it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last week, our theory assignment was to create a Christmas song based on the words by Christina Rosetti. Little did I know that this idea is a part of the "been there, done that" category. So here is "Love Came Down at Christmas" by Jars of Clay. It's strange to hear it, after having drummed my own melody into my head.

Love came down at Christmas,

love all lovely, love divine;

love was born at Christmas:

star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

love incarnate, love divine;

worship we our Jesus,

but wherewith the sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;

love be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and to all men,

love for plea and gift and sign.

racing towards the finish line

for the literary folks:

In modern linguistic terms, the story of the Incarnation is the story of how the Transcendental Signified became a lowly signifier while continuing to be a signified.

The project for this weekend is an essay on C. S. Lewis and how his sense of morality influenced his writing.

One of the strengths of Lewis’ writings is that he gives us such an exciting picture of what goodness looks like. His fiction is filled with characters who demonstrate that being virtuous is not a weak characteristic in a personality, but rather one of strength, courage, honour, and power. Lewis gives us pictures of good which fascinate and draw us, awakening within us the hope that we too can rise above our instincts and limitations and do the right thing. Virtue is the ability and power to choose good, which arises from a transformation of our hearts and minds.

.

this world keeps spinning faster

It's amazing how much our lives are caught up in technology.

This evening I gave a presentation on different locations in England used in the Harry Potter films. I had hoped to connect my laptop to the projector system, so that all the work I had done to the PowerPoint presentation would work, but something didn't connect properly. Unfortunately, having embedded the videos into the slideshow meant that they did not transfer over to the other computer at our disposal.

Strike one.

I love having an internet connection - enables me to stay in contact with those who are able to keep me sane in moments of panic which seem to strike at any given moment without any due notice.

Strike two?

More and more, I am realizing how important transportation is in this day in age. Not having that method of getting from point A to point B is severely limiting.

Strike three.

The moral: either you have to learn to be completely independent and rely on your feet in order to get you anywhere or you have to learn humility and dependence upon others.

christmas in a cup

I have a confession.

I may be addicted to tea.

The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? Or is it simply good preparation for England (assuming that everyone there does drink tea, the archetypal Brit)?

Also, for your amusement, Victor Borge and Dean Martin: (although my family and I have differing opinions on the funniest clips)

who are you and what have you done with [name]?

A crazy week has drawn to a close. It began with the completion of an essay, the frantic rewriting of that same essay within two hours to make the midnight deadline, a power outage at school, a rescheduled midterm, and a movie review.

Welcome to November, folks.

It's hard to believe that this semester is more than half over. I realize I mentioned in my previous 'post' (apparently two sentences don't constitute as a proper post) that only a couple months remain until the holidays. My brother clearly announced this afternoon that there are only seven weeks left until Christmas (inevitably followed by his ever-growing list ;) ) which means that in ten weeks I will be distanced from home and loved ones by an ocean. It still seems all a little unreal.

But that's the future.

For now, I'm waiting to put the icing on the cake.

Also, I have been struggling with "Thy Will Be Done" so I would like to share this link. It is from the soundtrack of "Joseph King of Dreams" which speaks of letting go of our own dreams when doors appear to be closing and following the path He has set out for us.

to/two/too

In two months and a few days, the first semester will be over and we'll be into the holidays again.

In two months and a few weeks, I'll be in England for a few months.

thanksgiving

this too shall pass

We have wandered far from God; and if we wish to return to our Father's home, this world must be used, not enjoyed, that so the invisible things of God may be clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, -- that is, that by the means of what is material and temporary we may lay hold upon that which is spiritual and eternal.

Augustine, On Christian Doctrine

take it as you will

Quote of the day:

If you have Jesus in your heart ... someone should tell your face.

