Rainey Days

There was once a young pastor who was struggling to make ends meet. He and his wife sat down one night to take another look at their finances, hoping to pinch a little more out of their meager budget. They had already eliminated all the extras; now was the time to look at the grocery list. They clipped coupons and planned cheaper meals. The wife agreed to let her husband take over the shopping, because he had a better skill at comparison shopping. So, he went out to save them money. He did a good job. He bought items on double-coupon days, during "buy one, get one" sales, and bought their staples in bulk at a warehouse store. They set up a few shelves in their basement to stack the bulk items and the extras they were amassing at cheaper prices. A few months went by. One day the wife said, "We're out of salt; run down to the basement and bring up a new bag." But when the husband brought up a fresh bag, it was as hard as a rock. A quick look at the othe...

In case you can't read the headline on the poor guy's newspaper: "Sales Way Down This Year."

It's Just Not Christmas Until . . . My mother has made 8 kinds of cookies (if not even more!) We've brought up a few of my younger sister's finest moments from Christmases past (ex: the year "the cat" broke the head off the ceramic wise man of the nativity set--and then "the cat" conveniently balanced the broken head back on the statue so Mom wouldn't find out). We've all admired my cousin Keith's artwork on his hand-designed Christmas card I've been given a baggie of hard candy and an orange at my home church My family has our annual Christmas party and even the leftovers have been eaten the next day. I've laughed my way through the Beam family Christmas letter. While other families brag about their family's triumphs and accomplishments, the Beams focus on the year's tear-your-hair-out, scream-in-frustration hassles and headaches. We have family communion at church on Christmas Eve and then go home to eat cream of crab sou...

Pastor's Challenge Shocks Congregation By HELEN O'NEILL, AP Posted: 2007-12-22 07:00:06 CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (Dec. 20) - The Rev. Hamilton Coe Throckmorton shivered with anticipation as he gazed at the loot - wads of $50 bills piled high beside boxes of crayons in a Sunday school classroom. Cautiously, he locked the door. Then he started counting. It was a balmy Friday evening in September. From several floors below faint melodies drifted up - the choir practicing for Sunday service. Throckmorton was oblivious. For hours, perched awkwardly on child-sized wooden stools surrounded by biblical murals and children's drawings, the pastor and a handful of coconspirators concentrated on the count. Forty-thousand dollars. Throckmorton smiled in satisfaction as he stashed the money in a safe. That Sunday, the 52-year-old minister donned his creamy white robes, swept to the pulpit and delivered one of the most extraordinary sermons of his life. First he read from the Gospel of M...

Today, after 41 years, my family business closed its doors. My grandmother started a day care center in 1966, long before day care centers were on every corner. She left the plastics plant where she'd been working and began to take children into her home, using the living room and dining room as the play area. Over the years, it expanded: an entire wing of the building was added to make extra rooms for more children, until the day care could accommodate 60 kids. My mother, working there from age 14 to the present, went from cooking and cleaning to teaching to directing and finally owning the business. My sister and I both worked there for years; as soon as we were able to dust and scrub toilets, we got pocket money for helping. Both of us eventually completed our Maryland early-childhood certification and at different times were on full-time staff. However, day care has become increasingly more popular over the years, and the business has become far more competitive. Maryl...

Last night I did a service in Capital Heights, Maryland for Pastor Sullivan McGraw. The service went well, and I appreciated the chance to meet the folks there who have already been supporting me for a few years. After the service, the pastor commented that he and his wife still had some Christmas shopping to do, so he was trying to get out of the church a little earlier than many Wednesday nights. We had a little chitchat about shopping--the crowded stores, the benefits of online shopping, and more. It reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with the Palestinian mother of one of my students. She and her husband were pharmacists who raised their two daughters in the US until they were about 12; the whole family then returned to their homeland. I asked her if there was anything she missed about life in the States, and she answered, "Christmas." I thought that was a little funny for a Muslim to miss Christmas, so I asked her about it. She said, "I loved the w...

I've been meaning to do a newsletter for quite some time--months, in fact. It's just that when I'm traveling on furlough, there isn't much exciting to report, so I tend to put it off. Two weeks ago, I decided that I had to do a newsletter before the holidays, serving as a Christmas letter and an update on my itineration. Doing these newsletters is a huge production, involving many steps: writing, editing, and printing (or getting color copies) the letter itself. Then comes the envelopes: return address labels, mailing address labels, and stamps. I use a "mail merge" process to the address labels, so I have to update the information before I print them. Pastors change churches, and churches change addresses; Ariel changes her data files. I printed 345 copies of my newsletter, changing ink cartridges two or three times. When it snowed two weeks ago, I was out (like a crazy person) driving in the snow to the store just to get more ink. By that point, I ...

