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Here's a little flashback Friday video to carry you through the next several days of your life. The quirky, lovely Jenny Slate share a single line of music as Marcel the Shel. You guys I chance encountered this clip on Tuesday, and I hit replay so many times throughout the week. It has been a real pick-me-up in the midst of a trying time.
ARTIST: IRON BELL MUSIC
ALBUM: GOD THAT SAVES
If you spend enough time around children, you will find that they have an affinity for jokes and words related to the potty. This little affinity is so widespread that we have taught the children a term for it - bathroom humor - and we have taught them that it is not allowed. As a general rule, I am not a fan of bathroom humor, but every now and then I must admit to the comedic value of the right toilet joke. Today, I share with you the most near-elegant and successful attempt at Bathroom humor, a poem entitled Ode to Tiolet, by my 16-year-old brother, Isaiah.
image via max pixel
by Isaiah Georges
Oh toilet.
You are my rock.
You are the stool on which I may release my stool.
When I need rest it is to the restroom I come running.
For in this room which some find insignificant,
I find a home, a place of refuge,
a place where I am free of all my worries.
As I drop my poop I find comfort from a poopy day.
Even when someone lays waste to my life,
I know I can still lay my waste in you.
So toilet, I write this ode to you
to show my appreciation
for the strength you allow me to retain
and the appetite you allow me to regain.
Though I may not say it enough,
I now say it proud and say it loud.
I love you toilet.
This is my favorite photo of Morgan on Halloween to date. My cousin is a pretty girl, and that will never change, but as she gets older and her little features mature, I miss the childish cuteness that she once had about her. On the upside, that little winking charm will likely remain no matter how much she grows. She is our little princess, and I am so glad that one day she came to Texas and stayed a while.
We need more photos together. This is not our smiliest, but it is our most recent, so I am grateful for it.
For giving me life, because that was no small ordeal
For helping me grow, and guiding me still
For all of the times that you are there in all of the ways
For being the mom every other mom wanted to be
and making it look so easy
Mother, you are my Woman Crush this Wednesday
Happy Birthday!
Growing up in the Georges household, there were many things that we did or did not do as Georges. Some of those things were a function of our religious beliefs. Others were a function of our culture. And some were simply a function of being born to Emmanuel and Guirlene Georges. While there were a few things I wished we did differently (at least when I was young), I have found that I would stand by most of those customs we held even now as an adult.
My children will not be involved in the happy little lies that folks tell about Santa or the tooth fairy. They will hear, as I did, that they "are not in school to make friends". They'll observe quiet time for themselves each day. I love all of these things that my parents held to in our home.
One thing I remember most is the observance of Halloween. The Georges do not do Halloween.
At this point, I consider Halloween to be just a commercial holiday for consumers to waste money on costumes and candy. I do not buy into any of that (although I will stock up on all the candy that will go on sale afterward). However, I do understand the desire that children have to be a part of all the fun around them during Halloween. I remember wishing that we could have joined in when I was younger. In time, I got over that, and I came to realize that there were better ways to spend our time on Halloween. Here are 10 ways to spend Halloween.
image via odyssey
Watch movies
So this might seem like kind of an obvious choice, but you have to do it right. This is not a night for just any movie. Scary movies are a good idea if you're into that (which I can be - it depends). I would personally recommend classic horror movies - the kind that are not so much scary as they are suspenseful. We enjoyed some wonderful family nights as our father introduced us to actors like Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr.
Watch TV
This has been one of my favorite ways to spend Halloween night as an adult. For folks who do not regularly watch television, this is a great night to plan on binge-watching a show. For example, you would do well to catch the new (or also the old) season of Stranger Things. Occasionally when Halloween falls on a weeknight, some weekly obligations may be canceled. For me, that meant an opportunity to actually catch my show air tonight, rather than waiting to see it on Hulu later. Did anybody else spend Halloween watching This Is Us?
Eat Out
Those of us who do not have children may not want to be bothered with the sound of the doorbell ringing all night long and little expectant small people on the other side calling out for candy. You can make like a Georges and hide in your home (we would turn out the lights and ignore the doorbell) or you can go eat at all the family restaurants that will be empty(ish) as all the families are out trick-or-treating.
Host a Candy Game Night
Every holiday is an excuse to host a game night. On Halloween, you might consider pulling out games with "spooky" themes, like Clue or Suspicion (I have yet to win either of these games). Make things interesting by adding candy to the mix. I have never played for money, but I will gladly play for Kit Kats.
"Camp Out"
I'm not really much of a camper, but I do enjoy s'mores and guitar sing-alongs around a bonfire. If anyone in your crew is any good at them, scary stories will really kick things up a notch. Of all the time (not much) that I have spent around a bonfire, the time I spent singing was the best of it.
Visit a Haunted House
I have only ever been to a haunted house once, and it was surprisingly fun. I don't know why it is that we can be so entertained by being scared. I went with co-workers and I think it was an awesome experience for us to share and get to know one another better. Once you've seen someone scared, you've certainly gotten to know them a bit better.
Catch a Hayride
Not a fan of haunted houses? Hayrides are a sweet alternative. Something about riding hayride makes me feel like I am living in another time, if only for a moment. It's such a simple thing to do on a night when people are pulling out all the stops, and and the tricks, and the treats. With the right weather and the right people a hayride can be especially nice.
Get Ready to Write a Novel
(Nearly) Every year for many years now I have joined a few of my friends in a wild idealistic pursuit of writing a novel in a month. We are part of a larger community of writers who take part in what we call Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). The event takes place every November. For the select number of folks who feel so inclined to write 50.000 words in 30 days, October 31st is full of anticipation for the upcoming challenge. In fact, during the day, there is a Virtual Write-In.
