never judge a book by its cover

a journey i would take and a journey i would not.  this describes the books i read this week.  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett} is a light read and enjoyable for my 'i like all things girly' perspective.  complete opposite of that:  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}.  how this book made it on the reading list i am not entirely sure.   i pushed through the scientific read this week, though.  fortunately, it was not nearly as graphic or scary as i had anticipated based on the book cover.  as the saying goes, 'never judge a book by its cover.'

a sign of a sad life:  "people never like me and i never like people." the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"it made her think that i was curious how much nicer a person looked when he smiled.  she had not though of it before."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"one of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.  i am going to try and experiment."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"you learn things by saying them over and over and thinking about them until they stay in your mind forever."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}"

"th' more they laugh th' better for 'em!"  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"much more surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one.  two things cannot be in one place."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"'and whichsoever way thou goest, may fortune follow!'"   a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"for my part, i was in a state of painful indecision--i desired to embark on the journey and to succeed, and still i feared the result."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"then, like a child, i shut my eyes, that i might not see the darkness."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"man's constitution is so peculiar that his health is purely a negative matter.  no sooner is the rage of hunger appeased than it becomes difficult to comprehend the meaning of starvation.  it is only when you suffer that you really understand."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

earthquake survivor

was that...an earthquake?!?! 

earthquake (noun):  a series of vibrations induced in the earth's crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.

yes, i experienced my first earthquake today.  where was i and what was i doing?  sitting in my office preparing student teacher placements and paperwork for the orientation meeting.  one {news} report.  it measured a 5.8 in magnitude.  the {data}.

it was pretty serious...as you can tell from this picture.  i am so thankful to say i am an earthquake survivor.

disclaimer:  not my picture.  just the picture everyone is passing around to show the devastation of the august 23, 2011 earthquake.  enjoy! 

lions, and tigers, and bears...oh my!

the help.  novel and book...well-done. 

"i don't know what to say to her.  all i know is, i ain't saying it.  and i know she ain't saying what she want a say either and it's a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation." {the help, kathryn stockett}

"mrs. charlotte phelan's guide to husband-hunting, rule number one:  a pretty, petite girl should accentuate with makeup and good posture.  a tall plain one, with a trust fund." {the help, kathryn stockett}

"'saying thank you, when you really mean it, when you remember what someone done for you...it's so good'" {the help, kathryn stockett}

i was disappointed with the wonderful wizard of oz.  i found the movie to be more much interesting than the book.  my biggest disappointment was with the famous slippers though.  in the book, the slippers were silver.  silver?!?!  what happened to the ruby slippers?!?!  okay, so yes, i know the book came first, but still.  how very disappointing.

"no matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful.  there is no place like home."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"'all the same,' said the scarecrow, 'i shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"everyone loved her, but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"'you have plenty of courage, i am sure,' answered oz.  'all you need is confidence in yourself.  there is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger.  the true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.'"  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"all you have to do is knock the heels together three times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

can i go back to college?

the influx of students (and parents...) has brought me to a mix of emotions.  part of me thinks, "get out of my way, you are slowing down my day, and i have no patience for you."  the other part of me thinks, "can i go back to college and be one of them...setting up my dorm...meeting new people...?"  it certainly makes me reminisce my undergraduate days.  oh what treasures those days were!  it is incredible to me that it was about this time seven years ago that i was making my liberty entrance.  wow...just think all of the memories of the last seven years.  love it!

"this time seven years ago..."  this will be likely be in my introduction tomorrow as i welcome a group of thirty students to liberty tomorrow.  i am really excited to be teaching a freshman seminar class this week.  i see it as an opportunity to reconnect with the students outside of my job so that i can be reminded of why i do what i do.  often times in my job, i can feel overwhelmingly irritated with the student population.  not because they are all frustrating, but because the couple that are irritating take up way to much of my time.  i am praying that God allows me to make that initial impression of liberty positive and welcoming.  i am praying that God gives me the words to speak to change hearts, especially those that may feel discouraged already or are already regretting their decision to come to campus.  {liberty university} truly has been an incredible blessing to me over the last seven years.  sometimes i wonder if i would be equally as happy and blessed had i followed my initial desires for college selection.  let's just say liberty and its rules were not my number one pick.

in reading the freshman handbook to prepare for this class tomorrow, i was encouraged and reminded of paul's call to pray for our family, our friends, our church, ourselves:

• that God "may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" {ephesians 1:17}
• that the "eyes of your understanding [may be] enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His caling" {ephesians 1:18}
• that you may know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe" {ephesians 1:19}

good luck, freshmen! be open to what God has in store for you over the next 4+ years!  (yes, some of you will take the 4+ years to finish, but stay strong, you can do it!)

no horsing around

i have been eagerly wanting to plan a trip to next year's {kentucky derby}.  while horse races are fun, my primary goal was to have an excuse to get dressed up and wear big hats.  a few of the girls shared in my excitement.  we could easily make ourselves fit in.  we thought so anyway...until we discovered the ticket prices for grandstand seats.  a trip to the horse track sure isn't a trip to the ball field.

truth be told, i am disappointed we will not be sitting in the grandstands next may.  maybe we can throw our own derby party here though.  this is my friend's attempt at cheering me up:

"one day miranda… we will leave our 2.5 kids back in the hotel with our nanny’s and our husbands will have purchased us the best seats with, of course, tickets to the winners circle after the race! and we will walk in with our big (very expensive) hats and hot (very rich) husbands and enjoy the kentucky derby as it was meant to be enjoyed."

well said, friend!

throwing stones

continuing with the reading list.  i am starting to realize that several of our selected books are centered on slavery and/or the civil rights movement.  i have found them to be interesting reads.  included in this list is uncle tom's cabin by harriet beecher stowe.

"if it were your harry, mother, or your willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning,--if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o'clock till morning to make good your escape,--how fast could you walk?  how many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom,--the little sleepy head on your shoulder,--the small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck?"  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"sublime is the dominion of the mind over the body, that, for a time, can make flesh and nerve impregnable, and string the sinews like steel, so that the weak becomes so mighty."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"and for a few moments they all wept in company.  and in those tears they all shed together, the high and the lowly, melted away all the heart-burnings and anger of the oppressed.  o, ye who visit the distressed, do ye know that everything your money can buy, given with a cold, averted face, is not worth one honest tear shed in real sympathy?"  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"of course, in a novel, people's hearts break, and they die, and that is the end of it; and in a story this is very convenient.  but in real life we do not die when all that makes life bright dies to us.  there is a most busy and important round of eating, drinking, dressing, walking, visiting, buying, selling, talking, reading, and all that makes up what is commonly called living, yet to be gone through."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"'i could sooner show twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow my own showing.'" {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"farewell, beloved child!  the bright, eternal doors have closed after thee; we shall see they sweet face no more.  o, woe for them who watched thy entrance into heaven, when they shall wake and find only the cold gray sky of daily life, and thou gone forever."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

read this quote and tell me you do not feel convicted...

"if i answer that question, i know you'll be at me with half a dozen others, each one harder than the last; and i'm not going to define my position.  i am one of the sort that lives by throwing stones at other people's glass houses, but i never mean to put up one for them to stone."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}