Friday, January 26, 2024

Regarding thoughtfulness, thankfulness, & jollity

I've revamped (as in, removed a bunch of posts from ;)) my other blog, which is specifically a spot to put slightly more journal entry type material, and also share ideas about education, building a nurturing environment, etc., including some non-fiction book reviews. (Possibly also behind the scenes randomness and adventure ideas... we'll see.)

But I don't expect everyone here to be interested in the above topics(!), so don't feel obligated. That said, I decided to put the promised Advent and Christmas activities post over there, so here's the link, if you're interested in that. :)

Along the Brandywine here is -- as always -- the spot for more active blogger-y things (movie reviews, blogathons, tags, parties, etc.) and yes, occasionally random life ruminations. <3

Hope you're all having a lovely evening!

Monday, November 20, 2023

Of darkness and longing... rest, anticipation, and joy...

What ho, one and all! 

Lately I've been busy laying out many and various plots for the upcoming Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons. I've also been feeling the writing itch again so decided to just plop (almost) everything into a blog post. All that to say, here I am back at this dear old cozy corner of the internet with some General Thoughts. 

 

Advent

Advent starts on Sunday, December 3rd this year (which, incidentally, makes for a very short Advent season -- more on that later). Concluding the Ordinary Time of the church calendar, Advent points us to the comings of Christ. It points us to His future coming at the last day, when He comes in awesome power and majesty -- in absolute glory -- with a trump to wake the dead and gather the living -- and when we will see Him as He is. Advent invites us to try and begin to imagine the very edges of what standing in the living, thrice holy presence of our Lord and the Judge of all the earth will even be like. It invites us to reckon our hours and number our days, to be sober minded, to do justice, and to walk humbly with our God. It also beckons and points us towards the absolute piercing joy and bliss of seeing Him. Seeing Him, face to face... an unimaginable intensity of joy. A joy we can experience only if we have been declared righteous. An impossible thing, for we are all sinners, dead and lost, irrevocably. 

So, too, Advent points us back to the very beginning: to the Fall in the garden and also to the protoevangelium -- the very first promise of the coming Savior (spoken simultaneously with words of promised judgment upon Satan, that great serpent of old), the promise that God immediately began bringing to fruition, faithfully, over millennia. Advent reminds us of those early chapters of the great story of redemption, packed with ups and downs and cliff hangers all along the way; and it reminds us of the waiting, the long, prayerful waiting, as the saints of old kept watch over those centuries, longing in the darkness for the coming of the light, for the Promised Son.

Advent then points us to the Incarnation -- it points us to the Son of God taking on human flesh, growing in the womb of His mother (a young girl betrothed to a carpenter and living in a backwater part of Israel, under a Roman Caesar who had declared himself lord of the known world and a living god on earth). And so we can ponder that waiting too -- those final nine months of waiting -- the tension thick, throbbing, palpable.

 

Christmas

And so comes Christmas, when we celebrate the coming of the perfect, eternal Son of God. The Son of God being born.

Since Advent starts on a Sunday and there are always four Sundays in Advent, this means that Christmas comes any time during that fourth week -- sometimes early, sometimes later. It pops up perfectly and always as a surprise. This hop around nature of things is really interesting. Living in the pattern of the church calendar and going through a contemplative, thoughtful period of Advent, Christmas explodes with a shock like a firework, pointing too to the perfect timing and also surprise of the birth of our Savior -- precisely coordinated in God's perfect plan, and an utter shock to the kings of the earth.

Right from the beginning of Genesis, everything is heading toward Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, but every day we mark along the way also has significance in that big picture; and so we celebrate Christmas, the celebration of Christ coming in the flesh, God with us. We celebrate the reality of His flesh -- for only One who is truly man and truly God can provide a propitiation for our sin. And that's what it's all about. He came in pain and weakness that He might die for the sins of His people -- that He might be buried and rise again the third day, declaring Himself with power to be the very Son of God -- saving His people, His bride, and someday, with her, all of creation. And He rose in that body, glorified, beyond our minds to grasp, yet still with the prints of the nails in His hands, hands grown to maturity that Mary must have caught and held close, as a mother does, that very first night.

Christmas is about the Father giving the gift of His son and the Son giving Himself, coming in weakness and thereby entering and exalting His creation, and it's about the Spirit hovering over all of it.
 

Epiphany

After the twelve day festival of Christmas, we come to Epiphany (sometimes extended as an entire season). Either way, hearkening back to the longing through Advent, Epiphany is about the light coming into the darkness. And it's about the beginning of the fulfillment of Psalm 2 -- that the kings of the nations will bow the knee -- which is where the Magi come in, exemplifying and typifying greater things to come. Once again, we see the story of redemption crystallized in the gifts they present to Christ: frankincense, generally understood to point to His divinity; myrrh pointing to His death and burial; and gold pointing to His kingship.

