Wednesday, March 23, 2011

sowin’, drummin’, prayin’

Oh man, my wife is an avid reader!  Nicole lent her eight books last weekend and she’s already read three!  What I love about how she reads is that she doesn’t just devour books, she really enjoys them.  She’ll often curl up on the couch with a blanket and disappear.  I wish I had the same appetite as she does, but I’ve found lately that the book really needs to grip me if I’m going to invest my time in it.  Hopefully it’s just a phase—there are so many books out there now, and I want to read all the best ones!

     I’ll have to read four C.S. Lewis books for my Regent class this summer, too, so hopefully that’ll be good incentive to get back into more fiction.

     Giving drum lessons every week has encouraged me to spend more time drumming myself.  I find that I can easily become stuck in a rut, so I like to find sources of inspiration to make me try something new or show me something I’ve never thought of on my own. 

I really enjoy watching Mike Johnston’s drumming lessons on youtube.  Not only is he hilarious, but he’s a really good educator.  I learned this beat last night while Sarah was on the phone with her parents:

    This week has seen another adjustment in my work schedule.  Our sowing days now start at 7:30.  I’ve been disciplining myself to get up for 6:15 or so, that way I’m not rushed to get ready and Sarah and I can spend some time together before I head off to the nursery.  We’ve returned to a morning tradition we started while living in Eston together which is doing morning devotions together.  It’s so good to have that at the start of the day.  We’ve been working through the Morning Prayer in the Celtic Daily Prayer book of the Northumbrian monastic community.  You can actually read through the same daily morning, midday and evening prayers on the Northumbria community’s website.  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in cultivating a daily routine in prayer.

    It looks as though I am finally getting over this dry cough.  Looking forward to good night’s sleep.  I’ll leave you with a sample from today’s meditation.  I’m off to bed!  Good night!


As the rain hides the stars,
as the autumn mist hides the hills,
happenings of my lot
hide the shining of Thy face from me.
Yet, if I may hold Thy hand
in the darkness,
it is enough;
since I know that,
though I may stumble in my going,
Thou dost not fall.
Alistair Maclean


5 comments:

  1. I know what you mean Nik.

    I used to go around bookstores when I was out treeplanting in Smithers and Prince George in BC to find a book that wasn't just another run of the mill kind of book. That's where I've found Hitchhiker's Guide, The Road, and some other good ones that aren't really bestsellers but grabbed my interest.

    I feel where you're coming from.

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  2. whoa - Regent course?
    Does that mean you guys are coming out this way?

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  3. Hey Matt, it's nice to know someone can relate! After being in college and having to read a lot of non-fiction I find myself gravitating towards it even though I always loved fiction more growing up. It's so good to read both, I think. I just want to find really good stories, you know? It feels like they can be hard to come by.

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  4. Howdy Miss Raeh!

    Yes, Sarah and I are coming out this summer for Downing's "Fiction of C.S. Lewis" Class at the end of July! We've been meaning to get in touch with you to get in the inside scoop on Regent and Vancouver. Will you be in the city over the summer, maybe we'll be able to catch up with you!

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