The Hunger Games Trilogy

I know this post will probably be controversial and so if absolutely nobody has any comments on it, I will know that nobody read it all the way through...:)

The Hunger Games Trilogy

This series has been talked about a great deal recently, as The Hunger Games is coming out in theaters in March.  Hearing the main character, Katniss Everdeen, praised, and the trilogy generally acclaimed, I thought I’d get the series from the library and see what I thought of it.

  I have to say, Suzanne Collins is a talented writer.  The books held my attention from beginning to end, were fast paced, and well-written.  They are written so well that they make you want to like them.  The fact that I wanted to like them shows a lot of talent on the part of the author, as I never want to like a book I disagree with.

  I don’t usually write book reviews, but in this case I thought I ought to, as The Hunger Games Trilogy has been very widely praised, even in Christian circles.

  The Hunger Games, set in a futuristic society, under the dictatorship of President Snow, presents a world where there is no God, no higher power than that of the government.  “May the odds be ever in your favor.”  The books leave no room for doubt the way The Lord of the Ring Trilogy does, allowing for a case to be made on either side.  There is no God, no higher power, and there is no question about it.  We all make our own destiny—if fate allows us the chance.  Keep in mind that a writer can make things however they want them to be.  In the real world, because there truly is a God, an atheistic society can pretend there is no God as much as they want, but it doesn’t change the fact that He exists.  However, in Panem, there is no God, and it is not a pretense, because it is an imaginary world, operating under the author’s directives.

  In this world in which there can be no hope, we meet Katniss Everdeen, a girl who we connect with emotionally over the tragedies which have already occurred in her life, and who seems to display some strength of character, despite some minor flaws.  Her love for her sister is made evident, and we see the grandest display of her sacrificial love in volunteering to be a tribute in place of her sister Primrose.  The tributes are sent into an arena, which is basically a survival of the fittest contest.  Kill your friends before they kill you.  The tribute with the least mercy and compassion has a better chance of winning.

  At the end, with only Katniss and her friend Peeta left alive, after a great deal too much kissing, which is made light of, the two of them resolve to commit suicide by eating poisonous berries rather than have to kill each other.  At this they are hastily extracted and sent home victorious.  Thus ends book one, which also had a strange, and almost toddlerish, slight obsession with nakedness.

  In book two, Catching Fire, the rebellious action of pulling out the berries has ignited a revolution against President Snow and his government, and when the Quarter Quell comes around, a more grand version of the Hunger Games which comes around every 25 years, tributes are selected from among former victors.  Upon receiving the news, Katniss gets drunk, one of several times in the series in which she quenches her pain with drugs or alcohol.  She and Peeta are once again sent into the arena, and they team up with some other tributes, who are in on a plot to protect her and break them out of the game.  They are able to accomplish this, although Peeta is captured by the capitol.

  Book three, Mockingjay, begins with Katniss’ reluctance to become “The Mockingjay”, or the poster child for the rebellion against the capitol.  The rebellion is commanded by President Coin, a slightly less depraved and female version of President Snow.   Peeta, held captive by the capitol, is being brainwashed by President Snow into believing what the capitol wants him to believe.  Katniss eventually agrees to be the Mockingjay on several conditions, including immunity for Peeta.  After the deaths of many people, including Katniss’ sister Prim, the rebels win the war.  Katniss is personally responsible for the deaths of both President Snow and President Coin, as well as several others.  By the end of the third book,  Katniss has become brutal and cruel, and her vote helps ensure a final Hunger Game, orchestrated specifically for and played by the children of Capitol officials, including President Snow’s granddaughter.  By the end of the series, Katniss has become the epitome of what the Hunger Games was created to produce: an unfeeling, uncompassionate person who feels no compunction at murdering her enemies, or taking her own life, if the going gets too tough.  This demise of her character is a good illustration of how, without God, all our righteousness is as filthy rags.

  The Hunger Games Trilogy, though well written, is morbid and hopeless.  Without a God, orchestrating the events for the good of His people, despair is the only option possible.  A few too many of the main characters are killed off for good, without having actually been alive and reappearing at the end, but this fits in perfectly with the worldview of the book.  Without a God, the odds are never in your favor, the world is a morbid place, life is hopeless, and all that is left to do is despair, while numbing the pain with whatever is in your reach.

  Good books usually have two key elements: redemption, or one person sacrificing them self for another, and the intervention of a higher power when all seems lost.  The Hunger Games Trilogy did well on the first in many instances.  Katniss volunteers as a tribute in her sister’s place and repeatedly risks her life for Peeta, while Peeta and many others risk their lives to protect her.  However as Panem is a godless world, there is never any miraculous intervention.

  Without God, there is no faith in God, and without faith in God and obedience to Him, there can be no successful government.  This is well illustrated in the rigid rebel government of District 13, which is hardly better than the dictatorship of the capitol.  Because there is no God to take vengeance, revenge falls to the people of Panem, resulting in heavy bloodshed and anarchy throughout the trilogy.

  Prim’s death is really the climax of the worldview being perpetrated in the books.  Despite all Katniss has done to protect her, Prim still dies anyway.  It was all to no avail.  At the end of the last book, the author tries to pull together a happy ending, which cannot help but be unconvincing in a godless world.  Without God, there are no happy endings.

  The Hunger Games trilogy is built on a worldview of despair, and perpetrates a message of hopelessness.  The world around us may be fascinated by this, but how can we, who have hope, allow ourselves to do the same?

True Beauty

True Beauty

“Seriously, you could be a model!”

Meant as a compliment, this phrase or one similar is often used to express that the one to whom it is addressed is beautiful.  However there are some underlying problems with this statement.

1.       Models are the epitome of beauty.

To the contrary.  To be a model is a difficult process, involving the value of beauty over character; of the end over the means. One must be willing to do anything under the sun if they wish to be a model.  A model can only get the job by removing all moral compunctions from their mind and hardening their heart. 
   After one has secured the job,  further demoralization is required—not just their own, but of the world in general.  Now not only in their own mind is “beauty” the highest endeavor, but now that message is perpetrated to the world.  With even only provocative eyes or smile, they are able to spread their worldview to the world.  Computer adjustments are made to achieve a kind of “super-beauty” not achievable by humans.  And since beauty is all that matters, women will do anything to achieve it, from makeup and exercize to starving themselves and surgical alterations.  Cosmetic surgeons can do anything from replacing or expanding parts to sucking out excess fat to lengthening legs.  But you will probably be in debt to them for the rest of your life, made miserable by the fact that you have seriously damaged your body in pursuit of an unachievable and worthless goal.
   “Being a model” and making it for a Christian girl would require the sacrifice of one’s faith upon the altar of pride and pagan ideas of beauty.  

2.       Every girl wants to look like a model.

I would sincerely hope, that as Christian girls we strive to forsake the pagan ideas of beauty and hold to the direction God’s word gives us on true beauty.

   “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful…”  1 Peter 3:3-5a

  “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”  Proverbs 31:30-31

Character is to be valued high above outward beauty.  A model only has a job while she is young and pretty.  But a girl who fears God and trusts in Jesus for her salvation will have eternal life.

3.      Outward Beauty is a thing to be praised.

When the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband praises her, note what it is he is praising:

  “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”  Proverbs 31:30-31

  He is not praising her beauty.  He is praising her fear of the Lord and her character and encouraging others to do the same.  Character is to be praised, not outward appearance.  And so rather than telling them they could be a model, praise their diligence in dressing in a God-honoring way.  Praise their modesty of dress which brings glory to God rather than themselves.  Praise their vigilance in not allowing the lies of the world to affect their dress.  Praise their commitment to dressing and acting as a child of God.

On Life

John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 6: 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

Many times throughout the gospels, Jesus preached that He is life.  He is life, in Him is life, and He alone can give life.  Life as evidenced here on earth, in no matter what form, is a symbol of Him and a manifestation of His glory.  Only God can create life.  Only God can give life, and only by believing in Jesus can we receive eternal life.

This is why life is so precious.

Life is not something that you and the next guy can create.  Not even scientists can just up and breathe life into an inanimate object. Life is something that only God can produce.

