Thursday, June 30, 2011

Celebrate July 4th

Another holiday is coming so it's time to celebrate!

Aloha from Karen. I'm spending the weekend with family so that will be fun.

First think about why we have this holiday.
Our founding fathers and mothers worked hard to make this country free and a place where we have freedom to worship God. Thank God for freedom and pray for our country to continue to be free.

Read the Declaration of Independence and chat about the use of God in it.

Then decorate with patriotic colors! Add red, white, and blue wherever possible. Her are some ideas:

Glue red, white, and blue beads to straps of flip-flops.

Add ribbons or lengths of wired star garlands to hair bands and visors

Wrap double-sided tape around a pencil and then sprinkle glitter in patriotic colors ver tape until all the tape is covered.

Use whip cream, strawberries, and blueberries to create beautiful fruit desserts.

Get creative.
Make a Star T-shirt.
This is a variation of painting a stained-glass T-shirt in God’s Girls #1, page 97 where you can find detailed directions. Here are some simple directions:
Put cardboard inside shirt to keep paint from bleeding through and to keep part of T-shirt to be painted flat. Use masking tape to outline a star shape on the shirt. Use very thin masking tape in short strips to form a stained glass pattern inside the star, crisscrossing from one edge to another edge. Then use fabric paints in red, blue, and silver and a sponge to dab paint onto open areas inside the star. Let dry. Remove tape and you’ll have a colorful star painted on the shirt with white lines to give a stained glass effect.

Play some games. Churches all over the colonies rang bells to celebrate the declaration and when the war ended. Play some bell games. Here are two ideas:

Let one person ring a bell while the others close their eyes and guess where the sound is coming from.

Set a times that rings when it goes off (cell phones can do this). Pass a ball and see who ends up holding it when the bell goes off.

Have fun!


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

In the Desert

Hi, this is Marilyn! I'm in the desert this week. Literally in the desert with my family on vacation. I love the desert, which is a funny thing for someone who grew up by the Atlantic Ocean and who now lives by the Pacific Ocean to say.

What I love about the desert are the sharp, craggy mountains rising from the vast, flat plain, the watercolor sunsets, the black sky at night dotted with thousands of glittery stars. I love the plants in the desert, which at first glance all look the same but on closer inspection, are varied and beautiful. I love that I have to move slowly in the desert because of the heat (there's hardly a choice).  I love that the vast, seemingly empty spaces make my mind clearer and cleaner, as if it wants to mirror what my eyes see. My heart and soul follow, and become peaceful and uncluttered and focused. In the desert I feel closer to God.

Have you heard that expression about having "a desert experience"? When people say that, they're referring to the long time (40 years) that God kept the Israelites in the desert after they fled slavery in Egypt. He provided shelter, water, and food (manna from heaven every day). God wanted the people to know him and obey him and love him before he led them into the Promised Land. Some of them learned that lesson, and others simply complained. Some wanted to go back to Egypt where, even though enslaved, they were surrounded by familiar and comfortable things and routines.

Today, when people talk about a desert experience, they usually mean a difficult time, a time apart from God when their souls feel unproductive, dry, and dead. Have you ever had a desert experience, when you felt that God was far away from you and the thirst of your spirit wasn't being refreshed? Maybe something happened between you and your best friend, or school is harder than it's ever been. Maybe something painful is going on in your family. You begin to wonder where God went and why he sent you out into the desert.

The next time this happens, remember that God led the Israelites to the desert for a reason. He leads us there today, too. But, just like he did with the Israelites, he doesn't abandon us there. The best thing to do when you're in the desert is pray, asking God why you might be there and what he wants you to understand. Remember that in the desert (the literal and figurative one), there aren't as many distractions, and that helps you focus on what's important and pay attention to what you see and hear and feel.

The Israelites didn't stay in the desert forever. God led them out when it was time. He will lead you, too, out of the desert.

God bless you!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Home from Disneyland


Hi, this is Sherry. I had planned on posting yesterday but we were driving back from Los Angeles, California and I didn’t have access to the Internet, but here’s what I was going to share . . .

Spending time with your a family is important and a lot of fun.

My kids have wanted to go to Disneyland for years now and we finally had the opportunity on Wednesday. One of my favorite rides at Disneyland is Splash Mountain. You sit in a log-shaped canoe and it takes you along a winding river trail while you listen to the characters (birds, rabbits, frogs, and more) sing and move. There are a couple of places you might get wet as the ride dips down.

You can take a virtual ride here:

Does your family have a vacation planned this summer?

It doesn’t matter if you go to another country or state. In fact, you can have fun as family by taking a drive to the beach, mountains, or someplace within driving distance of your house. The key is to spend time as a family, enjoy each other’s company, and do (or see) something you might not have done before.

I’d love to post a picture, but my daughter is away at camp and the photos are on her camera! I’ll post one soon.

Blessings,
Sherry

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It's All About the Journey

Hi. This is Kathy. Last time I posted I wanted to post pictures but I was on a different computer and it wouldn't let me. So here are pictures of our recent trip.

When I travel with my kids, it's all about the journey. I'm not too concerned with making deadlines and I never drive straight through to somewhere. We stop and explore new places and new things on our journey. This was true on a recent journey from the Florida panhandle where I live to the Indiana/Michigan border where my mom and sister live.

Here are some pictures--but they are in reverse order! So the last picture is really our first stop and these first pictures were our last stop.


 This is Ruby Falls, TN. We stopped here on our way home.
 This is me in the cave. Ruby Falls is inside a cave.

