by Mark Meynell As Andrew reminded us in a piece posted just recently, Easter Sunday is when it’s all just getting started. It’s no accident that the Easter season in the church calendar lasts for several weeks. So as we get back into the swing of another series of 5&1 posts, I feel no embarrassment in starting with the theme. This is because that Sunday morning in Palestine triggered the greatest revolution the world has ever known. And it’s not done yet… There’s such a vast treasury of music for and about the season, for the simple reason that the Church (in all her different manifestations during the last millennium) has been the single most significant patron of composers and musicians, bar none. With Easter being so fundamental to the faith, it’s no wonder that it became an aural focal point. So, it’s been painful to make selections! You will undoubtedly have your favourites, perhaps drawn from Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s B Minor Mass or Easter Oratorio, and Vaughan-Williams’ 5 Mystical Songs. Instead, I’ve tried to pick out several choral wonders which will be less familiar. Haec Dies (‘This day’) William Byrd (?1543-1623, English) Voces8 Byrd was a composer whose genius enabled him to weather the stormy uncertainties of the English Reformation like his teacher and mentor Thomas Tallis. It seems that he actually became a Roman Catholic at a time when to do so was increasingly regarded as treacherous (the Pope declared in 1570 that Catholics had no obligation to swear allegiance to Elizabeth I since she was ‘the pretended Queen of England’ and excommunicated as a heretic). Byrd was one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance and this concise anthem is one I always loved singing. It is simply a setting of the Latin version of Psalm 118:24 but is often sung at Easter. After all, this is the day that only the Lord could make, as Lord both of Creation and Redemption. The different voices come in one by one, rather like bells peeling for Easter morning. Then the Exultemus (let us rejoice) gets the toes tapping, seeming to dare us to jump to our feet for a jolly jig. This is deep joy, Renaissance-style! Translation: This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia, alleluia. 2. O Dulce Lignum (O Sweet Wood) from Passion & Resurrection Ēriks Ešenvalds (1977- , Latvian) Hannah Consenz (soprano), Ethan Sperry (conductor) Portland State University Chamber Choir, Portland State University String Ensemble Four centuries later, our subject is identical but the sound-world light years away. Ešenvalds spent his first growing up in the USSR state of Latvia, but he studied at the Latvian Baptist Seminary (he’s still very committed to his Baptist church) and later at the Latvian Academy of Music. He is now one of the most sought-after and celebrated choral composers and I’m on the edge of my seat every time I hear of a new work from his pen. This track is the final section in a four-part work for soloists, choir and strings called Passion and Resurrection. It opens with a soprano solo, in Latin, accompanied only by the reverberations around her. It is stark, haunting and mysterious. We don’t really know where we are. Unexpectedly, the strings join her, with the choir quietly chanting. If anything, this deepens the mystery but it is utterly beguiling. After a couple of minutes, there is a brief pause; before a change of tone. The strings now sound cinematic, heightening our sense of expectation. The choir then sing in English and matters quickly escalate to the triumphant repetition of ‘The Lord is Risen!’ The chanting returns—but it is now what is going on. The early mystery of the piece was like the pre-dawn mist in that Jerusalem cemetery of old, the Latin solo a meditation on the horrors of Friday. It is a dialogue first between the two angels and Mary (Mariam in the original Greek) and then, miraculously, not the gardener but the Lord himself. The choir sings a gentle, rocking address to her, ‘Mariam.’ Her response (‘Rabboni’) is so tender and achingly beautiful. The sort of music that you cry happy tears to. 3. Christus Vincit Sir James Macmillan (1959- , Scottish) Choir of New College, Oxford, Edward Higginbottom (cond.) Another fairly contemporary piece now. We’ve already encountered Macmillan in the 5&1s. In the Advent list, his extraordinary Percussion Concerto Veni, Veni Emmanuel was the long piece. We’re at the other end of the musical spectrum now, with this 6-minute miniature for unaccompanied (or ‘a capella’) choir. The text is drawn from 12th century ‘Worcester Acclamations’, Christus vincit, and Macmillan wrote it for the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. This explains the meditative pace, composed specifically to allow for the vast acoustics of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. On first hearing, it perhaps doesn’t sound especially triumphant. But there is so much going on in it, with its power growing with each listen. There is a dialogue between the choir and a very demanding soprano solo (or in this recording, treble solo) that seems to float in the stratosphere far above, with unsettling leaps (right up to a top B, two octaves above middle C which Macmillan insists should be quiet!) and haunting, meandering lines. What I admire especially about this piece, however, is that it plots a different part from shouts of Easter joy and triumph. Those, of course, have their place. But the approach here is more settled, a meditation on deep, unwavering convictions which give grounds for hope, especially for a troubled world in which Christ does not seem to rule at times. This piece is insistent, convinced in what is true. That makes the final Alleluias all the more wondrous. 4. God is Gone Up (Op. 27, No. 2) Gerald Finzi (1901-1956, English) Christopher Whitton (organ), Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, Christopher Robinson (cond.) The eagle-eyed will have noticed that, in actual fact, the Easter season ended yesterday! We have had several weeks of joyful celebration of the living Saviour, but yesterday was Ascension Day (in the western church calendar; Eastern Orthodoxy has it on June 10th this year). So here is a piece that celebrates that moment, almost comical as the disciples gormlessly gawp upwards in their initial confusion. Gerald Finzi was a composer known for the ‘Englishness’ of his music, a protégé of the likes of the conductor Sir Adrian Boult and composer Ralph Vaughan-Williams (who helped him get a job teaching at London’s Royal Academy of Music). He hated London, though, and with his young family moved to the West Country, where he composed and grew apples! He is much loved for his choral works especially, many of which have become English cathedral staples (although you shouldn’t miss his Shakespeare songs and clarinet music). The irony of all this is that Finzi was actually of Italian and Jewish descent and was agnostic in religious matters. This didn’t hold him back—and this short anthem is a glorious reminder of the triumph of Ascension Day. 5. Easter Hymn (“Inneggiamo, il Signor non è morto”) and Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (1890) Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945, Italian) Agnes Baltsa (soprano), Vera Baniewicz (contralto), Philharmonia Orchestra, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Giuseppe Sinopoli (cond.) Time now to flee the frigid wastes of northern Europe and relish some Mediterranean sun and melodrama. Time now for some Italian opera. Easter is not regularly featured on the operatic stage, because the themes of opera tend more to revolve around passionate loves and jealousies rather than the Christ’s passion and empty tomb. The main exception would be Wagner’s Parsifal. But there is also this 1-act gem, an opera that took the world by storm when it was entered into a competition in 1890. It manages to combine both forms of passion! Based on a short story and play called Cavalleria rusticana (‘rustic chivalry’) by Giovanni Verga, Mascagni won first prize, having to take forty curtain calls! The action takes place one Easter morning in a Sicilian village square and revolves around a classic love triangle. Santuzza is a young girl who has been seduced by a soldier Turiddu, even though the latter is still in love with his former fiancée Lola (who married some other bloke while Turiddu was on military service). All a bit of a mess, frankly. But the backdrop is the Easter service taking place in the church behind, a fact that serves to expose the religious hypocrisies in the community as well as the repercussions of Turiddu’s behaviour. Santuzza is broken and feels unworthy, so is reluctant to go in. She asks Lucia to pray for her as she is sympathetic to her plight (despite being Turiddu’s mother). So, these two women sing while the church is filled with a glorious Easter hymn. After that, I could hardly leave out the sheer gorgeousness of the Intermezzo, the opera’s most famous bit, which accompanies the villagers as they leave the square. Italian romanticism at its highest! 5th Movement (Im Tempo des Scherzos / In the tempo of the scherzo) from Symphony No. 2, The ‘Resurrection’ (1895) Gustav Mahler (1860-1911, Austrian) Berlin Philharmonic, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle (cond.) Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for musical G-forces like you’ve never heard before. We have not encountered Mahler on our 5&1 journey before now but it has to happen at some point. The title of his majestic second symphony is a bit of a clue for why it must appear now. Yes, it comes as the one major piece of the 5&1, for the simple reason that it lasts half an hour. But it is itself only the fifth movement! The whole work lasts a gob-smacking 90 minutes. I still haven’t ever heard it live but it is overwhelming because there is never a dull moment. Glorious! Mahler worked on it for six years and it quickly became one of his most popular compositions. It marked the first time he explicitly expressed his fascination and passion for questions of transcendence and the afterlife. He had been at a funeral of a close friend in which he heard some verses by Friederich Klopstock. He later said, ‘it struck me like lightning’. He set these words to music, adding several more verses of his own. The movement is complex (unsurprisingly). But it opens with an orchestral cry of despair (drawn from the third movement) and then develops into what he called ‘the march of the dead’, culminating in ‘a Great Summons’ on the horns. Then the choir comes in, taking the Klopstock/Mahler text verse by verse. As if the sound couldn’t get bigger, Mahler throws in parts for an organ and church bells (which he purchased specially for performances). He would later write, ‘The increasing tension, working up to the final climax, is so tremendous that I don’t know myself, now that it is over, how I ever came to write it.’

by the Rabbit Room In Season Two of The Artist’s Creed, Steve Guthrie and Drew Miller explore the relationship between the sounding world and the Holy Spirit, asking what we can learn about God through music, speech, breath, and voice. In this fifth episode, Steve and Drew discuss what it means for God to “speak through” us, the divine dignifying of the human voice, the unique character of particular musical instruments, the multiplicity of voices in the four gospels, and much more. Tune in every Wednesday at RabbitRoom.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here to listen to Season 2, Episode 5: “The Preposition of Love.” And click here to read “Spirit & Sound, Part 5: The Preposition of Love,” which serves as the baseline for this conversation. Transcripts are available for The Artist’s Creed. Click here to access them.

