No Talking.

There are 2 times you absolutely do NOT talk.
1. During church (except during times of confusion to quickly answer a question, or if the person sitting next you didn't hear which verse to turn to or something important that was said and it should be quick, anything longer than 4 or 5 words is too much)! This is not hard; shut your mouth for one hour out of your whole week, that's all I ask.
2. during a movie. Tonight my husband and I went to see "He's just not that into you". It was a very worldly idea on love and relationships, but an okay romantic comedy. It was even better how the guy sitting behind us felt the need to have open dialogue with his wife through the entire movie, barely leaving 30 seconds of silence between quips about something that just happened and theories on where the movie was going.
I'm sure there are other times to keep your trap shut as well but right now I'm trying to forget about the guy in the wrong theatre out of my mind.

Also this morning on the way to drop Steve off at work we had to detour and take Bangerter to North Temple instead of staying on 201 to 215 like we usually do and then we were stuck at the North Temple off ramp for 40 minutes waiting for the road to open again after a few cars played hockey on their way to work. That pretty much sucked. My day was really good after that though. I headed over to hang with a friend for a little bit, then after picking up Steve from work I mailed pictures to my grandpa and got to work with enough time to log in to my programs and be ready to take calls by 1:30. I have really enjoyed ARUP, but I don't think it would have been as much fun without Jessica. She was also contracted through SOS and we have been sitting next to each other since the first day. We have a lot of laughs, including our brief fantasy of CSI:SLC with Dr. D the lab rat Pathologist (Jessica is a college graduate lab rat in need of a serious career, ARUP was a moment of desperation). I didn't actually play a part in CSI:SLC, mostly we were just joking around about how Dr. D (Jessica) needs a really kick butt job and that could work. We compare our experiences with Callers. I had one on the second day that was insistent that because he has called for years and years and never given more than a last initial he was no way going to give up his entire last name to me. When I politely asked for his whole name, explaining that it was requested of me to do so, he hung up. Well the unfortunate thing about that is at this particular time of night Jessica and I were the only ones taking calls so when her line rang we were sure it would be my caller hoping to get a different agent that would lazily not ask him for his last name. It wasn't him so the next call that came to me was...we'll call him Sam... He tells me it's him again and I got really excited and said to him in my most enthusiastic voice "Well hey there Sam, it's so nice to hear from you again"! He wasn't enthused; he started to explain to me about how he tried to get someone else but the phone transferred him to me again. So I asked him "Sam, wouldn't it have been easier to just give me your last name to begin with"? I really dislike it when someone would rather waste time and energy to get their way than to just give it up. Well he still wasn't willing to budge; he said "Fine it's Sam H-U-L-K"! By the way he slowly and unsurely spelling it out, it was obvious to me that he was taking a piece of his childhood dream of being a big badass green dude or maybe a body building blonde by coming up with that name, but all I needed was a name, any name. So Jessica and I had a good laugh over that one that night and for a couple days after even. That was about 2 and a half weeks ago and I hadn't talked to him since, neither had Jessica, we were just talking about that a couple days ago. So tonight when I asked for my caller's name and the caller answered with "Sam". I very excitedly said "OH is this Sam Hulk"? Yes it was! I'm guessing he had been calling the old line this last couple of weeks and was already irritated that whoever he talked to tonight decided to transfer him to the correct line. It's always great to have a good laugh at work and Jessica and I seem to get plenty. Between the courier's calling telling us there are no "cooties" (i.e. infectious contents) and my pal Skip in Little Rock who is just an absolute delight to talk to each day!
At the end of next week our job there will be done and Sam can go back to talking to lazy reps who won't ask for his last name and Skip will have to be kind to someone else. Jessica is going to start working someplace where her PhD will be put to good use (other than the derby court). I'll be cutting back to only have one 6 hr/week job which I'm very thankful to have considering there is a lot of people out there who don't even have that!
That wraps up my rant/reminiscing session for the night. Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Becca Law

