New! Books! On! My! Shelf!

It's time for a new books post!

Let's start out with some books that have been sent to me by authors or publishers (THANK YOU... I love getting your books):


Angry Conversations With God by Susan Isaacs. You've probably already heard of this book because it's been selling like hotcakes (which, I assume from the saying, sell quite well). This is a memoir in which author, actress and all around class act Susan Isaacs decides that her relationship with God is not what it should be and that this is, in large part, due to God's behavior. He's hurt her, ignored her, refused to intervene and basically been a jerk. So she decides to take him to couples counseling to see if they can figure it all out. If you're a fan of Imaginary Jesus and haven't read this, I think you'd like it! It's funny, honest and clever. MY copy is signed by the author. Neener neener.


Jim and Casper Go to Church by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. My editor Sarah sent this to me, I think because she sent Matt Casper a copy of Imaginary Jesus and thought we should all be reading each others books. This book is a lot of fun, too. Jim (Christian) and Matt (atheist) visit a bunch of churches and compare notes about what they like and don't like. Often funny and occasionally wince-inducing, I enjoyed this book as well. If nothing else it's a great window into what it's like to be a first time visitor into a church.


The Great Mogul Diamond (Dopple Ganger Chronicles) by G.P. Taylor. This is the 3rd of the Dopple Ganger Chronicles, which my daughters love. The books are designed in a really cool way... largely print with sudden explosions of comic book action. They're a lot of fun to look through. Sarah asked Z to give her some feedback on the back of the book a while ago and then kindly sent a copy of the book along now that it's out! Z was thrilled, to say the least, and it stopped a pre-school meltdown when I pulled it out and said, "Look what came in the mail yesterday." Nice!


Other recent purchases or additions to the By The Bed Pile of Books:


Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi. Scalzi was recently in Portland, but I wasn't going to be able to go see him. He's one of my favorite science fiction authors, and I mentioned it off-hand to my friend Shasta. A couple of days later, Shasta surprised me with a signed copy! She had braved the crowds of geeks and speculative fiction afficcionados to get me a copy, and John wrote a really nice and funny note in the front. I finished the book last week, and it was entertaining and fun (as I expected). You'd probably like Scalzi's blog, too, so go check it out if you like.



The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter. I bought and read Citizen Vince last month and I LOVED it. I am going to read it again. It was funny, insightful, thrilling and a page turned while simultaneously being about identity, life change, redemption and voter's rights. Yeah, voter's rights. Anyway, it was amazing, so when I saw this book on sale at the airport bookstore I grabbed it up basically knowing nothing about it. It has something to do with poetry, 7-11 and drug dealers. I have no idea, really, but I'm excited to read it. If you're sensitive, by the way, to strong language or violence, these may not be the books for you, but Citizen Vince is one of the best books I've read in quite a while.


How to Read Genesis by Tremper Longman III. I really enjoy Longman's insights and commentary, and I enjoyed his Ecclesiastes commentary so much that I thought I'd see what he had to say about Genesis. I wasn't disappointed. It's accessible, interesting and seems to be even handed when dealing with the many and varied questions about authorship, genre and many other topics.




There are more books scattered about I'm sure, but there's an eclectic list for your consideration. How about you? What's on your recently-read or to-be-read list?

What to write next?

While you are eagerly awaiting Night of the Living Dead Christian, I've actually completely finished with it. There are a few little things that need to be done here and there, but overall it's all cleaned up and ready to go and the tiny little elves over at Tyndale are working their magic to turn those pretty words into a giant pile of books.

In the midst of writing a book there are certainly moments where you are sick of reading it over and over, or tired of trying to get that last sentence perfect. You think about this being "the last book" because it would just be nice to get a break. When that final e-mail with the final-final-final-final last edits goes out, there's a feeling of immense relief. Of course I'll be living with the book for quite a while, but for now I can take a little break.

Now that I've rested for a couple of weeks, of course my brain is ready to write a new book. But the question is, which book to write next? I have ideas for a bunch of books, some in the genre I'm already published in (which I think we could call "The Mikalatos Genre") and some in actually-recognized-in-a-bookstore genre.

