thank You for the little things

Tweet

Thank You, Lord, for tea biscuits, for long walks at dusk,
    for bronze mailbox numbers that reflect light like lava.

Thank You for books upon books - more than one can read in a lifetime!

Thank You for friends, who love me even when I feel most alone;
    for family that wraps me up in 'snuggly' hugs
    and tell me that they love me.

Thank You for cameras, for Drama Class, for fifteen choices of tea.

Thank You for alarm clocks - even when I want least to wake up.

Thank You for table lamps, cookbooks, video games, and pillows.

Thank You for fingers for typing and playing piano; for prayer, for stories,
    for funny TV shows, for John MacArthur sermons,
    for a building for my church to worship in.

Thank You for voices with which to sing praises to You!

Thank You for watch faces that spin an tick a happy tune in my ear,
    for cat food dishes, for autumn orange hand-knit blankets,
    for green jeans, for stuffed toy bunnies.

Thank You for wilted roses, for shiny silver earrings, for recycled paper notebooks,
    for bottles full of moss, for unscented lotion,
    for Swedish dolls that stack inside of each other.

Thank You for dried flowers, for eyeglasses, for chopsticks, for 'present' rings.

Thank You for tales by the Brothers Grimm, for emery boards, for postage stamps.

Thank You for sandwiches, for ribbons, for electrical cords, for backpacks.

Thank You for the little things, 
    the forgotten things, 
    the things we take for granted.

treasure the little things

Tweet

Thanksgiving is here. As exciting as it can be, shopping for dinner rolls or cans of cranberry sauce, rushing around decorating and going someplace to celebrate the plenty with which God has blessed this generation, I am going to assume that many of you feel you do not have much to be thankful for. Perhaps there are not many or even any incredibly wowing events in your life at the moment. Perhaps it is quite the opposite, that there is many a hardship which you are struggling through presently, many a person whose relationship with you seems irreparable. Perhaps there has been death or sickness, or other suffering in your life which puts that empty hollow in your chest, so that you feel you do not have the happiness you believe you should on such a holiday. Well, I hope to remedy this abject thinking. I am not going to give a long lecture on the pilgrims and their hardships and their thankfulness on the providence of God, although this is a wonderful fact of history to be reminded of. I want to explain the title of this chapter and how it applies to tomorrow. Read on.

Almost exactly a year ago when I began taking some portrait sessions for others, I came up with a slogan, if you will, for my photography: treasure the little things. I suppose I have not actually begun to use it yet on Alabaster Rose Photography (my Facebook page), but I say it often anyway, because aside from photography, I have short proverbs or mottos I like to quote to myself and others, more of which I shall probably blog about soon enough, but this one seemed best fitting at present. As said before, in this life there oft seems to be very little to be thankful for. Now I make a practice to never allow myself to ask God why things are not better than they are. Instead, I thank Him for the little things. Believe me, when you really think about it, you have so much to thank Him for.

Every single day when I wake up, I thank God for the day.

It is so simple, but life itself is an incredible blessing which we do not deserve! I could go on for pages and pages about God’s grace to everyone in allowing us to live even though we are all sinners and deserve death! It is part of His ‘common grace’, the grace given to both those who are Saved by faith in Christ Jesus, and to those who have never heard His name or worse, outright refused Him. Life is a precious gift that everyone takes for granted.

I thank God for every single meal I eat.

I have only ever gone hungry a very few times in my entire life. Not everyone can say that. In fact, there are millions of people in the world who can probably say that they have only ever had their stomachs filled a very few times in their life! Some perhaps have never even had an entire meal before. I get to wake up every day and have the problem of deciding what I want to eat. This is a gift from God. May I never dare to forget such a gift! On Thanksgiving especially I always think about the turkey, the cranberry sauce, and all of the staples of the season which are really privileges and blessings, not requirements, and one which many others certainly do not have the means to enjoy as we do. This is another subject I could go on talking about for hours, as it is one that breaks my heart; the idea of starving children compared with we who are rich – for we who have funds enough to purchase pleasures on top of our daily needs certainly are very, very rich – gorging ourselves on more food than our stomachs need because of the tradition of celebrating plenty. It is barbaric. It is heartbreaking. I thank the Lord for my plenty, and I pray for the poor over nearly every bite, and give when I can so that they may be filled. (James 2:15-16, Luke 6:31)

I thank God for my family.

