The Card Extravaganza

The Net (the youth group at my church) is having an auction this weekend to raise funds to attend the big youth convention this December. It's in Florida. (The convention, not the auction.) I don't blame them for wanting to go. :)

Anyway, I was recruited to make a couple sets of cards...so I've been working on that for about the last week. I made two sets of twelve. Here are a couple of the cards from the sets.

(Inside, this one says "The best things in life are not free, but priceless." I know, I know. Sappy. But it was the stamp I had.)

(Yep, that's a real band-aid on the front. I wish I'd not used all the neon ones I had - they would have looked much more festive! The inside says "Happy Healing.")

Bits for Sunday, July 8, 2007

I love object lessons. I’m a visual learner and am much more likely to remember something I can see than something I only hear. Apparently God knows this, because most of what I learn from Him, I learn from seeing things He plants in my path.

Literally.

This past week I was out walking, and I was in a big hurry, because I was just sure it was going to rain on me. Being rained on mid-walk has yet to actually happen to me, so I figure I’m about due.

Ever the multi-tasker, I was on the phone with my Mom while I hustled along my merry way. I was just about to plant one hurried foot in front of the other when I noticed a decent sized rock in my path. I thought about stepping on it – because it wasn’t that big – but I remembered my coordination, or I should say, lack thereof. I could just picture myself stumbling, twisting my ankle on the rock, falling down, dropping my new phone, smashing it into a million pieces, and then being stuck in the rain.

As I side-stepped the rock, I realized it wasn’t a rock at all. It was a very tiny bird. Now I really don’t know much about birds except they fly and occasionally leave unwelcome deposits on my not-so-freshly-washed car. I have no idea what kind of little bird this was, but I knew he was way too little to be sitting on the road, very far from a nest he should have been safely tucked inside.

I walked my mile and by the time I came back around to him, I noticed he may not have been able to fly, but he was quite a walker. He was several feet away from where he’d been the last time. I squatted down beside him to take a closer look and found that his tiny little body was shaking all over. He kept a very close eye on me with that “I’m trying to be brave and not let you scare me” look, but the shaking negated the look. He was so little that I could still see bits of down in the brand new feathers.

After another mile, I found myself pretty worried about this little bird. His Mama was clearly nowhere around or she’d have let me know I was too close when I took the look earlier. It was going to rain, it was hot, he was probably hungry, and all he could see was this big old stretch of paved road. I met a biker coming toward me and panicked that she might have made the same mistake I made in thinking he was a rock and might have smashed him with her front tire.

Where would he go? Where would he sleep? How would he eat? This was a lot of worry to put into a bird smaller than my phone.

And that was when my lesson kicked in. I started thinking about that old hymn His Eye is on the Sparrow. I had no way of knowing if this was a sparrow or a crow or an eagle or what, but I still got the point. In the grand scheme of my world, that bird really didn’t matter much. I would go home to my house and do my chores and get up the next morning and go to my job and do all the things that were important, but I still took a minute to worry about a baby bird lost from his nest. If I’m going to pay that much attention to the little guy, what makes me think that God is going to pay any less attention to me? I’m about that big – okay, much smaller – next to Him, but He still cares!

When my exercise was complete, I went home (beat the rain, thankyouverymuch) and grabbed my camera. I drove back to the spot where I thought I should find the little bird, and sure enough, there he was, just a few feet away, continuing his careful trek by the curb (which was about five times taller than his tiny body). I took a few pictures just to remind myself that “His eye is on the little guy…and I know He watches me.”

The next day, I approached my walking path with some apprehension, wondering if I’d find a smashed bird or a drowned bird or a baked bird…but I didn’t see one sign of him along the entire road. I have no idea where the little guy went. But wherever he is, whatever happened to him, I know it was not unseen by the Eye of God, and I was reminded again to just be very still. God cared more about that bird that I did (so He must have really liked him!) and therefore – even more about you and me!

Just Stuff

I can't think of any coherent way to tie together the things I planned to say - so I'll just lump them together as "stuff."

First, a couple of Kansas updates. July 4th (as well as being a national holiday) was the two month mark since the tornado. Seems longer ago than that to me - probably to them too! I talked to Lori last night and she told me that MDS is almost done with their excavating, which is good because that means rebuilding is just around the corner. She also said that the town in general is nearly done with excavating. This is very good news! On the 4th, there was a town picnic (which was rained upon, nearly ruining dinner and making the fireworks show impossible) with a hog roast and a whole menu of great food! The church is still in a decision making process about the construction of the church building - and more decisions about the type and location of the new parsonage. Maybe someday I'll have a final answer on that for you.

In other news - I ran across a blog (during a blog-hopping extravaganza earlier this week) that impressed me very much. This is a married couple that I knew from working with them during my first few years on the job. I remembered them and stopped by to see what was happening in their life. They're very very very proficient bloggers. :) I have to tell you that these two impress me with the commitment that they have put on their relationship. If you want to be challenged in your marriage (or for a great future day when you might be married) or just in life in general, I'd encourage you to check out their site. Without climbing on my soapbox, I'll just say that I'm always watching carefully to see what I can see in the relationships of others - to try to learn from the good and the bad. I think these two have some really great foundational advice and I'm proud of them for their hard work. I would encourage you especially to read the post (scroll down on the left, under "Brandon's Articles") called 5 Thoughts from 5 Years of Marriage.

One more thing. I find it slightly disturbing that when I run spell check on this thing, it does not recognize the word "bloggers" as a real word, yet it doesn't even flag "gonna." Hmmmmmm.

Fiction, Fireworks, and the Fourth of July

I love holidays. I was thrilled to have yesterday off work and get to hang out at home doing all the things I never have time to do because I'm too busy for my own good.

However, I've decided that it would be better to work the fourth and get the fifth as a holiday. Now this didn't really apply to me this year because I didn't go see fireworks, but I remember from years gone by, the fifth nearly killed me. I was out so late the night before that I couldn't function the next day. Most people don't start their parties until late in the day on the fourth anyway, so I think the day off should be moved.

Even though I didn't go see any fireworks this year, I did get to hear them...long into the night...in my lovely neighborhood. I think all the precious people living around me took advantage of the opportunity to make gunshot-like sounds without actually getting arrested. I'm not sure when they were supposed to end...but I'm fairly certain they went on longer than that in my neck of the woods.

To celebrate the day (and the lack of ability to fall asleep that night) I decided to do something I've not done nearly enough lately: read fiction. I grew up on fiction, but lately I've not read much of it. About a month or two ago, I read a book called These Rugged Cliffs - written by the sister of one of my work buddies. It sort of got me going on fiction again. So this time I searched the bookcase for a book I've not read (there are several) and settled on a Lori Wick book. It's one of her older ones, but I never got around to reading it. It's called The Princess. I'm limiting myself to two chapters a night because if I don't, I'll end up staying up all night sometime finishing the book. Good grief.

But now the holiday has ended, work has resumed, and I gotta tell you - I'm pretty ready for a nap!

Bits for Sunday, July 1, 2007

Perhaps when you’re done reading this, you might say “Boy it takes a special kind of stupid to not have already known this.” But sometimes I am just that, and my guess is that there’s at least one more of you out there like me…so that makes it worth sharing what I learned.

This past Tuesday, while in the chapel, I felt pressed to spend extra time in prayer this week. Extra time focused on a specific subject. Just for a week. I even called in prayer reinforcements, because I figured at some point during the week, I was going to be the target of all sorts of distractions, temptations, and as my friend Chris says, “bright shiny objects.” Anything to take my eyes off the goal.

Things went well for a couple of days. One evening, I even had an extra-wonderful walk. I took my prayer cards with me and was just having a great time connecting with God – and actually feeling the connection. Though faith isn’t based on feelings, there’s something incredibly boosting about finding the feeling once in a while. I had that encounter as I walked and prayed that night.

And then the next day hit. It wasn’t just a bright shiny object. It was a thousand disco balls falling from the sky at once. I wasn’t really surprised, because like I said, I figured I would eventually end up the target. One of my friends reminded me that this is why I pray the armor of God every morning and encouraged me to focus on the specific pieces of the armor throughout the day. So I tried. I truly did. Every time a thought crept in…I tried to pull out whatever piece of armor seemed appropriate and fight.

That night, very late, I realized I’d not spent as much time in prayer on the appointed subject. I’d prayed a lot – but it was mostly to pray my way through the day. So I collapsed on my bed with my prayer cards and mostly just read them to God. I knew He could read them for Himself, but I felt I owed it to Him to at least try. Every now and then, between cards, I’d stop and say, “I really hope that the verse that talks about how You intercede beyond what words can express is kicking in just now, because I really am giving it my best shot, but I know I’m not a very good prayer warrior today.”

The next morning, I was relieved to find the distractions seemed to have mostly gone away. I even had a couple of the “feelings” show up as I prayed.

