Mar 31 2010
My graphic skills leave much to be desired, but thankfully my sister Deborah’s artwork is so gorgeous that even I can’t ruin it! This ad will be placed in a book of encouragement from homeschool graduates put together by Amy Puetz. I’m also contributing a chapter to the book.
Mar 29 2010
Soli Deo Gloria Ballet (meaning myself and eight cousins who dance, play various instruments, drive the tour van, and run sound) is currently on our Easter tour, which is not nearly so big a deal as Christmas, when we performed 22 times in 30 days. For Easter we are performing a 30-minute ballet called Glorious Day, which goes song-by-song through the events of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday and ends with a Casting Crowns’ song celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and our redemption.
We premiered it yesterday at our home church. While I was waiting backstage for my first cue to come out and narrate (“Glorious day! Day that shines, day that lives forever, day that means eternity!”), I was praying that the Lord would come and be among us. That His presence would be felt; that we would know what it means that He is alive. And as I prayed I felt a strong sense of longing for Him, a yearning that in itself almost seems to bring God nearer.
Longing is a theme I play on a lot in the Seventh World books. I’m dealing with it again as I write Virginia’s story in The Advent, because she’s one of the only characters in the trilogy who has actually experienced the King’s presence, and she’s forever filled with longing to be there again.
In my own life, that strong yearning is sometimes “rewarded” with a stronger sense of God’s presence. But sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes I just have that beautiful ache inside. But the truth is, I’d rather have it than not.
I’ve come to the conclusion that longing for God is actually a gift. It’s like a wind blowing back from Eden, full of evocative scents and feelings we’ve almost forgotten. Longing is one of the things that keeps me going, even when life is difficult and my faith is tested.
Mar 26 2010
So having finished the first draft of The Advent back in December and subsequently touring a lot, I’m finally in the heavy revision stage of the second draft. So far I have done two things:
1. Rearranged everything. I didn’t like how tension and pacing were working out, so I basically cut the book into pieces and put it back together with the scenes in different places.
2. Discovered a whole new plot thread. I read a sentence about a character and suddenly realized that character needed a whole new plot thread. I probably wouldn’t have realized this if I hadn’t rearranged everything — the sentence’s new position in the story cast new light on it.
THAT is a lot like living. Routines are wonderful. They really are. They make us productive and useful and make sure we get enough sleep. But now and then things need shaking up, because you know what? When we rearrange a few things, we can see our lives in a different light and realize what we might be neglecting, what needs more attention, what beautiful stories are waiting for us to write them.
Mar 24 2010
Where and how are you educating yourself?
One of the tenets of my homeschooling upbringing was that school is everything, everywhere, all the time; you never stop learning. If you want an education in something specific, you just have to be deliberate about it.
From blogs and newsletters and history books and literature and style guides and dictionaries, I learn about publishing and grammar and language and marketing every single day, just about. That doesn’t mean I read EVERYTHING; part of getting a good education is realizing that you can’t possibly read every piece of information out there. You have to be discerning, get yourself on the right lists, pay attention to the right people.
Where are you getting your education?
Mar 22 2010
This morning I read John 15:9-12
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept the Father’s commandments, and abide in his love . . . This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
This isn’t works-based favour with God. It’s about living within a relationship instead of running away from it. The Prodigal Son didn’t lose his father’s love when he left home, but he certainly didn’t abide (dwell) in it. In the same way, if we want to dwell in Jesus’ love, living in close communion with Him and experiencing daily relationship with all its benefits, we need to keep His commandments.
What commandments, specifically? He pinpoints one: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Elsewhere Jesus calls this commandment a “new commandment.” And it is, because it is not quite the old commandment from the law that we remember — “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” No, this is different. This is a call to love each other as, in the same way, with the same passion Jesus does. Self-love is no longer our reference point; Jesus is.
In the very next verse He defines this kind of love in a way that leaves no room for watering down:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus’ call to relationship goes two ways. He calls us to abiding relationship with Him by way of relationship with each other — and to relationship with each other by way of His love.
I think it’s also significant that the verse doesn’t say “a man lay down his life for his wife,” or his children, or his parents, his nation, his cause, his master or king. In all of those relationships there’s a sense of duty and obligation, and in some cases of instinctive devotion (like that of a mother for a child). A secret service agent may lay down his life for the president, but love isn’t necessarily the driving force. But friendship is completely voluntary. There is no obligation in it — it’s love we freely choose. To lay down one’s life for a friend shows real love. And that’s the love Jesus is calling us to live by.
Mar 19 2010
Dear Rachel,
I’m getting ready to revise the first book of a story of mine, and I’d like your advice on the subject. My plan was to read through my draft and just enjoy it as a story, and then I would read through it again with pen in hand. Do you have any other suggestions?
Sincerely,
Elisabeth
How can I turn away one of Inklings’ faithful Elisabeths? I can’t, so I wrote her back with my usual revision process. I hope you find it helpful as well!
Hi Elisabeth!
When I revise I usually read, as you said, just to enjoy it as a story. But things WILL jump out at you that need fixing, so I write notes on the pages or keep a notebook beside me and write them there. For this first read I try to focus on story issues–characters that need deepening, scenes that aren’t working, continuity problems (like plot threads I started and forgot about), anything that doesn’t make logical sense, new ideas that come to me–all that sort of thing. I don’t get bogged down in the wording on that first read-through.
