Tuesday, February 28, 2006

I still have a few things to do...

But, officially, my time off begins tomorrow.

There have been things today that have tugged at me and made me wonder if I really should take the time. Knowing deep down that there's never a perfect time to be gone, I'm going to step away. Because it's like waiting until you can afford it to have a baby...you can never really afford it, and yet, you can't afford not to.

I told the Worship Committee that I'll be better when I come back...our sweet Youth Minister (she said sarcastically) said..."Did you say you'll be BITTER when you come back?" What a character that Tim is!

Clora Ann Crum will be taking charge of the Worship Team and the guys on the Worship Committee will take a bit of the weekly worry off me...(finding scripture readers, Communion people, etc...)

So, here I go...ready or not!


Monday, February 27, 2006

It's been so long since I've "blogged", I don't know where to start...

I have a sister-in-law deeply involved with the Creative Memories (picture scrapbooking) industry. Her answer when asked "where do I start?" by those of us who have years and years of pictures to chronicle and sift through is..."start from today and work forward. Then, as you have time you can go back." This keeps you from being overwhelmed.

I'm going to take her advice here in the blogging world also. So, today, it's Monday. Lots has happened, but we'll start from today.

I have two days of work left before I take some time off. I'm looking forward to that time. I'm a "all-in" or "fold" kind of personality. If I'm in there, I'm working hard and expecting much. If I'm going to take time off, I have to absolutely unplug for a good length of time or there's no since in even taking the time.

I'm taking March off. I will still be responsible for putting together the worship order, working with the preachers, and preparing and providing the music for the Worship Team. I won't, however, be in the office during office hours. My orders will be put together at home, my conversations with the preachers will be by email, and I will run down on Saturdays to copy the music for them. That's o.k. It's not as "unplugged" as I'd like, but it will do for now.

Here are my hopes for the coming month. (do you understand the risk I'm taking in revealing my plans? What if I don't get it all done?)

* Back to the gym
* 4 closets cleaned out
* Paint one bathroom, an entry way, and a dining area
* Read, Read, Read
* Pray, Pray, Pray
* Write some music
* Spend focused time with my husband
* Mother my kids

I'm really looking forward to spending my energy in a different direction. We'll see what happens with all these "plans". Hopefully, on April 1, I'll feel like my time was well spent and what I did during March was valuable to my personal, spiritual, and physical well-being.

When I was a kid, I remember Sunday afternoon was the sacred nap time. My Mom worked very hard every other minute of the week...I loved Sunday mornings because she was up early browning a roast or baking a pie or something wonderful for our Sunday after church lunch. Then, after lunch and dish clean-up, Mom rested.

As kids, we knew if we were loud or somehow woke her up, it wouldn't be pretty. It was her time to rest. She worked hard...she deserved it.

Our lives are so hectic now. People scramble in different directions every minute of the day, every day of the week. We have no designated rest time. We need it.

I don't know how to change our crazy schedules, but for now, I'm looking forward to unplugging from here (work) and heading home to rest. Hopefully, I'll provide some peace and calm to my family in the process.

I'll be able to blog assuming Avery lets me use his computer! :)

I'll look forward to reading your blogs on a more regular basis...

Blessings to you all!


Wednesday, February 15, 2006

...so Valentine's Day. Was it a good one for all of you or is it just another day?

My daughter went to dinner with a friend of hers which left lex and Avery and I. Once Lex finally got home from work, we tried to decide what to do. It's the dream of most women that the man will actually have a plan, but we really don't expect it. Just hope for it.

On a side note, Lex was late because a technician was rear-ended on a customers brand spankin new chopper while test driving it to make sure it was all in good working order...had to wait for the police, file a report, take the technician to the hospital to get checked out, etc. After he told me, I asked if everything was o.k. and his answer was, "Yes, we just had to take the fender off the back and the front tire is bent a little." I meant the technician...is the technician o.k. Men...

