( couldn’t say Sunday Scribblings because that is already a pretty popular Blog prompt)

This morning during the contemporary service I was running the media (slides) and I don’t do well with paying attention if I am more than 20 ft. from the pastor.

Reason # 3  on why I sit in one of the front 3 rows.

This weekend, I knew there would be an event at our church and I was hoping to get some shots of the building at dusk with all the interior lights on.  Those would be beautiful shots to use on the church site and other print media (I really don’t want to use the word “marketing” in conjunction with God).

However….
The weather did not cooperate.

Bit of a storm rolling in.

I love this.

In between the chapel and the sanctuary there is a small secret garden with a water feature-great place to pray or meditate and you can share the space with this precious little cherub. (more about him in another post).

And finally, where I grew up…

This is the building where I was christened, confirmed and married (the first time)-most of my growin’ up happened behind that red door. It is a very special place and I am so glad that the congregation takes steps to preserve it and its rich history.

I took 78 something pictures, not all of them worth viewing and not a one was the shot I went to get. Another day. The rain started soon after I took the first image and didn’t stop until sometime this morning.

I am looking forward to the day that the 14 yr old plays soccer on the beach like this guy, now THAT is the way to watch soccer, on the beach!

Wow, I haven’t even started my post and I already got off topic-but that is exactly how I have been feeling the past couple of weeks (so perfect illustration of a point)

The Season of the S…
Sure thing!

• Spring
• Soccer
• Spring Break
• Social Media
• Survey

This is what has me running around like a headless chicken in the barnyard!  Sure there are only 5 things on that list, but they are so much more involved than just the little bullet points, let me break it down for you, my sisters:

1. Spring-Awesome, the good thing is renewed energy because there is so much more SUNSHINE! (another S word) but, Spouselet (again with the S) and I decided to start a small container garden this year-in addition to the CSA(community supported agriculture) we joined.  So, in the next few weeks I have to find containers to put this stuff in, I would love to use bourbon barrels, IF we can find some.
2. Soccer-this is probably about 75% of my busy-ness.  The 14 yr old is now playing on 3 teams.  One for school and two competitive, luckily the school coach is incredibly laid back and realizes that it IS middle school soccer and no one is going to get a scholarship THIS year, so if you have something else to do, do it.  Because of the two competitive teams my son is playing in a tournament or at least one game every weekend until the first of June.  Sometimes more than one game.  But, this is what he loves-so we are supporting him in that.  I know in 5 years he will be off in college and I probably WON’T be able to go to every game, so I will now, while I can.
3. Spring Break-is the time I am planning on working toward finishing the family room.  The 14 yr old is going out of town with one of his best friends for the week (ok, there might be a bit of stress there…him being at the beach with out his mother for a full week)  I don’t know who needs more prayers on that one, me so I don’t worry my head off, or him that he doesn’t do something 14yr old silly
4. Social Media-even with my self imposed ban on Twitter until Easter, I am up to my eyeballs in social media.  My full time job is with a real estate company and I am going to be teaching a class on Facebook this month.  Right now I have meetings every Tuesday (and one Thursday) in the month of April to travel around the state and teach this class.
5. Survey.  At church I am on the communications committee and we are developing a survey to find out peoples interests and tallents so that they can get plugged in to the church and maybe serve in areas that highlight their skills.  I volunteered to write the survey.

Did I mention that the middle school soccer games were on Tuesday and Thursday in April and that I am the team mom?  I have to feed the boys before every game.  Oh yeah.   Oh and one more “S”, the Schedule-concessions for all the soccer games, I have to have parental volunteers-some of these parents would rather die than work the concession stand during a game, so I also get to herd cats.

And, that my dear friend, is why I haven’t been posting much.
I miss my blog.

What have you been doing in preparation for spring?

And don’t forget:  Subscribe in a reader, so you won’t miss me when I come back.

This weekend I offered tobe a chaperone for a weekend church event for the youth.  This was my first youth event as an adult.
I didn’t know what to expect.

I did know that I would spend all day today recovering and for the most part, stuck to that plan.  However, God had other plans.

The kids got a snow day, I guess so they could recover too!

I am not going to get down and dirty with the details because:

1. there is no way to fully express all the awesome things that God did over the weekend.
2. Reggie Dabbs said “Just like Vegas, what happens at Winter Blitz, STAYS at Winter Blitz”

But here are some things I can share:

If you ever get the chance to see tenth avenue north.  Do It.

If Mad Dog and the Englishman come to an event or to your chuch, check those boys out! They are funny. (and one of the highlights for the 14 yr old boys)

And if you EVER are asked to go to a youth event where Reggie Dabbs is speaking.  Move heaven and earth to get there.  That man was the best thing that could have ever happened to some of the kids that attended this weekend.  The way he brought the kids to God for healing.

Incredible.

I will tell you this.  When he asked for assistance from all the Mama’s in the house- I was scared.  I am not a fan of  “helping” when I don’t know what I am signing up for, neither was another mom on the trip with us.  But, we did.   (OK, she required a bit of coaxing..but IF I AM out of my comfort zone, I am takin’ people down with me!)

The instructions were simple.

1. Line up across the front (there were more of us than he thought so he ammended this for across front and back of the venue)
2. Don’t touch the Babies (yet)
3. Don’t talk to the Babies
4. when he says go, hug the babies.
5. tell them you love them
   (Jesus isn’t here to hug them, but YOU can be his arms.)
6. when he says switch, grab another baby and hug them

Then, he started calling out things that kids might be struggling with- addictions, sucicidal thoughts, divorce, eating disorders.  There were hundreds of babies for us to hug.

