Fire up the Grill

When I was growing up, my family never grilled out. My husband's family never grilled out. So I was very anxious about my husband's determination last year to cook out on July 4th for his co-workers. One of his co-workers gave him a charcoal grill. I was very anxious. I could just see him burning the house down because we didn't know the first thing about grilling.

A friend came over to give my husband a crash course in grilling hamburgers, and the friend was there to watch my husband on July 4th. Surprisingly, everything turned out well. My husband even grilled more hamburgers later that month.

This year, on Memorial Day, my husband fired up the grill again. I had thought that he had forgotten how to grill, but the hamburgers and hot dogs turned out just fine. He had remembered exactly how to do it whether it is because he never forgets anything or else it was some primal instinct that men seem to possess when it comes to grilling.

Anyhow, for father's day, I bought my husband a couple of steaks. Steaks are a step up from hamburgers. We marinated them, and he seasoned them. My husband grilled them, and they turned out absolutely perfect. He even grilled some corn on the cob, too.

I never would have guessed that this Chinese man, raised in a Chinese restaurant, who had never cooked more than fried rice under the watchful eye of his dad, would be such a grill master. He is awesome with the grill, and he is even attempting to teach me how to grill, too.

Since I hate to cook, I won't try to learn that quickly. I do not mind relinquishing the cooking duties to him at all.

Where Else Should I Be?

I feel so grateful to be working at a church. When I stand on the platform to help lead worship each Sunday (for the past two months), I feel so happy. I know that I am exactly where God wants me to be. I am doing something I love to do--even if I struggle to find appropriate children's sermons each week.

I cannot imagine being anywhere else but helping the people of God worship. It is very humbling, but at the same time I feel quite empowered.

The Call to a church was five years in the making. I have stacks of rejection letters and memories of rejection telephone calls. But just experiencing the acceptance of my church now, those letters and phone calls don't mean a thing to me anymore.

VBS Fun!

I had more fun than I thought I would have last week during Vacation Bible School. We had it from Sunday night to Thursday night; and thankfully, Thursday night was a fun night for the kids with hot dogs and chips and a "Bouncy Castle" for an hour. My 23 month old saw the castle inflating and started jumping up and down--with both feet never leaving the ground. He had been in one of them before at the preschool picnic in May, and he remembered.

Our VBS was small with about 15 children. I taught 4-5 grade and had one child--but he is a handful, so I think one-on-one attention suited him well.

Overall, I think VBS curriculum is too expensive for small VBS programs. I am very tempted to write my own curriculum for next year. I had better start on it right away.

Yeah, right. Let me have a week to recover first.

Or maybe a few months.

In any event, after 12 years of not being involved with a VBS program, I have returned to the summer ritual of my youth. Only this time, I am forever leading it.

Three words....

....Vacation Bible School.


I'm too exhausted to post.

Be back next week.