"Nationals" this Weekend

As a cheerleading coach for an All-Star gym, we spend much of our time and effort preparing our squads for competition. After all, since they don't cheer for any team, the whole point of being on the squad is to compete, right? And no competition should be bigger than nationals.

At least, that's what you would think.

Nationals, by obvious definition, should include teams from all over the nation. Small gym nationals, then, would contain small gyms (125 people or less) from all over the nation. 150 teams signed up for the two day competition at the Dallas Convention Center. Looks like there should be a good showing. People from all over.

But apparently "Nationals" really means "teams from the great nation of Texas". There is 1 (uno, eins, ONE) team from outside of Texas. Where is it coming from? Louisiana. And not even eastern Louisiana. We're talking located on the border of Texas where the closest big city is Dallas, not New Orleans. Most of the teams are from within an hour or two of Dallas, and we competed against most of them at the beginning of December. And we got last.

I can't WAIT to spend my whole weekend with pre-adolescent, screaming girls covered in glitter, layered in makeup, and wearing ill-fitting outfits. Oh, all-star cheerleading. This love-hate relationship is definitely beginning to lack the love.

And, to agree with Tiffany, our children will never be all-star cheerleaders.

Thank you, Dallas area public schools

I know that Dallas shuts down when hit with "Winter Blasts". I get it. It is just not safe out there. Businesses are closed, highways are shut down, and citizens are warned to stay inside. I've been here long enough to learn that this is standard procedure. So when we had a "winter storm" last night and found ourselves buried under an inch or so of ice, it was no surprise that the news broadcasts announced that every school within 100 miles of here would be closed today. And we were reminded of this fact until 11 am, as the local news took over the airways and forewent any regularly scheduled programming to inform us of this.

So, the roads were bad, and school was canceled. I guess they didn't realize that by noon all the ice would be gone, there would be no clouds in the sky, and the temperature would get up into the 40s. So all the kids were home, parents were left to scramble to figure out what to do with them, and by the time the afternoon rolled around they were ready to dump them off on us. And that they did. We had better than average attendance at our tumbling classes tonight, and the kids were more rambunctious than normal as well. I actually spent 5 minutes with one of my classes doing sitting practice. All they had to do was sit. Just sit. And they couldn't do that.

So thank you, public schools, for not having class today. It really made my life easier. Really.

Sand

SAND:

1. A fine, often loose, debris of rocks, typically mostly quartz

2. The stuff that gets stuck in your shoes when walking on the beach

3. A light reddish- or brownish-yellow color

4. The preferred method of de-icing the streets in Dallas, because, you know, that's effective.

Winter BLAST, 2009!

The freezing line has officially passed through the Metroplex.

Schools are closing.

Businesses are sending employees home early.

Water is falling from the sky, sometimes in the form of ice chips.

Temperatures are expected to continue to drop into the mid-20s.

As a warning to all DFW residents, head to the local grocery store now and load up on water and canned goods, as this could be the beginning of the apocalypse. By this afternoon you may not be able to leave your home. If your door isn't frozen shut, the roads are a death trap. Be like a good boy scout - be prepared. This could be the end...













You have GOT to be kidding me.

Assignment in Habakkuk

Habakkuk is not necessarily the easiest book in the Bible to understand. I mean, most people have a hard time just spelling its author's name. Yet one teacher, missionary in Nigeria, decided to have her seventh grade class study this book. As part of this study, she had the students write their own "book" to God in the same general format as the book - our complaint, God's reply, and our prayer in response (note: I realize that the book itself actually has two interchanges between Habakkuk and God, but, hey, they were seventh graders, not seminary students). Some of the kid's assignments were included in the latest "Serving in Mission Together", a magazine put out by SIM. I'm including one here that particularly struck me.

"One girl wrote: Complaint - 'God, you took my mum and left me alone to care for the younger children.' She created this answer from God: 'My dearest daughter, you know I love you and always will. You and your family are mine. Your mum is mine, and I was sharing her with you.'"


Nothing like the words of a child to really put everything into perspective.