Sweatin' Sister

Well, I just finished a tough workout for a woman of my age! Don't laugh but I actually walked so fast I broke out in a sweat!! Wow, is that what it feels like! I've been trying to add up some "activity points" so I can eat more each day (whoops, that' s probably not weight watchers approved) but seriously, I am really trying to be more active and give my heart and lungs a good run for their money. If you know me at all, you know how much I like to either sit on my butt or lay prostrate on the couch or bed watching tv or reading- so this is definitely a physical challenge! You keep laughing but wait until you see me in that white suit I bought 3 years ago and only wore once!

Now, having a birthday and celebrating it twice does not help keep the points down. Jamie,as a symbol of her great love for her mother in law made me a peanut butter Reese's cup 7 layer cake. I had to find some friends to invite over so there would not be any leftovers! I had 32 points left on Sunday so I figured I could eat whatever I wanted. That was in addition to the 9 points I still had left for the day. Now, if any of you guys are reading this, just skip this part of the blog because I know you are bored to death and are rolling your eyes back into your head!

Now, for more Scott family news, other than Judy's dream of a girlish figure again- Friday, Steve went to Dover, Delaware for the Mid-Atlantic District Assembly. Since the presiding general was Jamie's former pastor, JK Warrick, Randy, Jamie and I drove up to meet Steve and enjoy the Ordination service. During the course of the evening, we went to 2 different Sonic restaurants, neither of which were very impressive! Unfortunately, the Eastern Shore doesn't have the same quality as the Midwest Sonics! I think it has a lot to do with the "service." I think it might be the fact that the waiters are invisible from the customers when you order over the red phones!

Anyway, we had fun and Jamie enjoyed visiting with the Warricks.

You may remember the news about a month ago, when my brother, David burned down his barn by accident. Well, Saturday, Steve, decided he needed to burn a few leaves. Unbeknownst to us, there was a ban on burning. Before he knew it, he started quite the brush fire that got out of hand and he had to call 911! Thankfully, the fire trucks came and put out the fire and all was well. Our barn is still standing.

On Monday afternoon, Steve was sitting in our living room resting, when all of a sudden 2 limbs came through the roof! About 4 years ago, this happened at 4am in the morning. We live under some very large old trees and sometimes they decide they no longer want to stay connected to their tree trunks! We've learned not to sit in that corner of our living room.

Well, our small group did not meet this week hopefully, they'll still come even though some might have to sit in "the corner," but we will be studying Chapter 2 this Sunday of Velvet Elvis. I have to admit, I am really going back and forth on what I think of Rob Bell and some of his ideas. I have to come to the realization I don't have to agree with everything he says, but recognize when he does have a good point. So, if you are reading the book or are familiar with his writings, please share your thoughts with me. That's what is good about the small group-everyone comes with their own perspective. I am praying that the Holy Spirit will give us discernment as we continue to seek Him and allow the Lord to continue to shape us into the people of God we need to be in this world we live in today.

Please continue to pray for Chris, Min and the boys. Chris is "living it up" in Kuwait right now, but that won't last. Min and the boys are making the best of everything but really missing Chris and the United States of America!! And we in the USA are really missing them!

Check out these pictures:

Randy and Jamie with JK Warrick

Steve and Judy at Sonic

Randy and Jamie ordering dinner at Sonic

Our precious angels

Jamie and Judy with the 7 layer cake she so

lovingly made for her mother-in -law!

Our living room ceiling!

Fireman putting out fire

It almost made it to the barn!

Early Retirement! Make Me an Offer!

Birthday Girl!!

Well, I made it. Today I officially reached the age where I can actually retire if I chose to! What a feeling of freedom. However, since my expenses far outweigh my income, it's not really a choice so I'll keep on doing what I've done for almost 26 years now! Get up and go to work.

Today is my birthday and I can't believe I am this old! Truthfully, I feel great and am so blessed with so many good friends and loving family members. I received so many Happy Birthday wishes today- I really feel loved. Of course, so many of those who called are the ones I always seem to miss when its their birthdays- but they love me anyway! God is Good!

I received a phone message from Chris (who did not have to be reminded-WOW). It was so good to hear from him-made me feel loved and special-hopefully the next time he calls I'll be home!

I also web cammed with Min and the boys and it was neat to hear my little Lukester say Happy Birthday to his MeMe! and also got a sweet sweet smile from Will.

Tonight we had dinner at Old West steakhouse with Randy and Jamie. I love the "Chicken Chesapeake" (grilled chicken with crab imperial on top!)

God has richly blessed me all my life and I am so undeserving. I give Him all my praise for all the good gifts He has given me. I just pray I will find new ways to share His goodness with others.

Thank you to all for making this day so special! I love each of you and you are continually in my prayers. A special birthday greeting also to my cousins, Nancy Jean who was born on my 16th b'day and April. I miss those years we celebrated together!

This guy always makes me feel special!

Randy pretending to offer to buy dinner!

My precious grandsons!

The following people are the ones who bring me such happiness- our kids and grandkids!

Deployment II- April, 2008

This is Chris and Min in September 2003 the morning of his first deployment.

Most of you know that our son, Chris was deployed last week for 15 months to Iraq. We actually said good bye to Chris in person at the Frankfurt Germany airport a couple months ago. Last Wednesday morning they called via Yahoo telling us he was leaving in less then 18 hours. We knew it was coming but its always hard to let your loved one actually go and know that he may not be able to come home for another year.Just imagining how difficult it was for him to leave Min and the boys just breaks our hearts. We are so proud of him and our love and prayers are with him. We appreciate all our family and friends who are lifting them up in prayer. No matter what people may feel about the war, our soldiers and their families need our support.

It was so difficult when Chris was deployed for a year in 2003-2004 and when he came home it was like a burden was lifted- I didn't have to live and breathe the Iraq war. Although, I still prayed for our troops and leaders, it was very different. Now that he's back there, our hearts and minds are obsessed again with any news. Thankfully, we have a God who takes care of His own and we know that Chris, Min and the boys are in His hands. Whenever, I wake up in the middle of the night, I just quote my bible verse for insomnia- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(PHIL 4:6-7)There's no more comforting words than those and I find myself going back to sleep and trusting God to take care of all the things that would cause me worry.

My Dad used to quote Psalm 121 as the passage that gave him courage and strength during WWII and 5 years ago, Chris called and referred to the same chapter:

I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber;

Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

As I write this blog, I am realizing how real God's spirit is at work in our lives and His word and His Presence is where we need to look for our help and strength in the days and months ahead.

Our small group met last night and it was quite a discussion. It was really exciting because the book- Velvet Elvis- has really stimulated a lot of participation. I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead as we wrestle with some challenging and radical material. We have a wide range of ages in our group-every decade is represented from 20's to 60's. As you can imagine, there are a lot of opinions being expressed and I think that's a good thing.

This is my third week with Weight Watchers Online. I've only lost 3 lbs and I've really tried to stick to the "point system" these last couple weeks. I'm not giving up- I realize I need to supplement the food tracking with some "activity"- so I've been trying to work my way up to some regular exercise. Steve even spent some time on the treadmill tonight!

I've gone on enough tonight. Here's some pictures for your perusal!

A picture of a tote bag Steve designed with Uncle Joe's help for those in the Deaf Ministry at church- They are always excited when they have mail in the church mailboxes so Steve thought they needed a tote bag to carry their papers in.

Beautiful Min and Handsome Will

Chris and Luke in the PT garb- So who did the most sit ups

Chris on the night he left for deployment

Judy showing how she really sweats when she exercises!

Steve- Look mom, no hands!

Blogging is TOUGH!

If you haven't noticed, its tough to blog every week when there isn't much to blog about! Life as usual is happening around the Scott household. Steve is off to Church Board meeting so I thought I would catch up.

Every few days we have been "web cammng" with Chris, Min and the boys. They are growing and finally I think they are all healthy at the same time! Since there is a 6 hour time difference, we try to contact them first thing in the morning so we can see Luke and Will before they take their naps. The only problem with that time is Judy is just getting out of bed and is not quite "with it!" But it's always great to see and talk with them.

Chris is getting ready to deploy at any time so we would appreciate your prayers regarding Min and the boys. Chris' blog on Sunday, April 6 was heartwrenching for us when we realize how difficult it will be to leave his family. Our soldiers and families are paying a high cost and we need to be reminded of that when we go about our own lives with "business as usual."

Last Friday night, we (Steve and Judy) joined Jamie and her friend, Kendra and 7 month old, Elias and went to see a Delmarva Shorebirds game. It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed ourselves-MeMe especially enjoyed holding and playing with Elias. It's that "grandma factor"coming out.

We invited Kendra and Elias for Sunday dinner after church and we had a nice time. Randy and Kendra's husband, Evan came after the ball game was postponed due to rain. It was great to have young people in the house again!

About 3 weeks ago, I (Judy) signed up with "Weight Watchers online." I'm using the Point system and it's taking some adjustment to figure out what I'm doing. I can only have 19 points a day and I'm finding by lunch time I'm all out of points!! What am I doing wrong? Maybe I'm not changing my eating habits! Duh! So anyway this last week I did much better and I think I lost 3 lbs.! I should post a "before" picture so you can see if there is any change but then I'm afraid the "after" picture will show me bigger!

Our small group will begin this next Sunday. We had a great group of people join us last week and we agreed to study the book-"Velvet Elvis." Steve tells me I'm on the verge of "obsession" with this "emerging church" stuff. I'll try to rein it in but truthfully, I think it's important to be aware of trends in the church and the only way we can discuss it and test it will be to learn more about it, right?

Rob Bell writes in the first chapter about those Christians who feel that "the churches, the books, the language, the methods, the beliefs-that there is nothing wrong with it.It works for them and meets their needs, and they gladly invite others to join them in it." But he writes on, "But this book is for those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means to live the kind of life he teaches us to live. I'm part of a community , a movement of people who have been living, exploring, discussing sharing and experiencing new understandings of Christian faith."

Well, you know-being part of a traditional church community- we have always been seeking a fresh anointing and greater understanding of who Jesus is and how He wants us to live." I just get nervous when people start telling us that the beliefs we have built our lives upon based on the Bible may not be relevant to today's world. That's when I start asking lots of questions and seriously seeking God to reveal His truth. If anything, it definitely makes me stronger and gets me back into His word and seeking the Lord's guidance.

So, if you have any ideas or comments, feel free to share. I'll try to keep you updated on how the group is doing.

Here's my "before" picture. I figure any future picture has to look better than this one!

Chris and Luke enjoying Spring in Germany!

Will surrounded with Friends!

My new little friend, Elias!

Luke at the Nature Park before the Snow Blizzard!

Will misses MeMe, can't you tell?