Bam!

We got a new camera!!

A Canon Rebel XT... love it. I don't know how to use many features yet but I'm learning and looking forward to learning more. Here's one of my first shots. I'm so excited.

 

Christmas Expectations

Much like birthdays I'm realizing that Christmas is special because of my expectations for it. My observation is that most people have higher emotional expectations for Christmas than any other day in the year as evidenced by their preparation for it.

I think this is bad.

Days are days and though it's great to have emotional harmony, it's problematic to manufacture or orchestrate these sentiments. My resolution this year is to keep my expectations that

1. I am registering Christmas as a sacred day, marking the birth of salvation.
2. It is a time of rest and reconnection with family and friends.

The rest will either be there or not. Maybe people will feel loved by the presents I get them or maybe they won't. Maybe the cookies will turn out the right way, maybe they won't. Maybe I'll feel nostalgic about the year, maybe I won't.

In all, I'll choose to remember him on Thursday and I guess Jesus will mark the day for his people the way that he wants.

Respect the Glue

I bought a bottle of super glue. It was my first personal purchase of the wonder adhesive; I am sorry I ever waited this long. So far I have fixed a favorite book, the refrigerator door, a christmas tree and ornament, a flapping shoe sole, a figurine, and earrings.

I realize two things since owning super glue.

#1 I love to fix things and I am optimistic that most things broken can be fixed. So much so that I found I will hang on to something for 5 years broken if I have hope that someday it could easily be fixed.

#2 Super Glue is not as KRAZY as older generations once convinced me. Oliver and I noted that in growing we both had experienced older male figures say gruffly to us something along the lines of "Watch yourself with that! That is strong stuff. It'll rip your skin right off!" They had the same message for us "Respect the glue!"

Sid

Rose's faborite show is called Sid the Science Kid. Coincidently, it is now our faborite show. How can you blame us? Check out these moves!

Skinny Love

#93.6 BON IVER - Skinny Love
by lablogotheque

Bullet Holes

The following is a paraphrased dialogue between premarried Kyra and Oliver

Kyra: I was looking at apartments today and I couldn't find ONE apartment in Greenville for less than $500.

Oliver:  Wait - there are really NO apartments for less than $500?

Kyra: Well....there were a few but we can't live there.

Oliver:  What't wrong with them?

Kyra: Well, this onen I went to was really dangerous.

Oliver:  Dangerous?

Kyra:  Yeah, I saw this car in the parking lot and there was bullet holes in it!

Oliver:  Bullet Holes?

Kyra:  Yeah, so....

Oliver:  Wait, were they real bullet holes or the fake stickers that people put on their cars?

Kyra:  Well they were stickers but, I mean, who wants to live somewhere that the people put fake bullet holes on their car?

A Christmas Fravorite

Leo's ready

Rose made a grocery list today

goldfish

string cheese

cottage cheese

mac and cheese

grilled cheese

green grapes (emphasis on green "b/c gween is my fravorite")

donuts with pink "swinkles"

Try Try Again!

I was scared for a long time about going back into nursing. Two years ago I graduated and hit the hospital scene very naive, ready to change the world, I was going to make a difference! In alot of ways it just blew me away. I carried more than I could bear, and when you're bearing weight for someone else who is sick or in pain and placing their trust and life in your hands, its hard to forgive yourself of anything less then perfection. So many times I have rethought my occupation and asked God why in the world he called me into such a profession. I hate nursing but at the same time I can't see myself doing anything but nursing. P.S. No wonderful conclusion will be found here, just some 2:30am honesty... Anyways, I have to believe if I want to leave a mark I've got to get dirty. The alternative is staying comfy and clean and distant from the hurting. As a result of my starting experience at the hospital I've had much anxiety over going back to work. But I must give God praise for a miraculous uprooting of this anxiety. It's gone. Of course I hate interviews and the unknown still but he has healed a place in me that I had sealed up in order to not be hurt or shocked again. He is good and always will make a way if we really seek him in everything. So...

Tonight I applied for a job as a research nurse for clinical trials at Greenville Memorial's ob/gyn department. I am really hoping for this job! If you do, please pray...really. Next in line is working for Heartlife to teach cardiac patients about their conditions and monitor them while teaching them exercise for their conditions. Third in line is the local outpatient surgery center, possibly operating room, possibly pre-surgical assessment, or post-surgical recovery and discharge. 

Here I go again!  

Rose Talk

"My want to put on my tutu cause my SO dancy"

"My see them lights on dare BUSES" (bushes)

"Does your want to make cookies or sumpin'?"

(after ten minutes of zipping up stolen cookies in a dora suitcase we're not buying @ TJ Max)...."Giddyupgiddyup let's go...."

Snuggie

Fail Blog

Thanks Ash!

Roman Rap

I wanted to share the lyrics to rap one of my freshman did for a project on ancient Rome:

This is the Roman empire

Hannibal running around setting cities on fire.

Augustus be fighting so hard trying to get his power higher.

He was doing his thing since the start of Pax Romana.

Yeah, get it, we're talkin' bout the Senate.

The branch of government that was here from the beginning.

Be patient, here comes inflation. Engineers are building the city with no hesitation.

Now Paul was a holy ghost writer

First came the gospel and then the gladiator

Peace maker followed from a dictator

Then Constantine came later

Civil war's about to start 

Patricians are coming through

Plebians need to group

to get their special needs

they form assemblies

begging for more money and telling the senate please

Democracy controls the roman empire

Thanks Sarah

http://germie6.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 24, 2008

Nitro

Is it wrong to peg people while examining spiritual gifts? Because we are positively confident to peg Ashlee Knight as the exhorter of all exhorters ever to exhort.  

Contradictory Wisdom

Which do you think is a better piece of advice:

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and expecting different results.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Can't you try things the same way and expect different conditions yielding different results?

Today

Sometimes we bring it on ourselves, sometime we are born into it, sometimes it is inflicted upon us, but that never changes the beauty our God can make from ashes. To him be all glory and praise forever. 

Does anyone else want to go to Starbucks?

Can you say "red cups!"?

iPods

To me, the definition of a dysfunctional romantic relationship is when one of the members so devalues themselves, so misunderstands what they should expect from the other, that they believe they deserve a relational currency that bears value below a reasonable standard.

A quick observation: America has a dysfunctional relationship with the Apple iPod.

Most recently our family's 4 gig iPod mini  - a pure token of love and support from my college friends - has "finally" bit the digital dust; the battery will no longer hold a charge.

"c'est la vie," I told myself - remembering that my Cousin Kurt has already been through 8 pods in the same amount of time.

errrr (car brake noise - rant transition)

WAIT A MINUTE.  We were looking at the newest generation of the iPod Touch that costs between 300 and 500 dollars.  We considered this and then realized that you could buy a TV for this price.  Image if you and all your friends found this awesome TV that cost $500 dollars and then one by one they all died within the next 2 years.  C'est la vie?!

All this to say: Have you seen the new iPod Nano with Genus technology and more colors!  I guess you can just do that if you've got it like Apple. 

No Such Thing as "Too Early.."

