A Wrinkle in Time

This week I decided to read a Wrinkle in Time. I remember having to read this book for seventh grade English. I have never had a problem reading it, for it really is a good book. I'm sure many of you have read it so you probably know the plot, but in case you forgot here it is. Basically it is a sciencey futuristic book about a girl named Meg who doesn't really fit in. However her troubles seem to be drowned out as she is taken on a journey along with her brother Charles and her friend Calvin. They attempt to rescue their father by traveling through a wrinkle in time in order to get to the planet he is held captive on. I won't spoil the end if you haven't read it, but I do want to discuss the planet they travel to called, Camazotz. It is like the perfect town, with everything synchronized and in order. I personally think that it would drive me crazy to be there or have to live like that. I would be frightened if I was Meg. The place gives me a Stepford Wives feel to it. Everything is blunt, cut and dry. There is no creativity, art, or imagination. I am a very artsy kind of person and to live in a world without it, I just don't see how anything could improve. I mean look at all the imagination in the world and the things that were innovated because of it. We would be no where near the advanced nature that we are now. Everything would have been at a standstill and we would probably all be in the periphery stage of world systems. I think that is what L'Engle is trying to say, in that you need art and creativity in order to prosper, and a world without that is no good.

In the Bleak Midwinter

During our lesson in class about Christina Rossetti and how her book Sing Song was broken up in to three phrases, I couldn't help but notice that her first phase reminded me of a famous hymn. After reading lines 11, about the unfulfilled hope in winter, and 17, the promise of spring, I was reminded of the hymn, In the Bleak Midwinter. I love this song and I having been playing it on my piano every winter season. The cool thing is that I always thought that Gustav Holst wrote the song and music. Well, after class the other day when I was checking through the lyrics, I couldn't help but notice that the words were not written by Holst, but Christina Rossetti herself in 1872! Apparently a local magazine asked her to write a Christmas poem so she wrote In the Bleak Midwinter. Gustav Holst later added a melody. How neat is that? This just re enforces my thoughts about how brilliant of a writer she was. The words are so powerful in the hymn and every time I hear them I am so moved. Just look at the first two lines:
"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone."
She was pretty amazing.
Because I discovered her wonderful gifts of poetry and hymn writing, I decided to see what else she has done. I found that she wrote 12 more hymns, 3 books of poetry, and 4 devotions. Man, she was one gifted lady. I wish I could have met her, I feel she would have been a very interesting lady to talk to!

Back to Yesteryears

Wouldn't it be nice to be a kid again,
Where the sky was always blue.
Now it's unknown
The colors aren't shown,
Oh, life's ambiguous hue.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a kid again,
It was such a simpler time.
Fun was in store,
For all who'd adore,
A song, a riddle, or a rhyme.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a kid again,
To see a child's perspective of things.
Now innocence lost,
Is a natural cost,
Of the journey on maturity's wings.

I wrote this poem today as I was thinking back about being a kid. I think back to those times often, remembering when life was so simple and easier. It was easy to be entertained, school was definitly easier, and decisions were easier. I feel like I have come a long way since then. I can tell by the way I act and the decisions that I've made, that I have grown up and matured a lot. One area in particular that I have grown a lot in is my faith and my spriritual walk with the Lord. I have become so close with God and there is not a day that goes by that I don't need Him. I am proud of the person I am today, and I love my life. I hope that in the future I can stay on the right path and continue living the life I lead!

Christ The Lord Is Risen Today!

Today is Easter! Christ the Lord is risen today! I can't help but feel so excited that today is the day Jesus conquered death, and saved me from my sins! I thought I should just start off by saying that! Since this week is Easter, I thought it would be appropriate to read an Easter book for my outside reading. I chose The Story of Easter. I hadn't read this book as a child. It was published in 1997 so it is pretty new. The story tells about how Easter came to be, and it is not told from a secular point of view, but a religious one. It tells what Jesus did and the ultimate sacrifice he paid, and how it relates to us today. This is all on a child's level by the way, so the story of how Jesus died and rose from the dead is very watered down. I just watched The Passion of The Christ and let me tell you, that movie holds nothing back. It is definitly not appropriate for children, but this book made the story of Easter for children. On the back of the book there is a note for parents, talking about the purpose of the book as well as how parents can use this book to introduce the story of Easter to their children. I think that this book is a very apropriate way to do just that and kids love it. My mom is a preschool teacher and she uses this book to teach her kids and they adore it. The pictures in the story are beautiful and the font used reminds me of a child's handwriting. Some of the words are written in different colors so that makes the book enjoyable on a visual basis. Overall it is a cute book and I would have defenitly read it as a kid if it was available then!

