This is my 100th post!!! It is customary, I am told, to make a list of 100 things about yourself for your 100th post on a blog. I am not sure I know myself that well, but I will try. =)I had a really hard time doing this. I am not a very intuitive person, so the list may not sound ‘deep’ and thoughtful. But it represents the way I see the world and my life. I am a very tactile, sensing person, so to an intuitive it may sound a little superficial….but I assure you, I do have depth to my personality. It is just very hard for me to express those feelings and thoughts.
The list is in random order, since that is how things came to mind. I hope this isn’t also my most boring post to date!
1. I love and am a follower of Jesus.
2. I like to talk to people about faith, about the Bible…not argue, mind you, just discuss.
3. I am married to one of the dwindling number of great men, Charles.
4. I am mom to Hannah, 18….she moved out at the end of the summer…it’s sad in a way, yet exciting to see her finding her way.
5. I am mom to Bethany, 15….amazing to see God working in her life the past 2 years and teaching her things I never could. She is really independent, a real leader-type and likes projects and goals.
6. I am mom to Emma, 13….an emerging young woman (emerging from tomboyishness…it’s fun to see!), exploring who she is made to be (her personality, talents, gifts), gaining some confidence along the way and learning to trust God…and sometimes her parents…with her worries.
7. I am mom to Maggie, 8…who loves to talk and ask questions…lots of questions. She is teaching me patience and she is trying to learn not to interrupt. She loves her dogs, playing with dolls, nail polish and watching Jimmy Neutron.
8. I homeschool my children. We’ve been doing school at home for 7 years now with one year off to help start a Christian school at our church. It was a good year, my kids greatly benefited from it, but we can’t afford to do it again and so it is back to teaching at home. I would like to support our local schools, but I won’t sacrifice my kids’ education and childhood to do it. Our school here, sadly, is a failing school.
9. I work with youth at church….and younger children sometimes too.
10. I love to teach the Bible to kids.
11. I am a pastor’s wife….. and I like it.
12. I like raquetball.
13. I love long drives in the country….or mountains….or by the ocean….etc
14. I like really good pizza…Pizza Hut, Pappa John’s or homemade
15. I like salad (the more veggies and add ins in it the better)…crunch crunch crunch.
16. I like chocolate…I love chocolate…I need chocolate…*going to find chocolate*
17. I love to study the Jewish feast days and their prophetic meanings.
18. I like to grow things…..indoor and out.
19. I forget to water regularly, so I periodically have crunchy plants.
20. Bugs freak me out….I try to keep my freaking inside though, so my kids won’t freak too….. someone has to remain calm!
21. I am having a hard time accepting being in my *gulp* 40’s.
22. My hair is brown….more precisely Clairol Balsam medium ash brown
23. My eyes are dark green and brown.
24. I hate swimsuits….why can’t we swim without being almost naked??
25. I love jeans…and anything cotton.
26. I make lists. I redo lists because I change my mind. I lose my lists or leave them at home when I go shopping. I think this is because I am very unorganized, yet know I need to be more organized…I don’t think it’s working.
27. I like to channel surf…..this causes irritation with my family. I am constantly wondering if I’m missing something better though.
28. I like to stay up late and sleep til 8am.
29. I like to cook….I try to cook healthy things and bread. I usually don’t make desserts unless we have company.
30. I like to go to restaurants.
31. I like coffee shops…espresso type shops…..my favorite, hot or cold and blended is a cafe mocha.
32. I like movies….I collect good movies.
33. I like to read, but it bothers my eyes lately and it takes so long to finish anything when you only have snippets of time to devote to it.
34. I have a very goofy sense of humor…..very literal and visual…I picture everything….I think my mind works in pictures… this is usually entertaining, but sometimes disturbing .....I have heard that other people think in words....hmmm.
35. I make up songs….my dogs are the only people who appreciate them. The songs are usually about the dogs. I hope it isn’t a big mistake to say this publicly.
36. I’m an ESFP personality type….this tends to be my excuse for a lot of things I feel I need to explain. =)
37. I’m very curious. I use my Google search engine almost every day to look up everything from a word I don’t know to what I’ve seen an actor in before. I also look up the pictures on my blog with Google image search.
38. I don’t like scary movies….the last one I saw was Secret Window…very disturbing.
39. I would love to be 3 sizes smaller.
40. I hate to diet. I cheat…I’m a cheater and always feel deprived and punished if I’m on a diet…..I tend to whine and be grumpy on diets too, which makes other people suffer when I’m on a diet.
41. I wanted to be a hippie, but was born too late. This is a good thing in retrospect. I still like VW vans.
42. I’ve never taken drugs…have only had a sip of alcohol a few times. I don’t think it’s wrong to drink alcohol sometimes, but alcoholism runs in my family, so I’m not going to even start.
