Jammin'

I just got home from "Jammin in Your Jammies," a fundraiser for Children's Hospital where families pay to basically go to a giant pajama party complete with karaoke and dance contests. Me and a friend from work were supposed to be helping with snacks by the pool (the event happens at a big hotel in K-town), but there were too many volunteers so we volunteered to, uh, watch the dance contest. There were winners in age divisions and then there was the big family dance off. Families had to hold hands and dance as a group and were judged to get a prize. One of the event sponsor's was a local radio station that plays top 40. The morning dejay emceed the contest and provided the music. The song for the family competition was a song that I loathe and actually had a conversation about earlier this week. It's a girl singing and it goes like this: "I kissed a girl and I liked it; I kissed a girl just to try it." It's a catchy song, very upbeat and very easy to sing along with. But it really bothered me to watch moms, dads, and little kids dance to this song. Everyone was having a great time and the dejay was rocking out and singing along. It wasn't that long ago that a dad would have asked for another song to be played so his little girls didn't have to hear that, or a mom would have told her kids they'd have to sit this one out because that wouldn't be their winning song. But no one seemed to notice or care. What happened to us?

Adoption

Most of you, "my readers" :) , probably know my friends Todd and Leeanne. Just in case you don't, they have four kids: two daughers and two (adopted) sons. Last Sunday night our church observed the Lord's Supper. The girls were sitting on the first row, Leeanne and the boys were sitting on the second and I was a couple back. I was looking at the boys with their mom and thinking about how lucky they are and how much adoption really means. Just before their adoption became final last summer the girls and me were having a Punky Brewster afternoon (it's okay to be jealous!). The girls started talking about the adoption and Kortney said something that will always stay with me. (Leeanne, I apologize for not telling you this before). Her sister, I'm sure, was talking a mile a minute and Kortney just calmly said, "Erin, all this time I never realized we could have lost them." I was so amazed to listen to this (almost) ten year old grasping the security of adoption.

I don't think we, as adults, grasp the security of our adoption in Christ. As believers we have been adopted by our Savior--it can never be undone, we can never be lost. At work last week we had a conversation concerning suicide and if a person who committed suicide could go to heaven. My answer (which not everyone agreed with) was, "if the person has accepted Christ, absolutely." I have heard this argument so many times: 'Suicide is murder and how could a murderer go to heaven?' A murderer goes to heaven in the same way a liar, a thief, a cheat, a jealous person, any sinner does--the blood of Christ. Deciding which sin(s) will keep a person from heaven is limiting the power of the cross. His blood either covers all sin or none. We don't get to choose. We need to stop underestimating the power of our Savior.

I just finished reading Michael Catt's "Prepare For Rain." He talks about how we try to think outside the box because so many try to put God in a box. I love what he says we all have to learn about the box: There is no box!!

Oops!

Oops! I haven't blogged in a month...or two...or a little longer. So what have I been doing?...

Housesitting... I'm house/dogsitting for a friend who is working with a church in Korea for 3 months (3 weeks left). The hardest part--remembering when to put the trash out. Ha!

Dating... Since my blog on never dating, I've been on a couple of dates. While it was fun to spend time with adults, it confirmed even more that it's worth the wait for the right person.

Sewing...I made my first quilted purse as a Christmas present for my mom and I'm working on an idea for one for me. And after that... well, I could be for hire. ")

Reading...I read a book at work (yes, I get to read at work some days) that a co-worker thought I'd love because it is Christian/inspirational fiction. I don't normally read fiction (unless it's a classic) but she really wanted me to try it. And so I read an amish love story. The best part is that it was book two in a four part series, so I still don't know if amish Annie and outsider Ben will ever get to be together. ha.

More Reading... I got Micheal Catt's book "Prepare For Rain" for Christmas. Catt is the pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church (think "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof"). The book really is just the story of what can happen when a church decides to believe that they are serving the God of the Impossible and to Expect More. (Sound familiar to anyone??) Catt challenges us to not try to make our church into the next Sherwood, but to discover the unique plan God has for our church in our community and to trust God in going after it. I recommend the book. Exciting stuff.

And More Reading... The week before Christmas, me and my best bud Rachel went to Starbucks (thanks for the giftcard Maggie & Hanna!!) and to McKay's. We were looking for a couple of books in particular and, of course, left with a basketful of other books. I have been buying history books there and got really excited about a book I found that day...a history of the KGB. (I know, I know. But I'm okay being a nerd.) This book is very interesting, but also sort of scary. So much of it sounds like something from the show "Alias" (the best show ever next to Punky Brewster) or the Bond movies, and it is has been going on for decades, inside the U.S. And it makes me wonder what we will face as a nation and how we will handle it with a new CIA director with no experience in intelligence. (You knew there would be a political twist, didn't you?) Please don't lose interest in the world just because the election is over.

Coaching... I've coached Upward basketball the past three years and this was going to be my season to just be a spectator. So... I'm coaching the "Thunder," third through sixth grade girls. They are a sweet group... not very big, not very aggressive... perfect for basketball. :) We had our first game last week. We didn't win, but they did a great job focusing on the things I told them I wanted them to work on. And they are really excited about memorizing the verses, which is more important than the basketball anyway.