love to paint

Yesterday, I sat reading from two different books.  Both of which I put down.  Both of which I don't intend to pick up again. The first book was a mystery by Dorothy Sayers, a Harriet Vane mystery titled Gaudy Night .  I made it through the first chapter and then was so overwhelmed by the cynical attitudes of the characters about each other that it made me want to cry.  I think I have considered cynicism a modern invention of the last thirty years, but this book made me aware that cynicism has a much longer history than I had realized.  This book was originally published in 1935.  Harriet Vane's life mirrored Dorothy Sayers' own life in many respects, according to my husband. As I read the first chapter, I was struck by the wonderful and varied language Ms. Sayers used in her writing.  I loved that aspect of the writing.  In order to read the book, I had to think and consider the impact of the vocabulary she chose. Heaviness began to permeat...

My husband loves to listen to Mars Hill Audio.  It is a sociological and cultural journal that focuses on the challenges Christians face in our culture.  A few years ago, there was an episode in which Dick Keyes was interviewed about a book that he wrote titled, Seeing Through Cynicism.  I hadn't realized the deep struggle that I had begun to face because cynicism had entered my mind and heart.  I saw it in others in my life, but not in my own.  As I read the book, I felt convicted about the state of my own heart and began to see what I needed to tackle and how I needed to fight the creeping vine of cynicism. You can hear one of the talks here: http://www.marshillaudio.org/resources/mp3/MHAJ-83-Keyes.mp3 This talk begins talking about how cynicism creeps in through marketing.  Keyes goes on to later address how we should address cynicism. If you're interested in listening to that episode of the journal,  http://www.marshillaudio.org/resources/vo...

I am reading a fiction book called the Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck . It easy for me to feel cynical when Hollywood folks write books, so I haven't looked up who Sara Evans is or anything about her. I just want to read the book. But, last night I came across this quote that I thought was interesting... The youngest daughter (shes about 19, I think) of a hippie mom (who is 59) says this to her mom: "For a generation who claimed to be all about peace, you sure started a lot of wars. Not with guns and bullets, but with words and ideology. With your parents, with your kids. Your generation didn't bring anything together. You tore everything apart." Hmm... I'm sure historians have said things like that before, but it's interesting to think about what happened with that generation. It made me think about our sinful nature and how we naturally want to rebel. The generation who were teens and young adults in the 60s outwardly rebelled again...