Writing

In my daughter's grade 9 Literature course there was a statement that stuck out to me last week. In the study of Unity, the author was saying how it isn't hard to decide WHAT to write, but it is hard to decide what NOT to write. My thoughts exactly! I wonder if other people start a blog, save it and then decide to delete it as many times as I do?! Honesty lends itself to vulnerability, so I often decide not to publish some of my thoughts. I wonder if others will misunderstand what I'm saying. I wonder if some of the things God is teaching me are just for me and not for me to share. I wonder if I admit my weaknesses if others will remind me about them later. I wonder if maybe I should just stick to the facts rather than share feelings.

Maybe I'll just delete this instead of publishing it ... or maybe not!

Quick thought ...

" ... hear from Him, apply what you've heard, and watch what happens." (Steve Shultz - ElijahList)

Wow ... there is so much TRUTH in those few words. Lord, help me to hear You, help me to apply what You've said and I can't wait to see what will happen!

Day of Blessings ...

I began the day waking early and spending time snuggling in my warm bed praying for several friends who are going through difficult times. The morning proceeded as normal with breakfast, lots of schoolwork, house tidying etc. and a quick trip to town to pick up a few groceries.

Near the end of schooltime this afternoon I got a rare call from an old friend who now lives in Saskatchewan. We spent about an hour and a half chatting about her pregnancy, her kids, my kids, and mostly about all the incredible things God has been teaching each of us. We cried together, challenged each other and comforted one another. While I chatted, my hubby made a great pot of coffee and brought me a cup of it in my favourite red Starbucks mug. He also made sure the fire was stoked up and the family room was nice and warm and then left me to chat. What an absolute blessing to have such incredible friends!

For supper I made a recipe I haven't made for about 4 years. I even remembered what page (224) the recipe was on in my Betty Crocker cookbook! The Beef Stroganoff turned out soooo good! One of the best things was that I got the steak for the recipe for a great deal at the grocery store this morning ... I love getting a good deal!

After supper we headed to Belleville to attend a Belleville Bulls hockey game. We ran into an old friend last week and he is working in the Bulls' office and offered us free tickets to tonight's game. We had great seats and I was so impressed with the level of skill, the speed and even just the excitement in the building. Best of all, the Bulls won 4 -1!

On the way home, we were able to enjoy a lunar eclipse as it was happening. We got home just in time for MacKenzie to run in and get her telescope and some binoculars to witness even more of the eclipse. She and her dad came inside to get hats and mitts and even wrapped up in blankets and headed back outside in -12 C weather to watch God showing off!

God is sooooo good to me!

Family Day

Today is officially a new holiday here in Ontario called Family Day. Because my hubby works from home and I homeschool both kids, pretty much every day is Family Day for us and I wouldn't change a thing! So, my girls chose to each invite a friend over after church yesterday until this afternoon. There is nothing quite like a housefull of giggling girls! (At least they all slept from about midnight until nearly 9am)!

"SLEEPY BEAUTIES!"

I decided I felt like cooking and baking, so after we got home yesterday I put on a nice pot of homemade beef stew and made a loaf of homemade bread. By the time everything was ready the house smelled sooo yummy and the show we wanted to watch was just about to start! While we watched TV I decided to make peanut butter cookies. I must admit, they were the best cookies I've ever made! This morning when all the girls were ready for breakfast, I sliced up some fruit and we ate it with homemade banana muffins still warm from the oven! Yum ....

So, in honour of Family Day I continued to do what I do best ... serve the ones I love ... my family!

Happy Valentine's Day!

