Thank You Grandma

I am at work on my break right now, and I can't believe how the morning has flown by already. My room is such a MESS! We began our Space Exploration theme today, and even though I feel like the theme center isn't the best I've ever done, they all seem pretty geeked. Also this week we are at Mission Control, and next we are actually in space so, some of it will change. What is really making it messy is not the glitter glue that we used to decorate stars for the room, but the plethora of fabric and ribbon that we have gotten out because 2 of my girls randomly asked to play fashion designers and the rest soon followed suit. I have a large basket here that has s ton of fabric that my Grandma has sent me over the years, back when my favorite thing to do was make random clothes- no sewing involved. Its amazing the things that they have created, andthat they seem to be more skilled than I was at that age. And I thought I was soooo talented. They have been making me several items, from a bride's veil, to a shawl and skirt that feature a border in coordinating fabric and matching accent hearts lovingly attached by use of the wonderful products of the Elmer's people. They've also used staples to make quilts, headbands, baby sleeping bags and even shoes. I recently said that my youth group kicks ass- now I have to say that so do my school kids. I'm probably also content today because I have only 11 students. Weird.

Legacy Kicks Ass!

I know I've said this before, and I know that it may sound strange to swear while talking about a church youth group, but in this case it is the most apt description. Tonight we literally had two extremely deep conversations in a row- on the topics of how our perceptions of God are altered by our relationships with our earthly fathers, and how women are percieved by society and what true beauty is and how guys should relate to females because of that. From 6:30- 7:45 our students were engaged in either the discussion, doing prayer requests, or writing out what they liked about youth group and what they want to do in the future. And the things that they list that they like? Our "deep discussions," how everyone is comfortable with each other and we can share our feelings. The things they want to do? Mission trips, food drives, painting houses, car washes and other service projects. Who are these kids? I'm not saying that I never have to remind them to focus, or that we don't tend to go off on tangents, but I think that our inability to always stay on topic may be a good thing. So much reality has sprung from properly directed tangents.
The stated mission of the River and of us as a youth group is "Belong, Believe, Behave" and it makes me happy that the students feel like we are at least heading in that direction. I can see so much passion, so much potential, so much yearning for God's excellence in them. They convict me greatly about my own areas of weakness.
I came to youth group tired and somewhat mopey tonight and through prayer before we began, and though the mere presence of these wonderful people my attitude was transformed. I am also geeked because we have a new couple who is coming on board to help lead. Lane and Lisa. When Greg and I met Lane we asked if he had ever worked in youth groups before, and he answered that he hadn't formally, but was always more comfortable with kids. At this point Greg got the gleam in his eye that said, fresh meat. I love it too that they have come in with no preconceptions about what a youth group is supposed to be like, because our kids really aren't typical youth group kids, and the way we function as leaders isn't typical either. Its great to see them unfettered by past experiences, but merely wishing to be real to these kids. Lisa shared tonight about her experiences with her own father, and I saw several of the girls who have pain between them and their dads near tears, and I've already heard from the mom of one of our students about how great Lane is and the impact he's had on her son, and this was only the second week he's been involved. When God moves, He moves fast. We had been praying for about a week or two for other adults to be involved in the youth group and we got not only one, but two great people. I think that we as a leadership team are very compatable as well. I won't go into it now, but we hada meeting that went over 4 hours last night, and soooooo much was accomplished and so much seen with the same eyes. Man, I sound like a teenager gushing over a new crush. I guess its just after literally months of people expressing interest and then being unfaithful- or realizing they had too many other obligations, I feel like God is really blessing the faithfulness of myself, Greg, Tonya (for the time she was here) and those who pray for us.

A Good Time Was Had By All (except for the driving)

We went to Travis and Melissa's wedding this weekend- which gave me a much needed excuse to get out of this town and breathe the air of another state. I tried to think of the last time that I had been out of town, and the best I could come up with was when my dad and I went to South Haven to fish, go antiquing, and eat at Clementine's or when we took the kids to Binder Park Zoo. How depressing is that? Not that those weren't wonderful days, but it just shows how quickly time can pass and how you can get into a rut and not even realize it. Okay- enough complaining. The weather couldn't have been better (thoughts of Ferris and that Ferrari ran through my head) and the drive there wasn't too bad as far as traffic went. The only problem we had was that Mapquest sent us a really funky way through town to get to the wedding. Des Plaines makes no sense-or at least we couldn't figure out the roads. Plentiful food and an open bar made up for the stress of driving in Chi-Town though. I got to see Nick and Emily as well, and they said that they are wanting to move back into Michigan, or at least someplace a little bit closer to family and friends. I really miss Nick's exuberance and Emily's calm wisdom, and I also am feeling a need for more friends who aren't connected to me through some form of service that I do. I love the friends I have now, but everyone that i hang out with regularly is connected somehow through church or work. That also hinders being in the world and showing Christ to those who do not know Him (not that Nick and Em aren't saved) So I guess what I'm saying is- I need to get out of my box.

