Some random thoughts for the End of the year

I am :

A Christian

An Army Brat

An Adult

A Student

A Leader

And I wouldn't trade it for the world.

This has been a bumpy year, change is always hard. I have had loss in ways that are still too hard to type. I have gained yet another Culture to appreciate and learn. I have had to figure out who I am.

Growing up I lived behind the walls of military instillations. I experienced many cultures, then I got too old, my dad retired and I had to leave that world. The civilian world is different. I miss the life of the military. I miss the structure and discipline, and the artillery fire. I miss the bells, the bugles, and even the deployments.. yes I know that is controversial. But the only way to appreciate what you have sometimes is not to have it.  People ask me where I am from, In all honesty I am from planet Earth, currently I reside on the continent North America, in the USA.

I am an adult. Sometimes that is not fun at all.

Post Christmas

Well Christmas day is done!  My dad was sick for all of it. (sigh) Everything got done in a timely manner anyway.

Dad shared his bug with Mom, who also apparently got the flue on top of it with a temp of 101.8 F .

Then guess what?? I got it. I don't have the fever or chills just an annoying cough and exhaustion. I didn't bother to do anything today. I managed to get dressed and curled up on the couch. That was it.

We didn't bother to decorate this year, and if I am honest with myself and you all, it was nice. No stress, we did not do presents this year either. It was so relaxing.
Well.... as relaxing as it can be with sick parents. I didn't get this bug until Saturday evening.

I am hoping to be up and moving soon, I have some ideas for how next year is going to go, but I know God has the PLANS.

I am willing to be (mostly) patient and try to just take it one day at a time.
I am not making any New Years Resolutions... Well 1
My only Resolution this year is to : Trust God to show me the his plans for my life; And to do what needs to be done to make his will happen.

7 Day preview

 Hi Everyone...

The next week is going to be insane. Life is continuing to throw curve balls. (deep inhale and Exhale)

A sneak peak at my week includes:

Friday- Last min gift shopping for my parents, no, they don't read my blog unless I ask.

Saturday
Part 1- Deaf Christmas Service in Godfrey at 1:30. I am excited to meet more Deaf people and see my friend K. She is also a Sign Language Interpreter Student.

Part 2- A Blue Christmas Service is being  offered in New Baden at the United Methodist Church at 7pm. I am, for lack of better term, the Liturgist. This means I am up front. This is the first time we are doing this event. The stage manager in me is excited and anxious.
It is an hour drive from Godfrey to home  SO....this also means I must leave Godfrey by 4:15 at the latest! Then, I can change into appropriate attire. (which I still need to pick out. I don't want to be too gloomy, but then again, not too chipper either!)

Sunday - is busy! This week is march to the manger at church, which I am facilitating. I am a bit nervous because my wise men were not there to practice on Sunday! What is march to the manger? Oh, its when people bring offerings to the "manger" to support mission work .

Also- Its my favorite Sunday of the month, the 3rd. I get to go see all my friends at the assisted living facility and do communion and fellowship with them. They have the most awesome stories to tell.

Monday- is empty for NOW... that will change

Tuesday- the Church has Christmas caroling, I am undecided if I will attend.

Wednesday is CHRISTMAS EVE! - Its always busy. AND ! I am going to 2 services. One to "work" the Second is to "worship". One is at 7pm the other is at 11:00pm.

Thursday is Christmas- Need I say more?

Finals are done for this Season.

My Final final is done for this season. I start again in January.

I did well on all my tests, if I did the math correctly, I have a full 4.0 grade point average
I am slightly impressed with myself. :)

It was bittersweet. The last test was done and  all of my classmates hung out in the halls. I don't think any of us wanted that class to be over, well the class, maybe, but the time together? no.
No more mandated study time, no tests on vocabulary, No huge and complicated schedule to keep. Sweet.

But at the same time, no time to see anyone, no ridicules jokes in class, no oops signs, no asking a teacher " how do I sign that", not until January, when it all starts again.

I am determined to have a good break. I will try to update more stuff later.

2 more finals then done for the semester

ASL Final Done!  :) It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There is one section that was hard. I actually enjoyed most of the test. Yes I know that is weird.

Tommorow ? Non Verbal Comm Final.

Thursday ? Deaf Culture - My Last final for the semester. :)  Then .. almost a full 4 weeks off.

It is going to be weird not having to go to class. Its going to be even weirder not seeing my classmates. (shrug) I will see most of them next semester at some point or another.

I already got coffe to celebrate, I must stop at the grocery store on the way home so I can make Beef and Broccoli tonight. I will send Dad to get rice. Its faster and better than mine.

This semester seems to have flown past. I have learned more than I thought. Experiences are worth their weight in gold.  Great teachers are worth more.

Some of the experiences of this semseter were good. Some, not related to school, not so great. But I have learned somthing from every single one of them.

At some point in the future I will write about the not so great,but, for now I am excited. I have done the best I could this semester with all the stuff that happend in life.

I found out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I found somthing I am good at, it helps people and  I get to be a bridge.

So until Thursday and my end of semester post. Keep positive thoughts headed this way. Thanks.
 

5 more days of classes !

I only have 5 more days of classes!!

Tomorrow is Interpersonal Communication and Deaf Culture

Friday& Saturday & Sunday there are no classes - I will study hard over the weekend.

Monday is my Final in ASL 1

Tuesday is my Final in Non Verbal Communication

Wednesday -- Nothing

Thursday 1 Big test in Deaf Culture.

I have had a rough semester but it has been good. I have learned so much, and I have so much still to go. 

30 day challenge

The second and third, 30 day challenges are going to be ..... Making my bed every morning before class.

Yes I know its easy, but it doesn't always get done.

To recap my 30 day challenges are:

1) walk 30 min daily
2)  make my bed before class
3) draw/write/craft something daily. can be simple

It takes 21 days to make a habit according to research.. So a month should be plenty of time.

Saturday

So I have been looking at Pinterest.
There are a bunch of 30 day challenges out there.
I am considering picking two to do in December. They would start on the 1st.

The body piece is walking for 30 min a day (it doesn't have to happen all at the same time)

The mind piece is still up for grabs. I am thinking art or music based. Or maybe you decided.


Anybody feel like joining me?

No pressure or stress, just something to make us feel better. 

Thanksgiving

 I have a very short post today as its a simple message:

Be thankful for who you have while you have them, you don't know for how long.
Be thankful for family, whether they are by birth or by choice.
They are the people who will stand by you.
Be thankful for freedom.
Be thankful for food.
Be thankful for options.
Be thankful for people who work on days that end with Y.
Be thankful period.

AND

say: Thank You often and with sincerity. 

quick update

2 big test done. The big project that I have been working on this semester is finished. Big sigh of relief.  3 more tests to do. Finals week is almost here. I will keep on studying. I have learned tons this semester and I am excited to see what the next one holds.

ASL 2 ,Linguistics, Field Experiences, Sociology and PE. I am going to be busy. Learning ASL is time consuming but the more I learn the more I fall in love with Deaf people and their culture, and yes it is different than the hearing culture.

I have a big opportunity Sunday. I have been asked to be a guest speaker at a Church in a different town. I am excited and nervous.  My sermon was coming along and now its changed. God is good. It needed to be different. It was a good sermon but it was not meant for this Sunday. O well. I have a great one in the works. I think it is more where God wants me to go.  I will put the finishing touches on tomorrow and then practice practice practice.


Pax

Salt

Salt can be good, it adds seasoning.

It is said sea water can solve many problems.
Tears have salt. Happy Tears, Sad tears, Angry tears.

But have you ever over salted somthing? It dosen't taste good anymore, it might even be disgusting.Salt can even burn your mouth.

