50th post!!!! (...and other things)

Hurrah for the 50th post!!!!!  Thank you to all my wonderful followers who have been with me since August :)  This is a happy day.

-Fun stuff...today I hung out at the Spectrum with a few good Torrey friends...Grace Ciccarello, Amy Van Vlear, Tim Chan, and Cree McCook.  Amazing times...isn't torrey fun when you can hang out with great friends...and yet you haven't seen them above 3 or so times?

-Christmas is almost over...today is the 5th day of Christmas for those of you who weren't counting.

-A new bedspread can make your whole room look different.  Everything suddenly looks brighter because of my new quilt!

-It's been getting warmer and warmer...almost warm enough for new rainbows!!!

Hurrah for randomness, yes?

After Christmas Shopping

Hurrah for gift cards!!!  I went to Borders this morning and bought Manalive-GK Chesterton, Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy, and Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte.  All very excellent books which I'm looking forward to re-reading!!!  After I finish deToqueville, that is...and my term paper...:)

Soundtrack to My Life-Part 10

I know this is a day late...but c'mon, yesterday was Christmas :)  So I am excused...but here we go!  A good amount of this music will be a compilation of favorite Christmas music and new music that I received...happiness!!!!

1) Someone Else's Arms-yes, Mae again...but really, they write such gorgeously beautiful music...and their theory that music should be engaged with all 5 senses...and the artwork in The Everglow...I just love this line from the song "I've got the feeling it's not the safest place to start.  This heavy breathing, it seems we're better off breaking hearts."....some of their lyrics are just like poetry :)

2)Everything-Michael Buble-I really like this guy, got 3 of his CDs for Christmas...such a sweet song and his music is perfect for Foundations reading since it's fun and light but not too distracting ;)  

3) Joy to the World/For Unto Us A Child Is Born-Amy Grant...For Unto Us is my absolute favorite part of the Messiah...and Amy Grant, as usual, does a splendid version of it

4) I'll Be Home For Christmas-Josh Groban-my absolute favorite non-Christian christmas song of all times...such a touching song...and such a gorgeous voice

5) The Sun and the Mon-Mae :)  Such beautiful lyrics...a lot of really good songs esp. from Waking Ashland seem to use the vocals/lyrics as merely another instrument, to blend with and add to the music but often take back stage...but with Mae, and this song especially, the song is like musical poetry, the words blend with and are surrounded by music but the words speak to you separately, they have their own meaning apart from merely sounding good with the music...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas, and God bless you all!!!!!   Remember Christ's amazing love to us during this special day!  You all are wonderful!  Have a very very merry Christmas!

Pictures of PJ's Abbey

Here they are!  More pictures!

Beauty in the Modern Church-part 2

To continue on this topic from a few days ago...this afternoon I took Sarah to lunch at a charming restaurant in Old Town Orange called PJ's Abbey.  Formerly a Victorian Baptist Church built in 1891, it is now an American style restaurant.  It was absolutely gorgeous :)  and I should be able to get some pictures up later today.  For now, here's the description that I wrote while there.

A restaurant in a church.  Strange, you say?  Almost as strange as a church housed within a warehouse, perhaps.  Though clearly a restaurant, with tables and chairs for a cozy meal, waiters bustling round, and cheery holiday music playing, the building still retains a very churchy atmosphere.

Spectacular stained windows tower of the room, reflecting the little bit of sun that shines through on this cloudy day.  A rather small and simple church, much care has been put into its design nonetheless.  High arched windows and a lofty ceiling draw one’s attention upwards to heaven.  Even the wooden beams supporting the antique architecture are carved with a simple, yet elegant picture, showing the amount of work put into each detail of the church.  Both older and more modern artwork adorn the walls in charmingly distressed wooden frames.  The needlepointed chairs, wooden benches resembling old pews, artwork, and indeed every detail, enhance the atmosphere of the old country church.  

Every detail serves a purpose, but every detail is made beautiful as well.  Here there is no division of the practical and the beautiful.  Here there can be seen no schism between functionality and artistry.  Take the old pulpit, for example.  Once it stood at the head of the church, as a stand for the preacher.  Now, it stands as a podium at the entrance to the restaurant.  Yet it is not only a purposeful tool, but a beautiful piece of artwork.  Here and throughout the restaurant/church is this mentality reflected; that a thing can be both useful and ornamental.  

Pictures of Cornerstone

The front of the building, with lovely palm trees reflected in the windows.  Looks very nice, and streamlined, but you can definitely tell that it was not always a church.  
The front entry hall and staircase, from the upper floor.  Clean lines, and angles, and I like the paint colour ;)
The church's theater.
Coffee shop right outside the main sanctuary. And actually I really like both the paint colours and the artwork on the wall.  The coffee shop is actually my favorite part of the whole church, design/artistry wise.
And here we have the main sanctuary...very big, open, huge stage.  This picture doesn't really give you much of an idea of the size...but it is big...very big.  

Beauty in the Modern Church-part 1

As many of you already know, right now is Term Paper season in Torrey.  This quarter for my term paper, I've decided to write on the use of beauty within church buildings, and how we ought to make our sanctuaries more beautiful to reflect the glory of God and inspire men to worship Him.  To better write this term paper, I have and will be visiting several churches, both modern and ancient, to compare what I consider to be beautiful, and not beautiful (and also as proof that the type of church I write about in my paper really does exist).  Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege of visiting Cornerstone Church in Anaheim, touring the campus and taking pictures.  So below is what I wrote after seeing the campus, as well as a few of the about 40 pictures I took ;)

Cornerstone, a perfect picture of a contemporary church building.  Once a warehouse used to house a computer company, it now houses a congregation fo vibrant and active believers.  The main sanctuary especially is a reflection of the modern, functional style seen throughout the rest of the vast building.

Painted a neutral beige, the concrete wall stretch up to a silver lined sky.  Wooden beams and lighting wires criss-cross the insulation covered ceiling in an intricate pattern of shapes and angles.  Spotlights and speakers hang dow from the ceiling, making no attempt to conceal themselves. Rather, the various technical tools flaunt themselves as if they were proud of their purpose without pulchritude.

The entire sanctuary, laid out in a simple square, seems to be al angles, hard walls, and vast open spaces, and does nothing to hide its former purpose.  It is as if they (who is they?) are proud of their modern functionality and practicality, but could there be more?  Could beautifully designed sanctuaries, soaring stained glass windows, and ornately gilded molding be more than merely superficial ornaments?

This use of beauty in worship spaces is not only more appealing, it is downright essential.  The church, the actual building, is the place where the body of Christ gathers in worship, and the one place more than any other where God is present on earth.  If one’s church is the home of the God Most High, does the church not owe to God the very best home that they can give Him?  Do they not owe to Him a home that is worthy of His majesty and reflects His glory?  

And pictures will be coming in the next post :)

Soundtrack to My Life-Part 9

Hurrah for more lovely music

1) a nice snippet from one of my favorite Christmas songs...as soon as I find exactly what I'm looking for there'll be more of that song.

