Intentional Walk: December 2006

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Consumerism 101

A quick note at the beginning for those of you who were confused by the pictures. I was, of course, in my secret identity in those shots. The power ring was safely tucked away.

Yesterday James received a card from my wonderful Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Merle, truly two of my favorite people on the planet. Inside the card was a crisp ten dollar bill and James was given the choice of putting it in the piggy bank or finding something to buy. He wanted to buy something so we took him out shopping last night. What a joy it was to watch him try and decide what he wanted. It was his first purchase and Lisa and I had a blast watching him make it.

The choices were staggering. Would it be something with Spider-Man on it? Superman? Batman? Or how about those cool Hot Wheels sets? Or a game? He walked around the store with "Ker-Plunk!" under his arm for a while. It was the fallback choice. Finally, (Finally!) he found a remote control car...one that spins, no less...for $9.99. We told him we would foot the bill for the batteries and the choice was made. He proudly took it up to the counter and gave the cashier his ten dollars. She rung it up for seven and change; his first purchase ever and it was on sale! He tucked his change away carefully, after happily gazing at the coins for a while ("Look how shiny they are!").

It was nice to be reminded of the childlike wonder of it. I remember when change was cool and paper money was truly rare. In this time of life when I just wish everybody had a card reader so I could pay by debit or credit everywhere I go, when I'm more concerned with how quickly a transaction can be made than how I am making it, it's good to remember how these things seem to a child.

May all of your Christmases be filled with such joy and wonder. For unto us a child is born!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Taken Over

Since my blog has been co-opted by preachers in search of gifts, I feel it may be time to post something new.

I simply don't function the same on vacation as I do when at work. I don't blog much or visit other blogs. My days are unregimented. Nights too. As of the third day of vacation, I have completed the Christmas shopping (and wrapping), almost gone down in defeat for the first time in Civ IV (lousy, stinkin' Montezuma...I HATE that guy!), seen the doc, worked with Sandra on worship plans for Sunday and almost finished my lesson for the same day. Oh, and posted the following picture:

I have also written the official Thurman Family 2006 Christmas Letter. I thought about posting it here, but it would be redundant as all you Faithful Readers have pretty much followed our ups and downs over the last couple of years. Yes, it covered two years. We didn't send a 2005 letter as we were in the midst of the demolition at the time. Last Christmas our house was in shambles, our spirits alongside it. This year is much better and we look forward to a wonderful time with family and friends.

Silliness and fun reign supreme around our house these days. There is warmth and laughter and a conspicous lack of holes in the outer walls. The rest of vacation promises golf and poker and video games and reading. In fact, I am desperately trying to finish reading my friend Kevin's present so I can wrap it before Christmas. It's a race to the finish.

I'm off to catch up on other blogs now. I leave you with this:

It ain't pretty. But it's us. Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Perquisites

Everybody knows the three greatest perks of being a school teacher: June, July, and August. Extra working days are eating into June and August but ooooooohhhhhhh July. Here is a lesser known benefit of teaching: Christmas goodies!

My score so far this year: 4 cards, a bag of cookies, two new Pez dispensers (Grievous and Chewie), and assorted candies and chocolates.

I'll keep you posted as the booty grows.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Martin Nodell

Before Hal Jordan, there was Alan Scott.

The 30's and 40's brought the Golden Age of comics. Superheroes were coming at people from all directions. Superman was an instant hit. Batman and Wonder Woman were just entering the nation's consciousness. It was wartime and people were desperate for heroes. The bigger the better.

It was in this environment that Green Lantern was born. I know I should say "created," but as a kid, these heroes were real to me and I haven't yet found a good reason to grow out of it. My own personal Green Lantern was, of course, Hal Jordan. I didn't learn about the older version until the Justice League started having all those crossovers with the Justice Society. There was Earth A and Earth B and Earth Prime and it's all just too confusing. Suffice it to say that no matter what he looked like, GL was just cool. I mean, tell me that you wouldn't like a ring that would do anything for you. I even dug that whole "vulnerable to the color yellow" thing. It reminded me of Superman and kryptonite. It was cliched and terribly overused, but who cares when you're ten?

For that matter, who cares when you're 42? I have long since accepted that my obsession with comics is a lifelong one. So I'm sad to report that Martin Nodell has died. He gave us the original Green Lantern way back in 1940. His stories were crude, his drawings cruder, but his creation has survived over sixty years. I think that says it all.

Monday, December 11, 2006

2007

I'm thinking ahead.

I asked for a break from preaching for the final month or so of the year. I needed the time to refuel, to focus on other tasks, and to give my family a break from the time away from them that preaching causes. I have also not taken on any teaching assignments for the past few months. Whenever I go this long without teaching the Bible the same thing happens. I get very, very anxious to start teaching again.

For the past few months, I have been wondering what I would be teaching next. My well was dry and I found little interest in anything. All that changed last week. I was drawn to a passage in Philippians (3: 30-21 for those of you scoring at home) that piqued my interest in this letter. I taught it a decade ago...what would it look like to me now? A couple of days later, I was reading through the "Prayer Grammar" chapter in Yancey's book. By the end of it, I wanted to spend a year teaching about prayer. Between working through some of the thoughts from the book...studying all of Paul's prayers in detail...examining the 14 prayers from both testaments (on page 178) and putting them in context...and leading discussions on individual methods of prayers and the varying perspective of them all...I figured a year might not be enough time. I long to get back into the Old Testament, yet I have been yearning lately to teach the words of Jesus. When God gets you going, it never rains, it pours.