In the old days people would sometimes flush out wounds with saltwater to make the wound heal faster. But it STUNG.. Somtimes pain in nessarry, and even helpful. Not for long periods of time ... but you have to allow yourself to feel pain.

The old saying rubbing salt in the wounds... YUCK.. I would rather skip that step

As a Christian we are calle to be Salt and Light, Do not give into the temptation to be overly salty.. just enough seasoning to keep things interesting.

Papers to finish 5 weeks aprox till this semseter is DONE!

I am not going to be online for a while, I have 5 papers all due this week. Most are in my head, I just have to put them on paper and format them for each of their classes.

Interpersonal(1 huge), ASL(1),NonVerbal(1),Deaf Culture (2)

Plus the normal homework.

I will get it done.
I will do my best.
I will not let this stress me out.
Who am I kidding?? I am stressed.

Bonfire #1 tonight.

It was fun

Thank you to my friends for nudging me to go. And for some of you who outright Pulled me. :)

Thanks to the wonderful guys who hosted the event at their home. The 2 fires made it even more fun.

Gods timing is perfect. The more I learn the more certian I am.


I am thankful that I have found my niche.
I love learning ASL and the Deaf culture, even if sometimes I am completly confused.
 I am enjoying all the new people and traditions.
The Deaf people for the most part are a unique and wonderful community that I am glad I get to experience and learn from. You all rock.

God is in control

God is in control! that is all I can say

But if you pray.. pray for me

Thanks 

Mid-Terms

Hello everyone!

Im Sorry ,I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a little bit.  Its midterm week. I have not had time to check either my email or facebook. 3 out of my 4 midterms are done. I am in the process of writing a paper. I decided I needed a break.

ASL is still a beautiful language. I still think eveyone should learn it.

BUT
I think you need to be ready to have very little time for anything else. Lesson learned this semester? Take a FUN class. I do not have one this semester, it is all intensive. I am not complaining. I just wish I had added a fun class to take a little pressure off. There is tons of stuff to learn, its not just vocabulary its also mannerisums ect.  I am learning tons...

 Yesterday in a class we had an interpreter talk about the job, and the pro's and con's of being a free lance interpreter. She had some great information including: schooling requirements,state testing,nationl testing and Pay rates.

My home computer is still down for the count so I am using the librarys.

Try to take one day at a time.. Unless you have papers to write then maybe try to work a few weeks ahead. :)

Pax to all

Update

Sorry I have been gone so long.

This semester's homework is taking more time than I expected.
I need to work on balancing school and real life. At this point I am living,breathing and sleeping ASL.

I am doing a 5k in the morning.it's not timed.Its partially for school.

NOW its time  to do something to get my body moving.I need a break for my brain.ASL is great, and I enjoy it,however, I need to continue to do stuff that is not related to school.

 I am considering doing a 5K in December.I vaguely remember the high from doing one this time last year.

This one in December as a matter of fact: http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/stlouis/
There is a 5K, I'm not planning on doing the 15k.
Its right after FINALS WEEK. I will be done with this semester. I am thinking if I start now it will  help keep the nerves down during that week. Plus I will be motivated to do it  because I have already paid for it. Its a reason to get up and go for a "RUN"(WALK). Plus it gets me outside to absorb more vitamin D
Thanks for listening to my ramblings for tonight.

PAX

Only post for this weekend except for Sunday.

Its Friday....

Time to start Studying for a huge test on Thursday.

Yes I have almost a week but.. I have a class tomorrow morning from 9am to 1pm. And Sunday is of course Church. So in reality, I have today and part of tomorrow to study. And random times throughout the week, The instructor told us to start studying now!

Note: This is only for one Class. I do have 4 others, Including all of my ASL classes, I must Practice Vocab words.
 BUT.. the test is 1 of 3 and is a HUGE part of the grade. This test only covers 3.5 chapters but there is a ton of information. Lots of technical terms to memorize.  I can do it.

 The Interpersonal Communication teacher has challenged all of the students in the class to take 10 min a day to do something just for themselves. I am going to try to come up with a list later today and maybe post it on a break.


Pax

Tuesday

Its a semi short day. YAY

I will write more after my second class.

Overdosing on God

Today was a good day.

A great Day.

But I had more than enough of God. Don't get me wrong.  I love God, He is always there for me. But today I was in a church service of one kind or another from 8 am - 7:55 pm, It has been a long long day.I felt like I was being fed by a fire hose.

I had Sunday School this morning. I was facilitating a discussion on Communion with the Youth. That lead to some interesting thoughts. It was good. Then it was on the  (A) Church. Communion was served, the youths brought it to the alter, their training paid off. We had a discussion group after Church . Then it was time to run home and eat lunch.

Lunch, .. 13:00 Time to wake up everyone else, and get them ready to leave by 13:30. Mom and I were out the door by 13:15. We drove to town to the Church where the Installation was going to take place. God blessed us with a great parking spot . I found the lint brush in the car and proceeded to get all the dog hair off. :)

(B)Church service . The service to install the New  DS (Distiric Superintendeant) was wonderful. The Music, The Preaching, The Word of God, and did I mention the music. :) I loved it. The 2 Choirs who preformed and the Brass Quartet, and the Pianists were amazing .  The New DS, is a great preacher. He did not shot gun the sermon at all. He made his points and was very clear with what he wanted to say. I think God got His messaged delivered through the DS today.

 I got to meet the Bishop for the fist time today. He made sure the new DS's wife got recognized also and I think that is very important. He looked content, even holy. He wasn't proud at all, but a great humble man.  I enjoyed him.

I got done with that second service and it was time to head to Deaf Church. Service (C) if you were keeping track. It also had cool music . The pastor had been to the Deaf camp in Michigan and had brought home a video with karaoke type words so everyone knew when to sing. I was watching them all sign instead. Its definitively easier to pick up words in sign when you are singing. ....

I am DONE for the day. Now to find my paper on being Deaf for 2 hours. Print it out, put it in the folder and call it a night.   Oh and contemplate on my skit that is due Tues pm. I had it figured out but ran into a few snags. It will be good.

God is good  and All the time he cares for US.

Pax 

End of school weeek

Yes, I know tomorrow is Friday. But TODAY was my Friday. I do not have classes on Fridays. This gives me time to work on Homework.

I had a quiz in ASL this week, a Test in Deaf Culture, A title for a skit due in NonVerbal Comm, a List for Interpersonal Comm and I started working on one of the papers for Finger spelling. YIKES.

So my Next week ,Starting Tomorrow, looks something like this:

Friday- SLEEP IN-- Maybe. Start blocking the skit due Tuesday, Practice. Time myself. Practice finger-spelling, and ASL(new Vocab list). Read a few chapters for Deaf Culture and Interpersonal communication. Make flash cards for most of my classes.

Saturday- Get up , Go to Market. Work on Skit , make copies of stuff to do homework for ASL :DUE Monday. DO THE HOMEWORK for all of my classes except Deaf Culture. That gets done daily .And Practicing ASL is nonstop.

Sunday- Ready?
     7:15 alarm.
      8:00am be eating breakfast, and showered
     8:45ish Teach Sunday School
     9:50 Meet with ladies about Wed pm Study..
     10:00  Sunday Church Service
      Eat Lunch once church is done
       1:30 leave house to head to town for dress rehearsal
        2:00 Installation of the  New DS.
        BEFORE 6 eat dinner
       6pm - Deaf Church
       9pm should be home and checking all of my homework is done for Monday am.
Sundays are always busy but this one is a dozy. I left some stuff out but you get snapshot.

The Skit is due THIS Tuesday. Which means I need to practice Practice Practice all weekend. It will be taped, and it is timed. 2 min exactly according to the syllabus. I also have a picture with expressions and comments due the following week.

