A few pics from the weekend

Mom please send more pics

Nov. 13th

Lots has been going on. I turned 28 a week ago. I always wanted to have a baby by 28, so that mission has been accomplished:) I had a wonderful birthday. Brian came home at lunch with roses and lilies (my favorites), and we went out to lunch at Chic Fil A. Brian's whole family called to wish me Happy Birthday along with my family, Carla, Ross and Liz, and Leslie. Then Erin came over and babysat so we could go out to dinner. We had dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. We were laughing b/c dessert cost more than our dinner. Thanks everyone for thinking of me! We got home and researched all the candidates so we could be informed voters.

We are happy to say we successfully voted and felt good about our choices. Hannah came along for the ride and everyone smiled at her at the voting precinct.

On Friday we took our first road trip with Hannah. We decided rather than buying a new car we would rent cars whenever we go on a long trip, since our cars are about 10 years old each. We got a $20/day car on priceline. We drove to Vienna, VA for Ross and Liz's wedding. We got our hotel on priceline too and it was great! Hannah did great! She slept the whole way there. Kathi babysat on Friday night for us. It was perfect b/c she lives about 15 minutes from where the rehearsal dinner was. She had a great time with her cousins Ella and Maryn. Sorry Kathi that she refused to take her bottle:) Meanwhile we went to Nizam's for a great Turkish meal. Franklin entertained our table with stories of Matza Blob Soup. It was great to see the Kanes and of course to participate in celebrating. We had some of the best baklava ever.

Saturday was eventful to say the least. We went over to my parents hotel to hang out. They invited a bunch of people over who live near the area. Jackie and Bob came over with Wombat. Elizabeth, my cousin who I have not seen in ages, came. Rusty brought my dad's uncle Jerome and his girlfriend Karen. Brian missed the fun b/c he went to pick up and hang out with Kevin. After all our visiting, we went to the wedding. Kevin was our babysitter:) It was really a special wedding ceremony. I appreciated the thought that went into it and Liz looked gorgeous. The reception was Great- lots of food, drinks, and dancing. We also met a lot of cool people there. Luckily our hotel was right next to the reception, so we went back and crashed. Yesterday, we went and had brunch with Kathi, Kirby, Ella, and Maryn. It was really good and great to catch up with them. Hopefully we'll be better about that in the future! Our drive back was not as smooth as the drive up b/c of the weather and some traffic, but Hannah slept the whole way back too. Over all the trip gets a perfect score.

We leave Friday for Florida. We'll be there for 10 days.

Happy Halloween

This is a very Happy Day for us. Hannah slept from 9pm-6:30am and then went back to sleep until 9:30am. Go Hannah! Her newest thing is staring at her hand. I can only imagine that she is thinking to herself "What is this thing?" Yesterday I looked over at her and she had found her thumb. Grandma and Grandpa and Gramzy and Popsy came to visit this past week. We had a lot of fun with all of them. We topped off the week with a trip to audition for Wheel of Fortune (we did not get called up) and Florida beating Georgia in football. Go GATORS! This Halloween I have decided to pick up the first Harry Potter again. I forgot how great that book is.

Hannah and other things

Well, we have not posted pictures for a while or given an update. I am sure no one really notices besides my mom, but never the less- here is an update. We are getting back in the swing of things since Hannah has been born. I finished some more books- The Color of Water and a couple more No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. A possible day for us looks like this:

7-8am- wake up and feed Hannah
sometimes we go back to sleep if not, Hannah plays on her "gym" while I do my Bible Study w/ a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee
next Hannah usually falls asleep and I check email, pay bills, etc.
around 10 Hannah eats again
we play some and then Hannah hangs out in her bouncer or enjoys her mobile while I do laundry or chores, if she is fussy she goes in her swing
then we await the call to see if Brain aka Dad will be coming home for lunch
Hannah gets fed again and we enjoy having lunch with Dad
In the afternoon any one of the following can happen:
a trip to the grocery store or Target
a nap
a walk around the neighborhood
Hannah eats a bunch more
more chores or errands
write Thank you notes
rock and read books
listen to music
At 4:00 we usually watch Oprah and Hannah sleeps at some point during the afternoon
Most of the time our walk around the neighborhood is after Oprah
Then we wait for dad to come home and start getting dinner ready
I usually call a bunch of people while making dinner
We turn on jeopardy and usually get sucked in to watching the daily reality TV show (Wife Swap, The Bachelor, The Bigger Loser, the Amazing Race) The only one I watch on purpose is the Amazing Race.
We all hang out and then at about 9pm Hannah has to eat a ton and starts to get fussy.
It is a guessing game as to when she will go to sleep. But thankfully it has been before 1:00am for a while now. And she sleeps any where from 6 and a half hours to 8 and a half- YEAH!

