Here's a good column by Charles Colson from his email list Breakpoint.

BreakPoint with Charles Colson
Commentary #020925 - 09/25/2002
'Criticize by Creating': Art Within

When I was in Atlanta last June for my granddaughter's high school
graduation, I met a young man with an intriguing theory. His name is
Bryan Coley, and he's the artistic director of a theater company called
Art Within. Coley's theory is that the next Billy Graham will be a
playwright -- and he could be right because the arts and media have
tremendous influence in our culture today, helping shape the values of
millions.

Imagine, Coley says, what could happen if the Church could launch
hundreds, if not thousands, of Christians into careers in which they
could shape the ideas that pour into our culture.

That's the goal of the Art Within ministry. All too often, Coley says,
Christians have just one response to the garbage we see in the arts and
media: We criticize, ban, and boycott. By contrast, Art Within goes
beyond criticism by creating plays that present a Christian worldview.
They take as their motto a line by Michaelangelo: "Criticize by
Creating."

Take the issues of cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Those who
hope to profit from this research minimize the humanity of the embryo;
they hope to convince the public that the potential benefits far
outweigh any human rights concerns.

To address this debate, Art Within offered a new theatrical adaptation
of the H. G. Wells classic THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. If you missed this
novel in high school, it's the story of an arrogant scientist whose
goal is to create human-like creatures out of animals. This leads to a
race of deformed beast-people, and the play is a powerful warning
against pushing science beyond moral limits -- of breaking through
biological barricades simply because we can.

If Bryan Coley is right -- that the next Billy Graham may be a
playwright -- it's because moral propositions are absorbed much more
easily through images and the medium of storytelling than through dry,
theological treatises. Stories shape our thoughts, move our emotions,
and enlarge our imaginations. The images we plant in our minds have an
enormous influence over the kind of people we become. They both express
and shape our beliefs and values.

Think of the effective use Jesus made of images and stories. He could
have simply said, "Take care of people who are hurt and victimized."
Instead, He spun the tale of the Good Samaritan. He could have just
said, "God forgives your sins, so forgive others." Instead, He told the
parable of the unmerciful servant. Why? Because a story gets at aspects
of truth that are beyond the power of didactic teaching.

For the Christian, the arts are an important way to understand God and
His creation. In a post-Christian culture, those who blend artistic
gifts with Christian faith can help lead us back to a biblical
worldview. That is why the Church should encourage them.

As Coley puts it, "If I do not use my talents to criticize by creating,
then my son, now two years old, will live in a society where Christian
ideas are a foreign language." He is right.

Visit the BreakPoint website to learn more about Art Within. Find out
how you can play a part in redeeming the culture through the arts --
arts that point to the greatest Artist of all: the God Who created the
heavens and the earth.

The weather is once again beautiful. We found out that Dixie is sucking eggs! Have to dog-proof the chicken yard gate. On the subject of Dixie I ended up bathing her yesterday instead of walking.
Tonight we children are going out to eat at Taco Bell (Very cheap and we have coupons to get 4 hard or soft tacos and 4 cinnamon twists for free!) and then to play at the park, while Mama and Dad watch Monsters Inc. here at home.
I started my study guide for module 13 today.
Samuel, Ethan, Naomi, and Joshua went to gymnastic class today.
Caleb no longer has his fever, but is still pretty tired.
I compiled a bunch of my favorite quotes together. It's kinda long, but y'all can just skim. You've might have seen some of them before.

An expert is a man who has made all
the mistakes that can be made in a very
narrow field.

--Niels Bohr

That money talks
I won't deny.
I heard it once,
It said, 'Goodbye.'

-- Richard Armour

Why aren’t you more grateful for me showing how wrong you are?
Ashleigh Brilliant

Right now I’m working on a fascinating project: Staying alive.
Ashleigh Brilliant

We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm.
Winston Churchill

I asked Jesus how much He loved me. He said this much and stretched out His arms and died.
A saying hanging at Selma Martin’s house.

If chocolate could teach I would by now be extremely well educated.
Ashleigh Brilliant

“If no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us is capable to govern someone else?”
Ronald Reagan, 1967

Where there’s love there’s room.
Mary Loria (105)

I cannot see the wind at all
Or hold it in my hand.
And yet I know there is a wind
because it swirls the sand.
I know there is a wondrous wind
because I glimpse its power
when it bends low a tree,
or sways the smallest flower.
And God is very much like this.
Invisible as air:
I cannot see or touch Him
yet I know that He is here
because I glimpse His
wondrous work and
goodness everywhere.
Rowen Bennet

Lincoln said that a man is just as happy as he makes up his mind to be. We can adjust ourselves to what is- our family, our business, our opportunities. To try to make the world over to suit us is a large order. If we cannot have what we like, we can like what we have.
So just for today let us be agreeable, responsive, cheerful, charitable, be our best, dress our best, walk softly, praise people for what they do, not criticize them for what they cannot do. And when we find fault, let us forgive it-and forget.
By Joseph Fort Newton.

I'm off now! God bless!