What would be the opposite of Writer's block? Writer's Free Flowing? Writer's Open Box? I suggest to you Writer's Ball, for two reasons. The opposite of square is round, so the opposite of a block would be a ball. Plus it means you are on a roll. Either that or you have so many ideas that they are all bouncing around very fast. Either way it works. It is not like a block that just sits there doing nothing, like a lump in a bog.
Every Christmas it is my tradition to get a new CD, an ornament and a Nativity. This year I was able to get my ornament very early. It is very pretty, a cross. The CD I got pretty early too, some instrumental that we used for our ladies tea and our Christmas dinner. But the Nativity, well that, that one was difficult. Last year I found a paper pop up that you put together yourself on clearance. I wasn't able to keep it but it was precious. This year I could not even find something like that.
I was pretty discouraged but resigned. I figured I would pick up the tradition next year but this would be my first year on my own that I had not gotten one. To top it off I always put a Nativity under my tree and this year I had my tree on a new stand and could not fit any on it.
On Sunday Tonya gave me a present and told me to open it immediately. It was a Teddy Bear with a sash that said, "Jesus is the light of the world" which is our theme for this year's Christmas program. He is SO cute! I adore him!!! There was another little package and I asked her if I shoudl open it and she said yes. And, yes, as you probably guessed, it was a Nativity! It is so precious! This morning I saw it and realized it was small enough to fit under my tree!!! It is precious!!! See:
For those of you who do not know I am directing this year's Christmas program. Yesterday was our dress rehearsal. Unfortunately I was very short with everyone, and no I am not referring to my height.
I forgot that I was dealing with people. I lost sight of my true focus, Christ! I acted in the flesh instead of the Spirit. I have apologized to part of my team and will be doing full confessions to everyone on Wednesday.
So, to anyone reading this that was part of Sunday's rehearsal, I am very sorry. I was not acting in love. I was a clanging cymbal.
My Faithful Readers, This is an explanation for my Habitual Impracticality blog, as well as an update for my Symmie's Spot blog and for Facebook.
The explanation of why I didn't post yesterday is because Sunday was our Annual Ladies Tea. It was beautiful! We had a huge turnout, more than expected, and everything ran smoothly. How did this affect my blogging you ask? Well, I had taken my laptop to church with me to use in the powerpoint portion of the tea (we read a book every year and I project the pictures so all can see). As we were leaving that night I said, "I don't need my laptop tonight, I will bring it home tomorrow."
Well tomorrow came and so did a foot and a half of snow!!! My little car is not heavy enough to drive well in snow so Pastor Pat declared a snow day!!! It was so nice to stay home and rest and relax. I got some Christmas presents done and I am going to keep working on more tonight.
Now for another update. I will not be posting any more this week. I have become very selfish and self centered lately. Sunday the teaching was powerful and convicting regarding sin in our lives and getting to the point to where our sin breaks our hearts because of what it does to Jesus' heart, not because we got caught. The Lord convicted me for my self-centered thinking and I am going to be doing a media fast all this week. For me my computer is all about entertaining me, when I am not constantly wanting to be entertained is when I start recognizing others and am not focused on my comfort and ease.
Tonight our Women's Bible Study Worship leader was gone. She is at a worship conference in Southern California. Due to this fact I was leading worship from the piano with another lady to help me with vocals. It was interesting. 2 weeks ago I picked my set. I am ahead with the study so I picked the set according to the things the women were studying this week. The Lord had completely guided me in choosing the songs. In fact a couple of them I didn't want to play but the Lord kept saying, "do it!" So I pulled them out and realized how perfectly they fit.
After I spent 2 hours praying, playing, and picking, I started doubting. I began to think that I had picked all old songs and I should have picked something newer. But I knew that God had led in the choosing of the songs and so I was trying hard not to doubt the decision.
2 weeks later, I start practicing and we can't get any sound out of the keyboard. So we decide to switch keyboards, then that one has a horrible hissing sound when we unmute it. I was struggling not to stress but to trust that God had a plan. From there I went and practiced on a different piano while they fixed the problems.
In the end everything went fine, but I was so emotionally exhausted (I think that is why?) that I went in the office and cried afterward. But my vocalist said people worshipped. That's what matters right? At least I know the Lord loved it because He loves the praises of His people.
Many people, when asked, will say this is their favorite time of year, "the holiday season." But how many of us simply pass over Thanksgiving to get to Christmas? We may say that the holiday season is our favorite but do we forget one of the main holidays involved? Its a valid question and I pray the answer is 'no.'
My father always said that his favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. He taught me growing up to make sure that I did not just rush through Thanksgiving to get to Christmas. It is difficult sometimes because there is a lot more surrounding Christmas. It seems that once December 1st hits we have parties to plan, baking to do, Christmas music to listen to, gifts to buy...and the list goes on and on and on. But what preparation does Thanksgiving take? Planning a meal and deciding who's house we are eating at this year.
Perhaps we should take this season to change that. Let's make November 1st be the beginning of a planning time, create traditions, plan Thanksgiving parties, write some thank you cards to mail out, and so on. There are a lot of ways to get Thanksgiving to be more of a part of the Holiday Season than it is.
Here is one idea you can start right away, print a calendar for November. Every night have your family decide what the blessings of the day were and write them on that day. Then on Thanksgiving you have 20-something things to be thankful for already!
May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and may you be filled with the Joy of the holiday season! And, as most of us know, Jesus is that Joy!
My world has become very strange. I am beginning to wonder how people view me. Perhaps, they view me the same, but if the tables were turned I would think I was a finicky person. Its annoying that I have had to become finicky. Perhaps finicky is not the right word. Sickly? Fragile? I'm tired of saying, "no thank you. I can't eat that." Then, again, needing to explain why.
Some people are very good about it and catch on right away. One lady made us some gingerbread for the office and let me know it was dairy free and soy free. I was so blessed that she took the time to even think of that. Made me feel normal again in a small way.
Pastor Pat tries. Its very sweet. He put some soup in our "Staff Cupboard" the other day and said, check it out you might be able to eat it, it has a lot of fiber in it. I knew right away that it was Progresso which has soy in every soup I have ever looked at, and just said, "oh ok!" Its sweet because he tried. I think that the fiber confused him because he knows it affects my stomach.
