Ready for the weekend… May 9, 2008

I’m sitting in the recliner with my feet up. It’s going to be a LONG night for me I’m afraid since I just accidentally popped 3 excederin migraine pills. Oops! I went in there after Tylenol and wasn’t thinking apparently. Hopefully I’ll get some sleep tonight. And I hope the headache goes away.

We took off this afternoon and went shopping. I bought a super cute new pair of shoes (slipper?). They are a pair of brown plaid super-cute shoes! And they are really warm! I’m not sure they are something that I’d wear out and about, but they’ll be great for kicking around the house.

 Oh! Did I mention that they were only $8!!!

And while I’m all snuggled into my chair, I’m gear up to watch the Phil Wickham concert FREE on his blog via mogulus. Go check it out - http://philwickham.com/blog  He’s recording a live record tonight while he’s there and streaming it free online while it’s going on. I’m off to listen…

My top 100 things to do before I die… May 8, 2008

I’m going to make a list. A list of things that I want to do before I die. 100 things at least. I am *not* going to finish this list tonight. But my comment last night about Cirque Du Soliel and posts by her and her and probably a few others that I read made me decide that I should make my own list. I’m not sure how far I’ll get tonight, but there is no time to start by the present.

1. Finish this list!
2. See Cirque Du Soleil live.
3. Visit NYC.
4. Take my kids on a real vacation that doesn’t involve visiting family.
5. Go to Disney World.
6. Write a book.
7. Go on a safari in Africa.
8. Visit Australia and New Zealand.
9. Visit all of the MLB ballparks
10. Visit all 50 United States.
11. Eat authentic Italian food - in Italy!
12. Go to The Masters.
13. Have a book that I write published.
14. Shower in a waterfall.
15. Drive across America.
16. Spend Christmas somewhere tropical.
17. Lose 40 pounds.
18. Go for a hike in the woods.
19. Go geocaching.
20. Plant a tree.
21. Golf with my husband.
22. See a tornado (but hopefully not up close).
23. Fly a kite.
24. Reach 500 readers on my blog in one day.
25. Send a card to someone for no reason at all.
26. Make something new for dinner that we’ve never had before and is a bit outside the box.
27. Get my own domain name for my blog.
28. Host my own blog (more from wordpress.com to wordpress.org)
29. Learn to knit.
30. Have a regular date night with my husband - even if it’s at home after the kids are in bed.
31. Start a regular family night before my kids are too old to appreciate it.
32. Have an article or short story published.
33. Buy a GREAT pair of shoes. (this is harder than most people think).
34. Blog for 100 days straight.

Ok, I’m a third of the way done. That’s the easy part. The part that I can just jot off without thinking about too hard. The rest of it isn’t going to be quite so easy.

Weekend linkage… April 5, 2008

So, I’m sitting here today wandering my way around Facebook. It’s too nice outside and I’ve got a fierce case of spring fever and do not want to work. I figure I can work when the sun goes down and it gets cold again. Anyhoo, I’m wandering around the new “people you may know” feature on Facebook (which is really cool when two people you know don’t know each other know the same people) and did a search through my Gmail contact list. And found MY MOM! Which was just insanely weird to me. Because my mom was among the last people I expected to find on Facebook.

Why was she the last person I expected to find? Because she’s usually the one calling me asking me what’s new on the web and this is one I didn’t tell her about. She found it on her own! I’m impressed! Anyway, so I thought I’d share a few of the websites that I use to make my life a little easier online…

Facebook - it’s THE social networking. It’s the only one I use anymore. I can easily keep in touch with anyone I know on it and it’s easy to use. So easy even my mom can use it. And trust me (no offense mom), if my mom can figure it out, anyone can.

Twitter - follow your friends and get up to the minute updates on what’s going on in their lives. Or at least up to the update info. It’s a lot like the “Your Name is…” fill in the blank thing on facebook. And you can import it into facebook so everytime you twitter it updates your facebook too. Go sign up for an account and follow me!

