Noah looks cute, but silly.
Gabrielle looks old and equally silly.
Dinner looks delicious, so I took a pic.
I'm in a band. I hope you come out and see us sometime. The name of the band is the Unknown Legends and we've already been out to L.A., San Francisco, and a couple of charity events. And that was just yesterday. We try to stay humble, but with Colton on drums, me on guitar and Gabrielle on lead vocals, we're pretty awesome.
We had a great Christmas and Christmas eve. Dinner was at Dennis and Jennifer's house. God was praised, presents were opened and conversation was light. 
More presents were opened the next morning. We said a prayer before doing so. Gabrielle started us in a rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, then the paper started flying. The kids called it the best Christmas ever. I hope a part of that is because there was more meaning behind the Christmas. Jesus may have been mentioned before, but he wasn't praised to the extent he has been lately in our prayers and conversation. Noah is able to open presents pretty well and it isn't very often he leaves his little blow up car he got. He likes to eat his cereal in it and he throws all 25 balls all over the living room. He helps keep our living room in a constant loop of destruction and repair, destruction and repair.
Soon after the presents were opened and everything was cleaned up, they wanted to play. Noah had his car and Kim did some puzzles with him. The rest of us started a band named Unknown Legends. I'm not sure how Colton came up with the name, but I like it. It seems to be sort of an oxymoron. Gabrielle grabbed her microphone, Colton grabbed the drums, and I grabbed the guitar and we rocked out to Eye of the Tiger and a few other 80's and 90's songs. 
We went to my Mom and Dad's later. It was fun.
There's a little game I play with Noah on a daily basis. Usually when I'm holding him or wrestling around with him, I'll say the single word "Kisses?" He'll usually say "No kisses!" and cover his mouth. I'll remove his hands and try to kiss him asking again, "Kisses?" He'll laugh and say "No kisses, Dad!". Sometimes it goes on for a while and occasionally he'll pucker his lips and give me a kiss.
Kisses brought me back to the blog. I'd taken a few notes in the last week and a half or so, but hadn't published anything. I still try to remain as positive as possible, but I hadn't felt inspired to take the time and write anything.
Along comes Emily.
Emily had stayed the night and was leaving Saturday morning along with Kim and rest of the kids. I was saying bye to the kids after they were already all buckled up. Gabrielle was in the back of the van and we had to stretch quite a bit to kiss. We had our smooch and we laughed. I go around to the other side and give Colton a kiss too. I tell them all bye and begin to close the door.
Along comes Emily.
She had unbuckled herself and was standing in the doorway all of a sudden. "Bye, Uncle Mark.", she said and puckered up. I gave her a little kiss and a little hug and told her "Bye, Emily." She is usually funny and playful, but that little peck reminded me how sweet she is. I love my kids, but sometimes I forget how much I love my nieces and nephews. They're all really great kids with great parents.
I go over to the other side of the van where Noah is buckled in and tell him "Bye, Noah." I lean in to give him a kiss and he says "Kisses." I smile, give him a kiss and lean back to close the door. Before I can get that far, he says "Hugs." I put my arms around him the best I can and he places his little hands on my shoulders.
:)
I give Kim a kiss as well and they were on their way.
Pictures from the past week or so:
Putting the Angel on the tree.
Decorating
Noah with his hat on backwards.
Noah looked at this playdough and said "Monkey!" Hmmm...
Innocence
Rolling out the cookie dough
Getting Dirty
Gabrielle
Tree Decoration as Awanas
House Decorating
For a more natural smile, I asked him to think of a funny joke. :)
We told Noah to eat the house, so he did.
Thank you, Lord, for unexpected kisses and hugs, wonderful nieces and nephews, great kids (mine and others) and a wife that comes up with ideas like making cookie houses and knows how to bake them.
You are a great God. YOU are my inspiration.
Today was a good day. The kids stayed home from school and we spent much of the afternoon in the snow. It started off as a snowball fight with the neighbors, and then something made me want to check the hill behind our house. I'd never thought of it before. I wanted to see if there was a clearing big enough to go sledding. It didn't take long to find one. I called the kids over and asked if they wanted to try it. They said they would, so I got busy cutting several tiny trees that were growing on the hill and clearing out all the thorny bushes. The biggest tree was only a few inches around but even hitting any stump could cause catastrophe so I cut them all as close to the ground as possible and pulling them up if I could. Tim got to try it first since he had his sled with him. He went down fine and loved it, but I had to ask he not go down face first. The space we cleared was pretty big, but at both sides were trees that aren't coming out with anything less than an axe, and we didn't need any facial injuries. Later on, when Tim finally hit the tree after running up to his sled and jumping on it, he tumbled down the rest of the hill with no injuries.
They went over a friends house to slide down his driveway (??). When the nachos were done I called them all in and we pretty much cleared out the dish between Emily, Allison, Colton, Gabrielle and I. We were famished. When we'd had our fill, it was time to head off to Awanas. Garrett got dropped off and we were on our way. We picked Jiselle on the way and began our usually boisterous trip to the church. Many times we'll go over funny lines from several movies. A recent favorite is Elf ("There's no singing in the North Pole." "Yes there is. We do it all the time." "No there isn't" "Yes there is." etc.) I brought up one of my favorite characters from Pixar's movies, Dory (voiced very well by Ellen Degeneres). Garrett did a great impression of her as she talked to the whale from inside it's mouth ("That was a tough one. I couldn't tell if he said "I'm going to get you out" or "I want a rootbeer float""). Everyone else chimed in with "No eating here tonight, No eating here tonight. You on a diet!"
We got there and headed to the sanctuary. Emily sang the Star Spangled Banner, and I attempted to tape it. The kids who had brought toys for the Oxford Fish took them to the front and had their pictures taken. A representative talked for a bit and we all stood and applauded her work.
We were a little short on people, but it was hardly noticeable. We got through the verses and headed to counsel time. Angela continued her story of Samuel, Saul and David and then played a game asking questions of the story. We played Zonk where you got to pick cards out of a bag until you picked out a zonk card or you wanted to stop. In an unusual turn of events, Team A didn't get any zonks and team B got one ever time leaving me with 21,000 points for team A and three zeroes on the B side. I made a snowman with team B's three zeroes on the board and you would've thought team A thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. That's what a great about kids. They don't hold back. When they laugh, it just funny to see them laugh.
Then it was game time. One of the girls didn't want to play so you sat on a counter. She probably asked someone to have one of the several candy canes on the counter and her and another girl had one. Once that first game was over, she asked that all the kids that had sat out the first game to come and play the second game. It was then Mary realized the girls were eating candy canes. There were several there, but only two that were big enough for her game. We ended up playing with the little canes. So we had kindergartners, 1st graders and second graders trying to pass tiny candy canes to each other using only pencils without using their hands. It ended up being slightly easier than we had thought and the game went well.
