Nevertheless!
Praising God for...
... smiles.
... His Word.
... friends who inspire me.
... changing seasons.
... afternoon naps.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
A lovely winter day
What a grand thing it was to open the door at the office today and let in some glorious fresh air! The (slightly) warmer air and sunshine made an afternoon walk a necessity today. It was invigorating and gave me a bit more energy for accounting homework, which is still maddeningly just hovering above my comprehension. I think the first three chapters are going to merit yet another re-reading.
Nevertheless!
Praising God for...
... smiles.
... His Word.
... friends who inspire me.
... changing seasons.
... afternoon naps.
Nevertheless!
Praising God for...
... smiles.
... His Word.
... friends who inspire me.
... changing seasons.
... afternoon naps.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday randoms
It's Monday. Sometimes I love Monday, and sometimes I detest it. Today I am glowingly happy and love Monday. I'm not sure where the difference comes in. Some days God just smiles on you...
---
"... It should be emphasized that philosophy is an intellectual passion, not merely the abstract application of technique. To assume that logic will (or can) settle everything is to fall prey to what some philosophers have called the 'illusion of technique.' Philosophy is not about winning points or arguments or being clever, although you will inevitably encounter some of this. It is caring about truth and, as the word philosophy itself originally meant, 'loving wisdom.'"
(From my philosophy textbook--perhaps an extension of my last post on philosophy!)
---
I finished Passage (by Connie Willis) last night. It was quite terrific. I must say that I was rather stunned by how it concluded; a gigantic plot twist in the last 150 pages made for an ending that was nothing like what I anticipated! It was, as Connie Willis always is, an emotional journey, with much laughter and this time many tears as well as I finished it. I still am uncertain as to whether or not she was trying to make any spiritual statement, as much of the central plot centers around the idea of the supernatural and particularly the "NDE" or "near-death experience." It got almost morbid at times (again, somewhat to be expected from the author of something like Doomsday Book [which, incidentally, as I have noted elsewhere, was also fantastic, even if it was horribly depressing]), but somehow there was enough light to keep it from being depressing in the end. I say bravo again, Ms. Willis!
---
How have I only heard one song by Yiruma until just a few days ago? How did I not even know about this brilliant pianist? My Yiruma playlist has been on repeat at the office for the last four days. Love it!!!
---
After a dear friend gave me the heads-up on some new Masterpiece Theatre releases, I have been watching the new adaptation of Emma. It's been quite delightful so far, though I haven't even finished the first episode yet. The only other version I've seen is the Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam version, and so far this one is very different, but I am certainly enjoying it. I imagine I will be posting further thoughts after I finish it!
---
"... It should be emphasized that philosophy is an intellectual passion, not merely the abstract application of technique. To assume that logic will (or can) settle everything is to fall prey to what some philosophers have called the 'illusion of technique.' Philosophy is not about winning points or arguments or being clever, although you will inevitably encounter some of this. It is caring about truth and, as the word philosophy itself originally meant, 'loving wisdom.'"
(From my philosophy textbook--perhaps an extension of my last post on philosophy!)
---
I finished Passage (by Connie Willis) last night. It was quite terrific. I must say that I was rather stunned by how it concluded; a gigantic plot twist in the last 150 pages made for an ending that was nothing like what I anticipated! It was, as Connie Willis always is, an emotional journey, with much laughter and this time many tears as well as I finished it. I still am uncertain as to whether or not she was trying to make any spiritual statement, as much of the central plot centers around the idea of the supernatural and particularly the "NDE" or "near-death experience." It got almost morbid at times (again, somewhat to be expected from the author of something like Doomsday Book [which, incidentally, as I have noted elsewhere, was also fantastic, even if it was horribly depressing]), but somehow there was enough light to keep it from being depressing in the end. I say bravo again, Ms. Willis!
---
How have I only heard one song by Yiruma until just a few days ago? How did I not even know about this brilliant pianist? My Yiruma playlist has been on repeat at the office for the last four days. Love it!!!
---
After a dear friend gave me the heads-up on some new Masterpiece Theatre releases, I have been watching the new adaptation of Emma. It's been quite delightful so far, though I haven't even finished the first episode yet. The only other version I've seen is the Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam version, and so far this one is very different, but I am certainly enjoying it. I imagine I will be posting further thoughts after I finish it!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Philosophizing...
In case I haven’t made it clear yet, I am loving my philosophy class this quarter. I was reasonably excited when my books arrived (a basic introductory text and then separate books on epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy of religion), but now that I have begun to really dive into the class, I am discovering that I simply can’t get enough. Why? Because this is the type of learning that I have always loved and will always love. Studying philosophy encourages the style of learning that I think should apply to any subject—inquiring, probing, and questioning deeply.
Philosophy encourages me as a student to abandon all my presuppositions and preconceived ideas. It is all about asking ultimate questions and not being willing to rest until I understand exactly what I believe and why. There is a danger to such reckless questioning, of course; if followed to an extreme, a philosophy student could potentially reach the point where he or she no longer thinks that there are any objective answers to life’s ultimate questions. But with the proper—and, as a Christian, I would add, biblical—framework in which to pursue the study, I am discovering that it is both an exhilarating and enlightening experience.
This is the kind of learning that I love. Rather than rote memorization and meaningless repetition of facts, this is all about asking questions and getting to the heart of an issue. It’s all about understanding how and why things work the way they do. It’s all about not just understanding a concept, but understanding why that concept is important, and how it relates to our lives in God’s world.
So much learning, especially in the modern education system, is superficial, trite, and seems unimportant to the student. We barely scratch the surface; we don’t understand why certain things are important or even relevant to everyday life. Developing a philosophical mindset (learning to ask the ultimate questions and pursue more than just surface knowledge) restores to the process of learning the joy, wonder, and excitement of discovery that should have been there in the first place. It is a wonderful thing to find oneself standing on the threshold of knowledge—to get that first taste of new facts and ideas that draw back the curtain on something that you’ve never thought about before. There is a sense of eagerness and excitement. There is a true joy in learning. And that is not something that is found through education that barely skims the surface, drilling the facts so the student can spit out the right answers for the test but leaving so much richness just out of reach. Those treasure troves of knowledge are what we should be reaching for every day; what we should be seeking our whole lives, not just when we’re students.
This is the kind of learning that gets me excited. This is the picture of eagerly seeking knowledge that I want to share with my own children someday, God willing. This is the kind of discovery that makes me recognize all over again just how magnificent is the God who gave us the gift of learning—and how small I am—and how much He still has to teach me.
Philosophy encourages me as a student to abandon all my presuppositions and preconceived ideas. It is all about asking ultimate questions and not being willing to rest until I understand exactly what I believe and why. There is a danger to such reckless questioning, of course; if followed to an extreme, a philosophy student could potentially reach the point where he or she no longer thinks that there are any objective answers to life’s ultimate questions. But with the proper—and, as a Christian, I would add, biblical—framework in which to pursue the study, I am discovering that it is both an exhilarating and enlightening experience.
This is the kind of learning that I love. Rather than rote memorization and meaningless repetition of facts, this is all about asking questions and getting to the heart of an issue. It’s all about understanding how and why things work the way they do. It’s all about not just understanding a concept, but understanding why that concept is important, and how it relates to our lives in God’s world.
So much learning, especially in the modern education system, is superficial, trite, and seems unimportant to the student. We barely scratch the surface; we don’t understand why certain things are important or even relevant to everyday life. Developing a philosophical mindset (learning to ask the ultimate questions and pursue more than just surface knowledge) restores to the process of learning the joy, wonder, and excitement of discovery that should have been there in the first place. It is a wonderful thing to find oneself standing on the threshold of knowledge—to get that first taste of new facts and ideas that draw back the curtain on something that you’ve never thought about before. There is a sense of eagerness and excitement. There is a true joy in learning. And that is not something that is found through education that barely skims the surface, drilling the facts so the student can spit out the right answers for the test but leaving so much richness just out of reach. Those treasure troves of knowledge are what we should be reaching for every day; what we should be seeking our whole lives, not just when we’re students.
This is the kind of learning that gets me excited. This is the picture of eagerly seeking knowledge that I want to share with my own children someday, God willing. This is the kind of discovery that makes me recognize all over again just how magnificent is the God who gave us the gift of learning—and how small I am—and how much He still has to teach me.
Friday, January 22, 2010
On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade...
Andrea posted this on her blog today. It illustrates the beautiful, precious gift of life... and brought tears to my eyes. May it bless you, too.
99 Balloons from Igniter Media on Vimeo.
5 Things I Love
#1 - A huge mug of hot chocolate, one that's large enough to wrap both hands around it.
#2 - The world in vibrant, glorious color after a solid week of rain.
#3 - Clair de Lune.
#4 - Reading by lamplight with a soft blanket and fluffy pillows.
and
#5 - The way my boyfriend makes me laugh.
Happy Friday everyone. =)
#2 - The world in vibrant, glorious color after a solid week of rain.
#3 - Clair de Lune.
#4 - Reading by lamplight with a soft blanket and fluffy pillows.
and
#5 - The way my boyfriend makes me laugh.
Happy Friday everyone. =)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Recent acquisitions...
The Three Musketeers -- highly recommended to me by a good friend whose literary judgment I trust implicitly.
Passage -- it's Connie Willis. Enough said.
Bleak House -- saw the Masterpiece Theatre adaptation over the summer and absolutely LOVED it. I can't wait to read the book.
