Este nombre tan sugerente El templo de las mil puertas pertenece a una revista digital gratuita dedicada a la literatura juvenil.

Según afirman su única finalidad es informar y entretener a los lectores.

Está bien escrita, ilustrada en color,  no pertenece a ningún grupo editorial y piden  colaboraciones: reseñas de libros, etc.

Animad a vuestros hijos adolescentes a escribir, aunque tengáis que recurrir al soborno.

La hemos incluido en nuestros enlaces en el apartado Revistas que lee Tomasa.

En su último número (el 11)  incluyen una entrevista con Andrea Ferrari, una autora que nos gusta mucho.

También nos parece interesante para profesores, podéis premiar a aquel alumno que mande una reseña, etc.

Una piccola rassegna di aperitivi con l’autore nata dalla passione per i libri di Ambretta Sampietro, redattrice di MilanoNera e dei librai Maurizio e Fabrizio Leone della “Libreria Leone” di Stresa con il supporto di Alberto Ferraris, presidente della Pro Loco.

Quattro appuntamenti con giallisti che si presenteranno a coppie nei caffè di Stresa il sabato pomeriggio alle 18.00 il 18 e 25 aprile e il 2 e 9 maggio 2009.

Durante gli aperitivi parleranno di sé e dei loro libri, e risponderanno alle domande dei lettori.

SABATO 18 APRILE il primo incontro, presso “El Gato Negro Café” con Paolo Roversi che presenterà “Taccuino di una sbronza” (Kowalski) e l’edizione economica di “La mano sinistra del diavolo” (Mursia) – con cui ha vinto il Premio Camaiore di letteratura gialla 2007 – e Paolo Franchini, varesino, con il romanzo “ Soprattutto la notte” (ACar).

SABATO 25 APRILE al “Caffè Embassy” toccherà a Matteo Di Giulio, uno dei maggiori esperti italiani di cinema orientale, con il suo romanzo d’esordio “La Milano d’acqua e sabbia” (Frilli) insieme a Massimo Cassani, giornalista de Il Sole 24 ore, di Cittiglio, che presenta “Sottotraccia” (Sironi), protagonista il commissario Sandro Micuzzi che presto ritroveremo in un romanzo che uscirà a fine anno.

SABATO 2 MAGGIO incontreremo al “Caffè Pasticceria Bolongaro” Andrea Ferrari e Sarah Sajetti, entrambi milanesi che ambientano a Milano le proprie storie. Ferrari è autore di “Milano A. Brandelli” e “Bravo Brandelli” (Eclissi) e Sarah Sajetti di “Volevo solo un biglietto del tram” (Robin). Presenta Sergio Paoli autore di “Ladro di sogni” (Frilli).

SABATO 9 MAGGIO al “Caffè Verbanella” è la volta di Patrizia Debicke van der Noot, affermata scrittrice di gialli storici supportati da accurate ricerche negli archivi di mezza Europa, con “La Gemma del cardinale” (Corbaccio) e della coppia letteraria Lilli Luini, di Angera e Maurizio Lanteri di Albenga che insieme presentano “La forgia del diavolo” (Frilli).

Alla realizzazione della rassegna hanno collaborato i redattori di MilanoNera Cristina Balzanelli Zannini per la parte grafica, Paolo Franchini per il sito internet e Andrea Zannini per le presentazioni.

Anche Paolo Franchini, Matteo Di Giulio, Andrea Ferrari, Sarah Sajetti e Patrizia Debicke van der Noot sono collaboratori di “MilanoNera” (www.milanonera.com), webpress noir diretto da Paolo Roversi.

I returned from Italy with my family last Monday evening, having been away for almost a couple of weeks. It was a busman’s holiday of sorts, trading off hospitality from friends for preaching engagements.

We arrived at Milan’s Malpensa airport on Wed 28 May, and were collected by Pastor Andrea Ferrari of Chiesa Battista Riformata Filadelfia. We went to his home overnight, before being sent away to Venice for a two day break. The Eurostar train took us from Milan (Milano) to Venice (Venezia) in good time, and we spent two wonderful days wandering through the city (although pushchairs and canal bridges are not the best of combinations), travelling around and about the island by boat (including a visit to the famed Island of Murano, where much glass is blown).

From Venice, we returned late on Friday night to Milan, and stayed with the Ferrari family (Andrea & Cristina, and their lads Simone and Daniele) until the following Wednesday. On the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, the church had organised a family conference, originally due to be held in Turin (Torino). However, by the time we had returned, persistent heavy rain in the Turin area had caused the cancellation of these plans, and so some swift re-jigging led to our meeting in their church building (they have been meeting there for only a few months). The topic of the conference was “The Christian family.” With such a large topic, I could only deal with some basics, and concentrated on the relationship between the Lord God and a husband and wife, issues that we have recently covered in our adult Sunday School. I did this under five headings, drawing heavily on material by Albert N. Martin from old Banner of Truth magazines, and also bringing in material from Alan Dunn’s Headship in Marriage in the Light of Creation and the Fall.

