Eyewitness to a Miracle

A number of children in our church are picked up by the church van. Their parents allow them to come, but for whatever reason will not come with them. Seth and I, along with a several others in the church family, provide a place for these kids to sit during the church service. A little girl, A., about age 7, and her brother, T., about age 5, often sit with us.

On this particular Sunday, A. was keeping herself occupied with a pad of paper and a pencil. I assumed she was not paying attention, but I was so thankful that she was sitting still and quiet that I didn't have a problem with her doodling. Soon I realized that she was indeed listening...maybe not to the Pastor, but certainly to her heavenly father.

She held a folded note in front of my face and said, with a look of pressing concern, "I wrote this note for Jesus, but I don't know how to give it to him!" I was taken aback, and although I would have loved to ponder this statement for a while, I didn't have time. Thinking fast, I took her hand and whispered for her to follow me. Her brother took my other hand, and up to the front we walked. A. carefully placed the note on the altar and then stood looking at it with a countenance I had never seen before. I asked her if she wanted to kneel. She shook her head but continued looking at the note intently, as if praying. I waited, giving her the time she needed.

After church, I went to retrieve the note. It read,

"I love you Jesus and God.

I love you Savior.

Love, A."

A few weeks later, A. bounded up to me (and everyone else in the vicinity) after Sunday school and shouted, "My Mom is coming today!" She stood in the foyer expectantly and sure enough, her mother walked through the doors and into the sanctuary, holding her daughter's hand and greeting others cautiously. Throughout the first half of the service, I sensed God asking me to pray for this lady, that her heart would be moved and transformed by what she saw and heard. I, along with many others, silently prayed just that. God answered. Although I was out of the service for the second half teaching the early childhood children's church class, I heard later that A.'s mom went to the altar after a particularly moving skit by the youth group.

Thank you, Lord, for your great work in the heart of this little one and her family. May I have the boldness to seek you as A. sought you that Sunday morning. And, like A., may I find you waiting for me.

Spring Break 2011

Last Saturday, Seth and I left on the first vacation we have ever taken (since our honeymoon). We arrived in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, very late at night. Why Kittanning, you ask? Seth's brother Luke, and his wife, Kayla, moved there shortly after marrying last summer after Luke took the youth pastorate at the Kittanning First Church of God. Their apartment is so cute!

On Sunday morning, we visited Luke and Kayla's church. It was wonderful to see them in their element! We even got to ride the church bus to and from service, since Luke is in charge of the bus ministry. This afforded us the opportunity to visit more fully with some members of the congregation, including some very cute old people.

Upon arriving home from church, Seth suggested that he and Luke cook for the ladies. This is how the afternoon went...

The boys did a great job--pan fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits!

After lunch, we went on a walk at Riverside Park in Kittanning. I loved the old buildings, the bridge, and the river!

On Monday, we took off for Gettysburg, which was the bulk of our vacation. Seth and Luke rode together, and Kayla and I rode together. We took two cars because Seth and I left directly from Gettysburg to come home. I had such a wonderful visit with Kayla. I am so blessed to have another "sister" in my life. Of course, our visiting caused us to get a little lost on the way to our destination, but we got there in the end, and the boys had fun rubbing in our faces that they had arrived at the hotel 20 minutes before us.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we took off for dinner. We chose to eat at General Pickett's Buffet. The food was good and the conversations interesting. The waiter spent most of our meal talking with the people behind us about finding human remains on the battlefield. Apparently the park service goes out at night and reburies them...Conspiracy theory, anyone?

Since we were so stuffed and it was not yet dark, the four of us walked the battlefield at the location of Pickett's Charge. Across the road along the union line were a number of monuments, which we explored until it became too dark to see.

The next morning, we were able to tour the town and battlefield with a private tour guide. Our guide talked for three solid hours about the battle. I didn't understand half of what he said, but it was still a great opportunity. My favorite part was seeing the statue of Robert E. Lee riding Traveller. The book Traveller by Richard Adams, which describes the Civil War through the eyes of Lee's horse, is one of my all-time favorites!

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel to eat lunch. We had brought lunch food along to save money on eating out. As soon as we arrived in the room, the boys parked on the beds to watch...the HISTORY channel. As if we hadn't had enough history! These guys are more alike than they realize!

That afternoon, we went back to the Gettysburg National Military Park to tour the museum, Cyclorama painting, and bookstore. I was amazed at how huge the museum was. The highlight for me was seeing Gen. Lee's cot, writing desk, and gloves. The cyclorama is a 360 degree painting created by a French artist and restored for placement in the new visitor's center just a few years ago. The bookstore is almost as large as the Borders in Evansville, and an hour almost wasn't enough time to spend there.

After finishing up at the Visitor's Center, we went to the National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. This speech is my favorite of all time for a couple of reasons. For one, did you know that Lincoln actually was not the main speaker at the dedication of the cemetery? He was thrown onto the program at the last minute and delivered a surprisingly short address, yet no one remembers who the keynote speaker was or about what he spoke. That just goes to show that Lincoln was a brilliant orator. Secondly, my dad made us memorize the speech in sophomore honors English. I remember working very hard on that assignment and carefully considering the words I was committing to memory. Here are the four of us standing at the site where Lincoln delivered his famed speech.