"For God so LoVed the world,
~~~~That He gAve~~~~~~~
~~~~~~His onLy ~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~BegottEn~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~SoN~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~ThaT whosoever~~
~~~~Believeth In Him~~~~~~
~~~~~Should Not perish,~~~~
~~~~But have Everlasting life."

John 3:16

Captivating ...

About a year and a half ago I felt the Lord drawing me to the word "captivating". I knew that there was a book by this title and I asked a few friends if they owned it because I wanted to borrow it. A couple friends had read the book, but no one owned it. I looked for the book at the library, but they only had the workbook. Since I was having a difficult time finding the book, I figured I must have been wrong about being drawn to it. Within a couple days, I opened a magazine about Homeschooling and there was an article entitled "Captivating" ... it was exactly what I needed at that time.

Still, I have kept looking for the book Captivating and even had it in my hand at a couple stores and then decided against buying it. About 3 weeks ago I renewed my membership at the Belleville Public Library and was enjoying filling my bookbag with lots of stuff to read. I headed upstairs to the Non-fiction section to see what I could find and right in front of me on the "New Additions" shelf was the book Captivating!! I snatched it up and was looking forward to reading it. About 2 days later I had an e-mail inviting me to the second MomTime Book Club with Lisa Welchel. The book to read, study and discuss is ... you guessed it ... CAPTIVATING! I tried to participate in her first book club, but had a tough time trying to get computer time. Tomorrow, the day the second MomTime Book Club starts, our new computer is being delivered to our home and the old laptop with officially be ALL MINE!!!

I just LOVE how God handles ALL the details! I've been reading ahead and I am looking forward to sharing thoughts with lots of others. Wanna join us?

Snow Days!

I captured a couple pics from my back deck of the weather this week. I am always intrigued by trees and often wish I had a camera with me. This week I remembered to take a few shots while at home.

Snow, snow and more snow! It was fun to be snowed in ... we rented movies and relaxed by the woodstove. No complaints from me!

Ravin' About One of My Faves!

Over the last few months I have been introduced to and enjoyed some excellent books and movies. It's my turn to recommend one of them to you!

I asked for the book Mosaic (by Amy Grant) for Christmas and was thrilled when my hubby bought it for me. I wouldn't say I've been a big fan of hers over the years, but I have enjoyed different aspects of her career. I thought the book was an autobiography and was looking forward to delving in. I was wrong. This book is several beautiful glimpses into the very public, as well as the very private, life of Amy Grant. It is neither chronological nor complete. Each "section" is a new thought, a story about part of her life, lyrics to songs, poems, truths shared from lessons learned, encouragement shared from personal growth and joy shared from friendships. Each page points to the Father's continual love and guidance. One of my favourite lines from the book was, "Nothing is wasted in life. Grief and pain enlarge our capacity for compassion and perseverance." Amy Grant

After my recommendation, two of my friends, Rhonda and Brandy, already have their own copies and the list of people wanting to borrow my copy of Mosaic is growing. Get ready to curl up and savour this book. You'll want to read it a bit at a time and then take time to reflect on your own life. Enjoy!

Check it out!

My wonderful hubby joined the world of blogging a few months ago and I wanted to honour him by inviting you all to see what he's writing about. Anyone who really knows Andrew (see his post "December 20"), knows that he is a very deep thinker. Where most of us are afraid to think deeply and really analyze the deep parts of our hearts, Andrew accepts this as a challenge! Honestly, he never stops thinking! In every circumstance, everywhere we are, everyone we meet, he sees beyond the surface ... incredible insight ... and he is bold to share what he thinks and sees (and does his best to be gentle about it).

Stop by for a visit. Bookmark his blog and come back often ...

www.martinmusicgroup.blogspot.com

Get thinking ....

Vicki

Surprise!!

My hubby has been in the studio in PEI since last week and we were expecting him home later this evening. He (and our friend, Mark) drove all night to get home yesterday for noon ... they arrived home a day and a half early!! Yippee!
Since my girls and I thought that we would be home alone last night we had a "Movie and Foot Spa" night planned. So, Andrew relaxed with the rest of us watching Bridge to Teribithia while getting our feet soaked, scrubbed and massaged. We let him skip the nail polish step!!

Kids say the Funniest things!

I have written about my niece, Alandria, in previous posts. This is a recent pic of her (3 1/2 years) with her dog, Pheobe.

