Shake, Rattle, and Roll

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, "for our God is a consuming fire!" (Hebrews 12:28 & 29)

Since I'm updating about the hurricane I feel like I should share about the earthquake that took place earlier this week!

August 23, 2011--

I was sitting at my desk on the 6th floor of our building, about 5 blocks from the White House and started to feel some rumbling. I stand up to look outside, thinking a big truck must be going by. As it continues and I don't see anything strange outside the rumbling/vibrating turns into our building swaying from side to side. My reaction is to stay rooted in my spot, staring out the window, as I wonder if our building is going to collapse. The wiser people in my office were calling us away from the windows and we all stood there for a moment. We quickly see that people are leaving the building so we grabbed our phones and purses and followed.

When we got down to the street, we realized that it was not just our building. I immediately contacted a couple of people in the case that cell service wouldn't be around long and I didn't want them to worry. At this point we didn't know if it was a terrorist attack or earthquake and I was still waiting for something else to take place. People were saying it was like 9/11, my biggest thought was that it was the metro. Others mentioned a plane crash. For about 8 minutes no one had any idea what was going on. Cell reception was spotty, but from within our group we heard from the Capitol, Alexandria, and North Carolina and knew that at it couldn't be an attack, thank God.

We stood out there for some time and really didn't know what to do from there. Thankfully it wasn't chaotic, but an excited uncertainty filled the air. Can they predict another one coming? Can we go back in the building? Should we get away from the buildings? After a while we went inside to close up our computers and leave for the day. I was still pretty shaky by the time I made it to my car for the traffic jammed 8 mile drive home. I envisioned buildings falling or the 14th Street Bridge collapsing with a big aftershock. I really was quite shaken with the whole thing.

At home my frames were off the wall, a shelf had fallen, and in the intensity of the day I didn't even notice until Wednesday that there was a layer of sand/rock around the sides of my room from our ceilings. I live in a pretty old building so apparently it was pretty noisy when it all took place!

The events of this week are just a powerful reminder of what little control we have in this world. God can move mountains and oceans, people and hearts, and it can be so hard to trust in His plan. I sit quietly, clinging to His promises and amazed by His grace.

Interesting mentions of earthquakes in the Bible!

Take me out to the ball game

It is no secret that I love baseball. Whether on the backyard patio listening to the crack of the bat over the radio waves or at the ballpark, it generates a certain feeling that only baseball can. Working in the garage with a cold lemonade nearby being serenaded by the announcer’s commentary on a hot summer day. A father and a son walking to the park, the son with a hat too big for his face and a baseball mitt dangling by his side. Men standing on the street corners pawning off tickets, hats, or programs. The crowds flowing into the stadium with a sense of anticipation. The sights. The sounds. The smells. It’s something special. 162 games a year, yet every game is exciting. Game 1, game 100, game 162. They will all be attended with enthusiasm. A blow-out turns into a late game rally with a walk-off run. A manager gets ejected. A leap into the stands. A wild pitch. A grand slam. The 7th Inning Stretch. A bobblehead. Doesn’t matter what game it is, but big things happen.

People come together from all over into this one place and bond. On a typical night you wouldn’t talk to the man standing next to you on public transportation, but on your way to a baseball game you’re the best of pals. Sharing stories from the past and discussing, to the best of your ability, the obviously high chance of winning tonight’s game.

Robert Frost once said, “I never feel more at home in America than when I’m at a baseball game.” I’ve always loved this quote and only recently did I discover it’s origin. In one of the last possible places I would have looked, I found it in a Sports Illustrated article from 1956 about the American All-Star game. It’s worth the read.

"It has been a day of prowess in spite of its being a little on the picnic side and possibly not as desperately fought as it might be in a World Series. Prowess, prowess, in about equal strength for both sides. Each team made 11 hits, two home runs and not a single error. The day was perfect, the scene perfect, the play perfect. Prowess of course comes first, the ability to perform with success in games, in the arts and, come right down to it, in battle. The nearest of kin to the artists in college where we all become bachelors of arts are their fellow performers in baseball, football and tennis. That's why I am so particular college athletics should be kept from corruption. They are close to the soul of culture. At any rate the Greeks thought so. Justice is a close second to prowess. When displayed toward each other by antagonists in war and peace, it is known as the nobility of noble natures. And I mustn't forget courage, for there is neither prowess nor justice without it. My fourth, if it is important enough in comparison to be worth bringing in, is knowledge, the mere information we can't get too much of and can't ever get enough of, we complain, before going into action. As I say, I never feel more at home in America than at a ball game be it in park or in sandlot. Beyond this I know not. And dare not.”

Okay, but enough already. Painting a vivid picture of one of my favorite hobbies was not the point of today’s blog. Rather, I wanted to tell about a D.C. tradition that I recently attended. The Congressional Baseball Game. For over 100 years (with several breaks in between for war and other American hardships), Congressmen and Senators have convened for an evening of baseball. This year, the game was at Nationals Park and it certainly far surpassed my expectations.

The game was like a squished peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The PB was the politics. The jelly was the baseball. They oozed together into a somewhat unexpected, yet enjoyable evening treat. Not knowing what to anticipate, I wore a College Republicans shirt and my Twins hat. While comfortable with my decision, leave it to D.C. to show up in business attire to a 90 degree baseball game. Most people were in work clothes or campaign shirts for their congressman or boss. Surprisingly, the Nats pre-game happy hour was still open outside the stadium, but we still made it in before the game. The next surprise was seeing them down on the field, it could have been the Nats hanging out in their dugout and I wouldn’t have known the difference. They were each in full uniform (of their home team) and they stood around looking pretty focused on the task at hand.

