Pie and the Sky

...and what an AMAZING sky it was.  

Thanks for shining on down on Castle Rock, God!

Today is National Pie Day!  Booya!  

Hows about some Key Lime!?  

Real Key West Lime Juice, you know.

1.  Consume Immediately.  Duh.

2.  "...return to fridge for up to 3 days?"  

Who could wait 3 days to eat pie!?

EAT ME!  EAT ME!

Boy, they weren't kidding about that thawing stuff!  Sheesh - my fork went in...and won't be coming back out for 60-70 minutes.  Poor fork.  Poor hungry Brenda.  

Just one more of this shining glory!  Wow!

Making a Difference

Haven't heard anything directly from Bradley John.

However, the Facebook page for his combat team, the White Falcons, (what did we do before Facebook and blogging) posted this news this past Thursday, January 20th:

  The White Falcons arrived in Haiti and are beginning missions to help the people living in Port au Prince.  We have distributed food, water, and medical supplies, helped move doctors and search and rescue teams.  We're getting settled in and used to the warm weather.  People here have welcomed our assistance and White Falcons are making a difference.  

Couldn't help but notice the Bible verse of the day:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be 

called children of God."  - Jesus (Matthew 5:9)

Keeping all those peacemakers 

over in Haiti in my prayers!

Not Me!

What kind of teacher would allow
these kind of things to happen
in her classroom? Not me!

I'd never let my kiddos play with the
melody disks while I wasn't looking. Not me!

I certainly wouldn't be found on the playground during my lunch break, playing with the little people instead of preparing my classroom for my afternoon classes. Not me!

I would never allow my 6th graders to hide my classroom supplies, much less let them leave me a ransom note upon exiting my classroom. Not me!

And I certainly wouldn't turn off all the lights and gather the kids in a corner to see the super cool glow-in-the-dark bracelet a 2nd grader gave me instead of teaching our lesson. Not me!

You can be assured I would never let a 1st grader grab my camera and take a million pictures all by himself instead of playing the instruments like the rest of his class. Not me!

I wouldn't be the teacher who doesn't notice when a child grabs a marker and decides to leave me a "thumbs-down" note on my easel. Not me!

And I am certainly not the teacher who allows her 5th graders to parade around the classroom with a tamborine-crowned, inflatable astronaut with a scarf. Not me!

100% Saint, 100% Sinner

Check out the t-shirt text! 100% Saint, 100% Sinner!
Me, Pr Ruth Ann, Paula, Pr Ron, St. Francis, Naboo, Caitlin

All the Middle School Kids and their sponsors that attended the Youth Gathering in Colorado Springs - talk about Faith Formation in action!

Our Church Council retreat was a fantastic way to connect with each other and determine the future steps for our congregation. Equipped, empowered, unleashed!

Our fearless leaders, Pastors Ruth Ann and Ron

Caring Conversations

It also happened to be the 4th anniversary of
Pr Ron's arrival at BLC. Cupcakes for all!

My First Field Trip

My first field trip! Mind you, we only traveled a whopping 6.09 miles - yet it was still my first trip on a bus with kids...with me in charge! HA!

Thirty-five singing Flagstonians attended the Feeder Area Workshop, where we celebrated singing with kids at other grade levels. Anything to foster the love of singing throughout the years!

Phil, the middle school director, pumping up the kids!

4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 high school.
Auditorium full of singing kids!

The high schoolers ROCKED! Here they are,
warming up the kids with Do-Re-Me-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do!

Paula, the high school director, leading the rehearsal!

(Note: fun photos removed from original post...)

Let's see...singing boys? Check.
Cool attitudes? Check.
ELECTRIC GUITAR? Sweet!
(and did I mention, he's another former Flagstonian, too?!)

A Similar Tail

Back in March of last year, I posted an entry entitled "Fingers and Fish" that was eerily similar to the following tail!
(Get it? Tail...fish...nevermind...)

