"Amen" by Dave Barnes
We will have love
We will have pain
There will be days and days and days that feel the same
We will have fear
We will have joy
And maybe little girls and little boys
We will have friends
We will have peace
There will be nights of lights and music 'til you sleep
We will be strong
We will still break
We'll live through so much more than we can take
Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen
We will have hope
We will have doubt
There will be memories we could never live without
We will have tears
But there will be grace
There will be prayers that we never thought we'd pray
Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen
In the sun or the storms
The flood or the flames
Let everything come, and I'm the one to blame
In heartache or hope
I swear I'll say, I'll say
Amen
Amen
With the dawn, we all begin again
Amen
Amen
What is done, and yet to come
Amen
The first hundred or so times I heard this song, I thought that if I ever get married again, I would like it sung at my wedding...well, played really because I love Dave Barnes's voice, but I digress....Anyway, but as I sat here tonight thinking about the song, I realized that it could really be applied to anyone we share our lives with, not just to a romantic partner, even though that surely fits as well, because it's just about life in general.
I have often said that life is a roller coaster, and I truly believe that....We will have valleys...but another hill is always sure to come around soon and take us up to the peak again....the hill is a struggle....you may move slowly as you move toward the peak, it may be a hard climb that fills you with anticipation or just sheer anxiety, but you'll get there....there will be excitement....there will be fear....there will be laughter, screams, tears, and stunned silence...and let's not forget prayer. Life will sometimes send us on a spiral that shoots us right back up to the peak and will sometimes plummet us straight to the valley...but, again, another peak is sure to come.
Dave Barnes's song reminds me of that analogy. Life is give and take. We will have peace...but we wouldn't know what it felt like if we never experienced fear. We will have hope...but only after we've doubted. We will have tears....but God provides His grace to help us through. We will experience things that we will want to remember forever...and things that we wish we could soon forget. We will show our strength....when we are broken. This is life.
The word "amen" means "so be it." My daughter, Sydney, didn't understand what the song meant. Well, to me, he is trying to say....probably to his fiance or young wife, but it doesn't really matter...that life is going to be a roller coaster....things are going to happen that they would never expect....they are going to cry....they are going to love...they are going to experience fear and pain and doubt and brokenness...but so be it....because they are going to experience those things together. "With the dawn we all begin again"....Life will always get better after it takes you into the valley...there will be another hill to climb....another peak over which to rejoice....but when you have someone you love to sit beside you and experience the ride with you....Amen.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I love you...most ardently...
Mmmm. Pride and Prejudice. I could curl up inside of it. Romance. Something that has eluded me for all these years is found in every glance, every soft brush of the hand, every word spoken, every syllable written. Mr. Darcy is not prince charming. He's flawed. He's perfect. Because perfection does not lie in the absence of flaws but in the presence of love.
Originally written January 19, 2010
Originally written January 19, 2010
How to Kill a Mockingbird?
I am starting to teach Shakespeare just a little today, and I wanted to record a conversation we had in class because it just cracks me up and makes me smile. So here it goes...
We had some time after our test so I told the kids to write down everything they knew about Shakespaere...then I went around the room and asked them to tell me one thing they wrote down....I got to "Amy"....here is the conversation (as well as I remember it, of course)....
Amy: He wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird....
(laughter from class, mainly me)
Me: No, Amy, he did not write TO Kill a Mockingbird, AND it's not an instruction manual..
(more laughter)
Sally: But I thought he did write How to Kill a Mockingbird. I think we read that in literature.
Me: Um, no, Sally. Harper Lee wrote TO Kill a Mockingbird. She is from Monroeville, Alabama.
Sally: But I could have sworn we talked about that in literature.
Molly: No, Sally, that was Edgar Allen Poe.
Sally: Oh, yeah! He's the one who wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird.
Me: No, Sally, he wrote "The Raven."
Sally: Well, I knew it was something like that...I got it all mixed up.
Me: Obviously.
Then later....
Suzie: He's the one who cut off his ear, isn't he?
Me: Um, no, Suzie.
Random student: That was Van Gogh, Suzie.
Jimmy: He's the one who killed himself after his girlfriend did.
Random student: That was Romeo and Juliet, Stupid.
Jimmy: Oh, yeah. I got them confused.
Suzie: Mrs. Gillilan, is he the one who wrote The Titanic?
(I laugh and write down what she said.)
Suzie: Um, am I wrong? Did he write it?
Me: No, Suzie.
Suzie: (excitedly and beating on her desk) Oh, I know, I know! He's the one that wrote about that Annabel Lee girl!
Me: No, Suzie. That was Edgar Allen Poe.
Suzie: Really? I was sure that time.
Stella: Did he come up with the American Express card?
(lots of laughter)
Me: No, Stella. He did not come up with the American Express card. (I start to write.)
Stella: Are you writing that down?
Me: Yes, Stella.
I am going to miss these kids desperately next year.
Originally written on April 6, 2010 *Names have been changed to protect the...um...well....ignorant :)
We had some time after our test so I told the kids to write down everything they knew about Shakespaere...then I went around the room and asked them to tell me one thing they wrote down....I got to "Amy"....here is the conversation (as well as I remember it, of course)....
Amy: He wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird....
(laughter from class, mainly me)
Me: No, Amy, he did not write TO Kill a Mockingbird, AND it's not an instruction manual..
(more laughter)
Sally: But I thought he did write How to Kill a Mockingbird. I think we read that in literature.
Me: Um, no, Sally. Harper Lee wrote TO Kill a Mockingbird. She is from Monroeville, Alabama.
Sally: But I could have sworn we talked about that in literature.
Molly: No, Sally, that was Edgar Allen Poe.
