Music makes words out of my soul thoughts.

"Music gives a soul to the universe,

wings to the mind,

flight to the imagination,

and life to everything."

~ Plato ~

I have long been affected by music, especially spiritually. I've often felt that worship songs were a better reflection of the deep yearnings of my heart than I could ever put into words. I have often used songs as prayers to the Lord when I could not find the words to express what I needed to tell him. Music cuts me somewhere deep. It allows my spirit to fill me up and overflow into the hearts and minds of others, especially God. I know that feelings are not everything, and they shouldn't be the basis for faith or closeness to God, but I am a primarily emotional being, and I have never felt closer to the heart of God than when I am singing, when I allow the melodic phrases to open secret passages of my heart that perhaps I didn't even know were locked. Music is a beautiful gift from the Lord.

That being said, I have been given a great gift in my opportunity to attend chapel daily. I have learned several new songs just this year that have quickly become favorites. No comment of mine can add to the beauty of these words, so I will simply share with you the lyrics of three songs that I had never heard a year ago and cannot begin to understand how my soul ever lived without. I hope that you will be blessed by them as I have been.

Still

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
[
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Let God Arise

Hear the holy roar of God resound
Watch the waters part before us now
Come and see what He has done for us
Tell the world of His great love

Our God is a God who saves
Our God is a God who saves

Let God arise
Let God arise
Our God reigns now and forever
He reigns now and forever

His enemies will run for sure
The church will stand, she will endure
He holds the keys of life, our Lord
Death has no sting, no final word

I Will Rise

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
[x2]

[Chorus:]

We Remember

My AP class is studying Hitler's propaganda ministry and the Holocaust in conjunction with a reading of Elie Wiesel's autobiography, Night. It's a heartrending story of this 15 year old Jewish boy's survival of Auschwitz. Wiesel is an incredible man. Since being liberated by American troops in 1945, he has written and published 47 books, holds several degrees (some of which are honorary), has taught at Boston University and Yale, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, and at the age of 82 is still alive today, shouting from the rooftops, doing all he can to ensure that the memories of so many dead will live on.

Tomorrow (assuming that the meteorologists are crazy for predicting that the blizzard of the century will arrive just after midnight) my students will watch Oprah's 2006 interview with Wiesel. This is an incredible viewing. They actually visit Auschwitz (which apparently Wiesel does on a regular basis -- Can you imagine?) over 50 years after the fact, and as if the feeling of the place isn't intense enough, he refuses to speak above a whisper in order to respect the dead.

While doing this study along with my kids, I have been moved to tears several times. This is a tragedy of mammoth proportions that no one should ever have the luxury to forget. Here in the midst of my rambling, I'm reminded of Elie Wiesel's declaration that there simply are no words. No words to describe the horror and anger and grief. No words. So here, at the risk of alluding to Thomas Bowden's "This page is left blank for you" at the end of Beebe High School yearbooks, I'm going to leave the rest of this post blank for the memories of the dead and the grief of the living. May those six million descendants of Abraham never be forgotten.

____________________________________________________________________

Logos

I've thought a lot about the truth of God's power in the spoken (and written) word over the past year or so. I intended to write my Senior Seminar paper in exploration of this idea last fall, but my mentor did not think it was a good idea, so I was pushed in another direction. Nevertheless, the idea of logos, our logo-centric faith, and God's power through the logos permeates my thoughts on a regular basis. A good friend and mentor sent me a link to a phenomenal blog post this morning that I could not leave alone. By far the most personal highlight of my first reading was the following statement: The tightly knotted bond between God and language is the secret truth of all writing. Isn't that profound? Not writing more often is one of my continuous regrets, but I allow life to get in the way too often. I love words, and the beauty that can be found through true self-expression is overwhelming. So, when I can't seem to make time to write myself, reading the words of others expressing profound truth is almost as good.

I'm in a difficult place in my life, and I've been trying really hard to see God working in my life to love me and show me what plans he has made for us. To say that I'm not very good at it would be an understatement. However, one of the ways I find God, his power, and his presence in my life regularly is through words. Whether it's through a song, a prayer, a scripture, or a few words from a sweet student, God is powerful and gracious and faithful, and he knows me. Looking for the secret truth in the writing of others is a balm for the secret longings of my heart, and I thank my creator for speaking so tenderly to me during this, my time of wilderness.

