Busy Busy!

Hello. I'll bet you've been wondering where I have been. Or not... and that's okay.

I haven't been doing any book reviews of late. I needed to back away from any review commitments because I'm going to help at our church camp for two weeks in June.

Otherwise, I haven't written anything else simply because I haven't felt inspired. I guess this is a dry writing spell.

On the flip side of that, though, I started a prayer journal in January, and I have been keeping up with journaling almost every day. You might say I was challenged after reading A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller and also reading Jim Elliot's biography The Shadow of the Almighty. My desire to journal over spiritual things got kicked into high gear.

So as I mentioned, these next two weeks are going to be full and challenging. Next week I leave for teen camp, in which I will strive to keep up with a handful of teenagers (and their fearless leader) for 4 days.

Thank goodness, the girls get to stay in a cabin. With a toilet. And beds. What we're all praying for is that we get to keep our power this year, otherwise that toilet will only be a pipe dream. Last year we lost power during both weeks of camp. None of us camp veterans want a repeat of that.

Then I'll return on Saturday to do laundry, go to church, repack my things, and turn around to do it all again with the junior campers. They cut that week down by a day. I'm still not certain whether they do that for the young campers or for the adults.

But lest I forget to tell you... before all the camp fun begins I will be attending my 20-year high school reunion this Saturday. Did I just say 20 years?!? How did I grow old enough to even get here? I've been reading on Facebook of late about some of my classmates having children graduating from high school this year. One gal's daughter is going to make her a grandmother very soon. Yipes!!! How did this happen?

So wow! A lot happening around here, for sure. Hopefully I'll get a chance to fill you in on all the details later. Whenever that is.

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A Christmas Program To Remember

Well, it wasn't a secret among those of us who were at the final rehearsal for the children's Christmas program on Saturday. Things were not going well.

Two of the actors had sore throats, one of them a main character. Children forgot their lines. They weren't standing where they had been told to stand. They were singing with less gusto. They still weren't speaking up or facing the audience. We had kinks with the sound system to work out. The actors in the play were frustrated and still working on their lines. Children were misbehaving and caused one teacher to lose it. Not that she was alone in that. Who could really blame her? We were all feeling the pressure.

The final practice for the program has always been a pressure cooker because... This is it! We have to be ready. For some reason, this one was the most difficult I have ever experienced. I was going through my own personal issues, and having a head cold didn't help matters. Tears came to my eyes as I sat at the piano and observed it all. I wasn't the only one, either.

At the snack break the Lord reminded me that... we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) It was not about misbehaving children or frustrated actors at all. It was about a battle being raged in the spiritual realm.

There is one who would not like to have seen our program succeed because of our message - adoption into the family of God. That one is Satan. We have an enemy, and it was evident that his hosts were busily working to take us down.

But God has overcome the evil one.

Last night as the lights went down and the program began, I think we each may have taken a collective breath. Then something amazing happened. The children were remembering their lines. They stood where they had been told to. They sang loudly. All the actors were present, sore throats and all, and delivered their lines to the sheer enjoyment of the audience, even if they did need a few prompts.

We were enjoying the moment.

Best of all, the gospel was presented in a most touching way, and it was evident God was there. It made my month of Sundays, with all the aches and tiredness I experienced with it, all melt away. It was worth it.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Brevity

I'll be brief.  And in list form.

1.  The hair situation has improved.  I'm getting this thing figured out, even without Bouncy Creme.  Hallelujah!  I would not be adverse to having any pictures taken of my hair now.  You know... if I were famous or something.

2.  I have been working much of the afternoon and evening on a complete new look for my blog, but there's still work to be done.  In fact, it could change entirely to something other than what it is at this moment.  I do advise anyone in the vicinity of my neighborhood to please keep all children and pets indoors until I'm finished, purely for their own safety.  I would hate for anyone to get hurt in the midst of this process.  Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S?!?

3.  My arm is in pain.  I tried playing tennis this weekend for the first time all summer, and I do use the word playing loosely.  Ow-chi-wa-wa!!  My whole arm hurts from my hand up to my shoulder.  I soooo was not anticipating this.

That is all.

A Weekend Recap

I had a very full weekend, and I'm still tired from all of it. 

On Sunday our church celebrated its 20th year.  Now there is a lot that goes into preparing for a big anniversary celebration at church, but I will spare you the details of the very awful morning I had Friday as I was trying to prepare the bulletin, which included printing, folding, and stuffing 275 of them by hand.  My own two little hands.  Normally I only prepare 130, so you can see how I might have had my work cut out for me.  Especially when you have errors in the first bulletin printing and have to throw them all away, all 275 of them, and start over 45 minutes before quitting time.  Yep, I will just spare you of that very ugly story.

Sunday was a very exciting day, but a busy one for me as the pianist.  Our first senior pastor was invited to speak, as well as our former associate pastor, who moved away almost a year ago.  We had several folks come for services who used to attend, so it was a good time of reunion.  Needless to say, our church was FULL.  We managed well, though.  Nobody was spilling out into the aisles or anything.

We had our dinner catered, and it was so good.  The weather was great... mid-70's, breezy, sunshine... very nice for eating outside under a tent.

We also changed up our services.  Rather than having an evening service at 6:00, we moved it up to 2:00 so people could stay after church and play games and such. 

Rich and I didn't stay to play.  I didn't have any play left in me after piano duties, singing special music, and all the emotions of the day.  We went home and relaxed, and while relaxing, we decided to order pizza and wings, too.  Because that would create even greater feelings of relaxation.  We were all about the relaxation.  Apparently I was hungry, and Rich didn't mind pointing out that I had eaten more than him.  Whatever.  A girl has to renew her strength after a day like that.

At 7:00 the exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks.  It was pretty weird.  I was able to fight it off with some Diet Pepsi and then a little ice cream (low fat, of course).  I managed to get a second wind and stayed up until 11:00.  Yeah, I'm crazy that way.

So now it's Tuesday, and I'm still tired.  Does anyone know how to cure tired?

{Yawn}

Church Picnic

I had a good time at the picnic.  I arrived at 11:00 and didn't leave until 4:00.  For some reason, the people who attended were all older than me, with the exception of two younger couples.  As always I was glad my friend Kelli was there because she sat next to me at lunch.  I don't know where all our young families were today.

It was really quite fun because they put up a tent behind the church, and I don't recall that they've ever done that before.  Usually we just eat in our fellowship hall, and it's a little cramped if a lot of people show.  I enjoyed being outdoors for a change.  This was also the first year that we've had our back acreage cleared out with grass growing, and it looks beautiful.  The only thing we have set up yet is a ball diamond, and some of the boys were already putting it to good use.  Aside from the tent, I was impressed by the grill they used to cook the burgers and hot dogs.  Someone has a relative who grills commercially, and he loaned us his very large grill for the afternoon.  It was awesome!

As all good Baptists know, the church functions are not really about the fellowship.  Nope, not at all.  It's about THE FOOD.  And I'm not one to argue with a standard that has been set, so I think it's only the truly spiritual thing to do in partaking of the abundance that God provided in all of those wonderful casserole dishes and dessert plates.  My personal favorite, spiritual experience was in partaking of the deviled eggs.  Twice.

After lunch one of the ladies asked if I would like to play a game with her.  Now, I really didn't plan to play games when I went to the picnic.  I'm more of the persuasion of eating and talking and doing that repeatedly throughout my time there.  No one else was taking interest in her game, so I decided I would be friendly and play with her.  Her daughter and granddaughter came over to play, too.  The game was called Spinner, a wild dominoes game.  I got such a kick out of the wild dominoes description, so I kept repeating it to anyone who came over to ask what we were playing.  Once they explained the game to me and we went through about 3 rounds, I finally got the hang of it.  I totally got into it, too, and I was glad I chose to join the game.  And would you believe I won the whole shebang?  When her son found out I won, he couldn't believe it.  He says she's usually ruthless when it comes to Spinner.

Later on, a couple adults and all the kids broke out the water balloons, and I knew I was sitting a little too close to the action.  I got hit in the back twice, but not enough to be soaked.  That figures, though.  I somehow manage to get wet, even when I choose not to participate. 

A lot of people left about an hour after lunch, but I stayed and talked with one of the ladies, who doesn't know as many people, for quite some time.  I was able to get to know her a little better, and I like it when I leave a place and feel like I know someone better than I did before I got there.

I missed my family and friends who I would normally spend more time with at a social gathering, but I had a really good time visiting with other people who I don't know so well.  Such a fun day!

I Do Not Run Aimlessly

A week ago a friend gave me her old bike because I had mentioned I was interested in getting one.  She's getting ready to move and is trying to downsize.  So my other good friends decided that since I had a bike to ride, they would take me with them to a local state park to ride the trail and go fishing afterward.  Pretty relaxing, you think?  Well...not entirely.  Do you know how long it's been since I've ridden a bike?  I'm guessing it has been 20 years.  Granted, I feel like I'm fit enough, as fit as a girl can be who can run .7 mile.  Thank you very much.  But running and biking use different muscles.  Muscles I haven't used in 20 years.

As we got ready to start the bike ride, I was told that the trail was 3.3 miles, and we would have to ride to the end and back.  They were just saving that little tidbit of information until it was absolutely necessary to inform me.  That means I would be riding a total of 6.6 miles.  I was thinking, Uh yeah...I'm game!?!  The ride was grueling!  There were lots of hills and some steep ones, at that.  There were moments I thought I would die because of the searing pain in my knees and quads, but I just kept going.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I was sick.  My body ached, my head was cloudy, and I was so tired.  But it was Sunday, and there surely is no rest for the weary when you're in ministry.  I was finally functioning by the time I got to Sunday school, so I was glad of that.

Despite the discomfort of the challenge, I found myself wanting to ride my bike again.  I kept thinking about when the next time might be when I could do that.  That puzzled me.  Why wouldn't I dread it?  It was hard!  As I was out for my run on Monday, though, the thought came to me.  I like being physical.  I enjoy pushing my body hard, exerting energy, and striving for a goal to see just how far I can reach.  It brings me a satisfaction I don't get from other things in my life.  Suddenly, everything clicked in my mind, and I understood why I like playing tennis, golfing, biking and running.  It's because God made us to be physically active people.  He gave us muscles that we might be bodies in motion.  He puts it within us to do the grueling thing that we might learn to be disciplined.  Of course I find satisfaction in being physical.  I'm using my body the way God intended it to be used.

This is the last thing I ever thought would come out of my mouth.  I have always hated exercise.  That's why it confounded me when I started to crave going out to run.  I learned to be disciplined in my running, hoping that it would flow over into my spiritual life.  So I kept working at it.  Today I guess I feel like it's come full circle.  The spiritual is now effecting the physical.  I finally see God's purpose in the physical, and I believe they work hand in hand.

If you're not a physically active person, find a friend to help you get there.  It doesn't have to be like gym class when they made you do what the teacher planned and then gave you a grade.  Pick an activity that you're curious about or that you've always wanted to try.  Ask a friend to teach you how to play, or just ask them to take a walk with you.  That's where it started for me, and I can testify that a pushy friend is even better at helping you do the hard thing.  Just get out there, and do something.  You just might love it after all.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27a

25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Our church is in a men's softball league, and I have often enjoyed going to the games during the summer.  Because I am soooo into softball and sports and things like that.  It's not about the socializing AT ALL.

So last night was the first game of the season, and I picked up my friend Sherry to take her over there to... ya know... cheer on the softball team.  She brought her camera and took a lot of pictures of the team and the fans.

See?  I'm totally into the game.

I've Got Nothin'

Yeah, I thought if any days would be hard to work in the NaBloPoMo thing, it would be Sundays.  Sundays are a full day for me. 

• Choir practice - 8:45 a.m.
• Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.
• Morning Service - 10:45 a.m.
• Home - 12:45 p.m.
• Lunch - 1:00 p.m.
• Hubs gets home from work - 1:30 p.m.
• Off to nap time - whenever I can get there
• Back to choir practice - 4:30 p.m.
• Evening Service - 6:00 p.m.

I've attempted to write a few posts, but they just weren't coming together.  Here it is 10:45'ish, and it's time for me to go to bed.  I debated whether to just skip today's post or simply post something really, really lame.  I'm afraid to say that this is pretty much it.

Tomorrow I should have a good post up.  Amanda has sent a question, and I'm going to enjoy answering this one.  By the way, I am really getting into these Q&A posts.  I guess I like it because the readers are asking the questions, so I know when I post it's about something you actually want to know about me.  I'd love some more questions.  Leave them in the comments.  'K?

So Much To Do, So Little Time

I've been feeling so...so...unproductive in my interests and hobbies over the last month. While I'm working at the office, all I can think about is all the stuff I want to do at home. Here is the want-to-do list I've been composing in my mind for weeks:

1. Read - I brought home a Francine Rivers novel and a cat mystery from the library yesterday, and I would love to get them both read in the 3-week alotment that the library provides. Or at least within 6 weeks because they'll let me renew once. I also have plenty of non-fiction biblical books that I need to read, too. That list is too long to mention.


2. Crochet - I'm at the beginning of that one crochet project that shall remain unmentioned, and I also want to make some baby booties and bibs for an upcoming shower. I'm not even sure I can pull that off. It's 3 weeks away. Ugh! Not to mention the afghan I want to make for myself and the one my sister wants and the slippers I'd like to attempt...the list goes on and on here.


3. No-Sew Fleece Throws - I made two of these as Christmas gifts and now I want to make 1 or 2 or 10 more! I got an email from my fabric store today, and fleece is on sale this week. Hmmm...


4. Learn Web Design - Yep, I love all things internet, and I have a fascination with HTML code. I also picked up two web design books at the library and would love to read them from cover to cover. It's my dream to build a website from scratch.


5. Blog - I am addicted to blogging, but I'm not very good at it. I know I probably need to expand my mind and explore my feelings more so I have something interesting to blog about. As it is right now, I often sit down to a blank page and go, well, blank. I'd like to develop my skills in this hobby, so I'm going to keep working on it.


6. Sewing - I used to sew in the first few years of my marriage, but then I stopped. I don't recall why, but I'm sure it was because I started cross-stitching or scrapbooking or surfing the internet, you know, something real important like that. Now I'm starting to feel a tug to get back to it, and I think my first project would be outfits for my nieces. I'm still thinking on this one.


7. Baking - This is somewhat of a misnomer because I would let my bread maker do all the work. Ever since I got the bread maker for Christmas, I've been thinking about the recipes I want to try that came with it: wheat rolls, pizza crust, pretzels, quick breads, etc...

So what is on your want-to-do list that you just can't manage to get to? Leave a comment or a link to your blog with a list. I'd love to know what everyone else is up to.

Things Just Got a Little More Exciting

I've kinda felt...uh...just a tad panicked when Sunday rolled around because Christmas is next Tuesday. Aaaagh! The reason behind that is mostly due to the need to still shop for gifts. Thanks to my husband, we are tackling the nieces' & nephews' gifts. What isn't purchased already, is soon to be. The important thing is that we know what we're getting them. Of course, I can't help feeling like Aunt Liz has totally lost touch with her kids that she can't determine what to give them for Christmas. I've ALWAYS gone out and found the perfect items, but not this year. I was clueless. Believe me, I scoured the aisles of Walmart and Kmart to no avail. So I recruited help, and Uncle Rich came through for me.

The other major obstacle is that I am personally making a few of my gifts. I have really enjoyed making personal gifts for people. There's something special about creating something from the heart, almost like part of you is in that handcrafted treasure. I started working on one of them yesterday, and it turned out to be a little bit more effort than I initially realized. Things were tense there for a little while. (Yes, I even sinned and...uh...lost my temper.) But hope springs eternal, and I got that project nailed today. Check it off. One more to go! wOOt!!! :D

So having got that project completed (and I am so excited about the recipient who is getting it), I can't wait for Christmas! You know that feeling you get when you know you have the perfect gift that that certain someone is just gonna love? Elation. I love it!

It's gonna be so great...

A Special Morning

It's been an interesting day. First Place was a good study time, and it's always nice when the girls share what they're learning. We have a very small class, so it's intimate. I had another weight loss this week, too, which makes it a very good day. Yay!

Afterwards I transitioned to our outreach ministry called Sowers & Reapers. We are in the process of doing neighborhood canvassing just to get the people in our community to think about spiritual matters, but ultimately hoping for the opportunity to share the gospel with anyone who would be open to that. We have a questionairre of 7 questions we try to ask at each home, the last question being a means to cause the person to consider their eternal destiny... If you were to die today and stand before God, and He should ask you 'Why should I let you into My heaven?' what would you say? Often this stumps people. They have no idea how they would answer that.

Today I was teamed up with my dear sister in the Lord, who is an 80-something year old lady. You have to understand that it was freezing temps and snowing, but we were all bundled in gloves, hats, and ear warmers going door to door. We went to 20 houses. And I think she fared better than I did. I was frozen and just kept praying with each house we walked up to that God would give me the strength to continue on in very uncomfortable conditions.

I was so blessed to have her with me. She edified me all the way. She spoke the truth of the Word as we encountered many who did not want to talk and would not even accept our free gift. As we'd leave a house feeling dejected she'd say, The Lord knows all about it. This is not about results. This is about getting the gospel into their home, even if all we give them is our gift packet. I love her. As we continued walking we would talk about the Lord and different scriptures He's been giving us recently. It made me think about Malachi 3:16 where it says,

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.

I love that He writes these moments down in a Book of Remembrance. It means this is precious to Him, so much so that He is recording it for all eternity. Maybe the time we spent today was just for me, my friend, and the Lord and to rejoice in who He is and His faithfulness to us as we pressed on in the cold.

Now that I'm at the end of this post, I realize that it's not even what I had planned on writing about. I guess maybe this was the more special thing on my mind today.

Liz

It's Been a Full Friday

I thought I would just tell you about my day. It's been a pretty full one, especially as I have marked a very important victory in my life. It's something I would like to share.

