Becoming Eowyn Pt. 1

I am in love with The Lord of Rings. Both the book by J.R.R. Tolkien and the movies directed by Peter Jackson forever earned a place in my heart. If you haven't read the books or seen the movies, you need to. Yes, they're long, but they are well worth the time invested. In The Lord of the Rings, male characters dominate. This is not surprising, since the story is an other-wordly fantasy wrought with war and danger. There are very few female characters mentioned in the entire seies, and even fewer have dialogue. Three of these women stand out in the series as strong women who hold their own in a male-dominated world: Eowyn, Arwen, and Galadriel. These three women are very differenct characters, yet all have a special combination of femininty and strength that Tolkien wove into the fabric of his classic fantasy trilogy as a contrast to his (very manly) male characters. Exploring the characterisitcs of each of these women is not only fascinating (and fun!) it gives female readers everywhere hope, they too can be valiant women like Arwen, Eowyn, and Galadriel.



Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden, the ruler of Rohan during the Third Age of Middle Earth. Eowyn and her brother Eomer live with the king and eventually become heirs to the throne when their cousin, Theodred dies. Eowyn's presence in the court of Rohan is unique, and that does not go unnoticed by the king's advisor (and ally to the evil wizard Saruman) Grima Wormtongue. He stalks Eowyn day and night, but she never gives in to him. He whispers words to discourage her and offers her an escape from her circumstances with him. She stands strong , however, and waits for help to come with hope.

Eowyn's dealings with Wormtongue teach women today an important lesson: Don't run to a man when the world crashes in around you. Stand strong and, as Eowyn did, hope that things will get better. In Eowyn's story, help comes in the form of Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli rescuing her uncle from Saruman. Our help, however, comes from a much greater source than the fellowship. Our help comes from the Lord, who can fill our loneliness and help us recognize a Wormtongue when we see one. To become an Eowyn today, we must l stand strong, especially when we feel the most vulnerable. For in weakness, we are made strong.

Standing strong is only one facet of Eowyn's character, but she's so complex I've decided to make "Becoming Eowyn" my new blog series! Check back later in the week to read pt. 2, Eowyn's warrior mentality.

Fairytale Infatuation

I've been fascinated with fairy tales all my life. When I saw my first Disney princess cartoon, I was hooked. Prince Charming, fairies, evil witches, dwarfs, and talking animals captured my imagination as a child. This infatuation has carried into my young adulthood, manifesting itself in the vintage Disney posters on my dorm room wall and my unhealthy obsession with all things Alice in Wonderland. If you had to guess my new favorite show this fall season, what would you say? If you guessed "Once Upon A Time", you're correct!

This new show from ABC is amazing and the third episode comes on tomorrow night at 8. Tune in for a grown-up fairytale treat!

Reading through Psalms- Violence and Beauty

This semester in my daily quiet time, I've been reading through two or three psalms and meditating on them, journaling, etc. I was struck this week by the violent, distressed nature of some of the chapters. Verses such as these:
10:15- "Break the arm of the wicked and evil person; call his wickedness into account until nothing remains of it."

18:40, 42- "You have made my enemies retreat before me, I annihilate those who hate me...I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets."

What happened to the happy, uplifting psalms I remember from my Sunday School days? I've come to realize that those so-called "uplifting" psalms don't really exist. Sure, there are parts of the Psalms that show God as loving and caring for His children such as:

20:4- "May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose."

21:7- "For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken."

25:6- "Remember ,Lord, Your compassion and Your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity."

But verses in these same chapters speak like those above of violence, terror, and disgrace. I've read through the first 25 chapters of Psalms, and I'm already realizing a great truth from them that I've never realized before. Violence and love go together. If we try to separate the attributes of God, we miss Him as a whole. Yes, He is loving and gracious and kind, but He is also very much wrathful, just, and avenging of His people. All of these things exist in harmony in the person of God and I claim to follow Him so I cannot dare to separate the "nice" parts of God from the "scary" parts because that is who God is. I trust God, therefore I trust His whole being. The wrath as well as the undying love. That is what makes God the only truly awesome being in the universe. He is everything at once, He is perfection. And I will worship Him as such. Nothing more or less than His whole being. I know I'll never understand God completely, but even this minuscule glimpse into His character gives me reason to sing and praise Him. Why are you praising God on this Sunday?

