It must be recital day.....

by sarahmfry, May 22, 2008
Because.....

There is music spread all over my piano and I'm putting the finishing touches on everything from the Twinkles to Josh Groban

My kids are playing with the heater and I don't even care - just as long as they're out of my hair.

The program is ready but the printer WON'T WORK! (Of course. It saves up all of its nastiness for recital days)

There is a $400.00 punch bowl on my counter.

This is the only day of the year you'll find little smokies and meatballs and pineapple in my crockpot. Together.

It's almost 9:00 and I'm still in my pj's because I'm too busy scurrying around to get dressed.

Yep! I'm pretty sure it must be recital day.


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Spring Recital

May 22, 2008
6:00 pm
Frankfort Bible Holiness Church


"Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart." ~ Shinichi Suzuki

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Photo Journal Catch-Up

by sarahmfry, May 19, 2008
Where to begin? Life has not left much space for blogging lately, but there is so much I want to tell you! How 'bout a little photo journal catch-up?


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Hooray for spring! Puddles and daffodils and bike riding....
Caiden (in his oh-so-cool big boy britches) directing an imaginary choir like PaPa Wolf. He's always directing something or preaching. Sometimes if he sees me watching him, he tells me not to watch. Sometimes he just walks around the house "preaching" in his loudest, gruffest preacherly voice. Caiden will be 2 in a couple of weeks!
Let's all hope David doesn't see this one.... Can you blame a boy for wanting to join his sisters in the dress-up fun? Isn't he pretty? (The kids are all getting a roaring hoot out of seeing this one on screen.) They're all gathered around the screen, making me "read the stories" about them. Ah....21st Century quality family time.

Family Night: Coloring.
Lately, the kids' very favorite family night activities are duck-duck-goose, ring around the rosie and London Bridge. This night, we all grabbed crayons and colored together before we played some games.


Max sits by David while he studies. Max is a strong-willed child. (Mya is the compliant one.) He gets a lot of spankings. This particular night, he was really a stinker. But he likes to cuddle and stay close after he's been disciplined.



Caiden didn't want to let Max get all the love.....

(Oh yeah, they're my 3 good-lookin' dudes!)
Karissa wished for this to be the next picture. She was deeply offended when Kayla wanted to name it "The poutin' girl".

Kayla chose this one. She was Taiwanese for spirit week at school.

I think I'll end this post and get back to my home management. The kids have turned their attention to a collective mission to find candy. They're currently searching the top of the china cabinet. I think a little nap distraction is in order.

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Make a Habit of Having no Habits - My Utmost

by sarahmfry, May 13, 2008
"For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful." 2 Peter 1:8 (R.V.)

When we begin to form a habit we are conscious of it. There are times when we are conscious of becoming virtuous and patient and godly, but it is only a stage; if we stop there we shall get the strut of the spiritual prig. The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so practised that there is no conscious habit at all. Our spiritual life continually resolves into introspection because there are some qualities we have not added as yet. Ultimately the relationship is to be a completely simple one.

Your god may be your little Christian habit, the habit of prayer at stated times, or the habit of Bible reading. Watch how your Father will upset those times if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes - I can't do that just now, I am praying; it is my hour with God. No, it is your hour with your habit. There is a quality that is lacking in you. Recognize the defect and then look for the opportunity of exercising yourself along the line of the quality to be added.

Love means that there is no habit visible, you have come to the place where the habit is lost, and by practice you do the thing unconsciously. If you are consciously holy, there are certain things you imagine you cannot do, certain relationships in which you are far from simple; that means there is something to be added. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there anywhere where you are not at home with God? Let God press through in that particular circumstance until you gain Him, and life becomes the simple life of a child.

From Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest - May 12
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Feel Like Thinking?

by sarahmfry, May 11, 2008
Bum Da Dee Duuumm..........Introducing.....

the thoughts, studies and opinions of David Fry!

