Who Knew? Sci-Fi C.S. Lewis Inspires!

Having been raised on the milk of the Chronicles of Narnia, enlivened and instructed by first The Great Divorce and then The Screwtape Letters, a dear friend discovered my innocence of Clive's Space Trilogy, and wouldn't let me leave her home without the first two in-hand.
Having devoured Out of the Silent Planet, I approached Perelandra with an assumed "knowledge" of the worlds... and then the devil entered into it all, and my horizons expanded!
The Screwtape Letters pales in comparison to the logical arguments and deceitful tactics found in Perelandra... to the point that it's unnerving.
I've included a few of my fave passages and encourage you to read the entire trilogy as well. In the meantime, we'll see how That Hideous Strength goes.

p. 95 the main character, Ransom, describes the devil's smile
"... not bitter nor raging, nor sinister; it was not even mocking. It seemed to summon Ransom, with horrible naivete of welcome, into the world of its own pleasures, as if they were the most natural thing in the world and no dispute could ever have occurred about them. It was not furtive, nor ashamed, it had nothing of the conspirator in it. It did not defy oodness, it ignored it to the point of annihilation. Rnasom perceived that he had never before seen anythin but half-hearted and uneasy attempts at evil. This creature was whole-hearted. The extremity of its evil had passed beyond all struggle into some state which bore a horrible similarity to innocence. It was beyond vice as the Lady was beyond virtue."
after reading some of the deceits, I would drop the book down and simply rage at the thought of how true it is the devil is the king of liars. I often found myself at a loss for words just as the main character did...
p. 97 "I do not want you to hear him at all,' said Ransom, 'He is ----' and then he hesitated. 'Bad,' 'liar,' 'enemy,' none of these words would, as yet have any meaning for her." They wouldn't have any meaning for us if we come face to face with the Father of Lies. So deceptive, yet so close to innocence, it is uncanny.

not sure of the page number, but it's beautiful...
"'How can I step out of [God's] will save into something that cannot be wished?'"

p. 179
"We have learned of evil, though not as the Evil One wished us to learn. We have learned better than that, and know it more, for it is waking that understands sleep and not sleep that understands waking. There is an ignorance of evil that comes from being young: there is a darker ignorance that comes from doing it, as men by sleeping lose the knowledge of sleep."

Of course it's not theology. Of course it's not truth... but it catches you off guard and makes you think.
The one truth that exists is, no matter how frightening, fearful, deceptive, or destructive the devil can be... Love is still more powerful.

Ahh! What a fresh taste of sweet writing lemonade. Thank you, Clive Staples for putting your thoughts on paper.

Children in the Womb Cry

I pray this never goes down.
Discovery.com had this video up for over 2 years. Suddenly, overnight, last night to today, it disappeared. Grr.
Well, here it is, and if it "disappears" again,... I'll try to continue the search.


and this is the link to the video with just the music that caused the child to cry in his/her mommy's womb.

Transformers are Pro-Life!!

Yes! Really really!
What's the Transformers motto? "More than meets the eye"

Final quote of the new Transformers movie gave me goosebumps, and tears...

With the Allspark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. But fate has yielded its own reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting...protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here. We are waiting. ~ Optimus Prime

Children in the womb are "more than meets the eye." You cannot see them. Many times, a pregnant woman's body (like mine) doesn't even show signs of life until 6 months' gestation or later. But there is a beautiful, precious "little one" (meaning of fetus) inside.

By 12 weeks' gestation, the beautiful little one inside has a brain and a heart. With a distinguished heartbeat, this early, this beautiful child will come to term (99% sure).

Will we be Transformers? Will we stand up and protect human life? At what cost? Our own lives?

Optimus Prime: At the end of this day, one shall stand... one shall fall!

Megatron: You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!

Pregnant? Need help? It's confidential. It doesn't matter who you are. We are non-judgmental and we do not force decisions or pressure you. We provide the honest options without alterior motives because we do not benefit as a medical practice, doctor, or healthcare provider. We will listen.

Are you hurting? Post-abortion healing. You are not alone. We offer confidential, supportive, non-judgmental, healing resources.

More Fantastic Transformers Pro-Life Quotes:

Mikaela Banes: What would you do to sacrifice anything in your perfect little life?

Optimus Prime: Sam, you risked your life to protect the Cube?
Sam Witwicky: No sacrifice, no victory.

Purple House Owner Tells Renee de Burgh her story

Remember the purple house blog?
Well, the owner of the purple house stumbled on my blog post. Her story brings tears to my eyes, and inspiration to write another children's book based on her story! This blog post ends with an apology to the owner. I need to clarify my original blog and its intentions. And I want to honor the owner of the purple house.

Hello Renee:

I am the woman in the picture who lives in the purple house. We lived in this house for 13 years before we decided to paint it purple. At this point we've been long time members of the community. We have volunteered in many aspects of our community. My husband was a Cub Scout leader, he helped rebuild the local playground, I have volunteered at the schools and have always helped my many friends in the community when they were in need. When I was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago, my friends and neighbors in this little town were my lifeline. Some love the purple, some don't... it's just a color and we still have free speech in this country. I watch over my elderly neighbors. People frequently stop to talk to me when I'm out in the garden, asking for directions or saying how much joy my house and garden gives them. For you to insinuate they we are not good and upstanding members of our community is incorrect and insulting. Something tells me you might judge a person by the color of his/her skin versus what is inside. If you read the article, my neighbors (now 88) are fine with it and very fond of me. They worried about me with my cancer and I worry about them because they are 88 and talk to them on their porch all summer. I checked with the Town before I painted the house. I have attended many Town Council meetings on other matters. It is a sad day when the color purple makes people judge you. I have taught my children to be free to express themselves, and to be good neighbors and members of this community in which I have loved for 16 years. I didn't realize when we painted the house I'd be teaching them courage to stand up to the insults and ridicule of others. That has been a bonus. ~Amy Olson

Amy, I have to say, I love your purple house. It brings me joy. I am sorry that my blog post came across as an insult. Please forgive me. Also, please forgive me if you felt at all exploited or judged. When I first saw your house, I just smiled and wanted to meet the owner and discover the beautiful family that lived there.
The person who was in the car with me, a real estate agent, shared those thoughts, and honestly, though I should have said so on my blog (I normally prefer to allow people to respond), I thought it was an appalling judgment as well. Having grown up in a happy, bright yellow house, color just inspires creativity.

