An Old Old Story: Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

I'm reposting this because, despite all of my good intentions, I am still trying to figure out my new life, and my schedule. I am going to shoot for starting this in the beginning of April so that I can finish up the books I'm currently reading, finish up the Esther Bible study...and feel a little more caught up with life.

We will begin reading Pride and Prejudice this week. I have never read Pride and Prejudice before as I generally hate British novels. I am really excited to read with you.

Summary
This rich social commentary—Pride and Prejudice—is sometimes considered to be Jane Austen's finest novel*. It is certainly among her more famous ones. Austen sets her entertaining study of manners and misconceptions against the backdrop of a class-conscious society in 18th-century England.

Spirited, intelligent Elizabeth Bennet is alternately enchanted and affronted by Mr. Darcy. She is quick to suspend her usual, more rational judgment when it comes to him. She also is quick to believe the worst gossip about this haughty, opinionated man, who soon manages to alienate Elizabeth and her family. But is the condescending air that Mr. Darcy wars an indication of his real character? Or has Elizabeth's pride gotten in the way of her chance for true romance? (From Norton Critical Editions .)

"... It is perhaps worth emphasizing what may be called the hardness - at least the firmness - of Jane Austen's thought exhibited in all these undeceptions. The great abstract nouns of the classical English Moralists are unblushingly and uncompromisingly used; good sense, courage, contentment, fortitude, 'some duty neglected, some failing indulged', impropriety, indelicacy, generous candor, blamable trust, just humiliation, vanity, folly, ignorance, reason. These are the concepts by which Jane Austen grasps the world. ... All is hard, clear, definable; by some modern standards, even naively so. The hardness is, of course, for oneself, not for one's neighbors. ... Contrasted with the world of modern fiction, Jane Austen's is at once less soft and less cruel. ... It remains to defend what I have been saying against a possible charge. Have I been treating the novels as though I had forgotten that they are, after all, comedies? I trust not. The hard core of morality and even of religion seems to me to be just what makes good comedy possible. 'Principles' or 'seriousness' are essential to Jane Austen's art. Where there is no norm, nothing can be ridiculous, except for a brief moment of unbalanced provincialism in which we may laugh at the merely unfamiliar. Unless there is something about which the author is never ironical, there can be no true irony in the work. 'Total irony' - irony about everything - frustrates itself and becomes insipid. ... If charity is the poetry of conduct and honor the rhetoric of conduct, then Jane Austen's 'principles' might be described as the grammar of conduct. Now grammar is something that anyone can learn; it is also something that everyone must learn. ... She is described by someone in Kipling's worst story as the mother of Henry James. I feel much more sure that she is the daughter of Dr. Johnson: she inherits his common sense, his morality, even much of his style. ..."

C.S. Lewis 
A Note On Jane AustenIn Essays in Criticism (Oct. 1954)

Book Club will begin next week. 

A little orientation for newbies before we begin

A few guidelines while participating in this book club

How to participate in a discussion
1. Watch your language! Try to avoid words like "awful" or "idiotic"—even "like" and "dislike." They don't help move discussions forward and can put others on the defensive. Instead, talk about your experience—how you felt as you read the book.

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2. Don't be dismissive. If you disagree with someone else, don't refer to her as an ignoramus. Just say, "I'm not sure I see it that way. Here's what I think." Much, much nicer. 

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3. Support your views. Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas. This is a literary analysis technique called "close reading." (LitCourse 3has a good discussion of close reading.)

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4. Read with a pencil. Takes notes or mark passages that strike you—as signficant or funny or insightful. Talk about why you marked the passages you did. 

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5. Use LitLovers for help. Check out our Litlovers Resources above. They'll help you get more out of what your read and help you talk about books with greater ease.

(Discussion tips by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks!)

Also, it will be easier to work through questions and respond to each other if we join My-Bookclub.com 

 Join the club: 'reEducation of the Feminine Soul'.
 www.my-bookclub.com!

See the Club

You can of course still comment on this page but if you join the book club we can be a little more fluid in our conversation. 

I hope to see you there next week with chapters 1 and 2 read and ready for discussion Saturday April 6th!

Freebie Friday

Free Financial Printables

Go Check out Pinch a Little Save-A Lot

Single on a Sunday: Changing the Conversation on Singleness

by Graeme Weatherston

Today I'm so excited to introduce you to Jessica Bufkin!! She is guest posting for us from Single Roots. I just love how she reminds me to entrust the details of my life to the Lord and how to look at God's provision in each and everyone of our lives.


