Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Remembering… December 10, 2012

Filed under: Recollections — Amy Scott @ 3:47 pm
My beautiful grandparents!

My beautiful grandparents!

Today has been a day of remembering. I knew it was coming, however, it wasn’t the first thing I thought of today. I remembered in the middle of my morning routine – today is the day. Two years ago today my grandpa passed away. I will admit that the time leading up to this anniversary last year was a lot harder than I expected and I was surprised that this year I was doing much better. My guess was that time really was doing some healing. However, today it caught me off guard. It hasn’t been easy. I have a lot of weighing on my mind and when it wanders, I remember… I remember that today is the day.

My grandpa was really sick towards the end of his life and I am grateful to know that he is with his Savior and he is totally healed and happy. I know that he would want us to celebrate his life and not be sad, but I just don’t feel like skipping or doing a happy dance. I guess that is okay, right? I miss him. I still feel weird when I sit in his spot on the loveseat. Sometimes I notice his laugh and voice missing from the chaos of a family event.

He lived a good life and he was well loved. He was a great grandpa. I have many happy memories with him in them and for that I am blessed. I was lucky enough to really tell him how much he meant to me before he passed away. I didn’t expect today to be so hard, but I do know that God is good. I do know that no matter what, I have comfort in the arms of Christ. So today I turn my burden over to him. I know that my grandpa is in a good place and while I miss him, I know I’ll see him again. That is enough to get me through the day.

 

 

The Secret of Snowflake County December 9, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry — Amy Scott @ 2:29 pm
The Secret of Snowflake County!

The Secret of Snowflake County!

This weekend our Bethel Church All Star Kidz Choir performed their annual Christmas musical! The kids did an awesome job and I think everyone had a very good time both on stage and in the audience. I’m not going to lie, my favorite part was when my hubby got up on stage and tap danced with our other associate pastors! You can’t beat tap dancing wise men – or wise guys as they called themselves!

The kids practiced for three months leading up this weekend’s three performances. Our team of choir directors did an amazing job leading our kiddos! I love this weekend because the kids get to take over the adult services. They get to share the Christmas message with friends and family in their own special way.  There is nothing sweeter then a child doing a solo or rocking out with full motions to a Christmas song. They really gave it their all and it shows. Yet again, another big production comes to an end. I’m sure all the kids will be good and tired tonight after all the effort they put in. I just can’t help but be in the Christmas spirit after such a great experience. I love our kids at Bethel Church and I am so honored to be a part of their lives. What a special time!

Check on my Facebook page for a video of the tap-dancing wise men!

 

Pajama Day December 7, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:09 pm

Today is a day that I’ve been looking forward to for some time! It’s one of the those blessed days where I have no plans and I don’t leave my house. In fact, I declared today a pajama day (Christa – I did this in honor of you and our conversation yesterday). I had nothing really planned for the day, but it filled itself quite nicely. I got sleep in. My hubby and I made an apple pie while watching all the Christmas episodes of The Office. Jeremy, sadly, had to be an adult and go to work this evening, so that left me at home with a book, my little dog, and twinkling lights on our Christmas tree. I must say, it doesn’t get better than that! I just finished by book and now I’m thinking it might be time for a bubble bath… Or maybe off to my next book? Who knows? This has been an amazingly relaxing day! Days at home like this don’t happen often, but I like to take for all their worth when they come! I think this one was successful! While I do have serious, pondering blog topics in my head, I think I save them for another day. Because today is pajama day and it is meant to be a day of rest! Amen!

This is what a day of rest looks like!

This is what a day of rest looks like!

 

Friendly Competition! December 6, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry — Amy Scott @ 1:45 pm

I teach a class of 5th/6th grade girls every Wednesday night at my church. For a special treat, I decided to do something that I’ve never done before. I’ve been teaching the class for years, so it can be easy for me to fall into a routine. Last night we had a gingerbread house decorating contest. It was a lot of fun to watch the girls. They were very loud and had a bad case of the giggles as they went to work. The overall result was a great even though at times I was worried what the state of the houses, their hands, the floor and the tables would be when it was finished.

I found these gingerbread house as at Costco and they were pre-built so all the girls had to do was decorate. I figured the biggest meltdowns would happen if the girls were assembling the houses and they couldn’t get them to stay up. This removed that worry. This set also included a gingerbread cookie tree, so it allowed for another piece to create. More pieces means more girls can get involve and all have a part. This kit was perfect for what I needed.

The girls had a lot of assembling them. We divided the class up into two teams – so five girls per team. There was a definite winner once the decorating was over. The girls were judged by my co-teacher and myself on many elements. The first was how well they did as a team. It’s important that they shared the roles and that everyone got a chance to be a part. The next element was how much candy did they use. One team used all their supplies, the other team didn’t. We also judged based on focus and volume level. One team was a little out of control and made me very nervous a couple of times. Both teams did a great job. They had a lot of fun and the room was remarkably clean once it was all said and done. The only moment of true worry came when my co-teacher, Aimee, was trying to get the houses to fit in the garbage can. She was using the stomp-the-trash-down approach when the trash can came out from under her and she was down flat on the hard floor in the blink of an eye. I was very concerned that she was injured… possibly a concussion or a broken tailbone, but she insisted that she’s okay. Hopefully she’s not feeling the effects of the fall today! Poor thing!

