The Carousel

Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent.

Teddy told me that in Greek, "nostalgia" literally means "the pain from an old wound."

It's a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.

This device isn't a spaceship...

it's a time machine.

It goes backwards...

and forwards...

It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.

It's not called the wheel,

it's called the carousel.

It let's us travel the way a child travels

around and around

and back home again

...to a place where we know are loved.

Don Draper from Mad Men (Season 1, Episode 13)
(memories from 2010 to 2012)

Be that Fly on the White Wall

"You have enemies? Good, that means

you stood up for something."

says Eminem

I think it all started almost two years ago at the inter-school Christian Fellowship birthday bash. Being one of the main organizers for the event, I was running up, down, and around making sure everything was running smoothly. I had taken off my flip flops and was holding a can of coke when some friends of mine asked to wear my flip flops and have a slip of my coke. I agreed. They thanked me with a "You're so nice, Hazel" and as I ran off, I heard a girl say, "Of course, everyone loves Hazel. No one dislikes her."

That isn't a bad thing. But is that actually an achievement? I had heard the quote from Eminem and it started churning those thinking gears. Had I really been so nonchalant, never really wanting to get into a discussion that would lead to a disagreement, always being the peacemaker, sitting on the fence, maintaining my reputation? Don't get me wrong: the Bible tells us "blessed are the peacemakers." I still don't like getting into arguments. But when my values and beliefs were sitting on the line, how many had I stepped back and rather become ignorant of the subject at hand than to stand up and take my side?

Many times. Sadly.

What is a belief if you don't bother defend it when it is being discussed? What is a faith if you don't tell others about it? What good does it do if you keep your personal experiences to yourself? Why keep it to yourself when it can actual encourage others? Why hide your life story when maybe the very person who needs to hear it is sitting in the room? Why be shy of religion in front of the unreligious?

“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." Luke 12:8-9

I believe that is the burden God has put in her heart the past week or so. Even as I travel in the coming week and am in the company of men, some of whom are farther away from God than others, I am just praying for the boldness to confess Him before all men. Be encouraged and be the encourager.

Greatest Goal

This is the greatest goal of all times (in my opinion) and deserves to be watched a million times over and over again. It makes it even better that it was scored by my favorite soccer player.