Batman Begins

Last night we went to go see Batman Begins up at M-89 and it was really great. I expected it to be good but in the usual superhero/ comic book kind of way. Instead it was dark and twisted, and more about what we individually fear, and how this can drive us to cowardice or courage. It was also good because they very strategically tied it into the Michael Keaton version in little ways, such as Bruce’s mom’s pearls breaking and falling to the ground when his parents are killed. (I don’t think I’m spoiling anything too much there, and if I am, leave me a comment and I’ll fix it.)

There was one line- that I wish I could quote verbatim, but cannot- that I was surprised to find myself agreeing with, though on further reflection it is somewhat faulted. Kate Holmes character says to Bruce Wayne, “It is not who we are deep down that defines us, it is our actions.” Or something like that. In context it sounds really cool and meaningful, but as one who gets her identity from above I really can’t claim that as truth. However, there is the passage that says (please don’t bash me for this- I am the worst at knowing verses mostly and not knowing their location) “From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Okay- now I'm going to be an extremely geeky English major and say that it struck me how similar this movie and Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel have in common. In Orczy's classic novels, Percy Blakeney learns that his wife has supposedly betrayed him and sent an innocent family to their death and he seeks redemption in rescuing others from the guillotine. His fear was being made a fool of by someone he loves, and so he ends up hiding under the guise of a fool to conceal his real self. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne hides under the appearance of a drunken foolish billionaire playboy to make him an unlikely suspect for his disguise. His fear- bats and the loss of those he loved is turned around to make him ease the suffering of other innocents like him.

That was a very condensed and unstructured way of saying that. Mr. Sacksteder would be so dissapointed in my lack of 5 paragraph essay. I really enjoy comparative analysis of movies, but theres not much of a need for people who can compare comic book heros and characters from novels about the French Revolution. Sigh- if only. My genius is destined to go unappreciated by so many.

Eternal Sunrise

(No, I'm not talking about the movie, though that is a good movie)

I was contemplating a sunrise recently and something occurred to me, and I'm not sure if I will be able to convey the meaning in a way that will make sense to normal humans.

As I watched the sunrise I began to think about the joy that the Lord must get simply from watching His creation function in the way that He intended. The same goes for the birds when they sing songs in the early morning. They are living as God willed and in so doing, giving their creator pleasure. I gazed at the sunrise and thought about watching the one the following morning and was sad at the thought that I would have to wait for 24 hours to witness the beauty again. A thought then struck me, that though I could not see another sunrise till the next day, with the Omnipotent power, God had engineered it so that somewhere it is always sunrise, it is also sunset. The evening star is always just emerging over some part of the earth- be it New York City, or a lonely plain in Africa. God is always being praised by His creation- from the crickets chirping in time with the temperature of the day, fireflies dancing in joy, the sun sinking into the ocean.
How awesome is it that we have a God who can create with an eye for beauty, not just utility. He could have created the principles of physics so that the world would have functioned if it were flat. He is not bound by our impressions of the way that gravity and the solar sytem work. Instead, our perceptions of the universe are bound by God's capacity for love. I take great comfort in that any pleasure we take from the world around us is not a happy coincidence or even a afterthought, but a vital part of the process.
I know that this revelation may not make logical sense the way that I have described it, or that it may be something that is commonplace to many of you, but it was something that blessed me and made me more aware ofthe way that I view the world through my windows on the way to work, so I felt that it was worth sharing. Also, many times my writing here on my blog helps me to process what I am thinking and feeling (admittedly somewhat inhibited by the fact that I know that others read this.)

