Has anyone else received the quarterly catalog that Christian Book Distributors sends out? Maybe we get it because we occasionally order some of Charles' text books from them, but nonetheless, it arrived yesterday. I rarely flip through it, it generally ends up in my recycle bin almost immediately, but last night, I had some free time and thought I'd see what was new in the world of Christian literature. I saw page after page of books and resources designed to help us draw nearer to God and one another--bible studies, pop psychology books, Christian fiction (which I occasionally enjoy, but honestly all looks the same to me), commentaries, and hundreds of bibles. Then, I stumbled upon something I have probably flipped right past dozens of times before. Near the back of the catalog were several pages of books about marriage, family and relationships. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy books along these lines, and I think we all do stand to learn a few things about how we are in relationship with others and how we can improve in this area. But an interesting thought struck me as I perused the titles. I found myself thinking "I need this book, and then I should read this one, and I really think if I read this one I could be a better wife..." I found myself convinced that if I didn't read all these books, and constantly be in a state of studying relationships and marriage I was going to be a massive failure as a wife. It was fascinating the pull the advertisements had upon me, and all of a sudden I somehow snapped out of my train of thought and realized how untrue that statement was.
I certainly do believe we need to be students of ourselves and how we relate to others. Too many marriages fail too early because people don't want to put the time and energy into learning about their patterns of behavior that could be unhealthy. However, I also think we can land on the other extreme (where I tend to find myself)--the place of never relaxing enough to enjoy our relationships and just be in them. I found myself thinking "My husband tells me all the time he loves me, I am sure there are things he wishes I would do differently, but he isn't the one putting all this pressure on me to be the perfect wife--that's coming from me." I can be free to take a deep breath, say "It's okay, I am good enough, I need to learn and grow over time, but I don't have to be perfect. No book is going to make me perfect. I can just be." And friends, there's a lot of freedom in that.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Give Her Your Arms
Awhile ago my husband and I were listening to a marriage podcast while driving somewhere, and the particular episode was on the secrets of happily married couples. They were sharing thoughts and ideas on what men need from women and vice versa--things we need but might not be instinctive for our partner to give us because we think so differently. One thing that was said that really struck me was a piece of advice shared by the male on the show. He said "Gentlemen, if I can give you one piece of advice as you begin your marriage, it is never underestimate the power of your arms wrapped around your wife. Hug her often. Hug her multiple times a day. Offer her your arms, she will feel safe, protected, and like whatever is happening in her day is really not that big of a deal." Okay, granted, a hug cannot cure everything. But, as I am learning, a hug from a spouse really can make a HUGE difference in my day. A hug can reverse a bad mood, stop a stressed and frenzied dash out the door in its tracks, or halt a negative train of thought before it gets too far. The piece of advice given by the psychologist on the podcast was taken very seriously by my husband, and now, several times a day, he'll walk up to me and put his arms around me. Yesterday I was folding laundry, and I was hitting an afternoon energy crash. I was tired, getting cranky and stressed and my wonderful husband replied with "can I make you some coffee or tea? Or can I just put my arms around you and tell you I love you?" I asked for his arms. It was a fabulous gift. So whether it's in those early morning, pre-alarm moments of floating in hazy wakefulness, before you leave the house, when you return, or even as she's cooking dinner, offer your wife your arms. It's one of the best gifts you can ever give her.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
We Exchange the Truth About God for a Lie
"they exchanged the truth about God for a lie..." Romans 1:25. I don't know about any of you, but I've done this. A lot. It hasn't been until recently that I've been confronted with the reality of just how many lies I do believe about God--and how these lies have drastically impacted my emotional and spiritual health during various seasons of life. See if any of these sound familiar. "God wants me to do better, try harder, or be a better person." "If I would just be able to get _____ under control in my life, I'd be a better person and God might love me more." "God blesses me when I am good, and punishes me when I am bad." "God is angry with me." "God causes bad things to happen to teach us lessons, therefore we can't trust God because God is so vengeful." We don't like to admit that we believe these things, but studies show that a huge percentage of Christians in America do. These seem to be the dominant narratives that have somehow been communicated about God in our churches, and the problem is, they're lies. None of these things are true, but they greatly impact how we live our lives.
