1-27-10 "Chag Purim Semeach!

Chag Purim Semeach! This Sunday, February 28, is the Jewish festival of Purim. I’m not Jewish, but since Christianity has its roots in Judaism, I think that it is important that we have a basic knowledge of Judaism. Then we can more fully understand the culture, and where Jesus was coming from when He said the things that He said.

     Purim is the traditional celebration of the salvation of the Jews from the hands of the Medes and Persians. You can read about this story in the Old Testament book of Esther.

Recognize Purim! At dinner time, read the story of Esther. For desert, eat Haman’s ears. Don’t let the name scare you! They are actually yummy cookies.

 

·         4 eggs

·         1 cup oil

·         1 ½  cups sugar

·         2 tsp vanilla

·         1 tbsp baking powder

·         ½ tsp salt

·         4 cups flour

·         Pinch of lemon rind

·         Beat eggs, add remaining ingredients, beating well after each ingredient. (I suggest that you mix the flour by hand to avoid excessive stickiness)  

·         Roll out dough and cut out circles

·         Put a tsp of jelly in center

·         Fold over edges in three section

·         Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

·         Makes about 5 doz. cookies

 

The story runs thus:

     Xerxes, king of the Medes and the Persians was having a drunken party one evening, as kings were accustomed to do on occasion in ancient times. He ordered his wife to flaunt her beauty in front of his buddies, and she, having some sense of propriety, refused. The king wrote a declaration against her and sealed it with his signet ring. The declaration said that the king’s wife was banished from his presence forever. The next morning, as the king was recovering from a terrific hangover, he remembered what he had done. He felt terrible; however, in the law of the Medes and the Persians, once the king sealed something with his signet ring, it stood forever. Whoever wrote these laws were obviously not quite as intelligent, as, say, Thomas Jefferson and the guy who wrote the Magna Charta. So, God save the Queen, and out she went.  

     Xerxes was seriously bumming. His officials suggested that he find a new wife. So, Xerxes held a beauty pageant to find a new wife. Ah! Xerxes- haven’t you heard? Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting!

     Apparently, Xerxes had never read the sayings of King Lemuel, and went ahead with his pageant. He was really serious about finding the biggest cutie on the planet- ok, the biggest cutie in Media and Persia- for it took an entire year of beauty treatments for each girl before she could be introduced to the king! All the girls were gorgeous, but Xerxes turned down one girl after another, seriously damaging their self-esteem. Finally, he saw the woman he wanted- a girl named Hadassah! Hadassah had another name, too- Esther. Xerxes found it much easier to say Esther (perhaps he had a terrible lisp), so that was what everyone began to call her.

     Esther missed her cousin (and legal guardian) terribly, so she got him a job at the palace. This man, Mordechai, overheard a couple of losers plotting to kill the king. Mordechai snitched on them, and they were killed. Then the king promptly forgot all about Mordechai. Around this time, the king appointed a right-hand man. The guy that he picked was Haman and was a real snake.  It was another one of Xerxes’ bad decisions, and at this point I’m sure a lot of people thought that perhaps it would have been better if Mordechai had never overheard the assassination plot. The King, of course, did not think Haman was a snake at all. If fact, he worshipped the ground Haman walked on, and wanted everyone else to do so, too. Literally. Mordechai, a devout Jew, did not take kindly to this and thereby refused to pay homage to Haman.

     Well, this really made Haman mad. So, he convinced the King to write a decree to kill on the Jews. The King agreed. He wrote that on a particular day, the Medes and Persians could go slaughter any Jew they found and take all the plunder they liked. It would be like 99₵ day at Savers! Xerxes sealed it with his signet ring. Haman clicked his heals together and went out to build a gallows on which to hang Mordechai.

     Mordechai heard about the proclamation, went home, and dressed himself in a burlap bag. Then he went to the palace, sat in the courtyard, and began to bawl. Esther looked out her window and sent a servant to find out what the problem was. Mordechai filled the servant in on the proclamation, and the servant filled Esther in. Mordechai also begged Esther to go to the King and ask for a reprieve.

     Another weird law of the Medes and the Persians was that if you entered the King’s presence without being invited, you were going to be killed- that is, unless the king stuck his golden scepter in your face and let you touch the gold ball on the end. Esther knew about Xerxes mood swings, and she knew what happened to the King’s ex when she went against the King. She was petrified at the thought of going to him. Nevertheless, she fasted and prayed for three days, dressed up in her best clothes, and marched right in to the throne room. The King was bored that day, and he was delighted to see Esther. He stuck the gold scepter in her face, and she touched the gold ball. He made a comment about how cute she was when she touched gold scepter balls, and she smiled halfheartedly. He, feeling generous, told her that she could have anything she wanted, up to half of his kingdom. Now, tempting as that was, Esther meekly invited he and Haman to a dinner party. The King was pleased and Haman gloated. His good mood was ruined when he went outside and saw Mordechai sitting by the palace gate ignoring him.

     That night the King and Haman went to Esther’s party. The King, showing a bit more intelligence than he had in the past, figured out that there was something on Esther’s mind, and he asked her what it was that she REALLY wanted. She got nervous and told him that she would tell him the next day at another dinner party.

     That night, the king had a hard time sleeping. So he asked for a bedtime story. Of course, since he was a selfish individual, he wanted the story to be about himself. So, his scribe went to get the royal records and began to read them. When he came to the part about the assassination plot, the king, still suffering from insomnia, asked the scribe what had been done to reward  Mordechai. The scribe riffled through his scrolls and finally told the King that nothing had ever been done for Mordechai. Just then, Haman burst into the bedroom, wearing his nightgown and bunny slippers. The King did  not ask Haman why in the world was he bursting into the palace dressed like that at that time of night. Had he done so, Haman would have answered that he was getting real sick of Mordechai and could he please kill him RIGHT THEN. However, the King did not ask that- instead, he asked Haman what he thought would be the best way to honor someone the King thought highly of. Well, Haman could only think of one person whom the King thought highly of, and that was himself. So, he told the king to dress up this person in the King’s clothes, set him on a steed, and have someone lead him around. Xerxes congratulated Haman on his brilliance and told him to go do all those things for Mordechai. Haman had no choice but to acquiesce. After he finished honoring Mordechai, Haman headed home among snickers from his friends and got washed up to go to Esther’s party.

