LANGUAGE IN OUR LINEAGE!

Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I had a definitive "hick" accent--not rural, but small town, informal. 

I think of it as a language with lots of apostrophes. 

I wadn't plannin' on goin' down to Miss'ippi! (Siri tried to re-spell all those words) Last year when we moved to western North Carolina, I heard some similar, yet familiar "talk"----the grammarian in me couldn't help but smile.

I still emphasize the use of lay as to put or place, and lie as to rest or recline! Just ask my kids or grands!

This past week I read Jan Karon's most recent book, Beloved. 

The book took me back to a similar language that was in her lineage growing up in western North Carolina. She added a few new characters who lacked certain enunciation skills but the story line, with a Christmas theme, still focused often on the kindness of Father Tim.

At 88, she now lives in Black Mountain, NC. 

Beloved began with a dedication For Candace, Beloved Child of Light 

The book's brief prologue read, 

Beloved, 

let us love one another, 

for love is from God.

1st John 4:7    

I was glad I read the book's AFTERWORD because i realized the challenging time in her own life which deeply affected her and kept her from writing. Her only child and beloved daughter, Candace Freeland died of Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. Without her, life was "without savor", Karon said. (Beloved. p. 413) Five months later her brother, Barry died. 

Jan Karon returned to the language she knew best and started writing---

it became her balm....a metaphor/language for healing and comfort.

CHOOSE: TO DIG FOR GEMS

Avid readers sometimes forget to deeply enjoy a book a long the way and tend to scan over long descriptive narratives. Often, they seem to be just fillers but sometimes one needs to remember to search for the treasures. I found such a treasure as I finished reading To Be Where You Are this week. 

For one thing, I found the title reference mid-stream and then as I was finishing up, I found a gem. 

Author, Jan Karon, uses Father Tim, her protagonist (a retired Episcopal priest) to pass along wisdom to his adopted son, who has wisely decided to take a little time off work to be with family just as Father Tim has done with "his" Cynthia.

So glad I chose to read deeply and not skip over this gem.

Karon says it well---sometimes we need to let go of all the cares and concerns which tie us down to time consuming routines which bind us to work rather than others. A light heart, that comes from trusting God and giving thanks, allows one to "regroup"  and gather in for herself and in turn pour out to others.

CHOOSE: A COZY READ

Temps have dropped. Tomorrow's lesson done. Supper in crockpot.

FINALLY----time to read. Not just any book. I've read so many gut wrenching WWII books lately that I think a "gentle" read is in order. 

A cuppa, Jan Karon's latest book about Father Tim and the residents of Mitford coupled with a full-size quilt and a quiet house beckon me to read. It's sort of like going back home---sometimes you just need to do it to be replenished.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : gra-TEA-fyingly wholesome

Jan Karon's latest in her "Mitford series," Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good is indeed gratifyingly wholesome. Since it's been a while since a Father Tim book was set in Mitfor, Karon provides some flashback moments to jog our memories and give us insight, as we recall characters and situations of old.

Possibly, Father Tim's "station of life" as a retiree speaks to me. He desires to serve others but sometimes takes on too much, trying to do it all. Many retirees can relate to that. His friend Hoppy reminds him, "To do it all and deprive others of doing---is a misguided notion." (p. 163)

Few writers can weave a prayer into a well crafted book without it looking like an afterthought, as well as Karon. So many tenets of  faith are the fabric of the "less than perfect town" of Mitford---but Father Tim offers hope to many.

Yet, even he has to learn that, "Love is an act of endless forgiveness." (p. 511)

Dooley was their hope---a door opening to all that could be healing and genuine.

'Take it from here, buddy,' he said. 'Take it from here.' (p. 511)

Sounds like a sequel or a new series in the making----for which I am gra-TEA-fyingly excited!

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS : an-TEA-cipation

For readers, there's nothing like discovering a good book. It's even better when you realize that it's one of a "series." That's the way many readers felt when they discovered their first "Mitford" book featuring Father Tim, an Episcopalian rector, with a dog named Barnabas.

The Mitford series kept many waiting for the next one. 
An-TEA-cipation of a good read. A safe read. 

Jan Karon doesn't surprise her readers with filth or vulgar language. She just takes the reader into the small town of Mitford and its quirky characters and makes them want to return again and again. Karon's books are both warm-hearted and funny. 

Opening Light in the Window, my favorite of the Mitford books, to check out the town map on the frontispiece, I found signatures of  friends, with whom I had shared the book....a great jog down memory lane, because many have since moved away.

Home to Holly Springs, though not one of the "Mitford" books, does deal with Father Tim's early years in a location just down the road for all of us Memphis readers.

Finally, 9 years after the last Mitford book, listed as the "final" of the series.....  #10 is coming out in September. 

Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good. (9/2/14)

A title that seems to describe Mitford---a cuppa an-TEA-cipation for me.

Not my “cup of tea”………….

5/10/10 There are things in life that just aren’t my cup of tea. Cats are the first that come to mind. Before you start throwing tomatoes (or cat litter) at the screen please understand that I am terrified of cats. I think it’s called, ailurophobia, a persistent, irrational fear of cats. Doesn’t matter that I know it’s irrational, it’s still there and has been as long as I can remember. Therapy for it is financially prohibitive so friends (especially the Ridleys) and family accept it as a part of who I am and just run interference for me. For that, I am grateful.
We all have those things that are just not to our liking. In Jan Karon’s wonderful books, The Mitford Series she uses Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, as an example of one who has very few things she doesn’t like. Just not her “cup of tea.” Often her husband would ask her, “ Is there anything you don’t love?” Depending on the situation she would give her short list. “Crows feet, age spots and good-byes.” I can understand the goodbyes. Those are difficult for me as well, especially if I know I won’t see someone again for a long time or maybe never.

But my short list would also include: a complaining spirit, in myself or others; litterbugs especially those who think a cigarette butt is not litter; rudeness; attitudes of entitlement rather than gratitude; and rationalizing rule breakers who think rules are made for others, not them (ie. handicap parking spots and school speed zones)

Yesterday, Pastor Cole mentioned murmurings and disputings as something not to his liking. He equated it to horses in a parade, "dropping" every 50 feet or so. (stinks and sounds messy to clean up)
I came across a list in Romans 1 of things that I think would not be God’s “cup of tea” ---not acknowledging Him, greed, envy, deceit, gossip, unloving, unmerciful and applauding (or condoning) those (especially celebrities) who practice evil, to mention a few. Parenthetical notes are mine.

I don’t want to be on God’s short list, do you? It’s certainly something to think about on this meditating Monday.

Romans 1:28-32 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.