It's a Great Day to Take Care of Business

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Busy weekend: another 5K, Colts play!

Good morning all! Weekends are becoming crazy around here--this morning I'm out for another 5K! You may remember that I did the Zoo run a mere 2 weeks ago...and twisted my ankle less than 24 hours following that. Unfortunately my ankle isn't all that much better so I may not match my (awesome) time of 48:36 walking...especially since I hear there are some major hills on our route this time around. But I will NOT be discouraged! I'll be good to finish, happy coming in under an hour...thrilled to make 50 minutes or less, and estatic to beat last 5K time. We shall see!

Thankfully, I have a massage scheduled later this afternoon, which I shall savor. And THEN I get to babysit for 2 of my good friends--4 sweet kids total, all of which I adore (and who, thankfully, adore me right back)

Tomorrow our youth group is 'invading' another church...kind of. The praise band/choir has been asked to lead worship for their service and I am going to lead the choir. It's going to be fun!

And then...

and THEN

My boys play...

:)

Ok, for those of you not into football, you can start reading again. The next little bit is about awards and blogroll and all that housekeeping stuff I really need to do around here!

First of all, I've been given 4 awards that I haven't posted about. At least. There could possibly be more, and for that I apologize! I'm going to give one of them today, and the other 3 will be intermittently given over the next week or so. I feel a little overwhelmed giving them all out at once!

First up is the makes my heart smile award from Brooke. Brooke is one of my absolute favorite bloggers. She is partially (a big partially) responsible for me even DOING the 5Ks that I find myself involved in lately, so it's only fitting that I FINALLY award this one on a day that I'm 5King it :)
(i may possibly have received this award in june. just maybe)



I'm supposed to give this to bloggers that make my heart smile. Well...there are SO many of you. I really hate choosing favorites. So for that reason (and this sounds like a copout but it's SO not) if you're a follower you automatically get this award from me. I can't even express how much I appreciate that people actually want to read what I have to say here.

I'll also give a shout out to 5 specific bloggers who have made me smile in the last week

LolaB - Kasey has some of the best picture stories in her blog, and she's just amazing. I think she had me at her love of all things Parisian, but I just love the way a story unfolds from her fingers. Plus I always like the music she has playing when I visit :)
Marin - this chick is always posting recipes that make my mouth water, and though I follow quite a few foodie blogs...she is one of the few whose recipes I consistently try.
Lemonade Makin' Momma - I love how honest and fun this woman is. I enjoy every post she writes, and I don't say that about most blogs with 'mom' in the title, believe me! :)
Catholic Teacher Musings - perhaps it's the 'teacher' connection, but I often find that her posts strike a deep chord in me. Funny, serious, profound...she runs the gamut and it's all GOOD
Jasmin Loves Coffee - I think this is my most recently followed blog, or pretty close to it. Jasmin is fun and fresh and I may be a tiny bit jealous that she lives in California...right now I'd love to see that gorgeous state!

Last thing (wow, this is quite the novel of a post here!) is...blogroll. I've toyed around with removing it completely, but that doesn't seem quite fair. So...scroll down. If you're not on my blogroll but you WANT to be, please leave a comment and let me know. Simple as that. If you are and don't want to be, please comment as to that or just email me.

There are more housekeeping things to be done in the next week or so, but that's enough for one post! I'll see you all later :)

Amen

Yesterday morning I was leading worship at my church, as I do regularly on the "3rd Sunday" praise team.

It was a powerful worship, and we ended it with the song God of This City. You may know it (I'll include a youtube video and lyrics at the end of this post if you don't). It ends on a powerful crescendo of "greater things are yet to come; greater things are still to be done in this city" followed by the softer yet powerful truth of "there is no one like our God...there is no one like our God"

In an acapella setting, the voices linger and resonate throughout the sanctuary for a few moments after the last note is cut off. As we basked in that moment a small child's voice, no older than 3, echoed through the auditorium:

"Amen!"

Amen indeed. There is NO ONE like our God! If the smallest of children can feel that so powerfully in her soul...who am I to question?

And yet sometimes I do.

Help me to be like a child on her Father's knee...
to grasp the most awesome and complex of truths
in the simplest of ways.

