Visiting friends in Faribault

We spent the day in Faribault with some friends of Roger's from college. It seems that he used to skip chapel at Northwestern College and go hang out at Starbuck's down the road with his fellow Education Majors. And these are the people that are teaching our children? I say that totally jokingly.

This is the first time that I have met them face to face. We have received their Christmas cards for years, so the faces are familiar. They are a great group of people. We were invited down to see a church play that one of his friends were in. We had dessert and watched.

We are definately spoiled by our professional productions at our church. Yet, we had to step back and realize that this was a small country church in Faribault. Was this reaching the people in their community? Was it a growing church? We were being slightly judgemental and comparing so many things. We are all a part of the body of Christ, with different purposes - all working together to bring people to Christ.

As churches around the country present the gospel to thousands this Christmas, in different ways, hearts will be changed! Praise God that he made us so different and never stops to reach us where we are.

God Bless,
Cyndee

Sonshine

I blog mostly for myself. It is the best way to process all that happens in my life. Thanks for reading and participating in the ups and downs of life.

Notice the date on this blog. Tickets for the summer music festival called Sonshine went on sale two days ago. This Christian music event of the year is held in Wilmar, MN during the month of July. It is an outdoor festival with four different stages of music playing from 10 am until 10 pm. We went last year as a family and had the best time. The temperature was fairly unbearable, so we are hoping for a cooler three days of music this next summer. We are actually hoping to invite some friends of ours to join us. It is a worshipful party - with the typical teenagers and concession stands galore. Last year a powerful thunderstorm arrived when the Newsboys were suppose to play. It was actually cancelled. Eli was so heartbroken. He just loves their music. He sings with it loudly in the car.

So, the tentative list for Sonshine next year is listed on the website Sonshinefestival.com - the Newsboys are scheduled to be there once again. So, come July 12-14th, you can find us in Wilmar, MN rain or shine, enjoying music being played for Jesus.

Cyndee

Why?

Our church has sermons in a series fashion. The most recent series title is "Why?". You can listen and even view some of the most recent messages at www.eaglebrookchurch.com
. The most recent one touched on the topic of fear. It is interesting that in my ABC's of me that I listed fear of failure as my fear - this is the example that Pastor Bob used in his message! This is the same fear that he has, so I listened especially hard.

Roger said that this message hit a little too close to home. The world causes us to fear so many things, from germs and bacteria that cause death to fear about real things like terrorism. Our fear is a natural response that protects us in truly dangerous situations. On the chemical side - people like to go see scary movies because it produces natural hormones that give you a sort of a high.

The verse Pastor Bob emphasizes is the "Perfect love drives out fear". The bible says "perfect love", not conditional love that we receive from friends and even family sometime, but love without limits or conditions - the kind of love only our Lord Jesus could give you. If you read through the bible when angels appear to humans, they start by saying "Do not be afraid", yet we are fearful. The sight of God is going to be an amazing and fearful sight.

I keep working on accepting that unconditional love of Christ and realize the I am "Fearfully and wonderfully made" and the I am "created in His image". I have worked and worked on trying new things - like selling Creative Memeories for a couple of years. I really wasn't very good at it, but I learned so much through the process. I learned that I can share about something I love without being rejected. I am trying to apply this to sharing about my relationship with Christ. By trusting God, I can take risks and realized that I am loved regardless of the outcome.

Thanks for reading.

Cyndee

ABC's of Me

I am so new to the blog world, that I wasn't sure what this meant when I read Cheri's blog and she tagged me to share the below ABC's about me. So here it goes


A - Available/Single? Nope, married
B - Best Friend? Roger, my husband
C - Cake or Pie? Pie - preferably pumpkin or french silk
D - Drink Of Choice? A&W Rootbeer, but I mostly drink water during the day at work.
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? Contact lenses (so I am a little vain)
F - Favorite Color? Purple
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy Bears
H - Hometown? Denver, CO
I - Indulgence? Scrapbooking
J - January Or February? Neither really - I live in Minnesota and these are the coldest months. The skiing is better in Feb - so I choose Feb
K - Kids & Their Names? Charity - age 13, Elijah - age 7
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? My family
M - Marriage Date? December 17, 1994
N - Number Of Siblings? 3, Brother-35 years old, sister-16 years, sister-14 years
O - Oranges Or Apples? Apples - Honey Crisp if you can get them.
P - Phobias/Fears? Fear of failure - I tend not to try new things if I think that I won't be good at it.
Q - Favorite Quote? Depends on what movies our family has watched lately. Too many to count. An old one from Ferris Bueller that we just re-watched, "Who could expect me to go to school on a day like this?"
R - Reason to Smile – I am known by the creator of the universe.
S - Season? Summer because I get to be home with my kids
T - Tag Five People? I don't know anyone with a blog except Cheri, but I would love to hear from Uncle Vic, Jennifer Carr and my mom
U - Unknown Fact About Me? I enjoy sappy romance novels
V - Vegetable you don’t like? Cooked spinich
W - Worst Habit? Watching too much tv
X - X-rays You’ve Had? Finger and knee (both from boating incidents a couple of summers ago.
Y - Your Favorite Food? Chinese or Mexican - I could eat those any night of the week.
Z - Zodiac Sign? Aries

This was fun! Thanks for getting me in the loop!

Cyndee

Thanksgiving

I often wonder what we will do when Thanksgiving becomes my holiday. At the moment, Roger's mom gets the honor (or work) of doing the meal and having us over to her house. I get Easter - by my choice. I brought a puzzle this year and the kids fought over which of the 100 dish channels to watch. I would like for it to be a more meaningful day for us. The weather here was beautiful - in the 50's on November 23rd. We took a walk outside and Eli was riding his bike. It just didn't feel like winter was around the corner.

We did go to church on Wednesday. That was the best time to just sit and focus on what Thanksgiving is all about. I time for worship and taking of communion. Sometimes it is good to have time to focus on all that we have. Our past sermon was about having the "Good Life". In truth, we are living the good life and forget. My prayer is that I won't forget throughout the year. The Lord gives and takes away...

I am thankful for all the Lord has blessed me with - the best husband and kids, as well as all the material blessings. I know that this can change instantly. Lord, give me the strength and character to stay thankful...

Cyndee

They arrived on the cauliflower...

Eli came home last week and was telling us about his day and what he learned. Some days he doesn't tell us anything and sometimes he has a story to tell. I figure that I should leave the communication lines open - they say that boys just stop talking when they hit puberty... Anyway, he was telling us about the story of the first Thanksgiving. He told us that the pilgrims came over on the cauliflower...Roger covered his mouth to keep from laughing and discouraging him. Eli is very sensitive and wouldn't quite understand why Dad was laughing at him. I did my best to keep a straight face and correct him that is was the Mayflower that the pilgrims traveled on. He kept on going like nothing happened. Here is a great theme for veggie tales if they ever run out of ideas... Thank you Eli for laughter..

Cyndee

NASCAR

Okay, I will confess that I am a closet NASCAR fan. As a kid, I thought that this was the most boring sport with cars just going in circles for miles and miles. I suppose that this is still true, but I am now more interested in the strategies and position of the different drivers. I have also started reading up on the history of NASCAR. Okay, so it started from bootleggers transporting moonshine - aka Dukes of Hazzard. Well, at least there is a legal place for lead footed drivers to race each other instead of on the highway with us slow folks.

This obsession began with having a son. Eli likes anything that has a motor and moves fast - airplanes, fast cars, trains, etc. Roger was channel surfing one night and came upon a race in progress. Roger just liked the name of one of the drivers - Jimmy Johnson. It had such a ring to it. Eli watched the end of that race and Jimmy Johnson actually won! Jimmy Johnson then became Eli's favorite driver. Number 48 is now well known in our house. Charity's favorite driver is Jeff Gordon - because they share a birthday (I also secretly think that she finds him to be cute!).

I knew nothing about NASCAR three years ago, but Eli wanted to know more and when a next race was. I went on the internet and found out when the races were and learned about the point system and all. I started to get into it as much if not more than Eli. I liked that they prayed before a race and keep the drivers accountable off the track as well as on the track - unlike our american football players. It is definately biased - and aren't we all. Some drivers seem to get away with more than others from what I can tell.

So, the season just ended this weekend. We were cheering for Jimmy Johnson to win the Nextel Cup - the chamionship ring for NASCAR drivers. After missing it by points in the past couple of years, he finally won. It was a great thing - prolonged by many caution flags and setbacks. I hope that you get a chance to see it in February for the Daytona 500. My house will now get the cleaning it deserves and my family will have hot meals again on Sunday. It has been a great season.

God Bless

Cyndee