UPDATED: Help in coping with corona virus — Homeschooling Help, Free school age audiobooks, free Magnificat online

Free audiobooks for those home from school

B.J. Harrison from The Classic Tales podcast has a great resource.

Do you have kids at home right now? I've decided to release a few titles for free through my website to help those who may be home from school. The titles are selected for those in grades K-12.

They will remain free for the duration of the COVID-19/Corona virus outbreak.

You can find the free selections by tapping this text link.

Please note: new customers will need to create an account and will be automatically subscribed to our newsletter. I'm sorry I don't have a way around this. Feel free to unsubscribe immediately.

Further note: One of my distributors has approached me, and we are issuing a longer list of free audiobooks to schools. If your school has access to digital audiobooks, they may have access to a longer list of free audiobooks from myself and other publishers.

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HOMESCHOOLING HELP

How to Homeschool Temporarily (in the Event of Quarantine)

I liked the original post from Darwin Catholic when it first came out. Now I see there are further explanations, which I myself would find valuable were I in the unfortunate situation of having to take on my children's schooling. As I have a friend who is now faced with that very thing — and who has the same exact feelings I would have in her place — I submit these pieces which seem very helpful.

• How to Homeschool Temporarily (in the Event of Quarantine)
• How to Homeschool Temporarily, Part 2 -- the Little Kids
• How to Homeschool Temporarily, Part 3 -- The Middle Grades

Bonus: I also really liked Darwin's post about breaking infection connections. So here's Social Networks and Pandemics.

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Free Online Magnificat

During this challenging time, many of the faithful may be unable to attend Mass.
Magnificat is honored to provide complimentary access to our online version to help people pray from home.

Get it here. Just click on the magazine page image to read it.

Just one more reason to love Whataburger ... and Texas

Photo: Anita Kay Duran / Facebook

Whataburger Delivers Food To H-E-B Workers Working Long Hours to Keep Shelves Stocked

Whataburger decided to help out their fellow Texans working at H-E-B in New Braunfels by bringing them food.

H-E-B has been dealing with a ton of customers panic buying as fears of coronavirus grow, which has led to a major shortage of supplies and tons of long hours for H-E-B workers trying to keep the shelves stocked for customers.

The long lines didn't stop Whataburger workers from helping, though. They brought tons of food to their fellow Texans in their time of need.

Texas Memes

Sunday in a Time of Canceled Mass

In Dallas all Masses are cancelled through March 29 and we were pondering how to keep the day holy in a special way.

We're going to:

• Read the Mass readings aloud (courtesy of Word Among Us which I have on my Kindle, but you can get them at the USCCB)
• Listen to Bishop Barron's Sunday homily (read or listen at Word on Fire)
• The Our Father and our own prayers of the faithful, ending with the Act of Spiritual Communion below.

I especially wanted to share this prayer with everyone, which is wonderfully appropriate for now ... but really is good for anytime. I came across it in A Year With the Eucharist and was struck by its beauty.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy sacrament. I love you above all things: I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you, and I unite myself entirely to you, as if you had already come. Do not permit me to be ever separated from you.

Jesus, source of all my good, my sweet love, wound, inflame this heart of mine, that it may always burn for you.

Act of Spiritual Communion,

Alphonsus de Liguori

You are all in my prayers as we go through uncertain days together.

Panic in a Time of Corona Virus

I always thought I'd read so many apocalyptic scenario books that I'd be ready for quick decisions in a panic.

Then I went to pick up a prescription at the local grocery store and was bemused by how full the parking lot was. Was surprised at no carts. Was amused at every single line open and full. Aha. This is that panic I'd been hearing about.

Then Hannah called, saying that she was at our favorite store and all the bread and meat were flying off the shelves.

Which is how I found myself vaguely wandering the aisles with a bag of lemons, three onions, and four pork chops. Wondering, what do I buy now? (I mean - without a list how do I even do this?)

All that reading of World War Z, The Stand, etc. did me no good at all!

You want bonkers? Dabangg delivers.

This masala film delivers entertainment and action, though not always in a way that we can agree with. Hannah and Rose discuss the 2010 Salman Khan film Dabangg, about a corrupt cop who lives fearlessly. This is the end of their cop movie series.

Get it at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

Distant View of Niagara Falls

Distant View of Niagara Falls, Thomas Cole
public domain from the Art Institute of Chicago

Click here to see it larger and more glorious. I remember when an exhibit of the Hudson River School came to the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. Tom and I went to see it. Simply magnificent. I loved all those paintings.

How are we to live in the age of corona virus?

C.S. Lewis has the answer and helps us anchor us in reality. Just substitute "corona virus" for "atomic bomb" (which had just been dropped during WWII three years before he wrote this).

In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. "How are we to live in an atomic age?" I am tempted to reply: "Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents."

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors - anaesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things - praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts - not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

C.S. Lewis, essay "On Living in an Atomic Age"

A Movie You Might Have Missed #5: A Perfect World

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

5. A Perfect World

In Texas in the fall of 1963, Kevin Costner is one of a pair of recently escaped convicts who take an 8-year-old boy hostage on their journey, which soon becomes a journey with just Costner and the boy. The little boy has never known his father and his childish innocence sparks fatherly feelings in Costner.

Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood is the Texas Ranger tracking them down. Eastwood knows about Costner's troubled past and although he must capture him, Eastwood has a certain level of sympathy for him personally as well. Gradually we see that there is a constant contrast between the flight and the manhunt, the fatherless and those who could fill the fatherly roles. This is an understated movie but it is hard to match its examination of good versus evil, the consequences of the past on the present, and the strength of its statement against senseless violence. Also probably Kevin Costner's best performance.

Gospel of Matthew: Jesus Was Amazed

Matthew 8:5-13

There's a lot packed into this episode. Here are a few things that amazed me.

George Martin points out an important detail that I had noticed but not realized the significance of, namely the reason this episode is unique.

Jesus healing the servant of a Centurion, by the Venetian artist Paolo Veronese

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed--the only time in Matthew's gospel that Jesus is amazed or surprised. Jesus is so amazed that he comments on his amazement. He turns from the centurion and seys to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith." Jesus notes the faith of the centurion--the centurion's confidence that Jesus has such authority over afflictions that he is able to heal with a simple word of command. This is the first mention of or praise of a person's faith in the Gospel of Matthew--and the faith-filled person is not a Jew but a Gentile companion. No one in Israel--that is, no Jew--has demonstrated such faith in Jesus as has this Gentile centurion. Jesus' disciples, whom he is now addressing, are included in the no ones; they have a "little faith" (6:30) but not such faith as has the centurion. Jesus is amazed that he has found such great faith in a Gentile.

Bringing the Gospel of Matthew to Life

William Barclay looks more closely at the centurion and finds there is more that is special than his faith in Jesus.

There was something very special about this centurion at Capernaum, and that was his attitude to his servant. This servant would be a slave, but the centurion was grieved that his servant was ill and was determined to do everything in his power to save him.

That was the reverse of the normal attitude of master to slave. In the Roman Empire slaves did not matter. It was of no importance to anyone if they suffered, and whether they lived or died. Aristotle, talking about the friendships which are possible in life, writes: "There can be no friendship nor justice toward inanimate things; indeed, not even towards a horse or an ox, nor yet towards a slave as a slave. For master and slave have nothing in common; a slave is a living tool, just as an inanimate tool is a slave." ...

It is quite clear that this centurion was an extraordinary man, for he loved his slave. ...

Daily Study Bible Series, The Gospel of Matthew

This is important to remember because we so often think of slavery in a modern way, with lots of chances for the slave and the master to be friends. The ancient reality was depressingly different a lot of the time.

Lastly, I really like this thought on how to apply this to our own lives.

The Roman centurion offers us a model for approaching Jesus in prayer. He does not rush in and tell Jesus how to solve his problem. Rather, he comes to Jesus in his dire situation and humbly states his need. "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully" (8:6). He leaves to the Lord the way the problem will be solved.

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew

This reminds me of Mary at the wedding feast at Cana. Having stated the couple's need for wine, she just turns to the servers and says, "Do whatever he tells you." I myself can be awfully bossy, telling God just how a certain problem should be solved. Yes, sometimes we know what our petition is and what we need, but so often God's got a surprising solution. We need to humbly present our need and trust.

This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Two Sisters

Two Sisters, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Music Lesson

David Bles - Music Lesson
via Gandalf's Gallery, some rights reserved

I love this! These days she'd be checking her smart phone, but the scenario is the same.

Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer by Leah Libresco

When I'm lucky, I live like the disciples in the boat in the storm—prone to fear and doubt but held safely. Frequently, though, I wind up like Peter, overextended and floundering. Once he is stuck, Peter doesn't try to take charge and undo his mistake; he keeps flailing his way toward Christ. My prayer life often feels like this kind of thrashing in Christ's general direction, waiting and trusting that he'll reach across the gap I can't close on my own.

Leah Libresco was a public atheist, blogging on Patheos. And then she converted to Catholicism. This book, though, isn't really the story of her conversion to faith, although that is briefly included.

It is a different sort of conversion story. It's the story of someone learning to live her faith, of Libresco's "what next" after taking that big step of belief.

And that involves prayer, seven types of prayer, to be specific. Ranging from Confession to the Divine Office to the Mass and beyond, we get a good look at the prayer type and her own struggles with it. I often found really helpful reminders that my responsibility is to show up and pray, not to provide the fireworks (which are up to God, Libresco tells us).

Picking up the beads and following the structure of the prayer puts me in the presence of Mary and Christ. And, really, that is the extent of my responsibility when I'm praying. It's not for me to compel their intercession or force myself to achieve an insight into their lives. I just have to keep the rhythm so that I can follow without stumbling if anyone takes my hand.

Part of the delight of this book — yes I liked it that much, it is a delight — is the way Libresco's mind connects all sorts of things that would never occur to me. Shakespeare (a lot of it), folk ballads like Tam Lin, mathematics and science, Javert from Les Mis - all are wound together to help her (and us) make sense of the way God calls us to him through prayer.

This came out in 2015 so I am coming to it late, but don't miss it. It is wonderful Lenten reading and would be good for any time of the liturgical year.

GIVEAWAY WINNER - Thus Sayeth the Lord!

The winner is MCA Hogarth!

Just email me your address and we'll get it headed your way - julie [at] glyphnet [dot] com.

Thank you to everyone who signed up. It did my heart good to see the comments box used that much. Kind of like those old blogging days before everyone took regular chatting to Facebook.