AMEN




(lyrics are included on the video--and it is the original version from Ireland so they are slightly different, so it's definitely worth a listen)

*God of This City was written by a worship band from Ireland (possibly why it's so close to my heart!) on a missions trip to Thailand. They set up the band in a brothel and sang worship songs right in the heart of the sex trade district...and this song came to them than night as they witnessed the brokenness that surrounded them--that the God they were worshiping was STILL the 'God of these people' and the 'Lord of this nation'
Makes it all the more powerful to know the story...*

Oink, Oink (maybe)

It began Sunday morning.

I was scheduled for praise team at church and woke up stuffy and sneezy. Somehow I still made it through rehearsal and two services. Then I led a 2-hour rehearsal with the youth choir.

Then I went home and took a nap. I took my temperature upon entering my house and it was 99.7, so no big deal. 2 degrees is nothing to worry about. (my normal temp is 97, not 98 like most people)

I went BACK to church a mere 3 hours after leaving, and helped the teens sort grocery bags full of Thanksgiving meals for families in this city who wouldn't have Thanksgiving any other way. It's a wonderful thing our church does each year.

I sneezed approximately 135 times during the 3 hours we were there. (I truly don't think that's an exaggeration...believe me, there are witnesses). At some point, one of our 7th graders started turning around and giving me a high-five after particularly impressive explosions.

We went from there to A's parents house to watch the Colts and Patriots play...ohmygosh what an amazing game...and I continued sniffling and sneezing. Not quite as much though, because I had stopped at Walgreens to get some meds to help. Unfortunately, the meth users have made it impossible to get the good stuff at 8:30 pm on a Sunday night...because the pharmacist is gone and it's unlawful for anyone but the pharmacist to give me my one box of hope. So I got the not-quite-as-good stuff and made my way.

When I got home I took more drugs and waited awhile to go to bed. I hate not being able to sleep because I can't breathe, so I thought if I got tired enough I'd be able to sleep.

So I went to bed around 1, and woke up at 5.

I was FREEZING. (and the heat was on full blast)

I was thirsty.

So I stumbled downstairs and poured a glass of sweet tea that I had made the night before.

It was at this point that I realized I was burning up (even though I was freezing) and that I was awfully achy...so I decided to take my temperature before taking a drink of the tea.

101.8

Yikes.

And you KNOW that with all the hype about swine flu I *knew* that's what it was.

I was too weak to do anything except text A and my friend Mattie (who works in the office I'm temporarily at) and tell them that I was running a fever and wouldn't be leaving the house today. Mattie's response was "I hope it's not the swine flu!"

(well, that wasn't her only response. she also brought me chicken soup and throat coat tea, both of which I am VERY grateful for!)

For the next 4-6 hours my fever fluctuated between 101 and 102 and I fluctuated between sleep and delirious texting. Finally around 9 or 10 am I googled "swine flu symptoms" and thankfully landed on a pretty informative site.

Note that it's a site from the UK. They apparently are a little less stressed out about piggy flu than we are around here. I'm glad. I scrolled down to the symptoms part and read them.

It said:

If you or a member of your family has a fever or high temperature (over 38°C/100.4°F) and two or more of the following symptoms, you may have swine flu:

• unusual tiredness,
• headache,
• runny nose,
• sore throat,
• shortness of breath or cough,
• loss of appetite,
• aching muscles,
• diarrhoea or vomiting.

unusual tiredness? check
headache? my head felt like it could roll off my body from the weight. check.
runny nose? do the 30 tissues in bed with me give a clue to this? check
sore throat? hell yes. check
shortness of breath or cough? eh, not more than usual
loss of appetite? check
aching muscles? oh my word yes. check
diarrhea or vomiting? thank goodness no.

Yeah, according to that list I might have the swine flu.

Thankfully the site also said that it's pretty mild for most people and gave this checklist of reasons to go to the doctor:

Call your GP directly if:

• you have a serious existing illness that weakens your immune system, such as cancer,
• you are pregnant,
• you have a sick child under one,
• your condition suddenly gets much worse, or
• your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five for a child).

