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Child 44: A Novel by Tom Rob Smith
I don’t often take the chance to read much new literature. However, walking through Barnes & Noble recently I noticed this book on the new release table. I picked it up, flipped open the cover and read the synopsis. It sounded intriguing, so I decided to pick it up. I would classify the book as a murder mystery/historical fiction. Set in the bleak era of the Stalinist USSR, Child 44 is a completely engrossing, thrilling page turner of murder, government cover-up and the risk involved in exposing the real killer. Smith powerfully recreated the paranoia and fear of that era. While there are troubling parts of the book, the story as a whole has a redemptive ending. I would highly recommend this book.
I was thinking today about God’s mercy today as I rode the ferry back from the UCU retreat on Whidbey Island. Then again when I was in the office with hearing about the Malawi trip my boss and a number of people from church went on. Then once again as I was chatting with a friend of mine half a world away. His mercy is much greater than we can imagine or understand, it comes to us undeserved by us, but deserved for us by Christ. It is the strength that we receive to go through times of trial and also to grow in grace when things are easy. The following hymn by John Stocker (circa 1776) is one of my favorites and speaks beautifully of the mercy of God. It has been set to new music by Sandra McCracken.
Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.Lyrics: John Stocker; Music: Sandra McCracken
I especially like the 2nd verse, reminding us that we couldn’t even survive but for his mercy and grace. We would end in inescapable despair, because of our own sin and the sinfulness of others. It is God’s mercy that allows us to trust and grow, to know truth and true joy. It is because of his mercy that there is still beauty in this world and music for our ears; that we can be free to weep because we know our sorrow will end and we can laugh because we can find true joy in a broken world.
So last night was my buddy Will’s send off for his year of medical rotations, so we all met up at Big Time Brewery for some good times before Will departed. Afterwards some of us headed over to The Tractor for the SHIM/Maldives/Pickwick show.
The Tractor is one of my favorite music venues in Seattle, so I’m always excited to go to a show there. This time did not fail. Unfortunately we missed Pickwick, but the Maldives and SHIM were fantastic. You should check out their music, they will most certainly rock your face off! I’ve known about SHIM for over a year thanks to some friends who took the time to introduce me. The Maldives were new to me, but I think I’ve found yet another band whose music I enjoy.
I remembered after we got there that the last SHIM show I went to left me with some ringing ears, so I didn’t have time to get any earplugs… so we made due, toilet paper actually worked pretty well. Remember: Bring earplugs to rock concerts, especially in small venues! Even if you don’t end up needing them, you might and you will be sorry if you forgot them.
The Maldives:
SHIM:
Not that piracy actually has anything to do with deep roots, but me and piracy do go back a long way and since today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I figured I’d highlight how this is so. 
So anyhow, Piracy…
Growing up my favorite movies revolved around pirates: The Goonies, Treasure Island, and the like … I also enjoyed the beginning of the Jack Sparrow trilogy, but not really the end.
Speaking of Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean was always my favorite ride at Disney.
A college friend and I have a long history of talking like pirates to one another… aaaarrrrgh
I even live in a city that has its own pirates.
I am however, not a fan of piracy, pilaging and plundering are so 19th century… so stop stealing music and such!
Some might be wondering why I named the blog “Deep Roots”. The answer is simple and yet complicated at the same time. I wanted a title that at least somewhat explains what the purpose of this blog is. I wanted to express my desire to explore faith and life in light of theology, the church and culture. True faith is deep and abiding. It weathers drought and deluge, heat and frost, famine and pestilence. It also weathers the good times, when things seem easy and faith doesn’t seem so important… times of wealth and abundance. Deep roots of faith not only weather these things, but they keep you anchored from the whims and extravagances of words that would sway you one way or another. As you can tell from the tag line, the title is from a poem in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
I hope you enjoy whatever you read here.
I am transitioning over to this blog from my old one. Hopefully I will be posting a few times a week.