There are a lot of choices out there... I have a thriller almost completely plotted out, a crime novel, an idea for a memoir-ish thingee, a science-fictionish character series sort of like LOST, and a cook book in the hopper. Just kidding, no cook book yet. I also have a kids' book series (one of those novels is actually written, and I have the basic story idea for another six). Of course I could write another comedy theology novel (I have ideas for at least two more) and my wife would love it if I wrote this one book I've been talking to her about for YEARS AND YEARS and she keeps asking, "When are you going to write Take Me To The Riots?" (That's what it's called.)

So. Hmmm. What to do.  What to do.

My agent says if there's something new I want to try, now's the time.

For all of you out there, though, my next book is Night of the Living Dead Christian. You're going to like it. After that... well, let's just make it a surprise!

Eavesdropping with Matt (Episode Fifty-Two: SUSHI ISLAND!)

Dedicated to the fine patrons of Sushi Island, which is a sushi bar in California. And, for those who don't know, sushi often includes raw fish as one of the ingredients. But especially to the guy who walked into Sushi Island and uttered the following phrase, immortalizing himself forever as he walked through the door:

Guy: Something smells fishy in here.

Amazing. Here's a link to more Eavesdropping With Matt from years past.

Napoleon Dynamite cartoon coming to Fox

If you don't love Napoleon it's probably just that you're jealous of his body.

Wonderful Wednesday: Night of the Living Dead Christian

Some exciting things going on right now with Night of the Living Dead Christian.

First of all, I got my galley proofs in the mail. Galleys are the first typeset copies of the almost-finished book. It's exciting to see the interiors almost done, and last week I read through the book one more time to catch any last little tweaks. It had been a while since I read it, so I was able to look at it with fresh eyes, and I honestly think it's better than Imaginary Jesus. Early reviews from others who have read it are saying the same thing, so I'm excited to get it out to all the rest of you in October!

Also this last week, I got the first ARCs of NLDC! You can see that in the picture on the left there. I've decided as a celebration and countdown for the October release, that I'll do a few contests over the next couple of months to give away an ARC here and there. There's no other way to get this book before October, so if you win a copy you'll be one of the first to read it.

Lastly, here's a little video of yours truly talking a bit about the book. Even if you don't watch the video, be sure to enjoy the picture of my face frozen in time and... what? Am I missing a tooth or is that just a shadow? Mysterious.



You can join the facebook group here.

Ridiculous Reviewers On Amazon: One Star Review for The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Once upon a time, I taught high school English. My main class was American Literature, which means that the students are generally about 16 years old, and that, of course, the teacher must teach, um, American Literature. One of the required books was The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's actually a wonderful novel about sin, judgment, love, sacrifice and family. It's honestly a bit rough for some high schoolers to follow. I'm a fan of Hawthorne, though, so I found these one star reviews enjoyable. Clearly some of them come from high school students forced to write reviews. I think you'll like them.

First, we have this little gem:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst. Book. Ever., April 24, 2002By A CustomerIt is my invariably correct opinion that the so-called author responsible for this overly extravagant and flamboyant style of writing should be dragged into the street and summarily executed, with EXTREME prejudice, for crimes against humanity and the English language.

This review is funny, though the last sentence throws the whole thing into confusion.

I am going to bring Hawthorne back from the grave to hit him, March 10, 1999By A Customer
Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, this the worst book i've ever read, I consider myself open to all fine lterature but I absolutely hate this book. But the writing is superb!

Get ready for a one star review from a HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER! Behold:

Duller than dirt, September 18, 2004 Jon G Shay I teach high school English, and was required to teach this to my students. I don't know who suffered more, me or them. To be fair, as one of America's first novels, it has interesting elements and Hawthorne does a good job. On the other hand, it is excruciating to read. There is no suspense, little to sympathize or empathize with, and even less to enjoy. A better writer could have told the same story in half the number of pages. Some have labelled this book a tragedy; they are right only in the sense that it is tragically bad. And lastly, a one star review which I loved just for its title: 1.0 out of 5 stars How Can Sex and Sin Be So Boring?, March 6, 2001By NaturalCurl (Texas)

Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Tour for "The Ale Boy's Feast"

My buddies over at the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour are talking about The Ale Boy's Feastfor the next couple of days, and though I haven't read the book I always enjoy seeing what these guys have to say about the books they're reviewing! Below are links to all the bloggers who are participating this month, and here's the link to the author Jeffrey Overstreet's site.



Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Shane Deal
Chris Deane
Cynthia Dyer
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Inae Kyo
Shannon McDermott
Shannon McNear
Karen McSpadden
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Sarah Sawyer
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler

In which I teach my kid a lesson which she already knows in detail

Young Miss A had her spring ballet performance this weekend. She did a great job as a part of the performance of Cinderella. That night when I tucked her into bed I told her what a great job she did.

Me: You did a great job tonight and I know you worked hard for a long time for this one short night. That is a good thing to know, that doing hard work for a long time can pay off with something wonderful.

A: Yes. Only sometimes a long time of doing boring work pays off with something even boringer.

Dear Comic Book Publishers, It is time for you to hire me or I will reveal all your secrets

Back in January I made up some stuff about Marvel killing off Johnny Storm the Human Torch, including a storyline called "Torch Song" in which characters from the Marvel Universe would come together to share their memories about poor dead Johnny Storm.

Now Marvel has revealed that Amazing Spider-Man issue 657 will have a story called Torch Song in which Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (well, the Fantastic Three) come together to share their memories about poor dead Johnny Storm.

Which prompts me to say to all you comic book publishers out there... I am ready and available to write comic books for you. Feel free to contact me anytime.

So. This is what it feels like to be famous.

Yesterday morning I rolled out of bed (actually, I rolled out of couch, because the baby had been crying in the night and she and I slept downstairs), pulled on a sweater and threw on my flip flops and headed out to buy my wife a cup of Mother's Day coffee. I was wearing, to make the mental image a bit clearer, a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms, a white undershirt and a black zip up sweater. My hair was doing its best impersonation of an electrocuted toupee.

I walked up to the barista and ordered my wife's coffee and she said, "I loved your book."

This had never happened to me before. I blinked at her in surprise, wondering if, perhaps, she had mistaken me for Stephen King or John Grisham. My brain soon informed me that this would make no sense whatsoever. I paused long enough, thinking what to say to her, that she followed up by saying, "Your book. Imaginary Jesus."

I stammered something suave like, "How did you recognize me?" As if I had been in disguise, or had a secret identity.

She told me she had seen me speak at a conference and recognized me from there, and we chatted amiably for a while. The whole time I wondered if I should explain why I looked like I had been living in my car. Should I tell her that I didn't expect to see anyone who would recognize me in any way? Would she care?

And that's when I realized, "This is what it feels like to be famous!" It feels like a mix of mild confusion and surprised embarrassment. In case you were wondering.

And, in conclusion, the next time I go to visit Peet's coffee to be served by my new friend Jenny, I promise to at least put a hat on.

THE END

Ridiculous Reviewers On Amazon: One Star Review for Flannery O'Connor

Today's ridiculous one star Amazon reviewer picked up a copy of Flannery O'Connor's Complete Stories and did not find it to her liking!

I love Flannery O'Connor. LOVE her. I would marry her. If I wasn't already married. And also if she were still alive. And maybe if she hadn't been born in 1925, that's a little outside my "acceptable age range" for dating. Sorry pre-1926 ladies out there! My wife even lets me keep this photo of her by my bed, although she thought it was my grandmother until recently.

AND (this is true) I tried to convince Krista to name our most recent child Flannery. Unfortunately, the name means something to the effect of "a flat gray rock" and that wasn't going to fly. So we named her Baby M instead.

Reading Flannery O'Connor takes me to another place. Her unblinking eye focused on both the sublime image of God and the ingrained depravity in the midst of everyday humanity is absolutley riveting. I've read and re-read stories like "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (maybe the best short story in the English language... no, really) and "Parker's Back" (not one of her critically beloved stories, but I think my favorite out of all of them). If you're a writer (particularly a Christian writer) and haven't read her essays in Mystery and Manners then you Must. Go. Now. and find yourself a copy. It will change your life. Shhhh. Stop thinking about it and go get it.

