Sharing Everyday Life

Words

2011-03-11T17:33:00.000-05:00

It's always amazing to me how impacting simple compliments and words of encouragement can be. When words are real and genuine they go far. They contribute to our image, how well our day goes, how we parent, decorate, cook etc.

Today Bekah had four girls over for the day (3 out of 4 hadn't been here before). They were full of genuine compliments. They talked about the how nice our house was, how they liked it, how comfortable (in my mind well worn) the couch was, how it's so nice that I cook good, colorful meals (I had made chicken stir-fry) etc. They were so sweet, they made me feel good for all the hard work I put into my family and they are welcome over anytime.

Last week I was at Roche Bros. picking out desserts for Michael's birthday and when the girl in the bakery was done she told me that she liked my hair (which was actually cut yesterday). The rest of the day I walked around liking my hair too.

Pat, who works at Collella's bakery, constantly compliments me about how wonderful my four children are. She talks about how polite they are, how they are so sweet etc. Her words always make me feel good about my kids and my parenting.

I would even say that the impact of how we feel carries into Social Networking. When I post a status line on Facebook saying that "I am on my third week with no cake, cookies or brownies", it amazes me how many people will respond with a word of encouragement. They've said things as simple as good job, you can do it even though it's hard etc. It's one of the positive things about Facebook.

The bible also talks alot about our words and how they have great impact. James 3:9-12 says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water".

Ingrid's Brunch

2011-03-08T19:14:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday Morning the women on staff or women related to someone on staff had a brunch to Welcome Ingrid. We had a wonderful morning getting welcoming her and getting to know each other a bit better.

Linda Grant opened her home and hosted the brunch. She also planned the food, drinks and made delicious quiches. Thank you to everyone else who contributed homemade food for the morning. The spread of food was colorful and awesome...fresh fruits, homemade blueberry scones, lemon coffee-cake etc.

Kim Lewis came up with a great way of getting to know one another better. She took a variety of Spring colored lunch size bags, put an invitation and list of 10 favorites type questions on them. Each person was to fill their bag with the answer to 5 of the questions. The answers ranged from a simple piece of paper, menu, book, video, etc. to created items to answer the questions. At one point we all gathered and pulled things out of the bag and explained why it was significant or why we liked it.

My job was fun. I got to purchase items for a gift basket to welcome her from FCCH. This meant I got to inquire and get to know her a bit more. It's helpful that Paul Jackson is her brother and Rachel Jackson is her siste-in-law. In the process, I discovered her favorite restaurant, that she is a runner, she likes Nutella, she broke her jaw in her 20's while sky diving and a host of other stories.

It was a great morning and I'm looking forward to getting to know her and her family more in the future!!!

Identity Theft - Relationships

2011-03-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

I know quite a few people missed last Sunday due to the snow and end of School Vacation week. If you missed the message on Sunday, I would highly recommend you listen to it. Go to http://www.fcch.org/ and click on Sermons.

The message is about relationships, the second week of our sermon series on Identity Theft. The big idea is...If God defines your identity, you will be content, fulfilled , secure and loving. He talked about how we need to treat relationships as a gift, how important it is to entrust our identity to God and how important it is not to let people define you.

I thought he did an outstanding job on this topic. I know he's my husband but he is hands down my favorite preacher. To me he is truly gifted and I love hearing him preach on Sunday Mornings.

Next week, he'll be preaching about "stuff". I for one can't wait to hear it!!!

It's Birthday Time

2011-03-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

Today is Michael's birthday:) Here are a couple things about him and his birthday. To start this blog I thought I would clarify something. I only call him Michael while the rest of the world calls him Mike or Pastor Mike...I have never called him by that name. It's funny but the people who are closest to me or the ones who only know him through me call him Michael too.

Weird, but while my parents were celebrating their First Wedding Anniversary, their future son-in-law was born on the very same day. I'm sure the thought never crossed their minds as they celebrated. However, because of them, we laughed about that thought when we celebrated our first anniversary.

We've been together more years then we've been apart. I know, that's a long time but I wouldn't have it any other way. It gets better every year and I love sharing life together!!!

Tonight we will celebrate Michael's Birthday. He will receive some special gifts, like a list of memories each one of us (me and the kids) has with him. We each wrote down as many memories as our age. It was one of the easiest lists I have ever made and could have easily written a thousand more memories. He will have one of his favorite meals and the rest of the evening will be spent relaxing and spending time together!!!

One Percent

2011-02-20T06:00:00.007-05:00

We drink 1% milk.

A penny is 1% of a dollar.

As of today, approximately 1% of the world population is 6,900,000,000 and the US population is 310,800,000.

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, "We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything".

If you spent 1% of your day (15 minutes) reading your bible, you would grow in your relationship with Christ!!!

I Participated

2011-02-15T17:38:00.001-05:00

I did it...I caved in for the second time ever and participated in Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong, it did not change my opinion about Valentine's Day. Today I actually reminded Michael that the motivation for my participation was the element of surprise and it worked. I know lot's of people, like my Mom, sister etc. love Valentine's Day, it's just not my thing but anyways...
I'd been working with the four kids to do something special and meaningful for Michael. I thought it was the perfect time to do it because he NEVER expected it. I had each of the kids and myself hand write a list of the reasons why we love Michael. For instance, Matthew wrote 12 reasons, Bekah 14 etc. I was so impressed with their lists. They truly hit it out of the park and the things that were written meant the world to Michael. He will treasure the list forever. They are filled with memories and things that matter.

On top of that, I sent packages and notes to my family members, had sparkling cider, heart shaped hamburgers from Roche Bros. and homemade crepes with strawberries etc. for dinner!!! Needless to say, everyone was shocked that I participated. Which is exactly the reason why I picked Valentine's Day to do what I did. They never saw it coming but they truly enjoyed all that was done for them. Who know's what will happen next year?

Valentine's Day?

2011-02-09T18:17:00.002-05:00

So Valentine's Day is right around the corner and if you know me, you know it is one of my least favorite "holidays" for a host of reasons.  However, whether I like it or not, almost every magazine cover, tv program and article on my homepage...Boston.com revolved around love and Valentine's Day. So I'm sharing a tidbit that I recenly read on Boston.com.

The article was about 4 couples who between them have been married for over 200 years. They shared their "secrets" about their marriage. Here is a bit of what they had to say.  The summary of their advice stressed the importance of being kind, listening, spending time together and apart. I would agree!!!

Being kind. If you know our family, it's a staple requirement. Kindness matters in the Laurence household and it starts with Michael and I. Kindness goes a long way whether it is within your family or how you treat people at the grocery store. It's one of the Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 and it matters!!! Kindness makes a huge difference. We even have one of those bubble letter, black signs on a bookshelf that someone in the church "kindly" gave us a few years ago. I love it, it's a constant reminder to all of us. It simply says "KINDNESS".

Listening...that's a big one too. Not to be too repetitive, but this is another big one in our household as well.  James 1:9 says..."Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry". Do you have any idea how many times our children have had to write this verse out? Answer: Countless!!! We try hard to live by this verse because it's solid biblical advice and it stresses the importance of listening. By listening we can gain a greater, clearer understanding of situations, feelings, circumstances, emotions etc. By listening we have the chance to deflate anger and handle things/situations God's way. By no means am I trying to imply that we (thenLaurences) don't get angry, we all do, but we do our best to live by this biblical principle. Thing about it...listening is so important that God gave us two ears and one mouth!!!

Michael and I spend lots of time together. We enjoy each other's company. Here are some of the little things we enjoy doing together. We enjoy coffee, cooking, sitting on the couch watching whatever, picking up or dropping off kids (cause we chat while we drive), running errands, sitting on the beach, doing church stuff, walking, reading etc. In the article one of the couple mentioned even simple things like shoveling...we do that together too. It also talked about doing things apart...I would agree. We don't do everything together but by choice we do more time together than apart.

Good and simple advice about any relationships that we have. We should be kind and listen and spend time together.

Lessons from a Marathoner

2011-02-08T16:59:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I read an article on Boston.com about this guy, Stefann Engels.

On Saturday, February 5th he completed his 365th CONSECUTIVE marathon. He ran 9.569 miles in a year. He's 49, has asthma and when he was a kid doctor's told him not to play sports. He decided to overcome this and ran his first Marathon at the age of 25. I was intrigued by his story.

I immediately began to think about how his story applied to my faith and walk with the Lord. If this guy can run 26.2 miles EVERYDAY for a year...what obstacles do I have when it comes to bible reading, prayer etc. to grow in my relationship with Christ? I loved his approach and think it is applicable to our growth.

He set a goal and took it one day at a time. He said the key was a slow pace over the 26.2 miles...it's more of a mental story. "The problem was thinking about running a marathon every day. I just told myself to run that day and did not think about the next day or next week".

When people think about things like reading the bible in a year or even daily, it can be overwhelming. The key is to set the goal, take it one day at a time and pace yourself. If reading the bible in a year is too overwhelming...make it two years but it is great goal and accomplishment in ones lifetime. If reading the bible everyday seems overwhelming pick up a devotional book or bible that is interesting to where you are in life. Joyce Meyers has many options. There are bibles like the Women's Devotional Bible, Men's and kids too which are great etc.

I think the principle of perseverance applies to many facets of our lives. I picked bible reading as my example for this blog entry but there are many other areas for application.

Encouragement, Compliments etc.

2011-02-03T18:07:00.000-05:00

I came across this quote the other day and thought it was fairly accurate. It talks about some ways to build up your wife. I also think it applies to people who are close to you. For the main part, my experience has been that you can never go wrong with encouragement, kindness or compliments. They must be authentic, genuine and true, but I think most of us can find good in others even if we have to dig a little deep.

“If you want to honor your wife, compliment her and praise her and never say anything negative to her. Don’t be lazy about this. Every word of encouragement, support, comfort, praise or honor is a gift of loving-kindness that you give your wife. Each one plants in her the feeling that you value and cherish her, and this literally gives her new life. You build her self-confidence and fill her with vibrancy and joy, which make it easier for her to cope with the challenges of life. The words of praise that you tell her constantly echo in her heart. Every time she thinks about them, she’s filled with joy. This strengthens the home spiritually, making it a joyous, happy and peaceful place. Words of praise give her the strength and will-power to manage her home and children in the best possible way. Tell her how happy you are with her and impressed you are with her skills, alacrity and wit. Express all of this with emotionally-packed words – make her feel that she’s your greatest treasure. Be consistent with your compliments and never take them back.”
Rabbi Shalom Arush
Ephesians 5:33 - Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

State of the Church

2011-02-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

Michael preached a great message about our church this past Sunday. If you missed it, it is worth going going to www.FCCH.org and either watching it through BlipTV or listening to it through iTunes. Just click on Sermons and follow the directions from there. I am so blessed to be part of such an amazing church. A church that is intentional about everything that is done!!!

Last night I met with a great group of people to talk about the Greeting Ministry, Information Center and Ushers and we are not the only group to meet outside of Sunday Morning. As a matter of fact, I think it is more of a norm. People continually invest their time, energy and passions into FCCH. It is an exciting place to be a part of and participation is key to growth.

If you are not sure what to do...check out Next Step options at the Information Center or Small Group/Serve Counter. You will connect and be blessed!!!

Today, 21 Years Ago...

2011-01-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

Today, 21 years ago, Stephanie enter our lives. We and the church were waiting for her birth, so that we could move and begin our journey here at FCCH. True story...in the middle of the night, while I was in labor and much to Michael's dismay, I asked him to pack our closet. It had to be done and I knew we'd literally be moving as soon as we got back home. Not a normal response when one is in labor, but the closet did get packed. She was born on Superbowl Sunday and two days later we moved to Hopkinton. We arrived in Hopkinton on Tuesday afternoon and the journey began!!!

I have to say Steph likes the distinction that she is the only one of our four kids who lived and was born in another state, even if it was only for two days, she was born in New Hampshire. She has grown up only knowing one church family and I wouldn't have it any other way. People who were on the search committee still know her and continually invest into her life. Our daughter and church are both amazing and have deeply influenced one another!!!

I am so blessed by Steph. She loves the Lord, brings out the best in others, loves to laugh, is adventurous, loves sweets (like her Mom), loves intellectual conversation (like her Dad), loves life and so much more!!! She is an amazing role model and I am so grateful to be her Mom!!!

I need to end by saying...Happy 21st Birthday Steph...I love you, Mom

Has a month really gone by?

2011-01-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, a month really has gone by since I last blogged...

Since then we've celebrated Christmas, New Year's and Matthew's birthday etc.

We loved our Christmas break!!! It was restful, relaxing and memorable. We enjoyed all the Christmas Services at church. We spent Christmas Eve with our friends at the Pyne Household. We spent Christmas with my parents, sister and her family. On that Monday, after Christmas, we had that big snowstorm and we all stayed in and watched an older tv series...all day!!! It was great just hanging out for an entire day.

For New Years, we went into Boston for an overnighter. My parents have a Condo in there and they generously share it with their family throughout the year. So we took Bekah and Matthew in there with us. Steph and Josh went down the Cape to be with my parents, sister and her family. We had a great time. I had never been in there overnight for New Year's and it was fun. We also celebrated round one of Matthew's birthday in there too...his birthday is New Year's Day. Bonus for me...I felt completely spoiled as the temperatures were in the 50's and low 60's. Unreal compared to the weather we are experiencing now!!!

Since then it's been a bit tough. I injured my knee. Michael had his work cut out for him doing his job and mine for a few days. I could not have healed as quick as I did without his help. He took such good care of everybody and everything...I could actually follow the doctor's orders to initially stay off it. After that, we've experienced some illnesses, nothing major just the regular winter stuff everyone else is experiencing. I'm just going to be glad when we are all physically well.

In the midst of my living Ground Hog's Day for the month of January, I've been so blessed by people. Blessed in unexpected moments like running into Sally Benson at Colellas and having a good laugh, having Terri Swanick bring over a lasagna dinner on a night we did not have a meal planned when I hurt my knee etc. Michael was especially happy about the lasagna dinner, that was unexpected, when he came home from an Elders Meeting that night and he had something to eat. Receiving an unexpected, sweet note in the mail that was filled with kind words and encouragement from Vicki Lary etc.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to February and hopefully getting back to "normal"!!!

Are you ready for Christmas?

2010-12-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

While I was at church yesterday, I was asked several times if I was ready for Christmas? My response was yes, but I hesitated. That led me to ask the logical question...why?

I realized that I hesitated because being ready for Christmas has become different for me. I know when people ask they're typically wondering if presents have been purchased, if the house is ready for guests etc. For me, those things have taken a backseat in regards to "being ready for Christmas". I don't know if it's because of how much more my faith means to me with each passing year or if it's simply because I'm older. I think it is a bit of a combination. So am I ready? The answer is yes and no.

Are all the presents bought and wrapped? Not yet. Is the house clean? As much as "normal". Do I have a plan for Christmas dinner? Yes, but haven't really made the trip to the grocery store to get the things on that list.

So, am I ready? Yes, my house has been decorated since November 11th. I like to have the house decorated for a long time because it adds to the excitement and anticipation. YES, I can't wait for Christmas Eve Services...all three of them for me!!! Yes, after Christmas Services we'll head over to Marlen and Caneva's. It's a wonderful family tradition for us to go to their home and continue celebrating with family and friends who love the Lord and much as we do. Yes, we'll celebrate with my family on Christmas Day. They'll come up to celebrate, have lots of appetizer's, a turkey dinner and enjoy our traditional "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake.

I LOVE Christmas!!!! The reason why I celebrate is because Christ was born!!! I am a Child of God and I love celebrating that relationship. He is unfailing and everlasting...the Alpha and Omega.

So when it comes to what really matters...I'm ready!!! I'm sure all the other things will happen too. The presents will be bought, the wrapping be done and I'll make my way to the grocery store. In the midst of it all...I know I can't wait until Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!!

Catch Up

2010-12-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been just about a month since I last blogged. Time to catch up and get the momentum going again.

The day after my last entry, Matthew broke his hand. If you attend FCCH you've seen the cast on him. He was playing/sparing with a friend in our living room and ending up breaking the middle bone in his hand. It's his right hand so it's a good thing he's a lefty and it should be healed well enough for him to be ready for the town Basketball Season.

Right after that, we put up our tree and all it's lights. Last year we had 3,200, this year Michael admittedly went overboard. Our 9 foot tree has 4,750 lights on it. It's great if you want sunshine or radiant warmth in your living room, otherwise...it's simply too bright. At first glance it's beautiful and mesmerising, after that you begin to squint a little. So we knew it (putting too many lights on the tree) would happen one year and this is the year. Next year he'll cut back by 1,500 lights.

Michael's office was painted over Thanksgiving Break. One wall is painted Brick Red and the other wall's have a very warm color on them. I think the colors look great in there and the guys who painted did an awesome job. When we showed up for church last week, after the painting was done, there was a sign on his door that someone had made. The background was coffee beans and the sign said, Mike's Coffee Cafe...too funny. I have to admit, it does have that coffee house feel so now he's right at home in his office.

For Thanksgiving, our household was all about the Patriot's Game, which began at 12:30. The goal was to eat before the game and have no interruption's. I'd say we were pretty close to our goal. The turkey dinner was served a little bit late but the game was DVR'd and everyone caught up quickly. We had the whole Laurence Family, my parents, sister, brother in law, 3 year old nephew, 1 1/2 year old and two month old niece over for dinner. The meal was great and the Patriot's won...it was a good day.

Now that it is December, it 's time for Basketball practices, Christmas Parties, Christmas Worship Services (which, this year, involve a coffee shop) and time to reflect and focus on the real meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate!!!

It's Christmas Time at the Laurence's

2010-11-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

On Monday, November 1st, we began to play Christmas music. Last Friday, I put out our Christmas Decorations. On Saturday, while I was at an all day conference, Michael put our tree up. There are currently no lights or ornaments on it but it's up. The lights and ornaments will come later on this week. Last but not least...today I discovered that 93.3 is playing Christmas music on the radio all day long. Our family loves Christmas and the longer we get to celebrate, the more time we get to enjoy it!!!

The way I see...most people spend around nine months getting excited to celebrate the birth of a child. We spend two months, annually, getting excited to celebrate the greatest birth in all creation!!!

Kay Warren's, Say Yes to God Adventure

2010-10-29T08:37:00.002-04:00

I’m so excited about Kay Warren's new 30 Day Adventure. When people sign up for the adventure they will receive an email every day with a video from Kay discussing topics from her book, "Say Yes to God"...formerly known as her book "Dangerous Surrender".

I just caught up and watched the first two days. Day 1 (Miracles) was around 5 minutes long and day 2 (Fear) was a little over 2 minutes long. It's not a huge chunk of time in my day, but I appreciated and enjoyed both of her videos. Just click here to register "Say Yes to God: 30 Day Adventure". All she needs is your first and last name and an email address.

Let me know what you think about it!!!

Never a Dull Moment

2010-10-07T07:59:00.003-04:00

Matthew, Josh, Bekah and Steph

A few weeks ago, I started my first fire using flint. I had never done that before and actually thought it was pretty cool. You see, I have NEVER camped a day in my life. My idea of camping involves sleeping in my house and using the fire pit we have in our backyard. This area is like Matthew's little "test" kitchen. It is outside our back door.

A couple weeks ago we went up to Gordon College to see Steph and Josh. It was that gorgeous, warm Saturday that was in the 80's. We picked them up and went to Rockport for the afternoon. We actually ran into some FCCH friends...Deb S., Kim L. and Mary B.

So fun to see them there:)

After Rockport, we went to the Gloucester Quarries and cliff jumped. I actually jumped 25 feet, however, Steph and Josh jumped 55 feet...crazy! Steph is jumping in this photo.

This past weekend, Steph and Josh came home from Gordon because my sister had a baby and we went to go visit her new expanded family. We had fun visiting and were able to take my niece and nephew in the ocean. It was a beautiful day at the Cape and the water was actually warm.

Well on Saturday night, Josh "did it again". He woke Matthew up, on Saturday night/Sunday morning around 2:00 am, to take a shower and get ready for church. This time he was a little more clever. He changed the time on the clock next to Matthew's bed. Sure enough Matthew got up and went into the shower!!! Michael, was once again, the one who let him know it was the wee hours while Josh, once again, couldn't stop laughing.

I'm so grateful for the fun family memories we've accumulated over the years. In my opinion, they just get better and more memorable with time!!!

National Coffee Day

2010-09-29T13:26:00.001-04:00

Today is National Coffee Day, so I thought I would share how our "Church Blend Coffee" came to be.

I started drinking coffee in my early 30's. I liked a mild cup of coffee and Michael preferred a robust cup of coffee. I liked Central American Coffee and he liked African Coffees, so we used to make two pots of French Press Coffee everyday.

After a while, that got old so we started combining coffees. We did several different combinations with different portions until we settled on one we both liked. It is a 50/50 blend of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Mexican.

We would go to Armeno's Coffee Roaster's in Northborough and buy equal pounds of each coffee, then go home and blend them. We have been going there for years and now they named our mix...Church Blend. Now they blend it for me and even place a Church Blend label on the bag.

They are a great, people orientated business. One of the few places I look forward to going too when I have to run errands.

So Happy National Coffee Day and make sure you get in a good cup today:)

God Moments

2010-09-25T06:00:00.067-04:00

Yesterday, I was in the Church Office and had a conversation with Nancy Moschini. She shared with me a God Moment, which was wonderful. I told her that I love God Moments. I try to look for them everyday. They aren't always big ones, like the one she shared with me, but they happen everyday.

I believe that God Moments need to be talked about much more frequently then they are. They are so important and the more we talk about them, the more we see them.

The last couple of times I mowed, I've had simple God Moments. I don't particularly "like" to mow, but I view it as an opportunity to "exercise and think".

Last week while I was mowing and I passed my wild, purple Aster's along the woods. I wasn't in a very bright mood at the time. When I went by them a couple ripped off and attached themselves to a corner of the mower. I just smiled and said, thank you!!! For me, it changed my thought process. As I mowed I focused on the beautiful, native, New England Flower and my day became a bit brighter. I started to think about all the little things that happen in my day, that personally remind me that I matter to God.

This week I was mowing and was constantly reminded of that I have an 11 year old son. The first thing I came across while I was mowing was the area where he and his friend widdled their sticks...there was a pile of wood chips. In another section there was chunks of pumpkin that he used as target practice with his spear from Africa. In another area was his little fire pit...that has lots of burnt charcoal and more sticks (poof black when you mow over it). Then I came across his widdled spear/stick in the back yard. As I was mowing, with all of Matthew's reminders throughout the yard, asking the Lord...why?, I knew it the answer...it was an opportunity to specifically lift him up in prayer. So I spent at least half of my time praying for Matthew. My God moment came in the form of a divine appointment, I wans't planning on, to lift my son up in prayer.

God Moments are everywhere, all the time because GOD IS WITH US, everywhere, all the time. We need to look for and share them more often.

Time for Apple Crisp

2010-09-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

I make two different versions of Apple Crisp, both I use Cortland Apples. I use LOTS of apples in my Apple Crisp. The first one is the over all family/friend favorite. The second one is the one Michael and I prefer. The second Apple Crisp is basically Mrs. Mac's (Jan Macdonald...love her). The difference is, she adds nutmeg, oats and it has no white sugar.
Family Favorite Apple Crisp

Mix the following for the Crisp Mixture:
3/4 c Flour
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Brown Sugar
1/3 c Softened Butter
Cinnamon to taste

In a pan layer:
Apples, with a sprinkle of water and cinnamon over them
Crisp Mixture

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes, until bubbly.

Mrs. Mac's Apple Crisp

Mix the following for the Crisp Mixture:
3/4 c Brown Sugar
1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Oats (I use dry quick oats)
1/3 c Butter
Cinnamon to taste
(Mrs. Mac uses Nutmeg, I omit it)

In a pan layer:

Apples, with a sprinkle of water and cinnamon over them
Crisp Mixture

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until bubbly.

No matter which one we bake...we ALWAYS have vanilla ice-cream on it, preferably melting!!!

Mirror, Mirror

2010-09-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

So often my children are great at letting me catch a glimpse/reflection of my relationship with the Lord and here is an example from today...

I asked Matthew if he wanted to "help" me make dinner. He politely declined and said he was going to read and go outside to shoot some hoops. I have to admit I was a bit sad because the reality is...I don't need his "help" to make dinner. I asked him because I wanted to spend time with him and typically when we are doing something together we have wonderful conversations and get to know one another better. I love spending time with him.

So I carried on and went about making dinner and thought about how I was feeling. Within a couple of minutes, I got over it. However, as I reflected I thought this is how the Lord must feel about me some days. From the scriptures, I clearly know how Jesus yearns just to spend time with me...yet, I am prone to go about my own business. It's easy to do what I want (I can assure you it's not playing basketball) but there are other things that distract me from spending time with the one who loves me the most...Jesus!!!

It was a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is just to spend time in His presence. I know without a shadow of a doubt...He wants to spend time with me because He loves me. It's simple...it's the way we get to know one another better and it's how we grow in relationship!!!

Fall

2010-09-08T20:20:00.000-04:00

Fall is finally happening, starting tomorrow. The weather for the next week is in the 70's and I'm ready. It seems that ever since the kids started school we've had so much heat.

I actually had my Fall decor up since Steph got back from DC. I thought she would enjoy the splash of color. Also, I love pumpkins and the color orange. Now I'm chomping at the bit for some warm meals and apple crisp. Apple Crisp is one of the Laurence Family favorites. It's right up there with Chocolate Chip Cookies. I'll have to post our Apple Crisp recipe soon...it has lots of Cinnamon (like BJ's quantity).

Another one of my favorite things about Fall is when my church family comes back together again and we have two services. I miss it in the summer when so many people are away for vacation or, for some, the entire summer because they live elsewhere. I can't wait for this Sunday to see everyone again.

I love the leaves changing, warm days, cool nights, apple picking (a family tradition), sweatshirts, football games (for food, friends and fun), the fact that bugs start to go away and cuddling under blankets. I even love it that the holidays come Fall, but then I'm done with the cool/cold.

What's your favorite Season? Do you have any Fall Traditions?

Confessions of a Prayer Slacker

2010-09-01T19:50:00.001-04:00

"Confessions of a Prayer Slacker" is a book that was just released on August 2, 2010 by Diane Moody. I just started reading it and I am enjoying her candidness and transparency. Thus far, I love the book.

As I began the 4th chapter I loved her insight on why it is so important to spend time daily with our Heavenly Father. Of course God knows that we love Him so the question is...why do we "have to" say it everyday? She had a great illustration/old joke that struck me. It's about a wife who complained to her husband on their anniversary saying "Why don't you ever tell me you love me?" Her husband replied with "I told you the day I married you. Nothings changed. If it does, I'll let you know" Wow!!!

We're created in God's image, which is why we are relational. God desires to have a relationship with us. He longs to be told how much He is loved and appreciated. Just like us...we all love to be told that we are loved and appreciated. How does it make you feel, in the course of a day, when you are remembered, thought of, acknowledged etc?

The beginning of this chapter reminded me of how important it truly is for my Heavenly Father to hear how grateful I am for Him each and everyday.

Doing Something Right

2010-08-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

Today at church, I had someone come to the Information Center and say...I had a hard time finding a parking space. I was all the way down in the back lot and it was full. After that she smiled and said, "we must be doing something right". I loved her smile and comment. I don't actually know where she ended up parking, but I do know that I loved her outlook. Instead of complaining that it was hard to find a space, she looked at it positively.

I agree with her...we must be doing something right. I love it when the church experiences growth. It's so exciting when people become part of the FCCH community and either discover who Jesus Christ is or they grow deeper in their relationship with Him. I'm excited for our upcoming sermon series, which begins on September 12th...I Love FCCH!!! I am the one who initially goes through all the FCCH response cards. It's so encouraging to have so many people write in the comment place how much they like they church. Sometimes it's a general comment and other times it's specific. In any case, it's encouraging just like the comment at the Info Center this morning.

Busy, Crazy, Busy, Crazy...

2010-08-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

The blog title has described the last two weeks of the Laurence Family.

Steph arrived home from her summer in Washington DC on August 17th. She had a amazing time there and fell in love with the city. We knew she would be home for exactly one week before she headed off to college so we had a lot of cramming in to take care of. If the middle of her time we had to get Josh off to school as well.

On Wednesday and Thursday of that week, Steph decompressed and Josh geared up for college. On Friday and Saturday we moved Josh into Gordon and began his orientation to college. On Sunday, we had church and then rushed down to the Cape so Steph could see family that hadn't seen her all summer. Monday we spent getting Steph packed, Tuesday the 25th, we moved Steph to Gordon. We loaded all her stuff in the car, went to Gordon and unloaded her. Then she said..."I forgot my bedding, it's in the attic". So that night, she went to Target and got some temporary stuff. We had plenty of little stories like that while moving them out of our house and into their college life.

After that, Bekah spent four days at the Middle School preparing for a program called IGNITE. She is entering the 8th grade and was one of the leaders for the program. IGNITE helps ease and acclimate 6th graders as they prepare to enter Middle School. She loved the experience!!!

That brought us to Friday the 27th and I was spent because a million of other little things took place in between all the changes the kids have been experiencing over the past couple of weeks. I ran around and did a few necessary errands like get milk and spaghetti etc. because we were completely out!!! Then Saturday Morning we relaxed for a little bit. That afternoon, back to the busy grind. Finish school shopping for supplies that Bekah and Matthew needed and a couple of home projects (we found the boys room, next we'll find the girls room).

Today, we had church and then a meeting that lasted a couple hours after church. After that, we took the kids to Sandy Beach, in Hopkinton, and let the kids swim for a little while. We finally got home around 4:30.

I'm so grateful to have a husband who comes along side me and everyone else in the family, when things get crazy and hectic. He's the calm in the storm!!! I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again...he's patient and that was extremely evident over the past couple of weeks.

Life's good, just busy!!! Now it's time to get back to "normal". Normal with "only" two kids schedules at home!!! Thus far, it doesn't seem less busy, just different.

We're Back...

2010-08-18T08:18:00.000-04:00

We're back, actually we've been back, but it's been a bit of a whirlwind. We got back and ended up doing a lot of catch up.

We had a wonderful vacation. We spent the first week in DC (as I blogged about previously) and we spent the second week at the Cape with my family.

While we were at the Cape we relaxed, hung out and enjoyed one an others company. We spent our days with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece. We had a lot of great food...I for one ate a little too much, but it was delicious! We cheered on the Pan Mass Riders, they go right by the end of the street before reaching their pit stop at Mass Maritime Academy, we cooked on the beach, swam, had a variety of ice cream from different places like Perry's, Betty Ann's and Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium etc... On the final Sunday, we ended our vacation with a visit to Cape Cod Church in Falmouth.

Upon arriving home, we went into full swing getting Josh's stuff for college (he'll be heading up to Gordon this Friday) and preparing for Steph to come back from DC (she got back last night). Right now everything is currently washed, cleaned, mowed etc. Now we'll spend the next week getting Steph and Josh settled in at College. Steph goes next Tuesday (Josh had to be there earlier for orientation) and then we'll begin life with our new "norm"...first time with two kids at College and two kids at home!!!

Highlights from DC

2010-08-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Michael and I loved a place called FroZenYo that Steph had recommended. It's a frozen yogurt place that we LOVED. I wish they had one in the Boston area!!!

Our greatest joy in the whole trip was the opportunity to see Steph. We were blessed to spend more time with her than we expected. This picture was taken the evening before we left.

This was one of Bekah's favorite places to visit. We went to Ford's Theater. The background in this photo is where Abraham Lincoln was actually shot. It's amazing the history we were able to visit.

Matthew's favorite animal for years has been an Okapi. He doesn't tend to like "normal or usual" things. It's part of what makes him so interesting. When we went to the National History Museum...there it was. It was kind of cool to see what it really looks like. It is related to the giraffe.

On the Saturday that we were in DC we decided to take Steph and visit DC (Georgetown) Cupcakes. It is a cupcake place featured on TLC. I could hardly believe my ears when we were walking towards the line and heard..."Stephanie Laurence". It was Kendall Burton (from FCCH) and her family. They were there for basketball tournaments and could hardly believe that our paths crossed, especially at a cupcake store. It was fun to see them and the cupcakes were EXCELLENT!!!

The Sky is Falling...

2010-08-06T20:59:00.025-04:00

If you live in MA, on Monday, you heard how two planes went down into the waters of Cape about 5 hours apart from one another.
The second plane went down in the waters (around 5 pm) right in front of my parents house that we're staying at. We were all at the beach when we heard an astronomical amount of sirens from the Onset area and then heard them across the water at Mass Maritime Academy. We didn't know what was going on. Then a chopper came in super low and the police boats came flying in, with their lights on. We went up towards the house and could not believe that it was the airplane that went down. It's visible from the front of the house.

While everyone was looking to see what was going on, I hit the Internet and saw that a plane went down in Mashpee around noon, I knew that wasn't what all the commotion was about. Then my sister called, who lives next door to my parents, and said, "Sheila you are not going to believe this"...the plane that went down in Mashpee had two people in it from her church. Michael Keeling (the Pilot) and Josh Adams (their Youth Pastor) were flying to film a clip for their Sunday Morning Series called "True Stories". It is a series that Cape Cod Church has been doing for a couple of weeks. They have started each messge with a film clip and that is why they were flying. Now that is now the True Story message for this upcoming Sunday. They have about 11 seconds of footage from going down.

Needless to say, I'm glad we were on land that day and I'm so grateful that everyone who was in the planes survived without any major injuries.

Cape Cod Church is the one that we attend when we are down here on vacation and it is the one we always encourage people on the Cape to go to if they are here. It is the church my family attends and that we look forward to attending each summer.

Charlie's Place

2010-08-05T06:00:00.090-04:00

I was so blessed to be able to meet Stephanie one morning, in DC, and join her at "Charlie's Place". When I say morning, I mean I met her at 6 am and left at 9am. Charlie's Place is open Tuesday through Friday and it serves breakfast to homeless people...primarily men. It also provides some clothing, haircuts, a space for personal hygiene, an address to receive mail, some minor first aid etc.

