Away

I will be away until July 5. Comment moderation is enabled. Any comments - you are encouraged to leave many - will appear after that.

Have a happy Independence Day in the USA.

I'll be attending Rocky Mountain Honors Camp as a counselor again. Read my series from last year here: Lady of Longbourn: Camp

To God be all glory.

Refocus

"When we exited the museum, walking out into the green trees that line the banks of the Brandywine River, I noticed that the world seemed a different place. The colors appeared to be deeper and perhaps brighter than before. The random ambiguity of the branches of the trees seemed to be pointing to some hidden meaning in life. I began to realize that those few hours of intently looking at the paintings had refocused our eyes, had refreshed our vision. So I encourage you to go the web sites of artists like Makoto Fujimura and Sandra Bowden, open your eye making them available to be refocused so that you can turn and see the world around you in a fresh way. Even as great literarture [sic] teaches us to listen to the world, great art encourages us to look at the world with new eyes." - by Michael Card

What have you seen today?

To God be all glory.

Ramifications

Ram - n. a male sheep or goat, especially with horns.

Ram - v. the act of a ram by which he charges an object or rival ram horns-first.

Ram - v. by extension, any act of heavily-hitting something, particularly with a running start. Can be used of bumper cars or tree-trunks against a medeival gate.

Battering Ram - n. a long log or pole, sometimes headed with something sharp or toothed, used to strike blows against gates of a beleaguered city in order to destroy the gates and gain entrance.

Ramifications - n. the tremors or other consequences of a ram striking something.

Ramify - v. to create consequences like ripples in the water, various and successive

Actually, I didn't use a dictionary for those. This amateur etymologist was reading a book today and found the word ramify, which she likes for being so visual. So imagine her disappointment when she actually looked the words up and discovered that all sources agree that Ramify and Ramifications have nothing to do with sheep. Battering rams are apparently associated with sheep, but the Online Etymology Dictionary doesn't know why.

What the dictionaries say is that Ramify is from a Latin root meaning branch, associated with the Latin root meaning root and seen in Radish. It seems possible that Rams were named for having branches out of their heads. According to the dictionary Ramifications has nothing to do with impact as much as it does territory; it is the branching consequences of an action. Ramify would be similar. I like my description much better, but for etymology to be a science, I suppose there must be evidence.

It has been suggested that Ram, as in the sheep, is associated with a similar word for strong, impetuous, or violent. Since Ram is the shorter word, it seems more likely that the adjectives are metaphorical derivatives of the noun, describing the animal's distinctive behavior.

Also to ponder: rampart - 1583, from M.Fr. rempart, from remparer "to fortify," from re- "again" + emparer "fortify, take possession of," from O.Prov. amparer, from V.L. *anteparare "prepare," prop. "to make preparations beforehand," from L. ante- "before" (see ante) + parare "prepare

ramp - 1) To act threateningly or violently; rage. 2) To assume a threatening stance. 3) Heraldry To stand in the rampant position. [Middle English rampen, from Old French ramper, to rear, rise up, of Germanic origin.]

rampant - adj. 1) Extending unchecked; unrestrained: a rampant growth of weeds in the neglected yard. 2) Occurring without restraint and frequently, widely, or menacingly; rife: a rampant epidemic; rampant corruption in city government.

rampage - 1715, in Scottish, probably from M.E. verb ramp "rave, rush wildly about" (c.1300), esp. of beasts rearing on their hind legs, as if climbing, from O.Fr. ramper (see ramp, also cf. rampant). The noun is first recorded 1861, from the verb.

Hebrew:
07483 ra`mah - thunder; vibration, quivering, waving, mane (of horse)
07215 ra'mah - corals

Quotes of definitions taken from Strong's Concordance as provided by God's Word for Windows, from Dictionary.com, and from Etymonline.com

To God be all glory.

One More Note on Miss Austen Regrets

My favorite part of the movie was when a friend, a married woman came up to Jane and told her that many women needed the encouragement that Jane Austen's books offered. Their love wasn't perfectly romantic anymore, but they could read books. (Lisa insert: maybe the books inspired the women to have a balanced view of love and marriage, or a value and lightheartedness for the friends and family and husbands and wives that they had.) The woman went on to say that God had given Jane Austen her gift for writing so that she could be such an important encouragement in the world - even if it meant that Jane couldn't be married. That way she could still impart her gifts to the world. Jane's life had meaning and purpose.

