Untangling Tales

From this story.

Father of Lights, the time is dark and our eyes are dim. Our kings, ordained for the protection of the weak, expose them to death, yet cry ‘hope.’ Our people have lost their way and are deceived.

~

Light in the Darkness, we call upon you that we may be undeceived and follow you once more. We humbly and earnestly implore you, not only that the evils in the land be turned back, but that we have the courage to stand against them.

~

Holy Spirit, hear our intercession for the repentance and conversion of those highly placed who do wrong. Renew a right spirit within them. We beg the same mercy for ourselves, who have stood by and called evil good. Assist our prayers, and enable us in all times and places to give you thanks.

~

In the Name of the Trinity, Amen.

The implication is that it is an older prayer, but no source is referenced.  Either way, I greatly appreciate here both the acknowledgment of evil and the source of hope through times of evil.

I hope no one will think that I am calling our leaders themselves evil.  I’m not yet ready to go that far.  But I cannot call the upholding and easing of abortion by any other name.  

Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy

And I love how this quote from Joyce Carol Oates’s essay Notes on Failure succinctly articulates why.

How to attain a destination is always more intriguing (involving as it does, both ingenuity and labor) than what the destination finally is.

Finally getting around to this.

Most of my readers know memes are a very. low. priority for me, but I enjoy quotes so this was a natural fit and I knew I’d eventually do it.

Picked this up from Thoughts of a Wannabe whom I met through the Ultimate Blog Party.

The rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. I’ll re-post this with all the answers in a week or so.
5. No Googling or IMDb-ing. That’s cheating, and that’s no fun!

*Answers are now listed at the bottom of the post if you need help.*

Mouse-over the space between quotes and highlight the line to see the answer.

These aren’t all from my top-10 movies, but the lines are all those that still cause a reaction, even when I’ve seen or thought of them a number of times.

1. [to the baby in his arms] I was forced to recite that poem when I was a lad. I have no idea what it means, but why should I be the only one to suffer?

Amazing Grace

2. A: Then you kidnapped me!
   B: Why would I kidnap…?
   A: I have no idea. You’re the criminal mastermind, not me.
   B: What?!
   A: You’re right. That’s giving you way too much credit.

The Emperor’s New Groove

3. [Narration] The trial of Jerome Gribben was the social event of the season. The judge in the case was the venerable Judge Zadic. Judge Zadic was totally incompetent, but being a Judge nobody had noticed.

Hallmark’s Arabian Nights (Not Kid-friendly. Think pushing the boundaries of PG-13)

4. A: You think you’re smarter than we are.
   B: Oh, not much.

Undercover Blues

5. Over my dead body. (Life-or-death situation.)

Enchanted (The line is so familiar I was surprised I couldn’t place it from any other movie.)

6. Some feel that to court a woman in one’s employ is nothing more than a serpentine effort to transform a lady into a whore.

Kate and Leopold

7. The only way to find out what story you’re in is to determine what stories you’re not in. Odd as it may seem, I’ve just ruled out half of Greek literature, seven fairy tales, ten Chinese fables, and determined conclusively that you are not King Hamlet, Scout Finch, Miss Marple, Frankenstein’s Monster, or a golem. Hmm? Aren’t you relieved to know you’re not a golem?

Stranger Than Fiction

8. Man: And uh… hey, while I think about it, how bout, uh, marryin’ me?
   Woman: Gracious! What’d I want to marry you for?
   Man: Uh, well, I dunno, couldn’t you maybe think up some reason why you might?

Oklahoma! (The London version is the one worth watching.)

9. American: I’m sorry, I don’t speak English.
   African gunman: You are speaking English right now.
   American: No, I only know how to say, “I don’t speak English” in English.

Sahara (The most-recognized answer– based on both on- and off-line guesses)

10. Just a little bit louder, because this song is intended for humans, okay?

Music and Lyrics

Titles Represented:

• The Emperor’s New Groove
• Stranger Than Fiction
• Undercover Blues
• Hallmark’s Arabian Nights
• Enchanted
• Amazing Grace
• Oklahoma!
• Music and Lyrics
• Sahara
• Kate and Leopold

From C.S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed:

My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time.

He shatters it himself. He is the great iconoclast.

