Jeremy Taylor wrote over 350 years ago, so his language sounds old-fashioned, but I like how direct he is with God. (See my post of August 29th, for instance). Here's another example:

"For all that lie under the Rod of War, Famine, Pestilence:
O gracious Father and merciful God, if it be thy will, say unto the destroying angel, It is enough;"

He goes on from there, but he makes his point up front.

I ask also that God tell the destroying angel, "It is enough." Enough war in Iraq, enough murder on our streets, enough denying food and medical treatment to the poor. Enough!

The iris planted years ago by the old lady who used to own this house are ready for thinning again. We did it about 3 years ago but they need it again, so a friend brought me his copy of The Gardener's Iris Book. He pulled up all the knotted clotted rhizomes in the west border and today we finished digging, fertilizing, and replanting, following the advice in the book. High phosphorus low nitrogen fertilizer, dig as deep as you can, leave some of the rhizome exposed. It was amazing how many we threw away. It's late to be doing this, but with cold weather coming later every year they will probably have time to get settled and put out new roots. I felt motherly as I tucked in their roots and watered them down.
Two years ago, a year after the last time we did this, the iris in that bed were spectacular. Tall, dark dark purple, thick, and so fragrant it was startling. That year I got an anonymous postcard saying how lovely they were as the sender drove by. It did a lot to perk me up, coming at a time when my mother was ill and things were hard. May was the cruelest month that year.

The Daniel Tammet biography, Born on a Blue Day, is a fascinating book. He's an autistic savant, and high-functioning. The book is a sensitive telling of his struggles with Asperger's Syndrome and early epilepsy, his amazing mental powers, and his successful attempts to build an independent life. He is a Christian, and the last chapter, where he tells about his conversion and explains his approach to worship, is simply beautiful.

Inspired by Azron's postings of quotations from Merton, I'm sharing here a meditation by Jeremy Taylor, a 17th Century Divine. This is from his "Short Meditations to be used in the night, when we awake"

"Meditate on Jacob's wrestling with the angel all night; be thou also importunate with God for a blessing, and give not over till he hath blessed thee."

Many nights I have laid awake with the night table, and done just that. Since I have never yet failed to go back to sleep and wake in the morning, I believe the blessing is always given.

Aside from the aforementioned Carter Beats the Devil, here are some of the books I've been reading this summer:

Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippmann
The Water Will Hold You by Lindsey Crittenden
The Kings of New York by Michael Weinreb
Kafka's Soup by Mark Crick
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Monkey Girl by Edward Humes
Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorehouse
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Maytrees by Annie Dillard
Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Holy Living and Dying by Jeremy Taylor

Commentary and recommendations to follow!