I had a 4th grader ask me, when she saw the boxes of gingerbread houses waiting in my office, if we would be doing this next year when she was in my class.  I told her this was an experiment and we’d see how the class tonight did. If it was too scary or messy, I told her probably not, but if it all went well, possibly yes. After trying it last night, I would say that this will definitely be something I bring back next year. The girls had too much fun not to do it again! Here are some pictures from the wild and crazy night!

The Giggly Team!

The Giggly Team!

 

The Winning Team!

The Winning Team!

 

What I’m Up To These Days December 5, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Children's Ministry,Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 3:55 pm
One Thousand Gifts Study - Super excited!!!!

One Thousand Gifts Study – Super excited!!!!

Last week I was battling a bad head cold, so I’ve had a little more down time lately. Now that I’m starting to get my spunk back, here are few of the things that have filling up my time.

As always, reading is top on my list! I finished Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner at the end of November. It was a good book, but I don’t think Lauren would like me very much. She’s very ivy league and I can tell by the way she writes, she’s very smart. The book was her journey to Christianity. She was raised Jewish and converted to Orthodox Judaism before meeting Jesus. It was very interested to see how she reconciled her Jewish history with her new relationship with the triune God.  I’m glad I read it, but it took a little more brain power than I had expected. After finishing this book, I decided I wasn’t done with my “fluffy” reading phase, so I started The Hunger Games series again. It takes me no time to get through those books, so now I’m on to the Love Comes Softly series. I know I’ve read all these books before, but there is something comforting about a familiar story. So I think I might make December a month of novels as well. Nothing wrong with that right?

This last week, I had a long waited item arrive in the mail – my One Thousand Gifts DVD study! I’m so excited! I’ve watched 4 out of the 5 sessions and they are so good! Ann Voskamp has a way of bringing me to tears. I can tell this is going to be a great study. I hope to lead a Growth Group (our church’s small group format) in February to go through this material. It’s changed my life so much that I can’t help but want to share it’s goodness with those around me! A good book or study is life giving! I am thankful for the life that it has given me.

It’s now December so at church things turn their focus to the nativity and baby Jesus. I’m excited to do a Christmas lesson tonight and then move into a Gingerbread house decorating contest. It’s going to be great. I bought two pre-built houses so they girls will just have to add their creative decorating skills! I’ve never done this before with my class, so it’s nice to break out of the mold and do something new. I promise to have pictures tomorrow!  As a snack for tonight, I made a gingerbread cake to go with theme. The cake is buried under a thick layer of frosting and green and red sugar crystals! I love getting into the holiday spirit!

With my head cold fading, I’ve been able to be out and about a bit more. This week as been a social week as I’ve had dinner or lunch plans almost everyday of the week! I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with some of my favorite mentors who love me and who are a great encouragement to me. My sister came over for lunch today and we just sat around talking. Tonight is dinner with a student and tomorrow will be a dinner with our Bethel seniors groups. All this socialness is starting to tire this little introvert out, so I’m looking forward a low-key Friday spent at home!

So that’s how I’ve been filling my time. Good stuff! I can’t wait to fill you in the gingerbread house contest and the fun weekend ahead with our All Star Kidz choir performance. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

 

It’s a Season, Not Just a Day! December 3, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:51 pm
Time to Decorate!

Time to Decorate!

I love this time of year! I love that Christmas isn’t just December 25th, but it’s the time leading up to that day. Christmas for me starts with Christmas music sometime in November and decorating my house after Thanksgiving. It’s getting a Christmas tree and decorating it with my hubby. It’s about special dinners out with friends and red cups and shopping! It’s about days spent with family. About giving that gifts that makes their eyes light up. The biggest thing I love about Christmas is the fact that it’s not just a day. It’s a whole season! It doesn’t matter to me what day I’m celebrating. Christmas is in all the magical moments that December holds. I love the Christmas musical that our kiddos at Bethel Church perform every year and the Christmas parties we have in Children’s Church and during my Wednesday night class. This is one of my favorite times of year!

Christmas Lights!

Christmas Lights!

I also can’t help but get lost on the Big God Story that leaves me in awe. The Son of God becoming one of us. Coming to save us, coming to die. I can only imagine that first Christmas and how holy it must have been. I can’t imagine how Mary felt – holding Immanuel – God with us! I don’t know about you, but raising the Son of God seems a bit intimidating. Even within the Christmas story, I am reminded it’s not just a day. The Christmas story is our story every day of the week. It’s our need for a Savior and how God comes to us and bridges the gap. It’s more than a day. A day couldn’t hold it all.

I am thankful! I know I say it all the time here, but it’s so true. When I start to write about these amazing blessing, I just can’t help but say thank you! I’m blessed with amazing friends and family who truly make the season worth celebrating. I am thankful for the time I get to spend with the children of Bethel Church talking about the Christmas story and what it means for us. I am thankful for salvation – for a God who was willing to come to me and give me a chance. When I look at all the lights and ornaments, I smile because everything feels cozier and warmer than usual. I so glad that all this joy in fun isn’t limited to one day. It’s much better to celebrate over a whole season!