tgif

I love Fridays. Mainly because Alan is off work and we get to hang out together. And because sometimes I get to sleep in a little while he packs the kids' lunches, makes pancakes or waffles, fixes my coffee, and gets the kids out the door.

Friday night is usually family night. We all go out to dinner and end up at Walmart or Target afterward. We can be spotted at Blockbuster on Friday nights too.

Yep...I'm pretty spoiled today. And I have the best husband ever.

sad news

More sad news in the community of Christian music.

On the heels of the recent Steven Curtis Chapman tragedy, Nicol Sponberg's (from Selah) 10 week old son died in his sleep last night. Nicol's brother's infant daughter also died a few short hours after birth about 7 weeks ago.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

Nicol led worship at our very first Chicks retreat at TrueNorth Church. It was during a very difficult time in the life our church as we had recently experienced our own similar tragedies within our church family. Nicol was a great blessing to us and we can return the blessing by praying hard for these families.

bargain time

99 cent regular-size milkshakes, all flavors...for a limited time!!!!

i'm just saying

"So are you trying to tell me I need to lose weight?"
"I'm just saying..."

What do you say to smooth over a comment you just made in a conversation that just might have offended someone? Or if you think might have just gotten in someone's grill but didn't mean to? How do you get in the last word when you're ready for the conversation to be over?

"I'm just saying..."

Your voice then trails off and it's almost as if you can actually hear the dot dot dots at the end. And then you never really finish saying what you were trying to say.

It's not like it gets on my nerves or anything, because I do it too. I'm just saying...

g-burg

Just got back from a long Memorial Day weekend vacation in the Smoky Mountains. What happened in Gatlinburg doesn't always stay in Gatlinburg:

1. We drove up late Thursday night and Alan was getting a little sleepy on the drive. So I gave him one of my Ipod earphones and we played Name that Tune to pass the time. And of course he guessed every Van Halen song in about three notes .

2. Have you ever noticed how easy it is for kids to make friends? The first day my kids got in the pool, they made friends with the other kids faster than I could get my book opened up and settled in my chair. Kids are social and uninhibited. And then they grow up to be adults.

3. The Gaither Family Fest was at the Convention Center in downtown Gatlinburg this past weekend. We got stuck in traffic until 11pm as the concert-goers swarmed out of the building, proudly displaying their Gaither concert t-shirts and baseball caps. As we people watched, I told Alan that "this was their Van Halen."

4. Allison and I like to invent words. I made up a new word this weekend. At least I think it's new:
vanagan (n) : a family minivan that is extremely overused...again and again.
Ex: Hey, kids! Go get in the vanagan (van again)!

5. There are no words to describe the downtown Gatlinburg scene at 11pm. Maybe what happens in Gatlinburg SHOULD stay in Gatlinburg.

note to self

Note to self:

When you are with a group of friends, talking and what-not, DO NOT stop mid-sentence and frantically ask, "Has anyone seen my sunglasses?!!!!" Because...one of your friends will gladly make you feel like an idiot by telling you that your glasses are 'on top of your head'.

And they will never, ever let you live it down.

things that make you go hmmm

I saw the Geico Caveman commercial last night and was thinking he looked a lot like Barry Gibb. What do you think?

free stuff

On May 15 only, McDonald's is offering you a FREE chicken biscuit in the morning and a FREE chicken sandwich in the afternoon with the purchase of a medium drink. No coupon required. Check this out to see for yourself.

More FREE stuff on May 15 at Dunkin' Donuts. From 10am-10pm, go get you a FREE 16oz. iced coffee...flavor of your choice. For real.

i am what i eat

Pam sent me one of those forwarded emails that tells you to choose one dessert out of the list of eight choices to see what psychiatrists have to say about your personality. I chose the chocolate cake with chocolate icing...duh! Here is what the experts say about me:

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING - Sweet; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

So...what do you think? Take the test and tell me what you would choose for yourself...no cheating!

to be a twit or not

Twitter. Such an annoying little game about...well, nothing. This interactive social networking connects me to other Twitters who are dishing out the one-liners faster than I can say 'tweet'.

I officially became a Twitter-user two days ago. I feel silly sending out a message about what I am doing, because...does anyone really care that I changed my toenail polish last night or that I had pancakes for breakfast?

I hope not.

The last thing I need is another log-in name and password to keep up with. I think I'm going to pass on this one. Twitter followers, you may see me pop in from time to time. But until then, y'all have fun!!!!

pretty in pink?

Yesterday the guys at TNC were encouraged to honor the women in their lives by wearing PINK! This was an easy request for some and torture for others....but they were good sports!

The guys in the North Augusta band:

Zak...a Woman of Influence?

one kid, two kids, three kids

Guess who got in our bed at 5am on Mother's Day? Isn't that sweet that they wanted to snuggle with their mom on her special day?

Not really.

They were afraid of the tornado warning...happens every time we have a storm!

modesty

So we started a new series at Element last Wednesday night called Filtered...about filtering out "worldly" things, but still remaining "in" the world. We had a guest co-leader in my 8th grade fuel cell, my nineteen year old daughter Kacie. I asked her to share with the girls the things she focused on filtering out during her years as a middle and high schooler.

She chose a subject that most girls can relate to...shopping. She spoke to them about the responsibility they have in choosing appropriate clothing...that they can be stylish and still be seen as a godly woman. (I could tell they were paying much more attention to her than if I had been the one saying it.) Then we ran out of time and Kacie said, "But mom, I wanted to talk to them about their myspace pages and Facebook too!"

Check out Anne Jackson's blog post about the same subject. I don't know this girl, but I stalk her blog.

what's the real question?

"How many members does your church have?"

I get asked that question all the time and I don't have the foggiest idea what the answer is. I wonder if people really want to know our attendance numbers. Now that is a number I know.

There is definitely credibility in membership, but the attendance numbers are a better gauge of the number of lives being changed. Our desire is that the gap will narrow between membership and attendance. But wouldn't we want our attendance to always be higher than membership? Doesn't that show that we are still reaching new people? Because if our membership numbers were higher than our attendance, then somebody better be making some phone calls and asking the question, "Where have you been?"

Check out what Ed Young has to say about numbers.

laptop go bye-bye

So I am posting this horrific video clip from Buckhead Church because I can totally relate to it since I play keys and the occasional laptop at TNC . One of my worst fears while on stage is that I will take a giant step backward and fall off the platform. What you are about to witness is almost as bad.

Perhaps if the Mac weighed a little more, this tragedy would not have occurred. Rest in peace, little Mac.

mmmBOP!

Some girls will do anything to get a guy's attention:

The "Taylor" in this conversation is Taylor Hanson of the boy brother band, Hanson. Kacie is chasing them around Asheville, NC today during "The Walk" tour. She and some friends are participating in a walk that Hanson sponsors in each tour city to bring awareness to AIDS and poverty. The participants walk BAREFOOTED behind the Hanson brothers for one mile before the concert.

On the Hanson brothers' website, Taylor is quoted as saying:

"We don't want to be the passive generation. We want to be the active generation."

This generation continues to amaze me.

home again

I talked to a mom recently who is emotionally preparing herself for her daughter's departure for college in the fall. As she shared her heart with me, my eyes filled with tears remembering my own fears and sadness as Kacie started Clemson just nine short months ago.

In less than twelve hours, we will head to Clemson to help Kacie pack up her dorm room and move home for the summer. We won't be bringing home the same girl we took to college last August. This girl has experienced her own independence for the last nine months. She has a whole community of friends in a world that I have only pictured through our conversations on the phone. She will be more grown up and one year closer to college graduation.

I can't wait to wake up every morning, knowing she is in her room with the door shut as usual. It's going to feel like home again.