Drops of Hope

Last night Kevin, the boys and I helped out with a program called Drops of Hope, which is for foster families. Drops of Hope is a vision set forth by my good friend Angela and last night was the launch of Drops. We had 5 families (totaling 21 children) come and drop their children off and then the parents could leave and enjoy themselves for a couple hours. With the help of 8 additional people the children had food, played games and just had a great time. What an amazing opportunity this was, not only for the children but for the parents as well. Angela, a foster mom herself, has a vision for foster families, to come alongside and help them. This was a great first launch of DOH and I'm excited to see what God will do in and through DOH.

Learning

As I work on the blog for Zoom Zone I have been learning a lot. I just recently learned how to upload video so if I come across a video I like I'll post it on here.

Week

I haven't blogged for a couple days. Here's an update:

Monday night we went to Chuck E Cheese. My sister and her family got the boys a gift certificate for there so we decided to use it. As usual the boys had fun there. I took my camera but failed to change the batteries in it.

Wednesday we had the annual business meeting at the church so we had Kidz Biz for the children. We had them watch Jonah and played a couple games afterwards. Meeting went a bit long so we were treading water there for a while. It was pretty late by the time we got home.

Today I watched my friend Angela's two boys while she went to an appt. They are such good kids and so cute. Zephan decided to look out our window and watch the cars go by on the bypass. Here's a couple pictures.



Tonight Renn and Kevin have Cub Scouts. The last Thursday of each month the library puts on a free movie night so Zayvn and I will head over there. Not sure what is playing so hopefully it's a movie that will keep Zayvn entertained.

School is going well for Zayvn and we are making progress with Renn. Zayvn loves his new school and they are always having some kind of activity going on. Yesterday it was beach day. Yep, beach day in 8 degree weather. They didn't go outside but had all the activities inside. The kids wore their swim suits and trunks. It was quite the challenge to get Zayvn to wear sweats over his swim trunks and put a shirt on. He wanted to go to school in just his swim trunks. I told him he couldn't do that. He would certainly freeze his little body!!

Renn is trying the best he can do. We have our up days and our down days. It was difficult for him to come right in the middle of school year. We have prayed daily for the Lord to bring him a couple friends. That is what the Lord has done. Renn met two brothers who are twins and they hit it off right away. You always want the best for your kids and that includes having friends. I'm thankful that the Lord showed Renn through prayer He'll answer. We did sign Renn up for Baseball which will begin in April. He's excited to play. I do have to tell you that I'm not a baseball fan so when he said he wanted to play I was like are you sure???? It will be quite the experience for all of us!!

Kevin is loving his position at Berean. He's overflowing with ideas and thoughts. He keeps me busy with the blog. There's a joy and a happiness about him again that I haven't seen in such a long time. He loves being a pastor. Not just a pastor, but a children's pastor. It's his heart and you can tell each time he walks into Zoom Zone and sees those kids. I had one grandma tell me that her son recently started to get interested in reading his bible because Pastor Kevin does it. How that just blessed my heart to hear. That's what we are here for. To minister to these children and show them the love of Jesus. We are blessed to be a part of Berean and give God all the praise and glory for it. If you haven't been to it already check out the blog we have for Zoom Zone at bereanzoomzone.blogspot.com

Youth SNAC (Sunday Night After Church)

We had about 30 youth and leaders over to our house tonight for Snac. Kevin and I love to open our home and it's always fun to have the excitement of the youth over.

Red Culture Leadership Conference

Kevin and I, along with 8 other children's ministry leaders, attended a conference this weekend in Des Moines called Red Culture http://www.idcaog.org/images/uploads/event_YLC%20Red%20Culture%202009%20Complete.pdf. It was also for youth and college leaders and several of our youth and college leaders were also in attendance.
I gleemed a lot of information from this conference not only on ministering to the children of our church but for ministering to my own children. There were several things our speaker said to us that really stood out to me:

• A quote from Ho Chi Minh "If you want to plant for a year, you plant rice. If you want to plant for a decade, you plant a tree. If you want to plant for a generation, you plant a child.
• What I hear I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I learn.
• Children remember 40% of what they hear, 60% of what they hear and see, 90% of what they hear, see and do.
• 1 out of every 10 teenagers has been sexually active prior to his or her 13 birthday.