So as long as I haven't gotten progressively worse by Saturday-ish, I'm good. None of that other stuff applies to me at all.

Thankfully my fever broke mid-afternoon and there have been no signs of it going sky-high again. I'm playing it safe and staying in again today, but it looks like this piggy flu (if that was indeed what it was) is not going to keep me down!

Plus, A brought and prepared dinner and then kept me company for awhile. TBS had a Family Guy marathon on, so between that and our two Macbooks we were set :)

However if I'm not back in the swing of things around the blog for awhile, you'll know there's a pig to blame.

Maybe when I get my appetite back I'll put some REAL sausage in one of my recipes. :P

Nerds, Nerds, Nerds...

What a weekend!

My friend Nicole came into town for awhile this weekend, and we made a trip to Cheesecake Factory, Teavana (a new love for both of us!) and of course, the ever famous Trader Joe's.

I was glad to see Nicole for a few hours! We've known and loved each other since middle school so it was a great time of catching up.

Yesterday evening was spent simply hanging out with my beau. I was going to cook vodka pasta, but I kind of forgot about defrosting the sausage...oops. We'll be doing that meal Monday instead.

Today has been a rather busy day, beginning with a service at one of my babysitting clients churches (their baby boy was baptized today) and ending with Trunk or Treat at our church. Our kids came up with the idea to be nerds, and they actually pulled it off really well.

In the middle of the day we ran some errands, but managed to stop at an overlook to admire the fall colors that appeared here in TN this week!


We're cute, aren't we? Keep that image in your mind...you'll need to remember that we actually look like THIS.

Because...



Transformation into complete and utter nerdiness.

Our friend Pat actually found a Geek Squad shirt (label and all) at Goodwill.



To further prove our nerdiness, we built a pyramid out of the nerd candy boxes.
And handed them out as the night went on...


Our "Bully Toss" -- threw beanbags at a cool kid who hates nerds. The kids LOVED it.
I didn't want to post pics of our students faces on a public blog, so I'm sorry you can't see how incredibly well they pulled the nerdy look off, but this girl cracked me up. Kick Me sign and all.

By the end of the evening, however, I was freezing and my feet hurt (I don't know WHY I brought heels to wear tonight when I'd been wearing them all day. 9 am to 9 pm is not a good plan for heels.

I only wish Anthony or Kat had taken photographic evidence of how I burrowed once we got back to their apartment. 3 blankets piled on me and I STILL couldn't get warm! Fall has arrived.

(Oh, and to prove that I'm a klutz...somehow I managed to catch my shoulder in the car door as I was leaving their place. It HURTS still! Something tells me a bruise is forthcoming...

But the cold and pain were worth it. The kids had a BLAST.

Bad Haiku Friday

Going to a maze!
(made of corn). Nope, not kidding
It's a cornfield maze.

I wish I were kidding.
But that's what we're doing tomorrow.

The kids love it.

When I was their age I could have done it for free right next to my house!

Don't believe me? Here's the website: http://www.rippavilla.org/cornmaze.asp

A few highlights from their website--with original bolding and punctuation intact:


The maze will not be haunted at any time.
(can they guarantee that? Do they have an agreement with the ghosties?)
NO SMOKING!!! CORN IS FLAMMABLE!!
(you don't say!)
Do not pick, pull, throw or damage the corn. You may eat the corn for survival purposes only !!
(this, to our middle schoolers, means that they haven't seen chocolate in 10 minutes. expect a few less ears of corn when we leave)
If you have small children, are pregnant, claustrophobic, have a medical condition, or get easily frustrated we advise against entering the maze.
(If you have lack of common sense, we advise obtaining some)
Out of common courtesy, please refrain from using cell phones in the maze, unless absolutely necessary.
(what is this? a movie?! I think 100 middle schoolers and not enough adults constitutes "absolutely necessary", thankyouverymuch)

I love the teenagers...
I love the teenagers...
I love the teenagers...
I LOVE THE TEENAGERS!
(this should be proof)

:0)

Titus 2 revisited

What have learned from another woman this week? (or ever)



Time to start explaining a bit about my latest post.
But first, let me introduce you to LaJuana.