2) Banana Pancakes-first heard this song in the DR...so fun :)

3) White Horse-while Taylor Swift has behaved like too much of a drama queen with this song, I can really relate sometimes

4) Dare You To Move-great switchfoot song, great lyrics, amazing band :)

5) Grown Up Christmas List-one of my favorite Amy Grant songs, so sweet and so true

7 Things

No, this isn't a blog post about Miley Cyrus.  Rather, on Gabriel's previous suggestion, this is a post of things I love (and hate) about Christmas.  We'd rather end on a happy note, right?  So let's start off with the 7 things I hate about Christmas

1) More stress.  nuff said

2) worrying who to buy gifts for, and the possibility of not having a gift for someone who has one for you, or getting someone a gift when they weren't expecting one from you and having it turn into an awkward situation...

3) cheesy or annoying christmas music (Hippopotamus Song) playing consistantly on the radio.

4) not being able to find what you want at a store because someone bought it for their cousin Lina

5) super sappy emotional sentiments, when everyone believes that people will be nice now, because it's Christmas

6) Two whole weeks without schoolwork...so boring. (kidding about this one, mostly ;)

7) not being able to figure out what to give your dad since he already has 5 of the same tie that you've given him for 5 years in a row (I haven't actually done that, but serious, what do you get parents who can't possibly use any more stuff?)

And now, for 7 things I love about Christmas...

1) Christmas trees!

2) Decorating houses, trees, cookies, anything really :)

3) Christmas music...so many good songs out there :)

4) food...eggnog, gingerbread, peppermint, etc. the list goes on

5) a time to let go of external worries and focus on family and Christ

6) traditions such as advent, opening christmas pjs on christmas eve, 

7) pondering torreyish questions such as the incarnation of Christ, why Christ came the way He did, etc...

I could go on and on forever with this list, Christmas is such a wonderful time!

A Thought

Last night, I had an interesting conversation with my mother regarding my blog address, inquisitive inkblot. A bit of background information first...we were talking about various people from bubbs whom I had recently met.  I mentioned that since developing relationships with people online I had begun to pay much more attention to the look of words, almost as much as the sound.  In addition I had started associating people with their fonts/colours, so it was interesting to meet them and see whether or not they matched up with their fonts.  

In the course of this discussion I happened to mention that it was especially fun online to type out the abbreviations for the class names, FAT and FOOF.   And then of course inkie or inkblot, which isn't as fun though.  In mentioning inkblot, my blog title came up.  My mom pointed out the fact that I was no longer an inklings student, and therefore perhaps the name was not quite as appropriate anymore.  I considered this for a moment, but then realized...the only other alternative in that case, would be to rename my blog "inquisitive FAT student"  Because I'm used to seeing FAT written out, I never really thought about how it actually sounded until I said it...wow.  We were both laughing about that one for quite a while. 

So how bout it?  Anyone thing I should rename my blog? ;)

Soundtrack to My Life-Part 8

Yes today is Thursday, and Thursday means more music...perhaps some day I should switch it to Monday so that I get to use alliteration more :)  But for now...it's Thursday.

1) All I Want For Christmas- yes it's Mariah Carey...but its such a fun christmas song!  :)  It's so catchy and easy to get in your head...and whatever you may say, it's a million times better than I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas ;)

2) Elgar's Cello Concerto-and I know I already listed this several weeks ago...but you didn't get to hear it...so if you've never heard it, listen to it now and tell me if that melody isn't just the most haunting painfully beautiful music you've ever heard.

3) The Ocean-another beautiful Mae song with gorgeous lyrics...I wish I could write poetry like that..."I need you here tonight just like the ocean needs the waves"  mmm beautiful

4) Chopin Ballade #1-beautiful Chopin...Chopin's good...but Chopin ballades are amazing...this is spectacular compared to his nocturnes, which are good but not fantastic.

5)  O Holy Night-Josh Groban-favorite christmas carol, favorite artist, what more could you ask for?

Merry Christmas!!!

What is Love?

Why is love so elusive?  Every time I think I have it within my grasp, every time I think I have a concrete answer, it slips away.  It evades me and seemingly disappears, only to appear again when I have given up hope that it is true.  Is this complicated dance all there is of life?  Weaving in and out, searching back and forth and only occasionally catching glimpses of what could be?  If I grasp now, I may lose it forever...but if I wait, it may never come back.  Where are you love?

A Sonnet to SATS

Hello all,

And especially hello to Emily Oh, who encouraged me to post my sonnet on this blog.  Actually though Emily, this was not the sonnet I had intended to post, but rather one that I wrote this morning.  THis morning...I had to take my SAT...all the reading/writing sections were far too easy for a Torrey student so I ended up sitting there for half the time with nothing to do.  In those empty boring periods...I wrote this sonnet.

Bright morning time, I wake to loud alarm

It's Saturday, to sleep and stay in late

But then I recollect to comfort's harm

The day has come at last which most I hate

My SAT test, dreaded time has come

And i must spend my weekend doing math

And writing essays, filling bubbles-sums

And grammar, reading, charts and words and graphs.

I know if I would go to THI

Foul beast must be attacked with all my strength

And so I take my pencils, heave a sigh

And start the test, undaunted by its length

I watch the clock creep slowly by, till rest

Shall be all mine at end of dreaded test.

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 7

Hello all...sorry this is late...I was out at a gloriously amazing lecture on poetic form through Shakespeare's formal poetry last night by the amazingly brilliant Mr. Bartel (or Timothy Evan Bartel for those of you who were there ;)

So here we go...and no Tim I still haven't put them online for you to listen to yet...I have fun describing the songs and making you look them up yourselves ;)  Or maybe I'm just lazy...

1) Sing Me To Sleep-Waking Ashland...one of my new favorite groups...they remind me a lot of Mae, except not quite as light and fantasy like, a bit darker and more realistic...but they have the most beautiful piano sound...there are so many songs that I love so I'll show restraint by only listing two of my favorites.

2) All Hands on Deck-also by Waking Ashland...I've actually started picking out the piano part to this one :)

3) Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring-the Amy Grant version...such a beautiful Scottish sound to it :)  

4) Carol of the Bells-Manheim Steamroller (I know I spelled Manheim wrong...deal with it)

5)That's How You Know-Enchanted soundtrack...love this movie, especially after the Dominican ;)  Is good.

and this week I'm doing something different and also giving you one song that I have heard far too many times this week and now hate...I want a hippopatamus for Christmas...i am so sick of that song...and it gets stuck in your head so easily...now i'll go listen to waking ashland to get it out of my head...

*edit-I have now put songs on my blog...and I actually figured it out all by myself :)

It's been a long time...

