Photos of the Revelation of June Paul at the JSO

...these are from our friends at Jacksonopolis.com, who sent a photographer out to the Jackson Symphony Orchestra performance on Friday, January 25th

Wow...sadly, I have lived like this

Enneagram: type 7

Everyone keeps raving about the Enneagram test, so I thought I'd take it. Here are my results:

Type Seven Overview

We have named this personality type The Enthusiast because Sevens are enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They approach life with curiosity, optimism, and a sense of adventure, like “kids in a candy store” who look at the world in wide-eyed, rapt anticipation of all the good things they are about to experience. They are bold and vivacious, pursuing what they want in life with a cheerful determination. They have a quality best described by the Yiddish word “chutzpah”—a kind of brash “nerviness.”

Although Sevens are in the Thinking Center, this is not immediately apparent because they tend to be extremely practical and engaged in a multitude of projects at any given time. Their thinking is anticipatory: they foresee events and generate ideas “on the fly,” favoring activities that stimulate their minds—which in turn generate more things to do and think about. Sevens are not necessarily intellectual or studious by any standard definition, although they are often intelligent and can be widely read and highly verbal. Their minds move rapidly from one idea to the next, making Sevens gifted at brainstorming and synthesizing information. Sevens are exhilarated by the rush of ideas and by the pleasure of being spontaneous, preferring broad overviews and the excitement of the initial stages of the creative process to probing a single topic in depth.

Devon, a successful business woman, shares with us some of the inner workings of her Seven mindset.

“I am definitely a list person. It’s not really for memory since I have a great memory. It’s more for down-loading information so that my mind won’t spin on it. For example, I was at a concert where the tickets were hard to get and very expensive. I couldn’t sit through it. My mind was torturing me with the things I needed to do. Finally, I had to get up and leave. This was very upsetting to the person I went with and I missed a good show.”

Sevens are frequently endowed with quick, agile minds, and can be exceptionally fast learners. This is true both of their ability to absorb information (language, facts, and procedures) and their ability to learn new manual skills—they tend to have excellent mind-body coordination, and manual dexterity (typewriting, piano playing, tennis). All of this can combine to make a Seven into the quintessential "Renaissance person."

Ironically, Sevens' wide-ranging curiosity and ability to learn quickly can also create problems for them. Because they are able to pick up many different skills with relative ease, it becomes more difficult for them to decide what to do with themselves. As a result, they also do not always value their abilities as they would if they had to struggle to gain them. When Sevens are more balanced however, their versatility, curiosity, and ability to learn can lead them to extraordinary achievement.

The root of their problem is common to all of the types of the Thinking Center: they are out of touch with the inner guidance and support of their Essential nature. As with Fives and Sixes, this creates a deep anxiety in Sevens. They do not feel that they know what to do or how to make choices that will be beneficial to themselves and others. Sevens cope with this anxiety in two ways. First, they try to keep their minds busy all of the time. As long as Sevens can keep their minds occupied, especially with projects and positive ideas for the future, they can, to some extent, keep anxiety and negative feelings out of conscious awareness. Likewise, since their thinking is stimulated by activity, Sevens are compelled to stay on the go, moving from one experience to the next, searching for more stimulation. This is not to say that Sevens are "spinning their wheels." They generally enjoy being practical and getting things done.

Frances, a successful business consultant, sounds more energetic than is humanly possible—and yet, she is a typical Seven:

“I am highly, highly productive. At the office, I am joyful and my mind is running at its best. I might create several marketing campaigns for a client, work on the outline for an upcoming seminar, talk out a difficult problem with a client on the telephone, close two deals, make a project list, dictate a few letters and look up to see that it’s 9:30 a.m. and my assistant is coming in to start our work for the day.”

Second, Sevens cope with the loss of Essential guidance by using the “trial and error” method: they try everything to make sure they know what is best. On a very deep level, Sevens do not feel that they can find what they really want in life. They therefore tend to try everything—and ultimately may even resort to anything as a substitute for what they are really looking for. (“If I can’t have what will really satisfy me, I’ll enjoy myself anyway. I’ll have all kinds of experiences—that way I will not feel bad about not getting what I really want.”)

