Author Archives: Jenna

3 classics that will knock your socks off

Does the word “classics” cause your spine to tense and your stomach to clench? Do you have bad memories of the long hours spent in the forced reading of these so-called “classics” during your school days? Or are you in the midst of the forced reading as we speak, dreading every minute spent re-reading that page that your brain keeps tuning out?

Please lay aside any connection you have that makes the word “classic” mean “I want to kill/maim/punch everything around me because this book is so boring.” Instead, replace it with this mantra: Classics are our little forest friends. Or you can go with Classics are like a long soak in a bubbly bath that never gets lukewarm, or If you really love your mom, you’ll love the Classics. Any one of those will help you re-wire your brain patterns after about 500 hours of repetition.

Anyway, give these books a fighting chance. They just want to be liked, just like everyone else! Do you want to be the kid that laughs at them on the playground and turns them into insecure, problem-ridden adults? Care for the classics, man. Give ‘em a little love, and they’ll give you a lotta love back.

My Antonia

Despite my impassioned plea above, sometimes I’m hesitant to pick up the classics myself. Yes, I may be a hypocrite—but I humbly admit my hypocrisy, which actually cancels it out (a great guilt-relieving tool that I just made up.) I especially avoid the classics if they’re written by someone named “Willa Cather”, because ‘Cather’ sounds like ‘catheter’ and nothing good could come of that.

Anyway, I was at the library recently casting about for something to read, and I saw “My Antonia”. Hmmm, I thought, I might as well, and if I hate it after a few pages I can just return it and nobody will ever know. But guess what—I loved it!

This book is the fictional memoir of a man who grew up on the Nebraska prairie. He recounts the time he spent living with his grandparents as a boy, and really fleshes out the character of Antonia, the Bohemian neighbor girl who, upon her father’s death, is forced to work in the fields like a boy to help support the family. Antonia is strong-willed and hard-working, and embodies the pioneer spirit that shaped the American West. This book has some of the same flavor of the “Little House” books, but without being written for children. Life on the prairie is fascinating, and you’ll get great insight into what it was like for a child to experience its wonders and difficulties. The language is clear and simple, while beautiful; the characters are living and breathing. Read it! You won’t regret it. It was unexpectedly a fun read for me. I think that anyone over 15 would enjoy this, unless they’re biased against the author’s name as I sadly was for so many years. Repeat after me: Cather is not the same as catheter, Cather is not the same as catheter, Cather . . .

Now that we’ve learned that simple lesson, we can move to new heights.

Main Street

This is a wonderful novel written by Sinclair Lewis. Another name I was prejudiced against since it was Upton Sinclair who wrote “The Jungle”, which is one of the most depressing books you could ever read, ending in some kind of a political manifesto which I skipped because it was getting dangerously close to non-fiction. However, once I realized that the coincidence of the name “Sinclair” didn’t mean it was going to be about maltreated immigrants working and dying in a meat-packing plant, I loved it.

Main Street follows the story of an educated city woman who marries a small town Doctor. She has grand views of modernizing the small town they move to and citifying the people she encounters, but things don’t go as she planned. I wouldn’t say it’s a sad book, but as her goals crash down and her marriage isn’t what she hoped for, there is certainly room for reflection for the reader. I have to say the language is refreshing and not overly verbose, and his sometimes surprising word choices jolt you like little electrical charges.

If you enjoy his style, your should also read another of his books called “Free Air”, and follow the adventures of a high-society New York woman who drives cross-country in the 20’s, falling in love along the way with a small-town mechanic who is “below her station” but too adventuring/manly to resist. I absolutely loved this book as well–I mean, what woman can stand firm against a man who helps pull you and your troublesome car out of a miry mud patch?

Breathing Lessons

In a moment of despair because I was coming to the end of “The Golden Compass” and its two sequels, I hopped online and did a search for Pulitzer Prize-winning books. My bookbag can never be empty, or my head will explode. It’s a well-known fact.

OK, I may be cheating because I’m not sure if this book is a “classic.” I mean, does a book become a classic once it’s won the Pulitzer Prize? Or does the author have to be dead? It’s hard to say.

I chose this book randomly off the list I encountered, and I am so grateful I did! It follows a middle-aged woman named Maggie and her husband Ira as they drive to the funeral of an old friend, and then drive on to visit their son’s wayward wife. We follow Maggie’s thoughts and idiosyncrasies as she tries to reunite her son with his wife, and recalls much about her own marriage as she and her husband drive from place to place. You will love this woman, and she will also drive you crazy: she’s a busybody and a meddler, but there is a purity and simplicity to her intentions that makes her incredibly endearing.  As the couple interacts with each other in the car, you start to wonder at this marriage between a sentimental, impulsive woman and a practical, aloof man; the novel ultimately gets at the bonds of love, tenderness, and habit that hold them together. The book examines profound questions using ordinary, accessible characters whose inner beauty isn’t immediately apparent. As the author peels away the onion-layers of her characters via memories, conversation, and anecdote, you start to sense you are getting close to a core of redeeming truth about humanity.

