Random Observations From a CRAZY Busy Week!

Walmart- Medium is way, way larger than Romy XL. ::snort::

Stacia observed, "VBS! Five days of absolutely no school!" Do you think I should tell her most families don't school all year?


Gherkins love ice cream...and are willing to spend their allowance on it.

Doing school when tired leads to an interesting historical perspective.  I knew I was struggling to stay awake. I read a line, heard a little giggle, and noticed Nolan was in the room and all LAUGHING.  I was reading Rush Revere and the First Patriots to Zander and Stacia.  I read, "...this person in history used the kite to experiment with torture....." and that caught Nolan's attention as he walked by. He stayed and evidently I continued to read, "He's the mystery man in  history that invented the swimming suit, owned a printing press, and created the Franklin nose."

I came to my senses when Stacia commented, "That's amazing he created the Franklin nose."

"WHAT - you're not paying attention....." and then - they laughed, we laughed.  I took a 30 min nap before the next class.

It's the time of year when park meetings must include sunscreen and ice water.

I did not have this snack. 

Stacia headed out with me to shop. I observed, "You always like to come with me. Why do you like to come with me?"

Are you ready?

"Because you are so much fun!"

She melted my heart and we enjoyed what we titled a "Peoplers Day" instead of a Girls Day since Arielle didn't join us.

Finally, tonight, I observed some members of my family are ruthless when playing Monotony.  After four HOURS of being a good sport, my man child bankrupted me  because I was short $4.  They continued to play another hour.....and in the end he won....but I did find sweet irony when he was calling on me to show grace in a mediation on his behalf.....I was merciful and defended him.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

April's Reading List

Love Works.Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders by Joel Manby

Part autobiography, part corporate mentoring, and part Christian exhortation - this book works. Love Works is a framework for successful leadership - be that corporate, non-profit, ministry or volunteer. Joel outlines a proven path to success through creating a culture of love, which results in a passionate and motivated workforce. 

Love Works explores the seven principles of love found in I Corinthians 13, which are to be patient, kind, trusting, unselfish, truthful, forgiving and dedicated.  Joel Manby has refined and relied upon this leadership philosophy for more than twenty-five years. He is currently the President and CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE). HFE was featured in the hit show Undercover Boss and the response of the 18 million viewers to seeing love in action, led Joel to write Love Works. 

 "Agape love is the foundation for the bet and noblest relationships that humans are capable of. It is deliberate and unconditional love that is the result of choices and behaviors rather than feelings and emotions."  

"Think about love the verb, not love the emotion. Think agape....Think commitment and will, not feelings, and you will start to see how love works."

I recommend this book!

The Disciple: Following the True Mentor by James M. Houston

This book promised to explore how the world has gotten mentoring wrong. It claims that, "Through clear and compelling examinations of Scriptures, Dr. Houston exposes the mentoring approaches to avoid, and opens the way instead to an authentic and energizing Mentor/disciple relationship with God. This is to lead us to bring out the best - "the essential Christian identity" - in each person we meet. We will, "above all, learn how to humbly seek Christ, who alone can lead you to whole personhood."

I loved the introduction by Dallas Willard. This quote made me excited to read the rest of the book, "As apprentices of Christ we are not learning how to do some special religious activity, but how to live every moment of our lives from the reality of God's kingdom. I am learning how to live my actual life as Jesus would if He were me."

I found myself getting lost within the first chapter...I wanted this book on my ipad so I could tap the strange words and get instant definitions. I asked, Michael definitions, puzzling him and leading him to ask, "What ARE you reading?"  This book read like a seminary text book - and not a first year seminary text.  I knew where we were going - but I just couldn't figure out what he was saying quite a bit of the time.  I found it funny that the classics he quoted from made perfect sense to me. Therefore, the book has merit...but it was not a pleasant reading experience for me and I am still not 100% sure I really figured out the bottom line of the book.This is one I needed to do with my very smart, well-read, theologically trained friends.

Basically, the point I took away is that we are to be discipled for Christian living by Christ, the Word, and Worship. Our mentors should not be  the various models we see in history: the heroic myth, the stoic, or secular psychotherapeutic.  I stayed with it and began to comprehend the vocabulary by the end....but sentences like this, "As we have recognized, the logocentricity to the text is intrinsically contingent...." had me screaming "Say it PLAINLY!"  ::snort::

Why did I stick with this? Because God has been challenging me to stretch my mind. Chaplain C began meddling the day I began reading this - he mentioned when Jesus quoted Deut. and said we should love the Lord with our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), Jesus ADDED mind - which highlighted that concept to his listeners. I felt I needed to heed the challenge to not become lazy in loving Him with my mind....so I stuck with it and there were some good thoughts and quotes in the book. I'll ponder it a bit more. If you are very interested in mentoring, if you have a great vocabulary and good background in theology - this is a great read.

I'm reading brain candy next! 

This She'll Defend by Melissa Miles

 I stumbled across, This She'll Defend, and found the pull to read it irresistible.  It's set in Darmstadt, Germany on an Army Post. The Chapel, PWOC, towns I've heard of and the acronyms I know and love played heavily in this story. 

When Carmen's husband, Ed, is offered a job as a civilian engineer on an Army post in Darmstadt, they jump at this new family adventure.  Carmen has a life anyone would envy. She knows with certainty she would never do anything to jeopardize her family. And then....

I found the beginning of this book to be slow. However, I soon was pulled in to the plot. A familiar plot - with twists.  Before to long, there was no way I would quit reading until I finished the story. Amazing end to the story.

Personally, Carmen's feelings  both of arriving and leaving a foreign country resonated with me. For example,  "A chapter in her life was ending, and she felt a loss as if a friend was dying. It was hard to explain, but the emotions were tangible and the gnawing feeling that she would never recapture the happiness and magic of the life they had spent here was constantly in the background. She sometimes felt like living overseas had been a fairy tale. She could almost see the big adventure book slamming closed in her face."

If you've lived in Germany, I think you'll enjoy this read. If you've lived on a military base overseas and participated in the chapel community, I think you'll love this story. If you want a fun read with an interesting plot - give this a try.

I must say that I think one needs to be written about Misawa....with karaoke, onsens, Oriase Gorge and tsunamis....I think it would be great!  I can think of friends I would volunteer for this - but maybe they'll think of the idea themselves. ::wink::

Undaunted: Daring to do what God calls you to do by Christine Caine
Excellent book, recommended!  Christine shares a bit of her back story...and it is good. She shares a bit of how God led her and her husband to begin The A21 Campaign - an international ministry to end Sex Trafficking in the 21st century. They are involved in rescuing, legislating, safe homes and transitional homes. They were told their campaign would NEVER work - but they were undaunted. God is bigger than the bully of difficulty. "The giant in front of you is NEVER bigger than the God who lives within you."

Christine shares from her own life story how God rescued her from being unnamed, unwanted, and unqualified. Jesus rescued her, transformed her life and now she rescues others.  There are many quotes I could share. This is vintage Christine, "Your heart will take you much further than your gift ever will. Cultivate a heart after God."

Heart Failure by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. 
I love mysteries and suspense. Richard Mabry writes great medical thrillers - Christian suspense. In this volume,  Dr. Carrie Markham's medical practice is taking off, she's engaged to Adam Davidson, a para-legal - and life seems to be on a great course.

And then the attempts on their lives begin. Adam confesses he isn't who he has presented himself to be.  Which one of them is the target of the attacks? "Carrie is left with an impossible choice: abandon the fiance' she isn't sure she really knows, or accept his claim of innocence and help him fight back against this faceless menace?"

Heart Failure includes a discussion guide for those who want to use it in a group setting. I'm watching for more reads by Dr. Mabry.

A Different Kind of Wild: Is Your Faith Too Tame? by Debbie

Alsdorf
This book was suggested to me by Ellen, our current PWOC Spiritual Life Ministry Team Leader. It's a book she would have liked to work into our year of Bible studies.  Debbie Alsdorf is a Women's Ministry Director in Northern California and the founder of Design4Living Ministries.

Debbie encourages women to live up, instead of acting out. She challenges us to  break from from old expectations and and boring patterns and find the WILD (Women in Lifelong Development) way of life.  The twelve chapters in this book are divided into three parts: Developing: growing up spiritually, Daring: living by a different standard, and Determined: finding courage to follow a new path.  A twelve-week study guide is included. Debbie's heart for discipleship and spiritual formation shines through the pages of A Different Kind of Wild.

This would be a good book to read with a  new believer, to do as a summer study (possibly without the guide), as a book club selection or a 12-week Bible study. I would personally like to see more Scripture included, and a few varying topics...but this message is solid. A good starting spot on a woman's journey to spiritual transformation.

The Leadership Lessons of Jesus: A Timeless Model for Today's Leaders by Rob Briner and Ray Pritchard.
All leaders are not created equal. In The Leadership Lessons of Jesus, the authors take us to the feet of Jesus to learn from the best.  In fewer than four years, Jesus inspired his followers enough that they were willing to give their lives carrying out His vision.

The authors work through the Gospel of Mark highlighting Jesus' example of leadership. Each of the seventy short entries begin with a verse and moves on to explore and adapt individual techniques that made Jesus' leadership so powerful (you know - other than being GOD).

I learned from this book. I thought a couple of the readings took Scripture out of context and applied it in ways I doubt the author intended.... I find the same with many books.  I do think this is an easy read on leadership and contains valuable insights. I did enjoy meeting Jesus from a "new angle."

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
I have not heard of comedian Jim Gaffigan. I will be checking out youtube and netflix. ::grin::

Dad is Fat (a titled inspired by a child's artistry) is a hilarious look at Fatherhood from Jim's perspective. It reminds me a lot of Bill Cosby's, Fatherhood,  a book Michael and I enjoyed immensely a couple of decades ago.  No, I don't like his perspective on EVERYTHING....and he does use a word a couple of times....but honestly...this was a great read. I especially liked, "Are You Done Yet?" and "Six Kids, Catholic."

If you're looking for a fun read, are a new parent or want to re-live the glory days when you had a houseful of preschoolers.....this book is for you.

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh
Michael suggested we read this  for school. I will admit I didn't give it much attention - and so when we began studying the Revolutionary War, I pulled it out. You know - Rush REVERE....this would have fit better a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, Alex and Stacia really enjoyed it. I was entertained.  AND they retained more info than they had from the text books we'd  read. Win/win. The book is written from a conservative standpoint but did not grind political axes. Solid history - entertaining history.  It is written for 10 - 13 year olds but both Stacia (8) and I (50) enjoyed it as well. 

Join Rush Revere, a history teacher, as he time travels back to key points in the history of the Puritan Pilgrims.  The kids like this one so much, we ordered Rush Revere and the First Patriots for next week. 

Rising to the Call of Leadership by Kay Arthur, David and BJ Lawson 
In these six-week studies you actually work through Scripture together during  40 minute class sessions. In other words - NO HOMEWORK - but -  you are not subjected to simply throwing out what you've heard in a sermon, or always thought about a passage. You are led through an inductive exploration of passages centered on a specific topic. I've seen them used in adult Sunday School classes, Youth groups, summer women's studies...and currently....we are using the one in our family circle.

THIS study centers on leadership. Every person  leads in a variety of spheres. Some are called to lead in the church.  What is the difference between being the "person up front" and being a godly leader?  In Rising to the Call of Leadership, key leadership principles are illustrated in the lives of  Eli, Samuel, Saul and David. How do you make good decisions under pressure? How do you deal with mistakes? What does courage look like? What does God expect of leaders.

I recommend this book as a personal study if you are in a position of leadership. I would love to take a leadership team through this book - maybe as an online discussion or during a board retreat.....This doesn't give the nitty-gritty tools others books do - but it does a good job on focusing on the intimacy a leader has with God - the spiritual care of a leader.

Being a Disciple: Counting the Real Cost by Kay Arthur, Tom and Jane Hart
I worked through this on my own as I was considering where it may fit in our chapel program. Our chapel vision is discipleship and I wanted to look at this before recommending it.  It is in the same series as the above study.

We are currently working through this one in our Family Circle. I love it! I love covering the topic with our kids. It's sometimes hard to understand the difference between being a "cultural Christian" and a "disciple" if you are raised in the church.  This study makes us ask the hard questions - and answer them together. AND we're teaching them how to approach the word inductively. We have decided I need to print out some sheets for each person with the passages we are covering. They need to be able to make marks.

From the website:  Jesus said, "Come, follow Me!" Will you? What will it take? Get past the fear of commitment and learn about the freedom of walking in Christ. What is the difference between a true follower of Jesus Christ and others who merely call themselves 'Christian'."

Highly recommended for a variety of settings.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

PWOC Bookends

We KNEW we needed to do lots of school on Monday, Thursday and Friday this week.

The day began with three of us heading into to Protestant Women of the Chapel (all the girls).  We just have a few weeks of Bible Study left of this semester.

We followed PWOC with a lunch meeting with two gals who are future leaders in PWOC. It was fun to share our hearts for women's ministry. I look forward to working with both Jennifer and Rebekah...and I did not take a single photo - those the PWOC logo. ::wink::

I came home for a bit and then headed back to base with all the kids this time for Family Bible Study. Michael and I were take over teaching this one - so far he's taught and I've raised havoc with well-timed questions.

