This weekend was my last New England quiz meet (not counting Regionals) for a long time, if ever again. Sad. I know I'll see a handful of them at Regionals in a month, or in other contexts, and I'll still "see" them on Facebook. But still, this weekend began my goodbyes that I am saying in the next couple months.
HIGHLIGHTS!
Friday night:
*Hitting the PANIC button on my remote key, thus setting off my car alarm as I opened my trunk. Then when I went to close it, I hit Matt's arm with the trunk hatch. Sorry, Matt.
*We got lost on our way there. Really lost. Like going into downtown Lowell when we didn't have to. I asked a police officer for directions (stereotypically enough, he was at Dunkin's), and then we were looking for VFW parkway, a McDonald's, and... a legit bridge (i.e., one that actually went over water, not a road). We finally found the "legit bridge", and then...made not just one wrong turn, but 2.
*"SLOW--Senior Citizen Zone" and "SENIOR SAFETY ZONE" signs were by the Council on Aging. After taking pictures of these, and following directions from a random person in an apartment complex parking lot, we went back to the original McDonalds.
*There we discovered the road we needed ALL ALONG, and it was next to a LEGIT BRIDGE!!! So frustrating!
*A cold night on the floor--I even had my head inside my sleeping bag! The temperatures were completely opposite from the way they are in my top bunk in Munro.
Saturday
*Quizmastering while ridiculously drowsy--until my hot tea (aka caffeine) kicked in!
*Matt had Jen and I come up after the high school seniors shared what their plans were for after graduation and what quizzing has meant to them, and thanked us for working with quizzing, and all that good stuff. Thanks, Matt for your antics but also your willingness to help!
*Also, a BIG thank you to all the NED quizzing folks that contributed toward my Ukraine trip fund -- the total was $109!!!
Saturday afternoon/evening
*Congratulations to Wolly's JV team (Nick, Emily, Cindi) for making it to Regionals as a JV local team!!! (2nd place)
*Congrats to Robert (varsity) and Nick (JV) for making the all-star teams!!
*Taking pictures of Matt while he was sleeping, and Jen taking pictures of us--I have a look of "I'm going to smile for the camera but I want to make sure I don't drive my car into another car or curb"
*Exhaustion.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
a prayer
When we avoid slowing down
Hedge us in and still our souls
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you
Hedge us in and still our souls
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you
Friday, March 06, 2009
College students do not live by ramen alone...
...as simple as that may be.
Tonight begins ENC's spring break, and I (along with many other student teachers and other students) remain on campus. The cafeteria is closed, so we are left to fend for ourselves for food. This is the longest vacation time that I've stayed on campus -- in past years, I've stayed for Easter break (4-day weekend) and J-term break.
I have limited cooking skills/experience....though they increased during my times on YIM. Rachel, Brandi, Angela, and I would go grocery shopping in El Paso, but primarily went out to eat (yeah Sonic!!!). One night we fixed ourselves spaghetti and salad, and even set the table in the fellowship hall--it was quite homey. I think it took us a while to decide what kind of pasta sauce to get, just like when we decided where to eat each day/week. In Ukraine, we fixed a number of our own meals...like "last-resort sandwiches" when we didn't want to take the food on the train and didn't want to do more grocery shopping!
Needless to say, this week is going to be a test of my ability to live on more than ramen, cereal, cookies, EasyMac, etc., and avoid eating out all the time. My goal was to cook for myself, with some degree of nutrition and avoiding prepared/frozen/canned meals, and prove whatever independence I have.
Shopping List ($44.41 in total)
1/2 gallon of milk
Sour cream aka сметана
Shredded cheese
Butter
Black beans
White rice
Spaghetti noodles
Mac and cheese dinner
Loaf of bread
Egg noodles (cheaper than Hamburger Helper, because I wasn't buying the meat)
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Tomato soup
Spaghetti sauce (tomato and basil flavor)
Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen corn/peas
Apples
Goober PB/Jelly combo
Other Foods:
Pi Day celebration pizza on Friday--$2 for 2 slices
plemeni (Ukrainian boiled dumplings, with or without meat), and Ukrainian cheese--$11.30
You may notice the general lack of meat on the list. I have not become a vegetarian, but rather decided that I could manage without meat for the week and a half. It's less expensive that way, and is less that I have to cook.
This food, along with my granola bars and cereal that are already in my room, is to last me for
23-25 meals (if you are wondering about the breakdown, it's 7 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 7 or 8 dinners). I might end up with some "last resort" meals composed of various leftovers. You can't beat open-faced fried onion-tomato-turkey jerky-sandwiches with a slice of Ukranian cheese on top, though. :)
Some of the meals I'm trying:
Black bean quesadillas and salsa
Tomato-vegetable stroganoff (meatless)
PBJ every day for lunch at school
only ONE meal of Mac and Cheese!
