I was on such a roll this summer... blogging more... working on consistency and then July hit and I feel like I can't catch up. I had to share my story of the day though...
I went to church this morning and we went through the first couple of songs and things seemed dare I say... business as usual. One of the youth spoke about her mission trip experience and then Giles invited Jonathan Lazenby up to the front. Jonathan had also served on the trip and Giles has known him. Jonathan began to speak and everyone quickly realized he stuttered. My "fix it" personality wanted to help him get it out faster, easier... anything to ease the tension in the room. Jonathan shared how he wasn't a good talker, but he had something to share about how awesome God is. The band then broke into "Awesome God" and Jonathan led everyone with a flawless voice, belting out how awesome God is.
I've heard of stories like this... people who can't speak clearly but can sing as clear as day. But today... hearing it for myself... I was overcome with how awesome God really is... the tension of Jonathan's difficulty speaking completely erased in a pure song of worship.
Sometimes I think it would be "easier" if we saw miracles every day... of course we would never doubt God then, right? I want my faith to grow in the every day moments even without the big miracles. However, I am completely grateful for the moments when I feel completely consumed by God's love and faithfulness... He is enough.
Here's the video that inspired Jonathan's performance:
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
29 things...
In honor of my 29th birthday yesterday I've created a list of 29 things worth holding dear... (inspired by Bill Kirby's "62 things worth holding very dear")
1. faith
2. family
3. friends
4. health
5. soccer
6. FCA
7. forgiveness
8. employment
9. freedom
10. education
11. books
12. movies
13. music
14. shelter
15. technology
16. vacations
17. accountability
18. communication
19. living in the moment
20. honesty
21. working out
22. teaching
23. inspirations
24. birthdays
25. the little things
26. new things
27. learning
28. loyalty
29. hope
I could write a paragraph about each one but I might be 30 by the time I finished and I want to make sure I'm taking advantage of this year... living in the moment right... here goes nothing!
1. faith
2. family
3. friends
4. health
5. soccer
6. FCA
7. forgiveness
8. employment
9. freedom
10. education
11. books
12. movies
13. music
14. shelter
15. technology
16. vacations
17. accountability
18. communication
19. living in the moment
20. honesty
21. working out
22. teaching
23. inspirations
24. birthdays
25. the little things
26. new things
27. learning
28. loyalty
29. hope
I could write a paragraph about each one but I might be 30 by the time I finished and I want to make sure I'm taking advantage of this year... living in the moment right... here goes nothing!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
laugh of the week...
I've been slacking like no other... Better late than never... my laugh of the week:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
where your heart is...
My friend Quinn came and met with our FCA leadership team this past year and shared a cool illustration. (Someone might have to correct me if I get the specifics wrong, but hopefully the principal is the same.) First, she asked us to list our top three concerns or things we worry about. Then she asked us to list three things we want for FCA. She made the connection.. shouldn't the lists overlap? I can't remember exactly what Quinn said that day, but I have been constantly thinking about what my priorities are... and what I'm thinking about... what I'm praying about.
What are your top three priorities? Are those the things that occupy your thoughts? Your prayers? Lately I've been thinking about how that relates to what we're telling everyone else. Before social media really took over we used AIM or AOL Instant Messenger. Everyone had a profile and an away message where we could tell everyone what who we were or what we were doing. Maybe we used a good quote or a bible verse or a countdown for something... whatever it was by placing it there, we made it seem important to all of our "buddies."
Now we have things like facebook and twitter to let everyone know what we're thinking. Facebook asks us "What's on your mind?" and twitter asks "What's happening?" On both sites you have space to insert other profile information. I've been wondering if my updates... if my profile... reflect my priorities. I don't want to fake it and just post things to make it seem like I'm always happy and living a perfect life to make my "friends" and "followers" happy... but it is a heart check. If you read my facebook posts and tweets, could you guess my priorities? Is my faith evident? Do my words match my actions? I want my words... my actions... even my posts... to reflect my heart. What are you posting? Where is your heart?
What are your top three priorities? Are those the things that occupy your thoughts? Your prayers? Lately I've been thinking about how that relates to what we're telling everyone else. Before social media really took over we used AIM or AOL Instant Messenger. Everyone had a profile and an away message where we could tell everyone what who we were or what we were doing. Maybe we used a good quote or a bible verse or a countdown for something... whatever it was by placing it there, we made it seem important to all of our "buddies."
Now we have things like facebook and twitter to let everyone know what we're thinking. Facebook asks us "What's on your mind?" and twitter asks "What's happening?" On both sites you have space to insert other profile information. I've been wondering if my updates... if my profile... reflect my priorities. I don't want to fake it and just post things to make it seem like I'm always happy and living a perfect life to make my "friends" and "followers" happy... but it is a heart check. If you read my facebook posts and tweets, could you guess my priorities? Is my faith evident? Do my words match my actions? I want my words... my actions... even my posts... to reflect my heart. What are you posting? Where is your heart?