Thanks to all of you who allow God to work through you to minister to me as angels.

Musings from Room 2

It is no secret to those who know me that, although, as a teacher I'm not technically supposed to have favorites, the sophomores in 5th period are pretty special. I don't know what it is that makes that class so different from all the others. Maybe it's the personalities. Maybe it's the time of day, just before lunch. Maybe it's Memphis. Who knows? Nevertheless, there is an abundance of enjoyable moments and memories made daily in Room 2 during 5th period. I often wonder if these kids love me as much as I love them. Probably not. But some days they say things that just make my whole week. I could live on comments like "This class gets me through the day" for a lifetime. I don't know what I'm doing right with these kids, but they feel safe with me, and that is my #1 goal as a teacher.

Today was a day not unlike other glorious Wednesdays when I get to have all my sophomores for an hour and a half. There was random chatting and fun being had by all in the midst of grammar and learning and writing. It was heavenly, as you can imagine. But, for some reason, after several weeks of school, this class began to ask a plethora of questions about me and my life that they had not yet asked.

Are you married?
Do you have a "manfriend"?
Will you write a book? ( I later found out that they want me to write a book about them. Good thing they don't know about this blog.)
Do you have any siblings?
What is your favorite football team?: college and NFL

These are just the ones from today. I've also answered questions that range anywhere from what sports I played in high school to what my favorite movies are. I'm seriously considering creating an autobiography to share with them all. Since the readers of the pickle jar are among my greatest friends, I'm asking you for particular stories, facts, or parts of my life that should not be neglected, should I choose to tell my students about my life. Maybe I'll even dig out the ancient Facebook note on my 16 things for inspiration. The phone lines and comment boxes are now open.

Advice from the Pickle Jar

My juniors created autobiographies this week, and one of the requirements was a list of advice to others. It could have been "How to survive being"... a cheerleader, a junior, a football player, a younger sibling, etc. As long as it was something they learned from experience, it was valid. Here's my list.



1. Love like you couldn't breathe otherwise.

2. Don't do it all alone.

3. How things are and how you feel are not often the same.

4. You're not stuck. The only person you can change is yourself, but that doesn't give you the freedom to give up on that change. There's no such thing as "sorry, this is just the way I am."

5. Sometimes things end up better when they don't work out the way you planned.

6. Never let yourself get too busy to play with children and talk to them about their lives.

7. Never underestimate the power God has to create greatness out of the nothingness of your life.

8. Home isn't always a place; sometimes it's just being with the people you love who love you in return.

9. Laugh at yourself

10. Finish Strong.

A week in the life of a first-year English teacher

This week has been pretty crazy so far. I'm surprised by my own ability to miraculously shrug off the embarrassment and stress that have come from certain incidents. Things have happened this week that would usually have meant the end of the world as I knew it, but somehow I've had an attitude that has allowed me to simply laugh at myself. Don't get used to it.

1. I have been in charge of after-school detention this week. That is by no means the end of the world on its own, but when you combine it will all the other things I needed to do, staying for an extra hour after school every day was slightly overwhelming.

Bright Side: I was able to get some work done that I didn't have to take home or stress about the next morning.

2. Tuesday was.........um...........eventful. We only had school for half a day, and most of those 25-minute classes were taken up by school pictures, so the teaching aspect of the day was a complete wash. After the students went home at 12:30, the teachers ate a catered lunch from Pasta Grill, which is a new restaurant in town that I'd been meaning to try. I will definitely be eating there sometime in the near future. The lasagna was excellent, and as it's not my favorite pasta dish, I'm certain that the others must be even better. After lunch, I was able to rest a bit and make a trip to the grocery store to pick up a few snacks for the evening. At 3:00, parents arrived for my first ever Parent/Teacher conferences. I met with 23 parents in 4 hours. While that really isn't many considering the fact that I'm a brand-new teacher, it was still overwhelming. And the sheer business of being at school until 7:00 was exhausting.

Bright Side: The parents were gracious and sweet, and no one was angry with me.

