A Real Life Musical

Have you ever watched those old musicals where a girl or guy starts randomly singing a song, and then suddenly everyone in the area seems to know the song and the exact dance steps involved? I always find it so amazing. How did they know what to do??!! Haha...

Of course that never happens in real life...or does it?

The following video takes place in a train station in Belgium. They all seem like ordinary people until a song from "The Sound of Music" starts to play...

(Warning: The song gets a bit "disco" at one point!)

Why Worry?

I found these quotes the other day and thought they were rather thought-provoking!

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Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith. ~Author Unknown

Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which will never happen. ~James Russel Lowell

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

Troubles are a lot like people - they grow bigger if you nurse them. ~Author Unknown

I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then, whenever doubt, anxiety or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal - and soon they'll forget my number. ~Edith Armstrong

People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross. ~Author Unknown

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere. ~Glenn Turner

Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination. ~Christian Nevell Bovee

For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe. ~Author Unknown

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~Swedish Proverb

Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time. Some people bear three - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have. ~Edward Everett Hale

We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it. ~John Newton

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden. ~Corrie ten Boom

Worry is rust upon the blade. ~Henry Ward Hughes

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. ~Arthur Somers Roche

There are people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this way they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happen to them. ~Josh Billings

He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears. ~Montaigne

Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow. ~Philip Gulley

Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there. ~Author Unknown

VBS Dress-Up Night

I went lurking around today, and stole...errrrr....found these pictures from last night. :)

Princess Rebecca with some of her class (unfortunately, most of the princesses, kings, and knights hadn't arrived yet!)

A group shot of the teachers & helpers who dressed-up

VBS Fun

This week is Vacation Bible School at my church. Our theme is "Swords and Shields", and the room is decorated as a castle. It looks really neat! You're just going to have to trust me on this because, alas, I have not taken many pictures at all this week. I have brought my camera each night with good intentions, but when you have 15-20 K-1st graders to watch over, its nearly impossible to stop to breathe let alone take pictures!

I mean look at this serious look on my face as I lead my kiddos out for game time....

....to be perfectly honest, I think I was just concentrating on untangling my name tag that was blowing and twisting in the breeze and threatening to strangle me!

It's been a fun and CrAzY week so far at VBS! Last night was dress-up night. It was so cute seeing little princesses, kings, and knights running around! Even the teachers and helpers dressed up!

In the beginning of the evening, I was able to take two pictures...

When Briar, my wonderful helper this week, told me that she and her cousin, Mateo, were Robin Hood and Lady Marian, I just HAD to take a picture of them. That just totally thrilled me...for some "unknown" reason! ;-) Isn't this picture so sweet?!

Here are some of my pretty princesses of the evening (with Robin Hood in the background :))

I know some people were taking a lot more pictures last night and the previous nights, so I am hoping to "steal" a few of them, and post them later to show you!

Desktop Background Design

I discovered something yesterday...rather, I was taught something yesterday. Sarah always has such cute desktop backgrounds on her laptop, and I wondered where she got them. She told me that she made them with a special program she has on her computer, but then she showed me a way I could create my own - through Power Point. You go into your Power Point program, and create a page however you want. Instead of saving it as a presentation when your finished, you save it as a JPEG file format (picture). So last night, *cough* I mean, early this morning, I decided to create my page.

I really like how it turned out! When I put it as my desktop background, however, I noticed the picture looked a bit stretched, so I changed it to a center picture, and put a matching color around it for the rest of the background. Also, I learned that when you save it in JPEG format, you can't open it again in Power Point to make changes. So you have to make sure you save it as a picture AND as a presentation.

So here's my first attempt at making my own desktop background. It's rather fun! Oh dear...I feel another "addiction" coming on! :P

Who Am I?