God has given each and every one of us life to some degree.  We are all breathing and our hearts are beating.  Plants also are alive, and animals, and yet we have souls, which differentiate us from them.  It is because of the immortal soul that God has given to man that a human being in a coma, is very, very different than a vegetable.  It is insulting to God and the human race to make such a base comparison.  And yet although we as humans have souls that will exist forever, not all humans have received the gift of eternal life, which again, God alone can bestow.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

God alone can give us life--here on earth as well as eternal.  Life, therefore, is an attribute peculiar to God alone.  This is why Satan hates life.  It reminds him of God, the only one who can create life.  When we see the Mona Lisa, we think of Leonardo da Vinci.  When we hear the Messiah, we think of Handel.  And when we see life, we should think of God, the creator of it. 

Satan does all in his power to destroy life--as much life as he can--and especially human life, because it is the most precious, for it contains an immortal soul.  In this way he attacks God, by destroying His best creation. 

John 10:10 The thief comes only to kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

And many have died over the years of history as a result of Satan and his servants.  Take for example abortion, or the many holocausts.  Death is Satan's trademark, and his way of twisting and distorting the beautiful thing God created called life.  However Satan can kill the body, but he cannot kill the soul.  The martyrs are a beautiful example of this.   Men who did not fear God (and any who do not fear God serve Satan) rose up with a mind of hatred towards the children of God.  They sought to murder and destroy all they could.   They killed many, many innocent people.  And yet the blood of the martyrs is seed for the cause of Jesus Christ.  The martyrs gave their earthly lives for Christ, and went to live with him forever.  In doing such they were a thundering witness to the world around them.  Many more came to know Christ, and to accept the gift of eternal life because of them.

It is because Jesus is life that life is the most precious thing on earth.  And it is because life is the most precious gift, that the giving of one's life for others, which is called redemption, is the most noble, beautiful, amazing thing there is.

Mathew 20:28 Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus set the example for us in nobility.  He gave His life that all those who believe in Him might not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16) rather than an eternal death in hell.  Life is the most anyone can give, and the most precious.  This is why we honor and respect our soldiers and veterans--because they were willing to give their lives.  This is why we honor those who died for our freedoms.  This is why most every great book has an element of redemption in it, even if it be only so little.  This is the case in books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities, Pilgrim's Progress, The Celestial Railroad, and of course, the greatest redemption story ever, and a true one at that, the Bible.  Giving your life to save others is to follow the highest call of nobility, the greatest example ever set, that of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And it is because Jesus is life, and God alone can create life, that life is the most beautiful, majestic, holy, sacred, precious evidence that there is a God ever created.  And it is because life is so incredible that any form of life is not to be thrown away or taken carelessly.  And human life--life to whom God has granted the gift of a soul that will last forever, through all eternity--that human life must be preserved and protected at all costs.  But this alone is not enough.  We must share the good news--the gospel of Jesus Christ--with all, that God might use us and cause the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts, that their ever-existing soul may not go to die an eternal death, but to live an eternal life, in communion with God.

The Shadowlands

The closer a subject is to my heart, the harder time I seem to have writing coherently.

I have always read that a good author will draw from their own experiences.  I have started several stories in which things happen to the characters that have happened to me, but they never run smoothly and are difficult to write.

Even now I am having trouble.

I can always seem to make my point in a fictional story.  I may go to the extreme of making my points too well.  But when I write from my own experiences, with the thought of allowing someone else to read it someday, I can never seem to get the point across.

Perhaps it is a subconcious guard against vulnerability.

Anyway, this is a short sketch I wrote last October, early in the morning, watching the sun rise outside my hotel room window, in preparation for the funeral of someone who I loved very much.  It was dark in the room, but outside the sun shone in all its glory.  I could see the brilliant rays reflecting off the roofs of the buildings across the street.

Please comment and let me know what you think of it.  Is it coherent?  What did you understand from what was written?  I am not sure I quite understand the full meaning of what I was writing.  I had a vague idea of what I was trying to get at, but was having difficulty putting it in words.  However I seem to have managed to put several concepts down in trying to get at the vague one. 

Oh, and as I tend to do when something has affected me deeply, towards the end I rambled off into poetry.:)  Blank poetry, which is unusual, but there is certainly a difference between that and the previous prose.

