Music with a Mission
I don’t often quip about music on here, but today is a special occasion. Last week a friend of mine, Nick Higgins, had the launch of his new album, No Laughing Matter. The reason this is so special is that this is his first album and secondly, he made the album to specifically donate the proceeds to the mission field of stopping human sex trafficking.
Now if you have the pleasure of knowing Nick, you know he has a touch of ADD, he is a bit of a busy body, always moving, always doing something making things happen. So for him to take months and months of his life to write, play, sing and produce an album was likely not an easy task. I know he spent hours studying, reading and learning, hours upon hours of mixing, remixing and producing, most of which I imagine involves sitting still for long periods of time, or near torture for Nick. It likely helped that he produced the album during the midst of the deepest darkest part of the Alaskan winter.
The album is a Christian album “churcy” as it has been called. But don’t be fooled, Nick likes his electric guitar and the album clearly reveals that; right at the open of the first song with a rocking little electric riff to open up the album on SHAKEN and followed up with NO MORE ROOM a catchy drum driven praise song heavy on the guitar. Even in the softer side of MAYBE, with the acoustic lead you can clearly hear Nick ripping it up with some electricity in the background. The lyrics all come from Nick’s heart, as most of them were written by him. Songs like HAVE YOUR WAY are reminiscent of a rocking prayer, while MAYBE is a heartfelt cry for faith, and strength. Nick even includes his version of P’WER IN THE BLOOD, an old hymnal classic, an acoustic, soft harmonizing, unplugged sweet intro, that, in Classic Nick form, rocks it out in the end. But the cherry on top is that essential Nick song, ECCLESIASTES. It’s like everyday Nick got to come out and play, it’s quirky, it’s funny, it’s even catchy, it’s Nick, and I laugh every time I hear it, contrary to the album title, typical Nick. Who mentions Tupac in a “churchy” song? Nick does. And show me another Christian album where the closing line is ” Somebody get me some money!”
I know I downloaded it because he is my friend and because it is for a great cause, but I also know that it is now part of my most played playlist, and the catchy rocking tunes fit great into a workout playlist. So at the very least go to itunes or Amazon and give it a preview, and remember when you download it you are giving to a great cause. Now somebody go get me some money!
Songs, Sermons, Sushi; an Epic Gang Youth Group Event
As I have mentioned many times before, you have to be creative when trying to plan activities in this region of the world. It is even far more difficult when trying to plan for youth group events, other than the regular youth group meetings. Most often they involve a beach day of some sort. However, our friend and professional chef Mike Finch had an inspiration for a youth event that came to fruition last week, sushi night. Not just eating sushi, but learning how to make sushi and then eating the sushi.
Prep work
Veggies waiting to be eaten
sushi fillers
Ready to roll, literally.
Our guide for the evening.
Protein! That's what I am talking about.
Elizabeth's beautiful creation. Too pretty to eat, to hot to eat.
The event was a great success. We had 24 youth and several adults show up, packing out our casa. It was everything a youth event should be, gathering to sing some worship songs, a short message from Mike, and then the rice was flying.
Anton and Dorian patiently waiting for action.
Ben and Elizabeth leading us in some songs.
Olivia and Ben, didn't ask, didn't want to know.
Dave introducing Chef Mike to the soon to the sushi recruits.
Listening to Mike bring the word.
While groups of four learned how to roll sushi, the others were often playing epic games led by Braden and Brock. I didn’t get to see what they were playing, but apparently screaming the loudest was the most important aspect of sure victory, and they all wanted to win.
Ready, set, roll.
You must have deep concentration grasshopper.
The rice was flying and the soy sauce was spilling, but it was all good.
Braden was so excited he started eating his sushi a little early.
Of course the best part of the night was the sushi sampling, of which I was fortunate enough to participate in. There was salmon, artificial crab, shrimp, and fresh tuna. For the veggies we had cucumbers, carrots, red peppers, tomatoes and avocados. Of course there was also ginger, wasabi ( extra hot) and soy sauce.
Well balanced
Heavy on the protein!
Almost done
The event was a fantastic success, and despite our concern, the only person to get cut was me! I am sure this will spurn further educational cooking events for the Epic Gang of Youth of Guanacaste; Perhaps fondue! On second thought, hot oil, hot cheese, mini spears…….. I ‘ll let you know.
