Noteworthy

My F.B. Update

Before I got my own profile for Facebook, I was a little intimidated. It seemed like it could be alot of upkeep. And the thought of one more obligation felt heavy to me.

But, after a few weeks, I must admit I am really enjoying it!  I have over 230 F.B. friends!  :)

Probably the most surprising contact was with my Aunt Sharon Frigoli.  She is my dad's sister and she and her husband are missionaries to Chile.  While my parents have kept me up to date with news from her life, I had not done a good job at keeping in contact with her myself.  (There really is no excuse, with emails and internet phones and what have you...but that is how it was until now.)

Aunt Sharon and I have written back and forth over these last few weeks and now I wonder why I waited so long to join F.B.!!!

I have gotten to see pictures of friends from the past:  my college years and even from my high school (I attended Balboa High School in the country of Panama).  It is fun catching up and seeing pictures of their families as well.

I did embarrass myself by accidently writing a note to someone else on my own wall.  Ha!  But I am learning.

Superior with Honors!!!

Alissa called today from Charlotte, NC to let me know how she did in her short sermon category for the A/G Fine Arts Competition. She received the Superior with Honors rating. She will find out if she receives a call back for the next round of competition.

I was hoping to have an updated photo of her from today but here is a picture from Districts...

(She is holding a flashlight here as part of her sermon)� Isn't she adorable???!!!

Face Book

My husband has been after me for quite some time to get my own face book profile. I have been resisting the idea. (after typing these two sentences, it has occurred that this has to be similar to my first post on this blog!!!)

I have felt the same way about both medias... It seems like a LOT of upkeep and maintenance. And if you have followed this blog at all, you know my entries have been irregular. I can go a week or two without posting anything and then post two entries in a day.

My sister, Shanna, called today and asked me if I was aware that my mom had now joined as well. Yes. I did know. And yes, it did make me shake my head in wonder that my mother has face book profile before me.

So, I will be joining the ranks today. If you are already on this network, I will be asking to be your friend soon. :)

Psalm 23

While we were in Florida, Jeff challenged the family to memorize Psalm 23. For extra incentive, each family member who could say the whole chapter word for word by the end of the week would receive $5.  My two youngest began to dream of the slushies they would buy on the drive home to Pittsburgh... 

We spent time breaking the Word apart line by line and went around the dinner table with each family member being asked to give input as to what the verses mean.

For me, it was a time of renewed meaning in a chapter that had that "yeah, yeah, I know" quality to it for me.  Do you know what I mean?  I have found that there is a "danger" when I read familiar passages of Scripture.  It is easy to merely read the words without allowing them to penetrate my soul.  I have actually read large portions of the Word but found my mind wandering at the same time so that when I finished reading I would wonder what I had read...?!?

What is amazing about the Word of God is that it IS living and active.  When I take the time and purpose to fully engage, the Spirit of God illumines new insight and meaning. Even for passages like Psalm 23 that I have known for the more than 35 years of my walk with Christ. 

What works best for me is to have something to write on right next to me during my quiet time.  So when I am reading or praying and my mind begins to be filled with thoughts of what is ahead in my day (things I need to do and don't want to forget), I write it down and then reign my thoughts back to where I was before the random thoughts interrupted my time with God.

Memorizing  portions of Scripture and meditating on the meaning is rich and rewarding.  If you have never done this before or it has been a while, can I challenge you to go for it??? 

The Paradoxical Commandments

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Oops!

We have friends who have a wonderful home in Florida that they have allowed us to use to vacation as a family.

It is located in the panhandle of Florida and takes us about 20 hours to drive there from Pittsburgh.  We break that up into two days of travel.

As we were on our way to Florida on Friday, I was given the job to find a hotel.  Having an i-phone means having the ability to make the reservations while on the road. How cool is that?! 

The plan sounded great.  Drive until we are getting tired.  Call ahead just a few hours before we are ready to stop.

Only, it didn't work that way.  Because as good as the plan sounded, technology and all, there was still the problem of human error, namely mine.

