new favorites

High School Lunch Room

I'm halfway through my second week of substitute teaching. I agreed to do a two week assignment at my old school for a teacher who had back surgery. Its been very enlightening. I love to teach. Maybe I just love to be the center of attention . . . hmmm.

But today, as I was on lunch room duty, I was reminded in a rush of nostalgia (perhaps we could come up with a word with more negative connotations) of what high school tables meant. I scanned the clusters of heads and saw the easy distinctions. The table for athletes. The table for math kids. The table for the "trouble" kids. The table for the kids in wheelchairs. The table for the pretty girls. The table for the sporty girls. The table for kids who couldn't possibly be still in high school. . . The tables predominately for kids with darker skin. The table for theater kids.

So my question is, which table did you sit at in high school? And do you still hang out with people who would fit in that table today?

This is what expectation looks like:

Lines

I've been thinking a lot about music lately. I think its because I've started to take song writing and song refining seriously in the last few months. Addison's nap times have become beautiful spaces for quiet and creativity. So I'm going to share some of my favorite lines from the songs I've been listening to recently. Feel free to share yours with me!

"Who's that conscience stickin' on the sole of my shoe? " Paul Simon

"We've seen the landfill rainbow. We've seen the junkyard of love. Baby its no place for you and me." Over the Rhine

"Let your love rage like a lion. Let your heart break like a lamb." Andrew Osenga

"If the thief had come to plunder when the children were alone. If he ravaged every daughter and murdered every son. Would not their father see this? Would not his anger burn. And would he not repay the tyrant the day of his return? Await, await the day of his return." Ben Shive

"Show me the love that never fails/the compassion and attention/midst confustion and dissention/like small ramparts for the soul/how it matters." Sara Groves

"If not for you, Babe, I couldn't find the door. I couldn't even see the floor; I'd be sad and blue, if not for you. " Bob Dylan

I'm Frankly Jealous That I Didn't Think of This

Merry Christmas!

tastes of childhood

I was concocting a little dinner just now - rice with butter and soy sauce - and was taken right back. There are just some flavors that carry tremendous amounts of nostalgia. I would like to share a few of my nostalgic flavors with you.

1. rice with butter and soy sauce (it struck me for the first time tonight that this may not be a normal dinner option. . . created by budget savvy parents???)
2. pinole - this is a crushed popcorn beverage that the Tarahumara drink. we drank ours in milk with sugar. a very common snack in the Taylor household.
3. chile and sugar. in any form. trust me, there are many forms
4. cornbread in milk with syrup for breakfast
5. popcorn and hot chocolate (must be eaten with a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie)
6. Dad's famous "hot rice cereal" with or without the bloated raisins - I just read that and it sounds disgusting, it really isn't
7. plain yoghurt with jello powder sprinkled on top
8. coke from a bottle.

what are your favorite childhood flavors?

Thought for Thursday

Something I've been pondering:

Why is it so much more acceptable (even in the church) to talk about social justice issues than to talk about evangelism? Is this biblical? Is this true?