Well this was probably one of the most eventful Sundays I've had in a long time. Yet again I was ready, Allie was ready, Steve was ready and we were out of the house by 9! Worship service was awesome, Scott sang with a lot of heart and the rest of the crew played so awesomely. There was another Amena Brown video shown(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNhp9z0njNY), I always love her stuff. Enjoyed another great service from Terry although we had some guy that kept yelling out "Preach"! Every time that Terry would start to get excited about what he was talking about, then it seemed like Terry was quieting down every time the guy did that. I started to get kind of irritated at the guy, I felt like he was being disrespectful and distracting. Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional "Amen"! And "Hallelujah"! It’s expected from our crowd! Calvary is like a bapticostal church. It's a non denomination Christian church but it's a little like the Baptist church and a little Pentecostal. I'm never surprised by what people yell out during service, and the first time the guy yelled I wasn't surprised, but after he had said it about 7 times I was wondering if he was mocking Terry. The end of service was really cool too because we heard a new song from Scott that he's never sang before (or at least that I can remember).
After service we headed to teacher prayer, which I had to take Allie out of because she was getting mad and making too much noise so I just headed over to check the 2 and 3 year olds in. We didn't have many kids, half as much as usual and it was pretty uneventful, no huge fits. We had a kid pee his pants and one who kept kicking, but that's not a bad day at all. I had some Mom drama when a grandparent tried to pick a kid up without a claim ticket and I have never seen her before. That really sucked, I wasn't happy about being the bad guy but I had to turn into "Becca Law" for a minute. After all was said and done, I did what was right and unfortunately I'll be on that parents crap list for a while. I just really hope she doesn't stop coming to church because of it. That's sad but it happens. I would be ecstatic if she would go to a different service, and I would even be happy if she still comes to the 3rd service, just as long as she doesn't stop coming all together. I'll have to remember to pray for her this week and maybe you can too.
So I finally calmed down from that and Steve fixed the gate in our classroom that we've been having problems with for a while and we went home. We didn't stay home for long before we headed out for Costco and Walmart for some things that we needed. We ran into some friends from Church at Walmart and talked for too long so then by the time we got home it was time to leave again for our Fireproof bible study at Sonrise Baptist Church. That was really cool and I'm so excited about it!
So now it's late and I'm going to head to bed but thanks for reading!

Another action packed Saturday!

Well my day started out really well, Allie woke up with great timing,
Steve was ready to go when I was and I was able to get my hair and make-up done. I love mornings like that, no fuss. So we headed to the church so that I could go to Coffee Talk (a women's bible study held the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month). I got there in time to choose my seat, get a coffee and chit chat with some of the ladies. The lession was about how important it is not to let ideas of unhappiness enter into our marriages, not to let that "grass is greener on the other side" thought enter our marriage. We all know someone who has felt that way for sure.

While I was in Coffee Talk Steve was doing some more work on the car. He managed to get all the spark plugs replaced and then come in and have some time to chill and hang out and wait for Coffee Talk to be over. He got the car working so good, it doesn't have a studder anymore and it starts up really well.







So then after Coffee Talk I went to a friends house to have my hair dyed. She did an awesome job on it, I just love it! While I was standing around with 10 pounds of foil on my head, Mindy fed Allie some spagetti-o's. Allie loved them as you can see! It was nice to get my hair done and hang out with a friend at the same time. Steve poked around in the car for a little bit and even Mindy's husband joined him for a little bit.



After my hair was finished we headed over to the church for the College and Career bible study group. I wasn't sure what to expect because it used to be led by Scott, the worship leader and we would break up into small groups and go over an outlined study. Steve and I haven't been in quite a while and knew that there were some changes happening so it was exciting to experience it as a new thing and meet some new people. We started it out by playing a game much like "Rock, Paper, Sizzers" but it was "Man, Monkey, Gun". Man beats Gun because Man made gun and Gun beat Monkey because Monkey would be dead, and Monkey beat Man because that's just how it is. We were supposed to play until only one person was standing, I think some people sat down after only one round, but anyway I won. Scott said my prize was a carrot, how kind of him. I guess that Pastor Terry and Pastor John are going to take turns leading this group but today there was a guest. Pastor Bob! He took over for John when he left the Calvary Chapel he was senior Pastor at in California. He is overflowing with Charisma as he starts off his talk. He starts off talking about before he was saved by grace that he used to look for fights. That he was always fighting and enjoyed it but now he fights the "good fight" and enjoys it even more. I like how he starts this off because he had my attention right from the beginning. He's reading 1 Timothy 6:12-20. Which instructs us to fight the good fight. It goes into how Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate and didn't give in. I love how The Message version says "He's the only one death can't touch". How amazing that is to think about. The passage also tells people who are rich to stop being obsessed with money and to share the wealth. Paul also tells Timothy to guard what he knows, not to give in to what may look really good but not be of God. So back to Pastor Bob -
He goes on to tell us that we need 2 really important things in the battle for the Lord: We need prayer, we should be going to God frequently and not just for ourselves but we need to be praying for others more than ourselves; and our sword. In Ephesians 6:17 the sword is explained to be the word of God, the bible. He made a good point that we don't fall into Sin, we jump in. It's true. We know well enough to know when something is a sin or not, we choose whether we sin or stay away, not to say that it's easy, it's just something we do. Not one of us is without sin, we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Let's face it as Pastor Bob says (not in his exact words, I couldn't write fast enough) No one seeks coucelling because they got into trouble for running as far from sin as they could. Good point Pastor.