Okay I am tired- hopefully I'll be better about the blog.

Hannah is 7 wks old

Her e are some pictures of Hannah at 7 weeks old. The cute lamb is from Paige Russo, a friend from High School.

More of Hannah

Here's a few video clips of Hannah taken over the past couple of weeks (4 to 5 weeks old):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV-GXyyW3rU

Hannah Videos

Here's some more videos of Hannah. The first one was taken monday morning. Hannah turned three weeks old on Sunday morning, so in this video she's 3 weeks and 1 day old.

(NOTE: All videos can be downloaded directly from my computer by going to my FTP site. When you download it from me, you'll get a very large file in MPEG2 format, which is DVD-quality. Your player needs to support wide-aspect, 16x9 video. Most players do. Also, if your web browser won't play the videos on the blog, you can go directly to YouTube and view it there by clicking the link beneath each video.)

Hannah Three Weeks Old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol8ZZDCcSH8

This next video is of Mary and I taking a trip to the mall on labor day. This was Hannah's debut experience with the general public, and I think she handled it with poise and dignity. Also, this was a big deal for Mary, who has barely left the house in 3 weeks.

Hannah Mall Trip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWlV7YG3uw

Allison's business

Brian's sister, Allison, just opened her own business. She designed our birth announcements which came out super cute. Here it is:



Her is a link to her website:
www.sweetwelcome.com

The Kite Runner and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency x2

Who says you can't read a book after you just had a baby... what else are you suppose to do if you can't walk around?? Especially now that they have those nifty breastfeeding pillows- just prop your baby on the pillow and you have both hands to read a book. Is it possible to feed your baby too much?

I just finished: The Kite Runner
http://www.amazon.com/-Kite-Runner/dp/1594480001/sr=8-1/qid=1156882077/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8

and the first two books in this series

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
http://www.amazon.com/-No-1-Ladies-Detective/dp/1400034779/sr=1-1/qid=1156882161/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Giraffe-Ladies-Detective-Agency-Paperback/dp/1400031354/sr=8-1/qid=1157382486/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8184958-1487865?ie=UTF8&s=books

I enjoyed all of these books particularly for their cultural aspect. The Kite Runner is the story on two boys growing up in Afghanistan. Just a few comments. I definitely cried while reading this book. At first I was not sure if the book was fiction or not, but it became evident it was fiction... since too many things come together in the book. I don't know anything about Afghanistan (except a few blurbs I pick up from the news), so I feel a little more educated being transported into the world of these characters. Living in our house in America, it was a good reminder of the war going on in all parts of the world. Our lives are not as safe as we believe and anything could happen to change the course of history. I like being reminded of this through this book rather the watching the news. I get depressed after watching the news because they rarely offer any hope, and I am left with a sense of fear and despair. In this book, there is a glimpse of hope though it is slight, and I feel like in the midst of pain and suffering- healing and progress is possible.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is about a Lady Detective in Botswana. I started reading this book right before I had Hannah. I read a few chapters and did not get back to it until after she was born. I could hardly put the book down and hurried to the library (one of my only outings) to get the second book. I love the main character Precious and her simple yet profound statements. One in particular is a conversation she has with her assistant about whether it is wrong to lie to a bad person or for a good cause. I have often wondered this ever since reading about the honorable Rahab in the Bible. What is she praised for? Lying! Just one quote from the book, "Well, Dr. Ranta... I think that you are a man who has lied to a lot of people, particularly to women. Now something has happened which you may not have had happen to you before. A woman has lied to you and you have fallen for it entirely. You will not like that, but maybe it will teach you what it is like to be manipulated." I enjoy reading about Precious's life, thoughts, and her detective cases. I also enjoy hearing about Botswana and Africa.

I recommend reading all of these books.

Hannah slept six hours!!