We considered the Scriptural approach – how do we serve God in our families? Where do we begin? Concentrating on the foundation and the framework, we assessed four flawed foundations and one firm foundation. The four flawed foundations are: rationalism (making human reason the ultimate authority); traditionalism (doing what has always been done, either unconsciously or deliberately); pragmatism (doing what seems to work, usually a series of short-term fixes with no long term goals); and, fatalism (can we really know what can be done, and is there any point anyway). Opposed to this is Biblicism – taking the Scriptures as our rule of faith and life. Here we went back to the gospel dynamic that governs our entrance into and progress in true Christian living. We can do nothing apart from Christ, and it is in the tension between Biblical idealism and Biblical realism, resolved by the grace of God in the forgiveness of sins and grace for cheerful obedience, that we make progress in this struggle.

We moved on to look at the essential equality that exists between men and women. Many texts in Scripture say that men and women are different to each other, none say that one is better than the other. Men and women are equal in their created dignity (both are made in the image of God), their native depravity (both are equally fallen, both are equally lost), and in redemptive reality (both are equally saved by the same Christ, and receive the same redemptive privileges). There are four consequences of this equality: a joint commission together to be fruitful, to multiply, to have dominion; a genuine correspondence (men and women were made to complete and complement each other); a profound cleaving (the intimacy of the one-flesh union of marriage, true togetherness); and, a total commitment to one another within the bonds of marriage.

From there we went on to consider the distinctive roles, looking first at women of God. Our four key texts were 1Cor 11.3-16, Eph 5.22-33, Col 3.18-19, and 1Tim 2.8-15, where we observe the created order and the redemptive pattern. On these two pillars the distinctives stand, without denying or negating the essential equality. The keynote for women is submission, a positive and active yielding of her gifts to her husband and employing them for him. The particular nature of this submission is religious – “as to the Lord”: it is an expression of our attitude to God. We saw its broad extent: “in everything” – it is extensive, not occasional or selective. Nevertheless, it is not absolute. She is to submit in everything except when her husband requires what God forbids or forbids what God requires. We also looked at some of the distortions and perversions women must labour to avoid: effacement on the one hand, and domination/manipulation on the other.

From there we moved to the distinctive role of Christian men. We used the same key texts and observed the same order and pattern. The keynote for men is love. We considered the character of this love: it is Christlike – it is intelligent, realistic, sweet and (above all) sacrificial. We looked at the quality of this love: it is purposeful – it seeks a wife’s highest development and greatest blessing. We identified the anchor of this love: union – it is grounded in a husband’s being one flesh with his wife. We then looked at the activity of this love: “nourishing and cherishing” – a profound tenderness and principled care. There are also distortions and perversions here for men to avoid: abdication on the one hand (a failure to lead lovingly) and tyranny on the other (a failure to love in leading).

In the final address we considered the Christian family as the living sermon - does my home, my relationship, preach Christ and his church to those around me? What does my relationship to my wife say to others about how Christ acts toward his church? What does my relationship to my husband say about how the church acts toward Christ? A Christ-exalting marriage is full of gospel blessing. We find blessing for ourselves when true happiness and harmony are established in the home. We bring blessing to our families by our testimony to gospel realities, and in providing a model for Christian homes. We bring blessing to our churches, for a healthy Christian home is a vital building block in a healthy congregation, and an example of grace and a centre of ministry to others. We also bring a blessing to our societies – both common blessings (good citizens having an influence) and saving blessings (true Christians testifying of Jesus and enjoying God’s favour). But we must pursue gospel transparency rather than entertain gross hypocrisy. The kind of Pharisaic hypocrisy we see in Matthew 23 will destroy all blessing. Reality matters more than appearance and performance. We must face the facts of sin, embrace the Christ of grace, and go in the strength of gospel grace along the way of gospel obedience in the exercise of the gospel dynamic.

With this, the conference closed. Andrea translated throughout, and we were both weary. The church then watched the film The Pursuit of Happyness, and there followed a discussion about the particular roles and values demonstrated in the film in the light of the material delivered from the Scripture. We looked at what we might learn positively and negatively from the examples we saw.

With that, we went home and slept. On the Tuesday we had our next rest day, wandering round an open market before a relaxed afternoon, then packing our bags for the next leg of the trip – south to Sicily.

A slower Monday today, which is always a pleasant treat for an alleged day off. The weather here is foul, leading to the cancellation of a planned barbecue for the church here, and other friends. At the moment we have to contend with the rain (heavy for the last few hours, leading to the bottom part of our garden being about three inches under water); the wind (driving said rain fairly horizontally at times), and a less than BBQ-esque coolness to the temperature (13˚C rising to a balmy 15˚C). Anyway, the net result is that I am nibbling away at a variety of tasks while listening to BBC Radio 4’s magnificent Test Match Cricket, as England attempt to grind out a win against a New Zealand side trying to haul themselves back into a match that they might easily have won, were it not for an England-style batting collapse in their second innings.

