OK, I’m a little bummed out right now.I stupidly made a post on Food Network’s Facebook wall about Bobby Flay using the name of Jesus Christ as a swear word, and I got totally ripped apart!!I know, I know, I shouldn’t be at all surprised, but honestly it never ceases to amaze me how ugly and hurtful people become when you stand up for Christ.Excuse me folks, but He died for me!!He died for YOU!He died a terrible death that should have been ours, but He did it because He loves us.Excuse me folks, but He is my SAVIOR, my LORD, my GOD, and He is deserving of all honor and praise and worship.What got me was that even the people who “call themselves Christians” were also bashing me, cussing me out.If somebody uses the Lord’s name in vain (uses it as a swear word), it is a clear give-a-way that they don’t even know Him.They don’t know God and they don’t know the One who came to set them free.I should pity them, and I do, but I don’t know what else to say to them after the 4-letter words and other insults start hurling.They are like vultures, all swarming over the kill, waiting to devour.It saddened me.
I had a great time exercising out by the pool today.I think I am getting addicted to it.Isn’t that funny?
I got rid of all my clothes yesterday; donated them.Of course, I couldn’t go to the thrift stores without buying something.
Tomorrow we are going to Ocean Grove to see David Crowder’s last concert in NJ.Wouldn’t miss it!I’ll post pics!
This is a song that Ryan just completed and sang at Gen Y last night as part of a lesson that he and Kyle taught.
License to Live
So, today I started cleaning my closet out (to celebrate losing the first 20 lbs!). I even bought 3 new outfits today! I thought this would be a project for after the boys go to college, but here I am doing it now. I can't believe what a pile of clothes I have on my bedroom floor. It feels so freeing to get rid of so much stuff. Isn't it weird how we can get attached to certain articles of clothing and they have some kind of sentimental value? It's insane! It's actually hard to throw some stuff out. Kinda makes me want to go around the house and clean out all the clutter from all the closets and drawers. I despise clutter and disorganization! Makes me feel so scatter-brained, and that is never a good thing.
Pictures from church tonight! It was wonderful having some folks from Passaic come out and hear Craig speak. Next week it is Pastor Mark’s turn.
This picture represents those who have gone to GBC, or who are currently going to GBC, or who are going to be going to GBC this fall. Nice to have them all at church tonight.
Ryan, Craig, Kyle, Pastor Karl
We had to get Pastor Mark in on one of the pictures too!
Romans 10:15
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
All I can say is that we survived the Closer Walk youth event at Wildwood. It was wild! Thursday wasn’t too bad as far as the weather goes. It was hot, but there was a nice breeze the whole time. And it cooled off considerably at night. I was freezing during the worship time. But then on Friday a little heat wave decided to move in and it was horrible. The heat index was 118! (found that out later). But man oh man was it hot. I got blisters on my feet from walking on the sand, and I was getting nauseous and dizzy. Ryan, and Kyle and I decided to go to the movies on the boardwalk to see Captain America, and I am so glad we did. I don’t think I would have made it back to the tents without getting sick. Then it was so cold inside the movie that I was shivering...I had a wet bathing suit...haha...nuts, I know, but that’s how it worked out. And because I was so exhausted I kept falling asleep during the movie, which was very cool by the way. But I will definitely have to see it again because I missed so much of it. Captain America is a really awesome hero. I think Spider Man has some serious competition now. Oh but wait, Jesus is My Super Hero! Haha!
Ok, aside from the obvious heat situation, the camping was much better than last year. The sand wasn’t all wet and muddy and there were no sand storms... still no way to avoid the sand from getting absolutely everywhere, but nowhere near as bad as last year.
I enjoyed the time with my boys, although I think they would have preferred to have had more time to hang out with the younger kids (especially Kyle). His favorite part of the trip was just being with one of the young boys the last night we were there. That is what he loves, to be a friend and mentor to young people. I think Ryan’s favorite part was dancing at worship time, and meeting Beckah Shae. He even got to go up on stage with a bunch of others who wanted to dance to one of her songs. Her music was really good. I also enjoyed talking to people that I ordinarily wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to. It's a good way to have a conversation of more than "how are you?" at church meet and greet time.
We were all thankful for the experience but we were ready to come home Saturday morning!!
walking on the boardwalk
hazy evening
ps, i think my beef jerky was successful :D
Psalm 93:4
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—
Here are the goodies I made for Wildwood camping trip. On the left is the sweet potato chips. Next to that in the middle is the beef jerky. On the right is the granola I just made tonight (out-of-this-world delicious). Then on the bottom left are the energy bars, and finally the fruit roll-ups. (I think the fruit roll-ups have too much mango in them. Next time I will keep it simple and just use strawberry and pineapple or something.) I think we will have plenty to eat!! I just don't want to be stuck down there and be at the mercy of the boardwalk food vendors. I remember last time the food was pretty challenging.
