Kids camp in Forsyth, Ga

Throughout my life I have spent approximately 54 weeks as a counselor at summer camps. (Some day, I'll write about many of those weeks when I was the horse back director at a YMCA camp - what fun!)

 When rating these camps on a spiritual level, I would consider this year’s camp one of the top five experiences. I rate it this high because I have already (just one week later) seen lasting results.

We returned from camp on a Friday afternoon. That evening one of the children, a 12 year old boy, convinced his grandmother to go to the Christian Book store to buy lots of worship music. On Sunday morning he bounced up to me and handed me his ear buds. “Listen to this!” he said. I listened with enthusiasm as he proceeded to tell me which Christian musician it was and how much worship music he had bought on Friday night. His smile was huge and the spirit of the Lord shined out of him.  For the entire service, he was also an incredible help. All of the camp kids were.

On Sunday morning, first service was one with a lot of technical difficulties and other frustrations. Most of my camp children were there for second service. At the end of worship we sang a slow song and invited children up to the altar to pray. Many kids came up which was awesome enough, but the coolest thing was that my camper kids came up and started praying for the others. What a sweet spirit was in the room!

On Sunday evening, I received a note from one of the moms, saying that she already noticed a change in her son and that they had had some excellent conversations about God, His plan, and the Holy Spirit.  I received a similar note about a young lady who went to camp also.

Some of the experiences at camp were wonderful for the counselors too. Wednesday afternoon, the camp staff asked some counselors to take turns praying in the chapel. I went in about 3:45. I had a great prayer time (some tears) and about 20 minutes later headed out the door to meet my campers and trade places with one of the counselors. All of a sudden I was convinced that I was not supposed to leave yet. So I turned around and went back to the altar and spent another 30 minutes filled with tears and meeting with God. I later let one of the camp staff know that “camp isn’t only for the campers. Had a great time in prayer.”  I really needed that time. God knew that.

During the service on Thursday morning, the altar call was life changing for our church. (and yes, I do mean our entire church).  The children were called up to the altar for prayer. Many children came up for prayer. We worshiped and prayed for quite awhile. Lunch was to start at 12:00. At 12:25, I look up from praying and worshiping and realized that most of the children had gone to lunch. There were two kids from other churches still there. About ten of our children had remained to pray and to pray for others.

We gathered together before we went to lunch and I encouraged them to take this spirit home. It looks like they did. I am so very proud of them... 

A - Z "Z"

Zippity Do Dah!


Yep. I know this is the longest of all of my A to Z words, and in fact, I suppose it's actually three words. But in all honesty, I really don't care. I am on Z. I am finished. I have finally completed the A to Z challenge.  that's it. I'm done. complete.

Zippity Do Dah, Zippity yay!



L

A-Z "Y"

Yes


I've read that when you are trying to sell someone something,  if you can get them to answer 3 questions in a row with a "yes", then you will probably be able to complete the sale.  The interesting thing is that the questions don't even have to have anything to do with what you are trying to sell!

So here we go...

1. Do you want to be successful?
2. Do you want to enjoy life?
3. Do you like apple pie?  (Who doesn't?)

And then....

Would you like to buy my book?


lol



L

A-Z "X"

Xyst

All right, the truth is that up until this point all of the short words that I've been working on with this never ending quest that I have put myself on, have been common ordinary words that I use daily in my life.Unfortunately, I do not use a lot of X words in my daily vocabulary. I mean how many times a week do you use the word  Xylophone or X-ray? (Unless of course you are accident prone or a nurse.)

So I cheated. I asked my friend "Google" to come up with a 4 letter word that starts with "X".

Xyst:  A garden walk planted with trees.

I'm sure that this will someday help me win a game of Scrabble.  Here's hoping that something positive will happen because I am soldiering on with my A to Z quest.


Have a great day!


L

A-Z "W"

Wow!

This is an amazing word. An incredibly powerful word.

 And upside down?  It spells "Mom".

Absolutely appropriate in my opinion.


:)




:

A-Z "V"

Vie

This is my biggest trouble letter in all 26 letters of the alphabet merely because I'm not sure how to spell the word I have chosen!

Lots of things vie for our attention every day; Family, friends, ministry, chores, work, responsibilities, fears, meal planning, communication, sleeping, NCIS, The Voice, and Survivor,  just to name a few.  You have to make sure the cats, dogs, horses, hubby, and children get fed at least a couple of times a day, otherwise they get a bit crabby, ya know?

