It’s all coming together March 27, 2008

The amount of work accomplished in the past four days is amazing.  The new KidsPointe is looking great.  I have a great team that has been helping every time I call, and I am so grateful.  I think we all realize that this is a kingdom thing.  Nobody is doing this for themselves, for anyone else, for me. . .it’s all for Him.  I may not know what is coming up, but I do know that this is what we need to be doing right now.  The kids of our community are going to love what we have to offer.  And they’re going to learn about Jesus the whole time.  Here’s an example of what they will see when they walk in the KidsPointe doors:

    

Linda Biglin and Audra Rheaume painted this beautiful set!  We have had plenty of volunteers coming to do all kinds of tasks.  What I need now is to beef up my Sunday morning team.  No, I don’t mean I’m going to start feeding them donuts and candy, I mean I need more people!  I need performers, narrators, teachers, tech people, VIP room watchers and early morning child care providers.  Not to mention the slots I need to fill for Access for Kids (first Thursday night of each month).  That’s a week from today, people!  AAAAAH!  Help!  Okay, freak out is over, for the moment. 

Workin’ for a livin’ March 24, 2008

My posts are bound to be a little boring this week.  Or exciting, depending on how you look at it.  I am typing this post from my new office in our new building, so that’s pretty exciting.  This week is going to be a flurry of activity for all of us as we finish getting the new building ready and transfer the old youth building to the new children’s building.  We had our easter services in rooms with almost no furniture, but that is because some great KidsPointe leaders came on Saturday to move everything to our new location.  When we opened the Uhaul truck to unload it, this is what we found:

    

The clear plastic tub with the blue lid was completely filled with gumballs.  I think you can tell what happened.  My team members promptly declared, “God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt!”  A little bottom-of-the-rented-truck never hurt anybody.  I, on the other hand, used this as an excuse to get rid of these gumballs.  I don’t like scraping it off of furniture and picking it out of children’s hair and clothing,  thank you very much.  They’re gone, out of my life!  Sorry, kids.

So, on to the next challenge.  We have one week until our first live KidsPointe performance.  Pray for us!

Happy birthday to me! March 21, 2008

Yes, today is my birthday.  If you want to know how old I am, then go to my bio and realize that some important numbers are missing from my birthdate. I can’t bring myself to say it. I am actually writing this post on Thursday since I have no idea where my computer or desk will be tomorrow. We are in the process of moving our offices. Right now I am sitting in the midst of lots of boxes, and we are just waiting for the go ahead from the inspectors at the new building.  Because of all this action, my birthday will have to be properly celebrated at a later date.  My plans include:

• An hour massage at the spa across the street from my house – Blissful Escape.  It’s only $45!  I’m going to wait until the moving is done so as not to waste the experience.
• A trip to Europe!  Yes, the tickets have already been boughten.  I will go to Germany where Mandy lives, and then we will go on some little trips.  We’re going to Rome!  We’re going to see the tulips!  I don’t know what else we’re doing yet!  Yay!  I’m not telling you when because I don’t want the bad guys to know when they can rob me.  Because I’m sure lots of bad guys are reading this blog on a daily basis.  I guess when I don’t post anything for a week and a half, you’ll know.
• Eating some Wild Wings at Wild Wings Cafe.  This must be done on my actual birthday.  I need them.  Yum.
• Perhaps buying a hammock?  At some point in the the near future my Weekend Challenge will be sprucing up my porch, and a hammock is needed.

(I’m really irritated right now because the links are showing up purple instead of shaded like they’re supposed to.  Grrrrr.)  Anyway, feel free to send presents or money, or ecards and well-wishes.  Thanks!

American Idol Predictions March 20, 2008

I have many secret obsessions.  American Idol is one of them.  Unfortunately it is very time-consuming.  Not only does it air 2-3 times a week, but I often find myself being sucked into about half a dozen recap shows.  Not to mention the fact that I want to discuss every minute detail of every episode with anyone I know that watches.  Last night’s results were so upsetting to me that I had to devote a post to it.  I have some thoughts.

1.  I love Carly Smithson, David Cook, Brooke White and David Archuleta.

2.  I like Michael Johns, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, Amanda Overmyer and Chikezie.

3.  I don’t really like Ramiele Malubay or Kristy Lee Cook.

4.  I am sad to see Amanda Overmyer go.  I couldn’t see her actually winning the thing, but I was always excited to see what she was going to do. 

