Archive | August 2010

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Aug17

Pearl and May Chin are sisters, growing up in Shanghai, 1937. The two young ladies are also Beautiful Girls, a phrase that carries a specific denotation in the modern, cosmopolitan culture of Westernized Shanghai. Pearl and May are models whose portraits sell everything from cigarettes to soap. The girls are living a fast, sophisticated, and carefree life, when suddenly everything changes. The girls’ father owes money to the mob, and in order to pay them he arranges a complicated deal that involves arranged marriages for his daughters to two Chinese boys from San Francisco that they’ve never met. And at the same time the Japanese army is sweeping over northern China, headed for Shanghai. Chiang Kai Shek and his Chinese nationalists are opposing the Japanese, and the two forces meet on the streets of Shanghai.

This first part of the book was illustrative of fact that at the same time that huge historical events are taking place, individuals are playing out their own dramas. May and Pearl hardly notice the advance of the Japanese army at first; they are too caught up in their own battle with their father. Then, they realize that their American husbands may be their only ticket to escape the horrors of war and the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and surrounding areas.

Most of the rest of the story deals with May and Pearl and their relationship as sisters and their adjustment to living in a new place and a new culture. The Chinese are not particularly welcome in pre-WW2 San Francisco. There is much bigotry to endure or overcome, and many decisions must be made about how to handle encounters with the U.S. government and with non-Chinese neighbors and citizens. But the center of the story always comes back to the relationship between May and Pearl. Are they rivals or best friends? Or both? How can the two sisters see each other’s faults and shortcomings so clearly and still remain the central source of love and support for one another?

The book made me think not so much of my own sister, although we are good friends, as it did of my children and their relationships. Sometimes they exhibit the same jealousies and misunderstandings that May and Pearl have, but at the same time I see them being fiercely protective and defensive of one another. I do believe that some of my children are each other’s best friends, and that makes me happy, even when it involves a closeness that can see and exploit the other’s weaknesses. The sister/sister relationship in particular is fraught with peril, but also can be rewarding and full of joy. On whom can you depend if not your sister?

Shanghai Girls was a moving look at a pair of Chinese sisters and their perilous journey to America and also to true sisterhood. I enjoyed the trip.

What some other bloggers thought about Shanghai Girls:

Dawn at She Is Too Fond of Books: “The fictional Pearl and May, like many actual Chinese in America during this period, endured. Shanghai Girls is a work of historical fiction that both entertains and teaches.”

A Book a Week: “The sisters in Shanghai Girls have a relationship that is clichéd and predictable. The dialogue is almost painfully banal. Yet the settings (1930’s Shanghai, 1940’s and ‘50’s Los Angeles) are great, very evocative and filled with detail.”

Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages: “I have to say that Shanghai Girls really ends in the middle of nowhere. I was shocked when I got to the last page as I still expected more story but that leads me to believe there will be a sequel and that I’m looking forward to.”

Kailana/Kelly at The Written Wordhas a joint review with Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. Good discussion there, and their review confirms that there is supposed to be a sequel.

What I Learned From Psalm 10

Aug17

Psalm 10 is really the other half of Psalm 9. The two psalms together form an acrostic poem in Hebrew. In English, the two psalms just share the same thoughts about the faithfulness and justice of God Most High.

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me;
I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”

7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.

9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees.”

12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?

14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Ain’t gonna study war no more. No more violence. No more curses, lies and threats. Greed and pride and murder and theft, banished. ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

However, in order for God to remove all evil from the world immediately, He’d have to remove me. As Chesterton once famously answered to the question, “What’s wrong with the world?”,

Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton

So, let’s go slowly, and God, first of all, have mercy on me, a sinner. Then, create in me a clean heart and start scrubbing the rest of the world clean, too. One soul at a time. Yes, I want God to defend the fatherless and listen to the cry of the afflicted. We just all need to remember that sometimes we ARE the perpetrators rather than the victims.

