this pretty much sums up my last two weeks of winter break...
it is so good to take a rest. a change of pace. or schedule.
but then it is also good to get back on schedule. live life with a bit more discipline. a lot less sleep. and to get some things accomplished. things like actually cooking dinner most nights. cleaning the house. not watching hgtv shows for hours.
this week will be a bit odd as i am leaving wednesday with maxx and his choral all state group to chaperone that trip to tampa. i haven't chaperoned any of the choral events and so it will be good to get to know his chorus teachers. not as intimately as i would have had i accepted the rooming situation offered to me. one chorus teacher. her husband. their baby. his mother. and another chaperone. all in a two room suite. ummm, "i think for the good of all concerned i will get my own room", was my response. i really meant, "so i don't end up killing anyone, i will procure my own space." i like people. i like babies. but i like sleeping even more than i like people and babies sometimes/most of the time/okay to be honest ALL of the time.
in the meantime i leave you with this article from the NYtimes... can forgiveness play a role in criminal justice? (you may have to register with the NYtimes to read the article but it is well worth it and won't cost you anything but the minute to fill in your email address.) the article is about two tallahassee families. one of which i know well. the mcbrides. julie teachers art at the elementary school where my kids went. the mcbride children went to vbs at our church. and i have always loved those kids. conor and i correspond frequently by mail and we are good friends.
the article is heartbreaking. and uplifting at the same time. it is full of moments (as john piper spoke in his last sermon as a head pastor last week) that are "sorrowful yet always rejoicing." it is a picture of the gospel message as clearly as i have ever read in the NYtimes or any other newspaper...