I wish everyone could win, but luckily we've got preordering at Amazon (which I know you're tired of hearing about — but I like to think this book will make the end of Lent go a little easier).

Meatless Friday — Tuna Noodles

We make this year round and although it seems like an American innovation, check the credentials. Italians use canned tuna and this is from a great Italian cookbook.

It's easy, delicious, and is making my mouth water thinking about them. I ran this recipe way back in 2004 and it is still as popular in our home as it was then. Get the recipe here!

Living With Deborah: Privileged to Collaborate

For the final bit of the Deborah chapter in my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — let's look at the man in this equation — the general Barak.

Previously in the chapter: part 1, part 2, part 3

LIVING WITH DEBORAH
Privileged to Collaborate

We’ve focused on woman-power, but let’s look at Barak, the other major player in this story. He is respected enough to rally ten thousand warriors and lead them to a blowout victory. That’s not the kind of guy who usually comes running when a woman orders, even if she is a judge and prophetess. But Barak respects Deborah’s authority enough to respond to her summons.

Deborah is literally using God’s words, saying, “I will draw Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.”

But Barak hesitates, saying, “If you will go with me.” That “if” changed the ultimate hero of the battle, with Jael getting the glory of Sisera’s death. Why does Barak put conditions on his obedience? Is he afraid? Does he or do his troops need a tangible “talisman” of God’s favor? Does he doubt God’s power? We simply don’t know. Again, this story is about God’s victory, not individuals’ internal journeys.

I get Barak. “Yes, but … ” seems to be one of my favorite phrases when God’s desires come to me. No one’s asking me to face down nine hundred weapons of mass destruction, but taking dinner to an ill neighbor down the street can feel just as daunting when I don’t know her.

Sometimes, I’m afraid; sometimes, I’m doubting; and sometimes, I want control. “Sure thing, God, great idea — let me just add a wrinkle. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll go with your plan.” God keeps shoving us out of our comfort zones in the hopes that someday we’ll say yes and then shut up. Just so we can see, like Deborah and Jael, how amazing it can be when things get messy and God works them out.

Barak is included in a list of heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 where Saint Paul says, “out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.” I take solace in the fact that God used Barak despite his weakness, whatever it was.

This is what I’ve got to remember. Every time I answer God’s commands, I am rewarded with overflowing generosity. My life becomes richer, I become stronger in faith, and I know God a little more personally.

Also, Barak doesn’t hold a grudge or blame people for his shortcomings. He’s right there with Deborah singing that celebration hymn. That also encourages me to keep the right perspective and rejoice in God’s victory no matter how imperfect my collaboration might be.

I still haven’t gotten that victory party with roasted sheep and Bollywood dancing, but a girl can always hope!

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

Insightful review of Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy

An insightful review of a book I love — Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy — from Melanie Bettinelli. Here's a bit, but go read it all.

This time through, near the beginning of the novel I had an unexpected moment of recognition, or maybe not recognition so much as making a new connection between two things. I’m pretty sure that when I last read this book I hadn’t read much on the subject of human trafficking. But now I have. ...

In it’s way it has many of the same elements I loved in her earlier novel about religious life. In This House of Brede. But here the brokenness and healing comes to the fore. Lise is a mystic, in Bethanie she finds her true home. And yet her past won’t leave her alone. She must find ways to redeem it.

Living With Deborah: Crushing It For God

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — let's take a look at how the ladies get it done it when it comes to the prophet business.

Previously in the chapter: part 1, part 2

LIVING WITH DEBORAH
Crushing It For God

Deborah’s the whole package: legal counselor, prophetess, military commander, wife, and singer. But these only tell us the things she does, not who she is. Some of the prophets just will not shut up about how they’re feeling or what’s being done to them. Jeremiah wishes he’d never been born and is known as the weeping prophet. Elijah has to have an angel coax him back into action with a catered meal after he lies down under a tree saying, “I’m done. Take me now, Lord.”

Deborah? She’s kicking butt and taking names. We don’t know — or, frankly, care — how she restores order when bandits roam freely, what it does to her marriage to become a prophetess and judge, or what it’s like to be a battlefield commander with Barak. She serves God without hesitation, without doubt, and with her whole heart.

Jael too, though not a prophet or judge, didn’t mess around. We don’t know why she breaks nearly every taboo in the book to get Sisera in a position where she can kill him. Women never invited men into their tents and — do we have to say it — it’s terrible hospitality to kill guests. Especially don’t kill the guest if he’s an ally, because now we’re in covenant-breaking territory. But Jael is all in.

Whatever God ordered up, these ladies got it done.

I love that the storytellers didn’t try to clean things up. Women prophesying, leading armies, executing enemies — it’s all on the table when you’re telling God’s story. If he gets messy, that’s how we’re gonna tell it. From their point of view, these unlikely heroes are just one more proof that only God could maneuver this whole crazy plan into working.

You can’t lock God in a box. His ways are mysterious. God reads hearts, not genders or job descriptions. He knows who we are and what we can do. Our job is to cooperate by stepping out in faith and doing what he asks of us. Just wear your boots, because it might get messy.

Tomorrow in part 4 we'll take a look at the guy in this story — the general Barak.

Don't forget the book giveaway! Sign up here!

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

First Colors

First Colors, Finnish Lapland/Northern Finland, Remo Savisaar

Remo's photos of Lapland are so gorgeous and yet also so alien looking. I begin to understand why their folk tales have so many creatures like gnomes, brownies, and trolls.

