Christmas has always been a time of reflection for me. And this year is no different, except that I want to share my reflections with all my friends and family. Some of you may be wondering exactly what's going on in my life, and I want to satisfy your curiosity through this long, newsy and hopefully interesting letter.

What have I been doing lately? Let's start with the forty-hour-week of my job. 2007 marked my 5th year of "dedicated service" with my employer. Most of you know that I began working there as a receptionist. It wasn't long before I took on many other responsibilities. My supervisors decided that my job responsibilities had grown so much that I needed a clone. In January 2007, my title officially changed to "Accounting Assistant" and a new receptionist was hired. The most exciting part of this transition has been that I don't answer the phone too much anymore! The most odd part has been my new schedule. It is now 6:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. Not your normal office schedule. Well, ya know what they say, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a (wo)man healthy, wealthy and wise." I do actually enjoy my schedule...when I get enough sleep. :)

And what do I fill the other hours of my life with? I'm so glad you asked! :) This letter is mostly about God and all that He's been doing in me and through me in the year of 2007. Besides my regular job, I have the privilege of serving Him in so many different ways. I've had the joy and pleasure of leading the youth group at church this year (a group of middle school & high school students). And if that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will!! Actually, they are the most hilarious, incredible and awesome kids that you'd ever meet. Through this year, we've had some experiences, both good and bad... and spent alot of time praying, laughing, reading, playing, studying the Word and just hanging out together. The youth do some crazy/fun things--and usually I do, too--but in the midst of it all, God is working in our hearts. He's changing us for His own glory. It's just a matter of keeping my eyes on eternity--and asking myself, "will this (whatever I'm doing) matter after I die? when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ? when He holds my life against the standard of His Word?" And don't think that I believe in a salvation by works. But as the Bible says, "Faith without works is dead." We prove that we are disciples of Christ by how we live our lives... each and every moment.

I know that some of you are wondering about my music. I still lead worship at church, and love to praise the Lord through music. The Lord has given me several songs this year, and I'm still hoping to record some time in the near future to share God's Words through music. We'll see how that all works out. Since our home recording studio is just steps away now, maybe the proximity will help this project along. Through the past year, I've been slightly distracted by other projects, such as...

The building of my apartment! I still live with the family on the mountaintop. We recently remodeled the garage into a small studio apartment for me, and I've been caught up in the decisions of carpet and paint and other fun things like that. Throughout the year, I've done a little of everything--insulation, carpentry, electrical work (which was almost my demise!). Home decorating is a whole new world for me. We'll just say that--now I *LIKE* Lowe's! :) I finally moved out there about a week ago, and though we have some trim & finish work to do---it's lookin' pretty awesome!!!

For all the minutes in between these things, I keep busy. Books are definitely one of my greater passions. The older they are, the more fascinated I am. My collection is somewhere between 550 to 600 books, I think. Remember, I'm not obsessed - I'm passionate! :) The themes range from church history and old hymnbooks to classic literature and vintage children's books. Currently my entire collection is boxed up and awaiting construction of built-in bookshelves in my apartment. Isn't that sad?... Anyway, I still love to travel. In October, the family and I spent a short vacation in coastal Maine, more specifically Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. And I absolutely loved it! It is my new favorite vacation spot in the great USA... The crashing ocean, rocky shores, beautiful fall colors and altogether breathtaking scenery. Besides almost falling off a mountain, I had a great time and I wanna go back! :) I also experienced the joys of New York City for the first time, on a short trip with some girl friends. What a city!... At home, I like to plan parties. In the last year, I've planned and hostessed The Sis' baby shower and The Little Bro's 18th birthday party. My cookbook collection is growing, and hopefully my cooking skills are ever improving. Most of my friends and family are willing and happy guinea pigs. Especially the Little Bro. It was quite a victory when he declared my apple dumplings as better than homemade ice cream! Haha. :)

In other news, I'm now the proud owner of a new pet---a yellow cockatiel named Sir Reepicheep. He's also our office mascot at work, loved by customers and co-workers alike. He's pretty emotionally attached to me though, and gets upset whenever I leave my desk. He gets to spend weekends and holidays at my house, and is the tamest bird I've ever seen. In fact, he's contentedly sitting on my shoulder as I type.

Well, that just about wraps it up. The year of 2007 was a challenging and rewarding one for me. Hebrews 12:1-2 says that we ought to "...run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus..." I encourage you to look to Jesus Christ. Christmas isn't just about a little baby; it's about a King--who will reign over all. Are you bowing your life before Him now?

Merry Christmas to all! And to all, a good night!

Borrowed my daddy's truck several times in the last couple weeks. That is one massive, scary, loud and obnoxious and powerful truck. (enough adjectives for ya? Haha)

What is it about big trucks that transforms intelligent, verbose human beings into grunting animals?! I put the key in the ignition, the truck roars to life and all the sudden--I want to GROWL, ROAR and make scary noises!

Thoughts of a Pickup Truck Driver:

"VRROOOOOOM! Ah, the sound of power!"

"Curb? What curb?.. Oh, I thought that was a speed bump."

"Oh, you don't want to move out of my way, little car? No problem! I'll just drive over you!" *insert evil laugh here*

"I'm so hiiiiiiiiiiggggggggghhhhhh above you!!!" - to little cars at stoplight.


"Big truck = Permanent right-of-way"



Thoughts of Girl Pickup Truck Driver:


"Is it just me, or are all those guys staring at me?"

"Is it just me, or is everybody staring at me?"

"I feel strong! I feel powerful!... I wish I didn't have to park so far away..."

*prays while parking, backing up and passing people*

"This loud engine is giving me a headache."

"I will give back my daddy's truck.. I will give back my daddy's truck.."

Gets home safely... "*sigh* I'm so glad I didn't hit anything today."

Through the last few days, I have not stirred from my house very much... only down to the barn to feed the horses and outside to get firewood and once a drive down the lane to pick up the Little Bro. "Why?" you ask.

Because of ice. The mountain is covered in ice. The trees are encased in ice like glassy coffins. The wire of the electric fences look as if they are dripping ice. And most importantly, the road that leads down the mountain is covered with solid ice. No person in their right mind would attempt driving down it.

Unfortunately, that meant I did not leave yesterday (Sunday) and so could not be in the house of God!! And then I could not leave today, and so could not go to work! :( This is a very rare occurence... and let's just say I've spent alot of time studying and resting. Forced sabbaticals are nice, but I'd rather not repeat the experience anytime soon.

At this moment:
There is soup simmering on the stove.
I'm planning a Christmas party.
And will climb into the attic to retrieve Christmas decorations soon.

Happy Sabbatical to me!

For some reason, people laugh at me (or with me) alot. But I laugh at people (with people) alot, so I guess it all evens out. My sense of humor came mostly from my dad. I don't know where my wit came from. Wit is an odd thing. It must always be kept in good regulation. Very often wit is confused with quick speech-a.ka. recipe for sin! If wit is not tamed by Godliness, it is usually just sharp and cutting words. If there's anything I learned from my dad, it is that humor can be hilarious without being impure, mean-spirited or a lie.

Here are some Scriptures that have spoken to me or guided me or convicted me regarding humor & wit:

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."
Ephesians 4:29

Does this comment give grace? Does it strengthen? Does it edify?
Is this comment appropriate for this moment?

"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, " Was I not joking?"
Proverbs 26:28-19

Is this comment entirely true?

"But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth."
Colossians 3:8

Does this comment exploit, slander or otherwise abuse someone?
Does this comment abuse myself?

Note: While many people use self-deprecating humor to "break the ice" with new acquaintances or even just as their style of humor, I don't like it. Furthermore, I believe that God doesn't like it. Self-deprecating means "belittling or undervaluing oneself; excessively modest. Tending to undervalue oneself and one's abilities." People seem to unconsciously assume that because they are not belittling anyone else, this humor is acceptable to God. This humor can come from two (equally evil) sources: lack of understanding of God's value of them or false humility. First, on the value note, God did create each person. He loves them with an unimaginable amount of love. He created a plan of salvation that sacrified His only Son. Wouldn't you say that means each person is incredibly valuable to Him? Wouldn't you say that you ought to value the person that God values-even if it is yourself? Sometimes this kind of humor is manipulative. A person believes they are worthless. They belittle themselves in the guise of joking so that someone else will reassure them of their worth. A bit like reverse psychology, isn't it? The flesh does some weird things. On the false humility note, this happens when a person is full of pride. They recognize that there is some good talent, ability or aspect about them, so they downplay it-just waiting for someone to say, "Oh no! You're not * that* bad!"

Anyway, I'm definitely not claiming to be perfect in this area. Far from it actually. But the Lord has worked in my heart and changed me in many ways. I'm convinced that humor is just outflow of the joy that God has put in our hearts. And when we are able to laugh at ourselves, others and life situations and find humor even in the hard times (without stooping into worldliness), God is glorified!

