The Been Briefing

The Suji YMCA

let me tell you just a little about the YMCA fitness center i go to. after i turn in my card in exchange for an expandable red rubber bracelet with a key on it, i start walking up the stairs. as i do, i start to feel the floor vibrating beneath my feet. the techno music gets louder and louder as i get closer. i put my things in one of the unlocked lockers, since for the life of me i cannot figure out how to use the key they give me to unlock the numbered locker assigned to me. as i walk into the fitness room i am greeted by 1980s-looking posters of the world champion strongest women. now these women are not nicely toned representatives of the gentler sex. on the contrary, these females are jacked. to make it worse, they're only wearing bikinis to accentuate every muscle that exists in their bodies. i've rarely seen anything more hideous in my life. as i get on the bike, i can't believe my ears... i hear "ice ice baby.." and then right afterwards i hear bonnie tyler: "i need a hero / i'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night..." apparently the YMCA likes to blare the oddest assortment of techno, korean pop, and american music to "pep" us up while we're sweating up a storm. after biking or running i take some small weights to a nearby room..... ahhhhh. it's quiet. i can stretch and do lunges or whatever in peace. lol. 

1:00pm

so rarely do i have little to say. today is one of those rare days, so i thought i'd better force myself to sit down and write something. there's a lot going on in my head.

kelsie has officially decided to return home to alaska. when i talked to laura last night i found out that she also will be returning home to wisconsin for good. i'm really sad they won't be staying, but i know they both haven't had full assurance that this is where they were supposed to be. i am especially glad for laura's sake that she finally has peace about her decision- she was going back and forth for a couple of weeks. now i feel quite strongly that i need to support them in prayer their last 3 weeks here. their school has not received them or treated them as warmly as mine, so they are in an awkward place until their departure. 

i have had my own small cross the bear - in the form of a 7 year old boy named andy and his mother. andy joined my 1st class two weeks ago, and i confess it has been a true challenge for me to love him. his voice is so shrill that it pains me (and the other kids) to listen to him, he allows nothing to satisfy him, and he is incredibly sensitive. he cries and runs out the door shouting "ama" (mom) at the slightest measure of discomfort. more than anything i feel sorry for him, because he is an only child, and while he is more than qualified academically to be in my class, his emotional instability is that of a child 3 years younger than him. to make it worse, his mom is an incredibly "attentive" mother. she hovers over him with great concern and peers through the window into my class for several minutes while class begins. when he runs to her, he bawls out the situation to her and has her speak to the other children in my class. the way he is constantly asking her to remedy every "injustice" is incredibly embarrassing to me. this situation has touched a nerve in my heart, because i wrestle with parents who allow themselves to be at the mercy of their children's every whim and fancy, rather than disciplining them consistently with a firm but loving hand. the past few days i have begun praying for them, asking the Lord to fill my heart with love and compassion that i might be the hand of Jesus to them.... rather than telling his mom what is in my heart: that she's crippling her son for life and that what he really needs is a darn good spanking. arrrrrgggggghhhh! (Oh Jesus, give me Your eyes to see.)

my roommate lindsey sent me a small package with 2 dvds and 2 books. (thank you lindsey!) the movies are for my kids, the books are for me. :) i read one of the books until 3:45am this morning. what was i thinking?!?! i used to do that when i was a student, and i totally paid for it the next day at school. i guess i have not learned my lesson. :))))