Kevin Stilley

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Archives for April 2009

April 29, 2009 by kevinstilley

A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L’Engle

Book Cover

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Turning the opening pages of A Circle of Quiet I had that sense of excitement one gets when discovering a kindred spirit.  Turning a few more pages I found myself wondering how in the world L’Engle could possibly believe some of what she was advancing.  Perhaps I had been too quick to induct her into the Hall of Kindred Spirits?

No.  Most certainly L’Engle IS a kindred spirit.  The differences in our worldviews reflect the different generations we represent, different social class upbringing, different intellectual climates, different spiritual nurture, different religious affiliations and different theological convictions.  Those differences are substantial.  Had we the opportunity to actually spend time together we would no doubt have had violently glorious intellectual battles — but the battles would have taken place BECAUSE we were kindred spirits.

Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007)  is best known for her children’s books, especially Newberry Award winner A Wrinkle in Time.  However, as she repeatedly notes in A Circle of Quiet, she did not believe in differentiating between children’s books and adult books.  A book has existence of its own, ontological identity, and should be written because of what it is — what it must be — not to be marketed to a particular target audience.

A Circle of Quiet is not a children’s book.  It is the first of four volumes in her Crosswicks Journal series which covers that period of time in which her family made its home in rural Connecticut.  But, do not mistake A Circle of Quiet for an autobiography or memoir.  L’Engle uses this Crosswicks era as a kind of canvas upon which she paints themes of universal significance and particular importance.  She is doing what she does best, she is storytelling.

Along the way, the reader becomes acquainted with the family, friends, and faith of L’Engle.  L’Engle would claim that such important elements are not mere accidents of her life, or descriptions that explain her, but that they are patterns of her very existence — her ontos.  Thus, A Circle of Quiet beautifully illustrates the interconnectedness of life, beauty, passion, meaning, — ontology.

So, take a few hours and walk with Madeleine down the path to dangle your feet in the little brook. But, while you are enjoying the brook, please be sure to argue with Madeleine about some of her assumptions.

* * * * * *

Caveat:  You might want to check out the concerns voiced in this Christianity Today article by Donald Hettinga from back in the days when Christianity Today actually practiced a little discernment and voiced concerns.

* * * * * *

Other books in the Crosswicks  Journal series:

Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover
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MADELEINE L’ENGLE BIBLIOGRAPHY (by publication date)

  • 18 Washington Square South: A Comedy in One Act, 1944
  • The Small Rain, 1945
  • Ilsa, 1946
  • And Both Were Young, 1949
  • Camilla Dickinson, 1951
  • A Winter’s Love, 1957
  • Meet the Austins, 1960
  • A Wrinkle in Time, 1962
  • The Moon By Night, 1963
  • The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas, 1964
  • The Arm of the Starfish, 1965
  • Camilla, 1965
  • The Love Letters, 1966
  • A Journey With Jonah, 1967
  • The Young Unicorns, 1968
  • Dance in the Desert, 1969
  • Lines Scribbled on an Envelope and Other Poems, 1969
  • The Other Side of the Sun, 1971
  • A Circle of Quiet, 1972
  • A Wind in the Door, 1973
  • Everyday Prayers, 1974
  • Prayers for Sunday, 1974
  • The Risk of Birth, 1974
  • The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, 1974
  • Dragons in the Waters, 1976
  • The Irrational Season, 1977
  • A Swiftly Tilting Planet, 1978
  • The Weather of the Heart, 1978
  • Ladder of Angels, 1979
  • The Anti-Muffins, 1980
  • A Ring of Endless Light, 1980
  • Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, 1980
  • A Severed Wasp, 1982
  • The Sphinx at Dawn, 1982
  • And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings, 1983
  • A House Like a Lotus, 1984
  • Trailing Clouds of Glory: Spiritual Values in Children’s Literature, 1985
  • Many Waters, 1986
  • A Stone for a Pillow: Journeys with Jacob, 1986
  • A Cry Like a Bell, 1987
  • Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage, 1988
  • An Acceptable Time, 1989
  • Sold Into Egypt: Joseph’s Journey into Human Being, 1989
  • The Glorious Impossible, 1990
  • Certain Women, 1992
  • The Rock That is Higher, 1993
  • Anytime Prayers, 1994
  • Troubling a Star, 1994
  • Glimpses of Grace, 1996
  • A Live Coal in the Sea, 1996
  • Penguins and Golden Calves: Icons and Idols, 1996
  • Wintersong, 1996
  • Bright Evening Star, 1997
  • Friends for the Journey, 1997
  • Mothers and Daughters, 1997
  • Miracle on 10th Street, 1998
  • A Full House, 1999
  • Mothers and Sons, 1999
  • Prayerbook for Spiritual Friends, 1999
  • The Other Dog, 2001
  • Madeleine L’Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life, 2001
  • The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle, 2005
  • The Joys of Love, 2008

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Front Page, Worldview Tagged With: children's books, Culture, fantasy, fiction, Madeleine L'Engle, religion

April 27, 2009 by kevinstilley

Almost Miss USA

Is honesty the best policy? That is the question that is being hotly debated following the dissing of Carrie Prejean, Miss California. Both Donald Trump and Perez Hilton admitted that Miss Prejean’s chances of winning the Miss USA Pageant were nullified when she honestly shared her religious and political convictions when asked to do so during the Interview portion of the pageant.