When we got back to our room, the leaders were not quite done with the room, so the kids sat outside. I asked if they wanted to sing a song and we decided on the edited version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I thought that was pretty cool. When they were done, we entered the room and gave out awards. Gabrielle finished her first book and was awarded another jewel and another book. I'm very proud of her.
On the way home, Colton asked if we could stop by the market on the corner down the road. All seven of us went into the store and I was the last one in. The kids had stopped at the door and we knocking on it since they couldn't get it open. I looked at my watch and didn't think they could be closed before 9. After 30 seconds of wondering what was going on, Emily pushed the other side of the door and it opened. It was pretty funny. We got a drink or other type of sugar and left.
Noah was still up when I got home after dropping Garrett off. The kids were ready for bed, so we said prayers and the day ended.
We had HBO a couple years ago. It was always the same old movies played repeatedly, and I've had no problem living without it. The one show I do miss is Def Poetry. Fortunately, for now, people are posting much of the poetry. This is a recent one I liked.
Watching this made me think of my little princess. As soon as she got home, she wanted to go outside. I went with her and helped her build a fort. We had a snowball fight with Tim, Matt, and Sarah. Colton came out later. We came in and had dinner after which Colton and I went and played a few games of pool. He has a very good shot. We should play more often. We came upstairs and watched Americas's Funniest Videos for a while. Colton finds the show pretty hilarious. I find it funny occasionally, but it's great to hear him laugh. Noah will laugh too just cause we're laughing. Good times...
I prayed a few times today. I had a good, albeit short, conversation with my mother-in-law. Kim made the playoffs in her ESPN league with the other teachers. I submitted my resume to more jobs. I need a hobby. Any suggestions? :)
I knew at least one thing I'd be blogging about today. As Carson (one of the 2nd graders at Awanas) sat up on the stairs waiting for everyone to get situated and ready for prayer, he looked at me and then gave me a kind of mischievous smile. Not the kind where he's about to do something mischievous, but just the sort of smile you might give another that jokes around with you a lot. I smiled back, then we prayed. I saw many more different kind of smiles throughout the day. I noticed Angela close her eyes as she listened to Scott up on stage. She held her microphone close as she usually does as he speaks, then she opened her eyes. She looked immediately at Scott and smiled. Scott has that effect on people as he speaks or prays before every song. If I think about it, I can think of so many other people smiling. Pastor Bob did when I saw him this morning. Sloan sat by herself as she was apparently waiting for the children's prayer. She looked up at me, waved, gave me a very genuine smile, and went about studying her gloves again. Many people smiled as I shook their hand before the sermon, and I smiled when Diane crossed the aisle to shake our hands. I smiled later on as I heard Diane speak a few times during the sermon. She would say an occasional "Amen" or other words of agreement. Colton smiled as he remembered last weeks singer. He could remember the song as well, but he particularly enjoyed when he sang separate from the rest of us as we sang the song.
I remember smiling as I watched TV later in the afternoon. There was a preacher from Detroit preaching to his congregation. When he got all excited, he would breath in hard and make an unusual noise into the microphone. It would've bothered me if I hadn't been enjoying what he was saying and enjoying the fervor he was causing for others. I believe he was talking about Ezekiel and how God's spirit pick him up and left him in a "valley of bones". He talked of how God will place us in situations that will humble us and to see what we do while we are in that place. The pastor believes that sometimes "only a shout will get you out" meaning one must still praise God no matter the situation. We need be overjoyed in our hearts because if God has placed us in a situation, then He is using us for a greater good. By the end of his sermon almost everyone was on their feet, some of them were jumping or rocking back and forth, many had their hands in the air and almost all were smiling. I thought of Diane and smiled. Although she is not loud, she is the loudest at our church, but her exclamations are nothing compared to this church I watched. As I've said before, it's great to see how other people praise our Lord. Some are quite loud, while others are quiet. That is one part I didn't really agree with the preacher about. He was sort of mocking the quiet ones. He acted as if then needed to continue to have an appearance of an intellectual or they needed to stay dignified or they didn't want to look foolish on camera. He said that some that seemed to act ridiculous during the sermon may be getting "ridiculously blessed". He told his congregation to "make some noise". People worship in all sorts of ways, and it was unnecessary of him to make note of the quieter ones. I think, though, that what he was trying to say was don't hold back. Don't hold back your praise and don't hold back your joy. He's right. We shouldn't.
The whole family smiled today as we wrestled around and even got Kim in on the act. We are fortunate Noah seems to very rarely hurt himself, but the flipside of that is that he seems to have no fear when we wrestle. He will fling his whole body and any and every part of your body. He's fun to play with, but you just have to keep a very close eye on him. I smiled as we prayed tonight. We are praying we learn lessons from this current situation, but we are very happy to have what we do. We are especially lucky to have a wonderful God be with us eternally. We are incredibly lucky to have found a wonderful church and we are blessed that He has given us each other. Thank you, Lord.
"God's greatest blessings often come costumed as disasters." I read that today. If I was to apply that to my life, I'd have to tone it down a bit. God has and continues to bless my life repeatedly. Losing my job is nowhere near a "disaster". For now, I've been knocked out of my comfort zone. That's a good thing. I think of Todd Agnew's line in "My Jesus":
"He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable, so which one do you want to be?"
I think many of us may not want to answer that question in that it may incriminate us. As is the case with many Americans, we lived beyond our means (especially me), so we could have lived and acted much less "comfortable". Even though I may like to think God revealed himself to me just this year, that wouldn't be an excuse for not looking to Him in all matters previously or even the past few months. Is my family's current state a blessing? I believe so. I believe that something good will come out of this and it will be clearly evident to us all. It may happen later than sooner, but I'll be patient and enjoy the extra time with my family. Depending on how my new job works out, I may start to see them less. I pray that is not the case.
I got to work with Gabrielle's class today. Mrs. Lomerson greeted me and showed me where to put my coat. It was Gabrielle's turn to read so she got up in the rocking chair and began to read the story of Scaredy the Squirrel. As she showed the class the pictures she gave the microphone she was using to a different classmate. If she got stuck on a word, she'd ask one of the other students. The kids laughed at certain parts, especially the squirrel's schedule (12 noon, Look at the view, 12:30: eat a nut). We clapped when she was done, and it was my turn to work in front of the class. Gabrielle had brought in my Rubik's Cube the day before as a secret object and I showed the kids how to solve it. They were more excited than I had expected and commented the whole time. Mrs. Lomerson asked if any of the children had a Cube at home and asked if they might want to try and solve it now. Several kids raised their hands.
After the cube presentation, she asked me to play a game with the kids in the cafeteria. I had read the rules before we got down there, so I showed the kids how to play. It used a "magic decoder" and most of the kids really liked that. I sped the game up a little bit and managed to get three groups of four almost all the way through the game before we were asked to come back to class for a snack. It was Sydney's birthday and she had brought in cookies. She passed them all out and I got one as well. As they were eating, I remembered a thought I had earlier when the kids had raised their hands . I asked if anyone who didn't have a cube wanted mine. Several hands went up. I asked them to pick a number from 1 to a 100 and there was a three way tie. My number was 47 and two girls wrote 49 and Matt, our next door neighbor, wrote 45. I asked those three to guess a number between 1 and 10 and there was a two way tie. My number was 6 and Matt and Sylvia guessed 4 and 8. They guessed again and Sylvia was the winner of the cube. Gabrielle and I went to find Colton and once I did, we went home.
Later on, Colton had a friend over that hadn't been over for years and Gabrielle had a friend over as well. Chase really likes Legos, so he and Colton played with those for quite a while. The girls played house and we played with the play dough. We made root beer floats later on that night and the kids went to bed pretty late. Good times...
Noah will drag me all over the house letting me know what he wants to do. I was looking for a little something different this afternoon. So, as usual, I googled my inquiry. I saw many posts agreeing that kids that age love messy projects. One woman used pudding and her son especially liked that the paint was edible. I liked the idea and I tried it. The result was pretty funny at first. With a bunch of paper all over the floor under us, I tried to show Noah what to do. He placed one finger daintily on the pudding and copied me as I wiped it on the paper. I showed him he could put his whole hand in it. He wouldn't do it himself, so I placed his hand in the pudding. He pulled it out and wiped it on the paper. With a smile, he sticks his four fingers in his mouth. He enjoys the taste, but then notices how messy his hand is now. "Messy, Dad." and holds his hand out to me so I could clean him up. :) I eventually convinced him that was not necessary and we made a mess of quite a few pieces of paper.
Sometimes I think I should have a separate blog and name it "Coincidence of the Day". I always notice something coincidental I find interesting. I e-mailed Adam this afternoon to see how things were going. I sent the e-mail and went back to my e-mail page. He had just sent me an e-mail. After not talking to him for two weeks, we e-mail each other within 2 or 3 minutes of each other. Amazing we thought of each other at the same time. After being layed off for two weeks and not hearing from anyone, I heard from two guys from work. Besides Adam, my friend Tom e-mailed me and both of them named their e-mail "What's up?" Hmmm, interesting.
We had fun. I helped the kids with their verses (Anna was pretty silly and Carson did quite a few)and then we went to counsel time and Angela told a bible story in her kid-friendly way. After the story she asked them to play a game answering questions and had a lot of fun with that. After counsel time, they played some dodge ball and had lots of fun with that.
The trip to and from Awana's was pretty rowdy. I'll just leave it at that. What a great bunch of kids. Gabrielle is always good and very sweet. She studies hard and plays hard. I don't see Colton very much, but when I do, he looks like he's having the time of his life. Jiselle still leans right up against me as we wait for our opening ceremony to start. She really is a sweetheart. Garrett likes to be a bit of an oddball (like a lot of boys that age) and almost always makes me laugh. He's a really nice, polite, kid. I hope we're friends with those families for a while.
I had one of the most important, wonderful things in my life happen to me this year: I received the Lord into my heart and began a personal relationship with him. I also had one of the worst things happen in my life this year: I lost my job. I've had a job for 20 years. It not a good feeling. I think it's pretty amazing these two things happened within 7 months of each other. I really believe God knew this was coming and did not want us to go through it without KNOWING he's with us through it all. Having Him in my life also helps me remember how many people have it as bad or much worse than I do. Without Him, I'd be filled with worry. Without Him, I'd probably forget about anyone else's situation but mine. Without Him, my relationship with Kim wouldn't be growing even through this crisis in our life. Without Him, there may not be a whole lot of joy in this house. With Him, one of the first verses I memorized still sticks with me:
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord! I will say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, bring your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind with Christ Jesus.
That last line is just awesome. The peace of God TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING. We cannot even comprehend the peace he has for us. It is such a monumental amount of peace, myself and many others can feel peaceful even at times like this. He has it under control. He will use this peace to guard our hearts and our minds with Christ Jesus. Why do I deserve something so wonderful? I'm just lucky enough to be one of His children. As long as this family believe God has it under control, we will get through anything. Things could get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. I know it will. I might have doubt once in a while, but it doesn't stick around too long. My heart is guarded by peace and filled with joy.
Thank you, Jesus.
I finally got to say thanks yesterday. I still can't be sure who I prayed for that night back in April, but if they were there, I hope they got the message. I thank God for bringing them into my life. I thank God for the honor of praying for them. I thank God that he used such a wonderful experience to reveal himself to me. I wanted to thank so many more people, but I got lost in the nervousness I had not anticipated. God already knows I've thanked Him many times, but the people at the church do not know my thoughts. I understand that they don't have a need to be appreciated, but they are appreciated and it definitely doesn't hurt to tell them that. I was brought into their life for a reason. They were brought into my life for a reason. That reason is good. We need to glorify Him, and praise Him, and thank Him and pray without ceasing. He is good.
The rest of the testimonies were great. After Jerry Maddock's video testimony, Pastor Bob started. He talked about his heart problems and then thanked God for the ability to see his first grandchild. To listen to him and not get choked up, one must not know him very well or it takes a lot to choke them up.
Next was a young man I sort of relate to. He seemed new to having a personal relationship with God. He praised God, the church and the youth ministry.
Lowell was soon after me. He especially thanked God and his wife. It was very heartfelt and wonderful.
Fran came soon after him with tears still in her eyes. She is very grateful to God that all her kids and all her kid's spouses are Christians and great people. I hope I can say the same when I get older.
I wish I could remember the names of the others, but I will never forget the faces. Two women thanked God for the strength of their relationship to their husbands. Another told the story of her trip to China and what the church she attended was like. It had over 2000 people in it from all sorts of countries. Many said prayers in their native tongues. That must've been truly beautiful.
Another man gave a particular funny testimony. He said at first that "God was so lucky to have me as a follower." He realized through things in his life and I'm sure through prayer, that he better understood that that was not the case.
Dennis gave his own testimony. He mentioned Jennifer and how strong she is. He mentioned how they were the family we had prayed for and donated money to earlier this year. I already knew, but for him to tell the whole congregation seemed like a pretty big thing. I get all emotional just thinking about it.
Sharon gave one of the last testimonies. She talked about her cancer and how it had taken her sister and her husband. I was in a group with her for 12 weeks and I never found that out. I'm not going to dwell on my lack of ability to get know others like I'd like to, but I'll just pray I get better at that. I would at least liked to get as close as an acquaintance might get, so I can better experience her joy when she is told she is cancer-free.
Before the testimonies started, Diane came and shook our hands as we shook the hands and introduced ourselves to those around us. She told me she got the best grade in her class. She said she got all the points possible. It took me a second to remember Day 189 when we worked on her homework and talked for a couple hours. I congratulated her as she was walking away. She seemed very happy. Kim later told me she said" "we" got the best grade in the class." Either way, I'm very happy for her. She gave a wonderful testimony which include a discussion of Pastor Don that was very kind and put him in high regard.
Regarding this, I'm not the best at PowerPoint. I barely use it. As she walked around that Sunday looking for help, I could've easily thought "I'd like to help, but I don't know much about PowerPoint. I hope she finds someone." God laid it on my heart to find her at the end of the sermon, wait for her as she talked to Pastor Don, talk to her and ending up inviting her over. He used us in each others lives for a reason, and it wasn't necessarily to "get the best grade in the class", although that was obviously in his plans.
MONDAY
Kim had today off from work and so did I (I can't believe I can joke about that), so I spent some time updating my resume and e-mailing it to prospective employers. I called Tanya at Michigan Works and she helped my greatly. We spent much of the day playing with Noah or catching up on shows Kim had recorded but not watched. I got a package sent out and hopefully it is the first of many. We prayed before the kids went to bed later and we held hands. I was told I have "heavy" hands. Noah went down easily and we said good night to them all.
I watched a few videos on Godtube.com and asked Kim a few questions. I asked her about God speaking to us. We each have our own opinions on the matter. That's not to say they're conflicting, just slightly different. Later on, I was sure God spoke to me. Clear as day. The subject matter leads me to question the veracity of what I believe, but I have come to an understanding. Contrary to what Kim and I may have believe, sometimes God does talk to us that way. Sometimes it will be clear as day. It may even be like that most of the time, but sometimes we're not listening or choose not to...
Make a choice, people. And by people, yes, I mean me. It's a tough thing to do, but we can get better at it every day we have left.
I love you, God. Thank you for loving me.
The "Blahs" have been running rampant throughout the house the last couple weeks. First Colton, then Noah, then Kim and I. We're not feeling too hot. The food was good yesterday. I said grace before dinner. That was sort of an honor. I've said it several times before dinner at home, but not in front of all the families.
Kim got up really early to go shopping. She came home tired and even sicker than she felt last night, so she took a nap. Fortunately for us, Noah's motor almost never quits running. He kept us playing throughout the day. We played train and blocks and a little bit of myball. The way he giggles when we play myball is hilarious. Gabrielle and I played with the blocks too, but her playing was more structured. She was trying to figure out how to make each level one color. We did what we could and she ended up creating a cool little house...
We also roughhoused a bit as well. That's always fun. Later, Noah wanted to take the house apart and put it back together. He'd take a piece off and place it back on somewhere else. We took it from the table and by then it was about 3/4 of a house. I began to place it on the floor and it slipped. Large Lego pieces were all over the place. Noah's attention had already been diverted as I dropped it so I scared him a bit.
"Don't Dad."
"Sorry, Noah."
Later that night, after a few more Lego playtimes and while the rest of us were watching The Polar Express, he awakes us from our blahness and fixation on the movie by picking up the house we had repaired and throwing it straight down. Large Lego pieces were once again all over the place. This time there was a large smile on his face. I think toddlers love destruction more than they love building sometimes.
God is Good.
Noah got the 24 hour flu last night. Colton had it a few days before. There reaction to it was different. You could tell Colton was sick. He just wanted to rest all day and looked miserable. We gave him some water and tums and he was fine the next day. I brought Noah down after Kim got home. I felt an odd rumbling in his belly, but I thought he was hungry. I gave him to Kim and then...I'll avoid the particulars. He got sick again after his Aunt Mary called. He acted perfectly fine in between. Laughing and playing like nothing had happened. He looked a little more fearful the second time, but he was soon the same old Noah. We knew that his belly still hurt because he told his there was a bug there. He would lift up his shirt and point at his belly. "A bug" to him means a little pain or something is poking him. We sat him down, gave him some more water and kept a very close eye on him. He would burp occasionally. After doing that a few times, he covered his mouth with both his hands and said "No, mouth. No." I felt so bad for him then. The little guy was worried. He said that a few more times. I gave him a small amount of some childrens' tums, but I still thought he would get sick again. He still hadn't when it was time for bed, so I laid him down with Kim. He fell asleep without a problem and was perfectly fine today.
The Lanza girls were over today again. They played dress-up, tag, had snowball fights, slid down our steps outside, played with Legos, played the wii and generally had a good time all day. I made megas, bacon and a english muffin or bagel for dinner. I went through a whole dozen eggs. Hardly any of them went to waste. The kids, even Noah, ate well. Later on, Kim made cookies. The kids loved them and they each wanted two. Noah just had one, and has not yet learned the pleasure of finger-licking good food. The cookies were still warm and he had melted chocolate chips on his fingers. He showed them to me and told me "messy". I cleaned him up and took his plate. After several hours of playtime, it was time for the Lanzas to go home.
Later on, we tried watching Napoleon Dynamite, but the dvd player wouldn't play the movie very well, so we got out Cranium. I asked the kids to be on be on a team together and they played well for the most part. The only violence involved Kim and I. She had to act out a clue. The timer goes for a minute and on this turn, Kim had to act out a clue. I knew it within 8 or 9 seconds. Keeping an eye on the timer, I watched as she acted like the bar came down and she started going up a hill. She acted like she was going down the hill and her arms shot up. She put her arms down like she was holding a bar and then she goes around in a sort of a circle. She starts to go up the hill again and then comes down again with her arms up. Colton says "Dad, how can you not know what that is??!!" I said "I know what it is. It's a roller coaster." That's when she hit me. She punched me in the arm and slapped me on the chest. I would've pressed charges, but it didn't actually hurt. We all had a good laugh though. We bent the rules for the kids a bit and they ended up winning by a mile. It didn't help I rolled four consecutive "ones" when it was our turn. We prayed and they went to bed. I stayed up to blog about my day. Praise God for everything. Thank you, Jesus.
Well, here's something that put a ironic smile to my face.
In the last few days, I had been jumping on my blog and commenting on the things that had been positive about my day as I had mentioned before. I didn't actually blog. I just started one, saved it and planned on coming back to it. I decided to finish that up last night and post them all. I started to do so, but stopped. I wanted to do a little rambling. I decided I'd close my eyes (hence all the typos) and blog whatever came to mind. CfC hasn't been by in over a week, no one in Lapeer reads my blog anymore nor does anyone from Oxford, so with the thought no one would read this but me, I began to babble. It wasn't exactly a positive babble either. Decidedly negative, in fact. But, hey, no one's reading, so I'll complain for a day and get back to positivity tomorrow.
Or so I thought.
I was reading a book Jennifer gave me a few days ago with some "Contemporary Christian" music playing on the T.V. Colton recognizes Jeremy Camp and tells me how much he likes his singing. He asks me what song is it that he sings that he would know. "I have a few on my blog. You might recognize all of them." I get up to go my blog and play a couple for him. He said he was thinking of "Can't Get Away." I told him that was by "Rush of Fools." While on here, I checked the counter for the heck of it.
Oh no.
Not ONLY had CfC shown up again, but so had Lapeer AND Oxford. That was not for your eyes, guys :). I'm sure you thought nothing of my late night ramblings, but it's odd that on a day where I blogged thinking I would depart from the norm for a day, people show up. I wondered why. I smiled. I better not do that again. I'll keep the complaining to myself. I'm not falling off the wagon again. Positivity from here on out...
If you've read this blog before, you know I like coincidences. Most of the time they're very small. Nonetheless, they're coincidences. Here's another. It's great how God works. A guy calls tech support who is on the other side of the world. "Tech Support" helps out and remotely checks out the guy's computer. She sees his blog (God Hungry) which is his home page and asks if he's a pastor or minister. He says "Yes". She finishes up her help and before hanging up, she asks for a favor. "Sure", he says. "Pray for me.", she says. The poor woman feels overwhelmed by her problems. She begins to cry. He promises to pray, does so, and leaves a note for others to pray for her as well. 28 people, including me, have prayed for her so far. I'm sure that "overwhelmed by problems" feeling is felt by many people. It'd be nice if we had someone to give those problems to, so we wouldn't feel so burdened. We do. Our God does that for us. All we have to do is ask. It's awesome that God used a man on the other side of the world to help this woman.
I asked the kids what was the most positive things in their day today. Gabrielle enjoyed going out and playing in the snow with the neighbors. Colton enjoyed having Garrett over today. Speaking of Garrett, when his Mom picked him up, she said he loved Awanas. He's asking for a Bible for Christmas. God is using Awanas to help all the kids. I get to transport Colton, Gabrielle, Emily, Allison, Garrett and Jiselle there. It is more than an honor.
The kids are looking over my shoulder right now. It's a bit unsettling, but o.k. I think they want me to type something else. Hmmm. Here's one:
I asked Kim what was the most positive thing about her day today. She said "The kids listened to my lessons today" Her days are usually pretty rough, so it was great (Colton's word) that she was able to come up with something so quickly.
Colton's still here. So's Gabrielle. She's chugging some Vernor's. Now they've knocked it on the keyboard. They're cleaning the monitor as I type.
Colton just chugged the rest of the Vernor's as Gabrielle continues to play with her fingernails.
Noah sleeps.
Life is good.
Praise God.
Wow. It's Monday already. Time flies. I've thought about what I want to say this Sunday when I get the opportunity to thank everyone. It will be a heartfelt thankyou, but there are many people who have helped change my life, and I would like to let them all know. I'm looking forward to it. I think my mood has changed slightly since losing my job. I can hardly stand to watch any news because the horrible Michigan economy is all over the place. I am not allowing God to work through me as I should. I could be a better father, husband and disciple in these lean days. So far this week, I feel like I've had one partial meal. Running the video doesn't always allow one to concentrate fully on Pastor Don's message. Since then, I've only sparingly opened my bible or had good discussions with God. I had an interesting conversation Saturday night. I was watching a Catholic priest speak on EWTN tv and was enjoying his talk. Eventually, it was getting very late, so I turned it off. I went to bed and prayed on my knees. For the first time though, I felt the urge to pray flat on the ground. I remember seeing a man do that during the prayer vigil. He was up near the podium while I waited my my time to start praying. He layed flat on his face and was praying loudly. This prayer felt like a prayer where I was praying to be given the strength to turn my life over to him fully. It was a very good prayer. The next morning...I was the same ol' me. Not much in the way of Christ-likeness. I've changed, but not nearly enough. I keep asking questions of everyone instead of searching for the answers myself. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm asking so I know how I "should" feel. I want to make sure I'm going in the right direction and not somehow straying. God is all around us, but I can imagine him being a million miles away buy very easy to see. I could start walking towards him, but if I'm off by one degree, by the time I've walked a million miles, I've walked well away from him and am on my way to oblivion. The Bible should be a life blood in my life and it is not. It should be the heart of my body pumping spiritual nutrients to my soul and mind. I don't let it. Instead, I continue to look at others lives and try to emulate certain Godly things I see or ask whatever random question is on my mind. I'd like to go to Jim' orientation to his class on the 11th, but I'm not sure I'll be able to attend future classes. It'd be nice to have that fellowship with others. I don't know now if that will happen at classes in our church. I'll pray on it and God will face me in the right direction. The kids were home today on their extended Thanksgiving vacation. They had friends over and we all had fun. I keep on asking them to change certain things about themselves that can be detrimental to themselves and others, but I may need to change first before I expect them to. It's late. And quiet. I feel empty. I need to get a fill-up. I need some time alone with God.
Today was the last day of the study of the bible class. We went over the last weeks homework then had some cake. Then Lisa, Wendy and I continued to go over our discussion on Joseph. Lisa gave me some paperwork that had the commentary for this chapter of Genesis. It brought up some good points and answered most of my questions.
I wanted to watch a movie tonight, but I couldn't think of a movie that I owned that was somewhat "happy" until I remembered eternal sunshine of a spotless mind. I like movies that mess with time in one way or another. Some of my favorite movies besides this one are Memento, Frequency and the back to the future movies. This movie zigzags between present happening and past memories. It is a surreal movie and does a great job of illustrating a fractured love story. Towards the end of the movie when the words "Meet me in Montauk" are whispered, you get a better understanding of how things happened the way they did.
