Got a new phone right at the beginning of the month, which replaced the phone I just got last summer...which died of a failed charger port. (Sounds painful, doesn't it?) I was so thankful the phone was still under warranty and the company gave fantabulous service in replacing it for me!
Worked the Fort Wayne Home and Garden Show and had a very fun time meeting listeners and my new blog buddy, Mary Jane!
Went to my friend Jonathan's ordination service which was one of the most Spirit-filled services I've ever been in. Loved it.
Played "birthday catch-up," getting together with some friends to celebrate their birthdays: Starbucks with Faith, The Mill with Lynette!
Participated in, most unwillingly, I might add, the switch to Evil DST.
Helped out with Share: Wrap it Up! to finish our fundraising for this year, and got to spend two nights at Lynne's house, too! Love the Casade Ford!
Went to see Faith in her new business as a Premier Design jeweler and was very proud of the work she's doing!
Worked the Mark Schultz, Bebo Norman, Point of Grace concert, which if you missed the stories, also involved my debut in a Mickey Mouse suit and in driving an artist to a venue. Mercy.
Opened the grill for the season and enjoyed eating outside in the gorgeous weather!
Went on a Mid-Morning field trip to see a house made from a real life dairy barn!
Went back to being a brunette because I'd had enough fun as a blonde for a while. :)
Took a vacation day and had a blast hanging out behind the camera lens capturing the beauty of the first official days of spring!
Went to see the play Steel Magnolias in Ft. Wayne, with my friend Diane. Loved it!
Spent a girls' day out with my mentor, Lara. We haven't really spent any time together yet this year, so that was a treat!
Did the inaugural yard mowing for the year...no turning back now!
Attended the poetry reading done by my friend and former college buddy Susanna. I don't really understand poetry all that well, but I am smart enough to recognize incredible talent and she has it!
Headed to Lima, Ohio with Lynne for the Fresh Grounded Faith conference...to hear Jennifer Rothschild and Kathy Troccoli! Had a blast hitting the open road with Lynne - and meeting new friends!
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my livin' list - a list of things I'd like to do in the near(ish) future. Today I bring you round two of that list. (By the way, I completed step 1 of one of the items on the last list. I went to Seven Pillars and did the spring photo shoot! Only 3 seasons to go!)
4. Visit a Farmer's Market. This CRACKS me up since you know how I'm allergic to vegetables. Okay that's not true. But it sounds good, doesn't it? I'm just now learning to embrace the veggie world...so WHY would I want to go to a Farmer's Market?
Ambiance. I think it would be such a neat atmosphere to visit. All the veggie lovers and all the color and the pretty food...okay so I'd rather go to take pictures than eat tomatoes. But I WOULD purchase. I would. 5. Go on a real picnic on a blanket in the grass with a picnic basket. We weren't big picnickers when I grew up...so I'm not sure I've ever been on a for real picnic with a basket and blankets and grass. Probably. I'm sorry if you were the one who took me and I forgot. :)
Ideally this would be a pretty great date, I think. But then one has to be on a date for that to happen, so I'll speed up the odds of this occurring by just going with a friend, how's that? Oooh and you know what would make it even better? Flying a kite after lunch. (Of course if it's windy enough to fly a kite, does that mean the food might blow away? These are things I need to know, people!)6. Paint pottery at a cute pottery store. Years ago, Marie and I took a day and visited Winona Lake, and we found this darling pottery store and said we were going to come back...yeah that hasn't happened. But I also haven't forgotten about it!
When we had our Bucket List/Leap List/Livin' List show a few days ago, I mentioned this one on the air and Lynne said there's such a place in Fort Wayne. I looked it up. Know what it's called? Bisque It. How cute is THAT!
Side note: It's on Coldwater Road in Fort Wayne, and Cal (my GPS) calls that "Cow'ldwater Road." I like to drive there just to hear him say it!
Anyway. So I need to get some friends together and check this out! I found this picture on their site. Something tells me mine wouldn't look quite as...um...legible.
You know how I simply adored the mild winter we had? Well I'm still not complaining about that...but a few things did occur to me as potential downfalls of said winter.
1) Lack of snow means a lack of precipitation in the ground, which could either mean a super rainy spring or a fire-hazard dry summer.
2) Didn't get cold enough to kill annoyances like bugs that normally perish in the winter.
3) Have to start mowing sooner.
Like now.
Monday night I came home and knew I could wait no longer on the yard. I knew that partly because small wildlife could get lost in the grass and partly because the neighbors mowed on Sunday. I love my neighbors and they keep a beautiful home...but it's hard to keep up with them sometimes. (And of course it's all about keeping up with the Jones's yard.)
So while I sacked out on the couch Sunday afternoon, I may or may not have sent loving glares into the next yard with each swipe of their mower. And then on Monday, I got out my own mower...make that mowers...and prepared for the battle of Bekah vs. yard.
Starting the mower each season is always a challenge. (Read: impossibility.) I make sure it has gas in it (which it usually does because I'm the bad girl who doesn't drain the thing each fall). I check the oil (which means opening the oil lid and closing it again...but I can truthfully say it's been checked). And then I begin the battle. The yanking of the stupid pull-start string so it can sputter at me much as a two year old would stick his tongue out at his mother.
Twenty or thirty times.
By that time I reek of gas, oil, and sweat, and my prayer life has increased immensely.
I distinctly remembered that at the end of last fall, my own mower was giving me fits, so I'd resorted to using Dad's mower, which he leaves here for when he pops in to mow. He doesn't like my mower. (And I'm not fond of his.) I started with his mower, figuring I'd have the best luck. I poured the precious bit of stale gas left in the can into his mower and pulled. And pulled. And pulled. (Etc.)
In desperation I got out my mower. Started on the second try. Lovely. Except....
...No idea how much gas was in it or how far it would get me. And mower gas was NOT in this week's budget.
Holding the self-propeller bar down, I flew around the yard at the mercy of the mower, willing it to finish the yard before running dry. I reminded the Lord of the feeding of the 5000...of the water into wine...of the coin in the fish's mouth...of all provision miracles I worried He may have forgotten.
And wouldn't you know...that mower finished the entire yard.
After finishing that part, I went into the garage to get the shears to trim around the flowers. Can't find 'em. They're buried somewhere in a mess of moving boxes. So I went outside and yanked the grass out with my hands. I'm sure that was attractive to watch from a distance.
Don't you wish you lived in my neighborhood? (You can! I know of a great home for sale. But I digress...)
And that is how this week the score became Bekah: 1, Yard: 0.
If you're new to the blog you might not know this...but I went through a phase (and some days I'm still in it) where I didn't really like to cook anything via the "cheating" method. Cheating meant from a box. That's why my pancake recipe has stuff added to it...etc. Sloppy joes were no different.
Two summer Olympics ago, I invited Jon and Julie Crandall over to watch the opening ceremonies. I wanted to serve dinner...but not from a box. So I found the salsa sloppy joe recipe and paired it with the ranch pasta salad...and we gobbled it all right up. The thing I like about this recipe (aside from the fact that it's not entirely "cheating") is that you can switch up the taste to suit your mood that day, depending on the kind of salsa you use!
It also works well as a leftover. I've been carrying it to work the past few days along with a bag of lime tortilla chips...good little lunch!
The Recipe
1 pound ground beef 1 jar (11 ounces) of salsa 1 can (10 ounces) of undiluted tomato soup 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 8 hamburger buns
Cook beef until no longer pink...drain. Add salsa, soup, and brown sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes and scoop onto hamburger buns.
Like I said earlier, you can switch up the taste every time by getting a different kind of salsa. I always get mild, but if you like some heat in your food, you can get hot salsa. One time I got a salsa that had a really smoky flavor to it - that was good in the sloppy joe! This time I got one that had corn and peppers in it - just to give some extra flavor. Make sure you get your beef ground up really well. I didn't do a great job of that this time. So do as I say and not as I do! :)
Dump in the salsa, soup, and brown sugar. My jar of salsa was bigger than I needed, so I saved the rest to go with the chips. :)
Turn the heat down while it's simmering so it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.
And there you have it! A very tasty little meal that feels like you cooked it from scratch.
Spring is here now...the calendar caught up with real life. I have adored this early spring; the One Thousand Gifts challenge has made me acutely aware of beauty in nature and spring is full of that!!
From the very first sprouts of buds on the tree branches......to the tiny red dots that litter the ground after the first good rainstorm...
I love spring!
Well, most of it. There is that pesky little detail of the gorgeous, lush grass that grows so long it necessitates thinking (only thinking, mind you) of getting out the lawn mower. (gulp.) I told you a few weeks ago that one of my "livin list" items for this year was to visit Seven Pillars to take seasonal pictures for framing in my house. Since my day off last week was SO beautiful, I headed that way for the spring photo shoot...
Then I headed to Matter Park in Marion, to take a few more pictures, and this river bend just called my name...
GORGEOUS hyacinths..the deep color in the stripes just made me want to plant dozens of these in my yard!
But of course I love the pink ones too...
Love walking in to work past this tree...which, after some rain, sort of made a gorgeous pathway of blossoms on the ground!
And while I don't love rain most of all, it is fun to watch it out the window...with pretty spring trees behind it.
And that's what I love about spring!
Well...that, and this. (With a shout out to my sister, Lori!)
I had a vacation day last Wednesday and I filled it with a combination of fun and a few responsible adult chores. One of my responsible moments was an oil change, so for a few minutes, I sat in the lobby of the auto shop, Mark Batterson's The Circle Maker, open in my lap, underlining frantically.
My phone buzzed with a text, so I opened it...and it was from my friend Bob, who just happens to be a firefighter. I'd texted him several hours earlier and this was (part of) his response:
I just got back from a four hour fire. There was so much smoke, we had to drive through it to find the house, and couldn't even see it right in front of us. And...I got to be the first one in!! For us, we all want in, and we all want the hose so we can attack the fire. I went in and crawled through the smoke til I could feel the heat, went a little farther and then could see a glow...went a little farther and there it was! Went a little farther into the room...you don't turn your water on yet, so you are surrounded by flames, up the walls, above you on the ceiling, and it's just rolling everywhere, then it starts to get really hot, but that way you can see the fire and where it is traveling to and from. You always want to hit the base of it.
I will admit...on an 84 degree day (or truthfully any degree day) I do not fully appreciate in the depths of my heart, the joy of donning all that fire gear and running (first!) into a structure engulfed in flames and heading straight into the dangerous heart of the thing just to fight it. To me it sounds scary, exhausting, and like a heat stroke waiting to happen.
But sitting there in the auto shop, scrolling through the story, I had the biggest grin on my face, because his joy for his job radiated out of that phone, and I was so excited for him that he got to be the first one into the fire, since clearly, it's what he loves.
Then I re-read the text...paying attention to the way they fight the fire. (It's a little bit more controlled than my method, which is frantic-jumping-up-and-down-screaming-FIRE!!!! This is why he's a firefighter and I'm a writer.)
And as I read, God turned that text around into a heart lesson for me.
My life occasionally takes on massive-fire-sized drama. Days when the problems roll as heavy as thick smoke and I'm not even sure how to find my way through to the other side.
And God is about as scared of those problems as Bob was of this fire. When those days come, God is the first one in. He runs headlong into the heart of my problem, going deeper and deeper, not even worrying how messy or hot or dangerous it might be. He just goes straight in. Sometimes He doesn't start putting out the fire right away. He just stands there as the flames lick and roll and threaten to consume me...and He has full awareness of how they travel. Then He begins to fight. And He doesn't leave until the fire is gone. Even if it takes a long time. Even if it's exhausting work.
Sometimes I'm convinced He's the only one in the thick of those problems. Everyone else is a safe distance away, hand-over-mouth, shaking-head, watching me be consumed. But He's the One Who knows how to fight what comes for me, so He's the One I need in there.
I don't know if you have any life fires burning around you right now, but if you do, you can know He will fight for you too!
* Sunday afternoon I took a nap (of course) and while asleep I apparently had a dream that my phone rang. I remember trying to answer it but being unable to open my eyes enough to really read the screen to see who it was. And I couldn't get my voice to work right. It was incredibly frustrating! When I woke up, I had to check my phone to make sure it really had been a dream and fortunately it was. Why do I have such weird dreams on Sundays? It was so pretty that evening...so I went outside just to sit and soak in the sun for a while. * Monday, Lynne and I did our big book giveaway during Mid-Morning. We had a blast! Here's the stash we mailed off to the lucky winners!And when I got home...I tried to boot up the computer and it said no thank you. (See Friday's post for THAT mess.) I spent the evening praying over it and several other things that Satan seems to be hitting pretty hard right now. (He seems to have read my current prayer list pretty thoroughly.)
* Tuesday, after the show, Lynne and I had a planning meeting for upcoming shows...and then we went on a Mid-Morning field trip! We visited this AMAZING and beautiful home that has been created from a real-deal working dairy barn. I walked around, jaw-dropped, checking out the hard work and creativity that went into the home. The home owner was the perfect hostess (complete with treats!) and I felt like a member of the family. Loved it. * Wednesday I had a vacation day with no particular plans! I went to visit my old office...had lunch with my buddy Judy...laid in the sun...took my car in for an oil change...ran some errands...stopped by to see Jonathan (remember him?)...and spent a good chunk of the afternoon capturing spring with the camera lens! It was a pretty perfect vacation day...I was very pleased. * Thursday I unveiled my new hair color at work. Oh...yeah - SURPRISE! I also got new hair this week! :) They started calling me "the new girl" - and I'll admit...it's weird to look in the mirror and see this hair!This was my favorite part though. There's a guy that comes to the station almost every day to take our trash and recycling. I ran into him Thursday morning as I took something out to my car and he said, "Hey, your hair!" I started to say, "Yeah, I got bored as a blonde" but before I could say that he continued, "It's straight today." LOL!!!! Never mentioned the color.
* Friday night I went with my friend Diane to see the play Steel Magnolias. Diane is our receptionist and she'd invited me several weeks ago to go with her to see this. It was put on by the University of St. Francis School of Creative Arts, and I was very impressed with with how well they did. It had been a long time since I saw the movie (over 10 years, I'm sure) and I realized during the play...I'm Ouiser. Not even kidding. * Saturday I spent the day with my mentor, Lara. We went to Kokomo to a Pampered Chef party (which served all desserts...HA!) and then went out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse. I was so hungry by that time, I was about to eat my shoe. Thank goodness for those carb-laden rolls they serve! After we were all full, we went shopping and caught up on the last few months. Perfect, gorgeous Saturday!
One Thousand Gifts. Most of the gifts I recorded this week had to do with the beauty of spring, but my favorite gift was Friday night. I had about 3 hours to kill between work and the play and it was raining and just a lonely kind of evening. Amy from my office called and asked if I wanted to meet her and her son for dinner...and that meant a lot to me. I know she had a long week and probably just wanted to put on her comfy clothes and stay home, but I appreciated her taking time to hang out with me!
Pinterest Inspiration. All these spring flowers have me in the mood to have fresh flowers in my house! I saw this a few weeks ago:
And I decided to do my own take on it! I don't have any mason jars, so I used a tall vase I bought several years ago for Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary party. I found some burlap and ribbon at Michael's this week...and I got the flowers at Meijer. I know they look pretty sparse, but 1) they fit in my budget and 2) my tulips are blooming, so as soon as I get a few more here in a day or two, I'll add to it. I like the way it turned out, and I can change the ribbon with themes and seasons! (I skipped the limes because I didn't have lime money. lol.) I haven't had a consistent centerpiece for my table, so I'm glad this can be my standard in the seasons when I don't have something else!
I'm over halfway to 1000 gifts! Pretty excited to be more aware of what God is doing in my life this year. I know that He's always been showering down gifts...just loving the invitation to notice them and absorb them! Here are some of the newest treasures:
397. Looking at B&B's online - for vacation!
401. The nevertheless concept...from Angie Smith's book.405. Grill-marked panini.
414. Purple flowers on Lynne's desk!
422. Pink blossoms on cherry saplings at the Home Show.
435. Prompting to search my own heart.
441. Back popping.
456. Rolling boil bubbles.
464. Braeya perched on the desk watching the sunrise.
478. Constant stream of reminders of God's provision.
Monday night when I came home from work, I plugged in my laptop and started it up...only to find some evil looking "MUST CHECK DISK NOW" screen blinking at me in this really glaring fashion. You know when the computer reverts to 1980's font...things aren't good.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to get it to start up, I called the company. (Thank goodness for smartphones. Kind of hard to look up a phone number when your computer is dead.)
Of course the automated lady answered the phone. My call was, as you might imagine, very important, and she would like to help me...if I could just give her the serial number on the bottom of the computer.
Seems simple, doesn't it?
Well, let's do keep in mind this is a laptop, and after a few years of the bottom of the laptop sitting...on a lap...the numbers on the sticker had worn away pretty completely. So I sat here holding the computer at the most ridiculous angle, trying my best to read this utterly faded code.
Please enjoy the conversation as it unfolded, numbers changed to protect the innocent.
Her: Please read the se-curity code.
Me (slowly): 9948769860
Her: You said: 994876986Y. Is this correct?
Me: NO!
Her: Okay. Let's try again. Please read the se-curity code.
Me (slowly): 9948769860
Her: You said: 994876986Y. Is this correct?
Me: NO!
Her: Okay. Let's try again. Please read the se-curity code.
Me (even more exaggerated): nine-uh, nine-uh, four, eight, se-ven, six, nine-uh, eight, six, ZEEE ROHHHHH
Her: You said: 998UL6986Y. Is this correct?
Me: This is getting WORSE! NO!!!
Her: Let me transfer you to a customer specialist.
Mmmmm hmmm. That's what I thought.
So she "transferred me" but the call went nowhere, so guess what? I had to hang up and do that entire scene all over again.
Finally a real person answered...and after about 20 minutes of haggling over the serial number (turns out a faded Q looks a lot like a 0)...we determined I needed to take the computer to a technician.
A whole episode of Dancing with the Stars missed...so I could argue with a computer about a computer.
I had to save the Point of Grace post for last in my wrap-up of the concert...and you'll understand why in a second.
I have been a Point of Grace fan since they first appeared on the music scene...which was apparently 20 years ago. Random trivia fact: POG was the first CD I ever purchased. LOL.
Love their sound, love their lyrics, love THEM. And I'd only seen them in concert once in my life. It was probably 10 years ago or so...they were at the Howard County Fair, and I went to see them. They were a four member group then, and now they're a trio, but they can still belt it out!
This is Leah...she's the newest member of the group, although she's been with them a long time. It was my first time to see her live in concert. (And I'm sorry she's blurry. For some reason I could not get a clear shot of her.) And this one is Shelly. When I help POG sing in my car, she's usually the one whose solos I take. Sorry, Shelly. Again....sounds much better when she sings em. In this picture, she was singing one of my favorite songs of theirs from back in the day: Jesus Will Still Be There.
And this is Denise. I would have flat out killed myself if I'd had on the shoes she was wearing but they were CUTE!!!!!
Okay so are you ready for my POG story?
After successfully NOT dying in the Mickey appearance, I had to go to the bathroom to change into my regular clothes. There were two restroooms in the church, and I was changing in the one closest to the back stage area. It had two entrances, so I walked in the first one I came to - just to get out of the hall - and headed toward the other entrance to get my clothes.
As I walked through the bathroom, with Mickey's head in my hands and my lovely red fur pants and coattail jacket on, I heard a voice say "MICKEY!!!" I wheeled around and found myself face to face with Denise Jones.
Are. You. Kidding. Me.
I heard a giggle on the other side of me, so I turned again and there was Leah. I said to the two of them, "You know, there have been a number of times in my life when I've envisioned meeting Point of Grace, and never in any of those thoughts, was I wearing this outfit."
So there I stood, with my needs-roots-fixed hair thrown back into the SLOPPIEST ponytail of my life, wearing an ill-fitting Mickey costume, walking like I had on scuba flippers, holding a ginormous Mickey head in my hands, meeting Denise and Leah from Point of Grace.
THEY looked much classier:
Loved hearing these girls in person...and love the ministry they've had these past 20 years. They're amazing!
This is one of my favorites of their newer songs. And when they sang it during the concert, I cried (shocker!!) because in my mind, I could see all those moments from the desert when I thought I would not make it...and I learned firsthand about the greatness of grace.
Remember when I told you about the Bebo story...I said I'd already had one "shut up" moment that day? Let's talk about that one, shall we?
That morning, I was busy working away when I heard a little knock at the door...and I heard the words, "Hey I was wondering..."
And that, my friends, is when you know the day is about to take a turn.
In honor of kicking off the trip-to-Orlando contest, they wanted to have a special announcement at the concert that evening. And by special, I mean special guests.
A couple of big-eared mice you may be familiar with: Yeah those guys.
And they were just wondering...how I felt about breathing some life into Mickey.
Mickey MOUSE.
Let's review a couple of things real fast, mmmkay?
1) I have a broken body thermostat (meaning I'm always approximately 27 degrees warmer than the average person).
2) I'm claustrophobic.
I think that covers the basics.
But if there's one thing I learned in the last two years, it's that sitting on your hiney and letting your fears get the best of you gets you nowhere. So I said the only logical thing that came to mind: YES.
I tried on his little suit (which is FUR) and found it to be toasty warm. The shoes were about 8 sizes too big; who knew mice had such big feet?? The gloves have only four fingers. And the heads..well...there were two tiny eye holes that didn't exactly (read: not even remotely) line up with my eyes. I could see out of the mouth, but as you might imagine, that is only so helpful.
So I told God I'd do it as long as He walked on the stage with me and if He would be so kind...please don't let me pass out or throw up?
That officially marks the first time I've ever asked God to inhabit a mouse costume.
And so it was that Friday night, after my Bebo transportation extravaganza, after advising Mark Schultz on Twitter, after working a meet & greet...I shoved my hair into a ponytail as best it would go, donned the ill-fitting fur suit, prayed probably more than I should have over such an adventure, and tried not to trip over cords, music stands, and other various pieces of equipment as I inched out onto a stage in front of a large crowd of people.
Miss Sheryl played the part of Minnie and together we stood there and waved and jumped while Ron announced the contest.
Then we had to get DOWN the steps. I grabbed her hand (and later she said, "Girl you were SHAKING like crazy!" Um, yes!) and we tentatively made our way down the steps. I nearly walked us right into the altar but managed to see it in time. I meandered out of the sanctuary and got pulled over by a sweet lady who wanted her picture taken with me.
(And get this: I smiled for the picture. WHY???? That was the one time I could have made an awful face and gotten away with it! HA!)
I'm glad I did it. It was good to face some of my biggest fears all at once. (Note: I said FACE, not OVERCOME.) But I am pretty sure I am not called to be a career character. I'll just stick to these "other duties as assigned."
Mark Schultz was actually the final artist to sing in the concert, but I decided to talk about him next.
I LOVE Mark's music. I think the first song of his I ever heard was his long ago song called "Remember Me" - which he recorded as a duet with Ginny Owens, but in my car, it's always a duet with me. :) Ginny is way better. Hate to admit it but it's true.
I'd never seen Mark in concert before, and I have to say...he is HILARIOUS. Isn't it funny how when you know someone's songs be so heart-piercing (in a good way), it never occurs to you that they might be quite funny, too? I guess I thought he was only capable of being serious! My favorite story of the night was when he told about his son's birth. (His son is brand new...born a couple of days before Valentine's Day.) Apparently the poor baby was a bit of a conehead and Mark said he thought they'd given birth to Bert from Sesame Street. He said right after the baby was born, his wife was holding him and crying and she said to Mark, "Do you want to hold him?" He said, "I do not." LOL!!! Apparently once the gray color and Bert look went away, he was a little less afraid of the baby.
This picture above cracks me up. One of the cords on the piano was loose and it made all the notes sustain, which of course muddles a song. So Mark asked if someone could bring tape, and this guy named Mike showed up with tape to fix the cord. Only it didn't work the first couple of tries, so Mark asked him if he'd like to just stay up there for the rest of the concert and hold the cord. (He didn't.)
Mark can SING. (Can you tell I like the powerhouse singers? You know....David....Mark....)
I did get to talk to Mark for about 2 seconds before the concert. I was trying to wolf down a sub before the meet & greet session began, and Mark had just finished his dinner in the same room. I was at a different table, with my friend Sheryl, and I actually had my back to Mark. I heard him say something like "Does anyone know anything about Twitter?"
I sort of raised my hand (because apparently I mistook the room for the cafeteria in the fifth grade?) and Sheryl said, "Bekah has Twitter." I heard Mark say, "Who is Bekah?"
I turned around (probably with a mouth full of sub...why do I always have my mouth full when I meet people? Oh wait. I remember. Because I can't stop eating. Yes, that's it.)
He asked how to tweet to someone and I, oh Twitter newbie of the universe, tried to explain it to him. Are you kidding me? Of all people on the planet, I'm the last to be giving social media instruction.
But there you have it. My sole encounter with Mark Schultz. At the end of his set, he left the stage and then reappeared with Point of Grace (they'd sung in between Bebo and Mark) and they all sang together! Pretty great end to the evening!
Mark has so many great songs that I love...how could I pick just one? This is one of my all-time faves. I first learned it when I went to a women's retreat several years ago with Marie's church. It was the theme song for the weekend. (Mark didn't sing it that time...but here he is.)
Friday was one of those days that just cracked me up from start to finish. WAY too much for one blog post. So this week, I bring you a series that I lovingly call "Just Another Bekah Friday." This particular post is not actually where the day began, but I don't yet have the pictures for the first part...and to not have the pictures would kill the whole thing. So just know that I'd already had one "shut up!" moment before this one began.
As I mentioned in the weekly recap, Friday night, I was on the station work crew for the Mark Schultz, Bebo Norman, Point of Grace concert that took place in Fort Wayne. I was pretty excited because I love all those artists. (Side note: Throughout the post, I'll intersperse...like that word?...some of the pictures I took of Bebo at the concert. They don't directly relate to the story. They're just for your viewing pleasure.)
Friday afternoon I was workity work working away at my desk when Bebo and his right hand man Gabe the guitar guy came to the station to spend some time on the air with Ross. When their interview ended, they were waiting for their ride to pick them up and take them back to the church where the concert was held. There was a bit of a delay in the ride arriving, so I heard a knock on my door and these words, "Would you have time to run Bebo and Gabe to the church...in the station van?" Here are the things that went thoughts that went through my head, in the order I comprehended them.
1.) Bebo NORMAN???
2.) Drive the VAN??????
3.) Where is my GPS?
Here is what came out of my mouth.
1.) Of course!
2.) Let me get my GPS.
3.) Where is my GPS??
I heard Ken say, "You don't know how to get to the church?" I rolled my eyes. "Do I know how to get anywhere in this town??" (This is the downside to the GPS. It makes you lazy in actually learning routes...because you don't have to.) He told me to just hop on the interstate, told me the exit number and said I'd be fine. So, Bebo, Gabe the guitar guy, and I all headed toward the van. I bit my tongue from blurting out, "You should know I normally drive a compact car" and climbed in the driver's seat. I elected to not try to adjust the seat (which was apparently last inhabited by the Jolly Green Giant) because I wasn't sure where the lever was and I was sure that fumbling around would not increase the confidence of these two fine artists in their driver.
May I add that it's very tricky to see through the back window of a van that has a wrap covering it? I was trying to peek around Chris Tomlin's head to make sure I didn't completely demolish Marion's car behind me...and hearing no crunching...I proceeded to exit the parking lot, with Bebo and Gabe in tow.
They were busy working on their set list and I was busy praying I wouldn't have a wreck IN the station van WITH the artists. When they finished their set list, we all started talking and they told me about their families and where they live and asked me how long I've lived in Ft. Wayne. That was when I accidentally blurted out that I don't actually live in the city and am (ha ha!) still learning the routes. I'm sure they felt pretty good about that. Great! They've set us loose with a girl who doesn't know the roads!
