Thursday, January 19, 2012
Remembering a Hero
Happy Birthday to one of my heros, Robert E. Lee. "They" may not recognize your day of birth, but you still live on in the South's heart!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Nathan Coulter
Yesterday I started Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry. Today...well, lets just say I haven't read a book quite so quickly in a long time. Maybe it's just because I'm obsessed with Mr. Berry's writings right now, or maybe he's just that good(which he is). I don't know. But he's been one of my favorite authors ever since I read Fidelity: Five Short Stories four or five years ago now. Anyways, here are a few of my favorite quotes from Nathan Coulter.
He left the team standing in front of the barn and came on into the yard. "Hello, boys," he said.
It didn't come out the way it usually did when he said it. It had the same sound as everything that had been said to us for the last three days, as if it were embarrassing to be around people whose mother was dead. So all we said to him was hello.
I can totally relate to the above paragraph. And I think that's one reason why I love Mr Berry's writing so much: he can articulate emotions and experiences that everyone goes through but often never know how to describe.
After awhile he handed the reins to Brother and rolled a cigarette.
"A cigarette is as much of an abomination in the sight of the Lord as a bottle of whiskey," the preacher said.
Uncle Burley lit the cigarette and smoked, looking straight down the road.
The preacher said, "If the Lord had wanted you to smoke He'd have give you a smokestack, brother."
Uncle Burley took the reins again and stopped the team. He looked at the preacher. "If He'd wanted you to ride you'd have wheels," he said. "Now get off."
We went back to the stove and talked again. You couldn't remember how the conversation started, or figure out why it should have got to where it was from the last subject you could remember.
Brother was gone, and he wouldn't be back. And things that had been so before never would be so again. We were the way we were; nothing could make us any different, and we suffered because of it. Things happened to us the way they did because we were ourselves...And there was nothing anybody could do but let it happen.
"Look at him sleep," Uncle Burley said. "He's living the good life, ain't he? When I get that old I want somebody to wake me up every once in a while just so I can go back to sleep again."
In a way the spring was like him, a part of his land; I couldn't divide the spring from the notch it had cut in the hill. Grandpa had owned his land and worked on it and taken his pride from it for so long that we knew him, and he knew himself, in the same way that we knew that spring. His life couldn't be divided from the days he'd spent at work in his fields. Daddy had told us we didn't know what the country would look like without him at work in the middle of it; and that was as true of Grandpa as it was of Daddy. We wouldn't recognize the country when he was dead.
He left the team standing in front of the barn and came on into the yard. "Hello, boys," he said.
It didn't come out the way it usually did when he said it. It had the same sound as everything that had been said to us for the last three days, as if it were embarrassing to be around people whose mother was dead. So all we said to him was hello.
I can totally relate to the above paragraph. And I think that's one reason why I love Mr Berry's writing so much: he can articulate emotions and experiences that everyone goes through but often never know how to describe.
After awhile he handed the reins to Brother and rolled a cigarette.
"A cigarette is as much of an abomination in the sight of the Lord as a bottle of whiskey," the preacher said.
Uncle Burley lit the cigarette and smoked, looking straight down the road.
The preacher said, "If the Lord had wanted you to smoke He'd have give you a smokestack, brother."
Uncle Burley took the reins again and stopped the team. He looked at the preacher. "If He'd wanted you to ride you'd have wheels," he said. "Now get off."
We went back to the stove and talked again. You couldn't remember how the conversation started, or figure out why it should have got to where it was from the last subject you could remember.
Brother was gone, and he wouldn't be back. And things that had been so before never would be so again. We were the way we were; nothing could make us any different, and we suffered because of it. Things happened to us the way they did because we were ourselves...And there was nothing anybody could do but let it happen.
"Look at him sleep," Uncle Burley said. "He's living the good life, ain't he? When I get that old I want somebody to wake me up every once in a while just so I can go back to sleep again."
In a way the spring was like him, a part of his land; I couldn't divide the spring from the notch it had cut in the hill. Grandpa had owned his land and worked on it and taken his pride from it for so long that we knew him, and he knew himself, in the same way that we knew that spring. His life couldn't be divided from the days he'd spent at work in his fields. Daddy had told us we didn't know what the country would look like without him at work in the middle of it; and that was as true of Grandpa as it was of Daddy. We wouldn't recognize the country when he was dead.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Books From 2011
So in 2011 I started writing down all the books I read through the year. I'm sorry to see that the number only amounted to 29, but I suppose that's better than none. I really liked keeping a log of what kinds of things I was feeding my mind. It's very helpful to be able to look back and decide what I would like to read more about or less of.
