Austen characters on facebook?

If it were so...

HT Claire Escobar

Consider the Lilies...

Here's a quote I find timely, having spent my Autumn Break this week cleaning out drawers, closets, and hidden spaces in bedrooms, sorting and discarding clothes (mine and the kids):

A man of eighty has outlived probably three new schools of painting, two of architecture and poetry and a hundred in dress. ~ George Gordon, Lord Byron

A Prayer as I Grow Older

There was a time when I would have prayed this for others…now, I'm beginning to see that I need to pray it for myself. I just want to be like my Grandma Morrison when I grow up (okay…old)…the Lord granted her what this dear saint prayed:

Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old.

Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and the love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.

And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell people about it.

For all our sakes,

Amen.

~ A Mother Superior's Prayer

Prince Caspian?

I don’t pretend to be a movie critic. I’m not even a big movie fan. I’d rather read a book. But there are some exceptions, like To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck was the perfect Atticus, and there was little not to like in the movie.

Having read Prince Caspian (and all of Narnia) numerous times (say 15?) since I was twelve years old, the bar for me is admittedly pretty high. Overall, I liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and thought Adamson did a reasonably good job with it. So I was cautiously optimistic about Prince Caspian. I really wanted to like it. I did. Honest.

There were a few things that I really liked:

The river god was cool, very cool.

The trees “waded” through the earth admirably.

The scenery was awesome.

The last line was accurate: “I’ve left my new torch in Narnia!”

(Deep breath here) Now, with apologies to my friends who liked the movie, here a few of my many (to put it mildly) disappointments:

The very cool river god was never explained at all. If you hadn’t read the book, what in the world were you to make of that whole thing?

Reepicheep as a thinly veiled Puss-in-Boots from Shrek…Reep deserved better.

Aslan as a totally absent and detached diety (can’t even say Christ-figure), who has to be fetched by Lucy -- as opposed to followed by Lucy, as Lewis wrote it.

Peter as a sullen, angst-ridden, obnoxious teenager.

Caspian as a sullen, angst-ridden, obnoxious teenager.

Susan as a pouty heroine with a come-hither look, who would NEVER have actually been allowed to fight in a battle by Lewis, only to lead the archers, away from the fray. Lewis didn’t subscribe to the idea of women in battle. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Father Christmas says as much, “…battles are ugly when women fight.” That line, of course, was axed in the first movie.

Trumpkin never did bow and truly submit himself to the Lion, he just gave Aslan a surly and half-hearted look. Trumpkin…one of the most noble characters in the book…where was he? In the book, Trumpkin was Chesterton’s “jolly atheist”…you couldn’t help but love him. Volunteering for a mission which he believed to be in vain, Trumpkin stoutly answered Caspian’s inquiry as to why he was willing to go and look for the expected help from the high past when he didn’t even believe the old stories: “No more I do, Your Majesty. But what’s that got to do with it? I might as well die on a wild goose chase as die here. You are my King. I know the difference between giving advice and taking orders. You’ve had my advice, and now it’s time for orders.” A noble fellow…nothing like the snide and surly character I saw on the screen yesterday. Trumpkin without “Cobbles and kettledrums!” , “Thimbles and thunderstorms!”, “Wraiths and wreckage!”, “Crows and crockery!”??? Only heard one “bedknobs and broomsticks!” or some such…the kids said he did say that same line one more time but I must have missed it.

Worse still, where was the real Caspian, the boy king in whom the old nurse and Dr. Cornelius instilled a love of the truth and the “old things” by telling him the stories of old Narnia, giving Caspian a sense of mission, and giving him the authenticity to make the old Narnians trust him and recognize him as Aslan’s chosen deliverer and rightful ruler? In the movie, I couldn’t help but wonder why in the world the old Narnians would trust such a jerk.

I was fairly certain one of my favorite lines from the book would be left out, but nonetheless, was disappointed to find it gone. Aslan to Prince Caspian, after Caspian voices his shame on learning that he is descended from a race of pirates: "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

My overall impression is that this movie succeeded admirably in being just what Lewis repeatedly criticized in his essays on literature -- a postmodern retooling of the author’s story, thinly veiled chronological snobbery: ”We know oh so much better than Lewis could how to “reach” teens and tweens…our new ways are so much better than your old fashioned ways.”

My teens’ and young adults’ descriptions of this movie mostly involved the word “lame”.

And all of us, quite crestfallen.

Dearly beloved...

Sorry this is the best pic I have of the two of them...seems appropriate that it's with their youngest siblings! Karen and others have much better pics, but I didn't have my camera so handy at the wedding. So, more later.

It was a lovely and spectacular day. It was one of the most picturesque spots I can imagine for a wedding, overlooking a vineyard, and with the Sierras in the distance...topped off by a full moonrise over the vineyard later in the evening. Bride and groom were lovely, happy, and beaming. We are so happy and blessed to have such a sweet new daughter, the perfect wife for our son! It was amazing to watch our son take his solemn vows with this godly and lovely young woman...the baby girl/toddler/child/teen/woman that we have been praying for the last 20 years. God has answered exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we could have asked or desired.