Another woman the other day kept trying to make me allergic to gluten. When I say, "kept trying" I mean about five times in our short conversation she said, "so you are allergic to soy and gluten?" "No, dairy and soy." "But I thought you were allergic to gluten?" "No, I never said that." "Well somebody is! Who said they were allergic to gluten?" Then a few minutes later, "so let me get this straight, you are allergic to Dairy and soy and gluten?" And around and around we went. She was making me laugh so hard.
This morning Chris came in and opened both the front doors up because it was such a gorgeous day out. There was a fire nearby and I could immediately smell the smoke. It bothers my eyes and throat so much that sometimes I can tell from that before I even smell it. I had to shut the doors and I felt so bad.
Then there's my nickle or aluminum allergy (not sure which yet)...
All these things mean I am constantly explaining why I can't....no I can't....No I'm allergic to....
Then when I get really frustrated I think of my cousin. My precious precious cousin who has 5 kids with food allergies. Such severe allergies that the only place they can eat out is In-N-Out and thats only if they get the hamburgers protein style with no sauce. My precious precious cousin who never complains. Who, I know gets discouraged but has more courage than anyone I know. Who deals with this much more than I do.
I think of her and I think, I have nothing to complain about.
So I keep on explaining. One day they will all understand and it will be no big deal anymore. Praise God! Oh wait, one day we will be in heaven and I can sit down with my cousin Nathan and teach him how to eat nacho cheese doritos dipped in cream cheese!!! PRAISE GOD!
Yesterday, as we drove to Sacramento and admired the beautiful colors of the leaves changing, someone said, "You realize that it is just rotting leaves!"
Today I was dusting and as I allowed the oils to soak into the wood it occurred to me how often we take something, kill it, then try to make it look alive again. Just think for a moment, we cut flowers, killing them, then stuff them into a vase filled with water and usually some sort of flower food, or soda to keep them alive longer. We cut down a tree then take the wood and add stain, some sort of protective coating and all kinds of fancy stuff just so it will not rot.
There is no Spiritual correlation here. When we are dead Spiritually we never try to make it look like we are alive. I mean, after all, that would be hypocritical would it not? And then to take our sin, which is basically death waiting to happen (James 1), and justify it to make it look righteous, well that is just ridiculous and we would never do something ridiculous.
So I suppose this is just a post with some random thoughts that will not provoke any conviction in my own heart. But golly, this post is sure pretty. Look at the oranges and golds and browns!
I'm watching this movie right now called Noises Off. it is the best movie ever!!! It cracks me up! I have never really had a cast THIS insane, thank God! Oh but this movie is hilarious. I think I will make it a requirement to watch before being in any plays :)
Last night I had a dream that I met a guy. Then I woke up this morning and realized it was just a dream. Needless to say I was feeling a little down in my singleness this morning. Not terrible, just somewhat. So I pulled out the tools that God has given me to combat these feelings and prevent it from becoming a self-pity party, His Word. My Bible study this morning ministered to my heart!
Then I pulled out another tool, fellowship. I jumped on facebook, asked for prayer and could tell right away that people were praying. Then I started reading a new book I got called "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?" Which sounds depressing but its actually a book that takes your focus and puts it on God's purpose for you in your singleness.
Lastly, I put it all down and decided to jump in the shower. Let me remind you I am kid sitting so I am not at my house. As I reached for the shampoo I noticed something on the back of the bottle, "dull hair attracting duds?"
Did that say what I thought it said? I looked again, sure enough, "Dull hair attracting duds?" Well of course this required more investigation so I read on and under "what to do" it said, "It's way less complicated than the dating game - just lather and rinse."
At this point I laughed out loud and thought, "what was I thinking! I don't need that book or the Word or my friends, I just need shampoo!!!"
Parenting is quite the job. First, with the 3 kids last week I learned that even when kids are good and pretty self sufficient (they are 11, 13, and 15 ish) its exhausting trying to remember everything, answering questions, deciding on dinner, making sure homework gets done, cooking dinner, making sure chores get done, deciding dinner for the next day.
Did you know that kids have to eat EVERY DAY! That doesn't sound that crazy but it truly is. Every single day. 3 times a day!
Oh but the times of laughter and fun that comes with these kids is like medicine to my soul. My soul wasn't sick so maybe thats not it. Chocolate to my soul. Except its good for me. But Carrots to my soul just doesn't sound the same.
So, this week I have 1 child who is 15 years old (WHAT! It was just yesterday that she was 11). She is precious as well and very good as well. We have had some good talks about life.
But this one too...she eats every day.
I eat every day but for some reason its not as hard for me.
Next week I am back home and I am going to miss it. I will miss the dinner conversations, I will miss the millions of questions (children are inquisitive aren't they?), I will miss playing mom. But I will see them all again Sunday.
This post has no purpose. I am just in a rambling mood. A good mood. Just rambly.
Next week I am going to begin preparing for Christmas. Crazy as it sounds I am determined to be relaxed and enjoy the holidays this year! In fact, soon I will be teaching on Holiday Time Management and we will be talking about how to enjoy the holidays not just survive them. So, I will post more as I prepare.
So today is day 3 of having 3 kids. They have been great. We had a lot of fun last night giggling and laughing about the silliest things! But let me start with day 1.
Day 1 there was a homework problem. It was supposed to be done when I got home from work, it wasn't. It was then supposed to be done before dinner, it wasn't. Then it was supposed to be done during worship practice, it wasn't. So at that point I decided no fun at church until homework is done. So immediately after service I went with the 2 older kids and helped them finish. It was simple stuff but both of them drug it out ALL day!!!
Thursday night I came home and they were finished already! Praise God! So we had a chicken (I made a whole chicken...yum!) and then grabbed ice creams, walked to Tatums house and played with the kids (I got to hold the new baby), then went back home. Once home shower time for the kids. While the other kids were waiting they laid on my bed with me and watched 24. They have already seen parts of it so they would ask me, "has blahblah happened yet?" Or "Do you know about..." I would threaten them with their lives if they gave something away and they would laugh. At one point I told Jacob I was going to kick him out of the room if he said one more thing. He made a comment about me not really doing it so I started pushing him off the bed with my feet and then kept pushing him until I got to the door. It was funny. Then when we were going to bed the girls kept trying to fall asleep in my bed so I would tickle them out of it. We were all laughing. But everyone was in bed by 9!!!
