Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Another Cryptic Little Story For Your Enjoyment
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a teacher who loved her students very much. The teacher knew, as all teachers do, that sometimes teachers have to make tough decisions regarding their students. The loving teacher knew that these hard decisions might make others feel less than happy.
One day, the teacher made one of those decisions. The teacher knew it was the right thing to do, but sure enough, someone felt unhappy about it. So the teacher had to deal with that, and things were upsetting for awhile. The teacher wished it would just all go away. But the teacher also knew that the hard thing was the right thing.
Now the teacher is kind of sad and taking a lot of tylenol for all the pain caused by tension in her neck and head. She is also using the Bed Buddy a lot, on her neck. The teacher will be happy to elaborate on the story in a private e-mail. The teacher loves all of her devoted fans who read her blog.
One day, the teacher made one of those decisions. The teacher knew it was the right thing to do, but sure enough, someone felt unhappy about it. So the teacher had to deal with that, and things were upsetting for awhile. The teacher wished it would just all go away. But the teacher also knew that the hard thing was the right thing.
Now the teacher is kind of sad and taking a lot of tylenol for all the pain caused by tension in her neck and head. She is also using the Bed Buddy a lot, on her neck. The teacher will be happy to elaborate on the story in a private e-mail. The teacher loves all of her devoted fans who read her blog.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Gloria Dei
We visited Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Houston yesterday. It is right across from NASA! Pretty exciting. Even more exciting was the evidence all throughout the church and its members that they do what they believe. There were several mission trips in the works, and one that was just completed. The church places emphasis on BEING church to the surrounding community. The worship was amazing. The message was full of Truth. The members get together outside of the four walls on a regular basis. I'm not saying our search is over, but this is definitely the kind of church we are looking for.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Books
What is it about books? I love them.
Tonight we had a family outing tonight to the mall. We chose the mall that has the huge Barnes & Noble in it. Scott and I get 20% off there because we are teachers. Plus, it is just an awesome bookstore.
I spent most of my time in the children's section with the three big kids. I wanted all of the books. Just being surrounded by them made me happy. Curious George, Where the Wild Things Are, The Little House, Junie B. Jones, Harry Potter, Amelia Bedilia, Mrs. Nelson is Missing . . .
Scott had Charlie in the stroller while I stayed with the big kids and read with them. It was so much fun, and by that hour, we were pretty much the only ones in the children's area. Eliza kept running over to look at her favorites; Molly liked the princess books; Aaron wanted tractor books. I was happy to read with them while Scott picked out the Donald Miller books that I wanted.
I finally broke down and bought Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I have read it about a thousand times, and every time I do, I find something new in it. I also picked up Searching for God Knows What (also by Donald Miller). Scott found his treasures in the bargain book section. The kids each got a book, too, plus a couple of extras that I just had to get to add to their collections (Curious George Goes to the Chocolate Factory and The Velveteen Rabbit).
That's all. I just love looking at all those books. I love reading through them. I love that my kids love them. I could stay there for hours and hours and hours . . . but the store closes at 10:00 and we were all pretty tuckered out by that time. So we weeded through all the books that we had picked up and had to set some aside for later, otherwise we would have dropped about a hundred bucks! But it gives us something to look forward to for our next trip to the bookstore.
Tonight we had a family outing tonight to the mall. We chose the mall that has the huge Barnes & Noble in it. Scott and I get 20% off there because we are teachers. Plus, it is just an awesome bookstore.
I spent most of my time in the children's section with the three big kids. I wanted all of the books. Just being surrounded by them made me happy. Curious George, Where the Wild Things Are, The Little House, Junie B. Jones, Harry Potter, Amelia Bedilia, Mrs. Nelson is Missing . . .
Scott had Charlie in the stroller while I stayed with the big kids and read with them. It was so much fun, and by that hour, we were pretty much the only ones in the children's area. Eliza kept running over to look at her favorites; Molly liked the princess books; Aaron wanted tractor books. I was happy to read with them while Scott picked out the Donald Miller books that I wanted.
