A tribute to my favorite movie...BBC's adaptation of Jane Eyre


I just finished watching this again last night, for the umpteenth-zillionth time. I think I watched it for the first time when I was about 14-15 years old, and talk about a formative experience...this movie could probably claim at least 30% of the reason why I became an English major in college. I remember thinking, if there are other stories out there like this, then YES, I think I should read literature for school and maybe one day get paid to read stuff like this?!?

Alas, it didn't work out quite that way (I spend my days reading medical documents and learning more about diabetes than 19th century authors and their brilliant works of art...) and I truly have yet to find a novel that even comes close to this book, but that's okay. It put me on the right path, and it is my absolute delight to revisit this book/movie whenever I'm feeling lowly. (Sense and Sensibility does that too...)

p.s. -- It doesn't get any better than this, kids!

drum roll...and my favorite reason for being in love with Spring...


I simply adore Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So much to say about this...

First I should probably say that Easter has only become my favorite holiday during the last few years. Growing up, I adored "the holidays" (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's) but I've had a growing dislike for these holidays with each passing year. Not that I don't enjoy or appreciate them still, but I certainly seem to observe and experience the "flaws" (for lack of a better word) of these holidays in how we celebrate them. I see so much stress surrounding Christmas, and really, I shouldn't even get started on Thanksgiving (can't resist...look, the Pilgrims did a great thing by coming to this country for freedom of worship, but folks, they were NOT perfect and I doubt they wanted to be commemorated by eating a piece of cooked fowl and throwing around a piece of pigskin!).

The process of Easter becoming my favorite holiday was already well underway by the time I went to England in 2002, but it was there that I truly experienced a new and fresh way of looking at this holiday and where it became sealed as my favorite. Kate (best friend) and I had traveled to England to fulfill a lifelong dream for both of us (to visit the "mother country" as we lovingly call it), and during our travels there, we stayed for several days with Kate's cousin Nigel, who is the vicar of the Knutsford Parish Church. Easter Sunday morning, we piled into Caroline's (Nigel's wife) old Volvo with their kids and drove to the church. Inside, the people celebrated as we do in this country with the singing of hymns and the taking of communion (although in the Anglican church, they've never heard of oyster crackers and grape juice...no, no, it's the real stuff there...Nigel placed a wafer on my tongue as I bowed in prayer at the altar, and then I sipped from the communal goblet of wine when it was passed to me). Nigel shared a simple message, and then after coffee and cookies in a reception room, we all piled back into the Volvo and went back to the vicarage. It was at this point that I realized the astounding differences between their celebration of Easter and our's (meaning, the American way). The congregation had not been awash in a sea of pastel clothing. When we got home, the kids did not cut loose in the yard, looking for hidden pastel eggs. Caroline's house did not sport a million ceramic bunnies and chickies and all that. I do want to say that I see absolutely NOTHING WRONG with these things. Not at all. But for me, I have discovered that these things had only ever served as a distraction. I found that without this type of pomp and circumstance, there was time in my day and room in my mind for real reflection on the meaning of the day. In fact, over Easter dinner (which was almost hilarious to me, for we dined on things like Greek salad and a spicy quiche...not your typical American Easter fare!), the whole family got involved in such a stimulating theological discussion that I had tears in my eyes. I found myself so grateful for being surrounded by such people, with such respect for the day. I will never forget that experience and how it changed my viewpoint.

However, I have to say that I think Easter is my favorite holiday simply because the spiritual implications are THE most important that a Christian can pause and meditate on and deeply celebrate within the soul. Even typing about it now, I get that feeling of awe in what the resurrection MEANS for us...without Christ's victory over sin and death, we would have NOTHING. No hope, no forgiveness, no redemption. No purpose in life, no meaning in death.

Praise to you Jesus for the marvelous gift that You bought and paid for with Your life, and the awesome hope that You achieved for us all when You walked out of that tomb, alive and glorious in Your majesty!!!

Sadly, probably not even an honest representation of the proportional importance of Starbucks in my life...

(this pic was taken not long after the grand opening of the [drive-thru!!!] Starbucks just off

I-65's Greenwood exit)

Spring come soon!