The Shadowland

“What a bright day it is today,” Muriel said happily.  Two candles were lit in the dark rooms. 
“Yes, it is rather bright,” said her twin, Judy. 
   “It was kind of the landlord to send us two candles,” their mother commented.
The family and all their friends lived in a castle with no windows, where it was always dark.  The landlord sent them a candle every day, and occasionally two candles, to light the dark rooms. 
   Every few years, the landlord would come during the night and take one of them as they were sleeping out of the castle to the world outside.  He would leave a note to inform the others.  The loss of these was always mourned by those remaining within, but the landlord’s plan was to one day bring them all outside of the castle. 
   One morning Muriel rushed out of her room.  “Mother, Mother, come quickly,” she said.  “I can’t find Judy!”
   The mother followed Muriel back into her room.  Glancing at Judy’s empty bed, she asked, “Muriel…what is that on the bed?”
   Muriel went to it and picked it up.  “Oh, no Mother, it is a note!” She cried.
   “Then the Landlord has taken her away,” the Mother replied.
   Muriel and her Mother and the rest of the family wept for Judy for a long time.  But they could only see what went on in the Shadowlands.  They did not have the whole picture.  They wept for Judy having been borne away in the darkness.   BUT,

   Outside, in the sunshine, Judy stood with the Landlord gazing at the castle.  The tears were running down her cheeks.  “We never knew it was so bright outside,” she said.  “I wish we had known.  I wish everyone inside knew now.”
   “They do know, but it is hard for them to understand what the world really looks like. All they can understand is the great brightness of two candles in a dark room.  They cannot envision anything brighter.”
   “But they have the candles themselves!  Cannot they envision it being as bright as the candle itself?” Judy asked sadly.
   “They could…but they do not.”
   “We used to mourn for those who were borne away in the darkness.  How little did we know that we were the ones who walked in darkness!”  Judy mused.  Another tear slid down her cheek.  “Rather I should mourn for those who are still in darkness.”

Catching a vision of something so much brighter
The sun is bright yet there IS something brighter
We mourn for those who have gone on before
But perhaps they mourn for us who are still behind
And yet in and through it all the landlord…Our Landlord…has a purpose
brighter and better than anything we can here see.   We are confined by our dimension.
We can picture things less than what we have here but nothing more
Yet in glory we will see things as they really are
In catching a vision of something brighter…better…more…we catch a vision of heaven…and yet
 the vision will be far surpassed by the reality.



Covenanter Song

I was cleaning out my desk and I came across this song I wrote in 2008.  I actually remembered the tune I wrote for it, and it was really lame.   It was basically the same thing over and over again for every line.  But I think the words, or the meaning, are not bad, and so I thought I'd post them.

Covenanter Song
'Twas a bright sunny morning as I walked through the glen
I was going to chapel and I'd go there again
There I met my lover: He'd loved
Me long before I ever loved Him
He'd wooed me, protected me an' died for me too
He gave His life to save mine and I never knew!
He rose from the dead; lives forever to save
I fell on my knees, wept, to Him my heart I gave
Every Sabbath I went to chapel to hear
Of the works that my Saviour had done o'er the years
But then England came an' tried to force us apart
I could not give up the love in my heart
Some of my friends were killed, they never gave in
I determined to be strong, like them, for Him
The took me me, bound me, ordered me break the 'trothal I had
They told me they'd kill me I was making them mad
I could not I would not break the betrothal
My lover gave His life for me I'd give my life for HIm!
After much pleading, persuasion in vain
They chose to take upon themselves the mark of Cain
They once again took me and bound me anew
Within a few moments my soul away flew
What they would have known, if they had paused
Is the blood of the martyrs is seed for His cause
Do not mourn my death but rejoice in my life
For those cowardly soldiers have ended my strife
Those who sought to destroy our understanding
Have rather instead hastened our wedding
'Twas a glorious death, I'm glad it was so
rather than dying peacefully tho'
He gave his life for love of me, I died for love of Him
And now may I in glory rise
And look into my lover's eyes
And remember with joy, unfaded then
Of meeting my lover in the church on the glen.

