A Boring, Un-clever Title

I'll try to make the title of this post boring and un-clever to prevent post posting punish-ing.

:)

It has been a much more pleasant day than I expected weather-wise after listening to the forecast last night. The weather girl said the morning would be nice, but it would rain in the afternoon. It's 6pm and still nice. So we got to walk after lunch and that makes me happy!

Sundays always go so fast. We were at church from 8:45am-12:45am so that was a lot of our day. But then we came home and I unloaded the dishwasher and started lunch. I did an uncharacteristic thing and ran the dishwasher with a not-full load last night simply because we used up all of our silverware and most of our cups. We usually use all of the plates too with having small group, but because we had chili, we used disposable bowls--I just don't have enough for soup AND salad for almost 20! So much better than washing it all by hand, and I'm sure just about as economical and all.

Kayla came home with us from church so she and Abby could work on the flag for Space Pirates vs. Navi. It looks cool--splatter paint! Nice enough outside to paint it out there, and now it's drying on the dining room table. We had grilled cheese for lunch, potato chips and fruit with some leftover pop from last night. It was a very satisfying lunch with lots of salt and fat and comfort food. Not something I can do every day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

We walked after that and skyped with Katie for a little while. Always good! She has met some interesting people and has now been in Tours for long enough to "run into" people she knows at the park, etc. And only one more week of regular classes. Then two weeks of some other class(es)? and then Spain! That will be exciting too. If she were just at home and getting ready to go to Spain in a couple of weeks, that would be super exciting! But now that she's in France already, it seems like just another leg of the journey--until you think that "she's going to SPAIN!!"

And while we were talking, Jeff took K and A to the 620 stuff, then we sorted music into the folders--there was much music, and Jeff took it upon himself to put it all in order--thanks, Honey!!

Then I made a frozen pizza (yes, we are going all out on good nutrition today!) and sent it on plates for the three of them to eat when they get to church. Dinner on Sunday night is always tricky, and when Abby is gone at 4pm, there's no time to eat. So, at least it's something besides just the chips and pop that is the snack at youth group.

I worked on the grocery list and menu, am blogging, and will next eat my two pieces of pizza for dinner. Then I need to have a quiet time, review stuff for school tomorrow and get things packed up. I was telling Jeff that teaching on Monday has really affected my view of Sunday night. It's really hard to be gone all evening, come home at 8:30pm and have to do the school review and packing then. So he has graciously agreed to me staying home and he goes with Abby and helps out as needed at youth group. Plus, I don't feel like I serve any purpose when I go to YG now. When we went before when the Eatons were leading, I felt like I was supporting them and helping them. Plus we were going to LT in the summer, so it was good to know the kids, etc. Now I just feel unnecessary. So it's even harder to go and feel unnecessary and then have to come home and do all of that other stuff.

Andrew has said he can go to LT this year, now we just need a female leader to go. There are only 4 boys and 2 girls signed up so far, so one leader of each should be sufficient. Of course, the two girls are Abby and Kayla, and they don't really want their moms to come--and we just happen to be the female leaders who went last year. So, I'm praying that someone else can go. It would be good for all involved.

Mike's message today was really good. He's been teaching about the Sermon on the Mount, and today was "Ask, Seek, Knock..." and he focused on our view of God and how He answers our prayers. How sometimes God's answers may SEEM like a rock instead of bread, but they never are. He used the clip from Charlie Brown's Halloween TV show--I guess that's something about the Great Pumpkin--where they all go trick or treating and look in their bags after every house: "I got a candy bar!" "I got a popcorn ball!" "I got 5 pieces of candy!" CB every time: "I got a rock!"

It was a very thought-provoking way of looking at things that we consider "rocks"--mourning, being poor, persecuted, etc. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says we're blessed in those things, and so maybe they aren't rocks after all. Bread isn't always material possessions or "blessings" that we tend to think of--sometimes those things are actually the "rocks" in our lives. Just depends on how you see God--as a loving Father who wants us to ask because He loves to give to us or a commander, slave-driver.

He also brought in the prodigal son story to show how the father in that story loved both of his sons, but the older one's words when the younger one came back, showed that he viewed his father in the wrong way: "Look! I've slaved away for you and obeyed all your commands, and you never even gave me a young goat to celebrate with my friends." He saw his father as a slave-driver and a commander, and one who wouldn't even give him a skinny young goat, but then killed the "fattened calf" for his wayward brother.

The father's words show the feeling of "what are you talking about?" when he says, "You have always been with me, and all that I have is yours." Basically--it's ALL yours and all you had to do was ask. So, Mike was saying that we need to believe this about God--that it's all His, and that He chooses to share it with us in the way that is best for us, and He would rather have us ask Him for anything that feel like He's not generous and loving.

That's all my paraphrase--watch the video--it's much better. But it's an encouraging thought that we can always ask and keep asking and trust that God will give what is good!

OK, long enough post for one day! Don't want anyone giving up or falling asleep! Until later, dear readers!