Striking Quotations from "Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart"

 Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart was recommended to me - I got it off of Hoopla.  It's deep but I've been getting much out of it.  This isn't a review but more a commentary on a couple of quotations.

Author Russ Ramsey writes one chapter on van Gogh, the famous artist who cut off his own ear in a moment of misery, and how a gift shop connected to a van Gogh exhibition carried a number of "kitschy" items about him.  One in particular was a thermal coffee mug with this attached note:  "When you pour in a hot beverage, Vincent's ear magically vanishes before your very eyes.  Easy van come - easy van Gogh."  Ramsey commented, "It broke my heart.  It still does."

And here are the quotations from Ramsey that caused me to think:  

"That gift shop grieved me in the same way as when I read in Scripture about Simon the leper, the woman caught in adultery, or the doubly vexed Zacchaeus, the diminutive tax collector - people identified by the worst things about them."

Next paragraph:  "What if what happened to Vincent's ear isn't really all that funny?  What happened there--undoubtedly one of the lowest points in an already tortured soul's life--helps us see not just his shame but also the hope that surrounds it.  It shows us that, in the end, we are not our worst moments or our biggest failures.  It teaches us the sacred work of stewarding another's pain.  And it bids us, 'Be gentle.  This is a hard world.'"

I've known people who are quick to point out the negative - sometimes failures that are decades old, in other people's lives.  I've been guilty of it myself.  This quotation puts that kind of comment into perfect perspective, and warns why we should not be that way, in a better way than I could ever have stated it.

Beautiful Piece of Writing

I am reading old YANKEE magazines and throwing them away as I go.  Most of them don't have much in them that I want to save, but a few do.  Edie Clark always writes an entertaining column, and I really liked this ending: 

YANKEE magazine, September 1993, “The Garden at Chesham Depot” by Edie Clark, p. 104

 (she is writing about canning tomatoes on a September day):

 

“The day passes this way, me the clerk, an assembly line of one, transferring tomatoes from bushel to pot to jar to the newspaper-covered kitchen table, where they cool.  One by one, they give that reassuring sound: familiar, comforting – a tongue-clucking tock! – that tells me, for sure, that the jar is sealed, that it is safe. Throughout the day, as I pass these jars to the table, they talk like this – tock! tock! – and then wind down, as I do.  After dark, the windows steamed solid, I climb the stairs and fall into bed, tired, happy – and downstairs, I hear one last distant tock! before falling asleep.”

And Now You Know Why I Never Made it as a Poet.

Written 1982.  Never titled.  :-)

You may be in pain,

But at least you're still sane,

And don't have migraine,

Or disease of the brain.

I'll bring you a cane

Or some aspirin, a grain,

Or a shot in your vein

So your hurting will wane.

If this is a drain,

And your nerves have a strain,

Remember Paul's refrain

That to die would be gain!

"The King"

 I found some old writings yesterday.  This is from March 1989 when my son was 4-5 months old.

THE KING

He is the king, and he knows it.  Why else would he have the audacity to lie awake in my arms at 6:30 in the morning, cooing, laughing, and making bubbling noises with his formula?  He probably even thought to himself, "Now I know that if I weren't around, my chief lady-in-waiting would never be awake this early, so I'll prove that I'm the one authority who can mover her out of bed."  And his gurgles and happy sounds are the proofs of his power.

He know that the right squeal or cry will bring one of his two principal subjects running to figure out his royal request.  And he knows that when we venture out into public, the general populace will press upon him, exclaiming his every virtue, while he sits in his privileged throne (stroller by definition) and decides which one of the masses will be the recipient of the royal smile he might choose to bestow.

Some days I think maybe I should set this self-appointed ruler straight.  I should tell him, "Look, sir, we got along fine before you came along, and life was a whole lot simpler then.  In fact, a year and a half ago you weren't even a gleam in our eyes, and the world ran just great without your royal presence!"  

But I never will.  One never makes such disrespectful remarks to a king.

Katherine Barnwell: How One Woman Revolutionized Missions, by Jordan Monson

I read this book last fall, posted it on my Goodreads, and really wanted to be able to give it a 5 (out of 5) rating. The subject matter alone could have been a 5, and the picture of the subject on the cover drew me in enough to buy this as a new book (a rare occurrence).  But I gave it a 3, for reasons given below.

