We partied hard last weekend. And by “partied hard,” I mean that we stayed home and Brandon studied and I don’t even remember what I did. This is why I should blog more – so that I remember stuff. Actually, did you know that your brain is conditioned to forget things that you take iphone pics of? Yup, it’s true! That’s why your iPhone dying without being backed up is a modern tragedy. Except… now I can’t remember where I read that. (lame)

Moving on. It was our last weekend before finals. The weekend of the first great PA snowstorm! And the weekend of our church Christmas party! AHHHHHHH.

In our church, we have an unspoken {slightly funny} rule. If you make a suggestion, you get to plan it. If you want there to be a Christmas party and nobody else has volunteered to be the general-manager, guess what, kid? You’re it. And by “you’re it,” I mean that “I’m it.” Because I love Christmas parties, it’s the 2nd year in a row that I was the point-person on the church Christmas party. Don’t go and get super-impressed – we go to a small church in a small town. It ain’t no thang. We’re simple folks who aren’t about huge pageants and plays and events and expensive costumes. We basically like Christmas carols and fellowship and the Bible.
The complicating factor of all this is the snowstorm that I was talking about. We watch the weather here and sometimes church is cancelled. I think we’re all a little more wary of the weather since that time when an ice storm hit on Sunday morning and the unfortunate few who were at church early got to slide down the hill in their cars and into oncoming traffic. Including me! It’s only by the grace of God that we didn’t die. It’s a memory that’s burned in our heads and now we’re like, Is church cancelled yet? HOW ‘BOUT NOW?
So yeah, our Sunday morning service was postponed to an afternoon service (giving the roads a chance to clear off) and our church Christmas party would follow. Except our grand scheme of decorating on Saturday afternoon was scrapped as we all stayed tucked in our houses (I wrote out Christmas cards! YES!). But still…. look at those cool decorations! I didn’t do that. That was all Miss Margie ‘s inspiration. She rocks it out when it comes to crafty things.

Note: Wrapping paper makes cheap and awesome table runners. :D
Also, fake snow is my faaaaavorite.
So the Christmas party commenced with carol singing and little children playing the piano and the Sunday School teacher (Miss Bridgette) reading aloud a Christmas book while children looked completely fascinated – I will never fail to be thrilled with the look on children’s faces when someone is reading aloud to them. It’s wonder and awe and joy!! There was a child reading aloud a Christmas prayer, a homily and the reading aloud of the Christmas story.

We ended with singing Christmas carols. It was supposed to be a candlelight service, but last year we discovered that our building’s smoke detectors are sensitive to candlelight and also, they are interconnected. Meaning, you can’t turn them off… So much for ambiance. Our mishaps this year included the wrong wording on one of the transparencies so I sang one thing and the congregation sang another (oops) and then my music fell down in the middle of the last song. I can ‘wing’ it on the piano for a lot of worship songs, but Christmas music requires much concentration and the aid of my chord sheets. Needless to say, we ended a few verses early (though I’m not sure that anyone knew that!).
I was happy as a clam with our simple Christmas service. Also, happy as a clam to carry around little nieces and engage in happy conversation with my friends and family. Fellowship is a precious thing and it’s one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season. I can’t imagine not having a church Christmas party. Christmas always seems to be about family, and it’s nice to take time to celebrate with our family-in-Christ.

Maybe it's the time-change or maybe it's going to sleep earlier each night. Maybe it's the end of wedding season, and finally getting caught up on household chores. Maybe it's resolving to enjoy every single thing I do, and to be kind when people are not, and to not sweat the small stuff. Maybe it's the increasing awareness of God's presence in my life, and the simple reminders from the Spirit to let the love of God constrain me. Maybe it's just a change in my attitude-a decision to turn my focus away from how much I have to do towards how thankful I am for breath in my lungs and chores to accomplish and family to serve and being saved by Christ. Or maybe it's a combination of all these things.