With all the happily ever afters we all love in Jane Austen's novels, it is encouraging for single girls to occasionally hear a story where the girl doesn't end up with the handsome prince, but her life was still good and worth something. Don't worry; I know my life means something. It is just nice to hear the stories, to see an unmarried life in a romanticist-inspired light.

To God be all glory.

Miss Austen Regrets

During Jane Austen Season on Masterpiece Theater this winter I decided to skip hassling my parents to record on the week when the biopic Miss Austen Regrets was on. If it was like any other biography, it would be very dull. If it was like the other movies, it would be very silly. If it was like Becoming Jane, it would be annoying. Unfortunately, as soon as my chances of viewing it were past, all the Austen fan sites came alive with gentle praise for the movie, and I regretted missing it.

Finally the copy of Sense and Sensibility came from the library, its featured chapter being the hour and a half long Miss Austen Regrets, a wonderful film (immodest women, if that bothers you, which it does me - no brothers allowed) about Jane Austen's views on love and marriage, mostly centering on her advice to Fanny, her niece. It made me think. I watched it on my anniversary, actually, and at first I thought it was rather the wrong choice for that, but then it was such a message of trusting God to do with your life what He wills, even if it isn't marriage - but retaining a high value of marriage that I am reconciled to the decision.

Not being a scholar of Jane Austen's life, I am without criticism of the movie's portrayal of her timeline, words, and actions. I never thought of her as being so flirtatious, but that is because I prefer, like Elizabeth Bennett, to imagine that the people I admire share my values and convictions and that their faults, which all people must be admitted to have, are never those which expose a good understanding to ridicule. I enjoyed the movie very much, especially the parts where Jane was writing Persuasion. The makers of this movie, at least, understood that story.

Cassandra's relationship with her beloved witty sister the author is a fascination to me, and I am always willing to know more of it. One thing brought up by the movie, however, was her brothers. Jane Austen (and Cassandra, of course) had six brothers who played important roles in their lives. Yet the only book Jane wrote where there was any substantial brother role was Mansfield Park, and though his character moves the story when it appears, and though he is dear and inspiring to his sister Fanny, he is really not all that central to the plot. So I wondered why Jane Austen so rarely wrote about what she knew so well: the relationship of brothers and sisters.

Do you ever wonder if Jane wrote Pride and Prejudice about herself and Cassandra - and her namesake was really the better representation? Oh, I suppose outspoken and satirical Jane could never be the quiet and tender Miss Bennett. Perhaps she really would have preferred marriage to Mr. Bingley for herself, though. I agree with Miss Austen Regrets, that Mr. Darcy would not have done for Jane Austen (just as I imagine he would not have done for me, though like all good fans, I adore him).

So now I'm back to reading the Annotated Pride and Prejudice, reveling actually in the comparative necessary openness of the written story as opposed to the famed 1995 Pride and Prejudice that got to so subtly show the change in the hero and heroine. It is so relaxing to ponder what one reads, if it is a good piece of literature. And who that has read Pride and Prejudice could argue that point?

To God be all glory.

Between Storms

This past week has been an answer to my wishes. Too few storms had come to Colorado yet this season. I love to watch a storm out the back window, or from outside if it's not raining (too hard). Now we've had storms the past four days, I think. In between storms my sisters and I took our digital cameras outside and enjoyed the eerie light. We didn't know there would be another storm until we looked up at the clouds and saw this:

How beautiful is that?

In about a week I'll be up at a camp near Estes Park, Colorado. The weather there is beautiful, so I'll be sure to take good pictures and maybe video of that. You can expect lots of thoughts when I get back, too.

Even now the leaves are fluttering energetically above my window, and the sky is too dark for the hour. I love it.

To God be all glory.

Marble Works

One of my favorite games, the very educational and noisy Discovery Toys Marble Works.

Built out of almost two whole sets, my sister and I constructed the tower in the video above.

Some days you have to laugh and play. Aside from magnets, Marble Works is my next favorite game, and I intend to use both in playing with my kids. Other favorite games are Monopoly, Balderdash, Clue, Mastermind, Mad Gab, Taboo, Pente, old Payday, and Dutch Blitz.