Could we not say that this shattering is one of the marks of his presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the messiah in ruins. And most are “offended” by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers.

All reality iconoclastic.

Really, I think this is what I’m trying to articulate whenever I talk about things like this or this. (Okay, okay, “The Trouble With Beauty” and “The Offense of the Gospel” for those of you who hate blind clicks. )

I’ve made a shift in the last two weeks, with the only thing written down more than a day ahead being meals.

Maybe I’ll be able to articulate it better in the future, but I wanted to say that I have put away my attempts at the card-file (a system for maintaining house), and weekly to-do lists, and have started just “doing what I see.”

Don’t worry, I’ve always had “selective seeing.”

Sallie’s recent post articulated this so perfectly:

I have come to the conclusion that [scheduling] is an area in which God is not going to allow me to be successful because He wants me to be dependent on Him. I say that in all seriousness, with no jesting. We’ve prayed about it, we’ve strategized, we’ve made commitments, and it simply does not work. I have to believe that God has a bigger purpose in my sanctification than keeping a nice schedule.

I love this image of daily dependency. It brings what has sometimes been an intangible something called a “spiritual discipline” into a realm where I can see it.

What is surprising me (the current “iconoclast”) is how my life feels more peaceful and complete just now than is often has when I was wrestling with a schedule.

Love is no assignment for cowards.

Ovid

*Being married is like having somebody permanently in your corner.
It feels limitless, not limited.*

Gloria Steinem, upon marrying for the first time at age 66

There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.

Ronald Reagan

To keep your marriage brimming,
with love in the wedding cup,
whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
whenever you’re right, shut up.

Ogden Nash

*Find the good — and praise it.*

Alex Haley

Let the wife make her husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

Martin Luther

Spoil your spouse…..not your children.

Unknown

You don’t marry one person; you marry three:
the person you think they are,
the person they are,
and the person they are going to become
as a result of being married to you.

Richard Needham

*Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.*

Rose Franken

Married love is like a garden—there’s no shame in saying it takes work to maintain; that’s what distinguishes it from the wilderness.

My own (as far as I remember.)

*A good marriage is a contest of generosity.*

Diane Sawyer

Being in a long marriage is a little bit like that nice cup of coffee every morning – I might have it every day, but I still enjoy it.

Stephen Gaines, documentary filmmaker

There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But who wants easier?

Mary Oliver

*My Favorites*

If I haven’t mentioned it before, my husband and I have sort of gotten hooked on the new NBC show “Chuck.”

It’s got some great lines, and I’ve been collecting some, and finally making “my” list. Naturally this will be very inside-jokey.

Which is to say, if you’ve seen the episode, you *will* be laughing, and if you haven’t you just… might be laughing. Or scratching your head.

~ Chuck ~
Okay, well that– now that’s just a picture of a turtle.
Why are these people sleeping?
I’m going to go fix some hard drives. Good luck with the spy stuff!
[To high-ranking Chinese spy holding him at gunpoint:] Or you could– you could… defect!
Are you two crazy? I’m not gonna have a guy rubbed out just because he upsets our lunch routine!

Crossbow? What, aren’t slingshots good enough?
“Are you coming to the toga party?”

Ellie! You’re alright. Thank God you’re alright! I mean, of course you’re alright. Why wouldn’t you be…

[Under the influence of a truth-serum/poison:]
(to Sarah) You are so pretty!!!
(to Casey) Your jaw could have been chiseled by Michelangelo himself. (Casey, solemnly, “Thank you.”)
Okay, I’ll take this antidote, and pretend to drink it, then I’m going to run like mad and give it to my sister instead. Why did I just say that out loud?

I am not running away. I don’t know what you think this is, but I am having a rare moment of courage here.

Pretty… pretty… Ho! Not pretty! Not pretty! Ugly!
One girlish scream from me and the cavalry arrives.
“Pineapple.”
Some kid could’ve found that! [Casey just opened a gun cache in the store's home theater room]

Can someone else be the human shield for a while?
One question? Shoot– Not you!
No one ever says how much those things hurt.

~ Major Casey ~
If you run I’m going to point my gun at you and threaten to shoot you in the head.

