Beehives Mentioned in "Recap" (Previous Post)

Here is the first one. This was found by the sliding door in our dining area. It was built around one of the plumbing pipes and is the size of a basketball. 

This is the second one that was found right above a set of kitchen cabinets, next to the sliding door. It is also the size of a basketball.

I am sooooo glad neither of these nests were active! 

Our Tree Is Up!

Today I finalized and sent out our December newsletter for youth group. Yesterday I made new attendance sheets, sign-up sheets for our three extra events next month, and hung posters advertising the Middle and High School retreats in January. And tonight, I get to be with a group of K-2nd graders at AWANA. Some things just make me grin.

Something else that made me grin was putting up our Christmas tree yesterday. I didn't decorate it, but it's prelit, so it still looks bright and cheery! I also wrapped Caleb's Christmas gifts, and put together a gift for my sister. We still have some shopping to do, but I am totally loving the start of this Christmas season. The only thing missing is snow. Yes, it is almost December, and we still don't have any snow here on the west side of Michigan. I'm not exactly complaining.. but it just doesn't seem as Christmas-y without it.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this wonderful season and having a great day! More to come soon!

Our tree (I don't have a tree skirt yet, but I'm sure I'll add one soon!) 

Once we transition houses we'll decorate the tree =) But as for now, I'm satisfied with simply having a lit tree gleaming in the living room. 

Recap

Scenario: I'm sitting at church working the homeless shelter, wide awake while my husband is sleeping on the couch, and watching an episode of Walker. I'm so tired, but I can't fall asleep. Besides, someone has to be awake. So I guess I'll fill you in on what happened since I posted last.

Wednesday we picked my sister up from school and headed to my sister and I's hometown. It was great to be home and see everyone again, it's been a while since I'd been there. Thursday dawned with the usual festivities; people stirring around the house, getting up and around, EARLY. Because we were in a different house we woke up early, in part due to the fact that our air mattress had deflated also =] But we got ready and went to my grandparents' house. After dinner, we went to my other grandparents' house. And then after that we went to Caleb's grandparents' house. It was a late night to say the least. We got back and went to bed, and got maybe two hours of sleep before we got up for the black Friday sales.

Saginaw was filled with all the hustle and bustle you'd expect it to have, but without the fights and other things commonly associated with black Friday sales. We got our treasures, spent wayyy too much time shopping, and then decided to grab some breakfast. A new Ihop opened last month, so we went to that (even thought it was packed!), and then headed home. It was good to be able to spend some time with family that I don't see often, and good to relax. We haven't done much of either lately. Around 4pm we started our trip home, and with two extra stops we got home later than usual. After we got everything put away we crashed. I was asleep less than a minute after my head hit the pillow.

Today we had planned to get up early to start our work day on the house. Caleb wanted to be at Lowe's by 7am, but at 8:30, and half asleep, I heard him telling me to look at the clock. 7am wasn't a reality, but it did feel really good to get some sleep. I was worried he wouldn't get any sleep this weekend, so that solid nine hours eased my mind quite a bit. So he got up and got to the house in a hurry and the day started from there. My sister-in-law and I put in insulation while everyone else did their thing. The guys downstairs ended up finding two basketball size bee hives IN the walls of our house. They were neat to look at, but I'm glad no one was living in the house when the hives were active. Those bees would've been nasty to fight with. We had to leave the house early to get ready for the shelter tonight. We don't have many visitors, and there are more of us staying as volunteers than as visitors, but it was an ok night. As this day winds to an end (err, yesterday, I guess), I'm definitely ready to get some sleep.

Tomorrow will be filled with stuff also. We have church, and then I'm sitting at the table to sell tickets for our 33 Miles concert next month. After that I think Caleb is going to work at the house and I'm not sure what I'm doing. We have a leaders meeting and then we're taking the youth group bowling.

Crazy busy. One day, weekends like this will really catch up with us. One day =] As of now, I think we're going strong. We'll see how long that lasts. Anyway, I hope your Thanksgiving was as great as mine was. Have a good Sunday and rest of the week!

Turkey and Shopping.. aka Thanksgiving

Tonight is one of those nights that no matter how hard I try to clear my mind and go to sleep, I can't fall asleep for anything. My husband sound asleep next to me, and I lying there wide awake... that has become too familiar of a scenario. So here I find myself in the kitchen, in my slippers, sweater, and extra warm pants (its really cold in this house at night!), with a cup of sleepy time tea. I sure hope it works tonight.