In a not-quite-24-hour visit to Virginia, I helped to clean a church for a few minutes. Not my own--but a church that would almost be like mine if we had like 450 more people. :) Cleaning the church is pleasantly familiar. The Youth Group and I even have special "clean up" music. No joke! Every Wednesday night, when the opening chords of the Supertones' Jury Duty hit the speakers, chairs, vacuums and other such things start to fly around. But I'm getting off-topic... I played with babies in the nursery, delivered a pie, made pretty music with a new digital piano, oooohed and aaaahed over Christmas decorations and pretty painted walls, experienced the weirdness of the Wii, talked while sitting in front of a fireless fireplace, laughed at a not-so-scary movie, smiled at old friends' faces, didn't get enough sleep, prayed for someone's healing, studied The Book in my favorite chair, rejoiced like crazy to see my family again, gripped the steering wheel 'til my pinky hurt from the scary city traffic... And went to a classy baby shower. (the purpose of my short visit).

My Theme Music:
May Your voice be louder
May Your voice be clearer
Than all the others
Than all the others
And may Your face be dearer
And may Your words be sweeter
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

This is the first verse of a song by Jeremy Riddle. Since that happened to be the only CD I played for the entire drive, it became my theme music. Its message keeps ringing in my heart.

I was only back home again for a night, only long enough to pack and sleep. After church on Sunday, I headed to The Sis' house for quality time with her and my favoritest sweet nieces *smile* The Bro-In-Law left for a hunting trip that afternoon. The crazy snow and freezing rain kept us home that evening, and the day and the next evening were ones of rest and relaxation. I spent so much time holding, rocking and cuddling the newly cooing and smiling The Little Lady Baby. And chasing The Papoose around the house. "Gawwup, Auntie ____, gawwup!" That's "gallop" for all you non-small-person-language speakers. She'd run, I'd chase, she'd hide and I'd seek, and when I couldn't find her (or so she thought), she'd giggle helplessly and then say, "Turn on the light!!" and giggle some more.... The Sis and I do manage to have many conversations through it all. We philosophize, theorize and otherwise solve the problems of the world. Haha. If you were there, all you'd hear was a strange scraping noise. No worries - that's simply iron sharpening iron. :)

Back home again last night. Nothing extraordinary happening. Just making food for the family, laughing, talking, joking, weird storytelling.... normal life on the mountain.

God is good to me.

"To be a living sacrifice will involve all my love. My emotions and desires are to be actively dedicated to the Lord, with one burning desire, to worship Him more worthily and to serve Him more whole-heartedly, I relinquish the right to choose whom I will love and how, giving the Lord the right to choose for me... Whether I have a life partner or not is wholly His to decide, and I accept gladly His best will for my life. I must bring all the areas of my affections to the Lord for His control, for here, above all else, I need to sacrifice my right to choose for myself, I dare not trust myself in this area... I will ask no questions: I relinquish all rights to Him who desires my supreme good. He knows best."
-Helen Roseveare
(Missionary to Congo)

When I do pray, "not my will, but Yours be done," I wonder... because I don't even know my own will. I know my inclination, and a feeling or two, but not that which I want to do. More than anything, I want to do the will of the Father. I don't know the will of the Father, but I want to do it.

From the Thanksgiving holiday:

- Ashes on a hearth rug smell like burning rubber. Ewww. Open up the doors & windows!

- No matter how smart it seems, if you can't open an old jar of molasses, slamming it on the concrete patio is not a good idea.

- Mixing red and blue food coloring into frosting does *not* make purple. It makes a disgusting purple-tinted brown.

-Uninspired Christmas shopping = 7 1/2 hours in a shopping mall with no gifts to show for it. But I did have a good time!

- A cafe mocha does strange things to me.

- Pioneers who heated their homes with wood-burning stoves must've been nothing short of amazing. It seems like all I do is feed that fire. It's a ravenous monster!

- Being on the mountaintop alone means I sleep with a dog at my feet and a shotgun within arm's reach. And still, I only lay down and sleep in peace after praying.

Finally, don't schedule things every day on a four-day weekend. As The Sis succintly said, "I hope you learned your lesson." I hope so, too.

A housefull of teenagers means hilarious, raucous, incredibly fun times. Let them loose for an hour or so and they'll take over ten or more rooms---always gravitating towards the food. They will sing Christmas music in mid-November, scramble around on the floor play-fighting for a pen, take the noise level up several decibels, turn a card game into violence... and end up cushion-sledding across a hardwood floor. "They'll entertain themselves." A slight understatement. :)

I love youth people. A card game called "Apples to Apples." And parties. Most definitely. :)

... Because they break the heart of God.

It's hard to see the destruction that sin brings on people's lives. There's been many times lately that I've felt heart-pain or physically sickened by the manifestation of sin's consequences in the lives of people around me. Truly, the enemy does come to Steal, Kill and Destroy. Through the sin of man's rebellion, we have opened the door to the enemy. Now he has free reign over sinners. And us saints, we just have to sit back and grieve over the destruction--crying out to those suffering, "Why don't you surrender to the Savior?" Now I'm not preaching a life-enhancement Gospel. I'm just saying that when you surrender to the Lord, that Death cannot have dominion over you anymore. Your destination is not Eternal Death, and your journey is no longer laced with the shards of broken glass that you are dragged over through this life. For a true Christian, life may be pain... but we look forward to the Hope of Christ. For the sinner, there is not hope, no future joy, NOTHING but agony and destruction and the horribleness of pain that never ends.

Onward:
-the sound of a man arguing with his wife on the phone at work.
-a long line of barely-toddling babies walking down the sidewalk, with their care-takers walking in front and behind. Where are the mommies?
-teenagers who come home to an empty house.
-fathers missing physically or too weak to stand for Godliness in their own homes.
-mothers acting like children.
-kids who have never heard a loving, compassionate or kind word between their parents.
-girls who sacrifice their purity in the name of fashion.
-young men ashamed to pray, ashamed to worship, ashamed to stand on God's side.

I could go on, but that's enough heartbreak for one night. The fact remains: Unless people humble themselves before God Almighty, their lives will continue to spiral into darkness that ends only in the burning depths of hell. It is the selfish rebellion of humans that causes pain and heartbreak. The person who thinks their sin will only affect themselves is deluded. Sin sends a ripple of earthquake-sized destruction through family, friends and many others. Sin does not only touch the guilty; it also affects the innocent. But on the guilty, there will be great judgment.

And Christ is the only answer. Not counseling. Not therapy. Not money. Not anything else. Only Jesus Christ, our Lord. May His name be exalted above all others!

Last night the youth group and the campus group united for a Halloween outreach. We went downtown and did the "Freedom" drama about 6-7 times. In between dramas, and the campus group did this all the time, we handed out tracts with candy and talked to people. I estimated that we handed out about 1000 tracts! As usual, there were some interesting responses. One person said, "I just KNEW you were a cult!" The Little Bro calmly answered, "Oh no, we're not a cult. Anyone is free to leave any time they want to. In cults, you are forced to stay." Smart boy, that one. :) Let me ramble for a second though---just because we care enough to talk with people about their eternity does not make us a cult. It makes us unselfish. It makes us real Christians. Anyway, the outreach was a really good time and we all came back tired and happy.

The Appreciation deal came before the outreach. My fingers were covered in red, black and green face paint (which combined into a very ugly color) and everyone's talkin' and laughin'. The Sparkly Girl gets everyone's attention and basically says to me, "Because it's Pastor Appreciation Month, and though you're not our pastor, you're our leader-person and we just wanted to tell you that we appreciate you alot!!" Awwww. So they gave me a card and gift, which someone else had to open for me--because of the paint all over my hands! It was some Sour Patch Kids (cause I love 'em) and Swedish Fish (cause I love making "Swedish sushi") and..... drumroll please.... a gift card to Barnes & Noble! How awesome! Now I just have to figure out what I'm gonna buy. I'll probably end up putting it towards a set of Old Testament commentaries. I need to get The Pastor's recommendation on non-heretical ones first, though. :) If anyone knows good ones, please comment and tell me.

I (heart) my youth... and not just 'cause they gave me presents!

How funny it is that so many of my favorite authors reference the poems of Tennyson. After two references in two days, I endeavored to find this one... and was surprised to realize that I knew it--I just hadn't recognized the title. This poem is an enchanting reminder of the Blessed Hope that we have in Christ. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

Crossing The Bar
By Alfred Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

Dreary rain fell throughout Friday afternoon and evening. An autumn chill-finally-was in the air. I just wished the cooler weather would've come another day. I spent the evening walking around the high school football game. Sometimes I watched and sometimes I muttered, "C'mon, lightning! Come now!" (If there is lightning, the game must be stopped.) The Crazy Kid gave me his gloves to wear, like a true gentleman. And I drank a monster-sized cup of hot chocolate to try to get warm...

