Some hope.

Happy All Hallows Eve! Those of you at W.H.O. this past week got to learn a bit on saints and info regarding All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day…if you want - check out this site to learn more about the Christian roots that are in Halloween - it's not all secular paganism as some people think: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Halloween/

Anyways, after a week of discussing deception, I figured I should try to end off the week with some HOPE. Hope is a always a good thing, and I don't want to get you all down by thinking that everything is a deception…there is good in the world, and that's why we can have such hope…especially when we see this good and especially when this good comes from a giving/servant spirit.

While there is a lot of destruction and deception in our world, there are still many people who do wonderful random acts of kindness…the person who holds open a door for you, the person who helps pick up some items that you dropped, the person who offers you a ride home, or the person who simply stands beside you in a time of need. The deception of this world can sometimes try very hard to hold us down, we can get into pits that we feel we can never climb out of…but these people and their gentle acts of grace and mercy each give us a stair in order to climb up and out of these pits.

Our faith calls and leads us to perform deeds that represent our faith. This week at Teen CBS, the speaker made a good visual to describe this…he said that our faith is like the roots of the tree and the fruits on the tree are like our deeds. A tree without fruit means that the roots are dead…so unless we are living out our faith through our actions (or fruit), our roots are dead, because there is only one reason for a tree not to bear fruit…and that is to look at the problem in the roots. (I didn't explain it as well as him, and he had some better points, but I at least got the visual in your head...feel free to contemplate that image some more). I also want to add that I believe everyone has some good in them - and even the nastiest people are still capable of performing good deeds…and sometimes it is our job as Christians to identify in these 'nasty' people those few struggling 'good roots' within them, and to help them to branch out to create more stronger roots…and therefore, to help them find their faith in God.

I hope you all can still view the beauty of this world and still see God's hand in this world even through the deception that lies in so many things…because it is these glimmers of hope and love that make life worth living, and they can oftentimes be found in some of the simplest of things.

James 2:14-26
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed, someone may say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God." See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rehab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

You did WHAT?

Wow. I am super pumped up for this blog today. Why? I don't really know. Maybe it's because I've had an EXCELLENT day, maybe it's because I am going to have an excellent weekend, maybe it's because I'm listening to an amazing Starfield CD right now, maybe it's the AMAZING weather!, maybe it's because of the 20 ounce cappuccino that is sitting next to me…or maybe it's because we had some cake at lunch. Who knows. Either way, I feel like I could type about 5 million times faster than what my human ability will allow…it's a good feeling.

Anyways, I KNOW one reason I am exciting is because I have figured out a way to tie together these deception blogs from the past few days…which includes first impressions. Here's what I want you to do - check out the picture at the top of the blog. It's a priest, correct? What are your initial reactions to this picture? Are they positive, negative, or neutral? Are your reactions due to your feelings towards all priests in general? Or maybe because of some particular experience with a priest in your past? Does this priest look interesting? Nice? Boring? Long-winded?

Well, I will begin with telling you my first impressions with this priest - and I'm not going to try to let you know initially if my final impression of him is good or bad.

So, this priest is a professor at the University of Saint Thomas. I had class with him during the fall of my Sophomore year of college - "Music and the Bible." I thought it would be a great class, I thought I'd learn a lot, and (coming from a public high school) I was excited to finally get to take some classes on my faith! The only downfall initially with this class was its timeslot - 8 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. I know some of you may not realize the pain of this, since you are still in high school and are like "Yeah, class at 8, big deal, I'm always at school by 8 right now and that's five days a week!" Well, once you get to college, you will realize that early morning classes are a lot of college students' worst enemies…since the later time slots are much more tempting - like 9:55 a.m. or 9:35 a.m….most people at UST choose to avoid the 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. classes like the plague…and here I was, sophomore year, a year when I still didn't have many responsibilities outside of class - only one part-time job, and the easy ability to not have to take an 8 a.m. class. However, this class was only offered at 8, so what could I do? The class looked really interesting and I needed it for my major!