That last item near blew me out of the water. Sexually active by the time they are 13?!! That statement alone made me sick to my stomach. The kids should be kids, not messing around with adult issues. We've got to get busy and reach these kids now. Many of the children that walk through the doors of the church are hurting and lost, not because they want to be but because of the surroundings they may be in. The one hour we have with them we can nurture them and train them up. Yes, it should be the responsibility of the parent however that's not always the case. So, I want to minister to these children as they walk through the door. Love on them, hug them, talk to them, let them know they are important. We may have only one opportunity to do so. They may never walk through the doors again and I want to be able to plant a seed in that child about who Jesus is and the love He has for them. Children are like a sponge and if we invest in them and take the time they'll soak it up. I'm excited and ready for what the Lord is going to do with the children of Berean. He's not only going to use the great children's workers we have there but He's going to use those children of Berean to do might things!! Woo Hoo!!

How cold is cold?

Although our temperatures have warmed up quite a bit I have to share this story with you. Today we went to the store to get some items for the Youth Home Snac at our house on Sunday night. We get out to the car and Kevin opens his trunk and there's a 20lb bag of ice in there. I ask him what that is for and he starts to laugh. He said he bought the ice two weeks ago for JBQ when they were going to have thier meet at the church before it got cancelled due to the cold weather. That ice has been sitting in the back of his trunk for the last two weeks still hard as ever!! Now that is cold!!

Refresh

Last night we had Refresh at the church. Refresh is a time where Kevin and I can bring the children's ministry workers together and let them be refreshed. They came for dinner and worship and a brief message from Kevin. This was their time to do NOTHING but be Refreshed and Renewed in their ministry to the children at Berean. What an awesome lasagna meal cooked by our good friends Walt and Deb. After dinner we had a time of worship with Dallas and the band. I love to come together and worship the Lord. There's just something about God's people lifting their hands and worshiping God. It's a wonderful feeling. After worship Kevin spoke. Not long as we didn't want to keep them there too long. Our prayer is that all of the children's workers came out feeling Refreshed and Renewed. I better say a big THANK YOU to the Harmeyer's also for helping out with the kids.

Thought

I just wanted to clarify something with my last post. I do realize it will take time to accept the changes that may come. I wasn't trying to be insensitive to those around me. I apologize if it came across that way.

New Pastors & Change

So, this weekend was a weekend filled with a lot of activity and a lot of prayer. We had a pastoral candidate come this weekend to become senior pastors of our church. Rev. Paul and Ann Martin are thier names. They have an extensive ministry background alone and together. Thursday the staff and the Martins met together for a time to share with one another and get to know each year. Saturday morning there was a Q & A time at the church where the people of the church could come and ask them questions. Today Pastor Paul preached both morning services and the evening service. After a vote tonight they were voted in as Berean's Seniors Pastors.
I am very excited and happy because God is going to and can use them and the people of Berean to do mighty things. As long as the people allow God to let them. I'm jumping off a cliff here by saying what I'm going to say however I feel it needs to be said. Change is happening and we need to be okay with change. If people want change but don't want change how is the church suppose to reach out to those that need Him? If we have a problem with that then we need to get on our knees and seek God's face and check our hearts. God is going to weed those out whose hearts are hardened and not willing to be open to what the Lord wants. God can't move amongst the church as long as people aren't willing to accept the change that the Lord wants to do.
As followers of Christ we must be willing to not only follow Christ but we must follow the shepherd that God has chosen to place over his people. Let our hearts be right with God. Leave a church because you feel like God wants you to leave. Don't leave a church because your mad or you didn't get your way. Don't walk out until you've walked in with an open mind and heart and stopped and listened to what the Lord is speaking to your heart. I'm not a person who likes change very often. I've come to learn though that change is a part of life. Change helps us to grow in confidence in ourselves and in Christ. If you can't handle change then either deal with it or it's time to leave. Grumbling and complaining amonst others will not get anywhere. Change is good. Change is something that is needed. Change will come and people need to accept it.