A former junior high English teacher, Jessica Bufkin currently serves as Editor for
SingleRoots, a website that encourages Christian singles to be intentional with their lives
and offers many resources to assist them, including a review of Christian dating sites and
a free eBook, “When Will I Get Married? (and 7 Other Questions that Plague Singles).”

Changing the Conversation on Singleness

by Jessica Bufkin

Can we all just stop for a minute? Stop with the hollow clichés about dating. Stop with
the far-reaching explanations of why we’re still single. Stop with the pep talks of how
we’ll find someone, some day.

I know it doesn’t fit the stereotype of the Christian single, but I’m not perpetually
sad about my unmarried state.

I don’t wake up every morning and reluctantly convince myself that today is going to be
a good day even though I don’t roll over and see the love of my life on the pillow next to
me.

And just because I’m not sad about my singleness doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be
married—because I do. It’s one of the deepest longings of my heart.

I guess having been single for longer than I ever thought I would be, I feel like I’ve heard
it all, from both sides. There are days when I get frustrated with people for acting as if
I’ve not fully arrived because I’m in my thirties and not married. But there are also days
I get frustrated with singles who believe those lies and allow them to steal their joy and
zest for living.

I don’t have life and singleness all figured out. I don’t. But can I just tell you, despite
what others think about poor, pitiful singles, there is not an undercurrent of sadness
beneath everything I do.

I wish we could change the singleness conversation from one of consolation to one of
celebration—and that people would really mean it.

Because I mean it when I say I have been immeasurably blessed.

Do you know how much traveling I’ve been able to do on a whim in the past decade?

Or how many times I’ve been able to meet needs for my family, at the drop of a hat, that
others with spouses and kids weren’t able to do?

Or how many times I’ve been able to take a spontaneous road trip to check on a friend
who I could sense wasn’t doing well spiritually?

Or the jobs I’ve been able to take because I was mobile?

Or how much I’m able to hang out with youth and college students and enter fully into
their stories because I don’t have someone waiting on me at home?

None of those things are consolation prizes! They are my life, and I have loved, loved,
loved every moment of it.

Sure, there are moments of wistfulness and hope and prayers that one day I will
know the love that is found in marriage.

And if that ever happens, I pray that I have lived this lot in my life, this singleness, so
fully that I am left with little regret of how it might have been lived differently. Like
everything I’ve been entrusted, I pray I bless the Lord with it and steward it well—
regardless of my marital status.

LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
I will bless the LORD who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the LORD is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
[Psalm 16:5-8]



Have you posted about singleness lately?

Link up with us this week and let's share the encouragement. Please be sure to read and comment on the persons link before yours so we can share the single luv.

Rules for Link Up:

1. You must be a single woman.

2. Please list the NAME of your post. 

3. Please visit the 2 people who posted before you and offer them some encouragement.
4. Attach my button or link back to this page at the end of your post.

Non-Single Ladies I love you too and I'm sure Jessica would love any and all encouragement and comments from you!

Carving out a Space: A room for me and God

I've moved into a new house for my job.

I've really been spending some time thinking about my space.
It's kind of like a dorm room, but technically, no one is really allowed to enter it. So unless I need someone to do some maintenance my space is just shared between me and God.

So before I moved in my room it looked like this:

And then my House Mates cleaned up the room and it was a  lot neater and un-clutterd.

 After about 4 weeks it looked like this:

There are some non-negotiables about the room: the color...the giant clothing rack....what I'm really wanting is to create  a space that reminds me to pray, and that when I am in this space I feel like I am enfolded in a cocoon of peace, comfort and love. I'll keep you posted on updates!!!

Freebie Friday

                                   Inspirational Power Cards. I printed them out and posted them on my bulletin board in my new room. I'm lovin' her blog too!!! 

When I Cook

By lemonade,

Cooking/Baking always seems to put things into perspective. When I'm angry, I can do something nice for the person I'm angry with-blow off steam-and kill 'em with kindness. I can also meditate in silence, watching sauces bubble and cupcakes rise. I can concentrate on taste and smell and thought.

Sometimes this is my secret quiet place. The place where God an I exist together. Like brother Lawrence in his kitchen, I find comfort in his presence. A space to meditate. Though we don't talk, I feel his peace.

More

What do you really want more of in your life?
I'm considering this question prayerfully.

There are so many things in my life God has blessed me with, that I want more of.

I want more knowledge of Him and less fear of the world.
I want more local relationships, and less alone time.
I want more peace, and less struggle.
I want more love, and less loneliness
I want more time with God, and less time in the world.

I used to want less structure to my days and more freedom.
God has blessed me with that.

I used to want more of God's provision, and less self-sufficiency.
God has also blessed me with that.

