I'm So Glad...I'm a Part...of the Family of God!

I'm so proud of my church family today.  It's been a great day! Busy. Activity packed. But the kind of day that leaves you with a satisfied feeling when you lay your head on your pillow. 

After the worship service, some of the ladies in our Womens Ministries met to have a new event for us,

We brought 2 dozen cookies and met at the church to put plates of cookies together, to take to three sweet ladies who have been sick or just don't get to get out much.  Someone brought poinsettias, someone brought cute napkins, we made punch and got cups and away we went with our "Christmas Party to Go."

We sang carols, shared special memories , listened to stories and prayed together.  It was just a special time!  (Here's just a few of us having fun with Santa at one of the stops.)

Then when we got back to the church there was another group gathering to go to my friend Missy's house (remember, she had a liver transplant a few weeks ago).  This was the "Happy Hour" Sunday School Class, and they were equipped to decorate Missy and John's house inside and out.

Pastor Justin started out our Advent focus by asking us to look for God this season.  He reminded us that it's so easy to let the busy days all run together until all of a sudden...we realize Christmas has come and gone, and we've had our focus on the wrong thing!

I'm proud of my church family because everywhere you turn, it seems like they are thinking of others this year more than ever! 

I'm proud of the 5th/6th Grade Sunday School class as they have lead a service project for the whole church to participate in! 

I'm proud of the Youth Department who have spent several hours at the church to ready the set for the Live Nativity.  This is their gift to the community each year.

I'm proud of Womens Ministries and this new, fun way to have a party and be Jesus to our friends!

I'm proud of the Happy Hour Sunday School class.  They gave up their traditional Christmas party to help out Missy who isn't quite strong enough to decorate like she usually does.

I'm glad to be part of this family! I'm glad to be part of God's family!



This is Why I Love Being a Children's Pastor #6: Watching Kids Pray

We do prayer with our kids at church.  I mean really. In a big way.  And all the glory goes to the Lord for giving us ideas and strength and passion for praying with kids.

I LOVE that we share what is on our hearts.  Sometimes the prayers  make me smile a little as I'm recording them like:
   Please pray for my left nostril.
   Please pray that my cat will stop jumping in the trunk when we open it.
   Please pray for my grandfather because he got fake teeth.

Sometimes they make me happy as I see milestones in their lives like:
   Please pray that my tooth will fall out.
   Please pray that I will learn to ride a bike.
   Please pray that I can learn my sight words.

Sometimes they touch me deeply as we (the children) pray for the adults in our church like:
   Please pray that my job interview will go well.
   Please pray for my son who doesn't know the Lord.
   Please pray for my friend who has a brain tumor.

But what I'm most thankful for is that we have created a safe place to share deep heart prayers as a group of kids like:
   My family is having problems.
   I'm being bullied at school.
   I have to move away from all my friends.

If you don't have the opportunity to pray with kids, oh I wish you could.  They are great intercessory pray-ers.  They don't judge the person. They don't judge the situation. They don't insist on knowing all the details.  They don't talk about it later with their friends.  They just take it in.

And then they pray. They leave it with the Father.  They don't pick the burden back up after they've left it at the foot of the cross.  They believe as strongly in receiving an answer as they do in praying a prayer. 

I think prayer is definitely one of those "and a little child shall lead them" areas in the Bible.  I have lots to learn about praying with children...and lots to learn just by watching them pray!

Transplant Time-Again!

My friend Missy is in Arizona this week for her liver transplant.  Read the latest blog post here.  Our church has set up a 24 hour prayer chain, if you want to be part of it, you can sign up here.

So excited that she will be feeling better soon!  Even if you don't sign up, please be in prayer for her on October 27th!

Under the Friday Night Lights

Headed to one of the last home games of the season tonight. My hubs and I are active in the booster club. Very active. 
Some might say over active (teehee). 

But you know what I love? Despite the late nights and the tugging and pulling equipment on the field as we help with the half time show, it is one of the few places I get to interact with folks who don't go to church...or if they do, they don't necessarily go to my church. 

It's a chance for me to serve their kids,-and be Jesus to them.
To stand alongside them as we support our kids through the high school years-and be Jesus to them. To listen to conversations about the ups and downs of parenting kids today-and be Jesus to them. 

I will admit I'm weary of high school band-it's so demanding-but I'm so thankful, and I want to be over thankful for this chance-to be Jesus on the sidelines of the football field, under the Friday night lights!

LeadershipOS

I got back from Kidmin Conference a few weeks ago.  Some things you learn you can come back and implement immediately.  But others it takes some thought, planning, tweaking before you can put legs to the new seed God plants in your heart.

Funny thing...I finally got around to reviewing my notes from the conference, and over and over, the message I had written down was centered around kids in leadership.  

So...my new seed involves children in leadership.  I've already had some conversations with kids who I've identified as leaders in a particular place in our program.  They are bouncing at the idea!

Kids in leadership is right on target too.  We've got an abundance of leaders!  In fact, in a random conversation just this week, someone-not even on the Children's Ministry staff-commented that we have classrooms full of leaders. It's true!

What will it mean for the future when we embrace developing leaders earlier in our church? 
It's pretty exciting to think about!

What will their OS look like? (ahem. Operating System) 

Leadership in God's church is their OS.
Service is their OS.
A radar for seeing needs and meeting them is their OS.