Sally: Oh, yeah! He's the one who wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird.
Me: No, Sally, he wrote "The Raven."
Sally: Well, I knew it was something like that...I got it all mixed up.
Me: Obviously.
Then later....
Suzie: He's the one who cut off his ear, isn't he?
Me: Um, no, Suzie.
Random student: That was Van Gogh, Suzie.
Jimmy: He's the one who killed himself after his girlfriend did.
Random student: That was Romeo and Juliet, Stupid.
Jimmy: Oh, yeah. I got them confused.
Suzie: Mrs. Gillilan, is he the one who wrote The Titanic?
(I laugh and write down what she said.)
Suzie: Um, am I wrong? Did he write it?
Me: No, Suzie.
Suzie: (excitedly and beating on her desk) Oh, I know, I know! He's the one that wrote about that Annabel Lee girl!
Me: No, Suzie. That was Edgar Allen Poe.
Suzie: Really? I was sure that time.
Stella: Did he come up with the American Express card?
(lots of laughter)
Me: No, Stella. He did not come up with the American Express card. (I start to write.)
Stella: Are you writing that down?
Me: Yes, Stella.
I am going to miss these kids desperately next year.
Originally written on April 6, 2010 *Names have been changed to protect the...um...well....ignorant :)
To answer your question...
Today my friend asked me why I like to teach. I had nothing to say. And that bothered me. As I drove home, I wondered why I couldn't answer his question. Was it really because I was so tired that my brain couldn't form a complete thought? Was it because I seriously had no answer to that question? Or was it because teaching has become so much a part of me, so second nature and ingrained in me, that the question was just too overwhelming?
Well, here it is:
I like the excitement and possibility that fills the halls every single August, no matter how much I have dreaded going back to work. I like the smell of new school supplies and the beauty of a clean whiteboard. I like the first day of school when the students come in with fear, wonder, anticipation, and dread as I explain what the year is going to be like, knowing myself that it never turns out as I plan. I like the second day of school when I actually get to begin learning about the students and what they know...or don't know. Those first few days are so quiet.
I like that day around the second or third week of school when the students start to let themselves shine through. Their fear is gone, and they start letting me see their personalities. I like hearing them laugh. I like watching them focus on an assignment and hearing them ask questions. I like...no love...hearing them explaining concepts to each other or helping each other diagram a sentence or figure out the best way to write a thesis statement. I like watching their eyes widen when they finally understand something and then the grin that follows. I like that I have the power to help them to become better communicators and to allow them opportunities to feel successful and smart.
I like that the students have so much faith in me. I like that they believe that I know what I'm talking about and rarely doubt it. I even like that they do sometimes doubt it and feel comfortable enough to question it. Of course, I also like proving them wrong when they do. :) I like that many of my students feel comfortable coming to me with their problems and that they trust me enough to tell me things they wouldn't tell other teachers. I like the fact that they take so much interest in my life even though they, of course, occasionally don't know where the line is and cross it. I like that I rarely have to wonder what they are thinking or feeling because they are so transparent.
I like teaching because it gives me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of teenagers who are in the middle of creating themselves. I like looking at their faces and realizing that all of their most important decisions are ahead of them, and I may actually get to play some small role in helping them to make the right ones. I like the fact that I am giving them tools they need to reach their dreams, whether they realize it or not. I like knowing that I could be teaching a future writer, teacher, doctor, lawyer, accountant, politician, or housewife...and that person could possibly one day look back and realize that I somehow helped them to become who they are...in some small way.
I like teaching because it's what I do. I like teaching because it's part of who I am. I like teaching because....well, I just do.
copied from my private blog....written on May 31, 2010
Well, here it is:
I like the excitement and possibility that fills the halls every single August, no matter how much I have dreaded going back to work. I like the smell of new school supplies and the beauty of a clean whiteboard. I like the first day of school when the students come in with fear, wonder, anticipation, and dread as I explain what the year is going to be like, knowing myself that it never turns out as I plan. I like the second day of school when I actually get to begin learning about the students and what they know...or don't know. Those first few days are so quiet.
I like that day around the second or third week of school when the students start to let themselves shine through. Their fear is gone, and they start letting me see their personalities. I like hearing them laugh. I like watching them focus on an assignment and hearing them ask questions. I like...no love...hearing them explaining concepts to each other or helping each other diagram a sentence or figure out the best way to write a thesis statement. I like watching their eyes widen when they finally understand something and then the grin that follows. I like that I have the power to help them to become better communicators and to allow them opportunities to feel successful and smart.
I like that the students have so much faith in me. I like that they believe that I know what I'm talking about and rarely doubt it. I even like that they do sometimes doubt it and feel comfortable enough to question it. Of course, I also like proving them wrong when they do. :) I like that many of my students feel comfortable coming to me with their problems and that they trust me enough to tell me things they wouldn't tell other teachers. I like the fact that they take so much interest in my life even though they, of course, occasionally don't know where the line is and cross it. I like that I rarely have to wonder what they are thinking or feeling because they are so transparent.
I like teaching because it gives me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of teenagers who are in the middle of creating themselves. I like looking at their faces and realizing that all of their most important decisions are ahead of them, and I may actually get to play some small role in helping them to make the right ones. I like the fact that I am giving them tools they need to reach their dreams, whether they realize it or not. I like knowing that I could be teaching a future writer, teacher, doctor, lawyer, accountant, politician, or housewife...and that person could possibly one day look back and realize that I somehow helped them to become who they are...in some small way.
I like teaching because it's what I do. I like teaching because it's part of who I am. I like teaching because....well, I just do.
copied from my private blog....written on May 31, 2010
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