Getting New 'Eyes' & Wisdom Whilst Reading...

I have been reading The Book of Lost Things... there are some great quotes and beautiful wordings to be found in there.
Although, I must say, John Connolly's sense of creativity makes me wonder about him a little much! If you like Lewis Carroll, and Grimm's grim fairy tales, then this is definitely the book for you... it's odd. Amusing? Yes. Gripping? Sure. But also quite oddly done...

As for me, not sure if I'll finish it. (Pro'l'y will.) But still not sure, as I'm only a couple chapters in so far and it's getting more & more interesting (yes) but also weirder & weirder (!) Kind of reminds me of Sylvie & Bruno crossed with The Hobbit crossed with The Smithsonian Book of Books.
All that being said, there were several good quotes to be found & noted in the first pages. I thought the following one was the best, and good enough to share:

"I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don’t read can sometimes lack. I know it seems like a contradiction in terms; after all reading is such a solitary, internalizing act that it appears to represent a disengagement from day-to-day life. But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction, encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways…It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another which is a precursor to empathy, and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being."

– John Connolly (The Book of Lost Things)

That quote was the best part of the book so far....for me anyway.
Well, besides the fact that books talk in this story! Just imagine what it'd be like to hear books talking! It boggles the mind to think of all the widely different things they'd be clamoring to say to us!
Fun to think of. :)

So, what do you think? Have you read this book (or any of Connolly's other popular fiction works)?
The quote I shared has several little holes in it's 'fabric', I know. Not everything in the world can be solved by sitting down and delving into a fictional book to make 'extracts' from it! In fact, many, many  things can't be accomplished to any success that way. Book-worming is fun, but it should be used as a tool for learning &  the ''getting of wisdom'' (Proverbs 4:5).

P.S.~ Thanks everybody for sharing your top book choices with me!
I received quite a few wonderful recommendations. Many of which I hope to read & review very soon. :]

It'll Be a Party to Remember!

If there had not been a Netherfield ball to prepare for and talk of, the younger Miss Bennets would have been in a pitiable state at this time, for from the day of the invitation to the day of the ball, there was such a succession of rain as prevented their walking to Meryton once. No aunt, no officers, no news could be sought after..... and nothing less than a dance on Tuesday, could have made such a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday endurable to Kitty and Lydia.*

Often lately I have known firsthand what the Bennet girls must have felt like before a ball......nothing but impatience & eager expectation!  This week, I've been working, working, working at this and that.....trying ever so hard not to count the hours before my dear sis, Lizzie's, grand & glorious gradution and party this Saturday!

Oh it's going to be a big affair, I assure you!
And that's precisely why I can't seem to set my mind to anything this week!
It's all the party's fault you see....... ;) So, see you next week! I'll be busy all this weekend. :]

______________________________________________________

*Taken from Chapter 17 in the book Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Words Unspoken

I tell you everything that is really nothing, and nothing of what is everything, do not be fooled by what I am saying. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I am not saying. {Charles C. Finn}

We speak careful sentences
making waves of thoughts.
Others catch the drift
but rarely drink the draught.

     We can do no great things, only small things with great love. ~Mother Teresa

   Though my dollhouse does not have a name yet (that'll come later I believe) he does have quite a presence in my room! The story behind it goes like this:

Mom was driving through our nearest small town, and while taking one of the short-cut back ways, she spotted a huge dollhouse! There he was, just sitting out in the elements, right on the side of the road ready for the next garbage pick-up! Well, yikes! we can't have that happening, said Mom. And she promptly picked the thing up & deposited it in the car (which I would imagine involved a whole lot more effort than I'm taking time to mentioned right now, because honestly that thing weighs more that I do!) 

So we acquired this thing actually almost 4 (or 5?) years ago now, back when Lizzie & I were still girls I guess you could say. :) And weren't we thrilled with what Mom brought home!   You better believe it. :) 

Many happy hours were spent painting, carpeting, rearranging furniture, hanging 'pictures', and playing in our dollhouse. (Ah, good memories!)

So.....several years later, and much time, dust, and cobwebs brushed off....The Dollhouse makes an entrance into my life once again. This time, he's going to stay in my very own room (as opposed to the storeroom) and he's going to keep me company on rainy days & give my plenty of opportunity for industriousness on many an afternoon.

I mentioned in this post that I have a dollhouse and that I was starting to work on it, remember? And showed a photo of some of the 'renovations' taking place inside it (viz. stripping of wallpaper, etc.) Well, I've been busy!

Here, take a peek at what I've been up to lately...

under construction!

( I was trying to build a ladder for the painting to be done ''on''...but it'll have to wait. ;)

the room, almost cleared, ready for painting!

here is my paint set up!

Yes, I made that roller. :) Isn't it dandy?

.....paint paint paint.....

The paint is called "Buff"...

can't forget the drop cloth! and open the windows please!

roll roll roll

The roller worked just fine, even if it is slow going...

Now the question is: do I paint the whole room this way, or go the easy route and use a bigger roller & brush?  Hmmm hmmm..... decisions. ;)

I am Very Grateful for...

the bonds of family

photographic inspiration

excellent books of poetry to devour late at night

  

the bright sunshine warming my back

new films to look forward to

the miniature spring flowers coming up everywhere!

quotes that tickle my brain

tiny, adorable animals

...and last but not least:
new Scripture to keep close & write down.

In that day you will sing:
      “I will praise you, O Lord!
   You were angry with me, but not any more.
      Now you comfort me.
 See, God has come to save me.
      I will trust in him and not be afraid.
   The Lord God is my strength and my song;
      he has given me victory.”