My first day off in 20 years today. I guess "my first jobless day off in 20 years" is better. Or worse. The time spent with Noah is great. Getting up with the kids to get them off to school is wonderful. Not having a job should be scary. It's not. Yet. I hope I'm able to keep putting this problem into God's hands. I have to continue to work to do what I can, but I keep getting the feeling everything's going to work out great for us. By us, I mean my family and my job situation. By "us" I could've meant Christians, in which I'm sure everything's going to work out great for us.
Awana was fun. I got dressed up like a turkey and did the chicken dance in front of the kids and others. Odd? Yes. Embarrassing? No. In between the parts where you dance like a chicken I went over to dance with the kids. I was just about gang tackled. It was a hoot (another bird reference).
We also had our pizza party because we were co-winners in the can competition last week. Would I have spent $50 in soup if I had not had a job last week? I'd like to say yes, but I'm not sure. All the kids got at least one piece of pizza and a breadstick. They enjoyed themselves. Drinks were forgotten and one child mentioned her lips were burning. We were able to get them some water and put out the fire before any damage was done.
Working in reverse even more, at the beginning of the Awana meeting we were reminded there was no Awanas next week. The kids reaction was partially feigned excitement. Mary asked for our reaction and we acted excited as well. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Do I feel I could use a week off from the kids? No. Not at all. One leader had mentioned to her older kids that she felt more comfortable with them than with the little ones. I'm sure it's reversed for me.
I'm gonna miss Brandi and Carson and Anna and Delanie and Ryan and Shane and Ben and Joe and Amy and Jiselle and Caleb and Trent and Sloan and E.J. and Breanna and Cameron and Tara this week.
I got laid off today, but I believe I am still joyous in my heart. One thing that will stick with me is telling one of Noah's teachers what had happened while I got him in the car. She told me she was sorry. I told her I believed in God and believe he has a plan. She smiled a beautiful smile and said "So do I."
Kim was supportive as well, as were the kids.
Getting the words I didn't want to hear were sandwiched in between two stories of the fires in California. As I got out of my car at work this morning, I heard that Christopher Lloyd had his house destroyed. I've always liked that guy. He's got one of the goofiest faces this side of Jim Carrey. I think I've always liked him because of the Back to the Future movies. I've seen those tons of times since they came out in 1985.
After getting home, I watched the news for a bit. Many more people had had their homes burned down. One family in particular had an autistic child who was having a hard time understanding what had happened. The mother spoke of his love for Hot Wheels Cars. Every time friends or family came over, they had one for him. His mother said she searched for them once she came back to her house. They were gone. They were all gone. Everything had been destroyed.
Things like this and the fact that I had survived many other layoffs at our company leaves me unable to feel sorry for myself at all. How could I when I have a friend very close to my heart who had someone close to Him become a traitor? He was rejected, beaten, ridiculed, scarred, and finally had His hands and feet pierced by nails. That might sound bad, and it was, but He did it as a favor to me. He loves and has always loved and always will love me, my family, and every one of us throughout the world. I've met some great guys at work, but I don't have any other friends who would do that for me. Nor would they be able to promise escape from death and the promise of eternal life.
Thank you, Jesus, for dying for us. Thank you, God, for sending your one and only Son to do this for us. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for residing in my heart as you have.
Interesting word...gamut. It doesn't quite flow off the tongue like "serendipity" (day 3). I went through a gamut of emotions today. I had to have a discussion I didn't want to have with someone, and just thinking about it made me sort of angry. I was able to pray and calm myself down. The person I talked to took what I had to say in the best way possible and the conversation went well.
A long time front-office employee where I work got laid off today. I was sad for her, and partly worried about my own job. She had been crying when I talked to her. She wasn't sure where to go to from there.
I had to have a tire fixed, so I called around Lapeer to see where I could get it done. I talk to a woman at Wal-mart who was very chipper. Her chipperness actually made me laugh at the end of the phone call. I got off the phone with a price and a smile.
I saw a video that had been made with the song My Jesus and clips from Passion of the Christ. Thinking back on when I watched that movie, I am slightly surprised I never put much thought into it. People like or dislike the movie for different reasons and part of the reason I saw it was to see what all the fuss was about. It is really rather quite violent, but none of us can really imagine what he went through. It was probably worse than what they make it out to be. I'm going to have watch it again.
Diane was over tonight. We had some interesting conversation while we worked on her homework. I did not like the direction she took the conversation occasionally and I don't think I could ever stand behind all her beliefs.
Many lines stick out to me in this song, but a few in particular are:
"My Jesus would never be accepted in my church. The blood and the dirt on his feet might stain the carpet..."
"I think he'd prefer Beale Street to the stained-glass crowd..."
"I want to be like Jesus..."
We got up early so we had time drop Noah off at Dennis and Jennifer's. Gabrielle, Noah and I went to the door and Gabrielle knocked. She knocked again. "Do you think they're up yet?", I asked. "Yeah.", she said. "I can hear screaming." LOL. She was right. Trenton had apparently gotten up a little cranky. Jennifer had on her happy face anyway. She would say later that we must've been wondering what was going on. I think she may forget sometimes that I also have three kids with a younger one as well. I know what it's like. I thought nothing of it. I thanked her and we were off to Sunday school.
We got there early and I went to their classes with them. Gabrielle was the only one in her class when I left and Colton was there with one other girl. He was joking with her a little bit as I left. She had a shy smile on her face. I hope that attitude and that effect he has on others stays with him. I hope the same for Noah. Both Wendy and one of the other mothers there picking up her toddler said they loved his attitude. Wendy said if I had come to pick him up any later, she would've taken him home with her. :)
I had read the chapter of The Purpose Driven Life concerning church fellowship the night before. That chapter is going to have an effect on me for a while. It was something I had thought about a bit before I had read that chapter. Jim Kirkland had said we would stay in the groups we were in when we started the Bible study class. I figured we would go over our homework together every once in a while. I thought there might be calls and e-mails. Almost none of the above. The one or two times we went over the homework together at the table, we were not given much time to do so. I called no one and no one called me. I had e-mailed my homework out when it was not out of a workbook and had received e-mails back. I really enjoyed that part. The fellowship part is definitely lacking. I thought the same this morning at Sunday school. Diane asked a few questions, had a couple disagreements and we were ran out of time as Jim tried to finish up. There is no time in the class for fellowship. If we talk too much or ask too many questions, we don't get to the end of the lesson. Jim mentioned that Diane had not been in the first few classes discussing God's love for us. I thought that was irrelevant. If we believe that Jesus died for all of our sins, most of us can almost realize how big of love that must be. Seeing it in scripture really makes it hit home. That's a little disappointing he mentioned that. He seems a little perturbed by the questioning. Diane, to her credit, has already said she is a little "rough around the edges." Jim, to his credit, tries to answer her questions as well as he can. I'm new to all of this, but I don't know if that means if I should not question this. If we left open more time for fellowship would we use that time wisely? If I had called during the class, would I have received calls back?
Diane had mentioned she needed help with Power Point at the beginning of class by asking a few people around the room. After Pastor Don's sermon, I asked her if she still needed help. She said she did and is coming over Monday night so we can work on it. I hope it goes well, I can help, and we can talk about other things as well.
The sermon went over trusting God. Trusting Him during the good times, in adversity, for both big things and little things and trusting Him with all our being. Also, trusting God in all ways. Trusting Him with all our thinking, behavior and our wealth. Sometimes, especially in times of adversity, it is difficult to do so, but in our Christian walks, this is another characteristic we all need to work on every day. I like to think I'm getting better at since I'm not so anxious all time as I had been. I am trusting more in Him and less on me. God is Great.
Kim came home this afternoon. She gave us all "prizes." Gabrielle's was a pair of earrings, Colton's was a sketch pad, Noah's was a four-pack of books and she bought me a Bible cover. It's very nice. My bible is a little small for it, but I'm still considering getting another study Bible. That would probably fit better. Gabrielle put in her new butterfly earrings right away. They looked pretty. Colton used his sketch pad and we read Noah his books. He seems to know what a "circle" is but doesn't get the others yet. He knows the words red, green, orange, yellow and purple, but I don't think he knows what any of them really are yet. He knows his Sesame Street characters though. He knows who big bird is, what elmo, the count and cookie moster look like and probably says "oscar"(the grouch) most clearly.
I read Kings 18:1-19 last night. I went up to his bedroom and asked him if that was what he asked me to read. He said it was. It must have been told to him in an exciting way. I'm glad he enjoyed it.
We went grocery shopping in the middle of the afternoon and that messed with Noah's sleeping pattern. I didn't want to lay him down and wait till he got up to shop and I didn't want to put him down by the time we got home. He was pretty cranky by the end of the shopping trip and actually fell asleep. He was sitting in the cart with his head down so I took off his hat and placed it under his head for more padding. He allowed me to do so, probably lacking much energy and went back to sleep. I had clipped some coupons at my mother-in-law's house and Colton and Gabrielle were very helpful in taking a coupon and trying to find an item. I don't do the shopping much, so I was thinking all the food we got would be close to $200. Fortunately it was a little less than 2/3 of that.
The kids thought dinner was one of the best ever. LOL. We had pizza rolls and Ramen noodles. Colton wanted pizza rolls, and I wanted some Ramen noodles so I made both. They both said they wanted some noodles too, so I made enough for all of us. Noah didn't eat much of his noodles, but he was loving the pizza rolls.
Soon after this, I called Kim and put the speaker on, so everyone could say good night. Once Noah said his peace, I laid him down since I knew how tired he must be. The kids and I watched the newer version of "The Shaggy Dog" after he went to sleep. Colton was tired and went to bed soon after. Gabrielle asked if she had to go to bed yet, and since it was techincally not her bedtime yet, she stayed up for another half-hour or so. Once she was ready for bed, I realized I had not said a prayer with Colton, so I asked if Gabrielle would say one with me. We knelt by our bed and I went first. She said her prayer next and hopped into bed. I stayed up a while watching a buddy of mine play in a $10 tournament online. He ended up winning $1500. He's had quite a bit of luck and his skill is always improving as well. It was getting late, and we had to get up early in the morning, so I went to sleep. Very peaceful sleep. Thank you, Jesus.
The latest addition to the playlist is out of place. It probably won't stick around long. The janitor was in the lab on Thursday and starts singing sort of quietly but in a high voice. He's used to the odd looks he gets. I think he's in his 40's but could easily pass for my age. He's quite a personable guy always looking for a low-five or fist punch over every funny thing he says. I just smiled and shook my head. He asked me if I knew who that was. I told him I couldn't understand what he was saying. I don't think he mentioned who it was. He just mentioned he liked singing in a high pitched voice rather than trying to sing in his normal voice. I told him he might do a good Brian McNight. "Who?", he says. "Brian McNight. Ever heard of "One Last Cry?"" He asked me if I had the cd. I told him no, but I could pull it up for him. I did and he stood there listening to the whole song. He said he was going to have to write that one down and find it. I'm not used to listening to tear-jerkers with another man in my lab, so it made for an unusual experience. That was exactly the kind of song he was talking about and later on in the day he was standing well out side of the lab singing that song in as high of a voice as he could muster. I saw him and he just starts laughing.
Kim left this morning. She'll be gone til Sunday. We all miss her already. We went to see Madagascar this afternoon and as we were driving home Colton says "I miss Mom." I said "I do too. ...her smiling face, her beautiful hair..." "Dad," he says, "you're making it worse." We both laughed. There was a lot of laughing going on during the movie. Both Colton and Gabrielle had a friend and they all enjoyed it. Once Noah got home, we played with his new cars for a bit, watched some "Blues Clues" and played some Myball. He didn't mind me knocking it out of his hands today. He'd just giggle and run after me. Gabrielle is staying over a friends house and was pretty ecstatic to be able to do so.
I was reading The Purpose Driven Life today and read a section on people in the church helping others within the church grow spiritually. I immediately thought of Lisa. The best part of that discussion last night was that she didn't want to let it go till she felt it had been fully understood by both of us. I could have conversations like that for hours. That in turn reminds me of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof. We watched part of the movie in the Bible Study class quite a few weeks ago where he envisions having lots of money and being able to have spiritual talks for hours upon hours. I believe seven hours was the exact number. I'd love to be able to do that. Right now, though, I'd run out of scripture to discuss very soon. Either way, I've had wonderful experiences since becoming a Christian and that is yet another one of them. Thanks again, Lisa.
And thank you, CfC (Curious from Clarkston) for stopping by occasionally. I must admit it brings a smile to my face. What I think was my friend Jen dropped off the counter few days ago. She read the blog fairly faithfully for a while as well as evidenced in comments on day 31. She quit coming, not so coincidentally, around the same time school started. When I first started the blog, I wanted everyone to read that first blog of mine. I wanted everyone to remain positive and look to God through it all. Now, I don't feel it's necessary for others to read my blog to get that. If they are already looking towards God, then I hope most of them will be positive anyway.
Before Colton hit the hay tonight, he says that if I'm staying up later, I should read I Kings 18:1-19. I'm glad that part of scripture had an effect on him. He's brought it up a couple times today. I'm definitely going to make sure I read it. Kids are great. I love you guys. I miss you Kim. Good night. I'll be thinking of you all in my prayers and dreams.