43. I get kidney stones very easily. Because of this I usually have a glass or bottle of water with me.
44. I like cool weather, not hot.
45. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. (which enlightens you on line number 44)
46. I have a BA in Religion and in Theatre/speech. Kind of a useless degree, but I had a lot of fun in college. I took one year of graduate classes at a seminary in Texas….this resulted in an MRS degree.
47. I like banana popsicles and those rocket pops that are red, white and blue….lemonade flavored.
48. I’m a strict mom, but I’m fun.
49. I like home design, gardening and cooking shows.
50. I really like music….right now my favorites are Jars of Clay, Caedmon’s Call, Superchik, Switchfoot, Lifehouse and Newsboys.
51. I just wrote fifty things about myself and I’m bored to tears. I’m going to bed. (that was yesterday)
52. Slurpees…yes….Coke flavor.
53. Bethany’s deluxe Tang….no
54. I like weather…..thunderstorms, snow, fall wind, ice storms, dust storms, cold, freezing, chilly, brisk, even warm….just not hot.
55. I love rocking on the porch with the husband. (in rocking chairs, not to music, don’t be silly)
56. I love being outside.
57. I do not like horseback riding. Horses play mean tricks on me…I have witnesses,,,..unfortunately.
58. My husband gave me an iPod Shuffle this past summer….I love it and carry it in my purse. It has 150+ of my current favorite songs on a gizmo the size of a stick of gum!
59. I have 3 dogs….Millie, an Eskimo-poo, she lives inside the house and likes to boss us around (let me out, let me in, let me out, I need food, I ate my food…give me a biskit, I need water, I need patting, I want you to chase me now, let me out, let me in)…….Joonbug, a sheltie who is old, deaf and stiff, but very sweet…barks too much……Winnie, a one year old American Eskimo…loves to howl at the train whistle (which happens about 10 times a day…we’ve taken to howling along with her….it’s very freeing and primitive…I recommend it), wrestle with the other dogs (who find it annoying) and play with Maggie.
60. I have a hard time just saying something without explaining it. (you may have noticed this)
61. I have good friends I have never met in person….through the internet.
62. I grew up with 3 sisters and 2 brothers and my parents have been married for 59 years.
63. One brother died when I was 10…this affected my life greatly.
64. I don’t think I’ll make it to 100.
65. I like photography.
66. Camping is more fun with a camper. We used a tent for 18 years, with babies, in rain, wind, in good humor and bad, so I know this is true.
67. As an adult I have lived in New Mexico (2 summers), Texas (2 yrs), Oklahoma (2 yrs), New Jersey (10 yrs), and Arizona (8 years).
68. I play practical jokes on my kids.
69. I don’t like practical jokes played on me….I know…not fair…oh well
70. I have never liked to babysit….still don’t. I just went off the church nursery rotation for my first time ever as an adult!
71. I was a preschool teacher for four years before having our first child. Then we had a hard time finding a child’s name that I didn’t have a negative association with.
72. I love drive in movies….lawn chairs, big paper bag of popcorn, blankies, stars. There is still a drive in theater in my hometown, where I’ve taken my kids for movies.
73. My knee hurts. (running out of things now)
74. I don’t like talking on the phone.
75. I don’t like only doing one thing at a time.
76. I don’t like carpeting. Wood floors are best.
77. We keep a fan going in our bedroom year round.
78. I like personality tests....you can't flunk!
79. I am almost the exact opposite of my husband personality-wise. (he likes me though…and I like him….it keeps things interesting)
80. I am shocked that I’ve been blogging for this long. (I started 9 months ago…in January) I usually lose interest in things I start.
81. I absolutely hate public restrooms….so far I think California has the worst ever public restrooms.
82. I can’t hear well in noisy places….darn ear phones.
83. I am not a good person to teach driving to my kids….I was called a ‘spaz’ a couple of weeks ago….that’s not nice, is it?
84. I like toasted almonds on ice cream….chocolate ice cream.
85. Ice cream does not agree with my stomach, so I rarely eat it.
86. If I were a cartoon character, I’d probably be Winnie the Pooh…..I do like to say, “Oh, bother”
87. My best colors are Fall/Winter….according to color analysis thingies.
88. My most watched movie: You’ve Got Mail.
89. TV personality I most identify with: Loralie Gilmore…Gilmore Girls. I’m not a single mom, but the personality is about right….I wish I had as many quotes memorized as she does though and could make witty banter so quickly. (If I only had a team of writers doing scripts for me!)
90. I like traditional things, homey furnishings, fire in the fireplace, dog on the rug, husband beside me, kids chattering in the background.
91. I like hanging out with teenagers. I like the teen years better than the preschool years in my own parenting experience...how strange is that?
92. My hair gets really freaky curly in humid conditions….it’s my life long fight to have smooth hair.
93. I do NOT like to play board games.
94. I love to play gin on yahoo games.
95. I like the new VW Beetles….a cobalt blue convertible one would be just the ticket! My husband loves those new retro Mustangs.