 This is a spray park near my mom's house. It's fairly new. This was a regular play park when I was growing up.
 Jasmine and I sharing a rootbeer float at DQ after a one-mile (it was really longer!) family walk.
 This is us after the walk.
 These are four of my kids sitting in Yoder's Department store in an Amish town (Shipshewana) near my mom's city. This is the first time the twins have seen Amish people and the first time seeing anyone travel by horse and buggy. 
 My husband's parents took us to a restaurant where they pass the food family style.
 This is Kayla at the zoo trying to see how far she can jump.
 Here we are in the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  
 This is a really cool place. That's why I like stopping along the way on our journeys.

 Botanical gardens. I didn't find this place very exciting but it was okay. If you like planting gardens and working with flowers, you'd probably love this place.
So, for us. It's all about the journey. And it's a little like that in our Christian life too. Sure, God could have us all come home to heaven right now, but he doesn't. That's because he has a journey planned for us here on earth. Your journey includes school and maybe later on college or work or marriage. God knows all the people you'll meet along the way. He puts people in your path that you can learn from and he puts some there that will learn from you. You never know why things happen in your life, but no matter what you face-good or bad--think of it as being part of your journey and make the most of every opportunity.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Radio INterview Coming!

In a few weeks I (Karen) will be interviewed to chat about books for girls and this blog. Keep watching for details, date and time. It's a radio blog interview so you can go online to listen.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Your Strength and Courage

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Cor. 12:9)
Hi, this is Marilyn. I’m writing this on the first weekend of June. For the past four years, the first weekend of June has, for me, meant dancing in the annual show put on by the studio where I take tap classes. This show is much more than a recital--it's a full stage production with fancy, glittery costumes, lots of makeup, and big hairdos.

I start every new year of tap classes in July, when we learn new steps and techniques. And then we break for Christmas for two weeks. When we come back in January, we begin learning the numbers that we’ll be dancing in the June show. We learn a few measures of 8 at a time. We practice and practice. We think we’ll never learn the 3-minute dance by June, but we do. In May we practice on a larger floor and use no mirrors so that we won't rely on them. Then, the week before the show we begin dancing on the stage so that we know where to stand and move. By that time we've practiced and practiced until our steps are almost reflexive.

You might think after all that practice and preparation, by the day of the first show, that I would be able to just step out on stage and float through my dance. You might think so. But that isn’t what happens. A week before the show, my stomach starts churning, and whenever I think of being onstage, the butterflies flutter and my knees shake. I think about all the horrible, embarrassing things that can happen onstage. (I’m a writer, so my imagination goes wild. In fact, for real last year my pants fell down during one of my dances.) By dress rehearsal on Friday night, I’ve convinced myself that I can’t go out there onstage. I just can't.

So, as I stand in the wings with the other dancers, waiting for our music cue to start--that’s when I realize I have no control. That’s when I know I’ve run out of my own abilities for staying strong and courageous. I'm just the opposite as I stand in the wings, shaking and quaking and sure that the most horrible thing is going to happen.

That's when I remember to say a prayer, when things are at their lowest, when I feel like I need God the most. I have to go out on that stage, but I have no courage or strength to do so. The apostle Paul wrote that Christ is most powerful when we are most weak, when we’ve run out of all our ideas and all our strength to fix what's wrong. He does his best work when we’re standing in the wings shaking and quaking, about to step onstage, and facing the most horrible things that can happen. That's when I remember to pray, “Be my courage. Be my strength.” It’s a prayer only as long as a breath, but prayers don’t have to be long to be heard.

Then I know that it’s out of my hands and in his. The music starts, and I step out onstage. I feel the courage and the strength to take those first steps. And I know that even if the worst thing I could possibly imagine happens, even if my pants fall down again, I'll be okay. One day I'll even laugh about it--like I am right now!

May God bless you!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

On Vacation

Hi. It's Kathy again. I don't usually post two weeks in a row, but last week was the 5th Tuesday of May and today is the 1st Tuesday of June so here I am again.

I'm in northern Indiana at my mom's house with four of my children, and I wanted to share some photos with you, but blogger won't let me post any, so I'll post them next time. We've done a lot of cool things--gone to a botanical garden and a children's museum, visited Amish country and ate at a restaurant that serves family style and an Amish general store, saw Kung Fu Panda 2 with a friend from high school and her daughter and even rode a wiggle racer.

I know this is really short, but I'll have more to say next time when I am back home on my own computer.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Celebrate School Ending

Aloha from Karen,
I'm off to see my son graduate from college (well he already did that before and now he's getting another degree)
Some of you are already out for the summer and others will be out soon. Celebrate completing the year and learning more. Plan a party with a friends or family. Sherry gave us a list of fun activities for the summer. You can print those as bookmarks for party favors.

Decorations could be stars for passing, a sun for summer fun, or a footprint for moving up to the next level.

Decorations can be related to summer fun, such as beach balls, pails and shovels, Frisbees, jump ropes, and sandals. Beach towels can be used for table clothes. Fill a metal bucket with sand and add candles in it for the new grade.

Treats should be super cool ones like ice cream and watermelon, plus some good healthy like sandwiches or salads.

Games can include musical beach towels (instead of chairs), make a match-up game of names and activities friends will be doing over the summer, and beach ball math (write numbers on the ball and have people add, subtract, or multiply the two numbers under their hands when the ball is caught. Use chalk on the sidewalk to make pictures or games.

Have a craft area to make a memory page for a scrapbook. It's a good time to capture memories of the year that ended. Print out photos of friends taken during the year (or take some with a digital camera  as people arrive and print them on a computer. Supply the craft area with paper, stickers, adhesive, and scissors. Let everyone be creative. Sign friends' pages or write notes friends' pages.

Add a little devotional fun as a reminder to connect to God over the summer. Read how Jesus grew in grace and stature in Luke 2:52, ask each person what skill they want to improve over the summer, and then hold hands and pray for safe, happy, and productive summers.