Wrestling with justice

I am again in Fairland, which is lovely :-)

Right now I am reading in Job for my devotions, and I really like it, although sometimes it gets confusing -- Job's friends are not helpful or comforting, I know, but I still feel like some of the things they say are true...

It is really interesting to read in light of what I've been thinking about recently -- justice. My roommate read a book recently called Disposable People, about slavery that takes place today, in places like NY and LA. :-/ rather depressing. Add, on top of that, studying the Holocaust, displaced persons, and genocide in Humanities 303, oh, and then feelings of complete helplessness when it comes to the world's problems, and you have the perfect ingredients for depression.

So, I have been asking God to show me what my role is now. As Christians, we are called to bring justice and compassion and freedom to the oppressed. I'm just trying to figure out what that should look like in my life as a junior at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA.

The main thing, though, that God has reinforced through this is that he is in control, and he loves justice. And though he doesn't promise his people that they will never face injustice, he does promise them the grace to stand through it. And one day, when he comes to judge the living and the dead, the wicked will be destroyed and the righteous in Christ will be glorified. That is my comfort.

20

Today I am 20 years old.

I have lived one-fifth of a century.

That's a long time.

But I still feel really small.

tagged

I have been tagged! It's been awhile since Alicia tagged me, but I now have plenty of time to respond :-)

1. One book that changed your life: The Pleasures of God by John Piper
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs...seems like it'd be helpful in a situation like that, plus I need to read it again someday...
4. One book that made you laugh: Uh hmm. Can I pick a book that's going to make me laugh...I just haven't read it yet? Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. As soon as Bekah returns it to the library, I will get it out :-)
5. One book that made you cry: pretty much every sort-of sentimental book in the world makes me cry...but to be specific, Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen
6. One book that you wish had been written: How to Not Want To Do Everything in the World and Still Be Happy.
7. One book that you wish had never been written: Walden by Thoreau
8. One book you’re currently reading: Assignment in Brittany by Helen McInnes
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Something by Salmon Rushdie...either The Satanic Verses or Shalimar the Clown.
10. Now tag five people: Tricia, Heather, Ryan...uh. who else reads my blog? :-P

Update from France!

Greetings from France!

We are in our second week here, and things are going well. At the beginning there were 8 of us; 7 from the States and 1 girl from Ireland. Last Saturday another girl from Ireland joined us to make 9.

Our schedule has been the same pretty much every day; in the morning we distribute Réflexions, the pamphlet that the church puts together. After lunch we go door to door in the neighborhood where we have the kids' club in order to invite kids to club and possibly have conversations with people as well. We have all had good conversations with several people, but it is difficult because they like to tell you all about what they believe and not listen to what you have to say and not give direct answers to your questions. After door-to-door, we have the kids' clubs for an hour. We are divided into two groups since there are so many of us and running two clubs at the same time. Last week my group ran a club in a mainly Muslim nieghborhood. While one boy came almost every day, they were clearly not happy to have us there.

This week's club started off much better. There were over 5 little girls who came and listened well and had a lot of fun. Today, however, they were playing outside when we came but weren't allowed to come because they had been talking about God and what they had learned and their dads weren't happy.

If any of you follow football, you will know that France is in the World Cup Finals! Last night we got to go to downtown Nantes and watch it on the big screen with thousands of people. It was very exciting to be there.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We have been learning much about God's faithfulness to His people and how He answers prayer during our trip.

In Christ,
Laura

Soylent Green

I just watched a movie with Ryan and Mrs. C --- Soylent Green. An old sci-fi with Charlton Heston...quite weird. In the year 2022, the world has run out of natural resources, eats "food" called Soylent, rations water, practices euthanasia, and is overpopulated. Women are also extremely oppressed. The movie doesn't end how I expected (it's unresolved) and I wouldn't put it on my top 100 list. Worth the hour and however-many-minutes of my time? Probably not. I'm going to go back to my Salmon Rushdie book for tonight.

Fairland News

these nice pictures are from the lovely town of Fairland, IN., where I'm at for the summer :-) it's pretty much awesome.
Population: approximately 1,348. (although, that includes all the farms surrounding downtown Fairland)
upcoming events: Fairland Fire Run, Saturday June 17. w00t!

we (the Cerbus children and I) bought Mrs. Cerbus a cool winerack for her birthday. It's very classy :-D

gwendolyn brooks

today i am thankful for....

...discovering new poets.


Gwendolyn Brooks.


"Kitchenette Building"

We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan,
Grayed in, and gray. "Dream" mate, a giddy sound, not strong
Like "rent", "feeding a wife", "satisfying a man".