Anyways, I went to this class every single Tuesday and Thursday throughout September…and then throughout October…every now and then we would get a morning off because this priest was still recovering from a rare neurological disorder he suffered from, so some days he was too tired/weak to handle having an 8 a.m. class. I went to this class willingly, and for the most part, I enjoyed our material, but if you asked me, I felt like things were a bit too deep for my limited knowledge and I felt like some of our class activities were a bit boring…one of these was going through the psalms in a very very very intense manner. We would study them, look at how the lines worked together, stanzas, study the meaning behind them, what certain words really meant in context, etc etc. It was a lot (especially at 8 a.m.), but I was still enjoying this class. Towards my professor, I had an "eh" attitude. He was nice enough, he definitely knew everything that he was talking about very well, he was dedicated to his work (even through his health struggles), and he seemed to truly want to get us excited about the material. However, I wasn't horribly excited, and I was pretty sure that this priest would come and go like my other professors I had had up to that point - I would take the class, know him while I was in his class, and then never really talk to him again.

(Before going to the next part of this blog - quick random thing you need to bring to your mind - do you recall the song "On Eagle's Wings"? It is sung a lot in church…mostly at funerals…but almost everyone knows it or has heard it at some point. If not, here's a lyric from it to jog your memory (or go ask a friend or parent if you are not sure): "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand.")

Then, one day in November, for some reason, we got a bit 'off track' during class. One of the girls in my grade (and in the same major as me) raised her hand and asked if she could ask a question not related to class. Her question completely floored me. And although I had just been looking at the priest, when I turned back to look at him after she had asked her question - I NEVER looked at him the same again - it was like I was seeing him for the first time.

Curious of the what the question was yet? Or did you figure it out? Her question was: "Do you regret writing 'On Eagle's Wings?'"

After she asked this - several things went through my mind: A) MY TEACHER WROTE "ON EAGLE'S WINGS"?????????? B) Why in the WORLD would you EVER REGRET writing that song!?! It's so popular!

I guess that in the Liturgical music world there may be a reason to 'regret' writing that song - such as - because it has been misused in ways…and the way he wrote it was more for solo singing and not the congregational singing that it has been used for…but still.

Fr. (Michael) Joncas looked back at this student with a slightly red face, smiled sheepishly, and appeared a bit embarrassed by her question. He lives pretty humbly, and I think he is used to going through classes where the majority of his students have no idea that he is one of the most well-known Catholic music composers in the United States (as well as being known as a composer throughout the world - "On Eagle's Wings" was actually used last year at that one opera singer guy's funeral in Europe somewhere…Fr. Joncas was very honored to have had his song sung at that singer's funeral - he was a huge fan of his singing). I looked at him that day in class, and I was floored that I had been so blind not to know that he was a composer! I was so relieved that my classmate had brought it up, because if she hadn't, I may never have known…and I would have walked out of a class with a world-known composer and have never been the wiser.

Just think of all of the people you walk by on the streets that have influenced things and created things that you find so common? We never even know how much each person has given to this world…because all we ever recognize are the faces of the "key players" in corporations or the faces of celebrities. Now, after experiences like this one with Fr. Joncas, when I walk through malls or am driving down the highway, I consider who I am passing and how influential many of these people must be…some of them could be great composers, some could work backstage for major concerts, some could have created the computer software you use everyday, and so on. How diluted our thinking can get to be after awhile…and how much we all are missing because we get too lazy to study the world around us to see all of the beautiful facets of it.

In case you're curious of how this story ended with my professor…I did actually see him after the class ended (unlike the majority of my other professors outside of the music department). I took two more classes with him during my college career - both during the same semester, and I even had the honor of working alongside him during the spring of my senior year - I was a recording assistant on the recording of his first album release in over 8 years! It was an amazing experience…and to top it all off, I spent Christmas with him last year in Rome! He came along on our choir pilgrimage tour to Italy, and it was great to get to talk with him more on that trip…he honestly seems to know everything about church history - so his explanations of the artwork and architecture of the churches in Italy was very helpful! He even performed a mass in one of the churches that we sang in - he did part of the mass in Italian, part of it in English, and even had to translate some Greek I believe during the mass…quite an accomplishment.

