tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post7021409183374085592..comments2024-01-18T16:58:05.201-08:00Comments on What Athol Wrote...: THE CURE, The ThemeAthol Dicksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13946058024343277304noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-69159266199255146852008-05-18T18:40:00.000-07:002008-05-18T18:40:00.000-07:00DeedieLynn,I'm glad Angie steered you over here. W...DeedieLynn,<BR/>I'm glad Angie steered you over here. Wish I had more time for posts these days, but I'm working on a difficult first draft of another novel and it's been pretty all-consuming. I'm getting close to wrapping it up, and after that I should be back to posting much more often.<BR/>Athol<BR/>P.S. I think you can use "farther" and "further" pretty much interchangably, but if you want to be technically correct, "farther" deals more specifically with physical distance, while "further" is more metaphorical ("further back in time" etc.).Athol Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13946058024343277304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-10784266476849986212008-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:002008-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:00The Cure is the first book I have read by you - I ...The Cure is the first book I have read by you - I enjoyed it, and it got better the farther (further? which is it, by the way?) along I went!<BR/>I was figuring Riley's reason for taking Communion was something like that, but you articulated it so very well.<BR/>I am looking forward to reading more posts (got the link from Angela Hunt's blog). The tetragrammaton thing is cool, too.<BR/>I'm a church librarian in California - exploring Christian fiction, as I am more familiar with nonfiction at this point.<BR/>God bless!DeedieLynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07349902978700433942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-86673808386912520132008-01-20T06:38:00.000-08:002008-01-20T06:38:00.000-08:00Doni, I'm glad you were able to read THE CURE and ...Doni, I'm glad you were able to read THE CURE and sense a connection with your story as Ty's mother. We all have to face those kinds of struggles one way or another, and sin being the addictive thing it is, we're all tempted to rely on something other than the Lord to get us through. I love your phrase, "embrace my weakness," because it so well expresses the counter-intuitive answer to life's challenges, when the strength to make it through is simply more than we can muster. As I mentioned in the post above, not every reader understands Riley's choice. It was a courageous decision, as you said, but some see it as a form of "testing God." The difference lies in Riley's motivation. Maybe life and death experience in something one simply cannot overcome is required before a reader understands. Obviously, that was true in your case. Thanks for your comment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-32220961261560389192008-01-19T19:29:00.000-08:002008-01-19T19:29:00.000-08:00I read this posting before I read the book. I tho...I read this posting before I read the book. I thought I understood your point but realized I was going to have to read the book to really "get it". I just finished The Cure this evening and I feel, for lack of better word, humbled by Riley's decision. I look at myself and wonder if I would have had the courage to do that. I would love to have the weight of temptation simply lifted but I would surely boast in my flesh if the source were any other than Christ. For the last four years I have been thinking on the words of Paul "when I am weak I am strong". My youngest son was born at 25 weeks and his NICU Dr. put those words on his little isolette but did not credit the apostle Paul for them. Realizing Paul penned those words, I long contemplated the far reaching effects. For me, in the scariest hours of my life, believing my son would die, I had to embrace my weakness in my fear and allow God to fill me with His strength - despite all outcomes. Ty's fourth birthday party is tomorrow. It seems appropriate that I finish this grand tale on the eve of it. I don't expect I will ever really understand the depths of Paul's words but I hope that with each lesson learned, I am weaker so that He alone can get the Glory. Thank you for writing this.Doni Brinkmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18042422099609493402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-52826913874261370812007-12-03T12:06:00.000-08:002007-12-03T12:06:00.000-08:00Carrie, I went to your blog and read that review. ...Carrie, I went to your blog and read that review. THANK YOU so much for your kind words about THE CURE!Athol Dicksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13946058024343277304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-48251713389184012232007-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:002007-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00I've been saving this post in my Bloglines because...I've been saving this post in my Bloglines because I knew The Cure was coming up in my to-read stack.<BR/><BR/>I finished it yesterday, and I have to echo the "Wow." The ending surprised me and really made me think. Would I take a "cure" for my particular besetting sin if it meant that I no longer needed to rely on God's grace in that area of my life? Hard question.<BR/><BR/>I posted a review on my blog, if you're interested.<BR/><BR/>http://carrie.homeschooljournal.netAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-80282898033238268402007-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:002007-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:00WOW. That's a great explanation. A wonderful theol...WOW. That's a great explanation. A wonderful theological lesson, too. Thanks!Rachellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13987272970550279776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-48638705283572292322007-11-16T07:50:00.000-08:002007-11-16T07:50:00.000-08:00I'm giving away a copy of River Rising on my blog....I'm giving away a copy of River Rising on my blog.Kay Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14915323487092648396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-74400565583747418832007-11-13T09:06:00.000-08:002007-11-13T09:06:00.000-08:00Thanks, Kay. If I can get a reader to say, "Wow," ...Thanks, Kay. If I can get a reader to say, "Wow," I'm a happy guy. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-4977572954577758272007-11-13T07:33:00.000-08:002007-11-13T07:33:00.000-08:00Just finished River Rising. Wow. I feel a little ...Just finished River Rising. <BR/>Wow. I feel a little battered; a little breathless. But in a good way!Kay Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14915323487092648396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-83423215530877015082007-11-07T11:59:00.000-08:002007-11-07T11:59:00.000-08:00Ha ha! Jon, you are so right!But this is nothing c...Ha ha! Jon, you are so right!<BR/><BR/>But this is nothing compared to what I did in my second novel EVERY HIDDEN THING, where I referred to an old Southern mansion as "antediluvian". :)<BR/>I knew (and know) the difference of course, but sometimes my mind things one think and my fingers type another.<BR/><BR/>I'm changing it in the post now. Thanks for the catch!<BR/><BR/><BR/>AtholAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-39090448163035044112007-11-07T11:29:00.000-08:002007-11-07T11:29:00.000-08:00An "epigram" is a pithy or humorous saying. An "ep...An "epigram" is a pithy or humorous saying. An "epigraph" is "a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme" [Oxford Am. Dictionary]--which is, I think, what you meant. I was recently chided in my poetry class for using epigram when I was supposed to say epigraph. :)<BR/><BR/>Other than that nitpicky, who-cares thing, great post!J. Brisbinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612035309524219437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748170852538098656.post-10288234728078962162007-11-07T11:19:00.000-08:002007-11-07T11:19:00.000-08:00Ok, sometimes while reading the book, I thought, "...Ok, sometimes while reading the book, I thought, "Sheesh, what are you talking about!?" But in the end, that's what I really liked about the book. I had to engage my brain a bit to really get it. And that is a very good thing!<BR/>And I felt very sorry and very joyful when he took the Blood of Christ in the end. I thought it was beautiful.Kay Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14915323487092648396noreply@blogger.com