by Jason Joyner | Oct 11, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This week’s CFBA blog tour presents Alison Strobel and her new novel Violette Between.
My friend Rhonda Lewis read this book initially, and as an avid reader of CBA novels this is what she had to say: “A great story of romance, tragedy, and redemption. I can’t wait to read more from Alison Strobel.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alison Strobel graduated with a degree in elementary education, and in the summer of 2000 she moved from Chicago to southern California where she taught elementary school for three years. It was in Orange County that she met her husband, Daniel Morrow, and the story developed for her first novel, Worlds Collide.
Violette Between is a poinant story of a true artist. When the love of Violette’s life, Saul suddenly died, she died too. Then she meets Christian, who also is morning the loss of a loved one.
As Violette and Christian begin to feel something that they both thought was impossible. Tragedy strikes again. Christian finds Violette on the floor of his waiting room, that she had been painting to look like a New York rooftop restaurant.
As Christian holds a vigil at her bedside, begging her to come back to him, Violette is in a coma, traveling to a place where she meets her beloved Saul. And she finds that she may not want to come back!
What would it be like to choose a place between the past and the present?
Violette Between is a powerful character study of a woman finally relinquishing the past to move on, only to be thrust into the quandry of reliving that life and needing to make a choice.
For Christians, this will definitely make you think about heaven and the consequences of eternal life.
“Delving into the underside of complicated relationships, Alison Strobel takes readers to unexpected places, but doesn’t hesitate to deliver redemptiom when needed.”
—Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice
by Jason Joyner | Oct 11, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This week’s CFBA blog tour presents Alison Strobel and her new novel Violette Between.
My friend Rhonda Lewis read this book initially, and as an avid reader of CBA novels this is what she had to say: “A great story of romance, tragedy, and redemption. I can’t wait to read more from Alison Strobel.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alison Strobel graduated with a degree in elementary education, and in the summer of 2000 she moved from Chicago to southern California where she taught elementary school for three years. It was in Orange County that she met her husband, Daniel Morrow, and the story developed for her first novel, Worlds Collide.
Violette Between is a poinant story of a true artist. When the love of Violette’s life, Saul suddenly died, she died too. Then she meets Christian, who also is morning the loss of a loved one.
As Violette and Christian begin to feel something that they both thought was impossible. Tragedy strikes again. Christian finds Violette on the floor of his waiting room, that she had been painting to look like a New York rooftop restaurant.
As Christian holds a vigil at her bedside, begging her to come back to him, Violette is in a coma, traveling to a place where she meets her beloved Saul. And she finds that she may not want to come back!
What would it be like to choose a place between the past and the present?
Violette Between is a powerful character study of a woman finally relinquishing the past to move on, only to be thrust into the quandry of reliving that life and needing to make a choice.
For Christians, this will definitely make you think about heaven and the consequences of eternal life.
“Delving into the underside of complicated relationships, Alison Strobel takes readers to unexpected places, but doesn’t hesitate to deliver redemptiom when needed.”
—Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice
by Jason Joyner | Oct 9, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
If anyone thinks that the Bible doesn’t include any art, then they just need to look a little closer. Schaeffer takes a look at several instances of art in the Bible. Most of the references do come from the Old Testament, which contains more history. The New Testament is more concerned with teaching, so art does not really show up significantly (except for the beauty of the New Jerusalem, with gold and precious stones used to decorate streets).
The first time we see art in the Bible is when Moses is given directions for the tabernacle. In Exodus 25:9, God tells Moses to follow all of the patterns he is given. The Lord goes on to have two cherubim of gold formed (Ex 25:18). There are also candlestick with branches and almond-blossoms coming off of it (25:31-33). These are both examples of representational art. Later in Exodus we see an example of interpretive art: on the skirts of the priests’ garments are pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet (28:33). In nature, pomegranates are red. Now purple and scarlet could be part of the growth cycle of the fruit, but blue definitely would not be. Thus, God wants beautiful things associated with His worship, and there is creativity to interpret things beyond the exact of what they are on earth.
In the temple, it was covered with precious stones “for beauty” (2 Chron. 3:6). The stones didn’t have a symbolical or representational aspect that required their presence. God just thought they looked nice! Later on in chapter 3, Schaeffer talks about free-standing columns decorated with chains and pomegranates. These columns do not support weight or have a utilitarian significance(3:16-17). Again, they are there for beauty and presentation. This is a good argument for any who would say that art needs to have some purpose, such as evangelism or exhortation. It is possible to create a work of art just because – in order to create something beautiful is reason enough in itself.
There is artwork besides visual art in the Bible. One obvious area is poetry. Much of the Old Testament is written in poetic form, with a lyrical beauty that transcends the original Hebrew and comes across in other languages. Not all of the poetry is psalms and prophecy though, strictly religious subjects. 2 Samuel 1:19-27 is “a secular ode, a poem by David to the praise of Saul and Jonathan as national heroes” (FS p385).
