Christmas Chaos

It never fails to amaze me how much God is in control. After all I've seen and the things my family have been through, it shouldn't surprise me how He works.

After three years of directing the children and youth Christmas program, you'd think I would learn. We had a pretty good program. We had the script written and the music picked out. But God had other plans in mind for us. One thing after another prevented rehearsals. Pretty soon we were out of time. Our program is tomorrow night. Are we using the script and music originally planned. Nope. We have exactly two kids who showed up today for a hastily planned program. And we are using music that we have done in the past. Not that that's an entirely bad thing. The two girls have fun doing it and get better each time. No, I think maybe God is planning something else to come of this night.

One lesson may be that we just need to simplify things. Our signing group is performing one song, the girls and a couple of adults are performing two songs with puppets, and their mother will be singing at least one song. Simple. The only props needed are the puppet stage and the puppets. The signers are wearing black with white gloves. A simple program for a simple story. A simple story, maybe, but full of significance and purpose.

Another lesson may be that we can plan and plot and organize for hours/days/weeks on end, but we are not in control. If we don't put God first, make Him our purpose, all that planning and organizing is wasted time. He's a jealous God. He wants our attention and when we take our attention from Him and put it on programs and presents and dinners we are not fullfilling our purpose. He wants us to love Him, to share Him with others. He wants to spend time with us. One to one.

We can't make it in this world on our own. We can try. But will we ever find the fulfillment or happiness that we think comes from making it on our own? I don't think it's possible to be truly happy without God in our lives. Even Paul was able to be happy when he was in prison because he knew the Savior. He knew what was possible with Him. I believe he wrote something about that to the Philippians. Check out Philippians 4:13. One of the many verses that bring me encouragement and hope, even in the face of seemingly impossible situations. I've seen God do wonderful things in those types of circumstances. He's done wonderful things for me in many impossible situations.

So, tomorrow, we'll go up there and put on our last minute program. And I'll be thinking of all the possibilities that God will do with it.

Dear Father, thank you for sending us Jesus. Thank you for giving us the hope that comes through believing in him. Teach us to depend on you in all things, in all circumstances and situations. Lord, you know the trials and troubles we go through. You can understand them, you went through them personally. Please forgive me when I forget to put you first. When I get so busy with life that I forget the most important thing, my relationship with you. Thank you for the people you bring into my life, for their examples and strength. I pray for them and for those that are lonely, heartbroken and disappointed. Show me how I can be an example to them, to show them your love, to maybe introduce them to you. Lord, I love you. Thank you for loving me. Amen.

Sunday Scrappin' #7

I missed last week's Sunday Scrappin'. I was so busy I couldn't stop working. I've been pretty busy this week too.

Ta-Das: I have 5 complete scrapbooks. Unfortunately, I have missed my deadline. Saturday was the Christmas Party when I was planning to give the girls their books. But I showed them the books, explained that I had a little more to do and I would let them take the books home in a couple of weeks.I also decorated a table for the Christmas party at church. People sign up to decorate a table in the Fellowship Hall for the evening. I think it's really neat. It takes a lot of stress off any one person to do all the decorating, not to mention expense. Folks bring some of their decorations from home. I made mine. I saw party tips on Lifetime or Hallmark or one of those channels and they did a dining room table that was gorgeous. So I did my version of it. Doesn't really do the original justice, but not bad for less than $20. I've also been scrapping some gift boxes for my sister. She bakes Christmas cookies and give them as gifts. So I thought I'd help out. I've taken some pictures but will have to get them developed.

To-Dos: I'll be working on some more gift boxes the rest of this week. But I hope to get back to the scrapbooks by the weekend. I have have one more book to put pictures in and 4 more to do the journaling. Technically, I will add some more pictures to all of them. We made gingerbread houses at our Christmas party and they are adorabIe I can't wait to get the pictures back. The girls want pictures in their scrapbooks of their houses. So I'll add them when the pictures come in.

Question of the week: Are you scrambling to finish Christmas gifts? Yes and no. The girls have seen their books so I don't feel rushed to finish them. I do have a family gift exchange on Christmas day. Maybe I'll try to do something for that.

I finally found a web browser that will let me upload pictures from my Mac. Now I just need to put them on my computer. As soon as I do that, I'll post some pics.

Heartbreaking

I've been led down an eye opening path the past couple of days.

