Ignorant Historian

“Whenever you believe that the evil outside you is greater than the evil inside you, a heartfelt pursuit of Christ will be replaced by a zealous fighting of the ‘evil’ around you.” – How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp, p. 9

“I ask myself at night, ‘Did you do everything today that you could to be the best?’ It’s very hard to answer ‘yes.’ ” – Apolo Ohno

“Give me a used Bible and I will, I think, be able to tell you about a man by the places that are edged with the dirt of seeking fingers.” – East of Eden by John Steinbeck, p. 350

“Anyone who thinks he’s too small to make a difference has never been bit by a mosquito.” – Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, p. 246

” ‘I should have thought that a pack of British boys… would have been able to put up a better show than that.’ ” – Lord of the Flies by William Golding

“On the other hand, women who didn’t marry became old maids, spinsters who slept in the attic, sat in a corner peeling potatoes all day, and were a burden on their families, like our neighbor Old Man Pucket’s sister, Louella.” – Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, p. 39

“When people kill themselves, they think they’re ending the pain but all they’re doing is passing it on to those they leave behind.” – Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, p. 113

“I’d donate a kidney to Jamie without a moment’s hesitation, but I was intensely annoyed if he asked me to make a special stop at the drugstore to pick up shaving cream.” – The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, p. 41

“Some people exude their futures, good or bad.” – East of Eden by John Steinbeck, p. 277

“Money brings its own problems, of course – but money also brings options.  Money can buy childare, a separate bathroom, a vacation, the freedom from arguments over bills – all sorts of things that help stabilize a marriage.” – Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, p. 148-149

“I had no problem with whatever she used to draw her closer to God…” – Wounded by Claudia Mair Burney, p. 158

“The number of households in America without children reached an all-time high in 2008.” – Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, p. 149

“A man’s mind can’t stay in time the way his body does.” – East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I’m a dreamer.  I mean, I know some of you who are longtime readers of the Ignorant Historian know that I’m such a famous dreamer that I’ve been featured in The Washington Post.  Or perhaps that’s not quite how it went down.  Things get fuzzy in my old age.

As often as I have crazy adventure dreams at night (and that is every night these days), I’m even more of a daydreamer.  I’m constantly imagining things in my head: what I’ll do once I’ve reached my emergency savings goal, what I’d do if I was famous, and every step of completely-unrealized relationships from “Wanna go to dinner?” to “I do” (including how I’d tell you about him).  Actually, that last one is a recurring theme in my life.

The problem is, these daydreams are entirely unhelpful.  While these aren’t bad dreams (okay, except the famous one) they aren’t the kinds of dreams that God has for me.  I know that, but this quote still hit home:

“Though we may not be aware of it, we are often at odds with our wise and loving Lord.  The change he is working on is not the change we dream about.” – How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp, p. 33

If I could change one thing in my life, it would be to trade in my singleness.  But I don’t think that’s high on God’s to-do list in my life.  I’m hoping that He wants me married, too, but He’s much more concerned with my righteousness.  He wants to root out out the sinful actions in my life and the sinful desires that lead me there.

May God help me make His desire, my desire.

Photo by Denis Collette

“You don’t have to eat the entire turd to know that it’s not a crab cake.” – Bean in Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card

“I realized that when everything is stripped away from you and you have nothing, you find out what you really are down deep inside.” – In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, p. 162

“I can’t believe she ran out of answers before I did.” – Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, p. 14

“…you must also own Religion in his rags, as well as when in his silver slippers; and stand by him, too, when bound in irons, as well as when he walketh the streets with applause.” – Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, p. 92

“Human nature seems to find ways to justify its wrong doing, to move ahead with what serves its self-interest, and then to figure out an explanation so it doesn’t sound so bad.” – In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, p. 192

“The Cross is God’s answer to the question ‘Why don’t you do something about evil?’ ” – If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 206

