Master, bless.

My dearest ones,

tonight was one of those nights when I felt that familiar inner anguish: I contemplate the tasks at hand, such as they are, and wonder, can I do it? Am I doing what I am meant to do? Am I doing what I truly should be doing? Is what I am doing useful, does it help others? Am I obeying God? Am I where He wishes me to be, am I who He wishes me to be? Is this what the Lord wants?

Prayer calmed my heart, and then I saw something that was... God's answer. Something amazing, glorious. The answer could not have been clearer.

The Butterfly Circus.

My determination is renewed, and my heart is at peace. Glory to God.

Friday, I shall hopefully be seeing loved ones; we shall get together at Coasters. That will be excellent.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

more news: I now have a Goodreads author account. A loved one let me know that two of my books were listed there, so I signed on and applied for an author account, which they gave me today.

I think it can be fairly said that I am working very hard to be faithful to the role the Lord has assigned me, and to fulfill it well. I am trying to obey God's will and give more of myself, within the bounds of discernment.

Not too long ago, I was having a comforting chat with a dear friend, and told her I was starting to accept that part of my vocation involves being a sort of... of "personality" (however minor), as bemusing and unnerving as that notion is to me.

It is also utterly hilarious. God works in mysterious ways. But love is the essence of all things, whatever the means that foster its healing presence. My situation seems absurd to me; yet what does this matter? If by being a fool I can uphold and console, then my heart is filled with joy and I shall happily be a fool.

It is good to be sitting here in my new heather grey, organic cotton Coyuchi nightgown (my favorite nightgowns were beginning to look like something Oliver Twist might have worn and had to be replaced); I am about to pray, then have a hot beverage and a nap, thank heaven. Early this morning, snow flakes were falling for the first time this season, and the sight was so soothing, joyful and tranquil.

My eyes are closing. I think perhaps the nap first. I shall be indisposed at some point this week, and I am feeling it.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

earlier I saw an image that amused me very much...

It was created by jamesohgoodie:



I could completely picture Dumbledore and Snape exchanging those very words.

Goodness. I have been feeling tired, but at least my digestion is back to normal.

I have tweaked my website a little more. I think all my efforts have yielded something good. Its simplicity is very soothing. Go take a look, if you will; I have added a new post. There will be more surprises on logospilgrim.com in the near future.

Next weekend, there will be a Hierarchical Liturgy... I shall be able to give a copy of The flawed master to Archbishop Seraphim. My heart will be racing a bit, no doubt.

God bless you, most beloved. I am going to lie down.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

goodness. I am exhausted. I have just spent the whole day completely revamping my website.

But I am very pleased with how it looks now. I wanted a clean design, something simple, sober, understated (I daresay, monastic), and professional; I think I have accomplished my goal. I also wanted an active blog there.

Do take a look here, my dearest ones.

That is enough for one day.

Whew.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

God bless you all for your goodness. I believe my recent experiences are bolstering my confidence; in any event, venturing forth a bit more has proven to be helpful. I am becoming somewhat sturdier.

I even joined MuggleSpace. I think that I shall now have done my best to be more interactive. I am slightly bewildered, but adjusting well.

I must say that I am enjoying how MuggleSpace is arranged. Quite nice. It is very likely that I shall make use of the blog on my profile. Leaky is nice, but MuggleSpace offers greater possibilities; I shall spend more time there, no doubt.


Visit MuggleSpace


I have had to make another decision. In light of the fact that I have just written a book (and am in the midst of learning the art of promotion), am about to edit another (No lasting city), and then shall start writing yet another five weeks from now, I have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible for me to send Christmas cards this year, as I have done on previous years; it will be too physically demanding. I thought of sending simple postcards, but even that would be too much for me to handle at this point.

Please forgive me, most beloved. I shall make it up to you next year. Your professor is a bit swamped at the moment!

Lately, I have often been sitting in my office and staring out the window, bemused by the turn my life has taken. However, it is good.

I shall be answering your kind comments later today. Thank you for being so gracious and supportive as I stretch my wings and flounder about.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

I have a number of things to share with you today...

First, I want to thank you for your loving counsel and understanding (re: yesterday's poll about my enabling comments on my livejournal).

I have decided I would do as follows: I shall enable comments at my discretion. I shall frequently enable them when I am discussing day to day matters, posting photographs and so on; I shall seldom enable them when I am writing more contemplative entries. I shall not enable them when I am feeling weary or reclusive. At times when I am feeling distressed, I may not enable them. Thus this journal will remain a serene, peaceful refuge both for you and me, and at the same time allow interaction now and then, which I know delights you, and is a blessing to me. I believe this is a wise and beneficial course of action.

Due to the evolving nature of my vocational work, I am endeavoring to acquire greater social networking skills. I have therefore joined My Leaky; you can find me here.

All of this is giving me courage.

I have yet more wonderful news to tell you about... The red martyr gown and princely cassock reached my doorstep yesterday. I shall model them for you in the hopefully near future, but in the meantime, I took photos of them so you could see what they look like.