Today I am running errands while they are in school. Then we will eat dinner and I will go to worship practice. So it will be a quiet evening.
So, in addition to my allergy to milk and soy I do believe I have a metal allergy. Consensus seems to be that most people are allergic to Nickel so I am suspecting that first.
Funny thing...all these years I have had a horrible time shaving. I always have to have brand new razors and expensive ones on top of that. I have to use shaving cream, the stuff for sensitive skin, and I need to have lotion put on immediately after. That doesn't stop the razor burn but it cuts back on it.
So, what if there is nickel in the blade?
I NEVER thought of that until today. Random thought. After some research on a few sites I have found that all blades pretty much have nickel, which is silly since so many people are allergic. There is only one exception that I can find and that is the Schick Quattro Titanium, which is coated with Titanium. Should I buy one and shave with only soap and see what happens??? :)
Second question...does my electric razor have nickel in it? I don't know. I have emailed the company, as they have NO information whatsoever about what type of metal they use. I didn't specify Nickel though just in case it turns out to be aluminum, another popular allergy.
Ahhh...welcome to the Simmons/Huy/Hernandez world of crazy allergies!!!
I have to say, allergy free, thats amazing. I feel great when I have no milk/soy. Can you imagine how wonderful I will feel when I am nickel free? ;)
So, I will be going tomorrow to kidsit for a family with 3 kids. 1 preteen and 2 teenagers. They are good kids and it will be fun. Its a little hectic because I have to merge my calendar with theirs and plan on being home and cooking dinner every night. Not used to that :) haha. Thats Wednesday through Sunday.
Next Wednesday through Saturday I will be sitting for 1 teenager of a different family. That one will be a little simpler as its only one kid and she lives right by the church. She's a good kid too. Its a blessing.
So I am reading a book called "Simplify Your Life." It is very helpful. My goal is to read a little bit every day and since today is my day off I was able to read a whole chapter. Today's chapter was about calendars. So I went ahead and updated my schedule for the next 2 weeks and an overview of the month. I am excited! The tips she said in order to avoid burnout was 1 weekend night (Fri-Sun) free a week and 2 weeknights (Mon-Thurs) a week free. I thought for sure I would fail miserably but I looked and realized I have a couple nights free. I do have later nights but they are free. I am blessed!!!
As for today's project, to work on my bins by my bed I am going to do that right now and then come and finish this post. So I will see you in 15 minutes!
Ok! Accomplished. Its not done, may take a few more days but it is much better already! Pray for me. The next few days working on this area will be the hardest because this is when all the tough decisions will have to be made. Decisions of what to keep, what to toss, where to store things, where to store things until I clean out more. That type of stuff.
So I have had a goal for a while of trying to organize for 15 minutes a day. Its been off and on and I haven't gotten very far but I start again today. My goal is my room first. I want to get my room organized. My closet still has stuff I meant to go through when I moved and I never did. Plus I have several bins that are overflowing and need to be cleaned out. I also want to go through my clothes again and get rid of more.
So, this morning I did a 15 minute pick up. Can't organize till you can see the clutter right :) I got so much accomplished my room is beginning to look better already. Tomorrow I will start on the bins and then I will move to the closet. Though that might take me a few days.
So there we go! I was going to post pics but I left my camera at work. So maybe another day.
So, we start our annual Poiema (poeima???) group which is a discipleship group for the Senior High Youth Kids.
It began with us kidnapping them (with parental permission) out of their beds (oh that was SO fun!!!) and taking them and interrogating them (ok, we just read them the Poiema contract and then took them to breakfast).
This is my first year participating and its because a girl I was already discipling is part of the group this year so I came on.
It has been amazing. The kids meet with one of us once a week, but a lot of them will still come and talk to others of us. This time is to hold them accountable to things if necessary, talk about what's going on in their lives, to encourage them, and basically, disciple them. It's amazing to meet with someone and watch them grow Spiritually. God is SO good!
We are all memorizing the entire book of James. Sounds crazy...but its not so hard. We have until April 25 and we work on it in small chunks. For example, right now we are working on 1:9-18, and we have two weeks to learn it. See...not so bad.
Every other week we meet as a group. We quote our Scriptures, have dinner, worship, and have a Bible study time.
We have only met twice but I am already sensing a deep bond of friendship forming between the 9 of us involved. There are 5 adults and 4 youth. It is such a precious time and my love for these kids is just growing and growing. It is priceless. I hurt when they hurt, I am sad to have to correct, but the joy of seeing them take their hurt to God, to see them take correction and change, to see them growing and hungering after God's Word...Oh I could go on and on. They are precious to my heart and I love them.
There is something so amazing about being able to speak into someone's life. I love working with youth kids for that simple reason. To see them grow into these adults that love God and His Word and hunger and thirst for righteousness, and to know that you had a part however small in that, well there's nothing like that.
I want Cate Blanchett to narrate our Christmas play. She wouldn't have to come, just record the narration and send it to me. I can't afford to pay anything.
I was going to post on here about our trip to SoCal but most everyone who reads my blog was either there or saw the pictures on Facebook. So I will say that we had an amazing time and were very blessed, but that is all I will say about it for now. I want to write about Christmas!
I went shopping tonight to start testing a few ideas I have for Christmas gifts. I am very excited. I am doing homemade stuff and food gifts this year and have a couple of unique ideas that I think will be a lot of fun. So tonight I am going to update my blog (which I am currently doing) and then go test one of the recipes. I would let you know how it turns out but I don't want you to know what I am doing! I do know that this year I WILL NOT have sourdough starters all over my kitchen drying on every flat surface possible. That was just too much last year. Fun, but I missed having my kitchen!!!
So, on that note, I am going to find a cute image for this and sign off. Love you all!!!
I have started a new blog called Habitual Impracticality...can you believe it? I don't know what has come over me. Oh wait...I do, it is the movie Julie and Julia. Read it, but if you don't like it, please don't tell me. Oh I don't want to know.
I usually keep this blog to news about me, appropriately blogworthy stuff...but I think this new one will be simply for my own enjoyment. The style of writing that I enjoy. The things I like to write about. I'm very sorry, I am not going to worry about my readers at all. So, as I said, if you don't like it, please don't tell me. I would be sad.
