Jesus and His Puppet Show

There's this patch of grass between the Gonda and Plummer buildings downtown.  If you lay down with your head on the South side of that patch and look up, you will see the different architectural difference of both buildings.  Modern versus historic.  I encourage everyone to lay in that patch sometime on a nice day and get lost in the individual tiles and statutes to the right and then transport to the present with the hard cement building on the left.  Both beautiful in their times.

This isn't about the design of buildings though.  It is a blog of what goes on in those buildings and why being in the center of that patch is so powerful once you realize what is going on around you.

I woke up one Sunday morning and God kept trying to lure me to said patch and I kept telling him to stop.  It was early and I had a long day planned with Jade.  The sky was clear but it was really windy and the windchill had to be 40 maybe.  For hours God kept nudging me.  I couldn't ignore him any longer and I said, "FINE GOD!" and got the family to get ready to go out with me.  The whole time I'm getting ready I remember being a little grumpy and curious about what He wanted to show me.  Sometimes I see Jesus like this really persistent kid who's just so excited to show me something He created.  Like when Jade wants me to get off of Facebook to watch her puppet show.  It's always really frustrating to stop what you're doing and always, always, worth it.  This day was no different.  Plus it's God and I really should just do what He says.

So we pull into a parking spot, unload the kids and walk about a block to see what Jesus was up to and I get there and Heaven just opened up and this is where the blog actually starts.....

PRAY.

Pray for the sick.  Pray for the healthy that are here helping those who just got word that they have Cancer.  Pray for the Doctors that have to tell wives that their husbands are about to die, pray for the nurses that watch as someone gets more and more ill and watch their loved ones slowly detach themselves from the world outside of their heartache .  Pray for the babies being born across the street and the mothers and fathers who's lives are about to change forever.  Rejoice in the news that someone is going to be okay finally or that a young doctor just passed their boards.  Pray for those who come from all over the world to be seen by the best with so much hope.  Pray for people.  And be thankful.  And so I did.

So much pain and happiness happens in that block.  Death, life, mourning, celebration, rejection, acceptance all around that little patch of grass.  When I sat there and thought of the people in those buildings and the hardships that they face, and the challenges they overcome, I was blasted by the Spirit and filled with love and compassion for them.  For people.  Not only at Mayo but everywhere.  Jesus was there and he wanted to show me what He sees and what He feels.  I understand why He loves us and I know His love is genuine.  I can't imagine being in His position and seeing and feeling everything that His children go through everyday.  I'm so so glad that He is a personable God that fights for what is best for us...if we just ask.  So let's pray for more people to ask.

And next time you're having lunch downtown, go to that patch.  You won't regret it.

Ear Surgery and Teenage Angst

My ears are sorta floppy and big and I always thought I'd be a good candidate for ear surgery. Maybe they trim them on the top a bit and take some off the bottom.


When I was a kid I had a big ear complex. No pun intended. I wore my hair down over them to cover them up from mockers. It didn't help that I had a big brother who's job it was to make me feel a lot smaller than him. Especially around his friends.

Around my Junior year in High school I started to wear my hair up in this backwards topsy tail thing that exposed my gigantic ears to the world. Much to my surprise no one else noticed them or at least didn't say anything. Good thing too, had there been an instant that a kid would've back then, I would've cried for weeks.

My ears don't bother me now and the only times people notice them are when I point them out. I've learned to laugh at myself. Plus my confidence lies not on my personal appearance but on my character development in the last 9 years. Which isn't the best but I'm working on it.

Little Boxes and Unintentional Assumptions

Beautiful Arab woman fly into our station a lot. They are never without a male companion and are always wearing black. I always want to talk to em and get to know their culture but the timing is never right. I wonder if anyone outside of their culture speak to them ever. Like how one would spark up conversation in a line at Panera Bread.


Its intimidating cause they're always so quiet. Even at check in they show their passports and step back. I imagine that it would be a bit lonely never getting to know other people. Being trapped in that little box you were born in. A clear see through box too would be the worst. Watching the world around you. Seeing the beauty that other people have to offer and never getting to know all of God's people.

I'm not saying that they can't possibly be happy with their lives the way they are. I just can't imagine life being as fulfilling without the different people around me. The different backgrounds and stories. Getting to know a variety of people who are nothing like me is so amazing and exciting and not boring. Seeing the beauty of someones character as you walk through the initial wreckage of their imperfect lives. Seeing how past decisions, good or bad, shape a persons personality.

Getting to know a stranger is like watching a beautiful painting being created in front of you. The piece of art could take 5 mins to be completed at the check out line or a lifetime in your own home, never getting to see the finished masterpiece, unless you can appreciate the undone artwork in front of you.
I'm glad I don't live in that box.

My Day As of Now

I'm sitting next to a woman with a drawing kit and a sketchbook purchased at Michaels.


She's drawing a vase from a rather small picture stored in her iPod. I wonder what she's listening to. I bet she's listening to Josh Groban. She seems like the type of woman that watches American Idol and probably downloads her music legally.

She's using a 3B pencil and is really good at shading. I suspect that this lady, based on her artistic level and purchased items is at most a natural artist with no real training but probably self taught. I bet she always loved drawing and was always told she was good at it but never had time for school. Or at least decided that art wasn't a worth wasting X amount of years in college. So instead she decided that she was just gonna do it as a hobby and bring a sketch book on board flight whatever to Dallas today. That's what's going on today. With me. A flight to Dallas. I wish I had a sketch book.

The flight is going rather smoothly. Approximate time of arrival from this point is one hour and 35 mins. 78 degrees scattered clouds in DFW awaits me. I'm being flown there with the assistance of Tom Calcagno as our First Officer. I always thought he was a Captain. I can't wait to hug him on the way out. He's sweet and is one of our favorites at RST.

I could use a Kindle.

This lady is still using the same pencil.

You know when you look at a drawing and it looks proportionate from the angle you're sitting at and then you get right in front of it and notice that it really isn't. And that the whole thing is just crap, and that you wished that you had never seen that angle cause now you’re just sorta embarrassed for it and you want to look away and maybe lie to the artist (or yourself) about what you really think of it? I wonder if that will be the case with this drawing being created beside me. Amazing however how a blank piece of paper is all of a sudden interesting. Well to me anyway. This drawing has made up a huge part of this blog. Should I ask the lady if I can take a pic of it? I will. The drawing is finished by the way. All with the same pencil. A box full of graphite pencils and only one sharpened. She should go to school.

We're about to arrive. All electronics should be turned off now and stowed underneath the seat in front of me.

I'm gonna talk to the lady in 9E now. And ask what's she's listening to.