.

Church Stuff... and Just Stuff...

Church yesterday was absolutely AWESOME! We had a visiting Pastor in - ANOTHER Pastor Paul -- Rev. Paul V. Bickel. He teaches religion at a Lutheran high school up past Baltimore. He was speaking to our first reading which was Isaiah 45:1-7, in which God chooses Cyrus (a non-believer) to do His work, and reminds US that He is the ONE God, the ONLY God and that He is Lord of ALL things. His sermon was long and it was GOOD - but the ONE thing that I wanted to bring here today is this. He reminded us that he is a HIGH SCHOOL teacher (I've been there, done that!) and that as such his kids do NOT believe everything he tells them! (imagine that!) High school age kids ask the tough questions! And one of the questions that they ask him over and over and over again is ... Pastor Bickel, how do you KNOW? How do you KNOW that our God IS the right one? All the people who belong to all those other religions are JUST as convinced that THEIR knowledge is true and accurate and that THEY believe the right thing too! So how do you know that Christians are the ONLY ones who are right? ... Now I've wondered this myself in my life. And I don't know how I know! I just "have faith"... and that's what I always tell my people. And my people just always shake their head at me and think I'm crazy and life goes on. So I was very curious as to HOW Pastor Bickel KNOWS too! And this is the answer that he gave... the one he gives to his students. He said... I KNOW because Christianity is the only one that WORKS. It is the ONLY religion where man is saved by GRACE, and not by his own works. Alllllllll the other religions rely on man being "good enough" ... on man "doing the right things"... and man can NEVER be good enough. Where do the other religions draw the line? How much goodness is enough goodness? When does God say okay - you passed the test? Ooops! No... you came up one shy! You were almost good enough - but not quite! Sorry. No. God is LOVE. Perfect love. He created us because He was so overwhelmed with His own love that He had to have someone to share it with! So He created man... and all he wants from us is that we accept His love and love Him back. And when we DO that, His Holy Spirit works through us to make us WANT to TRY to be good enough for Him ... even though that can never happen! And so He sent us Jesus... a part of His very self... to pay the price for OUR sins... so that we can live eternally with Him. HOW GREAT is our God!!!

But... since I don't want to just trust ONE Pastor's word for it... and since I have not personally studied the other 452,000 some odd religions out there... does anyone know of ANOTHER religion that does NOT rely on the good works of man to get to Heaven? IS there another religion that believes we are saved simply by LOVING back? I'm just askin'...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I do thank allllllllllll of my great friends who suggested only painting the ONE wall yesterday! *smacks head* ... why didn't I think of that!? LOL! Actually I did. The problem was that the 3/4 of the room we had painted with the first can covered 2/3 of each of the long walls, and one of the short walls. Which meant that it pretty much ALL had to be repainted. And then as we found out it had to be repainted TWICE because the first color was different ENOUGH that it needed two coats to cover it! Of course, I also had to RE- cut in around all the cabinets and the windows and the ceiling and the floor..... OY! But it's done now! And I'm actually GLAD it happened because the 2nd color was actually the RIGHT color and is EVEN brighter than the first color was! And now I can go back to painting cupboard doors and start working on the trim! But at least now their IS a light at the end of the tunnel! Whooooooo hoooo!

Oh! A Mom story! She came into the kitchen yesterday -- Dennis was actually HELPING me - I think he was feeling sorry for me at this point! (and perhaps he wants the kitchen DONE too - so I'll cook again!) But anyway - she came in and he was painting behind the fridge... I was standing on the counters cutting in above the cupboards and she says "Is there anything I can do to help?" Before he had a chance to say anything I said - SURE! Grab a paintbrush! You can start on that wall over there! Oh my gosh! Her eyes got big as silver dollars! She said "Oh no! I can't paint!" ... and I turned around and looked at her and I asked, you mean to tell me you've NEVER painted a room before? ... And she said, "Oh yea! I've painted rooms before. But that was a long time ago! My arms are too short now!" Dennis and I both had to stop painting for a minute we were laughing so hard! Poor woman -- got those shrinkin' arms!

Labels: Churchy Stuff

WARNING! Politically Religious... or Religiously Political... take your choice!

