Come (what) May

I am finally a good way into my senior year and there are 2 predominant questions asked of me at every family gathering, every social event, every church fellowship: 

1. “What’s your major, again?” 

2. “Oh, ok…So, what’s next?” 

Well-meaning questions, I’m sure, and even questions that I have naively heaped upon seniors who endured this path before me. While the inquirers mean well, however, their questions translate to me as: 

1.“Who are you, again?” 

2.“Oh, ok… so how will you make yourself useful to the rest of us?”   

Have I have spent nearly 4 years at this place called  “university” only to become a proud owner of an English degree? No, I'm also expected to do something about it. A degree is a badge of identity that implies that consequential action is going to sprout out of it.  

Come May 2011, I will be a college graduate. So, what will I do about it? This question plagues me—until I remember that, though that will be part of my identity after I leave college, it will never be the central component of who I am. I am God’s daughter and my actions should always sprout from that identity first and foremost.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in 1 Peter this semester and have been consistently encouraged by this point. Peter is writing to Christians who are being killed for speaking up about God’s transforming power. Peter reminds them of their identity in Christ and encourages them to continue in their proclamations:  

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Peter understands that, while it is important for Christians to understand their identity, you can’t just stop there. God did not transform us so that we can just sit around and admire our makeovers. He changed us so that we might proclaim His good works—tell the world about the One who “called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light”! It’s a seal of identity that should naturally sprout proclamations that make Him known.

Come May 2011, I will be a college graduate. But, more than that, I will still be a part of God’s beloved people. I may not know what day-to-day work will sprout out of my English degree, but I do know that proclamations of my God’s excellencies will continue to flow from my identity in Him.

The Marvels of Maui

My last post laid out the beauty of a city that reflects the creativity and influence that God has given to mankind. Vacation #2: the "magical" island of Maui. As we decended on the Hawaii, the sun was beginning to set and our captain took the scenic route around a few of the islands before landing. We had the privelage of getting an areil view of the bright green islands scattered delicately upon the the glassy blue Pacific. A soft bank of clouds hugged the shoreline soaked in soft pastels from the setting sun.

That was just the start, slide one, of the masterpieces that God had in store for us. The next morning, thanks to the time change, we all woke up before the sun and we watched the island come to life as the sun awoke to warm the beaches.

Maui sunrise

We spent a lot of time snorkling--exploring the world that God has created that man hardly ever gets to see. The thing that stuck out most to me? Color! The Hawaiin ocean is filled with fish and coral of so many different colors. The most memorable snorkling event, I must say, was swimming in a cove with four huge sea turtles. We got so close that Blake actually got to touch one! Seeing this environment that is so different from our own reminded me of how big and creative God is. And how little I understand of how big and creative he really is.

My favorite part of the trip was probably at the end of the Road to Hana. Rather than looking at the Seven Sacred Pools, like most of the other tourists were doing, we decided to take the hike up to Waimoku Falls. The hike took us to gorgeous views of lush valleys and streams and through the depths of a bamboo forest. The bamboo was my favorite part of the hike. The stalks were so high that we were shaded from the harsh sun and were tempted to think night was approaching. When the island breeze rushed by, the bamboo clanked together to compose a soft, almost ominous serenade.

We emerged from the forest and found ourselves at the bottom of a 400 ft waterfall. It's size was enough to take your breath away. And yet, the cascade appeared soft and peaceful.

Waimoku Falls

This trip was a wonderful reminder of the kindness of our Creator. He creates animals, waterfalls, flowers--moments--that delight both himself and his children. My best friend just travelled throughout all of Europe on a 10 week study abroad trip this summer. She told me about a conversation she had with a friend she made there. They were in London, a place they had both visited before, and she recognized that she was much less enthusiastic about the sites the second time around. She contrasted that experience to visiting places like Yosemite. She recognized that places of natural beauty never get old; there will always be new flowers blooming, new animals to discover, and a waterfall will always be a reminder of God's beauty and power.

I'll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

Hike to snorkel destination

Fallen flowers

Blow hole

Last night- dinner in Lahaina.
Cant wait for our Honeymoon to Hawaii in June!

Beaufiul Bricks and Beaches

My summer consisted of two very different vacations: one to the heart of Boston, rich in history and architecture, and the other to the natural paradise of Maui.

Boston was amazing. I had never been to a large city before and the sky scrapers, old brick buildings, and sparkling night skyline were breathtaking. I think one of the neatest parts about this city in particular is the beautiful intertwining of the old and the new. the historical and the modern. life then--when the country was fighting for its beginning--and life now. Now, when a day care worker changes a diaper in a window overlooking the tombstones of Franklin, Revere, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. A lot happens in a couple of decades and I couldn't help but wonder if the members of the Continental Congress would have ever imagined that, 200 years later, Boston's city hall would be littered (I mean--decorated) with signs rooting on the city's Irish-themed basketball team.

In short, Boston offered a lot of food for thought about humankind: our progress, our digressions and distractions, our past, and our future. I rejoiced over the creativity that God has given man. That we can reflect his heart for creating in something as simple as a delicious Boston creme pie to something as innovative and beautiful as Old Ironside. God's design for this world is so much bigger than my four-year plans. Getting even a small glimpse of history, seeing it in front of me, was a great reminder of that.

Reflections on the natural beauty of Maui to come...

A Very Necessary Prayer

"May God truly convert all that have been convicted, and awaken all that are dead in tresspasse and sins! May he confirm all that are wavering! And may you all go on from one degree of grace unto another, till you arrive unto themeasure of stature of the fullness of Christ."

George Whitefield

First thoughts on Austen's Sense and Sensibility

First book of the summer: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

So far, I've loved getting acquainted with the characters: their virtues, their vices, their idiosyncrasies, and their motivations. I just finished Chapter 5 and the verdict so far is that Marianne is my favorite character.  The first real introduction we get of her is when she complains to her mother about her older sister's courtier, Edward. She asserts that, although Edward has virtue and amiability, he lacks the passion and the "taste" essential for any young man she would ever consider. She claims that she could "not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with [her] own." Okay, so maybe Marianne is a little too picky and hopefully her seventeen year old self will mature a little bit, but I cannot help but love her passion and her spirit. She will not settle for a blahsay reading of passionate poetry or a simply 'sensible' take on life. I think what draws me to Marianne so much is that she's so different from me. I definitely resemble the eldest daughter, Elinor: always looking for the most sensible, frugal, and prudent answer. But is Elinor (am I) missing the lively passion of Marianne?

God has given us passions (emotions) that reflect him and are to be geared towards him. And he has given us creative capacity to be able to express those emotions. Through music, dance, literature, and poetry.


So..I love that Marianne thinks in such poetic language! Below is the passage that made me love her and inspired this blog:

Many were the tears shed by them in their last ... adieus to a place so much beloved. "Dear, dear Norland!" said Marianne, as she wandered alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; "when shall I cease to regret you? -- when learn to feel a home elsewhere? -- Oh happy house! could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more! -- And you, ye well-known trees! -- but you will continue the same. -- No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer! -- No; you will continue the same; unconscious of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any change in those who walk under your shade! -- But who will remain to enjoy you?" (5.8)

I know absolutely nothing about this book going in, so forgive me if my first impression of Marianne is completly foolish, but--for now at least--I love her passion and her less-than-sensible take on life.

Hello Summer!

First night back at home. All moved out of beloved Li apartments (oh, how I will miss it there!) Not completely unpacked, but at least everything's out of the cars!

My brain is totally fried from a crazy week, but I just thought I'd let the world know that I plan on blogging more now that it's summer. Some of my other plans for the summer?

Helping Blake find a new job! (he has a skills test for a Biola job on Wed, so you can be praying for that!)
Interning with San Clemente Pregnancy Resource Center
Reading Jane Austen
Learning some basic "wife"/independence skills
Planning the wedding (which will be next June!)


That's all for now... :-)

Some Thoughts on Revision

On Friday, I finished revising my big term paper for Torrery. On this weekend's to-do list: revise 10 of the 12 poems I turned in for my poetry class this semester.

"I like to think of revision as a form of self-forgiveness: you can allow yourself mistakes and shortcomings in your [first draft] because you know you're coming back later to improve it. Reivision is he way you cope with bad luck [or bad habits] that made your writing less than excellent this morning. Revision is the hope you hold out for yourself to make something beautiful tomorrow though you didn't quite manage it today."

David Huddle, "Let's Say you Wrote Badly this Morning"

But revision is difficult. While I appreciate the opportunity to fix my mistakes, there's those moments when it's bad. and I know it's bad. and I don't know how to fix it.

Then there's other moments when I really like the original work I did, but the assignment is to make "significant revisions" and, if I don't, my grade goes down. That, I have found, is where humility and Eliot's perspective below becomes essential:

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from. And every phrase

And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,

Taking its place to support the others...

The complete consort dancing together)

Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning...

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

T.S. Eliot

(excerpted from "Little Gidding")

Four poems revised and six to go. God, give me motivation and creativity to help every word find their home--"taking its place to support the others...the complete consort dancing together." It really is beautiful.