Monday, July 27, 2009

UGSFAW

...or for those of you who don't know: "Ultimate, gnarly, super, fantastic awesome week." It's the way our church does VBS (vacation bible school) for first-fifth grades. It is a week of incredible worship, learning, having fun and making new friends. I have been blessed to volunteer on ORANGE team for the past 3 years.

A little recap of day 1:

*Our children's ministry team is off-the-charts amazing! Can't even elaborate more. If I had been exposed to something like UGSFAW when I was young, I may have come to know Jesus sooner and spared myself (and others) a ton of pain.

*Our volunteers are awesome! Some of them take a week off of work to be a part of UGSFAW. Imagine, using a weeks' vacation to hang out with hundreds of kids instead of heading to an island somewhere?!

*The children are the best! They are what motivates me to keep going even when I might not necessarily feel like it.

And a few hints:

*If your child is shy or scared of not knowing anyone, you sitting with them the whole day is not going to help them! We have it totally under control! They will be fine! In most cases they will probably end up having a blast...so, it's OK to leave now mom!

*Ladies, ladies! What is with the crazy driving in the parking lot! Have patience! Everyone will get out of the parking lot eventually. We all have things to do and places to be. So be nice...your kids just spent all day learning about God. Try to be an example, as well.

PS: ORANGE TEAM ROCKS!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Women Behaving Badly

I have noticed a disturbing trend lately of women acting completely selfishly, with utter disregard for other people. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since we do live in an increasingly "me" oriented society. It seems like it's more the norm to put our own interests and needs above other people's. Manners seem to be more a thing of the past (which is totally obvious any time you get on the freeway).

This week I witnessed 2 separate examples of this bad behavior...both times from women.

Example #1: At the gym, I take a class called "24 set." It is pretty popular, and so it's important to get there early to line up. Once the class before lets out, we all rush in and start grabbing our equipment. The problem is, there aren't enough clips (that hold the weights on the bar) for everyone, so some people have to go without.

However, lately women are going into the room before the other class is even finished and setting up their stuff while people are still working out. Plus, people rush in and pretty much knock anyone and everyone over to get their equipment. If you waste time being polite, you'll end up without a spot.

And even though a bunch of us were talking about this very thing as we waited in line, the tension started to grow as the class time drew closer. We all started jockeying for position, the conversations ceased, and we fixed our eyes on the room.

Example #2: Kaleb went to vacation bible school at our church last week. I am still amazed at the way some of the moms were driving in the parking lot at pick-up time. I watched as a lady was trying to back up from her spot. Another woman, apparently in a huge rush, was incapable of stopping to let this person back up; she just swerved to avoid her. Then, someone else came whizzing past us so fast that Keith actually yelled at her to slow down...that's when I noticed she was too busy texting to even notice.

So, ladies...why do we act like this? I'm not an innocent; I know there are plenty of times when I'm running late that I drive too fast or I don't stop to let someone cross when I otherwise would. But...I spend a lot of time trying to teach Kaleb to be polite and wait his turn. I think a lot of parents do. So why don't we follow our own advice?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

This is what I call a tragedy.



This is heartbreaking. An 11 year-old girl died here in Huntington Beach yesterday during a junior guards class. I have not been able to stop thinking about it since it happened.

Here in HB, junior guards is kind of a rite of passage...talk to anyone who grew up here and they probably did it, and now their kids are probably doing it. We always talk about Kaleb doing it when he is 9 (that's when they start it). The program is nationally renowned and has been in existence since the mid-1960's with no major incidents. Until yesterday, when a sweet girl named Allyssa fell behind from the group during a swim by the pier and was run over by the lifeguard boat. She died.

There are so many parts of this that I have a tough time getting my head around.

First, I keep thinking about her mom dropping her off in the morning, having no idea that she would never see her alive again. Did they kiss goodbye? Say "I love you?" You see, Kaleb started camp at our church this week. I have been soooo excited for 2 reasons - 1) that he will have such a blast playing with other kids his age and creating things and learning about God from our awesome children's pastors, and 2) that I will have two and a half hours of time to myself each morning! I love it! I can shower, do errands, clean house...all the stuff that I have a tough time doing when Kaleb is following me around. So I just take it for granted when I drop him off that I will see him in a few hours. Now, of course I know that chances are he will be just fine, but you never know. That's what I have a hard time with. We have to let our kids grow and become independent. It's important to let them experience so many things. It wouldn't be right to keep them by our side 24/7. And yet, in doing so we also have to accept some things are out of our control. Accidents happen. We often don't get advance notice that someone is going to die or be injured. I will try to make sure he always knows how much he is loved....cherished...treasured.

Second, I just keep praying for the poor man who was driving the boat. I am sure he must be devastated. He was a veteran on the lifeguard force, highly decorated and respected. I can only guess that he loved working with the kids. I sincerely hope he can forgive himself for what so-far seems to be a tragic accident. I hope he knows how many people feel the same way.

Third, I pray for all of the other kids in the junior guard program. Summer should be a happy time when you're a child. How do you help an 11 year-old to understand and recover form losing a friend?

Last.....I wonder....at what age is it no longer a given that you will go to heaven? Is there a magic number when you need to make the decision to accept Jesus as the leader of your life? I hope Allyssa is in heaven feeling nothing but pure joy and happiness and love. And I hope that her family is comforted by that, and that they too will feel that joy and happiness again. Someday.

Our children are a gift and a blessing. Love them. Treasure them. Thank God for each day that they are in our lives.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

For Husbands, Take 5


Dear Loving Husbands,

Never, ever, ever start a conversation like this, "are you OTR or something?"

Bad idea, very bad idea....

Monday, July 6, 2009

Maybe we Oversold Jesus?



This is a video of Kaleb practicing what he has been learning at swimming lessons. He loves the water. He is doing so well at his lessons. He can swim about halfway across the pool without help. The only problem is that he suddenly thinks that he knows how to swim all by himself. This terrifies me to no end. I literally have palpitations when I think about him going in the water without me.

In Orange County, drowning is the number one cause of death for kids his age. I personally know someone whose 3 year-old son drowned, and also someone whose 2 year-old grandson drowned. I am a nut about water safety.

At Kaleb's first birthday party, one of Keith's cousins let her 2 boys go swimming. She didn't even bother to sit by the pool to supervise them. Her youngest son looked like he was drowning, and one of our guests actually started running to jump in the pool and save him. I told her the boys had to get of the pool....several people thought I was totally over-reacting. I could care less. I am not about to have someone drown in my pool.

So...back to my story. We were in the backyard this weekend. Keith was in the jacuzzi with Kaleb. Kaleb decided to sit on the big step we have in the pool. All of a sudden, he decided he needed to get our dog's ball from the middle of the pool. He stood up, put his arms straight up (just like he learned at lessons), and dove in the water. He started swimming to the ball as Keith was quickly jumping in the pool to get him. Kaleb was completely unfazed by it.

Later when we were talking to him again about never ever going in the water without us, he said this:

"But Mommy, I was going to see Jesus! It's so great! I'll go see Jesus and fly around heaven with him, then come back home!" What the heck do we say to that?

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sounds from the Fiscus Boys

The sweetest sound:

At 4:00 am, Kaleb woke up and was crying, "I....want....my....mommy. I...want...my...mommy."

And although I was exhausted, my heart melted.


On the other end of the spectrum:

While sitting at a red light, Keith looked at my legs and said, "oh my gosh! What the heck is that?!" (he was pointing to a patch of spider veins.

Melting heart? notsomuch