Chapters Two and Three Outlines

This is the outline for the second and third chapters. My head is swirling, SWIRLING!!!, with realization about how much research and tedious (albeit pleasant) work this will take. Just to gather the information, let alone to operationalize and analyze it in any meaningful degree. Wow. I definitely have my work cut out for me. At least I now know what and how (sort of) to go about it. Much more definition is needed, but it feels good to put it down on paper. (Or on a Word Document....)

The second chapter, after establishing the parameters of U.S. foreign policy identity and change in the modern world in the first chapter, will focus on legislative behavior since 1970, asking the practical empirical question of whether Arab nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism has made religion more salient in the foreign policy legislative process. I will look at when and how religion enters the political sphere, and if this is different than in the past. How, when, and by whom is religion brought into the foreign policy dialog? Is this different than before 1979?

I will approach this question through content analysis of the Congressional deliberation process in all stages of agenda setting, policy making, rule making and implementation. Additionally, within the full range of foreign policy legislation, I will analyze the content of Committee and Subcommittee hearings, Dear Colleague letters, bill text and amendments, Statements of Administrative Position, amicus briefs, one-minute speeches, and committee/floor speeches, as well as bill sponsorship, co-sponsorship, and roll call votes.

I am certain that this process will be revealing regarding legislative behavior in the foreign policy domain. The independent variable will be fluctuations in conflict aggravation in certain regions of the international system, electoral variables, threats toward the United States from certain regions, and other relevant variables that capture dynamics in the Middle East region. While I cannot begin to hypothesize to any informed degree at this stage, I might expect that when conflict erupts in general within the region, within states and among differing religious groups, the United States will not assume a threatened posture and will leave religious commentary out of the policy or intervention dialog. However, whenever violence is directed at the United States, policy makers will immediately and indiscriminately filter a response through a religious identity framework although the legislation and outcomes that come from the deliberation are stripped of religious language.

The third chapter looks at how religious identity shapes individual members’ personal experiences in legislative foreign policy decision making. In the past, scholars have looked at the religious views and backgrounds of Members of Congress as they inform decision making on certain social issues like abortion and traditional marriage. However, this study will be more comprehensive in looking at all foreign policy issues, from U.N. funding, international family planning programs overseas, the global HIV and Malaria initiatives, intervention in genocide situations, condemning other State actions, and all issues covered by the Foreign Affairs Committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This will be a preliminary attempt to see which aspects, if any, of religious identity inform Congressional preferences, in a manner similar to partisanship and constituent base. The different aspects of religious identity relevant for decision making have been elsewhere defined as “belonging, believing, and behaving.”

The “belonging” variable of religious identity is the denominational affiliation or the sociological group aspect of religious identity. Therefore, the belonging variable captures whether one is Southern Baptist, Secular Jewish, Unaffiliated Agnostic, or Athiest. The “believing” variable of religious identity involves the theological leanings of the individual, which is often mediated through the denomination. This variable requires a close look at the orthodoxy-scale of the beliefs as well as understanding of specific teachings and doctrines that inform preferences for foreign policy issues. The “behaving” variable of religious identity involves a Member’s involvement in religious practice and community. Some databases of this information exist, and others must be refined and assessed, although today there is much more understanding of Member’s religious leanings and identities beyond a mere “Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Other” categorization that comprised the totality of religious survey information until recent years and more thoroughly operationalized religious identity.

This chapter will compare the effects of these measures on political behavior alongside the conventionally significant partisanship and constituent base variables. This will show when, if ever, along the whole spectrum of foreign policy issues, each of these variables is salient and significant. This is an advance on current scholarship in that it assesses broad religious effects on foreign policy behavior using more foreign policy issues than previous studies and utilizes and incorporates newer religious data with a broader grasp on the intricacies of American religiosity, especially amidst Protestant denominations.