After a short question and answer sesion we go into some food and fellowship. Everyone is just hanging out, talking, having a great time. I love these people, they are my brothers and sisters and I'm proud to say so!

Follower

Well I had a very interesting day. Not unlike any other I started the day with dropping Steve off at work and then heading off to the Nursing home to do some organizing and filing, that kind of fun stuff. I hadn't been there long when a very young resident came rolling down the hall and stopped in front of me like she does every morning. She had a paper in her mouth and when I showed an interest in what it was she showed me a picture of Jesus with children around him. She said "It's Jesus Christ", in her somewhat slurred, deep voice. I asked her if she knew Jesus and she said "Yes" and then I told her I know Jesus too. Then I leaned in close to her and put my hand on her back and told her Jesus loves her, in a very sincere tone, which I was sincere, it's very true. She smiled so big and looked so happy. That was such a cool moment!

So the morning goes on and I get done all I need to get done so I gather my things and go. I had a couple errands to run but then I stopped by the D.I. If your not from around here, that's a huge thrift store chain that the Mormon's run. I like second hand shopping, something about other people's trash that makes me think "treasure". So I start off in the kid’s clothes and move around the store but when I got close to the shoes I noticed a woman looking for her son, she was calling his name and looking around. I felt a little bit of anxiety for her and wanted to go ask her if she needed any help, but an employee pointed her in the direction she thought the kid went. The woman got out of earshot and felt the need to share with me her judgment. She said something about how the woman should have put her kid in the cart so he didn't wander off. I hate it when people bring you in on their ideas in hopes of you agreeing with them so that they feel justified in passing judgment on another person. I politely said to the worker "it's not nice to pass judgment on people". She started kind of arguing with me and saying something about there being a rule that kids must be kept in carts (as if they could even make such a heinous rule). I kept walking and trying to get away from her and this is about the time that I realize that I've seen the same out of place looking guy twice now and feel like he's been looking at me both times, but maybe just looking in my direction. I didn't have much room in my mind to give it much thought because I was still thinking about stupid worker lady bothering me about whether she was or wasn't passing judgment on lady who nearly had a heart attack looking for her kid. So I kind of wandered past the women's unmentionable's where they had put some women's clothes in and then I saw the guy again, and again I was pretty sure he was looking at me. I was starting to get irritated. This guy is not pushing a cart, has no merchandise in his hands, he's wearing a hoodie with the hood up and now I'm pretty sure he's following me. After giving him a huff and walking a little faster so that he knew I was irritated with him for not leaving me alone (which is the same thing I do to wal-mart employees when the continue to stock shelves right in front of what I'm looking at, and that's kind of how I felt toward hoodie dude at this moment). Then crazy judgment lady comes walking up to explain to me some more about how she was certainly not passing judgment on scared mom, so I'm already irritated because of her and creepy dude and walk toward the front of the store, and as I turn the corner I notice that he is still oddly close to me and so now I'm not irritated at him, I'm kind of scared of him. I walked up to the cashier and it crossed my mind just to check out and leave but then I have the 30 yards or so to walk to the car and not many people are in the parking lot and hoodie dude doesn't seem to care much about drawing attention to himself. So I told the cashier I thought I was being followed and she waved over the manager. When the manager started walking up I turned around to point the guy out and sure enough, as if this doesn't make him look even more suspicious he turns around and makes a straight path for the back of the store. I'm sure of it at that moment that he was definitely following me around. I was pretty creaped out and just wanted to pay for my stuff and go, so they checked me out and the manager asked me about the color of the guy's hoodie and then walked me to the car. I've never had anything like that happen before. It took a while before my heart rate went back to normal, I don't think I'll be going into Ghetto town D.I. (which is about a half a block away from my job) alone anytime soon though.

