Thunderstorm in a field

So today was insane. And fun.

Last night after saying goodbye to Brian :( Kelley and I decided to go to Elisha's bonfire. We hung out there until like 3am, sitting in the treehouse, talking around the fire, dancing around the fire, attempting to have a "courtship panel" ::panel fail:: etc. Then, the plan for today was to go to Kelley's farm and blow up the groundhog holes.


Today was rainy and humid and overall disgusting. But the plan was still a go. Elisha and I arrived and we had to go get Angel who had missed the house and was parked down the street a bit. So Kelley drove the 4-wheeler and Elisha and I side-saddled on the back thru the fields and stuff. When we were all there it was time to go out to find the holes. Elisha and I were on one 4wheeler and Angel and Kelley on the other, Angel was driving so we were going pretty slow :) (he'd never driven one before).

We drove around looking for holes, Elisha and I drove off down the field ourselves to look for some holes he remembered from before. We couldn't find any fresh ones so we came back to where Angel and Kelley were. They had found some holes so we parked the 4wheeler at a distance, along with the multiple containers of gas we'd brought along. The guys began to pour gas down 4 or 5 of the holes - there were tons. Then after the other 3 of us had backed away, Kelley threw a match down one hole, while standing in the middle of the other 3 holes. Immediately - KAAABOOOOMMM!!! A huge fireball explodes into the air with a blast from every hole while Kelley ducked in cover between the fire. The guys and I went running to get away from it but it was over as soon as it started except a lingering fire which we steered clear of in case it was going to explode more.

After we decided to not pour more gas down any of the holes for fear of it being attached to one of the other holes with fire still in it and blowing ourselves up - yes, we can be smart - we decided to move onto another colony of groundhog holes.

When we had first arrived out in the field, it was just starting to sprinkle and the clouds looked ominious, by this point, there was a stead rain falling and the thunder was clapping louder over our heads but the storm still wasn't quite there and we decided to stick it out a little longer.

Anyway, we get to the new colony and find about 4 holes which we pour gasoline in. The guys wanted me to throw the match in so I agreed reluctantly and told them if I died it was their fault. So I stood behind the hole so the fire wouldn't blow in my face and threw the match in.

It didn't make a KABOOM sound again but huge puffs of fire blew out of three of the holes, while dodging one of them I almost ran into another one. It was exhilerating. We then examined the holes to see what was happening in them and saw there was still a fire in one of them. So we decided to stomp it out with dirt and keep going.

Then suddenly, the storm was right over us. We're in a field, which is the better option? Under a tree or in the middle of a field? Kelley and I felt safe since we were the shortest though :)

Thunder boomed above and lightening shot through the sky, and a downpour quickly soaked us. We ran to the 4wheelers and jumped on heading full speed for the house. Elisha and I got out faster than the other two so we're racing ahead, and the rain is coming down so hard we can't see anything and we're laughing about how insane we are when we realize Kelley went a different way up the field and we're like uh oh can we still go this way?? But we could, fortunately. As we kept going toward the house the rain got harder and heavier and I couldn't see a thing, hopefully Elisha could see better than I could since he was driving.

We pulled up to the house and leaped off the 4wheelers and ran for cover. We were all completely and utterly soaked. All we could do was laugh at ourselves and how crazy we were but how much fun it was. Mrs A took a picture of us before we trudged through the house with our soppy clothes to change. What a relief it was to put on some dry clothes and curl up on the couch with hot chocolate and watch The Patriot. Aahh Mel Gibson :D

Crazy day with crazy friends = perfect memory.

Remembering Grandpa

I have a lot of grandpas. And out of all of my grandpas, Grandpa Jones was the one I knew the best - and with no offense to all my others - he was probably my favorite. And I had the joy and privilege of living with him for quite a few years of my life, and although I don't remember much from when I lived with him as a kid, in the past few years I got to know and appreciate him even more.

Grandpa was so selfless and giving of what he had. From putting up with our family of 7 in his condo, or planting a tree for each grandchild in the front yard, to sending all the girl cousins out on a shopping spree - regardless of the cost, he just wanted to make sure we had fun - to paying for all of us to come visit them in Florida, to buying us kids computers, and putting together my furniture and fixing the dining room table for a caregroup event - which meant flipping the whole thing upside down. I never heard a single complaint. Never did I hear him raise his voice, or angry - he was such a happy old man who loved his family and doing things around the house and building his retaining wall out back, or just riding around the yard on his lawn mower. He was steady and hardworking. Even when he got to the point of having to stop and take a break from his work every few minutes and sit down, he kept at it until the job was done. I miss just sitting inside the house and watching him work meticulously on his retaining wall, or come home to see him just driving his beloved lawn mower around the yard (that he wouldn't let me drive).

