Exposure (and link madness)

Last week I was browsing one of my favorite websites, Townhall.com, on one of my daily visits to stimulate my thinking. If you're not familiar, this site features some of the smartest minds and sharpest writers on politics and culture. I usually don't pay much attention to the ads, but something familiar caught my eye. It was the ad to the left. I was tickled to see it. Here I am at one of my favorite websites - one that has national readership (my sister-in-law in Atlanta is a regular visitor also) - and this ad pops up. It's a DVD featuring 3 different short films made by my church. Each has a commentary by my pastor, Erwin McManus. One short film was directed a friend I used to be in small group with, who filmed the video showed at our wedding. Click here. One short film was produced by my old roommate, who was my maid of honor at our wedding. Click here. And the third was produced by my husband. Click here and here.

National exposure! Yeah!! Check it out!

Clarice

Lenten Letdown

I really didn't grow up with a whole lot of religious ceremonies (sacraments?). The church I grew up in pretty much stuck only to baptism and the Lord's Supper or communion as significant sacraments. In early 2001 I started living in an amazing community with 3 other women (an experience I keep meaning to blog about). One or two of these women grew up (or perhaps adopted in adulthood) observing some type of fast over the Lenten period between Mardi Gras/Ash Wednesday and Easter. I don't remember paying much attention to the fast the first year. Like I said, I didn't grow up with an emphasis on religious traditions. But they approached it in such a low key and earnest way. By year two or three, I think all 4 of us usually made commitments to fast from something. It just seemed like a great idea. I love Easter. Christmas is special, but it often gets buried in the trappings of commercialism. I mean, it is an amazing holiday - the celebration of the fact that the Creator of the universe left the glory of heaven, came to earth in the form of an infant, and tolerated life on this earth as a human for 33 years. That's pretty amazing. But Easter really gets me. For Jesus to willingly endure the pain and suffering and shame of crucifixion out of a love for mankind...that's really something. And then to demonstrate the authority to reconcile man's broken relationship with God through death by rising to life on the third day...whew!

As long as I have been calling myself a follower of Jesus, I've been trying to prepare myself to earnestly and reverentially remember Easter. And so the idea inspired by my roommates to fast for 40 days to prepare for Easter was appealing. What better way of trying to remind myself of Jesus' sacrifice than giving up something my body or mind craves. I mean, it wasn't ever so dramatic as giving up food and water or...life. It was usually much simpler. I can't remember exactly what I've given up over the years, but I think once it was alcohol (that was pretty easy), once it was all caffeine products AND soda (that was much harder), another time it was gossip or criticism (very hard), another time it was giving up reading any type of blogs (can you tell what I crave sometimes?). It was always hardest in the beginning, but very beneficial in reminding me that I wanted to spend some time focusing on Jesus. But by the end of the fasting period, I felt like I not only had a chance to focus on sacrifice, but I had a better control on my cravings.

So this year, after a brief break from celebrating Lent, I decided to reinstate my 40 day fast. I chose a very unconventional fast. I gave up late nights. Meaning, I committed to being in bed by 11:00 PM. Perhaps it seems like an easy thing to many people, but I am a SERIOUS night owl. If I had my druthers, the work day would be 10 AM to 6 PM and I would sleep from 1 or 2 AM to 8 or 9 AM. My mind is just sharpest around 10 PM (with an earlier burst of productivity at the end of the workday from 4-6 PM). So being in bed by 11 PM is quite a challenge, even with a kid who wakes up bright and cheery at 7 AM. And let me tell you, it's been the worst fast I've ever tried to commit to. In the 4 weeks since Ash Wednesday, I've only made my goal around 5 times. Honestly, I just gave up the past week. I'm kinda all of all-or-nothing. If I can't nail close to 100%, why bother.

But I'm thinking of starting all over again. I've realized that the failure to stick to this fast reveals something about myself. I'm just not willing to make the lifestyle changes to adopt an early bedtime. My body and mind crave the college student schedule, but really, my family and my work commitments (and the daycare schedule) demand that I give it up. And it's not like I'm up late being productive. Here it is T minus 38 minutes and I still have a bit of work I should do, plus fold the two loads of laundry that my husband graciously started before I got home from work, plus get ready for bed, plus try to spend a bit of time focusing on some Scripture... Ain't going to happen. I'd rather blog or read blogs or do something really non-urgent like try to figure out what to name our next kid or decide on what video clip I should post to YouTube. These things just don't have to be done now.

