This treasure by Madeline L'Engle is one of those rarities that gets better each time you return to it.  It has twelve chapters of L'Engle wanderings that always come to a beautiful point of living out a creative life under the direction of the great Creator, our Lord in heaven.  Let's look at some of her brilliance.

The first chapter, entitled "Cosmos from Chaos" ends with this.  "We must work everyday, whether we feel like it or not; otherwise when it comes time to get out of the way and listen to the work, we will not be able to heed it" (p 18).  This is an interesting point on how so much of our creative effort is about patience, learning to listening, and getting out of the way when something great is happening.

"Icons of the True" is a lengthy chapter with a number of great quotes.  I will limit myself to comment made near the end about all art reaching out to as many people as possible.  She speaks of Shakespeare and Bach and how they appealed to the masses not just the elite.  "There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation" (p 51). 

A few other quotes from this book that are worth unfolding here include:

• We write, we make music, we draw pictures, because we are listening for meaning, feeling for healing.  And during the writing of the story or the painting of the composing or singing or playing, we are returned to that open creativity which was ours when we were children. (p 58)
• The artist cannot hold back; it is impossible, because writing, or any other discipline of art, involves participation in suffering, in the ills and the occasional stabbing joys that come from being part of the human drama. (p 69)
• There is much the artist must trust.  He must trust himself. He must trust his work.  He must open himself to revelation, and that is an act of trust. (p 83)
• But unless we are creators, we are not fully alive.
• Kairos.  Real time. God's time.  That time which breaks through chorines with a shock of joy, that time we do not recognise while we are experiencing it, but only afterwards, because kairos has nothing to do with chronological time.  In kairos we are completely unself-conscious and yet paradoxically far more real than we can ever be when we are constantly checking our watches for chronological time. The saint in contemplation, lost (discovered) to self in the mind of God is in kairos.  The artist at work is in kairos. In kairos, we become what we are called to be as human beings, co-creators with God, touching on the wonder of creation. (p 109)
• Perhaps the artist longs to sleep well every night, to eat anything without indigestion, to feel no moral qualms, to turn off the television news and make a bologna sandwich after seeing the devastation and death caused by famine and drought and earthquake and flood.  But the artist cannot manage this normalcy.  Vision keeps breaking through and must find means of expression.  (p 169)
• All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.  No matter what.  That, I think, is the affirmation behind all art which can be called Christian.  That is what brings cosmos out of chaos. (p 188)
• And then there is time in which to be, simply to be, that time in which God quietly tells us who we are and who he wants us to be.  It is then that God can take our emptiness and fill it up with what he wants and drain away the business with which we inevitable get involved in the dailiness of human living. (p 203)

Walking on Water ends with her reflection on Peter walking out on water toward Jesus. "This is how we are meant to be, and then we forget, and we sink. But if we cry out for help (as Peter did) we will be pulled out of the water; we won't drown.  And if we listen, we will hear; and if we look, we will see...It is one of those impossibilities I believe in; and in believing, my own feet touch the surface of the lake, and I go to meet him, like Peter, walking on water." (p 239)

Talk the walk along the path of creativity and faith...

Sally Clarkson has written another engaging, practical homeschooling or parenting book. 

The gifts she describes include faith, friendship (faithful fellowship), character (loving virtue), manners (gracious presence), service (giving yourself), work (purposeful industry), gratitude (generous thanks), hospitality (living generously), initiative (taking responsibility), and patience (spiritual muscle).  

She writes beautifully about faith building in the faith chapter.  "The kingdom life at home is a life centered on a relationship with God, an awareness of his presence, and love in the smallest details of your family." Make time to cultivate habits of faith with family.  Do a family devotion, teach children to pray and memorize scripture.  Celebrate God by paying attention to the changing of the seasons, feasting on holy days, and be purposeful in showing your children God's goodness.  I will be using her idea of the Joshua/memorial stones in my own family.  

In the second chapter on friendship, she explains how she wanted her children to perceive themselves as givers, or hosts, as true friends.  This doesn't come naturally, it needs to be modeled.  We need to teach our kids to pay attention to the needs of others by looking at others carefully, listening carefully when someone is speaking, sharing, and looking for ways to make connections with other people.

In the third chapter, she delves into habit training.  Again, virtue is not something that comes easily. "An excellent character is the result of countless conversations, habits, confrontations, and daily interactions."  A big part of this is formation of a moral imagination, an inner idea of what it looks like to be virtuous.  Reading and pointing out heroes who fight a good fight were a big part of how she was brought up and how she brought up her own children.  Confronting sin, having children be involved in housework and community/church service all come into play as we take part in our child's development.

I enjoyed how she matched manners with extending grace to other people. Manners are essential for everyone.  Speaking with confidence, greeting new people, conversing, and even eating properly at a social dinner are skills everyone needs.  Teaching your child to sit up straight, follow the rules, not opening your mouth when there is food in it, asking questions, practicing being a host, and acting with poise and dignity are things we can teach slowly over time.  

"Make it a rule, and pray to God to help you to keep it, never, if possible, to lie down at night without being able to say: 'I have made one human being at least a little wiser, or a little happier, or at least a little better this day." Charles Kingsley wrote this about service and it starts chapter 4.  This isn't about completing a list of service projects or giving a certain amount of money. It's about giving children a core identity and self image as a giver. They need to know that they are called to follow in the footsteps of the God whose Kingdom story they are called to live.  This can be practical like cooking a meal, cleaning up bedrooms, weeding a garden, or it be hosting another family, looking at biblical examples of servants.

Sally goes on to explain a number of biblical concepts in simple ways and relate it easily to parenting.  So much so that I assume meeting her in person would be like meeting a wise grandmother who would always have helpful advice for each and every stage in raising a family.  Pick up this gem if you need some inspiration on how to relate faith and parenting.