tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10967289572421585872024-02-18T23:30:56.065-06:00Tales From Shangri-Laannechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.comBlogger388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-72151298790912815082023-01-19T16:46:00.003-06:002023-01-19T16:46:24.226-06:00Why Christians in 2023 should care about Ezra Chapter 2<p> <a href="https://4thpres.org/resource-library/resources/who-was-there/?fbclid=IwAR17LU1jrx7G6oyeH-RvGd6ZufafMBr4yg4xknq1w9ApPHDqMiU-Wpqs4oI" target="_blank">Tales from Shangri La's brother (professor and PhD ancient Semitic languages and literature) preaches on small historical details and big spiritual themes. </a></p>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-1719345806562633592023-01-12T14:55:00.002-06:002023-01-12T14:55:37.728-06:00Tales from Shangri La at The Gospel Coalition<p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/anne-chamberlin/">Cupid, Psyche, Elisabeth, and Elections</a><br /></p>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-77348008684751568412023-01-12T14:51:00.005-06:002023-01-12T14:55:43.623-06:00Hunter and Hunted: Tales From Shangri La Reviews Till We Have Faces at The Gospel Coalition<p> <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/till-we-have-faces-c-s-lewis/">Till We Have Faces</a></p>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-15203962634439389412018-04-09T15:59:00.002-05:002018-04-09T16:00:01.862-05:00Shakespearean solosBenedict Cumberbatch and <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=benedict+cumberbatch+hamlet+soliloquy&oq=benedict+cumberbatch+hamlet+soliloquy&aqs=chrome..69i57.10123j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Hamlet's Soliloquy</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjuZq-8PUw0" target="_blank">Kenneth Branagh </a><br />
<br />
"Shakespeare solos":<br />
<br />
Damian Lewis: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q89MLuLSJgk" target="_blank">Friends, Romans, Countrymen</a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-44969562033223900332017-07-31T15:39:00.000-05:002017-07-31T15:48:24.544-05:00More on the Mundane"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVVzCURucaA" target="_blank">Nirvana</a>" by Charles Bukowski, read by Tom Waits.<br />
<br />
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVVzCURucaA<br />
<br />
http://talesfromshangri-la.blogspot.com/2014/09/pleading-case-for-mundane.htmlannechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-55012324005284582212017-07-25T16:56:00.001-05:002017-07-25T16:56:57.158-05:00Great Chart, Good Newshttps://www.aei.org/publication/the-world-as-100-people-over-the-last-200-years-a-period-of-the-largest-gains-in-global-living-standards-ever/annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-70338719590140794882017-04-01T15:07:00.002-05:002017-04-01T15:07:32.121-05:00Undercover AtrocitiesWho is the criminal? <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446250/californias-moral-atrocity-felony-charges-reporters-who-uncovered-abortion-atrocities?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tuttle&utm_content=california-atrocity" target="_blank">The undercover journalist or the murderer</a>?<br />
<br />
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446250/californias-moral-atrocity-felony-charges-reporters-who-uncovered-abortion-atrocities?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tuttle&utm_content=california-atrocityannechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-17102677315096382072016-12-23T13:32:00.001-06:002016-12-23T13:36:51.159-06:00A Skeptic Asks about ChristmasHere is Nicholas Kristof of the <i>New York Times</i> interacting with a gracious but unequivocal Tim Keller about the virgin birth.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/opinion/sunday/pastor-am-i-a-christian.html?mabReward=A1&recp=0&moduleDetail=recommendations-0&action=click&contentCollection=Book%20Review&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article" target="_blank">Pastor, Am I a Christian?</a><br />
<br />
<br />annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-79118563943598519742016-12-22T13:41:00.000-06:002016-12-22T13:41:09.769-06:0015 Criminal and Regulatory ReferralsPlanned Parenthood/StemExpress congressional investigation updates:<br />
<br />
https://energycommerce.house.gov/news-center/press-releases/select-panel-refers-numerous-entities-further-investigation-possible<br />
<br />
https://energycommerce.house.gov/news-center/letters/select-investigative-panel-criminal-and-regulatory-referralsannechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-84793932745315476052016-12-13T19:12:00.002-06:002016-12-13T20:54:45.967-06:00Slave Narrative Describes the 1833 Leonid Meteor ShowerI have been slowly reading through FDR's WPA Federal Writers Project "Slave Narratives" from the 1930's. Today I read the narrative of Abraham Jones of Alabama, in which he describes the Leonid meteor shower on November 13, 1833.<br />