Living with Deborah: Both Sides Now

Part 2 of the Deborah chapter from my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — let's take a look at how two versions of the same story help us have a nuanced view.

Part 1 is here.

LIVING WITH DEBORAH
Both Sides Now

There are only two chapters about Deborah, and the second one retells the first, but in poetry.

The prose chapter is a well-constructed, complete story. We get the religious and historical setting, Deborah’s and Barak’s roles, God’s instructions, battle strategy, and Sisera’s death. It’s a nice, tidy package.

The poetic chapter is dramatic and fun because it’s a celebration song. This is when it gets personal, immediate, and full of interesting details. Deborah stops bandits plaguing travelers, tribes are shamed for skipping battle, and “the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon” washed away the enemy.

What I find most poignant in Deborah’s song is a bit imagining Sisera’s mother when he never comes home.

Out of the window she peered,
the mother of Sisera gazed through the lattice:
“Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?” (Jgs 5:26)

Deborah clearly sings this triumphantly, especially since the next lines are from the mother’s maids saying that Sisera’s probably just picking out the best slave girls and loot to bring home. For me it brings home the fact that Sisera is someone’s son, just like all those other warriors. It makes all those people feel vividly alive for me. It’s a touch, however chilling, that we don’t often get.

These two versions are like reading the book and seeing the movie. Each has a slightly different attitude, while both communicate the truth. Scripture does this all the time. That’s why Genesis has two versions of Adam’s creation, and four Gospels tell Jesus’ life story.

What can’t be ignored in either version of this story is that it is God’s story, first and foremost. Deborah, Barak, and Jael are important, but the storytellers are really talking about God’s protection of his beloved people. In case we don’t get it, right after Jael nails Sisera with that tent peg, we’re told, “So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.” Bam. The victory is God’s.

As much as I love looking at Deborah’s story from several angles, I tend to resist this sort of view in my own life. The big picture of my own story is so often told from different points of view by my husband and children, family and friends. If I’m not too wedded to my own version, I can learn more about myself, good or bad. My life is enriched when I open myself up to community and allow myself to be known more fully.

Tomorrow in part 3 we'll take a closer look at the two ladies who crush it for God - and what that means in our own lives.

Don't forget the book giveaway! Sign up here!

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

What I'm Humming: Guys and Dolls

Here's what I've been humming for about a week. Mom hadn't seen this before and so we watched it and have been singing bits of different songs to each other ever since.

Not too classy, but what're you gonna do? Here's the one that keeps coming back ... I love the guy with the poodle.

Look, what's playing at the Roxy?

I'll tell you what's playing at the Roxy.

It's a picture about a Minnesota man so in love with a Mississippi girl that he sacrifices everything and moves all the way to Biloxi.

That's what's playing at the Roxy.

The Odd Volume

The Odd Volume (1894). Henry Stacy Marks.
Via Books and Art

We All Loved This One: Kumbalangi Nights

I'd read a good review of this Malayalam language Indian film and knew only that it was about four brothers in a tiny fishing town. And that it is a comedy-drama, a confusing yet common Indian description.

So none of us had any idea what to expect. It quickly became apparent that this was a movie you had to be prepared to let just wash over you in a state of confusion for the first 20 or 30 minutes. Luckily we were all willing to do that. After that it all came into focus and turned into a great movie with some twists that put us on the edge of our seats.

As my mother said:

The movie was beautiful to watch. Lovely, almost dreamlike landscapes instead of the usual crowded streets and scenes of many Indian movies. Good twist to the plot. This one is eye candy that relaxes and charms, making the story even more realistic.

I grew to love the four brothers from the wrong side of the tracks and the way they were dealing with their various dilemmas. I also was fascinated by their contrast with the family of one brother's girlfriend who seemed so perfect in every way and yet felt "off" from the beginning.

As the story goes on it is clear the director is telling us about families, how they are formed, and how they grow. The movie's twists were truly unexpected and there is a clear religious element that interested us as Kumbalangi is about 40% Christian.

All four of us kept talking about it the next day, so it did a great job of capturing our imaginations and hearts.

I feel lucky that it is streaming on Amazon so we were able to see it. I see that this director's first film is also streaming there and I want to watch that soon.

Rating — for viewers with medium Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.) 

Hannah and Rose discuss Kumbalangi Nights at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

Deborah — Kicking Ass and Taking Names

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — we looked last week at Jonah. Now, let's take a look at how the ladies can crush it when it comes to the prophet business.

We're going to read about Deborah. She's going to change your mind about ancient Jews and gender roles.

DEBORAH

Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

Judges 4:4

What to Read

• Judges 4–5

Deborah’s story is two short chapters that turn popular ideas about ancient Jews and gender roles upside down.

You know how you have bad habits, vow to reform, and then fall back into the same things over and over? Once Joshua (the leader after Moses) dies, that’s the Israelites’s main problem. With no single leader to keep them on the straight and narrow, the tribes fall into a recognizable cycle. They idolize pagan gods, and God lets them reap what they sow. Nearby nations invade, and God doesn’t stop them. Eventually, the Israelites get the point and repent, wailing for help. God raises a hero (a.k.a. judge) to restore his people.