I hadn't really thought about what Bible verse to use with this blog before writing it…so I'm going to do a bit of a stretch here and use some text from Isaiah…in this text Isaiah is warning the people of Babylon…but I think it could demonstrate some of the consequences of only noticing ourselves and a small part of the world rather than the whole…
Quote from Isaiah: "You felt secure in your wickedness. 'No one sees me,' you said. But your 'wisdom' and 'knowledge' have led you astray, and you said, 'I am the only one, and there is no other.' So disaster will overtake you, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out." Isaiah 47:10-11a

Deception...once again

Well, I am going to continue to build off of yesterday's post.

Last night (as well as this morning), I've been thinking a lot about my move to Fairmont…and my abilities to adjust to it. I'm almost bothered by the fact that I feel like I'm adjusting too well and too quickly - which some of you may not understand... It's usually hard for me to let go of my 'former life,' so my willingness to embrace the newness of Fairmont is really shocking me…then again, I disliked my work in St. Cloud so much, that I'm not entirely surprised that I am more than happy to throw myself fully into ministry here in Fairmont!

Anyways, the reason why this relates to yesterday's post is because I began thinking about my first impressions of the Fairmont area…..I was trying to recall that day in July when I interviewed. I was recalling my first impressions of Father, Joni, Angie, and the rest of the interview committee…I was thinking about my first impression of the church buildings, the office building, Dairy Freeze, the Channel Inn…all of these things I saw that first day. I thought about those firsts, and then I thought about how differently I view all of it now.

My first impression of the Channel Inn and the Dairy Freeze was that they were closer to the center of town, which is obviously not true, and initially I thought I'd go past them frequently enough, but there's usually not a reason to go that way unless you have a real reason to head in that direction…I remember being awed by the beauty and simplicity of the church - being able to easily tell that the church had been renovated in (relatively) recent years…I remember sitting across from Barb in the office discussing random small talk while waiting before and after my interview…and how I sat there thinking, "This is a person that I may get to know very well…assuming I get this position…or someone I may never see again...awkward."

And throughout my life, I can think of countless first impressions - my first impression of the University of St. Thomas when my mom and I visited my brother there, my first impression of my college roommate, my first impressions of my friends…but all of those first impressions have changed. Why? Because I've learned more about the people and the places…it has been through getting to know them more that I have realized how these people truly are or how these places are actually used.

I'm sure that there are some people you know who have given you a completely incorrect first impression - there are some people that you maybe thought were really nice that first time you met them, but then you realized that they are not really that nice over the long-term….and maybe there are some people that you have had really bad first impressions of, but then you realized that they were just nervous or came off incorrectly, and truly, they are kind.

This idea of first impressions is part of what I was discussing yesterday - we can let ourselves be diluted by our first impressions OR we can continue to study whatever it is to truly understand it. There are lots of stupid activities or actions we can get ourselves into…and maybe we come out of it the first time and say, "That wasn't so bad," but sometimes those first impressions and experiences will deceive us. Sometimes those first times don't show us the true danger or error of our ways…and only once we're too deeply into the error do we realize that we have a problem…and then it's all the harder to pull ourselves out.

So today, my hope for you is that you learn to reflect on your lives and your actions in order to truly see the benefit or harm of your choices…although some things may not appear to be so bad or harmful…sometimes they are simply a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Here's a well-known story in the Bible that involves some very bad deception...
"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad." The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fuit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of te day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. The Lord God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "the woman whom you put here with me - she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." The Lord God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." Genesis 3:1-13

Deception...Lies...and Truth

Intro: Today, I will be discussing deception…and how we have all been deceived by this world…and how it is our responsibility as Christians to look at these deceptions…to study them…and to adjust our perspective in order to see the evil and/or good in the things of this world.

The "meat": Last night at Teen Community Bible Study, the speaker discussed not letting ourselves be deceived...and to get across his point, he used a bunch of optical illusions - where you can see two very different pictures by looking at the exact same image. Here are some examples:

Is this platform the top or the bottom?