I've been thinking a lot about Religion & Politics the last few days ... and where the two meet. Of course, if you're a Christian, you believe that God is in control of all things, all the time. Sort of. Because as Christians, we also believe in Satan... and we know that he has power, even though we know that the power of Jesus is stronger. So what got me thinking about the two together was reading a comment in another blog the other day whereby a Christian was persecuting OTHER Christians who did not believe exactly as she did - politically. And it seemed (to me) like the main point of contention was that if you were either UNdecided at this point, or worse, if you were planning to vote Democrat, that you were not really a Christian (even though both Democratic candidates are Christians) because only the Republican party is following a Pro-Life approach this time around... with desires to overturn Roe v. Wade. And as best as I can determine, the republicans would like to see Christianity enforced in some way. (and I'm pretty sure God doesn't want THIS any more than he wants Christians persecuted for following and believing in Jesus!)

So, I took this statement rather personally. Partly because I am indeed a Christian who is in fact UNdecided thus far, but somewhat leaning toward Obama. I don't really WANT either of the candidates! I don't feel that I am given enough choices! But I am also a person who has been and always will be PRO LIFE! Not pro choice. No. I'm pro-life! I've worked voluntarily for Birthright and supported the Pro-Life movement since I was 18 years old, and an unwed mother. I don't believe Mother's have the MORAL right to take their child's life... but I also don't believe it's MY place to judge them for it! That is between them and God. And He is a very forgiving God! (whether I think He should or not!) But now I'm being told that I couldn't be Christian if I would even CONSIDER voting for Obama! And my question is ... Why? Because I read the Bible on a daily basis and I study the Bible regularly, and I have not found anywhere IN the Bible where it says that I MUST vote a certain way. Or do anything ELSE a certain way. As far as I've been able to decipher, God created man and GAVE him choices. As far back as Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, we have had choices! God is NOT a dictator. He did not put them in the garden and build a 40 foot high stone wall around the famous tree and say HA! It's there but YOU can't have it! No. He put them in the garden along WITH that tree, and he said don't eat from that. It's not good for you... it will bring you death. And he left. And he left them with a choice. Now, we all know that they didn't make good choices -- but ... God forgave them! Not without consequences... but forgive them, he did. God LOVED Adam & Eve... they were his creations! And he forgave them... much the same way WE forgive our children when they do something wrong. Only God's love is sO much bigger and He has sO much more forgiveness than we could EVER POSSIBLY muster ... that he is able to forgive us for doing things that we can't even forgive OURSELVES for!

But God gave us choices. Another CHOICE he gave us is whether or not to believe in Him. How do we knOw this is a God INTENDED choice? We know because He has never revealed Himself to ALL OF US! If he meant for us to just KNOW that He IS... and love him... then He would have created us and just stayed with us. But no... God knew that love is best when it is given willingly. And so He revealed Himself to the few, and He said spread the word. And when we turned out to be really really HORRID, he wiped the earth clean with a big flood and started again. And He shook His finger at us and He said ... "I am NEVER doing this again! This time, I'm going to send a Savior".... and He did! He sent us Jesus - his ONLY flesh and blood son - to be our Savior... and once again ... He gave us a CHOICE. We have the choice to BELIEVE that Jesus is God's son, and our Savior, who died on the cross for our sins ... or not. God HOPES that we ALL choose to believe, because He made us ALL and He doesn't want to lose ANY of us! But He gave us the choice!

So, if God made man and gave him choices... then He expects us to use them. Now, I'm sure that God is in support of the Republicans Pro-Life stance. I AM positive of that. God IS Pro-Life - that's IN the Bible! I'm NOT so sure that God is in support of the g'zillion dollars they want to keep spending on keeping our military involved where our military doesn't really NEED to be. I'm not sure that saving the babies in the womb is making up for the adult soldiers we keep losing. Seems to me there's going to be loss of life one way or another... and it seems to me that even though the Republicans want to overturn Roe v. Wade, our country runs on a system of checks and balances that is more than likely NOT going to let that happen. So my point is this... we - as Christians - can NOT make our decisions based solely on our leaders religious stance. We have to look at the whole picture. ALL of the issues. And we have to do it with the understanding that as in ANY other election, mOst of the promises being made are PIPE DREAMS! Because once in office, our new President still has an entire Senate and a House of Congress - both made up of members of BOTH parties who have to hash it all out over and over and over again and about the best any of us can REALLY do is PRAY! And THAT is what I plan to do! On election day, I'm going to walk into the booth and PRAY! And I know that God will let me know who I, personally, should vote for - AND I know that He has already ( a month - and more - before the election) blessed me with the PEACE to live with the outcome no matter which man wins! And THAT is one of the MANY things I love about God! He gives me inner peace to deal with the world as it comes. And I thank Him! And I praise Him!

Labels: Churchy Stuff

God POKES... and God-winks....

First things first! Dr. John ~~sent me~~ MADE me an emblem to display on my blog marking it as being a member of the 1000 Blog Post Club!!! Thank you EVER so much Dr. J! My blog will wear this proudly!

Yesterday was a good day! Sunday's usually are. Starting off with church, I was lector and got to read from Genesis 45 about Joseph's great mercy and forgiveness toward his brothers, and his gathering his family back together to keep them safe EVEN after they had sold him into slavery. I LOVE that story. The whoooooole Joseph story! His faith in God was soooooo amazing! No matter what happened to that man, he stood firm in his faith -- and God rewarded him - greatly - here on earth. I wish I could imagine the rewards he has in Heaven! My faith is strong ... but I have NEVER been sold into slavery! I have never been JAILED for something I didn't do! I can only imagine some of the conversations Joseph had with God during THOSE times!

So then Pastor's sermon was on Family Survival In a Hostile World. He spoke of homecoming stories and listed 5 things WE can do to restore broken relationships. And I felt like I was being poked. I HATE when that happens!!! I come from an entire family of BROKEN relationships... and I'm perfectly content that way!!! We all know it's broke and NONE of us wants to fix it! We're fine! But Pastor's telling me to DO these things. Scripture is backing him up. Oh how I hate it when THAT happens! Of course... I'm stubborn! Sometimes I think I am THE mOst stubborn Christian that ever walked the face of the planet! God ALWAYS find the ONE thing that's going to be the HARDEST thing in the wooooooorld for me to do, and He says "Just Do It." Very simple Melli... just do it. Yep! And it IS. I knOw if I do it, and it's what He wants, He's gonna be there and He's gonna run the show! No doubt in my mind! No doubt that if I DO it - because it IS what He wants, it's gonna come out all peaches and cream! The problem is... it's NOT what I want! And he's POKIN' me! And if I don't do it... life's gonna get UGLY for a little while... cuz that's how it works. Cuz He'll just keep pokin' and I'll keep resistin' and then there's turmoil and feelings of guilt and all sORts of ugliness!!! WHY can't I ever just go along for a loooooooong period of time when things are just gOOd? I get LOTS of gOOd in my life! But only in short spells. And then GOD has to WANT something again! When I argue with Him, He tells me it's growth! Melli! You've come soooo far! You're doing great! You've had a little rest... I've watered you well... now GROW! Grow girl! BLOOM where you're planted!!! ... ... ... *scratches head* Well... I'm not done bein' stubborn yet. He might have to fertilize me a little... and you know what that means! Fertilizer! I'll let ya know how this works out!

But in the meantime, Mom and I went to a "Mongolian" restaurant for lunch yesterday! I was on a Dragon Hunt and succeeded at capturing the one up above in the picture! The meal was lovely - although Mom had selected (it's a serve yourself place) peel & eat shrimp - but forgot about the PEELing part... OY! She bit into that bad boy shell and all and I about flipped out! I got her straight... it was just "one of those things"... *shrug*. So after the meal they brought us a couple of fortune cookies with the check. Mom opened hers and started eating the cookie. I said "aren't ya gonna read the fortune?" She just shrugged. So I read her fortune. It said "You would make a great lawyer." I just laughed. She said "WHAT'd it say?" ... I read it again... then she laughed too! So I signed the check and just sat there while she ate her cookie. She said "Aren't you gonna eat yours?" I told her I don't like fortune cookies. She was RAVING about how good HER fortune cookie was though! Best thing in the whole meal! (well yea... I guess... when ya try to eat shrimp shells!) Now, I'd been sittin' there thinkin' I don't NEED a fortune cookie - I knOw my fortune! God is going to look out for me! We're gonna butt heads, but He's gonna look out for me. But finally I said, I'll just open mine and see what the fortune says ... you can eat the cookie. So I opened it up...

and here it is...

If that's not a God-wink then I've NEVER had one!
ROFL!

So now... THIS is how stubborn I am! On the way home in the car, I'm fussin' with God. What'd ya give me a wink for? I didn't need a wink... my faith has been Super Strong lately! (I'm flexin' my muscles and everything...) And HE says... I just wanted to GIVE it to you! Awwwwwww.... Just when you really REALLY wanna be stubborn, He just really REALLLLLLLLY wants to LOVE you!!! Daggone it.

Labels: Churchy Stuff

VBS Day 5...

