The Joy of Reading

I have this thing about books... I love to read!  But, how in the world have I been able to read 61 books this year!  More than any other year of my adult life.

Well, I have had a lot of down time this year.  Business was very slow at the shop (the recession has finally hit the flea markets too, which is really drastic)... so, that meant less funds to buy inventory to place in the shop.  I had to make do with what I had already or with what friends who were downsizing gave me.

Since I didn't have to deal with a lot of inventory, I had more time to read.  Because I have a bookshop as part of my space, I have a ready supply of books to choose from.  My cup runneth over!

My books come to me in different ways: I buy them, or I give a customer 1 free book for 3 of theirs, or kind and generous people leave bags of books in my shop.  Often I have no idea who have given me these books; but you can be sure that I am truly grateful for them.

I believe people appreciate a friendly vendor and keep coming back to buy from them; and think of them when they are in the process of downsizing, whether they be books or collectibles.  I am always happy when one of my customers comes by and asks, "Do you think you can use any of this stuff?"  I always say yes... and tell them that if I cannot use something, I will take it to the local Goodwill store.

Anyhow, as I was thinking about my books, I was also recalling paintings that I have seen with reading books as the focal point.  Here are some of what I found...  I hope you enjoy looking at them.  I think they are beautiful, especially the "Lady in Brown" by Chase.      

"Lady in Brown" - William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)

no title given - Helen Maria Turner (1858-1958)

"A Girl Reading Indoors" - Vanessa Bell (1879-1961)

"Girl with Book" - Bartholomeus Van der Helst (1613-1670)

"Miss Auras" - John Lavery (1856-1941)

"Alice in Wonderland" - George Dunlop Leslie (1835-1921)

"Woman Reading" - Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

"Good Book" - Laura Fatta

"Woman Reading" - Peter Worsley (1929-)

"Girl Reading" - George Cochran Lambdin (1830-1896) 

"In the Garden Reading" - Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

Rembrandt's Mother - Gerard Dou

Advent at St. E's

For the past several years, my parish places a bare tree to the right of our sanctuary.  We call it our Jesse Tree though we do not place the normal religious symbols on the tree.  Our idea for our tree is different.  We tie leaves on the tree with the names of people we wish to pray for during Advent.  Here is how we go about it.

One of our parishioners agrees to search for an appropriate tree.  It needs to be a young tree with plenty of branches that people can reach fairly easily, but it can't be too tall or bushy so that it looks tacky.  The tree's trunk needs to fit into a bucket of rocks that hold it in place.  I've provided the rocks and bucket.

Next, someone needs to cut out leaves from construction paper, or as I did this year, buy some garlands of Fall leaves from the craft store.  I simply cut the leaves from the garland and tied ribbon through each one and then stuck a strip of adhesive tape on each leaf so that parishioners could write on it, the names of the people they were holding in prayer this Advent.

Because we are a small parish, I only prepared about 125 of these leaves.  They were placed in a basket on a table in the rear of the church so the hospitality ministers could pass them out as people came in for Mass.  In the days before the First Sunday of Advent, the family that usually decorates the church, set the tree up in the sanctuary.

Last year, we had used construction paper leaves that had the names of children in need of prayer written on them.  We had used the leaves in other ways during the past year so we were hesitant to throw them away.  So, the old leaves were placed on the highest branches of the tree so that those children could continue to be prayed for during this Advent as well.

On the First Sunday of Advent, our priest spoke about the meaning of our tree during his homily and said he had written the names of his elderly parents on his leaf and when he ended his homily, he attached his leaf to the tree.  Our parishioners then left the pews and did the same.  The basket still has unused leaves in it so that parishioners who could not attend the First Sunday will still be able to place their names on the tree when they return.

This prayer for our people has become a meaningful tradition at my parish and I hope it will continue..
   
 

~ Bare Tree II by Norman Wyatt, Jr.