So far, I've made myself spaghetti with sauce, which was pretty easy -- boil the spaghetti, warm the sauce. I'm not terribly sure of myself when it comes to timing of all parts of the meal, and the stove in our dorm kitchen, but it worked out (even without a colander!). In my friend's words, "You're so domestic!" Maybe, maybe not.
Here goes...
Tonight begins ENC's spring break, and I (along with many other student teachers and other students) remain on campus. The cafeteria is closed, so we are left to fend for ourselves for food. This is the longest vacation time that I've stayed on campus -- in past years, I've stayed for Easter break (4-day weekend) and J-term break.
I have limited cooking skills/experience....though they increased during my times on YIM. Rachel, Brandi, Angela, and I would go grocery shopping in El Paso, but primarily went out to eat (yeah Sonic!!!). One night we fixed ourselves spaghetti and salad, and even set the table in the fellowship hall--it was quite homey. I think it took us a while to decide what kind of pasta sauce to get, just like when we decided where to eat each day/week. In Ukraine, we fixed a number of our own meals...like "last-resort sandwiches" when we didn't want to take the food on the train and didn't want to do more grocery shopping!
Needless to say, this week is going to be a test of my ability to live on more than ramen, cereal, cookies, EasyMac, etc., and avoid eating out all the time. My goal was to cook for myself, with some degree of nutrition and avoiding prepared/frozen/canned meals, and prove whatever independence I have.
Shopping List ($44.41 in total)
1/2 gallon of milk
Sour cream aka сметана
Shredded cheese
Butter
Black beans
White rice
Spaghetti noodles
Mac and cheese dinner
Loaf of bread
Egg noodles (cheaper than Hamburger Helper, because I wasn't buying the meat)
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Tomato soup
Spaghetti sauce (tomato and basil flavor)
Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen corn/peas
Apples
Goober PB/Jelly combo
Other Foods:
Pi Day celebration pizza on Friday--$2 for 2 slices
plemeni (Ukrainian boiled dumplings, with or without meat), and Ukrainian cheese--$11.30
You may notice the general lack of meat on the list. I have not become a vegetarian, but rather decided that I could manage without meat for the week and a half. It's less expensive that way, and is less that I have to cook.
This food, along with my granola bars and cereal that are already in my room, is to last me for
23-25 meals (if you are wondering about the breakdown, it's 7 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 7 or 8 dinners). I might end up with some "last resort" meals composed of various leftovers. You can't beat open-faced fried onion-tomato-turkey jerky-sandwiches with a slice of Ukranian cheese on top, though. :)
Some of the meals I'm trying:
Black bean quesadillas and salsa
Tomato-vegetable stroganoff (meatless)
PBJ every day for lunch at school
only ONE meal of Mac and Cheese!
So far, I've made myself spaghetti with sauce, which was pretty easy -- boil the spaghetti, warm the sauce. I'm not terribly sure of myself when it comes to timing of all parts of the meal, and the stove in our dorm kitchen, but it worked out (even without a colander!). In my friend's words, "You're so domestic!" Maybe, maybe not.
Here goes...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Of Challenges, Falling Down, and Skiing
We all face challenges in life. Whether they include deaths of loved ones, questions about relationships, discouragements, uncertainties about the future, or any others, we all have to respond to challenges in our lives; we cannot grow without challenges.
"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."" (John 12:24-25)
In this passage, Jesus is explaining (albeit in codes and parables) that he must die for the benefit of many others. His death on the cross was the whole reason for his being on earth, and was what would glorify God. It may not have been what he would've liked, but it was God's calling for His life, and Jesus wanted to do what would please God, not humankind or himself.
On New Year's Day, I went skiing in Pennsylvania with my dad. We skiied for about 5 hours total (a few hours before lunch, then a couple hours after), which was actually the same amount of time I slept the night before. For the first time, I went on a black diamond slope, which is usually deemed to be among the most difficult on a particular mountain, and usually I only ski on intermediate slopes. "Black Diamond trails tend to be steep (typically 40% and up) and may or may not be groomed"(Wikipedia). I think that the mountains I've skiied on in Vermont and New Hampshire have been bigger and steeper than the one I'm used to in PA, so I have probably already skiied on a black-diamond equivalent. When I first went down Exhibition, I was amazed that it qualified as a black-diamond slope -- then it got steep, and I reconsidered.
When I ski, I tend to keep track of how many times I fall. I feel accomplished when I don't fall too many times. I skiied on this particular black diamond slope about 4 times, and fell twice on those. Another time I fell on an "easier" intermediate slope -- yeah, yeah, I know -- and other times I would fall because people *almost* ran into me or I *almost* ran into them. Toward the end of the day, I just started falling more and more because I was getting tired. Eventually, I decided that I should probably stop, since I wasn't going to gain any more energy, and I was just going to further damage my record of only falling about 5 times that day.
Sometimes I fell because I turned too sharply. Sometimes I fell because others almost hit me, and it made me nervous having too many people skiing around me. Toward the end of the day, I fell because I was tired and wasn't making as much of an effort to keep my balance.