Even the kids who were not touched directly by some of these issues were weeping and praying for their friends.  Not a dry eye in the house.

Some of us mama’s were crying so hard-thinking “what if that were MY baby?” we made noise.  Over the music the kids in the back row could hear us, they turned around.  Yeah, we didn’t care.

Our hearts broke for those children.
And then…
I was glad, relieved that they were getting some relief from the pain.

I heard some people say they had been holding that all in for years.
Wow.

Yeah, Reggie was the messenger.
God was the message.

People were changed!
(I think I was one of them)

I am a parental chapperone for the church youth group this weekend.

I am not taking my computer.
I will be around twenty some odd 12-15 yr olds.

Pray for me.
Lots.

I will have a full update when I return!

I think this year, more than most people are scaling back, buying less and giving more. Or maybe it is just the folks I hang with.

I know in my own family we have agreed to cut back and for that, I am very thankful. It frees resources for us to give to others who have never had shoes, want to be self supporting or are getting an education to change their world.

My cousin is the Student Ministries Pastor @Flat Irons Community Church and his wife is the Children’s Ministry Program Director. I listen to every sermon on i Tunes and occasionally watch on their site. They also have a blog and of course, I read it too. Sometimes I wish that I either lived in Colorado OR there was a community like theirs here. They are doing AWESOME things.

Today’s entry on the blog is exactly how I have felt about the Christmas season for the past several years. Actually, I feel that way MOST of the time, but Christmas especially because our rampant consumerism is so obvious.

Check them out.
They are good people! (and I am only related to two of them.)

My cousin is on staff at Flatirons Community Church. He is an awesome kid (anyone in their 20’s is still a kid to me!) and his church is amazing. Every week I download and listen to their podcast. I can not begin to tell you all how these messages combined with my local church community has encouraged me to think and grow in my faith.

A few months ago they did a series on MVP (most valuable player) it has this whole baseball theme and some of the messages were about service-specifically, it is great to have gifts and to be able to use them but SOMETIMES…you are needed some where else.

You may be the best widget maker ever, but if the church doesn’t NEED a widget maker, you might need to help park cars, or change a diaper or welcome new people through the door.

I think that applies to more than just church service or service to God.

I saw evidence of it this weekend with my own kid. I think I have mentioned once or twice that he plays soccer (ok maybe 10 times) and he LOVES to be a mid-fielder or a forward-to score the goals man! But, he will go wherever coach asks him. He isn’t a big fan of being a defender/sweeper, but he is very effective in that job. When it comes to soccer there isn’t anything he won’t do for the team. And that makes me son incredibly proud of him as a mother-especially when I hear other kids say “No. I am NOT going to help the team in that position, I only play blah blah, or I am only ‘good at’ blah blah.”

Sorry baby, in this game, it isn’t all about you.
(hey that is actually a lesson for life ain’t it)

I am looking forward to the day when he will put those skills to use in life and not just on the field.

This evening I was supposed to meet some women from my church bible study at a 3 week study on the book of Ruth, led by Liz Curtis Higgs (in the flesh) @ Middletown UMC. I don’t think any of us realized how many people 700 is, so of course we didn’t plan well enough to actually hook up.

I sat in the balcony and had a great view, they sat downstairs (on the main level) and probably couldn’t see a thing. Next week, I am getting there early so I can be down front. I absorb information better down there!

I could go on and on about how much fun and engaging Liz is. But, I think I am gonna save the study critique after the three weeks are up.

THIS entry is about the parking lot and what happened after.

People are funny.
We have just been sitting in a church for 2 hours getting all filled up with the word and learning all sorts of interesting bible knowledge and the open the flood gates and you just can’t get out of there fast enough.

I can’t say it was an exodus, it didn’t resemble a scene from the blob, exactly, but there was definately an air of “getmetheheckoutofherebeforeidie”. I saw two women almost get run down because they followed the direction of a person directing traffic and the people in the cars did not.

I got in my car, rolled down the windows and opened the moon roof. I left the lights and engine off and turned on the radio. I sat there watching people as they left. It was really entertaining. The people directing traffic did such a great job, most of them husbands of the women who were in the study-they didn’t need to be there on a Thursday night-I hear there is good TV on.

Since I wasn’t in a rush to leave I chatted with the people working and when the lot was cleared, I turned on my car and started to leave. THREE PEOPLE…do you see that…THREE OF THEM thanked me (oh yes my brothers and sisters) ME for….having….patience. One of them even offered to put it in writing because I told him no one would believe me.

How awesome is that? Seriously!

Sunny and I just got home from Church with the Methodists. I have been going to the early service because it is more contemporary and I can easily get my husband and son there. I came home and checked email and I had one from my grandmother called “Christian one liners”  (wouldn’t that be a great blog series-or even sermon series!)…

oh heck, I digress (alot)…So, my loving momaw sent me this email before she left for church (same UMC by the way). 

“Some people are kind, polite, and
Sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews. “

I laughed out loud.  That is the theme for the day-My popaw (who died in April) sat in the same place with the same people (my family and his best friend) every sunday since they built the new building in the early 1990’s.  The far left, second from the back.  I think that if he could have gotten away with putting his name on the row, he would.  He showed up early to be sure that on one visiting would make the mistake of sitting in his family row.

I can not say that he was ever unkind to someone who made the error, but they certianly got the hairy eyeball and figured out very quickly that he may be happy they are HERE, but not happy they are SITTING here.

Popaw died in April and every Sunday my mom and dad and my sister and her family still reside in the same pew.  I know part of it is habit and part of it is a memory thing-but change is good! This morning my parents joined us for the early service and they sat with us-in the second row from the front just right of center-there is hope for us yet!