Family Wedding

Day #29

We went to a family wedding this weekend.

It was our 2nd wedding this month!

My cousin got married.

His wife went to my alma mater and was a cheerleader there just like I was.

She’s so much fun to talk to.

The wedding was in Kokomo, Indiana.

We pulled into the church just as the bride and groom were walking through the parking lot after getting pictures taken.

Beautiful Lauren.

Chris thought he was leaning out of the picture. Haha! He was not.

The colors were burnt orange and navy. I love the wreaths for the church. Their last name is Veach.

Lauren and Chris asked Ellie and McDaniel to be the attendants at the wedding. They were SO EXCITED!

Even when Ellie realized she would have to miss 

one performance of High School Musical. 

Ellie, my mom (MiMi to them) and McDaniel.
I got their dresses at Marshall’s for, get this, $16!

Monte made the girls pose for an “action shot” handing out programs.

I wish I had taken more pictures inside this old church. It was beautiful! The woodwork and balconies and the big pipe organ! Just gorgeous!

We were the first people to the reception so we took the registry book and extra programs with us.

This picture is dark, but this was the cutest thing for cards! A navy mailbox with orange lettering and details.

There was a hand painted pumpkin on the table with all the table seating cards.

This was a big hit. A popcorn bar at the reception!

My cousin is a HUGE Green Bay fan so he got a special groom’s cake.

Check out the cake topper bling.

 The vases a part of each of the centerpieces indicated the table number.

They gave out drink cozies.

The bridal party table had these adorable signs.

I loved how the food served was all signature dishes of my grandmother. It was such a wonderful (and yummy) way to honor her.

I know she is in heaven, but there was a moment when I expected to see my grandmother pop out of the kitchen of the hall with her cooking jacket on and a HUGE pot of chicken noodles in her hands like she did for every special occasion in my memory.

It took the term “comfort food” to a much higher level.

My beautiful Aunt Connie, my cousin’s daughter Libby and her mom Kaitlyn.
Photobomb by McDaniel.

At dinner, I got to sit next to a very dear member of our family, Joe. “Papa Joe” as my mom and my aunt call him.

He worked for my grandfather as a farmhand when he was just a teenager. He was always with my family. He told me lots of neat stories. Some I’d heard before, some were brand new. We laughed. He told my girls about the look on my face when I first learned we weren’t related. He said I was 40. I thought I was younger. But his mind is so sharp, I’m sure he’s right.

I hugged him tight before he left. I love him dearly. I don’t care, what the genes say, we’re family.

The first dance as husband and wife.

My Aunt Connie and cousin Chris dancing the mother-son dance.

Precious

 Little Libby loving having the hand of both McDaniel and Ellie. They were lining up to catch the bouquet but she just wanted to dance. She’s 2 1/2.

My Uncle Tom dancing with his new daughter-in-law Lauren. 

 If a picture is worth a thousand words, than I think 999 of them would be love for this one. The other, adorable. 

Lauren lost her dad a few years ago. This dance paints a picture of transition into lots of new things.

Hopeful things. 

Healing things.

God is so good.

The girls had to have a picture with the bride.

And Monte danced so much he almost had to go the car get his inhaler.

Monte’s “stanky leg” during the song “Watch Me Whip."

It was such a lovely wedding!

Sweet words, teary toasts and lots and lots and lots of love.

No Fear

Day #28

I don’t do scary.

I don’t watch scary movies.

Jurassic World doesn’t count, 

that’s just good entertainment 

right there!

Haunted houses are not my thing.

I would NEVER watch zombie shows or movies.

I won’t even watch those silly detective shows with characters 

that make bad jokes over dead bodies like they 

aren’t even horrified someone is DEAD.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller video 

scared me the first time I saw it.

I guess I don’t get why FEAR has become such a multi-million dollar business when fear is such a stumbling block for so many of us.

Fear keeps us from being who we were intended to be.