Each time I fell down, I had two options: to keep laying there in the same place, or to get back up again. Or to keep tumbling down the mountain--that was also an option depending on how I fell. I'll admit, once I realized that I was getting tired, it actually felt nice to just stay sitting or laying on the slope for just a minute or two. However, I was a potential hazard to myself and to others coming down the slope...I didn't want to be run over.
We all fall down in life. Some people fall more often than others, for different reasons. The important thing is to get up again. Yes, you do have the options of continuing to tumble down the mountain or to stay in the same place and "enjoy" resting on the cold wet snow, but those are just plain hazardous.
By skiing a few times on an "expert" slope, I hope that it will help me become a better skiier. I would not become a better skiier just by resigning myself to the intermediate or "bunny" slopes.
I cannot be satisfied staying down when I am challenged. If I fall, I have to get back up, and Christ will help me not to fall again. Getting back into the swing of things, i.e., reading God's Word and worshiping and praying, after you've been challenged, is a challenge (for lack of a better term). I also cannot try to avoid all challenges and live a life of smooth sailing -- it's not possible. Following Christ isn't meant to be easy -- "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24). Our life is not our own.
Next time we are challenged, we will stand strong with the help of God and others. If we fall, we will help each other stand again. God is faithful to finish the work He began in us.
almighty
surround my universe
fill me with peace
represent Christ through opportunity
"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."" (John 12:24-25)
In this passage, Jesus is explaining (albeit in codes and parables) that he must die for the benefit of many others. His death on the cross was the whole reason for his being on earth, and was what would glorify God. It may not have been what he would've liked, but it was God's calling for His life, and Jesus wanted to do what would please God, not humankind or himself.
On New Year's Day, I went skiing in Pennsylvania with my dad. We skiied for about 5 hours total (a few hours before lunch, then a couple hours after), which was actually the same amount of time I slept the night before. For the first time, I went on a black diamond slope, which is usually deemed to be among the most difficult on a particular mountain, and usually I only ski on intermediate slopes. "Black Diamond trails tend to be steep (typically 40% and up) and may or may not be groomed"(Wikipedia). I think that the mountains I've skiied on in Vermont and New Hampshire have been bigger and steeper than the one I'm used to in PA, so I have probably already skiied on a black-diamond equivalent. When I first went down Exhibition, I was amazed that it qualified as a black-diamond slope -- then it got steep, and I reconsidered.
When I ski, I tend to keep track of how many times I fall. I feel accomplished when I don't fall too many times. I skiied on this particular black diamond slope about 4 times, and fell twice on those. Another time I fell on an "easier" intermediate slope -- yeah, yeah, I know -- and other times I would fall because people *almost* ran into me or I *almost* ran into them. Toward the end of the day, I just started falling more and more because I was getting tired. Eventually, I decided that I should probably stop, since I wasn't going to gain any more energy, and I was just going to further damage my record of only falling about 5 times that day.
Sometimes I fell because I turned too sharply. Sometimes I fell because others almost hit me, and it made me nervous having too many people skiing around me. Toward the end of the day, I fell because I was tired and wasn't making as much of an effort to keep my balance.
Each time I fell down, I had two options: to keep laying there in the same place, or to get back up again. Or to keep tumbling down the mountain--that was also an option depending on how I fell. I'll admit, once I realized that I was getting tired, it actually felt nice to just stay sitting or laying on the slope for just a minute or two. However, I was a potential hazard to myself and to others coming down the slope...I didn't want to be run over.
We all fall down in life. Some people fall more often than others, for different reasons. The important thing is to get up again. Yes, you do have the options of continuing to tumble down the mountain or to stay in the same place and "enjoy" resting on the cold wet snow, but those are just plain hazardous.
By skiing a few times on an "expert" slope, I hope that it will help me become a better skiier. I would not become a better skiier just by resigning myself to the intermediate or "bunny" slopes.
I cannot be satisfied staying down when I am challenged. If I fall, I have to get back up, and Christ will help me not to fall again. Getting back into the swing of things, i.e., reading God's Word and worshiping and praying, after you've been challenged, is a challenge (for lack of a better term). I also cannot try to avoid all challenges and live a life of smooth sailing -- it's not possible. Following Christ isn't meant to be easy -- "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24). Our life is not our own.
Next time we are challenged, we will stand strong with the help of God and others. If we fall, we will help each other stand again. God is faithful to finish the work He began in us.
almighty
surround my universe
fill me with peace
represent Christ through opportunity
Monday, December 29, 2008
"IQ Test" from youth group a long time ago
I found this paper while cleaning my room.
Answers can be found at the end of this blog.
1. If you went to bed at 8:00 am and set the alarm to get up at 9:00 the next morning, how many hours of sleep would you get?
2. Does England have a Fourth of July?
3. Why can't a man living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina be buried west of the Mississippi river?
4. If you had a match and entered a room in which there were a kerosene lamp, an oil heater, and a wood-burning stove, which would you light first?
5. A man built a house with four sides to it and it is rectangular in shape. Each side has a southern exposure. A big bear came wandering by; what color is the bear?