Because I teach 2's and 3's Sunday School, I haven't been able to hear the adults' Sunday School lessons for quite some time now. This summer our Assistant Pastor is preaching a series on victory over sin. I have heard so much about how these lessons have been beneficial for so many people that I decided that I just had to hear them! Tonight Andy was able to copy the audio messages to my computer. The first one I listened to tonight was entitled "Who Am I?" It was basically about how people deal with identity crisises in their life because they depend on other things for their identity (such as a husband/wife, job, financial position etc). In reality, it is making those things an idol in their life. As Christians, our identity needs to be found in Christ, and not on earthly things/people that will eventually just vanish away.

Lately, I feel like I have been going through a bit of an "identity crisis." For two years now, I have been identifying myself as 'Becky, the Kindergarten teacher.' Obviously, two years is not really a long time in the grand scheme of things, but I guess I found security in that description of myself - a Kindergarten teacher - that is who I am - that's ME!!! However, for the next year or so, that is not who I am. My "title" is changing. I guess I could refer to myself as Becky, the Accountant, but officially, I am NOT an accountant. I am just doing an accounting job! But then again, I am still helping out at the school, so I will still technically be a teacher. Yet, at my one job, I will not only be doing accounting, but also secretarial work. Sooooo then....who am I??? I am not sure at the moment! Right now I am "in training" for these new jobs, and so I am not technically anything! Or am I? This slight "identity crisis" I am going through is just showing me that indeed, I must be depending on my job to be my "identity", instead of letting my identity be in Christ.

Tonight as I was pondering this whole thing after I was done listening to this particular SS lesson, I thought of something that was preached on at camp. I had gotten the audio messages from all the services, so I listened to the first part of one of the messages again.

The preacher said something to this effect, "The Lord wants to develop good Godly Christians. He doesn't want you to be a good accountant; He wants you to be a good Christian who can do accounting. He doesn't want you to be a good teacher; He wants you to be a good Christian who can teach."

Now, do you think it is just a "coincidence" that the preacher chose THOSE particular jobs as his examples? Of all the jobs he could have picked, he chose the two jobs that apply to me!

My identity needs to be found in Christ. It doesn't matter what job/position I may have, or what task I may be completing - if my focus is on pleasing the Lord and finding my security in my never-changing God, I never need go through "identity crisises" in my life!

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

Colossians 3:23

Because I am learning so many new things this summer, and find my brain being quite stretched at times, when I read this verse this morning, I found it quite comforting!!

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

Isaiah 40:28

Faith Book

Recently I subscribed to Proverbs 31 Ministries' Daily Devotions. Some of the devotionals are geared more towards mothers/wives, but there have definitely been many that are just the sort of encouragement I need for a particular day. I found today's devotion to be quite convicting and I thought I would share it.

*Please Note: The author used other versions of the Bible, so I changed them all to KJV. That is the only thing I altered in her article.*

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"And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God." Nehemiah 9:3

A new addiction slipped into my life recently - Facebook. Internet social networking slid in quietly and unobtrusively. Each day I found myself reading and posting a bit more. I learned how to create my visual bookshelf, so my "friends" could check out what I was reading. I linked my blog. My time seeped into Facebook like grains of sand slide through the hourglass.

My addiction soon took a turn for the worst. I began to put off my personal quiet time with God until after I had Facebooked. Sadly, scripture seemed boring next to my friends' postings. Strangely, the mundane posts intrigued me. I had fallen under the spell of social networking.

Then one day, I dragged myself away from my laptop. I had Bible study that night and needed to finish my lesson. The lesson pointed us to the book of Nehemiah. I read, "And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God." (Nehemiah 9:3)

Yikes! They read God's Word for a quarter of the day, then spent another quarter of the day in confession and worshiping? These words haunted me the rest of the afternoon. When was the last time I spent that much time with God? How much time did I spend on the Internet? I felt a deep conviction about my Facebook addiction.

I determined that day to read my Bible, my FaithBook, before I turned on my computer each day. I would network with God, before networking with my friends. When I made this decision, I saw scripture jump back to life. God's Word spoke to me with a freshness that seemed as if He had just posted it Himself.

The addiction stopped. Oh, I still enjoy Facebook and other social networks, but I have learned to keep them in proper perspective. Psalm 119:59-60 sums up my new intent: "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments."