Bloglines - when you’re as big of a blogaholic as I am, you have to have somewhere to keep all your blog reads in one place. That’s what bloglines does. Imports the RSS feed from the blogs onto one site. So instead of visiting 50 blogs, you visit one place and read them all there. And it takes out all of the backgrounds and music and such so it doesn’t slow your computer down. If you’re not using bloglines, you should be.

Delicious - It’s an online place to keep all of your favorites. A lot like your favorites dropdown menu on Internet Explorer. Only it’s online so if something happens to your computer or you find yourself on vacation and using someone else’s computer, you still have access to all your favorites.

Gmail - I’ve used tons of different email platforms over the years and Google’s is far superior to them all as far as I’m concerned. I’ve never had a problem with it. And I’m sure that I’m not tapping it’s full potential. Someday I’ll have the time to really look into it. And it’s compatible with my 2.0 on my phone, so I can check my email from my phone when I’m on vacation or on the road.

Google - do people really still use other search engines?

WordPress.com - the free blog software from WordPress is by far the best FREE platform I’ve found. And I’ve used them all. I’m still learning a lot of stuff, but it does everything that I want it to and if I ever decide that I *must* have things like ads on my blog, I can upgrade to a paid account (.net) or Typepad easily by their export feature. But that won’t happen until I buy my own domain name because I don’t want to change domains on y’all too many more times.

So, those are the big 6 that I use - the ones that make my favorites list on my phone - the ones I can’t live without. What are your “must haves” for your online experiences?

The gauntlet has been thrown down… March 30, 2008

By my friend Lorelaicc - 100 continuous days of blogging!

And I’m not one to back down from a challenge, so I took her up on it. So, starting on April 1st, 2008, I’ll being doing 100 days of blogging. Thankfully I figured out that whole blogging from my phone thing because I’m not sure how often Chip is going to want to take me somewhere to blog from the laptop.

So, who else is in? Consider this is your official challenge. I don’t think most of y’all can do it. Do you feel threatened? I hope so. Are you man (or woman) enough to take me up on it? I’m hoping to get Chip involved. Who else? I’ll put together a special blogroll on the side for those of you who want to get involved. Maybe I’ll even try and come up with a couple meme’s we can do throughout it all to make it a little easier as we go along. I’ve done 30 days a couple times - 100 days is not going to be easy.

But I’m up for the challenge? How about you?

Menu Monday… March 10, 2008

I’m only doing dinners this week. My kids make their own lunches (or the older three do) and I’m such an anti-morning person that my kids are lucky if *I* pour their cereal! Maybe that will change the more I get into this cooking thing, but for this week I’m only listing the dinner meal (which is supper to some of y’all!).

Monday - Italian Chicken with couscous (I’ve been promising Kait for a week - it’s her favorite meal)

Tuesday - Strombolis

Wednesday - Bleu Cheese Burgers

Thursday - French Toast with bacon

Friday - Zesty Roasted Chicken and potatoes

Saturday - Teriyaki Chicken Wings with rice

Sunday - Sloppy Joes

Now, go blog your own menu for the week and then come back and click on Mister Linky to leave your link! Or click below to find out who else is listing their menu on their own blog! Or just leave me a comment to let me know you’re participating!

Total eclipse of the moon… February 20, 2008

Every couple of years, the sun, moon and earth all line up and the result is a total lunar eclipse as they shadow of the earth covers the moon in an eerie red shadow.  Apparently it can only happen when there is a full moon and you can go your entire life without ever seeing one.

TONIGHT there is a lunar eclipse. And I’m excited! I’ve seen it before and it will never be anything less than amazing to me. That God hung the sun and the moon and the earth in the sky to give us this wonderful experience just blows my mind.

You should be able to see the lunar eclipse anywhere from North America as long as the skies are clear where you live.  The eclipse will start at about 7:43. And I’ve got my carema ready!