...since I've blogged.  So I thought I'd just take the time to remind you all...CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON!!!!!   I love this time of year...the smells of cookies, hot cocoa, pine trees, cranberries, candles, etc.  The sounds of bells ringing, music playing-I could devote a whole post to my love for Christmas music-children laughing, shoppers buying presents for their loved ones.  The wonderful foods-10 thousand types of Christmas cookies, peppermint bark, candy canes, eggnog, spiced cider.  

Yes, I love Christmas.  Every year, we follow the same traditions, yet it never feels boring or monotonous.  I wonder why?  In most other things, we prefer originality and creativity over routine and formula...but during the holidays, we follow a strict pattern set out for us by our forefathers.  We set up the Christmas tree and decorate it just so, we always open stockings in our pajamas before breakfast and Christmas gifts after breakfast, we always get to open new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve, we always use the same advent wreath on Sundays and read from the same devotional...and so many more traditions that our family follows.  What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?  And why do we follow them almost religiously?

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Happy Thanksgiving all.  Thank you Lord...

-for my family

-for all my wonderful friends

-for a roof over my head

-for Torrey Academy

-for Starbucks

-for good music

-for blogs

-for your everlasting love

-for church and school

-for rain

...and for so many other things you have blessed me with, even though I deserve none of it.  

Rejoice!

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 6

Hello all!

I know you've missed these, haven't you?  How in the world did you survive two whole Thursdays without an update to this playlist?  Haha I hope you managed alright.  I shan't keep you in suspense any longer, so without further ado...

1) Breakdown-Jack Johnson...thank you and happy smiles to Cree for introducing me to this song...very fun sounding, makes me sorta happy meloncholyish to listen to.

2) Bueno Es Alabar-we sang this song more than anything else when we were in the Dominican Republic

3) Lovebug-Speechless...every time our missions group looked at our team t-shirts, the girls would all start singing ;)

4) Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2-another song introduced to me by a friend...beautiful beautiful beautiful.  Need I say more?

5) Feelin Groovy-Simon and Garfunkle...reminds me of Miss Romero :)  

Found Poetry

While hunting for a journal to take with me on my trip to the Dominican, I found two very happy surprises in the journal I ended up taking...poetry!!!  I don't remember how long ago I wrote it, but I do know that it was last summer (summer 2007) or later.  So have fun with this :)

This first one...I think I wrote it summer 2007 while in Big Bear scrapbooking with some girlfriends.  We stayed in my grandma's cabin in the middle of the woods...hence the natureish imagery.

Aviarium

Meandering among the lofty pines

Soars the one I long to follow

Soars the free, high flying swallow

But every day my soul remains

I must stay put, or lose my way

Among the woods, or flying high

Come too near to the sun and die

But on the ground I can not stay

Though I have lost my vision clear

And wander through the woods so brown

My spirit still pulls up not down

Though I know not that pull so dear

My true love still calls out to me

But I with wandering ears heed not

And lose my way midst piney knots

And brambles placed to ensnare me

My heart hears not the strains of Love

For it has left Love for another

But when the storms come, still seeks cover

From an umbrella from above

My soul, though tis unfaithful still

Dost sometimes strive to find true love

And finding, rests in nest of dove

While ceasing restless pulse of will

This second one, I remember vaguely it having some sort of back story...perhaps a dream, or an image that flashed into my head?  I don't know...the interesting thing though is to see how many similar strains I still see in poetry I wrote this summer.  I wonder if that means I haven't matured much in my writing since then?  Hmm, scary thought.

Mountain

The gulls cry, beckoning

Me upwards and onwards tonight

I dance in the waves on the seashore

Climbing up through the clear moonlight

Though twilight and starlight I run

Ever searching for that sound

For that voice which calls to me

The song in my head doth resound

A song of hope and of despair

A melody of joy but bought so dear

The price of joy, who can say

The search for that answer brings me here

And so I climb most carefully

Up the mountain to seek myself

And as myself the only question

More vital to me than wealth or health

But though I ask persistently

No answer doth to me come forth

and so I’m left alone again

In lack of love, to question worth

Who am I?  And do I matter?

Does my existence count at all?

I ponder these things, my heart is heavy

And stepping off the cliff, I fall

We're over here by Qwerty to talk about what we've learned today....

...and so what we have learned, applies to our lives to say, and God has a lot to say in His book!  We know that God's word is for everyone, and now that our song is done let's take a look.

:)  Fun stuff, right?  But I think Veggie Tales did get something right...it's important to step back and look at what we've learned after we've experienced something.  Especially in the case of something so busy as my missions trip, it's easy to get caught up in doing doing doing, which was what we were there to do, after all.  But now that I'm home and it's all over, now is a good time to look at a few of the things I've learned.

1) One of the biggest things I learned is to just let go and let God be in control of everything.  Partly because of oldest child syndrome, partly just because it's my nature, I feel a big need to be personally responsible for a lot of people, to be personally responsible that everything runs smoothly.  For the most part, I knew on a big trip like this I couldn't have everything under control...but I made it an especial point to watch out for a few close friends.  Well, Tuesday night as many of you may know, 7 girls came down with stomach flu related illnesses and had to go to the hospital, one of my best friends Amy among them.  I had done my best to look out for her during the trip...but when she got sick, I just couldn't handle it.  Someone I loved was in pain and there was nothing I could do.  Looking back on it though, I think that God was saying "Let go of the reins Elizabeth.  Everything is in my hands, you don't have to be responsible for it all."  It was a hard lesson to learn...but a very crucial one as well.

2) Prayer. Is. Powerful.  This was a time when we needed prayer desperately...and it came.  There were so many instances where we prayed and I could see God working...so I'll just share two.  First, one of the girls in our group who went to the hospital, Alli, was really sick still the next morning when we needed to come home, and the doctor said she wouldn't come out of the hospital to come home with us.  One of the men in the church who runs the orphanage and school came and prayed for her...said "She's coming home today" and just poured out his heart to God...and she came home with us and is perfectly fine now.  Amazing.  The other thing...Tuesday night when everyone was getting really sick was really stressful for all of us...I was really exhausted and upset, breaking down sobbing, and for those of you who know me...I never cry.  Ever.  So it was a big deal.  I got home, and one of my friends told me, "You know, I just felt the need to pray for you on Tuesday night, I don't know why but I did."  Amazing once again, how he felt the need to pray just when I, and the group needed it most.

So much more that i could tell you about, but don't have time or room.  It was an absolute amazing trip, God did miraculous things.  If you want pretty pictures... Dominican Pictures are here :)  Check them out, leave happy comments :)  

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Dominican Trip

For the past several weeks, as many of you may know, I have been frantically scurrying around preparing for an upcoming missions trip to the Dominican Republic.  Well, finally the day has arrived!!!!  Tonight, at around 10PM, a group of 18 youth and 7 adults from my church, including my mother and myself, will be leaving on a plane for Monte Plata, in the Dominican Republic.  

Rebekah Holbrook, the sister of our high school pastor, has been a missionary with Kids Alive in Monte Plata for the past two years, so we'll be working with her over the next week.  She is heavily involved not only with an orphanage which she runs, but also the school and church in the town, so we'll be doing a lot of work with all three: orphanage, school, and church.  While there, we have planned...one day VBS program, Speechless presentation (in Spanish), door-to-door outreach, kids/youth outreach, work projects, Date Nights for house parents in the orphanage, church involvement, school involvement, and more.  So as you can see, it will be a extremely busy week.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we prepare to serve the Lord through loving others.  If you would pray that...

-our team would draw closer together and show that we are Christians by our love for each other

-the flights would go smoothly and no luggage would be lost (we're bringing 15 extra suitcases with food and props/costumes)

-the Lord would give us the strength to fight the spiritual darkness

-each of us would grow spiritually

-that we would share the love of Christ with others by developing relationships with them

I will be sure to give an update (complete with pictures!!!) when I return home.  While I am gone, though, you can check out our group blog www.dominicanupdates.blogspot.com as well as Rebekah's blog www.web.mac.com/tiarivka/Site/Blog/blog.html 

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth 

Baptism

Exciting times!!!  Last night, my dad, mom, brother, and I were baptized...in our jacuzzi in our back yard.  Probably one of the most unorthodox baptisms I've ever heard of, but it was an amazing experience.  Pictures will be coming shortly, as soon as I can get them here on the laptop.  But here's a little something I wrote in my journal this morning...:)

"Baptism...last night, in obedience to the commands of Christ, Mom, Dad, Josh, and I were baptized.  It's weird though, how dunking someone underwater can come to be such a profound symbol of the Christian faith.  IT's as if, when we go under the water, we're dying and being buried with Christ, and then being resurrected again, as he was.  Not only that, but our old natures, full of sin and pride, are dying and we are raised again new creatures.  New creatures with new hearts.  And this is what I want.  Through my baptism, I want to publicly declare that "I once was lost but now am found."  I am a fully committed, born again believer.  I know, that I can not be righteous by my own works.  And so, I want to give my life anew to Christ.  Not my will but HIs be done in my life.  Here I stand, so help me God.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost,

Amen."

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 5

Hello all,

Sorry this is late, yesterday was a pretty busy day/evening :)  Thank you lovely Faith online kids for letting me sit in on your class!!!

1) Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto-:)  That's pretty much all I can say...so beautiful.  Must listen again.

2) Soli Deo Gloria-new worship song we're learning for this Sunday, very pretty esp. with the latin

3) Eye of the Tiger-fun song which we're using for a David and Goliath skit in the Dominican

4) Breath of Heaven-Amy Grant...yes I know it's a Christmas song, so what?

5) Viva La Vida-Coldplay

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

The Last Hero

Today in class, Mr. Bartel read us a very lovely poem by Chesterton which got me to thinking about a lot of things.  Below is the poem, and below the below will be some of my thoughts.  

The wind blew out from Bergen from the dawning to the day,
There was a wreck of trees and fall of towers a score of miles away,
And drifted like a livid leaf I go before its tide,
Spewed out of house and stable, beggared of flag and bride.
The heavens are bowed about my head, shouting like seraph wars,
With rains that might put out the sun and clean the sky of stars,
Rains like the fall of ruined seas from secret worlds above,
The roaring of the rains of God none but the lonely love.
Feast in my hall, O foemen, and eat and drink and drain,
You never loved the sun in heaven as I have loved the rain.

The chance of battle changes -- so may all battle be;
I stole my lady bride from them, they stole her back from me.
I rent her from her red-roofed hall, I rode and saw arise,
More lovely than the living flowers the hatred in her eyes.
She never loved me, never bent, never was less divine;
The sunset never loved me, the wind was never mine.
Was it all nothing that she stood imperial in duresse?
Silence itself made softer with the sweeping of her dress.
O you who drain the cup of life, O you who wear the crown,
You never loved a woman's smile as I have loved her frown.

The wind blew out from Bergen to the dawning of the day,
They ride and run with fifty spears to break and bar my way,
I shall not die alone, alone, but kin to all the powers,
As merry as the ancient sun and fighting like the flowers.
How white their steel, how bright their eyes! I love each laughing knave,
Cry high and bid him welcome to the banquet of the brave.
Yea, I will bless them as they bend and love them where they lie,
When on their skulls the sword I swing falls shattering from the sky.
The hour when death is like a light and blood is like a rose,-
You never loved your friends, my friends, as I shall love my foes.

Know you what earth shall lose to-night, what rich uncounted loans,
What heavy gold of tales untold you bury with my bones?
My loves in deep dim meadows, my ships that rode at ease,
Ruffling the purple plumage of strange and secret seas.
To see this fair earth as it is to me alone was given,
The blow that breaks my brow to-night shall break the dome of heaven.
The skies I saw, the trees I saw after no eyes shall see,
To-night I die the death of God; the stars shall die with me;
One sound shall sunder all the spears and break the trumpet's breath:
You never laughed in all your life as I shall laugh in death.

Beautiful, yes?  This picture of a man abandoned by country and lover, pursued by enemies, fighting, falling, dying.  And all the while, he rejoices.  He finds more beauty in the rain, in the abandonment, in his death, than we can find in light and life and love.  Chesterton shows us an amazing picture of the relationship between beauty and love here perhaps.  This man sees the true beauty that is in the world, and loves it all.  Perhaps...do we need to see a thing as it truly is before we can truly love it?  

So maybe you read this and say, "Beautiful?  What?  This girl has a pretty twisted of beauty if she thinks that a lost and lonely man dying alone in a fight is beautiful."  But are you looking at the world properly then?  There is beauty all around you, in the light and in the shadows, in the sun and in the rain, in the smiles and the frowns, in life and in death.  Look around you!  See the beauty in the world!  Love more truly!  Rejoice!

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 4

First off...I know this is late.  :(  I'm sorry everyone...but life happens, and I couldn't get to this yesterday.

Secondly...I know this announcement is also late, but I want to celebrate the last post as my 25th on this blog!!!!!  Hooray!!!!!  *balloons and confetti fall*

Alright, and now for the songs...

1) We're So Far Away-by Mae...thank you thank you thank you Amy for getting me into Mae, they are so beautiful, and there are so many of their songs that I could put onto this list :)  But I will show restraint and only do two.

2) Bach's 2nd Fugue from the Well Tempered Klavier-I have more of a love/hate relationship with this song...it's a very good fugue, but I'm having to learn and memorize it for Certificate of Merit this year, which tends to make me hate perfectly good songs :(

3) The Cure for Pain-Jon Foreman

4) The Ocean-by Mae

5) Awesome is the Lord Most High-Christ Tomlin; and actually yesterday, I just read the psalm that inspired this song...Psalm 46 or 47, I believe.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Suffering

Last night during family devotions, we read the first chapter of 1 Peter.  One verse that especially stood out to me was verse 7.  