The morning I was there with Steph and her group there were 28 men. The group from Nebraska prepared and served the food. Steph wanted me to interact and meet the people she has this summer. She especially wanted me to meet Champ (the photo on the left), he is an older homeless man. He talked about prayer and faith. He talked about his family, his children, how he was a chef for 35 years, how he is looking for a job (he had an interview that morning and I pray he got it). We talked and laughed the morning away while he ate, got two socks and a pair of pants. I loved meeting him and the other's like Kyle and Joe. Our conversations were enlightening and humbling at the same time. In some ways, it's a place of joy and hope and in other ways...it's sad. There was also a man who had his whole ear bandaged because someone had recently cut his ear off in the park.

My greatest joy came when I met Paul (on the left) and Larry (on the right). Steph had talked about them regularly, they are the hand's and feet of Charlie's Place. They work there year round. When I returned to the hotel I could hardly describe the joy I felt to Michael. I tried to explain how awesome it was to see how much joy and laughter our daughter brings to Charlie's Place. Paul and Larry could hardly express in words how they felt about Steph and she too could hardly express how she felt about them. I had looked forward to meeting them and it was truly an awesome experience all around that exceeded my expectations.

So if you know me well, you know my all time favorite pizza comes from, you guessed it, Charlie's Place down at the Cape. I've been eating their pizza since High School and it is still my favorite. To end up at Charlie's Place in DC with an entirely different purpose is ironic to me. Now when I drive by or eat Charlie's Place in Wareham, I am quickly reminded of my morning at Charlie's Place in DC and will continually keep that place and ministry in my prayers.

It's Birthday Time...

2010-08-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of Bekah with the George Washington Monument in the background.

Today is her 14th Birthday and I can't begin to express how blessed I am to have her in my life. Her middle name is Joy and that is exactly what she brings to our family and those who know her.

She has a smile that light's up a room, a heart full of love, care and compassion for those around her, an unbelievable work ethic, a laugh that is contagious and most important...she truly loves the Lord the Lord with all her heart, mind and soul. He love for the Lord is evident to those who regularly interact with her and I love that. She is a faithful prayer warrior and she loves to read her bible.

Tonight we will celebrate her birthday. I even wore her favorite color today...pink:) We've got beautiful Cape weather and will be grilling pizza with all the toppings she'd like (and more). Grammy is making her famous chopped salad that everyone loves and we've got an abundance of desserts. She has picked out an ice-cream cake, homemade hot fudge sauce for Sundaes, she's got red velvet cupcakes and a small round birthday cake!!! We're missing celebrating with Steph but when she comes home we'll try making Red Velvet cake, for the first time, and celebrate with her too.

So Happy Birthday Bekah and always remember the song we sang to you, from the time you were born, "I love you with all of my heart, with all of my heart...I WILL ALWAYS YOU"!!!

Church in the Basement of a Coffee Shop...

2010-08-04T06:00:00.018-04:00

In June, when Steph told me that this was the church she had decided to regularly attend while she was in DC, I was beside myself. She asked me if I had heard of it and she kind of assumed I did. While she right. I have known about this church for a while. In my "spare time", I love keeping up with churches that make a difference and this in one of the ones I am familiar with.

It is called, National Community Church. It meets in the basement of this coffee shop (which is theirs) called Ebenezer's. Ebenezer means "Stone of the Help" in Hebrew and they take all the profits from the shop and use them for Community Projects. Below is a picture of the inside of the church. I got this photo off their coffee shop's website. Can you believe it is in the basement of a Coffee Shop?

The church records the message, from Mark Batterson, on Saturday Evening and plays it across five other locations on Sunday Morning. Mark goes, live, to one of the other campus's each Sunday. The church has around 1800 people in it and is made up of mostly of young 20 year old's. Each one of the five campus's has their own Campus Pastors. It was a great place to worship and the message from Mark was great as well. I love how they are not only reaching and impacting their own people but also those around them!!!

I'm so grateful this where Steph is able to go each Saturday Evening for church. She and her friends from CSM go together every week and then on Sunday Mornings, they "church hop", just to check out other churches while they are their for the summer...like Mother, like daughter. What can I say? I've always loved church:)

I LOVED Washington DC

2010-08-03T21:17:00.000-04:00

We had an excellent trip to DC. We left early on Thursday, July 22nd and returned on Wednesday, July 28th. I LOVED the opportunity to see Steph and the city. We actually got to spend more time with Steph then we expected, which was awesome for this Mom who wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. She's been gone since Memorial Day weekend and will come back on August 17th to get ready for college on August 23rd. So I was grateful for the extra time we got with her!!!

We were able to see the George Washington Monument (and go up in it), the WWII, Lincoln, FDR and Korean Memorials. We went to the Holocaust Museum, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Air and Space, National History and American Museums, Ford Theater, Crime and Punishment, the Spy Museum, the Washington Zoo (loved the Orangutans) and saw the White House.

We also went to DC (Georgetown) Cupcakes, based on a TLC show...they were delicious and we ran into the Burton family while we were there (too funny)!!! We loved "FroZenYo" a unique frozen yogurt place (Michael especially loved this place) and our favorite meal was from Good Stuff, a hamburger place Steph took us too. We also went to Ben's Chili, where Bill Cosby, the Man vs. Food Guy and other famous people have eaten...it was alright.

A couple of my highlights were...going to church in the basement of a Coffee Shop and the opportunity to serve with Steph at one of her CSM sights from 6 to 9 am one morning (more about those experiences in upcoming posts). We had a nail in our tire one morning that took Michael into Maryland to fix. Our kids loved swimming in the pool of the hotel we stayed at...we had to remind them that the pool was not the reason we traveled to DC.

I LOVED DC!!! Steph describes it as having a Northern feel with Southern hospitality and I think that is a very accurate description!!!

On our way home, we even stopped at Carlos Bakery in New Jersey, that's a literal long story, so that Bekah could go to "The Cake Boss". Another TLC baking show. They loved the eclairs but to be completely honest...our vote is that DC Cupcakes had much better cupcakes!!!

Washington DC...here we come!!!

2010-07-20T21:54:00.003-04:00

We are about to take a trip to visit Steph in Washington DC. She has been there since Memorial Day weekend and won't be coming home until August 17th. Due to Josh's work schedule, he'll be staying home. He'll have his friend stay with him a few days and our friends have told him that he can go over to their house, anytime, for dinner or company. I think he will enjoy his quiet time...he can sleep and hang out all he wants!!!

As far as us driving down...that is the challenge!!! I don't like being in the car any longer than necessary, but I can't wait to see Steph. I'm thankful for our new technologies like texting, facebook and even Skype and the old fashion ones like mailing cards. That is how we've been keeping in touch with her thus far, but I miss her and can't wait to see her in person.

She has some places to show us and I can't wait to attend the church she goes to every week. It's a church that I am already familiar with and am looking forward to attending in person. We're looking forward to meeting the people that she has been working/serving with and catch a glimpse of what she has been doing. She is working with the organization CSM, Center for Student Missions. It is the same organization that our Youth Ministry went through for their trip to New York.

While we are all excited to see Steph, we are also excited to absorb the Nation's Capital and for me...take lots of photos!!!

Catching up...

2010-07-10T20:19:00.000-04:00

Definitely behind, so I thought it would be good to start up with a few short updates...

Michael, Josh and the rest of the Youth Group had an AMAZING Missions Trip to New York City. Michael and Josh were especially blessed to share a couple significant moments that they'll remember for the rest of their lives!!! We (Bekah, Matthew and I) had a good week while they were gone but missed them and were glad when they returned home. Although, we did notice the drop in the amount of laundry we do...just saying!!! That 6'4" son of mine has huge sized clothing and he works out (aka...extra laundry). We went from two full loads a day to two loads every other day. It was a nice break in the laundry department, but we'd rather have them home!!!

We went to church on Sunday and then headed to my families house, at the Cape, for the 4th of July. It was nice to be with the family and see the fireworks!!! We were able to sit on the beach and watch for well over an hour.

Michael was back in the office on Tuesday. Me and the kids stayed down the Cape til Wednesday morning. Believe it or not...it was super hot down there too. It was so hot on Tuesday that we waited until the later part of the day to head down to the beach. At that point, it was all about swimming!!!

Tomorrow is church and then we'll enter into a week of CBC (Christian Bible Celebration). I'll be serving with Nancy Lashley at the Information Center, Bekah will be helping out with Pre-K2 and Matthew will be in the 5th grade class. It will be extra special for Matthew because his Auntie Mary-Ellen (Michael's sister) will be one of the leaders.

Spiritual Growth

2010-07-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Spiritual Growth is something that has always been extremely important to Michael and I in regards to parenting. When they were born and couldn't speak, we spoke for them (prayers at dinner and bedtime etc). As they grew, we encourage them to grow and "feed" themselves with the goal of them taking the Spiritual Disciplines with them when they leave our home. We haven't always done the best job or been completely consistent ourselves with them or ourselves, however, we are always improving as we all grow.

Right now, this is what I am doing with Bekah and Matthew. Bekah is 13 and just completed 7th grade. Matthew is 11 and just completed 5th grade. I talked with them about the importance of Spiritual Growth and what that means. So for the summer, hopefully consistently, I've set a goal for them. They are logging their Spiritual Growth. Which means that at least 5 out of 7 days, they need to have some sort of reading and talk with me about what they learned. It could be from a devotional (which has a scripture verse) or a passage straight from the bible.

We've just begun for the summer but I know that if I keep it up with them they will grow. My part is to continually remind and ask them if they've done their Spiritual Growth for the day, until the time I do not need to remind them!!! It's already been a positive experience. They have participated in the Old Testament Challenge readings and questions with me and when Bekah had an issue she chose to find the solution in her readings for the day. I've given them papers so that they can see and reflect on what they've both read and learned.

If you have someone in your life that matters...be accountable!!! Encourage and foster Spiritual Growth this summer. There tends to be more "down" time in the summer because of no school or sport schedules and most people have some vacation time. So use your time wisely and enjoy your own Spiritual Growth and be blessed by others who are willing to grow alongside you.

FCCH Senior High Graduation Celebration

2010-06-30T09:12:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you know this but, at FCCH, when the Seniors Graduate there is always a special Celebration. It started just about 20 years ago, by two Moms who wanted to celebrate their son's Graduation with the Church. Since then the celebrations have taken place every year.

This year it took place at the Capuzziello's home in Upton (thank you for hosting this). When we arrived there was hamburger's, hot dogs etc. for everyone to eat. There was a Volleyball game and lots of fellowship.

After a while, we gathered and each Senior was recognized, celebrated and prayed for. The Seniors were asked to have someone speak on behalf of them that night. It could be a parent, relative, Youth Worker, Coach, Teacher etc.I loved learning more about each one of the teens. It was such a blessing to hear about how each of them has grown throughout High School and where they plan to go in the future.

Josh asked Marlen to speak about him (he did a great job) and then we had the opportunity to pray over him with a small group of people who joined Josh at that point of the night. This format happened for each teen. It is both personal, individualized and a blessing to the teen, their families and all who were present that night.

I have to say that our church is extremely blessed to have such an amazing team of Youth Ministry Leaders. They are dedicated, passionate, Godly Role Models to our teens. They pray continually, encourage often and care beyond measure.

So on a personal note...I want to thank all the Senior High Youth Leaders who have invested into my Stephanie and Joshua as they went through Youth Ministry. Senior High Ministry has a very short break (specifically one year) before round two of the Laurence Family enters Youth Ministry. So enjoy the respite...Bekah will begin her journey in the Fall of 2011 only to be followed by Matthew in the fall of 2013!!!

A Muffin is a Muffin

2010-06-28T17:05:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Michael and I were in Westboro running some last minute errands, for the Mission's Trip, when Bekah called and asked if we could bring her home a blueberry muffin. I knew she thought we were going to Roche Bros but we were not...we were going to Stop and Shop. As we were about to go in, I questioned Michael and asked him if we should stop at Roche Bros to grab Bekah her muffin? Neither one of us wanted too because we wanted to get home and he responded with "No, a Muffin is a Muffin". I said, "absolutely not, a muffin is not just a muffin", I don't particularly care for muffins from Stop and Shop, I prefer Roche or Colellas, I think they are different. However, we got just got three from Stop and Shop to save time. One for Bekah, Matthew and Josh.

Fast forward an hour...Josh is at the counter and getting ready to eat his muffin. I asked him if he preferred them from Stop and Shop, Roche Bros or Colellas? I almost fell off my stool when he said..."I don't care, a Muffin is a Muffin". My response to him was "that's exactly what your Dad said...it must be a guy thing".

My conclusion is either...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree or it really is a guy thing that they don't necessarily care about what they are eating. I think the only criteria for them (guys) is that as long as it's not moldy and they're eating, they're pretty content and happy.

By the way, if you ever want the ultimate muffin and I do mean ultimate. Check out the Gingerbread Construction Company in Wakefield or Winchester. The photo of the muffins is from the Gingerbread Construction Company. My favorite one is Chocolate Dream and then the Carrot, but they are all delicious. The one I've been too is right off of Rt. 128 (you can just about see it from the highway). It's a quick stop on the way up to Gordon. However, due to increasing waistlines...I've only done that a couple times!!!

Sleep with One Eye Open

2010-06-23T10:53:00.001-04:00

I think Matthew needs to learn how to sleep with one eye open. If you heard the Mother's Day message, you heard about how Josh had woken Matthew up in the middle of the night and had him take a shower. Well he was at it again...

Yesterday morning Josh went to babysit for a family at 7:00 am, so he was gone when Matthew woke up and came downstairs. All I heard was "Mom, how do I get this off"? Good grief...Josh wrote on him in the middle of the night. He took a brown permanent marker drew glasses, a uni brow and a beard on his face. I advised him to use a sandy type scrub on his face and then we used alcohol wipes to get the rest off.

I called Josh. He told me he had taken a video, on his phone, of him drawing on his face and asked me if I wanted him to send it to mine. I said yes, and I have to say it was funny. Matthew was so sleepy that as Josh was drawing on him and asked him to turn his face and HE DID!!!

Yet another funny moment for the Laurence household and I truly think that Matthew needs to learn how to sleep with one eye open.

NEVER a dull moment around here!!!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T17:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day...especially to Michael!!!

Michael spoke such a great message this morning. It wasn't your typical "Father's Day" messages. I loved that he spoke about how God can use Dads even when they're not perfect, because the reality is no one is perfect.

I have to say, Michael is an AMAZING Dad!!! If you have any doubts or wonder whether that is an overstatement...just ask any one of our four kids. It is amazes me because he did not have a Dad role model while he was growing up. His Dad passed away when he was really young and there were not other Godly men around him after that happened. The key is that He has found his role model in the ultimate Father...God!!! He was smart enough to learn his parenting skills from our Heavenly Father. The book he continually uses for his manual is the Bible. Yes, it sounds like the right answer when I say it, but it is true. He knows where true wisdom is and that is where he seeks it!!!

As far as other Dads at FCCH...I think you are amazing too!!! When I first walked into church I saw one of the Dads who has always role modeled biblical parenting to his four sons. As the morning progressed and I saw more and more Dad, I felt blessed. Blessed knowing that so many children at FCCH are being raised in Godly Homes by Dads who love God, their wives and their families. There are so many Godly Role Models in our church. I also love and appreciate all the Dads who reach out to those who don't necessarily have a Dad and they role model for them.

I could go on and on about Dads, but I'm truly overwhelmed and blessed to be part of a church that truly cares, emphasises and role models Godly Parenting to the next generations!!!

Justify

2010-06-19T15:37:00.000-04:00

The other day I was making cake and realized how easy it is to justify something. I was chatting with the kids about how, in my opinion, the frosting I make is "better for us" than the frosting on the store bought cake. I was saying that because the frosting I make has a base of butter (a more natural product...dairy), while the frosting on most store bought cakes is shortening based (man-made product).

As the words were falling out of my mouth I realized, whether it is true or not true, I was justifying having and eating the cake. The bottom line is...cake is not good for you in any way, shape or form. My problem is that I LOVE cake and always have. It's true that as I was growing up, my parents would have two birthday cakes...one for me and one for everyone else. The older I get, the more of a problem cake has become because fact is our metabolism changes.

That conversation led me to wonder...what do I justify that really matters? I understand that justifying cake isn't a big deal but the question remains. Is there anything that I justify that truly shouldn't be justified? Justifying can become a path towards destruction. Especially when small sins become big ones and along the way they are justified. White lies become blatant lies, an innocent cup of coffee or conversation with a person of the opposite sex can create marital problems, untruths become truths when we justify etc.

I think it is important to be careful what we truly justify in life, when it comes to things that matter. Things like our relationship with Christ (it's easy to justify not spending time with Him because we're so busy etc.), relationships with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors. It's also important to be careful about the things we watch on TV or at the movies, the songs we listen to etc. They influence us and we shouldn't justify them if they are blatantly wrong. The list of things that can be justified is endless but should be evaluated in our lives.

Unscientific Experiment

2010-06-17T20:21:00.004-04:00

This can of Fresca has been in our living room for the past 5 days...it's true. It's not the room we use all the time but it is used by everyone. I left it on the table (my unscientific experiment) wondering if anyone would notice, remove it and put it away. Well they didn't!!! Tonight I finally removed it because Josh is having his friends over for the big Celtics game. After that the room would be completely cleaned from all their soda, chips, salsa etc. So the experiment had to come to an end.

It amazes that they really don't see it. Each day, windows are opened and closed and people definitely use the room. Everything else had been regularly picked up etc. but they really didn't notice it. In some weird way, it made me feel better. I realize that they truly don't see what I see because I know them well enough to know that if they actually "saw" it, they would have removed it sometime over the past 5 days.

