Ignorant Historian

Have you ever written a letter to your future self?  I’ve done that several times, but I always remember to open them in time, not being as excited about them as I was when I wrote them.  I figured I might as well write this letter here as I’m much more likely to see it!

Dear Ronnica 2015,

Let’s not fool anyone…this is a tad bit ridiculous before an audience.  Reminds me of times when I’ve had to practice a speech before an audience of one.  Let’s try to put that silliness aside.

I have no idea what your life is like, Ronnica 2015.  Perhaps your life is closer to my dream future or my practically planned future, but more likely it’s something/somewhere I never thought I’d be.  After all, my 2005 self would have laughed at where I am today (and my 2000 self even more so).

If you are married or have kids, don’t take that for granted.  Remember well how much you longed for those things when you were me.  While I no doubt have no idea the trials that come with life as a wife and mother, I do know that deep inside of me, that’s what I desire.  Just as I work now to be content where God’s placed me, work to be content where God has placed you.

And if you’re still single, I know you’re handling it.  I have so much still to learn about how to honor God in my single life, and how to balance all the many areas I want to grow in.  Hopefully you’re excelling at that better than I am.  I hope that you have many more days that you are content than nights that you are not.

Don’t be afraid to love.  Hey, I could be writing this for my today self.  I know our tendency to be reserved when it comes to friendships.  It’s okay to put yourself out there…even if you get hurt.  Seek to love others (through word AND deed) as you’d want to be loved yourself.

Though no doubt our interests aren’t quite the same, keep learning.  There is so much to know and so much wisdom to be gained.  Learn from those who go before us and seek wisdom at God’s mercy seat.  Even though you’re 5 years further down the road than I, I know you have so much more room to grow.

Truthfully,

Ronnica 2010

Photo by Muffet

For some time my hair has been bugging me.  It’s longer than it’s ever been, and I was aching for a haircut.  Here’s the results!  Sorry for the strange angles…I did what I could with a camera and a mirror.  Boy…you can tell that I was tired last Monday (when I took the before pictures)!

Before (taken down from a ponytail):

and the back:

And after:

And the back:

An improvement, don’t you think?

Friday blog reading should always be light, and in an effort to keep it so (yet fun), I’ve decided to find 5 random questions to answer on Fridays.  Some I might find on other blogs, and some I’ll find with the help of Google.  Not unique, but I hope it’ll be fun.  So, here goes:

1.  Have you ever peed your pants after age 8?

I believe I was 8 the last time.  It was 3rd grade on the bus.  We got evacuated shortly after boarding the bus home at the end of the day because of a tornado warning.  After that passed, we re-loaded the buses.  I was one of the last stops, and couldn’t hold it any longer, peeing my pants while we were just around the corner from my house.

2.  Would you date someone you met online?

Maybe.  But it’d have to be someone that I knew through someone I actually knew.  You follow?

3.  Do you wear deoderant?

Yes. Everyday, in fact.  Sometimes twice a day, if needed.

4.  How do you usually dress?

Work casual.  Though sometimes it’s really casual.  I do love to wear skirts and dresses, but that requires shaving my legs (which isn’t otherwise necessary as a single gal…).

5.  Ocean or pool?

Definitely pool!  Though I will get in the water at the beach, I can’t wait to get home and shower afterwards.

So, this may have proved more difficult than I imagined.  Still, here are the answers:

1.  What’s my brother’s name? Bonus: what’s my sister-in-law’s name?

Riley and Amanda

2.  What state did I grow up in?

Kansas

3.  Where did I go to college?

The University of Oklahoma

4.  What did I major in?

History - I knew this might be a hard one, even though “historian” is in the title of this blog, I rarely talk about it!