by the Rabbit Room We are so excited to announce Opening Week at North Wind Manor: a 4-day celebration (July 13th-16th) of the Rabbit Room’s newly rebuilt community space through story, music, art, and community. It’s just the beginning of what we hope will be a continual calendar of events aimed at nourishing Christ-centered communities for the life of the world. We hope you can join us for this exciting week of events! Here’s the run-down on all that we have in store for you. Tuesday: The Local Show The Local Show is the Rabbit Room’s ongoing songwriters’ round show. Previously held at The Well Coffeehouse, we are now pleased to present the concert live from North Wind Manor! Each show features a new line-up of some of Nashville’s best singers and songwriters. But what makes the Local Show special is that the players aren’t just great musicians, they are great friends. The show is one way in which we incarnate the Rabbit Room community, and you’re invited to join the fun. So in celebration of music, we will host the Local Show on Tuesday night, featuring Andrew Peterson, The Arcadian Wild, Buddy Greene, Ron Block, and Jeff Taylor. Click here to reserve your spot at the Local Show. Wednesday Afternoon: Art Gallery Open House Stop by anytime between 10am and 4pm on Wednesday, July 14th to see a variety of art curated by painter Jamin Still. No ticket required for this one! Wednesday Evening: Art Talk with Russ Ramsey In celebration of art, we’ve invited pastor, author, and art enthusiast Russ Ramsey to speak about the work of American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner. Click here to reserve your spot at the Art Talk. Thursday: Storytellers’ Night In celebration of story, we will host a Storytellers’ Night on Thursday night. We’ve invited authors Douglas McKelvey, Andrew Peterson, Pete Peterson, Jonathan Rogers, Helena Sorensen, and Jennifer Trafton to read short stories and excerpts of their works as we gather together. Click here to reserve your spot at Storytellers’ Night. Friday: Film Night And finally, Friday night is Film Night at North Wind Manor. Films combine all four core elements of the Rabbit Room’s mission and purview: story, music, art, and community. For North Wind Manor Opening Week, we will be hosting a film night followed by a moderator-led group discussion about the film. Popcorn shall abound! We can’t reveal the name of the film. However, so you can plan appropriately, it is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a rude gesture. Click here to reserve your spot at Film Night. We want events at North Wind Manor to be a gift to the community, so registration is free! If you would like to help support the grand opening and other ongoing events, you can give directly to the North Wind Manor fund, or consider becoming a Rabbit Room member. Everything listed here is only the beginning—we can’t wait to host more life-giving events all throughout the year at North Wind Manor. If you want to be the first to hear about new event announcements, sign up for our email list. P.S. We encourage you to choose just one or two events to attend out of the four that are listed here—we want to do everything we can to allow as many different people to gather at the Manor during Opening Week as possible, and space is limited. Thank you!

by the Rabbit Room In Season Two of The Artist’s Creed, Steve Guthrie and Drew Miller explore the relationship between the sounding world and the Holy Spirit, asking what we can learn about God through music, speech, breath, and voice. In this final episode of Season Two, Steve and Drew discuss the relative novelty of reading silently, our text-oriented society, the inward connotations of “spirituality,” recommendations for incorporating the “out-loud-ness” of scripture into spiritual practices, and much more. Tune in every Wednesday at RabbitRoom.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here to listen to Season 2, Episode 6: “The Man Who Read with His Mouth Closed (And the Spirit Who Didn’t).” And click here to read “Spirit & Sound, Part 6: The Man Who Read with His Mouth Closed (And the Spirit Who Didn’t),” which serves as the baseline for this conversation. Transcripts are available for The Artist’s Creed. Click here to access them.

by the Rabbit Room The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan is joined by Andrew Osenga for the third installment of his special summer series, “Sad Stories Told for Laughs,” in which writers speak of their public humiliations for your edification and entertainment. Andrew Osenga is a singer-songwriter, an artist & repertoire director, and the host of the podcast The Pivot: Stories of People Who Have Made a Change. In this installment of Sad Stories Told for Laughs, Andrew talks about performing to empty seats, losing a toe, and playing a music festival organized by a money launderer. Click here to listen to Season 3, Episode 25 of The Habit Podcast. Transcripts are now available for The Habit Podcast. Click here to access them. Special thanks to our Rabbit Room members for making these podcasts possible! If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit RabbitRoom.com/Donate.

by the Rabbit Room With memories of Opening Week fresh in our minds, we’re excited to announce more free events at North Wind Manor throughout the month of August! Next month, North Wind Manor will be hosting a lecture by Steve Guthrie on the relationship between human and divine creativity, a live filming of The Habit Podcast featuring Don Chaffer, and a live filming of The Molehill Podcast. Read on for more information. North Wind Manor Lectures: Steve Guthrie (August 10th) Like most Christians, I pray for God’s help in my creative work—when I am writing an article, for instance, or giving a talk. But, if God were to answer those prayers, what would that answer look like? Does God do everything while I just get out of the way? Does God do half the work and leave the other half to me (maybe writing the odd numbered pages and leaving me to write the evens)? Or did God just give me a dollop of something called “talent” or “ability” at the beginning of my life, and now it’s up to me to make something out of it? In short, who’s hand “holds the pen”? How should we think about the relationship between God’s creating, and our own? This talk, which was the keynote address at a recent National Convention of the Lilly Network of Church-related Colleges and Universities, will offer a picture of making that leaves room for both God’s activity and our own. —Steve Guthrie The Habit Podcast LIVE: Sad Stories Told for Laughs with Don Chaffer (August 24th) The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. In this episode, Jonathan will be joined by writer and musician Don Chaffer for a special edition of his summer series, “Sad Stories Told for Laughs.” The Molehill Podcast LIVE (September 1st) The Molehill Podcast is an audio anthology of treasured writings, read aloud by the writers themselves, hosted by Drew Miller. Each episode features poetry, stories, and shenanigans, from dubious facts and words of befuddlement to original house music by Zach & Maggie. More details about this particular episode of The Molehill Podcast to come. We want events at North Wind Manor to be a gift to the community, so registration is free! If you would like to help support ongoing events, you can give directly to the North Wind Manor fund, or consider becoming a Rabbit Room member. We’re just getting started with live events at the Manor, and we can’t wait to share with you more of our plans for the rest of the year. Stay tuned for news and updates, and we’ll look forward to seeing you soon.

by the Rabbit Room We’re so excited to announce many more session leaders and musicians who will be joining us at Hutchmoot: Homebound 2021. And since it’s quite a long list of names, we found that the only suitable way to share them would be in classic summer-music-festival-fashion. Drumroll, please! As many names as you see here, there are yet more guests who will be joining us—be on the lookout for another announcement including all visual artists and more. Rabbit Room Members, Guess What! We’ll have some fun, special Hutchmoot content for members again this year! As for what it is? You’ll just have to wait—or become a member—to find out. If you want to learn more about what membership means you can read about it on the blog or on our Become a Member page.

by Ben Palpant If his name had been Tommy or Jack, this story wouldn’t need much explanation. And if it were normal for a doctor’s son to play with hospital patients, then I wouldn’t need to explain why I played Legos with Losokoi. The only normal thing about the situation was my motivation for playing with him day after day. He was a grateful kid. That, my friends, is a universal magnet. And I never saw him ungrateful even up to his death. But I get ahead of myself. I spent the formative years of my childhood in Kenya, Africa where my father was the only physician in a rural hospital. My mother would visit the patients to pray for them, and what would be more natural than to drag her children along? She made me bring my bag of legos along to play with any children who might need some friendship. I don’t remember enjoying the experience very much—largely because I hated the sight of suffering, and the smell of Betadyne mixed with human sweat made me gag—but Losokoi was different. His smile stands out in my memory more than anything else. Dazzling teeth. A spark of light shining in his eyes. When he smiled at me, I felt like an old friend of his, beloved and longed for and finally reunited after a long separation even though we were both only eight years old and we had just met. I remember, too, his quiet spirit and the way his whole body—eyes, mouth, even the slow gesticulation of his hands—exuded gratitude. When he said thank you, it was almost an unnecessary redundancy. He had already been thanking me all along. All this remained so strongly with me after his death that I forgot the details of his suffering and had to ask dad many years later. Losokoi suffered from Tuberculosis of the brain. He was brought from an outlying tribe. His body had decayed to such a degree that bed sores developed. The hospital staff had to roll him periodically to keep the pustules from peeling away, but they couldn’t keep up. His short stay in the hospital was an agonizing one, but all I can remember is his radiance. He did not obsess over the questions, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” He just expressed gratitude. After only a couple of months, he died in the night. None of the staff wanted to deal with the dead body, so Dad had to take care of it in the pre-dawn darkness. He woke me up so I could help him open doors and navigate his way to the morgue. I don’t remember any of that event. I remember only a pervading sense of shocked disappointment as if the sun had fallen suddenly and permanently out of the sky. When finished, we walked the few hundred feet back to our house for breakfast. We held hands around the table and dad prayed, but couldn’t finish. I opened my eyes. He was crying—a quiet, heaving grief I have seen only a handful of times in my entire life. Mom picked up where he had left off, finishing the prayer with thanksgiving for life, for Losokoi, for God’s abundant goodness. Delight's expression always takes the form of gratitude. When we delight, we give thanks. Ben Palpant Long after that morning, I wondered at his tears. For many years I assumed he wept for Losokoi, but now that I’m a father, I think he wept for me. He wept for my loss and for the horrible nature of death itself—an unwelcome reminder of our broken state—that had suddenly loomed over my childhood. I’m sure that deep down, my father also grieved the arrival of the fork in the road that death inevitably brings and he wondered if I would choose my life’s path wisely. Two roads diverge at the point of pain. One toward gratitude and joy. The other, toward self-pity and bitterness. The first is the road less travelled. The second is an eight lane freeway that cuts through every generation, every nation, every tribe, every political party, and every family. It is the primary thoroughfare of the human heart and those who travel it feel justified by its heavy traffic. Francis Schaeffer once said that “the beginning of man’s rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart.” His conviction resonates with Scripture. The Bible focuses so heavily on thankfulness that one gets a sneaky suspicion that we’re hardwired to self-destruct if we stop giving thanks. God’s people battle by giving thanks (2 Chronicles 20:21-24). God’s people give thanks at all times and in all seasons (Psalm 92:1-4). God’s people approach his throne with thankful hearts, replacing anxiety with gratitude (Phil. 4:6-7). God’s people give thanks for all things and in every circumstance (Eph. 5:19-20, 2 Thess. 5:18). It’s easy to read this biblical theme in light of our parents who reminded us to “say thank you.” And we often did so, albeit begrudgingly. But getting us to say thank you is not, I think, the ultimate goal of these passages. Saying thank you is the lowest standard, the bare minimum. The real goal is delight. Delight’s expression always takes the form of gratitude. When we delight, we give thanks. When we don’t delight, we have to work hard to act thankful. And everyone knows that acting thankful and being thankful are not the same thing. Of course, if I don’t feel thankful, it’s better to act thankful than to act the way I feel. But I’d like to reach the point in life when I’m so thankful that I don’t have to act anymore. Let’s get back to Losokoi. He didn’t have to act thankful because he was thankful. And just in case you didn’t notice, Losokoi’s gratitude was not circumstantial—proof that sadness and delight can coexist. His anguish was real. His delight and gratitude were real too. My little acts of kindness gave him great delight. Even the hospital staff’s efforts gave him cause for gratitude. That kind of selfless thankfulness is increasingly rare, largely, I think, because our affluence has made us discontented and we’re busy fighting for our own way, our own stuff, our own rights. As long as we’re fighting for ourselves, we can’t delight in others. One test of our gratitude is the degree to which we’re making for others. Delight begets creativity. Do you remember the first time you encountered a quail? What an enigmatic revelation! I bet you ran to find some paper and crayons so you could capture delight. This is just a theory, mind you, a hunch. My theory is that humanity’s best art is born out of some form of gratitude. True, ungrateful people can make art. Selfish people can too (Aren’t we all a little fearful, a little selfish?), but the work we create out of selfishness usually lacks the radiance, the transcendence, the universal appeal of anything created out of delight. The lessons Losokoi’s short life gives us extend to communities. Like him, communities can take the road less traveled toward gratitude and away from self-pity. He was, by all definitions, impoverished, hurting, even sick, but he was also incredibly healthy in every way that mattered. The same can be true of your community. Impoverished, hurting communities can still radiate joy, but rarely by accident. Joy in suffering is usually the byproduct of habitual gratitude. Thankful communities point outward. They limit narcissism and selfishness and self-protection by the very nature of their emotional momentum. Our hearts, like any other vehicle, have difficulty changing momentum once they get rolling. We best be sure that our momentum is carrying us toward gratitude, otherwise we’ll find ourselves stuck in a traffic jam on the eight lane freeway. The Gospels give us several compelling stories of thankfulness, but one in particular can point the way as we learn to live like Losokoi. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to the town of Bethany where he had previously raised Lazarus from the dead. A dinner was prepared for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” Sounds philanthropic enough, but I don’t think they really cared about the poor. What they cared about was the embarrassing extravagance of the gesture. Why couldn’t her gratitude be mild and respectable like theirs? So they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” Isn’t this the incarnation of Psalm 50:23? “The one who offers thanksgiving as sacrifice glorifies me.” Let Mary of Bethany and Losokoi show us how to give thanks. They know the story they’re in. It has moved them to tears of gratitude. The generosity of God has transformed their hearts and propelled them passed scrutiny into an emotional engagement with Jesus that consumes all of their person: body, mind, and spirit. Mary’s response to this welling gratefulness was to beautify the Beautiful One, to anoint the Anointed One. It was lavish generosity responding to lavish generosity. This is the spring from which all creativity and all Christian work flow. This is the spring around which every flourishing Christian community builds. This, my friends, is where we begin the important work of lighting the dark.