Our next stop was Little Round Top, which is the part of the Battle of Gettysburg that seemed to interest Seth the most. No wonder this was the coveted battle position. The union army could see everything from here!

By this time we were getting very hungry, so before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at Tommy's Pizza to sample the local fare. I, for one, was very impressed with the pizza! So was Luke!

Before bed, we went swimming in the world's smallest indoor hotel pool. Despite the pool's modest size, it was a treat to get to go swimming!

The next morning, we enjoyed walking around downtown Gettysburg. Mostly we did some window-shopping and looked for bullet holes.

Around 11, it was time to part ways and head for home, or so we thought. When we were about 30 minutes into our journey, I realized that we had left our nice pillows and blanket at the hotel. So we turned back to retrieve those items. All told, this detour cost us an hour in an already 11-hour journey!

Despite this set-back, we had a wonderful trip home. We traveled south through Western Virginia on I-81, which runs between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountain ranges. These views of God's wonderful creation were pure eye candy!

Other than a few stops here and there, we headed straight home, arriving in the middle of the night and sleeping throughout the next day. We couldn't have asked for a better vacation! When is the next one???!!!

101 Things Update

Here is my 101 Things Update for January and February:

#8 Finish Paying Off Debts

We are now $13,000 away from becoming totally debt free!

#23 Revamp Our Home Filing System

This process is almost finished. I basically need to finish labeling files and folders to make the system easier to use.

#29 Stop Drinking Diet Soda

I have slipped on this one a couple of times, but I am okay with what I am doing now...drinking soda only once a week or so. As a result, I adjusted the goal to "Stop buying soda." I have discovered that when you stop buying it, you stop drinking it!

#32 Stop Biting My Nails

I haven't bitten or torn at my nails for a good 2 weeks. I'm working hard to keep this habit broken!

#59 Invite the Sunday School Class Over for a Game Night

We held this event last Saturday night, and it was a great success!

#76 Have 24 date nights

1/24 completed. We've got some work to do on that one!

#79 Change the Drawer Pulls on My Desk

I have purchased the new pulls and a few of them have been put on. Hubby started this job but didn't finish it. I love how they look! (The picture shows the style of the new pulls at the top and the old pulls at the bottom. I got this desk from my grandma when we moved. I think it was from the 70's!)

#95 Read 12 New Non-Fiction Books

3/12 completed. I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

#99 Stop using margarine (new addition to the list after deleting something else that I can't remember)

We stopped buying tub margarine and are now just leaving a stick of butter out on the counter for toast, pancakes, etc. I'm going to try whipping it with some canola oil to make it stretch.

Sweet Pretzel Recipe

My friend Heather gave me a baggie of these sweet pretzels for Christmas, and I, despite the fact that I am not a pretzel lover, LOVED them. In fact, I could have eaten them all in one sitting if I had let myself.

A few days ago when I was looking for something to make for a Sunday School party, I stumbled upon this recipe in my Taste of Home cookbook for what looked like the same thing. They taste very much the same as the pretzels Heather made and were a big success at the party!

Here is the recipe:

Sweet Pretzel Nuggets

1 package (16 ounces) sourdough pretzel nuggets (I just used traditional pretzels).

2/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Place pretzels in a microwave-safe bowl. In a small bowl, combine oil, sugar and cinnamon; pour over pretzels and toss to coat.

2. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-1/2 minutes; stir. Microwave 2-3 minutes longer, stirring after each minute, or until oil is absorbed. Cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

This is a delicious frugal snack that takes just a few minutes to throw together. All of us in the picture below highly recommend it!

Good News in Song - Day by Day

Good News! Good News in Song is back! This will be an ongoing series but will not run on any certain schedule. I will just write as I feel inspired.

One of highlights of my college career was singing in the Anderson University Chorale. We toured the United States and the world singing music that reached into the depths of my soul.

Each fall, we would participate in a retreat at Yellow Creek Lake Camp to build group morale and get a start on learning our music for the semester. One of the most anticipated moments of the retreat was on the last morning when we had a class sing-off. The freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and super-seniors (I can't remember if they were included with the seniors or not) competed against one another by singing one of the songs we had just learned that weekend. The older groups, who knew what was up, would add hilarious commentary or impersonations to their performance, while the freshmen stood there, wondering, "Why didn't we think of that?"

My freshman year, I stood with people who would become my dear friends and sang my favorite song of the weekend: Day by Day. Although it was one of the simplest songs I ever sang in chorale, it was also one of the most spiritually enriching. I had heard the hymn growing up, but listening to the mingling of the four-part harmony and memorizing each verse led me to look at it in a whole new way.

Day by Day

Music by Oscar Ahnfeldt/Lyrics by Lina Sandell

Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,

I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,

Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E'er to take, as from a father's hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/713#ixzz1EjrDZGJY

I apologize that I cannot find a good recording of this song on Youtube. None of them do justice to the memory I treasure.

