Thoughts for a New School Year

So I haven't blogged since July. My apologies to those out there in the greater blogosphere.

I moved back into my apartment today and remembered why I don't live here during the summer. It's about 90 degrees in here, and our a/c doesn't cool enough of the apartment to be helpful. I'm praying for rain. And I think God is going to answer that prayer. It's supposed to be gloriously cool the rest of the week. Which means it'll still be hot in here, but not so much that I sweat just sitting still.

School starts on Thursday, and I can't wait. I'm just a big nerd, if you didn't already know, and the classroom is where I really want to be. All the time. And now I'm getting my wish.

Last week I finished reading Madeleine L'Engle's An Acceptable Time, the last installment to the Time Quintent which includes A Wrinkle in Time. The main character is contemplating death (a theme in a few of L'Engle's books), and she starts thinking about sacrifice, as her death would save many other people. Laying in her lean-to, she quotes this hymn:

Christ be with me

Christ within me

Christ behind me

Christ before me

Christ beside me

Christ to win me

Christ to comfort me

and restore me.

Christ beneath me

Christ above me

Christ in quiet

Christ in danger

Christ in hearts of

all that love me

Christ in mouth of

friend and stranger.

After I finished the book, I have gone back to this passage a few times. This hymn is a prayer. This year will be defined by this prayer. I want it to be an every day kind of prayer. And not something done out of tradition, but something that is genuine.

I was in a wedding recently as well (congratulations, Amber and Jason!!). The happy couple asked me to read Scripture at the wedding, and I agreed. The passage they had me read has also become something that I want to define this year by:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in the spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12: 9-18)

So we are off and running on a new year. I will attempt to post about my adventures regularly, but as you know, sometimes I get distracted.

All for His glory.

The Joy of Rereading

While I was making myself french toast this morning, I ruminating over some things. The one that stands out most prominently however is my tendency to reread my favorite books. I have always thought this a sort of weakness, something like a fear of breaking out of what is comfortable. This summer, my thoughts on this tendency changed when I had an interview at the library for my dream job: stocking shelves. Although I didn't get the job (they didn't like that I lived about an hour away), I came home with a new found respect for rereading books.

Within the interview, one of the librarians with whom I was talking asked me what books I like to read. My goodness, she opened the floodgates. We then talked about books for about 5 minutes, and when I mentioned Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, she told me that she rereads it once or twice a year.

This woman inspired me to not feel shame in my desire to reread books. She is in charge of shelving and sees new books come in and out of the library all the time, and yet, she continues to reread books.

My desire to reread books was then fueled. Though I will read new books, I never again feel like there is anything wrong with rereading a quality book. I feel joy in them and want to experience it again and again. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Here are some of my favorites that I have reread at least once:

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (every time I finish this book, I get the feeling that I could never read again and still be happy; and that is significant when you are a reader)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

East by Edith Pattou

Peter Pan by James M. Barrie

And some I plan on rereading:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Northlander by Meg Burden

Foundling by D.M. Cornish

Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

These are not all of the books I love, but these are many that have I have either read twice or three times (or more). Hope you can find some here that give you joy like they do for me!

Happy reading and rereading!

Finding Joy Further Up and Further In

I recently finished C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy. I attempted to read this book when I was just a mere 19-year-old, fresh out of my first year in college. Now, as a seasoned 21-year-old, I was able to finish it all, and probably appreciate it more. Not saying that I couldn't appreciate it at that time. I did appreciate and adore what I finished, but now I was able to really delve into the depths of Lewis' conversion because I actually reached it. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is absolutely excellent.

Lewis talks about Joy, and what that means. One of my favorite quotes says,

All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still "about to be." (78).

This just gives a little taste of what he means by Joy, but I think that this is significant nonetheless.

Lewis' use of the word "further" echoes a theme in his novel The Last Battle. One of the final chapters is called "Further Up and Further In." The allegory of the Chronicles of Narnia is based heavily in the Bible, but in this final installment, Lewis takes the main characters to their end and the world's end. When they are in heaven, Aslan calls them to come up "further up and further in."