This thought lead me to wonder...how many thing things do I miss out on in the course of the day because I'm not focused and I don't see "it"? Do I walk by things that I literally right in front of me? Does the Lord have things, right in front of me, that he wants me to pay attention too but I'm too distracted?

Balancing Parenting

2010-06-15T18:23:00.004-04:00

I've done it again...

After telling Bekah..."toughen up cupcake, your fine" I was a wrong!!! She has had a rash around her eye for the past couple of days. I was paying attention to that and it was finally bad enough after school to bring her to the doctor's. What I wasn't paying attention to was what was transpiring on her hip. The other day, she showed me, what I thought, was bug bites. She mentioned it a couple more times over the past couple days and I responded with phrases like "you're fine, toughen up cupcake" etc.

We'll as it turned...the rash wasn't exactly 100% fine. It's poison ivy. I thought that about her eye, which is why I brought her in because I didn't know what to do with it around her eye. I clearly did not think that about her hip (like I said, I thought it was bug bites). It's a good thing that while we were in the doctor's office, she asked if she should ask the doctor about her hip too. Needless to say, all I've heard since our visit is "I told you so".

She's right and I'm not a perfect parent. It's not the first time this type of situation has happened and I'm fairly confident it won't be the last. I definitely lean towards the side of "you'll be fine" and sometimes that backfires.

Parenting is never easy and so often it's hard to make the "right choice" and that doesn't just apply to medical decisions. As a parent, I don't want to over or under react. I'm always trying to find the balance and some days it's simply harder to find. In the long run, I do my best and we eventually even out the scales...like the times I've brought them in and they didn't need too. We're in this journey together and together we'll continually strive to find "balance".

Celebration Sunday

2010-06-13T20:31:00.003-04:00

Sad that the Picnic was cancelled due to the inclement weather but that did not dampen the Celebration that took place.

The Worship Center looked great. Awesome job with the balloons (even thought I heard lots of them burst during Second Service) and I loved all the photo's on the walls...very Festive and Celebratory!!! I enjoyed the worship, slide shows and everything that Michael shared that took place over the past year.

I LOVED the slide show that had the names and photos of kids who are now sponsored. I did not know that was going to be part of the Service and I was completely touched knowing that it's not only those kids lives who are changed but their families and in many cases...their communities. While the slide show was going on, I could hear chit chat from people as "their" child's name came up. I loved hearing the joy, not just seeing the slide show.

FCCH is a growing and thriving place to be and I can't imagine being anywhere else. At the Information Center we were talking about all the different things that have taken place. It is sometimes hard to keep track of it all (that is a good thing).

I already can't wait til Celebration Sunday next year!!!

FCCH...

2010-06-10T18:44:00.003-04:00

The last 24 hours have been spent with amazing people from FCCH.

Last night we had an Information Center, Greeter and Usher Leadership meeting at our home. It was so nice to get together. We shared supper, encouraged one another, shared stories and prayed. It was an awesome time because they are truly passionate about taking care of the people at FCCH, especially the new ones who join us each week. I loved hearing about how much they LOVE Sunday Mornings...even though they get there long before the majority of people on Sunday Mornings. When they talked there was no sense of sacrifice, just pure joy being able to serve in this capacity.

Today was another wonderful experience. I was humbled and blessed to be part of a Team who humbly and prayerfully worked on planning Sermon Series for the upcoming year. It's hard to even try and explain that experience because of the spiritual responsibility involved. So I'll just try to explain how we felt at the end of the day...excited!!! There are series that I would have never thought of but am completely looking forward to hearing. It will be an amazing year full of great teachings and series!!!

I am so blessed to be around people who are passionate, who love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul. I am and our church is blessed to have Leadership Teams who truly live out their faith!!!

BTW (By The Way)... have you checked out the church website in the last couple of days? If not you should!!!

My Boys...

2010-06-09T09:21:00.004-04:00

This is what Michael and I drove home to yesterday. We had run a couple errands and when we pulled in the driveway...there was a tarp tent shelter in the front yard. It was so Matthew!!!

So sure enough, he had built this shelter in the short amount of time that we were gone. This is why we reference him as our own little Bear Gryllls. He rarely has a dull moment in his life.

Like his brother...Matthew is definitely social.

This is a photo of him with his buddies from the neighborhood across the way from us. He plays with them most days after school and on weekends. they are a lot of fun to have around.

This is Dan and Josh. They have been best buds since 4th grade. We often reference him as our "third"son. It's been a great 8 years with Dan as part of our family. His family is awesome and we've have enjoyed knowing them for as long as we have. I can't begin to tell you how many Basketball games we spent sitting together!!!

This was Dan and Josh eating a BBQ dinner that Michael cooked a couple weeks ago. Those boys eat more than you can possibly imagine.

I love having boys in my life. I grew up only having sisters, so when Josh was born I knew the Lord was going to grow me in ways I could never anticipate. It has been an amazing journey having boys in my life. Along the way I have observed and learned some things.

Here are a few things I've learned...

It is easier to get them ready for big events such as dances, proms, overnighters etc. They only need a quick haircut, shower, outfit and they're good to go. When it comes to packing...they take very little. They are VERY protective of their Mom. I had always heard that but have lived it out with both of my boys. They love their Mom in a way that only boys can, although I could say that about my girls as well, it is just different (in a good way). They are protective and have a natural instinct to want to take care of me in the big picture. They are of few words but love my company. They are strong willed. However, they let things go and roll off their backs very easy...I don't think they are capable of holding a grudge which is a very good quality. That isn't even the tip of the iceberg for me.

I have to say that I am blessed beyond measure with two fine, young men who know and love the Lord. Mine and Michael's prayer has always been that they would grow up, love the Lord, marry a Godly Woman and always seek to follow His will for their lives. It's all still a work in progress and I love that we get to share the journey together!!!

Little Things Matter

2010-06-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, in Bekah's mind, it turned into a Bekah Day and she loved it. We went to the mall, something I RARELY ever do. I'm not a shopper girl, however, Bekah LOVES shopping and the mall.

We took a slow morning because we've been so busy. Around 1:00, we headed off to the Solomon Pond Mall. Bekah couldn't have been happier. We went to Old Navy while the boys went to Sports Authority, then over to the mall. I thought Matthew was going to need to be resuscitated after a while. He could hardly take it, even though Michael took him to somewhat interesting places.

At the end of our time there, they wanted to go in the Gerbil Wheel. It's a big plastic bubble that you go into and run around in on the water (a pool). They looked like Gerbils, that's the only way I know to describe it!!! They had a ball (laterally and figuratively) and Matthew loved the experience. Now he wants to go back a do it again...go figure!!!

After we got home Bekah wanted to paint her nails, bright colors, so I said, would you like to go to Target now? Her eyes lite up!!! She couldn't believe that I would take her shopping again and it was around 8:00 n the evening for that matter. So off we went to Target for nail polish. On the other hand, Michael and Matthew played a new video game together...something to do with a mystery (not quite sure) but they had a great time while we were gone!!!

While we were in the car, she said how nice it was to feel like it was a Bekah Day. The past three weeks have been super busy with the older kids. Steph was only home for two weeks. She rested, caught up with friends and had to get ready for DC. As soon as she left it was Graduation week for Josh. He had something everyday and he was the focus for that week. When Saturday rolled around the little ones were ready for their time. During the three week time focused on the older kids, I have to admit that Bekah and Matthew were real good sports. They were both helpful to Michael and I, as well as, supportive to their siblings.

What we did wasn't a big deal. Both Michael and I knew we would live from a trip to the mall. We listened to what they wanted to do and they had a good day. As parents, it's important that we listen and do the simple, little things that make them feel important even if it's not our thing. To make someone feel special it's often about listening and the little things!!!

Leeland - Follow You with special guest Brandon Heath (official video)

2010-06-06T20:28:00.000-04:00

I love this song ("Follow You" by Leeland and Brandon Heath) for a few reasons...

Currently it makes me think of my daughter Steph and Nancy Goedhart who truly care about those in need and do something about it with such passion. It makes me think of my husband and our church who also care about those in need and respond. Our church has been so generous to respond and change the lives of children, families and communities half way around the world. It also makes me think of the numerous people from FCCH who sacrifice to go on individual mission trips, youth mission trips, make meals for Bridge House and Salvation Army, those who took vactation time to serve for Step into Africa etc. The list is endless. As the Pastor's wife...I am always in awe and humbled by our FCCH family. It also is a song that challenges me to ponder the thought of what else can I do?

Josh Graduated

2010-06-06T16:01:00.011-04:00

Josh Graduated High School last Friday Night. He looked so handsome with his amazing, warm smile and Hopkinton Colors (green, orange and white).

It was a great Graduation Ceremony to attend because we really knew so many of the kids from his class. He went to Preschool with some of them and played Little League and Basketball with a lot of them.

We are so proud of Josh for his accomplishments. He's a great student and did well in school. He has such good relationships with his peers and teachers. He's fun, full of life and a great person to hang around with. Who knew within 18 years, he would turn out to be such an amazing, fine young man:) We are blessed to have him in our lives.

This is our Laurence Family, until the fall, when Josh goes to college. Steph is in Washington DC for the summer, working, and couldn't make it for his graduation.

Laughter

2010-06-03T15:21:00.000-04:00

I am truly blessed by having a lot of laughter in my home. I've never been a big laugh er (is that correct English?) myself, but am blessed specifically by my children's laughter. I was always more serious growing up but the older I get the more I appreciate laughter!!!

My children have me laugh EVERYDAY, without fail!!! They always say or do something funny and I'm glad to say it is rarely ever in shortage at our house. Dinnertime at our house always has laughter, that sometimes goes a little to far, but laughter is always present!!! I love hearing people laugh and aren't those the people we typically want to be around? It's a God given gift that we naturally have as an expression of joy.

In Proverbs 31:25 it says "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come". When I read that, I think God knew without a doubt that we needed laughter in our days. They may not be easy but we can often times look and find the good in them. Having four children...I definitely know, He knows I will be laughing at the days to come!!!! Never a dull moment around here and I'm thankful!!!

Failure vs. Success

2010-06-03T13:44:00.006-04:00

Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser said..."Why would you chose fail when success is an option?" Her quote stuck to me like glue, specifically in regards to our relationship with Christ.

Success, to me regarding our relationship with Christ, is one that is growing and thriving. It's not about just showing up at church on Sunday Mornings. It's about what happens in between Monday and Saturday. We are equipped to succeed, we have the bible. If you don't, find one that best suits your needs. You may benefit from a study bible or devotional bible etc. If you have one and don't know how to use it...find someone who does and have them show you. Joshua 1:8 says "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful".

It's my manual for how I live. It's where I learn about how to have a relationship with Christ, how to be married, how to parent, how to have relationships with friends. It's where I learn about love, kindness, forgiveness, grace, mercy etc. It's where I learn and how I can succeed because I'm not going to do that very well on my own.

The option of not growing in my relationship with Christ and others is to become stagnant, stale, complacent, give up or to die (figuratively speaking). In my mind, that is where failure sets in. I've seen people take this path and it's not an option I ever want to consider.

In order to succeed we need to read God's Word regularly, attend church, even when we are away and it's not FCCH. We need to be involved in Small Groups, they help us grow in tremendous ways and we need to serve. At FCCH, there is no reason why people shouldn't be growing and successful in their relationship with Christ. There are so may options available to each one of us.

I'm thankful for FCCH, what I have in my home to grow, the people I'm accountable to/Small Groups and the opportunity to serve on a regular basis!!!

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I do everything right or have devotions 365 days of the year, but I'm always growing, I'm never the same as the previous year, I'm not going to give up and I know there is ALWAYS room for growth and improvement!!!

Steph's Blog

2010-06-03T13:35:00.003-04:00

I am a little biased right now!!! (alright, a lot)

I am loving my daughter's blog. Her posts are incredible and I love her sharing with everyone about her journey in DC. I appreciate her candidness, especially her entry on the bus ride. I love her sharing her heart and I can hear the passion within her start to come out through her words. I can only imagine what her entries will be like a month from now!!!

I am humbly so proud of her and am blessed to have her as my daughter!!!

24 Years Ago...

2010-05-31T18:24:00.003-04:00

On a Friday Night, in September of 1985, Michael asked me to marry him. He went for a run along the beach and wrote this in the sand. Then he called me from a pay phone (no cell phones at that time) and asked me to come down to the beach.

We then began to plan our wedding for May 31, 1986. Two weeks after I graduated from college and here we are 24 years later.

We started out living in a Studio Apartment, in Rye. We slept on the floor with the mattress from a pull out sofa bed, because the sofa bed was not meant to be slept on every night. The bookshelves were 1 by 6's with cement cinder blocks in between.

A couple months later, in August, we moved into a two bedroom Condo in Portsmouth. We purchased a bedroom set (the one we still have) and couch etc. After a couple months on the floor, it was so nice to sleep a real bed. In the long run, it really didn't matter. Honestly, we were just happy to start sharing our lives together.

About a year after that, we decided that Michael would attend Seminary full time to get his Master's of Divinity so we downsized. We moved to a small one bedroom apartment in North Hampton, NH. It was 1/4 mile from North Beach and we loved it. We constantly walked down there and sometimes we could hear the waves crash at night. We stayed there until we moved here to Hopkinton.

When we first moved here we rented a house on Fruit Street from the Woodville Baptist Church. At the time, they had a Pastor who owned his own home. However, a couple years after that, they decided to sell it. So we had to find a new place to live. We were blessed beyond measure to be able to build the house we still live in. We have been in our current house for the past 17 years.

Over the past 24 years times have changed and our family has grown. I couldn't imagine having anyone else, besides Michael, by my side for all these years. He is a patient, loving husband to me. He accepts me for who I am, yet has a way of challenging me to grow and become the person Christ intends for me to be. I am blessed to know him as a child of God, husband, Dad, Pastor, brother, friend and so many more titles...I'm not so sure I could name them all. In my core, no matter what, I know I am loved unconditionally by him and that is an immeasurable blessing to me that only comes with time, trials and testing. I can honestly say that I love him more today than the day I married him and that to me defines Happy Anniversary!!!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2010-05-31T12:19:00.003-04:00

Like I said on my last blog entry, Steph is in Washington DC for the summer. Well this morning she put a link on my facebook for a blog she started...hence my title for this entry. She wrote that she caved in and created a blog. I'm so happy that she did because she is amazing and I know she'll have lots to say and share. If you want to check it out the title is "One Step at a Time" but the web page is http://www.dcstepatatime.blogspot.com/. She's going to use it as a journal entry for her experiences at CSM this summer.

Like I said before, I can't wait to see how God grows her this summer and for me, this is a great way to keep up and watch it all unfold!!!

Laurence Changes

2010-05-30T22:05:00.002-04:00

This and next weekend are full of changes for our household. This weekend it's about Steph, next weekend it's about Josh.

This weekend Steph set off to Washington DC for the summer. We dropped her off at Logan last night and off she went. She has a job with the Mission's Organization called CSM, the one the church goes through for some of the Youth Ministry Mission's Trips. When she was a Freshmen in High School she actually went to DC with FCCH for the summer mission's trip. Now she's back as a leader. Michael and I are so proud of her and can not wait to hear how the Lord plans to use her this summer and see how much she'll grow from such an amazing opportunity. She worked hard to land a spot with the CSM organization and actually began the process with her application last October.

Next weekend Josh graduates High School and will be done with that chapter of his life. We are proud of him and all he has managed to do throughout school. He's a great student and friend to those who know him. In the fall he will be attending Gordon College where Steph is. I think that will be great for both of them. As far as siblings go, for the main part, they actually get along really well and will hopefully have a good experience together.

So when the fall roles around, we'll just have Bekah and Matthew at home. Bekah and Matthew will enter 8th and 6th grade. The house will be different and I'm sure much quieter. Changes are on the way and we'll be embarking on new ways as our "normal" days will be changing.

Father's Day Cards

2010-05-28T17:48:00.006-04:00

I've had the hardest time finding a Father's Day card this year. I think it's because this past spring we did the study "Love and Respect" with three other couples. It was an excellent study and I would love to do it again. I learned how important respect is to males.

Ephesians 5:33 says "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband". This is the primary verse used for the Love and Respect study. Women need to be loved, men need to be respected. Don't get me wrong, women need to be respected and men need to be loved but it is the priority of the two that makes a difference. God shared this important part of creation with us through His word (the bible) and scientific studies have confirmed what the bible taught us long ago.

Since we did the study, and I've seen a couple movies, it amazed me how many of the male characters talk specifically about respect. I never heard it in the movies before, but now that I'm keenly aware I've picked up on it.

So I set out to get Michael's Father's Day card a bit early...wanting to ensure that I had ample selection. Well after a couple of stores, I was frustrated. They mostly talk about love and none that I found used the word respect. I was so frustrated with not being able to find an appropriate card that I told Michael he may not be getting one this year because I couldn't find one that was good enough. However, good news for him, after a few more attempts I did find two. One regarding him as a husband and the other as a Dad.

It wasn't easy and I'm glad I searched so hard for one. It's funny how the studies we do change us so much. I guess that's exactly why we keep on doing them. We have the opportunity to gain biblical understanding and grow spiritually. It's a good thing!!!

