Hymn #15: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Oct4

Lyrics: Charles Wesley, 1739. Written in celebration of the first service of London’s first Wesleyan Chapel. This chapel was known as the Foundry Meeting House because Charles Wesley purchased an old foundry building to house his growing number of converts.

Music: EASTER HYMN, unknown author, first published in 1708.

Theme: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures . . . I Corinthians 15:3-4.

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say! Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high: Alleluia!
Sing ye heavens, thou earth reply. Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done; Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won: Alleluia!
Lo, our Sun’s eclipse is o’er; Alleluia!
Lo, He sets in blood no more. Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell. Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise; Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise. Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King! Alleluia!
Where, O Death is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save; Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!

What though once we perished all, Alleluia!
Partners in our parents’ fall? Alleluia!
Second life we all receive, Alleluia!
In our heavenly Adam live. Alleluia!

Risen with Him, we upward move, Alleluia!
Still we seek the things above, Alleluia!
Still pursue and kiss the Son, Alleluia!
Seated on his Father’s throne. Alleluia!

Scarce on earth a thought bestow, Alleluia!
Dead to all we leave below; Alleluia!
Heaven our aim and loved abode, Alleluia!
Hid our life with Christ in God; Alleluia!

Hid till Christ, our Life, appear, Alleluia!
Glorious in His members here; Alleluia!
Joined to Him, we then shall shine, Alleluia!
All immortal, all divine. Alleluia!

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven! Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given! Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now: Alleluia!
Hail, the Resurrection Thou! Alleluia!

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

The “Alleluia” at the end of each line of the poem was not originally part of the Wesley’s hymn. An unknown editor added that responsive repetition to better fit words to music. Wesley’s original poem also had eleven verses, and I finally found all eleven in this post at Dr. Mark Roberts’ blog.

Also Known As Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

Oct3

In this post at Chasing Ray, Collen asks a group of authors for children and young adults the following questions:

Do you think historic MG & YA fiction addresses socioeconomic status more effectively than contemporary titles? How important do you think it is for readers to identify with protagonists of their own socioeconomic background? Do you need to read about people with the same financial struggles you have or in times of trouble is it better just to live vicariously? Are realistic titles of this type just too much of a downer? If the book is about fitting in or teen love or friendship, does it help or hinder to drop those details into the plot? Is socioeconomic fantasy just a new kind of fantasy – as out of this world as vamps and wizards and just as much fun? Are we in literary denial or just willfully trying to conjure a more carefree world?

Take a look at their answers; it’s long but worth a read if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

I link to the discussion here because in Ann Haywood Leal’s Also Known As Harper, the socioeconomic status of the family in the book is the main focus of the story, and it works, sort of. Harper Lee Morgan is a poet, the daughter of an alcoholic father and a hard-working mother, and Harper is also the one who has to take care of her little brother Hemingway while Mom tries to find enough work to keep the family from being evicted from their rental house. A lot of the story is rather dark as Harper and her family move from their house to a run down motel to an even more rundown shack in the woods with no plumbing or electricity. As a source of hope Harper has her poetry, and the ending of the story is hopeful, if a bit unrealistic.

Still, I’m not sure that this story would appeal so much to children who are actually living through the circumstances described in the book. I tend to think those children would prefer Narnia or a middle/upper class family like the Moffats or even the Cassons, something to aspire to or dream about. In fact, the family in Also Known As Harper fixates on To Kill a Mockingbird, and Atticus Finch in particular, to feed their fantasies of a better life. The children I can imagine embracing this book are those who are metaphorically “slumming” when they read it, children who want to know how the other half lives. And some of them might have a sense of compassion and even empathy aroused by reading about Harper Lee and her struggles.

From Colleen’s post:
Jenny Davidson: “Details like this are so telling, so vivid, and obviously novels are one of the ways that we get a sense of lives other than our own…”
Zetta Elliot: “I do sometimes worry that white middle-class readers are drawn to such books out of a perverse desire to be voyeursâ€”impoverished urban blacks are â€œexotic,â€ and the dysfunction of their world leads to titillation rather than sympathy or understanding.”
Mayra Lazara Dole: “I know there are many of us who’d love to read stories written by authors who’ve experienced poverty, as well as novels that entertain and have you living vicariously. Exposing how others live through authentic lit might change the lives of teens . . . for the better.”

