Well here's the post I said I was planning when I wrote my last post. (Oh my, that's such an obvious statement. That's painful.) This is in fact my second and last advent post, yes, I did miss a week or two. Finals and midnight showings do that. But the other week I saw from my dad's Facebook post (don't question) that one week of advent was about joy. Ooh! I know about joy too! Or so I claim.
Right now I'm feeling something that feels a lot like joy. I've been doing a lot of walking on air recently with really no reason for it besides the fact that God's awfully awesome. I could give specific reasons; The Hobbit is fantastic, finals are done, the Hobbit was everything I dreamed it would be, I have freedom to actually do things, the Hobbit. But as much as I could say those are "because I'm awesome and I rocked finals" or "because Peter Jackson is a genius" they're really just because God is awfully awesome. He likes to overwhelm me every now and then.
I did actually have something slightly new to add to my view of joy though. On the list of my personality quirks (such a long list, we'll never get through it) is my inability to express things I love. If I really really want something it's going to be the one thing I can't get myself to ask for. If I really really love something no matter how hard I try I can never get across to anyone how much I love it (this can be frustrating, it's why I like talking to people who similarly love whatever it is.) So the few times a year when I'm really joyful and overwhelmed with the amazingness that is God I can't possibly get it across. You may see a lot of exclamation points and geeking out but believe me, it's not anywhere near what I'm actually feeling.
I like to think that's how God feels about us. His love is so enormous that we can't possibly grasp it, as much as we try to understand it our concept of God's love will always fall short of the reality. His blessings that we see in our every day life are just the tiniest bit of how he displays it. But right now, of all times, we can probably remember a little better just how much God loves us and his greatest attempt to show us. What a great reason for Christmas joy.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Better Part of Valour
This is an in between sort of post, I wanted a prelude to my next post. See, I'm pretty sure every single blogger, serious Facebooker, twitterer or whoever is out there to voice an opinion is going to say something about the shooting in Connecticut. I think it's assumed that you have to speak out and at least let the world know that you're praying for them, thus you're a good Christian.
You may wonder about the title of this blog. Well, most people probably know that humility isn't exactly a quality I possess in abundance but I'd like to show some now. A very few people probably realize that when something terrible happens to someone I know I'd rather not have to talk, I'd rather be able to do something. Unfortunately, while blogging is doing something it also involves talking. I'd rather not try.
I'd like to show that I care about this situation by not voicing my opinion because I'm not wise or insightful enough to say anything new and inspiring. I'd rather not add to the enormous muddle of articles and posts and blogs that are out there. I'm not saying anything against the posts I've seen, the only ones that are really messing things up are news sites and those apparently are beyond help. But I just don't want to add to the confusion of opinions with my own half-baked and uninformed opinion.
I'm not connected to this tragedy by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know any more than anyone else who reads news articles. I'm not any more insightful (actually probably less insightful) than anyone else who has a blog.
Now I realize that in posting this blog I have in fact added to the muddle. If I really wanted to carry out this desire of not talking I would have just continued to say nothing. But as I said, this is a prelude to my next post. My next post is planning on being extremely upbeat and jolly and I didn't want it to seem like I was disrespectful or didn't care about this shooting. I care and I'd like to show that I care by toning down on the attention it's getting, I'm thinking these people would probably like some space from the public eye rather than more posts about them.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Advent Part 1 (Or: Hope Revisited)
Gaude, gaude! Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.
This post was supposed to be for last Sunday but homework likes to build up until Sunday evenings, this cuts into blogging time. At the time when I'm writing this it is Thursday so we'll see if I actually get it done in one day.
It came to my attention in church on Sunday that the theme of the first advent candle was hope, an area of expertise on my part. (Hardly, more like a lesson I keep learning over and over.)
I don't really have anything enormous to add to what I said last time but I was interested by a new perspective on hope (and when I'm interested in something that means you get to hear about it). The season of Christmas in celebrating the birth of Jesus is preceded by all the years of hope between Eden and Bethlehem. That's a very long time to hope. That might manage to make us feel a little inadequate if not for the fact that the Israelites decided to go astray every other year or something akin to that.
It's still fascinating to think about though, for all those years all they had was God's word that he was sending a savior and the miracles he did for them in the meantime. We, meanwhile, have the testimony of the Bible and all sorts of saints and other Christians since (as well as your own personal experience with God) telling us that God did indeed send a savior and he's now the reason we hope. It's a reason to continue the Thanksgiving season into the Christmas season, we can be so thankful that we have what prophets searched for and the things into which even angels long to look.
I guess this is my actual serious Thanksgiving blog combined with my first advent blog (and posted just before the second week of advent. I'm very on top of things.)
It's still fascinating to think about though, for all those years all they had was God's word that he was sending a savior and the miracles he did for them in the meantime. We, meanwhile, have the testimony of the Bible and all sorts of saints and other Christians since (as well as your own personal experience with God) telling us that God did indeed send a savior and he's now the reason we hope. It's a reason to continue the Thanksgiving season into the Christmas season, we can be so thankful that we have what prophets searched for and the things into which even angels long to look.
I guess this is my actual serious Thanksgiving blog combined with my first advent blog (and posted just before the second week of advent. I'm very on top of things.)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
A Little Gratitude
I was going to not do a Thanksgiving post and just write a completely unrelated post but I had an idea last night and thought I'd follow through on it.
The following is a list of things that you should be thankful for that you might not usually think of.
Light switches Being a basement dweller myself, I deal with a lot of lights that turn on with long strings or ancient looking chains. They're a little hard to find in the dark, at least light switches stay in the same place. Before I lived in a basement I had a room with a light switch. The light switch was outside my room. Machia liked to use it to let me know dinner was ready. Everyone else liked to use it to conserve energy, not realizing I was in there. I learned to throw things at the wall to get them to turn it back on.
