Just some background – for those who are not already familiar with me, I have moved six times in the past 15 months, five of those times were within the same town, but I don’t think that should lessen the impact that constant moving has. Now that I’ve finally settled down (well, somewhat) I am working on finding my place in this new and beautiful city that I am in. Finding my place involves not only meeting people, finding a church, and adjusting to my new work schedule, but it also means visiting friends and family in nearby towns and cities, and branching out of my comfort zone to try new things.

So these past few days, starting with last weekend (Oct. 29), have been interesting to say the least. Here is a little taste of the crazy wonderfulness of my new life.

My weekend started, in a sense, with a rainy evening – the type of evening that the old me would often spend curled up on the couch, staring at an empty fireplace, sipping a cup of hot cocoa and reading a good book. In fact, this was how I began the evening (minus the hot cocoa) until I discovered that my roommate was meeting friends for dinner and I was invited along. Granted, I’d already eaten dinner, but my new motto is “seize the day” or something like that, and knowing that opportunity seldom knocks twice, I got myself dressed, brushed my hair, and headed out for a lovely evening of fellowship and chocolate cake. Yes, I ate cake while the others ate burgers, but as I pointed out, I’d already eaten my dinner.

Saturday and Sunday were spent in Atlanta catching up with an old friend (I swear, we talked almost the entire time, and probably could have kept going for several days on end) and watching my cousin, Bethany Anne Lind, give her final performance in Georgia Shakespeare’s production of The Glass Menagerie.

Saturday night was for people watching, and Jennie and I saw all sorts of interesting people from a couple dressed up as Yellowjackets for the Clemson-Tech game, to a young man wearing what I can only describe as a fishnet tank top and black jeans, to a male bartender with false eyelashes. Midtown Atlanta is full of interesting sights, and these were not even the people dressed up for the Halloween weekend! Those in costume were interesting to observe as well, and the costumed adults that appeared later in the evening included Gnomeo and Juliet, a medieval priest, a keffiyah’d Bedouin, several princesses in tiaras, and a group of gentlemen and ladies in the quaint and classic clothing of the wealthy gentlefolk of the late 19^th century.

Sunday brought on its own flurry of activity from the church service at downtown’s Christ Community Church, to our unsuccessful search for a lunch spot before the play, to a smashingly successful performance by my cousin (and the others, of course) that left me both laughing and crying and slightly perturbed that my alma mater did such a poor job of presenting Tennessee Williams and other early twentieth century literature in class. Of course, while I now feel slightly jipped in my undergrad education, at least I still have time in life to learn a new appreciation for these authors.

Monday and Wednesday I spent with my sweet and adorable new charge, a nine month old baby that I nanny for two days a week. Tuesday I got my brakes fixed (boring!) and spent several hours camped out at the mechanic shop using their WiFi so that I could multitask and get some work accomplished while I waited.

Thursday night I started a Lindy Hop lesson - I’ll be spending the next six weeks learning the finer points of the Lindy Hop. Things like how to follow a lead (which is harder than it looks), what the basic step is, how to listen to the rhythm of the music, and hopefully some of those fancy moves that involve jumping, hopping, lifting, swinging and flying. 

I made apple pie yesterday with Sky Top apples that needed desperately to be eaten. Several friends came over to help me eat the pie and we played one of those crazy get-to-know you games that turned out very fun. I also had opportunity to meet my cousin’s new fiance (family wedding, this summer!) for dinner and they stayed for the games as well.

This is just a taste of how crazy my life has been for the past six weeks. Each and every week has been filled with places to go, things to do, and people to meet, but I think I’m finally starting to recognize many of the people I’ve met, and I even have a few that I know a little bit about (beyond the name and where I’ve seen them). I look forward to more craziness and further experiences that push me a little farther out of my comfort zone and a little closer to what God has for me here in Greenville.

My first stop by airline, was the great city of San Antonio where I spent a week with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.  Though the heat was mighty intense, (getting up beyond 100 degrees as late as 5 pm) the shade and a few air conditioned stores made the heat quite bearable.  Over the course of about seven days, I saw downtown San Antone, walked the Riverwalk, posed for the channel four news, looked at expensive diamonds in a Tiffany’s, ate AMAZING frozen yogurt at a specialty store, met several of Zetti and Jason’s friends, played Cranium, went swimming in the baby pool, played on a playground, and shopped in vintage stores along the main street of Beorne.

Now my vacation is coming to a close and I’ve filled the last two and a half weeks with family time with my other siblings, my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  Here in Florida I’ve been to the beach twice, a pool party, and spent time running normal errands with Mom.  In Alabama I hung out with a couple of cousins on the Andalusia property, flipping through magazines, playing card games, and walking through Walmart.  (For more details on cousin time you can see the cousin blog that we started this week.)

The snow stuck to everything it touched, clinging to the tree limbs, leaves, and cars, dusting them with snow-white softness.

In case you’re wondering how I even knew this, I read about the unique laundry method in one of my history books last week, Family Fortunes a class study on early nineteenth century British society.  Apparently, even in the early 1800s peasants and lower class society still used urine to wash their clothes.  No wonder perfume was such an important commodity!

On a day like today it is so much easier to praise the Lord and thank Him for His goodness and mercy!  I think that’s why God sends random sunshine into the middle of the winter months – to remind us of His goodness.

“Praise the Lord!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.” Ps. 147:1

“Praise the Lord, O my soul!  While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Ps 146:1

It’s a rainy, sleety day and I’ve spent the majority of it doing responsible things already.  Now I want to relax and unwind, tell a story or watch a movie.  Anything but read another book.   Still, I know that as soon as I put aside my pen, the book will still be waiting, along with others that insist on being read this week.  I’m sure that tomorrow I’ll have a more productive outlook, but for now I just want to ignore my looming pile of homework and do something fun.

What is the difference between the two couples?  Why does one set waste their time and money on a meal that they cannot enjoy together, while the other takes the opportunity of the checkerboard to enjoy each other’s company while waiting for their food to cook? 

What has happened to today’s society to make it at least plausibly acceptable to carry on a long cell phone conversation while eating out in a public establishment?

I sat across from her and wondered what to say.  An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and I looked down at my hands.  The Chaplain had just left, and I was supposed to share the “fundamentals of Christianity” to this girl.  From our previous discussion, I knew that she had attended Sunday school classes and church as a little girl, but she admitted that she didn’t understand it much, and had spent most of the time chatting with her friends and playing around.  Now she claimed to want to understand, but it still sounded like she wanted God to get her out of the mess she was in and calm her fears without asking her to change her lifestyle. 

I didn’t know where to begin.  I was pretty sure I knew what Dad wanted, and I knew what the fundamentals of the faith were, but where did I start?  For the first time in my life an opportunity was dropped in my lap to explain Christianity to an unbeliever, and I was tongue tied.  I decided to start simply. 

“What do you think a Christian is?  What comes to mind when someone talks about being a Christian?”

“I dunno.  I guess, if one of my friends came up and said she was a Christian, I’d think that meant that she was a good girl, she tries to do the right things, and goes to church a lot and prays a lot to God.” 

From this definition I knew where we stood.  My friend, like so many unbelievers, looked at Christians and saw only the outward actions, and nothing of the motivation for these actions.  As we talked about what it means to be a Christian, and I outlined for her the fact that we are sinners in need of forgiveness, and the basis for that forgiveness, I realized that I had taken for granted the true definition of Christianity, so much so that I had become guilty of propogating a misconception. 

Let me explain.  Think of the last time that you chose not to do something, and an unsaved friend asked you why.  What did you tell him/her?  Did you say, “oh, I don’t do that because I’m a Christian”?  Did you say, “Well, I don’t think God would be happy with me if I did that, or, doing that would disobey God”?

These are fine answers, but alone they tell very little about Christianity.  These answers merely encourage a view that sees Christians as do-gooders who are living their life to appease an angry God who might send them to hell if they misstep. 

As I shared the motivation for good works, kindness, attending church, and prayer, I was struck anew at the many times that I have been presented opportunities to witness and let them pass because I saw them as opportunities to justify my actions. 

So think about it.  What is a Christian?  Your answer tells a lot about your understanding of your relationship with God and Christ. 

The next time that someone asks you why you do (or don’t do) something, don’t just give them a pat answer.  Use it as an opportunity to share with them the sacrifice that God made for you so that you could stand blameless in His sight and be spared the just punishment of your sins.  Don’t leave the other person thinking that you’re just a goody-two-shoes trying to appease and angry God, but rather, you’re a broken sinner who has been saved from a fate worse than death by a loving God and a self-sacrificing Savior.

 Clavo mi remo en el agua, llevo tu remo en el mio

Creo que he visto una luz al otro lado del rio.

El dia le ira pudiendo poco a poco al frio

Creo que he visto una luz al otro lado del rio.

Sobre todo creo que no todo esta perdido -

Tanta lagrima, tanta lagrima y yo, soy un vaso vacio.

Oigo una voz que me llama casi un suspiro

Rema, rema, rema-a, Rema, rema, rema-a.

En esta orilla del mundo lo que no es presa es baldio

Creo que he visto una luz al otro lado del rio.

Yo muy serio voy remando muy adnetro sonrio

Creo que he visto una luz al otro lado del rio.

Sobre todo creo que no todo esta perdido

Tanta lagrima, tanta lagrima y yo, soy un vaso vacio.

Oigo una voz que me llama casi un suspiro -

Rema, rema, rema-a, Rema, rema, rema-a

Clavo mi remo en el agua, llevo tu remo en el mio

Greo que he visto una luz al otro lado del rio.

I row down the river, and I carry your oar in mine,

I believe I see a light on the other side of the river.

As the day grows older, it banishes the cold a little at a time – I believe I see a light on the other side of the river.

Over all I believe that all is not lost.  So many tears, so many tears and I am an empty vessel.

I hear a voice that calls to me, almost a sigh-

Row, row, ro-ow, Row, row, ro-ow.

On this edge of the world, what is not prey is worthless -

I believe I see a light on the other side of the river.

While I row, I am very serious, but on the inside, I smile.

I believe I see a light on the other side of the river.

Over all, I believe that not all is lost -

So many tears, so many tears, and I am an empty vessel.

I hear a voice that calls to me, almost a whisper-

It says: Row, row, ro-ow, Row, row, ro-ow.

As I row down the river, I have your oar in mine.

I believe that I see a light on the other side of the river.

Last year, Doc blessed me with my planning periods back to back sandwiching the lunch period.  This is most definately the best time for planning periods because it gives one the option of a long lunch break every now and then. 

Well, my birthday was the first full week of school, and one of my sweet friends decided to take me out to lunch as a celebration.  As this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate my great schedule and a chance to get dressed up and go out, I was not about to pass up the offer.  I was pretty excited about going out and I’m afraid it was all I thought about that morning.  I took off right before 12, telling Mrs. Fort that I would be back for my next class. 

We went to the French Quarter Grill where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch, quiet conversation, and a jazzy atmosphere.   I returned to campus literally right before class began and I was rather preoccupied with getting set up for class so I didn’t listen to my student’s comments about being late.  After all, I was in class before the bell rang, so why would they be calling me late?  At least, that’s what I thought until I realized that the question wasn’t directed at my tardiness to literature class.

“Miss Lennon,” one student asked insistently, “why did you skip history class?”

Of course my first thought was that my student was teasing me.  This one had a tendency to try to tease whenever he could.  Besides, we didn’t have history that day.  Or did we?  I looked at my class, aghast that I could possibly have forgotten something so important and realized that Cameron wasn’t the only one who wanted that question answered.

Talk about an embarrassing moment!  I’ve never skipped a class intentionally and only rarely been late to class, but as a student one can be forgiven for that kind of thing when it happens on occassion.  For a teacher to just not show up to class without explanation….well!  That just does not happen.