A Quiet Wood

A Quiet Wood

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Spring Fever

From my absence, one might infer that I have been on an extended vacation; sitting ocean-front with a cold drink in my well manicured hand. One would be wrong. (My cuticles are a mess.) I will simply say that the last three weeks or so have been some of the busiest I remember in some time (for a variety of reasons). In a phrase...it's spring, and spring fever is alive and well. It clouds the mind and the judgement. It makes simple rules and tasks, done with relative ease up to this point, seem impossible or, at best, unreasonable. I am surrounded by a sea of blank stares as I reiterate the precepts set forth in our Handbook (most hallowed tome of wisdom). It is as if the words are new and strange; as if they are written in some long forgotten language; ancient runes impossible to comprehend. "What? That's a rule? I'm sorry. I didn't know..." *sigh* It's spring, and summer is almost here.

The last few weeks have also been filled with a quick succession of a variety of activities. If I elaborated on each one, this post would be of such a length that it might become discouraging. Therefore, I shall simply hit the highlights.

The beginning of April found me on tour with the Symphonic Wind and String Ensemble. I'm not sure when I have been more blessed to be with a group of young people. These individuals took tour seriously. When it was time to pray, they prayed, and God heard them. Our services, as well as our devotional times on the bus, were blessed with a powerful sense of God's presence. Our tour was characterized by a oneness of purpose and heart. It was incredible. But we also had a tremendous amount of fun as well. What a great combination! Below are a few random shots from the tour. I have many more, but they would take a long time to post!

Staying with some good friends in Roanoke, VA.


One of those really funny moments.


Even the child didn't escape unscathed.


It didn't seem to take away his taste for ice cream, however.


He even got to run the sound a bit. He was fascinated!


I also happened to be on the best crew. I appreciated their serious approach to the whole "recruiting" thing.


Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Last week ushered in IHC - a whirlwind of activity in Dayton. I really enjoyed myself this year, and, as always, it was good to have even those "drive by" conversations. I really loved reconnecting even briefly with many special friends.

On the heels of IHC comes VIP Day. This signals lots of work (white glove room checks, etc.) as we put our best foot forward for visitors. It really went well this year. I appreciated the mix of good information, good clean fun, and a stirring challenge to trust God fully with our lives. I think any young person that attended VIP Day is better for it - whether they end up at GBS or not. One especially big highlight was a bloopers video played at the banquet. It was a knock-off from the video showcasing the different divisions and programs GBS offers. I believe that it showed that, along with our quest for excellence, we can also laugh at ourselves (an important attribute). If you know any of the GBS faculty, you might enjoy it. Just search for "GBS" and "bloopers" on You Tube or God Tube.

This week we had our Spring picnic, Academy music program and all night lock-in (probably too much within a 48 hour time period). However, all went well. There were no major injuries. (One wouldn't expect to have major injuries at an academy program, but you can't be too careful. Tripping over a bass drum can cause head trauma.) I also judged science fair projects for the first time in my life. I have discovered that I'm a bit of a hard grader. Who knew?

In closing (she said in a pastoral sort of way) let me share with you something I came across in my devotions this week.

Isaiah 28:23-29
Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my words.
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?
Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter cummin
And plant wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its area?
For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.
Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.


At first blush, this may seem like just a little aside on farming. However, I was struck by something a bit deeper. I am humbled and grateful that the God who knows exactly how to harvest grain, dill, and cummin in a way that will produce the best crop without damage knows me. He knows just how much threshing I require before I am damaged by the cart wheel. He knows that, left inside the husk, I would be of no use to anyone. But when the rough exterior is smoothed away by a creative variety of methods, I can bring flavor and nourishment to those around me. I love that! Truly "His counsel [is] wonderful and His wisdom great"!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Tagged, shmagged

Well, Jo, you've done it. You have reduced me to another one of these taggy, what don't we know about you things. I actually have quite a bit to blog about band tour and lots of other stuff, but I think I'll do this taggy thing first. It seems fairly painless. (By the way, I hope no one cares, but I'm not going to tag anyone else. I hope that doesn't make me a complete and utter party pooper. I don't mind being a complete party pooper...just not an utter party pooper. That seems indecent.) Seriously, dear Jo, no hard feelings. I'm just having a good time ranting. :-)

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Washing my hair. Actually, I was working nights on a telemetry floor at a hospital near my parents home in Florida. I was also a team leader in our church's youth group. I was completely oblivious to the turn my life would take in a few short years - joining the Catholic church. Seriously, who knew that I would be a DEAN OF WOMEN? Perish the thought.

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Spend time with Jesus. (check)
2. Exercise. (check)
3. Get loose ends tied up from the weekend in the office. (check)
4. Go to Walmart for goodies for my dorm meeting tonight and food for my D-group meeting on Wednesday.
5. Have a dorm meeting tonight. (oh, goody)
6. Meet the man of my dreams in the aisle at Walmart. (Hmmmm, not sure about that one. The last man I saw at Walmart kind of creeped me out.)

Snacks that I enjoy:
Way too many to name them all. Sometimes I'm afraid that it's anything edible not nailed down. OK, I'll be serious:

Boston Baked Beans
Tortilla chips and spinach dip.
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Goldfish crackers
Graham crackers and milk
Crackers with Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss cheese.
Microwave popcorn (kettle corn flavor)
(are you starting to see my problem?)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Invest enough so that I could live off the interest.
2. Give my parents enough so they wouldn't have to work if they didn't want to.
3. Help my brother pay off his new album.
4. Invest in our Bible colleges heavily.
5. Invest in mission organizations. I think that it is criminal that they must struggle as they do.

Three of my bad habits:
My goodness, I'm not sure if I can come up with that many. ;-)

1. Snacking (see above)
2. I can be pretty one track and can occasionally make people feel that I'm not interested in them. (I'm working hard on this one.)
3. I need to be more self-disciplined in several areas. (I'm also working hard here!!)

Five places I have lived:
1. Cincinnati, OH - as a tiny child.
2. Hobe Sound, FL
3. Indiana, PA
4. Hobe Sound, FL again.
5. Cincinnati, OH again - as a bigger child.
(Isn't that a nice symmetrical list? I love symmetry!)

Five jobs I have had:
1. House cleaner for a nice and very patient neighbor.
2. Switchboard operator for HSBC.
3. Student assistant to 2 nursing professors at IUP. (lots of library work, etc.)
4. Telemetry staff nurse and relief night charge nurse.
5. Resident Director for Women (my fancy title now).

Five people I want to know more about:
I shall forgo the last one. I would love to know all about all of my dear readers - especially since I found out about a few more of you on tour. :-) HI!! If any of you would like to randomly take this quiz on your own, I will enjoy it immensely on your blogs.

Another blog soon to come... (This one with pictures. Ooooooooooo.)