     At her party, Esther told the King about a great enemy of her people who was bent set on destroying she and her family. Xerxes was highly offended that anyone would want to kill his beautiful queen, and demanded to know who the man was. Esther took a deep breath and pointed at Haman. The King stormed out in a rage. Haman grabbed the queen and begged her for his life. She was petrified by his violent shaking and weeping. Xerxes, who had finally composed himself a bit, came back in during this scene. He became angry all over again and began to shout at Haman. Just then, a servant form Haman’s house told him that the gallows for Mordechai was ready. The King became more angry and told the servant to hang Haman on the gallows. Then, we went and wrote a new proclamation, stating that the Jews could defend themselves on the day that they were supposed to be slaughtered, and he sealed it with his ring. That day, not one Jew died. Mordechai took Haman’s place and the Jews began a tradition that is continued to this day- the festival of Purim.

    

2-18-10 "well...I never heard of that happening before..."

   There’s always something fascinating going on at my house. Last week, my sister and I began a shrimp farm in our fish tank. A few years ago, a pet frog got loose in the dining room- we never did find it. A while back, we raised snails and tadpoles in my dad’s office. Last month, our freezer quit and my mom, my sister and I spent the afternoon making two weeks worth of meatloaf, spaghetti, and chicken meals from all of the meat. We didn’t have to make any new dinners for a while! Last year, I painted a gigantic mural on the bathroom wall during the commercials of a TV special on the Phoenix Lander. Once, a hive of bees decided to make its home in our tree and everyone rushed inside the house to avoid the swarm- everyone except our guinea pig. This morning, a CD-Rom exploded in the computer’s disk drive! I had never heard of that happening before. Unfortunately, the CD was a $65 Apologia Biology digital textbook CD- ouch! My sister and I were both in the computer room when the heard a gigantic cracking noise come from the computer. We were afraid that the actual computer had crashed, but I opened up the drive, we saw shards of the CD were wedged in every possible position. So, I spent a few minutes picking out most the shards with tweezers. I also tried to vacuum out the pieces that were stuck far back in the drive cavity. As you might expect, that did not work at all.

     We looked online to discover if this was a common occurrence. Apparently, one out of every ten thousand CDs explodes in the drive. Sometimes bits of compact disk shrapnel go flying all over the room! Luckily, all enemy ammunition stayed inside our drive cavity.

     Sooo… if anyone has any advice on how to remove bits of CD from deep within the bowels of a computer, let me know!

     Oh, by the way, you will be pleased to hear that we were able to find an inexpensive washing machine to replace our deceased one. Thank you, God!

2-11-10 "Ten Easy Steps to Doing Great on the SAT's"

It’s SAT season! I just got my results today- I was one of the “crazy people” who opted to take the test in January. My logic was that if I did not do as well as expected on the test, I could take again in March. Fortunately, it appears as though I will not have to do that.

     I have some SAT tips for you Junior, Seniors, and precocious “Froshes” and “Sophs” who plan to take the SAT.

1) Study. Study! Study! Study! Don’t put it off- start as early as two months in advance. I only studied for two weeks beforehand, but I studied for hours every day. How should you study? Well, for starters,

2) Get a SAT study guide. I liked the one from Princeton Review. However, I did find several typographical errors, including one algebraic error (In an example, they gave the answer for 3⁶ instead of the problem they were showing how to solve, which was 6 ³). I found major errors on the answer page of the “11 Tests for the SAT” that Princeton Review also has. They somehow gave the answers in the wrong order, so instead of giving “a,b,d,c,a,b,d” as a sequence of answers, they would mistakenly put “a,b,b,d,c,a,b,d” and completely throw off the score. Other than that, however, the books are excellent. Cracking the SAT  shows how to solve virtually every type of problem that you will run into on the SAT! I finished Algebra and Geometry last year, so I was a little rusty on both subjects. Luckily, the Princeton Review book gave me a much-needed and easily understood crash course! You can find these books at the bookstore or library. Also, you can sign up to receive the Official SAT Question of the Day in your inbox. This is great way to spend a minute and a half daily improving your test taking ability. Another way to improve your scores is to improve your vocabulary. Study the vocab list in an SAT prep book, and constantly

3)Read. Read what? Classics, dictionaries, high school vocabulary textbooks- whatever it takes. Books such as The Scarlet Letter, Dickens classics, Frankenstein, and other fine literature are filled to the bursting point with words you may come across. Keep a notebook and a dictionary with you as you read. Write down any new words in your notebook and look them up in the dictionary once you are done reading. Find the memorizing technique that works best for you- try keeping a list of words and definitions in your notebook, or create flash cards. You don’t have to memorize the definitions verbatim, just know what the words mean. Also, as you read books and articles, try to make a habit of absorbing the information. Do your best to find it interesting. It may take a complete attitude change in some cases. Also, try to think about what the attitude of the author and/ or characters are. Try to get inside their minds and analyze their motives. If you can train yourself to do this automatically as you read, you will find it mush easier to complete the Critical Reading sections of the SAT. One of the scariest sounding parts of the SAT is the essay. But it’s not so hard if you

4) Practice writing. Write an SAT style essay every day. Sure, its no fun, but it takes less than 30 minutes, and it is worth it. Many SAT prep books have sample essay subjects. Just sit down with a timer, a notebook, a sharp pencil, and begin. Start by reading the subject. Jot down your initial reaction to it. Brainstorm ideas for your essay. Spend no more that five minutes brainstorming. Then create a thesis and write as fast as you legibly can and do your best to avoid errors. An unreadable essay will not get a high score! An ideal essay will have a “hook,” meaning that is sounds interesting from the start. It will have an introduction with a thesis, three supporting body paragraphs (Two is OK, but you may get a better score with three body paragraphs) and a good conclusion. Look up essay helps online if you are clueless on how to write an essay. Your SAT prep book should also be of some help. When you are writing your essay, try to leave a little time for correcting mistakes in your essay at the end, but don’t sweat it. An error or two should not detract from your score. In your body paragraphs, use examples from history or literature to support your thesis. Unfortunately, chances are that biblical examples will not be understood and/or taken seriously by the essay grader, so keep that in mind. The only sections that I have not yet mentioned are the reading, grammar, and mathematics sections. For these, simply

