Writing

~A Leader of the Reformation

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I wrote this a few years ago, and I’ve posted it once before. In honor of Reformation Day, I’m re-posting!

On October 31,1517, a catholic monk nailed to the door of the catholic church in Wittenburg, Germany, a 95 Thesis condemning the sale of indulgences, thus sparking the fire of the reformation. That catholic monk was Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was born in 1483. He was about 34 years of age when he nailed his 95 Thesis on the church door. Selling indulgences was the practice and belief that a donation to the church would purchase the release of the departed soul of a family member from Purgatory (a place of torment). Selling indulgences has no basis in God’s Holy Word. Selling indulgences was not the only catholic practice that Martin Luther condemned. For example: The catholic church taught that justification comes through good works. Martin Luther believed justification comes through Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther believed in using the Bible as the standard for life, not mortal man’s opinion. For that reason he translated the Bible into German so the common people could read it. Before this the scriptures were only in Latin.

Because of his beliefs the Pope excommunicated Martin Luther from the catholic church in 1520.

In 1521 Martin Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms by Emperor Charles V. When asked he refused to recant anything he had said against the catholic church unless they could convince him he was wrong, using scripture.

At the age of 42 Martin Luther married a young woman named Catherina. Together they had several children, both  sons and daughters.

Martin Luther was also the author of several hymns including A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

Martin Luther has been called the Father of the Reformation. After he started to boldly speak out against the unbiblical practices of the catholic church, others followed his example. Those who like Martin Luther protested became known as Protestants.

On October 31st some celebrate Reformation Day. On this day they celebrate – not a man- not Martin Luther – but what the LORD did through Martin Luther and others like him such as John Calvin. Martin Luther was not perfect. Man does not deserve the glory – All glory for what was done during the Reformation belongs to the LORD. Praise Him for what He has done!

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing!
Our helper He, amid the flood,
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe,
Doth seek to work us woe!
His wrath and pow’r are great
And armed with cruel hate!
On earth is not his equal.


To the KING be all the glory!

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~Here We Go!

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24 Days Before Christmas is a book that I began to write in November of last year. It was inspired by a conversation I had on Thanksgiving Day with my sister Bethany and some good friends of mine who had read some of my previous writings.

In bed that night, while I was writing down a few notes from the comments my sister and my friends had made about my weaker points in writing, I was hit with the inspiration to write this story and try some of the things their comments suggested. I was already itching to write something with Christmas anyway and none of my other books were focusing on it. So I began… and then our family moved to a new house and I got sidetracked. Now, with the Christmas season only a month and a half away, I think I’m ready to try again and I thought I would share a few of the things I am trying to incorporate and especially work on in this story.

First of all, and rather irrelevant to “improvements”, but still challenging, my sister was begging for a mystery – a murder mystery in fact. She thought I could write one, I disagreed – and now I’m trying to prove myself wrong. One of the main plots of 24 Days Before Christmas is a mystery.

Secondly, I had begun to avoid descriptions of places and things to some extent. One of my friends encouraged me to “paint a picture” with my words. Somehow that really stuck with me and I’m really trying to do that in this book.

Thirdly… being lighthearted. I tend to write on the darker side. At least in more recent works. Not depressing or anything (well I hope!), but not really lighthearted either. Somehow in this book, I have to make the joy of celebrating Christ’s birth and the excitement of the holiday season, blend with a murder mystery. Not in a bad way at all and my idea seems like a perfect blending, but it’s still only in my head, not on paper. We’ll see how it turns out.

There were a few other things, which I won’t mention now. I’m doing a bit of rewriting on what I had already written and then… off I go! I’ll leave those of you who haven’t read it, with the beginning of the first chapter:

“The clouds hung heavily over Evergreen, nearly burying the tiny town under their oppressive folds. The barren trees lining the streets, groaned and trembled under their heavy burdens of white, as snow mercilessly continued to add to their great weight. Snowplows had cleared the asphalt-covered streets, but even they couldn’t prevent new snow from taking the place of the old or ice from creating danger zones nearly invisible to even the most cautious drivers.

The sidewalks looked like melted Rocky Road ice cream – a curious mixture of snow, mud and ice, so often trampled, melted and refrozen as to make each element inseparable from the others.

Icicles dangled precariously from slanted roofs, mingling with brightly colored lights and Christmas decorations. The decorations gave a sense of holiday cheer to the atmosphere despite the filthy pathways and rundown buildings.”

 

To the KING be all the glory!

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~ “A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That…”

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I’ve been rather neglectful of our blog lately. Doesn’t it look dusty and forgotten? (Post wise that is, I still like the layout for now.)