Thursday, July 7, 2011
women's soccer in the media...
I'm breaking from the normal routine to write about the Women's World Cup. I know it doesn't interest everyone, but as I've mentioned before I consider myself a pretty big fan of the US Women's National Team (USWNT) and have been tracking them through the tournament.
One of my frustrations with sports in general would be the media's portrayal of events. My profession might even group me in with the media sometimes, but I usually feel more like a liaison between the university and the media and I hope I can represent both sides fairly. I get frustrated when the media are desperate for ratings or readership or maybe just attention and end up making something out of nothing.
Anyone who follows the USWNT knows they didn't take the easy road getting to this year's WWC. They really haven't had the best success in world cups since the always remembered 1999 championship. In reality, the women have only won two of the five cups. The team has won three of four gold medals in the Olympics and the team entered the WWC ranked number one despite dropping two games in 2011 prior to the tournament. I don't think we are the dominant force in women's soccer as I once may have argued. Whether it's parity in the game or the team never recovering from the retirement of the "Fab Five," the USWNT has not been cruising as the media might like everyone to believe.
Therefore... I don't think yesterday's loss to Sweden was a surprise, a wake-up call or a reality check. I was not stunned or shocked. I was disappointed and frustrated, but the media (including print, web and tv) has portrayed it as a huge upset. Sweden is ranked fifth, so in terms of rankings, yes it was an upset, but I'd argue the rankings.
Hope Solo has garnered a lot of attention since her "outburst" after the USWNT 4-0 loss to Brazil in the 2007 WWC. I thought she had a point... I didn't agree with her method. She has since criticized the media (or maybe culture as a whole) for the difference in expectations between men and women.
"People like to keep everything so positive -- like we're the girls next door. We like to do everything together, and all that. Why are we sugarcoating? Just because we're teammates doesn't mean we're all best friends. But that's how women's sport have been portrayed. We're not your girls next door. We have opinions, we have arguments."
One of my frustrations with sports in general would be the media's portrayal of events. My profession might even group me in with the media sometimes, but I usually feel more like a liaison between the university and the media and I hope I can represent both sides fairly. I get frustrated when the media are desperate for ratings or readership or maybe just attention and end up making something out of nothing.
Anyone who follows the USWNT knows they didn't take the easy road getting to this year's WWC. They really haven't had the best success in world cups since the always remembered 1999 championship. In reality, the women have only won two of the five cups. The team has won three of four gold medals in the Olympics and the team entered the WWC ranked number one despite dropping two games in 2011 prior to the tournament. I don't think we are the dominant force in women's soccer as I once may have argued. Whether it's parity in the game or the team never recovering from the retirement of the "Fab Five," the USWNT has not been cruising as the media might like everyone to believe.
Therefore... I don't think yesterday's loss to Sweden was a surprise, a wake-up call or a reality check. I was not stunned or shocked. I was disappointed and frustrated, but the media (including print, web and tv) has portrayed it as a huge upset. Sweden is ranked fifth, so in terms of rankings, yes it was an upset, but I'd argue the rankings.
Hope Solo has garnered a lot of attention since her "outburst" after the USWNT 4-0 loss to Brazil in the 2007 WWC. I thought she had a point... I didn't agree with her method. She has since criticized the media (or maybe culture as a whole) for the difference in expectations between men and women.
"People like to keep everything so positive -- like we're the girls next door. We like to do everything together, and all that. Why are we sugarcoating? Just because we're teammates doesn't mean we're all best friends. But that's how women's sport have been portrayed. We're not your girls next door. We have opinions, we have arguments."
Her argument is a completely separate blog... but just reinforces my point we have some issues to address with the media. Since the WWC began, Solo mentioned getting painkillers for her shoulder and everyone jumped on it thinking they had found a weakness. She's recovered from surgery, but Solo finally got tired of everyone questioning her and assured ESPN viewers she was fine and it wouldn't affect her performance. Leading up to the match against Sweden the media jumped on Abby Wambach and Heather O'Reilly missing pre-game practices. Wambach still played a full 90 on Wednesday and after being questioned after the game Wambach said (paraphrased) "I keep saying I'm going to play every minute of this tournament and no one believes me." Why do we have to make something out of nothing?
Before the USWNT's first game of the tournament, head coach Pia Sundhage switched the lineup starting Lauren Cheney instead of Megan Rapinoe. The media jumped on it almost trying to start drama. Cheney scored and celebrated with the bench, perhaps putting the issue to rest. Instead in the second game Rapinoe entered as a sub and scored with the announcer, Ian Darke, shouts, "Rapinoeee... ohh there's an answer to the coach!" Yes, everyone is fighting for playing time. Yes, Rapinoe would probably prefer to start. But I feel like the media would love to create some dissension and let the USWNT be a Jersey Shore spin-off.
I know the old saying, "any publicity is good publicity" and I'm sure the USWNT follows it to some extent. It's been awhile since a women's sports team took over the nation like it did in 1999. I get that... but I still don't want to sell out.
Before the USWNT's first game of the tournament, head coach Pia Sundhage switched the lineup starting Lauren Cheney instead of Megan Rapinoe. The media jumped on it almost trying to start drama. Cheney scored and celebrated with the bench, perhaps putting the issue to rest. Instead in the second game Rapinoe entered as a sub and scored with the announcer, Ian Darke, shouts, "Rapinoeee... ohh there's an answer to the coach!" Yes, everyone is fighting for playing time. Yes, Rapinoe would probably prefer to start. But I feel like the media would love to create some dissension and let the USWNT be a Jersey Shore spin-off.
I know the old saying, "any publicity is good publicity" and I'm sure the USWNT follows it to some extent. It's been awhile since a women's sports team took over the nation like it did in 1999. I get that... but I still don't want to sell out.
Monday, July 4, 2011
laugh of the week...
I honestly tried to find something related to the 4th of July so I could be current and relevant... but I failed. Instead you get some bathroom humor... but I can't help but laugh...
Sunday, July 3, 2011
more...
Random rant or observation of the weekend... Sometimes I think we downplay our faith so as not to scare anyone off or to appear more "cool" or maybe we're embarrassed. I never want to shove my faith down anyone's throat, however, I do want to make sure I stand up for what I believe in. I want to be proud of what God has done for me and if I'm really moved by who He is in my life... how can I downplay that? Sometimes I still find myself settling for less when I know He's called me to more.
"The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time." — Francis Chan
Friday, July 1, 2011
love in the wild...
Guilty pleasure... reality tv. I know it's silly. I know sometimes it's even staged. There's just something about escaping from my own "reality" into someone else's reality.
I'm boycotting ABC's Expedition Impossible as a rip-off of The Amazing Race, but I had to tune in (or rather DVR) NBC's Love in the Wild. For some reason I thought it was couples dropped in the middle of the jungle to complete challenges similar to Amazing Race, but it's 20 complete strangers (10 men and 10 women) dropped off in the middle of the jungle and paired up for challenges. The other twist is the women chose their partners in the first episode, but after the challenge, the teams were ranked first to last and each guy had first dibs at choosing to stay with his current partner or choose a new partner. The last man and woman not chosen were eliminated. Perhaps it would be easier to watch than me try to explain... but let's just say I appreciated the new concept in a world of summer television that seems to have already been done.
The critics are not loving the show... ok I'm not sure who else would love the show... but what else would we expect during the summer at 10 pm? A gift compliments of TVguide.com is: The 10 Dumbest Things Said on the Premiere of 'Love in the Wild'
10. "I'm a self-proclaimed meathead, myself." — Dawn (But what does she have to say about her own redundancy?)
9. "It's kind of like being in an ice cream shop. There's just so many flavors!" — Heather (This show is tearing down civilization. Soon people will want to marry ice cream cones.)
8. "I just met Mike like two hours ago and here we are! I honestly feel like I've known him for ... months and months." — Samantha (Months are a long time!)
7. "I'm ready to kiss and get down!" — Samantha (Just FYI: Samantha, a ringer for Rock of Love 2's Kristy Jo, was the biggest purveyor of closed-mouth kissing on the episode.)
6. "Building the raft was horrible. I want to get on the Internet and Google 'how to build a raft,' because I don't want to look like a pansy." — Miles (Some would argue that the impulse to Google such a thing is already a sign of pansydom.)
5. "I've seen movies where ants end up eating people alive. I hope those ants aren't in Costa Rica." — Jason (They are. And so is that giant ant from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, as you will find in the upcoming shrinking challenge.)
4. "My thighs were on fire, burning so hard. But I mean, hey, I just met this girl. I don't want to complain about my groin being sore." -- Miles (Note: Complaining about his groin being sore was exactly what he did.)
3. "Before my checklist was like, OK, you gotta be hot, you have to be funny, you have to have a good personality, you have to be hot. I know I'm only 26 years old, but my biological clock is ticking and so my checklist has definitely changed and there's still in there hot, but not as much." — Vanessa (So, wait: hot or not?)
2. "I live in San Francisco, but I definitely think it's a dead zone in terms of single men. I don't know where all the men are hiding there!" — Heather (Probably in gay bars.)
1. "I'm looking for someone to spend the rest of my life with." — Vanessa (Clearly, reality TV is the perfect place for that! Things always work out so well on these things!!!)
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