Finally, the game ended. State High has won! Woot. The youth group and I congregated at someone's house for a football afterparty. I sat with my back to the fire as we roasted marshmallows, played Blurt (should've been called "Scream"), talked about Godliness and culture and spent some time 'round the piano. At midnight, Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin. Actually, the big white van began the arduous journey of taking youth people to their respective homes. It was a long time before The Little Bro and I made it home, but I liked having that extra time to talk with people.

Saturday began with hours of errands. Eventally The Mom and I came home again, with lots of carpet samples, some groceries and closet organizational stuff. More hours were spent by the fire, trying to recover from the lack of sleep on Friday. Late in the evening, I found the PSU vs. Ohio State game on the radio. It was really too sad to spend my night listening to that football game. So I spent my time making an apple pie, bluecherry buckle and moving my boxes of books again. Some day soon I will be able to stop moving!

Sunday--Blessed day of worship & rest! It is good to be in God's house. After the morning service, we all gathered downstairs for the Pastor Appreciation Dinner. Great fun, and incredibly loud. Much conversation about photography, my almost-electrocution, football, funny little children and most importantly, the Scarlet Thread that binds us together. It was about 5:00 p.m. when the family and I got home... It was cold again, so this time *I* built a blazing fire. Be amazed. 'Twas a nice quiet evening at home....

And so ends my weekend.

From reading over my last few posts, it looks like I'm a wee bit obsessed with making lists. I am going to try to be a little more paragraph-oriented in the future. :)

Oh yes, so about "boxing." I'd just like to tell the general public that if you fall down a flight of steps, you wake up the next few days feeling like you lost a boxing match. Maybe even a kick-boxing match. But I am really happy that no bones were broken and my head was not smashed when I fell down the steps at church on Wednesday. God was protecting me!

"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 in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

I could try to elaborate on these verses. But I'm still meditating on the amazing promises/instruction within them and I don't think my explanation could even come close to revealing its depths. So I'm encouraging you to think on the Word over and over and over again. Books are great (as I know), but none could even come close to The Book of Books. The Bible is the inspired Word of God Himself. It embodies truth and imparts life. Take the Word like the Bread of Life it is!

"...The Lord is near."

The Little Bro only turns 18 once. So we had a big party. I love parties. I love big parties. I love big, happy, loud parties at my house. It's just FUN. I spent no less than 2.5 hours creating tiny appetizer-type whoopie pies for the party. They were adorable and disappeared in record time, but I was so tired from baking and frosting those itty-bitty confections.... :) Hopefully, The Little Bro appreciates my sacrifice and suffering. Let's not even talk about the 3 page To-Do List that was organized by day. The Mom spent several hours on my costume, and it was wonderful 'cause she's a sewing genius. And she didn't even mind me raiding her jewelry box for the perfect pearl-and-gold necklace. FYI, I went as Jane Austen (author of Pride & Prejudice).

Some Party Snapshots:

-"Have a rubber band!" A mixer game we played. Don't say the word "like" or someone will take your rubber band. I lost mine after a record 1 second. The Crazy Kid won, after asking me nearly 10 times when the end of the game would be. And that's why we call him Crazy.

-Stepping on my hem 3 times and falling back down when trying to get up off the couch... Because people back in the Regency era didn't have the kind of couch that swallows you! And maybe my dress was a *tiny* bit too long. That's what I get for wearing flats.

-Playing the happy hostess. Which involved food, the "herding" skills, taking pictures... and never actually playing UNO with people like I suggested!

-Laughing and laughing at the costumes. Zorro, SpongeBob, a mime, a hitman, Queen Esther, a black-eyed pea, a geisha (or two), a cow with the "Eat Mor Chikin" sign, 3 lovely princesses, a butterfly, some people from the 1950's, a missionary, Guinevere, Sylvester the Cat, a cowgirl, a cowboy, a real gangsta and a wannabe gangsta, and more.

-The musical group in the recording studio that was ever changing in instruments and vocalists. Sometimes sounding good and sometimes a little too tentative (that's what happen when people meet microphones and studio headphones for the first time). I loved to stay and listen, but duty calls!

-The "doormen," several nice young gentlemen that liked to hang out in doorways. The Silent One always laughed at my wittyness. I always like people that laugh at my jokes. Then again, maybe he was smirking on the inside. You can never tell with the quiet ones!

I felt like quite the social butterfly--flitting and floating about, never staying too long in one place, half-finished conversation and quick smiles... Makes me want to have another big party... well, maybe in a month or so. :)

I'll leave you with a bit of Austenian wisdom, which was illustrated plainly at the party...
"Shyness is only the effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other. If I could persuade myself that my manners were perfectly easy and graceful, I should not be shy."

I must be weird. We just returned from family vacation to Maine. Every time I was confronted with a breathtaking vista, a hundred adjectives would fly through my mind as I searched for the perfect words to describe these scenes. Here I am—stunned by natural beauty—thinking about adjectives.

So it was my first time in Maine. But most definitely not my last. A few days into the trip, I started declaring that I wanted to move to coastal Maine. I was only semi-joking. The Little Bro wasted no time in reminding me of my strong aversion/hatred for cold. That is true, but I think I could enjoy it if I lived by the sea. I could stay inside by the fire during long winters and read books and look out my picture window at the ocean. Ah yes, these are my dreams. *smile*

Trip Highlights:

-Sleep. I finally feel like I have had enough. The Sis sternly warned me to REST on this vacation. And I actually listened!

-Chowder. Or “chowdah” as the locals say. I’m currently workin’ on the Maine accent. Leaving the state just “toah my haht apaht.” Figure that out!

-Acadia National Park. Simply incredible. It is now #1 on my list of national parks, and likely to stay there. That’s saying A LOT.

-Having tea at the Jordan Pond House (in Acadia) with The Mom. Chai tea is fantabulous and I got the recipe for the popovers, so beware, my future guests—I might make them for you!

-Climbing a mountain overlooking the sea with the family. Wandering around the top of the mountain with my camera and tripod. I’m pretty sure that I looked clueless, rather than professional with the gear slung over my shoulder…. Especially when I tripped and almost fell *off* the mountain. Oops.

-Bar Harbor. Nice coastal town that we wandered around every night. I never did get the ice cream flavor that I wanted to try so desperately. The town was a little touristy, but not repulsively so. Quaint and cute. I liked it best at sunrise, when the streets were nearly empty. (Sometimes I’m NOT a people person. *smile*)

-Three lighthouses in one day as we drove down the coast of Maine. Let’s just say that I’m nearly crazy to get my pictures developed. We’ll see if my photographic inspirations have any merit to them.

-Late night TV with The Little Bro. Laughing and laughing over stupid things, while discussing funny friends. My infamous line: “I like funny people. They take so much pressure off me to bring all the humor to the conversation.”

-Carriage roads. Acadia has 43 miles of gravel roads that people hike, bike and take carriage rides in. They allow no motorized vehicles on the carriage roads. One day, the whole family went biking. The weather was perfect—glorious, in fact! Slightly breezy with a chill in the air. The changing landscape had me mesmerized. So much that I was always lagging behind. Finally, The Little Bro came to ask me if I was really that slow or if I was just “browsing?” We rode up hills and through forests of strange evergreens (one word—Narnia), by lakes of blue-black waters and under trees of brilliant fall color. We saw otters and lunched by Eagle Lake surrounded by mountains. And then, one of my tires blew out. It was near the end of our expedition, though, so we weren’t *too* sad.

-Shopping on a rainy day. We went to an antique & book store that was housed in an old chicken barn and was absolutely massive. I was entranced. Yes, almost speechless when I first walked in. *smile* I found maybe 6 books and a table for my apartment. Oh yeah, and then we bought some Maine blueberry syrup and made pancakes for supper. We are a strange family, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

-Autumn leaves so brilliant with color that they seemed unreal. Trees were clothed in fiery scarlet, burnt orange and shining gold. The dark evergreens and yet-unchanged living green leaves perfectly complemented the fall palate of colors. The rain that fell furiously through one entire day of vacation didn't destroy the beautiful leaves, but rather brightened them with a glossy sheen. Don't you love Maine in the fall? It makes me want to take more pictures.

The vacation was just AMAZING. And I want to go back. Really.

Youth Group - This past weekend, we had a prayer retreat. Great time spent worshipping the Lord and seeking His face. And always a good time spending large amounts of time together.... laughing at the middle schoolers, passing around pictures, laughing at the Sparkly Girl now called "Gimpy" and anything The Witty Kid says. And The Hazel-Eyed Girl's mom makes the BEST danish ever!

