My Adventures in Literature

"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become." (C.S. Lewis)

So this semester, I am taking Intro to Literature up at JCCC and LOVING it. So far it has been simply fantastic and I have had so much fun. Of course, my literature book and I have sort of a love hate relationship going on...it just so happens that all 2500 some-odd pages of this specimen of literature add about 5 pounds to my already murderous backpack...but then, I really simply adore its contents, so whats a girl to do? Continue going to Literature class and luxuriate in loosing myself in its pages? Yes. Set up an appointment with a chiropractor after carrying around 30 pounds on my back for a whole semester? Yes, too.
 
Annnyyway I am good at free-association :D Haha. The point of this post was ACTUALLY to share with you a pair of interesting poems we read in class today. The two were written by William Blake in the 1800s as companions for eachother, if you will, and are much more enjoyable if read together and then compared. So with out further ado, I present to you The Tyger and The Lamb:
 

The Lamb

 

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

 

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

He is called by thy name,

For He calls Himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and He is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb,

We are called by His name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And What shoulder, and what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,

And watered heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Is the author comparing good and evil? Heaven and hell? Human nature before the fall vs. after the fall of man? Phrases in these poems point to all of these. And now, the fun part, is to explore for yourself and deide:)

God Is the Gospel

So we (the members of the Gimotty care group) are beginning a new study. We will be going through John Piper's amazing book entitled God is the Gospel. Unfortunately as a result of my recent surgery (the removal of those nasty little inconveniences called wisdom teeth) I was not able to attend the first meeting centered around this study. :( For shame! But I did read the introduction and the first chapter myself at home, and even with such a small bit of exposure was deeply, deeply encouraged by Mr. Piper's words. This is just a breif section of the introduction, but it is so very lovely I thought I'd share it with ya'll:

THE HIGHEST, BEST, FINAL, DECISIVE GOOD IN THE GOSPEL

"The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals what splendor is. Paul
calls it the "light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God" (2 Cor. 4:4). Two verses later he calls it "the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ."

When I say "God is the gospel" I mean that the highest, best,
final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gifts would be good,
is teh glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting
enjoyment. The saving love of God is God's commitment to do everything necessary
to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself.
Since we are sinners and have no right and no desire to be enthralled with God,
therefore God's love enacted a plan of redemption to provide that right and that
desire. The supreme demonstration of God's love was the sending of his Son to
die for our sins and to rise again so taht sinners might have the right to
approach God and might have the pleasure of his presence forever.

In order for the Christian gospel to be good news it must
provide and all-satisfying and eternal gift that undeserving sinners can receive
and enjoy. For that to be true, the gift must be three things. First, the gift
must be purchased by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. Our sins must be covered, and the wrath of God against us must be removed,
and Christ's righteousness must be imputed to us. Second, the gift must be free
and not earned. There would be no good news if we had to merit the gift of the
gospel. third, the gift must be God himself, above all his other gifts..."

John Piper

God Is the Gospel

copyright 2005 Desiring God Foundation

Controversially Against the Controversial

Did the title catch your eye? If it seems contradictory, it’s because it is. We live in a world of contradictions. And as Christians, we are called to live controversial lives – in the world, not of the world. Jesus Christ himself – his identity, his life, and his mission – may have been the greatest controversy of all time. At least it’s safe to say he caused quite a stir. A world-changing, life-altering stir.

Fast forward 2,000 years. In the post modern age of electronics and fast food (faster everything, actually), we Americans love controversies. Our media devours them, chewing them up and spitting them out again for the public, appearing slightly different from their original state. And even when they get a little messy, it’s safe to say we love our debates. We love to be right. Even more, we love the spotlight. In fact, some of us love it so much, it doesn’t really even matter anymore how we get there. This is why we love controversies – significant or not, as the case may be – we love attention. And if we’re honest with ourselves, most of the controversies we give attention probably don’t deserve the attention. In short, most of us aren’t really concerned with revealing the truth, or changing lives. As long as we get our five minutes of fame, that’s all that really matters.

