fan video....

So, Natasha Bedingfield is one of my favorite pop artists go, though I don't really like pop. Apparently she has a brother who's a Christian singer? Cool. I liked this song...and the video to go with it is not bad as fan videos go.

Weekend(s)

Last weekend was amazing. In many ways.

On Friday I took my cousins to the Science Center and we ran around and had fun. The guy who took us through the subway saw the 3 of us coming, and asked "do you have a chaperone?"
"Yep! That's me!" I say, trying not to sound dubious.
"Oh. How old are you?"
"I'm 21." responds I, starting to wonder.
"Hm. Uh, OK."
My cousin pipes up, "how old do you think she is?"
I cringe.
"Um, around 14 I would have guessed," he responds. Heh!
Later on, I dropped something on the bus, and a man hands it to my other cousin. "Here, I think your mom dropped this." Oh dear! A 14-year-old mother of two! Who are in their double-digits!! Hahahahahaaa...

On Saturday Dan, Katie and I went to a symphonic concert featuring Richard Strauss' Don Quixote and De Falla's Master Peter’s Puppet Show which is apparently a scene from the story of Don Quixote. Dan was the only one who had read the book, so he probably enjoyed it more than Katie and I, but I still really, really enjoyed it. The best part of the puppet show was the little kid who announced what was going to happen in the next puppet scene...he was a life-sized puppet who was controlled by someone who sat on a rolling stool. One hand controlled the puppet's mouth, one hand was the puppet's hand, and both feet were the puppet's feet. He was so adorable!!

On Sunday I had my first latte...it was a caramel latte at Eat'n'Park. I added sugar, otherwise it wouldn't have been possible for me to drink it. Dan finished it for me...I think it's the last latte I have for the forseeable future. The flavor wasn't too bad, but there was way too much sugar in there, and I don't like caffeine anyway. My pastor began a series on Heaven, and here follows the summary: He preached on 1 Peter 1:3-9.

• When you can't see your goal, it is so easy to give up. But since we don't know where the "finish line" is, then we must press on, believing that God will sustain us until we reach it.
• Why keep an eye on eternity?
  
• The result is inexpressible joy
• Trials come to test my faith and it may be hard to see the end result, but RESIST TEMPTATION and inexpressible joy will come by remembering eternity.
• The outcome of my faith is the salvation of my soul.
• God does the action in these verses: keeping, guarding, etc.
• 3 truths to focus on:

1. God caused me to be born again
1. Treasure the work Christ has done
2. Ephesians 2:5 plus a whole list of verses I missed...something in II Corinthians and Matthew 11...or maybe it was Matthew 16
   
1. God is doing all the work here!
2. How did Peter answer Jesus' question "Who do you say I am?" Remember Jesus' response-Peter's knowledge was not of his own doing
2. verse 4-God is keeping an inheritance for me
1. What do I see in the future? Is heaven good?
3. I didn't write this one down.....I must have left...?

• At this point I had an idea for a dance that might be applicable to the series, having to do with personal devotions being a taste of heaven. I mentioned it to Mr. Pierson and we'll see if the idea goes anywhere. I'm glad I mentioned it, even if we never dance the piece.
  

Christian Art

Why does it seem that Christian art must be separate from "normal" art? I've found a model for my artistic ideals in the man named Makoto Fujimura. Of course, I realize he's human, and therefore fallible. But I wanted to point out what he is doing with his art and encourage others to look for the same. If his name sounds familiar, that's because WORLD magazine voted him as "Daniel of the Year" in 2005.

Nerd

OK, I'm a linguistics nerd. But I thought this was hilarious regardless of one's education (excepting a good knowledge of English).

Linguistic humor, Who's on first, updated for the 21st century

Click here for the immortal original.

