Just another day at the office.

You may be wondering ... "What in the world?"

Working in video requires lots of testing. This was a test for slow-motion effects. We are actually singing this song at super speed.

Good times.

The best thing about this is that the two guys to my left are guys I work with every day and usually quite reserved. Who knew they were camera hogs?! And had such personality! Wow. I'm impressed.

The guy on my right is our associate pastor. I already knew he loved the spotlight. This was just typical for him.

As for me, my only job was to keep the beat. You'd be surprised how difficult that is when the song is sped up to Alvin-&-the-Chipmunks speed.

Needless to say, you can see the slow-motion effect worked.

Ending on a High Note.

Literally.

I spent the weekend leading worship in our services with these two boys.

There was a point in our rehearsal on Saturday night that I thought ... "Hmmm ... Either of these guys could be my kid." I even thought of a title for a potential sitcom, "Two Guys, An Old Lady, & A Worship Service." Catchy, I know.

I wondered also at what point God will just say, "You're done."

I have sung all my life. I love it. Not just the singing, but I love worship most of all. I think if I could just do that the rest of my life, I would be content.

But, I also realize there are limits on some things. And, I've come to grips with that and am slowly becoming OK with it.

I want God to let me know when the right time to quit is. I don't want to overstay my welcome, if you know what I mean.

Because, let's be honest, some people just need to know when to quit.

Let me explain.

Take for example, Stevie Nicks.

Stevie Nicks of 1977 and Fleetwood Mac ... awesome.
Stevie Nicks coming back to record an album in 2011 ... not good.

Let's also look at another example ... Law & Order (also known on CBS as C.S.I.).

Seriously ... how many different versions of these shows can we have? The good characters that started the shows are gone. The shows are not even worth watching anymore. Networks ... it's time for something new.

I also just saw that Nicolas Cage is still making movies. What?!

He should have stopped after the National Treasure films. Nick ... retirement is calling. Just trying to keep the cool image of you in Raising Arizona alive.

Guess who else is still hangin' around? Tom Cruise. Yep. He's making another Mission Impossible movie. Ridiculous. He'd better be careful. He may throw out a hip. Tommy, oh, Tommy ... remember Top Gun? Let's not ruin that for every woman.

Can we talk? Remember who said that phrase every day some years ago? Yep. Joan Rivers.

You do realize she's in her seventies, right? I won't even say a word about her numerous plastic surgeries. It's just gross. Shouldn't she be a nice, little grandma baking cookies for her grandkids right now instead of what she's become? Joan ... retire.

Talk about overstaying a welcome.

Dear Lord, 

I know you love me too much to allow such ridiculousness for me.

 Thank you!

Your daughter

And it's over.

Our kid-free week has come and gone. My, how time flies!

Beau and I have carpooled all week, spent no money on groceries, and basically had lots of quiet time.

As we were leaving for work this morning, I turned to him and said (as I was thinking that one day this would be our life & realizing that we spend all our days together), "I hope we don't ever get tired of one another. I hope we always have things to talk about."

And you know what he said?

Only the sweetest thing ever. He said, "I know this is going to sound sappy, but I'm going to say it anyway. You do know that you're my favorite person to be with, right?"

I said a heartfelt "Awwww."

Yes, sappy.

But, yes, sweet.

I love him.

(Pretty pitiful that this is the last picture I have of Beau and me. Perfect.)

My Idea of a Good Time

Yes, my kids are gone. Off to camps for the week!

I've looked forward to having a week alone with my hubby for a while now. I told him weeks ago that it would be date night every night and we would party down. 

Don't act all high and mighty because I'm a bit thrilled to have my kids gone. Yes, I still will miss them. Yes, I love them deeply. 

Case in point ... the text between the eldest daughter and me last night.

But, seriously, alone time is good for a while. 

So I know you're on pins and needles wondering what in the world we did on our first day and night alone.

Well .... let me end the suspense.

#1 - I got to do 2 workouts today. Count 'em ... 2. Weights and Zumba!

#2 - I got to keep the volume of the TV on 20 past 10:00 p.m. In addition, I was able to walk and talk loudly upstairs and not have to worry about waking children.

#3 - I did not have to watch Disney or Nickelodeon all day.

#4 - I did not have to cook.

#5 - I did not have to drive anyone but myself anywhere today.

#6 - I was able to listen to Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles without anyone in the truck complaining about how "old" the music was.

#7 - I laughed loudly at Stephen Colbert at 10:30 p.m.

#8 - I will wake up at the late 7:30 a.m. and only have to worry about dressing and feeding myself.

#9 - Beau and I get to carpool all week and save money on gas.

#10 - Really, I just wanted to play with my newly-won iPad! Yep. Won it yesterday! So excited!

This week should prove to be thrilling!

I'm the one that has to live with him.

Yes. My husband's a star.

Of course, I always knew that he was and everyone else only got tiny glimpses of his awesomeness here and there. But, I think everyone really was able to see his true talent and ability this weekend after this video played during our special Father's Day services.

(You know which one's mine ... the one with the real moves.)

We celebrated Beau's special day with lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Zea. Delicious Thai ribs, paired with corn grits make every day better.

So what did Beau get besides the satisfaction of knowing he has a pretty awesome family? Well ... don't judge me. He got a weed-eater (that he desperately needed ... even though you're not supposed to get those kinds of gifts). He also got a shirt, nice dress socks, and cologne. That's a pretty good collection of goodies if you ask me.

We also headed over to my parents' house and ate dessert and celebrated with my dad.

It was a good day. 

I'm thankful for a stepdad that called me his kid. And I'm thankful for the incredible dad my girls have.

Ladies ... you'll thank me for this.

So ... my last post turned out to be way more controversial than I thought it was. Wow. 

The majority of people that commented here and on Facebook were in complete agreement. Thanks for supporting me when I was just speakin' the truth. I stand by my views and what the Bible says about modesty because this is a Biblical issue. Sorry ... that's the truth again.

Some people got from my post that I was against bikinis which I NEVER said. In fact, in the comments section, I said I have a bikini that I don't wear in the company of certain people out of concern for their vision. But, I do have one. And, I was on the hunt for a modest bikini because most bikinis out there right now are way too skimpy. That's just the way it goes. 

Well, I found the most awesome website - unique-vintage.com

I love vintage-style bathing suits to begin with. Who wouldn't love to have that Marilyn Monroe look? I love these suits! It might have something to do with the beautiful Marilyn in them, but love the style.

Here's the vintage-style bikini I ordered.

See? Modest. And cute. We'll see how it turns out (fingers crossed). Hope I don't have to return it.

Look at these other adorable ones! Love them!

 

The site also has dress, separates, shoes, & accessories. You won't be sorry if you go by and visit.

You're welcome.

My Post on Modesty

In my neverending search for modest bathing suits that don't look like a typical "mom" suit I swore I'd never wear as a teenager, I've come across some doozies. I'll spare you the touched-up images of women clad in all but four squares of spandex. 

(Here's where I go off a bit.)

Some women are deceived in thinking that if they have a rockin' body and work hard for it, that it gives them the right to wear whatever they want. They've "earned" it.

Wrong.

Let me make a very general statement about women who dress this way. Here goes: Women dress inappropriate for one reason and one reason alone ... attention, no matter how wrong that attention is. And boy do they get it from both men and women. 

Attention from men in an inappropriate way because that's just the way they're wired. I really have compassion upon men that are Christians that are bombarded with these images, not only in the form of media, but in real life. And, worse yet from women in the church. That in itself makes me fired up. There are times I literally have wanted to go right up to a stranger and tell her to cover herself because she looked like a fool. Have some dignity. Have some respect for yourself. You should know better. 

The attention they get from women is one of disdain. Women that are Christians immediately look down upon a scantily-clad girl. Should this be the case? No. But, it is. There have been other times when I've just felt sorry for a woman who flaunted her body in front of others and I thought in the way most women think: "Aw ... she's insecure," which is a real part of why a woman does dress inappropriately. Women also feel uncomfortable around other women who are dressed inappropriately, but typically try to look past it.

But, let's go back to the men here for a second. Think about a man who is, like we are, trying to keep a pure mind and heart on a daily basis. And, let's say an attractive woman with her bosom (yeah, I said "bosom" ... I like that word better) exposed comes over to greet him in a friendly manner and carry on a nice conversation. Poor guy. He feels uncomfortable and he tries, at all cost, to overlook her bosom staring him in the face. His mind becomes that battlefield between purity and impurity. Or maybe he just makes his mind a blank slate. This has got to be a difficult thing until a man gets to an age where he's just  trained his mind to overcome such situations.

A situation happened long ago where my Beau and I were at dinner with friends and an acquaintance came over to the table to say a friendly hello. This woman had on an extremely low-cut top on that even made me avert my eyes. I felt uncomfortable and I think others at the table did too. When something was said about it, one of the other women at the table said that she worked hard for her body. What my Beau said has stuck with me for years. He said, "I guarantee you she doesn't work as hard on her body as I do on trying to keep my mind pure." Yep. That pretty much sums it all up.

I think of this Scripture when considering Christian women who see this as someone else's issue and not their problem because, after all, they "work hard for their body."

Luke 17:1-3a (Amplified)

AND [Jesus] said to His disciples, Temptations (snares, traps set to entice to sin) are sure to come, but woe to him by or through whom they come!

    It would be more profitable for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea than that he should cause to sin or be a snare to one of these little ones [lowly in rank or influence].

It's the same with this issue. Women ... you do not want to be the cause of any man or woman's sin. We should strive to be the opposite.

I hope that women will begin to see this as their issue, not men's. It would be great if we could teach and encourage young women to pride themselves in modesty. To see modesty as a good thing and something that does not take away from their beauty but only adds to it.

Little Debbie is not your friend.

Oh sure. She looks like your friend with her straw hat and her sweet smile. Even the lace on her blue plaid shirt makes her look nice. But, if you look closely into her eyes, there's a bit of madness. I'm not kidding. Look. This girl's addicted to sugar and wants you to be too. She calls you over to the dark side. Little Debbie is the type of "friend" who wants to make you and keep you fat.

She bakes delicious treats and forces you to buy them by pricing them extremely low. Then you can't resist. You wouldn't want to hurt her feelings. A little over a dollar for an entire box of delectable baked goods. No-brainer.

However, there are some I wouldn't eat for free. DE. SCUSTING.

Here are my Little Debbie cake rankings.

Bottom 3 Little Debbie cakes are (Blech!):

#1 The Raisin Creme Pie

... Yuck! The worst! By adding raisins to anything, you just make it gross.

#2 The Star Crunch

... weird, mutant-like generic Rice Krispies. Weird.

#3 The Fudge Round

... chocolate overload, but not the good chocolate ... the cheap-Easter-bunny-type chocolate.

 Top 3 Little Debbie cakes (worth possibly $5 a box) are:

#1 The Nutty Bar 

... basically a candy bar. I'm pretty sure that's why it's my favorite, along with its peanut-buttery goodness.

#2 The Swiss Roll & The Strawberry Shortcake Roll (same thing, different flavor)

#3 The Oatmeal Creme Pie

There. I've said my peace.

Watch out, Shakira.

Last night I participated in my first Zumba class.

Think salsa dancing & belly dancing with a slight Middle Eastern feel and funky night club movements and you've got Zumba.

There were times I felt like Shakira and times I felt like her clumsy less-coordinated sister. The instructor's hips moved about 90 miles a minute. Mine ... about 15.

Don't get me wrong. I can cut a mean rug with my girls (daughters & girlfriends). That seems to be the most comfortable place to let those hips loosen up and let your hair down.

The class was fun. There were times I wondered if I was violating some Biblical law with some of the moves. Going with a friend made it less awkward and we giggled through a lot of it.

Hopefully, the Zumba will work. It'd be nice to just shake some of these hips off of my body. I just have to remember to skip the bag of flamin' hot Cheetos before I go.

Here's a taste of it and the history behind it. Interesting.

She ain't shy.

See this girl here?

This girl was challenged to bring a friend to VBS this week.

For La Petite Belle, this was not just a challenge but a MUST.

She went to run errands with her popee (grandfather) and eyed a young girl playing on her front porch near one of the places they needed to stop. She wasted no time in going over and inviting the little girl to go with her the next day to VBS.

Absolutely NO FEAR in this girl. Boldness is her middle name.

The stranger, Violet, was picked up yesterday morning by La Petite Belle and my parents. She attended VBS with La Petite Belle and may be attending today.

When I mentioned to her nana (grandmother) that she may just be a little soul-winner, Nana mentioned that there was a prize involved.

I prefer to think that Jesus was her main motivation.

A. Weiner, Indeed

Yesterday I was bombarded with news about Weiner's tweeted inappropriate picture he sent to another woman. Bom. Barded.

Did anything else go on in the world? If so, we wouldn't know about it.

I have some opinions about this. (Of course I do.)

#1 - Yes, there was too much media coverage of this.

#2 - I think people in general do not care too much about this stuff when related to politicians or even celebrities. Look at our own senator, David Vitter, getting re-elected after his prostitute scandal. I think people are more concerned about what politicians are doing for our country. Period.

#3 - That's not to say what Weiner did wasn't wrong and horribly inappropriate. Of course it was. And, yes, men like Weiner should be held to a higher standard. They're in the public eye and represent our nation. Major pressure for appropriateness in everything they do. This was a stupid, stupid decision on his part. But, the more important issue was the awesome job he did lying. He flat-out lied like a dog all week long. And lied good.

#4 - All politicians need to get schooled on how to use Twitter, Facebook, and the like. They obviously also need to learn how to use a cell phone. Major Oops on his part! Ridiculous.

#5 - Should he resign? Hmmm ... Not sure. What he did was not illegal, just wrong. Now, if I were his wife, I'd, first of all, be mortified at his behavior. And, second, want him to make amends with his family (that would probably mean quitting and focusing on healing his relationship, especially with me).

#6 - This combined with the whole Arnold Schwarzenegger thing leaves us all disappointed. But, people this is not new. Politicians have been unfortunately behaving badly since the beginning of politics. Look at Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Gary Hart, John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer, and even John McCain. I'm sure there are more.

Politicians are just the ones that get caught because they are in the public eye and I do think that they think they're a little invincible in this area. They can do anything. It's also about power. With lots of power comes more opportunities to be inappropriate ...more opportunities to be corrupt. 

That's just the way it is.

If a man is, first of all, not a Christ-follower it would be much easier to throw his vows to the wind. We should expect nothing else from someone who does not know the Lord.

Even if a man is a good man and seems to be pretty ethical, some temptations can be just too much. Shoot ... Look at some of our religious leaders of the past that have also fallen in this same way.

It's all about keeping yourself constantly before God and not putting yourself in positions where anything could happen to jeopardize your marriage. Gotta make the effort.

Men are not solely responsible for these indiscretions. Women also play an equal part. The same effort goes for both. Women should also not attempt to lure a married man. Seems like a DUH thing, right? But it happens all the time. 

We must remember the vows we made. A vow is a binding promise that should never be broken. I find it interesting that the origin of the word "vow" comes from a form of a Latin word meaning "one who offers a sacrifice." Vows mean sacrifice. This means sacrificing our own selfish, fleshly desires to keep our promise.

Whether we're in the public eye or not, we all must keep ourselves and our relationships in check.

So, what do you think? Should Weiner have resigned?

Before Jesus Returns

In watching the news this week, our little family was in a discussion about all the tornadoes happening lately. Really ... there are quite a few. I can't remember a time when there have been so many massive tornadoes causing so much damage.

Beau mentioned something about Jesus coming back soon.

K Belle looked a little down at this point. She said that she had so many things left to accomplish before Jesus came back.

I said something about all of those things not mattering when Jesus appears on the clouds.

She wasn't moved by that.

She said, "I want to get my driver's license."

This girl's got goals.

I giggled.

Then, she added in these: wanting to go to college, get a job, get married, and have grandchilden.

OK. That's better. Scared me for a bit. I thought her only idea of an accomplishment was getting her driver's license.

I think we all felt the same way she did when our parents or others were talking about Jesus' return.

It's only natural to feel this way. It's all we know. It's our lives.

But, I'm pretty sure if we REALLY knew what it was going to be like, we'd be begging for that return daily. And, I think as we get older, we want it more.

Moses and Me

I feel like I can relate to Moses in a lot of ways:

He didn't want to speak in front of people and thought it'd be better for Aaron to do it. I can relate to that.

He got angry with the Israelites a lot. I can relate to that.

He was fearful and questioned God a lot. I can relate to that.

He was disobedient at times. I can totally relate to that.

In reading about good 'ol Moses, I made the statement yesterday to Beau and La Petite Belle that I really just didn't understand why God wouldn't allow Him to enter the Promised Land. I just didn't get it.

La Petite Belle said he was just too old and God knew He wasn't going to make it. I liked her thinking but let her know that wasn't why. 

I know why ... Disobedience. I understand that. I get that part.

But, honestly, that's some harsh punishment for hitting a rock over speaking to a rock. At first, I had to go back and re-read what Moses had done because I had forgotten. That's how minor I thought it was. 

 Who of us might've hit that same rock? Or do hit a similar rock every day? Goodness gracious ... can you imagine the justice we deserve?

Again, I questioned God's punishment.

Then, I remembered something I'd heard Francis Chan say ... "Is it possible God's sense of justice is way bigger than ours?"

Of course. That makes sense.

God is holy. I've always known this but I think my idea of His holiness is not even close to what the word "holy" even means.

He is holy. And, He is justice.

God doesn't just act justly. He is, in His very nature, justice. He's not conforming to something we've set up; it's who He is.

His sense of justice is way bigger than ours. We can't comprehend this and it even seems foolish to try.

But, what leaves me dumbfounded is that this God that is justice is also grace and mercy.

 I'm extremely humbled and grateful for a God who loves me so much, that He set aside part of who He is to save me from His own justice. 

Wow. Thank God for His grace.

Here's the Francis Chan video about his upcoming book on Hell. I hope you get time to watch it. It really made me think, not only about God's sense of justice, but about the newest controversy in the Christian community over Hell.