3. Wednesday was the funny day. I'll set the scene: Wednesday is block day, so I only have odd-numbered classes for 1 1/2 hours each, plus 8th period. After my 3rd period planning, I made my way back to my room, where Coach L teaches Bible during 3rd period.
He hung around, talking to a student longer than usual. My students began to arrive and after my hourly trip to the bathroom, I re-entered my classroom to find everyone frantic. I immediately heard a very loud beeping alarm clock, but none of us could find its source. Coach L stayed to help. We even had a student standing on my desk to check the ceiling tiles because someone had placed an alarm clock in the ceiling of another classroom last year. Eventually, Mrs. S from next door and Coach M from the hall had also come to help with the investigation. Coach M pretended not to hear the sound so that the girls in my class would feel that they were going crazy. It worked for a while. Then he told us that he had played a prank and put the alarm in the ceiling. He was, again, joking. Eventually, Mrs. S and Coach M went to their own classes, and Coach L volunteered to get a ladder because we were all sure it must be coming from the ceiling. About the time he left, Dean M, who is my principal and boss, showed up. I'm not sure who told him about the situation, but he came to see what was going on. I was trying to just continue with class, but my efforts were mostly in vain. As I began to teach, or at least to get my students under control and Coach L went for the ladder, Dean M began to search my room. All of a sudden, I looked up, and he had picked up my teacher bag and put it on my desk as if the sound was coming from my bag. The only thing I could think of that might be making that incessant sound was my cell phone that I knew was on silent. Nevertheless, I got it out of my bag to check, and it was silent. Then we heard the noise again, and I discovered what had happened. The button on the side of my phone that adjusts the volume was being pushed inside my bag continually. It had been my cell phone and my fault all along. There's nothing like having your boss be the one to figure out that your cell phone is incessantly beeping and preventing you and others from having class. Still, after apologizing profusely, I was able to laugh it off and continue with what was left of my class. Coach M caught me in the teacher's workroom this morning (Thursday) to ask about what had happened and to share with the other coaches present the embarrassment of my Wednesday.

As if this alarm incident wasn't enough, I was also caught making grammatical mistakes in my Facebook status by my mentor and department chair, Mrs. S.

Additionally, during the Round-Table discussion in my AP class, I was hit by a paper ball that my students had been using to play a game that they thought I didn't know they were playing. The truth is that I was just happy they were actually talking to me and thinking critically.

Bright Spot: After our daily prayer in 5th period, one student told me that our prayers got her through the day. Another student extended her thought by declaring that my class got him through the day. Those are the comments we live for. I can live on that one for months.

4. Today (Thursday) was the day that Mrs. S had planned to come and observe my class to begin preparing me for the Praxis III observation that I will complete in the Spring in order to recieve my offical teaching license. The bad news is that she makes me nervous, even more so than when I had my offical principal's evaluation. So I had been slightly stressed about her coming to visit the class that is composed of the most unfortunate combination of personalities, abitilities, and circumstances imaginable. I'd spent several fruitless hours trying to be sure that I would not embarrass myself, yet again. But she had to leave school early this afternoon and was unable to come. That's a relief for the day, but it means that I'll just be postponing my stress until sometime next week.

Bright Side: I'm beginning to actually enjoy this class of poor, unfortunate misfits.

Counting my blessings

All the stress of my current life has put me in a bad mood for the last few days. I'm worried about what is going to happen in the next couple of months and continually wonder how in the world I'm really going to make it to August a prepared adult. In the midst of frustration like this, when nothing seems to make it better, and I've just got to keep swimming and push through it, it's important for me (and you ;) ) to remember the good things. So, today I'm going to make a list of the blessings I'm currently enjoying. I hope this inspires you to sit still for a few minutes today, make a cup of tea, and thank God for all He has done for you.

1. God places the single in families

God has not yet blessed me with a husband and family of my own, and this is usually a point of contention between the two of us. But, lately I have been able to see and appreciate that he has blessed me with extra mothers, grandparents, aunts, sisters, brothers, and children. I am eternally grateful to the countless members of God's family who have been generous enough to share their own families with me during this difficult time in my own life.

2. God knows what I need exactly when I need it.

I will never know why I had to wait until my last semester at Harding to make some of the best friends of my life, but God knows. I had several very good friends before this year, but when God blessed me with a friend who joined me in wondering why we hadn't found each other sooner and informed me that we were going to be friends forever, I couldn't ignore that. God knew that I couldn't have gotten through the past few weeks without her as an addition to the rest of my friend-family. I am grateful for his immense knowledge, even when I can't always see it at work.

