The Occasion of the Thirtieth Anniversary

This will have to be edited at a later date, but I need, at last, to get the email containing these song lyrics OUT of my inbox! I emailed them to myself over a month ago upon learning that these songs were sung at my parents wedding, thinking I would soon thereafter include them in a blog. Well, here they are:D.

There's something about listening to people singing at your own parents' wedding when those parents were just about your age. It is both incredible and enlightening, awe-inspiring and tear-evoking, beautiful and almost eerie. My parents, aged 20 and 22; the persons of these beautiful, "old" photos I've loved looking at all my life, being wished a marriage full of God and full of love. And I listen and consider how I, too, want that.

Were my parents once idealistic youths? Am I an idealistic youth? Did the wishes professed in these hand-picked songs come true? Will my own wishes for life and love come true? It's hard to tell; there are many invisible and incomprehensible variables. Regardless of what was, is, and will be, I admire those youthful parents for the lives they set out to live; I admire my raising-kids parents for the standards to which they held us; and I admire my now-parents, for whom they are now.

It's a little melancholy to only now find out, after thirty years, that my parents have a tape of their wedding; however, it is all the more treasured and meaningful because I am the age they were then and I am facing the same sorts of grown-up issues they were then. It's possible that I can appreciate this tape more than if I'd grown up having heard it now and then. Maybe, maybe not, but these are the songs that I've discovered as a result:

"You're a Gift" sung by their pastor's wife
[I have to copy these from a piano book my aunt has...the lyrics can't be found online. Stay tuned; it's really good, thought-provoking, and God-centric!]


"The Troubador" sung by my uncle
He is now to be among you
at the calling of your hearts
Rest assured this troubadour
is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits, here,
has caused Him to remain
for whenever two or more of you
are gathered in His name
there is Love, there is Love.

Well, a man shall leave his mother
and a woman leave her home
and they shall travel on to where
the two shall be as one.
As it was in the beginning
is now and til the end
Woman draws her life from man
and gives it back again.
And there is Love, there is Love.

Well then what's to be the reason
for becoming man and wife?
Is it love that brings you here
or love that brings you life?
And if loving is the answer,
then who's the giving for?
Do you believe in something
that you've never seen before?
Oh there is Love, there is Love.

(Short solo)

Oh the marriage of your spirits here
has caused Him to remain
for whenever two or more of you
are gathered in His name
there is Love, there is Love.


"Lady" by Kenny Rogers, sung by my dad to my mom:D

Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you
You have made me what I am and I am yours
My love, there's so many ways I want to say I love you
Let me hold you in my arms forever more

You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
And oh, we belong together
Won't you believe in my song

Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you
You have come into my life and made me whole
Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning
Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear

In my eyes I see no one else but you
There's no other love like our love
And yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long

Lady, your love's the only love I need
And beside me is where I want you to be
'Cause, my love, there's somethin' I want you to know
You're the love of my life, you're my lady

Have You Seen This Chicken?

Given the time, I could probably come up with a dozen or more puns on this subject.

There's the childhood songs route:

"Oh where, oh where has my little chicken gone; oh where, oh where could it beeeee?"
"______ stole the chicken from the refrigerator! Who me? Yes, you! Couldn't be! Then who stole the chicken from the refrigerator?"

Orrrrr, the Shakespearean route:

"Chicken! Chicken! My kingdom for some chicken!"
"Chicken, chicken, wherefore art thou chicken!" (A misuse of the word "wherefore," but one commonly used, and rather "punny," nonetheless.)

I'm quite sure I could come up with 3 times as much, but I'll stop there, because quite frankly, at the moment, I have better things to be getting on with. Suffice it to say there were two pieces of chicken last night when my parents and their company finished dinner, but where the chicken has gone between now and then is a mystery. Possibly the fridge (though we've thoroughly searched it); possibly the freezer (but we searched it, too!); possibly the garbage (unfortunately already and much-too-efficiently removed and thrown into the dumpster) or a random cupboard (for which I am not brave enough to face for an exhaustive search, yet). All family members have been questioned, and allegedly none of them ate the chicken. We didn't even know it was gone until we tried to start warming up the leftovers at 7 PM, in a state of moderate hunger since we'd waited for my mother to get home from work.

If it turns up, the mystery will be solved, but I'm not holding my breath.

Waltzing

I haven't been able to get this song out of my head since Friday, December 3, when I heard it while at a swing dance. It is a waltz, and I've never actually waltzed to it with a guy, but I have waltzed to it, alone, around my house. I also think I waltzed to it with my dear friend Erica H. at the Christmas Dance, but I can't remember whether that was this song or a different one. Regardless, the song has been waltzing around my head, off-and-on, for the past month and 3 weeks, and in order for you to understand why I'm letting it stay there, you need to hear the song. (P.S. I did already know and even love the song, but I somehow have become significantly more attached to it since the third of December. I think that is a combination of a love of both dancing and recognizing beloved songs in a setting where I usually don't know the songs or have only heard them there.)
:)

