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it could actually be worse.  the extent of the political harrass- -  ‘er, i mean advertising tactics, that is.  i got this email from pastor norma today.  it’s from her niece in puerto rico…

“Would this be legal where you live? Can you make out the speakers on top of the white truck in the pic? Like you guys in the mainland, it’s election time here in Puerto Rico and people here are passionate for their parties. All over trucks like these with giant speakers drive around blaring their poltical info. Can you imagine that passing by your house? I hear them all day long!”

new strategy for 2012 maybe?
i would not be surprised.
so glad this is almost over.

i walked into cam’s room after volleyball tonight, where he and his dad were wrapping up their evening routine of reading, devotions and prayers.  this is what i heard ernie say to cam as i entered the room…

there once was a day
i thought i need not pray
for the glorious hair on my head

to which cam said…

so i did not pray
and it did not stay
and now all the hair is dead

i think my boyz need to lay off the silverstein books…

i just got home from a tiring day.  it seemed like i had to do everything twice today.  it really it wasn’t all that stressful.  i got everything done and left on time but i just went away thinking i didn’t accomplish much of anything important, no grand strides, no measurable impact would come of today.

i walked in the door and checked my facebook account and found the following message from, chiti.  chiti is a colorful character who came all the way from zambia to go to bible college in baton rouge.  he arrived on campus during my second year.  he was tall, confident and had a smile as big as texas.  that was 18 years ago.  this is what he wrote to me today…

suddenly, my concept of what is truly significant was refocused.  who, lately, have i asked to lunch?  what person have i encouraged in passing?  how many notes have i sent out this month?

thank you, chiti, for reminding me what god’s idea of “really big things” are.  thank you for helping me recalibrate my ideals according to god’s scale.

this blows me away… 18 YEARS ago i invited the new guy to dinner, and it made such a difference to him that he thought to thank me all this time later.  i think this facebook message quite possibly has changed me forever.

i remember chiti’s smile
wow, what a smile… and what courage.

barnes and noble… our favorite date night activity.  i recite silently to myself each time we come, no books about work, no books about work… its’s one of my most important rules.  i’m incapable of engaging the love of my life when i’m thinking about my other true love.  i’ve tried it more times than i care to admit… it can’t be done.  plus, i’ve found this practice does a fairly efficient job of revealing suppressed hopes and dreams… which makes me a decidedly more interesting date.

last night’s quest found me in the ‘writing/publishing’ section.  i pulled 3 books off the shelf and proudly scored one of the 4 comfy chairs in the store.  it took me approximately 42.567 seconds to realize the irony of reading about being a writer.  i politely thumbed the pages of the books as if i didn’t want to hurt their feelings by dismissing them so quickly.  but admit i have absolutely no idea what they were about. my brain was too busy reminding me of the perfectly good moleskine right beside me.

satisfied i had sufficiently humored the fine authors, i plopped the books down next to my purse and began rummaging for something to write with.  as i suspected… moleskine – but no pen.  certainly they sell pens here, right? so off i went.  i really couldn’t justify a $15 pen.  seriously? $15 for a ball point pen?  they were really groovy looking and all, came in a fancy box… but wow, that seems a bit excessive.  determined, i headed for the door when i spied 2 shabby slender boxes over by the book lights.  $2.95,  totally doable.  plus, it had a handy dandy magnifying glass built right in.  pretty slick, actually.  i scooped it up and proudly marched it to the cashier.  this time i snubbed the available cushy arm chair in favor of a hard wooden stool in a quiet corner. i cracked open my moleskine, coaxed the ink out of my new ballpoint and this is what was on my mind…

how often i read, but fail to act;

how often i contemplate, but fail to plan;

how often i learn, but fail to practice;

how often i prepare, yet resist being ready;

‘to know’ is futile without producing ‘to do’;

‘to understand’ is prideful without producing ‘to teach’;

‘to grow’ is meaningless when it fails ‘to reproduce’;

‘to overcome’ is wasted if it fails ‘to encourage’;

knowledge & experience change nothing;

courage & action change everything.

why is it so hard to put the pen on the paper?
why is it so hard to act on inspiration?
anyone… beuller?