Will you join me in the commitment to spending time in God's Word before time spent on Facebook?

Dear Lord, I recognize that I spend too much time on the computer. Forgive my inattention to Your Word. Help me each day to place You first in my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Today, take notice of how much time you spend on the computer for personal enjoyment. Decide to make your quiet time with God a priority. Read Psalm 119 and then ponder the benefits of time spent in God's Word.

Reflections:

Do I put off my quiet time with God in lieu of "social networking?"

Am I willing to commit more time to reading the Bible?

How can I begin to keep my life in a healthy balance?

Power Verses:

Exodus 24:7, "And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.'"

Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Written by: Susanne Scheppmann

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Although it was geared mainly towards being addicted to Facebook, it could also apply to reading and/or writing blogs! So if you haven't read your Bible yet today and spent some quiet time with God, get off your computer right now and get to it!

There is my little sermon for today.

And all God's people said, "Amen!"

Believe me, I am preaching to myself!! :)

Abiding in Christ

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."

John 15:4

What did Jesus mean by that?

He meant, "Find the meaning of life in Me. Find your value and confidence in Me. Find your purpose and direction in Me. Find the source for all spiritual achievement in Me. Find the strength to live each moment in Me. Find the wisdom to navigate the many turns of life in Me. Find forgiveness from all your sins in Me. Find the satisfaction of boundless joy in Me. Find the most glorious peace in Me. Find the most perfect love and acceptance in Me. Find the most satisfying life for all eternity in Me."

Excerpt from When God Writes Your Life Story

~by Eric & Leslie Ludy

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

The ice cream cake my mom made for Andy's birthday last night was sooooo full of chocolatey goodness! She has made it a couple times for other birthday celebrations, but for some reason, I just hadn't remembered how "out of this world" it was!! I only had a small slice, but I was in chocolate heaven!

You want the recipe? Just watch the following video and let your mouth water!! You can also go to Kraft food's website here for more information.

We get to celebrate Andy's birthday again tomorrow with my extended family, which means savoring even more of this totally scrumptious chocolate delight.

Jealous?? :)

In Celebration

Last night at supper we celebrated Andy's birthday. Of course, my Mom made & decorated his birthday cake. If you recall from all the blog entries I did about my past birthdays, decorating birthday cakes is one of my Mom's favorite things to do for us! :) Any guesses as to which baseball team is Andy's favorite?

This ice cream cake was totally scrumptious! In my next blog entry, I'll give you the recipe. :)

After trying to find pictures of Andy and me for my last blog entry, I requested a more current picture of the two of us :D

The birthday card I gave him....in case you don't know, Andy is really into the whole computers/networking stuff :)

Blowing out the candles as we totally embarrass him by letting the whole neighborhood know its his birthday. (We were singing quite loudly!)

To further celebrate Andy's birthday, we went to an Iron Pigs baseball game.

The birthday boy :)

Sisters who were *slightly* bored at times throughout the evening. :)...except when shouting "Roast Beef!!" 10,000 times. You just had to be there...

The sun was quite bright for a bit!

Hit that ball!

Run to first base!

Because their name is "Iron Pigs", we were encouraged to "oink." :P

They ending up winning the game! After it was over, we were able to see lots of fireworks.

P.S. Not only is this post in celebration of Andy's birthday, but it's also in celebration of my 200th post! Wow! That went fast! It feels like I was just celebrating my 100th post. And, nooooooooo, in case you were wondering, I am not going to be making a list of 200 things about myself. :)

Happy 19th Birthday, Andy!

Today is my lil' brother's birthday. He is 19 - NINETEEN?!!!! When did he get to be so old??? I mean, seriously?!

I am so proud of my brother! Although sometimes I still think of him as that giggly little 8 year old, I have to take a quick second look and realize he's not! He has turned into a man! Because I am one of THOSE "annoying big sisters", I often tease him about his muscles and "manliness". However, that is just my way of telling him how proud I am of him! (hmmmmmm...maybe it doesn't come across as that though!)