“It’s hard to believe the old saying that ‘things happen for a reason’ when the things happening to you are god-awful and you just want them to be over with.” – The Year We Disappeared by Cylin Busby and John Busby, p. 142

“…to my fellow Christians I feel compelled to say [about Islam]: We need to find ways to defuse the raging resentment and hatred that fuels ‘holy war’ and introduce a God who does more than demand rituals–he truly loves us.” – In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, p. 304

“And I’ve discovered that most people I’m afraid of are actually very friendly.” – When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, p. 26

Sorry so many quotes. It’s really more for my benefit…I want a central place for me to be able to find them! If a few catch your eye as well, that’s great.

“I remembered thinking how hard it was to contemplate death from a comfortable chair.” - The Host by Stephenie Meyer, p. 127

“As will be the case throughout your life, no matter how long or brief [the urge], the choice is, in the end, yours.  Simply bear in mind that most every choice will have consequences, and in this instance those consequences would likely be quite grave.” – Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr., p. 4

“Whether we agree or not, the process of engaging my children in critical examination of the books they read, the television they watch, the films they see, and the video games they play is essential.” – “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, p. 48

“We will all become the men and women we strive (or don’t strive) to be.” - Do Hard Things byAlex and Brent Harris, p. 56

“…here in East Carmine curiosity only ends one way.”

“Death?”
“Worse–enlightenment.” – Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, p. 110

“In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer–proof again of the contradictory human being.  So much good, so much evil.  Just add water.” – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, p. 164

“Perhaps we were none of us as rare as we thought.” – The Host by Stephenie Meyer, p. 619

“Forgive me if I have tried to add anything to the one foundation,
if I have unconsciously relied upon my knowledge, experience, deeds and not seen them as filthy rags,
if I have attempted to complete what is perfect in Christ;
May my cry be always, only Jesus! only Jesus!” – “The Life Look” in The Valley of Vision, p. 54

“For a combat soldier, the difference between success and failure is your ability to adapt to your enemy.” – Jack Bauer in 24, season 7, 8:00 AM

“…a human being is a shell made of skin keeping the cells, blood, and chemical components in place.  Very few end up in history books.  Most people succomb and disappear without a trace.” – Character Martin Vanger in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, p. 453

“We’re not like them, Kate.  That’s the entire point of trying to stop them.” – Milligan in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilious Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 255

“There is a great gulf between the Christianity that wrestles with whether to worship at the cost of imprisonment and death, and the Christianity that wrestles with whether the kids should play soccer on Sunday morning.” - The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper, p. 164

“I find myself thinking: ‘I didn’t mean to be White, I realy didn’t mean it.’ ” – quote in “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, p. 102

“The four of you really think you can stop this.” – Renee Walker

“We have to. It’s as simple as that.” – Jack Bauer, 24, 2:00 PM

“Whom you take out a mortgage with is mostly an accident of geography and economics, and has nothing to do with destiny.” – Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr., p. 62

“Plus, maybe we all felt a bit guilty about leaving him on his own in Hell, even though that’s what he’d wanted.” – Killing Frost by John Marsden, p. 75

“Why do Black youths, in particular, think about themselves in terms of race?  Because that is how the rest of the world thinks of them.” -“Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, p. 53

“Most of the White people I talk to either have not thought about their race and so don’t feel anything, or have thought about it and felt guilt and shame.  These feelings of guilt and shame are part of the hidden costs of racism.” - “Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, p. 94

“Yes, Ellie the Fearless was embarrassed to be seen with bad table manners. I think that’s when I knew for sure I wasn’t a natural born terrorist.” – Killing Frost by John Marsden, p. 219

“I knew that I had a choice.  I could give in to my resentment and allow it to dig me into a deeper and deeper hole both psychologically and emotionally, or I could choose to believe what God’s Word says to be true whether I felt it was or not.” – In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, p. 142

