So, the days are slipping by now until I graduate from college. I feel like that is such a strange, foreign, faraway land, post-college. And it is in two days.
Scary.
The days leading up to graduation feel like when you edge closer and closer to a cliff, and all of a sudden all the rocks you are standing slip prematurely, and then you are falling and you don't really know how you got close enough to fall. Does that make sense? Probably not. Either way, I am definitely on the falling part right now.
I NEED A JOB.
Boring.
How about I just read great novels and learn how to play guitar and put together an awesome application for grad school instead? Yeah, I like that idea better.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Psalm 139
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
You hem me in--behind and before;
you have laid your hand on me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn
if I settle on the far side of the sea
Even there your hand will guide me;
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light become night around me,"
Even the darkness will not be dark to you
the night will shine like the day
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place
when I was formed in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I am awake,
I am still with you.
If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them,
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.
The Lord knows my thoughts and actions, words and fears, triumphs and failures, far better than I know them myself. I love it that he "hems me in," he goes before me and behind me and with me, like the cloud around Moses. His thoughts, although far more vast and magnificent than anything I could ever understand, are sweet to me. His right hand is both guiding me and holding me fast--both giving me independence and keeping me safe from the enemy. When I am awake, I am still with him--think of the beautiful double meaning of "still" here. "Still" as in I am eternally, forever with him, and "still" in the fact that my restless heart can be at peace in his presence. All the rough times, all the times I feel misunderstood or alone or fighting a losing battle, all those times he has seen me and has not hidden from me, nor hidden me from him. I can go nowhere without his knowledge, see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, without his immediate understanding. Search me, O God, know my heart--as you already do.
How glorious that even the darkness which can consume me is not dark to you! Lead me in the way everlasting.
You know when I sit and when I rise
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
You hem me in--behind and before;
you have laid your hand on me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn
if I settle on the far side of the sea
Even there your hand will guide me;
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light become night around me,"
Even the darkness will not be dark to you
the night will shine like the day
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place
when I was formed in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I am awake,
I am still with you.
If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them,
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.
The Lord knows my thoughts and actions, words and fears, triumphs and failures, far better than I know them myself. I love it that he "hems me in," he goes before me and behind me and with me, like the cloud around Moses. His thoughts, although far more vast and magnificent than anything I could ever understand, are sweet to me. His right hand is both guiding me and holding me fast--both giving me independence and keeping me safe from the enemy. When I am awake, I am still with him--think of the beautiful double meaning of "still" here. "Still" as in I am eternally, forever with him, and "still" in the fact that my restless heart can be at peace in his presence. All the rough times, all the times I feel misunderstood or alone or fighting a losing battle, all those times he has seen me and has not hidden from me, nor hidden me from him. I can go nowhere without his knowledge, see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, without his immediate understanding. Search me, O God, know my heart--as you already do.
How glorious that even the darkness which can consume me is not dark to you! Lead me in the way everlasting.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Sad Little March Books
I want to write fiction. I have been feeling an itch lately to create something. The trouble is, I have no idea how to go about it.
Anyways, after the fruitful February reading phase, I fell out of practice again. Here is my latest booklist and reviews:
1. Still working on Tom Jones by Henry Fielding. I got bogged down in the middle, but it's very good.
2. Also still working on Moby Dick. Every page of my notes has a whale drawing on it as a result. Today I drew a humpbacked whale. It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
3. I finished the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith yesterday. It was my second reading of it, and I loved it again. Seriously, if you need a quick, fun, and easy read, it's perfect.
4. Lifesigns by Henri Nouwen. Read it, now. It blessed me majorly. The prose is good, and his wisdom is beautiful.
5. The Discarded Image, by C.S. Lewis, seriously fed my medieval fascination. I just love Lewis's clarity of style. And it is so good for my brain to read difficult texts, and not to forget what I have learned.
6. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. Wow. It was very sad. However, I did enjoy it. There is just something wonderful about 19th century English literature.
7. The Shoemakers Holiday, by Thomas Dekker, is my favorite of the non-Shakespeare Renaissance plays I have read so far! It is really funny. Simon Eyre's language completes the play.
8. Working on An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England, by Peter Hunter Blair. I bought it at Bookmans at the end of Spring Break. Don't make fun.
9. Read a couple of time-wasting books over Spring Break, but I forget what those are. Ha.
I will soon write about something more interesting than my booklist. Hopefully! I like to keep track of everything I have learned, even if it is super nerdy!
Anyways, after the fruitful February reading phase, I fell out of practice again. Here is my latest booklist and reviews:
1. Still working on Tom Jones by Henry Fielding. I got bogged down in the middle, but it's very good.
2. Also still working on Moby Dick. Every page of my notes has a whale drawing on it as a result. Today I drew a humpbacked whale. It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
3. I finished the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith yesterday. It was my second reading of it, and I loved it again. Seriously, if you need a quick, fun, and easy read, it's perfect.
4. Lifesigns by Henri Nouwen. Read it, now. It blessed me majorly. The prose is good, and his wisdom is beautiful.
5. The Discarded Image, by C.S. Lewis, seriously fed my medieval fascination. I just love Lewis's clarity of style. And it is so good for my brain to read difficult texts, and not to forget what I have learned.
6. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. Wow. It was very sad. However, I did enjoy it. There is just something wonderful about 19th century English literature.
7. The Shoemakers Holiday, by Thomas Dekker, is my favorite of the non-Shakespeare Renaissance plays I have read so far! It is really funny. Simon Eyre's language completes the play.
8. Working on An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England, by Peter Hunter Blair. I bought it at Bookmans at the end of Spring Break. Don't make fun.
9. Read a couple of time-wasting books over Spring Break, but I forget what those are. Ha.
I will soon write about something more interesting than my booklist. Hopefully! I like to keep track of everything I have learned, even if it is super nerdy!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Books I have read, January to February 2010
Just for fun, here is a list of all the books I have read in January and February 2010. I was going to put it in my journal, but decided that this would be just as good of a place.
The Iliad by Homer- For fun. I love Greek mythology, it's the backbone of so much literature, and the language is amazing. Really cool translation by Richard Lattimore. Wish I could read it in the actual Greek.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- Not my favorite. I felt no attraction to the characters, especially Cathy and Heathcliff. Is something wrong with me?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- For the umpteenth time. I still love it. What a fun book... although many of my classmates didn't like it.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- What a fun surprise! I read Dickens in either eighth grade or freshman year of high school when I went through my classics phase, I forgot how fantastic he is. I need to read more. I just loved how real and authentic his characters are.
C.S. Lewis: A Biography by A.N. Wilson- Very interesting. I ordered some of his literary analyses from online because I was so intrigued by the description of them. He was a brilliant and odd man. One of the people I am excited to meet in Heaven.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan- I was a little put off by his language, which was a little too hip for me. I was very convicted at parts though, and the ending and beginning are both quite good. I can definitely see why some people love this book.
Counterfeit Idols by Tim Keller- Excellent and convicting book. He has a great way with language and I really was able to realize a lot of idolatry going on in my own life. Definitely the best spiritual book I have read in a long time.
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe- This is actually a play that I read for my Renaissance Drama course. I have a great affection for the Faustus stories, they are curious and bring up interesting and sometimes frustrating class discussions.
Edward III by Christopher Marlowe- Another Renaissance Drama play. This one is about a gay king of England in the 14th century who gets overthrown. It's absolutely fascinating.
The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd- I really liked this Renaissance play too. I like reading plays better than watching them.. probably a bit sad for me. What is really interesting is that Thomas Kyd wrote the original Hamlet, but it is now lost--what a pity.
I also have a few books that I have been slowly digesting and that are not quite finished yet:
Moby Dick by Herman Melville- I will be reading this one throughout the semester for my senior proseminar. I can't decide if I like it or not. I enjoy Melville's prose very much, but sometimes he is a little extreme for me.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding- I am loving this book. It's hilarious and I can see so much novel history in it. Just for fun, too :)
I think there might be one more, but that's all I can think of right now. It was a productive two months!
The Iliad by Homer- For fun. I love Greek mythology, it's the backbone of so much literature, and the language is amazing. Really cool translation by Richard Lattimore. Wish I could read it in the actual Greek.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- Not my favorite. I felt no attraction to the characters, especially Cathy and Heathcliff. Is something wrong with me?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- For the umpteenth time. I still love it. What a fun book... although many of my classmates didn't like it.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- What a fun surprise! I read Dickens in either eighth grade or freshman year of high school when I went through my classics phase, I forgot how fantastic he is. I need to read more. I just loved how real and authentic his characters are.
C.S. Lewis: A Biography by A.N. Wilson- Very interesting. I ordered some of his literary analyses from online because I was so intrigued by the description of them. He was a brilliant and odd man. One of the people I am excited to meet in Heaven.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan- I was a little put off by his language, which was a little too hip for me. I was very convicted at parts though, and the ending and beginning are both quite good. I can definitely see why some people love this book.
Counterfeit Idols by Tim Keller- Excellent and convicting book. He has a great way with language and I really was able to realize a lot of idolatry going on in my own life. Definitely the best spiritual book I have read in a long time.
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe- This is actually a play that I read for my Renaissance Drama course. I have a great affection for the Faustus stories, they are curious and bring up interesting and sometimes frustrating class discussions.
Edward III by Christopher Marlowe- Another Renaissance Drama play. This one is about a gay king of England in the 14th century who gets overthrown. It's absolutely fascinating.
The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd- I really liked this Renaissance play too. I like reading plays better than watching them.. probably a bit sad for me. What is really interesting is that Thomas Kyd wrote the original Hamlet, but it is now lost--what a pity.
I also have a few books that I have been slowly digesting and that are not quite finished yet:
Moby Dick by Herman Melville- I will be reading this one throughout the semester for my senior proseminar. I can't decide if I like it or not. I enjoy Melville's prose very much, but sometimes he is a little extreme for me.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding- I am loving this book. It's hilarious and I can see so much novel history in it. Just for fun, too :)
I think there might be one more, but that's all I can think of right now. It was a productive two months!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Grace has a blog!
I have wanted to start a blog for a while now. Since I am an English literature major, I am used to analyzing books to death! But I would like to share my feelings, thoughts, and opinions in a less strict and formal way. Who knows, perhaps it will help me figure out what I would like to do as a career or something! If not... at least I'll be writing. :)
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