Author James Bryan Smith has written 3 books (book 3 will arrive in September) called The Apprentice Series, and book 1 deals with exactly this issue--what we believe about God, and, more-so, what do we believe wrongly about God. I'll be honest, most Christian pop-literature drives me nuts. I've never read (nor have I ever wanted to read) Rick Warren's book. I usually get about half way through a book on faith, prayer, the church etc and quit. That isn't the case with this one at all. I'm over half way through with The Good and Beautiful God and am already soliciting people to go through it again with me as a small group (it's designed for small groups, but I've been doing it individually and it's still amazing). I can't even tell you how much it's daily challenging and changing the ways I think about God, and the overwhelming sense of freedom I'm feeling as I think about how I relate to this God that I intellectually know loves me but don't always feel it.He spends this book making the case that the only real way to understand the character and nature of God is to look to the person of Jesus, who says he came to show us the Father. How did Jesus act? What did his parables teach us? What does Jesus say about God? Smith writes that as we begin to know Jesus, we are then able to begin falling in love with the God Jesus points us to. Each chapter takes up a different character trait of God and involves spiritual disciplines to help us interact with this aspect of God's character to understand it in a way that is perhaps different from how we're taught Sunday mornings. Each chapter has a different discipline to practice throughout the week and great questions to think/journal/pray about throughout the week. For example, chapter 3 is God is Trustworthy and for a "Soul Training" exercise that week he has us spend time making as long of a list as we can of things we're thankful for--ways God has blessed us. As we intentionally take time to do this, we are reminded of all the ways God has provided for us in the past and that helps us understand God as the God we can trust with the future.
I haven't read books 2 and 3 yet (The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ, and The Good and Beautiful Community: Following the Spirit, Extending Grace, Demonstrating Love) but I'm excited to, and hoping to find others who will go through them with me. This is a man who has been mentored and has personal friendships with Rich Mullins, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Brennan Manning and Henri Nouwen. With a cast of spiritual cheerleaders like that, we know he has something to say worth listening to!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
marks of a truly great friend
I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. The delightful writers over at Dirty Sexy Ministry wrote this little tribute to friendships, and I had to share. I'm blessed to have several such friends in my life--so this goes out to you all who know who you are :)
Jesus makes that stirring speech to his disciples, probably more than just the 12 guys who get lots of press in the Gospels, but also to the women and men who've been his companions for the years of his ministry, about no longer calling them servants, but calling them friends. With Facebook and social politeness and just our general conversation, we often forget that being a friend can range from a general acquaintance one met at a conference and you email on occasion to a person who has been a fixture of your life for years and you are thankful to God that s/he was guided into your life by the hand of the Almighty.
We might not bother to reflect in detail, but there are differences in the friends in our lives. And the best ones, the most treasured ones, are truly gifts, because they can do the following:
1. Tell you that your butt does indeed look fat in those pants. Or that skirt makes you look five pounds heavier. Or that haircut isn't really you, but it will grow out. They are the people who love you enough to prevent obvious attempts at public embarrassment.
2. Tell you that the guy/girl you are dating is less-than-stellar BEFORE you break up. Haven't we all had those friends who tell us after the aforementioned diversion into crazy-date-land that he wasn't really good enough or they never really liked him or they wondered what exactly you saw in him? After? A great friend, the dearest ones, will pose that before you get too far down the road of insanity, risking that you may not agree. Or that they may be wrong (and if they are, they'll say...eventually).
3. Think a three-minute call in Wal-Mart about the lady in very tight spandex in the check-out line in front of you is a perfectly reasonable use of mobile minutes.
4. And think an hour phone call about something you've talked about another three, sixty-seven, or one hundred and twelve times is okay, too. Need to process the horrible sermon you just preached for the twenty-third time because you are really working out your perfectionist issues? Okay, they'll listen. Another round of what the hell was I thinking the other night, even though you just talked about it? I'll listen. And they will also love you enough to eventually ask why you're really upset.