May all of us terrify and be terrified no more.

What I learned: God’s got a big job. I thank Him for the times he’s rescued me, and others, from myself. And I pray that He will break my arm, or anything else that needs to be broken, before He allows me to become like the man described in verses 2-15 of Psalm 10.

What I Learned from Psalm 9

Aug16

1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.

4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.

7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.

8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.

9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

13 O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of the Daughter of Zion
and there rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16 The LORD is known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations that forget God.

18 But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.

20 Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.
Selah.

Psalms 9 and 10 form a single acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.

This psalm contradicts believers in a Clockmaker God who wound up the universe and now sits back to watch it spin. Either they are right, or David was right. God not only creates and sustains; He acts. We may not understand His timing or His allowing evil to flourish for a time, but He “is known by His justice.” He does not ignore the cry of suffering humanity. He avenges blood. He remembers. He is a refuge and stronghold. He will rebuke the nations, destroy the wicked, judge the world, and govern the peoples. He is our Hope and our Salvation.

What I learned: God acts, and He is in control.

Sunday Salon: More Fascinating Stuff

Aug15

1. I told you I’m a C.S. Lewis fanatic. And I could always use some writing tips. Thanks to Jessica at Homemaking Through the Church Year for the link to 8 Writing Tips from C.S. Lewis. Lewis wrote this advice on writing in answer to a letter from an American schoolgirl, so it ought to be about on my level.

2. Homeschooling and finishing the race from Cindy at Ordo Amoris:

“It would be easier to not read the Little House series aloud for the 4th time. It would be easier to let those young boys sit at the computer or watch DVDs all day long. But homeschooling and child training are not hobbies for me. They are my calling. If I was purposeful and eager 25 years ago, I want to be ever so much more so today. It is going to take a lot more prayer and way more caffeine. I have lost a whole boatload of naiveté.”

3. “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman. I love that quotation. What makes you come alive?

4. The Night Gift by Patricia McKillip, recommended by Peter at Collecting Children’s Books despite its outdated illustrations, deals with some of my fascinations: mental illness, secret rooms and hideaways, young adults acting like adults. I know I’ve read something by Ms. McKillip, but I can’t remember what it was. Anyway, I’m adding The Night Gift to my TBR list.

5. Language and how it works and different cultures seeing things in different ways are also subjects that interest me. So, I found this article from the Wall Street Journal about the influence of language on thought patterns to be, well, fascinating.

“Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?”

I read once that the ancient Hebrews thought about words as living entities. If your words “fell to the ground,” they were not only untrue but also dead. How does this idea affect the language used in the Bible to describe Jesus as “the Living Word of God”? Amazing stuff.

6. Susan Wise Bauer on what to look for and what not to look for as you send your homeschooled or conservatively educated student to college:

“I’m often asked how home educated students stack up against others in my classes. My overwhelming impression is that they’re more fragile. They’ve got little resilience; I can’t push at their presuppositions even a little bit. Maybe they’re afraid those presuppositions will shatter.”

I would very much like for my young adults to be resilient, thinking, teachable students by the time they get to college. But I’m not always sure how to get there from here. I think two of my already graduated students fit that description, and the other two don’t. And I further believe that the two who think deeply and respond to challenges well got that way mostly as a result of their own attitudes and desire to learn. You can lead a horse to water . . .

7. Lists, lists, lists. Love lists.Miss Rumphius reviews a book, 100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days, and gives some other links for ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school. She says that day generally falls around mid-February, so I’m looking forward to taking a day off about that time and having a 100 days party.

8. Another list: important dates to memorize.

9. I’m really interested in this (free) class:

I’m not much of an artist, but I would like to make a journal/photo album for my husband’s family for Christmas using old family photos and excerpts from my father-in-law’s old journals. Wish me luck.

