Worlds of Fun - 15 Years (at least) Later

Today my son and I went to Worlds of Fun. The last time I went was sometime before his birth and that was almost 15 years ago. At least I remembered how to get there.

We took cans of food to donate to Harvesters, so that got us a reduced rate. I paid $10 to park, so that parking lot had better look good for years to come. We parked close enough to walk to the park entrance. I don't even know if they still run the trams. I didn't see any while we were there.

Our first ride was the Spinning Dragon. Not only was it a rollercoaster, but the car also spun on the tracks as it hurtled up and down and around. I found out later that the Spinning Dragon is a double-black diamond ride, the most thrilling ride rating. We also rode the Timberwolf and Prowler rollercoasters. My son would not consent to riding the Mamba, and I really can't blame him.

Le Tour Taxi was our destination for adolescent driving practice. We went there twice. The second time I wanted to keep silent and just let my son drive without interference. I couldn't do it, though. There was a little girl right on our tail toward the end. A future speeder in the making.

Food and drinks are still expensive. We split a personal pan pizza and large drink for a late lunch. It was a good pizza, though. I don't know if it was just today, but the concessions didn't appear to be very busy for the most part. Something new that I noticed is vending machines for drinks and candy.

We had a pretty good time. A thunderstorm rolled through in the early afternoon, so we waited until the weather cleared to continue our fun. We ended our day at the Fury of the Nile, where I was the recipient of the most water in our rafting craft. I was absolutely drenched.

So much has changed in the last 15+ years, but so much has remained the same. As we went around the park I remembered how I got my brother to go on the Zulu before he could really see what it was all about. I remembered going on what is now Cyclone Sam's with a classmate years ago and being crushed against the side of the ride by the force of her weight. I remembered going on the Finnish Fling (which is still there) and determining that I would NEVER go on that ride again. Some rides are not there anymore, including one of my favorite rollercoasters, the Zambezi Zinger.

I'm glad I went and got to relate some of those memories to my son and make some new memories that he and I can share.

So Many Books!

My first taste of adult Christian fiction was Grace Livingston Hill and a few other authors my mom had on her bookshelf. That was many, many years ago. Then came the prairie romances. They seemed to be the staple for quite awhile, and still seem to have a stranglehold on Christian fiction along with bonnet stories (Amish fiction). Oh, and I read and owned most of the House of Winslow series by Gilbert Morris and the Zion series by Bodie Thoene. There didn't seem to be a whole lot to choose from when it came to Christian Fiction, but what there was seemed to be quality reading.

How times have changed! Now there is Christian fiction in just about any genre one wants to read - suspense, romance, mystery, international intrigue, drama, comedy, tragedy, chicklit, ladlit, oldladylit, the aforementioned Amish and prairie/western, and any combination thereof. There is so much more to choose from, how can one read everything?

Allow me to recommend some authors. If you like suspense, check out Brandilynn Collins. If you like books about military criminal investigation, Mel Odom has the excellent NCIS series. For those who want to read romance from a guy's perspective (and so, so funny), I recommend Flabbergasted, A Delirious Summer, and Lost in Rooville by Ray Blackston. Want something from a different ethnic perspective? Try the Sushi Series by Camy Tang or her newest, Deadly Intent. Kristin Billerbeck is a favorite writer of chicklit. Siri Mitchell has written fiction that has challenged and entertained me. Other authors I would recommend include Linda Nichols, Jan Karon, Jackina Stark, B.J. Hoff, and Francine Rivers.

I remember when I first started reading the Zion series by Bodie Thoene. I was impressed that the characters who were not Christians acted like non-Christians. They were not sanitized just because they were in a "Christian" book. These were authentic characters. Christian Fiction has become more authentic, and that is a good thing, in my opinion. Maybe I should say that the grace that Christ offers us all has become more apparent in Christian fiction.

I can't read all the books, but I've certainly found some good ones!

Cheap! Cheap!

We will be on vacation this week. Where will we be going - London, the Pacific Northwest, Chicago (again)? None of the above. One day will be used to visit my mother-in-law in Topeka. At least one day will be devoted to erecting the new shed in the backyard. I had thought we could go to Worlds of Fun one evening when the price is lower. Then I found out that "lower" price is $25 per person plus $10 to park. I can't imagine that only a few hours of riding rides is worth that price.

I have at least two handicaps when it comes to special events, such as vacations and birthday or other celebrations. One, I am planning-challenged. I have some good ideas, but I don't do well in implementing them. Two, I am basically a cheapskate. When we go out to eat, I will choose something in the lower price range. When going to a movie, I like to go to the first showing, which is $5 (and forget about anything from the snack bar).