<br />
Conditions were such at the time that the 1833 shower was supposedly the most spectacular of the Leonid meteor showers in recorded history. (These showers happen every 33 years, so the next one will be in 2031.)<br />
<br />
A word about the slave narratives. All of the slave narratives were transcribed by writers in an attempt to get down on paper for posterity the first hand experiences of former slaves in their own words. Transcriptions and quotes are exact, so these narratives use language commonly used in that time, but which we find abhorrent in our culture. (The Jones narative is not hard to read, however.)<br />
<br />
Here's <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/mesn.010/?sp=239" target="_blank">Abraham Jones </a>describing his experience<br />
Here is a little <a href="http://www.richmond-dailynews.com/2012/12/in-1833-the-sky-fell-but-life-went-on/" target="_blank">modern article on the 1833 shower from The Richmond News</a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-47661573786162984382016-12-12T09:02:00.003-06:002016-12-12T09:07:39.879-06:00Kipling on CharacterThis is one of the most famous of Kipling's works -- and one of my most favorite poems. It explains what character looks like in daily life.<br />
<br />
In the concrete, he describes such character traits as humility, cool-headedness, trustworthiness, perseverance, courage and risk, resignation and fortitude.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/46473" target="_blank">Poetry Foundation link</a><br />
<br />
<div class="detail-hd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="hdg hdg_1" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 1.5rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.231; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If—</span></div>
<div class="detail-hd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-indent: -1em;"> </span></div>
<div class="detail-hd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-indent: -1em;">If you can keep your head when all about you</span></div>
<div class="detail-hd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-indent: -1em;"> Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, </span></div>
<div class="detail-bd" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="user-content" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="user-content-text" style="border: 0px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="poem" data-view="ContentView" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
But make allowance for their doubting too; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And treat those two impostors just the same; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can make one heap of all your winnings </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And lose, and start again at your beginnings </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And never breathe a word about your loss; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
To serve your turn long after they are gone, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And so hold on when there is nothing in you </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If all men count with you, but none too much; </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you can fill the unforgiving minute </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, </div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-90398377244502572202016-12-10T14:31:00.001-06:002016-12-11T10:28:54.888-06:00What Happens When You Make Words IllegalInteresting thoughts by a Jungian psychologist at the the center of a free speech legal maelstrom in Canada, <a href="http://www.c2cjournal.ca/2016/12/were-teaching-university-students-lies-an-interview-with-dr-jordan-peterson/" target="_blank">Dr. Jordan Peterson</a> <a href="http://www.c2cjournal.ca/2016/12/were-teaching-university-students-lies-an-interview-with-dr-jordan-peterson/" target="_blank">article</a>. Here he discusses the problem with authoritarian attempts to make certain types of speech illegal.<br />
<br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"This is why free speech is so important. You can struggle to formulate some argument, but when you throw it out into the public, there’s a collective attempt to modify and improve that. So with the hate speech issue – say someone’s a Holocaust denier, because that’s the standard routine – we want those people out there in the public so you can tell them why they’re historically ignorant, and why their views are unfounded and dangerous. If you drive them underground, it’s not like they stop talking to each other, they just don’t talk to anyone who disagrees with them. That’s a really bad idea and that’s what’s happening in the United States right now. Half of the country doesn’t talk to the other half. Do you know what you call people you don’t talk to? Enemies.</i></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have enemies, you have war.</span></em></strong></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>If you stop talking to people, you either submit to them, or you go to war with them. Those are your options and those aren’t good options. It’s better to have a talk. If you put restrictions on speech, then you can’t actually talk about the difficult things that need to be talked about....</i></span><br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>What happens when that truth actually does contribute to violence against groups?</b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>You pick your poison, and free speech is the right poison. There are groups that advocate for hate, but that’s not the issue. The issue is whether repressing them makes it better or worse. I would say that [repressing them] just makes it worse. There’s [sic] lots of times when you don’t have a good option. People think that if we just don’t let them talk, it’ll go away. It doesn’t work that way at all. In fact, if they’re paranoid, you just justify their paranoia. By pushing them underground, you don’t weaken them. You just give them something compelling to fight against. You make them into heroes in their own eyes."</i></span></div>
</div>
annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-15794355797981228302016-12-06T19:55:00.003-06:002016-12-06T19:58:41.420-06:00Castro rememberedArmando Valledares in The Huffington Post <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/armando-valladares-/against-all-hope-my-22-ye_b_9933328.html" target="_blank">on life in Castro's gulags</a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-12971056802984683732016-11-21T08:10:00.004-06:002016-11-21T08:24:15.855-06:00Corrie ten Boom: Watchmaker, Spinster, Subversive (re-post)Corrie ten Boom was an old, Dutch spinster, a watchmaker with her family business.<br />
<br />
She was also a dangerous contra-Nazi subversive, hiding Jews in her own house, serving as a central link in the communications of the Dutch resistance, and stealing massive stacks of meal tickets from the Nazis to make sure Jewish people were fed.<br />
<br />
She and her sister and father were eventually captured and sent to a series of prisons, where they were stripped naked, beaten, and starved with Jewish and other political prisoners. In the barracks at Ravensbruck she secretly led prayer and Bible study, and administered vitamin drops to prisoners with materials she and her brave sister had miraculously secreted in.<br />
<br />
If you haven't read her own rather short and gripping account of her resistance to the Nazis, may I commend to you her book, <i>The Hiding Place.</i><br />
<br />
In honor of the liberation of the Jews at Auschwitz, here are some of her quotes, (presented at goodreads website), she who faced extreme hatred and fear -- and responded in courage and love.<br />
<br />
<i>"In darkness God's truth shines most clear."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>"Some knowledge is too heavy... you cannot bear it...your Father will carry it until you are able."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>"Whenever we cannot love in the old human way, God can give us the perfect way."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>"This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." </i>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-49725725143731892632016-11-21T07:39:00.002-06:002016-11-21T07:51:36.944-06:00What's Deuteronomy Got to Do with It? (re-post)One segment in Nancy Guthrie's series "Help Me Teach the Bible"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/help-me-teach-the-bible-scott-redd-on-deuteronomy" target="_blank">Scott Redd on Deuteronomy</a><br />
<br />
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/help-me-teach-the-bible-scott-redd-on-deuteronomy<br />
<br />
In this audio, Scott lays out ideas for how to teach and explain Deuteronomy to lay people. Included is the following: a discussion of the context for the book historically and a descriptive word picture of what is happening among the Israelites at the time, the covenantal framework of the book, the idea of using the Ten Commandments as an outline for the laws, a handling topics like slavery and punishment within the context of Scripture, and how we are to view sacrifice and purity laws, theocratic laws, and moral laws as believers today -- as not one jot or tittle of the law has passed away. Scott also discusses something he calls Mosaic Eschatology -- Moses looks ahead, and at the end of the discussion, grave errors he has encountered in approaching teaching OT Scripture.<br />
<br />
"The Old Testament is not rejected, denied, or refuted by Christ and the apostles...They [the OT books] still make claims on us....How <i>do</i> they, in light of the work, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ."<br />
<br />