I hadn't realized I was such a romantic.  A great deal too much for my taste now, anyway.:)  And yet I think that there are some good concepts hidden within this.

Liberty Song

Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts at fair Liberty's call,
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just claim,
Or stain with dishonour America's name.

(Chorus)
In freedom we're born and in freedom we'll live,
Not as slaves but as freemen our money we'll give.

Our worthy forefathers - let's give them a cheer -
To climates unknown did courageously steer;
Thro' oceans to deserts for freedom they came,
And dying bequeathed us their freedom and fame.

(Chorus)

Their generous bosoms all dangers despised,
So highly so wisely their birthrights they prized,
We'll keep what they gave - we will piously keep,
Nor frustrate their toils on land or the deep.

(Chorus)

The tree their own hands had to liberty reared,
They lived to behold growing strong and revered,
With excitement they cried, "Now our wishes we gain,
For our children shall gather the fruits of our pain."

(Chorus)

Swarms of Placemen and Pensioners soon will appear,
Like locusts deforming the crops of the year,
Suns vainly will rise, showers vainly defend,
If we are to labor for what others will spend.

(Chorus)

Then join hand in hand brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;
In so righteous a call, let us hope to suceed,
For heaven approves of each generous deed.

(Chorus)

All ages shall speak with amaze and applause,
Of the courage we'll show in support of our laws.
To die we can bear - but to slave we disdain -
For shame is to freemen more dreadful than pain.

(Chorus)

This poem I crown for our sovereign's health
And this to Britannia's glory and wealth;
That wealth and that glory immortal may be,
If she is but just and if we are but free!

...John Dickinson

I love this poem; my brother and I wrote music for it.  There are a lot of good concepts and principles within these lines - concepts that more of us need to grasp and take to heart.

Independence Day!

Micah 6:8

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."



A few years ago when I won the VFW essay contest "Patriot's Pen", I was given a book of quotes called "Lift Every Voice". There are a few really good quotes that I would like to share.



"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."...Benjamin Franklin



"The condition upon which God hath given liberty unto men is eternal vigilance."...John P. Curran



"Freedom is not a heritage, it is a challenge. And preservation of freedom, whether in the United States or elsewhere is a fresh challenge for each generation." ...C. Donald Dallas



We need to face this challenge and preserve our freedom with vigilance!



"If anyone asks me the meaning of ur flag, I say to him: Under this banner rode Washington and his armies. This banner streamed in light over the soldier's heads at Valley Forge and at Morristown. It crossed the waters roiling with ice at Trenton, and when its stars gleamed in the morning with a victory, a new day of hope dawned on the despondency of this nation."...Henry Ward Beecher



"It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves."...Thomas Jefferson



"The spirit of a nation derives from the integrity of the home."...Margaret Mead



"Fathers and Mothers, if you have children, they must come first. Your success as a family, and our success as a society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens at your house."...Barbara Bush



How true! We are raising/will raise the future voters who will eventually determine what sort of things take place at the White House!



"In love of home, love of country has its rise."...Charles Dickens



I think it is important to remember, that though this nation has many sins, and that though our Declaration of Independence and Constitution may have flaws, and though our founding fathers were fallible and none were perfect, yet this nation was created with a mind to God's Word. Therefore, although we may regret the flaws, we must see that this nation has been great--because of God's blessing upon us. The fourth of July is a day to celebrate the freedom and liberty God has blessed us with. The State ought not to have a say in the affairs of the Church, but the Church most certainly ought to be a large participant in the affairs of the State if we would be blessed. I think that as Christians, we ought to find out about the candidates on local, state, and nationwide level, and if there is a candidate who is a Christian, and/or upholds Christian principles, it is our duty to back that candidate.



As Americans and Christians, let us be mindful of God's grace and blessings. Let us repent of our sins and pray, that God will hear, turn and heal this land.



Happy fourth!
 

A passionate dedication...

This dedication is found in the front of the book entitled, "Inez, or, A Tale of The Alamo" by Augusta Jane Evans Wilson.   This was her first book.

To

The Texan Patriots

who triumphantly unfurled and waved aloft the

"Banner of the Lone Star!" Who wrenched asunder

the iron bands of despotic Mexico! And

wreathed the brow of the "Queen State!"

with the glorious chaplet of "Civil

and Religious Liberty!"

