Don't Work Too Hard

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A simple google search has told me that this is not real. But it secretly gave me quite a giggle at work yesterday. I hope that in our tiny, one-room, 6-person office, hard work is noticed - and that someone would realize if I was sitting dead at my desk.

TIA Tuesday - Another Update from Namibia

If This Is America, then we would have probably finished building a one-room school building by now. That is, unless we caved into our American ways of laziness and procrastination.

But This Is Africa, where many other wants & needs get in the way of building a new classroom. When your family struggles to work and eat every day, you may not have the energy to volunteer your labor. When you doubt the project being finished, you may lose enthusiasm and drive to help out. When you desperately need money, you may demand payment for your labor even if you're being asked to volunteer. When you're weary from the great needs in all other areas of your life, you may not be a supportive community member.

There are a lot of challenges to Amy's classroom-building project at her school. This week, she's challenged by a contractor that's decided to take another job instead of finishing his work on the new building. She's challenged by parents and learners who are demanding money. She's challenged by people from all sides blaming her for the inefficiency of the project, when they are responsible as well. From a community development standpoint, it's imperative to actively involve the community in your efforts...but when the community refuses to help after enthusiastically asking for this to be done, what do you do?

Be praying for Amy and her community as they strive to finish this building so grade 4 finally has a place in which they can learn!

Amy by the front door to her new building - the walls are complete!

Nashville Nugget No. 13 - The Cocoa Tree (also known as "Nashville's Best Hot Chocolate")

While I was away in Namibia, a friend sent me a list of the top 50 hot chocolates in the US with the disclaimer, "one of these is in Nashville!" Be still, my heart...I wonder if it's on my list! Considering myself a hot chocolate connoisseur, I have tried nearly every hot chocolate in this city over the last few years. But what to my wondering eyes did appear but a hot chocolate that I had NEVER tried!

(don't worry: this factored into my decision to expedite my return to the States)

Travel & Leisure lists The Cocoa Tree as on of America's best hot chocolates, boasting in its 12 different flavors and homemade marshmallows. I've been drooling since January over this and finally found a friend who was daring enough to venture to Germantown for this delectable treat.

Unfortunately, it's not "hot chocolate season." What?? There's a season? I tried to tell the girl at the counter that I indulge in hot chocolate year round, but she wasn't buying it. "You'll have to wait until later this fall," she told us. "Maybe in a couple of weeks. Do you want a Frozen Cocoalato instead?" Fellow cocoa lover Jon and I exchanged excited and questionable glances and unabashedly asked, "what is THAT?" She boastfully declared, "it's our very own homemade frozen chocolate drink."

Yes and yes. Duh.

We paid $4.29 for these suckers...quite the pricetag. But as soon as we lifted our drinks from the counter, Jon laughed and said, "We should have been working out before this!"

[photo cred]

This drink was substantial in weight, size, and deliciousity. I didn't write this post yesterday because it's taken me almost 24 full hours just to process what my taste buds experienced and try to put words to it.

The Frozen Cocoalato is a thick, rich chocolate drink with a blast of cinnamon (and other spices?) and a generous heap of homemade whipped cream on top. It is nearly as thick as a milkshake - but definitely not a milkshake. It is decadent to the core and left my tummy full and happy for the rest of the afternoon. And it is totally worth the pricetag.

There are a few other notable things about The Cocoa Tree:
- It's located on the picturesque streets of Germantown and has a small area of patio seating out front. So enjoyable on a warm fall day.
- The store smells absolutely divine. I have been unable to confirm whether they actually make (cook? bake?) all of their chocolates in-house, but it certainly smells as if they do.
- They have big comfy chairs inside. The teal and dark chocolate decor is very warm & inviting.
- One review admits that they have a whole room in the back dedicated to bridesmaids. I don't know what that means, but I want it.
- Their truffles are famous and said to be legendary! We didn't venture past the Frozen Cocoalato on this visit, but all of their chocolate creations looked delicious.

I added myself to their mailing list while I was there, so expect a follow-up post when we're finally able to return and try all 12 flavors of hot chocolate at The Cocoa Tree. In the meantime, while it's still warm out, venture over and grab yourself this crazy Frozen Cocoalato creation - you won't be sorry!

As owner Bethany Thouin writes, "Chocolate is evidence that God delights in our pleasure!"

The Cocoa Tree is located in Germantown near 5th and Madison at 1200 5th Ave. N.

