Between The Lines Of Life

There's this infatuation I have with cultures and beliefs. I don't know what it is about them, but they fascinate me. It's not that my faith in my religion is shaken at all, but I just love learning about other cultures and belief systems. I love finding the truths in them. I know it may seem counter productive to some, but I love being able to spot what truths other religions and belief systems contain and putting them to good use in my own life. Because of this, if you ever see me do something strange, that is why. I'm testing out something that other religions and belief systems do that I found interesting. One specific religion I love studying is Wicca. I've confessed to a few friends, and now I'm confessing to the rest of you, that if I weren't already a devout Mormon, I'd probably have been Wiccan. They share many of the same beliefs I do. They worship nature. There are a few flaws in their religion, but other than that it is a very good belief s

There's something about the new year. It makes you think you really can do anything... [Read More]

"For any whose lives are not in order, remember, it is never too late to make the Savior’s Atonement the foundation of our faith and lives." -Quentin L. Cook  At this time of year, it's a good time to order our lives. Figure out what's missing and what we don't need and fix it. That is what I plan to do this next year. I'm not just going to keep sitting around doing nothing. Instead I am going to order my life around the Gospel. That's what I got out of this quote. What did you get out of it? Have a good year! <3Claire Quick Note: I posted a new picture on A Snapshot of My Life . Go look!

Recently, you may have noticed the extra posts I've added here and there. They are posts I've posted on other blogs that I wanted to add to this one. I'm combining almost all my blogs now, because I think it will be easier to keep up with just one blog for all my blogging needs. You may have noticed the pages on the top of  my blog, they are to organize my posts for certain topics. You can more easily look up posts that way. Also, I will be posting 2-3 posts within the next week or so. I have several post ideas worked up. If they don't show up within the next week they'll definitely show up within the next couple weeks. (Probably because I scheduled them rather than posting them right away). Up next under post topics: Do Looks Really Matter? Babysitting New Year's Resolutions Not necessarily in that order. Keep an eye out for the one you want to read! If you have any questions/suggestions for the upcoming posts please provide your input in the comments

So, I've been on Christmas break for a week now, and it's been marvelous! Here is a quick run-down: December 12: My roommates and I all bought presents for each other, then we opened them together this night. It was a fun girl's night and we really bonded for the last time, since we won't be sharing an apartment next semester! It was a lot of fun. Then we watched Confessions of a Shopoholic and went to bed late. December 13: I finished the last of my finals and we cleaned the apartment thoroughly and packed all our stuff. Then we had White Glove. It was nerve wracking but we somehow made it! It was great to have everything done so early though! December 14: Hannah and I moved our stuff to our new apartment that we'll be living in next semester. We had some help from a couple roommates (Mariel and Abby W.) and Eric, one of our Family Home Evening brothers. That was fun and took most of the day. Then I packed the rest of my stuff, stuffed it in Abby W.'s ca

I would have named this post "Merry Christmas!" but it's not quite close enough yet, in my opinion... [Read More]

Lilith              Lilith  was an interesting read, wherein the main character – Mr. Vane – walks through a mirror and ends up in a fantasy land. There, he meets a Raven who happens to be his Librarian. The Raven offers him advice; however, Mr. Vane refuses the advice and instead does what he wants. This leads to quite a bit of craziness through the course of the story. This story has a very interesting theme of learning one’s identity and becoming really alive. MacDonald appears to believe that our lives right now aren’t really life but death, we need to sleep and die in order to become alive. There is also the theme of listening to our elders, because they know better. A lot of the things that happened to Mr. Vane would never have happened if he had just listened to Raven and Eve in the first place. Life is full of mistakes, but it always turns out alright in the end. That’s important to remember as well.             Mr. Vane goes into the mirror not wanting to leave his hom

I've been mostly going over Anodos and Mr. Vane's stories,  Phantastes  and  Lilith,  so I thought I'd go over the similarities between the two. I've noticed a few similarities, which is probably because they were written by the same author, but I think I'll go over what I can think of. Anodos --> Wanders aimlessly, doesn't pay attention to what others tell him, gets into a lot of trouble, finally does something worthy, figures out what his shadow is, dies, learns Mr. Vane --> Refuses to accept what has happened, ignores the Raven several times, meets the Little Ones and the stupid ones, allows himself to be held a captive, saves the evil princess, ignores the Raven again, leads Little Ones in war, gets his Lona killed, finally listens to the Raven, lives a short life with Lona who has come alive, finally goes home having learned something and continues learning. Both characters seem to love to either disobey other, wiser characters or to just not k

"We are often unable to tell people what they NEED to know, because they WANT to know something else, and would therefore only misunderstand what we said... What you call riddles are truths, and seem riddles because you are not true... And you MUST answer the riddles! ... They will go on asking themselves until you understand yourself. The universe is a riddle trying to get out, and you are holding your door hard against it." --  Lilith  page 525 of  The George MacDonald Treasury Life is a riddle, so is the Universe. We will never understand until we are Gods like Heavenly Father and have been "born again" with Him. I love this quote because it's the truth. We always misunderstand people because what we want and what he need to hear are two different things. I don't completely understand what he meant but I think the general gist of it is that in order to find out what a person needs to hear, we need to get past the barrier of what they want to hear.

