War, however, is no longer the desperate, annihilating struggle that it was in the early decades of the twentieth century. It is a warfare of limited aims between combatants who are unable to destroy one another, have no material cause for fighting and are not divided by any genuine ideological difference. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four The…
walking by faith
this year’s discipleship program has been very challenging. not only has it been challenging to get all of the work done, it has also been personally challenging, yet fulfilling, to realize how much God wants to do with His people. i feel encouraged and want to let God use me. but this book will not…
El Enamoramientos [The Infatuations]: Javier Marías
The worst thing that can happen to anyone, worse than death itself, and the worst thing one can make others do, is to return from the place from which no one returns, to come back to life at the wrong time, when you are no longer expected, when it’s too late and inappropriate, when the…
stories of 2013
each year as new year’s day approaches, billions of us instinctively reflect on our lives and appraise ourselves. in that appraisal, we often find ourselves wanting. for some of us, this conclusion is certainly borne out by the evidence; for most of us, this conclusion is an exaggeration intended as self-motivation; for some of…
Reflections on “The Pale King”
Given the size of the book and the immensity of its author, this will be a brief reflection. The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace, was an adventure. It was a book that reminded me why I read fiction. Not necessarily to be entertained, because this book was not entertaining. I determined to read more…
Ma Jian–The Dark Road
While returning from a trip to the UK for research, I committed to finishing Ma Jian’s The Dark Road. Not only was this book very, very dark, but it gave voice to faceless men and women whose individual stories we can never hope to know. Let me just say that, God knows their names. He…
two unexpected pleasures: Nagaland to the heartland
i had the opportunity recently to pick up a couple more books towards my goal of 12 fiction books this year. i had fallen off the pace quite a bit, but it may still be possible for me to finish. in october/november, i’ve read “an outline of the republic” by siddhartha deb, and “fallen land”…
Thoughts from my trip to ESREL Amsterdam
Some quick thoughts that hadn’t occurred to me on prior trips to Europe: One: our reputation as a violent society may be harming us in ways we can’t quantify. While I’d never heard anyone express to me trepidation at relocating, or even visiting, the US because of crime, this trip I met two separate professionals…
Bring Him What You Have
[I originally posted these thoughts on my running blog. I’m sharing them here a couple weeks later.] Yesterday I was reading in Matthew and came to the Scripture in which Jesus is walking on water out to the disciples near Genessaret. But just before that, he had been teaching all day and felt compassion on…
Water for the soul
Those who may have followed this blog for some time may be predicting that I am about to jump into some Christian reflection. At this point, I am sorry to disappoint your expectations. Instead, I’d like to share with you a goal I have for myself during the upcoming year: to read 12 fiction books…