Obviously not everyone has family. Who might they celebrate with on Thanksgiving? Might they celebrate at all? I have family. In fact, there is not one close member of my family – not one grandparent, not one cousin, not one brother or sister or parent who has died in my life. The great-grandparents whom I was too young to know have died. Distant relations and friends of friends have died. Many, many pets have died. In fact, the closest creatures to me who have ever died, human or animal, have been my cats. I cannot know this heartbreak, though I know that I shall have my share of it one day. This presence of all of the people whom I love in my life is a most rare and precious gift. Better still, though not all Saved, I do not have any family members with whom I do not get along. And I will thank the Lord even should these relationships crumble. I will thank the Lord even when I lose to death the people closest to me. He is sovereign, and I will thank him for the time I have had getting-along with and loving my family.

I thank God for books, I thank Him for knitting, I thank Him for blankets, for tea, for paper, my house, my own bedroom, for my last living and very dear cat, for lamps, candles, pens, my laptop, writing, memories, thick socks, the biting cold weather, my leaf collection, my moss necklace from one of my best and dearest friends, flowering plants, the piano, pumpkin pie, dry and moist skin, chocolate milk, the Hobbit movies and book, long and short car trips, singing, walking, sleeping, our cozy sofas, recipes, long nights, long mornings, long in-betweens, for babysitting, for all of my dear friends, and yes, even for my bright pink bedroom walls.

The point is, when it comes down to it, we have much to be thankful for. Count your blessings this season; remember how much God has given to you. And treasure the little things.

Thor: The Dark World

Tweet

My dear friend and I went to see Thor: The Dark World in the theater yesterday. I thought it was spectacular, as I knew it would be, and it was almost exactly what I expected... plus much more.

As always, Marvel had special effects to impress, characters too honorable not to love, and one character in particular whose changeableness somehow manages to capture my heart. What is is about such a dark and troubled character like Loki that causes this? Is it the charming actor who plays his part coming through bringing the audience to tears, or is there something in the character itself that demands the need for love? In this movie, as much as if not even more than the first Thor, I felt compelled to offer that love, if only I could. I will not give anything away to those who still dearly wish to see this film, but I will say, we all desperately want to see Loki change, become the hero... don't we?

Sadly, there was one part of the movie I did not appreciate at all, and that is crude humor. Sometimes I forget that the world thinks about suchlike dreadful things in the exact opposite manner that I do, but at the same time as feeling this disgust, I was grateful to know that something so awful still disgusted me.

In spite of this minor disappointment, I was a bit impressed with some of the allusions in the movie, especially one at the very beginning when Odin, Thor's father, introduces us to the film's main theme: light verses darkness. Odin says that before light there was darkness, and in a way, he was right. This is a nod to Genesis 1:1-5,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

As usual, the secular world interpreted this truth differently. In the movie, Odin seems to claim that there was no light at all, only darkness, he does not explain how the light came to be, or any of that (we Christians know of course that God is light, and has always existed, and also obviously created the world and the light and darkness, etcetera, so we know the answers to those questions), but regardless of this confusion, I found it interesting how often, as in this example, allusions to God were made. Having good theological teaching and a proper worldview going into the theater probably helped with this.

Also, the humor was beyond expectation or hope! Ugh... I do not wish to give any of this away either, but Loki especially had the theater laughing out loud!

All I ask of you is this, that if you go see Thor: The Dark World, that you lower your expectations on purpose, in order that you are completely blown away. (I was!)

to go beyond

Tweet

Poetry. Architecture. Writing. Music. Life. People. Friends. Faith.

Those seen above are words continually being cycled and recycled through my train of thoughts. New ideas, possibilities, opportunities are all swirling together, confusing what I have always wanted with what I am beginning to understand I really have wanted underneath it all along.

To sacrifice my treasured ideas, to go beyond the lands I am familiar with, to climb up and over the walls that have held me in... it is a frightening stage of my life, challenging, befuddling, even painful. I have begun to wonder if I truly know myself.

Questions are being posed in my life for the first time, and I do not understand nor dare venture to blindly guess the answers.

The vagueness and metaphorical ramblings I am using are the only way I know to explain my feelings without declaring to the world subjects better left unspoken.