Gospel Choir 21st Anniversary Concert

The Gospel Choir of which I am a long-time member (more than 30 years actually) will hold its 21st Anniversary Concert tomorrow afternoon.  We have rehearsed long for this day.  We have learned three new gospel songs, only one of which we might be able to use again by adapting it.  Most of the music we learn for these concerts cannot be used at Mass.

We have invited several other Gospel choirs to celebrate with us:  The Gospel Voices of Glen Allen - The Maggie L. Walker Alumni Gospel Choir - The Men of Goodwill - Holy Rosary Catholic Church Choir - Redeemed Ministry - Special Guest Musicians - and a Flag Ministry.

Here is the music we have learned:

Our God is an Awesome God

My God is Awesome

Let the Church say "Amen"


I am aware that few of my readers may be interested in this music, but who knows...   At any rate, WE love the music... and are looking forward to a festive afternoon, singing in praise of our awesome God!

The Sound of Music

I was thinking about the sound of music.  How we hear it and how we listen to it can reveal a bit about our relationship with God.

We hear a favorite piece of music and become totally engrossed in it.  Each part, its tune, its words, bring us joy and delight.  Often we have to play or sing it over again.  We can't get enough of it because it has touched our heart and soul.

At other times, we try to listen to the music but because our mind wanders to concerns and issues in our lives, we forget about the music.  The sounds die away and we are no longer conscious of them.

Perhaps most times, we live our lives with background music.  We go about our lives with all our joys and struggles, aware of the lovely tune in the background.  We are comforted by its continuous presence.  The melody keeps calling us and drawing us toward it.

Lord, I think you are this melody.  The music that we love... that engrosses us... that we become immersed in.

And yet, many times we lose track of you... through sin or because we are simply overcome by the struggles of our lives.  We become distracted and thoughts of your love fade away.  That is when we need to be reconciled to you so that we can hear the melody once more.

Hopefully, most of our lives are spent with an awareness of your presence with us.  That as we go about our tasks and deal with the issues and problems in our lives, we trust in and listen to your melody that never ceases.  A melody that brings us joy and comfort.

Lord, allow us to become part of that melody so that we can sing your praises forever.



 ~ Image: Angel playing lute (1506) by Albrecht Dürer

      

It's a Puzzlement!

It's a puzzlement!  What to do... what to do...  About five or six years ago, I put together our parish's website... I am strictly an amateur at website building.  However, since we are a small parish, the site was unique and served its purpose.  I bought the name and I renew it each year as part of my contribution to my parish.

Recently, a new parishioner who is a professional web designer arrived and offered to build a new website for the parish.  All that was perfect timing for me, because of a changing family situation, I no longer have the time to devote to updating the site.  He is doing a fine job and has brought lots of interesting additions to the new site.

But here is my problem:  In addition to building the website those years ago, I was also asked to set up a blog by our priest at the time so that parishioners could write reflections on the homilies and readings we heard every Sunday.  The person writing the reflection that week would send it to me and I would find the perfect picture or image to go with what was written and then I would place the article on the blog.  I really loved doing this and people enjoyed it.  

Now, the web designer wants to incorporate the blog into the new website.  This is not a bad idea on the surface because it will bring more readers into the mix and more information into the blog.  BUT, all those five or six years worth of previous articles/photographs will probably be lost.  This is what hurts my heart!  Plus, the web designer is adding his own headers (pics) to the blog articles and wants to leave my pics out.  This also hurts my heart since I have spent a lot of time finding just the right image for the articles people write.  His issue with my pics are the low resolutions I use.

Soooo, what to do?  Actually, the reflections have changed since the original priest left.  He always had a special take on the readings and so the articles were really exemplary.  Our most recent priest had a different style altogether which made it difficult to write about what he had to say.  Our new priest's style is also not the same...  As the years have gone by, it has ended up that I am writing most of the articles since people have gotten older and less willing to write.  So, my questions are:

Should I abandon the old blog or continue to write for it and have the designer transfer the articles to the new website/blog?

Since I love to write these reflections, should I just place them on this blog and concentrate on this one and let the new parish blog exist on its own?

I can't seem to think clearly about this issue, so I would love to have some input from my readers...



