Pray for Harper!

I know many of you read Kelly's Korner Blog and have followed along with her miracle pregnancy. She needs our prayers more than ever now as her precious baby has been flown to Tulsa for surgery. Harper was born yesterday.

www.kellyskornerblog.com

Happy New Year!

Only a few more hours until 2009! I’ll be honest that New Year’s Eve has never been one of my favorite holidays, but I love the promise of a new year and a fresh start. I know, you can start fresh any day of the year, but a new year makes it very inspiring.

I wanted to do a “year in review,” but I just don’t have that much time right now. Maybe on Friday. I’ll also be doing a “year in preview” post.

I hope everyone has a truly wonderful 2009! It's been an amazing 2008, that's for sure. We have many hopes and dreams for our year ahead and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

See you Friday!

Joseph's Lullaby

I swear, I really am taking a bloggy break. I promise! But I had to share this song with you guys. It's "Joseph's Lullaby" by MercyMe. As a parent, it really touched my heart and made me think about what went through Mary and Joseph's minds those days.

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

I'm just a little black rain cloud

That little black rain cloud not only describes the weather we’re having, it describes how I’m feeling this morning. Tired, stressed out and generally irritable.

For starters, Brady has refused to go to bed the last three evenings. It will be after 10pm and he’s still running around, giggling. Nothing we do works. Last night I was so frustrated that I was in tears. He goes running to DH “Daddy, Mommy’s crying!” I wonder why????

Plus I’ve been working on our budget and it’s a little tighter these next two weeks than I thought and I’m having to cut back on some of the remaining Christmas presents we need to get. I’ve already cut back a lot, so this really sucks. Every year I think things will be different and I won’t face problems like this, then it happens again. Won’t it ever change?

I know I shouldn’t be so negative. Things could be a lot worse. A whole lot worse.

We’re doing Scripture cards for MOPS this year. Each meeting we get two new cards. I pulled this card out of my purse this morning:

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So if you see someone walking around, muttering to themselves “be joyful always, give thanks in all circumstances,” it might just be me.

Finally, a costume, and weekend in review

Well, I am now going to be the Red Queen for Halloween. It was on sale at Target and it fit me. SOLD! Plus, it’s long so I won’t be too cold Friday night. Here’s a picture:


We had very busy and tiring weekend, but it was great. Judgment House was going on and it was amazing. Over 120 people got saved over the three nights! We had a great time and really bonded with the people in our scenes. We all know way too much about each other (and our spouses!) after this weekend.

Now I’m trying to catch up on some sleep and catch up on some housework! DH did a great job of keeping Brady busy and making sure things didn’t completely fall apart, but there is still work to be done.

And what a horrible tragedy for Jennifer Hudson and her family. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now, but I’m definitely praying for them.

Judgement House 2008

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since Judgement House, but here we are. Here’s last year’s post for you to catch up.

We’re doing a new script this year, 59 Minutes. It’s about the last 59 minutes in 4 people’s lives. This year I’m playing Karen, John’s wife. We’re all really excited about it and as ready as we’re going to be. Tonight is dress rehearsal and taping for the dvd, then tomorrow night performances begin. We’ll be going Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I can wait to see what God is going to do and how He’s going to use this to change lives. It’s going to be amazing.

If you’re local and would like to come (it’s free!), shoot me an email or leave me a comment.

Verse of the Day

Someone shared this verse with me last night and even though I've read it a million times, I love hearing it again. I thought I'd share it with you today!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-8

As women, it seems like we're hardwired to worry. I know I am! But this verse tells us not to worry, to turn all of our worries over to God and He will give us the peace we need to make it through the day!

Happy Wednesday!

Awanas and Candy Corn

Last night was our kick off meeting for Awanas at church. Brady was a Puggle last year and this year he moves up to the Cubbies. He loved Puggles and still remembers some of the things he learned. While I would love to say last night went so well, it did not. At least not for Brady. Apparently moving upstairs to a new room was more than an adjustment than I had realized. Or maybe he was just super tired. I don’t know. But he did not want anything to do with his new room, his new teachers, nothing. Thankfully it wasn’t a regular evening and all the parents stayed, so he calmed down a little bit and got busy playing with his friends. I was so shocked, though. He never throws fits like that at church. Oh well!