And now, here is our one star review of a collection of stories by the greatest writer of short stories that the United States has yet to produce:

Not what I expected...,

May 14, 2007

By 

Julie Gohring This review is from: The Complete Stories (Paperback)

A group of seniors from our church were planning a visit to the author's childhood home. I thought it would be a great idea to purchase this book as a little prize for the trip.
I read a couple of the short stories and found them to be a bit disturbing. Not at all what I expected. I do not need to have a "happy ever after" ending to stories but I read as an escape into anothter world. I did not enjoy visiting the world through Flannery O'Connor's eyes. Sorry.

First of all, Amazon Reviewer Julie Gohring, please allow me to say that we forgive you.

It was, in fact, a common criticism of O'Connor's work that it was too brutal or cynical or violent (etc.) which was and continues to be to miss the point of her work. O'Connor believed that a true artist must strive to represent the world as it is, not as one wishes it to be, and that only the unabashedly truthful work had any power to transform the reader.

Here's what she said about one of her more famous and controversial stories, about a family whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, only to be discovered by an escaped convict and his cronies:

I am mighty tired of reading reviews that call A Good Man [Is Hard to Find] brutal and sarcastic.  The stories are hard but they are hard because there is nothing harder or less sentimental than Christian realism.  I believe that there are many rough beasts now slouching toward Bethlehem to be born and that I have reported the progress of a few of them, and when I see these stories described as horror stories I am always amused because the reviewer always has hold of the wrong horror. 

For those of you who have never read any O'Connor, I envy you because you're about to make one of those amazing discoveries when you find that the written word is more powerful and wonderful than you thought possible.

In other news: Flannery O'Connor's childhood home? Five Stars!!!!!

Here's a link to previous ridiculous reviews.

We met Donald Glover from Community today in Portland!

Shasta and I were downtown today to meet with some co-workers from New Zealand, when Shasta pointed out that Donald Glover happened to be standing in the sitting area of the coffee shop/hotel that we were meeting in.

As you can see in this picture, one of our friendly Portlanders snuck into the back of the picture to give Donald some rabbit ears. Nice. Thanks for that, Portland.

Anyway, we asked if we could get a picture because Tifah and Reid from the Autumn Film kept sending us all these pictures, bragging about how they met Danny Pudi a while back. Anyway, they gave Danny a copy of their CD, so I gave Donald a copy of Imaginary Jesus. I am guessing he is using it as a coaster in his hotel room at this very minute.

I told Donald that we had watched the season finale of Community last night, but it turns out that wasn't the finale. He told us that (SPOILER) the finale this year is a gigantic, epic paintball episode. I'm looking forward to that... the first episode of Community we ever saw was the paintball episode. And YES, The Autumn Film introduced us to the show. I know they'll want credit for that. ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW, TIFAH?

Anyway, I know you all want to know all the juicy details. But basically they are these: Donald was cool. He was in town for his comedy/music show. He's doing a couple shows in California and then headed to Las Vegas. He's probably lurking the streets of Portland right now.

Wonderful Wednesday: All Your Base Are Belong To Us

One of the best uses of the internet, better than work e-mail or online banking or watching television shows whenever you like is gathering your friends around your tiny flickering blue screen and showing them something truly wonderful, memorable and ridiculous.

The first video I vividly remember being shown was by a young student named John Lidstrom, who wanted me to know that All Your Base Are Belong To Us. And now, in honor of internet memes everywhere, I present to you this jewel of internet loveliness. Enjoy!

Guest post from author, Mike Duran: "Lord, Save Us From Our Stuffiness"

I recently read the debut novel of a cyber-friend of mine. The novel, which is called The Resurrection, is about how spiritual forces clash in a small town, kicked off by the resurrection of a dead child. I wrote Mike a note after reading the book, and told him that it reminded me quite a bit of the novels of Charles Williams, who also wrote spiritual/horror thrillers from a Christian perspective. Mike also writes an excellent blog, and is on Twitter and Facebook.