So I think I'm going to start again. Maybe tomorrow, exactly 4 weeks after Ash Wednesday. Or maybe the next day. I guess I have to check with Ian, since this impacts him. At any rate, I know without a doubt that I need to make some sacrifices in the way I would prefer to spend my time to prioritize the people and the One I should be most committed to.

Clarice

Jackson's First Sporting Event

Ian got some free tickets to a Clipper game last Wednesday. I had never been to a professional basketball game (nor football, nor hockey, although I've seen professional soccer and baseball - Angels, Dodgers, AND Red Sox). We thought it might be a fun thing to try for the first time. We tried to think of some babysitting options for Jackson, but then it was Monday and we hadn't planned anything yet. So we figured, hey, kids under the age of 3 are free; we should just bring him (note the use of the now-obscure semi-colon). So we got to the Staples Center a bit early and before ascending to our seats in the nosebleed section, we bought some huge hot dogs to eat for dinner (don't tell my OB/GYN I consumed nitrates). Jackson loves hot dogs ("I like hot doggies").

It turned out that Jackson had the most fun of the three of us. For the first half of the first quarter (would that be the first eighth?) he couldn't even pay attention to his beloved hot dog. He was having such a fun time cheering when the other fans would cheer and clapping along to the incessant music that was playing (thankfully not on the organ the whole time). We don't think he had any clue about what was going on miles away down on the court, but he sure sensed the excitement in the arena. Once he had enough of the music and the cheering, he started watching the two boys seated behind us. They looked to be about 8 or 9. Jackson kept on waving to them and saying "Hi, little boys". He started copying what they were doing. Fortunately, he had finished his hot dog by this time.

Then for the second quarter, he discovered the stairs up the arena. He kept climbing up and down and saying "hi" to all the people he encountered. He made quite a few acquaintances.

But then he got bored and it was getting close to his bedtime, so we left at the beginning of the second half. I have no idea what happened in the game. I think the Clippers were playing the Memphis Grizzlies (are there grizzlies in Memphis?). I think I saw a couple of 3-pointers and a few steals and one really cool fake-out lay-up. But most of the time, I just enjoyed watching Jackson enjoy his new experience. It will be great when he actually understands what's happening down on the court (or field or diamond). Now I just have to find out who actually won the game we were supposed to see while we were watching Jackson.

Clarice

Update on Bright Flower

A few weeks ago, we blogged about the outcome of one of our prenatal test results. There was an indication of a higher than acceptable possibility that Bright Flower might have a chromosomal abnormality. It was rather alarming considering the huge difference between the estimated risk factor of our test and the norm. But over the past few weeks, we have been confidant that our Creator knows what's best for our family, and we have been optimistic that the baby would be okay (99.3% is pretty good).

So on Tuesday, we had an ultrasound. The doctor ordered one a bit earlier than normal because he wanted to know if there were any signs of the "stigmata" associated with the two chromosomal abnormalities in which we tested high. The ultrasound technician looked at everything that might be affected by the disorder. She found normal heart, abdominal wall, limbs, digits, cranial vault, palate and lip (which I was worried about), ears. Everything checked out. I don't think I realized how anxious I was until I realized how relieved I was to hear a good report from the technician. We know there's always a possibility that something else might happen along the way, but for now, we are so thankful for this report. And we thank you for your encouragement, support, and prayers.

Oh, I almost forgot. The ultrasound technician also took a visual tour of the...uh...gender-defining area of Bright Flower. What she said indicated that Bright Flower won't have to change her womb name. She's a she!!

Here she is in all her prenatal glory!

Little Performer

We're starting to realize just what a little performer our boy can be. Jackson has a few pairs of pants that don't fit too well. This is his loosest pair.