In addition, the third chapter must include a robust section on Presidential religious identity. However, it will be restricted to how the President’s identity influences his behavior on foreign policy making in the legislature. Of course, the role of the President in foreign policy decision-making extends far beyond the deliberations in Congress, and is worthy of study in its own rite. However, this study will look only at legislative deliberation and action on foreign policy issues, and the President plays an important role in this, through issuing Administrative positions on significant legislation, making appeals to Members of Congress and directly over their heads their constituents. Therefore, it is important to assess the ways in which the President’s religious identity in all aspects of belonging, believing, and behaving, inform his preferences and policy decisions.

The method for this section includes drawing from current datasets on religious variables for members, roll call votes, committee votes, content analysis of speeches and press releases, op-eds, and co-sponsorship of legislation. In addition, I will search for information regarding participation and attendance at religious groups and caucus meetings in Washington and in their districts. It would be useful also to obtain personal interviews with Members on the Foreign Policy Committees in the House and Senate regarding their decision-making processes. Additionally, a Principle-Agent analysis may assist in discerning to which Agent Members of Congress are beholden, as their choices may have multiple pulls—to party, President, constituency, pressure group, religious denomination, or theological doctrine.

In the end, chapter three will take us closer to understanding how and when religious identity informs decision making on various foreign policy issues that come before the legislature through various means.

Chapter One Outline

The first chapter of my dissertation will focus on U.S. foreign policy Identity. This will be heavily focused on qualitative content analysis of important policy documents and decision making processes. It will also possibly turn into a second shorter chapter on the organizational expansion of the State Department, since this is the personification of U.S. identity abroad through the medium of a government agency. Thus, bureaucratic politics, the organizational model, and process tracing as well as content analysis will aid my search for U.S. foreign policy identity.

This paper has so far served to show why the advent of religious fundamentalism has ushered in a new threat-advisory to the contemporary world order, and each decade that has passed since the Iranian revolution has lead to increased transformation. I propose in my dissertation to focus on a spectrum of the religion-in-IR debate by looking at the way that religion has informed US foreign policymaking since the 1970s, perhaps restricting my analysis to the Middle East if it proves to be a unique region.

In the first chapter, I will look at the way that US legislators have understood American identity as regards foreign policy in the post-Iranian revolution era. I hypothesize that American legislators increasingly view our nation as a religious nation—moreover, a Christian nation. At the very least, more talk of a sovereign God has colored the foreign policy rhetoric since the 1970s and the entrance of political Islam on the world-stage. As it has become increasingly visible, and had more of a voice due to technological advances, global telecommunications and the internet, U.S. identity rhetoric has become increasingly religious. Thus, American identity since the 1970s in foreign policy analysis has become increasingly religiously characterized.

To examine the identity to which the American legislature and related institutions ascribes, one must look closely at the changing foundational documents of contemporary foreign policy such as the Bush Doctrine. Additionally, one must consider the expansion of the U.S. State Department as an organization, focusing on the creation of the Bureau of Religious Freedom. One must also look at the dialog centering on the responsibility of America toward democratic countries with oppressive regimes. These include the Iranian revolution of 1979, when a U.S. backed regime was overthrown for a popular fundamentalist uprising, the election of Hamas into power in the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2004, Egypt in 2011, and rumblings elsewhere. Has the rhetoric of American diplomats and legislators changed? Additionally, is the legislator’s perspective of American foreign policy identity different than the mass public? Than the media and bureaucrats?

If U.S. legislators view American identity in foreign policy matters as part of a broader or religious identity, there are interesting implications about whether or not this religious “othering” is divisive or uniting. For example, there are global faith movements, in which the devout are set opposed to the secular, following the “culture wars” divide rather than an ethnoreligious divide. The “culture wars” divide denotes an arising dichotomy between individuals with an orthodox religious worldview and those with a secular worldview. This has led to movements of orthodox Jews, Muslims and Christians joining together in opposition to unorthodox programs within certain domestic and international issues like family planning programming and funding at home and abroad, among other concerns. This can be witnessed in social issues, but may apply more widely beyond issues of abortion, traditional marriage, and public prayer. I hypothesize also that the changes in foreign policy identity have gone from promoting democracy’s work to promoting God’s work in the eyes of U.S. Congressmen. Since the World Wars, these have been conflated, but in today’s world, the difference between functional, definitional democracy and “good” democracy has begun to emerge causing additional concerns for U.S. policymakers.

