Here are some of my random thoughts about church:
1. I love to listen to praise and worship music. It just really helps me focus my attention on worshipping God. I get excited when the praise band at church sings a song that I have been belting out in my car. The only problem is that I am used to the CD version where the singer adds their own worship experience to the song by adding extra phrases here and there. For example, in an instrumental break they might say "Praise God!", which makes me want to do the same when I am singing at church. They also might change the notes up on the CD version, so as I am singing at church I will go up for a high note when everyone else is on a low note. I try to focus on worshipping God without worrying about my surroundings, but this can be a little difficult when I suddenly realize that I just pulled a "Mariah" and attempted a high octave ... and my voice cracked like a 12 year old boy.
2. My church streams two of their Sunday services live online, which has been both good and bad for me. Good, because there are just some Sundays when I can't get it together in time to make it to church. (Which is extremely ridiculous considering my church has like 142 services to choose from and the one I typically go to is at 11:30) Bad, because I feel like those Sundays might be increasing now that I know I can always watch it online. Well, a few weeks ago they launched what they are calling the "Online Campus", which I was part of a week ago. They have a chat bar on the right hand side, which is incredibly distracting because it is like people are talking in church... the whole time. I found myself wanting to say something to everyone (probably the teacher in me). And it would be people who knew each other saying "Hey Laura... yeah we couldn't get the kids ready in time to make it this morning." Uhm... send Laura a text and quit distracting me. Finally I realized I could maximize the screen and the chat bar went away.
3. We are about to launch our fall small groups. I am hosting a group with my friend Lauren and we are going to be reading the book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I have heard lots of great things about this book, so I am really excited to get started. So far I have only had a few people email about the group, so it is always interesting the first night to see who shows up. This semester I have also considered joining a Young Professionals Men's Group. What do you think they would say when I show up at the door. Hot Christian guy: "Uhm, hi, this is a men's small group." Me: "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm here... Duh"
Monday, September 6, 2010
Don't Waste Your Time
I should know by now that most books that have been deemed "New York Times Bestsellers" are probably not for me. I have chosen many books over the years based on this criteria and more often than not I have been disappointed.
My recent choice was based on hype, recommendations, and the buzz about it being turned into a movie. So, I went out and bought my copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was prepared for a "thrilling page-turner". One of my friends that had read it forewarned me that it was slow in the beginning, but to give it time and then I wouldn't be able to put it down. Well, apparently this meant that I needed to give it 422 pages out of 644 and then I would be hooked. I am also really bad about not wanting to abandon a book, so even if I am not loving it, I will keep reading. Well, I finally finished it last week. Of course at the end they have an excerpt from the second book in the series, which caught my interest immediately. Do I dare try another book in this series?
My recent choice was based on hype, recommendations, and the buzz about it being turned into a movie. So, I went out and bought my copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was prepared for a "thrilling page-turner". One of my friends that had read it forewarned me that it was slow in the beginning, but to give it time and then I wouldn't be able to put it down. Well, apparently this meant that I needed to give it 422 pages out of 644 and then I would be hooked. I am also really bad about not wanting to abandon a book, so even if I am not loving it, I will keep reading. Well, I finally finished it last week. Of course at the end they have an excerpt from the second book in the series, which caught my interest immediately. Do I dare try another book in this series?
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Just Sayin'
1. The recent Schick Quatro razor commercial makes me uncomfortable. It shows several different women walking by shrubbery that becomes neatly pruned. Apparently this implies that it does a flawless job of taming your nether regions. Not very subtle if you ask me. If you don't know what I am talking about, click here.
2. Now, I am not the world's biggest Jessica Alba fan, but when did she reach the low point in her career where she thought "Machete" seemed like a good movie for her resume? I saw the preview for this earlier tonight and actually laughed out loud at one point. If you haven't seen the preview, click here.
3. Tonight I found myself flipping back and forth between "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and "Jersey Shore". In case you were wondering, they were both a colossal waste of my brain space and no different from a bad car accident that you can't help but look at. I now feel slightly dumber.
4. I am currently updating my blog out of sheer procrastination. I have a stack of papers that I should be grading, but can't bring myself to tackle them. That would be why you are benefitting from my incredibly random thoughts. Enjoy!
2. Now, I am not the world's biggest Jessica Alba fan, but when did she reach the low point in her career where she thought "Machete" seemed like a good movie for her resume? I saw the preview for this earlier tonight and actually laughed out loud at one point. If you haven't seen the preview, click here.
3. Tonight I found myself flipping back and forth between "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and "Jersey Shore". In case you were wondering, they were both a colossal waste of my brain space and no different from a bad car accident that you can't help but look at. I now feel slightly dumber.
4. I am currently updating my blog out of sheer procrastination. I have a stack of papers that I should be grading, but can't bring myself to tackle them. That would be why you are benefitting from my incredibly random thoughts. Enjoy!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Year Five
Wow! Time flies. I cannot believe this is the start of my fifth year teaching. It seems like just yesterday when I was meeting my first class and wondering what I had gotten myself into. Crazy to think those kids are starting their freshman year of high school.
Each class is totally different and it is always interesting to scope things out those first few days. I must say (knock on wood) this group seems wonderful! They are all so cute and sweet and seem excited to be at school. Now I know better than to think that will last until May, but I am really loving this group and getting to know them.