Practically everyone I know prefers autumn above all the other seasons, but not me! I am 100% a spring girl. It's probably because winter is inevitably a time of struggle for me...I have seasonal affective disorder (a quirky condition where a person's mood is drastically affected by the amount of sunlight he/she receives) and I dread the onset of winter, so more than likely I have some odd feelings of resentment toward fall as the harbinger of winter!

Anyway, spring is my favorite season. I've compiled a short list of the reasons why (and there seem to be jillions):
*the unfolding of new life. Flowers, trees, green, green, GREEN! My absolute favorite time in spring is the middle of May when the lilies-of-the-valley have bloomed. Every May I look forward to the random morning when my mom brings me a vase of these precious blooms (they only bloom in May!) as a surprise! They have the most fragrant sweet scent and look like little wedding bells.

*the vernal equinox. This might seem odd, but not really...the vernal equinox signals the change in light to dark ratio of the northern hemisphere. It is at this point that the northern hemisphere logs MORE light hours than dark hours during a 24-hour period, and it will continue this way until the autumnal equinox. Essentially, I get MORE SUNLIGHT!!! Just FYI, this year, the vernal equinox is occurring on March 20th at 6:26 pm, your local time. That's less than a month away!

*birds singing. Again, might seem a bit trivial, but as my family knows, I have this connection with morning doves. Can't explain it, but there's something so deeply comforting about the coo-coo of the doves in the mornings. They seem to be such serene creatures and their sweet sound lends such a soft atmosphere to the day. At our last house, I "had" a dove who I'd coo back and forth with, but alas, she didn't relocate when we did. I actually pray that we have a dove come to nest somewhere near our new place!

*oh, there's so many more reasons (and my favorite reason is yet to appear in my list!)...I don't have time to finish this post right now, so...to be continued!

An addition to the family...

Well, my sister has given me official permission to post the big news on my blog: Sarah and Garrett are expecting Baby #4!!!

Although this news wasn't exactly met with cartwheels and dancing at first -- simply because they have 3 kids aged 3 and under already! -- the news has sunk in now and we're all joyfully anticipating this final installment of their family (right guys? Final installment???). I'm very excited to meet another version of this particular baby species...I've been duly impressed with the first three specimens!!! I can only imagine how much fun I'll have with all four of my nieces and nephew(s?). Ethan, Ada, and Abby are truly the pride and joy of my family, and as Katie and I often say, their antics are "better than TV."

So, if everyone who reads my blog would be faithful in sending some prayers heavenward on behalf of my sister and her family, with special mention of this wee little person in her belly, who is about 10 weeks' gestation at this point. It is a marvel to me to know that this little one already has a beating heart, and a gender (though we don't know it), and even a name (only the Lord knows for sure right now, but I've heard I'm going to have either a niece named Avery or a nephew named Elijah, and my money's on the latter!). We'll be meeting Baby sometime around September 21st, and I can't wait to get my hands on him/her. I absolutely adore them when they're brand-new...so cuddable and lovable!!!

Thank you Lord for the promise of new life!
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"...Jeremiah 1:5

Image of a 10 weeks' gestational age baby:

The holiday mantel...

Okay, so the appearance of this post is a couple days late as Valentine's Day would have been a more appropriate day to show these!
In my last house, I used a console table as a "holiday table" and tried to get in the spirit of each holiday (with a few exceptions...I don't do St. Patrick's Day, for example!). Well, that console table is being used for a different purpose in our new house, so my mantel has become a "holiday mantel." It featured my "New England Village" houses and people for Christmas, but when I took that down, I wasn't ready to decorate for spring and Easter in January (unlike every retail store on the planet), so I thought, Valentine's Day! However, I really didn't want to decorate with paper hearts and pink candies...I wanted an elegant, sophisticated display that oozed classic romance instead of Hallmark Gold Crown. So, with the help of my dearest Kate, I came up with this display (small caveat: I am NOT a great photographer, so any picture I tried to capture the candlelight in is a bit blurry):














Kate had this wonderful idea to print off antique valentines and frame them, but upon further consideration, I was inspired to find translations of the words "I love you" in a couple of different languages (since I'm a pretty big fan of words, I thought it rather fitting). So, I printed these off and found some black satin frames at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $1.50 apiece!!!