First, of course, I worked at the church office this morning until noon. Fridays are "iffy" because it's the day to publish Sunday's bulletin, and you just never know what might hit. It depends on the amount of phone calls that come in, if the pastor (that's Dad to me) gives me a last-minute project, or if there just happens to be a plethera of announcements that need to be put in the bulletin - all of these things factor into how easily Friday mornings will proceed. Today was a pretty easy day, but it became a cruncher there in the last hour. Last-minute things arose, and normally I could just stay a little late in order to complete them. Today, though, I needed to be out the door at noon.

That brings me to the next part of the day. I got to meet a friend for lunch, someone I only see about every couple of months. We have much in common, particularly our fastidious nature of organization. We're pretty much perfectionists, and we enjoy laughing at some of the crazy things that we think "have" to be perfect in our worlds. So we had a fun time catching up this afternoon.

Afterwards I went to Starbucks. Now before you get after me for indulging in my peppermint mocha and feeding my ungodly addiction, I'll have you know that I did some checking at Starbucks.com and found an acceptable beverage to "put on". (You know, the put off-put on principle of the Bible? If you're going to put off an ungodly behavior you need to replace it with a godly behavior. And yes, drinking is a spiritual thing.) I ordered a Short, Non-fat, Vanilla Creme, No whip - a.k.a. steamed milk with flavored syrup. It was the best thing I could find at 100 calories. It does have its flaw of 18g of sugar, but it's a much better choice than the 310 cal. peppermint mocha that has slowly resulted in my demise. So I was an overcomer today. I conquered that Starbucks beast. Woot!

(As a side note, have you heard this word "woot"? I just heard about it the other day on the news... something about how it is a new word that has been added to the dictionary. Its definition is like a victory cry in celebration. Hopefully, I am using it appropriately. I get tired of using the same old words like "cool" and "yay". )

Okay, now back to the rest of my day. I came home and made dinner, which was okay. Nothing spectacular. After that I finished up my First Place Bible study and then decided to run back out to try that Christmas shopping thing again.

This time I knew where to go and what I was getting. I got exactly what I needed, and I was really happy. Woot! (See, there it is again.) I even made an extra stop, and I found another Christmas item I had been looking for. I guess these things need to be done in phases, or so it seems.

So now I've been home and unwinding from the day. I've been reading blogs, but I'm not all caught up yet from all the afternoon posts. I see I have a few comments on mine, and that's always fun to see. Thanks, you guys!

Can't wait for tomorrow morning. It's time once again to attend First Place, and I get to do that weigh-in thing. I've already taken a peek at the scale today, and things are looking good.

That's all for today...

Random Events of the Day

This is yet again another post that is not about a Christmas memory. Sorry about that. I guess I'm memory-ed out these last couple of days. I know I have some other stories to share in days to come. Today I'm just going to tell you about my day, if that's alright. I knew you would feel okay with that.

I went to First Place this morning. I was dreading it, just the weigh-in. This is the 3rd week into the program, and I didn't get serious about it until last Saturday. The diet plan, that is. This week I wrote everything down on my little food record, sticking to it the way I should, and it resulted in a loss. Hooray!

Immediately following First Place there was a dress rehearsal for our children's Christmas program, which is tomorrow night. I have a small part in playing the piano, what I'd call transitional music. I play music while the children march down the center aisle to the front, where they deliver the lines of their little poems. I also play for a soloist. That was a 3-hour practice. The biggest challenge was dodging all the food, though. Krispy Kreme donuts and many, many, MANY cookies were available at the snack break. I took a handful of pretzels and put all those lovely baked goods out of my mind.

I came home for lunch and visited with my husband, who had to spend his day off work alone, without me. Then I headed for the computer and read up on my favorite blogs.

I was ready to run by 1:00...either that or take a nap. No, I knew I wanted the run because I haven't been able to in over a week, and I've got all this energy just waiting to be burned off. I've been feeling so stifled because we got snow several days this week, and it just wouldn't be easy (or wise) to run on ice...or fall on ice, which is the part that I'm really concerned about.

So I got myself all layered up to go out into the cold... 2 pairs of pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, and two pairs of socks... and I headed to the park. Thank goodness there was no wind. I don't know what the temperature was, but I know I've been out there on colder days than this. After the first lap, the cold is manageable. It was good for me to get back out there.

I made a great dinner - shake 'n bake pork chops. We love those! (Okay, I love those. They're a no-brainer to prepare.)

I think we're gonna watch a Christmas movie tonight. We've been into those since Thanksgiving. Rich had to go upstairs and look through the boxes to try and find the rest of our movies. We still don't know where everything is after our move in May '06. He did manage to find the Christmas movies that were missing, so we're all set for tonight.

Well, that's my day in a nutshell. (Where did that term come from, anyway?) Hope yours has been a good one.