Adding or Taking Away?

During this Lent time of reflection, I am thinking about the things I do with my life on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Sometimes I seem to have to do that, because I am kind of a packrat (physically and emotionally).

So I am in the slow process of evaluating

Things that once had a huge purpose in my life that really don't now, but I still spend the same time on them...

Things that make me sad or tired but I keep doing them even though they aren't that important in the grand scheme of things...

Things that I did a certain way because my children were tiny but now they are older and maybe I could do them an easier, more convenient way for me...

Things that seemed to be part of the path to my goals but have shown themselves not to be...

Things that have crowded my life unnecessarily.

I had some rather admirable goals (I thought they were, anyway...) and they have not gotten much attention.

With some of them (with my children), time is slipping away. The door of opportunity will close, and I am wondering now if I have time to complete those things.

Anyway, just thinking about that today...are the things in my life adding positives or taking them away simply by their existence in my days?

Functioning Again

I fully expected this to happen...you tell people that you are going to make an improvement, and the bottom drops out.

Sooooo, I am purposing to 'expect wonderfulness...'I am standing in front of the mirror Wednesday morning giving myself "the talk"...

"This is going to be wonderful. A day with no toddler responsibilities, a day with my daughter, a fun place (???? maybe....) This is going to go well."

And as I am speaking these words to myself, I reach for an eyebrow pencil...because someone on TV told me (well not actually me...you know what I mean) that as we get older, our features fade, so with a light hand, we should bring some definition to our faces...

I begin to draw in some "definition" and when I finish the first brow, I realize that I am not using "blonde"...I am using "bronze"...Bronze brows...with metallic flecks. I take a toothbrush and try to brush it out. And do the other one...I don't have time to start over.

The weather is humid and gray. As I arrive at the school, it begins to rain. Inside the room, the teacher announces that they are still trying to decide whether to go or not. They call the Little River Zoo, and the zoo personnel say that they are willing to do the tour if we want to come...and that the rain is supposed to pass through.

So on we go. Greg made a map for me, which was good because I somehow didn't get started with the group. But the map was excellent and I made it no problem...that was empowering:-). The girls (mine and 2 others) sang songs from Barney the whole way. At the zoo, it rained on and off, but the kids didn't seem to mind. I already looked wilted (except my brows, which were quite well defined) so I just followed through the tour with the other parents.

After the zoo, we went to a park for lunch. It was cold, but again, the kids were good with it, and in fact (and this will surprise you not) wanted to take off their jackets as they got to playing.

On the way home, my daughter and two other girls had a pinecone (which they kept calling a "porcupine") that they were fixing up for their teacher. They stuck a dandelion in the top and wrapped a baby wipe around it (it was now a baby). It was sweet how they wanted to have something for the teacher as a remembrance of the day.

After school, we went to ballet, had a quick kid dinner, then on to a dazzling array of church activities.

When we arrived home at about 8:30, I had truly hit the wall. I didn't care if I ate dinner, didn't care if the kitchen got cleaned up, didn't care if I took a shower...I know I used to go at this pace when I was teaching (15 years ago), but not recently.

But my daughter came in to the living room where I was lying (laying? I can't remember) on the couch and gave me a big hug and kiss and said, "Mom, I'm glad you went with me on my field trip." So sweet....all in all, pretty wonderful.

Know what else is pretty wonderful? One of the duos from my Amazing Race Hit List took the fall. Not that ridiculous Eric and Jeremy, but Dani and Danielle. It wasn't pretty how it went down, but at this point I will take it. 3 left to go...

"ugh....I mean 'I am expecting something wonderful...'"

OK, so the kindergarten field trip is tomorrow. To a zoo-like thing. It is outside. I can't bring the toddler, so she is going to the church nursery all day (she likes it, but all day is alot). Did I mention it is outside?

So....I am NOT expecting it to be icky, smelly, gritty and headache-y...RIGHT????
It is going to be fun, because it will be my last opportunity to go on a kindergarten field trip with my middle child. And we will be making memories together.