I'm still trying to figure out how to link to youtube here on my blog, but in the meantime, I don't want you to miss out on quite possibly the best Christmas medley EVER! (make sure your sound it turned on!) Just click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

I spend hours driving alone in my car on my furloughs, so last time around, I got hooked on books on CD. Cracker Barrel has a great rental program with the latest bestsellers, and the public library has longer, unabridged classics (sometimes slightly damaged, but free). I also check at outlet malls for discounted audio books that I might listen to more than once. In 2004, I found the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on CD in a discount bin, and the value was even further increased by the fact that the audio trilogy is 57 hours long! That's a lot of drive-time entertainment. But before I could open them, I left for my term and they didn't make the final cut when I was packing my limited luggage. Last month, I dug them out of storage, and I've just finished the 19 hour Fellowship of the Ring (book 1 in the series). Last week, I was listening to a dramatic portion in which the ring wraiths are attacking Frodo, his hobbit friends, and "Strider" as they make ca...

Today my nieces Sydney and Ellie are here at the house; my mother and I are babysitting. Sydney got to help us with cookie baking for the holidays. Her job was to roll the snickerdoodle dough in the cinnamon sugar, but I caught her sneaking some cookie dough into her mouth rather than the sugar bowl.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving sweet and sour meatballs. 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. You can't find it any other time of the year. So drink up! Who cares that it only has 10,000 calories in every sip. It's not as you you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's Christmas. 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the whole volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they are made with whole or skim milk. If it's skim milk, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. 5. Do not have a snack b...

Yet another sign that winter is here: I'm sick. I've had a cold for a few weeks now, that just seems to hang on and on. My nieces have all been sick, and between the three of them, it seems like germs just get passed back and forth. All three of them are too young to get "cover your mouth" so I suppose its understandable that the rest of us can't get rid of our colds. Dad continues to receive good reports from his doctors about the hip infection. We think he'll soon get the "all-clear" confirmation. Thanks for your prayers for him!

My bedroom (here at my parents house) has a skylight right above the bed. It makes a perfect observation point for the weather when I wake up each morning. Today there was a dusting of snow across it, so I couldn't wait to hop up out of bed to see how much snow was laying on the ground. It's not much, but it's enough to know that winter has firmly planted her feet and she isn't going anywhere soon. I enjoy watching the snow flakes fall; I never get enough of it when I'm overseas. I always feel a little thrill ("snow day!") that takes me back to childhood, when I didn't have to go to school. It felt like a free gift of time, something I appreciate more and more as I get older. Of course, today I still have work to do, newsletters to get out, financial reports to finish. But at least I can do those things while watching out the window at the snow falling.

As I mentioned, I've had a friend visiting for a few days; I'm sorry that I was unable to post. I've been busy traipsing hither and yon in the local tourist spots. Wednesday we went to Washington, DC and saw the monuments and other sights around the Mall. We went into the National Archives to see the exhibit "From the Schoolhouse to the White House: the schooldays of the Presidents." I had read a blurb on this exhibit and thought it would be interesting. It was a truly fascinating collection of memoribilia including photos, report cards, compositions and essays, sports awards, teacher's memories, and even film footage of the 20th centuary Presidents. I enjoyed the glimpse of average boyhood of young men later to become powerful and famous leaders. I had never been to the Archives, so this was a new addition to my usual list of "touring" sites for friends and visitors. After walking blocks and blocks, feeling every step in my calves, we metro'ed b...

Sunday morning found me in Frederick, MD doing a service at my great-aunt's church. My cousins attend there as well, and it became a family adventure when my mom, grandmother, and my niece Olivia joined me for the trip. Sarah was still hospitalized, so Olivia didn't have much choice in the matter, but she was the darling of the church that morning. As I said to the folks there, "She's cuter than I am." The best part was that she can say my name now, very clearly. As soon as I got up to preach, she started hollering out, "Ariel! Ariel!" Mom had to take her into the church's nursery, which had a window looking into the sanctuary. She stood on something to reach that window's height, so I could see her little face the whole time, and she banged toys against the window still hollering out my name. Aside from the kick of having my own little fanclub, I think its sweet because when I first arrived home, Livvy didn't know me at all. It has...

I hope that you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend! I had a lovely Thanksgiving, although it was a bit strange this year with fewer people than usual. My aunt and uncle now live closer to us, so they only came for the day, instead of staying for the long weekend. My sister-in-law's family had a party for her grandmother--90 years old yesterday! So my brother and his family had to leave partway through our dinner to go to their other celebration. Yesterday was my 34th birthday. I did something I've never done, with the exception of my actual day of birth--I got up at 5:30 am! Mom and I went to stand in line at Target with the other die-hard (perhaps crazy) shoppers. But I got myself a great deal on a 19" television. Happy birthday to me! Then we had a whole list of other stores to hit afterward, with our Christmas shopping lists in hand. Last night, we had a family dinner of leftovers and finished it off with my favorite ice-cream dessert. My niece S...

Here is an approximate transcription of a conversation I had yesterday: Lady: "You're a missionary in Israel? Wow. I've been there." Me: "Did you enjoy your trip there?" Lady: "Oh my yes. In fact, our tour guide took us to that big wall they're building around the West Bank. I could just imagine it finished and full of soldiers standin' up on top. That's what they need to keep those people [Palestinians] out." Me: "Hmm. Well." Lady: "That's just what we need on our borders. I hope that our country learns something from Israel, build us a big wall down there [Mexico]." Me: (small chuckle) "I just heard though that they clocked someone, and it only took three minutes to climb over. I'm not convinced that's the best method to secure the border." Lady: "It'll take a lot more than three minutes if there's a soldier on top with a big 'ol gun." Me: "Um. . . . Yes, I s...

Yesterday was a first for me: I got to be a part of a baby dedication after doing my missions presentation at a church. (It was also the first time I wore pants to speak at a church on a Sunday morning! But the world didn't end . . . .) Back to the baby dedication--I was speaking at my brother's church in Arnold, MD and it was the perfect occasion to have the dedication for my newest niece, Ellie. She is almost four months old, and I was so pleased to be able to see her dedication (since I had to miss Sydney's and Olivia's). I even got to have a lunch celebration with my sister-in-law's family afterward.

A few hours ago, I was out with my mom and we stopped at a coffee shop. It took me a full five minutes to decide what I wanted from the myriad of choices available. I've gotten kind of used to it now that I've been home for almost five months, but when I first got home, it was overwhelming. I found myself getting annoyed with the range of possibilities even. About two weeks into my furlough, I ordered Buffalo wings at a restaurant and I was asked how I wanted them: sweet/sour, tangy, BBQ, honey BBQ, and something else I forget. I just stared dumbly at the waitress and said, "Buffalo style." I thought that was self-explanatory the first time I said it. Then she asked, "With blue cheese or ranch dressing?" "Don't Buffalo wings by definition come with blue cheese dressing and celery?" (I've actually eaten them in Buffalo, NY and that's how they came!) "Well, people like different things," she replied. I'll say. I...

About a month ago, my brother fussed at me for not using Microsoft Outlook to organize my emails, calendar, etc. His argument was that it would be a great benefit. I am a very organized person, so I agreed with the concept. However, I told him I couldn't get Outlook to work right on my computer. Even when he sat down and fooled with it, we couldn't get my current email addresses to route through the program, which rendered it virtually useless. A few times since then, I've tried to get the appropriate updates and walk through the trouble-shooting advice. I contacted the tech guys at the Assemblies of God missions office and tried to follow their direction, but nothing would work. Today, I needed some information off a tech-services CD that AGWM has given us. After I printed up the forms I needed, I thought, "Maybe I'll try to set up my Outlook again; there are directions right here on this CD to forward my email through it." The very first step was to cl...

Where do I get these crazy ideas? I had a sudden flash recently, while I was hanging out at my display table in a church lobby, that I could make origami camels and have them on my display table. If I got really good at making them, I could give them away to adorable, missions-minded children that swarm my table (mostly because of the tootsie rolls in a little basket). In my imagination, I thought it would be the Japenese paper-folding equivalent of giving out balloon animals. Everyone loves those! So I ordered a cheap booklet online that contained, among a whole menagerie, a camel pattern. I got it about four days later. I took it with me on my trip down to Lexington, VA for Sunday's service and worked on my first camel in the hotel room. The camel is comprised of 44 separate steps (deceiving actually, because some steps require multiple folds and twists). I had to teach 7th/8th grade art one year, and I did a whole month on origami; I know my valley folds and mountain folds. H...