Ready for me.
Perfection
Bud wants to share. Brock, does not.
I think Dorian missed a step, or he was craving a burrito.
And of course there is always dessert provided by my lovely wife. chocolate, snicker, peanut butter cupcakes. It's a mouthful.
How to shed a few hundred pounds
As D-day (departure day) approaches us like a charging bear, life changes from hectic to frantic. Moving houses is a huge task, moving cities is a giant task, moving states is a humongous task, and moving countries is an overwhelming task. There is so much to think about, so much to plan and so much to execute that it makes us physically exhausted, not figuratively, but physically exhausted. Our minds are cluttered, our days our cluttered, our house is cluttered and our shed was cluttered. You see in the midst of all this working and planning we managed to have a day of unplanned fun.
It was a pouring rain Saturday, a miserable day by any Alaskan’s standard sans the salmon. One of those days where the rain pounded so hard of the dark wet asphalt that the drops that missed you jumped up from the asphalt to bite you in the leg. It was of course the day I had chosen to empty our shed; for a few days prior we had found out that it was sitting on the electrical easement, right where the electric company HAD to put the box. The options; move the shed or get rid of the shed. My inclination was to sell it and have someone else move it. So Ryan and I began the task of moving the mounds of “stuff” from the shed to the garage. I must admit that I was somewhat embarrassed and ashamed of the stuff we just had to store. I know I took at least a truck load directly to the dump. Finally after a few hours the shed was empty and ready to be displayed to a potential buyer. Sure it was a little crooked, but there had to be someone out there that needed a 16X12 crooked tongue and groove shed. Right? I mean people in this state got a lot of stuff. Just then, as we loaded up for our dump run Jason shows up, presumably to help but I suspect that he wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting rid of any good stuff he might need. That’s when the trouble began.
You see now there are three men of action sitting around looking at a leaning shed, a worthless leaning shed. It took but a second for Jason to convince us that the shed was worthless and that it would be impossible to move without destroying it and instead we should tear it down. Well that sounded way too fun to resist, and without any planning, safety briefing, or permit, we found some straps hooked em up to the old Suburban and began to tear down that shed.
I can’t say things didn’t go as planned, because there was no planning, but they didn’t go as expected. Further, that darn worthless shed, crooked as piece of Homer driftwood, was stinking hard to destroy. It took several takes and many different tactics before we got her off her skids and drug her right in the middle of our driveway. Now what? We were stuck, the driveway was blocked, and the shed looked sturdier than ever. After several attempts to flip it over, it was time for old blue to roar to life. We got my truck running, full of trash mind you, and I proceeded to use it as a battering ram to knock the shed over. I have blogged about my truck in the past, it is blue, it is damaged, it is loud and it is a 5 speed manual, or what you would call a man’s truck and it begs to be used for more than dump runs. So as I sat in the seat I could feel the engine vibrating through my hand which sat on the shift handle. I gave the engine a few good deep revs and proceeded to back right into the shed. With each attempt I gained more confidence until finally I was able to go hard and fast enough to push it over the edge, without destroying old blue. Much better,we then had a crushed shed in the middle of our driveway.
This was a time to plan, over a cup of coffee and some cupcakes of course. The plan was to start cutting, ripping, smashing and tearing and we would load it on a trailer and take it to the dump. Again, contrary to our so-called plans, Jason decides half way into the plan that this shed needs a fire. So after some prodding I provided him with my favorite fire starter. Within 1/2 hour he had two fires going, and one was big enough to be seen from space. So now we had a smashed shed, power tools, fire and rain. It doesn’t get any better than that. Cutting, ripping, smashing, breaking, throwing, burning repeat, and so the rest of the day went. Of course we had to eat so there was a chicken taco break, candy, cupcakes and a smorgasbord of smores. But hey, we could indulge after all we just got done shedding a couple hundred pounds. Did I mention there was video?