Lysol, Lysol, Where Art Thou Lysol

Seems the flu bug has bit again at the Umphress home. Zayvn is down with the flu and bronchitis decided to come back and visit Kevin. Kevin hasn't felt good all week and I've been telling him he needs to get into the doctor. No, no is his answer. I'll be fine. Us wives sometimes know better than the husbands. Finally, he woke up this morning and said he better go into the doctor. Why don't they listen to us sooner rather than later?

I left to take Renn to school since it was 2 hour delay due to the cold weather. On my way to the store to pick up a few things Kevin calls and asks if we have any carpet cleaner because Zayvn just threw up on the carpet and him. Guess Zayvn and Kevin were sleeping in the chair and Zayvn threw up some on Kevin and some on the floor. What a dad!! So, one is sick with the flu, one is sick bronchitis. I'm praying that neither Renn nor I get sick. That just wouldn't be good. Time to get out the Lysol and do a through cleaning!!

Winter Has Come and Needs To Leave

Okay, I have been very excited to be back here in Iowa. Being able to renew old friendships, making new ones, learning our way around town again. I've been okay with the snow that we've had. It's pretty outside as long as I'm inside. I'm even okay when the temp get's down to the single digits. However, I'm not okay with the temps when they start getting into the negative. Standing outside your vehicle getting gas with the temperatures the way they are and the wind blowing is not my idea of fun. By the time I got back into my van I felt like my face was going to freeze off. Our services for tonight have been cancelled because tonight's temperature is suppose to get to a whopping -14 degrees!! Holy cow, that is cold. This is one day that Renn will not be able to spend hours outside playing in the snow.

Cat In The Hat.....uhhh.....Basement

Last Thursday our landlord had an exterminator guy come out and spray around the house. Thursday night I went down to the basement and it smelled like cat pee. I go upstairs and tell Kevin it smells down there like cat pee. He just looked at me and shook his head. I have this nose that is very sensitive to smell and, as Kevin says, nothing escapes my nose!! I let it go and Friday the smell was even stronger. I again told Kevin and he said it's just the exterminator guy's spray. I told Kevin that guy shouldn't be using spray that smells like cat pee. That's terrible. This morning I get to church and notice I have something on my shoe. I go to the bathroom and it's poop!! I'm thinking boy is that dog in trouble for pooping down in the basement (he doesn't like to go outside because the snow is too deep for him right now). We get home and I find not just one pile of poop but two piles. I clean the mess up and go spank the dog for pooping down in the basement. Kevin comes home and I tell him about the poop. As he leaves to go to the church early to prep for tonight he comes rushing back upstairs and says you need to come with me. We head to the basement and he says we have a cat in the basement. I'm thinking cat? I said are you sure. He says yes it slipped under the stairs as I was coming down. I saw it's tail. Now, I don't know if your like me but I said "How do you know it's a cat". Maybe it's a raccoon?? Does raccoon and cat pee/poop smell/look the same? He said it's a cat. You need to find it to get it out of the basement (as he walks out the door to church). Oh thanks!! So, I'm calling "Here Kitty, Kitty" (Hoping it's a kitty). Like it's really going to come out anyway. We looked all over that basement and I have no clue where it's hiding. I went up and got Oscar thinking he could smell the cat out. He ran around for a few minutes then just came and sat by my leg. The cat is still down there and I have no clue how to find/get it out. I'm not even sure how it got in there. Maybe the cat has been living down there the whole time and with the exteminator guy spraying it made the cat come out? Who knows? I do know that that cat must come out because I'm tired of my basement smelling like cat pee and tired of cleaning it's poop up!! By the way, I felt horrible for spanking the dog when I realized it wasn't him who pooped but the cat!


