A Kodak Moment

So the long awaited moment has come. No, not the end of VBS (although we all did a Jericho march at the end of it). Not even the beginning of my trip to NC (which I can't wait for-10 days!!!). No folks, it's the posting of pictures-all 2 of them. So enjoy!

*Here are those baby birds that took up residence in the rafters of my porch. They are flying now but still call this little nest home. It's been a beautiful thing to watch this life cycle come full circle. (But I will be tearing down the nest after they're gone b/c I'm sick of walking through the poop to get into my house.)

*Here's the blasphemy that my poor car is subjected to-a TX license plate. No more pretty planes w/First In Flight written across them. Sad day!

And thus ends the visual sampling of my world for tonight. I've got lots more to post but more to take too. And the VBS roundup is coming too! Happy hump day!

The end is coming...

Hello all you faithful readers out there Mom & Dad!

I haven't done very well with keeping up with my VBS posts. I promise there will be a re-cap complete with pictures in the near future after I get tonight behind me. We're having the water slide, dunking booth (poor pastor), snow cones, popcorn & hot dogs tonight at family night and I'm excited! Not because it's the end of VBS (although truth be told, I will sleep much better-and longer tonight) but because I can't wait to see the kids having a blast tonight! Deep down, I love acting as crazy as they do but most of the time I have to keep myself in the "24 and acting it" group so it's been fun to act like an 8 year old all week!

There's a lot of good stuff going on in my life. So much so, that'd I'd like to bring in our favorite friend, Mr. List to help me share it. Shall we???

~With the end of VBS in sight and no work tomorrow, I'll get to make my 1st trip to Canton, TX tomorrow w/my friend Ash and her parents. While I wish I were going to be with my parents for the 4th, the next best thing are hers so I'm sure we'll enjoy the day.

~The month of July has been declared "Organize the Church" month. Our church is in SERIOUS need of organization and I'm planning to hit it hard after I take a couple days to recover from VBS. It is much needed and just happens to be one of my gifts so I'm gonna run with it. After that, August is "Nursery" month where I'm going to attempt to paint and redecorate our nursery (w/some help). I'm excited about tackling these tasks and planning more events like a Back-To-School bash and Christmas program with several other things thrown in the mix.

~I've had the privilege of chatting for the past few days with a very endearing guy from Arlington. He's a youth pastor, has great grammar, and is very wise for his age which is a year younger than me. I'm excited about having lunch with him Monday as his family passes through town on their way to visit family in OK. Z, if you're reading, thanks again for everything! It's been great!

~Only 16 more days until I leave for NC w/Ash! I can't wait to be with family and put my feet on my home soil again. I sure do miss that state-especially with everyone trying to convince me that the lake is just as good as the beach. They've obviously never been to a NC beach! Home sweet home!

~As a closing, I'd like to say that I screw up majorly sometimes. I get in my flesh and as my friend Z says, sometimes it's easier to fight the devil than to fight your flesh. But the amazing thing to me is that regardless of what I do, God's love for me never changes. I've learned that the hard way the past couple of weeks-I've made some bad decisions and not handled myself properly but I'm so thankful that my God still opens His arms to love on me as I repent and turn from my sin. He is a faithful God whose love never changes and who He, Himself never changes. I am thankful that even in my failure, His strength is perfect.

Blessings to you all & have a happy July the 4th as we celebrate and thank God for the independence we have as a country!

~B
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

I Wuv Wadur Swides!

Quote of the day for Monday's VBS compliments of Michael T.

That little boy is precious and I am so glad we are able to serve him at VBS. He lives on the West side of town (in a sketchy neighborhood) and his mother is homebound. But every evening, our van stops by to pick him up and bring him-and I am so glad we do. It's kids like Michael who make all the bloody (and yes, there has been a little), sweaty, chaotic, sore muscle-y, sleepless, paint-on-clothes minutes worth it.

Monday went off with minor glitches. The only major one was my fault as I miscommunicated the plans for the game to my game teacher for the night. But it all worked out in the end and everybody had a great time. The kids are really getting into it (w/the exception of some older boys) and the teachers are having a good time as well. I can't believe the week will be half way over tonight but it has been great thus far. No pictures from last night as I haven't had a chance to download them yet. But check back tomorrow for another quote & more pics. We're having lots of fun riding the wave of God's love at Water Works! Park. :)


Blessings,
Bethany

It's FINALLY here!

Splish! Splash! It's a Bible bash!
Gonna have fun in the Son-God's Son!
The words of the Father are flowing like water
So we oughta ride the wave of God's love!

And so goes the theme song to WaterWorks! Park VBS. We started to ride our first wave of the week last night and learned about God's love finding a way. We heard about Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. We made Red Sea picture frames. We played a Crossing the Sea water game and we learned our theme song and the song for the night-God's Love Finds A Way. And all in all, we had a blast! Everything went off without a hitch (minus me running around with my head spinning) and everyone had fun!

Here is a re-cap of prep and our 1st night in my favorite posting form-Mr. List...

*5-6 hours were spent both Thursday evening and Friday evening prepping for VBS. Thursday was tear down & prep the premises day. Friday was paint and start the foyer day. Our foyer at the church is absolutely HUGE (and echoes very heavily b/c of the tile floor) but is beautiful and worked perfectly for our water park theme. Saturday I spent 16 hours working on VBS stuff and although I couldn't move or think straight or answer any more questions or make any more decisions at the end of the day, I couldn't have asked for a better VBS facility. My volunteers worked tirelessly and put up with my OCD, perfectionist, slightly control freak personality and it all paid off! They are amazing and as you can tell from the descriptions below, deserve all the credit.

