Personal Mad Libs

I'm not as _____________ as I thought I was. That realization makes me _____________. And if I tell you how I feel, you'll probably think I'm ________________.

You say I should ____________ but when I try I'm usually ______________. When that happens, it's easier if I ____________.

Sometimes, I ___________ being ____________.

(Yeah, it's been that kind of week....)

Wounds

I am beginning to understand that there aren't really many new wounds. Just old wounds that keep getting reopened. If the original wound hasn't healed, the pain is easily refreshed.

Ouch.

What we're made for...

While in PA for my youth group reunion, I had a very interesting talk with my friend Matt. We were commenting how fast all of our kids are growing up - how some people we knew as teenagers had children who were in their teens. It was so shocking to see how fast time seemed to be going for all of us. At this point Matt commented on something he heard Ravi Zacharias once say. I can't remember all the specifics but the general idea was this:

Fish were made for water. It would be very strange for them to constantly be surprised by the wetness of water. A cat, on the other hand, is constantly surprised by how wet water is.
We as humans are surprised at the passage of time because we were not made for time. We were made for eternity.

It took me several moments to let that soak in. And it continues to pop up again in my thinking.

I just thought I'd share.

An Update from Chez Crazy

Wow. 6 weeks since my last update. Insane...like my life.

Hm, let's see. Work is....well, see the thing about work is, I work with college students. You would think this would be a group of people of which the best can be expected. Not necessarily so. These "students" - and I use the term somewhat loosely after having seen some of their transcripts - are used to Mom and Dad handling their affairs for them. They are thoroughly shocked that we require them to be responsible for their own information.

I worry desperately for the future of America.

I am in the Summer Musical Revue with the Starkville Community Theatre. This is my first time on stage for a production other than with church since high school. I am so energized by the experience - the music, the staging, the cast, all of it. I didn't realize how much I missed the stage until I got back on it.

Our family headed north for vacation. We were in PA and Ohio, where we enjoyed much cooler weather and the company of friends and family. Jadyn was a trooper, despite short (or non-existent) naps. She experienced her first amusement park rides and, with the exception of the Tilt-A-Whirl, had a blast. I suspect she inherited her Opa's tendency towards nausea while spinning. The trip itself was a day longer than planned, due to an unexpected overnight lay-over in Memphis. Never have I been so thankful to return to Mississippi. The trip was great, but you reach a point where all you want is to sleep in your own bed and pee in your own potty.

(Pictures will appear on Jadyn's blog soon - I almost promise.)

Lately I've been feeling kind of disconnected from my church family. That is due, in part, to having been gone for 2 Sundays. But after having been on staff and being so closely involved in the goings-on of the community, it's been a long and difficult adjustment to my new position on the edge. I feel different. Not necessarily bad, but not the same. I am trying to look at my life as having entered a new chapter. I'm encountering new people, finding new communities for myself. But I still feel a bit "homesick".