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From a phone gadget! This is strange, the world must be ending

Some People's Kids

A young child informed me that she wished I was her grandmother a few nights ago... I'll take that as a compliment.

RadioDisney

I flipped to the disney channel on the radio yesterday, 1240 AM. (thank you Chad). I had a little girl in my car, a precious little girl, and wanted to jam something that'd be suitable for both of us. Upon changing to this forgotten radio station, I was shocked at what I heard. I remember hearing good ole' Mickey Mouse Club, A Whole New World, Part of That World, and other such disney classics on this station. Well, let me tell ya, there was no such thing yesterday. It was all Hannah Montana or Molly Whatever along with Secondhand Serenade. I don't mind Secondhand Serenade, but on the Disney Channel? Whatever happened to the never failing songs from Disney movies? It was disappointing at first, but we both learned to jam to whatever sort of noise the station would provide us. We were breaking it out and dancing in my car... she was in the back so I'm not sure people were able to be graced by her dancing skills.

IHOP

The International House of Pancakes has done well. I appreciate that it's always open. I've had more than one great conversation at IHOP, conversations that may not have happened had IHOP been closed. You see, when it seems all is said and done and we should make our way home, IHOP is always there for us, it's an option along with Denny's, Village Inn, and Dunkin Donuts. Thank you twenty-four hour places, for providing a comfortable atmosphere to sit and chat in.

To Have a Heart Like His

Sounds like a book title, but I'm not sure that it is. This is my central goal in life. I've been learning more and more what that means, to have a heart like Jehovah's. There's parts of it I'm just discovering, they're so unknown I'm almost afraid. Everything in His will gives Him glory, I don't understand it but I am seeking the truth, seeking His heart, and His will.

