Watcher in the Woods

The second book in the Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo is called Watcher in the Woods. This book picks up immediately where House of Dark Shadows left off. The mother of the King family has just been kidnapped by some huge ogre and dragged off into one of the time portals hidden in the upstairs portion of the house. This abduction does not seem to be a random act. In this story the remainder of the King family works to devise a plan to find their mother and bring her back from wherever she has been taken. The difficulty is that there are 20 time portal rooms and they seem to randomly change where they take you. There must be some way to gather information and find out what rules govern their behavior.

We find Ed King and his children Xander, David, and Toria attempting to set up a mission control center where they will carry out their search. They need to be careful because most of the portals seem to drop them off in the middle of a combat zone. The Roman Colosseum, a civil war battlefield, or in the middle of a WWII Nazi tank fight. David and Xander are especially anxious to get started. However, their dad seems more interested in planning and talking than taking action. He knows more than he is telling his children and it is impacting how they view him.

The other chilling aspect of this tale is that some mysterious, battle-scarred man does not want the Kings anywhere near this house. He has used it unchecked for his own dark purposes for the 30 years that it sat vacant. Now he is using his considerable influence and sway in the town, not to mention his substantial wealth, to turn the locals against the King family and run them out of town. Over the course of the book, we learn that this wicked man is an ancient assassin from the Assyrian empire who originally came through the portals by mistake. What he is now after or trying to control is unclear. However, we learn that he commands the ogre that kidnapped the King children's mother. We also are introduced very briefly to the old man Jesse who helped to build the house of dark shadows. In his nursing home some 3000 miles away, a dream has alerted him that the assassin has somehow affected history. The old man who had hoped to never set foot anywhere near that house again, begins a trek across the country in an attempt to warn the house's occupants and to give them the information they must have if they are to save the world. Now on to the third book in the series, "Gatekeepers".

House of Dark Shadows

I have been looking for some good fiction for a few months now. Usually I get a suggestion or two from my various sources and then work them into my reading time. I have been on some awesome reading adventures in the books that I have read the last two or three years. Well, my most recent story kind of fell into my lap by accident. I was at the bookstore perusing the discount shelf and spotted an interesting looking title called House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo. I had never heard of the author or the book, but after a quick run through of the first chapter while I stood there, I knew I would enjoy this. This book is part of a six-part series called "The Dreamhouse Kings" that was published in the period from 2008 to 2010.

House of Dark Shadows is a story about the King family. Ed and Gertrude, along with their three children, Xander (15), David (12), and Toria (9). They move from Pasadena to Pinedale, CA presumably so Ed can take a better job. Yet moving from the busy community of Pasadena to the nowhere, isolated, spot on the map up north doesn't seem to make sense. Yet the King family is a tight-knit group and believe in their patriarch and his love and leadership. After all, this family has bonded around the fact that they don't keep secrets from each other ... or so we think.

Upon arrival in Pinedale, they begin to search for a house to buy. They find a run-down Victorian that had sat unoccupied for more than 30 years. With a bit of work, this place could be the dreamhouse of the King family. However, it doesn't take long to find out that this house harbors some dark and mysterious secrets that are slowly revealed as the story moves along. The children find a hidden hallway with portals that lead to far-off lands in different times. Exploring these portals at first seems like a wonderful adventure, but Xander and David are nearly killed in separate episodes and Mom is kidnapped by some huge ogre. Ultimately we find out that Dad has a long history with this house.

Liparulo's style and pacing were wonderful in this book. I was part of the adventure in exploring the house and its hidden secrets. My mind was flooded with such amazing detail from the author's keystrokes, that it quickened my pace and transported me to this place. I really enjoyed this adventure and now move on to the second book in the series "Watcher in the Woods".

Prayer Closet

I was reading a book the other day when I came across the term "prayer closet". I was already familiar with this phrase, but for some reason my most recent encounter caused an image to form in my mind. I thought how silly I would look huddled up in the dark in my closet praying all alone. Perhaps I could fit if I pushed my shirts to one side and wedged my way in next to my winter sweaters. Oh, but I would have to pile my shoes up in a stack. Working out the logistics in my head just made this idea paint a more and more absurd picture. But, in reality, I guess I do have one or two prayer closets of my own that I actually do take refuge in.

For those not familiar with the term, a prayer closet was spoken of in the Bible. It represents a secluded and private room of your house where you can go for meditation and prayer, away from the bustle and commotion of the home. A place where you can be with God and pour out your heart and mind where nobody will hear you or interrupt you. A prayer closet was meant to be a place of regular retreat. But in my life, the notion of a prayer closet is also quite real, although I don't actually crawl into my closet at home and shut the door.

My prayer closet is the unused formal dining room in my house, where the sun shines in brightly in the morning. It is my car on the way to and from work where I can think and be still. It is also a walk outside at work when my mind is flooded with things that I need to unload and seek my Savior's counsel. In many ways, a prayer closet framed by nature is the most wonderful of all. In some ways it feels like I am stepping out of my world into His.

