The Drama
The Scavenger Hunt
The Lesson
The Coconut-Toss Relay. Coach Giorgio expresses doubts in his mother's sanity.
My awesome High School Volunteers!
What a great day when we learned the Truth that God sent His Only Son to be our Saviour!
I suppose I'm really naive to think I could blog, direct a drama, teach 1st graders, and solve the world's energy needs all in one day. I'm a little after the fact, but here are some photos of our first day on Outrigger Island.
The Vocal Team leads Worship
My adorable actress Emily, for whom "The Show Must Go On!" has taken new meaning as she now plays her role from her wheelchair or on crutches. Way to go, Em!
My 1st graders at Music.
Here we are having our morning snack. Cookies and Juice. Yum!
Here we are playing games on "the beach."
Now we're learning about God's power from the story of Moses.
Since our Missions team leader, the one and only Missions Momma, is herself serving as a missionary in Cape Town, South Africa, we have a new Missions team leader. Here he is, able to leap small children in a single bound, it's -- MissionMan!
Finally, one last photo of our closing worship rally. What a great day! I can't wait to see all my friends tomorrow on Outrigger Island.
Vacation Bible School is here!! Yesterday, we spent hours transforming our church into a Hawaiian island paradise. I'm teaching one of six 1st-grade classes. We have right at 1500 children pre-registered. Wow!
I'm also directing the children's drama. When they take the stage, I'll send photos. Notice my leading lady broke her foot at our final rehearsal! Bummer.
Here we go--at Outrigger Island we're learning God's unshakeable Truth.
Mailboxes all over Williamson County served as receptacles of hated mail last week The first electric bill of the summer exploded on my desk and devastated my household budget. A similar occurrence shattered the workings of my husband's office. The scheduling of my participation in the clean technology energy conference last weekend proved especially timely in light of the receipt of our electric bills.
Imagine my piqued interest when our discussion turned to a new twist on an old power source, wind. A well-known European inventor, Philippe Starck, has developed a wind turbine for personal use that Pramac Corporation claims will reduce electric usage in a private residence by 20 to 60 percent. Even better news is that the machine will sell for about 400 Euros, roughly $600. I began to crunch the numbers quickly in my mind and was ready to sign on the dotted line. That is, until my colleagues began to fill me in on the information omitted from that paper.
Naturally, there is an expense to be removed from your electric company's grid. Then, there are special batteries required to receive, store, and conduct the energy. The company "recommends" that purchasers upgrade from the standard turbine blades to a higher quality blade. The list goes on. Suddenly, the $600 machine has become a $20,000 albatross sitting in my yard begging for a breeze.
Wind-created power is a form of energy humans have employed since our earliest recorded histories. It is clean and somewhat efficient. However, take a look at the beautiful glens and farms of Scotland to understand the visual impact of the number of turbines required to make a meaningful contribution to the ever-growing need for power. Meanwhile, I'm realigning the budgets and switching the A/C back to 80. Come on over, Richard Simmons. We're sweating to the Oldies.
If you know me at all, you know that I'm passionate about history, particularly family history. In the classroom, I've had the privilege to bring history's stories to life by sharing my own family's role in those stories with my students. I've often used films from our contemporary culture to add further depth and understanding of those events for my students. Today, as we citizens of the USA celebrate the sacrifices offered over 200 years ago that give us our liberties in the 21st century, I'm reflecting on the roles played by my own family members.
As a blue-painted descendant of Picts and Celts, I found it somewhat difficult to watch Mel Gibson's cinematic depiction of the war for Scotland's independence. Those mountain men, those cattle drovers, those claymore-swinging soldiers represent many of my ancestors who fought alongside William Wallace and, subsequently, Robert the Bruce. The DNA that splatters across the screen during that movie is my own DNA. Those men faced anathema from their Church and expulsion from their culture to give their families, along with their descendants, real freedom from tyranny. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself (Declaration of Arbroath, 1320).
Some 400 years later, the descendants of these same freedom-loving Scots and Scots-Irish waged war again against a tyrannical government. While some of my ancestors lived in the New England colonies in the early 1600s, most of them and/or their descendants migrated to the southern colonies, landing primarily in Virginia and the Carolinas. These families, like their forefathers, once again rallied together to drive out this tyrannical government. When I watch Mel Gibson's The Patriot, I see rough mountain-men or swamp-dwellers, frontiersmen who pushed into the forests of the American interior to build new lives for their families, lives that were threatened by oppression and injustice. Those southern campaigns for freedom, like the Battle of King's Mountain, the Battle at Cowpens, and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse were waged by my own forebears. While the people whose stories come to life in The Patriot are fictitious, they represent real flesh and blood who suffered, sacrificed, and often died so that they could lay a better foundation for their children's children -- for me.
It is to all those men and women, boys and girls, that today I say, "Thank You." May the children who come after me be able to say the same for my own generation.
