New Phone

It's here - I finally got an iPhone! What a way to begin spring break.

I'm having fun downloading apps and learning where everything is. It's also much bigger than my old phone, which is nice when calling or reading email, but it's a little large to fit in a pocket. I can text on the iPhone much easier than on the old phone, and you can make the screen bigger or smaller just by sliding your fingers across it. And the camera is much better than the one on my old phone. When I think back to the phones we had while I was growing up, it amazes me to think of the changes that have occurred in the last number of years.

But, as I sat playing with my new phone last Friday morning, I felt kind of sorry for my old phone. After all, it had served me well for over two years. I remember how excited I was when I first got it - it was the first phone I had that gave me internet access and I took it everywhere. Now it was being discarded for something new and better.

And it reminded me of something I'd seen recently ... a story of an old lamp.

Love That Shines

Dear children,

let's not merely say that we love each other;

let us show the truth by our actions.

1 John 3:18 (New Living Translation)

There is nothing more exciting than to see God’s people come together and share their love. I’ve been blessed with two opportunities to see this in action during the last two days!

The first was yesterday in my second grade classroom. One of my goals as a Christian school teacher, in addition to the academic goals, is to help my students learn how to love God and love other people (Luke 10:27). As a practical way to extend our earth science unit, I invited some guests to share how people in some rural African villages don’t have access to safe, clean water. One of our science experiments involved making a filter to clean the water and, when the children found that they could purchase a real water filter for an African family for $25 and provide them with clean water, they were eager to help. When they found that a village well could be repaired for $250 and provide water for an entire village, they were even more motivated. Many of the children found sponsors (parents, grandparents, neighbors) who pledged money for each minute the children read during our three months winter reading

incentive. When the children brought in their money and we counted it yesterday, we found that they had raised over $700 to provide clean water to people living in some of these rural villages. I was so touched to see that some of the children gave their own money for this cause. They are learning that they can make a difference – they’re making the world a better place and shining their love.

This evening was also a special occasion filled with light. Hundreds of people gathered at our

local high school to share their love for a family that has been shining for four years amidst the trial of cancer. This family has been a living testimony to God’s faithfulness during diagnosis, treatments, and the very real “why” questions that have arisen on their journey. Tonight was a time for friends and family to share our love for them as we raised money to help with their expenses. There were lots of activities for all ages: games and face painting for the kids, a silent auction and raffle, a baked goods sale, and a delicious supper. It was truly a joy-filled evening with everyone having a fun time. It was so exciting to see all the smiling, happy people. This is what being the body of Christ is all about.

Kristi’s motto throughout this journey has been “Courage to Shine.” She continues to live out this motto each day. May we all have the courage to shine for God – showing our love for Him and for others.

Reverse Thinking

Watch this video all the way to the end to get the complete message.

The Power of Musical Theater

Music is powerful. A good story can entertain and teach. But when you put them together, you have an experience that can take your breath away.

I’ve loved musical theater since I was a little girl. My dad was involved with several groups (Calvin College’s Alumni Players and the Grand Rapids Opera) while I was growing up, and we’d always attend their yearly productions. The magic of make-believe, the make-up room, and the costumes fascinated me. I also remember watching rehearsals when my dad directed the local high school production of Oliver when I was in fourth grade. I listened so carefully that I had most of the lines memorized by the performance time.

But the real magic began the night I attended my first professional touring show: Guys and Dolls. The glitz and glamour of the set, the colorful costumes, the bigger-than-life characters, and the songs were mesmerizing, and I was in love with musical theater. In the years since, I’ve been fortunate enough to see quite a few musicals and have enjoyed almost all of them. (In fact, there have only been two that I really disliked.)

Just like books, there are a wide variety of themes in musicals. A few are just good-old-fun escapism, like Mamma Mia and The Scarlet Pimpernel. But most musicals have a deeper message and something to teach us. Wicked prompts us to think about good and evil, The Phantom of the Opera questions appearance vs. reality, and Fiddler on the Roof reminds us of tradition and its place in our life. I’ve often said I don’t have just one favorite, because different musicals fit different moods. But tonight I watched a concert version of a musical that I’m ready to say is my favorite.

PBS aired the 25^th anniversary of Les Miserables tonight and it was phenomenal! I’ve seen this on stage at least twice and was struck again tonight by all of the themes this story contains. Ideas of justice and grace, fairness and law, forgiveness and redemption, as well as revolution and democracy are beautifully portrayed both in words and in music. As I watched the students rally to the barricade and possible revolution singing “Do you hear the people sing,” images of recent events from Egypt and Libya came to mind. Watching the story of Jean Valjean’s redemption is always moving, but tonight I was also struck by Javert, the officer of the law, and how he could not change: he couldn’t give or accept grace or second chances. I actually felt sorry for his character. And I wonder how many real-life people have this rigidity toward other people.