This man told Rose that her rounds of "Jingle Bell Rock" in Wal-Mart were prematurely conceived, exclaiming that Christmas is yet MONTHS away. A couple of thoughts for the gentleman:

1. Christmas is next month.

2. As a teacher, Christmas is a sacred time. Because compensation is low and the tasks overwhelming, there are a few non-monetary benefits; not the least of these is the 3 week sanctum called "Christmas Break".

Some things I'm looking forward to:

1. Setting the projector up in Adrienne's living room and playing Mario Cart with the kids on a 10 foot screen.
2. Homemade Peppermint Mochas
3. An awesome gift idea for my beautiful wife: Kyra.
4. Setting up a toy train set around our fake (and very reasonably priced) Christmas tree.
5. Refuting consumerism in my life and embracing quiet reflection and thankfulness for the mercy of Jesus.

These and more make make Christmas sacred.

Quick Word of Warning...

Once you have children, you will find yourself saying the same things your parents always said that you promised you would never say...

I'm gonna' count to three...

That Little Booger

Today, Rose comes out of the bathroom and proudly announces to me that she went potty "just like a boy!". I froze for a minute trying to imagine everything that this could mean, then I slowly walked to the bathroom and asked her to explain. Her explanation involved her pulling up her dress, standing with her feet apart, and explaining to me how boys just stand up and pee!... on the floor! She was very proud. I had to (with a straight face!) tell her how everybody does pee into the potty and if it goes on the floor then thats just an accident. She put her chin down, looked at the floor and flopped her arms at her sides, "oh... okay... alwight".

Busy

I think you can tell from the amount of posts we made over the summer compared with the number published in the fall something about our family: we've been stankin' busy.

Why?

Rose has started asking the question "Why?". I've heard parents talk about this phase as annoying. Now, I don't know if it hasn't been long enough, or if I'm just this scientific buuut I am loving it! Rose asks why... and I'm off! "Well, you see Rose the reason is..."
I suspect one of two things will happen after she realizes every "why?" is an opportunity for a full lecture from her mother on the topic. Either Rose will pass through this phase quickly or she will be the one rolling her eyes when anyone refers to the "why?" stage.

Book Smart

I am fortunate to work with some of the smartest and most gifted students this year through the IB program at Southside High School. I marvel at their analytical capacity, creativity, and even flexibility to adjust towards any number of standards and rubrics. Truly, by all means, these young people are marked by intelligence in all of its forms.

I want to write about what startles me the most however: their affinity to find the right answers. By no means discrediting them I'll mention that their experiences are limited in scope - most of them are only seventeen years old - and have never seen the politically significant events for which our text book presents forums. Yet, somehow they seem to understand.

I'm seeing a pattern of students simply becoming what I assume people mean by "book smart" the uncanny ability to use data in whichever way is asked of them: categorize, assess, compare, contrast, evaluate on and on - they know exactly how to meet and exceed expectations, or at least minimize, by any means, the possibility of failing expectations.

I'm not undermining the value of this but simply marveling at the ability of a student to find answers to multiple choice questions without truly knowing answer. Even essays show their continual grappling and losing of relevant data contrasted with trivial and non-critical. They'll use this priceless bank of information applied to the world and their choices in their futures I'm sure...

BOBO and COCO and more

Our friends Adam and Colette were married this past weekend. We were and are more excited for the joining of these two. They have depth of character and understanding far beyond anyone else we know at our age. The fruits of the spirit seem to pour from their lives: love, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness.
Every year since we've been married we have attended a wedding and get the chance to reflect on our own union. Year #1: We were coming out of the honeymoon stage and about to have a baby, we were thankful but I'd say our understanding of marriage was still shallow. Year #2: After a year of trials we were stunned at how close we had grown and realized the deepening dependence we have upon each other. Year #3: Life at present has gotten a little unmanageable, but we realized our devotion to one another is stronger than ever, and just how romantic words like "faithful", "respect", or "surrender" have become.
I remember some of the ideas and plans I had for our lives, some came to fruition, some I now laugh at, others I had to put on hold or let go of. There was a reorganization that had to take place once the honeymoon was over. Almost a disillusionment that we had to work our way out of. Its respectfully a difficult task to grow your childhood faith into an adult faith, with adult sized problems and stressors and adult... how you say... people.
On one particularly difficult day recently, Oliver took me aside in the middle of all craziness and reminded me that these are the days that we will someday look back on with fond memories. Memories of being stretch to our max, with so much life ahead of us, two beautiful crazy kids who want all the love we have to give, and a time where we are learning what it is to be faithful in every way to each other and our God. No matter how much we stumble, there is deep value in plowing ahead on this journey.
...Cheers!?!...

Is It Just Me Or...

Syllogism of Pandora Radio
Major premise: All Christians love listening to Jeremy Camp
Minor premise: Kyra Wong is a Christian
Conclusion: Kyra Wong loves listening to Jeremy Camp
Ahhhhh! Thumbs down! Thumbs down! Thumbs down!

Say Cheese!

Ahhhhh! We need a camera! Ours broke months ago! Okay, I know many of you o.k. blog readers are knowledgeable about this kinda of thing. Which camera do you suggest?

The Terrible Twos

Kyra: Rosey, do you think you say "no" a lot?
Rose: ...no.

Tire Swing

For like a summer and a half I embraced this lifestyle that didn't elevate anything above anything else. Consider the following lyric from Juno which illustrates what I mean:

Joey never met a bike that he didn't wanna ride
And I never met a Toby that I didn't like
Scotty liked all of the books that I recommended
Even if he didn't I wouldn't be offended

The author of the song charms the listener by describing her day through a lens that doesn't apply an overall arch or expectation. She goes on to list the events of her day: check my email, write a song, and make a few phone calls mashing all of the events together without defining any of them more significance than the others.

The reason I like this song is that it frees me from the risk of embracing a personal narrative that may set me up for disappointment, or failure, or disillusionment. I'll probably sound like some kind of McCartheist but this type of song/sub-culture although light and appealing on the outside is also malicious to some extent.

A postmodern generation is bruised, wounded and disillusioned with modernity by definition. It reacts to the baby-boomers attachement to materialism and image-centered values in a new movement that avoids the common entrapments of a modern world and embraces a "flat" existential worldview. That is, we would say that writing a song is just a "spiritual" or sacred as writing e-mails.

The intent is well placed. Garden State, another prominent postmod hipster flick, features a hamster funeral that the protagonist comes of age to find value in. American Beauty, as early as '99, finds its message in realizing the beauty of a plastic bag in the wind.

These, I think, are symptoms of our aforementioned disillusionment; our sophmoric attitudes follow a distaste for the negative sides of our parent's lifestyles - their tendancy to be judgemental, hypocrytical, or exclusive. Without standard of truth, we are free from the problems that a very standard driven society has come to terms with in recent decades.

I'll just end by saying that I once agreed but now disagree with these contentions. To me, there are just some things that are black and white. And that's ok, our mind and soul need that. I think its pretty clear that if everything was true right and beautiful and nothing was wrong than we wouldn't have ground to be wounded and counter-culture in the first place. In other words, there is a significant arch to our lives whether we acknowledge it or not. If we are honest with ourselves we can't avoid this. Humans need purpose.

dreams II

I think its a sign we've allowed ourselves to get too busy when I start dreaming about kissing my husband. Can't I just do that!?