Is this a skull or a woman looking into a mirror?

Is this an old woman or a youth woman? (hint - the bump on the left is a wart on the nose of the old woman while it is the nose of the young woman who is looking away)

He then posed a question to the crowd: "How did you see the other picture in the image?" And some of the answers included using a different perspective, studying it, etc. I was so impressed by this example…It is a great way to show us how we could be deceived in life, and how two very different perspectives can be derived out of looking at the same thing...it makes so much sense to me…and it reminds me of how, when we are Christians, we are to look at this world...to study it...and to look at it through different perspectives in order to truly see the good and evil in the things of this world.

There are so many things in our lives that we can just look at and allow to happen because we don't see the 'major' harm in it, we don't see that other perspective of the image…we allow our friends (and ourselves) to swear, to use the Lord's name in vain, to drink underage, to excessively drink, to use drugs (even if it is only rarely), to laugh off a friend going to a party and kissing someone he or she doesn't even know, etc - this list could go on forever. At some point, ourselves, as well as our friends, have been deceived by this world - we have decided that it is ok to do "little sins" because they are not as bad as the "big" ones like murder and adultery. We have been deceived to think that physical love is true love or that the only real love we will receive is what we can get from others. Some have been deceived to think that image and appearances matter so much that they must practically mutilate themselves in order to remain at a dangerously low weight or in order to gain perfectly sculpted muscles.

So many deceptions, so many lies, so much pain and suffering. Just imagine what new perspectives you could gain in your own life by re-examining and re-studying the world around you…take some time during your daily activities to step back and gain a different perspective. Try to look at the world through God's loving eyes and see if you can find some new ideas…ideas that may surprise you. Maybe you'll realize that some of your actions and some of your silence has only been encouraging bad things…and maybe you'll see that some of your actions have been having more of a positive affect than you originally realized.

Last night, after I returned home from Teen CBS, I happened upon the book of Ezekiel…and as I started reading…it reminded me of how we are responsible for those around us. I'm not saying that it is a good idea to go around judging people and telling them what they do wrong…but maybe it's time to start encouraging those around us to make better decisions and to positively lift them up so that they may receive the same blessings, and maybe it's also time for us to ask someone else to hold us responsible for our own actions as well.

Here is some of the passage from Ezekiel that I read last night:
"After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, "Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, 'You are under the penalty of death,' but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.
If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too." (Ezekiel 3:16-21)

I Love Concerts!

Well, I have so many different things I could write about today - it's crazy. I got a ton of great ideas for blogs at the conference I attended on Friday...as well as several great ideas from a speaker at the concert I went to on Friday night...but unfortunately, I do not have time today to spend writing a lengthy blog on any of those topics... :( So instead, I am going to write a story through some of my pictures from this weekend!

First off, I want to encourage all of the SJV youth to be open to attending a concert in the cities with me someday! We will have a concert event on November 7th, but I know that this cuts out all of the people in the musical, which is sad. There will be more chances as the year goes on, but that is the only concert the club is having in November that involves a national group...

Secondly, if you don't read anything else in this blog...at least read these lyrics by Thousand Foot Krutch...and you can see the pics below that include the band members! I think these lyrics will really speak to a lot of you... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2X0mjAUvIg to listen)

"This is a Call" - by Thousand Foot Krutch (sidenote...this is about reaching out to God)

She fooled all of her friends into thinking she's so strong,

but she still sleeps with her light on,

and she acts like it's all right on,

as she smiles again

her mother lies there sick with cancer,

and her friends don't understand her,

she's a question without answers,

who feels like falling apart.

She knows, she's so much more than worthless,

but she needs to find her purpose,

she wonders what she did to deserve this and..

She's calling out to you, this is a call; this is a call out,

'Cause everytime I fall down, I reach out to you,

and I'm losing all control now, and my hazard signs are all out,

I'm asking you, to show me what this life is all about.

He tells everyone a story,

because he thinks his life is boring,

and he fights so you won't ignore him,

because that's his biggest fear,

and he cries,but you'll rarely see him do it.

He loves, but he's scared to use it.