Compliments of Dr. Loney.

at the end of the day

"Some texts are born literary, some achieve literariness, and some have literariness thrust upon them." [Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction]

School, in all its various forms, has begun once again. These lofty ideas of criticism, ambiguous statements, the idea that each reading is a rewriting ... my favourite quote of today's reading is from Paul Ricouer as he is discussing the relationship between story and life: "We learn to become the narrator of our own story without completely becoming the author of our life."

How true is this?

I can learn, acquire knowledge and insight, but at the close, I am just myself. Me, as I am. And it is the simple things which matter most.

keeping up with the joneses

Blogs are allegedly the safe and the way to announce new relationships. Here, the news slowly circulates as people stumble across your blog rather than having the news plastered on the front page news.

As many of you have probably heard by now and for those who have not, I am dating a wonderful boy named Joel. [Insert pretend gasps of shock - we haven't heard that yet.] He's a special person.

life in the peripheries

We paused a moment or two to chat with the customers. So often we don't know what is going on in the lives of others, the issues they are dealing with or the joys that they would like to share. As I work, I remain wrapped up in my own small sphere of thought, only emerging from the bubble when conversation has been struck up.

Sometimes, I share my own joys and excitement about either upcoming or past events but rarely do we discuss fears or the serious issues surrounding each life. If we cannot build a relationship with those with whom we work every day, how much more difficult is it to relate with those who we rarely talk to?

I'm not trying to say we need to spend all our time and energy on getting to know people. It's the foundation that really counts - built at the foot of the cross. Recently, I spent a week at Campfire! where I met so many people who I had never spoken to before. Yet there, background, personal history is not important - you are there for the sole purpose of praising the Lord. It is this infectious joy which is carried from that place, something that we should seek to share with others.

God works in so many incredible ways. I walked [well, drove] away from Campfire! with the renewed conviction that, even though we are sometimes crumpled, torn, ground into the dirt, God still sees the worth underneath the layers of dirt and grime. Most amazing are the times when He grants you so much, especially when you least expect it.

LOVE (III)
by George Herbert

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.

mistakes

Do not put statements in the negative form.

And don't start sentences with a conjunction.

If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a

great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.

De-accession euphemisms.

If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

- William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

catching a quick breath

Sometimes, life moves by too quickly to fully grasp and appreciate the moment.

the sounds of laughter

I have missed you.

i can only imagine

The fruit of the Spirit.

Pause there a moment. Fruit. Singular. One fruit. One fruit that has different characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A beaker pours out the blessing of the Spirit which works that fruit in us, which, in turn, manifests itself in different ways.

We try to mimic these characteristics of perfection, but how deep does the desire run? Is it heartfelt or done out of selfish ambition or a desire to make those attributes our first nature?

flowers were harmed in the making of this bed

[No, really, they were.]

Here are some helpful hints and tips for those who have started their four month summer career and feel the cooler weather in their very core.

[also entitled: 5(0) ways to leave the chill behind]

1. Dress warmly. - Always a bonus; layers are key: hat, mittens, jacket, several sweaters, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, tank-top ... you can always take them off later and empty half of your wardrobe into the vehicle which you are using. Trust me. We have several closets in there.

2. Work hard. - This one should be self-explanatory and a "duh" [think Moose from the Archie comics]. It promises to warm every last ligament you have.

3. Drink lots of tea/coffee. - If you have the luxury of several returns to the shop where hot beverages are easily accessible ... that is the opportune moment.

4. Manure can be a wonderful thing. Including the added benefit of getting warm while shoveling it, it and its steamy scent envelop you, cascading over your feet like a warm blanket. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

5. Way no. 5. introduces the classic bouncing when cold. - Works almost every time. Just not when you get strange looks and decide to stop in order to protect any last shards of dignity you can scrounge together ... that is when you get cold again.

If all else fails, well, there's always a hot shower and more sweaters waiting at home.

a little light summer reading

In no specific order of importance, I introduce the following:

That stack, along with the list of things I would like to do this summer, is now approximately the same height as I am. On a side note: adventuring to a used bookstore is always a dangerous thing -- especially when they have a whole section on literary theory.