The Party of the Year - Or so it's called. The Little Bro is turning 18 and his birthday party is a costume party. Costume mania is taking over!! Like I didn't see that coming.

The Apartment - The Mom, The Little Bro and I spent several hours last night staining kitchen cabinets. There was "Dark Walnut" colored stain dripping off my hands. It felt creepily similar to blood. Be afraid. Be very afraid... ANYway, last week I purchased a very beautiful sofa for the apartment. The week before, I found a lovely chair. Now I'm in the midst of deciding on countertop. My bookbag is now full of paint samples and countertop samples. Unfortunately, several books had to leave the bag for those to fit. Next decision: Carpet. *sigh* But I am really glad things are moving along so well.

Vacation - The family and I are leaving tomorrow for a relatively short vacation to Bar Harbor, Maine. To say I'm excited would be a massive understatement. My attempts at nature photography will now have a more picturesque scope. The ocean and a incredibly huge antique bookstore is calling my name. "What are men compared to rocks and mountains?" :)

Throughout last week, the Lord has been reminding me of the reason that we live on this earth. It is Souls. Specifically, the souls of people all around us that have not surrendered to Christ. Those souls who at this moment are destined for eternal punishment. God is amazing. His love is incomprehensible, and yet He is just. He must recompense the wicked for their deeds and for stubbornly rejecting the offer of mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord has made a way for our rescue from sin and death.

And so, my reason for living on this earth is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel...." "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be My witnesses... to the uttermost parts of the earth."

Those Scriptures sound like a mandate to me. Mandate = meaning mandatory. As in, not optional!! If we are Christians, then this is our mission entrusted to us by God.

"And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Ephesians 6:19-20

Don't you love Centre County in the fall? It makes me want to....

• Watch a soccer game. :)
• Drink apple cider.
• Go on a youth scavenger hunt.
• Jump in a pile of leaves.
• Wear a leather bomber jacket.
• Roast pumpkin seeds.
• Work at a football game.
• Go hiking!
• Make fun of Penn State students. (sorry, my friends! hehe)
• Have a bonfire.
• Drive to Gatlinburg. :)
• Walk in a cemetery.
• Make (and eat) apple kuchen.
• Swing on a tire swing.
• Convince someone that cows tip.
• Go for a Sunday drive.
• Wander around a deserted historic village.
• Eat at Baby's!!!

The Sis started off my thoughts on fall yesterday, and I haven't stopped reminiscing since. So what does fall make you think of doing?

"...And He was telling them that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart.".....

"...As He is, so are you in this world..."

"... why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!..."

"...not to put a restraint on any of you, but to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord..."

"... by this, the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious, anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God..."

"...pray without ceasing..."


These are some bits of the Word that have been swirling around in my mind.

Eating supper by (oil) lamplight and reading by flashlight, courtesy of a 2 hour power outage last night. Call me crazy, but I enjoyed it. It seemed like a return to the "old ways." The family all gathered in one room, but employed in their singular occupations. Sure, The Little Bro was studying on a laptop, but the concept was the same!

The New Kid comes up to me before youth group last night.
"Amethyst*, what's a ministry?"
So I explained it.
"Do you understand now?" I said.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I like your shirt."

What? Haha. Okay then. Gotta love youth group.

Bright and white
Against the blackness
Morning by name
Evening by sight
He fights to remain
This crusader of light
Through the passage of time
A moon's journey goes on...

Golden face
Warmed by invisible rays
Midnight seems
a distant memory
Black becomes beauty
Dark finds its way to mystery
The moon is cradled
By azure blue...

Bronzed face
In a teary daybreak haze
The moon is a man
Overcome by sadness
Sinking down to kiss the mountains
Bittersweet farewell, as
Moonset greets the sunrise.




There was a glorious moonset this morning, and I was privileged to watch its wonders unfold on my commute. I almost feel bad for the rest of the people who miss these beauties so early in the day. Almost.

"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come immediately and sit down to eat'? "But will he not say to him, `Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? "He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? "So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, `We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.' "
Luke 17:7-10

Everybody likes encouragement sometimes. And it's good---to a point. But there's so many things that we should be doing just because Christ told us to. We are slaves. We obey. That's who we are and what we do. It's normal. It's expected.

So if I read the Word, and pray, and speak truth, and obey, and help another, and be kind, and smile, and do a million other things that Christ would do... don't glorify me, please. Look at Christ. He's the Master--the One who told me what to do in the first place.

I'm just a soldier
I'm just a servant
I'm just a slave to do Your will
You're the Commander
You are the Master
You are the perfect Lord of Lords

What have I to say but "here I am?"
Let me be the clay inside Your hands!

Lord of Heaven
I bow my knee
You're the King over all
You're the King over me.

By the grace of God, nobody got hurt today... well, unless you count a couple scrapes and bruises from climbing rocks on steep trails and diving during Ultimate Frisbee onto sand. And because of that, I count it as a successful day! The youth group (and me, of course) went to a state park full of waterfalls, but to see those waterfalls requires hiking treacherously steep and slippery trails. Mmmhmm. It was great fun though! I was privileged to see the "real" hair of all youth, courtesy of creek water and lots of humidity! The PB&J lunch was fanta-bulous, even if I did get really sticky. Introduced the concept of "wading" to some people. Dropped my shoe in the water. Made fun of the "not-so-grand" canyon. Gave a zillion verbal safety warnings to anyone and everyone. Lifted an eyebrow or two at the Boy Scouts. Smiled at an adorable little tyke (twice) and his impossibly small suspenders. Accidentally ate a piece of gravel. Composed some glorious pictures of the sinking sun.

The Crazy Kid's wisdom:
"We should just tick-bomb the whole world."
"I guess I just don't enjoy nature that much--I'm too busy making sure I don't fall to my death." (or something like that)
Then he used my camera tripod as an imaginary machine gun. It wasn't "wisdom", but it sure was funny!

The Enthusiastic Girl starts telling a story, and it's long. The listeners' interest starts to wane. "Excuse me! I'm talking!!" *she waves a hand in other person's face and continues to talk for five more minutes..... And stops suddenly. "What was I talking about again?"

The Little Bro and The Country Boy scrounge up a rusty fishing hook, some sinkers and a tangled bundle of fishing line. After a few minutes, they're fishing. What ingenuity. Not much is biting, but the concept of standing on a boulder beside mirrored waters, with friends lounging beside, talking and laughing. It's just the epitome of relaxation. One itty-bitty fish did get the hook. And we got ridiculously big smiles for that one.

But not nearly as big as the high-pitched screams and riotous laughter that came from that boulder when The Sparkly Girl and The Chatty Girl caught a fish. From the amount of pure joy emanating from that spot, you would've thought they caught a whale!! He was... very small. And he had no lip by the time he was released back into the wild. Poor thing.

And someone's lemonade that spilled a record THREE TIMES during dinner! Once was interesting, second time was funny, but the third---I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. Of course, the evil ketchup bottle that caused the last two spills made everything seem funnier! :)

The day was filled with moments of joy and times of just breathing the air. No youth roadtrip is complete without serious conversations... And this roadtrip was no exception. We talked about life, and music, and marriage, and standards, and relationships and pleasing the Lord. And I was reminded of what I am waiting for: God's design in my life.

Lord, have Your way in me.

"Why haven't you blogged lately?" The Mom asked me last night.

Good question. Maybe because I have too much to blog about and I'm so obsessed about "matching" (yes, you can laugh now) that I only want one subject per post. Maybe because I've used my usual blogging time to research the family vacation to Maine. Maybe I'm concerned about being "self-absorbed" in blogging.

"The Word has to cut us, before it can heal us."
These were my words to the youth on Wednesday night after a particularly tough sermon on hypocrisy or dead religion or as The Lil Bro said so well, "Are you really what you think you are?" What is a hypocrite? A pretender. The scary part about pretending about spiritual things is that you can be fully convinced of your own righteousness (as the Pharisees were), and the rude awakening comes at the end of time. And there's no time left to turn around. Only being cast out into the outer darkness, and weeping and knashing of teeth.

Deliver us from this self-deception of false religion, oh Lord!

It is raining. Hahaha. Now I don't have to wash my car! :)

"...Bring me anything that brings You glory,
And I know there'll be days,
When this life brings me pain.
But if that's what it takes to praise You,
Jesus, bring the rain."
-MercyMe

These lyrics have been running through my mind lately. As humans, we naturally desire a nice life. Something comfortable and pleasant. But that's not always the design of God. He's far more concerned about our holiness than our happiness. I want to be more concerned about glorifying Christ in every situation than how I feel in this life.

