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Sunday Inspiration: Hardship
Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny..
—C. S. Lewis
Galatians Commentary
I’m pleased to announce that commentary on Galatians in which I had a part has now been published.
Marty Soards did a fantastic job on the biblical exegesis, and I provided supplemental materials to connect the message of Galatians to contemporary life for the sake of teachers and preachers who will strive to bring this important Pauline letter to life in the church.
In his seventh letter to Lucilius, the philosopher Seneca observed that people learn while they teach. Perhaps it should be added that people learn a lot while they try to write biblical commentaries!
I’m also incredibly grateful for this fine endorsement from my Doktorvater, Dr. John Polhill:
In their Galatian commentary, Soards and Pursiful present a fresh and comprehensive exposition of the epistle. They set forth a careful exegesis of the Greek text that is accomplished in clear language, easily understandable to the non-specialist. Although thoroughly acquainted with the best scholarship, they stick to the text itself and avoid the excessive speculation and over-emphasis on theology so characteristic of many Galatian commentaries. I rank this right at the top of commentaries I have read on Galatians.
So, there you have it. Why not buy one for the whole family?
Sunday Inspiration: Perseverance
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
—Thomas Edison
Sunday Inspiration: Confidence
Promise me you’ll remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think.”
—A. A. Milne
New England’s Underwater Dwarves
New England Folklore shares this Penobscot legend:
It seems like Bigfoot is the monster most frequently sighted out in the woods these days. He’s been seen in every New England state, even Rhode Island. However, in the past a much greater variety of strange creatures could be seen lurking around New England, and many of them are documented in the region’s Native American lore.
One of the more interesting creatures was the water dwarf of Penobscot legend. I write in the past tense, implying that the water dwarfs are gone, but that may not be the case. Maybe they are just lying low and keeping out of sight. That might be OK, because seeing a water dwarf often brought trouble.
The Penobscot name for the dwarfs was alambegwinosis, which literally translates to “underwater dwarf man.” (That would be an awesome name for a superhero!) Sometimes singly and sometimes in villages, these creatures dwell in deep pools in rivers, or at the bottom of lakes. An alambegwinosis is quite distinctive looking. If you encounter a three-foot tall naked man with long straight hair down to his waist near an isolated deep body of fresh water you’ve probably stumbled on a water dwarf.
Sunday Inspiration: Kindness
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
—Aesop
The Language of Birds?
Silbo Gomero is a method of transposing the sounds of spoken Spanish into whistles. Arika Okrent at mental_floss explains:
The human voice can only carry so far, but a whistle can travel for miles. In the mountains and ravines of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, a language of whistles has been used for centuries to transmit long distance messages with amazing accuracy.
The article goes on to explain that there are other whistle-languages known in other parts of the world.
In Ghanaian folklore, the mmoatia communicate by means of a whistling language, and whistling in the forest is a sure way to get their attention.
In the world of Taylor Smart, many fae are familiar with the language of birds—a detail I added in honor of The Hobbit, although Tolkien no doubt was inspired by Germanic mythology, where this ability comes up from time to time.
It would definitely be a handy skill to have, especially since you can rarely get a cell phone signal in faery-land.
Sunday Inspiration: Good Thoughts
If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
—Roald Dahl
Review: Conjure Woman’s Cat
Conjure Woman’s Cat by Malcolm R. Campbell explores the life of a close-knit African American community in the 1950s Florida panhandle through the eyes of Lena, the feline assistant to Eulalie, a “conjure woman” or folk-healer and magician. When an act of injustice provokes Eulalie to use her mystical powers to settle the score, it threatens to expose her own closely held secrets.
The novella’s tone and themes are similar in many ways to To Kill a Mockingbird, but with a heavy dose of magical realism. The story is engaging, with complex and believable characters, but I found it at least as fascinating as an account of traditional Southern black culture. There is even a glossary at the end of folk magic, Florida history, and mid-twentieth century blues performers. The glossary is quite interesting, but not at all necessary for enjoying the story.
Conjure Woman’s Cat deals with mature themes, but does so with discretion and sensitivity. There is a bit of rough language, but nothing middle schoolers old enough to be assigned To Kill a Mockingbird haven’t heard before.
Sunday Inspiration: Perspective
I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.
—Nelson Mandela