Growing up in the 60s offered a mixed bag of family traditions. We went into the woods to cut a cedar for our Christmas tree, but we strung vibrant multi-colored lights on it and mixed plastic tinsel with homemade cookie ornaments. Our Independence Day celebration was somewhat the same sort of blend of old-fashioned tradition mixed with new-fangled conveniences. Back then even as now, I sang with a band, so on the 4th of July, all these musical families gathered at the nearby "cement pond" (you laugh, but it really was a pond that had been floored with cement) for a pot-luck feast. We skated at the adjacent roller rink in the morning, ate the massive spread of home-cooked delicacies, and then jumped into the pool for the rest of the day. In the evenings, we'd sit around and sing and/or play instruments while the wee ones chased fireflies. Idyllic!
When my husband and I first married, we joined his family for their Independence Day festivities at nearby Fairfield Glade. David's mom packed a gigantic picnic dinner for us to enjoy beside the lake as the sun set. Finally, the night sky exploded with fireworks set to patriotic music. Again, idyllic.
For much of my son's teenage years, we enjoyed the holiday at the beach. All along the coast, beginning just before "true dark," resort after resort and community after community lit up the sky with an explosive salute to our nation.
Our traditions seem to be in flux these days. We've begun to leave the explosions and feasts to others. Now, we find our tradition includes sharing a quiet dinner in our own backyard with just a few close friends. But, we understand that traditions ebb and flow. They build like the estuaries, with some things sticking while others float on out to sea. Quite a comforting blend of old and new, just like our country itself.
Friend and blogmeister, Randy Elrod, is leading a discussion today at Watercooler Wednesday about the American Film Institute's list of top ten films in various categories. I've long since realized that my own ideas about films seldom match the general population's ideas, so I approached this list with a good bit of wariness. I knew I was in trouble when their top pick for best fantasy is The Wizard of Oz.
My great film memories seldom involve just the film. I often link my love of a film with the people or occasion associated with my seeing the movie. Like The Sound of Music. My mother drove us 70 miles so we could see it when it was originally released. She and Daddy also took us to see my two other favorite films from that time in my life, those classic Disney hits Lady and the Tramp and That Darn Cat!
I remember how much fun we've had as an extended family watching No Time for Sergeants. We quote lines from that script every time we get together. Our call to dinner is always Andy Griffith's line, "Y'all come on in!" And we sing snippets from all the old musicals as we cook or play games. Though we seldom watch movies when we gather, we still are reminded of the words of the script or lyrics of the songs.
While I love the movies in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I love even more my memories of watching the films and discussing them with my husband and son. The same can be said for the Harry Potter films, especially as we compare and contrast the books with the films.
We have a great cinematic legacy, one that has had deep impact on the culture of the 21st century American. While I look forward to seeing new stories come to life on screen, I am even more mindful of the great memories of the time spent with family and friends the watching of the movies will create.
I just returned from a weekend retreat at which the participants discussed the viability of various alternative sources of energy that would fuel our standard of living in the US and permit the economy to grow, all while protecting the environment. That model for clean technology for our future seems beyond anything we're hearing discussed by the governmental regulators and the political candidates at all levels, from local to federal. Most of the research presented points out that biofuels are contributing to the out-of-control rising prices of grains. Not only is the demand for grain taking food out of the mouths of humans, it is also taking food away from all animals, including dogs, cats, horses, and, of course, livestock. As such, this group rejected the current call to use biofuels instead of petroleum-based fuels.
This group also pondered the use of nuclear energy. The primary concern for using nuclear energy remains the disposal of the waste. But, what if a clean technology existed that could completely iradicate the hazardous waste without leaving behind more toxic matters? Further, what if that clean technology could separate the uranium used to fuel the reactors and make it usable again? What if this same clean technology could also be used to purify the residue from the burning of coal? Wouldn't this clean technology seem like a gift from heaven indeed that would permit that citizens of the USA to continue to grow our economy, protect our environment, and provide as much energy as we need to live in comfort? And how would you feel if you knew that the US government knows about this clean technology but hasn't seen fit to use it?
Our research group weighed these and many more questions about the 3Es of 2008. Too bad none of our political candidates seem to be as interested in hearing the answers to these questions as this bunch of researchers.
Last night I watched a television program about a young man known as the Human Spider. His goal is to climb all the world's tallest structures. He uses no ropes or protective devices. His only tools are his non-skid shoes and chalk for his hands. During his interview, he expressed his lack of understanding for people who have no taste for danger. His goals and his passion are to continue to flaunt the laws of gravity until one day gravity will win.
I have little in common with this young man and his pursuit of danger. For myself, I love the ordinary, mundane things of life. Like the birds in my backyard that right now are singing more sweetly than any choir I've ever heard. The glorious sight of the clouds racing across the deep blue sky. The hypnotic fragrance that envelopes me in my flower garden. The serenity that comes from knowing that my family is healthy, safe, and productive. These things never speak "boredom" or "monotonony" to me. Instead they speak to me of "contentment" and a constancy that comes from life's rhythms. I treasure my mundane world because I understand, just like the Human Spider, that one day all might fall.
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His Throne.
The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.
Psalm 97: 1,2,6
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