To be perfectly honest, all I would like to do is lie on a beach somewhere and read a book. the only thing that might vie for my attention on a day like that would be the other book resting on the sand next to me.

Ahhhh   imagine.

:)



L

A-Z "U"

Uh


Uh, Let's see. When you give a speech, do you have problems with the "uh" word?  I don't anymore, but when I first had my speech class in college, that was a big problem.

I have to confess, when President Obama first came on the scene, he drove me crazy with his "um"s and "uh"s. I just recently noticed that he has improved over the last 5 years... at least when it comes to the "um"s and "uh"s.   :)




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A-Z "T"

Tots


I'll bet just because I am a children's pastor, you think that my "T" word for the day means little ones, children, toddlers,  tots.

Nope.

I want you to know that I love tater tots, particularly Sonic's chili cheese tots. I think I might possibly be addicted. I can't pass a sonic without stopping.  This is not good for the midriff. Not so good for the pockets either.   But man, oh man, my taste buds are happy!



L

A - Z "R"

(Author's note: I have no idea why I wrote two "R" blogs, but I actually kind of like this one, so I'm keeping it in.  Have a great day!)



Rats

I recently reread  the book "1984". I would strongly recommend it to all especially in light of stuff that is happening in today's society.

Without spoiling the final climax of the book (for those who haven't read it yet), I want to tell you that I have horrible visions of the final time that the main character is tortured. It is embedded in my brain. I think I would do and say anything if someone would do that to me...

Rats.  Hungry rats. ugh.


L

A-Z "S"

So



So I'm really way behind on my A-Z blogs
So I probably should just quit, but something inside won't let me...
So I will probably just keep going even though I think I've been taken off of the linky list
So no one will be visiting my posts...
So if these thoughts are shorter than usual, maybe that will explain it.
So See you later....  or maybe not.



L

A-Z "R"

Read



I love to read.
Of course I haven't read all of the books in my house yet.
But my favorite color is red.
And I can turn reeds into whistles...

The English language is weird.

So did you first read this as "reed" or "red"?


L

A-Z "Q"

Quit.

I will not quit.
Even though it is already May and the A-Z challenge was supposed to be finished on April 30th.
Even though, I am barely halfway through the alphabet.
Even though, I'm really thinking my theme for the year was lame...


I will not quit.

Winston Churchill said it best in a very short speech at a graduating class  ceremony.  He was the main speaker. He was eloquently introduced, stood up at the podium and gave his speech.
"Never quit, never quit, never quit."  And then he sat down.

I think I'll take his advice.


L

A-Z "P"

Pin, pen, pan

Three words today in honor of all of my southern friends, along with a confession: When you are talking to me with your lovely accent, most of the time, I don't know which of these three words you are saying.  Sometimes I can figure it out by the context of the sentence.

But this is the one that really gets me:

"Do you have a Paannn?"   Pen?  Pan?  Pin?


I just say no.


:)



L

A-Z "O"

Oh



Another very small word that goes right along with my last post.  But this little word can have so many meanings!


OOOOOHHHH!  Like I get it now!

oh.    you've put me in my place by showing me that I don't really know what I was talking about.

and then there is the one that is accompanied by the "no".


Oooooohhhhh Noooooooo!   I don't like to hear that one.  that's the one that means the cookie jar that your mother (who passed away 11 years ago) gave you years ago has just fallen off of the counter into a million pieces...

and it was a Mr. Peanut cookie jar too. :(




L

A- Z "N"

No.

The biggest little word in the English language.  It's the "n" sound with a long "O". Seems simple enough, but many of us have a really hard time saying it.  

Do you?



L

A-Z - (J)

Just

Just a minute...

Just in case....

Justin Morgan had a horse.

Just a little piece...

Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait!


That's all. J's are hard....



L

A- Z - "M"

"M"


Mom


The shortest word with the longest meaning. My mom is with Jesus now and has been for almost 11 years. I can't tell you how many times a day I think of her even now.

