Graduations

This is a big weekend for our family. We have two graduations: our oldest from law school and our youngest from high school. (How's that for timing.)

Here's the two graduates a couple of weeks ago: Julia (holding Kiernan) and Joel.

We're so proud of both of them.

How well do you know Prince Caspian?

In honor of the new Prince Caspian movie opening this week, they've got a quiz online to see how well you know the story. I did very well -- I'm a Centaur.

“[Glenstorm] was a prophet and a star-gazer, and he knew what they had come about. ‘I watch the skies, Badger, for it is mine to watch, as it is yours to remember.”

Like Glenstorm, you are strong in character and knowledge. You are truly an authority on Prince Caspian! Congratulations, your vast understanding of the tale has earned you the highest of honors.

Happy Birthday!

The smiley guy holding Kiernan is Tim, who is 20 today. He was a happy baby and he's grown up to be a happy young man. He has a knack for making friends and looks out for them, which is a lot of why we have so many extra "kids." Tim invites them into our home and into our family and our lives are richer because of it. So happy birthday Tim!

Happy Mother's Day!

This is a special Mother's Day for us, as this picture attests. That's 4 generations: my mother, my daughter and her son, and me. (the picture was taken at Easter)

It was just before Mother's Day a year ago that Julia told us they were expecting and we're so glad that Kiernan is here and healthy. Julia and Mike are wonderful parents. And my mom and I are thrilled to be grandma and great-grandma.



And I want to send a big congratulations out to my brother Jim, who received his master's in worship ministry yesterday -- and he graduated with honors. I'm so proud of him -- this is a big accomplishment.

Quote of the day

Here's a great quote:

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.
- Flannery O'Connor

Music and books and U2, oh my!

A few weeks ago eMusic.com wooed me back with 75 free songs, so I have joyfully added to my collection:
• A bunch of stuff by Andrew Osenga, including Photographs, Souvenirs & Postcards, and The Morning. It's all good. The more I listen to him, the better I like his music. His story songs remind me of John Mellencamp or Springsteen (more Mellencamp than Springsteen, though). A lot of his newest is more acoustic and I really like that. His music is informed by his faith, but it's not all "worship" music (but Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates is an awesome song to worship to, though I can't quite picture us singing it in church ...). Anyway, it's great.
• I don't know what it is about guys named Andrew (or Andy) -- I also got a couple of albums by a Topeka guitarist named Andy McKee. Again, this is great stuff. He has some incredible videos on YouTube. It's good instrumental music to listen to in the evening. (The albums I got were Dreamcatcher and Gates of Gnomeria.)
• Music by another Andrew -- Bird, that is. I got Armchair Apocrypha. Andrew Bird is more of an acquired taste, but this is a good album.
• Thanks to the Rabbit Room guys, I discovered a new group (to me) and got some of their songs -- The Weepies. I got part of Say I am You (I was running out of picks for this month or I would have gotten the whole album). I like it. I think I would like more of their music.
I've also downloaded some other stuff -- individual songs from a few different artists, but the above listed albums are the highlights.

I have become a fan of Nada Surf -- I already had a song or two of theirs and have recently added The Weight is a Gift to my collection. Their kind of poppy modern rock is fun to listen to and you don't have to be 20 to enjoy it.

I will also recommend the soundtrack of Once -- great movie, great music. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova wrote the music and starred in the movie and it's a perfect marriage of artistry, if you ask me.

I think I mentioned books in the title -- I just got Rethinking Worldview by J. Mark Bertrand. I've just started it, and there's a lot to absorb. I like Mark's approach to the subject, though, and I think I'll learn a lot as I read it.

Finally, U2. In my blog reading this morning, Jeffrey Overstreet pointed his readers to this post about U2's Elevation tour and I discovered the incredible, goose-bump inducing video contained therein.
Here it is -- Enjoy:

CFBA Tour: Winter Haven

I'm back to blogging today with a plug for a book I really enjoyed: Winter Haven, by Athol Dickson. Here are the links, along with a bit about the author and the cover blurb. After that I'll give my take on the book.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Winter Haven
(Bethany House April 1, 2008)
by
Athol Dickson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing.

Athol Dickson’s writing has been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler (Publisher’s Weekly), Daphne du Maurier (Cindy Crosby, FaithfulReader.com) and FlanneryO’Connor (The New York Times).

His They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist and his River Rising was a Christy Award winner, selected as one of the Booklist Top Ten Christian Novels of 2006 and a finalist for Christianity Today's Best Novel of 2006.

He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California. Visit AtholDickson.com for more information.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked...on the most remote of islands off the coast of Maine, history haunts the present and Vera Gamble wrestles with a past that will not yield. Will she find refuge there, or will her ghosts prevail on...Winter Haven

Eleven years ago, Vera Gamble's brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found...washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body...and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother hasn't aged a day since last she saw him.

Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Haven's murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth.

What I thought: I've been a fan of Athol Dickson's writing since I read River Rising a couple of years ago. The man has a gift for setting the scene and approaching a story from unexpected directions. While I'm not sure that Winter Haven is quite the same quality as River Rising, it's still a very good book. Dickson turns his attention to a remote island off the coast of Maine and the secrets it holds. It's a place where nothing is what it seems to be and the reader, along with Vera Gamble, must discern what is true and what is false. A lot of the suspense hangs on perspective and it works well. I thought the resolution came a little too easily, but it was still satisfying.

I found that Winter Haven stayed with me after I read it, and I suspect it will stay with you, too. Along with a good suspense story (with a healthy helping of romance), Dickson explores themes of truth, trust, and dealing with the past. It's a page-turner (I read it in one sitting) with some meat to it. That's a rare accomplishment for a writer and part of what makes Athol Dickson one of the best writers of fiction (of any genre) around.