Tag Archives: high school reunions

Rolling with my Peeps

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This past week was One Giant Explosion of Awesomeness. I’m still picking confetti out of my hair. Here’s what I learned:

Just because the Wildlife Biologist you’re with is carrying a giant can of bear mace, and the bear’s den has been has been flooded, does not mean you will encounter a large, angry bear. Phew! Research trip=success

 

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Meeting really famous people can make me a little nervous, but Bill Myers is delightfully humble. And awesomely talented. He also shares my passion for giving YA Christians some good, relateable entertainment. Check out his latest project (and consider supporting) here.

Photo with Bill Meyers

Lastly, you really don’t need name tags at twenty-year high school reunions. We don’t look that different. But I’m still confused about the hot dog vendor watching us from the shadowy corner. Hmmm.

Class reunion photo

What’s on your calendar of events? Tell us in the comments.

The Outsiders

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There is a field of beautiful weeds next to my daughter’s school. I pull in line alongside it every day with the other parents, creeping along for my turn to pick up my child. The weeds are quite tall now, catching every breeze and butterfly that comes its way. There is the occasional set of tire tracks mushed into the field from a driver who couldn’t wait for the line to move. The school has tried to purchase it in hopes to expand, but that rectangle of dirt and brush is far too pricey.

The land is surrounded on one side by old trees, firmly rooted into the ground in the yards of neighbors. They tower above the weeds, holding court in their superior standing of shade-givers.

But when the light hits the weeds just right, you can see gold. While the sun outlines the trees like halos of honey, the weeds are given the full force of the OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAlight, casting a breathtaking beauty upon them. They are not weeds in this moment, but the light so many artists try to capture in their paintings. When I finally understood the value of a weed, it changed my thinking forever.

Although not everyone waits around to witness their transformation.

As I approach my 20th year high school reunion, I think about the weeds and wonder how many of us will walk in feeling like we’re pulling a cart-ful of them, and how many will feel like the trees that look down on them. Are my adornments as beautiful—do my shoulders reach as high as the others?

Does the weight of my cart outweigh those of the others?

Despite the joy of seeing old friends, successes will be measured on this day. Classmates will walk in with lists: the accomplishments, and the list that we probably won’t talk about –the failed relationships, losses of all kinds, mistakes.

But the light shines just as bright on our carts of weeds. They are what make us work harder, gain wisdom, and grow beautifully. God didn’t come for the best of the best after all.

I‘m here inviting outsiders, not insiders – an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.” Luke 5:32 The Message

Those of us in the weed fields become part of God’s masterpiece—too unworthy in the eyes of those who miss the light—too valuable for the wallets of the insiders.