Here is "I love you" in Spanish:















And in French and Hebrew:















The candles are Pier 1's newest scent, called "Mad Love."

To top it all off, I found this cherub candle-holder at TJ Maxx, which is my second favorite store (SteinMart is my MOST favorite store; I call it "Steiny" because I'm just that fond of it) for only $19. All in all, I think I spent between $40 and $50 on all the decorations (cherub, frames, greenery, candles), which was a splurge, but I can re-use everything next year but the candles!

Here's my little cherub:

What I'm reading now...

Adam gave me this book for my birthday, to support my ongoing quest to be the world's foremost lay-expert on British history, with an emphasis on British royalty. Okay, okay, so I have been primarily focused on the Tudor era (sorry, but Queen Elizabeth is too cool to stray far from for long), but I was lured out of Elizabethan England for the pleasure of experiencing another era of British history. And it hasn't disappointed me!!!

What has disappointed me is the warped version of history set forth in the 1995 movie, "Braveheart," based upon the life of the Scot, William Wallace and his foe, Edward the Longshanks of England. When "Braveheart" came out, I went to see it in the theatre with my sister Sarah, and without exaggeration, I can honestly claim that we wailed like hired mourners through the last half-hour of the movie. I was absolutely enthralled by the love stories, especially, and I thought the character of Princess Isabella to be lovely and brave, as seen in these wonderful screen captures from the movie:


So imagine my absolute dismay when, only 20 pages into my book, I've discovered the complete falsehood of the story!
Therefore, I find it my solemn duty as a foremost lay-expert-in-training to set the record straight...

First of all, Edward the Longshanks (or Edward I) wasn't exactly as nasty as Mel Gibson wanted us to believe. Yeah, the guy apparently had a pretty famous temper, but he wasn't cruel and sadistic. In fact, he brought a lot of stability to England and is considered by many historians to be one of the better kings out of the whole lot. Of course, the battles with Scotland are all-too-true and frankly, Longshanks shoulda just let them be (duh). However (and I'm not defending him here, just trying to provide context), it's actually true that the Scots weren't exactly pleasant to the English either during that time and were quite fond of swooping down into the border towns and wreaking havoc, doing their share of raping and pillaging and whatnot. So, Longshanks' actions can historically be viewed as either just defending what was his and/or a pre-emptive strike. Moving on.

Edward the II, his son, was not exactly the, um, overt homosexual that was portrayed. Indeed, Edward was rumored to have had at least two ongoing love affairs with men, on whom he bestowed ridiculous amounts of money throughout their time in his favor, and it's more than possible that he had homosexual relations with them. However, he wasn't a frail little sick puppy as he's shown in the movie. In fact, he was quite the handsome fellow, built like a warrior with a presence commanding enough to demand the respect of his peers. And, he and Queen Isabella actually had 5 pregnancies and 4 surviving children together, so it can't be assumed that all those rumors about him were necessarily totally true. His dad didn't toss his favorite fellow out a window, and he wasn't that simpering crybaby who was ordered about by his wife.

And speaking of his wife, Queen Isabella actually came to England as Edward's wife when she was 12 years old -- not the beautiful 25-ish we see her portrayed as in the movie. She was really nothing more than a little girl, and most importantly, her father-in-law Longshanks was actually dead by the time she arrived! Now if that doesn't spin your head where "Braveheart" is concerned, I don't know what will. Indeed, she was still a little girl by the time William Wallace was executed in England, so sadly, their love story simply could not have happened. Sigh.

One final note, though: I'm a firm believer that true honest-to-goodness history is MORE INTERESTING than fiction. And I believe Isabelle's true story will bear this out. The author is only letting slip little tidbits of clues as she moves toward the controversial stuff, but so far I've gleaned that this lady was quite the warrior herself and she's been given quite the bad rap throughout history, having been accused of some pretty naughty actions, including having her husband murdered! However, the author of this book has promised "the true story," which she says will show Queen Isabella to be a great lady who was the scapegoat for the crimes of others. In any case, I can't wait to find out!

