Routines & Surprises
(April 2026)
I always admire people who seem to "have it all together . . .all-the-time." They give me the impression that they have found the secret of extending time in the sense that they appear unhurried, methodical, and can multitask with ease.
Unfortunately, I do not belong to this talented class of human beings. However, I do make serious efforts to keep my home under control, to make it pleasant and welcoming at any time (at least as much as possible), to keep my laundry room tame, my house cleaning regular, and to make time for family and writing.
Some families have uneventful lives. They manage to operate within regular parameters like 2.2 children, a cat, a dog, a cute well-maintained three-bedrooms-two-bathroom-and a garage house with a lovely small garden. Even their vacations are organized. You would think that their car would not dare break down and disrupt their perfectly-coordinated life.
Our family life is not like that. At. All.
Our children may be adults, with families of their own, but they still need a hand from Mom and Dad: to watch the kids, to keep their dogs while they go on vacation, to rescue them when their car breaks down, to give them a hand with their own home-improvements, or to have a special mother-daughter day, an enjoyable tea and games with grandchildren, to share a family visit at the zoo, or talk late into the night with our older grandchildren.
I did not mention attending sport events because I absolutely detest them, at least the ones my kids or grandkids seem to enjoy, like baseball and football, which I find so boring I could cry. What can I say? I am simply not a sport fan. On the other hand I am usually game for a museum visit or attending a play or a concert (provided the latter are not of the avant-guard style). To each is own, right?
The best-laid plans in my week or sometimes in my day usually encounter glitches in all kinds of sizes. For instance, today, I was set to write the first draft of the next chapter in my current novel. That was without counting on the fact that the phone rang all afternoon, and not calls I could simply ignore.
But then, if I stop to think about it, I realize that I would never be as happy as I am, if my life was flawlessly organized. After all, there is whimsy and adventures in the disruption of daily routine True, big projects, like writing a novel, may advance at snail pace, but to successfully shut out the world and write 2000 words in one sitting would not necessarily bring out the best writing, and more significantly would bring in its wake, important missed opportunities, like, making time to help someone or simply listen and encourage.
So what is the solution? I often think life is like free-style skiing, the type that presents obstacles that must be conquered or by-passed in order to reach the end of the slope safely. A funny comparison from someone who has never skied in her life, but still observing this kind of sport in the Winter oplympic Games, for instance, grants me a valid foundation for my reasoning.
The point is that we neither control time nor events, but we can be resourceful and seize opportunities. For instance, I may not have two hours every afternoon to write, but Monday I might manage one hour, Tuesday fifteen minutes and so on, and do my best during that time and eventully, I'll get there, with God's help. It is the principle expressed in the famous Aesop's fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare." Perseverance, focus, and making the best of each moment wins the day.
One of my favorite movies is In Search of the Casteways, the 1962 Disney adaptation of Jules Vernes's novel, Captain Grant's Children. In it, the ever-optimistic Professeur Paganel sings this wonderfully uplifting song to deal with difficulties, surprises and impredictable challenges:
. . .Each moment is a treasure, enjoy it!
We are travelers on life's highway, enjoy the trip
Each lovely twist and byway, each bump and dip
If there's a complication, enjoy it!
You've got imagination, employ it!
And you'll see roses in the snow,
Joie de vivre will make them grow,
Voila, that's life, enjoy it!
. . .A hurricane comes your way, enjoy the breeze
You are stranded in the jungle? Enjoy the trees!
If there's a complication, enjoy it!
You've got imagination, employ it!. . .
Not a bad recipe, don't you think? Especially when there are rewards along the path of life such as "roses in the snow" and when our challenged imagination helps us find solutions.
So, enjoy Life's impromptu adventures!
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JANUARY
The other day, I came across this depressed and rebellious comment about January:
Sorry, but January is NOT the month for resolutions! We're all sick, exhausted, broke,
depressed, back at work, and in no mood to commit to anything!
It made me laugh because it sounds so obstinate and mutinous, like a child who does not want to try a new food, because it's easier to stay safe in the realm of taste familiar to him.
Indeed, in some ways, we may be inclined to regard January with a degree of resentment for leaving us with only the memory of the joyful and magical Christmas season and bringing us what feels like a month of Mondays. It is true that we may still be exhausted from the frenzied work we did to get everything not only ready, but also perfect for the Holy-Days.
So let's first be logical here: if rest is needed, let's take it, so we can be fit for action; no point in trying convincing ourselves that we can continue simply "running on steam." Of course, there are demands made on us that can't be ignored, whether it is working outside the home, or caring for children of various ages and needs that required constancy, structure, and love, or simply keeping the home running smoothly.
So what CAN we do, faced with these immovable obligations, if we already feel overwhelmed when the new year is ready for us to rev up the engine and go with gusto?
One solution is to lament and settle, though uncomfortably, into the quagmire of our discontent. Of course, that is no solution at all and never brings anything but compounded frustration and discouragement. Best to say no to it and crush it immediately as it points its ugly fangs toward our thoughts!
Another, far more subtle but astonishingly effective option is to proceed slowly with thoughtful planning, seasoned with prayer.
With this method, we first must revisit the precious lessons brought to us from the Christmas season: gratitude for past blessings; fellowship with others, family, friends, or strangers; determination to improve various areas of our life with a renewed appreciation of our God-given gifts and the purpose He has for us; and eager anticipation to embrace the new adventures He is opening for us with this new year.
Excesses and extremes have proved false friends in matters of making new resolutions. The pattern of God's creation is really the best guide; no need to seek anything more complicated: a plan for the week, with specific and limited tasks for each day, and time to rest, pray, and fellowship.
Self-discipline will help us carry the tasks to completion, if we focus on the satisfaction we will earn from being, at long last, organized and fruitful.
However, let us not forget that we are not robots. While it is good-stewardship to set worthy goals and carry them out enthusiastically with a genuine desire to serve God and bless others, sometimes, God allows circumstances to force us from strictly sticking to what was planned. For instance, the impromptu visit of a friend means that the refrigerator will not be cleaned today. No matter. Obviously, the friend is a priority, because love is always a priority. Giving of our time to others is giving love, even if no material gift is involved. Tasks can usually be rescheduled. In fact, it is part of our God-given created creativity to rearrange elements of our daily lives into a smoother, better-fitting pattern.
That alone is thrilling: we not only always have something we can do, whether mundane or profound, but it also enables us to live with meaning, purpose, and inspiration, knowing that, if we do it as for the Lord, it is indeed worthwhile and rewarding.
In response to the quote above, I will offer instead Paul's words in Galatians 6: 9:
Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest, if we do
not give up.
Therefore, let each day of this year blossom like a fragrant flower on the tree of our life!
The other day, I came across this depressed and rebellious comment about January:
Sorry, but January is NOT the month for resolutions! We're all sick, exhausted, broke,
depressed, back at work, and in no mood to commit to anything!
It made me laugh because it sounds so obstinate and mutinous, like a child who does not want to try a new food, because it's easier to stay safe in the realm of taste familiar to him.
Indeed, in some ways, we may be inclined to regard January with a degree of resentment for leaving us with only the memory of the joyful and magical Christmas season and bringing us what feels like a month of Mondays. It is true that we may still be exhausted from the frenzied work we did to get everything not only ready, but also perfect for the Holy-Days.
So let's first be logical here: if rest is needed, let's take it, so we can be fit for action; no point in trying convincing ourselves that we can continue simply "running on steam." Of course, there are demands made on us that can't be ignored, whether it is working outside the home, or caring for children of various ages and needs that required constancy, structure, and love, or simply keeping the home running smoothly.
So what CAN we do, faced with these immovable obligations, if we already feel overwhelmed when the new year is ready for us to rev up the engine and go with gusto?
One solution is to lament and settle, though uncomfortably, into the quagmire of our discontent. Of course, that is no solution at all and never brings anything but compounded frustration and discouragement. Best to say no to it and crush it immediately as it points its ugly fangs toward our thoughts!
Another, far more subtle but astonishingly effective option is to proceed slowly with thoughtful planning, seasoned with prayer.
With this method, we first must revisit the precious lessons brought to us from the Christmas season: gratitude for past blessings; fellowship with others, family, friends, or strangers; determination to improve various areas of our life with a renewed appreciation of our God-given gifts and the purpose He has for us; and eager anticipation to embrace the new adventures He is opening for us with this new year.
Excesses and extremes have proved false friends in matters of making new resolutions. The pattern of God's creation is really the best guide; no need to seek anything more complicated: a plan for the week, with specific and limited tasks for each day, and time to rest, pray, and fellowship.
Self-discipline will help us carry the tasks to completion, if we focus on the satisfaction we will earn from being, at long last, organized and fruitful.
However, let us not forget that we are not robots. While it is good-stewardship to set worthy goals and carry them out enthusiastically with a genuine desire to serve God and bless others, sometimes, God allows circumstances to force us from strictly sticking to what was planned. For instance, the impromptu visit of a friend means that the refrigerator will not be cleaned today. No matter. Obviously, the friend is a priority, because love is always a priority. Giving of our time to others is giving love, even if no material gift is involved. Tasks can usually be rescheduled. In fact, it is part of our God-given created creativity to rearrange elements of our daily lives into a smoother, better-fitting pattern.
That alone is thrilling: we not only always have something we can do, whether mundane or profound, but it also enables us to live with meaning, purpose, and inspiration, knowing that, if we do it as for the Lord, it is indeed worthwhile and rewarding.
In response to the quote above, I will offer instead Paul's words in Galatians 6: 9:
Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest, if we do
not give up.
Therefore, let each day of this year blossom like a fragrant flower on the tree of our life!
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December 2025
Holy Days
The term "Holidays" comes from the Old English "Halig Daeg," meaning "Holy Day, a period of Christian festival, consecrated to religious observance and celebration."
In passing, I find it interesting that our atheist friends, who wish to say, "Happy Holidays!" instead of "Merry Christmas" so as to avoid mentioning Christ, fail in this as much as when they attempt to eliminate Christ from the calendar by using "BCE" (Before the Current Era) instead of "BC" (Before Christ), since the pivotal point of reference in both cases is, precisely, Christ's birth!
Indeed Christ is inescapable, whether we recognize Him or not, and during the Holy Days season, He seems to permeate the very air we breathe, as Dickens reminds us through Fred's, (Scrooge's nephew) words, in A Christmas Carol.
I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around --apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
In our family, Dickens's Christmas Carol is a cherished tradition. One of our favorite versions of the story is The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), which not only tells the story but also gives us a window into Dickens's life at the time he wrote it, in 1843, in only six weeks.
While most people think of holidays as essentially the Advent season extending and to January 1st, in our home, the Holy Days begin with Thanksgiving preparations and they last until January 31st.
Indeed, Thanksgiving is a perfect introduction to the Christmas celebration, as we look with wonder and gratitude at the past year and God's amazing providence, as we reflect on the lessons learned through trials and setbacks, as well as on the blessings, small and great received, and as we consider with love and appreciation those who have contributed to our education, to the growth of our faith, to the refinement of our God-given talents, to the deepening of our understanding.
But Thanks-giving is more than looking back. It is also a time for preparing spiritually and practically for the miracle of Christmas. That God, Author of the Universe, all-powerful and all-knowing would chose, out of extraordinary love, to become incarnate for our ultimate salvation boggles the mind if we pause to think about the cosmic dimensions of this event. As we contemplate it in awe, how can we feel anything but intense joy, assurance, and renewed strength?
As life's vicissitudes buffet us, we can cling with certitude to the knowledge that God is fully in charge; He has a plan. Our fears and doubts are subdued by the fact that "He's got this." Therefore, we can confidently cast out anguish, anger, bitterness and all negativity and embark with a full heart in the grand adventure that He has prepared in eternity for us, one new year at a time, one, month at a time, one week at a time, with each day a new beginning.
Online shopping has greatly reduced the stress of frantic gift-finding in over-crowded stores, which allows us more time to fill our days with blessing others, by praying for them, giving a helping hand, or be there to listen and talk, or share simple pleasures like watching a movie together.
These Holy Days offer us a time to rest, slow down, reflect, appreciate, and to improve our daily walk with God, using the talents He has given us more fully. And all the time, keeping in readiness for our Lord's Second Coming, which, Scripture clearly tells is, could happen any moment.
Do you ever wonder why the Lord did not tell us the exact date of His return? I believe it is because He does not want us to sit, idle, "waiting for the train to arrive," as it were. Christians are no slug-abed creatures! And the Holy Days season is a lively reminder of this.
As we busy ourselves selecting meaningful gifts, not just the kind purchased, but also the ones that we make or bake with love; as our days are bubbling with thoughtful preparations, such as getting rooms ready for visiting family and friends, cleaning the house to start the New Year fresh, dressing up our homes in Christmas splendor, as we write loving and thoughtful Christmas cards and newsletters to those we love, who are far away, sharing a cup of hot chocolate and warm conversation with friends, or taking a break from our happy labors, we are doing exactly what God wants us to do: loving others and honoring Him. It is indeed a time to grow bigger than our own circumstances. When Dickens wrote his marvelous and inspiring Christmas tale in 1843, he was nearly broke, with a fifth child on the way, and yet his motivation was to gift readers with an uplifting Christian story. He spared no expenses to produce a beautiful volume with color illustrations. While his popularity soared afterwards, he only broke even financially with A Christmas Carol , even though it went through several reprints and was a total success. Most importantly, Dickens found fulfillment through it and transformed the celebration of Christmas in his time and beyond.
It goes without saying that this Holy Days season is my favorite of the year, although I love all seasons. I think it is, in part, because the weather forces us to focus our attention, our appreciation, and our efforts on our home. It is a time when we particularly open our homes to friends and family, and even to friends of friends and neighbors, something that truly begins with the celebration of Thanksgiving; only this time, we add festive music and décor to accentuate our joy of the season.
Because of God's amazing grace, we have a greater sense of belonging, beyond our own family, to God's family. With this assurance comes a sense of purpose: we are here, on earth, for a reason; God has things for us to do, just as He did in 1843for Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol.
So as we write our list of New Year resolutions, let us preserve the joy and the meaning of these Holy Days all through the coming year!
And God bless us, everyone, as Tiny Tim would say.
The picture above is the last illustration from Eyewitness Classics ‘ rendition of A Christmas Carol, 1997
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November 9, 2025
Sundays
When I was a child, my favorite day was Saturday, before there was a whole day yet of being free and at home before I had to go back to school. Still, Sundays were very precious.
In my teen-aged years, my favorite Sundays were those spent at my Aunt and Uncle's home.
The delicious family meal was always animated and colorful. You must understand that in France, if you have ten people at a table, you should expect at least half a dozen conversations going on simultaneously on a wide range of topics, as everyone interjects at anyone's given comment. It is a bit wild and definitely noisy, but it can also yield substantial learning and deep insight.
After the meal, it was time to move to the comfort of the living room for more conversation around coffee. (French coffee is a black concentration of bitterness served in a tiny china cup; it would require several spoons of sugar to be drinkable, except that the cup is not big enough to allow for that. It is an acquired taste. I never mastered it and early on opted for chocolate instead). Comfortable conversation would continue until it was time for the afternoon movie on television, usually an American Western, which everyone would enjoy.
Afterwards, we would exchange comments on the film, plot, actors, scenery. It was probably where I started learning my skills for analysis and observation-- the best kind of learning because it was great fun.
Then, my Aunt would bring tea. That "tea" was a veritable feast worthy of the best British teas, not a small feat for a French home. There were tea and chocolate, cake, croissants and other pastries. It was so abundant that it doubled as Sunday supper and I loved it. My mother objected, reasonably, that it was not as healthy as the thick vegetable soup she made at home, but that was precisely what made it so special and completely wonderful. This delightful memory has stayed with me forever.
When Preston, my husband, and I were newly wed, we joined a very Evangelical Baptist church that deepened our faith and inspired our Christian walk. Extensive exposure to the Bible was a spiritual epiphany for both of us. Coming from a Methodist background for Preston and Catholic one for me, we had not experienced such profound immersion into God's Word before; and suddenly, Sunday became even more significant. It was not only a time for rest and family, but also a distancing from the world, a refocusing on what matters, a time to start a fresh week with God, seeking His guidance through each day. We were very active in this very lively church that offered a close-knit congregation, a Bible study night, a prayer night, a visitation night (when we went door to door, two by two, trying to present the Gospel), and a Sunday School. The pastor delivered three sermons each week that lasted an average of 45 minutes, each. The hymns we sang were melodious and profound, offering Biblical messages of their own. Sermons and hymns complemented each other to bring greater Biblical understanding on how to live our daily walk with Christ. Looking back at that period of our life, it was truly a time of spiritual abundance and strengthening such as we never encountered afterwards.
Then, we moved to France to do missionary work. In particular, God led us to head the youth group in the very church where we were married and we were thrilled and grateful to see it grow from three members to twenty in four years, each youth becoming very dear to us.
