VBS in progress...

Things are going well so far...12 kids are enrolled (which is fabulous for our little, teeny rural area. No one has lost any limbs or broken any bones yet, which is great. The kids (and teachers) seem to be having a great time and (dare I say it?) learning at the same time?!?! *gasp*

Now if only I could get the theme music out of my head before the patients here think I'm nuts.

Please continue to keep us in prayer!

Back eventually with pictures...

God's Servants

There are people that make the ministry a pleasure. People who see a job needing to be done and just roll up their sleeves and get to work. Most of the time they don't get recognized for their efforts, but people miss them when they're not around.

Most churches have this special person. They call him a "jack of all trades" or a "go-to guy" but what he really is is a servant. Most of the time they don't even realize the blessing they have until they don't have it anymore.

He's the guy that shows up at church 15 minutes early to make coffee.

He's the guy that shovels snow and salts the walk even when church isn't in session, just because it needs to be done.

He's the guy that doesn't bat an eyelash when you tell him you need him to go out into 100 degree heat and knock on doors to invite kids to Bible school, he just grabs his keys and heads out the door to do it.

He's the guy that won't just tell you of a dependable mechanic, he'll crack the hood and tell you what's wrong and fix it for you.

He's the guy that helps you move boxes in the pouring rain telling you how much he's going to miss you when you're gone.

She's the lady that will work all day for a "men only" fishing trip to make sure things are done decently and in order.

I believe there's a special place in Heaven for these "angels among us."

Here's to you, Philip & Cherrie Kennedy, Elmer Jeffers, Reese Smith. May God bless you for all you do.

Another Meme...

Janet sort of tagged me for the 7 Random Facts Meme.

And the rules are:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven Facts About Me

1. I don't like people. I would rather stab myself in the eye with a toothpick than have to make small talk. Yes, I know I'm a preacher's wife and people are my occupation. The fact remains.

2. I'm afraid of the dark. I have a bedtime ritual that includes checking the closet for boogity men and looking under the bed for monsters. Yes, I'm 20 whatever and sleep with a night light. Skeered and unashamed, that's me.

3. My biggest crush of all time (well, besides my husband, of course *gosh*) is Gene Kelly. *sigh* He's still the man.

4. When I met my husband, I was getting ready to go to flight school. Incidentally, the school I was headed to was the same one that taught the 911 terrorists how to fly...

5. ...Someday I hope to learn to fly. I no longer want to be a commercial pilot (see #1) but would still love to fly a crop duster or other small plane. Wouldn't that be the greatest job?

6. My dad wanted to name me Anwar Sadat. He was assassinated two days before I was born (um, that would be Mr. Sadat, not my dad) and my dad had a lot of respect for him. Thank God I was a girl.

7. I hate my "real" job at the doctor's office with the hot, hot heat of a thousand suns. Anybody looking for a slightly grumpy, pleasantly plump secretary?

I'm going to copy Janet and suggest that Karla and Steve give this meme a glance. Other than that, tag, you're it to the the whole blogspot atmosphere.

The most wonderful thing about summer...

is that summer's a wonderful thing! Ok, shameless butchering of a Tigger quote, but what better way to get my point across?

Ever since we've lived in the south, (and I guess being a lowly preacher and his lowly wife can't hurt), people have shared the abundance of their harvest with us. So far this season we've received cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and zucchini. When we lived in Kentucky it was strawberries. God bless Wayne and his strawberry patch, braving the cottonmouths to pick them for us and make us jam. *sniff*

I actually don't feel guilty for making spaghetti when I make the sauce from scratch. The taste is a little different - it just took me a minute to realize that lack of preservatives and other icky things can make something simple taste downright delicious! And why do homegrown vegetables taste so much better than those purchased in a store? Kinda makes me want to buy a piglet and raise it...mmm, bacon :)

Anyway, kudos to those of you with the patience and ability to keep a garden. And if you've got too many ears of corn or more tomatoes than you can eat, send some my way.

p.s. I'll be a little more sporadic than usual with the posts for the next little while. My church has got VBS coming up very soon and guess who was elected as director! That's the last time I skip a business meeting. Lord knows what they'll have me doing next...

Grunt, grunt, grunt.

A Cure for Homesickness?

Ok, so there's no cure other than actually going home.

But this is a good way to forget for a minute or two.

My mom has a thing for black - berries. I took my parents to the Farmer's Market when they were visiting and we came home with a bunch. When they took off, they left them behind. Heh heh.

Without further ado, here is Mr. Brown's recipe for a traditional Blackberry Grunt:


(6-8 servings. Or one, if you're me)

1 c water
1 c sugar
4 c black - berries
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, frozen
1 c buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 400.

Place water, sugar, black - berries and ginger in a Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Put dry ingredients in food processor and pulse a few times. Add butter and pulse until crumbly. Make a well in the mixture and add the buttermilk. Stir a few times to combine.

Drop batter by tablespoon - fuls on berry mixture.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Brush top with butter and return to oven. Broil two minutes or until top is golden brown and delicious.

Restrain yourself from diving in until ten minutes passes and the grunt can rest. I mean, come on, it has had quite a day. :)

Seven hundred eighty three miles is quite a distance.

When Steve and I moved away from home for the first time, I don't think we realized all we were leaving behind. Driving to Kentucky for the first time (a mere 8 hour drive, which we completely took for granted) was difficult, but we got through it. I don't think either of us cried, though our families were sure shedding a few tears. I just knew if I started crying I wouldn't be able to go through with it. We're both pretty attached to our families.