On Monday There is a Finger spelling test due, and a Paper.

Wednesday shouldn't be too bad, its just ASL


It looks like a lot,but if I tackle it a little at a time I do okay. I wouldn't trade my weeks most days. 

Update

Air Conditioner is FIXED.

1st class of the day done. 1 to go . 1 Test tomorrow. Back to the normal nuttyness

Labor Day. Cookies, Church

The Air conditioner BROKE last night. It is HOT outside. I am not cooking dinner.

In other news , Deaf church continues to be amazing. The people are great, they tease and make sure both mom and I are included.  We watched the movie "God's not Dead", I liked it. It will more than likely continue to be a tool of discussion and salvation.The guest stars are amazing.  Watching a movie with an all Deaf church was an experience. I had tons of fun. I could sing along to the words and none of them cared.It reminded me of taking a 6 year old to a movie for the 1st time. The reactions, the transparency it was wonderful. The people there are themselves all the time.We laughed lots last night. And the monster cookies were a hit. We brought 2 dozen with us and they were all gone. :)

1st week back to school ASL/Deaf Studies ReCap

So this past week was my first full week back in college. I am loving my classes. There is quite a bit of homework but, most of it is reasonable. All of my teachers are wonderful. I have already attended 1 Deaf event . It was amazing. I am looking forward to doing another. I am actually going to a Deaf Church tonight, I am a little nervous but excited at the same time. I am picking up ASL fairly fast. I receive better than I can send. ( in other words I understand more than what I can "say").

Some of ASL is easy to remember but some are just a bit harder, just like any other foreign language. Going to Deaf Fest was kind of like being dropped in the middle of a foreign country and being told sink or swim. I dog paddled  :) I know enough to say : I am a student, please repeat, Slowly please and a few other key phrases. I was surprised that so many people I know have a family member who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing (HoH), and the family hasn't taken the time to learn ASL. It makes me kind of angry. Everyone has the right to communicate,and I am now more determined than ever to be a bridge when needed. Deaf people should not have be the only ones working to communicate. If you have someone who is HoH or Deaf, Please if they know sign, LEARN SOME. I'm not saying you have to be fluent but its not right to leave them out of the conversation. I am just a student, this is only my second week. The people who I communicated with at Deaf Fest were pleased that I tried, even when it didn't work exactly like I thought.There was lots of encouragement and smiles.

 So if you were at Deaf Fest in St. Louis. Thank you.

Its another beautiful rainy day

Day 4
Day 4 Positive thoughts
1. Its Sunday.. No explanation needed.
2. I got up before my alarm
3. Its still raining.
4- because 3 was iffy, I found my mp3 player and it still works.

day 3 of positive thoughts challenge

Day 3 of Positive thoughts
1. The rain is beautiful, the farms need it. 
2. Hot tea is great 1st thing in the morning.
3. Farm Fresh eggs are soo much better than store bought. And I just picked up mine this morning.
*  School Starts on MONDAY!!!!

Yes I am excited and at the same time a bit nervous. 

Tonight’s dinner? Beef tenderloin with a garlic butter sauce, with salad and maybe some lemon zucchini bread for dessert. It’s already started, the beef has to come to room temp.

It's a beautiful day

The sun is shining.

My alarm actually went off .. and I heard it.

The hot water is working in the house

The internet is working in the house both on the desktop and on wifi.

A friend of mine challenged me to 5 days of positive posts. 3 each day.  I think I may try to continue longer than 5 days .With a modification; one each day  after Monday.

Positive thinking has anecdotal evidence that says "if you start your day positive that is how the rest of the day will follow." I'm not sure I completely agree with that. There are certain things you cannot control and have no business doing so. But, You can almost always control your reaction to them.

So, For Today I am going to look on the positive side. And get a cup of coffee.

1 week plus a wake up until school starts

YIKES. I really need to get my books ordered . I need to clean my room and get the schedule posted for everyone. This next week is either going to fly by.. or its going to drag on and on and on and on.

I am excited. Next Monday looks like its going to be a long day. Its the re-start of school for me. The next few years school  is all I am doing .. well probably.

The Internet is BACK!

My internet was down for 3 whole Days! I got nothing done for school prep. :(  But is was nice with no phone at all for the same period of time  :)

NO Pintrest,No Email, No Facebook.... It was nice. But I am thankful its back.

I am going to be working hard on getting everything ready. Especially for Sunday School. I have a week left for that but I am waffeling on what to use for curriculam. I have the 1st Sunday pretty much figured out but the rest is still slightly up in the air. The curriculam I was going to use has a few issues and now is not completley correct for my crew of kids.

School as in college is less than 12 days away . I need to order books and start filling out my planner :) I am going to attempt to be organized this time around for college.

Somthing to consider

I am an introvert! I am ok with this. I am going to start school in 2 weeks! Some of my classes require extravertedness... I can do it. BUT This link on intraverts is wonderful. #10 and #11 are me to a T. My spelling has been atrocious today.

It has been a busy day. 2 appointments, a trip to the mall, dinner, minor aniversary celebration and the computer is finally working YAY!!

Class

Day two of Spiritual gifts class

I will update more once class is done. 

A thought to consider and a slight rabbit trail in the process.

A quote found online today to consider:

“Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and a lot more rewarding”- Harvey MacKay

 I read. Its a great habit and yet it causes a bad one. Reading until the wee small hours morning and then not getting a move on is a bad habit I need to work on.I read until almost 3 am and then the alarm went off at 8 am. That is not enough sleep for most people to be able to function for a normal work day,Me included.Its not rewarding being sleepy all day long.I re-start college in August, I am going to work on going to bed at a decent hour and going to SLEEP before midnight. At least I will try. I'm going to start the acclimating process now so in august it will not be as difficult to get up for school.

 My first class begins at 9 am, not too bad but its a half hour drive to school with rush hour traffic. So, wake up time is going to be close to 7 am. (I think) I am going to get organized and remember to pack my lunch and lay out my clothing the night before as much as possible :) I am excited about school if you haven't had a chance to read that post. God is good. I DO NOT have to take a MATH class at ALL!!  I have one day that is basically cut in 2; a 11a-12p class and a 7-9 pm class. I also managed to avoid classes on Fridays! I can actually take a 3 day weekend ever now and again. Unless I get a job at the school and then all bets are off. :) Its good to be going back to school. 

You are never to old to stop learning, especially if something interests you.

I DID IT!

I signed up for College classes in the Fall.

I faced the dreaded math test and came out unscathed. Indeed, I do not have to take any math classes because of my scores. Hazzah!!!I am soo Exciteed!!!  Khan Academy is a wonderful program. And God is Great!

I am taking I believe, 15 credit hours this semester. But I am already looking forward to the January session.I have 2 communications classes and the rest are ASL. I am looking forward to the opportunities that arise because of these classes.

Look out world; I am starting school again and I don't mean to stop until I have my masters, at LEAST.

 :)

David and Goliath?

David and Goliath, its a familiar story to most people in a church. Little boy, Huge giant, we even have a song about it.

For one young person in church today the story made his day.My conversation with him went something like this :
Me: Hey munchkin,whats up?
Child L: (at rapid fire rate) There are gross stories in the Bible?? COOL. Did David really cut of His head? Was there lots of Blood dripping do you think? Wasn't David afraid? Why didn't Saul fight Goliath? Was the king a coward? Cowards shouldn't lead an army should they?
Me: Yes there are all sorts of stories in the Bible, some even more gross, some mushy, some just plain weird.
Child L: grosser than David chopping off Goliath's head and carrying it around while there was blood gushing? ( said in a ghoulish voice)
Me : yes.
Child L: Coool. Why dont people talk about the gross stories in the Bible?
Me: I'm not sure, probably because they are not always the easiest to understand.
Child L: Do you think the pastor will talk about any more gross stories soon?
Me: Do you want me to talk to him?
Child L: YES!! something gross, full of adventure would be good.
Me : Okay :)
Child L: Bye

The kiddo made me think, How many things do I as an adult Christian take for granted? I know lots of stories from the bible,  one from each of the categories I mentioned to him. How many people don't know the stories?

