It's not February!

It can't be. Not yet. I am living in denial.

I'm afraid that I am officially old. Why? Because "old people" (by which I mean anyone older than I am) have always told me that time flies. And I never believed them. But now I do, and that's a scary thing.

When I was little, I was always asking my mom for things to do (with a qualifying statement quickly thrown in: "BESIDES work or school!"). Lately, I haven't had that problem. In fact, some things I'd really like to do have been thrown aside because I have no time. Yes, such as blogging.

I really was going to try to post every week this year...but (at the risk of stating the obvious) it hasn't been happening.

However, I do have a great excuse: I had to finish Saxon Algebra 2 by January 30th at midnight. (A goal my mom and I had set). Typical Jessica style, I put it off until it could be put off no longer (math and I don't get along very well), and then crammed fifty-four lessons into a couple weeks. My sister, Erika (http://www.lordsheritage.blogspot.com/ -- but don't go there because she just put up an embarrassing video starring yours truly) said "Jess, only you would try to finish eight lessons in one day!" I believe the word "procrastination" would apply here.

It's done now, though. (Finished with exactly 44 minutes to spare...that was close!) I would have liked to throw it out my window (do you have any idea how much I would enjoy that?! It would serve that book right for all the times it made me cry!), but unfortunately some of my siblings need to use it, so I can't.

I am happy to say, though, that I have learned that algebra is not hard. Saxon said so, on page 365: "Some people say that unfamiliar concepts are difficult concepts and that familiar concepts are easy concepts. These people have confused the words difficult and different. We have found that algebraic concepts that seem difficult at first are really just different, and they become familiar concepts after we have worked with them for a while. Thus we can correctly say that algebra is not difficult--it is just different."

Thank you, Mr. Saxon. I'm glad we have that little misconception cleared up. (sarcasm)

Honestly, though, I feel sorry for the guy. (Can you imagine how many kids are upset with him at any given moment?) I looked him up just now because I was curious about what he was like. He looks like a friendly guy, but I know better. Just kidding.

I think I'm starting to ramble, and I'm realizing this post is rather strange, so I will stop now.

I've recently a couple good books, and I will try post reviews of those soon. IF I ever get around to writing them. (I tend to procrastinate--have I mentioned that before?--and I sometimes start things and never

The Oak and the Acorn

I've been studying C.S. Lewis lately. His essay entitled "Two Lectures" is very thought-provoking. I would encourage everyone to read it. I would link to it, but I'm unable to find it on the internet. It can be found in this book, though. [Part of it can be read here.]

Basically, it is an essay that Lewis wrote in first person. He tells of going to a lecture where the professor, the "Real Lecturer," is teaching evolution. Lewis then goes home, and dreams about another lecturer, the "Dream Lecturer," who argues from a completely different point of view.

Here is a writing assignment I just finished, contrasting the two lecturers:

The “Real Lecturer” and the “Dream Lecturer,” from C. S. Lewis’s essay “Two Lectures,” could not possibly present a starker contrast. Ideologically, the two professors are complete opposites. This is because they each have totally different worldviews, which greatly affects their positions on the topic they are speaking on. Let’s look at some of their differences:

The Real Lecturer is stating the case for a belief in evolutionistic processes. He uses the words “upwards and onwards,” “ever-increasing perfection,” and “lower to higher” to make the point that all life evolves from primitive, underdeveloped forms and constantly improves and becomes more complex. For example, the mighty oak tree is formed from the tiny acorn. And, “The giant express engine of today comes from the Rocket,” says the Real Lecturer.

The Dream Lecturer, on the other hand, starts by saying that the “acorn comes from a full-grown oak.” He contradicts the Real Lecturer on every level. Although he does not mention God, the Dream Lecturer seems to be arguing from a Creationist’s point of view. His key phrases are “descent,” “downward movement,” and “higher to lower.” He reasons that everything comes from something more perfect and better designed than itself. “The first crude engine, the Rocket, comes, not from a still cruder engine, but from something much more perfect than itself and more complex, the mind of man, and a man of genius.”

It is evident that the lecturers’ arguments are greatly at odds with each other. Only one can be correct. C. S. Lewis comes to the conclusion that the Dream Lecturer’s premises are more logical, and I concur. While it is true that the oak tree comes from the acorn, it is also true that the acorn comes from the oak tree. It is an endless cycle.

So which came first: the oak, or the acorn? One must look to the origin of life to find the answer. Lewis writes, “You have to go outside the sequence of engines, into the world of men, to find the real originator of the Rocket. Is it not equally reasonable to look outside Nature for the real Originator of the natural order?”

The answer is an emphatic yes. The belief that life created itself is not logical. We do not see life evolving today, nor do we ever see it spontaneously generate. When we see a painting, we assume there was a painter. In the same way, creation demands a Creator. Life is not a progression of low to high, small to large, simple to complex, or primitive to advanced. Rather, as the Dream Lecturer says, “The rude and imperfect thing always springs from something perfect and developed.” He had it right.

This is it!!

Today's the day I've been waiting for since politics first caught my attention, back in 2004. That was when I started the countdown that ended today. For what seems like forever, I've been counting the years and the election cycles that had to pass before I could join the ranks of eligible voters.

Of course, I've looked forward to voting ever since I was a little girl and my mom let me go inside the voting booth and watch as she pulled the levers. But that desire has grown in recent years as I've watched elections decided by only a handful of votes. And I've often been frustrated when those who hold the power to determine who will go to Mayville or Albany or Washington, DC simply sit home on Election Day. Their apathy makes me cringe.

I just realized that I've been involved (to varying degrees) in eight different campaigns, yet my support has always been limited to convincing others to vote for my candidate. Just words. Now, I can finally put something behind those words. Now, I can exercise the civic duty that I've only encouraged others to exercise.

I can vote!!!