All times below are CST and are taken directly from the NASA website:

• 7:43pm - partial eclipse begins
• 9:01pm - total eclipse begins
• 9:26pm - mid-eclipse
• 9:51pm - total eclipse ends
• 11:09pm - partial eclipse ends

So, who else will be watching tonight?

Where would I be without Jesus? February 17, 2008

Our pastor asked that question this morning. Just happens that he’s the guy that I’m married to. I’ve often thought that I didn’t have much of a testimony because I can never remember a time that I didn’t know God. I’ve never been away from God. Sure, I had my times of rebellion (which most people would laugh at because I was so not the rebellious type).

But I remember being in college and having a real encounter with Jesus. One that wrecked me and made me see how wretched I would be without Him.

You see, I was raised in a fairly legalistic church. I remember being taught the rules and told to follow them and not ask any questions. If you broke the rules, you didn’t love God. And I loved God, so I tried my hardest to follow the rules. And I thought less of those who didn’t. There was no grace. There was no mercy. In a few words, I was self-righteous and stuck up. The me of yesteryear would not like the present me. And honestly, the present me, doesn’t like the me of yesteryear.

But in college, I was on my own. I didn’t have anyone to tell me the rules anymore. So, I started to question them. I figured that if I was going to believe something and have it stick, I better figure out what I believe and why. I can remember having long, theological debates with a friend name Justin who would interrupt my thoughts as I sat in the chapel in the skyway at North Central. I can remember him challenging my rational on why I believed what I believed.

But it was in those quiet moments in that chapel - sometimes with friends, sometimes without - that I had a real encounter with Jesus. One that led me to realize that I was a slave to legalism when what Jesus came and died for was to give me freedom in Christ.

Now that we’ve got some years under our belt in ministry, we’ve had all kind of encounters with people in the church. We have regular contact with pastors all over the country (it’s amazing how small the world wide web makes the world). And the horror stories we could share based on what we’ve heard or even experienced (though ours really do pale in comparison to most) would make your head spin. There are people in the church who are so filled with hate and judgement and anger and well… SIN, that they can’t even see the Cross. They cause pain. They inflict disease. They are the bane of the pastor’s existence. They are often referred to in the circles that we travel in as pastor killers. Some churches are full of them. Some have few or possibly just one.

This morning, in the quiet of the sermon, my husband asked, “Where would you be without Jesus?”

And I had a moment.

I had an encounter.

Because I knew in my heart, that while I had never been far from church or God even really, had I not had a real, life-changing encounter with Jesus, I would be one of those self-righteous, know-it-all, busybody, thorn-in-the-side, pastor killers. And that stark realization dropped my heart into my stomach and made me so thankful that God redeemed me. That Jesus died for MY freedom. That Jesus set me free from the law and let’s me walk in grace.

What a wonderful and powerful gift.

A weekend meme… February 16, 2008

Chip got a referral to a rheumatologist and for an MRI on Friday at the dr. There is definitely something wrong and his dr doesn’t seem confident in the nerve conduction test results (I don’t think he likes that neurologist any more than we did). We’re waiting on a call from the dr’s office to let us know when all of that will happen. Y’all will know when I do…

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But for your weekending pleasure - here’s the newest addition of “Get to know your friends”…

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Okay,
here’s what you’re supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil
the fun! Copy this entire email and paste into a new email that you
can change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this
to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent
it to you. Some of you may get this several times (that means you have
lots of friends).

1. What is your occupation?  Domestic Engineer - or at least that’s what it says on my tax return. Chip’s mom is pretty clever that way. 