That’s the trouble with the authors and artists and filmmakers of our day. Everyone is clamoring for their spot on the stage, for their six weeks on the best sellers list, or their place in the 10 most popular songs chart. These folks know how to do it too. Just look at John Cage, Katy Perry, or Dan Brown to name a few. The problem with people like these though, is that controversy for the sake of controversy isn’t actually attracting attention because it’s new or different – it attracts attention because it appeals to the shallow cravings of human nature. In the end, it’s all just adding to the noise of a culture that is slowly dragging itself deeper into depravity.

You might point out that the case I’m making is, in essence, controversial. You’d be right. But what is the case I’m trying to make, anyway?

I am controversially against the controversial.

I believe that one of the main reasons that our culture is in the predicament that we’re in, is because with all the hype over the “new” and the “different”, we’ve forgotten the steadfastness of what has already been written in stone. First and foremost, that would include God. But in the ever-escalating pursuit of modern advancement, we have undermined the importance of our past. In this case, our nation’s past. Our history. Our specific history of God’s providence in our story as a nation. Actually, if Americans pay any attention to history at all, it’s mostly to criticize our nations past leaders or – you guessed it – to dig up (or more often, invent) controversies about their character. After all, this is what gets us the attention we crave. But the idea that we would seek to slander some of the very individuals who fought to win and preserve our freedoms, all for the sake of pursuing our own popularity should put us to shame. Quite honestly, it makes me sick.

But before I go any further and leave any room for confusion, let me clear a few things up. Our founding fathers and the icons of our past were human too. They were not saints (at least, no more in the sense than we are), immune to sin and the deceitful nature of the heart. They were not unscathed by the temptations of their culture – indeed, they would have defined their own age as “modern” because it was as far as anyone had ever gotten! The idea is not that they were perfect; but that the point of history is that we might learn from it. Time and time again God has raised up imperfect men and women to places of authority so that we might look back and remember that it was Him working through them for their good and eventually, ours today.

Does this mean we don’t form opinions about people in history? Absolutely not. Part of the process of learning from the past is identifying faults in systems, societies, and individuals and learning from the resulting consequences. If we did not identify these faults or judge people according to their choices – both good and bad – then we would never learn from them. The closer we examine and the deeper we dig, the more we glean. But what are motives in picking apart the characters of revered men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, or Abraham Lincoln? When we discover a flaw, is our desire to learn from the mistake, or to exult in its uncovering as we might in a juicy piece of gossip? If we’re honest with ourselves, our first reaction to such a finding is to inwardly gloat in the idea that such a revered icon was really no better than us. Those with the opportunity will almost always take it to the next level – publicize the flaw so that it excites enough people to bring in a profit by one means or another. In this regard, controversies have become almost…predictable. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

People throughout the ages have taken hits to their character by ignorant later generations. As Americans, our founding fathers have been the primary recipients of such ridicule. I would like to focus this series, however, about some popular controversies over the War Between the States. Some of the rising issues regarding this pivotal conflict involve core players, like Abraham Lincoln and William T. Sherman. I would also like to devote some time to a question that still rears its ugly head today – which side was right, and which was wrong? Was either? And what, or who, really caused the war?

There are people today, 150 years later, who are suddenly speaking up with controversial opinions – proclaiming that the Confederacy was in the right, or that Abraham Lincoln was not as heroic as he has been made out to be. Is this simply the result of more years of research – the digging up of truths that we have long ignored? Have Americans really been left in the dark on these issues for a century and a half? Or is it just the hunger for fame that has inflated our appetite for historical controversies? Maybe it’s one, maybe it’s the other. Maybe it’s a combination of the both. I have a theory for the final judgment: First, we must objectively seek the facts. And by facts I mean the hard, material evidence left behind for us in the form of letters, speeches and documents. We cannot go by the opinions of scholars and historians alone – opinions vary as surely as we vary as individuals. We must see for ourselves what really happened, or what was really said, by reading these first hand sources. Secondly, we must not judge anyone by only one corner of their lives – whether it be their political, social, or family circles. We must take into account all of the aspects that make a person who he is, including their friends, their families, their influences, and their pasts. We must judge them the same way we judge ourselves. If we do not do this, we can never learn from them.

