Are you fencing or fighting?

I'm going to have to come up with creative ways to say "Sorry for being late again." College is proving too crazy and different right now to be regular with this, but I thought I'd try to post today.

While I am enjoying college a lot, I find myself missing two things a lot: fencing and Bible quizzing. Bible quizzing especially since I know I'll probably never have a chance to do it again. I was moping and praying, when God said to me, "You've spent a long time practicing. It's time to go do the real thing." I've learned a lot of the Bible, so now it's time for me to use it in the world instead of just reciting it back mindlessly to a quizmaster.

Fencing also being in my mind, I compared quizzing to fencing. Both are like practice for the real thing. We don't kill people when we fence, and we don't divide "soul and spirit, joint and marrow" when we quiz. Both prepare us for the real battles.

So while I haven't graduated to killing people on the battle field or in duels, I am expected to join the spiritual battle with my training.

Fencing is still a good thing; it's how we train to be better fighters. So study hard, but join the battle.

...gonna Psych you out in the end

Okay, I haven't felt bad about not posting on here until I actually got on. Since I am now in college, my postings will not be very regular or timely anymore. I'm hoping to still write a few, because I'll always be thinking.

One thing I've been thinking about is how my posts have begun to show a theme: media. So far my posts have included Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lost, and NUMB3RS--only in six posts. So from now on, I'm going to try to make this blog my thoughts about books, movies, TV, and how they relate to our Christian walk. I may throw something random in from time to time, but I'll try to stay on topic.

That being said, I am now searching for a new name! Let me know if you have any ideas.

And now, on to our regularly scheduled post:
I've been watching a lot of Psych in college. *waits for cheering to die down.* It seems like everyone I know loves this show. And I'm loving it too; I haven't seen very many episodes, but hopefully that will change now.

But in almost every episode (especially the early ones), I'm struck by Shawn's endless deception. The lies he tells get almost unbearable at times. Sure, the theme song says, "I know that you know that I'm not telling the truth," but the point is, he's not. I haven't seen enough episodes to know why Shawn does it either. (Someone with more knowledge, feel free to enlighten me.) He's brilliant without pretending to be psychic; does he just have more fun doing it this way?

As I said, I do really enjoy this show. I'm just throwing out a little food for thought and reflection. Would any of us really like to live like Shawn is? We love him, but what's it like living a lie in front of the woman you love--whether or not she has an idea of the truth?

That's all for tonight. I'd love feedback on my new direction, new names, or anything!

Temptation 101

Some of you may have seen my note about this on Facebook, but since I prefer proving things by essay form to just stating them, I'll explain my new fascination with Star Wars episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

All through Revenge of the Sith (henceforth RotS) I especially noticed the way Palpatine lured Anakin to the Dark Side. Every move was subtle, precise, and innocent. His tactics mirror Satan's in every way, making RotS a valuable study of temptation for Christians.

First, Palpatine becomes Anakin's friend and gains his trust by appealing to Anakin's greed and pride. As Chancellor, Palpatine is the most powerful man in the Republic, and Anakin enjoys being close to the power. Anakin never fully accepted the Jedi call to humility. He bristles at not being promoted to the rank of master, even while receiving a position on the Council, the highest honor. After the appointment, when Anakin's pride is smarting, Palpatine hints that his powers are far beyond what the Council will admit and says the Council "needs" him. Anakin loves hearing he's better than the stiff and unapproving masters, and this undermines his trust in them.

Palpatine also plays on Anakin's weaknesses. When he finds the one thing Anakin can't live without--his wife, Padme--he suggests that Anakin may even have power to save her from death. Anakin's ego is pumped up enough at this point to believe him. Every time Anakin doubts Palpatine, he drops a hint that Anakin needs him to save Padme.

Not only drawing Anakin to himself, Palpatine turns Anakin slowly from others he trusts and pulls him into a morally gray area. Because more of Anakin's loyalty lies with Palpatine, he takes offense when Obi-Wan asks him to spy on the Chancellor. When Palpatine discovers the Council's assignment, he slowly generalizes from the Council not trusting him to it not trusting the Republic, or even democracy. He then blurs the line between Jedi and Sith, stating, "Good is a point of view," and questioning if the Jedi are truely selfless. With this trust shaken, Palpatine can easily make Darth Plagueis "the Wise" seem sympathetic in his quest for eternal life.

