lauren laughs

bob and anna (pictured) and i went sailing sunday. it was the best day of sailing i’ve ever had.

a) the company was great. bob has a knack for teaching me things without me realizing that i’m learning. anna has a way of saying things that makes me just want to sit and listen.

b) the weather was perfect. the sun was shining, the skies were clear, the breeze was good. considering it’s october, i was relieved we didn’t have to wear gloves and ear muffs. though i DID jump in the water… and jump back out about as quickly. COLD!

c) this was the first time i really got to sail (other times have been marked by a lack of wind). it was fun, but also a little scary. at one point i was absolutely sure we were about to tip over. bob and anna both smiled at me calmly as i looked at them with my mouth gaping open, thinking ‘holy ****!” it was awesome.

when i was in spain my sophomore year of college, my mom and i bought identical posters at el museo prado in madrid. she has always loved religious art and was a big fra angelico fan. i too was struck by fra angelico’s annunciation as i stood before it. we both have his work framed and hanging on our walls… one of many things we share.

fra angelico was a painter and a friar. as a friar, he didn’t profit personally from his masterpieces. he did what he did and used his talents for the glory of God alone. his paintings are one more way he was able to share a message, and continues to share that message today even after his death.

so i was looking at my poster of the virgin of the annunciation this morning, but somehow saw it differently. in the painting, on the left one sees in the background adam and eve leaving the garden of eden… the fall of man. in the foreground, one see the angel gabriel in the center speaking to mary on the right. one also sees the Holy Spirit descending on mary as a dove. in the past, i’ve always thought of this as two stories… the fall of man and the redemption of man. today, however, i see them as significantly integrated. it’s not that we should choose to be less like adam and eve and more like mary. mary was human too. instead we should choose to allow God to use us in spite of (perhaps because of) our own humanness. adam and eve in the background are not a reminder of what not to be, they are a reminder of who we are. and yet God chooses to use us, knowing better than anyone who we really are. better than we know ourselves.

for me, this serves as a reminder that despite what i think of myself and the doubts that go along with that, God seems to think He can use me. it feels counter intuitive. it’s a little scary. it’s a call to trust God a lot more than i trust myself.

while i’m on the topic of the gov, i thought i’d post this link to the commercial our office did two years back. lucky for me, it’s no longer on the air waves… but we keep it on our website for your viewing pleasure. “really?” you need quicktime to view it. mike doesn’t know it yet, but crissy (from my office) and i are going to crash the talk he’s giving at university of maryland today. we turned down wearing jeans on a rainy friday for this. that’s dedication. putting hyperlinks in posts is fun.

yesterday was the kick off for energy star’s “change a light, change the world” campaign. the idea is to encourage consumers to change at least one bulb in their home to a compact fluorescent lightbulb (call ’em cfl’s if you want to sound like you’re in the know) which use a lot less energy. so you save money ($30 over the lifetime of the bulb) and save energy which is good for our economy and our environment. i’d give you stats, but you can find them by clicking here and pledging to change a light in your home. we did a little event at home depot with the gov and epa. good times…

last week i went to denver for missionary candidate school. it was great to see those colorado blue skies and snow capped mountains. the weather was perfect and i took several naps on the grass (because naps in the grass are almost as soothing to my soul as naps in a hammock).

both the leaders with youth for christ (yfc) and the other candidates were truly amazing people. i wasn’t really sure what to expect, but i can now say these are people i care a lot about. so… will i be a missionary? on my way to benin? good question. first yfc has to invite me, then i have to respond. there’s a lot to think/pray about between now and then. but i at least know that i won’t be leaving before june, so yes, that means i’ll finish my degree at st. john’s first. mark your calendars for may 19 for a hot graduation in annapolis.

one of the cool things about colorado is that you don’t have to wear a helmet. maybe that’s not cool if you crash, but i enjoyed riding around on royal’s harley with the wind in my face and hair. ahhh… even more refreshing than my convertible. which brings me to the point of transportation in benin. one of the things i had to budget for was a moped. personally, i think that’s way cool. if you come visit, i’ll take you for a spin. on my moped.

these steelers fans are sad. loss of game and loss of colly. 😦

two things about atl:
1. transportation sucks
2. people are lovely

so my flight landed at 7pm last night and i took the marta into town, flagged a cab, and asked the guy to take me to clifton apartments. “at emory?” yeah. great conversation… super friendly guy. talked all about benin and learned a lot. but once we got to emory he looks at me for some direction. uh, you’re the cab driver that lives here and knows where to go, right? wrong. luckily some super friendly freshmen said they could point me in the right direction and give me a map! yay! oh, silly frosh. unintentionally misleading. they eagerly take me back to the dorm, hand me a map and highlight the path i should take. so efficient. i get to my supposed destination only to find that they’ve sent me to clifton tower, which is not apartments… it’s the student health center. shoot. i recall learning at an early age that when you’re lost it’s best to stay put. so i called my friend and host graham (who was busy playing/coaching in a very important softball game, hence my need for a cab in the first place) and left a message saying “i’m on a bench outside the public health building… come find me when the game is over.” luckily it was a nice night. kinda well lit. safe enough. i came home and crashed.

next morning (this morning) graham dropped me off at candler (by the way i’m in atlanta looking at divinity schools, forgot to mention that) at 6:45 on his way to work at the hospital. my appointment was at 8:15. did i mention i was tired? but actually it was cool watching the sun come up and i felt pretty good about life over all.

great visit. great class. love the school.

part 2 was a visit at columbia theological seminary, which is only 5 miles from candler. no biggie. i take the emory shuttle to the bus station and call a cab. after about 15 minutes (at least i got some sun) i called columbia to say i was waiting for a cab, and didn’t think it would show. what is it with cabs in atl?!?! a sweet little lady in the admissions office came and picked me up (like i said, lovely people) and i had yet another great visit.

luckily, the guy in columbia’s development office is a wlu grad (and thus a gentleman, of course) and offered to drive me home after my interview… so no travel woes there.

and now i’m ready for a nap. and some time to actually catch up with my dear friend.

come to atl. enjoy the people. avoid the cabs.

ps emily saliers’ (of indigo girls) dad taught my class this morning, and opened it in prayer. how cool is that?