As with most baseball games, the crowd came together for a moment of American pride as the Anthem was sung and then we went our separate ways. Blue or Red. As I saw the donkey or the elephant show up next to each player’s name as they stepped up to the plate, it dawned on me. This wasn’t just a baseball game, it brought in another one of my hobbies and made it personal when the Democrats were cheering in victory. Oh how I wanted to win. Unfortunately their cheering that night far out-weighed ours largely due to their freshman congressman who pitched in college ball. No chance of hitting that.

We lost the game, but I had the opportunity to meet my MN Congressman, Eric Paulsen, and share a Minnesota-nice moment. I was happy to hear they had held many practices and to observe the players taking the game seriously. Some, like Paulsen, had their whole staff and their families there to watch. It wasn’t for show or even for their constituents, it was just good old American fun. It was nice to see that with battles raging all around us in Congress and out, everyone can take a break long enough to enjoy a little baseball.

I'm a big kid now...or so I thought?

Lessons from Arlington Mill Drive

1. Don’t clean soot out of fireplace by placing it in a cardboard box in your plastic garbage bin.
2. Strong chemicals only get so much burn residue off of bricks.
3. Fire extinguishers must be “serviced” after being used..unless they are cheap, in which case you must replace them at a special store for $34.00 (or $8.00 if you use the appropriate amount of sweet talking to the employee)
4. Comcast does not pick up their cable boxes after you cancel your service, but they will charge you if it has not been returned within two weeks of canceling.
5. Speaking of Comcast, you will spend 45+ minutes on hold if you push the number 4 “If you are calling to disconnect your cable service” option. Your fastest route through the intricate maze of phone options is lying.
6. Always have flashlights and candles handy.
7. Wet leaves smell terrible. Don’t pile them up without disposing immediately thereafter.
8. Everyone has a different plan for saving on electricity costs. They are worthless if you can’t turn off lights.
9. Cars get hit. Cars get towed. It’s reality.
10. Mold grows quickly when you have a leaky faucet. Bleach is the answer.
11. Dishwashers are overrated.
12. Harris Teeter is open 24/7.
13. The library is closed on Thursdays.
14. Cockroaches move fast, but not necessarily far. Don’t give up. They’re too big to hide for long.
15. Hide a key.
16. Your cable deal may end, but call them up and they’ll find another one to keep it cheap. Sometimes more channels = less $$
17. Never trust your landlord. Always cover yourself.
18. George Forman Champ Grill = awesome
19. Gym memberships are worth every penny so long as you go.
20. Learn to pay bills, it’s good for you.
21. Get a real Christmas tree. It's worth every. single. needle.
22. Always have a back-up plan.
23. Everyone has a different opinion, but that doesn’t mean anyone is right.
24. Bones is the best show ever.
25. Be fair with money and no one has to get petty.
26. Happy hours are overrated. Sunflower seeds on the front steps with a friend is all you need.
27. Eating healthy is expensive.
28. Mattresses are virtually impossible to dispose of without backbone, courage, and a sense of adventure
29. Don't jog through a dog park.
30. Keep your flag flying.

Hope.

Pej•o•ra•tion
–noun
1. Depreciation; a lessening in worth, quality, etc.
2. Historical Linguistics. Semantic change in a word to a lower, less approved, or less respectable meaning.

Around the year 1200, the word “silly” was spelled “sely” and it meant ‘happy, blissful, blessed, or fortunate’. As time went on, the word slowly progressed. The blessed are also innocent. Innocence can be perceived as being unaware of one’s social surroundings, sometimes choosing the moral path rather than the one the world deems choiceworthy, and suddenly you become foolish. This is what the word means today.

“Gaudy” is derived from the Latin word gaudium, or joy.

“Hierarchy” was originally referring to a host of angels and now is a term used to explain the roles in the corporate world, not focusing on all the important pieces, but only the top. The elite. The ones we envy.

“Dawning ‘gay’ apparel” meant being festive for a joyous occasion, but now it calls for snickers and smirks from the children who hear it.

Hope was something Biblical. Something we had in Christ, not in a president or a country. Hope is the word that prompted this blog today. I was reading some Patrick Henry speeches and I just had to chuckle at the irony of the words he spoke in 1775:

"Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it." (Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775)

Isn't it crazy how relative this is to the United States today? After dwelling on that bizarre fact for some time, I realized I was sad too. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is about "hope" and we've let, or maybe it is just me, I've let the word grow tainted!

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:1-5)

The sheer magnitude of this verse should make us tremble in this grace in which we stand. The power that is in that glory of God is something that our earthly minds cannot even fathom and we are being told to put our hope in it! What an awesome truth.

Our world today seems to have lost the true meaning of the word "hope." Even Patrick Henry, one of my favorites in American history, cheapened it by calling it an indulgence. I realize my interpretation of this word is hardly something to stand by. I am no etymologist, and I certainly don't claim that it has gone through the pejoration of the words mentioned above. Just some parallels that I saw and felt the need to share, if only for the opportunity to remind people of where our true hope must lie.

The Captain and the King

I only wish I could write as well as Peggy Noonan. A columnist at The Wall Street Journal, former TV producer, and one of President Reagan's top speechwriters, she writes intelligent pieces with poise and purpose. A co-worker passed this article on to me and I wanted to share. Click here to read: The Captain and the King

Disclaimer!

9 months of a picture a day and October-December ended the year with no posts! I was, however, still taking pictures, and even writing about some of them, so here are some that were saved and only now being posted!

Finally Fall

Day 322:

Day 321:

Day 320:

Day 319:

Day 318:

Day 317:

Day 315: Veteran's Day

Day 314: Georgetown