Today was NOT the day I wanted it to be! I made a mistake this week. I should have saved Thursday's craft for Friday, and done Friday's craft on Thursday.

(I would have missed out on my fabulous lesson tie-in -- but speaking craftwise, it would have been a better game plan!) Note to self: Never EVER plan PAINT for the LAST day! Yea... poor planning. Sort of. Today's THEME was Jesus SHARES. So making Friendship Bracelets really WAS a good idea!

Share one with a friend... yep! And the Little's were actually making beaded bracelets -- and that would have been fine TOO if the bead manufacturer's would make sure their products did indeed actually have holes that went all the way through! The regular beads were fine -- but we had to use safety pins to route out almost every FISH bead! (The Fish beads SAID for ages 3 and up!) That went okay with the 4 year olds -- only 11 of them. But you know... that big LAST class... ugh! We needed 25 helpers -- and we only had 7 after grabbing every available spare person!

It finally worked out that each child got at least one of their bracelets made... sOMe kids took the remaining supplies home to make their 2nd bracelet! They were pretty well frustrated - as were all my helpers. I felt bad. :(

So, then... the bigger kids were making canvas bracelets. My original idea was for them to use fabric paint. But about midway through yesterday when I realized the predicament I had gotten myself into with the paint, I decided to let the have a choice of paint or permanent markers. It turned out the markers really did a better job anyway -- the paints were really hard to control. BUT... some of the kids realllllllly wanted to use those paint pens!

I had warned them that I didn't think the paint would dry and to be very careful and only use a LITTLE if they were going to use the paints... *sigh*... but sometimes... even the bigger kids just don't listen... I should have only given them the markers. They never would have known the paint existed.

GLOB... GLOB... GLOB...
Oh well!

SOME bracelets might have to be picked up on Sunday!
(I wonder if they will be...)

Soooooo... My week didn't end on the high note that would have made it 'perfect'.
But it was still a verrrrrrrry good week! It will be well remembered by lots of kids!
And by me!!!
(just maybe not the friendship bracelets!)

Labels: Churchy Stuff

VBS Day 4

I think today was my favorite day at VBS! The kids had sO much fun and of course, that means I had sO much fun too! Our project today was butterfly catchers -- my variation on the old "ball & cup" game. The kids had to color their rubber butterflies, tie the string to them, connect the string to the cup via a bead, and then decorate the cup.

It was a FUN project, it allowed a LOT of creativity, and it took up just about the right amount of time! ONE of my little trouble makers still wanted to play with frogs when he was done - but I had told him yesterday that he could have more frog time today - so that was okay!

My favorite part about today's activity though, was how well it tied in with the lesson going on throughout VBS today! Our main idea was Jesus CARES. Our Bible verse was 1 John 4:18 - Perfect love casts out fear. So I was able to talk to the kids about how much God cares for us and that he is ALWAYS there to CATCH us when we fall! I compared the cup to God and the butterfly to us, and told them that when playing with our toy, that WE are only human and we can't expect to catch the butterfly every time -- but that God, with His PERFECT love, WILL catch us EVERY time we call on Him! So we should never be afraid - God's there for us! Not all lessons work out quite THAT nicely! Of course, I made the mistake of telling Shawn about it -- now she says she would LOVE me to teach the Children's Liturgy from time to time... Oy!

I LOVE how intensely these girls were working on their butterflies!
(by the way... I don't want y'all to think that I've been
short changing the boys this week - our girl to boy ratio
is drastically UNeven! One class has 11 girls and ONE boy!)
It's crazy!

They decorated their cups with stickers!

I never met a kid that didn't like stickers!

and

TADA!
The finished product!
FUN!!!

Soooooo... tomorrow is the LAST day of VBS... *sigh*

The ONLY thing I'm NOT gonna miss is...

Fixin' my dern tree every morning!
(apparently my classroom has a tornado every night!)
LOL!

Labels: Churchy Stuff

VBS Days 2 & 3

Day 2

I'm STILL sayin' Oy Vey over yesterday! You wouldn't believe! First, I came downstairs to find Kitty had left a mouse in my shoe! (not the first time... but still...) Then, I'm ready to leave the house at 8:10... and at 8:15 Tammy still has not arrived. I called her and she thought she wasn't supposed to get here until 10:00!!! Oy Vey! So of course, I had to LEAVE - which meant I had to take Mom with me again! (which really isn't a problem - she doesn't get in the way or anything ... but it gives me one more thing to worry about - because she DOES need to use the restroom from time to time - and if she goes by herself, she'll get lost!)

So we got there and things went WELL for the first 3 classes - except that this was a day that I reallllly tried to pack too much into 25 minutes!!! I had 2 crafts for them to do! One was their picture frames, and the other was a little bear magnet with the day's bible verse on it! Real cute! I couldn't NOT do it!!! And I thought I had it planned out PERFECTLY -- everything was either peel and stick, or for gluing the frame fronts to the backs, we were using glue dots -- ultra cool! They work GREAT and there is NO drying time!!! So, I was suuuuure I could pull this off! And I managed GREAT ... up until the last class came. Did I mention the LAST class is BIG? 25 kinders and first grade... 7 of them who are ... um... a challenge. (Quilly's kids!) On top of that my 3 teenage helpers for this group are a little less mature than some of the other groups teens! So it's one of those classes that you just take a deep breath a split second before they walk in - and you get through it!

Well... yesterday a STORM started coming right before the last class! While they were out on the playground for outdoor activities... and some of them came in ~~a weeeeee bit apprehensive~~ scared to death of the thunder and lightening. Now... as the TEACHER in this class I have 25 kids I have to worry about getting through the craft. So if ONE child is crying, I can't take time to be the comforter. I gently tell the child to go see their Team Leader. Team leaders are only supposed to have 3 or 4 kids each (at this age group). SOMEHOW we ended up with only 3 team leaders for 25 kids. (this is another contributing factor to the problem with this group!) On top of that, this age group was going to require their Team Leaders HELP on this project! Cuz Mz. Lantz can only work with 3 maybe 4 (okay - max 6) kids at one time! Period! LOL! So, things were not going tooooo great... and then the FLOOD came! No no... not crying kids. The FLOOD. Like as in hang on Noah! I'm gonna make it RAIN! We ended up with about 2 inches of water on the floor of my classroom! It even passed through MY classroom and into the room where snack is served! So then we had ooooooooohhhhh maybe 12 hysterical kids! I had PROMISED them the storm wasn't going to come in the basement! It made a LIAR out of me! So what did I do? I ignored it all and pretended NOTHING was happening. I just kept working and helping kids and saying ever so quietly to each concerned child, It's okay... it will be taken care of. And it was! Pastor had a mop! Shawn had a mop! A couple of other adults who were not actually responsible for TEACHING classes had brooms and sponges and buckets... and the rain stopped and the water was gotten rid of -- and the kids only had to walk across pretty wet but no longer flooded floors to get back upstairs for closing ceremonies! And after they were all gone for the day and I was cleaning up my room and preparing for tomorrow, Shawn came down and she said "Melli, you handled yourself SO gracefully today! I really appreciate that!" ROFL! I said gracefully my eye! I was IGNORING it!!! But I thanked her anyway! And then I praised God for making me LOOK graceful to somebody in my lifetime! Then I packed up all the UNfinished picture frames that I had to take home for homework to finish for the kids... and then Mom & I headed to Annapolis to go babysit wee granddaughter! And by the time I got home last night I was crosseyed, but DID finish those picture frames, AND got today's lesson in order! And I didn't visit anybody's blogs... hardly even my own!

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Day 3

Today was a MUCH better day! Tammy showed up - on time! She and mom did some of my work for tomorrow's class and got me caught up! Gave them something to do and helped me out all at the same time - love it when that happens!

Today's craft was a very easy one and very relaxing for all parties concerned -- and best of all, we didn't need any mops! Today the theme was Friends Give... and Jesus - our forever friend, gave sight to a blind man in today's story. The kids made TWO suncatcher crosses each and were told that while they were both THEIR crosses, it might be nice if they GAVE one to a friend -- perhaps a friend who didn't get to come to VBS and didn't get one! And that way they would be giving AND sharing God's love! They mostly really liked this idea and chattered away happily about who they were making their other cross for! One little girl told me she was going to send BOTH of hers to her Oma & Opa in Germany - because they think of her often and always send her nice things! She was 6. Soooooooo sweet!

The gift that I gave to the kids today was pencils that said PAWS for PRAISE on them and had little woodland creatures and paw prints on them! I was sO excited when I found them because they were just PERFECT for this VBS! The children were reminded that any time God blesses them with a gift, they should thank Him and PRAISE Him!!!

Even the LAST class today went smoothly! When the kids finished their crosses, I had coloring sheets for them - some were bible pages that went with our themes for the week - and others were just woodland animals. For the most part this worked GREAT - but there are two little boys who are not only "challenging" to teach - but also a ~~bit~~ LOT of a behavior problem! Well, yesterday while I was babysitting Luz, we had gone to Michaels for more paintbrushes for today's craft, and while there I saw these 2 cute squishy squoozy FROGS in the clearance bin! They were only a $1 each so I got them both! I was just getting them to add to the decor ... there I go again! But they turned out to be GREAT! These two little boys had NO interest in a coloring page, and no amount of talking was going to convince them that coloring MIGHT be fun! They just wanted to tear through the room, sticking fingers in other kids projects and wandering over into the snack room and just being little terrors! It finally grabbed each one by a hand and some come with me! I have something for you two to play with! I took them over to the credenza and gave them each a frog and they were happy as clams! They squooshed and squoze and pulled and stretched and thought they were great! It actually did keep them happy for the entire remaining 10 minutes of class! I was SO happy for that compulsive buy!!! Thank you Lord!

It all went so smoothly that I actually made it upstairs for closing ceremonies today! FIRST time this week! I don't know how I did it last year - I was there for opening and closing everyday! That's my favorite part - when we sing the songs!!! And dance!

This shot is awful -
but these two were having SO much fun!

When I got HOME from VBS this afternoon, I had a major panic attack! (not really - but I was NOT a happy camper!) I had not received my merchandise that I need for Friday's craft, and so I went on line to track it, and found that it was not due to be delivered until Friday afternoon! WHOA! This was through the USPS. I tried to call them and could only get an automaton. I tried pushing "0" to go straight to a speaking person... NOPE! Automation stating that "customer service is not available at this time". HUH??? So I called Oriental Trading and they would be MORE than happy to re-send me overnight express my items. But I pointed out that I had TRIED to get 2 Day Express when I ordered it - and they couldn't DO it because there were paint bottles involved. The woman was really sorry but did not see ANY way she could help me. So, I decided to ride down to my Post Office - but first I printed out the tracking info. On the way in the car, I prayed. Papa God, I am doing what I can, but it's not looking good right now... I knOW You can handle this and get it fixed for me! If it is your will - and I have to think it IS Your will - I know you wouldn't want the VBS kids to be disappointed on Friday - will you please get this mess fixed for me? ... So, I get to the post office and the counter lady says can I help you? and I say I think you better let me talk to somebody else so I don't keep you tied up for a long time. She says do you need to talk to a manager? I said that would do! A voice from around the corner says "We don't HAVE any!" I said "You don't know what I want!" She says "We don't HAVE any!" ... and walks up to the counter. I said "oh... but I'm a friendly pain in the butt!" She said "I'm not a manager - we don't HAVE any! But I can help you!" I said that'll do! I proceeded to explain my dilemma. She went over to her computer and pulled up the same thing that was on the paper I gave her. She asked me for my address and I gave it to her. She said - maybe this package came in this morning. MAYBE it's on the truck. The paper said it was in Martinsburg, W.Va. -- but that was at 1:00 in the morning. The paper also said it wouldn't be delivered to ME until FRIDAY! But the nottamanager said MAYBE. She called my mail carrier and my mail carrier said I DO have a package on my truck for her. Nottamanager said who's it from? My mail carrier said I don't know - it's in the back and I can't get to it right now. Nottamanager said let's wait and see what this package is. I said okay - cuz it's the only package I was expecting and I knew God did His job! Even before I asked. Again! An hour later, the package came! The kids will not be disappointed!

Labels: Churchy Stuff

VBS Day 1

Today was Snake Paintin' Day!

We talked about how Jesus "reached out" to us and LOVED us and that he calls on us to reach out to others and love them too. And that SOMEtimes he calls on us to reach out to people that we don't really want to love... but He needs us to love them anyway. Then we talked about critters in the yard that maybe we wouldn't normally love, but that we were going to LOVE making CUTE wiggly little snakes ... I wanted to make sure we weren't making Satan! Most of the kids did pretty well with this concept! They all had FUN!

Little...

... or big!

