It Has Been A Long Week

It has been a long week for this aging soul.

This weekend is going to be packed full and the weekend schedule is part of what has driven the long week. As each week in life ( I think ) shows, there has been some good and there has been some bad and unfortunately there has been a few spinkles of ugly.

I am thankful that this week came after a vacation week. In a sense that may sound odd. Because this week has "ripped" away some of the great feeling that I had coming back from vacation ...... however, I am not sure how well I would have survived if I was not entering into this week completely fresh.

Some "Highlights" From the Week

- Final Preparation for VBS Meeting
- Introduction for our Vacation Bible School
- Follow-Up on the meeting and plan action steps for the next 30 days
- Volunteering at Viola Free Medical Clinic
- Preparation for Sunday Morning Sermon ( preaching at all three services )
- Preparation for Family Sunday School
- Preparation for the Synod meeting ( this Sunday afternoon )
- Preparation for National Gathering meeting ( Sunday evening )
- Isaiah & Jacob had their Reach Out And Dance Performance
- Had 3 Jeff events on Thursday night - not good (not including kids sports)
- Parents in for 24 hours for a visit & see the kids performance

Those are just a few of them.

Today, I am putting the final touches on all 4 "events" that I am participating in on Sunday. During today, I will be checking on a video that I may use for Sunday morning's 9 am service - if that works, I may "alter" that sermon entirely - but I know what I will be doing; so I will not be completely behind the 8-ball in that area.

Finally, though, I have been dealing with frustrations with the "church". At times, it really confuses me.

- Why can't we be welcoming, loving and accepting to everyone ?
- Why do we make the "golden rule" so difficult
- Why do we have to "argue" about theological matters that don't matter

The list can go on. I may actually start throwing questions out to God on here and see what type of answers that I receive from my readers.

It is time to start the morning.

READY. SET. GO.

Polar Bear Attacks

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A polar bear attacked a woman at Berlin Zoo Friday afternoon after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time, police said Saturday.


The bear attacks the woman during feeding time.

One adult polar bit her several times after she plunged into the moat, police said.

Zoo workers tossed rescue rings toward the woman to hoist her out and distract polar bears swimming nearby, said Goerg Gebhard, a Berlin police officer.

At one point the woman fell back into the water and was grabbed by a bear before she was eventually hoisted to safety.

"They saved her life," Gebhard told CNN.

The woman was severely injured and was being treated at a hospital, police said. Watch polar bear attack woman »


It's unclear why the woman entered the bear habitat, but police issued her a citation for trespassing.

Berlin Zoo is home to Knut, the first polar bear to be born there in over 30 years. The bear became a huge talking point in Germany when his mother gave birth to him in December 2006.

I am not that smart of a person, but here is a bit of wisdom for you "my readers"; please do not enter into the home of a Polar Bear and assume that everything will work out perfectly.

The Porter's Visit

 

We had a great time. They came over to visit for the day. We had a wonderful 6 hours with them.

Mean Jeff: Spring Break

We were outside playing in the last bit of the snow and I put my "rough" look hat on and gave a growl during the snowball fight. Here is the "mean jeff" look. You better not mess with me (ha):

The Gazebo & More: Spring Break 2009

Some of the things that I love about the property here are the trails and the Gazebo. The Gazebo sits above the creek and it is great to sit in the Gazebo, look at the great view and hear the water running below you.

Below are some photos of Bethany on the walk with me and the Gazebo and the view from within the Gazebo and then the boys and Bee in the snow; it is melting fast. Isaiah tried to throw a snowball at me as I took the photo - which you can see below in the pics:

Isaiah Throwing A Snowball



Bethany on the Trail: Rock Hunting



Bethany at the Gazebo




The Gazebo from the Woods



Looking Out from Inside The Gazebo

Spring Break 2009: Snow

Bethany Patting Down Snow
She wanted to make it even with the snow, so she built it up and patted it down.



I Love You Dad
In the pic, you can not really see it. However, yesterday evening, she came in and said, "dad, i need to show you something outside". So, I put on my shoes and coat and was show the writing ... loved the act of love :)




Jacob Making Snowballs
He was very happy about making snowballs even though there was some ice mixed in with the snow.



Jacob Placing Snowball on Pile
He was making a pyramid with the snowballs and he was placing them down very strategically.



The Pile
At the time, he had 33 snowballs in place.

The Game of Life: Spring Break

The kids now love the game of life; we have now completed 4 games. Here is a picture of us playing ..... we can't get Stacey to play with us .....

Playing in Snow: Spring Break Part II

Here are some photos of them out in the snow. It warmed up a little and they had been in the house for awhile, so they decided to venture out and get some fresh air and play in the cold and wet snow. The pics are a bit blurry ... I apologize for that.

I have read Youth Ministry 3.0 and am a few chapters into Oh Shit! It's Jesus. I have also watched a little baseball - Yanks vs. Orioles.

Later on, we are having meatball calzones and then I will watch the championship game - if I can convince the family to allow me :)

My Easter Hat

On Sunday, we had "Easter" during our Family Sunday School time. Our curriculum is a 4-week curriculum each month (March at 5 Sundays).

We decided that we would not have SS on Easter. So, we "bumped" the curriculum up. We had Palm Sunday on 3/29 and Easter yesterday on 4/5. It felt a little odd. I think that the story that we did (conviction) was excellent and did a great job telling the story through the eyes of Mary, John and Peter.

I had my "Easter hat" on for the introduction. I thought that it was cute *cough* but some just could not take me seriously :)

Here is the pic, tell me what you think ???

Spring Break Vacation 2009 Part 1

It is Spring Break Week. We decided to head back up north to Michigan and stay at the same "cottage" that we stayed at last year. Last week, we started to look at the 10-day forecast and saw that it was going to be cool with precipitation in the air. Well, when we got here last night (Sunday the 5th), we checked the weather - because we heard snow reports on the radio. The weather had actually stated a snow warning.

Last night, we went into town and had dinner at a local favorite - the New Port Restaraunt. We then went to WMSC to get groceries for the week. This morning, we woke up and the snow definitely came in. Here are the photos from the cottage (front and back view):









Today, has been very relaxing. I did not wake up till 9:30. I made some coffee. We had breakfast at 10 am and then we settled in for a game of LIFE. The game took 2 hours :) Here are the totals:

Daddy & Bethany: $ 1,645,000
Jacob: $ 1,355,000
Isaiah: $ 415,000

I am not sure what happened to Isaiah.

The rest of the day, a late bath and then lunch and then time to read a book and then more games with the kids. The kids are playing hide and seek right now; their laughs are histerical. The boys can never find Bethany.