6. How far can a dog run into the woods?
7. I have in my hand two US coins which total 55 cents in value. One is not a nickel. What are the 2 coins?
8. A farmer had 17 sheep; all but 9 died. How many does he have left?
9. Divide 30 by one-half and add 10. What is the answer?
10. Take two apples from three apples and what do you have?
11. A woman gives a beggar 50 cents. The woman is the beggar's sister but the beggar is not the woman's brother. How come?
12. Is it legal in North Carolina for a man to marry his widow's sister? Why?
ANSWERS
1. one hour
2. yes
3. he isn't dead yet
4. the match
5. white
6. halfway
7. half dollar and nickel
8. nine
9. seventy
10. two apples
11. the beggar is a girl
12. No, because if he has a widow, then he has to be dead.
Answers can be found at the end of this blog.
1. If you went to bed at 8:00 am and set the alarm to get up at 9:00 the next morning, how many hours of sleep would you get?
2. Does England have a Fourth of July?
3. Why can't a man living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina be buried west of the Mississippi river?
4. If you had a match and entered a room in which there were a kerosene lamp, an oil heater, and a wood-burning stove, which would you light first?
5. A man built a house with four sides to it and it is rectangular in shape. Each side has a southern exposure. A big bear came wandering by; what color is the bear?
6. How far can a dog run into the woods?
7. I have in my hand two US coins which total 55 cents in value. One is not a nickel. What are the 2 coins?
8. A farmer had 17 sheep; all but 9 died. How many does he have left?
9. Divide 30 by one-half and add 10. What is the answer?
10. Take two apples from three apples and what do you have?
11. A woman gives a beggar 50 cents. The woman is the beggar's sister but the beggar is not the woman's brother. How come?
12. Is it legal in North Carolina for a man to marry his widow's sister? Why?
ANSWERS
1. one hour
2. yes
3. he isn't dead yet
4. the match
5. white
6. halfway
7. half dollar and nickel
8. nine
9. seventy
10. two apples
11. the beggar is a girl
12. No, because if he has a widow, then he has to be dead.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
2008 in Review
Overall highlights:
Travels:
Vermont
El Paso x2
Chicago x2
Ukraine
Unintended overnight stays in Warsaw, Poland and Fishkill, NY.
Newark, DE to visit Anne!
Lancaster, PA to hang out with Olivia
New Experiences:
Lots of snowmobiling!
Swing dancing
Learning Russian and a smidgen of Ukrainian
Running over the universal joint of a bus (and subsequently damaging my car)
Surprise weekend visit to my family
Catering on campus (and getting to enjoy tasty food)
Ninja tag, Ultimate Frisbee, short runs on Wolly Beach in the middle of the night
Michael W Smith / Steven Curtis Chapman concert
Red Sox game @ Camden Yards
Goodbyes:
Professors that moved (Doc/Prof to Chicago, Prof Fiacco to TX)
Mrs. Quimby, high school AP Calc teacher. You will be missed.
ENC Class of 2008
old Marley Park church building
Ukraine (gets its own section):
Meeting Charly and inhaling hot glue fumes (by accident!) and good times all night long on the deck. Exploring Kiev. Traveling by overnight train. Building relationships with families. Blowing bubbles with Katya and playing catch with Sveta. Playing with 3 year old twin boys who seemed to get in trouble all the time. Facing suffering, and finding that worship is the only feasible response. Attended a Ukrainian wedding and reception. Running over a tire-stopper-block (for semi trucks), but this time I wasn't driving! Seeing the end of the line for banana boxes of humanitarian aid. VBS's all around. Going to the Vapnyarka bazaar and meat market on my birthday. Using squatty potties. Eating dried fish, salo, and chicken-flavored potato chips. Tumbleweed Gulch Ukrainian-style. God keeping us safe throughout our travels.
Spiritual highlights:
Got baptized.
Trying to figure out if God is calling me to missions.
Having more questions than answers (not really a highlight, not sure how to describe it).
Academic highlights:
Declared a religion minor.
Education Club activities
Finishing all my major classes (only student teaching and an independent study left!)
Next year is going to bring just as many changes, I'm sure.
Ready or not, here I come, 2009!
Travels:
Vermont
El Paso x2
Chicago x2
Ukraine
Unintended overnight stays in Warsaw, Poland and Fishkill, NY.
Newark, DE to visit Anne!
Lancaster, PA to hang out with Olivia
New Experiences:
Lots of snowmobiling!
Swing dancing
Learning Russian and a smidgen of Ukrainian
Running over the universal joint of a bus (and subsequently damaging my car)
Surprise weekend visit to my family
Catering on campus (and getting to enjoy tasty food)
Ninja tag, Ultimate Frisbee, short runs on Wolly Beach in the middle of the night
Michael W Smith / Steven Curtis Chapman concert
Red Sox game @ Camden Yards
Goodbyes:
Professors that moved (Doc/Prof to Chicago, Prof Fiacco to TX)
Mrs. Quimby, high school AP Calc teacher. You will be missed.