5.  What was I scared of as a child? (may be more than one correct answer)

Answers given (and all correct) – People jumping out at me (still am), animals, dogs.  Other possible answers include: people in costumes and our house burning down when I was changing (don’t know if I’ve mentioned that last one on the blog, though)

6.  What’s one experience of Southern culture that left me scratching my head? (again, there’s more than one correct answer)

Correct answers given – half the roads aren’t labeled (though that just may be NC), and the notion that if it thunders in winter it’ll snow in 7 days (it didn’t, BTW).  Other correct answers: boiled peanuts,  Confederate flag license plates being sold by the county, and various Southern phrases

7.  What classic science fiction movie have I used more than once to explain life truths to children?

Star Wars

8.  What’s the working title of my essentially-abandoned novel-in-progress?

Four Friends – I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and have an idea of where I want it to go

9. What country (besides my own) do I love?

Turkey!

10.  If/when I become a full-time teacher, what subject would I teach? (I’ll give a point for either the subject I’m most qualified to teach or the one I’d most want to teach…and 1.5 points for correctly answering both.)

Most qualified to teach math, but would like to teach literature.  Amanda had a better answer though, “You are most qualified to teach math, but that’s simply because your dream teaching job hasn’t been afforded to you just yet; your ideal teaching position is teaching your own children.”  So true…love that my SIL knows my heart!

Amanda got a perfect 11 points, but since she had a majorly unfair advantage (hello, she got a half-point for knowing her own name!), the Paperback Swap book goes to Liz who earned a respectable 9.5 points.

Since I want to be a “real” teacher someday, I thought this might be fun.  Besides, who doesn’t like a pop quiz?

So, the name of the game is: What do you know about me?  The answers to all the following questions can be found on the blog (and looking for them is NOT cheating).  Simply leave your answers (no matter how wild the guesses) in a comment on this post.  I’ll hold all comments for moderation so you won’t be able to see each other’s answers.

The winner gets any used book of her (or his) choice that I can order off Paperback Swap. Sorry so small, but we’re on a budget here. I’ll accept answers until midnight on the east coast tomorrow (Wednesday). Because of the nature of the prize, the prize winner will have to have a US mailing address (and cannot be related to me), but everyone is welcome to play.

Now that all the fine print is spelled out, let’s get to our quiz, why don’t we?  Each question’s answer is worth one point.

1.  What’s my brother’s name? Bonus: what’s my sister-in-law’s name? (for an extra half a point)

2.  What state did I grow up in?

3.  Where did I go to college?

4.  What did I major in?

5.  What was I scared of as a child? (may be more than one correct answer)

6.  What’s one experience of Southern culture that left me scratching my head? (again, there’s more than one correct answer)

7.  What classic science fiction movie have I used more than once to explain life truths to children?

8.  What’s the working title of my essentially-abandoned novel-in-progress?

9. What country (besides my own) do I love?

10.  If/when I become a full-time teacher, what subject would I teach? (I’ll give a point for either the subject I’m most qualified to teach or the one I’d most want to teach…and 1.5 points for correctly answering both.)

Hope it’s not too hard!

Thanks to Jen for basically writing the last couple of paragraphs of this post. It’s humbling (and ironic) to not even know how to finish my thoughts on this subject.

I’m a woman of control.

Or at least that’s what I want.

My problem (okay, one of them) is that I think I know best.  About everything.  Not only do I think I know what’s best for those around me, I think I know what’s best for me, too.  Always have, just ask my mom.

The thing is, I don’t.  I might be blessed with worldly smarts, but I’m still sorely lacking in true wisdom.  As we’ve been walking through Solomon’s life in my kindergarten Sunday school class, we’ve been talking a lot about wisdom.  I think the best way to learn a concept is to have to try to explain it to a 5-year-old…there are so many concepts I can’t quite get across to them (glory, the Trinity).  If you ask them, I hope they can tell you that we’ve talked about how wisdom is knowing what is right and good.

The older I get (and in theory, the wiser I get), the more I realize that I’m like a 3 on a scale of 100 of possible human wisdom.  At most.

