Oh No!

If you check my blog through bloglines and just tried to look at my last post before I was able to change the picture know that I still have no idea how that picture came up and it was not intentional. Hopefully no one else saw it, you're simply confused reading this post, and it's only me who is terribly disturbed . . . :(

I Am Noggin

So you might remember a post from a few weeks ago when I related the story of my fine, feathered friend affectionately named . . . Noggin. In case you were still curious, I thought you'd like to know that Noggin is still going strong . . . every day . . . over and over and over again against my window. I really don't even notice him much anymore until I see the pained look on the faces of visitors to my office for the first time watching the ornithological masochist bash himself on my glass. I introduce them to Noggin and then usually do pause to realize that it is quite remarkable that this bird has been at this since May 2006.

Maybe what's even more remarkable is that in many ways my "Nogginyness" continues. I continually find ways to forget what God has done in the past or worry about how I will get things done or live as if I am in control of my life and in each case, I'm only hurting myself when I do this. I've mentioned during these past several posts that we have our Vacation Bible School coming up a week from Monday (July 9-13). Even though I can clearly know that it was God who brought this together in the past and it will be God who will equip me and the other leaders to accomplish His good work, I still struggle with keeping that perspective on things. I get so caught up in trying to get everything done and I place so much pressure on myself that I let my life get out of balance, not taking time to rest, to do things I enjoy doing (like blogging . . . obviously), or simply being quiet to pray.

Maybe each time I hear the little "tap, tap, tap" (or painfully loud crash) on my window, I'll actually take notice of it again, remembering that "I am Noggin." It'll hopefully move me one step closer to flying on to a new way of living.

Wacky Words

So for whatever reason, my brain has been spending time thinking recently about how weird the English language is. It really doesn't make any sense and defies all logic.

For example:

• Why is "To" pronounced the same way as "two," but "No" isn't pronounced as "Noo?"
• Should I start pronouncing my name as "Lhah" if "Yeah" is pronounced the way that it is?
• "Hey" sounds completely different than "Key," yet phonetically they should be the same, right?

I guess my brain is resorting to some less than deep thoughts in the midst of my VBS planning. Any insights?

Mark 3:29

So my dad filled me in on this week on the most atrocious round of the Steeler rumor mill that I've ever heard yet. Bill Cowher . . . our beloved Bill Cowher . . . talking to the Panthers (not surprising), the Redskins (ok for at least my sister and brother-in-law), and horror of all horrors . . . the BROWNS! I'm pretty sure Mark 3:29 is an appropriate reference for this moment. Going to the Browns has got to be up there with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. At least it's not the Ravens. That's the only way it could be worse.

Home Again, Home Again

So, I've finally returned from vacation. I was reminded once again about how much I love to travel. Here are a few reasons why:

• As I mentioned before, "veeeecation" was a big part of my childhood. So many great memories that I'll carry with me the rest of my life. I think travel was put in my DNA from an early age.
• I love the adventure of going somewhere that I've never been. New experiences definitely make me come alive.
• Travel gives me a healthy perspective on things. When you look at the ocean and it extends as far as you can see, and you actually try and count grains of sand in even a small handful, it's so clear that God is truly ginormous (to use the scientific term). :-) To Him, the ocean is like a swimming pool (Job 38:8-11) and the sand has already been counted. Apparently this perspective thing seems to run in my family. :-)
• I love being reminded that the world is so much bigger than the 50 or so people that I see each week. Again, it reminds me of the incredible nature of the God I serve. He knows each one as if they were the only person on the Earth, and each one probably feels as if they are the center of the universe. It reminds me of who I am as nothing more, and nothing less than a child of God.

It's always hard to come home from vacation, and I confess I felt some Sesame Street Live Syndrome on my way home.

For another interesting perspective, read what Mark Batterson has to say about travel here.

Veecation!

One of the happiest words in my vocabulary as a small child . . . "Veeeecation." (I seemed to have an issue with pronouncing words correctly.)

Anyway, I'm headed on vacation for the next week so I'll be checking out of the blogosphere until I return. I'll be back with lots of profound insights, I'm sure. :-)

Gettin' Giggy Wit It

So, I'm down to almost a month out from KiDZ GiG, the VBS at our church. I'm really struggling these days trying to maintain a proper perspective on the whole thing. I find whenever I'm planning something like this, it's really easy for me to get caught up in the "loud," urgencies of the logistics of the event and to neglect responding to the quiet voice of the LORD. When I do neglect that, I start to see myself with a distorted vision. I either get overwhelmed with fear at the thought of failure and letting others down or I get swelled up with pride and ego, thinking I am responsible for any "wins" experienced. Either way, I lose.

God's really been challenging me to spend as much time in prayer for this event as I do on working through the logistics. Clearly both sides need to be accomplished and one cannot be sacrificed for the sake of the other. My prayer is to maintain Mary's heart as I Martha through the next few weeks, doing the planning side with excellence as unto the LORD, without "getting distracted" with all the details of what has to be done. That would truly be a win.

Pableah Picasso

So when I was little, I received this super cool gift that brought much fun to bath time . . . soap crayons. I was pleased to find that these are still on the market today, bringing joy to thousands of children everywhere, I'm sure.

These crayons allowed us to draw on the wall and my mother actually encouraged it! Apparently, however, they are ONLY supposed to be used on bathroom walls. One time when we were at my Grandma's we used them on the walls in her hallway (I swear she said we could!) and although my mother never saw us actually drawing the masterpiece, it didn't take her long to see our fingerprints all over it.

I was recently reading through the book of Esther and found it to be incredibly interesting that it's the only book of the Bible that doesn't clearly use the name, title, or pronoun for God in it. Like my soap crayon masterpiece, however, God's fingerprints are all over the narrative. I love seeing all the "coincidences" like the King reading the annals of his kingdom because he couldn't sleep (Esther 6) and all the times when someone had "just entered" a room (Esther 6:4, 6:14, 7:8). Clearly, those were no coincidences.

I thought of all the times in my life when I may be going through a stressful time or crisis and it feels as if God is nowhere to be found. It is often in those times that I need to rest in my Trust of my Father and believe that there will be a time, just like Esther experienced, when I can look back at my trial and see His fingerprints all over it. I won't paint over those works of art on the walls of my life, but rather frame them as evidence of God's handiwork at all times, whether I can see it or not.