Books!!!

I found this over at Whispers Of the Wind ( http://arries-whispersofthewind.blogspot.com ) and thought it looked like fun!

1. Favorite childhood book/s?

The Archives of Anthropos by John White.  Or else The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

2. What are you reading right now?

Magic for Marigold, by L.M. Montgomery, and The Doula Book, by Klaus, Kennell, and Klaus.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

Homebirth: The Essential Guide to giving Birth outside the Hospital, by Sheila Kitzinger.

4. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Nothing currently…I own too many books I need to read while waiting for the one I have requested.

5. Do you have an e-reader?

No.

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Up to three, depending on what they are.  One non-fiction, one fiction, and maybe one history thrown in there.

7. Can you read on the bus?

I have never tried!  I can read in a car though.

8. Favorite place to read?

I have a comfy chair in my room…

9. Do you ever dog-ear books?

No!  Many of my books are very, very old, and if I tried to dog-ear them, the corner would break off.  I use bookmarks, or remember where I was.

10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

No.

11. What makes you love a book?

I must be able to identify with and respect the characters.  They must have hearts and souls, and yet act in a way that I can put myself in their place.  And usually there is some sort of redemption story, or noble sacrifice made by one to save others.

12. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

If I feel that not only did it hold my interest, but I took something away, gleaned something, am better for the reading of it.

13. Favorite genre?

History and Historical Fiction, as long as it’s not fiction trying to pretend it’s historical by taking modernized people and sticking them a few hundred years back.

14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

If a book just does not hold my interest, I will probably forget about it before I could tell someone not to read it.  Only if I take strong issue with a book, and am filled with indignation that someone would dare write such a thing, will I tell everyone I know not to read it.

15. Favorite Poet?

Longfellow…I know there are others but they escape my memory at the moment.

16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

One or two, although once I reserved a record 50.  My mom told me never to do so again. J

17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

Rarely.  On occasion I will just flip through the book, but that is usually if it is an instruction manual, with lots of pictures.

18. Favorite fictional character?

Mary Barton.  Or Molly, from Wives and Daughters.  Or Helen, from the book of that name by Maria Edgeworth…Although I must say, Louisa May Alcott’s Rose Campbell and Polly from an Old Fashioned Girl are up there…With Sir Percy Blakeney (we are talking about books here) .  When I first started to read the Chronicles of Narnia, Susan was my favorite because she had dark hair that went down to her feet…but then when I got to The Last Battle and heard how she’d strayed, she plunged down in the ranks.

19. Favorite fictional villain?

Citoyen Chauvelin! Shagah and Hocoino, The Goblin Prince, and the Mystery of Abomination from the Archives of Anthropos!

20. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Whatever I haven’t read in a while and can delude myself into thinking I’ll have time to read.

21. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

An actual physical book? I have no idea.  A few weeks maybe?

22. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

A Southern Woman of Letters.  It’s supposed to be a collection of letters written by Augusta Jane Evans Wilson, but I read only the introduction, in which they twist every known fact about her to try and make her sound as evil (or what they would consider good) as possible. I could no longer bear their commentary and haven’t picked it up since.

23. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Once I’m settled down and have read a bit, not much, unless I’m really tired or have something else I need to do that I keep thinking about.

24. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

I don’t like it when they make movies of books.  They should come up with their own stories instead of stealing other peoples.  However, some of the older versions of the Jane Austen films are not too bad and stick to the books pretty well.

25. Most disappointing film adaptation?

The Sound of Music.  Read The Von Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp, and you will find that the only things they kept the same were her name, the genders of the children, and the fact that she ends up marrying the captian.

26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Not being too interested in it and having other things keeping me busy, or righteous indignation at what is written therin.

27. Do you like to keep your books organized?

 I am a very organized person.  People laugh because I am not able to achieve anywhere near a level of organization most of the time, but my books are the one thing that is perfectly organized.  By Author, time it was written, series, and topic.  Each book has a specific spot.  It must be there or I am bothered by it.  I can always tell when someone has borrowed a book, and what it was.

28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I collect books.  I couldn’t bear to give them away.  Even if I have duplicates.  I can hardly bear to buy someone a book, even if I got it specifically for them, because I am sorely tempted to keep it.

By Right of Conquest, or, With Cortez in Mexico

I've been thinking about my life and how many unplanned turns I've been taking in the last few years, and G. A. Henty's book By Right of Conquest, or, With Cortez in Mexico came to mind.  Roger was living in England and had his life planned out. He was taking a short trip to the New World, at which point he would return and settle down in England with the girl he had picked out.  However when he got to the New World he ended up in a lot of unexpected adventures that tossed him about and spun him around until he could hardly remember the life he had planned out.  And he began to wonder if maybe he had made his plans, but God was directing his ways.  While in the New World for much longer than he had planned, Roger met another girl in Mexico whom he admired.  And after a great many years longer than was his original intent, Roger and his wife returned to England, where the English girl as well had married someone else, causing everything to work out in the end.  And of course it is a Henty book, so they end up with a nice piece of land, Roger's wife get some jewels, and they have lots of children and grandchildren to whom Roger likes to relate his adventures.