So he hides behind the music, 'cause he likes it that way.

He knows, he's so much more than worthless,

he needs to find the surface,

because he's starting to get nervous.

Have you ever felt this way before?

'cause I don't wanna hide here anymore.

Take me to place where nothing's wrong and thanks for coming, shut the door.

They say someone out there sees us,

Well if you're real then save me Jesus,

'cause I've been here for far too long.

I wasn't meant to feel alone.

Show me what this life is all about

Now back to the story....so Friday was amazing - I attended the concert with Jen and Katie who are two other Fairmont Youth Ministers (it was Jen's birthday), and it was the most amazing concert I've been to in awhile. Here, I will let the pictures tell some of the story of the night:

First off - here's what some youth ministers look like when they get a Friday night off and get to go to a concert in the cities...lovely, right?

Second, here's a pic from the concert. This is the lead singer for the band, Thousand Foot Krutch - one of my all-time favorite bands. He is one of my heroes, because I absolutely LOVE his music! Feel free to check out their music someday - I'll try to get us all to their next concert in the area...they are so good!

Next, here are some sweet shutter shades I got for Jen and myself (after all, I had to get her some sort of birthday gift!) They came with a CD of KJ-52 that I bought...pretty sweet, right? Especially with the tags still on them. Nice. (side note: I got some pretty sweet pics of some Fairmont seniors wearing my shutter shades at the Retreat Team meeting on Sunday night...I'll have to share those someday. :)

Here's a picture of the Thousand Foot Krutch guitarist - they were all pretty amazing. Continuing with the story...so we continued to enjoy the concert...and then at the end of the concert....the drummer threw out his drumstick, which is pretty normal...but it's not normal for me to be one of the people to catch it! Katie and I caught it when it sorta got lodged in between us, so we both grabbed one end, looked at the drumstick in disbelief, looked at each other in disbelief, and then turned to Jen and said, "Happy Birthday!" She was pretty shocked, to say the least, I don't even think she had noticed that we caught it until we were handing it to her!

So here's a pic of us and the drumstick that we shockingly caught...I think it only happened because it was Jen's birthday.

After all of this happened, we knew that we had to stay after the concert to get the drumstick signed by the band! So we stuck around and got pictures with first the lead singer and the guitarist (look to the right for said picture - who were standing around in the center of what used to be the general audience area)...then we noticed the bassist and drummer still back by the stage making sure that everything was being loaded out properly...so we stared at the bassist (who was standing on the side of the stage), and once he glanced over - we waved him over - so he came over and talked to us for awhile and signed the drumstick (as well as took the pic below)!

We then asked him the favor of bringing it up to the drummer (who was still onstage), and he brought it up there so that we would have all of the band's autographs!

Once he came back out...he continued talking to us...and then this guy - with the dreads - came out, who I immediately recognized as the guitarist from another band called Pillar (they had played the night before). He hung out and talked to us for awhile - giving us a hard time for not making his set the night before, and then he even did part of their best song a cappella for me since we had missed their concert! It was amazing (to say the least, I still cannot believe that happened).

Towards the end - we did catch up with the drummer (who had finally come out) - so we got a picture with him too...and we got the chance to thank him personally for the drumstick. :)

And just think - if you come to some of these concerts...you could experience the same sort of great evening...although I doubt that any of you will catch the drumstick the first or second time that we go...

Well, sorry there's not something more exciting for me to write today, but this blog is a lot quicker than the other topics I want to get to...so until tomorrow............

I love having a CRAZY life, but sadly, it takes me away from the blog :(

Hellooooo everyone! So, today has been CRAZY with a capitol C. I have been finalizing up all of the DCYC stuff, so all of you senior highers going to DCYC - make sure you're at your mass time this weekend! And if possible - come help out at the 5:30 mass too - we're kinda desperate for more people at that mass (as well as someone to SPEAK!). Email me if you can speak at that...

So there is no official blog post today, but I do have some new pictures that just got turned into me this week! Yay! So check out a few of my favs from these new photos...

