A Must Read

The first paragraph of this Elizabeth Lev editorial is something I've thought ever since I finally read Uncle Tom's Cabin a year or two ago:

Like many kids of my generation, I had a high school education that included Kurt Vonnegut, Voltaire and William Golding, but passed over true classics like Harriet Beecher Stowe's stirring 1851 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. So I, like many others, grew up with the idea that an "Uncle Tom" was a black man who abjectly kowtowed to his white oppressors. What a surprise, when I finally read that history-changing novel, to learn that Stowe's Uncle Tom was exactly the opposite: a soft-spoken pillar of virtue who held fast to his simple moral convictions even to the point of martyrdom. His steadfast witness to what he knew was right and true changed the hearts of all who came in contact with him on his epic journey to the Deep South. The pejorative twist on his name commenced in post Civil War politics; cinema further distorted Uncle Tom into a stereotype that no longer resembles Stowe's glorious hero.

She goes on to explain that President Obama is no Uncle Tom. Go read the whole thing.

(Hat tip: George Grant on Twitter)

Accentuate the Positive

Some good advice from the Shepherd Press blog:

This practice of using excellent things as a benchmark for evaluating activities has become a lost art. The Christian life is much more than avoiding negative things. It is primarily about engaging in thoughts and activities that bring honor to God--things that enhance his reputation here on earth. This perspective focuses on parenting goals and objectives that lead to a biblical perspective on productivity. Here are a few examples of what I mean.

I hope you'll go read the whole thing. I need to hear that kind of counsel often.

Books I've Read in 2009

I'm keeping a list again for my reference, and I'd love to hear what you're reading, too.

JANUARY

~ Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love to Thee - Sharon James
~ The Soul of A Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection - Michael Ruhlman
~ Reflections on the Revolution in France - Edmund Burke (for Omnibus III)

FEBRUARY

~ Killer Angels - Michael Shaara (for Omnibus III)

MARCH

~ Christianity and Liberalism - J. Gresham Machen (for Omnibus III)
~ The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (for Omnibus III)
~ The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (for Omnibus III)
~ Animal Farm - George Orwell (for Omnibus III)
~ From Fear to Freedom: Living as Sons and Daughters of God - Rose Marie Miller

APRIL

~ The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (for Omnibus III)
~ Stepping Heavenward - Elizabeth Prentiss (a re-read)
~ Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller (for Omnibus III)
~ The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
~ Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture - Gene Edward Veith, Jr. (for Omnibus III)

MAY

~ Legends of the Fall - Jim Harrison
~ 1984 - George Orwell (for Omnibus III)
~ A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
~ How Should We Then Live? - Francis A. Schaeffer (for Omnibus III)
~ Honolulu: A Novel - Alan Brennert

JUNE

~ Pompeii - Robert Harris
~ Heart and Soul - Maeve Binchy
~ Dynamite Road - Andrew Klavan
~ The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) - Mark Bauerlein (I read this last year, but it's assigned reading this summer for the teachers in our secondary school and definitely worth a second look. My initial thoughts on it are here.)

JULY

~ Knowing God - J.I. Packer

Miscellany

I'm a bad blogger. I've been too busy to sit down and type up my thoughts, unless they're the kind of thoughts I can bang out in 140 characters or less via Twitter. Really, Twitter is more my style these days because it's so hit & run. But just in case anyone is still reading here and cares, here's what's been going on in my world:

~ I'm teaching summer school Latin for 3 weeks, and I'm halfway through. The classes are very small and they're only in the mornings, but it still manages to take up a lot of my time. I like teaching small classes, though, and we can sure cover more ground that way.

~ I think we're finally getting back to normal, whatever that is, since PalmPilot returned from deployment. His new work schedule has been good for the family.

~ Today PalmPilot and I had a meeting with his boss, Admiral Willard. Admiral Willard meets with returning individual augmentees (IAs) and spouses to see how their time was and how well Pacific Fleet took care of them and their families. I have no complaints in that area. And it was a treat to meet with the admiral and check out all the history in his office. I'm also very proud of my husband.