One last question within this first inquiry into broader U.S. Foreign Policy identity is whether the U.S. has a regional identity in one part of the globe that differs from another. Is U.S. identity as regards the Middle East a primarily “religious” identity, where religion is the salient matter, whereas U.S. foreign policy identity is a “liberal democratic” identity, such as in transitioning post-soviet regions and in China, Africa, India? What is the difference between these regions that would cause American identity to be segmented?

Tree House Study

I'm sitting upstairs at the Starbucks down the street from my house, the tree house loft. I got here really early today, which allowed me to secure my most coveted spot, the table by the window overlooking Pennsylvania Ave. It is a bright and sunny day, with the last of the few spare leaves shimmering golden and maple in the sunshine. Below, life feels and looks like it is picking up speed again, after the lloooonnngggg sloooow trudging through the bitter cold and chill of winter wind. Oh, life, come alive again! Oh, soul, come alive again!

Last night I went walking on the National Mall with my good friend, and I enjoyed the brisk pace to keep me warm, and the cool sprays of rain water sitting on my skin. My cheekbones almost felt frozen, but everything else was toasty!

Another thing brightened my day today: upstairs there were two little blond boys. Maybe three and four years old. They were chatty and sunny and an older man was talking to them and making them giggle. When he left, he told them to have an awesome day, and they both chirped back together, "you have an awesome day, too!" It was so cute, unbelievably cute, and they were pure sunshine and light in my day. I know its going to be a good one!

And it will end just as sweetly at the Cheesecake factory with my Sweetheart!

Working out the Proposal

I decided to let you into my head as I begin to write my prospectus. I will post starts, re-starts, and re-do's, go-back-to-the-drawing-boards, and clarifications of my proposal. This is today's. As soon as I get a good five-page outline of my larger dissertation, I will be very well pleased. Please pray for me, and limit your comments at this point regarding the content of my writing to either "interesting point on...unclear here....or I think this is wrong...or I love you!" because the last thing I need is to go down rabbit trails. I am painfully aware that I am not able to cover everything interesting or relevant in THIS document; I will hopefully have 50 years to write and publish on the topic. So save it up, write it down, and submit it to me, but please don't overwhelm my mind, which is filled to the brim as it is! Thanks my friends.

It appears that there has been a surge in religious justification, rhetoric, and references in the contemporary U.S. foreign policy debate. Echoes of increasing religious salience can be seen anecdotally around the world. Political unrest and violent flare-ups in almost any region of the globe can be attributed in part to religious conflict and grievances. Additionally, popular media programming and publications often report on and exploit religious motivations and causality in politics and international affairs.

However, academic scholarship has fallen behind in recognizing the informative role that religion plays in U.S. foreign policymaking. This is due in part to the secularization thesis to which many political scientists, especially international relations (IR) scholars, ascribe. The premise of the secularization literature is that religion is increasingly relegated to the private realm, and therefore is no longer a cause of war in the post-enlightenment era. Secondly, most scholars do not care to delve into the intricate complexities within American religion.

An important place to start in looking at how religion has influenced foreign policymaking in the United States in the modern era is to look at the rise of Arab Nationalism or Islamic fundamentalism. These two movements are not the same and should not be treated as such. The first is an ethnic movement, the second is a religious movement.

It is a relevant and critical question as to whether the mass public conflates the two, as well as whether legislators conflate the two into a common antagonistic “enemy” image. I hypothesize that neither legislators nor the mass public adequately identify the important distinctions. While the movements have some common threads, including opposition to Israel and a common ethnic and general Islamic bond, the Arab nationalist movement is a political, ethnic self-determination movement of Arabs who want to establish nation-state type control and power. The Islamic fundamentalist movement, on the other hand, is not an ethnic movement with any political tie, except that this movement wants to infuse government and the state with Islamic clerical leadership and Islamic law, imposing it on the entire population, and possibly the world.