“I stood looking at it thinking how they’d both make good engineers when they were older, then went into a big downer reminding myself that they were unlikely to survive long enough to have the luxury of becoming engineers or anything else.  Becoming a corpse wasn’t much of a future.” – The Night is for Hunting by John Marsden, p. 184

“If man created problems, man can solve them.” – Mitchell Joakim in a Honda commercial

“I am concerned that our reading and our writing is gravitating to the lowest common denominator so completely that the great themes of majesty and nobility and felicity are made to seem trite, puny, pedestrain….In this day and age having nothing at all to say does not disqualify a person from writing a book.  The sad truth is that many authors simply have never learned to reflect substantively on anything.” – Richard Foster in The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper, p. 153

“I woke up each day with nothing to accomplish–nothing at all, except to stay alive.” – In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, p, 70

“…belief in odd things isn’t against the Rules, as long as it’s done on your own time and you don’t try to convince anyone else.” – Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, p. 40

I know this is a huge number of quotes, but I can’t exclude any.  Really, this is as much for me…I enjoy these quotes and by putting them here, I not only get to share them, but I get to access them.  I hope you’ll enjoy and/or ponder them like I did!

“Large numbers of books always depressed her, as did people who liked to read large numbers of books.” – Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, p. 159

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” – Abraham Lincoln, quoted in Amen, Amen, Amen by Abby Sher

“And know this: people who seek only happiness never find it.” – Blue in Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 350

“I was like a lost moon–my planet destroyed in some cataclysmic, disaster-movie scenario of desolation–that continued, nevertheless, to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space left behind, ignoring the laws of gravity.” - New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, p. 201

“As people like Stubbs and MAx Carter have taught me, education and piety are not mutually exclusive, and the sooner this school’s higher-ups take this to heart, the sooner Liberty students can go about the business of loving God with their minds.” - The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 249

“It was so unfair.  I didn’t ask to be white.  I didn’t think I was being braver just because I was white.” – Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, 160

“How did you know about Steampunk?”
“Uh, you mentioned it online somewhere.”
“You’ve been reading my blog. A lot.” – “Random on Purpose,” NCIS: LA (probably how my first conversation with a date would go, minus the Steampunk)

“Suddenly Kira knew that although her door was unlocked, she was not really free.” - Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, p. 153

“I could remember every stupid thing I’d ever said or done, recall them with picture-perfect clarity.  Any time I was feeling low, I’d naturally start to remember other times I felt that way, a hit parade of humiliations coming one after another to my mind.” – Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, 294

“The dictionary says my identity should be all about being separate or distinct, and yet it feels like it is so wrapped up in others.”  - The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

“Hope the French fleas eat you both alive.
And your room smells
And the toilet doesn’t flush
And locals treat you mean
And the service takes too long.” – “Mon Amour” sung by Shakira (I have nothing to be bitter about, but I thought this was funny)

“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” – Psalm 20:7, NASU

“Why, Scarlett!  You must have been reading a newspaper!  I’m surprised at you.  Don’t do it again.  It addles women’s brains.” – Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, p. 331

“I gave you my heart and a sweet love letter
but you gave them right back and said you like her better” – “Average Girl” sung by Emily Osment

“Because it made her happy to think so, she believed he would.” – Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

“But there’s not a coward in the world who doesn’t dream of the day when he might find himself capable of great courage.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 350

” ‘What is it about writing for teenagers that leads to so much censorship?’ ….It’s because grown-ups don’t remember what it was like when they were teenagers.  Not really.  They remember something out of a Disney movie and that’s where they want to keep us.” – Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 137

“If I truly believed the rapture was “imminent,” as Liberty’s official doctrinal statement says, I think I’d do things a lot differently.  I might not buy green bananas, for starters.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 99

“I know I’m not trustworthy. How likely is it that the world is true if I’m not?” – Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 84-85

“I saw I was better at appreciating art than producing it.” - 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 155

“We’re not stupid, we’re just poor!  And we have a right to want to insist on this distinction.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 275

“But it was crazy of me to expect that I could situate myself among these people twenty-four hours a day, befriend them, and adopt their mannerisms without also internalizing and grappling with their beliefs.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 96

“We thought we had such problems.  How were we to know we were happy?” - The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 51

“I had this secular/liberal paranoia that when evangelical students were among themselves, they spent their time huddled in dark rooms, organizing anti-abortion protests and plotting theocratic takeover.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 38

“Making things seem a way they aren’t is making them better.” – Mr. Curtain (the bad guy) in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 292

“I would like to be ignorant.  Then I would not know how ignorant I was.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 263

“When they write poems or sing songs in the West, they speak for all humanity.  They’re human beings–but we’re just Muslims.  When we write something, it’s just called ethnic poetry.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 279

“The moment of betrayal is the worst, the moment when you know beyond any doubt that you’ve been betrayed: that some other human being has wished you that much evil.  It was like being in an elevator cut loose at the top.  Falling, falling, falling, and not knowing when you will hit.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 193

“They’re supposed to stop me lying.  Yet they believe everything I tell them.” Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 11

“But one thing has become clear: these Liberty students had no ulterior motive.  They simply can’t contain their love for God.  They’re happy to be believers, and they’re telling the world.” – Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 64

“Don’t laugh at the spinsters, dear girls, for often very tender, tragical romances are hidden away in the hearts that beat so quietly under the sober gowns, and many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces beautiful in God’s sight.” – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, p. 526

“You can be anything you want to be, his parents told him, but they lie.d  Truth was, an enormous breach existed between one’s ambitions and one’s reality.” – 31 hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 59

“Destroy grammasites with extreme prejudice — and shun any men with amorous intentions.” – Miss Havisham in Well of Losts Plots by Jasper Fforde, p. 187

“But if unhappiness were a genuine reason for suicide, half the women in Turkey would be killing themselves.” – deputy governor in Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 14

“It can’t be easy being an amalgamation of all that has been written before.” – Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, p. 46

“But now, because we’ve fallen under the spell of the West, we’ve forgotten our own stories.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 78

“I don’t want to be alone on this planet they call earth.” – “Taking Chances” as sung by the Glee cast

“At times like these he had felt most guilty; all he’d wanted was to forget about Turkey and everything and go home and read books.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 175

“Most of them were too unhappy to sleep; they took pleasure in knowing that the cigarettes they smoked were killing them; they began sentences, only to let their voices trail off as they remembered how pointless it was to carry on; they watched television not because they liked or enjoyed the programs but because they couldn’t bear to hear about their fellows’ depression, and television helped to shut them out; what they really wanted was to die, but they didn’t think themselves worthy of suicide.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 194-195 [sorry for 2 quotes about suicide...it's a theme in Snow, not in my thoughts]

“Still, whenever she awakened in the wee hours, she wanted nothing more than to breathe in time with another human body — a desire that pointed to a primitive quality in her, she thought, one not suited to this modern life.” – 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 1-2

“Don’t worry.  Love that blooms this fast is just as fast to wither.” - Ipek in Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 211

So, this weekend was an interesting one.  I’ve been sick since Thursday (just a cold, I think), so I ended up not working or doing much else.  Worked out alright, though, because I did the Read-a-thon, and ended up reading the entire, long weekend.  It’s a little weird to be back in the real world!  If you’re curious what all I read, you can read my post about it here.  I read 6 1/2 books in 3 days!  In all the reading I’ve done lately, here are some gem quotes I pulled out:

“I don’t know if I was happy that day–those tense and edgy feelings were getting stronger and stronger–but I do know that I’ve never been happy sense.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, p. 54

“Bah…Turkey’s for the birds.  Only uncool people go to Turkey.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 126

“Unless we come to grips with the fact that we’re of precisely the same stock as Dodd and Stalin and Mao, we’ll never get over thinking that we deserve better.” – If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 76