I think it's sick that potential owners of a house will judge the neighborhood by the color of (fill in blank). I think it's sad that people are scared away by bold self-expression or being "different" or non-conformist. Our morally relative, don't-make-waves society praises lukewarm blandness. I hope we each challenge ourselves to rise above that; we are individuals, and our country allows it (in itself beautiful), and yet something in our culture wants to supress that.

What a happy thing that your neighbors enjoy your house an its color. Isn't it a beautiful thing when a community builds relationships, works on them over the years, and finds unity and support through shared concerns and shared challenges?

Christmas in July

Sears puts out Christmas gear

Yah, I know. I thought it was stupid too...

But while we're at it, I'm collecting pre-orders for two Christmas books: email renee@reneedeburgh.com

The books will be $9 each. I'm editing and formatting and self-publishing the books through my daughter's company.

St. Nick of the 21st Century

based on a true-life story, this story recounts the history of how the Christian Santa at Merrifield Garden Center in Fairfax, VA became Santa, and the 5 gifts St. Nick gave to him in a vision at the age of 14, while an orphan: Grace, Wisdom, Desire, Strength, and Opportunity

Santa's Notebook

a collection of endearing poems and short stories written by the Christian Santa at Merrifield Garden Center

Now Tweeting

Tweet, Tweet, Tweetily Deetily Deet!
Rockin' Robin
Based on Iran and DC's Metro tragedy, I find it difficult to refrain from Twitter.

Healthy Baby!! Yay!! Thank you, First Responders!

The doctors didn't promise anything. Mrs. Goodling had a heart attack while she was around 3 months pregnant. Thankfully, they were at a church watching "Fireproof" and a retired doctor, an electrician, an off-duty police officer, and a firefighter performed CPR and provided instant care. It not only saved her life; it saved the life of her baby.

Well, little baby Goodling was born today, healthy, happy and strong. The only side effect was a lower-than-normal birthweight, but certainly nothing to cause concern in any way.

Thank you to anyone who is a first-responder, who responds when not on-duty, and anyone who knows CPR and jumps in to provide life-saving help.

P.S. Learn CPR! Save a life when every moment counts. I myself am convicted that I need to renew my CPR Certification.

Finally! People (magazines) Admit Actions Have Consequences!

Finally, a prominent secular magazine highlights real life.
When I saw People Magazine's most recent cover of Bristol Palin, donning cap & gown, snuggling cheek-to-cheek with her little one, I grinned from ear to ear.

There is a woman on the front cover!
A teen mother who "beat the odds."
She is a mother. She has graduated high school. She looks beautiful, happy, and smart. Her child looks beautiful, happy, and healthy.
And, she has maturely reflected on the consequences of past actions.
"If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex. Trust me. Nobody." ~Bristol Palin
I would've been peachy with just the picture of shimmering graduate Bristol and her baby.
Then ::gasp:: People Magazine admits ::gasp:: choosing to have sex has permanent, serious consequences - a baby! Whether or not Bristol and her partner were using any pregnancy chance-lessening measures, the correlation is smeared all over the People Magazine's million-dollar cover. Sex = possibility of procreation.
If you choose to be sexually active (actions you choose), then you are choosing to accept the possible consequences of a baby (the natural consequence of sexual actions).
I don't care what form or combination of birth control, contraceptive or superstitious practices people use while having sex. Unless one of the partners is guaranteed biologically or chemically or physically sterile, sex has a potential natural consequence - procreation (no matter how unlikely that potential).
Apparently in America, humans require a certain maturity level (arbitrarily 21) in order to be deemed responsible enough to control their enjoyment of alcohol. (Even though it's a Constitutional freedom at 18). Bristol Palin's words may suggest that the action of sex requires responsibility and maturity. I want to add that it's not solely the responsibility of girls. Boys need to assume that understanding of responsibility equally. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who had sex had to sign a contract (every time) that the risks involved were understood by both parties?

Another snackwrap for thought: "Reproductive rights" is sort of redundant; reproduction is a natural human right. We are built to reproduce. Humans are meant to produce progeny for survival of the species. Actions have consequences. That's a universal concept.

Which Came First? The Wheel or the Lock?

According to Chambers' Encyclopedia,
there is evidence that humans used locks as early as 4000bc and wheels as early as 3500bc
Of course archeological discoveries consistently alter our understanding of primordial ancestry.
But doesn't this make perfect sense, logically speaking? These ramifications reveal universal truths of the human experience.

Humans needed to keep their valuables (including themselves) safe from harm before they wanted to improve ways to transport them.

Human safety and livelihood is more important than technology, than science, than development.

My conclusion: Life and its protection is inherently more important than progress.
My question: Is self-preservation more important than the security of future generations?
Conclusion: There is a natural hierarchy of universal human morality and ethics and justice.