I ran right out of the study and directly home. I had a date to Skype with a Bible Study at Camp Zama, Japan about parenting. It was a wonderful time to share with the gals.

A full day - bookended with  PWOC.


Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Lunch at Bidwell Park

We've tried a couple of things for lunch after field trips. We've gone to restaurants together when the weather was bad and we've done picnics. I much prefer picnics. At the restaurant my kids were at a table by themselves, I found another Mom sitting alone and joined her....but at a park....much more opportunity to interact with each other. This is an unexpected bonus to our field trips.  

There are various groups and play groups on base - most aimed at younger kids. April had a heart to create a group which would plan trips and "play dates"  "socialization opportunities" for those of us with  homeschool kids who were too old for the other groups.  It's been fun to watch her vision grow and bear fruit in the past six months. I look forward to seeing how God uses it to bless homeschooling families at Beale in the upcoming year. 

This was an odd trip-the only families able to break away mid-week were April's and ours - plus one young gentlemen.  Bidwell Mansion is booked months in advance and they didn't have any Fridays open this year.... I missed the "group," but  I loved watching my older children have the chance to interact with April's older boys. I liked the mommy socialization as well. ::wink::

We lunched at  Bidwell park. April is a rock star to have FOUND it given the directions we were given. There are walking trails, big open fields, swings, a very dirty outside pool and BATHROOMS. The park also boasted a few adults who seemed a bit alarmed at KIDS showing up at the park - but they need to broaden their experiences. ::snort::

In the absence of basketball courts, the  kids enjoyed playing frisbee

 Eventually Stacia opted to play badminton and house with Aneisa. 

This moment cracked me up. We found a deserted swing set.....note all the big kids are swinging and our two youngest are standing in the corner watching them. They did get a turn. 

The older boys scouted out the other side of the park for us. They had hopes of finding a basketball court; instead they found an amazing Kids' Park. We spent a bit of time there as well - within minutes something floating in the air had April's allergies going crazy. 

Check out THIS car which is for sale. I would be tempted to buy it for the artwork, but the overall message was a bit liberal for Arielle or I to be driving around the state. 

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Panning for Gold at Bidwell Mansion

After our tour of Bidwell Mansion we went to a lecture on the CA Gold Rush and tried our hands at panning for gold.

Rather than writing a lot about the Gold Rush, I'll just post the photos of the slides I snapped. 

Doesn't he look a bit like a gold-crazed 49er? 

The kids did enjoy this experience. I've decided it was worth the cost. ::snort:: 

 
Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Bidwell Mansion

Today was our last field trip of this school year with our Beale group. We visited Bidwell Mansion in Chico, CA.  There were only two families plus one boy, but it was a great trip. Arielle was thrilled to get more highway time in.  

The day began in panic mode as we realized my camera bag (and wallet) were not at home. I didn't feel I could be the "licensed driver" for Arielle for a long trip without a license. We caught the M family before they left base and they swung by the lab to find Michael and get the keys. My bag was in the back of his car. We met up on a hwy heading out of town. I helpfully stood on the corner so April would see me...but um...it wasn't a great area of town....she pulled up and threw the bag out the window and drove off.  I jumped in our van and drove off. ::snort::  I was happy we always leave lots of margin as we ended up making it on time for our tour. 

The Bidwell mansion was the home of John and Annie Kennedy Bidwell, built in the 1850's. Their story was fascinating and the home is gorgeous. I love the cupola so John could see all of the 26,000 acres he owned from his lair. More info in the last two photos. 

The antiques were amazing.....

150 years old - Annie's piano took 6 months to ship from DC to CA

 John and Annie

Check this out. See the wheels? It converts from a high chair to a stroller! 

Annie was a suffragette

Gramophone in the library

Annie's dressing room - she was 4'8" and John was 6'1"

One of the first homes with indoor plumbing...check out the elephant toilet

Toys in the nursery

An 1850's laptop ::snort:: 

I loved the kitchen....loved it!

Not so crazy about the laundry room. ::snort:: 

Can you read the dinner menu? 

Like Downton Abby. ::grin:: They had handles on the walls in rooms to ring the various bells in the kitchen. 

I love how the counter slopes down to the basin.

A dream stove.

Can you guess what this is? Some guessed stairs for Annie....

 Pies would be put here to cool!!

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...