*We were able to set up different areas in our gargantuous foyer including 2 waterfalls, a play sand area, locker rentals, a picnic area, a sit & sip cafe, a waterfall including a kiddie pool half full of water, a pictures and prizes area, the tube/raft rentals, and thank you sign.

*Side story: Saturday after finishing the physical labor, a group of us were sitting in the office talking and laughing. After about 30 minutes, our pastor's wife went to check on her youngest child and the children (ages 3 & 4) of a church member who had brought them while he worked on repairing some tile in our foyer. When she came back to the office and posed this question: "Bethany, are we still friends?", I knew something had happened. As I reached the foyer, her 4 year old who is my favorite kid in the entire world, approached me and asked me to hold him. And as I picked him up and felt his wet clothing from the waist down, I knew something was amiss. Come to find out, my little man and his friends had decided to go swimming in the kiddie pool we had at the bottom of the waterfall you see in the pics. After swimming, they played in the sandbox (that is actually an inflatable pool) and just had a grand ol' time. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when there's a pool and sandbox inside the church??? How great is that? All the joys of playing outside without the heat or chance of rain! And so, I laughed. I laughed to keep from crying. I laughed because I was exhausted. I laughed because my brain couldn't fathom what a church full of kids would do to the place if just 3 could make such a mess. But it was SO worth it!

*Sis. Jeri (my VBS saving grace) transformed our senior adult Sunday school room into the Bible Bay complete with a boat & real dock. Absolutely AMAZING!

*The senior high Sunday school classroom became our Splash-Tacular! music & memory verse area in a day thanks to my good friend Dustie who did a wonderful job despite being sick last week. It looks great and the kids have a good space to learn songs & dances as well as play their memory verse games.

*1/2 of the fellowship hall became the Gift & Souvenir Shop thanks to Ash who painted signs and fish for their backdrop. Many kids will be able to let their creative juices flow there as Amanda & Debbie lead them this week. Thankfully, there is enough space for a rousing game of musical chairs when the kids get finished with crafts early. Thanks to the brains behind that idea-I don't know what we would have done w/the extra time otherwise.

*The headquarters for Snack Shack & Raging River just got signs but the real treat is the treats themselves. Bro. Charles & Sis. Alta got very excited about our Moses Parting the Red Sea snacks which were blue jell-o columns laying on either side of a graham cracker w/chocolate frosting & teddy grahams (crossing the sea). They were TOO CUTE and worked so well and the kids (and workers-including myself) enjoyed them as well. We've got cute snacks for the whole week and it works well for games & snacks to occur simultaneously on our schedule. I can't wait to see what Kristy & her crew serve up tonight!

*Angie & Jennifer created our Pre-K (read 3 & 4 year olds) Splash Lagoon from our student ministries center. They set up several different areas for their kids and I pretty much gave them free reign. They have worked VERY hard as the Pre-K curriculum is almost its own mini-VBS. They join the group for snacks and music but other than that they are on their own.

*And the base for this whole operation? Coconut Island which Sis. Jeri again transformed into a cool hangout for our kids. We have a huge waterfall, puppet area, kiddie pool, great sign (thanks to some great men), and prizes laid everywhere for our kids. And the front of the stage is covered in paper to look like a boardwalk. Needless to say, no thanks to me, that Island works GREAT for our opening & closing activities.

I'm posting pictures below so you can experience Water Works! Park for yourselves. I think it turned out FABULOUSLY! Check back later in the week for more updates and fun stories!

*Quote of the day for Sunday's VBS: (straight from the blue mouth of a self-biter) "I think you oughta consider sugar-free for me tomorrow!" Ya think?!?!? I KNOW!

Blessings,
Bethany

A Shout Out

This blog is dedicated to some AMAZING people in my life who I feel deserve a little appreciation (that could never be sufficient repayment for all they do).

To Ash:
What a wonderful friend you have become! Who would have thought that 2 guys (though losers) could bring about such a fabulous friendship??? You have become one of my dearest amigas and I am so thankful for who you are (& that you put up w/me and my antics). I am blessed and privileged to call you my friend-my whole move to TX is worth it b/c of your friendship. Our personalities balance each other out and I can't imagine living in Paris without knowing you're just down the road. You are so precious to me and I am certain that God has blessings immeasurable for you in the future. You deserve only the best and as you are a mighty woman of God, I know He will bestow that on you! I love you as a sister and appreciate you more than you will ever know! And I can't wait for Madea nights... (:

To Mark:
I never would have guessed that I would meet such a kind, gentle and giving soul in Paris. Thank you for being so open, honest & encouraging with me and for building up my faith in myself. You have become a good friend who I look forward to getting to know better. Your dedication and commitment to our church after only a few weeks is incredible and God has greater things in store for you than you ever thought possible! I'm excited to share this part of the journey with you. Thanks for all you do and for being you!




I have some unbelievable people in my life and don't tell them that enough. These two worked for hours last night helping me get VBS stuff ready and I could not do it (or life at this point) without them. They are key ingredients in the mixture of my life and I am so grateful that God allowed our paths to come together for this season of my life. Maybe I should start a tradition-Fab Friend Friday??? We'll see-I'll prob'ly forget by next week. Anyway, here's to Ash & Mark-some amazing people that I give serious props to!