Clarion is one of the most widely known and respected writing workshops in the country. Each year, they accept a handful of writers for six weeks of intense work. Someone once said that the “six weeks of Clarion are the literary equivalent of boot camp.” I would believe it, judging by the comments I’ve heard from members of the group
The process is fairly straightforward. Send in an application with two complete short stories by April 1st, 2003. If accepted, there is a $100 enrollment fee to hold your spot, and the balance of the $1059 fee due upon arrival to Clarion. One nice thing is that this counts as four undergraduate credits from MSU.
Sounds easy so far, right? I think so. The actual difficulty, aside from actually being accepted, is getting out of work for six weeks and keeping my job. At the stage we are at, where I’m one half of our entire development team and we each have a seperate and distinct skillset, being unavailable for that long is nearly impossible.
Perhaps going this year is infeasible. Even with six months advanced warning, I’m not sure I could pull it off. Still, I wonder if I should apply to Clarion anyways and deal with the time issue if I actually get accepted.
Opened in January 2011 with financial support from twelve municipalities within the County, as well as the assistance from the Public Defender's Office, the State Attorney's office, County Commissioners and others to provide a more safe shelter for the growing homeless population in Pinellas County. The Safe Harbor provides approximately 425 individuals respite from living on the streets in our County every night.
Classes such as Daily Living Skills, Anger Management, Self-Defeating Behaviors, 12 Step Programs, Faith Based Programs and Skills for Successful Transitions help residents transform back into sustainable members of society.
We begin by trying to figure out what the word “miktam” might mean. The bottom line is that, once again, no one knows what it means. I have my own theory, but let me share some others first, and then mine. Some think that it refers to a wind instrument, so this psalm would be played to a wind instrument, similar to past psalms which we have seen, such as the flute. But there is no linguistic backing for this definition. In modern day Hebrew the term refers to an epigram, which is a brief, sometimes satirical, statement. But back in David’s day the Babylonians in their language had a similar word and it meant a lid or a metal cover to a vessel. See where I am going with this one? I think this is the first psalm we have which was highlighted as being accompanied by percussion, or the drums. See, the drums are not of the devil after all.
This is a beautiful, but fairly unknown, psalm. Any psalm which asks for protection and ascribes to the Lord refuge is one that ought to be on our radar. In this era where some of us feel as if terrorists are the biggest threat to our livelihood (they are not by the way), and in this time where our policies are shaped by fear and a seeming lack of security, any psalm which addresses protection and refuge should be a breath of fresh air.
Think of this phrase: “You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you.” I know people who are doing incredible good around the world, and yet would never say that they believe in Jesus as Savior. In fact, the people that I know who are doing some of the most incredible, altruistic, life giving work around the world would specifically say that they are not disciples of Jesus in any way shape or form. So the phrase, “I have no good apart from you”, how does that apply? Notice the psalmist does not say: I can do no good apart from you. The source of all things good, all things, comes from our Creator God.
So what is the source of the good that comes from the people who do not profess God to be their source of all things good? Can a person do good without God. I have to answer yes, they can. But I quickly follow it up with: but they could do so much more good for themselves and for this world if they only knew Jesus. What happens sometimes is that when we come to know Jesus then the good that we would do, we don’t. We don’t do it because for some reason some disciples are perfectly happy and content to only look out for their own salvation and their own self-interests. Remember what Dire Straits said: “When you point your finger cos your plan fell through
The Psalm continues and ends with a wonderfully glass half full approach. I have no problem sleeping, the psalmist states. What a great statement and what a testimony to his reliance upon the Lord for all things. When I have problems sleeping it is mostly because there is something at the church which is causing conflict or is unresolved. There simply are times when we turn things over to the Lord, but anxiety is still present. The fullness of joy which God provides is also very attainable. Have you ever heard in the Bible a promise for: “pleasures evermore?” That would make some Puritans roll over in their grave.
But what is wrong with the statement: Life is an awesome adventure and then you go to heaven. It is a statement we could all live by and it will provide the inevitable “pleasures” that life ought to have. There is nothing wrong with living a “pleasurable” live. In fact, as this psalm tells us, pleasure and joy have been given to us by God. They are not gifts from Satan, but rather gifts from God. Think of that next time you have a chocolate and vanilla shake.
I feel this psalm is a beautiful reminder that everything good that I have comes from the Lord. If what I notice about myself and/or my surroundings is NOT good then it is a reminder that I need to start figuring out how it needs to change. We as humans have more control than we realize over things around us and we definitely have control over how we relate or respond to those moments or things. Of course we do not have the ability to affect everything. A statement I hold close to me is “take responsibility for what you can change and let God take care of the rest”.