I Don't Know...Do I? Pew Pew

too funny...

Let me just say that me and the medical world have a love hate relationship. But I'm going to give it another try. I got my temp license in the mail. Now I have to decide what area to work in. Wish me luck.

Open House

Each fall public schools open their doors to curious parents and let them get a snapshot of their child's day-to-day life. If you were a teacher like me, this would make you nervous, in a healthy way, because it holds your work to a different light than you're accustomed; it's not the principal checking in on you but some one who (hopefully) has an even loftier interest in your student.

Each year I walk away from the experience happy that it happened. The parents, sometimes as anxious as the teacher - the father's arms behind his back, the mother adjusting her purse - show such a high degree of hopes for their child. They are concerned, and even worried, since it seems like so many more things can go wrong at school for kids these days than right. They are in the middle of letting their child go out and come of age in the world. I try to always keep this in mind when I'm at school.

Because some day it will be me!

Short-Order Cook and Catering

We concluded tonight that although Kyra and I undergo a good deal of daily stress, our life's demands are different in form. Kyra, we decided, is more of a short order cook, with immediate demands she tries to problem solve on the go, putting out fires as they come. I on the other hand, like a caterer on mother's day, know my time zapping adversaries almost months in advance and wake up to them each morning like a deer in the headlights.

What's your stress brand?

No Room at the Inn

I'm always pretty proud of the work my father does, but am especially proud of him right now. He left this morning to fly down to Texas where he manages a large motor repair shop. What the hey does that mean?? Right now he is coordinating the repair of the large motors and generators of the Houston area and beyond that have been damaged due to the hurricane(s), these repairs are to the equipment of the major oil refineries of the south. He's managing the repair of one of America's major needs right now and moment by moment making a difference this week. He has my respect.
In my small experience as an adult... making a difference hardly looks like we ever grew up imagining it should look or feel like. It's rarely simple, comfortable, or cute. Thankfully, this story ends up a little more on the humorous side.
Tonight, my father is sleeping in a barn with no electricity with a cow, donkey, a tons of chickens, and a hog that he admits he's a little afraid of. My father may be the biggest city boy those animals will ever see and they may be the only animals my father will ever sleep next to. He is doing a good thing, making a difference, this is what it looks like. Proud of you Dad, you're the real thing.

Rose says III

Oh! That's what my mean!
Reave it on
I like the ween one
Watch my new boobie (don't worry...movie)
I'm just a-tendin'
My so happy to see you
A yittle bit or a big daddy one

Then there's "sue" which is a new coverall verb
Sue Leo a tiss, Sue it over there, Sue it on

And our personal "fraaavorite":
"Time to say doodnight, rerax and tose you eyes..."

The Hook

Going from what I know about the 90's and Pandora, there is a realm of pop music that are derived and charged by generation y's need to sing fun and pointless lyrics together in a sway that resembles a late night drunken sailors chorus. The artifact above is my submitted proof.

Ants Marching - Dave Matthews
The General - Dispatch
Piano Man - Billy Joel (This may be a stretch but the 90's family embraced the retro version of it)
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Intro - Will Smith
Any Sublime Song
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind.

and on and on and on

Pandora says that I like these songs because of my affinity for "major chord tonalities". I'm glad they've pinpointed it. But I'm noticing that kids these days don't sing these types of songs anymore - the ones that everyone knew the words to and would howl out when somebody brought their guitar. Hopefully there was some one there that remembered the verse order. The music trends these days are so splintered and diversified, I'm not sure these people are unified by anthems to the extent my peers were.

Why did we sing together? 90's children are you out there?

OW

I read an article on Ethiopia and the web of problems surrounding their famine. This was on Monday, and I keep finding myself exploring practical ministries that "teach a man how to fish vs give him a fish". I love this one called Hydromissions.
With that shared...It kills me to keep dreaming like this! I'm at home with two children who are very dependent upon me and I see these dreams going nowhere soon. I'm embarrassed to share my ideas of ministry and missions with anyone but Oliver b/c I know how ridiculous it might look to anyone looking in. I mean what have I done so far...nothing. So, my fear in sharing is that I'll seem like a ridiculous, big-headed hypocrite.
I was awakened to an idea tonight: I'm not prideful to dream, I'm prideful for trying to make myself look completed when my insides scream with hopes that I fear someone might scoff at, and just about the humblest thing I could do is admit
"I HAVE BIG RIDICULOUS DREAMS OF MISSIONS AND MINISTRY!!! AND RIGHT NOW, MOST DAYS, I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TAKE A SHOWER!!!"
So, there it is, I'm purposefully broken. Any dreams you're hiding?

Self-evaluation

With elections coming up in November, I have obviously been revisiting my convictions that spur my support of a particular national party. There are many convictions I have that steer my decision (as we all have), but there is one value of mine I feel stands out among the rest and I find myself choosing my party and candidate based mainly upon the support of this value. I'd love to hear what you have to say. So, here's my political self-evaluation tool:

Where do I believe healthy (inspiring, growth-promoting, thought-provoking, life-transforming) support happens? System to person? Person to person?

Freshmen Routine

My assistant Principal is a great guy. He interviewed me for the job last August and I look up to him a lot. We were talking after school today about classroom order. I'm seeing his recommendations come to life left and right. The freshmen need order a lot. This is what we do every day:

1. The students stumble in before and after the bell. I check that their shirts are tucked in and that they have IDs on. I take IDs of tardy students and put them on my desk for attendance.

2. After the bell I tell them conversations are over in 5,4,3,2,1..."be quiet! he gon' start counting mississippis!"...1 mississippi 2..."shut up man, he's counting." They know they will owe me each mississippi after the bell rings at the end of class.

3. "I'm grading you on your participation and diligence...I need pens out and papers on the desk. There is no help or conversation. "Can I go to the bathroom?" During CHAMPS...."What does that word mean?" "Did you get my assignment" I can't talk to you right now...there's no conversation or help".

4. (5 minutes later attendance is in and late IDs are returned) Alright participation is allowed. Raise your hand if you know the answer to number 1...

5. Next we do slate work. I've cut up sections of white erase boards and each student has a marker to answer review questions on. I ask the question and count down from five. They answer furiously...I give them public affirmation for correct answers. They erase furiously...I give them 5 or 7 more questions.

6. Students copy the EQ. For teachers outside of SC, this is a question that guides the lesson. Today the lesson was, "How did early River Valley people solve problems?"

7. I tell the students that for the next ten minutes there is no talking or help while we go over notes or silently read. I know this sounds bad not to let them ask earnest questions but you don't understand that their questions at the wrong time COMPLETELY throw off others because they don't ask questions for the good of the whole.

8. I've been doing reading strategies lately. I am committed to using Social Studies to teach reading and not the other way around. I think they need these repetative reading exercises. They have been reading paragraphs at a time doing outlines and summarizing the main points. I learned this from the teacher at Frazee center who works with elementary students...teach with pictures, motion, questioning, modeling, summarizing etc. they don't do these things on their own.

