Always Rejoicing

Welcome to Always Rejoicing! Here you will find original short stories written by me, Uisdean.

First, you might want to know what you’ll find here. I make every attempt to keep my writing ‘honest’. That means I’m just telling a story, not trying to trick you into believing any of my opinions. So, when I retell the story of The Three Little Pigs, the plot does not stray from the central ideas of the original story. The same holds true, I hope, for the stories I’ve retold from the Bible. I claim my stories to be “original” even though some of them are the retelling of older stories. Shakespeare and Disney made their careers retelling older tales. It’s an honorable method of storytelling. 

Second, I suppose, you’ll want to know about the author of this website. If you scroll down, you’ll find a ‘portal’ or link to the biography page. Or you can click here:  About Uisdean 

The stories vary from the drama of Seeing Red to the satire/comedy of  The Three Little Pigs. One of my favorite poems is Alternity While it is more or less a sort of story, it should be read out loud, as a poem, with a sense of urgency and raw reality. Some of the essays (you might think of them as ‘blog posts’) are about fantasy stories. The category “Whistling Dixie” contains a few essays that are odd. One of them compares Darth Vader with Dorothy Gale.

FYI: I built this site myself. More about that here. As a result, the menu at the top of this page is a bit ‘quirky’. You may find some other odd links or designs, as well as a couple of typographical errors. Feel free to notify me of anything odd through the comments.

Please scroll down this page to find links to some of the stories. If you click on the banner you will see the stories in that category. Or use the menu at the top of this page.

Rejoice Always!

          –Uisdean

So, what is Always Rejoicing?  Original stories…well, mostly original. You’ll find the “Three Little Pigs” here, but not the story you know. In my story, they are plumbers. You’ll find stories about a red car, a useless slave, a son whose father is an evil king, an ‘alternative’ poem, a different perspective on Christmas, thoughts on a shoeshine, reviews of a few books, all of which, I hope, point to JOY.

“Joy” is not “Happiness”. Happiness is an emotion. Joy is a state of being. Happiness is ephemeral. Joy is eternal. Through stories and essays and poetry this site hopes to point toward that state of being that is “JOY”. Many of the characters in these stories have not found Joy. Some never find it. Some are so filled with Joy that you might find them singing.

This site is neither an attempt to promote my version of Christianity nor is it an attempt to trick pagans into becoming Christians. All I’m doing is telling the story. Some stories, like Seeing Red are concerned with characters who are Christians. Others, like Rain Dance do not have characters who appear to be Christians. Some stories are about Biblical events, others have nothing Biblical about them. Even so, I’ll probably offend someone. If you find this site offensive, tell people you don’t like to check it out. Maybe they will like it 🙂 

In addition to the stories, essays and poetry you’ll find here, there are two two “sibling sites”. Click on “MORE” in the menu. One, called Forever Stone, is written for Christians who are interested in The Bride of Christ. It is a series of “adventures” that examine the Church. The other site is a Bible Study. Sometimes I post my personal studies of Holy Scripture on this site. 

Why “Always Rejoicing”? It’s because I struggle with St. Paul’s admonition to rejoice always. He said, (in effect) “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say Rejoice.” There have been many times when I did not want to rejoice in anything. Especially God. Once I began to understand what St. Paul was actually talking about, I began to accept his admonition. And so I try to write things that are based on “Joy”.

Some of the items posted here are such that you may not see them as “joyful”. And, in the common, worldly sense of the word, that’s true. But “JOY” is not something that makes you laugh. This is not a comedy site. I do try to include as much humor as I can. So you may find some funny material. You may even find a bad pun. But that’s not “JOY”. Things that we view as “funny” vary with individuals and with culture. “JOY” is not an emotion. It is a spiritual state. It is that place where we feel Heaven. It’s what St. Paul meant when he told the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord, always”. The items posted here should, in some way, point toward Heaven and Joy. Unsure? Questions? Please leave a comment. I’ll do my best to respond in a helpful manner.

The site is open for anyone to read. Comments are encouraged. However, to comment you must register. You only need a User Name, Password and e-mail address. No other information is required. You are also welcome to respond to the comments of others. Please be respectful when you comment.

Finally, I would like to emphasize that everything posted here is fiction or my personal opinion. The illustrations are (as best as I can determine) public domain. I do my best to give proper credit. Please do likewise. I have based some stories on Biblical characters or events. These stories are fiction, or “historical fiction”. While I make every effort to reflect what the Bible says—to avoid heresy—I am using poetic license in order to tell the story. Enjoy the stories and other items I have written just as you enjoy reading Harry Potter or watching The Ten Commandments movie. If you do find spiritual advice in what I have written, please confirm that advice with Holy Scripture and your pastor.