Also - there will most likely be no update tomorrow, since I am at a conference all day and then heading to Minneapolis for a concert at Club 3 Degrees - Thousand Foot Krutch, KJ-52, Fireflight, Worth Dying For, and Esterlyn - I haven't heard of all of those bands, but I'm sure it's going to be amazing! Next month, we'll be doing a concert as an event...so hopefully some of you can make it! Keep November 7th open if possible! Of course, the football team may cancel that event too... I'll try to post a little blurb before I leave tomorrow morning, but I'm not sure I'll have time, either way, I hear a lot of you need some time to catch up on reading my past posts. :) Until then....

Burned-In Memories: Part Deux

Part Deux

Continuing from the subject of yesterday...and how we leave marks that we are unaware of on people ...I am now going to look at the positive side. Once again, this will involve me - but this time it will be someone who left a mark on me.

Let me paint a picture - I was at my graduation party (which, for the record, I completely messed up - I definitely did not mingle as well as I should have, either way...), enjoying the party and pointing people towards "key areas" - like the pictures we put up, etc...then, my great-uncle arrived. I always got along well with my great-uncle, but I didn't know him extremely well, and I didn't think that he knew much about me, my accomplishments or my activities throughout high school... He walked up to me, and when he came up, he said, "Wow! Is this Molly? You can't be Molly, you look so beautiful and mature!" I knew he knew it was me - we saw each other more often than every 10 years - but even so, I was shocked at his words. (That's not the exact quote, but it went along those general lines - something regarding beauty, brains, maturity)

I was so taken aback by his words. As I said, I'd always liked my great-uncle, but I had never known that he was so impressed by my accomplishments or what I had done with myself at that point in my life. I was shocked by his praise for me...and that moment has stuck in my head. I can remember where I was standing, what his expression looked like, and exactly how I felt when he was saying those things. I remember my joking laughter when I replied, "Yes, it is me!" And how he continued to compliment me after I admitted that I was who he said I was.

After that day, I was his new #1 fan. I saw him in a completely different light. I never saw him the same after that moment...I felt like I could never repay his kindness. Throughout the next 5 years, I did my best to stay in touch with him while I was away at college. I'd ask my dad how my great-uncle was doing every now and then, I'd email my great-uncle (yup, he jumped onto the computer craze! His emails were always very cute), and I made sure that I tried to see him whenever possible. Last year, he went into the hospital right around Thanksgiving...I went to visit him on Thanksgiving, and we had high hopes that he would recover. A few weeks later, we learned that he wouldn't be getting better, since he had a huge tumor eating through his ribcage. They gave him less than 6 months....after that point, I went home whenever possible. I went, and I visited this man - a man I knew almost nothing about...all I knew was that he was family, he had given me the best compliment of my life, and he needed me during his illness. I knew limited facts about his life - I knew he was my grandma's youngest brother, that he had served in WWII, that he golfed, he had owned and operated a small bar in town, and that he was probably the kindest man I'd ever met.

The compliment he gave me may not be the "best" compliment I've ever received in actuality, but it is the compliment that has stuck the most in my mind because it came out of nowhere (at least in my head) and because he didn't have to say those things to me. He could have said, "Hi," and some regular pleasantry....but no, he chose to say those words. If he hadn't said those few sentences to me, my perception of him over the past 5 years would have been completely different, and when he became sick, I would have been sad, but instead - because of what he said to me those 5 years ago, I was devastated. I felt cheated out of time to get to know this amazing man more. The last time I got home to see him, he was so sick and had lost so much weight that his dentures didn't even fit (I didn't know that was even possible) - I nearly broke down crying right then, but I wanted to stay strong for him and have his last memories of me involve me smiling and not crying. He died a few weeks after my final visit...and I never got to say to him what I wanted to say, such as a thank you for those words he said to me almost 5 years before at my graduation.

I got through a tight-throated "Amazing Grace" at his funeral, I completely lost it during 'Taps' out at the freezing cold cemetery, and I said goodbye to a man who had meant so much to me, but who never knew how much he affected my life. What surprises me even more, is that none of my family seems to have noticed my complete 180 towards him...I went from merely acknowledging his presence to seeking him out. Either way, I guess they will now know why the change occurred.