Here is one thing I can mention freely without such secretiveness: a friend of mine has been challenging me by his mere presence to examine my writing with more purpose and reflection, with more diligence and intelligence. I honestly feel outright stupid in his presence, and feel as though all of my writing is under his adept scrutiny. I fear his criticism because I am afraid to hear my writing is not good enough. I am afraid to have demands made of my skills to alter the treasured drafts of my novel into something I did not intend it to be. I know I am able to trust my friend's word; he is honest and encouraging, and most certainly very intelligent, indeed! What I fear is more specifically that after all of these years of writing, rewriting, growing, revising, and perfecting will be thrown away.
    Writing is like any other kind of artwork, always to be interpreted differently because each and every interpreter is different. And I honestly have been tired, under-slept, and altogether irritable this past week, which has made all aspects of life more challenging. I selfishly want to keep my writing to myself. I do not want fault to be found in it. I know fault exists. However, in my pride, I wish to find it first on my own before submitting it to criticism. Forgive me, my friend -- you know who you are -- I need a little more time to sort out my feelings and seek peace from the Lord before I allow you to read my novel.

Another part of this bowlful of spaghetti (which is the tangled mess of my life) consists of my prideful desire to not let myself be outdone by others. Juvenile but true. I am surrounded by artists, musicians, writers and all manner of skilled people by whom I feel challenged, or more accurately, threatened. I know I am not nor ever will be as talented as they are, and I am frustrating myself by trying to meet their level of skill. It is a fruitful process, however. I am beginning to understand who I am. And now, I am learning not to fight to be like others, as though that would be fulfilling, but to be myself; to pursue God's will for my life and use my talents for Him rather than to attempt to please others. And the Lord is helping me with my pride, piece by piece. For example...

Two nights ago, my sister and I had a dear friend over. We lingered outside whilst she was beginning to leave, and ended up lying out on the grass in our backyard, stargazing amidst the night fog and reading aloud Isaiah chapter forty. I have yet to dare admit it to her, but she is one of the brilliant friends of mine about whom I have been struggling with jealousy. She does not understand how talented she truly is, nor how humbled I feel whenever we spend time together.
    Anyway, I was being a coward that night. I looked up at the stars, so many and so distant that I could never dare to count them all. I felt so small, so pointless underneath their soft glow. I imagined them singing to the Lord, twinkling for His glory, and I forced myself to cease from my self-pity. Forgive me, Father. I prayed and I prayed with a heart full of sorrow. I hate my pride and selfishness, and I hate this haunting jealousy and the competitiveness that is destroying the joy in my life.
    As my dear friend began to leave -- she did not know I was struggling with these awful feelings, and was saying such sweet things about not deserving my and my sister's friendship, and we agreed -- well, she was in her car, just starting to drive away when she reached out her hand.
    I had to make a choice. In that little moment, hardly longer than a breath, I considered my many fears and especially what I feared most: I feared being always less skilled than she; I feared my selfishness; I feared losing this opportunity. These were my options: I could take her hand, pretending there was no struggle of jealousy in my heart. I could let her hand remain extended until the car rolled out of reach, leaving her thinking there was something barring me from extending my full friendship. There was yet still a third option, and this was the one I chose. I reached out and took hold of her hand, inwardly crying out 'forgive me'!
    This is the same friend who has said that she always reads my blog posts. She is busy today, and will continue to be so for a while, but I hope she finds the time to read this. I do ask your forgiveness, my dear, dear friend!
 
And of course, I hope we all are remembering the meaning of today's date. 9/11. It represents the dreadful, painful experience of the Twin Towers, serving as a reminder to not waste a moment of the precious time we have.


So, these are a few of the trials in my life at the moment. The presence of the aforementioned friends around me is being used to challenge me to do nothing; that is, to instead of attempting to be as good at everything as they are, to remain humble, which is in many ways a far greater challenge.
    Challenge accepted.

Lord, by Your grace, help me be content, to be patient, to go beyond...

                                                                                   In Christ alone,

ellipsis...

Tweet

As a child, I never would have guessed where my writing would have taken me, how far I would come in the simplest things such as spelling or metaphorical speech, nor how close I could be to actually becoming an author.

I began this novel in 2005 on my grandmother's beautiful typewriter when I was eleven. It was based on a dream, based on a video game, and it was the beginning of something marvelous. Countless drafts and eight years later, I am six chapters completed with my novel. Never have I been so determined to finish it, to publish it, to hold its bound pages in my hands. I want to fulfill my lifelong dream of typing out the words, 'The End' and someday putting my work-well-done on my bookshelf, alongside The Goose Girl and The Healer's Apprentice and Redwall, and all of the books that have made me who I am today.