Practical applications lately have been the long day working for The Dad's new business (ouch!), doing housework late into the night because The Mom is away caring for The Sis & The Little Lady Baby, smiling in the face of undeserved criticism at work, the daily challenges of being responsible for many young people's spiritual growth and my own internal struggle to seek & surrender to the will of God.

Pain. Yeah, it happens. But it's my job to make sure The Glory of God is seen, rather than me.

That's my new favorite word. If only I had more opportunities to use it in conversation! :)

The last week has been interesting. Last Friday & Saturday, The Mom and I put up insulation in the apartment. Yes, by ourselves. We did an entire wall, the loft and the cathedral ceiling. Yeah, you should be impressed. We were born in the wrong time period-we should've been pioneer women! One of the greatest things I've learned from my mom is that (almost) anything is possible. Throughout my life I would say, "Mom, are we doing this?" And she'd answer in what has become my sis & I's motto, "It can't be that hard." And honestly, the insulation wasn't that hard. We looked like bugs because of the safety goggles and masks. And my face still burned because I *stupidly* used my shirt to wipe away the sweat. :)

Yesterday, I almost ran over a chicken on my way home from work. The day before that, it was three dairy cows. Technically though, I don't really live in the country. I live on a mountaintop! But I drive through the country to get home.... the dustiness of the dirt road that goes up the mountain has made my car so dirty that even I considered writing "WASH ME" on the back of it! And the drive-through bank teller has commented about it! I guess I could wash it, but it would only get dirty again driving home. Instead, I'll just pray for rain (to keep the dust down). Cuz mud is so much better. :)

On Labor Day, we labored. How typical. We cleaned and organized our shed(s). This isn't your normal 10x10 garden shed. Oh no! This is a behemoth of a shed! Like the *Goliath* of sheds! And we don't call it a barn because we already have one of those. This shed is a long low building that is a combination woodshop/gym/motorcycle storage/automotive shop and a million other miscellaneous things. It also used to be The Lil Bro's place to store trapping supplies and preserve animal skins, but he took over a small shed and it has become "The Trapping Shed." Come and be educated about the ways of the wilderness. :) The greatest part about cleaning the sheds was the mice. One particular time, there were four mice running around. The Lil Bro was shooting blowdarts at one, The Dog was playing with another, I was smashing another with a broom and The Mom was jumping up and down and screaming cause she stepped on one. Not much bothers her, but mice just freak her out!. Of course, this made The Lil Bro and I just double over in laughter!! Ah yes, mice are fun!

And now... *drumroll* the best news of the week!! On Wednesday morning at 4:54 am, I became an auntie again! I have a new lil baby niece!! She's wonderful and tiny and adorable, and I still haven't seen her with her eyes open. Maybe tonight! :) I'm totally ecstatic about her very beautiful name, but I won't post it on here because that would break my self-imposed blogging "code." Hehe. This will make stories about The (Original) Niece a little more difficult. I'm gonna have to think about new names for them! :)

Another amazing thing... on Wednesday night, after severe lack of sleep and physical sickness, I preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. I know without a doubt that the grace of God empowered me to do what I couldn't have done by myself! To God be the glory!!!

The title says it all...

"Pray and Obey."

In those three simple words, my responsibility, my motivation, my mission, all clearly resound. I have no other goals, no other responsibility. The cross that I bear on my shoulders is one of obedience.. obedience to the Master, which means denial of self, denial of others, denial of worry, denial of confusion.

All. I. Have. To. Do. is this:

"Pray and Obey."

* To The Original VA Friend: Yes, I did spell it wrong first. Old habits die hard, I guess.


On Wednesday, I took some pics to youth group. I was gonna put some on the youth bulletin board. Those were thoroughly enjoyed. The youth liked to look at the miscellaneous other pics that I had with me, like some NYC pics! While they were looking, The Brown-Eyed Girl turns to me and says, " 'Amethyst', you're even pretty when you're mad!" LOL That's one of the nicest compliments anyone has ever paid me! Of course, now that I think about it....


I have a habit of getting out of bed the second that the alarm goes off. I haven't always been that way, but since my work schedule changed, I'm paranoid about oversleeping. I know that I only have a certain amount of time to get ready and if I don't get up instantly, something will go undone. Sooooo... On Friday morning, I jump out of bed and stumble towards the kitchen. As usual, it's still dark outside and I'm tired because I spent a little too much time reading the night before. I pour my cereal & milk, and look at a cooking magazine with bleary eyes as I eat my breakfast. Maybe five minutes pass. Then, I look at the clock. "WHAT?!" The clock reads 2:30, like, in the morning! I go back to my room and conclude that the alarm clock didn't even go off! I just randomly woke up and assumed that it did. So I laugh at myself and head back to bed for 2 1/2 more hours of blissful sleep.

Last night, the youth group played Capture the Flag. I officially love that game! We played in the early evening, then took a break and waited 'til the darkness fell. Then we played with flashlights. All my "prison" reading started to catch up with me, as I inevitably found myself imprisoned several times per game. The other team had one very HUGE flashlight, and so The Little Bro had one of his teammates in the middle of the field with that flashlight. Periodically they would shine it slowly along the length of the field. I felt like I was in a scene from The Great Escape. Total craziness (and awesomeness!).

Here's some quotes from the youth:

"Once I ran into a brick wall with my head on purpose." -The New Kid

"My grandma doesn't cook; she defrosts." - The Sparkly Girl*

"Yeah, I'm gonna take over China, and then attack Germany." -The Witty Kid (who obviously doesn't know that World War II is over.)

Life is weird sometimes. That's why I spend alot of time laughing... at myself, at (or with) other people, and at life in general. Without laughter, where would we be?

*The Sparkly Girl is so named because of the way her eyes sparkle when she's excited or happy! She tells me all that time that she's more excited about my apartment than I am. I'm not so sure about that, but it's fun watching her talk about it! :)

So I've been reading... Nothing unusual about that. But my choices in books have been, ummm, a little heavier than normal. Lately, I've been gripped by the stories of persecuted Christians. Many in the last few days. Tortured for His Faith, Corrie Ten Boom's Prison Letters, Faith Despite the KGB and Prisoners of Hope. These were people just like me, making daily choices with huge consequences. The thought keeps coming back--this could be me! This could be me.. today or tomorrow or ten years from now. Is my heart prepared to suffer for the Lord?

It's so easy to forget the suffering of fellow Christians, both those who have gone before and those who are suffering even now. We live easy lives of comfort, peace and safety. But persecution is reality! It's not some far-off concept. And honestly, I can't help thinking that if we lived more radically, we would be more persecuted. This comfortable existence is poison to our souls, lulling us into the sleep of death.

"Awake, you sleeper! And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." (Eph. 5:14)

But really, I'm speaking to myself more than anyone else. Things could get really bad here. Or I could go somewhere else and literally lay down my life for the Gospel. Am I ready? Am I willing to suffer neglect, torture, pain, abuse, loneliness and even death, for the sake of my Master?

Somehow, all my little "challenges" don't seem so bad anymore. Today I'm taking up my cross--with all the suffering that entails--and following Christ.

It's been a very long time since I've had such a relaxing weekend. Since The Sis is expecting a baby at any moment, I'm not allowed to leave the area. And so, I am forced to relax a little bit more. That's a good thing for me. So yeah, even thinking about this weekend makes me smile. :) So I'm gonna try and give the highlights...

• A chai tea latte and an hour of relaxing reading to go with it.
• My attempt at black-and-white photography. We'll see how that turns out. There was a bit of lighting difficulties and a small person who seemed to have discovered the joys of sticking out her tongue instead of smiling. :) That's okay-we'll just "do again!"
• 8 books over the course of the weekend (though I gave 2 of them to The Niece. Somehow I think Pigs Galore and A Little Princess [small person version] would be enjoyed more by her). From a bookstore, thrift store, library sale and an antique store. And it took alot of self-discipline to walk away from a set of vintage Hardy Boys books. I'm still sad about that one. But in light of my other purchase....
• A china hutch!!! After looking at it critically with a "designer eye" (as The Sis says), I decided to buy it. We will be re-finishing it and possibly replacing two panes of glass, but it will work out perfectly in the new apartment.
• Movie premiere party at The Chatty Girl's house. Yummy spinach triangles and chocolate mousse. Laughing 'til I cried.... " *beat* You're pretty!" :)
• Taking in a small-town arts & crafts fair with Mom, The Sis and The Niece. It was a birthday weekend thing for Mom, who loves that kind of thing. I just like spending time with them. Usually I'm only really interested in the photography booths, but there was one booth with hundreds of mounted (i.e. dead) butterflies and other insects from around the world. They were all different colors, from brilliant blue to iridescent. Amazing! And The Niece and I went to see the clowns. :)
• A 2 1/2 hour nap. I was sleep-deprived. Don't hate.
• Picnicing in the classy park... the same one that was our first picture in Pennsylvania, the family and I feeding the ducks. Also the same one that we played at during our Christian school days. Good memories.