ALIVE! For a moment there, I thought that my little Red fish had learned to swim upside down! Then, sadly, I realized the little guy was no longer moving. Very sad. But wait! Just as I was ready to flush him to the holy here-after, he takes a flying LEAP out of the bowl I'm dumping! I catch him, place him back in the water he just leapt from, cleaned his bowl, and asked him why he pulled such a stunt. I then apologized for making him swim in a murky, disgusting bowl. He's since stopped swimming upside down, and hasn't flown now for an entire week.

Ow, ow, ow, ow....Took a flying leap of my own off the altar the other Sunday, and landed rather hard on who knows what. This lovely triangular cut would NOT stop bleeding, which was a rather inconvenient problem seeing as how I was leading the liturgy that day in church which involved raising my hands up and down to invite the congregation to sing! My hand would NOT stop shaking, either! Pretty sure there should have been some stitches involved...

BRENDA: Noble Spirit
The meaning of my name - thanks, Van!

Love my early-morning deck views.

Mum and the Men. $10 to the person who can accurately count the number of Snowmen in her home! (I think there are even more Snowmen than Pumpkins...)

Walking Wet

Reminders of our Baptism...everywhere!  

Sunday's services provided tangible proof that we are 

indeed beloved sons and daughters of God!

Remember sweet baby Charlotte from 

Christmas Eve? Love this girl!

All babies who were baptized over the last year gathered for a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall after the last service.  A room full of little people whose families have promised to guide them in their faith journey.  Amazing!

Babies?  Did someone say babies?  

You knew it was only a matter of time before 

I'd be on the floor, playing with the kids!

Building blocks, anyone?  Love it. 

"Washed in the waters of Baptism...."  You are NEVER too old to hang something on the fridge, and here is the latest:  official completion of Disciple 1, the year-long Bible Study I so enjoyed last year!  (Monday, January 11th, actually marked Day #1 of Disciple 2 - more about this later!)   

My favorite part?  "Using your Spiritual Gift, this call is extended to Brenda Greenwald, through your baptism and in honor of all your past, present ad future contributions to Bethany Lutheran Church, the Body of Christ, and the whole world."  The whole world!  Wow!

Baptism at the 10:30 service - a wonderful family who came to know God through a fellow Disciple-friend, Barbara.  We're all smiling at this glowing reminder of faith!  Click here to listen to Pastor Ron's reminder to us all that "Walking Wet" is what it's all about!

Water of My Soul

We celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord tomorrow (January 10), so LOTS of great water imagery this week. We're introducing a new setting of the liturgy (hooray!) and I wrote new text for the Offering (can't wait!)

The Bible Verse of the day was "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39), which I'm sure all of you know, is a challenge for this girl! I find it a tad bit ironic and amusing that the tune of the song I've been singing all day was "Be Still" - I must have known to channel this thought! (I do want it on the record that after a great Youth Leader Meeting and some practice time in the Sanctuary at church, I did come home and take a 4 hours nap this afternoon. Yes, 4 hours in a row. That's unheard of in the land of Brenda. Peace. Be still.)

I'm sure I'll have lots to post after the services - until then:

Water of My Soul
Text: Brenda L. Greenwald
Tune: Be Still, My Soul (Sibelius)

My soul cries out, redemption from the Father.
And called by name, we're His now, do not fear!
Never alone, when passing through the waters,
Nor burned by fire, our God is always near.
My soul redeemed, all precious in His sight,
Beloved sons and daughters, have no fright.

My soul reveals salvation's very need,
The water washes my old life away.
Evil be gone, a warning we must heed,
Faithful in service, keep us, this we pray.
A miracle, You claim us, heirs of promise,
Renew our lives, forgiving love and grace.

My soul is filled with waters of the Spirit,
Children of God, We're gifted with new life!
Forever joined to Christ, by water, we're knit,
Pour out your Holy Spirit, move through strife.
The Holy Spirit, came down like a dove,
A voice from Heaven, My Son, you are Beloved!

