Monday, April 26, 2010

So Long, Green Big Van!

Richella sent me an email asking me if I was still on the planet. Not really. But her sweet concern for me reminded me of why I love my bloggy friends! I haven't gone anywhere. Well, maybe a little crazy, but that's a given. I thought I'd hop on here and give you a little update about what's happenin'.

Today, they took the Green Big Van away. Kiddo cried. Honestly, so did I (almost).

See, a few weeks ago we were doing this really stupid thing. We were sitting in the turn lane waiting patiently for our green arrow to turn.

What, you were expecting something else?

That's it. That's all we were doing. I was driving Kiddo to a baseball scrimmage when we got stopped at the light at an extremely dangerous intersection. Knowing it was an extremely dangerous intersection makes me use extreme caution. Well, evidently two cars decided they were in an extreme hurry and tried to beat the light. One car was going west, the other car about to turn north on the street I was on.

Here's a math question for you: When a car going west at 40 mph hits a car going north at 20 mph, how long will it take before said cars crash into the green big van sitting still at the red light?

Here's the answer: NOT LONG.

I had the same gut-wrenching reaction as I did when I had an earlier wreck several years ago, which actually prompted the purchase of the GBV. Kiddo was looking down when he heard my gasp. He looked up just in time to see the Mustang that had been hit by the VW Bug slam into our front end. Somehow I calmly grabbed our stuff and got out, trying to calm Kiddo down as well. I didn't fall apart until hours later when Sound Man had gotten us home.

Looking at the pictures, you don't think there's that much damage, but it actually bent the frame, which costs major moolah to fix.

Please excuse the yellow dust which is actually an oak tree pollen/sap mixture that is like concrete when it gets on your car. Oh well...I didn't really see a need in washing the van after the wreck.

Needless to say, they totaled my 12 year old van. Kiddo doesn't really remember any other vehicle. He was only three when we got it, and when I told him the wrecker was outside taking it away he cried. I have to say, as much as I complained about its size, all the stuff wrong with it, etc, etc, I did have a twinge of sadness as I watched the salvage wrecker getting ready to haul it away.

We are going today to look at a car that quite possibly might be its replacement. I'm praying the Lord leads us to just the right one. This one looks promising, and I'll have to tell you why later. It will be an absolute answer to prayer and a "See, I told you to have faith!" from the Lord if we get it. Not that He doesn't say that to me ALL the time, but there was something specific I was praying for.

Dealing with all the insurance companies has been less than thrilling. Having to take a pittance for what my car was worth to me has been more than stressful. All because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know God has a plan. I can do nothing but trust that He has my best interest at heart. I mean, would my Dad not help me in a situation like this? Yes, he absolutely would. I know that my heavenly Father will do much more than help. He will provide. He has already orchestrated my friend Jennifer buying a new car so that I could borrow her old one.

I'm looking forward to see what comes next.



Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Relevant Bound!

Have you seen that button<--- over there? At the top? The one that screams "I'M GOING!"? I have it there because, well, I'M GOING! Now that we have that cleared up, let me 'splain to what I am going.


Relevant. A Christian bloggers conference that I cannot wait to attend. Sweet Sarah Mae's brain child. Well, Sarah's and Jessica's and Dana's, the latter two I have yet the privilege to "meet." Someone asked me why I wanted to attend Relevant and at first I couldn't really say. It took me a minute to really think about why I was so excited to go.

Well, for one thing I'll get to see her and her and her and even sing with her. But seeing some of my favorite bloggy peeps is only part of it. I think we as Christian bloggers have such a bond (does that sound inexplicably cheesy?). We love the same things, and I'm not talking about paint colors. Well, maybe a little bit. No, we all love the Lord, and there's just something about gathering together with women who share that love. We also love fellowship with other believers, or we wouldn't be spending our time and money to go. We also love learning more about this vast universe called Blogland and how to use it to spread the Word.

Are we perfect? More like perfectly imperfect! But it's those quirks that make us who we are. I just hope no one asks me if my laundry is caught up or when the last time I vacuumed was. Am I nervous about traveling so far away from home by my little lonesome? Kinda, yeah. But I know (at least I HOPE) that I'll soon be surrounded by other ladies in the same boat. I can't wait to meet you.

For those of you heading to Relevant: If you're traveling through Memphis by air, let me know! I'm planning on flying and hitching rides everywhere once I get to Harrisburg.

Now that I've committed to going, I have to figure out how I'm going to pay for it! HA! I do have a back up plan, but my goal is to sell enough tassels to fund my trip. If you'd like to help "sponsor" little ol' me, head over to my Etsy shop and see if there's something you'd like. Or, you can always ask for a custom order.




I can't wait! Hope to see you there!



Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Screaming Meme Giveaway!

If I just wrote posts about people having giveaways, I'd never have to think up a topic on my own!

This time it's one of the sassiest ladies in blogland, Meme from Sceaming Meme. She's giving away a copy of the book, Blogging for Bliss, by Tara Frey.

Blogging for Bliss gives you tips and hints on how to better your blog if you have one, and gets you started if you don't have one. I'm telling you, I want this book. So don't go enter or anything. I guess that kind of defeats the purpose of my telling you about it, huh? Oh, well. I guess you can enter.

How? Well, go here. Meme'll take it from there.

I'm in the process of figuring out how to tell about my yesterday. Sigh...suffice it to say the Green Big Van will never be the same, and I'm sore in places I didn't know could be sore. Kiddo, too. But we're okay. Story at 11. Or maybe tomorrow.


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Christ is Risen!

He is risen indeed!

This is a repost from last Easter, but I love this video so much I wanted to put it on here again. Enjoy!

"People rejoice, all nations listen:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Dance all ye stars and sing all ye mountains:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Whisper ye woods and blow all ye winds:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

O seas proclaim and roar all ye beasts:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Buzz all ye bees and sing all ye birds:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

O little lambs rejoice and be merry:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Nightengales joyous, lending your song:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Ring, O ye bells, let everyone hear:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

All angels join us, singing this song:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Come down ye heavens, draw near the earth:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Glory to Thee, God Almighty!

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Glory to Thee, God Almighty!

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!"

At the end they all say "Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!" And the little girl in front is jumping for joy. The first time I saw this was when my sister sent it to me in June of last year. I cried as I watched it, even though I couldn't understand the language. The joy of Christ's resurrection knows no language barriers. Happy Easter, everyone!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Friday

How many times do we just skip today and go straight for Easter Sunday? I know I've been guilty in years past of not taking the time to reflect on why we are able to celebrate Easter in the first place. There would be no Easter without Good Friday.

If you grew up in church, or if you go to a more traditional church that uses a hymn book you might be familiar with the original version of "O Glorious Day." This song, "Glorious Day," sung by Jeff Johnson (my favorite version out of all of them out there) is a remake, word for word, of that old hymn. He does such a gorgeous job. We are, of course, singing this Sunday morning (and Saturday night, by the way!).

I don't particularly care for the video, but this was the best on YouTube for the words. You might just want to close your eyes and listen.





Take some time today to reflect on the sacrifice that was made for you. It almost overwhelmed me at small group last night, remembering afresh that it was MY sin that nailed him to the cross. How thankful I am for Sunday!


Update: I just read Kat's post today. She posted a video that says it all..."It's Friday...but Sunday's comin'!"