Why I go to church...

Every so often, someone asks me why I make the effort to go to church-it's early, it's sometimes my only sleep-in day (now that I have National Boards on various Saturday mornings), and it's mostly just sitting and listening. Sometimes I even ask myself this question. The answer: I go because it's beautiful.

On Sunday, there was a 91 year old man who got baptized. Ninety-one! He just became a Christian a few months ago, and wanted to be baptized, so there he was. I got nervous when they dunked him (he seemed a little fragile), but I also cried, because I mean, what better a picture of new life, at any time, through Jesus. It was pretty cool.

Another time, we were doing communion and I noticed a man in a wheelchair a few rows in front of me. He seems to be completely paralyzed, based on his wheelchair and such, but I don't really know all the details. But, when it was time to take communion, the usher standing near us quietly leaned over and placed the communion cracker in his mouth, and then helped him sip the grape juice by holding it to his lips. I seriously think it might have been the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Sometimes, when we're singing, all of my doubts and questions and worries go away, for just a few minutes. I feel the peace and truth of God while I sing songs about him. Usually they are the hymns or some other song with lyrics that aren't incredibly repetitive. And even if the sermon was boring (which it usually isn't. I'm just saying), and even if I'm sleepy and hungry, those two minutes make the whole thing worth it.

And every week, we end the service by everyone reciting the benediction: "May the amazing grace of the master Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, and the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit be with us all."

That's why I go to church.

I just figured out what I am going to be for Halloween...

...prepare to be dazzled.

It's time for an internet dating sabbatical...

...when you are an (almost) 26 year old in Long Beach getting matched with a 20 year old from Beaumont.

What Do I Make?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

Hats

You might be thinking that the subject line is a metaphor about the various roles I play in my life. You would be wrong. If you have a need for that metaphor, please refer to Amy Grant's album where she had some sort of animal print jacket on and listen to "hats."

I bought two hats the other night. I don't generally wear hats, as I feel they make me look like a man. But, I bought a cute, gray, wool hat. That one, I can see actually wearing. I plan on busting it out tomorrow night for the hockey game I am attending. It's wintery and fun and totally socially acceptable.

The other one is called a stingy fedora. Yes, I bought a fedora. Just call me Claudia Kishi. It's dark gray with a blue design around it. It's very cute and Ryan taught me how to tilt it just so.

I am writing this post because I need some pressure to wear the fedora. So, if you invite me anywhere that screams "fedora!" please let me know that I should wear it. (Or, if you think the fedora purchase was a huge mistake, then just never tell me to wear it.)

Flattery will get you everywhere.

So, Rachel was awarded the "I <3 Your Blog" award. And I was like, "Oh, I'm glad I didn't get that, so I don't have to do the survey." And then she gave it to me. But, since I am in her top seven blogs, and flattery gets you everywhere with me, I'll do it too.

But first, a story of flattery getting you everywhere. So, last year one of the kids in my afternoon class said, "Miss Fletcher, I like your hair." I said, "Oh, A+ for you!" So then all the kids started complimenting me. And I laughed and we went on with what we were doing. But from then on EVERYDAY as I stood at the door when they came in, like ten kids would give me compliments: "I like your hair, earrings, shoes, shirt, necklace, etc." Or "You look pretty today Miss Fletcher." It was totally my Daily Affirmation with period 4 time.

Okay, now the survey. You can only answer in one word:

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? lost
3. Your hair color? blonde
4. Your mother? funny
5. Your father? missed
6. Your favorite thing? socializing
7. Your dream last night? work
8. Your dream/goal? NBCT
9. The room you're in? Mine
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? kittens
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? beach
13. Where were you last night? walking
14. What you're not? quiet
15. One of your wish-list items? Scrubs
16. Where you grew up? California
17. The last thing you did? parked
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? off
20 Your pet? nope
21. Your computer? empty :(
22. Your mood? Tranquil
23. Missing someone? Several
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Limited
27. Your summer? Fabulous
28. Love someone? indeed
29. Your favorite color? Impossible
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Thursday

Here are the rules of the award:
* Display the award.
* Link back to the person who gave me the award. (Which involved me learning to link. I will use that more often now!)
* Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
* Put links to those blogs on mine.
* Leave a message on the blogs of the people I've nominated (which...I'm not doing!).
* Bask in the glory of my freshly fed and watered narcissism as I enjoy my award!

Here are my favorite blogs:
1. Erin-I get so excited when my bloglines account tells me Erin posted a new one, that I save it for last and look forward to it as I read everyone else's.
2. Natalie-I love the cute pictures of the kids, her stories, her depth, and feeling like I'm still connected to her!
3. Polly-see number 2.
4. Julie Martin-Who probably doesn't know I read her blog, but she is such a good writer and a wise woman. I love it. And the pictures of her dead plants.
5. Melanie-See 2 & 3. Same reasons.
6. Nicole-who doesn't love photography? And Nicole for that matter!
7. Adri-who lets me have a say in picking the name of her bike. And my vote won. :)
PS-Rachel, I also enjoy your blog, but I figured you already won the award, so I would spread the love around.

And thus ends my longest blog ever. Good night.

Quotables

Things I like to quote:

Brandi Carlile songs:
"And I think the world of myself, but the world doesn't think much of me. As long as a day is full of time, there will always be room for your hand in mine."

This David Sedaris quote (among many others):
"Potential boyfriends could not smoke Merit cigarettes, own or wear a pair of cowboy boots, or eat anything labeled either 'lite' or 'heart smart.' Speech was important, and disqualifying phrases included: 'I can't find my nipple ring.' All street names had to be said in full, meaning no 'Fifty-ninth and Lex' and definitely no 'Mad Ave.' They couldn't drink more than I did, couldn't write poetry in notebooks and read it out loud to an audience of strangers, and couldn't use the words 'flick,' 'freebie,' 'cyberspace,' 'progressive,' or 'zeitgeist.' The could not consider the humans scalp an appropriate palette for self-expression, could not own a rainbow striped flag, and could not say they 'discovered' any shop or restaurant currently listed in the phone book. Age, race, and weight were unimportant. In terms of mutual interests, I figured we could spend the rest of our lives discussing how much we hated the aforementioned characteristics."