Check em out...

The office is really slow in August. We are basically finished with our summer events and in prep mode for our winter events...so conference season hasn't kicked into high gear yet. Its always a nice "quiet before the storm" month for me but after weeks and weeks of it - it does tend to get boring and old. There are moments when we are busy but then moments where you want to crawl under your desk and take a nap (lets not tell Scott this though - ha ha!). So, I have been passing my time reading a bit (I have so read twelve books this summer - a huge record for me - thanks Karen Kingsbury (I am in the middle of the Firstborn series btw if you care)!), playing on facebook, reading news and entertainment web sites and finding fun new blogs! Thought I would share a few with you...enjoy!

• The Crock Pot Lady - she vowed to make a meal in her crock pot every day in 2008 - recipes galore!


• Landon Howell - I have been reading Landon's blog for years now. He is a guy from Jasper and he posts random things - anything from politics, Jasper, old school tv shows, whatever - its fun to read.


• Domestication in Progress - more recipes!


• Yearbook Yourself - OMG - upload a photo of yourself and have a blast. I laughed till I cried and I have some people in the office doing it with me. Hysterical!!
  
• McCain Blogette - I am not a huge political person, although I have been following it this year. This is the blog of John McCain's daughter...pretty interesting to see her adventures on the road and the photos with her dad.

10 things I am not afraid to admit....

I read this on Aaron Ivey's blog and decided to try it for myself...

1. I love Big Brother! Tracy got me hooked 3 seasons ago while we were on a cruise. I am so obsessed I buy Showtime during the Big Brother seasons so I can watch Big Brother After Dark.
2. I refuse to watch The Hills - most of my friends like it - but I think it is fake and stupid.
3. I am beginning to hate myspace. The only reason I have one is to communicate with friends and students that do not have facebook.
4. Since my mice invasion of 2005 I have rarely sat in my living room with the lights off. I saw the first mouse run across my floor while I was sitting in the dark...for some reason I think that if the lights are on the mice will stay away. I am beginning to get over my fear...I actually have watched tv in the dark twice this month.
5. I love free samples. I get emails with sample advertisements weekly and I get samples in the mail weekly...love them!
6. I hate chocolate candy. I can eat brownies and some chocolate with peanut butter - that's it. I eat the middle out of Cadbury eggs and throw the chocolate away. I suck the coating off of M & M's and throw the rest away. Its weird I know I just don't like it.
7. My nephew calls me Gina Pooh and I love it.
8. Sometimes I would rather communicate via text than telephone.
9. I love Christmastime. I am counting down the months. I am ready to listen to my Christmas music and put my tree up. Its such a joyous and beautiful time. My music will come on in October and my tree up as soon as November comes!
10. I love my DVR. I think it is one of the greatest tv inventions EVER! I DVR old tv shows from the 70's and 80's and old movies from the 40's to now that I have always wanted to see but haven't - it makes me happy!

Your turn...give me 10 things! :)

Breaking Free

This weekend I had the privilege of teaching at New Temple's Breaking Free (aka D-Now). I had the 11th grade girls. We had a great time hanging out and learning more about what it takes to be a disciple for Christ. I also learned that I am way too old to be staying up late and to get up as early as we did. Unless God changes my mind - that was my last one to teach. I feel like I have come full circle. New Temple was the first D-Now I ever taught in 1998. And now ten years later it seems only fitting that it be my last one to teach. Its been a great run. I have met lots of great girls over the past ten years, learned a lot about the Word, was able to give back and serve the Lord and got lots of t-shirts along the way.

During our Mission Project on Saturday we went to the Mission of Hope and had a competition of bagging can foods for the Mission to give out during Food Giveaway. The kids got to give back and with it being a competition have a little fun in the process. Over the weekend we had talked about the gifts that God give us and how its so important to be good stewards of those gifts. We also talked about the Body of Christ and working together. That afternoon I was able to see it in action. As the kids were doing their competition I saw how each one had a job and how well their goal was accomplished when they did what they were supposed to do. I also saw how dissension and distractions can come up and caused the teams to be in utter chaos.

You see the kids were split into two teams, and told to elect a leader and given a list of what foods to put into the bags. What they didn't know was that some of the adult leaders were going to tell them to put the wrong things in their bags (which wasn't on their list) and distract them from their job. Team Mission Possible won - they clobbered Team Unicorn.