I've been feeling a bit like Roger.

Those of you who know me well know that I have always had my entire life planned out to the smallest details twenty years in advance, although I'm not that good at planning the immediate future.  In the past few years, with none of my plans working out the way I'd planned, I have been asking God what He would have me do while feeling strangely lost without my 20 year plans. 

Sometimes the things that are meant to be temorary, God chooses to make not so temporary.

I recently took a very temporary, as I thought, break from my plans, which I have continued to modify to my situation regardless of how difficult or ridiculous that may be.  However it seems like God is really leading me in a complete opposite direction right now, which is incredibly confusing to me, because it is not at all where I thought God wanted me.

I don't know how coherent that last paragraph was, but it results from my personal confusion over the turn of events.  I don't understand how this fits into my plans, or how it fits into God's plans.  I think maybe I was mistaken about God's plans.  I just really hope that He makes it clear soon, because I would like to have a plan.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll end up with a nice piece of land, some jewels, and lots of children and grandchildren to relate my adventures and God's providence to someday soon. :)

Lights have always been my favorite kind of decoration!

Excerpt from a new book I'm working on!

There is the Leviathan
(Title not definite)

Daniella hurried away from the group of Mark-adorers.   Although she liked Mark, she had always despised the giggling possy of fans always around him.  She wanted Mark to like her for her, not as just another adoring fan.

  As she arrived at the bus stop, she realized that she was just a minute too late.  She had her driver’s license but no car and so always took the bus.  Mark and his friends all had their own cars. She looked back toward the school building, wondering if maybe someone would offer her a ride.  No one was in sight.  She would have to walk home.  She started off, but suddenly saw Dustin.  He had always picked on her and was probably mad that Mark had told him to stop, and so she automatically ducked behind a nearby car.  He was walking right towards her though, and Danny looked around for somewhere to hide.  She saw a door to the school music hall she had never noticed before.  It was close enough that she could make it to the door and stay behind cars.  She quickly began to run towards the door, stooped over so Dustin wouldn’t see her.  Reaching it, she quickly opened and ducked inside, pulling the door shut behind her.

  Instantly Danny knew something was wrong.  She had no idea where she was.

   She was standing in the middle of a large field.  She could see a huge city in the distance, several in fact.  She turned back to the door to let herself out, but the door was no longer there.

What do you think?  I'd love to hear your comments!

New Blog!

My friend Rachel and I have started a new blog!  It is called Trailblazer's College Talk and offers practical encouragement for the "college-age" years!  Come check it out at


http://trailblazerscollegetalk.blogspot.com


Be sure to follow us and tell all your friends about it!

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.



A New Song I'm Working On

Here are the lyrics to a new song I'm working on.

So many girls want to put their hope in men

To save them, to love them, as only God can

They worship an ideal of a prince they've created

Only God can fill the void and yet they're still saying

Where are you Darcy I've been waiting so long

And every night I pour out my heart to you in song

I'm a damsel in distress - or single - same thing

So hurry up and show your face and start the rescuing

They sit on their balcony dreaming all day

watching in the distance for a sparkling ray

falling on a rider on a white horse

And the the knight in shining armour doesn't show they say

Where are you Romeo I've been waiting so long

And every night I pour out my heart to you in song

I'm a damsel in distress - or single - same thing

So hurry up and show your face and end my suffering.

But they're worshipping an ido they've put in God's place

Man cannot save you, God only saves!

For some trust in chariots, horses, idealized men

But we must trust in the Lord our God and say

Here I am Lord, surrendering every care

And every night I pour out my heart to you in prayer

I am your child - how can I serve you

I am busy about your work - what else can I do?

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.

Giveaway!!!

Ends August 5^th.  Enter for a chance to win a free Lilla Rose Hair product of your choice!*

*Equal to or less than $20.00 catalog value

Your name is entered once for every copy of either The Teacher or The Tiphereth Trilogy you buy.  The more books you buy, the better chance you have of your name being drawn.

The Teacher and The Tiphereth Trilogy are both now on sale until August 5^th!

Sale Prices: the Teacher - $8.00
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You will be notified on August 5^th if you are the winner! 

E-mail me at Khprovidence.1@verizon.net or leave a comment with your e-mail address to purchase a book and enter the giveaway.

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