Awanas really is a great program for teaching kids about the love of God. DH helps with the Sparks (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) and I’m helping with the T&T Boys (3rd Grade – 5th Grade). This is my first year helping out, so I’m interested to see how it goes. The kids have books and learn verses each week. They have story time, craft time and all sorts of other things. They really enjoy it and the volunteers do, too!

I’m still finishing up my fall decorations. Whenever the camera gets fixed, I can post some pictures! That would make my blog much more interesting! I am getting ready to do this idea as soon as candy corn comes out in the stores. I have three glass hurricanes, one large and two small, on my mantle. I’m going to fill one with candy corn, one with candy corn pumpkins, and the large one I’m not sure about yet. Any suggestions?

Weekend Recap and a Major Concert Event!

Happy Tuesday!

Boy, did our weekend start off with a bang. When I picked Brady up on Friday evening, I was informed that his daycare was closing – in two weeks! There wasn’t anything I could over the weekend, so I did my best to put it in God’s hands and not worry about it (too much!). I spent all morning yesterday on the phone and was fortunate enough to find him a spot at a local church where my friend’s son attends. He’ll start the Monday after we get back from vacation. So I’m breathing a bit easier today.

DH was in Memphis for his “guy’s weekend,” so Brady and I were on our own. We spent Friday evening at Frances’ house and then Mike and Ashley had a cookout on Saturday evening, so we had plenty to keep us occupied. I even slept well! Normally I hate being at home overnight without DH, but I just had the greatest peace and got a good night’s rest every night. But I was very happy for DH to get home yesterday!

Did you all hear about this concert event yet?



If you grew up listening to contemporary Christian music in the last 20 years, you know these names well. Just think about all the classics you’ll hear during this show! They’re coming to Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on October 18th and don’t you know I’ll be there! I feel like I should be singing “Friends are Friends Forever………….”

Update

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers for my grandmother. I got an update last night around 930pm. They had spoken with the surgeon and he could find no sign of congestive heart failure and her pneumonia was much better! I truly believe God did a miracle. There was some damage to her heart, but not a lot, and he expected her to be home within two days.

Also, my father called her yesterday. It was the first time they had spoken in over a year. This is huge and I hope this continues even after the crisis has passed.

Here's a picture of her and Brady taken this past March when we visited them:

As for my MIL, I don’t have any news on that situation. One thing at a time!

The storm is rolling in

I can’t seem to win this week.

This morning I had an email that my uncle sent my dad, telling him that my grandmother had a heart attack Tuesday night. I had just spoken with her that evening and she sounded fine. According to the email, they don’t think there was a lot of damage, but they discovered she has congestive heart failure and pneumonia. It’s a very difficult situation because my parents don’t speak to my grandparents (they’re my dads parents), hence the email communication.

My mother-in-law is upset with me about something. Go figure.

And my DH is supposed to be out-of-town this weekend, leaving me with this mess. I’m praying he’ll change his mind. I feel like I’m in the middle of a storm right now. I know God is in control and He has the plan, I know He does. But it’s hard to have faith when it all piles on like this.

"The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand."
Psalms 37:23-24.

"Cast thy burdens upon the Lord and He shall sustain you."
Pslams 55:22

VBS Pictures

Here are a few pictures from VBS. I hope to get some more posted soon.

Finally Friday!

Yes, I’m still here. This week has been kicking my butt! But, today’s Friday! One more day of work and one more night of Vacation Bible School. I know I may have complained a bit about my group and while they are very challenging, there are some great kids in it, too. I’ll be sad to see some of them go tonight!

As for the upcoming weekend, we have a whole lot of NOTHING planned. Tomorrow we’re sleeping in as late as we want, having a big breakfast, Brady’s going to play in his pool and we’re just going to relax. I will need to do some housework as I don’t think I’ve used anything containing bleach once this week and Brady will be getting a haircut. Sunday we have Sunday School and church and that evening we’re having an ice cream social after the evening service. It will be a fun day and I know we’ll be talking about VBS a lot.

Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to post next week from VBS! Have a great weekend!

Hand Motion Impaired

You know how when you were a kid and you’d learn songs at camp or church or school and they all had hand motions to go with them? You’d wiggle your fingers to represent the sea, raise them up to represent the sky, etc. And remember that kid who was always doing the wrong motion at the wrong time? Yeah, I was that kid. Apparently I’m that adult, too.

We’re learning a bunch of songs at VBS and I swear, I’m all over the place. I hope the kids aren’t following me too much!

