Elise > Recent Status Updates

This is the art of arts, and the science of sciences, the knowledge of knowledges, to understand this, that God when he will bring life, brings it out of death, he brings joy out of sorrow, and he brings prosperity out of adversity and many times…makes use of sin to work furtherance of grace. It is the way of God to bring all good out of evil, not only to overcome evil, but to make the evil work toward the good.

Avoiding spoilers so I’ll keep this short. Tragedy occurs. The author’s portrayal of grief is interesting.

“So I may say to every discontented, impatient heart: What, shall the providence of God change its course for you? Do you think it’s such a weak thing, that because it does not please you it must alter its course? Whether or not you are content, the providence of God will go on, it has an efficacy of power, of virtue, to carry all things before it.”

“You are crossed in your desires, and so you are discontented and vexed and fretted about it; is that your only misery, that you are crossed in your desires? No, no, you are infinitely mistaken; the greatest misery of all is for God to give you up to your heart’s lusts and desires, to give you up to your own councils.”

I’m getting more accustomed to the author’s style. Newest running theory: Maggie writes with hyper-flowery fig lang to more deeply embody Agnes’ manic-pixie-dream-girl state of mind. I guess the author really thinks Will Shakes was a performative male?

“God requires more duty of those who have greater wealth than of you who have not such wealth. Oh, you would fain have the honor, but can you carry the burden of the duty?…Those who enjoy great wealth and a prosperous condition have a great account to give to God.”

Agnes has powers. And oh boy, does she have some kooky Mother Earth powers. Think OG crunchy - talks to animals, foresees the future (read: her husband-who-must-not-be-named has the potential of an untamed expanse - WOW), and also knows which leaves to rub on a mosquito bite. Maggie truly knows her god is a woman fan base.

Still wrestling with this idea: “Many men and women who do not know their own hearts would fain have as prosperous a position as others, but if they knew their own hearts they would know that they were not able to manage it.”

Perspective shift on creature comforts: “ I reckoned the good of it only in my enjoyment of God, and honoring of God, and now God has blessed the lack of it to stir up the graces of his spirit in my soul.”

Just finished the chapter detailing ad nauseam how a character was infected by the bubonic plague. Did I need to know about the entire backstory of the Manx boy who wanted to pet the monkey with the bubonic flea? Did I need to know how that flea enjoyed the sailor’s alcoholic blood? To Maggie, you bet I did!

“When the heart of a man has nothing to do, but to be busy about creature-comforts, every little thing troubles him; but when the heart is taken up with the weighty things of eternity, with the great things of eternal life, the things of here below that disquieted it before are things now of no consequence to him…”

“No one ever denied himself as much as Jesus Christ did…He denied himself above all, and was willing to empty himself, and so he was the most contented that ever any was in the world; and the nearer we come to learning to deny ourselves, Jesus Christ, the more contented shall we be…”

So. Many. Lists. This author writes an unseemly long list every other page. Running theory: she originally wrote this as a screenplay OR she thinks the synonym dumping is magical. It really reads as a screenplay though. Last query: why oh why must Will Shakes be unnamed? It’s awkward and petty.

This exposition is fraught with epic similes. It would make Homer jealous. The vignettes about each character in town were too incongruous. Hopefully things get strung together later in the novel. Does no one edit structure anymore? Came to this book after the gorgeous movie and already thinking the book is not better.

Sexually explicit content towards the end of this book. Kind of waiting for the story to be over with especially when Kingsolver rants about broken dreams and how God ruins lives. In reality, the characters ruin their own lives out of ignorance.

This book is perfect for teaching privileged/sheltered people about the realities of the foster system and drug abuse. But for a teacher, it was just a reminder of what I typically see...further confirmation that all the systems are broken. Happy winter break reading to me! 🤧

“Am I disgraced or dishonored? Is my good name taken away? Why, Jesus Christ had dishonor put upon him; he was called Beelzebub, and a Samaritan, and they said he had a devil in him. All the foul aspersions that could be, were cast upon Jesus Christ, and this was for me, that I might have the disgrace that is cast upon me sanctified to me.”

It is just the same with the men of the world: Oh such circumstances are bitter, and if I could have such and such a mercy added to this mercy, then it would be sweet; but even if God should put a spoonful or two of sugar in, it would still be bitter. The way to contentment is to purge out your lusts and bitter humors. James 4:1

“A Christian, who, in the constant tenor and temper of his heart, can carry himself quietly with constancy has learned this lesson of contentment. Otherwise his Christianity is worth nothing, for no one, however furious in his discontent, will not be quiet when he is in a good mood.”

The ocean is mirrored in the syntax of The Odyssey

Bartleby is me

“Paul stated that he possessed all things because he had a right to the covenant and promise, which virtually contains everything, and an interest in Christ, the fountain and good of all”

We get it, life is depressing and meaningless. Big whoop!

I’m low key offended that Fitzgerald had a heart attack in the middle of chapter 6. Very inconsiderate.

“Like many brilliant men, he had a grown-up, dead cold. Beginning at about twelve, probably, with the total rejection comment to those of extraordinary mental powers, ‘See here: this is all wrong – a mess – all a lie – and a sham—,’ he swept it all away, everything, as men of his type do…”