Once I’m done that, I make a master list of all my notes, and then I go through the book and work on each thing. Sometimes it just means rewriting a scene, sometimes it means checking every scene that involves a certain character or plot thread and tweaking it so the character or thread is strengthened. This is usually the longest and most involved part of revising.
Then I read the book again to make sure the changes are working.
After that, I read through again to tackle the words themselves. I usually stick earphones in my ears, turn on some kind of soundtrack music, and read the book out loud to myself, editing as I go.
Once that’s done, I send the whole thing off to a handful of beta readers who tell me what they think is wrong with the novel and what they like :). I make any changes I’m going to make based on their suggestions, and then I proofread the whole book one more time. A new trick I’ve just learned is to change the font for that final proofread. It will help you see the words differently so that errors will jump out.
Congratulations on reaching this stage of your writing! That’s exciting :).
Blessings!
Rachel
Mar 17 2010
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I love this holiday, not because of the green beer, but because it’s a reminder of God’s work among the Celts in bringing them the gospel. (As I have Scots and Irish roots, this matters to me.)
Patrick was a missionary from Scotland to Ireland. He was originally taken to Ireland as a pirate-abducted slave, spent several years tending pigs, and ran away in response to what he believed was God’s voice. After his return to Britain, he had a dream in which an Irish ruler called him back, saying, “We beseech thee, holy youth, come and live among us once more.”
Patrick answered the call, and the rest is history (well, history and folklore — this was a long time ago!). You can read the whole story in “The Confession of St. Patrick” at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library — here.
And before you go, one of my favourite pieces of poetry — a prayer attributed to St. Patrick.
The Shield of St. Patrick
Attributed to St. Patrick
Paraphrased by Cecil Frances AlexanderI bind this day to me forever by
power of faith Christ’s incarnation,
his baptism in the Jordan river,
his death on the cross for my salvation;
his bursting from the spiced tomb,
his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom I bind
unto myself today.I bind unto myself today the power of
God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to harken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward,
the Word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me;
Christ to comfort and restore me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three,
of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word;
praise to the God of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord!
Go mbeannaí Dia duit — may God bless you.
Mar 15 2010
Life is a great big balancing act. I can break any of the special domains of life into many smaller pieces that all have to be kept up at once. For instance, just today the special domain of work is broken into marking 13 student papers, editing one article and one biography for clients, maintaining an online presence (answering e-mail, blogging, marketing), and revising my own novel. Just today, the special domain of ministry involves an hour-long planning meeting this afternoon, practicing a song, and memorizing/revising narrations. The special domain of family means poking my head out of my office once in a while, connecting meaningfully over meals or conversations, planning visits to relatives who are farther away, participating in Sleep Camp. Then there’s friendship, health, relationship with God, education, finances . . .
No wonder life makes me tired.
Even so, balancing so many things makes life exciting and keeps it progressing. I could drop all the balls, but then I would accomplish nothing and probably get very bored. So I’m learning instead to become a better balancer:
Do you have a hard time balancing all you do? What are some of your strategies for better balancing?
Mar 12 2010
Long-time faithful Inklings reader Elisabeth Allen has kindly posted an interview with yours truly on her blog, Hope Scribbles. She asked some great questions about writing, faith, homeschooling, and indie publishing, leading to a fun (and I hope inspirational) conversation. Read Part 1 and Part 2 at these links.
Mar 10 2010
When we flew out, we really didn’t know where we’d be performing. But we were excited to learn that besides churches and a large theatre, we’d be going into Vancouver’s Skid Row area to minister at a beautiful women’s day shelter called “The Great Room.” This article talks about the Great Room and the wonderful women who work there.
Here’s an excerpt:
VANCOUVER, Canada — Meet the thirteen “radical hostesses” — women who have journeyed through hard times, and often life on the streets, and who are now reaching out to share their growth and healing with other women. Throughout the Olympics, these hostesses have given tours of their community – the Downtown Eastside, welcomed and served visitors in the sacred space of the Great Room, and gathered women from the street to enjoy some of the creative artists that perform almost daily.
Hands down, the Great Room was for us the most powerful place to minister. We performed full-length versions of “Street Lullaby” (a call into God’s peace) and “Dream” (a story of sin and deliverance), and the ladies responded afterward by telling us how much both pieces met them where they were. We prayed with them and worshiped with them.
It really struck me that we could come from such different backgrounds, yet our plight of fallenness and need for redemption is the same. I told the ladies before we did “Dream” that it’s a story they might recognize as their own, and it’s also my story, and Carolyn’s. And it was really special to see how well these truths could be communicated through poetry, storytelling, and dance — through the beauty and the power in these art forms God has given us.
The article also includes a few pictures from our visit and this recap from their point of view:
Yesterday afternoon Rachel Starr Thomson and Carolyn Currey of Soli Deo Gloria Ballet — a poet and a ballet dancer — came to the Great Room to share their gifts with us, and it was absolutely beautiful. Combining music, spoken word and dance, they shared an amazing message about the journey of life, full of joys and sorrows, despair and hope, and ultimately healing and freedom. During the performance, the poet asked, “Are these chains on my soul? I cannot crack this death. I cannot find the way.” The dancer twirled and leapt as these words and music filled the Great Room in response, “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God my Saviour has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace”.
Amazing indeed.