Although every sin-oppression-repentance spiral is depressingly the same, the heroes God raises each time are startlingly different. Trust God to handle each problem with creative flair. And he’s willing to keep on doing it as long as they need. The Book of Judges is one long, action-packed look at God and his heroes.

Deborah is one of the lesser known judges and prophets, but her short story is one of the most unusual. Among other things, the only other person in the entire Bible to be both a judge and a prophet is Samuel, so she’s a rarely gifted individual.

Quick Take on Deborah

With Deborah, God is at his most surprising because, first of all, he gives the Jews an unconventional female leader. Not a man. Not someone like Miriam, who’s always mentioned alongside her brothers. Deborah’s a married woman, but her husband is just mentioned in passing. Her personal life isn’t the point here. She sits under her palm tree in the mountains, judging Israel and laying down some of the most immediately provable prophecies in the entire Bible.

For twenty years, Israel has been in the power of the Canaanites. Their general, Sisera, is oppressing the heck out of everyone with his nine hundred iron chariots, the newest thing in military tech.

Deborah summons Israel’s top general, Barak, giving him God’s command to take ten thousand men and march to the Kishon River, where Sisera will be delivered into his power. Barak says, “OK, but only if you come, too.” Without missing a beat, Deb replies, “No prob. But now a woman is going to kill their general. Coulda been your gig, but … there you go!”

With that intro, we all think it’s going to be Deborah dealing the final blow, but surprise! It’s a new player, Jael, with her handy tent peg and hammer!

It goes down like this: God sends rain, which floods right down the Kishon River and washes away those awesome chariots. All the Canaanites are slaughtered on the field of battle, except Sisera, who runs away on foot. Smart or coward? You decide.

He winds up at a tent where his ally’s wife, Jael, is home alone. She offers him a jug of milk, and when he’s off guard, she takes a tent peg and drives it through Sisera’s temple with a big mallet.

One translation says the peg went through his skull into the dirt beneath his head. That is graphic. And impressive. Barak shows up too late, but he can’t say God didn’t warn him. He leads the warriors, but the special glory goes to Deborah and Jael.

Then Deborah and Barak sing a victory hymn that poetically retells the story. This is the high point of a huge celebration party with lots of roasted sheep, wine, and Bollywood-style dancing. OK, the party isn’t described in the Bible, but that’s how it goes in my head. You can just feel the joy and triumph coming through.

And there was peace for forty years.

Tomorrow in part 2 we'll compare the prose and poetic versions of the story and see what why two versions are better than one.

Don't forget the book giveaway! Sign up here!

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

Night Show

Night Show, Finnish Lapland/Northern Finland, Remo Savisaar

GIVEAWAY! For my new book — Thus Sayeth the Lord

I ran the Jonah chapter last week to give you a taste of the book. And for the rest of the week, I'll excerpt the Deborah chapter.

But there's nothing like the whole book in your very own hands!

So we're giving away a copy here on the blog! 

And I just discovered, checking the copyright page of my own copy, that it scored an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. All of which are official declarations that it is free from doctrinal or moral error.

Of course, if you've been reading the excerpts you know that doesn't mean they are agreeing with all of my takeaways and opinions — but we're totally starting from the right place in looking at these prophets.

It's just one more reason for you to want to read the whole thing!

Leave your name in the comments box and I'll do a random drawing on Friday. Or send me an email if the comments box is giving you grief - julie [at] glyphnet [dot] com

Note: Continental U.S. only

Mandarins with Vase

Mandarins with Vase, Duane Keiser

Love Drama or Power Drama?

We tend to think of Shakespeare's plays as being tragedies or comedies but this opens things up a bit.

If the distinction is not held too rigidly nor pressed too far, it is interesting to think of Shakespeare's chief works as either love dramas or power dramas, or a combination of the two. In his Histories, the poet handles the power problem primarily, the love interest being decidedly incidental. In the Comedies, it is the other way around, overwhelmingly in the lighter ones, distinctly in the graver ones, except in Troilus and Cressida--hardly comedy at all--where without full integration something like a balance is maintained. In the Tragedies both interests are important, but Othello is decidedly a love drama and Macbeth as clearly a power drama, while in Hamlet and King Lear the two interests often alternate rather than blend.”

Harold Clarke Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare, Volume 2

I never thought of it this way but Goddard is right. This is a very interesting way to look at the Bard's work. I just can't praise Goddard's books highly enough, by the way, for anyone who is interested in digging deeper into Shakespeare. Insightful, illuminating, and stimulating literary criticism which always respects Shakespeare's text.

Living with Jonah: Which Hand is Which and Running from God

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — the final part of the sample chapter we've been reading this week. (Previously:  part 1, part 2, part 3.)

Let's dig into Jonah's story and see what else it can tell us about our own lives, here and now.

Living with Jonah

Which Hand is Which?

Any time that someone tells you the “Old Testament God” is cruel and vengeful, remember the Book of Jonah. Absolutely not. God is God, no matter which Testament we’re reading. The mercy he shows the Ninevites is the same mercy we see Jesus praying for from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

When I’m embarrassed over things I’ve done in the past, I remember God’s understanding words about the Ninevites, which I think are some of the most loving and hopeful in the entire Bible.

God knows that the Ninevites are ignorant, that they never had an opportunity to learn another way, and that they haven’t been given a real chance to be anyone other than who they are. And he knows that about me. As an agnostic, I made fun of people who remained chaste before marriage; called the Eucharist “that cracker”; and rolled my eyes over the pro-life movement. It has taken a lot of time, a lot of reading, and much internal prompting from God for me to be able to see things from his point of view. I appreciate now how ignorant I was and how obnoxious I must have seemed to Christians around me.

