Wooee it's been a while since I've written on here! I've been questioning and praying and talking and laughing and hurting and wondering and crying and smiling and singing and dancing and sobbing and sighing and shaking and speaking and staying in the arms of my God. Life is a wonder; pain reaches deep, but God reaches deeper still; I don't know what the future holds (that's what makes it the future), but there is One who does. And when I am touched by sorrow---
My soul is downcast within me;
       therefore I will remember you
       from the land of the Jordan,
       the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

 Deep calls to deep
       in the roar of your waterfalls;
       all your waves and breakers
       have swept over me.

 By day the LORD directs his love,
       at night his song is with me—
       a prayer to the God of my life.

(from Psalm 42)

What therapy arises from the presence of God as we behold His creation. How I would love to sit in the mist of a huge waterfall and inhale the dampness and greenness of the surrounding foliage and forest. To walk below tall trees and feel my smallness, to see the dome of the sky between the treetops, to glimpse the secret life of a bird on the wing, to feel the grit of sand and dirt on my skin. I must remember that I am no further from God's Presence even here surrounded by paper and plastic, cars and curbs and mobile phones. But I do long for the roughness and tenderness of rocks and sweet spring flowers, the realness of the quickened breath hiking up a forest path, the freedom of being out there, dirty but so cleansed, expanding into the purity of the forest. How I long breathe in that air!
 

Public Discussion: Chivalry and the Meaning and Value Thereof.

Initial definition, taken from Wikipedia:

Medieval chivalry is most easily defined when broken up into three basic but overlapping areas:
   1. Chivalry in relation to countrymen and fellow Christians: this contains virtues such as mercy, courage, valor, fairness, protection of the weak and the poor, and in the servant-hood of the knight to his lord. This also brings with it the idea of being willing to give one’s life for another’s; whether he would be giving his life for a poor man or his lord.
   2. Chivalry in relation to God: this would contain being faithful to God, protecting the innocent, being faithful to the church, being the champion of good against evil, being generous and obeying God above the feudal lord.
   3. Chivalry in relation to women: this is probably the most familiar aspect of chivalry. This would contain what is often called courtly love, the idea that the knight is to serve a lady, and after her all other ladies. Most especially in this category is a general gentleness and graciousness to all women.
(for the full article, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry  )

Opening comment: Looks like it takes a real man to be chivalrous. And, at least according to this definition, chivalry does not need to participate in the negative aspects of the heritage of western Patriarchal society (ie locking women into the stereotyped role of damsel-in-distress-who-cannot-do-anything-but-faint). Strong men of honor, strong women of grace.

Discuss!


Oh, and should the chivalry discussion fail to take off, here's a bonus question.

Who's your favorite leading man?

A. Wesley from "The Princess Bride"
B. Darcy from "Pride & Prejudice"
C. Shrek from "Shrek" and "Shrek 2"
D. If there is someone else you must mention, choose option D and present your case.