The following is a history of the hymn that I found at http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/713

"The waves of revival that swept the Scandinavian countries during the latter half of the nineteenth century were greatly influenced by the wealth of fine hymns which flowed from the pen of Lina Sandell.

Born on October 3, 1832, in Sweden, Lina was a daughter of a pastor. When she was twenty-six years of age, she accompanied her father on a journey to Gothenburg, but tragedy occurred before the destination was reached. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Lina’s father fell overboard, and drowned before the eyes of his devoted daughter.

Soon many songs began to flow out of her broken heart. Her songs reflect a simple child-like trust in Christ, and deep sense of His abiding presence in her life, including “Day By Day.'"

What a source of encouragement as we meet our daily challenges!

Apparently I did not take any pictures at Chorale Retreat 2002. By the way, I just about fainted when I realized that has been almost 10 years ago. I do have these pics of our class doing the sing-off in 2003.

Do you know this hymn? Have you had the incredible experience of singing choral arrangements of hymns?

Shopping Changes

As much as I enjoy my bi-monthly deal hunting, I am burnt out! As a result, the idea of once-a-month shopping trips is appealing to me more and more. This way, I would only be spending one Saturday per month on shopping.

The disadvantage to this approach is that I may miss some great deals at the drugstores. For instance, the Register Rewards at Walgreen's expire after just two weeks. You see, I have tried monthly shopping trips before, but when I receive those rewards, I can't stand the idea of wasting them, so I make the half hour trek to the closest store every two weeks even if I don't need to. While I'm there, I stop at Walmart, Save a Lot, etc., and spend more money saving money. As wonderful as it is to stock up on free stuff from the drug stores, I'm just not sure it's worth it. I may save just as much money (or more) by shopping less.

Here is another motivation for me. I spend $2.00 on a Sunday paper every week JUST for the coupons. Neither Seth nor I actually care to read the newspaper. I know that may seem a travesty to some, but we get our news online, on TV, and on the radio. I just don't want to spend $8.00 on coupons every month, even though I save more than that every month couponing, especially when most of the coupon inserts seem to be filled with ads for ugly house dresses and diabetic socks. For my monthly shopping trips, I am hoping I can find most of the same coupons online. Without the newspaper coupons and flyers coming into my house on a weekly basis, I will be less tempted to run out and spend money to get a good deal.

Don't get me wrong, I still think using coupons is a good idea. I am just too busy right now to pour myself into it like I have been. Plus, I really want to try to make more of my own food and cleaning products from scratch, and couponing just doesn't contribute much to those kinds of things. For instance, how often can you find a coupon for a gallon of vinegar or a bag of flour? I have put off making a homemade alternative to deodorant and making a powdered cream of anything soup mix just because I've had coupons to buy that stuff from the store. Maybe cutting back on my couponing will inspire me to actually experiment and try some of these things. If they don't work, I can always go back.

What are your thoughts? Is it possible to save just as much money shopping less often as you do shopping more often with lots of coupons?

Progress at Home

I am so proud of myself! Even after all the cooking I've done in the past two weeks, I have kept the kitchen clean pretty much all the time. I say "pretty much" because I fell off the wagon last night. After I cooked my turkey tetrazini, which used a lot of dishes, I fell asleep on the couch. Seth has promised to work on that this morning. Based on my experience, I have discovered the key to a tidy kitchen: emptying clean dishes from the dishwasher right away. When we are unable to put dirty dishes directly into the dishwasher, the dish gnomes come out and spread bowls and plates and glasses all over the kitchen counters. I made another discovery, too. When the kitchen is clean, the rest of the house stays clean. When it is dirty, the gnomes move into the other rooms and wreak havoc.

I have spent a few minutes each day decluttering, and that has certainly helped the whole situation, which leads me to yet another discovery: I have noticed that the more clutter there is, the dirtier the floors get. How is that possible? I don't know, but it's true! I am just now noticing the need to mop even though it has been a couple weeks since I did it last. Even the most high traffic areas just don't look that dirty.

I was home sick two days this past week. By the afternoon and evening of the 2nd day, I was feeling bored from lying on the couch and decided to sort through some paperwork. It was like that story When You Give a Mouse a Cookie, because one thing led to another and pretty soon I had gone through two big grocery bags of papers that have needed filing from two years! Everything is now in the filing cabinet in its appropriate folder. That has really been bothering me, and I feel so relieved now that it's done.

Something I need to tweak is my system of doing laundry. I have been putting in a load in the morning, drying it (or attempting, considering my dryer's technology issues) in the evening, and then falling asleep or forgetting about it as it sits in the dryer. It then gets taken from the dryer to the living room floor and sits in an ever-growing pile of clean laundry that needs to be folded. As I look at the pile now, I feel overwhelmed. Seth does a good job folding laundry and does help me, and for that I am thankful. I just have to ask him OFTEN :)

Whatever the case may be, I am sure excited to be making progress in my homemaking duties! How do you maintain your home?