There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou - Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed. ~Emily Bronte

The Lord of the Rings

Out of all the hobbits who lived in the Shire
It was Biblo Baggins who found the ring of fire.
He escaped from old Gollum who lived in a cave
And adopted an heir who was very brave.
After Bilbo's 111th birthday,
He used the ring to take a permenant holiday.

Gandalf taught Frodo about the ring and it's power,
Which Sauron had made near the Dark Tower.
Frodo knew he must leave Bag End,
But on the way he took his friend.
With Sam at his side and sorrow in his heart,
The two of them shall never part.

On the way they met Merry and Pippen,
Who were in Maggot's crop, stealin' and pickin'.
Their journey began while traveling to Bree,
Where they saw Dark Riders and began to flee.
They were to meet Gandalf at the local inn,
Because to them he was like kin.

But Gandalf did not show and they wondered why?
Could he be dead? Or did he Die?
Instead they met a mysterious ranger
Who tried to keep them away from danger.
His task was to lead them to Rivendell,
An elven city where all things dwell.

On their way they met some unexpected friends,
A party of nine whom King Sauron sends.
They stabbed Frodo with one of their swords,
And he started to fade towards the Dark Lord.
But just in time when all hope was out,
Arwin came without a doubt.

She rode with Frodo and drew her sword,
As she raced across the ford.
The power of Elrond sent a great wave of water,
To stop the Wraiths and save his daughter.
The strength of Elrond saved Frodo's life,
And healed the wound made by the knife.

When he woke Gandalf was there,
And he asked him questions, leaving nothing to spare.
When he was healthy he was summoned to a meeting,
In which everyone gave him a merry greeting.
The council, however, was no ordinary thing.
It was created to discuss issues of the Ring.

Strider was soon discovered to be no mere man,
He was the King of Gondor and was to rule the land.
Then there was Legolas, an attractive elf,
Who shoots arrows and has immortal health.
There is also Gimli, a dwarf with an attitude,
And only to elves does he act very rude.

The decision was made to take the ring South,
Where Gandalf met his end in a fiery mouth.
Despair filled their hearts and all hope was lost,
For everything comes with a certain cost.
Soon the company met the Lady of the Wood,
She was mysterious, her face shadowed by a hood.

They left the land of Lorien on three little boats,
And they were all wrapped up in elven cloaks.
When they got to shore, Frodo left on his own,
Boromir attacked him, and showed his true side that was never known.
Frodo put on the ring and went out of site,
And Boromir tried to find him with all his might.

Aragorn found him and told him to go,
Because Sting,Frodo's sword, was beginning to glow.
The company was fighting hard and brave,
Especially Boromir, defending the hobbits he was trying to save.
But in the end, Boromir died,
With Aragorn his king, by his side.

Sadly the orcs captured Merry and Pippin,
Who were soon to get a very big whippin'.
Frodo set off, all alone,
But Sam followed him, and would not go home.
They were to go to Mordor and destroy the ring,

While the rest of the company was to rescue the hobbits from the domain of the Dark King.


I hope you enjoyed the poem I wrote about my favorite movie!

Scooby Doo

Wow! What a day yesterday was! I went with my family to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio and boy did we pick to wrong day to go! Because it was Spring Break and Good Friday, hundreds of other families that didn't have work or school decided to do what we did and go to the amusement park for the day! Besides the crowds I can't really complain too much because the weather was perfect and the trip was really fun. I myself am not a huge fan of roller coasters- not because I am afraid, but because I have a little thing called motion sickness. So, after riding a couple of coasters, my mom and I called it quits for a while (she isn't a big fan of roller coasters either), and we decided to ride some kiddie rides. Well, we stumbled upon a ride called Scooby Doo and the Haunted Mansion, or something like that, and we thought it would be fun. I have to say this was one of the most crowded attractions and I think that we had to wait about an hour and a half. Needless to say I had a lot of time to stand and think about things while I was waiting in line. First off, I noticed how many children were in line. It made me think about how big and influential Scooby Doo was. I mean, here I am. I grew up with Scooby Doo, watching it everyday as a child. My mom did as well, and I am guessing many of the parents standing in line grew up with Scooby too. There are so many children's books about Scooby and the gang and I don't know a child that doesn't know the Scooby Doo theme song. There are Scooby Doo backpacks, lunch boxes, movies, a T.V. show, coloring books, clothes, and more. Scooby is a hit with kids and I think he still will be in years to come.