 For this little boy, it was amazing, and awe inspiring, A little boy stood up to a giant and won. And David was ready to face the giants brothers as well.

We each have giants in our lives, do we have the faith of David to believe God can handle all of our giants?

Honestly? I am working on it.

Peace to all

4th of July

These opinions are mine,the information about loud noise is from experience in life, please keep all negative comments to yourself.

4th of July celebrations are loved by many people, I am not one of them
I an not fond of all the expectations that comes with  the 4th of July. -
 Fireworks And Large Group Gatherings being the top 2.

The history of the 4th of July is cool, you should look it up if you don't know it.
Why do we celebrate on the 4th and not the 2nd? I am not going to answer that here.
If you want to know Google it.

I have always "strongly Disliked" fireworks.I like the images fireworks can produce in the sky but the sound ? NO, Thanks! They are loud, and most have chemicals that smell funny,and the smell gets into my hair..
I have had plenty of experiences watching fireworks. Including working in a theme park and getting to see/hear 2 firework shows every night I closed. That was awesome....

Then I worked in a hospital one 4th,that was an experience. I learned that I really really don't like the injuries caused by fireworks. If you have to set them off yourself , PLEASE be careful.

Now, I have family and friends that are military, both current active duty and retired who deal with PTSD. If you have loved ones who are military, the 4th of July can be hard on them.. Loud Bangs(fireworks)(noise makers) or(sparklers even) can produce a vivid flash back and or other reactions. Large groups of people can make it worse. Please do not judge someone who does not react like YOU think THEY should to fireworks. Be kind. Give people space and or support if they need it. If you are going to be doing fireworks, announce it in advance so that they can prepare for it or decided if its time to go inside and watch something else. I think there should be a light show that can be watched on the computer/tv so people can control the sound and or pause it if they need to take a break.

My plan this year is to hide. There are some great movies scheduled to be on and a good book is on standby.I will celebrate in my own way.

I do like traditional foods for the 4th, Hot-dogs, Hamburgers, chips,side salads and desserts. Especially cheesecake. I might have to make some. yummy!

Please do me a favor..

This 4th of July, THINK, about what you are doing, before you do it. Whether it is getting together with family barbecuing,fireworks, being by yourself, or hanging with a group of friends and having a blast. Be safe, use your brain, make wise decisions and have a great Holiday.

6/30/2014

It is HOT and Humid. I am intraverting today.

That is all

Saturday

Garage Sales!! + rest of day

Its that time of year for garage sales.

I had a great plan for today.The list of yard sales that looked great but ... It didn't work. My map was way off. I visited two that were in sketchy neighborhoods and decided that was that, no more from my list. BUT there was a huge sign at the intersection so I decided to just see what I could find. An entire neighborhood was having a sale,20 homes or more. I parked at one end and walked most of it. I found some craft stuff, a few odds and ends and one shelf that I am planning to recycle into something new. Once there I headed to the other side of town and across for the craft store ....

Across the street a church was having their rummage sale . I got slightly side tracked.The people were helpful, it was well organized and .. They were doing $2 a bag , whatever you can stuff into the bag counted ( and they meant stuffed). I got 2 bags, one with mostly books about embroidery and the other mostly jeans. The denim is for a quilt. The books are for inspiration, ideas,and instruction. And I found a mostly finished embroidery project that just needs background stitching done. Its all fill stitch , I can do that. I am excited to see how it turns out.
After the church sale I went to the craft store and got a few odds and ends.

Time for lunch. Then home for 2 hours to work on newsletter and slides for church in the morning.Then over to the civic center for an event. The chicken and the cupcakes were very good.  Mom was exhausted so I brought her home and now its back to work on the slides. Plus planning a few ideas.

A Monday-ish Post

Its Monday,

I don't have much to write at the moment but I decided to at least put fingers to keys and start.

On Sunday in church we talked about Samson and Delilah. Our Object lesson was on Scissors, a simple tool that made an impact of the future of 2 nations.

Saturday I went with my family to the St Louis Art museum.We got there a little early and walked around the park.Once again I was blessed with a great parking spot. I think we saw about 1/3rd of the museum. I liked the Flowers of the Four Seasons in Chinese and Japanese Art exhibit.There was soo much to see. I didn't even get my sketch pad out because I couldn't decided where to look.

One the main level there were Gates from an abby(?), they were massive; had stars inlaid in the muliticolored wood work, it was beautiful. They had 2 sets of doors, 1 regular sized door a person could go out and then the actual hinged gates that were attached to the wall. I couldn't have done them justice sketching.

I'm not sure what else to write. Maybe more later today, if not tommorrow.

Peace to all

Fathers Day-Belated

Lets get this done 1st.

I have an amazing Dad.  He has been deployed overseas,been home, been gone and is now home every fathers day. I am blessed. My dad has always been encouraging. My dad read to me.. A lot.My mom says the first big book he read to me was Moby Dick, followed by Ivanhoe. I now have a love of reading. If I have wanted to try something(within reason) he was all for it. I have jumped off mountains, gone canoeing on river trips, worked for the mouse and have traveled the world.
One of the things my dad still says is " try your best, God has the Rest," I don't know if that is something he made up or if he is quoting someone else,but  it does not matter. Its OK to fail. I tried. Some of the recipes that I have attempted, for example, have been great, others, A HUGE flop.But its okay, I tried.

 When I was a kid, he used to tell me it was okay if I dyed my hair purple as long as it was clean and tidy. I have yet to dye it purple, but knowing I could was amazing.

I went to camp every summer and he would write me stories in letter format and give them to my counselor to be handed out one day at a time.It kept me connect to my family while they were moving, it was also fun.

I grew up, now, he is my sounding board when I am writing papers and sermons, my place to vent, the proof- reader of all my papers, and  he gives me suggestions when I get stuck. He understands that I need time to myself, and lets me have it.

He is my dad, and I am glad that I still have him.

But....For me fathers day is complicated.

I have my "Dad" but I also have had Godly men in my life who have made an impact. Some of them are no longer on earth and some still are still here. Fathers day is a chance to remember them as well. Some of them  knew a little girl who missed her dad while he was deployed,they all kept me out of trouble, they challenged my beliefs and they blessed me with their time and attention. I know my mom appreciated it too.  So to those men : Thank You and Happy Fathers day.

There is a 3rd father for me. God, he has been there through everything.
The ups and downs. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Even though there have been rough spots, God has always been there for me. I don't know how I would have handled some of the curve balls these last few years without him. Fathers day is/was a good day to remember my commitment to Him

Every Day is a gift. Use it wisely. Talk to your father. Heavenly and Earthly if possible. For those of you whose dad is no longer on earth, share Happy stories if you have them. Because, Believe it or not, every person you encounter, good or bad makes an impact in your life. That means you make an impact also. Be a good impact.  Encourage each other and live life to the fullest.

Peace to all.

Saturday Fun

I drove to St Louis today. Without directions and ... I did not get lost.

We,( Mom, hubs and Me,) went to the St Louis Botanical Garden. It's Amazing!

 God is good, He provided a great parking spot for me :) And...a complete stranger walked up to us and  gave us her extra tickets while we were in line.(thank YOU!) The weather was perfect,
I got tons of Vitamin D3.

There was plenty of space to walk around even though it was busy. There is so much to see there. We did not see it all today but, we will be back. The garden is working on redoing their roses, I will be excited to see those done.

The Victorian House Garden is incredible,but one of my favorite displays was called a "pincushion garden". They are cool, and environmentally friendly. I hope my pictures turn out.

The Japanese Garden was amazing. The people watching was pretty entertaining as well. The Koi fish bridge was compared to piranhas feeding by someone I love, when asked if that referred to the fish or people, the response was BOTH.

However,everyone we met today was polite and very helpful.

Sorry Denver, but, St Louis has you beat big time comparing the botanical gardens of each city. Next time I visit the Garden in STL, I am bringing a better camera, my phone just does not capture the wonder of all the plant life. 

Learning

Well , I have decided to learn something "crafty"- Shocking I know.

I am learning how to embroider, its relaxing and I can focus for extended periods of time. I purchased a book, found a few amazing web sites and got started. There is sooo much out there. One of the first things I noticed was that every single place said to start with a sampler, not just a sampler, but one You, the person doing the embroidery designed.

I now have a problem... I have in my head not 1 sampler but 12.

One at a time,the first one is an Einstein quote and then a few simple shapes to start.  The other samplers,however could be incredible IF I can actually get them from my head to the fabric... But I am getting ahead of myself.

Mom actually had to tell me to move it a the craft store.Talk about a role reversal, I used to be the one in a hurry. O well. I am learning to see things differently. Tattoos for example, are great inspiration for an embroidery piece. Simple outlines, odd shapes etc, are great. I am getting better at most of the basic stitches, some of them are still giving me fits. Mom says " it takes the 4 P's, Prayer , Practice ,Perseverance and Patience".

Well that's an idea.... 4 P's in Embroidery.. make that 13 Samplers..

For this week,
One stitch at a time, one breath at a time, one day at a time.

Doctors Results for ME

So, The results are in... 

 I went to the Dr for some normal yearly testing. But I was also having some concerning issues and decided to mention them to the doctor to see if we could figure out what was going on.

I had hair falling out,I was exhausted, my temps were nuts, ect..  My first thought was my thyroid due to family history.. So I asked my Doctor to test it, he agreed but added other tests to just be sure.  The nurse called me on Monday.. Everything except 1 test came back normal. 

My thyroid is NORMAL!! 

My Vitamin D, however was very very low.. 13.8 or so and it should optimally be  50 or better. I get to take lots of D3 for 3 months, I am excited that it is hopefully going to be that easy to fix .. In 3 months I get my blood drawn again. If everything looks good, I can make other plans.

Update and Thoughts

Today is the 1st time in a while I have had time to myself. Its slightly weird!

 I am making lunch while Mom and Dad run errands. I have a whole 2 hours to myself :)  We are having meatloaf and greens for "lunch".

Many of you know that my mom has had rough few months.It has been a full month since she woke up with no hearing.

Everyone is adjusting slowly to the hearing loss, she is completely deaf in her left ear.

We, as a family, are in the process of learning what works and what does not.
We WILL be learning ASL.

Common questions include : Is she going to get her hearing back, NO. Hearing aids? NO. Cochlear implants? No, her cochlear is non functional. Surgery?, not worth it at this point.
 Are there any options, yes, but right now we are in the waiting game

 The big issue is balance, it has lead to some interesting moments. Down the stairs to church, down the hallway, wherever we go. The escalator was a fun learning experience :)  It has gotten better.

It will be at least 6 months until she can possibly drive, more testing will be required to clear her for that.
 God has a funny sense of humor. Until all of this happened I was not a confident driver, Guess what? I am now.

Laughter has become more common in our house, something I did not expect. But (at least in our family) it is better to laugh than to cry.  In this last month there have been some silly mistakes like leaning into her Left(non hearing) ear to whisper to her,( oops) she can't hear me. I'm sure as we continue there will be more silly mistakes and probably some tears of frustration,but I am confident that no matter what happens in the end it will all work out.

 So for now,  I am excited to see where God is leading.

4:20 am

I went to bed at 12 am(midnight) thinking about rest. Its just shy of 4:30am and Good morning.?

Obviously the Almighty wanted me up for some reason. I wish I knew what is was. I guess since I am up I will do some Bible Study and Spend some time thinking and praying.

Peace to all this day.

 

Mothers Day (well sorta)

Today is Mothers Day.

But this post is not about Mothers day in the traditional sense. I will proably write that post later in the week. But for now I need to decompress from the morning.

I actually delivered my first sermon not in a class room TODAY! On "shoes" believe it or not. I figured shoes was a topic most people would like.  The scripture referance was Hebrews 12:1.

The pastor was the only person who knew I was preaching, eveyone else was suprised when he handed me the wireless microphone.   :)

God's timiming is amazing. I was a bit nervouse but I found my grove in the 1st service. And I felt more confident in the 2nd, possibly because it wasnt "completely new" to me. I got some encourageing feed back and some fun ideas for another sermon.  This evening we had a potluck. I got more feedback and encouragement.

Peace and Grace 

Craft Fair Recap

May 3rd  

It was craft fair day. I had been up until almost 2 am prepping (that's what I get for procrastination).

I was sewing and the needle broke on the machine and I decided it was time to quit.

I went to bed and my alarm went off at 6 am. I ate breakfast, had tea and grabbed a water bottle.

Around 7:30 am, I headed out to set up for the fair. :) I had laid out my clothes and packed all my stuff the night before. I was fairly confident in my set up plan.  I got to the fair, found my spot,and started to set up.It was a bit chilly, but the sun was coming out. I had left a couple of things at home so I ran home and got them. I am glad I planned on some wiggle room for set up as I  had to do a bit of rearranging on my table . Editing is important even at craft fairs.  I was all set up by 9 ish, the fair was not due to open until 10 am.  The weather for the day was amazing sunny with a high of 75* . I did wear lots of sunscreen. The fair did not have great attendance but there is no way anyone could predict that. The space was great, the people were nice, the volunteers were wonderful.

All in all a good day. I got natural  Vitamin D, talked to people and had fun. 

I did not get "much" of a sun burn. After the fair, we (as in Hubs, Mom and I )went to lunch. Then we came home , I showered and fell asleep on the couch.

 

And now I am wide awake, church is at 8 am. I need to be over there at 7:15 am. 

Have a blessed day

May the Fourth( Force) of God be with you.

Craft /Vendor Fair part 1

Saturday, May 3rd  is the craft fair  in New Baden :) 

I really need to get finished with all of my projects. I have a few new ideas I am going to test.  And I need to decide how to set up the table. I have 6 Days. I can do it. 

The weather for this week looks meh. I am praying that on Saturday it heats up. I am going to be outside all day. I will wear sunscreen. 

I will write more tomorrow. 

Easter ect

Lent is over
Easter Came :) Thank YOU

How did your giving up or taking up go?

I discovered I don't really like coffee, its ok, but I would rather drink hot coco-
 go figure

We had a good Easter service, and the breakfast was yummy(Thank you), the kids enjoyed their Easter egg hunt. The minions(and mini-minions) did a great job with their parts. I was grateful we did not have Sunday School.

Next Weekend , I have a Sunday off, I got a sub for my class and I am not attending my home church. (shocking)thought sarcastically.

Taxes are done, paid and now to plan for summer.
There may be a few cross country trips with mom. We are going to look at Universities,maybe visit a few friends. :)

The dear Hubby has 1 extra scheduled day off in July, (we already have the date) and I already have an idea what we are going to do :) Cabins/camping/relaxing- no technology. This could be interesting.