5.  Carly Smithson in the Bottom 3?  Not okay!

I have 2 predictions:  1) David Cook, David Archuleta and Carly Smithson will be the Top 3.  2) Kristy Lee Cook is the new Sanjaya.  I think the only thing saving her from elimination is that the same sadistic crazy people that voted to keep a rotten performer in the competition last year are doing it again this year.  You heard it here first, folks.  What are your thoughts?

Speaking of a new creation. . .the puppets are done March 19, 2008

We finished up the Zooplosion puppets last night!  Here’s what they look like:

    

    

The sheep:  This one is the simplest (most simple?).  No moving parts, just a handle on the back. 

The parrot:  I think this one is my favorite so far.  The head moves.

The elephantlionostrich:  It’s big.  The trunk moves.  The elephant’s name is “Little Orphan Elephant” because he doesn’t have pupils in his eyes.  You know, now that I look at it, none of them have pupils.  Hmmm.

The anteater:  The head and the tail move, and theoretically the tongue goes in and out.  I’m not sure if I will actually do that though.  For one, it’s tricky to hold the puppet and do the tongue movement at the same time.  For two, it looks kinda weird, in a bad way.

The trickiest part was gluing the paper front to the styrofoam back.  First I tried spray adhesive, but it was not strong enough.  Plus I could not stand any more complaining about the smell!!!!  You know who you are!  I finally settled on contact cement.  It worked very well, as I knew it would.  I was very entertained by the chemical reaction that took place when the contact cement touched the raw styrofoam.  Or maybe the fumes were affecting my brain.  And by the way I used the contact cement outside so as not to disturb the delicate senses of some people in this office.  You know who you are – Michele!

Thanks to Maddy for helping me glue, and thanks to Tena and Sica for helping me paint!  Big ups!  And not thanks to Michele for whining.  Big downs!

A New Creation March 18, 2008

How many times do I go about the everyday tasks of life and wonder, “When am I really going to get there?  When am I going to do whatever it is that I’m really supposed to be doing?”  I am always concerned with the big thing, and many times I feel like I’m never going to get there.  Lately, I’ve had an idea for a puppet skit circling around in my head about caterpillars turning into butterflies.  This fact of nature has often been compared to the transformation that occurs when someone becomes a Christ-follower.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Cor. 5:17  As I was contemplating this idea the other morning, the story came to me.  When we see a caterpiller, we already know that if all goes well, this little creature will one day be a butterfly.  But at what point does the caterpillar figure it out?  How long is he eating leaves, not knowing why, just wondering if he will ever do anything great?  Does he even know that he’s got to eat those leaves to get to the great thing in the future?  And is that how God sees us?  He knows the great things we will do, and He knows the importance of things we are doing now, even though they seem so mundane to us.  Just some food/leaves for thought.

Happy St. Patty’s Day March 17, 2008

Here’s a personal Irish story from my past.  Before I began my illustrious career as a Children’s Pastor, I had many thankless jobs.  At one time I was third-shift front desk person at the lovely Marriott hotel in Duluth, Georgia.  Due to the hours I worked (11pm – 7am), most of the clientele I encountered were either drunk or cranky.  However there were times when a music group or sports team would arrive at an odd hour due to their traveling schedule.  This was the case when some soccer team from Ireland paid us a visit.  It was right at the beginning of my shift, so most of the team members were already settled by the time I got there.  I was able to assist one of the players, and I asked for his name to begin the checking in process.  It was Jimmy O’Donovan, or something equally Irish.  When his reservation came up on my computer, his address said that he was from County Cork, Ireland.  “That’s so cute!” I thought to myself.  Throughout the conversation, everything he said was so Irish.  And, like most girls, I’m a sucker for an accent.   With most guests I would usually squeak by with the least amount of interaction; at that hour everyone just wants to go to bed, including me.  However, since I just wanted to hear more Irishness, I confirmed every detail and asked him all the questions I could think of.  I asked, “Would you like a wake-up call?”  He said, “Yes, 6:45.”  I didn’t understand him at first because it sounded like, “Yes, Six fahrty-feif.”  I made him say it again.  “Six fahrty-feif,” he repeated.  I thought this was so cute that I turned red and giggled an “All set, have a good night!” 

A New Home March 16, 2008

This weekend I spent some quality time in the current Alive Youth Center which is the future KidsPointe.  Peggy Ensor cut out the outline of the set that I quickly sketched on Friday morning.  Then Don Petty and Melanie Hahn came on Saturday, and we painted the new VIP room and the foam pieces in the windows.  Here’s what that looks like:

    

 I think it looks great!  Things are really starting to come together.  Thanks so much to Peggy, Don and Melanie for the help, and thanks to their families for letting us borrow them.