I knew that a lot of the kids in my community have parents that are drug addicts, alcoholics, are in jail or a combination of all of it. I knew that almost all of the kids that come to our church are among them. I knew that it must be difficult for them. I had concerns for them. But I never fully understood what these children are going through. I never though in depth about their situations, about the effect of the indifference, the toll their parents' bad decisions have made on them. On their hearts and souls.

Yesterday my heart was broken. One of the little girls (from church) who is living with relatives other than her parents, was looking forward to going to a cheerleading afternoon "camp" with another little girl. This girl is such a sweetheart. Gentle and soft-spoken. But for reasons unknown to me, she was not allowed to go. I was taking her home and although her head was turned to the window and her hair was covering her face, I could hear her sniffles. I started to think about her life. Both parents in jail, she's living in a house full of people, some of the children close to her own age. But they resent her being there. I know the adult looking after her tries to include her and be fair to her, but she's got a lot of other people of her own to look after. So this little girl, in effect, is alone. Not getting to go to the cheerleading clinic was one more disappointment in a long line of disappointments. When the car ride was just about over, I could almost feel her push that disappointment down, square her shoulders and strap on a protective attitude. I can see her sweet disposition being ripped from her, bitterness and resentment taking its place. I know this is what's happened to our other kids at church, what's happening to thousands of kids in our community, to millions of them around the world. I prayed that God would give me words to comfort and encourage my little friend. I wanted to stop the hurt, help her in some way. I pray that my words were from God and that she will remember them. They were nothing profound, I simply told her I thought she was very brave and not to let the disappointments in her life make her any different. I wanted her to know that there is someone in her life who cares. Who appreciates who she is and her potential.

Then this morning I had a discussion with another little girl in similar circumstances. Only she has no idea who her father is. She told me about her other siblings and their situations. I know her story is from a 9 year old's perspective. Some things she may not understand yet, some things she may have confused. But the overall picture is still a life of loneliness and disappointment. I could feel more pieces of my heart breaking.

My sister and brother-in-law are missionaries in Africa. They've talked about having broken hearts for the people they are there to minister to. I have a new appreciation for what that means. We get so wrapped up in ourselves and in our own lives, we forget that other people have problems too. Many of them, worse than our own. We forget that there are children who have been abused, people who are hurting, that are alone and afraid. Who simply want and need someone to reach out, just to know they aren't alone, that they are loved, wanted and needed.

Father in Heaven, I pray for the hurting children in my community and all over the world. I pray for brokenness, for myself and other Christians to see the needs of these children. Lord, show us how to help them, how to keep them from being lost and slipping through the cracks. I pray for the people who have lost a loved one, who are alone. Help me and other Christians realize that just a kind word or a simple smile could make someone's day. Help us, in this season especially, remember that we're not the only ones with problems. That maybe that rude salesperson is one of the hurting people. Father, I pray that even only for just a little while, we can treat each other with dignity and respect.

In Jesus precious name, I pray. Amen.

Sunday Scrappin' #5

I know this is Tuesday, but this is a particularly busy week. So I am finally getting to post.

TaDa's: Well, I didn't get everything done I wanted to. And I even worked most of Saturday. I still have two more books to attach background pages and complete the first two panels. I got duplicates(and more) of most of the pictures. I ordered them online last week. There were two sets of film that I didn't have on disk. Actually, I can't find the disks for them. (See my cake decorating posts). So I dropped the film off at Wal-Mart yesterday for 1 hour development and dropped off a new roll to be developed. The new one I'm getting a disk and will be able to access the pics online. But I'm totally off topic now.

ToDo's: I'm not sure what my ToDo's for this week are. I've got something every night. In fact, I'm at the church every night except last night. I do have all day Saturday free so I'll probably scrapbook all day. I have to. I'm running out of time. I'm hoping to give them to the girls on the 15th.

I'm trying to figure out what to put them in. I'd really like to have some sort of protective sleeve to be stored in. You know, DVD sets come in a hand box to keep them together. Or some photo albums come in a protective sleeve. I'd like to have something like that b/c there's no telling where these girls will keep them.

So the question of the week: Where do I do my crafts? Right now I have a folding table set up behind my couch in the living room so I can listen to the TV as I work. I have an area set up in my bedroom, but clothes, shoes, books, papers, boxes, and a host of other things have taken over. I have a path from the door to my computer, the bed and the closet. I need that TV show "Clean Sweep" to come take control of the chaos that is my room.