ENC Class of 2008
old Marley Park church building
Ukraine (gets its own section):
Meeting Charly and inhaling hot glue fumes (by accident!) and good times all night long on the deck. Exploring Kiev. Traveling by overnight train. Building relationships with families. Blowing bubbles with Katya and playing catch with Sveta. Playing with 3 year old twin boys who seemed to get in trouble all the time. Facing suffering, and finding that worship is the only feasible response. Attended a Ukrainian wedding and reception. Running over a tire-stopper-block (for semi trucks), but this time I wasn't driving! Seeing the end of the line for banana boxes of humanitarian aid. VBS's all around. Going to the Vapnyarka bazaar and meat market on my birthday. Using squatty potties. Eating dried fish, salo, and chicken-flavored potato chips. Tumbleweed Gulch Ukrainian-style. God keeping us safe throughout our travels.
Spiritual highlights:
Got baptized.
Trying to figure out if God is calling me to missions.
Having more questions than answers (not really a highlight, not sure how to describe it).
Academic highlights:
Declared a religion minor.
Education Club activities
Finishing all my major classes (only student teaching and an independent study left!)
Next year is going to bring just as many changes, I'm sure.
Ready or not, here I come, 2009!
This is a Call, part 2
(part one of this blog can be found here)
Once again, I am home on vacation, and have the Central Call System calling me about substituting.
The past two mornings, I've had my alarm going off at the latest possible time for me to get up, shower, and get ready to go to a school. However, at that point, there weren't any jobs listed for me, so I would go back to bed. Within the next hour, the phone would ring multiple times with jobs for me, but there was no way I could make it to the school at that point -- so I would go back to bed AGAIN.
I realized that the SMART choice would have been to get up and get ready, and then find out where there was a job available for me.
It made me think about how I should be ready to go where God wants me, even if I don't know where that is just yet, and even if I would really like to stay where it's comfortable. I need to get out of what is comfortable, and begin preparing for any of the possibilities I am considering for next year.
I should be ready to respond and go at the same time. "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Right now there are more questions than answers.
The best I know is that I am called to follow Christ, to be made in His image, to worship Him, to share His love with others. Beyond that is unknown to me right now.
"I held these dreams of my heart tight inside, fearing that if I revealed them to anyone, then I might be held accountable to them or be seen as a failure if things didn't work out." ~Brooklyn Lindsey
Once again, I am home on vacation, and have the Central Call System calling me about substituting.
The past two mornings, I've had my alarm going off at the latest possible time for me to get up, shower, and get ready to go to a school. However, at that point, there weren't any jobs listed for me, so I would go back to bed. Within the next hour, the phone would ring multiple times with jobs for me, but there was no way I could make it to the school at that point -- so I would go back to bed AGAIN.
I realized that the SMART choice would have been to get up and get ready, and then find out where there was a job available for me.
It made me think about how I should be ready to go where God wants me, even if I don't know where that is just yet, and even if I would really like to stay where it's comfortable. I need to get out of what is comfortable, and begin preparing for any of the possibilities I am considering for next year.
I should be ready to respond and go at the same time. "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
I couldn't help but notice the parallels in this situation to listening for God's call. We should be aware of when God might be calling us or speaking to us--which is really any time, not just a few hours out of the day. When He does call us, we should be ready to listen and obey, disregarding other concerns (even family-?). Because He has called us, we should be willing to accept that call, no matter what it is.I'm really not terribly sure what next year will bring. A year from now, where will I be? Will I be here in MD? Will I be in El Paso? Will I be in Ukraine? Will I be somewhere else?
Right now there are more questions than answers.
The best I know is that I am called to follow Christ, to be made in His image, to worship Him, to share His love with others. Beyond that is unknown to me right now.
"I held these dreams of my heart tight inside, fearing that if I revealed them to anyone, then I might be held accountable to them or be seen as a failure if things didn't work out." ~Brooklyn Lindsey
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Thoughts
Today was a great day with both sides of my family...
My brother and I started out our day at our dad's house -- my aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandfather came over for a little while before they left for their dinner. It was good to see them and visit with them a little while, and I was able to show them most of my Ukraine pictures. Okay, "most" is an exaggeration, it was actually "most of the overview pictures", since it was only 10% of my total photos. I showed a lot of history/culture ones at the beginning, and then made my way into the ones that had more of the people. (Seriously, I'm forgetting some of the awesome stories...I need a refresher.)
When I was showing my pictures, I talked about how it was neat to see that God had brought a lot of the pastors out of the drug/alcohol culture, and that they went from that enslavement to now preaching and teaching in the church. After a while, I noticed that my aunt had gone into the living room and was otherwise NOT where I was showing the pictures....I suspected it was because my trip was church-related....Adam said later, "I think you talked about God too much for our aunt, because she left after a while" (and was sitting in their car by the time the rest of us came outside).