by the Rabbit Room The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with songwriting duo JJ & Dave Heller. JJ Heller writes lullabies with her husband Dave and sings them for children, their parents, and the children inside the parents. Since 2017, the Hellers have released a new song on Spotify the first Friday of every month. One of those songs, “Hand to Hold,” grew into a picture book by the same title, released a couple of weeks ago. In this episode, JJ and Dave talk with Jonathan Rogers about bedtime liturgies and the work of giving language to parents’ deepest hopes for their children. Click here to listen to Season 3, Episode 31 of The Habit Podcast. Transcripts are now available for The Habit Podcast. Click here to access them. Special thanks to our Rabbit Room members for making these podcasts possible! If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit RabbitRoom.com/Donate.

by Carolyn Leiloglou When my kids were little, they loved when I read to them—they still do—and they especially loved when I sang to them, even though my voice is nothing special. But putting those two activities together, a book you could sing, that was a favorite that they would beg for again and again. Hand to Hold by JJ Heller is one of those special books you can sing (but only if you want to). Heller is a singer-songwriter who has become known for her beautiful lullaby albums, which are enjoyed by parents as much as their kids. Her new book, Hand to Hold, is a picture book version of her song by the same title. But you don’t have to know the melody or sing it to enjoy this book with your child. The rhyming text flows beautifully when read aloud. This is the kind of book I can imagine becoming part of a bedtime ritual, bringing comfort and love at the end of the day. So much of this book is about the wonder of childhood: in nature, in the seasons, in exploring the world around them. Each page features a mother and daughter just doing ordinary things like baking cookies, skipping stones, or building a snowman. But it’s clear from the illustrations that the little girl is full of wonder and joy. Wonder is so natural for children, but it’s something we often lose touch with as adults. As parents, sometimes we can renew our wonder through the eyes of our children. One of my favorite page spreads shows the little girl staring up at fireflies while her mother watches her. Those of us with kids know that feeling of experiencing wonder or joy while watching our children. Hand to Hold invites us into that experience of vicarious wonder with these lines: You help me find the magic in ordinary days. Each minute is a marvel. No moment is the same. You notice every sunset, reminding me what’s true. You’re full of awe and wonder, and I’m in awe of you. —Hand to Hold, JJ Heller This prayer that her child would never lose the wonder in her soul surely applies to the parent reader as well. May we keep or regain the wonder in our souls, perhaps reawakened to it through the eyes of our children, so that we can approach with the heart of a child our Heavenly Father, whose hand is always there for us to hold. Click here to view Hand to Hold in the Rabbit Room Bookstore. Carolyn Leiloglou is the author of Library’s Most Wanted and the Noah Green Junior Zookeeper series. Her poems and stories have been published in Highlights, Clubhouse Jr., Cricket, and more. You can find her on her blog, housefullofbookworms.com, where she reviews her favorite children’s books each month.

by Mark Meynell No instrument exactly mimics the human voice, of course, but the clarinet comes close. A remarkably versatile instrument, it’s capable of producing rich, mellow tones as a result of its precisely turned wooden barrel. But within a hare’s breath, its sound can be transfigured into one of such piercing intensity that a single instrument can effortlessly cut through an entire orchestra, rising high above surrounding instruments in both tone and volume. This is because of the use of a single reed (a strip of vibrating cane attached to the mouthpiece—unlike the two reeds bound together on the oboe, the clarinet’s is fixed against the wood). The performer blows wind over the reed to make the sound, but it demands strong lungs managed by supreme breath control. That is simply to prevent it making ugly squeaks and screeches! To make it truly ‘sing’? Well, that requires incredible skill and experience. Whenever that gets pulled off, however, in performing one of the greats of the clarinet repertoire, I know of few other musical experiences as intense or overwhelming. This week’s playlist therefore unashamedly gathers several personal favourites in one place! These are often the initial go-tos if I’m in a pit and need to be lifted above the clouds. Rhapsody in Blue (1924) George Gershwin (1898–1937, American) Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, James Judd (cond.) How could we start anywhere else? The most famous clarinet solo in twentieth-century music. From low down in the instrument’s register, it’s meant to slide as smoothly and effortlessly as possible to the top. On a string instrument that would be easy. You just have to slide a finger along the string, without having to worry too much about picking out the individual notes. The string player’s challenge is first and foremost one of intonation—in other words, having such a grasp of tuning and the relative spaces between the notes along the string that you land in the right place every single time. Woodwind players have the opposite problem. Each tone is picked out in advance with individual key combinations along the barrel. So the task here is to create an aural illusion, so that it sounds as close to a slide as possible. Gershwin embodied the embrace of jazz by classically-trained musicians and his entire output is tinged with the complex rhythms and harmonies learned from the extraordinary phenomenon that is African American music. The clarinet itself embodies that cross-over as well. It sits as appropriately and seamlessly in a Viennese salon as it does in a New York speakeasy (as this playlist will show). Rhapsody in Blue has defined the emblematic sound of Roaring ‘20s New York, originally written for piano and jazz band and then subsequently rescored for full orchestra. Ideas for the piece first came to Gershwin on a train and once the rhapsody gets under way, we can feel the insistent rhythm of wheels on rails. But it is much more than simply that. It is as if the clarinet introduction sweeps us all up into the joyous ride of a lifetime. Allegretto, 1st Mov't, Clarinet Sonata in E flat major (Op. 167, 1921) Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921, French) Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), Gwynneth Pryor (piano) Gershwin had been to Paris to study composition with the legendary Nadia Boulanger but she turned him down, not because he was beyond hope but because he was beyond needing it. She didn’t want him to lose his unique style. But Paris has had untold influence on music for centuries, and Saint-Saëns was very much its epicentre a generation before. The clarinet sonata was one of his last works, often grouped with his oboe and bassoon sonatas written at a similar time. From its opening seconds, we’re drawn into a lyrical, daydream-like meander, as if we’ve suddenly remembered some happy memories and we spend a few moments reliving them. Even though this was composed just three years before Gershwin’s masterpiece, this is a world apart, perhaps a last gasp of nineteenth century nostalgia, untouched by the horrors of the First World War. It is in no sense diminished because of that, for Saint-Saëns was a man in his late eighties by this point. But the sonata’s seemingly effortless grace and beauty proves him to have been at the height of his powers even then. Blue Horizon (1944) Sidney Bechet (1897-1959, American) Sidney Bechet and His Blue Note Jazzmen Sidney Bechet was one of the finest jazz clarinettists of all time and this track provides a kind of aural bridge between the first two items in the playlist. Bechet’s sound is evidence of his mastery of technique, with a gorgeously smooth tone and purity, evocative of his native New Orleans. But its gentle groove and big band feel show that we have travelled a long way from the refined salons of Paris. Nevertheless, he found that France was more accommodating and conducive for an African American musician from the South and so after the Second World War, he settled in Paris, remaining there until his death. This was despite an unfortunate incident during a sojourn in the 1920s in which he was imprisoned for the best part of a year and then deported for accidentally shooting a woman. But that’s a whole other story! Fughetta, V of Five Bagatelles (Op. 23, 1930s) Gerald Finzi (1901-1956, English) Emma Johnson (clarinet), Malcolm Martineau (piano) Finzi wrote relatively little chamber music and Five Bagatelles is the closest he came to a sonata for any instrument, but he would go on to compose a much-loved Clarinet Concerto after the Second World War. That was of course written on a far grander scale for full orchestra, whereas this suite is is intimate, ideal for the close-up and personal ambience of a house concert. A bagatelle is an eighteenth century pub-game, in which players compete to get up to nine small balls into holes on a board, and which was later developed into a pin-ball machine. So the word came to mean something fun but insubstantial, a trifle and diversion. Finzi’s pieces convey precisely that, but there is much more to them than that. Apart from the technical demands of playing them, they express a glorious lightness and joie-de-vivre. So, I find that their positive effect on my mood is anything but trifling. Galántai Táncok (‘Dances of Galánta’, 1933) Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967, Hungarian) Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer (cond.) So this marks a major gear-change. Kodály (pronounced Kō-dye) was a brilliant musician and educator who transformed the way children are taught music the world over. Galánta is now part of Slovakia, but for nearly ten centuries it was a key region of the Kingdom of Hungary and was where Kodály spent much of his childhood. This piece for full orchestra was composed for a commission from the Budapest Philharmonic Society and makes use of folk tunes and gypsy music from the region. As such it is not specifically a piece for clarinet, but it is an important soloist early on, setting the mood and harking back to the gypsy and klezmer bands her remembered from his youth. This illustrates well the clarinet’s ability to pierce through a wall of sound and make itself stand out. Glorious. Clarinet Quintet in B minor (Op. 115, 1891) Johannes Brahms (1833-1897, German) Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet), Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Christoph Koncz (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola) & Stephan Koncz (cello) Last but by no means least is one of the all-time greats in any musical form. Brahms’ clarinet quintet is a piece I have returned to again and again and again and it never fails to grab one with its searing beauty and pathos. Brahms had decided to retire formally from composition in 1890 (at 57), feeling he had said everything he could say. However, it was after hearing the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld that he was inspired to take up his pen again and he would write several compositions for clarinet as a result. Few composers had written clarinet quintets (in other words clarinet added to the standard string quartet) but Mozart’s is the most famous and beloved. It was a toss-up as to whose to include here because Mozart’s is stunning and one of his masterpieces of masterpieces. But in the end, I couldn’t bear to part with Brahms’! Since it is inspired and indeed based on Mozart’s, one could even say we therefore get two for the price of one. But that’s unfair. So go and dig that one out at some point. There are four movements: Allegro in B minor (fast) Adagio in B (slow) Andantino in D (a little more than walking pace) Con moto in B minor (with pace) There is life and vigour to the piece, but it is hard to avoid the sense of a man writing in his later years and reflecting on the many twists and turns of his life. In just over half and hour of music, the quintet shows off the extraordinary range of the instrument, and provides as great a tribute to the wonders of the clarinet as it’s possible to hear.