However, when we arrived at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, we were welcomed and treated like family. I will never forget moving into our little duplex up in the Appalachian Mountains and having the entire community come out to help us move in. Even a woman who was about seven months pregnant was lugging boxes and furniture with the rest. Our first day on campus, they had a big snowstorm and everything was closed down. A bunch of the ladies (who we later learned were kitchen staff at the single men's dorm) made us dinner and crept into the temporary apartment we were staying in and left it for us while we slept. It was quite a blessing to wake up and have food waiting on us. A little creepy, but still nice.

I was a little more extroverted at the time. I got a job at the college's library and knew everyone. Dealing with people who aren't completely insane will really help your outlook on life.

Moving to Memphis was much easier, since we thought we knew what we were getting into. The Seminary is similar, though more difficult, as we expected. The people are different, too. When we moved here, I did cry. No one came to help us unpack, and whenever we'd do the "Kentucky Wave" (in which you wave at anyone and everyone you see) we'd just get blank or suspicious stares. It's a hard habit to break, but break it we did. You'd think coming back to a good-sized city would be like coming home but it's not. I'm sure my job doesn't help, but it seems like half the city has passed through the waiting room at the funny farm at some point. So now we're 783 miles from home, and believe me, I feel every one of them. My parents left for home this morning and I seriously thought about stowing away in the trunk of their car.

I miss Michigan.

*Yaya's
*Big John's
*Sophie's Kitchen
(yes, a lot of good things about my hometown involve food)
*Four hours from Mackinac
*One hour from Canada
You can give directions by pointing to your hand. (people down here just don't get it when I hold up my right hand to tell them where I'm from.)
*My niece and nephews
*My brother and sisters
*My cats, Ray and Peaches

I'm a little homesick, can you tell?

Thursday Thirteen

Google Needs Meme (stolen from Nichtszusagen)

Go to Google, type in your name followed by almost any verb, copy the first ten that pop up and add your own commentary. According to Google, here's what Sarah needs...

1. Sarah Needs A Cold Shower. Actually this one is true. it's about 103 degrees here...

2. Sarah needs to hand him one of those weapons that went off without warning. While I agree that most men do deserve to be arbitrarily blown up, I wonder what this particular "he" did to deserve such a punishment...

3. what Sarah needs is a date, maybe some fun, and if it works out a bit of schtupping. Schtupping?!? My parents read this blog!!!

4. Sarah needs to lean on her man. As I'm sure my man would agree...

5. Sarah Needs Your Vote to Win a Guest-Blogging Contest. Yes, by all means, vote for Sarah.

6. Kuzzin Sarah Needs Your Manly Vote. Kuzzin Sarah for President!!!

7. Sarah needs her panties. Sorry, I just can't bring myself to comment.

8. SARAH NEEDS MORE LOVE. *sniff* Yes, I do.

9. sarah needs advice. Where can I find panties?

10. Sarah needs to get her life back & establish herself as a person in charge! Woot!

11. Sarah needs to be hooked up to a respirator in order to survive. Good Lord, what are you saying?

12. Sarah needs a Wii. Maybe not a Wii, but a Wii Fit would be welcomed into my home with open arms. Anybody want to send one?

13. Sarah needs friendship and support. Love me!

Deep deep trouble (BART)

My parents are visiting this week and without them we'd be LITERALLY stranded! Our car was wise enough to pick this week to fall completely to pieces and if my dad hadn't been here to help diagnose the problem, we'd be hurting.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to inform you that if you own a GM vehicle made in 1995 or later, you may soon have car trouble, too. Or you may have already had it. Here is the story. For those of you who aren't clicking, (you're so stubborn!) basically GM recommends a certain kind of coolant for their vehicles, Dex-Cool. No problem, right? Sure, unless you mind the fact that the coolant acts as some weird kind of acid and eats holes in your water pump and hoses. It can even cause leaky engine gaskets. Do I really know what I'm talking about? Not especially, though I know that we're now looking at some pretty costly repairs.

Before you take your car in and shell out obscene amounts of cash, check out what you can do if you're affected here.

This concludes the Public Service Announcement for July 9, 2008. You have been warned.

Happy Birthday, Becky

My dear little sister, Becky, who is eternally 14 in my mind, turned 22 yesterday. Isn't she gorgeous? I think she's one of the most beautiful people I've seen (but don't tell her I told you.)

She's got a great guy now, and a Gerber baby but she's still my little sister.

She's always had her own style and sense of what looks good (and she's usually right, in my not so humble opinion). There was one summer when I think she cut her hair every day. She's not afraid to express her opinion or to tell you you're wrong. She's the one who had the guts to wear tennis shoes to the homecoming dance, even though I threatened to wear them at my wedding (and chickened out at the last minute, of course).

She's the sister (there are three of us and a big brother) with the tender heart. She's the generous one, the one who can make you laugh until milk (or Sprite) comes out your nose, the one who listens and doesn't tell secrets (I'm looking at you, Patti). Her Christmas presents are legendary. I don't think she'll ever top the oft-remembered "burp in a cup" she gave to my brother a few years back.

My family is blessed to have her in it.

I love you, Becky! Hope you had a great birthday (and many moooore!)

Becky and I, at our nephew Alex's dedication, December 2005

July 4th

Fireworks, courtesy of Bellevue Baptist Church

Happy Independence Day, everybody!

Woot! A contest!!!

I entered The July Write Away Contest over at Scribbit.

This month's theme is Wonder Woman or Super Man. Go check it out and enter. The prize is pretty nifty...

I entered with Aunt Sarah's post since my aunt and my grandma really were "wonder women," at least in my mind, and my job post but the second one only because it actually has a superhero theme. I actually do not claim to be "super" or "wonderful" in any way. But I am good at my job :)