Bittersweet

Tomorrow is going to be an emotional day. The congregation where I attended growing up has sold their old building and is in the process of building a new one. Tomorrow it the last service in the old building and as the Memorial Parkway congregation. After tomorrow, they will be Chase Park.

It's exciting at the same time though, because it's a new beginning. And there are going to be a lot of former members come back for the last service, so it'll be nice to see people I haven't seen in a long time. But it's definitely going to be emotional. And I know that the church is the people and not the building, but's still sad. There will be lots of tears. I have so many memories from that building::

-Playing w/Loni Beth under the blue stairs before they closed it off.
-Sardines in the dark with the youth group.
-Mine, Joshua's, and LB's 3rd, 2nd, and 1st birthday at the Thomas House.
-Flag football on the back lot w/Paul.
-Senior receptions.
-Wednesday night 5th grade Bible class with Will Johnson and the green pencils. =)
-Painting the youth room that terrible yellow and green checkerboard. lol.
-Dragging my fingers on the ceiling in the foyer when Dad would carry me. (You can still see the marks. lol)
-Going to visit Mammer and Glenda in the offices during the week.
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the foyer w/Joshua, Jordan, and LB. Our secret lair was under the table at the far end of the foyer.
-The youth section.
-Lock-ins, watching movies on the big screen in the auditorium at 3 in the morning.
-Climbing the trees out front and next to the carport.
-Hanging out w/Tara, Maria, and Ashley in the pink bathroom upstairs.
-Hanging out in the "hot room" after services. lol.
-Climbing the poles in the foyer of the fellowship hall.
-Mother's Day Out.
-Playing on the playgrounds when I was a kid....and when I was a teenager. lol.
-Not to mention my wedding. Kind of a big deal. =)

So it's definitely going to be bittersweet. And I know that so many more memories will be made in this new building. But I'm still gonna cry tomorrow. lol.

Pointless traditions?

Hayrides. What's the point? Tonight was the hayride and cookout w/the church group. On the way out there, Micah was like, so what's the purpose of this hayride thing? I don't really know. Then he asked if I thought they would leave on it without us (b/c we were running about 20 mins late). My reply: "No, it's not dark yet." "Why does it have to be dark?" "I don't know. It just does." So what is the purpose of a hayride? Especially a non-haunted one? I mean, we just sit in a cotton trailer on a bunch of bales of hay. It's freezing, the hay is itchy, the fields we are riding through stink to high heaven...and this is supposed to be fun? lol. Now don't get me wrong. It was enjoyable. But really? What's the meaning behind this pointless fall tradition?? Here's a picture from the hayride. Lauren sat with us for a little while. Apparently I missed the funny face memo. =) It's still a good picture tho.

Another tradition that is not-so-pointless, but nonetheless kinda silly is the tradition of Candle-lightings. It's a Freed thing. And I'm reminded of it b/c I got an invitation to one yesterday! =) Here's what a candle-lighting is. When a girl gets engaged, she keeps it a secret, at least at first. She probably tells a couple of close friends so they can help plan. They send out invitations to all of her friends to come to the candle-lighting ceremony. It's usually at night, somewhere on campus. Everyone shows up and sits in a circle, speculating about who it might be. At the ceremony, the ring is tied to a candle. The host (not the engaged girl) lights the candle and starts it around the circle. On the first go-round, all of the girls ooh and aah at the pretty ring as it passes by. On the second time around, when it gets to the newly engaged girl, she blows out the candle, letting everyone know it's her. And then the squealing begins. lol. I had one after we got engaged. And I did so good keeping it a secret! Everyone thought it was me b/c they knew we were gonna be getting engaged soon, but I fooled them all for a day and a half! Go me! lol. They kept asking and I told them that I thought it was someone else and that they knew that I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret if it was me. (Devious laugh...lol)
So yeah, I got invited to one for tomorrow night, but I already know who it is. B/c I'm just good like that. lol. It's the friends we've been doing our Star Wars movie nights with. We knew it was coming soon, so I wasn't surprised at all. She was walking around the cookout tonight w/her left hand stuck out. =)

By the way, the only good thing about living in Tennessee surrounded by a bunch of Vols fans is living in Tennessee with a bunch of Vols fans on the day that Alabama beats Tennessee. Roll Tide Roll! =D

Busy busy week

So I haven't posted in a week and I am very very sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy around here this week. We got back from the conference Sunday night around 7. Then Monday I had to go back to work. Boo. That night was spent kinda recovering and such. We also got ourselves organized to get to work on our new business goals that we made coming out of the weekend.

Tuesday was work/school, then to Memphis that night for the business meeting we go to every week. Very productive, encouraging, and all that good stuff. And thankfully, the format of the meetings have changed a little bit, so we get out about an hour earlier. =D Which makes me much happier about going b/c it means that I get in bed before midnight, when usually we aren't even home by midnight. So that's really exciting.

Wednesday night was church, and we had potluck before, so we had to head out an hour earlier. I love the congregation we attend, but it is a little bit...I don't want to say frustrating or inconvenient b/c that sounds terrible...but it's 30 minutes away. Which is fine. And I'm not complaining, I promise. Just stating a fact. It's just that we already have to leave by 6.30 to get to church on Wednesday nights, but on potluck nights, we have to leave by 5.30. So by the time I get home at 3.45, shower, and get ready, it's basically time to turn around and go again. But once again, I'm not complaining. I mean, who can complain when it's free food?! lol. And it was Mexican week. Yummm.....
And I'm still teaching class on Wednesdays. This week was my second week. The topic was hatred. We only got halfway through it, so we get to finish the chapter next week. (Any comments on hatred would be appreciated. =)

Thursday was Star Wars installment #5. But before that, I got my hair all chopped off. =) I really like it. It's a wedge kinda, but it's not stacked in back, and it's still long enough in front that I can at least pull the top half up. So I got off a little early at 2.45 or so, ran home and showered, haircut at 4.30, movie night at 5.30. I was definitely not cooking. So we ordered pizza. =) It's kinda confusing b/c it's movie night #5, but we watched episode 2. The reason for that is that we are watching them in the order they were made, not the order of the plot. I think this one was my favorite so far.

Friday, we went to the $2 theater on campus and watched Harry Potter and the HAlf-Blood Prince. I haven't liked any of the other HP movies, but this one was good. Granted, they left a lot of stuff out. I had to fill in some of the details for Micah b/c they left out why certain things were happening. But nonetheless, it was still good. I'm actually kinda excited about #7, b/c I found out recently that they are splitting up book 7 into 2 movies, which I think is brilliant. There is so much happening in book 7 that they would have to take out half of the story to put it in a 2 hr movie.

Saturday was great. I slept in, which I desperately needed after the long weekend and week we had. Last night we went on a date to Zaxbys and to see GI Joe. AMAZING movie. Loved it. Definitely recommend it. It was funny and had tons of really good action scenes. So yeah, go see it. =)

Today was church day. We went out to eat w/some friends for lunch. It was the family that has the 2 little kids that Micah and I play w/all the time. Nap time this afternoon. Then back to church for singing night. Sometimes the congregation struggles on singing night b/c our numbers are usually kinda low, but tonight it was actually really good. Very encouraging.

Looking forward to tomorrow, b/c a good friend is coming up from HSV to visit. He'll be staying w/us for the next 2 nights. So it'll be good to catch up w/him.

Well, I'm gonna head out. I've rambled enough. I'll try to get back into posting every couple of days so that I don't have to catch you up on a whole week at a time. B/c I'm sure you're bored by now. =)

Vultures and Hummingbirds

So I'm teaching the Wednesday night ladies' class at church starting next week. I've never taught anyone older than 4-yr-olds, so it's a first for me. We have decided to study a book called "From Vultures to Hummingbirds: 6 Attitudes to Eliminate, 7 Attitudes to Cultivate." by Mary Alice Wilhelm. The six bad attitudes are anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, hypocrisy, worry. The seven good attitudes are compassion, forgiveness, the servant spirit, contentment, gratitude, the submissive spirit, love. The title is kinda odd, but with a little explanation, it makes perfect sense. Here is the explanation that the book intro gives.

"It is said that both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All the vulture sees is decaying, rotting meat (carrion), because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the putrid flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful, aromatic blossoms of blooming desert plants. The vulture lives on what was! They live on the failed past. They fill themselves on what is dead and lifeless. Hummingbirds live on what is! They revel in fresh, pleasant things. They seek vibrant, living things. Each bird finds what it is looking for. So do we all. Obviously a choice we all have to make is whether we want to be vultures or hummingbirds."

The first topic is anger. The book gives several examples from the Bible of people showing anger properly or improperly: Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, Moses, Mary and Martha, Paul and Barnabas, and Samson.
There are also several good quotes about anger. Quotes are kinda my thing. I used to collect and compile them in high school. I've got a Word document on my computer that has like, 40 pages of quotes divided into topics. So here are some of the quotes that were included, and some that I have added.
-Anger toward someone else is like taking poison ourselves and expecting someone else to die!
-Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.
-It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry.
-Anger is that feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.
-Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
-If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.
-It is misdirected energy to be angry at things you can help, and wasted energy to be angry at things you cannot help.
-You don't have to take back what you don't say.
-The best time for you to hold your tongue is when you feel you must say something or bust.
-He who angers you, controls you.
-A relationship that has been years in the making can be destroyed by just a few thoughtless words.

The power of the tongue in James 3 is also covered a little bit.

So this is one of those posts where I am wanting some feedback! So comment! Any advice on teaching class in general? Any stories or input about anger?

Here are some of the discussion questions to prompt your thoughts a little. =)
-How important is it for people to settle disputes quickly, even not to "go to bed mad?"
-What circumstances in the world today perhaps call for a little more righteous indignation than we often show?
-How was "political correctness" influenced our inclination to be tolerant of intolerable things?
-What makes you angry quicker than anything else?

Thanks in advance for your input! =)

Roll Tide!

So I got told by a 4-year-old today at church that we couldn't be friends anymore because I'm not a Tennessee fan. lol. His dad has already brainwashed him. Poor kid. His dad, Shane said that Levi (that's the kid's name) got in the car and was like: "Dad! Me and Mrs. Valerie can't be buddies anymore! She's not a Tennessee fan!" I think he had probably sat with us in church that day and he was coloring with an orange marker and he told me that orange was TN colors. So I told him that red was better because that was Alabama colors. He was like: "But why do you like Alabama and not Tennessee?" So I told him that I used to live in Alabama and he was like, "oh ok." I can't get him to say Roll Tide though.

Levi and his little sister Lauren are our little buddies at church. Levi is 4 and Lauren is almost 3. A month or so ago, their parents, Shane and Kara, invited us over for supper, and ever since then, we've been a little attached to the kids, and they've been pretty attached to us. Lauren has a little crush on "Mithter Micah" and likes to come sit with us. It's adorable. I have a Drawing Pad on my phone with the touch screen, and they love to draw on it. It's hilarious though because I always give them a mechanical pencil w/out the lead in it to draw on it, just for them to have something pointy to use. But they both think that the color actually comes out of the pencil, even though they know how to change the colors and stuff in the settings on the phone. Lauren will be drawing and will stop and look at the end of the pencil after she changes colors like she's checking to see where it comes from. One time Levi wanted to draw on real paper, so I just got the same pencil and clicked the lead out so that he could draw. He was like, "This draws on real paper too?!" He was so impressed. lol. Then he wanted me to make the pencil draw blue. I was like, "uhh.....it only does one color on real paper..." lol.

I'm super excited about not having to go to work tomorrow. It's gonna be amazing. So far the plan is to get up around 8 (which is sleeping in pretty good for me. that's at least 2 extra hours), work out, put together a grocery list, go to town to the grocery store....not sure what I'm going to do all afternoon. But tomorrow night I think Joel and Tansy are coming over. The new season of Heroes premiered last week, so we're going to catch up and then watch the next episode tomorrow night. I'm kinda bummed though because House also shows Monday nights at the same time Heroes does. So if this becomes a weekly thing w/J&T, I'll have to go back and watch House online later.

Well, I guess that's all. I'll probably be heading to bed soon. Even though I don't have to get up early tomorrow, I'll still probably be crashing soon. I can't stay up late anymore like I used to in college. I guess that's just a sign that I'm getting old. =) TTFN! (I've already had to explain to my uncultured husband what TTFN stands for. For the rest of you uncultured people out there, it's from Winnie the Pooh. Tigger says it all the time. It stands for Ta-Ta For Now.)