One of the nice things about being in different churches all the time is the music. I get to hear all types and I appreciate both the old favorites I haven't heard in a while, as well as new songs that I've never heard before. Sometimes a new song will strike me so much that I ask the music leader afterward what CD I can find it on. Two weeks ago, I heard Jon Egan/Glenn Packiam's song, "My Savior Lives" at a church that totally rocked it, and I couldn't wait to hear it again. I did a simple search and ordered the CD titled New Life Worship: My Savior Lives from Amazon. From the day that it arrived, I've been carrying it around: from the car to my bedroom to the car again, because I love this CD! Not only do the fast songs have a great beat, but the slow songs are very powerful. If you're looking for a new worship CD or even doing your Christmas shopping, this is the CD that's currently spinning its way through my disc players.

Last week, I was a part of a missions convention in Farmville, VA, as I've mentioned. The main speaker was representing Global Teen Challenge, a ministry to the drug and alcohol addicted. He preached a sermon on Jesus raising the widow's son in Nain (read: Luke 7:12,13), comparing an addict to the dead son in the story. He claimed that addicts are essentially dead men walking--their physical bodies are so damaged, it's just a matter of time. Their relationships with family and friends are usually dead. Their spirits are deadened. They are alive in body, but dead in all other respects. I found his message intriguing. Fast forward to last night: I didn't have a service scheduled and I was four hours away for the service yesterday morning. I decided to pop into a church that was directly on the way home, even though I had never met or talked to the pastor. I figured I would have a chance to meet him, and who knows where it would lead. However, when I showed up,...

Several times in the last few days, I've heard depressing news about good friends. I've felt such a burden to pray for these and I thought I would share this burden with those of you who are prayer warriors. a young man about 30 growing further apart from the Lord due to pornography a middle-aged man in depression, having suicidal thoughts, unable to find a job due to physical handicaps a middle-aged woman, very depressed, in a lonely and difficult job situation a missionary in Africa who has to return home to New Zealand because of breast cancer Please continue to pray for my dad, who has developed a second infection in his body. In two weeks, the doctors will determine if the whole hip replacement must be done again. Please believe with me for his COMPLETE healing in the name of Jesus!

My freshman year at Valley Forge I met a young man who was a year ahead of me. He was from southern Virginia and was not your "typical" Bible college student; he had long hair and a rough look. The guys on his dorm floor called him "Weasel" in that college-guy way of nicknaming someone to cement your friendship. For the purpose of protecting his anonymity, I'll call him "Bob." Bob was the youngest of several brothers who were real trouble--they drank, did drugs, were in trouble with the law, and were pretty bad dudes. But Bob had come to Christ and had been very involved in his youth group, eventually going to Bible College. However, Bob's brothers constantly mocked him and needled him about being a holy roller, too good to hang out with them. When he came home from school breaks, they hassled him. "What kind of brother are you, if you won't go out with us?" they would ask when heading out on the town. One holiday break, h...

I was at a church in southern Virginia this weekend (more on that tomorrow), where I heard the most interesting missions fundraiser idea EVER! I can't keep it to myself, so here goes: Preparation: Sell tickets numbered 1-200. Each ticket contains one number and costs $10. Have someone donate money toward a "grand prize" which at this church was an $800 laptop. Then, take a large field and spraypaint a grid of 2x2 squares on the grass. Then, randomly spraypaint the numbers 1-200 in the blocks, including also some "free spaces" (like in regular bingo). Corral that grid somehow with fencing. Day of: release a cow (or horse, goat, etc) into the corral. Gather everyone around with their tickets to see where the cow poops. If she goes on your number, you win the grand prize! If the cow patty lands on "Free space" draw a number from a hat (containing the numbers 1-200). Everyone around the corral fence is free to encourage the cow to come toward ...