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed."  (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV)

I think it's interesting that frequently we as Christians pray to God that our trials may be taken away, and that He would take us out of the valley of the shadow of death so that we may go on our way rejoicing and be merry little Christians for the rest of our lives.  But Peter counters that view very effectively here.  He makes it quite clear that we have to suffer trials, in order that our faith may be proved genuine, and that God may be glorified.

Sometimes yes, we suffer because Satan is tempting us as he did Job.  Sometimes, we will suffer because of our own human stupidity and fallen nature.  But always, these sufferings are meant to make us grow, to purify our hearts and burn away everything that is not of God.  Therefore, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!

What is love?

...baby don't hurt me.  A rather commonplace trivial answer to one of the most important questions that this inkblot has ever sought to wrap her head around.  

Yesterday in Foundations, Mr. Bartel read to us 1 John 4:7-12.  Love...does this passage reveal something to us about what it is, how we should show it, why we do it?  

God is love...what does this mean?  When I love, does that mean that I am giving God to someone?  If I love, then God abides in me, and His love is perfected in me...how can God's love be perfected in me?  If God's love is perfected in me...perhaps that means that the more I love truly, the more I will be able to love truly.  But, how do you truly love?

Is love self-sacrifice?  Is it sharing?  Is it God?  Or something more?  Love is not merely an emotion, yet it is not merely actions devoid of all feeling.  It is a choice, but sometimes we don't want to love.  

Love requires not just our hearts, not just our hands, not just our heads, but all three in combination.  Love is a feeling, a decision, an action...love must be an act of the whole soul.

Love...is an amazing thing.  Often, it hurts to love others.  When we give someone ourselves, they will hurt us, they will fail us, they will reject us.  Yet God still commands us to love one another.  Sometimes we love out of selfish motives...we think that if we just show enough love to this person, they'll love us back and we'll be accepted and safe.  Sometimes what we think is love is really shallow emotions or trivial affections.  

But still...we love.  Because when we do, something beautiful happens.  When we love one another, God is made manifest in us.  When we love, God's love is perfected in us, and we are able to love even more.  I don't know what love is, or what it is like, or why or how I am able to love.  But this I know..."Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 

-1 John 4: 11

Round Table of Truth

Hello all wonderful friends!

Thank you for your wonderful and encouraging comments on the last few posts.  I am very proud of you all for rising to the occasion :)  

As some of you may know, I lead a discussion group once a month on Thursday nights, which sadly has been somewhat sporadic as of late.  However, we recently began discussing G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, which I think shall prove to be a wise switch.  After a suggestion from a friend and some careful consideration on my own, I decided to head up another blog to go along with this discussion group.  The address is The Round Table of Truth so please, head on over there and check it out.  If you can't make it to the discussion group but would still enjoy something of this sort, please let me know and I'll add you as an author to the blog so that we can all benefit from your brilliant ideas.  The more the merrier, especially in blogging, right?  

I'll be trying to post something before and after every discussion, and please feel free to add any of your thoughts on either discussions or the book in general.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 3

Hello everybody, and welcome to the weekly "Soundtrack to my Life!"  Confetti falls, hooray!!!

1) Amazing, Because It Is-by the Almost-wonderful song, and my new favorite Speechless pantomime

2) Beethoven's 21st Piano Sonata-especially the third movement.

3) How to Save A Life-The Fray-ask me about Tim Chan's parody of this, it's amazing

4) Save the Last Dance for Me-Michael Buble

5) Nessun Dorma-performed by Paul Potts

To Comment or Not to Comment?

Is this seriously the question you all ask when  you read a blog post?  Do you sit there and deliberate...well on the one hand if I comment it will make this person very happy, but on the other hand I have nothing to comment about, but on the other hand I don't really have to have much to say, but on the other hand...etc.   

Well then, cease your deliberation and comment please!  For those of you uninitiated few who are just now beginning to learn the delights of blogging, let it be known that we bloggers thrive on comments...the more you comment, the more you shall write.  

And so I have decided to take a leaf out of Joycelyn's www.hebegebes.blogspot.com and Jane's www.janeandellen.blogspot.com books and go on temporary strike!

But when I return to this blog is all up to you my dear readers.  When I have recieved five comments on this or other posts, then I will begin to write again.  And it's make me even happier if you'd comment to tell me what you'd like me to post in my blog.  So comment away!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

 

Speechless...

was. absolutely. amazing.  Seriously, it was totally a God thing the way last night went.  Bit of a background story...our youth group has put together a series of pantomimes set to various songs that performed together tell the gospel message.  (www.speechlessoc.com)  Last night we went up to a Hispanic church in Lancaster to perform the program in Spanish there.

From the start of the long drive up, everything seemed to go wrong.  We had crazy directions that took us through Angeles Forest on impossibly windy roads, and got there between 1/2 hour and an hour later than we had planned.  There were major tech problems with lighting, audio, video, and just about everything.  At 6:30 (1/2 hour before scheduled start time) they had just gotten the entire program to play through without skipping or stopping for the first time the entire afternoon.  We started behind time by at least 1/2 hour.

And then...there were the pantomimes themselves.  At the beginning, every thing seemed to go ok, but by the time we got to the third pantomime, things started happening...timing was off by 30 seconds or more, people missed their cues, props were lost, etc.  

As our leader later said, from a performance standpoint this was by far the worst performance we've ever had.  From a performance standpoint, that is.

But God was definitely working last night through all the trials we encountered.  Talking to people afterwards, it was easy to see how much God was able to use us to work in the hearts of others.  It was a hard lesson to learn, but a good one...that God can use even our most messed up attempts to serve him, and moreover, that God is most exalted when we are most humbled.

Which is why Speechless was so absolutely amazing.

A Rather Queer Occurance

Well, today something rather strange happened, though I'm still not quite sure what.  To begin with, my dad took Josh and I into the doctor's early this morning (as in 7AM) to get our blood tests.  Last time I was in for a blood test was between two and three years ago, so it's been quite a while.  But still, I wasn't too concerned.  I remembered that it wasn't too painful, they'd just take out the blood and be done with it.  

So we go in, wait around a while, and finally get our blood drawn.  I go up there and sit down, the guy takes the blood out, and I'm done.  While I'm waiting for my brother, I go lean up against a table because I'm feeling a bit light headed and queasy.  Gradually, the world begins to recede from view as the ringing in my ears grows stronger.  Before I know it, I'm lying on the table with voices buzzing around me.  "Elizabeth, Elizabeth," my dad calls insistantly.  Reluctantly, I respond, hoping to clear my clouded vision and calm my spinning stomach.  As the world comes slowly into view, my dad offers me a sip of water .  In a few minutes everything is normal once again.  Sitting up, I eagerly declare that I'm ok and slide neatly off the table.  Concerned, my dad and the assistants urge me to take it easy.   Protesting against all thoughts that there might be a problem, I nonchalantly leave the office.