So pray for me this week and I'll pray for you.

Jars of Clay/Third Day Concert

I just got home from a fantastic concert. Jars of Clay and Third Day are on a Christmas tour. Aptly titled, "Christmas Offerings". These are two of my favorite Christian groups. They both have such talent and produce wonderful music. I have to say though, of the two, Third Day is probably my favorite. If for no other reason than for the voice of Mac Powell. This man has been greatly blessed. I don't know how to describe it. If you've never heard the, all I can say is, go to their website and take a listen. http://www.thirdday.com/tdmusic.htm Scroll down a bit and click on "Launch Radio".

Not to leave out Jars of Clay... http://www.jarsofclay.com/home

Another thing I like about these guys is that they are all about giving back. Jars of Clay promotes several charities, one focus is called "Blood: Water Mission". This organization is trying to build wells in Africa to provide clean water for the people. Go here to read about it. Our tickets for the concert were only $12 and $1 of that goes to Blood: Water Mission.

I guess that really impresses me because my little sister is in Africa right now with her husband on a two year mission. They've been gone since October and already I miss them so much. They're still in training and are anxious to get started. You can visit their blog if you're interested in their progress.

Well, thanks for reading.

Sunday Scrappin' #4

A favorite tip or technique: I wouldn't call this a favorite, but I'm using eyelets on the girl's scrapbooks. I picked up a set of three eyelet setters. They're kind of like an Xacto knife. It has a spring in the middle of it. One end is the punch and the other is the setter. You position the punch where you want the hole. Hold the bottom still and pull up from the top. Let go and it punches your hole. Set your eyelet in the whole. Make sure you are working on a firm surface (not a folding table). Turn the punch over and place the setter in the eyelet. Hold down the bottom, pull up the top, let go and Viola! I'm still getting the hang of it, but they come in handy for vellum paper.

TaDas: I decided to do some cover switching. I took my original book (the very first one I made for myself to figure out how to construct them) and gutted it. I'm going to put those pages in a handmade cover later on. That one is for me and I wanted the girls to have the same covers if possible. So the one that was a different size was replaced by the gutted cover. Then I switched the first handmade cover with another girl's cover. The one who is now getting the handmade is a teenager and I think probably won't mind that it's different from the other girls' covers. So I got all the switching done and cut more background paper for the new cover. I have a total of 8 books to do, each book has 14 panels, including the inside front and back covers. So far I have the background paper attached on all the panels in four of the books. And in those four books I have the first two panels done. I also have pictures picked out for those four books. And I have ordered extra copies of a lot of the pictures. They should be coming in sometime this week. There were 144 total so I had them shipped. I didn't want to do that to the one-hour people. Plus it was cheaper to have them shipped. The ones I don't use will go in another scrapbook for the lady who has been a major part of the God's Girls this year. And still more will go into a photo album for the church. But I digress...

ToDos: This week is yet another busy one (imagine that), but I hope to at least bring the last four books up to the same point as the first four. After that I would like to get 3-4 more panels in each book done. We'll see how it goes.

No cards done, but that's okay. I've got back up plans for the Christmas gifts.

I've taken pictures of an assembled book. I need to finish the roll out and then I can get them developed. Once I do, I'll post pictures so my rambling descriptions will hopefully make sense.

Good luck this week with your ToDos!

Thanksgiving Blessings

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. We had dinner with family from my mom's side. About 40 people is my guess. We had it at our church which works out very well. We did the same thing last year and the power went out for about two hours that morning. This year it went out the night before. Anyway, every family brought several dishes so I think we could have fed about 40 more people, if not more.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We laughed a lot and talked about old times, drooled over all the desserts. I can't tell you the array of pies and cakes we had. And out of all of it... only 1 pumpkin pie. We did have a pumpkin cheesecake which Jenni made. Yummm-E!

One of the traditions my mom's cousins has is very interesting to me for some reason. They bring the sale papers and pore over them before dinner. They map out a game plan and decide where they're going, when and in what order. I think it's pretty smart if you're brave enough to face the madness. My friend Sandra, went with a friend at 2:30 in the morning. It's not for me, but to each his own.

