It's Always Something

I've become somewhat of a "Mac" enthusiast, and found myself actually reading the recent edition of MacLife magazine. There is an article about new patents that have been granted for products in development behind the walls of Appledom. I've been reading a lot of hype about Apple's July release of the next generation iPhone (3G), and was thinking about how technology today is out-of-date almost from the day the newest model is released.

I remember the first 'mobile' phone Bruce had back in the '90s... it came in purse-size carrying pouch with a battery pack and a huge antennae, weighed around 10 pounds, plugged into the cigarette lighter in the car, and cost a ton of money to make a call.

The patent for the first iPhone (0G) was issued in 1994. It was "as sleek as a walrus, weighing a half a pound". At that time, it was considered pretty 'swanky', but it never made it to market.

But look, a patent was granted earlier this year for the iPhone Mini. It's a flip iPhone, much smaller and more resilient. In addition to the normal bells and whistles, the design describes a dual-sided, transparent touchpad which you can use either open or closed, and software that lets you draw numbers with your finger. The projected ETA, however, is 2010. Here's a picture from the article of the 'proto-type'. Another interesting tidbit (if you look verrrry closely), not lost on me... the Verizon logo.

Hmmm.... what'll they think of next? I'm sort of hoping for iMaid.

Fun Times!

A few weeks ago Bruce, Samantha and I got to take a short trip to Florida. We thought it was a good idea to use our 'economic stimulus' check from the IRS to stimulate the economy. Hey... we do our part!

We took the opportunity to celebrate Sam's birthday and college graduation and treated her to one of her favorite pastimes... amusement/theme parks. Our family has always enjoyed PLAYING together, and once, we even considered a plan to visit all of the major theme parks in the US and Canada. We had to shelve that plan for various reasons, but we have actually been to many of them... and some several times.

One of our family favorites has been Disney World. But this trip, we'd decided to go to Universal Studios. We got a decent last minute package, and off we flew. And the icing on the cake was that the day we were leaving, a dear family friend gifted us with some passes to Disney World, too! So, we had four FULL days of delightful amusement!

We carefully planned our schedule in Orlando, so that we could make the most of our opportunity. We got up very early each day, whisked off to open one of the parks, and then at some point during the day, we trekked to one of the others... whichever was open the latest that day. That way, we could get REALLY exhausted, instead of just SOMEWHAT exhausted. But we were only going to be there for 4 days, so we determined to wholeheartedly make the most of it. And we did.

The three of us thoroughly enjoyed our time together; we laughed a lot, ate a lot of junk, and built some wonderful memories. Bruce got really excited to see a favorite cartoon friend, Woody Woodpecker, and he jumped in to get his picture taken with Woody. He politely tried to ask Woody's birdie friend, Winnie, to NOT join them in the Kodak moment, but try to stop the wind!! She barged in anyway. It's possible she didn't speak English, ...and Bruce doesn't speak Woodpecker.

Way too soon our jaunt came to an end, and seems like ages ago instead of a few weeks. I thought that blogging about it would revive the fun-filled moments. I AM feeling a little tired.

Rearranging the Furniture

I'm one of those people who embrace the notion that variety is the 'spice' of life. I've always liked visiting new places, trying out a new brand of ice cream, and... rearranging the furniture. Often, the furniture is moved around several times before I'm satisfied, which exasperates my husband, who usually helps me do it. Sometimes, just a few changes can give a fresh perspective, and other times, you have to paint the walls!

So, I rearranged my blog furniture this morning, and repainted the walls. I'm gonna live with it a while, and see how I like it.

Natural Selection

Caramel Macchiato or Mocha Frappuccino? Mac or PC?? Coke or Pepsi? The red pill or the blue pill??? To be or not to be? God or mammon?? So many choices.

Bob Dylan wrote a song called You Gotta Serve Somebody. I think Jesus beat him to the punch tho' about two thousand years ago, when He said, "You can't serve two masters... you can't serve God and mammon." I've been thinking about this today.

I recently read a statement that said what we choose to do isn't as crucial as whom we choose to serve. Meaning, if we choose to serve God, and wholeheartedly pursue that choice, we will choose to do things that will please Him. Our choices will be based upon His criteria, and our actions will flow out of that. And vice versa.

That statement makes sense to me. We were talking last weekend in our marriage conference about how far mankind has come from God's original intention for us. I got to thinking about how empowering the idea of 'choice' really is. When God created mankind, He chose to give us the freedom to choose. It wasn't the safe course; robots are more predictable. But choice was the way to build a meaningful relationship. The freedom to choose is a choice gift.

When Eve chose to eat the pretty fruit, she wasn't choosing between chomping on a Macintosh or a Gala. Her choice was between choosing to serve God, or choosing to serve herself. She placed her logic, and her own perceptions of what was good for her, above what she knew of God. Her mindset and actions then became self-directed, self-centered, and self-fulfilled. Then she decided to share this new perspective with Adam, who also had to make a choice.

Choice really is a very powerful thing. Inherently, we desire the freedom to choose. Men and women have put their lives on the line for freedom. Good novels are enriched by heros and heroines who have to make hard choices; we sit in movie theatres and hold our breath hoping Indiana Jones will 'choose wisely'. But so often, people use excuses like... I had no choice, I couldn't help it... It's just the way I am.

In truth, choice is part of our human nature. My husband often told our daughters that to choose one thing meant to not choose something else. So, to not choose is also a choice.

While it is difficult sometimes to know what the 'right' choice is, or to do the 'right' thing, whomever you choose to serve will become your barometer of your heart. I'm prone to choose to worry instead of to trust. That's something I'm working to overcome, because I personally have made my choice to serve God, and worry is not part of His plan. My actions will ultimately reflect how I maintain that choice.

You Gotta Serve Somebody.

Promising Prognostication

Every February 2nd, I think that maybe someday I'll visit Punxsatawney, PA, home of Punxsatawny Phil, the prognosticating rodent. This past weekend, Bruce and I did! And, there were lots of groundhogs gracing the town... some of them 30 feet high and made of painted wood :-}

But we didn't go there to see the groundhogs. Though it was thrilling, to be sure!

We were honored to be asked to facilitate a weekend marriage conference, in conjunction with Faith Fellowship Church. We met some lovely people and spent Friday evening and all day Saturday in good fellowship at a campground just outside of Punxsy. Pastor Tom and Cindy Brink are new friends we're so glad to have made.

One of the themes we incorporated at the conference was Rebuilding the Broken Walls of Your Marriage, from the book of Nehemiah in the Bible. We visited some principles based on the idea that a marriage constitutes a unique 'unit', a fortress for a man and wife and their offspring to live and thrive in. Just as the ancient city of Jerusalem was surrounded by a mighty wall, marriages need a defense against the things of this world that would seek to tear them down.

Walls, by nature, provide a boundary and fortification. When the walls are broken down, the 'inhabitants' of the city are left vulnerable, without a clear identity. And if their own actions led to the destruction, they may also be hounded by shame.

One of the points particularly significant to me in the account of Nehemiah, was that the broken down and burned out ruins of the walls of ancient Jerusalem were rebuilt using the original and seemingly unusable stones. The workers were ridiculed at such a notion, but it was an intentional part of the plan. Nehemiah, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, leads the people to work together, reclaiming the ruins and restoring their heritage.

So often, our generation is one of "if it's broken, chuck it out and buy new ". But Nehemiah's story is one of taking the disappointment, discouragement, and difficulty -- and rebuilding, not discarding. It wasn't easy, and I don't mean to sound simplistic. The people were challenged by great adversaries, and they worked hard, day and night. They had to stand guard over the progress they made, even sleeping with their weapons at their side. But, the book of Nehemiah is symbolic of what the Holy Spirit can do for us in the broken places of our lives and our marriages.

The word holiness and the word wholeness are both from the Old English root word “hal” which means completeness. God, who is Holy, through the work of His Holy Spirit desires to make us whole. He has placed in us unimaginable potential, and has restored our authority and dominion through Jesus the Christ. Leviticus 11:44 tells us to ‘be holy as He is holy.” And because we are made in His image, He has given us the capacity, regardless of the state of our marriage, to be whole. That’s why we called the conference Wholey Matrimony.

In the movie version of Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) found himself trapped in time, reliving February 2nd over and over, making the same mistakes or finding ground for new ones. When he discovered that he could rebuild his-story by changing some of his self-centered and destructive ways, his perspective changed, and so did his behavior. It became a story of redemption somehow impacted by a supernatural guide.

Redemption is all about hope. And hope springs eternal.

And often, the groundhog is 'heard' to proclaim, "Spring is just around the corner."

Onward and Upward

Happy Father's Day to all of your fathers and fathers-t0-be.

To celebrate the day with Bruce, Samantha and I took him to the Omni Max Theatre at the Carnegie Science Center to see a movie called, The Alps. It was his choice.

The movie was about an American mountaineer and Journalist, John Harlin III, who "set out on an epic personal journey to climb the deadly North Face of the Eiger, the stormiest, steepest peak in all of Europe -- 40 years after the same mountain claimed the life of his larger-than-life father, climbing legend John Harlin II. "

It was visually thrilling in the Omni Max setting, and sometimes the photography even left you a little, woozy, but it was somewhat of an inspirational tail of training and discipline toward pursuing a life-long dream. At one point in John's climb, as he narrated the film, he talked about reaching the 'point of no return' ... the place at which you know you are physically committed, and you can't turn back, you can only go forward. And in his case that was straight up.

It reminded me of an experience our daughter, Ashley, recounted to us of an expedition of her own a few years ago the summer she spent working in a camp in Rocky Mountain National Park. She and two friends climbed Longs Peak, which at 14,259 feet, towers above all other summits in Rocky Mountain. They actually hiked the 8 mile trek, rather than climb straight up the face, but a grueling task, nonetheless. They had to start out at 11:00 PM, hike all night, and reach the summit early the next morning, in able to have enough daylight left to make the trip back down the mountain the whole next day.

What I remember most about her account of the journey was, after hiking all night in increasingly thinning air, they were close to the summit, but that last quarter of the climb was physically the most arduous. One of Ashley's climbing buddies, saw the steep and treacherous trail still ahead of them, through the 'keyhole', and just sat down and cried. The girl told her companions she just couldn't go on, and to pick her up on the way back. Ashley, feeling every bit as exhausted and overwhelmed, nonetheless said, I didn't come this far to not finish the climb. So Ashley dug down deep into her soul, and persevered to the summit. She had passed the point of no return, and the only way for her was up.

Both climbing stories tell of fighting the good fight and finishing the race. So many times we set out on a 'journey' and find the going impossibly tough. Obstacles like disappointment, discouragement and physical hardships taunt us to quit, to just give up. But if we persevere and don't faint, and call upon God to help us, and if we stand on our faith in His faithfulness, we can reach the summit.

John Harlin got past a memory that had held him captive all of his life. Ashley got the satisfaction of finishing well (and a cool t-shirt that says "I climbed Longs Peak").
And what's more, they both can remember the victory the next time trials come, and reach for the courage to keep on.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Cor. 9:8

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Our daughter Ashley has been blessed the gift of beautiful auburn hair. Twice, now, she's given back that gift in an effort to help others who have lost their hair due to medical treatment or disease.

Most recently, this past weekend, she went to her most trusted hair designer and friend, Michelle at Laurie's Hair Salon on Wildwood Road, and had two 10" pony tails chopped off. She will send them to Pantene for use in their Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign, where they use the hair to make wigs for cancer patients.

This is the second time Ashley has made the cut... she gave a similar chunk of hair about 4 years ago to an organization that made wigs for kids with alopecia. It's just one way she has given of herself to help others. And last fall, her husband, Nate, donated bone marrow for a transplant. While a hair cut is less painful physically than bone marrow donation, both of them are my heroes because they have the mindset, "It's not about me", ...and have done something about it.

Ash's haircut is quite a dramatic change, and while I loved her lovely, long locks, the new look is fabulous!! Here's some 'during', and 'after' shots.

"...If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,..." Gen 33:10

Finished WELL!

This past weekend was filled with great joy, pride, and... FUN!

Four years of hard work and perseverance came to a crescendo on Saturday when Samantha, our youngest, graduated from Grove City College. She was one of 575 students in the graduating class... the largest ever for that school. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, with High Honors in Communication Studies, and Highest Honors in French. She had a double major, and though she didn't officially declare a 'minor', she had a strong emphasis in Religious Studies as well.

Ashley and Nate were able to join us here, and Leah and Brad shared the moment via FLIX messaging.

In addition to many other activities, Samantha led the Women's Worship Team this past year, and was involved in music and theatre productions every year. She's also a member of the Mortar Board and ODK national honor societies, as well as the language, communication and theatre arts honor societies. Can you tell how proud I am of her??

The weekend was a mass of emotions! Samantha has made some very good, and very dear friends during her time there. I am certain that many of them will remain connected with each other as they begin their new adventures. Samantha's next stop along her path -- Detroit -- where, among other things, she will be involved at Church of the King, learning much from some of the best!! She and one of her life-long best friends will head there later this summer.

It was lots of fun to have Ashley & Nate here this weekend, too. They were a huge help moving stuff OUT of her apartment... come to think of it, they were a huge help moving her IN last fall, too! We caught up a lot on what's been happening, and of course... spent some time on that KARAOKE!! ;-D

You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure ...for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye... (Deut. 14:2 2, Zech. 2:8b )

Me and Brucie McGee

I talk a lot about our kids' musical talents. And while I can't make a similar claim on talent, I like to sing. Our kids find it absurdly amusing (???) that Bruce & I have taken to relieving the stresses of the day by........... singing karaoke together almost every night. :-0

Just before Christmas last year, Bruce found that Comcast, our cable company, has karakoe On Demand. We started off slowly, ...with a Christmas carol every night leading up to Christmas. We even let our guests join us on Christmas day, after the turkey dinner (mostly to keep them all awake!!). Honestly tho', we don't take ourselves seriously, and sing at the top of our lungs, ... and of course, laugh a lot.

