Tuesday, September 30, 2008

My dad can beat up your dad!

To: Big Bear

I've been reading in Matthew lately, it is my favorite gospel. I came across a passage that reminded me of my dad. It’s Matthew 7:7-11. The basic idea of the passage is, “Ask. And it will be given”. As I was reading I immediately thought of the way that my dad has always loved me.

It was about 6 years ago, I had just finished my freshmen year of college and I worked that summer at a camp (Insert my shout out to Texoma Lutheran Camp, RIP). At camp I played around with some of my friend’s guitars and I wanted to learn how to play. So that semester, being that my parents wouldn’t let me work, I asked my dad if I, they, could buy me a guitar. I didn’t really know how to play yet, so my dad said no. I was so upset because my thought was, if I don’t have a guitar, I will never learn how to play to prove myself, therefore I would never be able to get a guitar…oh the tragedy. A little upset about it, I went along my way. However, I think that my dad knows me better than I do. Bound and determined that spring, I suckered somebody into loaning me her guitar for 2 months. It was one of those old Ovation guitars, with a round back and strings as hard as diamonds and as rough as sandpaper. My fingers did not love that thing.

Anyway, to the sacrifice of my roommates at the time, I learned to play the guitar in that two-month period. I practiced all summer and for my birthday, my dad bought me a guitar. It took me almost a year to get that guitar, but I wonder, if my dad had just bought me the guitar when I first asked, would I have actually learned how to play?

My dad always encourages me when I play, even though I’m not that great. But I truly don’t think he sees/hears any fault in my playing. This is the very way that the Lord looks at all of us that are covered by our Savior’s blood. Faultless. What a true reflection of our relationship with God, and the way that He loves us. Thanks Dad!

From: Running Deer

Friday, September 26, 2008

Losing Face

Do you ever feel like you do all of the stupid things that you do in front of the same people. Like at school, when I trip it always seems to be in front of the same colleague. Or how about this…the other day I went to open a door and walk in and I PULLED. Who does that? And of course it was in front of that same colleague. Maybe subconsciously I have decided that it is better to really “lose face” in front of one person and get all of my stupidity out, and then for everybody else, they can just continue to think that I am a completely normal, high functioning member of society.

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Day We Chanted

For some reason I come up with a great deal of my blog topics in church, The Work Laugh, came straight from Sunday morning. I know it’s bad but I always write the topic down and go straight back to paying attention.

Anyway, this whole thought came out of something that we don’t normally do at my church, but last Sunday was a different story. It could be referred to as chanting, repeating, or reading as a whole. Whatever you call it, it involves speaking out loud as a group. This makes my skin crawl. One of the reasons I go to my church is because we don’t chant or repeat as a congregation. (Not really, I chose my church because God called me there and if they want me to chant I will chant).

So why does this bother me so much? I mean I am the annoying girl sitting by herself, singing at the top of her lungs, because I love to sing. But when it comes to repeating as a whole I just can’t do it. BUT STOP! I make my students chant!!! I am a chanting hypocrite!!! I make them say things like. “Of means MULTIPLY” and we don’t line up decimals when we multiply because, and they say, “Math teachers are lazy!”

In conclusion, I promise to stop making my kids chant and if you see me at church during a chant I am probably putting on lip gloss or pretending like I am looking for a friend…and by the way, thanks to the family a couple of weeks ago that asked me if I wanted to sit with them, maybe they are non chanters, and we can start a whole non chanting row, and let it spread. Then one day when they want us to chant nobody will chant!! It’s the overthrow of the chant!!!