Adorning the Dark, A Book Recommendation by Brenda Leyland

Adorning the Dark
Thoughts on Community, Calling, and
the Mystery of Making

____________________________

Author: Andrew Peterson

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, 2019

Length: 200 pages

Paperback: $22.95Cdn | Kindle: $9.34Cdn

Subject: creative writing | creation (literary, artistic, etc.) | spiritual gifts

"Making something beautiful in a broken world

can be harrowing work. And it can't be done alone."
ANDREW PETERSON 

From the first glance, I knew it was going to be a treat to read Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson. That quote above, found on the back cover, resonated and pulled me in. The author, also a singer-songwriter, was new to me but the book promised a rich spiritual and literary experience. And that’s how it turned out to be upon reading it.

Part memoir and part handbook, the author delved into his own personal experiences and struggles starting out as a songwriter. In exploring the process and mystery of creativity, he assured readers the book was not just for musicians, but for people everywhere who have that inward calling, the deep desire to create beauty in a broken world. He also believes for that to happen, artists need a community that will help to 'nourish good and lasting work'. He talked about artists needing ‘resonators’, an idea Andrew gleaned from Diana Pavlac Glyer in her book Bandersnatch—a resonator being that person "who gets what you’re trying to do, who is moved by your work and will encourage you to keep fighting when the battle is long".

One area that artists often struggle with is the feeling of being unqualified to follow their deep desire to create. Andrew dedicated a chapter to the lesson he learned from J.S. Bach. When Bach began a new musical work, he would write ‘Jesu Juva’ at the top of his manuscripts. In Latin the words mean ‘Jesus, help!’ Peterson reminded his readers they’d be fools not to ask for aid. He considered there’s no better prayer for an artist to pray than "Jesus, you're the source of beauty, help us make something beautiful."

Andrew tells the story of how he used to hope one day to nail down the 'secret formula' to writing a great song, to make his future writing easier, less painful. One day after coming through a hard session with success, he thought he had it. But, according to his tale, the supposed formula so clear one minute faded away the next. Amnesia set in, as he discovered the next time he picked up his guitar or opened the notebook, he did so with fear and trembling, unsure how to proceed. He felt he was starting from ground zero. He mused, ‘It’s a wonder anything ever gets done.’ Ha, as a writer, I’m relieved I'm not the only one; it seems to be part of the mystery of creating.

Adorning the Dark is a joy to read. His writing flows like music—sometimes words sing off the page. I do like how Andrew shares what he’s learned from other well-known creatives, some who also resonate with me—not only J.S. Bach, but Dorothy Sayers, Madeleine L'Engle, Seamus Heaney, Rich Mullins, Mary Oliver, Frederick Buechner, to name a few. Andrew makes it clear that no one can make something beautiful for this broken world, alone. Artists need the community of others.

Not only is Andrew Peterson a successful Nashville singer/songwriter and fantasy novelist, he is the founder of The Rabbit Room, a ministry that ‘fosters Christ-centered community and spiritual formation through music, story, and art’. You’ll learn more on his website here: andrew-peterson.com/rabbit-room.

A long-time InScribe member, Brenda Leyland writes from her home in Alberta, Canada. Inspired by beauty, she connects with readers at It's A Beautiful Life and on Facebook.

A New Thing by Susan Barclay

New life, from the ashes

This is certainly a very different spring than any we have experienced in our lifetimes. Don't you agree? Has there ever been a more apt moment to recall the words of Charles Dickens as he writes the opening to A Tale of Two Cities?:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Coronavirus, Covid-19, pandemic, plague. Call it what you want, it has certainly brought us to the threshold of a brand new world. I hesitate to call it brave, though there are certainly shining examples of bravery from our front-line workers, those who seek to bring health and wholeness to the sick, weak and vulnerable, those who are doing their part to maintain essential services, and those who are being called upon to lead and govern at such a time. 

There are among us those who declare we are at the beginning of the end, that these are the last days, that it won't be long now before we have a cashless society, a one-world government. While we don't know the day or the hour - and can't - God tells us in His Word to look at what is going on and recognize the seasons (see Luke 21:5-36). Even though we're not to set dates (we only look, and are, foolish when we try), we're not to be ignorant or stick our heads in the sand. We're to be ready when Jesus comes for His bride, at all times watching, waiting, and eager (see Luke 12).

I'll be honest. I don't know if we're on the cusp of the seven-year Tribulation or not. Psalm 90:4 and Peter 3:8 both say that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. From personal experience and Bible stories we know that our God is patient and long-suffering. We also know that at some point the end of the world will come. God is faithful to His Word and He has said that things will not go on as they have forever. His plans will be accomplished; He will bring His original creation to a conclusion and make a new heaven and a new earth. All will be righteously judged.

Regardless of whether or not this world will continue for a short time or a long time, I believe there is little doubt among believers that God is doing a new thing. Some would say He is shaking the earth, trying to get people's attention. I wouldn't disagree with this assessment though there are people in my own household who still resist the good news and persist in rebellion. Thank God for those  whose eyes and hearts are turning toward Jesus. And may God continue the hidden work He is doing in my children, the evidence of which I cannot yet see... 

It's also possible that God is demonstrating His patience with us, that He is using this crisis not just to get our attention but to bring renewal to our planet. I have read, for example, that pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have decreased as a direct result of efforts to control the spread of the virus, and I imagine that wildlife populations are having a chance to return from the brink of extinction or endangerment, and that habitats are being restored. Perhaps God isn't bringing the world to an end just yet, but revitalizing it so there is more time for prodigals and unbelievers to be saved. After all, He doesn't desire that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He made us in His image; He loves and cares for us.

Father, thank You for keeping us safe under Your wings. Thank You for Your love for us. You never leave us nor forsake us. Since You are for us, who, or what, can be against us? Thank You for the new thing You are doing in the world even through this pandemic. We all want it to end and many of us are praying for that, but I can't help feeling that if it ends too soon, we may all just go back to our old untenable and unsustainable habits. So Your timing, Lord. Your perfect timing. Help us to change in the ways that we need to. Help us to follow Your ways.

We ask also, God, that You would be with those who are particularly vulnerable, those who have immune deficiencies, diabetes, asthma. Give them special protection. Be with those who are in quarantine or in places like nursing homes where they can't receive precious visits from family. Comfort them with Your presence and reassure them of Your love. Be with those on the front lines, those working to bring health and wholeness to the sick, those racing to find an antidote or a vaccine. Strengthen them, give them wisdom and insight, keep them in health and peace. Be with those who know You and soften the hearts of those who don't.

May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Lord. Thank You that You are doing a new thing, whatever it is. Thank You that You are God and we are not. You are sovereign over all things, and all-wise. Thank You that we can trust You. Amen.
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You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

Breathing in Spring at Easter by Lynn J Simpson

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27

There's a greenhouse just a five minute drive from my home. Not a greenhouse in a traditional sense as it is open year around with a restaurant serving organic greens and gluten-free treats, and gift galleries that change with the calendar celebrations.

Christmas time fills the floor with decorative trees and already overflowing shelves with ornaments, wreaths, and garland.

Approaching Valentine's Day more red and white candles, silk and real roses rest on bursting shelves of trinkets, jewels, and framed mottos.

At Easter, pops of pastel colours normally adorn the interior design with baby blue vases, soft pink stuffed bunnies, and sun set orange ribboned baskets.

Last year at this time, I remember walking past all this splendour in the greenhouse into another room unseen from the entry. And all my senses refreshed in a humidity that seemed to steam from the hundreds of cacti plants that rested on shelves against the walls, stood in tall pots in the corners, and were aesthetically arranged on round tables creating a centre aisle.

And I breathed.

I breathed in this place where not a ribbon or jewel or ornament occupied.

I stepped slowly scanning the various cactus plants, some barely two inches in length, some warped in their roundness, others gangly in their tallness. Some bodies plentiful with spines, others edged with scattered thorns.



And it was all so beautiful, in it's rawness, it's unadorned form.

What was it that drew me to this place where beauty and refreshment comes from the misshapen, the undressed? Where symmetry isn't and where thorns are exposed?

Maybe it was the stirring in me from a restlessness for that perfect place of ancestry, in a Garden where all was perfect, nothing hidden until tampered by temptation.

Maybe it was the stirring in me to remember, to be, to come exposed, scars, wounds, prickles, and thorns, no adornments that mask.

Because we are all so most beautiful, my darling, in our raw, unadorned form.

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Song of Songs 4:7

Hallelujah, everyone

Everyone can come to the cross

It doesn't matter what you've done

Everyone can come to the cross

Come to the Cross by Michael W. Smith 

Lynn J. Simpson understands the need

for creating spaces for rest, renewal, and

transformation. She’s rarely without her

camera, capturing breathing spaces to

share. She’s published Breathing Spaces: A

21-Day Journal of Rest, Reflection and Renewal

and 30-Day Journal of Thankfulness,

Success & Joy, and contributed to Short

and Sweet Too (Grace Publishing, 2017).

Read Lynn’s musings on faith, hope, and

love on her blog (lynnjsimpson.com).

A Higher Perspective by Sandi Somers

Image by Pinterest

A month ago I prepared my blog for April, and then the world turned upside down as the Covid-19 pandemic burst upon us. Then on a personal level, my nephew Kevin passed away suddenly on March 18 of a massive heart attack.

Before all this happened, I was asked to write a devotional for our church’s Holy Week meditation, based on the Biblical lectionary readings.  The verse that caught my attention is a lesser-known quote of Jesus during the Last Supper with His disciples:

“The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him” (John 13:31).

Little did I know how much this devotional would speak to our world situation and my own need! (Thank you for your Lenten meditations in March which also ministered in my grief during this time!)

I share the devotional with you.

A Higher Perspective.

Image by Pinterest

Astronaut Chris Hadfield gazed down at the earth from the International Space Station in 2012-2013. He said later, “There was the Sahara, there was Lake Victoria and the Nile, snaking all the way up to the Mediterranean. Explorers gave their lives trying to find the source of the Nile, but I could detect it with a casual glance.”

 Hadfield's view of the earth is a vivid metaphor to describe the difference in view between Jesus and his disciples during His last hours on earth. While Jesus told them of His anticipation and glory on returning to His Father, the disciples were still fixated on their idea that Jesus would establish a kingdom on earth.

 During the next hours, how could the disciples square everything that contradicted their expectations of Jesus, as he gave Himself to those who betrayed, mocked, beat and crucified Him? They couldn't, because they didn't understand His higher perspective. They understood only later when they saw the risen Christ and received His commission to carry on His work.

 This difference in perspective speaks to us when our world comes crashing down. We experience hardship, pain and loss. We wrestle with what can appear to have no connection between our quandary and the faithfulness of God.

 God speaks into the outlook we need. "My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts," God told Isaiah (55:9). God knows the whole purpose of His plan, and we don't. He calls us to look beyond the complications of life and lift our gaze to His higher intentions. He will give us meaning in our brokenness and will strengthen our faith as we believe in the goodness of God.

How can you choose to praise God in the middle of a crisis?

How can you determine to trust God's higher perspectives and so glorify Him?

~ ~ ~

What Does Coronavirus Mean?

Painting by
Luigi Sabatelli 1772-1850

The word corona means “crown” in Latin. Under extreme magnification, the virus looks like a thorny crown; therefore, it is—quite literally—the thorny crown virus. This is Satan’s destructive counterfeit of Jesus’ crown. (Is it any coincidence that the virus is gaining/ becoming more vicious and worldwide during Lent and leading up to Easter—in an attempt to further take away the world’s attention from Jesus’ crucifixion and Resurrection?) Let us pray that God would strip this virus of its crown, end the pandemic and bring spiritual renewal.

Several years ago I discovered the background to the song, O Sacred Head Now Wounded which has a long history. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) wrote the lyrics, and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed the music. I love its deep meaning brought down to us through the centuries.

~ ~ ~

On Holy Week and Easter Sunday

For the rest of my blog which I prepared a month ago, I’m inviting you to engage in links to readings and music. (The readings from our bloggers come from our Easter theme in previous years.)

Marnie Pohlmann wrote about the events in Jesus’ life during each day of Holy Week, and then asked questions about her own walk with Christ.

In one of my sources for Lent, Peter Giersch helps us prepare for the evening of Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday morning, the time when the entire church year focuses like a laser beam on the center point of the Gospels: the passion and resurrection of Jesus.

Good Friday

Painting of himself by Rembrandt

Good Friday focuses our thoughts on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. From the Slice of Infinity (devotions from the Ravi Zacharias ministries), the writer discusses our pain in light of Jesus’ sacrifice  

Glynis Belec approached the death of Jesus from Mary’s perspective and her own as a mother in Awaiting Resurrection From a Mother’s Heart 

Bob Jones blogged about Jesus’ last words on the cross and how we can find hope and courage in these eternal words.

Holy Saturday

While we often consider Saturday as “the day in between,” Sharon Espeseth shared how the liturgy on Holy Saturday makes the transition from Lent to Easter, from the solemnity to eucharisteo of joy and thanksgiving.

Easter Resurrection Sunday

Image by Pinterest

Steph Beth Nickel brought the significance of Jesus’ resurrection into our lives and the lives of our loved ones in her blog, Waiting for a Miracle of Two. 

God bless you during this time.