An Inconvenient Snowfall

As stated in my last post, I am in Seattle a bit longer than I had expected to be. Some of us were planning to go to a showing of An Inconvenient Truth tonight. I've been wanting to see it, and it seemed like the opportunity was there.

Well, tonight it started to snow, so we've decided that the truth is, it is too inconvenient for us to go see the movie. Instead of seeing the movie, we are going to practice the message of the movie by not driving to go see it.

Thanksgiving Surprises

This year for Thanksgiving I flew to Seattle where my Aunt and Uncle were hosting my parents. By design, my parents were unaware that I was going to be joining them. To make it a little more exciting, I haven't been with my parents for Thanksgiving since 1999 when I was in High School. It certainly took some doing, but the surprise element was successful, and it was pure joy the moment that I revealed myself to my Mom in particular.

I was, however, on the other end of a surprise too. About an hour before I left for the airport to fly up to Seattle, I printed out my itinerary from a flight reminder email (Does travel actually slip some people's minds?). It was at this time that I noticed my itinerary was a bit different than it had been when I bought the tickets. See if you can spot the error:

Wednesday:
SBA -> LAX
LAX -> SEA

Sunday:
LAX -> SBA

My return flight from Seattle to LA was missing! They did, however, still have my flight from LA to Santa Barbara. All I needed to do was get from Seattle to LA on my own... I started hoping that this was just an error in the email that was sent, and called up Orbitz, where I had purchased the tickets. The women on the phone was polite, and told me that she needed to call up American Airlines, where the ticket package was from. I soon envisioned that the following was going on:

Me - On hold with Orbitz.
Orbitz - On hold with American Airlines.
American Airlines - On hold with Alaska Airlines (the operator of the actual flight).
Alaska Airlines - Looking up the information.

Eventually they got back to me and informed me that my flight had been canceled. I thought that it was considerate of them not to trouble me with little details like that, nor automatically schedule me into another flight with the potential to conflict with my schedule. In any case they were helpful enough to inform me of the few options available on the day before Thanksgiving. The two choices closest to my original date were leaving Saturday morning, or Tuesday morning...

To those in Santa Barbara, see you on Tuesday.

Of Soups and Cars

On Thursday my home group had a potluck dinner before our study. Everyone was supposed to bring either a soup or a salad. I chose to bring a soup. I came home from work a bit early and made a pot of soup. I then realized that I had a very hot pot full of soup that I really didn't want to spill inside of my car. I placed it at the foot of the passenger seat of my car, then proceeded to drive as gently as possible to home group. At the first light, I wanted to turn right. There were several opportunities when I could have made it, but I didn't want to accelerate as fast as it would take, so I continued to wait.

I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be ironic if of all the times I'm out driving, I had a collision while I'm specifically trying to avoid any extra bumps?" Then it happened, someone rear ended me as I sat at the stoplight. Fortunately it wasn't hard at all, but it was enough to make me worry about the soup... and then the back of my car. I put on my hazards, then got out and talked to the man. I got his contact information, and took a look at my bumper. It was hard to see in the dark, but I could tell there were at least some minor scratches. There clearly wasn't any massive damage to the rear of the car, so I went on to home group.

Once I got to home group, I was able to take a better look at it. I drive a Saturn, so some of you may wonder how Saturn's dent-resistant paneling held up. Now that I have had some experience I can say with a degree of certainty that it does not dent. No, the paneling breaks. I am now the "proud" owner of a few holes in my bumper.

Goodbye Mark

Mark, one of the men I share an apartment with, is moving out over a little thing like leaving town. Anyway, it means that unfortunately, less than a year after we moved into this place, we are either going to need to move yet again, or find a new third person to move in with us. I am greatly hoping that it will be a new roommate, because I'm not much in the mood to move again.

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

We studied this in my home group last week. Also, as is the custom in my Church, we received teaching on it on Sunday. As a result, I've been thinking about it quite a bit over the last week or so.

• How often have I let a few words spoken in haste deeply affect my thoughts and actions?
• How often have a deeply hurt someone or destroyed a friendship by words spoken in anger?
• How many times have simple words of encouragement been all I needed to accomplish something I never thought I was capable of?
• What paths in my life have been shaped simply by the challenging words of someone I respected?

I can think of so many ways that simple words have shaped my life for better or worse. I probably never would have done LAUP if it wasn't for the challenge and encouragement of several friends. I can think of too many friendships that have been deeply hurt by stupid words that I never should have said ... or that they never should have said - usually some of each. It is only by the grace of God that any relationship is ever able to outlast the power of the tongue.