He's probably right. But how can you "invalidate" someone's story? We've talked in theology class about how the narrative you are in will influence what kinds of experiences you have. For instance, I will not have experiences in my Christian story like those in a Buddhist life-narrative will have. These were the experiences I had -- I am telling what I have seen and heard (Luke 7:22).
My dad and stepmom have told us before not to say "Merry Christmas" to her (and maybe my uncle too), because she won't like it. However, I cannot (sometimes I simply forget). On December 25, I am celebrating Christ's birth -- that is the holiday. I know the name of Jesus Christ is offensive to some, but today, I just talked about GOD. (Yes, Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are all the same Being, I know.) I think she may be of Jewish heritage, but I don't think she's a practicing Jew.
I want to know what her "beef" is with God, or the church, or Christians, or whatever it may be. Even though I tended to do it in high school, I don't want to preach AT people about my views, or about Jesus. I want to be able to have a conversation with her, to understand where she's coming from, and what her ideas are.
At the same time, I don't want to "chicken out" about sharing explicitly about God, when I think I can predict their responses. I'm going to give credit to God when it's God's.
After my picture show, we drove to my mom's cousin's house. On the way there, my brother was playing with my radio, and found a radio station..."Is this Chinese?" I listened very careful, and recognized the words "katori" and "delit", and said, "Nope, it's Russian!!!!" On our way home, we listened again, and this time it was in FRENCH! I was seriously excited about a Russian radio station -- I'm going to try it again later.
On my grandfather's side of the family, the average age has fallen....rather than the under-40 bunch being the minority, it is now the over-60 bunch that is in the minority. So many of my cousins had babies there, and a few were really cute. Zack is about 11 months old, and Cydney is 4 mos (she smiled A LOT at me!!!).
My cousins told my uncle Eddie that they stopped at a Target where they were the only white people there, and he didn't like that one bit (he's still holding a 67-year old grudge against Japan and Japanese automobiles). What is wrong with white people being in the minority??? I was/am in the minority in El Paso, and I don't mind it at all!
Most of my cousins from NC were up visiting, and after dinner, Shari, Christina, and I tried to put together a couple of these "Scramble Squares" puzzles. I mostly shot down the ones that wouldn't work...I really wasn't offering anything constructive at all. They got 2 done, no problem, but then we sat and worked on this one for quite a while....Abby joined Christina and I when Shari left, and we were STILL working on it. Troy kept "advising" us, but it really didn't help. You'd think a 9-piece puzzle really wouldn't be that difficult! We never did figure it out.
I hope the rest of you had a wonderful day as well!
My brother and I started out our day at our dad's house -- my aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandfather came over for a little while before they left for their dinner. It was good to see them and visit with them a little while, and I was able to show them most of my Ukraine pictures. Okay, "most" is an exaggeration, it was actually "most of the overview pictures", since it was only 10% of my total photos. I showed a lot of history/culture ones at the beginning, and then made my way into the ones that had more of the people. (Seriously, I'm forgetting some of the awesome stories...I need a refresher.)
When I was showing my pictures, I talked about how it was neat to see that God had brought a lot of the pastors out of the drug/alcohol culture, and that they went from that enslavement to now preaching and teaching in the church. After a while, I noticed that my aunt had gone into the living room and was otherwise NOT where I was showing the pictures....I suspected it was because my trip was church-related....Adam said later, "I think you talked about God too much for our aunt, because she left after a while" (and was sitting in their car by the time the rest of us came outside).
He's probably right. But how can you "invalidate" someone's story? We've talked in theology class about how the narrative you are in will influence what kinds of experiences you have. For instance, I will not have experiences in my Christian story like those in a Buddhist life-narrative will have. These were the experiences I had -- I am telling what I have seen and heard (Luke 7:22).
My dad and stepmom have told us before not to say "Merry Christmas" to her (and maybe my uncle too), because she won't like it. However, I cannot (sometimes I simply forget). On December 25, I am celebrating Christ's birth -- that is the holiday. I know the name of Jesus Christ is offensive to some, but today, I just talked about GOD. (Yes, Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are all the same Being, I know.) I think she may be of Jewish heritage, but I don't think she's a practicing Jew.
I want to know what her "beef" is with God, or the church, or Christians, or whatever it may be. Even though I tended to do it in high school, I don't want to preach AT people about my views, or about Jesus. I want to be able to have a conversation with her, to understand where she's coming from, and what her ideas are.
At the same time, I don't want to "chicken out" about sharing explicitly about God, when I think I can predict their responses. I'm going to give credit to God when it's God's.
After my picture show, we drove to my mom's cousin's house. On the way there, my brother was playing with my radio, and found a radio station..."Is this Chinese?" I listened very careful, and recognized the words "katori" and "delit", and said, "Nope, it's Russian!!!!" On our way home, we listened again, and this time it was in FRENCH! I was seriously excited about a Russian radio station -- I'm going to try it again later.