Abbott:	Ultimate SuperDuper Computer Store. Can I help you?
Costello:	Thanks. I'm setting up a home office in the den, and I'm thinking of buying a computer.
Abbott:	Mac?
Costello:	No, the name is Bud.
Abbott:	Your computer?
Costello:	I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
Abbott:	Mac?
Costello:	I told you, my name is Bud.
Abbott:	What about Windows?
Costello:	Why? Does it get stuffy?
Abbott:	Do you want a computer with Windows?
Costello:	I don't know. What do I see when I look out the windows?
Abbott:	Wallpaper.
Costello:	Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
Abbott:	Software that runs on Windows?
Costello:	No, on the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses. You know, run a business. What have you got?
Abbott:	Office.
Costello:	Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
Abbott:	I just did.
Costello:	You just did what?
Abbott:	Recommend something.
Costello:	You recommended something?
Abbott:	Yes.
Costello:	For my office?
Abbott:	Yes.
Costello:	Okay, what did you recommend for my office?
Abbott:	Office.
Costello:	Yes, for my office.
Abbott:	Office for Windows.
Costello:	I already have an office and it already has windows! Let's say I'm sitting at my computer, and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
Abbott:	Word.
Costello:	If I'm writing a proposal, I'm going to need lots of words. But what program do I load?
Abbott:	Word.
Costello:	What word?
Abbott:	The Word in Office.
Costello:	The only word in "office" is "office."
Abbott:	The Word in Office for Windows.
Costello:	Which word in "office for windows"?
Abbott:	The Word you get when you click the blue W.
Costello:	I'm going to click your big blue W if you don't give me a straight answer. Let's forget about words for a minute. What do I need if I want to watch a movie over the Internet?
Abbott:	RealOne.
Costello:	Maybe a real movie, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of your business. But what do I need to watch it?
Abbott:	RealOne.
Costello:	If it's a long movie I'll also want to watch reels two, three, and four. Can I watch reel four?
Abbott:	Of course.
Costello:	Great! With what?
Abbott:	RealOne.
Costello:	Okay, so I'm sitting at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I do?
Abbott:	You click the blue 1.
Costello:	I click the blue one what?
Abbott:	The blue 1.
Costello:	Is that different from the blue W?
Abbott:	Of course it is. The blue 1 is RealOne. The blue W is Word.
Costello:	What word?
Abbott:	The Word in Office for Windows.
Costello:	But there are three words in "office for windows"!
Abbott:	No, just one. But it's the most popular Word in the world.
Costello:	It is?
Abbott:	Yes, although to be fair there aren't many other Words left. It pretty much wiped out all the other Words.
Costello:	And that word is the real one?
Abbott:	No. RealOne has nothing to do with Word. RealOne isn't even part of Office.
Costello:	Never mind; I don't want to get started with that again. But I also need something for bank accounts, loans, and so on. What do you have to help me track my money?
Abbott:	Money.
Costello:	That's right... What do you have?
Abbott:	Money.
Costello:	I need money to track my money?
Abbott:	Money.
Costello:	Money comes bundled with my computer?
Abbott:	Exactly. No extra charge.
Costello:	I get a bundle of money with my computer at no extra charge? How much money do I get?
Abbott:	Just one copy.
Costello:	I get a copy of money. Isn't that illegal?
Abbott:	No. We have a license from Microsoft to make copies of Money.
Costello:	Microsoft can license you to make money?
Abbott:	Why not? They own it.
Costello:	Well, it's great that I'm going to get free money, but I'll still need to track it. Do you have anything for managing your money?
Abbott:	Managing Your Money? That program disappeared years ago.
Costello:	Well, what do you sell in its place?
Abbott:	Money.
Costello:	You sell money?
Abbott:	Of course. But if you buy a computer from us, you get it for free.
Costello:	That's all very wonderful, but I'll be running a business. Do you have any software for, you know, accounting?
Abbott:	Simply Accounting.
Costello:	Probably, but it might get a little complicated.
Abbott:	If you don't want Simply Accounting, you might try M.Y.O.B.
Costello:	M.Y.O.B.? What does that stand for?
Abbott:	Mind Your Own Business.
Costello:	I beg your pardon?
Abbott:	No, that would be I.B.Y.P. I said M.Y.O.B.
Costello:	Look, I just need to do some accounting for my home business. You know-accounting? You do it with money.
Abbott:	Of course you can do accounting with Money. But you may need more.
Costello:	More money?
Abbott:	More than Money. Money can't do everything.
Costello:	I don't need a sermon! Okay, let's forget about money for the moment. I'm worried that my computer might...what's the word? Crash. And if my computer crashes, what can I use to restore my data?
Abbott:	GoBack.
Costello:	Okay. I'm worried about my computer smashing and I need something to restore my data. What do you recommend?
Abbott:	GoBack.
Costello:	How many times do I have to repeat myself?
Abbott:	I've never asked you to repeat yourself. All I said was GoBack.
Costello:	How can I go back if I haven't even been anywhere? Okay, I'll go back. What do I need to write a proposal?
Abbott:	Word.
Costello:	But I'll need lots of words to write a proposal.
Abbott:	No, you only need one Word - the Word in Office for Windows.
Costello:	But there's three words in... Oh, never mind. *click*
Abbott:	Hello? Hello? Customers! Why do they always hang up on me? Oh, well.

