arts hiatus

i'm taking an early maternity leave from the arts blog.
be back in a month or so...
anyone want to write a book, travel, music, dance or arts review in the meantime?
send them to artsblog@terranovachurch.org

the musts

There's must-see TV... and musts that we must follow, as a church, as Christ-followers, as individuals with dreams that we want to see accomplished.

This past Sunday, Ed posed a question, "What are some of your musts?" He wasn't pretending to know the answer, assuming that we all wake up and have morning devotions with "My Utmost for His Highest" or tune in to God one particular way. We don't all do that. Paul heard God very clearly, Ed said, and it wasn't the means that was important but the fact that Paul responded and was COMPELLED to go to where he must, where God moved him to go.

So what are your musts?

I couldn't help but think of Judy Blume's book "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret," a must-read for every pre-teen young woman coming of age who has thought the same as Margaret, lying on the floor, doing boob exercises and meditating "I must, I must, I must increase my bust," hoping that certain exercises would result in bigger breasts and an onset of adolescence.

Well, there was that must at that age... and there are musts at this age, too, an age where most of you, dear readers, I think are in your 20s, 30s and 40s (am I correct)? We're still trying to figure out the answer to the question, "What should I do when I grow up?"

I hope that one of your musts would be to spend some time with Christ, asking these important questions of Jesus. I confess, I'm not too good at doing that, especially if left to my own devices. I would rather approach God with others -- praying with my husband or friends. But I was challenged by Ed's sermon to reconsider the musts of my life.

I shouldn't think that laundry and household tasks come before an even greater must in my life: asking God my important questions and going over my dreams and passions with Christ, perhaps crying because I know they are far from reality, perhaps disappointed that I didn't do all that I wanted to do before I reach this age, perhaps apprehensive about what is next in life.

But please, fellow pilgrims, come with me on this journey and let's commit to be the church and make this a must: to be people who spend time knowing and loving God and wanting to know and love each other, even more than the to-lists we drum up every day...

coming attractions

this weekend and beyond:

-philadelphia orchestra at spac, saratoga springs, friday, august 11, http://www.spac.org

-caribbean festival, sat., august 12, central park, schenectady. 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., music, food, arts and more....

-consignment sale (for children's and maternity goods), august 9-12 (1/2 price day is sat., aug. 12), at albany academy fieldhouse, albany. http://passitonsale.com/

-evening of music and dance, sunday, august 13, at riverfront park, troy. ellen sinopoli dance company, percussionist brian melick, flamenco guitarist maria zemantauski, latin jazz pianist david gleason, american roots fiddler george wilson and bassist mike dimin, free!

-altamont fair, august 15-20, http://www.altamontfair.com/

weekend to-do

1. Thank God for relief from the excruciating heat!

2. Swap art at tonight's great art swap, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., in Troy. See thegreatartswap.com for rules and details.

3. Take the family to the Cohoes/Waterford Elks Lodge Bazaar in Cohoes. Rides, food and entertainment. Friday and Saturday night, 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Fireworks Saturday night. 45 N. Mohawk St. Cohoes. Call 235-3222 for more info.

4. Shop for junk at the flea market, featuring over 100 vendors, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Powers Park, Third Ave. & 111th Street, North Troy. Call 421-5222 for more info.

5. See Soul Asylum at 9 p.m. Saturday night at Revolution Hall, Troy. $22, advance; $25, day of show.

books:: sue monk kidd, "the secret life of bees"

Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling "The Secret Life of Bees" was one of those books that surprised publishers when it started selling like hotcakes... due to word of mouth. It never made a name of itself until it was published in paperback form; by then, friends had recommended friends to pick up this Southern gem.

"The Secret Life of Bees" is an endearing read set in South Carolina, just after Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Lily is a white child who, at the age of four, may have accidentally killed her mother with a gun; she's still not sure who picked up the gun and fired the fatal shot. She runs away from her abusive father, leaving behind her road-side job selling peaches and her dear teacher, who told her she has a chance to become an English professor. Instead, she helps her family's housekeeper, Rosaleen, escape from jail and the negro-colored wing of the hospital after Rosaleen gets beat up on her way to register to vote. They end up in Tiburon, South Carolina, following Lily's premonition and determination to find answers to her mother's mysterious death and trinkets Lily holds sacred. There, they meet the bee-keeping sisters named after different days of the month -- May, June and August -- and their lives become inextricably linked and forever changed.

The book steps out of history and paints portraits of people -- black and white, young and old, powerful (lawyers) and powerless ("colored" folk) -- in a volatile time of desegregation. Each chapter also cleverly follows a quotation at the beginning of each chapter, the quotation a reflection of the ways of bees and, perhaps, the ways of humankind.

There are some memorable revelations about bees and people (i.e., "The whole problem with people is...they know what matters, but they don't choose it.") and some provocative philosophies about womanhood and spirituality (i.e., "Our Lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother. She's something inside of you... You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do.").

My one complaint is that while engaging, the book needs a better editor to make the dialogue flow better and the writing more fluid. There are some moments in which the dialogue or writing stalls, and unnecessarily so.