Melanie writes a blog, Blue Marble God, and has done a wonderful series this month on fear.

31 Days of No Fear.

Such a great idea, right?

It’s been fascinating.

She wrote a letter to fear that is worth reading.

(It’s Day 8 in her series.)

I read it out loud at my women’s retreat.

At the end of the letter she listed the top 10 fears:

1. Fear of flying

2. Public speaking

3. Fear of heights

4. The dark

5. Intimacy

6. Fear of death

7. Fear of failure

8. Rejection

9. Fear of spiders

10. Commitment

Honorable mentions were snakes, crowds, small spaces and clowns.

Recognize any?

I did.

In a dark world that refuses to follow the light, its Creator, God,  I can understand one who allows fear to rule their lives.

But why is it that we who KNOW God 

and earnestly SEEK Him, 

struggle with fear too?

I looked up antonyms to fear:

assurance

calm

confidence

faith

contentment

encouragement

ease (not easy, but “at ease”)

It was an AHA moment.

We aren’t supposed to be fearless in our Christian walks.

We are supposed to keep walking in spite of our fears.

Melanie said this in her blog series on fear,

“When we choose or allow fear to be our guide, it’s living anticipating evil rather than anticipating goodness.”

Yes, we need to “protect ourselves” with the armor of God like I wrote about yesterday, 

but that is with THE ABSOLUTE FAITH  

and ANTICIPATION 

that God can do ALL THINGS.

Don’t give that power to flying

or the dark

or public speaking

or commitment 

or clowns.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come 

that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10

There is no full life when we are stuck in fear.

The “full life” might still include some fear but insert the antonyms:

“I am afraid of the dark, but I have the ASSURANCE that YOU are the light, 

Lord, and in You there is no darkness.”

1 John 1:5

“I am afraid of failing but I have CONFIDENCE in You, Lord, that You have plans to prosper me, 

not harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“I am afraid of speaking in front of all these people staring at me but I know it is YOUR PEACE (CALM) that you give to me, Lord and you ask that my heart not be troubled and to not. be. afraid.”

John 14:27

The power of God is SO MUCH more powerful than any spirit of fear.

Act like it.

Don’t run from your fears and change your entire lifestyle to avoid them.

That’s living anticipating evil.

Run towards them, 

anticipating GOODNESS.

God will not let you down.

Protect Yourself

Day #27

I took a fencing class several years ago.

Isn’t this a great picture of me?
Just kidding.
But this is how I look fencing IN MY MIND.

To say I loved it doesn't cover it.

Not even close.

It was such a spiritual, electrifying experience.

There was something about holding a double-edge sword in my hands and then getting to whack somebody in the head with it 

that made me feel like more than a conqueror.

I’m not a boy. 

I didn’t grow up playing war.

This was all new territory.

There was something about trying to block someone trying to whack me in the head that spoke as loud as a sermon to me.

"Protect yourself!"

I was told that by my Russian instructor over and over and over.

There was something about sparring that felt like I was getting an aerial view of not just my own Christian walk

but a glimpse of the battle in the heavenlies.

The one going on right then

as I blocked and poked and whacked,

and the one going on right now

as I type this.

It was so exhilarating that the hair stood up on my arms almost the entire time I was in class.

I was on the brink of laughing 

and crying the whole time.

It was fantastic.

It was empowering.

It was so. not. about. me.

Yet it inspired me to see the battle that I am in

and it encouraged me to keep consciously protecting myself.

I am doing a Priscilla Shirer bible study called The Armor of God.

It’s so good!

It’s reminded me so much of my fencing class.

“Protect yourself!”

We’re told this in Ephesians 6 with action words like,

“be strong in the Lord…

put on the full armor of God…

take your stand against the devil’s schemes…

stand your ground…

stand firm…

take up the shield of faith…

take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit…

pray in the spirit…

be alert…"

Priscilla says in her study that we have a very real enemy around us.

