The Night

photo creative commons by Moyan Brenn

Is the nighttime evil?

Lots of people associate nighttime, because it's dark, with a time of evil. But it just cannot be. The Bible tells us that everything God made is good. It also tells us that God made the darkness

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 NIV

In ancient times the night was really dark. If the moon didn't shine, the only light you had illuminated an arc around your torch or fire and the rest of the world was black. There were wild animals in the night. You couldn't see where you were going so you could fall and hurt yourself or be killed. So it's no wonder the nighttime could have been viewed as evil.

But I don't think the ancient Celts saw it that way. Darkness is a part of the cycle of life. It brought rest. The stars were wondrous and provided a tool for navigation. Nocturnal animals were well known by the ancient people, their likenesses showing up on manuscripts, so obviously the people didn't hide out at night.

Why give up half of our existence to evil? Look for our creator in all things, not just the things that are easily seen. (It's almost a full moon tonight. Go outside and look!)

What I'm Reading

Anam Cara is philosophical and meaty, but good food for thought. The proverbs are mainly for research, but fun to read. The Quest of Three Abbots is a book I started a while ago and am just getting back to. Now that I'm done some other research, this is falling into place for me.


This is a book written by my writing buddy, Sharon Hinck. Different from what I usually read, but I enjoy Sharon's style and her wit. And she moves me with the serious scenes. Life is not all roses, huh?

We are in Joshua. All the blood and gore in the OT is a little hard to swallow, but the devotionals in this version are helpful in putting it all in prospective.

Humor

photo via creative commons by S G

Ah, 'tis good to have a sense of humor.

I recently purchased a book of Irish children's jokes. Nearly all of them were pretty lame (I know the Irish have better jokes that this!), but here's one I liked:

TEACHER: Explain the following words by using them in short sentences:

Fascinate: Sean has nine buttons but can only fascinate.
Rapture: I rapture parcels.
Office: The priest fell office chair.
Dairy: Dairy be late for school again?
Juicy: Juicy the boy over there?

Can you think of some more? Please share!

Talk About It

photo via creative commons by Erika Thorsen

I imagine that these sheep are communicating somehow. They certainly seem to need each other. Would you feel more comfortable exploring Celtic spirituality in a crowd? There is a place where you can do this and you can listen and never speak at all if you'd like. You can stay at home, too. No crowding together on a twisting road. But you'll still feel connected. Check this out: CCS
Image from freefoto.com

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