5. The truly great friends know sometimes it's what you aren't saying that's often most important, and they'll listen until you're ready to say it. And they know you well enough to know what the silence means.
6. Never leave you out on the edge of creation alone. The great friendships are equal. You talk about the time you got stood up at your high school prom? S/he's right there with you, telling you how leather pants were a bad choice for the summer family picnic.
7. Never miss an opportunity to see you face-to-face, especially for those of us whose jobs move us across the diaspora. Three hours is nothing to laugh together over lunch at Cracker Barrel, because it's the only restaurant half-way and you can sit together at a corner table for hours, catching up and just being with each other. And between the face-to-face, intentional contact is a given, not just a haphazard, "Oh, I should call." The great friendships don't just happen; they take commitment from both parties.
8. Have a dialogue with each other for life. Conversations don't really, truly end with the great ones. We talk, then continue, because the conversation keeps going. I remember a year ago realizing the other blogger on this site was a great friend when I realized we had all these wonderful, funny, common stories with each other. And she makes me laugh until soda comes out my nose.
9. Will try to talk you out of foolishness, but if they aren't persuasive, they'll either walk down the path with you or wait for you until you wander back on your own, and they'll have a supply of band-aids, a bottle of wine, and a hand to hold while you heal. They'll also do the same when you just go through a really tough time, without trying to fix anything, but just sitting with you in the Land of Suck.
10. Remind you, without saying a word, that you are loved, wholly and completely, just as you are. And that you matter in her/his life, too.
Jesus makes that stirring speech to his disciples, probably more than just the 12 guys who get lots of press in the Gospels, but also to the women and men who've been his companions for the years of his ministry, about no longer calling them servants, but calling them friends. With Facebook and social politeness and just our general conversation, we often forget that being a friend can range from a general acquaintance one met at a conference and you email on occasion to a person who has been a fixture of your life for years and you are thankful to God that s/he was guided into your life by the hand of the Almighty.
We might not bother to reflect in detail, but there are differences in the friends in our lives. And the best ones, the most treasured ones, are truly gifts, because they can do the following:
1. Tell you that your butt does indeed look fat in those pants. Or that skirt makes you look five pounds heavier. Or that haircut isn't really you, but it will grow out. They are the people who love you enough to prevent obvious attempts at public embarrassment.
2. Tell you that the guy/girl you are dating is less-than-stellar BEFORE you break up. Haven't we all had those friends who tell us after the aforementioned diversion into crazy-date-land that he wasn't really good enough or they never really liked him or they wondered what exactly you saw in him? After? A great friend, the dearest ones, will pose that before you get too far down the road of insanity, risking that you may not agree. Or that they may be wrong (and if they are, they'll say...eventually).
3. Think a three-minute call in Wal-Mart about the lady in very tight spandex in the check-out line in front of you is a perfectly reasonable use of mobile minutes.
4. And think an hour phone call about something you've talked about another three, sixty-seven, or one hundred and twelve times is okay, too. Need to process the horrible sermon you just preached for the twenty-third time because you are really working out your perfectionist issues? Okay, they'll listen. Another round of what the hell was I thinking the other night, even though you just talked about it? I'll listen. And they will also love you enough to eventually ask why you're really upset.
5. The truly great friends know sometimes it's what you aren't saying that's often most important, and they'll listen until you're ready to say it. And they know you well enough to know what the silence means.
6. Never leave you out on the edge of creation alone. The great friendships are equal. You talk about the time you got stood up at your high school prom? S/he's right there with you, telling you how leather pants were a bad choice for the summer family picnic.
7. Never miss an opportunity to see you face-to-face, especially for those of us whose jobs move us across the diaspora. Three hours is nothing to laugh together over lunch at Cracker Barrel, because it's the only restaurant half-way and you can sit together at a corner table for hours, catching up and just being with each other. And between the face-to-face, intentional contact is a given, not just a haphazard, "Oh, I should call." The great friendships don't just happen; they take commitment from both parties.