Many people have asked me since I got back how my vacation went. I think I can sum it up with the standard line: it went by too fast! About a year ago, my mom was telling me again how much she enjoyed the cruise she and Dad went on last summer. I said that I'd like to go on a cruise and that snowballed into plans for the ladies in my family, including my grandmother, going on a six-day cruise to Bermuda. That gave me months to save up vacation time, as well as money. We also had time to figure out who all was going to go with us, and it turned out to be a family affair: me, Mom, my sister Sarah, my grandmother, her sister, and a cousin that I had never really gotten to know before this trip. We went out of Baltimore for a six day cruise to Bermuda, giving us a day and a half on the island to shop, sightsee, and snorkel before heading back to the crisp, cold air of Charm City. I enjoyed the cruise, but I'm paying catch-up now with all the work I've got piled up. I'l...

Here is a little known fact: I have a problem with dizziness. I guess you could call it vertigo; I'm not really sure of the medical definition. It kind of stinks because I travel so much, but if I've been on a plane, boat, or train, I get that dizzy, swaying motion in my head for days afterward. It's especially severe if I've been on planes, boats, and trains in a quick succession. This past week I was on a boat, and even though I got back yesterday morning, my body still thinks the world is swaying back and forth. I'm in southern Virginia for a service, so I had to drive four hours today and that didn't seem to help. Now that it's late at night, just staring at the this computer screen is making my head spin. The best remedy is sleep and I'm thankful to get an extra hour tonight! Yay, Daylight Saving Time!

Once each quarter, our District Secretary/Treasurer Ken Burtram and his wife Johnese invite all the Potomac missionaries to their house for a get-together. We each bring a dish of some kind, so there is always tons of great food. But the best part is just catching up with one another. Last night was our fall get-together, with chili as the main dish. Fall was also reflected in the desserts: caramel apples! We had a great time chatting as usual, and Nancy Arsenovic (our official "missionary-care liason") had prepared some questions to get us all talking and laughing. We discussed our worst cultural and language mistakes, what we like about other missionaries, in what ways we've changed because of living outside the US, and more. We were representing such varied countries: Cambodia, Kenya, Yugoslavia, El Salvador, Belgium, Palestine, the Phillipines, and more! It made for some pretty amusing stories. We howled with laughter at Dr. Cynthia Calla telling a patient to eat more...

Today I'm babysitting my brother's children--my nieces Sydney and Ellie. Mom and Dad (the real babysitters) had a doctor's appointment, so I am filling in for a few hours. At the moment, they are both asleep. After a good lunch of corned beef hash for Syd and a bottle for Ellie, they both settled down for a snooze. Since it's raining outside right now, I feel like a snooze myself. What is it about rainy days that makes one want to sleep? Or am I just having the typical 3 pm slump in energy? I need Starbucks right now!

Today I ran an errand for my father, going to a health store for one of his current "handicapped" needs. While I was in there, I heard the store owner and his wife speaking in French; I asked them politely if they were from France and they affirmed that indeed, they were. Then, we had a whole conversation in French with the inevitable, "Where did you live/where are you from in France?" as the main subject. They were very surprised that I spoke French and I told them that overhearing their small chit-chat in French prompted me to speak up. Funnily enough, I find someone to speak French to about once a week. Last week, a visiting African couple spoke to me after a missions service in my home church. The week before that, a French lady who attends another church had a lengthy discussion with me about the state of French Christianity. I've found French Canadians, West Africans, Belgians, and more over the past few months of being in America. It's not quite...

I should keep this secret all to myself (so I don't ruin a good thing), but . . . . I will share it with you: people are more likely to say "yes" on Thursdays. I read this fact years ago in an article talking about telemarketing statistics. Their results were always higher/better on Thursdays. I don't know why that is true; I suppose it's something like most multiple choice answers being "c" or other random facts like that. Since today was Thursday, I started out my morning with a massive list of phone calls. I was hoping that pastors would be more likely to say yes to services and/or support. I did pretty well actually, making several bookings and leaving messages with others. In my humble (and not-at-all-scientific) experience, the pastors were indeed accomodating today! Just in time, too, because I got my new budget sent to me this afternoon, and I'm going to have to get cracking to raise it in time!

After a great service with my home church yesterday morning, I had an evening service with a church in Southern Maryland. Well, it wasn't a service as much as a missions banquet. The food was great, the folks at my table were nice, but my favorite part of the evening was some dinner entertainment by a band called Vizion. They were from Dominica (I think) or one of the other Creole speaking Caribbean islands, anyway. They did several songs that all had a very "island" sound to them, and one song was actually in Creole ( I understood about half of it). I loved their music and the audience response, too. It made me miss my Caribbean friends at the church in Bordeaux. I am sure they would really have loved it! In other news . . . . I just got back from Arabic class, and it's getting a lot harder!