And if my toddler feels tired at the end of the day, that's OK. She will have a good time while she is with the other kids and maybe go to bed early....no problem.

So here it is...

"Tomorrow is the kindergarten field trip and it is going to be really really fun. We will spend almost the whole day together and get to experience a new place. Plus, I will get to spend some time with some other moms that I don't usually see."

Amazing Race tonight...Goodbye Eric and Jeremy...:-)

So......Was It Wonderful???? (update to Friday)

Yep...I would say for the most part it was pretty wonderful.

Our babysitter was sick Friday night, so it was unsure if she would be able to watch kids Saturday evening so that we could go to Swadley's to play (and if you live in the OKC area and haven't been to Swadley's, shame on you! It is wonderful food in a family atmosphere ---at least every 2nd and 4th Saturday night:-)----and you are MISSING OUT!) but as young people seem to do, she bounced back on Saturday.

Swadley's was very energized and fun...people even singing with us sometimes...(if you want a quiet evening, you probably need to sit in the room off to the side:-), but it's cute too.)

Then Sunday went fine...a very relaxed evening with our "small group"...Then we got the kids to bed and watched a terrible (as in "dumb", not scary or anything...)movie, which seems to be our pattern...but if it was good I would have felt bad for falling asleep halfway through for about 15 minutes...(I know I'm the only one that does that).

THE POINT IS...everything went fine. And I didn't have to take Prilosec over and over because of worry. I just took care of things the best I could, pretended to be relaxed and for some of it, I really was.

It's going to take practice, but I'm going to try to "expect something wonderful" for awhile longer and see how things work out....not that my positive expectations will change anything for the good, but being all twisted up about it doesn't seem to be helping, and generally it does seem that things work out better than I think.

I know some of you are thinking, "Well, duh, 'Berean Girl'...don't you read your Bible??" and as a matter of fact, I do, and I thought of those verses, too...

Luke 12:25-26
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not! And if worry can't do little things like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things?

1 Peter 5:7
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Something Wonderful

Well, I sent you to my friend, Paul Dallgas Frey's webpage a couple of weeks ago. He has some good Bible stories, and a few Lent-themed writings. Today, I was reading his more personal information about his children and his bout with cancer.

There were many good and encouraging things in there, but one in particular, struck me...Here is the link, but I am going to tell you what I came away with...

Something Wonderful

Why do I always face the unfamiliar with a sense of dread?

The kids and I are home tonight and Greg is working late. I have a good dinner planned that everyone likes, I have a movie for us all to watch...it should be a good evening. But I have to fight the feeling of "Yuck...it probably will be not that fun".

Yesterday most of my regular Bible Study group did not come...so the other girl (there were only 2 of us in this particular small group) suggested we go in another group...I thought, "Ugh..." I know! It's awful isn't it? (you know, this has nothing to do with the people or anything else like that...it is my inflexible nature...it is a rare day when I don't follow the original plan on ANYTHING)And the funny thing is that the group was AWESOME! The small group leader was tremendous...I felt SO BLESSED during my time there.

Tomorrow is going to be a kind of busy day...and Sunday, too. But am I looking toward them with a joyful anticipation? (If you think I am, you are not paying attention...) I am worrying if the days will go smoothly...will I get everything done, etc...

My friend, Jerry, once said to me that it seemed that the anticipation of the event was often worse than the event itself(he was speaking of my tendencies, not his own, and said this is the sweetest way.) And it was kind of a lightbulb moment for me.

Then I read Paul's story (at the above link...just go read it!) and I thought, "I could just decide to believe for a really fun, great

Bible Study
Weekend
Evening with my children

and approach it that way."


I'm going to try it.

(ahem)
"Tonight is going to be a really FUN night with my children...and tomorrow and Sunday are going to be REALLY GREAT DAYS together with my family and doing music (which I love---both)."

Thanks Paul, for being the next in a series of attitudinal nudges in a painless way...