Although there has been a religious undercurrent in American politics since the founding, as identified most distinctively by Alexis De Tocqueville in the 1800s, and flare ups of American civic religion throughout American history, religion and religious antagonism has moved toward the center of global conflict since the 1970s. Although the evil of Hitler and the anti-religious elements of the Cold War engaged scholars and policymakers in debates about the nature of good and evil, and absolute right and wrong, there has been no religious “other” like that of the Islamic fundamentalists that have taken world-stage front since the Iranian revolution in 1979. Since that time, there have been critical junctures where militant religious fundamentalists have threatened order and U.S. policy. For example, the democratic election into power of groups on the U.S. terrorist “watch” lists, like the election of Hamas to the Palestinian Authority, of oppressive Islamic clerics who impose a rule that counters what the U.S. State Department defends in their human rights watch reports. The U.S. is currently holding its breath to see what happens in Egypt—what happens if the Egyptian populace elects a fundamental Islamist group in the wake of the U.S.-backed, primarily secular populist Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak?

The world is changing in critical junctures such as this. The social scientific law of the democratic peace may have more or less governed the post WWI and WWII world and led Francis Fukuyama to declare the soon to be realized “End of History” when all regions and nations reach a mostly peacefully coexisting liberal democratic state. But the ideological conflict introduced in the Cold War just set the stage for a less power-and-capability driven international system, and ushered in a state system where states reach conflict over deeply held and incompatible religious worldviews and doctrines.

Powerful, Effective Prayer

“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of” -Lord Alfred Tennyson

Last week I attended a book club meeting and was able to spend time with a woman I recognized but did not personally know. When I introduced myself to the familiar-looking woman, she said, “Oh, I have met you before. You prayed for my husband to get a job, and he got a job!” I immediately remembered this couple from church—over 18 months ago, at least. The details all flooded back to me, and I felt so happy and blessed that God had allowed me to witness the outcome of my prayer-- for a stranger, no less! 

When I first started going out with my boyfriend, we prayed for a woman we met who was looking for a job—and SHE got a job, too!

In addition, I belong to a Monday morning prayer group and we have prayed for many things over the years—jobs, families, marriages, school—and one by one, so many miracles have happened.

Last night, I prayed for a friend who was going through a hard time. She emailed me this morning and said, “Whatever you prayed worked because I am much less troubled and burdened today.”

I am not writing to brag, obviously, because if I could have done anything at all about these situations, I would not have prayed—that is my weakness, in that I wait until I cannot do something myself to actually pray about it. I should start by praying, and let God do all that he wants to do. I want Him to know how much I believe Him and trust Him to do all things.

But this is encouragement to me and to you to pray! As Alfred Lord Tennyson says, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

Eastern Market Charm

I now understand the charm of the local farmers market. I am not into knick knacks or junky little things that can often be found at flea markets, but Washington DC’s Eastern Market is SO much more than that. Yes, you have to walk by and through the peddling to get to the market, but once you are inside, your dinner menu is boundless! Meat and flowers and cheese and fish counters as well as locally grown produce.

I really wanted tacos yesterday and went in search of ground beef. I didn’t want to go all the way to the store, and I just wanted a little bit, so I walked to Eastern Market before church. There is something so charming about visiting your local market on the way to church. It is so quaint! 

Eastern Market smells like fish, but somehow it doesn’t matter, because you know it’s so authentically fresh! I ordered my half pound of ground beef and went to church. (Yes, I refrigerated the meat while I was in there!)  When I got home, I cooked it, and it smelled and tasted so good. Just perfect. 

I loved the whole process. I think I will start a tradition of cooking a meat-centered dinner once a weekend, with meat fresh from Eastern Market. Just the walk there, the colors, the smells, are so fresh it reminds me of living in London or New York City. Stop by for dinner some time! If it’s nice out, we can sit outside.

Hand Written Correspondence

 

I have been doing well on my New Year’s resolution number one: reading fiction. Today, I institute resolution number two: corresponding with my loved ones. I have been terribly remiss in not faithfully calling or writing those I love or even returning calls. It is not lack of care or love. It is both laziness and inconvenience—two things I will not consider valid obstacles any further. Laziness, because it takes a lot of time and effort; and inconvenience, because of the time difference (I am early to bed and early to rise) and the CA time difference poses a boundary (-3 hours), and the annoyances of the cell phone reception and awkward phone-shape situation.

