Posted by jael on Oct 8, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology Hats off to Jonathan Mak whose condolences of the iconic Apple logo rose to the top of the sea of tributes to Steve Jobs on the Internet this week.
Mak, a 19-year-old student of Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University School of Design, incorporated a silhouette of Steve Jobs in the negative space of the bite in Apple’s logo to symbolize the mark Jobs forever leaves on technology.
I am moved by the visual impact of his tribute.
There are times when I write I forget how much less is more.
Mak’s less here makes me ache with appreciation of the  more in elegant simplicity.
His use of negative space is sheer brilliance.
It literally brings a face to the loss so deeply felt in the tech community.
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on Oct 6, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology For 
, Maggie Astor lists 5 Ways the Steve Jobs’ Legacy Changed the World:
5. He made PCs before they were PCs.
4. He made computers simple.
3. He made advertising innovative.
2. He turned technology into art.
1. He connected every aspect of our lives.
Astor’s list encapsulates the panacea that Jobs will ever be in the realm of technology.
Appropriately, Astor speaks from the vantage point of an international reporter to a global market.
As wife and mother, my list of 5 Ways Steve Jobs’ Legacy Change my Family archives a more intimate tender:
5. He built platforms that encourage the voices and art of my children
4. He created a communication haven between children and parents more element proof  than a covered bridge.
3. He made community innovative, for example, my transplanted children recently took friends on a virtual tour of their new home on Face Time.
2. He made computers simple enough for my 6-year-old to use without instruction.
1. He made my husband an entrepreneur before he was an entrepreneur. My husband goes to work excited by possibilities every day.
Steve Jobs helped change our family tree.
I am humbled to consider
how masterfully he developed
his passion and skills
to serve the world
in his too short life.
Thanks, Steve.
Rest well.
Well done.
Well done,
good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful
with a few things;
I will put you in charge
of many things.
Come and share your master’s happiness
We love you, man.
You’re in the ultimate
i-cloud now.
Help ’em out up there
’til we meet again.
For those who have yet to read or view it: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, the only commencement speech ever given by Steve Jobs, Stanton University, 2005.
Our family watched it together last night in solemn celebration of a life well lived.
The children’s lunch box notes today read, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah.
There was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on Aug 31, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology Dear Ones,
I recognized the first time I posted from Here that somewhere south of the border brokenhallelujah reconfigured itself anew.
Suddenly, it was no longer a simple venue to rise up in Praise, but a portal to you.
Unexpectedly, writing became the same kind of travel I remember in cherished books as a child.
Instead of a static platform, it’s become a dynamic space where I feel a connection to you in real time despite the virtual bandwidth.
I see your faces,
imagine your eyebrow vibes
and wonder if I can twist a phrase
shrewdly enough
to make you laugh out loud.
As I upload my heart,
I cry up to Him,
and out to reach you,
like an oak branch
against a window pane
and the 1,000 miles between us
for the brief,
fleeting,
precious
time I post
mutes.
I feel the breath of
your Hallelijahs
on my face
and lean in to listen to
Communion bells.
Brokenhallelujah became a biway somewhere on that highway.
Now more, because “(f)or where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them,†Matthew 18:20.
The very idea causes me to rejoice.
As such, I want to thank you for joining the conversation.
I want to tell you how much your readership feeds my Spirit. It fuels my hunger like a big pot of snow day chili on simmer to study more and celebrate this gift of life from our King of Kings.
I want you to know how much you matter to me.
Your love sweetens bitter like honey glaze paints cinnomon buns.
Thank you.
You enrich me.
I am humbled and blessed.
My tech geek architected a new skin to mark the new feel.
I pray you feel my welcome.
Finally, with permission, I’d like to be able to call us something other than bh-ers…
How shall we be named?
and am open to suggestions…
Fellow travelers?
Singers?
Choir?
(bell)Ringers?
The Orchestra?
I look forward to your thoughts.
Much love,
jael
xoxo
Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on May 9, 2011 in
Parenting,
Technology I hope your Mother’s Day was filled with raindrops on roses and picnics with cheesecake. The latter are certainly a couple of my favorite things.
I trust you were amid friends and family and maybe even were blessed with a surprise gift and billet doux or two.
I’m personally convinced that Mother’s Day is one of those magical holidays that calories don’t count and M&Ms are calorie deficient.
The Husband, my tech support geek, surprised me with a gift I did not even know I wanted until a generous reader, Andrea, observed that I didn’t have one.
A Subscribe feature!
Because of his loving efforts and her fine observation, you may now Subscribe to bh.
The Subscribe button is the in red field on the top, right hand corner of the Home page.
If you hit Subscribe, it will walk you through the hoops step-by-step.
Easy-breezy!
Such as I love; and you, among the store,
One more, most welcome, makes my number more.
In closing, here’s a peek at another one of my Mother’s Day treasures:
“Dear Mama,
Thank you for your consistent love, kindness, faithfulness, and faith. Over eleven years, you have seen me grow and mature, cheering along the way. I really can’t tell you how much that means to me. I feel secure knowing that you are home, or just down the stairs. You have helped me in my walk with Christ, and I strive to be more like you every day. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. I love your laugh, your whimsy, your sassy frass self. You have been nothing but understanding as I have had beauty accidents and confidence fails. Today it is time to celebrate you. Your excellence, your beauty. I hope you have the best Mother’s Day in the World!
Your loving daughter,”
The Oldest Girl
I am one lucky Mamma!
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on Apr 30, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology Despite my mentors who chide I should remember why I began my blog in the first place and not get bogged down in Google Analytics or user traffic trivia, I confess I have felt a bit uncertain lately here at bh.
Most of that has to do with family process as we straddle a limbo that weathers and blisters in turns.
Those of you that know and love me know you should never, ever, never consider throwing me a surprise party. I am not wired that way, and the heart of the gesture would be lost in the dysfunction of my insecurity.
However, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE surprise and Just Because Gifts.
I love to give Just Because Gifts, and I am happy to receive them too because they are so rare and precious.
Imagine my delight then when I awoke to find this message from @gurple7 on Twitter:
…stumbled onto your website tonight when looking at various lyrics for “Hallelujah” by all of the artists that covered it to use in my blog. Love some of your posts and poked around a bit to look for a way to subscribe to your feed. Saw the recent tweets and “CHO” in one and then followed you to Twitter to find out if we live in the same town! (We do, by the way) How very cool. So you have a new follower who stumbled on you through several clicks on an internet search and lives nearby.
@gurple7 had given me the most unexpected Just Because gift in recent memory.
What she could not have known is I wondered of late if my blog was able to touch people. Naturally, I hit her blog, easily amused. I was humbled to find:
This song always makes me teary and is perplexing so I have looked at different versions of lyrics many times in the past and was familiar with the long list of sites and blogs that try to interpret the lyrics. In my search tonight, Google returned way too many sites for me to read through, but after clicking on the third or fourth page of results, I ended up at a blog. A beautiful blog simply titled Broken Hallelujah. Each post ends with a portion of lyrics from the song. The writer is so poetic and genuine…though writing under a pseudonym. I was poking around trying to find a way to sign up for an RSS feed or subscription to posts when I noticed some recent tweets mentioning “CHO”. No, she couldn’t be. But obviously, I followed that rabbit trail, and yes, she is! She lives in Charlottesville! How fun is that!? I read more of her posts. Would have come to tears several times, except, as we have already established tonight, my emotions are congested.
And so, when there are no words
…I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah…
The gift of her insight galvanized my entire day.
Just Because one kind woman invested the time not just to read my words, but reach out to me, I remember why I lift my own broken hallelujah.
This was a Just Because Gift that bridged the anonymous internet and impacted me personally.
It was a Just Because Gift that reconnected me to the journey of why I began broken hallelujah.
It is also a reminder of why I continue.
I do it connect with The Light of the World, my process and my Praise.
I do it to use the voice Love lends me and thank Him for Provision.
I write to return to Him when so that I do not drown in my own misguided self-reliance and pride.
I am called to Trust Him here.
@gurple7 published the Truth more succinctly than I have ever said it:
And so, when there are no words
…I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah…
Amen, Sister.
Halleulujah!
Posted by jael on Apr 18, 2011 in
Technology Don’t do it.
If you’re mad, don’t do it.
If you’re uncertain it’s necessary, don’t do it.
If you feel intensely that you must send the message RIGHT NOW, don’t do it.
Just don’t.
Generally speaking, the number one best rule of thumb for professional email etiquette in regard to the REPLY ALL button is to not use it.
In the best of times, email is a flat and tricky communication stage.
Email communication is easy to misinterpret and rife with potential for conflict in team dynamics.
The most effective email communications are:
- Timely
- Appropriate
- Necessary
- Productive
Many teams find it helpful to establish communication protocols for email. An example of a commonly used model is:
Email messages will be
- Private
- Productive
- Professional
- Positive
Another more annotated model asserts:
Email communications will speak:
- Abundantly
- Accurately
- Appropriately
- Aptly
- Advisedly
- Anointedly
It is often helpful for teams and families come to consensus on how they agree to communicate with each other.
Professionally, I plan to fast the REPLY ALL button at every opportunity.
Personally, as a Mamma, I am convicted to prayerfully contemplate the challenge to communicate anointedly.
Imagine how much more access my children would have to The Face of Love were every word I spoke earnestly considered and intended to bless.
The idea humbles and inspires me.
There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in with you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on Apr 10, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology I. AM. SO. MAD.
It happened two days ago.
I. AM. STILL. NOT. OVER. IT.
I wrote you a post.
It was beautiful.
Generational.
Poignant.
Lovely.
Sentimental.
But, not saccharine.
It was a post that wrote itself.
I wrote it by the pool as my kids swam in their uncle’s pool in Florida.
It was fun to write and its results pleased me.
As I finished I went to hit “Save Draft,” and the computer sent an error message.
“Your computer is not connected to the Internet.”
I’m sure you anticipate the punch line.
The computer ate my post like a hungry Early Bird dinner at Golden Corral gobbles up fresh brownies when the dessert bell rings.
I couldn’t back arrow to it.
I couldn’t find it.
The husband, usually my ace-in-the-hole Help Desk rescue, couldn’t retrieve it.
It was gone.
User Error.
I think the phrase User Error frustrates me more than parking tickets.
At least with parking tickets, I know what I did to earn the penalty. With parking tickets, it’s pretty simple: I either parked in the wrong place, or I stayed in the legal space too long. My bad all the way with parking tickets.
User Error however, maddens me, because I often don’t know what I did wrong, but still have to pay the price. In this case, a pretty lovely and feel-good post that captured a sweet, family moment.
User Error puts all the blame on me without apology or explanation.
User Error creates paranoia and suspicion.
When will WordPress next fail me?
What does the computer have against me?
What did I do wrong?
I didn’t mean to hurt you, Internet Connection!
I’m sorry!
Aren’t relationships like this sometimes?
Do you ever feel that seizure of confidence with a person during an interaction, that toggle that signals something’s amiss?
At least computers tell you upfront, User Error.
I wonder what it would be like if people came with User Error messages.
What would it be like if we knew immediately that a behavior or comment had hurt another?
I wonder if it would make us more careful and forgiving.
What would my days look like if my family and friend’s foreheads came equipped with User Error screens.
It’s loss enough to have the computer eat a good post, Â I don’t want my User Errors to blister my relationships.
May I seek the Face of Grace in all my interactions to avoid User Errors and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah!
Posted by jael on Feb 10, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology Like The Baby’s school, many kindergarten classes celebrate the 100th Day with special activities centered around the theme 100.  The Baby is my fourth kindergartner.  We’ve worked hard to muster the same enthusiasm for her journey as we did for our first child.  I confess that quest has been uneven as we simply are not, and can not pretend to be, the same parents three kids and seven years later.  However, serendipity intersected her 100 Day countdown with my 100 posts milestone, and I am newly baptized with the novelty of the Benchmark 100.
The Baby’s teacher has planned a week long celebration to commemorate their 100th Day of School. Â Mrs. asserts that there is just too much fun to accomplish in one day! Â The Baby will skip count, sort, read books, share 100 Day items and write stories to amass in a class 100th Day of School book.
I thought it might be fun to think of some ways broken hallelujah can join the party. BLOGs can celebrate 100 too!
| Ways to Mark the 100th Post |
Many blogs have more than 100 posts, and are way more clever than this, (See my blog roll) but bh features special activities centered around the 100 theme. Here are some suggestions on how YOU can celebrate too!
| Ways to Join the 100th Post bh Celebration |
 |
First thing, pull up your Facebook page and mark this 100th bh post by adding brokenhallelujah.org to your page (if you haven’t yet). |
|
Next, follow me on Twitter, @jaelBH. Â P.S. Â It would thrill me if someone _other than The Husband or my BFF_ would send me 100 XOs. |
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Read a post you have yet to read, or reread a post you liked and leave a new comment. Â Extra credit given to new comments that are also 100 words in length. |
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Read the first 100 words of a post backwards. |
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Skip-Couting by 10: Enjoy 10 sips of wine, read a melancholy post, and laugh at me. |
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See if you can eat 100 Cheetoes before you finish reading the About page. |
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Skip counting by 25: Identify 4 bh core ironies. |
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In no more than 100 seconds, find three things we packed for our Virginia Beach trip. |
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Behavior Count/Skip Count by 10 hybrid: What are the Top 10 most often words used in broken hallelujah? |
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Skip Count by 25: See how fast you can find 4 typos. |
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Identify your favorite artist’s version of “Broken Hallelujah”. |
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Skip Count by 25: Consider 4 things that are possible for your life that are not currently in place. |
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Skip Count by 5: List 20 things that you adore about yourself. |
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Snuggle your baby(ies) for 100 totally unplugged minutes. |
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Skip Count by 10: Sing loudly in the shower for at least 10 minutes. |
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Skip Count by 5: Mani/Pedi, baby! Â You deserve it. |
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Remind yourself 100 times over the next week how much value you bring to relationships. |
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Make yourself a playlist of your favorite 100, 25, 20, or 10 songs. Â Go for a long walk at your favorite spot and lift your voice in Praise! |
Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Well maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who’d OUT DREW YA
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen in the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Posted by jael on Feb 7, 2011 in
Technology
Posted by jael on Jan 31, 2011 in
Spiritual Journey,
Technology As many of you may recall, I am a wiper. I am lulled by the smell of Windex and the process of polishing the counter tops to a sparkly shine soothes me like hot tea with honey comforts a scratchy throat. I also like to sort and organize. There is more delicious pleasure for me to tidy one of the kids out-of-control sock drawers than eating a lollipop. Naturally I’d prefer to do both at once, but I’m just saying, if I had to choose, I’d pair those socks and line ’em up like soldiers in squads by color.
Tonight I found something more satisfying than wiping the kitchen counter after The Husband has made a pancake brunch for the babies. I finally yielded to The Husband’s prodding to categorize the blog. The process demanded that I review each post and sort it by category. It was the virtual equivalent of pairing socks, and prompted the same kind of relief that comes with ferreting a plank out of the corner of your own eye.
The experience was similar to dumping out the contents of a messy drawer onto the floor or watching 17 clowns jump out of a Volkswagon at a circus… Like how in the Big Top did I cram all that junk in there? It helped connect me to my own content as I organized it for easier reader use.
It makes me wish that I could as easily categorize myself.
How cool would it be if my emotions and behaviors came with a Mailbox…
If you wish to access The Mamma, Press 1.
If you wish to access The Wife, Press 2.
If you wish to access Hope & Growth, Press 3.
If you wish to access Blame, Worry or Offense, please stay on the line to find Forgiveness.
If you you hear someone shrieking mindlessly, disconnect immediately, that’s not me.
I categorize blog posts more cleanly than I behave.
My internal counter top is greasy.
If there’s a category for that epiphany, perhaps its Humbled.
There’s a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