I would like to put in a plug for my huband's blog. Most of you know he's in his residency for a PhD in Systematic Theology at TEDS (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School - in Chicago). Let me tell you, it's every bit as, uh, thrilling as it sounds....
I find myself at times struggling to get my brain to change tracks from diapers and dishes to philosophy and theology as he shares his latest exciting learning. But being married to him has been one of the absolute coolest things God has done for me. He is an excellent thinker and applies himself to studying God's Word like his life depended on it. I have reaped the benefits of living with his thoughts.

Which brings me to his blog title. "The Pensees of a Wesleyan Theologian". I know. He obviously did not consult me before naming his little corner of the internet. Otherwise I would have warned him of the confusion that would entail.....
"The what? of a Wesleyan what?!"
So please allow me to interpret from theolog-ees to mommy-ese. Pensees (pronounced pahn-seyz) is basically French for "religious and philosophical thoughts." As for the theologian part: David believes that we are all theologians, in a sense. There is often a wall up against all things theological. ("We need pastors with passion, not education!" and "Let's not confuse everyone with theology.") But really, we all have theology. Theology is what you believe about God and His world. So trust me. You have theology. Even if you don't know what it is. Those core beliefs that have shaped you and trickle down into how you do life every day. That is your theology. So I am very much enjoying learning more about what I believe and why in a more systematic way.

Let me warn you about a few things. His blog will not always be easy reading. Like most of us, he writes the way he thinks. And believe you me, he thinks about everything in that systematic, logical way. This summer he will embark upon learning his 6th language! Sometimes I wish "female" was a required language for doctoral studies. (Those of you who know me will understand at this point why the combination of our two brains under one roof is comical at best, explosive at worst.)

But stick with him. You'll find him refreshingly honest and brilliantly clear in his thoughts. Sometimes his honesty may make you wriggle a little. He will not say what is status quo unless he finds it to be theologically sound. There may be times when you want to pick up your little cell phone and call someone important to tell them what a heretic he is. But if you will allow your brain to stretch, you will learn that his thoughts and studies actually call for a deepening and strengthening of your beliefs. A higher call to holiness. A deeper anchor into the beliefs that ground us.

We believe that if your beliefs are too weak to be challenged, then they're too weak! But believe me, sometimes the digging gets really scary. If you've always believed something, but never knew why, and all the sudden someone starts probing around that sacred cow, your first reaction may be to grab your righteous robes about you and run off in a frightened huff. But once you have opened your mind to other thoughts and found your beliefs are rich and strong and true, you are able to accept other believers with new freedom. They no longer threaten you. And something beautiful happens. Your God gets bigger.

David with the kids and puppies at the park.

So - if you dare - crack open the lid on your beliefs. Open your mind to ideas. Don't give up when the reading is tough. And don't leave when you first disagree. Because trust me, it is very likely you will read some things that you find controversial. But he is not threatened by controversy. He is at his best in the exchange of ideas. So post a comment, ask a question, send an email. Before you leave confused, give him a chance to clarify what ails you. Not all of the posts will interest you. He covers a wide range of topics. Sometimes you may wonder why-in-the-world all of this matters. But then you will remember that sometimes we make a humongous deal out of small-ish things while completely ignoring the very beliefs that shape our foundation as Christians. If your foundation is solid, and your principles are sure, then the practice comes more naturally.

I suspect at times you may find yourself breathing a deep sigh as the clarity you have longed for sinks into your soul.

To simplify, you can sign up to receive his new posts into your email inbox if you'd like. If nothing else, he's honest. He listens openly to other opinions. And he's willing to admit when he's wrong (should the unlikely event ever occur). Just kidding. I've actually heard him admit to his congregation that after further study of a matter he was changing his position. That takes a lot of guts for a preacher-man.

And don't miss his humor. It's dry. And sometimes it may slip by you if you're listening for his chuckle. Look instead for a twinkle in his eye.
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