8. Have a dialogue with each other for life. Conversations don't really, truly end with the great ones. We talk, then continue, because the conversation keeps going. I remember a year ago realizing the other blogger on this site was a great friend when I realized we had all these wonderful, funny, common stories with each other. And she makes me laugh until soda comes out my nose.
9. Will try to talk you out of foolishness, but if they aren't persuasive, they'll either walk down the path with you or wait for you until you wander back on your own, and they'll have a supply of band-aids, a bottle of wine, and a hand to hold while you heal. They'll also do the same when you just go through a really tough time, without trying to fix anything, but just sitting with you in the Land of Suck.
10. Remind you, without saying a word, that you are loved, wholly and completely, just as you are. And that you matter in her/his life, too.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Stirrings and Confessings
I've become aware lately of a restlessness deep in my soul. It's not a dissatisfaction, per-se, but more of an awareness of just how little intentionality there is in my life these days--how incapable I am at concentrating on and committing to certain things or people. I have let myself become bombarded and inundated with frivolity, and I am starting to see what a slippery, dangerous slope I might be on. It's gotten worse and worse, and I know deep down I am being called to do something about it.
I am longing for depth--depth in relationships, in conversations, in my thinking, writing, and spirituality--yet I seem trapped on the surface. Certainly there are some relationships in my life that are way beyond the surface, but in many other areas of my life, I feel as if I have been content to splash around in the shallow end rather than bravely make my way towards deeper water. I find myself comfortable with being so entertained by the inane that when I do have the opportunity to go deeper I shrug it off, thinking "nah, that'll take too much brain power." (I'll read all the random pop culture blogs written by total strangers but when a good friend writes something thought provoking or spiritually stimulating I hit 'delete' and ignore it--too many big words to potentially process.) Since when did I become this person?
I have let myself become assailed by the thoughts, musings, and daily happenings of 637 "friends" of mine on facebook, so much so that when finished perusing everyone's latest status updates I lack the ability to think beyond what I ended up having for dinner (since that was what everyone else posted about). I am so used to popping open my lap top everytime I have two minutes to kill to see what's new in cyber world that I have lost the desire to choose one thing to think about and invest deeply in it. My ability to focus seems to be disappearing. This has become so much more apparent to me now that I'm working. I'm at my computer all day, with the temptation of the internet right at my fingertips. I'm amazed (and disgusted) at how many times a day my hands automatically enter facebook.com in my webbrowser, or how many times a day I visit my google reader account to see if anyone has updated their blog. I'm appalled at how when something happens, my first reaction now is "wow, that would be a great status update, I'll have to remember to enter that when I get home." I've had really really good friends tell me that they are frustrated when they have to resort to facebook status updates to figure out how I am because I haven't called them back or sent them a real email (or even a hand written note--gasp, what an archaic thing!) in awhile. There is nothing about that that is remotely okay! Yet, I've been content to reside here, cramming my brain full of pointless pieces of information while my soul is crying out for something more.
I have been thinking a lot lately about Jesus' model of his friendships--how he had 3 that were his closest, inner circle, then he had the 12 that were an integral part of his life and a crowd of 70 that made up his primary community who traveled with Him. I wanted to see how this would play out. I went on facebook recently and went through my list of 600-something friends to see where people would fall. I made literal lists (you can group and classify your friends) of people: My 3, My 12 and My 70 and started assigning people to them. Here's what was astonishing to me. Out of my 637 "friends," there were a total of 70 people I actually have a relatively real relationship with and a desire to connect with. This includes family members. (It does not include youth group kids, but that's another story...) 70. Out of 637. Yet I spend hours of my life checking up on these 637 people, many of whom I will never see again. And that means I don't spend hours reading, talking to people, being outside, taking walks, cooking, thinking or writing about anything deeply.