This deserves its own post. Hannah slept from 1-7am last night giving mom a much needed break after the night before. Today we are going to try to take a family outing to the mall. We'll see how things work out.

Hannah - 2 Weeks Old

Here's a few videos of Hannah, who turned 2 weeks old on Sunday:

Part 1:


Part 2:

Hannah is here!

We'll I have yet to get anything up about our latest change- HANNAH. Mainly because things have been a whirlwind.


For those of you who are interested in her birth:
On Saturday night, August 12th Brian and I went for pizza with my cousin Ross and his fiance Liz at Satisfactions in downtown Durham. I felt slightly weird at dinner and had a little back pain. At dinner I announced that I felt like I was going to have the baby that night. Of course I had been saying that every night, so Brian did not really believe me. We came home and did our normal lounging around the house. I was really tired at about 11:30 and got in bed to rest. I played Hannah some baby Einstein CDs which was our nightly custom for a little while. Brian came up at 12:30 to go to sleep. I had a sharp pain in my stomach and went to use the bathroom. It appeared that my water had broken, but not really knowing what to expect- I was not sure. I called Caron, the midwife on call and told her I thought that my water had broken. It became evident as we were on the phone that it did indeed break. She replied that my labor would probably be a long event and I should try to remain at home as long as possible. She advised us to go to sleep and call her at 8:00am. She asked me what my birth plan was... of course I was thinking- Ummm, well it's 1:00am I can't remember what my birth plan was. Who do you call for support at 1am. Brian and I got ourselves together. He put everything in the car and called our parents. Then we prayed together and tried to get some sleep. I laid down for a total of maybe 10 minutes and that was about all I could handle as I was in a great deal of pain. We went downstairs and I tried to sleep in the Lazyboy recliner. Eventually, I realized I was having contractions, and we started keeping track of them. They were consistently 1 minute long and six minutes apart. I called Caron again around 2:30. She said I could come to the hospital any time I felt I needed to, but that my labor could be really long and I should try to stay home as long as possible if I wanted to deliver the baby naturally. At 3:00 am I was in a lot of pain and decided to call my mom. In the middle of the conversation I threw the phone to Brian and made him talk to her. As he tried to use all the nifty soothing techniques we learn in our childbirth class I started screaming "Don't touch me" "Don't talk to me"-- poor guy. By 3:30 I was screaming through my contractions. This was pretty embarrassing because we thought I was in early labor. I was convinced I would need an epidural. At this time I screamed to go to the hospital. I tried to keep control of myself on the drive to the hospital and we made it there by 4:00am. Brian got a wheelchair and wheeled me into the lobby. I then let out another scream and two guards come running to us. Someone had delivered a baby in the lobby the week before so they rushed us through all the security doors. I made it to the examination room. I could not even put on my robe before I fell down in pain. All the nurses started taking bets as to how far along I was. Caron came in and managed to get me on the table to examine me. She announced I was 10 cm dilated and ready to start pushing. It took about an hour of pushing to get Hannah out, and she was born at 5:18am. I had to have an episiotomy(sp?) and then got a fourth degree tear (I thought the highest tear was a third degree). They had to call in a doctor to stitch me up- which took an hour and a half, so I could not see Hannah right away. Meanwhile, Brian had a whirlwind experience. At one point he had to leave my side to go pray because he was worried about me and Hannah. One plus about having a baby at 5:00 am is that there was plenty of staff to assist me. Only one other person was in Labor and Delivery at the time. It was an answer to prayer that she was born when she was (thanks for all you who were praying she would be born before Monday- especially Carla who I gave such a hard time to) otherwise I would have had to have a series of ultrasounds and be induced. She came out 7lbs. 9ozs. 20 inches long. We loved the UNC Hospital and would definitely deliver there again. I have had a slow recovery (I have just started to feel like I can walk okay and I have not really left the house), but I can't complain because Hannah is healthy and a great source of joy for our family. Brian has been home this week and last week- he goes back to work on Monday. It has been two of the greatest weeks of our lives.

August 11- Still no Hannah

Please come before I have to be induced!

August 10- Still no Hannah

We'll it is August 10th- 4 days past my due date and Hannah has still not made her entrance into the world. They scheduled me for an induction on August 17th at 8:00am. I hope I don't go that long!!!

