This... I hope... is my last post on blogspot.com. Not that blogspot hasn't been ok... accept that I never could upload pictures and I didn't know how to make links. It's just that I've got the old i-Web blog fixed (I think) and the "fix" came complete with a new version of i-Web that has some fun new features.
So... reset your bookmarks, kids. Especially you, Lee. (Why didn't you just email me? I would've been glad to send you the links to the other blogs!)
Starting now, I'll be back at: http://web.mac.com/suecsmith/Site/Sues_Blog/Sues_Blog.html
To get there easily, you can go to the Write About Jesus home page (www.writeaboutjesus.com) and just click on "Sue's Blog." You can also still get there from the WAJ discussion board.
I've taken time to repost all these blogspot posts over there, and I've tried to include all the comments, just for posterity's sake.
Everybody grab your stuff now and let's go.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
High Hopes
I am headed to the Apple Store.
Maybe when I return, my i-Web blog will return as well.
My idea for how to fix the blog myself... well, it quit eating up all the memory. Instead I got another error message. The good news is I've gone beyond frustration and reached the stage of acceptance.
Maybe when I return, my i-Web blog will return as well.
My idea for how to fix the blog myself... well, it quit eating up all the memory. Instead I got another error message. The good news is I've gone beyond frustration and reached the stage of acceptance.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Class Reunion
I've spent a big part of today working on a project for John. HIs high school class will be having a reunion in September and he's one of the people who is planning it. His idea was to have a book for everyone who attends with information and pictures about each person in the class. So I've been doing layout and design today and tonight, he is proofreading all 43 pages.
John went to school, from kindergarten through high school at Greenwood School in Springfield, MO. It was the laboratory school for Southwest Missouri State University. There were 14 boys and 14 girls in each class, and many of the students he started to kindergarten with are the same ones he graduated with. Over the years, 6 from his class have died... the first one when he was just in his 20's and the most recent in 2003. That leaves 22 living from his class. Of those, 18 responded to the questionnaire John sent out to them a few months ago. I find that remarkable. Eighteen out of 22!
One of the blogs I drop in on once a week or so is Shaun Groves'. (http://shaungroves.com/shlog) Shaun will challenge you and shame you and entertain you... and make you think. His blog will never bore you. He had this link on his blog... along with a story about a church in California that opted to build an outdoor meeting place and take the money they had planned to spend on a new building and spend it on poor people around the world. Go to this link on youtube and see the video they made about why they did it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtOF8c_lFFw (I am sorry I don't know how to make this into an active link.)
I've been thinking about this: Jesus said "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Maybe that means that for every dollar I spend on myself, I really should spend a dollar on someone else.
What do you think?
John went to school, from kindergarten through high school at Greenwood School in Springfield, MO. It was the laboratory school for Southwest Missouri State University. There were 14 boys and 14 girls in each class, and many of the students he started to kindergarten with are the same ones he graduated with. Over the years, 6 from his class have died... the first one when he was just in his 20's and the most recent in 2003. That leaves 22 living from his class. Of those, 18 responded to the questionnaire John sent out to them a few months ago. I find that remarkable. Eighteen out of 22!
One of the blogs I drop in on once a week or so is Shaun Groves'. (http://shaungroves.com/shlog) Shaun will challenge you and shame you and entertain you... and make you think. His blog will never bore you. He had this link on his blog... along with a story about a church in California that opted to build an outdoor meeting place and take the money they had planned to spend on a new building and spend it on poor people around the world. Go to this link on youtube and see the video they made about why they did it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtOF8c_lFFw (I am sorry I don't know how to make this into an active link.)
I've been thinking about this: Jesus said "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Maybe that means that for every dollar I spend on myself, I really should spend a dollar on someone else.
What do you think?
Monday, August 6, 2007
SO LITTLE TIME...
I'm so behind...
A week off for Violet, a week off for Estes, and now a week at home... oh good grief, I've got so much to do I might as well be back doing a high school newspaper or advising a yearbook.
We're taking registrations for Write About Jesus, which means printing out a stack of registration forms so that when John talks to people on the phone, he has an organized way of getting down all their information. That meant a trip to Office Max yesterday for ink cartridges. It was a good thing I had found the Office Max advertising in the Sunday Post... a big paper bag with the offer of 15% off everything you could fit into the bag.
We headed to Office Max with spent cartridges in a plastic bag and began loading up. Let me just say, they are serious about everything having to fit into the bag. We found some other things we wanted and because one was rather pricey, I asked the guy who was helping us if it was included in the 15% off offer. He in turn asked the manager, who shouted back, "As long as it fits in the bag." And then for good measure, he shouted, "It HAS TO BE IN THE BAG!"
Well all right... I get it. We stuffed our bag full. And I think we probably saved closed to $50 with what all we bought. And now all our printers have ink and I have a birthday present for my mom... a month early. Hooray!
Yesterday morning we went to church at Willott Road Community Church near here because a group called Legacy of Faith was singing there. They've recorded three of my songs and had emailed asking if we might be able to come. It was fun to hear them... three nice looking guys from Mississippi who have wonderful harmony and a new cd of good songs. Their web site is www.legacyoffaith.org, so check them out.
John and I knew the parents of the two brothers in this group. Their dad, Doug, sang with a southern gospel quartet out of Eureka, MO, 20 or so years ago, and we worked with them several times. Doug and his wife were there yesterday morning just busting with pride at their sons!
Well... got work to do... editing some Easter drama stuff I've been writing for Johnathan... helping John with some stuff for his upcoming high school reunion... off to the airport with the broken suitcase to get that remedied... hopefully to the Apple Store at some point... and a visit to my mom and dad.
I have an idea about how to fix my broken blog on my own. I'll let you know if it works.
A week off for Violet, a week off for Estes, and now a week at home... oh good grief, I've got so much to do I might as well be back doing a high school newspaper or advising a yearbook.
We're taking registrations for Write About Jesus, which means printing out a stack of registration forms so that when John talks to people on the phone, he has an organized way of getting down all their information. That meant a trip to Office Max yesterday for ink cartridges. It was a good thing I had found the Office Max advertising in the Sunday Post... a big paper bag with the offer of 15% off everything you could fit into the bag.
We headed to Office Max with spent cartridges in a plastic bag and began loading up. Let me just say, they are serious about everything having to fit into the bag. We found some other things we wanted and because one was rather pricey, I asked the guy who was helping us if it was included in the 15% off offer. He in turn asked the manager, who shouted back, "As long as it fits in the bag." And then for good measure, he shouted, "It HAS TO BE IN THE BAG!"
Well all right... I get it. We stuffed our bag full. And I think we probably saved closed to $50 with what all we bought. And now all our printers have ink and I have a birthday present for my mom... a month early. Hooray!
Yesterday morning we went to church at Willott Road Community Church near here because a group called Legacy of Faith was singing there. They've recorded three of my songs and had emailed asking if we might be able to come. It was fun to hear them... three nice looking guys from Mississippi who have wonderful harmony and a new cd of good songs. Their web site is www.legacyoffaith.org, so check them out.
John and I knew the parents of the two brothers in this group. Their dad, Doug, sang with a southern gospel quartet out of Eureka, MO, 20 or so years ago, and we worked with them several times. Doug and his wife were there yesterday morning just busting with pride at their sons!
Well... got work to do... editing some Easter drama stuff I've been writing for Johnathan... helping John with some stuff for his upcoming high school reunion... off to the airport with the broken suitcase to get that remedied... hopefully to the Apple Store at some point... and a visit to my mom and dad.
I have an idea about how to fix my broken blog on my own. I'll let you know if it works.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Friday, 11 p.m.
I'm home. Landed just before a fierce thunder storm. Waited an hour and a half for my bags to show up. Did you know that American Airlines won't unload your bags from the plane during a storm? That was their story anyway.
Nevertheless... I'm home.
Nevertheless... I'm home.
Leaving Estes
Just a quick post to let you know that we not only survived the horseback ride, but we had an absolute blast. Alex was first in line, riding Cisco, right behind our very adorable guide, Amanda. I was next on Barley. A mom and her two kids were behind us, and then a dad and his son. I had worried that three hours would seem like an eternity, but it actually went by very fast. We saw great views of the mountains, climbed and descended steep hills, went over meandering mountain streams that cut through meadows, saw a big herd of elk, and one lone deer with the biggest antlers I’ve ever seen. The day was gorgeous, and it’s amazing how quickly you get used to being on top of a big animal… and how short you feel once you get off! In all honesty, the horses are so well trained that they know what to do, and I think if you just let them go, they’d walk the trail and eventually get you right back to the stables with no problems.
When we got back to the Y, I had to get ready to go listen to worship songs for Song Discovery. There was another hour that went by fast. My finally responsibility of the week for GMA was to judge the Song of 07 finals. WAJ was well represented in the worship category by Kaleb Krueger, who was first runner up. Jamie Purewal was first runner up in the CCM/Inspo category. The grand prize was taken by a young married couple who wrote a wonderful Beatle-esque song called “How Big Can Small Be.”
In just a few minutes, our alarm will go off and we’ll be up and getting ready to head down the mountain for Denver. I should have Alex back to her parents around 3 p.m. Dallas time, and then my flight home leaves a few hours later. If you think of us today, hope you’ll pray us home.
……………
4:55 p.m. – DFW
The internet connection was being stubborn at our Mt. Ypsilon location, so I gave up. We had a beautiful drive through Big Thompson Canyon down into Loveland. The drive down I-25 was not so smooth as that highway is in desperate need of resurfacing! But once we got to the new I-470 bypass, it was smooth sailing and we had plenty of time to get to our gate.
Waiting at our gate, I ran into a man from Rhode Island who had been in my class earlier in the week. He was very complimentary and excited about all he’d learned in all the songwriting classes, something I’ll pass along to GMA. And he said the first thing he did after my class was to register for the WAJ discussion board. I’m hoping we’ll have several new members… people who just want to connect with their fellow songwriting geeks!
The flight to Dallas was great, and I’ve delivered granddaughter Alex safely to her mom and dad and sister, who were glad to have her back. I have to say, she was a precious delight from start to finish. We laughed a lot and experienced some new things together. It was so much fun to watch her so in awe of the mountains and the beauty of God’s creation in Colorado.
The “fam” had been in children’s choir camp all week, and so they had to head home to their big concert this evening. I’m all checked in and have a DayPass for the internet here, so I’m set until my flight leaves in a few hours.
I have next week to enjoy being home… and I definitely will enjoy every moment of that! Traveling is fun, but I’m ready to stop for a little while.
When we got back to the Y, I had to get ready to go listen to worship songs for Song Discovery. There was another hour that went by fast. My finally responsibility of the week for GMA was to judge the Song of 07 finals. WAJ was well represented in the worship category by Kaleb Krueger, who was first runner up. Jamie Purewal was first runner up in the CCM/Inspo category. The grand prize was taken by a young married couple who wrote a wonderful Beatle-esque song called “How Big Can Small Be.”
In just a few minutes, our alarm will go off and we’ll be up and getting ready to head down the mountain for Denver. I should have Alex back to her parents around 3 p.m. Dallas time, and then my flight home leaves a few hours later. If you think of us today, hope you’ll pray us home.
……………
4:55 p.m. – DFW
The internet connection was being stubborn at our Mt. Ypsilon location, so I gave up. We had a beautiful drive through Big Thompson Canyon down into Loveland. The drive down I-25 was not so smooth as that highway is in desperate need of resurfacing! But once we got to the new I-470 bypass, it was smooth sailing and we had plenty of time to get to our gate.
Waiting at our gate, I ran into a man from Rhode Island who had been in my class earlier in the week. He was very complimentary and excited about all he’d learned in all the songwriting classes, something I’ll pass along to GMA. And he said the first thing he did after my class was to register for the WAJ discussion board. I’m hoping we’ll have several new members… people who just want to connect with their fellow songwriting geeks!
The flight to Dallas was great, and I’ve delivered granddaughter Alex safely to her mom and dad and sister, who were glad to have her back. I have to say, she was a precious delight from start to finish. We laughed a lot and experienced some new things together. It was so much fun to watch her so in awe of the mountains and the beauty of God’s creation in Colorado.
The “fam” had been in children’s choir camp all week, and so they had to head home to their big concert this evening. I’m all checked in and have a DayPass for the internet here, so I’m set until my flight leaves in a few hours.
I have next week to enjoy being home… and I definitely will enjoy every moment of that! Traveling is fun, but I’m ready to stop for a little while.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Estes Park... Wednesday
Alex and I have just come back from the Wednesday evening concert… a great line-up tonight, including co-hosts Brian Littrell and Natalie Grant, Travis Cottrell, Overflow, and Rush of Fools. Jaime Jamgochian led the worship as the concert got underway.
Travis was absolutely amazing. What a thrill to hear that voice of his and his beautiful songs. He opened with a song he and David Moffitt wrote together, “Your Word is Life.” He also sang the old John Denver classic “Annie’s Song.” When I first heard he was going to cover that on his album, I wondered why. But then when I heard it, I was like… well of course… if you sing that to Jesus, it could not be a better lyric. It was great tonight.
(Alex and I are taking part of the credit for Travis’ success tonight… at least that he looked good when he sang. He called me this afternoon about 4:30 when Alex and I were in town, desperate for an iron. I had brought my travel iron with me, so we drove back to the Y, went to our room and got it, and delivered it to him. Aren’t artists supposed to have people who take care of those things for them… like iron their clothes and schlep them from here to there? Hmmm. Travis needs “people.” )
After Travis’ set, Alex and I went backstage to say hi, and we got to chat with several people I hadn’t seen all week. I finally got to meet Brian Littrell and introduce myself as one of the co-writers on “My Answer Is You,” so that was fun. However, it wasn’t as much fun as getting to introduce Alex to Brian. When we went back out to our seats, she said, “I wanted to say ‘I used to be in love with you when I was small… and I might still be a little.’”
That made me laugh so hard!
Then it turned out that Brian opened with the song right after the intermission, and after he sang it, he mentioned that we had met for the first time backstage. That was very cool of him to say that.
The rest of my day has been demanding but fun. I spent two hours this morning and two hours this afternoon judging the CCM/inspo category for the song semi-finals. (Wajonian Jamie Purewal had two songs in the semi-finals that I judged.) I heard some wonderful songs and met some truly gifted writers. I’m hoping some of them will end up joining us at Write About Jesus this year. The other judges on the panel were Michael Puryear, Don Koch, and Jayme Thompson. It’s always cool to hear their insights on stuff, and they were all great.
Here is where I’m requesting your prayers on Thursday morning. Alex and I are going for a three-hour horseback ride in the mountains. Pray that I don’t fall off… the horse and especially the mountain. More than that, pray that I can walk tomorrow afternoon when I’ll be doing more critiquing and judging the song finals.
Travis was absolutely amazing. What a thrill to hear that voice of his and his beautiful songs. He opened with a song he and David Moffitt wrote together, “Your Word is Life.” He also sang the old John Denver classic “Annie’s Song.” When I first heard he was going to cover that on his album, I wondered why. But then when I heard it, I was like… well of course… if you sing that to Jesus, it could not be a better lyric. It was great tonight.
(Alex and I are taking part of the credit for Travis’ success tonight… at least that he looked good when he sang. He called me this afternoon about 4:30 when Alex and I were in town, desperate for an iron. I had brought my travel iron with me, so we drove back to the Y, went to our room and got it, and delivered it to him. Aren’t artists supposed to have people who take care of those things for them… like iron their clothes and schlep them from here to there? Hmmm. Travis needs “people.” )
After Travis’ set, Alex and I went backstage to say hi, and we got to chat with several people I hadn’t seen all week. I finally got to meet Brian Littrell and introduce myself as one of the co-writers on “My Answer Is You,” so that was fun. However, it wasn’t as much fun as getting to introduce Alex to Brian. When we went back out to our seats, she said, “I wanted to say ‘I used to be in love with you when I was small… and I might still be a little.’”
That made me laugh so hard!
Then it turned out that Brian opened with the song right after the intermission, and after he sang it, he mentioned that we had met for the first time backstage. That was very cool of him to say that.
The rest of my day has been demanding but fun. I spent two hours this morning and two hours this afternoon judging the CCM/inspo category for the song semi-finals. (Wajonian Jamie Purewal had two songs in the semi-finals that I judged.) I heard some wonderful songs and met some truly gifted writers. I’m hoping some of them will end up joining us at Write About Jesus this year. The other judges on the panel were Michael Puryear, Don Koch, and Jayme Thompson. It’s always cool to hear their insights on stuff, and they were all great.
Here is where I’m requesting your prayers on Thursday morning. Alex and I are going for a three-hour horseback ride in the mountains. Pray that I don’t fall off… the horse and especially the mountain. More than that, pray that I can walk tomorrow afternoon when I’ll be doing more critiquing and judging the song finals.
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