An Evening of Smiles

This past Saturday I stopped in at the two clubs and met several new faces at stop number one. Actually, it was crazy because I did not know a single person. I met a new bouncer, bartneder, and two ladies that I had not yet met. The gift for this month had not come together, so I punted the first option and went with a sweet treat instead--popcorn snack mix and some mini cans of pop. The bouncer/dj looked perplexed, but buzzed me in and I headed straight for the dressing room where I chatted for a bit with the ladies getting ready. I got the same question I usually do when meeting new people. "What is this for?" I explained that I am from a church in Gardner and that my husband is the pastor. I said that we decided a long time ago thatwe wanted to do something to show God's love in a different way than normal. I appreciated the smile on their faces. I told them about the cards with our information inside and let them know that truely, if they needed help with anything to let us know.
At stop number two, there were lots of familiar smiling faces as well. At the bar, lots of guys were interested in the snacks, but the ladies made sure to tell them that they weren't for them. I liked the fact that they were aware that they didn't have to share. :)

30 goals in the year of 30 Update

So far this year, I have touched on a handful of my goals.
2. Watch five musicals I have not seen.
I saw the movie versions of 42nd Street, Brigadoon, and Meet Me in St. Louis. Out of the three, I think Brigadoon was my favorite, even though it was based on a fantasy land. I LOVE Gene Kelly, too!
10. Organize my kitchen cabinets
Thanks to my mother-in-law and my sister, Molly, this got done not long after our little guy was born. Love the new Lazy Susan for spices, and the fact that we emptied enough for there to be almost a shole cabinet for baby stuff that is almost entirely filled already.
24. Go to three musical performances
Haven't seen any live yet, but this summer, plans are in the works to see 4! We're going to Starlight to see Snything Goes, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Mama Mia. The fourth will by Gardner Community Theatre's summer performance of Bye Bye Birdie! AND, I would really like to go see some of the summer shows at Theater in the Park; especially Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. SO excited about this summer!
28. Make handmade baby gifts
I've given 4 or 6 different handmade burp cloths to friends that were having babies. I used them to wrap a purchased gift in one case. It was a lot of fun, even if they weren't perfect!
29. Let my fingernails grow out without biting them for three months (trimming of course)
I think I made it a little more than 2 months after baby boy came home. Then I went back to work and my fingernails suffered! I couldn't keep them out of my mouth. It's disgustting, I know...
30. Pray for my husband daily
I was doing great at this at first. I am the type of person that needs some kind of visual reminder for this. NOte to self: put a note on my mirror so that I see it in the morning!

It's been forever! Have you seen this video???

Go down and turn my music player off first, of course.

30 goals in the year of 30

1. Visit a state I've never been to
2. Watch five musicals I have not seen
3. Go to an apple orchard
4. Take a photography or decorating class
5. Find a great picture of my mother to frame
6. Make a scrapbook for profit
7. Make 20 cards to sell
8. Reach a happy weight: no specific # but something I am content with
9. Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center
10. Organize my kitchen cabinets
11. Read Girl Meets God, Your Baby's First Year Week by Week, and Cross-Cultural Servanthood (and others if there is time. :)
12. Remember all of my family member's birthdays
13. Go out of state to a football game with Donnie and friends
14. Bake my own cheesecake (my friend Renee R. has a great easy recipe!)
15. Learn how to embroider with my new sewing machine
16. Walk with friends twice a week
17. Do something that scares me
18. Start a play group
19. Get the outside of my house painted, with new shutters
20. Enjoy a picnic in a rose garden
21. Antique furniture purchase???
22. Learn how to make homemade baby food
23. Water my outside plants regularly
24. Go to three musical performances
25. Read two books a month
26. Go to the Rosedale Arch in Kansas City
27. Sew a tree skirt for my Christmas tree
28. Make handmade baby gifts
29. Let my fingernails grow out without biting them for three months (trimming of course)
30. Pray for my husband daily

{Gratitude}

"True gratitude is the ability to humbly see, feel, and even receive love. Gratitude is a form of returning love to God. Recognize His hand, tell Him so, express your love to Him." -Gene R. Cook

SOAP Reading for November 10th...a week late

So this week's SOAP passages aren't posted yet on the SOAP blog, but I didn't get to them last week, so here we go!

Matthew 25
Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids* who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

S: I read the scripture through which is a bit ironic because this is one of the passages that Pastor Donnie (a.k.a. my husband) will be using for the advent season.

O: All of the bridesmaids were given oil. Each of the ten had the opportunity to join the groom. Only 5 were wise and had enough oil. The other 5 missed out when the bridegroom came because they were out getting the supplies that they needed. The 5 wise ones were prepared with extra oil. When they tried to get the attention of the groom later, he didn't know who they were because they weren't ready to go with him on time.

A: Hmm... Some parallels that come to mind are that the 10 virgins are all of us. We all get an invitation to this feast. This wedding which is the final party of eternity. Each one of us is invited to join the groom as one of God's children. (I know, bridesmaid, child, groom, God... it gets a bit confusing.) As far as I can tell, the story is saying that each of us needs to be prepared to meet God. We need to be wise and get ourselves ready, so that whenever we do enter eternity, God will "know us". We will have made a decision to live our lives in His direction.
Am I doing that? Am I serving others in the way he expects? Am I learning more about how to be like Jesus by trying to connect to his word daily?

P: God, I pray that I will be prepared. Help me to be wise and to live in your guidance. Help me to see others as more important than myself. I need help to be disciplined. I am inclined to do things the easy way when it comes to my spiritual self. I want to grow in this area.

Calling ALL Bakers!

Anyone interested in baking for the Love Wins Ministry for December, please keep reading! I need YOU, to help me with a big task of baking for a WHOLE LOT of gifts. We'd like to make a box of baked goodies for each of 40 ladies and maybe a tray for each club to set on the bar. This is where your help would be appreciated... I'd love to have 10-15 people each make 4 dozen of one kind of treat. I'd like each person to make a different type of treat. (hunks of fudge, peanut butter blossoms, baggies of choc. covered pretzels, any type of Christmas treat or cookie or bar.) We need 4 dozen of each treat so that we can make a nice, full box for each lady.
Please individually wrap 40 items and put the remaining ones in a separate container.
All baked goods need to be delivered to the Miller house no later than Wednesday December 17th. We'll package all of the treats on December 18th and the delivery date for December will be the 19th.
Please leave a comment below with what you'd like to bring.
Thanks so much for your help!