My Kids all grown up

This weekend I went to OCMD for Impact with a bunch of my kids and leaders and it was an amazing weekend. I will definately blog more about it later, but today I want to write about my kids....the ones that have grown up and moved on. I think one of my greatest joys as a teacher and a youth director is seeing my kids all grown up and living their lives for Christ, seeking to serve Him with their whole beings. This weekend I three of my four leaders were previous students of mine. And to watch them interact with the kids and share the love of Christ with them was awesome.

In my last blog I wrote about Braedon and Jordan, they were both members of our youth group, they both now serve as leaders here at the church and with Young Life. Braedon will soon be leaving and heading out to do full time missions.

Also on the trip was my girl, Abby. She was one of my students when I taught and coached in Clearfield. She is now all grown up and is serving as an Interim Area Director for Young Life in Dover, DE. It is amazing to see how God is using her and stretching her in her faith.

I guess this is what it feels like to be a parent when your child does something really cool, and you are so proud of them. That is how I feel when I think that God allowed me to a part of the spiritual growth of these "kids" that are now adults.

The Non-Freak Version

Here are my boys - the same ones that appeared in the freak picture previously posted. I just have to say how thankful I am for their leadership and care for the guys in our youth group. I could not do my job without them! Jordan and Braedon - my brothers - you are a blessing to me and to the young men in our youth group! Thanks - I love you guys!

Freaks

So this is what my intern does all day long! No I am not kidding he really does just sit at his desk, play video games, blog which you can check out if you would like braedontabor.theworldrace.org and then sometimes he throws things at me, he complains when I ask him to do little tasks like "will you please hang up these butterflies?" That is Braedon for you, despite his many flaws - I still love him mostly (because Jesus tells me I have to!)

Aunt Jana the Hamster

A couple weekends ago my Mom and sister came to visit along with my sister's two kids Kamryn and Hayes. Kamryn and Hayes are from Potter County so they don't get to experience "city life" much so when they come to visit Aunt Jana they always want to go to the McDonald's playground. Well lucky for me, my sister volunteered me to play with them in the play area...have you been in the play area as an adult...I don't mean looking and watching from the ground - I mean in the play ground - crawling through the small plastic tubes as if I were a hamster or something. Let's just say it didn't help my closterphobia! And when I was done I was so tired I needed a nap for sure! The moral of the story...don't let your sister guilt you into being a hamster for the sake of her children!

Animals of Central Florida

So about my trip....it was very educational...too bad I wasn't still in school or I would have been able to count it as a field trip. Later this week (if Jeanne gets them to me (hint, hint!)) I will have some cool pictures of some of the animals that we saw while in Florida, so until then I will just let you know what I saw!

* Dolphins, red racoons, and lots of birds in Mullet Bay (not kidding about the name)
* Pelicans and fish and herons at Fort DeSoto
* Bees in the Orange Grove
* Turkeys on the side of the road (confused to be pheasants by some in the car)
* Alligators, Bald Eagles, Raccoons, and lots of birds in Kissimmee
* Oh and I can't forget the goats, horses, chickens and Buddy the stay dog that lived on the farm.

It was pretty exciting and if you want to know more about these animals stay tuned to later blogs so I can tell you fun facts about each of the above.

Wait for it, wait for it....

So I have gotten a lot of slack for not writing for about a week - I guess I just didn't realize that I actually had a following - wow I feel pretty honored. Anyway - I was out of town on vacation this past week and I made a committment to stay away from the computer while I was away, so therefore no posts. But now I am back and I have a huge migraine, so I am going to head to bed. It was a great trip and a great Easter - thanks to my friends for the delicious easter meal and for all the great laughs! Stay tuned for several fun posts about the many things I learned in Florida.

Do I still love my dog?

Let's just say that yesterday was not my day! I did not feel well all day, my shot did a number on my body - I couldn't work for more than three hours. I was wiped out, so I decided to listen to my body and go home early, not go to practice, and postpone my check depositing for the Oil Company. I was really proud of myself for listening....then I walked into my house and this is what I found....

What do you say to your dog when you find this? How do you explain to them that this is not appropriate behavior? Tucker has been out of his crate for weeks and has not done anything....until this. The good news is that I needed a new couch anyway...the bad news is that financially this is a horrible time to even think I can afford to buy one.