LaJuana was one of the first people I met when I began attending Woodmont Hills, and for some reason we immediately clicked. She was the wife of our worship minister, and helped teach a women's class that I attended for awhile before I began volunteering in our youth group.

I didn't tell LaJuana I had an eating disorder...she figured it out and just asked me point-blank one day. Besides being shocked (I was REALLY good at hiding it), I was also relieved.

LaJuana was instrumental in my recovery, meeting with me to specifically talk about what was going on, literally pulling a support team around me (which I've written a little more about here), and assuring me that I am loved no matter what. Don't get me wrong--it was a HARD time, and I'm pretty positive I wasn't easy to be around during those years...but somehow she loved me through it.

And through all that we managed to live life as friends. And since recovery we've gotten even closer. Pedicures, lunches/dinners out, celebrating birthdays (her and I are 2 days apart and her husband is a week before mine), walks at Radnor, decorating her house and mine for Christmas, the tradition of Baja Burrito before church every Wednesday...

And when all our small group stuff went down (an affair between 2 members of the group as well as a LOT of other sexual addiction stuff that was discovered)...she understood why I, as the single person in the group, was affected so deeply. She was able to name it: "your dream of the future has been affected."

I swore off relationships.

And about a year and a half ago, she asked me to come over for lunch. While I was there she showed me a beautiful antique punch bowl and cups set that she had found on a New England vacation. When I told her they were perfect she said "good. because we'll be using them at your bridal luncheon."

I hadn't even realized that things in me were shifting and I was longing for romance, for relationship. It's funny...she often knows what I'm feeling before I can name it.

I found out two weeks ago that they are moving.
Atlanta isn't far away in the grand scheme of things...
It will be nice to have another person to visit there
But not having her physical presence in my daily life is overwhelming.

She won't be hosting a bridal luncheon
She won't be around to make an impromptu trip to the nail place
No more Saturday lunches
No more movie dates
No more Baja

I'm happy for their new opportunities.
But I am deeply mourning this.

About this time last year

I was eating each meal in the dining hall with a certain Anthony. We created a paper football adaptation using pepper packets since I got one with nearly every meal. I knew with every moment we spent together that I was falling more and more for him.

(and right after camp he sent me a text stating that the week had been fun and he thought we should hang out more. wish? command.)

Anthony's sister was a co-counselor in my cabin and I was constantly listening for hints about whether he was crushing on me as much as I was on him. Little did I know he had asked her to "spy" to see if I mentioned him.

I rode my first horse. It was...interesting.

I continued the tradition of telling my cabin that if a bug wasn't "bigger than your fist" it's not appropriate to scream.

We instituted nap time/quiet hour in the cabin. Ahhhh.

I was making a hemp bracelet for someone. Several someones, actually.

I was reminded of how wonderful the worship times are. And I was enjoying watching Anthony worship. It made me like him all the more to see how incredibly uninhabited he was. In the church tradition I grew up in, that was the norm, but the church I attend does not have roots in freedom of worship!

I was missing my real bed, but thankful that we were in a great cabin with wooden bed frames and not one but 2(!) showers in the cabin itself.

I was falling in love with a group of 7th grade girls that I shared a cabin with.

Can't wait to see what this year holds!

Monday Memory

*note: all posts this week (Sunday - Thursday) are scheduled posts. I am WAY out of cell phone and wireless network range. I love your comments and will look forward to reading them when I return on Friday!

My first camping experience with the youth group at Woodmont was...interesting. I had no desire to actually volunteer with the youth group-- I worked with middle schoolers every day! So when I was invited to go to camp I hesitated. But truth be told, I got bored in the summers and then they dangled the prospect of going whitewater rafting in front of me and I jumped at it.

(Incidentally, Anthony tells me he noticed me at camp that year. He was interning, and since they're busier than anyone else on the grounds we never really talked. But he says he thought I was "cute". Heehee)

Anyway, I rode up with my friend Vera, and when we got there we had a small orientation in the retreat center. Keep in mind that I knew NONE of these students.

Doug reads off my name, along with another adults name and says "oh, but Lora...Angie will be here tomorrow afternoon. You're on your own tonight"

Great.

