The good, the bad and the ugly

We just finished a wonderful week celebrating Thanksgiving. Hubster's family all came. By all I mean his brother and his family, both his sisters and their families, his aunt and her four kids and all their families. We had about 30 something people here. Lots of people but it was lots of fun.

We only had one almost catastrophe. And it involved the stove and a little fire, but all was good.

Needless to say, I was exhausted yesterday. So exhausted that I did some crazy things. So I'm telling on myself.

The boys and I were running late to church in the morning. Hubster is in the Praise Band, so he was already there. We ended up sitting in the very back. The kids go off to Children's Church and Hubster comes down to sit with me.

We listen to the message being preached and it's good. Well, in my hastiness to get to church on time, I forgot my Bible at the house. I do however, have a Bible on my phone. As I was looking at it, I saw some messages that AB had sent me. They were actually pictures. I decided to open them up and look. Brother J was already closing up his message at this time. I zoom through the pictures and click one that starts to 'play' the song, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

Remember, we are at church. It's very quiet as people absorb the message that Brother J has shared. He's getting ready to start the invitation and then it happens. Cue music.

It was loud. Hubster gives me a look. The people in front of me look back at me. I am beat red and panicking and trying to turn off the sound that I thought was already on. The song keeps going, but I finally stop it.

That was the first instance.

The second one happened after Sunday evening church. I was leaving church to go to the store for some milk and eggs and chips to dip in the last jar of homemade salsa I had left from the family gathering. I drive down the main road and stop at the stop light. I am behind a car and there are other cars next to me. The light turns green and the car in front of me goes. I follow. As I'm crossing the road, I see red.

I then see it. The green ARROW on one stoplight and the red as can be red light on the other stoplight.

I am already in the middle of the road. I can't stop. So I just keep going. Good thing there were no cars turning from the opposite direction.

So as to not draw anymore attention to myself. I turn at the next street to go down the back roads to the grocery store.

I did make it to my destination and got what I needed then went straight home.

Exhaustion makes you do crazy things.............

Church and UB

It was a Sunday evening. We were having The Lord's Supper at church as well as watching some baptisms. What a great way to start the new week.

We watch the baptisms, the Pastor preaches a bit and then he tells us to take some time to clean our hearts out. So that when we receive communion, we have pure hearts. Some people go up to the altar. I choose to stay in my pew in order to keep a close eye on the boys. I turn around and get on my knees to pray where I am.

I am in deep prayer and am talking to God when I feel someone climb my back. I open an eye and UB is on back there. Just like a baby monkey get's on it's mom's back.

He just lays on me and I go back to prayer because at least I know that he's staying out of trouble.

When all of a sudden, in a quiet room of people praying you hear it. It sounds like a song, but it's not a hymn of any sort. I realize it's my watch. My watch that is playing the song M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E.

I try to reach the watch in order to turn it off, but UB is hanging on top of me and holding the button. I get him off and turn the watch off.

I try to go back to praying, but the tune of the song is in my head. Besides, it's hard to pray when you have one eye open while making sure your kid isn't doing anything noisy again.

And then it happens. I hear a toot. I open the eye that wasn't open and there UB is, grinning at me with a proud grin.

I realize that it's no use in praying anymore because the people all around us have obviously heard the commotion going on and are by this time laughing.

Next time, I think I'll just sit on UB while I pray.

That's MY spot you're sitting at

Hubster plays in a Christian Band. They were playing at a church on Sunday and as 'groupies', we followed him.

I'm kind've hesitant to enter a different church that is not my own, because you never know where to sit. Everyone (40 and older) that has been a member of a particular church for more than five years claims their pew, their chair, or just their spot.

Unfortunately, in our church, we have some pew claimers. They are mostly elders that don't like to move from their spot. They claim it and get upset with someone that moves them. I'm not sure why, because they can still worship from another spot. Maybe that particular spot has super worship power. Who knows.

Several years ago, we had some visitors come. They sat in a pew and some of the members actually told them that they were sitting in their spot. I'm really not sure why those people never came back to visit us. :)

Then we had an incident in which a particular person would actually leave notes on their spot. Tacky I know, but they felt they couldn't move to another location.

Of course our church is not the only one that does this. I talked to a friend this week and she told me that it's done at her church as well. Those old people sure do throw a fit when they don't sit at the same place every week.

So back to this church we were at on Sunday. I plopped myself down and watched as people starting filling the sanctuary. Several people looked at me, but no one said anything. I'm not sure if I just happened to not sit in someone's spot, or if I was too far up front and no one actually sat there. Most people are back row Baptists.

When I said that no one said anything. I meant it. Not even during welcoming did they say anything. Although, a young boy sitting behind us did say hi and shook our hands. For some reason, I attract the kids not adults.

I actually didn't care whether people greeted me or not, as I was not visiting to join the church. But I wondered why we are all like that. We get scared to approach a stranger, even in church. We get in our moods and say "oh, let someone else greet them, I'm not in any mood". Or really, I don't know why that happens.

But when we see someone 'new' at church, sometimes we put up a guard. But we have to put aside our attitudes and do what Jesus would do. He would welcome anyone. He would approach everyone and make them feel welcome.

So I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone the next time you attend church and greet someone new.

To infinity and beyond!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control."

Galatians 5:22-23

We are doing a study on the fruit of the Spirit at church and we are using the book "Naked Fruit" by Elisa Morgan. It is a wonderful book, I recommend it. But for a long time I always said fruit(s) ,but when you read it closely, it says fruit. It is one fruit that contains all of those in it. Sometimes it's hard to have love towards someone when they are hard to love, but that is what God wants you to do.



