Yancey, on writing, pleasure, and C.S. Lewis

"Lewis saw the world as a place worth saving. Unlike the monastics of the Middle Ages and the legalists of modern times, he saw no need to withdraw and deny all pleasures. He loved a stiff drink, a puff on the pipe, a gathering of friends, a Wagnerian opera, a hike in the fields of Oxford. The pleasures in life are indeed good, just not good enough; they are "only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited."

I found in Lewis that rare and precarious balance of embracing the world while not idolizing it. For all its defects, this planet bears marks of the original design, traces of Beauty and Joy that both recall and anticipate the Creator's intent.

Alone of modern authors, Lewis taught me to anticipate heaven: "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea."

We writers are not nouns, he used to say. We are mere adjectives, pointing to the great Noun of truth. Lewis did that, faithfully and masterfully, and because he did so, many thousands have come to know and love that Noun.

Including me."

- Philip Yancey (from July's article of ChristianToday)

When I'm in Powell, studying with my sister, I treat myself to hours of magazine reading. You know, the usual- Redbrook...EBONY....
Don't waste your cash buying magazines like I've done for the past three years. Powell has a hefty collection, including ChristianToday, (where I read the above excerpt)- it's an evangelist publication. I note that because I opened a different Christian magazine and there was a happy spread about a lesbian priest from the eastcoast. Negative.

But I love the above excerpt because its an excellent reminder of what we Christians do best: compromise. And Yancey's article suggests that compromising (whatever it is that we unconsciously compromise) for the sake of pleasure, leaves no room for the glorying of Heaven, the ultimate good.

For the Win

Summer
Everything I hoped it would be and more.

It's definitely been a season of second chances in all the important realms of my life: family, friends, faith, dragonboat, school. I'm so thankful that life leaves room for mistakes, and the opportunity to pick myself up and try again.

Spending more time with my mom has been good for me because so far she's been a daily reminder for me to be strong. Spring quarter took a lash on my confidence, faith, and trust in humanity and myself. I was weak. I can't think of any other word more fitting.

Alicia Keys - Superwoman

Everywhere I'm turning
Nothing seems complete
I stand up and I'm searching
For the better part of me
I hang my head from sorrow
state of humanity
I wear it on my shoulders
Gotta find the strength in me

Those are the feelings I'm learning to leave. Freakin Alicia Keys, her songs, her music videos- they get the best of me.

In my life, peace comes and goes, comes and goes. For now, its resting at the center of me, and I'm trying my best not tamper with it before I lose it again.

But on a serious note, All Glory to the Author of second chances.

Updates:
Over the weekend, my team, UCLA Dragonboat, raced in what is called the 2008 Viewsonic Long Beach Dragonboat Festival (over 100 teams from everywhere), and we placed 1st in Division IIB out of 6 divisions. But more importantly we won GOLD in the College Division. Its so fun to win. And its such an indescribable feeling. Thank you to my breast friends for coming out to support me and not embarrassing me.

Secondly, and just as sweet, Mama bought me a brand new car baby! - Honda Accord, black, sedan, 2008. Definitely an upgrade from the Honda Accord I was already driving- white, sedan, 1989. Can't wait to drive you around town. Can't touch my stereo though.





...two blessings for which I will not take for granted! Hollatchagurlll

Joel 2:8

Charles Spurgeon

"Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path." —Joel 2:8

Locusts always keep their rank, and although their number is legion, they do not crowd upon each other, so as to throw their columns into confusion. This remarkable fact in natural history shows how thoroughly the a Lord has infused the spirit of order into His universe, since the smallest animate creatures are as much controlled by it as are the rolling spheres or the seraphic messengers. It would be wise for believers to be ruled by the same influence in all their spiritual life. In their Christian graces no one virtue should usurp the sphere of another, or eat out the vitals of the rest for its own support. Affection must not smother honesty, courage must not elbow weakness out of the field, modesty must not jostle energy, and patience must not slaughter resolution. So also with our duties, one must not interfere with another; public usefulness must not injure private piety; church work must not push family worship into a corner. It is ill to offer God one duty stained with the blood of another. Each thing is beautiful in its season, but not otherwise. It was to the Pharisee that Jesus said, "This ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone." The same rule applies to our personal position, we must take care to know our place, take it, and keep to it. We must minister as the Spirit has given us ability, and not intrude upon our fellow servant's domain. Our Lord Jesus taught us not to covet the high places, but to be willing to be the least among the brethren. Far from us be an envious, ambitious spirit, let us feel the force of the Master's command, and do as He bids us, keeping rank with the rest of the host. To-night let us see whether we are keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace, and let our prayer be that, in all the churches of the Lord Jesus, peace and order may prevail.

On complications of passion, following your heart...

“The heart has its reason of which reason knows nothing”

Home again

Hope you got to relax on the 4th.

I went to visit my dad - had a shot of soju with him to celebrate my birthday and the beginning of my 9 year journey through the tumultuous 20s. To think... marriage, salaries, independence, all lie ahead. Its frightening because all of those things seem so beyond my control. Another possibility is not having any of those things. I've never worried about anything in my life. We'll see how that philosophy plays out when I'm alone, confused, and poor.

Friday night, I celebrated the 4th at the Hollywood Bowl with my mom and my sister. This year the Bowl decided to celebrate the Dodgers 50th anniversary. Tommy Lasorda came on stage halfway through the concert - told some wild jokes, rallied an applause for the U.S. troops, asked us to pray for him and the team, and then led the crowd through "Take Me Out To the Ballgame". He was patriotic I guess, in a rambunctious, catholic-fevered way. I thought he was going to start blabbering. At one point he said "Isn't this great! I got the philharmonica behind me..." I was hoping he'd start cursing the Giants or something but sadly he left the stage and then Randy Newman came on.

Each of us enjoyed the night for different reasons. My mom will only buy Bowl tickets if there are fireworks at the end. Last summer we sat through Gladys Knight all for the sake of fireworks GG umma. My sister loved the night because she just loves music I guess. She knows stuff about the L.A. Phil. I don't know anything. I enjoyed the night because, well, I believe American tradition exists, and it was good to celebrate it- American music (Copland, Gershwin), baseball (They played a recording of Vin Scully's play-by-play of Kirk Gibson's gamewinning homerun), film (Field of Dreams, and whatever the Robert Redford movie was. Robert Redford is just an American icon period).

There were a lot of Jewish families there. I know that I was surrounded by them in my section. I'm glad Jews love their country.

As for me, I could never put my nationality over my ethnicity, but I probably love America more than you. We can have a U.S. history battle to prove it. Or I'll give you a rundown of all the presidential races since Kennedy. Primaries and all.

One thing for certain is that you love the Dodgers more than me. But I know that since I'm from LA and since I call myself an American, I should at least get excited about them. At least I recognized Tommy Lasorda when he stomped onto the stage and at least I recognized Vin Scully's famous world series announcing.

I'm going to the Dodger game this Wednesday. At least I know that since the Padres beat the Diamondbacks today, the Dodgers have a good shot at taking the lead.

As for the players names?
I'm more interested in the season-ending sale at Banana Republic.