Villette

Maddie & I have decided to get back on track with the Junto. We're going to turn over a new leaf (pun not intended...maybe) and begin reading Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Maddie assures me that it isn't all sappiness like some of the other Bronte books I've read....

*coughWutheringHeightscough*

Yeah, yeah, I'm the biggest slacker on earth with the Junto, which is rendered more heinous when you consider the fact that I'm the co-reviver of this endeavor. Oh well. This time, however, I promise, cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye that I'll keep up with this one. (By the way, who's the weirdo that came up with that phrase?) Maybe I'll still write about Common Sense from time to time. We'll see.

Many people claim that Bronte based this book off her own experience as a governess in Belgium. But they also say the same of her other book, The Professor. I guess I'll have to read both and find out for myself. :-)

Villette was published in 1853. Here's some events of the year that I found interesting:

• March 5th - Howard Pyle, who wrote famous versions of Robin Hood and King Arthur, was born
• March 30th - Vincent van Gogh was born
• Millard Filmore & James Pierce were Presidents
• Charles Dickens published Bleak House

I know, I know, this is probably the lamest introduction post for a book....ever.....but as this is a novel, I didn't want to do too much studying before I read the book in case it'd spoil the plot for me. Don't you hate it when that happens?


We're going to try and do a Junto post every Monday, so (hopefully...ha) I'll write more next week!

On God, life, and books

Two things that hit me lately:

1. When we say that we're here to glorify God, do we really understand what we're saying? Every thing we say, do, and think should be for HIM! Every time we start something new, it should be to serve Him. We have to be actively watching ourselves. We have to be living each moment as Colossians 3:17 says: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Boy am I bad at that!

2. Worldliness doesn't always come in the same packaging. I think when most people hear it, we imagine an obsession with pop culture, a slavish following of the latest fashions, a desire to be "cool," materialism, etc, etc. But that's only one type. Any undo affection for things that aren't of God is worldliness. I'm a total culprit. I have an Athenian tendency - I'm a lover of ideas. I've found myself wanting to study the Bible, not necessarily to understand God better, but to learn something new. I get in trouble with my parents because I'll extend my schoolwork as long as I can each day. (Bring on the nerd jokes) I oftentimes find myself valuing things based on how much I learned from them. Although Proverbs says we should pursue knowledge, devotion to it at the expense of primarily seeking God is a disgusting form of worldliness. Solomon tried it, and ultimately it let him down.

But how good is Christ, that He would take responsibility for all that guilt of mine so that I can live with Him for eternity! Just think about that. Why on earth would God do that for anyone? There's simply no adjective that can be used to describe Him.

On another note....I just came across this book: A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen. Alright. At first, I was rather interested, but then I started thinking about the title. Not only does it have arguably the #1 literary cliche of all time as its main part, the subtitle had me almost laughing. The way I see it, the book's written by 33 people who have been made to feel slightly guilty & insecure about reading 200-year old chick lit, trying to show the world that they have intelligent reasons for doing so. And notice the qualifier "great." I guess the book would be irrelevant if the subtitle was: 33 Unknowns on Why We Read Jane Austen. But I guess the topic of the book isn't too bad since I'm a quasi-Janeite myself - I'll always be a die-hard fan of Elinor Dashwood & Edward Ferrars......and J.A. is pretty intellectual. :-)

Speaking of books, this one looks really cool. Who'd have thought that Isaac Watts wasn't just a hymn writer?

Plato's wish fulfilled in Christ

J.R. Miller:

Plato expressed a desire that the moral law might become a living personage, that men seeing it thus incarnate, might be charmed by its beauty. Plato's wish was fulfilled in Jesus Christ! The holiness and the beauty of the divine law were revealed in Him. The Beatitudes contain an outline of the ideal life--but the Beatitudes are only a transcript of the life of Christ Himself! What He taught about love--was but His own love stated in a course of living lessons for His friends to learn. When He said that we should be patient, gentle, thoughtful, forgiving, and kind--He was only saying, "Follow Me!"

If we could gather from the most godly people who ever have lived, the little fragments of lovely character which have blossomed out in each, and bring all these fragments into one personality--we would have the beauty of Jesus Christ! In one person you find gentleness, in another meekness, in another purity of heart, in another humility, in another kindness, in another patience. But in the holiest of men, there are only two or three qualities of ideal beauty--along with much that is stained and blemished, mingled with these qualities. In Christ, however, all that is excellent is found, with no flaw!

"You are absolutely beautiful, my Beloved; there is no flaw in You!" Song of Songs 4:7