Theology at the Theater–Les Miserables

The movie version of the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables opened in theaters yesterday, and our family was one of many who went to see it. At about this time last year, PWM and I saw the musical on stage at the PAC in Appleton. I completely fell in love with it. The movie adaptation is also amazing. But, what is this about theology?

The two main characters, Jean Valjean and Javert, embody grace and law, respectively. Early in the film, Jean Valjean is shown grace by a priest and is then told by the priest that he has been saved to do good. Valjean goes on to show grace – unmerited favor – to those around him, including Javert.

Javert, on the other hand, rigidly believes that the law must be followed in every situation and that there is no place for grace. He cannot fathom that Valjean even extends grace to him.

These are the two ways that we can approach life. We can try to follow the law, which is what many religions tell us we must do, but we find that we aren’t able. The outcome is only despair, as Javert discovers.

Accepting God’s grace (and, of course, extending it to others) is the other way we can live. This is so freeing! We don’t have to worry about whether or not we are good enough for God to love us. We can forgive others and let go of those debts that are owed us. Jean Valjean doesn’t have an easy life, but he has the freedom to extend grace to others, including Javert. In the end, his life has had more meaning.

Yes, it’s a movie about love, romance, freedom, the human spirit, and all of that other stuff, but it’s ultimately about grace. And the music isn’t bad, either.

Simplifying the Holidays

My word for 2012 was “Simplicity”. Simplicity and the holidays don’t really seem to go together, though. We were forced to simplify some of our routines because my headaches were pretty bad this December, but we also made some decisions to streamline our holidays to reduce stress and spend less money.

• PWM carved a conducting baton for Rosie Girl just like the one in the Zelda Wind Waker video game – and like the one used by the conductor of the Zelda Orchestra that we saw this Fall. For Wild Man, PWM knitted a “sleeve” that goes over Wild man’s guitar strap. It provides some padding as well as looking pretty cool.
• I knitted Wild Man a hat with a guitar motif that he loves and I’m working on a pair of socks. (One is finished, but the other one is about halfway done.)
• I’m still working on the hoodie for Rosie Girl. Several days before Christmas, I was hiding in my room and knitting my fingers off to get the sweater done, but was very stressed out. I finally told her what I am making so that I could knit out in the open. Now I just need to finish the sleeves and duplicate stitching on the back.
• Rosie Girl made earrings and a pendant for me and a keychain for PWM. Wild Man wrote us a song and performed it. The kids did purchase gifts for each other – but they told each other about the gifts long before Christmas, so there was no surprise. Interesting.
• I missed Rosie Girl’s recital and Wild Man’s band concert because of migraines. There’s nothing simple about that except that they’re both used to my headaches interfering with life. And Rosie Girl played her piece for me later that night.
• We didn’t do much baking this year. I made two kinds of cookie doughs. Rosie Girl made chocolate crinkle cookies for the people at work. Wild Man and I made spritz cookies for the Worship Team on Christmas Eve. I wanted to make a Buche de Noel (chocolate yule log cake), but didn’t get a chance before Christmas. Yesterday (12/26), I was feeling really good, so we had some friends over for dessert and I made a Buche de Noel and a pecan pie. And a good time was had by all.
• The kids played on the worship team for Christmas Eve service, so they practiced music a lot. In addition, they learned Christmas carols just for fun. Several times, we did spontaneous Christmas caroling here at home.
• For Christmas dinner, the kids requested roast beef, rice, and gravy. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious. And we made it special by having sparkling grape juice with it.

Overall, it was a good Christmas. We spent a lot less money than usual. We were less busy than usual. I think we’re going to continue to do homemade gifts and aim for simple holidays. We liked it.

Simplifying the Holidays

My word for 2012 was “Simplicity”. Simplicity and the holidays don’t really seem to go together, though. We were forced to simplify some of our routines because my headaches were pretty bad this December, but we also made some decisions to streamline our holidays to reduce stress and spend less money.

• PWM carved a conducting baton for Rosie Girl just like the one in the Zelda Wind Waker video game – and like the one used by the conductor of the Zelda Orchestra that we saw this Fall. For Wild Man, PWM knitted a “sleeve” that goes over Wild man’s guitar strap. It provides some padding as well as looking pretty cool.
• I knitted Wild Man a hat with a guitar motif that he loves and I’m working on a pair of socks. (One is finished, but the other one is about halfway done.)
• I’m still working on the hoodie for Rosie Girl. Several days before Christmas, I was hiding in my room and knitting my fingers off to get the sweater done, but was very stressed out. I finally told her what I am making so that I could knit out in the open. Now I just need to finish the sleeves and duplicate stitching on the back.
• Rosie Girl made earrings and a pendant for me and a keychain for PWM. Wild Man wrote us a song and performed it. The kids did purchase gifts for each other – but they told each other about the gifts long before Christmas, so there was no surprise. Interesting.
• I missed Rosie Girl’s recital and Wild Man’s band concert because of migraines. There’s nothing simple about that except that they’re both used to my headaches interfering with life. And Rosie Girl played her piece for me later that night.
• We didn’t do much baking this year. I made two kinds of cookie doughs. Rosie Girl made chocolate crinkle cookies for the people at work. Wild Man and I made spritz cookies for the Worship Team on Christmas Eve. I wanted to make a Buche de Noel (chocolate yule log cake), but didn’t get a chance before Christmas. Yesterday (12/26), I was feeling really good, so we had some friends over for dessert and I made a Buche de Noel and a pecan pie. And a good time was had by all.
• The kids played on the worship team for Christmas Eve service, so they practiced music a lot. In addition, they learned Christmas carols just for fun. Several times, we did spontaneous Christmas caroling here at home.
• For Christmas dinner, the kids requested roast beef, rice, and gravy. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious. And we made it special by having sparkling grape juice with it.