TIA Tuesday - Nants Ingonyama Bagithi Baba Edition

Tonight, some friends and I went to see "The Lion King" in 3D. Yes, I know 3D isn't worth the $14.75 price tag, but the chance to see a childhood movie in theaters again is priceless. In fact, it's the first movie I remember seeing in theaters. This movie has left an indelible mark on our generation, as proven by the masses of twentysomethings in our theater.

"The Lion King" is very American. I'll even go so far as to say that it has shaped every American's vision of Africa. Admittedly, when I traveled to Africa for the first time, I saw everything through the lens of "The Lion King." The name of my blog? Rafiki's chant: "Asante Sana Squash Banana." The baobab tree in Kaole? So "Lion King." Every moment of my first safari? You get the picture.

Even in Namibia, when the WorldTeach 2011 crew took our first safari in Etosha, "The Circle of Life" just happened to start playing right as we rounded the corner to see a springbok giving birth. What's more "Lion King" than that?

This was my first "Lion King" viewing since Namibia. I was confused when everything seemed different. As they panned over the savanna in the opening scene, I saw the road past Engela. When Mufasa takes Simba to the top of Pride Rock to survey their kingdom, I saw the Kavango River looking out over Angola. The dried ground where Timon and Pumbaa found Simba was Sossusvlei. And that baobob tree? It was the same baobob tree that I passed every day on the way to school at our basketball court.

You see, "The Lion King" is Africa, but Africa is not "The Lion King." Disney was brilliant in their portrayal of this distant land, their creative use of Swahili, and their accurate animation of those beautiful vistas. But there is so much more. There are people, for one. There is culture beyond the mysticism of Rafiki. There are not lions running through the Saharan Desert in East Africa...huh?

But I remain appreciative of the way it exposes Africa to Americans in the tiniest sense. Of the way it helps people identify with your stories and pictures. Of its lessons that translate to so many seasons of life. And of its catchy sing-alongs.

"The Lion King." TIA.

Worship in Unexpected Places - Part 1

On Sunday night, some friends and I had the luckiest of chances to go to a secret show in Nashville featuring NEEDTOBREATHE & Ben Rector. The former has been a big and ever-changing part of my Life Book for many years.

One thing is always true: they never fail to put on a foot-stomping, roof-raising show - and it takes a lot for me not to jump on the opportunity to see them in an intimate setting. We were pumped about this show: we knew we would sing loudly; we knew we would dance until we hurt; we even knew it would tug on some heartstrings, since their music has meant so much to us as individuals and friends in many seasons. What I didn't expect was what a worshipful experience it would be.

I could write for hours about their songs. How I fell in love with "Something Beautiful" for its 7/4 time signature, but how it resonates so differently today. How we passionately and tearfully blasted "More Time" in the days leading up to graduation. Every "Washed By the Water" acoustic performance in Nashville. And many, many individual lyrics.

In these post-Namibia, start-of-adulthood times, I have found myself more broken than I imagined possible - and have subsequently found solace in places I didn't expect. Hearing things like...
- "give me the faith to believe in these hard times"
- "leave your hurting on the road behind you, let the wind go with you til the morning comes"
- "all you burdened and broken down, bring all of your troubles, come lay 'em down"
- "your chains will never fall until you do"
- "I know pain is just a place, the will has been broken"
- "grace, she comes with a heavy load"
...opens deep wounds and soothes forgotten scars. Watching each of them worship - even tear up - to Truths sung in such powerful and lyrically impressive ways is big stuff.

In case you haven't heard, they're coming out with a new CD tomorrow. I'm going to be bold and say that this is their best record yet. These guys carry Jesus on their tongues & hearts, and that bursts through these songs more than ever before. Having recently gained such immense popularity, they carry an imminent and important ministry and it's encouraging to see them not shy away from that in their writing. Selfishly, I'm grateful for a lot of really, really great songs to chew on and play on repeat.

They closed Sunday's show with a stripped-down, fully acoustic version of a song off their new record called "A Place Only You Can Go." I wept out of that deep soul place the first time I heard this song and still get goosebumps when the accordion chimes in. The combination of Truth and music carries it all. If I were a savvy enough blogger to know how to embed this song in my post, I would. But alas - you'll have to search it out when the album hits stores tomorrow.