What good books would you recommend for children and young adults that feature characters living in poverty or in lower middle class financial stress? How does this choice of socioeconomic class on the part of an author affect the book and its characters’ choices?

Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor

Oct3

The front page of the copy of this Pulitzer prize-winning novel that I got from the library says that MacKinlay Kantor “planned the writing of Andersonville, his masterwork, for twenty-five years.” I can believe it. The novel is 750 pages long and almost unbelievably detailed in its treatment of the Confederate prison of war camp at Andersonville, Georgia. The style of writing is a little odd. The book is mostly made up of short story or novelette length vignettes of the experiences of different people, mostly men, in and around the prison. A few characters persist throughout the entire book–the Claffey family who own a plantation just outside the prison, another family of poor whites who live nearby. The Yankee prisoners themselves and the prison guards and Confederate officers who run the prison move through the book, making appearances, telling their own stories, but mostly they don’t survive. Sometimes we read from the perspective of one of these prisoners, and then the writing becomes almost esoteric, as the reader partakes of the stream of consciousness, muddled thoughts and actions of disease-ridden and psychologically confused, sometimes delirious, men.

What I took away from the book was a reminder that there really is evil in the world, that Auschwitz and the killing fields of Cambodia, are sadly not the only examples of men treating men like animals, and worse. Interestingly, although Kantor seems to have some sympathy for the Confederates caught on the losing end of a war that they saw as a battle for the survival of their way of life, nowhere does the book make the excuse for Andersonville that I have read before: that the Confederates themselves were malnourished and drained of resources and could not adequately feed or house thousands of Yankee prisoners. In the book, at least, there is plenty of food, just outside the prison walls, and the Claffeys and their neighbors even offer to help provide for the prisoners. But the cruelty of a few officers overrides any attempt to alleviate conditions at Andersonville. In this novel the infamous Captain Henry Wirz, commander of the prison, is a stupid, cruel German (reminding me again of Auschwitz) dictator whose wish is for all of the Yankees to die. And Wirz’s supervisor, General Winder, who is in charge of all of the Confederate prisoner of war camps, is even worse, if that is possible. The two of them make no excuses for their behavior; they are fighting their own war, against the Yankees, even those in prison. (No Geneva convention here.)

Andersonville won its Pulitzer Prize in 1956, several years after the horrors of the Holocaust of Hiter’s Germany had been revealed and somewhat assimilated, so I imagine that the echoes of those WW II atrocities are not unintended. The stories of how some of the Yankee prisoners at Andersonville kept some kind of human dignity even under the most degrading circumstances, and of how some became evil predators themselves, parallel stories of Hitler’s concentration camps and the conditions and choices made there. Andersonville is a disturbing book, but worth slogging through for the lessons and reminders it gives: evil can happen here, and good people can become enmeshed in that evil.

The Cybils Are Coming! The Cybils Are Coming!

Oct2

I’m, as Melissa puts it, ridiculously excited, because I get to help chose the finalist for the Middle Grade Fiction for the Cybils again this year. And look at the wonderful bloggers that I get to work alongside. Expect to see lots of new children’s fiction reviews in the next couple of months.

Panel Organizer: Kerry Millar, Shelf Elf

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Sherry Early, Semicolon
Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Abby Johnson, Abby the Librarian
Kyle Kimmal, The Boy Reader
Becky Laney, Becky’s Book Reviews
Sarah Mulhern, The Reading Zone
Sandra Stiles, Musings of a Book Addict

Round II Judges:

Kimberly Baker, Wagging Tales
Stacy Dillon, Welcome to my Tweendom
Monica Edinger, Educating Alice
David Elzey, Excelsior File
Kerry Millar (see panel organizer)

Nominations are open for the Cybils, blogger awarded book recognition for children’s and young adult literature, now through October 15th. Nominate your favorite books published since last fall at the Cybils blog.

Hymn #16: O Sacred Head Now Wounded

Oct2

Lyrics; Attributed to Bernard of Clairvoux (12th century).
Translated from Latin to English by James Waddel Alexander.