For some time, I staunchly declared that I was fully conscious the entire time and never passed out.  But now I've come to accept the inevitable truth.  I have fainted for the first time in my life.  And it was a rather scary thing...but at the same time, if I had not fainted, what would I have to blog about?

Soundtrack to My Life-Part 2

Hello all and happy Thursday!  As promised, here's another list of my top five songs of the week (top ranging from all time favorites, to newly discovered, to whatever I happen to be listening to).  

1) I Need You-by the Swift...recently re-discovered this one.  Good worship song, nice piano part 

2) Yours-Steven Curtis Chapman...this one's had a lot of meaning in my life over the past month.

3) Sandstorm-by Darude...not the sort of thing I'd typically listen to but since it goes to a wonderful Speechless pantomime, it's a fun song.  Ask me about it sometime and I'll tell you bout the pantomime.

4) Summer of '69-Bryan Adams

5) Ne Irascaris, Domine-ever since Wheatstone I've loved this song so much, it has such beautiful painful agony behind it.  

Well, there you are, 5 songs from my life this week :)

Soundtrack to my Life-Part 1

Hello lovely friends!

Created for your pleasure is a playlist of the top 5 songs I have in my head right now...expect weekly updates to the soundtrack to my life.  I would love any recommendations for new music to listen to :)

1) Elgar Cello Concerto- Thank you Gabriel for the lovely music!  Such beauty, such pain, such soaring heights of musical bliss :)  

2) Meant to Live by Switchfoot

3) Love Story by Taylor Swift-even more fun than the song is the music video...such gorgeous period costumes :)

4) Lovebug by the Jonas Brothers-my sugary indulgence of the past few weeks...

5) Canon in D by Pachelbel

A Sad Day

Today was a sad day in the life of a certain young and forgetful teenager.  Today, said teenager forgot something very important, and it will end up costing her dearly.  

Today as you all know is Tuesday.  And in the area in which I dwell, Tuesdays mean something.  

Now to those of you who might think you know where this is going, no I did not forget my Hobbes reflection essay at home.  Now that would have been a tragedy indeed.  But fortunately my paper is safe in the hands of Mr. Bartel.

No, in addition to papers being due, Tuesdays also mean something else...namely, street sweeping.  However, due to the pressing demands of Hobbes, Bach, and sundry other things in my mind, I had not remembered this.  Being the loving and serving daughter that I was, I decided to let my mom park in the garage when she got home.  But since she was not home yet, I parked on the street to wait for her.  

Yes, I was parked on the street when the street sweeper came.  Yes, I did get a parking ticket.  Yes, it will cost me precious dollars and cents that could have been spent on Dante or Chesterton or Bach or Rachmaninoff.  But today, I experienced a part of what it means to be an adult.  I made a mistake, and I need to pay for it.  I learned a lesson, and in that sense, perhaps today could be called a happy day.

3 things, or the relationship of Goodness Truth and Beauty to the three parts of man

Today in Foundations we talked about a lot of wonderful things, including Chesterton.  But the biggest by far was an amazing epiphany I had regarding threes.  Ever since Wheatstone I've been fascinated by sets of three...namely Goodness Truth and Beauty, as well as Hands Head and Heart.  I was particularly thrilled to discover the correlation of the three aforementioned parts of man to Lewis' description in the Abolition of Man to the Stomach, Head and Chest.  

Plato's Phaedrus also talks in some detail about threes.  In said dialogue, Socrates gives a description of the soul as a charioteer (Reason) and a good and bad horse, one which represents good desires and one sinful desires (as near as I can make out from Plato, that is).  It's interesting that you can tie that description from Plato to Lewis' statement that...The Head (charioteer/reason) rules the Stomach (bad horse/fleshly desires) through the Chest (good horse/right desires).  

But today in class Mr. Bartel tied them all together in an amazing way.  For some time now I've been trying to find some correlation between the soul's three parts and the three pillars of Christian living, goodness truth and beauty.  What Mr. Bartel showed us today was how they relate.  

1) Hands-Goodness most closely relates to the hands.  How to live rightly, do good things, etc.

2) Head-Truth-What is truth, how can we know things...truth deals mainly with the intellect.

3) Heart-Beauty-what are right sentiments and feelings?  What is truly beautiful and how do we recognize it...beauty deals mainly with the heart.

I am very excited to see this finally tying together.  Thank you so much Mr. Bartel for enlightening me in this!  And thank you Wheatstone for first opening my mind to these wonderful threes!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Poetry post

Moonlight O’er the Pacific

Summer sunset o’er the sand

Glistening, reflecting, burning bright

Sun shimmers on the surface of the sea

Waves murmer, birds whisper in the evening light

A lonely set of footprints follows

A solitary line across the sand

Treading my path alone across the beach

I look across the waves to distant lands

The sun dips low beneath the water

Sending dazzling diamonds across the sea

Sky grows dark, diamonds ascend

Into the sky, rain down on me

Tears glisten on my cheeks, in the sky

Diana reigns in the darkness sublime

Beauty touches my soul, you touch my soul

In the wind and the waves and the sky, this is mine

Alone with the waves, they whisper my name

Sharing secrets with the wind and me

Diana descends, paves a path across the water

I step out upon the silver path, to run across the sea.

Please pray...

for my grandma tonight.  She has had a stroke this afternoon, and already is not in the best of health.  If you would keep her in her prayers, that the Lord would heal her body and take her worries upon himself, that would be a great blessing.  Thank you my friends.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

First Class!

Hooray for Foundations!  I must confess I was a bit nervous starting class this afternoon, as we have a handful of new students in our class as well as a new tutor.  However, everything exceeded my expectations and we had a wonderful discussion!  Four things that I'm looking forward to this year...

1) Fellow classmates-it took quite a long time for our class to warm up to each other and actually discuss last year.  Today we actually had a pretty decent discussion compared to first semester discussions last year, and I foresee much improvement with this.

2) Mr. Bartel-I have heard Mr. Bartel highly praised over the summer, and he has definitely lived up to all the praise I heard.  He was funny, intelligent, and helped us to get at the answers without handing them to us.  Everyone greatly enjoyed him I believe and I am greatly looking forward to this year with him.

3) Poetry-As I have heard much of Mr. Bartel's love for poetry, I'm pretty excited to read the American poetry later in the second semester.  I'm also hoping to hear some of his thoughts on poetry in general as well as maybe if I can work up the courage to ask his advice on my own poetry...poetry is a beautiful thing is it not?

4) Starbucks-Hooray for having a Starbucks within walking distance of our site!  After class hopefully we can make it there some Tuesdays.  Sadly though I just found out that they no longer carry the base for making decaf frappaccinos...so sad.  

I hope that all my fellow Torreyans had wonderful first classes as well!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Twenty three plus...

As many of you may know, we're in the process of doing some construction in our house.  This time around, we've gotten new baseboards, new crown molding, are renovating the down-stairs bathroom, and gotten new carpet upstairs and will be getting wood floor upstairs and carpet downstairs.  Because of all the construction, we've had to move the majority of our belongings either to my parents' bathroom or to the living room downstairs.  

