Monday Mourning, Meme, and Menu

Our sweet daughter safely made it to her city in China. Thank you, THANK YOU to all who have been praying for her. I tell ya, it's SO hard to say goodbye to her on the phone in L.A., knowing that she's about to be unreachable for many hours until she gets to China. When she went in 2006, I was not prepared for the feelings that gripped me during that time. I was prepared this time, and it made it a bit easier. In fact, I was thinking I was pretty "together" until I heard her little voice from Hong Kong yesterday evening. Once I was able to hear her and talk to her, a flood of relief washed over me and brought with it a massive flood of tears! I knew then that I had been more anxious than I had realized. God is so good. The same strong hand that is holding her is holding her mother!

She emailed during the night last night, and then called this morning from her city. She is there, safe and sound, with our sweet friends, the family with whom she will be staying. She wrote me that they were out eating yesterday when China started its official three-day period of mourning. She said the air raid sirens went off, traffic stopped, and the TV where they were eating began broadcasting the observance from different cities in China. Here is a video I found that may be what she saw. As I watched it, I was moved to tears and moved to pray for the victims' families. What a hurting, hurting country. How they need Jesus.



As much as I miss her, I am so glad she's there! I know she is in the palm of God's hand, loving people that He loves, bringing them His message of hope. May she and the team plant many, many seeds in the next two weeks. She is getting some much-needed horizontal rest now (as opposed to vertically, on a plane!) and they will prayer walk an area of the city in the morning (about 6 PM our time tonight.) I will be praying, too.

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My sweet friend Kim tagged me for a fun meme over at her beautiful new adoption blog. Now that I seem to be coming out of the blog-fog I've been in for the past few weeks, this is a perfect time to "play." Thanks for tagging me, Kim!

Favorite person (outside family)? Well, my first thought is of the sweet friends God has put in my life. They are each my favorite person! I hope that answer is not a cop out!

Favorite food? Tex-Mex. Oh, my. I ate so much when I was pregnant, my kids' first words were "Be careful, the plate is very hot."

Quirks about you? I talk to my dog. And he talks back. Also, I sneeze quite loudly. My sweet son just used the word "howitzer" to describe my sneezes. I feel so dainty.

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? From my husband just now via email: "Not necessarily in order...passionate, caring, loving, wise, beautiful, creative, friendly, intuitive, nurturing, grounded" (Thankfully he didn't use the word "howitzer.")

Any regrets in life? Foolish thinking in my teenage/college years. Sadly, I could've been a case study for the books "Lies Women Believe" and "Lies Young Women Believe". But that's another post for another day...

Favorite Charity/ Cause? The non-profit of which my husband is the president. It's wonderful, but I don't want to link it here because the website links to our last name and town. If you're one of my friends and interested, email me!

Favorite Blog recently? One of my recent favorites is Heart, Mind and Seoul. It is somewhat hard to read, but she tackles some of the tougher issues surrounding transracial adoption.

Something you can’t get enough of? Junior Mints and foot rubs (Not necessarily at the same time, but now that I see the two written together, that might be my idea of heaven!)

Worst job you've ever had? Handing out samples at a grocery store (while in college, working for a temp agency)

What job would you pay NOT to have? school bus driver

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? If I were a fly capable of time travel, I'd have loved to be on the wall when Elisabeth Elliot went to visit Corrie ten Boom.

Favorite Bible verse right now? "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Cor. 9:8

Guilty Pleasure? Pedicures and massages - but I hardly ever get either one... I have two gift certificates for massages that I've been hoarding, though, because I don't want to use them up!

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? iPhones for myself and my cute husband, and spend the rest on biweekly pedicures.

Favorite thing about your house? The location. We are just the right proximity to our friends, family, church, and activities.

Least favorite thing about your house? The half wall upstairs allows NOISE to travel downstairs when we have people over. But it lets me eavesdrop on the kids and their friends, so it's good, too. ;) Also, I have a tiny laundry room.

One thing you are bad at? Keeping up with the laundry. Oh my.

One thing you're good at? My son just said "homeschooling." Of course, he's not doing any school at the moment.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? I would be in Africa bringing home our new son. I guess we would have to have a layover in China so his big sister could join us!

Who would you like to meet someday? Our African son and his extended birth family.

Who is your real life hero? Our African son's first parents.

What is the hardest part of your job? Being consistent. As a homeschooling mom, consistency in discipline, schoolwork, running the household, etc. is key. That's hard for me as I naturally tend towards procrastinating and flying by the seat of my pants. :)

When are you most relaxed? In the evenings during/after dinner when everyone's home.

What stresses you out? My children being in other countries. Without me. ;)

What can you not live without? my Bible, coffee, and iTunes. In that order.

Why do you blog? To reflect on what I'm learning and what we're doing, to update friends and family if we're traveling, to refine my thoughts, to purge my brain (because, you know, there's so much in there...) and to remind myself of what we're having for dinner if I posted our menu that week. ;) Also, I've met some wonderful women that I wouldn't have met otherwise.

Who Am I Tagging?

New/Newer bloggers- Kristin, V

Bloggy friends- Linda at Middle Years, Deidre at For Such a Time as This

Bloggers you’d like to get to know better- YOU if you're reading this and have a blog!

Bloggers who you don't think will respond, but you hope will- :::shamelessly copying Kim's answer::: I'm not sure who to put for this one! If you read this and want to play along, consider yourself tagged!


Rules:
1. Answer the questions
2. Link back to whoever tagged you
3. Tag eight bloggers to do the same, 2 from each category.
New/ newer bloggers (since we want to share the love and send them traffic)
Bloggy friends
Bloggers you’d like to get to know better
Bloggers you don’t think will respond, but you hope will

Well, that was fun! Long, but fun!

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Monday: Grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday: Bar-b-cups, peas, macaroni

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: pan-fried tilapia, broccoli cheese casserole, salad

Friday: taco soup

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com.

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I hope you have a blessed week!

Monday Menu, Meme, and Musings

Hello to another week! Doesn't it seem like summer is just flying by? Last week we got back from our quick trip to Sea World just in time for my daughter to attend a week of volleyball camp. She really enjoyed it, but I'm looking forward to this week with fewer days punctuated by regular pick-up and drop-off times. The kids are swimming and fishing with their cousins right now. My mother-in-law is so sweet to always call on her days off and want to spend time with her grandkids. She grabbed up whichever ones were available today for a morning at the marina. SO, I'm home getting caught up on some house chores (and blogging!)

First, our menu:

Monday: Southwestern Fish Tacos, black beans, guacamole, chips

Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti, (mixed up and put in the crock pot- my favorite summer appliance besides the air conditioner!), caesar salad, green beans, garlic bread

Wednesday: Corny dogs, potato salad, baked beans

Thursday: Left-overs or eat out on the way to this (fun!)

Friday: Moroccan hamburgers, sweet potato fries, salad

Weekend: Leftovers and out-to-eat

Last week's menu highlights:

We really enjoyed this Crockpot Chicken Taco recipe, but made with pork. (We love any kind of taco around here!) The meat turns out so great in this recipe. We also enjoyed Crockpot BBQ Ham sandwiches one night. I'm tellin' ya, my Crockpot is one of my best friends during these hot summer months! I also bought all the fixin's for banana splits (complete with the cherry on top) and we had fun making those a couple of nights.

Visit Laura's for more menu ideas, or to share yours.

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Now, onto a fun meme that Susanne tagged me for last week. This is the "Questions Meme." She made up 5 questions for me to answer, I answer them, make up 5 more questions and then tag 5 other people.

Here are her questions:

1. If you could meet any famous person in the world, be it political leader, celebrity, novelist, missionary or preacher, etc. who would it be? Hmmm. Well, it depends on what book I'm reading, usually, but I'd say that I've always wanted to sit down and chat with Elisabeth Elliot. She's so, so wise, and gets straight to the point!

2. What is your all time favorite novel and why is it your favorite? I don't read a lot of fiction, but one of my all-time favorites that I read in high school and is currently in my "to-be-read-again" pile is To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee's writing is masterful, I love the way she develops the characters, and the story is gripping and makes me cry. I love it.

3. If you could go on any game show, past or present, which would it be? Well, since as a homeschool mom I already play "Are You Smarter Than A __th Grader" everyday, I definitely won't choose that one! I'd have to say Wheel of Fortune. Even though I know that I'd freeze up and forget what vowels and consonants are and land on "bankrupt" repeatedly...

4. If you could obliterate one tv show off the current programming schedule which would it be? Desperate Housewives

5. What is your dream job? I grew up wanting to be Julie from Love Boat, so I'll have to say cruise director!


Great questions, Susanne! That was fun!


Here are my questions:

1. When is a time you felt especially close to God?

2. If you could learn another language (easily), what would it be?

3. What house chore is your least favorite and why?

4. If you could have any animal (tamed) as a pet, what would it be?

5. What's one thing about your life now that would've surprised the "teenager you" to know?

I tag Linda, Lisa, Mindy, Lauren, and Christine.

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Well, on to the "musings." One thing I'm musing about right now is a toothache. I used some Anbesol earlier and enjoyed a numb tongue, but no real pain relief. Ith a good thing my kidth were gone thwimming and I dint have to thay anything... Oh! And one of my favorite jokes is coming true this afternoon. My dentist appointment is at 2:30. (Tooth-hurty?? Get it??? Cracks me up everytime!) But for some reason, I'm not laughing as hard today! Another thing I'm musing about this morning is how blessed I am to be in a ministry with my husband. We worked this weekend on our Awana schedule for the year, I finalized all of the record keeping from last year, and we brainstormed some leadership issues and upcoming events. We are meeting with our Childrens Pastor's assistant tomorrow to go over our year. As busy as it keeps us at times, I just love serving with my husband. So often our obligations and ministries take us in separate directions, and I just love that we're in this together. It's such a blessing and a privilege! I'm also musing about school. I'm knee deep in curriculum and planning for our homeschool year (which I post about on my homeschool blog when I can). Homeschooling is another blessing and gift in my life for which I am always doubly thankful this time of year. God is so, so faithful to give me enthusiasm for what He has called me to do.

Well, thanks for reading all of this! I hope your week is off to a great start, and that you, too, are experiencing enthusiasm and strength through God Himself as you do whatever He has called you to. Be blessed today!

Meme Combo: Purse and Randomness

Recently I've been tagged for a couple of fun memes, and in the midst of my busy-ness and taking myself so seriously as of late, I haven't taken the time to do them. SO, today is a chance to catch up! Let me just say in advance that I will NOT be taking part in the Show-Us-A-Picture-of-Your-Morning-Face meme or the Show-Everyone-Your-Desk one. Nope. It may be rooted in pride, but I prefer to think of it as... I just love y'all too much to subject you to those images. Besides, your kids might be near the computer and I'm all about internet safety for kids...

Mindy (The CWO Challenge winner! Check out her fun, new look! ) tagged me for the "Show Us Your Purse" one, and Jenny, Tami, and Susanne tagged me for the" 7 Random Things About Yourself" one. It just so happens that I can combine the two!

7 Random Things About Me (and a peek inside my purse)

1. My first random thing about me is that I'm a total purse-aholic. Yes, I live a purse-driven life. I love purses, always have. (Just ask my poor Dad who just about had to buy stock in Dooney and Coach in the 80's.) I think it comes from Luke 12:33 where it says "... provide for yourself purses which will not wear out." I haven't looked it up in the Greek, but I think it means that I should have cute purses. SO, here's my purse:

It's my purse-du-jour, since I'm wearing a pink top. I've seen all sorts of disclaimers on other people's blogs saying, "Don't worry- it's not real!" or "I'd never have bought a real Coach, it was a gift!" Well, I know for sure this one is real because the nice girl who sold it to me in Beijing for fifteen American dollars kept exclaiming to me, "It's real, friend! It's real! Real Coach, friend!" And I know she would not have lied to me. (cough)

And since we're supposed to show what's inside, here you go:

From left to right: Sunglasses, mints, Purell, cell phone, wallet, keys, iPod, tablet (inspired by Dr. Sam) and tissues. It was pretty cleaned out, since I just changed into it today. Later when I go to gymnastics with my daughter it will also have homeschool catalogs and a bottle of water in it.

2. I love, love, love to sing. I have memorized all the harmonies to all the Point Of Grace songs in the hopes that someday if they ever need a new POG girl again and should happen to call me, I'll have a leg up. I don't sing anywhere regularly, but God is so faithful to provide me opportunities to sing- I sang at a ladies' retreat for our church once, and recently I sang at our African Partner church. (Though right in the middle of belting out "I Am A Friend Of God" I realized my mike wasn't on. Were they trying to tell me something?)

3. I had heart surgery in my early twenties. I had to have it before I could have children. I had a successful surgery and then went on to have two really easy pregnancies and uneventful births. So, at gatherings when everyone's sharing their blood curdling birth stories, sometimes I have to play the "heart surgery card." (Just kidding.)

4. I love superhero movies, especially Superman. (Although I can't wait to see Spiderman 3! For my son's birthday! Next week!)

5. I am also a flip-flop aholic. Basically, I just want whatever kind of shoes I can have a lot of, which at $2.50 a pair would be... flip flops.

6. Pedicures are one of my favorite things ever. I don't get them on a regular basis, but I would if I could. I LOVE a good pedicure. In another loose (or mis-) application of Scripture, I usually go get one before a mission trip because the Bible says "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

7. I sneeze really, really loud. It startles my husband and has made my weenie dog run under the ottoman on more than one occasion.

There it is. Randomness. My son just sat on the couch beside me, glanced at the computer screen, and exclaimed, "Wow! I've never seen what's in your purse before!"

Good man.

Since these have been all around, I don't know who to tag. But, please play, if you haven't. It's fun. :)

Tag, you're it!

Random Friday Fun

I found this over at Susanne's, and her answers were fun so I thought I'd give it a shot (since any and all of my thought-provoking-post-writing brain cells have taken the day off).

1. Name six things in your refrigerator:
~ homemade syrup
~ leftovers from this week
~ pepper jack cheese
~ Caramel syrup, since my daughter has discovered the joy of the Caramel Macchiato
~ Guacamole
~ Fat Free Cream Cheese (a.k.a. "What's the point?")

2. Name six things in your freezer:
~ popcorn chicken
~ Starbuck's Java Chip ice cream
~ Pizza Rolls
~ Sponge Bob Square Pants ice packs (for lunch boxes)
~ pancake and sausage on a stick , a.k.a, "pancake dogs," LOL. My kids love these!
~ bags of frozen veggies

3. Name six things under your kitchen sink:
~ dish detergent
~ some jar candles
~ the watering can for my houseplants
~ a container of clothes pins (for closing chips and misc. bags)
~ hand soap
~ scrubbing sponges

4. Name six things around your computer:
I'm on a laptop, so the "scenery" always changes... right now I'm in the living room so there is...
~ a dachshund
~ my coffee cup
~ my homeschool association newsletter that I received yesterday
~ the dvd remote
~ my son's yo-yo
~ my daughter's Chinese In 10 Minutes a Day book

5. Name six things in your medicine cabinet:
~ my husband's vitamins (mine live in a drawer, too many to fit in the med. cabinet!)
~ kids' Tylenol
~ Sudafed Shower Soothers, haven't used any yet, but I thought they looked cool...
~ an epi-pen
~ a prescription of Zithromax that we take with us when we travel
~ Seabreeze

6. Name six things around your nightstand:
~ my bookbag
~ a container of pens/pencils
~ tissues
~ nail file
~ hand lotion
~ a small, framed plaque that says, "I am woman. I am invincible. I am tired."

There. Now you know a little more about me... I wouldn't have participated if it were "What's in the closet under the stairs" or "Name six things you found under the cushions of your couch" meme, though. I love y'all too much!

Happy Friday!

5 Reasons I Blog

Laurel tagged me for this meme. I haven't done a meme in awhile, so this is fun!

1. To keep family and friends up on our "doings." I originally started a blog on Xanga, to keep people updated while we were traveling (if we happened to be somewhere there was internet service.) Almost exactly a year ago my daughter and I were in France and I was blogging daily on my Xanga for praying friends and family back home, and I realized that I actually liked to write. That was genuinely a shock to me, as I never really wrote anything except in a prayer journal (and pretty infrequently at that.) Once we returned from France I still had the "itch" to blog, so I moved over to the big-grown-up-world o' html over here at Blogger.

2. It keeps me accountable for my words. I never blog anything that I don't actually do. If I say I'm reading it, I read it. If I say I'm cooking/have cooked it, I cook it. I realize that in this cyber-interweb we can "be" just about anyone, it can be tempting to be sort of an online "glamour shot" of myself. This is where having real-life family and friends reading my blog is helpful, because they KNOW if I represent myself as anything other than what/who I am in real life. Also, once you hit "send"... it's out there. My posts are there for weeks, months and years to come, so I must choose my words carefully. (Something I need to work on in my speech as well!)

3. It's a community. I had NO. IDEA. that y'all were out there. The "Cyber Sistas" I have met through blogging are dear to me. You're real. You're digging in and raising your kids just like I am. You're trying to be the best wife you can be, just like I am. You're looking for a good pork chop recipe just like I am... It's great! Dianne at Unfinished Work wrote a post last month that I think sums this up just perfectly: We're chatting "over the back fence." And I just love it!

4. It challenges me. I know NOTHING about computers, other than if it messes up, turn it off and then back on. I have no idea how what I type gets posted here (and looking so "professional" and all! All website-ish and everything!) I know enough to click, highlight and paste things and make them into hyper-links. I know how to type something and click "publish." I know how to "browse" the pictures in my computer and on a day when the planets are all aligned just right, Blogger uploads them. So, I'm learning. And it's good for me. I can just feel the synapses in my brain, new dendrites forming with each blog post. Holding dementia and Alzheimer's at bay, that's what I'm doing!

5. It purges my brain. The Bible says that "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." For me, "out of the overflow of the brain, the fingers blog." I always read, read, read. I think, pontificate, mull and wonder. There is always a hodge-podge of issues floating around in my head, from pondering the Trinity to learning a new Greek Word, to wondering how to get a stain off of my couch or hoping someone is as behind on their laundry as I am. Blogging helps me at least follow one rabbit trail for a time. Often as I'm typing a post, I get clarity on something that I didn't have before. People who journal often say that's how it feels- the process of writing something slows their thoughts down long enough to really think about the issue. That's sort of how it is for me at times... and then I hit "publish." :)

If you have thought of any of the reasons you blog while reading this post, PLEASE consider yourself tagged and post about it on your site. (I'm not sure who to tag, because I haven't read everyone this week.) I'd love to know why you blog!

If you're reading this and you don't have a blog... start one. It'll bless your socks off!

Monday, Meme, and Music

I was tagged by Jenny at Home is Where You Start From to participate in this meme based on the Mastercard commercials. (You know, the ones that list how much certain things cost, then at the end it says one thing that is "priceless?") SO, this is my "Priceless Five"


5 ...... days since I've posted on this blog ::gasp!::

4..... really challenging days are behind me (I hope! They sort of snuck up on me in the first place!)

3.....the number of brain cells I have left to rub together as a result of the aforementioned, which would explain why this isn't going to be a very Deep and Meaningful Post. :)

2...... blogs I clicked on this morning before I found:

1.... that I had never read before: One Woman's World

Priceless.....Clicking on Heather's link to find that I am a
in the category of "Most Thought-Provoking" blog. Wow! And on a day that I haven't been able to provoke any thoughts! (Besides, I was actually going over there to nominate other people. Isn't that fun?) So, whoever nominated me, thank you, thank you. I really needed this today!

As I mentioned, it turned out to be a challenging week. No one's sick, like at Kim's and Sissy B.'s. (I've been praying for them and for all of you who may have viruses making the rounds in your homes.) We are in the midst of "ordering our lives" at our house at the moment, in a radical way. In every area- financially, spiritually, organizationally, and prioritizationally (I just used my three remaining brain cells to make up that last word. Shoot.) Anyway, it's a challenge. It's been lovingly brought about by the Lord Himself, but it's difficult. And it has involved lots and lots of paint, boxes, prayer and a few tears. The upshot of all of it is that I have learned that even when you think you've already come to the end of yourself, perhaps you haven't. I hope I'm there now.

Along the way these past few days, my ever-faithful God Who knows how music speaks to me led me to Travis Cottrell's newest cd, which was my weekend soundtrack. GO. to. this. website. Click on "music" in the lower left, choose the top album, "Found" and click on the first song: "Falling." Turn up your speakers. You will worship. Oh my WORD.

