Voice of Truth

So I was listening to my iPod while I was getting ready yesterday morning. The song "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns came on. I have heard the song hundreds of times before. For some reason, I actually listened to all the words this time, like REALLY listened.

I pretty much just broke-down right then and there. I mean seriously, it might as well sum up my life. Especially my life lately. Sometimes I feel like everything is stacked against me. I guess this song just really reminded me that I do need to choose to listen to God’s voice over the voices of everyone else. And more than that, to believe His voice.

So here you go… A song that literally brought me to my knees in awe of the amazing God we have! God’s blessings to you all and may this be a reminder that He is the voice of truth…

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
On to the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe
The Voice of Truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe
The Voice of Truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe
I will choose to listen and believe
The Voice of Truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe
The Voice of Truth

I will listen and believe
Cause Jesus you are the Voice of Truth
And I will listen to you
you are

"Facing the Giants"

So I have to give kudos to Nate because he had me watch a trailer for the movie "Facing the Giants" last week. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to see the movie. I immediately looked for show times and discovered that it was only showing at two theaters in the entire state of Minnesota. I figured that Lakeville was closer than Mankato, so I texted Sarah to see if she was interested in going with me.

Sarah and I met up in Lakeville on Saturday morning. We had brunch at Perkins and then hit up the movie theater. I am definitely adding "Facing the Giants" to my all-time favorite movies list. If you know me, you know that I'm a sucker for sports movies. This one ranks up there with "Miracle" for the best sports movie I've seen. It definitely beats out "Remember the Titans," which had been my favorite football movie to date.

The movie has so many themes. But the basic one is this... Absolutely nothing is impossible with God! The movie was incredible. I truly cannot say enough about it, or tell you enough times that you should definitely see it! Talk about a spiritually motivating movie with a great message. There are definitely points where you can tell that it was a low-budget film. But it just doesn't even matter. It's an inspiring movie that I would see again and again. I'm pretty sure that I cried through 3/4 of the movie. I am so glad that Sarah and I went.

It's been in theaters since September, so I don't know how much longer it will be out. If you live near Mankato or Lakeville, I'd try to go and see it. Of course, I don't know how much longer it will be showing, but definitely check it out. As soon as the movie is released on DVD, I'll try and get a group of people together to watch it. It is really worth seeing!

Today's Tidbit: I got all of my Christmas decorations put up this weekend. I love how festive my house feels now!

Musical Pictures

I know this has been long awaited... I am finally posting pictures from all of the musicals I attended these past two weekends. Enjoy!

"Beauty and the Beast"
New Ulm High School
November 10th, 2006

Me, Jill, & Shayla


"A Christmas Carol"
United South Central High School
November 11th, 2006

Me, Joey, Mary Erin, & Shayla

The Whole TEC Gang


"Brigadoon"
Owatonna High School
November 16th, 2006

Me, Cassius, Dani, Matt, Danika, & Nathan

Amanda & Me

Matt, Rebecca, Me, & Laura

Cassius, Rebecca, Me, & Laura


"Once Upon A Mattress"
Blue Earth Area High School
November 17th, 2006

Me, Aaron, & Shayla


"Brigadoon"
Owatonna High School
November 18th, 2006

Me, Dana, & Tim

Laura, Matt, Sarah, Me, Shayla, Brianna, & Mariah

Laura & Me

Me & Sarah

Me, Laura, Amanda, Travis, Shayla, & Mariah

Today's Tidbit: I cannot wait for Century's production of "Beauty and the Beast!" It's running the last weekend in February and the first weekend in March and I'm way excited for it! So yeah, you can all come ;)

Happy Birthday Greg!

Well, today's the day! Greg Schimek turns 32 today :) So, in honor of his birthday... You get 32 of my favorite Greg memories! These are in no particular order, mostly because that would take me forever!

*Our golf outings
*Hiding food from Beth & Tim in the oven
*Coming to the realization that Beth was yelling for HELP!
*Driving the Jesusmobile into the woods
*Pulling the go-cart out of the ravine
*Greg playing with the "generator" at my parents' house
*The 2000 ELCA Youth Gathering in St. Louis
*Fireworks on the way down to the youth gathering, amazing!
*Going to the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis
*Lunch time at CHS my junior & senior years in high school
*Thursday morning Bible studies
*Watching Beth sleep through Thursday morning Bible studies
*Meeting Greg at TEC #33 when I went through
*TEC #35
*TEC #37
*Working Music Team together at TEC #39
*TEC #59
*Having Greg there to make me laugh when I broke down
*TEC #61
*TEC #63
*The Doritos Ambush courtesy of the TEC #63 Kitchen Team
*Our dinner laughing attacks at TEC #63
*TEC #64
*All the drives to TEC Council meetings
*Guitar lessons
*Greg's advice when I gave a talk, "Write SLOW DOWN on it!"
*The summer we spent at Lutherdale
*Greg letting me hang-out with Jennie and make hug balls
*Those hug balls getting me out of cleaning bathrooms!
*Driving to countless TEC meetings together
*Lunch at a Chinese buffet with Erin in high school
*Erin's wedding and the "church people" table

Today's Tidbit: Greg & I are both official members of the 21 club... Ah, the high school memories :)

Brigadoon Top 20

I'm not even sure where to start. In the last 9 days, it was a whirlwind of musicals and plays and seeing lots of amazing TEC people. And now, that's all over :( At least for now... The rumor going around town is that we get to go see Mariah in "A Christmas Carol" next month!