I always am encouraging my fellow writers to continue writing. There is no other hobby or talent from which I derive more pleasure than writing, and it is lovely to watch others develop their dreams and stories along with me. We all see things differently; we all look at a painting and arrive at a completely different idea of what the story is behind the artist's craft.

I find myself presently at the same point every writer inevitably meets along the winding road of literary choreography and revision: I am residing within the confines of an ellipsis, three small dots oft used to represent a continued thought, or the cliff of a sentence yet to jump off of to reach the other side.

...

Where shall I go next? My story is thirsting for more, crying out to have its ending revealed. I know the ending. Arriving at that end is the issue. There are so many distractions, so many other activities and necessities in life to make time for. But, Lord willing, I will finish my novel. He is the highest Author, who writes the story of every person alive, and I endeavor to have all that I write give Him the glory always.

If you are a writer, do not give up. Do not be exasperated when it seems there is not enough time for you to pursue your writing; do not feel dejected when others criticize your work or tell you what you love is not good enough; do not grow lazy; do not grow discouraged when you think others do so much better than you; do not even despair when what you write does not sound the way you had hoped or planned...

Write. Rewrite. Determine to see your writing to the end. It does not matter how long it takes. (Good grief, it has already been over eight years for me!) Trudge through your 'ellipsis'. After all of the sweat and tears, you can take a nice long hot shower and reward yourself with a little snack (kiwi, Junior Mints, a Klondike bar, or whatever you like), but for now, keep working. Keep writing.

It will be worth it.

Stories

Tweet

Stories.

It's at the Beginning of a tale when the very heart of what it is all about is revealed.

The Middle, the End... these also play a large role in unraveling the truth about the meaning of a tale, but nothing should say it so plainly as the very Beginning.

The Beginning draws the reader in. A writer can tell so much that the reader may guess the ending, but can also tell so little that one feels draw to discover how that end may come about.

What makes a story so special? Is it the characters, and how loveable they are? Is it the drama, the plot, the atmosphere, or the words? No.

A story goes far deeper than words. It goes far deeper than the skill with which the story is woven, or even the material the writer has chosen for his or her craft.

What makes a story special is the writer.

What goes into a story is not just ideas or dreams or words... it is the writer. Their thoughts, feelings, needs, and yes, even their very heart must be poured into a story to make it so very special.

It seems to be quite proven that the stories which are close to us are the ones we grew up with, the ones we treasured, the ones that became a part of us.

Stories go beyond teaching us morals or guiding us on a path with a character to which we can relate, or through mysterious lands, or into curious circumstances in which we wish to partake. Stories tells us who we are when we least know what to think. They are our teachers, our friends... they flow through our beings like our own blood and are equally as essential.

Those who live apart from stories lack the fervor, the excitement, the love which we who cling to stories have in full. It is a dry, coarse world which neglects to stop and pay attention to the little things, to remember a childhood fantasy, a poem tied more firmly around their being than their own name...

There is something inexplicably personal about stories because a story is made up of a person.

This is what makes a story believable.

This is what makes a story so special.

This is what makes a story real.

Sunsets

Tweet

I've been thinking about sunsets; a collision of bright blues and burning oranges, beams of golden sunlight, and a harmonious choir of clouds singing a song of praise to God with their colors, until the sun is eclipsed by the horizon and the day gives way to night.

Sometimes I feel cold, alone, weak... so cold. And then next, the warmth of a memory returns. I am so easily discouraged, and yet so easily cheered-up again. Why is my mind so fickle?

I'm moved by the emotions of music, by the troubles and feelings of the characters in my novel as I write out their past, present and future. I'm so in tune with their story right now, I feel like I'm living their lives.

Where do the days go? I feel more like I'm in a dream than the real world. And sometimes tears build a bridge to a better shore, though it hurts to cry. And then I find myself flying, dancing, singing because of the littlest things. I'm on an emotional roller coaster. One day confused and afraid, the next alive and bright and happy. May God forgive my changeableness and insufficient faith.

I'm drowning in ideas, dreams, words, and worries. I find myself trembling, unable to breathe. I know I seem patient, controlled, calm on the outside, but the inward battle rages ever on. I have to speak up. I have to ask. I have to know the answer. Until I have that peace, I'm praying my heart out to the Lord for the patience I lack.