Till We Have Faces, Originally Entitled Bareface

In Till We Have Faces, Clive Staples Lewis reworks the well-known myth of Cupid and Psyche. The piece is written from the perspective of Psyche’s sister eldest sister Orual. The story falls into the category of fantasy fiction, meaning it uses several of the ideas utilized in science fiction such as imaginary worlds, creatures, and heroes without including modern day science and technology. Thought the novel is based upon another story, it’s a unique piece of literature.
C.S Lewis, otherwise known as Jack, lived from 1898 to 1963. At the age of nine, CS Lewis’s mother died of cancer. He was then shipped off to boarding school where he began writing about fictional adventures taking place in strange lands. Soon after converting to Christianity, he authored several novels and theological books. He then married Joy Davidman Gresham, an American writer who he eventually learned to love. In 1960, Cancer once again took the primary lady, Joy, out of Lewis’s life. After her death, Lewis coped by writing the book A Grief Observed, in which Lewis observed his own grieving process. Lewis died of osteoporosis three years later, in 1963.
Lewis played a significant role in modern Christian literature. He’s authored several books including The Chronicles of Narnia series. The first two stories of The Chronicles of Narnia were eventually adapted by Disney into feature films. Till We Have Faces was Lewis’s last piece of fiction, then followed by many theological and educational works. He also played a significant role in the writings of JR Tolkien, the renowned author of the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Today, Lewis is quoted off of several pulpits in churches around the world.
In Till We Have Faces, the primary character, Orual, purposes a complaint against the gods and makes an appeal concerning her role in Psyche’s life. Orual recounts how she loved Psyche and desired the best for her. Orual is not visually pleasing, in fact, her face is awfully ugly. Orual’s ugliness plays a significant role in the story, it is mentioned countless times and not only affects her characterization but also influences the development of other characters in the story. She mentions how various soldiers don’t see her as a women, and as a result, act as if she were also a man. As a child, she is referred to as both “frightening” and “curd-face” (18) by her own father. As an adult, she veils herself without ceasing. Besides her face, Orual views herself as visually tolerable. She is of proper stature and weight, and, so long as she remains veiled, is socially accepted.
Orual, called Maia by Psyche, is brave, fearful, loving, selfish, lonely, loved, manipulative, sensible, believing, and suspicious. Like any women, she is moody and is difficult to understand. She is brave in that she is willing to battle the best swordsmen in the land, yet she weeps at the thought of losing her sister. She believes she loves Psyche yet keeps her from the god whom she loves. Orual allows herself to think she has no companions, but is comforted when she is stricken with fever. She goes to extremes, even cutting her own flesh to convince people, yet she is wise enough to lead a country. She allows herself to believe in gods, even writing a complaint against them, while she views Psyche’s belief as foolishness. It may be concluded by the preceding sentences that Orual is simply fickle and difficult to comprehend. She is far from consistent.
Orual may be described as an anti-hero. She contains the characteristics of one as she’s ugly, selfish, manipulative, lonely, and eventually known as a wicked sister. While Orual contains all of these attributes, she somewhat experiences the heroes journey a few times. First, she is called by her own loving conscious to go save Psyche’s body from the near by mountain. She then has to cross a deep dark river and surprisingly finds Psyche alive, after thinking she’d been sacrificed to the goddess Ungit. Orual returns to her land of Glome, and, because nobody knew she was gone, is not welcomed. Orual also encounters parts of a hero as she battles a swordsman to save her country from a series of wars. Though she partially experiences the hero’s journey, Orual is more of an anti-hero than anything else.
Throughout the story, Orual struggles with the conflict of human versus the supernatural. She battles with the idea of gods, then ends up writing a complaint against them. Orual is influenced by her keeper, the fox, to not believe in the gods while her soldier Bardia is a god-fearing man who attempts to convince her to respect them. She is constantly struggling with the idea and actions of the gods, especially the Brute, also known as Cupid, and his mother Ungit. The ugly princess loathes these gods for taking her beloved sister Psyche away. She mocks them, doubts them, and doesn’t understand them. She especially struggles with the gods after discovering that Psyche has become one.
The story is in first person narrative from Orual’s perspective. Orual herself is writing the story. Words including my, myself, and I are used to recount the events in the story. This means that the author doesn’t allow the reader to know what the other characters in the story are thinking. However, it creates an intimacy with Orual which could otherwise not exist. The reader is allowed to venture deep into the mind of her thoughts and ideas. Because Lewis was purposefully attempting retell the myth of Psyche and Cupid from another perspective, using a character to tell the story was an appropriate approach.
Till We Have Faces encases the universal themes of love and selfishness. One may say that the maxim of the story is that loving too much can lead to selfishness. At one point, Psyche tells Orual “You are indeed teaching me about kinds of love I did not know. It is like looking into a deep pit. I am not sure whether I like your kind better than hatred.” (165) This theme is weaved into the book as Orual tries to convince Psyche to betray her new found love. It is also laced toward the end of the story, as Orual discovers her love wasn’t as she thought it was. Her love leads to selfishness, selfishness that destroys both her and Psyche. It is difficult to understand Lewis’s perspective on this idea, as Orual herself wrote the book.
The novel has a heavy impact on the reader. There are several subtle yet significant quotes from the story that, if analyzed, make the reader think of the relevance of the quote to actual life. For exam one of the character states “Don’t you think the things people are most ashamed of are the things they can’t help?” (111) this statement could have a significant impact on anyone, allowing him or her to meditate on the relevance to that statement in real life. The story also plays on the readers emotions as the reader becomes attached to Orual. While reading the story, one can’t help but feel sorry and cheer for Orual. The story truly invites its reader to search within his or her self while digging deep into the self of an ugly princess.

Christy is feeling better

Isn't it wonderful to hear that someone who was once feeling ill has been restored to health? I've been realizing more and more that our health is temporary. It's something to be used of while we have it, while we're still young. That is to say, if you have health while you're still young. Thank God for it every day, go out and use those feet that can walk, that throat that can talk and proclaim His love, use it!... because it won't be there this entire life. Sure, we won't have to worry about it in he next one, not that we have to WORRY about it now. But it isn't something to take lightly.

Whos Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?

So I was playing around on google and, though it's embarrasing to admit, I looked up "Katie Lynn" Let me tell you, I don't regret being conceited. I found a beautiful woman named Katie Lynn who, coincidentally is a country singer. She co-hosts some country music show and is quite the star. Katie-Lynn asks, "Whos Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" She just wants to know whose heart you stole baby! It's hilarious, check it out if you get a chance. And go ahead and look yourself up on google, you may find a story called "Believe in Katie Lynn," the chilling tale of a baby struggling to survive. It's interesting stuff people. Google is so crazy, you can find anything!