Last night we all went to see "Brigadoon." We met up at Applebee's before the show for dinner. Good times to be had by all in attendance! I could not possibly limit myself to only a Top 10... So this time, you get a Top 20!

20 - Joe's Arrival
19 - Making Mariah jump... "Get him!"
18 - Matt's OCDness about sitting on the aisle
17 - Being stalked
16 - Eyebrows
15 - The Kiss Tally (6 if you were wondering)
14 - The mismatched tartans
13 - Yelling during the curtain calls and smiling/waving at Laura
12 - "See... You can fall in love after just one day!"
11 - Nate's appearance as Jeff
10 - "Toe-me", gosh I love the way she said that!
9 - Tights on Fri. & kilts on Sat., what more could a girl ask for?
8 - Scottish accents... Er... Sometimes?
7 - "Witches, we have 'em. We just pronounce it differently."
6 - Being complete obnoxious and laughing hysterically
5 - "I feel little tadpoles jumping on my spine!"
4 - Seeing all of my TEC friends and spending time with them
3 - Laura & Amanda! I love you two!
2 - Travis Miller is my hero! He has dancing skills... In a kilt!
1 - Sing-a-longs! Go home, go home, go home w/ Bonnie Jean!

I can't stop singing the songs from this musical! This did not happen to me on Thursday, but it is happening now. I really do want to congratulate the cast. It was so well done and I am so glad I got to come see it twice. You are all amazing!

Today's Tidbit: So it appears that Ben ("A Christmas Carol" in Wells), Laura ("Once Upon a Mattress" in Blue Earth), and Nate ("Brigadoon" in Owatonna) all made cameo appearances in shows this fall. Congrats to them!

All About Me!

Take My Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com Can you Ace my quiz? Yes! No Let's Find Out!

Once Upon on Mattress Top 10

Oh my wow! I had the BEST time tonight. Blue Earth Area High School's "Once Upon a Mattress" is going to take the prize for best musical. Okay, so the musical itself probably wasn't my all-time favorite or anything. But Aaron Bauer made the show! Oh my gosh, I haven't laughed that hard in such a long time. My stomach still hurts, even now that it's 3 hours after the show.

Shayla & Mariah - Thanks for being 2nd Row Loud Fans with me! I love you both dearly!

10 - The guys' costumes. Oh, how I love tights!
9 - The Jester's shoes... Picture red elf shoes with bells!
8 - Princess Fred's footie pajamas!
7 - The Spanish Panic
6 - All of the lovely TEC folk I got to see!
5 - The knights that jumped into the moat with inter tubes!
4 - Laura's appearance for the spelling test :)
3 - Aaron's "surprise" for Mariah... AKA The Pink Flamingo!
2 - Loud Fans in Row 2!
1 - AARON BAUER!!!

Honorable Mention: Jazz Squares, Shayla's confusion, & "Libertine"

As you can all plainly see, the one and only Aaron Bauer got the top honor on my Top 10. Well, we just don't think that's enough. It just doesn't do justice to the AMAZING job that he did as King Sextimus. So here is a Top 10 solely devoted to him. Thanks mucho to Shayla and Mariah for their help with it!

10 - Any of Aaron's gestures that I don't mention by name
9 - Aaron's lines at the end of the play. Great job projecting!
8 - Aaron chasing the girls around the castle
7 - Aaron's "Man to Man Talk" with his son, Prince Dauntless
6 - Aaron's wig, complete with receding hairline
5 - Aaron miming about Lady Larkin's impending pregnancy
4 - Aaron in tights!
3 - Aaron shaking his hips for the Spanish Panic, etc.
2 - "I don't want you groping around the palace all night!"
1 - Aaron laughing at his biggest fans during the performance!

Today's Tidbit: This weekend, I will put about 800 miles on my car and spend approximately 13 hours driving. It looks something like this - Rochester to Owatonna to Rochester to Minneapolis to Blue Earth to Rochester to Minneapolis to Owatonna to Rochester to Minneapolis to Rochester.

Brigadoon Top 10

Another weekend of musical performances has begun! I headed for Owatonna tonight for the opening night of "Brigadoon." This is not one of my favorite musicals ever, but I was of course excited to see Laura, Amanda, Travis, and Anna in it. I had a blast with Matt and Rebecca before, during, and after the play! I promise that I will have another Top 10 after I see it a second time on Saturday, but I also wanted to include one for tonight's performance!