by Pete Peterson Walter Wangerin, Jr., died yesterday. He’d wrestled lung cancer for a decade, so it was a long time coming, but death stings no less for the wait. He was our first Hutchmoot speaker and a National Book Award winner. He wrote some of my very favorite stories in The Book of the Dun Cow, The Book of Sorrows, and Ragman, and Other Cries of Faith. I developed a relationship with him over the years as his editor and learned so much from him, and his words, and the unique ways he used them that I find myself often thinking as I write, “What would Walt say?” And one of the great delights of my life has been the publishing of so many of his books and stories under the banner of Rabbit Room Press. For me, he was a giant. He threw a long shadow. The proof of that shadow’s reach, perhaps, is that a few weeks ago when I sat down to write a short story for a forthcoming book called The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad, the tale that came out was, unexpectedly, about Walt. I wrote it quite by accident in a single sitting, having intended to write a different tale altogether. What came out instead was an homage to the literary giant in whose shadow I counted myself fortunate to dwell. So today, in the wake of his long-expected passage into mystery, it seems right that I honor him as he honored all of us: with a story. SIR GALAHAD and the PLUMED KNIGHT from The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad (forthcoming from Rabbit Room Press) Copyright 2021 by A. S. Peterson Night upon night upon night had Sir Galahad traveled, until at last in the deeps of the Forest Wyld he found himself lost beyond hope. The thick of the wood gathered around him and permitted no light of the sun to enter. He slid in despair from his horse, pulled his helm from his head, and looked all about him for some clue of his deliverance, yet no clue presented itself and in the darkness he fumbled at his firecraft like one desperate for air. “I fear we have come to the end,” he said, but his faithful steed had already wandered away in search of a digestible fodder. “So be it, then. I am alone.” “Marrrooooned!” Galahad startled and dropped his tinderbox as he looked up. Before him stood a ragged knight. The man’s breath came out in scrapes and coughs and his appearance was like a withered oak that, though once mighty and staunch, had been winnowed down to the pith by some blight. The man’s brittle bones rattled about in his armor and he wobbled upon his feet, but his voice was halcyon and pure. Upon his shield was blazoned a fiery rooster, and upon his helm a great plume of cock-feathers was fixed, though they had long since lost their first lustre. “Forgive me,” said Galahad, “but I did not think to find another knight in this dismal place.” “It is long years indeed since anyone thought to find me at all.” “Perhaps. Yet here we are all the same. I am Galahad, son of Sir Lancelot, knight of Arthur’s round table in Camelot. But tell me your name, and sit. I shall have a fire to warm us quick enough.” The wizened knight shuffled forward and bowed. “Sir Walter am I, son of someone long forgotten, knight of a kingdom old when the foundations of Tintagel were but a dream.” “Where is this kingdom you hail from?” “Where? I have lost it, I fear, and am unlikely to find my way back till the newness of all things is at hand.” Sir Galahad studied the ancient knight with some concern, for he seemed to have strayed out of an elder age indeed. “You speak in riddles, Sir Walter. But even a riddler is fine company in this wild place. Will you sit and tell me how you came here?” As Galahad turned to ply his firecraft once more, Sir Walter sat. As he did so a great creak sprang forth and a grinding of metal accompanied his movement, and Galahad could not discern whether the noise issued from the rusted armor or from the bones within it. “Come. Speak. I beg you.” “Marooned.” “How mean you?” “Maroooooned!” The old knight wailed the word like a lament, and Galahad looked about fearing the noise might draw some wild beast from the darkness. “How came you to this marooning then?” “They have left me, and all that remains of them are the tales I keep.” “Who left you?” “The Keepers.” “Keepers? Keepers of what?” “Of the Earth. All gone away. Even her.” Now beginning to suspect the man of madness, Galahad endeavored to be gentle with him. “I am sorry to hear of it. Can I assist you in some way? Can I help you back to these Keepers?” “I cannot go back. I can only follow, and testify to what I’ve seen.” “Have you seen some holy vision, then?” It seemed an ancient grief came upon the withered knight. He shuddered in his iron cage and wept beside the fire. Sir Galahad, unsure how to comfort the distress of the wayward knight, retrieved a ration of victuals from his bag and set about the preparation of a simple meal—some water in a pan, some dried beef to make a broth, a few carvings of potato for substance, and a sprig of rosemary for grace. As he stirred the thickening stew, a noise from the outer darkness disturbed his preparations. It was like a faint howl, yet distant as if it came from the bowels of the earth itself. Sir Galahad cocked his head to listen and noted that Sir Walter stifled his grief and did the same. “Hear you a howling?” Sir Galahad asked. “A howling, aye. Ever it haunts me, and ever I follow its forlorn note.” “What manner of thing is it?” “A beast. A friend. A castaway. A regretful word. A specter of my ruin.” “Again your riddles confound me, sir. Can you not speak plainly?” “What can be plainly said of ruin or war? Only fools speak of them plainly. I have been given years uncountable and undeserved, and I have learned better than to speak simply of any mystery or terror. For it’s in mystery the howling resounds and tumbles round in the belly of the good earth, striving with powers vast and unreckonable by mortal men.” “Then if nothing plain may be said of it, adorn it with a tale and spin it in the light of our fire.” Sir Walter’s eyes fixed then upon some distant point and he became silent. Even his creaking ceased. “The spinning of tales is my quest. You have spoken aright. But alas, I have not the strength tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps tomorrow.” Sir Galahad frowned and offered to the old man a bowl of his meager stew. But the knight refused it and slumped in his armor, drifting, it seemed, toward sleep. “Are you ill, Sir Walter?” inquired Galahad. “Ill? Aye. Ill with a wound that cannot heal. Every breath a trial. Every word a trouble. Yet of breath are words given flight. And by words are stories flown. So suffer I must, for it’s a story my chest is shaped to toll. Strike me, and I shall ring it out.” “To strike you so would be too hard a tale to tell. But perhaps some rest will help instead. Take your sleep, sir. No harm will come to you here.” Sir Galahad finished the meal as Sir Walter’s breath rasped in and out of his brittle chest. He pondered the strange man as the fire waned, feeling a kinship which moved him to affection like that of a young man adoring a grandfather. At length, the fire grew cool and Galahad rose in the darkness to patrol the area before retiring to sleep. With the fire’s faint embers as his anchor, he ventured amongst the trees, sword drawn, ears alert for danger. And soon again, as if from a far-off cavern, a howling note arose and drifted amongst the columns of the great arboreal cathedral about him. Galahad turned this way and that to discern the direction of its origin, but it eluded him. The sound came from everywhere at once, and yet was ever distant. As he stood alert to the howl and the darkness that carried it, he heard behind him a heavy crunch. He spun, sword outhrown and ready, and in the shadows he spied a great form moving slowly. The darkness did not permit a full report of its features, but as Galahad drew nearer with blade upraised, he made out four stout legs, thick shoulders, and a broad head adorned with a curved horn. Its like, he thought, he had never seen. “Stay thee in thy place, beast,” spake Galahad. At these words the dolorous creature turned to Galahad and set the weight of her eyes upon him. Such eyes Galahad had never known—eyes like wells deeper than any pit or cave, eyes whose depths reach beyond the foundations of the world and encompass all things–all sufferings, all joys, all power, all grace. Under the gaze of those eyes Galahad felt both great terror and great peace, and in his inability to contend with the mind that governed them, he stood transfixed, still as a chiseled statue before its sculptor. Helplessly, and yet somehow joyfully, he watched as the dun-colored cow approached him nearer and nearer until the mysterious beast stood at the tip of his sword, no more afraid than if she had approached a blade of grass. Galahad felt suddenly that he ought to drop his sword, for the powerful feeling came across him that this was a creature against which he should risk no offense. Indeed he thought perhaps he should turn his sword and present its hilt to the cow as an offering. But still his enchantment held and he could not move, and the great cow, larger now than she had at first seemed, gently dipped her head and with her horn touched Galahad’s outstretched sword. As the two points met, a golden note rang out in the darkness like that of a perfect voice, and along the blade of his sword a blessing ran like quicksilver. Then the cow attended him no longer. She ambled past Galahad, and he saw that the sibling of the horn that had blessed his blade was sundered at the root and missing, broken away, perhaps, in some long-forgotten clash. The great cow moved with power and grace and settled herself to the ground in a crescent shape surrounding Sir Walter. Again, Galahad felt stirred to action, to defense, in case the beast’s remaining horn should be turned to violence against the elder knight. Yet even as he thought it, the need for the thought fled away, for the cow gently nudged the old man with her nose as she might one of her own young, nuzzling him with infinite tenderness until he rested upon her flank. Galahad looked on in amazement. He felt he was witness to some holy sacrament and was an intruder amongst its graces. The cow, sensing his uncertainty, turned her head toward him, and Galahad found himself