After we settled in Nebraska for good, our children became active in their own church groups and attending church services continued to be a large part of our Sundays. However, after our children left the nest to lead their own lives, we grew disheartened by the way church services grew more ritualistic, even in truly Biblical churches. Praise bands popped up everywhere with music so loud, one could not think, and hymns that almost no one in the congregation could sing, because of their dull or dissonant melodies. Many of them were so painfully repetitive that I could not help thinking of God's warning in Matthew 6:7-8, When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
These hymns, often discordant and almost always monotonous, would be enough to turn me off from attending church, but unfortunately, they are the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
Sadly, we live in a society that has turned away from God for several decades. In the 1990's, even non-Christian students had an overall knowledge of the Bible. That is not at all the case today.
Therefore, it seems obvious that the Church must adjust to this reality if it to spread the Gospel. Bible events, like Christian public talks, like those initiated by Charlie Kirk, book fairs, shows, Creation debates, or Bible studies to which invite unbelievers interested in discovering if and why the Bible might be relevant to their lives, need to be the central focus of evangelical effort.
Alas, it appears that even the best-intentioned Biblical churches, those who take the divine Word of God seriously, are missing the point, as so many of them continue to preach in the church service how to come to Christ. They do not seem to see that this kind of message is for those who do not know Christ as their Savior, and those people are very unlikely to attend a church service.
Moreover, dedicated Christians do not need to hear Sunday after Sunday how to become Christian since they already are! Doing so is about as logical and helpful as sending someone who already has a Master's Degree to preschool! What Christians need is a deepening understanding and application of the Bible so they can continue to grow in Christ and reach out fruitfully to unbelievers.
What non-Christians need is not a ritualistic service with discordant music, that is too often so boring that the call to come to Christ is more likely to wash over them like water on the back of a duck! Instead, they would much more benefit from being able to come to a welcoming Bible study, where they can explain their doubts, their misgivings, their fears, their struggles, where they can ask questions and receive solid answers from the Scripture, where they can experience genuine Christian fellowship.
After all, we are to imitate Christ and the way He went about touching souls was to go to people and address them through their daily circumstances.
There are yet too few churches that have such an outreach. One of these few, however, is All Souls Church in London, an Evangelical Anglican church. We discovered it one rainy Sunday night, several years ago. It is vibrant, warm, and varied in its outreach to unsaved London, while strengthening its Christian members who come not only from England, but from various countries.
For the first time, since our valiant little Baptist Church in California, we have found a truly Evangelical church on fire for Truth and God's grace. Of course, the drawback is that it is located in London, not exactly a weekly jaunt to church. However, it provides food for the Christian soul through its online sermons. While this does not replace a "real" church fellowship, it does grant us a way to make Sunday truly special, a time for family, rest, as well as Biblical insight and reflection.
Still, the solution is to be found first and foremost in the creation of small but numerous Bible study groups to encourage fellow Christians and offer the Good New to those who are lost. Small, because they are more intimate and conversations are more likely to occur and be profound in such gatherings. Numerous, because they need to be easy to find everywhere in college dorms, neighbors' homes, hospitals, retirement villages, schools, prisons, lunch hours at work, and more.
I would love to hear your comments on this important topic. Meanwhile, may your Sundays be truly blessed.
Sylvie
Holy Days
The term "Holidays" comes from the Old English "Halig Daeg," meaning "Holy Day, a period of Christian festival, consecrated to religious observance and celebration."
In passing, I find it interesting that our atheist friends, who wish to say, "Happy Holidays!" instead of "Merry Christmas" so as to avoid mentioning Christ, fail in this as much as when they attempt to eliminate Christ from the calendar by using "BCE" (Before the Current Era) instead of "BC" (Before Christ), since the pivotal point of reference in both cases is, precisely, Christ's birth!
Indeed Christ is inescapable, whether we recognize Him or not, and during the Holy Days season, He seems to permeate the very air we breathe, as Dickens reminds us through Fred's, (Scrooge's nephew) words, in A Christmas Carol.
I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around --apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
In our family, Dickens's Christmas Carol is a cherished tradition. One of our favorite versions of the story is The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), which not only tells the story but also gives us a window into Dickens's life at the time he wrote it, in 1843, in only six weeks.
While most people think of holidays as essentially the Advent season extending and to January 1st, in our home, the Holy Days begin with Thanksgiving preparations and they last until January 31st.
Indeed, Thanksgiving is a perfect introduction to the Christmas celebration, as we look with wonder and gratitude at the past year and God's amazing providence, as we reflect on the lessons learned through trials and setbacks, as well as on the blessings, small and great received, and as we consider with love and appreciation those who have contributed to our education, to the growth of our faith, to the refinement of our God-given talents, to the deepening of our understanding.
But Thanks-giving is more than looking back. It is also a time for preparing spiritually and practically for the miracle of Christmas. That God, Author of the Universe, all-powerful and all-knowing would chose, out of extraordinary love, to become incarnate for our ultimate salvation boggles the mind if we pause to think about the cosmic dimensions of this event. As we contemplate it in awe, how can we feel anything but intense joy, assurance, and renewed strength?
As life's vicissitudes buffet us, we can cling with certitude to the knowledge that God is fully in charge; He has a plan. Our fears and doubts are subdued by the fact that "He's got this." Therefore, we can confidently cast out anguish, anger, bitterness and all negativity and embark with a full heart in the grand adventure that He has prepared in eternity for us, one new year at a time, one, month at a time, one week at a time, with each day a new beginning.
Online shopping has greatly reduced the stress of frantic gift-finding in over-crowded stores, which allows us more time to fill our days with blessing others, by praying for them, giving a helping hand, or be there to listen and talk, or share simple pleasures like watching a movie together.
These Holy Days offer us a time to rest, slow down, reflect, appreciate, and to improve our daily walk with God, using the talents He has given us more fully. And all the time, keeping in readiness for our Lord's Second Coming, which, Scripture clearly tells is, could happen any moment.
Do you ever wonder why the Lord did not tell us the exact date of His return? I believe it is because He does not want us to sit, idle, "waiting for the train to arrive," as it were. Christians are no slug-abed creatures! And the Holy Days season is a lively reminder of this.
As we busy ourselves selecting meaningful gifts, not just the kind purchased, but also the ones that we make or bake with love; as our days are bubbling with thoughtful preparations, such as getting rooms ready for visiting family and friends, cleaning the house to start the New Year fresh, dressing up our homes in Christmas splendor, as we write loving and thoughtful Christmas cards and newsletters to those we love, who are far away, sharing a cup of hot chocolate and warm conversation with friends, or taking a break from our happy labors, we are doing exactly what God wants us to do: loving others and honoring Him. It is indeed a time to grow bigger than our own circumstances. When Dickens wrote his marvelous and inspiring Christmas tale in 1843, he was nearly broke, with a fifth child on the way, and yet his motivation was to gift readers with an uplifting Christian story. He spared no expenses to produce a beautiful volume with color illustrations. While his popularity soared afterwards, he only broke even financially with A Christmas Carol , even though it went through several reprints and was a total success. Most importantly, Dickens found fulfillment through it and transformed the celebration of Christmas in his time and beyond.
It goes without saying that this Holy Days season is my favorite of the year, although I love all seasons. I think it is, in part, because the weather forces us to focus our attention, our appreciation, and our efforts on our home. It is a time when we particularly open our homes to friends and family, and even to friends of friends and neighbors, something that truly begins with the celebration of Thanksgiving; only this time, we add festive music and décor to accentuate our joy of the season.
Because of God's amazing grace, we have a greater sense of belonging, beyond our own family, to God's family. With this assurance comes a sense of purpose: we are here, on earth, for a reason; God has things for us to do, just as He did in 1843for Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol.
So as we write our list of New Year resolutions, let us preserve the joy and the meaning of these Holy Days all through the coming year!
And God bless us, everyone, as Tiny Tim would say.
The picture above is the last illustration from Eyewitness Classics ‘ rendition of A Christmas Carol, 1997
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November 9, 2025
Sundays
When I was a child, my favorite day was Saturday, before there was a whole day yet of being free and at home before I had to go back to school. Still, Sundays were very precious.
In my teen-aged years, my favorite Sundays were those spent at my Aunt and Uncle's home.
The delicious family meal was always animated and colorful. You must understand that in France, if you have ten people at a table, you should expect at least half a dozen conversations going on simultaneously on a wide range of topics, as everyone interjects at anyone's given comment. It is a bit wild and definitely noisy, but it can also yield substantial learning and deep insight.
After the meal, it was time to move to the comfort of the living room for more conversation around coffee. (French coffee is a black concentration of bitterness served in a tiny china cup; it would require several spoons of sugar to be drinkable, except that the cup is not big enough to allow for that. It is an acquired taste. I never mastered it and early on opted for chocolate instead). Comfortable conversation would continue until it was time for the afternoon movie on television, usually an American Western, which everyone would enjoy.
Afterwards, we would exchange comments on the film, plot, actors, scenery. It was probably where I started learning my skills for analysis and observation-- the best kind of learning because it was great fun.
Then, my Aunt would bring tea. That "tea" was a veritable feast worthy of the best British teas, not a small feat for a French home. There were tea and chocolate, cake, croissants and other pastries. It was so abundant that it doubled as Sunday supper and I loved it. My mother objected, reasonably, that it was not as healthy as the thick vegetable soup she made at home, but that was precisely what made it so special and completely wonderful. This delightful memory has stayed with me forever.
When Preston, my husband, and I were newly wed, we joined a very Evangelical Baptist church that deepened our faith and inspired our Christian walk. Extensive exposure to the Bible was a spiritual epiphany for both of us. Coming from a Methodist background for Preston and Catholic one for me, we had not experienced such profound immersion into God's Word before; and suddenly, Sunday became even more significant. It was not only a time for rest and family, but also a distancing from the world, a refocusing on what matters, a time to start a fresh week with God, seeking His guidance through each day. We were very active in this very lively church that offered a close-knit congregation, a Bible study night, a prayer night, a visitation night (when we went door to door, two by two, trying to present the Gospel), and a Sunday School. The pastor delivered three sermons each week that lasted an average of 45 minutes, each. The hymns we sang were melodious and profound, offering Biblical messages of their own. Sermons and hymns complemented each other to bring greater Biblical understanding on how to live our daily walk with Christ. Looking back at that period of our life, it was truly a time of spiritual abundance and strengthening such as we never encountered afterwards.
Then, we moved to France to do missionary work. In particular, God led us to head the youth group in the very church where we were married and we were thrilled and grateful to see it grow from three members to twenty in four years, each youth becoming very dear to us.
After we settled in Nebraska for good, our children became active in their own church groups and attending church services continued to be a large part of our Sundays. However, after our children left the nest to lead their own lives, we grew disheartened by the way church services grew more ritualistic, even in truly Biblical churches. Praise bands popped up everywhere with music so loud, one could not think, and hymns that almost no one in the congregation could sing, because of their dull or dissonant melodies. Many of them were so painfully repetitive that I could not help thinking of God's warning in Matthew 6:7-8, When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
These hymns, often discordant and almost always monotonous, would be enough to turn me off from attending church, but unfortunately, they are the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
Sadly, we live in a society that has turned away from God for several decades. In the 1990's, even non-Christian students had an overall knowledge of the Bible. That is not at all the case today.
Therefore, it seems obvious that the Church must adjust to this reality if it to spread the Gospel. Bible events, like Christian public talks, like those initiated by Charlie Kirk, book fairs, shows, Creation debates, or Bible studies to which invite unbelievers interested in discovering if and why the Bible might be relevant to their lives, need to be the central focus of evangelical effort.
Alas, it appears that even the best-intentioned Biblical churches, those who take the divine Word of God seriously, are missing the point, as so many of them continue to preach in the church service how to come to Christ. They do not seem to see that this kind of message is for those who do not know Christ as their Savior, and those people are very unlikely to attend a church service.
Moreover, dedicated Christians do not need to hear Sunday after Sunday how to become Christian since they already are! Doing so is about as logical and helpful as sending someone who already has a Master's Degree to preschool! What Christians need is a deepening understanding and application of the Bible so they can continue to grow in Christ and reach out fruitfully to unbelievers.
What non-Christians need is not a ritualistic service with discordant music, that is too often so boring that the call to come to Christ is more likely to wash over them like water on the back of a duck! Instead, they would much more benefit from being able to come to a welcoming Bible study, where they can explain their doubts, their misgivings, their fears, their struggles, where they can ask questions and receive solid answers from the Scripture, where they can experience genuine Christian fellowship.
After all, we are to imitate Christ and the way He went about touching souls was to go to people and address them through their daily circumstances.
There are yet too few churches that have such an outreach. One of these few, however, is All Souls Church in London, an Evangelical Anglican church. We discovered it one rainy Sunday night, several years ago. It is vibrant, warm, and varied in its outreach to unsaved London, while strengthening its Christian members who come not only from England, but from various countries.
For the first time, since our valiant little Baptist Church in California, we have found a truly Evangelical church on fire for Truth and God's grace. Of course, the drawback is that it is located in London, not exactly a weekly jaunt to church. However, it provides food for the Christian soul through its online sermons. While this does not replace a "real" church fellowship, it does grant us a way to make Sunday truly special, a time for family, rest, as well as Biblical insight and reflection.
Still, the solution is to be found first and foremost in the creation of small but numerous Bible study groups to encourage fellow Christians and offer the Good New to those who are lost. Small, because they are more intimate and conversations are more likely to occur and be profound in such gatherings. Numerous, because they need to be easy to find everywhere in college dorms, neighbors' homes, hospitals, retirement villages, schools, prisons, lunch hours at work, and more.
I would love to hear your comments on this important topic. Meanwhile, may your Sundays be truly blessed.
Sylvie
October 5, 2025
Fighting Weariness,
What should we do when we feel utterly powerless, discouraged, weary by the troubles and cares of life? There is no "one answer fits all" for this type of dilemmas that we all have to face time to time as we travel upon this earthly life. Well, of course there is one obvious one that first should present itself to all human beings: turn to God, read His Word, pray. And yes, no other answer could be as good and powerful as that, but God has also equipped us to communicate with and encourage one another in many ways, including words from history and literature.
In fact, my greatest motivation and hope for writing is to bring encouragement to all who read my stories; to let them know that I care and more importantly that God cares about them, to help them see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, even if it is weak and dim at first, to give them rest, a pleasant respite from their own difficulties and weariness.
So what happens when the would-be encourager is himself or herself discouraged or crippled by sadness? Three days ago, one of our close and dear friends was killed in a car accident. She was only 17! A bright, vibrant, talented, enchanting young woman whose strong Christian faith burned strong in her heart and whose cheerfulness touched all who met her was abruptly taken from all those who loved her. This kind of shocks leaves us numb with grief and all the more discouraged that we don't understand God's plan through. We do know in our souls that He is in charge, but our hearts, our thoughts are stuck in sadness and cluelessness.
A word from Oscar Wilde comes suddenly to mind: We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars (from the play, Lady's Windermere's Fan, written in 1892), Oh, I am well aware that Oscar Wilde, heavily suspected of sexual misconduct, is persona non-grata with many of Christian fellow believers, but I have read a lot of Wilde's works and I am convinced that he knew the Lord and was keenly aware of His Saving Grace. In any case, even for those who do not care for him, it is hard to deny this sentence is a beautiful and powerful reminder of our human condition. The gutter is the mess of our earthly circumstances: our sinful nature and the troubles that have piled up on us either because of wrong choices or because of the fact that this life is crippled by all sorts of evils and tragedies.
The key is where we go from that gutter, where we turn for hope. If we focus on the muck around us, we can see only helplessness and despair. Everything changes if we look up at the stars; in other words, if we acknowledge that there is Someone much bigger, smarter, powerful, and loving than ourselves. The brightness of the stars testifies of the Great Designer Who has placed them in the dark sky to dispel its very darkness. No, we are not immediately plucked out of the gutter and set up in some enchanting setting; evidently we have to learn some painful lessons from our sojourn in the gutter, but we are granted hope, the promise of Providence, the reminder that God is in charge, that nothing escapes him, and that in His own time, He will rescue us.
Our own troubles tend to lead us to forget that others have faced enormous difficulties of their own, as they walked along the paths of history. Recently one of them captured my attention, her name was Mary Fisher. I must say that I have a particular fondness for the quiet heroes that many people do not even know existed. The great events and figures of history are like a snow plow that clears the road but buries the sidewalks along the way. Mary was one of those amazing gems of history whose story is such an inspiration to us.
She was a nobody. We are not even sure of the exact time of her birth, though we know she lived in the 17th century. At the age of 27, Mary was an indentured servant of the Tomlinson family in England. We may be familiar with indentured servants coming to America, but not so much those who entered in a contract of several years of service in England simply to survive. An indentured servant was basically a step us from a slave. Once the contrast was up, the servant would receive "freedom dues," which could be land, money, or simply goods. Until then, such a servant could not break the contract and could even be sold to a new owner.
If Mary's situation was not abysmal enough, she had never received any schooling and was completely illiterate. Even though the Tomlinsons were not a cruel family, Mary's prospects were rather limited.