I'm getting really nervous about going. The ground was rock hard like cement. I was thinking about bringing a rake so I could at least loosen it up a bit, but I probably won't feel like carrying one. Not sure how I am going to be able to sleep. Oh maybe I'll get a pad for underneath my sleeping bag.....
I'm really glad the boys are going, otherwise I wouldn't be going.
Believe it or not, this hunk of stuff is going to be energy bars for our Wildwood camping trip. Ryan and I figured there won't be much food that we can eat there, so we are coming prepared. We'll be taking yesterday's beef jerky, which turned out very delicious, some great energy bars (below), and some homemade fruit roll-ups from healthy and natural ingredients.... haha seriously, how cool is that? And speaking of ingredients, these energy bars have dried fruit, nuts, seeds, whole quinoa, and even organic chocolate chips. It's my first ever attempt at drying something like this. It takes 14 hours, so i hope it works!! I will let you know.
We had a really fun week. Didn't especially like driving on Rt 80 ten times, but the rest of it was good. Feels like the week flew by. Here are a few pics I took, but I am expecting to get some more soon.
Brett and Melissa are great together!
Snack time for some kids in our group
Bible time
Ryan was one of the "lucky" ones that got slimed. That stuff I made last night sure was nasty looking!
VBS is going great! A few kids in our group asked Jesus to be their Savior today! Hallelujah!!
Tomorrow is our last day and the day that two leaders will get slimed. I was asked to make slime and I had no idea how to do it, so I sent my kids to google to find me a recipe. Here's how my slime looked when I first started making it. Very slimy!!
(click for a closer grosser view)
Here’s how it looked after I added the green food color. Pretty gross, huh?
While all that was going on I made a couple jars of almond butter. It’s really like peanut butter, but since I can’t eat peanuts (or at least I shouldn’t because I’m O blood type) I started making this amazing almond butter. I threw in a handful of walnuts and flax seeds too. The seeds make it a bit crunchy, and I added the smallest amount of flax oil.
Here’s how it looks when it’s done. It's so good when it comes out warm!
I also made some beef jerky from a flank steak I had. It was very time consuming but it sure is delicious!! Can’t wait to try another batch and method. (will use ground meat next time)
Such a fun afternoon of experimenting in my kitchen.
Today we started our week long VBS – PandaMania, where we learn that God made us wonderfully complex. (Psalm 139:14) We had a wonderful time with the children. We saw some of them come in scared and quiet, some were crying. But after a while they calm down and see that they are loved, and then smiles start to grow and you can tell that their hearts are happy as they begin to trust us. Such a nice day! I can’t wait for tomorrow! I don’t have any pictures yet but I’m hoping to snag some from the church of me and the boys!
After VBS I had a chance to work out and swim a little before getting a blood test. I needed to have my thyroid checked. I'm hoping that my changed eating habits have helped it (kelp is good for it!).
I posted last time about the old rugged cross and found this website from a blog comment I received today. It’s called Wordwise Hymns. It was interesting reading about some of the words and their meanings from the hymn The Old Rugged Cross. Hope you enjoy it.
The second time we went roller-blading Kyle fell backwards and got hurt and shook up, so we haven’t been back yet. But we did go biking again. And plus we’ve been so busy, almost to the point of being frantic and stressed. Oh wait a minute, we ARE stressed!!! How can it be that we have so much to do that we can’t get caught up? Between VBS and church responsibilities, sponsoring the World yoyo contest, Ryan’s concert preparation, finishing up Kyle’s high school transcript, and just life in general, we haven’t had much time to do normal things like clean and vacuum. The house is a disaster everywhere I look and that stresses me out big time. Oh well, I’m sure I will have plenty of free time once the boys head off to GBC. Then the house will be clean but I will be lonely. I think that’s how it works, right?
So I’ve been thinking about the fragility of life. It doesn’t matter our ages necessarily. A young person can slip from us just as quickly as an older person. Accidents, disease, death... all part of the curse that was handed down to us from Adam because of his original sin. We live in a world full of sin and corruption, death and dying, sickness and pain. No one is immune from sin’s effects on the earth. We are all fallen creatures, born with a sin nature doomed to an eternity in hell. Thank God that Jesus Christ made a way for us to be reconciled back to God like the way things were meant to be in the Garden of Eden. God saw our sin and allowed His precious only Son to die a sacrificial death to pay the total bill to cover it all. Our sin debt is PAID IN FULL when we trust in Christ! How much easier can it get? There is nothing difficult to do to guarantee your eternity in heaven with God.
