Nothing Is Sacred

Hmmm. Favorite pastime: Taking the books out of mommy's bookshelves and making roads.

Obviously, these children should be taking a bath...

Imaginary Jesus

Matt Mikalatos is the first person I've ever known* who wrote a novel and actually had it published. The first time I heard about Matt was through my brother, Dan, who while watching me desperately jump through hoops to get my own novel published stated, "Yeah, my friend Matt's been trying to get published too." Or something along those lines. It was a long enough time ago that I've forgotten.


So, I felt some kind of personal satisfaction when the news came through (from Matt's own blog: http://www.mikalatos.blogspot.com/) that his book, "Imaginary Jesus" was going to be published (for real).


"Imaginary Jesus" is not of a genre of books that I would normally (read: ever) read. But since I can satisfy my reading desire with the back of a shampoo bottle I knew it would be no sacrifice to jump out of my chosen genres for a few days and read the book I've been hearing about for the last so many months.


"Imaginary Jesus" is wacky and off the wall and fast moving and vastly more entertaining than the back of a shampoo bottle. Even the "Thanks page" and the random quotes from famous and non-famous people pages amused me. It's about Matt's own journey (fictionalized) to discover the real Jesus among the many "imaginary" Jesus' that we have created to suit our own purposes.


I think that thing that really caught me about the book was the idea of imaginary Jesuses**; those Jesuses that we have created in our mind to suit our lifestyles. Matt introduces us to dozens of imaginary Jesuses in his book and but I didn't recognize my own imaginary Jesus there.


As I read the book it was amazing how fast the concept of imaginary Jesuses made complete sense to me and how quickly I identified my own fake Jesus.

He's the "It's OK to sin if you have a good enough excuse Jesus."


OK, my names are not as catchy as Matt's "Magic 8-Ball Jesus" and "Testosterone Jesus," but he's real enough to me. I appreciate a book that makes me think and opens my eyes to something I've never seen before.

Great job Matt. Thanks for giving hope to the rest of us and thanks for opening my eyes to something I'd never considered before.

*As well as you know someone over the Internet.
** I have no idea if this is how you pluralize Jesus or not...

Thank You Mrs. R. Temple-Wright

As I sort of promised yesterday, here is a excerpt from "Baker and Cook" by Mrs. R. Temple-Wright.

(Exactly as written, emphasis all hers):

"Why I make my own Bread.
Even at the risk of shocking you, I must not mince matters, but tell you my reasons in plain language. I saw one afternoon a baker's carrier bringing a basket of bread from the bazaar into the station; he was stopped by a purchaser, who findered every loaf before he decided which he would buy. That fastidious would-be purchaser was a -- leper!
I went to a baker's shop, and entered into a conversation with a boy who seemed to be in charge, but who, being unable to answer questions, called out to the baker who was making bread in the next room. The baker appeared with the dough stinking to his fingers and on seeing a lady, said he would wash his hands and return. He did so, and stood revealed as a miserable leper!
I have seen dirty sheets taken off the dirty body and used for tying up the atta with which next day's bread was to be made! My own eyes have beheld the family blanket pulled off the bed of sickness and of death, and used in the bazaar bakehouse to keep warm the dough which would presently appear in the form of bread for European consumption! I have seen far more than this, but I need not tell more. I feel sure you have already resolved, as I did years before, never to eat bazaar bread."

Mrs. R. Temple-Wright, thanks for not holding back or mincing matters.

atta = whole wheat flour

Mystery Solved

Well, this morning I dug through the rejected books til I found my Tarzan.

I was off a little bit.
OK, way off, but notice the subtitle, "The Jungle Man Finds a Bride." And hey, who could notice the title with that picture staring you in the face?
Sadly, this Tarzan is only half a book, I may still try to read it, up to page 118 at least.

Treasure Finding

Our Bible College Library got a donation of over 1000 books from a Christian Conference Center in our city that was formerly an Irish Presbyterian Mission until the 1980s when all the foreign missionaries got kicked out of India.

The original library has just been sitting there full of valuable English books for decades until we kept after them to give them to us - and last week, they did.

Here are some of the treasures I've already found while going through and cataloguing the books:

Georgette Heyer! I adore reading Georgette Heyer (hey, I never said all the books were theological...). Powder and Patch, Sprig Muslin and Envious Casca (Not Regency, but one of her mysteries, which I've never read. Obviously, a previously resident of the Mission was a fan.

Today I came across a volume of Little Women (L. M. Alcott) that was awarded as a gift to a girl for academics. The inscription reads: "Easter Examinations 1898." Uh huh. Treasure trove for a person like me.

Inscription.

I also found two Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Ah, many a happy Saturday afternoon was spent by me watching Tarzan movies. The first Tarzan book I came across was called something like "Tarzan Finds a Wife." But I can't for the life of me find anything about it on the Internet*. Sadly, it was only half a book and had to be discarded. Otherwise I totally would be reading that instead of blogging. Today I found, Tarzan the Invincible. (see above)

Finally, I was happy to find some cookbooks, etc. and this is my most spectacular find to date: Baker and Cook, A Domestic Manual for India by Mrs. R. Temple-Wright. Published in 1912 in Calcutta. Baker and Cook - is that me, or what?

From the preface to the First Edition: "I have only tried to help people make their own bread in out-stations where good bread is not obtainable, and to assist housewives by making the task of ordering dinner as little irksome as possible. I hope these notes will enable hostesses to make the best use of the cheaper, and far more wholesome fresh food obtainable in the country, without having to fall back on the more expensive European tinned provisions."

Mrs. Temple-Wright seems mostly interested in teaching her readers how to make Yeast. And, hey, housewives are supposed to order dinner???

Her writing style is utterly delightful and practical - it deserves it's own post.

Thanks, members of the IP Mission for leaving us all these books.

You wouldn't believe it from this post but the majority of the books are Bible College appropriate.

*I'm going to have to go through the boxes of non-appropriate or damaged books to find that Tarzan Finds a Wife one now... The Internet has failed me.

This Present Darkness

You really can't search inside... Go to Amazon for that.



A friend of mine sent me this book recently, which was wonderful because I LOVE books, never have enough of them, and it came in a package. It just doesn't get much better than that.



I actually read this years ago - like 15-20 years ago - but I enjoyed it just as much this time. As always it led me to more prayer and especially to spiritual warfare prayer for my city. There can never be enough of that.