Had a great Christmas. Got back today from WV, had lots of QT with family. I was actually in the Christmas spirit this year! (Usually I'm kind of a grinch, always grumbling and changing the radio station whenever a Christmas song comes on.)
I am feeling very spoiled. I must have been a good girl this year! Here I sit, warm from a shower using my new Midnight Pomegranate bath stuff, snuggled in my new LL Bean bathrobe (the softest and warmest in the world!), belly full of my mom's cookies (peanut butter with chocolate kisses on top), and typing on our new computer (my and Don's gift to each other).
Now I get to go sleep in our own bed (ahhhhhh), with our cute little cat snoozing on top of my feet (awwwwww!).
Bliss!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Europe comes to Knoxville
Don invited me to visit today with a Romanian refugee family that he knows. Four adults and 6 children living in a tiny basement apartment in Halls. Don tutors English for one of the married couples twice a week in their home.
He has been involved with this tutoring program for several months now, a commitment which has impressed me to no end. I have trouble committing that many hours weekly to anything! But he goes and does it joyfully, and has poured hours into carefully preparing creative lessons and working with the couple face-to-face. As I watched him teach today, all I could think was, God, what did I ever do to deserve this man? He blew me away, he really did.
While Don taught, I spent time in another room playing with the kids. Picture 3 rambunctious boys ages 8-10, a sweet 4 year old girl, and 2 small babies, everyone yelling and arguing in Romanian. The oldest boy spoke some English and served as the friendly host of the group. The children invited me to play some game involving a dreidel and lima beans, for which the victor would receive a plastic gold coin and a roll of Sweet Tarts. I actually ended up winning the booty, and they insisted that I take it which was kind of sweet. Then we played dominoes and checkers, which was total pandemonium with checker pieces being placed every which way and everyone was yelling at everyone else. While all this was going on, the little girl kept talking to me (I had no clue what she was saying), stacking pillows on my left knee, and sitting on me. All I could do was giggle and hug her!
The youngest boy really freaked me out! He was a budding bully with a temper and a deep booming voice (very strange coming out of a pint-sized kid!). He reminded me of a miniature version of the Eastern European/Russian mob guys you'd see in movies like "The Saint" or the Bourne series.
Anyway, Natalia (the mother) insisted on sending food home with us, and she gave me a small dish of it to try first. It had some unidentifiable meat in it. The flavor of the soupy part was good, but as a general rule, I like to know what animal my meat comes from. There is a Nutella jar full of that Romanian food sitting in our fridge if anyone wants to come over and try it out!
At the end of our visit, Natalia asked me to sing some for their family. I sang a few Christmas carols (they knew Jingle Bells and Joy to the World). The boys joined in on "Jesus Loves Me". And they treated me to a group singing of some of their own Christian songs, in which I could recognize a few words here and there. How beautiful it was to hear God praised in another language!
He has been involved with this tutoring program for several months now, a commitment which has impressed me to no end. I have trouble committing that many hours weekly to anything! But he goes and does it joyfully, and has poured hours into carefully preparing creative lessons and working with the couple face-to-face. As I watched him teach today, all I could think was, God, what did I ever do to deserve this man? He blew me away, he really did.
While Don taught, I spent time in another room playing with the kids. Picture 3 rambunctious boys ages 8-10, a sweet 4 year old girl, and 2 small babies, everyone yelling and arguing in Romanian. The oldest boy spoke some English and served as the friendly host of the group. The children invited me to play some game involving a dreidel and lima beans, for which the victor would receive a plastic gold coin and a roll of Sweet Tarts. I actually ended up winning the booty, and they insisted that I take it which was kind of sweet. Then we played dominoes and checkers, which was total pandemonium with checker pieces being placed every which way and everyone was yelling at everyone else. While all this was going on, the little girl kept talking to me (I had no clue what she was saying), stacking pillows on my left knee, and sitting on me. All I could do was giggle and hug her!
The youngest boy really freaked me out! He was a budding bully with a temper and a deep booming voice (very strange coming out of a pint-sized kid!). He reminded me of a miniature version of the Eastern European/Russian mob guys you'd see in movies like "The Saint" or the Bourne series.
