Random Babbling of the Late Night

Have you ever placed the headphones on your ears and cranked up the volume? Instrumental music is the best for this. You soon get lost in the mood of the music. Funny, isn't it, how some notes on a page combined with some instruments can bring about such emotion? You feel as if you know exactly what the composer was thinking and feeling when he jotted those little black notes down. Your heart races as the trumpets and violins rise in a crescendo and then sink into almost nothing to rise again in a melencholy wail. But within it, there is also hope of a brighter future. Perhaps I read too much into it. . . Music is a wondrous creation.

Thanks in part to "The King of the Golden Hall" in the Two Towers Soundtrack.

The Future

So I've been pondering lately whether or not I should go to college. A few months ago I would have said an emphatic, "yes" but now I'm not so sure. I suppose it would help if I knew what I want to do when I leave college.

My interests:
Reading
Writing
Photoshop
Music
Traveling

Out of those my career choices could be teaching english or music (I'd be a horrible teacher), go into editing or publishing (sounds up my alley), go into journalism (Would that mean I had to keep up with current events. . .), graphic arts (not quite good enough for that, and I have to artistic talent besides sticking pictures together. . . which thankfully doesn't require much). That's generally where I stopped and so I picked out two colleges that had publishing/editing majors or minors. But I'm not sure that's where I should be. So I thought, traveling, what about a job as a flight attendant? Now that sounds very cool. So, anyway, I still don't know what I'll be doing (most likely taking a year off to work and maybe take some community college courses) but I have some ideas.

~D.T. Faerie

Thoughts or comments, related or otherwise? Please comment!

There and Back Again

Bilbo Baggins was an unlikely fellow. . . I just finished reading The Hobbit (in case you hadn't guessed) and am reading it through again. Actually, I started it again before I finished it, so at one point I was reading it twice at the same time. Yes, I know, odd, but it is good. I'm taking notes and such this time, however, and typing out something of a curriculum. I love the songs Tolkien incorporated in each culture.

I'm afraid that's all I have time to say today

~D.T. Faerie

The Role of Women

I've just started going through a book called, "So Much More." It was written by two girls and is about God's role for women. In that context, it also touches a little on men's roles, particularily fathers. So far it has been thought-provoking and true as far as I can tell. I will most likely be recording my thoughts on it here.

They touched one point that some people wonder at, are men and women equally important? If one looks at history, it seems people thought they were not. Biblically, however, they were. God believes men and women are equal, however:

(Quote from the book)
"But this doesn't mean our earthly purposes and functions are the same. Equal doesn't mean identical. God gives different abilities and different jobs, according to His plan for order. And men and women are different. God created them to be different. He called them and their differences, 'good.'"

In the garden, God made us to be helpers and men to be leaders. It was only after the fall that this changed. But even now women help men whether they mean to or not. Even when a woman is over her husband, she is helping him.

"Women can help men lead badly. They do this by taking advantage of men's weakness to put themselves in charge."

I've wondered what might have happened had Eve never led and eaten the fruit. What if she had deffered to Adam?

That's about all I have time to write, but I thought those were some good points.

~D.T. Faerie

Women in the Military

So I've been reading through the TPS topic. I haven't finished reading it all, but I had some thoughts on what I've read so far. I take the view that women should not be in the military.

Direct evidence:

About Deborah:

Judges 4:6
"She sent and summond Barak. . . and said to him, 'Has not the Lord your God of Israel commanded you. . ."

And then she says what the Lord had commanded. Now, to me, this sounds as if the Lord had told him, not Deborah. Of course it could have been Deborah who told Barak in the first place. Either way, the Lord told Barak, not Deborah, what to do.

vs. 8
"And Barak said to her, 'If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me I will not go."

This sounds rather like cowardice to me. Barak is asking Deborah to come to a battle that he's too afraid to go to himself.

vs. 9
"So she said, 'I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will send Sisera into the hands of a woman."

So apparently asking Deborah to join him in battle was enough for God to punish Barak. From this instance it would seem God does not wish women to be in battle.

Another piece of evidence is in Numbers. God tells Moses the process by which to make an army. It seems that this is how he should do so whenever a battle needs to be waged.

Number 1:2-3
"Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above - all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies."

Indirect Evidence:

Being in the military and on the front lines will mean a woman would have to lead. So let's see what God says about women leading.

Timothy 2:9-15
I won't quote the whole thing, most is how women should dress (though you can glean wisdom of how they should act by how they should dress)
I'll pick it up in verse 11

"And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to teach in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. . ."

It seems rather clear there.

But I will continue by quoting Titus 2:3-5
"The older women likewise. . . that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

Now, some may argue this has to do with wives only or with teaching in church.

So let's look at an example of a woman who sought after leadership.

Miriam:

Numbers 12
Alright, so basically Aaron and Miriam are jealous of Moses. They both plan on 'taking over'. In other words, Miriam is wanting leadership. God was not pleased and He punished her. She was struck with leperosy.

Anyway, those were just some thoughts.

*bows out gracefully*

Lord of the Rings

Well, I have officially cried during a song. The first time I can recall doing so. The culprit is the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. Why? Well, it reminded me of home. The Lord of the Rings has quite a few memories attatched to it. Lovely memories of family, friends, evenings of uncontrollable laughter, and midnight talks of the future, the past, biblical confusion and other such deep issues. It's odd, I haven't really cried about moving but once before. I think I tend to keep my emotions bottled up. Maybe it's silly to have so much wrapped up in one thing, but I do like The Lord of the Rings. I love reading it on rainy days on my window seat (alas that I had to leave it behind) or on a sunny day outdoors surrounded by trees, deer, and squirrels. Or watching it with family and friends. Laughing, grimacing, cheering. And then I went to see the play during one of the greatest weeks of my life. Now it also reminds me of my time in London. The music of both the play and the movie were amazinf. But back to reality I must wander, away from the land of elves, hobbits, peaceful shires, and unruly orcs.
Namarie
~D. T. Faerie