The red martyr gown, also known as the Infinitus nightgown, is nothing short of breathtaking. It is like a combination of Snape's coat and robes and a very elaborate medieval cassock that a cardinal might wear:



Bear in mind that the front goes all the way down to the floor when I am wearing it. The hem rests upon my feet (my measurements were correct! 52 inches from the top of the shoulder). The designers at Kambriel did a masterful job in creating the garment I had imagined...



And here you have an idea of the train, which is symbolic of flowing blood, offered for Love's sake. The sleeves are floor-length. This gown will be my evening wear and help me rest from the weight of the black robes.

( This way to the princely cassock... )

Unfortunately, the photos do not do justice to how beautiful and finely tailored this coat is. I shall wear it during the ball. I am so happy to be doing something special for you at Infinitus, most beloved. My better half, who has seen the garments first hand, was very impressed.

I live to give you joy.

Well, goodness. I have enabled comments, my deeply cherished ones, so... Hello.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

I hope with all my heart that you are having a wonderful day... I am doing quite well. It will be so nice to see karen_jk later, and a Potter Christmas gathering of friends is in the works; this gives me immense joy.

Quiet times, communion times... It is all a blessing.

I would like to ask you for your counsel, my dearest ones. These past few months, I have been learning to be more accessible, and it seems that the evolving nature of my vocation (an expanding collection of written works, the prospect of another convention) is fostering this. I have been taking baby steps (I am referring to my Facebook page and Twitter), and I have been thinking that perhaps some of you might like to interact with me here.

Your quiet professor is uncertain. What would be best? What would be wisest? What would be of benefit to you? Does the Lord wish for me to emerge from my shell a little more? It would not be that much more... I would use the "friends only" commenting option. Or should I keep things as they are?

It may also well be that your presence would help me and teach me to cope with being a tad more "out there." Am I "going it alone" too much? I do not want to be greedy, but perhaps this concern of mine is a temptation (I mean, I confuse "reaching out" with selfishness on my part).

Perhaps I need to stretch myself somewhat now, and be slightly less hidden. But then, do you find this place more peaceful because it is silent? Do I myself need it to be silent in order to write as I do? Then again, there is plenty of silence when I write my books... Perhaps variety would be good.

I desire to serve you, and I am grateful for you.

Poll #1488028 To everything there is a season
This poll is closed.
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 48

Should I enable commenting again, most beloved?

Do you have a word for me?

In other news, I am immensely happy to tell you that a lulu version of The Quiet Professor (illustrated by the most talented Ben Wu) will be published in the not too distant future. I shall let you know when it is available.

Well, time to get ready. God bless you for your kindness to me.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

tomorrow, I shall be having dinner with karen_jk, and this makes me very happy. Earlier in the afternoon, I shall be picking up my first shipment of copies of The flawed master, and shall thus be able to give her one of them (it will be a Christmas gift), which also makes me happy...

I am starting to feel good about the book. I may as well, eh? It is what it is. And... I am... getting positive words about it... The Lord, I believe, has answered my petitions.

I am ready for 2010 and its various challenges. Its joys.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

I have not been sleeping all that well, my dreams involving convention hotels unable to find my luggage or missed flights, but prayer is regulating my thoughts, and I am feeling greater tranquility in my spirit.

A loved one has written very kind words about The flawed master, here. It is a balm upon my heart to know that the ardent prayers I offered up to the Lord whilst I was writing the book have been looked upon with merciful compassion.

In the morning, I am emboldened, but at night I am frail. I have so longed to comfort those who cross my path, to let them know that they are not alone, to show them that Love exists. It is my purpose.

Friday, I shall be hopefully spending some time with my dearest karen_jk; we shall share a beverage. This will be a blessing indeed. I need a bit of levity and relaxation.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Master, bless.

My most precious ones,

I have been giving myself a talking to this morning (after another rather sleepless night), and I think I am all right with the book. I wrote about topics that are in keeping with all I have written so far, my style is the same, my words and views are, as always, immersed in my faith, and I have done the best I could, I prayed for the Lord's guidance... Now I must be at rest. My agitation is sinful.

I am still learning the lessons I elaborated upon in The flawed master. This will no doubt be the case for the rest of my life.

I shall soon get in touch with The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet to see if they would be interested in my sending them a copy of the book. I am also thinking of sending a copy to the Ottawa Citizen. Nothing may come of any of this, but it seems like a good idea somehow to promote the book a little. Or whatever. I feel ambivalent about marketing, visibility and so on, but I shall try.

A message is not much use unless it is shared...

I shall have copies at the Three Deacons Church Store, and I shall see if other bookstores, such as Collected Works (and possibly Chapters), might wish to carry a few, especially with The Half-Blood Prince coming out on DVD next month. I am waiting for business cards bearing the book cover, and shall endeavor to give one to every person I encounter. I am also going to put up small posters in the downtown area.

Of course, all of this may be moot if the book is terrible, but, well, I am attempting to be more confident. I am trying to follow the Lord's inner promptings; if He wills for the book to be a blessing to others, then it will be.

Man alive. You know, I always figured my life would be a bit strange... Let us say that my expectations have been exceeded.

Just wrote down the name of the Arts and Life editor at the Ottawa Citizen. God help me. I may be too much of a small fry (or my writings may be too odd) to be of interest... We shall see, I suppose. I may well lose the nerve I currently seem to possess.

Your devoted
Logospilgrim, the quiet professor