More musings on Avatar, part 2

I had always felt life first as a story-and if there is a story there is a storyteller. ~ G.K. Chesterton

In Part 1, I talked about my theory that the Christian symbolism in Avatar contributes more to the movie's popularity than its pantheistic themes.

In Part 2, I'm looking at the mythic structure that you see in Avatar and in thousands of other movies and books. And relating that to the story of our own lives.

The Christian elements in Avatar are overshadowed by pantheism and deep ecology, but they are still there. In addition, the movie follows an archetypal story structure, the elements of the “hero’s journey”. We know that the great myths of almost every culture follow a very similar structure, as identified by Joesph Campbell in his "Hero with a Thousand Faces" - and that modern stories following this structure, such as Avatar, continue to be incredibly popular.

The mythic structure is all over the place. You see it mirrored in the plots of many movies and books, and not just science fiction and fantasy books. A hero is forced to leave his or her ordinary world (either physically or metaphorically) and go somewhere new and sometimes scary (Jake leaves earth and arrives on Pandora; he leaves his physical body and has to adjust to a new body and a new culture). On the way he encounters enemies and allies, and faces trials he must overcome. At some point he faces his darkest moment/greatest fear (he is imprisoned, the enemies destroy the Nav'ii home), gains important knowledge that helps him in his victory (he asks the Nav'ii goddess for help) which he is able to share with others to help them or even save them.

You find this basic structure in Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and almost all Disney movies (here's a funny post that shows how the synopsis of Disney's Pocahantas can be changed to Avatar just by substituting a few names). But if you look close enough you also find it in classic novels, like To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, Gone with the Wind, or stories from the Bible (Abraham, Jacob, Joesph, Moses, David, just to name a few) or other myths (Greek, Norse, Eastern, etc)... there are variations of course but the basic structure still fits.

So why are these archetypal elements of being forced into new and scary things, facing your greatest fears, learning important knowledge and sharing it, so universal? Do these archetypal elements predate Christianity and other current and historic religions or did religion create this mythic structure and propagate it?

I suppose that's like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg. No way to prove it. But I think myth came first (no comment about the chicken and the egg).

I think myth came first because the hero's journey is something that resonates with us so deeply because it is a reflection of our own journey. We are constantly having to face trials in our life. We look the hero myths to see how they dealt with even bigger, scarier trials than we've had to face. We discover that they found help even in their darkest hour, and victory. C.S. Lewis, in his essay "Is Theology Poetry?" tackles the relation of religion and myths. He says myths are a sort of divine illumination vouchsafed to all men.

We should, therefore, expect to find in the imagination of great Pagan teachers and myth makers some glimpse of that theme which we believe to be the very plot of the whole cosmic story - the theme of incarnation, death, and rebirth - [another type of the hero's journey]. And the difference between the Pagan Christs (Balder, Osiris, etc) and the Christ Himself is much what we should expect to find... It is the difference between a real event [Christ's death and resurrection] on the one hand, and dim dreams or premonitions of that same event on the other. It is like watching something come gradually into focus; first it hangs in the clouds of myth and ritual, vast and vague, then it condenses... as an historical event in first century Palestine.

The hero's journey, as retold over and over again in different stories, condenses into our own lives, too. We can see our lives as a random mix of wonderful and awful events, which abruptly ends in our death -story over. Or we can see it as a journey through trials, where we receive help and learn things along the way, and ultimately we face our greatest enemy- death - and overcome it with the faith we learned - that there is an even better life waiting for us.

What do you think about the hero's journey?

1000 gifts: spring break edition

Before I get into spring break events, an announcement: I've started a new blog under my own real name (the name I hope to publish under someday!). Little Women for the 21st Century is a very personal blog, with lots about my ups and downs, my husband, my kids, my faith, etc. Because it's so personal, I've been a little shy about putting my full name on it. Some of you know my full name, and you'll have no problem finding my new blog.

Why a new blog? Because "Writers need a platform; we need to get our name out there and building an audience for our work for when we do have a book in hand." (See this article, Creating the Breakout Blog: a platform guide for the pre-published writer. (Btw, Guide to Literary Agents is one the most informative blogs I've found so far. A treasure trove of information for writers.) So my "platform" blog will be about all things writing-related: writing progress, writing motivation, books that I dissect for their writing craft. I'll continue to use this blog to post family events/photos, faith-related musings, etc.

