Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Traditions October 31, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Recollections,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:56 pm

Growing up we didn’t have many traditions that we stuck to when it came to the holidays. We did most of the normal holiday stuff, but there wasn’t a sense of we-must-do-it-this-way-or-it-isn’t-a-holiday. I guess I can thank my parents for being pretty laid back when it comes to the holidays. It was all about family – seeing family and celebrating with family. That didn’t have to happen on a certain day or at a certain time. In fact, when I got married my parents told me they wanted to see us for holidays at the times that worked best for us. They understood what it meant to juggle two families as well as church commitments, so they wanted us to know that we could celebrate with them anytime. There was no pressure. It’s not about a day. It’s about a season and spending time together.

Today is a transition day for me. In October I start craving Christmas things – like listening to Christmas music and pulling out my Christmas dishes. Jeremy always tries to hold me off until the beginning of November. With a big event like Fall Fest tonight, I need to keep my head in the game and in the month of October! But tomorrow… tomorrow will be like releasing the flood gates and letting the holiday spirit just flow everywhere! Tomorrow is Red Cup Day! Where Starbucks brings out the Red Cups and starts serving their holiday drinks! I only allow myself to get Peppermint Hot Chocolates at this time of year to keep the drink special – just like how I only order Caramel Apple Spice when it’s the fall/winter. Some things are best when they are seasonal and special.

Now I’m not completely void of holiday traditions – here are a few I’m looking forward to:

  • Seasonal Dishware – For November, December and January I pull out my penguin dishes! They are super cute with skating penguins on them.
  • Shopping Trip to Portland – I love doing my Christmas shopping in Portland! No sales tax and a day with my hubby in one of my favorite cities is always the best.
  • Early morning Red Cup – I always get to Starbucks super early on Red Cup Day. It’s magical. I drink more Starbucks at this time of year than any other. I’m sure the red cups make it taste better.
  • A Special Dinner – Every year I get together with some friends from high school and we do a special Christmas dinner. It’s a time honored tradition and it keeps us together even though we don’t live in the same areas.
  • Class Christmas Party – Every year I try to plan an awesome Christmas party for my kiddos on Wednesday nights.  This night is one of the highlights of my year as teacher.
  • Decorating the day after Thanksgiving – I wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate. I think it gives Thanksgiving the special place it deserves. The next day though is free game for decorating. Some people brave the Black Friday craziness… but not me. My hubby is usually out in the wood trying to kill an animal on Black Friday, so I stay home, sleep in, and decorate my house while listening to Christmas music.
  • Good Food – It’s not the holiday season without a TON of holiday baking! I love it! Every year we make these awesome butter cookies and frost them with all the fixings! Yum!

The next two months are some of my favorite times! I know a lot of people cringe at even the sound of the word “holiday” or “Christmas” right now. I get that. I really do. I just love it so much. I want the season to last and I want to make the most every moment of it. I want to sing at the top of my lungs, make my house smells like cookies and drink too many beverages from red cups. I want to spend way too much time with family and loved ones. I want to enjoy each second of it!

As I say good-bye to October with all its color, I say hello to November and to another day, another month to celebrate God’s goodness. November – a month to focus on gratitude and the attitude of my heart. It’s a month to live thanksgiving and to live joy. These are the best days.

Oh, I should also mention that “Falling Back” for daylight savings is another reason why this season is the best! An extra hour of sleep is like heaven! It’s just as good as Christmas in my book! I’m not sure if I could consider daylight savings a “holiday” tradition, but it’s one of the best ways to kick off the season in my book.

How about you? What are you looking forward to?

 

Trying not to be morbid… October 4, 2012

Filed under: Bible,Recollections,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:57 pm

Remembering family time…

Okay, I’ll be honest… this post might freak some people out and I’m not trying to be morbid. I don’t know if it’s because at 26, I realize that I am not invincible and really any day could be my last. When I go on long car drives I sometimes wonder what would happen if I got in a car accident and died. How would people respond? Oh I know. They’d be sad. They’d cry. At least I hope so. I randomly plan my memorial service in my head. What songs would be played, what photos I would like shown. I also realized that unless I tell people what these songs and photos are they very well might die with me. Not that it matters. At that point, I really won’t care if the right song is played and if photos I hate are seen by one and all. But… I thought I would share the brief amount of thinking I’ve put into this. So in just in case I die tonight or tomorrow or next week, someone knows what I wanted. If it happens great. If not, no biggie!

