Favorite Nicholas Sparks Quotes Part II

I am a quote collector. I collect quotes from famous people, from television shows, movies, books, etc.. One of my all time favorite people to collect quotes from is Nicholas Sparks. The romantic in me loves the cheesy factor of the quotes, but at the same time there is a very great message that comes from them as well. I know I have made a post before about some of my favorite quotes of his, but recently I have stumbled upon a few more that should be added to that list... :)

"Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more.
~The Last Song~

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that."
~Message In A Bottle~

"I have faith that God will show you the answer, but you have to understand that sometimes it takes awhile to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That's how it often is. God's voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell."
~The Last Song~

"Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last."
~Dear John~

"The emotion that can break the heart is sometimes the very one that can heal it."
~At First Sight~

"Love wasn't possible in just a couple of days. Love could be set in motion quickly, but true love needed time to grow into something strong and enduring. Love was, above all, about commitment and dedication and a belief that spending years with a certain person would create something greater than the sum of what the two can accomplish separately."
~True Believer~

"He finally understood that God's presence was everywhere, at all times, and was experienced by everyone at one time or another."
~The Last Song~

"Never forget that God is your friend. And like all friends, He longs to hear what's been happening in your life. Good or bad, whether it's been full of sorrow or anger, or even when you are questioning why terrible things have to happen."
~The Last Song~

"But I'm different now than I was then. Just like I was different at the end of the trip than I'd been at the beginning. And I'll be different tomorrow than I am today. And what that means is that I can never replicate that trip. Even if I went to the same places and met the same people, it wouldn't be the same. To me that's what traveling should be about. Meeting people, learning to not only appreciate a different culture, but really enjoying it like a local, following whatever impulse strikes you. So how could I recommend a trip to someone else, if I don't even know what to expect? My advice would be to make a list of places on some index cards, shuffle them, and pick any five at random. Then just go and see what happens. If you have the right mind-set, it doesn't matter where you end up or how much money you brought. It'll be something you'll remember forever."
~The Guardian~

"I don't think we're meant to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith."
~A Walk To Remember~

Being Short Is Better

If I could change one thing about myself (not that I think about this all the time or anything) I would add a few inches to me height. Being 5'21/2" in. is not that small, but it is enough to be somewhat frustrating. I am not going to lie, I did not complain about my lack of height while standing around my tall friends when we were waiting for the March to start last week... That came in very handy for me as they all blocked the wind from my sister and I, so we were pretty warm. There are times that being short is not fun. Trying to see something when in a large crowd of people, or when at a movie theater a tall person almost always sits in front of me and blocks my view of the screen so I have to move in an uncomfortable position to see the movie. Those are just a few examples, and I could write more, but I do not really want to.


The reason why I am even talking about height is the other night I opened up a Mother Teresa book and this is what it said:

"In the Gospels, Zaccaeus was a little man who wanted to see Jesus. He tried in many ways, but he could not see Him until he accepted that he was small. That acceptance let him to the next step, the acceptance of the humiliation that he had to climb a tree so that he could see Jesus, an so let everyone know that he was very small. We need the same kind of humility for us."
-Mother Teresa-

After reading that I guess I do not mind being short....

"Thirsting For God"

One of the perks for being a teacher is that every year the families are very generous when it comes to giving presents to us teachers. Among the many gift cards I received I was a given one to Barnes and Nobles. I used it to buy a couple of books, one of which happens to be "Thirsting For God" by Mother Teresa. It is a year book filled with prayers, meditations, and anecdotes by none other than Mother Teresa. I thought I would share today's entry on here with all of you...:)

December 30
(The following quotations is taken from the last letter Mother Teresa wrote on the day of her death)

Let our gratitude be our strong resolution to quench the thirst of Jesus by lives of real charity. Love for Jesus in prayer, love for Jesus in you brothers and sisters, love for Jesus in the poorest of the poor. Nothing else."

Not So Surprised That It Starts Early

Recently our daycare received a large donation of books. The majority of the books that were given to us were Christian. Not a bad thing to have, although I really wish they were Catholic/Christian. A girl cannot be too picky when it comes to free books for my class... That is until I run into one book in particular that tries to teach anti-Catholic teachings. That is what this book in particular does. This book is supposed to be a nice Christmas story for children. It pretty much is about Mary, the Blessed Mother, sharing with her "granddaughter" about the night of Jesus' birth. It reads as though it is a fact that Jesus had a brother named James (who is the father of this girl in the book), which us Catholics know is not true.

