My Ode to Finals

The Homework Machine, oh the Homework Machine
Most perfect contraption that's ever been seen.
Just put in your homework, then drop in a dime,
Snap on the switch, and in ten seconds time,
Your homework comes out, quick and clean as can be.
Here it is - "nine plus four?" and the answer is "three."
Three?
Oh me...
I guess it's not as perfect
As I thought it would be.

- Shel Silverstein

I gave a speech on this when I was in fourth grade in front of our whole school. Now, 16 years later, I still want a homework machine.
Any takers?
New Testament final on Friday, Ecclesiastes paper due on Monday, Pastoral Care final on Monday and then Systematics Oral Exam on Tuesday
Oh where is my homework machine?

My Muse

It's a beautiful, cold Saturday morning and I'm staring at my computer trying to finish up my systematics paper. Systematic theology is trying to place an order to theology, recognizing that one way of thinking draws upon your view of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God, the church, sin/grace, etc in a circular motion. Your theology should connect in a manner that does not contradict itself at one point...if it does, it's time to think some more.
So for my systematics paper I'm writing a paper on the Amish community in Pennsylvania that forgave the killer of the little girls in the schoolhouse. In my research, I've learned a lot about the Amish community and found a greater admiration of their lifestyle and commitment to a belief system that is not just words but a shaping of an ethical life. For the Amish, belief is not separate from actions...rather one's actions inform the community about your beliefs.
I think that my problem with finishing up this paper right now is because I've become very committed to the process and this paper. I don't want it to be bad because it is very important and full of implications to how the church should change and become transformed.
In hopes that I would do better with some inspiration, I've been listening to the Indigo Girls this morning. My professor, Dr. Don Saliers, is the father of Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls...so my hope is that his parenting of her, which undoubtedly influenced her songwriting, is going to be my muse for this paper. Perhaps by listening to Emily I'll figure out what Dr. Saliers would say on this situation and think of critiques and arguments from the other position.
I really do enjoy paper writing - I just wish that I had more time to do it sometimes.
Next week, I'll be doing research for a paper about the presence and function of "toil" in the book of Ecclesiastes. What will be my muse for that paper?

A Tailgating Thanksgiving

This is a tale of a family. A family that grew a little larger after a wedding and another wedding and then a baby.

This tale does not occur on any given day though - that might be a bit too normal for this family. No this tale happens on Thanksgiving Day. Most families have some sort of tradition on Thanksgiving Day, whether it be breaking the wishbone at a certain time, playing cards in the family room, watching or playing football, or watching hours of TV as the pumpkin pie continues to bake to perfection. My family's only Thanksgiving tradition was to be flexible. I haven't been to Fayetteville for Thanksgiving in 6 years...but the last two have been spent in Atlanta, GA. Last year, Kayleigh came in utero. This year, our baby was alive and well for her first Thanksgiving. It was a Thanksgiving like none other, only to be matched if Chevy Chase and his crew ever did a National Lampoons Does Thanksgiving. Just like any good story...it must be told and become a legend. The legend of the Tailgating Thanksgiving.

(As a brief side note and distraction: Doesn't Kayleigh just look adorable right now?! She has four teeth and I fed her table food during our Thanksgiving dinner. She's crawling and pretty soon is going to be talking and walking. Plus when she wakes up from sleeping she doesn't really cry but just stands in her play pen, looks around and smiles with a look that says, "Okay I'm up! It's playtime!" Absolutely adorable!)

Thanksgiving Day, Atlanta, GA

The morning began with the lovely chirp of my niece in her playpen as she awoke, ready to play, drink a bottle, and have her diaper changed. After some quality time playing with the stacking cups, ripping some magazines and watching a little bit of her first Thanksgiving Day parade, Allen and Hannah arrived to take her back to her hotel and then head on out to get ready for our feast.