So, on to spring break in Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was a wonderful week, and allowed me to add to my list of all the gifts God has given me that I'm thankful for, to live out the command "give thanks in all things" (1 Thess. 5:18) in my daily walk.


25. A gift of airplane tickets to Hilton Head.
My mom made this trip to Hilton Head possible. I would never have been able to go if she hadn't splurged on some plane tickets. Thank you so much, Mom!

26. Perfect beach weather.
We had sunny 70/80 degree weather the whole time, all six days. Beautiful!

27. Books to travel with.
Heather asked me if I needed any books to take along. I never turn down her offerings - she had read C.S. Lewis' "Weight of Glory" and other essays on her spring break - now it was my turn. Absolutely amazing. I plan to blog about at least two of these essays. I was raving so much about them that Mom even agreed to read one or two.

28. Beaches and gardens are a great combo
Flowers everywhere and blossoming dogwoods and red buds; beautiful live oaks draped with Spanish moss scarves; going barefoot on the beach, the sugary feel of the sand; the soothing sound of the ocean waves.


29. Watching my kids fall in love with the beach
Serious and Dreamer giggling ecstatically over discoveries of shells, sand dollars, and starfish. Proudly showing off the pits they dug in the beach. They are both frustrated that building sand castles out of sand-filled buckets is much harder than it looks but even their frustration is endearing.

30. Hermit crabs with painted shells.
More giggling from the girls over the hermit crabs at the Shell Store (my favorite store in Hilton Head. Full of all sorts of tacky tourist stuff, but it's just plain fun. I even found a peg-legged pirate nutcracker there to add to my collection!)

31. Live sand dollars
Discovering how amazing a live sand dollar is. How much it moves, though it never goes anywhere!

32. Alligators snoozing in the sun
The new fence behind our timeshare that allows us to get pretty darn close to the alligator that likes to snooze on the bank - and still feel safe.

33. Poolside barbecue
With my Uncle Dave, Aunt Diane, cousin Mark his wife Mada and their kids - Dreamer and Moriah became instant friends. They also had a lot of fun playing with a lizard that Matthew caught.

34. My mom being willing to do anything, go anywhere
She even took all four kids (Matthew, Moriah, Dreamer, Serious) on a tour of island playgrounds so Mada and I could have the afternoon off to go shopping together

35. Sharing how amazing a personal relationship with Jesus is to me
Got to share this with my cousin's wife. And she was really interested, not just skeptical. Also listened to her share her background and beliefs.

36. Dolphins swimming just off the beach.
On my last morning on the beach, I finally got to see a dolphin swimming. It always takes my breath away!

37. Movies for the kids makes traveling easier.
Flew back home without Mom - just me and the girls for over 17 hours of travel but they were both so good! A long three hour layover ended up whizzing by because I found another really good book to read and was able to rent a movie for the girls to watch.

38. Hiding Easter candy.
Easter Sunday with my Dad. Dreamer and Serious exclaiming every time they found another stash of hidden candy in the living room.

39. Bunnies that poop jelly beans
Finally being re-united with B., Blaze and Starlet after over a week when they got home from their trip to Kansas with all of B.'s family for Easter. Aunt Melissa bought Easter baskets for all the girls (even Dreamer and Serious). The wind-up bunnies that "pooped" jelly beans were a big hit.

40. “We just need to pray, Daddy.”
Blaze tells Daddy not to get upset when the truck gets stuck in mud.

41. All four girls love to ride in the backhoe with Daddy.
Dreamer got an exclusive ride home with Daddy in the backhoe after we drove him out to a job site to pick it up. He let her “drive” it part of the way home.