So when I went to pick him up from daycare the last time he wore these pants, his teacher had a story to tell me. She told me that during circle time they were singing "Five Little Monkeys", but instead of singing "monkeys", they were substituting the names of each child and having them jump up and down. When it was Jackson's turn they started singing "five little Jacksons, jumping on the bed..." Well as Jackson was jumping up and down his pants started falling down. The teacher said that the rest of the kids started laughing when they saw that. So Jackson stopped for a moment, enjoying the laughter, then started jumping up and down even faster until his pants reached his ankles. I wonder which of his parents Jackson got the performing bug from....

And if you needed more evidence of his ken for performing, here's a little clip of Jackson performing portions of his favorite songs for the camera.



And the tricks that earn the affections of our friends, his repertoire of facial expressions.



More little clips can be found on our newly started family YouTube site

Clarice

Banking on the 97.5%

I got a rather alarming phone call from my Obstetrician a few weeks ago. I knew it was rather important because he left messages at our home twice on a Saturday, then left one on my cell phone. We played a bit of phone tag on Saturday night, then I was left wondering. When you're expecting a child at my age (it's a big number I won't publicly claim, but if you broke it down into prime numbers it would be a multiple of 2's and 5's, but not too many 5's) you prepare yourself for the possibility that your child's health and/or development might be compromised. So Saturday night I pondered things and morbidly hoped that my obstetrician was actually calling because one of his kids, who are my pediatric dental patients, had some kind of dental emergency that he needed advice on.

Sunday morning Jackson was sick, so I stayed home from church with him. That's when my OB got through on my cell phone. He told me that one of my blood tests showed some abnormalities. I had just given up a few drops of blood for the first trimester screening, in which they measure protein levels that are markers for chromosomal abnormalities in the baby. He told me that the markers for Down syndrome were well within normal limits, but that another marker, which is correlated with Trisomies 13 & 18 (meaning an extra copy of either of those chromosomes) was in the unacceptable range. He told me that the normal incidence of either of these abnormalities was usually 1 in 20,000, but that my protein levels were elevated, lowering the risk factor to 1 in 39. When he said that, I felt a shock pass through me. I know a bit about various pediatric syndromes, being in the business of caring for children. I remembered that both of these syndromes had a high mortality rate, with most infants dying within the first few months of life. He kept talking about something else that did not register because I was processing my thoughts. Strangely, I remember feeling a bit of peace. Honestly, I was thinking that I was glad it was a syndrome in which our child might not have to live too long with disability. I was thinking that Ian and I might have it in us to love our little one for a short time before letting him/her go. I was thinking that it might be easier than a syndrome that would affect our child for a normal lifespan.

Then my OB's voice faded back in again. See I was thinking that going from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 39 meant it was almost a done deal. But he broke it down into percentage risk. The percentage risk was 2.5%. And my spirits lifted. That meant that there was a 97.5% chance that Bright Flower would be okay after all. It was still hard telling Ian what the OB had told me. To learn more, we looked on the internet. The National Institutes of Health website had some good objective information about both syndromes, none of it looking very promising. We also ended up looking at two websites that were support groups for families of children with these abnormalities. The sites were most likely sponsored by Christian families who had decided not to terminate their pregnancies, instead talking about the joy they experienced in the short time they had with their babies before they died. Their stories were quite inspiring and exceedingly moving. I had to quit looking at those sites pretty quickly.

Getting this news has been rather life-changing, to say the least. We've been moved to more fervent prayer for our unborn child and have learned to be proactive in asking for the prayers of trusted friends. And we've had to recommit ourselves to our theoretical convictions about the value of life, now that reality has entered our lives. We've come to the realization that we really don't have much control over a lot of the circumstances of our lives. And we've had to confirm our convictions that it's not up to us to decide when someone else's life should end.

So this is where Ian and I have been the past few weeks, banking on the 97.5% chance that everything will be okay. During that first call from my OB, we were encouraged to see a genetic counselor. Ian and I decided that even though we didn't have any intention of terminating this pregnancy, it might be worth it to learn as much as we could so that we would be prepared for whatever might come. So on Friday we visited the counselor. She had accessed my lab results and asked if we wanted to go over them again, even though my OB had already talked about it. I figured it wouldn't hurt, since Ian didn't get to hear the direct conversation with my OB. So she started from the beginning of the report, confirming the low risk of Down syndrome and the elevated risk of trisomy 13 or 18. Then she got to the risk factor and we got the best news of the week. She was talking about how the cutoff risk level for trisomy 13/18 was normally 1 in 150 and that our risk was now 1 in 139, which wasn't too far off.... We had to stop her right there and then, because we had been operating on the assumption that it was 1 in 39. So she showed us the numbers again. Somehow, our initial information wasn't accurate and the odds were actually better than 2.5%. Whatever happened in the intervening 3 weeks, we had the great news that we aren't just banking on 97.5%, but instead on 99.3%.

We realize that there is no guarantee that Bright Flower is going to be totally okay. But we also realize that we trust in a good and merciful God and that no matter what happens, WE will be okay. So we continue to pray that He would bless us with a healthy child who we can raise to return thanks to the God who made him or her. And we ask for your prayers as well. Here's to 99.3%.

Clarice

Where's Jackson's ring?

Tonight as I was getting Jackson ready for his bath, he pointed at my hand and said "wing". It took me a minute to figure out that he was talking about my wedding ring. I said, "Yes, that's mommy's ring." So he pointed again and said "mommy's wing", then pointed out the door in Ian's general direction and said "daddy's wing". I thought it might be a nice teachable moment so I told him "mommy's ring means daddy loves mommy and daddy's ring means mommy loves daddy." So he pointed to his hand and asked "Where's Jackson's wing?" Ain't that precious?

Clarice

Cherry Milk

So Jackson's been sick this past week. It was bad enough that his pediatrician prescribed an antibiotic because she was detecting a sinus infection and possible ear infection. Ian and I had just been talking about the fact that he hadn't had an ear infection in about a year and we thought maybe we were out of the woods after the first 4 episodes between months 5 and 12. Not a good idea to gloat like that.... I was a bit worried about how we would get the medicine in his system. It was pretty easy up until 12 months. He didn't know what "no" meant yet. But now he's almost two and sometimes willful. I thought I would employ a pediatric dentist trick and try to make the medicine sound like a great thing. So I started talking about how we would have some "cherry milk" after dinner. Since he has positive feelings about both cherry flavor and milk, the stuff went down pretty easily. I guess it also helps that Jackson doesn't get much sugar (1 juice box and 2 pieces of chocolate in his life - poor son of a dentist) and these modern medicines are loaded with sweetness. So the next morning when we talked about "cherry milk", he got all excited and just slurped it down. Of course, the next day, in between doses, he looked at Ian and said "I want cherry milk. I want cherry milk." And Ian had to hold him off until the appointed time. So now we have just one more day of "cherry milk". I'm not quite sure what will happen when he doesn't get his morning and evening "treat" any more. Now if we could just figure out how to get him to think that the nebulizer treatments of albuterol are a great thing...

Clarice

Bright Flower

Hi, we're having another baby!

The first trimester is nearing an end, most of the extended family have been told and it's time to make a general announcement.

Do any of you pregnant parents have womb names? When we first found out about Jackson, we didn't really think of him as a tiny person until we saw his first ultrasound. Then after seeing him swim around with his eleven week paddles we just had to name him. But what? I've heard various terms of endearment for the little one-incher, such as Li'l Bean and Prawn. I think we waited until we knew the sex, then we named him in the tradition of John's in our family. Ian means John in Scottish (so if you're over there and have to use the bathroom, just ask for the Ian). There are actually over forty different ways to say John: Ivan, Ewan, Johan, Sean, Juan and...Juancho. Juancho rhymes with honcho and sounded manly to me. Juancho!!! Juancho-ho-ho!!! It stuck after playfully saying it with gusto a few times. Funny, though, that as soon as Jackson Timothy was born, we promptly forgot his womb name. He was no longer in the womb. Jackson after Ian and Ian's dad John and meaning "God is gracious." Timothy after Clarice's dad Timothy and meaning "to honor or fear God."

So now we have another one-incher. This time were hoping for a girl. It might not be a she but if it is we will naturally name her after the moms. Clarice's name means bright, illustrius and Ian's mom's name is Ivy while Clarice's mom's name is Pansy. Bright Flower. Which makes us Christian hippies, according to Clarice's brother. Bright Flower reflects the meanings of illuminating the fragrance of Jesus Christ (can you make a smell visible?), which is our wish for her.

If we have a boy we're not sure what we'll call him, but perhaps his womb name will be Strong Cedar.

Expectant, Part 2

Back in September, we blogged about being Expectant. We had been telling people that we were expecting in 10 or 11 months. Turns out we were right on the nose. So we can now officially update that expectant date from 10 to 11 months to 6 months from now.

Clarice

Conversational Gems

For the past two months or so, Jackson has been putting together words in an attempt to make sentences. He's getting better and better at communicating, but some of the earlier attempts were just precious. Here are some of my favorite moments.

"Another Book"

Jackson loves books. One afternoon I was sitting in the living room and he walked over and put one of his books in my lap. I took that to mean that he wanted to read, so I settled him in my lap and read through the book with him. As soon as I finished, he looked at me and said "anana book," meaning "another book". I saw one just a few feet away on the loveseat so I pointed it out to him and told him that if he brought me the other book I would read it to him. So he happily complied and we looked through "Cars, Trucks, and Trains". When we finished that book, he looked at me again and said "anana book." Since there weren't any more in the living room, I said "You can go to your room and bring me another book". He happily jumped off my lap again and starting prancing (those of you who have seen him "run" know what I'm talking about) off to his bedroom. The sound of prancing feet stopped abruptly and reversed. He peeked back at me and said, "It's dawk". I wasn't sure what "dawk" meant, so I peeked around the corner into his room to see that the light wasn't on. I didn't even know he knew the word "dark" yet. That was our first clue that he was going to start telling us about his needs and talking about abstract thoughts.

"There's a Blue Van"

Jackson's really into vehicles. Around two months ago, he started pointing out every single car on our way to and from home and saying "Oh! Car! Car! Car!" He must have learned "truck" from school because a few weeks later, he started saying "Oh! Twuck! Twuck! Twuck!". The declarations must come in threes for some reason. So one night we drove past a van and he said, "Oh! Twuck! Twuck!..." you get the idea. I thought, well now, if he knows the difference between cars and all trucks, it might be time to teach him the difference between trucks and vans. So I said, "No, that's a van." He repeated the word "van" under his breath a few times. And then a few blocks later, he said "Oh!" and pointed. Then he followed it up with a full sentence, "There's a blue van." I didn't know he knew "there's" or the color blue (now it's the only color he knows). I was fairly impressed, so I declared, "There's a blue van? You're so smart!" To which he made a sheepish face and said, "Noooo." I didn't want him to start so early on the whole fake modesty thing, so I said, "Yes. That was a good sentence. You're getting to be a smart boy." Again, he said, "Noooooo". "You're not smart?" I asked. "Nooooooo," again. So I double-checked his reponse system by asking, "Is your name Jackson?" Then came the reply, "Noooooo". Just being contrary, just like an almost two-year-old.

"For the Bible Tells Me So"

My parents got Jackson a book of hymns and children's Christian songs quite a while ago. There's a little strip of buttons where we can play the tune of the songs play while we read the lyrics. Jackson's favorite song is "Jesus Loves Me." We realized that when he started saying "Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy" to the tune of the song. Then about a month ago, he starting catching some of the syllables of the song. A couple weeks later, he started catching the lyrics, but dropped the melodies, making it a toddler spoken word version of "Jesus Loves Me." The tune or the lyrics would come up at random times. Last week we were with Ian's parents and realized it was time to start the bedtime process. We told Jackson, "It's time to get ready for bed now." He replied, "No. For the Bible tells me so." We didn't quite see the scriptural justification, but definitely laughed about it anyway.

Looking forward to (and also dreading) future conversations.

Clarice

Happy New Year!!

Wow! We whizzed through Christmas and New Year's Day without blogging. Hope you had a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Lord!!

Clarice

Family Picture

From November. All dressed up...better take a picture. But check out the look on Jackson's face. And that was the best of all three of us. Sigh.

Mine

We had our first parent-teacher meeting with Jackson's new teachers last month. It was a pretty encouraging meeting. They said that one of their favorite things about him was that he is always happy, no matter what he is doing. Apparently, some of the kids are only happy with certain activities, but just about anything can make our Jackson happy. The only thing that really gets him upset is sometimes not getting the food choices he wants....like fruit...for every course of every meal.

The teachers also mentioned that they were very impressed with his ability to focus. His primary teacher reported on how she once observed him stacking blocks and singing at the same time. She thought it was rare for a 20-month old to do that and was even more impressed that the hustle and bustle of other toddlers around him didn't distract him from his dual tasks. That description of focus didn't surprise Ian and myself. In the Gallup list of Strengths, I've been assessed with having a high level of Focus. We both thought he was demonstrating his mommy's tendency to be so single-minded that the world tunes out.

But the most interesting part of the meeting was when they expressed one of their concerns. The had observed that in the whole toddler "toy negotiation process" (ie what does a toddler do when another grabs the toy he is holding and proclaims "Mine!"?) Jackson had a tendency to just give up the toy. They wanted him to hang on and say, "I'm using that". Ian and I didn't get how that was a problem. After all, we eventually want him to learn how to be generous and sacrificial. Apparently, the teachers want the other children to learn that it's not okay to grab a toy out of someone else's hands. Plus, they saw that Jackson actually did get upset when he lost something that he was using and they didn't want him to be frustrated without a need to be. We weren't sure what we were supposed to do about that.

But, alas, it seems that just one month of human development has taken care of that particular "problem". Now Jackson has two favorite words (besides cat pee pee). "NO!" and "Mine!". And he is getting quite adept at fighting for what he wants (unless said perpetrators are named Alaina or Harper, then he's putty). Now we're going to have to figure out how and when to teach the concept of sharing. Ugh! I don't know that I've mastered that concept.

Clarice

Halloween Pictures

Okay, they're a few weeks after the fact. Ian and I decided to go ahead and celebrate Halloween. How often do you have an excuse to go knock on neighbors' doors and introduce yourselves without being thought weird. We met lots of neighbors.

Here's our trick-or-treater already grubbing on loot before we even left for our evening's festivities. It was Ian's idea to dress him up as a Jack(son)-O-Lantern.



And a family picture...


Jackson had so much fun knocking on neighbors' doors (which we don't normally allow). But he didn't know what to do with the candy everyone wanted to unload on him (because we normally don't allow that either).

Next year, Ian wants to dress him up as a Jack-alope. Poor kid. Fortunately, he won't be able to get mad at us for dressing him like this until he's at least 8. Six more years of mirth and mayhem.

Clarice

Cat Pee Pee

I don't quite know how it happened, but Jackson's left shoe has been reeking distinctly of the scent of cat urine for the past month or so. It's particularly pungent after his shoes get wet, which happens about once a week, when it's warm enough for him to go diving under the sprinklers at his daycare. So a couple of weeks ago, I had to complain out loud. "Jackson, why do your shoes smell like cat pee pee?" He spent the next 15 minutes or so walking around the house saying, "cat pee pee...cat pee pee...cat pee pee." He's never parroted a phrase repeatedly before. And the few other times I've complained of the recurrent odor out loud, he's picked up the chant quite readily. I have no idea why he likes that phrase so much. And I don't know why it cracks me up so much that he'll walk around the house repeating it over and over. So easily entertained.

Clarice

Afternoon Moon

Have you noticed the moon the past couple of weeks? Not the shape, but the time of its appearance in the eastern sky. It's appeared as early as 4:00 PM, while the sun is shining at least 65% (my guesstimate) of its noontime intensity.

Actually, I should be clear. Jackson was the one who first noticed the moon. He has been learning a lot of words lately. Around a month ago, his favorite pictures to point out were those illustrating the moon, the stars, the sun, and the clouds. It was cute to hear him fumbling about learning the differences between those words. One evening we pointed out the full moon and he called it the sun. No matter how many times we corrected him, he kept calling it the sun. I guess he hadn't really seen the sun directly, only in pictures, and most moons are depicted in illustrations as being half-crescents.

So a couple of weeks ago, as we were driving home from work around 4:30, he shouted out "Moon! A moon! I see moon!" I replied something like "Oh, you see a moon? Are you sure? The moon only wakes up at night-time." I thought he was probably confused again, since he was still learning those words and it was far too bright for the moon to make its appearance. And that was that. A few late afternoons later, he pointed again and said "Moon! Moon!" This time I looked where he was pointing and durned if it weren't the moon shining faintly over the horizon.

I pondered it a bit more the rest of the drive and realized that my little boy had taught me yet another lesson. I was convinced he was wrong about the moon. After all, I know that that moon belongs to the night. What place does it have appearing during the day, when the sun reigns? But Jackson doesn't know all these things. He just knows what he sees. And that hasn't yet been colored by his expectations about what he should see.

"Structure must always submit to Spirit." That's how my church phrases it. Sure, God's character is unchanging, but the times change and cultures change. Thus, the church and God's people must also be willing to change in order to engage the people God longs to bring back into relationship with Himself. I sometimes forget that. I see things the way I'm used to seeing things or the way I expect to see them and forget to look for different ways of seeing God or people or circumstances. Then little things like this happen and I am reminded again that I shouldn't rule things out. I need to remember to look with fresh eyes and see if there's something new and unexpected on the horizon.

Clarice

Bella

Have you heard about this movie? My pastor has mentioned it in church twice after having met with the filmmakers. After viewing the website I've learned that the filmmakers wanted to promote a life-affirming message. The conservative blogosphere is excited also. The townhall.com home page had two columns about it. Click here and here to read. Another one here added on 10/26.

It's opening this weekend with a limited release. Here's to hoping it will gain some traction at the box office. Ian and I are going to try to see it on Saturday. Any babysitters available?

Clarice

With a rebel yell...Revisited

Remember this from August 2006?


Well add a year, a cool new haircut (and some hair to necessitate the haircut), replace the toothbrush with a microphone, and you got Jackson doing a pretty good impression of Billy Idol


Or you can enjoy his impersonation of PeeWee Herman (You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel.)


That's our animated boy!

Clarice

Tenacious Bee

I have so many (potentially) blogworthy thoughts in my head. But the mental rough drafts for each are very long and would require a considerable amount of writing skill to pull off successfully. I keep thinking I ought to just sit down and start one of these long, self-aggrandizing posts. Instead, my mind keeps returning to something I saw this morning.

As I was getting into my car this morning, I saw a bee on the roof of my car. I don't like bees (because I was stung once) so I blew on him (of course he's a he) to agitate him enough to fly off. He didn't fly off. Instead, he hunkered down a bit more on the fabric of my ragtop and gave a little listless wave of the wings. I figured he was dying and would thus blow off my car once I started driving. So I headed off to work, listening to Jackson point out every single bus and truck on the way to UCLA. I dropped Jackson off at daycare, then stayed for a while to watch him and chat with one of the other mothers. Finally, I figured it was time to get to work, so I completed my journey down to south campus. When I got out of my car, I spied the bee again. He was displaced about a foot from his original location on my car, but was there nonetheless. I was incredibly impressed. It's about 8 miles to UCLA from home. I figure I'm roughly three or four hundred times larger than a bee, so a journey like that's probably similar to a trip from LA to Atlanta...on the roof of an airplane. I blew on him again and he had the same reaction. I tapped on the roof near him to see if he'd move, but he just hunkered down again.

All day long, my thoughts returned to the bee. I don't know why. I just wondered why he hung onto my car for such a long journey. When I returned to my car at the end of the day, I expected to see a dead version of him on the roof. But I didn't. I looked around on the ground and elsewhere on the car to see if I could find his carcass, but nothing. He had flown away at some point in the day.

I think I know why I'm so struck by the image of this bee. When I'm not feeling well, either physically or emotionally, I have a hard time holding on to any type of commitment. I just let go of things. But something in this bee caused him to hunker down and just hang on in the face of adversity. I probably need to learn some of that. Don't give up. Hang in there. Enjoy the ride. And when I'm ready, then I can spread my gravity-defying wings and fly....

Clarice