I can hear it now “I’m sorry, you can’t help with VBS anymore because you can’t do the motions to the songs………………”

Vacation Bible School - Day 1

Vacation Bible School started last night at church. Our theme is Power Lab! It’s science-themed, lots of experiments and teachers running around in lab coats. The kids are loving it. I don’t know about you, but I have some really great memories of VBS when I was a kid. Lots of generic sandwich cookies and kool-aid, learning fun songs, playing tag and red rover and a craft involving blue feathers. Those were the days!

This is my first year to help with VBS and I’m in charge of the 1st and 2nd graders, 20 of them to be exact. 12 boys. My word! I’m hoping the first night is the hardest since I’m still getting to know everyone and figuring out who will need more attention (or supervision) than others. My job is to lead them from music to crafts to games to snack, etc. Thankfully I have two helpers who can make sure we don’t lose anyone along the way.

One boy (not in my group) broke his arm in the gym last night. I felt so badly for him. I also felt badly for our coordinator because I know that’s just how she wanted to start off the week, with an ambulance pulling up to the church. My group was on their way to snack time in the gym, so we had to hold up in the hallway while they tended to the injured. Of course, some of my boys started asking “is his arm going to fall off? Is he dead??” Good grief.

They have a mini-class for the 2’s and 3’s, only if you’re helping with VBS. Brady was having a ball. I’d pass him in the hallway walking with his class and he’d wave at me. He even got his picture up on the screen at the end! It just warms my heart to see my little boy having fun and learning about Jesus and starting to make those memories that I experienced as a child.

Bible Study

Happy Homemaker was kind enough to ask about the Bible study I do, how it’s set up, the group members, etc., and I am just now responding. I’m so sorry for my tardiness!

My group is through my church. This is third study I’ve done with them and they’ve all been Beth Moore Bible studies. We meet once a week for two hours. The first hour the moderator (is that the right word?) talks about the homework (she doesn’t check it!) and we discuss it as a group. She’s this wonderful woman named Joyce who is in her 60’s. I just love her. Then the second hour is watching the dvd session for the next lesson. The group is made up of ladies from my age (28) to their 60’s or 70’s and everything in between. It’s nice because you get to meet people you wouldn’t normally be around. They have some really great insights, too.

The Bible study lasts between 10 and 12 weeks. The homework can be a challenge to keep up with because they take 30-45 minutes a day. I have learned so much, though. The first two I did was Daniel and A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place. This one is Believing God.

I can't tell you how much I've learned and how much closer I feel to God. You really discover things in the Scriptures that you never saw before.

I thoroughly recommend them!

Puggles Gone Bad

Last night was the end-of-the-year program for Awanas at church. In case you don’t know what Awanas is, go here for a summary. Brady is in the Puggles class, which is for kids 18mo-2 years. Great teachers, great group of kids. He has a ball and learns so much about God.

The program was really good, or at least what I saw of it. They gave the Puggles their certificates first. They called all the parents up on stage with the Puggles, so I didn't get to take pictures but the woman I had been sitting with grabbed my camera and got a few. My child was the only one who wouldn’t stand with us and accept his certificate. He was too busy trying to dig into the little plastic bucket filled with candy. Have you ever had one of those moments where you know everyone is looking at you? And not in a good way? That’s how I felt up there trying to wrangle my child while all the other ones stood by angelically. I could feel my face getting hot and I started to sweat. Ugh.

Then someone made the decision to keep the Puggles up in the sanctuary for the rest of the program. Brady did not handle that well. He wanted to eat all his candy and then run back and forth from me to DH, who was sitting in the front helping with his class. I finally ended up taking him out, then Ashlyana (another Puggle) melted down so I just took her and Brady back to the room so her mom could watch the rest of the program (they have a little boy in Cubbies). The new pastor’s wife ended up down there with her little boy, so I got to know her a little bit, which was nice. But by that time I had a splitting headache. Splitting. Just chop my head off.

After DH got Brady and Ashlyana’s mom got her, I had my Foundations Committee meeting to attend. I'm not sure the entire scope of this committee, but we're planning things like the summer socials, New Member's class, men's and women's retreats, etc. I got home around 9:00pm, but we didn't get to bed until 11pm, Brady included. That might have had something to do with all the candy he got last night. So........................

Hopefully next year will be better. Brady will be a Cubbie and will have verses to say and songs to sing. I’ll make sure to wear extra deodorant to that program!

A promise

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast,because he trusts in You."

Isaiah 26:3