thoughts on winter

Remember winters when you were a kid? They were the best ever! We lived in Michigan for most of my childhood, first in Mt. Pleasant (which is further north) and then in Grand Rapids. But my grandma lived in Canada, so we would go to visit her almost every other weekend when the driving conditions were tolerable, so I remember countless hours spent outside in the snow. My dad would come out and help us dig tunnels in these 5-foot snowbanks piled up in front of my grandma's house, and Becky and I would be out in the snow for hours on end...I remember coming inside and not being able to feel my toes, my fingertips, my nose, my ears--no matter how much clothing I would wear. One time I licked a metal shovel...and that didn't go over so well. I didn't actually get stuck, but I remember pulling the shovel away really fast and seeing a layer of skin left on the metal. I don't think I told my parents about that. And one time we went sledding and my mom nearly broke her tailbone by going off a ramp that some kids had built at the park down the street. I don't think Becky and I fully understood how painful that probably was for her....now that I'm getting older, it's finally starting to make sense. And even when I was in high school, my friends and I would go sledding at Pasfield Park or Centennial Park (which is not a natural hill--it's just a big pile of dirt that was turned into a hill). And it was fun.

I don't really enjoy winter any more. And I think it's because I drive so much. If snow would not affect roads or make my windshield impossible to see through, I wouldn't mind it so much. But when I have to dig my car out, I am not a happy camper. And it's cold for so long....I am ready for spring. Maybe even summer.

But if you ask me to go sledding, I might say yes. As long as it's not terribly cold. Or windy. Or snowing. And I don't have to drive very far. Maybe you could come pick me up. Because it really is fun.

over the weekend...

We had a birthday party for Shelley on Friday night. She is 26...and loving that she is 26!

Bill gave Shelley the greatest birthday gift anyone could ask for...

...a framed picture of the Yellow Box.

So then it turned out that she had trick candles on her cake...that was exciting.

So we played some games and hung out....and John Gutierrez won BOTH rounds of Left, Right, Center, which means he took all our money TWICE. It was very upsetting.

So anyway, Saturday night we got to celebrate Shelley's birthday AGAIN.... by going to the United Center to see...


We were all a little skeptical at first, especially Shelley....


But it turned out to be pretty fun.



And by the end of the night, Shelley was a little more excited.


Oh, and this is what Breanne and I did during the SuperBowl....

Clearly the game was riveting.

And you know it's been winter for too long when you go outside and it's 30 degrees and you say to yourself...hey, it's not that cold today.

oh happy endings....

So over the weekend I went to see the cinematic feature Children of Men. Very interesting film. I felt very much like I was watching a holocaust movie...it was extremely intense. But here's the thing. (Oh no, I sound like Shelley...) I could have been ok with the movie...except for the ending. I am still so upset about the way this movie ended, which I am not going to say here, just in case anyone wants to see it and hasn't. Because multiple people told me how good the movie was, I was really excited about seeing it. And the last 30 seconds destroyed my movie-watching experience.

Which got me thinking....why is it that when a movie doesn't end the way we think it should, we get upset? We think that particular film is terrible, or we walk away saying, I would have liked it if it ended differently. Lucas's number one example of this is The Breakup. He claims to have re-written the ending so that he can watch it again. Children of Men is another great example....I walked away feeling so unresolved that I was upset for the next 2 days.

So why do I get so upset when a movie doesn't have a classic "happy ending"? After all, it's just a movie, right? Right. But I have invested myself in this movie and its characters, and I need to know that everything is going to be all right in the end. Because life doesn't always have happy endings. So I need to see it played out on the screen. Call it optimistic, idealistic, unrealistic, any other sort of "ic" that you can think of, but that's how I look at movies. (Books are a different story. [ha ha, I'm so punny.] Books can have "unhappy endings", and I can be perfectly OK with it.) And no, I don't think life is like the movies. But sometimes you just want to see things work out. There is enough heartbreak in everyday life to last a million years....let me step outside of that when I go to the theater.

So clearly I am not over Children of Men. I saw it Friday night and it is still upsetting me.

fame....and scaffolding

We are changing all the lamps in our stage lighting this morning. By we, I actually don't mean me. The lighting guys are here to change the stage lighting. But they are up on a 3-level scaffolding...and a ladder. It makes me a little nervous. They tell me that you get used to the swaying of the scaffold, but I don't believe it. Now they're wheeling the scaffolding with a guy on top of it. Yikes. I usually don't mind heights, but it makes me nervous.