Anakin never thinks that he's evil by wanting the Sith power to save people from death. Palpatine convinces him that knowledge is a good thing however gained, and that the Jedi view is narrow. That's exactly what the serpent told Eve: "God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Eve twists this further herself, seeing the fruit as "desirable for gaining wisdom." Neither Christians nor Jedi should study evil, but rather avoid it.

But how do we defend against such a crafty enemy? By understanding how he works. Matthew 7 says you will recognize false prophets by their fruit. They simply won't echo God's nature. Palpatine should not have encouraged Anakin's secret marriage to Padme, but that was what Anakin wanted to hear. If anyone suggests sin isn't so bad, we shouldn't trust him.

The Bible commands multiple times to flee from temptation. Don't get as close as you can. Mace Windu warned Anakin to stay away while he arrested the Chancellor, but Anakin thought he was stronger than that. Palpatine played on this, and appealed to Anakin's greed and pity; and Anakin made his final step toward the Dark Side.

Finally, in resisting temptation, look no further than I Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful: he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so you can stand up under it."

If you haven't seen RotS, I would definitely recommend it (though a knowledge of Star Wars helps greatly). Seeing it is much better than reading my attempts at explaining it.

Living in a right world

Wow, was my last post really that long ago? Sorry, people. If you're reading these, please comment so I know you're out there! It would give me more motivation to write.

I thought I'd share some random thoughts about a part of me that I'm rather proud of: being left handed. *gives fists to all lefties in audience* Righties may not pay much attention to it, but there are a lot of things in this world that cater to righties and short lefties. Some are obvious, like computer mice, but I've noticed a few others.

Milk jugs. It's silly, but bear with me. The labels and handles on milk jugs were designed for righties. Try this simple experiment: go to the refrigerator and take out the milk jug with your right hand. The label is facing you, right? Now pick it up with your left hand. The label's on the far side of the jug now.

Pencils. You've probably heard this one, but it's true. I think once or twice in my life I've used a "left-handed" writing utensil, but generally, if you're writing with your left hand, you're used to not being able to read what's on the pencil.

Playing cards. This one maybe you haven't thought of. How do you hold playing cards? You probably fan them out with your left hand, fingers supporting the cards, and you play with your right hand. Some lefties I know do it this way. But try this, righties. Fan out some cards in your right hand, mirroring the way you do with your left. It doesn't work! You can't see the number in the top-right corner. Now I'm curious if anyone makes left-handed decks.

Despite these discriminations, some areas of life, while dominated by right-handers, give advantages to lefties. Often, these areas are in sports, where the unconventional move has the advantage.

Lefty baseball pitchers, or southpaws, have an advantage because their bodies block the throwing arm from the view of right-handed hitters, so they can't read the pitch as well. Lefty hitters have maybe three less feet to travel to first base than righties. That's a lot of saved time in baseball.

In volleyball, blockers expect the spike to come from the hitter's right hand. If the hitter is a lefty, they're in the wrong position. I have yet to find an advantage, however, with left-handed serving.

Left-handed fencers have the advantage simply because one doesn't fight a lefty every day. If you're not used to something a different way, you're probably weaker against it. Note: This is not why Inigo Montoya and the Dred Pirate Roberts were fighting left-handed.

So, in the grand scheme of things, maybe the good and the bad balance each other out. If you play sports. Lefties, do you have any pet-peeves of right-oriented things? Is there anything you do that being left handed gives you an advantage in? Please share!

True victory

First, sorry this is so late. I've been busy, and unfortunately, this is one of the easier things to put off.

This week I'll combine a couple topics. For my Bible quizzing, I've been studying I Corinthians chapter 15, among others. It has some beautiful verses that are not only beautiful for the words in them, but the truth they contain. While first memorizing the chapter back in December, I was reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So I was doubly intrigued by the verse Harry finds on his parents' tombstone: "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:26).

This verse relates well to the book's title objects--the deathly hallows, three items which, if owned by the same person, allows that person to master death. On his unrelated quest, Harry hears about the hallows, and while he chooses to follow Dumbledore's directions instead of pursuing the hallows, paths cross so he meets Voldemort in a final encounter holding all three hallows. I don't understand this entirely, but the hallows prevent Harry's "death," and after a near-death experience, he comes back to defeat Voldemort. So it would appear that Harry has destroyed death.

But has he? He tricked death once, but he'll still die one day. So will Ron, Hermione, and everyone else he helped in the story. Many of his friends die during the battle, and he can't help them. He has defeated an agent of death, Voldemort, but only Christ can claim true mastery over death.

I'll close with some of my other favorite verses from I Corinthians 15. With each promise, think about how much greater our God is than any other power.

