and the fun continues…

i think this one was officially my favorite.  unfortunately, i
can’t take credit for it, as my cousin nicole was the one who actually
wrote it…

Top 10 Ways to be a PDI Poster Child

(please note – this list was constructed shortly after we made the switch to “Sovereign Grace Ministries”)



10.
you correct people when they say PDI, “do you mean sovereign grace
ministries?”

9. you
wear all of the t-shirts from past conferences at whatever conference you’re
attending

8. you
introduce yourself to all of the speakers and say hello to them as you pass them
in the hall (as if they recognize you from the 10,000 people who they
see)

7. you
have a crush on one of the pastor’s kids

6. you
have an inter-PDI pool on who will court who next and who will marry who
next

5.
your Cd collection consists of only PDI worship music

4. you
play an instrument, preferably the piano, and you must be able to dance while
playing it

3.
your answer to every question is either the cross or the
gospel

2. you own tons
of books you’ve never read, but C.J. said to buy them, so you do, but never read
them except I kissed dating goodby and Boy Meets Girl which you’ve read like
10,000 times

1. your dream is either going to the Pastor’s college
or marrying someone who will go to the pastor’s college

i mean, i like to swim, but…

this is hilarious! google map directions from NY, NY to Paris, France:

swim!  not “travel” or “trek” or “journey” or “fly” or “get on a boat” but SWIM!  haha!

don’t believe me? try it yourself.

ready for another one?

Top
10 things that don’t make good left-overs.

(or,
alternate title:  Top 10 Things that taste terrible when
re-heated)

 

10)
Macaroni and Cheese

9)
Waffles or Pancakes

8)
Bacon

7)
Chicken Fingers or Fish Sticks (especially leftovers from a
restaurant)

6)
those big puffy fair-style pretzels

5)
hamburger patties

4)
french fries or onion rings

3)
pizza (it’s much better just eaten cold!)

2) quesadillas

1) scrambled eggs

feel free to add to the  list!!

a few new favorites…

new favorite activity: sudoku (despite my horrible experience during the Amazing Race)

new favorite vegetable: asparagus

new favorite tv show: Numb3rs

new favorite word: vitiate

new [favorite?] area of service: nursery 2

speaking of the 2 year olds… there is a certain dear little boy
who often has a hard time, particularly in the beginning.  since i
know him well and love him dearly (translate: i won’t let him get away
with anything), i am often on “trevor duty.”  this week was no
exception.  well, except this week, the beautiful and talented
best friend – raigan – was on picture duty.  she came into the
nursery and captured some tender moments… 

this little girl was new and she wouldn’t leave my side the entire morning.  she really liked blowing bubbles outside!

i just love kids!  🙂

here’s another one…  🙂

Top 10 Indications you are a secretary for a Sovereign
Grace Ministries Church

 

10)
Congregation members come to you with any question or about
any glitch in the Sunday service thinking you’ll have the answer, or
can solve the problem.

9) 
You refer to CJ Mahaney as “Captain”, Sovereign Grace Ministries as “H.Q.”, and
Covenant Life Church as “the mother ship”.

8) 
You get the biggest thrill out of any opportunity to call another SGM
church.

7) 
You know the names and family members of all the pastoral and administrative
staff at all the SGM churches, even though you’ve only actually met half a dozen
of them in person. 

6) 
Although you agree with and rather like the new name, “Sovereign Grace Ministry”
you still use “PDI” because it’s easier to say, write, and email, which is where
you use it the most.

5) 
You have ever answered your home phone, “Good morning, <your church
name> church, this is <your name>, how can I help
you?”

4) 
You can perfectly spell and pronounce such names as Phelan, Altrogge,
Cabaniss, Ricucci, Boisvert, and Sczebel.

3) 
You lovingly refer to the computer, copier, and fax machine as “personal means
of sanctification”, and when it malfunctions (like, every day!) you ask for
prayer for a joyful heart attitude while you grow in this area of your
life.

2)
You’ve become rather accustomed to purchasing items over the internet using a
variety of credit cards, none of which are yours.

