"It wasn't everyone, after all, who could have resisted an invitation like Frost's. An invitation that beckoned you right across the frontiers of human life... into something that people had been trying to find since the beginning of the world... a touch on that infinitely secret cord which was the real nerve of all history. How it would have attracted him once! Would have attracted him once... Suddenly, like a thing that leaped to him across infinite distances with the speed of light, desire (salt, black, ravenous, unanswerable desire) took him by the throat."
- from C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength (New York: Scribner, copyright 1945)
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16: 18*
What a wonderful picture of human frailty! As soon as the person from the first quote grew prideful of having not taken the bait, instantly he is taking the bait. Desire is not really something that can be controlled by ourselves alone, but, with the Lord's help, we can overcome it, if it is improper.
Our enemy is a wily one, and, if we were alone, we would fall to his temptations immediately. Fortunately for us, we are not alone. Dad and I recently attended a church meeting for guys, and there we watched an excerpt from a sermon by someone whose name I don't remember. This pastor was calling his congregation to rally to the cry of "It is written!" Satan may try to use the Scriptures against us, but he has always twisted and perverted its meaning for his own uses. I pray that we will never hesitate to call upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not everyone wants to face this fact, but WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF SPIRITUAL CONFLICT!! We cannot resist Satan without the help of Jesus.
Our family has been talking about how we must not be lulled into a false sense of superiority just because we aren't doing drugs and we don't have ten body piercings. I have to struggle with this myself, and I hope you will pray for me in this.
Few things infuriate me more than a bully. Luckily, bullies don't bother you if you out-bully them. I know that sounds like a bad thing to do, but it works. Trust me. Once, I had this bully (when I was in public school) who would pick on me during the PE and recess periods, and I just ignored him or asked him to stop over and over again. Eventually, I turned to Mom and Grandpa for help, and they said that the next time I had trouble with him, I should make it very clear that he was never to bother me again. Then, if he persisted, I should punch him, pure and simple. I went to school the next day, and, sure enough, that person came up and started picking on me. I asked him to stop one last time, and, when he didn't, WHAM! Down went the bully, and he was done picking on me. To tell the truth, after that, we actually became pals! Neat, huh?
Mom just warned me that, if my posts get too long, nobody will read them. So, for now, farewell.
'ding 2
*Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Interbreeding
"These gypsies sometimes arrived in the Moog Empire, and, as 'interbreeding' was forbidden, most of the gypsy-Moog people were persecuted."
I think that this excerpt from an as yet unpublished book shows human nature pretty well. "Interbreeding" was forbidden, but they did it anyway. Deep down, although one might want to do the right thing, one always wants to do the wrong thing. We can't help it. After the Fall, the flesh became the enemy. The flesh is a double-agent, and Satan is happy about that. During a Christmas Advent that our family did once, we talked about how one must keep silencing the flesh and praising God until even your flesh wants to praise God. We have to work against ourselves until no part of us is against the rest. It's a hard thing to do.
On a happier note, here I am! If you are reading this, you probably came from the Parkside Place website to read a blog, so here it is.
We (being Dad and myself) recently started reading C. S. Lewis' space trilogy, and Dad is almost done with Perelandra, the second book. It was one of the creepiest books I've ever read, because something takes over somebody's body, and, even when the protagonist kills the Unman, as Lewis calls it, it comes back to life. It seems that Lewis ventured deeper into theology than I ever supposed.
Sometimes, I have the urge to say random words and do random things, but that is "barred in society," to quote Guy Wetmore Carrel's The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Muffet, so I cannot do it. The fewer weird things one does, the better, but that is only what the majority says.
Most people don't appreciate the power of literature, but it is only a way for authors to present their ideas. If the public ridicules those ideas, what of it? At least the authors tried. Some people hate some literature because of its content. After all, there is always somebody who is against something. For instance, the Harry Potter series has raised controversy, as has the trilogy that has The Golden Compass in it. Few people realize that that actually shows the power of literature. Literature raises arguments between people, even among family members (although the latter type is usually only arguments over pronunciation). Literature changes, and not in only one way. Whenever literature is translated, something is lost...
Even fewer people appreciate the power of safe food. I think that people only want food to taste good. For example, kefir is a sour but healthy drink that I don't much prefer, and I don't think that most people would want to eat it, but, add a little stevia and vanilla and, voila! you have a slightly tart, but tasty, smoothy, with most of the health benefits still in it.
How to wrap up a blog post after rambling through that stuff? Well, I guess I could use the words of the apostle Paul, the words that he so often used in his letters: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
'ding 2
I think that this excerpt from an as yet unpublished book shows human nature pretty well. "Interbreeding" was forbidden, but they did it anyway. Deep down, although one might want to do the right thing, one always wants to do the wrong thing. We can't help it. After the Fall, the flesh became the enemy. The flesh is a double-agent, and Satan is happy about that. During a Christmas Advent that our family did once, we talked about how one must keep silencing the flesh and praising God until even your flesh wants to praise God. We have to work against ourselves until no part of us is against the rest. It's a hard thing to do.
On a happier note, here I am! If you are reading this, you probably came from the Parkside Place website to read a blog, so here it is.
We (being Dad and myself) recently started reading C. S. Lewis' space trilogy, and Dad is almost done with Perelandra, the second book. It was one of the creepiest books I've ever read, because something takes over somebody's body, and, even when the protagonist kills the Unman, as Lewis calls it, it comes back to life. It seems that Lewis ventured deeper into theology than I ever supposed.
Sometimes, I have the urge to say random words and do random things, but that is "barred in society," to quote Guy Wetmore Carrel's The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Muffet, so I cannot do it. The fewer weird things one does, the better, but that is only what the majority says.
Most people don't appreciate the power of literature, but it is only a way for authors to present their ideas. If the public ridicules those ideas, what of it? At least the authors tried. Some people hate some literature because of its content. After all, there is always somebody who is against something. For instance, the Harry Potter series has raised controversy, as has the trilogy that has The Golden Compass in it. Few people realize that that actually shows the power of literature. Literature raises arguments between people, even among family members (although the latter type is usually only arguments over pronunciation). Literature changes, and not in only one way. Whenever literature is translated, something is lost...
Even fewer people appreciate the power of safe food. I think that people only want food to taste good. For example, kefir is a sour but healthy drink that I don't much prefer, and I don't think that most people would want to eat it, but, add a little stevia and vanilla and, voila! you have a slightly tart, but tasty, smoothy, with most of the health benefits still in it.
How to wrap up a blog post after rambling through that stuff? Well, I guess I could use the words of the apostle Paul, the words that he so often used in his letters: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
'ding 2
On the First Day
On the first day, the teacher created the Parkside School website.
Then she let her students create a homeschool page. And this blog.
Then, well, who knows...
Then she let her students create a homeschool page. And this blog.
Then, well, who knows...
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