I know, it’s still September, but I wanted to break the silence for just a bit and tell you about the fun we had at the STORY Conference in Chicago last week. I’m going to do it by showing you one of my favorite photos from the event.

This one was taken on the second morning of STORY. (I love the second morning for some reason.) I had talked Serenity into volunteering with me on the Greeters Team – a great gig which basically involves free t-shirts and lots of smiling. When asked why I volunteer at an event I paid to attend, I always answer in basically the same way, “I’m the type of person who needs to know where things are and how things work so I can help people when they need it. I might as well do it in an official capacity.” Seren was glad I made her do it, especially after one morning session when our team leader, Luke, called her over to stand beside him just in time for Sean Astin to brush past her elbow. Like I said, it’s a good gig.

Beside me in the photo is Sarah Cunningham. She is the girl in the know for all things STORY and she is a dream to work with. If you have interest in joining the team at all, drop her a line at sarah[at]storychicago[dot]com. This is one of the best parts of STORY: the relationships. Sometimes it seems like we look forward to the lunches with new friends (thanks John, Guy, and Joy!) or unexpected conversations in the hallways (can’t wait to talk more, Stephen!) as much as we do the speakers from the stage. We are the kind of people who get each other, and it helps to hang out in one place for a few days. Read Seren’s take on that here.

And speaking of the speakers. Wow. We started out with Ed Dobson (see previews of his short film series here) and ended with Ian Cron (see some video of him speaking here) and everything in between was pure brilliance. A highlight was, as we all expected, Sean Astin, especially because he came across as so genuine and made us feel like we’re only one good role or script or recording away from being in his shoes. He didn’t take himself too seriously, but he also recognized the privilege of being part of great storytelling. Sometimes the person whose name really draws people to an event turns out to be a bit of a dud. Not in this case. Astin delivered on every count. He was definitely the best part. Although Cron spoke an Episcopalian blessing over us to close the conference and that was pretty intense as well. And Kyle Cooper opened his talk with the entire prologue from Henry VIII . . .  So maybe picking a best part it too difficult.

Back to the photo. See the orange/burgundy strap of my new Nolan Bag? This is a handmade messenger-style tote that every attendee was given, and each one was an original. Nolan himself (well, I’m not sure that’s his name, but he’s a real 18 year-old guy with a big dream) was there in lobby (right behind where we’re standing, actually) on a sewing machine churning out new designs! This boutique feel is what you get at STORY. Famous author Ted Dekker spoke in the Art Gallery during one break and took questions from us as if we were sitting in his living room. Stuff like that happens at STORY.

Oh, and one more thing. There is no sign of it in the photo, but STORY announced a new and exciting project this year. Ben Arment and his team have a dream to make a feature length film about the story of David and Goliath. Their growing team includes the Dot&Cross group that produced Rob Bell’s popular Nooma video series. Quality work. One thing I can promise you from this team is a quality product. This film will be well executed; you won’t be embarrassed to show it to your friends. In fact, we’re banking on the fact that you WILL want to show it to your friends. STORY is pursuing a whole new approach to funding and asking the Church to help by pre-purchasing a premiere of the movie over the weekend of October 12-14, 2012. You can host in your own living room or host a huge screening at your church or other public venue. Check out the website and consider getting behind the dream. It isn’t conventional. It won’t be easy. But, as I recently read from Andy Crouch, “it is better to create something worth criticizing than to criticize and create nothing.”

If any of this appeals to you, check out the pre-registration page for next year. See you in Chicago in September 2012!

P. S. The coffee cup? That might have been actually been my favorite part. Dan makes a mad cup of french press coffee. Since he booked us in a condo for the weekend, we were able to share the space with 6 of our friends and family members for a much lower price than a hotel. It also had way more charm and meant we could make our own coffee each morning and well as decompress each evening in the quiet and style of a Chicago flat. My husband is awesome.

So – to catch you up – I have chosen my sponsor child; I’ve basked in Patsy Clairmont’s sensibility and Andy Andrews’ wisdom; I’ve shouted with Mandisa; What more could I possibly ask for from this Women of Faith event in Omaha, Nebraska?

How about a complete emotional outburst? Yeah, that ought to do it.

It happened when Sandi Patty sang. But let me catch you up.

When I was 8 or 9 years old my parents took me and my sister to a Sandi Patty concert for my birthday. The concert was held in a big auditorium (very likely not as large in reality as it is in my memory). At some point in the concert, Sandi Patty invited all the children in the room to come to the stage and sing with her. Now, this should have been a dream come true. Instead, it was a nightmare realized. I wanted more than anything to go, and yet everything inside of me was glued to my chair. My little sister Serenity pulled at my arms and my parents pushed at my back and somehow I made it down the concrete steps toward the stage. I cried all the way.

Once on stage, I was fine. I have no idea what we sang, but at some point my skin was brushed with the royal blue satin of Sandi Patty’s dress. I was almost touched by Sandi Patty. Life would probably never be the same.