There is a craft fair on the 3rd of May . I am excited to see how it goes.
I am still working on finding a paying job. Only part time. God will provide.

Computer is busted

Well my internet is down on the main computer. Hopefully it will be fixed in a few days :( 

I will try to write from other places. My phone is not fond of spelling correctly. 

Easter is in 3 Days :)

I might try coffee, but I'm not sure if I really need it anymore.

Seasons

Life is a series of different seasons:

Some seasons are easy, others, very difficult.

The seasons change- We are supposed to change and grow too

When is not up to us, we don't control the seasons.

How we react to the seasons is a different matter entirely.

A season is a period of time. A time for everything.

Time can fly or creep by, use the time you have wisely, you do not have any idea how long a "season" can be.

Occasionally, in the Midwest, you can see the seasons changing; the weather is different, the ground is being tilled, plants planted. Symptoms of a season of change and growth.

Personal seasons are more challenging to acknowledge. I am getting there. What do I want to be as a grown up? More importantly, what does God want me to do/be?  I have been wrestling with the answer for a while…

 Seasons change and the Bible even talks about it.

One of my favorite verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, I only posted part of it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time for everything,

And a season for every activity under the heavens:

Yard Sale Season

Today was the 1st Saturday of yard sales

It was fun. I only spent 8 dollars but found : books, jeans(10 pair), curtain rods,shirts,a coffee pot and .. a Michael card tape.

 I like to look for unique items and objects I can use for crafting. Today was a crafting expedition. The jeans are going to be part of a quilt.

Saturdays in the summer for me = treasure hunts. sometimes we find the treasure and sometimes not but the fun is talking to the people holding the sales.

Lent

Lent is almost over.

The next 9 days are heavy in church history.Not a happy time.

We had an Ecumenical Lenten service today. Ecumenical means-"representing a number of different Christian churches"

I gave up coffee for lent, I don't think I am going to go back to drinking it on a regular basis. I have gotten better at writing on a regular basis. I think this year, lent was more a period of discernment.

Its time...
To go BACK to SCHOOL.
 I need to finish my bachelors and then get my masters. Deep breath. Eventually I will get the courage to write about what I am getting my Masters in, for now, it is just a bit overwhelming considering knowing I am going back to school .

I have posted about the preaching class I was in, its done. I learned that I am a researcher, and presenter. The biggest critique I got was that I don't speak loud enough. And/or stay close enough to the microphone. I have a lapel mic at my home church. And someone who controls the sound :) ( Thank you)

I have many ideas for sermons which I have been encouraged to write down and put in a file. I think that is my next project. 

New Router

Huzzah! THe new wireless router is working , all four adults can use the computer :) I checked my email for the first time in 4 days. 

Tomorrow is my last session in the preaching class. I am partly sad but also excited. I have learned many things about myself , ministry and preaching. 

Soon I will update about what I have learned , it is enough for now to know that God's got it handled.

Thursday

Well what a day. It is pouring down rain(still). I may end up cutting this short.


 At 6am I woke up from a dead sleep, my hubby was at work,and there was a deep male voice in my room,it  scared me and it took me a second to realize it was the weather radio!.

5 min later the Tornado siren went off. What a way to wake up, I had only gone to bed at 3 am.

Welcome to spring in the Midwest.

I fully expect we will have more sever weather, however while I had rain, my friends in Colorado had snow. I will take the rain and thunderstorms :) 

Timing is everything

I wrote this about 2 weeks ago. I was not going to post it at all but maybe it will help someone .

1 Final Appointment

A final appointment to keep have I

The time and location unknown

If I could make the appointment, I would be old and grey

But it is not my appointment to make

God picks the time and place

Some people’s appointments come way to soon-

 for those of us left behind

But your timing is perfect, timeless and divine

If I could change the appointment time, I’m not sure that I would

For if you call me for my appointment, it’s for your greater good

I hope my family misses me, when my turn does come, it’s true

But I am sure I will see them in the kingdom and I will celebrate with you.

 No, I am not ill. We had a young man in our church die, I was at the hospital with his family. It was not written for him,but it was shared at his funeral. 

This is an original work.

Please Do not Reproduce without permission

Written March 14, 2014

decision decisions

I am in a class where I have to present 1 sermon a week. Last week there were too many people who needed to present so I ended up not giving mine. Now I had 2 options. Just work on the one I didn't use or write a new one.  no option for me. I wrote the 1st one for a completely different audience. So,I wrote a new one.  Now I have to decided which sermon to actually present in class. I like them both. But they are totally different. Hmm.

On Saturday this week I plan to pre-plan Sunday. It is nuts . But it will work out. Semper Gumby.

Thoughts

What does the future hold for me?

The future holds many changes. What I was planning to do as an adult is not what God wants me to do adult.

Listening to God is a very good idea. Telling him no, is just plain Dumb(yes I admit to being dumb in this case). I have experienced many stressful events in the last few weeks. I thrived. I am starting to figure out exactly what God wants me to do. (exhale)

Its going to be a long road. Eventually I will write another post and explain . Just not right now.

God is bigger than my fears, will brush away the tears
and will keep me through the years.

Stories

Do you remember having stories told to you as a kid?

If you went back and looked  them up,would they be exactly how you remembered?

The Wizard of Oz, what color were Dorthy's slippers according to the BOOK? the original? (silver)

How many animals of each kind on the ark for Noah? 

David and Goliath?

The Chronicles of Narnia?

Not the Movies, but the actual stories, as the Author wanted them to be told. 

What a difference it makes!

Some stories are so familiar we loose their importance. 

I  am working on a project and have been mulling over childrens' stories all week, I think as an adult I tend to not place enough importance on them. And in Bible stories if they have motions and songs I know the Sunday School version,but the actual story in the Bible, some of them, I am a bit shaky.

I am working on it.

You (I) pick up important details when you (I)  pay attention!

Midweek

So I am in a class..
I am writing a 3 sermons...
I get to pick the texts
I have 15 min to present each
1st sermon choice,
Zacchaeus.
Its due Sunday.
Rough draft is coming along.
Deep Breathing.
I am learning alot about what my dad does on a regular basis.
Finding the Key point is Super important.What is universal to your audience?
I do not use manuscript format because I go into lecture/study mode and it gets boring!
Outline
and Smile

Prayer Request

This is a hard week.

A young man went home to be with Jesus on Friday night.It was very unexpected . He was 24. He is survived by his parents and his 2 younger sisters. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

I am having a bit of trouble writing anything positive this week. I know God has a plan but this week is challenging.

Doctors Apt Update

Well.... I do not have carpal tunnel . The test came back negative.
BUT the doc is pretty sure  I do have Cubital tunnel.
Basically its carpal tunnel just in my elbow. Its fairly easy to treat and I am very excited.

Biggest challenge - Baby my elbow and pay attention to how I sit.

One of the harder things is going to be limiting my time on the computer. He said set a timer for 1 hour and then take 30 min or more off doing something else.

Surgery may be an option if the simple stuff doesn't work .But my doctor seemed pretty chilled about it. :)

I will write a different post later this is just an update for my family.

Lent+Updates+Grace

Hi everyone, I got a bit side tracked these last two days.

On Tuesday this week I had my testing done for carpal tunnel . I didn't mind the 1st part of the test where they put electrodes on you. It was the second part where they poke you with a needle and then ask you to move your hand in certain directions that was not fun.The thumb side was supposed to be the most painful, it wasn't that bad at all.I did deep breathing, I was prepped for the ouch factor. Then he did the pinkie finger side, I almost jumped off the table.That sucker stung! The rest of that test was uneventful, a bit annoying but not bad at all.