So…with all these things taken into consideration…I am going to attempt to tackle at least 3 main controversies revolving around the Civil War. Knowing me, I will undoubtedly get sidetracked and veer off onto some rabbit trails, but they will be branches of these core issues. First, I want to unpack the problem of slavery and the question of what the war was truly about. Second, I want to explore the complex character of Abraham Lincoln, not as a hero…not as a baboon, but as an ordinary man raised up by God for some divine purpose. Thirdly, I want to look at the end of the war and Sherman’s famous march to the sea. I would like to encourage you to approach each of these subjects with a spirit of humility and objectivity, a desire to learn, and a desire to really know the truth for truth’s sake. You have been forewarned…my views and opinions (as fallible as anyone’s) are precariously, if not stubbornly, against the controversial.

Controversially so.

Quote of the Week

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

~ C. S. Lewis

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

If I could choose a favorite sonnet from the 18th and 19th centuries, this one might be it. I love it. :) I recently read a novel based on (quite accurately) Elizabeth Barrett Browning's life, by one of the best historical novelists, Nancy Moser. She has also written on some of my other favorite historical women - including Jane Austen, Martha Washington, and Nannerl Mozart. But anyway - you should go and read her work. Espescially the one about Elizabeth. Even though its sad. Did you know her father forbade any of his children to marry? Elizabeth was nearly 40 years old when she finally ran away and married her one true love - Robert Browning - also a poet. Its a very romantic story and one taken straight from history. And that's what makes it so fascinating, as the autor Ms. Moser talks about. History often surprises me in that way - I have the ideas for a story, and the more I investigate, I find out what really happened was better than I ever could have made up. Gah I love it when that happens! Which reminds me of the story I am currently writing. Perhaps a snapshot of it will find its way on this blog in the near future. But I only said perhaps ;-)

~"I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life..."~

The Real "Separation" of Church and State

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson, Jan. 1. 1802.

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html

In the light of some current events considering our rights as Americans, both under God and under our Constitution - and after reading Vivian's summary in her recent blog post and some resulting conversation - I thought I'd spark some more "lively" discussion. ;-) Most Americans probably don't have any idea this letter exists (this being partially due to the "rewritten" history presented to generation after generation in public schools), but even worse, they think that the phrase "Separation of Church and State" is actually in the Constitution. Our government is becoming Godless, which is in fact the opposite effect the Founding Fathers intended when "make[ing] no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Comment at your leisure!

Now That I Have Seen

Albertine

by Brooke Fraser

I am sitting still, I think of Angelique

Her mother's voice over me

And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent

And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine

There in her eyes what I don't see with my own

Rwanda

Now that I have seen, I am responsible

Faith without deeds is dead

Now that I have held you in my own arms, I will not let go till you are

I am on a plane, across a distant sea

But I carry you in me

And the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I have been

I will tell the world

I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me

I will tell them Albertine

I will tell them Albertine

This is my Albertine...my Samantha. Now that I have seen, I am responsible. And I will never forget.

Lead Me To The Cross

Savior I come

Quiet my soul, remember

Redemption's hill

Where Your blood was spilled

For my ransom

Everything I once held dear

I count it all as lost

You were as I

Tempted and tried

You are

The word became flesh

Bore my sin and death

Now you're risen

Lead me to the cross

Where Your love poured out

Bring me to my knees

Lord I lay me down

Rid me of myselfI belong to You

Lead me, lead me to the cross

To your heart

To your heart

Lead me to your heart

Lead me to your heart

~ Hillsong United

My New Favorite Song. Ever.