The Count of Monte Cristo -- I have been looking for a paperback, unabridged edition for about two years now, and was so thrilled to finally find one. I think this will be a good book to take to Lake Tahoe this summer. =)
So far, Passage is the only one I've actually started reading, and I don't anticipate that I will get to the others any time soon, alas. But Passage has been quite brilliant so far! I'll post more detailed thoughts once I finish it...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Till We Have Faces, Part 2
So, after discussing the book with my mom (who was the one who sent me Edie's review), we dug out my copy yesterday so that Mom could read it, since she was quite intrigued by the review. I knew my copy would be in a somewhat unreadable condition, due to the fact that it would still have all my notes from my class in it. This was indeed the case, but as I sat in front of the fire with it last night, I came to the reluctant conclusion that none of my notes were incredibly critical, so I pulled them all out so that Mom can wade through the book accompanied only by underlining, highlighting, and other notating, rather than by underlining, highlighting, notating, AND a post-it note every other page!
The process simply demanded pictures, and of course, then a blog post.
^^ The "unedited" book, exactly in the condition I left it after my class.
^^ Even after removing some of the post-its, many of the pages still look like this. ::grin::
^^ The aftermath. Which then went in the fire!
Happy reading, Mum! =]
The process simply demanded pictures, and of course, then a blog post.
^^ The "unedited" book, exactly in the condition I left it after my class.
^^ Even after removing some of the post-its, many of the pages still look like this. ::grin::
^^ The aftermath. Which then went in the fire!
Happy reading, Mum! =]
Monday, January 18, 2010
Till We Have Faces
Reading this review over at Life In Grace has made me want to pull out my copy of C.S. Lewis's masterpiece, Till We Have Faces, again. TWHF was the first and, as far as I can remember, the only book that I read straight through within 24 hours, got to the last page, and immediately turned back to page one and started again. I was lucky enough to be reading it as homework for a C.S. Lewis class, and was blessed with the insight of a brilliant professor, so I was able to get even more out of it than I might have otherwise. Reading Edie's review reminded me of how much the book absolutely blew me away, and I think it is definitely about time I read it again, since it's been several years now.
What a pity that I just started back to school today and probably won't be doing a whole lot of extra reading for the next several months. . . ::sigh:: Oh well. Thoughts or comments from anyone else how has read it???
Enjoying this gloriously rainy storm, and glad to have a fire to sit in front of while I brave the first week of homework. Most of all, thankful that His mercies are new every morning!
What a pity that I just started back to school today and probably won't be doing a whole lot of extra reading for the next several months. . . ::sigh:: Oh well. Thoughts or comments from anyone else how has read it???
Enjoying this gloriously rainy storm, and glad to have a fire to sit in front of while I brave the first week of homework. Most of all, thankful that His mercies are new every morning!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Things I have learned/been reminded of lately...
In no particular order...
... God's ways are not my ways. His ways are infinitely beyond anything I could ask or hope or imagine!
... I love Christmas, and I hate taking down Christmas decorations.
... I love San Francisco.
... Put four young people who are all former debaters in the same vehicle, and hilarious stories will ensue.
... Christmas break is wonderful.
... There's nothing quite like curling up in front of a crackling fire with a good book on a cold, wintry day.
... I like singing at the office when I'm there by myself and no one is around to have to listen to me. =D
... I love new books. Words almost fail to describe how excited I get at having new books.
... I love how Owl City lyrics can make absolutely no sense and yet still be fantastic. =]
... Connie Willis is officially one of my favorite authors, and I would be thrilled to read every book she's ever written.
... God's ways are not my ways. His ways are infinitely beyond anything I could ask or hope or imagine!
... I love Christmas, and I hate taking down Christmas decorations.
... I love San Francisco.
... Put four young people who are all former debaters in the same vehicle, and hilarious stories will ensue.
... Christmas break is wonderful.
... There's nothing quite like curling up in front of a crackling fire with a good book on a cold, wintry day.
... I like singing at the office when I'm there by myself and no one is around to have to listen to me. =D
... I love new books. Words almost fail to describe how excited I get at having new books.
... I love how Owl City lyrics can make absolutely no sense and yet still be fantastic. =]
... Connie Willis is officially one of my favorite authors, and I would be thrilled to read every book she's ever written.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A New Year's prayer
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
In ev'ry part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e'en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in ev'ry part;
Praise in the common things of life,
Its goings out and in,
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill ev'ry part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of they love, O Lord,
Poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt thou, Lord, from me, e'en me,
Receive the glory due,
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free:
But all my life, in ev'ry step,
Be fellowship with thee.
In ev'ry part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e'en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in ev'ry part;
Praise in the common things of life,
Its goings out and in,
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill ev'ry part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of they love, O Lord,
Poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt thou, Lord, from me, e'en me,
Receive the glory due,
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free:
But all my life, in ev'ry step,
Be fellowship with thee.
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