BTW...nothing Saturday or Sunday on here...just 2 great days...see you Monday:-)

The Reason (One of Many) that I Love the Choir

I don't know who looks at this, if there is anyone who does that is thinking about joining the choir, I want to encourage you to give it a try.

What I love about the choir is that it has so many different kinds of people in it. All ages, all educational levels, different talents, different personalities....

For example... I am not great about keeping small talk going.

But in the choir, you can sit by someone and work together singing, and not only do you usually help each other to master the song, but in order to interact with your choir neighbor, it is really only a comment or two at best...so you say one or two witty things and the other people probably think you would have more, but you didn't say them because you shouldn't be talking in choir.

But sometimes, there is more to it. Like last night....

I was sitting in choir, and a sweet girl that I'll just call Linda who I know enough to play with and tease, but I don't know everything about her, was sitting behind me said, "Angela, can I talk to you after choir?". I looked at my watch, thinking, "Yeah, that would be nice, but I have to make sure I get my kids on time", but it was early, so I said, "Sure".

And after choir, she asked me if I was OK. I thought she meant because I looked kind of bedraggled (which is normal on a Wednesday evening...or ANY evening, actually:-)), but she went on to say that she had felt impressed to pray for me last week. And I thought about it and realized that there had, in fact, been a couple of times in the week when things had threatened to come unraveled, but they came out OK...really better than OK....good! And I gave her a hug and thanked her (she's a keeper!)

But then I realized that if we weren't in choir together, I wasn't sure what else we would have been together...

I have little kids and if she has kids, they are probably all grown...

Most of my time is spent with kids or Grafted In...so choir is kind of the place where I see her (and others who are not doin' kids and country gospel bands:-)... )

And right now, we are doing some crankin' music in choir.

So if you are thinking about coming to take a peek, you should....no obligation. I think you will enjoy the people and the fun that we have in there...

12 Disciples Song

Amazing Race...OK, not a complete victory. The mom and daughter were OK, albeit a little flighty. But I can think of some I would have wanted gone first...like those icky boys who came in first. So I am focusing my energies on the following teams being removed, in this order...(drum roll, please)

Eric and Jeremy
Lake and Michelle
Dani and Danielle
Fran and Barry

It's good to have a goal, right? :-)

So here is something else...my 6 year old is learning the names of the disciples in a song. I didn't write it, but it works...and also dispells the notion that Luke was a disciple (which I thought until last Sunday...I used to think Mark was one, too...sheesh)

Here are the words and the tune in Bringing In the Sheaves (which may help some of you not, but for us oldies, it works fine.). The first paragraph is the verse of that hymn (which is the useful part and I am stopping there) but if you must have closure:-), the last paragraph is the chorus.

Print it off and try to learn it...it will make you feel smart. :-)

Tune if you need it :-)

Bringing In the Sheaves

There were 12 disciples Jesus called to help Him:
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, his brother John,
Phillip, Thomas Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus, Simon, Judas,
and Bartholomew.

He has called us too,
He has called us too.
We are His disciples.
I am one, are you?
He has called us too.
He has called us too.
We are His disciples,
we His work must do.

Random thoughts in case you stop by today

I have done so many things in the last 10 days...Purim, the painting, puh-vitamins (I felt like I had started a pattern of P words and wanted them all to match:-)) and today...well, I did some laundry and grocery shopping, but nothing really worth writing about.

I will give you what I believe to be the final installment on the vitamins thing:-) :-) :-). I feel good...I think it is going to be good for me. Here's a word for you...

If you are going to take more than a One-a-Day, increase your water consumption

I thought that the reason it said to take them with a full glass of water was so that they wouldn't get stuck in your throat...Now I think differently.


There has been much talk about drinking green tea. I think it is NOT yummy. But what is pretty yummy is

2 Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Garden Green Tea teabags, 1 Lipton Raspberry Tea and 1 Lipton Mango Tea and enough water for a 4 cup teapot. Or 2 raspberry in place of the 1 raspberry 1 mango.

