Joy to the World

With Christians around the world, we confess our faith.

I believe in Jesus Christ–child prophesied by Isaiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, named by Joseph, announced by the angels, worshipped by the shepherds, adored by the Wise Men, and celebrated by Simeon and Anna.  He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and people.  He fulfilled God’s law in our behalf.  Though He never sinned, He took on our sin.  He suffered, died on a cross, and was laid in a tomb.  On the third day, He conquered death and the grave and now reigns at His Father’s right hand.  He will return to receive all who cradle Him in the manger of their hearts.

Thanks be to God for His gift too wonderful for words.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Yeah, I know.  It’s not a new book.  And, as a matter of fact,  I have read it before.  But that was over twenty years ago, and I was hoping that my, ahem…maturity… might add something to my understanding of the story.

Boy, was I right.   I liked the book before.  Now it has moved to my all-time favorites list.

East of Eden is basically a retelling of the story of Cain and Abel.  It centers around two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks.  Sam Hamilton is a man of deep emotions, a man of passions.  Adam Trask?  Not so much.

Nevertheless, it is Adam who marries the not-so-sweet Cathy, Adam who ends up being father to twin boys, Caleb (Cal) and Aron, Adam’s story around which the novel revolves.  Adam Trask is never really grounded in anything, so his boys must search for identity on their own and under the guidance of their Chinese servant, Lee.  Just as in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, Cal Trask is the outsider, the one searching for acceptance.  He’s worried that his life is predestined and that the evil he carries with him because of who his mother is will doom him in the end.  Under Lee’s loving and subtle guidance, Cal finally receives the words he needs from his father.  He is not inherently evil.  His parentage does not doom him.  He has a choice.

I have seen two movies about East of Eden, one of which stars James Dean.  Since I live in the area where Dean was born, I thought that would be a big deal, but Dean’s story tells of Cal Trask’s search for identity and acceptance.  The other was a mini-series starring Jane Seymour and chronicling the life of Cathy, Adam’s wife turned madam.  I liked that one better because it included a lot more of the novel’s details and, I have to admit, because I was familiar with Seymour from Somewhere in Time and what I saw from her in East of Eden was so totally opposite that it blew me away.  I think that’s what drew me into the novel so much on this second read. Cathy was perfectly happy being the evil madam that she was, and her character was a stark contrast to that of  Cal and also to Sam Hamilton, whose hand she bites as he helps her deliver the twins.

The younger English teachers I work with haven’t read East of Eden for the first time yet.  They read modern things.  They’ve read Harry Potter, which is of similar length.  And, I have to admit, this year read Atlas Shrugged and An Echo in the Bone before I revisited Steinbeck.  The kids at school always like Of Mice and Men, I think because there’s nobility in it, and that’s why I wanted to read East of Eden again.  I’m always looking for books to recommend to them, and I wanted the story to be fresh in my mind.  I think they’d really like East of Eden, despite its length, if I gave them my Cliff Notes version to get them interested in the story line.  Who among us doesn’t want to be told that they have a choice about how their lives turn out?  Those of us who are older, except maybe the Adam Trasks among us, have already figured that out, but the kids?  They need to figure out the choice thing for themselves, and sometimes literature gives them a non-threatening way to do just that.

Saving Cicadas by Nicole Seitz

Saving Cicadas by Nicole Seitz is the fictional story of Priscilla Macy and her family as they seek to reveal hidden truths and find their ways home.

Priscilla Macy is a single mom with two girls. seventeen-year-old Rainey Dae, a special-needs child, and eight-year-old Janie Doe. Priscilla finds herself pregnant and without support, and she takes the girls and her mother and father on a road trip in search of … something.  Home?  Roots? Redemption?  Or all three?