Love,
Me
I'm kind of surprised this blog has not felt repetitive to me yet. I suppose that may be because of the spiritual and educational growth I see in my kids and Kim and I. Physical growth is evident to especially with Noah. On day 3, he was barely up to my knee. Now he's all the way up to my thigh. Kim and the kids are always finding new ways to make me laugh or sit back and think. On day three I wasn't participating in Sunday school, Bible study, AWANAs or helping with video once a month. That leaves me with quite a few things to talk about.
Tonight was the Bible study class. We reviewed the past few chapters of Genesis up to chapter 47, then we watched a harvesting video. It was about a Christian family who had lost a father and husband. They had a very large harvest and did not think they would be able to harvest it. Many people eventually came to help and all was well. God has planted many seeds in several people. Are we growing spiritually and teaching others, so that when God comes back, he will be able to several believing souls with him? How many dying seeds are out there because we have not gained enough knowledge to help them? How many times are we given the chance to show how a Christian should act and don't take advantage of it? That would allow others to see Christ in us and possible bring them to the Lord. I know I'm not ready yet, but I hope I get there.
I talked with Lisa and Jenni a bit about what, at first glance, seemed like a large fault in Joseph, a man who was with God throughout his life. He was being deceptive to his brothers in order to find out the truth about them. I wondered if I am to walk with God as Joseph did, can I do the same? Can I be deceptive to my kids to find out if they've done wrong? Lisa said she had never felt what Joseph did was dishonest. We talked to Jim and he believe that sometimes one needs to be discerning and wise rather than too open to ones who may be trying to continue to hurt us. It was a good discussion that we had almost throughout the whole class and after everyone had left. Lisa could tell my question hadn't been totally answered at a few points in the class, so she brought up again when she had the opportunities. She is on of the many caring, concerned people at Oakwood Community Church.
Awana Wednesday! I hadn't thought about it until just now, but I love those kids. Every one of 'em. They're like any kids. They love to play and laugh. I talked to a former youth pastor and he said I should be as silly as possible, within reason. That's easy enough for me.
I didn't make the 11:59 deadline, so this will have to be a Monday/Tuesday blog. We're working less hours at work, so time goes fast. I got home and Gabrielle was having some trouble with her homework. She was trying to learn the rules of adding "s", "ed", and "ing" at the end of words. We went over it for a while and she eventually caught on better than she had. While doing this, Colton was asking for help as well. I told him I'd help when I was done with Gabrielle. When we were done, I helped Colton find some "platforms the American Party (The Know-Nothings) stood for". Once we got that figured out, Noah needed me. I helped him out then sat with him for a while. I got up to get ready for the dinner Kim had been making (bacon cheeseburgers--not the heathiest, but delicious!). Once next to her, I realized I had not kissed her when I got home. I did so, then helped prepare the kids plates. We spent most of the night playing with the kids before they headed off to bed. Once the prayers were done and most everything had been picked up, I watched some football. Once football game was nearing an end, I headed to bed.
This was my day in a nutshell.
I like to think I've been blessed by a wonderful God. I spend lots of time thinking about Him throughout my day in my decisions and how I act, but I need to spend more time in His word. I pray that as I mature in my faith, I use my free will to do so.
Tuesday was not much more difficult.
After locating my blog this morning, I noticed a third person had voted in my poll. They believe that the bible is the Word of God and is the truth. I think I know the person who voted "No.", but I'm not sure. I'm putting in a special prayer for that person.
Kim had a late meeting and got home rather late tonight. I had made sloppy joes and mac and cheese. I already had some on the kid's plate with applesause and Kim made her own. This was only after kissing me on the lips and saying "I love you." That was nice. Colton prayed then we had dinner together.
I spent time with Colton on a puzzle type game and some time with Gabrielle helping her with her Awanas verses. Kim spent some time with Noah reading books. Before we knew it, it was time for their bed time. Then prayers, then blog, then book, then bed.
God bless everyone.
There was more than the normal amount of audience participation in Sunday school this morning. A few interesting points, counterpoints, agreements, disagreements, moments of confusion, minutes of explanation, and perfectly placed words were brought up. This did not leave much time left for continuing the series on walking the walk we talk in Ephesians. Nevertheless, no time was really wasted, it was thought provoking as always, and I learned a little bit more about the Trinity.
Pastor Don pleaded with his congregation to pray for our leaders including President Obama, whether we voted for him or not. He believes that what we expect is what we'll get. If we expect him to be the savior of America, then he will be (unless he does horribly bad). If we expect him to not do well whatsoever, we will look for his mistakes almost exclusively and he will not be a good president. He's right.
We enjoyed the after-church fellowship with the Boomers in one of the side rooms because of a lack of space in the main area. I get someting close to the chills every time I'm in that room. I can see myself on my knees at the table against the wall praying for those that had requested prayer and feeling His presence greater than i had ever felt it before. I remember looking at the clock and seeing the time 11:20 exactly. Soon after, I left the room to pray in the sanctuary to pray for another hour, but that room will always feel special to me.
I also remember looking at my phone and seeing exactly 11:00 pm in glowing white numbers before I entered that room. This leads my mind to our bible study workbook's definition of the eternal nature of God. It says:
God has no beginning, and He has no end. He is not confined to the finiteness of time or to man's reckoning of time. He is, in fact, the cause of time.
That last sentence really struck one of the women at our last bible-study class. That whole definition, but especially that last part, is difficult to wrap our finite minds around.
Gabrielle gave me a postcard sized card she had gotten from Kim. It had a heart in the middle of the card with the words "I love my daddy" in the middle. She's so sweet.
I told Kim I hadn't really blogged in almost a week. As she was taking her microwave popcorn out of the microwave, she said I should blog about popcorn. Hmmm. O.k. I can go through almost a whole bucket of the movie popcorn before the trailers are even done. I like it with no butter, but I've had it with butter and it's not too bad. I like it when there are no burnt kernels whatsoever. I don't like burnt. Kim doesn't mind it. I don't like the little pieces that get stuck between my teeth, but it feels like such a relief when it's finally out. Pastor Bob talked about popcorn in one of his last children's sermons and I learned a little something. Popcorn pops because of the very small amount of water inside of the kernel. Once the kernel can no longer contain the steam within it, it explodes and we get popcorn. My heart and mind could no longer hold in all the cynacism and negativity on that fateful day back in April. Although I continue to hold onto those stuck-in-my-teeth irritating, leaving me with a hard shell on the outside concepts, they were replaced with a life-sustaining and delicious faith and optimism.
Thank you, Jesus.