Then one day in 1651, George Fox, the founder of the Quaker Movement, came to preach in the village of Selby where Mary lived. The Tomlinson household went to listen to him. Mistress Tomlinson became convinced by his simple arguments for a more personal, sincere, and simple Christian faith, without the trimmings and rituals of the state church of England. Mary, too, was won over to this new form of Christianity that seemed to bring believers closer to the Scripture and God in so many ways, treating men and women on perfectly equal footing, including for preaching, and attached little importance to hierarchy and social classes since all human beings are equal before the Lord.
Mary, however, was so firmly convinced that she felt called to become an itinerant preacher. The Tomlinsons respected her calling and released her from her indenture contract. Wasting no time, Mary took the local pastor to task. The man heard nothing beyond the fact that this illiterate woman dared to act as a preacher and she was promptly thrown into prison in York. Things looked pretty bleak, but she found herself with other Quakers who encouraged, strengthened her, and maybe most importantly taught her how to read and write.
Mary did not wait to be released to use her newly-acquired skills and wrote a letter to the judge criticizing him for punishing the poor more than the rich, pleading for fairness tempered with mercy on behalf of three horse thieves who were to be hanged, and signing, "Mary Fisher, a prisoner. . . who cries for justice and true judgement without partiality." As a result, the judge granted reprieve to two of the thieves.
Once free again, Mary felt called to speak in Cambridge, one of the two seminaries (the other is Oxford) where clerics for the Church of England received their education. Careful to follow Jesus's advice to His disciples to travel in pair, she went with a "yokemate," Elizabeth William, a woman in her fifties. The mayor ordered them whipped "until the blood ran down from their bodies." Despite this horrendous treatment, the two women felt strengthened by the Lord. Subsequent traveling Quakers received protection as the town authorities declared such "legal" action unlawful.
Mary went on to preach undaunted and was thrown in prison again and again. Eventually in 1655, she felt called to take the Gospel beyond England, across the sea to Puritan Massachusetts. This time, Anne Austin, mother of five, accompanied her. On the way, they stopped in Barbados and met with some success, planting the seeds for the establishment of the first Quaker community there. In Boston, however, they faced immediate hostility. Having narrowly escaped being executed as witches, they were thrown in jail without water, food, or any means to communicate as their cell window was boarded up. Obviously the authorities were content to starve them to death.
Shocked by such barbarism, a compassionate innkeeper, Nicholas Upsall, bribed the jailors to bring them nourishment. He would become the first Quaker convert in the colonies. After five weeks, they were sent back to Barbados and from there returned to England.
Some would have given up, but instead Mary felt ready to follow God's lead to places where she did not speak the language and go as far east as she had gone west, to present the gospel to the Sultan of Turkey who was considered in Christendom to be the most evil person on earth. Thus in the summer of 1657, six Quaker missionaries embarked in this venture fraught with danger, three men (all named John!) and three women. Through various difficulties, only Mary persevered to the end, helped by the generosity of Greek farmers, she arrived on foot at Erdine, where the sultan with an army of 20,000 and his court were camped. The grand Vizier was a ruthless man who had dispatched 36000 influential opponents by having them strangled, yet, miraculously, he advised the Sultan to receive this woman who presented herself as the "ambassador of the Most High God."
She was received with all the honors due a foreign diplomat, but said nothing at first. The Sultan thought she was intimidated and offered, via his interpreter, to remove his soldiers, which she refused. She was waiting for the prompting of the Holy Spirit and when it came, she had the words to transmit the message she had come from so far to deliver. The Sultan then asked her what she thought of Mohamed, a dangerous question in such a context, but, undaunted, Mary replied that she did not know him; she knew only Christ the true prophet, the Son of God, who was the Light of the World, who had enlightened every man coming into the world. As for Mahomet, he would be judged be a true or false prophet only if his words and prophecies came to pass.
The Sultan, impressed and respectful, offered her first to remain there as an honored guest. She refused politely. He then offered her an escort to Constantinople, but Mary replied she trusted the Lord would keep her safe.
She did, indeed, returned safely to England. Later she married, and emigrated to America. Twice widowed she had three children and died in South Carolina in 1677, highly respected.
This little "nobody" faced huge difficulties and traumatic setbacks and yet, her faith was strong enough to overcome the pain, the fear, the deprivations and enter in the glory of her Master. I am not a Quaker myself, but I find Mary Fisher's example altogether humbling and inspiring. It compels me to forge on to where my Lord and Savior leads, even if I don't understand the fullness of His plan at the moment.
What an amazing gathering the Lord is preparing for us, His Children, in Heaven when all the turmoils, pains, tears, and anguish of the gutter are washed away and we are rejoicing among the stars!
Fighting Weariness,
What should we do when we feel utterly powerless, discouraged, weary by the troubles and cares of life? There is no "one answer fits all" for this type of dilemmas that we all have to face time to time as we travel upon this earthly life. Well, of course there is one obvious one that first should present itself to all human beings: turn to God, read His Word, pray. And yes, no other answer could be as good and powerful as that, but God has also equipped us to communicate with and encourage one another in many ways, including words from history and literature.
In fact, my greatest motivation and hope for writing is to bring encouragement to all who read my stories; to let them know that I care and more importantly that God cares about them, to help them see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, even if it is weak and dim at first, to give them rest, a pleasant respite from their own difficulties and weariness.
So what happens when the would-be encourager is himself or herself discouraged or crippled by sadness? Three days ago, one of our close and dear friends was killed in a car accident. She was only 17! A bright, vibrant, talented, enchanting young woman whose strong Christian faith burned strong in her heart and whose cheerfulness touched all who met her was abruptly taken from all those who loved her. This kind of shocks leaves us numb with grief and all the more discouraged that we don't understand God's plan through. We do know in our souls that He is in charge, but our hearts, our thoughts are stuck in sadness and cluelessness.
A word from Oscar Wilde comes suddenly to mind: We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars (from the play, Lady's Windermere's Fan, written in 1892), Oh, I am well aware that Oscar Wilde, heavily suspected of sexual misconduct, is persona non-grata with many of Christian fellow believers, but I have read a lot of Wilde's works and I am convinced that he knew the Lord and was keenly aware of His Saving Grace. In any case, even for those who do not care for him, it is hard to deny this sentence is a beautiful and powerful reminder of our human condition. The gutter is the mess of our earthly circumstances: our sinful nature and the troubles that have piled up on us either because of wrong choices or because of the fact that this life is crippled by all sorts of evils and tragedies.
The key is where we go from that gutter, where we turn for hope. If we focus on the muck around us, we can see only helplessness and despair. Everything changes if we look up at the stars; in other words, if we acknowledge that there is Someone much bigger, smarter, powerful, and loving than ourselves. The brightness of the stars testifies of the Great Designer Who has placed them in the dark sky to dispel its very darkness. No, we are not immediately plucked out of the gutter and set up in some enchanting setting; evidently we have to learn some painful lessons from our sojourn in the gutter, but we are granted hope, the promise of Providence, the reminder that God is in charge, that nothing escapes him, and that in His own time, He will rescue us.
Our own troubles tend to lead us to forget that others have faced enormous difficulties of their own, as they walked along the paths of history. Recently one of them captured my attention, her name was Mary Fisher. I must say that I have a particular fondness for the quiet heroes that many people do not even know existed. The great events and figures of history are like a snow plow that clears the road but buries the sidewalks along the way. Mary was one of those amazing gems of history whose story is such an inspiration to us.
She was a nobody. We are not even sure of the exact time of her birth, though we know she lived in the 17th century. At the age of 27, Mary was an indentured servant of the Tomlinson family in England. We may be familiar with indentured servants coming to America, but not so much those who entered in a contract of several years of service in England simply to survive. An indentured servant was basically a step us from a slave. Once the contrast was up, the servant would receive "freedom dues," which could be land, money, or simply goods. Until then, such a servant could not break the contract and could even be sold to a new owner.
If Mary's situation was not abysmal enough, she had never received any schooling and was completely illiterate. Even though the Tomlinsons were not a cruel family, Mary's prospects were rather limited.
Then one day in 1651, George Fox, the founder of the Quaker Movement, came to preach in the village of Selby where Mary lived. The Tomlinson household went to listen to him. Mistress Tomlinson became convinced by his simple arguments for a more personal, sincere, and simple Christian faith, without the trimmings and rituals of the state church of England. Mary, too, was won over to this new form of Christianity that seemed to bring believers closer to the Scripture and God in so many ways, treating men and women on perfectly equal footing, including for preaching, and attached little importance to hierarchy and social classes since all human beings are equal before the Lord.
Mary, however, was so firmly convinced that she felt called to become an itinerant preacher. The Tomlinsons respected her calling and released her from her indenture contract. Wasting no time, Mary took the local pastor to task. The man heard nothing beyond the fact that this illiterate woman dared to act as a preacher and she was promptly thrown into prison in York. Things looked pretty bleak, but she found herself with other Quakers who encouraged, strengthened her, and maybe most importantly taught her how to read and write.
Mary did not wait to be released to use her newly-acquired skills and wrote a letter to the judge criticizing him for punishing the poor more than the rich, pleading for fairness tempered with mercy on behalf of three horse thieves who were to be hanged, and signing, "Mary Fisher, a prisoner. . . who cries for justice and true judgement without partiality." As a result, the judge granted reprieve to two of the thieves.
Once free again, Mary felt called to speak in Cambridge, one of the two seminaries (the other is Oxford) where clerics for the Church of England received their education. Careful to follow Jesus's advice to His disciples to travel in pair, she went with a "yokemate," Elizabeth William, a woman in her fifties. The mayor ordered them whipped "until the blood ran down from their bodies." Despite this horrendous treatment, the two women felt strengthened by the Lord. Subsequent traveling Quakers received protection as the town authorities declared such "legal" action unlawful.
Mary went on to preach undaunted and was thrown in prison again and again. Eventually in 1655, she felt called to take the Gospel beyond England, across the sea to Puritan Massachusetts. This time, Anne Austin, mother of five, accompanied her. On the way, they stopped in Barbados and met with some success, planting the seeds for the establishment of the first Quaker community there. In Boston, however, they faced immediate hostility. Having narrowly escaped being executed as witches, they were thrown in jail without water, food, or any means to communicate as their cell window was boarded up. Obviously the authorities were content to starve them to death.
Shocked by such barbarism, a compassionate innkeeper, Nicholas Upsall, bribed the jailors to bring them nourishment. He would become the first Quaker convert in the colonies. After five weeks, they were sent back to Barbados and from there returned to England.
Some would have given up, but instead Mary felt ready to follow God's lead to places where she did not speak the language and go as far east as she had gone west, to present the gospel to the Sultan of Turkey who was considered in Christendom to be the most evil person on earth. Thus in the summer of 1657, six Quaker missionaries embarked in this venture fraught with danger, three men (all named John!) and three women. Through various difficulties, only Mary persevered to the end, helped by the generosity of Greek farmers, she arrived on foot at Erdine, where the sultan with an army of 20,000 and his court were camped. The grand Vizier was a ruthless man who had dispatched 36000 influential opponents by having them strangled, yet, miraculously, he advised the Sultan to receive this woman who presented herself as the "ambassador of the Most High God."
She was received with all the honors due a foreign diplomat, but said nothing at first. The Sultan thought she was intimidated and offered, via his interpreter, to remove his soldiers, which she refused. She was waiting for the prompting of the Holy Spirit and when it came, she had the words to transmit the message she had come from so far to deliver. The Sultan then asked her what she thought of Mohamed, a dangerous question in such a context, but, undaunted, Mary replied that she did not know him; she knew only Christ the true prophet, the Son of God, who was the Light of the World, who had enlightened every man coming into the world. As for Mahomet, he would be judged be a true or false prophet only if his words and prophecies came to pass.
The Sultan, impressed and respectful, offered her first to remain there as an honored guest. She refused politely. He then offered her an escort to Constantinople, but Mary replied she trusted the Lord would keep her safe.
She did, indeed, returned safely to England. Later she married, and emigrated to America. Twice widowed she had three children and died in South Carolina in 1677, highly respected.
This little "nobody" faced huge difficulties and traumatic setbacks and yet, her faith was strong enough to overcome the pain, the fear, the deprivations and enter in the glory of her Master. I am not a Quaker myself, but I find Mary Fisher's example altogether humbling and inspiring. It compels me to forge on to where my Lord and Savior leads, even if I don't understand the fullness of His plan at the moment.
What an amazing gathering the Lord is preparing for us, His Children, in Heaven when all the turmoils, pains, tears, and anguish of the gutter are washed away and we are rejoicing among the stars!
September 21, 2025
It's All About Jesus.
Last week has been a brutal reminder that technology and modernization may have changed our daily lives, but ultimately, and despite our wishes and delusions about it, they have not changed who we are deep inside and where we stand about what the meaning of life is and about the Lord.
Growing up in France, I have seen and heard over and over: "Religion is for the weak; it's a crutch. Smart people know better; evolution is proven by science; God is a fairy-tale; If God existed there wouldn't be all the tragedies we see in the world," etc. etc. etc. But the real fairy-tale (or rather horror tale) is an assessment of the God of the Bible without the Bible. It is the resentment toward God precisely because He is not some fairy-tale godmother or benevolent wizard whose sole purpose is to grant us our every wish, cater to our ego, and encourage our pride and ambition!
A strange thing takes place when a Christian stands and is willing to discuss, explain, and defend his beliefs. Someone like Charlie Kirk, for instance. Someone willing to have his convictions questioned and even challenged; someone who is willing to listen to opponents to these beliefs and respond through open dialogue. Two opposite phenomena may result: either insults and anger toward the Christian, largely because the opponent cannot come up with as strong and convincing an answer; OR people may reflect honestly on their own positions and be willing to admit their errors or recognize the value of opposite beliefs with respect.
I never thought that in America, my country of adoption, a country miraculously founded on Christian values and freedom, the disdain and hatred would reach the extreme intolerance and violence we witnessed last week with the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Charlie is with the Lord now; his sufferings are over, and his brothers and sisters in Christ will be reunited with him and with all those whose hearts, in this life, belong to Jesus. What a family reunion that is going to be! Meanwhile, we are still here on earth, grieving for his bereft family, the loss of an ardent and inspiring brother, and also for the intolerance of those who are unable to disagree with others without resorting to violence, as well as for those who are willing to divest themselves of all human dignity and rejoice at this murder.
However, while Satan is no doubt gleeful at this atrocious state of affair, the voice that was meant to be silenced turns out to not be silenced at all, as many Christians have felt compelled by the prompting of the Holy Spirit to take the baton that Charlie passed and continue to speak the truth of the Gospel loud and clear. That voice is now hundreds and thousands of voices.
This reminds me of a 1942 French movie (B & W) called Les Visiteurs du Soir (The Devil's Envoys), in which Satan wreaks havoc at the court of a baron but loses one of his two servants, Giles, to love as Giles sees the purity and goodness of Anne and the two fall in love. Satan tries all he can to separate them and thinks he has won when he transform them into statues. But then, he hears their hearts beating in unison and rages, powerless against the love that cannot perish. The film was also an encouragement for French citizens in Nazi-occupied France as they recognize the allegory of Satan as Hitler, and Giles and Anne as France, oppressed but yet triumphant in hope and determination against the forces of evil. It was no small miracle that the movie escaped the rigorous Nazi censorship as the enemy missed the allegory altogether.
I believe America is witnessing a similar circumstance here and we may see the blossoming of a new Great Revival of Christian faith, a new "Jesus Revolution" to quote another very inspiring movie by the same name made in 2023.
So, where does it leave us? Are all Christians called to be like Charlie Kirk? Of course, not. The Bible is quite clear about this:
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 1 Corinthians 12:5-6
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4: 10-11
That means that we each have specific talents and we are to, first recognize them without false modesty and second, use them fully for the good of others and the glory of God. That is both scary and exciting. Scary because, if our Christian faith is real, then we can't hide behind aanother Christian brother with false modesty thinking, he has the talent to share his faith; I don't have that gift. That may certainly be true; not everyone is Billy Graham; however, it is not so much the talent as our willingness to use it for the Lord. Some talents are impressive: healing, prophecy; but not everyone is given that kind of talents. For some, it will be being a good organizer, or a good listener. Some of the greatest prayer warriors have been handicapped by disease or imprisoned. Some are artists, or writers; some are home makers or janitors. Although He calls some to be missionaries, most often wherever we find ourselves, God usually has meant us to work from there.
However, we are all missionaries. We are all ambassadors. In our own way.
It is a great, exhilarating honor; but it is also a calling full of hardships. We may not all be killed for trying to share our faith, but we most certainly will be mocked, misrepresented, despised, rejected, and more.
It should not come as a surprise: was not Jesus Himself treated unjustly? Why should we expect better treatment? Because we are an advanced civilization, with computers, cars, media? Well, we just had a tragic reminder that such things do not alter our nature, only our external appearance and circumstances at best.
Jesus Himself reminds us of the good news, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." We may not feel like great ambassadors, but the Lord who appointed us is taking care of the results. What He wants from us is our willingness, our trust, and our determination to do our best.
Already we can see Christian love at work in the aftermath of this murder: Instead of hate and escalation to violence, we have seen people praying for the murderer that he may realize the magnitude of his crime, that he may sincerely repent of his hate, and accept God's grace. In the same way, there has been a wave of compassion toward the parents of the murderer. This is what makes Christianity unique and truly divine, obeying the Lord's command of loving our enemies, going beyond our earthly sufferings and focusing on the eternal side of God's plan.