This weekend is going to be a whirlwind for sure, so I'd like to get enough sleep tonight that it tides me over and I don't get too worn out. Tomorrow we head out across state to my hometown for a few days. While there, we will see most of both parents' sides, and my husbands grandparents on his moms side. That will be Thursday, though. Tomorrow promises me lots of laundry and packing until we pick my sister up from school and embark on our three hour drive. Friday will be interesting.. Caleb's family has always went shopping on black Friday, and due to their excitement, I went last year as well. I was across state, so I went to a different shopping town than they did, and the two experiences couldn't be more different. Where I went was as calm as could be. People weren't stealing things out of each others carts, fighting, going crazy, etc. I was in an out of most stores in under a half hour. But Caleb's experience on the other hand, was pretty... intense. He was standing in line in one store while watching a man a few lines over drink a fifth of rum. When confronted by the authorities, this man proceeded to try and fight with the cops, complete with throwing a few punches. Really? Is it really worth that much? I couldn't believe some of the stories I heard. Last year during a conversation with my older brother, I told him I was thinking about doing the black Friday shopping and he very enthusiastically asked me why and what I was thinking. He told me that people get killed, trampled, fight, etc., and I told him that I just wanted to experience the madness. He told me I was nuts and to be careful. Well, now I'm hooked. Maybe its because the town I shopped in wasn't the typical madhouse, but either way, Caleb and I will be two of the crazy people shopping early Friday morning. And, just to clarify, we'll be shopping on the other side of the state, the town that wasn't a crazy madhouse =)

Something to keep in mind while reading this though, is that the only reason we know when black Friday is, is because of the holiday that it proceeds; Thanksgiving. This year as you celebrate, think about the things you are thankful for; family, friends, a home, food, clothes, freedom, and so many of the other things we take for granted so often. Thanksgiving is too often associated with a meal where many of us gorge ourselves, and not to be thankful for the little things. So this year as you overload on turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie, be thankful for the other little (and big!) things you have been blessed with. I'm so excited to be able to see my family. Being thankful for them is something I have definitely done more of since I moved three hours away. All of a sudden I couldn't drive across town, or some short distance, and see them. Our time together is limited to a few short hours every few months. Let me tell you, that was an adjustment. So, this year as I prepare to see them for this holiday, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to travel, for the opportunity to be able to spend time with them for yet another holiday, and for the opportunity to just relax in an atmosphere that brings back so many good memories.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe and warm, and have a truly blessed and thankful weekend!

Quite The Experience

As I drove to work this morning, I was watching the sky and wishing I wasn't running late so I could drive through the beach and see the lakefront and lighthouse. But, hitting the snooze button two too many times and feeling sluggish was making me run late. As I looked up, the sky was painted with bright colors and looked like cotton candy on one side of the avenue that divided town, and a vivid orange and yellow with streaks on the other. It was gorgeous. Definitely a morning that made me wish I had my camera in my purse and wasn't running late. Oh well. It was a good morning anyway.. I woke up to a kiss, a warm shower, stole a hug and was out the door. Now I can see the sunshine reflecting off the light green painted walls in the atrium outside of the office and it makes me smile.

Well, today we are going to our first (I'm sure of many) hockey game of the year. We promised my sister we would take her to at least one game this year, so I'm sure there will be more. Tonight we are doubling with another young couple from church, and I can't wait. Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch, so I look forward to the season starting =) Our drive will be about an hour long, so as soon as I clock out and get home, we're going to pick them up. It'll be good to get away for the night. We've been stressing out about the house more than we'd like to, and working on it quite a bit the past two weeks. So having a night off will be good for us, and it'll be good to have a night out with another couple our age.

Other than that, this weekend promises to be busier than usual. Work and hockey tonight, and tomorrow Caleb is taking two guys to do all the fall clean-ups for the lawns he takes care of. I'm not sure what all I'm doing tomorrow, probably catch up of some housework, and maybe fun, we'll see. Then tomorrow night we're pulling an all-nighter at church to help with the homeless shelter. Its at our building for two weeks, and both weeks we'll be staying Saturday night. This weekend though, I'm curious to see how it'll go because I meet with the deacons after the service on Sunday about membership. I'm sure I'll be loopy and out of it, and nauseaus, so that'll be fun, ha. I'm not sure if we're helping, but Sunday afternoon some people are putting up decorations. Then we have a leaders meeting and a mystery event for youth group. This will be fun =) I can't say what we're doing until after Sunday night, but the staff is excited and we have some good plans for our students.

Sooo all that said, we're doing alright. A bit stressed here and there, and quite busy, but so goes life. We're learning a lot about remodeling a house, working with other staff, the known (but not fully believed) fact that life is expensive, and you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Life is quite the experience =) Haha..  have a good day everyone.

With love,
Us.