“If I’d had anything fun to do, I don’t think I would ever have read as much as I did.” - The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 175

“Who but us [survivors] has the audacity to admit we are no match for a world in need of redemption?  We choose how much we will carry away with us from the fire.  Everyone else pretends they can’t even see the ashes.” – Josef in White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

“…it doesn’t take away your fears, it only lies to you about them, makes you temporary believe you don’t have them.  And I know it’s a lie, but what a powerful one!  Maybe I’m not who I always thought myself to be, maybe I’m the sort of person who will do anything to hear what I want to believe.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 367

“Recording what we’ve done, in words, on paper, it’s got to be our way of telling ourselves that we mean something, that we matter, that the things we’ve done here made a difference.” – Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

“Worshipers came and went as they pleased, prayed according to how they felt most happy, and mingled freely with other GSD members.  It enjoyed moderate success, but what God actually thought of it no one ever really knew.” - Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 223

“The face of evil is frighteningly ordinary.” – Chuck Colson, quoted in If God is Good by Randy Alcorn, p. 134

“It seems if there were a formula to fix life, Jesus would have told us what it was.” - Searching for God Knows what by Don Miller, p. 10

“He hasn’t accepted his death.  He is already fighting hard to stay alive.  Which also means that kind Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill me.” - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 60

“I realized then that I didn’t understand anything.  I read all the books I could.” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 32

“Greed often helps people think of reasons they might not discover on their own.” - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 115

“The regime had understood that one person leaving her house while asking herself, ‘Are my trousers long enough?  Is my veil in place?  Can my make-up be seen?  Are they going to whip me?’ no longer asks herself, ‘Where is my freedom of thought?  Where is my freedom of speech?  My life, is it livable?  What’s going on in the political prisons?’ ” – The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, p. 302

“Marriage, like spinach and opera, was something I had never thought I would like.” – Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, p. 93

” ‘You know how to kill.’
‘Not people,’ I say.
‘How different can it be, really?’ says Gale grimly.
The awful thing is that if I can forget they’re people, it will be no different.” – Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 40

“If what a person wants is his life, he tends to be quiet about wanting anything else.  Once the life begins to seem secure, one feels the freedom to complain.”  - Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, p. 56

“Good arguments will not convince anyone who is not open to being convinced.” – Frank Turek, Correct, Not Politically Correct, p. 8

“I suppose it’s terribly sexist of me assuming that all of the terrorists were male. It’s a modern world, after all. One should suppose a girl can grow up to be a terrorist just as easily as a boy.” – Messner, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 147

“Many have become immune to Christianity by contracting a mild and unbiblical form of it.” – Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 35

“Americans have a bad habit of thinking like Americans.” – Roxanne Coss, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 222

“Anyone who observed us would conclude the purpose of all academic discussion was to provide the grounds for becoming further entrenched in our original positions.” – Richard Russo, Straight Man, p. 201

“You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do [the jurors] need to know?” – Kathy O’Brien, character in Monster by Walter Dean Myers

“In our reckless pursuit of self-gratification we impose upon ourselves gnawing emptiness rather than the joy and contentment that comes in loving God and others.” Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 64

“If the Bible tells us what life is and how to live it, then biblical literacy isn’t an option. I need it. We all do.” – Rachel Starr Thompson, “What We Don’t Know”

Since I’ve watched a lot of House recently (as of today I’ll have seen them all, except for the first season, since Blockbuster doesn’t carry it), I thought I’d do a special all-House quote post.  I’ve said it before, but remember that I find these quotes intriguing, though I don’t necessarily agree with them.

‘People have the right to be happy.” – Foreman in “The Greater Good”

“It’s just a job now.  The fairy tale ended a long time ago.” – a priest, “Unfaithful”

“Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people.  Otherwise there wouldn’t be any religious people.” – House, “The Right Stuff”

“If the wonder’s gone when the truth is known, there never was any wonder.” – House, “You Don’t Want to Know”