Seasons - Part 1

Like the skintone of summer, sunkissed and glowing

Warmed by the moments of passion and longing

But whirlwind romance wouldn't last mid-September

Soon all the leaves fell away

And love only lasted a day...

October winds came with lengthening evening

Chilled by memories both empty and haunting

Even though pain found each hour of the day

When the heart threatened to break

Hope still whispered to wait...

2010

January
Voices of Light x2
PTC

February
26
Ice skating
Swing dancing

March
Superboy and the Invisible Girl
Window of His Love
KAT performance
Dad's knee surgery

April
Seussical x4
Trinitas

May
River Bank Run
Miami + Jean-Rejouis wedding
Seattle

June
Camp Narnia x2
HPA camp x1

July
Middleton wedding
HPA camps x2
sister in China

August
Secret Garden
Stephen Schwartz
HPA auditions x3
MSVMA

September
Exploding schedule
CITA conference
Veen Observatory

October
More exploding schedule
Lord of the Rings x2

November
HPA Kids x3
KAT performance
Carmina Burana x2
Sunday night dancing
THANKSGIVING

December
Advent
Chicago/Paul Caldwell
Holiday Pops x5
Holiday Pops caroling x8
The Sing-Off
Christmas

Performances (participant): at least 29
Performances (directed): at least 18

Facebook says I have 956 "friends" - debating a clean out.

Lost my uncle and mourned with one of my communities. Death is terrible.

Ran 6 miles straight.

Watched love blossom and grow in many friends.

Sang. A lot.

Danced.

Discovered more places I love in America.

Discovered more artists I love around the world.

Given a dream, to watch it be killed, to be resuscitated, to be killed again. Maybe next year.

Put almost 20,000 miles on my car.

Has been in rehearsals for a fun show coming your way in February.

Loved. So much.

Laughed, cried and stayed up late more than ever.

Blessed beyond measure.

Psalm 139

So when I spent my summers in Florida, I worked two of those seasons at a church office. It was an interesting job. I answered the phones, dealt with all the elders and deacons (and their, to say the least, "quirky" personalities), kept our food pantry lively, spent hours in an office they kept at the balmy temperature of -40, had some lively discussions with my pastor, and tried to keep the peace between the church office and the adjoining school's office staff. It was definitely not a boring job.

However, one of the things I will remember most about that job was going into the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom.

On the wall directly facing the toilet was a picture frame. While you "sat", you could contemplate a painting of a park bench adorning autumnal country landscape. Below the picture was a beloved text from Psalm 139: "Oh Lord, you have searched me and know me. You know when I sit and when I rise..."

:)

The Body... mundane yet beautiful

Tonight, we had people in our house who have literally lived on at least 3 different continents, have probably traveled to more than 50 different countries combined, shared in many different walks of life, and are pursuing many different passions and interests. Now, you may think these would be people of "mature" years that have had time to live and study and grow... which I suppose to an extent is true, but I must tell you that, with the exception of my parents, every person here tonight was my age (26) and younger.

I was having a lot of fun talking with the different friend groupings and connections. Yes, this music and theatre nerd can actually enjoy conversation with someone studying to be a PA (physicians assistant - a.k.a. "blood and guts stuff") or a college basketball player (I think you play that on a court, not a field, right?). Anyways, we grilled out and stayed up until past midnight, just enjoying the night and one another. It was definitely a fun (and by moments chaotic) group. At one point, as many as 15 were crowded around the kitchen, and even now we have 4 extras spending the night.

I was just marveling at the fact that some of them have traveled - indeed, LIVED - in more places than most people will visit in an entire lifetime. While I have never lived for an extended period outside the USA, I have done a fair share of traveling that, I believe, has helped me to appreciate and think more critically (not all bad criticism) about my own country. I believe you can observe differences while visiting another country for a week or so... but to have actually lived in another country long enough to learn the language and the heartbeat of the people... that would be quite something. Something I wouldn't mind doing some day.

A few of the people that were here tonight have only lived in the US for a few months... compared to 18+ years on "foreign" soil. All of them are American citizens, but many of them feel more at home outside the US than in it. It was refreshing to speak with them tonight - not that we spent much time country-comparing, but it was just fun to see the Body of Christ and know that the Lord is truly alive and at work in His kids all over the place. Again, not even huge "missionary" stories... just the Lord quietly at His daily work in our hearts.

"The Butterfly Circus"

I watched an incredible short film today.

http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/film/?film=4dd298f102c77b625cf37a9e7744ac68

It was beautiful. Turns out, the main guy in the film is a believer and has an incredible story of hope and encouragement he has brought around the world.

It's left me thinking quite a bit.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

Newspaper route

So my brother has a paper route. He is still finishing up getting his driver's license so we all take turns driving on occasion. This afternoon it was my turn.

My brother has Asperger syndrome. That's funny, spell check tries to correct Asperger. I'm surprised it's not in Google's dictionary; boiled down, it's a form of autism. Anyways, my brother is a genius at certain things... but like a lot of people diagnosed with Asperger's, he doesn't inherently understand a lot of non-verbal and "social" cues. A lot of people I've known with Asperger's tend to be very outgoing and will talk for hours if they can. However, for my brother, the opposite has happened over the years - he has slowly become more introverted and withdrawn from public circles and conversations. There are a few people he has learned to feel comfortable around if they continue to step forward and care about him and initiate relationship, but those people are relatively few and far between.

Anyways, so today I was driving Ben on the paper route. I have started noticing a pattern. As we get closer and closer to a house that has a dog he knows, Ben will become more and more contented and happy. It makes his day when the dog barks at him from inside the house, or (when they're outside) get excited when Ben is coming. Ben will take on an almost paternal air with the dog. He loves greeting them. It's really precious, actually, to see my giant of a little brother talking to and petting these dogs in our neighborhood. He is so excited when he learns one of their names. In fact, the entire route seems to center on the dogs.

I think, for him, it's a form of relationship he can trust. The dog will always treat him the same way, they will never show indifference or even ignore him. Because they initiate and are 100% consistent, Ben learns to respond with love and care. I love watching this; it touches my heart and makes for a very enjoyable afternoon.

So, even though the route is a bear, especially on the week-ends (2:30am arrival on Sundays!), I've really enjoyed watching Ben develop relationships with these creatures, and seeing him look forward to their brief interaction. It may not seem like much, but for a brother who doesn't have many friends, I think it may be the highlight of his average day... which makes it even more wonderful and precious to me as well.

Just a snippet into my life, today...

Spring!

Trumpet swans with silver notes
Moving through the zephyr's coat
Flies the glowing honeybee
Launching dandelion's glee

Gone the winter's grey and steel
Breaks the ground, comes grass and leal
Roses peeking through the brae
Reaching for sunshine's day

Through the clearing come they all
Frolic to the forest's hall
Dashing piper's gossamer wings
Carried to the new year's feast

Nighthawk sings through doe and faun
Red fox trots 'round golden pond
Purple sage decks laurel's queen
Dancing through the woods of green.

HAIL! Spring and season's time
Whirling through the days come nigh
Hasten not our side to leave
'Til comes to all Midsummer's Eve!