Information Center

2010-05-24T20:16:00.002-04:00

Most days it's hard to explain the inner passion I have for the Information Center. I absolutely love meeting people and helping them get to the right place for their individual needs. It's why I do not mind getting up at 5:46 on Sunday mornings or leaving the church anywhere between 12:30 to 1:00 on Sunday afternoons.

I love to meet new people, find out where they are from, why they are at FCCH, how I can help them etc. I love it when they come back week after week. I love it even more when they connect into the life of the church, Serve, Join a Small Group and finally consider it their home. It's somewhat unexplainable to share the joy that brings me on a weekly basis.

I also am blessed to serve alongside people who have the same passion. On a weekly basis I serve with Bob Monroe, Becky Smith and Marlen Pyne who often subs when one of us can't serve.

Before we begin our time on Sunday Mornings we gather to pray (around 8:25). We regularly pray those who are coming, especially the ones who are coming for the first time. We pray for obstacles to be removed so that people Worship and encounter Christ on each and every Sunday Morning. We pray that the Lord would use us to help and say the things to people that meet their individual needs. We thank Him for the opportunity to serve at the Information Center and pray that He'll use us, but mostly we pray that the Lord would be glorified!!!

It's a great place to be on Sunday Mornings!!!

Like Father, Like Son

2010-05-23T19:42:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, Michael and I were in Boston and went to China town. There is a grocery store there that we love to visit. We went there to get a few items and then looked for something unique/different for Matthew. He always likes something that he has never had before, so we thought we'd bring something back for him.

While we were there I noticed this strange looking fruit. I thought it was a fruit because it was in that section and sure enough, it rang up under fruit. I had no idea what it was but thought Bekah might even take interest in it too because it was pink.

When we came home we said to Matthew that we got him something from the grocery store, but we had no idea what it was. I took it out of the bag and he immediately said..."it's a dragon fruit". My immediate response was...how did you know that? He said he just knew and HE WAS RIGHT!!!

That is what it is like living with Michael. He knows so many things. I'm always asking him...how did you know that? When we were in college, I was smart enough to always team up with Michael when we played Trivia with friends!!! He has amazed Josh with his Jeopardy skills too. We've sat on the couch and listened to Michael just say answer after answer!!!

So to me, it is interesting and fun having Matthew grow up and be just like his Dad...it's a good thing!!!

By the way...dragon fruit peels like a mango and tastes like a flavorless kiwi (that's just our opinion). I must say, it was interesting to try and I'm glad we did:)

Parenting and Avocados

2010-05-20T16:58:00.003-04:00

Today while Steph and I were at the grocery store she asked if she could get avocado for lunch. Occasionally, Michael likes to cut up avocado and add olive oil with salt and pepper and she wanted to do the same. So we got two avocados.

When we came home she started cutting it up and literally exclaimed "Mommy look, I'm cutting it up just like Daddy". She's 20 and still wants to be like her Dad and still watches everything he does.

When Michael talked about parenting he talked about how we are always role-modeling. This is just a simple example but we need to remember that they are always watching and wanting to be like us. We need to be responsible in our role modeling with the small things and more importantly...the big things. Things like how we grow in our relationship with Christ, what we value, who our friends are, how we handle disappointment and anger etc. So keep in mind, it's not just the small or big things....it's EVERYTHING!!!

Infants and Young Adults

2010-05-19T19:00:00.003-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that Infants and Young Adults are cut from the same mold. If you are in the middle stages (Elementary, Middle School, even High School etc.) consider yourself warned...

My 20 year old College Student and 18 year old High School Senior keep us up as much as the first year of their life. They are up and have their friends over til midnightish no matter what day of the week it is. They even start making cookies at 10:00. I have to admit that I'm glad they're here doing things like cookies and movies etc. The only slight problem is...we still have our alarm set for 5:46 am and go about having a regular day. The other day I finally woke Steph up 5 hours after I woke up...thought she may want to start her day? In many ways it feels like when they were newborns and I was sleep deprived. We called them the blurry years. I don't have a title for this phase...yet!!!

Like every other stage or time in my life...I wouldn't have it any other way. I LOVE having their friends over...it can just get a bit tiring when it's several nights in a row. So at this point, I'm a bit crispy and definitely tired. Tonight, there is no one coming over so I'm hoping to catch up on some sleep with a relatively quite house.

The other day, Michael and I were talking about the fall. It will be interesting, we'll be downsizing a bit. Steph and Josh will be at college and Bekah and Matthew will be the only ones at home on a regular basis. Times change and if I've learned anything it is to to enjoy each phase whether I'm tired or not!!!

Love it...

2010-05-18T20:23:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago we got the FLIP and I LOVE IT!!! We looked at them when they first came out and they were a bit scratchy. Now I was able to get a mino (super small) and it's HD. It's the size of my EnV cell phone and fits in my pocket!!!

We got it because we haven't had a video camera for about a decade now and I don't necessarily need a big one for long recordings. We've been places where I wish I could capture more than just a still picture. So for me, this is perfect. It records around 2 hours and uploads directly onto the computer. It has already been great for day trips, playing in the yard or Laurence Family Dinners...which are always interesting etc. It's been a lot of fun for us and I'm sure will be even more handy this summer!!!

A day in the life at the Laurences (Thursday)

2010-05-16T06:00:00.002-04:00

I wrote a post the other day, with the same title, about Wednesday. Well, Thursday was much the same...good, just more busyness.

Before Josh left for school I heard...hey Mom, is it alright if I have 10 to 15 guys over for the Celtics game tonight? My answer, of course. In the back of my mind, I'm wondering when I'm going to find time to get to the grocery store to buy more food etc. and the day went on.

Like I said on the other post, Matthew got on the school bus and I headed to Gordon. We returned around 12:30. I had to come in through town and I realized I had the perfect opportunity to stop at Colella's and buy soda and snacks. That worked out well...one problem solved.

We came home, unloaded, ate a bite for lunch and headed off to pick Matthew up from school at 2:40. I had planned on dismissing him because I had made plans for that afternoon. After picking him up...an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts was necessary as we headed off to Trish's. She has baby goats and we planned to go and spend the later part of the afternoon over there (long before the futon issue's etc.). It was a lot of fun for everyone and the kids even got to feed the babies. In the back of my mind, I still needed to get everyone home at a reasonable hour because the boys were still coming over.

We headed home in time to have Steph and Kas round up more people for a visit and the game. By the time 7:30 rolled around, my door was revolving. Josh did have around 15 boys over and Steph had another 3 friends over. With all the cars in the driveway, I text Michael (he was at Elders) and warned him about the full house. I think it is best to warn him before he walks into a LOUD and excited group of people. He's a real good sport because even though he had been at work for the whole day and didn't get home until around 10...he went right into the thick of it, welcomed everyone and said hi. I knew he was tired and I appreciate him caring enough about our kids world to go above and beyond. It was loud and fun!!!

I'm so grateful that my kids enjoy having their friends over, which is the reason why I rarely ever say no. By the time we cleaned up, got the recycling ready for the next morning and got ready for bed, it was midnight. I just keep thinking...it's a school night and my alarm is still set for 5:46, but I wouldn't have had it any other way!!!

Be Still...

2010-05-15T18:12:00.001-04:00

This week I have had many "Be Still" moments.

In the midst of so much busyness and chaos the verse that kept on coming to my mind was from Psalm 46:10..."Be still and know that I am God". I know God is God and I know God is always there. This week I had reminders to pause and absorb that fact. They came when I was going upstairs, cleaning up the kitchen, driving in the car etc. It was a week of affirmation knowing that no matter what...God is there and it helps to know that when I pause and listen!!!

A day in the life at the Laurences (Wednesday)

2010-05-13T22:05:00.003-04:00

A day in the life at the Laurences...

Yesterday around 3:00, I was driving to pick Matthew up at school when I received a phone call on my cell from Steph. She informed me that we had to have the futon out of her room by early Friday morning. At Gordon you are allowed to store two items for the summer. Keep in mind that for the past month I had been asking her to find out if the futon counted as one or two pieces. As it turned out, Wednesday afternoon she found out she even couldn't leave it...seriously??? I already had plans to pick her and her roommate up on Thursday Morning and couldn't go back, in enough time, on Friday Morning.

Michael had meetings straight through Wednesday night and Josh wouldn't get home until around 6:30. So when I finally got home with Matthew from his plans and Bekah from her friends house, it was around 5:00. I fed the three of us and you guessed it...headed up to Gordon to pick up the futon.

When I got there she wasn't ready, the futon still had to finish being taken apart. I was wondering out loud what the Lord was trying to teach me, besides patience. There had to be more!!! So after about an hour or so we finally got the futon in the van and packed up a bunch of their stuff. Even though I was impatient, we laughed and it was good to see them. Here is what I felt like I learned...relax, enjoy the moment, it's good to see them, I'm grateful to be able to do that on such short notice and everything is going to be fine. Bekah and Matthew were great company and all in all it worked out fine. We got home around 9:30 and unloaded the van.

I woke up Thursday Morning, got Matthew on the bus and headed back to Gordon. Good news is that we were able to get all of Kas's stuff too so when her Dad heads up from New Jersey he won't have to pick up Kas, head up to Gordon and back to New Jersey. It saved them around two and a half hours in travel for Friday.

When I got there, once again, the girls were not ready and I had the "opportunity" to wait for another 45 minutes of my life...it was time to remember the lessons I learned the night before. So apparently I really need to learn how to relax, enjoy the moment and everything will be fine!!!

In the long run...the futon and all their stuff made it home, we were able to do all the things we had already planned and everything is fine!!!

20 Questions

2010-05-11T17:20:00.002-04:00

20 questions is a "game" we play when we meet new people. It started with our kids friends but has actually expanded to our adult friends as well.
We discovered how quickly we can get to know somebody in a short amount of time. It is actually a lot of fun and can be quite interesting. Even the people who know one another real well tend to learn something about the person answering the questions. When Steph was home from college over Easter Break she had a couple of friends sleep over. While I was cooking and they were at the counter...I started 20 questions. It was fun!!! We found out the guy's favorite show was "Shark Week" and the other's had no idea. So when they joined us in Rockport a couple weeks later, it came up and we joked with him that if there were sharks in the ocean there he would know what to do. So it's harmless and really does build simple relationships.
It can be done by one person or many (like at a dinner table). If it's done at the dinner table, we go around and everyone asks the person questions so it becomes quite varied.
I thought I would share some of the types of questions we ask. We always start off with the same question (what's your favorite pizza) because it immediately relieves the anxiety to the person being asked because they realize it's non-threatening.
What's your favorite...
Pizza? Color? Season? Time of the day? Movie? Music? Type of Music? Holiday (except Christmas, because everyone said that), Room in the house? Vacation? Animal? Food? Ice-cream? Sport? Book? Way to spend a day off? Present you received? Meal...breakfast, lunch, supper? Subject? Least favorite chore/task? Store? Restaurant? Fast Food? Car? Article of clothing?
Then there are harder questions like...
If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you have with you (people don't count, you're stranded alone). Get more specific about foods like...what's your favorite type of seafood? If you could have any secret "Superhero Power", what would it be? If you could be an animal, what would it be? What's your homepage for your computer?
Important note...always be willing to answer any question you ask!!!

I Survived

2010-05-09T15:27:00.002-04:00

So today I spoke on the platform, with Michael, for the very first time and survived!!!

Let me start by saying that I am grateful for a church that didn't make me feel uncomfortable, even though I was completely out of my comfort zone!!! I'm grateful for all those who I know were lifting me up in prayer right until the very end and for the ones that I didn't know. I wouldn't have made it without those prayers!!!

So about the experience, I always have but even more so now appreciate all that my husband does every week. So many times I have wondered "how does he do it?", well now I really wonder..."how does he do it?"

It took a lot of prayer, prep and planning. I spent a lot of time this past week on the laptop revising and deleting. When I first put all my points together for the message, Michael said I had enough material for two messages. So we began the process of deleting points and narrowing the field to the ones we decided to stick with.

I'm grateful and humbled by the experience I had this morning. I feel blessed to have a husband who patiently guided me through the message and eased my anxiety. I'm doubly blessed by the children that we have been able to parent for the past 20 years. They bring so much joy to us and we are grateful for them!!!

Three days and counting...

2010-05-06T19:24:00.004-04:00

I was so blessed this morning. At 8:23 this morning, while I was out at the bus stop with Matthew, I received a text from a friend who attends our church. She is an amazing person and I'm grateful just to know her. She wrote, "You suddenly came to mind about 5 minutes ago and I have been praying for you. Have a blessed day". I was so glad she shared that with me!!!

So the good news...bad news about the message on Sunday are both the same. We've got way too much material, even though we've deleted sections. So the good news is there is no need for any fillers the bad news is I don't think we'll be getting through all of it. It's kind of hard to condense 20 years of parenting into a 40 minute time frame. I'm not a speaker and I still found it hard to do. So I'm praying that the Lord guides us with what needs to be said and fly through or eliminate what isn't necessary!!!

Mother's Day Message

2010-05-05T11:18:00.000-04:00

This upcoming weekend Michael and I are actually doing the Sunday Morning Message together. I have never done that before and I have to say, I feel nervous because it is intimidating and humbling.

It's intimidating because there are a lot of people in church on Sunday Mornings between the Worship Service and Chapel. One thing that has made me feel a bit better about doing this is some dialog I had with another Pastor's wife (she's done this before). She said; "Don't compare yourself to your husband who has been doing this every week for years and years. God will use you to speak to certain people even if it's not as perfected as the way your husband can do it". Wise and encouraging advice, because I personally think my husband is an incredibly, gifted speaker whom I love to listen to each and every week. I on the other hand, am fully aware that speaking is not my gift which adds to the intimidation. I have other gifts which I am much more comfortable with!!!

It is also intimidating because it is Mother's Day. I'm not a big fan of the man-made holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day which can make people feel bad because of their relationships or lack their of. It's just something I've always been sensitive too. Don't get me wrong...I understand the joy of celebrating those relationships as well, I just feel bad for those who feel extra hurt during those "celebrations".

This Sunday is Mother's Day and I am aware of how hard it can be on so many women. It's so hard that some women won't even go to church on Mother's Day because it is so painful for many reasons. Some struggle with the relationship they have with their Mother or vice versa their child/children. Some struggle because they have lost a loved on in the past year and grieve all over again on these holidays. Some women struggle because they are not married and desire to have a family. Some women want to be a Mom but struggle with infertility or miscarriages etc... So my heart always goes out to all these Women.

It's humbling because parenting is such a large, broad spectrum topic that when you step back and look at the big picture you think...where do I begin? The message is on Intentional Parenting...insights and lessons I've learned over the past 20 years. It's humbling because I think who am I so speak on such an important subject. Like everyone else, I've just done my best to survive, thrive and raise the children God has entrusted into my care. When it comes to parenting, I've done some things really well and other things...not so well. So my prayer is that the words I speak would solely be the ones the Lord wants me to speak...nothing more/nothing less!!!

Back to "normal"...

2010-05-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

So the blog is now "back to normal" even though I loved having it be a Step into Africa blog for a while. So being back to normal...I sometimes share very simple things and here is one of them.

I ran into someone from church yesterday at a grocery store. She was buying a container of whipping cream and it happened to be my favorite type. At that point I told her that some years ago I received one of my favorite Mother's Day gifts ever...a Whipped Cream Maker. The picture is the same one I have and I love it!!! We use it every time we have waffles with strawberries, crepes etc. You pour whip cream into the container with vanilla and confections sugar. After that, you screw the top back on with an aerosol type thing and you've got whip cream that will last in the refrigerator for a few days.

Step into Africa thoughts...

2010-04-28T19:12:00.003-04:00

The SIA dust has settled and we've been able to catch up on our much lost and needed rest so I thought I'd share a few reflections. There are so many but I tried to narrow the field to a few or I'd be writing a novel.

My first thoughts are at how AMAZED I am by EVERYONE at FCCH!!! I am in awe at how the week to 10 days went. I can't believe that we had 100% of the volunteers needed on the first day and I really can't believe that there was OVER 100% everyday there after. However, in reality I can believe it because I was there in the midst of the blessings and answer to a years worth of prayers.

I did not actually know a several people took a week of their vacation time to serve and be available for SIA. I was completely humbled when I first heard that and there were even more people who took a few days off to serve. I was stunned to say the least. It truly was an in-house Mission's Trip for FCCH. I loved it when people served and finished there shift all to say "when can I serve next" as they were leaving. Did you know that World Vision needs around 25 or so people to sign up to volunteer and break down the exhibit at the end? On Sunday night we had somewhere around 50 people show up to help break it down. I was almost brought to tears as I watched people interact with one another and build relationships. World Vision was amazed at the outcome of volunteers for the week.

I am humbled by the number of FCCH people who took on Child Sponsorships and more humbled by the ones who took on more even though they already sponsor children from our partnership with Malawi and/or other places throughout the world. I was also surprised by the number of people throughout the community who felt compelled to Sponsor children. I spent 80 to 90 percent of my time at the Information Center. When people came out with their child it felt like a celebration. Did they add a boy or girl to their family? What was the age of the child? Was there a story about the child that people chose? etc. It NEVER got old to me because I KNOW without a shadow of doubt that 410 childrens lives were changed as well their families and their community. I feel so blessed to be part of a church that truly cares for the needs of people, who God created, on another part of the planet. I'm grateful for that people learned, cared and responded...LIVES ARE NOW FOREVER CHANGED!!!

I loved serving with people that I did not have the opportunity to know before this SIA experience and for the ones I got to know better. I looked forward to going in everyday and coming alongside some pretty amazing people. I loved the opportunity that I had to share with so many people that I may never of had the chance to get to know.

I loved the fact that my children joined me EVERY day after school and a quick bite for supper. On average, I would get to the church around 9 or so in the morning, go home when the kids got off the bus (2:20 and 3:50), take care of homework and feed them quickly so we would be back at the church around 5:30/6:00 til close. I am so blessed that my kids embraced Step into Africa. They looked forward to going and many nights brought friends. Matthew went through the exhibit 11 times and Bekah went through 7 times. This past Monday, when they went back to school after April Vacation Break, Bekah came home and said she wished we were going to SIA.

Most of all...I loved the opportunity to come alongside and serve round the clock for over a week with Michael. Normally he does church, I do home and we typically have several crossovers in the course of a week. SIA was an opportunity for us to serve together, practically full-time, for an entire week and I LOVED IT!!!

I am both overwhelmed and speechless by everyone at FCCH. This experience was so encouraging. Our family is so blessed to be part of FCCH for the past 20 years...thank you!!!

Prayer Wall Notes, part 4 of 4

2010-04-26T17:14:00.003-04:00

The last batch of notes I'm posting...

Dear God,
Please touch and bless the life of this little girl named Jane. She lives in a world of poverty, disease, and no mercy. Help her find a Christian friend to encourage her and strengthen her faith. Please help her to feel you peace, spirit, kindness, gentleness, love, sweet spirit, grace, mercy, joy, hope and happiness. Please help her and touch her life in your name I pray. Amen (a child) with a ps...I'm praying for you.

"My goodness, I had no idea. This exhibit is compelling. God Bless. God Love. God Help.

Dear Lord,
Please keep these children healthy. A child named Kamwell should know that Jeremiah 29:11 says you have a plan for Him...plans for a hope and a future. Hold Him in your embrace.

Dear Astridah,
You are in my prayers - we share the same birthday and I feel God is calling me to sponsor you. Bless you.

Dear Magdala,
We are praying for you and we are going to help you.

Dear little Promise -
What a beautiful name you have! Jesus loves you, and He promises to be with you always! My family will pray for you and your family that all your needs will be met through Him. Love and Hugs, Mama Sue

Mathabo,
Jesus loves you and I do too! Thank you for opening my eyes and heart. I pray safety for you and your siblings. I love Psalm 23 also. I will think of you when I study it. Love, Pam

Davidson -
Our newest member of the family. Praying for you!

Dear God,
I understand now how the people suffer of starvation and more in the whole world. Please help them see the bright side of the day. To the children in Africa and help them with a cure for aids, and HIV. Please help the children of Africa and the world. Love, (a child)

Mercy,
I pray that you may be always safe - that God will provide people who will look after you. That you may know the eternal, powerful, healing love of Jesus deep down in your heart. That you never know the hopelessness of slavery or abuse. To a special girl. XOXOXO hugs and kisses from a Mommy

Dear God,
I pray for Fadould and that you would keep his family safe and continue to bless him and his family. Let him know that you are there and you love him. And I pray that he would find some new marbles to play with. (An FCCH teen)

Regarding Fadould...there is more to this story and prayer request on the wall. You see, I know this teen. Michael and I were at the SIA exhibit, on Tuesday night chatting with some friends from Hopkinton, when Michael received a text. This teen specifically asked Michael to go to the prayer wall and pull Fadould from there so he could sponsor him. You see, Michael and this teen have a long standing joke between them about smiling or lack there of. The teen told Michael that he would promise a smile if Michael could still find the child on the wall. This child had the perfect expression on his face, the teen remembered him and and was touched. The long and the short of it...the teen sponsored him (he gave Michael a big smile on Sunday). What the teen did not initially know is that the Fadould and Michael share the same birthday!!!

Prayer Wall Notes, part 3 of 4

2010-04-24T07:41:00.000-04:00

Another batch of prayers from the Prayer Wall of the Step into Africa Exhibit.

Dearest Jesus,
You did not ask me to raise a son of my own. Today you asked me to help another father raise his only son. Thank you for this. Amen

Dear dear Austine,
My family and I have been very moved by the stories we have heard and this World Vision Experience. We will be sponsoring you now - we wish to help with your care. Please know that along with this funding come our prayers - you are part of our family and we will be holding you close in prayer. God will take care of you Austine and we will be here for you too. Pray to him Austine and know that He loves you! We send our love as well!

Dear Lord,
I pray for Rute, and all the other kids in the world who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. I feel you calling me to do more so today, 4/15/10, I am going to sponsor Rute! I'm going to help save lives of people with HIV/AIDS.

Dear God,
Please make your presence known to the families suffering with HIV. I know it breaks your heart to see such pain. Thank you for changing the life of Babirye's mother so one is able to help so many more. I pray the exhibit changes and touches the hearts in Hopkinton as it's done mine. I know you can do anything. Amen

God,
I lift up all the people affected by HIV and AIDS. Lord, I pray that as their physical needs are met, so are their spiritual needs. Father, I pray that everything I've seen/heard/experienced through this exhibit stays with me and that you use me to glorify you. Please be the loving Father to those who have lost parents. Amen

Dear God,
I am speechless. Please touch those effected by this disease. Scott

Dear Manu and all the people of Damye, Haiti,
You changed my life forever. Thank you. You will always be with me. Thank you for showing me what true joy means in any situation. I hope you're staying strong despite all the troubles surrounding you. I hope I can develop strength like you! Philip

Lord,
I pray that a cure will be found and be accessible for this horrible disease. I want to lift up each and every person fighting this. Amen

Dear Lord,
Please help scientist find a cure for HIV. I will pray for Joseph and all the children. Peg.

Father,
Please watch over the children in Africa whose lives have been shattered by AIDS. Move the hearts of your people all over the world to be your hands, your feet, your heart for these children break our hearts for that which breaks your heart. Inspire us to action. Elizabeth

Dear God,
I can't even imagine what these children have to go through everyday. I am so thankful for what you have given me in my life. Please provide these young children with comfort and safety and let them know they are not alone and you are with them, and bring them into your house someday. Amen

Dear Heavenly Father,
Protect these children, give them medical care, clean water and food. They are all your children. Gerry

I pray for Geralda from Hati and that soon a caring person will become her sponsor - so that she can have better education, health care, and opportunity. I also pray for Sella - my sponsored child in hopes that because of me, her life is even a tiny bit better and that the love of God will make her life the best it possibly can be please - Olivia

Lord,
We pray for Tiwonge and am so blessed to sponsor her. We hope for good health and happiness and that God blesses her through us.

Dear God,
I feel blessed and sorry for my ignorance. I pray for all the people who have or are affected by AIDS. Keep my boy, Gift, safe! Michelle

Dear God!
Bless the Africans for a better life. This is true story. I have been to Kenya many times. Kenya is my next country on Eastern Part. I hope God will make a way for the better. Kenneth

Dear Lord,
Thank you for opening up my eyes to this part of the world that is suffering so much. I pray that the strength of these people will sustain them! Be an inspiration for others. Love, Nancy

Heavenly Father,
I just want to lift up all the brokenness and hopelessness to you. Lord, I know it breaks your heart and I just pray that you would give us a heart of compassion and desire to reach out and help these children. Let us be your hands and feet and be your light to this dark world.

Father,
May we all be willing to do all you call us to. The need is overwhelming, let us do what you give us.

Dear Lord,
You know each of these children by name. Help us to know which and how many we can help. Give our church family compassion and generous hearts. In Jesus Name, Amen

Prayer Wall Notes, part 2 of 4

2010-04-20T18:38:00.005-04:00

Here is another batch of notes from the SIA prayer wall...

Heavenly Father,
I chose to sponsor a child. I am taking him on faith. I trust that you will care for him through me. Please help me provide the earthly things to keep him healthy, happy and able to grow to know you on a deep intimate level.

I feel bad for you. I want to give a bunch of toys, water and a bunch of food. I do feel really bad for you, I'm going to help you. Jimmy (a 5 year old)

My child,
I am here to sponsor you. You have touched my soul. May God be with you.

I pray for all the children in the world affected by HIV/AIDS, poverty, loss of parents and strife. May God bless them and guide them in their journey.
I pray that FCCH will be a vehicle to advocate the people of the crisis and the children will be sponsored and people will be encouraged to start a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father,
It's not the children's fault. Please have mercy on them. Help us to remember them in our prayers and with our support. Praise God! Amen

Dear Iris of Zambia,
You have the name of my grandmother and of a beautiful flower. The Iris opens and brings much joy to the world. You are a beautiful child and I pray for you and your loved ones. May God give you peace, joy and wellness!

Shenei Love in Haiti,
We are praying for you sweetheart that you will come to know the God of love through our gift to you!

Dear Daniel,
I pray that God will bless you over the years as you grow into a young man. I give you credit for your perseverance through you tough time. I would've given up. Just remember God loves you and will always be there for you. God bless you, Matt (a child)

Dear Amin,
I pray that God will provide all the food and shelter that your family needs. I pray that you will always be able to play soccer. XOXOXOXO (written by an adult but from a child...there were all sorts of drawn pictures on this one)

God,
Show me how I should be involved.

Father,
Please protect and provide for Rose in Malawi. Help me to play a part in your will for this young girl. Dave

Lord Jesus,
Help us to be your hands and feet and voice. Help us help others. Your will be done...Amen

Dear God,
I pray for your daughter, Flora. Protect her, help her to know that she is loved. Guide her and keep her from AIDS Lord and protect those she loves. Hadley

Dear God,
I will have this child in my thoughts and prayers - you will not be forgotten. Peace.

May our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God. Joseph, you break my heart.

Dear Sherlineda,
May God bless you and your family always. Never, never give up hope and never forget that god is walking this journey with you. You have many people praying for you - including me.

Lord,
I pray for Babirye and her mother to live as long as they are allowed. I pray that both Babirye and her twin sister become doctors.
I pray for also Kombo and Mathobo may they achieve their dreams and live the healthiest lives they can live.
I pray for the boy we have chosen. I don't know his story. I hope to find out his story. Amen

I pray for all the people that are giving through hardship and thank God for the World Vision for helping out to these poor people. God bless you.

I hope that Babirye lives a long life. She does not deserve this disease. A twin myself, I have an idea of what she is going through. for Babirye and all others affected with HIV, my thoughts go out to you.

A Volunteer's Letter about Step into Africa

2010-04-19T17:44:00.003-04:00

Below is an email I received today. The person shared from the depths of her heart. With her permission, I am sharing the content with you. I'm sure many can relate to her feelings at sometime or another and I truly hope and pray that you are inspired.

The email brought tears to my eye, especially as I shared it with Michael and my children. I must say to the person who wrote this...I truly appreciate your willingness to share your story with the rest of us. You are inspiring, amazing and we are blessed to have you in our midst!!! SIA has truly made a diffenece in the lives of many people at FCCH.

Hi Sheila,
I've been reading your posts on the SIA blog this morning, and just wanted to share a couple of thoughts with you.

My husband and I returned late Saturday evening from our monthly visit to my elderly parents in Florida, exhausted and emotionally drained. My mom is dying, in hospice care, and my dad is deteriorating rapidly both mentally and physically from the strain. My son's ten-year marriage is struggling and there are two small children involved. I'm coping with the personal burden of having a terminal illness with a poor prognosis. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling very sorry for myself; I was less-than-excited about my volunteer shift at SIA.

However, after walking through the exhibit and then helping people who had decided to sponsor a child fill out their paperwork and write letters to their child, I found myself walking out of the church (tired, footsore and...) restored. God had dragged me out of my own self-centered blue funk, shook me, and showed me, up close and personal, just how blessed and cared for I truly am. I have everything a person could want or need - loving parents and healthy children, grandchildren full of love and potential, and the best medical care available. A comfortable and "homey" house. Food (too much, yes), water, clean air. A loving husband who is compassionate beyond all measure. How dare I feel sorry for myself? I was filled with humility and gratitude for God's intercession to show me that I was wandering off the path.

Now, we have two sponsored children to pray for and include in our extended family, from Mozambique and from Kenya. We hope to hold them up as examples for our little grandchildren that children around the world don't live like we do, and to encourage these little ones to participate in the sponsorships with letters, drawings, and interest.

I wanted to share this story to show that SIA didn't just change the course of lives of children in Africa, but that God uses all things to work even more grace into our already-blessed daily lives. Thank you, Sheila, and Pastor Mike, and all the people who walked so willingly through the door that God opened for us as a church.

Once in a Lifetime-Kim Lewis

2010-04-19T10:46:00.003-04:00

It's Monday morning and we have left our World Vision Project AIDS Exhibit or rather it has left us. I'm pondering how deeply having this project here has changed me. Hearing the stories, seeing the pictures and working with the World Vision staff is something I wouldn't have missed. I kept thinking the whole week that this is a once in a lifetime experience that I'm engaged in. What an honor it has been to serve God throughout this project and watch Him at work in the lives of His people.

I keep remembering the comments from people as they would leave the exhibit. It was as if they were cradling a newborn child and welcoming that child into their home for the first time. It's hard to explain the excitement and thrill that you see in the faces of these "new parents."

One of our teens kept coming back to serve. The first time she was scheduled her mom gently encouraged her to do so. After that she couldn't be kept away and showed up at every shift she was available to serve in! On that first shift she got to experience nine children being sponsored all at once by one family. She understood that she was a part of making that happen just by being in the exhibit serving! Many of you may not have known this but if eight people weren't present at each shift the World Vision staff would have had to shut the exhibit down. With the exhibit being open for 115 hours there were 29 different shifts with a total of at least 316 openings to serve. Our church family filled each opening with 100% participation on the first day of the exhibit. That was an answer to prayer and something that even the World Vision staff said they had never seen happen.

The serving momentum didn't stop there though. What we witnessed at each shift really turned out to be something totally amazing. People would just show up! The trend was to have about 12-15 people show up per shift. If someone couldn't make it we never had to make one phone call or send one email for assistance, not one all week long. Our FCCH family just showed up ready to jump in and serve in the exhibit. Each shift was four to five hours long. We actually kept pinching ourselves and exclaiming that we were witnessing a modern day miracle. The World Vision staff really couldn't get over the willingness of the people of FCCH to serve.

Our World Vision staff said that they had been in situations were churches can't even open their exhibit due to low sign ups. People are standing in lines ready to come in, but due to lack of volunteers they aren't able to open the doors. Additionally, many get started and have to shut down during certain days due to lack of volunteers.

Many people made new friends this past week by serving alongside one another. It was great to walk by and hear the friendly chatting as people who have been in the church for years and seen one another but didn't know one another got to finally connect through serving together.

This really has been a once in a lifetime experience. God has multiplied my faith during all of this. I can't wait to send you some stats this week on serving. That will have to wait as I am just in a praise mode to my heavenly Father this morning and I really need another cup of coffee!

These are a few of my favorite things

2010-04-18T16:49:00.002-04:00

Guest Blogger: Nancy Goedhart

These are a few of my favorite things from the past few days:

- Seeing both friends and family take on new or additional sponsorships, walking through the exhibit (sometimes more than once), asking questions about HIV/AIDS, poverty, experiencing great compassion for the poor .....these things have been my own personal reward this week.

- Ministering side by side the Step Into Africa Project Team - their friendship and servanthood amazes me.

- This afternoon, I joined Kris Corey on one of her shifts up at the Hopkinton Common inviting people to the exhibit. It rained...then sunny...then it rained some more. We spoke with a group of three people. One of them was a mom whose daughter attended the SIA exhibit earlier in the week with their church's youth group. The other two people were from out of town (I wish I had asked where they were from) and were just here for the race tomorrow. We invited them to the exhibit. Later, we saw the same group of three at the church - as they were coming out of the exhibit with two newly sponsored children from Africa!

- Some members of the Project Team alongside the World Vision staff arrived early on Friday morning to staff the exhibit so that the men's prayer breakfast could go through. One gentleman who is a mechanic came out of the exhibit amazed that he listened to the story of a child who wanted to be a mechanic when he grew up. May seem like a small thing ....but I think it was a great testimony of the little things that can help us to connect and make the stories we hear hit a little closer to home.

- The ministry partners who spent hours of work behind the scenes - cleaning the kitchen, cooking food, shopping for or preparing snacks, vacuuming, emptying trash, moving chairs, decorating, setting and finally tearing down the exhibit....children were sponsored because you served!

Spread the Joy

2010-04-17T21:07:00.002-04:00

Guest Blogger: Nancy Goedhart

A couple of months ago I started to really explore the idea I discussed in my last post on the broken heart of God. It was almost mid January. My small group and I were going through the Hole in the Gospel study that World Vision provides for Rich Sterns' book (which I would recommend!). After a couple of discussions about aligning ourselves with the broken heart of God...my mind was going about a million miles an hour.

Two days later the Haiti earthquake hit. In horror I spent a few days staying up way too late watching news coverage, reading reports, looking at pictures...too shocked to pray. Then one night ...it hit. Wave after wave of emotion. One wave would be heartbreak the next would be of overwhelming love for the people of Haiti. Prayers for strength for the people I met while there....courage for those still waiting to be rescued....comfort for those who mourn...peace for those who were terrorized by the traumatic events of the quake.