In an interesting twist, her future prospects may be better served by having lost the event than had she gone on to victory. She has been on the media circuit twenty-four hours a day and more people know her name than that of pageant winner Kristen Dalton. Numerous opportunities have already been made available to Prejean with more in the wings.

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genie

click on image

I recently spent a few days reading the book of a former Miss America contestant, Jeanne Swanner Robertson.

Jeanne was the contestant from North Carolina in 1963. She did not win the pageant, but did take home the award for Miss Congenialty. As Jeanne tells it, Miss Congeniality is the person whom the other contestants believe to be the least likely to actually win the title of Miss America. Standing 6’2″ in her stocking feet, she is also recognized as the tallest contestant to ever participate in the Miss America Pageant. (When not in her stocking feet she wears size 11B shoes.)

Following her attempt at the crown, Jeanne Robertson coached basketball and taught physical education for nine years, before turning her hand to speaking as a profession. As a humorist she has traveled the nation, and abroad, as a speaker for all kinds of events. In this book, Humor: The Magic of Genie, she shares what she has learned from all those hours spent at the speakers platform, in airplanes and taxis, and interacting with people of all kinds.

Humor: The Magic of Genie is not a “how-to” book for aspiring comedians. It is a guide for anyone who sees the value in developing a sense of humor. She organizes her book around seven “potions”.

1. Laugh at yourself.

2. Look for the humor in everyday situations.

3. Create your own humor.

4. Associate with people who have a sense of humor.

5. Influence others to develop a sense of humor.

6. See the humor in stressful, awkward, or unpleasant situations.

7. Take humor breaks/collect humor cues.

And, in the course of encouraging her reader to a more fulfilling life that embraces humor not as a mode for dealing with life, but as part of life itself, Jeanne shares plenty of her favorite stories.

Humor: The Magic of Genie was a welcome break from my textbooks and hopefully I benefited from it in that I am now better equipped to laugh at with my students, family, friends, and colleagues.

Now, can someone help me find the humor in this year’s Miss USA stupidity?

* * *

Video: Miss California, Carrie Prejean, on the Good Morning America television program.

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Front Page, Worldview Tagged With: book review, Carrie Prejean, Donald Trump, Humor, Jeanne Robertson, Jeanne Swanner, Katie Stam, Miss America, Perez Hilton, public speaking

April 27, 2009 by kevinstilley

Management – Select Quotes

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
~ Stephen Covey

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
~ Stephen R. Covey

__________

RELATED

  • Master List of Great Quotes

Filed Under: Blog, Quotes Tagged With: Leadership, management, quotations, Quotes

April 27, 2009 by kevinstilley

Teamwork – Select Quotes

The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.
~ James Cash Penney

__________

Book Cover

(click on image)

__________

RELATED

  • Master List of Great Quotes

Filed Under: Blog, Quotes Tagged With: business, management, Organizational Behavior, quotation, Quotes, teamwork

April 26, 2009 by kevinstilley

Favorite Movies

We watch lots of movies in our family.  Entertainment is secondary to engaging the ideas embedded in the movies.  I find that for weeks following a movie my conversation with wife and kids will revisit the themes and worldviews represented in the production.

We recently switched back to Netflix from Blockbuster and I have gone through the process of rating movies I have seen in order for the interface to be able to make recommendations to me.  During this process, it has been interesting for me to identify some old favorites.  I share a few here, in no particular order.

  • Martin Luther (1953)
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  • The Last of the Mohicans
  • The Patriot
  • The Quiet Man
  • Henry V
  • The Sound of Music
  • Braveheart
  • Groundhog Day
  • Sergeant York
  • Return To Me

__________

What are some of your favorites?  (Share your answer in the comment section below.)

__________

Netflix, Inc.

Filed Under: Blog, Family Circus, Front Page, Worldview Tagged With: favorites, Lists, Movies

April 26, 2009 by kevinstilley

Preaching – select quotes

Preaching is truth mediated by personality.
~ Phillips Brooks, quoted by Madeleine L’Engle, in A Circle of Quiet (NY: Harper Collins, 1972), page 155.

Effectiveness in teaching the Bible is purchased at the price of much study, some of it lonely, all of it tiring.
~ D.A. Carson

When a sermon is full of grace and truth it leads Christians to humility before God and refreshes like cold water on a hot day.
~ Kevin Stilley

We can preach the Gospel of Christ no further than we have experienced the power of it in our own hearts.
~ George Whitefield

Filed Under: Blog, Quotes Tagged With: Preaching, quotation, Quotes

April 24, 2009 by kevinstilley

Test The Strength of Your Marriage

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Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, which one is happiest to see you?

Filed Under: Blog, Front Page, Graffiti, Humor, Theology Tagged With: dogs, love, marriage, Marriage and Family, marriage counseling, relationships

April 24, 2009 by kevinstilley

Dance Trivia

The movie contracts of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers restricted them from dancing together in public.

Filed Under: Blog, Trivia Tagged With: dance, dancing, Trivia

April 24, 2009 by kevinstilley

W. Somerset Maugham – Select Quotes

At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary, it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant, and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel.

Usage is the only test. I prefer a phrase that is easy and unaffected to a phrase that is grammatical.

__________

Related

  • Master List of Great Quotes

Filed Under: Blog, Quotes Tagged With: quotations, Quotes, W. Somerset Maugham

April 24, 2009 by kevinstilley

What Do You Think?

If you were stranded on a desert island, which three people would you most want to come join you?

(Share your answers in the comments below.)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, desert, island, people, stranded, What Do You Think?

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