New Year, New Beginnings

I know that I'm the laziest summer blogger EVER! I'm going to try to make it better, but once I start school I may not be able to. I'll try my best to keep this updated weekly this semester!


So......for starters I am officially a sophmore, I've moved in, and I'm a freshman mentor this semester. As you may have guessed, freshman mentors take a group of freshman "under their wing" during their freshman year. This is NGU's first time with this program, so please pray that it all goes well! I am the mentor for Group7, the English "majors" ( they haven't officially declared, but English is what they are interested in). I'm so pumped for orientation to begin tomorrow so I can meet my freshman and get started!!! Classes start Wednesday, so I'll try to update after the first few days of class. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Five Favorite Things Friday!

This week's edition is cutting it close!

1. Crackle Nail Polish
I desperately want OPI 's shatter nail polish but everywhere I go it's sold out! I consoled myself with Sally Hansen's (cheaper) crackle polish. I'm wearing the white!



2. High Ponytails

With temperatures in the upper 90's steadily for the last few weeks, ponytails have become my hair staple. The super-chic high ponytail is flattering on everyone and easy to pull off!

3. Tumbler with Straw

My mom, sister, and I each have a cup similar to the ones pictured and we LOVE them! It's so much easier to drink the water I should be drinking with this cute cup!

4. Softlips Chap stick

This is not a new obsession, this one's four years in the making. This is the most effective chap stick I've ever used and it makes your lips super soft!

5. True Grit
This final favorite thing was a last-minute addition. My sisters and I watched it tonight and we are in love. It has some intense moments, but it is the most captivating Western I've ever watched. I highly recommend it!

Get out and enjoy the sun this weekend!

Favorite Things Friday (A few days late! :-O )

Sorry this post is a few days late! I was on the road back from Myrtle Beach on Friday and I've been running ever since! So her are my favorite things from last week!

1. Bible Passage: Jeremiah 1:19
~They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.~ Our Sunday School started a new study for the summer and I was reminded of this verse. It's so awesome! One of my all-time faves!

2. Alice in Wonderland!

We found a Disney store while we were on vacation and I could've bought every single thing in the Alice section! This classic Disney film has always been one of my top movies, but I've become a little obsessed with it here lately!

3.BIG Sunglasses!

I have a black pair and a blue pair! I want some big, Old-Hollywood-esque ones!

4. Neon Nail Polish

I LOVE neon polish! Much to my mother's dismay, I have a yellow and a blue from Sally Hansen. I'd love to have this Essie neon collection! This year I started trying to keep my nails painted and bright colors are by far my favorite, especially as summer gets underway!

5. King of Anything- Sara Bareilles

Emily introduced me to this song and I'm in love with it! I may be partial, but girls singing strong, independent songs appeals to me. It doesn't hurt that Sara has a beautiful voice and made an adorable video.

That's it for this post! Look for another one on Friday!

P.S.- If you think of something you'd like me to blog about, please feel free to comment and let me know!

Five Favorite Things Friday!

I stole this idea from a few other blogs I visit, but I'm going to try a new series, Favorite Things Friday! I'll list some of my favorite things from the week for you to enjoy! Hope you like it!
My Favorite Things This Week:

1. A Beautiful Mess - This blog has become one of my new faves! I really love vintage things and this website is dedicated to just that!

2. Gnomeo and Juliet- I watched this adorable adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet this week for the third time! It just gets cuter every time!

3. Passion: Here For You This is one of the best Passion cd's EVER! Listen to a few of the songs on the website and you'll be in love!

4. TOMS summer collection. I have a pair of silver glitter TOMS and they are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. I am in love with the shoes from the new summer collection, and every pair purchased gets a pair donated to a child in need! These pink leopard prints are my favorite from the summer collection!

5. You Can Fly! This iconic song from Disney's Peter Pan has been in my head all day. It's such a classic Disney song from one of the oldest classic animated flims and one of the most fun rides in Disney World.

Here's the YouTube video!

That's it for this Friday. Have an awesome Memorial Day Weekend!

Mother's Day 2011

Today is a special day, Mother's Day!! If you know my mother, you know that she is the sweetest woman on the face of the earth. She deserves much more than the Bakerella cookbook I gave her for Mother's Day because she does so much for me, my family, and everyone she meets. She is kind, caring, godly, and loving. No one compares to my mother! So, Mom, I hope you've had an awesome Mother's Day!! I know this post is on the short side, but I couldn't write enough to do justice to you. I love you!!