captive once more in the gaze of one whose eyes said with a single look that they knew every stitch and atom and act of his whole life and being. And under the weight of that timeless scrutiny he slowly laid himself down, for sleep was coming upon him like the rising tide, lap upon lap upon lap. As his eyes closed into slumber, he watched the cow gently licking the withered Sir Walter, licking his armor new, licking his skin white, licking his feathers clean, licking gently, softly, selflessly. Lap upon lap upon lap. When morning came, a cock crowed and started Galahad awake. He leapt to his feet, for he recalled the late events of the evening and feared some sleeping spell had come upon him. Indeed, as he looked around he saw no sign of Sir Walter or the benevolent form of the otherworldly cow. But lo, from out of the trees a tall lady strode, clothed in white with a splash of brilliant ruby about her golden neck. “Hark!” cried Sir Galahad. “This wood is wild and not safe for such as thee, my lady. Already a companion has vanished in the night. Come within my camp that I may guard thee.” The lady gave Galahad a knowing smile and condescended to his request. Upon her back she bore a ponderous sword, and this she removed as she sat and placed it athwart her knees. The skin of her face was ruddy and ageless and the lines about her eyes were lovely to read, though their tales were perilous. “I am Galahad, of the table round. Arthur-king is my lord and liege. Pray tell, how I may serve thee.” “The Lady Pertelote am I, of the Keepers of the Earth. Our days are nearly passed and I am much bereaved. But I have no need of your service or your sword. I have come with a tale, a farewell, and a blessing.” “And a mighty sword, I see. But in what knight’s service do you bear it?” “Little knight,” she said with a tolerant smile, “the ken of creaturekind rolls wider than you yet have eyes to see. I have borne grief and violence and children, and for this the sword is mine by right. War-Spur is her name. Her steel is descended of the first mountains of the earth. The bite of basilisks have tested her. The blood of Cocktrice has tempered her. And upon her fell stroke I shall break the world.” “A mighty sword indeed. I have misjudged you. Surely you are a high queen of old.” “A queen? Once, perhaps. Certainly I have loved a King. But tell me of your lost companion.” “A knight he was, though somewhat addled. And if I recall aright, he spoke of the Keepers of the Earth and mourned their loss. ‘Marooned!’ he cried, for he seemed all alone. Is he known to you?” The Lady Pertelote smiled, and though her jaw was hard and mighty as the ridgeline of a mountain, her smile was as the sun’s first rays at dawn. “Aye. He is known.” “Then will you join me in the search? For he was ill and near to death, I fear, and now he’s wandered away.” At this the lady laughed, and the sound was bright. The trees trembled in the passage of her mirth and the shadows slackened their hold on the wood. “Forgive me, lady. I meant no jest.” “Then tell me, was there any other visitor to your fire last night?” Sir Galahad faltered, for he half-believed the appearance of the strange cow to have been a phantom of his mind, a figment of his own weariness. But the Lady Pertelote’s inquiry was not easily turned aside, and he confessed, “I saw, or thought I saw, a dun-colored cow, single-horned.” The Lady nodded and smiled gently. She breathed a deep sigh as of one released from trouble. “Then the time is come at last.” “What time is that, pray tell?” But the Lady ignored his inquisition and continued, “Did Sir Walter give you his tale?” Sir Galahad was somewhat startled to hear the name spoken when he had not given it, but he could no longer deny that he was himself caught up in some grander tale of which he was but an audience. “Nay, dear Lady, for he was weary, and grievously wounded I think. He said he would grant me a tale this morn, but now he is gone, and I fear I am poorer for it.” She frowned then, and the shadow of the wood crept nearer. “It is true that you are poorer without his tale. He has spun them across the world for years uncountable, and they have held the world together with their golden threads. I promised you a tale, a farewell, and a blessing. Therefore accept the first of these. I give you a part of what he could not: “In another age, he contended with the Wyrm of the World’s Ending. He vied with Wyrm’s twisted offspring and with all the evil brood that offspring sired. He shepherded us. He storied us. He sang to us to keep us. He kept the Keepers and we kept the Earth. “But in the wake of his contention with his foes, he cursed a little one he ought to have held dear, a lowly dog who had only given him his faith. Think you then how his heart was torn when Great Wyrm arose—and instead of the proud knight, it was the lowly, accursed dog that rushed to save us all and was lost to us in the saving.” She paused and shed a silver tear in memory of a grief that Galahad scarce could ken. “Yet though the world was saved, though the Keepers had kept it, the feathered knight was marooned and alone, for he could not forgive himself.” She dropped her eyes and quieted, and Galahad felt the pull of many questions. “A strange tale. I have not encountered its like.” “And you will not hear its like again. That is why I have come to this appointed place at this appointed time. She bade me here, and I have answered.” Though Galahad understood little of the Lady’s tale, in his heart he understood the “she” of whom the Lady spoke and longed to be seen by those eyes once more. “Sir Walter will soon pass beyond his tales. Or rather, he will pass into the fulfilment of them. And who then knows what tales will follow? But look! Bear witness. A new chapter shall you write. And then you shall bear it from this darkening wood so that he and I and all our creaturekind will not pass from the world altogether.” Thereupon, the Lady Pertelote arose and took up her sword. In all the wood now arose the howling as before, though it nearer came and louder grew. Then out of the wood strode Sir Walter, slight as ever, but clean and radiant in his aspect, his feathers bright, though his breath still rasped and his bones still clattered. “Marooooonnned!” he cried. Lady Pertelote laid a tender look upon him and answered softy, “No longer.” Then she heaved War-Spur aloft. A glimmering light ran down its length and skyward sprang. The darkened trees crowded away from its argent gleam, and the sun shone upon the light-starved ground. Then the great lady thrust the sword into the earth. Hilt-deep she drove it with a single stroke. And behold: the Earth was broken asunder. A vast crack opened before her, dividing the Forest Wyld upon opposite sides of a chasm. Galahad trembled with fear and knelt upon the quaking earth and watched helplessly as Sir Walter tottered toward the pit. The Lady turned to face Sir Walter. Galahad crept to the edge of the chasm and looked over its precipice. There, down, down, down, in the depths of the earth lay exposed a great skeleton, as of a wyrm whose full measure lay beyond imagination. Coiled around the bowels of Earth it was and dessicated beyond all life or hope of life, and within the socket of its cavernous eye, Galahad spied a peculiar thing: a lowly dog—a shaggy, emaciated, flea-bitten thing with a ragged nose and a mangy hide. It howled, and its howl was familiar. But once only did it send up that saddened note, for then it saw Sir Walter at the brink. The dog sprang away from the monstrous corpse and bounded upon the sides of the chasm, working back and forth across heaps of stone, ascending, ascending, then cresting the cusp and leaping at last to lick the face of Sir Walter. “Is it you?” said the plumed knight. The lowly dog licked the knight again and again and again, lap upon lap upon lap. Lady Pertelote withdrew her sword, and the rent earth slammed back into its place, sealing away the dread skeleton beneath the hills. Sir Galahad approached the Lady and the Knight and the Dog. “What thing was that I saw below?” Spake the Lady Pertelote: “The Wyrm of the World’s Ending, crushed forever by the lowliest of creaturekind.” Then the Dog it seemed was transfigured from the form of a lowly cur to the princeliest of hounds—golden of hide, sharp of tooth, kind of eye, and thick of shoulder. Like a horse he was in his stature, might, and power, and his kindness he continually offered to the withered knight with lap upon lap upon lap. For the knight’s part, he wept—but not as before, for one’s tears may be transfigured too. The Lady turned to Galahad and bowed. “Sir Walter’s quest is now complete, and the Keepers’ age has passed.” Then the great hound came forth. He approached Sir Galahad and at his feet laid a broken horn, the sibling of which Galahad had seen upon the head of the benevolent cow the night before. “A great gift,” said the Lady. “The very horn that pierced the eye of Wyrm the Terrible, Corrupter of the Earth. She once broke herself to give it. Now he has given it to you. Take it up. Carry it with you. It will serve you faithfully.” “And what of Sir Walter?” But when Galahad turned, Sir Walter and the Hound were far afield, side by side, dwindling into the sunrise, for behold: though land was healed, the Forest Wyld was riven in twain, its darkness broken forever by the Lady’s sword. “The tales are yours now. Tell them well. The Earth will need them before the end. May they bind the world together in their golden threads. You will not see us again until the newness of all things is at hand. Fare thee well, Sir Galahad. Godspeed.” Sir Galahad watched until the feathered Knight, and the Dog, and the great Lady had ventured wholly into the brightness of the risen sun. Then he turned, and he went his way in wonder. Pete Peterson is the author of the Revolutionary War adventure The Fiddler’s Gun and its sequel Fiddler’s Green. Among the many strange things he’s been in life are the following: U.S Marine air traffic controller, television editor, art teacher and boatwright at the Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch, and progenitor of the mysterious Budge-Nuzzard. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Jennifer, where he's the Executive Director of the Rabbit Room and Managing Editor of Rabbit Room Press.