It’s why I also appreciate his gentle correction as I try — sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes halfheartedly — to live my life as a faithful Catholic, in Jesus’ footsteps.

Running from God

I’m like Jonah in more ways than one. I can be pretty quick off the mark in the wrong direction when God calls with something I don’t want to do.

What’s worse, a lot of the time I’m pretending to myself that I’m not turning my back on God. For all Jonah’s faults, he never pretended he wasn’t defying God. He even understood his own motivations. I’m not that honest a lot of the time. My problems are all pretty small compared with having to go declare God’s word to a hostile nation: the acquaintance that I don’t want to invite to a party because she is awkward to be around. The evenings I don’t want to give up to volunteer. The sick person I don’t want to visit because he can be pretty critical.

These petty problems can loom large, and I know I sound exactly like a sulky teenager when I’m coming up with excuses. And, come to think of it, so does Jonah, when he’s on the hill overlooking the city. Just as Jonah only cared that the plant was dying because he  lost the shade, not for the plant’s sake, we often think of everything (including people) according to how it affects us, not for another’s sake. That is where God’s thought-provoking question to Jonah comes in at the end.

We’re not given an answer to God’s question. Instead we, like Jonah, are left to ponder God’s ways and our own. Do I want to be like Jonah? Or just go ahead and try it God’s way? Because the only one I’m fooling is myself.

Next week, I'll share another chapter so you can see how a different prophet might show us something about our lives today.

If you liked what you've been reading, don't wait. Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

St. Peter's Basilica at Night

St. Peter's Basilica at Night, Scott Danielson

Living with Jonah: Mad as Hell

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — I''m sharing a sample chapter this week. (Previously: part 1, part 2.)

Let's dig into Jonah's story and see what it can tell us about our own lives, here and now.

Living with Jonah

Mad as Hell

Let’s face it: Jonah himself is not a great person. He hates the Ninevites so much. It’s hard to blame him, because the Ninevites are the worst, a lot like ISIS and the Nazis rolled into one. So he runs.

Jonah isn’t simply being disobedient. He knows Scripture well enough to deeply disagree with God’s probable attitude to the Ninevites. In Exodus, God gives Moses the tablets and describes his nature: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.”

It’s the only place in the Old Testament where God describes his own nature,* and you can bet Jonah knew it. Did Jonah want that for the Ninevites? Heck no!

It’s ironic that Jonah’s absolute faith in God’s true nature is horribly justified when God forgives them at the first opportunity. Jonah comes right out and says, “Is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repentest of evil.”

Mic drop.

What a powerful message this is for the Israelites reading this book. Their whole culture revolves around being God’s chosen people, whether or not they actually obey him very well. Now this clever book preaches a subversive message of God’s equal love for all peoples, all nations, and all creation.

Unfortunately, I understand Jonah all too well. I haven’t had a lot of violence enter my life, but his feelings about the Ninevites match the thirst for vengeance I felt on 9/11. I hated the terrorists, and I equally hated the Middle Eastern women I saw on TV exulting in the death and destruction of my beloved countrymen. How dare they!

It seems to be human nature, doesn’t it? We want justice. Mercy isn’t even on our radar. The troubled look in a gentle friend’s eyes when I told her my feelings finally made me stop and reconsider my lust for vengeance. I was able to let my hatred go when I leaned on the truth expressed by God at the end of Jonah: “And the Lord said … ‘And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?’” Those women didn’t know any better, and I did. That made it my responsibility to take control of my feelings.

* J. Carl Laney, “God’s Self-Revelation in Exodus 34:6-8,” Bibliotheca Sacra 158 (January-March 2001): 36-51, https://www.galaxie.com/article/bsac158-629-03

Tomorrow in part 4 we'll see what Jonah shows us about God's nature toward us and looking at our own behavior compared to Jonah's.

Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

Roman Forum

Roman Forum, Scott Danielson

Quick Take on Jonah

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — I''m sharing a sample chapter this week. (Read part 1 here.)

Let's get a quick look-see at what the book of Jonah is about.

Quick Take on Jonah
God tells Jonah to preach in Nineveh. Nineveh’s the capital of Assyria, the most powerful and ruthless nation of the time, which all Israelites reading this book would’ve known. Not a place you just want to pop into. Jonah, as we have seen already, hot-foots it in the opposite direction to a ship at the edge of the known world. God raises a huge storm, causing the pagan sailors to toss Jonah overboard, where God saves him by having a huge fish swallow him. Bonus: The sailors begin worshipping God.

After three days and three nights, the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. (Vomits. You’ve got to love the way the Hebrews keep it real. Jonah gets zero respect.) God repeats his command and, unsurprisingly, Jonah finally obeys.

And — are you ready for this? — the people of Nineveh surprise everyone, probably including themselves, by believing Jonah the very first day and promptly doing penance. They also make their animals do penance. These Ninevites are all in. This might be a first in the history of biblical prophecy.

God forgives them, which makes Jonah hopping mad. He furiously sits on a hill, watching the city, wishing he were dead, and complaining to God that this is why he ran away. “I knew you would forgive them,” he says. God has a plant grow, providing Jonah with much-needed shade, and then has a worm attack the plant so it withers and dies. Jonah gets even more infuriated, giving God some great talking points. The ensuing conversations provide God’s point of view.