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?"
...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Dreams

Finally for a writing topic. This came to mind again after I had a rather vivid and disturbing dream about my AP literature test (classmates can inquire further). I thought it would be funny to tell later, so I got up at 6:00 in the morning and wrote it down. This reminded me how rarely I record my dreams.

If you've read books about writing and brainstorming, you've probably been told to keep a notebook at your bedside to write down what comes to mind in the middle of the night. This is not the best use for such a notebook. Keep one there to write down your dreams after you have them. It may be hard to get up and do it, but if it's one of those adrenaline-pumping dreams where the ending plays over and over in your mind, it helps you get it out of your head.

I realized the value of this about four years ago, when I had a dream about traveling...somewhere (hey, it was a dream), and I was trying to protect my family from...somebody (I think it was Darth Vader, but I'm no longer sure). The most vivid part, though, was the lightsaber on my belt. I could really feel it, that gave me the idea for a story of a girl who finds a lightsaber on the street and is trained by Darth Vader. The story I wrote for NaNoWriMo came out pretty poorly, but I think the idea was good. And it was good practice. All from one dream.

What are your thoughts about your dreams? Comments welcome.

The Stained-glass Window

I was thinking about writing about...well, writing, as a change of pace, but given the semi-historic date in TV history this week, I decided to write about Lost instead.

Lost does pretty much everything right for a TV show. It has good character development and good plot, and a twisting storyline that makes you come back for more. I know some people might not like the "must-follow" status, but frankly, sometimes single-episode stories get boring and predictable. It's downright good marketing.

Anyway, on to my thoughts about the finale. Despite getting in everything it "needed"--emotional and structural resolution, good action scenes, and even a curtain call for most of the old characters, it didn't put them all together perfectly. Not that it was a bad two and a half hours, but it could've done better. And don't ask for a more detailed answer either. It was just the feeling I got.

The one thing that really left a bad taste in my mouth, though, was the scene where Jack was in the "prayer room" (not really sure what to call it) behind the church sanctuary. Behind him was a glaring stained-glass window with symbols from all the major world religions: a cross, a yin-yang symbol, a eight-spoked wheel, a crescent, and more. The rest of the room--and church--looked particularly Catholic. It was obviously a message, one that I really think didn't need said--that your past deeds don't matter as long as you choose the right side in the end, or more specifically, all religions lead to the same place.


Until this, Lost has included many blatantly Christian parallels or allusions. One character takes his role as a Christ-figure seriously (trying to avoid spoilers), one of the "demigods" on the island is called Jacob, and he is locked in combat with his unnamed twin. A promotional picture for the final season showed fourteen of the characters set up like they were in the painting "The Last Supper."
So my mom said maybe they're trying to give "equal air time." Maybe this is true. But I don't like it anyway. Lost has always offered heavy topics to think over, such as free will, fate, and faith. Now, it gives non-believers even more questions and problems.

Let's see how this goes

Well, thanks to some encouragement from a friend (check out his blog while you're at it--csference.blogspot.com--free advertising!), I'm finally posting this. I'm not always sure what I'll write about, and it may be sporadic, but general subjects will include writing, Bible quizzing, movies and media, and possibly sports. Hopefully, I can tie these things to lessons I've learned or am learning.

The next item to do after writing this post is coming up with a title--looking for suggestions! Being a writer doesn't mean I'm always full of ideas.

So, onto the first topic. One of my favorite TV shows is NUMB3RS. It's about a mathematician named Charlie Eppes who helps his FBI brother Don solve crimes. Both men face death, emptiness, and lack of purpose often, but they deal with it in different ways. Don reverts to his Jewish roots and joins a synagogue. Charlie invests himself in the lives of his close friends at the university and his fiancee; he believes that purposefulness and community will solve his problems.

I'm struck by the polarity of these views. Charlie--an atheist whose only god is science--grabs at air but at the end of the day feels lacking. He should have everything--a great job and a great girlfriend--but he's empty. He seems to have found answers with the 6th season finale (which might also be the series finale; time will tell), when he marries his fiancee Amita, but it's really Don who has found more peace in life.

Many episodes, my heart goes out to Charlie. I long to tell him that purpose is waiting for him, just a prayer away. But he's fictional. It's easy to feel sympathetic to characters in a show or movie. Now I desire to meet someone real I can share my hope with. We should all hope for that.

Okay, there's my weekly heart on the line. Please comment; I'd be open to covering topics you bring up, or responding to questions you have. Thanks for reading!