Fists of Fury
I have been known to watch the occasional mixed martial arts bout as I enjoy watching guys with an over abundance of tattoos getting pounded by a dude with only one tattoo. However, I don’t condone fighting, and we put the kiabash to it as soon as it occurs in this house, unless it is entertaining. Now some people train for years to build up the skill to become mixed martial artists. They spend 6-8 hours a day in the gym doing the same moves over and over until they are engrained in their muscles and their memory. To them it is as common as blinking. They box tirelessly for hours, sweat flying off their body with every punch, moving up and down, weaving and keeping light on their feet. They learn to punch when they have no strength left, when their legs are collapsing from underneath them, they can still throw a punch, and throw it hard. It takes years of concentration, practice, pain, sacrifice and injury to become a good MMA fighter, and it takes fortitude, guts and sheer will to become a great MMA fighter. Some people, well some people are just born with those skills. They just know how to fight, how to win, and how to never give up, no matter how hard they are kicked in the face. But mostly they know how to dodge a punch or a kick ( Vitor). The following video is just one of those people who have been born with the obvious skills. They took the time to come to our house and show us some moves, so that we could learn from their prowess and better our own skills. A selfless act to be sure. And thanks to Kinect, we got some great live action shots. So please enjoy the following video clip and pay special attention to some new moves and some real fancy footwork by the female fighter on the right. A natural to say the least.
Gonna miss those Shenanigans.
Eight times that I can remember. That is how many times I have moved from one city to another since Jr High. Three of those times involved a state to state move. On one hand this has helped me to adapt easily, to interact easily and to make friends quickly. On the other hand, each time I leave somewhere, I leave someone who has affected my life. I also find that with each move, leaving becomes incrementally harder. The relationships I build are deeper and more meaningful; we as a family become more engrained in the town we are living in with schools, sports, work and most importantly our Church family. So thus it makes it incredibly more difficult to actually visualize leaving, and even harder to follow through. However, now that we live in the era of electronic relationships, I have noticed that breaking up is not quite as hard to do. Shoot, I know what 1/2 the people I went to college with are doing every hour, and what their kids are doing every 15 minutes; I didn’t know that much about them when I went to school with them, nor did I really care, just as they probably could care less when my status is ” ugghh another Monday”.
Niki caught in the act of taking the whole gallon of ice cream from the ice cream social.
Ty & Nya in their Sunday best.
I don’t write about this because we are leaving, I write about this because we have some friends that are leaving. No one likes to see friends leave, and in this case these are really good people and really good friends. Their kids have been in this blog many times, they have been over to our house many times, they have prayed for us, cried for us, encouraged us, guided us and loved us. They have deeply affected the path of our life and their influence will forever be present in our lives. I likely would’ve never started this blog if it hadn’t been for Ty and his influence from Schemanski Senanigans. Shoot, I gave Niki my most valuable commenter award two years in a row, and they have appeared in our blog many occasions. It has been fun to see their family grow, and grow over the last few years. Their openness, involvement, faith and leadership will be greatly missed. Michigan is gaining a great Godly family that will influence many lives in a positive way.
Ellis showing us a Schemanski Shmile.
So to the Schemanskis, Ty, Niki, Nya and Elli we bid you adieu. You will be missed as you leave a gaping hole in many aspects of many people’s lives. Thank you so much for all you have done and we are excited to hear what you will be doing. We are happy for you and your adventure and we look forward to every status update, but I predict one that will read ” we really love it here, but we do miss Alaska and our friends” will eventually show up on my wall. And to that I will smile and hit the like button as I comment ” we miss you too, and I told you so”.
A week of a lifetime in one post.
I realize that my blog posts have not been coming as fast and furious as in the past. This has been one of the busiest periods of my life. I feel as if I have some things to write about, but I am also trying to keep things in order, and my time in perspective. I want to thank those of you who take the time to comment and say such nice things. So without further adieu, I am going to wrap up the end of our summer guests in this post, even though I could probably break it down into another 3-4 blogs.
As I have said in the past, when family comes to visit it gives us an excuse to act like tourists, so act like tourists we must, and we did. One of the first things we did was to hike up to Russian River Falls. Our main goal was to see some bears, and I figured this was as good a place as any. We didn’t see any bears, but we did see a Bri, and she walked all the way the falls, 2 miles each way, in Crocs with no socks. Oh did I mention she was pregnant? That is more rare than a bear in my mind, and worth the trip. Their only complaint, not enough potties along the way. I didn’t have a problem, but apparently they are used to having privacy. Which, as we all now, is a difficult proposition on the Kenai in July. It was an exhilarating hike, especially on the way back as there was a noticeable pep-in-the-step of those looking for the outhouse at the trailhead.
Tina near the end of the hike and near the end of her life?
Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!
I told you that they really had to go. I don't know who did it but...........
......... I don't know what aunt Bev is doing here.
Because of the lack of bears, we had to take a dangerous white water rapids trip down the Kenai River. Now when I say whitewater rapids I mean we saw one small patch of white water, and it almost splashed on me! I like to live on the edge. It was a lazy, cold trip down the Kenai, a good way to take a nap. And yes, we saw a bear. It was one of the Russian River Bears tearing into a salmon, so hopefully that made the trip worthwhile. They did have some good sausage and cheese prior to departing, so that was something! I don’t think it was quite as exciting as they expected, especially after they geared us up into 25 pounds of safety gear.
Livy and Alli testing out some prom outfits, if daddy got to choose that is!
Looks like we are all ready to get in the yellow submarine.
Not sure if I want to be on the raft that this crew is running.
notice, only one cool cat is wearing camo, and sun glasses, and a sweet ball cap ( I didn't want anyone to know that I was taking a paid rafting trip down the kenai!) Note the extreme amount of patches on the port bow of our raft, hmmmmmmm.
Money shot! No, that's not Shyla.
Unfortunately I had to work a few days, so the family had to do a few trips without me. They took a trip to Seward and to Girdwood, and spent some time in Anchorage, shopping. Which, shock of all shocks, was their favorite part of the trip.
So during their time up here in the last frontier, they got to experience pretty much all of the Kenai Peninsula. It was fun to have the real housewives of Moberly here for a visit. They put a twinkle in Tra’s eyes and made us stop on smell the rotten salmon carcasses. I find it is easy to forget how awesome of a place we live in; and the best way to get that feeling back is to see it through the eyes of someone who is appreciating it for the first time. Much like helping someone to catch their first salmon or halibut, there is great joy in that.
Jo n Kassie checking out the dippers on the Kenai River
the gratuitous fireweed shot. The bee adds a special something.
Only Austin would wade 50 feet away from a melting glacier, and smile.
Glenn said if you drink a gallon of it, you will look like Angeline Jolie.
Exit Glacier in Seward
It's receding faster than my hairline.
glacial hike
Mom, I think we found something for dinner! Alaska Wildberry in Anchorage.
Sorry baby, but this one is going to have to sleep with us.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that the bear is a breeding ground for lice from foreign tourists.
So now we are back to reality, back to the grind, back to work, back to the rain and early mornings, back to school, back to the cycle of life on the Kenai Peninsula. Excited for what is ahead and what God has in store for us. I have a funny feeling the next time family visits us, the backgrounds will look a lot different.
Briana, Lana, Aunt Bev and Tina ( Austin is probably fishing or swimming in the Kenai River) You are all welcome to our house anytime. Thanks for the laughs and the memories.
As the rain falls, a hero emerges
If you love to get out in the wild, get some piece and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle and get back in touch with the nature, then don’t come camping with us. If you want to eat a lot of food, have fresh coffee every morning, enjoy the rain and the noise of kids running wild, and still have access to the internet, then you want to camp with us.
hopefully Amber and Glenn get this done before bed time.
not very good hiders
my ladies on the bridge
Alli and Jo, on a rock DOWN BY THE RIVER!
Every year we try to get out and rough it at least once a summer. We find a nice cozy campground with water and a bathroom, a latte stand within driving distance, cell signal and preferably a river or lake nearby, and then head out for a night or two of miserable sleep, lots of bug, wet clothes and great company. This year it was us, the Daniels, the Davis’s and some Katzenbergers. So by my math that is 7 adults and 18 kids, or what you may call sheer paradise.
Fishing women
That hole has no fish left, just a hunch
Momma and Jo
Jason in the wilderness, just him and his iphone.
One thing you must know about camping with us, expect rain. Don’t think “it might rain” don’t be fooled by cloudless 70 degree days, don’t even bother looking at the weather, it will rain. If we camped in the middle of the Sahara Desert during the dry season, it would rain. When the Godfrey’s camp, it rains. As long as it is warm, we deal with it. By warm I mean above 50 degrees during the daylight hours.
Did you hear something?
maybe it was a fish
I like your boots Jake
Modeling for momma, cuz she made us
One huge advantage to camping with us is that you don’t usually have to worry about bears. You see the trick is to let all the kids out to run wild all over the campground, screaming, running, throwing things, screaming, crying, screaming and not only would any bear in its right mind stay as far away as possible, so do all other campers. Hence, we usually have the campgrounds to ourself.
