A Weekend Away, Part 2

The finishing touch on our weekend was a much anticipated trip to the Sight and Sound Theater to see In the Beginning. We had never been there before, so it was quite a treat!

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The building was very impressive from the outside - it was enormous! At the main entrance, this statue of a lion and a lamb is the first thing you see.

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If impressed is the word I used for the outside of the theater and awed is the word I'm going to use for the inside. The four of us walked through the doors and immediately, our jaws hit the floor when we saw the lobby area. Gorgeous!

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We walked around for awhile before the show - a pleasant surprise was that the concessions were not terribly expensive and that every single employee we met were extraordinarily nice. One of the ladies noticed my brother-in-law's military picture in my son's wallet and asked about him. When my son told her that his uncle is serving in Iraq, she promised that she would pray for him and his family. I was so very touched by her kindness.

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Finally, it was time to take our seats.
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The beginning sequence, the portrayal of God creating the earth, was breathtaking. Stars and planets sprung from the darkness near the ceiling, angels flew high above our heads and sang, "Glorious", animals (real and animatronic) took the stage - it was like nothing I have ever seen in my life. If ever you have a chance to attend one of this marvelous productions, do not pass it up.

The scene when Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden was heart wrenching. During intermission, the angels with flaming swords stood guard as the crowd awaited the rest of the play, which was every bit as good as the previous part.

All in all it was a wonderful break from the daily grind and a terrific time to reconnect as a family, but as it always is, it was even nicer to come home.

A Weekend Away

On Friday morning, we piled into the car and escaped to Lancaster, PA for the weekend. Swayed by the frequent commercials and frequent mentions, we stopped by a Sonic for lunch.

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We do not have a Sonic nearby, so the whole "drive in" concept was initially confusing, but we figured it out. Cherry limeade is AMAZING!

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At the outlets and I purchased a much coveted microplane zester. No one in my family had any idea what it was or why on earth I wanted one so badly, but I was insanely happy (or insane AND happy) when I found one.

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Our next stop was the Mennonite Information Center where they have a replica of the Tabernacle as described in Leviticus. Since I just recently finished reading Leviticus, it was really neat to see everything and get a feel for the size and layout of it. Surprisingly, the Tabernacle was not all that big.

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To finish off the evening, we played a round of mini-golf at what has to be the most beautiful course I have ever seen - Village Greens. This course was even mentioned in Sports Illustrated!

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We found a very nice Bed and Breakfast in Smoketown called Homestead Lodging, it was a great place to stay with kids. The back of the property borders an Amish farm and cornfield, and we were treated to an outstanding light show, courtesy of the lightening bugs.

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Saturday's adventures to follow. . . .

Nightmare No More

To preface this post, I do not like horror movies - never have, never will. The closest thing to a scary movie I've seen in a theater is The Sixth Sense, and even that I watched through my fingers most of the time. I don't like to be scared. I like movies where the endings are happy, and with the same number of characters at the end that it had in the beginning.

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But, since I don't live completely under a rock, I have to admit this cracked me up:

My daughter and I went out to lunch and this is the pen they gave me to sign with. It's so nice to know that he has reformed and become a businessman. I just wonder what he does? Manicurist? Sleep technician? Fashion Designer? Dermatologist?

Twister . . . . .

. . . . not just for humans, apparently.
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The kids went to bed without putting their game away. Midnite was intrigued.

The spinner is a little hard to manipulate without fingers, but she manages nicely.

Hmmmm. Maybe Parker Brothers needs to be notified that there is an untapped market for board games. Tell me this isn't a happy dog.

Bible Study Crunch Time

Next week kicks off the Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible study. I don't think that I ever fully told the story of how this study came together, and since I don't have anything else to post about today, that seems as good as anything.

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Around Christmas, I started thinking about the possibility of maybe, potentially, someday in the far off future hosting a Bible study. The thought was fleeting, kind of like a buzzing mosquito that you swat away from your ear and forget all about. At the beginning of February, I spoke at a women's breakfast and thought, hey, these ladies are fun - I should think about that whole Bible study thing again - someday. March passed without any of my neurons suggesting any sort of study. April, however, was a completely different story. I received my Today's Christian Woman magazine in the mail and it seemed like every other page had an advertisement for another women's Bible study. While shopping for a new novel, I found myself staring at a large display of Bible study curriculums. All the while, I kept praying, "God, if you want me to do this Bible study thing, please make it clear." Duh. Sometimes I think I must be in the front row of His remedial class.

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My plan was that I would host a small (four or five women) Bible study at my house one a week for five, maybe six weeks. Sounded like a very good plan to me. It was then suggested to me that it would perhaps be a better idea to host the Bible study at our church on Wednesday nights and think a bit bigger. After a small, "but, God" session, which ironically the author of the study, Liz Curtis Higgs, highlights, I was forced to realize that this whole Bible study thing was NEVER my plan - it was His all along. I say this, but just for the sake of honesty, I still thought this was going to be a small scale Bible study, maybe six or seven women instead of four or five. At this very moment, I have thirty, yep 30, ladies signed up for this. God has a sense of humor and He is so, so good.

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I know we are going to learn lots, laugh and have good fellowship, but I wanted to ask for your prayers. I have logged plenty of hours in nurseries, Sunday schools, junior church, youth group and VBS, but never something like this. I'm excited and intimidated, nervous and raring to go!

Happy Independence Day

I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Fourth of July! As we spend time with our loved ones this weekend - please take a moment to remember our armed forces and all that they have done, do and will do for us. Enjoy all of the summer fun and fellowship, and thank God for all of the freedoms that we so often take for granted.

Vacation Bible School

All this week, I've been immersed in our church's VBS (Vacation Bible School) program. It's been a blast! So many kids, what fun!

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So, this post is going to be an Ode to Vacation Bible School - or not, as I'm not sure how exactly you go about writing an Ode. Maybe "Tribute to VBS" is better.

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I attended my first VBS when I was five years old. My only distinct memories of that week are that my mother made me wear a yellow dress that I loathed (Hi Mom!), ribbons on my pony tails, I panicked when the teacher asked me how to spell my middle name (I didn't know) and that I learned how to play "Farmer Takes a Wife". VBS was a summer staple, attending and then helping out, until I went to college. After a hiatus of a few years, I began helping out again when the kids started to attend. So many themes, so many awesome crafts, so many skits - great memories.

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What I couldn't believe though, history buff and useless trivia guru that I am, not once, in all of these years of VBS, did I ever bother to find out how VBS started. Rest assured, I remedied that situation right quick!

• The first Vacation Bible School was created in 1894 in Illinois because Mrs. D. T. Miles, a Sunday School Teacher (and public school teacher), felt that Sunday school did not give her enough time to teach the Bible to her students. So, she held daily classes through the summer.
• Eliza Hawes rented a New York City beer parlor in order to hold "Everyday Bible School" for children living in nearby slums. The six week program went on for seven years.
• Standard Publishing (still one of the most popular publisher of VBS curriculums) created the first VBS program curriculum in 1923.

In honor of Vacation Bible Schools everywhere, feel free to leave a comment and share your favorite VBS memory, VBS theme, VBS snack - whatever you want. Or just leave a comment and say hi.