Defrost It's really handy in the early mornings. Rachel's car doesn't have it. I try very hard to always take my car, it's safer that way for everyone involved.
Oreos When I have Oreos life is fantastic.
Computers I do hope those of you who have their own computers appreciate it. I'm very grateful for school computers and a Daddy who is willing to share his laptop.
Internet I mean really, you wouldn't be reading this wonderful blog post without it! And for about half of you reading this, I wouldn't even know you without it.
Sweatshirts A companion for defrost, very nice in early mornings. I used to dislike sweatshirts. Now they're my best friends. (However, I require either a hood or a zipper or both.)
Web Designers Having taken (okay, and kind of loved) web design class, you should all be glad you don't have to write your own code at all times in order do do something fancy like <b>bolding</b> a word. (And yes, I meant for that not to work.)
I suppose I could go on and talk about serious things to be thankful now, but I think you're all bright enough to think of your own and why preach? Happy Thanksgiving to all!
The following is a list of things that you should be thankful for that you might not usually think of.
Light switches Being a basement dweller myself, I deal with a lot of lights that turn on with long strings or ancient looking chains. They're a little hard to find in the dark, at least light switches stay in the same place. Before I lived in a basement I had a room with a light switch. The light switch was outside my room. Machia liked to use it to let me know dinner was ready. Everyone else liked to use it to conserve energy, not realizing I was in there. I learned to throw things at the wall to get them to turn it back on.
Defrost It's really handy in the early mornings. Rachel's car doesn't have it. I try very hard to always take my car, it's safer that way for everyone involved.
Oreos When I have Oreos life is fantastic.
Computers I do hope those of you who have their own computers appreciate it. I'm very grateful for school computers and a Daddy who is willing to share his laptop.
Internet I mean really, you wouldn't be reading this wonderful blog post without it! And for about half of you reading this, I wouldn't even know you without it.
Sweatshirts A companion for defrost, very nice in early mornings. I used to dislike sweatshirts. Now they're my best friends. (However, I require either a hood or a zipper or both.)
Web Designers Having taken (okay, and kind of loved) web design class, you should all be glad you don't have to write your own code at all times in order do do something fancy like <b>bolding</b> a word. (And yes, I meant for that not to work.)
I suppose I could go on and talk about serious things to be thankful now, but I think you're all bright enough to think of your own and why preach? Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Conclusions
Let it never be said that college is not a learning experience. Whether I'm learning anything that my teachers actually meant to teach me is a different matter. Here are some of the things I have concluded from my various experiences lately.
All right, I'll resist the urge to keep rambling and have a shorter blog post than... some past ones. I'll leave you with a cool verse I also rediscovered recently.
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
- The great indoors is nice and warm.
- Writing will cure most bad moods
- Bullet points are fun.
- I need to lighten up.
All right, I'll resist the urge to keep rambling and have a shorter blog post than... some past ones. I'll leave you with a cool verse I also rediscovered recently.
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Geek shall inherit the earth
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, school, cars, randomstuffthatisn'twork, and things like that got in the way. I honestly wasn't sure when I was going to blog again until three of my five classes were cancelled for today. It's like fall break a week early.
This time I'm going to talk about what I promised to talk about in my very first post: geeky stuff. Surrounded by a ton of normal college students I appreciate geekiness even more than usual. I'm also learning to appreciate different variations of it. Sadly few people are self-professing geeks so I have to get to know seemingly normal people and then dig out their nerdishness hiding underneath. (Man, spellcheck really hates me today...) The different combinations of Doctor Who fans who also love superheroes, Lord of the Rings fanatics who have a passion for Star Wars, Trekkies who are patiently waiting for the next Sherlock and all the rest are hard to keep track of. In general it's just easier to remember which fandoms a person hates.
But there's another kind of geek/nerd combination which will be very pertinent in about 20 days on November 1st. That would be my author friends. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) when tons of my literary-minded friends spend their days and nights pounding on keyboards to reach their word quota for the day. I'm extremely jealous of the people who have time to do this, it almost makes me want to try it on top of my homework.
This story writing usually goes along with one of my favorite traits in an individual; an active imagination. These are the people who can spend three hour car rides staring out the window without being bored. They're also the people with whom I can have whole chat conversations while pretending to be fictional characters. If you've never tried it I suggest finding your geekiest friend and giving it a go.
I'm incredibly thankful for my ability to make up stories in my head. It isn't just the way I survived car trips before I could drive, it's also how I go to sleep at night and how I entertain myself when all I have with me is a notebook. Being able to easily pretend to be a fictional character is how I learned to act and extremely handy when just plain old Apples to Apples gets boring.
But I have to admit that there have been times when I worried that my fictional worlds possessed too much of my self. I mean, I could tell you the plot, major and minor characters and their background of the Lord of the Rings before I even read it, meaning when I was 8. I can do the same thing for Narnia, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and others in addition to being able to tell you the actors who have portrayed the characters. (And the filmography of the actors. And the directors, costume designers and composers...) You get the idea. Add to that the entire world I've created for the stories I write and you have a large portion of my brain, that's probably equal to many years of Bible Quizzing.
Moderation (despite this comic) is what makes the difference between an awesome geek and an ill-adjusted, socially awkward geek who can't survive without a fictional world. Self control makes all the difference, including the decision of whether to start in on a fandom in the first place. You'll notice that none of my lists include any video games. Originally this was a parental decision but even now I'd rather not start in with them. I know my own competitive nature and I can see how video games would pull me in and leave me obsessed.
