Unexpected Event Party

Good Monday morning!

NOTE TO LEANNA - Yes, I know the lingo. However, I do not know what the lingo means. Do not worry. The old Belinda is still in there. The one who gets extremely bored and irate if she has to listen to any conversation which contains mechanical, technical, plumbing, electrical, painting, repairing, etc. terms and/or "lingo." Please, LeAnna, please. Don't think because I used the word "server" correctly in a sentence it means you (or anyone else we know) can now come up to me and talk in detail about home repair or car shopping or gutter replacement. It just ain't so. All I want to talk about is you and your kids and your vacation and what you did this weekend and what you're going to do next weekend (and did I say your kids?)... That's all. It's still me. Enchanting, yes. But still the same ol' Belinda.

NOTE TO NEWBIES - As always, if you are new to the blog, read the post dated August 8. It will tell you how things work around here. The only thing I've added since writing the post is Belinda's Project 365 under My Blog List in the sidebar. Basically, it is a picture a day for 365 days depicting my life. It's just something different to do, and I decided to start August 26, 2009 to chronicle my 48th year of life.

The Showcase Pic is of the Faulkner Five in front of the outdoor fireplace at Brio's. That's why we're "divided." We didn't have a huge fight in the restaurant. (Just a little one.) We're divided to show the fireplace with the fire going in the middle of August. Only in Alabama.

The Gallery Pics are of two weekend events... There are several from the Brio's lunch, but the rest are from the Power Cooking Class I took Friday morning at Lana Smothers' home.

It was a wonderful experience. There were five women (including Lana) participating. We made six freezer meals apiece for a total of $60. (That's six meals which serve four for $10 apiece.) You can't beat that! Lana did everything... all of the grocery shopping, prepared all of the stations for us to assemble the meals, and browned all the ground beef beforehand with some help from her sweet friends, Nicole and Wendy. (Wendy unfortunately was unable to join us, so I didn't get to meet her... yet.) All we had to do was move from station to station, add the ingredients in huge bowls and when we were done, pour the ingredients into our bags. The class was supposed to last four hours, but we finished a little earlier. (I'm assuming because we were such good students!)

Lana is a Pampered Chef Consultant and everything we used (from the can opener to the garlic press... both of which are so much fun to use) was a Pampered Chef product. However, there were no sales pitches given. If we wanted something we didn't already have, fine. She was glad to order it for us. But Lana does this because it is one of her many gifts. She has the gift of hospitality, the gift of organization (administration), and the gift of compassion. She prepared six of the meals for people in the future who may need dinner because of illness, a death in the family, etc.

(I, on the other hand, took my six bags and went home. I have the gift of self-preservation!)

It was a great time of fellowship with other women. I feel I know Amy and Tracy a hundred times better than before, and I met a new friend, Nicole. I say all of this to encourage you to go to one of these classes if you ever get the opportunity. Lana will host these classes from time to time (in her own home), but they are small classes so it is on a first come/first serve basis. I'm going to leave Lana's info below, and if you're interested in being contacted for the next class, just drop her an e-mail and she'll keep your name on a list.

LANA, PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST FIRST! Now, here is the rest of her info: Lana Smothers at cookwithlana@yahoo.com or www.pamperedchef.biz/LanaSmothers.

Topic of the Day - Busy, Busy, Busy

I know I already said I had a topic for this week, but now I have two. I'm going to briefly talk about one today, and start the new one tomorrow. Both of the topics are near and dear to my heart. They are things I feel passionately about, and so I'll talk a little, and then we'll move on to our party for today.

Our family is busy during the fall, but even more so this particular fall. I have never liked being too busy. It makes me feel rushed, overwhelmed and need I say... panicky. It's definitely a time for me to put my newly acquired "one day at a time" skills to work. If I think of the week as a whole, I can easily end up in the bathroom floor breathing into a paper bag (or worse yet, in the ER hooked up to heart monitors and oxygen).

I've checked my "busy basket" a few months early (I usually do inventory in January and June), and I'm not the problem. It's definitely the kids' schedules. However, since I am the mother-unit of the Faulkner Five, it is up to me to help them with their "busy baskets." (For those of you who are just joining us, that's my phrase for the extras in life... football, band, volleyball, dance, choir, extra credit projects, Sunday School socials, etc., etc., etc.) NONE of the things listed are bad things. In fact, all of them are very good things which can have very positive impact in your child's life. But too much of one good thing tends to lead to an unbalanced (very, very bad word) life.

Roxie's "busy basket" has already been tweaked. Although we have to finish commitments (and finish them well), we can both see things we can do differently for next fall. Josh's "basket" is a little trickier, but his load can be lightened, also.

For the record, Austin is the King of not having a full "busy basket." He will not commit to anything he feels might overload him. It was a skill with which he was born. He never ran from toy to toy to toy. He played with his animals for days before he moved on to his Power Ranger action figures. He also would protest LOUDLY if and when things were too busy for his taste. (It's good to be King.)