1. I work with children. She loved children,... all children.
2. When it snows.
3. When I'm making dinner and using her "Joy of Cooking" cookbook.
4. When I see a cardinal.
5. When I see my cat sitting on "her" chair. (She loved all animals except cats. Maybe she would like this cat though just because it's name is "mama cat".)
6. When I walk outside on our 4 acre farm, thinking how much she would love it!
7. When I talk to my sisters.
8. When I talk to my brothers.
9. Every day during the spring.
10. When I hear the Star Spangled Banner
11. When my children do something amazing.
12. When I see the book "Spot the Fire cat". (She read it to my children many many times.)
13. When I look in the mirror and I'm not wearing my glasses. ( the fuzziness of the image looks a bit like her.)
14. When I take my bone strengthening pill.
15. When I talk to my Dad.
16. When one of my children say something witty.
17. When I go to a foreign country.
18. When I am studying the 20th century history
19. When I look at my 21 year old daughter's tiny shoulders. (My mom was tiny.)
20. When I eat strawberries. (She didn't like strawberries. Can you imagine anyone not liking strawberries?)


Yep. I miss her.


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A to Z - "L"

"La la la "

This could be singing  but in my life, I mostly use this sound when I am plugging my ears and not wanting to hear something that is going on around me. "la la la la la la la".

Of course if it was me singing, everyone else would be putting their fingers in their own ears and saying "la la la la la" to themselves!


L

A-Z (K)

Kids

The fact is I like kids. Since I'm a children's pastor, that's probably a good thing.


I like when they mispronounce a word or use a phrase in the wrong way.

My kids used to tell me that they did things "on accident" (because if you do things "on purpose" it makes sense that when you didn't do it on purpose, you did it on accident!).

I like that sometimes they  THINK they know what they are talking about.
My daughter is doing observation hours for one of her college classes this semester. She relayed a very funny conversation she overheard the other day.

Kid #1: I can draw Dark Vader better than you!
Kid #2: Who's Dark Vader?
Kid #3: I know him! He's a wrestler! But he doesn't wrestle anymore...
Kid #1: No he's not! He's from the Star Wars movies!
Kid #3: Oh yeah! But he died.
Kid #1: No he didn't!
Kid #4: The Undertaker?!? He didn't die!


Kids say the darnedest   things.



L

A-Z -( I)

If .... then.
If I recall correctly, If... then statements had a lot to do with geometry, which I actually enjoyed.
Those words also had to do a lot with computer programming which I failed.... twice.

If a picture paints a thousand words than why can't I paint you?" Was it Jim Croce that sang that line in a song?  It brings back memories of junior high which I sometimes enjoyed... and failed twice. (Just kidding!)


If wishes were horses, beggars would be riders. I love these kind of old sayings. I think that children these days don't learn as many nursery rhymes and sayings as we did "back in the day".



If wishes were horses... my very visual mind can see this. Wishes, galloping along, their manes flying in the win, hooves thundering down the plains.... although come to think of it, I don't think wishes would gallop.  The whole idea behind wishes is that they are a bit sedentary, a bit passive. You don't go anywhere on a wish.


This saying kind of reminds me of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. I loved the tv version that was done a few years back with Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother and Brandy as Cinderella.  When they sing the song "impossible", Whitney makes it clear that sitting in your own little corner in your own little chair just won't cut it.



I think a wish has to begin as a wish and then move on to a dream and then  ultimately there has to be a leap of faith that will turn that dream into reality.

What if Cinderella hadn't gotten into the pumpkin carriage? No matter what the fairy godmother did for her, she wouldn't have gotten to the ball.

And then, there are the "If only"s...  Maybe "if" is a bigger word than I thought in the beginning...


L

A-Z (H)

Ha!


I love laughter. Some of my absolutely favorite times have been sitting around the dinner table with my family and laughing so hard that tears  stream down our faces. When this happens, the only sound coming out of my mouth is a squeaky breath.  That of course, makes everyone else at the table start start to giggle and then.... we're off!

We all have different laughs.

My oldest daughter laughs at her own jokes which are usually language based. or just darn right silly because she is exhausted.  Those are always very funny times.

My son laughs like a donkey. A loud donkey. It's okay. He won't be offended. He knows it.  he sounds a bit like Arnold Horshack. Remember him from the tv series, "Welcome Back, Kotter?" Hilarious.

My youngest daughter laughs without any noise. the only way you can tell that she is laughing is that her shoulders shake.

I will end this lovely post with the very first joke that my brother learned (and repeated over and over and over again when he was about 4 years old.)


what is the difference between and baby and a soldier?






scroll down for the answer....








