Kid stories!

Rebecca and I were reading her Awesome Book of Bible Facts today, and instead of reading that the "twelve spies entered the Promised Land," she read that the "twelve spices entered the Promised Land." Since she was sitting on my lap, she knew I was laughing. (I couldn't help it!) So she went back and tried again. "Twelve species?" Ha!

And maybe you had to be there, but Jessica pulled something out of the fridge and knocked out a glass bowl of carrots which were flung all over the kitchen floor, and as I peered around the corner to survey the damage, Mikayla called (in her best New-Orleans-from-Princess-and-the-Frog accent) "The bowl is alive and well!"

I love those kids. Even when they drive me crazy enough to contemplate sending them to Angie for the day. On foot.

Illustrations

I made a photo album on facebook to go with my OBU BSU post; you can click here to see it! I tried to put in pictures of things I actually mentioned.
As I was going through my pictures to pick the ones I wanted to scan, I found this one of Pam Arrington:

In the stocks with Sarah on our AEYC convention trip to Williamsburg

and this one of Sharon Cosh:

With her husband Ian at our end-of-year luau

and this one of Uncle Bud:

With me at the same luau :) It was right before I graduated and I was actually feeling a little blue.

Also, Mikayla added to the kids' blog today!

OBU BSU

This week's topic for the OBU BlogAbout celebrating Ouachita's 125 years of existence is: favorite Student Life experience (club/organization).
I didn't even have to think about this one--BSU!!! Back in the day, what we here in South Arkansas call BCM, or Baptist Collegiate Ministry, was called BSU, or Baptist Student Union. (Even then it was a pretty lame name--I mean, we never went on strike or anything.) My first involvement was my freshman year, in what they called the "New Student Council." It was basically a freshmen leadership group, and I mostly joined because I had a crush on the guy leading it. (Big surprise there)
But that spring, the spring of 1986, Ouachita had a "Global Focus Week," a week totally devoted to international missions. We had an international food fair, and had lots of missionaries come and speak, and just got to get to know them. I had also become sister-friends with Angie, who was an MK, and so many things were opening my eyes to the world of being passionately devoted to Christ. I spent some time with Barbara Schleiff, and made a commitment to having a daily quiet time. (How had I spent my whole life in the church, been a Christian since I was 8, and missed the whole "spend time every day in prayer and God's Word" thing??) And after that week, Aunt Barbara held me accountable, and to this day I believe if I ran up to visit her in Arkadoo she would ask me about it. :) Changed my life.
Several of my friends felt called to missions at this time, and I felt something, but I just didn't know what. I never felt called to foreign missions, and being a girl and a Baptist, I was hesitant to say I felt called to ministry. But I made a commitment to whatever. Whatever God placed in my path, in my life, I would do it. I started by getting more involved with BSU, eventually getting on their....what did we call it? It's late, and I just got home from our BCM weekly meeting, and all I can think of is leadership team. Something council. Anyway, when I found out the next spring break mission trip was to Ecuador, I signed up--another life-changing experience! The summer after that I suffered for Jesus as a summer missionary in Vail, Colorado. (Rich people need Jesus, too.) And I haven't missed many mission trip opportunities from that day to this. When I moved to Fort Worth to teach school, one of the reasons I chose FW was there was a seminary there, in case I ever felt like God wanted me to go that route. But the school where I taught was such a HUGE mission field, I never took a class. And then I met the man of my dreams, and one date he asked me if I would ever consider living in Idaho, and I said, "Well, I wouldn't go there alone!" But knowing he wanted to serve the Lord anywhere, anyhow was one of the things that made me fall in love with him.
So ultimately, the BSU shaped the course of my whole life. When I think of where I might be if I hadn't gotten involved--wow. Plus, I had so much fun! Retreats and conferences and mission trips, and the best friends. Seriously, life-long, forever and ever, laugh and cry, from the heart friends.
Thank You God, for BSU.

