My church sanctuary is quite lovely. It has beautiful windows.
And gorgeous handcrafted furniture.
There are classic instruments.
And antiques.
And what happens in that room is prayed over and plotted and planned and executed with much heart and measure.
But there's a room I love infinitely more. The fellowship hall.
The room itself has sticky floors and bad lighting, but it's what it represents that matters. It's a symbol of the love I experience from those who are a part of the body of Christ. And not just the ones in the building.
What good is a grand stage and stained glass if there's no love?
Author and former Franciscan priest Brennan Manning said "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Unbelievable.
Jesus, 1/3 of the band "The Trinity" said "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”John 13:34-35
The aisle called to me. The freshly stocked shelves that only last a short season.
School supplies.
Even though 10 years have come and gone since I was registered for a class, I still love the smell of paper and binders and procrastination.
I miss it almost enough to enroll in something.
Almost. I was on the prowl for laundry detergent and cream cheese, but this notebook needed a good home. I love EverNote for Bugs my phone, but there's just something special about writing out a long list on wide-ruled paper with the goal of a dramatic cross-off with a Bic pen.
Manila folders are like running late and discovering the shirt you were going to wear doesn't need to be ironed. Perfection. As an event planner, I live and die by an Every Day Tickler system. You can too. Choose life.
Yes Indy, it's the ark of the covenant. It's not in Nevada. It's on my desk.
So what about you? What school supply makes your heart flutter?
Each weekend, I post a readable, a watchable, and a listenable of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens next. Earlier volumes can be found here.
Read
I know great people (and that includes you Rabbit Reader) who sometimes have very strong political leanings. And they often want to share them in blog postings, or Facebook statuses, or from a recliner in their living room. And to be honest, I trust very few of these opinions. That's why I rely heavily on FactCheck.org which is nonpartisan and nonprofit (the same probably can't be said for most political commentary.) It's job is to monitor the accuracy of what politicians say. And unfortunately, it's a very big job. I smell some pants on fire, Senator.
Watch
Three times a week, my Tivo delivers the loveliest of packages: How I Met Your Mother. I initially watched this CBS show in hopes that Neil Patrick Harris could make a comeback and he did - he's even hosting this year's Emmys. This show embraces the classic sit-com vibe and gives it a modern twist. It's legen...wait for it...dary. (A few full episodes can be found at Lifetime, which also shows 2 eppy's on Mondays.)
Listen
One of the albums I return to over and over again is Gavin Degraw's Chariot - Stripped. And the "Stripped" is super important as it would be in most circumstances. Degraw never sounds better than when he's naked - musically. This song, Belief, is a tasty musical morsel, if I do recommend so myself.