I feel like I'm coming out of the fog. Out of the fifty-mile-per-hour pace of life and into living peacefully, slowly, reverently. This past weekend was like heaven on earth. And you know what I did? A whole-lotta laundry. I am very, very, VERY thankful for time to do laundry. It's sounds weirder than a three-dollar bill. I'm okay with that.
It was a pure, happy, continual labor at home and I loved it.
I cleaned the bathroom at 8:00 am on Saturday morning.
I trekked up and down the stairs about 40 times, with laundry baskets and without.
I ironed a mountain of clothing.
I read a cookbook. Yup, almost a whole cookbook.
I conquered the dishes begging to be scrubbed.
I hugged my husband as he did the usual 12-hour study Saturday.
I cooked. Slowly. I had promised my husband a dessert this weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of baking this delectable apple tarte tatin from Eat Drink Live. If you're not as classy as the cookbook I got the recipe from, and have no idea what that is (like me), it's a French upside-down tart. Caramelized apples topped with pastry crust, then baked in the cast iron skillet. Basically, AWESOME. Brandon agrees quite enthusiastically.



So yeah, I have a slight blogging obsession with themes and being chronological. When what I'm writing doesn't fit into the theme--or more practically, the title, sometimes I don't blog. It's sad. I am trying to overcome it, because I love the idea of sharing more of our life on this little space in the Internet, even life that is random and messy and not-quite-chronological. I have summer road trips and autumn photos and adventures and so many things to share. Hold on to your hats, folks, I'm blogging again.
I'm sharing what's on my heart.

{insert passionate spiritual speech here}
I'm gonna talk about buzzwords. I really hate 'em.
Buzzwords. They are everywhere in the Christian world, and consequently, everywhere on the Internet and everywhere in real life.
People looooove to talk about their buzzwords.
Revival! Repentance! Holiness! Healing! Faith! The Gospel! Freedom! Spirit! Evangelism! Discipleship! GRACE (times a million these days)!
Go to a million different Christian "camps" and you'll get a million different buzzwords. They're usually valid Scriptural terms, genuine Christian doctrine and authentic needs in the Church.

HOWEVER.

Ya know what bugs me? Like really-really-REALLY bugs me?
The only buzzword that people don't talk about that much--- Jesus.

It's probably a human thing --- to be fascinated with trends and fads and whatever catches our interest for a month or two. Or whatever we need the most. Or whatever seems the most intriguing at the time. But the truth is -- that current buzzword is not the end-all, catch-all. It is NOT everywhere in Scripture. It is not the answer to everything. Random buzzword is probably not the foundation of our belief system and it is most certainly not the most important thing ever.

I've been there. I might still be there, but the Lord is working on me.
You know what I'm seeing when I open up the Bible lately? The Person of Christ.
You know who I'm enthralled with today? Jesus.

There's something to be said for coming out of the fog of Christian trends and settling down at the feet of Jesus to learn the most important thing -- Him.




Our Sunday evening at-home-date. Slow-cooker butternut squash soup, biscuits and sparkling pomegranate juice. Super romantic because I scrounged around to find those candlesticks. Let's not talk about the fact that I have no candlestick holders so they are in parfait glasses. Candlelight makes even the simplest meal romantic. And instrumental Christmas music, too. :D

Remember me talking about not stressing out? That being good enough is good?

This is me sharing with you about a baby shower that I hosted for a friend. I LIKED hosting this baby shower alot. It was hard work (as is all hospitality), and time and effort, and alot of planning towards the end of a very busy month for me. But by the grace of God, I did it. I'm not being facetious when I talk about grace in the context of hosting a baby shower. I believe that grace is very real and very practical. Grace is God's power working in me and through me. And when God gives me grace to have 15 ladies in my tiny house without stressing (too much) about details and if I made enough food and if people will like it and if someone will forget and if everything will go well and if the guest of honor will love it... I call it the working of God in my life!

Theme: Sunshine (in case it wasn't obvious enough).
So this shower was in honor of my friend, Jess, and the arrival of baby #3. Now public opinions are divided on whether there should be showers for 2nd, 3rd and beyond babies, and you can probably tell that I'm wholeheartedly in favor of having showers for all babies (read: all expectant mamas). Because I think that ALL babies are precious. And I think that every baby deserves to be celebrated. And no, it's not about the gifts. Though personally, I think it's super-fun to bless others with gifts... and they don't even have to be expensive! Gifts can be handmade and inexpensive and still full of love (and super-appreciated).

I chose the sunshine theme because of how babies seem to spread sunshine around a room. Put almost any person near a baby and they can't help but smile! It's actually quite adorable to watch.
And another reason for the sunshine theme: when I was planning the shower, Jess & her husband were not going to find out the gender (though eventually the secret slipped and we knew that it is a BOY!).

What a better way to keep theme-centric than by having lots of yellow food?!
The Menu:
Taco Dip Trifle (made especially by my sunshiny sis!).
Deviled Eggs (I think it's more spiritual to call them ANGEL EGGS.. hahahaha).
Sunshiny Fruit Pizza
Hello Dolly Bars
Lemon Bars
The Tower of Sunny Cupcakes!
Fizzy Lemonade

Yes, I definitely bought multi-colored straws and only used the yellow ones. :D

The decor was super-simple. A handmade crafted banner to welcome the baby (crafted by my sis). An amazing SUN poof crafted by another friend. I'm not crafty, so I rely on the talents of other people in that area. :D

Did you know that you can put sunshine in a bag? I did it. Lots of little Lemonheads candy for the ladies to take home. :D And Brandon might have eaten all the leftover Lemonheads.

After eating and drinking, we all squeeezed into my tiny living room (you'd have to be there to understand what it feels like to put 15 people into a living room the size of a pocket) and chatted. Since it was a small group of church friends, I eschewed typical baby shower games for simply sharing with one another. We talked about the silly/happy/funny things that kids do to make us smile. And we talked about lessons that God has taught us, encouragement that we've been given and the hope that we have. It was refreshing. Like sunshine in the soul.

Hey look! It's Jess---our guest of honor! Doesn't she look radiant? And she's holding one of the hand-crafted gifts that a friend blessed her with!

I loved hosting Jess' baby shower... and ya know what's even more awesome? Baby Asher was born only one week later. And yes, he's like a ray of sunshine!

See that strawberry trifle? Homemade pound cake + real whipped cream + as-fresh-as-you-can-get-in-March strawberries. It was my contribution to Easter dinner on the mountain. Oh yes, and I refer to my parents' house as "the mountain." Because. They live on a mountain. Obviously.

Let me tell you about my parents. They give. I think it's part of their spiritual gifts (seriously). They're very giving people. Like VERY giving people. Like my dad would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. People say that kinda thing all the time, and they don't really mean it. I have lived 30 years on this earth (hard to believe, eh?) and have seen so many examples of my parents giving their time, their energy, their resources, their home, their stuff, their EVERYTHING to minister to people. It's practical Christianity, y'all. They give, even when people take advantage. They give, even when it's not appreciated. They give, even when people don't see. They give, even when it's inconvenient. They give, even when it's a sacrifice. They give and give and give, and God continues to bless them with more.. which they continue to give. And that, my friends, is how the Body of Christ works.

They give alot of invitations. Not just "oh, we should hang out sometime" vague invitations. They give real-time, right-now, how-bout-tomorrow kind of invitations. It hardly surprises me anymore when I go to the mountain for a visit, and there's like 10 other people. And Easter dinner was no exception. We're talking 25+ people. Take my parents, add at least 3 out of 4 of their adult children (Z&C, we missed you!!), plus families, plus the Easter holiday tradition of inviting our pastor & family (going on 17 years tradition. BOOYAH), plus his grown daughter & family, plus my little brother's in-laws & our good friends, plus some folks just moved up from Texas that my dad met through work, plus my mom's cousin working in the area.

It was LOUD, and vibrant, and crazy. There was conversation and children underfoot and all around. There was food everywhere (note to self: always stop the Kitchenaid before adding sugar to the cream you're whipping. #justsayin), people everywhere and lots of fun.

Food. Family. Friends. Fellowship. Fun.
And one dog.
Hi Cowboy. You're great. ;)
I'm loving the spring-time light. It was a rainy Sunday, which I actually love, especially when driving home from the mountain. The clouds hang low and melts into evening fog. I like to open the car windows and stare and stare.

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carries my sins far away
Rising, He justified
Freely forever
One day, He's coming
O glorious day! O glorious day!

One of the songs we sang on Easter morning church. It was on my heart all day long. Even through the food and the laughter and the basketball watching and all of that, there is one thing that makes Easter amazing.
That Jesus loved me. Because of His love, He did the impossible. He died and then came alive. He was victorious. He IS victorious! And He's coming again!
O glorious day!


Historic house at Curtin Village on the drive home.

