So I’m being held hostage by DHL.  Well, not technically.  But I can’t leave until they deliver my laptop, so I feel like a hostage in my own home!  I have been nervously listening for the door all day.  I’ve really never had great luck with deliveries when I think about it.  It’s like they’re playing a game of “let’s see how fast we can knock and run away”….ugh.

I feel like I am starting to recover from camp.  If you’ve never been to Falls Creek - it’s an other-worldly experience.  Pretty much it’s own township with a post-office and everything.  I so enjoyed a week without television, radio, work, etc vying for my attention.  I remember telling someone a few weeks ago that I was looking forward to camp because I would finally get a break of sorts.  They looked confused when I said this and mumbled something like, “Yeah, right.  A week with teenagers and no sleep - some break!”  Well . . . I was right!  While it certainly wasn’t a physical break with the late nights, early mornings and constant noise - it was certainly a time of spiritual refreshment and renewal.  While I’d like to think that God sent me there to minister to the “youth of today”, truth be told - God sent me to camp to get me away and grab my attention.  I was a little taken aback at how my perspective of Falls Creek had changed from 6 years ago. 

I think I realized a couple major reason why we as Christ followers tend to feel dissatisfied, ineffective, and well - sleepy in our day to day lives.  One - we (me included) tend to forget our first love.  We tend to kind of glaze over the wonder and the power of the cross.  It just becomes an item on our list of “why we believe what we believe.”  They gave the first altar call of the week on Tuesday night.  I had not seen an altar call in awhile since it isn’t a practice of our previous and current churches.  It took my breath away to see a teenage boy literally running down the aisle.  Do you remember that feeling?  That “got to get there before I burst” feeling?  As I watched that young man and others rush down the aisle, a sob caught in my throat as incredibly vivid images of the night I came to Christ at Falls Creek some 14 years ago.  I do believe I fell in love all over again.  

Joel Engle led worship for the evening service and did an amazing job.  I learned a new song called “I Believe in You”.  One particular line said, “Your Cross Has Freed Me So Completely.”  Yes. I get that.  At sixteen years old I thought I really got that - at nearly 30 years old I get it so much more.  He freed me from past, present, and future.  I would never again be a slave to sin.  That’s incredible freedom!

Well, I think DHL is about to release me from its grip - I’ll share more over the next few days!

Hey ya’ll!  I’m back from camp, and I have so much to share with you!  Jason called yesterday to let me know that DHL attempted to deliver the new laptop . . . I so wish I could have brought it with me this past week so you could experience Falls Creek with me.  Still, I took plenty of notes and pictures to ensure some excellent posts.

As a preface, this has been an amazing week for me.  I asked God to show up and “do His thing” and, wow.  Did He ever!  As a veteran of The Creek both as a camper and staff person, I was fairly sure of what to expect.  From the moment we drove through the gate, my expectations were pretty much blown to bits.  God had much, much more in store that I could have dreamed or hoped. 

I’ve been a sponsor several times before and can truly say that the group from New Covenant Christian Church in OKC was the absolute best!   I was really impressed with this group of kids who came to camp with great attitudes and willing hearts.  In return for their willingness to ask, seek, and knock - God really produced an outpouring of His love on these kids. 

I feel really blessed to have been allowed the opportunity to spend the week with them.  I don’t know who learned more, them or me.  :) 

Anyway, more to come.  I desperately need some sleep and about a thousand more hugs from Jason and Jonah. 

Well, I am knee-deep in laundry trying to make sure I pack absolutely every stitch of comfortable clothing for my week at camp.  If this weekend’s weather is any indication for that of next week - it’s going to be a hot one!

We had a nice visit with my parents - it was a belated birthday party/pro-longed drop-off of the kiddo type deal.  We kissed Jonah good-bye and lectured him on the importance of “listen and obey.”  He didn’t look the least bit sad that we were leaving.  In fact he kissed us good-bye, grabbed my dad’s hand and yelled, “C’Mon Pawpaw, let’s go play!” 

I, on the other hand, tried not to cry.  Wimpy!  Oh well.  It was even worse when we got home and his room is all empty.  Jonah definitely fills the house with a certain energy that is noticeable when he’s not here.  The cat is overjoyed.  For her, this is a vacation from the constant, unwarranted and uninvited loving that Jonah gives her as well as the one-sided game of tag.

