The Story - CD / DVD

When it comes to Christian-labeled music and products, there are times I get discouraged by the lack of originality and creativity. I get a little cynical about the goods coming out of Nashville packaged and polished up for 'Christian consumers.'

But this is a project I'm liking right now. It's called The Story and it's a CD and a DVD with music written in the first person of particular Bible characters. For example, Brandon Heath sings a song as Joseph from the old testament called 'Bend' that starts with the line, 'I am not my family tree.'

It's interesting stuff - check out the video above to get a glimpse of what the DVD is like.

Poetry Thursday - or, I Wish I Had Written This!

Things You Didn't Put On Your Resumé
by Joyce Suptan

How often you got up in the middle of the night
when one of your children had a bad dream,

and sometimes you woke because you thought
you heard a cry but they were all sleeping,

so you stood in the moonlight just listening
to their breathing, and you didn't mention

that you were an expert at putting toothpaste
on tiny toothbrushes and bending down to wiggle

the toothbrush ten times on each tooth while
you sang the words to songs from Annie, and

who would suspect that you know the fingerings
to the songs in the first four books of the Suzuki

Violin Method and that you can do the voices
of Pooh and Piglet especially well, though

your absolute favorite thing to read out loud is
Bedtime for Frances and that you picked

up your way of reading it from Glynnis Johns,
and it is, now that you think of it, rather impressive

that you read all of Narnia and all of the Ring Trilogy
(and others too many to mention here) to them

before they went to bed and on way out to
Yellowstone, which is another thing you don't put

on the resumé: how you took them to the ocean
and the mountains and brought them safely home.

I'm Still in High School

I used to think being a teacher would be the worst career choice ever.

I thought teachers lived lives of quiet desperation - going home each day to a house full of cats and cans of vegetable soup.

Then somewhere around 1994, I had one of those moments that flipped my thinking forever. I watched a friend student teach and have a blast at the same time. I left that school completely sold on the fact that teaching wasn't a 'fall-back' job. It didn't have to be boring.

Oh man, this could actually be fun!

So, I go to school with my own 4 kids now and teach teenagers. And it's a blast. Never easy, sometimes heartbreaking, and always challenging - that's teaching.

(Want to see my school? Do ya? Huh? Okay! www.willmarccs.org)

Here are a few of the incredible kids I get to hang out with Monday-Friday. I invited them over a few days before the first day of school.




They were probably thinking as I took this picture,

"Where are the cats?"

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Living room couch

Where I've Been, Where I'm Going

I've been away from the blog for awhile, so if you are still checking in, I would like to thank you.

Lately, I've wondered if keeping this blog is the best way to use my time at this current stage of my life. I've even written a few lines of the 'Dear John' (blog version) final post in my head -- phrases like, 'it's me, not you' and other pathetic break-up clichés.

But, as of today, here I am. Should be sleeping, but no, I'm blogging.

I just heard about a great book called 31Days to your Blogging Mojo - let's see if I can get inspired.

In the meantime, here's where I've been:



Baking cookies with beautiful babies


Patiently waiting for baby girl to finish playing Barbie apps on my iPad


Sleeping with my daughter in the afternoon - this is how she fell asleep the other day.


And....taking pictures of the beautiful babies. Mmm, I want a cookie.

Help me out, folks. Which posts do you enjoy reading most? Need another good books post? Poetry? Kick my butt. Thank you.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kitchen Counter

What a Girl Wants

This week, I celebrated a birthday. Not a monumental one, mind you, but time is marching on, people. I am aware of this. What a girl wants is to be reminded that...well, she's still a girl at heart.

Instead, I receive this in the mail:




In case the type is too small, please, let me help you: "Mature Living is a trusted resource if you are: focused on building a wise and generous legacy, devoted to your grandchildren, or perhaps a member of the sandwich generation." Whatever that is!

Either way, Not. Funny.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/11/11

This morning, our community of area churches came together for a united time of worship and remembrance. I was blessed by the beauty of watching so many believers lift their hands, cry out to God. He's the God of this city!



There's me on the left, trying not to think, "Why did I wear these painful shoes?"

Blogging with an iPad

Alright, folks.

I have been playing with my iPad for a few months now. I. Am. Slow. This is what I've learned.

You are now reading my first post written on my iPad. Ooh, look, I can even post a photo! Gold star for me!



This picture was taken in Wall Drug, South Dakota this past summer. I told Aaron this would be my permanent expression if we had another baby.

In other news, today was the first day of school. There are a lot of papers and backpacks in our house that need my attention right now. Oh, and I should probably figure out lesson plans for tomorrow.

One day at a time, one day at a time...

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad