Team Meeting

We did a video conference for our group project on November 26th. It was a surprisingly good experience. I highly recommend using Google Plus for any video conferencing with multiple people. It automatically expands the video of whoever it detects is talking. We didn't run into any major technical difficulties. The Google Plus site makes it easy to set up, it's done run over the internet browser so you don't have to download anything (except a plugin). We were able to work on our google docs/presentation all while chatting and listening to the conversation. Using headphones made me feel like I was in the room with everyone and the world wherever I was disappeared completely. The only small issue we ran into was that I had to close a door because my microphone was picking up other people talking close by which the other group members could hear. One of the most important things is to have a good group of people to work with, and our group happened to be excellent. I really enjoyed working with Kevin, Scott, and Scott. Way to go guys!

Forgotten Carols

Yesterday my wife and I went with some friends to see the Forgotten Carols at the UVU Convention Center. We happened to have leftover tickets since my wife's parents were going to take us but then couldn't make it for scheduling reasons. I've seen it a couple times before, but this time the story and it's moral made more sense to me than previous times.

For those of you who haven't seen it before, it's about a nurse who works too hard who ends up taking care of an eccentric older man who sings songs to her and tells her stories about Jesus. You quickly figure out watching the story that the reason the old man know about people from New Testament times is because he's John and has been alive for about 2000 years. Despite how hard she resists to keep up the shell she's built around her from the challenges she's faced in life, that shell starts to break down as the old man continually treats her like a best friend.

I had never really picked up the significance of the last song that she sings in the play until this time through. The words are "All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of, everything I hoped, everything I prayed for couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given. I've been given what I need."

To be honest I never really cared for this song or the lyrics the previous times I've seen the Forgotten Carols. However, for some reason this time it touched me differently. I connected better with the main character. She became a hardened person because of the challenges she's faced in life, but after John showed her genuine friendship, she realized that she doesn't need to be sad about life not turning out the way she wanted it to. Rather, God gave her those experiences and even hardships knowing that in some way she did not expect, they would bless her life and make her into a better person.

Admittedly I'm not a person who's had to face an major losses in life, but I do know that everyone faces different challenges. Responding to those challenges with faith in the Lord will make us better people.