Rather than email correspondence which is both less romantic and more immediately burdensome because of the pressure to send an instant response, I want to take up, or rather re-take up, letter writing. It will allow me to spend time getting to know my family beyond a simple five minute catch-up phone conversation. I can take my pad and paper anywhere, and there are plenty of meaningful cards to send to people. I do find that letter writing makes it sometimes difficult to ask questions, because they stand rhetorically unanswered…a lonely question-marked clause.

In some ways, letters are a strange mechanism for sharing and communion.  They are the ultimate in self-reflection, because they are all one-sided. Me, putting my life and my thoughts, upon you. And then you get the chance to talk back at me, uninterrupted. However, through the ages somehow sharing and interaction effectively result from the intimate pages. Anyway, I am resolved to keep up a letter campaign with several people: my grandparents, extended family, and friends. And the nice part is that letters come back answered and then you respond again. The timing seems to be an appropriate distance apart, and you are not obliged to respond until the letter is returned. It sets a natural pace.  

I hope to send one today, or at least have one written. I may even compel my little Sunday school students to write love notes to themselves from God today. I cannot wait to see how my relationships grow in this arrangement.

Charmingly Gift-Wrapped, Ancient Evil

When I was home for a few weeks over the winter break, my mom and I spent a lot of time window shopping in beautiful boutiques in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, and Solvang. One of the objects that we saw and piqued our interest was a little, charmingly bound, small red book titled, “Fortune Telling Book of Birthdays.” The book had a description of a personality for individuals born on each day of the year. It struck both of us as amazingly accurate analysis of both the noble and less-stellar parts our our personalities on our respective birthdays. Neither of us purchased the book, but we both noted it.

A few days later, my mom mentioned that she wished she had purchased the book because it was so spot-on and she wanted to remember what it had said. So, I stored that away in my memory and went and purchased the book from my local Anthropologie in Georgetown, with the intent to send it to her. Before I sent it, however, I showed it to a few friends of mine to see what they thought about their own birthday fortunes. I found that many of them also thought it was pretty accurate, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I then took it into work intending to send it.

Before I did send, it, however, I tucked it into the desk in my office and forgot about it. That night, I was thinking about the “Fortune Telling” aspect of the book, which is really in title only, as the book only offers a personality description…nothing prophetic or beyond reason except its broad generalization. I justified the “spiritism” of its premise by the fact that, like with Chinese medicine, there are ancient civilizations that have been on the earth infinitely longer than our modern western, Christian era, and therefore they have a much larger scope of knowledge to draw from. Perhaps, then, there is nothing to “Fortune telling” rather than assessment of characteristics and data over millennia and millennia, where patterns could emerge that actually make sense. For example, maybe in the past thousands of years, there were enough millions of individuals born on my birthdate that had similar personality characteristics to me that generalizable patterns could be drawn about people who are born on 23 December. Therefore, I despiritualized the fortune telling aspect of the book in my mind and went soundly to sleep….

…ONLY to be awoken rudely in the middle of the night with a horrid nightmare. It was evil and scary and terrible. I shook my head and tried to settle back to rest, when an image of a nefarious snake entered my mind. I knew it symbolized evil and Godless spirituality. I just knew deeply in my core that it was a warning of the dark spiritism of that aspect of life. And I needed to get rid of the book. No, I cannot send it to my mom. I cannot return it to Anthropologie for another person to buy. I must get rid of it. Throw it in the dumpster where no one can rescue it.

It’s not the book itself that is evil, but what lies behind it. I was so ready to accept the “fun” and “Gimmick” of the novel book. But evil and sin is not, not ever, novel. It is the oldest trick in the world. Thank you Lord for showing me this.

Intimacy with Christ

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Jane Austen and Chocolate

• Who: You, and your friends of a female, stylish, literary, and fun variety
• What: Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (movie) and Chocolate
• When: Saturday, January 22 from 7-10pm. The movie will start promptly at 8pm.
• Where: Juliet’s house on Capitol Hill
• Why: Jane Austen and Dessert are brilliant and only other women can adequately appreciate them with you.

