Yup that’s right Donkey Basketball.  You are not just seeing things.  Yes that is me and Laura riding donkeys, while attempting to play basketball for a school fundraiser.  I was on the Camp Forest Springs team and Laura was on the Teachers team.  There were two others teams in the contest, so no I didn’t get a chance to play Laura’s team.  The object of Donkey Basketball is to move up and down the court riding your donkey and trying to pass and shoot a basketball.  You must be ON your donkey to pass or shoot.  My donkey…named “Honey Pot” did not move anywhere the entire game.  In fact I got called for a 5 minute lane violation because he would not move.  Our team won our first game by a rock, paper, scissors tie breaker, but we ended up losing the final game by a score of 2-0.  This game…though funny looking…is not as easy as one would think.  It was fun, but I don’t think you’ll see me rushing out to do that again.  Check out the pictures!!!

This is me and half my team anxiously awaiting our turn.  Yes that is a Hawaiian grass skirt.                               
 

Tag, I’m in.  Now I’ve got to get up…boy he was a big one!!!

Here I am trying to talk my donkey into moving…not working.
 

Now it’s Laura’s turn to try and get her donkey to move.

Here is Laura getting coached by the referee.

It’s days like this that I simply love winter.  And I love where we live.  I am thankful for a pair of good snow-shoes.  Thankful for my wonderful husband.  Thankful for the ability to bask in my backyard.

Not Zumba, but Zuppa!  As in Zuppa Tuscana.  It’s a soup.  A favorite soup recipe that I got from my cool friend Lauren.  The recipe is basically a copycat recipe from Olive Garden’s classic Zuppa.  Anyways, Larry and I make it lots, and when it was mentioned that it would be great to have a new soup for couple’s retreat and dinner theater, I offered to share the goodness.  Since many have asked I will continue to share the goodness.  Enjoy a flavorful, cozy classic from our home to yours this winter…..

1 lb. italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (careful—if you add too much some people get finicky)
1 large diced onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces (about three strips or whatever you feel like)
3 tsp. crushed garlic (I add more when no one is looking…)
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bullion
1 cup heavy cream (or half and half if you are feeling fat…is there such thing as light cream?)
2 lbs of sliced red potatoes
1/4 bunch of kale or spinach (use lots! it is good for you and will shrink down)

1)  Saute sausage and pepper in pot.  Drain and remove fat from the pot and set sausage aside.
2)  Saute bacon, onions in the same pot.  Add garlic.
3)  Add water, bullion, and boil.  Add potatoes and cook till soft. (about 1/2 hour)
4)  Before serving add the cup of cream Heat, but don’t boil.  Add sausage back in the pot.
5)  Cut kale or spinach into strips and add just before serving.
6)  Enjoy with some good bread.

(er…this is not taken from my table.  It is from the Olive Garden.  Are you kidding me?!—we are usually too busy eating to bother with such pictures.)

I ate an extra piece of chocolate today in memory of my grandpa.  Dad called to tell me that grandpa had passed away in his sleep this morning, and so I sit with tears in my eyes, rejoicing at his peaceful departure from this world, and knowing that he is in a far better place with his Jesus. 

As the tears silently roll, I can simply smile as I think back to the man that he was to many.  To me though, he was “grandpa.”  The kindhearted kind of grandpa, the one that would joke with us, the kind who truly cared about the well-being of others, the kind who would give big hugs.  And if there was anyone who would slip us generous amounts of chocolate, we all knew it was grandpa.  (As kids, when we visited, there was always a jug of chocolate milk in the fridge, brownies on the counter, and a box of Rustle Stover’s candy that he would silently slip to us when our parents were out of sight.) 

He served others well.  I can still picture him putting on his cap to go to town to get fresh buns for lunch asking if I wanted to come too.  While others saw his service to grandma or his compassion in his countless visits to those who were sick or in need, I can recall his compassion in feeling bad if he knew others would loose a game.  In fact, if grandpa knew he might win, he would intentionally try to loose.  We liked playing games with grandpa. 

As I grew older and considered what I might “do” with my life, he encouraged me to teach and was supportive of Larry and camp.  I can recall when he told me of his journey from full time farming to becoming the pastor of a small church.  As a farmer who had completed the 8th grade, he felt far from qualified, yet sensed God guiding him to humbly lead.  And grandpa sought to humbly follow his God.

So I thank God for my grandpa…not because he was perfect, but because he was genuine.  Because he sought to embrace God’s truth, and other people with joy.  I thank God for working in the lives of faulty, simple people who embrace His grace.  Today, more than ever, I trust that grandpa is rejoicing in that Grace. 

(This was about 5 years ago at grandma and grandpa’s 60th wedding anniversary)

(I love this old picture of grandma and grandpa.)

(The grandpa smile.)

(Grandpa and I in Mexico)

So I am not always one for New Year’s Resolutions….I will sit and read my dear friends’ pithy blogs filled with insights and resolutions as the new year rings in.  And while I’d like to resolve to keep my closets clean, to shed a few pounds, to send birthday cards, and to get up earlier….it seems fruitless to make such claims. 

Then I thought about what I recently wrote in a note to a friend where I scrawled the following in the closing: “Wishing you God’s best in 2011.”  Sure, it was a “nice” way to conclude some good intentions, right?!  So what does that really mean?!  ......To wish one “God’s Best”....

Resolutions aside, and call it whatever you want, how can we seek to experience “God’s best” in 2011?  I want to know HIS HEART more deeply.  I want to embrace TRUTH and live out GRACE.  I don’t just want to write cunning cliches on my blog.  It seems that only when we obey Him do we truly get to know God’s heart for his children—-and while we may not always understand (or totally agree in our wayward hearts) we are experiencing his ultimate best for us.  I recently read the following: “God does not stand by at a distance, demanding our obedience.  Rather, He blesses us by allowing us to be a part of accomplishing His purposes.  He calls us to surrender, invites us to follow, empowers us to serve, and then [meets us in the midst of] our obedience.”  So, in light of a challenging sermon this morning, I want to commit to getting to know God’s heart.  I want to unpack what he has given us as his best.  I don’t want to check off a checklist, or read simply because I “should.”  I am blown away that the God of the universe has given us a glimpse of his plan, and I so often turn to others or other things.  With that said, I am seeking to savor his word in 2011. 

Wintertainment is a week long camp in between Christmas and New Years for high school students.  It is lots of fun with days packed full of activities.  Throughout the days there is lots of tubing, skiing, snowbaording, hanging out playing games, ice skating, broomball, and much more.  In order to make wintertainment run I needed to find 50 college students who wanted to come back to camp for a week over their Christmas break.  Some of them would do anything to be able to work wintertainment.  I could not have run wintertainment without them, so if you are reading this blog and you were here for the week, THANK YOU!!!  Greg Speck was our speaker and he really connected well with the students.  During Wintertainment 2 students accepted Christ for the very first time and many others made some significant decisions in regards to their relationship with Christ.  “Now is the Time…Now is the Time to Live for Christ” was Greg’s theme for the week.  Our prayer is that the students would live for Christ at home and in their schools this year.  Here are just a few pictures from the week.