ABC Drama Group

Just wanted to pass along information that ABC Drama Group is starting their 5th season!  We are pretty excited at our house and ready to get
rolling!

Go check out www.abunchofcharactersdrama.blogspot.com to see some of the latest updates.  :)  Hey!  Blogspot works when you don't want to mess with a website!!!!!  :D:D

I have a funny Christmas story to tell.....For Christmas, everyone either has or got a Nerf gun as a present. (image from walmart.com)   Well, we all have had fun blasting each other with these Nerf guns- which hurt enough to know you've been hit, but not enough to keep us from still going at it! 

Josh and I were having a rousing game of it the day after Christmas and both of us decided to do a "sneak" attack.  Me doing a run-by shooting and Josh crawling on hands and knees.  Well, as we both went to "get" the other one, I started running, going to shoot into his alley way, and lifted up my Nerf gun right into his nose!!  Poor guy!  He has a nice little cut on his nose -though I bawled much more than he did.  In fact, he didn't shed a tear while I shed several, feeling like the crummiest sister alive.  I do think it will heal nicely, maybe a little scar. 
I have yet to pick up a Nerf gun yet, while Josh has done more than his share this morning!  Tell me who was really scarred........ :smile:

~Rebecca

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

This blog has been hacked!!! Oh yes, and just in time, too! :-) This is Becca's favorite sister here, popping in to tell all of her lovely readers that TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY! So, please be sure to drop a line to wish her a happy one. :-)

Now, just so that she'll hopefully forgive me for doing this to her, I'll insert a bit of my sweet personality and charm to this post. :-) (All the picture below were taken during our vacation last month..)

Dear Rebecca,
   I want to wish you a very happy birthday. You have been an amazing sister to me. We've been through a lot together, but the good times blot out the bad.
  Thank you so much for being my wonderful older sister. I so appreciate when you're interested in my thoughts, ideas, wishes, dreams, interests, etc. You have been such a pillar in my life.  A pillar of strength, calm, endurance, and joy. You have always been one to calm me down a bit when I get 'over excited' (that sounds SO much nicer than 'mad'.).
   You are such a wonderful, Godly woman, my dear!! I pray that God will continue to bless you and that He will continue to guide you down the road He has for you. May you always love and follow Him with all the grace and beauty that He has given you.

I love you so, so, so, so, so, so, so much!!!!!!
Love,
Sarah

Absentminded or Absent?

Yes, I have been "gone" a while.  Whether from Absentmindedness or just being absent, you decide. 

Life has been good.  Correction.   My Lord has been good!  He has been very gracious this season and Blessed us abundantly!  

"What?!?!" you ask, "Isn't He ALWAYS good and gracious"??  

Yes, pat yourself on the back for noticing my sinful ways and let me finish.

Thank you.  :D  

For those of you who know us, there have been some tough times in our past.  Not awful, for that would be putting down those who have had worse.  Just plain ole tough.  
Between the possibility of losing the ranch, the economy being unstable which made Dad's job unstable, to relationships really struggling, the loss of a beloved Bampa, and the struggles of new phases in life, it hasn't all been "hunky-dunky".  

I wouldn't go back and change any of the lessons we have learned, though, for they have all been lessons we needed to learn and hear.  You cannot be made into a pot without losing a bit of clay.

Our Lord, as He always does, was gracious enough to make that season only a season- though not a "season" of 3 months only!  He is gracious to bring the rain and the sun that beats its rays upon us to grow for our time, but then summer settles in where there is the slightest of breaks.  The fall will be upon us soon, and I long to see the results of His work that He has done upon us!  

Or have they already come.  No one knows but One.  and I am sure for each it is a different season.  

In the meantime, our time has been most delightfully spent.  The ranch is now in a stable condition.  (yay!)  We now cannot say we own any part of it.  It is truly the Lord's ranch!!! 

Psalm 50:10

"For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills."

He has taken care of it just as He gave it to us.  But of course, it wouldn't have happened without us doing our hard work and part of it.  Joshua has truly stepped up this year and taken on the brunt of the labor, allowing Daddy to be faithful to his work.  
Josh has matured so much this year- both physically at a strapping 6 foot- and in everything else.  He has stepped across the threshold and left boyhood behind in the way it was planned. We couldn't be more proud of him!  He has such a servant's heart I don't know where there is room for anything left in his body....