So, I plan to take notes while I am at camp and wish desperately that my laptop was here already.  I plan to bring back a wealth of blogging material to share with you all.  I am going to spend a week with over 5,000 teenagers - a blogger’s paradise! 

On a more serious note, please pray for me that I will be a great  sponsor for the girls and that we can get to know one another quickly since none of them know me.  Pray for open hearts and for comaraderie within the group.  Pray that I will get at least a little sleep and that i don’t miss my boys too much!

Until next week - Ciao!

Falls Creek - 1920s

I leave for Falls Creek on Monday, and I’m a little nervous.  Is that strange?  It’s just been so long and so much in my life has changed since the last time I went to camp.  Jason and I took a group the summer of 2002.  That would be the last time I would see the old Falls Creek, Falls Creek as I remembered it.

I remember when The Sake of the Call campaign began, I had mixed feelings.  “Wow, they’ll have a/c.  Crazy!”  and “Wimpy kids.” to “Can’t anything stay the same?”  No, it really can’t I guess.  Now as a parent, I can understand why it would be preferable to have over 5,000 kids and adults sit in an enclosed, air conditioned building.  Guess I was a tad jealous too. 

I always get uber-nostalgic about Falls Creek.  I remember the first time I went, I was sixteen, lost as a goose and very nervous about being around that many Christian kids at once.  In fact, I didn’t even want to go to camp that summer.  I had been in Oklahoma for a year at that point, and my experience with the state was less than wonderful thus far.  My friend Jona and I were going through this hippie, listening to The Doors, we’re-too-cool-for-you-guys thing.  We wore funky clothes, Converse, and actually read books - for fun.  She was the one kid in town with who I could be me without apologizing for my “big city” ways and different style.  So we were singled out by the youth minister and Jona’s mom as “two girls who really needed to go to camp.”  My parents just wanted me gone for a week.  The sullen, “I hate everyone” act was getting on their nerves, and rightly so.

Jona and I wouldn’t ride the church bus.  How could we stoop so low?  Jona’s mom drove us and we complained the entire trip about how lame camp was going to be.  And then we got there.  I had only had one other youth camp experience in the fifth grade.  It was with my friend, Tammy, and it was a Pentecostal camp.  It was a strange experience and one I honestly didn’t learn much from except that Pentecostals are very enthusiastic people.

As we entered the camp grounds and got settled in, I could immediately sense a change - like that sly north wind in Chocolat - what God had begun in my heart that previous year was coming to a head. 

Not shockingly, I met a handsome boy not an hour into our first day of afternoon free time.  He was beautiful and smart, and a recent high school graduate.  Whatever was left of my chilly exterior just melted away that afternoon I babbled on about being from Austin, Texas and my favorite book - Les Miserables and how I just loved Nirvana.  While this romantic sub-plot was taking place, the real Romance swept me up as the week wore on.  I can’t say that it was a particular message during the evening service or a certain devotional that sent me tumbling into the Father’s arms - it was a culmination of many factors that I know God had set up to make my heart ready to believe, to open my eyes to my sinful condition and see a need for a savior, to fill me with hope and joy - to take everything I had ever known and show me something a million times better.

It was a Wednesday night, and we were having our after-service devotional.  My new “friend” had walked me back to my cabin just a half-hour before and in a shaded corner, at the bend of the road given me a sweet kiss - I swear I saw fireworks!  The devotional time turned into a time of confession amongst many in the youth group.  Our small town had experienced a tragedy that same year with a kid from our same youth group taking his own life after not taking his ADD medication for several days.  The kids were hurting.  I was hurting, but for completely different reasons.  Being new in a town where the majority of the other kids have grown up together like family is rough.  I wasn’t treated so nice for that first year, and I missed my friends from Austin terribly.  Yet, those friends had moved on with their lives while I felt stuck between two worlds.  I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere.   My parents weren’t getting along, and my middle sister was getting into trouble, running with the wrong crowd.  I literally felt like my life was falling apart, and that if there was a god - it was his fault.

Still, He wooed me relentlessly.  That Wednesday night my eyes opened, my ears heard, and my heart understood the beauty and the sacrafice - the love of the Cross.  At a time when I wasn’t sure that anyone loved me - I saw THAT love and I lept for it without a second thought.  In the corner of that dusty, cramped dining hall I quietly begged the Lord to forgive me of my sin and the take up residence in my heart. I believed! 