I think the hightlight of my immediate family's day was getting to talk to my baby sister, Joe Joe. I call her my baby sister because she's 10 years younger than me. She's actually a beautiful young woman, married to a wonderful man. They are in Zambia, Africa right now. They're in the middle of missionary training, about to take on Swahili. They'll be in Morogoro, Tanzania when they've finished. They'll be there for about 2 years. They left for Africa in October and for the past 25-30 days have been unable to correspond because of their location. So getting to talk to them on Thanksgiving was a great blessing. It was so good to hear her voice and know that she's safe. Michael was having a great time in the background playing volleyball and admiring the 4" beetle given to him by some of the children. I know they're anxious to settle in to their new home and begin their ministry. Right now they're having some technical difficulty-securing a car, meeting with trainers, that sort of thing. I think they're having a wonderful time and are really seeing the world in a different way. If you're interested, you can keep up with them on their blog at goodbyeharan.blogspot.com.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as special as mine.

Sunday Scrappin' #3

Okay, I missed Sunday #3 and here it is almost #4. I've been sick the past week and haven't touched a computer until last night. And even then it was for just a few minutes to check email.

So, on to my TaDa's...
I finished Savannah's book, all except the journaling and I picked out all the color schemes for the rest of the books. I realized I needed to do two more books but I don't have any more of the princess albums, so I'm improvising. I had picked up a couple little kits for the ideas and embellishments. The book itself is about 12 pages, approx. 6.5" square, stitched in the middle. I took off the birthday theme cover and replaced it with one of my own. It's not the same size or shape as the others, but it has the same number of pages and I'll treat it the same. As for the other extra book, I decided to try my hand at making my own. Using the dimensions of the Princess album, I took a piece of cardboard and scored it to fold into book form. Then I covered it with a dark green laid cover stock. I'll add pages just as I did the original books.
I was really impressed with myself for getting this much done, before Friday no less!

My To Do's....
To keep on keeping on. I'll give you a "so far this week". Since I was feeling better last night, I stayed up working on the books. I spent an hour or so this morning as well. So, I've got all but one book with pages glued in and ribbons attached. Each girl's name I had already cut out from my friends Scizzex fun alphabet and is attached on the inside front cover. I've got paper cut to the page size for each girl's theme/color/pattern. I'll probably try to use Savannah's book as a template and do each girl's book similar to it, just to be able to get as much done as possible in the little time I have. I'll finish up the last girl tonight and hopefully start laying out the actual pages. I'm meeting some friends on Saturday for a Scrapping/Stamping/Cardmaking day so hopefully I'll be able to get a lot done.

Bonus Question:
I missed the question for #2 so I'll answer it first. My favorite at the moment is scrapping. I have more tools/supplies for it.
This week's question: Yes, the books I'm working on right now for my girl's at church. I had planned to make a card set for a family gift swap, but I'm not sure about that now. Maybe I'll be able to do something on that on Saturday.

Thanks for reading and I apologize if I didn't make too much sense. (Let's blame it on the medication.)
Happy Scrapping!

Sunday Scrappin'

I thought I would try this Sunday Scrappin' out. You share what you've accomplished the past week (Ta-Da's) and what your plans/goals are for the next week (To-Do's). I thought since I have a big project I'm working on, this might keep me on track. I'll explain my project and then get to the Ta-Da's and To-Do's.

I've organized a group of girls at our church called "God's Girls". Once a month we get them together to introduce them to new things, to show them life skills they might not otherwise learn. These girls come from homes where the parents do not attend church, one or more of the parents are incarcerated, drinks or are involved in drugs. Not all of them mind you, but an uncomfortable majority. I've also noticed that most of the girls have low self-esteem and compensate in many ways. My prayer is with God's Girls the ladies of the church can help to break the cycle these girls are caught in. So far this year they've learned all manner of cooking from chocolate chip cookies to Japanese cuisine. They've learned about gardening, hair care, nail care and this month will learn some sewing skills. Along the way, I've taken pictures of each of the girls, in groups and so on. So for Christmas (we're going to make Gingerbread houses), I've decided to make a small scrapbook for each of them. They may not appreciate it now, but I hope that in years to come they can look back on this time and remember that there were people who cared about them. I have eight girls from ages 10-15. I've gotten started on ONE. At this rate, they'll get their scrapbooks next Christmas.