9. Today we did a practice MC quiz where they answered Multiple Choice questions on the reading they just did. This is similar to standardized tests they will take.

10. Once they have given me 15 solid quiet focused learning I explain what to do for CHAMPS. CHAMPS means EVERYTHING is allowed. Coversation (80 percent work/20 percent social), Help (from students and teacher) Assignment, Movement, and Participation. They are excited to get up and sit with their friend and work together on different ongoing assignments. They all work at different speeds and pick among several options of assignments for their points...poems, journals, outlines, maps, essays. These all get put together every two weeks for PORTFOLIOS.

11. With 5 minutes left of class I count down from five again and end CHAMPS, hopefully its been a good class. Marker captains go and pick up the whiteboards and markers and students sit at their desk to complete their "ticket out the door". Today and most days its simply to answer the EQ from the beginning of class to summarize their learning. They tear off a half sheet of paper and give it to me when they get up at the bell. That is if they don't owe me mississippis from during class.

We've been doing that every day. The students seem to like it. I know it's easy on me. Some one said at the beginning of the year: "Aren't you concerned there is too much external motivation and they won't learn to manage their actions?" I think my reply to that is simply that they don't come from worlds with any positive motivation. I'm not an expert but I think that if they were at a certain level, autonomy would be the next step. But for now I can see their starving for measurable goals that they can work toward and receive feedback. They don't trust that the world offers rewards for those that wait. I see this method as something that nurtures that trust.

house mom

I've heard many tributes to the stay-at-home mother over the years and to be honest I always thought in the back of my mind that it was spoken of with respect because we couldn't not speak of it with respect. Kind of like the attitude we have about the elderly in America. Catch my drift??
...........I've written and rewritten the rest of this blog 4 times now trying to come to some kind of conclusion.............
but here's the best I can do:
I've changed my mind.

Here's a favorite around our house:
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 15oz can pumpkin

Mix the two ingredients together.
Place batter into muffin pan with papers
(if the batter looks way too thick, its exactly as it should be)
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Makes 12.

Lower in calories and fat. Higher in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein.
And did we say they taste amazazazing?

I Wish...

Tonight, I recalled a childhood memory when my sister Ashley and I were watching Lassie as three and four year old little girls together. We loved Lassie... what a specimen.
As we are staring at the television together we are having similar thoughts like usual (and still like usual by the way). Ashley with eyes fixed on the action says in awe, "I wish I had a dog like Lassie." Without hesitation, eyes fixed on the wonder dog, I say, "I wish I was a dog like Lassie."

"Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?"
-- George Bernard Shaw
me too george, me too.

Multiple Choice

The scan-trons at work make this distinct clacking noise when a bad test runs through the machine; It is discarded to a pile on the other side with no mercy.

85...79....98...92

Some other teacher will inevitably walk by and go "oooooo....sounds like a bad one". That's the teacher's version of "somebodies got a case of the Mondays".

I always see the kids face when it goes through...I think all teachers do; their names are written there with uniform distinctness. That one kid that signs his test with an autograph, the perfectly neat stencil writing, the bubbly girl writing, the tiny and unimaginative right brained writing - their name, and the way they write it bears witness to their identity...and so does the test.

I have two opposing opinions about this concept. The first is that it is a shame that a piece of paper can somehow encapsulate a persons identity. That the number on that score can become a floor or a ceiling for a person's achievement.

My other opinion embraces this Darwinist mindset. Choices are so important. Every moment is an opportunity for choice, and every choice leaves a trail behind us that says, this is who I am, this is what I care about, and so on.

The kids are at home while the Scan-tron keeps humming, waiting to consume their next test, whether the kid studied for it or not. But then again, the test isn't where they are, it's where they've been. What they do next, is their choice.

First Week ....check...

Harlem World we don't stop, yo Mariah, we's on fiya.

Warning, your iPod is dangerous.

I haven't posted in a while since school has made my inner dialogue something like a conversation between a horse race announcer and the micro-machine man. Kyra made marinara tonight which translates to "love" for me and finally, I'm slowing down.

In case you wanted to know, Rose is currently out in the yard with her mother. She's wearing a green shirt, and panties, and that's it.

The good news is that we discovered the smell coming from her nose was due to "blockage". The color was verified by the doctor as being black. Rose must have disliked her visit to the doctor because when she learned she would have to return the next day she promptly "snot rocketed" the problem out of her nose and to our amusement (and soon to be yours) we discovered the culprit:



My old friend Jay said it best, "It smelled like a corpse."

Bad James

We had a high school youth pastor named Isaac Hunter.
Isaac has a church called Summit.
Summit has a great ethos.

L.Z.

One of my favorite parts about having babies is sitting back to watch their personalities come out. I think we contribute most of our personality traits to our growing years, which of course is a huge part of who we are, but watching my kids has made me realize there is just some personality that we are born with! Leo hasn't been the topic of many blogs because up until now his activity hasn't been much more than eating, sleeping, and mere reflexes. This week he has shown us so much more of his character and seems to a have hit a million milestones. I remember this same experience with Rose at 4 months.
So, his week starts out Monday with his 4 month checkup where he received 6 vaccinations and a diagnosis of eczema and ingrown toenails... thanks for the good genes Dad! The days follow with first tooth, first food, first fake cough, rolling belly to back, and having a full passionate conversation with his hands. He is a blanket loving kid, to soothe himself he rubs it all over his face and usually in his mouth to teethe on too, we refer to it as "cuddle blanky". Leo is so sensitive and is easily scared (especially by Rose). With attention he has a slow sweet bashful smile. With play he has an explosive excited squeal. Pretty much, he's a joy.
I found out a year ago around this time that we were going to have him and I was scared to death. Look at that smile. That's who I was scared of! When am I fully going to trust that God knows what he's doing?!

Our new favorite roommate...

I love the thought of a silent ninja assassin bug living in my home to protect my sleeping babies and my pride as a "protector provider".

This is why when we found Willie the Wheel bug perched like a gargoyle on a cobweb in our garage we welcomed him with open arms; in all terms, he is an assassin indeed.

His favorite hobby? Inviting other little bugs over to his house for book club...and then eating them!

Many of you recall that our recent history with a different species of bug that will remain unnamed caused a degree of apprehension about fully unpacking our new home. No more.

Who would have thought that a creature so blood thirsty would cause such peace of mind.

Ear Flips

Allow me to be neurotic for a moment...

So some of you may have noticed that my (OW) hair has several strange qualities. One that I have noticed as is grows longer is its propensity to defy gravity just around my ears and "flip" straight out of the sides of my head something like an older pipi long-stockings with bed head.

This used to confuse me because to me, hair on your head should generally be pretty uniform. By this I mean people generally don't have half a carrot-top and half a Michael Jackson hair doo etc. This is probably best so as not to appear indecisive or duplicitous or something like that...

Well anyways I'm feeling a little more encouraged these days because I've noticed that some of my favorite celebrity personalities have been sporting the flip including John Krasinski from the Office, and Jeff Dye from the Last Comic Standing.



It's still really strange that it does that though.

