Random thought #1: all my favorite movie scenes are song scenes. (I told you it was random.) Like in Mama Mia it's the Dancing Queen scene. When Meryl Streep and company are singing Dancing Queen, and parading through the village being joined by every woman. It gets me every time. It makes me love being a woman! Community and solidarity. For Dirty Dancing (yes, that is my all time favorite movie), it is the final scene. The I've had the Time of my Life scene. I could watch it over and over again. I have watched it over and over again. I love how they dance together, and she does her perfect jump, and all the older people join in. Awesome. But, the spark to this train of thought was when we were listening to the My Best Friend's Wedding soundtrack on our way home from Greenfield Village. Fun soundtrack. You can probably guess my favorite scene...the restaurant. Who actually breaks out into song in a restaurant, getting everyone involved, and waving lobsters? You all know in your deepest heart that is your secret longing. I'll say a Little Prayer for You...Or how about on Phantom of the Opera, the scene in the phantom's lair? When the Phantom, Raul, and Christine are singing that medley-all three different words, and songs. That makes the movie right there.
Random thought #2: I am reading a ton of books right now. Like 5 or 6. Simultaneously. Though not at the same time. Not my favorite thing to do. I'd rather read one book from start to finish, and then start another, but Mr. Hippie's reading habits are rubbing off on me.
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| my stack of current reading material |
Arnold Palmer
1 gallon water (I like to fill an old pickle jar-minus about 2 cups)
6 teabags
*put teabags in water, and place jar outside in the sunshine for a couple hours until brewed.
remove teabags
1/2 c sugar (optional)
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
*add sugar and stir unit dissolved, then add lemonade.
refreshing, and much cheaper than buying by the can.
Perfect Punch
1 2-liter ginger ale
1 2-liter lemon-lime soda
1 12ounce can frozen white grape juice, or a white grape juice blend
add ins (choose one) ice ring, frozen fruit or sherbet
*mix the sodas and juice. Add your add-in.
Perfect because it is adaptable and it's NOT red.
Iced Coffee
*for each person
2T ground coffee
4 ice cubes
1 decent size scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice-cream
1/2 c milk
1t sugar
whipped topping-if you want to go "whole hog"
*brew coffee-2T coffee to 1/2 c water
Pour coffee onto ice cubes, stir in sugar and milk, and add ice-cream. Delicious.
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| bush beans in their pretty rows |
Random thought #4: I wondered if it would ever happen again. But it did. After almost 12 months my friend has reappeared. And now I am wondering why I was concerned, because was its absence so bad? Nope.
Random thought #5: Tomorrow is another race day. Just a 5k. It is the Brian Diemer race. Brian Diemer was a US Olympian in 1984, 1988, and 1992. He won the bronze for the steeplechase. And I am going to be racing him tomorrow. With 1500 other people, of course. And I am sure I will be minutes and minutes behind him. But, still. I am not sure how I will do. I never am sure. I'm always optimistic. I haven't put in the miles since the 25k that I put in before. Not to say that I haven't been running. I just haven't been running as much. But, we'll see.
Random thought #6: My garden really took off this week. My beans are all up, my herbs are flourishing, and my tomatoes visibly grew. I fed the tomatoes last week. And I think the combination of sun, rain, warmth, and food made everything grow.
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| more color on the lilies |
Random thought #7: I have been putting in a lot of study hours this week. And prep for the retreat Mr. Hippie and I are hosting next week. I am cooking, so I am assembling a menu for around 20 people for 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners. It is quite the task. I have to look at all the recipes this weekend to make sure I have listed all the ingredients I need. There is no "running to the store" to pick up a forgotten something, because we will be almost half an hour away from any store. Plus I have been writing my Bible stories and lesson plans for the VBS's and reviewing my training materials. Thankfully I just have to tweak most of the training materials from last year's notes. But, it is still taking time.
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| tomato plants well on their way |
Random thought #8 (I think this is the last one): It is an Olympics year. This thought, combined with running, and with our VBS's has been on my mind a lot since around Christmas. Since I've prepared this for our VBS's, I am going to do a 5 week Friday series on Running Well. This would be the first installment.
The first step of running a race is to register for the race. Nowadays you can go online and look up your area and a time frame and get a list melding these two components. You pick your race, and you fill out all the pertinent details like name, address, shirt size, age, weight, eye color (not really the last two). You sign a waiver and you pay some money. And you are registered. All ready to go. You have a goal to work towards.
All Christians are in a race. But not all people are Christians. A Christian is someone who believes in God. Who knows they are a sinner. Who knows there is nothing they can do to stop themselves from sinning, to save themselves from the punishment of sin-death and eternity in hell. A Christian is someone who believes in God's one and only Son, Jesus Christ, the one who shed His precious blood to pay the price of death for OUR sin.
Faith is the only way to register for the Christian race. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is not wishing something were true. It is not a blind leap in the dark. It is concrete, and it is based on an object or person. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to God must believe He exists, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Believing God exists is basic, though not necessarily easy. It is only through faith that we can understand the worlds were made by God's spoken word. This is a concept that has been under attack for over 100 years. Evolution is a very prevalent line of thinking. But, the first step to running the Christian race is to believe. Believe in the existence of God. Believe that He created the world, and the universe. Believe that He loved His creation so much, that He sent His perfect, sinless Son to pay the price for our sins.
Everyone is part of the "human race", but have you registered for the Christian race? Unlike a regular race, you don't have to plunk down any money-the price has been paid.
What's holding you back?
That concludes my randomness for this week!