And then he reads off the name of 15 7th and 8th grade girls and says "Follow Lora to the Eagles Nest"

Well...I had no idea WHERE that was, so thankfully a camp staff member joined us on the hike.

It had been raining...no, POURING. And the Eagles Nest just happens to be a part of Indian Village, the group of cabins on the very tip-top of the campgrounds.

We had a looooooooooonnnnnng walk.

And true to form the middle school girls were quite vocal about it. It was muddy, they were tired, their bags were getting dirt, how much further.

I finally turned around and said something on the order of "Keep that up and your cabin's nickname will be the Whiners."

They shut up.

(although I felt awfully bad that that was their first impression of me)

We got to the cabin, made introductions, and because few of them wanted to sleep on a top bunk I got the honor.

We turned the lights out about midnight, just as the storm started.

A few minutes later I heard frantic whispering. I turned around and saw 3 of the girls huddled in the center of the room. "What's wrong?" I ask, and they respond "Nothing, nothing. Go back to sleep."

So I did.
Yeah RIGHT.
I rolled back over, waited for about 3 minutes until the frantic whispers continued growing and turned over to say "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"We're scared of the storm."

So I drag myself out of bed, walk onto the front porch with them and assure them it's just a thuder and lightening show, nothing severe.

They don't buy it.
(and we WERE isolated in a dinky little cabin at the top of a hill. I can't really blame them for a bit of freakout)

I finally said the only thing else I could think of (I'd tried praying, hugging, reassuring...nothing worked.)

"Well, why don't we all pull our mattresses off the bed and sleep on the floor together."

And somehow that was the magic statement. 4 matresses magically fit in the space that about 2 and a half should have, and all the girls were asleep within moments.

I should have left my matress down there. It was the best night's sleep I got all week. Silly metal creaky bed frames.

(Lots more happened that week that I'll share in time. But suffice it to say at the end of the week I told Doug "I think I'd like to start working with the teens.". He was estatic. :0))

Goodbye! (but not really)

This is the first of a few scheduled posts for the week. Now that I know how to schedule a blog post...oh dear, world. Watch out!

At this very moment, I am in the parking lot of my church doing one of several things (or a combination):

a. impatiently waiting in a car behind buses that have been loaded for a while but have yet to just MOVE
b. frantically trying to check students in, tell them what bus to get on, and explain that YES, everyone has to put a ribbon on their suitcase and NO they can't pick the color
c. standing on the steps of the bus alternately stating: (to the front of me) "Once you get on you can't get back off. Have you hugged mom/dad/sister/brother and peed?" and (to the back) "I TOLD you, you can't get off. Go sit down."
d. already missing Anthony, who is missing out on camp this year because he's going on his family's vacation the following week
e. sprinting around the loading area trying to find a youth minister for the latest crisis
f. playing with the cool walkie-talkie radio I get to hold as an all-powerful counselor
g. looking forward to an awesome week at Camp Coker Creek

Probably a bit of all of this has already happened by the time you're reading this, and the truth is I really am looking forward to being at camp with our students. It will be an awesome time to watch them grow as people and in their faith, even though there will be moments I wish I were back in Nashville, or at least somewhere with a cell tower.

I go to help lead the kids, but I always learn a lot too.

The learning has already begun for me this year. I told our youth minister last Sunday that I wouldn't be able to go to camp this year because I haven't been working the last 3 weeks since Nancy hasn't needed me much. I told him I had 3 bills due that had to be paid and I needed to be able to work the week of camp to try to make the money to pay them. And he told me...not to let money stop me. That *I* was needed at camp, and that it would be allowing someone else to serve me if I were to accept help.

Friday I was handed an envelope with the cash needed to pay those 3 bills along with a note that read: "Thank you for the blessing you bring to our students and the love you show them. Thank you also for the opportunity to join God in serving you this week!"

I can't wait to be in the position to pay that one forward...what an amazing blessing to be in a church that gets it.

See you all Friday...and I hope you enjoy the posts between now and then! I'll be responding to comments when I get back!

Love to you all,

He is Risen Indeed!

So we echoed this morning with the countless others in chorus (probably at the same time as many of you!).

