Twelve Houses Series

What kid (or adult) doesn’t want to have a magic wand?  Or the ability to transport themselves from one location to another in the blink of an eye? Or take another form or shape?  I used to dream about those things when I was a kid. Perhaps that is why I love reading sci-fi/fantasy books.

Often they contain magical creatures or mystical persons who can do things that normal human beings can’t do.  Sometimes they are a persecuted race of people.  Being a little different makes everyone afraid of them.  Sometimes the whole race possesses mystical qualities and some use them for good and some for evil.  Or the one with the mystical abilities is the one who is supposed to rule the land.  Whatever the case, I love the idea!

Imagine my delight when I discovered the Twelve Houses Series by Sharon Shinn at the library.  Usually I find the last book in the series, read it and then have to start from the very beginning to find out how the characters got to the situation in the final book.  This time I read the summary on the front flap and decided not to read the book I had in hand but to search out the first book.

Senneth is the main character in the first book Mystic and Rider. She is a mystic with the ability to create fire.  Her king sends her out on a journey across the land “trying to discover if noble marlords from the Twelve Houses are planning an uprising. She is accompanied by the soldiers Justin and Tayse, two King’s Riders who are unswervingly loyal to the crown. Also on the journey are the shape-changers Kirra and Donnal, and a young mystic named Cammon who can practically read minds. It’s soon clear that not only are marlords planning a rebellion, but that they are being aided by Daughters of the Pale Mother, a fanatical religious sect that hates mystics.” And so I was hooked!

There are five books in the series.  All can be read as stand alone novels because the author gives just enough information in each to familiarize the reader with the characters and context.  Many characters carry over from novel to novel but it is not necessary to read the preceding story to know what is going on.  But if you do, the continuing story is enriched with knowing the back-story behind various comments or scenarios.  Either way it’s a win.  Five out of five for the series as far as I am concerned.

I didn’t care for the final book in the series, Fortune and Fate.  It felt a little contrived and I didn’t feel the main character had the strength of the previous main characters.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story.  I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

The next series I’ve delved into is written by George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.  HBO adapted the book The Game of Thrones into a movie series.  As usual, I am preferring the book and creating my own character images in my mind.  I’ll let you know I like them.

 

Weeping

‘We bow down before Thine all-pure Icon, 0 Good One, asking forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ God; for Thou wast well pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh of Thine own will, that Thou mightest save what Thou hadst created from slavery to the enemy. Wherefore, we cry.ou: to Thee in thanksgiving: Thou hast filled all things with joy, 0 our Savior, Who hast come to save the world. (Troparion of the Holy Icon Not Made with Hands)

Is our Lord trying to convey something to us, unworthy and wretched ones? “Having eyes, see ye not?  And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember?” (Mk. 8:18)  What occurred on August 28/15, A.D. 2012 and the following day at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church is a great mystery. As someone already commented: all attempts to explain what happened must be considered provisional at best, and perhaps impious at worst. emphasis mine     Undoubtedly, this is an Act of Divine Activity that encompasses both Grace and warning, and should be received as such.     God cares for us! This recent spiritual phenomenon and miraculous occurrence at our Church is a sign of His Divine care. Perchance we have forgotten St. Isaac of Syria admonishment: “This life has been given     to you/or repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits!”  (Taken from the letter written by the rector of the OCA-Diocese of the Midwest parish, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Columbus, OH)

Of note:

• August 24, 2012:  Allegation made against His Grace, Bishop Matthias, of the OCA-Diocese of the Midwest
• August 28, 2012:  Icon of Christ Made Without Hands began weeping myrrh (started at the left eye) - Link: http://www.snwoca.org/resources/A-Weeping%20Icon.pdf
• August 31, 2012:  His Grace, Bishop Matthias released a letter regarding the allegation.
• April 15, 2013:  His Grace, Bishop Matthias stepped down and retired as bishop of the OCA-Diocese of the Midwest.  At the same time, the Icon of Christ Made Without Hands wept myrrh in the form of a cross in the center of Christ’s forehead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last evening Stockton College’s 33rd Scholarship Gala was held at Revel Casino. As the Chief Development Office of the College, this was The Hubster’s office’s responsibility to make it happen.  It was a great event and they anticipate raising $400,000 towards scholarships.