42. Pink roses smell the best.
B. brought home a pink rose (my favorite) for me, for no particular reason

43. Our names are written in heaven.
A WT (wonderful thing) from the Word: Luke 10:22 "...rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

44. A day off from work.
Getting to sleep in, time to have two cups of tea; not having to get dressed to go anywhere until 10am; wonderful fellowship, good discussion at mom’s Bible study, then a relaxing afternoon. My favorite time of day: the twins are upstairs sleeping, little lumps of angels under dark pink comforters. I’m sitting in the recliner in the living room next to the big picture windows, situated precisely so that my legs and feet feel the delicious warmth of the afternoon sun but the rest of me is in shade so I don’t get too hot or too sleepy. I have just discovered something wonderful in a book, and I have time to think it over, and even take some notes.

45. Inspiration about my job
one day I was mulling over my belief that fulfillment is incomplete if you are only achieving something for our self - lasting fulfillment comes from doing things for others. So then I got to thinking, what about my profession? These days I enjoy teaching more and more, I am helping people learn things. But the stuff that I teach, it doesn’t really change lives anyway, or help people (beyond increasing their skills for their job). I got to thinking if there was anyway I could add more “value” to what I teach. Occurred to me that I can demonstrate how GIS is used to help better people’s lives through planning better communities, more responsible use of the environment, disaster relief: how GIS is used to increase emergency response to disaster, anything from routing an ambulance to get to an accident faster, to pinpointing safe places for shelters and the best routes to get to them before a hurricane hits. Exciting! Will have an opportunity to teach a short class in mid-April, will make sure to mention this.

Some thoughts on Avatar and why it is so appealing (part 1)

My hypothesis: the Christian symbolism in Avatar contributes more to the movie's popularity than its pantheistic themes. Read my arguments for this and challenge me. I love a good argument, as long as it stays respectful.

I absolutely loved the movie Avatar, for several reasons (see below), but I recognized some issues with it, too. I started writing down my thoughts about this movie a couple months ago, but it's taken me a while to distill it all out. I didn't want to merely regurgitate or resynthesize a lot of posts that are already out there. For instance, Christianity Today already has a good article, Box Office Pantheism, that strikes a nice balance between appreciating the movie for its creativity and beauty and even some of its Christian symbolism, but also warning Christians about its pantheistic world views. Tackling pantheism is not the point of this blog. CS Lewis has already done a supremely logical analysis of the weakness of pantheism in his classic book, Mere Christianity.

What I'm contending here is that even if you took the pantheism and deep ecology worldviews out of this movie, it would still be just as popular. But if you took out the Christian symbolism, as subtle as it is, the movie would lose some (not all) of its appeal - mostly it would a lot of its depth of character and motive.

I was startled by how much I loved the movie, so much that after seeing it the first time with a friend, I went right back with my husband and oldest daughter because I loved it so much I wanted them to see it, too. Here are five factors that I think account for its broad appeal (not a complete list, I'm sure).

1. amazing specific effects, and not just effects for the sake of effects, but a really beautiful, well-imagined and well-crafted fantasy world, with a budget that could afford to pay attention to details. James Cameron used cinematography to create something so fantastic that the only comparison at its level I can think of is Tolkien's Middle Earth, created by written fiction (and not equalled in its cinematic version - though it is tempting to think what the movie version of Lord of the Rings might have been like if they'd waited another 8 years for advances in special effects. Still, we have the Hobbit to look forward to)
2. lots of action: bang ‘em up, shoot ‘em up, some monstrous scary creatures, and some mythological-type creatures thrown in for good measure
3. a Romeo and Juliet story, where people from two different cultures fall in love and their love triumphs over forces that would try to divide them (James Cameron apparently discovered how well this theme works in his other blockbuster, Titanic)
4. everybody loves an underdog, and it’s really cool to see the Nav’ii triumph against overwhelming odds. (This is also a big factor in the popularity of the Lord of the Rings, too, I believe, where two little hobbits defeat the Dark Lord against all odds).
5. a “good vs. evil” plot that follows archetypal story structure and includes some spiritual themes that many people relate to, including pantheistic and Christian themes.

A lot of highly successful movies/books have two or maybe even three of these elements, but this movie goes all out and includes all five of them. No wonder I was hooked.