This morning I had breakfast with Irene Brinkman from Jacksonville. It was great to see a familiar face from Jacksonville and keep me distracted from the fact that I still have not had the baby. I get like 10 calls a day wondering if it has happened yet:) We'll keep posting.

Sigrid Undset's Kristin's Lavransdatter

Sorry I love quotes and find it hard to cut them down. (Spoiler included in this post)

A quote by Sigrid Undset who converted to Catholicism:

"By degrees my knowledge of history convinced me that the only thoroughly sane people, of our civilization at least, seemed to be those queer men and women the Catholic Church calls Saints. They seemed to know the true explanation of man's undying hunger for happiness - his tragically insufficient love of peace, justice, and goodwill to his fellow men, his everlasting fall from grace. Now it occurred to me that there might possibly be some truth in the original Christianity.

"But if you desire to know the truth about anything, you always run the risk of finding it. And in a way we do not want to find the Truth - we prefer to seek and keep our illusions. But I had ventured too near the abode of truth in my researches about 'God's friends,' as the Saints are called in the Old Norse texts of Catholic times. So I had to submit. And on the first of November, 1924, I was received into the Catholic Church."

Brian and I want to make a habit of reflecting on the books we read rather than just moving on to the next book or event in our life. Although the task is often difficult to start, I always find it rewarding for both my mind and soul. As I am a little rusty in this area, I figured that something is better than nothing. We'll see who gets their post up first as Brian just finished an Isaac Asimov book.

Kristin Lavransdatter was written by Sigrid Undset, and I would put it in the historical fiction category. It was finished in 1922 and takes place in 14th Century Norway.

First, I read this book twice- once in the older translation and once in the new. During my first reading of the book I was enthralled with the passionate love story between Kristin and Erlend. I was reading as fast as I could to find out what would happen to these characters. I have to admit I often skipped chucks of the book because I wanted to know how things turned out. I actually almost stopped reading the book after Erlend's death because I wondered what else could possibly be as exciting. Also, the older translation of the book was sometimes hard to read, especially when trying to decipher the political views and leaders of the time. I read that the newer translation was easier to read and truer to the original. After reading both translations, I think the newer translation is definitely better. I was able to follow the political events as well as other characters when reading this translation. Granted I had the benefit of having read the book through once, but I still think the newer translation is a better read. Plus you can get the newer copy on Amazon.com for only $16.00!

So how do you start to evaluate and reflect on a 1,100 page book??? Well obviously I can't look into every aspect of the book- especially on a blog! Some interesting comparisons might be Fru Aashild and Kristin Lavransdatter also Ragnfrid; Erlend and Simon; ancient superstitions and folklore vs. Catholicism, etc... I could also explore how Undset uses nature in her novel. You could write a paper on each of these topics. I think what I would rather explore though is the reality of life (or sin) as portrayed in this novel.

I will never forget a talk I heard my freshman year of college. A pastor named Tom Nelson gave a talk on marriage. He basically said that marriage is a sinner marrying a sinner giving birth to sin. He went on to talk about the difficulties that occur in marriage and why girls who have grown up their whole lives waiting for prince charming and thinking that marriage is a fairy tale- need to stop thinking this way (well at least that is what I took away from the talk). This was honestly the first time I ever heard this before. Also in our marriage counseling, Pastor Rick Bourque stated that it was his job during our times together to convince us of how incredibly difficult marriage was so that when we actually were married we would think it wasn't "that bad."

I think Undset is trying to express a similar idea in her book. Kristin and Erlend have an intriguing, passionate romance that blinds them from their sin and the obstacles standing in the way of their perfect life in the garden lasting no more than basically one night.

It was late at night, and the bonfires were mere mounds of glowing embers that grew dimmer and dimmer. Kristin and Erlend stood hand in hand beneath the trees by the garden fence... A remnant of the day's hot, spicy scent wafted toward them, muted and damp with the coolness of the dew. The night was quite dark, the sky hazy gray with clouds above the treetops... Erlend pressed the maiden to him once and asked in a whisper, "You're not afraid, are you Kristin?" Suddenly she vaguely remembered the world outside this night- it was madness. But she was so blissfully robbed of all power. She leaned closer to the man and whispered faintly; she didn't know herself what she said. They reached the end of the path; there was a stone fence along the edge of the woods. Erlend helped her up. As she was about to jump down to the other side, he caught her and held her in his arms for a moment before he set her down in the grass. She stood there with her face raised and received his kiss. He placed his hands at her temples. She thought it so wonderful to feel his fingers sinking into her hair, and then she put her hands up to his face and tried to kiss him the way he had kissed her... He pulled her down into the grass under the bushes; they sat with their backs against the stone fence. Kristin said not a word, but when he stopped caressing her, she raised her hand and touched his face. After a moment Erlend asked, "Are you tired, dear Kristin?" And when she leaned against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Sleep, Kristin, sleep here with me." She slipped deeper and deeper to the darkness and the warmth and the joy at his chest.

