When I Am Weak

30 November, 2013Marissa

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My family gathered at my Uncle’s house for turkey, lots of mashed potatoes, euchre playing, and several enthusiastic Apples to Apples games that could probably have been heard by people driving by in their cars.

Today, I have another C.S. Lewis quote to share with you. As I think I mentioned in last week’s post, I’ve been reading The Problem of Pain. In chapter 6, he makes this statement: “tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.”

Comfortable Dirtiness

To put this statement in context, Lewis was talking about human tendency to only turn our attention to God when things are going badly in our lives. When we are scared or in pain, we rush to God and ask him to take it away and bring us through the trial. But all to often, we try our best to forget the thing that brought us back to God as soon as that prayer is answered.

God has had me for but forty-eight hours and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me. Let Him but sheathe that sword for a moment and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over — I shake myself dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness, if not in the nearest manure heap, at least in the nearest flower bed. And that is why tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.

We need our weaknesses and our sufferings to help bring us into God’s family. I did a search for the word “suffer” in the KJV, and found it used more than 50 times to refer to Christ’s suffering and/or the necessity of us following in His footsteps.

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29)

Importance of Fire

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

The analogy of a refining fire is one that is frequently used in scripture. Gold and silver are purified by fire (Zech. 13:9), pottery needs fired to give it strength (Is. 64:8). We tend often think of fire as a bad thing, perhaps because of the association with fiery punishment. But fire in the context of trials has a positive connotation. Even if the affects are unpleasant, the result should be us moving ever closer to glory.

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)

God Hasn’t Given Up

There are two ways we can take the idea Lewis expresses when he says, “tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.” We can either get depressed and worn down by the realization that trials will not end until we are perfected, or we can look at trials as proof that God hasn’t given up on making us like Christ.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Blond Brownies

27 November, 20138 July, 2014Marissa

There are few baked goods that I feel like I could sit down and eat the entire pan in one setting when it comes out of the oven. This is one of them. They taste good after they cool down, too. I usually bake them on a Friday for church services on Saturday, and there are never any left by Sunday. It’s a quick dessert, so if you need something last-minute for Thanksgiving tomorrow, these blondies would work.

Blond Brownies

print this recipe

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1-½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spread batter in a greased and floured 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.

print this recipe

100th Blog Post

25 November, 201324 November, 2013Marissa

Today is less of an article and more of a collection of random ideas that popped into my head while wondering what to write for my 100th post. I actually wasn’t going to commemorate the 100th post, but I needed a topic today other than panic about how I’m going to finish this novel before the end of the month. My deadline is actually 5:00 pm on November 29th, since I don’t write on the Sabbath and I’m spending the evening of November 30th at my cousin’s house for a Sherlock marathon where she intends to win me over to tea-drinking. It started as a “Marissa must drink tea” intervention, and I suggested that such a thing must be accompanied by British television.

I suppose I’ll take this opportunity to announce my plans for my 111th post coming up in mid December. Since it’s right before The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is released, I thought I’d make my “eleventy-first” post a Lord of the Rings Myers-Briggs chart in the style of that Star Wars MBTI that has been going around Facebook. It harder than I thought it would be. Tolkein seemed to write an unusually high proportion of introverts into his stories.

Also, on a completely unrelated note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOCTOR WHO! Saturday was the 50th anniversary, and the airing of a very special episode called “The Day of The Doctor.” If all goes well, I’ll be seeing it tonight at the cinema. I loosely group the TV series I watch into “I like them” and “I’m a fan,” and Doctor Who is one in the later category (along with Sherlock and Star Trek).

Asking For Less Love

23 November, 201323 November, 2013Marissa

I’ve always thought that a land flowing with milk and honey sounded a little underwhelming. I like both, but surely there were better things (like chocolate or unicorns) that a perfect land could be filled with. But then a few weeks ago, the thought popped into my head that it wasn’t just milk and honey God was giving them, it was all the things which could be made using milk (dairy) and honey (sweetener). Ice cream, pasta sauce, pretty much every recipe on this blog. In itself, the milk and honey promise was deeper than I thought, and it was also symbolic of all the physical blessings God promised physical Israel for obedience (Deut. 28:1-14).

I’m sure there were Israelites who said something like, Milk and honey? That’s it? “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic,” those were much better (Num. 11:4). They did not understand that what God offered was infinitely better than what they used to have.

How many times do we devalue God’s promises, choosing instead to cling to things in this world because we do not realize just how much better the things God wants to give us are? In C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain, he says that if we think we want less than God offers — wishing “God had designed us for a less glorious and less arduous destiny” — we are “asking not for more love, but for less.”

Sometimes we wish for things that are not good for us because we do not fully understand or value what we are being offered. God loves us too much to let us settle for a curse when He wants to give us a blessing. That’s why He keeps trying to bring us back to Him when we stray. Just look at how many times, in the midst of just punishments for sin, He begs Israel to come back to Him for their good (Hosea 11).

Asian Chicken Marinade

20 November, 20138 July, 2014Marissa

I’ve finally decided to write this recipe down (partly so I can remember how to make it, and partly so I can share it here). I like to serve it with salad and my Oriental Salad Dressing. In fact, this is what my brother requested for his birthday lunch this week. I wonder how many other 16-year-old boys want an artisan salad for their birthday?

Asian Chicken Marinade

print this recipe

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ginger powder

½ teaspoon sesame oil

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

Mix ingredients in gallon-size, plastic zip-lock bag. Add 1-½ pounds chicken breast tenders and seal the bag. Turn to coat chicken. Let rest in the marinade for 30 minutes. Place chicken in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.

print this recipe

My Favorite Fantasy Books

18 November, 201318 November, 2013Marissa

I’m writing a fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo this year, and since I have that genre on my mind, I thought I’d share a list of my favorite fantasy books. Maybe someday the novel I’m writing will be on another blogger’s favorite books list.

Books In No Particular Order

Concerning Hobbits

Though it is often considered childish compared to The Lord of the Rings, and I’ve heard that Tolkein wished he’d had time to re-write it, The Hobbit is my favorite book by J.R.R. Tolkein. I love all the books of Middle Earth for what Tolkein can teach me about writing fantasy, but just to sit down and enjoy reading a book I pick up The Hobbit.

“It’s all in the wardrobe just like I told you!”

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis are a few more “children’s books” that I didn’t read until I was in my late teens, and not all at once. I think I read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when I was 16, then The Magician’s Nephew, and finished the series a few years after that. I suppose it is fitting that I didn’t appreciate Narnia until I was older, since it was C.S. Lewis who said, “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

I’m Okay With Corlath Kidnapping Me

I mentioned The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley on my previous book list, but it belongs on here as well. I like the way McKinley handles magic in this world, the lore she weaves through the story, and the strong characters she creates. Some of the most interesting characters are not even human — the heroine’s incredible war horse and a hunting cat named Narknon.

How To Melt Wizards

I don’t hesitate to laugh-out-loud when I’m reading books, and The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede kept me giggling most of the time I was reading. I received some pretty puzzled looks from my family, until my sister read the four books and laughed almost as much as I did. The first book, Dealing With Dragons, is the best, and features a princess who asks a dragon to take her captive so she can avoid marriage, then proceeds to chase off all the princes who try to rescue her.

Dancing Bears

The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman is the first in a series of modern fairy tale retelling. It’s based on “Snow White and Rose Red.” Bear (aka Arthur Denniston) is one of those fictional men I fell in love with as a teenager the moment I read the scene where he dances with Blanche. I also really like the cover art for the first edition.

“True love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops.”

If you like the film The Princess Bride, you’ll love the book by William Goldman. I recommend the 30th Anniversary Edition, so you can read Goldman’s introductions. He talks about being on-set for filming (which was, of course, done on location in Florin). It can be fun trying to figure out what actually happened and what didn’t (and whether or not it really matters).

McKinley Fairy Tales

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley is my favorite “Beauty and the Beast” retelling, and is also the only novel of hers that I’ve thought had a thoroughly satisfying ending. Her retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” Spindle’s End, also deserves an honorable mention just for the fact that magic in that world is so thick and tangible they have to dust if off the kitchenware before cooking.

Visionary Fiction

A Sword For The Immerland King, by F.W. Faller, is the book that introduced me to “visionary fiction.” His website defines it this way:

a fiction, stated as fact to allow the reader to explore the greater life issues in the safety of a good armchair, to wonder at their own shortcomings and marvel at the confidence of others who inspire them to vision and purpose in their own lives. It is allegory and truth rolled together in a plausibility that transcends time and space and gives us pause to ponder who we are and where we are going.

What Faller does with his world of Tessalindria reminds me of Tolkein’s work with Middle Earth, and what I’m hoping to do with Ves’endlera.

An Oracular Pig

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, follow the adventures of an assistant pig-keeper named Taran. It spans five books and is, I suppose, technically another series of children’s books. One of the most interesting things about these novels is that they are based in part on Welsh legends. The author uses some names from the original legends and hints of Welsh geography (which he warns is “not to be used as a guide for tourists”), then inserts main characters born out of his own imaginings.

Worlds of Ink

Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath are the three books in the Inkworld series by Cornellia Funke. Setting aside the great fantasy content for a moment, these are beautiful books. Each chapter begins with a quotation and ends with a sketch. They are books about books, with main characters being read into the real world and back into books and blurring the lines between reality and fiction.