Lennon/McCartney March 12, 2008

                         

I’ve been in such a Beatles mood lately.  You can look at my music selection on the side there and tell it.  It usually happens around this time every year – tax time.  It’s kind of funny, I think.  Revolver makes its way into my CD player, and “Taxman” can be heard across three counties.  I love the Beatles.  I grew up listening to them.  Before my parents met, my mom liked the early Beatles, my dad liked the later Beatles, so together they had almost every album.  We even had two copies of some of them.  When I was old enough to make my own choices, I would still listen to them.  I would take the records (you know, the big, round, flat, black things) to my room and listen to them for hours.  Sgt. Pepper’s was my favorite.  In my humble opinion, even though I wasn’t around in their heyday, the Beatles have influenced every single artist that came after them.  They did things that had never been done before, and never will again.  The rights to their music are guarded so closely that they seem to be very difficult to repeat – literally.  However last night on American Idol (one of my secret obsessions), the Lennon/McCartney songbook was released from its prison.  I was excited to see how this would play out.  I was certain that I would love some of it and hate some of it.  And that is exactly what happened.  I completely identified with the finalists that sounded like me — they grew up listening to the Beatles, and the Fab Four held a special place in their personal, and now professional, life.  I even cried a little at one performance.  Then there were the finalists that actually admitted that they had never heard of any of the Beatles’ music.  How can this be? If you are going to be a superstar musician, you better acquaint yourself with the music that got you where you are, whether you realize it or not!   Whenever I am singing along with a Beatles tune, and someone says, “What is this song?  Who sings this?” my heart breaks a little.  So get on iTunes, or download an MP3, or whatever you do, and get some John, Paul, George and Ringo in your life!  Please!

Why do grown-ups still have Picture Day?! March 11, 2008

Today is a day I’ve been dreading since, well, since Sunday because that is when I found out about it, but I would have been dreading it way longer than that if I had known.  The church where I work is updating the website, and it includes new staff pictures of everyone.  If you read my quirky post, you know that having my picture taken is not okay with me.  I’ve been this way ever since I reached adulthood, and the image of myself that I have in my head became further and further from the truth.  It’s gotten worse and worse over the years, and now I probably need professional help.  Anyway, I began planning for today last night.  I decided what I would wear (which I don’t usually do), I went to bed early (beauty sleep – ha!) and I set my alarm for 30 minutes earlier than normal (to allow time for freak-outs). 

As I got ready this morning, I purposefully did not put on my make-up.  You see, Picture Day was happening in the afternoon, and I wanted my make-up to look “fresh.”  I packed my make-up, hairbrush and curling iron and headed off to work.  I was warned that for the photo session we would have to do a normal, smiling picture, and then a “funny” picture, too.  What is this, the spring break youth group trip?!  Or maybe the yearbook photo for Drama Club????!!!!  I can’t take this!  I don’t even have one good picture in me, and now you want me to be “funny”?!

When I returned to the office after lunch, others that had already been through the photo session were leaving.  They said you could use a prop or something for your “funny” picture.  Oh, good, can my prop be a huge fan or a sombrero pulled over my face?  That’s when the really bad news was delivered.  The pictures were not just regular head shots; they were full body shots!  Head to toe!!!  Horror of horrors!  I was in full panic mode.  What am I going to do?  Where can I hide?

I grabbed my puppet school mask off the shelf in my office to use as my prop for my “funny” picture, and very reluctantly went to the makeshift photo studio.  I stalled and stalled, waiting for every other person to go ahead of me.  I don’t know why; I knew it couldn’t be avoided.  I guess I was giving Jesus plenty of time in case he wanted to come back and take us all to heaven so I wouldn’t have to get my picture taken.  You may have guessed it, but the rapture didn’t happen.  I stood on the X and allowed a few pictures to be taken, with my mask and without.  I would like to tell you that when I saw the pictures, I had a revelation and decided that they were not that bad.  This is not what happened.  As soon as the first picture filled the computer screen, I grabbed my stuff and ran for the door.  It was terrible!  I’m telling you, when I see myself in the mirror every morning, I am at least 30 pounds lighter than I am in that picture!  My nose is smaller, my hair is thicker and healthier, my skin is clearer. . .how can a camera do so much damage?  I ended the day in tears, and then I decided that the only way to get it out of my system was to tell the blogosphere about it.  Dumb idea, I know, because now about 100 people are going to be anxiously awaiting the new Pointe North website and the Ugliest Picture they’ve ever seen.  Ugh!