Saturday, January 29, 2011

A Spot o' Tea

It is Saturday morning and after a nice lie in I am up.  The dishes are washed and I am sipping a cup of tea while contemplating everything I need to get done today and how I am going to get it all done.  Yes, how.  That is the problem.  I have a game planned partially formed.

This week was amazing.  I was swamped and lived class by class but at the end of it all...I am only a tiny bit behind which is on my schedule to make up today!

Creative Writing is officially my favorite class!  I love the instruction of being taught how to write.  Soon I must begin putting it all into practice in the form of a short story : )

I am enjoying my one class with Dr. Gentry.  Yes, I love that class also.

The Super Bowl is in one week!!  Yeah!  Oh, if anyone is driving north from Columbia coming weekend, please let me know!

Well...the day has passed and while reading Ethics I thought of this story.  So, please read and enjoy!  While you are doing that...I will be watching The Sound of Music and saying "I've been there!"


The Visited Planet by J.B. Phillips

Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendours and glories of the universes by a senior and experienced angel. To tell the truth, the little angel was beginning to be tired and a little bored. He had been shown whirling galaxies and blazing suns, infinite distances in the deathly cold of inter-stellar space, and to his mind there seemed to be an awful lot of it all. Finally he was shown the galaxy of which our planetary system is but a small part. As the two of them drew near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis-ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.
"I want you to watch that one particularly," said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.
"Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me," said the little angel. "What's special about that one?"
"That," replied his senior solemnly, "is the Visited Planet."
"Visited?" said the little one. "you don't mean visited by --------?
"Indeed I do. That ball, which I have no doubt looks to you small and insignificant and not perhaps overclean, has been visited by our young Prince of Glory." And at these words he bowed his head reverently.
"But how?" queried the younger one. "Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince, with all these wonders and splendours of His Creation, and millions more that I'm sure I haven't seen yet, went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?"
"It isn't for us," said his senior a little stiffly, "to question His 'why's', except that I must point out to you that He is not impressed by size and numbers, as you seem to be. But that He really went I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that. As to why He became one of them - how else do you suppose could He visit them?"
The little angels face wrinkled in disgust.
"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?"
"I do, and I don't think He would like you to call them 'creeping, crawling creatures' in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him."
The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.
"Close your eyes for a moment," said the senior angel, "and we will go back in what they call Time."
While the little angels eyes were closed and the two of them moved nearer to the spinning ball, it stopped its spinning, spun backwards quite fast for a while, and then slowly resumed its usual rotation.
"Now look!" And as the little angel did as he was told, there appeared here and there on the dull surface of the globe little flashes of light, some merely momentary and some persisting for quite a time.
"Well, what am I seeing now?" queried the little angel.
"You are watching this little world as it was some thousands of years ago," returned his companion. "Every flash and glow of light that you see is something of the Father's knowledge and wisdom breaking into the minds and hearts of people who live upon the earth. Not many people, you see, can hear His Voice or understand what He says, even though He is speaking gently and quietly to them all the time."
"Why are they so blind and deaf and stupid?" asked the junior angel rather crossly.
"It is not for us to judge them. We who live in the Splendour have no idea what it is like to live in the dark. We hear the music and the Voice like the sound of many waters every day of over lives, but to them - well, there is much darkness and much noise and much distraction upon the earth. Only a few who are quiet and humble and wise hear His Voice. But watch, for in a moment you will see something truly wonderful."
The Earth went on turning and circling round the sun, and then quite suddenly, in the upper half of the globe, there appeared a light, tiny but so bright in its intensity that both the angels hid their eyes.
"I think I can guess," said the little angel in a low voice. "That was the Visit, wasn't it?"
"Yes, that was the Visit. The Light Himself went down there and lived among them; but in a moment, and you will be able to tell that even with your eyes closed, the light will go out."
"But why? Could He not bear their darkness and stupidity? Did He have to return here?"
"No, it wasn't that" returned the senior angel. His voice was stern and sad. "They failed to recognise Him for Who He was - or at least only a handful knew Him. For the most part they preferred their darkness to His Light, and in the end they killed Him."
"The fools, the crazy fools! They don't deserve ----"
"Neither you nor I, nor any other angel, knows why they were so foolish and so wicked. Nor can we say what they deserve or don't deserve. But the fact remains, they killed our Prince of Glory while He was Man amongst them."
"And that I suppose was the end? I see the whole Earth has gone black and dark. All right, I won't judge them, but surely that is all they could expect?"
"Wait, we are still far from the end of the story of the Visited Planet. Watch now, but be ready to cover your eyes again."
In utter blackness the earth turned round three times, and then there blazed with unbearable radiance a point of light.
"What now?" asked the little angel, shielding his eyes.
"They killed Him all right, but He conquered death. The thing most of them dread and fear all their lives He broke and conquered. He rose again, and a few of them saw Him and from then on became His utterly devoted slaves."
"Thank God for that," said the little angel.
"Amen. Open your eyes now, the dazzling light has gone. The Prince has returned to His Home of Light. But watch the Earth now."
As they looked, in place of the dazzling light there was a bright glow which throbbed and pulsated. And then as the Earth turned many times little points of light spread out. A few flickered and died; but for the most part the lights burned steadily, and as they continued to watch, in many parts of the globe there was a glow over many areas.
"You see what is happening?" asked the senior angel. "The bright glow is the company of loyal men and women He left behind, and with His help they spread the glow and now lights begin to shine all over the Earth."
"Yes, yes," said the little angel impatiently, "but how does it end? Will the little lights join up with each other? Will it all be light, as it is in Heaven?"
His senior shook his head. "We simply do not know," he replied. "It is in the Father's hands. Sometimes it is agony to watch and sometimes it is joy unspeakable. The end is not yet. But now I am sure you can see why this little ball is so important. He has visited it; He is working out His Plan upon it."
"Yes, I see, though I don't understand. I shall never forget that this is the Visited Planet."