I admit, there are some books that seem rather childish for a 19 year-old to have read, but hey, I was 18 last year too! :P Sometimes it's fun to be able to just breeze through a book you really don't have to think a lot about. But even in kids' books we can find deep truths about life. See my post on Beyond The Deepwoods.
So anyways. Here are the books I read in 2011. Some of these I had read before.
Let's hope I can double this number in 2012
January
Beyond the Deepwoods - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell (2nd reading)
A Coming Evil - Vivian Vande Velde
The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket
The Grim Grotto - L.S.
The Penultimate Peril - L.S.
February (this month I only read one book, but I'd *like* to think that's okay since I was caring for a great aunt and taking a couple of college classes)
The End - Lemony Snicket
March
Emma - Jane Austin
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austin
An Old-Fashioned Girl - Louisa May Alcott (2nd reading)
The Journal of Augustus Pelletier - Kathryn Lasky
A Line in the Sand - Sherry Garland
aaand then I decided that quantity doesn't always mean quality so I read fewer books a month the rest of the year but I think it's safe to say the quality improved.
April - June
Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis (2nd reading; part of a book "club" with Mom, Grace and Rachel)
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History - Frances A. Schaeffer
Chosen By God - R.C. Sproul (2nd reading; another "club" book)
Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara
The Blue Castle - Lucy Maud Montgomery (one of my most favorite books ever)
July
Beyond Stateliest Marble - Douglas Wilson (Very encouraging and insightful read. "Life is Christ, and death is more Christ. Life is beloved and death is the Beloved")
Scottish Seas - Douglas M. Jones III (2nd reading)
Huguenot Garden - Douglas M. Jones III (2nd reading)
Joyfully at Home - Jasmine Baucham
August-September
Under Enemy Colors - S. Thomas Russell
The Best Things in Life - Peter Kreeft - (2nd reading; "club" book)
The God We Love and Serve - Allen Dale Curry
Her Hand in Marriage - Douglas Wilson
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
October
Here Burns My Candle - Liz Curtis Higgs (This book was rather disappointing)
My Life For Yours - Douglas Wilson
November
The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz
December
Rise to Rebellion - Jeff Shaara
Putting Amazing Back Into Grace - Michael Horton
I'm still working on these two and a couple of other books
More books I was reading throughout the year (and still haven't finished)
The Art of Devine Contentment - Thomas Watson
The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith
I admit, there are some books that seem rather childish for a 19 year-old to have read, but hey, I was 18 last year too! :P Sometimes it's fun to be able to just breeze through a book you really don't have to think a lot about. But even in kids' books we can find deep truths about life. See my post on Beyond The Deepwoods.
So anyways. Here are the books I read in 2011. Some of these I had read before.
Let's hope I can double this number in 2012
January
Beyond the Deepwoods - Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell (2nd reading)
A Coming Evil - Vivian Vande Velde
The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket
The Grim Grotto - L.S.
The Penultimate Peril - L.S.
February (this month I only read one book, but I'd *like* to think that's okay since I was caring for a great aunt and taking a couple of college classes)
The End - Lemony Snicket
March
Emma - Jane Austin
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austin
An Old-Fashioned Girl - Louisa May Alcott (2nd reading)
The Journal of Augustus Pelletier - Kathryn Lasky
A Line in the Sand - Sherry Garland
aaand then I decided that quantity doesn't always mean quality so I read fewer books a month the rest of the year but I think it's safe to say the quality improved.
April - June
Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis (2nd reading; part of a book "club" with Mom, Grace and Rachel)
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History - Frances A. Schaeffer
Chosen By God - R.C. Sproul (2nd reading; another "club" book)
Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara
The Blue Castle - Lucy Maud Montgomery (one of my most favorite books ever)
July
Beyond Stateliest Marble - Douglas Wilson (Very encouraging and insightful read. "Life is Christ, and death is more Christ. Life is beloved and death is the Beloved")
Scottish Seas - Douglas M. Jones III (2nd reading)
Huguenot Garden - Douglas M. Jones III (2nd reading)
Joyfully at Home - Jasmine Baucham
August-September
Under Enemy Colors - S. Thomas Russell
The Best Things in Life - Peter Kreeft - (2nd reading; "club" book)
The God We Love and Serve - Allen Dale Curry
Her Hand in Marriage - Douglas Wilson
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
October
Here Burns My Candle - Liz Curtis Higgs (This book was rather disappointing)
My Life For Yours - Douglas Wilson
November
The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz
December
Rise to Rebellion - Jeff Shaara
Putting Amazing Back Into Grace - Michael Horton
I'm still working on these two and a couple of other books
More books I was reading throughout the year (and still haven't finished)
The Art of Devine Contentment - Thomas Watson
The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
How One Becomes A Zombie
Patrick, pretending to be a zombie, chases Lizabee around the house for a couple of minutes. Mom asks, "How do you become a zombie?"