OR

2 Celestial Seasonings Blueberry Breeze Green Tea teabags, 1 Celestial Seasonings Blueberry (something...I can't go look because kids are squawking and I would have to just stop here and I know you want to know this...I think the other word is Dreams) Herb Tea tea bag and 1 Lipton Mango. Or 2 Blueberry and no Mango and enough water to fill a 4 cup teapot.

Either group with 3 packages of Splenda (or more if you want)....and BTW, WalMart has their own version of Splenda now..."Altern" (not the greatest name), I think.

This is good hot or cold and green tea is very healthy for you.

You know what else is good for you? That's right...Amazing Race...on tonight!

Spring has finally arrived!!!!

At least at the Krempl house. This painting is the third in a series of works by the Krempl family. We began with the snowman family last year...then in the summer, we did the octopus (octopi) family....not as cute as the snowman family, but still a worthy attempt. This year (2006), we aspire to create Spring and Fall. We are 50% accomplished in our goal with the completion of the hand trees.

Here is something that I learned in all of this painting...the adults are not nearly as good of subjects as the children, first of all, because big hands and feet just aren't as cute and secondly, because as you go from child to adult, your arch gets higher, as does the center of your palm. Be warned about this, and if you decide to do something similar, maybe press the canvas from the back to meet the center of your extremity.

Anyway, enjoy the process and the final result.:-)


The first step...painting the background. 

The foundation of this endeavor...the tree handprint...notice that as the process continues, the actual "hand" is never tampered with. If the trunk is spindly and looking as though it might fall over at any moment, it is left as such. 

Taking a break from the artistic process to pose for the camera....lovely! :-) 

Placing the buds on the trees 

Adding the final splashes of colour (and yes I spelled color that way on purpose for you artsy types) 

Creating the Krempl "Ode to Spring" 

Body Art

Krempl Snowpeople  

Nope...no tattoos today. Tomorrow we will put the finishing touches on our latest masterpiece for that coveted piece of wall above the television in the Family Room.

"Ode to Spring"

So we decided to take down the winter offering, "Krempl Snowpeople" today, and before it goes into hibernation, I thought you might like to take a look at it( It's our feet).

enjoy!

So much to do...

A friend and I were talking about how the end of a break like Spring Break always brings with it the realization that although we kind of postponed real life for a few days, it is still here waiting for us...and sometimes it is overwhelming. It made me think of this poem. I don't know who wrote it, but it has a good thought...

Thank You, Lord

Lord, thank You for this sink of dirty dishes;
we have plenty of food to eat.

Thank You for this pile of dirty, laundry;
we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank You, Lord, for those unmade beds;
they were so warm and comfortable last night.

My thanks to You, Lord, for this bathroom,
complete with all the splattered mirrors,
soggy, grimy towels and dirty sink.

Thank You for this finger-smudged refrigerator
that needs cleaning.
It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers
for two or three meals.

Thank You, Lord, for this oven that absolutely
must be cleaned today;
It has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass
that we all enjoy in the yard.
My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says
You have richly blessed my family.

New Whine in the Old Whineskin

No...it's not a typo. Just a hint to let you know that I am never satisfied.

Took my new vitamins last night and then again this morning (it's a twice a day deal) so now I have been taking them for a full 24 hours....supposed to take them again in about 30 minutes.

And I will say, I feel more energy...or is that just jittery? Or feeling good and I am just not used to it?

At this time of day, I usually feel kind of mentally/physically worn out. But not today! I feel like I could actually do some serious pondering...or step aerobics. Maybe I'll just think about step aerobics;-)...

Pouring all this extra healthy stuff into a body that wasn't having more than calcium and vitamin C up until yesterday may not have the desired effect. I don't feel..."myself".

Note the whining and the focus on my age again in the title....well, I thought it was clever.

Seriously, though...unless there is a development that demands I tell you something immediately, I am going to give it a week. Maybe my newfound feeling of alertness is simply more sleep because of Spring Break. Or happiness that the "Head of the House" is home this week, too.

