When Plans Change....

I had it all planned out. Ever since June I knew what I wanted to do for Alayna's 16th birthday. She listened to the music, played the music on the piano, and sang the music constantly! She even had watched the movie with friends many, many times. It was perfect. I researched all the information, and asked others who had gone if they had any special advice for me. I was so excited. Ironically, when I was considering when would be the best time to go, I remember thinking that if we went in August we wouldn't have to worry about the weather. Ha!

Earlier this week, I know I "tortured" some of my blog readers when I left them hanging with this picture, wondering what I was inviting Alayna to...

Well, here is what the card revealed...

When she read that, her mouth dropped open (as you saw), and she was *slightly* excited. She texted her friend, Noreen, right away and she was *slightly* excited as well. Needless to say, we were all *slightly* excited. :-) So this past month we have finalized plans, figuring out all the details of our upcoming NYC adventure.

All was well until.....Hurricane Irene decided to show up.

I really didn't think too much about it. I knew there was a hurricane coming, but I didn't think that would really affect us other than perhaps we should bring a couple of umbrellas along.

I was wrong.

Sitting in the office yesterday at work, I was trying to stay focused, all the while just getting really excited about the next day's adventures.

Then my cell phone rang. It was my Mom. When she asked me if I was sitting down, I knew that it couldn't be good news. A horrible feeling of dread washed over me.

"New York City is completely shutting down all means of transportation tomorrow in preparation for Hurricane Irene. We have no way of getting there to see the show."

Pause....

"Becky?"

I just sat there, stunned...and numb. I just couldn't believe that this was happening! You know how it is when you have looked forward to something for SO long only to have it swiped away from you at the last minute?! I really didn't know what to expect now. The tickets clearly stated that there were no exchanges or refunds, so I basically thought that I had spent lots of $$$ for nothing, and poor Alayna would have no special birthday memories.

THANKFULLY after about 30 minutes of being on hold for customer service, I finally got through to someone to discover that since the shows were being cancelled, everyone was going to be reimbursed for their tickets!! Also, I was able to reorder tickets right away for a later date. It was QUITE the relief!

Oh yes...the disappointments of life! I kept asking myself WHY would this hurricane have to come on THIS weekend? The weekend I had planned for months! But as I blinked back tears of disappointment, I was reminded of the fact that God is in control of everything, and He knew this was going to happen from the very beginning. Why did it happen? Maybe we would have gotten into an accident, or maybe the actor playing the Phantom would have gotten a sore throat and wouldn't have sung as good??? Who knows?! God does. And although I have complained a lot more than I should have (shame on me), ultimately I have to trust that "all things work together for good."

So yes, hopefully everything will work out for us to go see Phantom of the Opera in New York City on Saturday, September 10! But, as I am discovering more and more in life...plans change whether you want them to or not! I've got to learn to be flexible and let God be in control. :-)

Questions That Haunt Me

I got this through email today, and thought I'd post it on my blog for more people to enjoy. Hope it brings a smile to someone's face as it did mine!

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Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?
They're both dogs!

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above? (Please tell me I wasn't the only one who did this!)

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why, Why, Why

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Alayna's Salvation Testimony

What a joy it was to see my sister, Alayna, get baptized last Sunday night!! It has been great to see how much she is growing in the Lord, and truly wants to serve Him and put Him first in her life. I am blessed to have both a brother and sister with this mind-set. It's great to have that "spiritual connection" as well as that "sibling connection". :-)

Here is Alayna's salvation testimony in her own words. Please take time to read it and truly evaluate where you stand with the Lord!

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I’ve been going to LVBC since I was a baby. I was born and raised in a Christian home. Ever since I was a little child I have been taught about the Bible, how Jesus died for my sins, but I just never thought about it. I remember one time when I was in elementary and we were having revival meetings, I was so excited that I got out my sermon notebook and wrote down every message. One night I went up and prayed and thought everything was alright in my life. When I was in 7^th grade we had a Youth Conference with some really good messages, but I was to afraid to do anything. On Thursday night we had a bonfire and my one friend got up and said how she had gotten saved. Of course I was happy for her, but it hit me, I should start thinking about salvation. I always thought that someone had to go through a long process in order to get saved. After the bonfire I went to my friend’s house and forgot all about what I had thought earlier.

During that next year I was scared of what would happen if I would die. I knew I would go to Hell. What if the Rapture would come? I knew that I would be left on this earth. What if… I kept thinking in my head. I knew I was lost and a sinner condemned to hell, but for some reason I was afraid to tell anybody.

Then I went to summer camp in 2008 . Every message was good. I was convicted but fear made me not do anything. On Thursday night, July 3, I was really convicted but I didn’t go up at the invitation. After the service I went with Rachel Hammett and we talked. I prayed to God and asked for forgiveness of sins, and I got saved. At first I didn’t believe I got saved because I have heard so many testimonies of other people saying how after they got saved they had this feeling. I waited, but no feeling came. Also that night I found out that one of my friends got saved. Of course we were both happy and excited and I really wanted to say something at testimony time, but fear over took me.