It's always amazing to sit through the Easter service 3 times as an active participant. This year was no different. All the anticipation of Lent, all the mourning, the waiting...it's over. It's like something inside me wanted to burst forth this morning!

Our pastor read the "1st edition" of the resurrection story from the book of Mark, ending at verse 8 where the women who had just encountered the angel at the tomb went home and didn't say anything to anyone because they were terrified.

Now, obviously they got over that. And the point of Dean's sermon is that WE are the bearers of the story. We continue it on, and we tell it in the way we live our everyday life.

Father, may my life be a reflection of You, may I continue to share YOUR story with all those I encounter

I'll close with this thought and video (Sunday's song).
My friend Gwen sent an email earlier today that made me smile. One of the songs that Beth, Lindsay, Gwen and I listened to a lot in college was this very one. Beth and I both had a copy on cd and we would take turns blasting it. Not any of our normal choices in musical style, but we all loved the powerful message contained. And it applies so well with the sermon that I heard three times today: We've just seen Jesus. We will never--can never--be the same again...and it is we who will tell the story.

Enjoy.

Titus 2 Tuesday

What have learned from another woman this week? (or ever)



I'm a little overwhelmed right now. I need to write about a woman who has influenced me...and there are SO many that it's hard to decide who to introduce you to next.

So I'm going to write about Martell.

Martell was one of the first people I met when I began teaching and we immediately formed a bond. You see, I (with a degree in music education) was given 2 reading courses to teach--one 7th grade and one 8th grade. Since I had NO idea what I was doing and she just happened to be right across the hall and teach 8th grade language arts...and since we both stayed after school crazy weird hours because we share a workaholic tendency...we became fast friends.

I knew part of Martell's story before I really knew Martell. She had a daughter who was just a few months older than I am. But when we were 21--3 years before Martell and I met--she died in a freak hiking accident. I learned a lot about Jennifer and her story from her amazing mother.

Part of our bond was a natural course of events--I desperately needed a mother figure, she was able to be needed as a mother (does that make sense?). During the spring of that first year of teaching I put a contract on the condo, and in doing that told her that I was going to need a new church home as my current church would be way too much of a drive once I moved back into Nashville. She invited me to come to her church...and from the first time I walked through the doors I knew that God had brought me there. Sometime during that first year of teaching in our regular nightly chats I shared some of *my* story...the good, bad and ugly. And it was because of her and 3 other amazing women at my church (and many other scattered throughout that journey as well) that I finally made the choice to become healthy. I'll write about those other 3 at some point. But Martell was instrumental in my recovery. After all, she and I shared a lunch table every day. She overheard me give speeches to the cheerleaders that I coached saying "You have to eat enough calories to make it through the games!" And she held me when I cried my eyes out because I felt so hypocritical in those moments. And through it all, she just let me...be. It was largely because of her gentle and non-judgemental approach that I was able to finally just let go.

My principal and one of Martell's best friends both pulled me aside within a year of our friendship beginning and thanked me "for giving us Martell's smile again". Little did they know that she had given me a new lease on life as well.

One of the most flattering things Martell has ever said to me was that she thinks that Jennifer and I would have been great friends if we had ever met. That we both have the same passion for seeing young girls reach their full potential.

From her...there is no greater compliment.

I could fill pages about her. She's an adventurous soul and I've learned not to open my big mouth around her unless I truly mean it--hence the whitewater rafting trip the two of us went on and I can't SWIM. I was convinced I would drown. But I loved it--and have been back at least 5 times since that first trip down the Ocoee!

This picture is from that trip. It isn't a great shot of either of us--we had spent hours on the river, were still soaked and quite tired. We stopped and took the picture because "Greasy Creek" is such a typical thing to see in Tennessee and we were both amused. But I love the picture. It's framed in my living room, and it reminds me to try new things and not be afraid of the unknown.

Not Me Monday

**upon actually visiting MckMama's blog, it appears as if her baby needs prayers. Please take a moment to think of this family**

It's time again to confess what we (have not) done over the past few days...head to MckMama's blog--click on the button--for more information and to hopefully join us!