I'll let you know after a week in the trenches...

Update From Yesterday...

Amazing Race...no loser..everyone still there. Since no one was the last team to arrive (to be continued) maybe next week two teams could get booted off. My choice would be Dani/Danielle and Eric/Jeremy...so icky. Clean it up or GO HOME!

Vitamins came today...start them tomorrow.

Purim was good, I think. We watched the Esther VeggieTale (quit laughing) and cheered every time Mordecai's name was mentioned and boo'd and blew noisemakers every time Haman's name was mentioned. Had the cookies (blowing low carb for the day, so I went ahead and ate pie later as well...while watching Amazing Race)...did NOT get wasted or wear a costume.

Re-found a site that I had seen about a year ago. Has well done cartooning, Bible Stories for children, some funny slice of life type stories...even some stuff about Lent (no Purim:-))...the man's name is Paul Dallgas-Frey. You ought to go and look around for a little while. Made me feel good to be there. Here's the link.

Paul Dallgas-Frey

That's all I know today...

Purim at the Krempl's

To those who have done it before, apparently there is more to this Purim thing than met the (my) eye originally. I thought it was just cookies, noisemakers, reading the story of Esther.

Then a friend invited us to her home for Purim. "It was a good reason for a party" she said (they have done Purim a number of times, I think). She suggested that we get the kids dressed up as some of the characters for the Purim party.

I tried to envision all of this...these friends of ours are really artsy, and I thought that they were making it a drama (literally) because they are very comfortable with that kind of thing, which is very cool.

Our plans for the week (because it is Spring Break) were getting cumbersome. I wasn't sure that our youngest would understand all the costumes...so we decided that for this year, less was more.

THEN I went and checked a few more places for Purim stuff...and it does seem to be, a big carnival type of day with costumes, playacting, huge meals, etc. And some groups (not my artsy girlfriend) even condone quite a bit of imbibing as part of the celebration.

I had no idea what I had been missing. And will miss again this year...all we have are the cookies... and the story. And a pretty nice dinner...but not a feast.

Oh...and the noisemakers.

I think that the kids will still like it. And we can look at doing more of it (if we want to...again it is not a holy day that God said to keep every year or anything) next year.

Happy Purim...(Merry Purim?)

Vitamins are supposed to be here tomorrow.

Amazing Race tonight.:-)

The Time Pit

Ever see The Money Pit? Because I am so computer ignorant, this blog sometimes is the Time Pit for me. Take Saturday's post for example...about Technorati...I am not sure what to do with it...but I spent about an hour (OK, well, three) on trying to see if it would do what I was wanting. I had an idea, but I'm not sure it is going to turn out. So I'm not taking it off yet, but just ignore it. Or just click on it laugh at the "fruits of my labor"...sheesh.

Later, I may post again about a project we are doing with our family for Spring Break. Thought it might be more interesting with pictures, but do I know how to put those on here (you know the answer...)?. So I may post later if I get some time and help.

Get those cookies and noisemakers made for tomorrow if you are doing the Purim thing!

Technorati

Technorati Profile

Where Angels Fear to Tread

That title may have been a little dramatic (imagine that!), but I wanted to alert you to something...there are some little words at the top of the screen on my blog (and many others) that just take you to a random blog...next blog, or something. I tried that last night (when I should have been working on one of my 1000 projects that need doing, but that is another post)...just hitting the button, hitting the button...and all of a sudden, I was looking at a blog that would have embarrassed me if you had been sitting here with me...actually I was embarrassed and I was all by myself...

I am telling you that because we have the little censor screening thingie on there, and apparently it is not 100%. So just be careful (and yes, I am using my "Mom" voice).

It's Spring Break here, so I may be a little sporadic this week, but check back...you never know when I might be able to sneak away:-)

Super Vitamin Youth-i-fying Results...sort of

OK, so I figured out the vitamin thingie...all by myself...no help from you at all. And I had it all posted and ready to go...and then I thought, "What if someone goes out and buys all of this and takes it and keels over? I don't really know if it works or not..."