"How Many Kings" by Downhere

Sung Neng Yee/Nora Sung

I just finished the book China Cry, the story of a little Chinese girl named Sung Neng Yee born in pre-Communist China. She grew up to be called Nora (Lam) Sung in the the United States. From her birth in Peking (Beijing) to a mother who could not keep her to her loving and wealthy adoptive parents; to being forced to flee from the invading Japanese; to being given hope and relief when the Japanese were defeated; to a devotee of Communism, thinking it a great new order; to re-seeking God, whom she knew as a child, as a result of Communism's suspicious persecution. Then, through many, many hardships and faith-building steps and leaps, from China to Hong Kong to the U.S. and then back to Hong Kong and, at last, China. The story is incredible, and I HIGHLY SUGGEST you read it for yourself. I was SO encouraged by all the amazing miracles God did. There were so many times Neng Yee protested or questioned God because she couldn't see the big picture, but then she many, MANY times found out later how huge an impact these difficult events and her obedience had had on bringing others to Christ. What an indescribably AWESOME God we serve! I wish that Neng Yee were still alive (she died in 2004) so that I could personally write and tell her how powerfully I have identified with her. Through her story, I have seen confirmation of the importance, beauty, and worthwhileness of submitting oneself to God and boldly believing that He will cause everything to fall into place as a result. Maybe not in the ways my little mind forsees as "best," for how often my plans and expectations of what is "good" or "best" are wrong, but only seen as such in hindsight! But He will cause them to fall where they truly will be "best," for He is omniscient AND has my best interests at heart. How awesome! And He has chosen to use ME and YOU in that process of implementing his good and perfect will!!! Can I get a "Hallelujah!" from anyone out there?

Thank you, God, for your indescribable goodness, faithfulness, love, and majesty! As it says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do," and in Isaiah 64:6, "...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." You are the Potter; we are the Clay. Mold us, please, into beautiful things, and help us yield to your will, and help us to humbly realize that it is by Your power alone, and in no way our own that great things are done. Soli Deo gloria.

I love writing for a prompt. Why? Well, I love writing, but I don't always have a clear idea what I want to write. For example, today I was rather bored as I was subbing. Staring at students for hours on end is not extremely intellectually stimulating. So what materials did I have? Paper. With paper, I tried to write, but it turned out to be a very dull account of what I was doing. Enter, my saviour: the prompt!

I write well when I write for a purpose. When I encountered the following prompt, I was excited, because it made me think about The Chronicles of Narnia, something in which I already am have a profound interest. I didn't win anything, but I thought my purposeful writing worth sharing. Maybe it will stimulate your heart and mind, as well. :)

In 200 words or less, tell us your favorite character from The Chronicles of Narnia series and share why you would like to attend the London premiere of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I had never taken time to consciously consider a favorite character from the Narnia series. C.S. Lewis filled the series with a plethora of fantastic characters; each has a depth of its own, as well as different struggles and triumphs. I have identified with different characters at different times, yet I can easily say that my favorite is Shasta from The Horse and His Boy. It is his story to which I return the most, drawn by the wonder of a child both physically and spiritually lost and then so miraculously found by a Loving Father. Neither the themes of redemption and love nor the thrill of suspense and victory in this tale have ever disappointed me. They provide not simply a story but also a glimpse of my Heavenly Father. That is why I would be delighted to travel to London for the premiere of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Lewis’ Narnia has always helped me relate to the Triune God by painting glorious pictures of how even young children could know Him personally. I would be interested in seeing how those involved in the making of the Narnia films view the indisputably spiritual work of C.S. Lewis.

Postscript: Note that I used exactly 200 words. Being me, I started with more and whittled it down. Lol,:D.

No-shave November

I recently heard on the radio that a guy could almost certainly point to a couple of girls he went to college with as the original instigators of No-shave November. At least he said he'd never been able to find anyone who could trace the annual event further back than these two girls in Texas. Apparently, in a season of singleness, they'd decided not to shave their legs for a month. I think the idea was that no one would know the difference--but word got out, and a holiday-month was born.

Well, that is my introduction--an anecdote of interest relative to this month. However, it is merely the reason I began thinking about this blog topic, not the focus of it. You see, I am here to tell you why I believe in a No-shave Life. I'm not being funny, silly, or sarcastic--I'm being serious. So if you don't ind, lend your eyes, your brain, and your heart for just a few moments.

I began not-shaving a couple of years ago. I've always been a fan of not-shaving during the winter. I mean, who really wants extra-cold legs when nobody will see them anyway? But in 2008, my nonconformity grew gradually bolder. You see, I had a dear friend and housemate who had never shaved her legs in her life, and she inspired me to do away with the senseless, uncomfortable, time-consuming practice.

My mother and younger sister were not fans, to say the least*, but their insistence for conformity strengthened my feelings of rebellion on the subject. Their attitudes and the prejudicial ones I encountered--or sometimes, perhaps, merely imagined--forced me to think:
~Why am I doing this?
~Why do I care?
~Why does the urging of the crowd--family, friends, random
acquaintances--make my generally docile self feel ready to boil
over?


~TBC~


*My father and older sister did not care, and my brother applauded my action--or rather, inaction.

October

Saturday, October 16, 2010
11:39 PM

Sticky notes turn up in the oddest of places. This week I found three.

1) In the front cover of my Bible.
2) Under the white flip-flops that used to be Megan's.
3) Under the rug.

I learned some very interesting things through these sticky notes, such as,

1) Evil Sticky-noters have very good imaginations for where to place things,
2) Jennifer Jaff turned into a giraffe,
and 3) Jennifer Mutton turned into a button.

Had the urge to sticky-note someone's room, workplace, or car lately? You probably should. Someone will learn important things as a result.