Well, this blog has covered several topics from previous blogs, and another one it covers is a previous blog about death...his funeral is one reason why I don't think that we can really grasp death...because my great-uncle, Bob Hotchkiss, has completely changed me through a few small sentences. How can I ever grasp that he's gone, when he has forever left his mark on me and my memories?

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

(Side note: this picture is from a card he sent home to his mother while he was stationed in Germany during the war. He mentions on the card that he doesn't like how he took his picture - he would have rather been looking at the camera and smiling :)

Burned-In Memories

Everyone may not be the same as me (there's the understatement of the century), but I'm guessing that some of you have this same "phenomena" in your life…

I don't remember much from being younger (like before high school age), but there are a lot of burned-in memories and images from years ago that remain very vivid. The majority of my memories are very vague and generalized, but these memories are different - they are very vivid and I can recall them easily, and they usually pop into my head at very random moments. Along with this, they are so random, that I have NO idea why they would have stuck in my memory so well. Usually these vivid ones involve me being confused, but most of them just seem pointless…like remembering a dance one girl did for a talent show, remembering a game some of my friends played outside, remembering some odd question that a person asked me…etc, etc. I'm sure that some of you have these random, vivid recalls in your mind - of people or places that now seem pretty pointless to remember so well that it is like a DVD is playing in your mind.

The reason I bring up these random memories that are for some reason burned into our minds is because sometimes we LEAVE these memories in other people's minds. I can guarantee you that a lot of these random vivid recalls in my brain involve people that I have completely lost contact with over the years. I'm sure that if I told these memories to these people, most of them wouldn't even remember the events! That brings me to my main point for you today - think of what things you might be leaving in the memories of those around us? What passing words might you be leaving in other people's minds? Memories that they may recall 20 years later with amazing clarity? And better yet - what kind of an impression is this leaving with people? You may be leaving someone with a vivid recall of painful words…or…you may be leaving them with positive words that will completely alter their future perception of the world or themselves.

This blog subject is going to be a two part series - today's series is going to involve a few negative recalls (which will involve me doing the negative work, sadly). Here we go:

I have two very amazing friends that will be involved in these stories, one of them is one of my best friends, and the other is her husband. For some reason, at various points in my life, various friends have been kind enough to take the time to describe me as well as my personality while in my presence…what I learned from these two friends about myself during one of these instances has been very eye opening (to say the least).

The first negative memory that I left was in my friend's husband's memory - this memory that he recalls is an instance when I was being bossy (I guess I was demanding to drink some of my friend's pop, or as he quotes: "I'm going to drink some of that"). He's described this scene to me recently (within the past year or so), and he said that he was so freaked out by what I did that he thought I was a really mean person. In general, he says that it made him completely wary of being around me, and frankly - he probably could have cared less if he was ever around me again at that point. This happened during sophomore year of high school, and he had known me for a few years before this time, but obviously he didn't have a definite pre-conceived idea about my personality - so this comment of mine and this situation stuck in his head and gave him a negative idea about who I was.

The second negative memory is from my friend, who is now married to him… and at the time of this memory, which would be freshmen or sophomore year of high school, I mentioned to her that I thought it was dumb to date someone throughout all of high school. First of all, I don't know why I would have been discussing this with her, since we weren't really close friends at that point, and secondly, I don't know why I would have mentioned this to someone who was in a 'serious' relationship (they had already been dating since 8th grade, so it would have been 1 or 2 years of them dating by this point). Either way, my comment stuck with her and made her feel uncomfortable around me - since she was always feeling like I was judging her for still remaining in a long-term high school relationship.

Shockingly, both of these people gave me a second chance and during our senior year I became very close to them. Even more shocking, she forgave me for my comment regarding dating throughout all of high school, and I was asked to be in their wedding (which I, of course, accepted).

Now, I don't recall either of their memories. I'm sure I said what both of them claim I did, but I don't remember it at all. Either way, I left these negative footprints behind myself, and it has made me wonder what negative footprints I have left behind in other places? With these two friends, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to make up for my mistakes…but there are surely other people out there who have a bad experience with me that I cannot make up for any longer.

