randomness

i have a bunch of random thoughts floating around in my head so instead of trying to make one of them into a cohesive blog post, i thought i'd just list them and comment on each one. i'm entitled to be random on here...i mean, it is my blog and all :).

• first of all, i'd just like to say that the Lord completely knocked me off my feet this week--in a good way. at the beginning of this week, i needed at least 4 more teachers for my 4's and K wednesday night program (which is a super hard night/time slot to get people to commit to serve) and i had NO IDEA where they would come from. we had literally exhausted every resource and list and everyone said, "no." well, can i just tell you that we are fully staffed as of yesterday afternoon!!!!!!! literally, the Lord dropped the people in our laps. i'm amazed by His provision because i am quite aware that i don't deserve it. He is good.
  
• i did the whole vera bradley outlet sale thing yesterday at the merchandise mart and i walked away with at least two observations: 1) some people are willing to be violent over a purse or a wallet. seriously, it's just a piece of cloth but apparently, it means a great deal to some people. 2) it amazes me to watch women who are in line to check out who are still trying to see if they can get something better. people were standing over each other just waiting for them to discard what they were holding in their hands. craziness. i wanted to look at some people and say, "can't you just be happy with what you have?" anyway, the absolutely crazy part of that whole thing is that i think i'm going back today...for my mom who has decided she wants a few more things to give as gifts. i can't believe i'm going to go back into the madness but hey, it's my day off and what else would a girl do with her day off besides fighting other women for a good deal on a purse? ;)
  
• i'm very frustrated with my iPod right now. i purchased an album on iTunes wednesday night and then when i tried to sync my iPod so that it would load the new songs, i got a message that my iPod is too full and it doesn't have the space to sync it. so, i spent forever trying to figure out how to take songs OFF my iPod; i found the directions or whatever on the website but my iPod won't cooperate. usually when i can't get something to work i can't let it go until i fix it or figure it out but this has so frustrated me that i've decided i'm just going to walk away from it for a few days. any suggestions out there?
  
• this quote came to me today in a blog subscription and i really liked it, “the only thing harder than waiting on God is wishing you had." the Lord has been showing me (in various ways) that i'm not a very patient person...especially when He is calling me to sit quietly and wait. the cool thing about all this is that i can see the Lord working so my prayer right now is that i would be a good student (and that it would happen quickly...not really but i thought it was funny since i was talking about patience. i'm such a dork, i know ;).
  
• i just realized that this weekend is labor day weekend. i'm sure you're wondering where i've been but it just doesn't seem like it's time for september. had someone not pointed it out to me earlier this week, i probably would have gone to work on monday. i'm such a dork. but NOW i am excited for a 3 day weekend AND the fact that i have monday off. it's the little things that make me happy. :)

alright people, that's enough randomness for one post. i'm off to enjoy my friday. hope you all have a truly fabulous weekend.

what it's all about

take some time to read carl's blog. it encouraged me this morning...THIS is why we do what we do!

a little time in the woodshed...

i've been "strongly encouraged" by my friend cari to update my blog; since she took precious space in her latest post to admonish her blogging friends, i figured i should comply and try to post a better update than a united states map and michael w. smith. :) (although, i'm thinking, what could be more fabulous than a 90's flashback? ;)

i will go ahead and admit that this week has been really crazy and part of the reason there has been no update to the blog is that i just didn't have time to think about it. i also think that if someone is going to take time out of their day to read my blog, it should be a smidge interesting and if i'm lucky maybe a little humorous or thought provoking. face it, people...that's a lot of pressure! so if i'm not feeling funny, witty, or insightful...the blog remains silent.

anyway, back to the update. this week at work has been the kind of week where you sometimes sit at your desk and think, "are you serious? did my office all of a sudden move to the bermuda triangle?" OR "when did i make the move into the twilight zone?" this Sunday is Promotion Sunday for our children's ministry (the Sunday where all and i do mean ALL the kiddos from babies-fifth grade move up to their new Sunday school classes) which has meant that this week is super crazy, super busy, and lots of important stuff has to be done in an accurate and speedy fashion. i am happy to say that i believe that we are ready for the madness that is Promotion Sunday.

my other struggle this week has been a little more difficult. like any children's ministry, the challenge of recruiting and retaining volunteers is larger than life this time of year and it can be discouraging for the recruiters. i will admit that at one point this week i was discouraged and frustrated. in fact, i had my own little children-of-Israel-wandering-in-the-desert-grumbling -and-complaining moment with the Lord and i love how the Lord answered me (well, love may not be the right word...how about thankful and humbled)...my time with the Lord that evening led me to dueteronomy 1 (especially verses 26-34). it's a pretty sobering passage where the Lord is fed up with the children of Israel and He's letting them know that they won't see the Promised Land.