This is the perfect night for Erlend and Kristin, and they end it with a pledge to never take another in their arms again. Sounds so romantic, yet there is more to the story. Kristin is living in a convent and is pledged to marry another man, Simon Andresson, while Erlend has quite a past and two bastard children with another man's wife- further this woman is still alive and wants to marry Erlend when her husband dies- and even further, he has promised he would! Yet when reading about this night all I want to do is believe that it is possible for them to live happily ever after- forever. Unfortunately, that is not how life works. If Kristin had been one of my friends I would surely agree with Ingebjorg and counsel- "You ought to be a little more careful about that young man, Kristin. Do you think Simon Andresson would like it if you befriended him?"

But the damage is done, and Kristin will never turn back. Once married the reality of life and the consequences of their sin start to make themselves at home in their lives.

Now she once again sat alone with Erlend in the evenings, and there was not much companionship in him. He would sit over by the hearth, say a few words now and then, take a drink from the ale bowl, and play with his dogs. He would go over to the bench and stretch out- asking a couple of times whether she was coming soon, and then he'd fall asleep... Now that Erlend was asleep she no longer tried to hold back her tears. There was not a sound in the hall except the firewood collapsing in the hearth and the dogs stirring. Sometimes she wondered what they had talked about before, she and Erlend. But then they hadn't talked much- they had had other things to do in those brief stolen hours together.

This all happens of course after he had proclaimed in the garden, "You I could never hurt. Don't ever weep a single tear for my sake. I never thought a maiden could be as good as you are, my Kristin..."

And Kristin doesn't turn out to be as good as Erlend thought on this night.

Erlend was greatly annoyed that his wife refused to accompany him anywhere... And by constantly sitting indoors, brooding and worrying over his misdeeds, she had grown weary and pale. It was during Christmas season that fierce quarrels erupted between them. But this time Erlend didn't come and apologize for his bad temper, as he had in the past. Until now, whenever they had disagreements, he had always believed that he was to blame. Kristin was good, she was always right; if he felt uncomfortable and bored at home, then it must be because it was his nature to grow weary of what was good and right if he had too much of it. But this summer he had noticed more than once that his father-in-law had sided with him and seemed to think Kristin was lacking in wifely gentleness and tolerance. It occurred to him that she was overly sensitive about petty matters and reluctant to forgive him for minor offenses which he had committed with no ill intent. He would always beg her forgiveness after taking time to reflect, and she would say that she forgave him. But afterwards he could she that it was simply stored away, not forgotten.

Erlend and Kristin's relationship is a sinner marrying a sinner giving birth to sin (8 sons to be exact). Towards the end of the book, Kristin acknowledges, "She felt now as if he had worn her out. She had neither the youth nor the courage to live with him any longer, and she would probably never grow so old that Erlend couldn't play with her heart. Not young enough to have the strength to live with him; not old enough to have patience with him. She had become a miserable woman; no doubt that was what she had always been. Simon was right."

And it is not only in this relationship that Undset portrays the reality of the fall, but in many other disappointments, deaths, murders, betrayals, separations, imprisonments, etc. in the novel. Simon wishes he would have been more prepared for this aspect of life when he reflects, "It was too bad their father hadn't given them advice on how to forget as well- when the friendship was broken and the honor dead and the faithfulness a sin and a secret, disgraceful torment, and there was nothing left of the bond but the bleeding wound that would never heal."

Also as Kristin reflects on her life in The Cross, “Then it occurred to Kristin Lavransdatter in a new way that the interpreters of God’s words were right. Life on this earth was irredeemably tainted by strife; in this world, wherever people mingled, producing new descendants, allowing themselves to be drawn together by physical love and loving their own flesh, sorrows of the heart and broken expectations were bound to occur as surely as the frost appears in the autumn. Both life and death would separate friends in the end, as surely as the winter separates the tree from its leaves.”