The Song of Solomon is often interpreted as the love of Christ for the church, which is a definitely valid interpretation. However, we must not forget what its original purpose is, which is obviously a love poem. This is inspired Scripture – a demonstration of holy love of a man and woman, enjoying all that God has given them – including a celebration of beauty.
I could go on to discuss music and drama and dance in the Bible, but I think my point has been made. Art is in the Bible, and God has used it both for His purposes (psalms in worship, Ezekiel acting out the siege of Jerusalem as a prophetic word) and for beauty’s sake alone. Now that I’ve established this point, I’ll go on next time to discuss what Francis Schaeffer has to say on perspectives of art.
Don’t forget, leave a comment to be entered in a book giveaway at the end of this series!
by Jason Joyner | Oct 9, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
If anyone thinks that the Bible doesn’t include any art, then they just need to look a little closer. Schaeffer takes a look at several instances of art in the Bible. Most of the references do come from the Old Testament, which contains more history. The New Testament is more concerned with teaching, so art does not really show up significantly (except for the beauty of the New Jerusalem, with gold and precious stones used to decorate streets).
The first time we see art in the Bible is when Moses is given directions for the tabernacle. In Exodus 25:9, God tells Moses to follow all of the patterns he is given. The Lord goes on to have two cherubim of gold formed (Ex 25:18). There are also candlestick with branches and almond-blossoms coming off of it (25:31-33). These are both examples of representational art. Later in Exodus we see an example of interpretive art: on the skirts of the priests’ garments are pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet (28:33). In nature, pomegranates are red. Now purple and scarlet could be part of the growth cycle of the fruit, but blue definitely would not be. Thus, God wants beautiful things associated with His worship, and there is creativity to interpret things beyond the exact of what they are on earth.
In the temple, it was covered with precious stones “for beauty” (2 Chron. 3:6). The stones didn’t have a symbolical or representational aspect that required their presence. God just thought they looked nice! Later on in chapter 3, Schaeffer talks about free-standing columns decorated with chains and pomegranates. These columns do not support weight or have a utilitarian significance(3:16-17). Again, they are there for beauty and presentation. This is a good argument for any who would say that art needs to have some purpose, such as evangelism or exhortation. It is possible to create a work of art just because – in order to create something beautiful is reason enough in itself.
There is artwork besides visual art in the Bible. One obvious area is poetry. Much of the Old Testament is written in poetic form, with a lyrical beauty that transcends the original Hebrew and comes across in other languages. Not all of the poetry is psalms and prophecy though, strictly religious subjects. 2 Samuel 1:19-27 is “a secular ode, a poem by David to the praise of Saul and Jonathan as national heroes” (FS p385).
The Song of Solomon is often interpreted as the love of Christ for the church, which is a definitely valid interpretation. However, we must not forget what its original purpose is, which is obviously a love poem. This is inspired Scripture – a demonstration of holy love of a man and woman, enjoying all that God has given them – including a celebration of beauty.
I could go on to discuss music and drama and dance in the Bible, but I think my point has been made. Art is in the Bible, and God has used it both for His purposes (psalms in worship, Ezekiel acting out the siege of Jerusalem as a prophetic word) and for beauty’s sake alone. Now that I’ve established this point, I’ll go on next time to discuss what Francis Schaeffer has to say on perspectives of art.
Don’t forget, leave a comment to be entered in a book giveaway at the end of this series!
by Jason Joyner | Oct 8, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I still am teaching Romans in my church’s adult Sunday school class. I said a long time ago that I would post a little about our study and any pearls gleaned from it, but I have been pretty negligent in that.
Oh well. Today we are studying Romans 6. As a study guide, we are using Francis Schaeffer’s book The Finished Work of Christ, (why yes, I do happen to like Schaeffer :P). In a passage discussing Romans 6:4, he says:
Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to die on the cross. Jesus died on the cross in order that we might be redeemed. Likewise, we are not called upon to die daily just in order to be dead; we are called upon to die daily in order that we might experience the reality of being alive in Christ.
There are too many gems in Romans to list them all. And Schaeffer’s book is an excellent study guide to go along with the book
by Jason Joyner | Oct 8, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I still am teaching Romans in my church’s adult Sunday school class. I said a long time ago that I would post a little about our study and any pearls gleaned from it, but I have been pretty negligent in that.
Oh well. Today we are studying Romans 6. As a study guide, we are using Francis Schaeffer’s book The Finished Work of Christ, (why yes, I do happen to like Schaeffer :P). In a passage discussing Romans 6:4, he says:
Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to die on the cross. Jesus died on the cross in order that we might be redeemed. Likewise, we are not called upon to die daily just in order to be dead; we are called upon to die daily in order that we might experience the reality of being alive in Christ.
There are too many gems in Romans to list them all. And Schaeffer’s book is an excellent study guide to go along with the book
