Evangelism Musings 11/15/13

During the summer and through the end of the year, our church has been foregoing Sunday evening services about twice a month to participate in what we're calling community gatherings. The idea is to spend that Sunday afternoon/evening time gathering with other people from our church in smaller groups around some sort of activity (be it dinner or an outing at a park, etc.), something that allows for friendship with others and Spiritual growth. This past Sunday, my good friend, Kim, and I invited the teenage girls of our church over to my house for lunch and to help us with an evangelism project.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, then you know that Kim and I usually line up with the early birds on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) in the wee hours of the morning. The crowds are there in hopes of receiving a really good deal on a product. We're there to spread the gospel message. We usually make up bags containing a treat (granola bar of some sort), a message about the reason we celebrate Christmas, and a gospel tract. Kim and I usually procrastinate about preparing the bags ahead of time and then recruit our poor husbands in the 11th hour of Thanksgiving Day. This time, we thought ahead. Cue the teenage girls.

These lovely ladies (Michaela, Courtney, Emily, and Allie) helped us put together over 400 bags for the day after Thanksgiving event. 

When we finished that project (in record time, I might add), we moved on to making "Christmas Packs". Kim and I also make up several of these "Christmas Packs" during the holiday season and hand them out when we run errands between the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas day (feel free to borrow the idea). 

Each pack contains a few pieces of candy, a message about Christmas, and a gospel tract, all tied up with a bow. 

We encouraged each of the girls to take some of the packs with them and seek to hand them out over the Christmas season this year. Several girls took packs with them and a few expressed interest in joining us on the day after Thanksgiving to help us hand out the bags we put together. It was a well spent community gathering Sunday. It was fun to get to know the teenage girls of our church (not all in attendance here)  just a little bit better, to enjoy conversations around the gospel, and to sharpen each other in our witness for Jesus Christ in everyday life. (I would guess you could do the same thing with a teenager near you). 

P.S. The picture below is just for fun. Kim had attended a craft fair the day before, bought these knitted flower rings, and gave us each one. It added a little extra flare to our event. 

Traveling Musings 11/09/13

Two weeks ago today I was in Arizona over the weekend. It was an unplanned visit, and a wonderfully pleasant one. Greg was working in Arizona for a week. He left on Tuesday and called me Thursday afternoon at work. He said he was staying at a nice resort in Phoenix and asked if I would like to visit there for the weekend (hmmm, let me think about that for a minute, Yes! Yes, I would). In God's providence, the weekend plans and upcoming work schedule were such that I was able to get away without being missed too much. So, Friday after work, I hopped a plane to Phoenix and returned on Tuesday morning (on the same flight as Greg). Greg was there working audio/visual production for the Arizona Jazz Festival. These out of state shows are often long hours and hard work, this one not being an exception to that rule. Greg thought it would be a good time for me to visit, though, because I could spend time within the resort and I have a step-sister in Phoenix as well (henceforth called my sister--"step" is the appropriate word to describe the mechanics of the situation but not nearly appropriate enough to describe the relationship). 

One morning, Greg spent some time showing me around his work area. I always enjoy seeing the area where he works and getting a better understanding of what he does on these big shows. 

Greg worked early morning on Friday until very late that night. I had several hours to kill before I met my sister and family for supper that evening and a rental car at my disposal, so I took a little day trip (about two hours from Phoenix) to Sedona, home of the red rock mountains. It was a lovely time (beautiful drive too). 

I had several occasions to see my sister Elan and family (every day actually). It was a surprise visit for them as well, but they incorporated me into their weekend like I lived in the area and they were expecting me. It was so good to see them. It's been far too long. Pictured above is my sister Elan, niece Julia (16), nephew Sean (14), and brother-in-law Tom. 

Pictured above is the venue where the Jazz Festival took place on day two of the event. Pictured below is the venue the day after the event ended (Greg and his boss, Dale, taking down equipment and loading the semi truck headed back to Minnesota). 

My husband works so very hard to support his family, and I'm grateful God allowed me the opportunity to see so many aspects of an out-of-town show on this trip. It increased my gratitude (and respect) for the husband God has given me. 

Well, I never actually spent any time at the resort other than sleeping, but I spent a lot of time with Elan and family, some time sightseeing on my own, and the rest of the time with Greg. A worthwhile trip, indeed, and I thank the Lord for it. 

Cookie Baking Night 11/04/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. Tonight we made turkey cookies (sugar cookies in the shape of turkeys). A lot of ingredients, a lot of work, and a lot of time go into this cookie (and we didn't even bake it tonight, I pre-baked them), but the end product is pretty cute.

Usually, we do our cookie baking projects in the kitchen, but since this was mostly decorating, and we needed to spread out a bit, we moved to the dining room tonight. To make the "turkey cookie" you'll need: flower-shaped sugar cookies, large peanut butter cups, small peanut butter cups, buttercream frosting in yellow, red, and orange, brown decorating frosting for the feet and to "glue" on the smaller pieces, candy eyes, candy corn, and small pieces of red licorice. (see picture below for how that all fits together on the cookie).