Christ has been manifested to the entire world -- to the Gentiles. He is the perfect Son of Abraham and in His name Gentiles can trust. In Him, Gentiles can be brought near; and now (after His cross, resurrection, and ascension) able to come directly, directly, into the throne room of grace, able to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

 

And so Advent through Epiphany catechizes us -- taking us from Genesis 1, in the garden, right through to the coming of Jesus, and pointing us forward to when we will specifically remember His cross, resurrection, and ascension in the future -- inviting us to ponder and dwell on the entire story of salvation, all the twists and turns, darkness and light -- inviting us to ponder on the very character and perfections of our Savior, and of God's love for His people.

~     ~     ~

This post turned out longer than expected, so I think I'll split my plans for the season into a second post, hopefully to come soon. Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts! ;)


Saturday, September 23, 2023

Tolkien Blog Party Week Tag 2023

Eeeeek..... So our August and September has been jam packed with all sorts of jollity (family visits, county fair time, gallivanting round a couple of states on a mountain-y western adventure -- including also some expansive wilderness terrain filled with junipers + just miles of long-running road through wide open spaces); and also dentist visits, co-op starting, etc. AND the little princess and I stayed out super late last night with my mother-in-law at our local draft horse show, which was stunning as always. Anyhow, all that to say, apologies in advance as my brain is simultaneously hyper and exhausted, but it was also Hamlette's lovely annual Tolkien Blog Party last week(!) and I'm not gonna let that get away without making an appearance so we're gonna squeak in under the wire here with some tag answers. ;-)

And her questions look delicious. (I'm excited about this, can you tell? To be quite transparent, I'm also feeling like a cup of coffee would be warmly encouraging, but as it's already getting late that's probably a terrible idea.) 

Ok, let's do this thing!

Tolkien Party Tag Answers

 

1. Rohan or Gondor?

Between the two... Rohan. (Though some of my favorite scenes do happen in Gondor.) Still, I'm a girl who's happiest and at home in mountains and wide places. (As aforementioned, once or twice... somewhere. ;))

 


2. Rivendell or Lothlorien?

Oh, this one's hard. I keep wanting to say Ithilien on one of these. It's actually my favorite "resting point" in the trilogy -- and possibly my favorite location period. (Oooh, someday someone needs to explore the plot development happening between Elrond/Rivendell, Galadriel/Lothlorien, and Faramir/Ithilien + Tom Bombadil/his house. There's something there. I can just feel it.) 

But back on track! Hmm. Rivendell or Lothlorien... If it's in the fall, with its warm and cozy lights gleaming out and beckoning in the chilly darkness, I'd say Rivendell. On the other hand, someday I really want to see Lothlorien in the springtime.


3. Erebor or Moria?

Erebor. If restored to its former glory, I know Moria would probably be incredible, but yes, I've been in caves and not so much into the major underground thing. I also always love picturing what might have happened to the Lonely Mountain under Dain.

 

4. Bilbo or Frodo?

On the whole, Frodo. I wrote some about him here, once upon a time; and still find so much about him thought provoking, especially, I think, as I keep growing and developing myself, at the ripe old age of thirty-something now.


5. Merry or Pippin?

Probably Merry. If I have to choose. (Though to be clear I love both. Of course.) And upon my last reading I did really enjoy seeing Pippin's character development, especially in ROTK, but yes, Merry. *sniffles thinking about Certain Scenes*


6. Galadriel or Elrond?

Elrond. (Though since we're on the subject, I may as well mention I have a quibble on the topic when it comes to the films. All my life -- up to and including this moment -- I pictured him broad shouldered, majestic, and bearded. And apparently, though rare, in the broader Tolkien legendarium it's not unheard of for an elf to have facial hair. So all that to say, I'm going to bravely withstand whatever tides of public opinion may arise and dare to keep my mental picture. ;D)

 

7. Eomer or Faramir?

While I've come to dearly like Eomer, Faramir is very probably my favorite character in the entire trilogy, so.... yes. (You can read more here, if you're so inclined.) 

 

8. Fili or Kili?

Ok, so I haven't seen the Hobbit movies (in which there's possibly more character development for them?), but I honestly can't separate the two. Joined at the shoulder in life and death, their ending in the book is so poignant it's brought me to tears... I really can't choose between them.

 

9. Bard or Beorn?

Bard. Definitely Bard. (Though the scene where Beorn -- ahem -- appears at the end of the Hobbit always makes me want to cheer. And cry. And cheer.)

 


10. Gandalf the Grey or Gandalf the White?

Gandalf the White. He's weighty and majestic and awe-inspiring... and still himself.

 


This was a lovely tag, Rachel! So fun and you've made me want to pick the books up again asap. Thank you! <3

~

P.S. We've also been suuuuuuper busy outdoors this year, including breaking ground on the new location for our very own genuine Hobbiton garden. It's early days yet, but the goal is to one day have one of which Samwise could be proud. & maaaaaaybe it'll be big enough for a celebratory post for next year's LOTR's party. Wouldn't that be fun? We shall see! ;-)

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