Step out of your box into the battle

After a long drive from Harrisburg to Williamsport on Saturday night - I had a cool opportunity to talk to the First Church Youth Group about stepping up to the challenge in life. Over the past few months they have been talking about different characters in the bible that have taken a step of faith and stepped up to the challenge of the battle of life. Life is a spiritual battle...the great news is that in the end we win!!! Because of Christ on the cross - he has conquered death and we have the victory in the end...but what about right now...there is a battle each day here on earth. As Christians we can sit inside our little box that is nice and Christiany, where everything is safe, where no one gets hurt (or saved for that matter!) or...we can take a step of faith and say I will step out of my box where I am safe and I will rely on the strength and the spiritual armor that God provides for me and make a commitment to join in the battle along with Christ.

To demonstate this point I think of the famous part of the movie Braveheart - where William Wallace gives his speech to the men - they had all the excuses in the book to not fight but he talks about freedom and if they really want to be free they must be willing to fight for that...the same is true from a spiritual perspective. The other thing that I love about that clip is that William Wallace leads his men into the battle and then fights right along side of them. The same is true with Christ - he leads us in the battle but then doesn't watch from the sidelines, he fights with us!!!

How about you - are you willing to fight in the battle are you willing to step up to the spiritual battles of life, even if it does cost you something? There is a song by Sara Groves called When the Saints and I think it ties this image all together...it is about this idea of taking a step of faith for the kingdom and about all these people who made a difference in the lives of others because they were willing to step out in faith - are you willing to step out in faith - even if it means you life is at stake?

Impact 2008 - Harrisburg

Take Two - I just wrote this really cool blog and I lost it all....awww!!! Okay I will try to remember what I wrote and do it again.

This year I had the priviledge to once again lead a seminar at the Harrisburg Impact. The topic this year was depression. It is a topic that I am passionate about, but I wasn't sure what kind of turnout that I would have and one thing that I struggle with often is this fear that no one is going to show up...well my fears were relieved when at 8:30 am my room was so full that people were sitting on the floor, in the aisles, in the hallway - it was definately breaking fire codes!!! Between my two seminars I had over 320 people attending. It was so encouraging to have so many people come to a topic that is not exciting to say the least, but yet very important.

You never really know who is going to attend the seminars or what their needs are, but after both of the seminars I had several people come up and talk about issues and it really confirmed that I was doing what God had called me and gifted me to do . My hope and my prayer for those that attended is that if they are struggling with depression, they will know that they are not alone and they will know what they need to do to get help.

The craziest part of the whole time I was there was my media and computer stuff - for me technology is bittersweet! I had some videos to show that didn't work despite the hours I spent with some good tech guys (Joel, Aaron, Jonathan - thanks!!!) but they didn't end up working - then my computer chord fried and I had to get a new one - they cost $120!!! Crazy expensive!!
So yeah - all in all it was an amazing day despite my lack of sleep because I was up until 1:30 finishing my power point since I learned how to make it look a little better (again thanks to Aaron).

I am attaching the video that I was going to use to open up my talk - it is called "Does anybody hear her" It is a song by Casting Crowns and I think it speaks so much about the depression and struggles that many teenagers face.

Tennis, Anyone?

So we started our tennis season this Monday - the weather was surprisingly warm and we actually got to use the courts (or at least the ones that didn't have the net stolen!) We spent most of the afternoon on Sunday shoveling as well as some of Monday to get them ready. Yesterday the rains came so we were stuck inside. Since we are on the low end of the totem pole of spring sports we get stuck in the fitness lab - imagine 24 sweaty boys in a room that is 12 by 12 (I am just guessing, I didn't really measure!) It was gross!!! So today Matt and I went over to the courts to see about the possibility of getting on the courts and this is what we found.... (see the picture!) The funny part is that the courts don't really have water on them - which means we could practice outside, however the problem is how do we actually get to the courts without have to walk through a large amount of flood waters. We think we have a plan but we will have to see what happens at 3:30pm today. There is never a dull moment in my life, because if there were, I am not sure what I would do with that moment!

Swimming with Meg in the Big Pool

So my friend Meg - my recreational/theraputic director worked her magic the other day and was able to get me a month by month free pass to Bucknell. It is really exciting, but also quite scary. We decided to take a huge step of faith and pull out our bathing suits (which we both decided are a bit more snug than they used to be) and headed to the big bad pool at Bucknell....I am going to be honest- I was a bit nervous....I am not sure what it is about Bucknell but every time I step on campus I just don't feel as though I belong...I am not sure if it is the fact that all those kids are smarter than me or have more money than me or what but I just feel very inferior when I am there, and I even know many people and I still get that way.