I will be making a few chocolate desserts, but your sugar contribution is welcome if you feel like baking for an appreciative crowd.

Hostess Juliet

Jules Grun, "The Dinner Party"

I am continually trying to generate and stir up within myself (or rather pray for God to set and light the embers within myself) regarding hospitality and generosity. Last night at church, in talking to the pastor's daughter and mother, I discovered that it might be a bit troublesome for his 9-months pregnant wife to get the home ready for a dinner party on Friday night for newcomers to the church. They are renovating the house in preparation for the new baby, painting and making the basement inhabitable.

I knew right away that I ought to, and wanted to, volunteer my home for the occasion. But it took a lot of convincing for me to offer, and I am very glad that I did. But now I have to prepare. While I have had friends over, parties of large quantities of people, little girls' tea parties, and small groups over for dinner and festivities, never have I yet had a true, mature, adult, responsible dinner party. I mean....the pastors of my church and the new people! At least I don't have to cook much. I will probably do something, and provide drinks, ice cream, salad, pizza, etc. But I am at once scared and excited! Help me, Lord! At least I have friends that can help me, I am sure. 

Sonnets For Your Consideration

Dear, sweet Central California

Cowgirl-me

Maple-hued leather boots, soft, broken, scuffed

Hugs my arch with familiar, welcomed ease

Sends senses home to dusty, warm, and roughed

Yet beauteous and bountiful valleys.

The San Joaquin Valley is my mother;

She beckons through her fruitful, sun-kissed hearth

Bids me: “Tend, care, and cherish no other;

Heed sweet nurture in your here-cradled birth.”

Dear boots have travelled far with me from home.

Now my mark of styled art and flair, though

Shine with goodly ethos where I was grown

Dust of Valley fills my City’s hollow

Cowgirl in me, never stop your nudging;

City-girl-me needs meek, humble judging. 

At Harvard Square Starbucks where I wrote this Sonnet; Mommy was sitting behind me

A Sonnet from Cambridge

Show me inklings, Father, of what will come

As I sit amidst great minds at Harvard.

My worth, far more than name and status’ sum,

Stepping, reaching up, You draw me heav’n-ward.

Your plans for me are wise, faithful and true.

I trust, abide in You implicitly.

Regardless where I end, what I accrue,

You’re my harbor of true felicity.

Your ways are greater, thoughts are higher still

Than imagination could dream to pray.

Your Will pre-purposed shall my hands fulfill,

And mind speak forth what burden you convey

Spirit, I faint answer your commission

Come, breathe life through holy intercession!

-- (Based on Jeremiah 29:11, John 15:4, Isaiah 55:9, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:27)

Post-Thanksgiving Thankfulness

It’s Sunday morning, and I flew back from California Friday night. As soon as I walked in the door, my friend from church came to pick me up for a Thanksgiving Part II celebration, which was a time dedicated to the “thankfulness” part of the holiday. We sat around the living room and silently recalled what we have to thank God for, and then prayed aloud, thanking God for those provisions of a physical, object, or emotional nature. It was precious, and the prayers were deep and true and real. So many gifts, so many personalities, so many personal relationships with God were present in that place. Lovely.

In the beginning when we were silently musing, someone opened the front door and stepped in, and quickly said, “Oh, wrong house.” He must have thought we were CRAZY—all 10 of us sitting silently in a circle in a candlelit living room. Ha. Oh well, I choose to think and hope that maybe he saw angels in our midst, or at least a glow of holiness and love as God’s saints, his sons and daughters, called upon His name in thanks and prayer.

A Bright Star

Last night I watched the movie “Bright Star” in its entirety. I had sort-of watched it before but never from start to finish. It is a truly immensely romantic movie, in all of its subtleties. It centers on the friendship and love of John Keats and Fanny Brawne. Keats is mild and diffident in person, but the small intimacies and romantic fancies that he and Fanny share are so alive and endearing. I especially love how she shows her care for him, by sewing a pillow-slip for Keats’ brothers funeral encasement, and for bringing him “perfect” cookies in a “perfect” casing while young Keats is still ailing. She mends his threadbare jackets. He says at one point in the film,

Write me ever so few lines and tell me you will never forever be less kind to me than yesterday. You dazzled me.