I May Have Opened Pandora's Box

Actually, I know I did. Pandora radio takes your artist search...the one you need to hear this afternoon, then streams music to your computer or iPhone that you will probably like.

It's a real treat.

New Look

Maybe Facebook inspired us but we redid the colors on our blog. I am fond of seasons changing. If you have a reader come check us out for a sec...

Then, have a great day!

"Fends"

Every so often at nap or bedtime I'll scan through pictures on the computer with Rose in order to settle her down enough for sleep. Tonight, I scanned through a file with pictures from a visit with our "fends" this July.
As we finished the album Rose sleepily said, "My fends come pay at my house again."
"You want your friends to come over and play with you at your house again?"
Rose rolls over, tucks her hand under her chin, "Yeah...I yuv my fends."

Happy Birthday Kyra

My favorite things about Krya:

• Kyra is kind.
• She has sexy teeth.
• She is a great mom and her kids adore her.
• She tries her best at everything.
• She is a directions genius.
• She is humble.
• She is thoughtful and comes up with great gifts at Christmas.
• She has a great sense of humor.
• She is original.
• Kyra smells good.
• She is hard working.
• She doesn't pout like me, when she gets upset she changes directions and tries something else.
• She is an assembly required genius.
• She loves God with all her heart.

to name a few... what do you love about Kyra?

Happy Birthday Kyra Wong!

Getting Old

I once heard a comedian speculate that people wear clothes that are out of fashion because the arch of human life brings us to this pinnacle season called our "prime" and once we reach this prime we never want to leave so we keep on dressing in the style of that era even though the era is over.

I always laughed at that joke until it was on me.

The other day I went to Plato's closet and found a pair of shoes for $18 dollars that I bought no questions asked. I put these things on, and they just felt right. I was pretty pleased with myself until I approached the register and realized that the first time I bought this model of shoes was during something like my sophomore year of college.

When I got home, I looked in my closet and found the same size and style of gap jeans one after the other. My dresser is stuffed with my collection of salvation army t-shirts with pithy quotes and strange prints on them.

Am I stuck in 2004 forever? Am I okay with that?

The Notebook

Tonight I was trying to describe The Notebook to some one.

"It's like you go into the movie knowing exactly what to expect, hoping that they will do something in the movie that you didn't predict...they don't...but you love them for it anyway."

Mom Jeans

She'll love the nine inch zipper...

Dad

There were always certain things about my dad that seemed unreachable to me. He would take me to the park in humid Hong Kong and he would run around the track for what seemed like hours while I would shoot baskets on the towering hoops at Waterloo street. Sometimes I would try to run with him but I could never outlast his endurance.

I'd work on my book reports for school while he plowed away on his doctorate thesis in the basement of the SUNY library. He would read and read and read and write and write and write and pick at his patchy beard and think and just keep reading. I would sometimes sneak glances at his stuff and think, "man, it must be really good, cause he spends a lot of time on it and I don't understand a word of it!"

I can remember I'd like next to him eating ice cream on the bed watching Bruce Lee movies and was amazed that my heart had to beat twice to catch the rythm of his.

It's funny that as I get older I can run longer. I still don't think I've ever run with him but I wonder if I can beat him. Even in my latest driver's liscence photo, my right eye droops in my smile in this strangely familiar way.

I'm a lot like my dad.

Tomorrow/today he turns 58! Happy Birthday. I hope it will be a great year. I'll catch up to you some day ;)

Hulu

My friend Dustin showed me Hulu tonight and I think I'm hooked. Free on-demand episodes is an easy sell to someone with a 13" TV with rabbit ears. Enjoy the season finale of The Office...

Accomplishments?

I'm starting to think I'm a glutton for change. Some friends of ours recently went on a 10 year anniversary and listed all the things that have changed since they were married 10 years ago on their blog. I laughed at myself when I realized our three year marriage has sustained the same amount of changes...maybe more.

Just for fun, here's a comprehensive list of jobs I could technically include on my 24 year old resume:

1. Schlotzsky's Deli - Food Prep.
2. Swanson Pool - Lifeguard
   
3. Gap - Sales
4. Subway - Sandwich Artist
   
5. Hoosier Cafe - Food Prep.
6. Read Front Desk - Clerk
7. Heckman Deckoration - Painter/Gruntman
8. McDonalds - Grillman
9. Starbucks (Woodruff Rd./Ironwood & 23/ Main St.) - Barista
10. Lieu's Chinese Bistro - Server
11. Papa Vinos - Server
12. House Dad - Slave
13. Southside High School - Teacher
14. CrossRoads Community Church - Intern

I am a jack of all trades but a master of none...

100 Posts

After 5 months of blogging okaywong has published 100 posts. According to our labels (found at the bottom of the blog) we have spent

26% of our blog talking about family
13% talking about life
12% talking about teaching

Perhaps this is revealing.

Water Day!

Thursday at youth group is going to be a water day free-for-all. Here's one of the ideas we found:

Dunk and Run
Description
This game is very simple yet very hilarious. All you need is 4 sleeping bags (preferably old ones) and 4 garbage cans (or something large to fill with water.)

Set the 4 garbage cans in a large square, perhaps along the perimeter of the field you are working on.

Fill each can with water and put a sleeping bag in each.

Split the kids up into 2 teams and then split each team into 2 sides.

The object of the relay is to get from one side to the other along the diagonal. When the relay starts, each kid has to grab the sleeping bag and put it over their head so that they can't see and can't move their arms.

Then they have to cross the field and get to the other garbage can. Whichever team gets side to switch places wins.

What's funny is when they are all running at once and they crash into each other. Plus, it's just hilarious to see these kids try to run with sleeping bags over their bodies.

Can't even wait...

In case you wanted to know...

Kyra's birthday is Aug 6th. A week from Wednesday. Send all greetings to okaywong@gmail.com. Make all checks to Oliver Leon Wong.

Name That Movie

Elephants don't have any feelings. They're made outta rubba'.

Inspiration

Sorry so many posts about movies lately but... saw "The Dark Knight" tonight. I won't talk so much about the movie except there is a type relating to Jesus at one point and it reminded me of something about the cross and that is what I will share.

To start out, if you've ever heard or if you like the worship song "Above All"...I'm sorry. I think it sells Jesus and what was done at the cross short. The line "like a rose trampled on the ground" steals the glorious act of bravery, hope, and all out righteousness that was accomplished by it. Jesus with all power, knowledge and will took his cross to his hill where he gave his life. To his death he took his power to save himself, his face, his possible fame and chose to be despised as a criminal is and said nothing to defend himself. To his death he took his knowledge of all hope and all evil, his knowledge of every mans heart and he chose his cross regardless of what evils those hearts contained. I don't believe he was trampled, he did exactly what he set out to do, and there he conquered. Any church I've ever been in has focused when addressing the cross mostly on the personal side of Jesus' motivation there, and I feel loved. So important. But when I remember just what options Jesus had and see the path he chose in the midst of a evil world... O Lord! I am inspired!

The actions of Jesus awaken the hope in me that I too could stand for goodness despite opportunities for mere justice. In other words, the world has no qualms about permitting justice but the cross suggests a love that is greater than justice.