"But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, "The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' " Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go." (vs. 26-34)

it's interesting when our focus becomes our defeat, our fears, our worries that those things can sometimes look SO MUCH BIGGER than God. so, after my time in the woodshed with the Lord, i left with a new perspective and the "banner" over the last part of my week has been, "the LORD my God is going before me; the LORD my God will fight for me..." i've witnessed His amazing provision before and i am trusting in His faithfulness.

i feel like i've rambled quite a bit in this post but hopefully it's been coherent. :) i am excited that we are going to the panther's game tonight...ohhhhh AND i get to see bebo in concert tuesday night. go ahead and be jealous, it's okay ;).

oh the places you'll go...

well, maybe "oh the places you'll go" isn't really an appropriate title for this blog because this map illustrates all the states i've visited...not necessarily the places i plan to go. but i thought it was a cute name (you know, the dr. suess book and all). i think, though, there is good reason to assume that i should start heading west in my travels seeing as how my map of the united states looks a bit lopsided! now i'm sitting here with the song "go west, young man" stuck in my head (you know, that old michael w. smith song...where he had the crazy hair and wore completely ugly and unfortunate clothes). okay, so, ya'll have to check out this youtube video...admit it...you're dancing around your room RIGHT NOW and rocking out with all the fabulous 90's outfits and hairstyles.



anyway, i've digressed but it's been that kind of day. you know the kind of day i'm talking about, right? the day where you had SO MUCH to do but really didn't accomplish a single thing. i have to admit, though, that finding the youtube video of michael w. smith and all of his 90's groupies made me happy. good times, good times.

slip 'n' slides, s'mores, and high school musical 2

this weekend has been a great weekend (cause, let's face it...my work week starts bright and early tomorrow morning at 5 am) and today was a fun-filled, action-packed day.

today was a super busy day but it was also lots of fun. my cousin, megan, turned 11 and had a big slip 'n' slide party. now, slip 'n' slides are super fun alone BUT imagine a slip 'n' slide covered in a foam like substance (but the consistency of bubbles...like bubble bath soap). i know, words just can't even describe it. the kids and adults alike had a lot of fun. the floam (that's what i decided to call it since no one else could really figure out what it was) made the slip 'n' slide extra slippery and it's just fun sometimes to be really messy. unfortunately, i did not have my camera to memorialize the craziness (imagine that...two events in a row and no camera. i am such a slacker) but trust me when i tell you that it was crazy fun.


i am also blogging right now in the middle of our high school musical 2 girls' night party. yes, that's right...we are having a high school musical 2 premier party the night after it premiered. we had planned for weeks (we= my niece, my sister, and me) to have a girls' night on friday, august 17, but that was before i noticed that i had made a serious calendering mistake. (alison krauss on friday night.) we regrouped and realized that the disney channel was airing it on saturday night, too...so, here we are on saturday night having the girliest of nights. we've had junk food (pizza bites, queso and chips, and s'mores) and have been singing our hearts out with troy, gabriella, sharpay, and ryan. good times. :) we just might break out the nail polish to paint our nails ;)well, i've given my blog way too much attention...back to the party for me. i hear a duet with troy calling my name :).

a boot-free toe AND flip flops

the flip flop countdown has officially ended...yay! my toe is boot-free (for the most part...it's supposed to be a gradual process) AND i'm driving! apparently, not driving for 8 weeks has affected my sense of direction because i've gotten lost a couple times in the last few days. well, "lost" is kind of strong...missed my turn is probably a better description. thankfully, i've found my way around each time :).

i'm off to find the mates to all of my flip flops...

(apparently, i am LOVING google images today ;)

fondue goodness

a few friends decided that we needed a girl's night so we made a visit to the melting pot for some fondue goodness. the plan was just to enjoy the chocolate course (yummm) but by the time everyone arrived and they were able to seat us, we decided to go for it and have the cheese and chocolate course. all i'm going to say is that if you ever had the opportunity to visit the melting pot, you should. it's soo good but it's also a lot of fun. like a dork, i forgot my camera but i did find a pic to illustrate the yumminess that is the melting pot. :) and, can i just say...i had high school senior prom flashbacks (because we ate at the melting pot) and it made me wonder...what was i thinking? fondue is fun and fabulous but it's also messy...it's a wonder my prom dress made it out of the restaurant unstained. (i do realize that is quite a random thought but it was something i thought about last night...so i thought i'd share. :)

i can't believe that i've just written an entire post about cheese and chocolate...i'm such a weirdo ;).