Fall Fun Begins

We just rolled in from our first official fall activity! Nothing says fall like a cook out with hot dogs, chili, chips, apple cider and of course, a bonfire complete with s'mores and a hay ride! We had a great time. I was entertained on the hay ride by a very intelligent conversation with the sic-year-old son of a friend of mine. When I mentioned that I enjoyed talking to him as I had never had that opportunity, he answered as only a matter-of-fact six-year-old can, "Well, we're talkin' now." Made me smile!
I also enjoyed playing with the girls and watching Delaney experience all these things for the first time!
On the way home, we decided to sing a little bit so Kylie sang her version of Zacheus followed by "the round and around song" also known as "Only a Boy Named David." At the end of the song, after the giant came tumbling down, I thought this would be a great time to see if she had learned anything from our talks about David and Goliath. So I asked her, "Kylie, what happened to the giant when the stone hit him?"
"It knocked him flat!" she yelled.
"That's right," I said. "Then what did David do?"
"Wella (her version of the word 'well'), he took his sawwed ('sword') and CUT OFF HIS HEAD!" Again, she was very loud and very excited.
"Very good," I said. "Then what did he do?"
There was just the slightest of pauses before she said very matter of factly, "He ate him."
After I caught my breath from laughing I explained that he did not eat Goliath but instead cut off Goliath's head with Goliath's own sword and then carted it on a pike back to the Israelite camp so they would all be reminded that their God was bigger than the Philistines.
"Oh," she said. "And then they ate him?"
I'm still not sure where she got this idea but it was a long conversation of why it wasn't good to eat other people...even if they are already dead. She and her older sister couldn't get why it was okay for animals to eat each other but not people. I think they get it now...I hope...

Missionaries

Mark 16:15

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

I’ve always been fascinated by missionaries.  As a “PK” I had frequent contact with missionaries growing up.  In my childhood I had the opportunity to get to know missionaries as they would visit with us while on furlough.  When I was a kid I had a friend named John Torres.  His parents were missionaries to New Mexico and they lived behind our church in their RV for about six months.  John and I hung out constantly and ran all over town together.  He and his family came back when touring churches several years later and our friendship was instantly renewed to the way it had been.  We were teenagers by then, but he and his sister Christine and I were inseparable for the time they were with us.  To be completely honest, I don’t know where God has taken John and Christine in their adult lives, but I do think of them every now and then and pray for God’s hand in their lives. 

Of course, of all my childhood missionary family experiences, none could top the Silveiras family.  When I was about nine we had an entire family of missionaries (the Silveiras’ — a couple with their six children) living in a pop-up camper in our backyard.  The camper belonged to my grandparents and they loaned it to my parents for the missionaries since they had no home in the states.  I don’t remember much about the Silveiras family (I was only nine after all) but I do remember the ketchup.  Yes, you read right — ketchup.  See, the Silveiras’ had spent their lives ministering in the parts of Brazil that you never see on travel brochures.  They had never tasted that wonder of American culinary masterpieces, the condiment of condiments — ketchup.  Now, personally I don’t really care for ketchup unless I am really in a mood to have it on my french fries.  But these folks were amazed by it.  They put ketchup on everything!   And by everything, I mean everything.  Trust me when I say that it is an experience not to be forgotten when you witness someone who is not in the stages of advancing pregnancy dump a large glob of ketchup into a bowl of ice cream and tuck in!  They loved ketchup — in bottles, in jars, in those little foil packets you got in the drive through (which was a whole other marvel to them as well).   The problem was they were so in love with the whole concept of ketchup that they missed out on a variety of other tasty condiments and meal compliments (and often missed the taste of a meal itself by covering it with ketchup).  It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget (and now neither will you thanks to that ice cream reference!).

It strikes me now as an adult that throughout my entire childhood, teen years and young adulthood that whenever I think of missionaries I think of the Torres’ and the Silveiras’ living in our backyard and becoming our friends.   It reminds me that missionaries are more than just a photo on a card that you stick to your refrigerator with a cute little magnet.  They are more than the tired-looking family in slightly out of date clothes traveling the countryside reporting on their successes.  They are more than endless slide shows of toothless grins and dirty toddlers.  Our missionaries are real people with real needs. 

But what about us? Aren’t we supposed to be missionaries too?

You may think that you don’t have a place with missions.  You may think that since you are too old, too young, too infirm or too whatever to actually go to the mission field that you cannot be a missionary.  Our church motto is “Across the street and around the world.”  If you can’t go around the world, you can cross the street. And while scripture tells us to “go out into all the world” that can also mean the widow on the corner or the struggling single mom down the street.