5) Practice! Make sure you understand how to perform algebraic and geometrical problems and that you understand the way that the English Language is properly spoken. Know your commas! Know whether “is” or “are” is correct, which of “They’re,” There, or “Their” is correct, and whether or not a grammarian would say “I saw her holding a pig in a prom dress.” (Hint: He would not, unless the pig was the one wearing the dress.) Your SAT prep book will also help with this. Don’t just assume you have it all down. Make sure you practice the critical reading sections, too. This will help you to be less nervous on test day, giving you a chance to relax as you read the passages. Then you will be able to process more information. You should

6) Take a few practice tests. Get a practice test book and go for it. Most books will help you to calculate your scores. More practice tests means better SAT scores. But it’s not all drudgery, you can also

7)Play games. Say what? Yes, there are actually games that will help you improve your scores. “Rummy Roots” is a card games that improves vocabulary by helping you learn Greek and Latin roots and their meanings. “Mind Trap” enhances critical thinking skills. Another very important thing is to

8) Sleep well, eat healthy, and become hydrated before the test. The day before the test, avoid unhealthy foods and make sure you drink plenty of WATER. Not soda. No, no, no. Also, get to bed at a decent hour (Yes, I do know that it is a Friday night and yes, 9) Bring a calculator, two pencils, a snack, and an ID to the test. Check on the College Board website to make sure that your calculator is approved. Bring number 2 pencils only. No mechanical pencils allowed. Try to

10) Relax! This is a big day for sure, but it won’t affect the outcome of your life. And you won’t have your SAT scores branded on your forehead. It’s just a test- seriously! All it is testing is how well you take tests, a skill that is easily improved. It is not an IQ test.

Good Luck! J

2-7-10 "I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me"

      I think we all have something that really tears us up inside. For me, it’s young men at war. Whenever I see a photo of a soldier in action, I never fail to get all teary. I guess its just the thought of a life potentially cut short by war. Last month, I saw a black-and-white photo of an American soldier in Viet Nam. The photo showed the soldier’s head. It was almost a profile shot, but taken a little above the soldier. His face was partially shaded, and for a moment- just a split second- the face of the soldier was the face of a guy I know. My heart stopped for a moment. My breath caught painfully in the back of my throat. Then the features rearranged themselves and the face became the face of a stranger. But it occurred to me that the soldier might have well have been a person with whom I am acquainted. Many people have gone to war in generation past, and many more will go from our generation and generations to follow. Some of them will have their lives ended just almost before they have really begun by a bullet in his strong heart. It seems so far away from all of us at home, unless we have a part of the family at war. I started when I thought of this.

     Do you remember the fallen soldier who gave you freedom in the Revolutionary War? Do you remember the teenage drummer who died in the Civil War? Do you remember the man in the First World War who was shot while rescuing others? Do you remember the amputee who lost his limb in World War Two? Do you remember the boy in the helmet whose picture I found in my history book? Do you remember the soldier who died in 2002, last year, yesterday, and today in Iraq? Do you remember the fallen soldier? Do you remember? Do you remember? Fill in the empty faces under the helmets with the face of your brother, your father, your husband, your brother, your cousin, your uncle, your friend. Can you feel for them now? Can you weep for the soldiers, your brothers, whom you never met? Can you cry for their mothers and fathers, for their lovers and friends, their children, and for their newborn babies whom they never knew? Can you cry? Can you cry with me? Oh, cry! Weep! Weep for the lives ended so untimely! When your heart is softened and swollen with tears, pray- pray for the families of fallen soldiers, pray for the veterans, and most of all, pray for the soldiers who are far from home.

 

1-30-10 "Recovering from State of the Union: Step one: print up target symbol. Step two: tape to wall. Step three: bang forehead on target until migrane goes away."

     Last week, President Obama gave his State of the Union Address. During this, we watched Nancy Pelosi lead the audience in an aerobic exercise as Obama spoke by sitting down and standing up and over and over again. Obama gave a very long and eloquent speech- I don’t even think he had any notes. In said speech, he identified some very real problems, such as the fact that America has become a nation of consumers instead of producers, and brought up a nonexistent problem, Global Warming (I thought Washington had finally figured out that it’s not a crisis?). He has some great ideas, too- the only problem is that many of these ideas are completely quixotic. They sound great, but can they work? The health care reform bill is a good idea, really it is. Medical care is very expensive, and it’s hard to pay the bills. Trust me, I understand that completely! It’s a great idea to help people out. However, government-funded health care won’t work for the nation’s benefit. There will be some people who benefit, but in the end, it will turn into more taxes for everyone else and just be another thing that the government has it’s nose in. It will be like welfare - good idea, but completely disastrous!

     I’m not going to go into political issues too much, but I just wanted to say that Obama is a very good speaker (I must say I have to be impressed with a person who can talk for 80 minutes straight without notes!) and very eloquent. But in order for you to be a good, informed citizen, please, please listen to what the meaning of the words are, not just how nice and eloquent they sound. Often, I find that a lovely sounding bit of our president’s speeches really don’t mean anything at all! Listen, and analyze. Don’t just hear.

     Please leave a comment about YOUR opinion on obama's speech.

1-26-10 "Sometimes it can be HARD-- that's good

 

  

   A couple weeks ago, I was browsing through one of my favorite bookstores with, happily, $20 to spend. I don’t know about you, but it takes me forever to decide with books to purchase. My mom found me after we had been there for about a half hour and was surprised to see me with about $80 worth of hardback books stacked in my arms. I was having a very hard time deciding which of the several books I chose, including The Last Mohican, Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, Two Histories of England (Dickens and Austin- yum!) The Count of Monte Cristo, and a few others. 

      My personal opinion on books is that classics cannot be beat and the older the publication date, the better! That’s part of the reason that I avoid the “teen lit” section. The other part of the reason that I avoid the said category is because I am thoroughly disgusted with the cruddy books offered there. Nearly every book is written well below a high school reading level and contains a weak romance, a gory murder, a nasty hero, or all three. Books for modern teenagers are goopy junk compared to what young people of past eras spent their time reading. However, there is one book written for teens that I find to be one of the best books ever written.