But more about point 5 - the spiritual elements. There is a lot of Christian symbolism in Avatar. Though it is a lot more subtle than the pantheistic/deep ecology themes, I believe it is actually the Christian themes that contribute more to the movie's appeal than the pantheistic ones. The biggest pantheistic appeal of the movie is that in a world where all creatures realize they are interconnected, they will be in balance with each other. But merely being in balance isn't enough to make a good movie! No, the appeal of the movie is how the creatures magically work together and come to each other's aid in a time of need. But this is not actually something pantheists really believe; it is pure fantasy.

If you look at the climax of the movie, you see that the Nav’ii cannot triumph on their own over the forces that threatens them. Jake appeals to their goddess in prayer and she answers by causing all the animals to join in the battle. Jake knows the battle cannot be won without help. This is actually more of a Christian worldview than a pantheistic one. It corresponds more to how Christians know they cannot achieve anything worthwhile by their own efforts, but only through the strength of God. (Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me").

Another example: when the spiritual leader of the Nav’ii says you cannot teach someone who is already full, and Jake says “I’m empty.” (1 Cor 1:20 “God has chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise”). We can all relate better to someone who admits he needs to learn and is willing to learn, versus pompous know-it-alls. This is one reason why I have such hard time sharing my faith - e.g. blurting out my faith - with other people. I don't want to come across as a pompous know-it-all. I want to know what other people believe, and why they believe it. I am still learning. We are all still learning. Which is why I also dearly hope that after they've shared their beliefs with me, they'd give me a chance to tell my own story.

There is also the part when Jake is accepted as one of the people, the Nav’ii tradition says that everyone is born twice – once a physical birth, and second a spiritual birth. (John 3:1 “You must be born again.”)

Maybe the filmmakers threw in a little bit of Christian symbolism to appease the Christians in the audience, but it is more likely these themes of needing help from beyond ourselves and the need for a spiritual birth or awakening are something that filmmakers have identified as themes that a majority of people can relate to. They have a broad appeal, because they also form the basis for the archetypal elements of the “hero’s journey”. (Of course it may be argued that the archetypal elements of great stories predate Christianity and even Judaism and these religions actually borrow from it. More about that in Part 2, coming soon).

Here are some past challenges I've made... I always love hearing responses and I'm always open to discussion.

Worldviews part 1: the truth is we need help

Worldviews part 2: What about suffering?

Why tolerance isn't enough

1000 gifts: up to 24

I've started a list of all the gifts God has given me that I'm thankful for, to live out the command "give thanks in all things" (1 Thess. 5:18) in my daily walk.

Just when I thought I was over my little bout of seasonal depression, it hit me hard again yesterday. Feelings of hopelessness. I'm not accomplishing anything in life, why do I even bother? Feeling like I haven't accomplished anything signficant professionally (at work), creatively (writing), as a mother (a call from Blaze's teacher that was discouraging), my marriage has its ups and downs and don't even get me started on our financial state... I can't lose weight, I have no self-control, I'm not even sure if I believe in God, because if he existed, wouldn't he help me more, as I've been faithfully praying for his strength?

I have a couple friends that have shared their ups and downs in life, and I noticed that when they are struggling with their faith, they are usually doubting the goodness of God. They feel like he's a killjoy that is deliberately withholding good things from their lives or even maybe punishing them. I have never felt that way about God, but then I realized that when I'm struggling with my faith, I do something maybe even worse: I start to doubt that He even exists. It's all just wishful thinking. There never was a creator, it's all just a bunch of random mutations and natural selection.

Deep in my funk last night, I randomly picked up a book that's been sitting on the pile of six or so books on my bedstand. It happened to be "Rise Above" by Gwen Shamblin. I opened it to a dog ear mark where I had stopped reading it many months ago. A few pages into it, I found myself reading a section about depression. Weird. She was talking about how most depression is a result of being overly self-focused. Before you go to the doctor to get some pills for it, she suggests you try something first: go through a whole day focusing on other people. What I had been focused on was "oh woe is me." I had forgotten to focus on things to be thankful for and instead I had started comparing myself to others: thinking things like "most people who are 40 years old have accomplished much more than me, make more money than me, etc." This is a deadly trap and I had fallen for it again!