Do you think we should be helping them set up the tent?
kids, fire, food, danger?
this crew cooked breakfast all day long
Not cooking, just warming my head.
Jeremy's catch, just a little late for dinner
a little fireside entertainment provided by Jace, hopefully it wasn't the Beastie Boys
During this camping trip I found a true hero. Now hero is a word that is thrown around loosely, but here I witnessed a true one. I believe we established that is going to rain, so I came prepared. This time I brought a tarp, not any tarp, a tarp that could serve as a runway in small village. The only people motivated enough to use the tarp were me and Ryan, so we got to work. As the rain fell we came with a master plan to cover the whole camp with the tarp. Things were going smoothly, the running lines were holding, the trees were well placed, the architectural plan was sound and we just needed everyone to get involved for one final pull to cover the rest of the camp. Unfortunately there was a minor flaw. You see, we already had the fire going. In fact, when we started putting the tarp up, Angie, Tra, Amber and the kids were cooking smores and enjoying the show.
So technically she's not eating in the background, but she is about to, and that's a big bag o chips.
you can't camp without some twister
Scary story time. Skip the story, just look at these faces...
...or these faces
but especially these faces in the light! Yikes!
Fortunately, the kids were excited to play with the earth darkening tarp, and dropped their marshmallow sticks and grabbed hold. Shoot, even Jason and Tra grabbed a corner. This is where it went all wrong. Our plan was to have a lean-to style covering to allow the smoke to escape. But instead, as everyone began to pull, we ended with more of like a giant teepee, with Ryan holding it up where the hole should be. Within seconds we realized this was not a good plan. Immediately we lost our sight due to the density of the smoke, seconds later we could not breathe. I tried to scream for the kids to let go, but I could barely breathe. Then Ryan, standing on a picnic table, holding up the center of the tarp screamed ” EVERYONE OUT” ! As he stayed firm holding up the tarp buried in deadly smoke, allowing all others to escape. This was paramount to shouting “SAVE YOURSELF!!!!!” The words of a true hero. As I ran out, to grab the edge of the tarp mind you, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Angie was still standing by the fire, marshmallow stick in her left hand, finishing the last bite of smore not looking a bit concerned. I would put a picture of this, but she has threatened to kill me if I post one more picture of her eating. Everyone else was coughing, scattering and screaming…. with laughter. Finally I was able to move the tarp, hoping beyond hope that Ryan was still alive, for my CPR had expired a year ago, and to my great relief he emerged, my new hero, with an ashen covered face. He had sacrificed himself for the good of the camp.
from amongst the ashes a hero emerges
the backside of the finished product
the front side of the finished design
enjoying the fruits of our labor and near death experience
Needless to say, we did not give up and eventually the tarp did rise, with a new architectural plan. And much like the tarp, a new hero emerged in my eyes. As I sat chilled, near the crisp fire under the tarp listening to the rain mercilessly beating down, I reflected on what another great camping adventure we had just experienced, then I pulled out my iphone, went to craigslist and started pricing travel trailers.
Cool Hand Cole and Bad Boy Ben vs. Jail Breaker Jerms
Pillow fights, finger guns, even Nerf guns are old school. Now sleep overs are ruled by Xbox and all out Airsoft war. Instead of scary stories and flashlights it is now laser sights and screams of war as tiny plastic bullets fly across the yard, rarely hitting their intended target. The combatants are all under 65 inches tall, but well protected in stylish glasses, heavy winter coats and gloves. Their strategies are antiquated and brazen, yelling and charging and then yelling and running away. There are screams of anger when time-outs are ignored for reloads, because when you are not ready those tiny hard rubber pellets sting a little, especially in the cold of winter. Tactics are thrown out the window when, much like the Civil War, brother battles brother, friend battles friend all in the name of…. fun?
Now I know some people will tell me that I shouldn’t let my boys play games like this. That guns are not good, that pretending to shoot each other with real looking guns is not healthy. To them I say, at least they are getting exercise. Shoot, I wish we had these things when I was a kid. I played for hours with my finger, or a stick that looked something like a crippled gun with arthritis. The problem with those guns is that everyone could miraculously dodge those bullets. “You missed” ” No I didn’t” was 95% of the dialog in the battles in our day. Now a days you can hear the scream of pain upon the sting of the rubber pellet, and you have the satisfaction of knowing you had a hit.