John 10:11-20
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

19At these words the Jews were again divided. 20Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"

August Rush

Every couple of years I see a movie that stays on my mind the days after I've seen it. Oli and I stayed up late Wednesday night to watch "August Rush" and it was well worth a sleepy Thursday morning. It's a beautiful movie especially if you love music so much that at times you can actually feel it in you bones as you listen or play. And if you think that's an oddball statement, that's okay b/c I know I don't stand alone in this... just watch the movie! Have any of you ever seen the film? felt this way about music at times?

Over-used quotes.

Oliver and I had a great time today revisiting overused and abused famous quotes. The perfect person to imagine saying these quotes is anyone like Michael Scott; inappropriate at times and undoubtedly awkward.

Enjoy:

Who let the dogs out?
Houston, we have a problem.
Run, Forrest, Run.
AAAAlllllriiiighty then.
Can you hear me now? Good.
Beam me up Scotty.
Cowabunga Dude.
Yeah Baby Yeah! (Austin Powers)
I'll be baack.
Hasta la vista, baby.
Luke, I am your father.
E.T. phone home.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
Go _________ it's your birthday.
I'm the king of the world!
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!
Show me the money!
You had me at "hello".
Mo' money mo' problems.
Bringing sexy back. (substitute whatever for sexy)

Feist on Semame Street

Restoration

Our church has been heading in a new direction. Monday night prayer has been touch point for healing, prophesy and miracles. Here is some of the theological dialogue that has caught my attention.

Many of my peers have adopted something of a restoration theology, which in my understanding has widened simple penal substitutionary gospel to a restoration gospel. The mantra of this thinking has been "kingdom come" - believers aren't waiting for the sweet bye and bye, they are praying for it to fall out of the sky today. I guess this way of thinking is not so much new but revived: God's glory is to restore a fallen world. We are invited to join his cause.

After a long season of wrestling I too feel passionate about all of these ideas.

This central concept is either a chicken or an egg for a generation who seems more concerned about poverty, the environment and social justice than their parents.

Though most of this dialogue is at least beginning to cement in the "main-stream" evangelical worldview and interesting question has been posed to me.

What about healing?

If our litmus test for holy social living is simply the question "does sex trafficking happen in the Kingdom of Heaven?"


No.


So the commission of the gospel/good news is that the Lord Jesus has empowered the church to eradicate it in Jesus name.

Are their leapers in the Kingdom of Heaven?

This question is pesky to a group of intellectual Christians who might frown at the extacies of the Spirit usually employed by a more heart-driven set of believers; to them these practices might be the fruit of a community plagued with instant gratification.

But how can we theologically separate social healing from physical healing in the story of restoration?

As a matter of fact, if God whispered in my ear that one of them was not a part of his commission for us, I would hesitantly have to choose the social element simply because Jesus healed so daggon much.

I Kingdom of Heaven is hear, you're healed.

They came to him by the hundrends and he healed them.

On and on.

What do you think? Is there a theological basis for my discomfort with the mystical side of God or is that just my personal taste?

A.C.

My friend Andrew sees something easily that I have to focus to see.

When my life tests me one thing for another I'm rather saddened by my preference for material over people and performance over experience. I think it causes me to miss out on a lot.

I admire Andrew for the premium he puts on experience and beauty for beauty's sake. One of my colleagues at work shared some wisdom with me about raising children. He warned me that kid's will only engage their world as much as you challenge them to - from there, engagement is a habit.

They will always choose video games to reading.

They will naturally chose to copy before risking originality.

They will naturally be negative unless you teach them to be positive.

Perhaps I should have Mary Chicoreli at the top of this blog post because you'll never catch Andrew checking on star tracks in People magazine - he's just too busy doing richer things.

I Wonder...

Maybe the most important statement for a student is: "I wonder...". It implies motivation to learn and both an expression of the known and the vicinity of something soon to be discovered.

Students of all ages are intimidated by the assessment questions that start: "What is..." This type of question of course usually demands a correct and definitive response that expresses understanding. To get there we have to start with "I Wonder..."

"I wonder what happens when a lot of people lose their job at the same time..."

"People become poor"

"Maybe what else?"

"People lose hope."

"What do YOU think, is that the case?"

This sort of dialogue creates space for students to explore what they know and find shelves in their understanding to place things they are about to find out. This process shouldn't be rushed so students can really soak in what they already know and develop curiosity about what they are learning.

In short, I think wondering is a powerful thing.

The Office Webisodes!

Name That Movie

"And dat's da one marve, dat's da silva tuna..."

Postmodern Faith

"Religiously, the majority of America's young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme. They have largely rejected organized religion in favor of a religious pastiche that works for them. They think nothing of hammering together a personal faith from widely differing religious traditions, and many acquire their theology the same way they catch colds: through casual contact with strangers."
- Stephen Mansfield in The Faith of Barack Obama

Thanks Pastor Beeson

Wal-Mart Must be Crazy

I'm sure of it now. We pile in by the millions to Wal-Mart because of the falling prices - there is no other explanation.

Does anyone besides me constantly catch guys with "How Can I Help You" vests on intentionally veer away from you when you have that "Can you help me find..." look on your face? I thought I was being neurotic at first but I'm almost certain now that it's a policy.

They're like the bad guys on PacMan when you swallow the white dot.

Top 10 Albums

When our friends visited, we spent some time deliberating about our favorite ten albums. Let me qualify that this means that the album must have some holistic quality from start to finish. Our conclusions not in order.

1. Third Eye Blind - Title Album
2. Damien Rice - O
3. Ryan Adams - Gold
4. Lauryn Hill - the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
5. Postal Service - Give Up
6. Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
7. Sigur Ros - Untitled
8. U2 - Joshua Tree
9. Worship Circle - First Circle
10. Death Cab - Plans
    

The trick is that even though an artist might be really good like say, John Mayer, he simply doesn't have an album that hits it out of the park from start to finish. Can you think of any others?

Rose Speak

1. YAKE UP! (What I hear every morning when she is bouncing her soggy diaper on my head)
2. AYEO TYIN' (Leo's Crying)
3. Shop bee bru (Stop (crying) baby brother)
4. Na too ha' na too coolda me (not too hot and not to cold for me)
5. uuh uuhhh a too heaby for me (when trying to cary my work bag)
6. Oh sowwy (when she makes a miscaculation about something)
7. Oh white (when we explain somehthing to her)
8. A Be Right Back K?
9. Dood Night
10. Gimme a minute k honey?
11. he hmile me (He smiled at me)

Dominic

I've watched my brother grow up from birth to 15. He is a good man.

When he was little I would wake him up when I suffered from Jet-lag in Hong Kong. He would always smile and be ready to play or eat or whatever I was up for.

He used to have this stuffed dog which he affectionately call "Wo-Wo", the Chinese baby talk for dog. I would puppet Wo-Wo for hours which would make him laugh a lot. Some times I would throw the dog toward him pretending it wanted to kiss him. 9 times out of ten the momentum would push his head into the wall which would make him cry a lot. I don't think it affected him in the long run - he's a brainiac.

That was when he was about Rose's age in the featured picture.

Over the years he's grown older and taller - and outgrown me in some ways. He's provided me with old notes and guidance for preparing my US AP class for the coming fall.

