Hometown

This one is to all of my, as Julie would say, peeps who live or have lived in Valparaiso, IN. As we were watching Santa Claus 2 last night on one of the local channels, I heard "Valparaiso, Indiana" on one of the commercials. I stopped in my tracks, and focused back on the TV. If you're from Valparaiso, you might have guessed that it was an Orville Redenbacher popcorn commercial. I guess they showed an old commercial clip with Orville himself talking about his beginnings in Valparaiso, IN. That's it... Valpo is famous now! Millions will know that Orville Redenbacher Popcorn was founded in Valparaiso, IN. I'm sure they will flock back to the once quiet town to see where it all began, and meet Orville's descendants. Life will never be the same... Well, maybe that was a bit of an over exaggeration, but it was kind of cool to hear your hometown on a national television commercial!

In case you want to know more about Orville, here's a link to give you some more info. about his humble beginnings in Indiana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Redenbacher

Contrasts...

With my new job I will have to dress up more than I did with my old job. So that called for a shopping trip for new clothes! Yippy Skippy! What better time then when there are super Christmas deals going on. While I was trying on new dress slacks and fancy shirts, I had to chuckle. With my old job I bought a bright yellow fluorescent t-shirt that said "If you pick your nose...Jesus knows!" (That fits the image in your mind of a Children's Minister, right?) So I'm going from fluorescent t-shirts to fancy dress shirts. What a contrast!?

!!! BIG NEWS !!!

Well, after 4+ years of serving as Children's Minister at our church, I'm about to embark on a new journey in this game we call life! I recently accepted a new position as an assistant to the Dean of Students at Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, IN. This was an extremely difficult decision, one which I've been contemplating over the last four months. I have finally come to peace with leaving my position as Children's Minister and have just been waiting for the right opportunity to fall in my lap. A friend recently told me that his friend, the Dean of Students, was looking for a new assistant, so I turned in my application, had several interviews and was just offered the job! Yippee! I am really excited, as I think this job is quite suited to my talents and gifts! My new boss is a Christian fellow, and seems like a really nice guy who will be a pleasure to work with and very helpful in the transition process. Since graduating from college over 10 years ago, I have yet to tackle a full time job, so this will be a first. It is also about 4o minutes from my home, so that will make for a longer commute and time away from home. They boys will have to get used to being on their own for a few hours in the afternoon after school. All in all, I feel a huge weight off my shoulder as the agonizing decision making and waiting is over.

A good friend of mine, who will also be starting a new job shortly, heard a quote something like this on the radio, "Look at your past as a springboard, not a sofa." I thought that was kind of interesting. He had a tendancy to get caught up in looking at his past jobs and wishing for that idelic setting again, instead of taking the wonderful past experiences and using those to better himself for the next adventure. I guess I'm looking at the past 4 years as Children's Minister as a huge springboard for this new position. I have learned and grown so much as a person and spiritually over the past 4 years. That has definately helped shape me into the person I am today, and those experiences helped me get the new job. I am looking forward to diving into this new adventure with both feet!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas...

Aaahhhhh! December 15th... We're finally getting our first snow! For me, it just doesn't seem like Christmas until our first snow. Growing up in northern Indiana, our first snow always came well before December 15th though. There is something so peaceful about watching the snow fall, and the brilliant white carpet it lays over the dull browns. So the snow has inspired me to put in my favorite Christmas CD's, plug in my little Christmas village, light a few candles, and sip a cup of my favorite Chai tea. Aaahh, life is good! I'm sure having all three of my boys outside helps the mood too! The house is quiet! So, wishing you all a peaceful moment in the midst of the Christmas hustle and bustle! (Here's a picture of the snow from my office window.)

Priceless!

Ahhh, Thanksgiving is now a thing of the past. I feel many pounds heavier, but thoroughly enjoyed all of the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, Oreo balls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie squares, and pumpkin cheesecake. (Can you tell I like pumpkin?) The priceless moment doesn't come from sitting around the dinner table eating though. It comes from a simple game of football. The team consisted of my two boys, my two nephews and two nieces. Six cousins that don't get to see each other nearly enough, running around in sub-freezing temperatures, getting grass stained clothes, playing football with a basketball. Priceless!

I can't help but mention my little 2 1/2 year old nephew, who is the cutest thing you've ever seen, playing football with my youngest son. They also didn't even have a football, but that didn't stop my nephew. He got down in his linebacker stance, and tackled anything standing in his way. I think he could have played this game for hours, if he found a willing body to tackle. It's just a shame he's been taught to be a Bears fan. Instead of rooting for Brian Urlacher or Devin Hester, he should be cheering on Dwight Freeney or Bob Sanders. Oh well!

Happy Turkey Day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all! I know the boys are looking forward to a few more days off of school, and Dan and I are anticipating several extra days off work. The weather sure doesn't feel like the middle of November, though. We are planning a trip back to Valparaiso to visit both sides of the family and eat way too much food. My sister in law has planned a trip to the circus, so I will enjoy that with her, my mom and two nieces. (Some much needed girl bonding time, since I don't get much of that around my house.) I'm sure part of the family will be spending a fair amount of time in the woods hunting. In the midst of all of those things, there is a blanket of thankfulness in the air. Despite many ups and downs, gains and losses, highs and lows, we have much to be thankful for. From the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:15, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

Spine tingler!

I just had to share this story with you. We live in a county with lots of steep hills, sharp turns, and narrow roads. Unfortunately, each year several students are killed from the high school due to car accidents. It's so sad that it is a common occurrence. Fortunately, this story does have a happy ending. Two kids from our youth group, a young man and his sister were driving to school one morning. He went off the road, tried to correct the problem and ended up rolling the truck many times. She had her seat belt on, but he did not. As I understand, when people arrived on the scene they said they couldn't imagine anyone in the passenger seat surviving the crash, because the truck was crushed so badly. Not only did both of them survive, but they had no speakable injuries. The dash board of the truck was only inches away from the young ladies chest, but she walked away unharmed. The young man did not have his seat belt on, but says he felt someone holding him to the seat! While all of this is happening, the young girl remembers looking over to her brother, and him saying it will be o.k.

When a friend was recounting the story, it was one of those spine tingling moments. I would have to question anyone who says that miracles don't happen today! This family has been through some very difficult times in the last several years, and these are super nice kids who just got a second chance at life. Interestingly enough, the young lady went forward last Sunday, before the accident, and was baptized this Sunday, two days after the accident.

Fairy Tale endings?

I detest movies that have bad endings!!!!! I rented (via Netflix) Premonition, a new Sandra Bullock movie. I thought it was a fine movie, until the ending. I was just devastated. I was sobbing on my couch, alone at 11:00 p.m. at night.

Most of you know, I'm not what you might call a "girly girl." You won't find me shopping too much, I've never had my nails done, I don't like wearing dresses, I hate talking on the phone, and I generally do nothing to my hair each morning. BUT... I do occasionally like a good chick flick. Why can't they make them all with fairy tale endings? The girl falls in love with the man of her dreams and they live happily ever after! Not, she realizes she's made some mistakes, tries to fix them, and then her husband dies anyway. Come on!

So what do you think? Might life be too predictable/boring if everything had a fairy tale ending? Can you think of any other movies you've watched that had terrible endings? Let me know.

P.S. Juli, I'm still waiting to hear how the barn dance went! Pictures?

Tribute to Grace

Many of you know we've had two dogs, a 10 year old chocolate mutt named Haus and a three year old Brittany Spaniel named Grace. Haus has been an outside dog, who is quite over protective, but very affectionate toward our family. Grace was our inside dog who had way too much energy, most of which was expended chasing shadows that came from the light in the microwave or refrigerator, catching flies or chasing chipmunks that ran by the sliding glass door. It became obvious to us that Grace needed much more attention and time that we were able to devote to her. She is suppose to be a bird hunting dog, but we don't have many birds around here and we have two kids that take a higher priority that her. We've talked for quite sometime about finding a new home for her where she can hunt and get all of the exercise she needs. (The only way we could begin to wear her down was to let her run full speed behind us on the ATV.) So that day finally arrived when her new owner came to pick her up. His name is Larry; he lives in Michigan and is a retired school teacher. He's had Brittany Spaniel's for almost 50 years. Grace now has a new brother and sister. She will also get to chase a herd of cows every day, and I hear Larry has a few cats. I wonder how long the cats will live with Grace around? She also leaves on Friday to go on a week long hunting trip to South Dakota. She'll be an outside dog at her new home, but got to stay in the house for her first night. The new owner's wife commented that Grace must have wrestled often with our boys, because she was getting a little rowdy. So, here's hoping that Grace likes her new home. I kind of miss the little fur ball!

Buck pic

Most of you probably know that all of my boys are big hunters. I just had to share a picture of a buck my husband shot yesterday with his bow.

Take you back to 1992...

I was doing some "spring cleaning" in our loft area today. I found a box of old video (VHS) tapes. You know they are old when I say "video tapes." Some had episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, or an old favorite of mine Tour of Duty. I also found tapes including a video of my Senior class trip to Washington D.C. and a trip I took to Florida with my parents and Julie to see my grandparents. Wow, talk about taking you back in time! I got a good laugh out of some of the clothes people were wearing. My own two boys commented on how weird the kids, especially the boys, were acting. Oh, to be a teenager again... not! It was fun to go back and watch though. I have a hard time believing that was 15 years ago.

Just for kicks, I dug out a few photos from the Florida trip. Julie and I got to stay on my grandparents sailboat for the week. We also took a boat to see the Davis Cup, a tennis tournament in which Pete Sampras and Andre Agassai played. Apparently, as teenager girls, Andre Agassai was quite a heart throb. We got to go sailing in the Gulf of Mexico and I bought my Senior Prom dress while in Florida. How fun it is to have pictures and videos to bring back the good memories from times gone by.

P.S. Julie, I still haven't brought myself to watch the video we took of ourselves in the boat one night. Remember that?

Misc. blurbs...

• I was watching the Today show the other day before going to work. The topic was "secrets." Apparently some guy has written a book about America's secrets. They also have a website, http://www.postsecret.com/, with secrets that people have shared. It's rather humorous. So what do you think is the #1 secret Americans keep? Would you believe, peeing in the shower!? I would have never guessed that one!

• While watching our local news this morning, they had on Hunter Smith. If you're not an Indianapolis Colts fan, you might not know that Hunter Smith is the kicker for the Colts. Anyway, he was on with a new CD he produced called Connersvine. It's a contemporary Christian CD. I thought that was pretty cool. Two thumbs for positive role models for our kids! (http://www.myspace.com/connersvine)

• I had to share this e-mail I got from my sister-in-law today. She writes, "This morning, I was waiting in the Starbuck's drive-thru to get my morning drink. Usually, I'd just order a tall or grande, but since we were up most of the night with Owen, I needed something more powerful. So, I order a venti drink, along with a bagel since I was running late this morning. It's a long line, but by the time I get up to the window, the barista tells me that the person in the car in front of me just paid for my whole order. I have absolutely no idea who it was...I don't think I work with her and honestly, I wasn't even paying attention to the car in front of me. Anyway, it absolutely made my day and made me think that such a simple act could make someone else's day too. So, next time I'm in a drive thru, I'm going to do the same. Just a neat way to make someones day." How cool! That's true, the simplest acts of kindness can mean so much! You may never know how a simple word, action, card, prayer can have an impact on someone else.

Indiana weather...

Gotta love Indiana weather! It was a record high on Monday with a temperature of 91 degrees. Two days later, the high is 57 degrees. Go figure? If the cooler temperatures stay, the leaves of Brown County will be mighty colorful soon. I found a cool website (http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/leafcam/) with a leaf cam from here in Brown County. Trees are still pretty green right now. We'll see what they look like in another week.

On an odd sort of note, my 13 year old came home yesterday and announced that he had been selected as the emergency bus driver! WHAT? Apparently, the bus drivers had to choose a student on their bus to drive the bus in case of an emergency, like the driver passing out. The bus driver gave him a 3 minute crash course on how to drive the bus! That's a riot! Needless to say, Jordan is only on the bus for the last 5 minutes in the morning, and is one of the first off in the afternoon. Hopefully he will never have to utilize his new found skill!

Homemade pumpkin pie!

I showed you pictures of the BIG pumpkins we grew in our garden, but we also grew little pie pumpkins. (They were actually suppose to be carving pumpkins, but we picked up the wrong seeds.) My family got the bright idea that it would be fun to make a REAL homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. After much grumbling, consulting of older ladies and searching for instructions on the Internet, I embarked on the homemade pumpkin pie making adventure. I attached a picture of my son who agreed to help with this project. He helped cut up the pumpkin, scoop all of the insides out, cook it, scrape it from the shell, puree it, mix all of the ingredients, make the crust and then bake it. The end results were quite tasty, but I think it would be much easier to just buy a .79 cent can of pumpkin!

Faithful friend!

Julie, this one's for you, because I know you're a dog lover...

Without fail, everyday when I come home from work, my dog Haus greets me in the driveway with a smile and wagging tail! That just makes my day! He's never in a bad mood, nor is he ever angry or disappointed with me. He always likes to hang out with me, and is even excited about it. I don't think I'll find a more loyal friend, (sorry to those I do call friends). So this is a tribute to our 10 year old chocolate mutt who's missing a tooth, has one floppy ear and one pointy ear, who's always needing a bath and waits patiently while we pull ticks from him, who loves to play frisbee or take walks or wade in the water, who's only bitten a few young children, but is the best dog we've ever owned!

Do you wonder what the McGuckin's do for fun?

Just in case you were ever wondering what our family does for fun, I thought I'd tell you. Our latest family hobby is catching butterflies, monarch butterflies in particular. We've always enjoyed finding monarch caterpillars, watching them make a cocoon and then turn into butterflies. Then a few years ago, in September we saw over 800 monarch butterflies on our property in one day. They were everywhere! So this year we bought a butterfly net and some tags to mark the butterflies we catch. We then download the data to http://www.monarchwatch.com/. In a few months the butterflies will fly all the way to Mexico. There people catch the butterflies with tags and record the data. We should be able to see if any of our butterflies made it to Mexico or other areas down South.

O.k, I realize that may sound strange, but that's what we enjoy! I'll keep you posted on our butterflies progress as the months go by!

Face to face...

We have a little Honda Accord. It's really "Dan's car," but he was out of town all of last week so I got to drive it. It gets good gas mileage and is generally a nice little car, but I feel like the Flinstone's when I drive it. The car is so close to the ground, if there were a hole in the floor board, I could just peddle it. Well, I realized the other day that being so close to the ground also gave me a really great, face to face view of a deer that ran into the car. She came out of nowhere, and for a few brief seconds we were a little too close for comfort. Although the car's a bit dented, it won the battle. The deer lost it's life. Oh by the way, it doesn't look like much damage, but the repair man said it will cost over $2,200 to get fixed!

Pics...

We recently repainted the boy's room. After a complete day of cleaning and then another day of painting and wallpapering, it looks great. Surprisingly, it has actually stayed clean for a few weeks now. Not surprising, the border is wildlife, (deer, bear and moose). Also shown on the wall is Jor's first turkey.

We had a super year of growing pumpkins in our garden, thanks to our new compost pile. These are two of the biggest we grew, with the largest one topping in at over 108 pounds. We had 10 that were right around 100 lbs.

The ins and outs of life!

It's been a few weeks since I've last posted something on my blog. I guess nothing noteworthy has happened. So, here's a quick run down of the simple, everyday happenings of our lives.

• Damon's 5th - 6th grade Sunday School class had an overnight campout at our house last night. We swam, kayaked, went off the zip-line, had a marshmallow gun fight, roasted hot dogs and ate smores, slept in tents in 90+ degree weather. A fun time was had by all, but I'm a bit tired today!
• Our county fair was this past week. This is the first year the boys have not been in 4-H. I have such fond memories of hanging out every night at my county fair growing up, but our local fair is nothing like that. We spent a total of about 1 hour at the fair, and saw everything there was to see. I did get my elephant ear fix for the next year though.
• We just repainted the boys room. It was definitely time after living here for 5+ years. They decided on green. Now, if you've ever been to my house, you would know that every room is off white/beige. I am definitely NOT an interior decorator. So the green room is really growing on me. Jordan and I put up a wildlife wallpaper border. It looks good! Maybe I'll venture out of my comfortable beige walls, and splash a little color around this place?
• Dan and I had a "date night" and we went to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Very funny!
• We've enjoyed watching our garden grow. This year we have corn, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, about 6 kinds of peppers, watermelons, cantaloupe, several varieties of pumpkins, asparagus, & rhubarb. The deer ate all of our green beans. The pumpkins are enormous, as we started a compost pile last year and have feed them with that.

Well, that sums up the highlights of what's been up in our lives lately. Happy Trails!

Peas and beans!

So my kids are still out of town, and just my husband and I were sitting down to eat a nice dinner. We had broccoli and cauliflower from our own garden, and corn on the cob and zucchini from a farmer's market. (Our fresh sweet corn isn't ripe yet.) We also grilled BBQ chicken. It was quite yummy, but I'm not as fond of vegetables as my husband is. I tried to be kind when I said I didn't need another serving of broccoli or zucchini. In all seriousness, he stopped and asked what fresh vegetables I ate growing up. We always had a garden, but I can only remember growing sweet corn, strawberries and pumpkins. I love fresh Illini Extra Sweet sweet corn and fresh strawberries!!!!! The rest of the fresh vegetables I'm not real fond of. I do remember eating quite a bit of frozen peas and canned green beans though. Peas and beans, there's two vegetables I will eat, I just prefer them not fresh.

So that got me thinking of the many wanted or unwanted things I am passing down to my children, like me only liking fresh sweet corn and no other fresh vegetables. I wish the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do" were realistic. I'm sure there are many things that I do that I wish my kids would not pick up on. Like my hatred for doing dishes, or how I say "crap" when something goes wrong, or my inconsistency in exercising, or my distaste for vegetables, or how I tend to drive over the speed limit. I guess, now I'm a bit more conscience of my habits, good or bad, and the potential for passing those down through the generations.

Feeling old...

Our postponed Collin Raye concert was yesterday afternoon. We had a great time, although I'm feeling pretty old. First of all, everyone I talked to had no idea who Collin Raye was. Come on, he's had ten #1 hits, and some of my all time favorite country songs. Second, when we get to the concert, everyone is between the age of 50-70. Yikes, we kind of stuck out. We were some of the youngest people there, but it still made me feel old. Finally, when Collin walks out on stage, he looks nothing like I pictured. He's a bit rounder around the face and waist, and seriously balding. As the concert progresses, he continues to make light of the fact that he's getting older. Apparently, he's been producing music and touring for 16 years. That used to not seem like a long time, but these days it does. Sixteen years has flown by like nothing.


On a separate note, both boys are away at different church camps this week, leaving Dan and I home alone! In the past 14 years, I don't think that has EVER happened before! Any ideas on what we might do?

World's Worst Parents

I think we get the award for being the world's worst parents this week. Three and a half weeks ago Jordan fell off his bike. He was attempting to ride his bicycle and throw water balloons at the same time (smart huh?). He complained that his ankle was sore and he thought he sprained it. That same day and same foot, he also had a stick go up through his flip flop and puncture the bottom of his foot. At the time, his puncture wound seemed like the more serious injury. He was also leaving for a week of scout camp the following day. He limped around the first few days, but it seemed to be getting better. We did find it odd that it never bruised like a sprain, and over time the swelling never went away. So, we finally took him to the doctor 3 1/2 weeks later. Needless to say, a bone in his ankle was broken and we felt terrible! He really didn't complain about it being painful, and he continued most of his daily activities like normal. So there you have it, we feel like the world's worst parents! Oh, by the way, he got stung by a yellow jacket on that same ankle while mowing the neighbors yard a few days ago. Bad luck!

Salsa

I think I told you before that it is the simple things in life that give me much pleasure! Many, many months ago I tried some salsa from O'Malia's Market in Bloomington. Now, we are big salsa lovers at this house. We have tried dozens and dozens of salsa, but this one was by far the best I've had in a long time. The problem is, I don't ever go to O'Malia's Market. So I have tried countless salsas trying to find one that tasted like this, with no luck. So, I was in Bloomington the other day with a bit of extra time and stopped by O'Malia's to pick up the infamous salsa and a bag of chips. We ripped into both in the parking lot, and it was glorious! That just made my day in a royal way! I've since found out that I can also get it at Kroger, which is much more convenient. The special ingredient that makes it good... sugar! So now you know what to get me for Christmas, Jack's Special Garden Fresh Salsa! Adios!

Hot Date

My husband and I have been married for 14 years, and it is a rare occurrence when we get to go on a date. Life seems to be too busy, and we usually end up doing things as a whole family. So, a few months ago, when I saw that Collin Raye was going to be playing at the Little Nashville Opry in our hometown I bought two tickets. We were set to have a hot date! Five minutes after the show was suppose to start, some guy comes out and says that Collin is stuck in Dallas and will not be able to do the show! WHAT!? So much for our hot date!

Summer in the Son

So, my family and I were on vacation for two weeks. We came home for a full 24-hours, before I left for the next six days to go the Summer in the Son, a church camp for Sr. High students at Kentucky Christian University. It has been one of the highlights of my summers for the last six years. We have been blessed with some awesome teenagers at our church, and I love to spend that time getting to know them in a much different way that seeing them for an hour or two each week. This year was a much different week of camp, though. We had a smaller group than usual, only 17 of us. We also just hired a new youth minister, and this week of camp was his first week to begin ministry at our church. We were all a bit nervous and anxious as we began to get to know each other, and see if we were going to make a good fit. As always, God proved His faithfulness, and provided us an amazing week of camp beyond my expectations. For the first time in many months, I can say that I am looking forward to the future that God has planned for our church and youth ministry.

I just had to include this picture of our senior ministry doing a dance to the game/song "Little Sally Walker." As he "bust a move" the other five people in the picture are laughing hysterically! That just typifies the theme of our week, laughter and fellowship!

R & R

I've been out of town for the last 3 weeks. I've heard some people say, "It's good to be back home!" upon their arrival. I can't quite say I feel that way. What I can say, is that I've discovered a passion to travel the United States and see new things. I am fascinated with God's marvelous creation. I love to daydream about what it would have looked like many, many years ago before people began to ruin it. The sight of a snow capped mountain or roaring river does wonders for my soul!

This vacation to Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico brought us the sights of many rocks, and the power of water. We loved Arches National Park and the brilliant red rock. The boys spent hours climbing the slick rock and conquering their mild fear of heights. Bryce Canyon brought new beauty and unbelievable panoramic views. The Grand Canyon made me stand in awe of it's vastness. What I saw from one particular point was just a dot on the map, but yet so impressive. Mesa Verde marveled us, and made us take a step back in time to think of the lives of the early inhabitants of that area. While all of that was beautiful beyond compare, Zion National Park captured all of us by its beauty and diversity. Of all we did at Zion, our hike to the top of Angels Landing stood out on top! We trekked 2 1/2 miles, up 1,500 feet to make it to the top of Angels Landing. Let me pause there for a moment. Just let me say, I'm used to hiking 2-3 miles back home on a semi-regular basis, but this wasn't my typical "walk in the woods." Once I saw our destination, I seriously doubted that I would ever make it. I'm not real fond of walking uphill to begin with, let alone 2 1/2 miles of straight uphill. We did too many switchbacks to count, stopped for numerous breathing breaks, teetered on more cliff edges that I wished to think about, used dozens of chains to aid our ascent, and drank a gallon of water before we made it to the top! It was glorious! The views were stunning, and I was beaming with a grand sense of accomplishment! After the feat it took to climb to the top of Angels Landing, we sat in awe for quite some time admiring the beauty. Needless to say, the 2 1/2 mile trek down seemed like a walk in the park. I'm still pondering the correlation that trek has to my own spiritual journey. More to follow on that thought later.

So, whether I like it or not, I'm back home again. Trying to adjust to life as "normal," whatever normal is. I'm grateful for another opportunity to see more of God's beautiful creation.

(The picture is a view of Angels Landing)

A little R & R!

If you haven't heard, my family and I are taking a little R & R for the next few weeks. We'll be traveling through the southern part of Utah (Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, to the 4-corners area, and also Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! We are definitely in need of a break from the day to day routines and stresses of life! Please pray for our safety and sanity from spending 16 days straight with each other! I don't know if I'll have internet access while on our trip. If not, you'll hear from me after my vacation!

Faith

I think I can safely say, it has been a rough few months for me for a multitude of reasons. I think of the old saying, "When it rains, it pours!" It's been a season of pouring rain in my life. Now, I feel like I'm coming out on the other end of the rainy season with a greater sense of faith. It is only through those trials that one grows, and this time it is my faith in God that has grown. I have been, and still am, in the midst of things too big for me to handle. I am finally in a position, where I throw my hands up and say, "God, I can't do this! I can only trust in you and have faith that you will get me through!" I picture Him smiling, nodding His head, and saying, "She is finally where I want her. She has finally come to the understand that she can't do everything on her own, and needs My help." I guess, I've always given lip service to God about how I want his guidance, and want His will to be done. For some reason, this time it feels different. Instead of just talking about it, I'm now walking it. That's a very scary thing, but there is a peace about me. A peace that it all will work out. A peace that says I don't have to have all of the answers. A peace that God IS in control. Thank God for that!

He said "YES!!!"

Most of you know that we have been in the process of hiring a new youth minister at our church. For the last few months, my life has been rather chaotic juggling the children's ministers duties along with trying to hold together the youth ministry stuff. Through all of that, we have also feverishly been searching for a new youth minister. I can't tell you how many countless hours we have spent in meetings, on the phone and in prayer searching for the right person for the position. Over Mother's Day weekend offered the position to a young gentleman, and have been long anticipating the phone call saying he would accept the job. So, he said "YES!" We all breathed a deep breath, smiled and said "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" Now, it is with much joy (and anxiousness) that we begin a new journey in our lives!

Good vs. Bad

So, I was at the funeral of my friend's brother yesterday. The preacher was talking about how we like to ask why bad things happen to good people. I found myself asking the same thing. It's just not fair. Why does one family get hit with so much grief? They are good people. The preacher challenged us and said once again, maybe we are asking the wrong question. Maybe the questions should be, "Why do good things happen to bad people?" I had to stop and think about that. Why do good things happen to bad people? I've still be mulling that over in my head. We think we are good people. As Americans, we think we are entitled to a good life. We've worked hard, we pay our taxes, we go to church, we haven't murdered anyone, we don't abuse our children, etc... Life should treat us well, because of all the good things we've done. In reality, we live in a fallen world. We are not good people. We all have sinned. It only took one sin for us to deserve punishment and death. It is only by the grace of God that we have been saved from eternal death. So why is it that we think we are such good people, and no harm or pain should come our way. We deserve much worse. Bad things will happen, and that is not to belittle the pain and suffering when we lose those we love. But instead of trying to figure out why bad things happen, maybe we should turn our eyes to the many good things that God has blessed us with. We don't deserve the good things anymore than we deserve the bad things. Its just we take the good things for granted, and somehow think that we are responsible for those good things happening to us. In reality, it is God that blesses us with the many good things in our life. Those are things that we don't deserve.

Prayer

Would you please pray for my friend, Juli, and her family. Her youngest brother was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. He was only 26 years old. Unfortunately, that family knows the pain of loosing a child/brother/sister, because a little over a year ago Juli's sister was killed in a skiing accident at the age of 19.

I find myself asking God "why" things like this happen. Most of the time I can never come to a good answer. I recently read this quote in the book Daily Devotions Inspired by 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. "Instead of 'Why me, God?' isn't it better to ask, 'How, God? How do I feel your comfort? How do I draw close? How can I move beyond my pain?' As we start to ask the right questions, we move closer to the correct answers." For my friend and her family, instead of asking why God, I will turn my prayers into praying for them to feel Your comfort, praying for them to draw close to You, and praying that You can help them move beyond the pain.

(I attached a photo of our families camping at a state park in Indiana many years ago.)

Cold remedy?

I'm not real big on taking any kind of medicine, but when a nasty cold strikes I'd do anything to make it better. I've been coming down with a cold for the past week after running myself into the ground. I just don't have time to be sick! So, I was rummaging through the medicine cabinet and came across this box of Zicam. It claims to reduce the severity and duration of a cold. At that point I would have tried anything. I'm still a bit skeptical, but I think it really may have helped. The problem is, you never really know if your cold was going to get better without the medicine? I don't know. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this stuff out?

Spice of life!

Howdy all! Many times my blog consists of my not so deep thoughts! This time, I thought I'd write about some good times I've had with old friends and family.

The highlight of my weekend was spending time with Joe and Charlie. Joe owns the property where we live. He was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor that was cancerous. He's since had surgery and many weeks of treatment. We're trying to keep our hopes up for a long and healthy future, God willing. Many prayers have been sent up concerning Joe and his family. It was great to see him again with a smile on his face and a renewed sense of purpose and life to him. He was beaming from ear to ear while telling us about the half a dozen 5-6 pound bass he caught in the back pond. Joe's cousin, Charlie, was also over from St. Louis. It was one year ago that Charlie and his wife were involved in a serious car accident. A car jumped the curb and struck both of them, killing Charlie's wife and nearly taking Charlie's life. He suffered many injuries including serious brain damage. The doctors were not very optimistic about his quality of life due to the damage, but Charlie has proved them all wrong. A year later, one would hardly be able to tell anything has changed. We had a fabulous time with Charlie taking a walk around the property and checking our bluebird houses.

I also got to spend the day with my oldest son on a field trip to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, KY. We had a great time riding roller coasters and amusement park rides. It's probably been 15 years since I've ridden roller coasters like these. The new stand-up coaster was the biggest thrill! I felt like a teenager again! :)

I'm thankful for these breaks in my day to day routines that add to the spice of life!

Small Town

I thought I'd share an article in this week's edition of our local paper. (Yes, our paper only comes out once/week.) "Midwest Living magazine recently released its annual list of the 100 Best Small-Town Getaways. No 6.--Nashville (Brown County) According to the magazine, editors looked at 8,500 Midwest towns with populations of less than 20,000." I think that is pretty impressive, our small-town is ranked #6 out of 8,500. Every year I live in this small-town, I like it more and more. Yes, the traffic is horrible in October when the tourists flood the small-town, but we can live with that. I like that people smile and wave while driving by. I like that tractors drive down the highway, the same highway that floods each time it rains. I like that everybody knows everybody. I like the slower pace of living. I like that I can see the stars at night, because we aren't surrounded by millions of lights. I think I could go on and on about all that I like about a small town.

That reminds me of John Mellencamp's song, Small Town. Well I was born in a small town. And I live in a small town. Prob'ly die in a small town. Oh, those small communities. All my friends are so small town. My parents live in the same small town. My job is so small town. Provides little opportunity. Educated in a small town. Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town. Used to daydream in that small town. Another boring romantic that's me. But I've seen it all in a small town. Had myself a ball in a small town. Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town. Now she's small town just like me. No I cannot forget where it is that I come from. I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town. And people let me be just what I want to be. Got nothing against a big town. Still hayseed enough to say. Look who's in the big town. But my bed is in a small town. Oh, and that's good enough for me. Well I was born in a small town. And I can breath in a small town. Gonna die in this small town. And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me.

More than a Story!

I recently finished a book by James Alexander Thom (who lives in Bloomington, IN) entitled From Sea to Shining Sea. It was a fabulous historical fiction book based on the lives of the Clark family. (Like Lewis and Clark who went West over the great mountains to find the ocean.) I generally only read non-fiction books, being that if I am going to spend my time reading I might as well learn something. O.k., so this book is historical fiction. Thom does a ton of background work and presents a storyline from that knowledge. Much of that knowledge comes from journals and diaries written by the Clark family 200+ years ago. I am intrigued by the amount of detail we get into their lives.

Changing thoughts for a moment, Kid's Sunday is coming up at our church in a few weeks. The elementary age kids "take over" the morning services for that day. I am using the theme, "More than a Story." I am reminded about how many stories are passed down from generation to generation. I'm talking nursery rhymes, fairy tales (Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, etc...). I did a little research, some of those stories were written hundreds of years ago. We are still telling them to our kids. That ties into Kid's Sunday for two reasons. First, we have a Bible that has stories dating back thousands of years. Those stories are still being passed down from generation to generation. These stories aren't fairy tales, though. They are real people with real stories that are applicable today. That's pretty cool! Second, though our Bible is complete, stories are still being written about our lives today. Each of us has a story to tell and share with someone else.

We may never be as famous as the Clark family, and thousands of people may never hear our story or read our journal, but we still have a story to tell. You have stories of courage, triumph, defeat, hope, struggles, victories, faith, love and more. Will you share your story?

Nothing!

Have your ever asked a guy what he's thinking about and the response is "Nothing!" I just can not comprehend that. How can you be thinking about NOTHING? I really have come to understand that when they say "nothing," they really mean nothing.

Oh, how I wish I could think about nothing for just once. There is always SOMETHING rolling through my mind. Normally, there are many somethings racing through at the same time. I can't get to sleep at night, because there are some many things to process. Things from the previous days or weeks, thoughts about the upcoming days and the many things on my to do lists. I love that my husband has learned to patiently listen as I verbally run through the many scattered things rolling through my head. It must be really difficult for him to ask me, "Honey, how was your day?" There's no telling what or how long my answer may be!

Growth

Spring time is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to see everything come back to life, the trees getting leaves again, the birds singing, the flowers blooming, the warmth of the sunshine, etc... There is new growth all around. I just feel alive!

More than in past years, I feel a new growth within me. I feel like this growth is sprung from a renewed faith and trust in God to bring me through the challenges in my life. It seems like right now I am being thrown some very real challenges. In years past, I may have looked at these with great dislike, worry and angst. (I'm not saying I still don't revert to worrying about these things, but...) Now, I am reminded of the contradictory words of James to consider our trials and troubles pure joy. That is so foreign and odd! Troubles pure joy? It is only through these troubles that we can learn to rely on God and not ourselves. So, bring it on! I feel ready to tackle a new day's troubles, for it only brings me joy and closer to my Maker!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 NLT

Peace

Oh my, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. But today I am struck by the word PEACE. I get weary and saddened by all the terrible things in the news, school shootings, the continued war on terror in Iraq, murders, rapists, the homeless, the hungry, friends in jail, failed marriages, and on and on and on... The sooner I comprehend that there will never be peace on earth, the easier it will be to begin dealing with these things. Jesus promises us peace, but never peace on earth. The war I need to be more concerned about is the war going on inside me every day. The war between God and me. The war between my choices and whether I do what I want or what God wants. Am I going to be selfish or selfless? I am beginning to understand that I can have peace in my life when I give control over to God. He frees me from the war within me. I am set free!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all (at least the 1-2 faithful blog viewers) a very Happy Easter! I couldn't resist showing off my dogs! On the left is Grace, our 2 year old Brittany Spaniel, and on the right is Haus, our 9 year old Chocolate Mutt! The bunny ears are compliments of our youngest son.

Bicycling!

Today is the twenty-sixth of March and it is 80+ degrees outside. Rather warm for this time of year. My family decided to go on its first bike ride of the year. For those of you who may not know, it is rather hilly where we live. Very hilly! I love riding my bike downhill and on flat terrain, but not up hill. It's the closest thing to torture that I've ever known. The first bike ride of the year is always the worst, because I am in the worst shape of the season. I'm talking totally out of breath, red face, lightheaded, on the verge of vomiting, etc... (Well, maybe it wasn't that bad, but...) So about half way through, with what seemed like all uphill left, I began to think about all the good/positive things about riding my bike. It was a struggle at first, but I began to come up with quite a lengthy list. For starters, I have all my limbs, two legs and two arms. (It would be pretty difficult to ride without those.) I am relatively healthy, and able bodied. I am able to afford a bike. I had all paved roads to ride on. I had a family to ride with me, although I was a bit tired of their so called "encouragement." It was a beautiful, sunny day; the scenery was excellent. I had a backpack with nice cold water to drink.

Those happy thought were enough to carry me home, and somewhat ready to ride on another day! Happy trails to you!

Birthdays!

My youngest son turned 11 this weekend. I remember when birthdays were such a big deal. The kids would talk about it for weeks, if not months, ahead of time. They had loads of presents that they wished to receive in mind. We had big parties with all of the relatives and many friends. We made fancy birthday cakes, like a dinosaur, train or Richard Scary cat shaped cakes. We bought matching plates, cups, napkins, balloons and tablecloths. They were fabulous days!

This 11th birthday slipped by without much fanfare. We did go bowling with friends one night, ate out at Pizza Hut and bought him a new pair of hiking shoes for his birthday. For the actual birthday, we went camping at Turkey Run State Park. All in all, the day slipped by like any other.

I guess life has a way of doing that. The days run into weeks, and the weeks run into months, and the months run into years. When I was younger, I used to think time went by so slowly. As I get older, and the grey hairs start to multiply, my perspectives on many things in life are beginning to change. One is that time really does fly by!

Detention!

Well, I just had another first in the world of having a teenage son. My oldest son came home from school yesterday, and obviously had something important to tell me. The reason I know that is he was stuttering, getting a little flushed and not looking me in the eye. As I understand, he was sitting in study hall doing his math homework while all of the other kids were talking and being loud. While he was deep in concentration, the teacher apparently said that the next person that talks is going to get an after school detention. I guess he didn't hear that important bit of information, and happened to turn to one of his best buddies and whisper something. The next thing he knows, the teacher is yelling at him and says he has detention. The real problem lies in the fact that he will not be able to take the bus home the following day, because detention goes until 3:30 p.m. and someone will have to pick him up from school. (I'm still trying to figure out if he would have told me this information if it didn't involve me picking him up from school.)

For the sake of it, we had a little discussion about listening to the teacher, and obeying even if we may not agree with every decision teachers make.

If you know my oldest son, from the time he learned how to talk, we have never been able to get him to be quiet. It has been the running joke in our family about when he gets to school how much trouble he'll get in for talking. All through elementary school, the teachers comments are about what a nice, good student this boy is, but he talks too much! So, it comes at no surprise at all that if he were to get a detention for anything, it would be TALKING!

SIDE NOTE: I'm beginning to feel a little bad, because this is the second time in my blog that I've had something negative to say about this child. Really, he is a very good kid! That's probably why I can make light of it here.

Footstool

I don't know how many of you know about Google Earth. I am fascinated by it! I've attached a picture of my house taken from a satellite. I am amazed at the detail. You can see three vehicles in the driveway, the trampoline in the yard, the beach my kids play on, the dock they dive from in the summer, and my favorite bench overlooking the lake. That totally thrills me!

When I travel by airplane, I always get a window seat. I feel like a little kid who's flying for the first time. I never grow tired of looking out the window and the new perspective it offers me. I love to look at how small the cars and houses look from so far up in the air. I love to fly at night and look at all of the lights. It makes me feel so very small and insignificant. Yet, I know in God's eyes that is not the case. Matthew 5 says that the earth is God's footstool! I love it, His footstool! I can't imagine His view from the heavens. The Bible also says that I am so significant that God knows how many hairs are on my head. While all of that absolutely blows my mind, I am left very humbled.

Simple things...

It was a good night. last night. No, it was a great night. It was the first night we could sleep with the windows open and listen the spring peepers! Life doesn't get much better than that! I've come to understand that it is the simple things in life that give me much pleasure. I love sleeping with the windows open. The cool breeze and smell of fresh air. The spring peepers just lull me into a peaceful sleep. (Dan says they keep him awake, and he often closes the window.) The smell of apple pie baking in the oven makes me happy. Watching the sandhill cranes fly high over our house, making their unusual calls, makes me happy. A thoughtful word or action from a friend brings me joy. Curling up in bed with my warm blanket from Mexico and a good book is delightful. I could go on and on... finding toads in the pile of landscaping mulch, sleeping in on a Saturday morning, the taste of my favorite Chai tea, watching the moon rise over our lake, my fuzzy nightgown, watching bluebirds hatch from their eggs.

Sometimes I get bogged down in the day to day life I live. It's the same ol' thing day after day, week after week, year after year. Lately, I've come to find joy in the simple things of my day to day life, and it is good.

New ring tone

I got a new ring tone. My old ring tone was the Duke's of Hazard theme song. ("Just the good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm...") I loved it, but it was time to move on. My new ring tone is Lonestar's old song, "I'm Already There." Here's some of the lyrics to the song.

"I'm already there. Take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair. I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind. I'm your imaginary friend. And I know I'm in your prayers. Oh I'm already there... I'm already there. Don't make a sound. I'm the beat in your heart. I'm the moonlight shining down. I'm the whisper in the wind. And Ill be there until the end. Can you feel the love that we share. Oh I'm already there."

The song is written from the perspective of a young father away on a trip. He calls home to talk to his wife and children. They miss each other. The chorus (above) is what he says to his family that is far away. It struck me the other day, that the words of the chorus could be our Heavenly Father calling us. Read the words from the song again, but with this new perspective. God longs for us to see Him, to talk to Him. He is already here, every moment of every day, just look around!

Minor issue!

My oldest son turned 13 this past October. Up until recently, I feel like the dreaded teenage syndrome has gone fairly smoothly. My son has grown so much in the fast few months that none of his clothes fit, hence a shopping trip to Kohl's ensued. I am not kidding, when I say that not a single piece of clothing in the entire store suited him. Anything that had buttons was out. Collars are not cool. This was ugly, that was gay, and on and on and on... I came to the conclusion that he would only be satisfied wearing jeans, a t-shirt with some sort of animal on it, and a sweatshirt. Remembering one of my mom's favorite sayings, "Major on the major, minor on the minor." I guess in the big scheme of things this is a minor.

Blindsided!

Well, the other day I was completely blindsided. Our youth minister at church told me he was taking another job and leaving in a month! Surprised me! I was just grappling with the thought of holding onto things too tightly. Funny, I thought God and I were talking about my family. I just had to smile while I was receiving this news, thinking how God was preparing my heart for the news. You see, life at work was going so well. Our staff (senior minister, youth minister, worship minister and myself, children's minister) all got along great. We just fit together like pieces of a puzzle. I know God has it all worked out, I can't wait to see how this chapter of my life unfolds. I am beginning to learn how to hear God's still small voice, and it is good.

"My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me..." John 10:27

Come Let Us Sing...

I really like to sing. The only problem is that I am a terrible singer. Today, while driving ALONE, I discovered singing with my headphones on while listening to music on my MP3 player. (I know you're not suppose to have headphones on while driving, but...) I could sing along as loudly as I pleased, but my ears could only hear the beautiful voices coming through my headphones. Someday in heaven, I envision having a beautiful voice fit to sing in the angelic choir, but for now this method will have to do!

Psalm 95 1-2 "Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him."

Hold on loosely

O.k., here goes my first blog spot! I recently spent the weekend with two of my long, lost friends from high school. We had a fabulous time together, and they inspired me start blogging. During that weekend, we spent lots of time talking, reflecting, answering questions, reaffirming each other, dreaming, laughing, a few tears were shed, and it was wonderful. I took away this thought from the weekend, HOLD ON LOOSELY! I'm learning to hold on to things of this world loosely. Life is short, temporary. Live life to the fullest with no regrets. The things of this earth will pass away. In a way, I feel like the things I am holding on too tightly to are putting a wedge between me and God. It's possible He may decide to uproot those closely held possessions, and see how I fair without them. I love the journey we're all on called life!