If you ever get the opportunity to watch the movie Promised a Miracle, do it. It is a very difficult movie to watch, based on a true story, but it is a valuable lesson for every Christian to learn about faith and love.
I do believe in healing, I do believe God can and does perform wonderful amazing miracles. But I also believe that His ways are not my ways, that He has plans that are far greater and bigger than we can imagine. I believe that people like Nick Vujicic (www.lifewithoutlimbs.org) have a beautiful gift. Not a disability but a gift to use what God has entrusted them with to bring Him glory. Nick said that for him to go through life without limbs is worth it for just one soul to be in heaven, heaven is that important.
Often we want miracles to relieve our suffering. Sometimes we justify it by figuring out how God will be glorified through it (Nick stated, "God if you heal me I will go on Oprah! It will be a powerful testimony of you!). But we do not always know the ultimate purpose God has for our suffering. Sometimes it is healing and when it is, it is glorious and a huge blessing. But when its suffering we are blessed with the sweetest most intimate moments with our precious Savior.
Philippians 3:10 talks about knowing Christ so well, even the "fellowship of His suffering." James talks about counting it joy when we go through trials because of what those trials work in us.
Oh to be surrendered to the point of embracing suffering as a gift from God. Trusting Him for the miracle, should He choose, but seeking the intimacy with Him above all. Believing that all things are possible through Him, but submitting to His plan, whatever that may be.
The following is a pamphlet I found at Spirit West Coast and I loved it so much I am just quoting the entire thing. I have written letters of my own but this is worded so well that I do not need to rewrite it at all:
"You were made to be loved...and sincerely I have loved you, the thought of you, my life long." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
If you are reading this letter, it is because you may become my husband one day. Lately, my mind and my heart have been filled with thoughts of you and the family that we will one day share.
I wonder where you are and what you are doing. Are you dating someone? Relationships have become so pressure-filled, haven't they? I mean, guys and girls alike treat dating as if they were married, expecting an instant commitment and sometimes sleeping together. I've heard that it's easier to share your body than it is your soul. How sad that we are taught, even in grade school, how to share our bodies with the opposite sex, but not our hearts or our souls. Seems totally backwards, doesn't it?
The temptations we face are real, and i know how hard it can be to stay chaste. I've been tempted too, but then I think of you and how i want our wedding night to be perfect. Maybe that's why I wanted to write to you, to tell you that I am real. At some point in our future, our paths will cross, and we will eventually spend our lives together in marriage. It would seem a shame to go into our marriage with the baggage that past sexual relationships bring.
That quote I put at the top of the page - I mean it. Think about it. You were made to be loved - unconditionally loved, that's how I promise to love you. Where you have been before today, well...that's all in the past, and that's where it should stay. Maybe you had no idea that I was here. But now you know, and how you live your life from today forward matters to me a great deal. I know that the media, Planned Parenthood, MTV, your friends and maybe others are telling you that sex before marriage is OK as long as it's "safe." Don't buy it. The truth is that the only safe sex is inside of marriage. There are STDs, abortions, emotional scars and teens becoming parents before they are ready. Sex before marriage leaves scars that are hard to heal, sometimes impossible.
To a lot of people it may seem totally crazy that I'm asking you to think of our future. They'd tell you to live for the moment. I'm all for living in the present, but thining about the future can help you avoid decisions that may alter your future - our future. I want you to experience life, travel, figure out who you are, go to the moon if you want. Take advantage of this time in your life to learn everything that you can. That will only make our marriage stronger. Just don't jeopardize us.
Beocming a man can be difficult. Some guys try to earn their manhood by compromising their values. Sex before marriage won't make you a man. It will only serve to keep you a little boy who can't control himself. THat's not the kind of guys that I want or deserve. I need a man who won't compromise his family but will put me first - even before he meets me; a man whose strength lies in his virtue, his character and his ability to be an example at work, at play and, most importantly, in our home. A real man knows how to love completely - with his mind, heart, body and soul. This may sound like a lot to ask of you, but it will all be worth it. I will love you completely - I can promise you that!
You need to know that I"m waiting for you. If there is one thing that I have learned through my dating experiences, it's that you are worth waiting for. My heart, mind, soul and body were made for you. We will complete each other in the most profoundly beautiful way imaginable.
From today forward, are you going to wait for me? Like I said, where you have been is in the past, but where you are going will affect our marriage. I need to know that you have learned self-control. I need to know that you think I am worth waiting for. I need to know that you are a man who respects and cherishes women - all women. The girl you are dating right now, or are going to date soon, may be someone else's future wife, and I need to know that you understand and respect that.
Real love is not a temporary feeling or emotion. Emotions and feelings change, sometimes daily. But true, unconditional love is constant. I met a couple the other day who have been married for 50 years, have seven children, 23 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. They looked like high school sweethearts. I asked them how they did it, how they made it work when so many marriages are falling apart. You know what he said? He said, "She knows I'm not perfect, and she still loves me. She's my best friend." How cool is that? That's what I want. I want us to be best friends. I want you to feel totally free to be you when you're with me.
Please read this often. THink of me often. I'm thinking of you. I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to spend my life loving you. THanks for waiting for me. I promise it will be worth the wait!
The El Salvador team has been back for a few days now so I have only been back in my house for a brief time. This means that there is very little food in my fridge. I was starving today on my way home from worship practice so I swung by a local grill and ordered some chicken wings to go. As I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for my food this precious little lady walked by. She had an oxygen tank that she was wheeling along and was balancing 3 to go boxes on top along with her purse. As she walked by she caught my eye and I asked if she needed help. She said no, then wheeled herself around and stood and waited for the rest of her party by me. That's when this started.
"This bag is the juicy one" she said as she set the first bag of take out down. "And this is my peach cobbler. I'm diabetic so I am going to eat it slowly over the next few days. But this is the juicy one, it was Chicken Picatta, you know the chicken with the lemon sauce on it?"
"I have never had that here but I love chicken picatta."
"The lady I am with had .....(I forget what she said), and the gentleman had ....."
She went on to tell me what everyone had.
"Sounds good."
"Well I had walking pneumonia..."
"Oh my goodness."
