In case anyone was wondering...

Mom never emailed me back because - get this - I sent it to the wrong email address and it went into spam. I dashed out to the vehicle when Mom picked me up, and she had brought the letter for me.
The program that only "exceptional sophomores" can apply for, that lasts a month and is wicked awesome? I got accepted.
So this July, I'm doing the La Vida program in New York, taking classes at a seminary and going to Mexico City to work with Latin America Mission with a whole bunch of other people around my age who have also been marked as "future leaders of the church."
I am so looking forward to it, but I'm also nervous for a few reasons:

• I've never been away from home for a month!
• The La Vida thing is supposed to be really grueling (I heard something about a 10-mile run with no training)
• Mexico in the summer? I'm a New England girl. I hope I don't get heatstroke.

I'm even more thrilled for a few reasons:

• I've never been away from home for a month!
• The La Vida thing is going to be really awesome!
• I'm going to make unforgettable friends who are my brothers and sisters in Christ!
• I'll get to serve God and others in ways I've never gotten to before!
• I'm going to get to know God better, as well as the Bible during the seminary part!

Et cetera.
I can't wait for July!

You can't make me wait, I have a test! I'll die!

I just read an email from my church's youth pastor. He and my mom got letters from the program I applied to this summer. Not only is he not telling me what happened but to call my mom, but my phone is dead. SO. I get home at about five, so unless Mom emails me back, I'm not going to know until then.

I have a test this afternoon. So Mom better email me, or I better be able to pull myself together and concentrate, or it'll be a disaster. Of course, it's not going to be a hard test, but still. This is a big program! It's 1/12 of my year if I get to go. And I desperately hope I do.

She's stressed

Public Speaking let out about half an hour early today, when my professor said that she needed fresh air and couldn't deal with class right now (she's had a ton of presentations over the past couple weeks). We didn't know whether class was over and sat there, talking, for about a quarter of an hour, when she came back in and said, "I meant class was over, I didn't mean for you to sit here! Sorry for not being more clear..."

100 JETLINES CRASH! 26,575 CHILDREN CONFIRMED DEAD!

How would you react if that was the headline for today? Probably you would be really upset, and recognize it as a global tragedy. What if I were to tell you that 26,575 children will die today, and yesterday, and tomorrow, across the world, from preventable causes?

Well, it's true.

We need to stand up and do something about this intolerable situation. It's so easy to just not care, to go on with a normal life, to change the channel on TV when we hear of famine or war or anything like it. Why is that? Because we're scared? Because we don't want to care? Maybe we don't want to give our time or money or anything for people we've never even met.

But if everyone stood up and decided, "Hey, let's fix this." we could fix it.

Please, stand up and say something about this. Let's start moving and say, "Hey, let's fix this," and then do it.

What the heck?

This morning at kindergarten, one of the girls slipped off her shoes, which were apparently a bit too tight. This action was met with exclamations of "EEEEWWWWWWWW!" from everyone else in the room. The little girl protested, "Everyone has feet. You do, and you do, and you do..."
I'm forced to agree with her, and I wonder what the heck made the other kids respond so. Not that she was supposed to take her shoes off in the classroom, but how was it as bad as the others said?

Thoughts on symbolism

In this world, things mean what people take them to mean, as well as what they are intended to mean. This is represented in a number of ways: with language, with art, and with symbolism. These are all similar faces of the same things.
On language: Who says that the thing that says "woof" is a dog? In Latin it is "Canis," in Hebrew it is "Cahlev" and so forth. Each of these words is simply a word. Who decides what they mean? We do. If all of a sudden, I were to decide that "dog" actually meant the thing that says "meow" and "cat" meant the thing that says "woof," and I got enough people to agree with me, then that is what the words would mean, just as well as their current meanings.
On art: Art can be created with one specific purpose or many, and be interpreted in one or several different ways. Pictures of people with different expressions and in different situations can be construed or misconstrued with a million different descriptions.
What about other types of art? Music uses several different methods to convey its mood and theme. Soft songs can be sweet, sad or both. Loud music can be angry, passionate, triumphant, or all of the above. Sculpture is pretty self-evident...
On symbolism: I remember once, a member of my youth group asked my friend Esther, an Orthodox Christian, whether the thing they do with the icons is idolatry or not. "No," she answered, "it's symbolism." Taking it as idolatry would lead to problems with other symbolic traditions, and when traditions start going down the drain, the whole essence of faith may go with it.
The American flag is another symbolic item. It stands for America, and via the commutative property, all the ideals that America stands for. Why does it stand for these things? Because that is what We The People of the United States have decided what it means, and thought of it as for centuries.

Symbolism and communication are highly subjective occurrences, and should always be treated as such. They make up the framework or "glue" of human society, and are completely indispensable.

