The Master's Artist

To Whom it May Concern: Letters from the Ledge {a review}

Some authors manage to connect with huge audiences, but no author connects with everyone. Readers vary. They come to the page with a personal history, an education, a world view. They come seeking a specific experience -- escape perhaps, or entertainment, or enlightenment.

Some want action, romance, or suspense, and some want to meet a character who understands their deepest longings, fears, or sorrows. Some have short attention spans, and some love to linger long over exquisite passages, savoring the language as much as they do the story. Every reader is unique. And that's (one reason) why any review of any book should be taken as subjective.

That said, there are some objective questions that can be asked about any literary work. Does the writing style and content connect with the intended audience? Does the author accomplish what she set out to do? And that brings me to Letters from the Ledge by our own Lynda Meyers (aka, Madison Richards.)

Happy Phrase Day

You probably don't know this, but today is The First Annual International Phrase-a-Palooza. (We'll call it Phrase Day for short.) The reason you probably don't know this is because I just made it up. But that doesn't make Phrase Day any less a thing. Someone has to make these holidays up, and it might as well be me.

So, why Phrase Day?

I'm glad you asked. And the answer is simple.

It has everything to do with the long lobe of the liver.

Called by Name

Art is a strange calling. Most people appreciate it at least on some level, but there are plenty who would label it as non-essential. If society had to choose between, say, farmers and artists, or doctors and artists, it's an easy guess who would land on the street corner holding up a (gorgeously lettered) sign declaring, "Will paint/sing/dance/write for food."

I suppose it could be argued that we don't need art to survive, but that doesn't mean it's expendable.

Just ask Bezalel.

Giving Art

Happy December, everyone! Have you decked the halls yet? Trimmed the tree? Crammed activity into every inch of your calendar? Maxed out your credit cards? 'Tis the season!

For most people. But some of us are searching for a better way. You don't have to wander far in the bloggerhood to find lots of chatter about how to make Christmas meaningful without breaking the bank. More and more Christians are trying to escape the frenzy and find balance -- to keep the focus on Christ, enjoy the good, ditch the empty, and love our beloveds well.

In that spirit, here are a few ways you can give the gift of art.

Thanksgiving Blessing

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His steadfast love endures forever!

For you I pray

blessings of peace.

Blessings of laughter.

Blessings of gratitude

abounding in

generosity.

Blessings on your table,

on you and

your children,

on the works of your hands

and the fruit of your labors,

on the poor

and the sojourner

He sends your

way.

 

Wishing you and yours

a day of feasting with joy,

of genuine thanks spoken,

of sharing good gifts

with those you love

and with those

who lack.

 

Who am I, O Lord God,

and what is my house,

that you have brought me thus far?

Our help is in the Name of the Lord

Who made heaven and earth.

 

* * *

And you shall not strip your vineyard bare,

neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard.

You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner:

I am the Lord your God.

* * *

Jeanne Damoff is thankful for many gifts, including the wonderful privilege of celebrating art week after week with you. Next Thursday she'll be back with suggested ways you can give art for Christmas this year. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Social Munchies: A Story of Relinquishment

Once upon a time there was a boy who wanted to make the world a better place. He knew there were millions of starving people, but what could he do to help? 

Then one day he heard about a great teacher. Everyone said this teacher was an expert on saving the world, and he'd be speaking on the outskirts of town the very next day. The boy tossed some essentials in a pack and joined hundreds of other people who were making their way to the site.

When they finally arrived, thousands had already gathered. The boy was a little worried he wouldn't be able to hear, but everyone respected this teacher, and the hillside provided great acoustics.

The man opened his mouth to speak, and a hush fell over the crowd.

This Little Piggy: A Look at Animal Farm

Do you enjoy the feeling that comes from knowing you've thoroughly researched a subject, but you don't have a lot of time to slog through piles of information?

Have I got the topic for you! Jeanne's Political Opinions. Go ahead. Google any combination of my name plus the name of any politician or political party or key political word. I didn't test this theory in advance, but I can almost guarantee it'll be slim pickings.

I don't write about politics for a number of reasons that you're probably no more interested in hearing than you would be my undisclosed political opinions. But today I will skate dangerously close to the subject.

My book group recently read and discussed Animal Farm by George Orwell. Did you know that Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four have together sold more copies than any two books by any other twentieth-century author? It's true. And now that we're wading into the 2012 campaign and election season, I think we would do well to explore some of the reasons for this little classic's enduring popularity.

(In a non-confrontational, Jeanne doesn't write about politics sort of way. Of course.)

The beauty of fractured glass (the rest of the story)

In July I wrote a "teaser" post about an upcoming musical release and told you I'd been asked to share our story for a companion project -- a series of videos intended to reassure hurting people that God is working out His beautiful purposes, even when life looks like a shattered mess.

Then I asked you to stay tuned for the rest of the story. 

 Well, here it is.

The Music of the Spheres, and the Number of Hairs on Your Head

Sometimes life overwhelms, and in an effort to keep all the plates spinning, it's easy to develop tunnel vision. We can't see past our own agenda, and we measure the success of any given day by whether or not we accomplished most of the items on our checklist before falling into bed exhausted, mind racing about the tasks looming tomorrow.

If that sounds familiar, it's not just you. It's also your next door neighbor and the people living one street over and folks on the other side of town and in the next town and the next state and the next country and the next continent -- multitudes frantically racing through life, each one convinced the world will end if his frenzied pace slackens. But guess what? 

It won't. And we weren't created to live this way.

Peace Song

One of my favorite ways to use this blog space is spotlighting talented artists who love Jesus, and today I want to introduce some delightful musicians who are new to me and may be new to you as well.

In June, Curtis and Grace's band JUBILEE played a concert with several other bands, and one of them was Kye Kye, a group comprised of Estonia-born siblings, Olga, Timothy, and Alex Yagolnikov, and Olga's husband, Tommy Phelan. When we visited Curtis and Grace in Seattle recently, we heard Kye Kye's latest CD, Young Love, and I was hooked.

Kye Kye's music is original, layered, and poetic. Olga's angelic vocals and harmonies remind me of another favorite sibling band, Eisley. And even a brief excursion into their story reveals a deep love for God and desire to magnify Him. I could say this, that, and the other, but your time is precious, and I want to get to the good stuff.

You need to hear this music.