It's funny because our age difference is becoming smaller and smaller and even now, he's practically my peer. I've loved knowing him and anticipate a great future for our relationship as adults and old fogies.

Kingdom Culture

I've been in downtown Greenville for the last two days at Kingdom Culture. We've been spending the week serving the city in practical ways. At night we get back to the church to eat and pray.

It's been great.

The speaker last night is the man behind the Frazee Center, Matt Reeves. The question he asked was would the Christian life be worth anything if it weren't for Heaven and Hell. His conclusion that if it wasn't, it needed to be. Our friends and family should find faith in God not because of our convincing arguments but because of our compelling LIVES. In other world's, he suggested that if some one decided they wanted God, it would be because they saw the real God in the Church's life.

Can you actually marry some one and love them and be in love with them for your entire life?

Do you believe God will provide for you in all ways and show that with your belongings?

I wondered last night what a kink that would put in some one's world view if these were the questions we answered with our life. People want these answers to be yes.

Pennies from Heaven

I'll just come right out and say it... last night Rose swallowed a penny.
While my sister Ashley and I were making coffee Rose walked up to us with red-rimmed eyes. After some length of serious questioning with no answers ("Rose are you okay!? Did you put something in your mouth? Rose what is in your mouth!?") I decided to play it casual,
"Rose, whatcha doin?" I said as cool and seemingly playful as I could.
"Where penny go?" Rose giggled.
I'll tell you my blog reader friends "where penny go", it go down a toddlers throat, into her belly, then out to an Elmo potty chair, into a sink of warm soapy water, into a mamma's pocket and then a Walmart cash register.
The moral of this story is money is dirty, so don't put it in your mouth.

4th of July

Seriously one of the best weekends of ever guys.

Visit from Friends

View Larger Map

Adam, Collette, Ashlee, Andrew and Emilee will visit TOday!

Classic

My favorite part: When he whispers "ho yeah" in the middle of his story.

Hope

During a recent car ride, I asked Kyra and important question I've been thinking about. What is the most hopeful thing you've ever witnessed? She replied with, "birth". Mine was the same.

Conversely, the darkest thing I've ever witnessed was in China. We were were catching a cab in a busy square where children were begging for money. Dad explained to me that the reason they were all crippled was because they were abducted at a young age beaten on purpose to invoke sympathy from passer-by's.

Our capacity for hope or doubt is fundamentally rooted in our most hopeful and dark experiences. We only understand Psalm 23's "valley of the shadow of death" with references from our life. Perhaps for a sheltered person like myself this darkness is not as great as it could be. Conversely again, my capacity for hope bears witness of my experience of hope. So our concepts of Heaven and Hell are limited by what we can imagine and what we can imagine is at least leashed by what we've seen.

What is your most hopeful experience?

Chocolate; By: Rose Bella

YAY YAY Chocyate
I LIKE Chock-yate
YAY YAY Chocyate
I LOVE Choc-yate

Blog Break

I'm sitting in a restaurant in Charleston called the Majestic. Their sandwiches are named after movies, they play movies, they have Hollywood memorabilia and they have free computers to blog on. My kind of [place.

We're on vacation right now and we won't get internet until July 9th.

I guess okaywong is on a blog break. =)

Frazee Center

Yesterday the youth group took a trip to the Frazee Center in downtown Greenville. The purpose of the trip was to help under-resourced children with reading and math skills. As I've found in many situations like this, the group that we came to "help" actually blessed us more than we "helped" them.

I didn't take my eyes off the volunteer teacher on site; he was strong in many of the ways I wish I was strong as a teacher. You could tell the children respected the volunteers - yes sir, no sir, was their reply to all requests. They waited their turn and stayed engaged for long periods of time.

It's not a myth that all children are born wanting to learn. It makes me wonder when it snaps in a person to not trust authorities anymore, or to lose hope in themselves that they can be smart. I wondered if that was reversable in my high school classroom for the better or even the worse.

One of the stories the teacher began class with was called "Beautiful" which featured a young girl living in an poor urban setting. The moral of the story was realized when the girl erased the graffiti "Die" from a neighbor's door because the girl realized that she had control to make some things beautiful again.

I'm grow more skeptic every day but the actual learning and growth I witnessed at the Frazee Center yesterday renewed my faith in the moral that things can be made "beautiful" again.

Super Rogers

Today as Rose was watching PBS and I was folding clothes she started jumping up and down shouting "Super Rogers! Super Rogers!" It took me a minute to figure out what she meant.....cute.

Hillsong United and Coldplay

Hillsong United are just like everybody else; they put their pants on one leg at a time. But when they do it, they drop gold records.



Also, here are my plans and handout for Wednesday night Bible Study on the Gospel and Power: Viva la Vida. Its the first of 6 studies on important Pop cultural statements. Viva was the top iTunes Downloads a week back.

Other topics to come via student popularity:

Napoleon Dynamite
High School Musical
Star Wars Trilogy

Country Strong

Was listening to the Official Granger Community Church Podcast featuring the Official Dr. Bob speaking a Thursday nigh New Community.

"It's 7:28 beloved, do you know where your Bibles are?"

He shared a story about a Whitesox batter - if you're a fan he was left-handed and had an open stance and used to point at the batter while warming up.

The announcer said that he was "country strong".

Instead of city strong? replied the other announcer.

That's right. The difference between country strong and city strong is that you have to do real work for country strength. You have to bale hay, cut down trees, shovel earth, and all the other things country people do. City people can only get strong in a gym staring at the wall or with the use of chemicals. Country strength, unlike city strength stays with you forever.

I think Dr. Bob is on to something.

You Go Girl

Some of you know my sister-in-law Ashley. Lately I've been suspecting her of having super powers.

Friday she got her dentistry liscense at noon and filled two teeth before coming home and helping set up the garage sale for the Ark Ministries. The next morning she was bumping and bruising with the rest of the fellas, helping us move house. Then she ran a 5K street race at 9:00pm?

What?!

She bought us bagels after church just to top it off plus made salmon for dinner tonight. Seriously, what juice is that girl drinking?

Do your thing boo.

Home sweet home

Kyra and I closed on our first home today. It was a blessing to see Rose RUN into the house and twirl around saying, "Look! I like my new HOUSE!"

Our prayers were for:

• our home to be a place of love and safety for our children.
• security in the structure and longevity of the house.
• that we would know and love our neighbors well.

You can see more photos of the house here.

Student Life 2008

Been at camp for the past 4 days. The constant coat of dirt and sweat makes me feel like I'm back IN middle school. There are many good things that have been going on which I probably won't ever get to blog about but my favorite story...

Dustin and I were at the Youth Pastor meeting when this woman approached me:

Her: Hey, how's it going? I'm Sandy Sanderton from Sandterton Church. I was wondering if you had the tabs for "Your grace is enough".

Oliver thinking: I just met her I don't know how she knows I can play guitar.

Oliver: Sure!

Her: Because we have really loved you guys playing that song this week and we have some talented musicians coming in next week and we really want them to play that song.

Oliver thinking: She does NOT realize that I'm not the Asian violin player from Todd Agnew's band.