It reminds me of the account of Naaman in 2 Kings. Naaman thought he was so cool...even though he had leprosy. He went to the prophet Elisha’s house to get cured. But when Elisha sent his servant out and told him to go dunk in the stinky old Jordan River he was highly offended and stormed off in a rage. Naaman’s servant basically told him what a fool he was for refusing to do what he needed to do. I mean, come on, Naaman, all you gotta do is this one simple little thing and then you will be cleansed completely from your leprosy, but you are too stubborn and self-righteous!!
See, that is how people look at true Christianity. They think, “Aw, this salvation stuff is for the birds. Who needs it?” Then their hearts are filled with anger and bitterness just like Naaman because they were too stubborn to do the one simple little thing that is required, and that is to believe what God said. Stubborn folks may have been taught all their lives that all people are basically good and everyone goes to heaven, but deep inside they have no assurance of their eternal destiny. (you can't have assurance in a lie)
God says all people are sinners. God says we all need a Savior if we want to have everlasting life with Him. God says He has provided us a Savior if we will just believe it and accept Christ’s payment on the cross.
To every lost soul who reads this, please remember that you are not promised another day on this earth. The next breath could be your last. What happens then? You can be sure right this minute if you will only believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day.
The Old Rugged Cross
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Ok, so today we went to Horseshoe Lake and actually roller-bladed all the way around the track!! Woo-hoo!! I can’t believe I didn’t fall once! But I was scared. It took me a while to get a good comfortable rhythm going. Sometimes I’d be going along ok and then bam, I’d lose my balance. I think the boys did great though! Found out later that it was 1.63 miles. Can’t wait to go there again! After that we spent the day on our wonderful deck working out, and in the pool cooling off and relaxing. Darryl said he felt like he was at Venice Beach with all of us working out! I think he enjoyed watching because he had worked so hard while we were skating. We cooked ribeyes and chicken on the grill. I made a nice homemade salad dressing and a plum and ginger barbecue sauce. It was definitely not your run of the mill barbeque sauce! What a great Independence Day we had. Everyone’s all tuckered out, which is a good thing because we are sleeping outside tonight!
Last night we slept outside on the deck again. Really loving it out there, sleeping under the stars. There are lots of lightning bugs flickering and stars shining. We can hear the traffic out on the highway, but then as the night goes on the sound of traffic gives way to silence, except for the occasional plane flying over. One time we heard some animal shrieking in the woods. Pretty eery... Then we are awakened to the sound of a symphony of birds greeting the day. It is so magical. I will always remember these days. And when the boys bring their wives and kids home to visit we’ll tell them about all the fun we had and the crazy things we did. This morning we went to the little park and practiced with our roller blades. Decided we didn’t want to go on the track at the big park until we all feel a little more comfortable with skating so we don’t wipe out the first time we go around. I think it went pretty good. I think we’ll do even better on the track because we won’t have to make teeny little circles. Hahaha... but I’m glad we did it this way for starters. Next time I will leave the knee pads and elbow pads at home and just take the helmet. (ended up picking up a lot more garbage today! people are such slobs!)
I am loving my rebounder! It is like the best cheap investment I ever made. It’s so little, and transportable, and easy, and fun, and it gives you a tremendous workout in a short amount of time. So glad I dug it out of the basement. Kyle made me a playlist of songs so that I have some heavy duty rock to work out and sweat to. Ryan snuck in Theocracy's Laying the Demon to Rest for a super fast beat!
It has become a challenge to me to see if I can get through a song without stopping. What a blast. And then to cool off in the pool is the proverbial icing on the cake.
Ryan is gearing up for his concert in August. No idea what it looks like yet, but it’ll sure be a cool show. He has been learning some very awesome music software stuff. He’s having an interesting time with all of it and making some very unusual sounds. As Kyle says, “It will be epic!”
Kyle is working on tutorials and it looks like he may be coming up with some ideas to make money from his Rethinkyoyo.com website. He’s also looking into adding his logo to the World’s Yoyo competition backdrop and T-shirts.
It’s exciting to see what the boys are learning, trying to make their way in the world. Only a few years ago I didn’t even think they were going to go to college. Now they are not only going to college, but they are also working hard at pursuing their goals.