Yesterday since we had gotten new carpet upstairs, I got to move everything back to my room...including the several shoe boxes I had moved out.  Now I love shoes.  I love them a lot.  As in every time I go shopping, I look at shoes.  As in almost every time I see shoes that I like on sale, I buy them.  And since my feet are permanently stuck at a size 7, I haven't been getting rid of any shoes lately.  Therefore, I have amassed quite a collection of shoes ranging from tennis shoes to cute ballet flats to formal heels to everything in between.  So when I was putting my shoes back in my closet, I decided to count them.  Judging from the title of this post, you may be able to guess how many pairs of shoes I have.  That's right, I have 23 pairs of shoes.  And that's not including flipflops, but since my mom and I share all our flip flops, I figured I didn't need to count those, since that'd put the total at closer to 30.  

So yes, I have a lot of shoes.  I love shoes! 

A Conclusion to the Poll

Well, the results are in, the votes have been counted, and I have finally decided upon a name for my piano.  After much deliberation as well as some advice from some wonderful friends, the lovely lady known as my piano now has a name all her own.  Drum roll please...and the name is...ooh, the suspense is killing you, isn't it?  Please join me in welcoming Cecilia into the wonderful world of having a name!  Yes, I have decided to name my piano Cecilia.  I know, Molly did have an awesome story behind it, but Cecilia truly is a more beautiful name for a beautiful piano.  Perhaps pictures shall be forthcoming if you are interested...:)  Thank you to all who helped me in this momentous decision, Cecilia and I thank you.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Locke, Dante, Tolstoy...and Bartel?

Today, happiness abounds, for happy torrey classes are approaching but summer is still here.  Yesterday was my Torrey orientation at Biola, where I got my first assignment (ugghh), and found out who will be my guide through my head-life for the next year.  I've decided that orientations are much happier things your second year in Torrey, when you know many people there and can see friends from Bubbs who you rarely see in real life, and have the fun of already having heard rumors about tutors but don't know for sure.  Yes, orientation was a happy thing.   Thank you Grace, Amy, Cree, Ariel, Jessica, MaryKate, Paige, and Emily for contributing to this happiness :)

This summer has been a very productive one, I believe, especially after Wheatstone.  I've gotten to read many good books, which brings me to the title of this post...representing both the whence and whither of this year.  The what have you done so far, and what are you going to do.

1) Locke...first Foundations book...my first reaction to him is a definite "what on earth are you talking about sir?"  With perseverance I am sure he will be wonderful but right now when I'm still in summer mode it'll take some work to make me read and *gasp* precis it before the first class.

2) Dante...thank you thank you thank you Gabriel for making me read Dante now instead of in 10,000 years.  Inferno was fabulous and eye opening, Purgatorio is amazing so far, and I really hope to be able to finish all of him before school starts.  His poetry is just sublime!!!  I love the Divine Comedy, I am so excited to re-read it in Faith now...*sniff* a very long time to wait

3) Tolstoy...an absolute genius of story-telling...I read Anna K for the first time earlier this summer, and am now re-reading it, the sure test of a good book.  His way of writing characters that are actually real people instead of representatives of a specific virtue or vice is absolutely phenomenal.  Anna, Levin, Kitty, Stiva, and so many characters just seem to be brimming with life in all its agonizing wonderfulness.  Tolstoy, you are amazing and I wish I could write 1/100 as good as you.

4) Mr. Bartel...my Torrey tutor for Foundations!!!!!!!!!   I am officially very excited for this year now, I have heard so many wonderful things about him and I'm hoping he can bring a new level of community to our class.  

Right now, I'm definitely looking forward to the school year...we'll see how happy I am in a month when I'm in full swing with precii (plural of precis?), reflection essays, discussions, Hobbes, economics and biology, prepping for Dominican Republic trip...you get the picture!

Happy ending of summer everyone!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

What's in a name?

Following the example of my most excellent friend Gabriel (www.choochootrain64.blogspot.com), as well as my own inherent tendency to name my most prized possessions, I have decided that my piano needs a name.  After having had it for at least five years, it is high time that it ascends to its rightful rank of beloved thing of mine.  Right now I have two names in the running, and you can vote for them in the poll to your right.  Your vote may or may not influence my decision, but I would like to see what everyone thinks.  And if you have another suggestion for the naming of the piano, please comment to let me know.

In addition to my strange penchant for naming inanimate objects (such as my pink 2ND generation nano whose name is Darcy) I like to have meaning behind the names I choose (once again the example of the iPod, a rather obvious meaning there I believe).  The two names I have chosen for the piano both have a story behind them actually.

1)Cecilia-a rather straightforward meaning...St. Cecilia was the patron saint of music and musicians, and I preferred this name to using the rather difficult to pronounce Greek name of the muse of music.

2)Molly-a rather longer story...For those of you who are familiar with the Millie Keith books, this name comes from one of those books.  In the book, the pastor of a frontier church is attempting to raise funds for a new church piano.  One of the wealthy families in town donates a cow which the preacher names Piano, since it was donated to the piano fund.  One of the older and rather eccentric townspeople suggests that as they have a cow named piano, the new church piano ought to be named Molly.  I found that highly amusing, and think it would be quite fun to have a piano named Molly even if I don't have a cow.

So, share with me your opinion and I will let you know shortly which name I have decided upon for the piano.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Rejoice all ye who read this blog...

...for as of Monday the 4th of August, I am now a licensed driver!!!   Hip hip hooray for me!   So far since I've gotten my license I have...

1) driven to the grocery store for croutons and sliced turkey, and

2) driven to piano lessons since my sister was sick and not going.  

Oh the wonders of being able to drive by yourself wherever you want...as long as a car is available.  Next step...save enough to buy myself  a car :)

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Media Multi-Tasking

Usually, multi-tasking is a good thing, especially for moms.  If we could only focus on one thing at a time, there'd be many things that would never get done because of time restraints.  Multi-tasking I believe is a valuable skill we've developed in order to allow overworked moms to make dinner, fold the laundry, talk on the phone, school a 4th grader, and monitor a preschooler without going crazy.  And usually, doing more than one thing at once is highly efficient as well as necessary.

But sometimes, it can get a bit much.  Stop and think about it for a moment.  When was the last time you concentrated on one thing and one thing only?  When did you last sit down to read a book without listening to your iPod, talking on the phone, doing homework, etc.?  For me, it's been a long time.  I think our culture has gotten so used to multi-tasking that we've almost forgotten how not to do it.  We feel like we're being unproductive if our attention isn't given to 3 or 4 different things at a time.  Silence becomes unbearable because we're used to being plugged into our iPods 24/7.  And especially with media does this become a problem.