"You see I was born in 1936" (I must interject at this point and say that I had to concentrate not to laugh out loud) "and I was premature. The doctor told my mom that she could put me in an incubator and leave me in the hospital for a month or take me and put me in a little box and stay in a hotel room for a month. She decided to take the hotel room. But I was premature, that's why I got walking pneumonia. So between that, the oxygen and the diabetes I don't get out much. But it takes me longer so I started out here earlier than them."
Somewhere around this time her friends showed up. She thanked me and left.
Dear all, I have decided to leave Briana. Please do not judge me for this decision. I have tried to make this work for years but she does not appreciate me at all. She constantly abuses me. She is always ignoring me or overworking me. I can't take it anymore. I am leaving.
VBS day 1 went off great! We had 66 kids in attendance. I was Esterina the Emporer's wife :)
We have about 95 kids signed up???? WHAT??? I only planned for 70. So pray that that all works out. I am good on crafts tomorrow so we are going to wait until then. I may be shopping tomorrow last minute for some alternate crafts. YIKES!!!
I bought a gift today and went ahead and bought the $1 bag and the $1 package of matching tissue paper. Well, I went to wrap the gift and on the package of tissue paper are these instructions: What do I do with the gift??? It doesn't tell me that!!!
My cousin recently posted the following: Experimental and Strange and I read it and I have to totally agree.
Since she has taught our family so much about biomedical intervention and diet and intolerances and all of those things we have, as a family, grown so much. Her children are all doing fabulously, not just Nathan but all of them are healthier and able to live lives that are free of stomach problems, coping with OCD, allergy free etc. but her siblings have learned things they are allergic or intolerant to. My mom and myself are learning things that affect us negatively. Personally I have learned I have a horrible emotional reaction to certain foods. By learning this I have come out of a time of huge insecurity into a time of my life where I feel much lighter and more able to handle normal emotions.
All that to say that the burden she speaks of carrying for children with autism is in all of us now. Julee, one area you have touched very much is to create quite a few advocates for searching for the diet issues that most people overlook. I know my mom and myself have become spokespeople quite often.
But there is that burden and the oftentimes barrier of feeling as if you shouldn't say something. What do we do with that? It is such a simple solution in the sense that if that it works it is hugely helpful. Why do we keep silent? How do you tell the mother living on disability with very little money to do this that her child would probably have a whole lot less problems with ADHD if he was able to eat a diet that wasn't full of preservatives and sugar? How do you help someone who's child possibly has OCD to go spend $300 to get a food test done when money is tight and the test may do them no good?
This is sounding a lot like witnessing. Here we have the solution for eternity and yet we often keep silent. But at the same time we have to wait for the right opening. You can't just go in and slam someone with the Gospel or it will not be in love and not be accepted. Similarly you can't just go to a parent and say, "you should do it this way," you have to wait for the right opening and the right heart.
Its hard, the answer seems so obvious to us who have seen its effects (this is speaking on both topics now). We have seen changed lives, we have seen the freedom that comes with knowledge. But sometimes, we have to be silent because people expect us to preach and are already defensive before we even open our mouths.
I will end this now. I just couldn't help but relating to my cousins post so much so (obviously) that I had to write something! Please read her post. If only to learn more so that you too maybe one day can be an advocate as well. If you can help one person you have changed someone's entire life!
Last night I had the unique privilege and honor of attending a very private memorial service. For the past several weeks there has been a class held at our church. It is called PACE, or Post Abortion Counseling Eduction. This was a Bible study for woman who had abortions and were searching for healing.
There was something about just knowing this class was meeting at our church that made each of these women dear to me. I did not know some of them but as we would prepare the room for them my heart cried out that they would find healing and forgiveness in Christ.
About 2 weeks ago I was asked to run the logistical side of their final class. I was honored because I loved these women and had wanted so badly to hear their stories. It was a strange desire because there was nothing vicious in it, but simply wanting to hear the preciousness of the freedom they had found.
Last night was a memorial service that is held at the end of the class. It was absolutely precious. The women came in and were given a white rose representing each child that is in the hands of Jesus (miscarriages as well as abortions). This class had caused them to take a long hard look at abortion. It was not an easy class for them. But they had made it this far, had received a chance to give names to their babies, had looked at the fact that their children are in heaven and had received healing. During the evening they lit a candle representing each child and dedicated their children to God. While each woman knew their child was already with the Lord this service was to acknowledge and honor that fact.
Somewhere during this time something occurred to me that made me slightly jealous of these ladies. That might sound strange but I suddenly realized that they knew forgiveness in a way that I might never understand. They had gone through a very difficult study that caused them to take long hard looks at their hearts and come out with such gratefulness for the blood of the cross. Then the Lord reminded me that at the foot of the cross the ground is level. All sin is separating from Him and that I too could know that type of forgiveness. I just needed to confront my sin as honestly as they did theirs.
What a beautiful picture. Last night will forever be burned in my memory. Not only did I have the honor of hearing the stories of these precious women, loving them, spending time with them, but I was able to take a fresh look at the gift of salvation. Oh thank you Lord Jesus!
***Please note, if you or anyone you know is struggling from a past abortion, please call your local community pregnancy center and ask about the PACE program, or a similar Post Abortion Counseling. It is confidential and could change your life. I heard a couple testimonies last night from ladies who did not realize that the even needed something like this and how much freedom they have found.
Well...I had great plans...obviously they didn't make it far.
Not to dwell on my failures though...
We had a fabulous visit with my cousin Julee, her five kids and my Auntie Bev. The kids are precious. It was so fun to spend time with them. Timothy and I played games together. Katie Ann wrote stories that I read for her. I played Josiah like a guitar. Nathan and I got to talk and laugh a lot. And Maury I got to push in a stroller which, sounds boring, but I had a lot of fun moments with him during that time.
I will post pics on my facebook here in the next couple of days.
Recently a friend of mine was dealing with an issue of a financial discrepancy. God had laid it on her heart to say nothing and do nothing but to trust Him to take care of it. She did what God asked. Later her husband became aware of the situation on his own. She told me that she was encouraging him to not say anything.
I had to stop her and tell her to pray about it but to be careful what she encouraged her husband to do. She was convicted to remain silent but he might be, as the priest of the family and the provider, convicted to do something. She had not considered that (neither had I until that very moment).