We'll skip tomorrow since it will be Ash Wednesday - and pick up on Thursday in part 3 we'll see what Jonah has to do with our own lives.

Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

Rome at Night

Rome at Night, Scott Danielson

Jonah: Mad as Hell and Running From God

From my new book, Thus Sayeth the Lord — I'll share a sample chapter over this week. Let's start with someone we might all be able to relate to — a less enthusiastic prophet we'll never see.

JONAH

Mad as Hell and Running from God

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:3

What to Read

• All four short, exciting chapters.

I’ve got to hand it to Jonah; he doesn’t mess around. God gives him a prophecy to deliver, and in the second sentence, Jonah’s on the run, “fleeing.” Look at how the next verse almost trips over itself to get all the information out. No question about it. Jonah’s getting away from God as far and fast as he can.

The Book of Jonah is not only short, it is a story. That’s a huge win when it comes to the prophets, who usually just give us their long, long speeches. Jonah is suspenseful, exciting, and funny. It also invites us to examine our own response to God when we’re asked to do something we don’t like. That’s a lot for four short chapters, but Jonah delivers.

You might think you know the story. Who doesn’t hear “Jonah” and think “swallowed by a whale?”

But Jonah’s packed with details I never noticed until I sat down and read it with full attention. Every one of them matters. The last time I read it I fell in love with the sailors, because they try rowing to shore instead of automatically tossing Jonah overboard, even when they know he’s the reason for the storm. I never even noticed those sailors before. It’s always worth reading Scripture more than once, because you don’t know what you’ll find that makes the story come alive.

Tomorrow in part 2 we'll get a quick overview of the whole story.

Thus Sayeth the Lord comes out on March 31. Preorder your copy now!

Orvieto Neighborhood

Orvieto neighborhood, Scott Danielson

Scott Danielson, my partner in crime at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast, went to Rome and took some great photos. I'll share a few of my favorites this week.

Khakee - it's not just a color, it's a Bollywood police movie

So, of course, Hannah and Rose are discussing it as part of their cop movie series. It's about four police officers who have to transport an accused terrorist safely to trial in another city. Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai - what a cast!

Get it at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

MY NEW BOOK! Thus Sayeth the Lord: A Fresh Take on the Prophets

This fresh take on the prophets will introduce you to our biblical role models in a way you might find startling, challenging, and probably not to your grandmother's liking. In this book, you will meet:

• Moses - eighty-year-old freedom fighter
• Elijah - nuking the pagans
• Deborah - kicking ass and taking names
• Hosea - not family friendly
• Samuel - the only hope in a desperate hour
• Amos - sticking it to the man
• Anna and Simeon - God's tag team
• Jonah - mad as hell and running from God
• And a dozen more

We’ve lost touch with what it meant to encounter a prophet, or to be one. Let’s take a fresh look at the familiar prophets in our Bible. Every single one has a message for us in our lives today, because that’s how God rolls. He’s a multi-tasker, and the Bible is one of his main tools in speaking to us. Those very same prophets aren’t just for everyone who came before. They’re for us, too. These ancient, Hebrew prophets can help bring us closer to God’s love and his purpose in our lives — right here, right now.

I'm really excited about this book. I can't tell you how I've come to love the prophets while I was writing about them. It turns out they're not just a bunch of grumpy-pants who want to yell at us. Eighteen good prophets. One bad one. And every single one can help you today in very concrete ways.

It comes out March 31, though, of course, you can order it now.

And I'll have a giveaway so stay tuned for that!

Excerpts available here:

• Jonah: Mad as Hell and Running from God — part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
• Deborah: Kicking Ass and Taking Names — part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

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And I just discovered, checking the copyright page of my own copy, that it scored an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. All of which are official declarations that it is free from doctrinal or moral error.

Of course, if you've been reading the excerpts you know that doesn't mean they are agreeing with all of my takeaways and opinions — but we're totally starting from the right place in looking at these prophets.


Here are a few people who've had an advance look and liked it enough to say so.

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Here is Julie Davis at her best: reading stories and telling stories. She knows that narrative is the lifeblood of a family. She shows us where we fit in God’s grand scheme. The words of the prophets were music and poetry when they were first delivered. They hit the heart with a wallop — in this retelling they still do. Highly recommended. – Mike Aquilina, executive vice-president, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Julie Davis is inviting us to take a walk on the wild side of the life of faith by investigating the prophets — those major and minor “Mouths of God” — who populate scripture. Davis’ wit and the casual accessibility of her language make this a galloping read that is both fun and intelligent. Spending time with the prophets was never so painless. – Elizabeth Scalia, Editor-at-Large, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, Author of Little Sins Mean a Lot

Julie Davis offers an innovative perspective on a time-honored but often misunderstood tradition in our Church. Accessibly executed with terrific storytelling and useable takeaways, this book helps us learn ever-current lessons from ancient prophets, while keeping our hearts open to new encounters with modern prophetic opportunities. – Lisa M. Hendey, Author of I Am God's Storyteller

Julie Davis’s latest book is an energetic, wise, and utterly delightful look at the Biblical prophets, a guide that explores why these holy men and women are relevant today and why they are so important in the development of our own spiritual lives. Thus Sayeth the Lord not only informs, it entertains and inspires. – Gary Jansen, author of Life Everlasting and MicroShifts: Transforming Your Life One Step at a Time

