A friend of mine, hit it right on the head in his blog:
<http://www.rockcanyon.org/blogs/tom/>
So, I 'cut and pasted' it in mine. Please feel free to peruse his blog any time you want. He's got a lot of good to say and learn from.
Training
Last night was the host and facilitator training held by the Grandjacksons. We do this each year to kickoff the start of connection groups. This training isn't usually a bunch of new stuff for people, but rather a review of why we are doing this and some thoughts on how to run a meeting. The most important thing I was reminded of was the same thing we work so hard to teach on a Sunday morning. This idea that church is not an oasis...church is not an island or a separate entity. Rather the church, the body of Christ, is in this community. What we teach on a Sunday...what we talk about in our connection groups...is all about recognizing God in our daily interaction with people rather than bringing God into our world and interaction with it. All too often, there is a church facade we put on to act holy and proper while we attend church, but here at RCC we work very hard to teach and show the fact that God is everywhere. We just need to recognize that fact and possibly sometimes pointing it out to others. The Real Estate agent doesn't leave God at home and can go out lying to people about what they are selling...rather the agent recognizes God is with them always and hold themselves to a higher level. Ditch digger? Nerd? Candy maker? God is with each and every one of us...we just need to recognize that. Sometimes, during the day, as we go about it, we need to stop for the three seconds or so it takes to read Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God"
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Are you aware that Jeff Foxworthy is now picking on Michigan?
1. If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Michigan.
2. If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Pellston is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Michigan.
3. If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Michigan.
4. If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Michigan.
5. If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Michigan.
6. If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, (or at the top of his ankles) you might live in Michigan.
7. If you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time, you might live in Michigan.
8. If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Michigan.
9. If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Michigan.
Part 2 - You know you're a true MICHIGANDER when . . .
1. "Vacation" means going up north on I-75
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. D riving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
15. Down South to you means Ohio.
16. A brat is something you eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole barn.
18. You go out to fish fry every Friday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
21. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
22. You drink pop an d bake with soda.
23. Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and you know it's not medicine.
24. You can actually drink Vernors without coughing.
25. You know what a Yooper is.
26. You think owning a Honda is Un-American.
27. You know that UP is a place, not a direction.
28. You know it's possible to live in a thumb.
29. You understand that when visiting Detroit, the best thing to wear is a Kevlar vest.
30. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Michigan friends.
Have a Nice Day..... and a Better tomorrow.....
1. If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Michigan.
2. If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Pellston is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Michigan.
3. If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Michigan.
4. If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Michigan.
5. If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Michigan.
6. If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, (or at the top of his ankles) you might live in Michigan.
7. If you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time, you might live in Michigan.
8. If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Michigan.
9. If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Michigan.
Part 2 - You know you're a true MICHIGANDER when . . .
1. "Vacation" means going up north on I-75
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. D riving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
15. Down South to you means Ohio.
16. A brat is something you eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole barn.
18. You go out to fish fry every Friday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
21. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
22. You drink pop an d bake with soda.
23. Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and you know it's not medicine.
24. You can actually drink Vernors without coughing.
25. You know what a Yooper is.
26. You think owning a Honda is Un-American.
27. You know that UP is a place, not a direction.
28. You know it's possible to live in a thumb.
29. You understand that when visiting Detroit, the best thing to wear is a Kevlar vest.
30. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Michigan friends.
Have a Nice Day..... and a Better tomorrow.....
Sunday, September 02, 2007
A Long Summer.....
Well, where do I begin? It's been a busy summer for all of us. Alec played JV baseball for his high school. Katie played softball and Jennifer played T-ball for the city leagues. Dave went to New York with Alec's high school band. In May, Dave and I made a quick trip down to Mesa to see his Dad and Cathy. Dave's Dad was diagnosed a couple of years ago with McGee-Drager syndrome and he is not doing well at all. We had a good trip and accomplished everything we intended to accomplish, with the exception of being able to stay longer.
In June, I started working at Camp Cavell as the Summer Camp Nurse or, as its official title is: Health Officer. Over all I had a really good time. The Director is wonderful and really good with kids. She has a way of getting in touch with even the toughest of kid-personalities. I lived at the camp, beginning on the 15th of June until the 18th of August. The good thing was that the camp is only 10 miles from home and Dave and the kids could come visit me whenever they wanted to. I ate, slept, and existed there all summer long. We got a break of 24 hours, maybe, from noon on Saturday to noon on Sundays. The camp hired 4 international counselors, which created a wonderful opportunity for me. One of the counselors was from Spain. Her name is Carmen and she is wonderful! We became very good friends and spent most of our time off together doing things near and far. Some of the things we did included going to the Barn Theater, a Detroit Tigers' game, and to Frankenmuth. About 2 weeks ago, we, as a family, took Carmen to the airport on her way home to Barcelona, Spain, via Chicago and New York. As for the 9 weeks at Camp Cavell, Carmen and I really enjoyed the relationships we formed with the campers. Most of them came up from the Detroit area and a culture that is very different from what we are used to. We learned a lot of patience, acceptance, and understanding throughout our summer. (I still can't stand listening to rap music, though! I just don't get it.)