Everyday we have to pray for each piece of fruit to be visible in our lives. You don't know how many times I want to say "Ok God, I can do the love and joy and goodness and faithfulness today, but I'm just not in the mood to be kind or to have patience and and definately not have self control when it's in anger." That's not how God works, he wants us to do it all. It is hard, but it is worth it because He works through us.
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The boys think that everything, EVERYTHING, in the house belongs to them. They have rooms with toys in them and yet they play with stuff that isn't theirs. They like to dig in my dresser drawers, because what is in those drawers is more exciting that the hot wheels and dragons in their rooms.



This is another thing they like to play with. Loren's guitar stand. I can see why. It can be a space shuttle, a log ride, a horse, you know, the possibilities are endless.
The little boy says that underwear are clothes, so he stays in just that all day long. To be a kid again.


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We haven't had a pastor since the middle of March. Our search committee has been working hard trying to find us one. This past weekend we had someone come to our church in view of a call. Which meant that he was to preach and we as a congregation would vote whether we felt he was the right one for the job.



He came in on Thursday and had meetings on Friday and Saturday with different areas of the church. Then he preached both Sunday morning and Sunday night. Everyone was impressed with him. He flew in from Japan, and if he was jet lagged, he never showed it. He talked to everyone he could during the luncheon. He played with the kids, he hugged on some necks and smiled the entire time. By the time we were ready to vote, I believe everyone knew that this was the man that God wanted for our church. And the vote showed. He had 96% of the congregations vote. He accepted the positon and now we have a pastor.

His wife and daughters stayed in Japan and they will all be here at the end of January to start at our church. It's exciting to know that we have a pastor for our church, but most of all that we are getting girls. The majority of the kids in our church are boys, it was definately time for some girls.

The sprinkler

"And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Romans 8:27

Sometimes we don't know exactly what to pray for. Our hearts are heavy with burden, either for ourselves or family or friends. But the Holy Spirit in us knows exactly what to pray for. So when you don't know what to pray for, have faith in the spirit and know that your prayers will be answered according to God's will.

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I'm going to share a story with ya'll that happened to me several weeks ago. We have an interim pastor and has wife that have been with us for several months while we look for a new pastor. They have a dog named Frawwwnce. I have no idea how to spell it, so I'll just spell it as I pronounce it. This family lives on the weekends, in a travel trailer in the church parking lot. They are a wonderful couple and the dogs not too bad.

The boys love to take Frawwwnce on a walk after church to do his business. I teach Sunday school and usually have my stuff in a brown paper sack. One Sunday after church, we were all standing around outside watching my boys take Frawwwnce for a walk. Then I see Frawwwnce approach me, but don't think anything about it. When I look down again, I notice him sniffing my brown paper sack that has all my sunday school books, bible, food and whatever else the boys throw in there. Before I can react and do something about it, he lifts his little back leg and starts to tinkle on my sack.

It's like watching in slow motion, where you think you can do something about it, but you are in shock and can't react quick enough. Of course, my boys think this is hilarious, and the interim and his wife are extremely embarrased, but I just stand there and smile dumbfoundedly.

When he walks towards me and starts sniffing me, I snap out of my shockness and tell him to go away. I think Frawwwnce wanted to sprinkle me with tinkle.

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The boys at the pumpkin patch! It's hard to believe that it is October and still 80 degrees outside. I'm ready for some Fall weather.

Somethings Burning

Here is something else my boys did just recently. While I was on the phone with some people that were trying to scam me with their "you ordered some medical insurance and in order to send you the packet, we need to verify your checking account info so that we can make sure it's what we have on file" mumbo jumbo. Like I'm going to believe that Me, who handles the finances in this house, had a breakdown and ordered something that I didn't need. No, that only happens when it's something for "me" that I really don't need but want. Anyway, when I wouldn't cooperate with the second person who came on the phone, he hung up on me. I tried calling back both numbers they left with me, but I guess they had caller id because noone answered, (at least not the first time) not even an anwering machine.

So while all this was going on, my boys were doing another experiment. I walk back to my bathroom to finish curling my frizzy hair. I smelt something burned, but thought it was just that my curling iron had been left on too long. As I look at my hair after curling it, I notice I have blue stuff in my hair. Upon further investigating, I realize the curling iron has blue stuff on it. So my conversation goes like this.

"What is this blue stuff on my curling iron" (of course I don't ask nicely, I'm pretty much yelling because there is blue stuff on my hair you know)

Isaac answers cautiously "That's Sandy's hair"

So I start thinking and can't remember knowing anyone named Sandy, not a dog or a person.

"Who's Sandy?" I asked

"You know Sandy mom, from Spongebob Squarepants"

By this time I'm wondering when she came for a visit and I wasn't aware of it.

So Isaac continues "We wanted to see what her hair looked like curled, but now it's just hot and very hard" He walks slowly to me with "Sandy" in his hand.

Poor Sandy, I'm just glad we don't have girl or the boys would really have a blast with her.

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We had a wonderful day at church yesterday. We attend a small church with no pastor at the moment, so getting new kids or even existing kids come to church is a challenge. And being the children's director, it's sometimes (most times) disheartening when the only kids that usually come are your own two and your friends four. So this past Sunday I decided to do a pancake breakfast. We were going to eat pancakes and then paint pumpkins. Carving (at church) is just way too much trouble for me. I had bought 20 pumpkins thinking that the leftovers would be used for each classroom to decorate "fallish". So imagine my surprise when we had to go buy more pumpkins because we didn't have enough. We had 23 kids there. Never doubt God. (That's for me to remember). It was wonderful to see them all having fun and enjoying themselves and comparing their creation with their friends. I did say a condensed version of the pumpkin prayer, so they were trying to make their pumpkins into little people. Some of their creations were to say the least "interesting".