When I got home from camp I told my parents what had happened. I was saying how I was going to read my Bible everyday, but after camp, things started slowing down I started hanging around my neighbor friends again, and then everything just stopped. Later on that year I started doubting that I was really saved. I had done the four week Bible Study with my mom, but still had this need to have some special feeling to know if I was really saved. I kept praying one of those prayers “If I’m not saved please save me,” because I thought that I needed to have this miraculous feeling showing me if I am saved. So that was one of my reasons for doubting. I then just put it off.

One day though, I was having piano lessons with Kristen Nadaskay, and she asked me some questions about my salvation. I got this lump in my throat because I knew that I wasn’t sure that I was saved, because I was still waiting for a special feeling. I kept saying to myself, “I’m not gonna cry, I’m not gonna cry.” I was really frustrated with myself because I truly wanted to know if I was saved or wasn’t saved, but I was too embarrassed to talk to anybody.

Kristen then asked me if I wanted to do the 8 week Bible Study with her, which I agreed to. I knew I needed to do something. I didn’t want to keep putting it off. It wasn’t until I finally understood that salvation isn’t based on feelings that it seemed so much clearer to me. When I got to the second study on Assurance, I wanted to truly make sure that I was saved. I did the Assurance study a second time which helped me know for sure that I was truly saved based on these verses, Acts 16:31 “ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” And of course John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

In the spring of 2009, my family and I went to the Sight n’ Sound play called “Behold the Lamb”. It portrayed how they crucified Jesus. I was so affected by it that I just wanted to cry, seeing what Jesus did for me. Now when Kristen would talk to me about spiritual things, I wouldn’t have that lump in my throat anymore. I would openly talk to her about spiritual things. And also when I would hang out with my friends from the neighborhood and they would turn on their music, I get this uneasy feeling and try to make an excuse to leave.

Then I started having issues with baptism. I knew it was the right thing to do after you got saved, but I would put it off saying “I can do it next year, or I will finish my testimony tomorrow.” Of course that never really got me anywhere. I had half my testimony written out, but never made the time to finish it. But when my brother got baptized when he was 19, because he also waited till later and seeing how he has been growing ever since he made that step of obedience, I knew I needed to get it done. As time went on, though, I just kept on thinking about my testimony, but never finishing it. Then something happened. Pastor Roland preached chapel at school. I came in late so I had to sit in the front row - much to my dismay - but the message really got my attention. His message was about accountability. How in the summer it is the hardest time to read your Bible. During the message he called out my name twice just saying how it could be up to me to do certain things. Right then and there, I knew I had to get an accountability partner and get my testimony written and not keep putting it off. I got Briar as my partner, and as were talking I was excited as was she. We made a list of what we needed to accomplish, and the first thing I said was get Baptized!

I started typing it out, but then stopped, because we were off to camp. During camp our counselors in our cabin told us their testimonies. It was such a blessing to hear what they went through and it encouraged me because one of them said how they also struggled with baptism, which right then and there made me think, I can’t keep putting this off. I knew that after I got home that I need to type it out completely. As I was typing it out I thought of this song, it was my Pop-Pop’s favorite song, and now it’s mine too. I just like the words of the chorus - the assurance it gives. “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone, because I know who holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

Where Did the Summer Go To?

In 2001, my family went to Prince Edward Island on vacation. Such a lovely place! While there, we went to a musical production of Anne of Green Gables, and one of the songs in the musical was entitled, "Where Did the Summer Go To?"

Even though that was 10 years ago now (wow!), we STILL find ourselves singing that song around this time of the year as the summer quickly comes to an end. Where DID the summer go to? It's been quite the busy summer! June was Kindergarten graduation, high school graduation, graduation parties, etc. and so forth. July was filled with Vacation Bible School every Wednesday night, and of course, our NY vacation!! At the end of July I went to a friend's wedding, and just last weekend to another friend's wedding. Quite the wedding season around here, and 2012 will bring even more friends' weddings. Life is changing *happy/sad sniff* :-)

August has simply zoooooooomed on by! It is hard to believe that the new school year starts next Monday already. This year, my schedule doesn't change that much, so the new school year really won't affect me. Weird! Last year at this time I was busy getting ready for Kindergarten. My, how things change.

On August 1st, Alayna officially turned 16. Although the big celebration was back in June, we celebrated her actual birthday with some presents and a cupcake tower.

I wanted to do something special for Alayna for her 16th birthday. My present was simply a card, with a special invitation inside....

Some of you already know what it is, but for the rest of my blog readers, I covered up the card with ?????? because I love to leave people hanging...(although I hate when that happens to me...hmmmmmm). You'll just have to wait till next Saturday to discover what special invitation was in that card!

Meditating on these Verses...