Ultimately all this division in our nation is not political but religious:
It is all about Jesus. About where we stand in regard of Who He says He is.
Rejecting His reality, His authority, and His grace may allow someone to "triumph" for a very short while, but ultimately, without genuine repentance, this rejecting with lead to eternal misery; while accepting in faith that the Lord really is Who He is and receiving the gift of His grace with awe and gratitude will lead us to amazing eternal Life with our Savior.
It really is all about Jesus.
Without Him pride, selfishness, hate, bitterness, resentment and despair rule. With Him, true perspective on the meaning of life and unshakable assurance of His love for us.
It should not be a difficult choice. But it is a choice.
It's All About Jesus.
Last week has been a brutal reminder that technology and modernization may have changed our daily lives, but ultimately, and despite our wishes and delusions about it, they have not changed who we are deep inside and where we stand about what the meaning of life is and about the Lord.
Growing up in France, I have seen and heard over and over: "Religion is for the weak; it's a crutch. Smart people know better; evolution is proven by science; God is a fairy-tale; If God existed there wouldn't be all the tragedies we see in the world," etc. etc. etc. But the real fairy-tale (or rather horror tale) is an assessment of the God of the Bible without the Bible. It is the resentment toward God precisely because He is not some fairy-tale godmother or benevolent wizard whose sole purpose is to grant us our every wish, cater to our ego, and encourage our pride and ambition!
A strange thing takes place when a Christian stands and is willing to discuss, explain, and defend his beliefs. Someone like Charlie Kirk, for instance. Someone willing to have his convictions questioned and even challenged; someone who is willing to listen to opponents to these beliefs and respond through open dialogue. Two opposite phenomena may result: either insults and anger toward the Christian, largely because the opponent cannot come up with as strong and convincing an answer; OR people may reflect honestly on their own positions and be willing to admit their errors or recognize the value of opposite beliefs with respect.
I never thought that in America, my country of adoption, a country miraculously founded on Christian values and freedom, the disdain and hatred would reach the extreme intolerance and violence we witnessed last week with the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Charlie is with the Lord now; his sufferings are over, and his brothers and sisters in Christ will be reunited with him and with all those whose hearts, in this life, belong to Jesus. What a family reunion that is going to be! Meanwhile, we are still here on earth, grieving for his bereft family, the loss of an ardent and inspiring brother, and also for the intolerance of those who are unable to disagree with others without resorting to violence, as well as for those who are willing to divest themselves of all human dignity and rejoice at this murder.
However, while Satan is no doubt gleeful at this atrocious state of affair, the voice that was meant to be silenced turns out to not be silenced at all, as many Christians have felt compelled by the prompting of the Holy Spirit to take the baton that Charlie passed and continue to speak the truth of the Gospel loud and clear. That voice is now hundreds and thousands of voices.
This reminds me of a 1942 French movie (B & W) called Les Visiteurs du Soir (The Devil's Envoys), in which Satan wreaks havoc at the court of a baron but loses one of his two servants, Giles, to love as Giles sees the purity and goodness of Anne and the two fall in love. Satan tries all he can to separate them and thinks he has won when he transform them into statues. But then, he hears their hearts beating in unison and rages, powerless against the love that cannot perish. The film was also an encouragement for French citizens in Nazi-occupied France as they recognize the allegory of Satan as Hitler, and Giles and Anne as France, oppressed but yet triumphant in hope and determination against the forces of evil. It was no small miracle that the movie escaped the rigorous Nazi censorship as the enemy missed the allegory altogether.
I believe America is witnessing a similar circumstance here and we may see the blossoming of a new Great Revival of Christian faith, a new "Jesus Revolution" to quote another very inspiring movie by the same name made in 2023.
So, where does it leave us? Are all Christians called to be like Charlie Kirk? Of course, not. The Bible is quite clear about this:
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 1 Corinthians 12:5-6
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4: 10-11
That means that we each have specific talents and we are to, first recognize them without false modesty and second, use them fully for the good of others and the glory of God. That is both scary and exciting. Scary because, if our Christian faith is real, then we can't hide behind aanother Christian brother with false modesty thinking, he has the talent to share his faith; I don't have that gift. That may certainly be true; not everyone is Billy Graham; however, it is not so much the talent as our willingness to use it for the Lord. Some talents are impressive: healing, prophecy; but not everyone is given that kind of talents. For some, it will be being a good organizer, or a good listener. Some of the greatest prayer warriors have been handicapped by disease or imprisoned. Some are artists, or writers; some are home makers or janitors. Although He calls some to be missionaries, most often wherever we find ourselves, God usually has meant us to work from there.
However, we are all missionaries. We are all ambassadors. In our own way.
It is a great, exhilarating honor; but it is also a calling full of hardships. We may not all be killed for trying to share our faith, but we most certainly will be mocked, misrepresented, despised, rejected, and more.
It should not come as a surprise: was not Jesus Himself treated unjustly? Why should we expect better treatment? Because we are an advanced civilization, with computers, cars, media? Well, we just had a tragic reminder that such things do not alter our nature, only our external appearance and circumstances at best.
Jesus Himself reminds us of the good news, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." We may not feel like great ambassadors, but the Lord who appointed us is taking care of the results. What He wants from us is our willingness, our trust, and our determination to do our best.
Already we can see Christian love at work in the aftermath of this murder: Instead of hate and escalation to violence, we have seen people praying for the murderer that he may realize the magnitude of his crime, that he may sincerely repent of his hate, and accept God's grace. In the same way, there has been a wave of compassion toward the parents of the murderer. This is what makes Christianity unique and truly divine, obeying the Lord's command of loving our enemies, going beyond our earthly sufferings and focusing on the eternal side of God's plan.
Ultimately all this division in our nation is not political but religious:
It is all about Jesus. About where we stand in regard of Who He says He is.
Rejecting His reality, His authority, and His grace may allow someone to "triumph" for a very short while, but ultimately, without genuine repentance, this rejecting with lead to eternal misery; while accepting in faith that the Lord really is Who He is and receiving the gift of His grace with awe and gratitude will lead us to amazing eternal Life with our Savior.
It really is all about Jesus.
Without Him pride, selfishness, hate, bitterness, resentment and despair rule. With Him, true perspective on the meaning of life and unshakable assurance of His love for us.
It should not be a difficult choice. But it is a choice.
August 13 2025
Enough Is As Good As a Feast.
We live in an age of high consumerism, high speed, and high dissatisfaction. We sometimes experience a bulimia for hoarding things that, in the great picture of life, are of little import. I am still wondering, for instance, why, when the Covid epidemic struck, people rushed to stock up on toilet paper! Seriously? I can think of a great many things that would have been a better choice: long-preservation food, so one wouldn't have to get groceries as often; Tylenol, which palliates many aches and pains; soap, to keep contamination at bay; good books, to never run out of learning and thinking etc. In fact, it is rather embarrassing to think that future generations looking at our times, will see that hoarding toilet paper was our #1 priority!
This is different from stocking a pantry with necessary goods, so one does not have to rush constantly to the store to get missing ingredients, or keeping a reasonable sum in savings to face an emergency. Hoarding is accumulating to have more than too much; it is repeatedly raising the bar up of where that "too-much" limit should be. It becomes obsession and addiction.
The same goes with other excesses such as, alcohol, drugs, junk food or even food, video games, social media connection, or anything else that may blur our true priorities, cause us to sink our lives into nothingness, and lead to irreparable damage to ourselves or those we love.
Long ago, I visited the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, prized by the French as one of their most magnificent sites. I was struck, not by its supposed magnificence and its architectural symmetry, but by it overabundance of gold, whether real or fake. It is everywhere: furniture, draperies, ceilings, statues, paintings, mirrors and their frames, dishes and silverware, light fixtures. It is overwhelming and nauseating, and doubly so, because it reflects rather accurately the personality of King Louis XIV, who had it built.
Louis was one of the worst kings in French History, despotic, full of himself, intolerant, jealous of others' success, greedy, selfish, and firmly determined to be perceived as God's special representative. And, to add salt to injury, he also had the longest reign among the French monarchs. He had Versailles built so the highest and most powerful nobles of the kingdom would be forced to reside also in the palace and he could better keep a close eye on them. Talk about a golden cage! Really, the thirst for riches, power, and fame is also an addiction.
However, for all this garish display and ostentation, the Palace of Versailles had no running water, no water closets, and the heating system was catastrophic in the winter making its inhabitants spectacularly uncomfortable. All together a case of excess, pride, and waste.
By contrast, I visited the delightful Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, where I came across this clever saying, Enough is as good as a feast (first credited to Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales). Maybe it is familiar to many, but I had never heard it before and it made me realize how objectively accurate it truly is. If we have enough, what else do we need? Anything more would be excess, would obey an unhealthy thirst for hoarding, and would actually make us completely miss the blessing of simple contentment.
It brought to mind the Palace of Versailles again, but with an added perspective. For all his wealth and power, Louis XIV was much poorer than I am. Our house does not compare to Versailles (thank goodness!); it is not grand, nor is it made to impress, but it is comfortable, welcoming, We can cool it in the summer, keep it warm in the winter, it has indoor plumbing, electricity, and the people who come to see us feel loved and appreciated. It does not have hundreds of rooms, but it has enough for people to get together or alternately find a quiet place by themselves to read, pray, or sleep. The hospitality we offer is born of love, not of a desire to control others. Our enough is indeed as good as a feast.
But this goes much deeper yet, because this insatiability echoes a spiritual dysfunction. For many, having more than others and reaching to have more yet is a mark of success. They draw meaning from standing above the rest and delude themselves into believing that they are the sole architects of their existence. The accumulation of possessions becomes confused with their very substance and purpose as human beings. Take away their possessions and they lose their identity.
This brings me to reflect on the importance of balance in life. We live, maybe more than before, in an age of extremes. Just look at the various health diets that are spread before us. "Follow this non-meat one and you will be healthy; no, this only-protein one is the answer; no, you must exercise for so many hours or your life is at risk; eat eggs; don't eat eggs; oatmeal is good for you; no, it's bad etc." And off the pendulum swings from one excess to the other, which brought my husband to conclude that "listening to them, it is only safe, maybe, to drink water!" The only real thing these extremes accomplish is leading people to completely miss the point that excess is the real threat and moderation the solution!
Enough is as good as a feast might be the wisest advice for all ages. Indeed, Proverbs 30: 8 puts it thus:
"Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God." (Message Bible Translation)
How much happier would our society be if it could pause long enough in its race for more to savor the enough it can enjoy now and spare itself a helpless future of regrets for misplaced priorities, when it will be too late.
Now is the time to impress our young children with strong values that will equip them against the doubts and difficulties they will face in adulthood. Now is the time to choose a less glamorous or lower-paying career in order to put family first. Doing all the good we can, while we can, where we can may not bring us wealth, fame, or even recognition, but if we know the wisdom to take each day at a time with contentment and thankfulness, we will achieve true wealth and our Feast will be splendid indeed. How much happier would our society be if it could pause long enough in its race for more to savor the enough it can enjoy.
Enough Is As Good As a Feast.
We live in an age of high consumerism, high speed, and high dissatisfaction. We sometimes experience a bulimia for hoarding things that, in the great picture of life, are of little import. I am still wondering, for instance, why, when the Covid epidemic struck, people rushed to stock up on toilet paper! Seriously? I can think of a great many things that would have been a better choice: long-preservation food, so one wouldn't have to get groceries as often; Tylenol, which palliates many aches and pains; soap, to keep contamination at bay; good books, to never run out of learning and thinking etc. In fact, it is rather embarrassing to think that future generations looking at our times, will see that hoarding toilet paper was our #1 priority!
This is different from stocking a pantry with necessary goods, so one does not have to rush constantly to the store to get missing ingredients, or keeping a reasonable sum in savings to face an emergency. Hoarding is accumulating to have more than too much; it is repeatedly raising the bar up of where that "too-much" limit should be. It becomes obsession and addiction.
The same goes with other excesses such as, alcohol, drugs, junk food or even food, video games, social media connection, or anything else that may blur our true priorities, cause us to sink our lives into nothingness, and lead to irreparable damage to ourselves or those we love.
Long ago, I visited the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, prized by the French as one of their most magnificent sites. I was struck, not by its supposed magnificence and its architectural symmetry, but by it overabundance of gold, whether real or fake. It is everywhere: furniture, draperies, ceilings, statues, paintings, mirrors and their frames, dishes and silverware, light fixtures. It is overwhelming and nauseating, and doubly so, because it reflects rather accurately the personality of King Louis XIV, who had it built.
Louis was one of the worst kings in French History, despotic, full of himself, intolerant, jealous of others' success, greedy, selfish, and firmly determined to be perceived as God's special representative. And, to add salt to injury, he also had the longest reign among the French monarchs. He had Versailles built so the highest and most powerful nobles of the kingdom would be forced to reside also in the palace and he could better keep a close eye on them. Talk about a golden cage! Really, the thirst for riches, power, and fame is also an addiction.
However, for all this garish display and ostentation, the Palace of Versailles had no running water, no water closets, and the heating system was catastrophic in the winter making its inhabitants spectacularly uncomfortable. All together a case of excess, pride, and waste.
By contrast, I visited the delightful Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, where I came across this clever saying, Enough is as good as a feast (first credited to Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales). Maybe it is familiar to many, but I had never heard it before and it made me realize how objectively accurate it truly is. If we have enough, what else do we need? Anything more would be excess, would obey an unhealthy thirst for hoarding, and would actually make us completely miss the blessing of simple contentment.
It brought to mind the Palace of Versailles again, but with an added perspective. For all his wealth and power, Louis XIV was much poorer than I am. Our house does not compare to Versailles (thank goodness!); it is not grand, nor is it made to impress, but it is comfortable, welcoming, We can cool it in the summer, keep it warm in the winter, it has indoor plumbing, electricity, and the people who come to see us feel loved and appreciated. It does not have hundreds of rooms, but it has enough for people to get together or alternately find a quiet place by themselves to read, pray, or sleep. The hospitality we offer is born of love, not of a desire to control others. Our enough is indeed as good as a feast.
But this goes much deeper yet, because this insatiability echoes a spiritual dysfunction. For many, having more than others and reaching to have more yet is a mark of success. They draw meaning from standing above the rest and delude themselves into believing that they are the sole architects of their existence. The accumulation of possessions becomes confused with their very substance and purpose as human beings. Take away their possessions and they lose their identity.
This brings me to reflect on the importance of balance in life. We live, maybe more than before, in an age of extremes. Just look at the various health diets that are spread before us. "Follow this non-meat one and you will be healthy; no, this only-protein one is the answer; no, you must exercise for so many hours or your life is at risk; eat eggs; don't eat eggs; oatmeal is good for you; no, it's bad etc." And off the pendulum swings from one excess to the other, which brought my husband to conclude that "listening to them, it is only safe, maybe, to drink water!" The only real thing these extremes accomplish is leading people to completely miss the point that excess is the real threat and moderation the solution!
Enough is as good as a feast might be the wisest advice for all ages. Indeed, Proverbs 30: 8 puts it thus:
"Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God." (Message Bible Translation)
How much happier would our society be if it could pause long enough in its race for more to savor the enough it can enjoy now and spare itself a helpless future of regrets for misplaced priorities, when it will be too late.
Now is the time to impress our young children with strong values that will equip them against the doubts and difficulties they will face in adulthood. Now is the time to choose a less glamorous or lower-paying career in order to put family first. Doing all the good we can, while we can, where we can may not bring us wealth, fame, or even recognition, but if we know the wisdom to take each day at a time with contentment and thankfulness, we will achieve true wealth and our Feast will be splendid indeed. How much happier would our society be if it could pause long enough in its race for more to savor the enough it can enjoy.
July 14th, 2025
On The Trail of Eleanor Porter
"Who's Eleanor Porter?" you might say, and that is precisely my problem.
Some may have seen and enjoyed the famous 1960 Disney film, Pollyanna. They don't know that the original story was published in 1913 by a self-effacing American author from New Hampshire, named Eleanor Porter.
Like many others, I first discovered the story through the delightful Disney movie, but it was only when I was working on my dissertation, nearly twenty years ago (yikes! Time does fly!) that I was shocked to learn that no biography of Eleanor Porter was ever written. I yearn to write one some day and have begun an arduous research.
"Why?" You may wonder. Because Eleanor Porter created a veritable revolution when that story was first published. It was a very wonderful kind of revolution; a revolution of hope and joy, and yet today, no one seems to have heard of her.
Indeed, Pollyanna, an eleven-year old orphan left without anyone in the world except a wealthy aunt who takes her in, not out of love, but out of a sense duty and moral obligation, manages to reach out to the entire little town in which she comes to live and transforms it completely from an island of indifference to a community of friendly, caring, and, yes, cheerful neighbors. How? By teaching them to be grateful in the midst of trials and hardships, to look for and focus on the silver lining of each cloud, and to go forward in love, faith, and joy, instead of letting the difficulties of life pull them down.