by the Rabbit Room From the personal depth of Inkmoot to the collaborative magic of Pass the Piece, last year’s Hutchmoot: Homebound would not have been the same without the loving contributions of so many brilliant visual artists speaking and presenting in the art studio. So we’re excited to share with you the full list of art studio speakers and presenters who will be adding to the magic of Hutchmoot: Homebound this year. Drumroll, please! As many names as you see here, there are yet more guests who will be joining us—be on the lookout for another announcement including guests who will be providing content for kids throughout the weekend and more. Rabbit Room Members, Guess What! We’ll have some fun, special Hutchmoot content for members again this year! As for what it is? You’ll just have to wait—or become a member—to find out. If you want to learn more about what membership means you can read about it on the blog or on our Become a Member page.

by Carolyn Leiloglou Mitali Perkins is the author of many wonderful books for children ranging from picture books to young adult novels. But I first heard of her not through her books but through this article she wrote for Christianity Today in which she claims the classic books she read as a child paved the way for her to later accept Jesus. When I learned she’d be discussing these classic children’s novels in more depth in her new book, Steeped in Stories: Timeless Classics to Refresh Our Weary Souls, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Now for a quick detour through ancient Greece. Aristotle believed that every virtue was the mean, or mid-point, between two vices. Courage is the mean between fear and rashness. Generosity is the virtue between stinginess and wasteful extravagance. I imagine this as a swinging pendulum with truth in the center and error—which can often have a flavor of truth—on the extremes of either side. Too often, instead of seeking the truth that lies in the narrow middle, we swing wide in reaction against something. Dominant culture swings one way, so Christians react and swing the other, oblivious to the fact that the truth often gets passed by in the middle. We live in a culture that’s quick to cancel anything it doesn’t agree with. Out with the old, in with the new, whether it’s fashion, technology, or morals. Of course, this causes an equally strong reaction in those who see the olden days through rose-colored glassed and would rather boycott the new. We see this same cultural tug-of-war going on today about books, specifically older classics, many of which contain inherent racism or other “isms.” One side calls for us to cancel all such books. The other digs in their heels, saying they aren’t offended so you shouldn’t be either. But what if there is a middle road? One where we can read with open eyes that see injustice and open hearts to learn wisdom from the past? That’s exactly the path advocated by Mitali Perkins in her new book Steeped in Stories. We’re often blinded by our cultural context, but Perkins has a unique perspective, seeing the world through a mix of pre-modern (through her traditional Bengali upbringing as an immigrant and the child of immigrants), modern (through the classic books she read as a young person that shaped her soul), and post-modern lenses (as a member of our present culture). She advocates that no one cultural viewpoint has a corner on the truth, but that seeing through multiple lenses can help us find both the flaws and the virtues in the present and the past. Perkins takes seven classic novels as guides: Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Emily of Deep Valley, The Hobbit, Little Women, A Little Princess, and The Silver Chair. She walks us through the dominate vice and virtue examined by each story. She also delves into how each book treats the outsider. She shows us familiar novels with fresh eyes through a lens that is critical, yet full of love and respect for these mentor authors. Perkins shows us familiar novels with fresh eyes through a lens that is critical, yet full of love and respect for these mentor authors. Carolyn Leiloglou The end of each chapter includes discussion questions which could be addressed alone or as part of a book group. In fact, Perkins will be hosting an online book group to celebrate the launch of her book starting in September 2021. Although Steeped in Stories is aimed at encouraging adults to thoughtfully read the classics, Perkins does touch on how she handled the sensitive topics in each book when reading them to her adopted twin sons when they were young. I was amazed at the number and variety of quotes Perkins included in this well-researched book. She quotes theologians, philosophers, psychologists, and more. I found myself underlining something on nearly every page. I’m thankful that Perkins calls us back to the truth in the middle, Aristotle-style, neither throwing out the old books nor turning a blind eye to their faults. May we all grow in discernment and love as we read both the old and the new. I hope you’ll also give some of Perkins’s novels a try. I especially loved Forward Me Back to You (which I reviewed here) and You Bring the Distant Near. Carolyn Leiloglou is the author of Library’s Most Wanted and the Noah Green Junior Zookeeper series. Her poems and stories have been published in Highlights, Clubhouse Jr., Cricket, and more. You can find her on her blog, housefullofbookworms.com, where she reviews her favorite children’s books each month.

by the Rabbit Room The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with scholar, author, and professor Diana P. Glyer. Professor Diana Pavlac Glyer is an expert on Tolkien and Lewis, especially with regard to their collaboration in the Inklings group. She is also the editor of A Compass for Deep Heaven—a collection of essays about Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. This book is the fruit of Professor Glyer’s practicing what she preaches in generous collaboration with emerging scholars. Click here to listen to Season 3, Episode 32 of The Habit Podcast. Transcripts are now available for The Habit Podcast. Click here to access them. Special thanks to our Rabbit Room members for making these podcasts possible! If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit RabbitRoom.com/Donate.

by Jonny Jimison Jonny Jimison is back with the thirty-second edition of his beloved comic, Rabbit Trails. Click here to visit Jonny Jimison’s website.

by Mark Meynell Infinite space offers infinite inspiration. That’s because, in the immortal words of the late, great Douglas Adams, “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.” So, as with almost every other playlist in this series, the number of potential inclusions is vast. Inevitably, here lies arbitrariness and exclusion—but I will pursue both with abandon. I was the perfect age for Star Wars when it first came out: 7 in 1977. I even drew a degree of affinity with its universe from the simple fact that I shared a name with Luke Skywalker’s real name. Ever since, I’ve loved the thought of space adventures, though being a scientific and mathematical dunce meant that I could never relate to the jargon and gobbledegook. It was the sheer unbridled romance of it all, the lack of any apparent limitation to the powers of human imagination (apart from pesky things like thermodynamics laws, cosmic distances and the need for oxygen and water, of course). As a result, I’ve always kept an ear out for space music. Not to be confused with spaced music, naturally, although the way that some contemporary composers seem to set about writing for space, you could be forgiven for such a confusion. When the Voyager space probe was first sent into space, someone at NASA had the brainwave of sending a golden disc of recordings to represent the best of us. It contained tracks of indigenous music from around the world (Gamelan music from Indonesia, percussion from Senegal, panpipes from Peru, chanting from the Navajo, ragas from India, and some classics like Louis Armstrong’s “Melancholy Blues” and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Good”). But there was one composer who stood head and shoulders above the others, the only one with more than one track: J. S. Bach. He had three pieces. The combination was designed to impress alien life at human sophistication and civilisation. And frankly, I’m with them. When someone suggested having only Bach on the disc, renowned astronomer Carl Sagan dismissed the idea by saying, ‘That would just be showing off.’ So much for sending our music into space. But what of the music inspired by space? That’s the subject for this list. And to do this we must start with someone who wasn’t writing ‘space music’ per se at all. Symphony No. 14 in D: I Allegro Assai William Herschel (1738-1822, German-British) London Mozart Players, Matthias Bamert (cond.) Herschel was born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in Hanover, twenty years or so after the Elector of Hanover became George I of Great Britain. The two states were thus bound by deep political ties for well over a century and the cultural traffic between the two was almost constant. The great George Frederic Handel first visited London in 1710 and would move to take up official positions in 1717. Herschel would accompany his musician father to London four decades later at only 19. He quickly gained his own reputation as a good musician and held posts in various cities like Newcastle, Sunderland, and Bath. This symphony is rarely heard anymore but has a charm all of its own (on display in the first movement here). So much for the day job. Herschel, together with his musician younger sister Caroline, was, in addition, an amateur astronomer. I say amateur, but that’s only because he wasn’t employed as such. The siblings were pretty remarkable scientists as well as internationally renowned telescope makers. William discovered the planet that would come to be known Uranus (from the Greek god of that name, whose name is derived from ouranoi meaning ‘heavens’) although he called it the Georgian star (after the king). Naturally, the French were having none of that name, so for a time it was actually called Herschel—which is why Caroline would make several discoveries of her own, including several comets and nebulae, and in fact, would become the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist and the first woman in England to hold a government position. Quite the family, then. So despite this symphony not having a specific tie-in, there can be little doubt that its composer was inspired by gazing into the night sky. Deep Field: 5. Earth Choir Eric Whitacre (1970- , American) Eric Whitacre Singers & Virtual Choir 5, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Eric Whitacre (cond.) We have met Eric Whitacre before in these lists (#7, Inexpressible Grief Expressed) and his choral music is a firm favourite. He goes in for lush melodies and rich, scrunchy harmonies which manage to stay on the right side of the sentimental (in case you’d not noticed so far, this is something I appreciate!). In astronomical terms a ‘deep field’ is a photograph of space taken with a long exposure in order to capture even the faintest of stars. These images have reached popular consciousness through the results beamed back from the Hubble Space Telescope and they are breath-taking even to the untrained eye. Whitacre was commissioned in 2018 to write music for a Hubble-inspired IMAX film to be shown at various sites including the Smithsonian and Griffith Observatory. The suite of tracks works brilliantly in its own right, although you can get a sense of the scale and wonder even when viewing the footage on a small screen. Whitacre studiously avoids the clichés of a thousand sci-fi soundtracks while communicating with musical vocabulary that is entirely fitting, using a vast range of tones, including the barely audible. Close your eyes and be transported into deep space. Polaris “Voyage for Orchestra” (2011) Thomas Adès (1971- , British) London Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès (cond.) Thomas Adès is one of the most stimulating and exciting of British composers alive. His work is not always accessible immediately (unlike Whitacre, say). But he grabs you by the scruff of your neck and demands your attention. Polaris was commissioned in 2018 for the brand new Frank Gehry-designed concert hall in Miami, the New World Center. Polaris is of course the North Star, the brightest in the northern hemisphere’s night sky, and thus key to getting one’s bearings around the various constellations. Think The Plough (or Big Dipper if you’re North American) and follow the trajectory of the far edge of the Plough’s ‘bucket’ and you’ll find it. Ades called this ‘a voyage’, a one-movement piece but it meanders through different stages and moods. It lasts 15 minutes, so this is not a voyage ‘to scale’! But as the developing music weaves around the orchestra, it is hard not to feel a sense of cosmic adventure. Time’s Arrow: I. The Void – II. Explosive Exposition (1990, excerpt) Anthony Payne (1936-2021, British) Sir Andrew Davis (conductor), BBC Symphony Orchestra Anthony Payne died earlier this year just days after his wife and after illness (though not COVID-19, as far as I can discover). He was a remarkable musician, but I had only encountered him because of his brilliant and utterly convincing reconstruction of Elgar’s 3rd Symphony. He just had an incomplete score together with some sketches and scraps for the rest to work on, since it was left unfinished on Elgar’s desk when he died in 1934. But Payne’s work is a triumph and I adore listening to it. It sounds utterly Elgarian. You won’t think that of this piece, though! This could only be late twentieth-century, influenced by the Russian masters like Stravinsky and Shostakovich as well as modernists on both sides of the Atlantic. It was commissioned for the BBC Proms in 1990 and was deemed a masterpiece very soon. In it, he seeks to depict the Big Bang, a cosmic event of inconceivable proportions! Payne’s audacity of intent is verging on the insane! I’ll leave you to decide how successful he has been. In the Shadow of the Moon (soundtrack): Re-Entry Philip Sheppard (1969- , English) Philip Sheppard and studio orchestra I was gripped by the 2006 documentary by British scientists and filmmakers David Sington and Christopher Riley, In the Shadow of the Moon. Its premise is simple: tell the story of the men who walked on the moon. There were only twelve. Twenty-four reached the moon’s orbit during the Apollo programme, of whom ten appear in the film (seven actually having stepped on it). If you have not seen it, do so! Last time I checked, it had 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and 91% Audience score. But don’t overlook Philip Sheppard’s soundtrack. It’s stunning and, akin to the others listed in this post which have accompanying footage, it stands its own. He has subsequently gone on to compose for many films and other projects (including Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London. The whole disc does everything you want in a soundtrack in spades, but is evocative and moving even if you haven’t seen the film. That cannot be said for (dare I say it?!) the vast majority of movie soundtracks which seem trite and clichéd all too often. In fact, how about this as a fun game for all the family: take an unknown soundtrack at random and then try to retell the story cliché by cliché without watching it! Then compare notes with the actual production! But I don’t think you could do that with this one. After our cosmic voyage, what more appropriate close to the short pieces than Re-Entry. It has it all! The Planets (Op. 32, 1914-17) Gustav Holst (1874-1934, English) Sir Simon Rattle (conductor), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic NB video is different as the recommended recording is not on youtube. So, this is a controversial one to include here. Holst’s Planets suite is not astronomy at all, strictly speaking. It is that serious endeavour’s offshoot, the absurdity that is astrology. The more you investigate its claims the more ridiculous it becomes, quite frankly. It is made up of a sequence of flimsy premises piled high on ridiculous faith-leaps and creative fancies. But perhaps I’m not getting my point across clearly enough. I think astrology is totally dumb. And it has precious little to do with astronomy. Nevertheless, Holst’s Planets is a masterpiece and, for all its popularity, it deserves close attention. Holst was born in Gloucestershire to British parents, his father descended from various European families. Most of his professional life was occupied with teaching music in several institutions, most notably St Paul’s Girl’s School, Hammersmith (from 1905 until his death). It was there that he pioneered music education for women in Britain. Despite this, he managed to sustain an impressive musical output. Holst had premiered a major work for orchestra in 1911 called Phantastes, inspired by the famous George MacDonald book of that title. It was not a success (and has never been recorded, as far as I can tell) so Holst formally withdrew it. He was looking for something else to get his teeth into to overcome the disappointment. The Planets was just that, preoccupying him throughout the First World War, and it would become the piece for which he is best known. The seven planets of the solar system are each depicted in seven movements, evoking their astrological (rather than physical or astronomical) character. I suppose we could say that they thus correspond in some loose way to the seven Narnia books as decoded by Michael Ward in his remarkable Planet Narnia (although Lewis took as his inspiration the mediaeval system which included Sol, the Sun, and Luna, Earth’s moon, instead of Herschel’s Uranus or the 1847-discovered Neptune). Mars, the Bringer of War Venus, the Bringer of Peace Mercury, the Winged Messenger Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age Uranus, the Magician Neptune, the Mystic These seven movements are so frequently played now and used to accompany a vast range of footage and moods that we easily miss how overflowing with invention and brilliance they are. There are fantastic melodies (Brits will know that of Jupiter as the tune for I vow to thee my country) and epic rhythms (how many newsreels from the Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland or Russia have been accompanied by Holst’s Mars? Too many to count). At every turn, Holst gives us something new, leaving a unique legacy that pops up throughout twentieth century cinematic music everywhere: there’s the mysterious chills provided by a wordless chorus of female voices in Neptune, or the affecting melancholy of Saturn, and the gorgeous romanticism of Venus’s peace ushered in by tender solos on violin and then oboe. This is truly music to return to again and again.