      Many of you, I am sure, have read the popular book by Brett and Alex Harris, Do Hard Things. Hopefully, you’ve also read it, and if you haven’t I encourage you to do so. It’ll be the best eighteen bucks you’ve ever spent on a book. I’ve been loaning my copy out to other teens I know because I think they should read it, too. One on the major points that the Harris twins make in their book is that we should find hard things that we can do for God and them DO them- thus the title of the book.

     Rewind five days form the day I was in the bookstore. It was Christmas Eve, and I was visiting my grandpa, who was in the rehabilitation wing of a nursing home after having surgery (He’s out now and home- thank the Lord for that!). My sister and I were going to play a couple of pieces on the piano for him. As he was taken into the dining hall, where the piano was, another gentleman who is a permanent resident of the home expressed a desire to listen also. We went into the dining room and my sister opened her music and played a breathtaking piece.

     My sister is one of those people to whom music comes as naturally as breathing. For me, it's a different story. I love to play- by myself. I get extremely nervous when I have to play for other people. I don't know why. I can stand up and give a speech in front of people easy as pie, but playing the piano stresses me out.

     In the middle of my sister's piece I realized- Uh-oh, I had left my sheet music at home. Ah, well. I knew a few pieces from memory. But I needed to use the pedal on the piano for those… and it appeared that the out-of-tune player piano had no working pedal. I only know two and one-half songs that do not take pedal. I decided that I really did not want to play- it was not going to sound very good at all, and I didn’t want to follow my sister’s precise Chopin (although a bit clunky without a pedal) with my rusty memorized tunes. Then as she got up form the piano bench and I saw the joy that it brought to my grandpa and especially to the other gentleman- a lonely man whose family he had not seen in many years, I later found out- I realized that it didn’t matter what the playing sounded like to this man. Right then, he was receiving his Christmas gift and this was the closest thing to family that he was going to experience that season. The realized that this was a Do Hard Things moment. 

     What is the next hard thing YOU can do? It could be a simple as playing the piano when you don’t want to, or it could be far more difficult. Whatever it is, take a deep breath and DO it.

 

 

1-18-10 "Our Brothers in Asia"

As Christians, we must expect to face some level of persecution. Jesus himself said that we would. I’m sure you’ve encountered a bit of this or at least have seen it happen- maybe someone you know ridicules you for following Christ. Maybe your friend or brother got a bad grade on his English class in college because the professor was angry at the way he spoke openly about his faith. However, there are very few cases in the US where persecution has risen to level that we can see in other countries. Persecution is particularly bad in northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Here is the story of one event:

Before dawn on Sunday, September 13, 2009, a band of 400 government officials, police and hired ruffians launched an attack on Linfen-Fushan Church in Shanxi. With no warning, members who were sleeping at the church construction site were mercilessly beaten, with more than 30 left in critical condition. Bulldozers razed the factory and church building to the ground, and the mob looted any valuables and smashed the remaining property. Following the brutal attack, the Fushan governing officials arrested more than ten Linfen church leaders.

Esther, the daughter of two Linfen pastors, called home frantically in October, after learning about the attack on Fushan Church over the internet. The phone rang and rang, but no one answered. She later learned from a relative that her father and mother had been arrested in a sweeping backlash against house church leaders on October 11, 2009.

In the trial held on November 25th, Esther's father Yang Xuan was convicted of "unlawfully occupying agricultural land" and sentenced to 3 1/2 years with a 20,000 Yuan fine. Her Aunt Yang Rongli received a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison and 30,000 Yuan fine, and her Uncle Wang Xiaoguang received 3 years in prison with a 10,000 Yuan fine. Esther's mother, Yang Caizhen, was arbitrarily sentenced to two years Re-education through Labor in the brutal Laogai (labor-camp) system. Already fearing for their safety and health, Esther learned in December that her mother had been severely beaten in prison.

 Thank the Lord for religious freedom in North America and Europe! Let us fight to keep that liberty and defend it above all other rights.

But let’s not forget the persecuted. This is a huge problem! How can YOU help? You can donate, and it will be a great help. But the most important thing for you to do is PRAY! Here are a couple of sites to keep you informed as to what the greatest prayer needs are:

Persecution blog from Voice of the Martyrs

China Aid- the site from which the above story is taken

 

1-15-50 "Haiti"

I'm sure you've all heard about the Haiti earthquake and the havoc wreaked on that island. There are tons of orphaned, widowed, and injured people in Haiti right now who need your help- you could SAVE A LIFE by donating a few dollars. Literally, you could feed a child for a month by giving $5. That's as much as a footlong at Subway costs. So, give up one lunch out and feed a kid for a month! Maybe you could feed a few people. Do you really need another t-shirt or a new soccer ball? Do you need it more than these people need to live? 

Couple of sites:

https://www.fmsc.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=416

http://www.fh.org/

 

 

1-6-10 "Twilight"

 

 

Guest post by Kaylee

I don't know about any of you, but I'm getting a little tired of seeing "Twilight" all over everything, and everywhere. At this age, many of you have probably read or seen Twilight. If not, good for you. I highly reccomend that you don't. Even though I haven't ever read or seen Twilight, I know enough about it to know that it's something that I don't want to spend my time watching/reading. In Phillipians 4:8, it says: "Finally brothers whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is noble, whatever is admirable, -if anything is excellent or praisworthy- think about such things."      Let's put Twilight through the criteria for a moment. Is Twilight true? NO! There are no such things as vampires.... certainly not 17 year old girls who fall in love with them!  is Twlight right??? NO!!!!! 17 year old girls should not be having romances at such a young age, not to mention... It's definitely not right for young girls to fall in love with mythical creatures. Is Twilight noble? No. there is nothing noble about not getting along with your parents and running off with a vampire. Is Twilight admirable? NO! What is admirable about Twilight? You can't admire a 17 year old girl for running off with a vampire. You can't admire a vampire for running off with her. Is Twilight excellent? Definitely not. It may be well written, and the actors may be talented... but that doesn't matter. Finally; is Twilight praiseworthy? Once again, what can be praised about this movie? There is nothing God-honoring about it. If you still don't agree with me, read about Twlight yourself in the Christian movie review website below; with Phillipians 4:8 in mind. You will find that what I write is true.   Keep in mind this website talks quite openly about Twilight. I suggest nobody but teens (and adults)  read it. Some of the content is rather PG or above. http://www.pluggedin.com/videos/2008/Q4/Twilight.aspx I don't mean to offend you Twilight fans, but this is a Biblical perspective. Sure, Twilight is full of action and intrigue, but so are other books/movies. Many of these are God-honoring. Why spend your time reading/watching the latest  new book/movie when there is so much better stuff out there? Please comment and tell me what you think.