Modern detractors of the novel have looked down their arrogant noses at it as the naïve and childish imaginings of a simplistic author who, like her protagonist, looked at the world with rose-tinted glasses, woefully inept at grasping the grim realities of life.
Have you ever noticed that pessimists always call themselves "realists"? I believe it is because they want to believe they are right without having the courage to see themselves as the negative people they are. For the same reason, they are totally thrown off their self-righteousness when people or events undermine their theories; worse yet, they become suspicious of generous and optimistic people, as if such people were out to trick them! How sad to deprive themselves of some of the great joys of life, and to wallow in darkness, simply because they are afraid of the light! They completely miss the fact that what Pollyanna teaches us, in her humble and loving ways is a courage born of faith and empathy.
Contrarily to these negative thinkers, who assume far more than they know, Eleanor Porter knew all too well about the hardships of life. She was only eight when the father she adored, Francis Hodgman, died of tuberculosis. The man had been a dynamic and beloved presence, not only in his family's life, but also in the town of Littleton, as a pharmacist and an active member of the community, cheerful, generous, empathetic, encouraging. Added to the pain of losing such a charismatic father, Eleanor saw her mother, instead of wallowing in grief and self pity, valiantly trying to maintain a home life as normal as possible for her brother Fred and her, by painting and selling her work and by giving private art lessons. In fact Luella Hodgman is the one who first created the "glad game" for her children. Despite her uneasy circumstances, Luella encouraged Eleanor to pursue her talent for music; however, it was not always an easy task, since Eleanor encountered setbacks because of her fragile health.
Eleanor first gained recognition as a skilled soprano singer and pianist before she met and married John Lyman Porter in 1892. It was an extraordinarily loving marriage, as attest the hundreds of letters they exchanged when they were apart. John evidently encouraged her to pursue her dream of writing then and she published her first novel in 1907, after several of her short stories appeared in a variety of magazines, such as the Lady's Home Journal and numerous Christian publications.
Many believe today that Pollyanna was intended solely as a children's story, but at the time, it was clear that this best-seller enjoyed a far greater audience. Not only did adult fans' letters come pouring in, but the book was an immense success at home and abroad, translated in various languages. It also inspired the creation of "Pollyanna clubs" all over the United States; some were for girls, but others for adults, encouraging members to "Be glad, be good, be brave."
A Good Housekeeping magazine of July 1947 reminds readers that even inmates in a state penitentiary created a club they called, "The Pollyanna Glad Kids." Their founder revealed that several men, "turned from a life of worry and gloom" thanks to Pollyanna!
The appreciation for the novel bridged social classes as well as religious denominations, as Catholics, Protestants, and Jews praised it equally. During the First World War, it even sustained moral among some of the troops.
By contrast to many modern celebrities, Eleanor Porter never let her success go to her head. In fact, when a publisher asked her to send him a photograph of herself for his magazine, Eleanor was clearly reluctant, thinking it would be rather boastful. The publisher insisted, assuring her it would greatly please the readers who loved her stories. Eventually, Eleanor relented and the publisher thanked her warmly. But what this episode tells us is that Eleanor obeyed the need to write to encourage and bless others through uplifting stories. That, more than fame and recognition, was her main goal, her ultimate concern.
This humility may be why there has never been a biography written of her: she only had simple, charming, and positive stories to tell, which had yet a profound message, addressing issues from child labor to divorce. That was her calling, and she never felt that her personal life was of great interest to readers, that is why she talked so little of herself, why her letters give us only a small glimpse of her, and why writing the biography of this woman who was yet so inspiring, is a challenge for the researcher.
But then, Pollyanna would probably say, "Be glad that you have this author's works and that you can discern in them much of the essence of Eleanor's spirit and values."
On The Trail of Eleanor Porter
"Who's Eleanor Porter?" you might say, and that is precisely my problem.
Some may have seen and enjoyed the famous 1960 Disney film, Pollyanna. They don't know that the original story was published in 1913 by a self-effacing American author from New Hampshire, named Eleanor Porter.
Like many others, I first discovered the story through the delightful Disney movie, but it was only when I was working on my dissertation, nearly twenty years ago (yikes! Time does fly!) that I was shocked to learn that no biography of Eleanor Porter was ever written. I yearn to write one some day and have begun an arduous research.
"Why?" You may wonder. Because Eleanor Porter created a veritable revolution when that story was first published. It was a very wonderful kind of revolution; a revolution of hope and joy, and yet today, no one seems to have heard of her.
Indeed, Pollyanna, an eleven-year old orphan left without anyone in the world except a wealthy aunt who takes her in, not out of love, but out of a sense duty and moral obligation, manages to reach out to the entire little town in which she comes to live and transforms it completely from an island of indifference to a community of friendly, caring, and, yes, cheerful neighbors. How? By teaching them to be grateful in the midst of trials and hardships, to look for and focus on the silver lining of each cloud, and to go forward in love, faith, and joy, instead of letting the difficulties of life pull them down.
Modern detractors of the novel have looked down their arrogant noses at it as the naïve and childish imaginings of a simplistic author who, like her protagonist, looked at the world with rose-tinted glasses, woefully inept at grasping the grim realities of life.
Have you ever noticed that pessimists always call themselves "realists"? I believe it is because they want to believe they are right without having the courage to see themselves as the negative people they are. For the same reason, they are totally thrown off their self-righteousness when people or events undermine their theories; worse yet, they become suspicious of generous and optimistic people, as if such people were out to trick them! How sad to deprive themselves of some of the great joys of life, and to wallow in darkness, simply because they are afraid of the light! They completely miss the fact that what Pollyanna teaches us, in her humble and loving ways is a courage born of faith and empathy.
Contrarily to these negative thinkers, who assume far more than they know, Eleanor Porter knew all too well about the hardships of life. She was only eight when the father she adored, Francis Hodgman, died of tuberculosis. The man had been a dynamic and beloved presence, not only in his family's life, but also in the town of Littleton, as a pharmacist and an active member of the community, cheerful, generous, empathetic, encouraging. Added to the pain of losing such a charismatic father, Eleanor saw her mother, instead of wallowing in grief and self pity, valiantly trying to maintain a home life as normal as possible for her brother Fred and her, by painting and selling her work and by giving private art lessons. In fact Luella Hodgman is the one who first created the "glad game" for her children. Despite her uneasy circumstances, Luella encouraged Eleanor to pursue her talent for music; however, it was not always an easy task, since Eleanor encountered setbacks because of her fragile health.
Eleanor first gained recognition as a skilled soprano singer and pianist before she met and married John Lyman Porter in 1892. It was an extraordinarily loving marriage, as attest the hundreds of letters they exchanged when they were apart. John evidently encouraged her to pursue her dream of writing then and she published her first novel in 1907, after several of her short stories appeared in a variety of magazines, such as the Lady's Home Journal and numerous Christian publications.
Many believe today that Pollyanna was intended solely as a children's story, but at the time, it was clear that this best-seller enjoyed a far greater audience. Not only did adult fans' letters come pouring in, but the book was an immense success at home and abroad, translated in various languages. It also inspired the creation of "Pollyanna clubs" all over the United States; some were for girls, but others for adults, encouraging members to "Be glad, be good, be brave."
A Good Housekeeping magazine of July 1947 reminds readers that even inmates in a state penitentiary created a club they called, "The Pollyanna Glad Kids." Their founder revealed that several men, "turned from a life of worry and gloom" thanks to Pollyanna!
The appreciation for the novel bridged social classes as well as religious denominations, as Catholics, Protestants, and Jews praised it equally. During the First World War, it even sustained moral among some of the troops.
By contrast to many modern celebrities, Eleanor Porter never let her success go to her head. In fact, when a publisher asked her to send him a photograph of herself for his magazine, Eleanor was clearly reluctant, thinking it would be rather boastful. The publisher insisted, assuring her it would greatly please the readers who loved her stories. Eventually, Eleanor relented and the publisher thanked her warmly. But what this episode tells us is that Eleanor obeyed the need to write to encourage and bless others through uplifting stories. That, more than fame and recognition, was her main goal, her ultimate concern.
This humility may be why there has never been a biography written of her: she only had simple, charming, and positive stories to tell, which had yet a profound message, addressing issues from child labor to divorce. That was her calling, and she never felt that her personal life was of great interest to readers, that is why she talked so little of herself, why her letters give us only a small glimpse of her, and why writing the biography of this woman who was yet so inspiring, is a challenge for the researcher.
But then, Pollyanna would probably say, "Be glad that you have this author's works and that you can discern in them much of the essence of Eleanor's spirit and values."
No Man is an Island
June 8th 2025
Every funeral we attend reminds us of the fragility and the ephemerality of life. It reopens the wounds of grief of past losses, but it also deepens our empathy for our fellow human beings. Their pain is similar to ours, because we are, as Charles Dickens puts it, "fellow travelers to the grave" and as John Donne explains, we cannot isolate ourselves from others, nor can we ignore the sufferings of earthly life, because, indeed, "No man is an island": we are all connected to one another.
Most importantly, and more joyfully, despite our limitations of longevity or power, we are also connected "vertically" to our Creator and Savior.
Sometimes, life's troubles and busyness distract us from that essential truth and we let ourselves be buffeted by our fears, doubts, and countless limitations and we even live as if this earthly life was the only life.
The worldly influencers, who reject God openly or more subtly, under the disguise of being open-minded, understanding, humble, and tolerant, strive on sidetracking our attention to aspects of the visible that stand out, such as war, injustice, failure, situations that we cannot understand, and they offer as solution selfishness under all its forms, from frivolous entertainment or reliance on mind-altering substances, to basic pride, and to intolerance and aggressive ambition. They make this choice seem easy and rewarding, but it leads to deeper darkness, from which too many never find their way back to the light. As Christina Rossetti in her tale, "Goblin Market" reminds us, the fruits of evil may taste deliciously sweet, but they after taste is bitter and deadly.
Fortunately, we have a choice. Our Creator has made us capable of observing, thinking, evaluating, remembering, learning, giving, and making wise judgments and decisions.
Of course, we have the Bible to guide us, but many works of literature echo biblical truth to keep us on the right path with vivid examples and illustrations. Through it we discover that not only no one is an island with his or her contemporaries, but our human connectivity expands through cultures and centuries. Let us consider, for instance, Inspector Bucket from Dickens's Bleak House, Not only does he set the standard of an honest, skilled, and kind, yet tenacious detective, who solves the crime in this complex novel, but he gives us a clear understanding of what a loving, partnership marriage should look like. Mrs. Bucket never appears in person in the text, but the husband-wife connection is amply evident in this endearing middle-age couple. Mrs. Bucket even helps her husband catch the criminal, whom she rightfully identifies as a lodger in her boarding house. Of course this long novel is rich in many other characters and inspiring truths.
As John Donne points out in his "Meditation XVII" we, humans, are also books, or rather like chapters of one volume of which God is the Author. We each have a story that does not end with earthly life: "when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another." What an interesting and beautiful image: death as a translation into a better language, not an end, but a new beginning in a dimension where we shall know all about one another as well as about God!
John Donne had his share of sufferings and difficulties, more than many people, and yet, as a pastor and as a poet, he used his talents to help us see, across his time to ours, beyond the here and now and to make the most of our own life with assurance, courage, and, yes, Joy, for the destination our Creator has prepared for us, if we put our trust fully in Him, is truly extraordinary!
Shining Teapot
May 4th 2025
May 4th 2025
Sometimes life brings us rough times and stress of many sorts, from rebellious children to financial difficulties, disappointment with even those closest to our hearts, health concerns, etc. Sometimes worries about a myriad of "what ifs" suddenly fall on our tired souls like a ton of bricks. What can we do in such times as these, when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, inadequate, and when we simply wish this was all just a bad dream?
I would suggest 3 ways that bring me some respite and help make my burden a bit lighter, and I hope that they may bring you a degree of comfort and strength as well.
1. Pray. I often pray my deepest prayers in writing. It helps me focus on the items I am presenting to the Lord. Paying careful attention to the wording is important, not only for clarity but because God deserves the best and that includes the way we address Him and list our problems.
Writing down what we are praying for also allows us to think more in depth: what am I asking for? Why? What am I ready to change or improve in my life to allow the Lord to work in and through me?
Praying goes hand in hand with searching the Scriptures, looking for verses and passages that particularly speak to our heart and keep us focused on the fact that God is in charge. Not only does He know our troubles and their impact on our life, but He has a plan. I recently learned that the words "Fear not!" are repeated 365 time through the Bible. Thus, no matter how unjust, shocking, dreadful our trials might be, they are first a test of our faith, for in order to fear not we must trust the Lord and His promises. Completely.
2. Change focus. Instead of bemoaning the situation we cannot change, let us do what is in our power to do, which does not have to be something directly linked to the trial we are going through. Having a running to-do list for the week, month, year would be a good place to start. Selecting an item and focusing on doing it well is far better than pointlessly spinning our energy into a web of anguish that smothers us and accomplishes nothing.
However, the idea here is not to transform ourselves into some task-completing robots. It is a deliberate effort to put our faith in action by going about our work and doing it as unto the Lord as an application of our trust in Him.
At the same time, we have to keep in mind that the Lord Himself showed us the importance of rest. So, it is necessary for us to intersperse our times of focused tasks with times of rest and relaxation such as sleep, a leisurely walk, listening to music, watching a movie, dinner with friends, playing fetch with the dog, etc
3. Be recharged As a literature major, texts, short stories, poems, novels, or even sayings, play a powerfully inspiring and motivating role in my life. Artwork acts in the same manner. They bring beauty as well as as new perspectives; they are like a breath of spiritual fresh air that refuels the soul.
Their impact is particularly precious in times of distress, as they faithfully bring comfort and encouragement. I count many such friends, always ready to help, like Dickens' Christmas Carol, but here are 3 of them:
The first is Pollyanna. Our modern society tends to look down on this extraordinary ordinary girl; they ridicule her optimism as naive blindness to the harshness of real life. Such critics overlook the tragedy of the young girl's situation: she is an orphan; she has lost ALL that was dear and familiar to her. She is taken to a new place where she knows no one and where no one, not even her aunt --her sole living relative-- shows real love to her. And yet, despite her overwhelmingly distressing circumstances, Pollyanna, holding on to her father's teaching and her faith, sets out not only to find and cling to the silver lining of her very dark cloud, but also to help everyone she meets improve their own outlook and their own lives.
Many reject the story as a work of simplistic fiction and yet, it is mirroring the words of a famous and very real believer, Francis of Assisi, who wrote this compelling prayer, " O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. . ."
Each of us, as Christians, has been called to be indeed "God's instrument of peace," to sow love in the midst of hatred, faith that overcomes doubt, hope that defeats despair, light that dispels darkness, and joy that destroys sadness. Doing this, indeed, makes all the difference.
The third text, touching as well as inspiring, reminds us that the little things we sometimes do, not fully conscious that we are doing them, can contribute to bringing comfort and strength.
Years ago, while perusing volumes in a second-hand bookstore, I came upon this little gem. General Brougher was prisoner of war in a Japanese POW camp for nearly four years, during the Second World War. He coped with his distressful circumstances by writing poems to record his experience, which he collected under the title The Long Dark Road. One poem in particular describes the impact that a British fellow prisoner's teapot has on his companions:
". . .A sturdy brigadier,
A Nippon bayonet at his rear,
He struggled with his tangled gear,
And a little silver teapot he carried in his hand.
The battle lost, the pris'ner's pack
With all he had saved was on his back,
But the little silver pot was polished bravely bright;
And in my mind for just a space
There flashed a gleam of UNION JACK and of all Old England's might."
Maintaining normalcy in times of troubles is not ignoring the reality of the problems that disrupt our life; rather it is forging on with the courage of faith, refusing to let fear enslave our souls; it is creating a shelter amidst the storm for ourselves and those we love, doing what is in our power to do, while we wait upon the Lord.
So let us not neglect to shine our own teapots bright!
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I would suggest 3 ways that bring me some respite and help make my burden a bit lighter, and I hope that they may bring you a degree of comfort and strength as well.
1. Pray. I often pray my deepest prayers in writing. It helps me focus on the items I am presenting to the Lord. Paying careful attention to the wording is important, not only for clarity but because God deserves the best and that includes the way we address Him and list our problems.
Writing down what we are praying for also allows us to think more in depth: what am I asking for? Why? What am I ready to change or improve in my life to allow the Lord to work in and through me?
Praying goes hand in hand with searching the Scriptures, looking for verses and passages that particularly speak to our heart and keep us focused on the fact that God is in charge. Not only does He know our troubles and their impact on our life, but He has a plan. I recently learned that the words "Fear not!" are repeated 365 time through the Bible. Thus, no matter how unjust, shocking, dreadful our trials might be, they are first a test of our faith, for in order to fear not we must trust the Lord and His promises. Completely.
2. Change focus. Instead of bemoaning the situation we cannot change, let us do what is in our power to do, which does not have to be something directly linked to the trial we are going through. Having a running to-do list for the week, month, year would be a good place to start. Selecting an item and focusing on doing it well is far better than pointlessly spinning our energy into a web of anguish that smothers us and accomplishes nothing.
