July 4th

Today, as we celebrate Independence Day, I would like to share a few of the things I am thankful for:

* I am so very thankful for the men and women that fight to keep us safe. They give up so much so that we can have so much!

* I am thankful for the freedom of religion.

* I am thankful for the freedom to speak my mind.

* I am thankful to live in a society that encourages both of the above.

Happy July 4th everyone...hope you have a safe and fun time!

-Gina

Dream Big

One of my favorite songs ever is "Dream Big" by Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand, here's why:

If there is one thing I wish we could tech every child, it is this...Dream Big. When I led my small group in Children's Ministry, I once told my girls to not only dream big, but to not let anyone tell them that their dreams are too big for them.

How sad is it that we must try and "bring reality" to a young child and squash their dreams? I say, let them dream as big as they want for as long as they can...real life sets in WAY too soon these days! And maybe, just maybe, they will attain their dreams some day...maybe it just takes a "village" (remember the old saying: "It takes a village" to raise a child) with this mindset to turn out a child who does!

Take a moment and read the lyrics (below) and you will see why this is such an amazing song & message.

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes
'Cause better days are sure to come
And when you smile be sure to smile wide
Don't let them know that they have won
And when you walk, walk with pride
Don't show the hurt inside
Because the pain will soon be gone

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true

When you dream, dream big
When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

Beach Baptism

Today, I had the honor of attending another one of FRC's Beach Baptisms.

It was amazing! As you can see from the picture above, the weather was not as cooperative as we would have hoped for, but it didn't stop the almost 300 people who got baptized today! Think about it...close to 300 men, women and children took a huge step today. Each of them had their own cheering sections, bringing along family to witness this and having others just show up to watch the life change happen.

I am so in awe of the things that I get to see. I was reminded today by a mother (her son got baptized today!) that by serving, I have the unique opportunity to pour into kids...that something that I did helped to set all of this in motion. Something that I may have said at one point led to a child getting baptized today. What an awesome feeling! What an awesome responsibility!

Today, I was reminded just how big a part my "small part" plays in the big picture.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve alongside the most amazing volunteers that I have ever met. Thank you for the friends it has brought me. Thank you for the parents & their willingness to do whatever it takes to raise their children with a God-centered world view. And most especially, thank you for all of these wonderful children that I have the privilege to help serve. I pray that you keep them all safe from harm and continue to "nudge" them in the right direction.

In your son's name,

Amen

Melodies = Memories

There is a line from a country song that goes, "Nothing like a melody to bring back a memory".

I have always loved this line. As a true connoisseur of music, I truly believe this. (I studied plenty of music when I was younger, played piano and sang). I love all types of music, including opera and classical, country, rock & roll, alternative and pop.

I am reminded of this saying because, like many, Michael Jackson helped provide the soundtrack for my life. I can remember when Thriller was all the rage (it still is, with people doing the Thriller dance at weddings and such now). He truly earned his title as the "King of Pop" & his talent will be missed.

I have also bought into the whole "Wacko-Jacko" way of thinking in the past several years. But as the news of his death came about and I started watching some of the retrospectives in the past couple of days, I started thinking how sad his life must have been. Performing since the age of 5, dead at 50...I am beginning to think he may have just had a case of arrested development. I think he never had a true childhood and had no idea what social norms were for either kids or adults. Really makes you wonder...

Anyhow, I have enjoyed listening to many of his songs that have been playing constantly on almost all of the radio stations since the news of his death & thought I would share the clip above from one of my all time favorite Michael Jackson songs. They all bring back memories for me...I hope they do for you as well and that will be his legacy!

T.M.I.

T.M.I. in case you are wondering, stands for too much information. It's another way of expressing an what is commonly know as an overshare.

My question is this...what do you do when you are encountered with something like this?

Here's the scenario. Last week, an acquaintance of mine shared something with me that is well beyond the scope of something I should know. Suffice it to say, the information that was shared to me has the potential to hurt quite a few other people. This information is something that I am not comfortable knowing.

The problem is, I know the reason this person chose to share the information with me was to have a sympathetic ear. While I will always do my best to support a friend in their time of need (and I did have an open conversation with some candid thoughts as well as some general advice), I am still reeling from this little piece of information myself.

