don't worry, I didn't up and die....

You'll know when I kick the bucket, buy the farm, start pushing up daisies. I told my sister my password so she can write something sad and nice about me, at least it had better be nice, although at that point, I won't care. And don't worry, I don't actually think I'm dying, although I do admit to worrying about every little skipped heartbeat, and there are nights when I am almost certain This Is It, yet I manage to fall asleep and wake up in the morning, still alive.

Anyway. I have been busy, and I won't bore you with the details. Here is a random rundown of my crazy life this past week...

I have several photos I would like to put on here but there seems to be a glitch in the matrix, so no pictures today.

So...grill shopping. Hours and hours, seven different stores to get the best deals on stuff. Two full days of shopping. I also had to shop, cook, pack for our own family's Summer Conference...

What is Summer Conference, you ask? (you can always look on the brunstad.org website and check it out). Or, I'll explain it...the church we go to is actually the central location, or conference center, for several churches, who all get together several times a year, for conferences. This past week, there were over 800 people at our church, in dorms and cabins and campers. We ran our candy store and made pizzas, served chicken and burgers, fries and salt potatoes. The money goes right back to the church:)

Childrens' Day is a sight to behold. Pony rides and waterslides, the pools open, face painting, cookie decorating, air-soft wars, roller hockey, and tons of crafts to choose from. Our little girls made the most adorable tutus!

There are meetings and this year, it was our church's turn to put on the play, which was Emily's baby. She wrote and directed, but of she couldn't have done it without the talent and co-operation of her siblings and friends. It was a whole-church effort, and was extremely encouraging and entertaining. It was about the apostles, and how they were faithful to God. Paul was tired of kicking against the goads, whatever "goads" are, but he was hearing God speak to him, and resisting. Even though he was a terrible man, hunting down the Christians and turning them into prison and sometimes death, he was forgiven, and God did amazing things in him.

It doesn't matter what we have done up to this point. God can turn our lives around, if we give ourselves to Him, and like Paul, say, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

People have this strange understanding that we cannot get victory over sin. They think that we are sinners, and can be forgiven, end of story. This totally negates all that Jesus did for us! He opened a way through the flesh, a way out of being bound to sin. Why did He say to, "go and sin no more", if we are meant to just keep sinning and asking for forgiveness?

We are meant to live an overcoming life! To be done with anger and bitterness and judging others! It isn't a life full of rules, but a life full of mercy and goodness and freedom!

Anyway, enough preaching for today. (But seriously, look at all the problems in the world today and tell me it's not because of sin. If every single person in the world chose to bless instead of curse, forgive, keep themselves pure outside of marriage, tell the truth, ect., what would the world be like?) (Being at Summer Conference with hundreds of people who chose to live for God is a bit like heaven on earth:))

Anyway. Summer Conference is over, and our camping vacation was supposed to begin...but. It is cold here in New York state! In the Adirondack mountains, brrrr! 49 degrees at night, and rainy. That's no weather for tenting with kids!

So here we are at home, doing laundry and recovering from the conference, and deciding whether to go up there for the weekend and freeze, because...it's nice in the mountains, and this is the only time we can all go. Emily, and Abigail, and Mali, and all the rest of us. :)

We do have coffee and tea and cocoa and marshmallows, after all.

And, later I will write more...have to go.