It wasn't until I was older that I understood how hilarious Grandpa was. Whether it was a completely random email about our old cat Spats, which he renamed Tom, or signing an email with a Get Smart quote, or hanging a note on the thermostat the day after my parents moved out that said, "touch the thermostat and you die. granpa", or walking into the family room to find all the cousins dancing the cha cha slide and joining right in, or suddenly jumping into a conversation with a joke or comment out of the blue - he always left us laughing. If you ever want a glimpse into what Grandpa was like, sit in on a family conversation sometime, they very quickly dissolve into making the world a better place with luxury porta potties or some insane gagdet or plan to make life easier.

I love how Grandpa loved Grandma. He was not always emotionally expressive - at least around me - but I could always tell just from the way he looked at her that he adored her. He would tell me that she was quite a catch and how pretty she is. I remember one time holding up a camera to take a picture of them when they weren't expecting it, and he saw me and put his arm around Grandma and smiled with this look on his face that said, "this here is my woman!" He was so proud of his wife, and so are we all. Grandma, I want to give honor where honor is due, you are a woman of God, the family stronghold, always pointing us back to the Lord, and we respect and love you dearly. Your faithfulness to God and your family was reaped in Grandpa's life and continues to show in the lives of us kids. You will have much reward in heaven. You are one of my heroes, and I want to be like you when I grow up.

When a person reacts positively to tragedy - that's a miracle. Psalm 23 concludes with the glorious line: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." That's God's way of saying that life will often be filled with goodness, but that even when God's goodness cannot be seen, his mercy can be experienced! In the midst of tears, heartbreak, enormous loss, and terrible sorrow, suddenly a sweet mood, like a gentle kiss, will touch your wounded heart. That experience is called mercy. It comes as an expression of God's love.

The good news I have for you is: God promises mercy adequate enough to meet any tragedy.

-Robert Schuller

i miss him.

favorite hymn

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul

 It is well with my soul, 
 it is well, it is well with my soul. 

                        Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 
 let this blest assurance control, 
 that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 
 and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 

                        My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 
 My sin, not in part but the whole, 
 is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 
 praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 
 
                      And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 
 the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 
 the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 
 even so, it is well with my soul. 

The Altar

A broken ALTAR, Lord thy servant rears,
Made of a heart, and cemented with teares:
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workmans tool hath touch'd the same
A HEART alone
Is such a stone,
As nothing but
Thy pow'r doth cut.
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame,
To praise thy Name:
That if I chance to hold my peace,
These stones to praise thee may not cease.
O let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,
And sanctifie this ALTAR to be thine.

by george herbert

Striving After God

True art is made noble and religious by the mind producing it.
For those who feel it, nothing makes the soul so religious and pure as the endeavor to create something perfect.
For God is perfection.
And whoever strives after perfection is striving after God.

Words by Michelangelo
Music by Undine Moore


-we are singing this song in choir. so pretty.

whats going on these days

So it's been like a month since I last posted anything, mostly because I've been so busy I haven't had time to sit down and write anything.

Christmas break was pretty blahzay. I couldn't wait for school to start so I could stop sitting around doing nothing and actually get busy.



Well, school started and I'm not bored anymore. I moved up to Towson to live with Lena and Charity in late January and I commute down to UMBC everyday, it's about a 20-30 minute drive depending on traffic. Not bad. So far living with them has been a blast. The house wasn't in good shape when we moved in, needed some serious cleaning, but we buckled down and cleaned that place in the first week or so. We scrubbed the floors and walls and sinks and vacuumed and got it looking liveable. Here is my room so far - still needs some shelves and drawers to be able to put everything away, and the futon and the extra closet space are going to be taken out soon and my keyboard will be brought in.
.