This really makes me think about how I treat others today, as well as how others see me treating those around me. I know I will leave more negative footprints as time goes on, sadly - it's only human, but at least with a greater awareness, I can hopefully leave more positive memories with people rather than the negative. How about you? What footprints have you left behind? And are your negative out-weighing the positive?

For tomorrow - the positive footprints.

Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Change Your Life - See Others Differently

Well, first off - I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Secondly, I will once again be using a "write-in suggestion" for today's blog! (No, there is no commission for sending in a suggestion - sorry - however, suggestions for topics are greatly appreciated) Today's suggestion is once again a video...from YouTube...which I apparently love according to how often I use YouTube in this blog.

Today's video shows a guy, let's call him 'Matt,' dancing all over the world. Watch the video below and then I'll comment...(or I recommend going to YouTube to watch it and click on "high quality" - trust me, it's a million times better in "high quality") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY (I also recommend checking out the dancing "bloopers" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT8jA_pps3o )



Did you see that guy? Could you imagine running into this guy at your cousin's wedding doing this dance? I checked out Matt's official website (http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/index.shtml?fbid=V4LU-hXSxCn - which is hilarious) on his dancing and world trips, and in the 'About Matt' section, there is this quote regarding the origins of the video: "A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It's actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly."

I think I might have to agree - if I saw Matt at a dance, and this was the only dance he did, I would have to agree that he did it poorly. Are you with me? Would you even maybe try to avoid him because of his apparent craziness? And I'm guessing most people (including myself) would only notice his horrible dance skills....little would we know that his "horrible" dance skills got him TWO, yes, TWO free trips AROUND THE WORLD in order to film this dance. The first time he went solo, and then the second time he made this video which includes other people dancing with him. Both of these trips were sponsored by Stride Gum, and I'm sure that they used it in some marketing campaigns. Can you imagine?

I think there are lots of times when we choose to ignore people, to avoid them, to judge the book by its cover...we get scared of what we don't know, and we judge. We make up excuses of why we want to avoid them...but if we took these chances to get to know these people a bit more...think of all of the amazing people we would meet? A bad dancer at our cousin's wedding could turn out to be a guy who has traveled around the world TWICE - for FREE. Someone with ragged clothes could turn out to be a person who has backpacked around Europe for several years; a guy with long, crazy, curly hair could turn out to be a person who has raced in the Iditarod; someone missing a leg could be someone who has wrestled an alligator....

Ok, so not everyone will have such amazing stories regarding why their outside appearance may not be the "norm," but everyone has some amazing stories hidden behind their facade -- EVERYONE! All of us have had such different experiences in our lives, and it really makes me sad when we miss hearing about these various experiences because we're scared away by outside appearances. Even some of the 'boring-looking, old' people have had crazy life experiences...they just maybe aren't as crazy as they used to be. So consider what you may be missing out on in your life by avoiding those that are different...sometimes they are the ones that will open up a whole new world to you.

Jesus was different...but some chose to follow him...and their whole lives were changed...
"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him." - Matthew 4:18-20

Photo Shoot = Success!

Well - today is going to be a VERY long post - 22,000 words!! Crazy!
Here are some of my favs from the photos shoot today...and we're still missing about 200 or so of them from cameras that we couldn't download from...yay! There will be even more!

Hope you enjoy the pics!! Soon you will be able to buy them on greeting cards, postcards, or prints...the sky is the limit. Enjoy!













Below is Chelsea and I skipping...this was towards the end of the shoot...we were getting a little antsy.







See you Monday!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Hellooooo everyone.

Today involved a lot of out-of-the-office work with the first round of the photo shoot! So rather than write a normal blog, I am instead going to post some of the pictures we took today! Hopefully this will get some of you thinking about ideas we can use for tomorrow... Don't forgot - Lunch Club - noon - Perkins - and Photo Shoot is from 2 to 4 - meet at my office!

And if I picture is worth a thousand words, that means this blog is 7,000 words long....good luck reading. ;)