memorial stones

Even though there were only a few kids in Children’s Church today, I think the memorial stones went over well! And Kyle was a great assistant. I also had a chance to do a very quick mini lesson and craft for 3 kids during coffee break because they had to leave church early. So that was good.

That’s all I got to say tonight!

hot busy days ahead

John 15:12-13 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.


I’ve been busy!

Tomorrow Kyle and I have children’s church. I am doing a lesson for Memorial Day. We are going to learn how God told Joshua to have men from the 12 tribes take stones from the river bed and set them up as a memorial. God wanted the Israelites to remember what He did for them when they crossed over the Jordan on dry ground to enter the Promised Land. We will make our own memorial stones so that when we look at them we will remember what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. It should be great! I got these cool stones at the craft store that they can write a verse on and put a cross on. I hope the kids get a little something out of it. (don’t tell, but I also made cookies for them and I think they came out better than the last time!) hehe =)

Got a lot going on this summer! Camping on the beach (pretty sure anyway), kids going to Great Adventure, SAT for Kyle, VBS, church picnic, mission trip for Ryan, bike rides, hiking, yoyo competition in Orlando, graduation party for Ryan, trips to WV, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, taking Ryan to college (I hope).

This weekend: get the pool cleaned out and maybe even jump in it if it gets hot enough. Supposed to be 89 tomorrow.

what do you want to know?

If you have nothing better to do with the next 13.23 minutes, check out this introduction to a most amazing website.

Wolfram Alpha
After only 1 year of being online they get ~460,000 hits per day. That is astounding! Why have I not heard of this before?

So, I spent my evening looking up things that I don't know and will never remember. Yeah, fun times.

me on Scout

Here’s me on my horse. I think I was 11 here. I got Scout for my 10th birthday. Coolest gift I ever got (aside from salvation). Her official name on the registration papers was Girl Scout. I said there is no way I'm calling my horse Girl Scout. WAY too girly for me! So, we dropped the "Girl" and just called her Scout. Me and Scout went everywhere. This picture was taken on the dead end road we lived on. I was one tough little cookie.

Memory Lane and beyond...

I got to spend lots of time at church yesterday. It was great being there at night, all alone. Kinda spooky, walking around in the dark with the side door unlocked. But I think I will get used to being there on Sunday nights so Kyle can go to the high school/college small group after church in the evening. Otherwise, he won’t have a chance to get to know the other kids. So, next time I am going to bring a nice snack with me, and hopefully I’ll have HAVA on my new laptop so I can watch Iron Chef. I always look forward to that on Sunday evenings. I could read, but usually by that time I’m too tired and just want to veg out. The peace and quiet will be good. No distractions. Maybe I can pray. Yes, I can make this a very positive thing. It’s good to be alone.

Today Ryan and I started planning his graduation party. I have no idea how to do a party, so I hope I can do it nice for Ryan. I guess it hadn’t sunk in yet that he FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL (almost 2 weeks ago). He basically taught himself through the last 4 years. And he even taught his brother along the way. I’m so proud of how much he has accomplished! Like, oh yeah, he’s totally done with school at home, which means I only have 1 more year with Kyle. Wow, and then what? Ryan will probably be off to Grace Bible College, and who knows, maybe Kyle will too. Ryan’s senior transcript is done and will be mailed to GBC tomorrow.

Looking down the road, where does that leave Darryl and me? So much to think about. This week we celebrate 20 years of marriage. Really makes me reflect on my life. It just so happened that I was looking for a box of tracts today and stumbled upon a box of pictures instead. It took me back through my life. It was emotionally exhausting. Some smiles along the way, but a lot of hard times; raising my daughter alone, remembering how close we used to be.
Some other memories: me on my horse, vacations, kids…thin thighs, tight abs.

Yeah, it sure is a bummer getting old.

Maybe I’ll post one of the “me on Scout” pictures tomorrow. I’ll keep the “me in bikini” pictures under my bed.

don't tell me to get a life, i'm trying!

I’m so close to having a life… I can almost see it (Kyle too). I can almost reach out and touch it. But not quite. There are 31 miles in my way. I can’t see a way of crossing those miles except to do so continuously until I get tired of putting gas in the car or I have an accident with all those crazy drivers. Being on I80 is not the safest place to be spending so much time. I wish things were different. I wish I could live in the same neighborhood where my church friends/families live. Or at least I wish we lived closer so that Kyle and I could do the things we want to do with church and friends. It is hard to have friends when we are so far away.