So we went to the pool and did our first official physical therapy for our MS. Meg was able to walk in the pool without assistance (which was a highlight - yes when you have MS you celebrate all walking victories!!!!) and I was able to do some aqua jogging aerobics slash movements slash if you were watching me you probably would have laughed but it was good workout - I actually felt pretty good. At the end of our 45 minutes of exercise I decided to swim some laps - I did a total of 4 - go me!!! I could not help but think about the past when I was in college and lifeguarding - I used to be able to swim 56 laps without stopping (I think that is a mile) Anyway - I need to stop comparing because I am a different person now - instead I need to just celebrate the victory! We exercised for 40 minutes and didn't drown!!!!! WHOHOOOO!!!!

Now that the celebrating is over, we both went home and crashed - okay I didn't go home and crash I went to work and I crashed. I am not sore at all, but I am tired - super tired. I am hoping that the more we go swimming the less fatigued we will be....ahhhh we can only hope!

It is amazing what you will find in your desk at work!

So funny story...today I was going through a little box in my office desk that I keep little encouragement cards...since my friend is in basic training for the Navy I thought I would be nice and include a little card with his letter. As I was going through the cards looking for the perfect one I saw a 3 x 5 card folded in half when I opened it I just started laughing hysterically at what I found... prepare yourself... you are going to think that I am so weird - because as I looked at it - I thought the same thing about myself....can you make a guess? I am pretty sure you would never guess this in a million years. There on the card was a note that said Stitches from my nose surgery January 1997, and below it was a piece of take holding two of the stitches that were removed from my nose on that day. How gross is that...who saves their stitches for over 10 years...I guess I do - the funny part ... I have yet to throw them away - I guess it is too much of a conversation piece. So know you all officially know how weird I am and how much of a pack rat/centimentalist I am!!!

Thoughts from the NYWC day 1.5

Okay so if I was an avid bloger like my friends I would be blogging every spare minute of the day to keep you updated on the conference, however since I am more of a doer than a typer I have found the my days are so full with responsibilities that I hardly have time to rest, let alone blog. So now I sit here with a few minutes to spare, being very frustrated that I couldn't take a nap because my fatigue meds actually keep me from napping but not from being tired.

Anyway - it has been a great ride so far and I would love to be creative with this blog but I am not sure I still have the brain capacity to do so, but I will try

Here is the top 5 things that have stuck out to me so far.

5. It is fun pretending that I am kind of important - I get a free breakfast and I get to realize how real the speakers and the presenters are - it is rather refreshing.
4. It is very odd to listen to someone in the next stall in the bathroom talking on the cell phone while you are releaving yourself - Ackward!!!
3. The Affinity group idea is a big success and I am excited to see how they continue to flesh out.
2. Tony Dungy and I do have a lot in common - we are both coaches, you know!
1. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard at two 30 year old guys as they slapped each others bear flesh as they did the announcements....maybe it is funnier since I have gotten to know Josh a little, but maybe it is funny because it reminds me of Middle School boys...who knows!

I am sure that I will have a new top 5 tomorrow....until then I am going to keep myself busy, while still trying to take time to rest!

NYWC Conference

So everyone else is talking about blogging the conference, so I guess I will give my thoughts too...although mine will be from a more womanly perspective. Anyway - I am getting all of my things in order and tomorrow at the butt crack of dawn I will be driving to the airport with Braedon to fly to Cincinnati and Dayton just to drive back to Cincinnati - won't that be a fun activity - I am actually expecting something really cool to happen on that flight since it is so obsurd that we have to fly to Dayton through Cincy just to drive back to Cincinnati. If you are thinking that is dumb - you are right - if you are thinking just get off the plane - not an option unless I want to walk home. Oh the world of airline travel! Anyway - this will be my last blog from PA for a while (5 days!)

The Craziness Has Begun!!!

So it all started...Thursday...the craziness...my life...my schedule...me trying to slow down but being horribly unsuccessful....the doctor said slow down, you have to make changes, oh and I am great at making changes, in fact I have made my schedule three times as full - how about that for changes. Anyway - Thursday was Celebrate the joy of having friends day...I worked at the office in the morning, I worked at the farm in the afternoon, I had dinner with the YL Lbg gang, then Young Life....I then had to take my car to the shop and get my refresher course on driving a standard (which I think I did alright for only driving a standard once every two year!) Then Friday - I got up ran an errand for a friend, went and returned my borrow car, picked up my car, talked to Britt Nicole on the phone (she is pretty cool, btw!) Recorded a second show, went to work, took Tucker to Karen's,went back to work, picked up some gum for my girls...dropped it off, then went home, packed quickly, picked up Todd squared, and drove to Mansfield.....My girls beat Wellsboro - oh the satisfaction!!!! Our boys lost - kinda sad...then my Dad and I headed home! I didn't have to drive- fabulous!!!