10. More Lewis and Tolkien and England and Oxford: fish and chips, bobbies, The Kilns, tea, Tolkien’s gravesite, Addison’s Walk, Piccadilly CIrcus, Les Miz, even a little Shakespeare. Bill of The Thinklings got to go to London and Oxford to visit his son Andrew who is studying there with a group from Baylor. When will it be my turn?

11. Morbidly fascinating: Augustus St. Clair, Pro-life Hero. Can you guess what newspaper published an article with the following opening statement? (Medical malpractice was a euphemism for abortion.)

“The enormous amount of medical malpractice that exists and flourishes, almost unchecked, in the city of New York, is a theme for most serious consideration. Thousands of human beings are thus murdered before they have seen the light of this world, and thousands upon thousands more of adults are irremediably robbed in constitution, health, and happiness.”

12. Science and religion. Scientists creating religion. Science masquerading as truth. All of these are definitely fascinating. See this NY Times oped for more information on kooky scientists and their confusion concerning what man really is and what separates us from machines.

. . . a great deal of the confusion and rancor in the world today concerns tension at the boundary between religion and modernity — whether it’s the distrust among Islamic or Christian fundamentalists of the scientific worldview, or even the discomfort that often greets progress in fields like climate change science or stem-cell research.

If technologists are creating their own ultramodern religion, and it is one in which people are told to wait politely as their very souls are made obsolete, we might expect further and worsening tensions. But if technology were presented without metaphysical baggage, is it possible that modernity would not make people as uncomfortable?

Returning to Fascination #3, if we begin to speak of robots and algorithms as human entities, will they become human in our thinking, or will we become less than human and unable to realize the potential for which God made us?

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris

Aug13

Paul Harris is a British journalist, and The Secret Keeper, according to the author blurb, is his debut novel. It’s a good one.

The story, set in twenty-first century Sierra Leone, follows journalist Danny Kellerman as he attempts to discover the reasons behind a letter from his former girlfriend:

Danny,

I need you. I’m in trouble. I know it’s been too long. I’m sorry. It’s my fault and I hope you forgive me. I can’t use the phones or email to ask you this. They are not safe. I need you to come to Freetown to help me. I’ll explain it all then.

All my love as ever,
Maria

When Danny receives Maria’s letter, he’s immediately drawn back into thoughts of his previous stay in Freetown, Sierra Leone, four years earlier. And he remembers Maria, the beautiful American aid worker whose life’s work was to rescue and rehabilitate the child soldiers of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front).

Since the novel is set in a still violent and unsettled Sierra Leone, where people are trying to forget the past as much as deal with it, there is a lot of nasty violence in the book. There are also way too many f-bombs. However, I chose to ignore these issues because I’m quite interested in Africa, and particularly in Sierra Leone. I have a young friend who left that country as a boy over ten years ago, and who was severely injured in the violence that engulfed Sierra Leone in the 1990’s. My friend, E., survived; many young boys who would be his age now did not.

I learned some things from this novel that I did not know before:

Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds, and in fact, much of the war there was fueled and financed by the diamond mines. I sort had an impression that diamonds had something to do with the trouble in Sierra Leone, but the book and other stuff I read online clarified that connection.

Many of the diamond mines used to be operated by Lebanese businessmen. The Lebanese have been immigrating to Sierra Leone since the late 1800’s, and by the mid-twentieth century many of them had become rich and powerful as traders, particularly traders of diamonds, both legally and illegally.

The RUF army was brutal. The leaders of the army recruited children, ages seven to twelve, and often forced them to murder their parents and other family members. They also had a “tradition” of amputating hands, arms, and legs of captured soldiers and of civilians. However, they were non-ideological, espousing neither Marxism nor fascist nationalism nor any other real ideology. They seemingly thrived on pure evil and violence and a desire for power.

The war in Sierra Leone is estimated to have cost the lives of 200,000 people, with countless wounded.

The Secret Keeper was a disturbing spy-novel look at a modern day atrocity. The book was originally recommended to me by SuziQOregon at Whimpulsive.

