Girls of Awesome

Girls in books are awesome! They inspire me, they keep me going, and they help me realize that I am awesome, too. I wish I could talk about all of them, but here are two of my favorite awesome girls from books.

1. Miri from Princess Academy
Miri is strong and kicks butt...in her own way. She reads so that she can learn how to help her people, she reaches out to others (even the girls who are mean to her), and she is smart enough to fight off the bandits that raid her school. She isn't perfect, but she makes a series of good choices that lead her to happiness.

And she finds love at the end, too, but it isn't the only thing going for her. It's more like a side effect to her adventures and growing experiences.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that she can talk through stone? Awesome!

2. Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia

Lucy is gentle and kind. She is the peacemaker in her family. She helps the sick and the injured. In fact, her gift from Father Christmas is a vial of fireflower juice, which can heal any injury. She is a healer. She cries when other people are sad, and she rejoices when other people are happy. When I need an example of a Christ-like woman, I turn to Lucy.

Lucy also has great faith in herself and in others, particularly in Aslan. Though she experiences doubts, she learns how to move past them and truly succeed. She hates leaving Narnia, but she obeys, trusting that Aslan will find her again.

This girl makes friends everywhere she goes. Awesome!

Symbols on Sunday

Rain

To me, rain represents renewal. Listen to a few minutes of this rain video and think fresh, new thoughts. Think of new possibilities, new opportunities. Let the rain wash away your worries and your pains. The earth is getting nourished, the water cycle is continuing.

Let it rain.

Silly Socks Saturday

I found this amazing blog called "The Tao of Silly Socks." You should check it out!

Book Review: Les Miserables

In the beginning of the novel, Jean Valjean has just finished serving time in the French prison system for stealing food to feed his family. After wandering the streets, he meets a bishop who offers him a place to stay. The next morning, the bishop catches him stealing candles but lets him go. Inspired by the bishop's love, Valjean promises to himself that he will become a better man, a force for good in pre-revolutionary France. Years later, Valjean has worked his way into a respectable position both economically and socially, and he has kept his promise to do good. A dying, homeless prostitute asks him to look after her child, Cosette, and Valjean agrees. However, it soon comes to light that Valjean is an unregistered convict, and a manhunt ensues, led by Valjean's former friend, Javert. As Valjean and Cosette try to stay one step ahead of Javert, they settle down in an out-of-the-way town, where Cosette falls in love with Marius, a revolutionary. With the revolution and Javert at his doorstep, Valjean faces the most difficult decisions of his life. Read more about the story here.

Through all of this story's incarnations (movies, musicals, abridged versions, etc), the message stays the same: men can change, and we must allow them to. Valjean makes many mistakes in the course of the book, but he is treated with grace and mercy, and he consequently treats others with grace and mercy. Essentially, he lives the prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

I love the concept of forgiveness and how it is inextricably related to love. Love is really the answer to most of life's problems. We all just need a little more love, both to give and to receive. Les Miserables presents this love in a compelling, exciting way.

Lamppost

Poem: Where the sidewalk ends

by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Music: The Land Before Time

Enjoy the music that inspired me (when I was little, I assure you) to keep going even when things got hard. Long live Littlefoot!