 

This Summer has been busy, in several ways. I have been rediscovering the joys of reading over the last several months and I have “devoured” several books this Summer. I plan to start posting my reviews soon, LORD willing. Classics such as A Tale of Two Cities, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Jane Eyre, as well as newer books, Princess Paisley being one of them, are on my review list. Some of the books I loved, some I simply liked and others I didn’t really care for. I’m enjoying studying the writing style and voice of the different authors that I am reading from. It’s been quite the interesting study. Perhaps I’ll put some of my observations into my reviews.

 

As for my own books, I confess I have done very little writing this Summer. I’m working on a short story but my larger books haven’t really been touched. I’m kind of stuck actually. Grandmother’s Letters, my most active book, is moving so slowly that it’s difficult to say what’s happening next. Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon. I’m also working on a small project related to my writing and I’m still editing A Year with the Potters for (LORD willing) publication before too long. I do also have a few poems that I would like to post and a few more fermenting in my head,  requesting that I write them down. Hopefully I’ll do a post about my writing fairly soon.

 

Besides reading, I’ve been studying the piano a lot, working on practicing the harder and less “fun” things relating to my instrument. It’s been fun and a lot of hard work at the same time. I’m also working on my Herbology/Nutrition studies slowly right now, but trying to get more time put into it. I’ve been gardening, cataloging our library, trying to keep the kitchen clean, celebrating birthdays, doing a deep cleaning of the entire house (still working on that one!) and having company over. Overall, the Summer has been fun and adventuresome in many ways, though in others it has been very difficult. Praise the LORD that He is in control of it all!

 

So, there is my mishmash of a post. Hopefully I’ll get a proper post up soon. Until then…

 

To the KING be all the glory!

~Not Sure What to Do with These

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I was just playing around the other day and these two characters popped their way into my head. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them at this point – Keep them or toss them. Anyone think either of them sound like they would make a good storyline and that I should try to continue?

Eloise

Eloise crouched beneath the blankets trying to appear invisible. Her sodden pillow felt cool against her burning cheek. The moon peeked into the room through the burgundy curtains, outlining the maple tree outside. The heavy tread of footsteps stopped before her door, then faded away into the deafening silence of night. She rolled over, pushing back the covers and breathing heavily.  She suddenly felt hot and stifled. What, oh what, was she going to do?

Andrew

Running harder than ever before in his twenty-one years, Andrew bolted around the corner of a dilapidated barn, nearly colliding with a propped up pitchfork. Heart pounding against his chest, his throat was parched for lack of water. His eyes stung and his breath came like the repeated shots of a gun. Suddenly the sole of his foot made contact with a patch of mud, while his eyes had been focused over his shoulder and he fell down flat. For a moment he lay perfectly still, until the shouts of men and the howls of dogs reached his ears. He pushed himself up and tried to press on. He had to make it…


To the KING be all the glory!


-The Instrumental Trio

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This poem took me days to write. I’m not quite sure what was so difficult about it, except that describing music interestingly can be so hard. What do you think of it? And if anyone has a better suggestion for the title, I would be glad to hear it! It’s not describing a real piece…Only a theoretical one that resides in my head. I think it would be neat if a song were composed from the poem someday but I highly doubt that I’ll ever do it. We’ll see.

The Instrumental Trio

The music began with a dance,
As the pianist touched the keys,
Then began to skip and prance,
Just as the musician pleased.

The middle notes rang, sharp and clear,
Like the moon on a dark, cold night.
Then higher notes would suddenly appear –
An echo armed with powerful might!

The bass notes would thrill on through,
With their tones so rich and deep.
So short a time they’d continue,
Before they drifted off to sleep.

Unexpectedly – a glorious sound! –
A violin comes weaving through.
Threading the music, through and around,
Its strength and beauty steadily grew.

A steady bass rhythm began to beat
As a harp began gently to play.
The higher piano notes beat a retreat,
As the tune turned mournful and gray.

The violin suddenly came to a halt,
As the tune continued sorrowfully on.
The rhythmic beat went on without fault,
Strengthening as the rising dawn.

Then a tingling of sound came faintly at first,
Just a tinkle so high and faint.
Then the notes suddenly seemed nearly to burst,
As a musical picture, the harp did paint.

The violin came again, loud and strong,
A tempest that none could contain.
The sounds drew on so full and long,
As the piano danced like pouring rain.

Then suddenly with a rebound, loud and full,
The whole came to a magnificent end.
The last notes seem forever to roll,
Their beauty with the conclusion did send.

The audience was left with the memory sweet,
Wishing the end hadn’t come,
When gently a sound, their ears seemed to greet,
Perhaps an encore – or just the imagination of some…

To the KING be all the glory!

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