The rest of the weekend was lovelier still, but I don't want to bore anyone. Farewell for now!

Top Ten Reasons I Live at Home (at 24 years old).

1. I feel the peace of God about it. At the moment He tells me to move, I will. But not before then.

2. I love my family, and want to be close to them. I believe the family was ordained by God to be a unique cohesive unit that glorifies Him through daily life.

3. It curbs selfishness in my life. I am constantly forced to remember and consider the needs of others over my own, which is the basis of Christianity. *

4. It gives my parents the ability to speak into my life more often/more accurate. They see me day-in and day-out, and know what’s going on in my life. And in that, it gives me more opportunities to honor them. *

5. It is a mutually beneficial financial situation. I can afford to save/invest/use my money wisely in view of future plans, which would be nearly impossible if I were renting.

6. I have access/time/opportunity to train myself in a variety of life skills, not to mention the experience of my parents to teach me the skills that have taken them a lifetime to gain. So I’m several steps ahead of the game.*

7. It’s a mutually beneficial situation in general. I can help out in a bazillion different ways, from making supper to cleaning to helping cut wood (disregard if that sounds weird to you), and they help me in a bazillion different ways. It’s just so much easier because I’m already there.

8. I have a family to go home to. That means bright lights in the darkness, a warm fire and lots of laughter. Until I have the opportunity to make a home for someone else or the Lord calls me to a different place, I will rejoice in that fact.

9. I can share things with my brother, like an i-pod or a dog. :)

10. My parents’ house is in the mountains, (almost) alone, by itself. Sometimes I just love the loneliness. And I can see billions of stars in the night sky. That just really makes me happy.


*These things are not exclusive to living at home. As a single, Christian young adult, you can still do these things while living apart from your parents (or spiritual authority, in case of unsaved parents), but it requires concentrated, focused and deliberate effort.

"No reserves. No retreats. No regrets."
William Borden

This man challenges me. Can I live with this same devotion to Christ?

There's an on-going joke in youth group... something about me having to explain any word over three syllables. Yes, they count the syllables. I guess my words are a little bigger than they're used to. Even when I write, I'm trying to express things that are inexpressible.

Like every time I write about the Lord. Spiritual things are so far beyond the natural comprehension. How can words tell of the glories of God? How can language express that though the journey is rough sometimes, Jesus is still more than enough?

Splintering rough wood upon my hands
Heavy weight of this burden
Slowly, ever slowly I am walking
This is the cross I bear daily

Stumbling and falling on the roadway
Rising again; it's a new day!
Precious mercy extended towards me
Glorious grace poured upon me

Dust is clinging to weary feet
Sometimes the yoke seems too much for me
And then, when hope is lost
I collapse under the cross...

These eyes, before, looked only down
Now lift up to see The One
Who is called, Wonderful
And all words fail...

This is the state of our household lately. Finally, things are movin' and shakin' on many fronts. My parents officially started their own business. They had meetings with lawyers and accountants and all those fun people. And now everyone in the family is working 1 1/2 or 2 jobs. At the homestead, big stuff is happening! There will be a large hole in the wall of the family room today.... OH YEAH! For those of you who don't know, we're remodeling the garage into a mini studio apartment for me and also adding a hallway/closet/dressing room to connect the garage to the family room. After seeming months of delays, we have someone working very diligently on this project. Yesterday, we went to Lowe's for doors and lighting fixtures. You know, I used to hate Lowe's. Haha. Weird!

Anyway, the "peaceful chaos" comes into play here. I will eventually be moving into the apartment. Right now though, it's not quite finished. So I'm packing up my things (especially those 500+ books taking over my itty-bitty room) and staying in the studio. Then, the Little Bro can take over my room. It will be his permanent home. It's good that he's moving out of the loft, because its new identity is "Mom's craft/sewing room." And her crafting supplies had to move last weekend because of the soon-coming hole in the family room wall! :) Though this sounds chaotic, it's peaceful in our house... it has to be God!

I hate secrets.

Yes, I do. VERY, very much. Even "good" secrets, like surprise parties. I had the brilliant idea a few months ago to plan a surprise baby shower for my sis. My sis = the person that I talk to THE MOST. She knows pretty much everything that goes on in my life. Why I torture myself in this way, I do not know!!!

Anyway, after getting back from NYC, I went into massive planning mode. This summer, I've had so many things to plan that I had separate folders for each event. The girls that I went to NYC with thought it was kinda funny that I was always opening the "magic folder" to see where we were going or what our options were. :)

Back to the secret baby shower. A few weeks ago, I sent out an invitation to The Sis inviting her to a ladies' tea for the ladies of the church. She hosted one last fall, so this wasn't unusual. She didn't know about the little side-note I put on everyone else's invitations about the real purpose of the tea. Hehe. Sneaky, I know!

It was tough not talking about my plans, and I figured that she probably knew all because she didn't ask more questions. But then again, she is about 1-3 weeks away from bringing a darling baby girl into this world, so I'll give her some slack. :)

I invited two youth girls over to help me Friday night to do all the prep work. Both of them enjoy cooking, baking and otherwise preparing food, so it was a perfect match! They were wonderful!! I definitely couldn't have done it without them. We mixed up recipes, burned our fingers, fought with mini-muffins, got flour everywhere and washed more dishes than I care to remember. I made lists, finished them and made more lists. But I think that's what kept me from being stressed, so it's all good.

Long story short, the Sis made it to the baby shower. She had been suspicious, but was still surprised. Sweet victory!!! It was a wonderful afternoon and I am *so* glad it's over!!

And here is the afternoon tea menu for your viewing pleasure. My comments are in parenthesis.

Tea Sandwiches
Tuna Salad on White (I dislike mayo, so I didn't try these. But they were the most popular)
Ham & Dill on Pumpernickel (I actually liked these ones! Dill from my garden.)
Nasturtium on Rye (Nasturtium is a relative of watercress. Filled with other herbs also from my garden)

Sweets
Brownies
Chocolate Chip Teacakes (So classy-looking with their little chocolate garnishes!)
Pecan Mini-Muffins (Tasted like mini pecan pies! Awesome!!)
Orange Tarts
Lemon Bars
Ruby Tea Biscuits

Scones (Basic English scones, but were quite a hit!)
Whipped Butter
Strawberry Jam

Pretty Pastel Pink-and-White Cupcakes
(These were more for looks, than actual consumption. But then again, maybe I say that because I'm not a big fan of cake. They were alot of fun to decorate... at 7 in the morning. Methinks I need some cake decorating stuff!)

Drinks (It was like 90 degrees on Saturday. Hot tea would've been bad news!)
Iced Tea (I don't like iced tea, so the girls made it and I didn't even taste it)
Mint Juleps (like a lemony mint punch. I'll make it again, but cut down on the sugar)
Strawberry Lemonade

Just got back from a four-day road trip with some college girls from church. We went to experience the strange fascinating pleasures of New York City. We stayed in New Jersey, which we called "Little Hispania" because we were the only white people there (It's true!). I brushed up on my Spanish a little though. Now I can say.... well, nothing really. But I got a real kick out of the loud flamenco music they played on the shuttle to the City. After awhile, it started to get in my head. I'd be walking down the street, humming and doing a little shuffle-n-step. :)

I love David Wilkerson. He is a man of God.
We were so incredibly blessed to be able to hear him preach twice! On Friday night we went to a youth rally at Times Square Church and it just happened to be the one time this year that he was preaching to the youth. He preached on "responsibility" and how that related to the company you keep. You must choose what kind of friends you have and what kind of a friend you are. Then, on Sunday morning, he preached too! This time Pastor Wilkerson preached on "The Private War of the Saints." Very encouraging message... And we all liked buying books at TSC. On Sunday afternoon, the rain drove us inside. We ended up at a little table under the Rockefeller Center reading our new books. :)

I love the subway. It's my friend.
Wear sunglasses. So you can stare at people and nobody knows. People are the interesting part.... My favorite person was this old black Jewish gentleman (yes, wearing the little hat and the whole bit). He was sitting beside me on a relatively crowded train. I couldn't help noticing that he was studying a small New Testament and writing furiously on several notebooks. I looked closer. He was writing in a different language, right to left. He was studying Revelations 11, verse-by-verse. Then it looked like he was actually doing mathematical calculations. It was a long ride, so I noticed alot! Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly he was doing! I should've just asked!