I’m only 31 miles away from having a life.

is that my son?!

wow...
OK, I can't believe that is my son up there. You know, the shy one. The quiet, calm, subdued one. This was the youth band at Grace Church, playing last night for their small group worship time. Um... I think it was more like a rock concert! It was nice to go and see them in person though. I enjoyed the energy (even though it was too loud).



Unfortunately the cool guitar riffs can't be heard b/c I guess the sound person didn't adjust things correctly.

Let The Waters Rise

Not much needs to be said. This song really sums it up.



Don't know where to begin
It's like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
'Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You're never out of reach

God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding onto You
God Your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

Ohhh

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

The Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Found out that my physical therapist is Jewish and his wife is Catholic. That made for some very exciting discussion during my treatment today.

Let’s see. He believes in mediums. He told me of his experience with one that was amazingly accurate and a bit scary.

I asked him if Jews believe in Hell. He says everyone can believe whatever they want. I said, “Isn’t that a little dangerous?” He said yes. I told him that Christianity knows the answer about hell and how to stay out of it. So then I asked him if his wife believes that Jesus’ death on the cross paid for her sins. He said yes. Then I asked him what does he make of Jesus? Does he believe He paid for his sins too? He said no. He believes that Jesus was only the Son of God. So, according to him, Jews are praying to God, but we (Christians) are only praying to God’s Son. I found that very interesting. I’d never heard that before. I told him that the only way to the Father is through the Son.

I feel sorry for his daughter. His great spiritual plan for her is to teach her about his Jewishness and have his wife teach her about Catholicism. And then when she is old enough, she can decide for herself which religion she chooses. What a great place to leave your child! “Here, kid. You decide what’s best for you. I’ll just take a back seat on this one. Makes no difference if hell is real. It’s all up to you, and your own reality.”

And this is a Dad who thinks he’s doing a good job. My heart was breaking.

I’m not sure what I will say to him next time, but I’m trusting Jesus Christ (God Himself) to help me out with it.

True Love

True Love... something I've been thinking about a lot lately.


This was sung by Nathan and Ryan. It was beautiful. Both of them did a great job.

NHRHS Reunion

What a wonderful night. So many sweet memories shared. Unbelievable.


David and I
Sue and I

Tenth Avenue North

Here are some pics that Star 99.1 took. We loved them.
Mike, "new guy", Jeff, and Jason.

me and kyle are in this picture.

Concert at Ocean Grove

Kyle and I are so glad we came to Ocean Grove for the concert yesterday. It was so much fun. We walked around the town, went into a few little shops and cafes, walked on the beach, talked to some locals, and got the feel for Ocean Grove. I would definitely come back here again and even stay in this hotel.

The band was great. We fell in love with the whole “heart” of the band, who they are, their music, how they view their work, Christianity. Funny, they had prepared to do a small acoustic concert on the beach but because of the cold weather and threat of rain, they did it inside a 7,000 seat auditorium, which looked packed to us. They ended up with drums, base guitar and keyboard, besides the 2 acoustic guitars. The concert was only an hour, but it was still worth it being here. Great memories for me and Kyle.

Random pics in random order.

give me the chocolate and nobody else gets hurt

Went to an Orthopedist today. Found out I have a locked shoulder. Doc says I have to go get physical therapy three times a week. I really don’t have time for it. I was wishing he would just put me to sleep and rip it out like he says he will do if it’s not improving after a month. Just DO IT ALREADY! Why put it off?

Well, my consolation prize was a cortisone injection right into the shoulder socket. OUCH!! That baby burned! But the real pain came later on when the numbing meds wore off. As I am typing this I can barely lift my arm. It’s bad.

So, here are some pics from Paul and Darlene’s visit. We all had a great time playing a game, even though I am definitely NOT a game player. But they coaxed me with chocolate. What else could I do?




Tomorrow me and KAV are headed to Ocean Grove to enjoy the very cold beach, and rainy outdoor concert with 10 Avenue North. We will have fun no matter what.

precious moments

The greatest, most difficult, and most rewarding job that God gave me, and the one that I want to do my best at: being a mother. All my other jobs are secondary to that.

Nothing delights the heart more than raising a child to love and serve the Lord.