I did tell this person all of what I have shared above...that I will be there for them, but in the future, I would not like to be privy to this type of information. I also shared that I was a bit angry they had shared it with me...because, well really, I am supposed to walk around with knowing these things that I am not supposed to know and am not comfortable with it.

Here's a general rule I have come up with after all this...if this is something you would not feel comfortable knowing about someone else, than it is not something you should really share with someone else...it makes me feel like I too am carrying this burden.

Did this sound selfish? How should I handle this type of thing going forward? What would you do?

-Gina

Mother's Day

Mother's Day weekend was a nice one this year.

Saturday, I had the pleasure of watching a friend of mine take a HUGE step with her family...they took the next step by participating in our Family Dedication ceremony at church. For those of you who are not familiar, this is a small ceremony in which the parents (with their children with them on stage) take the very public step of committing to raise their kids with God's influence. It's such a touching thing, and a very public one, as they do this in front of all who are in attendance. Congrats Dawn and your entire family...I am so proud of you guys!

Also, as I was in service to watch this, they announced the winner of the "Mother of the Year" award. The recipient was someone whom I have also served alongside of and I feel is very deserving of this award. It was even more touching to hear the touching words from her husband (who serves in the Reserves). Lia is an amazing woman, while raising her sons has given them a wonderful family at home and a church family. While her husband serves, she fills in at Cub Scout functions, including their camp outs. She also found time to serve in the Children's Ministry on top of all of this!

Today, my mom and I slept in a bit and then went to have brunch with my brother and niece. It was a bit awkward (some of you know our family situation...we called an Amnesty Day for today), but was OK in the end. Mostly, because my brother let us take my niece for the afternoon...the best gift he could have given her! My mom and I brought Nina back to the house to visit with Holly (our dog) and play for a bit. We then went to the movies and saw Earth (Nina picked it). I truthfully didn't think I would like it much but was in such awe at the wonderful sights in this movie. We all enjoyed it and then had ice cream and we took her home.

It was sad to see her crocodile tears when she realized we were taking her home...she (like most kids) doesn't really understand what is going on and has been used to weekend visits as far back as she could remember. But, we explained simply that she has school tomorrow and has to be home for that...in all earnestness, with big tears, she says "Family is more important than school." How do you answer this...she is right and hopefully we will all see the light soon!

On a happier note, I must brag on my niece for a moment...she is so stinkin' smart! This kid can read anything you put in front of her. At first when we were at brunch, I thought she must know what the writing on the bottle says from having seen it enough (juice). So, I took out a clipping from the newspaper with the movie times and some other stuff...she read almost 100% of the words on it...including "directing". She is only in kindergarten and has been identified as gifted, but not having seen her in so long...I was floored! We spent lots of the time in the car playing a game we made up...we would choose a letter and then name all the words we could think of that began with it. She loved this game, and sadly, was much better than I at it!

To all of those that I didn't get a chance to say this to (many of you, because my text messaging for some reason wasn't working today!), Happy Mother's Day! This includes those who don't have children...we have dogs, friends, family and many other ways that we "mother".

Love,

Gina

The Last Lecture

If you haven't heard of either The Last Lecture or Randy Pausch, you must be living in a bubble.

The story goes something like this...Pausch - a Carnegie-Mellon professor, father and husband is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He gives what is referred to as a "last lecture" at his university. Hundreds of friends and colleagues attend and the lecture itself is taped for prosperity and put on the Internet for those who were unable to attend to view. The video goes viral...the rest is history!

The topic of his speech was "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams".

Once I heard the story behind this, I was curious and ended up watching the lecture online like millions of others. It wasn't what I expected...it was upbeat, funny, entertaining and so very wise! It definitely wasn't sad or morbid, as I had expected.

On my Santa list this past year, I asked for a copy of the book. I didn't get it and ended up purchasing it for myself a few months ago.

I read the book about 2 weeks ago now and still think it is one of the best books I have ever read! I believe, as with everything else - that things happen when they are supposed to happen...that being said, this book sat on my shelf until I finally got around to reading it...about 2 weeks after I lost my job.

I highly recommend this book to anyone...it really makes you see things in a different way.

-Gina

P.S. - I still have my copy if you would like to borrow it...just leave me a comment & it's yours for the borrowing!