Pastor Pat gets this a lot with different decisions he makes. People think he should be more harsh or more lenient. People feel that he should act more quickly or back off...whatever the case may be, they might be convicted in a certain direction, or they might act differently if it were them in charge, but their convictions are based on where God has placed them. Pastor Pat's convictions are based on where God has him and what God is working in him and in our church.
I am writing all of this to say, the next time you question someone's decision, especially someone in a position of more responsibility than yourself, stop and consider, are they perhaps being held to some other conviction by the Lord than yourself? Perhaps whatever God is working in you is something totally different than what He is working in them.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean we accept everything that those around us are doing no questions asked. I am just saying to stop and consider this one possibility before jumping to conclusions. Stop and ask them why they made the choices they did. Often people are willing to share, and you will be amazed at what you learn!
Many of you know I am soy intolerant. But I love soy and its hard to cook without it. So, the other day a friend of mine (Danny!) suggested I look for a soy substitute. I found one. It is basically balsalmic vinager along with Dark Molasses.
IT WAS DISGUSTING!!!
I am going to try again, another recipe calls for Beef Boullion, which I do not have on hand, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Ugh. I am not looking forward to that.
Welcome to my world of homemade foods with odd substitutes. Of course, Julee, this does not apply to you. I am barely close to your world...and thats just talking kitchen!
My next goal is to make soy free milk free graham crackers. THAT should be much easier!
So a friend of mine got me thinking...what are you going to look back to this year and say "Remember in 2009 when..."
If you are reading this, then finish the thought and let me know. Lets remember these things now!!! Couple rules...must be positive, and must have happened.
Here's a few of mine:
Remember in 2009 when... ...I was living in that adorable little one bedroom over Harold's house! ...I had 5 people over for dinner and I ran out of chairs! ...Tatum and I would make lunches on Tuesdays at church and we would all hang out and visit and eat! ...Elisa was born! ...I played that awesome trick on...oh wait...they don't know yet (haha, just kidding.......or am I?). ...I was cooking sourdough bread nearly every other week and eating almost all the loaf with the Antonucci House Dressing recipe!
Thats all for now...maybe I will follow up in a few months. Now tell me yours! ...
I just hung up with a sales person and, before I forget, I HAD to share what happened:
Me: Calvary Chapel Carson City, this is Briana... SP: Hello Briana, this call is to inform you that we will be sending some materials for you to look over. You are under no obligation, if you do not want the materials you can just send them back to us. Me: I'm sorry, we are not interested. SP: Briana you don't have to be interested, we will just be sending you some stuff Me: If its something I have to send back I don't want it, I don't have time for that. Thank you. SP: Thank you.
What? I don't have to be interested? Haha! I loved that one! I could just hear her wanting to say, "You don't have to be interested at all, just give us your credit card number!"
Have you ever been in the mood to talk but you don't have anything specific to talk about? That is poignant. Tonight, I am feeling poignant. I am in a quiet sad mood that makes me want to write, yet I have nothing to say. I guess that's the writer in me wanting to process my feelings but not sure quite where to take them.
Wednesday night was one of those nights. I really enjoyed the teaching and worship and afterwards was blessed to spend time in fellowship with many people. However, as I stepped into the office to pick up my purse I just felt I needed a moment in the quiet darkness that the room held. So, for a moment I sat in my chair and just listened to the noises outside of the office. Music floated in from the Sanctuary as worship CDs played through the sound system. Laughter of kids playing in the hallways. I could hear multiple conversations of joyful people. Nothing really clear but all happy sounds. Then the feeling of how blessed I am completely overwhelmed me. I am so surrounded by such wonderful people that all love God and thats when it hit me. Heaven will sound just like that. When we get to heaven it will be like when you are on a retreat and there are pockets of everything happening at once. Some people will be in a corner playing worship music and singing, some children might be running through playing, some people will be laughing and telling stories to each other, but everything will have Christ's love shining through so clearly. I am so very blessed. I do not know if I can bear such joy as the Lord gives.
Eventually I did leave the room, but oh how I wanted to stay and just imagine heaven. It reminds me of a song by Amy Grant:
I'd love to live on a mountaintop, fellowshipping with the Lord I'd love to stand on that mountaintop, 'cause I love to feel my spirit so But I've got to come down from that mountaintop, to the people in the valley below Or they'll never know, that they can go to the mountain, of the Lord.
This post was almost titled "Heroes." However, after some contemplation I realized that many of you would wonder "am I on her list of heroes?" Many of you may think that you should be. If that is the case please fill out the following list of questions and submit them to me by March 12, at 4 p.m. All applications will be reviewed. You will not be notified, nor will the list be published. Thank you:
Please submit, along with your full name, in typed form: 1. After having spent time with you do I walk away encouraged to be a better person just by being around you?
2. Do you have lots of wisdom that I can glean from?
3. Have you endured some major curve balls that the Lord has allowed to be thrown your way and truly blossomed in them?
4. Do you walk in the joy of the Lord regardless of your circumstances?
5. Do you exemplify Christ's love and graciousness to those that others would not be loving and gracious to?
6. Do you know how to diffuse a situation by saying just the right thing?
7. Do you show respect to those in authority, regardless if they deserve the respect or not, but respecting the position God has placed them in?
8. Are you humble and able to be taught and receive instruction?
9. Do you have people you are accountable to that will hold to you a high Godly standard?
10. Can you stand on your head, write the Gettysburg address and sing Jingle Bells backwards all the same time?
Yesterday was one of those constant mental attack days. At one point Kelly called the church and said, "how are you?" I said "ok, how are you" and she started laughing and said fine. I didn't ask her why she was laughing because I thought I knew the answer and I wasn't in the mood to try to explain that I didn't know what was really wrong with me. Afterwards Pastor Pat said she asked him what was wrong with me. I told him, "I feel funky today and I don't know why."
Ever have one of those days that you are depressed and kind of feel like you are looking for a reason to be depressed? Or maybe not depressed, frustrated, hurt, sad, take your pick. You just want a reason to feel like you do because then at least you know it will end. That was my yesterday.
All day I fought. I wanted to lash out at Pastor Pat but instead I prayed and asked God to give me patience because I knew what I was lashing out at was not even his fault. I wanted to stop singing during worship and just quit playing altogether but instead I kept drawing my thoughts back to God and the words of the song. Because I knew that Tom wasn't trying to manipulate me off the team, he was trying to make all of us sound better. I wanted to get up and leave the teaching because I felt I needed to be alone but instead I listened and asked God to help me through this because I was exhausted from the mental fight all day long.
You know what God did? He blessed me with a teaching that spoke right to the core of my heart. I was able to walk away from the teaching with tools to fight back. I was encouraged and I felt good yes, but that was just the side effect of remembering what my focus truly needs to be, Jesus. Getting back to the reasons that I do what I do, its all about Jesus.
Having experienced days like this before I truly expected to have a few more fighting days ahead. Tools are not cures, just tools. But the Lord blessed me this time by allowing me to wake up with such joy in my heart. Thank you Lord! I would have fought if you asked but it was such a blessing to be able to rest in You today!
Its been a while so I thought I would do a quick update to catch you up to speed on where I have been the past few weeks.
We had a wedding at the church and I was the one running the sound and the MC at the rehearsal. It was really funny because I was more involved in this wedding than I had ever expected. At the rehearsal I was there ready to run sound. Pastor Pat was not doing there because he was not doing the wedding because there was an Uncle that was going to perform it. However I have seen many many many of Pastor Pat's rehearsals and he has a unique way of running them that helps them go much faster. The Uncle had never performed a wedding so I asked him if I could make a suggestion. He then told me that I was running it! So there I was running on the stage giving direction, then running back to the booth to practice the music portion. We were still done in under an hour! YAY!
Valentine's weekend was crazy fun. We hold a married and engaged couples dinner every year called Valentino's. We change the church into a very posh restaurant and have a fabulously filled evening. When the couples first walk in they are greeted by the Maitre'd and Maitre'dess (what do you call the girl?) who check their reservations (we have limited seating), take their coates, and then take them to two separate rooms. In the rooms they write a love letter to their spouse. There is stationary there and stickers and such to do this. Once finished they would then join back up to my room to take pictures. This was fun! I will tell stories in a minute. After the pictures they are then seated for dinner (this year was 5 courses! YUM! It was Soup, Salad, Pasta, Steak or Chicken entre and then a dessert place with a canoli, cheesecake, and creme brule to share between the two of them). Right before dessert Pastor Pat and Kelly spoke on marriage and mushy junk that I didn't want to hear so I went in the kitchen and ate. Then we were done.
The pictures were funny because I was waiting for the next couple and one of the ladies was waiting and waiting and waiting for her husband to finish. She finally laughingly said, "well we got in a fight on the way over here and so he's probably venting in his letter." We were laughing back and forth about this when he finally came out. So we go to the picture room. Now I do two full length shots and two close ups (I would do more but we have to work fast). If I get one good one of each I use my remaining two for fun shots. So usually I tell the couples "its a kissing shot." Well with this couple when I said, "its a kissing shot" the wife looked at me like I was asking her to walk 1000 miles in high heels. She literally groaned with her eyes and said, "Didn't I tell you that we were fighting?" I said, "Thats why you need to kiss more!" So I made them kiss like three times! For the rest of the evening I would tease them and they would tease back. At the end when they were leaving she said, "Well, we are kissing again and its all your fault!"
Another couple who I know has been married for quite some time (I think around 20 years or so) when I said, "ok now for a kissing shot." The wife turns to her husband, who was talking to me, and said, "Ok, ready?" then he looked and she said again, "Are you ready?" then they kissed, but something happened (I forget what, I think they thought I snapped the pic to early or something) and they wanted me to take it again. So I did and again she looked at him and said, "are you ready?" several times. So, when they were finished I said, "if you two don't have the timing down by now you really need some more practice!"
At the end of Valentino's, which was Friday night, we cleaned up and I got home at about 1 a.m. I was exhausted and had to make several trips from my car up the stairs to my door and then lugging everything in took me a few minutes. All this added up to the fact that when I finally had my door shut and turned around to start putting things away I finally noticed that sitting on my footstool was my favorite flowers, some chocolates and a balloon that said "I love you." It was SO sweet! My parents snuck in during the day and surprised me! Then on Saturday the three of us went to a late lunch and the movies. I was so blessed to have somewhere to be on Valentines day and then to have gifts to top it off! I had expected to be home alone all day. I was very very very blessed.
Well this post is extremely long. I will post something again another day. I just thought I had best catch people up.
So my newest hobby is reading books for Librivox.org...it is SO fun! (Mitchell girls! Remember when I would read out loud to you guys while you sewed? I loved it!). Anyways, if you click on the title you can find out about librivox...but here is a clip from a dramatic reading took part in for the Wizard of Oz. It is where different people read different parts (like a play only the WofO is not a play, so there is a narrator who reads the rest). Anyway, the book isn't done yet but you can here on this clip me playing the part of "Several Mice" It is SO funny. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Basically I recorded the same line 3 times with 3 different "mouse" voices. Enjoy!
Many of you may know that I absolutely love Jane Austen. I consider myself somewhat of a purist when it comes to Austen stuff as I like her books, I like some of the movies, but so far cannot get into any additional novels or modern day rewrites etc.
So, when I began to hear about Lost in Austen (on the JA Podnovel at http://japodnovel.mevio.com/) I was curious, even though it is a strange twist on the typical Pride and Prejudice. I watched the entire four episodes yesterday.
On a positive note it was a clever idea and done fairly well. I enjoyed the story and was in suspense at how they were going to make everything end nicely. It was somewhat funny too, which I did not expect too much. The acting was pretty good. I am biased towards my favorite depiction of certain characters but it really was nice to see a fresh perspective. Plus there were a few spins (like Wickham turns out to maybe be good?) that was kind of a fun twist.
I had to really get my head out of the typical Pride and Prejudice and think of this story as a totally new story. And once the purist in me was gone I did enjoy it.