Music: Original melody composed by Hans Leo Hassler. This melody was first used for the German version of the hymn in 1656. Then, Johann Sebastian Bach used his arrangement of the melody in his St. Matthew’s Passion and his Christmas Oratorio. Therefore, the tune has become closely associated with Bach.

Theme: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2.

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinnersâ€™ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! â€™Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in deathâ€™s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms Iâ€™ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, Iâ€™d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

I found this acoustic guitar rendition via Brandywine Books:

Hymn #17: In Christ Alone

Oct1

Lyrics: Stuart Townend

Music: Keith Getty

Theme: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12

The story of the composition of the contemporary worship hymn, In Christ Alone.

â€œIâ€™ve been amazed by the response to this song,â€ says Townend. â€œWeâ€™ve had some incredible e-mails about how people have been helped by the song through incredibly difficult circumstances.â€

One e-mail described how a U.S soldier serving in Iraq would pray through each verse of the song every day, and how the promises of Godâ€™s protection and grace helped to sustain him through the enormous pressures and dangers of life in a war zone.

Adrian Warnock interviews Keith Getty.

Adrian Warnock interviews Stuart Townend.

Jared (Gospel-Driven Church) has posted the lyrics and a youtube rendition of this hymn.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sinâ€™s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From lifeâ€™s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ Iâ€™ll stand.

We sing this modern hymn, that is yet so grounded in the historic Christian faith and doctrine that it sounds tried and tested, in my church frequently. Each time we sing it I am reminded of the basic creed of the Christian church throughout history: We stand complete before God clothed in the life, death and resurrection of Christ alone.

I think this one is destined to become a classic, moving toward the top of the list.

Read Aloud Thursday: A Murder for Her Majesty

Oct1

A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner. Alice witnesses the murder of her musician father in Elizabethan England, and she runs away to hide from his murderers in York. There she becomes friends with the boys in the cathedral choir and joins the choir herself disguised as a boy. Can she remain hidden even though one of the murderers, Father Cooper, works at the cathedral, and even though the murder may have been committed by order of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth herself?

Me: Are you enjoying our read aloud book?

Betsy-Bee (10): Yes. It always seems as if these books are sort of boring at the beginning, but then when you get into them they get more interesting. This one is more interesting because it’s about kids, not grownups.

Me: We haven’t quite finished the book. What do you think is going to happen?

BB: Well, Alice just got kidnapped by Father Cooper and the others, and she told them that she told her music teacher everything. So they’re going to keep her alive until they check on that. But she really told Geoffrey about everything, and Geoffrey and the other choir boys are going to tell Master Kenton. I don’t think that Master Kenton will believe them at first, but they’ll do something to make him believe. Then, they’ll have a grown-up to help them rescue her.

Me: What do you think will happen, Z-baby?

Z-Baby (8): In all those books like that there’s always a happy ending.

BB: Everybody know that it’s going to be a horrible book otherwise.

Me: Don’t bad things ever happen in books?

BB: Yeah, sometimes bad things happen, but it always turns out happy in the end. Unless it’s a horrible book.

Me: Well, if you already know how it will end, then what makes it interesting?

Z-baby: Well, all the chapters end with this Big Wondering, and you want to know what’s going to happen next.

BB: And if you start a book you have to finish it to know for sure what will happen. But some books are so boring that you don’t even care about what will happen next.

Me: What do you think is the most importatn part of this book, A Murder for Her Majesty, the characters, the plot (story) or the ideas?

BB: I think it’s a kind of good idea because it’s about a girl who dresses up like a boy to save her life because she’s being chased by murderers. I would never think of that idea, but if it was to save my life, then it would be scary, but I would do it.

Me: Do you think you could get away with pretending to be a boy?

BB: I’ve tried before, and I don’t think so. If it were a boy dressing me up to look like a boy then maybe I would. Maybe it’s because I have long hair.

Me: Well, she cut her hair. Would you cut off your hair to save your life?

BB: I’d do almost anything to save my life.

Me: What about the setting for this book? It’s in a cathedral. Have you ever been in a cathedral?

BB: No, it’s a big, big church.

Me: Would like to visit a cathedral?

BB: Only with my friends.

Me: What about singing in a cathedral choir?

BB: I only like dancing in front of people, not singing.

Me: And what’s your favorite word that you learned from the book?

