Romance Novel

Don't let the title of this post alarm you. I am not writing about any Harlequin romance novel. No way. I could never be so scandalous.


No, I have decided to donate some precious space on my blog to the best romance novel ever....Pride and Prejudice. If you haven't read it yet, I highly encourage you to. There's nothing like a little 18th century, English, aristocratic romance to satisfy your cravings for purely indulgent reading.


I must confess I have been on the P&P bandwagon ever since I saw the 1995 BBC production with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. So good. So good. If you haven't seen it yet, you must! Of course, it is completely up to you whether you read the book first or watch the film. Typically, I take sides with reading the book first, but who am I to talk? I didn't!




So what prompted this post?


Well for starters, I just finished P&P a couple of weeks ago. For the record, I did start t0 read it as a teenager, but unfortunately, I did not have the patience to read books without illustrations...so I never finished. Anyways, this renewed (and successful) effort to read the book has made me a Jane Austen-phile all over again. So much so, that I have sacrificed many other useless, indulgent blogging topics to advertise it today.


In addition to my recent infatuation with the book, I decided I needed a post-Valentine's Day-post. Yes, today is the day after the day of love. While I am sure many females are using this as an opportunity to dote on their romantic activities of yesterday, I refuse. I refuse because 1) I prefer to keep my love life private (it's more interesting that way...trust me ;) and 2) P&P can offer you way more romantic entertainment than anything I could ever say. (Although, I do have to indulge one point...my sweetie DID give me flowers and card yesterday...ahhh!...okay, I am finished.)


So, to truly convince you of your need to read P&P AND watch the BBC series, here's 5 reasons why:


#5 P&P is a literary classic. I can't believe I am an English major and it took me until now to read it...so embarrassing.



#4 The characters in P&P are classic. There is the obnoxious flirt (Lydia), the social reject (Mary...oh, Mr. Collins too), the angel (Jane), the nice guy (Mr. Bingley), the snob (Caroline Bingley), the old, rich snob (Lady Catherine), the player (Wickham), the catch (Darcy), and, of course, the ever so witty star of the show (Elizabeth).



#3 The language and dialogue in P&P is educational. You will learn new words (like sanguine) and come to appreciate the art of run-on sentences.



#2 P&P is hilarious. Yes, English humor from 200 years ago may be foreign, but in time you will find yourself very entertained. I promise.



And finally....



#1 P&P is a completely clean romance. No sleeze. No trash. No need to repent :) Think of it like the literary "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"--All of the flavor, minus the guilt...oh, yeah minus Fabio too!

--A

Small Triumphs

me: "Eye opening moment. Today. Sunday. Febraury 9th, 2009."

you: "Details?"

me: "Short or long?"

you: "You decide."

me: "Okay, how about both?"

I had one of those eye-opening moments today. You know the kind where you tilt your head, raise your brows, and say "Uh-huh!" and then deeply gaze into the invisible abyss in front of you?


Well, that's the moment I had today.

I thought it was worth writing in my journal, and then I realized, "Oooh, wait! I have a blog!" Which, what are blogs for anyways if they can't be used as receptacles (and, might I add showcases) for the most random thoughts and self realizations?

So here's the short version of my "moment":

Rewind life 3 months. New home. New ward. New calling. Primary.

Primary kids outta control. Almost every week.

Leaders are few. Teachers are fewer.

Adults install rules. Good, easy rules with cute pictures.

Kids still outta control.

Fast forward to today.

Primary room. 11:00 a.m. Smiles. Raised arms. Folded arms. Occasional defiance.

Bottom Line? Small Triumph!


Okay, so here is the long version.


For some reason or another, our Primary has been outta control for weeks.

I love our Primary, but wrangling 20-some kids into non-consented reverence isn't exactly my idea of having fun. Mind you, not every child has been outta control (thank goodness) but a good deal of them have. As a the leadership in Primary, we have tried everything to combat the chaos--spiritual lectures, reverence songs, a rule chart, and probably a threat or two (at least I have). But to no avail. The chaos has continued.

Last week was bad. Pretty bad. Imagine kids running around the room. Teasing. Fighting. Juvenile sarcasm (ooohh, I hate it when kids get cheeky! ;) And loads of other non-exemplary behavior. Needless to say, I felt frustrated, clueless, and pitifully sorry for the other leaders and teachers in our Primary.



For fear of being struck by lightening, I have never formally asked the Lord, "Why?!!" But I have wanted too.....

"Why? Why can't I exert some authority....example...or at least bewitchment over these children?"

"Is this my punishment for all the cheeky flack I gave my parents...or is this another one of those 'seemingly never-ending' trials which I must learn a most-valuable life lesson from?"