I made one scrapbook for myself to determine what I was going to do. Here is what I did:
I found 5 x 7 photo albums with crowns and gowns and "princess" all over the outside with a pink spine. I ripped out the photo sleeves to replace with my own pages. I've taken 22" x 7" sheets of paper and trimmed them down to 18.5" x 6.25". Next, I scored and folded the width down to 4.25" panels. I fixed the back panel to the inside back of the photo album. Then I decorated the inside front of the album and scrapped each panel with pictures of the girls.

So now I know the HOW to create these scrapbooks, now I just need to get the rest of them done. I've started on Savannah's because she's been the least amount of times and had the least pictures. I've got 6 panels left to scrap and then I'll do some journaling, adding scripture verses and encouragement from ladies' of the church.

This past week I scrapped two panels. The first I laid down the basic pattern I've picked out for Savannah's theme. Then I created a "door" at the top of the panel to hide a picture behind. I closed it with a blue daisy glued to one side of the door and velcroed to the other so it can be opened. Then I added a bit of encouragment near the bottom of the panel below the door. I put a square box with the text on vellum and attached it with eyelets. The second panel doesn't have a picture but I think is cute. I stamped a large flower with stem and leaves in gold ink. Then I outlined the petals, sewing around the edges with blue embroidery thread. I'll add some scripture or words of encouragement to finish that panel out.

This coming week is another busy one for me. Who isn't busy I wonder. But I'd like to finish Savannah's book. Realistically, I may only be able to get a few more panels done. I'm going to have to figure out how to get more done at a time or I'm not going to get them all done in time. Maybe I'll figure out something this week. Pray for me.

I also made an anniversary card for a couple at church. I used an ivory base and added an orange striped background to the front. Then I layered a piece of vellum on top attached with tiny brass brads. I stamped black leaf silohettes on three light orange square pieces layered on orange striped squares to glue in a horizonatal row on the front. On the inside I stamped "Congratulations" in a pretty script with some curly embellishments on either side. Simple maybe, but for me being new at card-making, I thought it turned out pretty good.

I wish I had pictures to post. Unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera. I do know people with them, so maybe I can borrow one. If not, I'll take regular pictures as I work and post them when I can get them developed.

Finally, Here It Is!

And now, what you've all been waiting for...










Keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever decorated a cake. (See my earlier post.) The cake was for the church's 5th anniversary. The dove is from the church logo. I don't know if I'll decorate any more cakes. It'd have to be a real special occasion. I was actually coerced into doing this one. Anyway, there it is and now I know how to post pictures. If only I can figure out how to customize my layout I'll be doing good. Thanks for reading!

Bloggy Giveaways

As I am new to this blogging thing, I don't have anything to give away. Plus I have to get my blog out there so people will come by. As I get better at this, I will try to participate in these giveaways. In the meantime, I'll be gathering up some goodies to be prepared when the time comes.

Thanks to anyone who stopped by whose blog I commented on. I look forward to visiting you in the future.

For anyone who happens across my blog from elsewhere, there is a huge gathering of giveaways and you can find a master list at Rocks In My Dryer .

No Photo to Post

I figured out how to add the photo, only I can't do it from my Macintosh. I have a very old system and an old version of Explorer. So I don't have the capability. At least it doesn't show up in my window. So I have to use my sister's or parents computer or my computer at work. The only problem, I can't find the CD that has the photo on it. Which really irritates me because there are other photos I want to share. I think I'm missing two CDs. I have no idea what I did with them. I'm sure I put them somewhere thinking "I'll remember I put them there." Yeah, right. There's no telling. So, if I ever find the CD, I'll post it.

Cake Decorating

I've been watching my sister baking and decorating cakes for years. She'd ask my opinion on things, but I've never really tried it myself. Well, I've made my first attempt. It was for our church's 5th anniversary. I won't say that I'll never decorate a cake again, but I'm not planning on it. I kept wanting to lay my hand on the cake. Anyway, here's a picture of it. (If I can figure out how to put it up).

Lessons in Self-Discipline

It's amazing to me how God works. He uses common everyday things and events to teach us lessons. This week has been all about Self-Discipline and Will Power. Two of my weakest areas.