As I was watching them I automatically thought of the church. When there is no leader - the body is in chaos, there is no plan of action and they are trying to make their own way. When distractions arise frustrations come and cause dissension among the people. Team Unicorn failed by not electing a leader and allowing the distractions to mess up their team. They were very frustrated with each other. Some of the members were listening to the distractions and messing up their plan. Team Mission Possible was working together as one unit, not listening to the distractions and working together each using their own gift to do the job that we called to do.

If only we as the church would learn that. If we could learn to follow the leader that the Lord has given us, to not let Satan and other distractions cause dissension amongst the people and do the job the Lord has called us to do. Wow - just imagine what we could get accomplished for the Kingdom!

I Corinthians 12
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

Food, Sun, and Fun

Back from the cruise. We had a good time, as expected. There are always stories and photos (photos will have to come later - I have not taken them off my camera yet). But, lets go over our checklist shall we...

• Rooming with Nicole - check - We had a great time rooming together. This will probably be my last time to room with her - which made me sad. But, seasons change and this is a new season of life for us all.
• Playing Phase 10. - check - Oh yes we played every day. Sometimes twice a day. And I had horrible luck this year. I didn't win one game. But, it was fun times!
• Seeing a new island - check - And it did have a pretty good beach. Shells were all in the water. Candice was the claw toe - she was picking them up like crazy. I struggled to get them with two feet. Tracy and Nicole got massages on the beach. The only bad part was that people were everywhere trying to sell you something, you just had to be nice and tell them no thanks. And all of us got tons of sun. Very fun!
• Sleeping late - uhhh no! That didn't happen. I was up by at least 8:30 every morning. The ship was so loud - it was impossible to sleep. I was awakened every morning around 4:30 of banging up above us. They were working on another floor and woke everyone up. It was awful...so no sleep for Gina (although I did take a couple of good afternoon naps).
• People watching - check - oh yea I did plenty of that. It amazes me how on a boat of over 1500 people you can see a few people every time you turn around. I saw two people in particular ALL the time. To the point I was sick of seeing them. Usually I make fun of the adults - but this time I was making fun of the teenagers. One poor girl in particular we made too much fun of. We got into trouble for making fun of her. But, all I can say is your bra goes under your shirt!
• Food - check - food was good. I had one fantastic dinner - one of the best meals I ever had.
• Shopping - check - although I didn't do a ton of it. I bought myself one thing and bought Brandon and Ella gifts - that was it. I wasn't in the mood to shop till I dropped.
• The cheesy shows - check - Nicole and I went to one show. The 50's music revue show. We had seen it before - but its always funny to watch them again.
• B-I-N-G-O - check - I played a few games. Didn't win - but its always fun.
• Cheesy photos that the people on the boat are always taking and wanting you to buy - check - I bought one of us at dinner. And we did watch people taking them and made fun of them. I mean really - do we need to pose with stuffed fish? Really? Guys, do we need to pose like Charlie's Angels, really? Do we need to pose in front of a banner with a stair case painting? Do we need to pose in front of a banner with a ship? And if you pose with stuffed fish and you are on your stomach with your feet in the air - make sure your feet are clean. I'm just saying...
• The funny waiters we always get - no! Our waiters weren't entertaining this year at all. They were nice - but not entertaining. The table next to us had a funny waiter. He sang loudly and danced like a stripper - very funny.
• Looking out at the endless sea and seeing how amazing God's creation is - check - it never ceases to amaze me.
• Spending QT with the family - check. We had a fun time hanging out together.
  

Things I dreaded...

• Life jacket drill - check - and I still hate it. One of these days I am going to hide in a closet in my room.
• Drunk people - check - I saw them - they weren't as bad as normal. But you still knew they were around.
• Body odor of the workers on the boat - check - not as many as before - but I did still smell some BO!
• Crowds - check - gosh the crowds. Crowded elevators, crowded pools, crowded eating. People think they are the only ones on the boat.
• Not having the kids with us - check - we had a good time - but of course we still wondered what they were doing, how they were doing and what they would like about the cruise, what they would hate and how they are still too young to come on a cruise.

Overall - fun times were had by all. Yes, the boat was so loud, crowded and old - but its the quality time that we spent together as a family on perhaps our last vacation is what mattered the most. So, thanks Dad and Kay for a great time.

I will post photos next week!