There is no blood, no serious injury, a little excitement, a lot of heart patter, and tons of fun. So other than the toys used, nothing has changed. The games are the same, the goals are the same. Instead of using pillows to pummel each other until their heads ache, they use little colorful rubber pellets to show their brotherly love. Instead of shooting at each other with fingers and sticks, they use plastic guns. Instead of arguing…. Well, some things will never change, no matter how advanced the technology gets.
For those of you not opposed to such things, here is a short video of the recent epic battle involving Cool Hand Cole, Jail Breaker Jerms, and Bad Boy Ben ( aka the screamer). I was going to put it to cool music, but I rather enjoy the sounds of a battle in the early afternoon.
When it’s spring time in alaska it’s 40 below…. NOT!!
As a child, I can recall long drives from Tok to Anchorage. I remember laying all the seats down in the back of the station wagon, a tassle of blankets and pillows with all of us kids strewn about in them (long before the seatbelt law of course, perhaps prior to seatbelts period). But most of all I remember the music, music from the 8-Track, and mom and dad, well mostly dad singing their heads off. One of the many songs I remember was “When It’s Spring Time in Alaska it’s Forty Below”, by Johnny Horton. Well Johnny…Not this year!
Miss Chloe tending to her crying baby. She was probably too hot
all eyes on the one opening the presents
I've never seen so many smiles.
I have blogged about how spring time here several times, Kudos to the Kiddos and What\’ Up Homey, and probably mentioned it several other times. However this year has been truly phenomenal. We always try to take advantage of any sunny spring day, and this year have almost all been warm and sunny. In fact I am sure we have spent more time laying in the sun this spring than all of last summer combined.
guess who?
Let Auntie get your bathing suit on you.
Because of the long dark winters, most Alaskans feel guilty wasting sunshine, especially unexpected sunshine, such as spring sunshine. So we do as much as we can outside for as long as we can. We eat, we sleep, we party, we play, we clean, and then we clean again,we try to blog but you can’t see the screen in the sun. You see we do not want to waste a precious minute of that liquid gold, even more so when it is 70 degrees out.
He had the best sunbathing outfit of us all
Jake, a true Alaskan hanging in the shade.
We have enjoyed a birthday party that involved sitting in the sun for four hours, we have played basketball and cleaned out the van, the garage and much more. We have been loving it and trying to take advantage of the 16 hour days, and I must tell you, it can be very exhausting trying to have all that fun. And all this before the kings or red salmon even show up!
- what is he looking at? Hey he’s not looking he’s……..
So this blog is dedicated to the best spring that I can remember, and I hope and pray the summer is the same. If so, then we will be so exhausted we may hibernate through the winter.
I Wanna….
Or AWANA as it is officially known, is a weekly event in our household. AWANA stands for, Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, and it is not AWANAS, just AWANA. To break it down, almost every Wednesday night we load up the van and head er north to the church with a pit stop at the coffee shop along the. You see the coffee shop is a must for I am a game guy at AWANA. A game guy’s main responsibility is to run the snot out of the kids with minimal injury and maximum fun. Therefore a game guy must bring energy every week into the game time, whether it be God given or artificially injected into the system.
Combination TNT and Sparks waiting patiently during open ceremonies..
Boys, hmmmphh!!
By the time I finish the 16 ounces of hot liquid adrenaline, I am ready to go. The little kids like Jake get to do crafts and games downstairs. I have not had the pleasure of watching this but I take it 15-20 3-5 year olds leave their mark in an hour and 1/2. For every time I wander downstairs to pick up Jake, I see the tussled hair tear stained cheeks of the volunteer teachers. Sometimes they have a vain pulsing in the side of their neck and they are always extremely grateful to see me and watch the herd of toddlers disappear. Yet they continue to show up week after week.
Games in action on backwards inside out day.
Game guys chillin
After the introduction, song, rules, and prayers, the kids head off to do Bible verses and study. They have listeners in each room corralling them and focusing them for an hour each until they are let out of their corral into the bull ring, where I work.
Mr. Kelly got to dress himself tonight!
dude you have a blank stare in your eyes.