So from these quotes, I conclude that the life of Kristin Lavransdatter is pretty complicated and messed up, yet not with out joy. Kristin definitely had some “garden” moments in the book, and there is a final redemption for her at the end of the book…

It seemed to her a mystery that she could not comprehend, but she was certain that God had held her firmly in a pact which had been made for her, without her knowing it, from a love that had been poured over her- and in spite of her willfulness, in spite of her melancholy, earthbound heart, some of that love had stayed inside her, had worked on her like sun on the earth, had driven forth a crop that neither the fiercest fire of passion nor its stormiest anger could completely destroy. She had been a servant of God- a stubborn, defiant maid, most often an eye-servant in her prayers and unfaithful in her heart, indolent and neglectful, impatient toward admonishments, inconstant in her deeds. And yet He had held her firmly in His service…”

May God hold us firmly in His service in the midst of this fallen world!

Jenny and Carla visit #2

pregnant Mary in front of the house

Jenny, Mary, and Carla at Spanky's in Chapel Hill
Brian and Mary at Spanky's
Mary and Jenny at Duke Gardens
Mary at Duke Gardens
Carla and Jenny at Duke

Mary and Jenny at Duke

Carla stops to smell the lilies!

Jenny and Carla's visit June 9-13th

Carla, Mary and Jenny at Mary's baby shower

Happy Birthday Jenny!!!!

Pregnant Mary at Duke Gardens

Jenny and Carla at Rudino's right before Brian locked Jenny out of the car. See Jenny's June 21st post for more details... http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=jennyzichi

Aunt Anne, Jenny, and mom at Mary's baby shower.

Preparing for Hannah

On Wednesday we took a tour of the University of North Carolina hospital. It is really nice!!! There is even a little bed for Brian to sleep in. I have been going to the UNC Midwives http://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/about_us_midw.html , and so far they have been GREAT! Hannah's due date is August 6th, so we will see what happens. I have a list of things to put together for the hospital, so I should do that some time soon.

After much thought and discussion we chose the name Hannah. It sounds sweet, is in the Bible, and means "grace of god". I am sure that we will be able to be good parents only by the grace of God, so that is fitting. Her middle name was going to be Sophia- wisdom in Greek (actually I wanted that to be her first name, but Brian thinks it sounds spanish), but we decided on Jo after Brian's grandmother. His grandmother is such a wonderful woman and helped raised Brian when he was growing up. We wanted to honor her, and we also hope some of Grandma's wonderful qualities will develop in Hannah.

But just to clarify, we are calling her Hannah. Hannah Jo is entirely too southern, and we don't want that:)

The prayer of Hannah in the Bible

And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. "There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and on them he has set the world.

"He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed."

More Personification -- The Universe is Saying Something

Is the universe silent? Does it hold its tongue, keeping the secret of its existence locked up forever? Does it torment us with its eternal empty stare, or does it laugh at us when we shout back, longing for answers when none are given?

A quote from one of my favorite Psalms:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

(Psalm 19:1-4)

Here is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful personifications in all of the Bible. It's not unlike the quote from my last post (Job 38) where the starry host is depicted as singing for joy at the creation of the world.

In this Psalm, the heavens are certainly not silent. They are communicating something, and they are communicating in such a way, says the Psalmist, that everyone on the earth can clearly understand what they are saying. It doesn't matter what language we speak, we can hear what the universe is telling us. This communication is persistent -- it is "day to day" and "night after night". The universe is relentlessly telling us something.

What is it telling us?

Simple. It's telling us that whoever made it is really, really cool. It's proclaiming His glory. It's shouting out, with every breath, the amazing nature of God.

Like C.S. Lewis discovered when he read "Phantastes", the universe is alive, and it is not silent.

Paul certainly thought so. In Romans he mentions this at least twice. In chapter 1, he says that the godless are "without excuse" because they "suppress the truth ... since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them."

In Romans 10, he quotes the Psalm above:

But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

(Romans 10:18)

In this passage, Paul argues from Psalm 19, that all the world has heard the message of the universe. There is no one that has failed to hear the witness of the universe.