Melissa is babysitting for a family from school right now, as Dawn has begun her new job in Indiana, but they haven't moved down there completley yet. Today we got together at McDonalds and let the kids play in the playland while Melissa and I had a good long talk. After this we went back to my apartment and took the kids swimming in the pool. It was rather strange because when we first arrived at the pool, the only other people there were women lounging around in their miniscule bikinis, soaking up theUV rays. They gave us some rather odd looks as we trooped in with our swimmies and floaties- Melissa and I both in modest swimwear. The kids did a wonderful job of swimming and didn't getextremely scared when water splashed in their faces. I love taking little kids swimming and seeing them experience the water and move past their fears. Also Elijah and Aubrie are two of the sweetest kids around and with their moving away, and time with them is to be treasured. Melissa joked that she will need me to quit my job next year and just follow her around to assist her with Max when they get him. The date that I most recently heard for his arrival is July 15, but I think that is just an estimate. Its still odd for me ot be able to discuss it in as public a forum even as my blog, but now that Luann called the three of them up on stage during Kindergarten Graduation, I suppose the cat is REALLY out of the bag. I'm so excited for them- they have waited so long to have a baby and they truly have faith that this is the child that God has had in store for them. Melissa joked with me today that I should quit my job and follow her around- even though it would look odd to have a nanny walking around with the mom. She and I have developed such a working rhythm, where I can anticipate what she will need and how I cn best assist her. Even without our friendship and the respect I have for her, I will miss the simple habits that we have developed over the past 3 years. Okay, stopping now before I become too morose. I'm sure that we will hire someone wonderful, but honestly I know it will never be the same.

Winchell Way as Wild Kingdom

My apartment complex is unusually full every spring with an odd assortment of animals. We have:
1- Racoons
2-squirrels
3-possums
4-a large cat that lives in the stairs of the buildings
5-3 ducks that live on Wellington Avenue and swim around in the puddles created in the potholes
6-deer (Annie and I were almostrun down by 5 or 6 while on a walk one day)
7- various toads and frogs that always seem to pop up right under my feet in the parking lot
8-swans in Asylum Lake
9- turtles, including Stumpy- the late turtle with no front arms and a recent addition of a huge snapping turtle that climbed up the stairs to lay eggs (for reasons I cannot begin to fathom) Unfortunately, I left the apartment while she was laying her eggs next to the steps and when I came back about 2 hours later some other animal had already come by and eaten all of her eggs. The shells are now a daily reminder of the precarious state of animal life.

My friend, and sometimes co-worker Mark recently wrote a list on his blog http://www.lamcmark.blogspot.com/ about odd things that have happened to him, or that he has observed in his life. My personal favorite:

"3.When I was in high school, I used to read girl magazines (seventeen, teen, etc.) just to educate myself of the opposite sex. I thought it could get me more dates or something. : )"

Mark, you have such interesting insights into life and actually I think that it would do many guys some good to read girlie magazines. Maybe more do, and you're just the only one brave enough to admit it.

I was just looking up "Danny Deckchair" to see if I could figure out where it was filmed without having to go through the Special Features and I came across this quote:

"If you didn't enjoy it......well maybe your cynicism has become more than a hobby. "
Very apt description. I'm not saying its great cinema or anything, but it is lighthearted and silly and makes you feel like hope for love and the goodness of humans. Not bad for an hour and a half movie. And any movie that would take the stupidity of the Darwin Awards and turn it into a romantic comedy has balls.

My Jeep

My first car- Abner- was an old junky Ford Tempo, and I loved him. Finally he had catastprophic oil leaks, needed new brakes and several other things that basically meant i needed to junk him out. Now my Jeep, needs about $1,000 in repairs. Thankfully, I go to Steve at Auto Analyst who is a great friend and he gave us several options of things to try that would cost less to see if itwould help. So instead of spending hundereds, I found myself at Wal Mart buying a $13.00 oil treatment that is supposed to swell the gaskets and seals. It may take as much as 500 miles for it to really work, so we will see what happens. Also did a new oil filter and a few other things. I'm sick of my car looking so ghetto- there hasn't really been any point to washing it while it leaks oily smoke all the time. It also needs a new muffler so it sounds weird too. All that I really need is for it to last while I am still making payments on it.

Kindergarten Graduation

Tonight is graduation for the kindergarteners. Its so hard to believe that kids like Luke, Lucy Jakob, Jacob, Anders and so many others are going to be in First Grade. Thankfully, many of them who said they were only going to our school through Kindergarten have now reconsidered after seeing what we have done this year. That is such a testimony to the love of Angie and the other teachers. I'm so blessed to work with people who are working with kids for the right reasons.