Anyway, the boys finally decided on the noisiest sports place you can possibly go. It wasn't too crowded (compared to everything else in town). This is the place where the noise makes it virtually impossible to have a conversation. Must be why the boys like it. There are T.V.'s everywhere. Huge T.V.'s. However, the food is good and on a busy day, it wasn't bad to just go, eat, not talk, and zone out watching multiple T.V.'s.

The fun part is that Avery drove us. He is the most cautious driver I've ever seen. Very sweet.

I was in my room at the end of the night almost asleep...the T.V. was on, and Lex was sitting beside me. I remembered there were clothes in the washer that needed to be dried or hung to dry. Delicate stuff...

I looked at him and said, "You know, if you would take care of the clothes in the washer, it would totally make up for the lack of jewelry and flowers."

He rolled his eyes and went to take care of the clothes. I fell asleep.

I'll bet men hate Valentines Day.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

I LOVED Valentines Day as a kid. Elementary school. You get to make your "craft" bag that will hold all the valentines the other kids will give you. Tape it on the side or front of your desk.

A list goes home with the names of all the students in the class. Everybody was to receive a valentine. You chose your valentine cards very carefully so the wrong person doesn't get the wrong idea that maybe you "like" them.

The teacher tells you when you can distribute and then everybody gets up and wanders around delivering their cards. Some had suckers attached. It was a wonderful day. I always felt very loved and liked on that day.

So to all you bloggers, my valentines card to you would say...


"Happy Valentines Day!
I love you AND like you a lot!"


"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT


Sunday, February 12, 2006

Let me share with you a phone conversation I had Friday night...
"Hello"

"Hello...is this the Henderson residence?"

"Yes it is."

"Is this Mrs. Henderson?" (honestly, you never get used to being called by your mother-in-law's name!)

"Yes it is"

"This is Chris Yeager"

"Hi Chris" (I didn't know who Chris Yeager was, but he said it like I should know so I acted like I did...)

"I'm with the Navy"

"................." (silence)

"Are you aware your son has inquired about the Navy?"

"................." (silence)

"Mrs. Henderson?"

"Uh, yes, I'm here..."

"Avery is only 16, correct?" (It totally unnerved me that he called him by his name!)

"YES!" (finally a question I could answer!)

"Well, Mrs. Henderson," (why does he keep calling me that?) "we can't talk to Avery without your permission until he is 17 and a senior." (Darn tootin' you can't!) "So, I would really like to set up an appointment with you and Mr. Henderson and Avery to show you all the things the Navy has to offer. We see Avery as someone with great potential."

"..........." (this man had actually rendered me speechless a few times)

"Mrs. Henderson? Can we set up an appointment? I'd just like to come over and talk with you and Mr. Henderson and Avery."

"Hold on just a minute. Can you? Do you mind holding on just a minute?"

"No problem, Mrs Henderson."

At his point I go running back to Avery's room...forgetting he had just left the house with his Dad to see his science teacher. I look at Ashley and say...

"Avery?"

"Mom! You o.k.?"

"Uh...ya. Nevermind. You're not Avery..."
"Hello? I forgot. Avery left to see his science teacher really quick. He programmed their rocket for a launch tomorrow and isn't able to go to the launch...so he went to show the teacher what needs to be done and how to run the program."

"He's showing the science teacher what to do?"

"Well..." I said quickly backpeddling..."he's not THAT smart! He just went to show him a program for the launch."

"So, Mrs. Henderson, do you support Avery's decision?" (What a loaded question! And just exactly what decision is he referring to?)

"............"

"Mrs. Henderson?"

"O.K." I finally said, "here's the deal. Avery is very smart."

"We know how smart Avery is, Mrs. Henderson" (YIKES!)

"....AND...I mean...BUT he is also very very sweet."

"I'm sure he is, Mrs. Henderson."

"What I mean is, Avery has unlimited potential to do whatever he wants to do. And I don't know what that will be, but whatever it is, he will be great at it! So, I don't know about this Navy stuff, but I'm sure whatever Avery decides to do, then yes, his father and I will support him...whatever that is." (I was rambling...)