"But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret.", Matthew 6:6

Turn the Page

If I look at my daughter's bookcase, it contains so much more than several shelves of books. Rather, I see many wonderful memories. Books that we read in tough times, stories that filled us with wonder, tales of heroes and adventures, and fantasies that filled our hearts and minds. There are books that represent each of the different phases of her life. From beginning reader to young adult. Several series that we went through, reading one volume and eagerly looking forward to the next. We have spent so many hours together reading and talking about the stories and characters. Such a deep and meaningful period of bonding and loving. The essence of quality time. Usually my daughter would lie with her head against my shoulder so that she could see the pictures or follow along with the words as I read them. Our times like this were always a joy to me and I never grew weary of her asking me to read just one more chapter, even if that meant stretching out her bed time a little bit longer than usual.

Over the last year or so, my daughter has really come to embrace reading books on her own. She very much enjoys some quiet time to relax with whatever tale she is working through. Gone are the kiddie books. Now she can easily tackle tomes 500 pages long. I guess that as an academic sort myself, it should give me some measure of pride to have passed along a love of reading to her. Yes, I guess that is true. But now that she has her own stories to read, she no longer needs me to read to her. If there is and opportunity for reading, her choice is to dive into her own book, curling up in her bed or in a nice sunny spot in the living room. I so miss those quiet times, just the two of us. Reading to her and living those endless adventures together. I guess that I must face the fact that she has turned the page. A wise friend once told me to love her deeply but hold onto her loosely.

A+ America 4

As Peter Griffin showed me several years ago, it is healthy to vent on the petty annoyances that pick at us and irk us on a daily basis. To that end, I write a regular stream of posts entitled "Grind My Gears". So far I have written more than 20 of them and have a long string of topics that I have jotted down in my note pad that are worthy of this banner. In order to balance the positive with the negative, the good with the bad, the yin with the yang, I decided that I would write a series called "A+ America". This series would contain the things that I come upon that show me that mankind has some redeeming qualities. So far, I have only written 3 posts in this category. While this says something about me and how I view the world, I also think it correlates with the goodness and generosity and loving spirit of the world at large.

However, I saw something so heart warming as I was driving to work the other day, that I knew that I had found the seed for my fourth entry in this positive series. Stapled to a telephone pole in my neighborhood was a simple hand-written sign that announced a yard sale. Of course this is a fairly common site, but the yard sale was announced to help pay for a missions trip. The address on the sign was located not too far from where I live in a working-class neighborhood. Nothing fancy. No manicured lawns or expensive cars. I suspect that selling some of the things that they owned was the only way that they could even consider paying for their travel. The notion was humbling to me, but more than that, it was inspiring and beautiful and Godly. Well done folks.

Guerrillas of Grace

The following is a poem and prayer from author and retired minister Ted Loder. I stumbled upon it in a book that my Bible study group is reading. When I read a book for group, I usually will make a pencil mark in the margin of things that catch my eye and make me think or cry or laugh. Yet I had not marked anything by this poem. I guess it did not make an impression upon me at the time or place I was doing my reading. Yet when we read it aloud in group, a wave of emotions rushed over my sea wall and filled me. This is the good stuff. I clearly had passed over a valuable gem buried just beneath the surface. I felt that I just had to share it. This piece comes from Loder's volume called Guerrillas of Grace.

How shall I pray?
Are tears prayers, Lord?
Are screams prayers,
   or groans
      or sighs
         or curses?

Can trembling hands be lifted to you,
   or clenched fists
      or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
         or the cramps that knot my stomach?

Will you accept my prayers, Lord,
   my real prayers,
      rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just the poetry, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouquet of words?
Will you accept me, Lord,
   as I really am,
      messed up mixture of glory and grime?

Mascots

I think professional sports teams and their branding and marketing are so ubiquitous that we just see the players and the t-shirts and the SportsCenters as part of everyday life. We barely give notice or react when we encounter them. But given that the playoffs for the National Basketball Association (or NBA) are now in full swing, I called a time-out to actually do some research on the names the playoff teams have. It's funny, but some of the names do not come from obvious sources. In fact, I am sure lots of folks think that they know why teams are called what they are, but I would guess that most people don't really have a clue. I went to the official NBA team pages and spent three full days reading and re-reading the team histories. It really is quite fascinating and quite telling. Given that, I wanted to share my findings with you so that you would have something to talk about with your friends at your next weenie roast.

• Celtic - an all female musical ensemble
  
• Knick - entertainment for young teenagers
  
• Hawk - an aggressive businessman
  
• Magic - an annoying mouse with a high-pitched squeal
  
• Trailblazer - anyone who looks like Gabby Hayes
  
• Maverick - someone from Alaska who talks a lot but does nothing useful
  
• Heat - a hispanic with severe keister itch
  
• Pacer - one who wanders without purpose or aim
  
• 76'er - anyone who recalls President Carter was a peanut farmer
  
• Laker - a chronic bedwetter
  
• Bull - someone who reeks of bovine flotsam
  
• Spur - anyone who has ever screamed out "ride me cowgirl!"
  
• Grizzly - a person with an unusual hankering for honey
  
• Nugget - a processed chicken blob made without chicken
  
• Thunder - anyone with Lion-O PJs
  
• Hornet - anyone with a friend named Kato who wears a trenchcoat
  

So, there you have it. I am sure that one or two of these will surprise you and leave you scratching your head. But, I do the research so you don't have to. You can thank me later.