Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"Cause every perfect now and then, I caught a glimpse of Aslan's mane, and I longed for his treasure."


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be coming out this December as a movie. I am excited (because it is probably in my top two of books from the series) and nervous (because they really messed up Prince Caspian).

Bech has actually never read this series. This makes me really really sad. But we are remedying that. We just started to read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader last night. And it reminded me of how much I love the other books, not that I forget it that often. If you know me, you probably learned pretty quickly of my love for all things C.S. Lewis.

So I thought I would do a run through of my favorite quotes from the books. I won't give away any plot (or at least I'll try not to), in case you haven't read them all yet. But if you haven't--YOU NEED TO! Start today. Oh and read them in the RIGHT order:

“'They say Aslan is on the move - perhaps has already landed.'

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."

"Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."


"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'"

"But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagles' eyes they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.

'Come and have breakfast,' said the Lamb in its sweet milky voice.

Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.

'Please, Lamb,' said Lucy, 'is this the way to Aslan's country?'

“Not for you,” said the Lamb. “For you the door into Aslan's country is from your own world.'

'What!' said Edmund. 'Is there a way into Aslan's country from our world too?'

'There is a way into my country from all the worlds,' said the Lamb; but as he spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane.

'Oh, Aslan,' said Lucy. 'Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?'

'I shall be telling you all the time,' said Aslan. 'But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder…'”

“'It isn't Narnia, you know,' sobbed Lucy. 'It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?'

'But you shall meet me, dear one,' said Aslan.

'Are are you there too, Sir?' said Edmund.

'I am,' said Aslan. 'But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.'”

“'Do you eat girls?' she said.

'I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,' said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.

'I daren't come and drink,' said Jill.

'Then you will die of thirst,' said the Lion.

'Oh dear!' said Jill, coming another step nearer. 'I suppose I must go and look for another stream
then.'

'There is no other stream,' said the Lion."

“'One word, Ma'am,” he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things – trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a playworld which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia.'”

"'I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.'

'Then it was you who wounded Aravis?'

'It was I.'

'But what for?'

'Child,' said the Voice, 'I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.'"



'The Lion, whose eyes never blinked, stared at the animals as hard as if he was going to burn them up with his mere stare. And gradually a change came over them. The smaller ones – the rabbits, moles, and such-like – grew a good deal larger. The very big ones – you noticed it most with the elephants – grew a little smaller. Many animals sat p on their hind legs. Most put their heads on one side as if they were trying very hard to understand. The Lion opened his mouth, but no sound came from it; he was breathing out, a long, warm breath; it seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees. Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which his them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music. Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children’s bodies, and the deepest, wildest voice they had ever heard was saying:

'Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.'"



“I was going to say I wished we’d never come. But I don’t, I don’t, I don’t. Even if we are killed. I’d rather be killed fighting for Narnia than grow old and stupid at home and perhaps go about in a bath-chair and then die in the end just the same.”

"It is hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this.You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking- glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different–deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know. The difference between the old Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can’t describe it any better than that: if you ever get there you will know what I mean.

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right forehoof on the ground and neighed, and then cried:

'I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!'"


“'The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.'
And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all stories, and we can most truly say they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."



I hope I haven't ruined any of the books, but I don't think knowing every detail could even ruin the books. If you haven't read them, I really hope you do. You will love them...

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thanksgiving...

This year, Bech and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving away from family. We were in Malawi for one Thanksgiving, but that happened to be while my parents and Blaise and Ansley were there visiting us. So this year was our first on our own, and I think we did a pretty good job with it.

My good friend Courtney was here for the week, so I think that helped with us being away from family. We got up, watched the Macy's Day parade, ate orange cinnamon rolls, and worked on lunch. By two, we sat down for a yummy meal.

My favorite part may have been being able to use our china and crystal! This is the first time we have used it.

See our beautiful annieglass chargers...I love them!


Bech cooked the turkey. We bought a whole one, but only cooked part of it for now.

And here is our feast: salad with goat cheese, Vermont apples, and homemade dressing; turkey with homemade cranberry sauce; parmesan thyme rolls; parmesan reggiano rolls; and green bean bundles! Later, Bech made pumpkin pie with maple whipped cream for desert.


We both missed our families, but it ended up being a really fun day!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

my first Christmas post...

It is almost Christmas season. Actually for me, it is already Christmas season. I have been thinking and getting excited about Christmas for a week or two now. I have been listening to Christmas music. And next week, Courtney will help me decorate for Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love it for so many reasons. I love lights and glitter. I love the smell of Christmas trees. I love the food and the drinks and the whole smell of the season. I love being with my family. I love giving and getting gifts. I love decorating. I love the music. I love the advent candles. I love the Christmas eve service at Faith Presbyterian Church.