What I Learned from Psalm 6

Aug13

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.
A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

3 My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?

4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.

5 No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

Need a little help with Psalm 6?

I’ve named this psalm “The Weeping Psalm.” I read it when I’m depressed beyond reason, and I can’t say that I’m immediately filled with joy; however, I am encouraged to know that my tears are absorbed in the ocean of His unfailing love.

If you listen to some people, depression is epidemic in our society. I honestly don’t know what to tell you to do if you’re depressed. I’ve been dealing with what I think is hormone-induced periodic depression for several years now. It’s not fun. However, taking a little blue pill to artificially improve my mood doesn’t feel right to me either. So, I continue to cry and to cry out to the Lord, knowing that He hears every cry and will defeat every enemy, even the ones that steal my joy from within myself.

What I learned: I’m not the only one who cries a lot. “The Lord has heard my weeping.”

What I Learned from Psalm 5

Aug12

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.

10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

What I learned: Bad people=BAD. Forgiven people=GOOD. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace, renewed every morning.

What I Learned from Psalm 4

Aug11

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Selah

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Selah

5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

It sounds like a prayer in the night. I often pray at night: when I’m settling down to sleep, when I can’t sleep, when I awaken in the night. If I fall asleep in the middle of my prayer time, that’s OK. God is still there, watching, working, keeping the world turning.

I wonder how it sounded when David or his musicians played and sang this psalm 3000 years ago?

What I Learned: I could afford to search my heart and be silent, instead of nursing my anger and hurt feelings and rehearsing the real and imagined offenses I’ve experienced and what I wish I’d said or done in response. “Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.”

What I Learned from Psalm 3

Aug10

I got this message from a friend on Facebook this morning:

If you’re reading Psalm 3 today, you might want to read II Sam. 15-19 to get the rest of the story.

So, of course, I looked up “the rest of the story,” the very sad story of David and his beloved, rebellious son, Absalom.

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
Selah

3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

4 To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah.

Selah is a mystery word. It may be a musical notation, or an instruction to “stop and listen,” or something else entirely. I like mysteries.

What happened with Absalom and David is no mystery. Absalom, David’s oldest son and heir, decided that old dad wasn’t running things the way Absalom thought he should. So Absalom became a politician, handing out favors and talking about what he would do if he were king. And the BIble says, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”

Then, when Absalom’s popularity was at its height, he gathered his friends and sycophants together and took over the kingdom, driving David out of his palace and making him a fugitive for the second time in his life. When David was young he ran away from Saul and waited for God to fulfill His promise to make David king. Now, in his old age, David runs away from Absalom and waits for God to vindicate and defend him.

And sometime during this time of dishonor and uncertainty and danger, David wrote Psalm 3, a psalm of faith and courage and assurance.

Share Psalm 3 by Salvador

What I learned: When everything looks dark and hopeless, God is still in control. I can lie down and sleep and leave the world and all its nonsense and evil intentions and complications to Him. He sustains; He answers in His time; He delivers.

What I Learned from Psalm 2

Aug9

Well, I learned from my pastor that the late Rich Mullins wrote a song based on this psalm:

1Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
3“Let us break their chains,” they say,
“and throw off their fetters.”
4The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6“I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.
8Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9You will rule them with an iron scepterf;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
10Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The New Testament frequently quotes and alludes to Psalm 2:

Matthew 3:17, at Jesus’ baptism: And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5, on the Mount of Transfiguration: While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Acts 4:25-27, in Peter’s sermon: You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

Acts 13:32-33, in Paul’s sermon: We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

Hebrews 1:5, as further proof of Jesus’ uniqueness: For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?

Hebrews 5:5, as God the Father’s Chosen One: So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

What I learned: Jesus is Lord. He always has been. He is the unique Son of the Living God of the Universe. Whatever the powerful people of this earth may say or do, all the books we write, all the speeches we make, all the influence we think we have, God is above and beyond, transcending all our petty power games and manipulations. Jesus is Lord.