Barqs Root Beer

Its a guilty pleasure. I havent had pop in a while. Today for lunch I treated myself.

I grew up on Barqs Root Beer. My grand parents use to drink it. They lived on the coast. I remember when Barqs came in a glass bottle. It was the best in the summer. Todays Barqs comes from Schlotzsky's. The best is Sonic's with the little ice. YUM.

Other guilty pleasures:

Reading my snail mail.

New socks.

Clean sheets.

Being in the zone when exercising.

Taking a Sunday aftenoon nap or going for a Sunday afternoon drive with the windows down.

Christmas time.

Giving surprise gifts to my friends at Christmas. This year will be great.

Chianti. Bought two bottles last night.

Writing.

Quiet time.

An Art Teachers Morning

You know you are an Art teacher when you are walking back to you classroom carrying an umbrella, hot tea, an art magazine and a bottle of liquid starch.

IN OTHER ART NEWS....This just in.

I have decided this Christmas I am going to make my own Christmas Cards. I can only send out 30 cards. Well, only 30 because of how I am going to do this. So, if you would like to receive a card let me know. Family and close friends first of course.

I am Thankful for you.

Hey guys, and gals. I just wanted to say Thank You for being a part of my life. I am very blessed with great friends. So, I give thanks to all of you with whom I have walked through life with and who have walked through life with me. It is a joy and honor to be called friend by you all. And if your reading this and we arent friends, well, then a stranger is just a friend I havent met yet.

In a few hours I am going to take a different route home. I think today, with all the wonderful colors in the trees, and since I am in no rush, I am going to drive down the Natchez Trace. I bet the colors will be amazing! I plan on stopping and taking several pictures. I will have a flickr set dedicated to colorful trees once I get home. I will post the link later.

Well, I had better get packing and making sure I have everything I need. I just had a wonderful breakfast at a friends house, so I may need to take a nap before I leave or just get hopped-up on Mountain Dew. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Be careful if youre traveling. Until the Lord brings us together...

Gobble Gobble Gulp.

Stephen

Writing Nicholas

I am working on a screenplay called Nicholas. I have been working on it for about a year but really working on it in the last six months or so. I registered it with the Writes Guild of America about a month ago. I probably should have done this about a year ago but I am enjoying the learning process. Anywhoo, the WGA sent me a Document of Registration.

"The Writers Guild of America, west, issues this certificate to:
STEPHEN M. CHISHOLM
for the material entitled:
Nicholas

by the following:
STEPHEN M. CHISHOLM - Writer"

And there ya have it. I am excited about this process and the potential it has. I wouldn't consider myself a writer, more of a thinker who needs help writing. I am not going to talk much about Nicholas until I have a full working script. Which I hope will be done before the first of the year. Then I will be looking for friends to read it through and give me their feedback. So, come January 1st, prepare yourself to read Nicholas.

Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh!!!

Ok so seriously. I am at Fidos this morning working on a screenplay I have been working on for the past year. I met a friend for breakfast and then came straight to Fidos in Hillsboro Village. Well, just so happens that there is a film crew here. I mean, I count at least ten professional cameras on one of the back tables. They have the back room blocked off. There is a lighting crew in there and the Citaion Film / Tape Support Van just pulled up in the front. What a great day if I get to sit here and write and watch the making of some film / video / documentary.

So, bout to do some Bible reading and then write, write, write. I am finally breaking down and having a cup of coffee. This will be the first in four months. I need it. I only got about three hours of sleep this morning, I wont even call it last night since I went to bed after midnight.

I may continue to blog on the film situation. Maybe they will need an extra "Key Grip!"

Many hours later. It was the Food Network doing a show on a local Hispanic Popsicle store here called Las Paletes. I got to Fidos at 7:30ish and didnt leave the area until about 3ish and they were about to wrap up shooting. Thats the update.

facedown

Love One Another

1 John 3: 11-24

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, [3] that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.


