On the Common 158

Vegetable Orchestra

Hello and welcome to Thursday,

This is a message for those of you who need closure in your lives: Last week I mentioned that I had reached out to Substack for help on my constantly-refreshing problem. I never heard back from them (hooray for human help, or the lack thereof). However, the problem is not occurring anymore, so maybe it was more than just me who was having trouble.

---

The Part Where There’s an Essay: A Wonderful Question to Ask

A friend once told me about the exercise her father would put them through at the dinner table some nights. As the family gathered for the evening meal, her dad would grab a few objects from the kitchen around them, place them on the table together, and challenge the kids to make it relate to the Bible somehow. So he would take the salt shaker, a chopstick, and a plant, and ask the kids to create some kind of word picture relating to Scripture. These would sometimes be outlandish—”those who stay on the straight and narrow remain salty (don’t lose their saltiness) and continue to bear fruit”—but they were a good exercise in creativity, critical thinking, and Scripture rehearsal.

If we believe, as Charlotte Mason once said, “education is the science of relations,” then a good exercise in learning is to ask how one thing relates to another. This can be done in a silly way, as in the example given above, but more often, benefit can come from asking the following question:

What does this remind me of?

For example, a Bible teacher using the passage on the wise and foolish stewards might introduce the learners to the stewards in The Lord of the Rings or Pride and Prejudice. In one story, we meet a foolish steward: one who pursued his own glory and nearly brought the kingdom to ruin. In the other story, we hear of a wise steward: one who improved the reputation of his employer and caused the estate to flourish.

While these are not Scriptural examples, they give the learner a foothold with the text. As we relate Scriptural ideas to other ideas—be they historical, literary, scientific, personal, or otherwise—we create another level of scaffolding to the principles and text we are trying to teach. This causes an easier ascent of the ladder to truth, doing a service to the learner.

“Education is the ordering of our affections. Education is the science of relations–the relations we form, and the relations we see. And ultimately, at its very end, the science of relations is the pursuit of wisdom.” --Karen Glass

When the Bible tells us again and again that God is not slow to fulfill His promises, but He is sovereignly acting as He intends—well, this is easy to process linguistically, but not simple to process in the day-to-day fight for belief.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

We can teach this verse to our children, and they may reply, “How can that be true?” It is difficult for even the most developed theological mind to comprehend, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

One morning, I read this verse aloud at the breakfast table, and my oldest responded, “That reminds me of Gandalf.” Gandalf the Grey, who was late in coming by everyone else’s estimation. Gandalf the Grey, who had to do what he had to do, and usually protected everybody else in doing it, in ways they’d never understand. “"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

To see how things relate, to understand the “hanging-together-ness” of the universe, is a key to wisdom. To comprehend that the politics of today are not so very different from other ages; to detect a lie in a marketing campaign; to pursue the right action and forsake the wrong one: these are all indicators of wisdom. And wisdom is fed by understanding that things remind us of other things on purpose. The relationships between things feed us and help us grow.

What does that remind me of? ...is a good place to start.

---

For the Anglophiles

There’s really nothing to say here. Just sharing the London Vegetable Orchestra:

theroyalfamily

A post shared by @theroyalfamily

---

Reads & Listens of the Week

My work with Story Warren is in full swing, and this month we have a Kickstarter campaign going for a book and a video game. Both items tell the same story, and your kids can decide which they do first (that is, if you let them). One of the great things with the Kickstarter has been my colleague Zach’s brilliant spoof video games based on classic works of literature:

sdsmithereens

A post shared by @sdsmithereens

PS, why not give some money to the Kickstarter and tell them (me) I sent you?!

I didn’t know until it was too late that it is Inklings Week (is it a Day or a Week? I am seeing conflicting answers). As penance, here is an interview—and some gorgeous interiors of his most recent book—with John Hendrix. “Our work always gets better in a community. Not sometimes, but always. With Lewis and Tolkien, it is so clear that their fellowship made all the difference in their life.”

As most of you know, I am a Boston sports fan, so the news that Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon was NOT ENJOYABLE (mostly for Jayson, let’s face it). But here is a nice video of the GM of the Celtics, Brad Stevens, helping Jayson up the tunnel. I have always liked Brad, as he is a kind Hoosier just like my husband. Stooping to lead: a good example to follow.

We could make things pretty again if we tried.

---

People are prepared for everything except for the fact that beyond the darkness of their blindness there is a great light…. They are prepared for a God who strikes hard bargains but not for a God who gives as much for an hour’s work as for a day’s. -

Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, Frederick Buechner