You talking to me?
My job is not nearly as difficult as the listeners or the toddler teachers. There is usually 3 or 4 of us to run games. We try to come up with unique style themed games for every week; Games that are not too complicated but not too easy. Games that wear the kids out but keep them focused on the prize. As game guys one of our favorites is dodgeball. You see our version of dodgeball is to line all the kids up against the wall while we hurl plastic balls at them picking them off one by one. The last 3 standing get points for their team. Funny thing, the kids seem to love the game too.
I got a flat tire, what am I suppose to do.
Despite my obvious bling and hip fashion sense, I am not throwing down a rap here.
Sometimes we have overall themes, like this week was inside out and backwards week, and Mr. Kelly went all out, literally down to his underwear. It seemed to add and extra dose of energy to the kids, something I really did not care nor was I prepared for.
Mr. Kelly always seems to have more fun than the kids
There he goes again
AWANA needs millions and millions of volunteers each week, well at least 20, and we seem to have them. It can definitely be trying some weeks, like this one. I often wonder if the kids are not stopping at the same coffee shop on the way north? Perhaps they get the 24 ounce. I may have to step up my game.
Haha, at least we don't have to deal with the Cubbies!!!
Where are the Cubbies? I think we are suppose to be in there.
The writing is on the wall.
What does the “writing is on the wall” mean?
Daniel 5: 5-6
“In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.”
Well to us it means something a little different, at least lately. Last summer Tracy put a few words on the walls throughout the house. I like them, I thought they added flair, and not facebook flair, throughout the house. The best part, I didn’t have to do it, she did it all by herself and she did a great job. Recently those little sayings, portions of scripture, insights to our family, have taken on more meaning.
Every morning I rise early for two reasons, to trade and to do my devotions. About 10 years ago I started getting up earlier for work to have devotion time and it is one of the best things I have ever done. It was not easy at first, but now it is part of my life, and a crucial part. I do these devotions in my kitchen and the last few weeks I have noticed something that has been there for months, something that lately has been poking me right in the eyeball. Yes it is painful, not physically but in my soul. It is a phrase, more accurately a portion of scripture that has had increased meaning in my life the last few weeks. It is not something I want to look at, not something I want to do, not something I want to see, but obviously I need to see it and obey it. I had not shared this with anyone, because I don’t go around bragging about my short fallings, I let them speak for themselves, and they like to shout. This is what I see first thing every morning.
No ambiguity here.
The other night Tra shared something with me that Jolynn shared with her. Jolynn told her that during her prayer time for Jo, a couple words kept coming to mind. She was not sure she wanted to share, not sure what they would relay to us, hope, encouragement, false hope or an unknown meaning. She knew what they meant to her, but didn’t know what they would mean to Tra, or me and she didn’t want to relay the wrong message. Only a true friend would have an internal struggle such as that. Meanwhile, every evening after Tra gets into bed, she lays there thinks and stares as she fights for sleep. What does she stare at? She stares at some words, some words that she put on the wall last summer in our bedroom. Coincidentally,or more aptly divine intervention, from where she sleeps she looks right at the words, the exact some words that Jolynn felt she should share with us. Jolynn was not aware that the words were on the wall, or that Tra stared at those words until she fell asleep every night. That perhaps those words add a little comfort in a time of chaos and uncertainty. We are still not 100% sure what those words mean to us. They could mean hope, patience, faith, so many things to so many different people and different things to each person depending on where they are in their life. But there they are. We start every day and end every day with the same eight words. Eight words that could mean so many things to one person at any given time and change their meanings with flow of life. What are the words? See for yourself:
What do these words mean to you?
So the writing on the wall has been affecting us both, and yet neither of us knew until a good friend decided to share what was in her soul. Words are powerful, scripture is more powerful, not painless, but powerful, and it will strengthen us.
What to write about? How about you.
I thought quite a bit on what to pontificate on tonight, not that I have a shortage of topics, but what seemed to be most appropriate in these times, I never came up with an answer. In light of the recent transgessions upon our household, I have been trying to keep things light, not only for my sake, but for Tra’s sake as well. There seems to be quite a bit of strife going on around us right now, and not just our family, our friends families as well. Maybe it’s like when you a get a new car and then you notice how many people actually drive that car. It seemed like nobody had that car, and then you bought it and now everybody drives. They saw how good you and your family looked in it and then they had to go and get one. Those dirty scoundrels. Funny thing with us, I still don’t see much of the 4X4 15 passenger van running around town.