So I am trying it for a month. It will take all of the money we have saved for college for our children, but I think it will be worth it (kidding!!!) If you want to try it with me, you can get all the supplements at

www.vitacost.com

And I will give you a head start by telling you that Dr. Venessa's Ultimate Antioxidant had almost everything in it that was recommended in Dr. Atkins Age Defying Diet Book. But there were some other patchwork type items, so if you are going to take it all, you'll have to look at the book.

The book was available at Amazon, but no more, so get it at the www.vitaminshoppe.com. I think it is like $7.00.

If you are not an Atkins fan, don't try it...and if you love what you are doing now, don't try it. And of course, you should show the list to your doctor and see if it would be harmful to you (it is in the book) in any way. I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. I'm just sharing with you as a friend...because when I start to look really really young and "age defiant" rather than just simply defiant:-), you would be asking me...But let me know if you do it...even though I am sure that I'll be able to tell anyway.

Not my best post, but I told you I would let you know what I found out.

Preppin' for Purim :-)

Last year our family celebrated Passover. It was fun researching it and getting ready with all the foods for the Seder and we even used a Haggadah that talked about Jesus and His last Passover before being crucified. I will probably talk about this more as the time nears for that, in April, but I wanted to give my readers (hee hee :-)) a heads up that Purim is next week.

Purim is the holiday that highlights the story of Esther. If you have never read the story of Esther (in the book, Esther, in the Bible) it is exciting...and everything pretty much happens in a very satisfying way. There are the good guys and bad guys and it moves along at a fast pace to the very end. If you want to be able to read it easily, read it from the Message. You can find the Message at Bible Gateway, on my links, and just put in Esther and click "The Message". Some of it is downright funny.

Any-hoo;-)...a friend of ours mentioned that Purim was next week, and I had totally missed that. We were just waiting for Passover! So I went and looked up Purim in my Biblical holidays book, and also at www.holidays.net. There are lots of holidays that I wouldn't use this for exclusively, and I am expecting you to have some sense about that. But there are kid-friendly things here that we will use, like the cookie recipe.

So...a fun time if you want to try it. And a good story. And an excuse to eat cookies and make noise...what could be better than that?

Gotcha Glamazons:-)!!!!

If you were watching Amazing Race last night, you know that the competitors that needed to go home did. Not that there aren't others who do the same naughty thing (Fran and Barry...tsk tsk....How about "WOW! I can't believe we didn't lose! Thanks Phil!"...and you two were so excellent in so many other ways...clean up your exclamations)

So now, you know who is next. The waiter and chauffeur...don't PG13 up my show with your locker room talk. You are the next ones to go.

Actually, there are so many that need to leave. But we must prioritize....

Cheering, at this point, for BJ and his friend. Did you notice how when they won, one of them said, "O my L--" and didn't get it finished? Then he said some OTHER things to show his happiness. Be appropriate, boys...I want to vote for you.

OK, enough about that. Don't forget about the vitamin deal on the post below. :-)

(Entitled:-)) Super Amazing Vitamin Search!!!

I finally figured out how to get a real title on my posts...it didn't take too long...just like alot of things that we put off doing...and it looks better, right?

But do you know what HAS taken a long time? Finding the vitamin mixture that is recommended by my hero, Dr. Robert C Atkins in his book Age Defying Diet. You may remember Dr. Atkins from all the hullablallo with Low Carb Dieting, which I also loved...When I heard that he had written this other book, I thought, "Wouldn't THAT be great? Defy my age?" After all, the low carb thing had worked...and I am all about improving...I use my old woman face products faithfully, and when Robin Wall starts her exercise class at the Cube, I plan to go to that...in the Fall...quit snickering. "Planning to" probably has some benefits.;-)

Anyway, VITAMINS....you know, Dr. Atkins said that when we low carb diet, we can't deviate...it will ruin the whole thing...so I have to think that I need ALL these vitamins in the proper amounts or it won't work. BUT even his own namesake site does not have the elusive Fountain of Youth combination. If he were still alive, I bet they would have it. Oh well.

Soooooo, if you have a vitamin plan that you love, post the name so I can take a look, before I just start crushing tablets in my kitchen and mixing them together. You may scoff my search, but when I get it all worked out, I will share the secret with you (because you read my blog....bless your heart)and we will all look more amazing than we already do (hard to believe, isn't it?).

Speaking of amazing...Amazing Race tonight...:-)

Taking Care of What I Already Have

My friend's husband was supposed to get a big raise. In anticipation of that, they had been looking at bigger homes and were very excited at the prospect of "movin' on up" :-)...but the raise fell through and in fact his position was phased out. So...no new house. When I spoke with her later, she said, "Yeah, I was disappointed...but then thought about this: Why should I be upset (with God) that we didn't get "more" when we haven't been that great of stewards of what we already have?"

It kind of made me think of this verse:

Luke 16:10
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

I don't think that is always why things don't happen for people, but it convicted me. There are many many things that God has given me and jobs He has given me to do, but I lack follow through. So I am going to make a list of those and try to finish some of them. Why should I expect more when I have so much left undone?

Audio Candy

Actually more like "audio broccoli", I guess, because it is good for you. :-)
This is the not-completely-mixed-but-pretty-close rendition of Down at the Cross that will be on our (Grafted In) second CD, coming out in the spring.

Down at the Cross

Remember, this is a Southern Baptist blog, so no dancin' :-)

You Heard It First Here

Wow! Here I thought I didn't have anything big to say today, and then I got this! One of the great joys of my life is writing Scripture songs... I did them for my kids, for VBS, for myself, but never had any way to put them out to the public.

Then my wonderful friend Kenny (see his blog on my link list) helped me record one and put it on the WEB. This is the focus verse for our women's Bible study at our church....Colossians 3:12-14. Judy asked me to do it awhile back, and now I finally did. If you are in the Bible Study and trying to learn those verses, you might try listening to it a few times (it's over in the links).

So, thanks Kenny for your help playing on it and putting it on the WEB...and helping me get the link thing worked out. Thanks, Judy for asking me to do it in the first place. And thanks Sherri, Greg, Mike, Mom for your support before I, Angela Krempl, went "public" . Love you guys...

The "More-Amazing-Than-Last-Time" Race

I smiled today when I looked at my tally of people who have viewed my profile...I don't know who all of you are, but I am up to like 70 now...I'm not sure I even know 70 people. So I decided that even if I didn't have something deep, I would put something new. Thanks for visiting, by the way. It pleases me that you took even a minute to come here.

Well, this is not a particularly spiritual topic, but one of my favorite shows started up again last night. The Amazing Race. Last season, they had an amazing idea (to use family groups instead of pairs) but it was far from amazing...what a disappointment...except the Black family and the family with the little boy and girl whose names escape me...I think they should have ALL had to have at least one small child to be fair.

I will say that as I was watching last night (CBS 8:00 central time) it was more amazing... But the one thing that I noticed was the extreme number of times that some of the participants said, "Oh my G--" or just "G--!"...and they weren't crying out to Him or anything....like for help or guidance or whatever...it was like one might say "Shoot" or "I can't believe that happened!" It really distracted me from the rest of the show. I found myself rooting (is that spelled right?) against those people. Especially the ones who said some variation of that and then in the next 2 seconds said, "Thank You Jesus!" You know, I'm not meaning to judge here (well, maybe I am) but they could have just as easily said, "Hooray!" I guess when I become the President of CBS, I will just have to insist on "Aw shucks" "This is frustrating" "I can't believe that" etc. :-)

Anyway, it is (for the most part) a good show. And I will be cheering for those who at least when the camera is on them, refrain from breaking the third commandment. Feel free to watch with me...you can imagine me booing when they say, "G--."

It is kind of an exciting show and maybe there will be some spiritual insight at a later date.