However, the idea here is not to transform ourselves into some task-completing robots. It is a deliberate effort to put our faith in action by going about our work and doing it as unto the Lord as an application of our trust in Him.
At the same time, we have to keep in mind that the Lord Himself showed us the importance of rest. So, it is necessary for us to intersperse our times of focused tasks with times of rest and relaxation such as sleep, a leisurely walk, listening to music, watching a movie, dinner with friends, playing fetch with the dog, etc
3. Be recharged As a literature major, texts, short stories, poems, novels, or even sayings, play a powerfully inspiring and motivating role in my life. Artwork acts in the same manner. They bring beauty as well as as new perspectives; they are like a breath of spiritual fresh air that refuels the soul.
Their impact is particularly precious in times of distress, as they faithfully bring comfort and encouragement. I count many such friends, always ready to help, like Dickens' Christmas Carol, but here are 3 of them:
The first is Pollyanna. Our modern society tends to look down on this extraordinary ordinary girl; they ridicule her optimism as naive blindness to the harshness of real life. Such critics overlook the tragedy of the young girl's situation: she is an orphan; she has lost ALL that was dear and familiar to her. She is taken to a new place where she knows no one and where no one, not even her aunt --her sole living relative-- shows real love to her. And yet, despite her overwhelmingly distressing circumstances, Pollyanna, holding on to her father's teaching and her faith, sets out not only to find and cling to the silver lining of her very dark cloud, but also to help everyone she meets improve their own outlook and their own lives.
Many reject the story as a work of simplistic fiction and yet, it is mirroring the words of a famous and very real believer, Francis of Assisi, who wrote this compelling prayer, " O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. . ."
Each of us, as Christians, has been called to be indeed "God's instrument of peace," to sow love in the midst of hatred, faith that overcomes doubt, hope that defeats despair, light that dispels darkness, and joy that destroys sadness. Doing this, indeed, makes all the difference.
The third text, touching as well as inspiring, reminds us that the little things we sometimes do, not fully conscious that we are doing them, can contribute to bringing comfort and strength.
Years ago, while perusing volumes in a second-hand bookstore, I came upon this little gem. General Brougher was prisoner of war in a Japanese POW camp for nearly four years, during the Second World War. He coped with his distressful circumstances by writing poems to record his experience, which he collected under the title The Long Dark Road. One poem in particular describes the impact that a British fellow prisoner's teapot has on his companions:
". . .A sturdy brigadier,
A Nippon bayonet at his rear,
He struggled with his tangled gear,
And a little silver teapot he carried in his hand.
The battle lost, the pris'ner's pack
With all he had saved was on his back,
But the little silver pot was polished bravely bright;
And in my mind for just a space
There flashed a gleam of UNION JACK and of all Old England's might."
Maintaining normalcy in times of troubles is not ignoring the reality of the problems that disrupt our life; rather it is forging on with the courage of faith, refusing to let fear enslave our souls; it is creating a shelter amidst the storm for ourselves and those we love, doing what is in our power to do, while we wait upon the Lord.
So let us not neglect to shine our own teapots bright!
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Disney's new Snow White
Sylvie Shires April 2nd, 2025
There seems to be a lot of hostility towards the new Disney's Snow White movie from Christian and Conservative quarters (to which I belong). However, I think we have to be more analytical rather than impulsive in this matter. We also need to separate the actors' personal political convictions from the characters they portray in the story, which is why I will only focus on the latter here.
First, let us consider the notion of a "remake," making a new version of something already known. Some have objected that the movie differs from the 1937 Disney's animated version of the tale. But, they overlook the very fact that said version is itself a different adaptation of the most famous written version of the story, recorded by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. As it turns out, there are many versions of Snow White (see, "The Tale of Snow White" harvard.edu). Cinderella might top the list, with over 700 versions, including at least one in which she is evil!
Being an English major has made me aware that remakes are generally the mark of a work of excellence. Think of Shakespeare's plays, for instance. Numerous adaptations exist of his plays, each appealing more than others to various audiences, some presented in 19th-century or modern settings. Think of Dickens's Christmas Carol, which comes to us in a vast spectrum of adaptions, including less traditional interpretations such as, Disney's short cartoon with Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol, the Musical with Kelsey Grammer, or Scrooged with a very modern, hard-hearted CEO played by Bill Murray.
Why is that significant? Because it underscores the fact that these stories continue to touch people's hearts and souls, from generation to generation; that these 16th and a 19th-century authors address perennial issues that concern our 21st society.
Second, the "original" story by the Brothers Grimm is quite disturbing. It certainly bothered me as a child. Think about it: this prince happens to come upon this glass coffin in the forest and falls in love with a corpse! Ick!!! Even when the princess comes back to life, what is this happily-ever-after marriage built on? Physical beauty? Maybe the testimony of the dwarfs that Snow White is a very good person? A pretty slim foundation for a strong and happy marriage! By the way, this obviously bothered Disney as well when he created his 1937 film, because he made sure that Snow White and the Prince knew each other at the beginning of the story and were already in love, thus neatly, and mercifully, removing any trace of necrophilia.
Third, we often forget that folk and fairy tales were not originally created specifically for children. Although they had a moral intent, they were often disturbingly dark. For instance, the Grimm Snow White ends with the evil Queen forced into red-hot iron shoes, dying in horrific agony. Such cruel practices existed in real life at the time these tales were created. Their presence in these tales was meant to stress the necessity to behave with honesty, hard work, and generosity.
If we dig a little deeper, we can find historical origins to these stories. There are two main contenders for Snow White, but the most interesting is Maria von Erthal, born in Bavaria in 1725, reputed to be lovely and kind, who had a domineering stepmother, and who was reported to have fled her home for the thick forest near the castle. Nearby, nestled among seven hills, still lies a mining town. We must keep in mind that workers in mines were often children, whose harsh labor conditions caused them to be afflicted with stunted growth and deformities, and they were often referred as "dwarfs." Furthermore, Maria's castle was said to have a talking mirror, either because it was so well made that it always reflected the truth, or because it was a wonder of craftsmanship and echoed spoken words.
Moreover, fairy tales are rife with symbolism: white usually represents what is pure or innocent; witches are evil, agents of satanic forces; fairies are good, agents of Providence, a little like angels. In Snow White, the poisoned apple represents temptation and /or the danger of succumbing to it, while the mirror is a symbol of absolute truth.
With this informed background, let us now consider the Disney's 2025Snow White.
From the start, we noticed some different details. Snow White gets her name because she was born in the midst of a snow storm, which actually makes more sense than the odd Grimm version. Her mother lives until Snow White is about 12 or 13, instead of dying shortly after giving birth. Snow White's parents are devoted to each other, to her, and to their people. They live long enough to create a healthy, nurturing, loving environment for their daughter, to impart in her a sense of generous, I would even say godly, leadership in which the rulers seek first the welfare and happiness of their subjects, and are even the servants of their people (for instance, they bake for them). In fact, this baking helps Snow White understand the labor of others and gives her more substance than being just pretty and idle. Finally, they show her that being fair, brave, and true are essential qualities for her to rule after them.
After her father disappears, Snow White is understandably overwhelmed and let herself be subjected to the evil Queen. Fear and cowardice have shackled her until Jonathan, the Robin-Hood hero comes into her life and makes her face the fact that, basically, she has failed in her leadership role; she has let her people down; and has even betrayed her parents' legacy.
It is only when she finds herself in the forest and meets the rebels that she regains her courage and determines to do her utmost to face the Queen and free her kingdom from her abusive authority, knowing she could perish in the task. In this, she reminds me of the biblical Esther who is first afraid to talk to the king on behalf of her people, but once reminded by Mordecai of her responsibility and her opportunity, decides she must and will fulfill her mission, even if she must perish in the attempt. We often forget that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to sacrifice self to serve the cause of Truth, Good, and the welfare of others.
The end is far more satisfactory than the one in the Grimm version. Snow White triumphs over the evil Queen by standing firm and winning her people over by reminding them of the life they had and could have again, simply by not obeying the Queen. Sometimes the best solutions are overlooked because they are the simplest!
One word about the dwarfs. I personally think they are very interesting, even if they are AI instead of real persons. After all, no one ever objected to cartoon characters interacting with real people in Mary Poppins, so I failed to see a justification for all the fuss about these dwarfs. More importantly, the fact that they are living like old bachelors, messy and even quarreling among themselves, and that Snow white acts as a peace maker is rather creative and inspiring. The character of Dopey is particularly endearing and even profound, reminding us that love and trust are the best encouragers and liberators.
Although there is a clear love story and a definite happy ending, the focus of this Snow White is more on leadership than on a simple, more common love story. Some see it as an empowerment of women. If so, this is nothing new: History is filled with outstanding, courageous women who have faced dangers and nearly unsurmountable odds. However, even if the focus is on Snow White, we do not have anything even remotely resembling feminist, man-bashing propaganda here: men are presented in a good, even powerful, light, whether it is the King and the inspiring role model he provided for his daughter, or Jonathan helping Snow White find the courage to do all she had been equipped to accomplish.
Personally, what I got out of this movie was a very pleasant surprise, as it distanced itself from politics and gave us a good story with a practical and inspiring message: living up to our responsibilities with courage, fairness, truth, and kindness to make, as much as it depends on us, our world a better place. I would think it is rather essential to teach such values to our children and grandchildren.
@@@@@@@
Sylvie Shires April 2nd, 2025
There seems to be a lot of hostility towards the new Disney's Snow White movie from Christian and Conservative quarters (to which I belong). However, I think we have to be more analytical rather than impulsive in this matter. We also need to separate the actors' personal political convictions from the characters they portray in the story, which is why I will only focus on the latter here.
First, let us consider the notion of a "remake," making a new version of something already known. Some have objected that the movie differs from the 1937 Disney's animated version of the tale. But, they overlook the very fact that said version is itself a different adaptation of the most famous written version of the story, recorded by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. As it turns out, there are many versions of Snow White (see, "The Tale of Snow White" harvard.edu). Cinderella might top the list, with over 700 versions, including at least one in which she is evil!
Being an English major has made me aware that remakes are generally the mark of a work of excellence. Think of Shakespeare's plays, for instance. Numerous adaptations exist of his plays, each appealing more than others to various audiences, some presented in 19th-century or modern settings. Think of Dickens's Christmas Carol, which comes to us in a vast spectrum of adaptions, including less traditional interpretations such as, Disney's short cartoon with Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol, the Musical with Kelsey Grammer, or Scrooged with a very modern, hard-hearted CEO played by Bill Murray.
Why is that significant? Because it underscores the fact that these stories continue to touch people's hearts and souls, from generation to generation; that these 16th and a 19th-century authors address perennial issues that concern our 21st society.
Second, the "original" story by the Brothers Grimm is quite disturbing. It certainly bothered me as a child. Think about it: this prince happens to come upon this glass coffin in the forest and falls in love with a corpse! Ick!!! Even when the princess comes back to life, what is this happily-ever-after marriage built on? Physical beauty? Maybe the testimony of the dwarfs that Snow White is a very good person? A pretty slim foundation for a strong and happy marriage! By the way, this obviously bothered Disney as well when he created his 1937 film, because he made sure that Snow White and the Prince knew each other at the beginning of the story and were already in love, thus neatly, and mercifully, removing any trace of necrophilia.
Third, we often forget that folk and fairy tales were not originally created specifically for children. Although they had a moral intent, they were often disturbingly dark. For instance, the Grimm Snow White ends with the evil Queen forced into red-hot iron shoes, dying in horrific agony. Such cruel practices existed in real life at the time these tales were created. Their presence in these tales was meant to stress the necessity to behave with honesty, hard work, and generosity.
If we dig a little deeper, we can find historical origins to these stories. There are two main contenders for Snow White, but the most interesting is Maria von Erthal, born in Bavaria in 1725, reputed to be lovely and kind, who had a domineering stepmother, and who was reported to have fled her home for the thick forest near the castle. Nearby, nestled among seven hills, still lies a mining town. We must keep in mind that workers in mines were often children, whose harsh labor conditions caused them to be afflicted with stunted growth and deformities, and they were often referred as "dwarfs." Furthermore, Maria's castle was said to have a talking mirror, either because it was so well made that it always reflected the truth, or because it was a wonder of craftsmanship and echoed spoken words.
Moreover, fairy tales are rife with symbolism: white usually represents what is pure or innocent; witches are evil, agents of satanic forces; fairies are good, agents of Providence, a little like angels. In Snow White, the poisoned apple represents temptation and /or the danger of succumbing to it, while the mirror is a symbol of absolute truth.
With this informed background, let us now consider the Disney's 2025Snow White.
From the start, we noticed some different details. Snow White gets her name because she was born in the midst of a snow storm, which actually makes more sense than the odd Grimm version. Her mother lives until Snow White is about 12 or 13, instead of dying shortly after giving birth. Snow White's parents are devoted to each other, to her, and to their people. They live long enough to create a healthy, nurturing, loving environment for their daughter, to impart in her a sense of generous, I would even say godly, leadership in which the rulers seek first the welfare and happiness of their subjects, and are even the servants of their people (for instance, they bake for them). In fact, this baking helps Snow White understand the labor of others and gives her more substance than being just pretty and idle. Finally, they show her that being fair, brave, and true are essential qualities for her to rule after them.
After her father disappears, Snow White is understandably overwhelmed and let herself be subjected to the evil Queen. Fear and cowardice have shackled her until Jonathan, the Robin-Hood hero comes into her life and makes her face the fact that, basically, she has failed in her leadership role; she has let her people down; and has even betrayed her parents' legacy.
It is only when she finds herself in the forest and meets the rebels that she regains her courage and determines to do her utmost to face the Queen and free her kingdom from her abusive authority, knowing she could perish in the task. In this, she reminds me of the biblical Esther who is first afraid to talk to the king on behalf of her people, but once reminded by Mordecai of her responsibility and her opportunity, decides she must and will fulfill her mission, even if she must perish in the attempt. We often forget that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to sacrifice self to serve the cause of Truth, Good, and the welfare of others.
The end is far more satisfactory than the one in the Grimm version. Snow White triumphs over the evil Queen by standing firm and winning her people over by reminding them of the life they had and could have again, simply by not obeying the Queen. Sometimes the best solutions are overlooked because they are the simplest!
One word about the dwarfs. I personally think they are very interesting, even if they are AI instead of real persons. After all, no one ever objected to cartoon characters interacting with real people in Mary Poppins, so I failed to see a justification for all the fuss about these dwarfs. More importantly, the fact that they are living like old bachelors, messy and even quarreling among themselves, and that Snow white acts as a peace maker is rather creative and inspiring. The character of Dopey is particularly endearing and even profound, reminding us that love and trust are the best encouragers and liberators.
Although there is a clear love story and a definite happy ending, the focus of this Snow White is more on leadership than on a simple, more common love story. Some see it as an empowerment of women. If so, this is nothing new: History is filled with outstanding, courageous women who have faced dangers and nearly unsurmountable odds. However, even if the focus is on Snow White, we do not have anything even remotely resembling feminist, man-bashing propaganda here: men are presented in a good, even powerful, light, whether it is the King and the inspiring role model he provided for his daughter, or Jonathan helping Snow White find the courage to do all she had been equipped to accomplish.
Personally, what I got out of this movie was a very pleasant surprise, as it distanced itself from politics and gave us a good story with a practical and inspiring message: living up to our responsibilities with courage, fairness, truth, and kindness to make, as much as it depends on us, our world a better place. I would think it is rather essential to teach such values to our children and grandchildren.
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Sunday July 21, 2024
Wew! I can't believe it has been so long since I last wrote a post here! Oh, I have a plethora of excuses: family celebrations & gatherings (one wedding and two new grandchildren among other events); a 9-day cruise from Athens to Jerusalem; transforming a car wash into a coffee and tea shop; refinishing furniture, to name a few, all excellent, you must admit. However, since The Oflag Manuscript, I have not abandoned writing, which is one of my passions. As you can see, two collections of stories for young and old and a fantasy novel came to life in the interim.
I am currently working on a new novel, Castle Nessie, the second in the Meadowlark Mystery Series (the first is Posthumous Invitation). These books can be read independently, by the way.
As you can guess, this mystery is taking place in a castle in Scotland. You will recognize characters from Posthumous Invitation and The Oflag Manuscript, not to mention references to some from Moose's Head.
I am two-thirds in, but this book has been a delightful challenge: apart from the number of interruptions in my writing life for the past year that has been staggering, it has required me to sharpen my genealogy skills as well as my architectural ones, since I got lost in my own fictional castle and its maze of secret galleries. Though not the center of the mystery, there is also the elusive "Loch Ness Monster," whose existence seems to be a constant subject of debate, as is the question of whether or not he is really a monster. A slew of colorful characters (including some that invited themselves into the book without warning, like the giant Siberian cat, Sasha), a spectacular setting, and a priceless necklace, whose story and whereabouts cross countries and centuries will, I hope, make this a pleasure for you to read as much as it is a joy for me to write. Hoping for fewer interruptions, I now leave you to return to my writing, but live you with the cover image of Castle Nessie.
Wew! I can't believe it has been so long since I last wrote a post here! Oh, I have a plethora of excuses: family celebrations & gatherings (one wedding and two new grandchildren among other events); a 9-day cruise from Athens to Jerusalem; transforming a car wash into a coffee and tea shop; refinishing furniture, to name a few, all excellent, you must admit. However, since The Oflag Manuscript, I have not abandoned writing, which is one of my passions. As you can see, two collections of stories for young and old and a fantasy novel came to life in the interim.
I am currently working on a new novel, Castle Nessie, the second in the Meadowlark Mystery Series (the first is Posthumous Invitation). These books can be read independently, by the way.
As you can guess, this mystery is taking place in a castle in Scotland. You will recognize characters from Posthumous Invitation and The Oflag Manuscript, not to mention references to some from Moose's Head.
I am two-thirds in, but this book has been a delightful challenge: apart from the number of interruptions in my writing life for the past year that has been staggering, it has required me to sharpen my genealogy skills as well as my architectural ones, since I got lost in my own fictional castle and its maze of secret galleries. Though not the center of the mystery, there is also the elusive "Loch Ness Monster," whose existence seems to be a constant subject of debate, as is the question of whether or not he is really a monster. A slew of colorful characters (including some that invited themselves into the book without warning, like the giant Siberian cat, Sasha), a spectacular setting, and a priceless necklace, whose story and whereabouts cross countries and centuries will, I hope, make this a pleasure for you to read as much as it is a joy for me to write. Hoping for fewer interruptions, I now leave you to return to my writing, but live you with the cover image of Castle Nessie.
September 2021
8-years old Amanuensis,
This morning I took a break from writing my novel in order to babysit my 3-years old grandson. I decided to sort out some old family post cards, letters, and papers and discovered this little gem.
It is dated March 12, 1916 and written by my father who, at that time, was 8-years old. Although the text is peppered with spelling mistakes (yes, they do exist in French, too), the penmanship is better than that of many adults I know.
It is addressed to my grandfather, who was fighting in or in the close vicinity of the trenches of WWI. The first paragraph, beginning with "My Good Papa," is that of my little boy/dad who is very excited to tell his father that the big snow ball he made two weeks earlier is still intact and has not even melted. I must add that, unlike Nebraska, where snow is pretty much a yearly event, in the Charente region (southwestern coast of France) snow comes once in a few years, so you can better understand how thrilled this child is.
The second paragraph, written by the same hand and also addressed to my grandfather, begins with "My Dear Son"; however, this time the author is my great-grandmother. It is of a more serious and sad tenor. It first mentions the death of a young man that, I assume, died at or near the front, someone who might have been a friend of my grandfather but that the whole family knew and liked. The news of his sudden death has touched everyone and my grandmother asks for more details as to how this tragic event has happened –a common human reaction that seems to bring us closer in our grief to the lost loved one.
Death is very present in this paragraph with mentions of another acquaintance who passed away and another on his deathbed.
To finish on a higher note, my great grandmother tells my grandfather how good Little Louis (my father) has been and that he writing for her.
It is the juxtaposition of these two paragraphs on the same page that makes this letter so special.
My great-grand mother, Amelie, was an orphan. She had been taken in by some abusive relative who treated her like a servant and never sent her to school (despite the fact that even then schooling was mandatory, but some people always manage to escape the authorities' radar). She was intelligent and would have loved learning, but instead she lived in complete misery. . . until the blessed day she met my great-grandfather, Louis-Joseph, a master carpenter, who happened to be doing some work in the same town where Amelie lived.
They fell in love but in marrying her Louis-Joseph gave Amelie not only a good marriage but also an opportunity to blossom. When their two boys started school, Amelie decided to learn how to read with them. Afterwards she read avidly. However, her writing remained so poor that she relied on her little 8-year old grandson to be her amanuensis. She dictated and the little boy faithfully wrote every word.
There is something utterly touching in all this. She could have asked my great-grandfather or a friend to write the letter for her. Instead, she chose her little grandson of whom she was so fond. The sad events of the second paragraph contrast with the child's joy and fascination of having a snowball that has kept for two weeks, and yet, the same happy little boy is also mature enough to help his grandmother and to faithfully convey her sad news.
I never knew my great-grandmother, or even my grandfather, but I love her for the tenderness she had for my wonderful father and for the courage she had to learn how to read later in life.
The two "letters" are on the same page because people were far more careful about wasting than we are now, and I am most grateful for that because it allowed me to discover this priceless family gem.
8-years old Amanuensis,
This morning I took a break from writing my novel in order to babysit my 3-years old grandson. I decided to sort out some old family post cards, letters, and papers and discovered this little gem.
It is dated March 12, 1916 and written by my father who, at that time, was 8-years old. Although the text is peppered with spelling mistakes (yes, they do exist in French, too), the penmanship is better than that of many adults I know.
It is addressed to my grandfather, who was fighting in or in the close vicinity of the trenches of WWI. The first paragraph, beginning with "My Good Papa," is that of my little boy/dad who is very excited to tell his father that the big snow ball he made two weeks earlier is still intact and has not even melted. I must add that, unlike Nebraska, where snow is pretty much a yearly event, in the Charente region (southwestern coast of France) snow comes once in a few years, so you can better understand how thrilled this child is.
The second paragraph, written by the same hand and also addressed to my grandfather, begins with "My Dear Son"; however, this time the author is my great-grandmother. It is of a more serious and sad tenor. It first mentions the death of a young man that, I assume, died at or near the front, someone who might have been a friend of my grandfather but that the whole family knew and liked. The news of his sudden death has touched everyone and my grandmother asks for more details as to how this tragic event has happened –a common human reaction that seems to bring us closer in our grief to the lost loved one.
Death is very present in this paragraph with mentions of another acquaintance who passed away and another on his deathbed.
To finish on a higher note, my great grandmother tells my grandfather how good Little Louis (my father) has been and that he writing for her.
It is the juxtaposition of these two paragraphs on the same page that makes this letter so special.
My great-grand mother, Amelie, was an orphan. She had been taken in by some abusive relative who treated her like a servant and never sent her to school (despite the fact that even then schooling was mandatory, but some people always manage to escape the authorities' radar). She was intelligent and would have loved learning, but instead she lived in complete misery. . . until the blessed day she met my great-grandfather, Louis-Joseph, a master carpenter, who happened to be doing some work in the same town where Amelie lived.
They fell in love but in marrying her Louis-Joseph gave Amelie not only a good marriage but also an opportunity to blossom. When their two boys started school, Amelie decided to learn how to read with them. Afterwards she read avidly. However, her writing remained so poor that she relied on her little 8-year old grandson to be her amanuensis. She dictated and the little boy faithfully wrote every word.
There is something utterly touching in all this. She could have asked my great-grandfather or a friend to write the letter for her. Instead, she chose her little grandson of whom she was so fond. The sad events of the second paragraph contrast with the child's joy and fascination of having a snowball that has kept for two weeks, and yet, the same happy little boy is also mature enough to help his grandmother and to faithfully convey her sad news.
I never knew my great-grandmother, or even my grandfather, but I love her for the tenderness she had for my wonderful father and for the courage she had to learn how to read later in life.
The two "letters" are on the same page because people were far more careful about wasting than we are now, and I am most grateful for that because it allowed me to discover this priceless family gem.
Sunday, December 27th, 2020
THE 12 BLESSINGS OF THE LOCKDOWN
Without glossing over those who truly suffered through the pandemic, either in their business, their health, or the health of loved ones, we must consider that most of us in America had much for which to be truly grateful.
Sometimes we do miss the forest for the tree, just because the tree is big and easy to see. Sometimes we are so focused on how we want things to be that we refuse to deal with any interference and rebel against life and against God Himself when our plans have to change and we are forced to step out of our comfort zone and re-assess ourselves and life in general.
The Christmas season is the perfect time of the year to reflect on the year that comes to a close and be grateful for the blessings the Lord has bestowed on us. This is why I thought it might be an encouragement for many to focus, for a change, not on the Corona cloud, but on its silver lining and consider the Twelve Blessings of the Lockdown:
- It has made us clearly see that we are not in control, despite our considerable battery of advanced technology. In fact, as it became known that the virus had been manufactured by Chinese scientists, it has brought to mind the stark reminder that our human lives are terribly fragile indeed and can be easily snuffed out at the whim of terrorism as well as by natural diseases and disasters.
- This has made us more aware and appreciative of past blessings we had taken for granted, whether good health, freedom to travel where and when we pleased, or be able to work.
- It has forced us to face ourselves without the ubiquitous distractions of our "normal" life busyness. It has given us the opportunity to reflect on who and what we are: what have we done with our life so far? What could and should we change or improve for ourselves and for those we love?
- It has increased time spent with our immediate family, which has brought in increased appreciation and opportunity to share more with the people who matter most to us. A recent survey noted than 70% of Americans have come to a greater appreciation of their family through the pandemic. The optimist in me hopes that the other 30% were already extremely appreciative of their family before the virus struck.
- It has given us plenty of opportunities to accomplish things that had long been on our to-do lists but for which we never seemed to find enough time. Craft and construction stores, like Menards, quickly picked up on that and were kept busy with customers eager to complete long-awaited home-improvement projects.
- It has given us more time to read, for which I, for one, am infinitely grateful!
- It has given us more time to write, not only for us writers, but also for all who rediscovered the special pleasure of writing letters long-hand. New York writer, Rachel Syme, had the idea in the Spring to launch Penpalooza, a pen pal program to bridge people. It has now over 7000 participants from 50 different countries! https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/rachel-syme-penpalooza/
- It has made us appreciative of some of our modern technology in a more profound way than simply as outlets for entertainment. Kids have been able to do school from home, parents have been more involved with their children's learning, their difficulties and their strengths. Adults have been able to work from home as well, saving on commuting time and gas, and gaining in family time. Zoom, Face Book, emails have kept us connected despite distances and restrictions.
- It has given us time to take a good look at the world around us and rediscover an appreciation for its intricate and multi-faceted beauty. In the United Kingdom, the BBC launched the idea of taking an "Awe Walk." People committed themselves to take a weekly 15-minute walk in parks or in the countryside for two months. They were also asked to take a selfie at the beginning and at the close of the two months. The first selfies tended to show the person at the center of the picture, but in the latter ones the focus was on the surrounding natural landscape, with the person appearing off to the side. How revealing! This simple exercise allowed the participants to look at something other than themselves, at the bigger picture, to re-kindle their sense of wonder, and hopefully, in the process, to re-evaluate their own place in the universe and before our sovereign God.
- With external sources of entertainment closed, such as restaurants, theaters, sport events, resorts, people have been compelled to provide their own entertainment. Whether it was watching a family movie, playing a board game, reading, or experiencing with venues new to them like writing a poem, sewing, or trying their hand at painting or wood working, it has open new doors and, in some cases, made them aware of new talents and interests. Furthermore, limited outings to the stores has helped waste less time when an ingredient is missing, and learn to do without it or be more careful when making the next weekly trip to the store. While shopping online has soared, it has also helped limit temptations, since one goes to an online store with something specific in mind and is less likely to be distracted by a sea of aisles full of alluring products one did not even think of before.
- It has opened creativity and charity with churches broadcasting sermons and Bible studies beyond the walls of their buildings, thus reaching a far greater number of listeners and touching lives with the Good News of Salvation in Christ. Many volunteers from diverse organizations have pitched in to collect and distribute aid to those in need.
- Most importantly, it has given us the opportunity to re-assess our life in the greater scope of eternity. Where have our choices led us? Have we yielded to God's calling or insisted on having our own way? Have we been grateful for the incredible blessings, small or big, that He has bestowed on us and on those particularly dear to us? Or have we, instead, taken His gifts for granted, as things to which we felt, somehow, entitled? Even if we have walked closely with our Lord, there is always room for improvement, since we are woefully aware of our many shortcomings. So, how can our stewardship and witness be improved? How can we better show His love and Truth through our daily life? How can we be better prayer warriors? What a blessing to know that our Lord is in control and nothing happens on earth without a reason, as part of His divine plan!
Sunday May 3, 2020
The Godly Man of Proverbs 31
One of my favorite Bible text is Proverbs 31. Recently, I heard someone wishing that there were a "Man of Proverbs 32." And I have more than once heard feminists resenting the fact that the text focuses on women; they interpret it as unfair and akin to a command to wives to be subservient to their husbands. But, actually woven in those verses, I think that we are given a very good picture of what a virtuous, godly man is supposed to be like.
First, we are told the advice concerning the finding of a godly wife is given by a mother to her son. It is logical to infer that this mother is a godly woman herself, thus her advice bears credibility and has great impact.
Second, this son is a king. Interestingly there is no other reference to a King Lemuel in the Bible. In Jewish tradition, he is assumed to be Solomon, but really there is no evidence of that. What we do know is that "Lemuel" means "belonging to God." In view of this, I propose that King Lemuel is a personification of any young man come into a position of responsibility, authority, and power. By extension this applies to young men in general, just starting in life, empowered by their talents, diplomas, and freshly acquired independence from their parents; and more specifically Christian young men, who would listen to an elder's advice about finding a spouse for life.
Given the first admonition, Lemuel is, at that point, much like Prince Hal in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, sowing his wild oats and here his godly mother is calling him to attention, reminding him of the do's and don'ts of being a virtuous man:
Don’t's:
- Don't mix with women of no virtue;
- Don't drink; it alters the mind and leads to commit injustices
- Be the voice of justice; stand up for what is right
- Help the poor and those in need
- Find a godly wife
The first thing I find striking here is that the Do's offer a direct solution to the don'ts. Indeed the man who has a loving wife whom he loves and trusts has no time for mistresses or prostitutes.
Now let's take closer look at Lemuel
A young man. Freshly come to the throne (no father mentioned, but still has his mother).
Has been acting foolishly. He is capable of listening to good advice and becoming all that God has equipped him to be, again similar to Prince Hal who becomes a great ruler when he becomes king, as Shakespeare shows us in Henry V.
So in what ways is this man a perfect match for the Woman of Proverbs 31?
- He has a job (whether king or shepherd matters little); he knows his duties and responsibilities
- He is a believer, which is why he pays attention to the godly advice of his mother
- He respects his mother and values her advice
- Although a man in a position of authority, he is not too proud to listen to a woman, which infers that he values wisdom, not a false sense of superiority attached to gender.
Starting at verse 10, we have a description of a godly wife, but through it we also get a further description of a godly man and husband:
- He has complete trust in his wife, which means that not only she is trustworthy, but that he is fully aware and appreciative of it.
- Because he is able to trust her, he enables her fully, giving her free range of choices and actions, even land investments –something few today thought was done by women in the past.
- He gives her complete control of the home front (which obviously means considerably more that the kitchen and children) while he focuses himself on the outside front (i.e. see the "Do's " above, being the voice of justice, standing up for what is right and helping those in need, which applies to any job from carpenter to physician and from professor to street sweeper by the way!); but really the two work together in complete understanding and harmony, which infers that they are fully open and attuned to each other.
- He talks freely with his wife and treats her as an equal and valuable partner, which means that when he is in his public role, making decisions with the elders, his words carry in equal measure the wisdom of his wife; her input is included in his.
- He fully supports his wife's decisions; no micromanaging on his part.
- He is proud of her and secured in his marriage, which gives both of them happiness and completeness, but is also a testimony before others (Cf. verse 23 he is "known at the gates".)
- He encourages his children to value their mother, planting the seed in his sons that, when time comes, they, too, should seek to marry godly women, and in his daughters that they should emulate her.
- He loves her and tells her so often, never refraining from heartfelt praise.
So, really Proverbs 31 may focus on the qualities of a godly woman and wife, but like the two parts of a diptych, it offers a great deal of information on what characterizes a godly man and husband. The two are truly one, like the two sides of a coin. Not only do they complete each other, but without one, it is impossible to have the other.
There is no power struggle between them, no inferior/superior relationship. Just as men and women are equals in the eyes of God, equals in salvation, equals in his love, and equally empowered by Him, a true Christian marriage is based on equality of love, trust, respect. Godly spouses encourage, enable, strengthen each other, are secured in the love that make them one, the purpose they share, each contributing his or her talents, and the equal and complementary value of their respective roles, both within the family and within the society in which they live.
Monday April 13, 2020
Tips on staying focused during the quarantine.
In these unusual and trying times of social distancing and remaining at home as much as possible; it is easy to lose focus, become negligent, and even, Heaven forbid!, lazy, sloppy, and idle. Since turning "couch-potato" has never succeeded in making anyone happy, it is vital that we keep up with fruitful stewardship. God has given us many talents and opportunities and our sense of purpose does not depend on our present circumstances, but on His calling for each of us, and what we choose to do with these circumstances.
While the quarantine can be frustrating, it behooves us to think less on what we cannot do and invest ourselves with determination and enthusiasm into what we can do. One of the things I find most helpful in keeping ourselves in check is having long and short-term goals, carefully established in prayer.