Blogs, dogs, and other news

• As of this week, I've had over 10,000 pageviews on this blog! A better blogger, one with organizational skills and a generous heart, would have planned a sweet give-a-way to the 10,000th visitor. I am not that blogger. But I do appreciate you! Thanks for reading! :)
• I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I let my kids start their own blog, mostly for publishing school assignments. Follow the link and leave a comment on Rebecca's post--it'll make her day! 
• We sold Chip, my favorite of the 3 puppies, today. One down, two to go!
• I am becoming more and more like Frankie Heck (the mom on the Middle) as evidenced by my eagerness for Rebecca to make friends with 2 little girls I saw on the street the other day. Our mama dog had escaped the yard and they screamed when she barked at them, so I went to see if they were okay. They were, and they said, "Do you know if Mrs. Price is home? We want to have a parade and wanted to know if she had any musical instruments we could use. Do YOU have any musical instruments we could use?" I said that I thought my-little-girl-who's-about-your-age might have some, stay right here and let me go see.  Then I ran inside and shooed Rebecca outside with a wooden flute from Ecuador in her hand. Next thing you know, one has to use the bathroom, and they both came in and never went back outside, which I hope Rebecca never does at a stranger's house. Eventually Jessica noticed a car driving s-l-o-w-l-y by and I ran out and met the grandpa of one of them, who seemed just as desperate pleased to find a new friend as I was. He said he has his grand-daughter every day after school and she's much easier to take care of with friends around, (Ain't it the truth) so to send Rebecca down anytime, and maybe we could even set up a trade agreement.  They stayed 'til suppertime and everyone was happy.
• When Michelle saw my apple pancake facebook status, she asked for the recipe. They are really good, I must say, so here it is for everyone. Hey, we can call it your prize for my reaching 10,000 pageviews!

Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Cider Syrup:

(I've learned to make this first because it can take awhile. You can even make it ahead of time.)

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 cups apple cider

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and spice in saucepan. Stir in cider and juice. Cook stirring until mix thickens and boils 1 minute. Remove from heat and blend in butter.

Pancakes:

2 cups Bisquik

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 1/3 cups milk

3/4 cup grated apple

Beat mix, cinnamon, egg, and milk by hand until smooth, add apple. Cook on a hot griddle. (Actually, you can just add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 3/4 cup grated apple to whatever recipe or mix you normally use. The 2 cup Bisquik recipe says it makes 14 pancakes, although it's usually fewer than that when I use it, so adjust amounts as needed.)

"A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart"-Jr Asparagus

In honor of Wedgwood Baptist Church, and to connect them with happy memories instead of tragic ones, here is a journal entry from May 22, 1992. (I had a hard time choosing one out of this journal, and a hard time putting the journal down!)

May 22-Not much happened at school Wednesday. Church that night was a business meeting--I made a suggestion, and people listened to me! Kinda neat. Mike was there.
Thursday was an average school day, too, but that night I went to the Winan's concert!! With Beverly, Naomi, Kathy, and Peter, Kathy's brother. The concert was great. We got home pretty late, and I stayed home from school today and slept late, and did a few things around the house, laid out a little. I was in my room once wondering if Mike would ever call me, and about 30 minutes later, he did!! He just asked how the concert was, and if we were doing anything tonight. I was pretty excited that he called. We ended up watching a movie over here tonight--"Paradise." Sydney and Mike wee the only ones who came. And Susan! She brought over a dress for Karry to make, and stayed to watch the movie because Sam wasn't home. It was neat to see her. I haven't figured Mike out yet. He smiles at me like he's interested, but he acts so platonic that I wonder if he's just looking for a friend. I just don't know, I just can't tell. I wish he'd ask me out on a date--then I'd know. But, I am enjoying getting to know him better. He's really nice. We watched the last Johnny Carson tonight.

Okay, since you asked so nicely, here's another one:

May 29--I went to prayer this morning--only 7 people there. School was fine--I lost my temper pretty bad this afternoon, though. It was cool all day today---high in the 60's. We played Putt Putt tonight---met Stan, Mike, and Sydney at the church. It was a lot of fun. We went to the batting cages, too--I did awful, but had fun. I asked Mike where we were going (he asked me on our first date 2 days before!!) and how I should dress, and he said the Olive Garden. Nice! We crashed Ken and Becky's rehearsal dinner and then went to the Osiek's and watched "Gaslight." Pretty good. Oh, Karry heard Mike tell Allen we had a date--later Allen came up and said, "I hear you have a hot date tomorrow night." ... I just said, "Yep." I'm excited abut it.

Just one more, I promise.