However, there were some flaws to the story line. The most annoying to myself was the main character Amanda Price. She claimed at the beginning of the first episode that she had pretty nearly memorized the entire book. Her actions throughout the rest of the four episodes said otherwise. First of all, she should have remembered that Darcy tries to separate Jane and Bingley to begin with so why would she tell him that they had to get married. Secondly, she is so offended by Darcy's rudeness and yet she should have remembered that he starts off unlikeable. Thirdly, why was she trying to change the story? Lizzy is, after all, more of an observer in most of the happenings, when she does speak she is usually commenting on what she is seeing. Amanda could have just filled that same role by saying the same things Lizzy would have or did say. Finally she is so frustrated with the "repressed feelings" and the fact that nobody says what they mean when wouldn't a true Austen fan who had been reading it since she was 12 not only understand the double meanings in the language of the day but also have gotten some of the culture into her mind?
The next thing that really bothered me was Mr. Darcy. I do not feel this series was true to his character. Though, I can try to understand more here than with the above objections I showed. I believe they were trying to show a more human Darcy, but I felt that some of his actions were not noble and the true Mr. Darcy was much more noble. Part of his charm for women throughout time has been his honor and noble type character and this Darcy loses quite a bit of that in the way he is depicted in his friendship with Bingley and his relationship to his sister. He is shown more as a manipulator and someone that cannot be reasoned with. Bingley, who is shown much more sniveling and wimpy in this version, is swayed by Darcy's advice alone where in the book it takes Darcy and Bingley's sisters to do the job. Darcy is determined to separate the two where in the book Darcy is simply offering advice which Bingley listens to out of respect and the belief that it is true. Georgianna fears telling her brother the truth and Wickham even says if he knew the truth she would be turned out of the house.
Overall it was entertaining and definitely keeps you in suspense of what will happen next. However, there were a few points that I feel could have been changed to be more true to the original characters. I understand the twists that were there for the sake of the story, but to change how the characters respond to situations...well...then you might as well just give them a different name for they could apply to anyone.
I am not in college anymore and this is not for a grade, so this is just a simple review out of the memories that I have from watching about 3 hours worth of videos yesterday...so forgive me if I do not back up my arguments or if my case is presented poorly.
I was watching a DVD teaching today from the CC Pastors' Wives' Retreat and the final teaching of the retreat was amazing. I was crying throughout. At the very end though she started talking about Kathy Laurie. Many of you know that Greg and Kathy Laurie's son was killed in a car accident several months ago. Well, this teacher (sorry, I don't know who it was), is a close friend of the family and was there for some of their most painful moments. The things she saw in her friend Kathy was first great grief and second the Holy Spirit and Scripture just pouring out of her as she ministered to her daughter in law and her husband. The teacher explained that she was blown away by the things that Kathy was saying at such a time and God spoke and told her, "All that time that she has spent in My presence and in My Word is coming out of her now at her greatest tragedy."
It makes so much sense. When an olive is pressed the oil comes out. It really got me thinking though, what will squeeze out of me at times like that? What squeezes out of me in the small trials? I need to be using my time wisely and spending it soaking up Him and His Word so that when trials come, little or big, insignificant or life-changing, I will pour out the oil of His Spirit.
Many people are lactose intolerant I have decided to become lactase intolerant. Lactase is the enzyme which my body lacks and causes me to be lactose and soy intolerant. So I take an enzyme supplement to help with the foods that I cannot monitor (I try to avoid soy and milk for the most part).
Today I spent a good hour reading label after label in the store trying to find the enzyme with the most lactase in it. Here is what I found:
Some companies measure lactase with something called ALU, some with LacU, some with mg and some with FCC...oh wait...one more uses U/G.
I finally went to the counter with four different bottles and explained my dilemma, I got this:
"Really? That is weird...I don't know. Maybe I can look it up online." "Yes please, I am trying to figure out which one has the most lactase in it and have no way of comparing." Type type type...asks me dumb questions so I have to explain all over again what I am trying to do. Type type type. "It says here that there is no conversion possible between mg and FCC" Ok, dummy, that doesn't help me, find something that does convert! So I say, "Well what about ALU and LacU" Type type type "One ALU is equal to one LacU" "Ok thank you"
I actually had a million more questions, like WHY DO THEY USE SO MANY MEASUREMENTS!!! and what about ALU to mg, or FCC, and so on, but I was tired of talking to that guy and had a headache from reading so many frustrating labels. In the end I got a months worth of something for $30. THIRTY dollars for one month! YIKES!!! Lord help me find something better.
As I was assessing this year and looking inward, I thought this fitting to share with you. The purpose is to see some of the great minds of our time and see who we most likely would consider a role model. Try it it was extremely profound to me.
God Bless
Briana Simmons
Try it without looking at the answers first.
1) Pick your favorite number between 1 and 9.
2) Multiply by 3.
3) Add 3.
4) Multiply by 3 again. I'll wait while you get the calculator. You will get a 2-digit number.
5) Add the two digit number together.
Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
(Scroll down)
1. Albert Einstein
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. John McCain
4. Nelson Mandela
5. Elvis Presley
6. Mahatma Gandhi
7. Brad Pitt
8. Bill Gates
9. Briana Simmons
10. George Washington
I know… I just have that effect on people. One day you too may be like me. Believe it!
PS. Stop picking different numbers. I AM YOUR IDOL, JUST DEAL WITH IT!
I got an iPod for Christmas and this has opened up a whole world of podcasts. I love them. I found Anne of Green Gables there on the podcast and have been fully enjoying laughing out loud at Anne's antics. The movie is fabulous but the book...oh the book is so romantical. No one can truly ever be in the depths of despair if there are others tragical stories to listen to. Anne really does have a tragical story. Her life, up to the point of the beginning of the book, was a graveyard of buried hopes.
If any of this is making sense to you or stirring in your soul, then you must be a kindred spirit. If not, then you surely have no scope for the imagination and are truly missing out.
I'm watching this movie right now called Noises Off. it is the best movie ever!!! It cracks me up! I have never really had a cast THIS insane, thank God! Oh but this movie is hilarious. I think I will make it a requirement to watch before being in any plays :)
The El Salvador team has been back for a few days now so I have only been back in my house for a brief time. This means that there is very little food in my fridge. I was starving today on my way home from worship practice so I swung by a local grill and ordered some chicken wings to go. As I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for my food this precious little lady walked by. She had an oxygen tank that she was wheeling along and was balancing 3 to go boxes on top along with her purse. As she walked by she caught my eye and I asked if she needed help. She said no, then wheeled herself around and stood and waited for the rest of her party by me. That's when this started.
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