With this memory only growing within our family’s folklore over the years – in fact, my brother swears he was there, which isn’t true at all; he’s just heard the story a million times – imagine my thrill when I saw Sandi Patty on the list of Women of Faith personalities at the Omaha event.

And she was everything I had hoped for: full of life, joyful, and as talented as ever.

She sang several songs at the event, but when the opening bars of “We Shall Behold Him” played through the giant speakers, you could almost feel the air settle into the seats for a better view. I didn’t remember the words, so it was kind of like hearing a hall-of-fame song for the first time – only coming from one of my childhood idols. The combination was potent.

I couldn’t be sure how others were responding, so I tried to hold it together. A few tears. I knew I shouldn’t make eye contact with anyone; that would be the end. Unfortunately at about the same time she sang about the resurrection of the dead, she also invited the section of hearing impaired guests to stand and join her in signing. It was too much. What happened to me was not the pretty tears-streaming-hands-lifted-gracefully-to-the-heavens kind of response. Nope. All I could do was sit and cry and let it all sink in: This is real – this faith we’re practicing – and someday it is all going to make sense. We SHALL behold Him. It’s real.

More crying. Tissue dabbing. Sandi Patty’s notes are soaring. The end is coming and by now I just sort of want to lay down on the floor and sob. I realize I’m not alone. We’re all teary-eyed, probably for various reasons. But this information does not calm me down; it only makes me want to cry more.

I tweeted: “Well, it happened. The ugly cry moment. @SandiPattyP singing “We Shall Behold Him” – No words. #WomenofFaith #wofott”

And the really fun part was that later in the afternoon the event staff read that tweet (among a few others) to the whole room and the cameras panned to Sandi Patty’s face. I watched her smile and nod and laugh in response to the tweet and it was like blue satin all over again. Only grown-up.

Booksneeze bloggers at Women of Faith (Omaha)

Thanks, Booksneeze for the great opportunity. Thanks, Women of Faith for the valuable experience.

Now, who among you can tell me how to pronounce Silindokuhle?

Because he’s still my favorite part. : )

This guy:

Ten years ago on the evening of July 4th, I snuggled my brand new baby boy and watched fireworks out the hospital windows. His soft white cap was tied together at the top with red, white, and blue ribbons. Jesse was just hours old, born at 9 a.m. on his due date. I don’t know when my emotions have been as settled and as content as they were that night.

Every year since then, while others are jumping and cheering and lighting explosives, I prefer to sit back and watch. (Not a fan of the explosives, to be honest. I was the kid either watching the fireworks show from behind the living room window or holding a sparkler as far from my body as possible when forced to participate.) We celebrate our nation’s birth with all things loud, bright, and flashy. I love it because it could never be too much of a commemoration, but I also don’t mind NOT being the one shooting things off or setting them on fire. I did that 10 years ago and now it seems like those explosions are going to be over way too soon if I don’t take the time to soak in the view.

That’s why I enjoy a baseball game, even in the summer heat, where I turn off my phone and refuse to bring anything else to distract me. It’s why last night Jesse and I had our own date. We chose a movie he wanted to see and I watched him laugh at all the gross parts. We ate fast food and ice cream. When we had to do some practical stuff on the date – grocery shopping – I let him pick the sugary yogurt and special edition Pop-Tarts. I was only slightly traumatized when we also took turns sniffing deodorant until he found the perfect scent for his first purchase of manhood.

I know life is full of fun things to do and exciting, flashy pursuits, but for me sometimes the best way to celebrate is just to watch. Take a seat in a sagging lawn chair and enjoy the view. It changes fast and it’s over before you know it. I want to make sure the performer can hear my ahh’s and oooo’s from where he shines.

Happy Birthday to my Yankee Doodle Dandy!

I found this quilt at Grandma Nickerson’s house a couple of years ago. And I liked it so much I just kept it! For awhile I had it on Claire’s bed because it has a beautiful shade of aqua on the flip side that looked great with her brown accents. Now that Claire has moved in with Ada and Macy, this quilt doesn’t fit the decor, so it has found a new home in the “blanket basket” that sits beside the television.

Dan recently discovered it there and has since declared it the most awesome blanket ever. And I agree.

His love has more to do with thickness, size, and weight. (These are actual conversations that happen in our home, especially on the weekends during peak napping hours.) My love is more about the mystery.

I wonder who pieced this quilt together. (I’m hoping Mom or Grandma Nickerson will know!) I especially wonder about the various patterns on the cotton prints. They are very different and yet seem to fit together perfectly. It is old but it looks surprisingly modern. (No, Charity, you can’t have it!)

Can you see the olive green patches with the giraffe shapes? Isn’t that the most interesting?! My great-aunt Lynnie was a missionary in Africa for 50 years. Do you think it had anything to do with that part of the family?

You know I’m a sucker for a good story. Today Dan and I met with a sweet couple about the music for their wedding ceremony coming up in just a few weeks. After the details were in order concerning song titles, instrumentation, etc., I got down to business: “How did you two get together?” They obliged with a redeeming story of patience and promise and fulfillment. Love it!

Every evening that I get a chance to snuggle under this quilt, I wonder about its history, its stories. Kind of the same things I wonder about you when you leave a comment, post to your Facebook, or stop me in the hall to mention one of the posts. I just think you are all so fascinating! And mysterious like little pink paisley patches on that quilt! Thanks for hanging out here once in awhile.

But, really, what do you think about those giraffes?

Look at that ring! It isn’t my favorite part exactly, but it represents my favorite part. And it is stunning! It includes my favorite stone – aquamarine; I wrote about aquamarines here. Not only is the ring beautiful, it is also marketed as Fairtrade Fairmined Ecological, a line of jewelry in which I have a growing interest. It means the gold for the ring was bought at a fair price from a traceable source. Likewise, the aquamarines and diamonds are from community-based mines that meet specific standards for health, safety, and value. This ring is on the hand of Livia Firth, owner of the London boutique Eco Age and blogger for Vogue, and, although you may not have heard it before, that name might ring a bell after last night’s Oscars.

Colin Firth won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Livia is his wife. I haven’t seen The King’s Speech but I have it on good authority (from people I trust) that it is worthy of the acclaim it has received. And as much as I love Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy), his win wasn’t my favorite part either. His speech was my favorite part.

My favorite part of the Oscars is always when the winners give speeches that acknowledge the relationships that have culminated into that moment. I love when they celebrate someone most of us do not know and recognize them as their source of strength or inspiration. Somehow you can tell when the acknowledgment is genuine and when it is forced.

Genuine moments from last night included a winner telling the story of how his mum ignited the idea for his winning movie, another winner smiling back tears when he met eyes with his wife, and Firth himself thanking his wife, “who I hold responsible for this and, for, really everything good that’s happened since I met her.”

You can see more of Firth’s wife, Livia, at this fashion website. The photos (including the one above by Jason Olive) are gorgeous and portray a couple consistent with Firth’s humble speech. He is proud, you can tell, to show off his treasure, just as she is proud to wear hers.

I’ve been teaching from John Ortberg’s book The Life You’ve Always Wanted for several years. I use it in complement to Gary Thomas’ book The Glorious Pursuit. Between the two of them, I have created an introduction course to Christian spiritual disciplines where our success is measured not by the length of our devotional time but by growth in the practice of the virtues demonstrated in Jesus’ life (humility, love, discernment, etc.). This semester my class includes a number of students still completing their recovery program at our church and it has been a rejuvenating experience for me to learn from them.

Can you imagine how excited I was to get an invitation to a free luncheon at Story where John Ortberg would be the featured speaker? Free food + John Ortberg = PERFECT!

And the experience (hosted by the Monvee group – more on them another day) was all that I hoped it would be. Maybe more, except since we had to eat at the same time I felt a little bit blasphemous letting mayo and tomato juice drip down my hands while Ortberg shared his generous thoughts on spiritual formation. He doesn’t know who I am, but I was embarrassed anyway. I ate as quickly as possible so I could start scribbling down notes.

Here is a great picture taken during this lecture as well as one of my favorite quotes from the luncheon:

“We must aim at the transformation of people’s actual lives, not merely their devotional practices.”

I’ll be thinking about that one for awhile! And I’ll share. I have some ideas. : )

It is always nice to wait a few days after an exciting event and see which elements of the day stick with you, hang onto your thoughts and won’t let go until you’ve visited with them for awhile. One very specific message from Story is definitely doing that for me. In one of the general sessions, pastor Chris Seay introduced the Bible translation called The Voice. Here is a short clip of Seay speaking (it has baseball in it, so consider it my World Series reference even though, really, who cares?) – it doesn’t have anything to do with this Bible version, but it will give you a sense of his style and why I enjoyed his message so much at the Story Conference:

If you like The Message, you’ll enjoy this version as well. Seay and his church’s Ecclesia Bible Society, along with the impressive backing of Thomas Nelson publishing, put together Biblical scholars with modern writers and poets. Their goal was to rediscover the story of the Bible. It is a beautiful attempt. For example, and from the title of this version, they translate “the Word” in John 1 as “the Voice” for very specific reasons. We read “the Word” and automatically think of the physical book sitting on our nightstand as if we are reading it every day. But this team translated it as “the Voice” in agreement with the original Greek meaning that this Logos is alive and active in our world today – not just a bunch of pages glued together and covered with fake leather.

Dan and I have been reading from The Voice since we got home. It is enticingly simple and artistic, but my Bible College “theologians” also agreed with its self-described tag line of “faithful.” My son Jesse liked the way the narratives are written in play form, each speaker clearly identified before his or her lines. From our reading, we’re reminding each other that Jesus is our Liberating King and realizing what a beautiful difference that perspective makes.

Dan bought me a special copy of the New Testament that came with a handmade leather cover from Argentina (a project designed to provide jobs for a fair wage in good working conditions).  You’ll have to get your own!