light and not so much...

i was in borders a month ago with a friend and, in the process of searching for a new book to read (yes, i read now), i stumbled upon a book on the bestseller's rack.  it was a large book, an atypical size and shape for your usual nonfiction selection.  so, thinking that it might have colorful pictures in it (or fun pop-ups), i grabbed it right away.  little did i know that the contents of this book would keep me flipping nonstop through the pages.  pretty soon, my friend and i were drinking in each page.  the book is called postsecret.

the premise of the book is that the author, or should i say organizer/collector/facilitator, invited people to send a handmade postcard to a given address.  on the postcard, people were instructed to divulge a secret....one that they have never told anybody.  their anonymity would be protected, of course.  but they were also made aware that their postcard might be published or made available for public viewing.

some of the postcards made me laugh outloud.  for example, one of the postcards was a picture of a skittle on a bathroom floor.  the sender wrote her secret and it went something like this, "everytime i go to the bathroom at work, i see a yellow skittle on the floor.  it has been there for months, maybe years.  but everytime i see it, i am tempted to pick it up and eat it."

i commend her for divulging her secret.  bravo, closet dirty skittle fiend.

but not all of the postcards are that lighthearted.  in fact, most of them are quite hard to take in.  some talk of suicide, some speak of broken marriages, some testify to deep, deep pain.  i was struck by the brokenness in this world.  so much brokenness.  there are so many people roaming this earth that carry such heavy burdens, such wounded pasts.  fathers longing for their estranged sons.  wives questioning if they love their husbands.  girls raging against the relatives that sexually abused them.

made me wonder where i would be without jesus.  in him, i have no secrets.  there is nothing that i could write down on a postcard that jesus doesn't already fully know.  there is nothing that i could divulge that would surprise him...nothing that would cause him to look away.  sure, there are things that break his heart...but i have his love that covers a multitude of sins. 

i am increasingly thankful that my prayer life and my mini-conversations with him are like postsecret.  i write a little postcard of confession every time we talk and i allow him to search my heart.  and he safeguards those postcards, knowing that they require faith to confess.

for now, my prayer is for those who have sent in a postcard of pain.  my prayer is for healing, for forgiveness, for mercy, and for freedom.  may they be filled with love, joy, and comfort.  rain your grace on them, God.

if you want to check out some examples, check out www.postsecret.com  WARNING: some of them are a little graphic.  i'll leave you with a couple of examples....(but for a more complete compilation, i highly recommend checking out the actual book at the store).

on a lighter note, if you want to laugh at all the absurd things non-native english speakers print on billboards, t-shirts, food products, etc....check out www.engrish.com ...should keep you busy for a while.  lis, this website is especially for you!!  actually, i think you would appreciate both sites...but especially this one!

here are some examples....

food poisoning is, oh, so fun!!  i'll spare you the lovely details.  let's just say that i probably won't be in the mood for pho anytime soon.  it may look good in the soup bowl, but it doesn't look that great in the other kind of bowl.  ok, so much for sparing you the details.  sorry.  oh, and i don't recommend drinking past due orange juice the morning your stomach feels semi-stable...that'll put you back another couple of days!!  i've been "feasting" on saltines, bananas, and water for the last couple of days.  i tried vegetable soup last night....no good.  i tried a turkey sandwich today.  uh-uh.  and for dinner tonight....an apple.  my stomach is already giving me its two cents on that decision.  so, back to the water diet for now.  if anybody knows of any ways to make peace with the good ol' intestinal tract, i'm ready to wave the white flag. 

ok, i'll update...

i'm super ready for vacation.  in five more days, i'll begin my month off...and i'm so ready.  i'm ready to see my beautiful little niece (my sister says she's starting to walk and talk and i can't wait to see it for myself).  i'm ready to spend time with my family.  i'm ready to rest.

