Sunday, March 19, 2006

Streaming

Whew.

Brenda is at an AA meeting and the boys are bathing. I just finished grading papers. It is almost time to help my kids into bed, say prayers with them.

Since this blog ranges from the theological to the every day stuff, I thought I would at least make an attempt at posting tonight by using this as a little journal to record my thoughts.

First, I am discouraged by how many of my students chose to plagiarize from the internet. Eight of my students have some explaining to do. Worst I’ve ever seen. I wonder if it is because they didn’t expect a technology teacher to check out their writing so closely. This only happened once or twice a year when I was teaching English.

Busy week. I interviewed for and was selected to help rethink how our middle school works. I wrestled with a toilet and, after three heroic days of struggle, emerged victorious. I did a painting for a friend. I began several new spiritual disciplines (new prayers at night, new prayers in the morning, and meeting with some folks each Thursday night).

Isaac told me how he didn’t want me anointing and praying over him each night. I told him I might go a little easier on the oil for a bit, but the prayer thing is here to stay, even if I just come up, and do it silently beside his bed. Kid is turning into a teenager.

I am definitely growing the beard back as soon as Easter passes. Strange ritual, scraping my face each morning. At least it makes me stop long enough to pray through certain things each morning. Everyone tells me it makes me look younger, but what the heck, I don’t have to look at my face. If this face is too aged, they can avert their eyes. The shaving thing goes.

I’ve taken to walking a half hour each morning to pray (PT: that's where I'm off to when you see me on Redwood in the mornings). That is a significant time for me. I have been thinking about my spiritual life and I believe I am becoming more excited, more passionate about it all the time. Not the enthusiasm and fervor I felt when I was a teen attending Calvary Chapel in a tent in Costa Mesa, but a swelling of my heart that makes me feel emotions that aren’t easy to express.

I’m working on that. I am trying to finish up a post that inspired by a conversation about U2’s song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. I am trying to formulate how I feel about my faith today.

This past year has been such a strange journey. And though it has had challenges that have hurt (financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically) I see it has been very good for me. I am not the man I was a year ago.

Speaking of changes, the missing beard has prompted me to look closer at my physical features and I have to admit it... I’m not 30 anymore.

In general I am fine with turning 50. It just seems a little weird.

Gosh, I want to get into the subject of the post I am writing, but I guess I best get to the kids and lay my head down to sleep and pray the Lord my soul to keep.

My apologies for the stream of consciousness post tonight, but it is all I can spare of me for tonight.

God bless.




23 comments:

AsianSmiles said...

ironically, this post is among the great articles that you have posted (IMO). God bless to you and the family.

jel said...

CS, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

take care and have a great day!

God Bless

jel said...

CS
I have been reading this book,( Captured by Grace: by David Jeremiah) it is and Awesome book!
it is and has been a blessing to me, and I think that you might like to read, and read it to your family,

take care and God Bless

Internet Street Philosopher said...

Yeah, a lot of my fellow college students just copy and paste and think nothing of it. Don't they worry that God is looking at them and wants them to do their best without cheating?

Curious Servant said...

They should worry about getting kicked out of school. And if they do it in the "real" world they can lose their job.

Here at the middle school level it can be a two day suspension.

I'm giving them until Thursday to redo it or get an incomplete in the class. I am also calling each parent.

G~ said...

CS, I have to say, I enjoy getting some of this "everyday stuff" from you occasionally. ;)

Good on you, dealing w/the plagarism as you are. *sympathetic pat, pats* over the discouragement of it. :(

God bless you & no more apologies!! :)

Love in Christ!

Anonymous said...

thanks for 'lighting' me this morning as you were off to walk & pray your 1/2 hours, pt

Joe said...

I really like both types of posts that you post.

You have a really likable writing style.

Thanks!

David said...

Stopping by to catch up a little. Hard to sit here and read blogs but I wanted to say hello and hope that you are well.

Susie Hovendick Chan said...

I read you. I've never commented, but I guess I oughta, 'cause now I know what it feels like to write and write and edit and edit and delete and rewrite--for what? For no one to read? (And If you do that, you're the most serious kind of writer--a JOURNALER.)So I read, you man. I just never comment. (Truth is, I'm not friendly.)

Curious Servant said...

I'm glad you did, Susie. I know about "blog lurkers" and that is fine with me. But it always a thrill to hear from my readers.

Thanks!

No Longer In Crisis said...

