"Various Trials"

Sunday morning's message was taken from the book of James, chapter 1:
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials......"

The basic point: We are to be joyful in any trial that comes our way, remembering that trials are a gift from God. Our response should not be complaining.

That was what I heard Sunday morning. This was the rest of my day:

I went home and ate lunch, then prepared to make a birthday cake for Barb. I looked at the recipe and realized that it called for "unsalted butter". I went to the fridge and saw 7 sticks of salted butter. O.k. Did it make a difference? I had no idea. What if I used the salted butter and the cake was way too salty? I didn't want to take the chance. I called my parent's house- no unsalted butter there. I called Barb's sister- no answer. I called work- ah, unsalted butter. I wouldn't have to go to the store. I hopped in the car and went to pick it up. I love the fact that I live so close to work.

I came back home and proceeded to soften the butter, then went to the fridge to get the eggs. I needed 4 eggs- I had 1 egg. Wonderful. I went and put my shoes back on, climbed back in the car and drove to the nearest store. Who knew they would be closed on Sunday? O.k. I drove to another store. I bought a dozen eggs for $2.34- I refused to drive all the way to Walmart for eggs that were less than a dollar.

I came back home again and finished baking the cake. I let it cool. I got ready for choir practice, and then came back to the kitchen to frost the cake. I mixed up some frosting, without following a recipe- it looked pretty good, I thought. I started frosting the cake. I never finished frosting the cake. The top looked good. I started to do the sides and the frosting slid off- apparently, I could have used a lot more powdered sugar in my recipe. I ended up with the ugliest cake in the world, but I took it to the party, and we ate it anyway. At least it tasted good.

After the party, I came home. I was very tired. I started getting ready for bed. I noticed a can of starch on the bathroom floor and my OCD kicked in- the starch needed to be in the other room by the ironing board. I picked it up and carried it down the hall. I leaned over to set it on the floor next to the ironing board. Whack! I hit my face on a chair that was sitting there. Actually I hit my mouth, and my tooth cut right into my bottom lip. My first reaction- "Ouch!" I laughed. I really can be so clumsy. Then I tasted blood and went to the mirror. It was not a pleasant sight. Karyn got some ice for me. I held it there a long time. The blood just kept coming. I switched to a hot washcloth, and finally my lip stopped bleeding. I took some ibuprofen and went to bed.

During the whole cake fiasco, I kept saying to myself, "Rejoice. Rejoice. Don't complain." As I attempted to frost the cake, Barb was standing next to me saying, "Count it all joy." I ended up laughing a lot- on any normal day, I would have been really ticked off. I can't say that I was overly joyful about slicing my lip open- it really did hurt. But I survived. It was all part of a long, weird day. "Various trials." Any little trial, not just big life- altering ones. I still don't know exactly what God was trying to teach me- maybe I just needed some practice to see what kind of response I would make. If it hadn't been for the message, I could have ended up having a really grumpy day, but all in all it was a pretty good day and I'm thankful for whatever God was trying to teach me!

Pictures from the Weekend

There's a wide array of pictures here - fun fair, tea party, hanging out at Wendy's- obviously, I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to put on here. So, here's a bunch.......

Crazy Weekend

This past weekend was extremely busy for me. My cousins were here from out of state- this happens once a year and produces lots of excitement and fun, but very little sleep. Friday was a full day, even though half of it was spent just hanging out at my parents house. The youngest of the bunch- Morgan- was highly entertaining, pulling magnets off the fridge and walking around like she owned the house. Large quantities of noise came from her sweet little mouth, but we didn't mind. All she had to do was say, "Hey, Mel-Mel," and I would have let her talk all night long.

It was her big sisters, though, who really liked to talk all night. They were thrilled that they could spend the night at my apartment. The whole family went to a fun fair that evening, along with Nils, who had a blast. After Nils was safe at home in his bed, I went home and prepared a tea party for the girls. We had cake and tea and dressed up a little for added excitement. I had 4 little girls, and it was after 10 pm, so the excitement level was way up! There was a lot of laughter as the girls reviewed tea party rules, such as "no slurping" and "drink with your pinky up". I was talking with a very poor British accent, but the girls thought it was hilarious.

The youngest set of twins left after the tea party, but Madison and Macalah stayed. I got the air mattress out and set it up. They insisted that I sleep in between them, which was cozy for them and rather too close for me. I ended up sneaking over to the couch around 6 am.

On Sunday, my parents and brothers and I traveled into south Chicago to go to church with everyone. It was a long day, but fun. Whenever we're all together, I seem to spend most of the time laughing.

The time was fast and crazy, and though I was completely worn out, I had a great time with everybody. I did learn a couple of things. Lesson 1-When you eat with children, ketchup is not your friend. Madison apologized for the ketchup that seemed to keep appearing on my jeans at the buffet on Friday. I was in awe that it could be in so many places. Lesson 2- if you are laughing too much at the table, ice cream can come out of your mouth and end up all over the table. ( This did not happen to me, but I observed it.) Lesson 3- children really are wonderful! I already knew that, but it's nice to have reminders- I felt very loved this weekend!

Trick or Treat




















































Spiderman, the Princess- oh, I mean, "Sleeping Beauty"- and the Bumblebee......definitely 3 characters.....were set to go around the neighborhood. Yes, I dressed up, too. The kids were highly impressed with me.


We set out with mommy and daddy, who were also in costume. Each adult was in charge of a child, which was necessary! We walked around to see the neighbors and be admired.....and get candy, of course. It was rather chilly outside so we didn't go far. We came home, warmed up and went through the goods. Nils kept running out of the house whenever other trick or treaters came by. We took turns chasing him. He did get to go out again later, much to his delight, and then grandpa took him for a third round. All in all, it was a fun evening.

A Fall Day









Beautiful sunshine, cute kids, pumpkins and play things......the makings of Kodak moments. I can't remember why Annika was laughing, but I love that picture!