Jessica Snell's Blog, page 57

Weekly Scripture Reflections

These are my notes on the week's readings. I'm posting them here just because I realized I wanted to start keeping track of my notes! And I'd to hear your insights from your weekly devotions, too!


Luke 22:
-in this gospel, the argument about who will be greatest comes right after the argument about who will betray Jesus. Were they talking about both at the same time? Did talking about who was going to be the awfullest disciple prompt boasting about who was the best?

That sounds very, very terrible . . . but very, very human at the same time.

-when the disciples could not stay awake with Jesus in Gethsemane . . . it says they slept for sorrow. Somehow I had never noticed that detail before.

-after the angel strengthened Jesus, He prayed more. Was that what he needed strength for? The prayer? If so, then so must we . . .

Psalm 101:
-"I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked-doers from the city of the LORD."  Doesn't that sound like a clarion call to early morning prayer and confession?

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Weekend Links: What Happened to Susan Pevensie? and more

"A Plea to Narnia Fans":

With Lewis 50 years in the grave this week, we can't pull off the Woody Allen-Marshall McLuhan "You know nothing of my work" routine, but we can do the next best thing. You see, children in the 1950s and 1960s read The Last Battle and were concerned about Queen Susan's absence. They wrote directly to professor Lewis and he wrote them back.

"Neville Longbottom is the Most Important Person in Harry Potter—And Here’s Why":

Harry and company need Neville in the exact way that James and Lily and the Order of the Phoenix needed Peter. The difference is that Neville is more than up to the task.

"Love-Inspired Contest!" - now this is cool: a giveaway involving books AND yarn. :D

And I know I'm late to the party, but I can't stop watching the "Honest Movie Trailers". Here's one from "The Notebook", but there are a lot more to be found on the Youtubes.

Knitted FO's: a new sweater (the Nevis Cardigan), and a Christmas gift

I finished a sweater that I've been working on for a looooong time: the Nevis Cardigan, by Stefanie Japel:)I used Madelinetosh Lace in Spectrum (a gift from my brother and sister-in-law) and I love how floaty and airy the result is. It's the perfect sweater for fall: light-but-warm. And it's long and colorful and full of the jewel-tones I love. If you can forgive my very tired and makeup-less face, here's a full body shot of the sweater, graciously taken by my nine-year-old: On top of that, I finished a few smaller things: the doll dresses I talked about in this post, and to go along with it, a sweater for my son's favorite teddy bear (can't leave the boys out of our crafting plans, right?): I'm excited about giving the kids these little labors of love at Christmastime!
Peace of Christ to you,Jessica Snell
(Ravelry links to my project notes can be found here and here.)

Green Smoothies are a Bad Idea

But if you simply must drink one, I've figured out a way to make it less painful: add frozen mango.

It turns out that frozen mango is a strong enough flavor that its tartness mitigates a lot of the dry green flavor from the spinach. Adding some plain yogurt increases the masking effect.

And if you're going to go healthy, you might as well go whole-hog and add in some ground flaxseed.

So here it is: a recipe for a ridiculously healthy green smoothie that's almost enjoyable. I give you: The Ridiculously Healthy Smoothie:

The Ridiculously Healthy Smoothie
Ingredients:
-1 cup frozen spinach
-1 generous cup frozen mango
-2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
-1 cup plain yogurt
-1 cup milk
Directions:
Blend and enjoy! Or, at least, try to. :)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Weekend Links

-"Loki Have I Loved, But Thor Have I Hated":

I’ve settled on an alternate way to interpret Loki’s character. I’ve decided that Loki’s genius is that none of it is illusion. It’s all real. His disdain for Thor, real. His love for Thor, real. His desperate need for Odin’s approval, real. His disregard for his father, real. His self-sacrifice, real. His self-serving nature, real. His arrogance, his bravado, his penitence, his pain, it’s all real. Loki is the ultimate trickster because he believes every one of his own illusions. He’s not deceiving others so much as he lets his heart deceive himself. Loki’s the most complex character I’ve ever seen in a superhero film (although Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man ranks an exceedingly close second).

"Gospel-Centered Sex?":

So what am I saying? Men need to do better? If they want more sex, here’s the formula? I bet a lot of men would like a formula—10 ways to serve your wife that will make her want to give you more sex. I could write that book and I bet it would be a best seller. I could call it The Proverbs 32 Man. But it would not be the gospel, or the solution to an unhealthy sex life. It would be a list of requirements that he could not fulfill or a manipulative formula that feeds selfishness. It would be just as unproductive as commanding a wife to go home, get over herself, and give her husband more sex.