Her mom, my sister reads to her each night as she is falling asleep. A couple months ago, after my sister had read to her The Ten Commandments, Alandria sat right up, looked at her mom and asked her, "Mommy, what is A DOLL TREE?"

This was the e-mail from my sister this morning ...

I was just putting Alandria to bed and we were reading the last 'Psalm' in her kids' Bible. I told her, "Alandria, this is the last poem we are going to read. Tomorrow night we will be reading stories again." She said, "The poem that Dabid wrote?" (I have been telling her that David wrote these poems we were reading every night). I told her yes. Then, realizing she probably hadn't made the connection, I said "Alandria, remember David that looks after the sheep? Remember 'Only a boy named David?' Remember David that killed the giant Goliath? Well, that is the same David that wrote these poems!" She looked at the book, then at me. She said "You mean the Dabid in my mobie? Dabid that is in my book? The Dabid that is in my mobie?! Maybe he wrote them when he was in the book. Maybe he pop out of the mobie and wrote them. Yep. He popped out of the mobie to write the poems. "

I hope that makes you smile! Maybe even laugh! A reliable source (Kyler, the son of our friends Mark and Patti) told me last night that laughing helps you lose weight!! Ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ....

Who God Wants Me To Be

Lately I've been thinking about this statement, "I am on a journey to discover who it is God wants me to be."

Last year I stood by and supported my girls while they worked hard to learn the world of modeling and to be models. I stood by proud as I watched them win awards, be recognized for their inner and outer beauty and even accomplish getting modeling contracts.

This year I have stood by and supported my hubby as he has had the opportunity to work together with some incredibly talented people to collaborate on a album that is a dream come true for him. I've seen him work hard, learn new techniques, and then be able to sit back listen to the beginning stages of an incredible album that God has ordained to take us to places we've never been before.

But ... what about me? Do I get a turn? I have LOVED every minute of seeing my very most favourite people in the world see their dreams come true ... but still .....

Some of my dearest friends know that it has been a desire of my heart to join with other believers in a small group setting to study and learn together and pray together. When our girls were babies the group we were traveling with got the band together often for these times and kept promising that the mom's of the group would have the same opportunity while the dad's watched the kids. It never happened. About 2 years ago a friend invited a few of us to her home and we were able to bond, begin learning from each other, study the Word and pray for each other on a fairly consistent basis. Unfortunately, this time ended. I decided that with my schedule, the best way to join a small group would be an online group. I found one, bought the book, got my user name and password and began reading. Unfortunately I travel with a hubby who runs his business off this laptop, with one daughter who is taking an online course on this laptop and another daughter who keeps her "social life" running with this laptop. I'm last to get to use the computer. I've only been involved with my book club a couple of times. One more disappointment.

But ... my Father knew what I needed all along! The last week and a half have been spent at the beautiful Shell Lane Studio in Kensington, PEI where we are surrounded with nothing but water, red sand and incredibly talented people. Just the setting is enough to make you relax and take time to reflect. I was in charge of keeping the meals on the table, the house tidy and the kids moving forward with their schoolwork. One morning, while drinking coffee in the comfy country kitchen, God began to speak to me through Dan (our producer and good friend). I can honestly tell you that more was accomplished in those couple of hours than years of small group could have accomplished. The difference was in the timing and the attitude. Bottom line ... I do know who God wants me to be ... and I am already everything He wants me to be! I am a spiritual being with the purpose of intersecting with human experiences. So simple, so deep, so completely life-changing. Everything I do, every encounter I have is by Divine Purpose. I AM everything HE wants me to be!! I am already accomplishing His purpose for my life ... simply by living my life as a spiritual being and having human experiences.

I'm not sure if that speaks to you or even if you understand it, but for me it has been life-changing!

Fortunately/Unfortunately ...

I distinctly remember being in grade 2, sitting in a circle with my classmates, with my teacher reading a book to us to teach us the meaning of the words "Fortunately" and "Unfortunately". It was something about a man who ... "Fortunately got to take a ride in a hot air balloon. Unfortunately the balloon failed and began falling. Fortunately it landed on something soft". You get the idea!