As a Christian, there are elements in many musicals that I can’t condone and don’t agree with. But, just as we live in a sinful world, the stories deal with characters in an imperfect society and sometimes these elements serve to advance the plot. This is also true in Les Miz; there are two characters that I dislike for all they stand for. They are intended for comic relief in the story, but they are totally self-absorbed and will do anything to get ahead. Unfortunately, there are people like them in real life as well. The fact that they never repent or are brought to justice is unsettling, but also realistic.

I actually just saw the touring stage version of the musical Grease yesterday afternoon and was planning to write about that. It was a fun show and a great afternoon. But the power of Les Miz – even on a small TV screen – leaves Grease in the dust.

Les Miserables is a powerful show that both entertains and teaches. The story and music work beautifully together to bring the audience into the story experience. I can’t wait to see it again. It’s playing in Detroit at the end of the month.

A Voice in the Darkness

I love this tree! I walk past it every weekday morning as I enter school. During the winter months it's often been dark as I arrive. Dark and quiet. I (usually) get to school before the students do and the short walk from the parking lot to the side door is quiet. And then I reach this tree - right outside the school door. It looks completely empty. But then I hear a burst of song from the birds nestled among the branches. Sometimes its a lone voice and other times a chorus of birds. But every morning they sing their praise for a new day. I often try to catch a glimpse of these feathered friends, but I never do. They are tucked away, safe from the winter winds, in their apartment-like tree. But I know they're there, praising God in the darkness of the early winter morning. Their song brings a message of hope - daylight will come; everything is all right - God is in control of this day. What a gift to begin my day. I smile as I open the school door, ready to greet my second graders. May I be a voice in the darkness of this world, sharing the hope we have through Christ.

Splashes of Color

Enough already! About this time of year the grey of winter gets old. The almost constant cloud cover presses down on our corner of Michigan while piles of white snow rise up like mountains at the edges of parking lots. I admit, the blizzard from a couple weeks ago was beautiful, and the sight of freshly fallen snow resting atop tree branches can be breathtaking. And every once in a while we receive the gift of blue skies and a sunny winter day.

But the various shades of grey that constantly smother surround me can be depressing. It reminds me of the old Narnia story by C.S. Lewis (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) where it’s always winter and never Christmas, only in this case it’s always winter and never spring.

God created color to liven up our world and right now I need to see some of that color. It’s a reminder that spring is coming. If the dismal grey of winter reminds us of sin, the glorious colors of springtime can remind us of Christ’s resurrection and the hope we have of eternal life with Him.

So here’s a little bit of color – to remind us of the hope and promise – of spring.

Drained

How quickly a mood can change from positive to negative. What began as a promising Saturday morning turned into an afternoon of frustration and downright crabbiness because of one little bathroom drain.

I awoke this morning to beautiful blue skies, ready to clean the house, catch up on schoolwork, and enjoy an afternoon walk with my dog. Things were going along smoothly for a while: I worked on a slide show/movie for our class’s chapel presentation and started cleaning the house. I vacuumed/dusted the living room, bedroom, and T.V. room.

Then I reached the bathroom. I remembered that the sink drain has been draining slowly for a while, most likely clogged up with hair, and decided to quickly clean the drain before doing the rest of the bathroom. All I have to do is unhook the drain stopper, pull out the hair, and reattach the stopper. It will just take a couple minutes. And that’s when things began to change. I got the stopper out; no problem. Cleaned the stopper and cleared out the hair from the drain; again, easy job. And then I looked down the drain. And saw a big clump of hair (I think) way at the bottom. I couldn’t reach it, even with a piece of wire, so I decided to remove the drain trap underneath to clean it out. However, it was so tight I couldn’t get it off. I couldn’t even get it off with a pipe wrench, although after several tries I noticed the top edge starting to crack, so I finally decided to stop (after hitting it a few times with the side of the wrench and letting out a couple good yells, just to make myself feel better – No, I don’t have a temper problem). Extremely frustrating! It then took a few tries to get the stupid drain stopper back on correctly, but the water did go down much quicker than before, so maybe it will be all right.

Anyway, my decision to take just a few minutes to fix the bathroom sink drain turned into 45 minutes and a total change of attitude about my day. Anger at myself because I couldn’t do something as simple as take apart a drainpipe and anger at the drain itself for being so tight (and clogged in the first place) made me feel useless and unmotivated to do anything else. So my kitchen floor is still un-mopped, next week’s lesson plans are still untouched, we never got out for a walk (the sky turned cloudy anyway), and I am in a bad mood with no idea how to snap out of it.

I guess the moral might be Slow drains are better than trying to fix them yourself or Stick to the day’s original plans. I don’t know. I just wish I could get back to the good mood I had this morning.