Another awesome Sunday!

The day started with a good laugh at the fact that my son let his buddy have one of his giant stuffed animals to sleep with. Jordan's first sleepover. I guess he figured his buddy couldn't say anything to him about sleeping with a stuffed animal if he had one too.

Service today was no unlike any other as to where we went and the people we saw, but the message is never exactly the same. This week we went through 2 Corinthians ch 6 and 7. Two whole chapters. Terry said it was a record. Not that he is trying to go through the bible as fast as possible or anything, I'm sure he wasn't shooting for the most chapters read in a 45 minute period, it just turned out that way.

He was talking about Salvation. "There is joy in this journey". I love it when he says that. It's so true. Even though there are ups and downs in a Christian's life and we are not saved from troubles and hard times, we always have Immanuel meaning "God with us"! In chapter 6, the apostle Paul is recognizing the contrast in our walks in his letter to the Corinthians. I love what Paul writes, he's really a man who knows what it's like to love the Lord with all your heart but still have troubles. He even says:

"In fact, I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. Although I don't do what I know is right, I agree that the Law is good. So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don't do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
The Law has shown me that something in me keeps me from doing what I know is right. With my whole heart I agree with the Law of God. But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me". ~Romans 7:15-25

How amazing is that! We also watched the Casting Crowns video for Slow Fade today, it talks about how you don't fade away from God in a day, it takes time, it's a slow fade away. It's so true. Even though we have ups and downs in our walk, the object is to keep your eyes on the Lord. Pastor Terry talked about how we don't have to go to church to be a Christian and that it's not the only way to be connected with God but that we should, we need to be "challenged by the word of God"! He's so right! Opening our hearts to what he is telling us. I know I have struggled with that, thankfully my down was followed by an up, getting back on track with the Lord feels like a victory, maybe just a small one but still victory!

I learned today that chapter breaks in the bible were added around 1300 by Stephen Langton. He had to go into chapter 7 right after 6 because it was totally tied together. Most of the book is, but this was really tied together. I encourage everyone to read it, although I'm sure most of you wont, in fact some people probably stopped reading this blog at the mention of Jesus or the bible. I'll keep praying for you.

He also explained the difference between Godly Sorrow and Worldly Sorrow. Godly Sorrow produces repentance and Worldly Sorrow produces death. Being sorry for something but doing it again would be Worldly Sorrow. When peter was sorry for denying knowing Christ he wept and repented, which was a Godly Sorrow, he was truely sorry! Judas though had a Worldly Sorrow, after he turned Jesus in he went out and hung himself. I could go on and on about this for so long and reference more bible verses but that's not what I'm writing about today. So the whole time the Pastor is up there talking about this message that obviously his heart is fully involved it, the two women behind me are using the 45 minutes of Pastor Terry's floor time to chit chat. I don't like that at all. Why sit on the second row, directly in front of the Pastor and talk while he's talking. I thought it was rude and was so distracted at some points that I missed what Pastor Terry was saying. I should have politely asked them to be quiet or gave them the universal signal for "shhh" but instead I turned around and asked them "are you bored". Now this is a perfect example of what the apostle Paul was talking about. I knew that was wrong. Sure they were wrong for talking but wow that was a rude way of telling them. They just gave me a dirty look and then later after service blamed it on the infant, which I'm quite aware doesn't require a whole lot of talking to during a perfectly good sleep session. Anyway if I run into them again I'll be sure to apologize, not for asking them to be quiet but for the way I said it.

So the other thing that happened today was that we brought my dear friend's son with us to Church. The sleepover, remember. Well he said he had fun! Jordan was so excited about it. My mom said that Jordan showed him his bible and explained the bible tabs to him and read vegi tales stories all the way to church. How awesome is my little evangelist son!

So anyway I had an excellent day! I really only meant for this to be a short blog about my day

but I just wanted to share so much with you all. Thanks for reading. I'll be trying hard to keep up the blogging!