A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

Sometimes, the presence of God may diminish, and we are left questioning His existence. The truth is He hasn't left us--we are not alone and this is when our faith retains the memory of His goodness and His blessings. I agree with this post, God is with us in light as well as in darkness.

I seldom read historical novels, but this one conveys to life the world of ancient Rome as seen through the eyes of a Christian slave. She is the Christian that we should all strive to be, giving and loving without selfishness or pride, and the hardest qualities to achieve for the vast assortment of Christians in the world today.

“Never doubt God in the darkness what he has given us in the light.” 
― Francine Rivers, A Voice in the Wind

All pictures (without the words) are from Pixabay, and clicking on them will take you to the site.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War is grievously amazing. An insufficient body of leaders are capable of sending the youth of the world to their deaths from the illogical idea of self-imagined slights. Though the majority of wars are fought in the name of greed and power--the two evil creatures that have left trails of corruption and horror on our Earth since the inception of time.

There's an immense truth in the featured quote that originates from the lengthy book of War and Peace. If humans exerted the energy to glimpse the depths of our own souls and examine the substantial faults found within--blaming the multitudes would cease, and our world would have diminished bodies for grieving parents to bury.

Hopefully, one day war will be the ancient history studied with fear and fascination, but until we stop giving the power to the few to govern the many, world peace is but a dream.

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” 
― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

All pictures (without the words) are from Pixabay, and clicking on them will take you to the site.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

In 1939, MGM released a somber cartoon titled Peace on Earth. The title, based on the Christmas song of the same name, tells a despairing story of the categorical annihilation of mankind.

The song lyrics incorporate the words "Good will to men," which leads to the history of humans as told by a grandfather squirrel to his grandchildren.  He reveals the insanity of  men's desire to slaughter each other until there isn't a single human left breathing.

Watership Down tells the story of a group of rabbits wanting to live in a free society as far away from their former cruel leaders, yet the beings they despise with absolute disrespect are homo sapiens.
The book reveals that animals believe humans have a lack of regard for each other and the earth, which is revealed in the following quote.

In both the cartoon and book, human's destructive nature will end life and our nature will never change. War and murder are still prevalent on our earth, and men still look for elaborate ways to kill others who disagree with the ideas they possess,or for greed and enjoyment, but unlike the rabbits and squirrels, I still have hope that mankind may one day shed its malignant skin and respect and appreciate the differences that create humanity.

“Men will never rest till they've spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.” 
― Richard Adams, Watership Down

All pictures (without the words) are from Pixabay, and clicking on them will take you to the site.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

As I sat in the dark theater, watching World War Z, my thoughts centered around the excellent book of the same name, and that story wasn't appearing on the big screen.

Though I still loved the film, I wanted a movie that originated from the mind of Max Brooks, and hopefully, the next WWZ will correspond to the book in a greater degree.

There are many quotes from the book that are worth looking at. The following contain thoughts on lies, fears, monsters and human nature and more. Human beings show their true nature in a crisis, and what better crisis than a zombie apocalypse to push these qualities into the spotlight..

Please let me know what you thought of the book and the quotes.

Original link to pictures can be found by clicking on pics.

“Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used.” 
― Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

“I think that most people would rather face the light of a real enemy than the darkness of their imagined fears.” 
― Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

“The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts” 
― Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

The Battle of Maldon (Unknown Author)

Picture a day, we think it will just be an ordinary day of school, work, making dinner or watching a new episode of Game of Thrones, when suddenly the world as we know it is shattered by thousands of warriors attacking our city, annihilating everyone they find.
These are men who believe that fighting is life, and have grown up learning to destroy humanity in a way even the most horrible monsters of today cannot possibly measure up to.
Their fleets of ships could land, destroy life, pillage and leave in a very short time, and though they never wore the silly horn hats that modern people attribute to them, they are nonetheless the (hatless?) Vikings.
The Battle of Maldon is a poem written, by the English, for a battle they lost to these marauders in 991. Some scholars state the poem originated soon after the battle, and I can imagine the person who wrote it held keenly to the fresh pain of losing friends and family, and these feelings are mixed in every word of the story.
I found one quote that shows these emotions and thought it worthy of notice.

Click on the picture to find the original picture without words.

Here is more of that part of the poem.

Thought shall be the harder, heart the keener,
Courage the greater, as our might lessens.
Here lies our leader, all hewn down,
The brave man in the dust. May he mourn for ever
Who now thinks to turn from the warplay!
Old in age am I; I will not hence.
By my lord will I die, our lord dearly loved.

                          

Beowulf (Unknown Author)

Beowulf is a poem written by an unknown author in an unknown year, though it's believed to originate around the year 1000 (give or take a few hundred years). 
I must admit that I haven't read the entire epic as  the story is quite boring, yet I appreciate the history of the poem and the age of a thousand years or more bestowed upon it.
There are two quotes that are worthy of reading, and they still make sense after all these years.

All pictures (without the words) are from Pixabay, and clicking on them will take you to the site.

“Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.” 
― Seamus Heaney, Beowulf

“Behaviour that's admired
is the path to power among people everywhere.” 

― Seamus Heaney, Beowulf