“He’s working overtime to mask your identity in Christ, to keep the truth from coming out--that you are indeed alive and free and empowered by God’s own Spirit to fight victoriously against him. He’d rather conspire to keep you in a constant state of mourning, grieving over who you wish you were, instead of relishing who you really are. He prefers you insecure and crippled by self-doubt. 

Lifeless. Comatose.”

In other words, not at all a conqueror, 

like we were created to be.

I envision a fully armored soldier, but nothing is being utilized to its best potential.

His sword is in his hand but it's pointed down carelessly, not held up ready to swing or block.

His helmet is pushed back exposing his head.

His shield is hanging by his side, not protecting him at all.

He thinks his breastplate is too tight so he loosened it to breathe a little easier.

He might even be missing a shoe.

And he’s definitely whining…

that it’s all too heavy, 

too hot 

and he might even have to 

go to the bathroom.

This is NOT the posture of a solider. 

A warrior ready for battle.

A Christian who knows his power
but also the reality of his enemy.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors 

through him who loved us.”

Romans 8:37

I love the lyrics to Casting Crowns song, “The Voice of Truth.”

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

"Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth"

Unlike our enemy would have us to believe,

we have a choice.

Victory or defeat.

“… the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”

1John 5:18

Protect yourself!

The Letter Chair

Day #26

When I was busy painting everything in the office, I decided to spray paint the letter chair that I made a few years ago.

I got the idea of a letter chair from a few pictures I’d seen on Pinterest.

I took this awesome flea market chair that used to serve as our main office chair and hot glued chipboard letter stickers all over the legs, back and sides of it.

It took me a superhero movie or two
to hot glue ALL those letters.

After all the stickers were on, I spray painted the entire chair black.

It stayed that way until last month.

I liked it black but it didn’t highlight the letters well.

In my effort to brighten the living room and office, I decided to paint the chair white.

Spray paint is really the only way to go with all the different textures of the stickers.

I like the way the spray paint didn’t cover all the old black paint on the stickers.

It looks rustic to me.

I love it!

Throwback Sunday

Day #25

Since we just got back from Indiana three seconds where we attended a family wedding and are quickly getting the girls ready for their high school choir performance and the final middle school production of High School Musical,

I’m going to just include a few links to the past middle school performance blog posts.


Annie Jr. from two years ago.

And Little Mermaid Jr. from last year.

I’m tired, people.

And I didn’t get married 

or stood on stage in the high school or middle school.

I’m SO ready for Halloween.

High School Musical

Day #24

Thursday night was the opening night of Ellie’s middle school’s production of High School Musical.

So the middle school put on a High School Musical.

Not to confuse you.

It was so cute.

It was hard not to laugh at middle schoolers pretending to be everything but middle schoolers.

Like the the little guy playing the principal wearing the cutest, tiniest little blazer next to two very mature kids playing the basketball coach and the drama teacher.

Or the song/dance number “Get Your Head in the Game” and the basketballs that got away from a few of the players.

Or when there was a really long awkward pause when the lights were supposed to go out on stage but they didn’t.

Then the cute little guy playing the referee runs out onto center stage and says,

“I think there is a problem…”

and the audience bursts out laughing.

Ellie told me later that everyone treated the “referee” like a hero who “saved the show!”

That’s some of the golden nuggets 

of middle school right there.

Here are some action shots:

Why is that woman in the audience looking our way instead of at the stage?

Ellie’s good friend played Gabriella beautifully.

And our neighbor, Edward played the coach like a champ.

These two have known each other since diaper days!

My parents came into town to see the show as well as good friends.

Ellie’s buddies from church.

I sweated it out for a bit when I struggled to find our family ad in the program.

Especially when I realized that I never did 

put the check in the mail to pay for it.

But, alas, it did make it in.

Thank you, Brian, for coming through with the wording for the 2nd year in a row!