"We are still called to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, and all of our selves, and all of our strength today."annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-13592031402387072582016-11-21T07:37:00.004-06:002016-11-21T07:37:47.326-06:00Strengthening the Executive Function (re-post)<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Three publications look at how to develop your frontal lobe function</blockquote>
-- <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/make-your-brain-smarter/201301/go-full-frontal-be-smart" target="_blank">Psychology Today</a><br />
<br />
-- <a href="http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/02/09/brain-workout-for-your-frontal-lobes/" target="_blank">Sharp Brain</a><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
-- <a href="http://www.naturalhealth365.com/the-brain.html/" target="_blank">Ideas from NaturalHealth365</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
"Examples of neurobic exercises are listed below:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Writing or using a utensil with your non-dominant hand.<br />
Walking down your hallway with your eyes closed.<br />
1-leg balancing exercises.<br />
Spend time outside smelling all the plants and flowers.<br />
Eat foods with lots of colors to stimulate your visual senses.<br />
Feel the texture of different objects like rocks, shells, etc.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
Additional neurobic activities include:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; outline: none; padding: 0px 0px 1em;">
The use of essential oils – take a sniff to excite your brain.<br />
Brushing the teeth with your non-dominant hand.<br />
Listening to classical music or music that has different tones, melodies and instruments than you are used to listening too.<br />
Surround yourself with lots of different colors.<br />
Play a new instrument or try a new sporting activity.<br />
Do a crossword puzzle.<br />
Walk barefoot outside and pay attention to the unique feel of the rocks and ground with your feet.<br />
Sit in a park and journal about all the unique sounds and smells you are experiencing.<br />
Read a book or recite a speech out-loud while pacing with your eyes closed<br />
Try a new, healthy dish with unique flavors you are not accustomed too."</div>
annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-23368197908492979852016-11-10T10:00:00.001-06:002016-11-10T10:00:35.928-06:00Christianity and Foreign PolicyDad from Shangri-La, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scott_Redd" target="_blank">Vice Admiral J.S. Redd</a>, Ret., signs a statement about Christianity and US foreign policy:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://providencemag.com/2016/09/christian-declaration-american-foreign-policy/" target="_blank">"A Christian Declaration on American Foreign Policy" <i>Providence Journal </i></a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-44263221424794311192016-11-10T09:55:00.001-06:002016-11-10T10:01:45.223-06:00Women in Direct Ground Combat<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Brother from Shangri-La, <a href="https://www.rts.edu/washington/faculty/bio.aspx?id=588" target="_blank">Scott Redd</a>, and Friend of Shangri-La, <a href="http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/m/jennifer-marshall#" target="_blank">Jennifer Marshall</a>, write about pragmatic and biblical concerns with intentionally putting women in direct ground combat roles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://providencemag.com/2016/11/women-direct-ground-combat-mistaking-load-bearing-wall-glass-ceiling/" target="_blank">"Deploying Women to Direct Ground Combat" from <i>Providence Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy</i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;">In Christian theology, responding to God’s call to that cultural task is imperative for human beings seeking to honor God. Incorporating Bavinck’s observation above, honoring God means honoring him</span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;"> </span><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">as</span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;"> </span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;">his image. From this perspective, if sexual difference is part of humanity’s imaging of God, then recognizing and respecting sexual differences is essential to honor God. This conclusion has implications both for individuals inhabiting sexually differentiated bodies, and for males and females relating in community.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;"><br /></span></i></span>
<div style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>To strive for [gender] interchangeability fails to reflect the fullness of the image of God. Similarly, to set up typically male achievements as markers of female success risks denigrating aspects of God’s image that he has revealed in the nature of females.</i></span></div>
annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-40446038566843299552016-11-07T07:12:00.001-06:002016-11-21T07:52:06.425-06:00Begin at the BeginningWhen we persuade mothers and fathers that it is acceptable to kill their own children, we have no hope in bringing peace and love to our land. The process of peace and love and healing begins with truth, forgiveness, and a new direction.<br />
<br />
A long and beautiful speech, of which this is one short part:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-JSypualLY" target="_blank">Mother Theresa 1994 National Prayer Breakfast</a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-29675704346927737182016-11-05T16:38:00.000-05:002016-11-05T16:51:25.265-05:00Pleading the Case for the Mundane<h2 class="date-header" style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(Re-posting)</span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<h2 class="date-header" style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 18.083px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Saturday, September 6, 2014</h2>
<div class="date-posts" style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 13.91px;">
<div class="post-outer">
<div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="897389061269062176"></a><br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-size: 16.692px; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
Pleading the Case for the Mundane</h3>
<div class="post-header">
<div class="post-header-line-1">
</div>
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-897389061269062176" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 19.474px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 5px;">
<i>A letter to a gifted prep school friend</i><br />
<br />
Dear Friend,<br />
<br />
You are caught up in a hundred little deaths of your soul these days. You are forced to sit through classes which are beneath you.<br />
<br />
You know more about these books, these histories; you understand them better than your peers. You are better read than some of your teachers. This is really true, at least in an academic sense.<br />
<br />
In other classes you are made to study material you know you will never use. Odds are good you won't need that quadratic formula in graduate school or in cooking your dinner.<br />
<br />
And this is an indignity. You, O Suburban Minion, must abide the endless chores of polite conversation, lunchroom shufflings, leading questions, obvious observations, endless chores, polite conversation....<br />
<br />
You have better taste.<br />
<br />
Every day you are forced to eat food lacking in subtlety, speak to people lacking in insight and nuance, and grind through homework assignments lacking in imagination and spark, taught by adults who punch the card when you include "setting," "characters," and an ample amount of ham-handed adverbial verbiage.<br />
<br />
Similes that sit like a knuckle sandwich in your mouth.<br />
<br />
What's the use? Where are Sartre and Camus and Kerouc and Woolf in all of this mundane flotsam and jetsam? Where is the Green Knight?<br />
<br />
Where is Keats in this tedious homework assignment to analyze Fanny Brawne -- 'til the Bright Star herself becomes thick-limbed, ugly, and graceless with dead eyes? Nothing like the sun.<br />
<br />
Oh to be one of those noted intellectuals! Those brilliant sparks, caught up in thought and conversation, and not hampered by <i>The Daily Bourgeois</i> of suburban high school and carpool line and vacuuming the stairs.<br />
<br />
Oh to feed that bright fire of the mind, all day, with people who understand and appreciate the heat!<br />
<br />
Yet, you are well-read. What about those characters you know so well?<br />
<br />
What about Saruman in his tall tower hanging in the thin air far above the plains and the little men and the beasts.<br />
<br />
What about Uncle Andrew and Queen Jadis, and their "high and lonely destiny"?<br />
<br />
What about that Invisible Man, and his lone scientific pursuit of autonomy, fed by a withered heart lacking in human connection?<br />
<br />
What if Dr. Frankenstein was a monster and the Monster had a soul?<br />
<br />
What about Virginia's Lighthouse? Did it help her see the rocks?<br />
<br />
And you have read The Intellectual Greats. What if:<br />
<br />
What if many of those ivory tower intellectuals were tiresome bores in the pub or the parlor?<br />
<br />
What if it would be insufferable to share just one drink with them? What if they were the ones everyone avoided at the cocktail party or on the street?<br />
<br />
What if they were people that made other people look at the clock to mutter about appointments and traffic and "needing to go, so nice to touch base with you...."<br />
<br />
What if -- in their rejection of humility, humanity, and the simplicity of duty -- they lost touch with glory, divinity, and the deeply complex?<br />
<br />
What if, in their single-minded pursuit of truth and beauty in isolation -- in the rarefied company of themselves and their toadying salons -- they lost both. (Truth and beauty, that is.)<br />