I feel as though God has called me to a place of rest. He has answered so many prayers in such a short space of time, it would be difficult for me to even entertain the idea that He does not exist, or care about the little things in our lives. He has set me up to do what I do best.

I have been through all of my Seminary interviews. I am about to begin volunteering at my new church. I am working with at risk kids, and I want to always be sure that I am doing things because they are what God is asking me to do, not because they are things that I want to do.

I want more of Him, and less of me.


He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 ESV)


Linking up With Holley Gerth

Sermon Reflection: Bobbleheads

Painting by Akiane Kramarik

Yesterday we talked about the second Commandment :
Graven images.

I think the pastor made a good distinction between the first commandment and the second commandment.

As opposed to the first commandment: having idols

God doesn't want us to try to create an image of Him, physically or mentally.

Once we create an image of God, we confine him to a 2-D or 3-D space. A frame. A box.

We do this to people as well. We label them. We put a box around them and expect them to be one dimensional. When people do that to us, it's frustrates us to know end!!!

God is not one dimensional. If you say "God is Love and that's all I need to know " you've confined God because your definition of love is finite. It's only influenced by your own personal understanding of love, which is very flat and uninspired compared to God's definition of Love. Some of his love doesn't even make sense to our human way of thinking.


For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

(Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV)

The pastor made the point that its hard to have a relationship with something you cannot see, so God sent us his Son, as a physical vessel of God, so that we would have something tangible to relate to, but you can't stick Christ in a box and slap a label on it saying "Jesus is My Homeboy" any more than you can stick a label on God.



It's kind of like having a pen pal, they respond, but if you never see their face even in a snapshot, it's difficult to maintain a relationship. Though the more you get to know them, the more complex you discover they are. I think that's why we find comfort in artists depictions of Christ. Not that we believe the image IS Christ any more than you believe the snapshot of me to the right of this post actually IS me, but it is my likeness. You have a face you can place to a name, and we find comfort in that.

Carve My Waistline

In the month of January I worked on Carving my money by tithing 10%.

In the month of February I worked on Carving out time with God.

In the month of March I am going to work on Carving my waistline. I would really appreciate some encouragement in this. I have tried several times to lose weight, and I usually end a successful dieting stint while I'm working on a production and start eating crap to get me through rehearsals, and never being home.

Now that I am more or less of a stay at home mom, a YMCA membership is part of my job perks, and the girls at my home are striving for a healthy life style- I think I will be able to be more successful at losing weight and shaping my body.

Tonight is the last supper before I begin a 90 day challenge. I will touch base with you once a week reporting my failures and successes.

Please pray for me on this journey!

Five Minute Fridays:Home

Artwork by Thomas Kinkade (no copyright infringement intended)

Start.

Home.

They say home is where the heart is, sometimes, home is where you hang your hat. I haven’t felt “home” for a very long time.  When I visit my parents I sleep in my old room, but now only a quarter of it belongs to me. The rest of it is a sewing room. Sometimes I just want my own things about me. My bed, my furniture, my dishes. Anything.

But then, I’ve been learning that home is where God places me. Somehow he blesses me with an easy feeling of going into the refriderator without caring, a cozy nook to read and pray. The perfect color on the walls.

I think home is where you find people that love you, and where you find peace.  I love that Michael Buble song “I want to go home, how I miss you, you now.” Sometimes when I hear that song, my heart cries out to the Lord. I know that my real home is in heaven, and my heart is truly there. On earth, home is where I hang my hat. In heaven, home is where my heart is.

Stop.

Freebie Friday

Cash Envelope System Printable

Did this. Love it! Go here.

5 "Truths" I Stopped Believing

Hey! Excited to be Guest Posting over at Single Roots Today. Click on over there to check it out.

I’ve grown up believing these truths of man and have learned that they are actually defeating lies.

“Truth” #1: Fake it ‘til you make it....

Esther Chapter 7

Since I apparently failed at meeting my deadline for finishing Esther. Please forgive me. I bit off a little more than I could chew I guess. :( But! I have really been changed by this book. I love how Esther is changed by God and how the book of Esther shows us God working in the background in her life, as he sometimes works in the background of ours. It's opened my eyes a lot more to see God working.

So let's take the next three weeks to finish up this book.

Memory Verse

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

(1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV)

The Story Chapter 7 

At the second banquet, King Xerxes interest is really piqued. He wants to know what Esther wants out of all this. Esther tells King Xerxes that there is a death sentence out for her and her people. Once the King is good and furious she rings the bell on Haman. Xerxes is so angry he leaves Esther and Haman to blow off some steam and figure out what to do. Haman is sure he's going to die and begs Esther to save his life. While his throwing himself at Esther, Xerxes comes in and finds a perfect excuse to get rid of Haman, without destroying his own reputation. Xerxes sentences Haman to hang on the same gallows Haman had intended for Mordecai. 