We had birds for the first week that the girl who lived there before had left behind. We did not want them though. Charity was going to take one home, and the other one we had to find a home for, so we asked around, tried to take it back to Petsmart but to no avail. So we took down their big cage and put them in the bathroom for a little while, but then we realized it was too dark and they couldn't find their food or water or each other so we brought them back out into the open and put them in a small cage with a box. She then took both of them home that weekend and was able to get rid of the other one on facebook. So no more birds for us.

So life is fun in Towson, hanging out with the girls, making dinner together, trying to stay warm by doing the cha-cha slide, singing at the top of our lungs and huddling under blankets.

School on the other hand...

I'm taking 5 classes - 15 credits.
Py332 (Statistics for Psychology majors part 2), this class is a continuation of the stats class I took at Shady Grove last year. The deal is though, the campuses teach it two different ways. Over the course of the year we have to come up with a research topic, and do an experiment and write up a review on the results. Last semester at Shady Grove we came up with our topics, and wrote proposals and sent them to IRB (the ethics board for research basically). At UMBC's main campus they start out the second semester with picking out a topic and preparing to write a proposal and then do the experiment (all in one semester). So everything we've covered so far I've already done, but I have to find a new topic and write a new proposal because using what I used last year would be plagiarizing against myself. Hmm...



The Exceptional Child, this class is a Psych class about Special Ed kids. So far everything we've gone over I've learned in multiple Education classes. So it's been pretty boring. The professor talks really quietly in a huge lecture hall and it can be hard to hear her. I'm hoping we'll get away from logistical stuff like IDEA and No Child Left Behind and move onto the actual children.

I'm also taking a History of Women in America class which so far has been pretty interesting. My professor is pretty cool, she brings in music and sound clips for us to listen to from whatever we're studying. We're starting out with the Civil War women and working to the present.

Sensation and Perception -- oh my goodness. From the moment the professor opens his mouth to the moment class is over I have no idea what's going on. Everything he says is over my head and about stuff I've never thought about before but the way he presents it is as if I've already considered all these things before. Questions like, what is real and what are the limits of something being real? Well... I don't know, it just is real. But apparently it's much more than that. Let's hope this starts to make sense soon as I have to think WAY outside of the box.

And my favorite class... the Jubilee Singers. My professor is so awesome and fun and a Christian. The choir is fairly small, with a lot of really good tenors and basses. There aren't too many girls but we can hold our own pretty well. We're singing some gospel type songs like "From the Fount" and "Striving after God" and the classic "Siyahamba" which I already knew from I Cantori.

In other news, Brandy died this week, we'd had her for 10 years and she died of cancer on Monday. :( She was a good dog, always calm unless we got her riled up, and never licked our faces because we didn't like that.

"but he gave them no answer"

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.

Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?"

But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

-Matthew 27:11-14

In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, between this last statement from Jesus, "Yes, it is as you say" and when he cries out on the cross, "My God my God why have you forsaken me?", he says nothing. During this time, the Jews - his own people whom he has healed and taught and cared for for years - have thrown him at their leaders to be crucified. They mock him and spit on him, they lie about him and humiliate him with a crown of thorns and a robe and a crude sign that says "king of the jews". Yet he said nothing.

He refused to defend himself. He refused to say a word, because there was nothing that could change Pilate's mind. He refused to remind them of everything he had done, or the miracles he'd performed. He refused to remind them of the many times someone realized he was indeed the Messiah. He refused to tell them they were sinning against God. He refused to prove he was God and strike them down for their unbelief. No, he refused because he loved us. He wasn't here to get revenge for all our sins and prove he was God and not to mess with him.

It's so easy to want revenge on someone who has sinned against us, or sinned against a close friend. It's our human nature, to defend ourselves and those we love. When someone hurts them, we want to get them back. It makes us feel better - or does it? Usually hurting someone back isn't relief for our aching sinful souls. Hurting them in revenge for what they did is only sinning more, and it weighs on our hearts.

Revenge falls under many categories...

Anger : Jesus said, "But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell"

or ... love: Jesus said, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you....

or maybe judgment: Jesus said, Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

When Jesus had the chance to take out his wrath on us and get revenge for everything we have done to him, he chose not to speak. He didn't even defend himself. Why? First of all, out of pure love for his children, but also as an example to us to demonstrate love even when others hate us. Even when they have wrongfully sinned against us. There is no reason to stand up for ourselves and get mad at others when they've done us wrong, because we have nothing worthy of that shallow glory in ourselves without God. He is the only one who makes us clean, we can't do that in ourselves.