My father, after having his hip replaced six weeks ago, has developed an infection deep in the hip joint. Yesterday he had a surgery for them to open and cleanse the wound from the original surgery; it was a relatively short surgery, but they doused the wound with 6 liters of antiseptic fluid. Dad came through the surgery without any problem. However, the infection doctor has not painted a rosy picture at all about the future prospects. He says its a fifty-fifty chance of it healing without a problem. The worst case scenario is dark: months of being bed-ridden, having the hip replacement surgery all over again, etc. I think that this is incredibly scary for my father, and I can imagine it would be sobering and depressing. No one wants to be laid up for weeks on end, especially considering he's just spent six weeks recuperating from the hip replacement. Please pray for his health and healing. Please pray that he is encouraged and that his faith remains strong and focused on th...

Last night I started a non-credit Arabic class at the community college. Including me, there are nine people in the class. We all had to give our reason to take the class when we introduced ourselves. I found it interesting to hear their reasons: two of the younger people thought it might help their job prospects in the future; two of them were vaguely "just interested" in Arabic; one of them had just taken a class on Islam and thought it would be a good compliment; one majored in tourism and wanted to learn yet another language/culture; one is Pakistani and can read Arabic in the Koran but doesn't understand a word of it; and one has always had a dream to learn Arabic, but couldn't find a cheap, non-professional program until now. I said that I had lived already in an Arabic speaking country and now that I am returning, I felt that I didn't want to be hindered any longer by not knowing the language. I was actually pleased during the course of the two hour se...

Several years ago, my sister took an Introduction to Psychology class at the community college, and the teacher talked about the difference between introverts and extroverts. According to her, introverts find their energy in themselves and are therefore prefer to spend time alone, to recharge. Extroverts get energized from other people, and they literally need the social contact to feel charged up. My sister realized she was definitely an extrovert by those standards. At the time, we joked about what I was. Most people would say I am an extrovert, because I am a true people person, but I also need time alone (more than my sister, in any case). Last night, I did a youth service for a church in Bel Air. It was my first youth service so far on this itineration cycle, and I loved it! I was very impressed with the dozen or so teenagers in the group; they were spiritually mature and passionate about God. I had such a great time talking to them about God's plan for their lives t...

Today was one of the days that I spend doing numerous tasks that take forever but I feel like not much got accomplished. Periodically, I have to do paperwork: letters of confirmation to churches where I am going to speak in the next month, letters of introduction to pastors who request more information prior to making a decision about support, and sometimes letters of reminder to folks who haven't followed up on what I've already sent. It seems so simple, but it takes so long. I'm never quite satisfied with the wording of these letters. I have to sound both enthusiastic and persuasive, yet not effusive or pushy. Somtimes I'm reminded of English class as a student where I had to write drafts and then re-write and polish the final draft to perfection. Of course, in English class, I didn't then have to mail them all out to pastors. On days like today, I sit at my desk surrounded by commitment forms, stamps, envelopes, address book, address labels and my printer, whirri...

Did you know that "survival of the fittest" was not a term used by or about Charles Darwin's book, The Origin of Species . (I didn't, until I started writing this post and did a quick google search!). I don't believe in evolution, nor do I support anything Charles Darwin claimed in his writings, but I have used the term "survival of the fittest" in conversation. I learned, only moments ago, that Charles Darwin didn't coin that phrase, preferring instead "natural selection" (meaning that animals will biologically select the fittest for mating purposes). Actually, it was an economist, Herbert Spencer, who gave us the phrase "survival of the fittest." Why all this history and (useless) information? Well, I had a meeting in northern Virginia yesterday, and I drove the Capitol Beltway on my commute. There is a certain section of 495 West that I really find dangerous. If you are driving along 495, headed toward Maryland, and just afte...

Yesterday I preached at my uncle Ron Pettibone's church in Lambertville, NJ. He has recently taken the pastorate at the church there, so Mom and I went up for the whole weekend to visit Aunt Ambra and Uncle Ron in their new home. (Plus, my aunt wanted help doing a yard sale on Saturday--you know how I feel about those!) The service went great yesterday; I was very impressed with the folks of the church. They are great people, totally committed to the church there, which will really help the rebuilding effort they've got going on. Plus, the town there is absolutely charming! Want a pleasant weekend jaunt? Go to the twin towns of New Hope, PA and Lambertville, NJ, split by the Delaware River. Beautiful! Some of you know my Aunt Ambra's humorous malapropisms (fancy word for switching around words and their meanings). This weekend was no exception. She gave us this expression: "I'm sweating pistols!" I guess that means sweating even more than bullets!

My niece Olivia (11 months) : *these two photos by Amanda Vogt My niece Sydney today on the bike trail: I'm sure you can understand why I love spending time with these two cuties!

Lately, I’ve been traveling up and down Maryland’s highways to meet with pastors and our district leadership. I enjoy driving and no doubt, you’ll have the chance to read about some of my road adventures in upcoming blogs. Now that the weather is cooler, I don’t mind as much where I park, but when the heat was so oppressive in the last few weeks, I would end up parking under the trees in my yard, hoping to keep my dark car cooler. The main disadvantage is that pollen, acorns, sap, and bird droppings fall freely on my car. I don’t like driving to meetings with a dirty car, in case some pastor might actually notice. I try to be professional, you know. So the other day, I filled up my gas tank, getting a discount on a car wash. I thought, “Perfect!” and I rolled right up to the car wash area. I had to roll down my window a bit to enter a numeric code, and the automatic track starting pulling me forward. Now, this is probably the time I should mention that my car, while a wonderful f...

What was the best part? Seeing old friends? Playing rummy til 1 am? Hearing amazing testimonies of God's grace? Talking to Sister Goggin Bartles, one of my heroes? The gorgeous weather in West Viriginia? Laughing and laughing and laughing? I just can't pick one . . . but I can say that I had a great time at the campground with the wonderful women of Pasadena Assembly of God, as well as the other ladies who attended the retreat. We had a lot of humorous moments, and we had fantastic times of worship. I felt like I was able to let go of some burdens and enjoy the presence of God.

Ha! Got your attention with that title, didn't I? This morning I went to my home church office to get some work done. I'd asked Pastor about using an empty office at the church to make my phone calls and do general work like that, because it's quiet and free of distractions. Working out of my bedroom means that I always have a dozen things that I could do instead of working. Pastor readily gave me the approval, and this morning was my first (very successful!) work time there. On the way, however, driving over the back roads to the church, I passed a cleverly concealed police car. I saw him clearly, but the steep hill in someone's yard provided the perfect cover from the oncoming traffic. Then I faced the dilemma: should I flash my lights to the opposite traffic, warning them that the cop was there? Traveling as much as I do, I often see people flash their lights toward my lane of the highway, and I admit, I've often slowed down based on their warning. And, in...

Where else can you do so much work for such little pay? Today my mother, my sister, and I had a yard sale in our front yard. Doing this required many steps: cleaning/sorting through the basement, numerous closets or bookshelves, and boxes of seasonal clothes to find the perfect yard sale items Boxing them all up Clearing off the porch so that the yard sale boxes could be stored there until today Pricing all the items, usually involving much discussion with other family members, sounding something like this: Me: How much for this? Sarah (wrinkling nose): You'll be lucky to get fifty cents. Who would want that? Me: But its brand new. Someone gave it to me as a gift; it just wasn't really my style. Sarah: I can see why they gave it away. Me: Yes, but the purpose of this event is to make money, and someone might want this. Mom: You could make more on ebay. Me: I don't know how to do ebay and I've already been holding on this for years. I want to get rid of it. Sarah: Th...

Happy Labor Day weekend to all! September has begun with a pretty promise of cooler weather to come, and its supposed to be this pleasant all weekend. Normally, our family tradition is to go camping on three-day weekends with our good friends. This year, with Dad's surgery, we knew there was no way that we could do it, although my mother was particularly disappointed not to do this "family tradition" while I'm home to enjoy it. So, all that to say that as I type, looking wistfully out the window at the cool breeze blowing through the trees, I envy our friends down in Virginia at their campsite. I started reminiscing about old camping experiences, and we have had some real doozies! My favorite memory would be hard to choose: the year Mom's dental situation had her doped up on painkillers the whole weekend. . . the time in Missouri that Sarah was trying to run up the big hill to the bath house . . . . the night Julie ran smack into a deer on her way through the ...

Today there were multiple projects going on around here. My dad is still in the hospital, but doing much better than he was last night. My mother's business, a day care center, was having their state inspection this morning. I was busy keeping my grandmother occupied, so that she wouldn't get in the middle of the inspection (as she tends to do since she lives on the property). When I got home from Project Keep Granny Busy Elsewhere, there were a bunch of messages on the machine, from folks telling us that they were praying for Dad; one message in the middle was from my former boss in Israel, whom I hadn't heard from in years. I could hardly wait for him to call back. When he did, I was at the hospital, but I was very excited to talk to him. I had forgotten what talking to him was like. Besides his southern accent, he stutters in his excitement and enthusiasm for the subject being discussed. He sounds like someone with way too much coffee intake, but its just his p...

For the past few years, I send out emails copied to all my family members of whatever is current in my life, and I always title it, "News on ____" (whatever day of the week). Not an interesting title, I know, but I figure it gives a certain context to whatever the events happen to be. So my news of the day is that yesterday I spoke at one of my favorite churches, Western Loudoun Community Church, in Northern Virginia. I like all the churches that support me, but some of them have a certain " je ne sais quoi " ( I don't know what) that makes me feel really connected to the folks there. Pastor Ray Cowell and his wife are very open and personable and I feel instantly like a good friend--actually, we both drive charcoal gray Honda Accords! The church folks were excited to see me yesterday, since I was the first missionary to return back to the church after a full term of their support. I really felt like the Lord moved during the service, so that was great, t...

Wouldn't you be willing to give money if you saw a poster of this miserable child? (I'm just kidding about this being a new fundraising picture. I just think its a funny picture of Sad, I mean Syd, my niece!)

This morning I had the pleasure of being at my home church, where I spoke as a replacement for my vacationing pastor. Its always so much fun being with folks I've known practically my whole life. They respond so well when I'm speaking; its easy to get into the groove with people that give feedback. One member of the audience was a county councilman who was visiting the church for the first time, after one of our board members heard his testimony at a Christian Business Men's breakfast and invited him to join us. That was my first time to preach in front of a politician, even just a local one.

churches call me! Without me hounding them or giving them a "hard sell," I love it when a pastor or a church will call me out of the clear blue to ask if I'm available for a service or a missions convention. Yesterday I went to Frederick, MD to visit with my great-aunt, who has been recently widowed. I also wanted a chance to encourage my twin cousins about their freshman year at Valley Forge Christian College (my alma mater). They leave tomorrow and naturally, they are equal parts nervous and excited. We had a good visit with my niece Livvy as the primary entertainment, a role she loves! When I got home, I had a message from an old college friend asking me to come to their church for a Missionettes meeting and a "window" to promote BGMC for the children. BGMC or (Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade) is the giving program for children in the Assemblies of God. Each child saves their coins in a little bank to give to BGMC, which pays for Sunday School mate...

Yesterday I decided I could avoid it no longer . . . . I had to go to the DMV. Not only did I need to change my drivers license back to Maryland, but I also needed to get the registration done for the car I bought last month. The temporary tags from Kansas, where I bought the car, are about to expire. In my defense, I wasn't procrastinating. I had to wait to get the inspection done, get certain documents in the mail, and then return from General Council. So yesterday morning, I sat at the dining table with a pile of paperwork, checking off all the documents I would need to present at the many stations of the DMV. I must say, the forms are not easy to understand. Even online, where I did most of my research, I would find myself clicking in circles, trying to follow the maze of instructions for tags, registration, titles, taxes, etc. Finally, when most of the morning was almost gone, I thought I had it all together, so I left the house, with my mother shouting, "Do you hav...

In case you may have some time on your hands, I recommend the Discipleship Challenge that Charles Crabtree gave our fellowship last night: http://ag.org/top/Events/General_Council_2007/Broadcasts/index.cfm You can scroll down the page for evening service of Thursday, August 9.

So much to say, so exhausted while saying it. . . . . This morning it was announced that we had elected George Wood as our General Superintendent yesterday afternoon at the close of business. This morning during the business session, we elected Alton Garrison for the position of Assistant Superintendent (although Dr. Beth Grant was in the top three choices during the votes--landmark for our fellowship, I think). To replace George Wood in the Secretary office, we elected John Palmer. To replace Alton Garrison in the position of US Home Missions Executive Director, we made history by electing the first black pastor to an executive position, Rollie Smith, Jr from the New Jersey district. In between all those votes, we also voted on resolutions. There was much debate over certain resolutions, particularly over the inclusion of women and pastors under 40 in the general presbytery. We spent most of the morning on that and related resolutions, before they were finally denied. I had the pr...