Go Bananas!

Karly loved her first week of "BIG GIRL" SPARKS gymnastics training!  She was feeling pretty mature last night as she was telling me all about how much she has been improving on the beam and the bars.  Now she can leap from the low bar to the high bar without being petrified and freezing :)  Then she said, "Mom, when I was on the bars, I looked down at all the little girls and I thought, HOW CUTE!...there was even one who reminded me of me at that age."....OKAY, Karly is 7 and the girls she was referring to are probably (at the youngest, 5 or 6).....I laughed so HARD (to myself).  I thought being at the gym so much would get a little boring, but it has definitely had some funnier moments.

Karly really is improving....even after just one week of one-on-one attention...last night was funny though because her coach told her she was "too much of a banana".  She really arches her back when she does handstands and dismounts from the bars and the beam and, while flexibility is essential, she needs to learn to control it so she can have the correct form :)  Well, after that banana comment, Karly went a little bananas and started walking around all crazy and trying to be a TOTAL BANANA for her coach.

Then, today, one of the admissions reps in my office was telling me that we share 50% of our DNA with bananas.....IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

Go Bananas....GO...GO Bananas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsgqjcXgZy0
(you must sing along....they give you the lyrics so there shall be NO EXCUSES!)

SupercaliFRIDAYlisticexpialidocious!

Four, Three, Two, One, Weekend!

I've been counting a lot of applications at work lately....they are somewhat like leaves....as soon as I think I have raked them up, more have taken their place.  My boss is extremely happy when I have a lot of raking to do :) and I am happy to have employment....and employment that COUNTS to me. But, I am also happy for weekends in the fall...so I can take a deep breath!

 We heard today that George Barna's research has found that 52% of kids who have grown up in church youth groups renounce their faith as they pass into the college years.  I am sure there are different variables as to why that is, but it's no doubt the choices they make in friendships, extra-curricular activities, and whether to be purposeful about their faith become very personal decisions during that point in time.  That is not to say that every student who decides to attend a Christian university is serious about their faith or that it is not possible to have a strong, vibrant faith at a secular college, but the choices we make to surround ourselves with what will honor God will definitely shape our beliefs and values as we process our life decisions and venture forward.

Anyway, it is exciting when the place you work and invest yourself for a purpose experiences some notable success.  We learned today that Spring Arbor University was recently ranked 2nd of all Michigan colleges and universities for best value by The Economist...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/10/value-university

Side note:  Brilliant people can always say something along with it's opposite and still seem so insightful with their multiple meanings...ever noticed that? :)  I am going to try to think of something like this to say in my lifetime....oh, it will be good....you can count on it, or maybe it will be soooo good you won't even count it!...WHAT?! hehe!

 Count On Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJYXItns2ik

I had Bible Study last night, but before it started I was taking a picture from my walk the other day around to friends and asking them to tell me what was the first thing they thought of when they saw the picture of that plant.  I had already asked Brad at home because, to me, it was so obviously YODA!....haha!  ANYWAY, he did not see what I saw, so I wondered if anyone else saw it.  NOT REALLY!  The people I asked did not see YODA where I saw him....but, one of my friends told me she would work on the picture of the plant for me.  She took it off my blog and created this:

Done well you have, Chrissy!  

That's what friends are for, right?  Creating YODA in a place where there really was no YODA to help another friend prove a point to her husband.....I mean, if you don't have a friend like that, what do you have, really?!

Brilliant!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  ~Lamentations 3:22-23~

Miracle of Mercy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFoWO9CL4NE

Every Attempt Confirms....

On much of my nature walk I was accompanied by rays of sunlight and the lyrics to this song have been on my mind since.

In The Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOspoWBZGeg

Can't. Be. Inside.

I got some ME time yesterday during Karly's 2-hour gymnastics practice, so I went to my favorite, AWESOME weather, ME place.

What does this plant look like?...haha! I love how the ray of light came down for the perfect effect.

What does it mean again if a light orb shows up in your photos?

Something else I realized today.....when you are raking a big pile of leaves it kind-of sounds like the sea crashing against the shore.  Maybe the warm temperature today helped me imagine that.