I really should not be surprised that there are children's books out there that are worded and crafted so well, but are so not right. After reading the first page and realized what this author was trying to achieve with the beautiful pictures and nice storyline I did not finish reading it out loud. After finding such anti-Catholic doctrine in the story I spent some time going through the other books to make sure there were no more mishaps as this particular one.

So just F.Y.I., if someone suggests this book to you as a good gift to a child do not buy it.

"The Voice Within"

"Yes! My Word, the Scriptures. Read them, study them; store them in your hearts, use them as you use a lamp to guide your footsteps.
But remember, My children, My Word is more even than that. It is the Voice that speaks to your hearts, that inner consciousness that tells of Me.
It is the Voice that speaks to you intimately, personally, in this sacred evening time. It is even more than that. It is I you Lord and Friend.
'And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' Truly a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path."

Which is why we should read it....:)

Revelations 1

This year my friends and I are part of another Bible study. This time around we are looking more in-depth at the book of Revelations. Today was our first meeting and we spent a lot of our time going over what the significance of numbers and colors are in this book along with discussing the first chapter.

There is great meaning held behind the numbers and colors. The number 3 stands for a few or a limited time; 4 means fullness; 6 is incomplete; 7 means completeness and perfection; 10 means limited; 12 is also completeness because it is a multiple of 3 and 4; and lastly 1,000 means numbers to large to count. When the color white is mentioned is symbolizes victory; red means blood shed or violence; scarlet means royalty and blood shed; purple just means royalty; black means famine; and pale green is for death.

As we went through the first chapter of Revelations we noticed that there is some important happenings going on. If you look at Daniel 7 you would come across, "I beheld thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire."
This is important to keep in mind as you look at Revelations 1:13-14, "And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow." Our group came to the conclusion that this is another way to show how both God and Jesus are the very same person.

There is a little bit more to this first chapter that we covered, but sadly I do not have the time to go much farther into right now. I am thinking this will be one interesting Bible study.

"The Seven Levels of Intimacy"

This evening was a huge night for me. I was able to hear the well-known author, Matthew Kelly, speak at one of the local Catholic parishes here in town. His topic was on his book, "The Seven Levels of Intimacy." Matthew Kelly was incredibly funny and it is easy to see how much he believes what he was telling us... Intimacy is not at all about sex. In fact it is actually about the ability to reveal our true selves to those around us.

During his talk he broke down his seven levels of intimacy. From the least intimate to most intimate, these levels are cliches, facts, opinions, hopes and dreams, feelings, faults, fears, and failures (the last three are one level), and lastly legitimate needs. He said that we go through these seven levels of intimacy throughout the day with each interaction. Sometimes we only go through a few, sometimes it ends up being the most intimate, sometimes very casual.

Cliches happen to be the most simplest of the seven. Basically it is an interaction with the expected questions being asked and hardly any answer being given back... "How was your day?" "I dunno."

Facts is basically when you speak about things you have in common, or how the stock market is, or what are the stats of sports teams. It is still pretty simple.

Opinions is usually what causes the most trouble, mainly because it causes the most conflict. We tend to try to avoid conflict with one another so instead of openly stating how we feel about something when we know how the other people around us feel we just kind of go with the flow. Apparently until you have a healthy disagreement with someone your relationship with them is still not really real.

Hopes and Dreams is the fourth level of intimacy. It is important to help those around you find ways to achieve their goals, and in return we need to be open with others about what we hope for so they will help back. It is a sad thing to never know your friends hopes and dreams because that means your friends do not feel comfortable enough to share that part of them with you.

Feelings... This is the hardest part for both males and females to get down. Males tend to know when something needs to be said but rarely ever want to say it, whereas females know want to say how they feel, but tend to always say it at the wrong time. It is just a very true fact.

Faults, fears, and failures is the sixth level of intimacy. This is when you are close enough that you are able to be honest enough with one another about eachother's not so great parts. It is through this openness progress will be able to be started to work on ourselves, and that helps us become the best version of our self.

Lastly is legitimate needs. This is the one where we can say what we need from each other to make our goals come true. It is all about who we know we can come to for help when we need it most and that is who we are most comfortable with when asking for help with something.

This is all just a little bit of what I heard tonight. I am looking forward to reading this book now.

Wise Words From J.R.R. Tolkein

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that."

The above quote happens to be one of my very favorite quotes by J.R.R. Tolkien. It comes from a letter he wrote to his son about the importance of the Eucharist in everyone's spiritual journey. You can read the rest of it if you click here. It is a nice quick read with good advice.