Overall, it was a good Christmas. We spent a lot less money than usual. We were less busy than usual. I think we’re going to continue to do homemade gifts and aim for simple holidays. We liked it.

Big News!!

 

Rosie Girl got accepted into The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point!!! It was her first choice of a college, and the only one she’d applied to. What an exciting day! We’re thrilled that she got into the college she wanted, of course. We’re also happy to see that all these years of teaching her at home have paid off. Plenty of homeschoolers of our acquaintance have attended or are attending universities, so I know (intellectually) that Rosie Girl was almost certain to get accepted at UWSP, but it’s so nice for it to be confirmed.

The next step is for her to get her music audition scheduled. She’s had her two reference forms filled out. Now she needs to fill out her form and send it in and get a date and time for audition (hopefully in March). Then, it’s time to practice. And practice. And then practice some more. She wants to study composition, but they don’t have a composition major right now, so she’d just be in the Bachelor’s of Music program, but she needs to audition on piano since it’s her strongest instrument. She’s already been working on her audition pieces – she and her piano teacher chose them last summer. And, of course, she needs to finish her high school courses. Because, yes, UWSP does require that I send them a final transcript!!

My baby girl is definitely off to college next year. Deep sigh.

 

Our Week In Review–December 8, 2012

 

What happened this week? I had migraines. That’s what happened. Oh, wait. What happened with homeschooling? Oh. Lots and lots of stuff.

Wild Man

History – Wild Man is learning about the mid-1800s in the USA and should be moving on to the Civil War soon. He is reading The Slopes of War, a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg.

Literature – He finished reading Tom Sawyer, which he really enjoyed. I found that he hasn’t been reading his poetry, so I decided to read it with him. Deep Sigh. I helped him understand similes and metaphors as we were reading Emily Dickinson, but Wild Man just doesn’t “get” Dickinson. That being said, he had a much better time understanding metaphors and similes a few days later when he and Rosie Girl were singing “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from Mulan.

Writing – Wild Man wrote his paragraph this week about lakes. He and Rosie Girl both practiced clauses which helped Wild Man tremendously with doing the paragraph “dress-ups” that he’s supposed to do. Overall, I’m quite pleased with Wild Man’s writing these days.

Bible – We started using BibleMesh last week and Wild Man seems to be doing well with it. BibleMesh covers seven different eras of biblical history and I had Wild Man start with the unit about Jesus. It includes video, written information, and quizzes. We’re pretty happy with the program so far.

Science – Last week was lakes and this week was rivers.

Music – Wild Man marched with the high school band in the Appleton and Weyauwega Christmas parades and enjoyed them both. He’s still playing in the youth band and occasionally with the adult worship team. He is also playing on the Christmas Eve worship team. Rosie Girl is giving Wild Man music theory/piano lessons so that Wild Man can play keyboards and be better equipped for guitar and bass playing.

 

Rosie Girl

Social Science – She’s reading Lies My Teacher Told Me which examines bias in how history is presented in standard textbooks compared to the reality of history. She’s going to read The Godless Constitution next.

Literature – Rosie Girl started reading Frankenstein. Her writing assignment early in the week was to write a scene from two different perspectives – right up my creative girl’s alley!

Math – She’s still working through Algebra 2. She’s also doing Dave Ramsey’s homeschool curriculum. She is now completely terrified about college debt and determined to not need any loans for her college years.

Music – Rosie Girl’s piano recital was last Sunday. I missed it because of a migraine, but she did quite well. Her piano student’s recital is this Friday and Rosie Girl will also play her own recital piece there as well. Both girls (Rosie Girl and her student) are pretty excited! Rosie Girl is also playing keyboard for the church’s Christmas Eve program, which I find exciting since Rosie Girl doesn’t usually enjoy performing.

 

That’s our week. Not very exciting, but reasonably educational. How was your week?

7 Quick Takes Friday–December 7, 1012

 

And I finished on Saturday again. Oh, well. I spent Friday evening at a sock knit-a-long at our knitting shop and had a great time, so I don’t mind that this is a bit late.

1. Rosie Girl is giving Wild Man piano and music theory lessons. So far, they haven’t annoyed each other to death. Wild Man is paying by agreeing to play a game that Rosie Girl wants to play.

2. Our cable/DVR box died last Saturday morning. Charter actually had a service guy out here by 3pm to replace the box. Very cool.

3. In the last week, I’ve watched both seasons of Downton Abbey and now I’m ready for Season 3. So, get going, PBS!!

4. I’ve been knitting like a crazy woman this week. I’ve been working on gifts for family as well as a sock for The Knitting Nest’s Fellowship of the Ring knit-a-long.

5. We finally got all of our Christmas decorations up except for lights. I’m going to tell Wild Man to put them up or put them back in the basement.

6. Last Sunday, Rosie Girl had a piano recital and Wild Man marched with the band in the Christmas parade. I missed both because of a migraine. Alas.

7. A 14 year old daughter of a friend was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and will soon start chemotherapy. She’ll probably lose her hair so I’m making a hat for her. Not only does it need to be fashionable, but up here in The Great White North, it needs to be warm!! I found a really cool hat pattern and have some lovely wool/bamboo yarn. I have been enjoying knitting it so far and I think she’ll really like it.

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are doing! And have a great week!!

And They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love . . . .

One of the best songs to come out of the Jesus movement of the 1970’s had to be “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”. It’s so true. We are to be known by our love. The love that humans can share is just a shadow of the love from God, but, as Christians, we have a bit of God’s love coming through us.

1 John 4 is almost all about love. I love this section:

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We are known to be followers of Jesus by love – radical, crazy, give-it-all-up love. Because God loved us enough to send us Jesus – a radical, crazy, give-it-all-up kind of guy (who was also God).

In the psychosis we call “The Christmas Season”, let’s remember that our response to Jesus’ love should be to love others. In fact, if we have the Holy Spirit in us, how can we do anything else?

Love others. How? Give thoughtful gifts this holiday season. Tell your friends and loved ones that they’re loved. Turn off the TV and play a game or read with your kids. Smile and say something nice to the retail clerk. Do something just for someone else’s benefit.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Glorious Ruin–Book Review

Rarely will I call a book a “must read”, but I think this is one. Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free by Tullian Tchividjian is a short book but packs a lot of truth. Of course, I wanted to read it. Having chronic headaches makes me feel like quite the “sufferer”. The fact is, though, that life is full of suffering, even those of us born to middle class American families. It may not seem as big or bad as the suffering of those in third world countries or those in our country struggling with illness or other problems, but our suffering is real nonetheless. And this book helps us to face it head on and deal with it.

Tchividjian starts by making the point, as I noted above, that suffering is inevitable and it is serious, even that suffered by middle class Americans. He next moves on to remind us that our suffering is not part of a big payback and reward system. God wants to save us, not just make us feel better.

He also introduces the ideas of the “Theology of Glory” – working our way up to being good enough for God to take away our problems – and the “Theology of the Cross” – accepting the grace God has given us through Jesus’ finished work on the cross, including the grace to walk with us through suffering.

In the chapter “Suffering Honestly”, we are encouraged to face our suffering, but not to obsess over it. In fact, Tchividjian makes the point that the more we focus on what we are learning from a given situation, the more we become inwardly focused. When we do this, we start to think about how we should respond to suffering instead of focusing on Jesus.

Our tendencies in dealing with suffering are to either moralize it or minimize it. Moralizing suffering is the Christian version of karma – if we do all the right Christian things, God pays us back by taking away our suffering. Prosperity gospel at it’s finest! (And total bunk, by the way.) Minimizing suffering is our tendency to reduce or downplay our own suffering. In both minimizing and moralizing suffering, we’ve left God and his grace out of the equation, assuming we can manage on our own. But, we can’t.

I’m not going to tell you the entire conclusion – read the book!! Suffice it to say that the final answer to everything is the Gospel. Not a few selected verses, but Jesus. Our suffering brings us closer to Jesus and teaches us a new way to view the world.

So, get this book and read it. You will be glad you did.

Security

I’m (intermittently) reading A Long Obedience In the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson. Last night, I read the chapter on security and thought it was excellent. So often, in our piety, it’s easy to start to worry so much about “practicing holiness” or “following God” that we forget that God is our security and salvation.

This doesn’t mean that we should quit doing the good works which God has planned for us, but rather that we should trust in God, not only for our salvation, but for the grace to walk with Jesus. Peterson uses Psalm 125 as his text for this chapter of the book:

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,^(A)
which cannot be shaken^(B) but endures forever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,^(C)
so the Lord surrounds^(D) his people
both now and forevermore.

³ The scepter^(E) of the wicked will not remain^(F)
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.^(G)

⁴ Lord, do good^(H) to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.^(I)
5 But those who turn^(J) to crooked ways^(K)
the Lord will banish^(L) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.^(M)

“The Lord surrounds his people”. What a wonderful and encouraging line. I really don’t have anything to add.