We talked some more and their manager called to see how far away from the church we were. Bebo said, "Do you know how far we are?" I mustered up some false confidence and said, "OHHHH you know...ten minutes or so."
It was right about then that I began to question that exit number Ken had given me. But there was no time because we'd all moved on to talking about travel. Bebo asked if I'd traveled much and I said, "No...I really like to but that's new. Until very recently I haven't actually been a big fan of interstate driving."
Things NOT to say while driving someone down an interstate MIGHT include that you used to hate interstate driving.
Gabe piped up, "How are you feeling about the directions right now?" I was sweating it, but I didn't want him to know it so I said, "Well, you know...haven't seen the sign for Michigan fly by, so I think we're good."
Just then he said, "OH! There's the IHOP. We're almost there!" (Thank you Lord, for the IHOP!)
I exited and suddenly lost all grip on where I was. (I'd not ever gone to the church that way before.) Not knowing what else to do, I said out loud, "Did I take the wrong exit?"
Bebo said, "No, just turn here. The church is right there."
Super. The out-of-towner is telling me the directions. Proud moment indeed.
I safely delivered them and headed back to the station. Did that really just happen?? And indeed it did. Leave it to the newbie to make an utter fool of herself in front of Bebo Norman and Gabe the Guitar Guy Extraordinaire. Speaking of Gabe...here he is: And in case you're not familiar with Bebo Norman, here is one of my faves of his. We sang this song often at church when I was in the desert, and it was a huge comfort to me:
* Last Sunday was the start of evil Daylight Savings, you know. But then you've already seen my thoughts on that (again). I survived the day after two naps, a coke, a caramel macchiato and two iced teas. :) Last Sunday would also have been Kaegan's golden birthday. Eleven on the eleventh. Miss my buddy. * Monday I was so excited because we had ourblogmania show where we interviewed 5 pretty amazing bloggers! I was SO NERVOUS for that show but loved the way it went. I spent the rest of the day rather sick...pretty sure I was just worn out from time change drama. (Laugh if you want, but I stick to my story.) And that evening I went to Lynne's house to spend the night. I was a total bum...starting with gobbling up this amazing dinner she cooked: * Tuesday was our first day of Share Wrap Up - trying to make up what we didn't raise back in January. I talked to some of the SWEETEST people...their stories gave me goose bumps! And it was a lot of fun to hang out in the phone room with my co-workers throughout the day. (Iced tea break!)
* Wednesday was day two of our Share Wrap it Up! day....and we not only met, but exceeded our goal for the year! That was a pretty amazing faith booster! After two days of working extra long hours, I was a little bit tired-ish, but it was so fun all at the same time. * Thursday evening I went for a walk/run after work...and who EVER would have thought that on March 15th, choosing capris instead of shorts would have been the WRONG choice? I about died of a heat stroke, but I made it! Then I went to a jewelry party at my friend Lara's house. Faith (you remember Faith) started selling jewelry last fall and I've been invited to a ton of her parties but I've always been working or gone...so this was my first one! FUN!! *Friday was THE BEST MADHOUSE OF A DAY. So good, in fact, that most of this coming week's blog posts were born of it. It all centered around the huge concert featuring Mark Schultz, Bebo Norman, and Point of Grace. What. A. (Beautiful). Day. Here's just a little picture to get you going.
* Saturday I went for a walk/run outside and it was SO beautiful out! Then I opened the grill for the season...inaugurating it with some lime chicken and...yes that is asparagus on my plate. Lynne Ford, what have you done to me??? I ate outside while listening to birds chirp and watching the sun go down. Love me some spring!
One Thousand Gifts. During the Share wrap up days, I had the privilege of talking with some listeners who had the most beautiful stories of what God was doing in their lives through the station. As I listened, I remembered something I'd prayed while still working at my old job. I prayed that God would take me somewhere that made a Kingdom difference. And that's what I heard coming through the phones...Kingdom difference. That's a gift.
Pinterest Inspiration. This week I went the route of the recipes...and I made this amazing strawberry smoothie: I will be making this again (and again and again) - and I think the only change I would make is to cut down on the sugar. Not that I don't love sugar...quite the contrary! I think it would just help make it healthier. Here is the original:
