Whirlwind NE American Tour, Part I

In the next few months, I'll be all over the top right quadrant of my country. (Not Ireland, silly, the real one). Here's the report on the first weekend! (I'm really cheating on the time this was posted, but wanted them to be posted chronologically. Ergo, I cheat. Pardon.)

I had a hard time finding a substitute for my Saturday job this weekend, but God provided. I was working like a bee before we left, and was able to sleep a lot on the way there. I saw my Colorado relatives for the first time in four years. That was cool. They were there because my Uncle Ernie (who owns his own Physical Therapy clinic) does these Primal Reflex Release Technique (PRRT) seminars all over the country.

I was supposed to wake up at 5:30 AM on Saturday to help at Uncle Ernies' seminar, but considering that I couldn't sleep until 2:30 AM, I chose to stay at Uncle Dank's. My little cousins and I decided to walk to the local $1 store, where we made the manager nervous. He greeted us with a Mexican accent, loudly asking, "now yous kids don't mess anyt'ing up, 'kay?" We got laser pointers, gum, and chocolate. Not bad :-)

After lunch we made bits of a music video that never fully materialized. In this video, you can see my brother Matt, my cousins Jordy, John, and Emily. Jordy does his sweet rendition of the dance move called "the Worm."

Dinner was...I forget. But we watched some March Madness basketball on Uncle Dank's 64" HDTV. Honestly, I prefer our projector, but the stereo he had hooked to the TV was SWEET! He even had outside speakers. Nice touch.

On Sunday, I successfully woke in time to attend Uncle Ernie's seminar. He gave me an anatomy book to browse through during class, which was good since most of his presentations went right over my head. So I played around with my face, finding bony structures and muscles, until I was needed. Uncle Ernie had 13 students, so I became a guinea pig for them to try their new techniques. It was fascinating, though I really had no idea what was going on. The basic idea of PRRT (I think) is to counter stress. When people are stressed, they go into the "fight or flight" mentality, which "upregulates" their system and, over time, will cause musculoskeletal pain. Therapists use PRRT to "downregulate" their patients, and eliminate pain that can be tied to stress. I think there are other uses, but this was just a beginner course and I didn't even have the credentials to take the course. But I enjoyed it.

We hung around my Grandma's house that afternoon. I ate a lot of Hershey's kisses while I talked with my aunts and mom. Aunt Karen tried to find out why I'm an insomniac, but couldn't find a cure. Still, it was fun to talk about me :-P

The "grown ups" stayed at Grandma's while my siblings watched the younger cousins at Uncle Dank's. We got the subs pounding and recorded some more sweet dance moves. We jumped on the trampoline for a bit, but soon switched to "Ghosts in the graveyard." That game is really fun, but it's really loud, so I'm glad it ended shortly after dark.

I discovered Guitar Hero that night. I thought Dance Dance Revolution was a cool video game, but this beat it. It's the sweetest video game I've ever played (which isn't saying much). You've got this cheesy little guitar, right, with buttons instead of a fret board and a switch instead of a pickup, and a whammy bar. You pick a song to play, and the screen shows a fretboard and tells you which fret buttons to push and when to "strum" the switch. During the long notes, you can use the whammy bar if you choose. Every once in a while, something called "star power" is available, and you can "rock out" by shaking and tilting the guitar. My cousins call this "feeling the music" and it adds points to your score. By the time I left my uncle's house, I had progressed from playing single notes to "chords." It was sweet! It made me wonder if kids enjoyed that more than actually playing an instrument, though. Kinda sad thought.

We left on Monday afternoon. Aunt Karen invited me to visit them in Colorado, which I'd love to do this summer. Aunt Liz later e-mailed me, saying I'd left some shampoo etc. at her house. Oops! I'm expecting to get it back in the mail any day. Sorry, Aunt Liz!

I have a cool family.

I was supposed to pack tonight...

...instead, I got inspired. I've heard that creative people get inspired while laying down (totally true--if I ever get to be a professional artist, my studio will have a bed or long couch in it), and I'm beginning to think that they often get inspired when something else is pressing for their time. Something that would be more logical to complete before recording one's inspiration...but the inspiration always seems so evanescent the moment it comes. So here I am, laying around and ignoring logic.

Anyway.

My mother and I watched the movie Amazing Grace tonight. I like it. A lot. It showcases two of my personal heroes: John Newton and William Wilberforce. Somehow, I'd never known they were connected. Ian Gruffoldd did a great job showing passion, but also desperation. The scene between him and his wife as he was withdrawing from laudanum addiction is my personal favorite. Mom said it was better the second time through, and I can see why. Characters switch ages and locations quite frequently, and with little warning. I'm planning on getting the DVD eventually, so if any of you want to borrow it, let me know!

When the movie was over, my heart was ignited yet again with a desire to do great things. Ever since I was a child, I've felt destined for something big, whether that be surviving a nasty medical condition or changing society. As a teenager, God taught me to be content in ordinary circumstances, though I haven't stopped dreaming of big things or scaring myself with stories of how I could get sick. Lately, I think I've become comfortable, not just content, with ordinary things. That strikes me as sad. Maybe it's another sign that I'm growing older, but I don't like it.

I rarely read Boundless, but tonight I found an article called Optional Anxiety. My first reaction to it was, "Umm...guys, I can't settle for ordinary." Not that I'm trying to get rich as fast as possible, or be famous or anything, but I can't accept a humdrum future. I'd rather be living on pennies in a third-world country than go where I see many of my peers going. Inspiration came a few minutes later. Maybe the way I can be different is through living for others, such as my family. Like buying diapers instead of Jimmy Choo sandals. Like Susanna Wesley or George Müller.

Sweet! Now I'll have even more "ammunition" for those conversations with people who mean well...
"So, Laedelas, what do you plan on doing after graduation?"
"I'd really like to get married and have children."
"Oh, that's cute!" (said with a condescending smile) "How many do you want to have?"
"My childhood dream was to have twelve, but I'm not going to limit God."
"Whooooa, twelve! You'll definitely want to stop after your first! And besides, children are so expensive these days."
"Well, as I said, I'm not limiting God, so I'll take as many or as few blessings as he chooses to give. And I'm sure God will provide for his children."
...at this point, whoever I'm talking with will probably change the subject. They have in the past when the topic of large families surfaces. :-P

So, Future Self, when you're up late at night and reading blog archives while caring for a sick child or sleepless after a rough day, be encouraged. What you're doing is big and dramatic. Pray that God uses your sacrifices to serve himself.

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.