<br />
What if we all felt sorry for their wives and children and dogs and next door neighbors?<br />
<br />
And more.<br />
<br />
What if Mother Teresa was a genius and Sartre was a fool (himself telling tales full of sound and fury, signifying nothing)?<br />
<br />
What if Einstein practiced piano scales daily as a kid?<br />
<br />
What if the capitalist down the street is a philanthropist, the humanist down the street is a misanthropist, the scholar is a bigot, and the small town sheriff is a sage?<br />
<br />
What if theology is the queen of the sciences?<br />
<br />
It's complicated, isn't it?<br />
<br />
Think:<br />
<br />
What if we maintain our connection to the divine, in part, by maintaining our relationship with the human?<br />
<br />
What if we love God in part by loving others and performing daily duties?<br />
<br />
What if even the Word Himself became flesh. And dwelt among us.<br />
<br />
And what if to love and know and learn, we have to go where the unwashed<i> they</i> are, and live where the un-nuanced <i>they</i> live, and eat their casseroles, boiled vegetables, and drink their iced tea, and do their homework assignments?<br />
<br />
And in meeting with daily life and daily people, what if we find not just truth and beauty, but also ourselves -- right there?<br />
<br />
What if we find that we, in fact, are just another one of<i> them</i>: merely a co-regent of all creation. (Nothing big.)<br />
<br />
My friend, what if we find our best selves in the mundane performance of daily duties that bring order and abundance, done with love, joy, and humility?<br />
<br />
Here is your next homework assignment for "Life 101"<br />
<br />
* Read the Gospel of John to yourself aloud and slowly<br />
* Read "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Andrew<br />
* Read "Intellectuals" by Paul Johnson<br />
* Discuss with your fellow co-regents. (Ie, your middle class parents, teachers, and friends. You might be surprised at how much they know.)<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
An old friend who once hated homework, wore black turtlenecks, and choked on both gnats and Camels</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-26898576700081468322016-10-05T06:59:00.002-05:002016-10-05T07:00:32.865-05:00Weep with Those Who WeepHelpful piece on what to say when your friend is grieving.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/yes-say-something-overcoming-awkwardness-grieving-people" target="_blank">Yes, You Should Say Something</a>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-18894005205781834462016-09-29T10:42:00.000-05:002016-09-29T18:32:12.234-05:00Turning Toward <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;">Based on just a few factors, psychologist John Gottman can predict with up to 94 percent certainty whether a marriage will succeed or fail. Changing your mindset and behavior in a few ways changes everything.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;">I read this fascinating and concise article a couple of years ago and reading it again has been a good exercise for me.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;"><i>"He invited 130 newlywed couples to spend the day at this retreat and watched them as they did what couples normally do on vacation: cook, clean, listen to music, eat, chat, and hang out. And Gottman made a critical discovery in this study—one that gets at the heart of why some relationships thrive while others languish."</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lyon text" , "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/happily-ever-after/372573/" target="_blank">The Masters of Love</a></i></span>annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-26525744566698831752016-09-29T10:37:00.001-05:002016-09-29T10:37:38.285-05:00Country RomanceLove these two pretty songs about real, grown up romance.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTA2buWlNyM&index=8&list=RDUFas-cB9LG8&spfreload=5" target="_blank">Remember When</a></i> -- Alan Jackson<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFas-cB9LG8&index=2&list=RDUFas-cB9LG8" target="_blank">Something That We Do</a> -- Clint Blackannechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-13283613673874082352016-09-22T08:35:00.000-05:002016-09-22T08:37:18.719-05:00Brother from Shangri LaTales from Shangri-La features The Brother from Shangri-La's blog responding to a recent Nicholas Kristof article:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sunergoi.com/?p=1203#.V-PeJpMrKu4" target="_blank">Resisting the Talisman View of Salvation </a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1096728957242158587.post-34253724595008960742016-08-16T08:39:00.001-05:002016-08-17T07:44:58.564-05:00Be encouraged by good and saddened by evil, but surprised by neither.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />annechambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881513989090820206noreply@blogger.com0