I finally broke down and bought Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I have read it about a thousand times, and every time I do, I find something new in it. I also picked up Searching for God Knows What (also by Donald Miller). Scott found his treasures in the bargain book section. The kids each got a book, too, plus a couple of extras that I just had to get to add to their collections (Curious George Goes to the Chocolate Factory and The Velveteen Rabbit).
That's all. I just love looking at all those books. I love reading through them. I love that my kids love them. I could stay there for hours and hours and hours . . . but the store closes at 10:00 and we were all pretty tuckered out by that time. So we weeded through all the books that we had picked up and had to set some aside for later, otherwise we would have dropped about a hundred bucks! But it gives us something to look forward to for our next trip to the bookstore.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Looking
Our family is in the process of looking for a new church home. I have never thought of how weird that sounds until recently. To be "shopping" for a church; to be "looking" for one as though you have lost something. To weigh pros and cons as though buying a new car or something.
We joined our previous church mainly because I had become involved in helping with the small group ministry. I felt that if I were going to be involved, then I should be a member. This happened just shortly after we moved to the area. We hadn't visited many churches before we settled, either.
Now it just feels so strange. The only reason I have ever left churches in the past was because I moved or got a job at a church. Now it is that we have not left the community, but have left a church. Though I know it isn't, it feels somehow wrong or something. But we are certain of our decision and so we keep "looking."
Our church in Iowa was amazing. So full of worship and so mission-minded. It had such a heart for the surrounding community, and the people were not afraid to get their hands dirty. I was amazed at how the church reached out to everyone. The ministers and the members would drive half an hour or more to visit other members. (The church was surrounded by rural communities and lots and lots of corn). There were fellowships of some kind just about weekly. We felt like family with this church right away.
Same with the church before that. So community-minded, mission-sending, and it felt like family. Rewind to California. I was so close to my church family there, and that church was constantly in the community, worshipping God, and fellowshipping with one another.
None of the above churches were perfect. But we are not looking for a perfect church. We are looking for a church that consistently: worships (has a heart for worship), reaches out to the community, does and supports missions, and feels like family (gets together often and checks on one another). We are not looking for a particular denomination, though we do have certain doctrines that we adhere to and we want to attend a church that adheres to the same ones. We weren't Baptist in Iowa (sh, don't tell), but after I found out that God isn't Baptist (don't tell that either - there are some Baptists who still don't know), I figured it might be OK.
We are becoming discouraged, and especially having no family here, it is hard to be in "church limbo." We still have strong friendships to people from our other church, but not having weekly worship with a church family can just make you feel so empty. So, please pray for us as we search. We'll keep you posted.
We joined our previous church mainly because I had become involved in helping with the small group ministry. I felt that if I were going to be involved, then I should be a member. This happened just shortly after we moved to the area. We hadn't visited many churches before we settled, either.
Now it just feels so strange. The only reason I have ever left churches in the past was because I moved or got a job at a church. Now it is that we have not left the community, but have left a church. Though I know it isn't, it feels somehow wrong or something. But we are certain of our decision and so we keep "looking."
Our church in Iowa was amazing. So full of worship and so mission-minded. It had such a heart for the surrounding community, and the people were not afraid to get their hands dirty. I was amazed at how the church reached out to everyone. The ministers and the members would drive half an hour or more to visit other members. (The church was surrounded by rural communities and lots and lots of corn). There were fellowships of some kind just about weekly. We felt like family with this church right away.
Same with the church before that. So community-minded, mission-sending, and it felt like family. Rewind to California. I was so close to my church family there, and that church was constantly in the community, worshipping God, and fellowshipping with one another.
None of the above churches were perfect. But we are not looking for a perfect church. We are looking for a church that consistently: worships (has a heart for worship), reaches out to the community, does and supports missions, and feels like family (gets together often and checks on one another). We are not looking for a particular denomination, though we do have certain doctrines that we adhere to and we want to attend a church that adheres to the same ones. We weren't Baptist in Iowa (sh, don't tell), but after I found out that God isn't Baptist (don't tell that either - there are some Baptists who still don't know), I figured it might be OK.
We are becoming discouraged, and especially having no family here, it is hard to be in "church limbo." We still have strong friendships to people from our other church, but not having weekly worship with a church family can just make you feel so empty. So, please pray for us as we search. We'll keep you posted.
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