Really there is nothing better than to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I enjoy sometimes waking up in the middle of the night and quietly drive to the local church on a night I know there is Eucharistic Adoration. I tend to come in as quietly as possible so as not bother the other two people there praying there. It is amazing how much more relaxed I am after that.

I remember having to read the book, "The Screwtape Letters" back in high school. For those of you who have never heard of this book, it is by C.S. Lewis. It is a compilation of letters between the devil and his nephew about how to keep us from getting to Heaven. It is a very interesting book and I encourage you all to take a look at it. I recall one of the main points the devil was trying to get across to his nephew is to take advantage of how to drown out God's voice by filling everyone's life with as little amounts of silence as possible. It is in when we are silent that God speaks to us. Now that I am older I understand the need for that silence, and one of the best ways to fill that particular need is through adoration.

What Am I Reading Now?

I am a book worm. I tend to read at least one book a week... This week happens to be "Cry The Beloved Country." I enjoy letting myself become so involved with a storyline that I feel as though I am playing one of the main characters from the story. There is nothing as nice on a lazy afternoon than to spend it with a great book by an amazing author. A few of my favorite authors happen to be:

Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Woman)
Jane Austin (author of Pride and Prejudice)
Matthew Kelly (author of Rhythm of Life)
C.S. Lewis (author of Chronicles of Narnia)
Jodi Picoult (author of My Sister's Keeper)
G.K. Chesterton (author of Charles Dickens: A Critical Study)
Victor Hugo (author of Les Meserables)
Nicholas Sparks (author of The Notebook)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlett Letter)
George Orwell (author of Animal Farm)

Once A Bookworm Always A Bookworm

I am a bookworm. Reading is one of my favorite past times. There is nothing better on a lazy afternoon than to let myself go into another world and become caught up in a storyline. The one book that I have read more times than I can count is "Little Woman" by Louisa May Alcott. It a book that I fell in love with as a child. My favorite childhood heroine of a story was easily Jo March from that story. I always like to think that fictional character and I have had a lot of things in common. I would like to think if she were a real person and I ever were to meet her we would get along perfectly.

Being a bit of a tomboy I hated all things girly... Dresses, dolls, having good manners, being neat and tidy... Now that I am older I am very different from the little girl I was in a number of ways, but even now I do not mind getting grass stains on pants if I am playing ultimate frisbee and I have a chance at saving it from landing on the ground.

As I grew older I did not read the book nearly as much as I did before. Instead I found a new favorite, "Pride and Prejudice." Even today though, "Little Women" is such a comfort kind of book. I pull it out when I am stuck at home sick. It feels like home. I have the story memorized and it still holds a little magic over me. I am so excited to eventually pass down this book to my own daughters when I have them. Maybe one of them will find it as special as I did. Who knows...

Change.... I Certainly Do Not Like It...

This past week has been finals week here in Bloomington, for the college students. I have learned to kind of dread this week because it is always a week of good-byes. My friends who are seniors are done with IU and Bloomington once graduation is over and I know that for a large number of them it will probably be the last time I will ever get to see them. I will be keeping in touch with them via facebook and texting and what have you, but it will not be the same as seeing them even once a month or so. Even now as I sit here and type this out, the whole goodbye process does not seem totally real to me yet. I still feel as though I will be able to call up these
friends and make a time to hang-out... It is hard to let go of something you want to hold on to.
Anyway so I was kinda down last night thinking about all this good-bye stuff. I decided to pick up the Bible, without really having any idea what I was wanting to read. I decided to just randomly open it up, and what page did I open it up to???

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace."

Yeah... I needed to read that.

"Change...
we don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind.
And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying.
But heres the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good.
Oh, sometimes, change is... everything."
~Grey's Anatomy~

Yes, I am still alive. :)

Well I have realized tonight that I haven't written up a blog post on here in quite a few days. I have just been so busy with a lot of different things that I haven't really had the time to sit down and write out a blog... I was busy with work, retreat reunions, movie night, playing ultimate frisbee, going to a friend's band concert, bowling, confirmation classes, and Bible study, add on family drama to that... Just a lot going on. Not much free time at all.

Tonight for Bible study we studied the book of Tobit. It is my very favorite book of the Bible. Me a hopeless romantic and all, this particular book, along with Song of Songs, totally works for me. It is a love story with lots of different drama going on in the story... It starts off with Tobias, Tobiah's father, a very righteous and holy man who becomes blind. He becomes distressed and prays to be able to die.