Connections

Last weekend our Tween Ministry kicked off for the year, and my husband and I had the privilege to plan the event. What did we plan for these fourth and fifth graders? A lock-in! We hosted a lock-in in the spring, and were pleased to have eleven students. This year we were hoping for the same numbers if not more, and our eyes and hearts kept opening wider and wider as student after student entered the front doors. We ended up hosting twenty five students! How awesome is that!? As they kept arriving, I'll admit, I got slightly nervous for a minute until the excitement overtook the emotion of nervousness. I felt a gentle tug on my heart strings as I realized we would get to minister to these twenty five students, twenty of which were not regular church attendees! I got the shivers too =) So, what did we do from 6pm to 10am? Crazy, crazy things.

After we realized that we knew only five of the students' names, we decided to play the name game (my mother in law calls it 'whop-em!'). We arranged couches in a big circle and then we went around the circle saying our names. We did that about three or four times (after all, twenty five students and four leaders... wow, thats a lot of names!). Then Caleb got in the middle and explained that a person would say their name and then someone else's, while the person in the middle with a 'whacking stick' (rolled up papers covered in duct tape) would try to get to the person whose name they had said and try to whack them on the knee before they said their name and then someone else's. Learning and recalling almost thirty names within five minutes is hard to begin with, let alone having pressure put on you. But, it was a blast and we learned each others names in about a half hour =) Mission accomplished. Next, we played 'Have You Ever'. In this, one person stands in the middle and says 'have you ever ____" Those who have done whatever they said have to get up and switch chairs with someone that is not next to them. The last person left standing without a chair then has to repeat the phrase and attempt to find and empty seat. This gets crazy and loud, and we even had some tears due to rug burn from running and bumping into someone else. However, a paper towel with cold water on it seems to have magical powers with this age group.

After the first two games, we took them upstairs for some dinner. We had pizza, chips, brownies and a punch made from 7-up and green hawaiin punch. I didn't think about it then, but the children's ministry director pointed out that this meal may have been the first meal that some of our students had sat down with others to eat in a very long time. In our busy lives, a lot of families eat on the go most of the time. It was really cool to see how these kids interacted throughout dinner, though, and got to chat and banter back and forth. As they finished up we got questioned what the next game would be, and moved into the atrium for some balloon tag. We gave them each a balloon and a string and told them that the balloon had to be blown up larger than an ostrich egg, and then tied to their ankle. We then proceeded to yell 'go' and try to stomp each others' balloons. This sounds corny (but not as corny as the next game!), but its actually quite amusing. Some kids have strategy.. haha.. they'll hop up and down on one leg the whole time with their balloon in the air so it doesn't get popped. Others will literally just run around the boundaries the whole time without stopping. Then there are those who jump in stomping.. we had a lot of these students. It was fun to watch them.

The next game, the corny one I mentioned above, was a sock grab. We had them pull their socks so they were only on their toes, put their feet up in the air, and then after 'go', they had to crawl around on their hands and knees grabbing each others' socks. I figured this was pretty cheesy, but it was fun. Its actually challenging to try and grab someone else's socks while making sure no one behind you grabbed yours. This game didn't last more than two rounds because of hurt knees though, so we played 'Link Up Tag' (Ameba Tag). In this, two people stand side by side with an arm looped into their friends arm. Someone is being chased, and when they link up arms with someone, the person on the other side of the person they linked to has to run. This lasted a really long time, and got crazy when we added a second chaser and runner. But it was super fun.

My favorite game, though, would have to be the classic 'Sardines'. In this game, all the lights are turned off, and two people hide somewhere together. Then everyone has to try and find them, but not let others know that they have found them. When they find the hiders, they have to hide with them. So - the challenge is to find a place to hide thats hard to find and can fit as many people as are playing the game. The kids were hilarious. Not only did I have them asking me where Caleb and a helper were hiding, but I had two girls attached to each arm that were terrified of the dark. So, the second round of Sardines I took one of those girls and had her hide with me. We chose the very back corner of the darkest room. She was freaked out to begin with, let alone it being pitch black. But after sitting the corner of a pitch black room for a while, her eyes began to adjust and she could make out where the door was. So we talked for a bit, and after being quiet for a minute she told me she wasn't scared anymore, because 'it's just a big, dark, empty room.' That was a proud moment for her. The funny part was, that a few of the other girls opened the door, looked in the room, and said, 'no, she wouldn't be in here, its too dark for her, she would be too afraid,' and she promptly gasped and started giggling. After her giggle fit, we talked about how she had proved them wrong, and then people started finding us. But the minute the lights came on, she was up and trying to find whoever had said she wouldn't be there. She wanted to make sure they knew she had proved them wrong =) haha..