Lists keep me focused, and like New Year resolutions, they do not necessarily spell "failure" if they are not checked out in the initially hoped-for time frame. For instance, I have found some old NY resolutions and even though several projects did not get done the year they were planned to be, they did eventually got done, and that is very rewarding. On the other hand, lists keep me humble when I (as often) woefully fail to fulfill them. There are also other helpful ways:
- The stick-and-carrot approach such as "You can't take a break until the kitchen is cleared" or "if you finish writing this story by late afternoon, you can reward yourself with a large cup of hot chocolate."
- Dividing the tasks between morning and afternoon, always reserving evening for family/couple time. Also having "mundane" tasks, such as laundry/feeding the dogs etc, alternating with more spiritual/intellectual tasks like researching, writing, reading.
- Singing as you work helps. For instance I HATE cooking, but I pinned the lyrics of favorite songs inside the doors of my kitchen cupboards and I can sing as I work.
- Keeping the house in order is vital for me. Like Admiral McRaven said, "If you want to change the world, start by making your bed." If I am in the study, trying to write, but I know the living room badly needs tiding up, it hovers over me and I can't think clearly until I get that mundane task out of the way. I learned that from my maternal Grandmother, whose house seemed always ready to welcome visitors, yet she read, sewed, and did amazing works in crochet; she was so organized and yet made it seem so easy.
- Music is vital as well, although I do not share my sons' tastes with Bon Jovi and others. Classical, Renaissance, Colonial American songs and Christian hymns are more my cup of tea. When I write I usually pick a melody that I feel suits the "atmosphere" of what I am writing, either without words or in a language I don't understand, like Russian; I put it on repeat and put on my headphones and type happily for hours. These past two days I have been writing with this one ("Great and Marvelous are Thy Works" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr0LdT9MNpE )
- At the end of each day I do a quick recap of what took place that day, checking out what was accomplished, then making a new list of what needs yet to be done. Obviously several items travel from one day to another, sometimes it can take weeks, or more, but eventually things do get done.
- One thing that helps me enormously in getting things done is the thought of doing all things as unto the Lord, small as well as big things, asking forgiveness for my many failings, and feeling renewed by the fresh opportunity to improve with the new day.
I would add another special list to start the day and contemplate before sleeping: that of naming each day five (more is OK) things for which we are thankful. Obviously there will be repetitions from one week to another, after all one can hardly be thankful for one's family just once in a blue moon, but the list is indiscriminate between small and huge blessings. Each deserves our appreciation and gratefulness.
Thinking up ways to be blessing to others presents the double advantage of being helpful to those around us and of thinking less about ourselves.
If idleness invites the devil in, thoughtful use of our time, talents, and circumstances casts him out and opens the doors of our heart wide open to God and the joy of doing his work.
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Saturday August 24, 2019
Letters
Every week I write a special letter to one of my grandchildren, who presently live in France. I proceed by order of birth and I usually do this on Sunday. I have 8 grandchildren living in France, where our second son and daughter-by-marriage are film-maker missionaries. But I do not write to children under the age of 4 (except for birthdays) because it takes a special talent to write something interesting for someone younger than 4 –a talent, needless to say, that I do not possess.
As much as we miss those kids and wish they lived much closer to us, I am grateful that we live in an age that has reduced distance all around the word. First, there is the telephone, but it has become my least favorite tool of communication. Of course, I use it every day because it is the most practical thing for urgent messages or questions requiring a quick answer. Convenience should not let us forget that no matter however enjoyable it might be to converse "live" with loved ones, words said can hardly be exhaustively remembered. As the French adage goes, "Words spoken fly away, words written remain."
In that sense, internet communication is a greater way to convey not only words but also pictures, music, and films. It combines speed and permanence; it allows for record-keeping, which makes it absolutely priceless and I, for one, am utterly both amazed and grateful for this quasi-magical technological advance of our time. However, it does not lend itself very well to creativity of penmanship and tends to make all things communicated look like printed, thus more impersonal, articles.
Skype is a double-edged communication tool. At first, it would seem wonderful; after all we can clearly see, as if they were in the room with us, people we love, despite the fact that are are tens of thousands of miles away.
Yes, but.
It is not as extraordinary as some might think it is. First, it offers a stilted presence. Young children, in particular, become quickly bored and restless and soon running out of things to say, they proceed to show off, put "bunny ears" on their siblings while it is those siblings' turn to speak, and create increasing discomfort and tension on both sides of the screen. I can understand them, because despite first appearances, it has nothing to do with a real conversation: we cannot touch or hug one another; everyone is stuck facing a screen from which one cannot leave or all contact will be broken; and because the moment is supposed to be special, both sides attempt to make it last as long as possible to make it more memorable. Consequently, it does tend to become memorable, indeed, but not necessarily in a positive sense.
But then there is the traditional letter. Commonly dismissed under the moniker of "snail mail" by our society that seems to be on steroids and has become a monster for the easy and the instantaneous, the traditional letter is generally overlooked and scorned along with the junk mail that invades our mailboxes. . .until one receives an actual letter addressed to him or her. Why is that?
Because we all know, even those among us who neither write nor receive them, that a true letter is something special. It is a part of the sender's personality, love, wit, creativity and faith sent with great thoughtfulness to the recipient, the author's beloved friend or relative. Everything matters in a letter, from the paper or card selected, the type of pen used and its ink color, to the words chosen with care, and even to the envelope and the stamps on it. A letter tells the recipient, "you are valued," by the simple fact that the author of the letter has deliberately set aside time to compose it, so that it would bless the cherished soul who receives it. A letter worthy of the name is something to be kept, something one re-reads with pleasure, something that can even last from one generation to another. Among the most prized letters in my possession are those my grandparents exchanged while my grandfather fought in the trenches of the Great War, while my grandmother kept the home front. Each worried madly about the other, but they focused only on uplifting one another in love, peppering the lines with anecdotes and sweet "nothings" that meant everything. Although they have moved to Heaven many years ago, they left us a part of them that bind our souls to theirs.
A letter worthy of the name can never be dispatched in haste, nor can it lack substance. Its very nature demands meaning, depth and quality. I often spend many hours researching a topic to share with that grandchild or inventing a story especially for this grandchild. Thanks to modern technology, I can create my own cards, selecting pictures from the internet to illustrate the words. In the process I learn a lot myself and sharing discoveries on all sorts of subjects from, Annie Oakley to duels in hot air balloons fill me with true joy as I anticipate the reaction of my special grandchild of the week.
Time will tell if my weekly epistles will be worth keeping and remembering in years to come, but I believe nothing could better express my love for my beloved grandchildren.
Sunday July 21st 2019
Writing and Music
During my high school and in the infancy of my college years, I lived with my parents in an old French farm house. My bedroom was just above the kitchen and my mother constantly had either the radio or the TV on. Although I was never very good in science, I understood early on that sounds, like heat, tend to rise and that deplorable fact made concentrating on my studies quite challenging, especially with the handicap that I did not possess (as I do now) a set of headphones that covers the ears snugly; truth be told, I did not have at my disposal any set of headphones. What I did have was a record player, the kind that allows one to stack three or four records at a time and they drop themselves into place and start playing. So I would select some of my most vibrant classical music (Wagner figured predominantly, because he was the loudest) and play them close to my desk. The music did not eliminate totally the unwanted sounds from below (no headphones, remember?) but it would at least render them unintelligible and thus would clear my mind enough to think up the words I wanted to write in my papers. I also learned to enjoy staying up late into the wee hours of the night to read and write without interruptons.
Over the years and especially as I started writing books, I realized that even without the distraction of unwanted sounds, listening to music was highly conductive to writing (provided, of course, that it is without words or with words that are indiscernible, either sung so blended in with the music or in a foreign tongue that I do not know) With the boon of modern technology, I now have computer and headphones and can even play the same tune over and over by simply selecting the "repeat" button. I find that the repetition of the same tune for several hours is more effective that a variety of melodies. I usually select a piece that I find particularly suited to my mood, or to the atmosphere of the passage I am writing at the time, and let it work its magic in providing a stimulating cocoon of inspiration and concentration.
While I was writing Posthumous Invitation, my musical "fuel" included a piano rendition of the hymn "10,000 Reasons," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPU-oKp4FcI&t=176s ) the Reformation hymn, "O, Rejoice Ye Christians Loudly," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pntfsm8vFm0, even though this one has English words, one has to really pay attention to understand them clearly as voices blend in perfectly with this Renaissance melody) and a Youtube compilation from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u9r-AkFDzA&t=1208s). Of course as directly referenced in the story, I also enjoyed "We are a Garden Walled Around" (https://hymnary.org/text/we_are_a_garden_walled_around) and "The Seven Joys of Mary" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JshXYVcO3Zw). I never cease to marvel at the perfect complementarity of music and writing (even when there is no unwelcome noise to overcome).
I still love staying up late reading and writing (preferably with music), though rising early in the morning always proves a challenge.
A Song's Story
Our first [unofficial] national anthem, at least from 1831 to 1931, was "My Country 'Tis of Thee," written by a Baptist minister, Samuel Francis Smith.
"The Star Spangled Banner" did not become our national anthem until a first initiative by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to use it for military ceremonies, and more definitely when the representative from Maryland, a Democrat, motioned to make it the official national anthem and President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, signed it into law in 1931. I think it is particularly significant and inspiring that both Democrats and Republicans were of one mind on this national choice.
I, personally, deplore the fact that not all stanzas are sung. The fourth one reflects the Christian soul of our nation and is written in the same spirit as the Declaration of Independence:
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
In 1861, famous poet and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. added a fifth verse to Francis Scott Key's initial four. Clearly abolitionist in spirit, this verse spread widely in the north, but faded into oblivion after the Civil War. (I think we should have kept it, as a historical landmark, if for no other reason):
When our land is illum’d with Liberty’s smile,
If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down, with the traitor that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchain’d who our birthright have gained
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
Incidentally both "My Country" and the "Star Spangled Banner" have a "British connection." The first shares its melody with the British National Anthem ("God Save the Queen/King), which appeared during the reign of George III in the 1740s, and whose composer remains uncertain and may have been British, French, or German. The second was composed by British organist John Stafford Smith for the drinking song of the Anacreontic society. The melody was extremely popular and used for various lyrics. In September 1814, Francis Scott Key had it undoubtedly in mind when he wrote his famous verses that were intended not as a poem but as a song, which he titled, "Defence [sic] of Fort McHenry." In fact, Key had used the same melody for another song in 1805 (in which he mentions "the star spangled flag of our nation), called "When the Warrior Returns," to honor naval officers and heroes, Stephen Decatur, Jr. and Charles Stewart, after their victory against Barbary pirates. Two months after the victory of Fort McHenry, a musician and music seller from Baltimore, who was a fellow church member of Key, published music and text together under its present title. By the way, the flag had 15 stars then.
Interestingly, in Gloucester Cathedral (UK) there is a plaque honoring Smith's memory and bearing both the Union Jack and our Star Spangled Banner.
Today is the Day!
Have you experienced the frustration of looking at your long (and growing!) to-do list and seeing that day after day it remains undented? Except for organization wizards, it is a very common experience. What is to be done?
A memory suddenly flashes in my mind. I am two years old and I have been in the garden playing princess or something equally elegant, but I tripped and fell flat in a mud puddle—quite embarrassing for a princess. My pretty dress –yes in those days little girls wanted to play in their dresses—is covered with dripping brown blotches; I am dirty from head to feet and comes rushing home to my mother to make it all disappear. Although my vocabulary was limited, I knew how to express vital things, like "Mommy I'm dirty" with a tone that conveyed panic and urgency.
I was fortunate enough to have a stay-home mother. Among her many talents she could make all the ugly stains on my clothes and me disappear. She fixed the situation and in no time the "princess" was able to return to the garden, as dignified as ever in a new, pristine dress, rosy cheeked and freed from all grime.
This little episode carried two long-lasting effects that stayed with me: I loathe mud and I abhor uncleanliness in the house or on my person or the persons who live around me. God, who has an infinite sense of humor, made me the wife of a wonderful history professor who is also a farmer and loves to build all kinds of things and has no compunction about getting dirty when necessary (every day) as well as the mother of three boys and a daughter who, even though they are adults now, certainly do not share my conviction that a house neat and well-ordered is far more pleasant to live in and more welcoming.
More importantly, this story also makes me reflect that the failures of yesterday do not have to dictate the outcome of today. When it comes to marking off items on my list, today can be more productive than yesterday, and tomorrow better yet. The internet is full of advice on how to be more efficient. Some formulas may work better than others, but they all offer practical ideas that are bound to help. However, the key to accomplishment resides in not giving up. Each new day brings us a new "banking account" of time of some sixteen hours within which possibilities are almost endless. As for my dress, a new start is possible as each new day brings a clean slate, no matter how messy our slate was yesterday.
Experience has proved that rushing into the list yields less fruit than starting the day with God, reading His word and putting all worries, hopes, lists, appointments, setbacks and disruptions in prayer. After all, the reason for my list is greater than my list: I want to serve Him in all I do, whether it is moping the floor or writing a novel; so, if He allows for difficulties or interruptions to enter the day, He has a reason. While my heart often goes to Martha, there are time when the Lord calls us to be Mary, to drop everything and listen. Listen to His voice or that of a friend, to be an encourager, or simply to smell the roses together.
Having purpose does not mean we should become robots, operating on strict schedules and focused unwaveringly on productivity. On the other hand, idleness is like sugar: a little makes thing sweeter, too much is harmful. Accomplishing worthwhile tasks yields unadulterated pleasure and encourages our godly stewardship, but, as in most everything, we must have balance.
Sometimes, we let ourselves focus on what has yet to be done, but if we keep our lists of New Year's resolutions from year to year, we may discover that we accomplish more than we thought. For instance, in our family, we had hoped to enlarge our house in the early 2000s, but we were not able to build that addition before 2014 but we did it (by ourselves), and now our home is more enjoyable on a daily basis, big enough to accommodate our growing family with married children and grandchildren, and more welcoming to friends and visitors.
If I were to follow a guideline, it would look something like this:
Have you experienced the frustration of looking at your long (and growing!) to-do list and seeing that day after day it remains undented? Except for organization wizards, it is a very common experience. What is to be done?
A memory suddenly flashes in my mind. I am two years old and I have been in the garden playing princess or something equally elegant, but I tripped and fell flat in a mud puddle—quite embarrassing for a princess. My pretty dress –yes in those days little girls wanted to play in their dresses—is covered with dripping brown blotches; I am dirty from head to feet and comes rushing home to my mother to make it all disappear. Although my vocabulary was limited, I knew how to express vital things, like "Mommy I'm dirty" with a tone that conveyed panic and urgency.
I was fortunate enough to have a stay-home mother. Among her many talents she could make all the ugly stains on my clothes and me disappear. She fixed the situation and in no time the "princess" was able to return to the garden, as dignified as ever in a new, pristine dress, rosy cheeked and freed from all grime.
This little episode carried two long-lasting effects that stayed with me: I loathe mud and I abhor uncleanliness in the house or on my person or the persons who live around me. God, who has an infinite sense of humor, made me the wife of a wonderful history professor who is also a farmer and loves to build all kinds of things and has no compunction about getting dirty when necessary (every day) as well as the mother of three boys and a daughter who, even though they are adults now, certainly do not share my conviction that a house neat and well-ordered is far more pleasant to live in and more welcoming.
More importantly, this story also makes me reflect that the failures of yesterday do not have to dictate the outcome of today. When it comes to marking off items on my list, today can be more productive than yesterday, and tomorrow better yet. The internet is full of advice on how to be more efficient. Some formulas may work better than others, but they all offer practical ideas that are bound to help. However, the key to accomplishment resides in not giving up. Each new day brings us a new "banking account" of time of some sixteen hours within which possibilities are almost endless. As for my dress, a new start is possible as each new day brings a clean slate, no matter how messy our slate was yesterday.
Experience has proved that rushing into the list yields less fruit than starting the day with God, reading His word and putting all worries, hopes, lists, appointments, setbacks and disruptions in prayer. After all, the reason for my list is greater than my list: I want to serve Him in all I do, whether it is moping the floor or writing a novel; so, if He allows for difficulties or interruptions to enter the day, He has a reason. While my heart often goes to Martha, there are time when the Lord calls us to be Mary, to drop everything and listen. Listen to His voice or that of a friend, to be an encourager, or simply to smell the roses together.
Having purpose does not mean we should become robots, operating on strict schedules and focused unwaveringly on productivity. On the other hand, idleness is like sugar: a little makes thing sweeter, too much is harmful. Accomplishing worthwhile tasks yields unadulterated pleasure and encourages our godly stewardship, but, as in most everything, we must have balance.
Sometimes, we let ourselves focus on what has yet to be done, but if we keep our lists of New Year's resolutions from year to year, we may discover that we accomplish more than we thought. For instance, in our family, we had hoped to enlarge our house in the early 2000s, but we were not able to build that addition before 2014 but we did it (by ourselves), and now our home is more enjoyable on a daily basis, big enough to accommodate our growing family with married children and grandchildren, and more welcoming to friends and visitors.
If I were to follow a guideline, it would look something like this:
- Submit the list to God: I am working for Him
- Start each day refreshed in determination and positivity
- Do one thing at a time as well as possible, keeping track of progress and dealing with emergencies
- Consider when I am to be Martha and when I am to be Mary