I also gotta tell ya - the kids HUMBLED me with my "rocks"! After my schpeel about our Bible teaching, and the lesson on rinsing paintbrushes between colors, I then pointed to my bowls of rocks and told them that when they were done painting their snake they could each come up and choose a rock from my fabulous collection! Then I asked them if they knew why I would want them to have a rock? ... ??? ... ??? ... I BET you can guess what happened! The darling little imps started quoting Bible verses at me!!! Isaiah 26:4? Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. And... Psalm 95:1 - Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. These two come to mind at the moment - but these wonderful children were spewing verses at me that I DO NOT have memorized!!! And then I had to admit that while THOSE were all GREAT reasons for me to want them to have rocks... that MY idea was far more simple. I just wanted them to remember that VBS ROCKS!!! LOL! They were like... That's lame. LOL! *sigh* I learn sO much from them!

The shower curtain was a big hit! Our in house photographer was taking pics of the kids for me today to put in the frames they will make tomorrow. And then we got group shots of several of the team leaders with their kids. This is one of them.

Krysti met me at church after camp and we headed down to Annapolis for lunch with my niece, Donna and her hubby. I was thinking 1990, but Donna pointed out that it was actually 1989 since I have last seen her! She was just a young teenager then! And my twins were only a few months old! WOW! Mathew was a toddler! So, it was really fun getting together and seeing each other again!

Would ya look at the rosy apple cheeks on her?!
She's a doll! And so is her hubby, Darryn... they
are a sweet couple!

Of course, one is NOT enough!
Gotta switch photographers!

It really was a GREAT day -- but I gotta tell ya -- I was SO excited about VBS last night that I only got about 45 minutes sleep! When I finally got home this afternoon, I took about an hour nap, and then it was time to head out for my Bible study! Sooooooooo... NOW I am going to get my stuff together for tomorrow morning, and hit the hay! I will visit a few over coffee in the morning... but tomorrow is ALMOST as hectic as today! I promise to do some catchin' up Wednesday afternoon though! G'night!

Labels: Churchy Stuff

Believe It ... Or Not ...

A True Life Testimony!

Ahhhhhhh! I am BACK from Women Of Faith -- refreshed and renewed! The weekend was positively FABULOUS ... as are ALL Women Of Faith weekends! But the best part came not IN the conference - but after the conference was over.

We headed back to the hotel (stepping a bit slower than we did leaving the hotel in the morning...) to retrieve our cars from the valet. I had traveled to the conference with two women I had never met before -- both quite a bit younger than me. Gwen was our driver, and Jessica was my roommate. So when we got back to the hotel, Gwen took her valet ticket and went in search of our car. Now... mind you that while Women Of Faith were LEAVING Washington, there was another group of women descending upon the city -- a group celebrating the 100th anniversary of their college sorority! THEY made the news -- Women of Faith did not -- just to let you know how big this group WAS! (they will be packing the Convention Center all week this week!) So Gwen puts in for our car and we are told we have about a 25 minute wait. I asked if they wanted to go get something to drink, but they were just tired and just wanted to wait for the car. So we went out front (into the heat) to wait for our car to come around. Lo & behold, there is our Team Captain, Shawn & a few others from our party out there waiting for their car too! They had about 20 minute head start on us! Of course, the front is a madhouse! Far more cars coming IN than going OUT, and on a one way city street with people unloading luggage yada yada yada! You get the picture? Congestion City!!! Things are NOT moving faster than they ARE moving - ya know what I mean? Sooooooo an hour later we are still waiting. ALL of us! Frustrations are increasing. Tempers WANT to flare... but we just left WOF and so we're all trying NOT to let our "favorite worst feeling" show. (ya hadda BE there) In our favor I will say that we were still CHEERING for other's who's cars arrived! YAY!!! WHOOO HOOO! (get outta here so OUR car can come!) Right?! *nods* So we wait about 15 more minutes and my roomie, Jess, says - very timidly - we could pray... more of a sorta question suggestion than an idea statement - ya know? But I heard it! Of course... if you know me at all (and some of you do) you know that I DO NOT -- let me reinforce this - I DO NOT pray out loud in a group or even with a very very very close friend!!! (Do I ?) *shakes head* .... so what do I do? I turn around and I holler to Shawn! HEY SHAWN! We could PRAY! Shawn prays eloquently and she's our Youth Minister - so she's used to it! Shawn says Pft! I've BEEN prayin! ... and goes back to watching for her car! BOY! That stopped me cold! I mean... I was stunned! It hit me then! Oh NO! I'm gonna have to do this... Ugh! So, I take my two friends hands and we form a small circle - right there on the crowded sidewalk in front of the Merriot -- ya know that part never even really occurred to me - all the strangers milling about -- I was just worried that now I had to PRAY with my friends! HOW do I get myself IN to these things???

