Writing to Think

I always read non-fiction books with a pencil in hand. I find I think better and remember information more, if I underline, bracket, star, or write a short comment in the margin. I've done this for quite a while, but never really thought about how it helps me think until recently. And it gave me a "teaching" idea.

So I am starting a new activity in my Grade 9 English class: annotation. It is a great way to encourage students to think beyond the surface of a piece of writing and find a deeper and more personal connection with the text.

I have really begun thinking about the need for me to teach my students how to think. It is a difficult job, and one that does not happen without intentionally finding ways to foster this skill. I cannot just be teaching them the parts of a short story, or how a theme is explored through many different episodes in a novel, and I definitely cannot just expect them to regurgitate facts and information about Shakespeare and his  many plays. I cannot even merely explain to them how a story works and how a character is developed.

I have to be teaching them how to think about what they are learning. Can they find these connections on their own? Do they have the skills to analyze the story themselves?

When my students annotate a speech from The Merchant of Venice, they are not just coming to a deeper understanding of what the character is saying, but learning to think critically.

I've been thinking about this, and have come to the realization that this is one of the most important skills that I can teach. Annotating a story or a poem is the first step towards thinking deeper about everything that they read and hear and watch. I hope that this will help them to develop those habits of mind that will help them to think critically and carefully about the books they read, the movies they watch, the sermons they hear. This is a skill that will, I hope, help them to grow in their walk as Christians, as well as human beings.

"But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

(Hebrews 5:14 ESV)

". . . that I may clasp your hand with all my heart. . ."

"'Lord hear my prayer’ (Ps. 60:2) that my soul may not collapse (Ps. 83:3) under your discipline (Ps. 54:2), and may not suffer exhaustion in confessing to you your mercies, by which you have delivered me from all my evil ways. Enable me to love you with all my strength that I may clasp your hand with all my heart. ‘Deliver me from all temptation to the end’ (Ps. 17:30). You Lord are ‘my king and my God’ (Ps. 5:3 ; 43:5)."

St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 1  (I. 24.17)

A heart clasp. . . what a lovely image.

The Singing Flute of Spring

One day in late March when I was about sixteen or seventeen I bought a CD of French Impressionist flute and piano music, and ever since this style always means Spring to me. It is forever associated with slowly warming sun beams, melting snow drifts, and the cheerful whistle of returning robins. It brings the promise of crocuses and tulips pushing through still-cold earth on the sunny south side of my neighbour's house and the relief of ever-lengthening daylight. There is something about this music which embodies Spring's strange dichotomy of warm and cold, dark and light.

Bright notes of silver and gold float through the air, and I'm instantly transported. I'm drinking sweet, milky darjeeling in the sunny living room of my parents' old house. I'm walking home from town on a warm, melty spring day wearing just a sweater, feeling ever-so-free without my heavy winter coat. I'm snuggled up in an armchair with a favourite book. It means simple pleasures: the musty smell of dirt after winter when the snow melts, a misting of green buds on the trees, the trickle of melt water in the drain pipes and down the road drains, lying on the floor in a square of warm light, variegated tulips, and the first dandelion of spring.

Tips on Writing from C.S. Lewis

Some great tips from a brilliant writer. . . 

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else. 

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them. 

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.” 

4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.” 

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

- found at: http://www.narniafans.com/archives/12608

A Still, Small Voice

That look—the one only a parent (or a teacher) can give to an erring child—its message is unmistakable—stop it or face the consequences. The parent doesn't have to say a word—no yelling required—but the child gets the message.

God often works with us in the same way. We can see this with Elijah in 1 Kings 19: 9-18. Elijah is on the run after Jezebel has threatened to kill him. He has gone through the wilderness and has been met and nourished by God for the journey, and finally he comes to a cave where he decides to stop. After Elijah decides to stop running, God comes to him and confronts him with a question. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah doesn't really answer the question, but instead trots out his excuses: “I've been doing all this good stuff for you, Lord, but those unbelievers are trying to kill me, the only prophet left.”

God doesn’t reply to this, but instead tells Elijah to “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” Elijah obeys and is shown three powerful elements–wind, earthquake, and fire. But the Lord is in none of these. Then he hears “the sound of a low whisper” a small, still voice (NKJV) and this is the Lord.

Despite His power, God doesn't often come with a pounding at the door or a thunderbolt or a whirlwind or something else equally earth-shattering. Often He comes with a gentle tap—the “still small voice” which is just as much God's call as any of the “obvious” calls and/or warnings He may send. The trouble is that the quiet prod at the conscience or the tender oh-so gentle reminder can be so easily pushed away. God's “low whisper” is easy to ignore—especially when our life is going well. It is more easily ignored than the wind, earthquake, and fire. Yet His whispers are no less convicting than these. 

The little voice that speaks in your heart—the one that reminds you of the things you have or haven't done—the things you've been neglecting—that voice is easy to stifle with busyness and other things.

This tendency to let the busyness of life (whether intentionally or not) drown out the still small voice is what part of what Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung outlines in her book Glittering Vices as being a big part of the vice of sloth. She writes that “the apathetic inertia of the lazy person andthe perpetual motion of the busy person [ . . . ] both reveal a heart afflicted by this vice.” Traditionally, the vice of sloth is opposed to diligence; however, DeYoung points out that it is not just about the difference between apathy and work ethic. Instead, she says that busyness and workaholism are “sloth's classic symptoms.” 

Sloth isn't just about not doing things; it IS about not doing what you shouldbe doing.

God comes with a still, small voice. He waits to be gracious to us (Isa30:18) —He does not willingly grieve the children of men (Lam 3:33b). But if He has to be rough with us, He will be. Just look at how he deals with Israel's inconstancy throughout the Old Testament. However, He is merciful and very, very patient. He even repeats Himself to get the message into our thick skulls and stony hearts.

Looking at how God deals with Elijah, we can see that repetition plays a large role. God asks Elijah twice “What are you doing here?” and even though He gets the same self-centred answer from Elijah both times, He still persists, reminding Elijah that He is in control, NOT Jezebel.

God doesn’t leave us alone; He repeats Himself—a lot—because He wants us with HIM.

Sometimes it might be easier to get the earthquake— because we would have a clear sign—but then we wouldn't have to follow God's command, to listen and be obedient.

1 Kings 19: 9-18
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold,the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Music is Water for the Soul

Music is water for the soul. The many drops of sound all running together to create a harmonious stream pour over the frazzled or gasping psyche and smooth away all the edges that threaten to tear an emotional hole in the fabric of our being.

Sometimes it is a glacial mountain stream, sometimes a reflecting pond, sometimes the drifting arctic snow, sometimes the wild untamed surf of an ocean. Sometimes it is a bath or a steaming hot shower. Occasionally it is a mud puddle to splash into with both feet.

Always it comes with its own liquid grace.

http://piccsy.com/2011/09/water-music/

There is music for every mood, for every emotion, for every soul. Music for pain, for joy, for love, for loneliness, for grief, for exultation, for praise, for heartache, for pensive regret, for soul-wearying exhaustion, for exhilaration, for the dull, plodding everyday and for the once-in-a-lifetime, wish-upon-a-star occasions.

It shapes itself to you. What you need, it will be.

Find the right music and you can change your mood, your mental equilibrium, perhaps even your life.