I think that this movie speaks to me in large part because my primary love language is acts of service, and that element of their relationship was so strong, at least on Fanny’s part. That is how she showed her care and concern. It was a wonderful movie; and the latest in my literary life immersion which I have delved into lately.

It started by reading Frankenstein, then finishing Til We Have Faces, and Wuthering Heights. I am now reading Jane Eyre again. Then I need to finish The Idiot and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I am also going to read The Christmas Carol with a friend, an second annual tradition. I find, however, that whenever I re-read a favorite book, it all floods back to me and I remember the detail that I had thought I forgot. I also tend to enjoy the book less the second time. I guess it is because I am more circumspect about it- at least that was the case with Wuthering Heights.

I have also been writing a sonnet-a-day, or trying to get to that prolific level. The problem is that I don’t know how to improve something as subjective as poetry. I need advice on that end, so if you have any, or any articles to point me to, please do so! I will post one sonnet here for your investigation and analysis. And perhaps more in the future as seems appropriate to post.

Most worthwhile past time

Growing up I read voraciously. I read every book at the house and always wanted more. I loved getting a new book that I had carefully selected. I loved "sustained silent reading" in public schools-- it was actually called by that whole title. I was so into my books that I would laugh out loud and then be embarrassed because everyone looked at me. I read and was so pleased to finish each and every book. But I didn't read many classics. It was mostly Christian fiction, historical fiction, and award winning books for school.

My mind, imagination, and power of argument and writing jumped immeasurably during that period. I think that I can credit that activity with my love for learning and ideas. Of course, God has all credit for any good thing in me, but I do think that reading has greatly led to my strength of mind.

So headed into 2011, I have decided that my resolution will be to read only classic literature and fiction. No more "how to" type books or books "about" Christianity and God. Instead, I will read the Bible text itself or a really study-focused Bible Study for my small group. And plenty of fiction, which is where the mind really takes off and applies the situations and ironies and hypocrisies and lessons to life and relationships.

To this end, I downloaded--for free!-- Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, The Portrait of a Lady, Anna Karenina, and The Idiot. I already finished Frankenstein, which had some amazing things to say about friendship and responsibility and nobility of character and sacrifice. I will post some quotes from it soon.

I am working on Les Miserables STILL and need to finish that next. Please ask me about it. I need to finish. It is great, but I am at a standstill. That shall occupy me this weekend, I think.

Looking forward to updating you all soon. Please let me know any recommendations you have for good fiction that edifies the mind and soul.

Back online

It must be a fall thing with me; the temperature starts going down and I start feeling a tiny bit melancholy and homesick. I retreat just a little bit, start looking at warm, fuzzy things to insulate my body during the winter months, and my palate starts wanting warmer, spicier food. So the late summer salads are making their way to more substantial options. I always get the urge to indulge my inner Martha Stewart, or someone similar but less austere as that great lady.

So to start things off, I invested a pittance in four ramekins from Marshalls. A small (3.99 for 4) investment, but with endless possibilities for appetizers, individualized breakfasts, or mostly desserts. I also looked at the miniature dutch ovens or casserole dishes, just to get a taste for them, but decided to move slowly. So I walked away with ramekins and an eagerness to make baked eggs on a layer of spinach and tomato for brunch the next day. The baked eggs were good, very interesting. I skipped the important parts that makes that dish decadent and very French: the cream and real butter that are poured liberally over the dish as it cooks. I am sure it would have been better with that extra fat, but the soft egg yolk adds the perfect amount of creaminess and lipid for me.