Monday, January 24, 2011

Favorite Movie!

My favorite movie is Casablanca!  The History, drama, and romance is incredible!

The scene below gives me goosebumps and tears to my eyes!

Enjoy! And, I highly suggest watching the movie : )

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Life Changes....

Well, my first week has ended and I am engulfed in homework!
Although, it is really not a problem.  In fact...I almost enjoy it.
There is perhaps one class I would prefer to have no homework in but other than that I love love love my classes!
An interesting bit of news.
I have changed my major.
I am no longer a Teacher Education Major but am a Humanities Major.
Yes, yes, I know. I never thought it would happen but it did!
It is funny because growing up I never wanted to be a teacher and suddenly right before my junior/senior year I decided I wanted to teach.
Well, the desire has been waning and I have been trying to figure out if it was just a temporary thing and if not what I would study as there was nothing else of interest at CIU.
During my semester in Germany my interests began to grow in the area of Theology, Art History, and Europe in general.  I began thinking about Humanities and would mull and ponder, ponder and mull until I arrived at home and was able to discuss these pressing controversies with my mother. After several intense and long conversations I finally decided I was going to switch my major from Teacher Education to Humanities!

It is so wonderful!  I feel so incredibly excited about classes and I am now able to finish my English minor!

This semester of classes are going to be extraordinarily time consuming but I am thrilled!

And the amazing part is....I look into the future and see nothing but exciting possibilities!
And...I have no plans.  Ok, I have possible plans but absolutely nothing is concrete or even nearing a gelatin consistancy : )
I am fine with this fact!

Anyway, that is the newest change in my life!

Being back is wonderful!  I love seeing all the familiar faces (although, there are many unfamiliar)!
I am excited about future traveling but am content to stay put for a while!

 Auf Wiedersehen!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Football and My Superbowl : )

Once a year something come on television that is to me what the super bowl is to everyone else in the USA.
Yes.  Miss America.
I have a whole argument but let me just say, it is NOT Miss USA.
Anyway. I love watching it.
So, that was on BEFORE school began and I got to watch it with my mom, aunt, and cousin (with a cousin and brother as part time spectators).  Miss Arizona did not win (she should have) but a 17 year old just made history as the youngest to be crowned : ) That is pretty awesome!

AND....The STEELERS WON today!
Yeahya! Super bowl baby!

And....the best part. I love my family so incredibly much.
They are the best. Hands down.
I just love sitting and watching everyone. 
Jokes are tossed and we watch and play with the babies.
AND....today we yelled together at the TV : )
And rejoiced at the awesome win!

I leave for school tomorrow!
Honestly. Not as excited as I was....
Well, tomorrow I will hopefully be thrilled!

Friday, January 14, 2011

New Post : )

I just thought I would state the obvious.
I suddenly got the urge to blog.
This week has been marvelous!
We have had two intense game nights!
Let's just say...Josh, Nick, and I really get into Dutch Blitz.
Then, Apples to Apples....well....the arguments can be SO hilarious! Mama and Michael join us for this game.
Quote of last night.
The Green card was "spunky."
Someone put down "Anne Frank.:
My brother Michael said, "Anne Frank was spunky.  She almost made it through the war."
Yes. We all thought this was hilarious.

Oh, and, Dutch Blitz was great last night. I was "Free Cat" but each individual game was interluded with a theological/life contemplating/worldview discussion. Oh my.  It was grand!

Anyway. Aunt Becca is arriving today! I am oh so excited!!
Miss America is tomorrow night.
After the Steelers game.
Party!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Reflections on Home.

I am home.
Home is such a lovely thing!
I missed comfortable.
I missed knowing the roads.
I missed the people.
I love being with family!
And eating my mama's sausage gravy and biscuits : )
And watching Hallmark movies with her (1)
And driving with my brother places.
And spending time with my grandparents!
And playing games with my cousins!
And cuddling with the little cousins!
And snuggling with my kitties!

Something I have come to realize is....
I like Clifton Forge.
Is it the most booming town?
No.
But, it is home.
I have now spent more than half my life calling it "home"....well, Clifton Forge and Bath County combined equal half of my life.
I like that everyone knows each other.
I know many but not all.
I just remember faces and some names....but I don't really know many.
Well, many my own age.
But, the people I know I am meant to know.
I love them!
I love the countryness.
I love the accents.
I love the familiarity.
I love the kindness.
I just love people.

I love feeling home.

I cannot wait to get to school and see everyone!
I am sooo excited to just be there and see people I know and love!
Yet, I am not ready to leave.
Not yet.
But, next Sunday will arrive and I better be ready or the train (car) will be leaving without me!
Actually. It wouldn't.
That would be dumb.

Oh. The best part about school.
I GET TO SEE MY ROOMMATE!
She is the BEST roommate in the world!
I love her oh so dearly!!!
And have missed her oh so much!!!
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