Dustin leaves because he can't hold in the laughter

Oliver: Oh, ....um..... yup, just write down your e-mail and I'll give it to Todd.

Hey, you would have done the same thing.

Father's Day Across the World

In honor of Father's Day I'm posting the translation for father in 108 languages:

* Afrikaans : vader
* Albanian : baba ; atë
* Apalai (Amazon) : papa
* Arabic : babba ; yebba ; abbi (classical)
* Aragones : pai
* Bangla : Baba ; Abba
* Basque : aita
* Bolognese : pèder
* Bosnian : otac
* Brazilian Portuguese : pai
* Calabrese : patre ; patri ; pa ; papà ; papallu ; patra
* Caló : batú ; bato ; batico ; dadá
* Catalan : pare
* Catanese : pattri ; opà
* Chechen (Caucasus) : daa
* Chechen : da
*Chinese : baba
* Cree (Canada) : -papa
* Croatian : otac
* Czech : táta, otec
* Dakota (USA) : ate
* Dutch : vader ; papa ; pappie
* East African : baba
* English : father ; dad ; daddy ; pop ; poppa ; papa
* Esperanto : patro
* Estonian : isa
* Faeroese : faðir
* Filipino : tatay, itay, tay ; ama
* Finnish : isä
* Flemish : vader
* French : papa
* Frisian : heit
* Galician : pai
* German : banketi, Papi
* Griko Salentino : ciúri
* Guaran : túva ; ru
* Hebrew : abba(h)
* Hindi : Papa ; Pita-ji
* Hungarian : apa
* Hungarian : apa ; apu ; papa ; édesapa
* Icelandic : pabbi ; faðir
* Indonesian : bapa ; ayah ; pak
* Irish : athair ; daidí
* Italian : babbo
* Japanese : otosan, papa
* Judeo-Spanish : padre ; baba ; babu
* Kobon (New Guinea) : bap
* Kurdish Kurmanji : bav
* Ladin : pere
* Latin : pater ; papa ; atta
* Latvian : tevs
* Limburgian : vader ; vajer ; pap
* Lithuanian : tevas ; pradininkas ; protevis
* Lombardo Occidentale : bubà
* Luo (Kenya) : baba
* Maasai : papa ; paapa ; olaiiu
* Malagasy : ray
* Malay : bapa
* Malay : bapa
* Maltese : missier
* Mandarin : bà ; bàba (informal)
* Mandarin Chinese : baba
* Mantuan : upà ; papà ; babbo
* Maori : haakoro ; kohake
* Mapunzugun : chaw ; chao
* Modern Greek : babbas
* Moravian : tata
* Mudnés : pèder
* Nadsat : Pee
* Nahuatl (Mexico) : ta’
* Napulitano : pate
* Nepali : buwa
* Norwegian : pappa ; far
* Persian/Farsi : pedar, pitar ; simply Baabaa
* Pipil (El Salvador) : tatah
* Polish : tata ; ojciec
* Portuguese : pai
* Quechua (Ecuador) : tayta
* Quechua : tata ; churiyaqe
* Romagnolo : bà
* Romani : dad
* Romanian : tata
* Romanian : tata ; parinte ; taica
* Romansh : bab
* Russian : papa
* Samoan : tama
* Sango : baba
* Sanskrit : tàtah ; janak
* Sardinian (Limba Sarda Unificada) : babu
* Sardinian Campidanesu : babbu
* Sardinian Logudoresu : babbu
* Shona : baba
* Sicilian : patri
* Slovak : otec
* Slovenian : ôèe
* Spanish : papá ; viejo ; tata
* Swahili : baba ; mzazi
* Swedish : pappa
* Swiss German : Vatter
* Tagalog : tatay ; ama
* Turkish : baba
* Turkmen : däde ; kaka
* Urdu : Abbu ; Abbu-ji ; Abbu-jan ; bap
* Valencian : pare
* Venetian : pare ; popà ; 'opà ; pupà ; papà
* Welsh : tad
* Xhosa (South Africa) : -tata
* Yiddish : tatti ; tay ; foter ; tateh
* Zeneize : poæ

Rose

We just got done celebrating Rose's second birthday party. I have to agree with Kyra that kids grow up VERY fast. Here are some of my favorite moments from Rose's first three birthday - I'm pretty sure that according to the Chinese she actually IS three today.

From the time she was born Rose has been sweet and brought joy to our lives. We prayed before we ate and thanked God for her safety and health and asked that He would make her rich in all ways for birthdays to come. I think she had a great time.

How to Kill a Lion

Mark Batterson uses an obscure passage from scripture to illustrate the possibility of finding purpose in our greatest challenges and fears.

While reading, I'm reminded how odd it is that we tame and control lions in the first place. As a child, my parents had to EXPLAIN to me that man would invent tools and weapons to confront beasts such as these and thereby enforce the rule of nature that an intuitive mind will always overcome brute strength and raw instinct.

Today, this book is helping me realize that if our fears and failures are our greatest "lions", then the only weapon we have/need is preparation, not strength.

I know this sounds askew at first. There is a man in the desert that confronts a lion. The lion can run at 30 miles/hr. and leap up to 30 feet. The man doesn't stand a chance. Reverse this confrontation to 6 months ago. Provided the man knew he would soon come to terms with a lion he might fashion a weapon (preferably a gun). Now the lion doesn't stand a chance.

Among other things, teaching has taught me to prepare for things. I've found it helpful lately to spend a good deal of time praying over the week/day/month. I've been visualizing who I will see and what I will do. This time has helped me plan with God - or perhaps allow God to plan for me - to make my actions and choices more prepared and reviewed than instinctual.

Lions will always win in terms of instinct and reaction. Pro-action is my only chance.

Measuring Up

I took Rose and Leo to the pediatrician yesterday for their 2 month and 2 year check-ups.

Rose is now 2.5 ft tall and 31 lbs. BIG girl! And little Leo is now 12.5 lbs.

When Rose was a newborn many parents would stop to look at her and often say to me "enjoy these times, they go by fast!" How absolutely true...

iPhone

Apple has just announced it will release a faster and cheaper version of the Apple iPhone in July. The new phone will carry 8 Gigs and cost $199 down from $599.

My thoughts:

1. How has a company managed to make me want something that I don't need so much?
2. How fast is this "Every mode of information, media and data" stored in ONE device thing actually arriving?
3. Will you buy me one?
4. I think they choose hand models for these things because the MOST amount of people in the target audience either have hands that look like the ad or want hands that look like that ad.
1. I frankly have neither and this guys fingernails have ALWAYS grossed me out. Anyone with me?

Myyalahooo hoooo

Success

In the three years since Oliver and I have been married we have had seven jobs between us, two college graduations, two children, our income level had changed from working poor to middle class back to working poor, and we are about to move for the seventh time. It has been the best and most trying time of our lives and I wouldn't take a day back. Sometimes though I wonder if we've fallen behind too far or just flat out failed in some areas. I came across this quote today and was encouraged. I hope you find renewed confidence and strength by it also.

"The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, nor the one who never fails - but rather the one who moves on in spite of failure."
Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, p370

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philipians 1:6