Judas ~ Lady Gaga

For my first music review, I'll be exploring Lady Gaga's latest song, Judas. If you're at all familiar with the artist known as Lady Gaga, this song won't really come as a shock to you. Despite all the lame jokes, Lady Gaga is, in fact, a woman who puts out extremely strange and disturbingly provocative songs that have caught the ears of the American public. To her credit, Gaga's songs are catchy and easy to dance to. Most every teen in the USA knows Poker Face and Just Dance, two of Gaga's most popular songs. While these songs are crude, they don't really push the envelope as far as content is concerned. (Her wardrobe is another discussion for another day. I'm not even touching that.) In this year (2011), however, Gaga has taken her disturbing provativeness to a whole new level. Her first single of the year, Born This Way is hailed as an anthem for those who are "persecuted" by the American government, namely gays, lesbians, transgendered, etc. The song  says that "I'm on the right track baby, I was born this way" . Basically she's saying that it doesn't matter what society says, I am the way I am because I was born like this. No matter morality, uprightness, or normality, people were born like that, so we can't possible condemn them. The morality of Lady Gaga is demented at best, but Born This Way takes here so-called "sexuality" to  a whole new level.

While Born This Way  takes Lady Gaga's sexuality to a whole new level, Judas  shows the total depravity of her mind and her skewed view of Christianity. She claims to be "a Holy fool" and says that she's in love with Judas. This is an obvious reference to the disciple, Judas, who betrayed Jesus for silver. The whole song is a blatant affront to Christianity as a whole, and of Jesus in partcular. The most ridiculous line is

"I wanna love you, but something’s pulling me away from you. Jesus is my virtue, and Judas is the demon I cling to".  Lady Gaga is obviously a deeply confused woman who doesn't really know anything about Jesus or the Bible. As strange as it might sound, we should add Lady Gaga to our prayer list. She needs it!

New Blog Series!!!

In an effort to try to blog more often than once per month, I've decided to try reviewing again. I've done movie and book reviews on previous blogs, and I'd like to add music to that as well. I'll be reviewing (mostly) secular songs and analyzing their content, good or bad. I'll also review/summarize books and movies that I've seen or read recently.  Since I'm majoring in English at school, I think that blogging will be a great way for me to write regularly, provided I actually do it! Hopefully this will enhance my writing skills and draw more readers to the blog! I'll be writing my first music review tonight, so be on the look out for it!

Which Is Better?

If anyone still reads my sorry little blog, I apologize for not blogging in OVER A MONTH! I am officially the laziest blogger in the universe. Well, I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to try to blog more often, hopefully it'll be easier throughout the summer. Today's post may seem silly to some, but it's fun! I've got a question for my handful of faithful readers, which hairstyle do you like better on me?
Naturally Curly:

Or Straightened?

 The curly hair is obviously easier, but I like the straight as well. What do you think? Leave me a comment and know that I am not easily offended, so be honest! (I realize that this post has no significance whatsoever, but it's better than not blogging.) Have a sparkling day!

Surprises

{I feel that I owe an apology to my (few, but nonetheless important) blog readers. I haven't blogged in over a month! I apologize, but I have very little excuses. Laziness is the main reason that I haven't blogged since Christmas, but I'm gonna try to blog on Monday and Friday each week. We'll see how that goes!}

This past Friday (January 28th) was my 19th birthday!!! As excited as I was to be turning 19, I was also saddened by the fact that it would be my first birthday celebrating away from my family. I was determined not to cry and to just buck up and have a great birthday regardless. My roommates and I had already decided to go eat lunch at the bagel shop across the street from school as a sort of "girls birthday lunch" kind of thing. When we walked in, the cashier told me to turn around. Who was sitting in Einstein's in Tigerville, SC, but my parents and my youngest sister, Emily! I had no earthly idea that such a thing would happen, and my roommate and suitemates had been in on the whole thing. I can honestly sat that I have never been so surprised in my entire life. They spent the afternoon with me, then drove back home that night. It was so much fun!

Once they were gone, the significance of what they'd done hit me in the face. My family had driven a grand total of 6 hours that day just to see me and wish me a happy birthday. That right there is love. They did not have to do that, there's not parental code saying that you have to visit your college student (who goes to school three hours away) on their birthday. The sacrifice that they made to come and see me touched my heart immensely and only increased my love for my family and my friends who kept the secret. They demonstrated their love for me by their actions rather than their words, and that has made all the difference.