I have always loved stories in the New Testament when Jesus restored sight to the blind - because that’s how I felt, like scales fell from my eyes.  What was a world of flat, dull grays and blacks was now technicolor. 

Here I am, almost 15 years later still adjusting these eyes to the colorful majesty of His grace.  I hope and I pray that no matter what changes at camp that there’s a girl out there, just like me all those years ago, who is just waiting to fall in love.  I can’t wait!

                             Falls Creek - 2008

Since I will be at Falls Creek next week with no puter which means no blogging (will I go into withdrawals?!) I might as well get in as many posts as I can.  I’d hate to leave all 5 of my loyal readers with nothing to do but go outside, get some sunshine or interact with real human beings.  Kidding!  Sort of.

I mentioned yesterday that I checked out The Cat Bible from the Metro Public Library.  Let me preface this by saying that I grew up with cats - we had 3 or 4 with the occasional stray.  Still, cats are often characterized as aloof, independent, and moody - which just hasn’t been the case with my feline companions.  Then there was this problem with Lucy using the potty (and I mean #1, not #2) in places other than her litter box, and since the aforementioned problem is the #1 cause of cat owners to abandon their pets, I thought I better do some research and see if indeed the problem is her, or me. 

I say “me” and not “us” because I am in charge of the litter box.  It’s in my bathroom, so my deal.  Not fun, but I get the job done.  So I was completely surprised when Lucy took it upon herself to relieve herself on the rug in front of my shower, twice.  I was revolted, disappointed and perplexed.  She’s trained, is a 4 year old cat, and her box looks clean.

Looks is the operative word I guess.  After some research I found that the problem was two-fold.  One - just cause it looks clean doesn’t mean it is.  Two - cats are creatures of habit.  They pee somewhere once, and will do it again if you don’t completely eradicate the smell.  *Pause - okay this is gross post number two, I am really sorry you guys!*  I did manage to get the cat pee gone for good - see this page for tips on how to get rid of, well, anything. 

Please don’t think I am a crazy cat lady; I’m not - I just want to provide the best home for our little friend and make it pleasant for all.  Also I wanted to know what type of cat I had and all those little fun, nerdy facts that I love.  I’ve learned a lot so far from The Cat Bible.  I know she’s a mutt-kitty, but I have somewhat narrowed her breed(s) down.  Also, I got some great, practical tips on making the litter box situation better, and decided that I will start buying the all-natural, bio-degradable littler not only cause it’s a “green” thing to do, cats like it better.  (Julie, I hope I’ve made you proud!)

Apparently, the head-butting things she does is her way of saying, “you’re my mom.” Wow.  I’m a little flattered.  The book also says that one way a cat shows their affection for you is to show you their butt.  Gross.  Glad she doesn’t like me that much. 

On the advice of my good friend and fellow blogger, Megan - WARNING:  Completely Disgusting Content Ahead. Beware!

Well hello friends.  It’s Thursday, and I had this big day planned complete with taking Jonah to Grandma Bev’s, working some at the church, writing, and Girl’s Night Out this evening.  All is canceled now except for writing and GNO (thank you, Lord!) 

I often wonder if the process of pregnancy and birth really does develop certain superpowers in the mother.  Or perhaps super senses is a better term.  Take this morning, for example.  I didn’t sleep well at all and was supposed to get up insanely early to go walk with Julie.  I woke up before 6 and stumbled downstairs to text her that I would not be coming.  Besides the fact that I was (and am) seriously tired, I just felt like I wasn’t supposed to go.  So I texted her and flopped down on the couch to try and go back to sleep.  Just as I had drifted off, I felt a tiny, warm hand shake my arm.  I pried my eyes open to see my baby boy looking pitiful.  “Why are you up Jonah?” I asked, adding, “It’s too early!”  He frowned and whimpered, “my tummy hurts mommy.”  Uh-oh.  He never says his tummy hurts which is a good indication that it really does.  So he laid down with me and we both fell asleep.  As he’s got his head on my chest, I feel for fever.  Nope.  That’s good.  

I am woken up what feels like seconds later, but really it’s 30 minutes.  “Mommy, I’m thirsty.”  I stagger to the dining room and give him a sip of water.  We stagger back to the couch and both fall back asleep.  15 minutes later….why?! I am wishing I was in a coma now - “Momma, I want another drink.”  I tell him to go get another drink.  He comes back, lays down, bolts upright and pukes on me.  Nice.  I’m awake now!  I rush him to the bathroom to finish what he started and scrub my arms from the elbow down like a surgeon.  At least it was watery vomit.  I realize that I am categorizing vomit.  Gag.

He lays back down . . . Jason ambles downstairs; I explain the situation and that I am going to take a shower.  Jason attempts to go into panic mode which I quickly disarm.  He is more motherly than I am sometimes. After a much-needed shower, I head downstairs to assess the situation.  Jason’s hem feel out of his left pant leg and Jonah looks tired and won’t eat.  I really didn’t envision my day going this way.  I find safety pins for Jason and get Jonah to drink some water.  Jonah drinks and then pukes all over the kitchen floor. Ugh. 

I clean up the puke while Jason cleans up the child, all the while brainstorming the possible causes of this sudden malady.  I have a second in my brain where I mentally stop and thank God for such an awesome husband.  He didn’t give helping me out a second thought.  We’re in this together.  He and I are handling the situation together.  I love him. 

So after running to Crest to get Pedialyte and crackers and calling Julie (yep, at 7:45am - what a saint!) to get her thoughts on the matter I return home, see Jason off to work and help Jonah get some sustenance.  I had to keep him from gulping the Pedialyte.  He thinks it’s Kool-Aid.  He seems fine now.  One hour since ingestion and no upchuck.  Yes!

So what’s my sixth sense?  I like to call it my “something’s wrong although I don’t know what” detector.  I like to think it works pretty well. 

Two posts in one day?!  As if I don’t have enough to do already!  We actually had a very busy morning, albeit a fun one.  Today was playgroup with some other mommas and their gaggle of girls, literally all girls with the exceptions of Jonah and Jonas (who is still an infant).  Jonah does not mind in the least.  A kid is a kid, even if the girls boss him.  He should be used to that by now since he’s with me all day.

So we met at Pump it Up!  Jonah and I had never been, and I had no idea of what to expect.  It was amazing.  This particular one had 2 rooms - one for big kids and one for small.  The kids got to run free in the confines of this giant room while parents could sit and chat or play with the kids.  This room had a giant (and I mean GIANT - at leas 25 feet tall) slide, a round bounce house, and an obstacle course.  All you need to get in are socks and $6.50 per kid - parents are free. 

Jonah pretty much slid the whole time.  Over and over - he’s taking a great nap as I type.  After we wore ourselves out there we headed over to Chick-Fil-A, which is one of my favorite fast-food places.  #1 - the food is awesome and healthy compared to other fast food.  They have amazing buffalo dipping sauce and the BEST shakes. We stayed there until the children began to melt into screaming puddles on the floor.  Precious.  Julie Haines and I headed to the library.  Bookworms and gluttons for punishment I guess as it was obvious the kids needed naps. 

The library was teeming with children, which I found really cool.  OKC has an excellent library system and an outstanding summer reading program.  Jonah got his first ribbon today for meeting his first goal, which means we read him at least 8 books.  We did all the work - how come he gets a free kids’ meal at El Chico?!  Ah, well. 

Here we are this afternoon.  The house is quiet and I am about to plop down on the bed with the book I checked out - The Cat Bible.  I know.  I am a hopeless nerd. 

Also, what do you think about the theme change?  I think it’s more me.  I am considering a name change for the blog too.  I’d love your suggestions! 

So if I haven’t already told you, I have an English degree from the University of Science & Arts in Chickasha, OK.   I almost hate telling people what kind of degree I have because it often leads to assumptions of fine-tuned prose complete with grammar that would make my 3rd grade teacher beam with pride.  I wish.  I rely heavily on spell check, and even after all these years, I still spell the same words incorrectly over and over.  Funnily enough, advanced grammar was one of my favorite courses at USAO, taught by the fabulous Dr. Webb.  I admittedly found a measure of joy in diagramming sentences. 