A baby loads his diaper and a soldier loads his gun.



Okay. It was funny when he was four.


Ha!



L

A-Z - Gag!

Gag


When it comes to food, I am a texture girl.The foods that I don't like have funny textures. For instance, I hate coconut flakes.
and lima beans.
and black eyed peas.
and grits.
and cow tongue.
and that stuff that they make you drink right before you have colonoscopy test. (Okay, I don't really know what that tastes like yet, but I have a feeling it will be quite gaggy!)

I also have no desire to eat guinea pig or tiny crabs with their shells still on,  larva, or chicken foot soup. (All things that my husband has been eating as he ministers all over the world.)

Yes, my gag reflex is definitely alive and kicking!

Just give me a quarter pounder with cheese please.


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A-Z Challenge -F

Fun, fun, fun.

My husband and I are exact opposites when it comes to our general philosophy of life.  He is an organized, steady, no nonsense kind of guy who keeps me always headed in the right direction.

I, on the other hand, tend to....  wander. If there is the slightest potential for fun in a situation, I will head that direction.

I'm not sure when it started, but somewhere in our 23 years of marriage, we began a "good bye" routine.
We both say "Goodbye" and "I love you", but the then the script changes.

"Have fun", I say.
Be good, he says.

And we always take our own advice. :)



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A-Z Letter E

Er....

I think I must have done something wrong with my sign up for A- Z. It appears that I have last year's list of bloggers and not this year's...  And it doesn't appear that anyone is visiting my blog except my absolutely wonderful friend Sheila.  Sometimes I'm so untechnological I could scream.

It's really all my fault, you know this untechnological spirit. I give about 16 seconds of good hard trying anytime something new comes along.

Well, in all honesty, that's probably a bit of a lie. We have this new tv, blueray, regular dvd player and two remotes. My husband has set our timer to 'tape" my favorite show survivor every week.  On Wednesday evenings at about 9:30 pm, I call my daughter into the livingroom and hand her the two remotes and say "please find my show."  And she does.  She is one of my enablers, and I love her for it.

So, anyway, I guess I'll keep on writing because I love the A-Z challenge and maybe, just maybe, I'll figure out what I did wrong and fix it.

L

A-Z "D"

Do this, do that.
It's a little word with a lot of power.

It's an action word like no other.

And if you double it?

It will make any new mom or dad go running for the diaper bag.

Powerful.


:)

L

A-Z "C"

Can you tie my shoe?

Can you reach my toy?

Can you cut  my  meat?

Can I get a puppy?

Can you shut the door? 

Can I spend the night at Joey's?

Can I borrow 10 bucks?

Can I have the keys to the car?

Can I stay out past midnight?

Can I marry your daughter?

They grow up so quickly.

Can I have some of those years back?

L

A-Z The letter B- But!

Still trying to catch up on this A-Z challenge with my idea of using teeny tiny words -

In Children's Church on Sunday, we were learning our scripture memory verse. Each child had a piece of paper with a part of the verse on it. The scripture was John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."   The game was going very well, until close to the end of the verse. As I was trying to help them complete the sentence, I asked,   "Okay, who has my "But?"    Never say the word "but" in front of elementary aged children.

It took us a while to get back on task.




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A to Z - A Bit Late

Ah.

I know we've only just begun and I am two days behind.

 I could blame it on the fact that I couldn't decide what I wanted to write about this year.

The first year I was involved with the A to Z challenge I talked about Bible characters.

Last year I wrote letters to people or objects in my past.

This year? Nothing. Not a single idea.

 I finally had an epiphany. I would create An Absolutely fabulous game where I would start with A word beginning with "A" and change A letter A day (Adding one letter or subtracting one letter, And changing A letter to be THE letter every day) and seeing if I could make it through the whole Alphabet. ("What?" you say?) It didn't work.

Are
Bare
Care
Dear
Ear
Fear
Gear
Hear

ummm

Iera?

Jiera?


So I tried again.. this time starting with "I" and "J".

Junk
Ink
Hank
Gunk
funk
enuk??

Not so good. So I gave up this little game of mine. (If any of you would like to try it, feel free!)
And decided to go with Another very simple idea. (Okay, so the first one wasn't quite so simple.) I'm just going to find a small word and expound on it.

The relief I feel is palpable.

Ahhhh.   My word for the day.



L