While this is going on there is a woman named Sarah who has issues of her own. She had married seven times, and each of those seven husbands ended up being killed by the demon of lust on their wedding night. She finally gets to the breaking point and starts to plan her own death. She changes her mind from committing suicide to asking God to take her life, and even at the end of her prayer she hands everything over to him and says that if He wants her to live, so be it, put to take pity on her.

At this point of the storyline, God finally sends out the archangel Raphael (Raphael actually means healer) to help answer both their prayers. Raphael goes with Tobiah to go in search of his wife, Sarah. Along the way they come upon a fish, and Raphael tells Tobiah that if he wants to get rid of Sarah's demon he must use the insides of this fish to cause him to flee, and then afterwords he and Sarah must pray to God in thanksgiving. He also said that in order to give Tobias his vision back he has to use the guts of the fish and wipe it on his eyes.

Finally Tobiah meets Sarah and they both do as Raphael told him on their wedding night, and the evil demon flees without hurting Tobiah, and then they kneel down and pray in thanksgiving for their vocation of marriage to each other.

Tobiah and Sarah finally head back to Ninevah where Tobiah helps bring his father's vision back. When Tobiah goes to give Raphael money for going on his journey with him Raphael finally reveals who he is to the two men... and then everyone lives happily ever after...

Here is the prayer that the Tobiah and Sarah prayed their wedding night...

Tobit 8:4-8

When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance." She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." They said together, "Amen, amen,"

"The Words We Pray"

This is a very interesting book to read. It goes through the history of all the popular prayers we have... The Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, so forth and so on. I highly recommend it. There are many interesting facts about these prayers I never knew until I read this book.... I have decided to use it as part of my lent promises....

"Gracious Goodness"

Recently I have enjoyed reading through the above book. It is about the gifts of the Holy Spirit... but not only those but also other things like attentiveness, beauty, patience, intimacy, leadership..... so forth and so on. Each of the chapters has a thought provoking quote and then a little meditation about that particular gift then at the very end there is an even more thought provoking question that is used to really make you think and reflect about that particular gift... I really enjoy it, so I thought I would write a little bit about it here on this blog... Maybe you will enjoy it too.....

Thinking Back in Time

As this decade comes to a close I found myself thinking back on how life was at the beginning of this decade for me... I started out the decade at age twelve and finished it at age twenty-two. I remember being in love with the backstreet boys that year along with having a huge crush on the boy next door... He was my first real big crush, and now that I think back on it I think he was a good one to have a crush on. He is a good guy still. That was the year that my older sister had her first baby boy and I became an aunt. I remember those were the days that I enjoyed playing basketball.... knock-out, horse, whatever game had to do with shooting a ball through a hoop. For being so short I became pretty good at that game. It was also the last year I played softball. I was very sad to say goodbye to my catcher position, but I can see why my parents decided to take a break from it. I played in a town outside of Bloomington, but was about a twenty-five min. to thirty min. drive for my dad to make two to three times a week. I loved that place though. There were a lot of Saturdays spent at that ballpark during the Spring and beginning of Summer. I remember that was the year that my homeschool group grew a ton. At the beginning of the year it was only my family and two others, but by the end of it we had I think eight families join us. The kids that came into that group that year stayed my best friends pretty much all through high school. We were all pretty inseperable until college came along.
I was hooked on reading Nancy Drew books when I was twelve. I still do enjoy reading suspense thrillers quite a bit.
2000 was the year I rocked out to "Its My Life" by Bon Jovie and "Kryptonite" and was obsessed with Faith Hills song "Breath." I could quote almost all the veggie tales movies by heart along with lines from the movie "Remember the Titans." It was the year that the first R rated movie came out my parents let me watch, "The Patriot" for history class. It was also the year "Bring it On" came out, and after watching that movie my friends and I wished we were in high school so bad so we could be cheerleaders.... not the wisest thing for us to want, but the movie glamorized it a lot.
It is so weird to me how fast this decade has gone by and I had a blast throughout it all! I wonder how much I will change at the end of the next decade... hmm.

"Fight Fear!" Sounds easier said then done...

December 20

Fight fear as you would fight a plague. Fight it in My Name. . . . Fear, even the smallest fear, is the hacking at the cords of Love that bind you to Me.
However small the impression, in time those cords will wear thin, and then one disappointment, or shock, and they snap. But for the little fears the cords of Love would have held.