I spend all of my energy thinking and hoping and gathering courage, and once the few opportunities slip from my grasp, I'm left with an empty hole inside -- disappointment. I'm beautifully tortured.

The sun will rise. And then the sun sets.

to gain self.control

Tweet

Dragon art by Laurel "Tully" Austin/L.D. Austin

It's been my goal to write even just the tiniest bit to my novel every day. So far, I've made it to every other day, but my diligence is slowly increasing through determination. I have a little over four chapters completed - imagine my sigh of relief! - and am making somewhat slow but steady progress in chapter five. I have many writer friends who are so much more faithful than I am - they are my motivation.
   Fantasy artwork (as shown) is another huge inspiration for me when I need to get cracking on my novel. There's just something magical about it....

I can't walk into our library anymore without the urge to carry out at LEAST five new books! As I told my sister, even if I don't end of reading all of them, it's helpful for me when writing or reading other things; that is, I feel surrounded by inspiration. Standing in the center of a library is like being encompassed by millions of opportunities. Knowing my options helps me decide what steps to take in my writing, and also helps motivate me to finish reading a novel so that I can begin a new one. (So many novels, so little time!)

A dear friend of mine and I agreed that we wanted to begin eating a healthier diet. We both admitted to eating far more sugar than we ought to - a sure way to gain fat, while avoiding it, a sure way to slim down.
    Well, I made it off to a good start this week, but we had pancakes for lunch yesterday, and then French toast for dinner - neither of which is nearly good enough without a thick drizzling of real maple and blueberry syrup. So, today, I've resisted cereal already - although I'm still being tempted, even at this very moment; the characters in my story are eating breakfast, and describing everything is making me hungry - but even though tempted, I know in the long run I will be grateful to not have wasted youthful health on an irresponsible diet that will no doubt come back to haunt me later in life.
    Step one: resistance 0.5 complete.

{I just couldn't resist adding this quote!}

  As far as reading God's Word, I have made a habit of reading at least one chapter every day, and haven't quit the flow for months. (Technically, my mom read to me when I had my wisdom teeth taken out, so those two days don't exactly count, but it's the heart that matters, not the numbers.)
   The struggle now will be making a healthy habit of prayer. I do pray every day, but not as fastidiously as I know I ought.

 
So, lastly, Princess Academy: Palace of Stone. Shannon Hale is my favorite author, and this is becoming a new favorite book. As dreadfully long as it's taking me to read it - I'm a very distracted reader, unfortunately - I've made it well past the half-way mark, and have the hardest time going to sleep at night because I CAN'T STOP! Last night I read at least one more chapter than I probably should have and woke up this morning looking ragged because it wasn't until around midnight that I had fallen asleep. (Not good for a natural early-bird like me!)
    My compliments to Shannon for writing novels that tug at my heart, fill me with a love for her characters, and *whoosh* me away to foreign lands that are excruciating to depart from. Once I can afford it, I'm buying the books of yours that I've read but don't own, and then I'm going to read the rest of your books and probably buy them all, too!

the devouring of books...

Tweet

...and the adventures of spring

It's always a treat when one is able to sleep-in an extra hour and then wake up to see sunshine, feel the warmth of the day, and breathe a thankful prayer to God.

Lately, I've wanted nothing more than to READ. I've been having the worst time with self-control when it comes to reading my Bible first thing in the morning. I actually did it today, before anything else. As always, just finally obeying God brought a beautiful peace and joy into the day.

    Yesterday, I read Leviticus 26, which is about God promises, either for good things should they obey Him, or for punishment should they disregard Him and fall into sin. This is the first time I've ever read Leviticus all the way through (just chapter 27 left, then I'm done!), and I can absolutely see it's value as part of God's Word. That is to say, a lot of people don't find it necessary because it's so full of SACRIFICE and LAWS, and all kinds of things that Christians don't need in order to live to God in this age.

    But it is necessary.

    God takes sin very seriously, and He wants His people to be set apart from the sinful ways of the world, to live a righteous life and to give Him the glory. He promises to bless our obedience and provide for our needs, but He will discipline us if we should fall away into temptation, forgetting His promises.

    I believe God has preserved this record (Leviticus) for us to remind us of the importance of godliness, holiness, true faith; it isn't a prayer-a-day kind of lifestyle, it's COMPLETE DEVOTION to God! If He was willing to DIE to spare us from an eternity in hell - we who are sinful, unworthy sheep who will stray from fields of hearty food and protection for one blade of withered grass - then we better not waste this one short life we have, but cooperate with the Holy Spirit in order to be sanctified, in preparation for God's one day perfecting us and - at last! - the eternal bliss of heaven.

Oh, I could go on and on about all that forever!

Along with suchlike weighty thoughts, I've been having lots of pretty little dreams at night and a great deal of story inspiration. Having discovered Shannon Hale's eight month-old book Princess Academy: Palace of Stone, I've found an ocean of new ideas and insight into characters I've loved for years from the prequel, Princess Academy (which I've read four times). I always marvel at Shannon Hale's knowledge of her characters - she always knows just what they want, just how to express all that they think and feel, and just when to give them what they need or want most. I'm a terribly distracted reader, so it takes me forever to finish a book, but my word... when I sit down with this, it's really, really hard to put it away!

    As far as my novel-in-progress, I've been able to finish some exhaustive editing and am adding piece by piece to a new chapter. It takes self-control to jump on the laptop and work on my novel instead of rushing onto Pinterest or 700 other websites at my fingertips - it's so easy to run out of time in a day by wasting it on useless games. I don't like having hardly accomplished anything useful by the end of a day. When I procrastinate, I'm reminded of a favorite quote from Princess Academy:

No wolf falters before the bite

So strike

No hawk wavers before the dive

Just strike

When struggling with the desire to do something else besides writing, I say 'no' to my distractions and command myself, 'just do it, just work on it, and you'll be so, so glad you did'. (Which is pretty much what I had to do to get myself to read my Bible, even on such a beautiful, motivating day.)

I bought a new purse from Thirty-One, a cross-body, just large enough for a notepad, a smallish book, my mp3, a pen, various re-charger cords, my keys, my glasses case, travel toothbrush, flashlight, travel Bath & Body lotion, and my library card. Now, that probably sounds like a lot, but I usually carry all that plus two or three MORE books, a small journal, an extra one or two pens and a pencil, a camera or yarn and knitting needles, and sometimes a thermal tote besides all of that if I'm babysitting and need to pack food.

    So, yeah... I decided to downsize a bit, and although I love having a variety of things to read and no small amount of trinkets I probably won't end up using with me wherever I go, it has been nice to not have too much extra weight on my shoulders (literally). Besides, the new little purse is a cute style, and in a favorite teal/mint color that seems REALLY popular right now.

Tea. Thesaurus. Cashews. Books. Novel. Music. Blue dusk. Spring. God's Word. Life.

It has been a lovely day, full of much more than I mentioned to the brim of what a mostly-relaxing day can contain, including errands to the grocery store, bank, JoAnne Fabrics & Crafts (my little sister is making a Steampunk 1880's dress for her drama class performance next month), a visit to one of my best friends (the library; I now have four more books I've never read before), and naturally frequent trips to my imagination - but if I went into detail, you'd never reach the end of this post, or worse, be bored stiff before you came close. ;)
 

Thank you for reading this, even if only a tiny bit; the number of page-views I get encourage me to keep blogging, more than you know! God bless,

steps into spring

Tweet

Spring is on the move.

At least here in Minnesota, we've had a few fluctuating false springs so far as winter has fought to keep it's strength up --- but no longer. Snow is finally melting, and I'm beginning to feel the warm promise of flowers and all growing things in the air.

Though I've visited my blog so very little this winter, life has not hit a lull.

During this week of spring break, I have not been needed to babysit my niece, as is usually a regular part-time activity, and there haven't been any piano lessons --- two large chunks of my week (when you include the extra babysitting that goes along with the lessons). The week, however, has had no trouble at all filling itself up, as it always does.

I find myself still wasting plenty of time watching various movies, usually in the evening, a habit of which I am trying to rid myself.

I've made headway in my novel, and am almost done with a long-winded editing process so that I should be able to move on to just plain writing by Monday. (Hopefully....)

As much as I love The Goose Girl, and Melanie Dickerson's works, I think The Hobbit is moving up a long ways on the favorite books list. The first time I read it, I had a hard time picturing everything, but since An Unexpected Journey came to theaters, the story and even the characters have been come easier to keep track of, understand, and love. I'm reading the book for the second time, and should break down and purchase my own copy anytime the next time I babysit and have some spare cash. ;)

Spring means it's almost my little sister's birthday (Emily), which I probably look forward to more than my own! I have a few little presents for her already, and know about a few bigger ones from our older sister, Lilly. I think knowing helps me anticipate the day even more.

