Comforting wind storm?

In all my twenty seven years of life I don’t remember ever having winds like we had last Sunday. Crazy mad winds which, at one point, peaked at 74 miles per hour. A wishbone shaped tree branch still presides on our main power line toying with us. With every gust of wind, our lights would flicker. Taunting us…will you have power or will you not have power? But amidst the chaos of stockpiling candles, readying our coolers with ice in case the refrigerator lost power, and making sure that we contained the meltdown that our two old large trees were having, there was something so amazingly comforting about the whole thing.

I find a peace from the circumstances that wind storms, huge snow falls, or city wide power outages bring. The world stops. Schedules and busyness are traded for pulling resources together to survive. Neighbors don’t mind stopping to help you pull a heavy branch out of the street or lending you an extension cord. A camaraderie that usually lies dormant, for fear of impeding on each other’s independence, is awakened. We realize that relationships and survival supersede errand running and house cleaning. Relationships are started or strengthened. What a great opportunity to put into practice loving each other like Christ has commanded us.

I think that we should petition to have more power outages. Perhaps it would help us keep a healthy perspective of what should be most important in our lives...

Fading Fast...

This week, even though its been sweltering hot here, there is a bitter coldness undercurrent to it...at least in my mind. Labor Day has come and gone. And even though summer doesn’t officially come to end until September 22, it is fading fast. Time that once was relaxed and easy, is now shrugged off for scheduled lives and strict routine.

For me summer has always meant freedom. Freedom to stay up longer. Freedom to make the most of the daylight. Freedom from close toed shoes. Freedom to relax. Freedom to be outdoors and breath deeply the fresh air. Freedom to eat Rita’s Italian ice three times a week if I want to. For others, especially in my neighborhood it means freedom to not wear a shirt...even if you REALLY should.

I enjoy each season for different reasons…even winter. But summer will always hold a special place in my heart. This summer is no different and I walk away from this summer with so many fond memories.

Losing a dear roommate is always hard…but easier because I love Amy & Greg together.


A day spent in Mount Adams….picnicking, napping, laughing, discovering, talking, reflecting…

Going to Chicago to see James Taylor. To get to see him at the Ravinia was remarkable…Its such a great venue! I loved Zimm really enjoying his time at the concert, fresh strawberry orange juice, good conversations, and firsts.


Celebrating my parent’s 40 years of marriage by spending a week in June with my immediate and extended family in North Carolina was such a delight. However, getting a speeding ticket coming home…not so delightful.


House Church...Fireworks...Rita’s

Spending lots of time on front porches and back decks. Whether it was watching thunderstorms roll thru, camping out on them, grilling, or laughing until I wanted to cry.

Visiting with friends who live far away, who have come home.




Seeing Beck grow up right before my eyes.


Redoing our front room. Ripping carpet up to discover beautiful floors. New style…. However, I did NOT enjoy painting for eleven hours.

NYC.


So this is my farewell to the sweetness of summer. You'll be missed. I'll think of you often. Farewell, until we meet again.....

Carpe Diem

I love love love movies that develop, not just a story line, but spend time developing the character’s lives to complement the story line. I, in turn, get even more excited when the roles reverse and the narrative of the character’s seem to be the driving force of the movie. Some might argue that you have to have both faucets, to even have a movie. However, I disagree. I’ve watched too many movies recently were we are served up shallow, lackluster characters that are just mere puppets to push a silly horribly written script. Please know I do not consider myself a movie critic. But the older I get, the more my time means to me. Therefore, it frustrates me when I end up wasting my time watching some type of propaganda or mindless fluff. I want something with substance.

With that being said, I finally watched Dead Poets Society on Monday night. I’ve wanted to watch it since it was released in 1989. I don’t think I was old enough to be allowed to watch it, at the ripe old age of 8. That was probably a wise move on my parent’s part. I probably would have started to “seize the day” and “think freer” a lot sooner than later. That would have ultimately led me to getting spanked and sent to my room. Where, subsequently I would have all the time I wanted to think freely and plan how I would seize the NEXT day. Because, of course, that day would be spent in my room, where I would have been expected to think about why I had been spanked and sent to my room.

Anyway, I recommend watching the movie if you haven’t already. Don’t expect it to be a fasted paced, easy unfolding movie. It’s enjoyable, but only because it spurred me to think about my life. To question whether or not I’m seizing each day I live. And for me, it is not about questioning whether or not I’m successful or adventurous. But more importantly, am I sharing Christ’s love and grace with others? Am I thinking outside my little box about how Christ can use me to impact those in which I come into contact.

Watch the movie. Start thinking.

“To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life!...of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?’ Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” -John Keating (Robin Williams Character in Dead Poets)


“I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Labor Day Love

This past weekend I completed what will be considered the last road trip of the summer. Adrianne and I headed up to Brooklyn, NY to visit some long time best friends Corrie and Matt.


Twenty Hours roundtrip in a car, countless miles walked around the city, a couple of disease possibly contracted from the subway, and lots of funny things said this weekend. Here are some of the random observations and things we learned on our trip.

1. Bobo (Adrianne) used cruise control for the first time. I'm so proud of her.
2. Pennsylvania and 1-80 do not love Wendy's. We waited at least one hour before coming across an exit that donned that glorious picture of the pigtailed red headed girl... I think Dave Thomas would roll in his grave if he knew about that.
3. Boyz II Men & Dashboard Confessional make for great "sing-a-long in the wee hours of the morning" cd's.
4. NYC is hard to navigate when you haven't slept in over 19 hours. They need to quit hiding tiny street signs behind big steel poles. I will say that FDR Blvd. IS a nice drive, but does NOT have many options to turn around if you need to.
5. Brooklyn is sterotypically right on the money in regards to how it is portrayed in movies. Complete with a) lots of Italians who love to decorate what little property they have with statues of the mother Mary, b) Mobsters, and c) women with big hair, thick accents, and fake nails.
6. I love the oversaturated market of nail salons on the east coast. It makes getting a manicure and pedicure for $19.99 possible.
7. People in Manhattan are mean. People in Brooklyn are nice.
8. I love the variety of good food that NYC has to offer. But hate the prices.
9. I miss living close to Corrie and Matt.
10. Going to Brooklyn Tabernacle is one of the highlights of the trip. It made me long to be in Heaven singing praises to my God.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment...

Le Petite, The coolest restaurant in Brooklyn.














The best dessert offered in NYC. Pinkberry is a must, if you're ever there.

This would only happen in NYC. Just to let you know that a) This is a man b)thankfully we only saw him from this perspective c)i lose my appetite everytime i see this.


Thanks to Corrie and Matt for letting us stay at their beautiful apartment. I had a good time...