Gotcha Day 2012

Well, it was a slightly busy day - as we had a new series to set up for, and pretty much everyone Daddy works with was gone for the Forward Conference in Atlanta.  It was a quite day, and we were grateful to be working fervently inside.  Get this:  the temperature outside was close to 110 degrees.  I mean, it's ridiculous enough for us to get up to 100 degrees, but then add another 10 degrees?  Seriously?  This is pretty epic on the hot scale.  The last time I experienced temps like this was in China, and before that the Utah and New Mexico deserts.  But there really is something to this "dry heat" stuff.  The desert heat wasn't as bad as China, and now this.  Everyone is staying indoors - for their own good.  It's actually potentially dangerous for young ones and elderly to be out in this sort of sudden heat.  

Anyway, as mentioned earlier, today was a busy day.  We had a lot of stuff to carry about - even Madison tried to do some weightlifting!

She bends down and gets ready for a clean lift.  It looks like Madison is going to attempt quite a feat here, and Olympic record.  Each one of those weights looks to be about 500 pounds!  And we're not talking English currency here either - if she is successful here, there's no question we'll see her in London competing against the other champions...

And there it is!  She's completely hoisted those weights above her head for a massive record.  Such power!  She's got some serious muscles there, and what a winning smile there too!  She's won the competition, and won the audience over too!

We've had a heavy duty day today, with lots to do.  As you can see above, the new Olympic-themed set is in place, along with a few props.  We'll be celebrating something else here in a bit, but in the meantime, here's an entry in our Olympic-themed devotional, all about weightlifting:

“Come to me, all of you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIrV

     It’s time to pump you up!  Do you want to have some serious spiritual muscles?  Do you want to have real strength available when you need it?  If so, then it’s time to get in shape and do some spiritual bodybuilding!

     The exercise part is common sense:  in order to build your spiritual muscles, you have to spend more time with God.  Strength training requires time spent each day working out.  The more you do it, the bigger your muscles.  And the bigger your muscles, the more you’ll feel confidence in every step.

     To get that kind of sureness, there’s a lot of training involved.  In the 2008 Olympic weightlifting competition, the gold medal champion was asked who he thought was the most talented athlete there.  His answer:  himself. 

     Talk about confidence!  But he explained, “It was very hard, I’ve worked very hard for this gold medal for a long time.  I expected the competition to be very difficult, but at home I can lift even heavier.”

      If you want that same walk of confidence, it is key to set aside time each day to read God’s Word, and spend time in prayer at home.  Don’t forget to stretch your faith before each session – God will be your spotter!  He’ll stay by you, closer than a brother, an uplifting source of real power.

      Remember that He is the ultimate weightlifter:  when you are weak, He is strong.  If you are feeling weary and burdened, cast your cares upon Him and He will carry you. 
       

     Let’s get back to the bench, and start building up those spiritual muscles.  It’s time to pump you up! 

************************************

     So here we are four years later already.  Daddy wanted to do something nice today, but we were all so busy with work that we just couldn't celebrate exactly on the day so much.  We did tell her the story, and we did watch the slideshow video that Daddy made - in fact, we must have seen that thing about ten times today!  You can see it for yourself here if you want.

     Madison was quite helpful today putting booklets and pencils in chairs, and helping clean up around the place.  Everything looks ready for tomorrow, and hopefully all will turn out well.  Afterwards, we'll rest a bit and get some time off together.  It'll be a very pleasant next few days, in fact, as we actually don't have any school Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  Additionally, Daddy is off for the Fourth of July, so things are good there for all of us to have a good time doing something - though it may have to be an inside something.  This temperature is HOT!

"Me mind on fire, me soul on fire, feeling hot, hot, hot.  Party people all around me, feeling hot, hot, hot." - Buster Poindexter