Since I already wrote a post on endorsements, I thought I would take the opportunity to endorse my Alma mater.  To begin with, I had always dreamed of attending the University of Texas (calm down, Okies.)  Growing up in Austin, I loved visiting the campus with its funky coffee shops, rich history, and throngs of pot-smoking college kids.  As a teenager, my friends as I would hang out on the Drag at the UT campus frequenting places like Dobie Mall, Quackenbushes, and Urban Outfitters.  We wanted so badly to be cool.  Actually, those friends are really kind of cool now, while I am not.  Oh well.  I am happy!  Nevertheless, we liked to pretend we were hip, college girls who drank smoothies and wore mary-jane flats, but we were just lowly high school freshmen.  Like we cared. 

So I had my sights set on UT for quite some time with little though to things like tuition and majors.  Most of my pals from Austin didn’t end up going to UT either; they went to more practical, less expensive schools like Southwest Texas University (now called Texas State) in San Marcos. 

When we moved to Oklahoma the summer before my sophomore year, I tried to keep the dream alive.  It was really my sly plan to escape Oklahoma and make it back to my sweet Texas.  God had other plans when he captured my heart a year later and showed me that He had much bigger things in store than I could ever imagine.  He’s always doing that; I just love that about Him!

I began applying to colleges my senior year of high school (yes this was back in the day when you waited til your senior year to do that….what is it now, the 8th grade?!) and unfortunately, I had not applied myself very well in my studies while at Ryan High School.  Since school was so incredibly boring, I immersed myself in church and got by doing what I needed to do at school.  Hindsight in 20/20.  I do wish I had made a tad more effort, but what does that matter now?!  My GPA wasn’t great enough to warrant any fabulous scholarships so I soon found myself destined for USAO in Chickasha with a theater scholarship.

What’s laughable about this is that I had never been in a play except for some skits at church.  It was so long ago, that part is kind of a blur to me.  I was just happy to be moving out on my own!  After a few years of messing around and trying various majors, I finally settled down in an English major, where I should have been all along.  I took to it like a duck to water. 

USAO is a small school, though growing nestled in a country town.  It’s like a town within a town.  I have to say that I feel like I received a stellar education.  Since my first few years were spent trying virtually every kind of class the school has to offer, I can tell you personally that every department is equipped with absolutely brilliant professors.  The majority of mine were PhDs.  Not only that, I was often in classes with less than 20 people, and my professors knew my name - which wasn’t always a positive thing, especially when I knew I had written a paper over a book I completely skimmed. 

My English classes, especially Shakespeare, Advanced Composition, Advanced Grammar, and all my comp courses with Dr. Brown were amazing and challenging.  I loved working in the writing lab . . . “For the last time, I will NOT write your paper!”  I loved chatting mindlessly with Dr. Frankland who was strange and cool and brilliant.  I miss it.  I miss the feeling of always moving towards a goal - graduation, yet in my case, never really wanting to get there and being completely sad when I did.  In fact, had it not been for moving to Tennessee I might have just gone to school forever.

What’s ironic is that when I did graduate, I did not get to walk.  I registered too late for the actual ceremony.  Other people were more upset about it than I was.  I guess I thought to myself, “I really didn’t want to graduate anyway.”  So not walking across that stage was a good thing. 

Here I am 6 years later actually using my degree to make a living.  I have to give my props to the USAO English department for not only providing me with the tools to make a living out of something I love, but to have the guts to pursue it. 

Yes, I know - this post is brimming over with cheese - deal with it! 

My good friend Mandy had a post a while ago with a list of things she fancies, and since she copied that idea from another blogger, I have no qualms about copying her either.

As if you care, but here are a few things/people/places in random order which I could possibly live without but certainly wouldn’t want to:

*Pico de gallo, salsa, and tortillas.  I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur of fine Mexican-American dining, but I sure do appreciate it!  One of my favorite place here in OKC is Ted’s Escandido.  I really measure a great restaurant by the aforementioned 3 items - pico, salsa, and tortillas.  If they can get those right, good food is sure to follow.  The menu at Ted’s is pretty extensive with some outrageously good items not found at all Mexican restaurants like the tacos al carbon and their spinach enchiladas.  Unfortunately, the original cafe on NW 68th is cramped and the wait is usually really long.  The portions are also way too big, so splitting a meal is highly encouraged!  Ole!