Despite these dangers included in all fiction and fantasy here is another reason I'm thankful for them:
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
This entrance into a fantasy world is a way of learning to be apart from the world. I've never been exactly of the world, I don't think the word "normal" has ever once been applicable to my way of life. But visibly being a Christian and visibly being a geek both set you apart from the world in extreme ways. Sometimes toning down the geek is a good idea, especially if you're trying to witness to the general population. But it also opens up opportunities some Christians don't have. Have you ever had a discussion about the Christian themes in the Avengers? What about a Church book group reading the Lord of the Rings? Suddenly there's a whole new realm of witnessing ideas.
This time I'm going to talk about what I promised to talk about in my very first post: geeky stuff. Surrounded by a ton of normal college students I appreciate geekiness even more than usual. I'm also learning to appreciate different variations of it. Sadly few people are self-professing geeks so I have to get to know seemingly normal people and then dig out their nerdishness hiding underneath. (Man, spellcheck really hates me today...) The different combinations of Doctor Who fans who also love superheroes, Lord of the Rings fanatics who have a passion for Star Wars, Trekkies who are patiently waiting for the next Sherlock and all the rest are hard to keep track of. In general it's just easier to remember which fandoms a person hates.
But there's another kind of geek/nerd combination which will be very pertinent in about 20 days on November 1st. That would be my author friends. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) when tons of my literary-minded friends spend their days and nights pounding on keyboards to reach their word quota for the day. I'm extremely jealous of the people who have time to do this, it almost makes me want to try it on top of my homework.
This story writing usually goes along with one of my favorite traits in an individual; an active imagination. These are the people who can spend three hour car rides staring out the window without being bored. They're also the people with whom I can have whole chat conversations while pretending to be fictional characters. If you've never tried it I suggest finding your geekiest friend and giving it a go.
I'm incredibly thankful for my ability to make up stories in my head. It isn't just the way I survived car trips before I could drive, it's also how I go to sleep at night and how I entertain myself when all I have with me is a notebook. Being able to easily pretend to be a fictional character is how I learned to act and extremely handy when just plain old Apples to Apples gets boring.
But I have to admit that there have been times when I worried that my fictional worlds possessed too much of my self. I mean, I could tell you the plot, major and minor characters and their background of the Lord of the Rings before I even read it, meaning when I was 8. I can do the same thing for Narnia, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and others in addition to being able to tell you the actors who have portrayed the characters. (And the filmography of the actors. And the directors, costume designers and composers...) You get the idea. Add to that the entire world I've created for the stories I write and you have a large portion of my brain, that's probably equal to many years of Bible Quizzing.
Moderation (despite this comic) is what makes the difference between an awesome geek and an ill-adjusted, socially awkward geek who can't survive without a fictional world. Self control makes all the difference, including the decision of whether to start in on a fandom in the first place. You'll notice that none of my lists include any video games. Originally this was a parental decision but even now I'd rather not start in with them. I know my own competitive nature and I can see how video games would pull me in and leave me obsessed.
Despite these dangers included in all fiction and fantasy here is another reason I'm thankful for them:
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
This entrance into a fantasy world is a way of learning to be apart from the world. I've never been exactly of the world, I don't think the word "normal" has ever once been applicable to my way of life. But visibly being a Christian and visibly being a geek both set you apart from the world in extreme ways. Sometimes toning down the geek is a good idea, especially if you're trying to witness to the general population. But it also opens up opportunities some Christians don't have. Have you ever had a discussion about the Christian themes in the Avengers? What about a Church book group reading the Lord of the Rings? Suddenly there's a whole new realm of witnessing ideas.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Sometimes the Bravest Thing
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
I've had this blog for a couple weeks now and no one has bothered to ask where my title or domain name came from. I think it would be too much to hope that more than a few of you actually know without asking, it's a little obscure. Well, "The Bravest thing of all is always hope" so says the Brave Saint Saturn song "Binary". It's also mentioned in "Atropos" and "Daylight." If you've looked at the link to my blog you'll notice that the domain name is "Always just beneath the dawn". That is from the Brave Saint Saturn song of the same name, the full thought is "I believe that love is greater; never ceasing, always hoping, always just beneath the dawn."
If you're following my reasoning and if you happen to maybe know my first middle name you'll see a theme: Hope. It took me a surprisingly long time to connect my middle name to any aspect of my life, as I mentioned before: I'm a bit of a pessimist. But eventually I hit a point where I decided I was tired of pessimistic depressing views dominating how I looked at life. Right there was my middle name, patiently waiting for me just like hope always does.
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."
In that way hope goes along hand in hand with love. "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." They're specifically listed together along with that other thing that gives you the ability to hope in love: "and now these three remain: faith, hope and love." The funny thing is, hope is in the definition of both words. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It's obviously a pretty important thing.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Many times we're pretty much directly commanded to hope. "Why are you downcast, O my soul?... Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him." Basically, cheer up, or as possibly my favorite verse says "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer". Hope is such an important part of faith. If your attitude is just "Yeah, I have faith in God" but you don't look to him for anything or trust him for anything you're acing the belief part of faith but missing the hope. It isn't just faith and it isn't just patience, it's both things and more.
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
In this blog I've managed to get a basic Biblical idea of hope in first, unlike my joy blog. I still don't have as much of a grasp of it as I would like or I would go on more, I don't want to go on and on about it if I'm not sure about it. However, there is a specific reason I'm bringing it up this time.
I saw the Dark Knight Rises in theaters about four times. The only movie I saw in theaters more times was The Avengers. (Which does really feature in this blog. Maybe I'll work up a blog involving that one later.) I also saw The Hunger Games when it came out, honestly the first time I saw it I was so disturbed I didn't want to see it or think about it again. A few weeks ago I was bored and wanted distraction from my looming college classes so I watched the DVD. It was then that I noticed an interesting similarity between The Dark Knight Rises and the Hunger Games.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
The villains were the similarity. In personality, strategy and just all around evilness Bane and President Snow don't have too much in common. Bane is all about supposedly letting the people rule and Snow is all about ruling the people. However, they both have a monologue (both fairly important to the plot as well) about using hope as a weapon. Through the wonders of the internet I have both available for you right here so you don't have to see how well you remember the dialogue from the two movies.
President Snow gives this reason for why he has the Hunger Games every year rather than just executing 24 innocent children:
Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it's contained.
Very morbid and evil but compared to Bane's description of hope this is almost healthy.
Home, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. There's a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth...hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy...so simple...and like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to 'stay in the sun.'
I thought it was downright scary that two of the biggest movies of the year revolved around the same villainous plot point; using hope as a weapon against the masses. At least Loki had a different tactic, the philosophical debate about freedom and peace. But hope is a little close to home I mean after all, don't politicians apparently make their way in life by making promises and building our hopes up and then not actually following through on anything? That's what the media says about them anyway.
But that is the confusing thing about hope. A lot of the time it seems like it would just be easier to not get your hopes up and not have to deal with dashed hopes. I at least find that movies are more fun if I lower my expectations before I go see a new movie. I'm avoiding way too many more movie quotes in here than I already have planned but the TV show Monk had a very good line about hopes. Sharona asked Monk if he had to get his hopes up, Monk answered "Of course, that's what hopes are for."
What is the resolution to this dilemma of unfulfilled hopes? For some more positive quotes about hope not directly from the Bible I went to a fairly foolproof source. Any guesses?
“Being a cheerful hobbit, he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed."
Here you go, a series of quotes about hope from J.R.R. Tolkien himself:
“His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from a rock.”
"The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
“I do not know what is happening. The reason of my waking mind tells me that great evil has befallen and we stand at the end of days. But my heart says nay; and all my limbs are light, and a hope and joy are come to me that no reason can deny. I do not believe that darkness will endure!”
“Despair, or folly?’ said Gandalf. ‘It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy!”
“False hopes are more dangerous than fears.
That's pretty comprehensive. Just pure hope, unexplained hope, endurance beyond hope (or the Elvish term, Bronwe athan Harthad), and despair versus hope. But I think that last one answers the question about whether we should get our hopes up and how hope can be a good thing even if people try to misuse it. The difference is the kind of hope: false hope rather than a hope that comes from God. If you set your hopes on worldly things and your own ideas of how things will work out you're bound to be disappointed all the time. But if you set your hope on Godly things and what he wants for your life you'll find that those hopes are fulfilled and surpassed beyond your wildest dreams, even when it doesn't seem like it.
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
"It hurts just to wake up
whenever you're wearing thin,
alone on the outside
so tired of looking in.
The end is uncertain
and I've never been so afraid
but I don't need a telescope
to see that there's Hope
and that makes me feel brave."
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
I've had this blog for a couple weeks now and no one has bothered to ask where my title or domain name came from. I think it would be too much to hope that more than a few of you actually know without asking, it's a little obscure. Well, "The Bravest thing of all is always hope" so says the Brave Saint Saturn song "Binary". It's also mentioned in "Atropos" and "Daylight." If you've looked at the link to my blog you'll notice that the domain name is "Always just beneath the dawn". That is from the Brave Saint Saturn song of the same name, the full thought is "I believe that love is greater; never ceasing, always hoping, always just beneath the dawn."
If you're following my reasoning and if you happen to maybe know my first middle name you'll see a theme: Hope. It took me a surprisingly long time to connect my middle name to any aspect of my life, as I mentioned before: I'm a bit of a pessimist. But eventually I hit a point where I decided I was tired of pessimistic depressing views dominating how I looked at life. Right there was my middle name, patiently waiting for me just like hope always does.
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."
In that way hope goes along hand in hand with love. "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." They're specifically listed together along with that other thing that gives you the ability to hope in love: "and now these three remain: faith, hope and love." The funny thing is, hope is in the definition of both words. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It's obviously a pretty important thing.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Many times we're pretty much directly commanded to hope. "Why are you downcast, O my soul?... Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him." Basically, cheer up, or as possibly my favorite verse says "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer". Hope is such an important part of faith. If your attitude is just "Yeah, I have faith in God" but you don't look to him for anything or trust him for anything you're acing the belief part of faith but missing the hope. It isn't just faith and it isn't just patience, it's both things and more.
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
In this blog I've managed to get a basic Biblical idea of hope in first, unlike my joy blog. I still don't have as much of a grasp of it as I would like or I would go on more, I don't want to go on and on about it if I'm not sure about it. However, there is a specific reason I'm bringing it up this time.
I saw the Dark Knight Rises in theaters about four times. The only movie I saw in theaters more times was The Avengers. (Which does really feature in this blog. Maybe I'll work up a blog involving that one later.) I also saw The Hunger Games when it came out, honestly the first time I saw it I was so disturbed I didn't want to see it or think about it again. A few weeks ago I was bored and wanted distraction from my looming college classes so I watched the DVD. It was then that I noticed an interesting similarity between The Dark Knight Rises and the Hunger Games.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
The villains were the similarity. In personality, strategy and just all around evilness Bane and President Snow don't have too much in common. Bane is all about supposedly letting the people rule and Snow is all about ruling the people. However, they both have a monologue (both fairly important to the plot as well) about using hope as a weapon. Through the wonders of the internet I have both available for you right here so you don't have to see how well you remember the dialogue from the two movies.
