Jane Austen In Real Life

This is the perfect way to sum up my day:

 "I could more easily forgive his vanity had he not wounded mine."
Elizabeth Bennet, Pride & Prejudice (2005 Version)

Jane Austen Clutch Bags

Kate Spade

In Vain I Have Struggled. It Will Not Do...

"In vain I have struggled. It will not do."- Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

I have found myself avoiding writing this entry.....for a while now. I refused to even write it in my diary, say it to friends, and when I pray to God about it I know I sound extremely baffled by the whole situation. It’s barely a whisper as it leaves my lips. I find myself surprised, trying to think about when did it start, how did it happen? …Isn't that how it always is? It's when you least expect it...... the person you least expect and/or happens when you have no clue how it’s going to play out.  For me to say it to God and to myself is one thing, but to say it to others, write it, even acknowledge it opens me up to what I fear the most: rejection. One of my favorite verses comes to mind as I deal with my fear: 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (ESV).  I am in God, God is love. So His perfect love removes all fear from me because fear poses as a hindrance…. I really don’t know what tomorrow will hold, how this will play out or if it will play out and not just be something in my head. I encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to trust Him always, acknowledge Him in all you do and He will direct you. Be blessed.

Just Because It's Valentine's Day....

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Jane Austen, I Apologize on Behalf of Humanity

Someone always tries to ruin a good thing, but in Jane Austen's case a great thing. I love Jane Austen's novels, they are amazing and well written. If you go to Barnes and Noble's website you will find over 2,565 books that are in relation to Miss Austen.....and this is where my rant begins. Now I know people can't leave well enough alone but this is ridiculous. First it started out with sequels: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, Captain Wentworth's Diary, etc. etc. etc. I haven't read all of them but the sequel I did read was.....umm....shall we say I won't be discussing it in Bible School, lol. There are also books that tie in with Jane Austen like Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Me & Mr. Darcy, Austenland, etc. etc, etc. Those aren't so bad. But I draw the line at Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters, Emma and the Werewolves and Pride & Prejudice & Zombie: Dawn of the Dreadfuls. Not to mention that they have graphic novels to go with these horrid titles! I am going to form a protest! A book burning if need be!!!!!!! If this continues, I don't know what will happen. What if these titles become movies?!!!? God forbid!!!! I am over-reacting? I mean, Jane Austen was an awesome write that inspired some of our great writers today. To take a novel and degrade it in such a way.....words can't even describe how I feel. Maybe my sugar is low and I am being cranky; I don't know......

You Ruined Me, Miss Austen......

(Sigh)....I am rereading Pride & Prejudice and I have to say I absolutely love it! The language, the descriptions make me what to just run away. This of course did not help when I stared to watch the both Pride & Prjudice DVD's (BBC 1995 Version; Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle), (US Version; Kiera Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen)

as well as both Persuasion DVD's (1995 Version; Amanda Root, Ciaran Hinds), (2007 ITV Version; Sally Hawkins, Rupert Penry Jones). When I was done I was a totally mush ball. I sighed and swooned at all the right parts and argued with the tv screen in the parts in between. My end result: I need to get a life! So that being said, I tell you Miss Austen: no man will ever hold a candle to Mr.Darcy or Captain Wentworth; and it's completely your fault! LOL. Well....maybe God might send me a guy that can write a love letter to rival Captain Wentworth....Until then, I'll reread his letter to Anne.

You Inspire Me....

I love France! The culture, the language, the style! (My friends and I are going to Paris next year!) I was looking up new haircuts and I feel in love with a cut called the "Gamine cut". Audrey Hepburn had one; and as I google and come across more images (especially french celebs) I'm convinced its time for a cut! Audrey Tatou makes me want to cut my hair myself! I'm in a stage where I need to change. I'm boring myself; and that's not a good look.


Anyway, I wen to see The Young Victoria with my friend Beatriz and I have to say I absolutely loved it! Victoria and Albert's love story was so beautiful! I also love Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend (swoon worthy; Mr. Wickham in Pride & Prejudice US version) so maybe I'm a swayed easily. Anyway, it made me think of modern day romance, or the lack thereof really; and how we're so comfortable with it. I am sorry, I love the sonnets, the letters, etc. I'm not saying be cheesy to the point I will vomit (lol), I'm just saying can we put romance back into romance?

It Takes Time....

Normally in this society if nothing works, we automatically want to throw it out and replace it with a new one. We don't get warranties anymore because we can always upgrade later. We are always looking for something bigger, better, thinner, smaller, and faster; even in the aspect of our growth. We don't want to slow down and repair ourselves, we want a quick fix. Diet pills, cleansers, anything to speed up the process instead of taking it day by day. I find myself thinking like that sometimes. I want to be able to do Pointe (dancing on your toes in Ballet) but it takes time. You have to strengthen your core, your legs and ankles before the teacher will consider you for Pointe classes. It's better to slowly build from the inside out than to jump right into the outside structure. It won't stand without a proper foundation. We have to constantly remind ourselves it's a daily process.....Any who, my job is having you a "Roadshow". In the insurance biz, that's a meet and greet during the day where you introduce your lines of insurance with hope of working with new brokers/clients. So it means it's really quiet at work; I love this time of year. In this quiet I feel comfortable, I feel like I can relax....I was talking to my mother this morning about who else? Mr. Darcy! I told her that we are so in love with the idea of him that no real man stands a chance. It brought to mind the sermon from Friday's Youth Service. We tell God what we want or what person we have in mind and sometimes it's nothing like the person God has for us. We become so in love with an idea that it prevents us from being able to love the actual person when they are brought before us.

Saturdays & Jane Austen

I had a wonderful morning. I watched Persuasion (the Sally Hawkins & Rupert Penry Jones version) and Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley & Matthew MacFadyen version) as a marathon. One after the other. One word: AMAZING! I am a total Jane Austen groupie. I had choir rehearsal this evening; we learned a new song which I can't remember (lol). Tonight was the Youth dinner. It was wonderful. The youth of the church were the servers and everything was served via candle light. It was such a nice night to be surrounded by fellow saints in Christ. It made me realized that we should do things like on a regular basis. Being Christians doesn't mean that we have to be boring. We get to live knowing that we received the most wonderful gift ever: eternal life! Everyday for me feels like a celebration; a day to enjoy the life that has been given to me. Why shouldn't we? Anyone care to join me?