The Big Idea was released today, written by Dave & Jon Ferguson and Eric Bramlett. Rave reviews are pouring in. Ok, I actually wouldn't know if they were, but we did get an article in the local paper. Check it out here: www.dailyherald.com



Not that I'm bragging or anything...but we're pretty much famous. And by we (again), I actually can't include myself.

If you are a church staff member, you should check it out. Lots of good stuff. And, my boss's picture is in the book. He would be happy to autograph his page for you.

embarrassing things...

Before I get to embarrassing things....today is my sister's 23rd birthday. Happy birthday, Beckers!

OK, so I hate having car problems of any sort, because I am so clueless about what is happening. But for me, the worst is running out of gas. I mean it. I feel like people must think you're a complete idiot to run out of gas. I've only done it once...before today. The last time was when I was in college, working at the camp. I was driving (to the gas station, mind you!) in Chatham in the worst thunderstorm of the year, pouring rain, and my car just died. I managed to get it to the side of the road, but I was stuck. I did not have a cell phone. And even if I did, I knew that my parents weren't home to come get me. So what did I do? The most genius thing anyone can do. I got out of my car in the pouring rain and just started walking toward my house. I was soaked in about 2 seconds. After about a minute, a guy in a truck pulled over and asked if I needed a ride. So I took him up on his offer--genius--got a ride home, called a friend to bring me a gas can and take me to my car.

So though this is a bit of a ridiculous scenario (yes, I AM the smartest person I know), it was at least in the summer. But today...it is 13 degrees; the wind chill is zero. I left the house I teach piano lessons at on Wednesday mornings and literally drove about twenty feet before my car died. Again, I was planning on going to the gas station immediately after I left, but I didn't make it. So I had to go back to Joe and Becky's house and see if they had a gas can, which, luckily they did. But I still feel like a moron for letting that happen. And it's REALLY stinking cold outside!! So that didn't help.

But I'm fine now. I haven't been able to take my coat off yet, even though I'm in the office, because the cold is lodged deep inside my marrow at the moment. I'm praying that winter ends soon...

apparently....

...I am becoming totally lame. While I don't actually believe that is true, it appears to be true based on my recent blog posts.

Do you remember what it was like to be a sophomore in high school? The excitement of taking driver's ed, getting your permit, getting all of those hours, getting your license, dating silly boys, giggling about the silly boys, failing geometry, etc....not that I actually did all of those things. But Friday night my high school small group spent the night....and they are sophomores, so we did talk about all of the above. It was ridiculous. I know I am turning into an old woman because I had planned on sleeping in the family room with them all night, but when I wasn't asleep by 3:30 in the morning, I knew I had to give it up. I slept in my bed. Yes, I am old. My reasoning to myself was that I was leading worship the next day and it would be hard on my voice if I didn't get any sleep. But really I was just uncomfortable. I forgot how much it sucks to sleep on the floor.

And then last night at StuCo, while in our small group, I had a total mom moment where I gave them a lecture about their grades. I get so frustrated when my students can't go on a trip or hang out because they have bad grades. That is so lame. So I told them that I did NOT want to hear about that happening ever again. But I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on them. Just because I got good grades doesn't mean that everyone does. Oh, me and my standards....

We also had a new girl check out StuCo and our small group for the first time...and she loved it. It's so encouraging to me when that happens. I know it isn't all about me and that in reality I am just a small part of StuCo, but it was a nice feeling. She wanted to buy a journal and a Bible last night, so I told her I would buy the Bible for her, and she was totally floored. She kept asking me why I would do that, and I told her it was important for her to have one so I wanted to buy it for her. And then I got to show her how to use it with her new journal, how to start the reading plan that my small group is on currently. It was really cool. I am really glad that she came.

Every Sunday night, Breanne, JoniKay, and I have started the routine of going over to Breanne's parents' house to watch Grease: You're the One that I Want. It's a decent show where contestants are competing for the two leads (Danny and Sandy--AKA John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John) in the new Broadway production of Grease. It was refreshing last night because the contestants performed live for the first time, and the judges were so much more positive than the American Idol judges. I am so over the rudeness that comes out of American Idol. The Grease judges have proved that you can give constructive criticism without hurting people's feelings. The only terrible part is the host, Billy Bush. He may be equally as annoying as Ryan Seacrest. We'll see.

free advertising.

Expect to see a lot of this in the next week or so.
Starting now.

Friday night! We are hosting a concert at Montgomery campus. Come join the fun!

Seventy Two Others will be performing at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5. Refreshments will be sold. Plus, it's one of our own artists from Montgomery, so if for no other reason, come to support him. Carter and I are so excited that this is actually happening.