WE WON!

That's right, ladies and gents. Liberal won in the race against Olney.

The winner was Jessica Lash (whose mother works with mine) with a time of 63.16 against Olney's 73.5.

We won! We won! I ate so many pacakes I might explode!

Ahh, but I'll be hungry again by supper! IHOP here I come!

PANCAKE DAY!

This is my mom in getting ready for Pancake Day parade. That's my Dad's retirement present to himself there that electric street-legal golf cart. I was bummed it was in the shop while I was there for Christmas.

I've already made pancakes for the staff this morning, will finish off the batter at lunch and then head to IHOP for supper. Remember, the race starts at 11:55 this morning (CST).

You get all the scoop (doesn't seem to be updated yet) right here.

I'll keep you posted on the winner!

Pass the syrup!

It's Pancake Time again!

You are all waiting, I know, so here's the first installment of the Pancake Day celebration.

Some of you know that my dad retired last summer. He now spends his time serving on the Pancake Day Board and as the official tour guide of the Pancake Day Hall of Fame Museum. (I am SO jealous! Almost makes me wanna move back to Liberal - not really.)

This is the new Pancake Day website, so be sure you check it out. There are no family members running this year, but we decided collectively to give others a chance this year.

Prepare yourselves. Pancake Day aka Fat Tuesday aka Shrove Tuesday is fast approaching - NEXT WEEK FEB. 20.

You can even get a free short stack at all IHOPs.

That's the quick of it for now. Enjoy the excitement of the anticipation of it all!

Job update

OK, well, here it is.

The news you have all been eagerly anticipating.

I have a new job. I start Feb. 26 in the Volunteer (I'm not one, I get paid more than I do now!) Dept. here at the same hospital on the 2nd floor instead of where I am on the 6th floor.

It's not my dream job, but it will be a great job and it won't be the one I have now. There are parts that are great, I'll be interviewing, training and placing new volunteers and planning their parties (love that) and fun stuff.

I'm looking at new places to live right now in a different area of town so that I'll be closer to my church and most of my friends since I spend so much time on that side of town anyway.

Not giving up on Africa, though. Who knows where I'll be next year?

Get married anywhere!

THIS is crazy and I kinda like it. Who knew? Not that I'd really go this way, but who knows? When I actually get to this point, I may not care where, because really, isn't the who much more important.

It's fun though, huh.

giving

We all have gifts that can, and in my opinion should, be shared. Here's one way to make that happen.

http://www.davescarservice.com/

I love thinking outside the box and how can I help others with what I've got? Lately, I've had several new friends over to make cards. I had a ton of paper that I wanted to use up so we've had a ball making cards like maniacs. OK, so really, I'm the only maniac, but we're having such a great time! It's a way that I can give to my friends. I'm also going to a women's transitional housing residence in March and May to share a craft with them to teach them fun things and provide them with something small that they created.

When you create something yourself, it's an awesome thing. You hold something in your hands that you made. That you created. That's a part of you and says something about you and what you care about. Not everyone is good at everything and that's not the point, thank goodness. The point is to learn to think creatively and stretch ourselves. To enjoy what surrounds us and what is simple.

Joy. Giving.


joy in giving.

Touchdown!

This is about as football as I get, so here ya go.

In a never-ending effort to attract the unchurched, some churches have considered translating their unfamiliar terminology into familiar football phrases. Although these definitions are not the best football and certainly not the best theology, they would help initiate football fans into the complexities of church life.

EXTRA POINT: What you receive when you tell the preacher his sermon was too short.
FACE MASK: Smiling and saying everything is fine when it isn't.
BLOCKING: Talking endlessly to the pastor at the church door and keeping everyone else from exiting.
DRAFT CHOICE: The decision to sit close to an air-conditioning vent.
DRAW PLAY: What restless children do during a long sermon.
END AROUND: Diaper-changing time in the nursery.
END ZONE: The pews.
FORWARD MOTION: The invitation at an evangelistic service.
FULLBACK: What the choir sees while the sermon is delivered.
HALFBACK: What the organist sees.
HASH MARKS: Stains left on the tablecloth after a potluck.
HEAD LINESMAN: The one who changes the overhead projector transparencies.
ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS: Clapping at an inappropriate point in the service.
ILLEGAL MOTION: Leaving before the benediction.
IN THE POCKET: Where some church members keep God's tithe.
INCOMPLETE PASS: A dropped offering plate.
INTERFERENCE: Talking during the prelude.
LINEBACKER: A statistic used by a preacher to support a point just made.
PASSING GAME: The maneuver required of latecomers when the person sitting at the end of the pew won't slide to the middle.
QUARTERBACK: What tightwads want after putting 50 cents in the offering.
RUNNING BACKS: Those who make repeated trips to the rest room.
THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS: Getting things done via the elders or church board.
TOUCHBACK: The laying on of hands.
TWO-MINUTE WARNING: The chairman of the board looking at his watch in full view of the preacher.
—William Ellis, Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 3.