Versatile Blogger Award: Some Thoughts on Worthy Womanhood

Tags

beauty and the beast, bible, cinderella, disney, j.r.r. tolkien, proverbs chapter 31, tangled, the hunger games, the silmarilion

By the Two Trees of Valinor! It’s another blog award! This one from Proverbs31teen. Thank you so much, dear!

Apparently this one is simple. Seven random facts. And then nominate other bloggers. 😉 Someone should start one of these awards where the acceptance post has to have a newly-written short story or something. 😛 Just for variety. I AM NOT STARTING ONE, THOUGH. Goodness, no. I already awarded to everyone I can think of in very recent history… that, and my awardees probably all have lives of their own and procrastinate on these nearly as much as I do. 😛

Now, because I realized I had never looked up the verse behind Proverbs31teen’s username, I decided to do so today. (The other reason why I didn’t know already is because I am notoriously bad at remembering verse numbers. I’m better at noticing background material than verse numbers.) Proverbs chapter 31 is the last chapter in the book of Proverbs. Specifically, it is the advice Lemuel, king of Massa, was given by his mother and recorded for readers of the future. She begins by warning him against reckless actions (such as drinking,) because he is his people’s hope, and calling on him to stand up for his people and help the needy. Then she proceeds to tell him what the ideal of womanhood is.

When one finds a worthy wife, her worth is far beyond pearls.

Her husband entrusts his life safely to her; in her he has a worthy prize.

She goes on to say that the ideal woman is diligent and hardworking, does her duties well, is pure and honest, and does not go in for idle pleasure. Which makes us girls think, wow, what standards! and ask ourselves if we are living up to them.

To everyone who reads this, I have a challenge. This challenge is to look up Proverbs Chapter 31 and break down your favorite female characters to see if they measure up. Does Katniss Everdeen ever stop to ask if she’s being diligent? Did Cinderella use her new-found affluence to aid the impoverished? Did Rapunzel try to make Eugene better? What about Belle? What is this “something more” that she wants, really?

However, you must bear in mind that this applies not only to married women, but unmarried ones as well. Also, you really have to read in between the lines to understand it fully. Today, we talk more plainly than the various writers who put pen to paper under divine inspiration to make up the bible did. Rather than saying exactly what they mean, they use imagery as metaphor. Thus, a “lamp burning brightly after dusk” means that the lady of the house is still keeping busy, no matter how late the hour she stays up to. And the fact that “Her husband sits at the gates of the city with the elders” means not just that he’s influential or works actively with the others in the city council, but that his wife encourages him to aim high and supports him in his endeavors and even tries to make him better by her own efforts. (Which is undeservedly resented, these backward days.)

A quick caveat: I read the chapter in the New American Bible and it… well, it just seems incomplete. (Yes, I do despise this particular translation. Grrr.)

And now, for the actual award stuff!

1. I do occasionally swear by the Two Trees of Valinor. (If you do not know what that is, then you really need to read The Silmarillion.)
2. Most people I know tell me “you think too much!” every once in a while, despite the fact that I think it put my IQ in the gifted range…
3. I have a tendency to ramble on posts. (Hence the fact that this is not just a simple acceptance post.
4. I can’t find my headband. Thus, my hair is in my face.
5. I love hot cereal, but I love muffins even more.
6. Right now, my biggest concern is getting my spot in the Orientation Days for college… though, thanks to bureaucracy, it looks like I will be missing out. Thank you to whoever had that bright idea that required all this Social Security/federal loan/paperwork stuff!
7. My second biggest concern is finding a part time job. :’-(

Yes, my life sucks right now. It would be nice if someone could invent the next-generation version of Turbo Tax to help people get in their schooling paperwork on time.

Now, I would like to nominate Robyn Hood because she is a wonderful blogger and honestly, I can’t think of anyone else who I haven’t just nominated… :’-(

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Pirates and Writers and Bedsocks, Oh My!: The Sunshine Award

Tags

a tale of two cities, arthur ransome, award, baroness emma orczy, bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, being christian, bible, blogging, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, castaways of the flying dutchman, catholic culture, charles dickens, christianity, college, doctor who, g.a. henty, humor, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, randomness, ranger's apprentice, redwall, robert louis stevenson, roman catholic, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, small rants, space trilogy, star trek, star wars, swallows and amazons, the chronicles of narnia, the scarlet pimpernel, time quintet, treasure island, who framed roger rabbit

I hope you are having a bright and happy day. Because this is a bright and happy picture. And I finally figured out how to insert a picture into a post without downloading it onto my computer! Yay me!