Then I got up.... I went to pay and was feeling a little warm but not too bad. Met up with mom, got to the car and proceeded to get very light headed. I sat in the car with the windows open. I needed sugar and I knew it. There were a few cashews , but nothing that would metabolize fast as sugar except for .... Moms iced coffee.

Yes. I did give up coffee for Lent but, I think, in this case, grace is wonderful. Yes. I did drink the coffee , it leveled out my sugar and made it possible for me to drive. My intention was to go the entire season of Lent without coffee, however, I know my plans verses Gods plan... God wins.It made me think about intent verses what actually ends up happens.

And you know what?  The drink didn't taste that good. Yes, the sugar helped but.... I am starting to wonder if I drink coffee out of habit. Do I really need to be drinking coffee on a regular basis? I have some time to find out because except for the couple sips from moms cup I haven't slipped up.

Grace and Peace to All 

Lent? Well, not today's post

Tomorrow is the big day, I get to see the specialist :)

Maybe by the 14th I will actually know what is wrong with my wrist.I am a bit nervous, everyone I have talked to says this test is painful or very uncomfortable.

Mom got to see her doctor today, he took out the cushion and said she can cautiously start driving.No big trips for a while with her behind the wheel. So.... I am still doing more driving for a bit.

This week has the potential to be a bit nuts. Doctors , Specialist, and School stuff.
Semper Gumby.

Breath in , breath out. God's Got it.

Lent 5

God is good.

That is it for today.

Longer post tomorrow, I promise.

Lent 3

Time to myself, what a blessing

I had time to myself today,(this does not happen often, even when I am by myself my phone seems to ring off the hook) Mom had a meeting for a few hours so I got to sit and read.

I am a fast reader, and I enjoy many different types of books, today it was catching up on the "The Lunar Chronicles",by Marissa Meyer and starting a new to me series by Annelise Ryan , so far her books are great. No, I am not receiving compensation for posting about either of these books.
 I am always looking for new books to read and I am very impressed by the character development in both of their series.
Time to study is important, but sometimes you need to let you brain have a break.

I got to see part of my extended family today. It was nice to see them.

Mom and I went to the drive thru at the coffee place today and got..... A Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I did not give in to the temptation :)

How are you doing on your Lenten journey?
Celebrate the small stuff . 

lent 2+ update

How are you doing with Lent? Its a work in process for me.. Lent is good for working on priorities, I know the main thing is to get closer to God,however...

I ended up giving up coffee for Lent. Not Caffeine , just coffee as I drink it on a daily basis. I am discovering the different teas we keep in the house. I love earl grey but I also like lady gray.I am rediscovering stories in the Bible .Some are old favorites and some are new experiences. Believe it or not there is a cool story in the book of Numbers chapter 27, Go ahead and look it up.

I had never heard it before. Guess what? Neither had Dad or Mom. Its fun to find stories in the Bible that are not popular.

I have had a productive day. 

I had a date with the hubby , we went to lunch and had time to talk about vacation ideas. We came to the realization we needed to leave for a bit, just a 3 day weekend. There is debate where we are going to go,but at least we are coming up with some good ideas.We don't want to spend the days driving so it has to be somewhat close to Central Illinois.

Then:

I came home and worked on church stuff for a bit.Checked the FB, and email.

Afterwords:

Mom and I made a list for town of stuff we needed to pick up,including bottled water for the Coffee machine.  We stopped at the Hair Salon to see if mom could get in to see her stylist,she has to have her picture taken tomorrow and the surgery had done a number on her hair. Her stylist couldn't see her til 5 pm,but she did get her in, and her hair looks wonderful. Its wash and go.

While she was getting that done I went to the bookstore! I bought a tea latte. There were several good books that I considered getting but I am going to wait. I have stuff coming in the mail to explore sometime in the next week. 

Came home, Made dinner, updated this post, made priorities for tomorrow, and started looking for ideas for vacation.

Mom has a meeting in Springfield tomorrow and she still can't drive, the doctor has not cleared her yet. 

So , I am going to be driving up  and I have from early morning to mid afternoon to do whatever I want as long as I am back to pick up mom ,its weird, I will probably hang around the office and read or sketch for a bit. I have time to write, edit and plan ideas. 

I will post tomorrow but it will be short. 

Lent post 1

40 days = 1 month +10 days

A time to reflect, to examine yourself, to intentionally draw closer to God. Many different denominations participate in the Lenten season. I grew up on Army bases around the world, the imposition of ashes was part of my growing up. I have sat through many Ash Wednesday services;United Methodist, Anglican and Catholic to name a few. Each one has left an impression and for that I am thankful.

 This year I completed the United Methodist  Basic Lay Servant Course. I had the opportunity to assist in the Ash Wednesday Service, to be on the other side of the rail was eye opening. I often do the object lesson ,so being up in front was not a huge deal. But seeing the light bulb for some of the people in the congregation was thought provoking. It seemed to connect to some of them more deeply than normal church,they were not as distracted and in my opinion that is a good thing.

Ash Wednesday begins almost a time of mourning, it is similar, I think to when a family member goes into hospice, there is a heaviness that sets into the church, we know the end is coming, this is the time of waiting.

If you knew you had 40 days to improve your relationship to God before you had to face him in person , what would you do?
 Traditionally you give up something for Lent or take up something.

Easter morning is coming but for now.... How will you improve your relationship to God?

Updates

Today is just an update on some stuff:

I have finally been almost diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome,(Thanks for the straight answers Doc.)

This has been an ongoing issues for nearly 2 years. I have the final testing scheduled for the 11^th of March.I don't get the results until the 14th. Now I probably know why my hand is going numb and losing feeling. If the test comes back positive for carpal tunnel there are a few options. J  Until then I get to wear a brace most of the time.

I am going to work on getting healthy by:

• ·         Walking at least  10 min daily
• ·         pushing water
• ·         work on not stressing ( for me that is a big issue) .

Mom continues to recover. Today, it will have been 2 weeks since her surgery, which was actually 4 procedures all done at once. She has managed to do quite a bit by herself. She has gone to town and she has even done some grocery shopping with me. Still no driving for at least 6 weeks. L I will be so glad when mom can start helping in the kitchen again. She did chop a few veggies today but when she can do more it will be wonderful.

Who's Birthday? Oh Mine

My birthday is this week. There have been so many other things on my mind that I didn't even remember until I looked in the bulletin at Church. Oops

Birthdays are important. But for me they come with issues. Enjoy life and the people you love.  I will be celebrating by not doing anything special except maybe going to the book store and getting a book, a cup of coffee and maybe a slice of cheesecake.

Sunday Sponges Sandwiches ???

Sunday-Sponges-Sandwiches-

What do these have in common??

Believe it or not the answer is CHURCH!!

The object lesson was about being a sponge.

 The sermon was about private devotional time and that is where the sandwich came into play.Feeding yourself daily is important.(both real food and spiritual food)  How to do devotions is like building a sandwich, I learned this at a camp but it was used again today in church. It is an easy formula to remember.

Update: My mom is healing well she got the staples out, is up and moving more, she is wanting to go out and do stuff like fabric shopping :)


If you want to know more ask me. I am keeping it short today . There is still a potluck at church, a forum about a new building and Minion Meetings tonight. ( My day is only partway done)

?

I had a slow start to the day. I am an insomniac, I will fully admit it.

First: I couldn't find my glasses, then mom got up and moving, made sure the hubs got to work and checked email. I hopped in the shower, got dressed and had some breakfast/lunch.Dad had left way earlier

Next, took mom with me to the store to get ingredients for dinner for the next few days and stopped to get coffee. Mom needed out of the house..But  after those two stops she was pretty tired when we arrived home.