Well ... the last couple of weeks have gone something like that! Fortunately we planned a great fundraiser at our home church to raise the money to finish the new album my hubby is working on. We had some great things planned for the concert. Unfortunately on the morning before the concert, the company we were getting the snow machine from called to say the snow machine wasn't working. Fortunately we were able to locate another one on the morning of the concert. It was on a truck travelling on the 401 and had already passed Belleville, but fortunately the driver agreed to pull off and drive back to Belleville to drop the machine off! Fortunately we had some great help getting the concert to run smoothly. Jeff and Carolann McCann have joined our team and they were instrumental in getting out the advertising, securing the snowmachine, helping serve coffee and cheesecake prior to the concert and making sure the concert was LIVE via the internet. Fortunately all aspects of the concert seemed to run smoothly. Unfortunately we came in quite a bit shorter financially than we had hoped.

Fortunately we had a completely uneventful drive to Charlottetown over the next couple of days. Fortunately the guitar player, Tom Vitacco from Chicago (worship pastor at Willowcreek) arrived just fine as well. Unfortunately the plane our producer, Dan Cutrona, took from Toronto was delayed by two hours.

Fortunately Tom spent the next two days laying down all the guitar parts to the drum and bass tracks Andrew and Dan had recorded in Toronto the previous week. Fortunately they sounded amazing! Unfortunately while Tom was flying home on Wednesday morning we discovered that somehow the hard drive would not transfer the guitar files! Unfortunately we spent the next two days trying to figure out what was wrong. We finally gave up! Fortunately Tom agreed to record the tracks in the Willowcreek studio and send them to us as soon as possible. Fortunately Andrew was able to add his vocals to the tracks over the next several days without any trouble.

We packed up and were ready to leave mid-afternoon on Monday, but decided to listen to what we had accomplished in 8 days first. The van was completely packed, the kids were ready to go and yet here we all sat in the studio listening to this incredible production! Words that come to mind are "stellar", "sensational" and "brilliant". We were all moved to tears. When we had finished listening, I honestly felt like I had been to the best concert in my life! Fortunately, you too will be able to enjoy this production in the spring of 2008! Andrew along with Dan Cutrona and Paul Milner are a winning team! I'm sure the Father was grinning from ear to ear!

Fortunately we live in the beautiful country of Canada. Unfortunately, if you are travelling in Canada in November you can expect to experience all kinds of weather within a 24 hour period. And we did!!! On the drive home we experienced dark clouds, sunny skies, heavy rain, fog, freezing rain and lots of snow! Fortunately we arrived home to our sparkling Christmas lights (see previous post!) without any trouble ... tired, but with a sense that we had accomplished what God had set before us to do.

Countdown 'til Christmas

Just the other day, in the middle of a busy homeschooling morning, Savannah took a break and left the schoolroom. I heard her pause outside the door, gasp and then whisper, "Does Mom know?" At that moment I knew my Christmas-loving hubby had started the decorating for Christmas! My hubby has always LOVED Christmas and so I always let him do every bit of the decorating. This year, since our schedule is so hectic, he decided to decorate early so that whenever we ARE home, we can enjoy the season! By evening on OCTOBER 22 our entire house was completely sparkling waiting for Christmas to arrive! What a joy it is to come home after a concert and/or a long drive to a beautifully decoarted home!

ps. Just for the record, he also disassembles all the Christmas stuff!!

Where did Summer go?

Wow! I can't believe how fast summer came and went! It's true that "time flies when you're having fun!"

In July, we flew to Alberta and took part in a couple really fabulous events. The Canadian Gospel Music Celebration happens every year in Red Deer, AB and it is always a joy to get together with so many other people who do exactly what we do. We connected with some old friends, made some new friends, and poured into the lives of some friends who have been hurting.

The next weekend we had the opportunity to be at the Sandy Creek Gospel Jamboree and what a pleasure that was! Again ... new friends, old friends and the opportunity to watch my hubby in action. This event was outside and it was about 37 C the entire weekend! All the "performers" stayed at Briercrest College, which are great accomodations, except they are not air-conditioned! We managed to get a little fan for our room that sounded like a Cessna plane getting ready to take off. Don't ask the Beene family why they had one less fan in their room and we had one extra!

Of course, we also did concerts in several churches as well. It is always a thrill to sit back and watch my hubby take people on a journey. He really can make people laugh, make them cry and he is always sensitive to God's leading and is able to say the right thing at the right time to make a difference in somone's life. What a joy! He has also added some new songs to his repetoire this summer and people are LOVING them!

Back at home, we took a couple days of "family" vacation. We drove to Niagara Falls and met my hubby's parents and his sister and her hubby and kids. On the way there I chuckled to myself as I looked around our car ... Andrew was listening to a podcast on his new iPod, Savannah was watching a movie on her portable DVD player, MacKenzie was listening to her MP3 player while playing her Gameboy and I was reading a book. Interesting way to take a "family" vacation, but at least we were all in the same place! We enjoyed a couple days of swimming, campfires, shopping and a bit of sightseeing.

The last few weeks we've been home getting our office in order after having both computers crash!! uuggh! Andrew has been busy on the phone and making arrangements for our fall tour dates. We're got some great new additions to our team, some great new opportunities and some great new ideas! It's been exciting to watch as God has put this all together and it will continue to be exciting to watch where He's going to take us with it all!

The girls and I have been concentrating on schoolwork and I have to admit that I LOVE it when our house has a smooth running routine. Both girls are diligent workers and I really do love spending time with them. I'm so thankful that God put it in our heart to homeschool and then gave us the abilities, tools and schedule to do so.

Just a bit of an update .....

Winnipeg

These are some pics of my family together in Winnipeg ....




Our travels recently have taken us to Northern Ontario and to Winnipeg. The reason for the trip was a bit of business, a bit of ministry and a bit of spending time with family.

My mom and dad drove up from Iowa and brought my sister and her little girl. Them coming to Winnipeg was especially poignant because Andrew and I were on tour in Winnipeg on the night my mom called to say my sister had been rushed into the hospital for an emergency C-section ... at only 24 weeks pregnant. Alandria Grace was born weighing only 2lb 4oz. I was able to visit her once she came home from the hospital nearly 3 months later. I have seen her a few times since then and my sister has been faithful to e-mail pics nearly every week and even a few videos, but Alandria has always been too young to really remember me or know who I was. Not anymore!!

Alandria is now a beautiful blond, blue-eyed, feisty 3 year old. Despite being born so early, she has no physical or mental limitations at all! She talks just about as fast as her mother and has a stubborn personality, ALMOST as strong as her mother's!! We enjoyed a few short days together going to church, playing in the park, playing in McDonald's Playland, reading books, playing with Polly Pockets, visiting the Manitoba Children's Museum and the Assiniboine Park Zoo. What wonderful memories that I am sure she will remember as well!

My Mother's Day Gift

So, my 13 year old daughter saved her money and bought me the most wonderful gift for Mother's Day ... a trip to my friend Tammy's Spa for a facial! Now, Tammy and I could talk for hours about absolutely nothing, but when she started the facial, I was so relaxed that my brain seemed to turn off! There was no need for words! I came out feeling wonderful and my skin even looked much better! Wow ... I highly recommend that you indulge yourself or at least you'll know what to ask for when Mother's Day rolls around again!

Canadian Model and Talent Convention

After 6 months of planning, my hubby and I had the opportunity to go with our daughters to the Canadian Model and Talent Convention (CMTC) in Toronto. This is a 4 day convention where 250 of Canada's top models and actors/actresses (and their parents) come to learn, compete and meet with over 50 of the world's top agents. Our girls each competed in a few competitions and Savannah even took home First Runner up in Runway and First Runner up in Photograph! MacKenzie's age group (12 - 15) was huge and the competition was very stiff. We attended every seminar possible and met many wonderful, wonderful people!

At the end of the 4 days, 8 agents asked to meet with MacKenzie and 13 asked to meet with Savannah!! Lots and lots of girls were leaving in tears because no agents had asked to meet with them, so we felt very, very honoured. Some of the agents want to have indepth interviews with the girls right away and spoke of possible print jobs and some acting ones for Savannah. Other agents just wanted to say that one or both of the girls were beautiful and they were looking forward to watching them grow and working with them in the future. We will have an interview next week with our local agency, Mode Elle, and get direction about which opportunities to pursue.