Saturday - woke up just in time to get ready for Kamryn's birthday party - went to Gaines played with my nephew Hayes - he is super cute (he must take after his aunt!!!) After the party back to Lbg for time with Sean and Kara, oh and did I mention dog sitting as well!!! Yes, I was dogsitting for the night as well. Dinner at Damons, Hang out with some friends at Vic's Pub, then guitar hero with my friends at the dogsitting house! Midnight to bed on the couch with an 80 pound dog laying on my legs! That was a fun activity!

Sunday up at 7am for the dog walk, then shower, Sunday School - which I taught and learned about dinosaurs, church, dogs, lunch with the RBC gang, hang out with Kara and Sean some more, dogs, guitar hero, chats with Sean....then back to the office at 5 for youth.

Had a great night with the kids - talked about memorizing scripture! It went well despite feeling pretty awful...came home, was crabby, complained and whined, took my shot,solved the problems of the world, and then finally went to bed, just to get up this morning at 7:30am to start again.....

Off to Clearfield today - pretty excited to see my friends, and have some scheduled down time on the mountain! I can't wait....to see where I am going click on the Shaffner's link and see a picture of their awesome house in the mountains.

I am so tired, but I am really looking forward to being there have some much needed quiet time and then seeing all my friends - some of which I haven't seen in years!!!!

That is it for now!

Analytics

Did you know that you could analyse how many people read your blog daily, and it can even make a little graph. It is kinda cool - since I am a bit of a novice at this whole blog thing, I had no idea that you could do that, but thanks to my Technology genius friend, Joel I am now cool enough to have an updated blog and to analyse it too. Now I just need to expand my reading audience. So friends, keep reading my blog so I can feel cool when I look at my graph of readers!!!

My Dear Friends!!!

I just have to take a moment to say thank you to God for friends and that is something that I just don't do enough. Today has been a great reminder of that. God has blessed me with great friends all over the country. Some right here in Lewisburg, although it took me quite a long time to find some of them. I have great friends who once lived here but are now gone - a shout out to Goose, my favorite "cousin" dog and his parents. Though many miles apart, I think of them often and they are always faithful to call and even visit when they need a little PA fix. I miss them, but so cherish all the great memories, watching movies, knee surgeries, and definately apple everything!

There is the Goodman family - the quads are now two - I can hardly believe it - my memory of them is 2 am bottle feedings, lots of meds, lots of laughter and lots of tears. I don't think my prayer life will ever be the same because of this family. Oklahoma is really far away but I hope that I will be able to visit at some point.

There are my camp friends - no matter how long it goes in between our time of talking - camp memories live on and those friendships will always remain dear to my heart even if it has been years since we have talked. Facebook has been a great thing for finding those long lost camp friends. How cool to chat with someone that you haven't seen or lost contact with for over 10 years. Since I worked at 3 camps I seem to have a multitude of friends all over the world. I wonder if I know of someone in all 50 states. I should check into that!

My local friends....it is hard to believe that I have only known most of you for the last 18 months. It seems as though we have been friends forever. I can't believe how much has changed in just the short time that we have known each other. Marriages (congrats on the most recent - Josh and Christy) relationships, babies, houses, diagnoses, you know ... pretty much everything. I cherish the fact that you have been by my side through this challenging time of my life. I am a different person because of your love and your influence. Thanks for being Christ to me, thanks for loving me even on my bad days when I know that I am hard to love. You have been a great example of what it means to be a rock. Thanks for giving me the freedom to be independant but yet be willing to help me when I just can't do it by myself no matter how stubborn I am.

My college friends - it seems as though I knew a lot of people at Messiah and a lot of people knew me but only a few would I say really knew me (I seem to be good at keeping my distance) Anyway - those friends that saw through that and loved me anyway - I am so grateful to you. To my professors who inviting me in to be a part of their family, I cherish those memories and that care you showed for me. To Casey in the athletic office, you gave me so many laughs I can't help but smile when I think about the delicate flower and the porcelien doll, and best yet the payroll nazi!!! Christie - I miss you so much, I am praying for you as you wait and wait longer to get Ila - I am thrilled to know that you are adopting, I can't wait to be her special adoption Aunt (pronounced Awnt!)