If you've run screaming from the Old Testament prophets, but you have a niggling idea that there has to be something there, this is the book for you. If you find yourself wondering why those OT guys are such a hot deal, this book is for you. If you like diving into scripture so deeply that you float inside and laugh outside, this book is for you. Julie Davis has successfully and artfully woven together what we know, put it in context, and jumped in with both laughs. Enjoy! - Sarah Reinhard, author and blogger, SnoringScholar.com

I hear all the time how the prophets of the Old Testament are a vast treasury waiting to be unlocked, but I've never been able to find the key. Thankfully, Julie Davis has come to the rescue with her book Thus Sayeth The Lord. Finally, I have a way to approach and appreciate the prophets that is clear, accessible, and captivating! – Tommy Tighe, author of The Catholic Hipster Handbook and Catholic Hipster: The Next Level

Hannah & Rose discuss high school romance, the ravages of cancer, and ...

... how to woo the most obnoxious boy in school as they watch A Walk to Remember (2002) on More is More bad movie podcast. It's the perfect bad love movie for Valentine's Day!

Coffee, Two Creams

Coffee, Two Creams; Duane Keiser

The Destiny of the World

The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.

Harold C. Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare, Vo. 2

Listen Up: Bix Banderson Vs. The Universe

The biggest, baddest, most-all consuming Cosmic Empire ever known is about to meet its match:

An eleven-year-old Earth Boy, on the run from summer camp.

Decoder Ring Theatre presents Bix Banderson Vs. The Universe, an intergalactic adventure par excellence.

I've enjoyed Decoder Ring Theatre for a long time, specifically for the noir-style adventures of Black Jack Justice and girl detective Trixie Dixon. Gregg Taylor writes and presents all-new audio adventures in the tradition of the classic programs of radio's Golden Age. They are full-length, full-cast tales of mystery and adventure.

Right now, I've been enjoying the adventures of Bix Banderson. Cleverly playing on a lot of the tropes we know from science fiction, Bix Banderson is both an adventure and comedy. It is really well done and perfect for both kids and adults.

Their website is here. And you can find them on iTunes or other podcast providers.

Imaginative literature and our reactions

Who has not caught some odd resemblance in an ink blot — to a tree, or a lizard, or a map of Florida? A Swiss psychologist has devised a personality test based on the "reading" of especially receptive ink blots prepared in advance. You tell what you see int he blots and unconsciously you expose your innermost self. The psychologist need not have taken all that trouble. The supreme imaginative literature of the world is a survival of the fittest ink blots of the ages, and nothing reveals a man with more precision than his reaction to it.

Harold Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare, vol. 1

Anemones in a Vase

Leon Jan Wyczolkowski, Anemones in a Vase
via Arts Everyday Living

Black Woodpecker

Black Woodpecker, Remo Savisaar

We want the definite ...

To our age anything Delphic is anathema. We want the definite. As certainly as ours is a time of the expert and the technician, we are living under a dynasty of the intellect, and the aim of the intellect is not to wonder and love and grow wise about life, but to control it.

Harold Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare, vol. 1

Gospel of Matthew: Building on Rock

Matthew 7:24-29

The practicalities of how Galilee is physically situated shed interesting light on this parable. Martin's comments make me think about how this also ties in with Jesus' previous words cautioning against taking "the broad and easy way."

Illustration by "Miss Stevenson", Bell Rock Lighthouse

24 ... The Greek word for wise could also be translated as "prudent" (see 24:45); this man's prudence lay in his choice of a site to build his house (real estate has always been a matter of location, location, location). Galilee is dotted with limestone hills covered by an uneven layer of soil. Houses commonly had stone walls; an outcropping of rock provided a stable base for such walls. This wise builder picked a site where he could build his house on rock.

25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. The rocky hills of Galilee do not readily absorb rain; a heavy rainfall can become a flood of water crashing down hillsides and filling ravines. A stone house built on rock can withstand floods and windstorms.

Jesus says that those who listen to his teachings and act on them, "will be like" (verse 24) a wise builder whose house withstands a storm; the phrase "will be like" points to something that will happen in the future. Prophets used storms as an image for God's judgment (Isaiah 28:2; 29:6); 30:30; Exek 13:10-16). Jesus is again speaking of the last judgment (see verses 13-14, 19, 21-23), now by means of a comparison or parable. Those who take Jesus' words to heart and act on them will withstand God's judgment, just as a house built on rock withstands a storm.

26 And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. Rain flushed soil and sand down from hills to the floors of valleys and ravines, providing some temptingly level places to build a house. A foolish builder might choose such a site, laying the lowest course of house walls directly on sand.

27 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. Storm runoff surged against the house, washing way the sand beneath its walls and undermining them, and the house collapsed and was completely ruined. Just as a house built on sand will collapse in a flood so those who do not live according to Jesus' teachings will face utter ruin at the last judgment.

Quote is from Bringing the Gospel of Matthew to Life by George Martin. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel (1578), Hans Hoffmann

Men of the ages and the unconscious mind

Only very ingenious persons will think that the wise men of the ages did not know of the existence of the unconscious mind because they did not call it by that name or formulate its activities in twentieth-century terms.

Harold C. Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare, vol. 1