1) 
You’re familiar with the names of nearly every message given at any conference
in the last five years (along with who gave it), even though you haven’t heard
the message, nor were you even AT the conference!

when i was in college i had this Poli Sci class that pretty much consisted of my
“professor” (who also happened to double as the athletic director at one of
other community colleges) sitting on the desk at the front, swinging his legs
back and forth and chatting it up with the class.  we discussed all sorts of
present day topics – mostly stuff that was in the recent news.  about 75% of the
grade was based on “class participation” – clearly a means of motivating the
class to join in the talking.  shockingly, this was not a problem for me at all.  ::wink:: 

but sometimes i’d get bored with the topic, or would get hungry and
tired (as was most often the case, this being the last class i had before i got
to head home for lunch) and didn’t really feel like “participating.”  so i began
filling that class time with other… pursuits.  after contributing a few
sentances to the discussion at hand (i wasn’t about to give up the possibility
of an A simply by keeping my mouth shut!), i often would pull out my
notebook and begin composing very deep and meaningful … top ten lists.  yeah. 
my cousins and i were into making “top ten lists” just for kicks.  i ran across
some of them the other day and thought i would post a few for the amusement of
all.  🙂

Top
Ten Ways to You Know You’re A Babysitter:

10) 
You can make craft mac ‘n cheese blindfolded, with both hands tied behind your
back.

9) 
At social functions, you gravitate more toward the toddlers than the
teenagers.

8) 
You break into cynical laughter when anyone mentions the idea of children being
“sweet and innocent”.

7) 
You’ve mastered the art of changing dirty diapers without touching the “stuff”,
without taking more then one breath, and only using 2 wipes,
max.

6) 
You consider getting paid $5/hour really good
money!

5) 
You’ve ever gotten those “poor young mother” looks from old women as you walk
the kids to the park.

4) 
Threats, bribes, and blackmail are no longer considered dishonorable methods of
manipulation, but wonderful, beneficial tools for encouraging
compliance!

3) 
You have a very high crying tolerance.

2) 
You can eat 3 scoops worth of ice cream without making any noticeable dent in
the container.

1) 
You think bedtime routines that involve lullaby music, “nighttime water”,
leaving the door open exactly 2.731 inches, laying the
special

blanket at a perfect 16 degree angle to the child,
tucking the teddy bear under the child’s left arm with their pinky resting on
the bear’s nose, and leaving the night light on in the corner, in the bathroom,
down the hall, and in the master bedroom are ridiculous, obsessive,
tortuous, and you have sworn off anything of the kind!

more to come…  🙂

out of the mouths of children…

i love it when kids say things that God uses to remind me of His truths. like last week…

i
was babysitting the daukas kiddos and we decided to go on a little
jaunt to the park or to get chocolate milk or something fun.  i
thought it would work out just fine since chris and tara had left the
van.  but alas, we couldn’t find the keys.  i’m not sure if
chris and tara had the keys with them, or if i just didn’t know where
to look.  either way, there were no keys to be readily found and
therefore no jaunt to be readily taken.  poor taylor (4 yrs old)
was very disappointed.  i knelt down in front of her and explained
that we were going to have to go out another time since we didn’t have
the keys.  the exchange went something like this:

taylor: “can we use your keys?”
miss andrea: “no, my keys only work for my car.  and mom and daddy’s keys only work for the van.”
taylor: “but i really wanted to go!”
miss andrea: “i’m sorry taylor, but we’re not going to be able to go out tonight.  maybe we can go next time.”
taylor: “nooo!  but mommy and daddy will take the keys every time!  we’ll never get to go!”
miss andrea: “but taylor, i can just ask mommy and daddy to leave me the keys next time.”
taylor: “no they’re going to take them!”
miss andrea: “taylor, it’s ok, miss andrea will ask them for the keys before they leave and they’ll give them to me.”
taylor: “oh.”

and
it was really all i could do to not laugh at her response.  in her
little 4-year-old brain, it seemed impossible.  she couldn’t
understand how it would work.  to her, it was hopeless.  and
yet the answer was so simple and obvious to me.  i mean, hello –
i’ll just ask chris and tara.  no big deal right? 

and then it hit me. 

how
often do i look at my circumstances, or my current challenge and think
“it’s impossible.  it’s never going to happen” simply because i
can’t visualize it or get my human brain around how it could possibly
work. 

and yet the answer is so simple and obvious to our
all-powerful and all-knowing Father.  how often He must laugh at
us, so upset and confused and saying “noooo!  it will never happen!” simply because we can’t see how.

like
that unsaved friend who you are convinced will never believe the
gospel.  or the opportunity you know just won’t happen because you
can’t see where the financial provision is going to come from.  or
that future spouse that you’re beginning to think doesn’t exist because
you haven’t met them yet.  or this area of besetting sin that will
simply never die because you’ve already tried to kill it and have
failed.  

but that’s where it takes faith. 

faith to trust in our God who is limited by nothing, thwarted by nothing, hindered by nothing, delayed by nothing. 

faith to trust in our God who controls all things, ordains all things, knows all things.

faith to trust in our God who is all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving.

faith to trust in our God who never slumbers, never stumbles, never forgets, never forsakes.

and with God, all things are impossible.

“trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”  proverbs 3:5