3. God is an excellent guide.

I had some pretty specific plans for my life after Harding, but God didn't seem to agree with me. I have had to exercise my faith a lot lately and rely on the Father to work things out according to his will. He has helped me find a job and another family to join, but I still need a lot more help in working things out between now and then. He's gotten me this far, and--at least for today--I trust him to take me the rest of the way.

4. God gives me a way out.

Besides agonizing over the right decision about my job and career, the thing that has been the heaviest on my heart lately is the fact that I'm still single. Although there are no visible signs that God is making any headway in providing me with a man, he has sent me lots of sweet babies to love so that my motherly instincts and need to nurture can be satisfied. They provide me with a purpose, an object to pour my love onto, and a beautiful satisfaction of my need to be hugged.

5. God reminds me of my deepest loves when I feel that I'll never be able to keep going.

This week has been kind of surreal after last week's student-teaching and graduation that brought my college days to an end. I have felt very lost and haven't known what to do with myself. God, in his infinite wisdom, has reminded me of all the reading I've longed to do in the last few months while I lacked the time to spend in the world of literature. He and a couple of precious friends provided me with the perfect new book to get me back into literary-dom. Rediscovering my passion for words has given me a new sense of peace that is irreplaceable.

Beautiful Word Clouds

So, we've established that I unashamedly possess a love affair with words. I think that one of God's greatest gifts to man was language. It's a living, breathing organism with its own moods, growth spurts, and life cycle. I love that I can read Milton, Faulkner, and Louise Rennison all in one day and understand exactly what is going on in all three of those vastly different styles of language because of the natural cohesion of the English system. It's delightful. So, in the spirit of language love and my own personal craftiness, I would like to introduce you to a beautiful creation that my friend Rob told me about the other day.

Blogdom, I'd like you to meet Wordle.


This is a site you may access at wordle.net. You can copy and paste text into a box or enter a URL and it will take all of the words and arrange them artistically according to how many times each is used. It's not only artistic, which I adore, this one --that's a representation of this blog--shows me where my heart is by giving me an inventory of how often I use certain words. I love this idea. As soon as I've got access to a really good printer and the time to do it, I'm going to print some of these and use them as artwork in my apartment. Don't you just love that idea? I love words used as art anyway, but I am not the most artsy gal you've ever met. I'm crafty and often creative, but I have fewer actual art skills than dog's hind leg. This way I can have the words I love surround me all the time and display an original art piece without the skills. It's the perfect way for my art of language to become actual visual art with the click of a mouse.

I commend Wordle's creators, and I hope that you are able to enjoy this tool as much as I do. Just in case you needed another view, here's one I created from the text of Milton's Paradise Lost Book 12.

My Bucket List

I created a writing prompt for my 9th graders last week where they had to make a list of at least 5 things they wanted to do in their lives, essentially a Bucket List, and then tell me about why. So, in the spirit of the Beloved Dr. Rod Brewer, who never fails to complete the assignments he gives his students right along with them, I wrote mine as well.

1. Learn to knit
I've tried to learn to knit before, but it was at a time in my life when I really didn't have any use for it, nor the patience, and my efforts were not exactly genuine. Needless to say, my success reflected that. I believe that throwing needles was involved, and I'm not sure if it was my decision or the decision of those close to me at that moment, but my efforts did not continue. When I first came to Harding, the knitting phenomenon was beginning to explode. Girls were doing it everywhere: in chapel, in class, in the caf, on the front-lawn. I've even seen people do it in church. I love to create things like that, and I quickly became jealous of this sweet, creative knowledge. However, all the other activities I chose to pursue interfered with my ability to learn -- that and the fact that I never made any real effort to actually try again. When my friend, Ellen, who learned to knit many moons ago, decided to pick it up again, I got really excited. She's agreed to teach me how one day, hopefully soon, so that I can knit cute things for my friends, fam, and all those precious little babies I love so much.

