Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Quoted....Misquoted?

I was quoted in a story in yesterday's LA Times (click here to read). Just one nanosecond toward my 15 minutes of fame.

It's kind of interesting though. I talked to the reporter for about 10 minutes about my thoughts on a research study she was trying to summarize. Although she quoted me very accurately, it was just one sentence and didn't really capture the whole of what I was thinking about and trying to communicate. I was a bit frustrated because anyone who doesn't really know what I value might get the wrong impression about what I believe based on the way my quote was presented.

Then I had a spiritual insight, which I sometimes get at unusual moments. I started wondering if God sometimes feels like this. We humans often over-focus on specific things He says that we don't capture all of what He intends. And that one little thing that we communicate to others sometimes fails to represent Him as He should be known.

One of my colleagues who appears more frequently in print than I do, mentioned that he saw the quote. He understood immediately that I was quoted slightly out of context. Apparently he's experienced this before. He told me that every time he speaks in public, he is mindful of the possibility that his words could potentially be twisted. He said that I would just need a bit of practice learning how to monitor what I am saying to filter out the possibility of being taken out of context and to speak in small soundbites that represent complete thoughts. And again I think of the fact that if I have to be careful of what I say to represent UCLA well, so should I be careful in my speech and actions to represent Jesus well.

Clarice

Friday, January 26, 2007

America by train


It's been a month since our cross-country train adventure and I still think it's worth the time to write about it. I'll admit it. I've got train fever. I'm already planning our next train adventure up to Seattle at the end of March. I've taken the train before, from LA to San Diego and San Francisco and from DC to Boston. And I've driven cross-country twice. But there is something special about traveling cross-country this way. I'm glad it took a perforated eardrum to turn an interest in train travel into reality.

I don't know if you know this, but train travel is usually more expensive than flying. I didn't know it. Doesn't quite make sense, since it takes something like tenfold longer to reach your destination. So when we boarded our train, I made it a point to find out why others made this particular travel choice. Many of the people I talked to were semi-regulars. They took the train because they absolutely hated flying. To them, time and expense was worth it to avoid getting on a plane. Others were newbies like us. But their reasoning was that they made last-minute travel plans and couldn't get affordable plane fares. A significant group of people were doing it because they thought it would be a neat way to see the country. Then there were the regulars. They may not have been regulars on any specific route, but they were Amtrak regulars. They just loved making their way across the country by train. These are known as "train people."

I think I may be joining the ranks of the "train people." It was rather relaxing. The seats are incredibly roomy. Like the seats we always pass by in the first class section of the airplane. There was plenty of room to stretch out and Jackson didn't have to be strapped into a carseat. Instead he could exercise his freedom crawling up and down the aisle (and yes, mom, we washed his hands with soap and water right after letting him crawl). But the fun thing was being able to read, think, nap, and watch an occasional movie while making progress toward our final destination. And at any time, we could stop and gaze out the window and watch the country go by. Sure there were moments of boredom and cabin fever, but there were plenty of people to talk to and so much to see.

All aboard for Seattle!


Clarice

Jackson has a tail

Last night we were at small group. I took Jackson into what the Lorenzes call "the yellow room," which is where Jackson and his little 3 year old friend sometimes play while we adults engage in our small group activities. It was time for his diaper change. I wasn't sure if I should wait until the little girl left before changing his diaper, since they are of opposite genders. Then I figured it probably didn't matter, since kids are generally rather asexual. So she hung around while I did the dirty deed. As soon as I uncovered his...uh...diaper area, she laughed and pointed. "Look!" she exclaimed, "Jackson has a tail!" I figured I wouldn't correct her. Better to let her live in innocence just a little while longer.

Clarice

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Mosaic Hard Core Values

Hey, just thought I'd let you guys know of a cool video I got to direct for my church. Mosaic has five core values that have been adopted by over fifty churches worldwide and I had a chance to take a crew back to my old special effects shop and represent each core value "Jackass" style. Hope you like it.

Ian

P.S. The video may only be available for another week or so. I'm sure they will put up the next video soon for the Soul Cravings series. When that happens, I'll post another link here so you can catch the 2 minute spot.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Camera Play

This is the new toy Ian bought me for Christmas. I had been thinking about getting into photography for a while. I come from a family of photographers. My paternal grandfather was a great photographer. He shot on a camera that was completely manual (of course, this was in the early part of the last century). My dad inherited his eye and started shooting digital shots a few years ago. You can see his images here. One of my distant cousins, Ted, also picked up some kind of photographic gene. And it even extends to those who marry into the family, my cousin Melanie's husband, Bob. So it's time for me to pick up the family tradition.

One of the most enjoyable things about our train ride from Atlanta to Los Angeles, was having abundant time to experiment with the camera. Click here to see some of our favorites. I think most of these shots are Ian's. But I have some pretty good ones in there too.

Happy viewing!
Clarice

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Say Cheese!

Look at our little guy mugging for the camera. How does an infant know to make faces when a camera's on?


Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Welcoming 2007

It's been a whirlwind transition from 2006 to 2007. So many things to think about. So many changes with Jackson. But those posts will come later...

I've had a hard time letting go of 2006 until now. I have this practice of setting a theme for each year. I don't much like resolutions, because I can't seem to keep them. I do pick a set of goals that I want to achieve by the end of the year (leaves a little more wiggle room than resolutions). So every year, the goals are to go to bed early, be on time, start exercising... OK, so I don't make my goals. But at least I can claim that I don't break resolutions.

Anyway, my theme is what I focus more on. I spend some time at the end of each year assessing the experiences of the year and trying to figure out what I want to seek God about the coming year. So a year ago, I was a noticeably pregnant newlywed, still learning how NOT to be single. And the idea that kept coming to me was "brand new thing." It was based on a passage from Isaiah 43 where God is telling Israel to stop dwelling on the old ways He did things because He was going to do things differently. I knew that 2006 was going to be a year of change, having a baby and entering the second year of marriage. Getting married in my late thirties, I had grown accustomed to single life. After almost 2 decades of following Jesus as a single gal, I had a pretty good idea of what I needed to do in order to be obedient (notice I didn't claim that I actually did it). But the Bible outlines different expectations for someone who is a wife and mother than for someone who is single. So I wanted to focus on this theme of "brand new thing" to pursue what new way I should pursue in my roles as Ian's wife and Jackson's mother. And by the end of the year, I had no more revelation than I did in the beginning of the year. So I didn't want to let go of 2006. But earlier this week, I had remembered that something Pastor Erwin said in a message in December had hinted at a possible theme for 2007. So I pulled out my trusty iPod to check out what I thought was the podcast from that week. Well, a few minutes into the podcast, entitled "New under the sun," (look for the podcast here) I realized that wasn't the message I was looking for. Instead, it was THE message I was looking for. Erwin said...well, he said a lot of things. But he talked about this same passage. And the thing that really stood out to me was that the one thing that the world can really consider to be a "new thing" is what love does. Love can push us to do things that are new and different in the world. See, I had thought I was going to spend 2006 hearing from God what new things I should do as a wife and mother. But what I missed was that God simply wants me to love Him, love Ian, love Jackson, and love the people around me. And THAT is most likely what will compel the "brand new thing" I am hoping to see happen. I know it sounds rather simple. I probably can't explain it in writing very well. Maybe I'm too abstract for my own words. But I want to pursue this "brand new thing" of love this year. And I pray that I learn a new thing about God and myself in the process.

Happy New Year all! 2007, here I come!

Clarice