Remembering true love…

A couple years ago when it seemed like Jeremy and I attended more memorial services then our hearts could handle, I started to process why I would want a memorial service. I decided that I didn’t want one. I thought a whole program dedicated to celebrate my life felt weird and I really wasn’t comfortable with it. Jeremy informed me that memorial services aren’t for the person, but for the friends and family. He said it helps with the grieving process and saying good-bye. I’ll be honest… memorial services don’t give me much closure. They just make me feel sad. My closure comes in quiet moments when I’ve wrestled with my pain and sobbed and said good-bye in a private way. Usually it’s a dramatic monologue where I know that God is listening and sees my pain. So yeah, memorial services and I just don’t click.

With that being said, if Jeremy is right and they are for others, I don’t want to deny the “others” in my life a chance to grieve and say good-bye. I’ve decided after much thought that I want the song “This Is Home” by Switchfoot played for the photo slideshow. I’ll finally be home at that time and I like the message of finally arriving at the place you’ve been looking for, longing for. I thought it seemed fitting that Switchfoot be played since they’ve been my favorite band for over a decade. However, I did have a bit of a failing out with them, but I have since decided they are my favorite again. I often pondered playing “Amy’s Song” by Switchfoot since it’s about death and a girl named Amy, but I think that Amy and myself are too different for the song to work.

Remembering time well spent…

As for the pictures… I don’t want all of them to be just of me. I want tons of pictures of the people I love. I want group shots where I am not the center. I want my life to be a testament of the relationships I’ve built. I want lots of pictures with my family, friends and the kids that I’ve invested in. Showing my life in photos and film won’t mean anything if I’m not with people.

I guess that’s all the thought I’ve really put into it. I haven’t thought too much about what Scripture. I think the verses that got me through my hardest deaths might be appropriate. Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.” God sees the big picture and can bring good out of any situation. Celebrate the good even in the moments where it unseen because it will come. I believe this deeply. Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” There are happy times ahead and if I’m gone, I’m enjoying them now and my prayer would be that would comfort those in a time of loss.

I’ve been listening to a sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes and it’s been blowing my mind because it’s right where I’m at. I think that if I could could embody any passage of Scripture this would be pretty cool:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Remembering long time friendship…

I pray that my life will reflect friendship and love. I pray that I would not walk each day, each precious gift alone. I hope that I will have relationships in my life that pick me up when I fall down, that warm up my soul when I am cold, who take on life’s battles with me. More than that, I pray that I am able to offer that kind of friendship to others. Knowing that with God on our side, we will not be easily broken. I want that strength. I want that life. I want to give that and receive that.

Okay, I know writing and talking about death is taboo and makes people feel weird. I get it. I just wanted you to know. In light of this joy and all this life, I can’t help but think of letting it all go and what kind of impact a life well lived will leave behind. I don’t know. I won’t see it this side of heaven, but I do know I will do my best to be someone who changes the world – one relationship at time.

Sorry if this freaked you out. It’s what’s been bouncing in my head the last couple of weeks and I finally thought I’d share it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKNleDdUFY

 

 

Photo Book Fun! August 13, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Getting Creative,Recollections — Amy Scott @ 12:22 pm

My Photo Books!

About a year ago, I discovered the website Shutterfly. I had heard of it before, but had never visited it. When  I got my new camera last fall, I was given a free photo book to make on Shutterfly. Right from the start, I was hooked! It’s a great tool and resource. I’ve become a fan of making photo books (or digital scrapbooking as some call it). Since the first book was free, I used it to document my family trip to Chicago. Once I made a book, I started to get emails on their savings. I will admit that they send more emails than I like, but they always have a sale or discounts! I don’t think I’ve ever paid full price for anything on the website.  Because of all the deals they offer, I decided to use them for Christmas cards and I plan on doing it again this year! They have more layouts for cards than Walmart (which had been my standard for Christmas cards in the past). Since that first book, I have made a book of Jeremy and I’s honeymoon. This was really the realization of a well-intended project. When I first got married, I was super diligent and put together a wedding scrapbook in no time. I had intended that same scrapbook to include our honeymoon and first year of marriage. The honeymoon portion was half finished and the first year of marriage portion only went through September (we were married in July – so not far)! Using Shutterfly, I was able to document both of these phases. The honeymoon book was free thanks to a promo and the first year of marriage book was $10 off. As I was planning for our road trip this summer, I already knew I was going to come home and make another book! This one was 40% off and covers the many highlights of our trip to California! Now that I’ve started, I plan on waiting for sales and going back through a lot of our major travels and making books for those as well. The great thing is that they have a photo book template for every occasion – not just travels! It’s a great way to document life! Shutterfly also has awesome deals on prints. At the beginning of the summer I got 100 prints for free and then my sister-in-law sent me a coupon for another 100 free prints. I know the day of the printed photo might seem over, but I remember how much fun it was as a kid to flip through my baby pictures or my parent’s old photos. I want my future kids to have the same experience. All these free prints also help me keep my picture frames up to date with new photos! The hardest part about Shutterfly is not wanting to buy everything they offer – which is a lot! It’s like a candy store for me and pictures!

 

Not Without Doubt June 25, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Recollections — Amy Scott @ 3:17 pm

I finished You Lost Me by David Kinnaman this last week. There is so much good information in that book that I’ll probably have to read it again. I know in a previous blog I talked about my thoughts from just reading the first half of the book (Current Reading: You Lost Me). Now I would like to share something that resonated with me from the second half of the book.

The book is divided up into three parts. The first part focuses on the dropouts – who they are. The second part looks at where they are disconnecting from the church. While I could comment on each disconnect studied, I’m going to share with my thoughts on the final disconnect entitled “Doubtless”.

The lost generation views the church as a doubtless place. A place where doubts are seen as shameful. A place were answers are not found. A place were questions are not asked. I think for a long time we’ve used simple cliches and slogans to keep people on track. However, there are some complex questions out there that can’t be answered simply. We need to acknowledged this instead of pretending to know it all. We don’t. At least, I don’t.

I started to dream as I read this chapter. I thought about what the church would look like if we really partnered with the next generation. What would it look like if they could really come to us with their questions, with their doubts. Instead of giving them a lecture using our trusted slogans and simple answers, what if we wrestled through the issues with them. What if we did the research alongside of them instead of just giving them the standard answer. What if we took off the mask of having it all together. What if we didn’t act like we knew it all. What if the church wasn’t a place where doubt was seen as the opposite of faith.

As I was reading this chapter, I was reminded of a season of doubt in my life. I haven’t talked about it much because honestly, I didn’t want to freak anyone out. I was the good Christian girl, at the good Christian college and I was engaged to a pastor. So you can guess why I kept my doubts to myself. At the time I was in my sophomore year of college at Multnomah Bible College. I loved my classes, but my relationships at the school were lacking. I knew I was getting married that summer and that I wouldn’t be returning the following year. Instead of engaging in deeper friendships, I had pulled back and focused on getting through school so I could get home. My heart was really in Chehalis. I wanted to be close to Jeremy. I wanted to be serving the girls that I had fallen in love with the summer before. My weeks were lonely. I lived for the weekends when Jeremy would come down to visit or I would head home.

I was also interning at the church attended in Vancouver, WA. The year before I had worked in their youth department, but I had moved out of that role into more of a pastoral internship. I met weekly with the senior pastor and the youth pastor (their entire pastoral team).  While it was great to poured into by these men on a weekly basis, the expectations of my internship were very unclear. They wanted me to create a database for them and work on assimilation. The word assimilation is a big word that  means keeping people in the church once they start attending. At that time my church leadership experience was all youth group based and one summer as the Bethel Church receptionist. I was 19-20 and trying to figure out things that pastors with degrees are still trying to work through. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by the task at hand. I appreciated being seen as an equal and treated like one, but I was young and inexperienced and it showed.

The combination of stress and loneliness really did a number on me. I started to feel like I was losing my grip on sanity. I started to doubt why I was doing this. What if this whole Christianity thing wasn’t real? What if there was no God? What if I’m wasting my life on something that might not even exist? I wrestled with a lot of questions and doubts. I wrote out a huge list of all my questions (pages long). Things that I wanted answered. Things that I didn’t understand. The act of just writing them out really helped get them out of my head. I could see them. I knew they were real. I also knew that unless God sent me an email or dropped me a letter, I was probably not going to get my answers.

Because I was a good Christian girl, I didn’t feel like I could share my doubts. What am I supposed to say? I’m taking all these classes on the Bible and ministry and now I’m doubting why. I was engaged to Jeremy and what would people say if one of the pastors was going to marry a girl who was losing her grip on faith. I was honest with Jeremy during this season and I expected him to run for the hills. But he didn’t! Praise the Lord.  I was already on a lonely path and I felt like I couldn’t be real because people would freak out.

How did I come back from this experience? I realized that with all the stress and loneliness, I had placed myself in a situation where I wasn’t in a healthy place. I realized that a lot of my doubts were induced by stress. I didn’t feel God in those moments because I was drowning my own mess of emotions. I was able to look at my past and know that God really did show up in my life. I hadn’t made him up or followed him blindly. I learned a lot about staying the course even when my emotions didn’t feel like it. As I kept moving forward, I felt like God peeled back the layers and allowed me to be me. My mess didn’t scare him, even though it scared me.

This season of doubt probably won’t be my last, but I know that it’s okay. I know that my doubt doesn’t mean I’ve lost my faith. I can see from that time until now has God has shown up big in my life. He hasn’t left me and I know he won’t. Even when I feel like I’m lost, I know that I’m not. I hope that I can be more honest about my doubts so that way when the arise I’m not battling them alone. I desire people who will walk alongside me and journey through the mess with me. I also deeply desire to that person for others. I don’t want to give simple answers to complex questions. I want to get into the trenches and wrestle with the doubts of others. I want to help them walk out their faith in a real way, an expressive way. There is no shame in searching, wondering, and doubting.

 

Father’s Day June 19, 2012

Filed under: Family Time,Recollections — Amy Scott @ 6:18 pm

I’m very blessed to have two great Dads in my life. Jeremy’s father, Bill, is a sweet man who is really good at strategy games and math. Anytime I need help adding points at a game, I’m pretty sure Bill is better than a calculator! Since Bill works at the church, I get to see him in action daily. He is always calm and steady. He works hard. He gets to the church before my alarm even goes off! He is dedicated to his work and to his family. I am so thankful for the influence he had is raising his son. I can see how God used Bill to shape Jeremy into the man that he is. I am thankful to have him as a father-in-law.

Father’s Day 2012

Even though my dad and I have some differences, I’m often concerned at just how similar we are. My mom often laughs when I’m talking to her and says things like “Your dad said the same thing” or “Your dad is the same way”. I’ve learned over time that my dad and I really do have some strange similarities. Occasionally, I wonder what God was thinking by making me so much like my father, but for the most part, I guess I should thank him. My dad is a pretty great guy. I guess that is an up side to being like him. Following in his footsteps probably isn’t a bad thing. My dad has always been someone I can talk to about the hard issues in life. I appreciate the honesty and openness I feel in our relationship. My dad has always worked hard to support our family. I will admit to being a bit spoiled growing before my dad discovered Financial Peace University. It was fun to be a daddy’s girl and get new stuff from my dad. Thanks, Dad, for all the clothes and Cabbage Patch dolls you purchased for me over the years, as well as the CDs and the concerts you took April and I (and our friends) to. The stuff really doesn’t matter, but I know that my dad cares about me.

The Softball Years

I’m often sorry that I wasn’t the sport star that my dad had hoped for. My family was big into the softball scene and my dad coached a lot of my teams. I certainly wasn’t the star player, it was great to have my dad around.  He treated me just like all the other kids because that is the way that my dad is – completely fair and very professional (even when it comes to Little League).  However, he could have chosen not to be there. He could have prioritized other things. So thankfully,even though the whole sports thing didn’t pan out for the Vitzthum girls, my dad was still there for us, regardless of how great we were.

Very few girls can probably say this, but one of my favorite things to do in high school was to get into the hot tub with my dad and discuss life. I remember talking with him about becoming president of the school Christian club or what college major I should get. My dad gave me the opportunity to travel to all my top colleges so I could make an informed decision. Being informed is very important to us. We’re natural researchers. My dad drove to the airport with me to get Jeremy in an ice storm. He let me stay up late and The Father of the Bride with him as a kid. I remember the bubbles at the beginning of the movie made me think it was a grown up movie because that was alcohol. I felt like I was getting away with something even though he let me watch the movie right by him! I also remember trying to tell my dad not to drink a soda on the way to a family vacation at the Oregon Coast, because that was “drinking and driving”. I didn’t realize that soda didn’t count!

I could post endless stories and memories about my dad and how much he means to me. I am thankful for the legacy he has given my sister and myself. We were always challenged to love the Lord and serve him first.  We were shown dedication and a hard work ethic. We were given experiences that shaped us into who we are today. So thank you, Dad! I wouldn’t be who I am without! I appreciate all you’ve poured into me. I’m proud to be your daughter! I love you!

 

The World of Avonlea May 24, 2012

Filed under: Recollections,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 6:06 pm

I’ve always been a fan of the magical world of Avonlea created in the mind of author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Growing up, I remember watching Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea on VHS. Still to this day, I love to do a good Anne marathon and watch them all! I don’t own the third movie – The Continuing Story, mainly because I don’t feel it flows well with the older movies. But that is just my opinion…

Last summer I bought the entire Anne of Green Gables book series. It was so delightful to see the story played out on the page with so much depth that comes from a book rather than a movie. It was also great to see the continuation of the story through Anne’s children. I wish that the movies would have continued through the whole book series. Oh well. I also purchased The Chronicles of Avonlea and The Further Chronicles of Avonlea. These are delightful short stories that center around the town.

One of my favorite childhood shows on the Disney Channel was the Road to Avonlea. The show takes us back to Avonlea and focuses on Sara Stanley and her relatives, the King family. I have vivid memories of watching this show and being excited for each new episode. I also remember how sad I was when it ended.

Recently, I decided to rent the series through the public library (which is going to be a slow process since apparently I’m not the only one who wants to watch it). Originally I thought about buying it, but the whole series costs $200 and that seems a bit frivolous right now.  I’ve now completed the third season (they go pretty quickly because each season only has 13 episodes). I never realized it but the show is a mixture of stories from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Story Girl, The Golden Road, and The Chronicles of Avonlea. If I hadn’t read the chronicles last summer, I would have never seen this new layering to the story line. It make me very excited!

As you can tell, I’m a big fan. That might be an understatement… I’m in love with Avonlea! It captures my imagination and takes me back to a simpler time. It has good values and is truly heart warming. There’s little bit of something for everyone – humor, romance, life, death, action, family, friendship… You get the picture! I love reliving the memories from this childhood television show! Kind of makes me want to go visit Prince Edward Island… Too bad Avonlea is fictional. My husband is probably lucky in that regard, since there is no chance that I can move there!

 

Trying To Figure It All Out May 10, 2012

Filed under: Bible,Children's Ministry,Recollections,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 3:59 pm

Oh, the age old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We’ve all pondered it. Most would say they have it figured out. Some probably never will… I feel like I’m somewhere in the middle. It’s a weird spot to be in. Honestly, it can be confusing and complicated.

When I went off  to college with a dream about who I was going to become, I knew two things. I was either going to be a pastor or a pastor’s wife. Ministry was my passion. It was going to be the center of my life. However, I didn’t realize how multi-layered ministry roles were. In my head, I would get a ministry job and have a spouse that worked outside of the church. Or I would marry a pastor and I might work a job outside of the church or I might be a stay at home mom, but I thought if I wasn’t the pastor then I would be the behind the scenes support to my husband.

I remember when Jeremy and I were meeting with Don Detrick (the Secretary-Treasurer for our AG network and the minister who married us) for a premarital get together. He suggested I get my credentials and I laughed at him. I said one pastor in the household was enough and I was fine being behind the scenes, supporting Jeremy. Oh, if I had only known then what I know now. I might have prepared myself for life a bit better. God eventually did lay it on my heart to get my credentials and become a licensed minister which led to be becoming ordained.  That was not a part of my original plan. Seems the Bible has something to say about that, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16:9 NIV)

The tension comes from the fact that I never planned to be in a two pastor family. It was always going to be one or the other in my mind. As God has unfolded his plan for my life, I’m realizing that his plans are bigger for me then I imagined. I feel my own call to ministry, outside of being paired with my husband. Let me tell you, that is a very scary thing. I’ve planned my life to be the supporter, not the one up front. In fact, I’m not a huge fan of being up front. I feel like God has certainly called me to a ministry of writing. I love to communicate through the written word. I’m never without anything to say. I always have an opinion on the matter. I love discussing things and digging deeper into God’s word. As an introvert, it’s hard for me to find the balance of ministry to people and quiet moments like these were I can process, reflect, and minister through writing.

I struggle with being viewed as a “pastor”… This is hard for me to admit, but titles do mean a lot to me. I wish they didn’t. As an administrator, I often feel like my heart for pastoral ministry is in conflict with my job that puts me behind the scenes. I know I’m called to more than pushing buttons on a copy machine and keeping track of attendance. I don’t technically have the “pastor” title, so I don’t like to presume roles that are not given to me. And yet, I am an ordained minister, how does this all fit together?

I’ve often wondered what it might look like to seek out more pastoral roles, but that seems to be tricky water as well. I don’t want to head off on my own ministry track that pulls me away from my husband. I don’t want each of us to be in our own worlds and have our calendars no longer match up. I don’t want to pull my heart away from children’s ministry, because I truly love it and I am passionate about seeing young children build a lifelong foundation on Jesus Christ.

I do think there is something to be said about saying yes to the small opportunities that come my way. Who knows if these small yeses will lead to bigger doors in the future? Doing things like co-preaching on Mother’s Day are little windows to grow my skills and expand my influence. Today I was asked if I wouldn’t mind doing the devotional for our area pastors meeting next month. While I am excited for this opportunity, I am yet again faced with the tension of being one of three women who attend these meetings and younger than most of the people in the room by a good twenty-five years. Not only is it hard to feel qualified, but it’s also hard to find people that can relate to me, who understand where I am.

I guess this leads me to another area of ministry that God has been laying on my heart. There is a very noticeable lack of women ministers in the meetings I attend. I have a passion to see women in ministry. The Lord has been fueling this fire in my heart to stand up and be a leader, to have a say, to be heard. The voice and influence of women ministers seems so small right now. It’s lonely to think that there are very few people out there who understand this call to ministry and the challenges. I’m not sure what my future looks like, but I hope that I can make a way for other women to step up. I would love to see the number of credentialed women match the number of credentialed men in our meetings. I would love to see the faces and hear the voices of other women ministers. I don’t want to be alone.

Children’s ministry, writing, public speaking, and encouraging women in ministry – I see all of these playing a big part in my future. I’m not sure exactly where these doors will lead me, but I know these are the areas that God has laid on my heart. I know that he will help Jeremy and I navigate the waters as a couple in ministry. I fully aware that my ministry affects my husband and his ministry affects me. We are connected. I know that God has a plan for us a couple and as individuals. We both have a lot to offer the Kingdom of God and we both want to use our lives to serve the Lord. I’m wrestling with a lot questions and I struggle to see  the picture sometimes. Where is this all leading me? Honestly, I’m not sure… but I do know that God is growing me. He is stretching my faith muscles more than I would like at this moment!

So, what do I want to be when I grow up? I think the safest answer would be: in ministry! The rest is up to God!

 

All the Days April 20, 2012

Filed under: Recollections,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:06 pm

April and I being our silly selves in the Malibu - Summer 2005

I’m a very nostalgic person. I have lot of fond memories and they are easily triggered.  This week it has been happening a lot as my husband and I have decided to sell my car. I know it’s not mine, but ours… it was given to us as wedding present from my parents. It was the car that they let me take off to college and in a lot of ways I have bonded with it. So many memories actually take place in the car. It seems strange to think of, but it’s true. I can think of the deep and meaningful conversations I’ve had in this car and the fun moments of being silly and singing at the top of my lungs!

Yesterday I drove my car into work and thought to myself this may be one of the last times I drive it. Turns out later that morning was Jeremy making plans to meet a lady in Tacoma to sell it. I associate driving in the car with my music. I was joking that I wished I had time to make a mixed CD of all the songs I wanted to hear one last time in the Malibu. While no special “Last Drive” CD was made, I spent the ride up to Tacoma popping CDs in and out of the player so I could have the same effect. However, the lady was a no show. I know Jeremy needs this car to sell before he can buy himself a new truck and I had worked myself up trying process the fact the Malibu would soon belong to someone else. It was a little bittersweet – more time with my car, but more waiting for it sell.

I was still in that place of wanting to relive the songs that I love in the car that I love. Truthfully, from my music choices I can tell that my taste in music is stuck right in the early 2000s. I popped in a CD that I loved from high school and rocked out on my way to dinner last night. One of the songs was all about getting ready to leave for college and that last day with all your friends before you all go in different directions. Back in the summer of 2004, I really connected with this song. This was my reality. The song was anthem of my situation.  As I sang along last night, this line of the song really stuck out to me:

All the days we’ve been traveling together, I won’t even look over my shoulder till I find the cure for getting older.

Suddenly I felt old!!! Now I know at 26, I’m not old.  But I sang these words 8 years ago! The song talks about not slowing down and being ready to move on to what’s next. In a way that’s what I’ve been doing. I went off to college in Portland, I got married, started working in ministry alongside my husband, bought a house, got a dog. Life keeps moving!  However, unlike the writer of this song, I do stop and look over my shoulder from time to time. I’m amazed at how far I’ve come and how far I still have to go. I’m thankful for the memories I have. I’m even more thankful I’m still making memories with friends from that period of time in my life.  There are people in my life who knew me deeply then and still know me deeply now. That is a gift I cherish!

So I might have been reliving those moments, those high school glory days as I drove to dinner last night with the music blaring in my car. They were good times. I keep thinking of the line “all the days we’ve been traveling together” – God has definitely been at the steering wheel guiding me. Some of the passengers in the car are newer friends, but some of them have been there a long time. Even though it might seem like those days are forever ago, I know they are sweet memories I choose to hold on to. I also know that I’m not done yet. Even if I’m not driving my trusted Malibu, there will be lots of deep conversations in the car and lots of singing at the top of my lungs. I can see God’s hand on all the days behind me and all the days still before me! I’m buckled up and ready to go!

 

Crazy Coincidence February 27, 2012

Filed under: Recollections,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 9:47 pm

In the last blog, I mentioned my post-it notes that were discovered at my old high school and my love for my Spanish class and the good times that I had. I was talking with my husband today and telling him that I could think of so many more stories that were blog worthy about Mr. Chappell or Profe as we called him, but there is only so much space. I contacted my teacher earlier today to let him know about the notes and how funny it was that they were still there after all these years. He added me as a Facebook friend and I discovered that today is birthday. So weird that this would all happen on his birthday. So Profe, if you’re reading this, consider my last blog a birthday present! I hope it brings some honor to the legacy you have left as a teacher!

 

 

Leaving a Legacy

Filed under: Recollections — Amy Scott @ 5:25 pm

In high school, I wasn’t apart of the cool kid’s crowd. I did my best to survive and not stand out too much. I loved Jesus and wanted to reach my school for him, but it was in a quiet way through the relationships I had in my classes. I wasn’t a stand up on the soap box kind of person. Most of the time I was too scared of others to truly to be myself while roaming the halls of my high school. There was one place though where I could truly be myself. Of all the places in high school that I fit in the best – it would have been in the walls of my Spanish class with my crazy Spanish teacher, Mr. Chappell, who we called Profe. He wasn’t like the other teachers. He was a friend and a goofball. We had so much fun in his classroom. A small, mixed group of students joined him for lunch in his classroom every day. I was one of those few who had my lunch in Profe’s classroom away from the crowded commons. Profe was zany and he let me be my weird self. I was able to be just be me and it was okay. A lot of laughter happened in that classroom. We had a good time! There are so many different stories I could share. I have 4 years of classes with him to pull them from. I took Spanish 1-3 with him and then because their was no Spanish 4 at our school, I was his TA my senior year. Seriously, that was the best class ever!!!

One of my favorite Profe stories would be the time I “flamingoed” and flipped his classroom. You might be confused on what this means… let me explain!  When my sister went to Centralia Christian School, they had this fundraiser were you could flamingo someone’s house. This meant that a group would go to the house of your choice and secretly put a punch of pink flamingo lawn ornaments in the front yard. They would do this at night so that way when the family woke up they would see that their yard had been flamingoed! I took part in this fundraiser by flamingoing Profe’s yard twice. Once April had graduated CCS, I couldn’t let the flamingo fun stop. I told Profe that I had to stay after class for some reason (probably something about not having a ride until later). I told him I needed a place to hang out do and homework. He gladly opened his classroom up to me and told me to shut the lights off when I left. Once he had taken off for the day, I proceeded to tape 100s of little flamingo pictures all over his walls, bookshelves, white boards, desk! Flamingos everywhere! I couldn’t stop there though!!! I turned all the desks in his classroom around so that they faced the back of the classroom and I turned all his books upside down. It was amazing!!! The next day Profe actually taught his classes facing the back wall because he thought it was too funny and didn’t want to flip the classroom around on his own. I really got him that time!!! There was also the time that my friend Amy and I put ourselves the display case that was accessed through his classroom and called ourselves “The Amy Exhibit” like we were in a zoo cage or something… or the time we covered his car in toilet paper!

Now what started this Profe blog was a text message from one of my first students. I first taught her class when she was in 4th grade and now she’s in 11th grade. She goes the same high school I did and she is a TA for her Spanish teacher. I got a text from her with a picture of a note that she found taped under her teacher’s desk. This note was taped there by ME almost 8 years go. The note says “Amy Vitzthum was Profe’s TA in 2003-2004. Today (4/23/04) she is very bored. She will remember this boring day forever!!! Yes, she spelt remember wrong, get over it.” (I scribbled out my misspelled remember). Also under the table was a piece of artwork I had made. Profe had a stamp that had the date on it. I used it for grading homework and apparently that day, I took the date stamp and made art of attacking a post-it note with it. The artwork was entitled “Lost in Time”. Very creative, I know!!! It made me so happy to see that something I created and taped under a desk was still there 8 years later and that a student I know would have found it! Jeremy told me it was like my time capsule at WF West had been discovered! You won’t find my picture or name among the sports trophies, but you will find a post-it note under the teacher’s desk in the Spanish classroom. For those of you who thought this was some super spiritual blog about the legacy I’m trying to leave in ministry – sorry, it’s not! However, I do hope that I’m leaving a legacy of that kind! I was just super happy to see that something I made almost 8 years ago still exists. Will the note be there 18 years from now or 88 years from now? Who knows. At that point I doubt the students who happen upon it will know how I am. I’m okay with that. My name might not be immortalized in history books, but I’m really okay with it being immortalized in post-it notes!