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I’m up late thanks to Third Day

I’m presently sitting with Tim and watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno because Third Day is appearing on the program tonight.  This will make the second night in a row I’ve been up late related to Third Day!  Last night I was finishing up and publishing a review of their newest album, Revelation, which released today.

You can read that review here, btw.

Of course, I have another project due tomorrow, so I probably shouldn’t be staying up, but, hey, I’m already here!  In case you missed it, they’re singing “Call My Name” and it’s a part of this video about the making of Revelation.

That “something pretty cool” I promised to tell you

last week:

I confirmed yesterday that I’m going to participate in something pretty cool when I go to the National Youth Workers Convention, and it is worthy of a post all it’s own.  Watch for that soon.

‘Tis true.  YS is going crazy with interactive stuff for the NYWC (check out the website because they just keep adding more stuff), and one of the things I know about because I’m participating is they’ve recruited a team of bloggers to document the event live.  I’m pretty excited about that, as I’ve enjoyed blogging about the conventions I’ve attended previously, and it’s cool that YS is being intentional about covering a bunch of the seminars as well as the general sessions to add to the large number of attendees who will personally blog.  It will be interesting to see it all play out, and I’m excited to be part of the team making that happen for the Pittsburgh event.

But wait, there’s more to the “something pretty cool” and it’s the part I just confirmed last week (I’ve known about the live-blogging for a bit longer).  I’m going to be both blogging and participating in a brand new training event being offered before the convention called Real World Parents.  The best part, imo, is that RWP isn’t only a training event for me, but will give me the opportunity to present RWP seminars.  I love the concept of equipping parents and youth workers to about a child/student’s discipleship together in a syngergistic way. (it’s not a competition, really!)  It certainly answers a cry of my own heart as a parent and a youth worker to see the Kingdom grow within and around families.

What it’s about:

Real World Parents seminar …

• is a program that gives hope, vision, encouragement and practical skills for parents to help their families grow in Christ and accomplish his purpose for us on earth.
• is a program that will help your local church dynamically reach out to your community, and strengthen families in your church body.
• is designed to work in the Real World we live in and is not based on artificial or unrealistic spiritual goals.
• starts where you are as a family whether you are continuing a spiritual legacy or beginning one.
• can help your children develop Godly wisdom in their lives.
• can help your family become generous and loving in your community as you share the good news of Christ with others.

If a seminar like RWP sounds like something you would like to know more about hosting at your church (starting in Spring 2009), shoot me an email or leave a comment. You can explore more of the information about the seminar here on the RWP website. And, of course, you can stay tuned here for live blogging about the training itself.

See, I told you it was pretty cool!

Being known, being thankful

Do you like gifts?  Most people like to receive gifts, some people are all about giving gifts.  I really enjoy receiving simple gifts that the giver is joyful about giving.  Crayon pictures from children and smiles from babies kind of joyful giving, know what I mean?  Those sort of gifts are all about love.

In the gift-giving department, I love to find a gift that expresses how I know a person, that will represent my caring for them.  I like to give it to them personally; preferably not as part of a pile of party gifts.  I deplore that gift opening frenzy that is part of most children’s parties precisely because it steals something from the exchange.  What does it steal? Thankfulness.

I received some of those joyfully-given gifts recently.  Some of the gift-givers were so excited about the gifts that they couldn’t wait even for the appointed day, but gave them to me as soon as possible.  A few weeks ago, my husband bounded in the door after work calling “close your eyes!” and presented me with a program from the Subway Series weekend at Shea Stadium, along with the 2008 Mets Yearbook (he’d asked a co-worker who was attending to bring them back).  A very cool surprise.

My daughter never wants to wait to give a gift.  She puts so much thought into what she wants to give, frequently gives sacrificially, and gets super-excited with anticipation - it’s hard for her to wait.  She recently gave me a clear snap-on case for my laptop; it was intended for my birthday, but it was given weeks ahead of time because she was so excited.  I really like the case, but I love her thoughtful enthusiasm more!

Saturday evening, the guys in the house decided it was time for me to receive their gifts.  (It still wasn’t my birthday, but they couldn’t wait any longer!)  Again, thoughtful, simple gifts that reflected that I’d been heard (a book I’d mentioned in a blog post), and was known (an autographed baseball) expressed caring to me.  So did the approximately 5 gazillion email, twitter and facebook birthday wishes - even a couple of paper cards! - a little overwhelming, but so appreciated.

I am so thankful for these expressions of knowing.  I don’t like having a “big deal” made over me in 99.9% of situations, but I think it’s important for people to celebrate the relationships they have with people, to demonstrate that there is something authentic, apprehended and appreciated, between individuals.  I don’t think that kind of thing needs to wait for birthdays and anniversaries, arrivings and leavings, or occasions in general… they can happen on those days (and do most often) or everyday or, rather, any day in the simplest of ways.

So, my birthday wish?  I hope that you will show someone through something simple that you know them, that you have joy in your relationship with them, and that you’re thankful for them.  Today.

Love is extravagant like that.

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Randy Pausch lived his life with joy

I first posted the below last April when I learned about Randy Pausch’s amazing way of communicating his life and passion to his children.

The Last Lecture: A Love Story for Your Life

What would you say if you knew you were going to die and had a chance to sum up everything that was most important to you?