Chuck: Are you actually going to do it?
Casey [in his *duh* voice]: No.
Chuck: Great. [Runs]

I’m feeling a little pasty.
Don’t puke on the C4.
Now thats what I call moving appliances.
[impressed] Smart. Do that again, and I’ll kill you.
[Shooting out a lock after Sarah expertly picked one]: We all have our skill sets.

~Chuck n Casey ~
Chuck: Soooo, in this plan, I basically do nothing?
Casey: Yep
Chuck: Let’s do this.

Casey: You did really good last night, Chuck.
Chuck: Oh, come on Casey, enough with the sarcasm, okay?
Casey: No, I’m serious. You did good. [Chuck begins to smile] And that tux looks good on you.
Chuck [big goofy grin by now]: Well, thanks, Casey!
Casey: That was sarcasm.

Chuck: Anna didn’t pay you to rub out Tang, did she?
Casey: No. Do you want me to?
Chuck: No! No!

Casey: Stay in the car.
Chuck: My four favorite words.
:Scene cut:
Morgan: I’m going home now
Ellie: My four favorite words.

Ellie (succumbing to being drugged): Words… taste… like… peaches.

~ Cheesy but cute ~
Chuck: Phone Trouble again ?
Sarah: Yeah, I’m not sure I’m able to receive calls….cause I never got one from you….

Sarah: Well, the good news is that we’re alive. The bad news… is this is a very awkward moment now.
Chuck: Not so much for me. Kinda nice, actually.

~ Other~
Tang (control-freak store manager): Now it is mine. The one remote to rule them all. The master remote.

Bryce: You should go for the head next time.

Deli man: He had me at ‘pastrami’.

This is a framed saying on the wall above my computer:

For me…Music exists to elevate us
as far as possible above everyday existence.
–Gabriel Faure (1908)–

It’s been on my wall for more than 10 years.

Do not let us mistake necessary evils for good.

–C.S. Lewis

Much of our activity is like the waves of the sea, going always and arriving never.

–Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.

–G.K. Chesterton

Do not pray for easy lives, but pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, but pray for power equal to your tasks.

–Phillip Brooks

Even knowing the pride is one of the things God hates most, and knowing that I wrestle with my own measure of that distasteful stuff, I will still talk about what bothers me in the general discussion of pride and humility (the topic seems to rise cyclically in Christian circles).

There are those who seem to fixate on how proud they are, knowing it’s something that’s hard to ever be free of they’re continually “confessing” it. (I’m more of the opinion that confession is to convict us and change things– not just to report the status quo– or to excuse the way you talk about things.)

And then there are those who speak of humility as though it were self-abasement (humiliation).

A more accurate description, really, is that humility is utter honesty– to see things as they truly are.

While I still feel that is a fine description, at church the pastor’s been talking about how humility has everything to do with our relationship to God, and I came across a quote this weekend that brings both these ideas together so well:

The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real hight against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.

–Phillip Brooks

I knew a blind man whom a surgeon helped to see.
The doctor never had a lover such as he.
It is in such a way that singers live composers.

–Calvin Miller
The Singer

I could say nearly the same thing about certain writers. Or, at least what they’ve written.

Being a Believer I feel a certain sense of… awkwardness? tentativeness? when I find that I quote human writers as quickly as I quote scripture.

Anyone who pokes around this blog very long knows I enjoy Story, and frequently interpret my experience through that prism.

As I’m sure I’ve said before, I see folktales as the ultimate distillation of human nature– the good and the bad– and am quite willing to use them as examples to make a point.

In Christian circles, however, this seems to be an iffy choice.

Once the topic of a wife’s influence came up, and the analogy of kings and queens. I eagerly added to the conversation that the image of a queen interceding with the king is a common theme in folklore. An older Christian woman seemed bothered by my choice of example.

“But where do you see that in Scripture?” she asked.

“Esther!” I replied after a blink, not sure if she was challenging me or just quizzing me.

I have a memory that seems wired for remembering quotes (or at least their essence) and turns of phrase. I frequently find myself using those words from other people– other writers– when attempting to best express myself.

Sometimes I remember the queen exchange, and I feel like I’m not supposed to be so attached to human words, Scripture being our only/ultimate authority and all that.

But then I figure, I’m human, and no one is expecting my words to be the oracles of God. Why should anyone assume I think another human’s words are?