• Changing wires and being confused with The Little Bro and The Tall Guy.
• “And these three buttons do… absolutely nothing. And this button also does… absolutely nothing!” – The Tall Guy
• Playing “The Happy Song” faster and faster and faster… and then stopping completely to give the drummer (The Little Bro) a withering look. His only response was to smile mischievously and say “I wanted to see how fast you could play!”
• Smiling outrageously during new song practice – I. Love. New. Songs!
• Musical microphones. Musical instruments.. Yes, you use these to make music. We make music while switching around from mic to mic and instrument to instrument. Aka. our version of musical chairs!
• The Green-Eyed Girl’s happiness at those musical “lightbulb” moments as she played the electric guitar. “I can play it! For real! Yay!”
• Yeah, I like music loud and fast… methinks it’s a church preference. I always end up telling people to play their instruments harder. I like when drummers beat the drums to death. :) And of course, as a keyboard player, I pretty much rock that keyboard. Literally, I mean. The keyboard rocks because I play it so hard! LOL
• Repeating MILA (My Life Is Average) stories during youth practice with The Crazy Kid… and then laughing so hard that I threw my head back and cracked it on the corner of the wall behind me! OUCH.
• And you know it was a good worship practice when… my pinkie finger is sore.

Our youth group motto used to be “Pray hard. Play hard.”
I love that motto.
It illustrates the principle that we should be passionate and hard-working in everything that we do. During the short teaching time when the worship team met, we learned that worshipping is simply another opportunity to serve Christ and serve others. Through humility. With “secret” practice, or non-visible and therefore non-recognized service.

Ultimately, in worship team… and in life, we want to disappear.

That Christ alone is seen.

And worshipped.

And glorified.

The pounding grows louder and louder. The wooden door shudders under the rapid blows. Minutes pass by, seeming like eternity. The small group huddles in the corner. They have been fortunate—blessed—protected for the last few years. Living in a neighborhood where the Roman soldiers are more concerned about feeding their pleasures, than rounding up families, old men, children, women, men, for some professed religious belief.

Now, however, the wind has changed. Within one week, this tiny assembly of believers has feared for their lives. This people—they are known only as ones who are “in the Way.” Sounds superstitious to outsiders. Spiritual, though called “atheistic” because these varied peoples refuse to serve gods made by human hands, no idols, no icons, no physical representation of the Deity to whom they are loyal unto death.

Yes, even death. Cities far and wide have witnessed the violence. Brutal culture exults in the death of the defenseless… even ones who refuse to give a defense. Yet, death is required because these people—soon to be known as “Christians”—also refuse to deny the Kingship of their God.

And…

Refuse to incriminate other Christians. Their so-called “brothers and sisters” in the faith. What kind of loyalty would die to save another?

The previous writing is a dramatization of what might have happened in the early church. Maybe a generation after Jesus had died and rose again. The Church was growing, increasing, even thriving. Persecution came in waves. What many thought would eliminate the problem of the Christians only served to increase their numbers. They were peculiar in their lifestyle and in their loyalty.

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

Something caught my interest on Fox News this morning. A woman in an immoral relationship is in the process of church discipline. Obviously, she's not repentant because she decided to take it to the media.

Read about it here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,469928,00.html
The church's letter: http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/Church_Extortion.pdf

I was so impressed by the church's response to her that I wrote them a letter of encouragement. This world may be obssessed with tolerance and individual lifestyle choices, but the Church has a divine responsibility to live according to the standards set by God. When someone takes a stand for righteousness, I am impressed. So here is the text of my letter to the church:

To Whom It May Concern:
I'm sure you are receiving many comments about your handling of the situation with the former member, Rebecca Hancock. I know nothing about the situation except what I have read on Foxnews.com. Of course, their spin is one of victimization. But when I read the Biblical steps that your congregation has followed (rebuke one-on-one and then taking others along with you) and what steps you intend to take, I am so encouraged. The careful and gracious wording of the letter your leadership sent to Ms. Hancock was truly a witness of the love and regard you have for the Word of God.

Many people are willing to stand aside quietly while their friends fall into sin. Many leaders are more afraid of offending a church member, than of the offense that blatant sin brings to the Lord. However, 1 Cor. 5:11-13 says clearly that we must remove the wicked man from our midst. You have stood for righteousness, and in the end, the Lord will reward your obedience to His Word.