BB (retorted): It’s NOT my favorite word. I get annoyed by that word “retorted” because the author uses it over and over. It’s weird.

Me: Anything else?

BB: Well, I wouldn’t exactly feel very comfortable in a house full of boys. I’d like at least one girl.

Z-baby: All I’d say is that it’s a good book.

If you read closely, you can glean from our conversation that A Murder for Her Majesty has a good, attention-getting plot and premise. The writing is OK, but the overuse of adverbs and synonyms for “said” is a bit annoying. And the setting is interesting. It’s also set around Christmas time, so it would be a good book for reading aloud in December, particularly if Elizabethan times were on the history agenda.

Hymn #18: The Old Rugged Cross

Sep30

Lyrics: George Bernard

Music: George Bernard

Theme: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Islam has its crescent and sword, Marxism its hammer and sickle. Buddhists have statues of the Buddha himself, laughing or serious, according to one’s taste. Other religions and philosophies have their symbols of power and victory.

Christians have the cross. We may pretty it up and hang it on a gold chain, but at its heart Christianity is about an old rugged cross, an instrument of torture and death. A cross is not much of a victory. A cross is not about becoming powerful or defeating all one’s enemies. A cross in Roman times meant only one thing: a slow and painful death.

And yet . . .

Wednesday’s Whatever: Pro-Choice, Pro-Monogamy

Sep30

Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool,
Loving both of you is breaking all the rules.
Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool,
Loving you both is breaking all the rules.

Oh, I remember 1977 and this hit song, written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell, and recorded by Mary MacGregor. The song was Ms. MacGregor’s only hit, and if you listen you’ll know that that’s a shame because she has a lovely voice.

I hated that song. I used to talk to the radio and say, “Yes, you feel like a fool! You are are a fool! Make a choice!” Then I’d switch to another radio station. I really hated that song.

So, now I’m caught in a quandary because I just read two YA books that I didn’t hate, but both of them have that same plot line: torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. Is this fantasy of two wonderful guys both madly in love with one girl something I missed out on? I would have settled for one, as a teen. I don’t remember ever thinking about how exciting it would be to have two guys on a string or how difficult, and flattering, it would be to have them fighting over me, to have to choose between them. Why is this conflict popping up all over in the books I’m reading and the TV I’m watching?

Examples:
The first book I read last week was The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. If I had known it was a zombie book (the zombies are called The Unconsecrated, but they’re zombies), I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. However, for a zombie book it was O.K.—except that the female protagonist, Mary, can’t decide whether she loves Travis or Harry, who happen to be brothers and about the only available guys around. If you’ve read this far, you’re not worried about spoilers, so I’ll give you a heads up: she never does really make up her mind.

Then, I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Colllins, the sequel to last year’s hit, The Hunger Games. I loved it, and I’m looking forward to the third and final installment in the trilogy. However, Katniss in this novel is again “torn between two lovers,” Peeta and Gale. All sorts of developments make this choice a difficult one for Miss Katniss, but heckfire, why can’t she just fish or cut bait, at least in her own mind? No, she loves Gale, but she has some kind of feeling for Peeta, too; she’s just not sure what that feeling is. I hope in the third book she grows up and makes a choice, and the author doesn’t feel the need to kill one of the male leads to resolve the dilemma.

I started thinking about how many popular books and TV shows have this premise: in the Twilight series, Bella is torn between Jacob and Edward. She really knows which one she wants to spend her life with, but she strings the other guy along for two books, just in case. Cut him loose, for Pete’s sake!

On LOST (you knew I’d bring LOST into this rant somehow, didn’t you?), Kate’s been torn between Jack and Sawyer for five seasons. I’m sure there’s are bets being placed somewhere on which guy she’ll end up with.

I’m sure these are only the tip of the iceberg. Can you think of any other books movies, or TV show with the girl torn-between-two-lovers device? I do think it’s a device to create and maintain romantic/dramatic tension. After all, what did the character Jacob really add to Twilight, other than another pretty face?

And did Jane Austen’s heroines have this issue?

Reading My Library

Sep29

Now this project is a fantastic idea! Carrie and her little boys are planning to read through all the books in the picture book section of the library from A to Z. If my children were a little younger, I’d join in. Maybe when the grandchildren come along . . .