This is a poem I wrote in British Literature. I found it while I was studying and thought it might be worth sharing. It is modeled after Thomas Gray's writing style.
Prayer
With bosoms heavy and minds gently confused,
We bring forth praises, lessons, requests
And all other thoughts on which we’ve mused
Hoping by Your hand they’d be put to rest.
The world is mighty wicked and does destruction seek
In forms we could not fathom, wrath they do heap.
Suffering marks every corner and tears stain the cheek
Into the heart and soul, despair and gloom do seep.
Yet, Lord, in greater measure we do richly find
Blessings from God, the Lord, our Father
Sometimes hidden in trials of certain kinds
But hope abides in them and it takes us farther
Nonetheless, through the world we alone cannot go,
On Your strength, grace, and mercy we do strive,
For to do without, our morale and faith run low,
But with, our testimonies come alive.
More than anything else in this time we seek
To align our hearts to the will of Thine
To know that whether dimples or tears adorn the cheek
For our own good and Your glory shine.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Hopkins
As I continued to study, I found this sentence in Hopkins' biography; "Hopkins began his time in Oxford as a keen socialite and prolific poet, but he seemed to have alarmed himself with the changes in his behaviour that resulted, and he became more studious and began recording his sins in his diary."
I'm not sure if this practice of recording your sins is a good habit or a bad one. On the one hand, recording your sins would help you to keep Christ's sacrifice and love in perspective as well as your own fallen state. At the same time though, I think that recording your sins might cause depression and a kind of hopelessness. Hmm... just thoughts...
I'm not sure if this practice of recording your sins is a good habit or a bad one. On the one hand, recording your sins would help you to keep Christ's sacrifice and love in perspective as well as your own fallen state. At the same time though, I think that recording your sins might cause depression and a kind of hopelessness. Hmm... just thoughts...
Summa
SUMMA by Gerard Manley Hopkins
THE BEST ideal is the true
And other truth is none.
All glory be ascribèd to
The holy Three in One.
I found this poem while studying for my British Literature CLEP test this Saturday. I thought it was sweet and refreshing, especially after reading biographies of many other writers to find this poem at the top of Hopkins' Wikipedia page. Hope you enjoy it too!
THE BEST ideal is the true
And other truth is none.
All glory be ascribèd to
The holy Three in One.
I found this poem while studying for my British Literature CLEP test this Saturday. I thought it was sweet and refreshing, especially after reading biographies of many other writers to find this poem at the top of Hopkins' Wikipedia page. Hope you enjoy it too!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Update on Mom
My mom is doing well, thanks to many kind prayers. Her lumpectomy went well. She is still sore from it and can't move her left arm above her shoulder yet. However, it no longer hurts as bad as it did last week and no more fluid has collected there either. (Last week, excess fluid had gathered in her armpit/left chest area and was causing her pain. The followup surgeon/doctor person took two syringes full of water out that area.)
She met with another doctor at the Cancer Partnership center in Everett yesterday. They have developed an outline of a gameplan for dealing with the cancer. It sounds like they want to do 7 weeks of chemotherapy first and wait to do the radiation until Mom can raise her left arm over her head. So that's everything that I know right now. I will try to keep this blog updated.
She met with another doctor at the Cancer Partnership center in Everett yesterday. They have developed an outline of a gameplan for dealing with the cancer. It sounds like they want to do 7 weeks of chemotherapy first and wait to do the radiation until Mom can raise her left arm over her head. So that's everything that I know right now. I will try to keep this blog updated.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Yay for Mothers
For the past week I have insisted that I make the meals, do dishes, laundry etc. I did this in order to not only help my mom out but to also force myself to learn how to do those things better. After a few days, though, I have decided that all mothers that are able to keep their homes intact and families happy are amazing. My typical day playing "mom" includes running errands, doing countless sinkfuls of dishes (before I finish one sinkful, another is full it seems), sorting, washing, drying, and folding the laundry, as well making lunch and dinner. By the end of the day, I am absolutely exhausted. I definitely have a new appreciation for what my mom and other moms do. Their job is not easy but they do it well and they do it with a cheerful heart. So, YAY FOR MOTHERS!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
New Camera
If you know me at all, then you know that I love digital photography. I love taking pictures, processing them and delighting people with the final results. It's my creative outlet, hobby and so much more.
Ever since I took some of my friends' senior pictures, I have been hankering for an SLR camera. At first I thought that my parents were going to get me one for graduation. They didn't (although they did get me a Coach purse :D ). Then I figured that I could buy one once I got a job. Problem with that plan was that I still do not have a job. (Recessions are horrible.) However, I ended up having just about enough money through a combination of money I had earned plus graduation money to pay for a camera (not including tax). After shopping around online, I decided that a Canon Rebel XSi 10MP was my camera. It came with two lenses, a 18-55mm and a 75-300mm. The entire package was priced at $699.99.