I (have not) been a jewelry making fiend over the last week or so and (have not) sold several pieces which (are not) sitting on my dining room table with envelopes addressed ready to go out. I (did not) go to buy jewelry boxes for the giveaway winners the other day only to find out that the store (was not) sold out of the proper color, so I (did not) decide to go on a rampage across middle Tennessee today to find the right boxes, because I (am not) obsessive about that!

I (did not) have a wonderful friend spend the weekend with me. We (did not) sit around and chat, take our recycling off, and just shop around random stores all weekend. I also (did not) just give her directions to meet me at church yesterday instead of making the drive back between obligations. I (would never) be an awful hostess like that. Oh, and in the directions I (absolutely did not) accidentally type "40E" instead of "40W" and that (did not) send her in the complete opposite way of where she should have been. I'd (never) type up directions late at night and make a silly mistake like that.

I (did not) go play cards--Hand and Foot--on Saturday night while my friend went downtown to see her sister in dance competition that just happened to be held here while she was already in the area! I (did not) absolutely LOVE being invited to this party. We (did not) have 3 games going on at the same table, it (was not) a freaking blast, and my partner and I--we drew for them, so it wasn't A--(did not) win. I (was not) sad to see the game end and (do not) look forward to doing that again! {They (do not) hold these tournaments monthly and it (was not) the first time we had been invited as a couple and not just as subs}

At church yesterday I (did not) have friends of mine ask if their 4 year old could sit with me while they did a reading. She (did not) climb up on the seat, hand me a book and proceed to eat cheerios the entire time she was there. She (did not) have the most solemn face the entire time. And last night at dinner, my friends (did not) tell me that she was sooo excited to sit with me, and had actually chosen to sit with me over another person she absolutely adores. I (did not) laugh at the irony.
{by the way, Anthony (did not) come in while said 4 year old was sitting in "his" seat, and he (did not) sit with some friends 2 rows back...and absolutely (did not) sneak into the seat as soon as he had a chance. Cracked me up}

I (did not) take my friend to Trader Joe's yesterday at her request {and I (do not) have the hugest crush ON Joe}. I (did not) nearly hyperventilate when we walked through the doors. I (do not) do that every time I go. It (is not) a good thing that TJ's is across town from my house because I (would not) make an excuse to go there more regularly if it were closer.

And I (did not) buy daffodils at TJ's. Why would I do that when they're everywhere around?

Oh, and in my garden that (is not) almost completely brown...I (did not) notice yesterday that my tulips are blooming! Finally it's (not) spring!

Sunday's Song

Today I was on the praise team at church (which means worshipping from 7:30-12:30, give or take). It's such a blessing to watch the faces of the congregation, to see them standing impulsively and lifting hands, to observe the changes that are visible on each face. This Sunday was especially "special" though.

Today we talked a bit about our church's history (Dean--our pastor--played a clip from one of the founding minister's sermons which made me tear up--Rubel was the pastor there when I arrived and even though he left us only 2 years after I joined the church he had a tremendous impact on my life. Anthony was affected even more by this--Woodmont is the church he's grown up in). So it was an amazing and sweet service just within the sermon and other elements. Randy (my friend and our worship minister) chose songs that were "landmark" songs for our church, and I thought it was only appropriate that I share the one that was especially important to Rubel. It's an oldie...just warning you...but has special meaning for our congregation and for that reason I love it.

His Grace Reaches Me

Deeper than the ocean and whiter than the sea
Is the grace of the Savior for sinners like me
Sent from the Father and it thrills my soul
Just to feel and to know that His blood makes me whole

His grace reaches me
Yes His grace reaches me
And will last through eternity
Now I'm under His control
And I'm happy in my soul
Just to know that His grace reaches me

Higher and the mountains and brighter than the sun
It was offered at Calvary for everyone
Greatest of treasures and it's mine today
Though my sins were as scarlett, He has washed them away

His grace reaches me
Yes His grace reaches me
And will last through eternity
Now I'm under His control
And I'm happy in my soul
Just to know that His grace reaches me

Isn't that a beautiful message?

By the way, I'll be posting the answers to my "facts" post soon. And there's still about 24 hours left to ask me a question for my 100th post :0)