I went out for my walk and found it was a perfect day for walking. The sky was blue and the temperature was just right. There was just enough breeze to keep my hair out of my face, but not so much of a wind that I felt like I was being blown back as I walked forward. The sun shone, but not so brightly that I had to cover my whole face with my hands.

Maybe you never think this, but sometimes when days are so perfect like that, I just have to wonder why life is this good. I try to appreciate those moments so much – so that I have something to remember when the war days arrive. Remembering the beauty can get me through the fight.

Anyway, as I was walking and praying my way through my list, I came across this verse: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

I tossed this thought to Heaven: Well, I’m really glad that today I’ve got more mind and soul and strength to pass Your way. Must be a welcome relief for You after the trial that was yesterday.

That was when God pointed out the end of the verse: with all your strength. I had loved God with all my strength the day before. So what if there wasn’t as much strength within me to use in that love? I still gave it all I had. God doesn’t demand that my strength level be the same every day. All He asks is that I offer whatever I do have, no matter how great or small.

That was such a relief to me. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and while it can be a good thing in terms of moving forward in discipline, it can be lousy when trying to survive a rough day.

In fact, maybe God was more blessed by the level of love on the day it took great effort to push through the fight rather than the practically-perfect-in-every-way days when the warm fuzzy feelings came so naturally.

REBUILDING: Randomness

I was waiting for some big news before writing another rebuilding post, but apparently big news might take a while, so here's what little bits of little news I know.

* Church. The church is moving forward (be it ever so slowly) on plans to rebuild at the original location. I have no idea if a time line has been set or if they even know for sure when they can start rebuilding. A committee has been formed though, and you know once a church forms a committee.... 

* Parsonage. It is not certain that the parsonage will be rebuilt on its original site. Rezoning in town might prevent that from happening. At this point, many things are in the air regarding the parsonage. Do they start from scratch building a home on a different property? Do they bring in manufactured housing to place on an alternate empty lot? Do they repair a home that didn't sustain as much damage? (AKA...still standing.) 

* Town. Lori told me this week that plans for the school-in-trailers are moving forward nicely. Since students won't have lockers, they'll have online textbooks. There's something this town probably never thought they'd see this quickly! I hear that town in general looks quite different now - much cleanup has been done but there is still more to go. This would be the point where I would imagine it just feels very heavy. Everyone's probably tired of cleaning up and not sure how to keep cleaning the same old mess.

* Normalcy. I called out this week to check on life and couldn't tell by the way Jeff answered the phone whether I'd called the land line or the church line (which is a cell phone). He told me that I'd called home - which I thought I had - and that they were back to pre-tornado cell service. The town where they currently live is not really known for being a reception-laden town. Things improved drastically following the tornado, because that was pretty much all people had to use. But I think some of those temporary towers have moved to new homes. They're back to "Can you hear me now?" Lori is still working at the MDS trailer, helping place volunteers that come to work. Jeff is busy working with the congregation, sometimes traveling to other towns to meet with people who have relocated...some temporarily, some permanently. Cassie is helping with some cleanup at a store in town that was not destroyed but did sustain some damage.

* Prayer. I know the curiosity part has passed and this is "just another story" now, but as you think of it and feel led to do so, please continue to pray for this community. There are still many decisions to make and much work and change ahead. 

If you go here and scroll down to the bottom, you'll see a very recent report of happenings submitted by my brother-in-law. It just provides a couple more details...plus he's just a good writer, so you'll like it.

What A Helper Girl

Yesterday, on my vacation day, I did three loads of laundry. (Please don't be jealous of all my fun.)

I turned my back for one minute to fold the sheets and in that one minute....

Stealing Christina's Fun

A few weeks ago, my good friend Christina (see her link on the side) posted about her family's new tradition of "Big Fun Friday Night" - where they do something fun together as a family. On Fridays. Hence the name. I guess I shouldn't insult your intelligence.

ANYWAY. I know that they think bowling or eating out is the best form of fun, but clearly they've never tried the sure-to-bond-the-family-ties activity of staining a privacy fence!

Last Friday night, Mom and Dad came over to help me stain the fence which was due for a stain/seal/something about...mmmm...a decade ago? I had purchased 2 gallons of stain back on May 4th - about three hours before the great tornado of 2007 that sort of changed our family plans for a while. So finally we had a night with good weather that all three of us were free - and we went to work.

Here's the Mama...please let the record show that she alone suggested we STIR the stain.

Here's Pastor Dave (who really isn't a pastor, but when he does funerals, the paper always lists him as Pastor Dave, so I've taken to calling him that). Let the record show that he was the expert (cause he was the guy) that said the stain did not need to be stirred.