"A man is as free as he makes himself, never an atom freer," answered the raven. "You have no right to make me do things against my will!" "When you have a will, you will find that no one can." "You wrong me in the very essence of my individuality!" I persisted. "If you were an individual I could not, therefore now I do not. You are but beginning to become an individual." --  Lilith  page 509 in  The George MacDonald Treasury This quote interests me. I kind of wonder exactly what MacDonald hoped readers would get out of this quote. However, what I got from it is more important at this moment. Personally, I think this means that we are only as free as our knowledge allows us to be. Individuality doesn't come until we've become who we are meant to be, and that requires knowledge. We always say that we are all free and that we have a will, but do we really? That is a very good question, of which the answer I don't know,

"Through my tears, the whole landscape glimmered in such bewildering loveliness, that I felt as if I were entering Fairy Land for the first time, and some loving hand were waiting to cool my head, and a loving word to warm my heart. Roses, wild roses, everywhere! So plentiful were they, they not only perfumed the air, they seemed to dye it a faint rose-hue. The color floated abroad with the scent, and clomb, and spread, until the whole west blushed and glowed with the gathered incense of roses. And my heart fainted with longing in my bosom.  "Could I but see the Spirit of the Earth, as I saw once the in dwelling woman of the beech-tree, and my beauty of the pale marble, I should be content. Content! - Oh, how gladly would I die of the light of her eyes! Yea, I would cease to be, if that would bring me one word of love from the one mouth. The twilight sang around, and infolded me with sleep. I slept as I had not slept for months. I didn't wake till late in the morning;

"I learned that it was not myself, but only my shadow, that I had lost. I learned that it is better, a thousand-fold, for a proud man to fall and be humbled, than to hold up his head in his pride and fancied innocence. I learned that he that will be a hero, will barely be a man; that he that will be nothing but a doer of his work, is sure of his manhood. In nothing was my ideal lowered, or dimmed, or grown less precious; I only saw it too plainly, to set myself for a moment beside it. Indeed, my ideal soon became my life; whereas, formerly, my life had consisted in a vain attempt to behold, if not my ideal in myself, at least myself in my ideal. Now, however, I took, at first, what perhaps was a mistaken pleasure, in despising and degrading myself. Another self seemed to arise, like a white spirit from a dead man, from the dumb and trampled self of the past. Doubtless, this self must again die and be buried, and again, from its tomb, spring a winged child; but of this my history

"As I stood exhausted amidst the dead, after the first worthy deed of my life, I suddenly looked behind me, and there lay the Shadow, black in the sunshine. I went into the lonely tower, and there lay the useless armor of the noble youths-- supine as they."  - Phantastes  page 289 in  The George MacDonald Treasury  This is the first time Anodos has done anything worth remembering, and he's so happy and excited, but sad and defeated at the same time, then he looks behind him and the shadow is still there. All this time it's been gone and now all of a sudden the shadow is back. This is when you first begin to realize what the shadow might be. I loved this quote because it was where you really began to see his character.

"Why are all reflections lovelier than what we call reality? -- not so grand or so strong, it may be, but always lovelier? Fair as is the gliding sloop on the shining sea, the wavering, trembling, unresting sail below is fairer still. Yea, the reflecting ocean itself, reflected in the mirror, has a wondrousness about it's waters that somewhat vanishes when I turn towards itself. All mirrors are magic mirrors. The commonest room is a room in a poem when I turn to the glass... In whatever way it may be accounted for, of one thing we may be sure, that this feeling is not cheat; for there is not cheating in nature and the simple unsought feelings of the soul. There must be a truth incolved in it, though we may but in part lay hold of the meaning. Even the memories of past pain are beautiful; and past delights, though beheld only through clefts in the grey clouds of sorrow, are lovely as Fairy Land. But how have I wandered into the deeper fairyland of the soul, while as yet I onl

Character: Anodos --> Boring, wandering around aimlessly, taking it all in Setting: Fairyland, nothing like Earth. Can't be compared to our lives. Textual: Language and setting=beautiful Page 240 of  The George MacDonald Treasury Why do you think MacDonald would present a world in which you die of desire? Longing Can't do anything about it Dissatisfied with our life right now Can be good or bad Lack of something in your life Paradox Missing someone/thing Long to fill an empty space Urgency Painful Innate feelings Gospel answers Love Companionship Happiness Make us want to fulfill our life and and fill the spaces in our heart/soul Can't control/long for something you have no control over hoping reaching for or working towards Those are just a few notes I kept during a class discussion. They're sort of enigmatic. I guess they kinda/sorta would only make sense to me, and perhaps some who have read Phantastes. Anyway, it was a

"Ah! that is always the way with you men; you believe nothing the first time; and it is foolish enough to let mere repetition convince you of what you consider in itself unbelievable."  - Phantastes  page 199 in  The George MacDonald Treasury I chose this quote because I thought it revealed something important that we should all think about seriously. I've come to notice that many people won't believe anything unless it's been proved, and not just once, but two or three times. What's not to understand or believe I don't completely understand, but it's the way of things it seems. I think we should always keep that in mind and learn to believe a bit more, we may find that what we need is a little faith to believe what is going on around us without needing more proof than necessary.

"Remember there's a Heavenly Father there, and when we do what He has asked us to do, He will bless us. Let's not deny Him the opportunity to fulfill his promises by taking it all upon us as if we had to do it all by ourselves." -Elder Oaks                                                                                                                             [Read More]