A friend reminded me recently of Jesus when I expressed to her my desire for revenge. She simply told me, even when everyone mocked him and ridiculed him and humiliated him, he didn't respond. There was no reason to. What good would it have done? This stuck with me, that even though I have mocked and hated God he hasn't taken it back out on me. He simply stood there and bore it all. What an example to follow!

The Lord is our avenger, and we need not worry about taking things into our own hands. That got Peter no where in the Garden of Gethsemane when he chopped off the soldier's ear. God will avenge our wrongdoings, we need not fret about the sins of others.

i want to move away and start a new life somewhere else.

end of the year survey

2008.....

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
take statistics. live with joneses for like 5 months. watched high school musical haha

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i don't usually make resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
hmm... probably someone, but no one is coming to mind at the moment.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no

5. What countries did you visit?
no countries this year. :(

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you didn't have in 2008?
greater passion for god

7. What date(s) from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
this year has been a bit of a blur.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
finishing one semester of statistics!!! and being done with mc! haha

9. What was your biggest failure?
making bad choices and not trusting god

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
scarlet fever!! rockkk ooonnn

11. What was the best thing you bought?
christmas presents for people

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
dunno

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
mine.

14. Where did most of your money go?
bills, gas

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
being done with mc! and recently, getting hte money to go to umbc and move in with charity and lena!

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
viva la vida, one step at a time, all the single ladies, and basically any other song that played on 99.5 that the guy i worked with would play on his ipod for every aerobics therapy class. haha

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?: happier i think
ii. richer or poorer?: richer, but going into debt with school. blaahh

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
listening to my conscience, trusting god

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
being self absorbed, talking to someone, complaining

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
with my family and then with my cousins and grandparents

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
nope

23. How many one-night stands?
none

24. What was your favorite TV program?
law and order svu, reba (!!!), cosby

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
i don't "hate" people. strongly dislike, sure there might be a few...

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
cool soundtracks like mamma mia, hairspray and stuff

28. What did you want and get?
to go to umbc

29. What did you want and not get?
new stuff like laptop, car, etc.

30. What were your favorite films of this year?
hairspray, horton hears a who, mamma mia

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
i turned 21, had a migraine, drove downtown with ashley and got some food, then went to get license and back to the house to watch a movie, then went out with friends to bailey's and back to the house for a really scary movie

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
not making dumb mistakes.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
i dunno.

34. What kept you sane?
friends

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
no one

37. Who did you miss?
sane people who think logically and don't condemn.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
abby and amy and kevin and alicia and the other amy and danny and rosie and jackie and all the other cool people at work.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
god is in control.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"if i were a boy i think i could understand, how it feels to love a girl i swear i'd be a better man"
"all the single ladies!!... if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it!" haha
"i'm not a princess this ain't a fairy, i'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell..."
"be thou my vision o lord of my heart, naught be all else to me save that thou art, thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping thy presence my light"


hooray a new year! and lets hope its a better one.

a profile of a domestic abuser

.a family member/partner who tries to physically or psychologically (mentally, spiritually, emotionally) dominate another.
.behind their charming wit and flattery are lies and manipulation.
many men can be like this without actually physically abusing a woman. they charm you into being their friend, get to know your ins and outs, they jerk you around and treat you like dirt but charm their way out of it and use manipulative words to put it back on you - like it's your fault they are jerks. they take advantage of you and run. but when they come back they use their flattery and charm to back. they domineer you, causing you to feel inferior and fear ever leaving them. you lose all confidence in yourself.
don't allow yourself to stick with one of these guys simply because you think they are all like that, or it's your fault, or you can't find anyone better. you deserve better. he deserves hell.
get out. get out while you still can.





brought to you by a bored psych student.

"I can no longer live by thinking"

What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute's mirth to wail a week?
Or sells eternity to get a toy?
For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy?

--------------------------------------------------


To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
- Macbeth, Act V, Scene V

YOU GO GIRL!!!

I got to go to the Sarah Palin rally today in Leesburg, VA.

it was AWESOME!!!!

I got to shake her hand
and she said she liked my glasses haha because they are like hers. :)

it was totally worth getting up at 5am and standing in the cold for hours.


GO MCCAIN~PALIN 08

In Six Troubles

Remember what God has done for you and then say, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb 13:8) When you are praying, if you cannot see that He is comfortable towards you today, recall that He was yesterday.

