Just a few thoughts floating around today…
Over the years I’ve read my share of books that speak for the Christian faith. There have been some deep works, and others more light. Books on apologetic arguments and philosophy. Books that explain theological concepts and difficulties. Then there have been books that dig deeply into whole sections of the Bible. I’ve liked most of them, but there is one thing that bothers me about a lot of Christian publishing: Words. Too many of them. I understand that there are word-count goals in a lot of publishing — “Give me 10,000 words on ‘x’.” But I don’t see that as a valid concept when writing a book that should explain and clarify so that others may develop a deeper understanding of what they believe.
I got on this line of thinking because I saw a recommendation for a book about the Holy Spirit, and I found out that the author actually had eight volumes on the Holy Spirit, and while I couldn’t find them all, Volume 8 itself has over 400 pages. The man literally wrote 8 books about the Holy Spirit that totaled more pages than the typical Bible itself. I suppose if I had a year, I might get something out of that, but one must wonder — why?
What I’d like to see are short books that can be digested more easily. It might sound lazy, but it’s actually more practical. If you need 400 pages to tell me one thing, you’re talking too much. Keep it simple. Teach me and let me go out and spend my time on more important things — like telling others what I believe. I think you can do that in under a hundred pages easy.
When I was younger, my brothers and I had a few models hanging from the ceiling of our bedroom. I remember a B-17 and a P-38, maybe a Corsair, and a Starship Enterprise in there too. I’ve given model building some thought again over the years, but it never took with me.
With the recent popularity of the Apple+ series Masters of the Air (about 8th Air Force during World War II), I went to the library and checked out the book (since there’s no way I’m going to subscribe to another streaming service just to see a show). That got me thinking about those models again. Even back then, I knew that people did far better jobs on the builds than my brothers and I ever could. We just pulled the kits out, twisted off the parts (which I’ve since learned is a cardinal sin in model-building), and slapped them together with gobs of cement. They never fit together very well — it was a given that the seams would show where we put things together — but from a distance, they weren’t bad. Patience was never our strong suit. Is it for any kid that age?
Since then, I’ve always wanted to do something better, and I’ve kept my eyes open for the opportunity. Maybe this is it. Maybe I can get into it, and this time be patient. I certainly can afford it now — even an airbrush for painting. Or a table from Ikea dedicated to it.
There’s just one major obstacle, and I’m not sure she can be convinced…
Looking forward to seeing Taylor Swift at her first Super Bowl. And that’s only partly sarcasm. I know she’s talented, but I’ve never cared for her. But I’m not going to jump on people who don’t like seeing her on the TV during games. It’s kind of silly, but I also don’t get the people that don’t get it. Hey, there might just be people out there who don’t like soap operas playing while they’re trying to enjoy a game. Then again, no one minded seeing Spike Lee and Jack Nicholson courtside.
Maybe it’s just that people hate her boyfriend.
It is kind of funny though that the acolytes of a certain presidential candidate are now floating conspiracy theories about how she’s some kind of deep state op bent on getting Biden re-elected. I swear, the click-culture is exhausting. But I guess it’s making people enough money that they can quit their day jobs. And I can imagine life being so much more comfortable when you don’t have to leave mom’s basement.
And speaking of Super Bowls, I hope both teams lose…