96. I fear sharing too much of me….which makes me nervous making this list.
97. I laugh hysterically at Jimmy Neutron episodes.
98. I like magazines…..lot of good photos and short, to the point articles.
99. I used to think animating a puppet….like on Sesame Street…would be a perfect job for me…..I could use all my weird voices and be crazy in a socially acceptable setting….and get paid for it!
100. I love to make people laugh. I used to think this was not a very noble thing….but as I live my life and walk through this world, I am thinking it’s just what we need….good encouraging laughter…not the crude, degrading humor you see so much of today. So if you laughed or even smiled while reading this list, it was worth putting it out there.
Amen
Sometimes words don?t come easily. I have never been one to know what to say to someone who has gone through a loss or is going through a time of great darkness. (I don?t think anyone is good at knowing what to say, by the way) This last week, I've talked to two women who went through recent miscarriages. Since I have been in their shoes in that experience, I know that what people say, trying to be of comfort, can just make it hurt even more. So I hugged them, told them how sorry I was, told them I knew, I've been there, only time makes the sorrow lessen.
Have you ever driven by a school around 7:30am on a Wednesday morning in September and seen a group of kids crowded around the flag pole? Did you know they were praying…..exercising their religious rights and praying for their school and classmates around the mainstay American symbol of freedom…their flagpole. Tomorrow is See You At the Pole 2005. Christian school kids in every city in the US are encouraged to get together to pray. It is an awesome thing to see, if you take the time to drive by your local school tomorrow around 7:30am. Last year, as a leader in our youth ministry, I decided to take pictures of the kids as they gathered around the poles at our high school and our middle/elementary school. I knew the kids from our youth group were planning to be there…but when I drove up to each of the schools, I saw a large crowd on each campus. Word had spread and there were a lot more than I thought there would be.
It is a powerful event….these kids are under attack every day, they not ‘allowed’ to share their faith or pray publicly at school. This event of gathering publicly to pray for their school and declare their religious freedom is not a popular thing from the enemy’s viewpoint. We need to pray for these kids as they make a bold stand this tomorrow…for their protection and that they will hold strong to their faith when adversity comes….because it will. And God will use it for good.
Once the weather gets cool, I consider it Fall. We get Fall weather here in the mountains earlier than normal. So I am already in the Fall mode….thinking about mums in my garden, looking for changing leaves, and rooting out my Fall recipes. Pumpkin bars, apple pie, soups, aaaaaaaaand the ever Fallish of Fall recipes….ginger snaps. We lived in New Jersey for almost ten years and every Fall we would go to the store and see tall stacks of orange boxes at the end of the grocery isles…..boxes of Sweetzel’s Spiced Wafers. By the second Fall we lived there, I had to buy a box of them since there were so many stacked up in every store you went to, that it made you curious as to what was so special about these cookies….well it made me curious anyway. From the first bite, they became my favorite cookie. They weren’t like other ginger snaps…..they were almost black with spices and hard as a rock, so you has to dunk them in your coffee or milk, which just added to their charm.
Sift together the spices, flour and soda. Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight. When thoroughly chilled, form into small balls about 1 inch in width. Roll the top side of these balls in sugar. Place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies.
I was called a spazz today.
It is beautiful Fall weather outside here....high 69, breeeeeeezy, crisp, leaves rustling, faint smell of a fire place in the air...mmmmmmm. It is so refreshing! I am sitting at the kitchen table, listening to Maggie read her story for the day...I'm only getting that it's about a frog and the 'tools' he has to help him swim and survive in water.
kids who don’t like pieces of onion in their food. I have a mini food processor that I grate onion up in and it almost liquefies it. You can use this method to add onion flavor to salsa, homemade salad dressings, soups, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, potato dishes, omelets and anything else to which you normally add onion.
I found this meme on 
**Disclaimer** I apologize profusely for the music of my senior year. =(
Thank you for your prayers. We are going to be fine. As I told you, keep your prayers for the people who have nothing to start with. I do have a roof over my head but many are sleeping in tents. God is good. 
My pastor, who happens to be my husband, was preaching this morning. We have been watching coverage of the hurricane relief efforts and all the media hype that goes along with such a major event. So many people are pointing fingers saying it was God's wrath on New Orleans or they are blaming the government, judging the motives of relief workers, the President and FEMA. He said he thinks it is God's wake up call for American Christians....to wake up and see the desperate needs of each other and reach
I can’t believe we have not yet received information overload on New Orleans and the recovery effort there. We have had the television on to CNN and FOX news channels, almost constantly here, and I am held riveted to it. The news stations are doing a really good job of making this catastrophe personal….all the individuals they interview, the pictures of people walking around looking desperately for their loved ones, pictures of the squalor they were rescued from. The media is our link to the disaster….it compels us to donate, to pray, to feel for these people. The same thing happened when 9/11 and the tsunami in India were reported on. Trying to describe how catastrophic this is to my kids this morning as we had our devotions before starting schoolwork, I got this huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, having a hard time describing it to them out loud somehow made it more real to me.