~ I wish someone had given me this advice much earlier in my mothering. Seriously, go read it.

~ I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that we likely have PalmBoy around for only one more year. And if the schedule goes as planned, I'll only be teaching PalmGirl for 3 more school years. 3 more years. It's really hard to believe that there's an end in sight.

~ I think I will finally finish reading J.I. Packer's Knowing God tomorrow. It's only taken me, oh, 7 months!

~ I really should be doing something productive this evening because I have so much to read. But I have the house to myself, I'm tired, and I feel a headache brewing. So I think I'll watch some reruns of The Office instead.

So there you go -- all that you haven't been missing in my life. :-) If you're just dying for more, you can find me on Twitter.

15

My baby girl is 15 today, and I have no idea how that happened! She's growing into a beautiful young lady, inside and out, and we're blessed to have her in our family. Happy birthday, PalmGirl!

Quote of the Day

From J.I. Packer's Knowing God:

The reason why the Bible spends so much of its time reiterating that God is a strong rock, a firm defense, and a sure refuge and help for the weak, is that God spends so much of his time bringing home to us that we are weak, both mentally and morally, and dare not trust ourselves to find, or to follow, the right road.

When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, and someone takes our arm to help us, as likely as not we shall impatiently shake him off; but when we are caught in rough country in the dark, with a storm getting up and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we shall thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing, so that we may learn thankfully to lean on him. Therefore he takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in himself -- in the classical scriptural phrase for the secret of the godly life, to "wait on the Lord."

Quote of the Day

Some encouragement for junior high teachers from Ben House in Punic Wars & Culture Wars:

There is no piece of literature so grand, no selection of theology so awesome, no musical composition so moving, no poem so profound, and no lecture so well crafted as to not be able to bore a junior high student.

Don't feel bad if you bore the adolescent. Shakespeare, Bach, and Calvin bore them as well.

Greek Salad

For the past several months I've had a thing about Greek salads, even craving them at odd times of the day. I think it's because I love crispy, salty food that has a bite. I just made a giant salad for supper tonight with rotisserie chicken (Costco) and pasta included to make a meal in one bowl perfect for a summer evening. It's always a hit with those in the PalmFamily who like green vegetables. That, of course, leaves out PalmBoy, but he's at summer camp so he's not subjected to it tonight.

Here's how I do it:
Chopped Greek Salad

lettuce (usually a mixture of crispy iceberg, Manoa lettuce, and red leaf)
red onion
seedless cucumber
tomatoes (either fresh or sun-dried)
pitted Kalamata olives
feta cheese
red and yellow peppers

I also throw in chopped rotisserie chicken and cooked penne pasta sometimes. Honestly, the salad is a little different each time because I just use what I have on hand.

(Here's a trick for crispy iceberg lettuce that I learned from my mom: earlier in the day, wash the head of iceberg. While it's still wet, wrap it in paper towel, and then wrap that in wax paper. Store in the fridge until you need it. It'll be nice and crisp.)

Chop the lettuce, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, and peppers. I like mine chopped pretty finely. Cut the olives in half. Throw it all in a bowl and add the feta cheese. Toss well.

Greek Dressing

(Sorry, I have no measurements here. I just add what I have until it looks and tastes right. I like my dressing pretty tangy, but you may not.)

olive oil
wine vinegar, either red or white
the juice of 1 fresh lemon (this really makes a difference!)
dried oregano
dried parsley
salt (I use kosher)
freshly ground pepper

You can add minced garlic, too.

Add all this to a bottle and shake to combine. I like to pour this over the whole big salad and combine because I like every bit of the salad to have some dressing on it. It's harder to do that when you dress your own salad on your own plate. If you do this, though, the salad doesn't keep well as a leftover. I try to remember to pull out salad for PalmPilot's lunch the next day and pack it with dressing on the side.

I buy the big jars of pitted Kalamata olives at Costco. They come in a 2-pack, and we go through them pretty quickly here. I also buy the big containers of feta cheese at Costco.

Enjoy!