1-1-10 "it's not an option. It's obedience"

Happy New Years to You!

     I found this video on Godsgurl93's blog and thought it was pretty good. Please watch it and take it to heart. And please check out the modesty survey at www.therebelution.com . Modesty is SO IMPORTANT! I cannot stress that enough. We live in a world where extreme immodestly is socially normal, and unfortunately many Christian girls fall into the trap of immodesty. We need to stand out- that doesn't necessarily mean we have to wear muumuus and headscarves 24/7, but it does mean we need to (excuse me for indelicacy)  make sure body parts that are mean to concealed stay concealed. Believe it or not, this is actually commanded in the Bible!  I Titus 2:9 says, “I want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety…” I daresay you can’t get much plainer than that.

     Let me explain something real quick…. When the modesty survey and this video says that a girls choice of clothing is a ‘stumbling block” to guys it means that it makes them think things about you that you don’t want them thinking about… and it actually causes them to sin. Don’t adopt the “I should be able to wear what I want, and they should resist the temptation” attitude, girls. It is extremely difficult for guys to resist the temptation because it’s completely against they way their minds naturally work. It takes a lot of work for a guy to resist sinning in his heart when he sees you dressing in a way that you ought not. Remember, guys and girls are wired differently and you can really cause an internal war in a guy’s mind if you dress inappropriately.  

 

    What is modest? How far is too far, and how modest do you need to be? Find out what the guys think is OK and what causes them to stumble… right here at the modesty survey. Please keep in mind that this is meant for teens and young adults.

 

    This may come as a surprise to you, and I am fully aware that I am crossing into an awkward zone right now. But I think that this is a very important thing for you girls to understand! Please think of those around you when you are dressing and not just what you like and what you think looks “cute.”

12-30-09 "illustrations"

Hello everyone! My blog is officially a year old! If you have a favorite entry from the last year, please comment to tell me about it. :)

 I want to let you know that www.becominggodlymaidens.com has a new section! Click HERE to see my portfolio for my illustrating business. Also visit my illutration blog HERE. Thanks guys!

Hope you all had a spectacular Christmas!

12-22-09 "four...eggs...molasses..."

Today we made gingerbread cookies. In the past we have always made our gingerbread men look like the traditional type:

 But with the exception of this Venerable Gentleman, and select Friends, this year we were far more creative. Thus, Kevin from Home Alone:

 

And the snorkler:

A guy listening to an iPod

This one got a little messed up when I tried to put him on the cookie sheet, and he looks like he may have been run over by a tractor or a bike or something.

These ones could either be high-fiving or dancing.

This is what you do if you accidently amputate a limb while moving from cookie cutter to cookie sheet: make it look like it was on purpose.

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this deviation from the normal kind of entries I post here, which tend to have a bit more substance to them. I tried to find some sort of Biblical lesson that can be gathered from decorating cookies, but unfortuanately gingerbread was not invented until after 100 AD. So I will leave you with a small anecdote: Use your God-given creativity for God's glory! Decorate your cookies, and spread joy by giving them to a neighbor, a friend, or someone that needs a bit of Christmas cheer.

12-20-09 "Welcome, baby angel"

This month, we are celebrating the birth of a very special child who was born 2000 years ago to save us from our sins. My family is celebrating another birth this month, too. Introducing my new cousin, Reia, who was born on the 15th of December! Here she is at two hours old:

 

And twelve hours old:

Hello, Reia! How do you like Planet Earth so far?

Babies are God's gifts sent straight down from Heaven. They are miracles in diapers.

 

Welcome, Reia!

12-18-09 "Christmas is offensive"

     Recently, the Home Journal Magazine, an article on Christmas cards was featured.  The article stated that if you plan on giving religious Christmas cards, only give them to your Christian friends. You don’t want to offend anyone, so if your friend doesn’t believe in Jesus, don’t give them a card with a religious message. I am amazed! Jesus is the reason we have Christmas! It is about celebrating His birth! If it bothers them that much, perhaps they should stop celebrating Christmas.

     What I want to know is why everyone is worried about offending non-Christians but nobody is worried about offending me. Maybe other people believe in Santa Claus, but I don’t. And nobody seems to have any qualms about giving me a Christmas card that features that notorious individual!

Related Must-Watch Christmas Video

 

12-10-09 "You didn't know that anout Biden, did ya?"

Did you know….

Joe Biden, our vice president, ran in the 1988 presidential elections and was forced to withdraw because of plagiarism? 

11-30-09 "chinks in evolution 2"

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">     Deoxyribonucleic Acid. We all have it. Each person’s is unique. You have or will learn about it in high school Biology, and you probably know it by its abbreviation, DNA. The question of the hour: did Mr. Darwin understand DNA? The foundation of his “theory” of evolution is built on the so-called principle that organisms are able to change from one sort of organism to another given enough time. Mr. Darwin is correct to a point. Species do adapt, but they stay within their specific kinds. For example, a kind of dog, say, a Labrador retriever, can become a yellow lab and a black lab and a chocolate lab over generations. This is the principle of “microevolution.” However, a Labrador retriever cannot evolve into a Persian cat or a black bear or a vampire bat or a giant squid. That idea that it could is called “macroevolution” and it is quite impossible. Why do I say that? It is a matter of DNA and genes and mutations. Mr. Darwin thought that through mutations, a species could evolve. One thing he forgot to think through was the fact that mutations <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">take away </strong>information. They do not add information! Thus, a single-celled organism cannot become a double-celled organism or a multi-celled organism and develop lungs, fins, or a brain. Mutations do not turn monkeys into intelligent humanoids. My uncle is not a monkey. My great-great-granddaddy is not a worm. </font></p>


<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">source: Answers In Genesis; <em>Apologia</em> Biology, 2nd edition. </font></p>

11-20-09 "chinks in evolution 1"

The carbon dating method is so outdated. Supposedly, scientists are able to measure the age isotopes of carbon in rock and come up with the age of the rock. One problem: When a natural disaster takes place, carbon isotopes “age” at a rapid rate. Take Mount Saint Helens. This venerable resident of northwest Unites States erupted less than half a century ago, yet when scientists used the carbon dating method on the rocks formed by the blast, the final number that they came up with was thousands of years! So much for that method. Perhaps the rocks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon are less than billions of years old after all. Next time your tour guide tell you that the interesting rocks you are looking at are 50 billion years old, keep this in mind and don’t take his word for it.