But more than all of that, I love Christmas because it is a celebration of the birth of my Savior. I am always amazed at the beauty of the story. Our Lord, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, came down to us as a baby. He was born to humble parents in a stable. We all know the story. Even if you aren't a Christian, you most likely know the basic facts of the story.

But think about it for a second--how incredible is that? How beautiful and delightful and mysterious and mystical is His birth? I read Luke 2, and I feel as if I am reading an old Hebrew fairy tale. Surely this is not the logical, practical step for God to take to bring salvation? And I am reminded that Jesus' birth is not an inkling of a fairy tale. Rather, all fairy tales, all beautiful stories are based off of the truth of who He is, how He has come, and what He has and will do.

I hope that everyone will take time this Christmas to really consider the beauty of Christ's coming. I know there is so much more beyond that to dwell on--how amazing that He came at all and what He does after His birth. But for now, simply consider the mystery and the wonder.

My favorite verse dealing with Christ's birth, and perhaps one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Luke 2:19:


"And Mary was preserving all these words, putting them together in her heart."
(sorry if it's a slightly different version--that's what the Greek literally says)

I am blown away thinking about Mary, a fairly young girl, cherishing and puzzling over the things she had seen and heard through the birth of her child, Jesus. I hope that I too will be constantly cherishing Christ's birth.

Monday, November 15, 2010

the Church

Yesterday the church we are visiting took in new members. I was amazed by the contrast between the PCA membership vows and this church's way. Not that I am saying this church is necessarily wrong or unbiblical, but there was a huge contrast!

When you join a PCA church, here are the vows you take before the congregation:

1. Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in [i.e., except for] His sovereign mercy?

2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel?

3. Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?

4. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?

5. Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?

I personally think those vows are beautiful. I love how the first step is just simply to acknowledge your position, that we are sinners with no other hope. Then we acknowledge where our hope solely comes from. One of my favorite things is how this vow is based on the universal Church, and not the specific church. Obviously, you are then involved and a part of, and even under the leadership of, that specific church. But it is more about becoming a part of the universal Church.

There are so many things about the church we are going to now that we really like. But we have decided not to join this church. We have a few reasons. The first is that we are really struggling with giving up our PCA membership. We are actually still members of Christ Presbyterian in Oxford. We loved (and still love) that church. We didn't join a church in Malawi, and then we didn't join First Presbyterian (we would have, but then I got into UVM and decided not to). Part of it is sentimentality, and there is also a personal reason.

The second reason is that there is talk of a PCA church plant in Burlington starting next year. If that happens, we really want to be a part of that. I know it will be small, but I love church plants. We would still want to be involved some with the young adults at the church we are visiting now, but we really do love the PCA and want to be a part of its ministries.

Anyway, I know this is all probably pretty boring to most readers. But church involvement and ministry is something Bech and I constantly are talking and thinking about. So I thought I would share a little of our thought process. Plus, I enjoyed getting to read over our membership questions!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Dave Barnes - "Christmas Tonight" with Hillary Scott starring Jennifer L...

I have already posted this video on my facebook, but I want to put it here too! This song is from the new Dave Barnes Christmas cd, "A Very Merry Christmas." You can check it out here. You can also buy the cd on Itunes, but then you don't get a hard copy, and I am one of those people who really enjoys a hard copy.

Anyway, it's no secret that I absolutely adore all things Christmas, with Christmas music being near the top of the list. I have already started listening to Christmas music. Then this cd came out. And I am in love. Seriously. It is at least in my top 3 of Christmas cds. (By the way, "Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guardi Trio is also in the top 3, and I won't disclose the 3rd for fear of complete humiliation).

My favorite songs so far are "Christmas Tonight" (which if you watch the video, you will fall utterly in love with as well...it is just too cute!), "Family Tree" (which made me cry on the bus...how embarrassing!), and his version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Although he really gives Mariah Carey a run for her money in "All I Want for Christmas."

Plus, let's not forget that Dave is a Mississippi boy, which warrants some love right there.

So watch this video. You will love it. I promise.




Then go buy the cd. It is amazing.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

What I'm Looking Forward To...

Well this post is going to be all about food. So, if you don't like food or don't want to read about food, just stop now. But if not...

I will be home in less than 6 weeks. YAY! I can NOT wait! And of course, I am most excited about family and friends. I promise. I think about that way more.