Fight fear.

Depression is a state the fear. Fight that too. Fight. Fight. Depression is the impression left by fear. Fight and conquer, and oh! for Love of Me, for the sake of My tender, never-failing Love of you, fight and love and win.

"Here my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy." Psalm 64:1

Typology: Moses and Jesus

As I mentioned in my last post, my Bible study group has just finished studying the book of Exodus... I found this little graph that shows the typology between Moses and Jesus if anyone is interested in reading it....

MOSES	JESUS
An evil king/Pharaoh tried to kill him as a baby: Exodus 1:22	King Herod tried to kill baby Jesus: Matthew 2:16
He was hidden from the evil king/Pharaoh: Exodus 2:2	An angel said to hide the child from the evil King Herod: Matthew 2:13
Moses was sent into Egypt to preserve his life: Exodus 2:3-4	Jesus was taken into Egypt to preserve His life: Matthew 2:13-15
He was saved by women: his mother: Exodus 2:3; Miriam 2:4; Pharaoh's daughter 2:5-10	Saved and helped by His mother, Mary: Matthew 2:14
Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses: Exodus 2:10	Joseph adopted Jesus: Matthew 1:25
Moses became a prince of Egypt: Exodus 2:10	Jesus is the Prince of Peace: Isaiah 9:5; Matthew 28:18; Luke 2:14
Long period of silence from childhood to adulthood	Long period of silence from childhood to adulthood
Moses had a secret identity	Messianic secret = Jesus the Son of God
He tried to save a Hebrew kinsman: Exodus 2:11-12	Jesus came to save His Hebrew kinsman first: Mark 7:26-28
Went from being a prince to a pauper: Exodus 2:15-19	Went from being God to being man: John 1:1-3; Mark 6:3
Saved women at a well: Exodus 2:15-19	Saved a woman at a well: John chapter 4
Became a shepherd: Exodus 3:1	He is the Good Shepherd: John 10:11
Moses' mission was to redeem Israel from slavery to Egypt	Jesus' mission is to redeem mankind from slavery to sin
Moses was loved and supported in his ministry by his sister Miriam [in Hebrew, Miryam]	Jesus was loved and supported in his ministry by His mother Mary [in Hebrew, Miryam]
He was often rejected by his own people	Jesus was often rejected by His own people
Moses will give God's law on the mountain of Sinai: Exodus 20:1-31:18; 34:1-35	Jesus will give the new law from the Mt. of Beatitudes: Matthew chapter 5
Moses spent 40 days fasting on the mountain: 24:18;34:28	Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert wilderness: Matthew 4:2
Moses performs signs/ miracles	Jesus performs signs/miracles
Moses offered his life for the salvation of his people after the sin of the Golden Calf: Exodus 32:33-33	Jesus offered His life for the salvation of the world: Isaiah 53:12; Romans 5:12; 6:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Colossians 1:19-20; 2:14-15; 1 John 1:7; 2:2; etc.
Moses is the prophet of the Old Covenant Church	Jesus is the prophet, priest, and King of a New and everlasting Covenant = the universal Catholic Church [note catholic means universal]

I Think I need to go read the book of Daniel now....

Teresa took the What Bible Book Are You? quiz and the result is Daniel

You want people to be faithful to God in the midst of temptation to conform. You will not let societal pressures bother you, and you reassure people of God's faithfulness and his victory in the end. You know more hard times will come but God will give the ultimate victory. You have deep insight into the world and the future.

A few of my favorite quotes.....

I think that next to the book "Pride and Prejudice," every guy should read at least one Nicholas Sparks book if he really wants to understand what a woman wants from a man... my personal favorite book of his is a tie "The Guardian" and his most popular, "The Notebook" He's also famous for "A Walk to Remember" and "A Message In A Bottle." Most recently another one of his books was turned into a movie, "Nights in Rodanthe," but that was my least favorite book of his so far. Why do I feel the need to write about this author tonight? I think it is mostly because I was looking up quotes of his to put into my quote book, and while looking through the many websites dedicated to him I could not help but be even more touched by his work... My sisters and I like to joke around about his relationship with his wife. I think whoever was lucky enough to marry him is probably a very happy woman, but then we could have it all wrong... I don't really think we could be too wrong though, because I just can't believe that a man that can write such beautiful stories with such moving passages in them could not be a romantic himself... Anyway, some of my most favorite quotes by him are:

"I am nothing special of this I am sure. I am just a common man with common thoughts. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, that has always been enough."
~The Notebook~