As I was reading my book, How People Change, for my Titus 2 study, a women's mentoring group through Bethlehem Baptist, I came across a section called "Looking In and Looking Back." This further echoed Lewis' theme in my head. In this section, as with "Further Up and Further In," the authors, Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane, discuss heaven. They quote the image of heaven in Revelation 7:9-17. A few pages later they ask, in reference to this passage,

As you listen to the saints in eternity, can you see yourself there? If you are one of God's children, you are in that scene. You actually see your future. This is the end of your story. (42)

The combination of the two images impressed itself on my mind. Now, after reading Surprised by Joy as well, I was able to really connect everything. Joy is something we find in looking forward to the eternal home God has created for us. He asks us to seek it "further up and further in." The image that is presented in Revelation is the end of our story.

Let's seek him further up and further in.

Participation Please!

So at one of my placements, my coop teacher asked me if I had any book suggestions for her 7th-grade son. Now I have some, and I want to email my suggestions to her soon, but I would like to get some other input. These are what I have so far:

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• Slam!
• Fallen Angels both by Walter Dean Myers (or anything by him)
• The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Monster Blood Tattoo series by D.M. Cornish
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• A Wrinkle in Time series, especially Many Waters (male protagonists) by Madeleine L'Engle
• The Giver by Lois Lowry

That's what I have, but I would like some more. She said that she wanted books other than Harry Potter. I think he has already read them or was not interested.

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Time

But there is something about Time. The sun rises and sets. The stars swing slowly across the sky and fade. Clouds fill with rain and snow, empty themselves, and fill again. The moon is born, and dies, and is reborn. Around millions of clocks swing hour hands, and minute hands, and second hands. Around goes the continual circle of notes of the scale. Around goes the circle of night and day, the circle of weeks forever revolting, and of months, and of years.

--Madeleine L'Engle, The Small Rain, pg. 152

Transformed into Holy Creatures

Today I was reflecting on the fact that I have not blogged in a while. Life took over. Sorry.

The week of February 20th marked the one year anniversary of my kidney stone. To get the whole story, read my blog post. It was a week of remembrance for me. It was also the busiest week of my semester so far. God is good and glorious. He took my mind off my terror and gave me other things to think about.

I was reading my devotional, Taste and See by John Piper, today. The chapter was entitled, "Discernment by Desire: Finding God's Will by the Fragrance of the Holy." Honestly, I had a really hard time concentrating through it, but the last paragraph grabbed my attention:

The assumption here is that our faculty of delighting or desiring is healthy and God-saturated. And that is the great challenge of the Christian life: Be transformed in the renewing of your mind that you may approve [not just prove, but approve, that is test and then delight in] the will of God (Romans 12:2). Our great need is to be people whose delights are the very delights of God. (115)

Pastor Piper's paraphrase of Romans 12:2 really caught my attention. Now, I know that it's a very popular verse. Most everyone who has been to a conference of any sort or spent any time in the church has heard this verse, most of the time in addition to Romans 12:1.

However, do we really stop to think about what Paul is trying to tell us. Here, read it and really think about it:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)

Now most people focus on the transforming of one's mind, and though that is EXTREMELY important, I want to focus on something else: the adjectives that describe our sacrifice and what the will of God is. The words "holy," "acceptable," "good," and "perfect" are all important to how we should understand these verses.

Our sacrifice should not just be mediocre; it should be HOLY. Like really holy. Like: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:14-16).

We need to strive for that holiness. And goodness and perfection and acceptability.

So I will encourage you to read over these verses again. Meditate on them and what they mean. You don't need me to point out the truth in the Bible. That's what the Holy Spirit is for. Just keep digging in. It's totally worth every moment you spend reading the words of God.

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights of the word, holding fast to the word of life.... (Philippians 2:14-16a, ESV)

Not Idealistic Gas

After reading my Bible this morning, I turned to my copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I know that I've talked about this book before, and this morning, I am going to share its wisdom once again.

I read the chapter entitled "Counting the Cost". In this chapter, or lecture as it was originally produced, Lewis discussed his comment of God desiring us to be perfect. He immediately clarifies that he does not mean that if we are not perfect, God will not accept us. Lewis believes that God wants us to strive for perfection and nothing less. But as humans we want less, and God wants to inspire us to more.

After Lewis gives an anecdote about dentists (a dentist does not just fix the hurt; he gives the whole mouth treatment), he says:

Now if I may put it that way, Our Lord is like the dentists. If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell [about 45 inches or so]. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of (like masturbation or physical cowardice) or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper or drunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right: but he will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment. (Lewis 174)

Lewis goes on to explain that this is one of the reasons Christ told people to "count the cost" before coming to Him. Christ wants us to strive for perfection in Himself: "To shrink back from that plan is not humility; it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience" (Lewis 175).

The job of making us perfect will not be completed in this life; however, Christ wants us to strive hard after the goal so that His Father may look on us in the end and say He is well-pleased with us.

The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible.... The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said. (Lewis 176)

Slightly Failing to Meet Expectations

So I know that I kinda failed at my "reading a book a week over break" goal. However, I did read quite a bit. More than some people might think healthy.

Not only did I finish Little Women and Foundling, I completed A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper, and am about 10 pages from the end of Lamplighter, the second in the Monster Blood Tattoo series.

That's somewhere around 1090 pages. That's pretty good if I do say so myself.

Though I may not have finished all the reading I wanted to, I did read. And that soothes my soul to no end.

I'll post again soon with some wisdom about classes. Or some such nonsense.

Glory be to the one who created words! Praise God!

The Second Adventure

Actually, the title of this blog is a little misleading. The Foundling by D.M. Cornish was actually about the first adventure of the character Rossamund.

The story begins with Rossamund (yes, he is a boy) at the orphanage he was raised in. The reader immediately gets the sense that Rossamund is a little different. He is mocked because of his womanly name and his small size. Yet if one continues with him through the book, they will find that he is not helpless.

Rossamund's journey is far from peaceful, and he runs into many terrors, some monsters and some people. The monsters, nickers and bogles (large and small respectively), are the supposed terror within the Half Continent; however, Rossamund learns that one must not only be wary of the monsters.

I am amazed at this story. D.M. Cornish created an amazing world. This book has at least 100 pages of appendices. There is a glossary, or Explicarium as he calls it, that is extremely extensive, along with maps, explanations of clothing, gear, etc. Basically, if you don't understand something in the story, just look it up in the back. For the most part, he has a thorough explanation.

Just a note: this story does not contain magic. Though many abilities that appear may seem like magic, these monster-fighting tools only come about by special surgeries or potions, etc. Not believable, but very different and fascinating.

Battles with nickers and bogles and people riddle the pages; however, this story does take some getting into. It took me a while to actually enjoy this book completely. I realized, after really getting into it, this book is only the beginning. Yes, basically Foundling is the introduction to a much bigger story. To be able to understand what is going to happen, you must read it.

The second book is called Lamplighter. This story seemed to grab me a lot quicker than the first. Yet this may be because I had already read the first and know what D.M. Cornish can do.

Honestly, I would recommend this book. It is a good one, and I am moving quickly onto the second (which is much longer; hopefully I will finish it before school starts back up). Check it out, and if nothing else, marvel at the time and energy D.M. Cornish put into creating his world.

On to the Second

My second pick for Book of the Week(ish) is Foundling by D.M. Cornish.

I picked up this book for the second time last week; however, the first time I did not get very far. It is my goal to finish this tale this time.

A book about a boy named Rossamund, this story is extremely detailed. Cornish created a world almost as complex if not as complex as Tolkien's Middle Earth. The Half-Continent seems to be a world full of interesting mysteries, and as I read, I'm sure I will discover some of them.

So here goes! Off on another whirlwind adventure!

Hope your reading is exciting you as much as mine. Keep at it!

A Review and Praise for Alcott's Most Famous

So with about 80 pages left of Little Women, I settled into bed last night. It was a perfect way to end a day.

In the pages of Alcott's novel, I found little intrigue or conspiracy, but I found reality. However difficult the life, it was a peacefully simple one. I wonder about the complexity of our world today when I read books such as this, and I find myself desiring the more simple life. I know it was not easy or happy, and one had to work hard for everything they had, but it was less complicated in it's struggles. For the most part. And I am basing my analysis solely on books. I have no experience or anything...

There were so many moments in this book that I would like to relay, but I would also encourage you to read it if you have not already, so I will refrain from giving anything away.

Let's just say, I found a lot of myself in this book. It was very shocking and enlightening to see myself written on the page. I wish that I could always live in this world, coming back daily to the simplicity, if only to dream.

Fantastically written and honestly true, I would recommend this book to any and all. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series, Little Men, and then later, Jo's Boys.

O my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this! (Alcott 669)

Lateness...