There are a number of ways to think of those sharing God’s word throughout the world.  Don’t let your concept of missions be limited to ketchup.  You know, you can’t make a meal out of ketchup.  As much as you like it, it’s still just a condiment meant to compliment a dish not be the dish and even though we couldn’t convince the Silveiras family, it’s still just one of many condiments.  So many times I think that when we think of missionaries and mission work, we think we can’t be involved because we can’t go to the mission field.  We can’t be the ketchup on the Gospel meal.  But we don’t have to be ketchup.  We can be mustard, mayo or my personal fave, ranch dressing.  There are so many ways to serve and so many ways to be involved.  Don’t be like the Silveiras family.  Don’t limit your focus to one taste.  God didn’t.  Just as He created different people groups that need to be ministered to, He created different people types to minister.  In doing so, He also created many different ways to minister.  If you’re ketchup, great, but if you’re not, don’t give up.  We can each be a tasty way to deliver the Gospel meal to those who are hungry.  Ask God to use you in any way He sees fit and your flavor will always be the perfect compliment to His message.

Fall Break Staycation

A friend of mine suggested that I post some of the things we will be doing for fall break this year. Since a complete trip to Disney is out of the question, we have decided on a Stay-cation instead. We are really excited about all the things we are planning on and thought we would throw out some of our ideas. Obviously if you aren't in the Hamilton County area, these won't work for you, but consider finding like ideas in your own area. Also, to my out of town readers, we have a full week for Fall Break so that makes a big difference too.
Here are some of our ideas and prices. The prices are based on a family of 5 with 4 members being over the age of 2 and one being under 2. So basically, these are prices for an average family of 4.
Six Flags over Georgia $34.99 per person ($139.96) plus $15.00 for parking
  If you go on the 16th, they are open 10 am to 10 pm and giving out candy. Kids under 12 can also dress up in non-scary costumes.
Dollywood $55.90 for adults and $44.70 for kids ($201.20)
TN Aquarium and IMAX $29.95 adults and $19.95 kids ($99.80
TN Aquarium only $24.95 adults and $14.95 kids ($79.80) There is a $10 off coupon in the Kids First Coupon book making this price $69.80, but an annual family pass is only $115.00
Lake WinnepeSPOOKah is probably one of the priciest value-wise, but does include unlimited rides. The dates are limited so you might want to check their website. It's $22.00 per person, but specially marked receipts from McDonald's are good as $2 off coupons making this $80 for a family of four.
The Creative Discovery Museum is $10.95 per person, but the KidsFirst Coupon Book has a buy one get one free coupon in it. We have 2 books, so we will be going for $21.90 for a family of four.
The Chattanooga Zoo is only $1.00 on Wednesdays so a family of four on Wednesday is ONLY FOUR DOLLARS!!!!
Also, the Regal Hamilton Place cinema is only $1.00 on Wednesday, so you could go to the zoo for $4.00, then have a picnic lunch in the adjacent park and hit the movies for another $4.00! Just watch that "golden" popcorn at the movies, they still charge $15.00 for popcorn and a drink!
Mayfield Dairy Farm in Athens is running their Fall Festival with corn maze too. That's $8.00 per person for a total of $32.00 for a family of four. If you would rather go to Riceville instead, the Guthrie Farm is only $28.00 for a family of four, but I would advise checking them both first.
Then of course, there is always camping at Harrison Bay State Park which is only about $20 a night but you do need your own tent/camper. It's a beautiful spot though and if you're the camping type, I highly recommend it.
I have heard rumor of an indoor pool somewhere in our area, but have yet to confirm info on that. If you have any, feel free to leave it here.
Anyway, hope you enjoy your fall break. We figured to do everything we want to do for the entire week will cost us around $250.00 but we probably won't have time to do everything anyway!

By the way, if you are interested in taking a trip down to Florida (go for us since we couldn't), here's some info for down there too:
5 day/4 night stay in a luxury one bedroom condo (sleeps 4): $375.00
Disney's Not So Scary Halloween Party: $227.80 (parking $15.00)
SeaWorld's Spooktacular: $167.90 (parking $15.00)
Keep in mind that SeaWorld is still offering their "buy one adult ticket, get a child's ticket for $5" so that makes a big difference. The dates for these activities are limited and the Disney is separate from any other regular park admission, so don't go in the morning or you will have to pay twice. The SeaWorld Spooktacular is included with regular admission so if you go on the right day, you will have lots of time to play!

Enjoy your fall and your fall breaks.