Now, we've worked our way up to California Dreamin', and I've Got You Babe. Next challenge, Me and Bobby McGee. We mostly stick with the Oldies, because, well, that's what we are.

If I Had A Hammer

In my, um, younger days, I was a dancer (12 years of ballet & tap lessons). I could also twirl & toss a baton. And tho' I can carry a tune, I never could really sing all that well... but always wished that I could. So, as our kids have been blessed with beautiful voices, I know the gift is from their Father, and not from me! ;-}

With great delight, I've enjoyed watching them perform in various roles and shows. As little kids, they used to actually put together little musical 'acts' to entertain our guests at family parties, and then go around and ask everyone for their spare change as a sign of appreciation. Cute, huh???

Family accolades are great, but it's even better when your peers applaud your efforts! And so it was for Samantha this past week as she was awarded The Golden Hammer Award for Best Supporting Actress by the members of "TAP", Grove City College's Theatre Honorary. The award was for her performance as "Irene" in the college's musical production of Crazy For You this past fall.

She received a real golden hammer (their version of a Tony), and a plaque, and her name will be engraved on a plaque on permanent display at the Pew Fine Arts Center on campus.

I'm SO PROUD of her!!

Samantha Sings

As a parent, some of my favorite moments have been watching my kids 'perform'. Whether it was soccer or basketball games, dance recitals, musicals, talents shows or school plays, to the best of my ability, I made it a point not to miss one of them. It's such a thrill to watch them blossom and shine, and use the wonderful gifts God has placed in each one of them.

It's also especially gratifying to see them 'grown-up', and being each others' biggest fans and 'bestest' friends. I was a little slow with this blog post, and Leah sort of beat me to the punch on it... but it's all good, because she, too, is braggin' on her baby sister.

Over the past 2 weeks, we had the pleasure to see Samantha perform. Brad, Leah & Ashley all came in for Samantha's Children's Theatre rendition of Cinderumplestiltskin. It was fun to see, and so great to have the kids around... Nate was working, and we missed him!

This past week Samantha sang at a coffee house at Grove City College and Bruce & I were blown away by her performance, once again. She sang 4 songs and my personal favorite was a unique rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Uncle Tom lent me his video camera so I could tape it and share with her sisters, and now... with you!!



Here are the links on YouTube if these videos don't play for some reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLU2vXVo6Ic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mmeMqm1kQ

Girl Talk 'n at

With our 3 daughters geographically scattered, I've determined to make it a point to visit with them regularly. Bruce & I sometimes drive the hour to Grove City to take Samantha out to dinner. A few weeks ago, we had a wonderful time with Ashley & Nate, and last weekend, Samantha & I had a glorious day of shopping!

This past week, I was able to take a quick trip to Michigan to spend some one-on-one with Leah. Brad was out of town for a few days. It was loads of fun to hit a couple of the many shopping malls in that area. They are some of the nicest I've ever been to. I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend quality time of easy conversation and laughter. And, of course, we topped the evening off, with chick flicks!

Some of my best memories are of the occasional times the girls and I would stay up all night with a Jane Austen movie marathon! We also watched our share of Steeler football, and NCAA basketball (Bruce, too, for those), but there's a certain ... bond... that's formed in the unified assurance that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett will get past their pride and prejudice, or that Joe and Patricia will finally find a home for their luggage.

I am especially looking forward to this weekend, when we are all going a GCC Children's Theatre musical performance of The Stinky Cheese Man, with Samantha in the role of Cinderella! They say, One whiff and you'll never be the same again.

Last year she had a role as Snow White. She's a princess, for sure, but I hope this doesn't make me the wicked Step Mother or Nasty Queen Mum!

It's a bird; it's a plane; it's ????

I recently read on interesting article titled, Leadership Heroes!

The article is written by a guy who is a Leadership Coach and has discovered the powerful role 'heroes' play in our lives. Chad Hall begins his coaching relationships with the question, "Who are your heroes?"

The article got me thinking about who my heroes are.

Hall has made some observations regarding the impact heroes make in the way leaders define themselves through their role models. And because we all 'lead' something, his observations likely apply to you and me...

It's healthy to have heroes. Having heroes demonstrates that we've thought about what kind of person we want to be. Our heroes embody traits we already have, or want to have. This self-awareness becomes the fuel in us for our 'journey'.

Hall cites four categories of heroes: Familiar, Famous, Faith, and Fictional. Having personal heroes in 2 or more of these categories provides balance. With a little introspective effort, we can list the qualities and characteristics we admire most in our heroes, and adjust our 'thinking' and 'doing' as a result.

And, he recommends regularly spending time with them... whether it be reading about them, or watching them on the big screen, or browsing old photo albums, or visiting them.

Hall says its beneficial to share who your heroes are with a spouse, or a friend. My spouse is actually one of mine!! ;-)

Who are your heroes? I hope you have some! Better yet, I hope you are one!

Over The Rainbow, Way Up High

April showers... yep! We had some doozies here on Friday. I happened to be driving in one of them. Hadn't heard those claps of thunder, or seen those sizzles of lightning in a while. At times, it was actually hard to see due to the very heavy rain.

I was driving on I-79, headed north to Grove City College, where our daughter Samantha was leading worship with the Women's Worship team in a special event that evening. The rain had let up just a bit, but the sky was still very black with storm clouds. I was concentrating on not hydroplaning in the ruts of the road, and as I rounded a bend, I was startled at what I saw. A huge, double rainbow, with the most vivid, brilliant, living colors I've ever seen in a rainbow, was right before me, highlighted against the backdrop of the black clouds. To the west, the sun had broken through as the clouds were yielding to blue sky.

I was thinking at that point, that there's some kind of significance in this majestic sight. I relaxed my grip on the steering wheel and grabbed my cell phone and took a few pictures as best I could while driving. You can't see the second rainbow very well in this photo, tho', but it appeared almost as an echo of the other one. After a few minutes, I'd passed through it, and it was behind me, but I thought about it the rest of the drive to Grove City.

The girls did a beautiful job of leading worship. The combined sound of piano, guitar, violin, flute and bongo, accompanying the tight harmony of about 10 rich and strong voices, was in itself an inspiration! The second song we all sang was a favorite of mine... Revelation Song (Kari Jobe) ... and the second verse came alive for me...

Clothed in rainbows, of living color

Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder

Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be

To You the only wise King

The lyrics are taken from the book of Revelation (Chpt. 4), and describe what John saw as he entered the throne room of God.

My mind immediately skipped back to my sudden encounter with the rainbow. It became a word-picture to me, and it made me smile. Jesus is on His throne, right smack in the middle of our torrential moments. We can't always see it, but when the Light of the Son challenges the darkness, at just the right time, and at just the right angle, His Promise suddenly materializes, tho' it was there the whole time. And it's accompanied by flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder, blessing and honor, strength and glory and power!

A rainbow is caused by the reflection and refraction of the rays of the sun infused into falling rain. When God infuses His energy into a situation, it becomes jaw-dropping awesome.

The name of the worship event that evening ... Infusion.

Gen. 9:13 "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

There Are Giants in the Land

This past weekend, Bruce & I took a quick trip to visit Ashley & Nate. It is CHERRY BLOSSOM time in the capitol, and the Tidal Basin area was like a fluffy forest. It was raining, but, think... pretty-in-pink.

Washington is a beautiful city. I think that every American should visit Washington D.C. once a year just to visit the monuments, to remember the tenets our nation was founded upon, to meditate upon the great words of former leaders, and to honor those whose lives were lost in service to our country. The city has such a concentration of 'historical markers', that I was inspired again as I read the words of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and FDR. Words that were spoken in critical times for our land, and words that stirred my soul. Those men now seem like larger-than-life giants of courage and insight, tho' we know they were ordinary men, just like us. Many of the monuments testify to a deep faith in God as the foundation for leadership and hope. The monuments cause us to remember our roots, and challenge us to get back to what we aspire to be.

In our Wednesday night small group study, we've talked about how important it is for families to have their own 'historical markers'. It's fun to celebrate and remember happy events... like birthdays and wedding anniversaries. And it's paramount to mark the milestones of the journey God has walked with us, to remember the times He has intervened in our family affairs, often miraculously. In Old Testament times, at significant moments, God told the people to build altars... monuments... so they would remember, and tell their children the story of their lives and heritage.

Brad has begun a series of messages entitled, Epic -- The Story We Find Ourselves In. The messges are some of the best I've ever heard, and I don't say that because he's our son-in-law. ;-) His messages have been 'wowwing' me before I'd even met him. I'd sure encourage you to take the time to listen in. You can hear them as podcasts (Brad Leach) on iTunes, or on the Church of the King website.