2. What color are your socks right now? White

3. What are you listening to right now?  The Illinois/Penn State game - they *should* win this one.

4. What was the last thing that you ate?  Chicken, couscous and carrots (and I didnt’ even plan that “c” thing)

5. Can you drive a stick shift?  Nope

6. What color would you be, if you were a color? Green - just like Kermit

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Chip

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?  Absolutely - it’s a shame she lives so far away and we only get to see each other every couple years

9. How old are you today? 32

10  Favorite drink?  Coffee, duh! My newest drink at Starbucks is a simple Grande Brew with room.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch?  College basketball (note: #3)

12. Have you ever dyed your hair?  Every 6 weeks. It’s a must.

13. Pets?  Daisy - a beagle/bassett mix, Beesly - a gray tabbycat, and Rocky - a teddy bear hamster

14. Favorite food?  Anything Italian

15. Last movie you watched? Return To Me - it was on television on Valentine’s day. I love that movie!

16. Favorite Day of the year?  My birthday

17. What do you do to vent anger? I clean. Unfortunately I don’t get angry often enough. ROFL!

18. What was your favorite toy as a child?  My basketball or my bike

19. What is your favorite, fall or spring?  Fall

21. Cherry or Blueberry? I *love* blueberries - especially fresh ones!

22. Do you want people to email you back?  Yes!

23. Who is most likely to respond? not sure

24. Who is least likely to respond?  Well, since it’s a blog, I guess we’ll just have to see if this thing goes viral.

25. Living arrangements?  Single family, 2 story home. The house looks big, but when you put 4 kids in it, things get considerably smaller!

26. When was the last time you cried?  Today - reading Ragamuffin Soul’s encounters in Uganda. Man, I’m spoiled!

27. Who is the friend you’ve had the longest that you are sending this to?  Um, of all the people who read my blog, my friend Carrie is probably the one I’ve had the longest. We’ve been friends since junior high.

28. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? Whoever happens to stumble across it next

29. Favorite smell?  Coffee

32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers?  How about spicy cheesburgers? I make an awesome cheeseburger. It’s about the only red meat that I eat at home anymore.

33. Favorite Car:   I have no idea. I’m so not a car person.

34. Favorite cat breed?  The kind that will kill a mouse in my house! Which does not include my current cat.

35. Number of keys on your key ring?  I don’t have a keyring. Chip does and I think his has 4.

36. How many years at your current job? 11.25 years

37. Favorite day of the week?  Mondays - Chip’s day off

38. How many states have you lived in?  4

Bloggers go to Uganda… February 10, 2008

I’m more of a World Vision person, but Compassion International has caught my attention in recent days. How? With bloggers!

 CI is taking a group of well-known bloggers in Christian circles - people who have blogs that would be considered viral - and flying them to Uganda to bring awareness to the situation there. They are making the most of a movement and bringing several of the bloggers that I read with them.

We had Pastor Herman from Uganda with us last May. You hear a lot of different crises in Africa - the HIV pandemic in South Africa, the current crisis in Darfur, but you hear little about the crisis that has ravaged much of Uganda and left many children without their parents.

I’m praying that the bloggers will be forever changed, that hearts will be tugged and that children will find compassion from sponsors who want to make a difference.

What I’ve been up to… January 23, 2008

I’m working on a new website for the church. Our current website is fairly pathetic (I can say that - I designed it) and not very user friendly to update.

I’ve been going over the options and right now I think a blog format is going to be the best way to go for our small church. It’s easy to update, can have multiple contributors with their own usernames (which will be great for protecting against innocent mistakes) and is user friendly for the people in our community.

The biggest thing I’ve struggled with his hosting. Do I use a blog format that will host my blog for me or do I use a different web hosting choice and give myself a bit more freedom in what I can and cannot put on the website?

Right now, the new church website is being hosted by wordpress.com. I’m a HUGE fan of wordpress since I switched blog platforms. I have the option of exporting it as is to a wordpress.org (your heads would spin if I tried to explain the difference). I’d be able to do anything I wanted to with it then, however we’d have to pay.

Want to take a look at what I’m working on? The new website is nowhere near completed and I’m looking for a new picture to replace the  one on the top - but it will give you a general idea. The old one is as updated as it’s ever going to be.

Current Website

New Website