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The Jevlir Caravansary

Author: jevlir

  • Psalm 103 as Blank Verse

    OK, here’s another try at transforming a Psalm, in this case, by putting it into blank verse. There are some wonderful parallelisms in Psalm 103, but a great deal of that impact is lost on English readers. Here I try to present the message in blank verse, which provides some meter. I’m still sticking fairly close to the thought structure of the Psalm as it is. As I have time I may play around some more and try to create additional translations using other poetic forms.

    May all I am from deep within speak blessings of my God!
    Oh let me not forget the things my God has given to me

    He it is forgives my sins.
    He it is who heals my ills.
    He it is my life redeems.
    He it is his grace pours out.
    He my life with good things fills.
    He’s the one renews my strength.

    My God does right and justice gives for all who are oppressed.
    He showed his servant Moses ways and deeds he knew were right.
    My God is kind, he will abide, his anger slow to show.
    His accusations soon will end, his favor then we’ll see.

    Our sins are great, but mercy’s more, our guilt receives his grace.
    As heaven’s far above the earth, so grace exeeds our fall.
    As far as east is from the west, so far transgressions sent.
    As parent cares for wayward child, so cares our God for us.

    Because he knows just who we are; recalls that we are dust.
    We’re like the grass that fades and dies, like flower that blooms then fails.
    A wind may blow and then it’s gone, it’s roots cannot be found.
    But my God’s grace forever stands, his justice never fails.
    To those who keep his covenant, to those who do his word.

    Let angels, every power who does his word come bless my God.
    Let all the host who serve and do his will come bless my God.
    May all that he has done in every place he rules come bless my God.
    May all I am from deep within speak blessings of my God!

  • Book: Runner

    William C. Dietz is primarily an author of military science fiction and he’s outstanding in his portrayal of military action. I’ve previously written a couple of notes on his book For Those Who Fell, and since reading that book I’ve been quite quick to check his books out of the library or find them on bookstore shelves.

    In many ways I like the story in Runner better than the military science fiction. The characters are very engaging, the action is good, and the theme very enjoyable. Yet I think Dietz is not quite as good at this type of story as he was at the military material. He seems less able to create the transitions, and more of the book seems to be there just taking up space. But that is really a small complaint, and I might not have noticed except for the much tighter structure of his military stories.

    Overall, I strongly recommend this book (4+ out of 5), and intend to continue to read books by this author as they are available.

  • DVD: The Shaggy Dog

    Most of the time when I don’t like a movie I just don’t review it. But in this case, I make an exception. I like many Disney movies. They’re generally fun, you don’t have to take them too seriously, and yet they’re at least enchanting.

    In this case, I’m not sure whether there was a good idea in there somewhere. There may have been, but it was obscured by an enormous pack or just ordinary ideas or even bad ones. There were a few funny scenes, but they weren’t connected together to make a really funny movie.

    All in all, I didn’t find any of the characters all that attractive. I didn’t find the story very consistent or suspenseful. By the time the movie ended, I really didn’t care particularly what happened to any of the folks. The dog is pretty, and probably nice, but we didn’t see much of that.

    I think this has to count as a rare “miss” for Disney in producing engaging movies for the whole family. (Note, except for boredom, there’s nothing here that should be a problem for family viewing.)

  • Book: Day of the Dead

    This is an excellent suspense story by J. A. Jance. I generally rate Jance as a “4” on my 1-5 scale. This particular book is a bit better than that.

    It is not a mystery in any sense. I don’t normally read pure suspense, but a combination of mystery and suspense generally does interest me. I picked this up because I have really enjoyed Jance’s mysteries set in Arizona.

    The characters in this story are generally either very likeable, or a great pleasure to hate. In other words, they’re interesting and human, and you come to care how things work out. While you know who the bad guys are along the way, there is considerable suspense over just how things will play out and what the costs will be for each of the characters.

    The interweave of Native American beliefs and various brands of Christianity was interesting to me as a Bible teacher, as is the interplay of different cultures. All of that is part of building up one’s personal commitment to the characters and the story. It was also fun to encounter Dr. Fran Daly on her home ground (for those who have read some of the Joanna Brady mysteries.)

    Overall, though I haven’t put Jance on my “must read, 5 of 5” list, this book is excellent and well-worthwhile reading.

  • Old Mystery Still Fascinates

    Analysts try to put a face on Jack the Ripper proclaims a story on MSNBC. It’s interesting, though not surprising, to see how much attention this mystery gets 118 years after the murders took place.

    One wonders whether the ripper would have been quickly caught with modern crime fighting techniques, given the amount of information that is available even now. Nonetheless I doubt we’ll have a solution that everyone can agree on, so authors should have plenty of opportunity for fun for many more years to come.

  • Book: Chasing Faith by Mark Miller

    I don’t usually do this, but I want to mention a book I haven’t read. While displaying books at Pine Forest United Methodist Church craft show on November 11, I had a chat with author Mark Miller about his book Chasing Faith. It’s going to be some time before I’ll have time to read the book, but the author impressed me with his energy and enthusiasm for his topic as well as his coherent description of his purpose in writing this book.

    This book is only available through the publisher Trent’s Prints, and again I haven’t read it, but I wanted to call attention to the entry. Take a look at the catalog page and consider communicating with the author.

  • This Could be Important

    See this.

  • Christian Carnival CXLVII

    I participate each week in the Christian Blog Carnival, but I generally submit just one post from the Participatory Bible Study Blog. Nonetheless I like to link from all my blogs to the carnival post. I’ve been forgetting to post it here, however. So here goes . . .

    Rev-Ed has recovered from election day activities and posted the Christian Carnival CXLVII.

    Thanks to Rev-Ed for a nice carnival.

  • Three Movies over the Weekend

    Over the weekend my wife watched (or started to watch) three movies, and I thought I would comment on them.

    First was X-Men: The Last Stand. Just like it’s two predessors, this was a horrible movie, and I didn’t finish watching it. My wife managed to get to the end by skipping forward a lot. It didn’t get any better. I rate it a one. If you like pure special effects without a story, characterization, or any real consistency, perhaps you’ll be OK with it. Otherwise, pass. Since we got it from Netflix, we didn’t lose anything!

    Second, we watched Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Jody got this one for me, because I love the Garfield cartoon. Well, I confess I loved the movie too. It sticks with the easy-going humor of the cartoon. The story isn’t complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. The two Garfields may be one (or two) too many, but that’s all the fun. This is good for relaxing, just like those time when you read the cartoon section of your local paper. I rate this a four.

    Third was Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas. This is a really great movie, in my view, one that challenges us to do more with what we are given. I truly enjoyed the story just as entertainment, but when entertainment can be combined with the challenge to make more of ourselves, I call that great. This is a must watch.

    Note that I got all of these from Netflix. See the add in the right hand sidebar. The links on each title are to purchase the items from Amazon.com.

  • Book: Old Soldiers

    Considering that Keith Laumer is one of my favorite authors, and that David Weber is on my “read everything he writes” list, it’s not surprising that I found this book fascinating. Laumer was happy to go off in different directions with the bolo series, but those who have taken it up since his death have been trying to build a more coherent history around it.

    One of David Weber’s major skills is in description of combat and of the feelings of those who participate in it. He has definitely brought that skill into this portrayal of a bolo in the time of the Melconian war. A bolo commander who survived the death of her bolo, and a bolo whose commander did not survive are combined in protecting a colony mission designed to plant a human presence outside of the area of the war where the Melconians might not find it.

    Old Soldiers is a wonderful new addition to the bolo literature.