The decorating 

The tasting

The final product

We also read from our current devotional book Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. This week we read chapter 4 "He Restores My Soul". I think this week the children were finally getting the connection between Psalm 23 and and the word pictures presented in this book. After I read the chapter, I read Psalm 23 again, and I could see comprehension in their eyes. 

The older children have struggled a bit with this book because it has talking sheep in it. They've had a hard time taking it seriously (and, really, it is for younger children but I switched to it so we would have something that Alli could connect with a little more), but as we get deeper into the story and they connect the word illustrations of the sheep and the shepherd with Psalm 23, I see them getting the bigger picture. The questions at the end of each chapter are also a huge help in tying the lesson together (without the questions, I would totally lose the interest of the older children). Even with its challenges in this particular setting, this is a worthwhile book to read, and I highly recommend it. 

Cookie Baking Night was also filled with board games, books of the Bible memorization game, and lots of and lots of talking (and laughing), and many spiritual lessons along the way (for both the young and the old). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.

A Weekend With A Niece

Since tonight is an off-night for Cookie Baking Night, I thought it would be a good time to share some pictures from a few weeks ago when my niece, Emily, spent the weekend at our house. 

We busied ourselves with a few projects over our time together. We made Sesame Street Cookies (Elmo and Cookie Monster--only Sesame Street cookie cutters I could find). 

Emily also helped me fill treat bags for Halloween. Halloween is one of the best times of the year to hand out gospel tracts. I used to try to grab some candy and then grab a gospel tract as trick-o-treaters come to the door, but I've found it's easier to have it all in one bag and hand it out that way. (Because I think everything's cuter with a sticker on it, I like to put stickers on the outside of the bags. Emily says "stickers are entirely unnecessary--the kid's are after candy" but she humored me anyway).

I think the cookies turned out pretty cute!

P.S. This is where I will put in a plug for spending time with the adolescents in your life. That 12, 13, 14 year old stage can be a tricky one. Best not to waste an opportunity to find out what they're thinking as well as opportunities to share the gospel message (the good news of Jesus Christ) through the course of everyday life. So, get out there, grab the nearest 12-year-old you know (gently and with permission, of course) and bake some cookies! (or whatever it is you do in your little corner of the world). 

Cookie Baking Night 10/21/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. When we were setting up all the cookies we would make in 2013, it was decided that we couldn't skip over Pumpkin Patch Brownies in October because, as the kids told me, it's a tradition. So, tonight was the night we made Pumpkin Patch Brownies.

First, we made the brownies. 

Then we frosted the brownies and added the candy pumpkins 

Then we added the the green-frosting vines. (We always get a little vine happy, also a tradition). 

The finished product: Pumpkin Patch Brownies

Tonight we continued with our cup game that we've used to learn the books of the Bible. I called out the names of the books. Ethan and Carissa found the corresponding cup w/book title. 

And Alli ran across the room to line the cups up next to the fireplace. (A little something for everyone). 

We also read chapter 3 from Sammy and His Shepherd titled, "He Leads Me Beside Still Waters". This little book does a great job of expounding on the truths of Psalm 23. I highly recommend it. 

We ended the evening with a rousing game of Sequence for Kids. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Musings 10/14/13

In mid August, 

a future Cookie Baking Night member made his entrance into the world:

 Enzo Allen Oseid. 

I posted a picture at the time, but I received feedback that some people weren't able to view it. So, here's a picture of Greg holding little Enzo at our most recent family gathering.

Enzo, we're holding a spot for you at Cookie Baking Nights. See you in about three years, give or take a few weeks.

Cookie Baking Night 10/06/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, and Alli.
When we decided to dub 2013 the "Year of the Cookie", we sat down and assigned a cookie to each night. Ethan really wanted a "pizza cookie", so I found a variation, and tonight we made the "Rocky Road Pizza Cookie" using chocolate chip cookies, marshmallows, choc chips, nuts, and caramel. The kids had a fun time putting them together.

The finished product is pictured below. 

We also read from our current book Sammy and His Shepherd, chapter 2 "He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures". As the story unfolded this evening, we learned four things that sheep need in order to rest: The four things: 1. They must not be afraid. 2. No fighting or bullying present. 3. They must be at peace (free from pests such as flies and parasites). 4. They must not be hungry. A good shepherd usually provides these four things, and then the sheep can rest. The parallels between sheep and people very pretty obvious (even to the children) and so was the need for a Good Shepherd. The discussion questions at the end helped us explore this lesson a little more. 

We also had time for a few games of Zingo before we called it a night. As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

P.S. This picture is just for fun. Alli and her family joined us for dinner on Saturday night and I took this picture of Rylar (Alli's younger but not youngest brother)--in just a little over a year Rylar will make his appearance at Cookie Baking Nights. We look forward to his arrival.