At any given time of day, you can find me on my laptop listening to my iPod, having at least 2 online conversations, sending an email, posting in the Chatter forum on Bubbs, and updating my blog.  It's a busy life I lead, and sometimes, multi-tasking is good.  But I wonder if it isn't often harmful as well.  Dr. Reynolds has some good insights into this topic http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2008/07/22/are-distracting-ourselves-to-death-five-practical-tips-our-family-is-trying/  

His suggestions are convicting, to say the least.  Although they sound simple, in reality, we've become so dependent on our email, music, etc. that we barely know how to function without it.  Starting two weeks ago, I decided to make Sunday a no-computer day.  It is definitely a struggle for me.  I hadn't realized how attached I was to the computer until I tried to give it up.  I found myself thinking several times throughout the day about my emails, and worrying that perhaps someone was trying to get a hold of me, or was insulted because I didn't reply to an email right away.  These past two weeks have really opened my eyes to the dangers of multi-tasking with my media though.  When my focus on a Sunday is not worshipping with fellow believers, studying God's word, and spending time with Him in prayer, but rather, "How soon can I get back on the computer?" then I am in serious trouble.  By the grace of God I pray that setting aside one day a week to rest my mind and focus solely on one thing and one thing alone will make it easier for me to do that every day.  

Now I would like to challenge you to do the same.  Don't feel the need to throw your laptop out the window, or give your iPod away.  But try it, sometime.  Set your mind to one thing only.  Go read a good book without any music on.  Listen to good music without checking your email.  Take a break from the computer and go outside.  Look up, listen, pay attention!  God is trying to get your attention, but how can He speak when you're plugged into your iPod and running 3 different online conversations with other people?

A title for this poem

 

Spoken into silence, the everlasting word

Out of nothing something; God’s holy divine light

From darkness o’er the world, God’s mighty voice was heard.

We were blind and speechless, but words we were assured

All the world lay silent, and darker than the night

Spoken into silence, the everlasting word

Coming down from heaven, realm of spoken word

Into world of quiet shone a single ray so bright

From darkness o’er the world, God’s might voice was heard.

“See my flesh, my Son here, who’s come into the world

Speaking words of wisdom, changing wrong to right.”

Spoken into silence, the everlasting word.

We looked for HIs coming, to hear HIs voice we yearned

Out of babble, clearness, Our of shadows, light

From darkness o’er the world God’s might voice was heard.

Though our speech is woven with words both black and pure

Only words from heaven are words that have true might

Spoken into silence, the everlasting word

From darkness o’er the world, God’s mighty voice was heard.

This was a new form I was experimenting with yesterday.  I can't remember what the name of it was, but the basic structure is A1aA2/abA1/abA2/abA1/abA2/abA1A2 where A1 and A2 are two different rhyming refrains.  So, does anyone have a suggestion for a title for this poem?

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Questions???

Questions, questions, questions.  As Dr. Reynolds frequently reminded us at Wheatstone, it isn't finding the answers to them that's important, but the process that we use to work through our questions, which often leads us to more and bette questions.  I've had a lot of questions lately, some of them good, and some less so.  I've been learning though that not knowing the answers isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Too often we want the answers to our questions, and we want them now.  If we have a question and we don't know the answer, we take that to mean that we aren't intelligent, that something is lacking in us or in our beliefs because we can't answer the questions.   The true purpose of education, I think, is not to hand us the answers or give us a once size fits all formula for finding the answer to any question that may come our way.  Rather, a good education will teach us to ask good questions, to explore these questions and think about the answers, and then to come up with more questions.  Learning the answers isn't the most important thing, but learning how to go about finding an answer is.  Torrey is one thing that I have found to be immensely helpful in teaching me how to deal with questions.  If you can learn not to become frustrated when a question doesn't get answered by the end of class, to be willing to take a question down whatever path it may lead you, to see that not all questions are good questions and that it is as important to ask the right questions as it is to get the right answer, than you will be well on your way to being a well-educated person.  

And so, some questions that I've been thinking about lately...

1) What is love?  How do we love someone truly?  What do you do when two different loves seem to come in conflict with each other?  Do we love God in the same way we love others?  Is there a right way and a wrong way to love someone?  What does love look like?

2) What sort of power do words have?  How does what we say affect others?  Can our words have the power to create, or can only God's words create?  What do words really mean?  

3) How does one fully integrate head, hands, and heart?  What does the well-ordered soul look like?  How do you live the good life and pursue goodness truth and beauty without focusing only on yourself?

Once, it would have bothered me that I don't have the answers to these questions.  But now, I'm learning to ask good questions without fear, to seek truth no matter how elusive it is, and to accept the fact that I will never have all the answers without ceasing to search for the answers.  

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Tea Party Pictures

One of my mom's china tea pots.
Food on the table
Another picture of food
Lovely cream cheese cucumber sandwiches.

Since I had forgotten how to put the pictures in the post the way I like it, here they are in a separate post.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Tea Parties are an Adventure...

...especially at our house.  This week, brother Josh is at a basketball camp all day, so yesterday I decided to have a tea party with Sarah and Hannah (younger sisters age 10 and 4 1/2).  While my mom did the grocery shopping, I spent the morning making lemon tarts, setting the table, and dishing up the food.  We were planning on having a luncheon tea and watching Easter Parade before my brother came home.

After finishing the cooking, Sarah and I went upstairs to change into our party dresses.  While in my room, I felt the room start to quake a bit.  Since I'm right over the garage, I assumed it was just my dad coming home from work.  When the shaking didn't stop, but instead got much bigger, I decided it probably wasn't the garage :)  The quake lasted probably a minute, and was definitely one of the largest quakes we've had here in several years.  Fortunately, no one was injured and nothing broke, though every so often we'll open a cupboard and something will fall out.  We later learned that it was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake centered in Chino Hills, not too far from us.  It was quite the adventure to start our tea party off with. 

Once we had recovered from the shock (literally) we were able to continue with our tea party.  For lunch we had grapes, cucumber salad, chicken salad sandwiches and cucumber cream cheese sandwiches, and scones with strawberry preserves, lemon curd, and whipped cream.   After lunch we had lemon tarts, chocolate pudding cake, and marshmellow fudge brownies.  The girls had a very fun time dressing up and having a fancy lunch, even though they were a bit rattled from the earthquake.  Definitely quite the adventure at our tea party!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Drumroll please...the first post!!!!!

Hello all!  Welcome to the very first post of an inquisitive inkblot!  Though I am moving out of the wonderful realm of Inklings into the next wonderful realm of Foundations, I still like to consider myself an inkblot in the great wide world of writers.  In my blogging realm, you will be treated to some of my musings on great books, music, movies, and thoughts on goodness, truth, and beauty in general.  For the icing on the cake, I'll also post pictures, poems and pictures, random silliness, and updates on my life.  I also just want to say for anyone who may be reading, I LOVE WHEATSTONE!!!!!   Go to Wheatstone, it'll change your life.  www.wheatstoneacademy.com

Under the Mercy,

Elizabeth