And here's the Bekah. Not my finest outfit. My apologies. Let the record show that I sided with my father in the battle of "to stir or not to stir." My reasoning? Well, as previously stated...he was the guy; I thought that made him the expert. And I was just in a hurry to get started.

To the right: the unstained fence.

To the left: the unstirred stained fence.

To the middle: HEY! There's color in this stain! 

Mom: I told you to stir it.

Dad: I'm sorry. It was my fault. 

Me: Eh, it gives it character. We'll always remember our Big Fun Friday Night from that one board.

Leave Singing to the Experts

I think I've said on here before that I'm a big fan of David Phelps. I'm a very "serious" fan; that means I don't want people to sing his music unless they can actually do it justice. Very few can.

So keeping that in mind...

Apparently he is going to be in concert around here somewhere relatively soon. The radio station I listen to was giving away tickets to the concert to whatever number caller was the lucky one...IF he or she would sing a David Phelps high note. The station played several examples of David belting out the high note as ONLY David can belt it.

So I listened, wincing before the caller even took a big breath and tried to imitate David. The first person was a woman, and her high note was nothing more than a scream that said "I just saw a mouse!"

The second person was a guy and he was a little funnier. His was an attempted sing, though definitely NOT David.

I understand that it was all in good fun, so I bear no ill will against these David wannabes. But still - leave the high notes to the expert.

Bits for Sunday, June 24, 2007

Mid-terms. The word that can strike fear in a student faster than almost anything. I never cared for mid-terms…particularly the one that I failed. I can’t remember if I was a junior or senior in college, but I distinctly remember the room I lived in when I had to make “the phone call” to may parents, so the location tells me I was in one of those last two years when I took economics. You know. The subject my father taught for millions of years? The subject I took under his teaching in high school and did very well? That economics. And yet there I stood, in my campus apartment, holding the ever-dreaded piece of paper that said Economics...........F. I had to call my economics-teaching father and tell him that his scholarship-receiving, dean’s-list-making daughter was failing his subject. Not a fun call to make. But he was nice and God was gracious and the professor liked my end of term paper, and I somehow passed the class.

Today is a mid-term of sorts for me. Though I know I have another week to go before I’m halfway through the year, I’m approaching the halfway point, and today I did some reflection on the covenants and commitments I made for this year. I made a list of 25 things (five topics, five things in each topic) that I covenanted with God to either change or improve in my life this year. I’ve been called crazy. I’ve been called overzealous. It’s okay. I might be a little of each. But this past six months has been a time of change and growth, and I’m excited about what is happening. I won’t tell you all 25 things, but I’ll pick one from each area to share with you.

1. Put on armor daily. This was a challenge I received from one of my accountability partners. She had been challenged by someone at her church to pray the section of Scripture from Ephesians 6 every day for thirty days. Then she was to see what happened if she skipped a day. So she challenged me, and I made a commitment to read those verses as a prayer over myself every day this year. I don’t think I’ve missed that more than two or three times since the first of January. I printed out the verses and hung them up in my bathroom so I can read/pray the words each morning as I get ready for the day. The first day I forgot (I think it happened because my routine was messed up – probably a Saturday – and I didn’t ever get ready) I had one of the worst days of the year. Later I realized I was not protected by my armor that day and Satan had an easy shot at me. While there’s nothing magical about that section of Scripture, I do believe that praying it and meaning it every day forces me to understand my dependence on God and makes me more aware when Satan tries to get in and mess with me.

2. Exercise five days a week. Boy wasn’t this just a shock to my system! The girl who probably hadn’t exercised five days in her whole life picked up a regular exercise routine. I’ve worked out on my elliptical machine, I’ve walked, I’ve done tae bo, I’ve played around on (and subsequently nearly killed myself on) an exercise ball. And it’s starting to work! There’s something to that crazy theory of feeling better about yourself when you exercise. This morning as I was helping myself to a donut during Sunday School, one of the ladies asked me if I’d lost weight. I licked the icing off my fingers and said “Yes, as a matter of fact, I have!” Clearly giving up fried, sugary foods was not part of the plan.

3. Entertain once a month. I love to invite people over to my house. It’s part of the genes I inherited from my Mom. She loved to cook for people and have guests over all the time. And I love it…but I had been slacking on following through with that love. So this year I determined that no matter how busy I became, I would leave time for at least one round of company every month. No fair ordering in pizza either! My entertaining commitment means I have to cook a meal so that I present the full effect! I’ve been successful with that each month – sometimes just barely. (So if you’re ever invited over for dinner on the 30th of any month, you can know I was running behind on this commitment…just kidding!)

4. Do weekly housecleaning. My Mama raised me better than to run around with a dirty house. But cleaning is just not fun. And I found that I was slacking on the cleaning. It’s not really a good idea to do that when you own two cats who like to shed. So this year I decided to test the theory that cleaning is not so bad when you do it regularly. And I found that this is also true! So every week I’ve cleaned my house! Maybe not the cobweb searching, sweep out behind the furniture sort of cleaning, but a good and decent cleaning, anyway. I find myself apologizing much less for the condition of my house when people drop in unexpectedly, and it doesn’t take three hours to do it because it doesn’t have six inches of grime built up!

5. Leave time open for emergencies. I like a full calendar. Too full. So full that I never could squeeze in an emergency. That wasn’t good. No one should be that busy. So this year I’ve been learning the fine art of saying no. There’s nothing wrong with viewing housecleaning as an appointment that needs to have its place in my calendar – instead of trying to squeeze it in alongside a six or seven hour adventure that wasn’t really necessary. This has been one of the hardest things for me this year, but I love having a more open schedule. And there have been some times that an open evening meant I could help someone at the very last minute. That’s a good feeling, too!

So there you have it – my mid-term report. I feel good about the changes that God led me to make, and I’m excited to see what the second half of the year brings as I continue to pursue even more growth!

Father's Day and Farrah Hair

Here's a picture of Dad with his Happy Father's Day ice cream cake. Lunch at Mom and Dad's on Sunday was SUPER. We had roast, which is one of my favorite meals that my Mom makes - and then he got this cake from my aunt! Best gift ever! :)

And this is a much-calmed version of the Farrah hair. After a couple of days I had it tamed down and not nearly so feathery. I'd also like you to please note the bit of sun I've acquired. My first real tan in years - I'm very excited.

No More Scotch Tape!

Though I know everyone's deepest dream is to have a cell phone held together by scotch tape...I can assure you it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I'm very good to my cell phones, but about 4 months ago, I dropped mine on cement while trying to talk AND push open a heavy door (with an armload of stuff) at the same time. Apparently the shoulder-to-ear connection failed and my phone fell. It was never quite the same after that. A few more drops and it was held together on all sides by tape.

So I was thrilled yesterday to discover that it was safe to upgrade, and off to the store I went! I knew it would be a long wait - it always is. So an hour of waiting in line later...I picked out a new phone and this one is NOT held together by tape.

I considered it my happy summer gift.

By the way - happy summer to all of you too!

Remodeling

My favorite Burger King is "closed for remodeling." This is what the sign says. If you look BEHIND the sign, you see dirt. A nice flat piece of dirt ready for the rebuilding. Rebuilding and remodeling are two very different things.

If you don't know me very well, let me just tell you that giving up BK is withdrawal similar to what I imagine alcoholics might endure when they enter AA. Of course I could just drive to the other end of town and eat at that Burger King...but it's just not the same.

So for now, I drive by the "closed for remodeling" BK with much sadness.

And in honor of their new look (you know...the dirt?) I've given my blog an overhaul. It might stay - it might change again. You never know. I was just tired of green.

Bits for Sunday, June 17, 2007

I have been writing so much this week that it seems my brain has dried up. I know, I know…you think you’re going to get out of reading…but nah. Even in the dried up days, I find something to say.

Life is fun. I’ve decided that. I can’t remember who I was talking to the other day…but we were pondering the great questions of life…with no real successful answers, you understand. We talked about how life doesn’t always (or perhaps EVER?) turn out the way we plan. But I’ve decided that even so, life is still fun. Or at least it can be if you let it.

One evening this week, during my nightly exercising ritual, I walked past the tennis courts on campus, and I heard someone yelling my name. A couple of the girls from the office were out playing tennis and invited me in to play. Mind you, I’ve not set foot on a tennis court since junior high, and my skills were questionable at best then. I bravely stepped behind the net and promptly missed more balls than I care to admit to you. But it was fun. Even looking like an idiot, flailing all over the court, missing half the balls and hiding from the other half, it was fun.

Friday night I came home from work and decided to work on my landscaping. Please remember, I live next door to professionals. My work pales in comparison. Some people would say “Just hire them to work on your yard.” Well, first of all, that would cost more money than I think my yard is worth…and secondly, where’s the fun in that? Even though I’m not a personal fan of manual labor, there is (don’t tell my parents I’ve learned this) something to be said for the satisfaction of a job well done. I drove to Home Depot, bought some edger stone, and proceeded to spend the rest of the evening digging holes, lining up the edgers and filling in the gaps with stone. I was caked in mud from head to toe. I don’t even think I ever encountered that much dirt as a kid. I had to completely hose down my arms and hands between every edger stone…and yet I thought to myself this is fun.

Last night some of my friends from high school came over for a game night. I would call it my second annual game night – but the first one was back in March. Guess that’s more than annually. Anyway, I’m typically not a fan of games. At church parties, I’m the one volunteering to sit out any round of catch phrase. Board games stress me out and raise my blood pressure. And sports games…well…I lack the eye/hand coordination. (See previous story about tennis.) But last night the three of us sat at the dining room table for about five hours and played games. I learned all kinds of new games – and really enjoyed them. In fact, at one point, we laughed until we cried. And despite my normal distaste for games, it was fun!

One of the game night guests had unearthed a video that I didn’t even know existed…from our fourth grade year. What a bunch of fashion statements we were! Anyway, it was a Christmas video, in which one other girl from my class and I had the duet for “two teddy bears” in a rewrite of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Most of the time, I stood swinging from side to side with my arms crossed, looking rather bored…which was probably code for embarrassment. At least it should have been.

In the fourth grade, my life plan was to grow up, go to college, be a teacher (or a secretary), get married, and have two kids.

The fourth grade plan didn’t really work out, but that’s okay. I think I forgot to work any sort of fun into the life plan of the fourth grade. What good is it to have a job, a husband, and kids if you don’t have any fun along the way?

I was looking at an old journal this evening – from back in 2004. I was not having fun then. I was stressing about the decision to purchase…or not to purchase…my house. I wrote about Philippians 4:6, which says Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Those were days of great anxiety for me. According to the fourth grade plan, I was going to be married and teaching (or secretary-ing) when the time came to buy a house for the family of four. I wasn’t supposed to have to make that decision by myself, and I was scared to death I’d do the wrong thing.

Much prayer was poured into the house decision and I felt very much at peace that God would provide a way for me to live here if I just trusted Him and followed His instructions as they came. And just a few days later, I signed four billion papers that made the house mine. Being a homeowner has had its anxious moments. Mostly when things break. I’m not handy with broken things. But every time that happens, I just remind God (okay, so I’m really reminding myself…just by talking it out to Him) that we have an agreement. I have chosen to stop stressing (as much as I am able) so that I can enjoy what I have…which is a house. And great friends. And no tennis skills.

That verse works. Still works now. It doesn’t mean that life is without frustration. But if I can look under the frustration…life is fun.

REBUILDING: Just an Update

I have not posted any Kansas updates for a while because...I didn't really have any. That a good enough excuse?

But last night I called out that way to complain about the creepy old man that hit on me in Wal Mart. My poor brother-in-law answered the phone and got the brunt of my grossed-outedness. I figured it's good practice for him...Cassie's surely coming up on some of those years herself. Anyway, he was a good sport and said EWWW along with me. He was busily working on some more insurance lists. This one was for books he had in his library. I can totally feel his pain on that list. I came home from the tornado wreckage and started itemizing my own stuff in case this ever happens to me, and I started with the books. Just pulling them off the shelf and writing them down was exhausting. I cannot even imagine trying to remember them all. It would have been impossible.

They're still working on options for rebuilding. Rebuilding the house will happen - just the location is unsure at this time. It is possible that they might end up on a property other than the one they were on before the great wind of 2007. 

Cleanup continues to go on. Lori said that there were still over a hundred properties on the MDS cleanup list. That seems like many still left to do, considering how much has already been done. And that's just the MDS list. There are other services cleaning up other properties! 

Speaking of MDS, I found the following stats on their site - and I thought they were kind of interesting. They've had a total of 1911 volunteers on the Greensburg project (YAY- I'm in that number!). They have started 170 properties and completed 55. That is a lot of work in just a little over a month!

Lori is still working at the MDS "Greensburg Headquarters" - a camper parked on the church lot. This week she worked 8-5, which was a lot for her! (Her real job is working in a school, which has much shorter hours...and summers off.) Jeff is helping with building plans and other pastoral duties (and the book list). Oh, and listening to me complain about creepy old men. :)

Cassie is busy...being 17, I guess! I haven't had a chance to talk to her recently. She's hanging out with her friends or boyfriend when I call, normally. She's been pitching in, though, and keeping in the loop of what is going on in the world of cleanup and planning ahead. 

If you are wondering what sorts of things could still use prayer, here are some suggestions - 

* Wisdom for general church building plans. A committee has been formed (of course) and they meet weekly, I believe.

* Wisdom for parsonage location. Please pray that they will find just the perfect spot - whether that means relocating or staying where they were before the tornado.

* Safety. With town being so scattered, they do lots of traveling here, there, and everywhere. Please pray that they will stay safe!

* Healing. Even though they weren't hurt in the tornado...there's still heart hurt that creeps up now and then. I'm actually very amazed at how well they're doing. I'd be a basket case...which I'm sure surprises no one. But they're walking on with much dignity and grace! Because of prayer, I know.

Lori does read my blog (when the computer feels like working) so if any of you want to leave her a comment, she can pick it up here. I had spam problems a while back, so I took away the permission to leave anonymous comments - but if you don't have a Google login, you can get one and leave a comment with that.

Photo Shoots and Other Humiliation

Last summer I was in a photo shoot at work. My first ever such adventure. The goal was for one of the 2 billion (perhaps slight exaggeration) pictures to end up on a billboard for some of the graduate programs. After being assured that said billboards would not be anywhere in my own personal driving vicinities, I agreed. The whole process of the photo shoot was very interesting (and long and hot!) - and for some of the pictures, I was even dressed in scrubs. Just what the world needs...me as a nurse!

ANYWAY, when I came back from Kansas, Rachel (one of my work buddies) called to inform me that a larger than life picture of me was in the building where we work. I went to work on the one vacation day I had left, and sure enough, there I was! Apparently in addition to a billboard, it's also a floor display picture!

So...I took a picture of it - and then a picture of me with it.

Just a little side story of humiliation regarding the actual billboard. (I don't think I blogged about this. I couldn't find it anyway. If I did...sorry for the repeat.) Last March, I went to one of Brent Vernon's concerts and after the concert, he and Marie and I stood around talking. Brent is from Florida, by the way. He said to me, "Oh! I was going to tell you...I was driving through Cincinnati last week and..." He got about that far and my face turned 400 shades of red. I knew that Cincinnati was a target location for the billboard. I had this horrid feeling that he had seen it.

Seeing my face turn red, he said to me, "You know what I'm going to say, don't you?" Um, yeah. I squeaked, "You saw a billboard?"

So humiliating.

Big Big Fire!

Okay so if you don't watch Desperate Housewives, that just looks like a bad title. Really it was one of Susan's more "duh" lines on the show, but it amused me so I used it.

Last night, a little before 10, I was trying to wind down at the end of my long sick day in seclusion. (Mama raised me that if you're too sick to go to work, you're too sick to go anywhere else...so even though I felt better by evening, I didn't go exercising or to Wal-Mart.) I heard TONS of sirens, so I did what any perplexed girl does...I called my Mama.

She has a scanner. Other people watch TV. Mom listens to the scanner. And sometimes it comes in handy. Case in point:

(Photo from Chronicle-Tribune website.)

Turns out it was really a big deal! After about an hour of Mom calling to update me on the fire just a little bit away from my house, one of my friends called to see if I wanted to go scouting with her. So I broke the "stay home if you're sick" rule, ignored the fact that I was wearing ill-fitting clothing and hadn't showered OR brushed my Farrah hair all day, and headed out with her in search of good fire views.

We were in good company with the rest of the COUNTY. My goodness, you'd think people had never seen fire before! But then what can I say? I was one of them.

Even my parents left home and drove the twenty minutes into town to get their own fill of the sight.

This morning, any glow left over from flames blended in with the sunrise, but I think the worst of the fire is over. Now it just stinks. Literally.

From Mia to Farrah

Well I no longer look like Mia Thermopolis. This is a good thing. But as always, a new cut takes some time to "break in." It doesn't help that in addition to needing to "break it in," I'm also trying to grow my hair just a bit. It's in that painfully awkward stage where I really want nothing more than to chop it all off and find some sassy style...but I've worked so hard to get it this long that I really just can't bring myself to do that. Yet.

Yesterday's styling attempt went bad and it reminded me of an even more awkward stage in college when I looked like...something went wrong. So today I decided to curl it with a little flippy-do. The attempt was highly successful but WOW do I ever look like Farrah Fawcett! Hmmm...maybe a little less flip is in order?

I'm just trying to hold to my reputation of ever-changing hair. People know me for a different style every day and a different color every month. This time I went with golden highlights. But anyway, about the style....give me time. I'll get it right.

Flour Child Cupcakes

Check out the new link for Flour Child Cupcakes.

My friend Sarah Rife creates these amazing cupcakes, which are very yummy! She recently got her blog up and running - complete with pictures and descriptions! If cake baking and decorating is really not your thing...she can help!