Approximately 700 people attended the sit-down dinner and auction.  Revel did a great job taking care of the event.  Decorations were simple, table centerpieces were elegant, service was okay, and the meal was delicious.  The dance band was awesome!!!

As a development officer, The Hubster’s job is to build friendships and relationships with donors and potential donors.  At this event he was the master of ceremonies and worked the room.  I sat with a glass of ginger ale and people-watched for a while.  Once everything was over (the silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and diamond earrings raffle), the band started.  For me that’s when the fun started! The Hubster’s colleagues are a lot of fun so he and I danced till our feet fell off!

Overall, a good evening.  For a 53 year old, I clean up pretty good, eh?

Eternal Life

John 3:16 – For God so love the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not died but have Life Eternal.

In order to really grasp the above verse, one must first understand and accept what death is/is not.  The dictionary says death is permanent cessation of all vital functions; the end of life. This is true as it stands.  We breathe our last breath, the electrical impulses in our brain end, and voila! – we are pronounced dead.  That’s it.  That is what many people believe.  You live. You die. Period. You turn to ashes and dust in the coffin, never to be again.

But what about the thing that makes you who you are?  What about the spark? Does that cease to exist too?  I believe it does not.  I believe your soul – the spark – goes on into an eternity that is decided by each individual while they are living and breathing.  It is hard for me to understand why people don’t believe that.  While I agree with the dictionary, there is more to death than a cessation of life.  Death, that which God the Son trampled down, is separation from God.

St. John in his Gospel records Jesus’ prayer for us in verse 3, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Everyone, no matter what they believed while living, will live in eternity.  Everyone’s knee will bow to the God Who is the True God and Jesus His Son who was sent by Him.  The question is will they inherit Eternal Life?

To inherit Eternal Life Jesus responded to the lawyer’s answer of loving God with all your heart, mind and soul and your neighbor as yourself with “…do this and live….”

God the Father draws people to and teaches people about His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is the Son who will raise them up in the last day (John 6: 43-51, 53-65; 17:6-8).  It is the Son will will be the Judge of those who will inherit Eternal Life and who will not.

No matter what you think now in the land of living, know this – there is an eternity.  Decide now how it will be spent.

 

Himself

For Lent I’ve been doing a self-study encouraged by Fr. John Matusiak of St. Joseph’s Orthodox Church, Chicago.  He put me on his parish bulletin distribution list and the Bible studies come attached. I don’t know if it is something he designed himself, nonetheless it resides on the diocesan website here.  They are quite simple in the scheme of things. As usual Lent has been a spiritual challenge for a variety of reasons so spending a few minutes working on each one has been profitable.

The first study sheet is “What Jesus says about Himself.” Most of us could whip off a fairly comprehensive list. Several things struck me as I went through the selected verses.

1)  Matthew 13:11-17 says Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah – the one who speaks in parables “…so that I should heal them” (v15b).  His words, His parables, for those who have the heart to hear them heal us.  How many times have you read and hear the same teaching or scripture verse and not ‘gotten’ it?  Me – too many times to count. Then comes the time when you mutter to yourself, “AHA!” after hearing it again. He is the healer.

2) John 6:30-58 Jesus says He is the Living Bread which comes from Heaven.  He isn’t the manna given to the Israelites in the desert. Pondering this and other sections I came to the conclusion that Salvation is

i) the Eucharist and/or works and/or belief and faith;

ii) it is not one or the other but both/and;

iii) it is many things but is also One thing…Jesus Christ.

You can get lost in the maze of thought when you try to wrap your heart and mind around all of this.  That is God! Not being lost but so huge we cannot comprehend Him.  I love that.