Last week I realized that I’m okay with my singleness as long as I in my earthly “wisdom” can decipher out a way out.  And as far as singleness goes, the way I want out is a man, a plan, and a ring by spring…or at least by next spring.

Hmm, that doesn’t sound like contentment to me.

Just shows me that I still demand control of my own life, my own future.  That I prefer my plans to whatever God has in store for me, as foolish as that is.  I know that God knows what’s best for me (He knows me better than myself!), but somehow I can’t get that to truly stick in my daydreaming head.

It’s times like this that I have to remind myself that I have been fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and that the very hairs on my head are numbered (Matthew 10:30)–gray or not–and that before one day of my life came to pass, God ordained each of them (Psalm 139:16).  How foolish I am to think that I would know more than Him!  How can I know myself better than the one who knit me in my mother’s womb (v. 13)?

Moment by moment, I must make the choice to trust Him in His infinite wisdom.  I give Him the reigns one night, only to rip them back from him minutes, or at most, hours later.  It is only when I trust Him that I can truly find contentment.

God, help me remember that.

Photo by Drunken Monkey

This is one portion of the Faith ‘n’ Fiction Roundtable discussion of the book Wounded by Claudia Mair Burney, where we discuss the theology of the book.

Ronnica: But my real problem with Wounded is theological.  While I’m sure we don’t all have the same theological beliefs, a sound biblically-based theology is important to me.  For example, putting words like “I had no problem with whatever she used to draw closer to God…” (p. 158, large print edition) in the mouth of a pastor without judgment is theological irresponsible (and sadly, common in “Christian” writing, fiction and non-fiction).  Sure, this is fiction, but fiction still presents a worldview, for better or for worse.

Carrie: Ronnica mentioned theological questions and I will admit this is one of the areas that I struggled with while reading this. I found that I can/will accept questionable subject matter and/or doctrine in secular books, but when I’m reading a book that is advertised to be Christian, I hold it to a higher standard. The quote that Ronnica mentioned bugged me, too.

Ronnica: Carrie, I like how you said that.  I DO hold books labeled Christian to a much higher standard.  I’ve most certainly read books that I’ve theologically disagreed with more, but they arealmost always not labeled Christian.  I also felt uncomfortable with the idea of Jesus as lover and the idea of stigmata in general.  While I don’t doubt God’s ability to perform miracles, I don’t see the “why” of stigmata in this case specifically, as we always see miracles in the Bible either validating God’s Word or His messengers.

Hannah:  I can certainly agree that fiction written by Christians — let alone published by Christian publishing houses — should be held to a higher theological standard than books not written by and published by Christians.

Going back to what Ronnica mentioned about the book’s theology, which centered around Pastor Mike saying, “I had no problem with whatever she used to draw closer to God…” Sure, it’s troubling for a pastor to spout problematic theology. However, pastors are still human, fallen, imperfect, sinful. And in this case in particular, Pastor Mike isn’t presented as seeing this situation perfectly — or clearly, even. So while that idea/quote certainly is not good theology, I wouldn’t say the book presents his position as infallible or inaccurate. I don’t think the book’s worldview is embodied in Pastor Mike.

Amy: Now here’s where I’m going to get in trouble with you all!  I’m not sure I agree with the concept of a Christian book being held to a higher standard theologically.  It is easy for me to say yes, I agree with this, but the word Christian covers so many people with such vast and different beliefs.  I actually think that I’d love to see more theological diversity in Christian fiction because I think it would more accurately reflect the body of Christ, would challenge us to think about what we believe through the medium of fiction, and would probably invite more people to consider reading Christian fiction.  Furthermore, I’m not sure I agree with the statement the Bible is sufficient, I think Jesus is sufficient, and I think the Bible is some of the revelation we have left.  I regard it with tremendous respect and hope to always learn from it, don’t get me wrong!