Spring also means that the snow will be melting soon, the grass and leaves will be coming back, and through all of this, I'll have some fresh scenes to take photos of. (I really want to practice portraits this spring, and I'm already scoping out some good sites for these.)

Spring is a wonderful motivator. After a good long winter, it's time to step outside, stretch out the hibernating cramps, and go do something!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank You, Lord, for another new year, 

and thank You especially for another Good Friday anniversary!

the Hobbit

Tweet

Yesterday I went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey for the third time in theater. (Which is a first. I don't know if I've seen any other movie even just two times in theater before.) I started knitting a hat during the trailers and was about half-way through by the end of the movie (and that's mostly by feel, not by sight). My mom and sister, Emily, were with me --- I think we all agreed that The Hobbit gets better every time. (They were seeing it for only their second time because we all went to the midnight showing, and I went again the next day with a group of friends from church.) But seriously; I've started being able to quote it, memorized the dwarves' names (and faces!), and am determined to read The Hobbit again before the next two parts are released.

Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins, an actor whom I was first introduced to watching Wild Target, a comedy starring Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, and Rupert Grint; then one night my sisters and I began watching the BBC television series Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch (who actually plays the dragon Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit). It was shortly after that when we learned Martin Freeman was going to play the part of Bilbo, so naturally we were... well, ecstatic, really. He portrays Bilbo perfectly. He's the number one thing I like about The Hobbit, but believe me, not the only thing --- I like every detail. ;)

 

It's fascinating to look at the behind-the-scenes videos (such as the one above) which explain a good chunk of the work that goes into the making of The Hobbit. It really does take so much to make a movie worth watching, and I believe Peter Jackson and his capable crew did a fabulous job! I've heard people complain about The Hobbit 'not being as good as Lord of the Rings' or 'too silly' and suchlike. Well, truth is, The Hobbit is NOT as serious at the Lord of the Rings. I've heard that J.R.R. Tolkien actually wrote it to be a children's book. And The Lord of the Rings trilogy is frankly pretty dark. I appreciated the humor of The Hobbit because the end of the "LotR" (Lord of the Rings) trilogy when Frodo sails away just breaks my heart. I needed a little cheering-up, and An Unexpected Journey did just that for me.

And I know a lot of people thought it was a little stretched out, but seriously: what true fan can complain about having three whole movies made about a favorite novel, especially if they star Martin Freeman? There were actually aspects of the book I didn't fully understand, and other parts I couldn't really picture in my own imagination. An Unexpected Journey answered a lot of questions I had. And how often do we have the chance to see a fantastic book like this from another person's perspective, anyway? I can't help thinking that if J.R.R. Tolkien could see his books from Peter Jackson's perspective, he would be very well-pleased.

For those of you who loved The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey even half as much as I did (which is still saying a lot!), don't worry; The Desolation of Smaug comes out on December 13th of this year, and There and Back Again, on July 18th of 2014 (and that's only about half a year after part two!) We don't have that much of a wait ahead of us. And I plan on watching An Unexpected Journey several mores times when it finally comes out on DVD.

For those of you who didn't really like the movie all that much, think about the reasons for that. We geeks will allow you to be more interested in other movies --- everyone has their own tastes and is entitled to their own opinion --- but if your only excuse for disliking The Hobbit is because they're splitting it into three parts, just know that The Lord of the Rings was originally one book as well, but was separated into three parts because of its length! Length is a problem for you? *Chuckling ensues* Well, my friend, because I'm a true geek at heart, I'm hoping for more extended versions --- love those --- to put up on the shelf, next to The Avengers, Doctor Who, Merlin, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Star Trek, and every other 'geeky' movie or TV series I have on my rather extensive wishlist. Length is good.

Lastly, I want to ask everyone to do one thing concerning movies based on books; to give the movie an honest chance. Allow yourself to not be prejudiced, but see its quality in and of itself, even if you still like the book more. You really are seeing the book from someone else's perspective, seeing their very imagination, which is FASCINATING! Allow yourself to look over any quirks you don't care for and simply enjoy the movie. And please don't make judgments until you've seen a bit of all the work everyone put in to making that movie. (Particularly The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.) Could YOU have done a better job? Let's give Peter Jackson some major kudos for bringing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to life!