Found! My Hosea notes...

Last year, I had the wonderful privilege of teaching a Bible study on the book of Hosea to a great group of women (Beth Jefferson's Bible study group). I finished the study right around this time of year, and then we moved into our new house in May, and sadly, I thought my notes hadn't survived the move and were gone for good. But, hallelujah, they are found! Adam just found them tucked away in one of his document folders, so I am going to post my notes here so they'll survive into infinity (well, as long as the Internet lives...), regardless of where life takes the Mancillas (and all their stuff).

I'm also posting them because a couple of people have asked me for my notes, and I'm only too eager to share them. Teaching this book was difficult (this isn't like teaching Psalms!), but probably my most rewarding experience in the Word of God to date. God showed me amazing things about Himself through this book: mostly how He is such a jealous God over us...He loves us so much He simply can't stand sharing us with anyone or anything else. What a beautiful truth to cling to! It is my hope that these notes will bless somebody, somewhere. God's Word does not return void!

So without further ado, here was my hand-out on Hosea 1:

HOSEA
Introduction and Chapter 1

Historical Background
When Solomon (David’s son who reigned after him) died, the Israelites were separated into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the southern Kingdom, Judah (10 tribes revolted and formed the Northern Kingdom of Israel; they did not want Solomon’s son Rehoboam as king, but the 2 remaining tribes were loyal to Rehoboam and formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah). Hosea lived in the Northern Kingdom and his king was Jeroboam II (13th king of the Northern Kingdom), a wicked king. Jeroboam II brought prosperity to the people of Israel (by taxing other nations under his power), but the people grew comfortable in their wealth and turned away from God. They committed many types of sin, but the sin that grieved the heart of God more than anything else was the sin of idolatry.
Because the division of the nation, Jeroboam I (the ancestor of Jeroboam II and the 1st king of the Northern Kingdom) was afraid of his people going to Jerusalem (into the Southern Kingdom) to worship, and as a result, that he would lose power over them. So Jeroboam I set up golden calves for the Israelites to worship, so they wouldn’t leave the Northern Kingdom for Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26-33). This idol worship became worse and worse over the next 150 years, as the Israelites began participating in drunkenness, religious prostitution, and human sacrifice.

Sin of Jehu
Jehu was the 10th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Jeroboam II’s great-grandfather. He wasn’t born into his kingship; in fact, he was actually just a soldier in the king’s army, when God commanded his prophet Elijah to anoint Jehu king in order to judge the sins of Ahab and Jezebel and stop their line form continuing. To do so, Elisha (who replaced Elijah) secretly anointed Jehu king and ordered him to destroy the house of Ahab, in accordance with God’s will. Jehu obeyed and killed King Joram (Ahab and Jezebel’s son) at Jezreel. Jehu then killed all the sons of Joram and Joram’s mother, Jezebel; then he killed all the ministers of Baal and destroyed the temple of Baal in Jezreel. All of this was in obedience to God and Jehu acted according to God’s will. However, Jehu did not go all the way in keeping with God’s will; he tolerated the worship of the golden calves in his kingdom. He destroyed one form of idol worship by getting rid of the Baal temple and priests, but he allowed another form of idol worship.

What is a prophet? Prophets are:

*Called by God in a special way (the Lord spoke to Hosea [1:2], the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah [1:4], Isaiah saw a vision [1:1], Daniel had dreams)

*Sometimes, God used His prophets to be living examples of the message that He wanted to give to His people (Hosea was told to marry a prostitute in order to be a living example of God’s unconditional love for His people; however, Jeremiah was forbidden to marry or have children in order to demonstrate the persecution, suffering, and death that awaited the fathers, mothers, and children of Israel [Jeremiah 16:1-4]. Isaiah went naked and barefoot for 3 years to foretell of what would happen to those Israelites who trusted in other nations for protection instead of trusting in God [they would be stripped of all their possessions and carried into captivity]).

*God expected obedience from a prophet, even with the threat of death and even in the midst of great personal suffering (Hosea must have suffered terribly over the infidelity of his wife; Jeremiah’s life was threatened [11:21]; Daniel was in danger of losing his life many times).