******9:30PM Update
Got home from church tonight and lo and behold there was another pile of poop on my basement floor. Okay, I've had enough of this. Boys are in bed, I'm in the kitchen and I here this scratching at the door. I open it and see nothing. I make my way slowly down the basement, looking all around. Kevin turns and sees these two eyes staring back at him from the table in the laundry area. I walk towards the cat and it starts hissing and this very low growl. I get some food so I can lure it towards the kennel. As Kevin comes toward us with the kennel the cat takes a flying leap across the floor and I see where he goes and hides. So we block the way for him to get out and put the kennel right in the way. I pull boxes out of the corner, get on my hands and knees. This cat is not moving. Kevin goes to the other side of the wall and bangs on it. The cat comes flying out towards the kennel, towards me, back to the kennel where he finally gets in. Once he gets in he's freaking out spinning round and round trying to get out, hissing and scratching all the while. I get the kennel locked and the cat calms down until we move the kennel again. No collar, very hungry and very MEAN. To the humane society it goes tomorrow. Glad that's taken care of. Now to get the smell gone....

New Snow Pictures

Oscar was eating the snow

Renn building a snow cave

Inside his snow cave

Snow hanging off the roof

Movie

Last night we decided to go see a movie with the four tickets I had won through the radio station. It could be any movie we wanted so we decided to see The Tale of Desperaeux http://www.thetaleofdespereauxmovie.com/splash/. With our .50 bucket of popcorn and a drink to share amongst us we watched this very cute movie. Or I should say Kevin, myself and Renn watched. Zayvn fell asleep within the first 10 minutes!! It was a cute little movie and great for Renn to watch. I had read this book way back yonder and it was good to see it in a movie. As we were driving to the movie it was freezing rain, nothing too bad though. Two hours later when we came out there was a good 2 inches of snow on the ground. Amazing!! Oh, and there was also snow inside our van. Renn got out of the van and left the door open so the whole two hours we were in the movie was it not only snowing outside but it was snowing inside our van!! PTL we just got a new battery for our van or we would have been stuck there!!

Birthday Blessings

Seems like several times during the month I'm giving birthday wishes out to my family and friends so I'm creating a box on the side of my blog that will list my family and friends birthday's. Sort of like what I do on our Zoom Zone blog for the children and ministry workers www.bereanzoomzone.blogspot.com. That way I won't miss anyone!!

Dinner

Jacob and Zayvn playing a hockey game on Jacob's phone

Last night we had some friends over to the house for dinner. Jacob and Keaton. Keaton has been over before and I've blogged about him. Jacob was in our kid's church the first time we came 11 years ago. He's now in his first year of college in Texas and was home on break. What a great time of fellowship we had and of course Zayvn always loves to be with the big boys!!

Prayer

This week has been a week of prayer at our church. I've not been able to go due to the boys but Kevin and I have made a commitment to pray together as a couple after the boys have gone to bed. We have done this off and on throughout our almost 13 years of marriage but nothing ever consistant. I remember as a girl when I went to stay with my granparents, how every night I would lay in bed and listen to them pray as a couple. Praying for each one of their children by name, for their church, for their friends and whatever else need to pray for. I loved listening to them and I know the Lord was smiling down on them as they did so.

As Kevin and I have prayed each night we have felt refreshed and renewed. However, with prayer comes attacks from the enemy because he does not like us to pray. The enemy will find anything and everything to bring God's people down. We have overcome what the enemy has thrown at us this week and will continue to be a couple who set aside time each night to pray. Prayer for our church, our families, our finances, our children, our friends, the lost and the sick. Sometimes my heart is heavy when we pray because I have such a burden. Sometimes my heart is rejoicing because of the things the Lord is doing. Prayer is a powerful and effective tool. If you use it God can most certainly do anything. Use it as a couple and see what the Lord can do for you in your relationship with one another. Use it as a family and see what the Lord will do for your children.