Source: Answers In Genesis

10-2-09 "poodle skirts and marijuana"

      America began to decompose in the 1950’s. As the dawn of the teenage era shone on the horizon of the new decade, anxious adults and enthusiastic young people watched as America’s view of adolescence was changed forever. A new philosophy that had never existed in the past was born: the idea of the “generation gap”.

     Significant changes in young peoples’ outlook on life and the media’s outlook on young people had serious lasting consequences. Trendy clothing for the newly-christened “teenagers” in the 1950’s laid the foundation for today’s practice of tossing all modesty to the wind. Skirts began to get shorter as the popular poodle skirt made its debut, girls’ shirts became tighter in order to show off their feminine contours, and some fashionable boys’ clothes shot up to three-figure amounts. The initial general disgust for fast, touchy-feely dances evolved into wild popularity as rock ‘n roll stepped into the scene. Singers and movie stars enjoyed popularity as more people idolized celebrities than ever before. Elvis Presley, popular even today, shocked and fascinated viewers with his suggestive dances, and meaningless romantic songs flooded the airwaves. Dating, which had begun in the nineteen-twenties as (believe it or not), a parent-mediated event to keep young adults out of trouble hurtled into a casual, parent-free “romantic” sport. Teenagers were informed by the media, their peers, and even many adults that they were misunderstood individuals who ought to be independent, irresponsible, and live for fun. Society became blind to the inescapable fact that the youths of the present are the leaders of the future. The erosion of morality in the adults of the ‘60s and 70’s was a direct result of the rebellion that was encouraged in the ‘50s and our twenty-first century culture still suffers from the repercussions of that era.

    

 In the early 20^th century and centuries before, the idea of “teenagers” did not exist. Those individuals between the ages of twelve and twenty were considered “youths” or “young adults”. They took responsibility for large portions of the household duties, took life seriously, treated school as a privilege and an opportunity, and showed respect to their elders. As a result, our culture was a healthy, proactive, successful society.  I have often wondered: how did so many people graduate college before age seventeen? Why are young people in other countries fluent in two, three, four, or even five different languages? Why is it that so many women of years past married before their eighteenth birthdays, and yet were so much more adept at managing a household and a marriage than most women in their late twenties are today? The answer is how they lived life in their teen years. When young people had high standards and responsibility, our society received capable adults.

 

     If you believe I am overreacting, if you have bought into the ideology that “teens will be teens”, please reconsider your views.  Look at the statistics! Although poverty levels in the early 2000’s (it has taken a leap since 2008) were lower than they were before the 1950’s (www.census.gov), the crime level has risen significantly (http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm )! I am convinced that the dramatic increase in crime is directly linked with the irresponsibility that is encouraged and the disrespect and misbehavior that are allowed to go on with teenagers. I have heard the phrase “teens will be teens” countless times. Allow me to disagree! I am ashamed that such a negative word as “teenager” must stigmatize every person of my age. Young people can adopt the behavioral patterns of “teens”, but only if there are trained to do so by this perverse culture and their parents. If children are not allowed to behave in a disrespectful manner, they will not grow up to be disrespectful “teenagers”, and ultimately disrespectful adults who, very often, are useless to society and the kingdom of God. I will reiterate: this is a serious crisis!

    Dear friend, how can you and I escape becoming entrapped this swirling vortex of self-destruction? How can we live our lives now in a way that will benefit us, and those around us, in the future? The answer is simple. We must live out our faith is a vibrant way. We must take responsibility for our lives and for our actions. We must begin to take life seriously and pull away from the destructive attitudes of our culture.

~Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world…”~

10-1-09 "From the desk of Jane Bennet"

 

     I just love spending time with my dad. I like having one-on-one time with him so I can talk to him about serious things and about fun things. I am always surprised at how much I can learn about business, politics, God and everything else during a single conversation! One thing my sister and I do every year is go to a dad and daughter dance at our church. It’s been a tradition ever since we were very small. This year, I get to go to a Regency era ball with my dad- just he and I! I can’t wait! My mom and I are sewing a historically accurate (for the most part) dress for the occasion. I am not quite sure what to expect at the ball, although I know that there will be regency-era dancing and socializing, but I know it will be great because my daddy is taking me. Who needs prom when you have that!? To all you girls, I’d like to recommend that you find something fun to do with your dad. Do you both like the outdoors? Then go camping together. If you enjoy art or history, find a museum. Or just go grab a burger! Do something and make a memory.

 

 

P.S.

 Hey everyone- guess what I found on the internet! http://www.becauseibelieve.net  has officially been added to my list of favorite websites. Why? Because this is where Chris and Emilee Danielson are broadcasting! You can listen top their podcast (at the bottom of the page) to hear this duo glorify God and create light-hearted humor and laughter.

 

 

9-21-09 "giants, kings and messy homeschooling"

I recently came across this photo, which I took last school year. This is not a "set-up". I had been doing school all morning in my dad's office and this is how it looked when I was done:

 (Just in case you were wondering, the screen saver is the NASA Phoenix Lander slideshow, which is extremely cool. You can find it on the website.)

Ordinarily, our house is very neat and tidy, but this is obviously a different story during school hours- at least when I'm doing science experiments!

 

Right now I am reading the book of 1Samuel in the Bible. I love the Samuels- they are so full of intrigue, adventure, and excitement! Yesterday I read the story of David and Goliath for the billionth time. I tried to read it through new eyes (instead of envisioning Jr. Asparagus hopping around a battlefield full of French peas) and it made me wonder about how David felt. How scared was he? When his brothers were rude, did he feel like lashing back at them? I mean, David had just traveled miles and miles, probably on foot, to go check on his solder brothers and what do they do? They accuse him of coming just to see the excitement, and they call him proud and wicked. I probably would have been pretty mad if my brother did that to me! I pray that God will give me the grace and patience that David had and make me a woman after God's own heart!