Have you discovered turnitin.com?
If you require electronic copies, you can send it through there - much easier. BTW - I'm teaching a senior level research class here at UK - 2 of the 14 plagiarised so bad I could google a sentence and find the entire full-text article they had copied and pasted from. Methinks they think us lazy. Meknows they are dead wrong. Did no one teach them it is both illegal AND that stealing is a sin? I was so afraid of plagiarising when I was in college, I would rewrite entire pages again just to be "sure". Ugh.

Vicki said...

I so appreciate you and your personal journey with the Lord. Keep sharing all that is on your heart. His hand is on you, my brother.

Lucy Stern said...

To bad that students can't be original with their writing. If they would only read an article and then write what they learned in their own words.

Good luck with your beard. Actually my husband looks nice with him.

Don't ever stop praying over your children. They need to hear you talk to the Lord in their behalf.

Pecheur said...

CS,

U2 is always fun to interpret. Now, who knows what Bono was thinking, but I think he still has not "peace" in his home country Ireland. He's looked for it and how can a "Christian" nation not live at peace with its neighbors.

But who am I? I have never been known to be the greatest of interpretators

Unknown said...

Thanks my friend! And sorry for not stopping by for a while. Ridiculously busy of late and the few moments I'm not, I shut down mentally. I feel somewhat guilty saying that, as you seem much busier than I.

I haven't been reading or writing. Just caught up on your posts though. Made me smile as usual. I love your consideration of the donkey in the previous post:-)

Congrats on the toilet repair (arrgh arrgh).

Ha, just shaved my beard. Agreed that it's one daily ritual we could do without, but once Spring settles in, it's just too darn hot.

Love and prayers for you and your family.

And (taking a blind shot for the date) Happy Birthday!!

Curious Servant said...

Thanks, but it is next month... April 27th.

Hoping not to offend any of my readers from the South, but I share my birthday with and ancestor of mine, Ulysses Grant.

But since this is one of those birthdays that is like watching the odometer on your car roll over the 100,000 mile mark it is on my mind, and apparently on my face.

Fox's Mom said...

I'll save the happy birthday for the day, but I wanted to tell you I am amazed to hear that you and I probably were in the same tent in Costa Mesa! (I grew up in Laguna and Garden Grove. Since you and I are the same age, it seems likely we went to many of the same Calvary tents. Small world.

"Awake lute, awake harp, I myself will awaken the dawn..." Great way to start the day, walking and praying-good for you! Bianca

Curious Servant said...

Wasn't that wild?!!!

Church in a circus tent!

And boy that church grew!

I think I started attending there about '71 or '72.

I was a full fledged "Jesus Freak".

Had a denim jacket with "Maranatha" embroidered across the back and paisley cuffs sewn on my Levi Flairs.

By '75 I was reading Carlos Castenda and hitchhiking all over the country.

'76 found me living in an ashram in Costa Mesa again, faking my way through Tai Chi movements, meditating and working in a vegetarian restaurant. Carradine's role in "Kung Fu" left a lasting impression.


I'll have to write on it sometime.

4evergapeach said...

Hi CS! Glad to hear things are going well with you. That's funny about Isaac. Yea, they grow up on us. No more hugs and kisses in public etc. But I'll always pray for them.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up here so that I can start on my walks again. I really miss them. I should think about using that as prayer time instead of listening to my CD player. I could certainly use it!

I love reading your posts but I have to say sometimes they make me feel terribly guilty. Not because of anything you say, but because of the spiritualiy you are so blessed with. I want so much for mine to be deeper but I have things I am struggling with and it keeps me from getting close to Him. I am sorry, I didn't mean to vent here, but wanted you to know why I read more than I comment.

Take care.

Fox's Mom said...

CS, thank-you for stopping by. As for 'back in the day' I too began attending in '71/'72. I usually try to avoid saying "I was saved" however I was, in those tents. Something I took from there kept me together through a lot of hard times, although it has taken me until just now to fully understand-so thank-you for your post. It inspired me to think back; doing so led to that understanding:) I must have worn out 3 or 4 copies of Good News For Modern Man; I really came to know Jesus in that time-much more than all of the catechism classes and daily masses-not to discount them, through my early religious education I got to know the Father. The teen years in those tents led me to Jesus. Maranatha!

Curious Servant said...

I haven't thought about that one for a while... Good news... it was OUR Bible, wasn't it!

Anonymous said...

Best regards from NY! » » »