It's been so amazing to watch him "grow up" especially since he started his first job and college courses. He is turning into such a responsible adult!

We are alike in a lot of ways, so I've enjoyed seeing how our relationship has progressed from just being "bro & sis" to good friends. Although after Andy sees this post...... :)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDY!!! I hope you have a wonderful day! You deserve it!

This post just wouldn't be complete without some embarrassing old photos! I mean, I have to keep my "Annoying Big Sister" reputation 'in tact", don't I? :)

First time I got to hold my baby brother in the hospital

Becky and her babies (Which one's real?!)

Look at that toothless grin!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww....

Bulletin Board Burdens, Blunders, and Blessings

Over the past two days, Rachel F. and I have been working on bulletin boards around the church/school. Either there had been nothing up on the board for awhile, or what had been up was getting kinda old. Decorating these five boards had been added to my "summer job list" so I decided that this week was the perfect week to "get-er-done!" Thankfully, Rachel was quick to offer her help seeing it was originally her suggestion that they should be re-decorated (which they definitely needed to be!!).

So between yesterday and today....

• - We spent lots of time just figuring out what should be put on the boards.
• - We then had to find the right pictures on the computer (Google images anyone?!).
• - We dealt with uncooperative printers.
• - We spent lots of time selecting the correct font, and then printing it out only to discover we didn't really like the font.
• - We cut out the pictures.
• - We eventually realized that some of our pictures were too small/big so we had to spend time resizing, printing and cutting again.
• - We used some cut-out letters but then we had to figure out which letters we needed for which verse (thanks, Chanel, for all your help with this!).
• - We had to measure out the bulletin board paper.
• - Of course, we needed to take a break and walk to Dunkin Donuts for iced coffees, and then walk back in the pouring rain!
• - Did I mention the fact that we had to deal with uncooperative printers?
• - We said "Of course!" and "This printer hates me!" at least 10,000 times.
• - Because the pictures were printed larger, they were stretched out on multiple pages so we had to spend time putting the pictures together like puzzle pieces.
• - We had to then glue the pictures on the boards.
• - We had to glue the letters on the boards which required a lot of centering (this is where my "perfectionist" tendencies REALLY began to show!).
• - The list could go on and on and on!
  

We had some stressful moments, but altogether it was a fun two days working on bulletin boards. We definitely learned that NEXT time (if there is indeed a next time!) we will DEFINITELY be more organized and have a plan ready, pictures figured out, and so hopefully five bulletin boards won't take us 12 hours like these did!!!

Oh well...it was a memory!

So here are the 5 boards. We tried to center the bulletin board themes around our VBS theme this year which is Operation: Sword and Shield.

This one is the verse from Ephesians where we are supposed to take the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Many, many thanks goes to Jen who made our fiery darts for us!!!

This is the verse, of course, about the word of God being quick, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Again, much thanks goes to Jen for making the "starburst" and for giving us the idea in the first place to highlight the fact that the Bible is powerful - which is more on a child's level!

I look at this next board and the main thing I remember is me "overseeing" Rachel glue on the letters and telling her whether they were crooked and spaced right...aaaah, yes..this is where my "perfectionism" really showed. If I learned anything from this experience it is that you can't be a perfectionist when it comes to bulletin boards!!! However, this board turned out nice with the red fabric draped over it for the "border".

I really like how this next one turned out. Simple, yes, but the colors - gold and blue - have that "regal" look and I like how the verse, pictures and blue fabric go together.

(*Commercial Break* If you ever need gold paper - see me! - There is a TON of gold paper in our art closet!!! *Commercial Break over*)

This was our last board, and by this time our brains were fried, and we really didn't feel like doing bulletin boards anymore. However, I think it still turned out pretty good. Rachel had the inspired idea to add the silvery paper behind the shield which really added to it. And of course, the draping red fabric helps too!

So I hope the Scriptural messages behind these bulletin boards will leap out to both children and adults alike! When you really stop to meditate on them, they are soooo powerful filled with so many promises and guidance for the Christian!