But I also am missing some of my favorite restaurants in Jackson. There are some good places to eat here, but Jackson really has way better restaurants.

So in a very particular restaurant, here is what I want to eat when I get home!


This is a new Jackson restaurant, but I went there a lot this past summer. It was a great lunch/dinner place for college students. If you are from Jackson and haven't been there, it's like Majestic Burger or Cool Al's. If you aren't from Jackson, it's a build your own burger restaurant. My favorite burger: the Sonic Boom with fried jalapenos on top!



Another amazing Jackson restaurant. We used to go here a bunch last year. It's a pizza place, but my favorite thing on the menu is the hummus. They serve it with the best herb bread...yum!


3. La Guadelupe

Oh my goodness...words cannot describe how good this restaurant is. It is a Taqueria, and it serves really authentic Mexican food. And the prices are great. I went so often last year that the owner knew me. I'm not even going to show you a picture of the front, because you need to see the goodness that is their food. The tortillas are made right there in front of you, and there is fresh lettuce, tomato, and avocado.



I could eat at Julep once a week and still love it just as much. I love the casual yet nice feel of the restaurant, and the amazing Southern food. My favorite thing on the menu: the friend green tomato appetizer. It's fried green tomatoes, with goat cheese and crab meat in between the layers. I'm also a fan of their sweet potato fries. I'm hoping for a dinner date here with the Dearman's!



This is hands down my favorite restaurant ever. It has been since 7th grade, and it will be until the day I die (I think). There are two locations in Jackson: Little Tokyo and Sakura Bana. I like Sakura Bana a little better, but they are both absolutely, ridiculously amazing. I could eat here every single day. Seriously. People that know me well know that I am not kidding in the slightest.

I want to eat here at least twice while I'm home. I need a dynamite roll, shrimp kodiak, and crunchy shrimp--don't worry, not all in the same meal!!!



Well, now you know what I am thinking about. But I have a Latin test on Monday, so that's what I probably should be thinking about. Hopefully this post will have gotten out all of those cravings, and I can focus on good ole Tacitus.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Since I am brain dead from too much translation, this will be a post of bullet points...

* My dad has been really sick. Like in the ICU sick. And it has been really scary. He has been out of the ICU now for almost 2 days (is that right?), but will be in the hospital until (at the soonest) Tuesday or Wednesday. But he is a lot better. And it has been really hard to be in Vermont through it all. I know, I know, I chose to move to Vermont. But it is so hard to not be able to go to the hospital and see him or bring him a "happy" or a snowcone.
As hard as it was, I thought especially about people in Malawi (and really all missionaries). If I had needed to, I could have gotten a same day flight and been in Mississippi that day. It's not that easy when you live in another country. Flights are expensive and long. It takes at least a day and half to get from Malawi to Mississippi. And I remembered people in Malawi who had sick family members while we were there. It must have been so incredibly hard for them to be so far away, with no short flights home.

* On a lighter note, we had our first snow yesterday! And it was incredibly anti-climatic...

Of course that's not true!!! It was incredibly magical! It snowed for about an hour and a half. The snowflakes were so beautiful. It stuck for the first hour, then started to melt. The ground just isn't cold enough. But soon it will be! It is in the 40's all this week and most of next week. But maybe by the next week, it will snow again and this time stick!

* I am going home in a month and a half...!!! I am so excited! I will be home from the 15th to January 4th. I found a really good price on a ticket ($223--which is a great off season price, and I got it during Christmas time!). Bech can't go home for as long--he'll be home from the 17th to the 27th. But 10 days is a lot, and he is excited, too!
I have a lot of things to do and people to see (and restaurants to eat at, but thats a whole other post!). I just cannot wait to be back in Mississippi! I have missed it so much. And I haven't been to Faith Pres' Christmas Eve service in a few years, so I am especially excited about that!

* I am also excited about Thanksgiving. One of my best friends, Courtney, is flying here from Pittsburgh to spend the week! Courtney and I have always been really good about visiting each other (if we can) wherever the other person lives. I am excited to show her Burlington, watch Gilmore Girls and Bones, bake, and just relax!

* It is now November, so don't be surprised if the blog suddenly becomes Christmas themed. I feel like Christmas is fair game now. I am going to start playing Christmas music this week, too (sorry Bech!). I will wait a couple of more weeks for the decorations, but their entrance isn't too far away!

* That is all I have. Oh, but we haven't turned our heat on yet. Perhaps it is time. The upstairs is still really warm though (I think it's because we are smack dab in between two other apartments who have probably turned on their heat). I am just trying to go without heat for as long as possible!