Another of the most beautiful personifications in the Bible is spoken by Jesus, in Luke 19. In this passage, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, riding a donkey, as the crowds begin to gather around him and worship him.

As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

(Luke 19:36-40)

This is very powerful imagery, and somehow it resonates with me deeply. As I read it, I can imagine all of the universe just quivering with excitement that God's plan of redemption is unfolding as Jesus rides to Jerusalem. What God asks of the stones seems too much -- he asks them to hold their peace, to refrain from shouting out in their exuberant joy. It seems an impossible task, because the stones, along with the rest of creation, are panting for redemption. If the people don't praise Jesus, they won't be able to take it anymore. They must cry out -- someone has to! It is too precious a thing to be taken for granted. It must be known and proclaimed.

The scientist among us scowls at these remarks. "That's just poetic language. It's not really true," he says. Ah, but Jesus is speaking about a truth that is deeper than science. This truth is beyond literal fact; it is soul-truth.

In Romans 8, Paul crystallizes this idea, and takes it a few steps further:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

(Romans 8:18-23)

Here, the personification works in the reverse. Modern readers might prefer the passage to read the other way around: "We wait eagerly for our redemption, and the universe also waits for its redemption." If we were simply projecting our experience onto the world around us, we should expect the passage to read that way. But, no, the passage is reversed: "The universe has been waiting for its redemption, and so are we."

I don't think this ordering is an accident. Paul's personification is more than a literary device; it's a truth in its own right. The universe was waiting for its redemption long before we started waiting for ours. This is no projection of our experience onto the universe. Rather, it is we who relate to the universe's experience!

The universe is really longing; the stones really want to shout their joy; and the heavens are really declaring the glory of God. This is Biblical personification, and I think it's hitting on something more real and more true than anything the language of literalism can describe.

Thoughts on Personification

Can you find all the personifications in the following text?

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone -- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'"

(Job 38:1-11)

Ever since I read "Surprised by Joy" (C.S. Lewis) last year, I've been fascinated by the device of personification.

In high school English class, we all learned that personification is a "literary device" whereby the author attributes human qualities to something inanimate or non-human.

For example: "The clouds breathed a sigh of relief after the heavy rain." The personification, in this case, gives the clouds a personality -- it brings us beyond the objective fact (i.e. the clouds no longer hold the density of water that they previously did) and into a world where clouds have thoughts and feelings. The personification helps us visualize the clouds reacting the way we might react in a similar situation. That is, if we were clouds, we might feel happy after a heavy rain. We can all relate, of course. When my bladder is full, I'm quite relieved and happy to empty it.

As a literary device, personification can be very, very effective. And I can't help but wonder -- why? Why do we, as human beings, feel the need to project our own experience of the world onto our surroundings? Does it help us make sense out of it all?

(If I were a psychologist, by the way, I think it would be an interesting study to undertake. What areas of the brain are stimulated by personification? What other experiences stimulate those same areas? My hypothesis is that it would stimulate the same pleasure centers that are active when someone figures out a puzzle, makes a connection, or otherwise makes sense out of something that didn't make sense beforehand. The brain loves to understand and make sense out of the world, and it has a tendency to "reward" itself when a connection is made.)

It's a deceptively complex question. Why do we find it pleasurable and sensible to project human qualities onto the world around us?

My simple answer: Personification is much, much more than a mere literary device. It's something that corresponds deeply to the way we understand the world. Personification happens in our deepest parts, in our souls. There's a "truth" in personification that runs against the stream of scientism in our society. In fact, the personification is often much more true than the counterpart scientific statement.

For example, which of the following statements is more true?
(a) The sea is calm tonight.
(b) The tidal waves are 30% smaller tonight than the average of historical measurements.
(check one)

Our society has sold us a lie. What lie? The lie that everything boils down to matter and energy. After all, that's what Einstein's general relativity tells us, right? Anybody remember "e = mc^2" from physics class?) EVERYTHING is essentially particles and energy. That includes the sun, the moon, the grass, you, me, everything. We are little more than walking solar systems -- my body is a big collection of cells in orbit, interacting with each other in complex ways to give the illusion of meaning and intelligence.

Why do we rebel? Why do we insist on drawing connections between the conscious and the unconscious? Why do we refuse to live in a world that is governed strictly by physical interactions?