Anyway, I am in the first week of a busier patch. Last Saturday I was preaching at Hope Chapel in Haslemere (a place hung between Godalming, Horsham and Petersfield). It was their 160^th anniversary, and I was privileged to be their preacher for the afternoon. There were more present than they had feared, but fewer than they had hoped, but not bad considering that it was a bank holiday weekend. The congregation there is facing some particular challenges, so I preached on the fulness of Christ from Colossians 1.19, seeking to demonstrate the fulness of redemptive blessing located in the person of the Saviour, sufficient to bring his people into his kingdom and keep and bless them in it. Driving home through delightful evening sunshine, I was struck afresh with the beauty of the world that God has made. As I drifted cross-country down largely empty lanes on the way home, the wisdom of the Creator, and the sheer splendour of trees and fields and sun and sky made the trip a genuine pleasure.

Then, yesterday, I was preaching at Pains Hill Chapel. Again, they have a delightful setting, hard by the edge of Limpsfield Common. There was a gentle mist both morning and evening that only added to the charm of the place. The building itself is a couple of hundred years old, having been built in 1823. It has been very sensitively renovated in more recent years, and is a bright and pleasant building, with a good broad platform, a lovely place in which to gather for the worship of God. I preached in the morning from Hebrews 8.12, on the free, full, fixed and final pardon from God which is the basis of our reconciliation with him, accomplished through the propitiating death of Jesus Christ, and establishing intimate communion with the God of the covenant. In the evening I reprised a recent sermon from ‘home,’ preaching again on 2 Peter 3 concerning the coming day of the Lord, and the need to live lives that both prepare for our coming face to face with him, and that call others likewise to prepare. Again, the half-term holiday meant that a few families were missing, but I believe that the Lord met with us as we worshipped, and we enjoyed some delightful fellowship during the day.

Then we are heading away this week to visit friends in Italy. The first weekend we will be in Milan, God willing, where I will be preaching at a family conference hosted by Chiesa Battista Riformata Filadelfia, where my friend Andrea Ferrari pastors the church. The topic for the weekend is The Christian family. I have five sermons, plus question-and-answer sessions. I am focusing on a Biblical approach to the relationship between husband and wife, built on a gospel foundation, considering also the distinctive roles of men and women within the family, and the common distortions and perversions of those roles. We will also take time to consider the effectiveness of a healthy, happy and holy relationship as a living sermon, and the dangers of hypocrisy. Then we move on, taking a few days break in Sicily with Pastor Reno Ulfo of Chiesa Battista Riformata “Sola Grazia” in Caltanissetta. Reno has asked me to rework my material on 2 Kings 13, drawing lessons from the character of Joash, preaching three times over the weekend with them. These two brothers are the driving force behind the publishing house Alfa & Omega.

Then we return home for a fraternal hosted by the church here in Crawley, where – by a stroke of majestically poor planning – I am in line to preach twice. As you have the opportunity, please pray for God to be glorified in all these things, and for the sustaining of heart and mind and soul and strength in serving him in these coming days.

The Art of Underwater Photography

Eight highly readable, innovative chapters about motivation, equipment, technique, mindframe, philosophy, artistic and media influences, camera models and brands, underwater housings, strobes, macrophotography, wide-angle images, portraits, topside dive interval photography and many, many other subjects.

Illustrated with a spectacular selection of some of the Ferrari’s best shots of a lifetime plus exceptional image contributions by some of the world’s best professional and gifted amateur (this is a first!) underwater photographers – including Doug Perrine, Charles Hood, John Scarlett, Alex Mustard, Eric Cheng, Tony Wu, Stephen Wong, Takako Uno, Alberto Luca Recchi and many, many others.

‘A Divers Guide to the Art of Underwater Photography’ strives to be completely different from other guides currently on the market, and features scores of spectacular images from some of the world’s most influential professionals and also many extraordinarily gifted amateurs.

Each photograph is extensively captioned illustrating technique, equipment used, location, creative choices and final results.

He leído en Babar que Andrea Ferrari ha ganado el premio Jaén de narrativa juvenil de 2007 con El camino de Sherlock. Personalmente…

…me parece una buenísima noticia que premios concedidos en España vayan a parar a autores americanos, porque creo que existe una distancia demasiado grande entre las dos orillas de la lengua y todos seríamos más ricos si se redujera. La misma suerte hemos tenido recientemente con el premio Alandar. Aunque a cambio, no siempre se respeta la diversidad lingüística como sería de desear (lo comentaba asimismo Gustavo Puerta en una reseña que ahora no encuentro, quizá a propósito de otra obra de Carreras de Sosa) y, por tanto, se pierde parte de esa riqueza.

Andrea Ferrari ganó también el Barco de Vapor con El complot de Las Flores, un libro que me pareció amable, optimista y bien tramado (hay reseña de Daniel Nesquens en la revista Babar). Encontraréis muchos materiales de la autora en Imaginaria; entre ellos, esta entrevista con detalles biográficos y bibliográficos.