he’s my friend now, but back in the day he was my youth pastor’s kid whom i used to babysit. i made them a really good paper airplane one time, and it flew so much better than ones they knew how to make that it was dubbed the “adam-bomber.” he and his brother used to like it when i did the elmo voice.
now he’s old and whatnot. and he plays bass in a pretty decent band. and i’m super proud of him. so i’m probably biased about how good they are?? idk.
i was listening to them play on their myspace page, and i think you should all go check it out. here. now.
it’s not an open highway to the truth, like what they say
“only he can heal your wounds.” that’s what they meant to say
so what if it’s snowing and the roads are getting nasty and it’s colder than the blazes outside (by a long shot, actually). you can still smile.
the other day i watched a documentary about facial communication, and one of the things they discussed was the coldness of non-face-to-face conversations, particularly by way of email. so over the short years since email has been a prevalent form of communication, folks have begun using emoticons to represent the facial part of what they are trying to say. most of you already know this, and you’re thinking about clicking the red “x” in the top right-hand corner (pc) or the red dot in the top left-hand corner (mac). well that’s fine, but this isn’t really a lesson on emoticons, but simply me saying that i think they are funny.
i used to think they were dumb, like a cop-out, a shortcut around actually using an extended vocabulary and thoughtfulness to effectively communicate what you really mean. but every now and then, when i was in a hurry, i’d use a little smiley. the truth is that the more i use them the more i like them. sorry. (*O*) they make me laugh, and they are a quick, easy way to communicate emotion. so there.
i got here to church a few minutes earlier than i normally do, so here is what i’m thinking about this morning.
1. it’s colder than the dickens outside.
2. i don’t know exactly what that phrase means. normally i would look it up and submit a pointless report to my readership, but i don’t have enough time for that. at any rate, it’s still not colder than madison, wisconsin, where my cousin penny lives.
3. i think just about errbody has been sick at least once by now this season. so if you know somebody who has the sniffles, it’s probably their second or third time around. tell them you love them, but to start getting more rest and eating more healthy and taking zicam or airborn immune boosters. seriously, folks. (talking to myself, too.)
4. i’m pretty excite to get back into he swing of things. christmas was great, but it’s very busy, and honestly i feel like sometimes i’m just pushing through sunday to sunday, trying to fit in christmas carols and whatnot, without being able to stop and worship God the way i need to. today we will rock and roll.
5. i wore three coats today. (see point number 1)
6. my keyboard is messing up. i keep having to type slowl or else it will skip letters and look real crazy. it’s like it just randomly chooses buttons not to write. maybe mybattery is going dead. who knows.
ever wake up in the back seat of a parked car that you don’t recognize? probably not.
ever realized that you have no idea where you are nor why you are there?
ever been in a situation where you felt like a turtle on a fencepost, wondering, “how the heck did i get up here? and how in the world am i going to get down?”
my dad told me that i was not really strong-willed when i was younger. gretchen wasn’t all that tough, either. so i don’t know where ella gets it. but she has an iron will. if she has decided that she wants something, it is nearly impossible to steer her away from it. it’s very challenging, especially for gretchen who is with her all day. (i’m not complaining, mind you. ella’s a very good kid, and relatively easy…i think that’s why her iron will is so difficult for us, cause she’s otherwise very easy.)
so this morning, as i was heading out the door to go to work, i heard gretchen say, “come on ella, let’s trim your nails.” well, ella wasn’t having any of that. she’s not afraid of the nail clippers or anything, but she just didn’t feel like sitting still at that moment. and she couldn’t be bothered with holding her hand motionless for the 37 seconds it takes gretchen to clip ella’s talons.
so gretchen’s holding ella on her lap. ella’s squirming. gretchen is holding her tighter. ella is squirming stronger. gretchen is grappling with the little angel with one hand and attempting a precision cuticle trim with the other…on a moving target. (and where are you at, big daddy? go upstairs and help your wife! i didn’t even think about that until just now as i was writing this…that’s a whole different post.) and i hear ella say, “you’re hurting me, mommy!” gretchen replies, “this wouldn’t hurt if you would just hold still and cooperate.” she wasn’t trying to hurt ella. gretch was just trying to help her, to do something that was ultimately good for her…as well as for the rest of us, who are constant victims of her inadvertent talon scratches.
…
maybe she does get that from me. i’ve said that lots of times. “ow, crap, this hurts! why do i have to go through this?! just let me be!!” and i have imagined God replying the same way that gretchen did this morning: “this wouldn’t hurt if you would just hold still and cooperate.” or “this wouldn’t hurt so much now, if you had payed attention earlier when i tried to protect you from this.” meanwhile, i’m kicking and flailing all over the place. making it as hard as i can for goodness and help to catch up with me.
what are you learning right now? what help are you avoiding because you just don’t want to sit still long enough for somebody to do it? how long will you endure the pain that you’re suffering before you hand it over to somebody who is big and strong enough to handle it?
it’s been a little over a week since i posted my intentions of exercising my spiritual, relational, and physical health over the holidays. i claimed that i would post some more concrete goals later last week, but alas, i did not have time. i wrote that you would be able to watch me either succeed gloriously or fail miserably, and indeed you shall.
this is the part of my blog where i am honest with you.
last week, i spent a night with my wife away from the girls. it was a great time of talking, catching up, whatnot, yada yada yada, and really getting to know each other again. we actually had several very good, long (-ish) conversations last week (which, if you are a parent of small children, you know is quite an accomplishment). this week, however, i have let my schedule and responsibilities get in the way of my time with gretchen. last night i was really feeling that when i got home, so i made her stay up with me and watch funny youtube videos. (cause i’m a hopeless romantic.) the same goes for my daughters.
i have been watching my food portions at the big “feast” meals. one plate, wait 20 minutes, get a little more if i’m still hungry. every time i’ve done that, i haven’t needed a second plate. but i’ve eaten fast food a lot (cause it’s fast…and more delicious than peanut butter and jelly), and i haven’t done ANY exercise (unless you count the twenty five push-ups and crunches i did this morning). go to the gym, fat boy.
last week i spent some time almost every morning studying the bible and praying. sometimes ella wakes up in the middle, and i have to get her breakfast and the such, but i still got some time in. this week, i’ve let serving God be more important than knowing God. so so so busy with everything, that i can’t make time to shut up for a while and listen to what God has to say to me. and i have definitely felt the difference in my thoughts and ability to focus on the right things.
so there you have it. last week i did pretty well. this week not so much. the week’s not over, though. the fam will be very busy, but i gotta gotta gotta keep my health at the top of my priority list.
so should you. let my public rambling confession be a checkpoint for yourself. how are you doing this week? are your important relationships getting higher billing than all the other ones? are you spending time getting to know God better? are you taking care of your body?
if you are not busy this time of year, then you must be a hibernating bear…or squirrel…or other hibernating animal… sometimes we look up and realize it’s december 23 before we even catch our breath from the thanksgiving/black friday ordeal. and then it’s time to do it all again for christmas. pack up, drive, stop to feed the baby, drive, stop to change the baby, drive, arrive, rela–WAIT, no time for relaxing…drive some more, eat, talk to people you see twice a year about what has happened since you last saw them…drive some more…
you get the picture. you know that picture. that is a picture of your family, with some subtle variations of course. so what do you do? i’m still trying to figure out how to really handle the holidays. i have an idea or two, but i want to hear from you. i want to know:
?