Surprisingly, this very question enraptured C.S. Lewis. In fact, it was one of the strongest factors in his conversion to Christianity. (To understand fully, you would have to read "Surprised by Joy".) Lewis was drawn to fantasy literature -- mythology, fairy stories, Norse folk-legends. One day he picked up a book called "Phantastes" by George MacDonald. Later, he wrote this:

It must be more than thirty years ago that I bought... Phantastes. A few hours later I knew that I had crossed a great frontier. I had already been waist deep in Romanticism, and likely enough, at any moment, to flounder into its darker and more evil forms, slithering down the steep descent that leads from the love of strangeness to that of eccentricity and thence to that of perversity... What it actually did to me was to convert, even to baptise (that was where the Death came in) my imagination. It did nothing to my intellect nor (at that time) to my conscience... the quality which had enchanted me in his imaginative works turned out to be the quality of the real universe, the divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic reality in which we all live."

(foreword by C. S. Lewis to Lilith by George MacDonald)

C.S.Lewis had found a secret. The universe is alive.

He had finally discovered what he always knew to be true. His intellect and his education had protected him from the truth. For him, the truth had been shrouded in a cloak of modernism and scientism.

No, the "real universe" is a "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic reality in which we all live". The universe of scientism is a false universe. The "real universe" is one in which personification makes perfect sense to us. Even when our intellects fail us, our souls know the truth. That's why personification is found throughout our literature, and, indeed, throughout everything that we do. We not only write in personification; we think, communicate, and reason using this same device.

Personification is more than mere "projection". In some sense, we are not "projecting" anything. We are describing the world as it really is, with at least as much truthfulness as science could ever hope to communicate.

Currently Reading-Kristin Lavransdatter

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143039164/104-0611184-6642350?n=283155

Upon the happy occasion of our marriage, our good friends at Eastside Community Church threw us a book shower. At the shower Sandra Hendricks gave me the older translation of Kristin's Lavransdatter which has been sitting on our bookshelf for two years now. After finishing reading the older translation of the book last month, I checked out the newer translation of the book from the library- which is a little easier to read and is suppose to be truer to the original text.

In preparation to giving birth next month, I am including an excerpt from the book- which I would strongly recommend reading. I hope my labor goes a little better than hers:)

"One of you must come and hold her,' she said, weeping. "We have no more strength. You must go to her, Gunnulf. There's no telling how this will end." Gunnulf stood up and tucked his prayer book inside his belt pouch. "You must come too, Erlend," said the woman.

A raw and broken howl met him in the doorway. Erlend stopped and shivered. He caught a glimpse of Kristin's contorted , unrecognizable face among the sobbing women. She was on her knees, and they were supporting her. Over by the door several servant women were kneeling at the benches; they were praying loudly and steadily. He threw himself down next to them and his his head in his arms. She screamed and screamed, and each time he felt himself freeze with incredulous horror. It couldn't possibly be like this.

He ventured to glance in her direction. Now Gunnulf was sitting on a stool in front of her and holding her under the arms. Fru Gunna was kneeling at her side, with her arms around Kristin's waist, but Kristin was fighting her, frightened to death, and trying to push the other woman away.

"Oh no, oh no, let me go- I can't do it- God, God help me..."...

Then, after a long, mad howl of terror, everything fell silent. Erlend heard the women rushing around; he didn't want to look up. Then he heard someone weeping loudly and he cringed again, not wanting to know.

Then Kristin shrieked once more- a piercing, wild cry of lament that didn't sound like the insane, inhuman animal cries of before. Erlend leaped up.

Gunnulf was bending down and holding on to Kristin, who was still on her knees. She was staring with deathly horror at something Fru Gunna was holding in a sheepskin. The raw and dark red shape looked like nothing more than the entrails from a slaughtered beast.

The priest pulled her close.

"Dear Kristin- you have given birth to as fine and handsome a son as any mother should thank God for- and he's breathing!"

Blueberry Picking

Mary and Erin picking blueberries- five minutes from our house!! Can't get any better than that.

Danielle and Don visit

We had a wonderful time with Danielle and Don this weekend. Julia is the cutest thing in the entire world. We went to Duke Gardens/chapel, Mapel View Farms, Fuddruckers, Ruth's Chris (yum) with Danielle's parents, walked around our lake, hung out, and BBQed. What a fun weekend! Now we are off to Waynesville for a short visit with Mary's parents.