Third Lobby at WIC

I'm going to say a bit more about the WIC conference shortly when I've thought & prayed a bit more. But for now, if you're Christmas shopping, this young and talented little band from Covenant College is a great find. They became a band during Hurriane Ivan, when a Sovereign lack of electricity brought them out of their mountain dorm rooms and into the Lobby, where they started playing together.

At the conference they played a number of the best hymns ever (What Wondrous Love is This, Oh the Deep Deep Love of Jesus, I'll Fly Away, Amazing Love) with a Scottish/Celtic/Appalachian sound--so beautiful, and so Presbyterian. It was easy to picture our faith's fathers singing these hymns under the elm trees where they once had to meet for church in the Old Country. Matt Brown's voice is reminiscent either of a masculine Enya or a fugitive from Toad the Wet Sprocket--windy and clear and full of light.

The cutest thing was watching the PCA ladies grab for their cd's! I have to admit, I was one of them.

Atlanta

My sweet mother inlaw treated the J girls to the PCA's WIC (women in the church) conference in Atlanta. My own mom loves this conference too and the fact that my brother now lives there added the incentive for her, Kendall Bethy, Jaxon, and Gramps to join us. I stayed a few extra days with David's friends and we helped fix up his crib.

We had a wonderful time--what a gift to be able to share Christian fellowship with your family here on earth! I didn't take enough pictures--it's hard when you're constantly trying to hold your beautiful nephew.

Tagged

I got tagged by Pinks awhile back, so here goes:

Three things I am doing right now: cuddling, listening to the rain, and waiting for a lost suitcase to be delivered from the airport

Three nicknames: Pocohontas, Firstborn, and Daaaaaa Brat

Three people that make me laugh: Husband, Kendall, and Eliana

Three things on my floor: Una's toy mountain goat that squeaks, a corner of my sunflower blanket from Nanny, and husband's feet

Three things I can do: type, clean bathrooms, and make ridiculously fun drinks

Three things that I love: my family, my puppy, and winter

Three people I'm tagging: Kendall Bethy, Boo, and Jennifer.

More on my recent trip soon...

Great News!

I wrote a long-winded and very sentimental post about the fact that Starbucks is now carrying the George Winston and Meryl Streep version of Marjory Williams' Velveteen Rabbit.

But it was somehow lost.

It's probably better that way. But please know that this is very exciting since this beautiful recording has been out of print for oh, at least 10 years. And consider giving it as a gift for a child near you.

The Grace of God

I had a chance this weekend to see "The Flight that Fought Back," a documentary on United Flight 93 and the heroes who prevented another possible attack.

I'd mostly heard the story from Wheaton grads filled with pride regarding Todd Beamer's famous line, "Let's Roll."

But this time I heard it from the families of the passengers on the plane, and was struck by two things:

1. The gracious kindness God showed the U.S. by not allowing the plane to approach the Capital City or take additional lives. That these men and women prevented such a crisis may have played a major part in keeping the American spirit intact.

2. The gift of legacy. Because the passengers on United 93 took a chance and fought back, their families, friends, and fellow citizens are able remember them not as victims, but as heroes.

I know that God's kindness to us is evidenced in many other ways throughout this tragedy, and that there are countless other heroes, and I'm grateful to Him for revealing a few of them to me.

On that day in 2001 I was just starting out as a teacher, as green as they come. It was my second day of school and we were just getting started when the Headmaster knocked on our door and told me what had happened. I was to announce it to the class and then we all went into the chapel to watch everything unfold. I stuttered through trying to explain it to my 9th and 10th graders, watching their world transform as mine was too. We left our memories of safe America behind and walked into the chapel, where we saw the towers fall and wondered out loud whether they would go after the Hancock building.

That afternoon we were sent back to class and I was supposed to teach drama. We were working on As You Like It, by Shakespeare, but it didn't feel right reading comedy on such a dark day.



So we went outside, to the sidewalk next to the grassy lots behind the school where a grove of sumac trees grew happily, a place that was green and buzzing and alive and hopeful. We sat in a circle and we prayed.

I will never be able to disconnect 9/11 with my students of that year. I hope, wherever they are, that they will stop and pray, that God will reveal His kindness to them, and that He will grow us all to be heroes for His sake.

What We did with It

Nothing. We had grand aspirations, first of climbing, then plans for breakfast and lunch with friends and colleagues, but husband came down with an awful cold so we spent the majority of the day playing with our computers. I abandoned him for a few hours to visit with some of our Shrimpfest war buddies and then took the invalid out for a brief walk with our Una in the hills. It's nice doing nothing sometimes.