Monday we will actually start "school". These first two days were filled with labeling, touring, get to know you games, word searches, rules/procedures, etc. I am eager to get started with our normal routine and get into actually teaching. I am really looking forward to this year and I am excited to see how these kids will grow and learn!
When you think about it, shout out a prayer for me and my 26 students. Pray that God would give me patience, compassion, and knowledge. Pray that these kids would be eager to learn and work. Pray that God would give me His guidance in how to best encourage, motivate, and teach these kids. Pray that God would give me His love for them.
Each class is totally different and it is always interesting to scope things out those first few days. I must say (knock on wood) this group seems wonderful! They are all so cute and sweet and seem excited to be at school. Now I know better than to think that will last until May, but I am really loving this group and getting to know them.
Monday we will actually start "school". These first two days were filled with labeling, touring, get to know you games, word searches, rules/procedures, etc. I am eager to get started with our normal routine and get into actually teaching. I am really looking forward to this year and I am excited to see how these kids will grow and learn!
When you think about it, shout out a prayer for me and my 26 students. Pray that God would give me patience, compassion, and knowledge. Pray that these kids would be eager to learn and work. Pray that God would give me His guidance in how to best encourage, motivate, and teach these kids. Pray that God would give me His love for them.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Shopping = Pure Torture
It's time for back to school shopping and I left my house this afternoon prepared to stock up on all kinds of cute items. Here are my observations from my shopping endeavor:
1. Why must designers bedazzle everything? I would see a cute top only to pull it off the rack and realize that the entire left side was covered in a rhinestone butterfly.
2. Instead of a "Misses" section, they should be more specific and label it "MawMaw". The amount of shoulder pads, pleats, and tapering that you find in the "Misses" department makes you wonder if your purchase comes with a free walker.
3. I think dressing rooms should come with a buzzer, so that when you try something on that you are unsure about, the siren would go off to let you know that you should not even consider buying this item. For example, it could say, "Warning! Warning! Inappropriate clothing choice. Please remove item, place back on the hanger, and step away."
4. There are things hanging in some stores that I want to hide in a dark corner for fear that some sad person will come in and think that it is cute. That person will later wear it in public and make the rest of us think "where in the world did they get that and why did someone not tell them that it is brutal."
5. Do you ever have those moments when you pick up something in your size and think, "This looks huge." only to try it on and realize that it is too tight? That is always a fun point in the shopping experience.
6. I think that one level of Hell will involve shopping for jeans or bathing suits.
Unfortunately I did not find as many things as I wanted, so I now have the joy of going through all of this again sometime this week.
1. Why must designers bedazzle everything? I would see a cute top only to pull it off the rack and realize that the entire left side was covered in a rhinestone butterfly.
2. Instead of a "Misses" section, they should be more specific and label it "MawMaw". The amount of shoulder pads, pleats, and tapering that you find in the "Misses" department makes you wonder if your purchase comes with a free walker.
3. I think dressing rooms should come with a buzzer, so that when you try something on that you are unsure about, the siren would go off to let you know that you should not even consider buying this item. For example, it could say, "Warning! Warning! Inappropriate clothing choice. Please remove item, place back on the hanger, and step away."
4. There are things hanging in some stores that I want to hide in a dark corner for fear that some sad person will come in and think that it is cute. That person will later wear it in public and make the rest of us think "where in the world did they get that and why did someone not tell them that it is brutal."
5. Do you ever have those moments when you pick up something in your size and think, "This looks huge." only to try it on and realize that it is too tight? That is always a fun point in the shopping experience.
6. I think that one level of Hell will involve shopping for jeans or bathing suits.
Unfortunately I did not find as many things as I wanted, so I now have the joy of going through all of this again sometime this week.
Stars...They're Just Like Us!
I think this is one of the funniest sections in celebrity magazines. They will take pictures of celebrities pumping their gas or buying groceries or something else that we all do everyday and then proclaim that these gazillion dollar making, personal trainer using, chauffeured celebrities are indeed just like us. The fact that they are pumping gas into their car that costs more than my house or using their Black AmEx to buy their groceries does not seem to be noticed by the editors of these magazines.
Case in point... Last week I was reading a magazine that had an article about a model who died after having butt injections. Yes, you read correctly. She was having injections to make her butt bigger. Pretty sure I don't know of anyone that would want to have or be in need of butt injections. I wonder if they have a "butt donation" program. I would happily donate some of mine. So, this begs the question... How come this article wasn't titled "Stars... They're Just Like Us"? Uhm... because they aren't.
Case in point... Last week I was reading a magazine that had an article about a model who died after having butt injections. Yes, you read correctly. She was having injections to make her butt bigger. Pretty sure I don't know of anyone that would want to have or be in need of butt injections. I wonder if they have a "butt donation" program. I would happily donate some of mine. So, this begs the question... How come this article wasn't titled "Stars... They're Just Like Us"? Uhm... because they aren't.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Maggie's Mommy
So, in case ya didn't know... my sister had another baby girl a week ago today. Maggie Anne Schornack was born on Thursday, July 22 at 2:10 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. and measured 21 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and sweet as she can be.
Let me just tell you how much I love and admire my sister. Long story short, getting pregnant was not easy for her... at all. As a matter of fact, this time last summer she was very sick from a failed attempt to get pregnant. Through both of her pregnancies she has leaned on God and trusted in His perfect plan, which is really hard to do at times. She has covered both of these sweet girls in prayer and trusted God would take care of them, which He has faithfully done. I have learned so much from her and hope that one day I will be half the mother that both she and my mom are.
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