Worship doesn't just happen in church on Sundays. It sometimes happens in a crowded, sweaty bar surrounded by best friends and loud music. Tonight, I rest in God's grace and His persistance to tug on my heart when I least expect it.

It's Good To Be Gold

You may not be able to see the scoreboard, but that right there is a 30-point Vanderbilt lead. Yes, I'll be honest and say I am "that girl" who always has hopes that "this is the year." But y'all: this IS the year. And this touching article just makes me want to give Coach James Franklin a big bear hug and shed a tear of pride for the Black & Gold. 

So way to go, 'Dores. On your 30-7 win in your first SEC game of the season. For being three and oh. And for warming our hearts.

Most heartfelt alma mater yet - aside from when we beat Auburn to go 5-0 in 2008

Amy's Classroom

I have been giddy to see photos of Amy's classroom posted every day this week on Facebook. Praise the Lord for Blackberrys and her ease of posting photos. She's posting more from her real camera this weekend, but I'm too excited to wait, so here are the mobile phone-quality photos.

Friday, September 9

Monday, September 13

Wednesday, September 14

Thursday, September 15

Amazing progress! Keep praying for completion, excitement in the community and among the colleagues, and joy in Amy's heart. I am so immensely proud of Amy for taking on this project and faithfully continuing even when the road ahead has seemed impassable. It's so challenging to take a vision and hope you have for something and see it through - especially in a developing country, especially when you don't have much support there.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (col. 3:23)

Grateful.

TIA Tuesady - Still Recovering

Last night, I went to the grocery store. Guess what I did in the frozen veggies aisle? Cried. Yep, that's right. I still get overwhelmed at the grocery store...nearly every time. An unimaginable combination of negative forces: too much selection, lack of appetite, inability to make decisions...

And to think - the grocery store used to be my favorite place. Let's be serious: what's more fun than trying to beat the system and be as frugal as possible? My goal is to save enough that one day, the grocery store will be the one paying me.

This Is America...where grocery shopping can be a very, very overwhelming experience.

Lauren & Matt Tie the Knot!

Oh happy day! This post may be later than many of my wedding posts, but dear friends Lauren Kinzer & Matt Bigger tied the knot on September 3! Y'all, they've been married for 9 days. That blows my mind!

Let me tell you a little about this couple. Lauren was another one of my suitemates from senior year of college - aptly named "The Kissing Booth," in case you forgot. She is sweet, secretly messy, musically talented, and an aspiring morning person. My favorite Lauren Moment from our year of cohabitation took place during Waffle Wednesday with the boys next door. These were low-key weekly events that consisted of a bunch of bleary-eyed twentysomethings making and eating waffles at 8am while gulping down coffee. For the non-morning people, this was a struggle. But one morning, Lauren waltzed in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and announced (with her arms in the air), "I am a morning person!" We were overjoyed, but certainly not surprised when two hours later, she came back to the suite, collapsed on the couch, and groaned, "I am not a morning person." Readers: this girl is lovable.

Matt Bigger spent a great amount of time in the Kissing Booth as well, as I'm sure you could guess. He, too, is musically talented, loves the Lord, is really tall, and always laughs at my abundant enthusiasm. I've known him since our very first education classes together freshman year. As I told Lauren shortly before the wedding, my first impression of Matt was him being from Atlanta and wearing a cowboy hat in his Facebook profile picture, thus causing me - a gal from Chicago who had never been to the South - to assume he was the most southern man ever. Pretty sure I've never told Matt that tidbit, but there you go, blogging world. Now, Matt is beginning his tenure with Memphis Teacher Residency and is changing the world, one kid at a time.

These two were knit together by God are so in love. I was over the moon with joy when I received an email in Namibia with all the details of their engagement. So blessed to be in their lives.

Their wedding was so Nashville. From the wedding invitations to the venues. It was perfect. They were wed at the cute white church on 12 South and celebrated at the Factory in Franklin. Told you so - so Nashville.

The bride-to-be at her bachelorette party. See? Still Nashville-themed: mason jars.

The Ceremony

Some of the ladies of the Kissing Booth. Lots of laughter with these gals.

5/6 of the Kissing Booth. 2/6 of us are married now. Missing #6 who's living in Melbourne, Australia!

Matt & Lauren Bigger's first dance

Gabe Dixon played "My Favorite" as their first dance. So Nashville.