Uncle Brad and Auntie Jenna at Melting Pot North Carolina
NLAG cleaning crew with the sweet vests.
Perhaps that is what we are experiencing, we have turmoil in our life and then our eyes are open to all the turmoil around us, and there does not seem to be a shortage. I thought things were suppose to be better with our new Pres. Just kidding, don’t get offended, just a little joke. I don’t doubt that that is part of it, but I also truly believe that there are seasons of difficulities, seasons of testings, seasons of despair. It is all over in the Bible, look at Joseph, Job, Daniel, Noah, some brought on themselves, some did nothing apparent to cause it. Some of it focused on one, some focused on a family, tribe or nation. Could we be experiencing the same? It is possible, but I am not sure.
Angie belting one out.
uncle and nephews
I am not sure which of these fit, nor do I think it matters. What matters is that our hope is not in this world. What matters is that we have a God who loves us, always, period. What matters is that he brings those into our lives,who, if we let them, can aid us through these times. Not usually with words, but with love, comfort, tears, and honest true compassion. What matters is that we are here for a reason, and if we walk in God’s word and in his desire, in the end it will be as it should.
We are truly blessed to have this. We are blessed to have a strong family, a family that has survived numerous tragedies and has come out stronger through the other side. We are blessed to have true friends, friends who when they say “let me know if I can do anything” mean “anything”. Friends who pray, often harder for us than we do for ourselves. And a church to bring us all together.
The last scragglers.
Road trip! No dudes allowed.
So today I want to write to you out there in the blogesphere, those of you who take the time out of your day to read this drabble, those of you who appreciate us, and those we appreciate. I want to thank you all so much, it truly is a huge uplifiting to us, more than we can express. I know it seems we have been a bit introvert lately, but it is just us getting grounded again before facing everything full force. We appreciate the space and time you have allowed us, and we love you and know you really, really want to help. There may come a time soon when we will need that help, and we will let you know.
A sad day for KNLAG
Beauty pagent, you're all winners in my book.
A truly motley crew.
So in honor of you I have spent hours digging through some old files on my computer to find some of your finest moments, I hope you enjoy them.
Grandpa Gugel at 91.
I know this seems mushy, again, but I think it is Niki’s fault. She had a very introspective blog the other day and it made me introspect. I think we need Ty to blog about his Rhino some more, lighten things up. Or even better, maybe he can blog about his ballet days, with photos included of course.
Surprise Guest Star
I am still a little star struck. I couldn’t believe my luck, this week we had an actual guest star visit the Godfrey house. She is well known, especially around these parts. These parts being mostly our church, but none the less. Her work can be seen on a rival network, schemanski.com (there is a link to the right ). You guessed it, it was Nya Schemanski herself.
Let me tell you, her work is awe inspiring. Immediately I could tell she was a professional, because from the moment I picked up my camera to see if I could sneak a few shots of her, she started saying “cheese” with no prompting. Accompianed with this cheese, was the true smile of a professional photog. She knew how to work the camera, of that there can be no doubt.
A good chili eating outfit. I have the same one.
She was mobbed all night long by the kids of the house, obviously happy to have a celebrity of her status in our own home. You can tell she is a celeb because she refers to herself in the third person, “Nya’s turn” “Nya’s thirsty” “Nya’s jello” definitely stuck up, but since she is so cute, and a star, she can get away with it.
Nya and Kassie playing "mess up the house" a newer version of house.
Once she was done with the chili outfit, it was time to go out.
She was definitely hip, as she refered to me as “daddy” just like the jazz stars. I convinced her to call me uncle Glenn, but that turned into Levi, her true uncle. Finally she decided to call me by my name, Gwen. I always liked the name Gwen, it is so masculine.
Uncle Gwen cooking up a storm!
"and in the morning momma looks like....
Where is my chauffeur? She is late!
Sadly she had to leave us at the end of the night when her chauffeur showed up. Just prior to leaving she said something to the effect of going home to “pway wif daddy’s new webel in the pahdy.” I don’t know what that meant, but whatever it is, I am sure daddy will be pleased. She will always be welcome back to “hang”.
Here is a short video of her visit.