Community Group (small group from church) was great tonight. We are going through Lewis B. Smedes book, How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong. Its a good book. The first chapter is pretty straight forward. We just went over chapter one tonight. I am on chapter 3, had more time while in Peru to read, but we all thought chapter one was just ok. I assured them it gets better. But the overall theme is joy and grace that God has given us and how we can extend that grace to others either in the midst of our crap or after we have gone through our crap.

And the over all theme at the core of this book is because of Jesus and who he is, that everything will be ok. Our expectations here on earth may not end the way we would like them to but if we allow ourselves to let go of our expectations then we can freely cling to Christ, who holds the expectations we should have. Then we can freely accept His expectations for our lives.

John McArthur has a great little book out, by little I mean 20 pages or less. Its called, Found: Gods Will. It is a great book that lays out Biblically what Gods will is for believers lives. I have a couple of copies and a CD if you would like to borrow them. It basically walks a believer through Gods word and lays out what scripture says is Gods will, and if you are following these 6 or 7 principles in your life then you are in Gods will, feel free to do what ever you wish to.

Freedom in Christ is a discipline the church has done a poor job of teaching. If a believer can truly rest in their confidence in Christ then that confidence plays into so many areas of their life. They dont have to worry about self esteem, because they know what God thinks of them. The believer can have confidence to pursue a relationship, a promotion, conflict, or what ever, without fear creeping in. Now that doesnt mean that the relationship will go well, or you will get the promotion, or that the conflict will be resolved. What it means is that you dont have to fear such things, you have the Holy Spirit in you who gives you the confidence to pursue such things.

Like the verse said, faith without works is dead. So, God expects us to move. If you are in Gods will, then you dont have to fear moving. You can move all you want. Move forward, GO! You wont regret being lead by the Holy Spirit. It is hard to get to that place sometimes. You cant let the emotion of not feeling like you are not in Gods will overwhelm you. The fact is, the Holy Spirit lives in you, whether you feel Him or not. Therefore, act on that. Trust His word. Sometimes my prayer is this, "Lord, I am an idiot, but I trust you, and I trust you that if I am moving in the wrong direction that you will make it apparent to this idiot and point me in the right direction." I joke, but I can have confidence that if I am walking with Christ, He is guiding my steps and I need to be open to the fact that where I think I may be walking to may be different than where I am expecting to go.

Being face down on the floor is where a believer should start. When you can hunger after what God thinks of you then you are at the place in your heart to be lead by Christ, to have confidence in who you are in Christ, and the freedom to pursue what God has laid on your heart.

Move, Go.

Things I Love...

I love this season: Forget Fall, Winter is here. I love Fall and Winter, especially after this years summer. You get to wear different clothes and do I have some sweet scarves I snagged in Peru. So, loving the wind, the leaves, the trees cannon fire orange colors. My back porch overlooks a wooded area and all the fall colors are in bloom.

I love the heated seats in my car. Very cozy on a cold morning or night.

This next one is a bit weird, even for me. Most things do not taste good after you've brushed your teeth, exvept maybe water. However, I have found that after I have brushed my teeth a glass of Chianti tastes better post brushing. At least the initial sip does. Write me if you want to know the brand of Toof Paste.

I love hockey...Preds won tonight against the Blackhawks. 5 to 4.

I love sarcasm but know that I would get slapped if I said everything I was thinking...so I choose to be polite. I have freinds with whom I can speak my mind. Sometimes we play a game. The game is, you dont censor yourself, what ever youre thinking you say. Its a fun game. But only with close friends, hearts on sleves need not play.

There ya go...

Kids Do The Darndest Things

fingers, originally uploaded by Creative Liberty.

It hurt just watching him go that.

Canine Attack...10 years in the making.

Yesterday was a great day. Granted, it is usually the small things in life that I find great. Mainly because life isnt filled with a lot of great things, just small things that add up.

I had started my second grade class and everyone was working. I was working on a apple as a post breakfast snack. One of my students came up to me and said that her tooth was loose. So, I rambled off my usual response, "Just wiggle it with your tongue and not your fingers." She said, "No, Mr. Chisholm I want you to pull it." "What? Are you sure Ronak?" Ronak is her name, not mentioning last name for security reasons.

