Agape Day
In honor of Valentines Day, my "Word of the Day" for my sixth graders was "phileo." Which is the Greek word for "brotherly love." Obviously, I wasn't about to use "eros;" some of them have dirty enough minds as it is. As for "agape?" Hmm...sacrificial love? Unconditional love? I considered it, but in the end, I decided that as a whole, the kids needed to view love as a process. Like you have to work up from physical love to brotherly love to unconditional love. So I went with "phileo."
Also in honor of Agape Day, Anna Kate and I had a multi-part celebration. Friday night, we took in Winter Jam at the Bi-Lo Center. Now if you know anything about Winter Jam, you know that there are no tickets involved; it's a meager 10 bucks to get inside. Which makes it an instant public access thing. I'd been for two consecutive years until last year. Anna and I got stuck in the crowd awaiting entry, and they were running behind (as usual). It got to the point where we just couldn't stand it any longer. So we bailed, and I resolved to do my darnedest to see that it didn't happen next year.
Flash forward to 2009. I'm running slightly behind since I have to go to the post office to order my overseas passport for our honeymoon. So all my vows have pretty much been blown. But of course, it's Anna who comes through in the clutch. You see, one of the perks of being a teacher is that you have friends in high places. And her assistant, and her daughter, had early seats, being VIP members (that's "Vision Partner" in HIS Radio terms). She asked, and they agreed to let us go in with them. Talk about a difference. We wait outside for no more than 10 minutes, and then we're strolling through a half-empty Bi-Lo Center concourse while the mob stays out for another half hour. We could pick out any seats we wanted (and we took full advantage and got some nice floor seats), get food & drink, use the potty, and relax while the rest of the populace crammed in. Now that's a plan!
Oh, and it helped that Winter Jam itself was a total blast. Hawk Nelson and Tony Nolan were my personal highlights.
The next part of Agape Day '09 involved a road trip for the two of us to Chimney Rock, NC. This was supposed to happen last Saturday, but my normally stout Chevrolet Tracker caught a screw in its right front tire, and...well, you know the rest. This time, the trip went off without a hitch. I love the mountains. I like the beach as well, but when I'm up in the high peaks off winding, curvy roads and hiking trails, I'm in my element. We took the Hickory Nut trail that ended with a nice waterfall. Then we visited Chimney Rock itself and the Opera Box that overlooks it. Even got to say hi to our folks who were watching us via the web-cam. Then, after chilling in the Sky Lounge we visited Moonshiner's Cave. Thankfully, it wasn't the time of year for bats.
Minor notes:
- Anna and I invented a new game in the Sky Lounge. Bottlecap Air Hockey. It's pretty similar to traditional air hockey only a soda bottlecap is the puck and your pinky fingers are the sticks. And being the competitive types that we are, we probably had twenty personal fouls between us.
- Tried a new soda, Mountain Dew Revolution, yesterday. It's got a wild berry fruit flavor with a touch of ginseng. It's quite tasty.
- When we got back, and before we capped off the night with a romantic dinner at Larkins on the River, we watched Little Manhattan. It's a beautiful, charming, sweet movie about first love. I'd originally thought about getting us Fireproof but when I saw this, I just couldn't resist. Also, Josh
Hutcherson is this decade's Elijah Wood.
So, happy Agape Day, everyone. Tell your significant other you love them. And never forget that there is a God Who loves you far beyond what a Hallmark card, or a mountain trip, or a romantic dinner, or a silly comedy can express. His love gives true meaning to "agape."
Also in honor of Agape Day, Anna Kate and I had a multi-part celebration. Friday night, we took in Winter Jam at the Bi-Lo Center. Now if you know anything about Winter Jam, you know that there are no tickets involved; it's a meager 10 bucks to get inside. Which makes it an instant public access thing. I'd been for two consecutive years until last year. Anna and I got stuck in the crowd awaiting entry, and they were running behind (as usual). It got to the point where we just couldn't stand it any longer. So we bailed, and I resolved to do my darnedest to see that it didn't happen next year.
Flash forward to 2009. I'm running slightly behind since I have to go to the post office to order my overseas passport for our honeymoon. So all my vows have pretty much been blown. But of course, it's Anna who comes through in the clutch. You see, one of the perks of being a teacher is that you have friends in high places. And her assistant, and her daughter, had early seats, being VIP members (that's "Vision Partner" in HIS Radio terms). She asked, and they agreed to let us go in with them. Talk about a difference. We wait outside for no more than 10 minutes, and then we're strolling through a half-empty Bi-Lo Center concourse while the mob stays out for another half hour. We could pick out any seats we wanted (and we took full advantage and got some nice floor seats), get food & drink, use the potty, and relax while the rest of the populace crammed in. Now that's a plan!
Oh, and it helped that Winter Jam itself was a total blast. Hawk Nelson and Tony Nolan were my personal highlights.
The next part of Agape Day '09 involved a road trip for the two of us to Chimney Rock, NC. This was supposed to happen last Saturday, but my normally stout Chevrolet Tracker caught a screw in its right front tire, and...well, you know the rest. This time, the trip went off without a hitch. I love the mountains. I like the beach as well, but when I'm up in the high peaks off winding, curvy roads and hiking trails, I'm in my element. We took the Hickory Nut trail that ended with a nice waterfall. Then we visited Chimney Rock itself and the Opera Box that overlooks it. Even got to say hi to our folks who were watching us via the web-cam. Then, after chilling in the Sky Lounge we visited Moonshiner's Cave. Thankfully, it wasn't the time of year for bats.
Minor notes:
- Anna and I invented a new game in the Sky Lounge. Bottlecap Air Hockey. It's pretty similar to traditional air hockey only a soda bottlecap is the puck and your pinky fingers are the sticks. And being the competitive types that we are, we probably had twenty personal fouls between us.
- Tried a new soda, Mountain Dew Revolution, yesterday. It's got a wild berry fruit flavor with a touch of ginseng. It's quite tasty.
- When we got back, and before we capped off the night with a romantic dinner at Larkins on the River, we watched Little Manhattan. It's a beautiful, charming, sweet movie about first love. I'd originally thought about getting us Fireproof but when I saw this, I just couldn't resist. Also, Josh
Hutcherson is this decade's Elijah Wood.
So, happy Agape Day, everyone. Tell your significant other you love them. And never forget that there is a God Who loves you far beyond what a Hallmark card, or a mountain trip, or a romantic dinner, or a silly comedy can express. His love gives true meaning to "agape."
posted by david @ 6:11 AM
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