This Work is respectfully Dedicated

by the author.

It isn't often I find a dedication as stirring as this.

Hero Showdown!

Princess Aramiel versus Maria Dalton!

Captain Wesley Elliot was voted favorite over King Aramoth, we will see how Aramiel and Maria fare!

Occupation 
Maria: Schoolteacher, Wife, Mother
Aramiel: Princess, Daughter, Wife, Mother

Siblings
Maria: None
Aramiel: 1 older brother, Aramoth

Favorite Color
Maria: Blue
Aramiel: Red

# of Children
Maria: 12.  6 boys, 6 girls.  Names and Gender: Courage, Purity, Strength, Honor, Shiphrah, Puah, Hamilton, Mercy, Gallant, Pilgrim, Trust, Truth
Aramiel: 14.

Color of eyes and hair
Maria: Dark brown hair and eyes
Aramiel: Dark brown hair and eyes

Middle Name
Maria: Shiphrah
Aramiel: None

Character Quality that describes them best
Maria: Servant
Aramiel: Leader

Meaning of Full Name
Maria: Living Fragrance, Beautiful, My God is the Lord
Aramiel: Earnest Seeker of God

From this and reading the books, you should be able to choose a favorite!  If you don't have a copy of one or both of the books, e-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net !

Happy Resurrection Day!

Christ the Lord is risen today,

Sons of men and angels say;
Raise your joys and triumphs high,

Sings ye heavens and earth reply,

Sing ye heavens and earth reply.

Love's redeeming work is done,

fought the fight, the battle won.

Death in vain forbids him rise,

Christ has opened paradise,

Christ has opened paradise!

He lives!  He lives! Our Glorious King,

Where, O Death, is now thy Sting?

Dying once he all doth save,

Where thy victory, O grave? 

Where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ has led,

following our exalted head.

Made like Him, like Him we rise,

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies,

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven!

Praise to thee by both be given;

Thee we greet triumphant now;

Hail, the Resurrection Thou,

Hail, the Resurrection Thou!



Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say "Alleluia!"

In vain the stone, the watch, the seal,

Christ has burst the gates of hell,

Christ has burst the gates of hell!



Jesus Christ is risen today,

Our triumphant holy day,

Who did once upon the cross,

Suffer to redeem our loss.

Hymns of praise then let us sing,

Unto Christ our heavenly King,

Who endured the cross and grave,

Sinners to redeem and save.

But the pains which he endured,

Our salvation hath procured.

Now above the skies he's King,

Where the angels ever sing.

Sing we to our God above,

Praise eternal as his love.

Praise him, all ye heavenly host,

Father, Son and holy Ghost.

Sale! Announcing The Tiphereth Trilogy

Pre-Release Sale!


Announcing the long-awaited, much-expected

The Tiphereth Trilogy

Buy now and save!

Official Release Date: March 25th, 2011

Buy now and receive with your purchase an invitation to the official Basileian blog to receive exclusive updates!

An epic battle to decide to whom the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong…


Enemy forces are advancing on Basileia. The Kingdom is also at peril from within. The cities are warring against each other, and the families are not following in the ways of the High King. All hope will be lost…unless young Prince Aramoth can lead his people not only to victory, but to repentance.


Book 1: Basileia The Kingdom


Book 2: Dunamis A Higher Power


Book 3: Tiperet Glory to God in the Highest

All three books are bound as one.

Special Pre-Release Price: Just $18.00


260 pages


That’s only $6.00 per book!

Hurry! Sale ends March 18th, 2011. Buy now and save!

E-mail us at:
khprovidence.1@verizon.net
 to order this wonderful book!

Regular Price $20.00

Three Charlie Zahm Songs...

I really like balladier Charlie Zahm and the songs he sings.  Here are three favorites:

The Printing Process Has Ended!

The Tiphereth Trilogy has been printed!  I have sent the final payment and after it is received the printer will ship the books.  Be sure and order your copy now, before March 18th, while it is still on sale!  E-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net  to request a copy!

February 12th: A day to remember

February 12th, 1554.

457 years ago.