Nothing hurts more than failure.

No prayer is as fervent as the one prayed for a son or daughter.

No miracle compares to that of creating a new life.

Nothing is more overwhelming than being responsible for that life, and standing before God to give an account of what we did with that life. How much value did we place on it? How much time were we willing to invest?

God, forgive me for all the times I didn’t make my kids a priority. Forgive me for all the things I didn’t do for them because I didn’t know I was supposed to. Forgive me for bad attitudes, short tempers, and impatience. I thank You, Father, that you have already forgiven me for all my failures; past, present and future. Thank You for blessing me with the gift of children. It is my prayer that they would all be with You in eternity.

Now I understand a little bit of why You love me so.

The Shawmont Hotel

The Shawmont Hotel
Kyle and I are going to Ocean Grove next week for a free Tenth Avenue North Concert on the beach. The best part is that we are spending the night there in this adorable hotel that is right on the boardwalk.

This is what the hotel website says about Ocean Grove:

Founded in 1869 as a camp meeting ground for Methodists and their friends, Ocean Grove still maintains concern for the spiritual welfare of people by providing optional worship services, bible teaching ministries and life fulfillment seminars. Daily opportunity for Christian growth is offered to all age groups. The camp meeting facilities are open to everyone regardless of race, color or religion.

And here's from Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association:

Ocean Grove
A place where the Word is opened and rightly divided all year long.

It looks like an wonderful little town. I can't wait to go. We are gonna have a blast!

I am woman, hear me roar

Our lesson for Children’s Church never happened. Need to plan something for another day.

I should be filling out a ridiculously long insurance form right now, but I just can’t bear to look at it. I’m too tired and stressed today to try to figure it out. But I know it has to be done before 8:30 tomorrow morning when I have to give it to the person coming here to give me a physical. Oh yeah, that’ll be fun!! I get to have the whole nine yards done right here in the comfort of my own house. It should be interesting with Paul and Darlene here as well. They are stopping here on their way to Long Island; coming back on the weekend.

My list of things to get done today mocks me! I wanted to plant some cuttings that one of the neighbors gave me. I wanted to ride my bike and workout. I wanted to have time to read, do my nails, plan trip to Orlando, plan trip to Delaware, help Kyle with a Walmart test… who knows what else is on there. I can’t remember. I refuse to go look at it. I have a headache.

Well, the good news is, the kitchen didn’t explode into flames when I was cooking today! I don’t know how it is possible to have a kitchen full of gas, and a flame on the stove top, and not have lots of FIRE! I was completely blown away when I realized what had happened. (Thank God, I wasn’t literally blown away, but think I came close) Praise God I am sitting on my own bed typing this, and not in St. Barnabas Burn Center. I didn’t like it there when I had to go visit Darryl every day after the last fire.

Tomorrow is the last day that Kyle can register for the SAT this year. It’s either take the SAT or go to Great Adventure to see Third Day in concert. Sorry Mac. May we meet again another day.

gimme some of that good ole southern hospitality…

Today Ryan and Kyle and I went to meet and visit several of our neighbors. It was nice; they were nice, and all very friendly. Surprisingly, nobody blew us off. There was only one family that wasn’t home. Or maybe they saw us and decided not to answer the door. We left them cookies, but now I’m wondering if an animal might get them. I guess I didn’t plan that out so well. But everyone else was happy to get them, especially the man who asked if we were selling them.

We did get to visit with the lady we met yesterday. We went in her living room and she pulled out pictures of all her family and proceeded to tell us where all of them live and what their birthdays are. She wrote them down for me. She is from Honduras, and I think that in their culture all of the family lives together in one house. So, I’m thinking maybe she is missing her daughter(s) and other family members.

One of the families we visited doesn’t go to church at all. One of them is a combination of Presbyterian (wife) and Catholic (husband)… hmm. The others I don’t know. Well, I think today was very successful. I didn’t say anything terribly stupid, except when I mentioned that Kyle wanted to be a yoyo Master. hehe….sorry Kyle. I’ll never say it again.

Our thermometer on the deck went up to 98 degrees. I didn’t go out there today. Stayed in and rode my recumbent bike in our oppressively hot bedroom and watched a movie on Netflix on the HUGE TV that takes up the whole corner of the room.

Tomorrow Kyle and I are doing Children’s Church, and we are both nervous about it after our last major failure.