2. Go white-water rafting
This desire sprung up in my heart this past summer. It was a long, and difficult summer for my family, with the loss of my grandmother. However, it was also a significant learning and growing time for me. I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities. I also learned a lot about God's will for me and what I want to do in my life. After returning from a mission trip in Belize and almost immediately leaving for another in North Carolina, my spirits were high. I was confident I had done good work for the Lord in Central America, and I was ready to take on anything. When we drove through Eastern Tennessee and the beauty of that breathtaking country, and then saw all the people white-water rafting a little further one, I knew immediately that I wanted to try it. I was somehow fearless for the first time in my life, and I still really want to experience what must be an amazing and thrilling adventure.

3. Mission work in Africa
I can't really pinpoint exactly when I began to yearn for those hearts and souls on that great continent, but I can tell you that it has not quieted down. I want to go there and spend weeks just holding babies. I have several friends who have had the opportunity to participate in Harding's HIZ program in Zambia and they bring back pictures and stories of all of these children who are orphaned and have chronic illnesses. They long for someone to just touch them and hold them. My heart aches for them. I hope and pray that God will bless me with babies of my own someday, but if he doesn't, don't be surprised to see me in an African village holding as many as will fit in my lap at a time. I really believe that that yearning is a God-calling, and I hope and pray for the opportunity to fulfill it one day.

4. Go to culinary school
In the 8th grade, when we all had to take that test whose name I can't remember that was supposed to tell us what we should/would be when we grew up, my results read "Chef." I thought that was the silliest thing in the world at the time. Now, part of me wishes I had listened. I love food. I love creating things. I love watching my friends and family enjoy things I have cooked and created. It's such a joy for me to plan a party and/or a meal for people that I love. I would love to go to Culinary school just so I'll know how to make whatever I want. I wouldn't necessarily want to work in a restaurant, but if the opportunity presents itself....I'm definitely not closing any doors on my future at this point.

5. Get married
I've got to have somebody to love me and help me out with #6.

6. Have lots of babies
I've got to have at least 4 at this point because that's how many names I've picked out. I'd really love to have a whole house full. But definitely less than 100. And none of them will be named E.T.

7. Travel Europe
There are so many places I've heard so much about that I really need to see.

8. Visit New Zealand, so I can see where the Hobbits live
Wouldn't it be cool to live in a Hobbit hole? I love the coziness of a hobbit dwelling with its round doors and windows and the warm fire, plus the neverending supply of food. I wish I was as content with my life as they all seem to be.

9. Write and publish a book
I've had a special relationship with words for as long as I can remember, but because I've also had self-esteem issues for nearly as long, I never felt like I was capable of actually writing a book. The idea has occurred to me several times over the last few years, but still, I was certain I just couldn't do it. Until this past Christmas, when my mom said something about it completely out of the blue. She got me a new journal for Christmas and said that she loved to see me writing and that she always assumed I'd write a book one day. She had never ever said anything like that to me ever before. But apparently she had been expecting it to happen for my whole life. And that little vote of confidence was all I needed. One day, I'll do it. As soon as I decide what in the world to write about.

10. Inspire at least one student to pursue a career in Literature or Language
It has been my experience in college that people are constantly asking why we want to be whatever it is we've chosen to become. I can't tell you how many times I've had to write or discuss why I want to be an English teacher. Most often, the majority of my English major friends have chosen this path because they had an exceptional teacher cross their path that really made a difference in their lives. That is not the case for me. I had lots of teachers that I really loved. But I never had a phenomenal English teacher in all of my K-12 education. For a literature and language lover, that is nearly a tragedy. I could very easily have been driven away from my loves by all of the mediocre instructors from my youth. But I chose a different route. I decided that I was going to become an English teacher because I love English, I love kids, and because I never had anyone work to inspire me, believe in me, or encourage me to explore my abilities. I want to do all of those things for my students. And I hope that my work will pay off and that one day before I retire at least one of my former students will be pursuing a degree and career in a field involving Literature or Language. I will, of course, assume that I was all the inspiration he/she needed.

Refrigerator Poetry 2

Here's the poem I promised to share in the first post about Refrigerator Poetry. I'm not planning on this one being the last. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

OUR
SOULS ARE
BETWEEN
PERFECT
LONELINESS
AND
IN THEIR GRIEF
EXPRESS AN
EMPTY PEACE.

BRIGHT
SHADOWY
WISHES
RATTLE
AGAINST
SHAKEN KNEES.