We can see this in action even in the most trivial areas of their daily lives. Unable to decide whether he wants vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream, a Seven will want all three flavors—just to be sure that he does not miss out on the “right” choice. Having two weeks for a vacation and a desire to visit Europe brings a similar quandary. Which countries and cities to visit? Which sites to see? The Seven’s way of dealing with this will be to cram as many different countries, cities, and attractions into his vacation as possible. While they are scrambling after exciting experiences, the real object of their heart’s desire (their personal Rosebud, as it were) may be so deeply buried in their unconscious that they are never really aware of precisely what it is.

Furthermore, as Sevens speed up their pursuit of whatever seems to offer freedom and satisfaction, they tend to make worse choices, and they are less able to be satisfied because everything is experienced indirectly, through the dense filter of their fast-paced mental activity. The result is that Sevens end up anxious, frustrated, and enraged, with fewer resources available to them physically, emotionally, or financially. They may end up ruining their health, their relationships, and their finances in their search for happiness.

Gertrude is busy establishing her career and family now, but she looks back at how this tendency contributed to her getting a rough start in life.

“There wasn’t anything to do at home or in the tiny Southern town I grew up in. I was dying to get out of it and go someplace more exciting. When I was 16, I started dating, and before long I got pregnant, but the father didn’t want to marry me—which was okay since I didn’t want to marry him, either. It wasn’t too long before I found somebody else, and we got married, and I got to move to a larger city. But it didn’t really work out the way I wanted because after I had the baby, we broke up and I had to move back home. I stayed there for a year or two to get my feet on the ground. When things were looking bleak, I married someone else. I’m 19 now and I guess I’ve done a lot already.”

On the positive side, however, Sevens are extremely optimistic people—exuberant and upbeat. They are endowed with abundant vitality and a desire to fully participate in their lives each day. They are naturally cheerful and good humored, not taking themselves too seriously, or anything else for that matter. As we have seen, the Basic Desire of Sevens is to be satisfied, happy, and fulfilled, and when they are balanced within themselves, their joy and enthusiasm for life naturally affect everyone around them. They remind us of the pure pleasure of existence—the greatest gift of all.

(from The Wisdom of the Enneagram, p. 262-264)

working on a new one...

in the jewish mystical tradition, there are literally thousands of tales concerning the prophet elijah coming back to earth and performing weird miracles, telling tall tales, and generally screwing up bad guys while helping good ones. after all the fun i had with the undwelllable city, and all the positive feedback, i thought that my next project for the winds would be a kind of hybrid teaching atlas//novel.

"second story man" is a compilation of over a hundred different legends, fables, folktales and myths from christian history and tradition, all woven together in a larger framing story concerning the prophet elijah. we'll teach through some of it in the cue, beginning mid-february, and the book will be available exclusively through the westwinds bookstore.

thanks again everybody, for all your well-wishes, constructive criticism, and support!

d.

nice comments from my editor

Julie Little is my editor. She's done contract work for Westwinds for the last couple of years, editing several atlases for myself, Ben, and Jvo. She's very skilled and a pleasure to work with.

Julie's first love is fiction; so, when I decided to write The Undwellable City she was the logical person to call and ask for help. And she has been fantastically helpful. She sees holes in the plot, inconsistencies in the characters, and makes useful suggestions about conflict, tension, and pacing.

Plus she fixes all my spelling mistakes :)

At the end of editing part four Julie wrote me the following note. I don't normally like to post stuff like this, but I was genuinely touched by her kind words. I'm reprinting them here so I never lose them:

And the thriller continues! You are going to have people beating down your door to get to Part 5. Way to go; this is awesome stuff! I loved reading this. A true page-turner. You seem to know just where to twist the plot and leave the readers hanging, and you also draw on some very thought-provoking themes without beating us over the head with them. This character is so realistic, flawed, and human. I’m amazed at the world you have created and its spiritual parallels. You have a knack for novels, I think; maybe this is a new genre for you!

Pretty cool, huh?