Katharine (Katy) Barnwell was a fascinating woman and an immensely talented linguist. She instituted great reforms in Bible translation, and her creative, leadership-oriented mind opened up Bible translation to Christians around the globe. She is more than worthy of a biography. The places where the book simply focused on telling her life story made for good reading--her life did not need any embellishment.

However, the author could not resist, not just once but throughout the book, absolutely glorifying this woman. From all accounts she is a humble lady who resists the spotlight. Yet we were told multiple times that she accounts for far more salvations in the world than Billy Graham, that she is right up there with (and may be higher than) William Carey, that she is the greatest linguist ever. And on and on. Please, treat her like the talented woman that she is, and leave the platitudes and glory to the Lord for when we get to heaven.

Furthermore, the author made the book as much about himself as he did Dr. Barnwell. 

I recently read that Dr. Barnwell went to heaven in September of 2025.  I am glad to know about this gifted woman who transformed Bible translation, and for that reason enjoyed the book. I wish the rating could have been higher.

Two Babies - 2.3 Years Apart

They both have my heart!!!  

                                               

     

    

Reading Through the Bible in a Year

 On Christmas Eve, I finished a yearlong goal: to read the Bible through during the calendar year 2024.

This is the first time that I set that goal for awhile.  It is encouraged at our church, and it is a Bible-reading plan that can be helpful at times.  I found there to be both positives and negatives in the process.

Good reasons for reading through the Bible in a year:

--It is good to see the Bible as a unified book, one knit together by 40+ authors over several thousand years, all with the same message and all pointing to the Messiah.  This is the best reason for accomplishing this plan!

--Knowing that I had to get through a certain number of chapters each day, or I would get behind, was motivating to keep at the job day after day.  Reading through in a year is a good plan to keep a person on task, and in the Bible, without falling behind.

Possible drawbacks in this reading plan:

--As the year progressed, I found myself falling into a habit of my younger years - reading the passages for the day without getting as much out of it.  Knowing I had to get through Chapter 14, or whatever, sometimes caused me to read the words - while my mind wandered.  That was obviously not effective Bible reading.

--Also, having that daily goal sometimes caused my Bible reading to be just that - a daily goal.  I was not as motivated to think closely about each passage, or stop when something was speaking to my heart, but rather to get done.  I say that to my shame.

Other comments:

--I did not use a prescribed Bible reading plan.  I found a listing of the chapters of the Bible on the internet and printed it off.  It was very effective!  I did not attempt to go straight through but rather moved around through the Bible (reading Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel in a row was more than this reader could handle), sometimes reading Old Testament and sometimes New; sometimes reading in two books at a time and at the beginning of the year, reading in three or four.

--Sometimes I read in the ESV, sometimes in KJV.  Sometimes I listened using an online source read by Alexander Scourby.

--After checking off chapters that were read, I used yellow highlighter to indicate that the book was completed, and pink highlighter for entire sections.  The numbers at the end of each book were just the numbers of chapters in it, to make adding up how far I was a little easier.  Same for the numbers at the top.  1189 is the total number of chapters in the Bible, and at the right were the number of chapters I needed to complete each of the months listed.  (That kind of fell by the wayside.)

--I started with a goal of four chapters a day.  That meant I would have been finished by late October.  But that was a good thing, because several occurrences over the course of the year, including the passing of my father, meant that some days did not get the reading done.  So therefore I had plenty of padding to get done by the end of the year.

A former student posted that she read through the Bible in three years.  That is an appealing method.  It means that there is more time to read the commentator notes and digest what the authors are saying.  

I recommend reading through the Bible from time to time, and next time I will probably slow down, take my time, and therefore get even more out of it.  

Overall, reading the Bible this way was a blessing to me. 

Election 2024 Thoughts

 I've been so silent on here for so long that am certain the readership is very low, but am going to put some thoughts on here anyway, if for no other reason than documentation.

--For years the Democratic machine has been throwing open the southern border, and the reason has been generally known to increase the number of Democratic voters due to the gratitude of Latinos who have flooded across.  How ironic is it that the voting bloc that increased greatly for Trump was - Latinos.