I was reading a sidebar in my Bible during the message yesterday morning about Martha, and I want to share it with you today.

"Will all the Marthas in the room please raise your hands? Yes, God sees all those hands! After all, women are taught to be 'do-ers,' not 'be-ers.' When house guests show up, women shift into fifth gear. When someone stays overnight, women do more laps around the house than a car at the Indy 500.

"Unfortunately, this scenario can apply to women spiritually as well as literally. Once women slip into their 'doing' gear, many have trouble downshifting -- ever. Being quiet and contemplative makes them feel guilty -- shouldn't they be doing something for someone somewhere? In Mary-fashion, we need to learn to hear God calling us away from our tasks for a pit stop. At Jesus' feet we'll be refueled. Then we can dash off to 'Martha' the world that awaits us." Luke 10:38-42.

Wow! And by being "Marthas," we are teaching our kids by example to fill up those "busy baskets."

I have a challenge for the blog readers (AND ME) this week. Let's make an ENORMOUS effort (together) to let our kids see us take a pit stop. I mean (very literally) let them see us stop in our busy day to spend some time at Jesus' feet. I know many women read their Bibles and have their quiet time before the kids get up in the morning or after they go to school. We don't need to stop doing that, but we do NEED to let them see us stop, be still and listen to God. That's definitely a lesson worth teaching the kiddos.

Unexpected Event Party

This party was taken from one of my favorite party books EVER, Parties With a Purpose by Karol Ladd.

Surprise parties are always fun, especially if the guests are the ones being surprised. Send party invitations to the parents of the guests instructing them to have their children prepared. The date and event will remain a secret to the kids. At the appointed hour, the guests will be picked up for the party. The theme comes from Matthew 24:36-44, which says concerning the Son of Man, "But of that day and hour no one knows."

Suggested size - 5 to 12 kids
Suggested age - 10 to 15 years-old
Suggested time - Evening may be best

Start off by decorating the car. Attach crepe paper streamers to the antenna, mirrors and fender. Write the word "surprise" on the windows using white shoe polish. Attach some balloons to the outside of the car, too.

SCHEDULE

20 to 50 minutes - Gather the guests
60 minutes - Eat and talk (restaurant or home)
40 minutes - Party activity
20 to 50 minutes - Take the guests home

GREAT PIPELINE

Give each player a 9" x 12" sheet of construction paper and two paper clips. You will need two small balls made from crumpled paper or foil. Tell the players to roll their papers into cylinders and fasten with paper clips.

Separate the players into two teams by counting off. Have them stand in two parallel lines and tell them to hold their paper cylinders end to end to create a long pipe. When you give the signal, the first player on each team will drop the ball into the end of their pipe. The team members must jiggle the balls from one cylinder to the next. If the ball drops on the floor, the last person to have the ball must pick it up and try again. When the ball gets to the end, then it is passed back to the start again. The first team to get the ball to the start wins.

FORCE FIELD

Tie a rope from one side of the room to the other to divide the room in half. The rope should be about three feet off the floor. Gather everyone on one side of the rope. From the rope to the floor will be an electric force field. Players who accidentally touch it are zapped with electricity and must fall to the floor and remain there for the rest of the game.

The object of the game is to get everyone from one side of the rope to the other without getting zapped. The problem requires group cooperation. Players cannot go under the rope or try to jump the height, but must work together to lift each other carefully over the force field. Only one object can be used to help, such as a chair or desk or small table. Be careful that players do not throw each other over the force field and that the last person doesn't dive over it.

DEVOTION

After the kids have eaten and played games, ask them if they enjoyed being surprised. You will find that some loved it and others didn't like the element of surprise. Ask the kids if they realize the Bible says that Jesus will return one day. Tell them that it also says that we do not know the day or the hour, only God knows. Then say, "God does tell us to be ready for His coming, even though we do not know the day or time. He will gather us together with Him in the clouds. How glorious that will be!" Ask the ones who did not like the surprise if it was because they weren't ready.

Read Matthew 24:31, 36-44 to the group to give them a clearer picture of Jesus' return. Use this opportunity to tell the group that it is only those who have believed in Jesus who will be gathered to Him. Ask the kids how they can be prepared for the return of Jesus.

OTHER IDEAS FOR AFTER EATING

Gym
Flag football
Bowling
Roller skating
Old movies

Great party. Great message. Great way to get the message across to the kids.

Since this isn't a birthday party, you should feel free to ask the other parents to send money to cover their child's dinner if you eat at a restaurant, go to the movies, etc. The cost would be minimal for such a wonderful lesson.

Have a great Monday. Tomorrow I have a delicious dessert recipe for you to try. We have a lot to cover on the old blog this week, so don't miss a day!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda