A Visit from the Family

Here are some pictures from Lori, Jeff, and Cassie's recent visit.

Cassie stayed with me and spent some quality time with Miss Braeya Jo. Kaegan gets very wary of anyone other than the standard home residents, so he didn't make too many appearances during her visit. Here, Braeya was most anxious to get back to playing/getting into things she shouldn't. Not too interested in photo shoots.

Saturday, we spent some time at my parents' house. Cassie wanted to update some of her photo collection, so here we are. We continued to get comments about how much we look alike. Of course, she was also told she looked like Lindsay Lohan and Anne Hathaway. I'm going to guess those comparisons stop with her and do not transfer to me.

And here I am with Lori. Very cute new little jacket she'd gotten (post tornado.) I guess the great minds think alike when it comes to wearing pink!

REBUILDING: God is Good

Lori, Jeff, and Cassie have been here visiting for a few days. It's been so nice to have them - and it's been so nice for them to be in a place that has buildings and electricity!

Funny how when you're far away from it all, it's easy to forget what it's like. For example: Cassie went with me to church yesterday, and at the end of the service, our pastor was making a point about how it's easy to overlook the needs in people's hearts because we don't look closely enough. He said "When you walk down the street, what do you see? Buildings and street signs?" As he went on to say "Or do you see the people..." Cassie leaned over to me and said "No." Though she said it with a smile...it's a sad thing. It's a whole different world where they are. And even though the news stations have gone on to fresher tragedies, this place still hurts. 

Below are four REBUILDING posts - catching up on life through Cassie's camera.

One thing people comment about when they see tornado pictures is just the barrenness of the trees. It was so strange to drive into Greensburg shortly after the tornado and see normal, normal, normal, BOOM - no leaves. You could tell exactly where the tornado had been because of the broken, leaf-less trees. 

Here is a pictures taken by my Mom less than a week after the tornado hit.

By the time I arrived about a week and a half after the storm, tiny signs of life had arrived and baby leaves were sprouting out of branches that otherwise looked dead.

Cassie took this picture just before they left for Indiana - as you can see, God has quite a plan in place for His creation!

REBUILDING: The Final Before Photos

The tornado occurred on Lori's 47th birthday. Happy birthday to her, huh? Anyway, this picture was taken just a few hours (probably less than four) before the tornado. This is Lori with her stash-o-gifts. The wooden angel in her lap is the door decoration I'd sent to her. She hung it up right after the picture fest and never saw it again.

Cassie showed me these birthday pictures - the last ever taken in the upstairs of their home. She had one more picture on her phone that she took of Midnight in the downstairs bathroom while they were waiting for the storm warning to end...which never came.

Interesting side note that I'd not known before: Lori told me that when the word came circling about that said there could be a storm, Cassie went through the house and shut all the bedroom doors so that she would be able to find Midnight, should they have to go to the basement. Apparently she was known for hiding under beds and Cassie didn't want to have to dig her out. I see her woman's intuition is already in place.

REBUILDING: Interesting Aftermath

Since Cassie was in town, I decided to take advantage of getting a few interesting pictures of the tornado that I'd not captured on my own camera.

This was one of the pianos in the church. I believe Lori said it was the fellowship hall piano and not the sanctuary piano. Clearly it's not an anywhere piano anymore. That's a study Bible on the piano, but I don't know if it landed there or if someone put it there.

While Cassie was here (well the whole family was here...but this part is about her), we had some aunt/niece bonding time by going to a movie. First let me explain the rather monumental difference between going to a movie here and going to a movie there - on a good day! They have a one screen theater. One movie a week - probably only two or three showings of it. Don't like what's playing? Either leave town, watch something you own (not sure if there's a rental store, even), or just do something else. So to have options of movies and times is quite a treat. And clearly, the one screen is no longer showing....

This is the row of pine trees that lined the parsonage property. Many of the belongings they found were in this row of trees. By the time I visited a week and a half later, most of these had been cut down.

This is not plant. The Twister game really did land like this in the pines. I think Cassie said she pulled down the bottom corner so you could read it, but otherwise, this is untouched. Ironic.

REBUILDING: A New Perspective

You think you've heard the whole story, and then you hear new things and you see different pictures and it just brings about a whole new perspective.

Cassie took this picture a couple of days after the tornado. Lovely photo of the sky, don't you think? Try this: she took it from her perch on the toilet seat where she and Midnight crouched during the tornado. Had it been daylight and...you know...sunny...after the tornado, this is a picture she could have taken one moment after the storm passed. This is the view they had once the tornado left, taking their home with it. Remember...this was a basement bathroom.

When I see this and know that the only thing between them and 200+ MPH winds was a bath towel over their heads...well...it brings new meaning to being hidden beneath the shadow of the Almighty.

In earlier posts, I showed you the span that they had to jump after they came upstairs and prepared to leave the house. But I didn't have a picture that gave the "straight down" view. Cassie took this. I forget how many feet they said it was - and remember it was dark and raining at this time. Amazing.

Bits for Sunday, July 15, 2007

Happy National Ice Cream Day! Did you not know about the big holiday? I am not sure how I got behind on this one, since ice cream is one of my favorite things in life, but until I got online this afternoon, I was sadly unaware that today bore such significant importance!

So in honor of the day, I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite things – some of them new, some of them old, some of them summery, some of them not.

1. Moose Tracks Ice Cream. Since it is National Ice Cream Day, we’ll start with this one. I love most flavors of ice cream, but if I had to narrow it down and pick one, I’d go with moose tracks. If you’ve never had Moose Tracks ice cream before – let me start by explaining it. It’s vanilla ice cream with chunks and shavings of melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate pieces alongside tiny peanut butter cups. Three of my favorite things all in one place! Because it’s too good to stop eating, I rarely keep it on hand at home (though I am never without ice cream of some sort in my freezer) – but every now and then I buy some just for a special treat.

2. Coconut Lime Verbena. Nope, not food. This is my favorite Bath and Body Works scent. I’ve long been a fan of coconut lotion, but some of it is way too coconut – too much like suntan lotion. Adding the lime was the perfect touch – because it still has a great summer smell but it doesn’t make me feel like I just crawled out of the tanning bed. (A nasty habit I no longer participate in, but the straight up coconut smell took me back to the brief span of time when I did.) I was very excited that this coconut-lime blend also made its way into the cheaper lines of lotions and shower gels – since I’m usually too cheap to buy brand name.

3. Army Wives. This is my new favorite TV show. All my regular shows are on break for the summer, which is actually very nice. As much as I love watching them, I do enjoy the break from them too. Many of the cable networks, though, have started their own original series of shows that premiere in the off-season. Army Wives is just such a show. It’s on Lifetime and is about a group of wives living the military life alongside their husbands. (Or in one case, the wife is the one in the military and her husband is the one back at home alongside all the wives.) Having very little real life exposure to the military lifestyle, I have no idea how accurate it is depicting the way of life, but I think the characters are well written and fascinating.

4. Walking Tacos. Or tacos in a bag. Whatever you want to call them. I had my first one yesterday and loved it! I go to the county fair every year, and, being the routine girl that I am, must have a breaded tenderloin and elephant ear as my standard fair meal. This year, though, I ended up going to the fair twice, so the second time around, I decided to step outside the Bekah-mold and try something new. I’d always walked past those little walking taco stands and never tried one – so yesterday was my lucky day. If you’ve never had one of those either, it’s a bag of corn chips with taco meat/lettuce/sauce poured down inside. It really did work out well to walk and eat at the same time – as long as someone else carried my drink. Now I’m going to have to go to the fair twice every year so I can keep up my new tradition of two meals!

5. Self Tanner Lotion. I said I’d never get into the self tanner thing because it just seemed vain. But that’s because most every year, I live my life as a very pale person. (I prefer the terms “Victorian” or “Nicole Kidmanesque” but “pale” is probably more accurate.) Anyway, this year, with all the outside exercise I’ve been doing, I have the first real tan I’ve had since elementary school. Unfortunately, exercising means I’m wearing shoes and socks, so I have the most precious little sock line that started gathering a rather ridiculous amount of attention from my co-workers. One of the ladies in the office next door felt sorry for me (or was sick of my sock line) and brought me a bottle of self tanner lotion. I’ve been using it for three days and while I still have a line, it’s not nearly as “hello!” as it used to be. I think I’m hooked!

6. Loving God With All Your Mind. This book is written by one of my favorite teaching-authors, Elizabeth George. I bought it on some sale rack last year and immediately started reading it. I read about three chapters, loved it, and put it aside for months. This happens to me sometimes and I’ve learned it doesn’t mean the book is bad or I’m not interested. It means now is not the time and when the time is right, God will push me to pick it up again. That time came this week and I’ve started back up. Many books talk about how to prove that you love God through the things you do, but this one backs up to that secret place that no one sees – your mind. A very convicting book – so therefore, very hard to read at times, but the reading itself is very easy to follow.

7. Flour Child Cupcakes. My friend Sarah Rife is the best cupcake baker I’ve ever met. She calls her creations “Flour Child Cupcakes,” and they are so good! Yesterday she borrowed my refrigerator to store several dozen cupcakes before the church auction (where I hear the cupcakes brought in QUITE a bit of money) and when I came home, I found one remaining in my refrigerator for me! I ate it this afternoon and pronounced it amazing. The one I sampled was the chocolate covered cherry: chocolate cake with a cherry in the center with chocolate ganache and a cherry on top. YUMMY. A full list of her specialties can be found at the link on the side.

8. Purple Petunias. I received the most beautiful hanging basket of petunias this year. They were a gift from the ladies of my Bible study – they gave them to me on my last night of teaching back in May. I was so worried I’d kill the plant as sometimes the more delicate varieties of plant-life do not fare well under my care. But this basket is still alive and still blooming! Purple is my favorite color and I just love how it brightens up the backyard! Now they’ve spoiled me and I’ll have to go get a new basket of flowers every year.

9. Archaeological Study Bible. I purchased this new Bible for myself right at the end of last year. We had to work some overtime and I rewarded myself for the long hours by springing for a new Bible. I love study Bibles and every few years, I like to get a new one so I can see the words from a fresh perspective. This one is unique from the other ones I have because it has pictures of places and artifacts from Bible times, and it helps me visualize what I’m studying. I am learning all sorts of new things with my new Bible!

10. Ice Java Coffee Mix. Well I started the list with food, so why not end it with food? A love of mine (equal to ice cream) is coffee – and my favorite coffee is any blended iced coffee. I could spend my entire paycheck on these coffees, but I doubt my other bill people would appreciate that. I try to limit myself to one (two at the most) per week from an actual coffee shop, and the only way I’m able to be successful with this limit is because Nestle makes this great coffee syrup that you can use to make your own iced coffee drinks! I stop at the gas station, get a cup of crushed ice, come home, dump it in the blender with some milk and the mix – and pretty soon I have an almost-as-good-as-the-coffee-shop drink!

So there you have it – ten of my favorite things. If you’re looking for something new to try, you can’t say you don’t know where to start!

Bekah's Cards vs. Mama's Cards

Back in high school, it became painfully obvious to me that I had no talent. Or at least no visible talent. I had friends who could sing. Though I love music and do enjoy singing...I'm more of a car singer. I had friends who could draw and paint. Though I can draw a straight line with a ruler, my skills lacked significantly in comparison with theirs. (When you have a friend whose senior drawing is purchased for quite a significant sum of money...you know she's good.) I had friends who could play sports. Let's just say that coordination is not really my thing.

So one day, while mournfully roaming the aisles of my local craft store, I discovered a hobby that required little to no talent: rubber stamping. I decided on the spot that this would be my gift. And I've been stamping ever since. While still in high school, I learned that there were companies that sold rubber stamps and card making supplies, and I declared myself officially addicted.

To be fair, I have to say that my love of sending cards comes from my mother. Mom loves to send cards to people and is very dedicated about remembering holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. And...every now and then, she sends the occasional card intended to soothe the soul...lift the spirits...bring a smile.

Usually.

Below please find two examples of my own recent card making...and then one of Mama's finds.

Inside says: Taking a break from the daily grind to see how you've bean!

Inside says: Just wanted you to know how special you are!

Inside says: Never give up!

Thanks Mama!

REBUILDING: Rebuilding

No, I didn't forget that I already wrote the word once. (Though there are times when that might be a very legitimate guess!) I just have a couple of quick updates on life in tornado land and some fresh starts. I mentioned before that they weren't sure whether or not they would rebuild their home on the original foundation, though they were given permission by the insprector to do so. The delay partly had to do with rezoning taking place in the town...and if it did, the part of town they had lived in might end up being an industrial/business area, rather than residential.

My latest word from Lori says that they will be moving to another part of town, so that is one decision completed! They have been able to look at a few empty lots in town (well, the tornado made the whole town one empty lot!....but I mean available lots) and have also taken a look at several different options of houses to put on said lots. It looks like a decision could be made on both those things fairly soon, which would be great, because that would bring them that much closer to being back in a real house in just a few months.

Unfortunately (for Lori) all the house plans do come with a kitchen. She was so hoping to avoid that in a future home. Funny the things that come standard, I guess. :) But they were able to find some plans they really liked - and they especially liked one of the lots they looked at too! So all those things are very good news. Now we start (or join?) the waiting game....

PS - Hey Lori, since I know you'll be by to read this at some point, I'll tell you that when Mom and I went through the model home at the fair, I so thought of you when we went through the master bathroom. It had a huge garden tub right in the middle of the bathroom - with this big wide ledge all the way around it. I don't know if you would have liked any of the rest of the house, but you would love the bathroom! Hey, maybe if it's still out on Saturday, you can see it!

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!