*Prophets came from all walks of life (Amos was a farmer, Ezekiel was a priest; even women and children were used as prophets).

*Spoke truths that ultimately point to Jesus Christ, whether these truths were symbolic or specific (Hosea includes a symbolic prophecy of Jesus; Isaiah [53:3-6] includes a specific prophecy about the crucifixion).

What were the names of Gomer’s children, and what did their names mean? What do you think God was trying to communicate through the names of these children to the people of Israel?

*Jezreel: “God scatters.” Perhaps a warning of the judgment to come, and what kind of judgment that might be.

*Lo-Ruhamah: “not loved” or “no compassion” or “no mercy.” Perhaps a sign of how harshly God would deal with the Israelites if they continued to be unrepentant.

*Lo-Ammi: “not my people.” God would officially turn His back on Israel, but perhaps only this generation of them. God made a covenant with Abraham, and God doesn’t break his promises (Genesis 22:17).

What can we learn from Jehu’s sin?
When obeying God, obey Him completely and don’t think you can hide anything from Him or get away with “details.”

If you were Hosea, what would you have done? Has God ever asked you to do something that was uncomfortable or strange? What did you do?

How seriously does God take the sin of idolatry? What is the definition of idolatry? How do we worship other idols today?

Spotlight on...Leslie!

So I've been thinking that I want to use this blog to shamelessly love on those near and dear to my heart. Therefore, the first "friend featurette" will focus on Leslie McKellar.

Friendship stats:
*met my sophomore year in college. Rather famous story: Leslie, Christa, and myself all signed up for a trip to the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada without really knowing any of the other people going along. By "chance," the three of us shared a seat on the crowded little van and started talking like we'd known each other forever. By the time we arrived at our bed & breakfast in Canada, the 3 of us raced up the stairs to find a bedroom to claim for "just us," which we did. It's really when the 3 of us fell in love with each other. I have a tear right now just thinking about it.
*used to spend long evenings and weekends with Leslie (and Christa) at her parents' condo in Grand Rapids, usually trying to write papers for one of our lit classes. Instead, drank lots of coffee, did too much laughing and talking, only getting down to business around 3 am (paper due at 10 am). Often fell into Leslie's heated waterbed for a few winks before we had to go to chapel at 9 am, only agreeing to get up when Leslie's mom Jan brought down the thermos of, yup, more coffee.
*she was my boss at one point in time. She and Martha Markwat (nee VanderMeyden) were the co-editors of our school newspaper, The Herald, and I was a staff writer. I have to say, Leslie was a hilarious (and terribly non-strict) boss. I'd get to beg off of deadlines all the time, no excuses needed.
*when I decided to move home to Indy middle of my junior year after accepting Adam's proposal of marriage, Leslie and I cried together my entire last night in Grand Rapids. Literally. I can remember crying in her house. In my dorm. In the car. We blubbered our way through the evening.

Current stats:
*lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her black labbie Dignan
*is a photographer (check out her website at www.portrayonline.com), writer, dog-watcher, and sometimes barista
*has a boyfriend, Jay
*has a hilarious brother Mark who can quote the movie "Clue" from beginning to end, has the sweetest dollfaces of parents, Dan and Jan McKellar, and a new sister-in-law
*loves thrift stores and vintage clothes, crossword puzzles, traveling, reading lit, and long walks on the beach. Folly Beach on James Island, that is.

Recent pix!

Me and Leslie













Leslie, contemplative













Leslie, crossword-solvin'

I've tried, but it turns out I can't keep silent on this...

