I have a dream, and I'm pursuing it. I'm writing a novel and many times, when I sit still or watch something that's inspiring, my dream starts churning ever louder and more prominent in my mind. I want the novel I'm writing to be made into a movie or a tv series. Whether or not that happens is up to someone else. I am just endeavoring to do my part -- making the book the best it can be. Heck, even getting the thing published is really out of my hands. I'll begin sending out query letters to publishers when I'm finished, and then the process of "please publish my book" starts. Usually the majority of responses are negative, but not all of them. So, we'll see. It's exciting to have something like this germinating in my soul/heart/mind. I hope I can make this thing great.
I saw The Chronicles Of Narnia this morning. It was so good. I bet C.S. Lewis would be proud.
Last night I saw King's X. It was an amazing show. They played every song on their new album, which was a fantastic choice. In fact, the entire set list was filled with great song choices. They even played "Visions" and "Goldilox" near the end. I know that some people (many people, in fact) don't share my enthusiasm for this band. That's okay. Even for me a steady diet of King's X is not appealing. But when listened to in moderation, it's a fantastic treat for the ears. They are so stinking good, have written some marvelous melodies, and those harmonies beg the listener to sing along. Awesome stuff. I loved it.
I'm going through the Bible in a year, and today I am at Romans 7. The book of Romans is an awesome one. It's like the crown of the New Testament, and chapter 8 is like the crown jewel / diamond, if you will. I'm looking forward to getting to chapter 8 over the weekend. However, it starts off with the word "therefore," so chapter 7 is a necessary and beautiful part. I love the way Paul explains how the law makes us conscious of sin. Paul says he wouldn't know what covetousness was except that the law said, "Do not covet." Now that law or force wages in him with all kinds of covetousness.
I love a story told by one of my favorite teachers -- a guy named Dudley Hall (I once did an interview with him at a Christian festival and broke it up into three articles by "Doctor Grace," as I called him, because he has such a cool understanding of the subject. He once told a story about one of his kids' birthday parties. He took all the little kids outside into the backyard and told him all the things they could do -- jumping on the trampoline, swinging on the swing, playing over here -- but there were not allowed to do just one thing, which was spit in his garden. "Just make sure none of you spits in my garden." Then he went inside and hid out behind the sliding glass door by the garden, waiting. Sure enough, one little boy came over to the garden fence, looked around, and then spit in it. Before long others joined in the fun, spitting big ole loogies into his garden. What a riot! This same law is at work in us even as children.
But the chapter also talks about laws having no more affect after death, comparing it to marriage. When one spouse marries another with an existing spouse still alive, he or she is an adulterer; but if one spouse dies the other can marry and is free from that law (the previous marriage). Paul says that when we "died" in Christ and came alive as a new spirit person, that we also died to the law and its control over us. That is cool
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 9, 2005 01:32 PM