Saturday Good Reads

It’s been a while since I posted a Saturday Good Reads, and what better day to that than Valentine’s Day? These are some of the good things I ran across during the past week – David Rupert asking whether or not he needed a bucket list; a video tribute to London courtesy of Wordsworth; a fun poem about candy by Maureen Doallas; and another London video, this one on how to clean up the financial district.

St. Valentine, by the way, was an early Christian named Valentinus. Not much is known about him, but he was said to have been martyred and buried in the north of Rome near the Milvian Bridge (the site of the later battle where Constantine triumphed, a turning point in the history of the church). Part of the legend about him is that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers (who were forbidden to marry) and for ministering to the persecuted Christians. Last year, Huffington Post had a “real story” of who he actually was.

Legend or not, St. Valentine is anchored in the early history of the Christian faith. The painting above is “The Morning of St. Valentine” by John Calcott Horsley, painted in 1865. It is part of the collection of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Faith

This Little Light of Mine – Eric Peters at The Rabbit Room.

Who needs a bucket list? – David Rupert at Red-Letter Believers.

Giving Authentic Faith a Welcome Invitation – Kevin Adams at Wake Up My Faith.

My Response to President Obama’s Address at the National Prayer Breakfast – Ravi Zacharias.

Poetry

10 Ways to Read a Poem – Mary H. Sayler at The Poetry Editor.

Hershey’s Got No Baby Ruth – poem by Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Two Knights – Brendan MacOdrum at Oran’s Well.

You and I are so alike – John Blase.

Juliet’s Aubade – Sara Barkat via Everyday Poems.

A Poetic Tribute to London, City in Motion – Anglotopia (inspired by William Wordsworth’s “Composed upon Westminster Bridge”) (Hat tip to my wife for finding the link)

Writing

The sanctity of writing – Billy Coffey at What I Learned Today.

The Writing Life – Episode 8: Keep Calm and Carry On – Ann Kroeker.

How do you research? Swim – Megan Willome.

Photography

Light and Leaves Abstract – Tim Good.

Fun Stuff

Baths4Banks – London figures out how to clean up its financial district (and mind the gap!)