So, I said, "Sure, meet me at my desk." I went and sanitized my hands, walked back over to my chair and took the tissue she had in her hand. Looking at her wiggle the tooth with her tongue, it didnt look ready to come out. So, I started trying to wiggle it with the tissue. I really couldnt get a good grip on it. All the while she stood there like a champ. I said, "Roank, am I hurting you? I dont want to hurt you so let me know if it hurts you when I wiggle the tooth." She assured me, "Nope, doesnt hurt. Keep on going."

I finally got a good grip on the tooth and it came right out. I didnt tell her. I said, go get me another tissue please. She walked across the room and I could see the light that went off in her head when she realized it wasnt there. She spun around and said, "You got it out already!!!" I laughed. We both looked at it, I rolled it over to see where the roots would have been and she said, "Ewe, dont touch it." Again, I laughed.

I asked if she wanted to go to the bathroom to wash her mouth out. She said, "No, I'll go after class." What a sport!!! She thanked me and was very happy. Having taught for ten years this was my first tooth to pull. I was honored that Ronak felt comfortable enough to ask me to pull her tooth. Now I know how moms and dads feel when they get the chance to pull teeth. Very cool.

I Watched The World Wake Up

I watched the world wake up this morning
I watched the sun rise into the midnight sky
I sipped my coffee as I watched the world stretch and yawn
I wonder what new journey awaits me this dawn

I watched the world wake up this morning
I rolled over and kissed her on the cheek
I served her breakfast in bed, like I always do
She kissed me on the lips and said, “I Love You.”

I watched the world wake up this morning
I picked him up when his eyes opened wide
I got him ready for the day ahead
And prayed nothing would harm this child of mine

I watched the world wake up this morning
My coffee, my Bible and the best friend of mine
We watched the streets fill with yellow
As the sidewalks and the dog parks came alive

I watched the world wake up this morning
A new adventure, a hope I have not seen
I caught the news about seven a.m.
Something about the world caught up in a dream

I watched the world wake up this morning
It turned out to be a beautiful day
She met me smiling at the door when the day was through
I held her in my arms and said, “I Love You.”

I watched the world wake up this morning
From the coffee shop window I hope it’s like yesterday
My best friend is tugging at his leash
I guess its time to see what today will bring.

I will never be satisfied...

I read a Devotional the other day that said exactly what my heart has been feeling. Sometimes, a poem, song, or someone says exactly how you feel and there really isnt any other way to present it except how they said it. I think the cliche is, "I couldnt have said it better myself." Here is a partial quote from the devotional by Carrie Hudson: Context is Luke 7:36-38.

"To give myself completely to the Lord. To serve Him and love Him with my very best. To know who He truly is and weep for my destitution and sinful ways. To love the Lord with all abandon and care not what the world around me thinks as I throw myself upon His feet. To serve Him daily and keep my focus upon Him and Him alone. This became my prayer, to be like her to love like this.

The Lord loves to answer prayers like this. He began to change my heart. I became much more sensitive to my sin and I wept over my sin. My love for Jesus became so much more than what it had been in the past. I became completely amazed at the love of the Father. My heart was changed, I was being changed. I cried out for there to be less of me and more of Him." Carrie Hudson.

Recently in my prayer time I find myself on my face before Jesus asking how to know Him better. I know, through His word and prayer are two ways. See, we cant have anymore of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent us all of the Holy Spirit, not part of the Holy Spirit. I have come to know Jesus through suffering and through joyous times. However, my heart longs to know Him more, better. To know His thoughts, his answers, his opinions, to know His embrace. This is where I am lead as I pray these days. I trust He is leading me into a path of righteousness like the Psalms say. Everything else I pray for seems secondary to knowing Him. And this is a good place for my sould / heart to be. So, I know I can't have more of Him, but I can know Him more, and rest in the freedom He has give me. Overall, my heart longs for His companionship.

I want to know Jesus more, but I know I will never be satisfied with not knowing Him enough. I have found that by giving my life away is one way to experience Christ. Reading His word and just getting on my floor and praying is another way to know Him better. But my heart longs for more. So, until the day He and I meet, I will continue to do what I am doing. Thanks for reading...

Major