But could a dream sent up through onion fumes
Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes
And yesterday's garbage ripening in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms,

Even if we were willing to let it in,
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,
Anticipate a message, let it begin?

We wonder. But not well! not for a minute!
Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now,
We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.

teaching

I taught my first lesson ever today!! metaphors and similes to 9th graders at Beaver Falls HS! w00t!

I'm so thankful for how it went - - and I'm really excited about teaching! I wasn't nervous at all once I got up there, and I had so much fun :-)

The Fall

so Bangor and Allison Perry and I went to Eat 'n' Park last night real quick, and on the way back they brought up a question that they were debating in HUM 303: to what extent has the Fall affected man's abilities?

At first I was really quick to draw the line, and said that obviously things like being lame, or blind, are part of the Fall.

But what about skills? such as math, writing, athletic, music abilities? Are we all supposed to be perfectly good at them? Or is there a certain limit to our abilities, and even in Heaven we won't be totally perfect at them?

So then I thought, uh, does it really matter what exactly I think? Well, I'm going to be a teacher. And so if I believe that everyone should be able to write perfectly, but they don't because of the Fall, I am going to strive as hard as I can to propel students to perfection (recognizing, of course, that they won't get there in this life). If I believe that students aren't necessarily gifted in writing, and so will NEVER be able to write perfectly, I will work around it more, and accommodate their weaknesses.

I hope this makes sense...I'd appreciate your thoughts!

blast from the past

So I got an email this morning with a fun picture of my dad in it....thought I'd show you all what he looked like in the 80's :-P At first I didn't recognize him -- so much hair, and a beard!! (sorry, dad). but he does look quite handsome, don't you think? :-D

tithe

Protestants gave more of their income to churches in the Great Depression than they do today.

---> what does that say about where our treasure is?

"Why don't people ask us about our hope? The answer is probably that we look as if we hope in the same things they do. Our lives don't look like they are on the Calvary road, stripped down for sacrificial love, serving others with the sweet assurance that we don't need to be rewarded in this life. Our reward is in heaven (Matthew 5:12)!... If we believed this more deeply, others might see the worth of God and find in Him their gladness"
~John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

2nd Floor

this blog post is simply to say that I LOVE my 2nd floor NS McKee girls. you are all amazing and awesome...for all the talks, singing, homestar runner fun, meals, screaming at the honors program, threatening to quit school, and ridiculous quotations.... thank you.

:-)

poetry

the question of what makes good poetry doesn't have a simple answer. poetry has always been something i have struggled to grasp by myself, and i appreciate the insight of my classmates as we delve into the workings of a poet's mind to find out what exactly s/he is talking about.

as i think about poetry, i have to ask myself what do i think makes good poetry? i don't ask myself that because i think that i am a good judge of poetry. but sometime, i have to answer, what am i going to decide to teach my middle school or high school students, and why?

one of the things that i have come to appreciate about poetry is the ability of a good poet to strike the cords of my heart with words.

and e.e.cummings does just that. half the time i don't understand what in the world he is saying, but i do know that it sounds amazing. :-) oh, and he does some neat things with spacing and punctutaion, too.


"O Sweet Spontaneous"

O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting

fingers of
purient philosophers pinched
and
poked

thee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy

beauty .how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and

buffeting thee that thou mightest concieve
gods
(but
true

to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
thou answerest

them only with

spring)

The Greatest Dilemma

I think one of the great dilemmas of my life has been whether to use a pen or a pencil while taking notes in class.

There are pros and cons of each, of course, but I have never seem to come to a great conclusion. The influencing factor to which I use at any given time largely has to do with what I have available.

Pencils are wonderful. As an English major, they evoke a feeling of antiquity and creativity. It is also incredibly empowering to know that you can erase whatever you write down.

On the other hand, Pens have a quality that cannot be equalled. The grace and sense of finality that they bring to a piece of paper is satisfying. And yet, the type of Pen greatly matters. Just any old cheap Pen really brings down the effect of your writing, but a nice, elegant Pen with dark ink just sharpens the appearance of what you write. There is of course, the horrifying occurance of a mistake being made with a Pen. A remedy has been attempted for this in the making of Erasable Ink, but the quality of this ink is poor and not worth using. Because of this, extreme caution must be exercised while using a Pen, lest the appearance of your paper be marred by mistakes.

For the moment, my mind has not been worried over which utensil to use, as I do not possess a high quality Pen. I write in Pencil, for now, and write with pride.