At the moment,I am working on designing a business card, drinking coffee and listening to music. I do have some church work to get done.

And dinner to start and A DATE to plan :)

I might post again tonight after I get some of the laundry done

Thoughts on Balance

Today is almost done. Dinner is done and everyone has eaten. Dad is doing the dishes, my hubby is getting ready for work, mom is relaxing in the recliner and George is laying on the floor guarding mom. This is the 1st time I have gotten on the computer today. I have checked FB and email. I wasn't going to write anything today but I figure if I don't I will get out of the habit. After all....

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."-Aristotle

Since I want to eventually excel, I will have to work at it. I was going to write down a kids sermon idea but decided that it was not what was really on my mind. 

I want to take a few minutes to write about balance, as far as I can see there are 3 parts to balance (feel free to disagree) there is: your head(mind), your heart (spiritual/emotional) and physically(body).

 I am in the process of relearning that balance is very important. I have been working on the mental part( I am learning new stuff)  and I am in the process of training for a 5k so my body is in the physical  process but.... the heart(spiritual ) part? 

 Well I need to focus more on it. 

 Am I meeting my spiritual needs? Honestly? NO. "Well what are you going to do about it?"   I have a 3 step plan:

1: Pray

2 :Find Substitutes teachers for youth and Sunday school

3 :Find a Bible study that doesn't meet on Sundays that I can attend and learn from someone with more knowledge than me.

Ok, 4th Step - Let God figure out the rest. 

Thanks for taking a glance, I have some ideas peculating but I need to think them out some before I post them here. Hang in there. 

Fri,Sat,Sun: Highlights

My mom did great during surgery and is recovering . If you want to know more feel free to ask me.

Valentines day is done!
Thank You God.

I had wonderful helpers for the banquet. I had a few kids who really worked their butts off.  I had great support .If any of you are reading this "Thank YOU".

The food was well received.
We had: beef tenderloin, baked potato's ,green beans with bacon, rolls with butter and brownies Ala mode for dessert with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, there were also chocolate cupcakes for the minions who helped.

 I did not have to make the above mentioned dessert, I delegated that responsibility to another member of the congregation. One of my better moves if I do say so myself.

The rest however, myself and 1 of my older youths knocked out.

The decorating was done by another person from church and she is marvelous.  The skits went off without a hitch. Thanks dad for handling that while I was in the kitchen finishing plating.

We started the banquet at 6:00 pm on the nose.
Clean up was easy as we had disposable everything. People stayed to help transform the church basement into the pancake breakfast space. By 8:00 pm the last person had left the building and locked up for the night.

Sunday was a semi typical Sunday

 Sunday school at 9:15- we talked about worship as a discipline. That opened a can of worms. I don't have all the answers and I told my students that. However we are making progress. One of the things that was pointed out today is your translation of the Bible can really make a difference in your interpretation of a specific scripture. We were in Exodus today and in most of the translations the word used is "worship" but in the King James version it is "serve" . This meant some research for me. What did the passage say in Hebrew? Out came the concordance and research time began.

I did have to do a bunch of cooking in between Church and the next event . Beef , pork and chicken had all defrosted and needed to be cooked.

Then at 3 pm,it was over to the assisted living facility. I love going to see the people there , they are very lively and have great stories to tell. The people there want to worship. They are excited to see me and normally Dad. We sing, pray, Dad does a mini sermon and then Dad leads them in communion. It is more a time of worship for me than on most Sunday mornings as I am working as basically a stage manager during most of them.

Got home , finished cooking dinner and did coffee (x3) - Mom,Dad, Me)

Checked the church Facebook page to see if there were any responses to the 2 questions posted. Which were.:

1 : What was Pastor Carl's sermon about today?- This one is witness (most of you, if not all of you weren't there)

2 : What is the most awesome thing you have ever seen?

Please feel free to leave an answer to the second question in the comments - Keep it PG please.

This past week is done and that is good. This next week holds its own challenges. Dr. Appointments among them. I'm sure there is more to be done tonight yet, but I am going to go ahead and post this and call it a night on the blog unless something major happens.

Thankful/surgery/thoughts

 I am grateful for the short break  that I find myself with, it wasn't planned at all. I know tomorrow is going to be long.

 Dad took mom to the hospital for surgery so, I have been home most of the day doing the other stuff. The beds are made, most of the laundry is  done. (The dryer decided today was a good day to stop working :( it may fix itself again later tonight , I would have liked to get done with moms laundry first though.), dinner cooked and the valentines day banquet back planned. My hubby is resting and I have had time to play the X-box for the first time in a while. 

I am going stir crazy not being able to talk to mom and dad. Dad's phone doesn't work well in the hospital so he has to go outside to txt me.  I may run to town this evening just to get out of the house. Coffee and/or  a cookie could be in my future.

George (moms dog) is pouting on the couch, he has his head on the armrest and is looking mournfully  out the window watching for mom to get home. He is going to be pitiful when he figures out he will be sleeping out on the couch for a few days. 

When I was younger I would have said dogs/horses/animals don't pout/have emotions but as I have gotten older I have observed what appears to be that kind of behavior. I know for a fact George knows how to pout and how to let us know he is not a happy pooch.

Prep for Next 72 hours

Ok everyone, this is the short list of the next 72 hours,it is not complete by any means. It will be fine just a bit crazy. If you are so inclined you can pray for me and my family.

tomorrow
10:00 am  - Mom heads to surgery to fix her shoulder, recovery is 6-12 weeks then pt
11:00 am - I head out to go to town .
12 ish - finalize skits/poems/grace for V-day
1:00 pm Home
2:30 make soup and finish dinner, check to make sure moms room is all prepped

4pm at latest mom will be home
Done for most part

Friday - Valentines day!!
Check on mom throughout day
9am-12 simple prep for Banquet.
1-4:30 finish cooking
5:00 run through skits with minions
6:00 banquet.
7:15 cleaned up and set up for Sat pancake breakfast.

I will post up dates on mom.

Sunday ReCap

This is going to be a recap of my Sunday, its normally a different kind of insane.

8:30 get up and ready to teach Sunday School

9:00 head to church and give 15 min warning to the teens for Sunday School.

9:05 get reminded its Scouting Sunday so the youth will be distracted. O well.

9:15 ish get all youths onto stage where their class is held.

9:30 get everyone focused and start the actual class.

10:00 gather prayer requests, pray

10:15 release the youth to the Scout in charge so they can go over the worship service.

10:15- 10:20 talk to other adults and more prayer.

10:30 Church - I have nothing to do but worship this Sunday its amazing!!

11:35 last hymn sung- not a typical service but good.

11:35-12:45 fellowship, short coordination meeting and cancelled youth meeting.

12:45 ish -1:30  make lunch,eat lunch, change clothes, check email and check church FB page for questions.

1:30-1:45 talk to hubby and make plans for next few days

1:50  at church to set up for the Lay Servant Basic Class. 

2:00-5:45 Class 

5:45-6:10 ish Fellowship from class

6:15 Home-- eat dinner, change into comfy clothes

7:00-8:00 in front of tv watching the Olympics spending time with my hubby.

8:00 hubby leaves for work. Comes back for his glasses. 

Watch Olympics the rest of the evening and relax.

1:00 am Today headed to sleep.

 

It was slightly nuts and yet I do something similar every Sunday and I wouldn't trade it.

My parents are amazing.

 My dads schedule is worse, his day starts at 5 am and ends around 9 pm.

My mom deals with both of our schedules and makes sure we eat/ have everything for each event. Plus, she just got a volunteer position that appears to be almost full time. 

The two family motto's comes into play every Sunday. "Always flexible" and "God is in Control"