So, after all those games, we gave them some time in the game room, got ready for bed, popped in an episode of Veggie Tales and said goodnight. It was passed midnight, and they were tired; most of their bedtimes were around eight, so they were tuckered out. In the morning, we had breakfast, cleaned up, played another game, and then they left. As we reflected on our time with them, we couldn't help but be amazed by our God and students. Not only did we see them bond with each other, but with us as well. Some of them would've told us their life stories if we would've had time. Thats good though, because we want them to know that they can talk to us about anything. We even had a few students tell us about their home lives, and other things going on. Some of these students were homeless, some come from families with drug involvement, some from houses of neglect or abuse, and so on. And we get the privilege to minister to them through this ministry. It was an amazing and eye opening sixteen hours, and seeing the impact of just one night, we've already started planning the event for next month.

Keep these students in your prayers, to God be the glory!

Hear Me Roar

I recently became aware of an annual women's conference and was reading some of the material on it's website. I came across a pamphlet for a biblical womanhood study and was skimming through it. One of the weeks is titled: Hear Me Roar. Of course it made me laugh, because in the household I grew up in, we always joked about the quote 'I am woman, hear me roar.' But then another thought hit me:

I don't want to roar. Yes, I want to stand up for myself, but the thought evoked when someone mentions a woman roaring is generally negative. I don't want to be that way. I want to be broken by God. I want to have a gentle spirit and quiet inward beauty. I want to be submissive, but not trampled on. I want to be the woman God intends me to be. If I have to roar, let me roar, but for the right reasons.

Not being sure of where that thought came from, I sat back in my chair and thought for a minute. All the jokes about women roaring, yes, they are negative. Sometimes we think women like to control things, and sometimes we think women just like to 'pull the woman card' on anything possible, whether it be for excuses or even just equality. But the thing is, we all like to be in control, and we all pull the gender card for equality or the right to do something. 'Hear Me Roar' isn't necessarily a bad thing in some situations. Just because we're women doesn't mean we should let ourselves be trampled on, we need to stick up for ourselves. BUT, we are called to be submissive, just as men are called to love and respect us just as we respect them. It runs full cicle. Truth is, that we lose our temper, get angry, say things we shouldn't, etc., but we're human. We're not expected to be perfect. By God's grace we can inch closer in that direction as we model our lives after His, but we're definitely not perfect. And we don't need to be, because He is.

'Hear Me Roar' may seem like it's a woman's motto, but there are factors in a womans mind that give her rights to roar: she is seen as the weaker gender, she feels trampled on or unloved or disrespected, , or people just aren't listening.. roaring might be her only way of communicating that people will hear her. Or, to be honest, some days she might be 'having a day' and not care. We all have those days when we're grumpy or just don't care.

But, I guess my main point is that women may roar, but we all do sometimes. Men feel the need to react when denied attention, love, and respect, just as women do. It's just funnier to hear about women roaring than men roaring.. that's where I think the funny little slogan came from =) As women, we just need to keep in mind that we are being transformed, and that a gentle spirit and quiet inward beauty (1 Peter 3:3-4) are worth much more in God's eyes than many of the things that irritate us or make us 'roar' here on earth.

Awareness

As you may have read, last weekend we took thirteen high school students to a leadership retreat. We knew it would be good, but we had no idea how the weekend would actually go. Going into the weekend, I felt like I knew the girls we were taking, and that we would have a great time, and we did. But, so much happened in that weekend, and this last week, that it's crazy.

Here's a bizarre thing: the van full of high school students was relatively quiet on the way to camp. That is unheard of, and made Caleb and I a bit curious on how the rest of the weekend would go. So, as tradition goes, we blared Jesus Freak (by DC Talk), Relient K, some other bands, and made our way to camp. The retreat kicked off by a chapel session focusing on how to use the Bible for relationship advice, and the traditional root beer floats afterwards. Then we hung out in the game room and eventually made our way to the cabins for the night. That night marked how the rest of the retreat would go for me.

I was almost asleep when I heard someone crying. Thankfully another student knew the student better, because I didn't know what to say. I just sat there and listened and prayed, and wondered like so many other people, how things that shatter and turn our worlds upside down can happen to those who are seemingly the least likely candidates. The next morning after chapel, I got to talk to most of the girls about some things going on in their lives, and spent the afternoon getting to know them better. I've only been out of high school for three years, but I forgot how hard it really can be sometimes. These students are up against so many things of this world, that they struggle just to know wrong from right, let alone live out their faith. And the fact is, that so many of them do! So many times this weekend I was proud of these girls (and boys) as I listened to what was going on in their lives, and the lives of others that effected them, and how they handled situations.