I was also shocked to see, in my recipe searches on Williams-Sonoma and Epicurious, that you can make your own yogurt. I was so excited. I have been an all to frequent visitor (and subsequently wealth squanderer) at Sweetgreen, the new "healthy" frozen yogurt and salad establishment less than a block away from me on Pennsylvania Ave (between 2nd and 3rd St Southeast). I just love the tangy, bare sweetness of the plain, frozen and greek yogurt varieties that have been popularized recently. So I have been stocking up on Greek yogurt, both the Fage and the Trader Joe's variety, recently to combat that urge to go buy it at the restaurant down the street. Still, even at the grocery store, it is a bit expensive and indulgent for me.

So I was excited to make my own, both for the financial savings, and the not-insignificant pleasure I get from making my own food, conducting "scientific" experiments, and manipulating ingredients and playing with the nutrient content of my food. (I think if ever I have the chance, I would love to study Molecular Gastronomy).

So I bought 1/2 gallon non-fat milk, Pectin, and a starter yogurt with live bacteria (I chose an all-natural version that boasts a variety of live/active cultures). I didn't have a thermometer, but I followed an online guideline that gave great time measurements for the different steps. I DID have to set my alarm to wake up two different times at night, but by this morning, I had made 1/2 gallon of plain, nonfat, delicious yogurt! So now I don't have to pay the prices or make the trek to the grocery store as often. That, especially, in the winter months coming up, is priceless.

Anyway, more adventures to come. Soon I will be rolling out my account of my Amy Grant history which was fulfilled in my attending her concert last Saturday. I actually have more to say about that than I thought I would. Talk to you soon.

Love,
Juliet

My Day of All Days...so far

Today is a significant day. And already three things have gone wrong.

First, after taking the time to put hot rollers in my hair to give me the perfect, big, bouncy, spring-y curls, I glanced out the window before I walked outside and noticed big drops of rain pouring down. Heavily. So I decided to go into work late, since I don’t have an umbrella and I really didn’t want to mess up my hair today. Not today. Not TODAY!

Second, as I walked into the Library of Congress security line, I put my purse and my coffee down to walk through the metal detector. I had my staff ID badge out so that when I beeped—and I always beep because of my shoes or my jewelry or all of the above—they would just wave me aside and wand me down in the simplest fashion. But, not today.

The police officer said, “Ma’am, your staff ID lets you get through without taking your shoes off, but you’ve got to take that necklace off. Sheesh…that’s bad; usually it’s a small necklace and then it’s okay, but that—THAT —is an egregious necklace. That’s bad…you have to take that off, there’s too much metal…that’s egregious.”

Wow, thanks, Mister. I get what you are saying, but my necklace is awesome and gorgeous and I love it. I will take it off and put it on the conveyer belt to go through the machine, but come on. It’s not a “bad, egregious” necklace. Whatever.

Third, my coworker and I made it 35 minutes late to an hour long Republican “Theme Team” meeting I had been anticipating all week. Once we got there, the event was strangely nowhere to be found. The good thing is that I didn’t miss it entirely. The bad thing is that it’s not today…its tomorrow.

So far, that’s my morning. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you about this evening. I am too excited to even write about it. And no, it’s not a date or anything like that.

New Book List

As I finish up my old list, I wanted to update you on the new list. See if you notice any changes in themes. More to come on that later.

The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered It: Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911)
 Journey Against One Current: The Spiritual Autobiography of a Chinese Christian: Zhi-Dao "Julia" Duan
Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life: Lauren Winner
Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe
Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey: Kelly Slater

Good reminders

I am a person for God's own possession (1 Peter 2:9)
I am God's child, and I call Him Abba (Daddy) (Romans 8:15)
I am redeemed through Christ and have forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7)
God loves me, and I am precious in His sight (Isaiah 43:4)
I am lifted and carried by God through all trials (Isaiah 63:9)

WOW!

"Surface feelings can be changed, heightened, or numbed by our surroundings and by the things we watch, read, or talk about. When we rely on our feelings of dissatisfaction to determine how we will act or think, we toss God's Word and His power aside.

"As you continue to study the Word, ask God to reveal all that's mentioned there about His loving, tender feelings toward you and then rely on those feelings."

What personality type are you?

ENTJ - "Field Marshall". The basic driving force and need is to lead. Tend to seek a position of responsibility and enjoys being an executive. 1.8% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)