Things Children Say

Before I forget these, I'm going to write them down.

Me (teaching Sunday School): Our worship service is divided into two parts, like two halves- but put together they make a whole. Does anyone know anything like that, that has two parts that you put together to make a whole?
Josh(having watched a show about splitting atoms): I know- An atom.
Me: OK- what else?
Ellery(hearing Atom and thinking Adam): Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth.
Me: Well, that's true- they were the first two people and together they made the first family. Can you all think of anything else?
Margy(not to be outdone): I know who the first people on earth were- they were the Indians. I am reading a book about them.
George(said with a 6 year old accent): No, the first people on earth were the Austro-pith-e-cus.
Me: Okay- how about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? You put the two parts together to make one sandwich. That's how it is with our church service.

I should have stopped then.

On a different day, when I was teaching Children's church:
Me (reading a story about Jesus' last night- the last supper, garden of Gethsemane, arrest): And so, after they ate their dinner, Jesus and his disciples went to an olive garden, and there he prayed.
Hannah: An Olive Garden? I love eating there!
Me: what?
Another savvy adult: Not an Olive Garden restaraunt, a garden grove where they grow olive trees.
Me (trying not to laugh): OOOhh. Yes, that's right- a garden with olive trees.

Lastly, my favorite story of Burke and communion
Burke goes to communion with his friend Peter, and Peter's mom. Burke takes the bread and the wine, but Peter only takes the bread. The wine is administered with these words," The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation." Upon noticing that Peter has not taken the wine, Burke says quite loudly, "I like mine with a little salvation, you should try it." Peter's mom, the priest and chalice bearer all try hard not to completely lose it at the altar.

Do I have a label?

For a minute I was worried I might have been pegged. USA today has an article here about the newest generational label- Scuppies (socially concious upwardly-mobile people). I do consider myself socially concious- aware of how my actions and habits affect others. But, then I realized- I would rather categorize myself as downwardly mobile- ala Matthew Sleeth's Downscaled Life. I've no aspirations to make more money, increase my social standing or work to impress others. Instead I'd prefer to add quality to my life- simplify, get rid of 'stuff' and try to impart in my kids a real appreciation for the sanctity and holiness of living with less. So, if we're doing acronyms, that would make me a scd-or sciddie - hmm, sounds like a small skin mite. Maybe I'll just stick with Smitty. Close enough.

shameless plug

Here is my shameless plug for a new band. Some folks I know in Tallahassee have put together a kickin band led by a few of my old counselors from Camp Weed (yes, its a real place). Sarah McElhany leads on vocals, Claire Swindell rocks the bass, Charlie Vanture smokes on the guitar and they've added someone I don't know, but who tears up the drums- Keli Swearingen. They have titled themselves The Sarah Mac Band- or SMB for short. I hired Sarah one summer for her musical abilities as our worship and arts leader. Charlie volunteered many summers and I have several memories of him using his amazing guitar abilities to help campers shine in the talent show. Claire worked several summers and was great at guitar, and I am so very impressed with how she's picked up the bass and totally glues the band's sound together. All together it is an amazing jazz/rock/folk/acoustic combo that has gotten me amped about them making it past nice local group that plays a few bars and instead puts them as contenders! They are in fact contending for a spot at Bonaroo in Tennessee- and just had a track on the widely read music indie magazine Paste- for their April CD sampler. Their newest album is due out next week- they will have a release party on Friday and Saturday April 18th and 19th, and it will be available on iTunes starting Tuesday the 22nd. Here's the website http://www.sarahmacband.com/. Be a part of a new thing, enjoy some great music, become a fan and join me in saying, I knew them when...

Favorite song: Open Fire, closely followed by their masterful cover of Gershwin's Summertime.. Check them out!

One, Two-who, thrree...

In response to the boy's request of "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" the wise old owl answers three before crunching away at the candy. The narrator then wisely says, "the world may never know". In quite similar fashion, I have been pondering the question of how long it would take me, being bereft of challenging and nourishing Christian community, how long would it take to reach a nadir in my spiritual life? I think I'd have to say 5 years- for that is how long it has been since I've moved to Greenville. But I think I may be like the owl in coming to my answer a little too quickly. It is akin to declaring a drought, and what level of extremity it classifies as. I mean, how can we get 4 inches of rain in a day and still be in a drought? And yet, it is the persistence of the situation that makes it so. In a similar way, though there be showers and relieving rains along the way, my spiritual life has slipped into a drought, and I am left trying to find sources of life giving water. It is not as if I am some rain-forest plant who has been thrust into the sahara- my Christian life has been marked with arid landscapes. I am pretty drought and heat tolerant. But even the toughest of plants needs water to grow. When you see a huge cactus in the desert, chances are they are very old- they grow so slowly due to the lack of moisture. Similarly, my growth has slowed, I am experiencing less and less spiritual moisture in my life. Still, I believe, I hope, I dream of the kingdom of God come to its fruition. I rejoice in His creation, I trust my family and my life to his care. Is this drought moderate, extreme or exceptional? Bereft as I may be, this is likely not the true nadir. In fact the world, and I, may never know.

When work is really work

OK- so I have this idea for a new workplace. People like to work out- can't find time because their jobs get in the way, yadda yadda. We eat too much and need the exercise to keep our bodies in the idolatrous shapes we like them to be. So, how about if your job was to work out? I mean, you went in and for say, 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, with a good break in the middle for rehydrating, you simply walked/ran on a treadmill or lifted weights or some other machine assisted exercise. Why machine assisted? Well, because what you would be doing is using your motion to generate electricity! Just like there are special batteries connected to solar panels that store the energy so it can be used later, so too would these machines be attached to special batteries- so as you ran, you would turn a crank that turned a small generator that stored energy in batteries for use other places! We could use the power for an associated business, say like my local foods grocery store, or a great bookstore/toy store/coffee bar. Or perhaps powering a recycling plant. And if we generated too much power, we'd just sell the excess back to the grid! What a win-win. I mean, the requirements for the job are very low- can you walk? How about can you lift weights? (even most folks confined to a wheelchair can do so). You would end up in great shape, you'd get paid a basic wage, and we'd have a renewable sustainable energy source to sell to people everywhere. As for pollution, I suppose we'd end up with some sweat issues- but I don't see that being a project ender. So, what do you do for a living? I work. Work out that is.