Anyway, Proverbs31teen has awarded me with the Sunshine Blog Award. Which is rather unexpected, ’cause the only award I’ve ever received before was the Liebster. (Four or five times, now. I’ve lost count. :-P) For this one, the rules are rather simple. Five facts about you, answering five questions, setting up five more questions, and nominating five other bloggers. From what I can tell, you don’t have to really nominate people with a certain number or less or more than a certain number of followers for this one, so this should be much easier. *crosses fingers, hoping she didn’t just jinx herself*

First of all, the five facts:

1. I snarked above, but unless your computer is not functioning correctly you probably can’t see it. MWAHAHAHAHAH.
2. Apparently my sense of humor is somewhat impaired; my dad thinks Who Framed Roger Rabbit is hilarious and I don’t even find it remotely funny. (All joking aside, if you don’t want your childhood permanently ruined and your innocence prematurely stolen, do not watch that movie! It is evil incarnate!)
3. Hot dogs, bratwurst, and fish fillets all taste different when eaten on a bun. Which raises the question, how much of the taste of your hot dog is the actual hot dog, and how much of it is the disgusting stuff they bake into the bun (and in the hot dog, too, if you bought the cheap ones)?
4. Apparently you have to send your information into this college’s website several times before it accepts you… *sigh*
5. As you can probably tell, my life is defined by job searching and college prep at this point.

And now, to answer the five questions…

1. You’ve got one day left of your life. What would you want to do? I think I would like to go to Mass with all my friends, and maybe meet a few of the people I know on the Internet whom I’ve never met in real life, and spend the rest of the day with my family.
2. Pirates or ninjas, and why? I’m told this is a “thing” now… I’m going with Sherlock on this one. Pirates, I think. Mainly because I mostly don’t know about ninjas, except that they make really popular Halloween costumes, and my only experience of ninjas is really from “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu” (GO ZANE!), which is probably kind of sad, come to think of it… Besides, on the side of the pirates, I’m a big fan of Robert Louis Stevenson.
3. If you were turned into one of the Avengers, which one would you be most like? Some people I’ve talked to said Captain America. Others said Bruce Banner. I have never seen the Avengers movie, so I don’t really know.
4. What are your top three favorite Bible characters, and why? Oooh, John the Baptist, Moses, and Paul. (Our Lord TOTALLY goes without saying! And the actual apostles!!!) I’m sticking with more “secondary” characters, though, because, well, these people didn’t get much hype compared to the main players. Anyway, all three of them were amazing men who were rather outspoken but very courageous, and each had a message to get out. Moses is awesome because he’s a prefigurement of Christ, John got beheaded for telling Herod “no, you can’t marry your brother’s wife!” (and he also was preparing the world for Christ’s coming!), and Paul was a tireless preacher of the Gospel. (What is it with me and people who were beheaded? *smacks head against wall* Smooth, Erin, real smooth…)
5. (I’m going to be evil, too) What is your favorite book? Do you mean right-now-favorite, long-time favorites, or all-time favorites? (I have a lot…) Of course, the Bible goes without saying. 😉 For all-time favorites (drum roll, please!) it’s a tie between C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle and Lord of the Rings. I love The Last Battle for its beauty, apocalyptic feel, the resonances with the Book of Revelation (or Apocalypse, which is a totally better name in my opinion!) For shortness’ sake, though, I normally just say “LOTR FOREVAR!” and leave it at that. Probably ’cause LotR has about ten times as many pages… Long-time favorites? All the Sherlock Holmes books, Baroness Emma Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel and its sequels (and Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, because I can’t very well forget Sydney Carton when we’re in the French Revolution, can I?!),  Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books, Brian Jacques’ Redwall (and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, which probably would top this list if I were seriously counting,) C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Chronicles of Narnia (in fact, anything by Lewis), Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet (I think that I like Madeleine L’Engle’s stuff because it reminded me of Lewis, and I have always loved Lewis), and the works of G.A. Henty (though sometimes I just want to re-write the endings because it would have been TOTALLY better with a different happily-ever-after GAH!). For my right-now-absolute-favorite? John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. (YAY GILAN! AND HALT! AND WILL!!!) What can I say? I couldn’t live without books…

Finally, for my five questions:

1. If you had to choose between the Doctor, Sherlock, Merlin, Luke Skywalker, Matthias, Jim Hawkins, and Sir Percy Blakeney to go on an unexpected and otherwise completely unpredictable adventure with, who would you choose?
2. Who would you be more likely to say “You’re weird!” (complete with exclamation point) to: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Sherlock, Watson, the Doctor, Merlin, or Halt? (If you would be most likely to say “You’re weird!” to Halt, then you have my undying respect. Either you are very brave, or just plain crazy.)
3. Do you wear socks to sleep in? (You’d better bet your fluffy bedsocks you do, young’un, wot?!)
4. What is the best plot you’ve ever had that originated in a dream? (Yes, a sleeping dream. Daydreams don’t qualify. Sorry, Sir Percy.)
5. Have you ever been to Boston in the fall?

And now, I hereby wish to nominate:

Iris, because she’s awesome and encouraging and clever and reckless and everything a best friend forever should be!

Liam, because I couldn’t hit him with any Liebster awards. >:-D (If you were wondering about exactly how many times I’ve received the Liebster award, now, it’s four.)

Rachel Carrerra, because her work is amazing!

Shiekiah, because she deserves it and has written amazing stuff and draws amazing art and I really wanted to say thank-you-for-the-awesome-Bound-to-the-Flame-commissions 😉

Coruscantbookshelf (aka Rosalie), because she got me started blogging in the first place. 🙂

Thanks for reading this post all the way to the end. Thanks for nominating me, Proverbs31teen! Have a great day, everyone, and God Bless!