I'm not deleting facebook. I know that would be a great solution to this problem, but it is literally the only way many of our youth group kids will communicate with us, and there are people I do connect with regularly that are actually in that group of 70 with whom I'd like to maintain contact. But, I am going to make some changes in how I want to use technology available to me. I want to use the internet to develop more of my writing and thoughts here on my blog, and to actually write to people, real notes, not mass emails to catch a ton of people up on things. It'll be tough, but I want to avoid updating my status all that often--I don't need 600 people knowing what I did today--we've lost a sense of privacy in our culture that I long to regain a bit of. I do still want to read the blogs and thoughts of my friends, but I don't need to be browsing through total stranger's musings. I can't help but wonder, 10 years from now, if we don't start changing some of the ways we communicate with and interact with one another, what will our relationships look like?
I am longing for depth--depth in relationships, in conversations, in my thinking, writing, and spirituality--yet I seem trapped on the surface. Certainly there are some relationships in my life that are way beyond the surface, but in many other areas of my life, I feel as if I have been content to splash around in the shallow end rather than bravely make my way towards deeper water. I find myself comfortable with being so entertained by the inane that when I do have the opportunity to go deeper I shrug it off, thinking "nah, that'll take too much brain power." (I'll read all the random pop culture blogs written by total strangers but when a good friend writes something thought provoking or spiritually stimulating I hit 'delete' and ignore it--too many big words to potentially process.) Since when did I become this person?
I have let myself become assailed by the thoughts, musings, and daily happenings of 637 "friends" of mine on facebook, so much so that when finished perusing everyone's latest status updates I lack the ability to think beyond what I ended up having for dinner (since that was what everyone else posted about). I am so used to popping open my lap top everytime I have two minutes to kill to see what's new in cyber world that I have lost the desire to choose one thing to think about and invest deeply in it. My ability to focus seems to be disappearing. This has become so much more apparent to me now that I'm working. I'm at my computer all day, with the temptation of the internet right at my fingertips. I'm amazed (and disgusted) at how many times a day my hands automatically enter facebook.com in my webbrowser, or how many times a day I visit my google reader account to see if anyone has updated their blog. I'm appalled at how when something happens, my first reaction now is "wow, that would be a great status update, I'll have to remember to enter that when I get home." I've had really really good friends tell me that they are frustrated when they have to resort to facebook status updates to figure out how I am because I haven't called them back or sent them a real email (or even a hand written note--gasp, what an archaic thing!) in awhile. There is nothing about that that is remotely okay! Yet, I've been content to reside here, cramming my brain full of pointless pieces of information while my soul is crying out for something more.
I have been thinking a lot lately about Jesus' model of his friendships--how he had 3 that were his closest, inner circle, then he had the 12 that were an integral part of his life and a crowd of 70 that made up his primary community who traveled with Him. I wanted to see how this would play out. I went on facebook recently and went through my list of 600-something friends to see where people would fall. I made literal lists (you can group and classify your friends) of people: My 3, My 12 and My 70 and started assigning people to them. Here's what was astonishing to me. Out of my 637 "friends," there were a total of 70 people I actually have a relatively real relationship with and a desire to connect with. This includes family members. (It does not include youth group kids, but that's another story...) 70. Out of 637. Yet I spend hours of my life checking up on these 637 people, many of whom I will never see again. And that means I don't spend hours reading, talking to people, being outside, taking walks, cooking, thinking or writing about anything deeply.
I'm not deleting facebook. I know that would be a great solution to this problem, but it is literally the only way many of our youth group kids will communicate with us, and there are people I do connect with regularly that are actually in that group of 70 with whom I'd like to maintain contact. But, I am going to make some changes in how I want to use technology available to me. I want to use the internet to develop more of my writing and thoughts here on my blog, and to actually write to people, real notes, not mass emails to catch a ton of people up on things. It'll be tough, but I want to avoid updating my status all that often--I don't need 600 people knowing what I did today--we've lost a sense of privacy in our culture that I long to regain a bit of. I do still want to read the blogs and thoughts of my friends, but I don't need to be browsing through total stranger's musings. I can't help but wonder, 10 years from now, if we don't start changing some of the ways we communicate with and interact with one another, what will our relationships look like?