     I wonder what Jesse's reaction was when he found out that his youngest son had defeated the Philistine hero? I bet he was even more shocked than when he found out that David was to be king over Israel! I am sure that David never ceased to amaze Jesse. First, he anointed king over Israel, then he is called into the king's service as a harpist, then he plays a huge role is defeating the Philistines, and soon he becomes best friend of the crowned prince, and finally, king! All that, and he started out as a shepherd boy. Goes to show you what God can do! If you open your heart to Him, God can do great things with you, too! Where is He calling YOU?

7-29-09 "Don the mourning clothes"

     There has been a death in the family. My beloved pet, Spike, has died.. My mom never liked Spike. She insisted that he was not a pet. She referred to him as a “Science–project-that-must-remain-out-of-sight-in-a-cage-in-the-garage-with-a-lid-and-I-can’t-believe-I-pay-to-feed-this-thing.” Poor Spike. Somehow, I don’t feel much sadness. Actually, the worst thing about this death is the fact that I will no longer get to brag to people that I have a pet scorpion.

    

     Spike was a species that is known to the scientific world as “Hadrurus Arizonensis.” To the more plebian type, he is known as the giant hairy desert scorpion. As is evidenced by his name, Spike had hair. It was mostly around his knees. He was yellowish with a dark brown back. He had an evil looking stinger that was red. The curved barb was horrible enough to give me occasional nightmares. If I shook his cage around a little, Spike would curve his back, arch his tail, and come up a little on his back legs. It was cool to watch him run around like that. I never got to see him attack and eat anything, but I bet it would have been cool to watch. Maybe a little PG-13, but still very cool. Oddly enough, the larger a scorpion is, the less poisonous its sting is. Unless you are allergic, the sting of a giant hairy desert scorpion is relatively harmless. I wanted to hold Spike, but my dad wouldn’t let me(Oh darn). I tend to be slightly allergic to bug bites. If you pick up a scorpion by its tail, it cannot sting you. However, a scorpion this size has a couple of nasty pinchers. Although this species can grow to a much larger size, Spike was only about three inches long from the tip of his stinger to his claws when stretched out.

 

     Good bye, Spike. I am so sorry that I killed you by over watering your cage. I know you can die from dampness. Your bedding should have been sand. Rest in peace. I shall replace you soon with Spike II.

 

7-22-09 "you knit me together in my mother's womb"

We all know the great debate: pro-life or pro-choice? It's one of our nation's most dividing issues. Pro-lifers say that a fetus at any stage is a living human and to kill it is to murder an innocent, helpless person. Those with pro-choice views say that it is a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy if she so choses and that a fetus is not a human life until a certain stage in development.

This is an unborn baby at 10 weeks. You can distinctly see its head, body, arms and legs. This baby is a human being and it is very much alive.

You can see this unborn baby's hands and face. It was moving when the ultrasound was taken.

 This photo is a picture of Samuel Armas as he undergoes a pre-birth surgery. You can see his tiny hand gripping the surgeon's finger. This took place 21 weeks after Samuel's conception.

This is Samuel Armas at ten years of age. Nobody would deny his humanity, but no more human now that he was in the previous photo.

You can see that an unborn child is not a growth or a blob of tissue. No matter how hard you try to say otherwise, no matter when you say a fetus becomes a human, an unborn baby is a human life. Homo Sapien. Nothing else. Horton was right: a person is a person no matter how small.

Aren't you glad YOUR mother was pro-life, or at least that she didn't consider YOU an inconvenience?

7-19-09 "the best thing since cordless phones"

TheRebelution.com has launched the results of their massive Modesty Survey! Over 1,600 Christian guys have answered questions on everything from glitter lotion and lip gloss to swimsuits and skirt slits! It's everything girls have ever wanted to ask guys about modesty, but were afraid to ask! For guys, it's really interesting to see what other Christian guys think!



Most importantly, the survey is presented as a resource to help Christian girls (and guys), not a list of legalistic rules, and it is accompanied by the Modesty Survey Petition (which tons of guys have signed) which encourage young women to focus on the heart, not the hemline, to honor their parents, etc.



The results were released on St. Valentine's Day as a gift from 1,600 Christian guys to all Christian girls -- and I can't think of a better one! Now the survey is being endorsed by people like Shaunti Feldhahn ("For Women Only") Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Revive Our Hearts), CJ Mahaney (Sovereign Grace Ministries) and Shannon Ethridge ("Every Woman's Battle")!



Go check it out: www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey



But also make sure you spread the word to all your friends. We want as many Christian girls (and guys) as possible to see this, so forward this email on!





By the way, guys, they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!



THE MODESTY SURVEY

www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey

7-15-09 "hey coal lumps! You are jewels in the making!"

I wanted to expound on this week's "Quote of the Week", "A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure." -Henry Kissinger. I came across this quote this morningwhen I was reading God's Little Instruction Book (an excellent book, by the way) and I just had to blog my thoughts about it.

      Henry Kissinger's words remind us that we all begin as "coal chunks;" spiritually black, ugly, and invaluable. However, when placed under pressure - a hard time at school or work, friends that turn on us, losing a loved one- we become something more. Clear, valuable, a symbol of love and life-long devotion.

      When I have hard times, I find myself crying out in my heart, "Why, God? Why is this happening to me?" And soon after, the answer comes. A verse from the Bible will pop into my head or jump off the page, or someone will inadvertantly give me the answer while they are talking to me.

Isa. 48:10: "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."  Refined silver is not as pure and is not worth as much as refined silver. God allows us to experience affliction so that we can become more pure. I have seen that this is true in my own life. I was repeatedly hurt very badly (emotionally) by someone a couple of years ago. I did not understand why it was happening and thought that the problem would never go away. However, my hurtful situation eventaully dissapeared and I found that I had grown much closer to God through the pain. I had matured, learned to forgive and deal with unkind people, and I was ready for whatever God had been preparing me for.