Now I do not have a credit card so enter parents. It took a while to convince my dad but in the end he let me order the camera. I ordered it and it was set to arrive in a week or so.
The camera arrived on the same day as my mom's surgery. (By the way, the surgery went well and my mom is fast recovering.) It came later in the day, around 7pm, and I did not pay it too much attention due to my mom's condition and my own cold. However, my heart swelled with pride every time I looked at the brown cardboard box it had arrived in sitting on the coffee table. It was my camera, and as I was subconsciously thinking, my baby.
The next day was also one full of ice packs and visitors (both Mom's) and tissues (mine) and naps (both). So again I did not acquaint myself with my new camera. I did, however, vehemently defend my decision to buy it against my cousin who loves to scheme and argue and thought that paying that much money for a camera was a waste.
So on the third day of its presence, I took out "my baby" to test it out. I took about 30-40 pictures of flora. Then I took it back inside, downloaded the pictures (after running the solutions disk) and messed around with the pictures a bit. While I was doing that and more, my little nieces and nephews arrived. So, I grabbed my new camera and put it to work taking pictures of those cuties. In the middle of taking a picture of my niece, Priya, the camera began its decline. The viewfinder kept saying busy and the LCD screen stopped working altogether. I tried charging the battery, emptying the memory card, and just "giving it a rest." In the end, the camera stopped working altogether by the next morning.
I contacted Canon through email. They gave me one thing to try to see if that would make it work. It didn't. So I requested a UPS shipping label so that I could send them my camera and they could repair it. When I told my dad that I had done that, he told me to tell them I that I actually do not want the shipping label; we were returning the camera.
So now we get to the whole point of this rant/rambling. As I was packing up my camera for its return, as I removed the lens, but on the various covers, etc., my throat choked up and I cried. Only for like 10 seconds but nonetheless I shed tears. I, who has not shed a single tear in over two months despite the fact that in these two months I have graduated, said good-bye to many dear friends and found out about my mom's cancer, cried over a camera. I'm so disgusted with my extreme affection for an inanimate object that I have not possessed for even a week. This whole situation has made me stop and think about what I value. Now I don't know if there is a direct link between valuing something and crying over it but I definitely know that somewhere my priorities are wrong.
Ever since I took some of my friends' senior pictures, I have been hankering for an SLR camera. At first I thought that my parents were going to get me one for graduation. They didn't (although they did get me a Coach purse :D ). Then I figured that I could buy one once I got a job. Problem with that plan was that I still do not have a job. (Recessions are horrible.) However, I ended up having just about enough money through a combination of money I had earned plus graduation money to pay for a camera (not including tax). After shopping around online, I decided that a Canon Rebel XSi 10MP was my camera. It came with two lenses, a 18-55mm and a 75-300mm. The entire package was priced at $699.99.
Now I do not have a credit card so enter parents. It took a while to convince my dad but in the end he let me order the camera. I ordered it and it was set to arrive in a week or so.
The camera arrived on the same day as my mom's surgery. (By the way, the surgery went well and my mom is fast recovering.) It came later in the day, around 7pm, and I did not pay it too much attention due to my mom's condition and my own cold. However, my heart swelled with pride every time I looked at the brown cardboard box it had arrived in sitting on the coffee table. It was my camera, and as I was subconsciously thinking, my baby.
The next day was also one full of ice packs and visitors (both Mom's) and tissues (mine) and naps (both). So again I did not acquaint myself with my new camera. I did, however, vehemently defend my decision to buy it against my cousin who loves to scheme and argue and thought that paying that much money for a camera was a waste.
So on the third day of its presence, I took out "my baby" to test it out. I took about 30-40 pictures of flora. Then I took it back inside, downloaded the pictures (after running the solutions disk) and messed around with the pictures a bit. While I was doing that and more, my little nieces and nephews arrived. So, I grabbed my new camera and put it to work taking pictures of those cuties. In the middle of taking a picture of my niece, Priya, the camera began its decline. The viewfinder kept saying busy and the LCD screen stopped working altogether. I tried charging the battery, emptying the memory card, and just "giving it a rest." In the end, the camera stopped working altogether by the next morning.
I contacted Canon through email. They gave me one thing to try to see if that would make it work. It didn't. So I requested a UPS shipping label so that I could send them my camera and they could repair it. When I told my dad that I had done that, he told me to tell them I that I actually do not want the shipping label; we were returning the camera.
