Author Archives: Amy Jane

I think this way.

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I have sometimes in quiet, fearful, moments prayed that I be the first in my marriage to die.

Today I met the blog of a woman who knows she will be.

Please pray for us, and for my family especially. My part in all of this is rather easy. I get to die and be with my Savior in glory. I get to miss out on all the suffering this world holds. It is my family who bear the grief and the pain day in and day out. It is for them that my heart breaks.

Hold your loved ones a little closer for me today. Live life a little more — wear your dressy clothes around the house just because life is really short and stains don’t really matter. Don’t get impatient about the little things.

Someday we’ll understand why.

I am lifting her and her family in prayer today. Facing one’s own mortality takes one type of bravery. Knowing what you are leaving your family to experience without you and your strength demands additional courage.

Beginning Orthodoxy

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Currently Reading
Orthodoxy
By G. K. Chesterton

Ahhh… Back to my reading list.

I’ve barely got through the introduction and I’m already wishing to quote large chunks of this fellow. He makes me laugh, and I like his analogies.

He reads rather like a blogger, which should be no surprise since he was a journalist and a debater for pleasure. He seems almost (again, like a blogger) to have unrestricted printing access. This makes him very free with word-count and self-amusing asides.

This book, Chesterton says, grew out of a challenge that the last book he wrote was incomplete in its scope.

It was perhaps an incautious suggestion to make to a person only too ready to write books upon the feeblest provocation.

Two things so far have caught my mind.

First, the (every) writer’s reality of rediscovering what (really) is already known,

I am the man who with the utmost daring discovered what had been discovered before…. [This book] recounts my elephantine adventures in pursuit of the obvious.

And second, the question for both philosophers and writers:

How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it? Continue reading »

What I’ve Learned in a Year of Blogging (pt. 1)

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Some highlights (March to September, 2006):

Happy…*Something* to Me…

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One year ago today I posted my First blog entry. (Very interesting now to see what’s changed.)

It was on Xanga, on an account I had finally opened in order to be able to comment on the well-established blog of a childhood friend. I’ve never been able to not-jump-in a conversation…

When I wrote my first profile I was self-conscious beyond words (Like I need one more reason/excuse to think of myself! Who’s even going to read it?). The first Xanga profile I wrote contained a line like, This is an experiment. Let’s see if it goes anywhere.

Now, with a total of 308 posts (159 posts here and 149 at Family News), it’s clear this is no longer in the “experimental” stage.

Even allowing for the doubling of some pre-June posts (June being the time I switched to a two-blog format) that number still looks impressive to me.

The dating format has been a surprisingly motivating way to keep me writing frequently, and the self-consciousness has been replaced with self-awareness which is much more useful for a hobby/endeavor like this.

Among other blessings (many come simply from writing frequently) I’ve been able to record both more of the every-day and stressful times (both were missed when I simply journaled), because I’ve trained myself to write regularly.

And in everything recorded I see repeatedly the unflagging faithfulness of our mighty God.

“If it were not for His mercy…”

On-line Quote Database

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This I like.

I suppose there’s no way to be *really* sure what you’re reading is for real, if you’ve never heard/read it before (this is how I feel about Wikipedia), but it still looks like a lot of fun for browsing.

Yes, I’m the sort of person who enjoys browsing quote collections. I also used to read my mom’s old World Book Encyclopedia set too, when I was supposed to be looking something up for a report.

Obviously the tangent-accessibility of the internet is nothing new to me

Duke Roland’s Quest– a Tuesday Tale

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From Barbara Leonie Picard’s The Faun and the Woodcutter’s Daughter.

Duke Roland was a coward. He and everyone else knew it. Afraid to ride fast, learn to swim, participate in tournaments, or even climb his own high towers to look out over his own lands, Roland was quietly ashamed but never did anything about it.

Until (cue the rising music) a beautiful young woman came to his castle.

Her eyes were blue and her hair was golden, her voice was music and her smile was the smile of one who has never glanced on pain or sorrow or cared for their existence. She lived only for the joyous things in life.

When good Duke Roland attempted to gain her favor, she only laughed at him.

“Have you never heard that only the brave deserve the fair?”

She then threw her bracelet into the fire and bid him pull it out in proof of his courage. He could not.

And so Roland went to a wise old man to inquire where to find courage. Under the old man’s direction he looked in a chest at the top of a high tower, in a casket under deep water, in the locket of a mysterious knight (whom Roland must fight to obtain the locket), and in the flickering blue flame that races through a dark wood, as fast as a horse may gallop.