My kids like me to read to them and sing to them when I put them to bed. Sometimes I'll read but skip the singing and put on a short tape of lullabies instead. Sometimes I'll skip reading and just sing one or two of their favorites, "Jesus Loves Me" or "White Coral Bells" or "Over the Rainbow" or "I Know You" from Sleeping Beauty. Tonight I read to them, so I was going to skip singing, but suddenly I really wanted to sing. I sang for them and then I went to my room laid on my bed with my song book and sang five or six more favorites - "Sweet Adoration", "All the Heavens", "Psalm 42", "Lamb of God", "Wonderful, Merciful Savior," "Lord, You're Beautiful."

At the end of my singing my heart was at peace again. Faith restored. Of course God exists. I promised myself that this morning I would add to my list of gifts, and also focus on others, instead of myself, by getting into prayer. Fasting-a-meal this morning.

Here are the latest additions to my list of gifts:

11. Delicious sandwiches at Schlotsky's with my mom
My mom is back from Hilton Head, and when I picked her up from the shuttle stop in Ft. Collins she treated me to dinner at Schlotsky's, one of my Ft Collins favs

12. Morning birdsong heralding spring
It's lighter in the morning now and during one of my morning walks, our neighborhood was full of birdsong! Like little heralds of spring – or rather, little promises of spring (still a lot of snow)

13. A call from from Kerry.
An old friend, my roommate during the years 1998/1999. Oh the memories!

14. Making cards for my parents' birthdays.
Famous movie quotes for Dad; opera lyrics for Mom.

15. Still love to re-read my story even though I've read it a thousand times and it still needs a lot of work.

16. A warm, crackling fire to snuggle up near to
B. has been good about keeping our stove stocked these days

17. Giving horsey rides
Blaze gave the twins horsey rides on her hands and knees, and then jiggled them on her leg. They giggle like crazy. How can I not smile?

18. Good nuggets of truth from Oswald Chambers
These are from his lesser known "Still Higher for His Highest" devotional

19. Homemade waffles and blueberry syrup
At Mom & Dad’s on Sunday morning. Dad makes the waffles; Mom makes the syrup.

20. Piggy tails
Blaze fixed the twins' hair in piggy tails and also got them dressed for church for me, what a great help.

21. “Does grass grow UP because it is worshipping God?”
We were sharing cute things that kids say at our mother's Bible study, and Stacy shared this one from her son.

22. My kids shuffling around in my big fuzzy slippers

23. Looking over our old photos
Found some old favorites of B. and me – can’t believe this great guy says he’s still in love with me

24. Used book sales
B. is watching the kids for me tomorrow so I can go with a friend, Shannon, to a big used book sale - I get to spend all morning browsing BOOKS. Oh, I can't wait (even though I'm sure to be tempted to buy more than my $15 budget)

1000 gifts: my first ten

My old battle with seasonal depression has resurfaced. It has been mercifully mild for the past three winters since the twins were born, but I'm noticing it a little more this year. How I can tell I have the blues:

• even when it's sunny outside, I still can't make myself go out
• all I want to do is watch movies, read entertaining books, and eat fatty food
• my house starts to look like a tornado went through the interior
• I feel tears coming, over the most minor things
• I completely give up on my goals

Well, let me revise that. I'm taking a break from my goals - except for the first three - which means basically being in the Word and in prayer. Even little two word "help me" prayers help. I found a couple others things that have helped, too. One is this post by Don Miller on Following God and Farming. Farming is rarely glorious or fun, but if we just keep faithfully working at that little field the Lord's given us, He will cause the harvest to be great.

Another thing I found that really encouraged me is A Thousand Gifts. This lady started keeping a list of gifts, writing them down one-by-one until she reached one thousand. A list not of gifts she wanted, but gifts she'd already been given... by God. Here's a great excerpt:

Too often I miss Him, oblivious, blind. I don't see all the good things that He is giving me, gracing me with, brushing my life with. True, He is everywhere, always. But maybe, before The Gift List, I thought of Him as further off, not so close. When I started to see all the things that I love bestowed upon me, I started to see Him as near, present, everywhere, showering me with good things. Seeing the things I love all around me gives me eyes to see that I am loved, that He loves me.

It is happening to me as John Milton wrote: "Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."

So here is the beginning of my 1000 gifts list:

1. fresh strawberries on sale - the first I've had all winter

2. my Dad has been talking more - even played poker with B. Sunday night

3. Olympic ice skating

4. enjoyed writing about a quote and related scripture for my blog; 5 comments on my blog post

5. Reading other contributor's posts about the quote taught me some more things

6. the way Annie says "do it again!" after I tickle her

7. diamonds glittering on the snow during my morning walk

8. holding newborn babies

9. discovering "wonderful things" (Psalm 119:18) in the scripture: my WT last week was Colossian 1:27 "God has chosen to make known to us the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

10. Sarah singing "the Power of the Cross" at church, and a wonderful message on end times and how God will have the victory

I am already feeling light penetrating the fog of depression. And I just discovered the verse that immediately precedes one of my all time favorite verses, Phil 4:6-7. I discovered that as I consciously keep my eyes open for His gifts and thank him, as it says in Phil 4:6, then I receive the peace of Phil 4:7, and the truth of Phil 4:5b becomes evident!

Phillippians 4:5-7 The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Stained glass transparency

Churches are supposed to be a place where we can drag our aching souls to for comfort and encouragment. We shouldn't have to paint on a "all's well smile" because that's what we see on the surface of most faces when we get there. Yes, that's what we want for ourselves - to have it "all together", to be "on top of things", to be in control... but it does no good to pretend it.

Here's a quick guesstimate: I would say that I feel happy, secure, "on top of things" only about 10% of the time that I go to church. And boy am I ready to praise Him in worship on those wonderful rare occasions! But the rest of the time I go for succor to my heart, to call on Him to raise me out of whatever gloomy circumstances or attitudes I am struggling with. And it's no guarantee depending on other church-goers to lift me up. Yes, sometimes God uses them to encourage me, but other times He uses the pastor's message, or the lyrics of a song, or He prompts me to go find someone else who is hurting, and encourage them. Through helping others, you will find your own heart lifted. Then the stained-glass masquerade becomes stained glass transparency, allowing the light of truth to shine through.

What churches needs to show the world is not an image of "aren't we happy, on top of things, and in control!" but an image of "oh what joy is ours because God is in control! God is sovereign over both the heavens and the earth, over every part of our lives. We are so thankful that we can bring our troubles and worries and fears to Him and receive His peace in exchange."

I can't help repeating it. We don't have to be in control or pretend that we've got it all together. GOD IS IN CONTROL. So perfectly expressed in:

Romans 8:28 "And we know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."

Psalm 34:19 "A righteous man may have many
troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all."

A relationship with God, through prayer, reading the Word, and worship; and fellowship with other believers that have a relationship with God, results in balance between security and transparency. A heart that knows it can find security in the One who is in control, and can transparently share the hard things in his/her life because he/she trusts in God and can even praise Him from the very middle of a trial.

Just as the devil loves to spread the lie of the "happy plastic people" at church, he also loves to spread the lie "are you so certain that God in is control? After all, he certainly didn't seem to have much control over the situation in Haiti. Certainly if he was in control, he would have prevented such devastation and suffering as a result of that earthquake. Or if you MUST believe that he is in control, then you have to admit that he's a bit harsh. How could a good God allow such a thing? Is this a God that is really worthy of your allegiance?"

To combat these lies, it is so important to study the Word for yourself so that you KNOW - not because someone else has told you, but because you've seen it in black and white yourself - the real answers to these tempting questions that Satan raises. This is also where it so helpful to have access to other believers who are transparent enough to share their testimonies of how God worked in their lives. How He turned suffering into joy, ashes into beauty, tears into songs of praise (paraphrasing Isaiah 61:3).

This Tuesday's quote was chosen by the contributers to In Other Words. This week's host site, Writing Canvas, has a post about this quote and anyone wanting to participate can ponder on the quote and write about about it on their blog, then link your post to the host blog.

Valentines and resolutions

We had some old friends of ours move into the neighborhood, and I've been meaning to give them a "welcome" gift for months now... well finally Valentine's presented the opportunity - and a good opportunity for my kids to learn that Valentine's just isn't about getting candy and cute holographic cards from schoolmates.