With the ranch doing well, we took off over Thanksgiving weekend to spend a much needed vacation!!  For this family that hasn't had one in 6 years we were all in ecstasy!  :D  We drove out to LA, California and spent some delightful days seeing the sights and just relaxing with our family.  :sigh:  (see some pics here)

~We just got back from a delightful party at a friends house, and instead of just doing boring introductions, the hostess asked that we share what God has been teaching us lately.  

I have been thinking about that a lot (actually before the party, but that party brought it to the front of my mind if you know what I mean).  I think what He has been teaching me can be summed up in a beautiful hymn that I have been memorizing.

    Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! 
 Thou art the potter, I am the clay. 
 Mold me and make me after thy will, 
 while I am waiting, yielded and still. 

 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! 
 Search me and try me, Savior today! 
 Wash me just now, Lord, whiter than snow, 
 as in thy presence humbly I bow. 

 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! 
 Wounded and weary, help me I pray! 
 Power, all power, surely is thine! 
 Touch me and heal me, Savior divine! 

 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! 
 Hold o'er my being absolute sway. 
 Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see 
 Christ only, always, living in me! 

 This song speaks to me of how I must be willing to be as wet, yielding clay in His hands if I want to be made into a vessel for Him.  It shows me that He is powerful, so powerful, yet gentle with me.  :sigh:  It has been a good song to learn for me in this season of life.  I also love the melody (which you can hear here!) as it is very calming. 

The Lord has been showing me more about Him as He truly is.  Not just who I have made Him in my mind.  He has been asking me to be willing to give all up to Him- something very hard to do for a first-born perfectionist, type-A personality!   

Ahhh!  If I can only put into better practice what I learn from my Master!  

Well my friends, it is a late night and to bed I must go.  I pray the Lord is Blessing you abundantly this Christmas season!  May He remind you of what you need to remember, and show you what you need to be shown! 

~Rebecca   

Modest Fashion Week

My Sister and her friend are doing a "Modest Fashion Show" where you have fun trying to match your wardrobe with what the "theme" of the day is!!  If you haven't already, join in!  It is going to be lots of fun with prizes at the end!

Today was Flowers.  I actually had quite a few clothing items that have flowers on them, but they are usually pretty small- background designs.  Sarah actually told me what I should wear...and I did.  :)  What can I say, having a fashion diva in the house is pretty nice at times.  It was really handy when I went shopping.  I just let her have free reign bring me clothes.  Although some of them I really didn't care for- weren't my style- I did try on some I normally wouldn't have and really liked!  They are in my closet thanks to her.....:D

Here is my outfit for today.

 

Sweater- Target (LOVE it!)

Tank Top-Walmart

Skirt- Roamon's

Shoes-Shoe Dept

Hat- Walmart

Earrings- Avon (My cousin just became a consultant!)

Better close up with the earrings.  Don't you love how Sarah posed me?  She did such a great job taking my pictures!!  We just both got our outfits on and took each others pictures.  :D:D

 

The Shoes.  Aren't they fun?  Mine are Clarks which are ALWAYS very comfortable
and last a loonnnggg time.  Can't go wrong there.  :D

That's all for me.  I have a couple of posts in mind, but it will have to wait. Did you do the fashion show?  

Love,

Rebecca

Mark Hamby- The Process

Here is yet another piece of golden wisdom from Mark Hamby.  I have had the pleasure to meet the man, and although very focused and not your "soft, sensitive" fellow, he follows the Lord completely and with such humbleness!!  There is much to learn from a man of God like him and I hope you enjoy this tidbit of wealth from him as much as I.   ~Rebecca

The Process 

Today I was reading a devotional written by Oswald Chambers and it smacked me right between the eyes. So if you don't like someone taking a swing at you, you may not want to listen any further. If you can take it, then this is what Chambers had to say:  

"Often, Christians think that if Jesus Christ compels them to do something, He will lead them to success in the endeavor, if only they are obedient to Him. If you agree, then you are in for a rude awakening; our dreams of success are not God's ultimate purpose for us. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is not of primary importance. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God often sees as the goal itself.