"Dusk is an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are, there cannot be one without the other, yet they cannot exist at the same time. 'How would it feel,' I remember wondering, 'to be always together, yet forever apart."
~The Notebook~

"Poetry she thought, wasn't written to be analyzed, it was meant to inspire without reason, to touch without understanding."
~The Notebook~

"Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelmes logic and common sense, That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, LOVE like that has happened only once, and that's why every moment we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it."
~The Notebook~

"Dreams are always crushing when they don't come true. But it's the simple dreams that are often the most painful because they seem so personal, so reasonable, so attainable. You're always close enough to touch, but never quite close enough to hold and it's enough to break your heart."
~Three Weeks With My Brother~

"And I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered. But most of all, I learned that life is about sitting on benches next to ancient creeks with my hand on her knee, and sometimes, on good days, for falling in love."
~The Notebook~

"The hurt began to fade and it was easier to just let go. At least I thought it was. But in every boy I met over the next few years, I found myself looking for you, and when the feelings got too strong, I'd write you a letter. But I never sent them, in fear of what I might find. By then, you'd gone on with your life and I didn't want to think about you loving someone else. I wanted to remember us like we were that Summer. I don't want to ever forget that."
~The Notebook~

"There was something inside her that longed to be desired, to be cared for and protected, to be listened to and accepted without judgement. To be loved."
~The Rescue~

"It is the possiblity that keeps me going... and though you may call me a dreamer or a fool or any other thing. I believe that anything is possible."
~The Notebook~

Jesus and Mary are the new Adam and Eve

This evening I attended an all Catholic college student bible study. It was kind of small tonight... there were only five of us. It was very informal being the first time we met. We spent most of the evening talking about what we would want to study, well at least that was the plan... Instead we got on topics like theology of the body and the second creation story (but only because they found out I had never read it before.... I've always kind of skipped that one after reading the first one...), we also talked about cremation and how our souls are supposed to reunite with our bodies after death... just random topics like that.
While talking about the creation story the "leader" had us turn to the first chapter of John. He showed us how John used the format of the creation story to show even more about how Jesus and Mary are the new Adam and Eve... It was very interesting. Especially when the verse that goes along with the sixth day of creation happens to be right before he does his first miracle. He looks right at Mary and says "woman" just like how in Genesis it states that God made " woman." I don't know. It was something I never really thought about before. It is very cool to me.... Below I put the two different passages, the creation story and the first chapter of John if you want to read it for yourselves to compare the two.

Creation story

1

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.

2

Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.

3

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

4

¹ Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--

5

while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,

6

but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground--

7

² the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.

8

³ Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.

9

Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.

10

⁴ A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.

11

The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12

The gold of that land is excellent; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.

13

The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.

14

The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15

The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.

16

The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden

17

except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."

18

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."

19

So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name.

20

The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

21

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

22

The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man,

23

⁵ the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."

24

⁶ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

25

The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

John 1-2

1 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men;

5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.

6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John.

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light.

9 The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him.

11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him.

12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name

13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself.

14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.'

16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -- one gift replacing another,

17 for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

19 This was the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'

20 He declared, he did not deny but declared, 'I am not the Christ.'

21 So they asked, 'Then are you Elijah?' He replied, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' He answered, 'No.'

22 So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?'

23 So he said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight!'

24 Now those who had been sent were Pharisees,

25 and they put this question to him, 'Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?'

26 John answered them, 'I baptise with water; but standing among you -- unknown to you-

27 is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandal.'

28 This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

30 It was of him that I said, "Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because he existed before me."

31 I did not know him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptise with water was so that he might be revealed to Israel.'

32 And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven and rest on him.

33 I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptise with the Holy Spirit."

34 I have seen and I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.'

35 The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past,

36 and John looked towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.'

37 And the two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi' -- which means Teacher -- 'where do you live?'

39 He replied, 'Come and see'; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

40 One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.

41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and say to him, 'We have found the Messiah' -- which means the Christ-

42 and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas' -- which means Rock.

43 The next day, after Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, he met Philip and said, 'Follow me.'

44 Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.'

46 Nathanael said to him, 'From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?' Philip replied, 'Come and see.'

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.'

48 Nathanael asked, 'How do you know me?' Jesus replied, 'Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.'

49 Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.'

50 Jesus replied, 'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You are going to see greater things than that.'

51 And then he added, 'In all truth I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man.'

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there,

2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited.

3 And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'

4 Jesus said, 'Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.'