President Snow gives this reason for why he has the Hunger Games every year rather than just executing 24 innocent children:
Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it's contained.
Very morbid and evil but compared to Bane's description of hope this is almost healthy.
Home, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. There's a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth...hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy...so simple...and like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to 'stay in the sun.'
I thought it was downright scary that two of the biggest movies of the year revolved around the same villainous plot point; using hope as a weapon against the masses. At least Loki had a different tactic, the philosophical debate about freedom and peace. But hope is a little close to home I mean after all, don't politicians apparently make their way in life by making promises and building our hopes up and then not actually following through on anything? That's what the media says about them anyway.
But that is the confusing thing about hope. A lot of the time it seems like it would just be easier to not get your hopes up and not have to deal with dashed hopes. I at least find that movies are more fun if I lower my expectations before I go see a new movie. I'm avoiding way too many more movie quotes in here than I already have planned but the TV show Monk had a very good line about hopes. Sharona asked Monk if he had to get his hopes up, Monk answered "Of course, that's what hopes are for."
What is the resolution to this dilemma of unfulfilled hopes? For some more positive quotes about hope not directly from the Bible I went to a fairly foolproof source. Any guesses?
“Being a cheerful hobbit, he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed."
Here you go, a series of quotes about hope from J.R.R. Tolkien himself:
“His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from a rock.”
"The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
“I do not know what is happening. The reason of my waking mind tells me that great evil has befallen and we stand at the end of days. But my heart says nay; and all my limbs are light, and a hope and joy are come to me that no reason can deny. I do not believe that darkness will endure!”
“Despair, or folly?’ said Gandalf. ‘It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy!”
“False hopes are more dangerous than fears.
That's pretty comprehensive. Just pure hope, unexplained hope, endurance beyond hope (or the Elvish term, Bronwe athan Harthad), and despair versus hope. But I think that last one answers the question about whether we should get our hopes up and how hope can be a good thing even if people try to misuse it. The difference is the kind of hope: false hope rather than a hope that comes from God. If you set your hopes on worldly things and your own ideas of how things will work out you're bound to be disappointed all the time. But if you set your hope on Godly things and what he wants for your life you'll find that those hopes are fulfilled and surpassed beyond your wildest dreams, even when it doesn't seem like it.
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
"It hurts just to wake up
whenever you're wearing thin,
alone on the outside
so tired of looking in.
The end is uncertain
and I've never been so afraid
but I don't need a telescope
to see that there's Hope
and that makes me feel brave."
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Unspeakable Joy
I'm right in the middle of my third week of college, homework on either side of me and the prospect of trying to find a job looming over me. I really don't have enormous cause to be writing about joy right now. But wait, last year this time I was all about joy; if I signed your t-shirt at nationals I probably signed it with John 15:11, the banner on my phone reads "Psalm 30:5", I was aspiring to be the little girl who was told by a lot of random people "It's so nice, you're always smiling!".
Well in general I'm a pessimist so I'm not sure where the always smiling thing came from in the first place. But on rare occasions some really extreme optimists can get me to see their side of things and I think "You know, maybe life isn't so despressing after all." (Yes. That extra s is supposed to be there. Don't question.) On more amusing occasions some extreme pessimists bring out the optimist in me because I'm a contrary sort of person so I'll become an optimist to play Devil's Advocate. Either way I do enjoy my brief trips into the happy land that is optimism.
You're probably wondering what in the world all this talk about optimism and pessimism has to do with joy. Give me a little time to collect my thoughts; I might be able to explain myself. In one chapter of Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton narrows down the definition of a Christian optimist as not "trying to prove that we fit in to the world" but "(Christian optimism is) based on the fact that we do not fit in to the world." He talks about loving the world in the way you love a friend struggling with a problem, by trying to improve it. He also talks in the next chapter about a great characteristic of saint is their "levity" and "angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."
Sorry, still rabbit trailing.
All right, for the sake of argument: Dictionary.com defines Joy as
John 15:11 "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
What is the Biblical perspective on joy? Well I have absolutely no doubt that many great authors and theologians and pastors and philosophers and everyone else in the world have written volumes on it. I recommend you go find one of their works to read. In the mean time I'm going to hunt out just a few (a very few) occurrences of the word "joy" in the Bible.
The first one that comes to mind?
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
Oookay, joy is facing trials? Not exactly how I would have described it right off. But it's not really an abnormal Biblical definition, Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus "for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame." Now we all know that we're supposed to have the same attitude as Christ and when you think about it that way trials really can be joyful, there is always (and you can quote me on that "always") something bigger and better waiting at the end of the trials we endure for God. In fact that's what the James verse is talking about too if I hadn't purposefully taken it out of context. It goes on to say "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Then we get a list of all the good things that come out of perseverance which ends with receiving "The crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
While I'm at it, do you remember my rabbit trail? That's where my Christian optimism works in here. The joy of the improvements you make to the world you love are what can keep you optimistic, in case you were wondering.
That definition worked out surprisingly well after a rough start, it's the joy of a labor of love. What other instances of joy have I come across? I'm glad you asked.
In the midst of a lot of very distressed (if hopeful) Psalms you every now and then run across some Psalm that is just bursting with joy. Psalm 66 starts out by telling you to shout with joy to the Lord, I can tell you that even when I'm really happy I don't shout too much, I never really was the screaming girl type. But Psalm 66 goes on to list reason upon reason upon reason and they all pile up to some well-deserved shouting. Thirty chapters later in Psalm 96 the trees get in on this and start singing for joy. Now that is some serious joy right there.
Those are some pretty normal ones; I'm going to finish off with the chapter that actually set me off on this tangent. Last night I ran across a less-well-used Psalm that gives a pretty good description of the sensation of joy, if not necessarily how and when and where we're supposed to feel it. Psalm 126 is the chapter in question and as assigned reading (because if you've got this far you might as well just go read those six verses) it's just a really happy Psalm.
So what was the result of this mostly stream-of-consciousness investigation of joy? Nothing really, just sharing some thoughts. My final thought is what I've always felt about joy; that real joy can't come from anything on this normal earth to which we abnormal people belong, it has to come from a much more heavenly source because he loves to share his joy with us so that our joy "may be complete."
If you read through all of that I applaud you. Actually I sympathize with you, let me get you some sympathy cookies and a Chesterton book to read instead.
Well in general I'm a pessimist so I'm not sure where the always smiling thing came from in the first place. But on rare occasions some really extreme optimists can get me to see their side of things and I think "You know, maybe life isn't so despressing after all." (Yes. That extra s is supposed to be there. Don't question.) On more amusing occasions some extreme pessimists bring out the optimist in me because I'm a contrary sort of person so I'll become an optimist to play Devil's Advocate. Either way I do enjoy my brief trips into the happy land that is optimism.
You're probably wondering what in the world all this talk about optimism and pessimism has to do with joy. Give me a little time to collect my thoughts; I might be able to explain myself. In one chapter of Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton narrows down the definition of a Christian optimist as not "trying to prove that we fit in to the world" but "(Christian optimism is) based on the fact that we do not fit in to the world." He talks about loving the world in the way you love a friend struggling with a problem, by trying to improve it. He also talks in the next chapter about a great characteristic of saint is their "levity" and "angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."
Sorry, still rabbit trailing.
All right, for the sake of argument: Dictionary.com defines Joy as
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elationHmm. I'm a little skeptical about whether that's an exact definition of what I'm looking for. We're going to move on from my Chesterton tangents and the literal world of dictionaries to the place where I should have started:
John 15:11 "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
What is the Biblical perspective on joy? Well I have absolutely no doubt that many great authors and theologians and pastors and philosophers and everyone else in the world have written volumes on it. I recommend you go find one of their works to read. In the mean time I'm going to hunt out just a few (a very few) occurrences of the word "joy" in the Bible.
The first one that comes to mind?
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
Oookay, joy is facing trials? Not exactly how I would have described it right off. But it's not really an abnormal Biblical definition, Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus "for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame." Now we all know that we're supposed to have the same attitude as Christ and when you think about it that way trials really can be joyful, there is always (and you can quote me on that "always") something bigger and better waiting at the end of the trials we endure for God. In fact that's what the James verse is talking about too if I hadn't purposefully taken it out of context. It goes on to say "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Then we get a list of all the good things that come out of perseverance which ends with receiving "The crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
While I'm at it, do you remember my rabbit trail? That's where my Christian optimism works in here. The joy of the improvements you make to the world you love are what can keep you optimistic, in case you were wondering.
That definition worked out surprisingly well after a rough start, it's the joy of a labor of love. What other instances of joy have I come across? I'm glad you asked.
In the midst of a lot of very distressed (if hopeful) Psalms you every now and then run across some Psalm that is just bursting with joy. Psalm 66 starts out by telling you to shout with joy to the Lord, I can tell you that even when I'm really happy I don't shout too much, I never really was the screaming girl type. But Psalm 66 goes on to list reason upon reason upon reason and they all pile up to some well-deserved shouting. Thirty chapters later in Psalm 96 the trees get in on this and start singing for joy. Now that is some serious joy right there.
Those are some pretty normal ones; I'm going to finish off with the chapter that actually set me off on this tangent. Last night I ran across a less-well-used Psalm that gives a pretty good description of the sensation of joy, if not necessarily how and when and where we're supposed to feel it. Psalm 126 is the chapter in question and as assigned reading (because if you've got this far you might as well just go read those six verses) it's just a really happy Psalm.
So what was the result of this mostly stream-of-consciousness investigation of joy? Nothing really, just sharing some thoughts. My final thought is what I've always felt about joy; that real joy can't come from anything on this normal earth to which we abnormal people belong, it has to come from a much more heavenly source because he loves to share his joy with us so that our joy "may be complete."
If you read through all of that I applaud you. Actually I sympathize with you, let me get you some sympathy cookies and a Chesterton book to read instead.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Perspective of a Homeschooler in College
I have noticed from my Facebook feed that I have an abundance of friends who are homeschoolers just heading off to college or preparing to head off into college. Being the resourceful and extroverted person that I am I see this as an opportunity waiting to be taken. Actually, it is many opportunities waiting to be taken.
1. I can easily share any tips I gather on making the transition from homeschooling to college easier.
2. Through possible comment sections I can maybe gather some tips myself.
3. I can vent my feelings to some possibly sympathetic parties.
There are probably other reasons but those are the ones that occur to me immediately. That's probably telling. ... May have to go look over those reasons again.
In the meantime I can give you my general honest opinion of my first two days of college classes.
My first day was Monday, Rachel and I arrived five minutes before I had to be at my first class, I may be guilty of some jay-walking. I found my first class and discovered that it wasn't exactly what I wanted to sign up for and the teacher wasn't exactly the best at explaining what he wanted from the class. However, when I say that my first class was my worst it's a surprisingly good thing; it wasn't so terrifying that I ran off and didn't want to continue with college. As much as I tend to be a pessimist I have to admit that the worst I have encountered wasn't actually bad. Score one for the optimists.
My second class was very encouraging, the teacher was friendly and humorous and the other students were now awake enough to start acknowledging my presence. Really it's probably a good thing no one tried to talk to me during my first class, apparently morning people are sensible enough to not talk to the general populace. I got a comment on my Perry the Platypus folder, I knew the Phineas and Ferb merchandise was a good idea.
My third and fifth classes are both computer classes and kind of go over my head but I still can't manage to not enjoy them. The teacher is quite likable and funny. It also helps that they're both subjects I'm genuinely interested to learn so putting forth effort to try to figure out html and flash animation and whatever other crazy things there are actually feels like it's worth it.
The fourth class is a music class and is probably my favorite. The teacher has some good stand-up comedy moments and the subject is extremely interesting to me. Also the students there are more involved and talkative, they're a very eclectic group.
Other than classes I have a brief break between the first and the second during which I have an extremely early lunch and read sociology and computer textbooks. To unwind between schoolbooks I read Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton because I'm an abnormal person like that. I also people-watch a lot and someday I'll be outgoing enough to start conversations with the people who look like they're not sprinting to a class late.
Speaking of sprinting I've done a lot of that this week. I looked at my schedule and said "ten minutes between each class?? That's just not possible!" So I watch the clock desperately during each class, getting ready to run as soon as a class is over. The result of my efforts is that I've been early for every class but the first. Apparently ten minutes between each class is enough, silly me.
1. I can easily share any tips I gather on making the transition from homeschooling to college easier.
2. Through possible comment sections I can maybe gather some tips myself.
3. I can vent my feelings to some possibly sympathetic parties.
There are probably other reasons but those are the ones that occur to me immediately. That's probably telling. ... May have to go look over those reasons again.
In the meantime I can give you my general honest opinion of my first two days of college classes.
My first day was Monday, Rachel and I arrived five minutes before I had to be at my first class, I may be guilty of some jay-walking. I found my first class and discovered that it wasn't exactly what I wanted to sign up for and the teacher wasn't exactly the best at explaining what he wanted from the class. However, when I say that my first class was my worst it's a surprisingly good thing; it wasn't so terrifying that I ran off and didn't want to continue with college. As much as I tend to be a pessimist I have to admit that the worst I have encountered wasn't actually bad. Score one for the optimists.
My second class was very encouraging, the teacher was friendly and humorous and the other students were now awake enough to start acknowledging my presence. Really it's probably a good thing no one tried to talk to me during my first class, apparently morning people are sensible enough to not talk to the general populace. I got a comment on my Perry the Platypus folder, I knew the Phineas and Ferb merchandise was a good idea.
My third and fifth classes are both computer classes and kind of go over my head but I still can't manage to not enjoy them. The teacher is quite likable and funny. It also helps that they're both subjects I'm genuinely interested to learn so putting forth effort to try to figure out html and flash animation and whatever other crazy things there are actually feels like it's worth it.
The fourth class is a music class and is probably my favorite. The teacher has some good stand-up comedy moments and the subject is extremely interesting to me. Also the students there are more involved and talkative, they're a very eclectic group.
Other than classes I have a brief break between the first and the second during which I have an extremely early lunch and read sociology and computer textbooks. To unwind between schoolbooks I read Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton because I'm an abnormal person like that. I also people-watch a lot and someday I'll be outgoing enough to start conversations with the people who look like they're not sprinting to a class late.
Speaking of sprinting I've done a lot of that this week. I looked at my schedule and said "ten minutes between each class?? That's just not possible!" So I watch the clock desperately during each class, getting ready to run as soon as a class is over. The result of my efforts is that I've been early for every class but the first. Apparently ten minutes between each class is enough, silly me.
Ridiculous Love
Just a little get to know you lesson about myself before I start writing some random blogging stuff. Note: this is a blog post I wrote back around Easter. When I didn't have a blog.
I’m the one with the really long name, Elizabeth Hope Miracle Wheeler (it’s boring on the ends and exciting in the middle.) I’ve been described as strange and insane. Everything from “crazy” and “brilliant” to “reserved” and “proud of it.” That last could also be “opinionated” and “blunt.” I have very strong opinions and, though I enjoy debating and welcome a good argument, if you disagree with me I’ve also been known to be maybe a little unpleasant when people disagree with me. Maybe. But that's really mostly an exaggeration.
I’m also mostly a geek. If something can be geeky I will make it so (unintentional Star Trek joke.) Usually my blogs will probably be geeky or (I admit it) nerdy, focusing on characters in literature, movies and pop culture and what lessons we can learn from them.
This time, however, I wanted to focus on a topic that has been on my mind lately. It’s more than usually appropriate right now as well since I’m writing this the day before Easter. I’d like to remind you of God’s ridiculously devoted love. You’re probably familiar with the concept of ridiculously devoted love, though you may not realize it.
Have you ever made a present for someone? One of those projects where you spend weeks pouring your whole self into it. Then after all that work you dramatically present your finished project. … After the big moment you barely get a thank you and the recipient goes on with their life. You think to yourself “Wait, that was a huge part of my life, I spent hours and days on that, isn’t your life a little more touched by it?” Mentally you might scratch that person off the top of your gift list, obviously they don’t appreciate your hard work.
Or here’s an example with which pretty much any teenage girl can associate (though maybe you won’t all admit it.) Have you ever liked a guy who didn’t know you existed? Oh that’s just a wonderful feeling isn’t it? (Sarcasm intended.) Better yet when they do know you exist but obviously don’t care that you exist. I really must do a study on why we decide to like such boys.
So think about it this way: God looks at you and says “Man, I really love Elizabeth. I love her so much, with all my heart and I want to express that.” So he says to himself “I’ll give her a gift! I’ll give her a gift so precious and expensive that she can’t possibly not see how much I love her.” He put his whole self inside of a human being and sent him down to earth to live and die and rise again for you, it was the best gift he could have given.
Now what is God’s response? Does he say “Yes! She noticed me!” Or does he say “What? How could she possibly miss the purpose of my gift?” But it’s even more sad if you don’t see his gift at all and that’s not even his only gift. All of creation is his gift to us and it’s constantly declaring the glory and power and love of God! (Romans 1:20.)
If you’ve read any love stories you can see how this has the makings of the best unrequited love story ever. The unnoticed lover who does everything in his power to get the attention of his beloved princess. The question is whether it has a happy ending and the answer is entirely up to you.
But in case you’re interested, you can read the full love story in John 3:16. I can hear you all groaning “Elizabeth, we’ve known that verse since before we could read.” Well try reading it again, it’s a beautiful love story. “For God so loved the world” even though its track record for loving him wasn’t too great. “That he gave his one and only son” his perfect gift to get the world’s attention. “That whoever believes in him” that princess who decides to say yes to his proposal. “Shall not perish but have everlasting life” a very literal and beautiful Happily Ever After.
A final note: This was written for a newsletter aimed at teenage girls. I apologize to any guy readers for the girly descriptions but hey, it still applies to you.
I’m the one with the really long name, Elizabeth Hope Miracle Wheeler (it’s boring on the ends and exciting in the middle.) I’ve been described as strange and insane. Everything from “crazy” and “brilliant” to “reserved” and “proud of it.” That last could also be “opinionated” and “blunt.” I have very strong opinions and, though I enjoy debating and welcome a good argument, if you disagree with me I’ve also been known to be maybe a little unpleasant when people disagree with me. Maybe. But that's really mostly an exaggeration.
I’m also mostly a geek. If something can be geeky I will make it so (unintentional Star Trek joke.) Usually my blogs will probably be geeky or (I admit it) nerdy, focusing on characters in literature, movies and pop culture and what lessons we can learn from them.
This time, however, I wanted to focus on a topic that has been on my mind lately. It’s more than usually appropriate right now as well since I’m writing this the day before Easter. I’d like to remind you of God’s ridiculously devoted love. You’re probably familiar with the concept of ridiculously devoted love, though you may not realize it.
Have you ever made a present for someone? One of those projects where you spend weeks pouring your whole self into it. Then after all that work you dramatically present your finished project. … After the big moment you barely get a thank you and the recipient goes on with their life. You think to yourself “Wait, that was a huge part of my life, I spent hours and days on that, isn’t your life a little more touched by it?” Mentally you might scratch that person off the top of your gift list, obviously they don’t appreciate your hard work.
Or here’s an example with which pretty much any teenage girl can associate (though maybe you won’t all admit it.) Have you ever liked a guy who didn’t know you existed? Oh that’s just a wonderful feeling isn’t it? (Sarcasm intended.) Better yet when they do know you exist but obviously don’t care that you exist. I really must do a study on why we decide to like such boys.
So think about it this way: God looks at you and says “Man, I really love Elizabeth. I love her so much, with all my heart and I want to express that.” So he says to himself “I’ll give her a gift! I’ll give her a gift so precious and expensive that she can’t possibly not see how much I love her.” He put his whole self inside of a human being and sent him down to earth to live and die and rise again for you, it was the best gift he could have given.
Now what is God’s response? Does he say “Yes! She noticed me!” Or does he say “What? How could she possibly miss the purpose of my gift?” But it’s even more sad if you don’t see his gift at all and that’s not even his only gift. All of creation is his gift to us and it’s constantly declaring the glory and power and love of God! (Romans 1:20.)
If you’ve read any love stories you can see how this has the makings of the best unrequited love story ever. The unnoticed lover who does everything in his power to get the attention of his beloved princess. The question is whether it has a happy ending and the answer is entirely up to you.
But in case you’re interested, you can read the full love story in John 3:16. I can hear you all groaning “Elizabeth, we’ve known that verse since before we could read.” Well try reading it again, it’s a beautiful love story. “For God so loved the world” even though its track record for loving him wasn’t too great. “That he gave his one and only son” his perfect gift to get the world’s attention. “That whoever believes in him” that princess who decides to say yes to his proposal. “Shall not perish but have everlasting life” a very literal and beautiful Happily Ever After.
A final note: This was written for a newsletter aimed at teenage girls. I apologize to any guy readers for the girly descriptions but hey, it still applies to you.
Unfortunately For My Writing, A Blog Needs Readers
So I'm sitting at my personal tree on the Mount Union grounds this week thinking "Hey! I'm coming up with a lot of fun ideas and I want to expound upon them to someone!" I'll ask you a question: what does a computer geek do when she wants to express herself and doesn't have a readily available audience? Apparently she creates one for herself in the form of a blog.
Unfortunately for you, the reader, this apparently means that you are the unwitting audience. Surprise! You get to see all of my random thoughts that are too long to be posted on Facebook. (If you've ever seen my Facebook posts you'll know that this is saying a lot.)
The point of this seemingly pointless post is really for me to say "Hi! Welcome to this rambling blog! Hopefully this doesn't just prove your already developed opinion that I'm a little crazy."
Unfortunately for you, the reader, this apparently means that you are the unwitting audience. Surprise! You get to see all of my random thoughts that are too long to be posted on Facebook. (If you've ever seen my Facebook posts you'll know that this is saying a lot.)
The point of this seemingly pointless post is really for me to say "Hi! Welcome to this rambling blog! Hopefully this doesn't just prove your already developed opinion that I'm a little crazy."
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