           

    Unrefined silver- rough, uneven  

Refined silver- smooth, refecting, ready to be made into useful objects

Here's a great illustration on how God refines us like silver: http://www.meadowridgekennels.com/gpage22.html

 

There are many times in the Bible when God's people are refered to as precious metals or gems. Check out a few of these verses:

• Proverbs 31:10
• Malachi 3:3
• Psalm 66:10

We are valuable to God! He wants us to become even more valuable. That is why he allows us to be "put through the furnace" and refined.

 

6-7-09 "can you avoid breaking the landspeed record?"

      A few weeks ago, my mom told me about the time she almost broke the current land speed record.

          On her bike.

                When she was seven.

     My mom had just learned to ride a bike and she thought it would be pretty sweet to ride as fast as she possibly could down a hill. She backed way up and began to pedal furiously. When she got to the crest of the hill, she was going just about as fast as she possibly could on an old, sibling-worn bike. She tipped over the side of the hill and gained speed and she flew down the hill- right into a barbed wire fence.

     About half way down the hill, my mom had realized that the fence was right in her path. Her mind told her to brake. Her hands would not obey. She forgot how the brakes worked and where they were located. Two seconds before the bloody collision, she let go of the handle bars.

CRASH!!!

The moral? Look before you leap. Something may look really cool- like flying down a hill on your brother's old bike- but there might be a barbed wire fence at the bottom. Don't jump into something before looking into it first. You could end up commited to something you hate. You could end up with your emotional bike tires punctured and your feellings all torn up. I have got my self into some sticky situations before. Trust me, it's hard to go through with something you don't want to do, but it's harder to pull out when everyone's depending on you (not to mention it's just plain rude).

     One way I could have avoided being stuck between a rock and a hard place was to listen to my dad. I have to admit: He's ALWAYS right when it comes to making commitments (and pretty much everything else). He tells me not to overfill my schedule, but do I listen to him? No. (Oh, Daddy, I can take this class AND be in that performance; no problem!) And I always wish I had.

     Another way is to pray about what I should do. You may be thinking, "Oh, right. Like God cares which sport I choose. Besides, it's my life." But God will lead you if you ask for his guidance. And when you're following his lead, you'll never find youself flying down a hill at a million miles an hour headed towards a barbed wire fence.

5-31-09 "and they said he would never run again"

   My sister was waiting for the last heat of the 400-meter dash before hers to finish when my dad went over to her to give last-minute advice. Also the assistant coach for her track club and previously an award-winning head coach for a high school team, my dad knows what a runner needs to do in order to have an outstanding race.

     “Your dad runs?” The girl beside her asked in a ridiculing tone once my dad was out of earshot.

     “Yes,” my sister replied sweetly, “He ran a 400-meter race in 59 seconds, and he took state in his other race.” She left out the fact that he’s in the top ten middle distance runners in the country. She watched the girl’s jaw drop.

    “Wow!” the girl said, “My dad can hardly walk to the mailbox without hyperventilating.”

 

     It isn’t the fact that before a few years ago, my dad hadn’t run in twenty-five years that makes these stories amazing. It’s not the fact that he puts family time and my sister’s running before his own, therefore getting only a little training time himself. The thing that makes it amazing is the words my doctor said to my mom a couple of years ago: “I’m sorry. He will never run again.”

     Two years ago, my dad had a slipped meniscus. He had to get knee surgery. In the process of the surgery, the doctor also realized that he had to remove a large portion of cartilage from his knee. He told my mom that my dad would never be able to run again. When my mom broke the news to my dad, he just adjusted his ice pack, laughed, and declared, “My God is bigger than that!”

     About eight years ago, my dad began to have heart problems. His heart doctor was worried and he was going to have to have surgery. Then, amazingly and unexplainably, the heart problems disappeared. The doctors were baffled. My parents were not. God had listened to our prayers.

 

     Determination, perseverance, and, most of all, faith in God. My dad was able to work through difficult times because he knew God would carry him the whole way. Remember Philippians 4:13 : “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”  

    

5-24-09 "dear miss california 2009"

Dear Carrie Prejean,

     I heard about your daring answer to a Miss America judge’s question on gay marriage. My first impression was shock that someone would ask such a political question to a beauty pageant contestant. I imagine that you were totally taken off guard. How do answer such a controversial question in front of all of America- especially when it could cost you the title of Miss America. The pressure was high. The country held its breath. Would you stand strong or fold under the pressure? You chose to stand strong. You worded your answer superbly. It was perfect. There was nothing in your reply that could have been considered offensive. You stated your opinion and graciously left space for other people to have theirs, without compromising your morals. You didn’t miss a beat. Your smile barely faltered. It amazes me that your answer was considered a hate crime when the judge’s response was so abusive. What is wrong with the United States of America? A true American would do what you did. The founding fathers would have been proud. You should be made a role model for girls everywhere. I know you’re mine. We need more people like you- people who will stand up for what they believe even when it has a price. And you can be content knowing that God has a reward for you far greater than a Miss America title.

      On behalf of myself and all like-minded individuals,

  Thank you, Miss California!

   

 

*The grass my wither and the flower fall, but the word of our Lord stands forever. *

5-11-09 "thomas, james, and gregor the giant beetle"

This is a conversation overheard two weeks ago in a room full of energetic four-year-olds: A few kids are talking about their younger siblings. The teacher asks Matthew, "You have a brother, too, don't you? Do you have a Thomas?"

"Yes, I have a Thomas," replies Matthew. His little brother Thomas is a few months old.

"Oh," says John, "I have a James. He's a lot of fun during the day, but he gets kinda tired at nght time. So we have to recharge his batteries and then I can play with him in the morning."

Bewildered at this strange speech, the teacher directs her attention to Victoria, who is proudly proclaiming that she, too, has a James.  Elizabeth says her brother has a James, but her train is a Thomas the Tank Engine.

Four-year-olds are adorable.

I despise  The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. If you have ever read it, I think you will agree that it is altogether terrible. At the end I thought, "Oh, that was a horrible chapter. I can't wait to see how they fix this mess in the next chapter." Bu when I turned the page, I found.... notes, notes and more notes. One hundred fifty pages of notes. It is such an overanalyzed book. Perhaps becasue it is so bizzare.

     To quote the author, from a journal entry a few years before the book's publication, "I am now reading The Metamorphosis at home and find it bad." I quite agree. As with so many books: terrible story; fabulous style.