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A Favorite Quote

The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
~ William Faulkner

Things I love about today

• The Sun is shining
• Wearing sunglasses, a skirt, and flip flops because the sun is shining
• The fact that the above statement makes me want to sing "I'm on a boat..."
• The feeling in my legs after my 3 mile run
• The Amish friendship bread my roommate left on my desk
• Sipping coffee
• Running into friends at the library
• Emails from JALA
• The Rotunda
• Anticipating going home on Friday to spend Easter with my family
• Most importantly, the joy the Lord has given me

Chesterton Reminds Me

I never tire of Chesterton's poetry. It is so richly and deeply beautiful. Most especially it is beautiful because it is drenched in truth. Chesterton wrote in an age when godless and hopeless modernism was becoming the consuming philosophy. It predominates in the literature of that period. I am currently taking a Faulkner class. Faulkner is strongly influenced by the writings of T.S. Eliot, especially the Wasteland. If you haven't read it, I urge you to read it. It is a fascinating and heart wrenching poem. The same is true of Faulkner's writing.
Faulkner literally brought me to tears the other day. I just finished reading Absalom, Absalom. The book is beautifully written and deeply moving. It deals with the crumbling and decaying South and the problems it faces. The characters face the problems of racism, their haunting by their Southern past, the problems of class issues. While all of these are difficult in and of themselves, I was not brought to tears by the problems themselves. Faulkner brought me to tears because no one is able to speak the truth in his works. The characters remain caught in these inescapable problems. Their moderism and their rejection of God has caused them to reject hope and salvation.
Chesterton's poetry serves as such a light of truth in this dark modernist genre of literature. I was especially struck by this in this poem:

The Ballad of God-Makers
by G. K. Chesterton

A bird flew out at the break of day
From the nest where it had curled,
And ere the eve the bird had set
Fear on the kings of the world.

The first tree it lit upon
Was green with leaves unshed;
The second tree it lit upon
Was red with apples red;

The third tree it lit upon
Was barren and was brown,
Save for a dead man nailed thereon
On a hill above a town.

That night the kings of the earth were gay
And filled the cup and can;
Last night the kings of the earth were chill
For dread of a naked man.

‘If he speak two more words,’ they said,
‘The slave is more than the free;
If he speak three more words,’ they said,
‘The stars are under the sea.’

Said the King of the East to the King of the West,
I wot his frown was set,
‘Lo, let us slay him and make him as dung,
It is well that the world forget.’

Said the King of the West to the King of the East,
I wot his smile was dread,
‘Nay, let us slay him and make him a god,
It is well that our god be dead.’

They set the young man on a hill,
They nailed him to a rod;
And there in darkness and in blood
They made themselves a god.

And the mightiest word was left unsaid,
And the world had never a mark,
And the strongest man of the sons of men
Went dumb into the dark.

Then hymns and harps of praise they brought,
Incense and gold and myrrh,
And they thronged above the seraphim,
The poor dead carpenter.

‘Thou art the prince of all,’ they sang,
‘Ocean and earth and air.’
Then the bird flew on to the cruel cross,
And hid in the dead man’s hair.

‘Thou art the son of the world.’ they cried, `
‘Speak if our prayers be heard.’
And the brown bird stirred in the dead man’s hair
And it seemed that the dead man stirred.

Then a shriek went up like the world’s last cry
From all nations under heaven,
And a master fell before a slave
And begged to be forgiven.

They cowered, for dread in his wakened eyes
The ancient wrath to see;
And a bird flew out of the dead Christ’s hair,
And lit on a lemon tree.

Despite the modernists desire to kill God and create their own gods and means to salvation they fail. Again and again, they fail. They fail and Christ reigns. I weep for these writers because they reject the one who offers hope and salvation. I weep because, despite the beauty of their writing, they reject the beauty of the truth.

Change I Can Believe In

Finally, a politician who I can trully vote for with all my heart!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg3SrTV7v_E


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0IxTgG_K24&feature=related

Vote Jane for president!

Too bad the election has already past....

Restoration Ball and other things

Every Spring the Jefferson Society along with the University Guide Service has a restoration ball. As a member of the Jefferson Society, I always get so excited about "Resto" as it is fondly known. Everyone gets dressed up and looks wonderful and it is such a fun time. This year was fabulous. We had such a wonderful time! The highlight of Resto is the Virginia Reel. Everyone comes togethor to dance the reel. It is absolutely insane and fabulous. It goes on for at least 45 minutes.

Here are some pictures:

Here is my fabulous date Alex and I

A close up. Neither of us was exactly thrilled with this picture, but I am letting you all see it anyway...

Jacob and Caroline...we went to dinner with them beforehand at this resturant called Terra Thai. It was really good. It was similar to lemongrass, but with a larger selection

Our absoluetely fabulous reel group! We totally rocked that thing!! I love you all!!!!

In other news, I now know what I am doing this summer. I got a call on friday offering me an internship at the Heritage Foundation in D.C. I am going to be interning with their senior analyst on Middle East policy.

I am so thrilled I can not wait to start this summer. It is going to be such a wonderful experience. When I got the call offering me the internship, I was so excited that I sounded like a complete moron on the phone. I thouroughly confused the poor lady who called to tell me about the internship. Some things never change! Oh well...

New Orleans

This post is so horribly late and I am so deeply sorry for that!

As I'm sure many of you know, I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans over Christmas break. I left for the trip terribly excited, but also with a some anxiety. I was not sure what to expect when I arrived in the city. I had heard horror stories about the devestation still in that city but I had also heard stories of great hope about the rebuilding that was occuring.

So, very excited and a little apprhensive, I began the 16 hour drive to New Orleans with 25 other students in RUF. When we finally arrived in New Orleans, it was pouring rain and the city was a little flooded. Welcome to New Orleans. It was very scary for me to arrive in the city in that way. Afterwards talking to some of the people we were with over the week and who have been living in NOLA for a year, they said it was the most rain they had seen since they have been there.

Once we all reached dry ground we settled in. The next day, Sunday, we went to church at the chruch we worked with throughout the week, Redeemer Presbyterian Church. After chuch, we went to a fellowship dinner at the pastor's house. It was so wonderful to see the love the Redeemer body has for one another. This fellowship dinner had by far the best food of any fellowship dinner I have been to. Everything was delicious - there were even traditional pot stickers, a gourmet cheese board, homemade bread, and of course King Cake! After Sunday, we enjoyed the beatuiful 70 degree weather and walked around in the city and even played some ultimate frisbee.

On Monday, we got to work. Our group was divided into teams and we each were given different projects to do throughout the week. My group scraped paint, painted shutters and houses, finished siding a shed, cleaned up a park and even got to do demolition. The most wonderful part of all this was being able to talk to the New Orleans residents and hear their stories. These people are full of so much courage and strength. They have undergone so much heartache, they have experienced so much pain, yet they have returned to this city they have loved so much. Even if it takes the rest of their lives, they are going to see it rebuilt.

On our last day in New Orleans we visited the lower 9th ward - the area hit by the initial wall of water when the leavies broke. There is not much left in the 9th ward. Some houses are being rebuilt. However, must of what we saw were just the foundations of houses that once stood there. It was so shocking. It literally brought tears to my eyes to think of all the people who lost loved ones and whose homes were swept away. Yet, even here there was hope. As we were looking at some of the foundations, two men drove by and called out their window to us "Thank you for rebuilding. Thank you Thank you"

It is amazing the work God is doing in New Orleans. The government is so corrupt and bogged down in its own bureacracy, but the churches are flourishing. People know it is the churches and their volunteer groups who are rebuilding New Orleans and they are extremely grateful. God is planting so many seeds in that area right now. It is amazing to see Him using his church to love the peopel in that city. Even though there is devestation, there is so much hope and redemption occuring in New Orleans. After being there for a week, I have to agree with Bob Dylan "There are a lot of places that I like, but I like New Orleans better."

Here are some pictures:

The Whole Group

The house where the girls stayed

My Awesome Work Group

Demolition Day

I can use a sledge hammer without killing myself!!!

I can climg a ladder without killing myself too!!!

The 9th Ward - all that is left of the house are the front steps

View of the city from the Ferry...so beautiful!

I took a walk down Bourbon Street...

World Famous Care Du Monde for Beignets...each of us ate three...yeah they are that good!