I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month. It's not that there haven't been things to say... there have been things a'plenty to say. Part of my resistance is that I know that there is a period of time in May in which I come across as desperate for counseling and/or chemical intervention, and I do purposely try not to write during that time, lest anyone think I am emotionally unfit for normal life. I do have one thing in particular to say of that time and I intend to do a separate post on that topic. For now, I just need to ease back in a little, sort of prime the pump for the blogging I want to do next week of Royal Family Kids' Camp.
I probably need to set a word limit for myself because there is a lot piling up inside me. I am teaching that Seven Bible Study at church and this week is Media Week. What does that mean, you ask (all two of you who read this blog)? Well, each week contains a different focus for a fast. So far, we have done food, clothing, and possessions. This week is media, and you can do as much or as little as you feel led. The limitations I have set for myself (and let me tell you, today has TRIED AND TESTED THEM) are essentially silent screens with a few exceptions... No fb, twitter, or ig unless it is necessarily and related to Royal Family (had to put up a status tonight asking for some things and intend to post pics from camp), no Pinterest except what I had to do for the camp birthday party and our Cambodia planning meeting today, no Internet surfing (confession: I broke and read Jen Hatmaker's post about the end of school-- I read it twice. Once in my head and once aloud to Kraig. I love it. And her. It was perfection.), no tv or movies, and no texting or email other than necessary (I am trying to forget that I apparently deemed "necessary" texts today to tell Tina that we watched a comedy DVD last night and to share a hilarious comment Emma made about him to Pastor Lance). I have neglected this blog so miserably this past month that I purposely left it "on" for myself this week in the hopes that it would drive me back here. I also intend to blog camp, so this site is exempt from my experiment.
I would like to point out that you have the wittiest, most insightful, most moving things to share with the world when you are restraining from the (social media) world and the absolute best screenshot of a (necessary) text I have ever taken happened today and I couldn't even ig it. Y'all, I have a problem. I am addicted to connections on social media.
The upshot? I was present today, all day. I talked to cashiers in sundry stores and other patrons of McDonald's, I sat through a meeting without checking my phone, my driving was safer than it has been since I got my iPhone, I enjoyed meaningful conversations at supper with my girls and tonight with my husband. After supper, the girls and I enjoyed ice cream cones outside and I watched the sun set while they played. Then we came in and played a good old-fashioned game of Sorry, at which Emma whipped Kelsey and me. I also got an insane amount of work done tonight. The girls are participating as well and I think the most marked difference in just the one day is in their attitudes and how they treated each other (and how Emma treated me). They got along beautifully, making up games and being so good to each other. We decided today that we are going to maintain a modified version of this week for the summer (note: very modified for mommy). ;)
A cool thing happened today, too. A little background, we are doing an Angry Bird theme for the birthday party at camp this year. Kraig and another guy have created a life-size Angry Bird game, complete with 300 lb pole bases, a truck cargo net/bungee slingshot, giant boxes and green lantern pigs, and exercise ball birds with half a Nerf football for the beaks. I'm making birdseed cone snacks and tonight Emma, Kelsey, and I drew a face on 70 red cups. I am working on a backdrop and table decoration set up as well.
Back to today and our cool thing-- we had our Cambodia meeting (which really deserves its own post-- oh my word-- I can't express how excited I am about this trip and how ridiculously amazing it's going to be) today and, in the process of discussing crafts and games and such, Jake said (and mind you, nothing had been mentioned about Royal Family or the game), "I don't know if yall could work it in, but I'll tell you what they are obsessed with for some reason... Angry Birds." We all just sort of looked at each other. Lance said, "Well.... we have actually made a life-size game for the camp we are doing this week... wonder if it would be transportable?" Jake said they would love that. WHAT ARE EVEN THE ODDS??? Seriously??? Kids halfway around the world happen to not only know about, but are obsessed with the very game (out of ALLLLL the rages and games and so on) that we are using for Royal Family??? Do you know what that tells me? I serve a God who cares enough about his babies that he ordained the construction of a game with giant birds that fly through the air in an assault on green pigs.... for such a time as this. I reiterated one of Jen Hatmaker's points last night in my Seven class that it's really easy to become overwhelmed when you look at this world around us and feel like you can't possibly do enough to affect it. She pointed out that one simple bag of clothes that you donate to a foster child is doing something... a couch to a family whose house burned down... books to soldiers far from home... an alarm clock to a struggling, poverty-stricken teenager who needs to finish her senior year... It doesn't take a ton of money or a giant act. All it takes is an ear and an eye and a heart. How utterly insane that my God of the details planted it in Kraig's mind to make this game, knowing all along that it was not only going to bring birthday party joy to almost 60 foster kids, but that it was also going to fly 21 hours away to bring joy to 400 children in orphanages in Cambodia???
Slingshots and flying birds, taunting pigs... that's MY God.
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