Marvelous Happy Things

I first learned of the concept of emotional purity in high school (around 2013) after someone suggested I read the book Emotional Purity  by Heather Arnel Paulsen. After first reading it, I agreed with many of the author's ideas. I decided to revisit the book and this concept to see if my thoughts on it have changed. Critiques are in italics. Emotional Purity is similar to the concept of physical purity, with it being an inner aspect of yourself that can be given away to many people or saved for one person. Paulsen relates a story that some women she surveyed remembered their first love, but few of them married their first love. She mentions that many women can become "emotionally married in [their minds] in less than ten seconds" (pg 98). While women can become emotionally attached to men, the opposite can also be true. Additionally, not all women form emotional attachments within a few meetings or dates. If someone uses this book as a handbook for social gatherings,...

I'm going to write this carefully. I don't want to make unfair comparisons, and every fan who interacts with and consumes media is unique. But I do think that some points need to be made. I, for one, can combine my affection for characters with my affection for the people who portray them. This could be unhealthy. Here are some examples that show the divide between imagination and reality: Somewhere in Los Angeles, Dylan O'Brien and Holland Roden rehearse a scene as Stiles and Lydia. The director yells, "Cut!" Their day on the set of Teen Wolf is over. Dylan and Holland leave the set to spend the evening with friends. Miles away in another part of LA, Chris Evans finishes a comedic scene. The director dismisses the cast and crew. Chris goes to his trailer and changes from his Captain America costume into some casual clothes. He leaves the set, possibly to have dinner with some of his Avengers cast or hang out with his family. In a house in Indianapolis, Joh...

I‘m running, tripping, clawing at the trees around me to climb back up, losing my grip on the slippery moss. My breath rips out of my chest and throat, grasping oxygen desperately. I never look behind me—I‘m not running away, I‘m running toward. Toward what I don‘t know; I pray that it‘s home.             A tree root catches my foot and I tumble down. My body flings arms over legs over feet as I fail to protect myself from the roots and twigs that tear my skin. The scant moonlight disappears as the sticks do, and suddenly I‘m rolling over cold, hard dirt with no light whatsoever and no idea where I am.             I collide with a cool dirt surface. Light like that from candles reflects off the dirt around me, causing it to look reddish and alive. Slowly, I push myself off the floor and look around me. I‘m alone in a tiny dirt room that looks like a hollow cube, with no...

At long last, I've read  The Fault in Our Stars  by John Green - otherwise known as the one that makes girls cry. I didn't read it years ago when the movie came out, because I didn't want to cry. I saw the movie first. Because of that, some of this review will be comparisons between the two. I like that Gus tells Hazel that he loves her on a plane rather than in a restaurant. It makes the mundane ride seem more special (and he mentions oblivion). I like that the book explains Caroline Mathers' relationship with Gus so that the reader assumes it won't be the same with Hazel (because for an author to do that twice with a character is unoriginal). The worst part for me is when Peter Van Houten refuses to tell Hazel and Gus what happens to the characters in their favorite book. This frustrates me because characters, even though they are fictional, do matter to readers. Some would say that is the whole point of writing. Van Houten, as an author, needs to understand thi...

A friend of mine once said that Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment  is like a "dead man walking," and that he sees Sonya as a "dead woman walking," which is why he gravitates towards her. It wasn't until I was watching a fan video for Stiles and Lydia from Teen Wolf  ("Stiles and Lydia: Light" by leukocyte) that I was inspired. In season 3, Stiles is inhabited by a nogitsune, a demon spirit that controls him. He gravitates towards Lydia throughout the season, just like Raskolnikov gravitates towards Sonya. Lydia accepts Stiles once he is free from the nogitsune, just as Sonya accepts Raskolnikov after he has confessed his crime (Teen Wolf Wikipedia and Teen Wolf Wikia). Both couples are also rather unlikely, as Sonya and Raskolnikov do not meet until partway through the novel and Stiles and Lydia do not connect until partway through the series. Both also have much work to do to solidify their relationship once the men are free from their demons. ...

The following post was inspired by this weekend's 10th Lewis and Friends Colloquium at Taylor University. I'm not sure when I began reading The Chronicles of Narnia , but it must have been after I became a believer. I say that because I do not think that anyone explained the symbolism to me. I could tell from the imagery and my knowledge of the crucifixion that Aslan was meant to represent Christ. This was made even more apparent through visuals when the movie for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came out in 2005. I don't know how someone could read the Narnia series and not sense the Gospel. I am currently reading Lewis' Mere Christianity right now, and parts of it are difficult for me to grasp. I think the title is ironic. I prefer the theology portrayed in the Narnia series at this point. I recommend these books for helping both kids and adults understand spiritual topics such as heaven. For example, remember the description near the end of The...

I read the New York Times ' review of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman , and I was scared. It described the book as the equivalent of a horror remake of To Kill a Mockingbird . I did not want to read this new installment of Harper Lee's. However, being a student of literature, I knew that others would most likely be asking me about it, and so I read it. In To Kill a Mockingbird , the answers are simple. Stand up for the Negroes. The justice system will prevail rightly and protect those without privilege. Children can trust their parents to make wise choices. In Go Set a Watchman , Maycomb has changed. Jean Louise (Scout) does not enjoy these changes, and she confronts her worst fear: she and her father disagree. Though Atticus Finch appears to have changed, he has not really. He forces his twenty-six year old daughter to grow up. Jean Louise finds a new ally in her aunt Alexandra and an old one in her uncle Jack. The reader also learns about her relationship with possible b...

I read Out of a Far Country  by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan early last semester. Though I do not agree with everything that Christopher states about homosexuality, I will share some of his thoughts and experiences with you today. I encourage you to read this book if you want to know more about this issue from a first-hand (Christopher) and a second-hand (Angela) basis. All of these quotes are from Christopher's chapter titled "Holy Sexuality." Christopher first discusses the idols in his life. "The most obvious of all the idols that I had in my life was drugs.... for some reason, the pull was no longer their for me- maybe it was because their were other idols in my life that God wanted me to deal with." "Music pulled me back to the years when I lived for going to clubs.... But nightclubs could too easily lead me back to drugs- I didn't want that.... I decided to try to fast from listening to music.... eventually, it got easier, and finally it was ...