Unfortunately, I made the tiny mistake of reserving a hotel that wasn't exactly on the interstate we were traveling on. (Explaining just how this occurred would take too long...) So we had to drive out of our way for about 20 minutes, though at 11 at night, it felt like much, much longer than that.  And I found that sometimes MapQuest leaves out a few key details like, "Right or Left."  No fun to be trying to figure that out after 15 hours of driving!

The only redeeming thing was that the hotel was nice (well, that and the fact that I did get a very good deal on it!). 

Getting to make their own waffles for breakfast with those cool waffle machines put the family in a forgiving mood.

But I have a suspicion that this will NOT be my job on the drive home.

Alexa Nicole Norberg

I promised to post a picture of the one Spencer grandchild I had not included in the previous posts (because I didn't have a picture!) 

My parents have three granddaughters.  Alissa, Alexa and Ariana.  Try to say that 5 times fast!

Alexa is the oldest child of my baby sister, Evie and her husband, Pat.  They also have a four year old son, Luke.

Pat is the Student Life Pastor and my sister is the church administrator for Christ's Chapel in Erlanger, Kentucky.

Rumble Strips

 

A while back I identified and  wrote in my journal several points of reference in my life that would serve as "rumble strips".  Rumble strips on a road are meant to serve as a warning to drivers who have strayed too far out of the driving lane.  It is meant to jolt you back to attention.  Perhaps you were adjusting the tuner on your radio or reaching back to swat at children (Hey you guys!  Stop the arguing!  I WILL pull this car over! You know the typical parent drill here). 

I believe everyone should carefully identify things in their spiritual life that can serve as warning signs that, if not heeded, could cause them to veer off course.

I will share two off my own personal list.  Each person's rumble strips will be different, depending on your own areas of weakness...

• Reckless eating.  When I am at the place where I have a total lack of regard for what I am putting in my mouth, this is a danger sign for me.  I am not saying that I have to be weighing my portions and writing everything down, like a diet.  But the "I don't care at all" mentality is not good for me. This principle is true whether I am at my goal weight or 30 pounds over. 
• "Low-grade guilt".  I have the bad habit of procrastinating the unpleasant tasks in my life.  Not something I am proud of but, nonetheless, is true.  When I put things off, the weight of that responsibility or task is still there.  And the guilt of putting it off mounts with each decision to delay...  When I begin to carry this kind of guilt, it is a warning sign to me.   It is a signal that I need to look at my priorities again and make sure that I am actually fulfilling the things I have said are my priorities!

I can't remember where I read it but vaguely recall an author who described walking around with "low-grade guilt".  Just like a fever robs our body of energy, so does guilt!  Even "low-grade guilt"!  It robs our spiritual life of vitality and strength.

Can I suggest you take a few minutes to examine what these rumble strips might be for you?  I think you will find it worth your time!

Dangerous Surrender

I am almost done reading a book by Kay Warren (her husband is Rick Warren, who is probably best known for his best seller "The Purpose Driven Life"). The full title is "Dangerous Surrender:  What happens when you say yes to God".

The core idea she presents is this:  We have a plan for our life.  God has a plan for our life.  Are they the same?  Kay Warren says that if you've ever struggled with knowing and doing God's will, the bottom line is surrender.  She says, "It's the boldest, riskiest step you'll ever take.  This dangerous surrender can bring both joy and pain, both heartache and ecstasy, but it enables you to know God in a far deeper way than ever before."

One of the things I appreciate about the book is her honesty.  She is quite vulnerable to her readers and shares her thoughts and feelings in her journey with God, and especially in her mission to help those affected by HIV/AID victims and their families.

 

Can you stand a few more family pics?

As my mom and sisters continue to share their pictures, I thought I would share a few more with you.  As many of you know, Jeff and I have 5 children.  My sister Shanna and her husband, Eric, have three children.  Evie and Pat have two. 

The cousins range in age from 17 down to 3.  Here are some pics having fun in the sun...

Alissa, Dave with Luke Norberg
Jonathan &Caleb Leake; Spencer & Alec Ferguson
Josh, Dave with  Ariana Ferguson & Alissa - chillin' in the pool

Now I need to find a picture of Alexa Norberg - the only cousin missing from these shots...