Friday, June 11, 2010
7 Quick Takes Friday
Happy Graduation Weekend everyone! I know many schools already graduated, but this weekend is Fuller's graduation, so I'm celebrating with graduating folks this weekend. Here's what's been going on around here this week:**1**
My husband is DONE with his quarter! Hooray! He now has a full week off until summer classes start & we opted to not travel anywhere this week, but to stick around here and get stuff done. Well, really, I need to work, but he has a bunch of random stuff to get done and lots of surfing to do! He deserves the break after a tough quarter!
**2**
Last Sunday we finally celebrated Charles' birthday (it was a few weeks ago) by attending Disney's live stage production of The Lion King. I'd seen it several years ago while it was touring, but he hadn't. It is incredible. If you ever get a chance to see it or take your kids, DO IT! I was so glad he loved it so much--he loved the costumes and the way the people were able to actually move like animals (it is pretty amazing to see, really!) Here are some photos I found on line to give those of you who haven't seen this a glimpse of the magic :)
**3**
It's a weekend full of celebrations--tomorrow we have 2 graduation parties for friends of ours, Sunday our students are being confirmed into the church with a celebration afterwards, and Sunday night we're celebrating our friend Ashley's 24th birthday--busy weekend! For the first time in the past 4 years I don't have to go to Fuller's graduation, which I'm not too bummed about--it's a pretty boring ceremony, so I'll be relaxing tomorrow morning before the parties begin!
**4**
This morning we went to the first 45 minutes of Cal Tech's graduation since the 3 students Charles has led a bible study for the past 3 years were walking. We got to hear the new president or director of NASA speak, which was pretty cool :) The most entertaining part was looking at the titles of the various doctoral dissertations--talk about a lot of REALLY intelligent people! We didn't understand most of the words in the titles, well, except for "and," and "the."
**5**
I'm half way through a great book called The Witch on Blackbird Pond, a Newberry award winning book, which has been wonderful! It's fun to enjoy a book written for junior high students every now and then!
**6**
We're having a bit of a rivalry in our home right now--it seems that a certain someone is an LA Lakers fan. I knew this when I married him, but well, I didn't think much of it. I have sense remembered that it is impossible for me to appreciate anything Lakers-oriented since I am a Northern California girl at heart. Lets just say I'm not rooting for the Lakers in the NBA finals. He is. We'll see how this goes...
**7**
The best articles/links posted on kirtsy.com this week in my opinion--enjoy!
On Being Heard (a beautiful post by a mom of a 6 year old boy)
The Logic of a 3 Year Old
The Secret Behavior of Married Women (I may have done several of these things...)
The Swagger Wagon (most of you may have seen this already but if not, you have to!)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Filled to Overflowing
Last night was our final "regular" youth group of the year (we do something each week over the summer but it is all social stuff), and in many ways it was a pretty incredible evening. Looking around the room, seeing some of them washing each others' feet, hearing them share where they have seen God in the past year, and realizing I'd been able to witness some of the same moments they mentioned as well was amazing. It's hard to believe I've been with them an entire school year already. It seems like just yesterday I was standing around awkwardly wondering who to talk to first and what in the world to say to these students who didn't know or trust me anymore than they did the random guy on the street they passed. Now I look around the room and I have memories connected to each of the 23 or so kids sitting there. I'm more comfortable with some than with others, but I have come to deeply love and care about and for each of these young people. Their smiles, tears, faces, laughter, antics, and silliness are part of my story now, and I am so grateful for the chance I've had to serve with them. We're not going anywhere yet, but I know that when the time comes to move to another congregation somewhere I'll be so sad to say goodbye, to not get to watch some of these kids finish growing up. I guess that's partly what ministry is, getting to be part of a slice of someone's journey, not always the whole thing. Only God knows what seeds have been sown this past year, we've seen some amazing growth in some kids and maybe not as much outward growth in others but that's okay. The Holy Spirit is the one who does the work, we just stay available for when the Spirit might want to use us.