What hasty decisions were made in this situation? 

What decisions, or things spoken were made for their own interest and reputation?

How many times do you twist a story just a bit to test the waters, so the you don't receive the worst of the blow? 

What speck in these peoples eyes reflects the log in yours? 

Dear Dreamer,

God has a dream for you. It's not the dream you thought you dreamed. It's the one hidden in your little girl heart. Yeah. That one. The one you pushed aside, writing it off as impossible.

Dreamer, that dream, that one right there, the one you don't want to show the world, the one you had before you knew anything of idols, that's God's dream for you, with all of it's impossibilities.


And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
(Mark 14:36 ESV)

It was planted right there before you were even born. You've been doing bits and pieces of it your whole life, you just didn't realize how it would all come together. Like Joseph, you have to open your hand. Surrender your dream to him, it's so hard, I know it's so precious to you, but it's even more precious to God. I promise, he won't hurt it, he's just going to shine it up a little. Make it brighter and more wonderful than you could possibly imagine.

It's going to feel like he took it away. Like you're wandering in the desert, but there is a promised land hear on earth, it's your God-Sized dream. Every morning you wake up, you have work to do dreamer. You're still  in this foreign land because you have work to do.

Know that God has given you a dream, and if you listen, if you wait on that still small voice, when you feel that gentle nudge of your heart go. Step out in faith, and know that there will always be solid ground under your feet. He is timely in his provision. He is loving in his teaching.

Pray for Faith dreamer. He will teach you . It will be painful and drawn out sometimes, sometimes He'll do it "quick like a band-aid," sometime it will bring you to your knees in joyful tears. It will be healing, refining, and it will bring Him SO much glory.

Go out into the world with your dream in your hand. Tell His-story. Seek God and Serve Him always.

Love Your Heart.

The Little One in You

By Tina Phillips

You were created the way you are, hands legs, eyes, hair, lips, looks, style, passions, personality, life and all for a specific reason; to fit perfectly into the work of the Lord. Some of us last saw that person in elementary school and have her crying, alone in a corner somewhere, forgotten. Go find her. Put your trust in the Lord and let the child come to him. Let her be healed, let her take off her pretty starched dress, and put on the overalls, let her comb out her sticky perfect curls and braid them into pigtails, or let her go to the dress up box and put on the pink tutu and dance joyously in front of the King of Kings. Let Him delight in her, and then let him send you to catch frogs and climb a tree, or dance in front of thousands, so He can delight in His creation, and He will be glorified.

For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;

he adorns the humble with salvation.

(Psalm 149:4 ESV)

Tearing out Idols

by Chris Van Den Berg

http://thejourney.org/media/deeper/substitutes-god

Yesterday we began a sermon series on the ten commandments. It was an introduction but a couple of the points the pastor made were poignant, and lessons God has been teaching me a lot lately.


“You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3 ESV)


C.S Lewis says

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I feel like God has been doing just that. Sometimes it hurts SO much. It is disappointing when my ideas are not realized. I was brought up in the typical middle class philosophy of getting a job, making money, getting married and owning a home. When I was younger I rebelled against "typical" and was set on making my own way, when my own way wasn't working I set on "typical" which made me just as miserable. I find that every time I become lord of my own life, I am miserable and broken. My hand opens up and I surrender another piece of my house to God.  

How many more idols are still hidden in my heart? Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV) Rip them out of my heart and let me know the joy of Jesus, whose only God was You. Let me follow your laws, that I might have a functioning relationship with you. 

(Re)arranging

by bruce jennings

I just started my new job last week and moved into my new home. So it's been near impossible to keep up with my blog.

While I wasn't writing-I was thinking about what might be less pressure for me-and more beneficial for you.

So the set schedule for my writings will be as follows.

Sermon Reflections will be posted by midnight on Mondays.

(W)omen (O)f (G)od Weds. will be monthly bible studies of women in the bible. On the last Weds. of every month, I will point you to other historical women of God so that we can engage in discussion about their lives.  I will post the bible lessons by 10am Weds mornings. We will finish up our study of Esther, and then we will begin a new study-I'm still deciding who the next woman will be.

Book Club will be held on Saturdays. The month of March we will be reading "Pride and Prejudice"

Single on a Sunday will be held the 3rd Sunday of every month. I am looking for guest posters. So if you have something to say about being single, please contact me, and I will be more than happy to arrange to post your insights.

Of course, I will write and post random things as they come to me, or as I link up with other websites, but I wanted to make my focus on the 4 topics above.