--Trump won this election in my opinion because people have to get groceries.  Even people who can afford the current prices are aghast at how expensive things are.  Grocery store prices tell the story of our current economic policy.

--I wanted to see what the buzz about "The View" was about.  So yesterday, the day after the election, I tuned it in.  Within five minutes the hosts were saying that Trump will be starting up detention camps.  That was enough for me.  I turned it off.

--Anyone with any thinking ability knows that for years dirty tricks, evil intent, and vicious words have been directed at the winner of this election.  And Christian people know that anything that happens in an election is of God and is due to His will and intervention.  This morning I read Psalm 64 and saw striking parallels between the contents of that psalm and the election:

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

        preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
6     They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7 But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.

10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!

--And finally, this just came up on my favorites from a few years back, posted the day after an election when the candidate that I was very much against, won.  I think that this is true whether my candidate loses - or wins.

Lay up your treasures in heaven;

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory

Where nothing in this world will take them away;

Oh listen people hear the master say:

Come on and lay up your treasures in heaven,

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory--

Your treasures in this world will fade away

But the things of the Lord will last forever, evermore!

Well the Lord looked up and saw the people there

Tied up with worry and burdened with care,

He said "Seek first the Kingdom and you will see

The things that will last for eternity.

Lay up your treasures in heaven;

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory

Where nothing in this world will take them away;

Oh listen people hear the master say:

Come on and lay up your treasures in heaven,

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory--

Your treasures in this world will fade away

But the things of the Lord will last forever, evermore!

"Some people trust in their silver and gold

They put their faith in the wealth they hold

But fortunes will fade and kingdoms fall

So put your trust in the Lord of all!

Lay up your treasures in heaven;

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory

Where nothing in this world will take them away;

Oh listen people hear the master say:

Come on and lay up your treasures in heaven,

Oh people, lay up your treasures in glory--

Your treasures in this world will fade away

But the things of the Lord will last forever, evermore!

Surprising Fashion Trend

I took this photo while shopping recently for a dress to wear to a wedding.  This was not an outlet store, or a specialty store.  It wasn't online at some website named modesty.com (I made that up) or a company that caters to women who want to reasonably cover up.

No, this was in a well-known mainline department store. And this wasn't the only example.  Almost every rack had clothes that were midi-length, full, and sometimes ruffled.  Almost all of the skirts were like that.

At the formal wedding last weekend, almost everyone was wearing something similar in style (though not denim of course).

Fashion has amazingly swung very far in this direction.  Keep it coming!

 

Being Elisabeth Elliot

 

I have the same mixed feelings about Volume II of this set as I did about Volume I.

This is the authorized biography, meaning that Ellen Vaughn was given access to Elliot's journals and private papers, rather than just researching public items as Lucy S.R. Austen, author of Elisabeth Elliot: A Life had to do.

Vaughn stated in Chapter 2 that her goal was to tell the truth, in love. I appreciate that she did not want to write a hagiography, or biography that only points out the good points in a person's life. And aspects of Elliot's life that were not so positive needed to be explored. Overall, I was glad to read much of this story of Elisabeth Elliot, a hero of mine for many years. The negative aspects that are coming out publicly actually enhance my view of her. She made mistakes and was tempted. She was not better or more holy than any of us.

However, truth can be told without getting gratuitous or telling too much. We didn't need to be told details about her physical relationship with Leitch - their passions were already obvious. Several instances of this were totally unnecessary, as were details about women's cycles that were included at several places. Just leave that out.

Certain inclusions should have been modified. Even if Lars Gren's writing abilities were poor, I think it was unnecessary, embarrassing, and hurtful to include specific examples of that. The fellow author in whom Elliot expressed interest after Leitch's death should not have been named - the story could have been written without using his name. And no good reason exists for including the story about the workmen at her home who told stories about working at the nudist camp.

Two more things. The author inserted herself into the story too much. Another issue was the editing. Several errors were obvious and should have been caught by a good editor.

In other words - telling the whole story of someone's life can be accomplished in a more tasteful way than Ellen Vaughn did in this book. Under the cover of telling the whole story, she appears to gravitate toward somewhat salacious information. Elliot was a hugely influential , but also hugely complicated, figure in 20th century American Christianity. Her story can be told, honestly and truthfully, without tarnishing it with indelicate details.