Lately I've been able to read a lot more. When I was a kid, I read all the time. Somewhere, I guess when I hit high school, I didn't get to do as much reading for pleasure. I mean, I still have read some throughout the years, but not like I used to. So it's been fun to get back into it. I read part of the blog called "Stuff White People Like." I guess it's from the book, I don't know, I haven't read it. I laughed, though, because it said white people won't admit to reading a book after having seen the movie. Now, half the time, I didn't even know the movie was from a book. That's out-of-touch I've been with what books are out there. So I will admit, I read The Devil Wears Prada and Nanny Diaries after I saw the movies. And way back when, I read The Firm and Pelican Brief after watching those movies. I recently finished The Time Traveler's Wife, so I will be ready to see the movie when it comes out on DVD. I'm just starting Eclipse. (I did read Twilight before I saw that movie.)
People often ask me if I miss teaching, and I usually tell them no. Overall, there's things about it that I enjoyed. But I've realized lately that the main thing I miss is reading aloud to my class. That was always enjoyable! I got to throw in my own childhood favorites, like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge (both by Judy Blume), and The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin). I also discovered other good ones, like There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (Louis Sachar). Most people have probably read the Judy Blume books. They're about Peter and his annoying little brother, Fudge. They're good reads. The Westing Game won the Newbery award. It's about this guy that dies and makes a big game for his heirs. The heirs all happen to live in the same building even though they previously didn't know each other (for the most part). The story is one big word puzzle. I love it. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom is about this kid who is not doing well in school. He's not well-liked by his classmates, basically he has no social skills. He starts to work with the counselor at school, and things begin to change. That one is great. It has funny situations, but delves into the emotions. I'm actually trying to think of a way to incorporate that in my counseling group. If you like reading children's literature and have never read those, you should check them out. Again, I haven't kept up that well with the newer children's books, but I hope to soon. Recently saw a series called The 39 Clues. I want to check that out.
All this reading has really made me think about writing something. I've always wanted to write a book. I have never decided if I'd want to write a nonfiction book, a novel, or a children's book. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspired one day.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Change Has Come
A few posts back I talked about worship styles and visiting a church with Jason. I alluded to the fact that I saw a possible change in my life as a result of that. Well...it has happened. Jason and I have decided to start attending Grace Family Church. Now, I am excited about this prospect, but it has been very hard to leave the church that I've belonged to for almost 22 years. And that's what I'm focusing on in this post.
In the month that Jason and I have been discussing this decision, I've thought a lot about my time at Idlewild. I was SO excited to start going there. I visited a couple of times with my friend, KayAnn, whose family had begun attending there. Then I went to the Christmas presentation in 1987. Back then, Idlewild was still meeting at the building on the corner of Hanna and Highland. The building seated roughly 500 people, and with the 2 Christmas "trees" on either side, there was hardly any room for a stage. But the presentation was so good! I liked it so much, I wanted my parents to see it, and my dad went with me a few days later. He said, "Yeah. That was good. I may want to go to this church." Yay! In January 1988 he and I went to a church service there. The rest of my family did not come with us, mostly because my mom worked at the church we had been attending, and felt weird about going. But after 2 weeks, my mom, Amy, and Kyle started going with us, too, and we joined that April. My grandparents also credit me with getting them to go to Idlewild. That's one thing that's been so ironic to me about my leaving. But I'll get to that later.
After only a few months of attending Idlewild, they made this big announcement that we were going to be meeting at Chamberlain High School on Sundays. It's funny, because I can remember that for the first few months at Chamberlain, I missed the atmosphere of Hanna & Highland. But now, I have such good memories of Chamberlain. And how fitting that during preplanning this school year, I had a training at Chamberlain, so I was hit with all of these memories from that time period...Christmas presentations, choir tour home concerts, college group, July 4th presentations, and so forth.
Of course, after 5 years of being at Chamberlain, we were able to move to the Bearss Avenue campus. Lots of memories there, too. More Christmas, July 4th, and Easter presentations, great times with friends, Saturday night services...and of course moving to the current building, which is where I got married.
One of the hardest things about leaving, for me, is leaving my music pastor, Ron Upton. One of my first memories of him is on a Sunday morning when I was visiting with my friend, Jackie. We passed by Ron. She introduced me to him, and he said, "Claire, what do you sing, alto or soprano?" I said, "Alto." He had his hand on my shoulder, closed his eyes, and said, "Lord, we need Claire." Now, if you know Ron, you probably can see him saying this, in a quick sort of way. But little did I know how much singing in his music ministry would come to mean to me. He has deemed me "one of his all-time favorites" and I think the same way about him. I always knew I wanted him to perform my wedding whenever that time came, and of course, he did. I've sung in the various ensembles, Ecclesia when I was in high school. Then One Accord and One Voice. For the last almost 10 years, I have sung on the praise team. It started as the Saturday night praise team when we added the Saturday service in January 2000. Then, in 2003, Ron wanted to add a praise team, for vocal support, in all of the services. So we quickly began doing the Saturday night, 3 Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night services. I don't remember how long that was before we started rotating, but we did. New teams were formed when we moved to the current building. And Sunday was my last day to sing on the praise team. Thank you to Ron's wife, Miska, who told me there's always a place for me on the praise team.
Speaking of my last Sunday at Idlewild, I was of course finding myself very sentimental. Then, in his sermon, Ken mentions the pastor who preceded him, who was the pastor when I started going to Idlewild. I won't go into details about the story, because it's not important, but I was first crying because gosh, another old memory during my last days at Idlewild. Then, I was crying, because the story provided some closure about the pastor that I was really glad to have gotten. And I thought, "Wow, God. Thanks that I was able to hear that on my last Sunday there!" So, that was very cool.
Needless to say, I've been sentimental and emotional about leaving. I think that's understandable after 22 years of being some place. But please don't hear me say that I am not happy with our decision to go to Grace Family Church. At Idlewild, Ron has the very difficult job of planning worship services that many types of people attend. You've got the older generation, most of whom grew up on and love the old hymns. Then you've got the next generation, who grew up on the traditional, but like some of the softer praise songs. Each generation likes it a little more contemporary, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just hard, or impossible, to please every generation. Right now, Jason and I are wanting a more contemporary style of worship. That's why I find it ironic that I first got my family to go to Idlewild, because now I'm the one leaving. But God has used it so much in my life, and I still love it.
I've felt the last few days that maybe I'd been finding a lot of my identity in "I sing in the choir/praise team at Idlewild." Of course, not completely, but now that I can't say that, I realized how much that meant to me. Not that it was about me when I was up there, because I truly wanted to worship God and prompt others to worship Him, but it's real easy to find some significance in that.
Ultimately, it's all about God anyway. He uses His churches to reach people in different ways. He doesn't favor one church over another. And because I believe that He orchestrates the details in my life for a purpose, I know that He will do great things in my life, and in my marriage, as Jason and I move to, and become involved, at Grace. And of course, more memories are to come.
I know this was a very long post. Thanks for reading it, and sorry for the jumbled up emotions. I've had a lot on my mind the last few days.
In the month that Jason and I have been discussing this decision, I've thought a lot about my time at Idlewild. I was SO excited to start going there. I visited a couple of times with my friend, KayAnn, whose family had begun attending there. Then I went to the Christmas presentation in 1987. Back then, Idlewild was still meeting at the building on the corner of Hanna and Highland. The building seated roughly 500 people, and with the 2 Christmas "trees" on either side, there was hardly any room for a stage. But the presentation was so good! I liked it so much, I wanted my parents to see it, and my dad went with me a few days later. He said, "Yeah. That was good. I may want to go to this church." Yay! In January 1988 he and I went to a church service there. The rest of my family did not come with us, mostly because my mom worked at the church we had been attending, and felt weird about going. But after 2 weeks, my mom, Amy, and Kyle started going with us, too, and we joined that April. My grandparents also credit me with getting them to go to Idlewild. That's one thing that's been so ironic to me about my leaving. But I'll get to that later.
After only a few months of attending Idlewild, they made this big announcement that we were going to be meeting at Chamberlain High School on Sundays. It's funny, because I can remember that for the first few months at Chamberlain, I missed the atmosphere of Hanna & Highland. But now, I have such good memories of Chamberlain. And how fitting that during preplanning this school year, I had a training at Chamberlain, so I was hit with all of these memories from that time period...Christmas presentations, choir tour home concerts, college group, July 4th presentations, and so forth.
Of course, after 5 years of being at Chamberlain, we were able to move to the Bearss Avenue campus. Lots of memories there, too. More Christmas, July 4th, and Easter presentations, great times with friends, Saturday night services...and of course moving to the current building, which is where I got married.
One of the hardest things about leaving, for me, is leaving my music pastor, Ron Upton. One of my first memories of him is on a Sunday morning when I was visiting with my friend, Jackie. We passed by Ron. She introduced me to him, and he said, "Claire, what do you sing, alto or soprano?" I said, "Alto." He had his hand on my shoulder, closed his eyes, and said, "Lord, we need Claire." Now, if you know Ron, you probably can see him saying this, in a quick sort of way. But little did I know how much singing in his music ministry would come to mean to me. He has deemed me "one of his all-time favorites" and I think the same way about him. I always knew I wanted him to perform my wedding whenever that time came, and of course, he did. I've sung in the various ensembles, Ecclesia when I was in high school. Then One Accord and One Voice. For the last almost 10 years, I have sung on the praise team. It started as the Saturday night praise team when we added the Saturday service in January 2000. Then, in 2003, Ron wanted to add a praise team, for vocal support, in all of the services. So we quickly began doing the Saturday night, 3 Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night services. I don't remember how long that was before we started rotating, but we did. New teams were formed when we moved to the current building. And Sunday was my last day to sing on the praise team. Thank you to Ron's wife, Miska, who told me there's always a place for me on the praise team.
Speaking of my last Sunday at Idlewild, I was of course finding myself very sentimental. Then, in his sermon, Ken mentions the pastor who preceded him, who was the pastor when I started going to Idlewild. I won't go into details about the story, because it's not important, but I was first crying because gosh, another old memory during my last days at Idlewild. Then, I was crying, because the story provided some closure about the pastor that I was really glad to have gotten. And I thought, "Wow, God. Thanks that I was able to hear that on my last Sunday there!" So, that was very cool.
Needless to say, I've been sentimental and emotional about leaving. I think that's understandable after 22 years of being some place. But please don't hear me say that I am not happy with our decision to go to Grace Family Church. At Idlewild, Ron has the very difficult job of planning worship services that many types of people attend. You've got the older generation, most of whom grew up on and love the old hymns. Then you've got the next generation, who grew up on the traditional, but like some of the softer praise songs. Each generation likes it a little more contemporary, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just hard, or impossible, to please every generation. Right now, Jason and I are wanting a more contemporary style of worship. That's why I find it ironic that I first got my family to go to Idlewild, because now I'm the one leaving. But God has used it so much in my life, and I still love it.
I've felt the last few days that maybe I'd been finding a lot of my identity in "I sing in the choir/praise team at Idlewild." Of course, not completely, but now that I can't say that, I realized how much that meant to me. Not that it was about me when I was up there, because I truly wanted to worship God and prompt others to worship Him, but it's real easy to find some significance in that.
Ultimately, it's all about God anyway. He uses His churches to reach people in different ways. He doesn't favor one church over another. And because I believe that He orchestrates the details in my life for a purpose, I know that He will do great things in my life, and in my marriage, as Jason and I move to, and become involved, at Grace. And of course, more memories are to come.
I know this was a very long post. Thanks for reading it, and sorry for the jumbled up emotions. I've had a lot on my mind the last few days.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Welcome, Desmond
For a while, Jason has been saying that he wants a dog. I love dogs, but I had my cat, Deja, that I brought into the marriage. We didn't get a dog partly because of her, and partly because we were going to Disney a lot when we had our passes. Cats are easier to leave than dogs are. So then last year, when some coworkers at one of my schools found three kittens, Jason surprised me by telling me to bring one home. So I figured we had our 2 cats, and maybe one day, if we ever had a bigger place, we'd get a dog. But last week, through a combination of seeing my uncle with his dog, and talking to my cousin who has 5 dogs, Jason's desire for a dog returned. I told him we couldn't get a big dog (his favorite breed is the boxer) because our place is so small. He said a miniature schnauzer (my favorite breed) was fine. OK. We asked my cousin to look around for a rescue dog.
Well, on Friday, Jason decided to look on his own. He found an ad through tbo.com for a litter of 5 miniature schnauzer puppies. She didn't live too far, and was heading to Orlando to show them to someone that night, so we went right over. We found this cute little guy and loved him immediately! It took us a while to settle on a name.
Since we named Benji after the Lost character, Benjamin Linus, we thought we wanted to do another Lost name. So we settled on Desmond. Haha!
Since we named Benji after the Lost character, Benjamin Linus, we thought we wanted to do another Lost name. So we settled on Desmond. Haha!Other than potty training, it has been a blast to have a dog again. The cats are handling it better than I figured they would. Deja stays away most of the time, and Benji hangs around, curious. Desmond seems to want to play with him, and Benji will, but he'll quickly bat his paw at Desmond if he gets too close for Benji's comfort. 
On Saturday, my brother came over to help me with something on my computer. He had his two boys, so they had a good time playing with Desmond. 
As you can see, Desmond loves Jason. He follows him everywhere. I guess now that Jason's class has started back up, he'll probably start following me like that, too.
One of the cutest things he does is when he sits down, but he can't hold himself still, or the floor is slick, so he slides back. I'm trying to catch that on video, because I know he won't be doing that long. If I get it, I'll post it on here.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Summer's over :(
I've been back to work for a week. Anytime I hit the change from work to summer, I always have this disbelief that I'll really be off. And then, whenever I am getting ready to go back to work from summer, I have the disbelief that I'll actually be working again, EVERY DAY. But, after only a week, I'm right back into the routine, almost forgetting that I even had time off. I've already mentioned what I had done for much of my summer, but I'm going to post some pictures now.
I think he had more fun getting wet by the rides, then doing anything else!
I also was able to go the American Idol concert, last minute, which was nice. Most of these pictures were taken by my friend Krystal, who has a much better camera than I do. My favorite of the night was Matt Giraud, although I always have liked Danny and Kris. And of course, Adam sang "Starlight" by Muse, one of my favorite bands.
I spent 2 weeks watching my 6-year-old nephew, which was pretty fun. We hit Busch Gardens a couple of times, and went swimming at my parents' a few times.
Jason also had surgery to repair his hernia and was home for 2 weeks. He was being a goofball before the surgery, so he wanted me to take pictures. He wanted to roll down the hall and act like he was crazy. Sometimes I think he really is.
I also was able to go the American Idol concert, last minute, which was nice. Most of these pictures were taken by my friend Krystal, who has a much better camera than I do. My favorite of the night was Matt Giraud, although I always have liked Danny and Kris. And of course, Adam sang "Starlight" by Muse, one of my favorite bands.
We stayed after to get pictures and autographs. That was a lot of fun. Sad to say, I hadn't stayed out that late in a while. Then, when I got home, Jason was getting up to go to work at 2 AM. Since my sister is 6 hours ahead in Germany, I got to talk to her on the phone for the first time since she had left a month before.
I also caught up some on reading. I read the books Flashforward and New Moon. I wanted to get the pictures off Amazon, but then I thought that it may be breaking copyright laws. I don't know. I am looking forward to getting Eclipse next. I also am waiting for The Time Traveler's Wife and The Right Address. So, these will not be summer readings, but reading when I can since Jason starts back to class 2 nights a week.
I did a little bit more scrapbooking, but not nearly as much as I wanted to. I have realized that I'm very perfectionistic about these things. Hopefully that's just part of my learning curve of the whole process, but I'm not too sure. I only finished 3 layouts. I've started on 3 others over the summer, but those will also have to be finished as I can. I'm wanting to work on my honeymoon, so that's what the first 2 pictures are of. I guess you can't really read the journaling from this, but I basically say that we stayed at the Marriott Waterside on our wedding night. Cool view, then we were able to walk to the port to get on our cruise ship. The 3rd one is this cute picture of Jason when he was little, that I wanted to scrap.
Overall, I had a fun summer. I've also put a long blog up, with pictures, so I'm proud of myself for that!
Monday, August 10, 2009
P90X
Sometime last week I wrote about the ways I chose to spend my time this summer. After I wrote it, I realized I forgot to mention exercise. Not that I exercised, because I didn't. But it was something that I could have mentioned when I was talking about the ways I could spend my time. And I realized that the fact that I didn't even think to mention it shows how far from my mind that has been recently. When I realized this, I was going to write about how I need to start exercising again. I'm definitely seeing the results of no exercise and my daily chocolate, or occasional Cold Stone cupcakes (yum!) It's really bad that I didn't take advantage of not working for two months to get myself into shape. I've found that it's really hard for me to stick to a good eating plan unless Jason is doing it, too.
And just on Saturday, he mentioned that he's ready to get back into our P90X eating plan and workout. We decided to start with the eating for a couple of weeks and then dive back into the exercise after that. He's had to wait a few weeks since his hernia surgery to be able to do any serious exercising. And let me say, P90X is serious exercising. If you've ever seen the infomercial, then you probably have a pretty good idea. We started it back in April 2008. We saw changes almost immediately, just in how our clothes fit, and slimming up our midsection. Other people were noticing a difference as well. Unfortunately, we did not continue the 90 days, just from getting sick, then craving a good Cracker Barrel breakfast, so we just sort of got off track and never back on. That's also when Jason stopped working from home and had less time to do it. We "started" again sometime in January, but that lasted maybe a week. Then we tried to start again in May, but again, less than a week. Part of that is also because it was before Jason's hernia was repaired, so doing the ab workout was really painful for him.
So, our plan is to start again in a couple of weeks. We're not sure yet of our schedule because Jason's classes will start again, and he won't plan to work out on those days. I think I still will, but we'll have to see. Now, I go through phases of consistent working out. Once I'm doing it consistently, I am motivated to continue, but it does become easy to deter me at times. I love the results. I don't always love the work I have to do. But I don't want to be lazy, and I really want to lose a little bit of weight. So, going back to what I said in my Priority post, how I choose to spend my time shows what is a priority for me. If I'm really serious about getting healthier and losing weight, then this is how I'll have to choose to spend my time. I definitely found that it helped me relieve my stress when we did it before.
We spent a good 45 minutes yesterday making salads for our lunches this week. Wow. But, I guess it's better to have them all done then to spend the time preparing them each day. I just want to really stick to it this time. I'll update as to how we're doing with it. And maybe I'll post before and after pics at some point.
And just on Saturday, he mentioned that he's ready to get back into our P90X eating plan and workout. We decided to start with the eating for a couple of weeks and then dive back into the exercise after that. He's had to wait a few weeks since his hernia surgery to be able to do any serious exercising. And let me say, P90X is serious exercising. If you've ever seen the infomercial, then you probably have a pretty good idea. We started it back in April 2008. We saw changes almost immediately, just in how our clothes fit, and slimming up our midsection. Other people were noticing a difference as well. Unfortunately, we did not continue the 90 days, just from getting sick, then craving a good Cracker Barrel breakfast, so we just sort of got off track and never back on. That's also when Jason stopped working from home and had less time to do it. We "started" again sometime in January, but that lasted maybe a week. Then we tried to start again in May, but again, less than a week. Part of that is also because it was before Jason's hernia was repaired, so doing the ab workout was really painful for him.
So, our plan is to start again in a couple of weeks. We're not sure yet of our schedule because Jason's classes will start again, and he won't plan to work out on those days. I think I still will, but we'll have to see. Now, I go through phases of consistent working out. Once I'm doing it consistently, I am motivated to continue, but it does become easy to deter me at times. I love the results. I don't always love the work I have to do. But I don't want to be lazy, and I really want to lose a little bit of weight. So, going back to what I said in my Priority post, how I choose to spend my time shows what is a priority for me. If I'm really serious about getting healthier and losing weight, then this is how I'll have to choose to spend my time. I definitely found that it helped me relieve my stress when we did it before.
We spent a good 45 minutes yesterday making salads for our lunches this week. Wow. But, I guess it's better to have them all done then to spend the time preparing them each day. I just want to really stick to it this time. I'll update as to how we're doing with it. And maybe I'll post before and after pics at some point.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Change is Coming
Jason and I have talked a lot about worship styles since we've been married, because we grew up in different denominations that worship a bit differently. These conversations, along with some good music, have influenced my worship by broadening my comfort level with a style from which I had shied away when I was younger. It also seems to be leading to a change for us, which has been hard for me to think about. Last night we attended a church service at a church we had never been to before. There was a violin solo playing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," then the congregation began to sing the song. It was very moving, and I started thinking about the fact that God is unchanging. However, styles of worship change, and He is OK with that. Throughout the centuries people have praised Him with the style of music that was popular or "contemporary" for that time period. There seems to be such resistance by some people that you can worship with a contemporary sound or style. It's not just the sound or style, but the energy and enthusiasm about what you're singing that we are considering. People just aren't seeming to get it.
I've been trying to contemplate what exactly about the probable change we're looking at is hard for me. I think it's comfort, overall. I'm comfortable where I am, and I don't want to make a change, even if that change could ultimately be for the better. I'm scared of the unknown, and what the ramifications of making the change could be. And that just leads to the norm when it comes to worrying about something--I am trying to figure it all out now, rather than let God be in control and see how things fall into place. My emotions just get in the way and cause me to forget that this is what I believe God is bringing in my life. But, thankfully, He is unchanging, and that means that He is faithful and more than enough to meet my needs.
I've been trying to contemplate what exactly about the probable change we're looking at is hard for me. I think it's comfort, overall. I'm comfortable where I am, and I don't want to make a change, even if that change could ultimately be for the better. I'm scared of the unknown, and what the ramifications of making the change could be. And that just leads to the norm when it comes to worrying about something--I am trying to figure it all out now, rather than let God be in control and see how things fall into place. My emotions just get in the way and cause me to forget that this is what I believe God is bringing in my life. But, thankfully, He is unchanging, and that means that He is faithful and more than enough to meet my needs.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Priority
About once a month, my friend Rachel and I hang out at Barnes & Noble in order to get some girl time, and look at the magazines. I love going to B&N and seeing the books. I always think, Wow, I wish I had more time to read. The last time we went, I thought this, but then I realized--I've been off all summer and how much reading did I do?
I did read two books. But I also spent a lot of time working on my scrapping/photoshop, blogging, facebook, and whatever else I enjoy doing when I have my free time. So, if I'm doing one of those things, then I'm not reading, and vice versa. So, I can't complain that I didn't have the time. I just didn't choose to use it to read like I could have.
Every year when I go back to work after my relaxing summer, I always pray that I will find a way to keep balance and do the things I enjoy, even while working. It's even more difficult now that I'm married, because I have a tendency to get obsessed with my hobbies, which causes me to neglect my responsibilities. I can't even fathom what it will be like when I ever have kids. I think it's going to become a matter of priority. I mean, that's what I do now. Whatever I choose to do, is my priority. I don't usually think of it that way. I would never say that someone else is more of a priority than Jason, but when I'm choosing to catch up on people's facebook status rather than clean the house, which is something that makes Jason feel good, then I guess that is what I'm saying.
Not that I'm saying it's not good to have some down time where you just do whatever, but I just want to be conscious of what I'm saying with how I spend my time. Especially as it will be so much more limited than it has in the last few weeks.
I did read two books. But I also spent a lot of time working on my scrapping/photoshop, blogging, facebook, and whatever else I enjoy doing when I have my free time. So, if I'm doing one of those things, then I'm not reading, and vice versa. So, I can't complain that I didn't have the time. I just didn't choose to use it to read like I could have.
Every year when I go back to work after my relaxing summer, I always pray that I will find a way to keep balance and do the things I enjoy, even while working. It's even more difficult now that I'm married, because I have a tendency to get obsessed with my hobbies, which causes me to neglect my responsibilities. I can't even fathom what it will be like when I ever have kids. I think it's going to become a matter of priority. I mean, that's what I do now. Whatever I choose to do, is my priority. I don't usually think of it that way. I would never say that someone else is more of a priority than Jason, but when I'm choosing to catch up on people's facebook status rather than clean the house, which is something that makes Jason feel good, then I guess that is what I'm saying.
Not that I'm saying it's not good to have some down time where you just do whatever, but I just want to be conscious of what I'm saying with how I spend my time. Especially as it will be so much more limited than it has in the last few weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)