Bits for Sunday, June 10, 2007

I’ve been spending most of my spare moments proofreading this book that I’ve been writing. Proofing is hard work, not because of grammar issues (I hope!) but because I’m trying to make footnotes. I am pulling much of what I’ve written from the Bible. Each chapter has a section of Scripture associated with it, and much of what I write comes from within those verses. But sometimes I’ve made mention of things found elsewhere in the Bible. I decided I wanted to know where every bit of it was located – partly for any reader who would need to know and partly because I wanted to make sure what I was writing lined up with the Bible and not just my imagination.

This process takes a while, and if it weren’t for my new best friend, biblegateway.com, I’d probably still be back on chapter one, sitting at my desk with my NIV Bible, my KJV Bible, and my KJV concordance, trying to find my passages. I’ve had to call for reinforcements a couple of times. Once, my friend Kari’s husband (a brilliant Bible scholar) sent me a page and a half of amazing help. I know he has many better things to do with his time…I was so impressed that he took that much time just to help me! And once I had to call Dad, who promptly sent over a couple of really old reference books that explain the general culture in Jesus’ day. Found my answer right away!

But though I am not a connoisseur of Bible references (which is why we have biblegateway.com, I guess), I do have a newfound thankfulness for the people who laid a great foundation for me. I told Mom (while trying to reach Dad for the help on life in Bible times) that I know a lot of things…and I don’t know why I know them. I had written details into my chapters that I knew were true…but I didn’t know how I learned them. I just can’t remember a time when I didn’t know them.

Though a frustrating problem when writing a book, what a great problem to have!

During my formative years, I was quite a vocal protestor of the lack of cable TV in our home. “Everyone else had it” and I found it quite unfair that my TV viewing was limited to 5:00 reruns of Little House on the Prairie. But since I couldn’t watch TV, I read. Before I was old enough to be introduced to the world of fiction, I read Bible stories. Tons of them. Actually, even before I knew how to read, I would listen to Dad’s version of Bible stories every night before I went to bed.

And I had dozens of cassette tapes of the Children’s Bible Hour; I listened to hours of Bible stories dramatized on those tapes. In fact, this past year when I watched the movie One Night with the King (the story of Esther), I remember thinking that the guy who played Xerxes in the movie didn’t put the emphasis on the right part of one of the sentences pulled from the Bible. I had remembered that one line from a Children’s Bible Hour tape all these many years later!

Dad taught me early to love a good bit of trivia, and I loved to take on both my parents in a rousing round of Bible trivia. I don’t know that I won all that often, but I held my own for my age! Sometimes I’d just sit and read the trivia cards so I could be prepared for next time. (Even today, I’m not sure I could win against Dad. How about we just not play and then I won’t have to know for sure!)

My Mom did a great job of teaching me Bible verses – one for every letter of the alphabet. Just this year I’ve started implementing alphabet verses for people that I pray for, and it’s a concept I learned from Mom when I barely knew how to read! And even though I have yet to know where many of the verses reside, I know the words they say.

And all of the teaching didn’t fall to my parents. I remember sitting around the ultra short (for adults, anyway) table in the second grade Sunday School classroom with my brand new red Bible, learning how to look up Bible verses. All of us had matching Bibles. Well, the boys’ Bibles were blue and the girls’ Bibles were red, but otherwise, they matched. And June Jackson taught a bunch of second graders how to look for the book first and then the chapter and then the verse. I’m sure that had to be an exhausting task for her. (Teaching Sunday School to second graders in and of itself is a medal-worthy cause.) I still have that red Bible tucked away in the attic. I had to keep it. It held a memory.

Just this week at work, I ran into the man who taught me the books of the Bible. He came into the pre-Sunday School assembly every week and taught us all sorts of songs. Among them were the songs for the Old and New Testament books. I still sing those songs (silently) every time I get to the easily mixed-up books. I didn’t think of it when I saw him…I was so shocked to see him for the first time in 20 years that I am afraid I handled the meeting none too gracefully. But if I see him again, I’m going to thank him for taking the time to teach us those songs. They still come in handy for me.

I say all of that to say thank you to the people who took time to teach a kid some stories, some songs, some Bible navigation skills. I don’t have kids…and Kaegan and Braeya’s Bible involvement begins and ends with sleeping on top of it while I’m trying to read. But for those of you who do have kids, make sure you start them early.

And it can be done! Today when I had lunch at Faith’s house, her two year old was munching on a French fry and singing “The B-I-B-L-E” – and she had it all right! Every word and most of the notes!