God doesn't JUST share His broken heart with his us, He also desires to share the joys of His heart as well. This week I have experienced both a deep brokenness and a strange kind of joy I can't explain....Brokenness when contemplating the suffering that exists in the world and joy when I see people responding to that suffering with God's love. Seeing people mobilized into action to meet the needs around them....for me there is nothing like it. Whether its sponsoring a child across the world or helping a single mother move to her new apartment in the town next to yours ....doesn't matter!

When we submit who we are, what we do, where we are and what we have to God....We set ourselves up for great success in doing His work! When we are doing God's work we can experience the joy of His heart!

By this time tomorrow the Step Into Africa exhibit will be closed. Visit! Already been through? Call, email, Facebook OR text a friend and invite them to walk through with you! Help spread the joy!

Prayer Wall Notes, part 1 of 4

2010-04-16T15:45:00.001-04:00

Dear God,
I never knew about the hurt these people are constantly going through...help me to remember them in my prayers.

Lord,
May we be the people you called us to be. To love those no one else will love. Lord we lift up those children that are without loved ones. Those that have passed because of this terrible disease. May we show the love of Christ to a world that needs Him. Lord, we ask for strength, peace, love, compassion. In Jesus Name Amen

Dear Matthews,
I choose to sponsor you today. I will commit to praying for you and doing everything in my power to help make a difference in your precious life! Stay strong - Love, Brittany

Dear Junior,
You are a very brave boy and I hope that you get better soon. I will try to pray for you every night. Love Matthew (child)

Dear God,
How lucky we are for living in America, we are so comfy in our world and we need things like this to break our hearts. Thank you for breaking my heart to the things that break Yours. Be with all the children in Africa and protect them from this disease. Kaitlyn.

Marie Dialine,
I am praying for you tonight. Although I am far away in the US State of Massachusetts, God is the God of all of us! I am praying for God to strengthen and encourage you. That no matter what you are facing today as a growing young woman - that you would be strong and courageous in all things. That as you trust in God for the things that you need, you will find God providing all...I do not know what hard times you are facing today - but I want you to know that you are being thought of and cared for tonight. Matt

Dear God,
I do not know why children suffer like this. I know you love all your children. help me to be an instrument for your love. In Jesus' name

Dear Lord,
I know you hear our prayers and answer. I pray today for the people of Africa that you would bless them and enable them to persevere through your strength. We know that when we are our weakest, you are strongest. Please comfort these beautiful children of yours and give them the peace that surpasses understanding. In Christ's name, Amen.

Dear God,
Please help these African children and adults, please help them get more food and money. please Bless them amen. from Tabitha (a child)

I pray you will have food on the table, safety in your slumbers and opportunity in all your future endeavours. I hope you stay strong when the day is long. I pray for your health & safety. you demonstrate a bravery & strength that I cannot comprehend.

Have you?

2010-04-16T15:20:00.008-04:00

Have you walked their shoes? Shared their journey? Sat on their bed? Touched their clothes/shoes? Seen the pots and pans they cook with? Looked at the tables and photos?

2010-04-16T10:01:00.010-04:00

What does 261 mean to you? It's Thursday Morning and so far a total of 261 children have been sponsored...lives are being changed!!!

It's Storytime...

2010-04-16T09:30:00.005-04:00

Woodville Baptist Church found the perfect child for them to sponsor, "Wood".

FCCH reached 100% of our goal for volunteers, 316, on Sunday for SIA. After Sunday, the average of volunteers was OVER 100%!!!

One of our FCCH families sponsored 9 children!!!

A couple who came to serve were not even speaking to one another. By the end of their shift, after they served together because that is how the assignments went, they were heard laughing and having a good time.

One student who went through realized that they take have taken for granted the fact that they have a roof over their head.

Another student said that they used to think AIDS was funny and that people who had it were stupid. After SIA, they said they don't think that anymore.

One guy from our church, who does not have any children, sponsored a child. He said for the first time, he felt and experienced the love a parent has for a child.

One family who doesn't attend FCCH or any church, came and went through two of the three stories and their middle school son went through all three. They were truly touched by the experience even though they were quite familiar with the AIDS epidemic.

More stories to come...

Choosing a Broken Heart?

2010-04-15T15:23:00.003-04:00

Guest Blogger: Nancy Goedhart

Break our hearts with the things that break the heart of God ....so often we say, pray or echo the sentiments and life prayer of Bob Pierce founder of World Vision.

Break our hearts ...Do we REALLY want this to happen? Heartbreak is a painful, scary and vulnerable experience. Everyone can easily recall an experience when they felt the emotions of disappointment, anger and hurt. Perhaps it was a broken relationship, unmet expectations, or an unjust something that was done to you. Regardless of the circumstance, we know those emotions, sometimes all too well. We also know all too well that very rarely do we want to live in that place. We as individuals and as a society are doing everything we can to get away from that broken and painful experience. We seek counsel, self-help tricks...whatever deemed necessary to mend our broken hearts. We try to get off the path of heartbreak - as soon as possible!

BUT when we willingly walk the path that leads to sharing in the heartache of God, we are accomplishing a couple of things. By taking our first steps down this path, we are saying to the Lord that we even though the trip will be painful - we trust God to sustain us on this painful journey. We trust that God will give us the strength to persevere through the difficult times and that we will come out the other end whole hearted.

Think back to when you last suffered heartbreak. The death of a family member? The loss of a job? The people who accompanied along that journey of heartbreak ...I would guess are people that are truly precious to you. The people who knew how to truly minister God's love to you during that time are friends so close to your heart. When we say to the Lord that we are willing to sit with Him during His time of heartache over the suffering of millions of children impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic this can be an act of worship and of devotion. When we say that we want to share in His suffering ...we take steps closer to the Lord and in our relationship with Him.

It also says that we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring relief to God's broken heart. For some of us it is sponsoring a child. For some it is sponsoring two or more children. For others it might be volunteering to move tables and chairs, welcoming guests to a special event such as the Greek Dinner last night or for others it is telling as many people as they can about the needs that exist around the world. Regardless of HOW we participate in bringing healing to God's heart ....we ALL have a role to play!

The Step Into Africa exhibit is here until Sunday ...there are hundreds of more children to sponsor and many more spots for visitors to come through the experience! Have you been through already? Come back and bring a friend with you! Were you considering sponsoring a child but had not yet picked up a packet? Stop in and ask one of the many volunteers who are ready and waiting to answer questions!

Greek Dinner

2010-04-14T13:28:00.003-04:00

We'll have more blog posts and stories going up tomorrow. Today, everyone is getting ready for FCCH to host the Greek Dinner that is being sponsored by the BAA. So, tomorrow is looking pretty good for catch up while I'm at the church and hopefully the others will be able to share their stuff too.

A God Moment Story

2010-04-14T06:00:00.005-04:00

This is one of many God moments that are being experienced this week at the Church through the Step into Africa Exhibit. It personally touched my heart because I know this person well...it's Terri Swanick.

Let me start by saying that if you know either Mike or Terri Swanick...you are blessed!!! I will take the liberty to speak for my family and say that all six of us LOVE the Swanicks:) Now onto Terri's story...

Terri LOVES gardening and at the end of the growing season she makes Homemade Salsa. She is always extremely kind and generously shares some of her bounty with us. She told me that last year she made around 70 gallons...yum is all I have to say. It is so good, I don't even use a chip or anything else to eat it. I enjoy it straight from the jar with a fork or spoon!!!

Well on Monday, we worked together at the Information Center for Step into Africa (which is when the photo of us was taken) and of course ended up talking about her salsa. On Tuesday morning, before she came in for her shift at SIA, she was gardening. That reminded her about the conversation we had about Salsa, so she brought some jars in to share with people on Tuesday afternoon.

Before she began her shift she went through the SIA exhibit to hear another one of the three stories. When she was done there was a girl who needed to be sponsored named "Tsala", she saw "Salsa" and immediately knew this girl was for her. The story doesn't end there...they also share the same birthday, December 11th:) How amazing is that!!!

Terri and Mike now have a wonderful little girl in their life and Tsala now has the Swanick Family in her life. A couple from the other side of the world who cared enough to make a difference. Tsala has no idea how much better her life will be because Terri responded to a God moment, but I know that both of their lives will be forever changed!!!

So CONGRATULATIONS to Terri and Mike on their new little girl named "Tsala" born on December 11th:)

A Day in the Life of a Child

2010-04-13T14:02:00.002-04:00

Guest Blogger: Vickie Hampton

On Sunday, I watched as 125 children, ages 5-10, participated in activities similar to those experienced by children in Africa. They sat on a “bed” (really just a blanket on the floor) under a mosquito net and learned about malaria and living conditions in Africa. They ground corn using stones and learned how hard it can be to feed a family. They carried “babies” (dolls and stuffed animals) tied on their backs and learned that many children care for younger brothers and sisters all day every day. The carried heavy buckets of water and learned that is a typical chore done by children every morning before school. They made soccer balls out of trash and learned that is the only toy that many children have. They tasted authentic African food and learned that the snack on their plates was more food than most African children will have in an entire day. They sang songs of worship that are sung by African children. And they prayed for the children of Africa. These are some of the prayers in their own spelling:

Help the people have food and have no mositos in the area.

I pray that ever one has at lest tow mels a day.

I pray that there will be enough rain to grow crops.

I pray that the children can drink water that is clean.

I pray the African people that they have anaf of everything they need.

Dear God, Please give the kids clean water.

To us getting shots is a bad thing, but to them it would be a blessing.

Things I want in Africa: medicens, nets, money, food, clean water

Things I do not want in Africa: mosquitos

Dear God, Please bring the children yummy food.

Dear God, Please help them learn to read.

That more girls will be able to go to school.

I pray that there will be water close so people won’t have to walk so far.

For every kid to have a blanket.

So that the people of Africa have eneof rain.

No more miquitos!

I want every child to have medicine and cures for their sicknesses. I want each kid to have clean food and water. I think they need a good strong shelter and to have a smart education.

Dear Heavenly Father, I hope that every child in Africa will get enough water and that they don’t get sick and they won’t go hungry and they will get enough education.

The children heard, learned, understood and prayed. They did what they could do for the children of Africa…and, as a result, have challenged me to do what I can do as well.

Vickie Hampton

Stepping In ...Stepping out?

2010-04-13T12:27:00.003-04:00

Guest Blogger: Nancy Goedhart

While finishing up my graduate work last spring, I had one last paper to write. The focus was on women and HIV. I started to scour the World Vision website as I had planned on writing about some of their programs. I came across information about Step Into Africa. I started to dream about what the Step Into Africa exhibit might look like if it came to FCCH. You see, I had just finished my thesis weeks before on the Faith-Based Response to HIV/AIDS. I had intellectually processed poverty, the pandemic and the Church's response for the better part of two years. I felt frustrated, disillusioned and heart broken that I did not see many rays of light or examples. Not to say that the Church was all bad, but rather to say that after two years of research, I didn't see much hope. I saw resources, I saw promise, I saw potential for change....but had yet to see something that would get the average person engaged in understanding the far reaching damaging effects of the pandemic. So when I came across SIA - I was intrigued.

So I sent an email off to our Worship Director asking who was in charge of planning the Synergy outreaches as I could see it fitting in well with our church wide focus in the fall. I then followed up with Pastor Mike. Mike responded that he was already planning a site visit for some people to a version of the exhibit later in the spring. So while I was not the first person to come up with the idea ...the Lord was already preparing me to join the Project Team as the Special Events Coordinator and I didn't even know it. The original email was sent April 19, 2009 and here a year later, the exhibit sits in our Fellowship Hall.

Being a part of the Project Team has renewed my sense of hope in the Church. There ARE people willing to come together, there ARE people willing to give of their time and of their resources and God IS moving in and through them. I agree with Mike's sentiment expressed earlier in the week, that this experience is like many streams of my life converging into one body of water. I have been able to put feet to my many hours of research and writing. I have been able to help mobilize scores of volunteers to utilize their resources on behalf of children living in poverty and impacted by HIV. I have been able to use my training and knowledge about the Church and HIV to pray for what God is doing here .....What an honor.

Of course ...now my mind is overwhelmed with thoughts such as: What's next?

Can we really Step Into Africa and then step right back out?

What does God require of us? Does He require us to only "feel" his broken heart for a 30 minute tour or is there more? Is sponsoring a child ENOUGH? Yes for some, it is enough. BECAUSE, it is exactly what God is calling them to do. For each and every sponsored child, I am truly thankful. How amazing. But I can't help but wonder, dream and pray for more people who want to do more. For some, Step Into Africa could be the catalyst for them to understand poverty, the pandemic and their world differently with unknown but exciting results!

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8. Pray that the Lord would increase our desire for justice and mercy this week as well as equip us with the wisdom to know how to live it out!

A Just Cause

2010-04-13T09:34:00.004-04:00

Guest Blogger: Kim Lewis

I picked up The Hole in the Gospel this morning as part of my morning devotion. It moves me to tears each time I read it. I thought about the wonderful volunteers who are devoting hours, days and some the entire week to our Step into Africa Project AIDS Exhibit. Many are taking vacation time this week to serve. What causes people to do that? They have made the connection that if they take the time to serve in the exhibit it allows the exhibit to remain open for 115 hours this week. In those 115 hours people will talk through the exhibit and be moved with compassion as they experience life as a child in Africa and perhaps be inspired to sponsor or pray for a child. It takes 316 people to make that happen and our church reached that goal on the first day the exhibit opened! I couldn't help but remember how a few months ago that goal seemed impossible to reach. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, " The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."
FCCH believes and is acting on a just cause.

Step into Africa - Saturday

2010-04-12T17:07:00.019-04:00

On Saturday Morning, Step into Africa began to consume (in a good way) the Laurence Household. Alarms were set early. Michael was at the church by 7:30 to join the World Vision and FCCH Teams to build a village:) Around 10:00 that morning I brought my Josh by to help set up for the day. It was amazing all that was taking place at that point. When we got there the truck had just completed unloading and was being moved to the front of the church. Michael and Josh came home around 5:00 that day. Josh was so impacted by the exhibit as he helped build it that he sent text invitations to friends to join him that week.

I returned home, with Bekah and Matthew, to clean, go food shopping and set-up for the World Vision Staff, Princess Zulu and our FCCH SIA (Step into Africa) Team to join us for dinner. It was a small, casual gathering for everyone to meet and greet one another before Sunday Morning.

After we ate, Michael gathered everyone together and asked the question of our team why they committed themselves to this project? I have to say that my heart grew three times that day, my eyes watered and I was overwhelmed with their love and compassion God's people as they shared why they were doing this. Two people on the team used their vacation time to work at Step into Africa for the week. I had no idea they had done that. One of the women started crying as she shared from the depths of her heart the passion she has for the orphans who have been affected by AIDS to be cared for...specifically sponsored. Another team member shared with us...how could you not? Being how could you not care about these people? She loves World Vision and has experienced them in a way no other has. We have a Pediatrician (she actually went to Malawi on the second trip) on the team who feels the same way and the list went on that night!!!

The love and compassion from our FCCH team leaders is immeasurable!!! I can not even put it into words. I am beyond impressed with their willingness to respond to what God has truly placed on their heart. It's CONTAGIOUS JOY!!!

We closed with a time of prayer and desserts...of course. I have to say thank you to Kim Lewis and Vanessa Barker for making such wonderful desserts!!! They were delicious and greatly appreciated.

My kids even had a great night because our friends, previously from FCCH, who work with World Vision (Bill and Annette Bryce) had their dog...who "needed" to be played with. It was such a short lived treat for them because we have allergies and can't have one, so they enjoyed their time with "Murphy".

It was a great way to start the Step into Africa Experience!!!

I had to put this picture up of Bekah, Princess and Matthew just because it was a great photo of them and I loved all their smiles:)

Where do I start?

2010-04-12T16:53:00.002-04:00

This week has been a work in progress for about a year now. It has been an amazing process to watch unfold. The church as a whole has been a part of the process for months now and it is finally here and we all get to be a part of it!!!

I love how my husband (Pastor Mike) puts it...that there is no better place to be then between God and the poor!!! That is place where you experience God in a way you could never imagine. It's the place that brings a tear to you eye, it's the place that moves you in ways you never imagined, it's a place where you experience compassion and joy how God intended it to be. It's a place where I believe God calls each and everyone participate, based on His word in the book of James.

So the journey has begun for FCCH as a whole!!! I have to say that it has been a place where I have, and I hope you have to, experienced contagious joy!!! So I have been given the job of blogging, as much as possible, about Step into Africa at FCCH, so everyone can continually be a part of the experience.

As one can tell...I'm already a couple days behind as I am just beginning, but I will do my best to keep it updated. I have also asked a couple people to guest blog here, this week, so that you too can experience as much as possible.

The Rest of Easter Weekend...

2010-04-09T15:42:00.006-04:00

Last weekend I wrote about what we had done up until Saturday Afternoon, here's what happened after that...

Our entire family went to service on Saturday Evening, including Michael's sister (Mary-Ellen) and her husband (Guy), Steph's roommate (Kas) and her friend (Chris). It was a great service and packed out. I loved the Worship Set that Baird and his team put together. It was so great celebrating it a little early, like Michael said..."it was like getting a Christmas Present a day early". Michael did an outstanding job with his message and was full of life while preaching it.He did the same message for both services on Sunday Morning.