On my grandfather's side of the family, the average age has fallen....rather than the under-40 bunch being the minority, it is now the over-60 bunch that is in the minority. So many of my cousins had babies there, and a few were really cute. Zack is about 11 months old, and Cydney is 4 mos (she smiled A LOT at me!!!).
My cousins told my uncle Eddie that they stopped at a Target where they were the only white people there, and he didn't like that one bit (he's still holding a 67-year old grudge against Japan and Japanese automobiles). What is wrong with white people being in the minority??? I was/am in the minority in El Paso, and I don't mind it at all!
Most of my cousins from NC were up visiting, and after dinner, Shari, Christina, and I tried to put together a couple of these "Scramble Squares" puzzles. I mostly shot down the ones that wouldn't work...I really wasn't offering anything constructive at all. They got 2 done, no problem, but then we sat and worked on this one for quite a while....Abby joined Christina and I when Shari left, and we were STILL working on it. Troy kept "advising" us, but it really didn't help. You'd think a 9-piece puzzle really wouldn't be that difficult! We never did figure it out.I hope the rest of you had a wonderful day as well!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The enemy's been defeated....
The enemy has been defeated
And death couldn't hold You down
We're gonna lift our voice in victory
We're gonna make Your praises loud
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
Shout unto God with a voice of praise
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
We lift Your name up
We lift Your name up
Despite my questions, despite my struggles, despite suffering, despite discouragement, despite death, Christ has already defeated all. Just as I learned this summer, and continue to learn each and every day, Christ is my only certainty in life, as well as for after death. Christ is King over all creation, and should be first in my life also.
I was watching an episode of Fringe tonight, and then decided that it was far too serious for my mood right now. So then I found a Paul Wright song to listen to, but that dealt with suicide. Perhaps this seems more jarring to me because I had been having a "calm" time, a wonderful time, things were looking up, in a sense.
Tomorrow is Mrs Quimby's funeral. For many of us that knew her, we thought that she was going to make it through her injuries and fight her way out. We offered so many prayers on her behalf and thought of her so much during her last week on earth. Yet she did not make it. I have not thought so much about the question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" as much as...well, I'm not sure how to word this. It seems ridiculously unfair to say that an amazing teacher and woman would not go to heaven to be with God. (I disagree with the statement that she is now one of God's angels -- I don't believe we are made into angels when we die. Following that logic, it would appear that Hitler would have become a demon, I suppose.) Yet if we truly got what we deserve for the times we do not do what is Christ-like, then we'd all be up a creek without a paddle (is that how the saying goes?) -- who knows in what shape we'd be.
I don't know if Mrs Quimby was a Christian, a follower of Christ, in a relationship with Jesus. I don't claim to know the answer to that question -- but the bottom line is that I just don't know.
What can be done? I want my friends to be with God once their time on earth is done. Being with God, experiencing His love and sharing that with others is one of the best things ever....at the same time though, it is very demanding, GOD is demanding in that I have to put God before all else in my life, and seek God's glory above my own, and learn to see others through Christ's eyes.
Recently we've been talking about how God is love, yes, but yet God demands ALL of us. It's not just a "feel-good" gospel about how much God loves and sent His Son Jesus Christ, but that once we accept the gift of forever living with God, we must live like Christ. A high calling, indeed, but God gives us everything we need -- in the form of the Holy Spirit to shape us in Christ's image.
"He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." (Luke 8: 25)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back, I know You are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth
And death couldn't hold You down
We're gonna lift our voice in victory
We're gonna make Your praises loud
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
Shout unto God with a voice of praise
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
We lift Your name up
We lift Your name up
Despite my questions, despite my struggles, despite suffering, despite discouragement, despite death, Christ has already defeated all. Just as I learned this summer, and continue to learn each and every day, Christ is my only certainty in life, as well as for after death. Christ is King over all creation, and should be first in my life also.
I was watching an episode of Fringe tonight, and then decided that it was far too serious for my mood right now. So then I found a Paul Wright song to listen to, but that dealt with suicide. Perhaps this seems more jarring to me because I had been having a "calm" time, a wonderful time, things were looking up, in a sense.
Tomorrow is Mrs Quimby's funeral. For many of us that knew her, we thought that she was going to make it through her injuries and fight her way out. We offered so many prayers on her behalf and thought of her so much during her last week on earth. Yet she did not make it. I have not thought so much about the question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" as much as...well, I'm not sure how to word this. It seems ridiculously unfair to say that an amazing teacher and woman would not go to heaven to be with God. (I disagree with the statement that she is now one of God's angels -- I don't believe we are made into angels when we die. Following that logic, it would appear that Hitler would have become a demon, I suppose.) Yet if we truly got what we deserve for the times we do not do what is Christ-like, then we'd all be up a creek without a paddle (is that how the saying goes?) -- who knows in what shape we'd be.
I don't know if Mrs Quimby was a Christian, a follower of Christ, in a relationship with Jesus. I don't claim to know the answer to that question -- but the bottom line is that I just don't know.