 With joy you will drink deeply
      from the fountain of salvation! *

What are you Very Grateful for?

a Little Update (Books, Violets & such things)

......the violets have absolutely come out this week!....they are just so pretty.....
and I finished three books yesterday......

The Children of Hurin By J.R.R. Tolkien &  

Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free & 

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years.

.......good books all of them!....
Well, I'm off to try and get more things done today yet.

Enjoy the beautiful spring day everybody!

Quiet Days

Quiet days.
Full of this -- and that
or -- this and that things.

Much of nothing,
nothing of much.
Soft and hard,
long and slow.
In and up,
out and down.

Quiet days.
They do so much
when we do so little.

On Trial {God's Refining Fire For Our Faith}

    I love the "Aha!" moments. Those times when something just clicks and things get 'brighter' inside. :-) That happened to me this morning, while talking with Mom, and I thought the subject was important enough to share.

Have you ever heard those verses from the Bible that talk about trials and temptations?
You know: the "hold fast to the faith", "stand strong", and "whenever you face trials" verses?
Well, James 1:2-18 contains a good many things to be said on the subject of trials and temptations.
And where they come from and how to handle them. (Mom was studying James in her personal time this morning, and then she read James 1 aloud to me.) Here are two special verses that caught my attention, but their very juxtaposition:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (vs. 2-3)


When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. (vs. 13&14)

 The first thing I noticed as Mom was reading through it aloud (sometimes hearing a passage brings it out to our ears more than reading silently would) was that trials and temptations are not the same. Not at all. I suppose I 'knew' this, but I did not realize it! But yes, it is true. Think of Job. God was not tempting him, He was trial-ing him, if you will. Job was on trial! Why? For his faith. It's like God was saying, Job, "How much faith do you have in Me? Through how much will you 'stick' to Me?"  Because,

"In this you [should] greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 1:6&7)

This chapter in James talks about trials and how whenever I face them, I need to remember with joy that they will produce perseverance, because they are testing my faith! To my normal human thinking, this does hardly seem something to be happy or joyful about. :( Trials always puts me in mind of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof. He has these bad things happen to him over and over again, often right at a time that would have been otherwise joyful! His act of looking to the heavens with a sort of, "Really, God? Was that necessary?" attitude is something we all feel like doing once in a while at least...
And yet. And yet, I am to welcome trials! Why? Why is that, and, how could I?
I can do just that, and rise above the temptations and make it through the trials because I know that:

• Trials from God are refining me & my faith in Him! He is making my faith stronger and stronger; He is refining my trust & hope in Him until it is a beautiful and true as gold!
• Temptations never come from God, always from the Devil and I am tempted only because my flesh wants to be. My spirit is God's and in communion with Him, so temptations can't touch that! But I must resist the temptings, and stay on the narrow path.
• The greatest (i.e. the most faithful) of Christians from history and time were able to be and do what they did because they knew that through the trials and even in the temptations, God was with them. He never ever left them, and  still promises this to us: 

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13)

So there you have it. I really learned something today. Something about God (He is so merciful, and thoughtful!) and something about myself (if I trust God, I can overcome!)  :-)

Happy St. Lucias Day, Everyone!
~Hannah

- - - - - - - - - - - - - * Merry Christmas! *

Hey, Today Is the Day!

Just wanted to say right now:
I am very excited!
About everything!!
About CHRISTMAS, and living, and cleaning my room, and starting college again next month, and.... just everything! :)
It's a funny, but nice, feeling.

Also, I want to list things I am thankfully to God for
(because remembering everything He does for me is very important!)
My beloved chum, Caroline, always inspires me to turn my thoughts this way. :)

~ my sister Lizzie.
~for playing dress up again( see picture above)
~ being able to find yummy non-dairy food to make & eat!
~the sound of the classical radio ....playing all day long. :)
~Mom's amazing-super-industriousness! If only I can learn to be so awesome. ;)
~the Bible. Yes, wow, really.
~the promise of getting together with friends & family more this month!
~the possibility of SNOW~!
~my little brother. He is so creative, he's building a huge model airplane right now!
~ribbon!
~cookies.....yum!
~books (just finished a re-reading of The Scarlett Letter, and I'm working through Debt-Free U still. Both amazing!)
~God's grace.
~having things to clean! Really, it's interesting. I may complain about doing it, but the very fact I have a home, a room, and a room of my own is a huge thing.

This is the picture of a Scarlett Tanager I started late Monday night!

I think I am highly attracted to color & solid black lines. ;)

 

 

Here's our beloved Maxi! <3 What a sweet poochie!

He likes napping on my bed. :) And he's almost 7 years old now!

Here is the room damage before! There are two huge piles (winter & summer clothes) taking over my bed!!!

If I'm ever going to get those Christmas cards out, or gifts made...this desk has to get clear as well!

Here we (me, myself & I) are half-way done! Whew...now to attack the closet and the stuff under the bed!

I am using Ashley Skabar's Dairy-Free Cooking site on About.com to make some sumptious things for the family! Her recipes are delicious and invaluable to us as a family, what with 3 of us needing dairy-free foods!
Here are a few recipes that I'm working on right now (and need to get back to ASAP!):
Deviled Eggs
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Yellow Cake
Dijon Caramel Chocolates

(c) http://www.papaspantry.org/2008Pg/Classes.htm

That last one is sounding really yummy....

When you read this, try to think of what being alive as a child of God really means. :)
It's positively a MIRACLE.
Love,