It all started last Monday night during the Signs of Grace Bible Study. We've been studying Eve and we had some questions about her eating that apple. That infamous apple. I agree with Liz Curtis Higgs in her book "Bad Girls of the Bible" (which is the Bible study we're doing). She thinks it had to have been at least a chocolate apple. Seriously though, she was tempted to eat the apple. She had a choice at that point. Eat or don't. And she chose her own way. In so many areas of my life, I choose my own way. I need to lean on God to help me. I need to do things that are pleasing to Him. I fail miserably every day. Some people might despair about this or think that God's standards are too high. Yes, I fail, I make wrong decisions, do the wrong things, say or think the wrong things. Yet, God still forgives. He loves me. He wants me to do better, to come closer to Him, to rely on Him for my every need. My poor excuse for self-discipline and will power needs to be strengthened by Him so that I can make better decisions.



So I got up on Tuesday morning and headed upstairs for breakfast and to leave for work. I saw a container of cookies that mom had left over from the prayer meeting. Almost without thinking I popped one in my mouth. It's 6:45 a.m. I don't need chocolate chip cookies at 6:45 a.m. Well, that one was so good, I decided to take some with me. So I wrapped two more in a paper towel and stuck it in my purse. I thought I'd eat them on the way to work. Instead, God started me thinking on that drive. He reminded me of the Bible study of the night before. About choices and sometimes the choices we make are bad for us. I started wrestling with myself in my mind about those cookies. I really wanted them. And I thought, "If I really wanted to, I could just not eat them." I felt like a smoker who says, "I could quit if I wanted to". Well, guess what. I've been down that road too and it's not that easy. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't eat the cookies. It would be a test of my will power. Little did I know how much my will power would be tested. If you've read my previous post you'll know what happened that day. In fact, why don't you stop here and go read it, just to catch up. I'll wait.....



One of the hardest times I have when it comes to eating is in stressful situations. By golly, Tuesday was a stressful situation if I've ever been in one. I wanted those cookies, that comfort, so badly. But I resisted. God wants us to lean on Him in those times. In the past, I've relied on food to comfort me. I tried to deny that. I thought I handled stress fairly well. I mean, I quit smoking so I wasn't using that. I knew people used food, I just didn't think it was me.

We've been in Revival this week. Brett Miles was the speaker. He said something that stuck with me. Well... He's said a lot of things that have stuck with me. But this one in particular relates to my tale. This isn't verbatim but basically, God doesn't test us just once and be done with it. To me, this makes sense. If all I have to test me were those two cookies, I'm doomed. When you're preparing for something - a test, performing a song, surgery, whatever - you don't work on it once and then you're ready. You continue to prepare. So I've been continuing to prepare these past two weeks. Every day it seems something comes at me. At work, it's usually something I've messed up, sometimes it's something I messed up months ago that's now surfacing. At church, it's more internal. The devil is really poking at me these days. I can get to church in the best mood, excited to be there, can't wait to start. Then, something will happen with the kids or someone will do or say something that will upset me (without realizing it). I think God lets us go through these things to make us stronger. We have to lean on Him, surrender our burdens to Him. He's big enough, He can take it. It brings us closer to Him, makes our faith stronger and teaches us what having a Heavenly Father means.

I'm still struggling. The Lord knows I am. With everything that's been happening and being so busy these past few weeks, I'm exhausted. I'm going camping this weekend. I know I'll be tested even there. Not by "roughing it" or anything like that, but God knows what my test is going to be. Despite this fact though, I'm really looking forward to going. It will be a nice break from the kids and hopefully, I can come back refreshed and ready to meet my struggles head on. With God leading me of course.

So pray for me, you who may be reading this. And if you have struggles and tests in your life, post me a comment so I can pray for you.

One of Those Days

I had a tough day at work today. It's really (forgive me for this term) bumming me out. One of our really big jobs was messed up. And of course, it's a job that needs to be out the door by the end of the week. And, of course, it was my fault. And, of course, my production manager was angry about it. Which makes me feel even worse. He didn't yell or scream at me though. I have to give him credit for that. And that makes me feel even more worse. Does that sound weird? It's not that I want him to yell at me or even be angry with me for that matter. It's just that I think he does want to yell, but for some reason doesn't (at least not at me). If it were me, that would make me frustrated. So that makes me feel bad for making him even more frustrated on top of being angry. (You should spend some time in my head, I confuse myself sometimes.)

I'm trying to figure out exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. I'm pretty sure I know what caused problem, but I don't think I'll ever know why. Fortunately, I think I've figured out a solution. So hopefully, I won't have this problem in the future. And that will make my production manager happy. Yay!

Where'd You Get Those Names?

For those who don't know, I teach an interpretive signing group. What's interpretive signing, you ask? We use American Sign Language as a basis and interpret praise & worship and other Christian based songs into a pantomime, so to speak. It's kind of a mix of Sign Language and dance/interp movement.
Our group is comprised of ladies in a wide range of ages. Our youngest is 12, the oldest...I'm not sure, somewhere in the 50's, maybe early 60's. We meet once a week for a Bible study and practice. The name of the group, you might have guessed, is Signs of Grace. We went for about an year and a half praying and seeking a name. I think it was well worth the wait.
Signs of Grace is a part of the Creative Ministry Team at church, Aurora Baptist. There is another group called Clowning for Christ. You can guess what they do. We also have children and youth groups who work with puppets, interpretive signing, drama, and sticks. Their group is called Salt Shaker Productions. Jesus calls us to be salt to our world. In others words, we need to season and flavor our world with the news of Christ. Sometimes that means going "outside the box" to reach people (or shaking them up). Hence, Salt Shaker Productions.

Donkey Kong's Got It Goin' On!

Here's another one from my Myspace blog.

I was asked the question "what song do you like to make the most fun of?" Or something to that effect.

My answer: "Honky Tonk Bedonkey Donk"

Most people I talk to about it, think I'm joking when I ask "What does this song mean?" I'm not.

Ok, I get that "Honky Tonk Bedonkey Donk" refers to the girl's behind. My problem is with the line, "She's got it going on like Donkey Kong". Do me a favor. Stop and really think about this statement. Who is Donkey Kong? He's a giant gorilla that smashes barrels and beats his chest. Why is the singer comparing this girl's butt to a monkey? Is he saying she has a monkey butt? Furthermore, if he is, WHY oh WHY is this so attractive to him? This indicates to me that he has a thing for monkeys! This is the most ridiculous lyric I think I've ever heard! (Aside from "Achey Breaky Heart")

Did the songwriter think that his audience would not think about the words? I say, yes! And do we really stop and think about the words and meanings of popular songs [yes, I mean from all eras]? But this is taking me on a whole other tangent and I'm just too tired to go there tonight.

I think I'll go make up a song about camel humps. Wait. Hasn't that been done.....

Movie Going

This is a post from my Myspace blog. I thought I'd add it to this one.

Disclaimer: I'm not an English major, so please don't critique my writing. I'm just trying to tell a story here.

I went to see Live Free or Die Hard a few weeks ago with my sister and a couple of friends. I'm pretty sure it was a good movie. I missed some of it because of the two nice considerate young men and the lovely family with young children in the row behind us. Of course, you know I'm being sarcastic.

Here's what happened...

The theater was pretty full by the time we got there and the only place that had enough seats for the four of us was way at the top, next to last row. Actually, I think these seats would be pretty good. It's far enough away to make the sound volume at a decent level. And I didn't have to crane my neck to see the screen. However, I was in for a rude awakening. And I mean rude. Okay, everyone talks before the show starts. Fine. Not a problem. And some people comment every now and then during the show. I do sometimes, if the scene calls for it. But these two in the seats behind me and Jenni never stopped talking. One of them took no less than six phone calls. During one conversation he told the other person that he was trying to figure out what was going on in the movie, he didn't understand the plot. My advise: watch the movie instead of talking on the phone! I wanted to ask their names so I could look for them in the credits. I heard more of their dialogue than the movie's. At one point my friend Kim "Shhhh"ed them. All that got us was attitude in the form of gas. That's right. We got farted on.

Then we have the nice family with the young children. Either the theater has started selling large bags of chips or they brought in some contraband. And apparently, no one could open it. It was passed down the row as each family member attempted to get to the goodies. When the bag was finally opened, it was passed back down the row for each person to grab a noisy handful. After the rattling finally died down, Dad thought it was a good idea to add commentary to the movie dialogue in order to make his son laugh. Ahh, the delightful sound of children's laughter as Bruce Willis is shot at, blows things up and threatens the bad guy. Who needed to hear why Bruce was blowing things up? I guess I should have stuck to the middle of the theater where the sound is so loud my hair blows in it's breeze and I leave with my head tilted at an odd angle from trying to see the screen.

Oh, how could I forget about the person about 8 rows down who can't seem to stop texting every 5 minutes. I've got news for you, people. Small bright spot in the middle of the dark is VERY distracting. Kind of like someone shining a flashlight in your eyes.

I can forget about the rattling family and Mr. Spotlight, but add them to God's gift to the world in the form of two teenage boys (or so they seemed to think), and I was about to have a nervous breakdown.

There was nothing I could think of to say to them that would make them understand that they were infringing on the rights of everyone around them. Why? Because they don't care. In fact, I think they were proud of the fact that they were disturbing everyone.

Now it's possible I'm being extra sensitive and I should let it go. And other than venting here, there's not much I can do. But here's the thing -- it costs money to go to the movies.. And I don't have a lot of it. So when I do spend it at the theater, I expect to enjoy myself.

So here is my request to you out there whoever may be reading this... please, please, take into consideration others around you. Wherever you may be, the theater, ballgame, mall, wherever, just put yourself in the other person's shoes. How would you feel if they were being rude to you?

The Art of Imitation

Most people don't realize this, but I'm on a quest to be just like my friend, Kim. Or so it seems. The past nine/ten months I've become more aware that I seem to be copying some of the things Kim does. I'm not sure if it's actually because I do want to be like her or because it's that we have so many things in common. When she discovers something new, it usually turns out that it's something that I enjoy as well. So this post is an examination of what Kim and I have in common. Perhaps this will reveal to me whether I am a copycat or just a kindred spirit playing catch-up.

Interest: Scrapbooking
This is one of the first things that I've found myself involved in because of Kim. When I think about it though, I had started a scrapbook back in 1998 or 99. I went on a road trip with my sister and our good friend Chana. They were tired of me by the end of that trip. I took picture after picture of them and, for some reason, cannons and anchors (We went to St. Augustine, Florida). In that scrapbook I also have pictures from Kim's wedding, our friend Matt's wedding, our friend Tracy's wedding, some camp pictures and some from Matt and Jason's graduation.*
I guess it must have been Kim that got me into scrapbooking. Jenni (my sister) thinks she remembers Kim having some scrapbooks when the three of us lived together during our college years.

* Just roll with the names. I may or may not get to posting who they are and how I know them.

Interest: Photography
I know my interest in photography is not because of Kim. Although, Kim has been taking pictures longer than I've known her. I took a photography class in college as a requirement for my degree. Unfortunately, I haven't had the resources to pursue a more advanced degree of picture taking. I've mostly had point and shoot one time use or the "old fashioned" 35 mm cameras. Currently I have a $15 basic camera from Wal-Mart. It has no zoom but it has a wide view option. The best thing it has going for it is that it is cool looking. Maybe someday I can move into the 21st century and get a good digital camera.

Interest: Stamping
I'm not sure about this one yet. I think it's a really neat craft and I could probably get into it. But I think it would take more time than I have to give. From what I've seen it involves a lot of watercoloring. I took art classes in college including watercolor, but I never took to that medium very well. My preferred method was charcoal, chalk and conte crayon. So this is probably something I'll dabble in, but not pursue like I do with ceramics or scrapbooking.

Interest: Ceramics
I really enjoy painting ceramics. Actually, I also paint plaster casts. I've been painting them for years. I started with Christmas ornaments from Wal-Mart. I'd paint some each year for family or coworkers. It wasn't until Kim started going to classes at a ceramics shop that I really got into ceramics. Unfortunately, my hands start tingling after just a short time when I try painting. (Probably has something to do with daily prolonged computer use.) So I haven't done much of it lately.

Interest: Blogging
This is something else that I'm not sure about yet. I think though, it could be interesting. It fascinates me that I can just type pretty much whatever I want. In a way, that intimidates me. Kind of like a blank page gives me pause. Kim's usually got something to say. And I don't mean that in bad or sarcastic way. It's just a fact and one of the things I like about her. (And won't she just love that my first blog is about her.)

These are not all that Kim and I share interests in. However, this is getting long and it's getting late. It appears to me though, that our interests are along the creative/artsy line. So maybe it's not that I'm on a quest to be like Kim. Maybe it's that my friendship with Kim has opened new ways to be creative. Hmmmm.... something to think about.