So, beautiful, amazing young men and women, thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to play again. Thank you for pushing me in my own faith as you ask difficult questions. Thank you for the hugs, the stories, the chance to see Jesus working in each of you. Your beautiful faces have brought so much joy to me this year.
So, beautiful, amazing young men and women, thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to play again. Thank you for pushing me in my own faith as you ask difficult questions. Thank you for the hugs, the stories, the chance to see Jesus working in each of you. Your beautiful faces have brought so much joy to me this year.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Why I'm a Gleek
If you aren't familiar with the term "Gleek," well, I guess I'd wonder where you've been this year! Fox TV's smash hit Glee has taken the country by storm, and for good reason! The show ran a test series in the fall--13 episodes, just to see if the idea would catch on. It did. Immediately. Like wildfire. They took the winter months off to record the second half of the season and brought it back in April for the past 2 months. The season finale was last night, and oh my word. SUCH a great ending to the season.Charles and I began hearing our youth group kids (and leaders) talking about this thing called Glee in the fall. It ran on Wednesday evenings right as youth group was going on, and since we don't even have cable, much less fancy TiVo to record shows we miss, we didn't really attempt to catch up. The chatter amongst our students (and around Fuller) kept spreading, so over Christmas break we finally said "okay, we gotta watch a couple episodes to see what the fuss is all about." We were hooked. (Me moreso, but he enjoys it). The creators of this show brilliantly tapped into something every high school kid experiences--feeling like a misfit. Even as you get to know the so-called popular kids you realize they feel the same way. A Spanish teacher with a passion for music pulls them together to form the school's Glee Club (he uses some unconventional methods to convince some of them to join, but nonetheless he gets them all to commit to the program) and manages over the course of the year to form a community for them where each of them begins to feel like they do belong. They deal with real life teenage issues throughout the show--a student struggling with his sexual orientation, a teenage pregnancy, family issues, divorce, adoption, popularity, grades and friendship--so it's not a show for little kids to watch, but I love many of the ways they handle these situations. To top it off, the actors who play the teens are some of the most talented people ever--they sing, they act, they dance (yes they do all the songs themselves). The music is fun, all covers of familiar songs that you'll want to sing along with!
Fox has decided to re-run the entire first season over the summer, on Thursday nights, so if you missed it the first time around, jump on board this summer and check it out--I promise, you'll appreciate the fun, the cheesiness, and of course, the music. Come on, you know you wanna be a Gleek :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
7 Quick Takes Friday
It's Friday again! With these new jobs and running around trying to adjust to my new schedule I may just be posting these weekly updates for a bit, not having a ton of mental energy to think of creative or deep thoughts to post :) 
**1**
Last Sunday we drove 3 hours north of here to the Fresno area to see my sister, her husband and my baby niece at my brother in law's home. They flew out for the long weekend to see the Backman side of the family and graciously invited Charles and I to come join them for a night. Of course reconnecting with my beautiful baby niece was a highlight, she's pretty dang awesome! At 7 1/2 months old she could now sit up all by herself, grab for toys, and is attempting to crawl but isn't quite there yet. Here are some of my new favorite photos of the Lily-girl!
Megs and I were testing Lily's pool...you know, quality control
**2**
Wednesday night for youth group we had quite the epic dodge ball tournament happening--the 10 leaders versus the 25 junior and senior high students...actually we were pretty evenly matched since most of the jr. high girls stood in the corner of the court shrieking when the ball came near them. It was a blast, I didn't enjoy the game as much when I was in elementary school, but I do now!
**3**
I've rediscovered the TV show The West Wing on DVD through Netflix and am back in love with the fast-paced, smart talking political drama that follows the presidency of democratic president Jed Bartlett. My roommates and I used to watch this after college & used to talk about how much better our country would be if Jed Bartlett really were our president...
