Keep Praying for Rain

The docks are on dry land in Lake Lanier. Why does God withhold the rain? Why does he send the wildfire? It’s for the same reason my car doesn’t start sometimes. The Lord calls us to trust him.

Sure, there are responsible things we can do to help sometimes. I don’t know what we could do about the drought other than conserve water now that we’re in the middle of it, but proper forest management can cut back on wildfires, and if a mechanic could discern my car trouble, we could fix that too. But in all trouble, especially the natural disaster type, God’s message is to trust him.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3 ESV)

So have no fear . . .

How often does the Lord tell his people not to fear, and how much fear do we, Christians in America, struggle with? I speak for myself here. Why am I afraid of nothing? And here I claim to trust the Lord with my life.

No Place for an Intern

Mitt Romney in an interview with Sean Hannity tonight:

But I fundamentally think the people will not vote based upon someone’s gender or their race, or their religion, for that matter. I think they’re going to look at what their vision is for the future of the country, where they would take it, and whether they had the experience and skills to actually lead a nation of our scale in such a critical time.

And I think the greatest drawback beyond the direction [Mrs. Clinton would] take us is that she’s never run anything. She’s never had the occasion of being in the private sector, running a business, or, for that matter, running a state or a city. She hasn’t run anything, and the government of the United States is not a place for a president to be an intern. You need to have experience actually leading and running things.

Where Are the Alternatives on Amazon.com?

Outsiders are calling on Amazon.com (which has a nice, new design) to make a category for alternative literature. You can see the categories on the side of their Literature & Fiction section now. What do you think? Do you care about Indie Lit? Have you read anything good there?

Post in haste, repent at leisure

I’m late, and this post will be short, assuming I get it posted at all.

I’ve been in Wireless Router Purgatory all evening, and Earthlink phone support is down due to “technical problems” (no doubt they’re on hold with their own phone support). Then, after a couple hours, my connection light came on again all on its own. And then off again. And now it’s on again. So I’m hoping I can get this posted before it falls off the wagon once more.

Blue Crab Boulevard provides this post about the world’s oldest clam–we’re talking a 400-year-old mollusk here. Found in one of my favorite places, no less. Iceland.

What the article doesn’t tell is whether it was found in a month with an “R” in it.

And Theodore Dalrymple (himself not a believer) makes some excellent arguments against recent atheist books in City Journal. (Hat tip to Freedom Dogs.)

Colbert On Being Normal

Speaking of Colbert and H.S. Key, the latter points out an interview with the former in Vanity Fair. “His getup,” says Seth Mnookin in the article, “combined with the swagger he affects onstage, made him seem like Clark Kent, if Clark Kent acted more like Superman in his everyday life.” As I suspected, Colbert appears to be a normal, admirable man. I’m going to have to read his book now.

Frowning on Colbert for President

I know the law is the law, but the FEC needs to lighten up on Stephen Colbert’s “presidential” run. He’s not really running for the White House. He can’t, because he is America. As can be seen on one of his websites (for the moment), 27% of supporters believe he should be his own running mate. So, I’m going to be disappointed if some lawyer or federal gook roughs him up over this. Now, if he gets his name on the general ballot, he has probably going to far, but until then–he is America, and I can too!

You’re No Fun Anymore

Harrison Scott Key complains that novels are boring and short stories are worse. He says, “My general claim is that fiction is in the dumps because fiction isn’t fun like it used to be. Somewhere after Cervantes, novelists forgot that it was okay to be funny.” Woody Allen on the other hand . . .

‘Not At All Cute’

Frank Wilson reviews Charles Williams’ All Hallows’ Eve, written in 1945. He says it focuses on real, cosmic evil in the streets of London. “In Williams’ vision of Halloween,” he says, “we are our own goblins – and not at all cute.”

Book Reviews, Creative Culture