Sunday Summary (and Friday, and Saturday...)

Today was wonderful. My church, Providence, celebrated 10 Years of Grace. The years have truly been full of providential grace.

I spent 7.7 hours at church today. Well, I came home for a few minutes to bake ziti. Other than that, I set up sound, put Niara to sleep (Iysha's 8-month-old niece), sang, prayed, ate, laughed, made plans, cried, laughed more, ate a little more, etc.

Today was everything I could ask for. One of my friends had said, "I hear you born-again Christians party pretty hard," and he was right. We don't need to pretend that no one's watching while we're singing, 'cos we know that everyone else is (or should be) worshipping too. We eat like no one's business, and we have the talent to create food worth eating. We laugh out loud and love making others laugh.

There were quite a few people there who aren't regular attenders, and their presence was such a blessing. Rachel, the Mordens, the Grovers...a lot of other people...the Praters weren't there, but I'm sure they had a good reason.

Evanescent

"I'm a beep; I'm a vapor!" declares my least-favorite-but-still-poignant song by the band, Skillet. I can't help but tie that phrase to one of my favorite Evanescence songs, Imaginary.

Provided By MetroLyrics

What is reality? Why is it important? Will it change? Must I conform to it? Is it merely a social convention?

Guess what I am thinking about! My future! What else? :-) It's amazing how fluid my future always seems to be. I have no long-term commitments to places or things; no husband, no children, no job...I suppose I'd be concerned for my cats or my fencing team if I left the area. Not that they need me...

I've been researching school. I'm pretty much done with my current college: What next? Industrial Design (a B.S. program) at the Art Institute sounds like mild fun. What would be more fun? Going to Namibia. Why don't I do that? I feel like I need to have a job and live a normal life...but my parents told me today at dinner that they want what will make me happy. Why can't I make myself do what I want to do? Art school was one of those dreams that, at one point, I considered to be so amazingly ridiculous that I didn't even try it. Will I constantly be afraid of society? Money is necessary, of course, but God has repeatedly shown me that I need not fear a barren, moniless future. He has constantly shown me the way and supported me with beautiful words and friends and family. I need to kill the suburban dream that I've been striving for and yet resenting for years.

I don't have a dream or a goal. I have merely one desire: To serve my King. It's amazing how he brings me to tears so often in this passion for his glory. It's amazing how comforting he is when I am trying to serve him! And yet roles are reversed! It's amazing. God is amazing. My amazing triune God, accept my worship! Bask in my shouts! Treasure my tears! I swear fealty to you only.

Imaginary seems to describe my impatience with the suburban dream: I no longer want to get a reasonably interesting job, get married, have children, quit my job, educate the children, send them to college, maybe get a part-time job, retire with my husband, and move to Florida at the end of our lives. Naww, I'm interested in much different things. I hate being tied to money. If I can handle it responsibly, why should I care how much I have? I want to experience God by glorifying him! If marriage is part of that, great! I'm so looking forward to my wedding day. Are children involved? Wonderful! I've been preparing for motherhood since I was a child, and would embrace that role as a mission field. I don't want to be detached from the world, but I refuse to be tied to it.

"It's happened just like this a hundred times
Or more
Coming to this place again
Running circles, I know I've been here before

And in the darkness, thinking
What else do I have left to be?
I think that I'm going nowhere
I think that I'M GOING NOWHERE!

And this my plea!
My confession is--I'm wasting away
And I need You
I realize right now that I'm wasting away, and
I need you

screams of life and deeper calling..."
(My Plea by Pure Boss)

It's interesting that I feel like this when I'm stressed out. Maybe after my crazy week is over I'll feel like school is fun again and Namibia will seem distant and hazy. Maybe. Maybe...

Spektor

I heard this song today on the radio. I really liked it...but after reading the lyrics, I think I initially misunderstood the song. But I still like the melody :-)

Provided By MetroLyrics