I'm also excited about some of the messages I'll get to give from the pulpit next year. We are already discussing a series on the Parable of the Talents, a focus on missionality, and a "What If?" lesson for January that will probably leap from the pages of Lee Camp's "Mere Discipleship." I can't wait to see what God has in store for the College Church in 2007.

We all go through spiritual highs and lows. Lately I have been talking God's ear off. I was waiting to meet a friend for dinner last week when he called to say he would be about 20 minutes late. I was so grateful! I had more to pray about and had been checking the clock, feeling rushed. After the phone call I felt so relieved to have more time. It seems that I am quick to complain about those times I feel separated from God, speaking to empty air. It's only fair I rejoice about a period of constantly feeling His presence.

I pray that this season and all of next year finds you steeped in the presence of God. I pray that your church grows in numbers and maturity. That God uses you in exciting ways and that you are unable to keep quiet about it. I pray for your health and your happiness. I pray that you feel the loving arms of your Lord around you the whole year round. I pray that you know His direction for you and are excited to follow His will. And I pray that you know that you are important, that you are useful, that you are an example, that you are an ambassador of God Himself. I pray that those who come into contact with you will realize that God is still here on earth, wrapped in the flesh of men.

Friday, December 08, 2006

The Season Marches On

THE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL IS OVER!!!

I am, of course, referring to James' school musical. To recap, in his first performance two years ago, James cried from start to finish. Just bawled. Stood there...didn't run off the stage...but just dripped tears. To our credit, we sat there and watched him, but it was no fun. Since then, he has stood in his place without crying, but without participating either. Mostly he has just stood there, looking around, watching his friends do all the moves and sing all the words.

This time was bound to be different. He was excited about it. He sang for Lisa and I and showed us all the hand motions. He called me on Wednesday to tell me how much he couldn't wait for the musical. He put on his new red shirt and black pants and jumped up and down on the bed before we left. He ran to join all his friends in their classroom to get ready.

And then the moment came. He marched in, found his place, blew kisses to his mommy and daddy, waved to me as I recorded his every move on videotape. And when the first song began, he looked out at the audience, opened his mouth wide...and stuck out his tongue. He then spent the better part of three songs mugging for the camera, patting his head, chatting with his friends, and generally laughing and having a good time. There was very little singing, a few bars here and there when fancy struck, but there was no crying either. He, at least, was having a great time. And judging from the reaction of the hundreds of people in attendance, he wasn't alone.

As Lisa doesn't have a silly bone in her body, I take all the blame for this. I try to deny it, but like the double-amputee who tried to sue the hospital for removing the wrong limb first, I don't have a leg to stand on. From Lisa he got his good looks. From me he got his silly.

I'm so darn proud.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Let There Be Light!

THE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL IS LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!!!

Okay, not really. It's almost two weeks away. I just wanted to see if I could make my sister spit coffee all over her keyboard.

Have you ever had somebody in your life who you loved like crazy, and then one day got to see them in action at what they do best? And you just sat there, silently mouthing the word, "Wow," over and over. And over.

Last night I had the joy of watching Sandra at work. Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. She has a reputation of being kind of...I'm gonna go with "bossy." Welp, it's true. (Yes, Wendy, I know I went with the lesser-used "welp" there. It was my early-morning effort at colloquialism.) But bossy in a really good way. She had the troops in line. They were listening up, following orders. Sandra would make a great middle-school teacher, Cecil. In fact, some of the troops were middle schoolers. And most of the rest of them were right there, y'know, mentally. Yet I had the distinct feeling that if Sandra would have yelled, "Jump," they would have all leapt to their feet and hit the air...the sopranos jumping highest of course, basses lowest. And so on.

And the verbiage. Oh, the wonderful musical language. You have to understand, I was only there as a narrator. My gift that I'm contributing is that I can read English and speak it into a microphone. And wear a tux. (OH, can I wear a tux.) But all of these people around me knew just what she was talking about when Sandra said things like, "Come in strong on the 34th bar and don't forget to hit your sixteenths." I say that stuff too, but I'm talking about graphing and measuring. I know just enough music to get me in trouble so I actually had an idea what she meant. And everyone did what she said. And guess what. It always...ALWAYS...sounded great when they did. I had the good fortune of sitting in front of Carolyn (timeless) for a while as she generously doled out her beautiful alto. I got to work with my good friend, Darla, my co-narrator, as she lent her sweet voice to words she spoke with belief and conviction. I got to hear people I love dearly sing solos and controlled myself for the most part. I have to admit that one of them got me crying pretty good. So it's a good thing that I'm listening to it now because if I didn't, I'd be trying to speak through a puddle the night of the performance. At the end I couldn't help but think, "If rehearsal is this good, what will the end result sound like??"

My music teacher was my sister. When I was younger she taught me some of the basics. So I knew why everyone got so loud at the fortissimo's and slowed down at the ritardo's. Actually, you've never seen so many ritardos in one place in your life. Ba dum pum. There was laughter and joy. Sandra kept things moving and light and fun and started and ended with prayer and everyone worked hard but above all...above all...God was praised. It was sweet. You should have been there.

Actually, you can be there. At least for the final result. "Let There Be Light" will be presented at 7:00 on December 17. The music is beautiful, the voices are amazing, the words remind us of God's amazing love through the gift of His son. And I look smashing in a tux. You are officially invited.

Sandra, you are incredibly gifted. And I couldn't be prouder at how you use your gift for His glory. It was fun watching you work. I can't wait for the next rehearsal. I love you, my sweet sister.