POISONED
SMOTHERED
CEASELESSLY SEEKING
SPENT

BREATHING DEEP STILLNESS
NATURE
WILL BE
OUR
LIFELINE,

WRAPPING
ITSELF
AROUND US
UNTIL
THE
INTERNAL DANCE
SHALL
CEASE.

Refrigerator Poetry

I'm in the process of learning to be a teacher, and one of my favorite "methods" for teaching writing so far is an activity that I have personally deemed "refrigerator poetry." Now, this may remind some of you of a haiku that goes something like this:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

But that is not at all what I mean.
This activity earned its name from its similarity to those refrigerator magnets with words or pieces of words on them that are used to make sentences, or in the case of someone I know, to exhaust one's life supply of creativity. Students are given several sheets of paper with lists of random words on them, scissors, construction paper, and glue. They will do nothing except cut out words for a certain period of time -- perhaps 15 minutes. Then they have to write a poem using only the words they've cut out. The rules can be adjusted a bit to allow for trading between students and cutting words apart to create other words that they may lack. Then the poem is glued down to construction paper.
We did this in my "Teaching English" methods class last week, and it was wonderful. I'm a language lover, but poetry and I are not generally on very good terms. I have a difficult time really understanding and loving poetry. I tend to find my own imagined "meanings" in it and read things that aren't there. I am terrible at writing poetry, generally, because I feel constrained by the structure and pressure of doing it the "right" way. But this activity was a great stress-reliever for me. The day that we did it in class, I really enjoyed it and was able to create completely uninhibited. I'm pretty proud of the product, but I can't share it with you here because we had to put them up on the bulletin board in our classroom. I promise to share it when they let me bring it home.
In the meantime, I can confess that I'm such an English nerd that I used the words I had left from class and wrote another refrigerator poem on Friday afternoon while I was snowed in. And, although I am terrible at receiving feedback on my writing (either good or bad), I'm going to share this with all of you in blog-dom. Be kind.

Quiet
Woods fill
Up with
Smooth
Snow

Twinkling
Free
Under the
Hush

The universe
Wanders
Away

Billows
Sliding
Down the
Willow
Breathing Deep

Sounds trailing
Sandman
Smells
A dream


Morning
Sweeps
In around
A forest bower

Inside
The dry flame
Roaring hot

Curled inside a
Sweet cocoon
The easy laughing
Wrinkles His nose
and
mine

When
Comes
Music

Just for us

"Sometimes it's sweet, and Sometimes it's sour."

I've been debating starting a new blog since my old one lost its funding back in August, but I was pretty self-conscious about it and unsure about how much I really had to say and how much time I had to say it. I don't want to steal Ellen's blog insecurity bit, though, so this is me moving on.

You're probably all wondering what in the world "life is like a pickle" means exactly. Of course, life is like a box of chocolates, but a pickle? Well, I'm glad you asked. The title is actually pretty appropriate in that it may be one of the first legitimately intelligent things I ever wrote. (If you're astute enough to hear a story coming, you should get used to it because, after all, there is a story for everything. There's even a story about how there's a story for everything. But this is not the time for that.)

When I was 8 years old, I wrote what I will call, for the purpose of this story, an "essay" entitled "Life is like a Pickle: Sometimes it's sweet, and sometimes it's sour." I can't reproduce the rest of it here, but it went on to talk about church and how attending church and being a part of God's people will make your life sweet and not sour. The section that is my personal favorite, after reading it again as a semi-adult, quotes verbatim an evangelism tract that has been in the foyer at Beebe Church of Christ since the Apostle Paul was knee-high to a grasshopper. Something along the lines of being "In the Lord's house, with the Lord's people, on the Lord's day." Oh, yeah. All of you BBCofCers know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, I don't remember writing this brilliance at all, but apparently my daddy was so proud of it that he showed everybody at church and copies were made and distributed.

So, needless to say, I've been "wordy" for as long as anyone can remember. I like words as more than a friend. It's a love affair that has molded and shaped my life for nearly 22 years now, and I'm currently trying my hardest to make a career out of it.

This blog will mostly be a way for me to indulge my love of language and my incredible self-interest while occasionally (hopefully) fulfilling the needs of my first love language. I hope that all of you in blog-reading-dom enjoy it at least enough to keep coming back because, after all, regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I'm never writing just for myself.