Anyway, I asked Mike if he might like to do a guest post here at BHR, and here's what he sent me. I think you'll enjoy it. Drop Mike a note and let him know what you think.

Lord, Save Us from Our Stuffiness

By Mike Duran

There is considerable debate about whether or not Jesus laughed. In fact, a Gallup poll once found that half of all Americans thought that Jesus was not fun loving. One need only to look at His followers to understand how this conclusion could be reached.

Through the ages, the saints have frowned on laughter. By the 4th century, church leader John Chrysostom had declared that Jesus never laughed. This is why many medieval paintings portray Jesus as serene and always sober. Christendom’s sense of humor didn’t improve much over the next millennium. In the 1400s, the Council of Constance decreed that any minister or monk who spoke “jocular words such as to provoke laughter” would be damned to hell. See, this laughter stuff is serious business!

Apparently, laughter has always carried a harsh sentence in the Church. The famed British preacher Charles Spurgeon was often criticized for his use of humor. On one occasion, he answered one of his critics by saying, “Ma’am, if you knew how much I held back, you’d commend me.” Nevertheless, the Church is still full of gloom-inducing Pharisees. H. L. Mencken once defined a Puritan as a person with the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. Is it any wonder many pastors are custodians of propriety, their stiffness akin to spiritual rigor mortis, and their houses of worship like museums of torture, with solemnity being the rack upon which their parishioners are painstakingly splayed?

Don’t tell this to the first-century believers. One of the greatest days in Church history was the day they were accused of being drunk. The Holy Spirit descended and a party ensued (Acts 2); thousands of new Christians “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (2:46-47). Amidst the tongue-speaking, foot-stomping, rip-roaring revival, the only possible explanation was, “They have had too much wine” (vs. 13). What other reason could there be for such gaiety, especially when the religious leaders of the day were such unrelenting sourpusses?
And maybe that’s our problem – Nobody accuses Christians of being drunk anymore.

In his 1964 classic The Humor of Christ, Elton Trueblood suggests that we cannot begin to understand Christ’s life and teaching, without acknowledging the joy, wit and whimsy He brought to this world. In a way, humor may be the most neglected key to ciphering Jesus’ message.

Our journey to Christ-likeness means being saved from lots of things: bad habits, bad attitudes, and their eternal consequences. One of the things we need saved from is our stuffiness. I mean, how can we ever hope to woo people to Heaven, if our Leader can barely even crack a smile?

Ridiculous Reviewers On Amazon: One Star Review for I, Claudius by Robert Graves

I first read I, Claudius in May of 2008 and I enjoyed it a great deal. Here's what I said about it then: "It's a great novel. It's the story of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus (called Claudius), a crippled, stuttering member of Rome's royal family who survives several increasingly evil emperors to ascend to the throne himself. Part history, part family epic, part philosophical exploration of History and historians, it's well written, profound and fun to read. I love the way that Graves paints the reality of a culture that deifies its ruler."

The Modern Library put this book in the top 100 best novels of all time, and while I have some strong disagreements with the list, I have to say that I, Claudius is nevertheless a fine novel.

But even the best novels are open to critique. Let's see what our cranky fellow citizens of Amazonia have to say. This week's Ridiculous Reviewer provides us with a very serious flaw in the novel. Enjoy.

1.0 out of 5 stars I, Claudius, April 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: I, Claudius From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius Born 10 B.C. Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International) (Paperback)

This book is so self-conscious and self-aware, one has to wonder whether the author is not more taken with himself than interested in writing a novel for others to enjoy. Way too cutesy for me.I did not like this book at all.
I would have much preferred the author just write a nice, deep, rich biography or even a third-person historical novel, perhaps with footnotes or indexed research notes. The first-person mechanism is highly overused, to the point of abuse. There appears to have been a great deal of research that went into this book, but because of the tone and style, the reader cannot determine or make an assessment as to whether the material is fact or fiction, or merely self-serving attempts to appear clever. The heavy-handed overused literary device severely detracts from the good qualities of the book, which are: good story, interesting historical period, insight into times and lifestyles of long ago, and occasional easy flow of language.
This is one book I would not recommend. 

So. This book has a good story, is interesting and insightful, and flows well. It's main problem is that it is (gasp) written in first person. As is, for instance, the reviewer's review. As is, for instance, other cutesy novels like Lolita, The Catcher in the Rye and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Runner up (who I just couldn't bear to publicly shame because he said in his review that he's a high schooler) was a young man who said, "I cannot say that this book is good because lying is a sin and I don't want to go to Hell." Where, no doubt, he would be forced to read classic literature.

Thank you, one star reviewers, for your entertaining insights into great novels.

In Which My Children Stop Fighting With Each Other for a Philosophical Conversation

While my kids were dyeing Easter eggs, they got in a heated argument about the purple die, mostly related to whose turn it was to dip an egg into the colored vat. I was in the next room, and I finally called them over.

Me: Kids, what are we celebrating at Easter time?


The kids looked down at their feet and didn't respond.

Me: Are we celebrating some sort of festival about sisters fighting with each other?

Kids: No.

Me: No. You know what we're celebrating, we're celebrating that --

A: Dad!

Me: Yeah?

A: What does dyeing eggs have to do with Jesus dying for our sins and then rising from the dead?

Me: Ummmm. Nothing. Now stop fighting and go dye your eggs.

Kids: Okay.

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more 
of everything ready-made. Be afraid 
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head. 
Not even your future will be a mystery 
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card 
and shut away in a little drawer. 

When they want you to buy something 
they will call you. When they want you 
to die for profit they will let you know. 
So, friends, every day do something 
that won't compute. Love the Lord. 
Love the world. Work for nothing. 
Take all that you have and be poor. 
Love someone who does not deserve it. 

Denounce the government and embrace 
the flag. Hope to live in that free 
republic for which it stands. 
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man 
has not encountered he has not destroyed. 

Ask the questions that have no answers. 
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. 
Say that your main crop is the forest 
that you did not plant, 
that you will not live to harvest. 

Say that the leaves are harvested 
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. 
Put your faith in the two inches of humus 
that will build under the trees 
every thousand years. 

Listen to carrion -- put your ear 
close, and hear the faint chattering 
of the songs that are to come. 
Expect the end of the world. Laugh. 
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful 
though you have considered all the facts. 
So long as women do not go cheap 
for power, please women more than men. 

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy 
a woman satisfied to bear a child? 
Will this disturb the sleep 
of a woman near to giving birth? 

Go with your love to the fields. 
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head 
in her lap. Swear allegiance 
to what is nighest your thoughts. 

As soon as the generals and the politicos 
can predict the motions of your mind, 
lose it. Leave it as a sign 
to mark the false trail, the way 
you didn't go. 

Be like the fox 
who makes more tracks than necessary, 
some in the wrong direction. 
Practice resurrection.

Easter Communion by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Pure fasted faces draw unto this feast:
God comes all sweetness to your Lenten lips.
You striped in secret with breath-taking whips,
Those crooked rough-scored chequers may be pieced
To crosses meant for Jesu's; you whom the East
With draught of thin and pursuant cold so nips
Breathe Easter now; you serged fellowships,
You vigil-keepers with low flames decreased,

God shall o'er-brim the measures you have spent
With oil of gladness, for sackcloth and frieze
And the ever-fretting shirt of punishment
Give myrrhy-threaded golden folds of ease.
Your scarce-sheathed bones are weary of being bent:
Lo, God shall strengthen all the feeble knees.

Easter Wings by George Herbert

Easter wings.

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,   Though foolishly he lost the same,      Decaying more and more,       Till he became         Most poore:         With thee       Oh let me rise As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day  thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me. My  tender  age  in  sorrow   did   beginne:   And still with sicknesses and shame      Thou  didst  so  punish  sinne,        That  I  became          Most thinne.          With  thee        Let me combine     And feel this day thy victorie:   For,  if  I  imp  my  wing  on  thine Affliction shall  advance the  flight in  me.

Man of Sorrows

Man of Sorrows by Jim Janknegt