If there is no present manifestations of divine favor, remember the past. He has been gracious. Can you tell how gracious? He has abounded towards you in lovingkindness, tenderness, a faithfulness. He has never been a wilderness or a land of drought to you.

Well then, if in six troubles He has delivered you, will you not trust Him for seven? (Job 5:19). If you get to sixty troubles, will you not trust Him for sixty-one?

We say that we ought always to trust someone until they deceive us. We reckon someone honest until we find otherwise. Let it be so with God. Since we have found Him good, faithful, true, kind and tender, let us not think badly of Him now that we have come into difficult straits. Come to Him and say, "Are You our God? Did You not bring us 'up out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay'(Ps 40:2)? Surely, then, You will not leave us now."

The wonders God can do! He loves us to state our difficulty, that when He gets us out we will well remember the condition we were in.

After pleading the promise and confessing our condition, we may say, "Lord, if help does come, it must come from You. It cannot come from anywhere else, so we look to You. We believe help will come. Though we do not know how it will come, we are looking to You. Though we do not know when, we are looking to You. Though we do not know what You would have us to do, we still are looking to You. Our eyes may be full of years, but they are on You."

-Spurgeon (Beside Still Waters)

God is good.

Majesty, your glory is shining
brighter than the moon and the stars
Marveling, we honor and fear you above all gods.

Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Joyful songs we raise
Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Greatly to be praised

Majesty, you fashioned the heavens
Your decrees can never be changed
Overall, the plans of the nations
Your judgments reign

Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Joyful songs we raise
Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Greatly to be praised

Majesty, come again in the clouds
every knee bowed to the one true God

Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Joyful songs we raise
Glorious and mighty
You're awesome in beauty
Greatly to be praised

she is the best

.scarlet fever.

So guess what? I have contracted scarlet fever... which Erin and I find quite hilarious. Seriously, of all things, why the disease that killed famous literary characters and our made up families when we played oregon trail? It's quite amusing to have a disease us kids thought didn't exist anymore.

However it has allowed us to dig into our depths of knowledge from books read in our past and remember who all died from this disease... well, wikipedia allows us to forget some old stuff because we can always look it up later.




Here we have Mary Ingalls,
who got scarlet fever and was blind as a result.







Then there is Beth from Little Women, who got scarlet fever which turned into rheumatic fever and then died.

Then who can forget the sad story of the Velveteen Rabbit??


And other notables:
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Victor Frankenstein's adoptive sister Elizabeth contracts scarlet fever and recovers. But Victor's mother, who contracts the scarlet fever from Elizabeth, dies.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spears - A young girl from Barbados is accused of giving scarlet fever to her cousins by using witchcraft.


Anna Jones, mother of the young Henry 'Indiana' Jones died of Scarlet Fever during the year of 1912.


Well that was fun. And as much as I'm laughing, I'm hoping to get better soon - school just started yesterday and I'm already out sick! Not cool.

as long as you are glorified

Shall I take from your hand your blessings, yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank you for days of sunshine, yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love you in times of plenty, then leave you in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest, but when winter winds blow then doubt?

Oh let your will be done in me, in your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long as you are glorified.

Are you good only when I prosper, and true only when I'm filled?
Are you King only when I'm carefree, and God only when I'm well?
You are good when I'm poor and needy.
You are true when I'm parched and dry.
You still reign in the deepest valley
You're still God in the darkest night.

So quiet my restless heart, quiet my restless hart, quiet my restless heart in You.

.proverbs3:5.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

"Those who know themselves, find their own understandings a broken reed, which, if they lean upon, will fail." -matthew henry commentary


"I already have approval from the only One who matters."

true humility

But what we suffer from to-day is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt -- the Divine Reason. Huxley preached a humility content to learn from Nature. But the new sceptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. Thus we should be wrong if we had said hastily that there is no humility typical of our time. The truth is that there is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it is practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.

At any street corner we may meet a man who utters the frantic and blasphemous statement that he may be wrong. Every day one comes across somebody who says that of course his view may not be the right one. Of course his view must be the right one, or it is not his view. We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own. Scoffers of old time were too proud to be convinced; but these are too humble to be convinced. The meek do inherit the earth; but the modern sceptics are too meek even to claim their inheritance.

-GK Chesterton

(gkc.blogspot.com)