If I can stay calm, faithful and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish-- His purpose is the process itself.

God's purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience and trust are the goal, then each moment as it comes becomes the real standard of success."

I think it was Theodore Roosevelt who said that success was failure upon failure with great enthusiasm. He may have been closer to the truth than he realized.

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" (Philippians 3:12).

The Company of the Committed-Mark Hamby

Once again, Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Publishing, hits the nail on the head!  

The Company of the Committed

Elton Trueblood begins his 1961 book, The Company of the Committed, with a sobering question: "What reason is there to suppose that our civilization, in contrast to civilizations which have preceded it, will endure?"

The Roman Empire, one of the powerful regimes of all times, was brought to its knees by a small group of people, known as the Way. They were not merely professing believers who viewed Christianity as something which is merely lived out in church attendance one day a week. Rather, they were focused, energized, and passionate about their faith; in a word, they were committed.

Why are the masses discontented with the church? Trueblood writes, "they are looking for a bold fellowship, and what they find is a complacent society concerned to an absurd degree with its own internal politics or so unimaginative to suggest that the world can be saved by three hymns and a sermon or a Mass."

He goes on to say that, "...Many contemporary seekers cannot abide in the Church [sic] as they see it, their dissatisfaction arising not from the fact that membership demands too much, but rather from the fact that the demands are too small."

As Trueblood sees it, American Christianity has trivialized the community of the committed by reducing the focus to a place, a time, and a person. If America is to endure according to Trueblood, we must become fully committed to Christ and His cause by reintroducing the power, wonder, truth, and beauty of God in all of life, not solely on Sunday.

Where in your life are you too complacent?  I read somewhere that sometimes it isn't what I got out of Worship, it is what did God get out of Worship.  Ouch.

 

I know I thirst for more, but I don't always know how to go about it- or I am scared to be seen as a "radicalist" and strive harder than the rest.  

 

What do you think?  Are Mark Hamby's words true?  Are we too complacent as a Church?  

 

Love,

Rebecca

Mother's Day Brunch

We had a most delightful Mother's Day Brunch this past Sunday!  We used our easy family favorite recipes Oven Omelet, and Butterscotch Sticky Buns, some fruit with sweetened whipped cream, and bacon.  The china was brought out, some teacups placed on the table, cloth napkins used, and just plain old had a fun time dreaming this brunch up!

Oven Omelet is a recipe from a friend which has become a favorite- especially as it is so easy to mix up and you can add meats and/or veggies to make a bigger meal of it. 

You can find it HERE.

Our roll recipe is one we use on occasion as it isn't very good for you....Is so delicious we have to eat it sparingly!

Butterscotch Sticky Buns
From Aunt Donna


1 package cook and serve butterscotch pudding
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
24 white, frozen dinner rolls (the kind that you bake 
1 stick of butter, melted


Grease a Bundt Pan with oil spray.


Combine pudding mix, brown sugar, and nuts.

Layer Rolls in pan, sprinkling each layer with pudding mixture. Drizzle melted butter evenly over all and cover with saran wrap.  Refrigerate over night, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

We have done this recipe in the bundt pan as well as a 9x13 or a bit smaller.  It depend on if you want the rolls all covered in sticky stuff or somewhat less of it. 
We especially love the make it that night and wake up to turn on oven and pop them in!  Makes the morning so easy.  :D

After our guests left we loaded up in the car and went bowling in town.  It was a very nice relaxed afternoon.  What did you do?

Rebecca

Pug Figs- Mark Hamby

Ever wondered why Jesus cursed the fig tree that did not bear fruit?  Now you can know!!!  Mark Hamby is with Lamplighter Publishing.  I highly recommend joining his e-mail list!

Pug Figs   

"One of the puzzling miracles of Jesus' teaching was the cursing of the fig tree because it didn't have fruit; yet the text in Mark 11 states that it wasn't the time for figs. It seems to me, at least on the surface, that the poor tree didn't have a standing chance. I have speculated for years about this unusual scene but recently I found the answer as I was walking through Herod's coastal seaport of Caesarea.

