etheldreda's Xanga

Forever and a day . . .

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:38:53 GMT

I know I haven't posted in forever and a day.
But here I am at last, an old married lady (and so pleased to be!) and I have some pictures of our apartment!
Daniel and I are so excited to have a place of our own.

So, that is what we've been up to. What have you all been up to over the summer?

Wedding Website

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:52:53 GMT

My wonderful fiance put up a website which has pictures and wedding details and such. Feel free to take a peek!

Wedding Website

All Truth is God's Truth

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:32:04 GMT

"A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who 'though they knew God did not glorify him as God...'"

Saint Augustine, On Christian Teaching II.75

To skate or not to skate . . .

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:03:11 GMT

Our venerable Rhetoric professor once remarked, "Ponds are crucial in the development of children." I'm sure it's so, but my version of the quote would probably sound something like "Ice-skating is crucial in the development of children." While all the summer sports-equipment sits in the garage, out come the ice-skates. What else puts the roses in kids' cheeks and provides the thrill of speed and the impression of daring the worst danger in a relatively safe environment?

Ok, maybe sledding.

But that doesn't make ice-skating any less of a treat. And if you're thinking, "Oh no! I've never learned to skate! I've lived an impoverished childhood!" Don't despair. You can still ice-skate! Go out and try it. You know you want to.

A Poem by Anne Bradstreet

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 05:54:36 GMT

By night when others soundly slept,
And had at once both case and rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.

I sought Him whom my soul did love,
With tears I sought Him earnestly;
He bowed His ear down from above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry soul He filled with good,
He in His bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washed in His blood,
And banished thence my doubts and fears.

What to my Savior shall I give,
Who freely hath done this for me?
I'll serve Him here whilst I shall live
And love Him to eternity.

Thanksgiving

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:54:43 GMT

"Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks; yea, unto thee do we give thanks. Thy Name also is so nigh; and that do thy wondrous works declare." Ps. 75:1-2

Tips for the Secret Agent

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:59:10 GMT

When I was eight, I took spying very seriously. Here are some of the tips I created, essential for every secret agent.

1.   Hide pad and pencil before approaching person.
2.   Act Normal.
3.   If you need to write, hide in a book and pretend to read.
4.   Pretend you're not spying.
5.   Be very quiet.
6.   Be yourself.
7.   Don't look like you have a secret.
8.   Try not to rise suspisions [sic].
9.   If someone is nosy just leave.
10. Ask questions to cover things up.
11. Avoid looking in peoples eyes.
12. Don't wear shoes.
13.   Don't tell secret.
14. Avoid smiling.
15. Write on chalkboard.

Number 12 and 14 are especially important. And don't ask me where 15 came from!

Home!

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:25:09 GMT

Back home once again. And just in time to hear the distant rumblings of a true NY summer thunderstorm.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 04:30:49 GMT

The evening Psalm for Saturday in the second week after Trinity Sunday.

O clap your hands together, all ye peoples: O sing unto God with the voice of melody.
For the Lord is high, and to be feared; he is the great King upon all the earth.
He shall subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
He shall choose out an heritage for us, even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.
God is gone up with a merry noise, and the Lord with the sound of the trump.
O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.
For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
God reigneth over the nations; God sitteth upon his holy seat.
The princes of the peoples are joined into the people of the God of Abraham; for God, which is very high exalted,
doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Introduction to Poetry

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:59:43 GMT

by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.