There are always disappointments, things left undone or some circumstance that is just not fair.
It’s hard to be a grown-up.
Today I am choosing thanksgiving. I am carving out peace instead of longing and pain. Accentuating the positive may not eliminate the negative, but sometimes it makes the days easier to bear.
This life magnified with its intense pain and ineffable joys may sometimes feel like a roller coaster, but it’s mine. Trying to learn to stop fighting and go with it.
Posted in family life
We were singing this in church yesterday and Lexi started dancing in the aisle, REALLY dancing. I caught a few friends’ eyes across the room and they were all cracking up. We sing it to a pretty danceable beat, all things considered. That probably would have bugged me more five years ago.
Depth of mercy can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God his wrath forbear
Me the chief of sinners spare? Continue reading
Posted in theology
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Perfectly postmodern and European, Kundera did an excellent job of breaking all the rules of novel writing. Philosophizing for pages at a time, addressing the readers directly, making the main characters more than a little frustrating, the emphasis is that rules are meant to be broken. Yet, the medium fits his message well, and as a novel dealing with love and place, communism and liberalism, it soars. Some readers will be offended by the gratuitous sex and deeply flawed characters, it is certainly a book not everyone will “like” even if they appreciate it. (4/5)
Meet the Austins by Madeline L’Engle
If I could, I’d rate this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, and appreciated how real and ordinary the protagonist Vicky is portrayed as being. However, I found it a little slow at times, and more preachy / transparent than I remember the Murry family books being. All of the books about the Austins are on my to-read list this year and I am looking forward to seeing the family develop more over subsequent books. (3.5/5)
The way goodreads labels their five star system is
* i didn’t like it
** it was okay
*** liked it
**** really liked it
***** it was amazing
It’s simple and intuitive, but it leaves much to be desired. There are great books that I don’t necessarily like, but I still find worth reading for some reason or another. For example, I don’t know that I “really liked” Lolita. But it is marked four stars on my goodreads account. I think Nabov set out to show us a warped mind, a thoroughly unlikeable narrator, a child we want to care for and can’t always bring ourselves to. He portrayed coercion and tyranny in dark, messy, and very human ways. It was a novel the world didn’t know we needed, and for that, I think the book has a rightful place among the classics.
Sometimes books are written or movies are made with a purpose in mind other than leaving the audience with a warm and fuzzy feeling. And then they need to be evaluated by whether that purpose is worth pursuing, and how well they fulfilled their purpose. Criticism larger than just plain gut reaction. In that way, a movie with an ending you aren’t happy with can still be something that you believe is an amazing film.
I am not sure how we fix the stars of goodreads, just know that likability is not my only concern as I rate.
“To know that I am ‘a white male American human,’ that a red bird with black wings is ‘a scarlet tanager,’ that this is ‘a riparian plant community’–all that is helpful to a necessary kind of thought. But when I try to make my language more particular, I see that the life of this place is always emerging beyond expectation or prediction or typicality, that it is unique, given to the world minute by minute, only once, never to be repeated. And then is when I see that this life is a miracle, absolutely worth having, absolutely worth saving….Perhaps we should wish that after the processes of reduction, scientists would return, not to the processes of synthesis and integration, but to the world of our creatureliness and affection, our joy and grief, that precedes and (so far) survives all of our processes.”
Posted in general, technology
School was cancelled today because the forecast called for snow. It started snowing about 11. It never stuck. We already have a two hour delay in the morning for tomorrow.
The biggest controversy? Whether severe weather broadcasting would interfere with the game. Mud was slung, promises were made. No one is stupid enough to ever risk that, even if lives were at stake.
Posted in family life
I’m making King Cake today, and thinking about Epiphany. In the children’s hymn about the church year, we sing “In Epiphany we trace / all the glory of his grace.” We discover his glory revealed, first to the wise men, then through his baptism, his first miracle. He did not remain hidden, rather Christ showed himself to us. Epiphany is an extension of our meditation on the incarnation that began in Advent. He dwelt among us, not in secret, but with public words and deeds that all may see him and worship.
May Christ bless you and your house today, and throughout this season.
Posted in church year, feasting, theology
Back when I was posting less, I set up the blog to publish as notes via rss on my facebook page. And so, I get comments both places. For the most part, this is fine, but every so often a post sparks the sort of comments which are more conversational, and readers interact with one another. The division of such comments between the places seems wrong.
I am not a very active facebook user, I typically check in once a day for a few minutes. I am much more likely to catch something via my feed reader than the notes section of facebook, but I realize others have different habits. Being able to “like” something on facebook with just a click, without needing to say more, is something I value, though.
Perhaps there isn’t a great solution. I am thankful that anyone reads anything I write and grateful for the chance to hear your feedback, kind readers. Conversations are important to me, and I will take what I can get, scattered as they may be.
Posted in general
and I never got out cards. I wasn’t expecting to, but it’s a weird feeling. It makes me appreciate the cards we got this year even more.
Today was a really stressful day, so this sweet comic relief was very appreciated.
*brushing hair conversation with Lexi.*
“You are the best mommy. When I grow up, I am going to be the best like you. I am going to do what my kids want and take care of them.” (“Oh yeah?”) “Yes. And I am going to take good care of my hu’band and do what he wants.” (“You are?”) “And my hu’band will do what I want, too.”
Life is so simple when you are four.
Posted in family life
Making College “Relevant” When students see college as mere vocational training, the liberal arts die.
Did Christianity Cause the Crash? Hanna Rosin continues her tradition of boundary pushing with this article on the prosperity gospel and the recession for the Atlantic.
Home is a Tiny Plastic Bunk How the recession has affected some in Toyko.
Indie Sweethearts Pitching Products A discussion of some of the random people pitching random things in commercials. Like Ellen Page representing Cisco and those ubiquitous Luke Wilson ads for AT&T.
No U.S. Combat-Related Deaths in Iraq in December Good news is good news, even if troops are scaling back.
Posted in in the news
The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain was one of the two business books I read last year. The first was geared towards photography and focused on making yourself stand out, but in a community-building, “everyone can win” way. Then I read the Collapse of Distinction. It also focused on distinction, as you can tell from the title, but in a more classic way.
My first impression was very good. The book is part of the new Thomas Nelson line called NelsonFree where you can download the ebook or audio for FREE if you buy the book. This is great for anyone who enjoys books in multiple formats, and kudos to Thomas Nelson for offering it.
I honestly found the book wandering, the stories slightly disconnected. The content was good, but mostly intuitive. You need to be different and not get sucked into the vortex of offering everything your competitors do. It seemed to take a long time to say simple things, was very repetitive. Reading it gave me good food for thought as a small businesswoman, but not as much as I felt like I should be. The executive summaries at the end of the chapter are probably as valuable as the whole book itself, which is a definite weakness. If you are struggling with finding your niche, you might appreciate this book, otherwise, I wouldn’t say it should be at the top of your reading list. (6/10)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com
This year, I want to be really faithful to posting my thoughts on books on my goodreads account and here on this blog. I also want to read more than I have been. It’s hard with work but it really helps me feel sane and normal. I read a lot in fits and spurts last year, and I’d like to keep a more even pace.
As far as what I’ll be reading, I keep a list on lists of bests of books to read every year, I edit it along the way, but it helps me to have some things in queue so selection doesn’t bog me down.
What are your reading goals for 2010?
Posted in books