On Saturday we made a heart-cut out cookies and pink striped fudge and wrapped up a bunch of bowls for gifts. We tied on gift cards with a heart & a cross and one of my favorite quotes about love "Only love can be endlessly divided and still not diminish". Then Sunday we delievered our pink goodies to a dozen of our neighbors and a few other friends & elderly folks from our church that don't get out much anymore.

One of my favorite proverbs is 11:25: "He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." And it's so true - to see the surprised pleasure of our neighbors receiving their Valentines was just as much pleasure for me. And hopefully for the girls, too.

The idea to reach out to our neighbors was a direct result of praying over my goals for this year. So one month after I set these goals for myself, here's my first update:

1) Psalm 119:164 "seven times a day I praise You" - my seven days are few and far between. This is by far the resolution I need to concentrate the most on, because it has such an impact on everything else I do.

2) Bible study: it’s my turn later this morning to lead the study of Colossians at Mom’s Bible study. The topic is salvation! – a heady subject – esp. since we have had new people coming – they weren’t there last week but I pray they might be this week, I have no idea if these ladies are saved or not. On Monday, I spent the entire morning in the Word preparing for this (no school on Monday so I stayed home with the kids). What riches are ours when we really dig into the Word! I discovered all sorts of interesting things looking up cross-references to the preeminence of Christ as expressed in Colossians 1:15-18. One thing I discovered was that both God and Christ have the title "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" in the Bible. Another powerful proof of the deity of Christ. Also, a wonderful parallel to Colossian 1:15-18 and John 1:1-5 is found in Hebrews 1:3. I also discovered a new passage on salvation that I hadn't really noticed before: 2 Corinthians 4:2-6 (see below).

3) Memorizing verses. So, I decided to memorize 2 Corinthians 4:2-6 (and 7 too) after I discovered it. I think I am being led to memorize verses on salvation right now, because of the Fam Club. I was able to fast from 10:30 to 5:30 this past Saturday, which included a big chunk of time in prayer. It wasn't easy - it was a constant battle not to give into the desire for a little snack, to get back to prayer instead. But it was so worth it. Also during that time I read over all the Fam Club posts since 2006 when it started, full of encouraging testimonies from others who have fasted and prayed for family members and saw the Lord answer their prayers!

2 Corinthians 4:2-7 ...by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

What I do with these verses is turn them into a prayer: Lord, please unveil the gospel so ____ can see, make Your light shine in their hearts so that they may see Your glory in the face of Christ...

4) Pray more with my family (and for my family). I found a children’s lesson on love, based on 1 Cor 13, for Valentine’s day, to help my children understand the Biblical definition of love. Together we made two lists as we read these verses, a list of "what love is" and a list of "what love is not" and then prayed for each other on one specific quality. I am doing much better at remembering to pray with the girls before bed time.

5) Pay more attention to others around me. Keep my eyes open for people at church to encourage. I actually introduced myself to two people at church I haven't met before. This is a big thing for me to step outside of my comfort zone like this. But how will I ever experience the blessing of seeing someone come to the Lord, or a new believer to grow in the Lord through discipleship, if I don't step outside my comfort zone more? Speaking of comfort zones and how hard they are to get out of, that's kind of related to issues of insecurity, which I have still have loads of. I just wanted to mention that on the livingproofministries blog Beth Moore is doing a So Long Insecurity discussion group. I've had this book less than a week and I'm almost finished reading it. It is good, good stuff. I'll definitely be blogging about this one more!

6) Live a better story, more meaningful scenes. Okay, so finally I did something here! - my little Valentines for neighbors project with the girls. Now Lord can you give me another idea?

7) Lose weight/eat healthier/turning to you instead of food. Ever since my birthday, this has been absolutely dismal. I had lost 4 pounds, and I bet anything I have gained it right back. I am only getting out to walk about once a week. But now that the days are getting longer, I should be able to get out more.

8) Writing – other than this blog, I haven't written anything since February started. I should go back to my 200 words a day... even though the 200 words were usually weak or need to be completely cut or re-written, at least it kept in me in writing mode.

9) Get to places on time. This one is marginally better, but let's see if I actually get to Bible study on time this morning... since it's my turn to lead I had better!