I must apologize for my lateness in continuing my blogs about Little Women. I have been busy with wonderful and amazing things. Thus, reading has been on the back burner. However, I plan on finishing today/tomorrow and will begin again.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Lesson #1 from Miss Alcott

Jo March is one of the four girls who are the main characters of this story. She is a tomboy who loves to write and who cannot control her temper (sounds like someone I know...intimately...). After a big fight with her littlest sister, Amy, Jo has a good conversation with her mother. Marmee (their mother) tells Jo that she also has a terrible temper, but in her forty years, has learned how to control it. Her husband, Jo's father who is away at war, has been a constant help to her. As he is gone, Marmee does not show her sadness even though it exists. She explains it to Jo like this:

I gave my best to the country I love, and kept my tears till he was gone. Why should I complain, when we both have merely done our duty, and will surely be the happier for it in the end? If I don't seem to need help , it is because I have a better friend even than Father to comfort and sustain me. My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust him, the nearer you will feel to him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother. (Alcott 111-112)

This gave me pause and served as an incredible reminder.

Praise be to God! His love never changes and is all encompassing.

A Book a Week

I'm not sure that I have ever had a theme to my blog before, but I have resolved that over Christmas break, at least one blog a week will be devoted to a book. I have about 5 weeks for break, thus I will be writing on 5 books.

I started thinking about this last night, when I realized I have so many books I want to get through in 5 weeks. I need to be diligent and read quickly but thoroughly. And since I LOVE reading, it's not really a chore.

I have no plan for the books I want, though I've begun Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, so that will be the first.

I have a feeling it might turn out to be a review of sorts, but I will probably have multiple posts, all highlighting my favorite parts. I will have to post right after I read them of course, because I will not be able to contain my excitement.

While I start off on this journey, I would encourage you to read as well! Read my blog and see if your interest is piqued by any of the books I read or ask for a suggestion. I am more than willing to give recommendations!

So make some tea, sit by the fire, be warmed by the Christmas tree, and start a good book! You won't regret it. I know I never do.

Wandering with Jane Eyre

I have, lately, been enamored with the concept of wandering. I think it all started with the line from the Fellowship of the Ring:

Not all those who wander are lost....

I then discovered that I love the song I Wonder as I Wander*, a very lackadaisical melody, seeming content to just wander through the notes.

Soon after, I picked up Jane Eyre. I had never read this book and was struck by the mention of wandering in the second line.

This led me to picking up the book and purchasing it. I was shocked by the quality of its words, and how riveting the plot line was. I have attempted to read other classics in the past, but this one is the best to date.

As I read it today, I stumbled along a passage that struck me. I was amazed at the truth I read in it. Truth was not what I was expecting here, but as I wandered through the pages, I discovered it:

"She has been unkind to you, no doubt; because, you see, she dislikes your cast of character, as Miss Scatcherd does mine: but how minutely you remember all she has done and said to you! What singularly deep impression her injustice seems to have made on your heart! No ill usage so brands its record on my feelings. Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the passionate emotions it excited? Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. We are, and must be, one and all, burdened with faults in this world; but the time will soon come when, I trust, we shall put them off in putting off our corruptible bodies; when debasement and sin will fall from us with this cumbrous frame of flesh, and only the spark of the spirit will remain,--the impalpable principle of life and thought, pure as when it left the Creator to inspire the creature: whence it came it will return; perhaps again to be communicated to some being higher than man--perhaps to pass through gradations of glory, from the pale human soul to brighten to the seraph! Surely it will never, on the contrary, be suffered to degenerate from man to fiend? No; I cannot believe that: I hold another creed; which no one ever taught me, and which I seldom mention; but in which I delight, and to which I cling: for it extends hope to all: it makes Eternity a rest--a mighty home, not a terror and an abyss. Besides, with this creed, I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last: with this creed revenge never worries my heart, degradation never too deeply disgusts me, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end." (70-71)

Though not all of this seems relevant, I ask you to read it over. I found hope in this passage this morning. I am always on the lookout for Biblical truths in my reading of fiction, and today, Jane Eyre, through the character of Helen Burns, gave me a slice of what I long for. Her words were brought near to my heart, as I have been thinking about the glory of Heaven and how we are to make that our goal. We are aliens here, and we must, MUST, remember that, just as Helen Burns does.

So if not for wandering, I would not have found this passage. I would have passed it by. I would encourage a little wandering in life. It's good for the soul.

*The version I am referring to here is by David Nevue.