I have also gained a greater respect for those who can successfully make a pie. Apparently, it's not as easy as it looks, but it tastes just as good.

the ninth hour

It's the last minute crunch before the end - the final exam that concludes half of my undergraduate education. Granted, the milestone isn't as large as that of finalizing that education, but it is a pillar of a kind.

Had we but world enough, and time,

This last-minute studying were no crime.

Time slips past so quickly, it's wingéd chariot hurrying near. [No, I did not write a seventeenth century exam a few days ago and just quote Andrew Marvell.]

Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward

LET man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
Th' intelligence that moves, devotion is ;
And as the other spheres, by being grown
Subject to foreign motion, lose their own,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a year their natural form obey ;
Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit
For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.
Hence is't, that I am carried towards the west,
This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me.
Who sees Gods face, that is self-life, must die ;
What a death were it then to see God die ?
It made His own lieutenant, Nature, shrink,
It made His footstool crack, and the sun wink.
Could I behold those hands, which span the poles
And tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes ?
Could I behold that endless height, which is
Zenith to us and our antipodes,
Humbled below us ? or that blood, which is
The seat of all our soul's, if not of His,
Made dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
By God for His apparel, ragg'd and torn ?
If on these things I durst not look, durst I
On His distressed Mother cast mine eye,
Who was God's partner here, and furnish'd thus
Half of that sacrifice which ransom'd us ?
Though these things as I ride be from mine eye,
They're present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them ; and Thou look'st towards me,
O Saviour, as Thou hang'st upon the tree.
I turn my back to thee but to receive
Corrections till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
O think me worth Thine anger, punish me,
Burn off my rust, and my deformity ;
Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace,
That Thou mayst know me, and I'll turn my face.

- John Donne

one

Just one more.

Sometimes the small things feel like the biggest.

signs of spring

To celebrate St. Patrick's day, the colour green has been prominently displayed about the school. However, the most popular location in which to publish the statement of green is outside. There is not a cloud to be seen with a warm sun on my back as I follow the crowds outdoors. To be sure, the natural greens are lacking but linger in the promise of a return that is near at hand.

surely there must be some truth in this

a jolting reality

"When you look into water, you see a likeness of your face.

When you look into your heart, you see what you are really like."

- Proverbs 27:19

early morning escapades

The sound of running water is a beautiful thing.

let's play that one more time

music was made for two

just sit right back and you'll hear a tale

[Theme song of the weekend. Never let your children/siblings watch too much of Gilligan's Island. You'll soon regret it. No matter how much you need that half-hour nap.]

I really wish there were not a limitation to learning and education. The time has come again for course selections for the upcoming year. My problem lies not with finding the stuff that interests me, but weeding out the extraneous courses that are less interesting and not beneficial to an honours Major. You'd think that the six course difference between a general and an honours would allow you a little more leeway, but it's all a facade. All it does is force you to take four 400-level courses which are interesting anyway.

I want to take it all and simply learn.

weekends are for reenergizing

let's just hope that works

the countdown

1 more day.

So my car is apparently unsafe at the moment. Being completely naive and clueless when it comes to motorized vehicles, I don't drive it. Maybe I should really look into a mechanics class and invest in an old pair of jean overalls.

snippets of sound

I’m her favourite sister, she says. I say the same of her. We work together like fingers moving over a piano, sometimes stumbling, sometimes moving smoothly, but always creating a beautiful sound.

there will never be a more beautiful you

If you can't be a highway, just be a trail;

If you can't be the sun, be a star

For it isn't by the size that you win or you fail-

Be the best of whatever you are.

- Douglas Mallock

As found in an essay by Martin Luther King, Jr. regarding the dimensions of a complete life: John on the isle of Patmos saw life as it should be, complete on all three sides with the length and the breadth and the height. If life is perfect when these aspects are in perfect harmony, how much more is the amazing love of God that transcends the limits of our limited lives.