I spent Sunday Morning at the Information Center, for both services, with Bob and Becky. By the way, it was nice to have Becky back. She had been out for a few weeks due to travel and illness.

Do you have any idea how many people we had at our Easter Services? 1372 for a combined total of all the services. It was an exciting Celebration of Christ from Maundy-Thursday right through services on Sunday Morning. I'm already looking forward to next year:)

After services we went over to Marlen and Caneva's for Easter Dinner. It was the perfect afternoon and a bit warm I must say!!! The food was great and the company even greater. Caneva did an amazing job with the food and table settings, she always does and she always makes it seem so easy even though it's not. She's a Martha Stewart but better...I know her heart!!!

All together there was Marlen and Caneva (of course, we were at their house), Andrew and Sara, all the Beaudette's, all the Laurence's, Steph's roommate and friend. We had a great time catching up with one another and the kids enjoyed being outside and even got to swim in the lake...a little crazy because it was cold, but fun!!!

The kids got to fish on the dock. The splas in the water was Matthew falling off the tube!!!

Michael and I LOVED our Easter Celebrations, even adding an extra service turned out to be another wonder part of our celebrations!!! We truly hope and pray that you were able to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ in a meaningful and memorable way.

Right now, we've spent the week in the "eye of the storm". Meaning the crazy busyness between Easter and Step into Africa. So as I'm writing this, Michael would have already met the World Vision Staff and we'll be hosting them, Princess Zulu and some others at our home tomorrow night. It's going to be a long, exhausting, crazy, exciting and memorable upcoming week and I can't wait. We've been building up to this for such a long time and it's finally here!!! So to all who are involved in any way, shape or form (even if you are just attending services on Sunday Morning)...Happy Step into Africa Week:)

Time

2010-04-07T14:46:00.003-04:00

I read an interesting article in Real Simple Magazine, the April edition.

It was about how about how our modern inventions/time savers actually chew up our time. The author of the article, John Freman, had some pretty valid points.

He pointed out that due to the DVR, Americans have hit an all time high for the amount of TV watched in a month...average 151 hours. The DVR contributes due to the recording aspect of series etc. that line up and wait to be watched. I think there is one huge benefit to the DVR, that is that we don't have to watch commercials. A couple weeks ago, we were watching "live" tv and when we got to a commercial, Steph instinctively picked up the control to fast forward it and realized she couldn't. Needless to say, she did not appreciate having to wait for the commercials to end.

Never looked at this one, this way...digital cameras. He pointed out that we spend a lot more time "taking"photos. Back in the day, not that long ago, when the film of 36 was done so was taking photos...unless you had an extra back-up roll. I have to admit that I am utterly guilty of taking too many photos. Since digital came into our house, I take tons. For me it is not only about taking a photo, it's somewhat of a hobby that I enjoy. So even though I am guilty of taking too many I don't live with regrets because I appreciate all that I have been able to capture and would never go back to film. I do have to admit, there can be a sigh of relief amongst the family when I say I'm done taking photos for that time or day.

Online grocery shopping. He pointed out that people spend more time clicking to find products then it is worth. I don't know about this one. I go to the grocery store with my list in hand and I'm quick so I don't mind going. I think it would take more time to order then go because two of our stores are 4/5 minutes away and the other 2 are 6/7 minutes away.

Email...bogs people down. It's not a big deal for me because I limit what I get and it doesn't take that long to sort through. I also don't even get to it every day, but I try to in case there is something important that should be attended too. I know people that get hundreds of emails a day or week that need responses...I can see where that would become time consuming and overwhelming.

Anyways, I thought he had some valid points and made me think about what needlessly consumes time for people. Is it hard for you manage email, facebook, DVR's, etc? What can you cut back on or manage better that would make time for the things that really matter?

Details make a Difference

2010-04-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

Recently, I was cleaning the bathroom and ended up using a q-tip to clean the line between the counter and splash board. It's "detail" cleaning that no one ever notices. I can assure you that no one used the bathroom and said, "Hey Mom, I noticed that you really cleaned that counter...especially the counter/splash board area". However, "detail" cleaning is the type of cleaning that makes a difference. It is the kind of cleaing that is noticed when you look into a room and it looks really clean.

Sometimes Michael comes home and asks what I did for the day and I might say I did "detail" cleaning, the phrase typically ends with..."you know the stuff that no one ever notices". At that point, I'm prone to point out some of the "detail" stuff I did. I think I point it out to make myself feel better about the detailed work I do because it is so tedious.

To me, tedious sometimes feels useless. The reality is that tedious/ "detailed" cleaning makes a significant difference. When it's not done over any length of time...it begins to show. It shows a build up of dirt and grime and the house begins to feel dirty. So when I am able to keep up on the "detailed" cleaning...the house tends to look and feel clean.

While I was cleaning, I realized how much this relates to my Spiritual Growth process. Spiritual Growth isn't always about the obvious...going to church etc. (please, don't be mistaken...going to church is a very important part of growth). However, while I was cleaning it occurred to me that, so often, it's the details that make the difference.

In order for me to grow in my relationship with Christ, I need to pay attention to the details. I need to notice the moments when God is obviously working in or through my life or the lives of others. When I am paying attention to those details, they become more obvious to me. I become focused and appreciative.

Easter Week thus far...

2010-04-03T12:53:00.002-04:00

Besides the flooding...the build up towards Easter has been wonderful!!!

I loved the CrossWord series that was completed on Maundy-Thursday Service.
I loved Maundy-Thursday Service and the interaction that took place during it. The portrait was amazing. If you see Christopher Whitehead, be sure to thank him for the work he put into doing it. Due to his work schedule, he wasn't able to join us at the Service and see the blessing everyone received as they participated.
I loved waking up this morning anticipating a wonderful Easter Service this evening. Then as Michael and I ran errands we saw a couple people from church who shared how they too were excited about tonight's Service.
I have loved experiencing Christ's love, this week, through people. Whether it has been a text, a phone call, an offer to make dinner or showing up (while we were flooding), a hug or a look that spoke volumes without words ever being said (during the Maundy-Thursday Worship Service) etc.
I loved our family Easter dinner that we celebrated last night. We always use the left-over bread from Maundy-Thursday and grape juice to celebrate Easter on Good Friday. Michael cooked a wonderful meal, we ate, went around the table sharing what we were thankful for and Michael talked about the lamb of God, shared some insights about Easter then we broke bread together.
I love the beautiful weather that lifts the Spirit especially after all the rain.

So at this point, Michael is at church getting ready and our family can't wait to join him!!!

Hope you are enjoying the weather and able to make it to one of the three service:)

Flooding...

2010-04-02T16:36:00.008-04:00

I haven't blogged this week because we got water in our basement. We've lived in our home for 17 years and NEVER had water in it before!!!

On Tuesday Evening, around 5:00, I sent Bekah downstairs with recycling and asked her to get a pan we store in the basement. She yelled up that there was water in the basement...what, seriously? Sure enough there was water!!! At that point, I yelled up to Michael who was working upstairs and he immediately came down. Michael, Bekah, Matthew and I started bailing as fast as possible, but the water was coming up fairly quickly.

We made several phone calls looking for a utility pump but no one had them around...we finally found one in Worcester and headed right out. While we were gone a few people from church got word and headed right over to our house. By the time we got home there were two pumps, a wet vac, fan (for when the water was gone) and people to help us!!! A couple of wonderful men from the church who stayed at our house for hours. We were EXTREMELY thankful!!!

The water continued coming in steadily for the next 24 hours and we were pumping out 10 gallons a minute during that time. We were up all night (I got to sleep from 3:00am to 4:30 am) and it continued into the next day. Josh missed school because he ended up helping for the whole night. After that it slowed down and became manageable with one person. It continued to come in for another 12 hours before it stopped. Then the clean up began!!! Friday was our trash day and we're grateful they took what we put out, however...we still have more for next week.

In the midst of it there are still moments to be grateful for:

I have a new appreciation for people who say they have water in their basement and will do whatever I can to help out.
I'm beyond grateful for the outpouring of effort and help we received. My sister and brother in law were doing their best to get a hold of pumps in the Cape area (they didn't have any either) and were willing to drive up and help. The men who gave up their evening to come over and help was amazing. I'm sure they had better things to do with their time on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, someone offered to bring supper over and I felt bad, so I declined but I was touched by her offer
I'm grateful that we were able to immediately prop up our freezer and dryer and they are still working. We haven't tested the treadmill yet, I hope it does work when we do.
I'm grateful that a lot of things were on shelves, only a couple of inches off the ground, so there wasn't a huge loss...even though things are gone and we know more things are going.
I'm so glad that the weather broke and the forecast is beautiful...we are now starting the drying out process!!!
I'm grateful that in the midst of this whole experience, during Holy Week, I know without a shadow of dout that God loves me and continues to watch out and take good care of us!!! He is NEVER changing!!! I'm so thankful for all the help he provided in the midst of a difficult time.
I'm extremely thankful that I was able to make it to Maundy-Thursday Service because the water stopped coming in...if it didn't, I would have had to miss it!!! I would have been sad and heart broken because it is my favorite service of the year. The service was so powerful and I'm glad I got to attend and participate.

You never know what any day holds and I've learned, having been married to Michael for almost 24 years, that if you can't change a circumstance, change the way you react to it!!!

It was in the air...

2010-03-26T19:00:00.002-04:00

If you know me, you know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Chocolate Chip Cookies and now I know why.

I grew up in East Bridgewater, until I was 11, right down the road from the Original Toll House Cookie place. It was located on Route 18 in Whitman and I grew up right up the road. I just mapquested (is that a word?) the exact addresses and realized that we were only 1.33 miles apart or 3 minutes.

In the past, I've told Michael that I grew up so close that was in the air and that is why I love them so much. Well apparently there must be some sort of truth to my thought process. I used to tell him that it was so close...I could have walked there. Now that I mapped it out...it's true, I could have walked there.

Did you know that the original chocolate chip cookie was developed by mistake? Just goes to show you that some mistakes are actually good:)

I have to admit that I've literally made thousands of chocolate chip cookies in my lifetime. We make them and freeze them within an hour so that we have them available at all times...it's a good thing!!!

3 New Books to Read...

2010-03-24T20:09:00.009-04:00

Today I got three new books to read. One I ordered from Amazon (it arrived today) and two I ordered and picked up at the Hopkinton Library.

This first book is called "The Christian Atheist", believing in God but living as if he doesn't exist by Craig Groeschel. This book was just released and I am excited to read it. This is the one I purchased from Amazon.

This book is "28 Stories of AIDS in Africa" by Stephanie Nolen. This was a book that was referenced and recommended in the book I just read "Warrior Princess".

This book "The Power of Small" by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval was on a blog I follow and it looked and sounded interesting.

I am so excited to read these books. What are you reading? What would you recommend?

A Makeover?

2010-03-23T17:50:00.000-04:00

This morning I was at the church to have a sit down meeting with Kim Lewis and Nancy Moschini. We were working on the final touch-ups for a "makeover" that will be revealed on Easter. I am so excited and it will be obvious to you when you enter the Worship Center on Easter.

By the way, there are now over 400 people planning to attend the Saturday Evening Easter Service. That is exciting and yes, the makeover will be there too!!! I know I'll be at FCCH for all three services. I'm super thankful to have the Saturday Service (even though it wasn't my idea, I think it is a great one). Now my whole family will be able to worship together because we all serve and do different things on Sunday Morning.

I can't wait for next week to begin with Maundy Thursday, Easter and then Step into Africa!!! I know the next couple of weeks will be quite busy. All the anticipation and excitement will finally be happening!!!

Mourning the Loss of Tommy

2010-03-22T16:02:00.003-04:00

Tommy Weaver passed away yesterday and the town of Hopkinton is in mourning at the loss of such a young life. He lost the battle of life to brain cancer at 17, just shy of his 18th birthday, he would have turned 18 on April 1st. He is the youngest of four children.

I have to say that Tommy truly impacted this community, especially those who went to school with him. One of the girls started a web page on Facebook in honor of Tommy yesterday around 3:30 and within the first hour 300 people joined. As I'm writing this blog the number is now up to 1,506 members.

I went through and read some of the posts and so many people talked about how they miss him, how he lived life, how if they didn't even know him the impact he had on their lives, how in his 17 years he had impacted as many lives as someone who would live to be 80, how they were inspired to pray for him on a regular basis whether they knew him or not, how he smiled and laughed, how he inspired people, how he was brave, strong and fought as hard as he could the battle of cancer but most of all people talked about how they wished they got to spend more time with him or had the opportunity to get to know him. In moments like these we are reminded how important it is to let the ones we love know they are loved and to be good stewards of the time we are given.

I know many of you at FCCH were both directly and indirectly touched by Tommy. Michael talked about him in December and many of you wrote cards for him, that we as a family, had the privilege of delivering last December. I know first hand that the family was deeply impacted by the number of notes/cards they received and the words that were said. On that note, I want to express my sincere gratitude to you for reaching out and making a difference in the life of a family in Hopkinton whether you knew them or not.

On a positive note, it is my understanding that Tommy did accept Christ into his life before he passed away yesterday. Also, the school gave him his diploma last week. The first one handed out for the class of 2010, which will be missing both Tyler Lary and Tommy Weaver from graduation.

The services will be this upcoming weekend. The Wake is on Friday and the Funeral Service is on Saturday. Please keep the Weaver Family in your prayers this week, as they are deeply saddened by the loss of their son at such a young age.

Spring has Sprung...

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Spring has sprung and I couldn't be happier. I'm so glad my heat hasn't been on for most of this past week and that the windows have been open. I LOVE fresh air and have them open whenever it is reasonable temperature to do so.

Along with the nice weather comes Michael's BBQ. Something he has come to enjoy over the past ten years, as the kids got older, and he could invest some time into grilling. I must say we all benefit from this hobby and have become quite spoiled.

Since the weather turned two weeks ago, we've enjoyed his AMAZING Ribs (while Steph was on Spring Break), pork chops with an incredible herb and olive oil rub, boneless spare ribs with spice rub and bbq sauce, a whole chicken with a cajuin rub smoked, on the weber, with apple wood chips and boneless skinless thighs, also smoked, with bbq sauce and mesquite wood chips. So delicious!!!

Hopefully you've been able to get out and enjoy some of this wonderful weather. It's going to be cooling down a bit over the next week but more great weather will be coming our way!!!

Easter Week and Step into Africa

2010-03-20T19:45:00.002-04:00

I am so excited for Holy Week and Step into Africa...

First of all, Maundy Thursday Service is one of my favorite services in the whole year. A little while ago Michael shared what is going to take place during the service and I have to say that it should be powerful!!! If at all possible I would encourage you to be there!!!

Last week, when Michael asked people to check off if they would be interested in attending a Saturday Evening Easter service around 340 people checked off yes. I didn't even have the chance to sign up our family but we are planning to attend it. I am especially looking forward to it because we can attend as a whole family because on Sunday Morning I will be serving at the Information Center and I'm looking forward to Baird's acoustic worship.

After that comes Step into Africa. I can't wait to be a part of that!!! On Sunday, April 11th, Princess Zulu (her name not title) will be speaking at church. She is a guest speaker who is coming to our church through World Vision. I just finished her book "Princess Warrior" and I am really looking forward to meeting her and hearing her message.

One of the cool things about being the "Pastor's Family", is the opportunity we have to meet people who truly make a difference in this world by sharing their testimonies and stories. On Saturday Evening, our family will undoubtedly be blessed when we have the opportunity to host Princess Zulu and other guests at our home. Again...I can't wait!!!

After that, I'll be serving at the Information Center and helping out where ever I am best suited for the week of Step into Africa. I am beside myself with excitement and anticipation!!! I love serving alongside the people of FCCH and I get to do it for a whole week...life is good!!!

Serial Orphans

2010-03-18T06:00:00.003-04:00

I'm plugging away through the book I mentioned earlier, Warrior Princess, and just read a chapter that mentioned a new term I hadn't heard before but am familiar with the concept. It's "Serial Orphans".

Serial Orphans are considered to be children who are orphaned more than once. For instance, their parents die and then they go to a relative and then they die. This can happen multiple times and in the worse case scenario they are left alone as children to take care of themselves and often times, other children as well. It becomes kids taking care of kids.

Recently Michael and I were at the church and had the opportunity to talk with someone from Uganda who spoke about this. She knew of a village that was made up of children with no adults. How heartbreaking is that?

I'm so grateful for the two children we are blessed to be able to sponsor. I am also grateful for the difference people at FCCH have made half way around the world. It's incredible how many kids are sponsored through FCCH to World Vision...well over 200 and counting. I love the impact we together have had on communities.

I am still blown away by the response you all had when we collected the offering for Haiti. It was astronomical and put to good use through World Vision.

So with all that in mind...I am so excited for Step into Africa. Our family has made sure our calendar is clear for the week so that we can help out. There are no appointments or scheduled friend get togethers that week. It's all about Step into Africa, school, homework and sleep.

We are excited to do our part as a family and I hope you will participate and sign-up. Simply go to the FCCH website http://www.fcch.org/ or talk with Kim Lewis at the Serving Counter on Sunday Mornings or call John Corey at the church 508-435-5900.