Image from wallpapers shop

Plantings

One of the joys of Springtime for me is to go to one of the box stores like Home Depot and buy bedding plants for my hanging baskets and pots.

Notice I said nothing about buying seed packets or fertilizer...  Long ago I gave up on flower beds and starting plants from seed.  I am much too lazy and impatient to spend time with sowing, weeding, planting and so on.

The instant results of seeing the plants blooming in the baskets and pots are what I look forward to and take joy in.

This reminds me of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians where he speaks about faith in Chapter 3, verse 6:  "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it but God made it grow."  I am like Apollos who takes over after the seed is planted.

Probably most things in life are accomplished by a group effort.  And over time...  Our part may be small but each part is important to the whole.  And then it must be left to God to be completed.

Paul planted the seed of faith in Corinth, but in time Paul had to leave because he was needed elsewhere.  The nurturing of that faith was left to Apollos, but in the end, it took God's grace to make the people's faith grow.

We are reminded that we are a community of believers who take joy in seeing our faith flower.  We thank God for the gift He has given us.  The seed may have been planted long ago, but it required the example and nurturing of others to help it come to fruition.



 Image Source Saunders Brothers

    

For my Reading Pleasure

I love to read!  Always have and hope to continue for many years to come.  My sons are readers also and for many years some of us have kept track of the books we've read through the year.  I'm not a speed reader or a skimmer... I just plod along page by page...

At this point in my life I read only for the momentary enjoyment of it.  I don't read to retain what I have read.  My brain is suffering from information overload already, so if I tried to remember everything I read, my brain would collapse!  Consequently, since I don't have to take a test on what I have read, I can read many more books!  I usually have several books going at one time; one to read at my flea market shop, and generally a couple at home.  One of my spaces at the flea market is a book shop.  I have about 3000 books, so I have an endless supply of reading material!

I read fiction for the most part.  I enjoy murder and mayhem; spy novels, adventure, some historical fiction.  Favorite authors include James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, James Grisham, Robert Ludlum, David Baldacci and others.  I have also read many of the classic novels that are on that type of reading list, including the classic sci-fi novels.

So far this year, I have read about 28 books.  Because business has been slow at my flea market shop, it has given me more time to read.  Here is a listing of the books I have read so far this year:

1. The Borgia Bride ~ jeanne kalogridis
2. An Occasion of Sin ~ andrew m. greeley
3. The Little Black Cat Book ~ david taylor
4. A Good Woman ~ danielle steel
5. The Dome ~ stephen king
6. Mother of Pearl ~ melinda haynes
7. Step on a Crack ~ james patterson
8. Another City, Not My Own ~ dominick dunne
9. Scarpetta ~ patricia cornwell
10. True Blue ~ david baldacci
11. Paradise ~ toni morrison
12. Forever ~ pete hamill
13. The Hot Zone ~ richard preston
14. The Prometheus Deception ~ robert ludlum
15. Fire and Ice ~ j. a. jance
16. The Priest's Graveyard ~ ted dekker
17. The Scarpetta Factor ~ patricia cornwell
18. The Gunslinger/The Tower ~ stephen king
19. Broken Wings ~ john douglas and mark olshaker
20. Five People You Meet in Heaven ~ mitch albom
21. White Smoke ~ andrew m. greeley
22. The Venetian Betrayal ~ steve berry
23. Captains Courageous ~ rudyard kipling
24. Digital Fortress ~ dan brown
25. Tick Tock ~ james patterson and michael ledwidge
26. Islands ~ anne rivers siddons
27. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter ~ carson mccullers
28. Book of the Dead ~ patricia cornwell

The best book I have read all year is "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"... an oldie but goodie!  Don't miss out on that one, if you have a chance to read it.  And be sure to read, "Cry, the Beloved Country" by alan paton which I read last year.

Some years I get beyond fiction and read biographies and history and some religious books.  They take more effort since one can't read those mindlessly as one can with fiction.  Anyhow, I enjoy what I read... and that's what counts!


 ~ "Reading" by Alverto Pisa (1854-1936)