Anyway, Natalia (the mother) insisted on sending food home with us, and she gave me a small dish of it to try first. It had some unidentifiable meat in it. The flavor of the soupy part was good, but as a general rule, I like to know what animal my meat comes from. There is a Nutella jar full of that Romanian food sitting in our fridge if anyone wants to come over and try it out!
At the end of our visit, Natalia asked me to sing some for their family. I sang a few Christmas carols (they knew Jingle Bells and Joy to the World). The boys joined in on "Jesus Loves Me". And they treated me to a group singing of some of their own Christian songs, in which I could recognize a few words here and there. How beautiful it was to hear God praised in another language!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Dad
I've never written about my dad. I haven't known how.
A close relationship has always eluded us due to divorce drama, our clashing personalities, and immaturity on both sides. I carried around bitterness and resentment toward him for so many years, and although that melted away a long time ago, the resulting fallout has left us more like cordial strangers than family.
We had a wonderful conversation today (the first time we've really talked in months). After I hung up the phone, I realized how happy it makes me to find something, ANYTHING about me which comes from my dad. Today, we realized that we both have nasal allergies. It was oddly reassuring.
Dad always has a chocolate stash hidden somewhere in his house. So do I.
I look exactly like him when I laugh.
I inherited his affinity for cats.
He loves making music. Me too.
We are both very independent and generally happy people.
Half of me exists courtesy of his DNA, but those are the only similarities between us that I've come up with so far. Sad, isn't it, that I don't know any more than that? Something needs to change before it's too late.
How thankful I am for new beginnings, and for my loving Father who grants them to me every morning.
A close relationship has always eluded us due to divorce drama, our clashing personalities, and immaturity on both sides. I carried around bitterness and resentment toward him for so many years, and although that melted away a long time ago, the resulting fallout has left us more like cordial strangers than family.
We had a wonderful conversation today (the first time we've really talked in months). After I hung up the phone, I realized how happy it makes me to find something, ANYTHING about me which comes from my dad. Today, we realized that we both have nasal allergies. It was oddly reassuring.
Dad always has a chocolate stash hidden somewhere in his house. So do I.
I look exactly like him when I laugh.
I inherited his affinity for cats.
He loves making music. Me too.
We are both very independent and generally happy people.
Half of me exists courtesy of his DNA, but those are the only similarities between us that I've come up with so far. Sad, isn't it, that I don't know any more than that? Something needs to change before it's too late.
How thankful I am for new beginnings, and for my loving Father who grants them to me every morning.
Joining the 21st century
Merry Christmas to me!
As of today, we finally replaced our dinosaur of a computer with a brand new one, and we now have cable internet instead of 44K dial-up. I am in heaven! For people who are typically ten years behind on new technology, this is a big step for us!
I've been playing on YouTube all evening, a luxury I never had until now. I quickly discovered that YouTube is the perfect antidote for someone brain-dead after working plus attending two long Christmas parties and one dress rehearsal in the same day, on five hours of sleep and also fighting a nasty cold.
As of today, we finally replaced our dinosaur of a computer with a brand new one, and we now have cable internet instead of 44K dial-up. I am in heaven! For people who are typically ten years behind on new technology, this is a big step for us!
I've been playing on YouTube all evening, a luxury I never had until now. I quickly discovered that YouTube is the perfect antidote for someone brain-dead after working plus attending two long Christmas parties and one dress rehearsal in the same day, on five hours of sleep and also fighting a nasty cold.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A Reader's Digest Moment
So my friend Nancy and I were sitting in church last night when the pastor asked the congregation to "Tell me something good". Basically, he's fishing for praises and encouraging news, which is a nice way to begin the service instead of the usual dreary barrage of prayer requests.
This woman pops up and says:
"I have good news about Iraq! My nephew's over there right now, and he's been there for about a year. He said that when he first got there, they were finding an average of 3000 IUD's a day, and now they're finding only about 100 IUD's a day!"
Everyone applauds enthusiastically!
At this point, I'm thinking... ummm, this doesn't sound right...
Then our children's pastor tentatively raised his hand, and with a confused look, he said, "sorry to sound stupid, but what's an IUD?"
To this question, the response was a cacophony of replies to the effect of "roadside bombs" and "improvised devices, unexploded or something like that".
Then it hit me. Nancy and I just looked at each other and were like... Oh. My. Gosh. Don't they mean IED's? An improvised explosive device? Because an IUD is something totally different!
Imagine American soldiers finding IUD's laying all around Iraq.
Nancy and I faced an explosion of our own as only the two of us burst into laughter, then were subsequently useless for the rest of the service.
This woman pops up and says:
"I have good news about Iraq! My nephew's over there right now, and he's been there for about a year. He said that when he first got there, they were finding an average of 3000 IUD's a day, and now they're finding only about 100 IUD's a day!"
Everyone applauds enthusiastically!
At this point, I'm thinking... ummm, this doesn't sound right...
Then our children's pastor tentatively raised his hand, and with a confused look, he said, "sorry to sound stupid, but what's an IUD?"
To this question, the response was a cacophony of replies to the effect of "roadside bombs" and "improvised devices, unexploded or something like that".
Then it hit me. Nancy and I just looked at each other and were like... Oh. My. Gosh. Don't they mean IED's? An improvised explosive device? Because an IUD is something totally different!
Imagine American soldiers finding IUD's laying all around Iraq.
Nancy and I faced an explosion of our own as only the two of us burst into laughter, then were subsequently useless for the rest of the service.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Shine like stars
I picked up the Metro Pulse this week and spotted an ad for a Saturday Christmas concert on Market Square featuring a local church choir and one of my favorite bands, Salvador. Immediately called my buddy Marilyn and set plans to attend, and yes, the concert was sensational! Salvador had the full band, horns and everything, and they even played my hastily scribbled request ("Alegria") that I'd written on a scrap of a used hot dog wrapper and placed onstage. I swear I've got Latin blood... maybe I'm adopted...
Not to take anything away from Salvador, but I actually came out of the concert struck by something else. During the church choir performance, I caught a glimpse of my favorite local meteorologist, Matt Hinkin, singing heartily from the back row. For the next song, he came out of the group to perform with 3 other guys.
It made me so happy to see him there, because even though I know absolutely nothing about him personally, I've always wondered if he was a Christian. I'd see him on TV and he has this undeniable, familiar warmth about him. It truly sets him apart.
I recall hearing somewhere a term someone had coined as "Jesus eyes", and that has stuck with me. When someone has a close relationship with God, I mean, a REAL love and fellowship with Him, they truly do have a different look about them. It's like an inward glow, softer eyes, a peaceful joy and patience that radiates from somewhere deep inside. I can often spot it before I would even have any reason to suspect that the person might be a Christian, and trust me, these are absolutely the most delightful people to be around.
Matt Hinkin has Jesus eyes, and before yesterday, I'd only seen him through a TV screen. I remember when Don became a Christian... he looked different the very next morning... that hard look about him melted away instantly. I can think of many others who've always had "Jesus eyes" since I've known them, and others who've grown into theirs.
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness..." - 2 Cor 3:18a
Not to take anything away from Salvador, but I actually came out of the concert struck by something else. During the church choir performance, I caught a glimpse of my favorite local meteorologist, Matt Hinkin, singing heartily from the back row. For the next song, he came out of the group to perform with 3 other guys.
It made me so happy to see him there, because even though I know absolutely nothing about him personally, I've always wondered if he was a Christian. I'd see him on TV and he has this undeniable, familiar warmth about him. It truly sets him apart.
I recall hearing somewhere a term someone had coined as "Jesus eyes", and that has stuck with me. When someone has a close relationship with God, I mean, a REAL love and fellowship with Him, they truly do have a different look about them. It's like an inward glow, softer eyes, a peaceful joy and patience that radiates from somewhere deep inside. I can often spot it before I would even have any reason to suspect that the person might be a Christian, and trust me, these are absolutely the most delightful people to be around.
Matt Hinkin has Jesus eyes, and before yesterday, I'd only seen him through a TV screen. I remember when Don became a Christian... he looked different the very next morning... that hard look about him melted away instantly. I can think of many others who've always had "Jesus eyes" since I've known them, and others who've grown into theirs.
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness..." - 2 Cor 3:18a
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