Seitz chose to tell this story using the voices of eight-year-old Janie and her grandma, Mona.  I thought Janie’s voice was totally believable, and the story worked with her telling it.  I didn’t think Mona worked as well, mostly because of her reserve.  Mona carried information that was important to the story, but her character was harsh and jarring, a stark contrast to Janie’s.  I see why Seitz used Mona as a narrator, but the only justification I could come up with for the harshness of the transition was that some of the story matter itself was harsh and Mona was the one who revealed it.  Although I believe Seitz’s story was well worth the telling, I didn’t find myself believing the book, and that made it a less enjoyable read.

You can buy the book here.

“Twas the Month after Christmas or Beware of Christmas Carry-ins!

I found myself thinking that a lot today as I enjoyed what was at our school carry-in.  I have decided that I will enjoy such things, but now that I’m, um….older, the consequences of that enjoyment are a little harder to get rid of.  I don’t know who wrote the poem below, but it seems to fit the occasion, so I thought I’d share.

‘Twas the Month After Christmas

‘Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I’d nibbled, the eggnog I did taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I’d remember the marvelous meals I’d prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I’d never said, “No thank you, please.”
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt—
I said to myself, as I only can “You can’t spend a winter
disguised as a man!”
So–away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
‘Til all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won’t have a cookie–not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore—
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

–Anonymous

 

I’m not kidding anybody, though.  I probably won’t exercise a lot of self-control until after the holidays.  There are too many things that are good to eat that we only make during holiday time!

 

The Letter in My School Mailbox

I work in a rural school district that is very similar to the one in which I raised my children. I’m sure that I have mentioned how much I love my job. I work with good people. We pray for one another. The coaching staff (and other staff members) pray with our kids.

Or they did. That’s what the letter in my box, which was from the superintendent, was about. Here’s part of what it said:

For several years, we have had administrators, teachers, coaches and other members of our staff gather with our students to pray. Many times this was done at the request of our students. During the past few months, I have received multiple letters from “concerned citizens” indicating their displeasure with our staff praying with our students. In discussions I have held with our school board we were hoping that this issue would simply go away. It has not. I received another letter …again from “concerned citizens of the community,” expressing concern with the level of religious activity in … [our school system]. The letter indicates that they have videos of our staff praying with students.. Legal action has been threatened in the event we do not stop these activities.

I am always irritated when I hear about letters sent by concerned citizens.  If you’re that concerned, you can sign your name, don’t you think?

Anyway, faced with this dilemma, here’s what our superintendent and school board have decided to do.  I don’t think they really have any choice.  Our little district can’t afford to take on big legal fees:

...I [the superintendent] am sending this letter to notify all staff that we, as employees …, cannot engage in prayer with our students.  As coaches, we cannot conduct pre-game or post-game prayers.  Coaches or sponsors cannot indicate that they will step away and that then it’s all right for students to pray.  This does not mean we will stop the large following that we have at both the high school and middle school in our Fellowship of Christian Athletes program.  These programs and meetings are strictly voluntary for our students and hopefully will continue to flourish under the outstanding leadership of our staff.

This also does not mean that the students themselves cannot initiate prayer.  Athletic teams may gather before or after a contest and have prayer.  The coaches however cannot be involved.

The letter ends with our superintendent’s saying that while this decision does not reflect his views or that of many of the school board — and, I am sure, of much of the community–the board has acted as they saw fit to protect the corporation from its “concerned citizens.”  Then he says he is proud to be our superintendent.

I do not live in the community in which I work, but it is a tightly-knit little town in which the churches and faith play a large part.  I am sure this letter was hard for our superintendent to put together, and I am sure it was prayerfully considered before it was sent out.  I am also sure that the people who were praying with our students publicly, as well as the ones who pray on the way to school, in school, and on the way home as the need arises, will continue to do so.  And I am sure that God will continue to raise prayer warriors where there is need and, if you haven’t worked with teens lately, there is always need.

I couldn’t find the Bible verse that says prayer is a sweet savor unto the Lord, so if anyone wants to help me out there, I’d be grateful.  I was going to include it in my closing.  And I am going to post this piece without completely proofreading because, well, it’s time to go to school.  I have a twenty-minute drive, during which I often, ahem, pray, and today, I am sure, nothing about that will change.  After all, Kenny is now in the passing zone for English, and that other sophomore boy’s progress with the written word is just, well, … miraculous.

Today, though, I will add an extra prayer for the Godly people with whom I work, that God will protect them and their community as they continue, privately if not publicly, to reach out to their students and their community in prayer.

And I think I’ll send an e-mail to the superintendent, telling him how glad I am that I work in his district, too.

Sarah Palin One-ups Captain Kirk

I hope you don’t have to be a Star Trek fan to appreciate this. I loved the look on Shatner’s face!

Unexpected Gifts

These are the two gifts I got at work today:

1. Steven asked for my help and then received what I had to give.  The semester is over next Friday, and this is the first time.

2.  Kenny told me his dad wanted him to stay home but he came to school because he knew I was waiting to help him get caught up.  “It was my choice,” he said, and he was proud.  So am I.

Aren’t those wonderful things to happen on a Friday?

This Bothers Me

I was talking to a friend of mine and we were talking about infant baptism.  She attends a Wesleyan church, and Wesleyans do not believe in infant baptism.  I  attend a Lutheran church, and we do. She said she had always heard that Lutherans said, “The road to hell is paved with unbaptized children.”

I have been going to a Lutheran church all of my life, and I have never heard that, so I’m just here to say that, if you have heard that from a Lutheran, I’m really, really sorry.  I don’t think all Lutherans feel that way.

Update: As I searched on the Internet, I found that the above metaphor is attributed to Jonathan Edwards, who is most famous for his sermon that juniors in high school still study, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God.”  He was Puritan–not Lutheran.

Santa Came Early This Year

A while ago, I blogged on the downsizing of our television.  Such is no longer the case.

The hubby was in Ohio all week caring for our grandson, Tony, who got his tonsils out.  He came home with a big smile and a big box that held a 32″ Sony Bravia LCD Digital TV that the son, who is our expert on all things technology, assures us will last until we die or until no one knows what TV is anymore.  The hubby was very, very, VERY happy, and set it up before he noticed the peanut brittle I made to welcome him home.

The TV wasn’t the only thing that made him smile, though.  He was happy that yesterday, on the last day he was there, the son took time out of his day to take him to lunch.  I just want you to know, son, that he smiled a LOT about that, too.

Anyway…the hubby will get more things for Christmas, but I think he’d be happy if his TV was his only present.  And no, I don’t think I’ll ever get to hold the remote!

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

I have been following the story of Claire and Jamie Fraser for over ten years now, ever since I read Outlander, and it just keeps getting better and better.  It is a romance, and the time-traveling through the standing stones lends it an element of science fiction as well.  Claire met Jamie in Outlander, and Gabaldon’s subsequent books have taken their story through the years.  In An Echo in the Bone, Jamie and Claire are now grandparents, separated by an ocean–and two hundred years–from their daughter and her family.  They have gone from Scotland to the American colonies, and they find themselves in the midst of the American Revolution.

I can’t tell you what I like more about this series.  I like the way Claire’s and Jamie’s relationship has matured.  I like that the dialogue is real.  I like the well-researched historical background.  Hmmm… I guess I can tell you why I like this story! And just when I thought that since Claire and Jamie are now grandparents I didn’t know how much farther their story could go, Diana Gabaldon came up with a new plot twist that suggests that the story isn’t over yet.

An Echo in the Bone isn’t a girly type of romance although, well, I am a girl and I do like it.  My test for whether a book is really good is if the hubby likes it, and he does.  He stuck with me as we read all 814 pages.  (It took us about six weeks. Work takes a lot of time away from reading)  There was enough manly stuff in it to keep him interested and, he admitted, he was interested in Claire’s and Jamie’s story as well.  In fact, he sent me in search of  Outlander so that he can get all the details from the beginning.

That only has a little over six hundred pages.  Think we can finish it by the end of Christmas break?