May 31--I've had a good day. CaraBeth Walker was in church with Charlie and Angie--she's 9 years old now! I sat by Mike in S.S. :) He didn't go to lunch with us--we went to Jason's Deli. I graded papers and watched "101 Dalmatians" all afternoon. The choir sang in church tonight--I had fun with Sydney. We got to move  down, sat with Ginger. After church Mike came up and hugged me, and kept his arm around me for a while, and kinda played with my hair. Then we leaned on the wall, talking. I'm going to his house tomorrow night to borrow his roommate's guitar. Tee hee. He's really sweet. We played Singles Jeopardy at the SNAC--I was the "hostess" and one of the categories. We had fun, I was being silly. Karry and I went to Ben, Kevin, and Allen's after the SNAC and played Jeopardy on Allen's computer--fun.

All my Wedgwood friends truly were are family. The good memories way, way, WAY overshadow the bad. The pain of that terrible day can't take them away. Thank You, Lord, for Wedgwood Baptist Church!

A day late and a dollar short!

Yesterday was the due date for the 2nd OBU BlogAbout topic, "Your Favorite OBU faculty/staff member." I felt like Amy over at Snoodlings, that's like trying to choose a favorite child!
The first person to come to mind was Pam Arrington, my Early Childhood Education professor. I adored Pam, and wanted to emulate her in so many ways. In teaching, that included reading to kids no matter how old they got (even college-aged!), more positive reinforcement than negative, and passing out M & Ms on test days. But I also wanted to dress like her, and once we'd been to her house for pancakes and LOTS AND LOTS of bacon, I wanted to decorate my house like her...which means very seasonally. I now have boxes of decorations I rotate through.
Then I thought of Sharon Cosh, our BSU director's wife. I wanted to be just like her, too--and I married a campus minister! She's from South Africa, and has the neatest accent...that part I gave up on. They have 5 daughters...I stopped at 3, thank you very much. :) But what I admired most about Sharon was that even when her girls were small, she had gobs of us girls over to their house for Bible study--possible the first workbook-style Bible study I completed--and I loved it. We used How Can I Be Blessed? by Kay Arthur. (I always say "blessed" in my best South African accent.) I learned so much. I remember going back to Ouachita to visit a few years after graduation and going upstairs to the BSU office for old times sake, even though it was summer time, and there was Sharon, working on a bulletin board, I think. She looked up and said, "Kecia!" and I was surprised and touched she remembered me. Now that I am a campus minister's wife, I realize how special each student really is, and see how silly that was. She and her husband are still at OBU, and we were able to visit for a while one summer when I was a counselor at a camp, and she's just as encouraging as ever.
Thinking of her reminded me of Uncle Bud! Bud Fray, former missionary in southern Africa and religion professor. I never had him for a class, and he wasn't my academic advisor, but he's who I went to whenever I got my heart broken needed to talk. He would comfort me, encourage me with life stories and scripture, hug me, and make me laugh. I ADORE him! He ended up going to teach at Southwestern while I was teaching school in Fort Worth, and Mike did have him for a class. When we started dating, Uncle Bud told him I was a "righteous fox." See why I love that man?
So you see my dilemma of choosing one to write about? I checked out Angie's blog, to see who she picked, and when I saw that she listed even more than I did :) and that none of them were the same, I decided to name all 3 of mine, too.
(Now if you want to know about my worst professor, that's another story. It starts out with "One time, when I was little...")

Remember What You Know

I like to participate in 10 on the 10th whenever I happen to remember that it IS the 10th, so when I realized it last night, I started thinking about possible topics. September is a tricky month for me. With tomorrow being the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and Thursday being the 12th anniversary of the Wedgwood shooting, and my Dad's birthday at the end of the month, I could easily get depressed/ing. I considered listing 10 traumatic moments that are forever etched in my brain, or 10 sad September memories. Obviously, by my previous posts, I do think remembering and memorializing is important, and it is definitely a way I process emotions. But I can almost hear my Dad's voice saying, "Remember what you know!" So here are 10 things I KNOW.

1.  God is our refuge and strength,
     an ever-present help in trouble.
    Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
     and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
     though its waters roar and foam
     and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1

2.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

3.   From the ends of the earth I call to you,
      I call as my heart grows faint;
      lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
      For you have been my refuge,
      a strong tower against the foe. Psalm 62:2-4

4.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:17-19

5.  ...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

6.   Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

7.   The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
      and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 24:18

8.  For his anger lasts only a moment,
     but his favor lasts a lifetime;
     weeping may stay for the night,
     but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

9. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:3-5

10.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body...2 Corinthians 4:8-10