i'll be spending 11 days in ny...then i'll come back to ca.  planning on renting some sort of cabin somewhere in the mountains for maybe a week or so.  want to intentionally spend time with God, find out what He's doing, figure out what direction He wants me to move in, etc.  i figure it's a good way to start off the year.....rested and on the right path.

let's see...what's new.  oh, i think i recently had a relapse with my hyperthyroidism.  about 6 weeks ago, my heart started to race and i started to have a really hard time sleeping.  i got very scared and anxious and didn't know what was happening with my body.  actually, i still don't.  i'm taking my medication and a special pill to slow down my heart...but only God knows what's going on.  please pray for healing.

my ceramics class is almost over.  i LOVE ceramics class.  i thought i'd like it.....but i didn't think i would LOVE it.  and i do.  i love having the space to be creative.  i love that there are endless things to make...and that each one is unique.  God must've had a blast making all of us.  i'm hoping to take the class again next semester.  hope my schedule will allow for it.

work has been good.  i'm starting to really love the people and kids at my school.  it's a great little place to work...and i'm so thankful that i get to work there.  but i am ready for a break.  the past couple of weeks have been a little crazy.

man, this entry is really boring.  sorry.  i think i've been pouring all my creative juices into my pottery.  my writing i a little rusty.  hopefully, i'll have lots to share after my time with God up in the mountains.  but for now, that's all.  hope all is well with everybody!!

…and the stories keep coming…

I picked up three children from their classrooms yesterday and sent them ahead of me to the therapy room while I stayed back to talk with a teacher for a minute.  When I walked into the room, two of the three boys began to emphatically attempt to tell me a story.  They were talking over each other, with little awareness that their rapid-fire words were mingling together and could not be teased apart by their listener.  I quickly got them to quiet down…urging them to speak one at a time.  Oh, you should probably know that these students are all bilingual (semi, at least) and Spanish is their first language.  But, they all have significant difficulties with both English and Spanish…thus making them proficient at neither.  So, their stories were quite broken (e.g., “He took….there was…table….una arana….he….it crawling….comiendo”) and full of lively gestures.

I said, “Wait, wait, wait….shhhh…,” (holding out one finger, closing my eyes, and shaking my head).

“What happened?”

One of the students began to point to the third student.  “He….there was una arana…it walking on table.  It walking right there (pointing).  He…he pick up and eat it.”

“Huh, what happened?”

The second student tried to clarify, “A pider.  There was a pider right there.  He (pointing to the third student) ate.”

“What?  A spider?  He just ate a spider?”

The two students, in unison, “Yeaaaah!!”….so relieved and excited that I interpreted correctly.

The third student began to chime in, in his own defense.  “Because it was right there because it was on the table because the spider because I saw it because it was walking on the table because I picked it up because I ate it.”

Student #3 likes to use the word “because” (if you haven’t noticed).  He uses it to start every sentence.  He uses it to answer every question.  He uses it whenever he can, basically.  I guess it’s his version of a filler…while others use words like “um” or “uhh,” he uses “because.”  This makes it very difficult to understand what he is trying to say.

“So, let me get this right.  There was a spider crawling on the table.  THIS table (pointing).  You picked it up….and you ate it?”

“Ewwwww,” another student put both of his hands on his forehead, leaning back in disbelief.

“Because it was crawling because I saw it because….”

“Ok, ok, (trying to interrupt the onslaught of because’s).  Do you usually eat spiders?”  At this point, I’m thoroughly disgusted with the idea that a student just ate a spider…but I’m also mildly curious about this behavior.  “Do you like eating bugs?”

“Yes.  Because sometimes I see bugs because I see them in my house because I like to eat them.”

“Oh.”

(silence)  (two other students still have faces of shock and horror)

“Well (not knowing what to else to say), today we’re going to read a book about a girl named Pookins.  Pookins always gets what she wants……”

Based on this interaction and the one from my last entry, I might have to seriously consider devoting an entire unit towards teaching my students "What Not to Eat!!!"