Performance season here again

Our performance season is starting in a few weeks, beginning with the Patriots Day parade. Parades, actually. In Lexington, where we're based, this is a big deal. The director of the corps has recently split up the corps, so that the most experienced fifers and drummers sometimes march and go on stand apart from the more junior performers. As I have been in the corps for a year and a half, I am one of the more senior "junior" performers, and for reasons undisclosed, I have been selected to be the junior "fife sergeant" when the junior corps marches apart from the senior. This means a few things.

• I decide what song we're playing, keeping in mind what everyone knows and keeping the songs varied.
• There's no one in front of me to watch to keep in step. Everyone keeps step off me. If I have to look at someone, it's the now junior drum major, my little brother Ben. I can also use the drum rhythm to help keep in step.
• I call the timing and speed of our fife solo during the standpiece.
• I also need to know the drill even better than I did before, because once again, there's no one in front of me.

I'm excited, and this ought to be fun. However, I'm also a little nervous, because I haven't done this before and I'm doing this twice in one day, in four weeks. So I need to focus insanely on the music and practice marching a lot. I know, I didn't have enough to do, right?

I've been aiming for the fife sergeant post. Let's see how things work out. Maybe I'll post some pictures after Patriots Day. It'll be a great day - the reenactment, meaning we get up at about three, the ceremonies, the first parade, random activities, the second, about 2-mile parade...about three miles total.

Interesting discussion on the shuttle

As a general rule, riding on the campus shuttle is no fun, because usually my brother and I are the only ones who don't speak Spanish. However, due to the fact that the driver is a Christian who is outspoken and fascinated with global politics, we had a very interesting discussion on the shuttle this afternoon. We talked about the healthcare bill, the theoretical concept of a "North American Union" and the attacks on Jerusalem.
The thing was, it was one of those increasingly frequent times when I could hear the world go round, feel it spin. The world is changing frequently. Think of the multiple births that occurred while you read the first paragraph. Most of these children were born into ravaging poverty. The world is changing quickly. Local politics are eclipsed by national and national are personally taken by many as more important than global. Religion unites and divides people, injures and heals them. People are born, others die, some dreams are fulfilled while many more lives are ruined.
I think it's important to take a moment every once in a while, and watch the world change.
And then to do something about it.

I just can't BELIEVE they did that!

I can't believe that despite overwhelming opposition to socializing a huge percentage of our national economy, the government went ahead and passed the health care bill anyway! After really, really, really obvious signs from the people, including the Senate votes in New Jersey, Virginia and even Massachusetts, the government went and rammed through that bill! I disagree with this decision for a few reasons.

• It was majorly disrespectful to the people of the United States to force legislation on us that we so clearly do NOT want.
• It was unconstitutional; there is nothing in the Constitution that allows the government to force citizens to buy a product, nor to take over such a fraction of our economy.
• The government is in serious debt, and they just passed a bill committing it to billions of extra spending. Who's going to pay for it? That's right - We The People of the U.S. The ones who said we didn't want this bill.
• I also believe that this decision will be disasterous to healthcare for the overall healthcare in America, and that it will make health care less accessible to many, and decrease the desirability of a career in medicine.

I think I'll leave the last word to The Onion for this...

Bitter satire

Any families out there feel the need to own and keep a 20-foot pet python? And leave it alone at home with your two-year-old? After it eats your Boston Terrier?

Don't all jump at once, people.

For more wacky satire, check out The Onion's YouTube channel. (For liberals out there, be forewarned that it is a right-wing institution.)

"Can I have your number?"

My friend Esther showed me this sketchy but hilarious video. It becomes creepier when you know that the guy, "Darrel," is a girl pretending to be a guy for the video...

Do the Patriotic Thing: Homeschool Your Children!!

This morning at kindergarten, Mrs. F. was playing I Spy with the kids. The first one: something red. After being given a hint that it was something you sit in, they guessed correctly. The second one: something round. They got it right away; it was the clock. The third one: something red, white and blue.
"The blocks!" "The rug!" they called out. They guessed for about a minute, then Mrs. F. said, "Here's a hint. Something that starts with an 'F.'"
"Foot?" everyone called. I couldn't believe my ears. The moment I heard "Red, white, and blue" I knew what it was. These kids had no idea. And they never guessed it. Mrs. F. had to tell them that it was the flag. Maybe it was because they didn't have as much experience. Maybe that sort of thing comes later in the grades or curriculum. Of course, it could have been because the schools don't emphasize patriotism anymore...

"Take It All" by Hillsong United

Another awesome song. We haven't done it at youth group lately, unfortunately...

Civil disobedience?

First of all, I apologize for my inactivity over the past week.

What is the purpose of the U.S. Census? Evidently the government thinks that it is important, because they spent hundreds of taxpayer dollars on a Super Bowl census commercial (of course, it could be that they just threw the money out the window with as little regard for taxpayer money as usual). What is the purpose? Here are some parts of the message off the census form:

We need your help to count everyone in the United States by providing basic information about all the people living in this house or apartment.

...

Your answers are important. Census results are used to decide the number of representatives each state has in the U.S. Congress. The amount of government money your neighborhood receives also depends on these answers. That money is used for services for children and the elderly, roads, and many other local needs.

Oh, joy. The government needs the information so it knows how much money to dole out to our neighborhood? Gosh, here I was thinking that it was the city government's job, and that of the state government. I thought the federal government wasn't supposed to take more money than it needed to, because of the Constitution.
SO. My Dad is refusing to fill in the census form, because he thinks that a) he doesn't want the government doing that and b) because he thinks that the U.S. would be better off without Massachusetts representatives.
I understand and agree with the first part. The second, not so much, because of what happened with Scott Brown and the Senate race. He passes this off as a fluke and says there's no reason to assume that Massachusetts representatives would be any good. Excuse me, Dad? You and all the other Republicans (including me) were thrilled to hail Brown as a change of Massachusetts's, and indeed, America's, political movement and opinion. Now, when it's convenient, you pass Brown's election off as a fluke? I don't think so. I remember your ridicule of Coakley and the Democratic Party's statement that the election was a fluke.
It's great to be independent enough to stand up for what one believes in with an act of civil disobedience, but this strikes me as kind of pointless and illogical...

Bus security follow-up

Yesterday I asked Diana, the teacher's aide at kindergarten, what had been done about the situation with the older kids beating up younger ones on the bus.

"I talked to the driver. They had already filed a report." she said.

A report? Wait just a moment...

"Well, will that solve the problem?" I asked.

"It's the bus. There's nothing we can do."

I'm sorry? Look, these kids are required by the law to come get on that bus, so their parents won't be arrested for keeping them home from school. They are required by the state to get on that bus and get beaten up by older kids because the state refuses to put safety first?

Something has to be done. Only one piece of "good" news: the boy who got choked hadn't followed the rules, and the conflict was his own fault.

Am I taking English Comp 1.02?

Classes go by, weeks turn into months, and I am increasingly concerned with my English Comp class. There hasn't been any more trouble with complaining about the Bible, and I can hardly complain about inappropriate material - we're doing Shakespeare, for goodness sakes. BUT...we spend classes with the professor reading the literature we're studying to us, and there are insanely easy quizzes once in a while. For instance, the one on Antigone... "Who are Oedipus's two sons? Who are Oedipus's two daughters? What does Creon order? Who is Haemon?"
I'm sorry, but anyone who actually read the story should know all of this and more. It appears, though, that one of the other sections of this class (taught by the same professor) has done so poorly that they are receiving a quiz every class. The professor read the most recent quiz to us yesterday, stopping after every question for us to answer. Finally, he concluded, "I should be giving this quiz to eighth graders."
The sad thing is, I was in eighth grade two years ago. That is not an eighth grade quiz that he read to us. It was more like a third-grade quiz. No, I'm not exaggerating. Adult content, third-grade reading comprehension level.

Another song by Hillsong United

Here's a really good one for when I'm tired, of school or college or anything else.

Ultimate truth - arrogant?

I've heard the accusation of arrogance and offensiveness several times. "Isn't it arrogant to claim that you're right and the people who disagree with you are wrong?" So I decided it was time to address this. Is it arrogant to claim that your religion is true and someone else's is false? It may not be politically correct, but it is logical.

It's logically impossible for both an atheist and me to be correct! Either there is a God or there isn't! Or Christianity vs. Hinduism - there cannot both be one and only God and several gods! Or Islam vs. Buddhism, or Judaism vs. Catholicism - it cannot all be correct! If we are all incorrect about only we being correct, then only the Unitarians are correct, but they can't be the only ones correct, because that's arrogant!

You see, truth doesn't worry about political correctness, or "arrogance," or anything of the sort. It's jargon. It's completely irrelevant. All that matters is "true" or "false." I know where I stand, people with other worldviews know where they stand, and someday we'll know who's right.

Truly random

OK, I know I've already showed this to people. It cracks me up (especially right now, tired after not much sleep last night, and with 20 fluid ounces of Sunkist in my bloodstream). Go to www.google.com and search "how to find Chuck Norris" under "I'm Feeling Lucky." Kind of makes me wonder where all these Chuck Norris jokes got their start.

OK, this sickens me.

Yesterday my friend Keller tipped me off about a hate group of "evangelical Christians" terrorizing the Texas town of Amarillo. They have harassed a discreet swingers club by stalking members and revealing personal information for each, and attempted to boycott Houston for electing a gay mayor.

No wonder that people use "evangelical" as a stigma! Can't these people see that they've got it all wrong? What happened to "Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you"? What happened to "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone"? Why can't they see that they are damaging their own cause, purportedly that of Jesus Christ?

People like this give people like me a bad name, in the same sort of way that people like Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein give all Muslims a bad name in the eyes of the world. People look at them and then use that vision when looking at all Christians, all Muslims. So, as an evangelical Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ, I say that the actions of Repent Amarillo are wrong, and do not represent true Christianity in any way.

This morning

This morning's service at church went about half an hour long, due to the fact that our long-winded (but brilliant) senior pastor was preaching on communion Sunday, the first Sunday of each month. After chatting with my friend Ruby at the all-church breakfast downstairs afterward, I was suddenly assaulted by a vicious bear hug around my waist from behind. I turned around and hugged the perpetrator, adorable little six-year Margaret, who belongs to one of our missionary families in transfer.
"How was Children's Church?" I asked.
"I didn't go."
"Really? What did you do?"
"I went with Mommy up to Big Church." (Hoo boy. Of all the days for a six-year-old to sit in church.)
"Was it good?"
"Yes, we got to have the bread during the service, and listen to the sermon." (Referring to the communion wafers.)
"Well, I'm glad you had fun."
"No, it was not fun, it was boring, the sermon..." It's true that kids can get away with saying anything. Not that I can't see her point of view...
"Well, that's why we have Children's Church."
So I have to say, I agree with the idea of having children's ministries. Kids aren't going to get anything out of theological and intellectual sermons except a dislike of the whole church idea.

Looks like I counted my chickens...

I said, The week is finally over! Then, we were getting off the highway, almost at youth group, when POOF the front wheels of the car suddenly stopped turning. Which meant that we stopped moving.
There was a cab behind us whose driver came up, pulled over in front of us, called 9-1-1 for Mom and took my brothers and me to church (and quizzed us on the Bible on the way - that guy was awesome). So my dad had to come, drop off his car and ride the tow truck home. So now, we're down one vehicle and the repairs are going to be expensive...
And here I thought the week was over. Silly me.
Youth group was awesome, though. We had philosophical discussions on the nature of truth, and just generally had a good time. It's Saturday. Lost a flash drive on Thursday, a minivan on Friday. What next? Oh well...

FINALLY

The week is finally over! After tons of homework, a panel, a speech, cleaning up vomit and having my flash drive swiped at college, the weekend has finally almost arrived. Youth group is tonight and we're talking about "ultimate truth." Oh joy. That may be worth talking about, so stay tuned, even though I thought we'd already established what ultimate truth is.
Anyway, I'm tired, and grumpy, and vaguely emotional after this week. It all goes to show how much can change in any given minute.

A letter to tomorrow

Dear Tomorrow,

I'm on Thursday right now, and it's been a loooong week. Why don't you hurry up and get here? Oh, and listen - I've had enough from this week already. Don't you dare mess with me! Just because there's youth group at the end doesn't mean I'll take garbage from you beforehand!

Love,

Elisabeth

LOUSY security!

This morning at kindergarten, three students reported bullies on the school bus, who beat them up, swore, and "flipped the bird" at them. One boy said that he had been choked. All the students doing this to them were "big kids," all from another school.
This is simply unacceptable. Why isn't there more security on the bus? Why aren't there adults stationed on the school bus to end such affairs?

• Maybe they don't think the danger is significant
• Maybe they didn't predict the danger
• Maybe it's a budget thing

Option a - Obviously if someone is being choked it's significant.
Option b - They would have to be stupid not to predict chaos in an uncontrolled environment.
Option c - Cut spending somewhere else, like the game night tomorrow, and put safety first!

Again, this is completely unacceptable.

Second speech

Just a note to say, it was a whole lot less scary doing my second speech than doing my first, and wayyyy less nerve-racking than the panel yesterday. Need I describe my lack of surprise?

Panel follow-up

It was a good time. The first two speakers were really good, they really got their points across, and then it was my turn. I stood up, gave the audience about half my information, and my brain died. I stood there speechless for the longest nanosecond of my life thus far, gave them my closing Bible verse and sat down, truly embarrassed. I was surprised at all the people who came up to me afterward to tell me what a good job I had done...

Yet another song that I really like...

Yep, here's another. And yes, this one also had a host of comments from believers.

Today's panel

Today at college, the Christian Club is holding a panel and forum at noon. We're addressing the problem of pain and suffering, an issue which is so frequently thrown in our faces as a challenge, and which recently has been used as "proof" for the nonexistence of God! So what we're doing is, we're having three speakers, each with ten minutes, and then a twenty-minute general discussion and Q&A. Two of the speakers are professors on campus, and the other one is...me. Yay.
We're looking for prayer for our event.
So anyway, I hope it goes OK and that I don't mess up...