The death of one of England's leading Protestant Reformers.

The murder of a seventeen year old girl by her cousin.

The execution of a Queen less known, but who was and would have been better, than good Queen Bess herself.

457 years ago today, Queen Jane Dudley was executed.  She is better known as Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine days.

She read several languages and corresponded with several Reformers, including Johann Sturm, a friend of Martin Luther.

She was well educated, but conniving people used her because she was in line for the throne.  Her father-in-law married her to his son, intending to have them crowned.  He then intended to poison Jane, letting his son live a little longer, and then poison his son, so that he would have control of the kingdom.  He attempted to poison Jane but it didn't actually kill her.  However when Edward died, Mary Tudor was next in line.  Jane Dudley accepted the throne without knowing this.  Bloody Mary took the throne and imprisoned Jane.  Jane was a favorite of hers.  However she wanted to marry Philip of Spain so she could have a child who would rule so that England would remain Catholic.  Philip insisted that she execute Jane, or he would not marry her.  So on February 12th, 1554, Bloody Mary had Jane executed.  My personal opinion is that she was traumitized by this and her guilt, and that is why she killed so many people, especially with Philip and others egging her on.

Excerpt from Lady Jane Grey's last address to the people:

"Good people, I am come hither to die, and by law am condemned to the same, for the fact against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me:  but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me and on my behalf it was never of my seeking, but by counsel of others who seemed to have further understanding of things than me, which little knew of the law, and much less of the titles to the crown.  I do wash my hands in innocency before God, and in the face of you, good people, this day.
  I pray you all, good Christian people, to bear me witness that I die a true Christian woman.    I do look to be saved by no other means, but only by the mercy of God, in the blood of his only Son Jesus Christ.
  I confess that when I did know the word of God, I neglected the same, loved myself and the world; and therefore this plague is happily and worthily happened unto me for my sins; and yet I thank God, that of his goodness he hath thus given me a time and respite to repent.  And now, good people, while I am alive, I pray you assist me with your prayers."

It would be a worthwhile pursuit indeed to learn more about this godly woman.  I would highly recommend "Lady Jane Grey: Nine Day Queen of England"  by Faith Cook.

Vigilance in Writing

"It seems, however, no very easy task to write for children. Those only who have been interested in the education of a family, who have patiently followed children through the first processes of reasoning, who have daily watched over their thoughts and feelings--those only who know with what ease and rapidity the early association of ideas are formed, on which the future taste, character and happiness depend, can feel the dangers and difficulties of such an undertaking." (Maria Edgeworth, in the preface to The Parent's Assistant, 1800)




"It has been somewhere said by Johnson, that merely to invent a story is no small effort of the human understanding. How much more difficult is it to construct stories suited to the early years of youth, and, at the same time, conformable to the complicate relations of modern society--fictions, that shall display examples of virtue, without initiating the young reader into the ways of vice--narratives, written in a style level to his capacity, without tedious detail, or vulgar idiom! The author, sensible of these difficulties, solicits indulgence for such errors as have escaped her vigilance.

"In a former work the author has endeavored to add something to the increasing stock of innocent amusement and early instruction, which the laudable exertions of some excellent modern writers provide for the rising generation; and, in the present, an attempt is made to provide for young people, of a more advanced age, a few tales, that shall neither dissipate the attention, nor inflame the imagination." (Richard Edgeworth {Maria Edgeworth's father}, in the preface to Moral Tales, 1801)



"Her regular contributions to the magazine enhanced her reputation, and broadened the sphere of her usefulness.

Profoundly impressed by the conviction that she held her talent in trust, she worked steadily, looking neither to the right nor left, but keeping her eyes fixed upon that day when she would be called to render an account to Him, who would demand His own with interest. Instead of becoming flushed with success, she grew daily more cautious, more timid, lest inadvertence or haste should betray her into errors.

...Ruthlessly she assaulted the darling follies, the pet, velvet-masked vices that society had adopted,...demanding that men and women should pause and reflect in their mad career. Because she was earnest and not bitter,...because her rebukes were free from scorn, and written rather in tears than gall, people turned their heads and stopped to listen.