What can be done? I want my friends to be with God once their time on earth is done. Being with God, experiencing His love and sharing that with others is one of the best things ever....at the same time though, it is very demanding, GOD is demanding in that I have to put God before all else in my life, and seek God's glory above my own, and learn to see others through Christ's eyes.
Recently we've been talking about how God is love, yes, but yet God demands ALL of us. It's not just a "feel-good" gospel about how much God loves and sent His Son Jesus Christ, but that once we accept the gift of forever living with God, we must live like Christ. A high calling, indeed, but God gives us everything we need -- in the form of the Holy Spirit to shape us in Christ's image.
"He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." (Luke 8: 25)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back, I know You are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth
Saturday, November 15, 2008
On Wealth and Unnecessary Things
I've been thinking lately about how some things are unnecessary.
For a family of a father, mother, and two little girls, do you really need a house with 4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, a computer room/den, a playroom, another parlor-type room, living room, dining area, kitchen, laundry room, and a 2-car garage? I babysat for a family once with a house like this. It seemed like a lot of house for not a lot of people.
My grandfather wants to build a garage at our house in order to store a lawnmower and one or two of our family cars. Do we need a standard-size garage to store a riding mower? The way I see it, we can build another small shed big enough for the mower and other tools. Our driveway/yard is going to be a mess while this garage is built. We have managed my entire life -- with the exception of a year or so, when we only used the garage for storage -- without a "home" for our vehicles. In our family of 3, we have 3 cars. THAT is ridiculous, but we live in the country with NO public transportation unless you are in a K-12 school or are a senior citizen.
Midnight Madness, our pep rally for the basketball teams, was held last night. One of the things that bugged me, and I said to someone, "Is that really necessary? What is the point?", was that the basketball guys were slapping each other on the butt. Why? That's so obnoxious and stupid. I don't want to see that.
When I pack up to move home after graduation, I want to see if I can fit all my possessions into my car. Should I count furniture (shelving) in that aspect as well? The only thing is that I still have a lot of things stored at my mom's house: toys from when I was a kid, books I haven't read, books I'd like to keep, and a few clothes. In thinking about Christmas, I'm trying to whittle down my list to things that I think I "need", but at the same time, some of those are unnecessary in the long run. I know that I can live out of a suitcase and backpack for 2 months, but I am a packrat and will need to do some cleaning and sorting over Christmas break, since I'll be consolidating 2 rooms into one in May.
I've been doing a lot of self-evaluation lately, and seeing areas in which I totally need God's help to improve and become more like Christ. In thinking about an experience I had this week, I struggle with pride and stereotypes about people that are not in my social circles, for one example.
What is unnecessary in my own life, but that I still do anyway? Spending time on Facebook every day -- I know that I will survive if I am only on it once a week, but yet, I am online nearly anytime I am in my room. Buying things that I don't really need, but could use the money for more important things. Taking the day off when I could very well work.
Hmmm....
For a family of a father, mother, and two little girls, do you really need a house with 4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, a computer room/den, a playroom, another parlor-type room, living room, dining area, kitchen, laundry room, and a 2-car garage? I babysat for a family once with a house like this. It seemed like a lot of house for not a lot of people.
My grandfather wants to build a garage at our house in order to store a lawnmower and one or two of our family cars. Do we need a standard-size garage to store a riding mower? The way I see it, we can build another small shed big enough for the mower and other tools. Our driveway/yard is going to be a mess while this garage is built. We have managed my entire life -- with the exception of a year or so, when we only used the garage for storage -- without a "home" for our vehicles. In our family of 3, we have 3 cars. THAT is ridiculous, but we live in the country with NO public transportation unless you are in a K-12 school or are a senior citizen.
Midnight Madness, our pep rally for the basketball teams, was held last night. One of the things that bugged me, and I said to someone, "Is that really necessary? What is the point?", was that the basketball guys were slapping each other on the butt. Why? That's so obnoxious and stupid. I don't want to see that.
When I pack up to move home after graduation, I want to see if I can fit all my possessions into my car. Should I count furniture (shelving) in that aspect as well? The only thing is that I still have a lot of things stored at my mom's house: toys from when I was a kid, books I haven't read, books I'd like to keep, and a few clothes. In thinking about Christmas, I'm trying to whittle down my list to things that I think I "need", but at the same time, some of those are unnecessary in the long run. I know that I can live out of a suitcase and backpack for 2 months, but I am a packrat and will need to do some cleaning and sorting over Christmas break, since I'll be consolidating 2 rooms into one in May.
I've been doing a lot of self-evaluation lately, and seeing areas in which I totally need God's help to improve and become more like Christ. In thinking about an experience I had this week, I struggle with pride and stereotypes about people that are not in my social circles, for one example.
What is unnecessary in my own life, but that I still do anyway? Spending time on Facebook every day -- I know that I will survive if I am only on it once a week, but yet, I am online nearly anytime I am in my room. Buying things that I don't really need, but could use the money for more important things. Taking the day off when I could very well work.
Hmmm....
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