by Drew Miller It was Pizza Night on Friday, March 13th, 2020. The candles were lit, the music was playing, and I had just adorned two old fashioneds with orange peels, ready for our weekly toast. That particular week had introduced Kelsey and me to the term “social distancing,” the idea of quarantine (surely no more than six weeks, right?), and freshly empty toilet paper shelves at the grocery store. Even in that moment, we were aware that what we were experiencing was a moment—the significance of which would only reveal itself in the slow unfolding of time’s many surprises. We held up our cocktail glasses, each searching the air for a phrase with which to christen the week we had just left behind and the unwritten weeks ahead. And then, with an uncertain shrug, Kelsey said, “To whatever comes next.” Clink. That phrase came to mean many things to us over the course of 2020. In those first days, it was an uneasy joke: What could possibly come next? How bad could it be? By the time summer was in full swing, after tragedy compounded upon tragedy, it had turned to something more like dread: What have we gotten ourselves into? Is there a way out? As the year came to a close, the phrase took on tones of depletion, chronic fear, and desperation: Please let nothing else come next. We’re still reeling from this year we’ve had, and we can’t take any more. And yet, even as the days darkened into an unrelenting doom, we came to know a glimmering thread woven through those days, a strand quietly withstanding, holding fast, holding out hope in the painstakingly obvious observation that we don’t know what comes next. There Will Be Surprises explores hope's subversive interruption of despair at the frayed edges of our imaginations. Drew Miller As I reflect on my moments of deepest despair, I’m struck by the sense of sheer certainty that dominates the state of my mind and heart. Despair makes the outrageous claim of knowing everything that comes next—always only endless permutations of the wounds we’ve come to know so well, wounds that will never heal. On the other hand, the only humble condition needed for hope to grow is the mere admission of ignorance. Hope goes all-in on the unknown, because if any party is going to interrupt this ceaseless repetition of despair, it’s going to have to come from the outside, from beyond the scope of my imagination. It’s going to have to come as a surprise. Album art by Kyra Hinton Song by song, There Will Be Surprises explores hope’s subversive interruption of despair at the frayed edges of our imaginations. This theme has been baked into every decision: writing, arranging, and producing, as well as the visual art that accompanies the album. My last project was altogether grayscale, both sonically and visually—we left empty space in the mix and in the cover art. But, in keeping with the songs, There Will Be Surprises is in full color. Arrangements have expanded from a simple guitar-and-piano-based performance to include drums and bass, electric guitars, strings, and the beloved voices of my friends. And visually, I’m thrilled to welcome Kyra Hinton into this project, who has created an original painting for this album’s cover art. At every turn, color is filling the empty spaces. My hope for you is that wherever and whenever this album finds you, it may travel with you to the farthest reaches of your imagination, stand with you on the precipice, and help you to ask of yourself and of this world we live in, What comes next? Visit KickstartDrew.com to join me in making this album happen.

by the Rabbit Room The arts go far beyond words, melodies, and paintings. For instance, the art of gardening comprises much of what it means to faithfully cultivate God’s creation as bearers of his image—in Tolkien’s words, to “make still by the law in which we’re made.” One of our favorite parts of last year’s Hutchmoot: Homebound, then, was the garden, where we got to explore these themes in relation to the tangible tending and keeping of living things. This year, we’re excited to welcome to the garden Julie Witmer, Andrew Peterson, and Lanier Ivester. Rabbit Room Members, Guess What! We’ll have some fun, special Hutchmoot content for members again this year! As for what it is? You’ll just have to wait—or become a member—to find out. If you want to learn more about what membership means you can read about it on the blog or on our Become a Member page.

by the Rabbit Room The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan talks with Bill Haslam, two-term governor of Tennessee, two-term mayor of Knoxville, and author of Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square. In a political climate marked by metastasizing outrage and division, Haslam found success by finding common ground and treating everyone—allies and opponents alike—with decency and respect. Click here to listen to Season 3, Episode 33 of The Habit Podcast. Transcripts are now available for The Habit Podcast. Click here to access them. Special thanks to our Rabbit Room members for making these podcasts possible! If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit RabbitRoom.com/Donate.

by Ben Palpant The next time you come over to our house for dinner, you’ll notice a large bowl of rocks at the center of our table. We call it our Joshua Basket, a shorthand title for a basket full of memories. Each rock has a date and a brief description written on it. Dec. 30, 1997: God provides us with our first home. Feb. 2009: We saved enough money for a new wii, but gave the money away so that our heart could grow bigger (Kiale, Hannah, and Noah) Feb. 12, 2015: Hannah suffers a severe concussion. And so it goes. Rock after rock after rock. As far as I know, the genesis of this idea comes from my Uncle Paul who decided to emulate the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan river. You can find the story in Joshua 4. God parted the river Jordan so they could cross to the other side. Joshua commanded that twelve stones representing the twelve tribes be carried out of the river bottom and arranged as an altar at Gilgal. And Joshua explained that the stones were to serve as a visual cue for the generations to come. Someday, when children saw those piled stones and asked about them, God’s people were to tell their children the story of how God parted the waters and helped them cross to dry ground. Those stones were memory prompts. Every time we sit down to eat around the table, we’re reminded of our stories. And if something especially noteworthy took place during the day, we mark another rock. Taking a moment to remember has the benefit of slowing down time. Most of our days rush past at such high velocity that we hardly remember half of what happened today, let alone what happened yesterday. Slowing down helps the moment to sink in. This isn’t a foreign concept for most of us—often, we slow down time in order to marinate in some personal slight. We want to rehearse whatever events pricked our pride so we can relish self-pity and justify our bitterness. None of us would come out and say it that way, but that’s what we’re doing much of the time. As a side note, social media has become a favorite place to marinate in our personal slights. We can transform social media in the same way that we can transform our lives: by taking the road less travelled and noting those events for which we should give thanks. Staring your own Joshua Basket is one way of building a habit of gratitude. It’s a visual reminder to give thanks whenever you sit down to eat. We don’t become thankful people by giving thanks once in a while. Gratitude has to become habitual. Whatever we practice well, we get better at doing. By the time we reach old age (whatever that is!), many of us will have perfected the art of self-pity and ingratitude. Ironically enough, the people most adept at ingratitude and self-pity think everyone else is selfish and ungrateful. It’s like the old saying, “A card cheat suspects everyone at the table of hiding cards.” As I mentioned in Part 1 of these posts, the Bible focuses so heavily on thankfulness that one gets a sneaking suspicion that we’re hardwired to self-destruct if we stop giving thanks. The real battle, the one we’ve been losing for generations, is with our own unthankful hearts. I feel so trite saying this in light of the massive tectonic changes happening around me, but just because everyone (and I mean everyone) is trying to shout down their chosen opponent doesn’t mean that this biblical truth has changed or that it has lost its potency. Don’t get baited by your favorite talking head into forgetting where the real battle lies. Don’t get baited into blaming politics for your unthankful heart. None of these things justify ingratitude. What's the biggest effect of not habitually giving thanks for God's blessings? We stop telling our stories. We start seeing only what's right in front of us. Ben Palpant The fearful, selfish heart looks inward, always beholding itself. It cries foul at the slightest provocation. The thankful heart, on the other hand, always looks upward and outward. The thankful man is the blessed man “who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so.” (Psalm 1) I’m not saying it’s easy. What I am saying is that an inch of thankfulness (if you can just start with that small step), given time, can become a mile of gladness. A mile of gladness, given time, can grow into fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety miles of joy. Start with one small rock and start filling your Joshua Basket. I saw a picture of an olive tree growing out of an abandoned house. Searching for light, it became the centerpiece around which the house seemed built. Against all odds, this little plant kept seeking the light. Look at it now! This is the human heart when it gives thanks, growing in nourishment. The unthankful heart shrivels and dies for lack of sunlight. Let me put it another way: What’s the biggest effect of not habitually giving thanks for God’s blessings? We stop telling our stories. We stop remembering what he’s done in our life. We start seeing only what’s right in front of us. We get tunnel vision and this tunnel vision, given time, leads to utter blindness. C. S. Lewis paints a vivid picture of this blindness in The Last Battle. You remember, of course, the end of the story. The battle is over. Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace find themselves under a beautiful open sky in Aslan’s country. They see a group of dwarves huddled in a circle. It becomes clear that they still think they’re in a dark stable into which they had been flung. For those of you who know the story, this logic makes a certain kind of sense, but it wasn’t true. They’re sitting under a beautifully open sky. One dwarf says to Lucy, “How in the name of all Humbug can I see what ain’t there? And how can I see you any more than you can see me in this pitch darkness?” When Aslan arrives, Lucy asks what Aslan can do for them. He conjures up a feast for them. But they cannot be convinced that it is anything but hay and trough water. Their singular goal is to escape being duped by anyone about anything. They will not be deceived, all the while deceiving themselves. Aslan says, “You see, they will not let us help them. . .Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out. But come, children. I have other work to do.” You and I can be like those dwarves with relatively little effort, especially in our current political climate. The unthankful heart is finding fault everywhere these days except in itself. The unthankful heart prides itself in being more realistic, more politically aware, more with it. The unthankful heart finds everyone else a little soft, naive, simple-minded. And here’s the most devilish part of the unthankful heart: while I list all of its traits in HD clarity, it’s thinking I’m describing someone else. You can’t point to God if you’re always pointing at yourself. The people who effectively point to him are the ones so overwhelmed with gratitude for what he’s done in their life that they can’t stop talking about him. They can’t stop telling stories to each other, testifying to God’s faithfulness and goodness. The people compelled enough to do the hard work of heralding the good news with a strong and courageous voice, saying, “Behold your God!” are people who love God and love people enough to do so. These are selfless people, hopeful people, glad people, storytellers who delight to tell their stories because God’s story is the very source of their thankfulness! Take the road less travelled. Start a Joshua basket. Next time I come over for dinner, tell me your stories one stone at a time. Ben Palpant is a memoirist, poet, novelist, and non-fiction writer. He is the author of several books, including A Small Cup of Light, Sojourner Songs, and The Stranger. He writers under the inspiration of five star-lit children and one dog named Chesterton. He and his wife live in the Pacific Northwest.