As for my weight loss, my last weigh-in showed a total weight loss of 70 pounds! My kids say that they can tell I'm losing weight by looking at my arms. I affectionately call them my "bat wings." I'm wearing clothes that I never dreamed of ever wearing again, and even they are too big. I'm finding that I can sneak through openings that before my surgery, I'd never even consider trying. One of the kids that is in the 4-H program with my kids made a comment about my arrival at the county fair: "Big Momma is in the house" and it offended me. In the past, it would have rolled off my back, but I guess now that I am seeing a light at the end of the "becoming thin tunnel," the comments about being fat are penetrating deeper. Definitely something I need to work on.
Last week, Dave and the kids and I went up to Cross Village. My Uncle George and Aunt Laurelynn have a home on Lake Michigan and own a piece of property across the road of about 40 acres. Way set back on this property is a double-wide mobile home. They generously allowed us to spend a few days up there in heaven. The wild setting of this place is wonderful, rain or shine. Talk about the "little house in the woods!" We spent a couple of days on the beach and also made trips up to Whitefish Point and the Sault Ste. Marie "Soo Locks."
Now, with Labor Day being tomorrow, it's time to focus on the first day of school being the day after. And I need to get out and secure gainful employment so we can survive the winter. By this I mean, having enough financially to get 2 horses and a goat through the winter, as well as heat our house with a wood stove, in an effort to conserve propane. Another challenge we are facing right now is well problems. I'm hoping a praying that the well is NOT running dry and it is just a pump problem. Ya Hoo!
Well, where do I begin? It's been a busy summer for all of us. Alec played JV baseball for his high school. Katie played softball and Jennifer played T-ball for the city leagues. Dave went to New York with Alec's high school band. In May, Dave and I made a quick trip down to Mesa to see his Dad and Cathy. Dave's Dad was diagnosed a couple of years ago with McGee-Drager syndrome and he is not doing well at all. We had a good trip and accomplished everything we intended to accomplish, with the exception of being able to stay longer.
In June, I started working at Camp Cavell as the Summer Camp Nurse or, as its official title is: Health Officer. Over all I had a really good time. The Director is wonderful and really good with kids. She has a way of getting in touch with even the toughest of kid-personalities. I lived at the camp, beginning on the 15th of June until the 18th of August. The good thing was that the camp is only 10 miles from home and Dave and the kids could come visit me whenever they wanted to. I ate, slept, and existed there all summer long. We got a break of 24 hours, maybe, from noon on Saturday to noon on Sundays. The camp hired 4 international counselors, which created a wonderful opportunity for me. One of the counselors was from Spain. Her name is Carmen and she is wonderful! We became very good friends and spent most of our time off together doing things near and far. Some of the things we did included going to the Barn Theater, a Detroit Tigers' game, and to Frankenmuth. About 2 weeks ago, we, as a family, took Carmen to the airport on her way home to Barcelona, Spain, via Chicago and New York. As for the 9 weeks at Camp Cavell, Carmen and I really enjoyed the relationships we formed with the campers. Most of them came up from the Detroit area and a culture that is very different from what we are used to. We learned a lot of patience, acceptance, and understanding throughout our summer. (I still can't stand listening to rap music, though! I just don't get it.)
As for my weight loss, my last weigh-in showed a total weight loss of 70 pounds! My kids say that they can tell I'm losing weight by looking at my arms. I affectionately call them my "bat wings." I'm wearing clothes that I never dreamed of ever wearing again, and even they are too big. I'm finding that I can sneak through openings that before my surgery, I'd never even consider trying. One of the kids that is in the 4-H program with my kids made a comment about my arrival at the county fair: "Big Momma is in the house" and it offended me. In the past, it would have rolled off my back, but I guess now that I am seeing a light at the end of the "becoming thin tunnel," the comments about being fat are penetrating deeper. Definitely something I need to work on.
Last week, Dave and the kids and I went up to Cross Village. My Uncle George and Aunt Laurelynn have a home on Lake Michigan and own a piece of property across the road of about 40 acres. Way set back on this property is a double-wide mobile home. They generously allowed us to spend a few days up there in heaven. The wild setting of this place is wonderful, rain or shine. Talk about the "little house in the woods!" We spent a couple of days on the beach and also made trips up to Whitefish Point and the Sault Ste. Marie "Soo Locks."
Now, with Labor Day being tomorrow, it's time to focus on the first day of school being the day after. And I need to get out and secure gainful employment so we can survive the winter. By this I mean, having enough financially to get 2 horses and a goat through the winter, as well as heat our house with a wood stove, in an effort to conserve propane. Another challenge we are facing right now is well problems. I'm hoping a praying that the well is NOT running dry and it is just a pump problem. Ya Hoo!
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