Watch this… do it… take the time… I’m not kidding.

So, what would you say if you knew you were going to die soon (we’re all going to die, just like we’re all paying taxes)? How would you sum up what is most important to you?

Randy Pausch died early this morning. What an amazing example of the ability of one person to impact the world with passion. What is the passion with which you want to impact the world?

search term: “anglican”

There have been quite a few visits to this blog recently via an internet search for “anglican”.  Of course, there are posts here with that tag.  However, this isn’t an “Anglican blog” but a blog written by a Christian person who has grown up in the Anglican tradition.  That said, I’ve lost heart entirely for blogging about the Anglican wars or whatever you want to call them. To be honest, I’ve lost faith that the people who are “in charge” can solve this, because we live in a time that values compromise and some things must not change.  I really want to care, but I’m not hanging on or parsing their every word.  It’s a God-sized problem, and it will take divine intervention to set it right.

That said, if you are looking for posts about the on-going Lambeth Conference, I suggest following the content at Titusonenine and Stand Firm, where they are both present at Lambeth and collecting links from blogging bishops and global news media.

Let’s see…

Those of you who read this site via RSS won’t see any difference in posts coming to your reader or email inbox, but if you’re a surfer, you will.  Last night, in an additional apptempt to figure out why certain strange code behaviors are causing my content to be inserted in different places in the feed timeline than their actual post date, I changed the template hoping to get “fixed” code in the process.  We shall see.

In other news:

Yesterday saw the completion of the supplemental paperwork (again) for Tim’s college financial aid.  Now we wait and keep praying that there may be additional aid available to him.  We’re confident that God will provide, and we’re thankful that he already has in a receptive and helpful financial aid counselor.  I wish the process was simpler, I can imagine there are folks who have a far harder time with it than we have because of the complexity.

I’ve got some editing on writing projects of varying proportions on my task list that need completing.  It’s just a matter of carving out the space and receiving the grace to get them finished.  Working from your living room can be a little complicated like that.  In a few weeks, though, I’ll have the opportunity to claim a room in our home as an office.  Our friend who has been living with us (in that room) for the past 3 years is planning to move at the end of the month.  We’re happy for her in getting to that place, and we regain a room at just the right time.

I confirmed yesterday that I’m going to participate in something pretty cool when I go to the National Youth Workers Convention, and it is worthy of a post all it’s own.  Watch for that soon.

OK, time for another cup of coffee and to settle into some work space!

Lurking

Have you ever sensed, that something big was lurking over the horizon?  I mean “sensed” in either a positive or negative way.  It’s a feeling of uncertainty about what will happen next, igniting the imagination, unsettling fears, releasing the adrenaline of anticipation, and sometimes even dread.

I’ve been thinking today about the about the difference between anticipation and dread, and how they connect to faith.  Of course, there are occurrences in life that release both excited anticipation and fearful dread, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes individually, sometimes serially.

I don’t really have a fully developed thought here, just sharing something that was rolling around in my head today.  I welcome your additions to the mix.

39 years ago today

39 years ago today I was a very small girl of 4 years sitting on the living room floor where my mother ordered me to be in front of a television.  This is what I saw:

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Thanks, mom, for making me watch. I just got to show this video to my daughter, we were watching the movie made about Apollo 13, and it was very cool to show her “the real thing”.

Important questions

Our 2 days of Parent Orientation were full of seminars designed to answer the “burning questions” asked by lots of parents who are sending their kids to Saint Rose.  Many of the questions were about navigating Saint Rose systems like finances, safety systems, schedules, academic help, dorm rules, and meal plans.  Pretty routine items, all of which are also covered in the handy-dandy parent handbook they put in our lemon yellow bags of orientation info.

One of the most interesting “non-handbook” seminars was on internet security and privacy issues.  This was a parents only seminar (the students were elsewhere talking about diversity, drugs & alcohol and playing rock-paper-scissors).  I was floored at the real lack of understanding among fellow parents of how the internet works, what social networking is, and how it can impact a person.  The seminar was helpful for most, I think, because it opened the parents’ eyes to the existence of social networks, and gave insight into facebook in particular.  I have to say, though, I was left with a sinking feeling about many of the people in the room’s understanding of the presence their kids have on the web - it means they aren’t overseeing their kids’ internet use and safety; they were analog parents in a digital world.  The scariest part of that realization for me was that as they’re sending kids off to college is really too late to seriously influence their teenagers’ behavior on a technology they know far more about than their parents.

Parents: How are you involved in your teenagers’ cyber-life? What are resources you’ve found helpful in learning about internet issues, both the pluses and the minuses of the web’s social world? Are you communicating with your teenagers about those pluses and minuses?

Youth workers: We tend to be more involved online with the youth in our groups than most parents are.  How are you resourcing students, parents and families, if at all, about how social sites work, and the good and bad aspects of using them?

Getting oriented

For the next two days Tim, Tom and I will be attending parallel parent and new student orientation days at The College of Saint Rose.  You can see the schedule of events Tom and I are in for here; Tim’s schedule includes evening events tonight as well.

Our big quest is to get the shockingly full-priced tuition bill adjusted with the scholarships he was offered.  They’d suddenly gone “poof” between our last visit on Accepted Students Day and the time the bill arrived last weekend.  Yeah, that needs fixing.