Now for the group of people that are the main reason that I thought to write this email. My Clearfield Friends. Wow - my five years in Clearfield were filled with challenges, from teaching, relationships, hardships, and blessings. I miss my Clearfield friends - I wish that I could see them more however, it seems to take so much energy to plan trips it is so hard to see everyone. I wish I was Omnipresent like God in times like this (just kidding)!! Anyway - I was just thinking as I was planning my two day visit to Clearfield...how am I going to get to see everyone that I would like to see, but at the same time take care of myself and not run my body into the ground which I was nicely warned against by my doctor. So today I was talking to my friend Sylvia (who I think might just fit my definition of my need for an Eli - more about that later) Anyway she suggested that I might have a central location to get together with everyone - to have them come to me, so I could see everyone and not have to worry about running myself raggid. So I get to my office about 20 minutes later and there in my email is a message from one of my favorite families ever - The Shaffners telling me they would love to host a get-together for me - to dream big - to just let them know what I needed or wanted and they would make it happen.....WOW - is God amazing or what I never said a word to them about what my friend had suggested and there it was right in front of me. I am so blessed, although it has been over a year and a half since I have seen them I know that I am loved by them and I cherish them and their gift of solitude. When I go there, their peacefulness resinates in my life. Their friendship is a great gift that I cherish with all my heart.

So now that I have ranted and raved about my friends I guess I should probably take advantage of the snow day and get some cleaning (or should I say reading up since I am in Central PA). If you are a friend that is reading this - thank you for what you have done to shape my life. If you are a stranger, take time to tell your friends thanks, and if you are anyone else...well then that is just weird because in my book you should be able to fit into one of those two categories!! Have a blessed day!

Congratulations you have MS!

Okay so a funny thing happened the other day so I thought I would just live it up with a little blog about it. I was opening my mail and I got a card, a thank you card. In the card was a gift card to get 5 free music downloads. That was very thoughtful....the reason they are thanking me....I have MS so they wanted to say thankyou. I am not kidding - okay well I am maybe stretching it a little bit but in the card it said thank you for keeping us up to date on your disease. Here are 5 music downloads. I must say this is the first big perk that I have received for having MS - So yeah - I thought it was a bit funny and since one of my resolutions was to celebrate the good days and the good things about MS - this is the first, I get free music because I have this disease.

Super Bowl - and the day after

So in my pre super bowl ignorance I didn't know which team to choose so I chose the Patriots to win the game, but I when I got more information as the whole picture unfolded I realize how much I really wanted the Giants to win - I guess I really have a heart for the underdogs. I didn't realize that the coach had never won a super bowl and how cool it would be if brothers won back to back super bowls and MVP awards. The last quarter of the game was intense - I think I actually got up and danced when they scored that last touchdown... anyway - congrats to the Giants - they deserved to win.

About the commercials - I thought they were pretty lame for the most part - I did like the Bud commercial with the horse training like rocky to get to pull the wagon - I always like the clydesdale horse commercials - they are usually always my favorite - the baby throwing up was also pretty funny. I was a little surprised by the victoria secret commercial - but it gave a great lead in to talk to my youth group kids!


Anyway - since the commercials were crappy - I found this video on youtube that I thought was actually pretty creative and much better than most of the commercials so I hope you enjoy!

So now for the day after - I am laying on a heating pad in hopes that my back will actually get better in 24 hours as the doctor thinks will be the case - so weird- I was walking out the door to head to the neurologist when all of sudden and I mean all of sudden it felt as though someone hit my back with an ax - I actually fell to the floor in pain - there was no rhyme or reason - it just happened - I can't really lift my arm or breath deeply. The doctor said bed rest for 24 hours and then hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

I hope that is the case!!! May your day be a little less crazy and painful than mine!!

I miss coaching!!

So today I had the priviledge of coaching a JV Basketball game. I haven't coached a basketball game in two years and the "real" coach wasn't able to make it so they asked me if I would be willing to help out - well of course I can't pass up an opportunity to coach basketball for a night. I have to admit - I was a little nervous - I really wanted to be prepared and I didn't even know who played what position and what plays they were running....and for a person that likes to be in control I was a bit out of my comfort zone, but it was just like riding a bike - it felt just like old times and I loved it - I was so energized by interacting with the girls and I had a blast. And on top of all we even won!!! After the game the girls told me how much they loved having me as their coach - it was so cool - I felt so loved!! Then later I had a couple parents come up to me and say thank you for coaching the girls - it was such a good experience - but to be honest you don't realize how much you miss something until you experience it again. I really miss it! At least I can say that I am undefeated as a basketball coach this year.