by Jeanine Joyner Last spring, when the Rabbit Room announced that the in-person gathering of Hutchmoot was cancelled, I felt my stomach drop in disappointment. I had been among the lucky ones who had raced to our computers and successfully managed to score the coveted and oft-elusive tickets to what has become my favorite weekend each year. It was all for naught—or so I thought. I wondered how they would transition this incredible event to the confines of a computer screen. I couldn’t imagine it being the same or even coming close to creating the deep, spiritual and creative experience that reboots my artistic juices and fills my soul with the knowledge that I am not alone every year. Each of us is a priest and prophet in the Kingdom of God, and we can create little slices of Heaven in the spaces where God has placed us if we will only be willing to gather his people around the proverbial table and pass the peace with a smile and a song. Jeanine Joyner When the Hutchmoot: Homebound tickets went on sale, I was happy to see they offered a small group package, complete with Mystery Moot Kits for all. I purchased mine and began to invite people that I knew would be a gift to the Rabbit Room. There were a few friends who had heard me talk about my experience, two of whom had even been to Hutchmoot before, but the rest were friends from my church. They are a beautiful, creative, and diverse group, not just in ethnicity but also in gifting. One is a spoken word poet, another paints. One writes, another is a talented artist with the voice of an angel. Then there is the budding guitar player and my own daughter who lives and breathes all things creative. Even my husband, who does not share an artistic bent of his own but loves music of all kinds, was able to join us and partake of the feast! It was a recipe for success, an opportunity to bring home and practice what I had learned from my previous experiences during those beautiful autumn weekends in Franklin. I began by packing each attendee’s Mystery Moot Kit in a gift bag with a card. I hand-delivered the kits and used them to help build anticipation for what was to come. I loved the mystery element of the kits, and my friends did too. We all worked hard to exercise self-control and not open all the envelopes immediately! I carefully planned a menu appropriate to the occasion, remembering that quote by C. S. Lewis: “Feasting is an act of war.” I took that admonition to heart and planned my weapons accordingly! I provided snacks that were available throughout the day, and asked my guests to bring lunch items to share. When they arrived, the dinner menus were printed out on beautiful paper and posted so everyone could see and anticipate what was to come. Friday night was baked chicken pasta with salad and several desserts (including Jon Cal’s apple berry crumble) as well as my own apple pie with the Rabbit Room logo carved out of the crust. And, of course, we had ice cream—buttered pecan flavor, to be exact. Saturday was Texas themed because, as I often say, you can take the girl out of Texas but you can’t take Texas out of this girl! We shared a huge tureen of taco soup with all the trimmings, along with two different flavors of cake and a fruity Sangria (for the adults, of course). Together, we chose which sessions we would watch as a group, intentionally keeping the Hutchmoot schedule just as it would have been if we were meeting in Franklin. I cast the video from my computer to the large TV in the living room, allowing the intermissions to play in the background as we milled about and chatted between lectures and performances. The rhythm felt right and gave my guests an experience very near to what I remembered from my own years of attending in person. I enjoyed introducing my friends to artists, speakers, and musicians I have grown to love and marveled at the incredible variety of story, music, and art that was available to us through the magic of the Hutchmoot: Homebound website. (It really was magic. I still can’t believe what they accomplished in just a few short months.) We shared stories, deep and meaningful conversations, and tears. We laughed together and even sank into my big living room sectional with too-full bellies together. As we feasted on all that was Hutchmoot throughout the weekend, I watched God do what he does best. He took people of various ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and talents who had entered the room as strangers and artfully wove our hearts together until, by the end of Sunday’s sessions, were were singing the doxology in unity with tears in our eyes and hope filling our hearts. We experienced the fullness of God’s Kingdom together, right here in my home. Now, I’m not going to pretend I don’t long for another in-person gathering of Hutchmoot with the long hallway full of books, bear hugs from beloved friends, music trickling down the halls and Jon Cal’s masterpieces that I don’t have to clean up, because I certainly do! But I learned something last year that I will never forget: each of us is a priest and prophet in the Kingdom of God, and we can create little slices of Heaven in the spaces where God has placed us if we will only be willing to gather his people around the proverbial table and pass the peace with a smile and a song. When we reach out beyond our usual circle of friends and share the abundance that is the goodness of God, I believe he smiles and nods in approval. After all, a parent loves nothing more than to watch their children walk in joyful unity with one another. This October, let us feast upon all that is good and true wherever we may be, with brothers and sisters from many walks of life. Let us grow this community and allow it to truly reflect the fullness of God’s Kingdom. And may we have the grace to recognize the gift we have been given when, at last, we are able to walk through the virtual doors of Hutchmoot and hear Pete boom out a hearty “Welcome” from North Wind Manor. Click here to register for Hutchmoot Homebound.

by Jill Phillips It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the studio recording new music, and I’m thrilled to share with you that I’ll be working on an EP with Ben Shive in the upcoming weeks. Ben and I have been friends for years since the early days of traveling with my husband, Andy Gullahorn, and Andrew Peterson (in a silver van!) to support our albums Love and Thunder and Writing on the Wall. Ben and I have been talking for years about writing and recording music together and it’s such a gift to have him working on this new material. The past five years have been a rich, meaningful, difficult, and faith-inspiring journey. I went back to school to get my masters in marriage and family therapy and have been working in the field of mental health while also continuing to perform and write songs. My kids are getting older and I’ve leaned into the busy teenage years that are fast-fleeting. I’ve also leaned into my own personal work, my faith, friendships, being in nature, and other things that give me life, both grounding and expanding my heart. The songs that are coming out of this season are some of my favorites yet. It has been wonderful to see how pursuing two different vocational callings can be generative and inspire continued creativity in different areas of my life. It might have meant time off of recording, but it was not time off of living. I’m ready to integrate what I have been experiencing through the medium of recording songs again. It’s no secret that streaming has changed our musical landscape in a myriad of ways. I love the freedom it gives me to hear new music easily and explore lots of different artists’ repertoires. It has also made it much harder to recoup the cost of recording music and I have been more reliant than ever on people like you to help make it possible. I’m humbly turning again to Kickstarter and communities like the Rabbit Room to become patrons and supporters of this project. I pray these songs find you in the both/and of acknowledging both your laments and the ways we are tethered to a Love that will not let us go. Jill Phillips This EP will feature some of the new songs you might have heard at my live shows over the past few years as well as songs just finished this month. Ben and I recorded our song “Bright Sadness” earlier this year as a template for the work we’d be doing together this fall. All supporters will receive an immediate download of “Bright Sadness.” You can also see some clips from the soon-to-be-released video by my incredibly talented friend Michael Graziano (small-r films) for the song in the Kickstarter campaign. The title, Deeper Into Love, comes from the chorus of “Bright Sadness” and is my prayer for you and for me as we continue to walk this faith journey together in the days we are given. Whatever comes our way—joy, sorrow, and everything in between, may he protect our hearts from callousness and resentment and give us the grace to draw deeper into Love. I pray these songs find you in the both/and of acknowledging both your laments and the ways we are tethered to a Love that will not let us go. Click here to give to Jill Phillips’s Kickstarter campaign.

Hutchmoot: Homebound attendees, check your email inbox! Our inaugural rundown has been sent. With it in hand, you’ll be well on your way to navigating the vast terrain of discovery and surprise that is the Hutchmoot: Homebound website. Not sure what a Rundown is? Allow us to explain. In the weeks leading up to Hutchmoot: Homebound, all attendees will receive periodic emails (dubbed “Rundowns”) from us about what to expect. If you’ve registered for the conference, there are even a few ways that you can get started with your experience right now! Here’s a screenshot of our first Rundown email: (Pssst, Rundowns may end up in that pesky “promotions” folder, so be sure to check there if it’s not in your inbox.) Not yet a Hutchmoot: Homebound attendee? Get your ticket at HutchmootHomebound.com. We’ll see you in October! Rabbit Room Members, Guess What! We’ll have some fun, special Hutchmoot content for members again this year! As for what it is? You’ll just have to wait—or become a member—to find out. If you want to learn more about what membership means you can read about it on the blog or on our Become a Member page.

by the Rabbit Room The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with author and publisher Carolyn Clare Givens. Carrie Givens is a publisher and co-founder of Bandersnatch Books. She is also the author of the recently released novel Rosefire. In this episode, Carrie speaks with Jonathan Rogers about writers’ groups, dry spells, the role of “namers” in our creative lives, and characters who arrive unbidden in our stories. Click here to listen to Season 3, Episode 34 of The Habit Podcast. Transcripts are now available for The Habit Podcast. Click here to access them. Sponsorship on the Podcast Network Are you interested in teaming up with us to support the work you love? Send an email to info@rabbitroom.com Rabbit Room Membership Special thanks to our Rabbit Room members for making these podcasts possible! If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit RabbitRoom.com/Donate.