The Invitation

When I was in the fifth grade, a new friend changed the course of my life.  Seriously.  My entire life from the fifth grade until now.  She began by inviting me to retreats and youth group functions over the next three years.  When we were in the 8th grade, she invited me to camp.  When camp was over, I started to attend SBRCC on a regular basis. 

Over time, this friend stopped coming to church.  I still call her and I still invite her.  I know what a difference her invitation to me made.  Yesterday, she and her family came to church.  It wasn’t the first time in years, but it was the first time in years I was able to sit by her.  As I sat there with her I thought about all of the people that I love and have great friendships with as a result of her invitation. 

• I met and married my husband there
• We are raising a child there
• Our child was baptized a year ago there
• My sister met and married her husband there
• They are raising two children there
• I met my best friends there – these are true, life long friends

The list goes on and on.  As a result of her invitation, I have a relationship with the Lord that has allowed me to grow and love in a way that I might never have experienced. 

Share your faith.  It just might change the course of someones entire life.

Thank you for the invitation Chantell, I love you. 

Full Circle Moments

Some things are falling in to place for me now and I am having more and more “full circle moments”.   As these little moments happen, I realize I am an adult now.  Sometimes that hits me out of the blue.  I really don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my age or the age I was when my parents were the age I am now.  (follow that?)  But, when the full circle moments of life happen, I am reminded that I am defintely getting older.  And I like it.  I am in a good place now with memories of good things and good things to look forward to. 

The best full circle moment I have had lately was out at camp during our week.  (surprised?)  On Sunday morning, the staff comes together for worship and the purpose of entering the week with the right mind set.  This year, as the communion tray was passed and I looked around at the faces of the staff members that I was in the youth group with and the staff members I have known since they were campers (some even since they were born!), I was not prepared for the emotional impact I felt when I saw my daughter and Christi’s daughter sitting side by side sharing communion as Christi and I have done so many times.  Full Circle Moments – some are more joyous than others.

Where Do I Begin ?

Wow, it has been a long time since I sat down to write something.  So much has happened.  I will go with the Reader’s Digest version of the past month.

• Camp has come and gone (second session anyway).  We had 67 kids and I know they all had a good time.  Some of the adult staff had to pull double duty and we are all very tired, but seeing the kids give hugs and exchange addresses and immediately begin telling their parents good stories makes it all worth it.  As hard as it was from start to finish, I can honestly say that I am looking forward to next year!
• I had 4 boys in my Bible class on Sunday.  That’s it.  Four kids, all boys.  For an entire 45 minutes I was reminded that for 12 years I have been the Mother of a girl.  I must admit, I had fun Sunday morning learning a little about 4th grade boys.  The main thing I learned was even 2 Chorincles can be funny if you read the word “duty” enough.  Apparently “duty” is funny because it sounds like “doodie”.  Reading or saying the word duty makes little boys laugh like they have just been able to get away with something.  Another topic for Sunday morning was smelly feet.  We did manage to get through the lesson, but I ran out of time and that has not happened to me before.  I am looking forward to next Sunday.
• I am now running Windows Vista on our new computer.  On Tuesday, we were greeted with the blue screen of death.  I thought nothing could be worse than the BSOD, but I was wrong.  The BSOD was followed by a black screen with a simple statement in white letters : Operating system not found.  YIKES!  No computer?  So we took advantage of a 4th of July Sale and came home with a new computer.  I am not too sure about the whole Vista thing ….
• July 4, 1982, was the day I was baptized.  I thought about that all day yesterday.  Twenty five years of being a Christian that include some good times, some bad times, some easy days and some days when I failed miserably.  I am thankful that on each and every one of those days, I had a loving God.

I want to say a special ”thank you” (because it is my blog and I can say what I want) to the men and women who are serving and have served our country.  I know it is a blessing to live in a free country and I know I owe that to our military. 

That’s all for now folks ……