The lyrics to this song are beautiful. I listen to them over and over. I just discovered Tenth Avenue North as a band and I will HIGHLY reccomend them. I am a hopeless fan of sad, ballad-like guitar and am always phsyched when they are paired with a God-glorifying message!

Without further ado here are the lyrics to Times by Tenth Avenue North. Listen to it with the player on my sidebar.

My love is over,

Its underneath

Its inside,

Its in between,

The times you doubt me,

When you can't feel

The times that you've questioned 'Is this for real?'

The times you've broken,

The times that you mend

The times you hate me

And the times that you bend

Well my love is over,

Its underneath

Its inside,

Its in between,

These times you're healing

And when your heart breaks

The times that you feel like you've fallen from grace

The times you're hurting

The times that you heal

The times you go hungry and attempted to steal

In times of confusion

And chaos and pain

I'm there in your sorrow

Under the weight of your shame

I'm there through your heartache

Im there in the storm

In my love I will keep you

By my power alone

I dont care where you've fallen,

Where you have been

I'll never forsake you

My love never ends,

It never ends

i.love.words.

I recently came upon this wonderful book called "Writing Tools: 50 essential strategies for every writer" by Roy Peter Clark. "Writing is a craft you learn," he says. "You need tools, not rules." The fact is, the best writers break the "rules" of writing all the time. Writing tools, on the other hand, "work outside the territory of right and wrong, and inside the land of cause and effect."

For an example, I will share with you one of my favorite new tools:

Tool 20: Choose the number of elements with a purppose.

One, two, three, or four: each sends a secret message to the reader.

>> The Language of One Use One For Power

Jesus wept.

Call me.

War is hell.

I do.

God is love.

Elvis has left the building.

I have a dream.

I have a headache.

Read my lips.

>> The Language of Two Use Two for Comparison, Contrast.

Mom and Dad.

Tom and Jerry.

Ham and eggs.

Abbot and Costello.

Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus.

Dick and Jane.

Rock 'n' roll.

I and thou.

>> The Language of Three Use Three for Completeness, Wholeness, Roundness.

Beginning, middle, and end.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Moe, Larry, and Curly.

A priest, a minister, and a rabbi.

Executive, legislative, judicial.

The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

>> The Language of Four and More Use Four or More to List, Inventory, Compile, Expand.

Getting the drift? I am espescially enamored of the way the author uses what he is teaching in his actual writing. Some people may not catch it but I thought it was brilliant. I found it interesting how many of these "tools" I already used, but how being more aware of them by giving them a label has actually helped me in the every day writing process.

So. Anyway. If you made it all the way through that without falling asleep I applaud you. There actually are some wacko people out there who find themselves scraping the scraps off the plate, so to speak, when it comes to this kind of thing. Tool 44: Save String. You never know when you're going to use it.

So!

Finally finished Composition 3! Yes! Now I can move on to what I've been looking forward to since last year...my short story work-shop! I am so psyched! (Is that how you spell that?) My weekly lessons will be covering character development, conflict summaries, outlining plots, crafting dialogue, etc. All of this, of course, is applicable to more than just short stories too. So excited!!

My first assignment is to...surprise...write a short story. :) Basically they are just going to see what I've got, and then move on from there. I will more than likely get the opportunity to write more than one story, of course, but right now I am brainstorming for my first one. I wanted to do a fantasy-type thing, but those get to be too complicated for something restricted to 5 (give or take) pages. So my only other option (of course ;)) is to do a historical fiction. That is all I have established thus far. I am going to have to pick a time period, narrow it down, and personalize it. =O So I need some ideas! I either want to do...

