Because I want to feel more like an indie/hipster . . .

. . . I'm moving my blog to tumblr. Actually, I just like the format much better . . . and I was bored the other afternoon, so moving my blog and playing around with a tumblr page sounded like fun.

Anyways, please read, if you so desire:

http://meganmijo.tumblr.com/

"Plaster images of the Holy One may before now have drawn to themselves the adoration they were meant to arouse for the reality. But here, where His live image, like Him within and without, made by His own bare hands out of the depth of divine artistry, His masterpiece of self-portraiture coming forth from His workshop to delight all worlds, walked and spoke before Ransom's eyes, it could never be taken for more than an image. Nay, the very beauty of it lay in the certainty that it was a copy, like and not the same, an echo, a rhyme, an exquisite reverberation of the uncreated music prolonged in a created medium." ~ C. S. Lewis, Perelandra


Yes, I am aware that I utterly fail at blogging . . . and I am ok with that. Why should anyone spend very much of their precious time reading this blog when there are such incredibly exquisite writers as C. S. Lewis? 

"we wish you a morbid christmas . . ."

Christmas break has arrived, and we all know what that means, yes?

Well, 
a) it means that I am halfway though my sophomore year of college {weird}, 
and, more importantly, 
b) it means that it is finally time to tackle my rather substantial reading list.


Ah . . . this is why I love Christmas break. There exists absolutely nothing too pressing or important to pull me away from the glorious stack of books on my bedside table.


This year's pervading theme?
Morbid literature. And yes, I do find this to be slightly ironic. 
{'Tis the season to be jolly?}

• The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
• The October Country - Ray Bradbury
• Edgar Allen Poe short stories
• That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
• Candide - Voltaire (if I have time . . . at least this one isn't really morbid, just satirical)

Looking at this list, I have also come to the realization that I have apparently developed a taste for science fiction that is slightly more sophisticated than Doctor Who or Star Wars, which is most definitely a good thing . . . though I do plan to watch those movies before I head back to school.
I should probably stop there before I give away just how much of a nerd I truly am. 


So, why morbid literature? You mean, other than the fact that I enjoy creepy stories? 
I'm so glad you asked.
I love morbid literature because real life doesn't always end "happily ever after", and I'm pretty sure that it hardly ever ends the way you expect it to. Furthermore, man is not by nature good. Apart from God, can man ever be truly happy? Will he ever find the answers? How does man react to stressful and/or cataclysmic situations when his reality and his morals are completely subjective? Personally, I find the different answers submitted by various authors through the vehicle of morbid and/or distopian literature to be fascinating.


And besides . . . it's just a really good read.

"And the snake who'd held the world, a stick, a carrot, and a string was crushed beneath the foot of Your not wanting anything."

Sometimes, lack of motivation and focus yields glorious discoveries. 

Translation of the above sentence:
"Instead of filling out study guides for my History of Popular Music class, I was searching for bands with lyrics that probe slightly deeper than 'I love you/You, you/You love me, we're a happy family . . .', and I discovered mewithoutYou." 

Actually, I discovered mewithoutYou a few months ago, but I hadn't really had the time to pay close attention to what their songs were saying; I was just intrigued by their sound. Once I started really listening to the words, I was even more intrigued. 
[So, naturally, I decided to blog about it. Because, apparently, I have nothing better to do . . .]

My favorite song of theirs, so far, is "A Stick, A Carrot, and A String". I don't understand why, if there are songs like this out there, Christian radio stations are still playing the same Michael W. Smith songs that they were playing when I was 4.

A Stick, a Carrot, and a String

The horse's hay beneath his head
Our Lord was born to a manger bed
That all whose wells run dry
Could drink of his supply.

To keep him warm, the sheep drew near
So grateful for His coming here
Come with news of grace
Come to take my place.
 
The donkey whispered in his ear
"Child, in 30-some-odd years
You'll ride someone who looks like me,
Untriumphantly."

The cardinals warbled a joyful song
He'll make right what man made wrong
Bringing low the hills
That the valleys might be filled.

Then "Child", asked the birds
"Well, aren't they lovely words we sing?"
The tiny baby layed there
Without saying anything.

At a distance stood a mangy goat
With the crooked teeth and a matted coat
Weary eyes and worn
Chipped and twisted horns.

Thinking "Maybe I'll make friends someday
With the cows and the hens and the rambouillet
But for now, I'll keep away
I've got nothing smart to say."

But there's a sign on the barn in the cabbage town
"When the rain picks up
And the sun goes down
Sinners, come inside
With no money, come and buy.

No clever talk, nor a gift to bring,
Requires our lowly, lovely king
Come now empty handed,
You don't need anything."

And the night was cool
And clear as glass
With the sneaking snake in the garden grass
Deep cried out to deep
The disciples fast asleep.

