1. Do you ever feel like, when you’re on the edge of something good, everything gets thrown at you all at once? Storyline was something I really wanted to attend, so when a ticket came available to me, I knew I had to go. But, I’m broke (more on that later), so I sold my furniture to get myself here to Nashville. Not all of it, but a good bit. On the way here, I mishandled a detour and took an unexpected drive through Indiana. I’ve been up since 4:30 am, after having not slept the previous two nights, and didn’t make it here in time to get lunch. During the dinner break, I checked into my room, but had to move because there was some problem. I moved into a new room, where the AC promptly caught on fire, and in my haste, I locked myself out. That’s how I spent the entire three hour break standing outside in the rain. However, this apparently makes me look younger, because three people have assumed that I am in my early twenties. God bless each of them.
I had dinner with a good friend the other night, and we talked about churches. We’re both looking for different reasons and agreed it’s sometimes hard, especially if there’s little sense of denominational loyalty, to even know what to look for. One you agree with, or one you feel comfortable in, or maybe the close one, because it’s in your community. If you add in any kind of dodgy religious experience, living in a large city with hundreds of churches starts to feel like an overwhelming game of Russian roulette.
Like any good friend, she asked good questions, and I found myself admitting it had taken a lot longer to find a church than I’d thought, I thought I knew why, and I was pretty sure it rested entirely on my shoulders.
Needing a Man and Other Things I Learned From My Dad
One of first distinct memories is of being on a tugboat in New Jersey when I was around three, maybe younger. (On same trip, I touched the Liberty Bell, proving grammar is important, but that is another story.) I was standing on the boat, and the captain was encouraging my younger cousin and me to pull the rope for the airhorn. She did it, and the horn blasted. I badly wanted to blow the horn as well, but did not want the strange man to pick me up. When my family began prodding me, not wanting me to miss out, my dad scooped me up and said, “She’s allowed to say no.”
#bluelikejazz In case you missed it. It’s supposed to rain all weekend. Baseball will be inevitably (and perhaps mercifully) delayed. Patios are closed. Lent is over, so drink a little, throw on a robot costume, and go see the movie. Just do it.
My intention was to write a review after I saw the screening of Blue Like Jazz the movie. When asked what I thought of it after seeing, I said honestly, “I don’t know.” It’s been that way for about a month, which felt odd because I’ve promoted the movie pretty heavily, would recommend seeing it, thought the people I met (Marshall Allman, Jim Chaffee, Steve Taylor, Don Miller) were all kind and gracious, and had a heck of a time putting my finger on the source of my own reticence. Because of that, this won’t be anything like a proper review. You’ve been warned.
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. That is not because I think they are inherently bad, but because it is my nature to give up on such things when I fail to be perfect. Also, when faced with the choice of how to spend the end of my year and the holidays, I’d rather focus on being present with my family and taking in the spirituality of it all, than examining and counting disappointments and shortcomings.
Fortunately, my birthday is at the end of February. This works well because it is its own fresh start, and I can spend the first part of each year thinking about who I want to be and the steps I could take to move toward being that person.
This year, there are a few items on the list. One of them is a carryover from last year.
Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.
If you’re the praying type, would you please pray for the Andersons today? If you’re not, would you maybe do it anyway…what can it hurt? I believe that God hears our prayers, and this sweet couple needs and appreciates them.
They got some scary news about their twin girls and are making tough parenting decisions already. You can read more about them and their story here.