And for a friend update:

Mallory & Tyler are still happily married and attending weddings 2 months later

And we convinced sweet new friend Lia and her Vandy alum husband Sean to move to Nashville and let me dogsit their future (but currently non-existant) goldendoodle. You should read their fun blog, too.

Three cheers for marriage, friends, and a great last wedding of the 2011 season. Hip hip hooray!

Remembrance

I was in 8th grade at Springman Middle School. As we were putting things in our lockers, a friend said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. What's that? I had no context for the situation and pictured this building as a vast, but not very tall building. An announcement was made that teachers were not to talk about the events and were definitely not allowed to turn on the TVs. But that's not my clearest memory. The part I will never forget is leaving school that day. Walking out into the bright, warm September afternoon. Feeling increased pressure in my chest as I saw mothers crying into their children's shoulders and people hanging their heads. Hearing my mom explain the events on the short ride home. Sitting glued to the TV for the rest of the evening.

We were so impressionable at that age.

This morning, I crawled out of bed and snuggled on our cat-pee-scented couch to watch the memorial begin on TV. I didn't expect the uncontrollable sobs and intense heartache to come surging back. I didn't expect it to still matter so much.

I was so proud of our President for reading Psalm 46. A psalm that has meant so much to me over the years. A psalm that brought me to my knees this morning.

"God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the Lord,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields with fire.

'Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.'

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress."

TIA Tuesday - Rainy Day Edition

Since we moved into our house two weeks ago, we've experienced approximately one hour of precipitation. While I won't complain about sunshine, I was understandably excited to finally feel rain this weekend. With rain came fall-like temperatures - going from highs over 100 on Saturday to highs in the 60s on Monday - and a break from my 9-month summer.

I spent approximately 5 hours on Monday sitting on my front porch enjoying the rain. With a new sweater & new jeans, I wrapped myself in a blanket and thought, prayed, watched the rain fall and the spiders crawl, and read all day long. I'm currently immersed in Madeleine L'Engle's "Walking on Water." She wrote the "Wrinkle in Time" books we all know, and also wrote a whole body of nonfiction, kind of a la C.S. Lewis. I love it. I am my mother's daughter. "Water" + rain...perfect.

I have cultivated an affinity for rain in recent years. Rain gets a bad rep most days. It can be inconvenient, cold, dreary, and, frankly, wet. I especially dreaded rain during college when I knew I had to walk around campus all day and often never got a long enough break for my jeans to dry out.

But I have loved meditating on the cleansing power of rain in recent years. And the general power of rain - in floods, in hurricanes, in its colder form: blizzards. Rain is refreshing and God-sent and always good.

Since this is a TIA post, let's talk about rain in America. I'm abundantly blessed to have a car to drive in the rain, a sturdy umbrella, rainboots, and a warm roof over my head. I know I'm not invincible to rain - I certainly learned that during Nashville Floods 2010 - but I'm able to comfortably enjoy it. In Namibia, I eventually didn't even bother with the umbrella. You would just suck it up and walk through the rain and deal with it. Sure, you'd be wet all day. Sure, you'd walk through knee-deep flood waters. It was "survival mode" all the way.

Like many things these days, I'm deeply appreciative of renewed perspective and gratefulness for the ordinary things like rain. And cool weather. Is fall almost here?!

This Is [rain in] America.

Dancing in September

Today, I am channeling Earth, Wind, and Fire and attempting to grasp the reality that September is upon us. I know we say it every month, but where did August go?! Really.

The thought of September is making me giddy. It's been summer in my world for 248 days and counting. Let's not even talk about the forecasted high of 100 degrees on Saturday. I can't say I haven't enjoyed it at times. It's given me permission to wear Chacos for approximately 246 of those 248 days, minus two weddings when I had to wear real shoes. And I haven't had to worry about the Africa Pounds because I can just wear summer dresses, skirts, or Nike shorts every day.

But fall is my jam. I love raking. I love eating pumpkin-flavored things. I love hot tea and hot chocolate. I love scarves. I love chunky sweaters. I love the crunch of footsteps on the fallen leaves. I love the perfect pair of jeans. I love the multicolored rolling hills of Tennessee. I love fall festivals. I love curling up in a blanket on the porch. I love college football games. I love autumn.

And though autumn means the dreary winter days will soon be upon us, I can't help but feel imbued with a deep sense of joy that autumn is here. So let's go baaa deee ahhh dancing in September.