When I arrived in Israel to make preparations for our Lamplighter Guild-Israel tours,it was early spring. When Jesus came upon the fig tree it would have been during this same season. It is true that spring is not the time for figs but the first fig tree I saw was full of figs. You see, in early spring a pungent and bitter fruit appears known as a pug fig. In Hebrew, pug means premature baby. (1) The leaves would be sparse at this time of year but these early pug figs would be in abundance.

Pug Figs in Israel (Photo by Mark Hamby)

Pug figs were also the forerunners of the later sweet figs that one could eat. (2) If there were no pug figs there would be no edible figs in the fall. (3) Poor people or those who were very hungry would eat these first fruit figs though the taste was not desirable. (4) When Jesus comes on the scene he is hungry but finds only leaves--no pug figs.

The reason Jesus curses the tree is because the tree was not functioning as it should by providing fruit for the poor and hungry. Another reason is because the tree was full of leaves which represented a life of hypocrisy--it looked good on the outside but had no fruit within.

The fact that Jesus performs this miracle right on the heels of cleansing the hypocrisy of the temple now makes perfect sense; it also serves as a reminder that our lives need to be in a perpetual state of fruitfulness. We never know when God may need to pluck a few figs for some hungry travelers who need our assistance."

In Christ,

Rebecca

Quote #5

The most important decision you make every day is what you choose to put in your mind.


~Chip Ingram

Wonderful Blog Post

I have been following this young man's blog for a while now and have enjoyed his posts.  This one I thought very good and wanted to pass it on.  Take the time to read it.  It is worth your time.  :)

"My Life, My Passions, My God"

Blessings!
Rebecca

Pampered Chef

Yes, yes, I haven't been on in a while.  hopefully you missed me.  :)  If you didn't, I guess it was my fault....

I am now a Pampered Chef consultant!  I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to seeing what God does with it.  :) It has kept me very busy between the actual shows and all the training for my hosts, plus my training and learning how to do things.  It has been a wonderful, and yes, trying experience. 

Some reasons that helped me decided to become a consultant were;
1.) You do it on your time.  Pampered Chef is very good to tell you to take your calendar and cross off dates that you have things going with your family.  THEN you set up appointments with people.  I really appreciated that.  Especially since that is the second thing in my heart- my family. :)  (God is first)

2.) They do have a minimum to meet, but it is very small.  If you want to go and become a big director and make lots of money- then go for it!  If you want to just make a few bucks here or there, then do that.  They encourage you to really make it, but they don't force you too.  I liked it because that means when CAPE convention rolls around I probably won't do as much the week before, of, and after.  When we are weaning and preg-checking, I can take the week off.  When I don't feel good, I just take a few days off without having to call anywhere and tell them I'm sick.  Sure, that doesn't mean I can just slack and not do shows because I will, but that also builds character, right?

3.)  I really love their stuff.  They have wonderful items that last a long time.  And their stoneware is amazing! (Ok, I will confess.  It will be very hard for me to not buy everything in their store!  I will have plenty of opportunity for learning self-control. :D)

4.) It gives me something to do.  I notice that when I don't have things to make me fill my day I can sit on the computer the whole time.  I find I just become unhappy.  Not all the time, but there is nothing like the feeling of your life just doing.....nothing.  Sure, there are things we do all the time in the house, on the ranch, just life- but it doesn't fill my day up. 

When I was chatting with Mom and Dad one night, mom brought up a good question.  She asked me if I would tell her when my business became something more than just a side job. When I wanted to push full ahead and make it a career that I just loved and didn't want to let go of it- would I tell them so that they could become my prayer warriors in that area?  Although I wanted to say "of course" and shrug off the question, it is a good one.

 Just like anything I don't want to let this become my idol.  I don't want this as a career.  I just want to be doing something and heck, make some money.  (wouldn't it be so nice to get married with some money to my name!) My heart is still to be married and have a family.  But I also want to be realistic in that though I dream my marriage will happen tomorrow, it may be several years down the road, or never.  I don't want to sit at home twiddling my fingers waiting for it to happen and then become a worrisome spinster that others need to take care of. 
I want to be a part of my family, yet not become a loathsome person to where I hate myself.  Although this job won't fix that it will help me stay active. :D

Does this make sense?  What have you found in your life to help you through these years of being at home?