*My cat.  Ever since we gave our beloved Summer (our official first child ) up for adoption before moving to Tennessee in 2003, we have missed having a feline friend in the house.  A little over 2 months ago now, little Lucy came to live with us, much to the delight of Jonah who has never had a pet except for a stinky, boring hermit crab - which died.  Lucy is funny because she has a distinctly different relationship with each one of us.  When it’s just me and her, she is my little shadow.  She likes to jump up on the back of my office chair while I’m typing and gently head-butt me.  I love it.  She’s the cuddliest (is that a word?) little thing when it’s just the two of us and especially if I’m not feeling well. With Jason she is very talkative and winds around his legs in all-out kitty worship of her master.  He’s the one who feeds her every morning or evening, whenever her bowl is empty. I swear they have Jason-Lucy conversations down in the kitchen.  With Jonah it is a slowly growing relationship in which she mostly tolerates him.  He is wild about her, and she deals with his bouncing, unpredictable energy.  He is slowly learning that she does not enjoy games of chase-the-cat. 

*My church.  I just think it’s great, and I absolutely love the people there.  I go up to volunteer twice a week, and those are honestly two of my favorite days of the week.  There is a real love for God and a desire to serve others in that place.  I am excited to see what God has up His Holy sleeve.

*Blogs.  Love em’.  I am a tad addicted to them.  I have 4 that I check daily. It’s become as part of my morning routine as a cup of coffee and the morning news.  I love my own blog too.  I feel honored that people take the time to stop and read my blatherings.  I don’t really know what to hope for in all of it, maybe that someone can relate or feel encouraged or giggle.  Everyone (well I think so anyway) wants to feel like they can relate to someone else.  We were created for relationship, after all.

*Lip Balm.  I have about 10 different kinds.  My recent favorite is from Sephora, and thanks to my youngest sis who works at one in Dallas, Texas.  It’s made by Hershey and includes great, natural ingredients like olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter.  I have the chocolate and almond flavors.  My word, they’re wonderful! 

*The cable Music stations that came with the digital box.  Since getting the digital box, we have 50 or so more channels including the music stations.  We are currently without a stereo (I can see Jason shuddering in his cubicle, sorry honey!) so this is a good alternative for now.  My favorite stations at the moment are the Adult Top 40, 80s, and 90s.  I like to kick it old school. 

It always seems like my family has been slow to get hip with the popular mechanics of technical gadgets whether that be cell phones, DVD players, mp3s, etc.  I guess it’s just never been a big deal to us.  I think, no I know, I didn’t have a CD player til I went to college in 1997.  I didn’t get a DVD player until after I was married…I believe it was like 2002.  I remember it was like 1999 when I finally got a portable CD player for my car, and I didn’t care for the thing too much cause it skipped all the time.  I was happy with my cassette tapes. 

I got my first cell phone in 2000, and promptly racked up an enormous bill.  I was pretty nonplussed with that too.  In 2001, I got my first computer as it moved into the apartment with my new husband.  The computer was an absolute dinosaur, but heck - I was just happy to have one! 

So when all my buddies were getting laptops, fancy cell phones that practically did the dishes too, and mps3 players….I just kind of shrugged my shoulders while Jason silently prayed for me to “get with it”.   Well God must have heard those prayers because we finally got an mp3 player for my birthday.  A cute little thing called a Zen Stone made my Creative labs.  It was really inexpensive and holds about 500 songs, which just blows my mind!  I love it.  I’ve used it twice to go walking, and found I could walk longer, although I had to keep myself from singing out loud.  I don’t think the neighborhood would appreciate that at 6am!  I admit I got a pink one so Jason wouldn’t steal it.  He doesn’t seem that interested to tell you the truth.  I’m hoping to get an armband for it soon - then I will really be cool. 

Next month we are expecting the arrival of the laptop.  We have known for some time that we really needed one for my job, but have put it off.  We found a great deal, AND I can write it off since it’s for work. Win-win.  I am excited to try this whole WI-fi thing.  It fascinates me that I can work from the park, the library, or McDonald’s.  I will no longer be chained to my desk.  Can I get a hallelujah?!

So, I feel like we’re slowly becoming one with society as far as the techie stuff goes…but not too much - we still don’t have the plasma HDTV or the iphone.  Jason just about dies everytime we walk past the TVs in Wal-Mart.  In good time, dear friend.  All in good time.