Random tourist lady looks at the crowded subway station:
"How do we get through all those people?" she says to her husband.
Me, standing next to her: "Punch them all in the face."
Hey, at least she laughed. :)

Sickness. It was our greatest challenge on the Great Summer Getaway. Even now, the thought of sickness makes me angry, because of the schemes of the enemy to destroy the Lord's work in the youth's lives and hearts. And lest you shake your head and wonder how that could possibly be such a great challenge, this sickness put down the overwhelming majority of the youth group. But I'm getting ahead of myself in this story. Let's go back to the beginning...


I woke up on the first morning to the news that one of our middle school guys got sick. His mom was helping out on this trip and taking good care of him, so we weren't very worried. Maybe it was some food that didn't agree with him? Poor kid didn't feel too good the whole day, couldn't keep food down or anything. During that evening's service, The Witty Kid raises his hand. "I don't feel good," he says. And I gave permission for him to leave the room. Two seconds later, the New Kid raises his hand and says the same thing. Odd. After the service is over, we find out that they both got sick. This is not cool at all. We pray for them and everyone heads to bed.


Next morning, the first kid is nearly recovered. The Witty Kid and The New Kid come around during the morning hours and insist they are feeling well enough to go on the big hike with everyone else. At the half-way point (the waterfall), The Witty Kid gets sick again. I send him back to camp with a leader. The New Kid says he's still doing ok, so we press on. By the time we reach the summit, The New Kid is sick. The Little Bro carries him almost the whole way down to the waterfall... and our second challenge joins the first.


Rain. Out of a clear summer sky that morning, dark threatening clouds had moved in. Huge drops of rain began falling as we were within 20 feet. The group gathered under a rock outcropping to wait out the storm. After a few minutes, it's very clear that this crazy rain is not stopping. We need to get home. So we head out. The New Kid is still being carried. But now everyone is completely drenched. The New Kid is wet and shivering with cold. The Little Bro starts running back to camp for blankets, a jacket or anything to warm up The New Kid. The older guys take turns carrying The New Kid. Every couple minutes we would stop and one of the guys would give The New Kid a bear hug--he needed warmth desperately! I was always praying or encouraging the guys carrying The New Kid. It was great that he was the smallest one, but still heavy enough for it to be a incredibly tough hike for those guys. There was a group of people up ahead that stopped to pray and another group of people behind with other challenges. Finally, we saw headlights. The Little Bro had run back to camp and brought the Suburban and The Mom. Oh, thank You, Lord!


On our group arrival back at camp, there was another not-quite-so-serious-but-still-not-fun challenge regarding the rain. The guys' tent had flooded and nearly everything was wet. Quickly the guys retrieved all that they could and brought it to the screened porch to dry. The rest of the afternoon was spent drying out and resting from our ordeal. We didn't know that the greatest challenge was yet to come...

After the evening service (on perseverance), a group of guys went upstairs to pray for the sick ones. The girls started making pies. We're all just hanging out and bonding. The guys come back downstairs and *BAM* yet another one gets sick. I head out to conference with the leaders, and when I come back, the whole group is gathered around four people and praying violently. I learned later that they just asked for anyone who didn't feel good to step in the middle of the group and they'd lay hands on them, agreeing in prayer for healing. It was righteous indignation; "how dare the enemy try to destroy the Lord's work!" was the general feeling. So there I am--my hands covered in pie dough, pacing the floor and praying and agreeing with the youth. Surreal moment.

The prayer meeting ends and people scatter... In the next few minutes, a calm fills the room as we finish up the pies. As I slide the last one in the oven and wash my hands, I wonder where some of the youth have gone? My first stop is the upstairs room where the sick ones (all guys) have gone. There is Little Bro with his Bible open, praying and speaking the Word over them. Bless the Lord for his faith and perseverance. I come downstairs and step through the middle of 3-4 girls singing worship songs. I head outside to the campfire. There was several youth there. Some quietly praying. One girl was crying out to the Lord with her Bible laid open on her lap, reminding Him of His promises and praying for healing. Later I found out that she was one who had been prayed for earlier. She felt as though she would pass out while they were praying, but afterwards was completely well! She did not get sick at all after this! Praise the Lord! Throughout the next hour or so, I walked between these groups praying and speaking the Word. This one thing I know---God's will is perfect health. And though it looked bad at those moments, our faith was being built up by His Word! Through Him, we will persevere!




"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

As I laid on my bed that night, I could feel the weariness in every muscle of my body and the lies of the enemy were trying to deceive me. "You're getting sick, too," he whispered. "NO!" I cried and repeated the Word of Truth. I closed my eyes while whispering prayer and slept peacefully. I never felt sick after that moment. God is SO good!

Through the next day and a half, people testified about how the Lord had worked in their lives, how He had shown Himself real to them and how His light exposed things in their lives. The sick ones got better. Some other ones got sick. The drive home on Sunday afternoon was a 2+ hour challenge in and of itself. There were many stops because of the people getting sick. Every sound had me on edge (not a good thing since I was driving).

The day after arriving home, I had reports of several more youth getting sick that night. And I was angry! Not angry at people, of course--but you know there is an anger without sin?! I was in righteous indignation that through all the preparation and preaching and prayer and worship and time spent in God's presence, that the enemy had such designs against us to make so many youth sick. But through it all, God is faithful!! The attacks of the enemy have not stopped or silenced the voice and working of the Lord. We serve an amazing and awesome God!

Some of you have wondered where I've been these last few weeks. The answer is--preparing for or recovering from the Great Summer Getaway. What a glorious and completely exhausting time it was! I could barely move when we returned. My body was not obeying commands very well, meaning I couldn't even talk right! Even though the GSG schedule was laid-back and unrushed for the youth, my responsibilities involved near-constant thought, study and prayer. Only now am I really starting to understand the weight of leadership. I need to pray for my pastor more! :)

Snapshots of a Getaway:

The Witty Kid and The New Kid flinging themselves violently onto the sand every 30 seconds during sand volleyball (must be a family thing).

The innovative wiffleball game--partially played in the lake.

Random singing... "Turn me around, pick me up..." by anyone at any given time, the next thread of song probably sung in the next two minutes. It seemed unrelated, but it really showed how unified we are! :)

Girls washing their hair in the creek's icy waters. Or the middle school boys washing their hair in the pump at the state park. The Other Leader's reassurance to on the boys, "Don't worry, (Young Kid), it's man shampoo!"

Diligence = Persistent Personal Attention.

At the cross, You beckon me. Draw me gently to my knees and I am, lost for words so lost in love. Sweetly broken, wholly surrendered... The song that touched our hearts and often did bring us to our knees. Except for me, 'cause I was at the keyboard. :( But hey, during prayer, I am not so limited!

The game of "Capture the Flag" that never quite happened.

Hiking the mountain, in between a session on Self-Control and a session on Perseverance. How painfully appropriate.

Sly chipmunk stalking by the "mountain boys."

Girls washing their hair in the creek's icy waters.

Naps, * sigh* blessed naps that kept me going... on a towel by the beach, on the screened cabin porch, on a random picnic table. :)

Meals eaten while squished together sitting on chairs, benches, coolers and anything else we could find. It was good though--feel the bonding!! :)

Morning walking or running. That cool mountain air made me wonder how I'm ever gonna run outside when it's not summer!

Cooper, the "vicious" guard dog.. who liked to make social calls to the neighbors.

Pretty wild roses given to each young lady, that some young gentlemen waded across the creek and bloodied their fingers for. Say it with me, "Awwwww."

Peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for everyone else. And a jelly sandwich for me one day for lunch. Reminds me of the Mexico trip! (at which, we ate PB&J every day for lunch. Good times!)

Spontaneous open-air prayer meeting by the fire. And kneeling in the dirt. And praying so long that our homemade ice cream melted! Woot!

The New Kid and The Quiet Kid sparring with fly-swatters. It started out with the poor little flies, and just progressed into human brutality. The fight ended with one on the ground fighting for his (longer and therefore, more successful) fly-swatter and the other kicking him. I laughed so hard that I cried real tears! Yeah, and then I stopped the fight. 'Cause, ya know, blood is bad. We try to avoid it.

Star-gazing in the open field.

One quiet morning reflection on a large stone by the creek, thinking that, "Despite the challenges, this has been a time of rest and revival. Thank You, wonderful Jesus!"

And now, I know you're wondering about the challenges. The challenges were many... so next post, my friends, you will know all!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean NOT on your own understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him,
AND HE will direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

I memorized these verses in 1st grade at Christian school, and can still hear the class's little voices chanting in monotone. They had to teach us where to give emphasis. (note the words in all caps). :)

These verses have been on my heart and mind for the last few days, because I need the Lord. So much. I've become more and more aware of my inability this week as I prepare for the Great Summer Getaway. I need You. I need Your help. I can't do this myself.

I need to look less at me and look more at Christ!