Again, as with all my favorite books, the writing style is uncontrived. You don’t get the sense that the author is trying to “write literature.” In fact, you get so wrapped up in the characters that you pretty much forget about everything else, including the existence of an author and the fact that you’re reading something called a “book”. I found this novel refreshing and ultimately uplifting.

What classics have you enjoyed? Any awesome recommendations out there?

Have a great day, everyone! Try to say hello to at least one classic today. Or at least smile in its general direction. See you all tomorrow for an awesome recipe–Mushroom Sage Pasta.

Prayer in times of cleaning

“What you must do is this: rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”

-From “Hannah Coulter” by Wendell Berry

Sometimes I approach house cleaning with excitement. The smell of the different cleaning products I’ve come to love (a big draw) . . . the soon-to-be-had satisfaction of sitting in a wonderfully clean and organized space . . .the sense of accomplishment I know that will give my day . . . Frequently when I’m done cleaning the house, I light a candle and just sit in a chair with my hands folded in my lap to soak up the goodness of my surroundings.

I’d also like to mention that our new toilet-cleaning solution smells like a breath mint. The last time I cleaned, as I scrubbed the toilet and the breath-minty scent surrounded me, I, um, well . . . well, I started to salivate. Yes, I wanted to eat the breath mint that my senses were telling me was inside our toilet. I’m starting to get a little worried here. Salivation and toilet-cleaning are two things that just shouldn’t be happening together. Thankfully our off-brand glass cleaner smells like a fresh spray of cat pee, and that just about evens things out.

Nothing like the scent of urine all over your bathroom mirror. But I’m too cheap to throw it away and let it go to waste.

Anyway, even though house cleaning can be a pleasurable experience, I’ve also have the struggle we’ve all had: I approach it with dragging steps, tempted to be resentful against something or someone for this work I have to do.

I’d like to issue a challenge for those of you who, like me, can be disgruntled house cleaners: pray your way through cleaning! There are three prayers that have helped me have a better attitude, and can make cleaning a place of peace for me when I have the discipline to switch my focus:

1. Giving thanks for the object I’m cleaning

As I spray furniture polish on our coffee table, I thank God for giving us a coffee table. I love it! I frequently put my feet up on it, or use it to make my cup of coffee readily available. Then I remember that my Dad made the coffee table and I thank God for my Dad and the fact that we have a beautiful example of his handiwork in our livingroom. As I clean the toilet, I thank God for indoor plumbing! I’m not a fan of outhouses, and I’m glad to be living in a time and place where I can go to the porcelain throne with my needs instead 0f a stinky hole in the ground. As I dust off our photographs, I thank God for the people in them–like these two young lovebirds at about 19 years of age.

As I clean the floor and windowsills, I thank God for our apartment, this structure that keeps us warm and dry in the winter and cool in the summer. I thank God that we have enough money to pay rent every month, and that we can get maintenance done for us with a simple phone call to our landlords.

2. Prayer that I will be a good steward of the things I’m cleaning

God has given us many material blessings that I am so grateful for. He can also take them away, and he will be equally loving and equally in charge of our provision. But while we have these things, I believe we are called to take care of them. God has given me carpets to keep our feet warm in the winter and to make the hardwood floors more cozy, and I want to take good care of those carpets and keep them clean. I believe he takes pleasure in order and beauty–you can see that by his design in nature–and I get to reflect those qualities by making the surroundings in my own home orderly and beautiful.

3. Prayer that I will hold on to these things lightly, and that my treasure will be in heaven

The book of Job is a prime example–God’s name is blessed whether or not he gives us comfortable, plentiful, and beautiful material goods. God could call us to sell all our things and go minister to a leper colony in the mountains somewhere–who knows. OK, maybe that’s unlikely, but we could lose our financial stability and be forced to ‘downgrade’ our lifestyle. He may ask us to increase our tithing, preventing us from buying that new bookcase we were wanting, or to start donating to a homeless shelter even though we just lost our job and simply don’t see how our funds will stretch. I don’t want my heart to cling to these things that we have. I can’t think of them as “mine”–God has chosen to share them with me at this time in our lives, and they are his to take away as well. We may not always be able to afford a nice apartment, or the luxury of using AC whenever we want in the summer. My heart needs to be free, with my hands clinging tightly to Him and not to these objects. Only then can I fully enjoy these things, when I am holding loosely. If not, they are a cage, a burden, and a necessity to me. And when desires become needs (‘I need an espresso machine’ versus ‘I would love to have an espresso machine’), the objects of our desire quickly take God’s place on the throne of our hearts. Ironically–and whether you believe in God or not–you will enjoy your material possessions much more once you let go of them in your heart.

See–I’m even cracking a smile at the stinky glass cleaning solution.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, whatever your beliefs may be. I know we all come from different backgrounds and are walking different paths, and that’s part of what makes your comments so interesting! Have a great weekend everyone!