Subber is a Cubbid' Id...

For those of you who are completely flummoxed at the title...I've been having to talk while holding my breath today since I am now ensconced in Diaper Change Central for the summer (my mom runs a home day care). Sometimes those diapers can be gruesome. *gag*

But...I'm home! Yay! I drove down the beginning of this week, eating copious amounts of sunflower seeds along the way to stay awake. Hopefully they won't have any adverse effects. (However, I do find myself adjusting toward the sun from time to time.)

The end of the year was full of activities, so I think I'll just bombard you with some photos and spare you the brilliant discourse.

May found me at...a bridal shower for my buddy, Heidi. You go girl!! She's getting married in two weeks, and I am excessively happy for her.


A last photo shoot with my Discipleship Group. Most of them are growing up and leaving the nest. :(


A "Dean Staff" photo shoot. I actually could use your help praying about this one. I have to replace some of my RA's due to the reality of graduation. Three of these in the picture are moving on. *sob* I have been so blessed with my office staff. They are top notch young ladies. One is going to nursing school, one is getting married, and one is going to the mission field. I'm so proud of all of them!! Anyway, I need God's wisdom about replacements. (Pray...hard. Yes, you...lurker.)


Moving on...Memorial Day! What an incredible day I had with my favorite brother. He is so good for my heart. What a blessing to be with someone who speaks the same language and who loves you...period. Ahhhhhhh.


We decided to have a picnic. I was so self-impressed (you may all feign surprise) that I had remembered everything. However, when we arrived, I realized that the box of matches that I brought did not have a flint strip on the side. We tried striking the matches on the grill, the picnic table, our heads, but all to no avail. We then devised a "Brilliant Plan" that involved the cigarette lighter in my car and a slow and tedious walk from the car to the grill bearing the slowly burning bag of charcoal. Anyway, it worked!! We ate the steaks to prove it.


We also had happy watermelon.




A great day!

I also had time for a day at the zoo with my buddy and his special family.







And then, my buddy had a birthday, so his family got together to worship and pay homage to the beloved Child.

There was a cool cake made by Mommy.


Although, the birthday boy had a bit of difficulty with the taste...




But he seemed to manage quite nicely...


...and enjoy all his happy presents.


All in all, it was a good month...May. Lots of good things. Lots of friends. Lots of love. Indeed, who could ask for more?

I had planned to leave you with some thoughts from my devotions this morning, but I've already had to retype part of this once for some reason (the computer gods hate me), so I think I'll leave that for another time.

Until next time, a blessed summer to you all!

Mom's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! This post is for you...especially - thus the fact that the whole thing is addressed to you personally. Does it feel weird to have a blog written directly to you? I guess it's kind of like an open letter. (Feel free to read on, those of you not my mom - which will be most of you...since I only seem to have one of them...mothers, I mean.) Anyway, since I actually remembered to send you a card and filled it with amazingly personal, sweet, and sincere sentiments, I shall only say a few things here. I was thinking earlier tonight about some of the traits I admire in you. One especially stood out. I love the way that you make every single person you come in contact with feel like he or she is the very best thing that happened to you all day. You know just how to make everyone feel special, needed, and loved. Your well timed words and simple gestures have snatched me often from an emotional downward spiral. Showing love is as natural to you as taking a breath. Thank you for giving me a home oozing with love, saturated with grace, and brimming over with joy. You made loving Jesus look as wonderful as it is.

I love you, Mom!

National Day of Prayer, etc.

For the last few years, GBS has been privileged to be involved with the National Day of Prayer here in the Queen City. We lug all our gear downtown, and the choir and orchestra set up on the front steps of the court house. It's pretty cool. This year I was asked to pray one of the prayers in the program (The Prayer for Those Who Educate). Anyway, it was a good experience. I always enjoy partnering with various churches in the community. Although I know that there are extremely valid reasons for the existence of different denominations, etc., I think that it is a beautiful thing when different churches can come together around a common vision. Anyway, I thought I would just post a few pics of the event to give you an idea.

The gang's all here!




Praying the prayer while being distracted by the dreadful echo from the buildings across the street.


Dr. Ted Kalsbeek, former pastor of Covenant First Presbyterian. What a stately man of God!


Pastor Russell Smith, current pastor of Covenant Presbyterian and fellow Lewis fan. One can find kindred spirits in unexpected places! (Sorry the spirit of Anne came over me for a moment!)


Anyway, it was a really nice day. The only fly in the ointment was an occasional great gust of wind that took stands and music along with it. However, there was no great harm done. :)

Now to the "etc." part of the title. Just thought I'd throw in a short clip of my buddy walking. He just turned 11 months old this week. He's been walking for over a month now, but it just makes me laugh to watch him. Hopefully it will brighten your day as well.



So that's that. Just a bit of info from this past week. (Happy, Mom?)

One more thought for the day from Isaiah 35 (portions of vv. 5-10, emphasis mine), and if this doesn't encourage you, I'm not sure what will!

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy...
The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
...A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.
...But the redeemed will walk there,
And the ransomed of the LORD will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

I was blessed this morning as I read this that, even in Isaiah's day, the concept of redemption was present. There had to be a sacrifice. They looked forward to the perfect Lamb as they continued offering theirs on the altar in the temple. Praise God that the price of redemption has been paid! It is freely offered to all of us, though we will never deserve it. We can walk on the Highway of Holiness, not because of what we bring to the table, but because we have had grace showered upon us. We join the saints of all the ages - the community of the redeemed. We have been ransomed, bought back, redeemed! No wonder they experience everlasting joy. No wonder they come to Zion with joyful shouting. I'm feeling pretty joyful myself right now!!

Blessings!

Spring Fever

From my absence, one might infer that I have been on an extended vacation; sitting ocean-front with a cold drink in my well manicured hand. One would be wrong. (My cuticles are a mess.) I will simply say that the last three weeks or so have been some of the busiest I remember in some time (for a variety of reasons). In a phrase...it's spring, and spring fever is alive and well. It clouds the mind and the judgement. It makes simple rules and tasks, done with relative ease up to this point, seem impossible or, at best, unreasonable. I am surrounded by a sea of blank stares as I reiterate the precepts set forth in our Handbook (most hallowed tome of wisdom). It is as if the words are new and strange; as if they are written in some long forgotten language; ancient runes impossible to comprehend. "What? That's a rule? I'm sorry. I didn't know..." *sigh* It's spring, and summer is almost here.

The last few weeks have also been filled with a quick succession of a variety of activities. If I elaborated on each one, this post would be of such a length that it might become discouraging. Therefore, I shall simply hit the highlights.

The beginning of April found me on tour with the Symphonic Wind and String Ensemble. I'm not sure when I have been more blessed to be with a group of young people. These individuals took tour seriously. When it was time to pray, they prayed, and God heard them. Our services, as well as our devotional times on the bus, were blessed with a powerful sense of God's presence. Our tour was characterized by a oneness of purpose and heart. It was incredible. But we also had a tremendous amount of fun as well. What a great combination! Below are a few random shots from the tour. I have many more, but they would take a long time to post!

Staying with some good friends in Roanoke, VA.


One of those really funny moments.


Even the child didn't escape unscathed.


It didn't seem to take away his taste for ice cream, however.


He even got to run the sound a bit. He was fascinated!


I also happened to be on the best crew. I appreciated their serious approach to the whole "recruiting" thing.


Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Last week ushered in IHC - a whirlwind of activity in Dayton. I really enjoyed myself this year, and, as always, it was good to have even those "drive by" conversations. I really loved reconnecting even briefly with many special friends.

On the heels of IHC comes VIP Day. This signals lots of work (white glove room checks, etc.) as we put our best foot forward for visitors. It really went well this year. I appreciated the mix of good information, good clean fun, and a stirring challenge to trust God fully with our lives. I think any young person that attended VIP Day is better for it - whether they end up at GBS or not. One especially big highlight was a bloopers video played at the banquet. It was a knock-off from the video showcasing the different divisions and programs GBS offers. I believe that it showed that, along with our quest for excellence, we can also laugh at ourselves (an important attribute). If you know any of the GBS faculty, you might enjoy it. Just search for "GBS" and "bloopers" on You Tube or God Tube.

This week we had our Spring picnic, Academy music program and all night lock-in (probably too much within a 48 hour time period). However, all went well. There were no major injuries. (One wouldn't expect to have major injuries at an academy program, but you can't be too careful. Tripping over a bass drum can cause head trauma.) I also judged science fair projects for the first time in my life. I have discovered that I'm a bit of a hard grader. Who knew?

In closing (she said in a pastoral sort of way) let me share with you something I came across in my devotions this week.

Isaiah 28:23-29

Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my words.
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?
Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter cummin
And plant wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its area?
For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.
Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

At first blush, this may seem like just a little aside on farming. However, I was struck by something a bit deeper. I am humbled and grateful that the God who knows exactly how to harvest grain, dill, and cummin in a way that will produce the best crop without damage knows me. He knows just how much threshing I require before I am damaged by the cart wheel. He knows that, left inside the husk, I would be of no use to anyone. But when the rough exterior is smoothed away by a creative variety of methods, I can bring flavor and nourishment to those around me. I love that! Truly "His counsel [is] wonderful and His wisdom great"!

Tagged, shmagged

Well, Jo, you've done it. You have reduced me to another one of these taggy, what don't we know about you things. I actually have quite a bit to blog about band tour and lots of other stuff, but I think I'll do this taggy thing first. It seems fairly painless. (By the way, I hope no one cares, but I'm not going to tag anyone else. I hope that doesn't make me a complete and utter party pooper. I don't mind being a complete party pooper...just not an utter party pooper. That seems indecent.) Seriously, dear Jo, no hard feelings. I'm just having a good time ranting. :-)

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Washing my hair. Actually, I was working nights on a telemetry floor at a hospital near my parents home in Florida. I was also a team leader in our church's youth group. I was completely oblivious to the turn my life would take in a few short years - joining the Catholic church. Seriously, who knew that I would be a DEAN OF WOMEN? Perish the thought.

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Spend time with Jesus. (check)
2. Exercise. (check)
3. Get loose ends tied up from the weekend in the office. (check)
4. Go to Walmart for goodies for my dorm meeting tonight and food for my D-group meeting on Wednesday.
5. Have a dorm meeting tonight. (oh, goody)
6. Meet the man of my dreams in the aisle at Walmart. (Hmmmm, not sure about that one. The last man I saw at Walmart kind of creeped me out.)

Snacks that I enjoy:
Way too many to name them all. Sometimes I'm afraid that it's anything edible not nailed down. OK, I'll be serious:

Boston Baked Beans
Tortilla chips and spinach dip.
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Goldfish crackers
Graham crackers and milk
Crackers with Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss cheese.
Microwave popcorn (kettle corn flavor)
(are you starting to see my problem?)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Invest enough so that I could live off the interest.
2. Give my parents enough so they wouldn't have to work if they didn't want to.
3. Help my brother pay off his new album.
4. Invest in our Bible colleges heavily.
5. Invest in mission organizations. I think that it is criminal that they must struggle as they do.

Three of my bad habits:
My goodness, I'm not sure if I can come up with that many. ;-)

1. Snacking (see above)
2. I can be pretty one track and can occasionally make people feel that I'm not interested in them. (I'm working hard on this one.)
3. I need to be more self-disciplined in several areas. (I'm also working hard here!!)

Five places I have lived:
1. Cincinnati, OH - as a tiny child.
2. Hobe Sound, FL
3. Indiana, PA
4. Hobe Sound, FL again.
5. Cincinnati, OH again - as a bigger child.
(Isn't that a nice symmetrical list? I love symmetry!)

Five jobs I have had:
1. House cleaner for a nice and very patient neighbor.
2. Switchboard operator for HSBC.
3. Student assistant to 2 nursing professors at IUP. (lots of library work, etc.)
4. Telemetry staff nurse and relief night charge nurse.
5. Resident Director for Women (my fancy title now).

Five people I want to know more about:
I shall forgo the last one. I would love to know all about all of my dear readers - especially since I found out about a few more of you on tour. :-) HI!! If any of you would like to randomly take this quiz on your own, I will enjoy it immensely on your blogs.

Another blog soon to come... (This one with pictures. Ooooooooooo.)