We had decided that just attending the convention, learning all we could and competing to the best of their ability would be enough. Getting 21 call-backs between the two of them at the end was certainly the icing on the cake!

Several things about this process have amazed me ...

*God provided every single cent we needed to go to this event! The details about how the money came in, the exact amount and at exactly the right moment could only be accomplished by God Himself!
*There are so many very normal, but wonderful people that are part of the modeling industry.
*How my girls were so very content to be themselves and did not feel pressure to wear what the others were wearing or look like some of the other girls.
*How my girls came running to me after each competition with smiles and hugs to let me know how it went when I didn't see any other kids hugging their parents. (we must be doing something right!)
*How many people knew us by name! Every day there were two or three families or agents that approached us and called us by name. I think that's Favour!
*How excited the agents were to find out the girls were homeschooled!
*How exhausting sitting in seminars and waiting in lines can be!

From the moment we began this process we have asked the Lord to open the right doors, close the wrong ones and to give us wisdom. He's been Faithful to do just that and we will continue to be sensitive to His leading.

Home ...

I'm thankful that the Lord has CALLED us to do what we do. I can't imagine trying to do it without His strength, guidance and provision!

*7 days away from home
*7 nights in motels
*sharing a motel room with the 3 people that I love more than anyone else in the world, but still, that's 3 more people than me in one small room!
*setting up, sound checking, "performing" (see a previous post!), and tearing down gear 6 times
*listening in awe as my sweet hubby expelled every ounce of energy each night to give folks an unforgettable concert. His voice still makes the hair on my arms stand up!
*sharing our testimony over and over, watching hope spark in people where there hadn't been any hope for a long, long time
*listening to heartwrenching stories of heart ache, disappointent and, of course, mental illness
*driving hundreds of kilometers and seeing thousands of acres completely flooded and knowing how devasted the farmers must be
*encouraging a hotel clerk who had been married to a youth pastor who abused her
*encouraging the grandma beside me on the plane who seemed frightened by every bump ... her hubby of 52 years had recently passed away and she was learning to live life alone
*encouraging the young dad beside me on another flight who woke up in the morning in Calgary and decided to move to Toronto that very day to be close to his little girl. He was so disraught about his decision. He was from a broken home and was fighting hard not disappoint his mom or dad and at the same time be a father himself
*doing laundry in a filthy little laundryroom in a tiny motel in the middle of nowhere (the INSIDES of the machines were clean!)
*dragging bags of groceries from motel to motel in an attempt to eat a bit healthier and save the expense of restaurants


We also did get to connect with my cousin and her sweet family over a meal. We reconnected with some awsome fans. We had a picnic in a hotel room with some old friends. We got to share the stage with one of our all time favourite groups ... Double Portion! We got to spend some time with our dear friends, Dr. Richard and Elaine Horner, who drove in from Edmonton to be with us.

We flew from Saskatoon to Calgary yesterday afternoon before catching our connection to Toronto (I know that route doesn't make sense, but try and tell that to WestJet!). In Calgary airport they have a Chili's, one of our all-time favourite restaurants, so we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed a delicious meal. We were wandering around, doing a bit of shopping afterwards when MacKenzie came running out of a shop saying they had just called our names over the loud speaker. I walked calmly to the gate wondering if they were going to upgrade us or something. The desk clerk picked up the phone and started yelling, "Cancel baggage removal ... they're here!" She asked me for our boarding passes. I gave them to her and reminded her that we had another hour before we flew. Oh no we didn't! There is NOT an hour time difference. The plane was loaded and they were waiting for us! In fact, they were just getting ready to remove our bags from the plane because we hadn't shown up! We nearly missed that flight!

We arrived in Toronto at midnight, got our bags (yes, they were all there), jumped in our van and headed home. We pulled into our driveway at 3:00am ... tired, but with a sense that we had accomplished what God had sent us to do. We are blessed indeed!