"That's why we would like to talk to you. We see Avery as someone with unlimited potential, also. But we need your support. We want to show you everything the Navy has to offer."

At this point, I felt sick to my stomach.

This is the kid we never had to spank because just the raising of your voice would stop him. He HATES being yelled at...or talked to sternly. And if you think for one second I'm going to APPROVE and SUPPORT his going to a place where for the first six weeks they spend tearing you down after I've spent his whole life building and loving and supporting him to be the confident and capable young man he is today...YOU'RE CRAZY!


But...do I support my son? Absolutely.

Does it stink to be a parent? Sometimes it does.

I don't know what will happen in Avery's future...but Friday night I was reminded that God delivers these beautiful packages called children to our lives and lets us keep them around for a while...and then, they get to make their own decisions and follow their own dreams.

I just pray for wisdom as the strings are being loosed from yet another child. I hope I make it through all this letting go stuff.

Blessings.

Friday, February 03, 2006

For Ashley's birthday,we gave her George Strait tickets. I've decided that my kids have enough "stuff", so most of our gifts, especially the bigger ones, will be experiences of some kind. Relationships and experiences...good things in life.

I purchased these tickets online and wasn't able to get great seats, but she was excited anyway. She loves concerts...and country music. Actually, any music, just about. But she is a traditionalist in some ways and George Strait fits that mold.

The significance of the George Strait thing is this:

Ashley was a baby...about 6 weeks old. Lex had tickets to George Strait. I really didn't want to go. Please take someone else, I begged. I hated the thought of leaving Ashley with anybody and being gone from her for hours. It was a horrible thought. But, Lex continued to ask and finally persuaded me to leave her with my Mom and Dad and go enjoy the concert. There were many couples from the church going and he felt like I needed a night out. (Maybe he felt like we needed a night out.)

It was the longest concert of my life. I thought he would never stop playing. It was agonizing. I worried and fretted and wondered if she was o.k. The truth was, I learned from my Dad later, she cried off and on the whole time. Mom couldn't figure out what was wrong with her...thought maybe she was sick...Dad said to just wait. She just needed her Mom.

When we got back to Mom and Dad's house, I walked in and she was fussing...I picked her up and she stopped immediately. It was the most warm and wonderful feeling to hold that baby girl. Silly...I'd only been gone about 4-5 hours total, but it felt like an eternity.

So, tonight, to celebrate her 18th birthday, my baby will go hear George Strait. She's going with a friend of hers and although I'm sure it won't be quite as excruciating, I will miss her and be glad to see her when she gets back home.

Life is really a great big circle. Things come and go and come back again...what didn't matter before has great significance later.

I told that story, with shaky voice and a few tears, to the family present when she received the tickets. We all laughed (at me, I think) and cried a little to think this seemed like a few minutes ago, and yet, here stood this beautiful 18 year old young woman. I don't know how time can fly so quickly.

I'm still pushing for Fresno State!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

I spent last weekend (Friday - Tuesday) in Nashville. I was honored to be asked to join the ZOE Planning session.

I don't know about you all, but to sit at a table with Randy Gill, Jeff Walling, Larry Bridgesmith, Brandon Scott Thomas, Mike Cope, John York, Greg Taylor...yikes. I had promised myself I wouldn't talk. Just listen. I did o.k. with that for most of the first night session. But by the next day, I discovered they are just people. Plain old very smart deep hearted people. So, I talked. Bless their hearts. They were gracious with me.

I'm excited about what this next conference will look like. Although there isn't an absolute title yet, we will be talking about intimacy with God. What does that look and feel like? And, how do we achieve that?

Obviously, there's more to it than that, but that's the jumping off point.

The special speaker this year is Lauren Winner. To see more of her, you can jump to Mike Cope's blog. He has a link in his Feb 1 entry.

It's good to be home.

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