Dreamchasers

There comes a certain time in a kid's life when they realize that they're not a kid anymore, and they find themselves in the awkward position of not knowing what to do with their dreams. All of those "dreams" that they had as a kid, and that they have been pursuing at breakneck speed. I think that I and the people I am around the most have just reached that stage right now. Many of our dreams are a little inconvenient, hard, and less than traditional. We can easily see other lives that we could live that would be much more practical. The question that I think we're all asking ourselves, is can we, and should we keep trying to do what we always thought we were going to do? We can fast-forward ten years ahead and imagine either being very glad that we risked it all and "followed our dreams" (so corny!) or we can imagine how bad and pitiful it would seem if we risked too much and crashed and burned, or would we just be glad that at least we tried? On the other hand, if we went the easy way, would we always regret never having gone for it? Or would we be glad that we grew up in time and chose a better, thought less exciting life (maybe family).

If this seems like a confusing conglomeration of ideas, that's because that's how it feels. All I can say is that it would obviously be wrong to only think of what we want to do with our lives. We know that our lives are already planned, and we should be willing to do anything (do we have any idea what that means?) that He asks of us. My standard fallback for trying to determine exactly what God wants me to do, is that he wants me to pursue holiness, and as long as I do that, He won't leave me in the dark about his immediate will. I may not have any idea what he wants me to do tomorrow, but I will be shown his will for me today.

And back to the main question, I'm rather inclined to say go for it. Go do all the things you thought would be good to do when you were ten, people. I think we can all suprise ourselves with how much we can do when we are determined. Even if we fail, at least we will know we tried.

I wanted you to know...I love the way you laugh

Maybe this is just me, but does anyone else ever noticed the cataclysmic weight a single phrase can have. Like in songs, for instance, some songs have lyrics that are mostly obscure or ordinary, but just one phrase pops out that makes you say "YES! that was exactly how it should be said." I love how giant concepts can be communicated better in small snapshots then they can be by spelling it out. Here are some of my favorite examples...

Everytime I feel alone, I can blame it on you, and I do

But in the end, the end is oceans and oceans of love, and love again

You'll think of me

No hero in her sky

I wonder if she's figured it out, I'm crazy for this girl

Holding my last breath

Let me rest in pieces

You can bet your luck won't follow me

Light up, light up, as if you had a choice

Given a chance and a rock, see which one breaks a window, and see which one keeps me up all night and into the day

And, probably my favorite example of this...

I wanted you to know, that I love the way you laugh

Some of these don't really make sense if you don't know the song...and I left out some genra's (sp ?) entirely...oh well

~Hope~

Squeak-flops

So, one of my shoes is squeaking really loudly with every step, and the other is not.
So basically, they're not flip-flops anymore--they're squeak flops!!!
It's making me giggle when I walk around in the library when it's all quiet and everyone is looking up to see who's going "squeak, flop, squeak flop...giggle...flop, squeak, flop..."

it's the little things

~Hope~

Nathan can heatedly argue doctrine while playing frisbee!!!!

I have something to say to my particular generation who has 1) grown up in ARBCA 2) Are believers and care about the truth of the gospel and 3) are aware of some things we disagree with in ARBCA.

Guys, I think the reformed church has a problem. It's very predictable really. We think that we have the truth, and we have become conceited about it. It's in my heart, and I think it's probably in yours. This pride kills love very fast. It makes all of our pretty, intellectual doctrine meaningless. I don't know if I would say that this characterizes the reformed church, but it is a besetting problem.

I think some of the young people see this problem and it upsets us very much. We see other things that we disagree with in the older generation of ARBCA as well, and because we care about what is right we get indignant. At this point I think we have a great opportunity, and a great opportunity to mess things up as well.

The point that I want to get across most strongly, is that if we get attached to our ideas about what we think is true to the point that we get proud...and lose our love...then we have done exactly the same thing we are angry about seeing happen in our churches. Our own doctrine of love will become a doctrine of hypocrisy, which is what we were complaining about in others to start with. We will become exactly what we are reacting against--same song, second verse--and we will be as useless as a group as we sometimes feel the church today is overall.

A word about the older generation. Most of them have come a very long way toward truth in their lifetimes. It would be foolhearty and wrong for us to claim that they don't care about the church, the bride of Christ, or that they don't have good intentions toward the preservation of truth. They are wise and we are young.

So if we, instead of leaving, stay in ARBCA because we think what the association affirms is true (if we do), and if we decide that we can act lovingly, and respect our elders, and realize that they are our friends, and not our enemies, then I think we can come as far in our generation as our parents have in theirs! I think the older generation would be very happy to open a friendly dialogue on current issues, and someday we will be the ones operating the association, not them. We don't have to agree with them on everything, I'm pretty sure that's not what they want, but lets not needlessly create enemies by being hotheaded and arrogant.

It would be a big mistake to take the easy route, and gripe and complain without trying to talk to those we disagree with, or make plans to change things in our lifetimes. I think it would be a big mistake to leave in a huff, throw the baby out with the bathwater, and leave behind all of the good things our parents have worked so hard to achieve.

You guys I'm writing this to know who you are. I love y'all very much, and I'm proud to carry the torch with you...

~Hope~

Mary Hamilton Chestnut

Mary Hamilton, this is for you and Dr. Wenger.

Ok, so today, the COOLEST thing ever happened to me. I mean, this was like, totally awesome...it involved a car, and a ride, and payment. But the cool thing was that the payment was sooooo much better than the ride.
...and it was pretty much just like a vacuum cleaner!!!!...
...and it was pretty much awesome....
...I was like, man when Brittany told me that she didn't think this would happen, I told her, "babe, you are like, so wrong," and she was like, whatever, and I was like, whatever, and then Tyler came in and it was like waaaaaay cool...
...althought not as cool as the vacuum cleaner.

I hope this gets you that much further in your studying. Whatever it takes to stay sane, right?

For the rest of you...you really don't want to know.

~Hope~

When the Stars go Blue

For those of you prone to confusion, this is what the name of my blog comes from...you don't get the full effect untill you listen to the Corrs or Time McGraw version.
I like it because I have only the vaguest notion of what it means.

Dancin' where the stars go blue
Dancin' where the evening fell
Dancin' in my wooden shoes
In a wedding gown

Dancin' out on 7th street
Dancin' through the underground
Dancin' little marionette
Are you happy now?

Where do you go when you're lonely
Where do you go when you're blue
Where do you go when you're lonelyI'll follow you
When the stars go blue
When the stars go blue

Laughing with your pretty mouth
Laughing with your broken eyes
Laughing with your lover's tongue
In a lullaby

Where do you go when you're lonely
Where do you go when you're blue
Where do you go when you're lonelyI'll follow you
When the stars go blue
The stars go blue,
stars go blue
Follow you
Follow you


When the stars go blue
Where do you go when you're lonely?
Where do you go when the stars go blue?

Goodbye, Youth

I have a wrinkle

Not like the kind of thing where you can see where a wrinkle is going to be, I mean a real honest to goodness wrinkle on my forehead. Not the laughing kind; the frowning kind.

I'm sure this was not there yesterday. Today I noticed it three separate times, so I know it's really there. I don't frown a lot, do I??? This is what I get for being so serious all the time. Now that it's too late, I'm going to start listening to people who tell me to lighten up.

Oh well, we all have to get old sometime...

~Hope~

Invisible Children

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/001/18.30.html

This is the best short article I have found summarizing the crisis with the LRA in Northern Uganda...you can thank me for not posting the 150-page one--it was better. Ann, parts of it may be a little rough for you.

More than 30,ooo children dead already, and I don't think that's likely to be a high estimate. In my opinion, this is one of the worst current crisis, and it's relatively unknown. Even if nothing else can be done (and I believe that there can and should) we can at least raise awareness and see what public outrage can do.

Outrage is sadly insufficient though. On the one hand, we shouldn't give to low an estimate of what prayer can do in a situation like this. On the other hand, as American Christians with the world's resources at our hands, we have a lot of responsibility.

Jesus had special compssion on the poor, the helpless, and children, and a special wrath for those who exploited and abused them. If we love him how can we not have the same heart?

Any ideas about what should be done?

Here is a link that allows you to send a message to your congressman--it only takes a minute, I highly reccomend it.
https://secure2.convio.net/wv/site/Advocacy?page=UserAction&cmd=display&id=128&lid=Uganda_action&lpos=leftnav

If you're really serious, here's e-mail addresses for the Ugandan government.
http://www.statehouse.go.ug/contacts.php?category=Contacts

~Hope~

When Stars go Blue

I have given in.

I may never post, but at least I will now have a theoretical outlet for all of the random ideas that bounce around in my head while I'm supposed to be thinking about other things. I can spit them out here, with the idea that people will read them and be enlightened, and then go on with my life--unencumbered by the weight of my thoughts.

What a relief

~Hope~