Well, ladies and gents, I think I can safely say that the Lord wanted me to learn a valuable lesson...or two...or heck, all of them.

Faith. Patience. Love (the sincere kind, you know). More Faith. More Patience. Oh yeah, don't forget Forgiveness too.




While lazily sitting on my couch today after church, I made this realization. I had a moment.

It struck me that had the weeks of chaos never occurred I would never have:

1. Persevered in faith and patience (although I probably didn't recognize myself as doing so)

2. Remained humble (A "whipped" Primary leader is so far from self-conceit, you know)

3. Expressed gratitude for today's near perfect day in Primary.



For all those courageously engaged in the calling of Primary, I salute you today.

For all those in my own Primary (leaders, teachers, and children too), I love you from the bottom of my heart! Please accept my thanks for letting me use our wonderful Primary as dramatic material for my blog.

Viva Primary!

--A

The meaning of dirty dishes

This last week meant a return to school for me.

Indeed, my whole being has been engrossed in seemingly never-ending intellectual pursuits that I can't seem to wholly understand or rationalize their usefulness. Does this sentence give you a hint that I am a confused, overwhelmed, English major, struggling to understand Foucault, with enough wits to make myself sound less intelligent than my $15,000 education should really boast?

Anyways, the bottom line is that I have done a lot of thinking this past week.

Thinking which may have regressed my intelligence rather than progressed it.

And yet, in this mode of overly analytical thought, I have made a few overly analytical observations about my more humble, non-academic life, namely the subject of dirty dishes.

Have you ever pondered on the inner meaning of dirty dishes? I mean to say, dirty dishes that have sat in your sink for hours...dish upon dish upon tray upon bowl upon your last precious Wedding glass...just waiting to be washed and returned to their former state of glory?

Now, if your standard of domestic cleanliness is such that you have never experienced this before, I congratulate you. I also understand if you have no further use for my silly analysis.

But, if you can relate with me on this premise then let's explore this idea a little further.

Why do we not wash dirty dishes? Why do we loathe them? Why do we actually continue to pile more dirty dishes upon those already there, thus threatening the physical safety of all?

Here's why:

We don't wash them because it is work and work is hard.

We loathe them because we know they will always be there unless we engage in work.

We continue to add more dirty dishes because as we cannot use them, we must use others in their place, and so we continue to make more and more dirty dishes AND they pile up BECAUSE to wash the "new" dirty dishes would only involve also washing the "old" dirty dishes WHICH would essentially be exponentially more work.

Follow me? Okay.

Now here is how this all relates to LIFE.

Dirty dishes can be likened to every task in which we procrastinate doing because we are either 1) lazy, 2) afraid, or 3) burnt out.

As I looked at my dishes today (admittedly they are only 1 day old...but to my the credit of my analysis I have gone MUCH longer without doing them), I realized that I am avoiding them like I am perhaps avoiding other things in life. In some things I don't do because I am lazy (dare I say visiting teaching?!), or afraid (living a simpler life?) or burnt out (how about being sweet to my sweetheart?)

The truth is, at least for me, I do not want to have dirty dishes in my sink. I want clean dishes.

Likewise, I do not want to be lazy, afraid, or burnt out. I want to be ambitious, hopeful, and passionate about life. But how does one get there?

As with all profound questions in life, I don't completely know. Sure I know the end result that I want, but I don't necessarily know the "how to." But since I am boasting of my overly analytical, under-ly practical skills today, I am going to take a crack at it.

We clean dishes one step at a time. A little cliche, I know.

First we prepare. We fill the sink with soap and water.

Next we place the dishes in the sink AT THE CAPACITY in which the sink will handle.

Next we scrub.

Then we rinse, dry, and place neatly in the cabinet.

Simple right?

Now let's compare this to our symbolic dirty dishes.

First we prepare. We make the necessary arrangements so that our work will be smooth and productive...like, maybe find out who we visit teach?

Next, we work according to our capacity...you know don't take on more than you can handle or if you do, ask the Lord for help?

Next, is the hardest past. We remove the filth or obstacles to our success..like if I wanted to simplify my life, I would finally get rid of those jeans I haven't been able to fit since I WAS fit and young and all of 16.

Now we are on the down-hill side of this dirty dishes/improving our lives business. We give everything we do our last effort for success...like me using a pleasant, sweet tone of voice always when talking to J, right?

If you have endured thus far, I congratulate you for your patience...or maybe it is curiosity? Either way, here concludes my grammatically and conceptually inconsistent (I am sure it is) analysis:

Dirty Dishes = Unhappiness

Ambition + Hope + Passion + A Lot of Work = Clean Dishes

--A