Having faced his fears, and discovered his courage in doing so, Duke Roland returned to his lady fair. Again the Lady Alison mocked him and his efforts, tossing her bracelet into the fire. Seeing her with new eyes, Roland realized that he was greatly changed, but she was not.

He stooped and picked the bracelet out of the fire and dropped it at her feet.

“Your bracelet,” he said. “Good night, cousin,” and he turned from her and left the hall.

And for the first time in her life, the Lady Alison’s blue eyes filled with tears, for she knew that she had lost him.

Talking About Touching

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Have you talked to your little children about who’s allowed to take their clothes off? About who’s allowed to touch them? And how?

It’s uncomfortable to think about, but not-talking about it is the wrong choice.

Pray about what you will say, and (if you haven’t had this talk yet) look for an opportunity this week.

Our methods so far:

  • Put everyone in a modest swimsuit and remind kids the parts covered up are the parts no one else should touch (diaper-changes and doctor visits can be mentioned as exceptions).
  • We don’t make the kids give hello hugs or good-bye kisses if they don’t feel like it– we want them to know a No to touch should be respected.
  • We’ve talked about the difference between certain toys our girls have to share, and those they don’t unless they want to (They each have their own special beanie-bear, for example, that they can choose never to share).
    • From this context we talk about not having to share what is most special to us. Not having to share what is our very own. Our bodies fall into this category.

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A good resource on a related note is the Family Watchdog site.

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A formal, “heavy,” talk is not frequently the best choice. Generally with small children a short simple line, repeated in a positive way, will prove the most effective.

Pray about what you want your child(ren) to internalize and plan for it purposefully. (This is a good way to approach prayer and bible memorization for/with your kids too).

More ideas at Rocks in my Dryer

A “Mom-Song”

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I don’t know who wrote this. I first heard it on my sister’s tape, Dreamer: What Really Happened to Joseph

The sentiments of each line are not equally true for me each time I sing it (I’ve taken to skipping the “trying by myself” line, since I try hard not to), but over-all the lyrics and the tone (and my long association with it) make it a good piece for the middle of the night.

And for those times of a baby’s inconsolable tears.

Everything I Need
Lord I need you to be all the gentleness in me.
I’ve been trying by myself, struggling all alone.
From the very start I knew that I must depend on you.
Here I am, “depending on,” the rest is up to you.

Chorus
You’re everything I need for You to be.
You’re everything that shines inside of me.
*And I will have the strength to do
All you ask of me.*
I will always let you be
Everything I need for you to be.

Creative Politics

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We have a new State Rep. in Juneau this session; a young guy, who really seems to be trying to juggle that tricky task of staying connected “back home” while he’s hundreds of miles away.

There has recently been a huge stink locally, about a former multi-term Mayor (current pastor) and his wife getting indited by a Grand Jury on a bunch of charges involving the miss-use of federal grants.

A number of people, University students clear up to the Governor herself, were calling for this guy to step-down from one of his remaining positions of influence. This he has refused to do.

Tongue-clicking and redoubled speculation ensued.

I wrote a Letter to the Editor (a local masochistic pastime) back at the beginning of February:

Regarding the many calls for the resignation of Regent {So’n’So},

please, lets all remember that “innocent until proven guilty” is still the rule, and a jury of one’s peers is not (or shouldn’t be) quite the same as the storm of public opinion. Let things lay where they’ve fallen and allow the proper time and procedure for picking them up.
Sincerely,
{etc.}

The two days before my letter ran, other, longer, letters with a similar message ran as well, only they were more along the lines of “they’re innocent until proven guilty, so I’m backing them.”

As I was careful to avoid any language of *support* (wanting only to encourage/remind people to wait on due process), I hoped my letter wouldn’t be mentally grouped with theirs.

My letter didn’t garner any response so I moved on.

Monday this week I received a hand-written note from my new Representative at the Capitol, agreeing with my choice of position as presented in the Letter to the Editor, and the invitation to write him if there were any issues on my mind, etc.

The guy seems to be following local news via the local paper (always a good idea), did his homework to know I was in his district, and chose to use that as a point of contact.

I was impressed at his initiative. It seemed a very creative idea.

The Value of Illustrations

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I am always a little sad when I hear someone being steered away from a classic that has been illustrated for children.

The reasoning behind this seems to be in seeking to develop the inner eye (imagination), and appreciation for the language itself apart from the distraction of images.

On the very small chance that anyone reading this post holds that view, here is an analogy: Illustrations (when they are something the child is actually interested in, mind you) are very like bath toys.

There is an age when the water itself ceases to be infinitely entertaining and tub toys become a very motivating factor in continuing baths.

Pictures can serve the same purpose, holding the child’s attention long enough for us to pour the words over them and whet their minds with new phrases and ideas.