**4**
One of the things that has made the past couple weeks so tiring is our crazy schedule this quarter. Which ends today, thank the Lord. It's one of those quarters where we had something every night of the week Monday through Thursday--often in different places, so my husband and I never ate meals together, I essentially stopped cooking all that often, and we were out until about 10 almost every night. This summer should be MUCH better, but for the past two weeks I've been working during the day and then running to something for the evening, and it's been exhausting! Last night was the first night in awhile I had a bit of a break, and went for a walk after dinner which was so delightful. So here's to a much less insane summer schedule!
**5**
One of the things I'm working on for my job is compiling and researching a list of the best preachers in America. We're putting together a resource list for pastors and future pastors of people who are excellent communicators of the Word, not necessarily famous--in fact we're looking for names of random pastors of congregations we've never heard of but who have really made a difference to you through their preaching. Anyone have any names they want to add to my list of folks I'm researching?
**6**
My honey is FINALLY at the beach for the first time all spring--he has had SO much to do this quarter between Confirmation (which has gone well but thank goodness it ends next Sunday--it will be great having that be off our plates!) and his own schoolwork that he hasn't taken a day off to go surf in two months. He's not done with his finals yet but I finally convinced him to get away from the computer yesterday and get out, which he did and was much more relaxed when he got home. He and the boys are spending all day today at their favorite surf spot too, which is awesome for them--he's learning that Sabbath is essential!
**7**
Living in Laker territory, I only have one thing to say about the NBA Finals: GO CELTICS!
Last Sunday we drove 3 hours north of here to the Fresno area to see my sister, her husband and my baby niece at my brother in law's home. They flew out for the long weekend to see the Backman side of the family and graciously invited Charles and I to come join them for a night. Of course reconnecting with my beautiful baby niece was a highlight, she's pretty dang awesome! At 7 1/2 months old she could now sit up all by herself, grab for toys, and is attempting to crawl but isn't quite there yet. Here are some of my new favorite photos of the Lily-girl!
Megs and I were testing Lily's pool...you know, quality control
**2**
Wednesday night for youth group we had quite the epic dodge ball tournament happening--the 10 leaders versus the 25 junior and senior high students...actually we were pretty evenly matched since most of the jr. high girls stood in the corner of the court shrieking when the ball came near them. It was a blast, I didn't enjoy the game as much when I was in elementary school, but I do now!
**3**
I've rediscovered the TV show The West Wing on DVD through Netflix and am back in love with the fast-paced, smart talking political drama that follows the presidency of democratic president Jed Bartlett. My roommates and I used to watch this after college & used to talk about how much better our country would be if Jed Bartlett really were our president...
**4**
One of the things that has made the past couple weeks so tiring is our crazy schedule this quarter. Which ends today, thank the Lord. It's one of those quarters where we had something every night of the week Monday through Thursday--often in different places, so my husband and I never ate meals together, I essentially stopped cooking all that often, and we were out until about 10 almost every night. This summer should be MUCH better, but for the past two weeks I've been working during the day and then running to something for the evening, and it's been exhausting! Last night was the first night in awhile I had a bit of a break, and went for a walk after dinner which was so delightful. So here's to a much less insane summer schedule!
**5**
One of the things I'm working on for my job is compiling and researching a list of the best preachers in America. We're putting together a resource list for pastors and future pastors of people who are excellent communicators of the Word, not necessarily famous--in fact we're looking for names of random pastors of congregations we've never heard of but who have really made a difference to you through their preaching. Anyone have any names they want to add to my list of folks I'm researching?
**6**
My honey is FINALLY at the beach for the first time all spring--he has had SO much to do this quarter between Confirmation (which has gone well but thank goodness it ends next Sunday--it will be great having that be off our plates!) and his own schoolwork that he hasn't taken a day off to go surf in two months. He's not done with his finals yet but I finally convinced him to get away from the computer yesterday and get out, which he did and was much more relaxed when he got home. He and the boys are spending all day today at their favorite surf spot too, which is awesome for them--he's learning that Sabbath is essential!
**7**
Living in Laker territory, I only have one thing to say about the NBA Finals: GO CELTICS!
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