devastating attack upon American soil until 9/11. Notice, please, that I didn't say "in" Pearl Harbor. No, he was on the USS Ward, an insignificant destroyer, a remnant of the US Naval fleet from the Great War (WWI), that was patrolling outside the harbor in the early hours of 7 December. It was within the first 24 hours of LCDR William Outerbridge's first command. My grandfather, Richard Edward Farwell, was the First Officer, also his first command.

Captain Richard E. Farwell--my grandfather

And what happened next is a oft-forgotten event of history: 

From Wikipedia:

On the morning of 7 December 1941, under the command of LCDR William W. Outerbridge, Ward was conducting a precautionary patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor when she was informed at 03:57 by visual signals from the coastal minesweeper Condor of a periscope sighting, whereupon Ward began searching for the contact. At about 06:37, she sighted a periscope apparently tailing the cargo ship Antares whereupon she attacked the target.^[4] The target sunk was a Japanese Ko-hyoteki-class two-man midget submarine and thus Ward fired the first American shots of World War II a few hours before Japanese carrier aircraft formally opened the conflict with their attack on the Pacific Fleet inside the harbor. The submarine was attempting to enter the harbor by following Antares through the anti-submarine nets at the harbor entrance. Ward fired several rounds from its main guns hitting the conning tower of the sub and also dropped several depth charges during the attack.

And from the Minneapolis Star Observer:

At 4 a.m., a minesweeper signaled the Ward that it had sighted a submerged submarine in the area.

The crew conducted a search, but nothing was found until, at 6.30 a.m., several of them spotted what appeared to be a conning tower or buoy moving in the water. Alerted, the Ward’s captain spied the object and confirmed to his satisfaction that it was a submarine preparing to enter the harbor channel behind another Navy ship. The fact was alarming because all U.S. submarines in the area were under orders to operate on the surface with a destroyer escort.

If there was any hesitation about what to do next, it was short-lived. At 6:45, the captain ordered to “commence firing!” A shell from the ship’s No. 1 gun missed, but the nine-man crew of the No. 3 gun next fired a shot that was seen to hit the base of the conning tower. The sub disappeared beneath the waves. The crew had sunk a Japanese two-man midget submarine (the wreckage, with a shell hole in the conning tower, was discovered in 2002).

The Ward immediately notified Naval Command at Pearl Harbor that it had attacked and fired upon a submarine operating in the restricted area. But in a frustrating counterpoint to the swiftness of her captain’s and crew’s reactions, the message was essentially ignored.

And thus, the crew of the USS Ward discharged the first American shot of World War II. 

In 2002, the Japanese midget submarine was found by divers, right where the Ward reported discharging their weapons. Here's the link to the article in the Honolulu Observer. 

Japanese midget sub sunk by the USS Ward, 2005 expedition

Then 7 December became even more important for my family three years later. On 7 December 1944 in the Leyte Gulf, the Ward was struck by a Japanese kamikaze pilot and my grandfather, Captain Farwell, managed to evacuate all personnel with no casualties. In fact, from Pearl Harbor to the Leyte Gulf, the USS Ward sustained no casualties.  

USS Ward, sinking in the Leyte Gulf after being hit by a kamikaze. My grandfather is the man with the helmet and jacket all the way to the left on the USS O'Brien, watching the Ward ship sink.

The crew of the Ward were rescued by the USS O'Brien, commanded by William Outerbridge, the captain the Ward at Pearl Harbor. Outerbridge had to give the order to scuttle the Ward, so with my grandfather, captain of the USS Ward at his side, the two men who had captained the Ward watched it disappear into the sea. 

For those of you who love naval history, here's the whole history of the USS Ward, from being built in a mere 15 days to the sinking in the Leyte Gulf: http://destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/ussward/.

This afternoon my mother is giving a talk on the USS Ward and her father's part in firing the First Shot to the Honolulu Rotary Club. I wish that it could be recorded as I really want to be there to soak up all of the family history. 

Other 7's run through my family: my grandparents were married on 7 January 1943, and my mother was born on 7 October 1943. 

Then I gave birth to our youngest child on 7 December, and we named him for my grandfather by giving him the middle name "Edward." My grandfather was not alive to meet his namesake, but I think he'd be proud just the same to have a great-grandson born on this memorable day.

So Happy 17th Birthday to Benjamin Edward, born on this most important day in the history of our family.

In remembrance,