Mom and Dad call around 2pm saying that they are finally in Atlanta. I go to their hotel, pick them up and then travel on over to our Thanksgiving destination: The Embassy Suites in Shady (Sandy) Springs, GA. My sister's father-in-law and his new wife were staying at the hotel for some business travel and hearing that we would all be in Atlanta decided to host us at the hotel for Thanksgiving. While we drove down the Indy 500 (a.k.a I-285 in Atlanta), Allen (my brother-in-law) called us from the roof of the hotel. What?! They got on the roof of the hotel to cook the Thanksgiving Day turkey?! This was going to be crazier than expected. Arriving at the hotel, we learn that Allen really meant the roof of the hotel parking deck, where we spent the afternoon watching Rob (my sister's father-in-law) finish up grilling the turkey.

Here is a picture of us with our set-up on top of the hotel parking deck. Rob brought the huge grill in his pickup truck, let down the bed of the truck, and grilled his heart out. Allen had his SUV up there so that in between the two cars Kayleigh could get away from the sun. I had a running bet with friends from school on what kind of beer would be located in the inevitably full coolers. Unfortunately we all shot a little low as the first thing in my hand as we rolled up to the parking deck was a Budweiser Select: The King of Beers and the King of the Tailgating Thanksgiving.

Rob did a fine job finishing the grilling of the turkey as everyone else hung out. Diane (Rob's wife) made some mashed potatoes and because she didn't have a strainer, she and Hannah strained the mashed potatoes over the side of the parking deck. I hope that no one was looking up at that moment! Look out below! There's a waterfall of potatoe water! Coincidence that they cleaned the windows the next day...hmmm...

Next on the list of hilarious moments of the day was when Diane wanted to have some wine to drink. However, we were in a hotel parking deck and therefore without any glasses to consume alcoholic beverages from...unless they came pre-canned (beer is so smart). So what do you do in a situation like this? Rob takes out his pocket-knife, picks up his Dasani water bottle, cuts it in half and voi-la! Automoatic wine glass! Diane drinks happily from her new wine holder.

Rob finishes up with the turkey and petitions Allen to help him remove it from the grill. Upon removal, the turkey is placed on the bed of the pick up truck before we carry it inside for our meal. Kayleigh's stroller is loaded up with lots of food, plates, tupperware and other necessary items for a Thanksgiving Tailgate!

Finally it's time to eat our turkey. We go inside to the hotel lobby and set up our Thanksgiving spread over a couple of tables and push some more tables together for our meal. Some of the food has cooled off so we cart certain food items up 9 flights of stairs in the elevator to heat it in the hotel microwave. I brought out the fine Chinet platter plates for the occassion and Mom contributed some essentials from Cracker Barrell. Rob carves the turkey, Kayleigh gets a high-chair and we start to eat in the hotel lobby. Unfortunately, no one joined us even though plenty of people walked by, including hotel staff. We had plenty of wine, beer, and food to go around...it could have been a Thanksgiving for all!

About 45 minutes later, folks start finishing up their Thanksgiving Dinner and Mom packs things up in her tupperware containers for leftovers. Rob shakes his head saying, "Katherine, we're not going to graze on the food all afternoon. I'm not used to a Thanksgiving where we eat and then pack it all up." In my head I think, "I'm not used to a Thanksgiving where we cook a turkey on the top of a hotel parking deck."

However, the fortunate part about having Thanskgiving in a hotel is cocktail hour - free drinks from 5:30 - 7:30.

It was a Thanksgiving to remember.

(In this last picture, the only reason that I'm as tall as everyone is because I stood on a ledge...so sneaky!)

Adventures in Babysitting

I like children a lot. Therefore, this semester I have been babysitting a lot. It's fun to hang out with the kids, play with Play Do, sing silly songs, and have funny conversations.
Well last week, I was watching James and Charlotte, two kids that I see probably once a week. We were at the dinner table and James and I had one of the most interesting conversastions. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Sara: James, please eat your green beans.

James: But they're making my tummy scratchy.

Sara: Well why don't you just eat four or five more of them. Once you eat them you get to have some macaroni and cheese.

James: But my tummy is scratchy. Maybe I need to go to the hospital and get a tube put in me.