To God be all glory.

Today

The zipper on my purse split in two. Not the pull coming off, but the part of the zipper that holds the teeth together so they close when you slide it - that's what broke. The inside part came off of the outside part. I'd never noticed before how fragile it had to be. No wonder zippers break.

Last week I carried around a bunch of books and my wallet and lotion and stuff in a messenger bag they gave us at Awana Summit this year. It's black and orange, which is not my thing. With the amount of books or notebooks I'm always carrying around, I might as well fit them all into one bag, though. For a little while.

Classic black is so sleek and simple and coordinates with almost anything. I had a small backpack purse that could hold a lot without looking too junky or casual. Now I guess I'm back to the backpack until I find a new purse.

Fortunately I'm headed garage saling with my mom tomorrow, so I can look for a new one. Most women buy way too many purses, so they're always selling them off. So people like me get our second hand. My now-dead purse was second hand and has served me heart-breakingly well for several years.

Also today we had a real thunderstorm. There was lightning and rain and hail, clouds moving in two different directions all at sunset. My sisters and I did a photo shoot in between showers so we could catch the roses in the beautiful vivid light. I was doing it with one hand, since I was holding a half-done French braid in the other hand. That's talent for you. But my camera won't take pictures that are an accurate color. I don't know what's wrong, except that I bought a cheap camera.

Now my hair is all French braided. I posted lots of blogs today, and now I'm going to have chocolate ice cream. Good-bye.

To God be all glory.

Money and Ministry

Last night I watched a movie with a friend. On the high quality end of markedly Christian films, Second Chance stars Michael W. Smith, but features urban music and a message one wouldn’t intuitively associate with best-selling pop Christian song artists. Honestly, having given as much thought to the themes of the movie as my friend and I have, we noticed some inconsistent messages.

The main character is Ethan, the son of a megachurch pastor who is hoping, having returned from his prodigal days, to inherit his dad’s church. In the mean time he’s the church’s worship leader – a big job involving worship team, worship band, choir, and orchestra – all while trying to impress the large congregation, television audience, and the board that pays his salary. The church board is in the middle of big money – ahem, stewardship decisions; their television crew has trouble keeping up with changes Ethan makes in the middle of the production commonly considered to be congregational worship. On top of all this the recent public relations spot with the mayor at their mission church in the inner city exposed some resentment in the pastor of that church.

That pastor and his wife, who were saved in prison and off the streets respectively have an incarnational view of ministry. No cross-topped building in the middle of a messed up neighborhood would have reached them with the gospel, so they too are taking the gospel to the people, meeting them on their own turf. They run ministries inside the walls of their church, even hosting women trying to turn their lives around. But the only reason people come to the church is that word has gone out. The waitress at the diner knows the pastor, and so do the local drug pushers and gang members. They know he’s tough and he’s real. To this atmosphere Ethan is exiled on a double mission of punishing his non-compliance and supervising the uncooperative pastor. While the student of clichés knows this is not the smartest course of action, for a long time it seems that Ethan will never learn to leave behind the write-a-check mentality, and the pastor will never accept “Gucci” (Ethan), the son of a man who betrayed the personal side of ministry so that he could provide his son with all the luxuries of life.

Does Ethan live for cameras? Is Church about more than a building? Is money the answer to everything? Does demanding excellence preclude giving grace? Even if you do everything right, will you win every time?

One big theme of the movie, which I’ve mentioned already, is money. When you’re working in the inner city, you don’t necessarily want to throw money at problems. A drug-addict or alcoholic will find a substantial amount of money a huge temptation. Yet only a substantial amount of money would pay the rent they owe, or send them to visit their children and discouraged fleeing wife. The inner city pastor in the movie tosses an empty bottle back to the homeless alcoholic and promises him a sandwich in the park. But he won’t give charity to a man who refuses to support his family because he thinks he’s above the jobs that are available. What’s the common thread?

The call is to invest in the lives of people, not giving them money necessarily, but spending time coaching them, visiting them, praying with them, and giving them an exposition and example of the truth.

But the movie suggests at the same time that the rich white people don’t have problems. It says you have to go to the inner city and face drug rings and prostitution and immigrants to find real need. Ethan says he wanted to serve God where it was comfortable. I argue that serving God is never comfortable; it’s not a matter of location.