Okay, I will stop typing so you will go there now. (I mean it!)

Have a blessed Monday!

Blast From The Past

I was tagged by Margaret over at GoGo's World to do this fun meme (originally started by Lindsay.) It's so neat, because I used to post SO much stuff... before anyone was reading my blog besides my mom and my sweet friend Holly. I originally started this blog to keep everyone up on our travels and to post updates on my sweet 12-year-old daughter as she traveled without her parents in China last summer. For 5 weeks. (Oh, how I needed y'all then!!) Once I had my blog it just became the overflow of my brain. Now that a couple more of you are reading it, it would mean SO much to me for you to read some of what I've written in the past!

Instead of posting links, I've reposted the posts here so there's not a lot clicking involved for you... just s-c-r-o-l-l-i-n-g. There are four categories: Funny, Serious, Ugly, and All About Me.

Funny:

Butt-Prints in the Sand

originally aired July 17, 2006

This afternoon I read the book The Purse-Driven Life by Anita Renfroe. (SO funny! Short, and perfect for a quick, summer-afternoon read, when it's too hot to think too deeply...) In it, she quotes this poem, written by an unknown author and an obvious take-off on the much loved "Footprints" poem. Although I hadn't see it yet, I Googled it and found it all over the internet!

Buttprints in the Sand

One night I had a wondrous dream

One set of footprints there was seen

The footprints of my precious Lord

But mine were not along the shore

But then some stranger prints appeared

And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?

Those prints are large and round and neat

But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones

"For miles I carried you alone

I challenged you to walk in faith

But you refused and made Me wait

"You disobeyed, you would not grow

The walk of faith you would not know

So I got tired and got fed up

And there I dropped you on your butt

"Because in life there comes a time

When one must fight and one must climb

When one must rise and take a stand

Or leave their buttprints in the sand."

Now, while it cracks me up (no pun intended- oh, who am I kidding, all my puns are intended) somehow it just doesn't sit well with me (ahem) . So I added to the end:

"As you sat upon the beach

You were never beyond My reach.

Your knee prints that I see beside

Remain untouched by the approaching tide

"They show you knew to call to Me

And I heard your heartfelt plea

Let Me help you to your feet

And your joy I'll make complete.

Remember, draw your strength from Me

As you battle the enemy.

You may leave buttprints in the sand

But no one can snatch you from My right hand."

Serious:

Star Crossed

originally aired July 23, 2006

Last night, our teaching pastor delivered a message entitled, "Stars." The focus scripture was Psalm 19:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge." (verses 1 & 2)

If, he pointed out, "day after day they pour forth speech," what are the stars saying?

1. He is God. (verse 1)

2. That we are not. (Isaiah 40 :25-26)

3. We are loved. (Psalm 8: 3-4)

It was an excellent, excellent message (and very timely for us as we are studying astronomy!)

As I listened, I was reminded of a similar message I heard a few months ago by Louis Giglio at a Chris Tomlin concert. There was a certain photo he showed that absolutely took my breath away, so I stayed up late last night searching the internet for it. I found it at the Hubble Site:

This image of the core of the nearby Whirlpool Galaxy, was taken with the camera on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It shows a striking , dark "X" silhouetted across the galaxy's nucleus. The "X" is due to absorption by dust and marks the exact position of a black hole which may have a mass equivalent to one-million stars like the sun.

What this looks like to me, is a reminder that "we are loved." (NASA can call it an "X" if they want... the Greek letter "chi" is a common abbreviation for "Cristos" in some New Testament manuscripts.) I love that it's due to "absorption by dust" and marks a massive black hole. My punishment was absorbed on the cross, and my sin may as well have disappeared into a black hole. What a glorious thought!

Our pastor quoted from the book, The Privileged Planet , that "Earth is located in the prime place for life, but also observation." From that he highlighted the fact that "God gave us the best platform to observe and know Him." According to the NASA website, "the [Whirlpool] galaxy is spectacular because it is tilted nearly face-on to Earth, allowing for an unobstructed view of its bright core."

Face-on.

Unobstructed view.

The best platform to observe and know Him.


This morning I am reminded afresh that the cross of Christ is a "face-on, unobstructed view" of the Father's love for us. It is the "platform by which we may observe and know Him." The cross is there, for those who will find it. And it is there to be found.

Ugly: (I categorize this as "ugly" because it was sort-of a rant)

Maybe I'm Missing Something...

originally ranted posted August 2, 2006

but is this really necessary to reach today's youth for Christ?

• Eating melted chocolate candy out of a diaper a la the "Pampered Palate" game


• the "Banana Barf" game


• Girls burping boys a la the "Baby Bottle Burp" game
  

Don't get me wrong. I love fun. I love games. I love games with kids/youth. In fact, my husband and I coordinate the Awana club at our church which draws 400+ kids (age 3 through high school) each week, and one of the key components is the game portion of the night. We've had kids start coming for the games, then begin attending club each week, which eventually led to the entire family joining the church. Praise God! We've played games on the beach in China and in villages in West Africa. I've seen total strangers come together and, through games, build a rapport and eventually hear the saving message of the gospel. I totally get the idea of using games as outreach. But, some of it has gone too far in my opinion. And I've found out that apparently others feel the same way. Since this was on my mind this week, I did a search and found an article (in its entirety at thegoodsteward.com) that was originally published in "World Magazine" back in 2002. I think Gene Veith summarizes nicely why some of the games in today's youth groups, and one in particular that I've witnessed recently, bother me so much:

"What do teenagers learn from these youth group activities? Nothing of the Bible. Nothing of theology. Nothing of the cost of discipleship. But they do learn some lessons that they can carry with them the rest of their lives:

Lose your inhibitions. Young people usually have inhibitions against doing anything too embarrassing or shameful. These exercises are designed to free people from such hangups. For some reason, post-Freudian psychologists—whose "sensitivity groups" are the model for these kinds of exercises—maintain that such inhibitions are bad. Christians, though, have always insisted that we need to feel inhibited about indulging in things for which we should feel ashamed. This is part of what we mean by developing a conscience.
Though being "gross" may not be sinful in itself, overcoming natural revulsions can only train a child to become uninhibited about more important things.

Give in to peer pressure. Defenders of these kinds of activities maintain that they help create group unity. The way they work, though, is to overcome a teenager's inhibitions with the greater desire to go along with the group. In other words, these exercises teach the teenager to give in to peer pressure. Instead, youth groups need to teach Christian teenagers not to go along with the crowd and to stand up against what their friends want them to do.

Christianity is stupid. Status-conscious teenagers know that those who are so desperate to be liked that they will do anything to curry favor are impossible to respect. Young people may come to off-the-wall youth group meetings, but when they grow up, they will likely associate the church with other immature, juvenile phases of their lives, and Christianity will be something they will grow out of.

Teenagers get enough entertainment, psychology, and hedonism from their culture. They don't need it from their church. What they need—and often yearn for—is God's Word, catechesis, and spiritual formation."© World Magazine, 2002. To learn more about World, visit the magazine’s web site at www.worldmag.com or call (800) 951-NEWS (6397).

Though I'm leery of anything labeled "contemplative" these days (another blog topic for another day!) I found a review for the book Contemplative Youth Ministry. The review (which can be found here) has some interesting observations from the book as well as thoughts from the reviewer:

"Mark writes that youth ministry has often lacked a sense of presence, that instead we’ve concentrated most of our ministries on either the anxieties of young people or the anxieties of the adults within our churches."

"When the anxieties that drive us are those of the young people, (Church is boring, God is about conformity, Christians are boring) then we create programs and events that are all about fun and recreation, the programs attempt to be culture friendly involving frozen chickens, data projectors, play stations and mystery trips but lack the deeper, prayerful and mission action of the Christian faith."

I feel I should say at this point that I really admire those who have committed to work in youth ministry. That takes a special calling and a unique set of gifts (most of which I admittedly do not have!) I am awed and humbled by some of the dynamic folks at my church who serve in our youth ministry, motivated by hearts completely on fire for the Lord. It's wonderful to see! Now that I have a "youth" of my own, our family is directly feeling the impact of those dedicated servants.