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1

I wasn't planning on running a race today. The Little Bro and I had been talking about the Firecracker 4K for several months, but after some crazy recent weeks and the subsequent slacking off on the training, I pushed those plans aside. Until last night. The Little Bro informs me at 11:01 pm that he was going to run the race in the morning. My thought process went something like this, Run a race or sleep in? Hmmm. Well, if the Little Bro is running, I might as well run, too! And so it was decided.

The alarm wakes me at 6:30... that IS sleeping in compared to the normal 5:00 am wake-up time, so I'm feelin' pretty good! It was mostly quiet on the drive into town, besides the thumping running music that we deemed appropriate for the occasion. We even had a theme song. :) We arrived at the race registration about 45 minutes early. It took me a little while to get over the fact that I paid $18 to torture myself, but whatever. The T-shirts and weird little digital timing chips were pretty thrilling though. We saw a few acquaintances, stretched a bit, prayed together and positioned ourselves about 10 feet behind the starting line. There were over 730 runners/walkers, so I was almost convinced of the possibility of getting trampled. Yikes! One minute 'til race time... I-pod is ready to go. With a race name of "Firecracker 4K," what else would start us off but fireworks? Too bad I don't know where they are.

*BOOM*
And we're off!! There's definitely some adrenaline that comes in with that size of crowd. Running is such a solitary thing. For it to take place in a crowd, the dynamic just intrigues me. The race totally slaughtered me... which says alot about my lack of training. My time was decent during the first mile, and then it all went downhill from there. Figuratively downhill, I mean, because it really got hard during the uphill climb. :) A fellow runner told me that they liked my T-shirt (24/7 - Living for God: All Day, Every Day shirt), haha. Nice. I tried to up the speed a little bit on the home stretch. As I came into the finish line, all I see is the Little Bro waving and yelling, "17 minutes!!" He was going for 21 minutes, and his official time was 18:02. Yeah, happy little camper. He hasn't been training either. I know, we're both stupid. Or just really busy. Eh. And no, I'm not telling my race time. It was pretty pitiful. But I finished the race!

We were hardly done with the race a few minutes and I was already talking about running a 5K. On my vacation in Maine, no less. Training begins tomorrow...

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
I Corinthians 9:24-27

"Sometimes circumstances humble me."

That statement was just a shadow of things to come. Friday was the literal interpretation, but Sunday was the real deal. It was a humbling day. Nothing like trekking along, happily oblivious to your own weaknesses, when suddenly circumstances, people and situations come together in one painful blow to inform you--quite thoroughly--that you're not perfect. Far from it actually.

Ouch.

"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again..."
Proverbs 24:16

Today I'm striving to rise again... only in the strength of the Lord. Help me, Lord Jesus!

People say that the eyes are the window to the soul. Maybe that's true. Personally, I never let people get close enough to my eyes to stare into my soul! lol just kidding...

My theory is that sports are a window to the soul. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But really, you can learn so much about yourself and others by observing how people act in sports. My pastor has often told me that he would play racquetball with the college guys while he was a campus group pastor. He said it showed their true character. I guess it's hard to act a certain way when you're busy trying to win a game. :) The real you just comes out!

Well, I learned a little bit about myself tonight. The youth group and I went to a local park to play softball. There's a good mix of people in the youth group--particularly different skill levels. Some people can barely hit the ball, some are relatively good and some actively participate in competitive baseball. So we played a few innings of softball (during which my team got soundly beaten!) and then took a break to snack. While we were playing, I had asked one of the youth guys---from now on, he will be known as The Joker---if he would pitch to me later. Like, really pitch. Like, baseball pitching. 'Cause the Joker plays as a pitcher in baseball (well, he did until his season ended a month ago because of a hand injury). He was incredulous at first, but then agreed.

Sooooo, after some water and Fruit Smiles, we head back to the diamond. Now I'm getting a little nervous... and then a little more nervous as I watched The Joker warm up. Those pitches were smokin'! Why do I want to do this again? I considered this thought for a split second. Maybe just to see if I can?

The pitches start coming. Fast. And. Furious. I'm swinging too late. I concentrate harder. Still a split-second too late. The balls make a scary whirring sound as they go over the plate, not too far from my head. A couple balls get too close for comfort and I jump back quickly. The Joker assures me that "he's only pegged one person in a game" (Oh yay!), "but it did look like they were in alot of pain" (I feel so much better). More pitches are coming. Contact was made- it's a foul ball. More pitches. More misses. Then, the inevitable. One second the baseball is whizzing toward me and the next, I'm flat on my back in the dirt. Literally. Reflexes are a wonderful thing---the only reason I don't have a hole the size of a baseball in my head at this moment... but I get up more determined than ever. I am more cautious this time. After more pitches and misses, one of the parents suggested a lighter bat. Sure enough, the bat change made a huge difference. Hit several fouls off the fastballs. Actually got one decent hit to right field on a curve ball. The Joker pitched maybe 30 balls to me.

What did I learn about myself and about life?
-Sometimes I just want to prove something to myself.
-I demand of myself what others have not demanded of me.
-I'm stubborn. But that stubbornness made me get up to bat again, when fear was very real.
-Sometimes circumstances humble me.
-Victory isn't always out-of-the-park obvious. Sometimes victory is a change in attitude, a molding of character or a strengthening of resolve.

I walk away with these lessons forming in my mind. The youth group changes to playing softball with plastic bats and balls (more like wiffleball). The playing field is much more even... mostly because no one knew when or where the ball would go. Plastic makes things entirely unpredictable! As usual, just hanging out is good times. Thanks to all for reading this philosophizing about sports! :)

Last weekend was a very short roadtrip to Wisconsin for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party. Some interesting things are, as follows:

"They don't drink water in Wisconsin; only milk and beer." according to my brother-in-law, clearly frustrated at the lack of water quality. And it's just about true. The consolation is that we were staying at the family dairy farm, which means.... all the pure and wonderful raw milk you can drink! *sigh* Bliss.

Staying at the "homestead" was one of the highlights of the trip. Watching The Niece and Nephew playing with toys that I played with as a child, washing dishes in the kitchen, finding barn kittens, letting itty-bitty calves suck on my fingers, the smell of fresh cut hay, the damp coolness of the milking parlor, the bachelor Uncles that remind me SO much of my daddy, the ever-present Green Bay Packer loyalty. I haven't been to the farm in the summertime for years and years, so I was very happy.

Sheba and Bob, the mangy sheep-herding dogs that now work at the farm (they herd cows, not sheep. just in case you were wondering). They lay down and roll over whenever you get within 20 feet. And my 23-month-old niece could tell them apart. What a smart girl she is!

Remember that book obsession o' mine? The Sis and I went "snooping" (as The Dad called it) through the attic. AND I found some lovely old books--but seriously, can old books be anything but lovely?--classic Nancy Drew. Don't hate! It reminds me of my childhood. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Great Escape and two books that I picked up because they were 60+ years old and looked interesting. Oh yes, and I wondered aloud why my Catholic family had books by Billy Graham. Hmmm.

Playing volleyball with various cousins, brothers, aunts, uncles, etc. I was made fun of because the cries of pain whenever the volleyball hit me... errr, rather, I hit the volleyball. :) That volleyball was hard as a rock! My whining was justified. I now have 3 purpley-black-green bruises on my arm. See!! I'm not a wimp!

Meat. Now I know where that carnivorous streak in my dad comes from. It's a German/Wisconsin/farmer thing!! :) Seriously, I like meat, but he LOVES meat. And it's no wonder. Bratwurst, summer sausage, fried fish, smoked salmon, roast pork and ham, etc. The only thing that didn't have meat was the toasted cheese sandwiches they wanted for breakfast (Breakfast! Who does that?). Oh wait, they ended up putting bacon on those. *rolls eyes*

Ya know, I met more people I'm related to than any other time in my life. Second cousins, great-uncles, third cousins, cousins removed, children of cousins and cousins removed... I could not remember who anybody was after about 5 minutes of introductions. After that, I just nodded and smiled and stuck to basic phrases like, "I'm hungry" and "Mmhmm." :) Intelligent, aren't I? And we took so many family pictures that my face hurt from smiling.

Strange as it sounds, I like the travelling part of road trips. The Little Bro rode shotgun during my night-driving stint on the way to Wisconsin. Our goal: To make it to the next state. My only-two-hours-of-sleep the night before probably wasn't too smart, but we made it to the next state without hurting anyone. Having 4+ drivers helps with the driving-through-the-night deal. Besides driving, there's alot of sleeping in awkward positions, making faces and singing funny songs to The Niece (aka. "Small Person"), eating Honeycomb cereal and drinking lots of caffeinated beverages.

Good times. :)

(disclaimer: I hate alcohol and utterly despise drunkenness. The mention of beer is an observation, not an endorsement.)