A few more of my pictures:

Groom and Best Man with cigars..

all groomsmen with cigars

handsome group...but they made me cry...where did those little boys with guns go??

Josh and Dad

the rest of us

a big treat...our dear friends (and one set of Joshua's godparents) Kevin and Laura Nary (from our early married days) came from So. CA for the wedding...we had a great time visiting and catching up...haven't seen them in 7 years!! Their grown up kiddos Megan and David (our godson) came too!

Scots Wha Hae

To go along with our reading of The Scottish Chiefs, we're memorizing Robert Burn's "Battle of Bannockburn". Robert Bruce's speech in that poem is the Scottish National Anthem. You can listen to it here, bagpipes and all. You should see E & D recite and act this out on the tramp!

Should I Be Worried?

My 6 year old son’s response to the very sparse description of Laura & Almanzo’s wedding in These Happy Golden Years:

“Awwww, they didn’t even kiss!”

Need Counseling?

For those of you who can't afford or don't want to pay for private counseling, here is a freebie from Bob Newhart.

for Geni...football and movies

Wow, the Redskins won on Sunday. Amazing, huh? (not that I actually watched the game or anything...) And so did the Broncos. Wow.

And, we saw an amazing movie last weekend (really, Geni...a real live movie!). Our pastor does this film night thing, where he invites people from the community to watch a classic movie, and then there's a discussion following. The movie we watched was "Night of the Hunter" with Robert Mitchum...very intense, but a very strong message of redemption. It's not normally the kind of movie I would watch (okay, Geni, most there aren't many movies I ever watch!), but I really loved it, and especially the discussion afterwards. If you haven't seen it, do! But I will warn you, the song "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" will always remind you of this film...but it ends up being one of the coolest things about the movie. It is truly unbelievable that the gospel could be presented so accurately by a man who was trying to discredit the church with this movie.

Love you, dear friend Geni!

A List of Sevens...for fun

1. Seven things to do before I die

1. play my violin well
2. go to Scotland with my husband
3. master Latin
4. read, read, read...so many books
5. grow in loving God with all my heart, mind, soul & strength
6. read the Narnia Chronicles to my grandchildren
7. see all of my children loving and serving Jesus as adults

2. Seven things I cannot do

1. read twaddly books to my children
2. give twaddly books or music as presents
3. sing a solo
4. play the piano in church
5. create fine art
6. ski (anymore...I'm too chicken!)
7. read Hebrew & Greek (but those would be on the top 10 list of things to do...)

3. Seven things that attracted me to my spouse.

1. he's extremely handsome and has beautiful brown eyes
2. he has a great sense of humor
3. he liked Bruce Springsteen (I know, but I wasn't a Christian...)
4. he grew up in the Episcopal church (like me, and that was attractive to me, then & NOW)
5. I liked his parents and sister
6. he was (and is) the nicest guy I ever met
7. he loves me

4. Seven things I say most often

1. life's not fair (or you don't want fair!)
2. are you pleasing God?
3. look at my eyes
4. no
5. I love you
6. get your school done! or stop talking, start working!
7. Hi hungry, I'm mommy or You've NEVER been hungry a day in your life

5. Seven books (or series) I love

1. The Bible
2. The Chronicles of Narnia
3. Anne of Green Gables series
4. anything by George MacDonald
5. A Child's History of the World by V.M. Hillyer
6. Goodnight Moon
7. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

6. Seven movies I love to watch (or would watch over and over if I had the time)
this is very hard. I'd much rather read a book!

1. Sound of Music
2. The Return of the King
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
4. Adam's Rib
5. Heidi
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. Sargeant York

7. Seven people I want to join in, too
Anyone who wants!!

Livy, today's historian

I am copying this from my other blog over at xanga.

I've been reading Livy's Early History of Rome (very, very slowly...not from lack of interest, but lack of time...the story of my life!), and I just LOVE this quote. This is WHY I love history, and WHY we as Christians should love history, and ultimately, WHY we have chosen to home educate our children (which is resulting in MY education, better late than never!)

"I invite the reader's attention to the much more serious consideration of the kind of lives our ancestors lived, of who were the men, and what the means both in politics and war by which Rome's power was first acquired and subsequently expanded; I would then have him trace the process of our moral decline, to watch, first, the sinking of the foundations of morality as the old teaching was allowed to lapse, then the rapidly increasing disintegration, then the final collapse of the whole edifice, and the dark dawning of our modern day when we can neither endure our vices nor face the remedies needed to cure them. The study of history is the best medicine for a sick (or discouraged, according to Mr. Callihan) mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid." (The Early History of Rome, Book I, Lattimore translation, emphasis mine)

Seems like there is nothing new under the sun, huh??

I am also really struck again by God's common grace...revealing truth to this ancient pagan. A pagan, yes, but a very observant and astute pagan. We would do well to heed his warning here in our country and in our own study of history. Reminds me of another excellent quote from the most excellent Author of the ages...

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' (Jeremiah 6:6)

Lord, have mercy on us.

pax,
k