3) John 6:37-38 says that anyone who comes to Jesus, He will always accept.  I don’t always do that – accept people where they are in their life and with their struggles.  I recall saying once, “I work so hard! It doesn’t seem fair that everyone is welcome even at the last minute.”  I shocked myself! My God in Heaven, did I really just say that!?  Uh, yup. Fast on the heels came the words, God forgive me – what a selfish thing to say. I’m no better than the Prodigal’s son who stayed home and worked for his father or the Pharisee.

Jesus says many things about Himself.  He preaches the Gospel to the poor. Heals the brokenhearted. Liberates the captives and oppressed. Gives sight to the blind. Is a servant.  We are to be like Him.

I’ve a long way to go.

House Cleaning

Spring is in the air in our little corner of the world.  My kitchen windows have mulch all over them from when the guys put new stuff in the backyard garden.  Now I really have incentive to clean the windows!  I want to see out of them!

Once place that is usually a jumbled mess is my bookmark folder.  I also use two web browsers so have different sites bookmarked in each.  This afternoon has been spent organizing my major browser, Firefox.  With Google Reader going the way of the Dodo bird (is that still extinct?), I bookmarked my favorite blogs.  They are alphabetized and in folders according to their genre.  Now to get subscribed to them on my iPad Flipboard app.  How do you keep up with all of your favorite blogs?  Do you scroll through a list?  Or do you have a favorite reader you subscribe to?

I also spent a few minutes rearranging some of my computer folders.  It is helpful to do that every once in a blue moon to keep myself straight on where things are.  Especially if I have a little research project I’m doing just for fun.

And most importantly, I’ve done my regular “changing of the guard” (aka change the passwords) on all my on-line stuff.

Now that the weather is beginning to warm, The Hubster and I took a walk together yesterday afternoon.  It was really nice – except for the tiny pebble which got lodged under the ball of my foot. The nickel sized blister which has now replaced the pebble has prevented taking The Dog for her daily walk.  I may give it a shot once I am done here since I’ve spent most of the day off of it.

There have been some really great blog entries this past week.  I’m compiling a nice list and will share it in the next day or two.  I think you’ll like them.

Busy day!  Love it!

Until then! Tata!

A happy Easter

Yesterday The Hubster and I traveled to Dover, DE to attend the church where his cousin is serving as interim pastor.  The Son, who was visiting us overnight came along too.  I rode with The Son for some quality time – 2 whole hours worth!  It was great!  We talked about all manner of inconsequential stuff, which is often some of the best chatting to be had.  Plus I was able to gain first hand knowledge of his exemplary driving skills.  Always a comfort to The Mom, who like every other mother on the earth, worries about her babies no matter how old they may happen to be.

While standing in the hall waiting to go into the service, I noticed a woman who looked very familiar to me.  Taking the chance that my suspicion was correct, I went up to her and asked if she was Mrs. X who used to teach nursery school at the church I attended in Pennsylvania in the mid-1980′s.  ”Yes,” she indicated, “I am she.”  I introduced myself and asked her if I might introduce her to someone she may remember – one of her former students – The Son.  She looked at him and exclaimed with tears in her eyes, “Oh my goodness! Of course I remember him!”  And I introduced The Son to his former teacher who he hugged with great affection.

I said to Mrs. X, “Thank you for all of your guidance with The Son.  It was at your suggestion we had him evaluated because he seemed quite advanced for a child his age.”  It was good we did because he was identified with a fairly high IQ and were given some ideas about how to keep him interested in school.  Mrs. X also suggested using primary school workbooks that could be bought at discount stores and spending a little time each day working with The Son, which I did.  It brought The Son great joy to tell Mrs. X that he works as an Engineer with Sikorsky Aircraft and has had a good life.

She was so happy! She said she had never had the opportunity to see any of her former students as adults.  The Son was the first.  She kept saying how happy she was and that we had indeed gave her a very Happy Easter!  It was awesome for us too!

How often do we wonder if anything we ever said or did made a difference in someone’s life?  It wa s a blessing to tell Mrs. X what a difference she made in The Son’s life.

The below photo shows Mrs. X and The Son (age 3)  at the Nursery School year end concert.  He’s the one in the bow tie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The below photo shows The Son (age 32) and Mrs. X taken yesterday.