Start a new book
Not ready to write a novel? Read one. Hide away like a happy recluse and start a good book. Halloween is a good night for a scary story. I haven't done that in a while, but I used to love reading such things as a kid. My siblings and I loved anything by R.L. Stine or Bruce Coville. Consider choosing a spooky short story collection.
Sleep
When I was a kid I used to hate going to bed. I wanted to stay up late with my parents, and I found that sleep was an obstacle in the way of literally everything else that I could be doing at any given moment. My feelings towards sleep are more complex now. I still wish that I could function without it, and in so doing add hours to my day, and I am still a night owl by nature, but I have also come to really love sleep when I am ready for it. There is no other feeling in the world quite like the one you feel when you lay cozily at ease in your bed and let sleep overtake you.
Because I am surrounded by people drinking PSLs and the resemblance between those people is sometimes uncanny . . .
image via smosh
ARTIST: MOSAIC MSC
ALBUM: GLORY & WONDER
Last night in an attempt to take my mind off things and just relax a bit, I decided to restart Community (which I never did finish for some reason). I came across this oddly motivational speech, which is a nice upbeat way to start a Friday.
video via facebook (Student Problems)
These past few weeks have been remarkably eventful. It is so easy to live in your corner of the world until you are reminded that no corner is spared from the darkness of life on earth. Some days are good days and others are like the ones we've had recently. Natural disasters abound. Tragedy strikes near and far without reason. Personal loss is suffered. I have had enough opportunities over the past couple of years to learn what it is that I might take away from such events. I am reminded to live my best life and to love as best as I can in the unknown time that I have. Even with that knowledge, I think that on some level, I fail so often. I want to do better, but I also want to understand more of how I can make something good come of all the bad things that I am experiencing or witnessing around me.
In the past couple of weeks, I have been reminded of some difficult memories from my past. Hurricane Harvey struck Houston right around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a part of my own history. 9/11 came and went and I heard the children around me speak little of it and understand it even less. It is a sad story from their history books and a very real part of my personal history. There is, of course, some sadness when I look back on those memories, but more than that there is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and even some happy memories.
I lived to tell my story.
My father had worked in the World Trade Center for years, and we left New York a short time before that tragedy occurred. Though our hearts broke as we watched those familiar buildings crumble, we recognized that we were still standing and that providence had spared us. Likewise, just hours before the worst of the storm hit New Orleans, we made it out. The sudden uncertainty was scary and uncomfortable, but the days that followed held some of my fondest memories. When the sudden reality of such uncertain and trying times becomes a common denominator for strangers, they may find a bond and a spirit of community unlike any other. I will never forget the days and nights that I spent in fellowship and worship and prayer with those families I stayed with during that time. In the time that followed after we left our safe haven from the storm, we were incredibly blessed by complete strangers who were willing to serve and give in our time of need. Imagine how such encounters might strengthen one's faith. My faith remains in God and not in humanity, but I marvel at the way that God uses people, regardless of their own faith or belief. Ultimately the hardest times are a reminder of God's sovereignty and of His goodness. Neither of those things is always going to look the way that we want it to. Still, if we look at our trials the right way we will remember all that He has done for us.
Just as every good and perfect thing comes from above, every trying time is a memorial. The Bible speaks of memorials on more than one occasion. I am not much of a theologian, so I sought out an explanation that might surpass what I could supply, and I found this:
God directs us to build memorials, or “to remember” for several reasons:
To serve as a reminder of our personal experience
To serve as a basis of sharing our faith with our children
To serve as a signpost to a lost world
To serve as a time for renewing our personal commitment
To serve as a time for rolling away old defeats
There is so much to be accomplished by the memorials in our lives. Every memorial will stand like a beacon in the night, shining a light out over the dark world we live in. I believe that another purpose for these memorials in our lives is to remind us that this world is not our home. I want so much to live out the future that I have imagined for myself, with a loving husband and a big beautiful family of our own. I imagine my children’s children and the even kind of grandmother I may be. In all honesty, it sometimes weighs heavily on my mind that I may not live to see that future. What if Jesus returns before then? In the ugliest days we are living on earth here and now, I imagine that God is reassuring me that His plan and His place for me are better. Better than hurricanes and senseless acts of violence, and better than every good thing that I could wish for here on earth.
My grandmother passed away last week. Next week we will lay her body to rest beside my grandfather in a cold New Jersey mausoleum, but it will be just that - her body. I imagine that death (in God’s time) is like a final memorial, reminding us of how God brings His children through the trial that is life on earth and into His glory. Until that time comes for me, I will need grace to remember to watch for every memorial - past, present, and future with intent, and to remember that regardless of what happens, God is soverign and He is good.
"You are good, good, Oh!" Sarah McMillan - King Of My Heart (Live)
Since I know nothing of you, but your form, I will say this to you as though none or maybe all of the things that I wondered are true. This is not Greenwich Village, and we do not live in an episode of Friends.
Read moreDid I applaud your cries for help rather than hearing them for what they may have been? Did I sing along with you and not recognize the hurting that I felt was ringing out in your voice too?
Read more
Because sometimes I don't want to share
image via facebook
ARTIST: HILLSONG UNITED
ALBUM: WONDER
ARTIST: CHRIS TOMLIN
ALBUM: NEVER LOSE SIGHT
Because I am a night owl and work/school days are designed for early birds
image via twitter (@ aeropostale)
ARTIST: MATT MAHER
ALBUM: ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN
A little sweetness to kick off your Friday. I am now convinced that every baby should enter their first days dancing.
"The 24th of February we posted a video dancing, just for fun. It became viral around the all world. We are so grateful for having all of you following the last part of my pregnancy, and our life with Alexandra. Her FIRST DANCE is dedicated to all of YOU."
