05.23.06

My daily reads

Posted in Uncategorized at by mountzionryan

In imitation of Philippa and because Alda left me a comment, here are some blogs/forums I read.

Deacon Raphael (no relation, chuckle) has just posted a tear jerker.

Waiter is one heck of a writer and his posts are always full of humanity and humor.

I’ve recently joined Monachos.net and have been a little disappointed. I was hoping for more discussion.

I’ve been reading Orthodork, wondering if it would provide the irregular daily Orthodox discussion I didn’t find in Monachos. I like the posts and the potential is there for regular conversation, but its not frequent.

I regularly read a few gaming sites like Treasure Tables Blog and Forum and The Great White Games/Pinnacle Forum.

I’ve enjoyed the Orthodox-Convert list at Yahoo for years, but now it just seems to be the same set of discussions over and over. I guess it should be as new converts join, but it no longer interests me. Plus the volume of posts is a little high for my taste.

If you know of a fairly active, friendly Orthodox forum pass it along.

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05.22.06

No promises

Posted in Uncategorized at by mountzionryan

Just looked over some of my blog archives. Dang do I feel guilty about my lack of posting. Not that anybody reads this (well, hopefully I still have the Faithful Four TM), but I was hoping that a this would provide a more convenient method of keeping a journal.

I am going to try the “three things” method again along with something I regularly enter in my paper journal: the weather.

1) A blog I read regularly is The Iceland Weather Report. Sounds innocuous enough doesn’t it. It is a nearly daily blog of what’s going on in Iceland (of which I am obsessed) and the weather for that day.

2) The whole Magazine Thing is hard. Between all our other responsibilities, this is getting squeezed out. Frankly I am pretty burnt out on it. This weekend I’m going camping with Mike or alone and am looking forward to the relaxation. I need it.

3) I recently aquired a really cool book at my friendly neighborhood used bookseller. It is simply called Sailing Ships and is very detailed and richly illustrated. It spans ships from the medieval Cog (the northern version being really just an improved longship) to the training ships of the early 20th century.
I also found parts two and three of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast Triology, UK edition paperbacks. I love finding treasures at the used bookstore, usually I just find junk.

Gray and 60 as I drove to work today. Pretty good chance of rain. High in the low 70s.

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05.12.06

The Spirit Moves, pt 2

Posted in Uncategorized at by mountzionryan

[If you haven't read part one, do so now.]
And now I am being pulled back to life. I begun reading and enjoying Apostle to Zaire about Blessed Father Cosmas of Grigoriou.

And it occurred to me that contrary to claims, being Orthodox isn’t hard. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, in moments of despair, I think, “Lord, why Orthodox. I coulda been happy as a Baptist. Its so easy.” But that’s not true. 1)I wouldn’t have been happy and 2)Orthodoxy is easier.

Oh sure there are more “things to do” than in Protestant churches. Vespers, Confession, Liturgy, Fasting, services at all hours of the day, venerate this and venerate that, get the priests blessing, prayer rule, etc. But we know what to do. That was always my problem before becoming Orthodox. I had no idea what to do. I knew going to church on Sunday wasn’t enough. But The Church, in her wisdom, lays out for what we need to do to follow Christ. And where there is some flexibility she provides us with a guide who can offer advice.

So, I am going to talk to Father soon about the whole chapel thing and get his input. I’ve been hesitant until I could find a permenant spot–either at a home I own, or in agreement with the land owner. But now…well I’m still renting but things have changed somewhat.

Since this recent “reawakening” I’ve been twice confronted with this quote:

“The spread of Christ’s faith ought to be near and precious to the heart of every Christian. In this work every member of the Church ought to take a lively and heart-felt interest. “
-St. Tikhon of Moscow

As Buffalo Springfield sang (in an admittedly different context), “There’s something happening here.”

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05.11.06

The Spirit Moves, pt One

Posted in Uncategorized at by mountzionryan

Signs Point to Yes
I know it may be a little silly to begin this post with a quote from the Magic 8-ball, but isn’t drawing lots an ancient version of everyone’s favorite childhoood prognostication device?

Anyway…
I can’t recall if I’ve previously mentioned this but, Father Stephen has Valdyka’s blessing to set up chapels or shrines around the area. These would be served by a caretaker who would read Reader’s Vespers a couple times per week. Bascially it would serve to 1)sanctify the area and 2)make a greater Orthodox presence in East Tennessee. Nothing has really happened along these lines, but the idea lingers. I have this dream of founding a mission in my hometown and this Chapel/Shrine would be the first step in that direction.

[Aside: I subscribe to the Field of Dreams theory of evangelism: build it and they will come. If I have a chapel and start having services, the Lord will send others to join me.]

I have been keeping an eye out for a place to put the Shrine, but to no avail. As a renter I really didn’t think it would work for me to have it at my house. And so I let the idea…ferment. I came back to it from time to time. But always I knew that if it was God’s will and in God’s time, I would know. I wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

* * *

In the past few days I’ve been in a funk. Just got the blues. Spiritually I was in the dumps. I couldn’t read anything edifying without my eyes crossing in boredom and my prayer rule consisted on Mealtime and bedtime with the kids. Real poor. Then I remembered something Fr. Thomas Hopko said in one of his taped talks. “Sometimes, when things aren’t going your way it’s because you’re not doing what God wants.”

Several months ago, when I re-approached the subject of Paul’s baptism with Lainey and she consented, things turned around very quickly. I knew that I had to give my son to the Lord. I still know it. Finally admitting it and doing something about it cleared the spiritual logjam I was caught in. I honestly believe that someday he will be my spiritual father. [But that's another post.]

So I was thinking about being blue and what I needed to do and whammo! Prayer. It’s easy, just ask Christ to take it from you, give your burdens to him. And this haze that had settled in my mind cleared. I prayed for a while and took a shower. Suddenly it dawned on me: it is time to build the Chapel. It was that clear. Kind of like I was having a conversation with someone and suddenly understood their point. I just smiled and said, “I am supposed to get to work on the chapel aren’t I.” I had, in fact, already been planning on building a work shed for my mower and other implements of destruction.

continued in Pt 2.

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Crusades, on my mind

Posted in Uncategorized at by mountzionryan

After looking for something to read at Books-A-Million I settled on The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Jonathan Phillips. Seems pretty good so far, but like popular notions of the crusades, Phillips doesn’t seem to realize that the Crusades were wars of Liberation; at least that was the intent. Granted, the Crusaders failed to respect the native Christians. Nonetheless, the Crusaders believed they were liberating the Holy Lands from the Muslims. And they were. The “Middle East” or Levant or Outremer were Christian Lands. The great sees of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, were all ancient seats of Chirstianity. Here’s a map of Europe in 526.

The pink is the Roman Empire–some call it Byzantine. Regardless, it quite obviously includes much of what the Crusaders were trying to “conquer.”