Maya

I heard Maya Angelou speak this week....beautiful.
You can read my thoughts about it on my new grad school blog.

I'm on another trip...this time in Chicago. Beyond my work obligations (college fairs & high school visits) I have no plans other than cloistering myself in my hotel room to write a paper over Mary Shelley that's due Wednesday. I'm finding that grad school has an amazing way of taking over every spare minute of my time.

Beyond

Driving home from work today, I heard a song on the radio that really made me pause and listen. I've heard it before, and have even sung along with it, but today I really listened to it. I don't know the name of it, or who sings it, but the chorus is: "Word of God speak, won't you pour down like rain, washing my eyes to see your majesty. So be still and know that you're in this place, please let me stay and rest in your holiness." (I was at a stoplight for a while, so I had time to write down the words.)
There's another line in the song that says something like, "The last thing I need is to be heard, but to hear your voice." That one brought me up short, because so often in my prayer life, I find myself saying: Listen to me, God.... Hear what I'm saying.... Do you hear me talking to you? I fill up my prayer time with words. With noise. And I don't stop to listen, to hear what God is saying to me. Sometimes I'm afraid to listen to God. If I listen, I'll have to do what he's calling me to do. He has such a compelling voice...how could I not do what he asks? But what if he asks me to do something scary?
So my prayers consist of me talking, talking, talking. (Which is kind of funny, because, as many people can attest to, I'm not a very talkative person.) But, "The last thing I need is to be heard..." The last thing I need.... In Sunday School we hear that prayer is how we talk to God, in Bible studies we learn the power that prayer has...and yet, talking to God is the least of it. Hearing him speak to us is what prayer is about. "Beyond the music, beyond the noise" is his voice. And that's really what's most important, isn't it? God's Word to us. Those are the words that have power.
"Word of God speak, won't you pour down like rain, washing my eyes to see your majesty. So be still and know that you're in this place. Please let me stay and rest in your holiness."
And finally, the last line of the song: "I'm finding myself at a loss for words, and the funny thing is, it's okay."

Denver

I'm in Denver. This is the view from my hotel room. I think I might go to that IHOP for breakfast tomorrow. I think I'm also going to find a mall. And then I'm going to sit by the pool and do some reading/writing. I might also go see a movie, and then have dinner somewhere. On Sunday I think I'll find a church to go to, and then maybe go drive in the mountains before my college fair tomorrow night. And do some more reading.
I have a ton of reading to do before Tuesday night. I have to read Freud's perspective on the interpretation of dreams. And do a psychoanalytic interpretation of a Hemingway story. Ick.
Maybe doing it by the pool will make it more enjoyable.

My rental vehicle for the week is a truck...a Dodge Dakota 4x4 with a dual cab. It's big. Much bigger than what I'm used to driving. I've decided that it's probably best if, when I next go car shopping, I probably shouldn't buy a truck. I'm dangerous in a truck. I've decided that this one is named Grendel. Because it's a monster. (I thought Seth would appreciate that, seeing as how he seems to have enjoyed Beowulf.)

Worship

Tonight I was at Super Target (one of my favorite places), and I bought the latest Chris Tomlin CD.
Wow.
I haven't paid much attention to his music in the past, but that week I spent at camp, we sang one of his songs a lot ("Holy is the Lord"), and I really liked it, so I started paying attention when I heard one of his songs on the radio. Decided to buy the CD, and...wow. It's so worshipful. I love music that brings me into a spirit of worship.