oh yeah, you.

Oh yeah. Blogging. It's been forever since I last posted ... and I think I'm pretty okay with that. Except at this point, I think if you don't have me marked on Google Reader you probably stopped checking this guy, as the last few months of empty checking-ins have led to disappointment no doubt. I think I'm okay with that too : ) I got this survey-deal in my email recently, so decided to pull it out on you all ...

What is your occupation right now? 6th Grade Reading Teacher
What color are your socks right now? Barefoot -- just painted my toenails
What are you listening to right now? Alison Krauss on Pandora Radio
What was the last thing that you ate? Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Can you drive a stick shift? Nope
Last person you spoke to on the phone? Jen Stevenson
How old are you today? 24, and like 10 months : )
What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Sports? uh, on TV? football I guess
Have you ever dyed your hair? Nope (but if I did, I'd go black)
Favorite food? depends on my mood
What is the last movie you watched? re-re-re-watched Best in Show
Favorite day of the year? Christmas Eve (the excitement of Christmas day coming, without it being over as quickly)
How do you vent anger? body language, coupled with either snippy statements or the silent treatment (sadly!)
What was your favorite toy as a child? tie between Barbies and dress-up clothes
What is your favorite season? Autumn by far -- color and temp
Cherries or Blueberries? cherries
Living arrangements? bought my own house
When was the last time you cried? at church on Saturday night when we watched clips from To Kill A Mockingbird (Integrity) and Sophie's Choice (Evil in the World)
What is on the floor of your closet? empty laundry basket
What did you do last night? went out to dinner and hung out with some girlfriends
What are you most afraid of? not-being-enough and being-too-much at the same time -- being rejected
Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Spicy hamburgers with pepper-jack cheese
Favorite dog breed? a toy stuffed dog
Favorite day of the week? Saturday (cause I still have Sunday to look forward to)
How many states have you lived in? one, Illinois
Diamonds or pearls? Mostly always diamonds, but I like how traditional pearls are
What is your favorite flower? lately? tulips

Allerton in Autumn

Several of my friends participated in the Allerton Park Trail Run this past Sunday morning. Not only did I want to cheer them on, but it gave me a good reason to walk around the gardens of the park and enjoy the colorful energy of my favorite season.

Pictures on Picasa Web Albums

Just for fun ...

So, here's a picture of the new bell tower going up on campus.
Resemblance?

The Avett Brothers

Some friends and I went to the Canopy Club Sunday night to see the Avett Brothers perform. This folk-rock trio put on a very good show -- mixin' it up between a lot of different musical styles and innovative sounds, in addition to just the jumping-screaming-smiling kind of energy they wore.

I definitely liked when they'd slow it down a bit, and invite Joe Kwon and his cello to join them. Favorite song is definitely "Weight of Lies" on their Emotionalism album.

Even down to their look, they just have a great style about them. I thought, instead of trying to describe them to you, I'd just post what they wrote under the "bio" link on their website ...

"It costs nothing to be honest, loyal and true."

If you put your ear to the street, you can hear the rumble of the world in motion; people going to and from work, to school, to the grocery store. You may even hear the whisper of their living rooms, their conversation, their complaints, and if you're lucky, their laughter. If you're almost anywhere in America , you'll hear something different, something special, something you recognize but haven't heard in a long time.

It is the sound of a real celebration.
It is not New Year's, and it is not a political convention. It is neither a prime time game-show, nor a music video countdown, bloated with fame and sponsorship. What you are hearing is the love for a music. It is the unbridled outcry of support for a song that sings to the heart, that dances with the soul. The jubilation is in the theaters, the bars, the music clubs, the festivals. The love is for a band.

The songs are honest: just chords with real voices singing real melodies. But, the heart and the energy with which they are sung, is really why people are talking, and why so many sing along.

They are a reality in a world of entertainment built with smoke and mirrors, and when they play, the common man can break the mirrors and blow the smoke away, so that all that's left behind is the unwavering beauty of the songs. That's the commotion, that's the celebration, and wherever The Avett Brothers are tonight, that's what you'll find.

Back to Middle School

The start of another school year.

Same building. Same hours. Same humidity.
New classroom. New team-mates. New content. New kids.
Re-newed love-of-the-game.

my 6th Grade Reading Classroom : )

Saddleback Forum

Did you guys see this over the weekend?

At Saddleback Church in Lake Park, CA, evangelical pastor Dr. Rick Warren (famous for his book, The Purpose Driven Life), interviewed Barack Obama and the John McCain, asking them many moral-based, but intriguing questions including:

What is your (and America's) greatest moral failure?
What's a position you held 10 years ago, that you've since changed your mind on?
What was the most gut-retching decision you've had to make?
What does being a Christian mean to you?
What does your faith look like on a daily basis?
What Supreme Court Justices would you not have appointed?
What's worth committing American lives for?
What will you do to support religious freedom in the world?
What will you do for orphans in the world?

It's a little bit of a time commitment, but definitely worth watching. Yes, as politicians they're of course still going to be "scripted" but because of the nature of the questions, this interview helps you see a little more of the character and convictions of these men.

It's called "Saddleback Forum". It's broken up into 4 parts.
As an American voter, go check it out.

Knots and Amazing Grace

So. It's been a while, huh?

... I just finished reading Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace? In his book, Yancey sets up the dichotomy of "grace" and "ungrace." Unfortunately, as he points out, Christians tend to have a reputation of "ungrace" with the rest of the world -- a reprimanding tone, verses one of love and forgiveness.

Yancey uses politics and world events (and Christians' roles in both) to make sense of this dichotomy. He writes powerfully towards an open-handed grace between Christians and non-believers rather than judgement -- a lesson that I often found lacking in the church I grew up in, but that my current church lives out pretty well. Overall: very interesting, and also a very in-depth conversation ... so much so, I have to admit, I had to skim a little bit here and there.

I fell in love with one word picture of Grace:

"God in heaven holds each person by a string. When you sin, you cut the string. Then God ties it up again, making a knot -- and thereby bringing you a little closer to him. Again and again your sins cut the string -- and with each further knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer" (273).

I think this is precisely what Jesus tried to model as he unashamedly, and unconditionally, spent time with the sinners ... not the saints.

Yancey closes his book by urging his readers to take up radical honesty. Wow. Radical honesty. About ourselves. Our junk, not "theirs." Think about that for a minute. He quotes Lewis Meyer as saying:

"It's the only place I know where status means nothing. Nobody fools anybody else. Everyone is here because he or she made a slobbering mess of his or her life and is trying to put the pieces back together again ... " (276).

He said this about an AA meeting .... but what if this was true of every church you walked into?