Cuddly Dudley

This week I read the book Cuddly Dudley, which I first read back in first grade, I think. It all started with my first grade teacher, Mrs. Preameux. She loved penguins and they were incorporated into every assignment and project we had that year. I guess it is safe to say that is when I started to go through my I love penguins phase. I read lots of penguins books, one of them was Mr. Popper's Penguins, and of course there was Cuddly Dudley. This book stood out to me I think because it is so funny. It is basicaly about a goofy penguin who just seems so cuddly that everyone who comes in contact with him wants to hug and "cuddle" with him. He tries to leave home and be by himself but ends up getting into trouble and realizes that home is the place where he wants to be. There is just no one quite like Cuddly Dudley. After reading this book I went through a phase where all I wanted was a penguin. I had lots of penguin stuffed animals, but never a real penguin. It never occured to me that a penguin couldn't simply survive at my house like my dog or cats could. I just assumed taking care of a penguin was like taking care of a traditional household pet. Well, once I realized that I was never going to get a penguin my fascination with them kind of diminished and I moved on to another pet- a parrot. But that is another story for another time...

I Want to Be a Kid Again

Something great just happened to me. A friend of mine surprised me with two tickets to see Hannah Montana at the rodeo. I guess it is sad to say that I am very excited to go see her in concert, seeing as how out of 75,000 people attending the concert, I am going to be one of the oldest people there- that is apart from the moms escorting their kids. Nevertheless, I am so excited to go and feel very blessed to be able to. It is going to be nice to be able to spend the day out of my element and just be a kid again. Pretending to be something I'm not is far better than the reality of being a college student about to head out to the real world. As a kid, you can depend on your parents to take care of you, responsibility is a learning process. But now, as an adult, you are responsible for your own actions, and suddenly life gets complicated. I want to be a kid again. I want to live life without a care in the world and hardly know the meaning of stress. Being in a children's lit. class has be so awesome this year because I get to be a kid again 3 times a week. It is so nice to just sit back, relax, and read a children's story, as opposed to a nine hundred page text book written about some irrelevant topic that is completely boring. Ugh, I think I need a break from school, which is perfect because it is now spring break! I am so excited and I can't wait to just have a week full of relaxation and family. Hopefully this week will get me energized and give me the strength to get through the rest of the semester!

Oh the Joy of Relevance in School...

I would just like to start today's blog by saying how much I have enjoyed our class discussions these past two days. I think that it is so awesome when teachers feel confident and secure enough about their faith to be able to discuss it in class. I have so much respect for professors who do this and my English professor is no exception. I look forward to coming to class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I always come to class expecting to learn something new. I was at my weekly Bible study last Sunday and the book that we are studying referenced a famous children's book author, George MacDonald. I felt pretty cool because I actually knew who he was and what he wrote. It is always worthwhile to know that what I learn in class is actually relevant in my life and the outside world. I wish that all my classes could be like this.

The Carrot Seed

My outside reading book for this week was a very interesting book because unlike the other books I chose to read, I had never read this one as a child. My mother gave it to me last week and said that it was a great read. The Carrot Seed was what the book was called, and she had read it when she was a child. Looking at the title at first glance, I thought the book could have been a parable that Jesus told. "The great parable of the carrot seed" immediately came to my mind. My mother assured me it was not, however like all parables, there was a moral to the story. It is not just a book about a boy who plants a seed and waits for it to grow, but there are other points to be made as well. Throughout the book, the little boy waits patiently for his seed to grow. Finally in the end, it grows into a carrot. This is the first lesson I got out of the book- Have patience and things will happen. The second lesson I got out of it was if you want something to grow and develop, you have to maintain and take care of it. The little boy in the story continuously feeds and weeds his plant so that it might have the chance to grow. This is much like friendship- If you don't take care of your friends and or talk to them much, then your frienship will most likely fail, just as if you forget to water your plants they will wilt. The last lesson I got out of the story is it is not easy to put your trust into something that you can't see or don't know the outcome of. People will continuously tell you it is not possible and fill your mind with doubt so that you don't succeed, but the key to beating this is perservering and staying true to what you know and after all is said and done, you will end up with a carrot like the little boy.