And the snake perked up
When he heard You ask
"If You're willing that this cup might pass
We could find our way back home,
Maybe start a family all our own.

But does not the Father guide the Son?
Not my will, but Yours be done.
What else here to do?
What else me, but You?"

And the snake who'd held the world 
A stick, a carrot and a string
Was crushed beneath the foot
Of your not wanting anything.


Did you read the lyrics? I mean really read them. More than once. And think about them.
I know the more times I read them, the more I discovered.
For example ~ 
The reference to our inability to do anything to deserve or impress Christ:

Then "Child", asked the birds
"Well, aren't they lovely words we sing?"
The tiny baby lay there
Without saying anything.

The goat who thinks he has nothing to offer and so cannot come to the child, and yet:

  But there's a sign on the barn in the cabbage town
"When the rain picks up
And the sun goes down
Sinners, come inside
With no money, come and buy.

No clever talk, nor a gift to bring,
Requires our lowly, lovely king
Come now empty handed,

You don't need anything."

My favorite line is definitely the very last stanza:

And the snake who'd held the world 

A stick, a carrot and a string
Was crushed beneath the foot
Of your not wanting anything.

Satan (the snake) is holding "a stick, a carrot, and a string". I think it could refer to both a) the fact that Satan 'rules' over the fallen world by enticing and tempting us, and Christ crushed his power so that we could resist the temptation, and b) that Satan tempted Christ with earthly power and escape from the cross, yet Christ came that His Father's will might be done, above all else, and refused to be enticed by any earthly desires.

Obviously, there was a great deal of thought and care put into the writing of these lyrics.

(A writer far better than I can ever dream of being was clearly involved.) It's songs like this that save me from complete despair. I don't know about you, but I dream of a brighter future, where musical/lyrical excellence and Christian music are not so far removed from one another. 

Postscript:

Ironically, while mewithoutYou has managed to create the above song, full of so much truth, they are also incredibly theologically confused.

Just as a warning, if you look up their album, like I did, don't be surprised to find a song entitled "Allah, Allah, Allah" listed.

. . . they are definitely confused. On so many levels . . . 

 

"And now unto Him, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask, or even imagine . . ."

"Lead, Lord, with unfailing love

those that You have ransomed.

And we will sing out as we go on,

Our God is Faithful!

OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!"

Sometimes {not as often as I should be} I am simply overwhelmed by God's love and provision and FAITHFULNESS. Oh, He is faithful! Even when we cannot understand, and we are stressed or hurting, He is always faithful to do as He has promised. "For His eye is on the sparrow; and I know He watches me!"

And, He is sovereign. Sovereign. Over everything. Small things. Large things. Grades, competitions, futures. Tree limbs.

EVERYTHING. PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. END OF DISCUSSION.

We serve a God that is infinite, in every way.

May He continue to teach me to rest in His wisdom, sovereignty, and faithfulness.

"When My world is shaking,

Heaven stands.

And when my heart is breaking, 

I never leave Your Hands."  

This is why I read {good} books . . .

"My fear was now of another kind. I felt sure that the creature was what we call 'good', but I wasn't sure whether I liked 'goodness' so much as I had supposed. This is a very terrible experience. As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it also is dreadful?  How if food itself turns out to be the very thing you can't eat, and home the very place you can't live, and your very comforter the person who makes you uncomfortable? Then, indeed, there is no rescue possible: the last card has been played."

~ Perelandra - C. S. Lewis

They just don't write science fiction like they used to . . .

"First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if we were living in an H. G. Wells novel."

Well, I bought a Kindle.

Ugh, the literature purist inside me is cringing even now . . . 

My justification is this: as a college student who moves around more than I ever have before in my life, this is, well, practical.
I can now read the good translation of Anna Karenina while standing in the cafeteria line, rather than having to tote the 3-inch thick print version.  
{plus, it even has all the footnotes as links in the text}

Also, I can now bring far more books with me to school than before. Theoretically, I could bring over 3,000 books with me . . .

Furthermore, though it is, of course, still not the same as reading a physical book, the E-ink format is pretty cool. It looks almost exactly like a paper book page, and there is no glare when reading in the sunlight. 

{definitely get the Kindle, not the Nook, if you're going to get one. It somehow feels like less of a betrayal . . .}

So.

It got me thinking . . . 

Can we not have ANYTHING that remains non-electronic/automated/internet compatible?

I mean, for crying out loud, we can't even open and close our own car doors anymore. 

Sometimes I feel like the science fiction movies and tv shows aren't that far fetched . . .

But anyway, back to my purchase.

Yes, I bought one. Yes, I like it. Yes, I still brought an entire box full of books to school with me. Yes, I bought a physical book the day after I bought the Kindle.

I will always buy books and stack them on my shelves, beds, tables, floors, any flat surface.

But, I bought it.
So sue me.