So now we get to the whole point of this rant/rambling. As I was packing up my camera for its return, as I removed the lens, but on the various covers, etc., my throat choked up and I cried. Only for like 10 seconds but nonetheless I shed tears. I, who has not shed a single tear in over two months despite the fact that in these two months I have graduated, said good-bye to many dear friends and found out about my mom's cancer, cried over a camera. I'm so disgusted with my extreme affection for an inanimate object that I have not possessed for even a week. This whole situation has made me stop and think about what I value. Now I don't know if there is a direct link between valuing something and crying over it but I definitely know that somewhere my priorities are wrong.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Surgery
Well, for those of you that don't know, my mom has breast cancer. It is in the early stages. She is going into surgery to have the cancerous lump removed even as I am typing this up. Today is also her birthday. So basically, I would love it if you all could pray for my momma. Not only for her health and safety, but more importantly for her salvation. Pray that God would use this whole situation to touch her heart and turn her to Him. The same would go for my whole family. Thank you.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Greeting Card
That link is to this website that is holding a greeting card scholarship. All you have to do is submit a picture of your own creation and fill out a form and you could win $10,000 in scholarship money. So if anyways interested be sure to check it out. It takes like two minutes to apply. Here's the picture I entered.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
WSU
I spent a few days on the Pullman campus a couple weeks back for my freshman orientation. I absolutely loved the campus. I spent quite a bit of time walking around campus by myself and at one point I stopped and thought to myself, "Hey, this kind of feels like home." It was very exciting and surprising to feel that sense of comfort there and I know that that was totally by God's hand. I can't wait to move in (and decorate my room) and begin experiencing all the idioscrincies of life in Pullman.
I did not, however, take to my peers as well as I did to the campus. By nature I tend to be a shy person so I wasn't exactly expecting to be making friends left and right. But this experience was a new one for me. This, I believe, was my first interaction with a large group of unbelieving youth on my own. And as I told a friend when I got back, I realized that 98% of the people I will meet at Pullman, I will probably not want to be more than acquaintances with, if that. I also realized that it would be difficult for me to connect with a lot of the people because the most important bond would be missing and that bond is the one that fellow believers share. I was a little disheartened because after all, these are the people I will be with for the next couple of years.
But God is good and gracious. He has placed around me good counsel in the form of great friends. One friend encouraged me that the lack of friends will just cause me to depend on Christ all the more. My heart leaped with joy when she brought that point to my attention. Depending on Christ, resting in Him sounds more like treasure than trial.
Another good friend reminded me that there will be good people on campus whose company will be valuable and edifying. They will be hard to find but I shouldn't give up, this dear friend advised.
A third friend (how gracious is God!) gave me another perspective, exclaiming that I will have quite the ministry opportunity.
I am so thankful to God for the wonderful friends, who most importantly are also my brothers and sisters in Christ, that He has placed around me. Their lives are great encouragements and their words full of love, for other and Christ. I am unbelievably grateful that God has arranged it so that one of these wonderful friends will be accompanying me in the adventure of the first year of college. I am also grateful for the friends that He has already chosen for me at WSU.
Pray for me, that I would becoming more and more devoted to my Lord so as to be in-tune to what His will for me is. Pray that I would not try to be indepedent in my ways but that I would indeed be dependent on Christ in everything. Pray for me and Sarah, that we would be preparing ourselves in whatever way necessary for what God has in store for us this fall. Pray that through all of this, we would become more and more like God's beloved son.
I did not, however, take to my peers as well as I did to the campus. By nature I tend to be a shy person so I wasn't exactly expecting to be making friends left and right. But this experience was a new one for me. This, I believe, was my first interaction with a large group of unbelieving youth on my own. And as I told a friend when I got back, I realized that 98% of the people I will meet at Pullman, I will probably not want to be more than acquaintances with, if that. I also realized that it would be difficult for me to connect with a lot of the people because the most important bond would be missing and that bond is the one that fellow believers share. I was a little disheartened because after all, these are the people I will be with for the next couple of years.
But God is good and gracious. He has placed around me good counsel in the form of great friends. One friend encouraged me that the lack of friends will just cause me to depend on Christ all the more. My heart leaped with joy when she brought that point to my attention. Depending on Christ, resting in Him sounds more like treasure than trial.
Another good friend reminded me that there will be good people on campus whose company will be valuable and edifying. They will be hard to find but I shouldn't give up, this dear friend advised.
A third friend (how gracious is God!) gave me another perspective, exclaiming that I will have quite the ministry opportunity.
I am so thankful to God for the wonderful friends, who most importantly are also my brothers and sisters in Christ, that He has placed around me. Their lives are great encouragements and their words full of love, for other and Christ. I am unbelievably grateful that God has arranged it so that one of these wonderful friends will be accompanying me in the adventure of the first year of college. I am also grateful for the friends that He has already chosen for me at WSU.
Pray for me, that I would becoming more and more devoted to my Lord so as to be in-tune to what His will for me is. Pray that I would not try to be indepedent in my ways but that I would indeed be dependent on Christ in everything. Pray for me and Sarah, that we would be preparing ourselves in whatever way necessary for what God has in store for us this fall. Pray that through all of this, we would become more and more like God's beloved son.
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