I agree with Hannah that just because a character voices one viewpoint that doesn’t mean it’s the viewpoint of the author, though I sometimes struggle with this distinction myself.  I think maybe the reason we feel uncomfortable with Mike saying these things is because he’s the pastor and we expect our pastors to be the ultimate authority.

Hannah: I actually struggled with writing that, because I really struggle with major theological problems in any books I read. On the other hand, I know intellectually that we mustn’t hold people accountable for what they don’t know. Theological diversity, though (within certain parameters), is acceptable within what I’m talking about.

Ronnica: Going back to theological issues, I do think that there is certainly room for a wider theological perspective than say mine or my church’s.  However, I do believe that while there are many issues that there can be diversified opinions on within the Christian community (end times, continuation of miracles, etc.) there are some viewpoints that are necessary to be considered “Christian” (the deity of Christ, the sinfulness of man, etc.).

While I don’t necessarily think that Burney crossed the line on these issues, I do think the “whatever works for you” attitude presented in theological dangerous and spiritually unhealthy.  In the Old Testament, we see very strict penalties (death) for worshiping God in ways He did not prescribe.  While we have greater freedom and grace through Jesus Christ, God is and always will be a God that demands worship on His own terms, not ours.

Carrie: Amy, I liked the points you made about diverse theology in Christian fiction – but I guess we would disagree on the sufficiency of the Bible. I believe the Bible is complete and infallible, and all Christian belief and experience should be weighed against that authority. When I see what I consider extra-Biblical doctrine in a Christian novel, I can’t help but worry about readers being convinced of things about God that aren’t what the Bible teaches. (I hope that doesn’t offend – I hope you know I love you, Amy, and you’re my sister in Christ – even if we disagree on this point.)

I also get what Hannah was saying about the Pastor’s viewpoint just being one character’s – and a flawed, human character. I guess my high expectations for clergy were coming out in my expectations for the character! And I probably need to look at that – I can’t expect my pastor to be perfect, can I? He’s not God.

Other parts of the discussion can be found at the other participant’s blogs.

Besides those included above, other discussion participants include:

Deborah
Sheila
Julie
Thomas
Debbie
Heather

While this review is talking about this book specifically, the points I make aren’t directed at Al Lacy exclusively.  Most of these issues are common faults found with the bulk of “Christian” fiction.

I received a review copy of Faithful Heart from Multnomah.  I thought it sounded like an interesting book, set in the western US in the 1870s.  There’s basically two storylines following two sisters: one who is making a trek west via wagon train and the other who is struggling being married to a man dealing with violent mental issues related to his Civil War service.

Al Lacy’s not a bad writer necessarily, but this book is a great example of Christian fiction gone bad.   While Lacy does try to tackle a real-life issue (mental illness) and I commend him for that, he goes about it all wrong.

First, the answer given for the mental problem is seeking professional help (as pointed out by each and every character).  Laying aside how strange this seems in the 1870s setting and the horrors that were mental health asylums in that day, this is just poor theology.  Perhaps you, my reader, wouldn’t agree with that, but I believe that the Bible is all sufficient for our needs.  Though a psychiatrist may offer valuable help, that’s not the first place to go.

Secondly, this book is chock full with church-y language.  The conversations between characters come off as untrue to real life, like a play written by an amateur (me, for instance). Like most Christians who’ve been around the church a lot I’m guilty of this as well, but it does make me cringe.  There is a way to write a story from a biblical worldview without making it sound like it was written in a Sunday School.  The God of the Bible is so much more than that.

My last major issue with this book is that everything is tied up in a neat bow.  While that might be the way we would like things, real life doesn’t work that way and we fool ourselves when we place hope that it will.  Mental illness is messy.  Even more so, our sin nature is (which we rarely see in this book aside from the “bad” guys).

To be fair, this was originally published 25 years ago.  Perhaps Lacy wouldn’t have written the book this way if he wrote it today.  I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on this matter.