1. Elizabethan England...you know...God save the queen and whatnot...

2. The American Revolution, preferably something to do with Abigail Adams

3. The Underground Railroad, either Harriet Tubman or something to do with John Brown?

If you have any suggestions please comment! All I need is the teeny-tiniest nudge in the right direction and I will be good to go!

~ Elisabeth

P.S. I am also trying to come up with a pen-name, like people would do for newspapers in Colonial times. Would love ideas there, too. :)

Catching Up...

Ok! So its been a while since I've been in the blogosphere. So! First thing's first....


I've been tagged!!! By Stephie. Here's how it works:

Go to your Pictures file
Go to the 5th folder
Open the 5th picture and post it
Tag 5 people when you're done

Yes, I know. It's Picket's Charge. Not surprising, huh? :) And since Stephie already tagged Vivian I'm going to have to think really hard who to tag and I still doubt I'll come up with 5.

Okay. I guess Vivian can do it twice. :) I also tag Ben, Anna, and William. Guess that's 4. Even though nobody will do it. ;)

Now that I have that taken care of...

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!

For some reason last year I was not really excited about Christmas. This year, I am remembering why I loved it so much when I was little. Not presents, necessarily...for the life of me I can't think of anything I want and my grandma is very aggravated with me (LOL). Seriously, though. I love the SMELL of Christmas. I have baked countless batches of gingerbread cookies already just because I like the smell. Then I end up eating them. Thankfully the doctor thinks I'm underweight so I can eat as much as I want. =D In addition to this, I love Christmas music...I'm either listening to it on the radio or playing on the piano. Christmas decorations rock...yes, I know, "shiny things." lol. And my favorite: church at Christmastime. There is just something about the combination of garland and pews and big red bows that is so old-fashioned and sweet. And out worship team is awesome with the Christmas carols. This week I think I realized for the first time, singing them, how worshipful they are! I bawled the entire worship service and ended up with a pile of soggy, make-uppy kleenexs on the pew. But seriously. God is so good! I love Mr. Hoffman's saying: "You can't separate the cradle from the cross."

Wow this is a really rambling post. I think the cold weather is getting to me...

Merry Christmas everyone! "Hallelujah, Hope has Come!"

Changing Seasons

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~ Jeremiah 29:11


This verse has been on my mind lately, primarily because it has become incorporated into the "novel" I'm writing. Even as I weaved it into the life of my heroine, God surprised me by weaving it into mine.


Now, unlike my characters, I am not living through any immense hardship, such as a civil war. But lately I've had to - with my parents leadership - make some milestone decisions, so to speak. After some prayerful consideration, I've decided to apply for a job at Chick-Fil-A. Wow, you might be thinking, fast food! Big deal. But it will be (assuming I get the job!) my first "real" job, besides babysitting. It's taking a big step into the unknown, but besides being a little jittery about the impending interview, I have peace about it. Because whether I get the job or not, God is still sovereign! He knows His plans for me...and they are plans that are going to be way better for me than what I might imagine.

On the topic of new-ness, I am also learning how to drive and hopefully will be getting my learner's permit in the near future. This is not so scary for me...though I can't speak for everyone. :) But yes, God knows the plans He has for my parents, too. :)

So! That being said...your all's prayers would be appriciated as I am walking through these new seasons. I am so blessed by every one of your friendships...you guys are true blue...sticking with me even in the little things. I love you!

In Awe of Him,
Elisabeth

.a priority.

I use the word "priorites" more than I use it in its singular form - "priority." Actually, the words have two different meanigns. Priority means "of highest importance." There can't be more than one thing that is of highest importance. So we use the word "priorities" to mean "important things." Like when we refer to chocolate, for instance. "Well, we do have our priorities."

Priority, when made plural, loses its meaning. We should have but one priority.

Psalm 27:4:

One thing I ask, and this one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house
of
the Lord all the days of my life, and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and
seek him in his temple.

Priority. One. Singular. Thing.

.faith.

Faith consists of believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
Voltaire