Mega Marbles

Tonight at Target Phillip found a huge deck of cards and immediately our minds went to the Marbles game. We should commission a huge marbles board with huge holes, huge marbles, and huge cards. I think Tommy and Andrea are trying to come up with ways to make their boards more portable and compact with hinges and/or handles and stuff. This board would be so huge it would be almost impossible to take anywhere, but it would look really cool and be fun to play if we could find a table big enough. So, Andrea, Tommy, can it be done?? Are you up for the challenge? I think the marbles would be hard to find....but not impossible. Nothing worth doing is easy, right? It could even be a table of its own with legs!!! I am a genius!!

They're Home

The Pickerings, Smiths, and Erskins have made it home. They managed to get gas in their vehicles and got back where they belong. We're glad you guys are home.

Pastor Pick

From what I hear, the Pickerings, the Smiths, and the Erskins are sort of stranded somewhere because of the storm. I think they're still at Kathy's parent's house but I'm not sure. And I'm not really sure what town they're in. As of yesterday they were pretty much out of power, out of gasoline and had enough water for a few days. If anyone has more detailed info to add to this, please do. Please pray they will get home soon and safe with many stories for Greg to tell in his sermon.

Poor Travis

We left on Wednesday to get away from Rita. And Travis, our cat, was no where to be found. So, we just left his sorry butt behind. I put a huge bowl of food outside and a huge bowl of water and just figured he would live...or he wouldn't. He's a nuisance anyway to be honest. Well, we had fun escaping from the hurricane that didn't hit us anyway. Phillip posted about that on his blog. We got home Saturday and Travis was in the house!!! I guess he snuck in when we were loading the car and hid. First of all, we don't even allow that miserable animal in our house and he was here without a litter box with free reign unsupervised for three days!! He survived and suprisingly, I haven't found any messes. I guess he didn't have anything in his bowels to make a mess with if you know what I'm saying. There was water out that he could have drank if he was smart enough to do it, which he isn't. So, our outside cat, temporarily turned inside cat, is now an outside cat again. Permanently.....until he dies or we dump him off at your house in the middle of the night.

It's good to be home. Thanks to friends and new friends we were safe and we are grateful.

Get lost, Rita!!

This can't be happening!! I DO NOT want to accept that this hurricane is heading right for us.

I was watching a show about alien abductions the other day. And I thought, "Man, that sure would stink." But now I'm thinking it might not be that bad. They could just beam me up or whatever they do around Friday and bring me back around, oh Monday or so. I know they would probably do strange and unspeakable things to me but I'm sure they would have the courtesy of erasing it all from my memory. And then I could remain completely oblivious to the hurricane that is coming RIGHT FOR US!!!

Beef...It's what's for dinner

My mom and my aunt are heading to Rapid City, North Dakota tomorrow for the National Beef Cookoff. My Aunt Carolyn is one of 20 finalist who will be competing in the cookoff and could potentially win some money. That would be pretty dang cool, not that I would get any of it or anything. My aunt has won several recipe contests over the years. She was in the Pillsbury Bakeoff several years ago but didn't win.

In honor of this event, I've been singing "The Beef Song" lately around the house, which is really Hoe-down by Aaron Copland, but I like to call it "The Beef Song" to annoy Phillip. He's sensitive about those kinds of things so I do whatever I can to get under his skin. Annoying Phillip is one of my great pleasures in life.

So, here's to you, Aunt Carolyn. Good luck and I'll be humming "The Beef Song" for you every chance I get.

Doot Doo Dee Doot Doo Dee Dee Doo Dee Doo Doo Doo Doo Dee Doot Deet Doot Doo Dee Dee Doo Doo Dee Dee Doo Doo.......Beef, It's what's for dinner.

I Meant Rapid City, SOUTH Dakota...Duh

Get 'Em!!

Last night Phillip and I joined the Stunzs and the Willsons for the B'Wood/Angleton football game at Hopper Field. Phillip and I are not really football fans, but it was fun. I mostly went to watch the band and see Tori Stunz do her cymbal jigs. Go Tori...Go Tori... The band is pretty amazing.

It's not very often that you can yell at the top of your lungs in public, so I took advantage of the opportunity a few times during the game...not because I really cared about the game, just because yelling is fun. Phillip said that yelling, "Get 'em!!" is a pretty funny instruction to yell from the stands. "What's your strategy in footbal?" "Well, basically just to GET THEM!!!" "Oh, I see." Anyway, it was a good night with friends even if it was hot and there were mosquitos and we were surrounded by people telling the players and refs what to do even though they couldn't hear them and they wouldn't have litened if they could.

While the cats are away the mice will play.....marbles

The leadership staff of Brazos Pointe Fellowship have been at a retreat since Sunday. Since today was their last day out of the office, the support staff decided to use our time wisely and play a little marbles. This picture shows that we all can play marbles and run the show at the same time. Women are such great multi-taskers.

Weeping in Ramah

Not long after posting about the gross thong booty, I decided to look through Evan's box. It had been a few weeks since I looked through our few memories of him. I picked up my Bible with tears still fresh on my face and I almost immediately flipped to Jeremiah 31: 15. I honestly cannot think of a time before when I actually came right to a passage in the Bible right when I needed it. Usually I have to hunt for a little while...or a long while.

15. This is what the LORD says:

"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more."

16. This is what the LORD says:

"Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD. "They will return from the land of the enemy. 17. So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land."

This passage is in regard to the land of Judah turning away from God but God promises that the people will be restored to Him and will again someday follow Him.

'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'
from Jeremiah 31:10

And while I do realize that in this passage God was addressing the Nation of Israel in 600 B.C., He was also addressing me right now. My children have been returned to their own land. There is hope for my future, and my work will be rewarded.

Isn't that cool?

You asked for it...

Someone told me today that someone should blog about how gross it is to see thongs hanging out above people's pants. Well, it's gross alright. What do you think?

New Song? Perhaps

I sat down today to try and write some possible new lyrics to a possible new song. Usually when Phillip and I have written something, the lyrics kind of evolve as we put them to music. I tend to be a little wordy and usually we have to cut stuff out. I'm really not big on rhyming, and most of our songs do not have rhyming lyrics. Anyway, this is what I came up with.

This Journey

This journey is to find You
But you have never strayed
You knew each step my feet would take
Long before they were ever made

You know when I will turn from You
You know when I’ll cling

You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse
Yes, You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse

This journey is to love You
Though we never do it right
And you know the plans You have for us
So I wonder why we fight

You know when I will shake my fists
And you know when I’ll sing

You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse
Yes, You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse

You know when I will turn from You
And you know when I’ll cling
You know when I will shake my fists
And yes, you know when I’ll sing

You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse
Yes, You see my life completely
Even in a glimpse

Good Save...Sort of

This morning before going to church I said to Phillip that I need to get a new belt. And he said, "You mean a fatter one?" After glaring at him for several seconds, I said, "No, a BROWNER one." He claims that he meant wider and he just used a bad choice of words.

I think we are going to have a new catch phrase in the Hintze house from now on. If Phillip says he needs to get a new shirt or new underwear or whatever, my response will be, "you mean a fatter one?"

Moxie Theatre

My cousin Jo Anne and some friends of hers have started a little theatre company where they live in California. I'm excited for you, Jo. Check it out... MOXIE.

Our own Kurumi

Last school year when I worked at St. Mark Lutheran Preschool I taught a little girl named Kurumi that had recently moved from Japan to the United States with her family. She's the cutest little thing and I talked about her all the time. She's just one of those (rare) kids that you want to bring home with you. Anyway, I realized today that she goes to preschool on the same days as Jackson and they play at the playground and Centers at the same time. I asked Jackson if he ever plays with her and he said that he does. This is how the rest of our conversation went:

Mom - I like Kurumi. She's pretty cute. I'd like to bring her home with me.
Jack - Can we?
M - No, she has a mommy and a daddy.
J - Well, can we get our own Kurumi?
M - (Laughing) Maybe, we'll have to see about that.
J - I want to get a boy Kurumi.

Isn't that sweet? I got misty eyed when he said that.

Picture experiment

I've never put pictures on my blog before. If ever there have been any pictures on it, they were put on by Phillip. So, I'm jsut kind of experimenting here and seeing what the finished product looks like. I can already tell this is going to be tricky. Ok, this is my third attempt to make this look a little less...well, stupid for lack of a better word. I can't seem to get the captions to be next to the picture. If you're one of those people who get new posts of blogs you frequent sent to you every time, sorry about that. I'm retarded. I'll have to get Phillip to show me how to do this correctly. Anyway, the first picture is of Jackson with an eyeliner mustache. The last picture is of our toaster fork. We have to use it to keep the bread down. I am going to attempt to publish this again. Why is it that the preview looks nothing like the actual post?

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I'm still already!!!

Even though it has only been three months since we lost our third baby in a row to pregnancy complications, I can't help but being almost consumed with what lies ahead for our family. I guess to some people it may seem too early to be thinking about another child, but I can't seem to help but think about it...on a daily basis...ok, hourly basis. Do we try again? Do we look into adoption? Do we give up and be content with one child? It is so hard to know what is the right thing to do. I know I need to be patient and wait on God. But it has been almost a year since the first baby that we lost was due. Going on two years that we thought another child was going to be added to our family and was not. My patience is running out. I want to make things happen. I want to figure out a way to get another child in this family. Wouldn't you think I would have learned by now that I can't make anything happen? Why can't I get it through my thick skull that it is not up to me? I wish that God would just audibly tell us what we should do. I can't make a decision and move in that direction and just expect God to bless it. But moving in no direction usually gets you nowhere. Doesn't it?

He tells me, "Be still and know that I am God." And my brain screams, "I know, I know! Now give me a baby!" Doesn't quite work that way, does it? Stillness must be in us, not just a visible thing we carry around. The gap between knowing something and putting it to practice is sometimes just too big.

Tomato Sausage

On one of the latest Veggie Tales Videos entitled Minnesota Cuke and The Search for Samson's Hairbrush there is a Silly Song With Larry called Pizza Angel. Jackson likes that song and likes to sing it. It's pretty funny. The part of the words that he likes to sing are supposed to be:
Tomato sauce and cheese so gooey.

But he says:
Tomato sausage cheese so duey.

It is probably much funnier to Phillip and me than it is to anyone else.

It's not just stuff

Watching people desperately searching through the rubble that was their home, seeing people carrying what few meager possessions they have left through the muck and the heat for hours or days, witnessing the blank and hopeless expressions on their faces, watching as they cling to family members they possibly had not ever really hugged like they meant it... to say that all of this is heartbreaking feels like such an inadequate description of what is going on.

Though it is small in comparison, I can somewhat relate to how these people feel. When I was eleven we lost our house and everything in it to a fire. It was there that morning and gone that afternoon. Just like that. Unlike these people in New Orleans and surrounding areas, we had a place to go. We were given food and clothing almost immediately. We had insurance money that helped us to rebuild, not our home, but our lives. And even with the many blessing we received, we were devastated.

We went back to the house several times to try and salvage something, anything, that would have reminded us of what our lives were before the fire. I went in to what was my room searching through tears for something to remind me that my previous life was not all just a dream. I was so excited when I found that one of my Cabbage Patch Kids had survived the fire. The reason it was not destroyed is because it was not one of my favorites and it had been shoved under my desk and had the junk of a pre-adolescent's bedroom piled on top of it. That doll, that I gave little thought to before the fire, instantly became my prized posession. I still have it. I hope I will always have it.

So much of our identity is wrapped up in our stuff. And you may think that this is not true for you, but just imagine if everything that is familiar to you was taken away. Your favorite pair of worn in jeans, favorite pillow that smells of your shampoo, sports trophies that you earned though blood and sweat, childhood pictures. Truly irreplaceable things that seem to make you who you are.

As Christians we should know, atleast on some level, that who we are does not, or should not atleast, revolve around the things that we have. And we can find comfort in situations like this because we believe that our worth is found in God. But many of these people do not have that assurance.

In their eyes, they have not only lost their stuff, but they are flat out lost without their stuff. They will forget minute by minute who they used to be because they no longer have the things that made them who they were. We must pray for many things for these people. We must pray for safety and basic necessities of life, but above all, we must pray that they will find refuge in God. That they will not forever be a shell of who they were because of the possessions they have lost. We must pray that they will call on the name of Jesus and find that he is better than anything that can be purchased.

We need to hold loosely to what we have. Any one of us could be in similar situations to these people in New Orleans. We are not above it. We are not beyond it. The only thing that remains constant is God. He is not absent in all of this. The statement "He is our Rock" takes on new meaning in light of this tragedy.

Chapter Eight...The Great Sin

I wrote a week or so ago about some stuff I had recently read in the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis on marriage from Chapter 6. Chapter 8 is entitled The Great Sin. I just finished chapter 12 on Faith, but I was thinking about Chapter 8 today and thought I would jot down a few things. C. S. Lewis has amazing insight on this subject. I have to believe he's writing about himself in this chapter. I hate to use so many quotes. Like I should just come up with my own thoughts or something. But, man, this guy is amazing. He blows me away.

Now, just because C.S. Lewis wrote this stuff does not automatically mean it is absolutely true. Much of this book consists of his personal opinions on various topics and he says himself that he could be wrong about some of it. But I have yet to come across anything that struck me as contadictory to the Bible or what I know to be true about God or His nature. Not that I know it all...for that would be prideful of me to say.

That said, this chapter addresses the issue of pride and self-conceit, as well as the opposite of this, which is humility. C.S. Lewis writes,

"There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconcious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others."

This to me is a terrifying statement. To think that a great sin or "the great sin" is something that we are often unaware of in ourselves is very scary. I would like to believe that I am fairly humble, but that belief in itself is a prideful one. And blatant conceit in others sickens me, repulses me, turns me off to knowing them further, so that must mean I have plenty of it myself. I don't like that. I don't want to hear that. That is not an easy statement to read or think about.

C.S. Lewis also writes:

"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."

I am heavily convicted again as I read this stuff. How in the world can we focus on God and the magnitude of His righteousness and perfection if we are comparing ourselves to other people who we consider ourselves better than? It doesn't work. It is just not possible. We cannot focus on our worth and God's worth at the same time. It's like we have to flip a mental switch to just be able to enter into His presence and focus wholly on Him. And none of us are capable of doing it...atleast not for very long. Does that mean we should not try? That we should throw our hands up and just forget the whole thing? No, that's where grace comes in.

Lewis says that it is not necessarily prideful to find pleasure in personal praise. "For here the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted to please." He talks about that this can become a problem if you are constantly seeking praise and then thinking highly of yourself when you get it. He says that this kind of pride shows that you are not satisfied with your own admiration and need the admiration of others, which is dangerous, but there is something even more dangerous than this. That is being so full of yourself that you do not even desire or delight in the praises of others.

"'He says, "Why should I care for the applause of that rabble as if their opinion were worth anything? And even if their opinions were of value, am I the sort of man to blush with pleasure at a compliment like some chit of a girl at her first dance? No, I am an integrated, adult personality. All I have done has been done to satisfy my own ideals - or my artistic conscience - or the traditions of my family - or, in a word, because I'm That Kind of Chap. If the mob like it, let them. They are nothing to me.'"

C.S. Lewis refers to this kind of pride as black and diabolical. Again, terrifying.

Humility comes when we really truly get to know about God. "He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are." "To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert."

I love this guy!

The last paragraph in this chapter is a great way to end it.

"If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."