We’re trying to foster her creativity . . .
Archive for June, 2008
So I’m applying to Home Depot because, come August 1st, I’m jobless. And, I’m told, money is fairly necessary when it comes to food, shelter, clothing, etc.
Anyway, they asked me all these questions online. I had to put some things in alphabetical order, talk about my work ethic, and then I get this question:
Seriously. I just read it over and over. I mean, I’m trying to get hired here. I wanted to put the correct answer. I wanted to make a good impression.
So, if you know of any job ops in the Cordova, Bartlett, Germantown, Memphis area . . . holla.
This is what I do. Everyday.
Don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy.
Me: Hey! Look at those milk crates! Does anybody need a milk crate?!
Girl: Why?! They ain’t got no milk in ‘em.
So, I’m at the library right now. McMath Library if you’d like to come by and visit. It’s on Barrow Rd. Near the house with all the external decor.
I’m just chillaxin’.
That’s one of our girls behind me. She’s waiting on one of the computers to open up.
One thing I’ve noticed about this library is the quantity of books. It’s like this place is book-obsessed. I’m going to look into it. I’ll let you know if I get to the bottom of all this bookishness.
A little over a year ago, I wrote the following words:
This is a hard job. We knew that coming in, but we didn’t know it. You can only know how hard it is by doing it. But . . . the amazing thing is that God has given us the heart to do it. We very much enjoy the job, despite its hardness.
We’re getting dirty . . . . because we’re getting involved in messy lives. Real messy. About as messy as they come. And sometimes we find ourselves asking “Jesus, why did you put us here? What have you gotten us into?” To me, he always seems to say things like:
It’s not about you.
I love these girls as much as I love you.
These are the kinds of lives I got involved in when I was on earth.So we keep on keeping on in a spirit of worship and thankfulness. Jesus put us here and it’s a joy to work hard in his orchard.
We had been working at the Promise House for several months and reality had set in. The honeymoon was over.
Now, a year later, we’re still clinging to the hope that Jesus will profoundly heal the broken hearts we see manifested daily through cutting words, tears, and confusion.
But now our time at the Promise House is coming to an end. We’re doing our best to follow Jesus, and we’re leaving in faith that he is leading us to full-time graduate work at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN. Our last day at the Promise House is August 1st. Classes start two weeks later. The job situation is still up in the air, but I have no doubt Jesus will take care of that.
We are proud to have been a part of the ministry of the Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes.
We’re thankful for we’re we have been. We’re excited for where we are heading.
There will be more details soon . . .
[Context: We had just seen a Chihuahua.]
Girl: Mr. Ryan, we used to have a Chihuahua but it was a lot bigger.
Me: Are you sure it was a Chihuahua?
Girl: Yeah! It was just a really big Chihuahua.
Me: Well, how do you know it was a Chihuahua?
Girl: Because we got it from a Mexican!
Me: Oh. Of course.
Working out the aperture muscles on my D40.
If you like to create and you use a mac, then Gawker will knock your socks off. This free application captures still frames to produce time-lapse videos. Here’s the website write-up:
Gawker is an application for Mac OS X that creates time-lapse movies using a webcam. Images from your camera can be shared, allowing other users to record your image stream. Streams can also be combined to create a time-lapse movie with up to four locations side-by-side.
For some reason the whole time-lapse thing can be very addictive. Maybe it’s because you can see ordinary, everyday things from a whole new perspective. Here are a few things I’ve done with it:
What’s the point of all this electricity/media/connection/technology if we don’t use it as an instrument of redemption and justice?
. . . circling vultures. Men, women, and children crying out with disease, children searching through stinking trash for anything…where God lives.
Timothy has lived his whole life here. Someone sponsored him through Compassion International, when he was four. He’s now in his twenties. He now has a degree in Computer Science. He now teaches kids in the program about computers.
He knows where God lives. He knows God does not run away from suffering. He moves closer. Dandora is suffering, and God gets His mail here.
He also teaches the children — who are where he once was –about the love of God.
“I understand the love of God. I understand how a God, whom I have not seen, can love me. This is because someone, whom I have not seen, loved me enough to sponsor me. I understand the love of God.”
Read the rest of Brant’s post here. Read my thoughts on Compassion International here, here and here.
For more info about the 40 Day Fast, click the link on the banner menu.
We went to Pinnacle Mountain last night for a good old fashioned cookout. Hot links, hamburgers, shish-kabobs, baked beans, grilled corn on the cob, and s’mores.
We also played some sweet summer camp games compliments of G-Ma and G-Pa. The girls had a blast tossing eggs around.
Don’t tell my wife I posted this shot.
The Game of Life makes decisions like kids or no kids, college or career, big house or small house seem so arbitrary.
It’s interesting to watch our girls play it (they’ve been playing a lot with our summer intern, Audra, who is doing an amazing job by the way).
They’ll be mothers in just a few short months. Real mothers. Not play mothers with plastic pink or blue game pieces.
That’s a sobering thought.
I love this photo . . . so much so that I put it up top.
Have a wonderful day.
Read this story. Pray for Darfur. Do something about it.
The summer solstice offered up this breathtaking view from Big Dam Bridge.
TV sucks you in. And, I mean that quite literally. Even if it’s educational. Even if it’s Sesame Street! Just look!
But, then again, who doesn’t?
Here are my favorite quotes from our swim outing on Monday.
Mr. Ryan, can I eat all my lunch? [I was confused too. Still am.]
Mr. Ryan, why does sun screen make your skin look blingy? [Blingy adj. having the characteristics of bling; shiny, fancy, gaudy]
She has a pig. A P-I-G. My aunt is always getting exotic animals like that. [No comment]
In just a few weeks, Hank’s Fine Furnishings will occupy this space.
They are getting geared up for the 40 Day Fast over at Inspired to Action.
Go check it out. It might be something that you want to get involved in. The movement was inspired by this blog post. It spawned the 40 Day Fast (which is now being repeated) to help raise awareness about injustice issues across the globe as well as share ideas and ways to help bring justice to the oppressed.
If you happen to come across the July 2008 issue of Home Life Magazine (it’s out now) . . .
Turn to page 43 and you’ll see this . . .
Way back in November of 2007 I submitted this story to Home Life Magazine for consideration. They liked it and said they wanted to print it!
Pregnant people crave [insert odd combination of foods here].
Today, it was Doritos and Iced Oatmeal Cookies. At the same time. In sandwich form.
There’s never a dull day when it comes to sharing space and life with a gaggle of pregnant teens.
My wife, Amanda (a.k.a. “Super Housemom”), does all the grocery shopping for the Promise House. There’s no doubt a lot of food gets eaten around here. So, grocery shopping usually includes 2 to 3 full carts and about $700 (without paying tax).
It’s a major operation.
Amanda takes several girls with her to help with the carts. Then, when they get back to the Promise House, everyone pitches in putting them up.
We’ve pretty much got it down to a fine art. We’re like a well-oiled machine . . . with robust stomachs.
Taken from our 15 passenger van (through the front window) as we drove across the river bridge on I-30. Postprocessed (blue to yellow) on picnik.com. From the Serendipitous Symmetry set.
Recent Comments