10 - The very strange noises coming from behind us!
9 - Matt's reenactment of getting stuck during a fire drill
8 - "I'm getting make-up all over you!"
7 - "Do you need help with that door, Travis?"
6 - "We're at the art exhibit, come find us!"
5 - The scenes where they used the white screen, I loved it!
4 - TEC Reunion... The list is too long to put here :)
3 - Talking in the parking lot after the show
2 - Hugs!
1 - "I think they got him!"

Today's Tidbit: Howie lost a tooth this morning. He's really been losing quite a few, but I actually saw this one fall out and then I got to pick it up and look at it. It looked like a crown, it was super cool!

Laura's Spelling Bee

Take My Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com Can you Ace my quiz? Yes! No Let's Find Out!

A Christmas Carol Top 10

Last night I left my house at 4:00 to make it to Wells by 6:45. Oh, good times! My first stop was in Stewartville to pick up Brandon. Then it was off to Blooming Prairie to get Samone (aka the birthday girl). Finally, we hit up the McDonald's in Owatonna to meet up with Amanda and Laura. We got some food with Amanda's McDiscount and then finally headed to Wells. Laura clearly has no faith in my driving/directional abilities. She was sure we were lost, which, of course, we were not. We made it there and Mariah was right behind us. We walked into the school and met up with Aaron and Shayla. While there, we also ran into some other TEC folk like Jackie and Mindy. Anyway, the show as good and I was super glad that we all got together to go to it. So, again... Here's my Top 10!

10 - 24 MISSED CALLS!!!
9 - Laura reaching for the stage ;)
8 - Being the obnoxious fans in the back... Good times!
7 - Shayla's purse & everything in it!
6 - Are they high schoolers?
5 - RENT duets with Amanda in the car
4 - The drunk lady. Ah, she was amazing!
3 - Ben's cameo in the play, I can't believe he didn't tell us!
2 - The set was absolutely fabulous!
1 - Spending time with some of the most amazing people ever!

Today's Tidbit: You're never too old for a good slumber party! Yeah for the ATLs of TEC 65 having one at my house so I got to join in the festivities! It was a blast. I don't know if I've ever laughed that much in one night before.

Beauty and the Beast Top 10

Well, fall musical season is now upon us. I will be going to 5 musical performances in a 9 day period. This started last night when I drove all the way to New Ulm to see "Beauty and the Beast." Let me tell you, the drive was totally worth it! I had so much fun.

I have decided that I will try to post a Top 10 for all of the musicals I go to in the next week and a half. Enjoy!

10 - Picture Time!
9 - Nate spilling popcorn all over himself
8 - Jill's inability to keep a straight face in "The Mob Song"
7 - The intense fight scene that had me on the edge of my seat
6 - "Look it's a light post, it must be Narnia!"
5 - Jill as the best champagne glass I have ever seen!
4 - Getting to hang-out with Shayla, Abby, Amy, and Nate
3 - Jill waving at me during the final song
2 - Laughing through most of the show with Shayla
1 - "Light your torch! Mount your horse!"

Today's Tidbit: Since Thursday, I have put 610 miles on my car. I'll be adding another 240 tonight.

TEC 65 Reunion & Bonfire = GOOD NEWS!

The TEC 65 reunion was pretty much amazing! It's always so good to see everyone. Highlights of the day included listening to the Vikings game in the sanctuary, ambushing Tim with a F&S song during the slide show, the bonfire at Laura's, and making official calls for my new employer, Giesenbauer Inc. Here are some fun pictures!

Me & Jill

Mariah & Me

Me & AmandaAmy, Me, & Jill Leah, Mary, Me, Dana, & Beth
some of the best ATLs ever!
Me & Beth (aka my personal photographer)
Rebecca & Me
Abby, Me, & Emmalee
Me & Tim
TEC 64 ATLs forever :)
Ben & Me
Please tell me you notice the height difference now, Ben!
Laura's surprise for Ben
Me & Aaron
Thanks for the raise boss!
Boys, boys, boys...
Where are they taking the hobbits?
Ah! That song is still stuck in my head
Mariah, Me, and Amanda at the bonfire

"There is just one moon and one golden sun..."

Well, since I don't have my pictures ready to post from today you get another blog about how it's a really small world that we live in. I had two small world experiences on Friday at school. Although, I didn't even figure one of them out until today.

Ok, so first... One of the 1st grade teachers that was down the hall from me was my 2nd grade Sunday School teacher. I loved her, she was awesome! And, I had subbed for her daughter the week before when I did 8th grade art (I forgot that one in the blog).

Secondly... This is the one that I didn't figure out until this morning... One of my kindergarteners is Matt's nephew! Back when I first started subbing, he and I had talked about the possibility of me having his nephew and now I did!

This was my favorite day of subbing so far. I think Kindergarten might be one of my favorite grades! The best part of the day was play time. Haha! So great! But yeah, so I really hope I get to go back. Then I will tell Cullen that I know his super cool and amazing uncle!

Today's Tidbit: "This is Janet Youngers, secretary (or if you want to be PC, office assistant) of Giesenbauer Inc. calling to inform you that Mr. Giesen and Mr. Bauer request that you meet them in their office immediately."