I know personally the grief that leadership feels when someone chooses to forsake the faith. It is not a 'fun' or 'easy' thing to do. But the true heart of a leader does not want the temporary comfort of the sheep, but rather, their eternal salvation. Even the Apostle Paul judged the immoral man so that in the end, he could be saved. (1 Cor. 5:5). The judgment was remedial, rather than punitive. Love is our motivation.

With that in mind, please continue to stand firm. Hold fast to the Word of God--no matter who opposes you. James 5:8, "Stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near."

May the grace of God be with you,
'Amethyst'

"They're just like us---" The Curly Girl began...

"Only from Virginia!" finished The Curious Girl.

This past weekend, we had the joy of host(ess)ing our dear friends from Virginia. The youth group is right-they are like us. Like faith, like-minded, like in spirit and practice and love. The fellowship of the saints is a wonderful thing! It's like a missionary journey-sort of-when those affectionately known as "The Virginia People" come to visit.

Late on Saturday night, I was discussing music with The Virginia People. I mentioned that the Supertones were my favorite band of all time. And then just had to say, "And if it wasn't for the Supertones, I wouldn't have the pleasure of your company!" It's true! My friendship with them began with my foray into the wonders of Internet message boards. Specifically one for fans of the O.C. Supertones. Now I can't even remember what we posted about. The Supertones (sometimes). Life (most of the time). Faith and The Word. And that topic started the friendship between The Original Virginia Friend and I. Now--at least 5 years later, after two weddings, three graduations, one baby shower and countless visits for no reason--I'm still encouraged by the faith in Christ that we all share.

It's just encouraging sometimes to realize that we're not the only ones.

We're not the only ones who preach the Word without compromise.
We're not the only ones to have unfounded lies and malicious gossip spread about us.
We're not the only ones who believe that Christianity is not a part of life, but our whole lives.
We're not the only ones that believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
We're not the only ones looking for the soon return of the Lord!
And the list goes on and on.

Sometimes us hardcore Christians get an "Elijah complex." We think, I alone am left! (Check out 1 Kings 19:9-18) But God told Elijah firmly that there were 7,000 in Israel that had not yet bowed to the idol of Baal. Likewise, I believe that there is a remnant left in America. People who have not bowed to the idol of comfortable religion or the god of humanism. There are still ones committed the Christ Jesus as Master, and willing to lay down their lives for Him. There are still those who take the Bible literally and obey its words.

Thank God for His saints.

My church is a pretty happy place. I'm serious! That's not to say that we are flippant or irreverent about the things of God. We take holiness and godliness very seriously, and unashamed hold up the standard of God's Word... But somehow that also translates into making us very happy people. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the joy of the Lord. Because we've been given so great a salvation and perfect peace in Christ, alot of things seem funny to us. And troubles pale in the sight of our Lord. So we're happy!

Sunday morning was a typical day in church. We had Sunday school, morning worship, testimonies, offering and the preaching of the Word. As I was taking my typical crazy amount of sermon notes, I also noted the things that the whole congregation laughed about. It went something like this... The Pastor said, "... clothes." Everyone laughs (related to an earlier joke from a testimony). The Pastor gets tripped up over the word, "sensory." Everybody laughs. I don't know why. Just weird pronunciation, I guess. During offering, The Pastor is talking about being "a little liberal" which made me giggle uncontrollably. Cause ya know, I'm conservative. He was talking about giving liberally, but it was still funny. The Pastor mentions, "... leprosy" and the worship team laughs, because of my jokes during worship practice about being a leper 'cause nobody sat by me recently. :)

And the winner-take-all was The Pastor skipping around and singing, "I'm going to the altar to be sa-aved. I'm going to the altar to be sa-aved!" Absolutely hilarious!! You gotta understand the point though. He's been preaching about The New Birth. And recently, about repentance and Godly sorrow - both of which are sorely lacking in modern 'conversions.' The Pastor was illustrating the general attitude of flippant and unrepentant people who are seeking salvation for selfish reasons. The illustration definitely brought the point across!

There was more fun and laughter afterwards as we welcomed our dear brother, Hudson, as he returned on a visit from Taiwan!

I was explaining to a youth recently that maturity means knowing when to be serious. You can have a good time and laugh and joke in its proper time, but also be serious and passionate and direct about the things of God. And I think that's illustrated plainly at church.

Yeah, I love my church!