...Edna was consious of the influence she exerted, and ceaselessly she prayed that she might wield it aright. ...Day by day she weighed more carefully all that fell from her pen, dreading lest some error might creep into her writings and lead others astray." (Augusta Jane Evans Wilson, St. Elmo, 1910)
 
*repost*

Traveling across the country

The Tiphereth Trilogy has not yet arrived at the printer, but is taking a stop at a post office in Iowa, the home state of my previous book, The Teacher.  The excitement builds...I check the track and confirm website at least twice a day.  And then I post sentimental things like this on my blog.

Here are some pictures I took the other day.  I thought the trees looked really pretty.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me

 to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom to the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion--

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Isaiah 61:1-3

This chapter is so beautiful, I love to read it.  It is the kind of Scripture passage I would like to paint a picture of, or write a story following the imagery.  I don't know quite how to explain it, but this chapter makes me want to go and demonstrate the beauty of it in some way.

I will keep posting on the printing process of The Tiphereth Trilogy!

Off to the Printer

The Tiphereth Trilogy has been made completely press-ready and sent to the printer!

Printing 260 pages takes a while!

Stack the pages perfectly, fill out the order form, gather everything that needs to be sent, and carefully slide it into an envelope addressed to the printer.  Then, carefully seal and take to the post office...when they are open.  We live about two minutes from a post office, but the first time we went to mail it, they were closed.  So we had to go again the next day.  I was a little worried that postage would be atrociously expensive because of the weight, but it actually was less than what I had thought it would be.

Once it is mailed, I track the package to see when it arrives.  The printer usually sends proofs back two weeks after they recieve my hard copy (the paper one in the package) and so I like to see when the hard copy gets there so I can know when to expect the proofs.

And the excitement builds!

The best part, of course, is recieving the box of completed books, but as that gets closer and closer, I get more and more excited.

I will probably start selling pre-realease sales coupons after I have sent the proofs back to the printer.  Stay tuned!

Tiphereth Trilogy Cover

These two pictures both had an equal number of votes!  I have put the pictures together as covers.  Which of these two covers would make you decide to buy the book right away? :)

#1

#2

Sorry the pictures turned out blurry.  The picture was taken of my computer screen.  These show the basic idea, though.  To see the pictures better you can scroll down a little and there are clear photos of these two pictures.

Please comment and let me know which ones you like!  You can either vote on the poll to the left of the first picture, or leave a comment!  So if you read this post, please vote!

A Special Christmas Treat

A sneak peak at Tiperet, the third book in the Tiphereth Trilogy, with an introduction to one of the main families!


The Tamam Family

"It was a crisp, clear autumn day when the Tamam family arrived. Ynyth and Gwynarae were the same, only a few years older. Mimnesko Eucharistia, whom Aramoth and Aramiel had never seen, was four years old and a very sweet little boy. Eirene was eight and looked very much as Theria had at that age, only Eirene was more playful and less serious than Theria had been at that age. The twins—Endikos and Hupakoe—were fine manly boys of eleven years, who looked as if they had been going through the same physical training Aramoth had at that age. But then they saw Eleutheria. Eleutheria was small and shorter than Aramiel, but very beautiful. Always mature for her age, she was now, though only sixteen, a woman. The dignity she had always been known for as a girl became her even better now, and it displayed itself in her quiet voice and in the way she carried herself. Her long, dark, wavy hair was twisted on the back of her head to accommodate traveling. Theria’s brown eyes were not only very beautiful, but expressed wisdom and discretion."

…The Tiphereth Trilogy, Tiperet, pg. 227

Enjoy your Christmas and remember to leave a comment on the previous post voting on your favorite cover picture!

The Exciting Process of Publishing!

Reading once, reading twice, and still not read to the eagerly anticipating children!  Or anyone, for that matter.  Proofreading can take forever!  And yet, it is exciting to know that this is the last time I have to read it before I send it to the printer.
  
Please comment and let me know which of these pictures you like best for the cover!*

1.

2.

3.

4.

*WARNING:  Your comments may or may not be taken into consideration for the publishing of this book.  One or more of the pictures may or may not have ever been candidates for cover photos.  The Authoress reserves all rights to make a final decision based on her own wishes. :)