Rebecca

Quote #4

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.   And let endurance have its perfect result, 
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:2-4

THIS is what I want

Reading through this book by Brother Andrew has really opened my eyes to what a Passion for my Lord looks like.  I want it sooo badly I ache inside.  But it is an ache with the knowledge that it can be so.  I too, can have a passion that will burn down forests.  I pray for that!  I pray for a man who is so on fire for the Lord that he will burn me.  It sounds funny to say it that way, but if you will look at it like it was intended I hope you will see what I mean. 

This video was just amazing.  These guys are Warriors of the High King of kings.  I encourage you to watch this video.  Believe me, it won't be a waste of your time.  I even watched it a second time to really take in what was said. 



What do you think?  Do you agree with what he says?
HIS Daughter,
Rebecca

Coocoo Lane?

I thought this was quite a funny succession of e-mails that passed between my sister and I.  We do tend to converse in e-mail once in a while.  It is fun to make the words in the e-mail sound funny, to play with how you write it, etc. 

This one took place while she and I were getting some details together of another family coming over.  I was somewhat heading it up but she had taken the liberty (gasp!) of telling them what they could bring.  I thus wrote her this e-mail letting her know what I thought of her…..

Oh well I was going to ask them to bring something.  I really wish you wouldn’t do things like this without asking me.  Please let me take care of things like this next time.  I appreciate your trying to help, but it really wasn’t all that helpful. 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Just Kidding. 
 Do go ahead and remind her that the ______ are bringing a dessert as well.  She is more than welcome to make something too, (who turns away more dessert?) but just so she knows that.  J  Otherwise it sounded perfect!

Love you,

Big Teaser

Sarah then replied;

GOOOD GRIEF!!!  You just about gave me a heart attack!!!!

DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!  hahaha!

Ok, I'll let her know..... :)

 Love,
 your innocent, adorable, little sister who doesn't deserve teasing like that.... *impish grin*

My Reply;

“Your innocent , adorable, little sister who doesn’t deserve teasing like that…..*impish grin*"

Ummm, I must have the wrong person.  I was trying to e-mail my sister, Sarah Heckendorn.  So sorry about that.  If you know where I can contact her, please let me know. 

Here’s a description of her;

Ornery, scares easily, likes to sing, loves to wear weird clothing combinations, usually is happy, can tell a good joke, can’t make a fire to save her life, likes ginger in her tacos, is funny, silly, laughs a lot, cries, likes to read- but not often, makes beautiful things with her hands, is good with kids, doesn’t always care for suspense movies, is what you call a dark-haired beauty, wouldn’t believe you when you say that, even though it is true, looks gorgeous in red, can do her hair nicely, and is a drama queen!

If you hear from her, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Her answer;

Oh, Sarah Heckendorn!  Oh, dear. I'm sorry to say that I haven't talked to her since she was fired from the company due to some odd reasons.  The biggest was probably the fact that she refused to follow dress code. The other reasons are as follows:  She wouldn't work on her homework and instead chose to make little knitted, crocheted, or hand sewn items. She made many of the employees gag when telling about her 'secret ingredients' for different foods, made it impossible for the other employees to work with her incessant laughing (mostly at random things) and joke telling.  Her dramatic entries into the office will not be discussed in detail at this moment.  The worst part was when she would hide behind a cubicle to scare a fellow worker, and then end up scaring herself instead. Her problem with singing harmony without a melody was also a "major" problem.  She would also get strangely terrified if you just mentioned the latest suspense movie.

After many complaints, we finally had to let her go...  I do have a forwarding address though:

 Happy Valley

721 Coocoo Lane

Crazyville, JK, 72193

 I sincerly hope that you'll be able to find her... and help her... if there is still a chance.

Kindest Regards,

Mrs. Bubblegum 

 I guess most of these would be inside jokes.  Like the one about "hiding behind a cubicle and jumping out to scare an employee only to scare herself." *ahem* Yeah, she really did hide to scare someone and then after "dramaticaly" jumping out and scaring them...scare herself.

Needles to say with her around we are all kept in stitches.  (get it??? "needles"!!)

~Rebecca

Quote #3

There is no time to Wait... Only time to Prepare.

I thought this was appropriate for the New Year. :)  Happy New Year!!  May the Lord Bless you Greatly. 
Rebecca