I felt impressed by the Holy Spirit the other night after Kevin and I were done praying to go into the boys room and lay my hand on each one and say a quick prayer. We pray for the boys when it's bedtime but this was something totally different. The enemy throws his attacks anywhere he can and he'll do it with your children. So as I went into their rooms and layed my hand on their heads I prayed for them asking for protection. Even now as I write this my eyes become wet with tears because my children are the most precious thing I have. Covering them in prayer is one of the most important things I can do.

I'm grateful for this week in prayer. It's made me see the areas I need to work on in my own prayer life. I need to pray continually and not just when I feel like it. I must be prayed up and ready to fight the flaming arrows the enemy will try to throw at me.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16b

Zayvn

Zayvn had an excellent day today at his new school, Kids Connect, in Altoona. Both Kevin and I were apprehensive about him going but he walked right in and made friends right away. I stayed for a few minutes and then out the door I went. When I came back to get him he was having fun playing in the gym for their activity time. I think things are going to go quite well and coming to this school will help transition him back to kindergarten in the fall.

Ramblings (Thanks Pastor Lori for the title!)

Nothing. That's what we've been doing today. In fact, we've been doing just about a lot of nothing the last couple of days. Which is fine with me since I looked at the calendar that Kevin brought home and it's filling up pretty fast with all the activities with the church. Add school activities and pretty soon baseball to that and we'll be plenty busy.

Last night after Kevin got off work we met up with our friends, the Russells, at Applebee's for some yummy dinner. After dinner we headed back to our house where we played a rousing game of Monopoly. It's been six years since we've played Monopoly with Walt and Deb and boy what fun it was!! Us girls ganged up against the guys and they bailed out early!! Go Girls Go!!

This morning I went and picked up Elijah and Sam from their house to bring over to play with the boys. Angela, their mom, is gone for a week taking her eldest Dominique to Baltimore where he will go to college. With Angela gone that left Scott home with all the children so I thought I would relieve him some by taking Elijah and Sam. The boys have been having a ton of fun, exploring outside (even though it's a bit cold!! YIKES), playing Nintendo DS, games, and whatever else they can find to entertain themselves. I'm thankful that the boys have friends close in age that they can play together with. It's like Renn and Elijah never missed a beat with us being gone for six years. They are buddies for sure!!

The boys and I went and checked out the local library in Pleasant Hill www.ci.pleasant-hill.ia.us yesterday. It hasn't changed much since the last time I was there. The boys roamed around and I checked things out. We found some books and some DVD's to take home and watch. I found some activities that the library hosts on Wednesdays after school so we'll go check that out next week. The library is a great place for kids to go.

My brother in law's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday Trever!! Hope you had a good one.

Washington/Oregon has had one of the worst winters since 1964 or maybe 1968? Snow, upon snow, upon snow. Much like we have here in Iowa yet they are not quite prepared with the snow plows and such. They don't have the temps there like we do here either. I've heard several of my friends say they are done with the snow and don't want to see it anymore. Let's hope that happens. I know for here in Des Moines we haven't seen the last.

School starts in three days for Renn, Zayvn in four. I'm not sure either one of them are ready to go back. With them going back to work that means I'll be looking for some work. I'll check back with the school district to see if they are hiring. It would be nice to be able to work for the district so I can have the same schedule as the boys.

When your children get gift cards to a toy store make sure you allow plenty of time for them to roam through the WHOLE ENTIRE store. That's exactly what we did on Thursday. We spent a good hour in there while they figured out what they wanted to get. Renn ended up with another DS game. Zayvn? He saving his allowance and his gift card so he can buy a football jersey. That kid's got his dad's attitude when it comes to money. Save instead of spend.

I'm about out of ramblings for today. Thanks for listening and talk to you soon!!