A few days ago, I clicked on a link on MSNBC.com about an apparent flap going on in the conservative Christian community regarding the casting of the movie, "End of the Spear," the biopic telling the story of the 5 missionaries (probably the most famous of which is Jim Eliot) killed in Ecuador in the 1950s. I hadn't yet heard about this controversy, so I did some quick research: apparently, the movie's producers hired gay actor Chad Allen (remember Matthew from Dr. Quinn?) to play one of the missionaries, Nate Saint. Allegedly, they didn't know Chad Allen was gay until after they'd offered him the job, and when they did "discover" this information, they felt it would be dishonorable to revoke the job. Here's a link to their explanation of keeping Chad Allen on the cast:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/news/chadallen.html

However, I want to know why they would even consider revoking the job in the first place? My question is this: What does Chad Allen's sexual preferences have anything to do with his acting abilities? Having watched about 99% of the Dr. Quinn shows, I can attest that this kid never ONCE "acted gay;" in fact, his character played a convincing heterosexual in relationships with other women in the series and his character even married at one point. Unfortunately, though, the producers weren't concerned over Allen's ability (or inability) to act as a godly Christian married man and father and missionary...they were concerned about how it would look to other Christians. This fact makes my jaw drop.
First of all, has no one ever heard of a little thing called hypocrisy??? Chad Allen's homosexuality is NO DIFFERENT in the eyes of God than a little child who steals a candy bar in a grocery store. To God, sin is sin is sin is sin is sin. And to quote the Lord Jesus Christ, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." I want to know, how many of us saw The Passion of the Christ? How many of us were truly blessed by that film and saw how God used it? By the way, did you know that Mel Gibson used to be a raging alcoholic? Because Mel Gibson was a sinner, does that mean we should have avoided that film? Forbidden loved ones to see it? Absolutely not, unless we were inviting the label of "hypocrite."
Secondly, does no one understand the mission of Jesus Christ when He was here on this earth? The Lord came to "seek and to save those who are lost." And as far as we know, Chad Allen is a lost soul who hasn't yet found the Lord (even though he claims to be a Christian). How dare anyone think that this was not 100% the Lord's will to guide this young man into this role, so he could be exposed to the greatest story of being martyred for the faith in the 20th century??? In fact, Steve Saint, the son of one of the 5 killed missionaries, says that he had a dream in which God told him this very thing...that it was God creating this opportunity for this young actor. Back to Christ's mission...indeed, it was the so-called religious people of His day for whom the Lord had no patience, and who, in fact, He scolded and reprimanded over and over again for their self-righteousness. So, which camp do I want to fall in? A seeker of the lost, like Christ, or a self-righteous bigot like the Pharisees?
Finally, I'll step off my soapbox with these words, again from Steve Saint, "God planned the death of his own Son. I believe he planned the death of my dad and his four dear friends. Now, I believe God is at work again. I don't pretend to know what God is going to do with this controversy, but I am confident that He is behind this." Well said, and bravo.

Fabulous recipe for meatloaf

This recipe is called "Bonnie's Meatloaf." I haven't a clue who Bonnie is, except for the fact that she's a fan of Yankee magazine, because she submitted her recipe for meatloaf to it. We tried this last night, and not only is it incredibly easy, it's wonderfully delish!!!

Loaf:
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg
1/2 cup Progresso bread crumbs
1 package Lipton's onion soup mix
6 ounces of Hunts tomato sauce
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste

Topping:
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all loaf ingredients in large mixing bowl until uniform and sticking together; shape into loaf and place into loaf pan (I used a little bit of Pam on the bottom of the pan). Combine ingredients for topping and then brush on top of meatloaf. Bake for 50-60 minutes (slice into the very top of the loaf to see that it's no longer pink). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

I served this with mashed potatoes and it was a very cozy, filling meal. It only took about 7-8 minutes to prepare the meatloaf! Happy cooking!

A fun quiz to take

Go to HGTV.com and take this quiz to determine your individual decorating style.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,HGTV_22056_33320,00.html

This was mine:
My style is "Sweet." Apparently I like cozy and sentimental surroundings, and my sub-styles are English Country, Romantic, Tuscan, and Cottage. Um...yeah, this is right on the money. Good quiz!

Are you a "Lostie" yet?

This is hands-down me and Adam's favorite show, and we successfully hooked Katie and Chris on it, as well. It's super-easy to catch up, too; just rent the first season on DVD and then this summer, buy the second season and watch it before third season begins in the fall. For those who are fans already, here is a great article that will help you keep the characters (and their secrets!) straight. (ps: Locke rocks!!!)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11102238/