If throwing money only enables homeless, addicted, or at-risk people to continue in their sin and ignore their real spiritual need, what are the rich white people but those further along in that trap? And is the call not then to invest in their lives to make them aware of God’s grace (a grace, by the way, made for walking)?

I don’t want to tell anyone to stop giving money. There are real needs, and money does fix some problems. If a family is impoverished because their car and washing machine broke down, or because the father lost the job at the same time that gas prices skyrocketed, or because of uncontrollable medical expenses, then what they need is money and community. Sometimes even those who were at fault need material goods, like sandwiches in the park, as part of a ministry to them.

Writing a check does not fix the problem. Writing a book does not fix the problem. Starting a megachurch does not fix the problem. God saved us to a relationship with Him that is personal and constant. He designed the Church to be a community of personal relationships that is more than weekly and more than small talk. And He designed evangelism to be a literal voice on the streets, as you go, being the salt and light in His world.

To God be all glory.

Two Countries of the USA

Christians occasionally run up against the argument that religious wars recklessly took the lives of thousands of people. Take the Crusades… So of course Christianity is a religion of hate and violence, and it is hypocritical for purportedly teaching about loving one’s neighbor at the same time. Guilt by association is a hard reputation to shed. It is hard for me to have to defend myself over a crime for which I don’t feel guilty, especially when I don’t feel guilty because I wasn’t alive then. I want to be loyal, but consistency and honesty are more important to me.

Pro-life groups have the taint of extremists who bombed abortion clinics. But I didn’t do that or condone that. In fact, I cannot remember a bombing of a clinic in America since I turned 13 and started paying attention. Is murdering millions of babies ok because one of the thousands of protestors was inexcusably destructive?

Zionists have been shamed by a branch of extremists who wanted to use terror to further their cause. In the case of Zionism, as opposed to that of Islam, the difference was that they were condemned by the mainstream. Strategists, leaders, and supporters of the state of Israel sought peaceful means of creating a Jewish homeland. Only once attacked and threatened by hostile (to say the least) neighbors who denied their existence and legitimacy did Israel take a position of miraculous strength, and apply military power.

Committing a crime yourself and framing your enemies for it is classic double-agent strategy. The ultimate example is Emperor Palpatine and the Clone Wars in Star Wars. Or if you’re more for history than fantasy, you might refer to Hitler excusing his invasions of Austria, Czechoslavakia, and separately of Poland. Yes. We’re talking the trigger for World War II.

During our involvement in World War II, America made the distasteful and unjust decision to inter our Japanese civilians in labor camps. In the interest of humble honesty, I always feel obligated to admit that occasionally my country is not defending virtue and liberty. I’m a fan of history, not names and dates so much as the connections of the dots. What were the politics, the motivations, the idealisms that drove countries to war and revolt, to peace and surrender? What little difference in choices would have changed the course of the world?

So I have to note that the president who ordered Japanese interment during World War II was a Democrat. Knowing that makes me feel a lot less responsible. There are almost two countries in this America. They alternate power, a check and balance between irresponsible oppression and defensive freedom. I never realized it before, but I’m more or less loyal to the Republican America.

But.

My Republican America participates and upholds the same Constitution that occasionally puts Democrat America in power. Even if I’m voting against them, I’m still endorsing the system. How much responsibility does that give me?

Some lifestyles are a package deal. For example, I’m learning that to believe Church should be held in homes is a lifestyle. Substituting a gathering in a house doing all the biblical things for the Sunday morning “worship service” in a sanctuary isn’t sufficient. My friends would call the package living missionally. I already believe that Christian community does life together and that the most effective Church in history met more than once a week.

Perhaps another package deal is living in a Republic requires political involvement. I can’t just vote and say I’ve done my part. In fact, for decades under the US Constitution there was no suffrage for women, and their participation in the government had to be more involved and influential than that. They had to do marches and grassroots campaigns. We must do that and more, like paying attention to our representatives in all three branches of government, and proactively holding them accountable. Voting is saying, “Yes, I believe in and endorse this system.” The responsibility, then, is ours to do everything we can to ensure that the system is honorable and efficient.

To God be all glory.