Julie - whatever we're paying you, it's not enough

my friend, eric jones

my friend eric died this week. it was too soon. he'd been fighting cancer for a long time. he lost that fight, but he won many others.

he fought to demonstrate courage to his children. he won that fight.

he fought to show his wife he loved her with every breath.

he won that one, too. he fought to keep his faith, his hope, and his dignity alive. he won that triple crown, uncontested.

he fought to prove that, though cancer may have claimed his health, it has no defeated his spirit.

he fought to prove that life is worth living, that the people around us matter, and that the way we conduct ourselves while suffering counts for a great deal.

i'm going to miss you, hell-fighter. but i know you're in better place. "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" paul says in 2 corinthians 5, and i know you're there and even now your being transformed from this fragile form into something far superior. again, paul says that our perishable bodies will be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die' (1 Corinthians 15).

death has come and done its worst, but you endure.

we'll see you soon.

feeling much like my old self again...thanks for asking

wow. i'm a little surprised that so many of you read this. i'm doubly surprised at all the texts and phone calls and emails making sure i'm alright.

i'm alright. i promise. no craziness detected :)

after a couple more days at home, some late nights, some minor work urgency, and some time devoted to a passion project, i feel much more myself again.

albeit, myself at 100 degrees.

feeling a little weird...

i've been feeling a little off my game since leaving for vacation. i didn't quite feel right the whole time i was away, and that feeling has intensified since returning home.

sorry if any of you have been casualties of that.

i'm doing what i always try and do when i feel a little off kilter: shut up and not do anything stupid. it's good advice. i often give it to others. i mostly give it to myself.

in the midst of feeling like a C- version of dave mcdonald, i still want to exercise A+ discipline. even if i don't feel amazing, i want to protect those around me from any moodiness, melancholy, or malaise.

i'm writing all this (which is information i typically consider "too private" for places like blogger and twitter and facebook) because of a comment someone made to me today at church. they were talking about how *perfect* i am (their words, not mine!) and about how i must never struggle with anything in life - especially not anything emotional.

we all struggle. sometimes we lose. but we should never stop fightingt.

this too shall pass. it always does. don't sweat it in the meantime.

fan fic

fan fiction is a term used to describe amateur writing set in the world of an existing fantasy. for example, star wars was created by george lucas, but there are plenty of amateur writers who create star wars novels. these are not part of the star wars cannon. they're just made up. they're fun little stories that people write in order to share with others who also love star wars.

there's all kinds of fan fic out there: batman, superman, ironman; lost, pirates of the carribean, star trek.

there's even gilmore girls fan fiction.

wow. do i even need to comment on that?

anyway - i've been reflecting a lot on all the writing i've done over the last several years. it's a lot. 37 teaching atlases, each at approximately 45,000 words. some are much longer, some a little shorter. all told, it's just under 1.7 million words in the dave mcdonald literary collection including short stories, parables, theology, reflection, commentary, arguments and rebuttals, exegesis, travelogue, confessionals, film scripts and poetry.

when i peruse this giant body of work, it occurs to me that the best label for all that i've done is fan fic. christ rules the cosmos, and i write about it. i love the world he's created. i love the characters. i love the rules. i love the plotlines.

i'm a fan.

and like any good fan, nothing seems sweeter to me than taking a little of my own time and talent and putting my own spin on his story.

i've got a big project about to be released this summer. it's the compendium of all my work on the liturgical calendar. i've spent about twenty hours compiling all my work and condensing it. i'm paring it down to about 800 pages. it's quite an accomplishment, and i've been really happy with how much my work has helped people, but at the end of the day it's not cannon.

it's just the work of jesus christ's #1 fan.

review: the seraph seal

I LOVED this book.

Over the years end-of-the-world scenarios have become cliche. We all got a good scare out of Damien, and everyone enjoys munching on a little popcorn during the summer disaster movies, but it's been a long, long time since anyone put on their thinking cap and wondered 'what if none of those cliches held?'

Seraph Seal follows a basic formula, but in a new way. The protagonist is a pedestrian academic - think Dan Brown, here - but he gathers a crew of would-be world-savers to assist him in avoiding Armageddon. Working together, this collection of well-drawn, interesting characters is more reminiscent of a caper film (Ocean's 11, the Rat Pack) than super-hero team; but the action never stops and you find yourself caught up in a myriad of plots and sub-plots, intrigue and nuance.

For those who like religious-themed fiction (end times, book-of-Revelation, stuff) there's plenty of that here. In fact, Sweet's work is far more biblically credible and theologically consistent than any of that 'Left Behind' babble. The book could be a master's level study in symbolism and hidden meaning, and the careful reader will be rewarded over and over again with gems subtly woven into each chapter (actually, onto almost every page).

So, if you like great characters, a well-constructed plot with multiple-layers, and want to imagine a new way in which the world could end (or not!), this is the book for you. The Omen, meets the Da Vinci Code, meets The Italian Job.

my favorite books come alive on hbo...

Game of Thrones Exclusive Preview

book i read on my trip: part one

i always look forward to going on trips so i can get some reading done...here's a few of the gems i polished off on this trip


the seraph seal, by len sweet
this is len's first novel and i LOVED it. please go and pre-order it on amazon. it's like a cross between the da vinci code and the left behind series. smarter than dan brown, better than tim lahaye. it also has a little bit of 'the omen' mixed in with some fun, end-of-the-world-in-2012 bits mixed in. woot.

love wins, by rob bell
i used to really like rob bell, but this book is forcing me to reevaluate. rob's clever, but i think too clever in this book. he departs from orthodox christianity pretty heavily and i'm not a fan. i think we'll have a night at the winds to discuss his book for anyone who's interested. since rob's church isn't too far from ours, i think it's probably appropriate for us to get some of this out in the open.

space, time, and resurrection, by thomas torrance
this is a brainy book on the resurrection and the asension. i loved it!

he ascended into heaven, by tim perry and aaron perry
this is a very accessible book on the ascension, but it was only so-so.

the garden of god, by alejandro Garcia-rivera
i LOVED this book which explores creation-centered spirituality. i think it's one of my top 5 this year.

thy kingdom connected, by dwight friesen
honestly dwight is one of the smartest people alive, but i don't find this book helpful. if you've never understood how people can justify saying that 'everything is connected' then this book is for you. if that statement doesn't really trouble you, then the book will likely not be useful.


alright...more later

writing on lent

this week is writing week. like rumplestiltskin i will descend into my basement and weave hair (or coffee + sour kids) into gold (or a book on lent).

i'm trying a couple new things this week. first, i took sunday evening and monday off (which i don't normally do on writing weeks...usually i come home from preaching sunday am, have a short nap, and then immediately begin writing). i'm hoping this will help me stave off the inevitable despair that accompanies so much time spent underground writing. i'm hoping my spirits will stay buoyant, and that that lightness will come through in my writing.

i'm also really avoiding heavy theology (which i love) and scriptural argumentation (which i think is important) in favor of a more 'pastoral' tone. i'm writing as if someone is in my office, asking for advice. i'm writing more from the heart than from the head, this time around. of course, that sounds like a really good thing, but it's not as it i normally ignore my heart :) normally, i try and mine some new truth or try and bring light to some old truth in some new way. i love doing that. atlases like monsters, or bleached, or sin monkey are among my favorites. this is more like 'sweet dreams' or the final 1/3 of shadowing god. i feel like i have a lot to offer in this lenten season, based on my experience as a pastor. you can't always trade on that while writing, though, so i imagine that the next time around i'll revert back to form...but here, i'm enjoying writing like this.

i'm also continuing a few things...the liturgical calender (of course), and all the previously employed artwork and layout designs (which really reduces the work load, btw). and i'm continuing with my habit of a 'companion read', something totally un-spiritual to jar me out of my monkness, and in this case i'm reading joe abercombie's 'best served cold.' it's a gooder, and i'm re-reading it in prep for his most recent book 'heroes.'

ok - that's me - hope your life is good, better even than its ever been

back to writing!

looking for some html that incorporates audio into blogger

i often use a dictaphone (an iphone app) to process my thoughts. it records your voice, like an answering machine message to yourself, and allows you to review and store your ideas.

i use mine 5-8 times a day.

i wish there was a way to upload those audio (.caf) files to blogger, so i could 'audio blog.' there must be. tumblr has a widget for that, and i've made use of it in the past (http://guerillahost.tumblr.com), but i wish blogger had easy access to one.

any help out there?

12 days of christmas 2010 (christmas day! gifts from santa, jeff & amber)

12 days of christmas 2010: day 11 (christmas eve, gifts from carmel and me)

12 days of christmas 2010: day 10 (the shafers!)

12 days of christmas 2010: day 9 (gifts from papa and grandma glenda)

12 days of christmas 2010: day 8 (gifts from pat and rein {grandma and grandpa})

12 days of christmas 2010: day 7 (the playfords)