The rest of Saturday was pretty fun. The whole camp played steal the bacon, with real cow parts (i.e. eyeballs, a liver, a heart, and a tongue!) which was disgusting, but they had a blast. For some of them, letting go and actually getting into the game to have fun was a challenge, but they did well. Whether it was just grabbing the innertubes or an actual cow part, all the students who were able to do so participated. After dinner, they played the game of life, which was fun, and altogether new for me. Certain leaders sold houses, others cars, some were bankers, there was a chaplain, a mutual bond seller, etc., and our students had a list of things they had to complete. I think it was a great idea to have them play this game, even if it wasn't for real. If anything, they gained some insight on how life works, and what its like to be an adult.

After chapel that night, I got to have some good conversations with some of the girls again, and they continually opened my eyes. They amaze me, and even in some of the stuff I learned, I hurt for them. The next morning went well with breakfast, chapel, and the ride home. The students we took are amazing young adults, and they had good responses in chapel, small group discussion, and interactions all weekend. What grabbed my attention even after the retreat was the response we had at youth group Sunday night. Family Issues and dysfunctional families were the topics of discussion. So many students came to talk to a leader afterwards. During my time with these students, I gained even more of an insight into some of the lives of our students...

The fact is: our students are going through insanely hard issues. If an adult says, 'oh, it's just a phase, you'll grow out of it' do you really think they know what's going on or how to handle it? To the students, it's a way of blowing them off and telling them that the adult doesn't care. That can shatter a student. Remember all the drama you experienced in school? All the mean comments, back-stabbing, and not to mention the family issues of sibling problems, divorce, abuse, neglect, etc. These students need us! I've learned so much in the past week about what is going on in some of the students' lives, and these are only the students in the youth group I help with. Imagine what some of the other students are going through who aren't coming forward and talking. Who knows whats going on. Either way, our students are on their way to adulthood, they're our next generation, and they, like everyone else, have real issues they're going through. We can help, we just need to be aware of their situations. How? Gain their trust, and talk to them. Let them know that they can confide in you,  that you absolutely love them and want to help them in any way. You can make a difference in their life.

Strengthening The Core Of Our Leaders

Well, this is the big weekend. The first of three retreats we will be taking students of our youth group to up at camp. This weekend is a leadership retreat. When we announced the retreat, we emphasized the leadership aspect, and told our students that this retreat is for those students who are really focused on their relationships with Christ, and this retreat would be to grow. The 'fun' retreat is in January. Not that this retreat won't be a blast, we just wanted to stress that it will be more focused, and will be for the students who really wanted to step it up. We have thirteen students going and four leaders. I'll be the leader in the girls' cabin (there's nine of them!), and then the two guy leaders, and our interim youth pastor with the four guys. We'll also have two girls from a different church (who used to go to our church before they moved) hanging out with our girls, so that will be fun.

The retreat is advertised as ' "Feed Yourself" How to study God's Word .' These students who are going on this retreat have shown us that they really want to step up and be student leaders, just by wanting to go on this retreat. They know it will be challenging, but they're up to it. I hope that it really strengthens them to their core, and they do learn how to better study God's word in a way that will be more beneficial to them.

Please pray for these students and us staff as we embark on this weekend. Pray that the students' hearts and minds will be open and clear to what God is going to teach them. And pray that as staff, we will be open to our students' needs and questions, and that we will be used in any way possible. Our focus is our students, and we can't wait to see what's in store!

Harvest Party Was A Success!

Every year our church puts on an annual harvest party. Some years, it has been on halloween night, others it hasn't. This year it was. I'm not sure how and why it was started, but it is definitely a great alternative if you live in a community where you don't want your kids out on halloween night. It lasts for two hours, and is filled with games, candy, cider, donuts, and this year there was a cardboard maze and bounce house. It's also one of the largest outreach events our church puts on.

All in all it went great. There weren't any issues that came up, no one got hurt, and everything went smoothly. Quite a few of our youth groupers stepped up and ran the games in addition to setting them up before. I was very impressed at how many of them would volunteer their time at something like this while they could be out with their friends on halloween night. It definitely showed us some initiative and their desire to serve, which is very cool.

I didn't get many pictures because my camera battery died, but here are a few:

My sister and two of our cousins made this Sunday at youth group

Caleb was a carhartt model (he changed into clean clothes basically, because he got out of work just in time to make it there) and I was a make shift cowgirl 

Shenanigans.

Due to my lack of a scanner, this is a picture of a picture we had taken:

My sister, me, and Caleb

("A mess," "a cowgirl," and "a carhartt model")