Baptism of Our Lord

• Isaiah 43: 1 - 7
• Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
• Working Preacher
• Prayer of the Day: Almighty God, you anointed Jesus at his baptism with the Holy Spirit and revealed him as your beloved Son. Keep all who are born of water and the Spirit faithful in your service, that we may rejoice to be called children of God, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
  

'Tis the Season

And you thought the holidays were behind us! Here are some pics from our annual Choir Concert at Flagstone. Technically, Choir is supposed to involve kids in grades 3 and 4. Well, the 5th graders wanted to sing, too. So, of course, I let them join the fun. Then the 6th graders wanted in on the action, so they joined the Choir, too. (How was I going to tell a kiddo that they couldn't sing in choir anymore!? I couldn't have done that!) SO, that made the total number of kids in our Fall Choir rather large: 143 singing Flagstonians! WOOHOO!

Huge shout-out to Lisa Williams, who (once again!), took on the responsibility of feeding the kids. She volunteered to take the money we had collected and purchase enough Capri Suns and Popsicles for all the kids, and picked up the 40+ pizzas from Little Caesars the evening of the concert. From 5:45 pm - 6:15 pm, she helped hand out slice after slice, popsicle after popsicle. This gave me some oh-so-precious time away to finish up those last minute details, catch my breath (I had taught 8 classes that day), and actually change into a respectable outfit! Can't TELL you how much I appreciated all her hard work for our kids! Thank you, Lisa!

(Note: many fun photos removed from original post...)

Holy cow, we're a big choir! They are looking out on an absolute MOB of people in the Gym. It was standing room only by about 6:15 that evening, which folks actually did! I'd be concerned about breaking fire code...except our Fireman Dads actually parked their fire truck at the school to watch their singing kids! LOVE the support of this community!

Great job, Flagstonians!

My Blurple Surprise

An Epiphany House Blessing - yes, I actually
wrote on my home. An awesome way to follow the star!

The 6th graders insisted on using the primary music manipulatives yesterday. Here are their rhythmic creations, dotted notes and all! I forget how fun it really is to play with multi-colored disks and simple popsicle sticks!

And of course, 6th graders being 6th graders, they were more than happy to create this lovely Turkey when I wasn't looking. Excellent use of color and form. Kudos for including the wattle.

AND, my little goobers left THIS lovely surprise on my Blurple Chair, the blue + purple chair I sit on each day to begin our lesson time. I left the chair for two seconds to retrieve my lesson book...TWO SECONDS! Oh, they just laughed and laughed. Mind you, the shriek I let loose WAS chuckle-worthy, but then again, just about anything will set off a third grader!

Baby Jesus has a Mustache

Oh, yes. A mustache.
A must-see photo found
at the end of this post.

Sweet photo frame from the Sextons! JINGLE!

Memories of Washington, D.C.

Look who's in my living room!

Tour'o'White House DVD! Hooray!

Another amusing military pic - Brad's

Strike Jacket...handle with care!? Well, yeah!

Sweet Pea Emma - are we relaxed or what?!

You just never know what you're going to find on

Rocky Mountain Public Television. Musical Mermaids.

A bit of the BLC sanctuary found its way into my home.

And, now, Baby Jesus. Every time I take

another look at Him, He gets a little bit creepier.

Let's just look at the facts:

1. Aforementioned mustache clearly visible - 5 o'clock shadow not far behind

2. I believe that is a onesie...with sleeves

3. Is that a Statue of Liberty crown or is the guy listening to headphones!?

4. Please note the amount of HAIR on head - pretty close to being a mullet, if you ask me

5. Mittens are clearly affixed on each hand

6. Both head and body are proportionately WAY too big for that manger!
7. He looks like Lord Farquaad from the Shrek movies.

Peace and Joy

PIECES of Joy: an evening full of food, family, fun, and lots of laughter concluded 2009. Wouldn't you know it, I found myself playing Bananagrams once again. I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable way to start a new year - I am blessed to know such warmhearted people!

PEACE and Joy: Second full moon in

one month - a stunning way to end a year.

Peace and JOY! An afternoon wedding at

Bethany concluded this first day of 2010.

What's it all about?

Holy. Unconditional. Social.

PEACE and JOY in 2010!