The Faith of Birds

An early start recently reminded me of this.

I’ve always loved that old saying, apparently a Scandinavian proverb –

Faith is a bird that, feeling the dawn coming, sings while it is yet dark.

It says a lot about faith. And birds.

It reminds me of an overnight I spent in the house of friends who were away. My friends lived near a rainforest, very beautiful and lush green in the daylight.

I woke at about 4 am. It was still pitch dark. I crept down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, then back to my room and settled back into bed in the cool darkness, intending to go back to sleep.

Suddenly a tentative twitter, then a louder chirp, filled the silence. The birds were waking! It must be nearly dawn, although there was no light visible. This was too good to miss! I went back to the kitchen, made a cup of tea and began my morning time with God, while listening to one bird after another waking and calling to its mates.

Chirps, whistles, a burst of melodic song, even a call like a cat’s meow, filled the pre-dawn world. Gradually the darkness melted to grey and the shape of the forest towered above me, still black and filled with bird songs. Early light crept around the tree tops and watery sunlight slanted across the lawn.

 The birds chorused joyfully. It was a new day, alight with sunshine and birdsong!

About Lantern Light

A friend who recently bought several of my books (four different ones) suggested I make a sign with a description of each book, when selling them. I thought about it. Most of my books are very different in style and genre, and people cannot buy one with a clear expectation of the sort of thing they will read.

So, now Lantern Light is trickling onto the Koorong shelves, one shop at a time, I’ll tell you a little bit about it, so you can see if it is what you want.

 

Lantern Light was initially written for a secular readership. It has, however, a clear Christian message complete with conversions! But this part is not written in ‘religious jargon’. It is written the way it would be experienced by non-Christians encountering Jesus. Well, I like to think so anyway.

It is a good read for most women (perhaps some men?), Christians included, as it has a good story line with romance and adventure as the main elements. The setting fascinates many readers – it is set in Madina High School (PNG) where I taught in 1973 (along with Peter Clyburn among the other teachers). No, Peter is not one of the characters!

The background, both geographically and historically, is well researched – by my own experience and by many hours spent in the State Library and other such venues. The background geographically includes New Ireland  (PNG) and Brisbane, and the story is set against and influenced by the pre-self-government unrest in PNG, the Vietnam War, and the Brisbane River flood in 1974.

The characters and the story are fictitious but some of the incidents (including a dramatic encounter with a whirlpool in a river) are based on true events experienced by my fellow teachers and other expats I knew.

The pace is slowish at first as the scene is set but it speeds up as it goes along and according to readers, reaches a “can’t put it down” stage.

The style is mainly my usual style but includes slightly experimental parts. I like to keep up with secular literature as well as Christian (where appropriate) and have been keen to use techniques used by a few current popular literary authors.

 

So – A good story. A fairly easy read. Sparkling characters. An exotic and beautiful setting. A gripping story, increasingly suspenseful.

I think anyone could enjoy it but its ideal niche would be as a gift for someone not yet Christian or any female baby boomer, especially those who were saved during the charismatic movement.

 

Enjoy!