My son's birthday is coming soon. I would really like to make it a great one for him, but don't know what to do. I've asked him what he would like to do and he hasn't come up with anything yet. It takes him quite a while to make some decisions. I am open to ideas and anyone who would like to take on the job of party planner.

Going Grape

In January the pastor of the church we were attending submitted his resignation at a church business meeting. It was a shock, but maybe not so surprising. He gave only 2-3 weeks notice, so the church had to scramble to line up speakers until an interim pastor could be found. A pastoral search committee must be formed, with the first item being to find an interim pastor. Over the course of the next few months various people took turns giving the message.

A search team was chosen, but I felt they had overlooked a very important segment of the church - the youth and college-age. I was not encouraged about the future of the church. My husband had not been happy there for some time. I was co-teaching a children's Sunday school class. The other teacher was great, but it wasn't going well for me.

In April we received a postcard in the mail from the Vineyard Church in Kansas City North. My husband and I decided we would like to visit there. I was committed to my Sunday school class, though. My husband went by himself one week to the Vineyard that meets at the Northglen theater on North Brighton. The next week was Easter and my husband had to work a late shift. We decided to attend a Saturday afternoon service at Vineyard so we could attend church as a family, then my son and I would go to Sunday school at the other church on Easter morning.

The service at Vineyard was excellent. We went back the next Saturday and the next and are still going. I gave my notice to quit teaching Sunday school at the end of May. But until then we would go to Vineyard on Saturday afternoon and my son and I would go to the other church for Sunday school on Sunday morning.

One Sunday (probably in June) I decided I wanted to attend the adult Sunday school class at the other church. I hadn't been there in quite a while because I had been teaching Sunday school. I pretty much made my husband go with me. He hadn't been there in a long time. One person waved to me and another commented that both my husband and I were there, but no one else made any indication they were happy to see us.

Our son does not want to leave the other church. He enjoys the youth group there. I like the youth pastor there. So we have compromised for now. We attend Vineyard as a family on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, my husband or I take our son to the other church for Sunday school, but we don't go in. I usually just wait in the car and have some time with God. We also take our son to the youth group activities there.

This morning my husband and I attended Vineyard 101, a class to become acquainted with the Vineyard church and what they are all about. They are all about what I want to be all about, to use whatever gifts I have to minister Christ's love to a world that needs Him so much. As part of the class, both my husband and I took the step toward becoming members of Vineyard KC North. We're going grape.

My Hands Came Away Red

One of the blogs I look at is Relz Reviewz. Sometimes I leave a comment, but mostly not. I did ask Rel once about Australian authors and she kindly responded about Lisa McKay, who wrote My Hands Came Away Red.

I requested the book from the library and it sat on the kitchen table for quite awhile, so long that I had to renew the book before I had read it. Why the delay? I knew the book would be a heavier read because of the subject. An older teen girl goes on a summer mission trip to an Indonesian island and while there tensions escalate between Christians and Muslims, putting the lives of the mission team members in jeopardy. Sometimes I just want to read fluff and I knew this book would not deliver that.

Finally I decided to just do it.

I found something the main character and I had in common. We both have experienced "boot camp" before going on a summer mission trip. As Lisa McKay described the obstacle course, I could remember back all those years to when I had to swing by rope across a ditch, climb a rope ladder, crawl through a dark maze, etc. I hated it!

I was "into" the book quickly and it flowed well. The characters were exactly as they should be, with real emotions and personalities. I could just imagine the environments the characters were experiencing. This was a very well written book.

This book did what my other favorite books have done - it caused to me think about the world beyond me.

Finally!

About three years ago one of my brothers loaned us a set of CDs by Dave Ramsey. My husband and I decided that we would begin following the baby steps to achieve financial freedom. The first step, put $1000 into savings for an emergency fund took awhile, but it was finally done. The second step, to pay off all outstanding debts except for the house and utilities and the like, took a long time. Today I went to the bank and paid off the balance of our home equity loan, the last debt we had to conquer.

Dave Ramsey has lots of stories about people who were thousands and thousands of dollars in debt and they paid off everything in 1-2 years. It took us longer because we did not start in a place where we had cars and other things we could sell and make some quick money, thus reducing the debt quickly at first. It has been a long, hard road. Sometimes it is hard to watch other people accumulate stuff, but it has been well worth it to say no to things we did not need.

My husband's company held a meeting last week to discuss the immediate future. It will involve fewer hours, but at least no one is being laid off yet. It is a tremendous feeling of relief to know that if he does lose his job we only need to come up with the money for our basic needs.

One last thing. There is no way we could have done this on our own. It is only because of God's wonderful grace that it happened. All praise should go to Him.