"Breakfast on the Beach":

Was Peter tempted, after his spectacular denial of Christ recorded in all four gospels, to hide under a rock? To say, “No, I can’t.” Can’t go back. Can’t face the Church, with its knowing eyes and long memory? He must have been. Yet his love for his fellow disciples was strong enough that when all was lost, he climbed back in the boat with them to do what they knew best. And his love for Jesus was strong enough that just a glimpse of the Lord across misty dawn waters and the shadow of a miserable night made him forget all that had gone before. All the failure, all the shame. This devastating love of Peter’s is the foundation of the Church.

"A Bittersweet Adoption Story":

Less than two months after Alice’s arrival, Katie gave birth to our son Edmund. It was a traumatic delivery where Katie, again, hemorrhaged and nearly died. I got yet another two weeks paid leave for Edmund’s birth, and we needed it. He was colicky and not sleeping well. Katie was weak and sick. And, with Edmund’s arrival, we now had four children ages two and under. We were barely able to stay afloat with laundry, meals, and sleep. 

"Explaining Silence":

It wasn’t shame or fear or guilt or grief that kept my mouth shut most days. The people in my life I most wanted to tell – my parents, my brother – would have to grieve if I told them. They’d have to go through a version of what I did, because family is connected. I might be able to find peace with not being a mother (and I genuinely did, years later), but I wasn’t willing to foist that process upon someone else. 

Noah Lukeman on plot and reading

I just came across these scribbled-down quotations in an old notebook and thought them worth sharing:

Plot, more than anything, is the enemy of stasis. Plot demands people dying and being born; getting married and divorced; saving lives and murdering. Something - no matter how small - must change. It is your job to create instability, and then, perhaps, to set it right. - The Plot Thickens, by Noah Lukeman, pg. 211.

The more stories we hear, experiences we have, the more we fill in our own books; this is partly why we crave hearing others' stories, reading books, or watching films at all. We are, in one sense, learning how to live. -ibid, pg. 189.

I love that last observation: that we read stories to learn how to live.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

Almost Regency: a Speculative Fiction Lover’s Guide

So, it's pretty well-documented in my book reviews that my biggest literary loves are two: romances, and speculative fiction.

I know the two genres don't always appeal to the same cross-section of readers, but I thought it'd be fun to make a list for those of you like me, who have a love of both – or for those of you whose curiosity might be piqued by the idea of courtly love . . . in space!

So, let me introduce you to a few novels that blend the comedy of manners with imaginative vistas of other worlds.

(Note: none of these books are explicitly Christian, and may contain material offensive to some readers. I personally think the good stuff in them still makes them well worth reading, but parents, give them a look over before handing them off to teenagers.)

-My favorite book dedication of all time comes at the front of Lois McMaster Bujold’s “A Civil Campaign” and reads: “For Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy: Long may they rule”. The luminaries mentioned are, of course, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Georgette Heyer, and Dorothy Sayers, and this intelligent and hilarious tale of courtship in a high-tech world is worthy of those great mistresses of the comedy of manners. 

-The Liaden books written by the husband and wife team of Steve Miller and Sharon Lee feature an aristocratic society full of archaic rules of behavior . . . remind anyone of the London ton? The resemblance isn’t an accident, as the authors’ blog proves they’re fans of Georgette Heyer. Newcomers to the series should start with “Agent of Change”, wherein the high-born spy Val Con meets the mercenary Miri Robertson. This prince-meets-pauper tale should please fans of the familiar Regency romance trope of high-born noble falling for the commoner.

-Moving on to fantasy, I can't recommend Megan Whalen Turner's Thief series highly enough. Though there's no romance in the first volume, there's the fiercest of courtships in The Queen of Attolia. Wow. And the King of Attolia gives you a bit of a glimpse - through a stranger's eyes - of how that romance continued.

-And in the oldie-but-goodie category? Beauty, by Robin McKinley. If you haven't read it, go and treat yourself. McKinley was retelling fairy tales before retelling fairy tales was cool. And if you like Beauty, you should probably give her Spindle's End a try next.


Sadly, that's the end of my list of speculative fiction that gives almost-equal time to the romance. But if you want some speculative fiction that still has a strong thread of romance running through the story, let me recommend:

-Julie Czerneda. Her most famous sci-fi-and-romance pairing is probably found in To Trade the Stars, but for my money, the slow-simmering romance between biologist and spy in the Survival series is tops.

-Another Bujold: though I like Curse of Chalion for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with romance, and everything to do with my love of good theological fantasy, it does have a quiet romance (or two) lilting through its pages.


So, those are my top picks when it comes to love in the spec. fic. world. Let me know if you know of any others I should check out!

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

on Veterans' Day, a prayer for those in the armed forces

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and
keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home
and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly
grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give
them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant
them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-from the Book of Common Prayer