So I start... trying to be eloquent... Heavenly Father... no way! That's not gonna work for me! ... so I start again... Papa God (yea... that feels better) ... We know that our car is NOT the most important concern you have in this city this evening. (I should have gone on to pray for the homeless and world peace - but I didn't) We know that there are much greater needs for you to meet. But Papa, we have been here for this long weekend, and we are just tired, and we want to go home. If it is your will, we ask that you would bring our car around quickly for us -- and we ask this in the name of your son, Jesus... Amen. *whew!* I got through it! Not eloquent - but done!

We dropped our hands and we all looked up, and Gwen looked down the street and she got a LOOK on her face. And then she stood on her tip toes... and then she looked again... and then she said THERE IT IS! My CAR is coming!!! And THAT is when I suddenly realized that there were strangers watching! A woman from a group in back of us looked at me and said Pray for MY car next! LOL!

Now here's the thing. Of course, at the moment we were all just whoopin' and hollerin' and PRAISING the Lord! Well, of course! It's what we were meant to be doing! It was an AWESOME moment! Of course it was!!! But the thing is, is that NON-believers will look at us and say "you idiots... it was coincidence!" And it was! Of COURSE it was! God USES coincidence! It's what he does best! And the miracle was NOT in the fact that the car came around at just that moment. The car was out of the garage and on it's way to us BEFORE I started that prayer!!! The miracle was in the fact that God lead me to PRAY at that moment! At THAT moment!!! I wanted Shawn to pray! Shawn was exasperated. She'd BEEN praying! To herself! (not TO herself - she was praying TO God - but she was doing it in her head!) She had not been praying publicly. The miracle is that God, in HIS perfect timing, lead me to pray at THAT moment. And that the women on the street heard it -- and were UPLIFTED by it. They were given HOPE by it. And they realized that rather than sitting around grumbling about the situation, that maybe they should have been praying too! But aside from that -- and I believe this with all my heart, though I will never KNOW it this side of Heaven -- but I dO believe that there was SOMEone there who may NOT have been a believer... who witnessed our prayer... and "the result"... and who God meant to touch at just THAT moment! Someone who was not standing there 20 minutes ago. Nor even maybe 10 minutes ago. Someone who He waited to be there at just THAT moment.... because it's all about Him... and it's all in HIS timing.
And He is a MIGHTY God... gifting us with his infinite grace.

Thank You Papa!
Amen.

(I will be back to Project Black tomorrow...
some things are more important.)

Labels: Churchy Stuff

VBS - Day 5 -- Jewelry Shop

Oooo La La! Welcome to the JEWELRY shop!
Today we will be making necklaces using one of Galilee's finest
commodities ... seashells!

LOOK!!!

Even my sandals have sea shells on them!
(the sandal maker made them JUST for ME!)

Here in Galilee, we have some shells that are FAR to big to use for jewelry -- but they are wonderful for other things!

Like hearing the ocean!

I guarantee you this little guy had "some stuff"
to tell his folks tonight! He has had the BEST
time this week! (just in awe of it all!)

Making jewelry is hard work...

... requiring GREAT concentration

... and a little "Elvis" lip action!

But great fun is had in spite of the work!

And we are SO proud...

... of the finished products!

Then a little digging in the sand...

... for the perfect shell to take home...
from the Sea of Galilee.

Bye Bye!
(some people make it into my blog JUST
cuz they are sO darn cute!)

This is my Knee BooBoo.
I got it tripping up the steps walking over the
dune to get out of Galilee... I was carrying too
much stuff and couldn't properly lift my skirt!
I thought Daisy would appreciate me getting a
sympathy boo boo!

So... Vacation Bible School is over... (i am sad) ... and I have to go back to work tomorrow. At 8:00 in the morning! NO rest for the weary! LOL! I took a nap this afternoon and when my alarm went off I woke up thinking "NO! LORD, I can't DO this!" ... I thought it was time to get up and go to WORK. LOL! He answered me! He said "It's OKAY child! You don't have to! It's only Friday evening!" ROFL!!! THANK YOU LORD!!! Thank you....

It really was a great week and I am going to MISS it! But on the other hand, maybe I am ready for life to get back to some version of normal! I've been having some diziness issues the last 2-3 days - and I think it just MIGHT be because I have NOT worked out all week! So, probably getting in to Curves tomorrow morning will be the best thing for me!!!

Thanks for all your great comments this week too! I'm SO glad you've enjoyed MY visit to Galilee By The Sea!

Labels: Churchy Stuff