He replies, "They dislocate your brain. Wait. Kathryn, how *do* you become a zombie?"
"Oh, they suck your brain out."
"How do they do that?"
"Through your nose."
Lizabee asks, "Oh so they do this while your sleeping?" She proceeds to make sucking noises.
Staring at Lizabee with a most serious face I reply, "They don't put you to sleep."
Wide-eyed Lizabee: "Oh."
He replies, "They dislocate your brain. Wait. Kathryn, how *do* you become a zombie?"
"Oh, they suck your brain out."
"How do they do that?"
"Through your nose."
Lizabee asks, "Oh so they do this while your sleeping?" She proceeds to make sucking noises.
Staring at Lizabee with a most serious face I reply, "They don't put you to sleep."
Wide-eyed Lizabee: "Oh."
Friday, December 30, 2011
A Few of My Favorite Things
Three little souls I can't get enough of:
Richard Phinehas Condit
Sarah Heloise Condit
Owen Pierce Aberle
Richard Phinehas Condit
Sarah Heloise Condit
Owen Pierce Aberle
Thursday, November 10, 2011
November's Reading List
As you can see, I picked up just a *few* books from the library to prepare for the trip to Rome. ;) I'm excited to delve into these.
Next is a book I just finished, The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz. 'The true story of a trek to freedom.' It's just that: an autobiography about 7 men's journey towards freedom, their struggle for survival, and the pain and sorrow they encounter on the way. It'll grip your soul. A must read.
Then there's the book my uncle has lent me, Jeff Shaaara's Rise to Rebellion. 'A Novel of the American revolution.' I've read Michael Shaara's (Jeff's father) Killer Angels and Jeff's God's and Generals, and both being very well written, I look forward to starting this one.
And lastly, My Life for Yours by Douglas Wilson. 'A Walk Through the Christian Home.' A quick, light read, but very helpful nonetheless.
Also, I am listening to The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. It must not be a very famous one, seeing as I had never heard of it before - haha - but I'm finding it very interesting. I'm curious to see how it ends, seeing as Dickens died before it was finished.
Well, that's my current reading list.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
As the French would have it, Au Revoir!
This morning we got up early to say goodbye to these amazing people
Mr. Matt, Mrs. Elise, Anna-Kate, Helen and Thomas Peed
Here's a few pictures from last week's going-away party
The roast pig
Anna-Kate and Darcie-Anne
The Pastor and his wife
Helen and Rachel
The girls
Patrick and Thomas
I know God sent the Peeds here to be a part of the family at Bethel and to serve a special purpose. Now it's time for them to move on - to bless those they meet up in Missouri. I know God has a perfect plan for them and I know they will do well where ever He plants them. But boy, it's so hard to let go of sweet friends.
The Peeds have been a part of our lives for only 3 years, but it feels like we've known them forever. Their friendship is one we will carry with us always.
"If you tell me goodbye tell me tomorrow
'cause my heart can't take that kind of news today
And am I a fool for believing
that tomorrow everything will be okay?"
Mr. Matt, Mrs. Elise, Anna-Kate, Helen and Thomas Peed
Here's a few pictures from last week's going-away party
The roast pig
Anna-Kate and Darcie-Anne
The Pastor and his wife
Helen and Rachel
The girls
Patrick and Thomas
I know God sent the Peeds here to be a part of the family at Bethel and to serve a special purpose. Now it's time for them to move on - to bless those they meet up in Missouri. I know God has a perfect plan for them and I know they will do well where ever He plants them. But boy, it's so hard to let go of sweet friends.
The Peeds have been a part of our lives for only 3 years, but it feels like we've known them forever. Their friendship is one we will carry with us always.
"If you tell me goodbye tell me tomorrow
'cause my heart can't take that kind of news today
And am I a fool for believing
that tomorrow everything will be okay?"
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