But I feel the above authors make great points. I think there is a fine line between purpose-driven outreach and anxiety-driven wackiness. When that line is crossed, the message is lost. As I read some of the ideas offered on the internet on youth ministry websites and observe some of the games at gatherings I've attended personally, I can't help but ask myself, "Is this being done to the glory of God? Can this be done to His glory? Is any of this pointing to Jesus Christ? What are we really teaching these kids?"

Does playing Butt Charades , swallowing live goldfish , or drinking nasty concoctions from a blender do a good job of teaching: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:19)

Maybe I'm missing something...

All About Me:

I will post a link for this one, since it was so recent and you probably read it anyway. If you didn't, here are 5 Things You Didn't Know About Me.

Well, there you have it. If you've read this far... thank you! Now that I've found your blogs I wish, wish, wish I had known you were there all along. If anyone else does a "blast from the past" let me know, I want to see it! God is using so many of your blogs to speak to me each day.

For now, I tag Laurel, Sissy B., and Iris.

5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Yey, I've been tagged again! This time by Iris. I've been away from the computer all day and in my mind when I tried to think of what to write throughout the day, it sort of morphed into the "Six Weird Things" meme that's been going around. (I have found myself nodding along with so many others on the "weird" meme, so either I'm not as weird as I thought or you're all as weird as me!) Any shred o' normal about me gets posted here , so either you already know it or have access to it in the archives. Besides, some of my best friends as well as my family read my blog, so when I tried to come up with what they may not know, some of it is just this side of normal. As a result, my "things-you-didn't-know-about-me" are somewhat... weird. My kids were happy to help me compile the following list today, so hopefully there's something here for everyone, my new blogging friends as well as those who know me best:

5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

(Some Of Which Might Be Weird)

1. I talk to my weenie dog. That may not be so weird, as there are those who talk to their plants or maybe inanimate objects, but the fun thing is... my dog talks back. His voice is strikingly similar to mine but is slightly higher. I'm not sure if it's characteristic of the breed or not, but I find him to be very insightful and quite witty. My whole family (okay, mainly the kids and I- I'll leave my dignified husband out of this) has gotten used to him interjecting his thoughts into conversations and we all enjoy his quick, clever repartee. I knew we were completely over the edge a couple of years ago when my son said, "Oh, I just love it when he says that!"

2. I am completely directionally challenged. Completely. I can drive somewhere repeatedly and still get lost getting there. It's by the grace of God that I find my way home anytime I leave. It's been frustrating, embarrassing and everything in between, but I'm learning to live with it and almost always find my way home. I'm here right now, at least. :::checking my surroundings:::

3. I make really, really strong coffee. The way my daugher put it, "You just dump the whole bag in when you make coffee." I love it that way. I just bite off a hunk in the morning and I'm good to go... no need for a mug.

4. I cannot stand anything to do with (...I almost can't type the word...) mucus. The Mucinex commercial about makes me run out of the room. I cannot stand thinking about it! When the kids were little and it would be all shades of, you know, and I'd have to wipe their noses I would gag all the way to the trashcan to throw the tissue away. (Or worse was using that little suction thingy!! I'm icking out right now just typing this!) Oh! In China, the men had a (I won't say disgusting, it's cultural) practice of pushing one nostril closed and blowing out of the other one right onto the sidewalk and I would about DIE everytime. (One member of our team called them "snot rockets," which my dear son now sings it to the tune of the "Hot Pockets" commercial when he wants to get a rise out of me.) ::::shudder:::: Okay, moving on.

5. I have very eclectic selections in my iPod. I started to say music, but it's not just music. I've got everything from 80's music (that I love to listen to on the treadmill) to hymns (the Passion variety as well as orchestral/traditional), Chinese and African music, Greek and Latin lessons, Grammar Girl podcasts, Awana verses set to music, musicals like Les Miserables and Wicked, praise and worship, sermons and seminary podcasts... I'm surprised my iPod doesn't explode just sitting there. If I could peek inside it, I can imagine David Lee Roth in one corner and Sandi Patty in another. They're both looking sideways at Prince, and everyone's trying to wrap their minds around what John Piper's saying. It's a party in there for sure! And somebody's gettin' saved...

So there you have it! Five (not-necessarily-normal) things you didn't know about me. I hope it's been educational.

I tag: Chris, Susanne, and Janis to tell us 5 things, weird or not, that we don't know about you. :)