Sara: What will they do with the tube?

James: They will take out my poop.

Sara: Oh really?

James: Yeah. And at the hospital, that's where they have the babies that you get to pick out.

Sara: What do you mean?

James: Little babies are at the hospital and big people come by to pick out which baby they want.

Sara: So people don't just keep their own babies?

James: No. Babies are adopted.

Sara: Oh yes this is very true. Some babies are adopted. Some mommies and daddies though have the babies and then want to keep their own, like you and Charlotte.

James: (Pause to think about this for a moment to check my accuracy) Yes this makes sense. So then why are there other babies?

Sara: Well sometimes a big person has a baby and they decide that they aren't going to be able to be the best mommy or daddy for that baby. So they put it up for adoption for another big person to take care of the baby.

James: Okay. That makes sense. So the big person didn't like the baby?

Sara: No. The big person actually loved the baby so much that they realized that they needed to let someone else take care of the baby.

James: Oh. So what happens when two big people don't like each other?

Sara: (a little laugh) Well it is different for different situations. But most of the time big people are old enough to be able to take care of themselves so they can go and live somewhere else if they don't like the other big person.

James: Oh.

Sara: Okay, please eat your green beans now.

Throughout the conversation I was horrified that James was going to ask me where the babies come from...I had NO CLUE how I was going to respond to that! His mom was in the other room and she said that she had a great time listening to the flow of the conversation. Apparently Sesame Street that morning was about adoption.
This just goes to show that apparently children do listen a lot and take in everything around them. Good lesson to learn for all of us!
The next day, I taught James about football.

Travel Time

I just received an email from USAirways that my account has been inactive for too long and in order to not lose my miles I need to take a trip.
I LOVE it when someone tells me that I need to take a trip!
So here's the hard part: where do I go? It's a trip that will be paid for free as long as it is in the continental United States.
Here are my initial thoughts:
- go somewhere where it would be really expensive to buy the plane ticket otherwise
- go somewhere where I won't have to rent a car
- go to a state that I haven't visited yet so that I can mark it off my list - these states include:
Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregan, Nevada
Although honestly, I'd be willing to go against any of these rules if anyone has a great idea!
So let me hear em...let's plan my next adventure!

The back up is that I use this flight to fly out to Arizona to white water raft the Colorado River...anybody ready to go with me on this?!

....

"For it is only framed in space that beauty blooms. Only in space are events and objects and people unique and significant - and therefore beautiful. A tree has significance if one sees it against the empty face of sky. A note in music gains significance from the silences on either side. A candle flowers in the space of night. Even small and casual things take on significance if they are washed in space, like a few autumn grasses in one corner of an Oriental painting, the rest of the page bare."
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh Gift from the Sea

As Candace and I drove last week from Chicago to Atlanta, space engulfed us at points. Space is the norm in the huge farms of the midwest, where a neighbor is a mile away and the nearest grocery store is a 30 minute drive. Along I-77 at night, the space and silence of the mountains provided us with a beautiful vision of the sky, lite with stars and inviting to questions of what's beyond.

Space holds two tensions in the literal and theoretical meaning, providing plenty of room while fearing loneliness. Anne Morrow Lindbergh creates an image of space where the freedom and vastness provide release instead of constriction, grace instead of rejection, and room to grow into your own being.

We all need our space...sometimes it's just hard to get there and even harder to live in it.

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...No, it's...

I dig Superheroes.

Throughout this past year, Superheroes have crept into my life a lot more than usual. Perhaps it's happening all over the United States since films are re-appearing featuring our favorite comic book characters. Two Spiderman movies introduced me to the world of web making. Batman Begins chronicled the foundation of Batman, showing that money also posseses super powers. The new Superman movie, just released on Wednesday, revealed what happens after Superman left Lois Lane to try and find his home. Returning to my apartment after the Superman movie, I discovered in the mail a Wonder Woman shirt my mom bought me.

The Superheroes fascinate me on many levels. You have amazing story lines as characters struggle with being normal in a world while also possessing powers. A friend of mine explained to me that often their alter egos are truly the characters that they want to be. Superheroes cannot rest, very rarely not wanting to resist a call of help. In the new movie, Superman traveled to many continents all in one night rescuing people and providing hope for the communities. Not only are Superheroes amazing for their committment to restore justice and equality, but they also have the ability to fly, jump from building to building, hear everything, and hold large items. However, there is the drawback that "With great power comes great responsibility." The weight of the world is on their shoulders, both figuratively and literaly. Where was I for the last quarter of a century of my life to not be influenced by Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, or Batman?

In my new search, I took a poll to figure out which superhero I am. Here are my results:
Your results:
You are Iron Man

Iron Man 100% Superman 95% The Flash 80% Wonder Woman 75% Spider-Man 70% Robin 65% Green Lantern 65% Supergirl 60% Catwoman 45% Batman 40% Hulk 40%

Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

I am resisting this Superhero, wanting to have a more well known figure to connect with. Beth says that this is my first step of being a Superhero, to resist who I am and not be willing to face it. I will continue with this struggle. Until then I am Super Sara...aunt, seminarian, volunteer, nerd, daughter, and friend.

A Quarter of a Century

My life is now worth 25 cents if your years equalled one penny. On Friday, June 9th, I turned 25 years old, completing my quarter of a cenutry turn with ease and great fun. My birthday has never really been that big of a deal for me, probably because I was always at ASP or all of my friends were gone on vacation. However, this year, my friends took on the challenge of giving me the best birthday experiences (yes plural) ever! Not only were these days of fun and excitement, but it also showed me how much my friends really knew who I was. Let's review the weekend...

Saturday June 3rd
Ladies' Weekend in Charlotte, NC with my college ladies Emma, Jean, Brittney, and Melissa. Much to my surprise that evening we have a birthday party - better known as a surprise birthday party. To plan for the event, my friends had to bank on the fact that I would be willing to volunteer to walk the dog and go to the grocery store...all things that I volunteered to do with much excitement. I'm so predictable! The party involved chocolate cake (a must for me), girly drinks, laughter, and Sex in the City. It was a lovely night and a great kick off to my week of birth!

Friday June 9th
At the request of my Atlanta group of ladies (Candace, Dana and Beth), I return to the apartment around noon and we set off for our adventures. To add to the element of surprise, I am blindfolded between each of our stops and asked a series of birthday questions so that I won't figure out where we are going next. The questions were wonderful (see Dana's blog for more details www.well-yah.blogspot.com) and made me really reflect upon the year in funny and serious ways. Our first stop was Dairy Queen where I ate a foot long chili, cheese and mustard hot dog and had a hot fudge sundae. A tiara was placed on my head as we traveled to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History for the Chocolate exhibit (my personal heaven) and to play with the huge baths of bubbles. Our next stop took us downunder to an Austrailian Bakery in East Atlanta. We ate our snacks as we sat in front of a picture of Sydney...the place that I most wanted to visit this year for my birthday. Finally, we ended up at Agnes and Muriel's for a lovely dinner and great laughter and conversation. The day was adventorous, fun, childlike, adult-y, creative, and fun!

Sunday, June 11th
All birthdays must come to an end and mine finally did a week and a half after first starting the celebration. My Atlanta friends gathered together at Candace's house to enjoy chocolate cake and lasagna (do we notice a theme here yet?). One of my favorite birthday presents was revealed as Jay played a song that he and Dana had written for me. One day when I figure out how to post songs, I will put it on here. Or maybe I'll just post the lyrics. It was hilarious and made me cry because I was laughing so hard!

My birthday this year was wonderful as friends, both old and new, gathered around to show me how much they loved me. I'm not so sure that I could have thought of a better way to celebrate my quarter of a century of life. It's amazing to have the kinds of friends who know you so well that conversations and laughter flow regardless of the time spent apart or the other parts of life that consistently tug at your heart and call for your attention. I love them all and am constantly grateful that they are around in my life.

My Inward Turn

Today we had our final exam in our Christian Thought class. It spanned about 500 years of history - from the Reformation to now. Our professor, Dr. Pacini, used art to explain many of the movements and different theologies. One of the main themes of this art was looking at what people saw when they turned inward or looked into a mirror. Initially, they saw the light of Christ and reflected on God. I liked to call this portion of class "It's not about you...it's about God." Next, theologians became influenced by society and the inward turn reflected our images of our self rather than God. This portion is affectionately known in my notes as "You're so vain...you probably think theology's about you." Finally, we look into the mirror and see a distorted image of ourself and therefore look again towards God...what I call "Back to life...back to reality."

In honor of my test and my inward turn, I decided to wear a Superman t-shirt today. Hopefully the power of Superman infected my pen and helped me pass my test. My professor thought it was funny that my inward turn reflected Superman - what would YOU call it?

Joy to the World

These last couple of weeks have been very hectic and crazy. However, here are some moments of joy and peace that I wanted to share with you all:

- Becoming comfortable with just sitting with a person and not needing to talk - it truly is a discipline for me but one that I have grown to love and appreciate and actually need
- There is just something about watching couples walk together in the summertime that makes me love LOVE. I don't know what it is, but in that moment of being out in the open and just enjoying each other's company, sharing conversation, talking about nature, and walking hand in hand or step in step I feel like two people become more open. So I love driving down the road or walking down the street by myself and seeing others in companionship. It makes me happy for them.
- Another thing that I love is the smell of rain in the springtime. It smells so fresh yet so damp - rejuvenating and restoring - renewing and refreshing. Better than just the smell of rain is sitting outside under a tin roof, drinking coffee with friends, and listening to the rain fall around us.
- Writing a paper that is more of a process for myself rather than for an academic grade.
- Being with friends in laughter, dancing, storytelling, card playing, coffee drinking, paper writing, moving, studying and silence.

I do love the southland in the springtime!

My New Addiction...

Hi. My name is Sara. I'm addicted to silence.

During this lenten season as part of our discipline, some friends and I sat together in silence every Monday, meditating, reading, drawing, writing, watching a candle. We sat in a room, blocking out all of the noises of life, all of the distractions, and all of the voices calling us in different directions. Each time we left, I felt bombarded by the constant clatter of life - the traffic, conversations, horn honking. Silence left me renewed and the instant noise stripped that away from me.

It's amazing how much more aware you are of the world around you when you are in silence. Last year when I was taking sign language classes, I learned about how a person who is deaf has stronger senses than we do because they have to rely upon them more fully. I believe it now. Maundy Thursday I watched in silence as the sanctuary was stripped of all that represented the life of Jesus. Silence heightened the activity as every member scurried about to prepare the sanctuary and their souls for what was about to happen. We had washed each other's feet, taken communion and now it was time for us to sit in silence and hold the tension within our hearts, hold the pain and suffering, and the sadness that comes with Maundy Thursday.

Yesterday, Dana and I went to hear Bishop Peter Storey preach at a church in Decatur. Throughout his sermon, Bishop Storey reflected upon suffering and peace - how to live with both within your life. At one point he said, "Maybe we make loud noises to block out the fear." Words of wisdom from a wise man. Silence makes us listen to that still, small voice and find what is at the root of our sadness, pain, fear, joy, excitement, and hope. Within silence it is hard to cover anything up, because no distractions keep us from listening. While we can still reject listening to the voice, it is within the silence that we listen best.

What are my fears? What are ways that I can respond to those? What am I doing to block those out of my life? Once I recognize them, what can I do about them?

My silent search continues.

Aunt Sara

Qualifications to being a cool aunt include the following:
- funny
- able to teach you about basketball
- read books and sing songs to you
- dance funny dances
- love you and hug you and hold you and rock you

February 18, 2006 - I decided it was time to become a cool aunt. Well I guess it really had nothing to do with me and more to do with my sister and her husband. But hey, I have to think that in their qualifications of wanting to have children they considered the coolness of my aunthood.
Kayleigh Elizabeth Collect is absolutely beautiful and one of the most precious babies I have met! Here are some things that I learned, or at least remembered about babies...
- As Toby in the West Wing so intuitively points out, babies come with hats. Kayleigh has lots of them and she looks cute in all of them.
- When a baby smiles at you, the world around you melts.
- James Taylor songs and hymns are really good to soothe a baby to sleep.

Everyone is doing a fantastic job with their new roles. Mom is taking lots of pictures and creating many Creative Memories books for her granddaughter to remember everything about her first couple of months. Dad is enjoying having a new baby to hold and he loves rocking her to sleep. Hannah is waking up at all times of the night to soothe her daughter while always maintaining love for her new family member. It is just lovely all around!

Here are some really cute pictures so that everyone can enjoy the beautiful baby...
Kayleigh with me and Dad. Kayleigh is all smiles!

Funny Stuff

While watching the Carolina/Clemson game on Saturday, there was a moment when the ball was being knocked around like a hot potatoe game. The announcer then made a reference to how it looked like a Quidditch match and the ball had a mind of it's own. Did someone really just put together Harry Potter with Carolina basketball?! That was awesome!

Kezia, a 6 year old that I babysit, told me a great joke on Thursday:
Kezia: Sara, can I tell you a joke?
me: Sure thing.
Kezia: Why did the caterpillar dance with the boy at the party?
me: I don't know why?
Kezia: (after a very long pause where she was trying to figure out what the punch line should be) Because it was a boys' party!

Kezia also told me on Thursday when I took her to choir practice at church, "Sara, you can come inside sit in the rows and I don't know, read the Bible or something." I giggled a lot!

A Tale of Two Cities - New Orleans Style

During the break for MLK weekend, I travelled with a group from a local church in Atlanta to New Orleans. If any of you have the opportunity to go down to New Orleans, please do. It's a trip that is well worth the experience and will make a deep impact on your heart. Here is a journal of my reflections upon the Sunday that we spent looking around the city and attending church:

I know that Charles Dickens coined the phrase “A Tale of Two Cities”; but today that is the best description one can give to New Orleans.

The day began with two church services with one unifying feeling of hope. We worshipped with Rayne Memorial at 8:30am, joining them on their 130th Anniversary. Many important members of the Louisiana Conference were there – including the Bishop, the District Superintendent and two former pastors of Rayne Memorial. Callie’s words during the service were thoughtful and profound – every phrase gracefully selected. Callie introduced our group to the congregation, thanking us for all of our work and the immense amount of hope that we bring to the community. During the passing of the peace, one church member echoed these words to me, as she gently stroked my hand and looked in my eyes and thanked me. It was as if she wanted to make sure that I was real – to feel the hope not only in her heart but also in a concrete way.

Bishop Hutchinson’s sermon touched my heart as he brought words from various sources dealing with pain, suffering and the faith that constantly remains in that. He recalled a banner in Baton Rouge that said, “We can’t replace the hopes and dreams of people; but we can build new ones.” A poem by Etta Oldman, “Just Blue,” brought tears to my eyes as the ending read: “I may not have hope but I won’t lose faith.”

At the 11:00 hour, our group worshipped with First Street UMC, a historical African American Congregation that is also the host site for UMCOR. The differences yet similarities between the services were striking. First Street also dealt with the pain of the hurricane but in a way that spoke of determination and hope. Words from Martin Luther King were remembered as the congregation took those passages and applied them to their current situation in New Orleans. Rev. Lance Eden, a recent graduate of ITC Seminary in Atlanta, spoke about keeping watch, about communities taking care of one another, and about rebuilding. Phrases struck me as they were sung with fervor and compassion:
- When things are going bad can you say, “Jesus not my will but your will.”
- Oh Freedom, Freedom, Freedom come and set me free. And before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave. Oh Freedom come and set me free.
- We are all part of God’s body.
- God can do impossible things with ordinary people.
- What are you gonna do with your watch?
The Church service was a lot shorter than usual since the congregation was going to go and see Last Holiday, a movie that was filmed in their church in May.

Before going on our tour of New Orleans, the group ate a delicious meal in the French Quarter, right off of St. Charles plaza. This was my first time in the historic part of New Orleans and it was beautiful! Flowers decorated balconies. Street vendors lined up with their vibrant paintings. People milled about, going in and out of shops and sipping on afternoon drinks. This was definitely a part of New Orleans that was coming back, ready to serve tourists and show the country that they did survive.

However, the rest of the day told a different story. Mark, our group leader from Rayne Memorial, took us to the different areas of New Orleans that were devastated by the levee breaches, including Lakeview, East New Orleans, and the Lower Ninth Ward. As we drove around I wondered how this city would have fared had it only been a hurricane and not the devastation of flooding: Would the Superdome had been such a hellish place to be still? Would month 6 after the hurricane been pretty close to complete recovery? At this point, it is hard to determine exactly what was damage was caused by the hurricane and what was part of the breaches. During our tour, we were also faced with the drastic realities of social and economic inequalities, amidst the non-discriminatory flood. Lakeview is a middle to upper class working neighborhood that was on the broken side of the 17th Street Canal levee breach. Compare that to the East New Orleans area and the Lower Ninth Ward and you receive two different portrayals of areas devastated by flooding. In general (obviously there will be many personal cases that will differ), the Lakeview neighborhood’s homes were very well built and able to stand up to the flood waters. Mark told us that people in this neighborhood were already starting to rebuild.

Drive twenty more minutes and you will find yourself in the Lower Ninth Ward, where tsunami-ish effects have destroyed the neighborhood. We stopped at a house that was moved onto a neighbor’s front yard, leaving the foundation and the back steps as a reminder of where it used to be. Homes were ripped open, moved many yards, squished to a pile of rubble. Trees hold doormats, small trinkets, mailboxes, water coolers. Cars pile on top of one another.

I have seen many areas before that were in need of major repair, but nothing like this. I thought back to the sermons from that morning, trying to find the hope within the scene that I saw before my eyes: where was God within this? Then Malinda noticed how she could hear bird’s chirping. Life…life still decided to remain here even in the great turmoil and piles of debris. It is very similar to the verses in Ecclesiastes 3:1-13:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance… Even in the destruction, the turmoil, and the grief, God resides to restore peace and hope. It’s just like in the sunbeams that came into the house that I like to call God beams – God’s always there, somewhere, someplace, somehow.

Babies and Puppies

Over break, I realized that two of the most wonderful creatures on earth are babies and puppies. Let me explain...

First there is Carly (Brittney and Johnathan's puppy). He is ADORABLE and is so much fun to watch. Puppies are inquisitive and always wondering what is going on with all parts of the world, much like a baby. Plus, I just love it when Carly cuddles up in my lap, even though she takes over my whole lap and my whole body. The beauty of dogs is that they constantly love you - they want to be with you and they are always so excited to see you. My sister's dog, Scout, is the same way. He and I bonded a lot while I was in Fort Campbell, KY as I took him for walks, played with his toys, and rubbed his back. Eventually he started to whimper as I left the room and follow me around the house. Constant love - so easy! Plus, the way that he pounces on his toys and always brings the toys whenever I get out of bed is precious.

Babies always provide peace and comfort to me and my Christmas break continued to show me that. My baby cousin (1 1/2 years old) came to our house over break with my uncle and aunt and boy was he adorable! The most beautiful sound that rung through the house was his baby giggle...I always loved that word and I believe it is because the giggle is the purest form of joy - nothing is bothering you, you are just at the ultimate form of happiness, love, and joy. The second baby I fell in love with is the one still in my sister's tummy. Her name (as long as the ultrasound is correct) is Kayleigh Elizabeth and I got to hear her heartbeat on Tuesday night. Birth is such a miracle and it is amazing for me to think that there is a little person inside of my sister, who will soon join the world and our family.

Babies and puppies - two beautiful creatures of God that bring such joy to my heart. Wonderful blessings do come in small packages!