All because they were given a chance to develop this skill early!  They were given the chance to find their strengths and grow them as kids, not having to wait until adulthood to begin work in the kingdom!

Wow! Is that exciting or what?

Gotta go, I've got some work to do!

Kidmin Delivered!

Just got back from the Kidmin Conference I wrote about earlier.  If you've been to these things before, you know how when you first get home...you are in that blurry, swirly period where you are dog tired, full of inspiration and ideas and can't wait to figure out what the last few days will mean for your ministry?  That's where I am!

It was a great conference.  I highly recommend it! 

I'm going to go through notes, boil it all down, and see what I can use and tell you about the best stuff...but for today, here is what I'm still thinking about.

All the...

Connecting with friends...new and old.

Laughing 'til your sides hurt.

Praying with people who GET you.

Workshops and Ministry Conversations.

:)

Kidmin Conference-Can't wait!

I'm so excited about this brand new kidmin conference that is only days away!  When I was a new children's pastor, I went to a conference by Group, and loved it.  To my knowledge, they haven't had a conference in several years, so I was a happy girl when they started promoting this new conference.

Here are some things about it that I love:
There will be the typical workshops and large group sessions, but with a twist.  There will be times for conversations and networking with both other children's pastors who are right in the trenches with you, as well as the speakers and presenters.

There will be time to digest what you've learned; you know...time to think it through without an unending information cram the whole time you're there.

Group always makes it easy for churches of all different sizes to minister to kids.  There will be targeted groups to fit your ministry.  Not only just the size of your ministry-but also the focus that you are needing to learn more about.

I just can't wait!  I feel blessed to be able to go, woo hoo!

Senior Year

We've begun senior year at our house.  It's crazy. Busy. Nerve-wracking. Fun. Laughter-filled.  We are jugglings schedules. Deadlines.  Assignments. New responsibilities. And most of all dreaming big.  Can't wait to see where those dreams take us!

Watch Your Toes!!

Last week after a desperate call from the coordinator, I volunteered in the 3 year old classroom at MOPS.  It was so fun!  As a children's pastor, I spend most of my time with Elementary age children, so I really enjoyed being with these little ones.

So, toward the end of the day, a little guy said, "Ms. Mary!"  I looked over to see him standing on the tile portion of our room (luckily) with his legs spread apart a little, and pee falling to the floor.  He had just waited too long. (For the record, I asked them all a million times if they had to go).

There was no need to do anything until he was done, so after a few more seconds, and my saying, "don't move, don't move" a million times, I began cleaning up the accident. 

That's when it happened...I got pee on my toes!  Oogie!  I had to smile though, because I'd just read a post from my friend Judy who is beginning a 2nd battle with cancer.  (I wasn't smiling because the cancer came back...but because of the difference in our "toe" stories.

She was in a prayer circle at her church recently, and the lady next to her began weeping.  She got tears on her toes from this sweet friend.  If you clicked on the link and read the post from Judy...isn't that strong? She's such an inspiration and so courageous.

No tears on my toes, but a sweet time with little kiddos anyway!

First 10

These are the first 10 songs that came up on my ipod today.
1. Must Get Out by Maroon 5
2. Unfailing Love by Chris Tomlin
3. Like a Star by Corine Bailey Rae
4. Superman Tonight by Bon Jovi
5. Misunderstood by Bon Jovi
6. Home by Daughtry
7. Call Me When You Get This by Corine Bailey Rae
8. No Ordinary Love by Chris Botti
9. Committed to the Call by Kim Hill
10. Crashed by Daughtry

What's your first 10?

First 10

These are the first 10 songs that came up on my ipod today.
1. On Our Side by Chris Tomlin
2. Best Thing by Phil Joel
3. Oh Lord Your Love by Caedmon's Call
4. Desert Rose by Sting
5. So Emotional by Christina Aguilera
6. Pink Elephant by Phil Joel
7. Vehicle by Bo Bice
8. Bounce by Bon Jovi
9. Country Road by James Taylor
10. Powerful by Phil Joel

What's your first 10?

Weather Report

This is the weather today in Dallas:

I wish today, that I needed one of these:

If that was so I'd be doing this:

And definitely be doing this:

That is all!

My Favorite

This guy is my favorite.  He's a senior. a skateboarder. a drummer. a member of the awesome squad. a smarty pants. a cousin. a good friend. a puppy dog. a good student. a reluctant reader. a grandson. an individual. a guitarist. a travel lover. a Christ follower. a pilot. a kid magnet. a nephew. a comedian. a truck owner. a community volunteer. a snowboarder. an outdoorsman. a son. a big bubba. a composer. a great guy to have around in a crisis. a poet. a cut up. an artist. a gamer. a leader.

First 10

These are the first 10 songs that came up on my ipod today.
1.Something Takes Over by First Call
2. Fields of Gold by Sting
3. Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake
4. Complicated by Bon Jovi
5. Changed by Phil Joel
6. Crazy by Aerosmith
7. My Stupid Mouth by John Mayer
8. Fire and Rain by James Taylor
9. Only One For Me by Gateway Worship
10. You Are Still Holy by Kim Hill

What's your first 10?

LOOK AT THAT!!!

"Look at that!!!"  That's what you can hear at my sister Jeanne's house when rafters float down the river and see the clothesline!

This is so funny!  As you can see the perspective in the photo, the underwear look almost as big as the little camper.  THEY ARE !!!  They are at least 4x4..that's 4x4 feet wide!  One night we were eating dinner on the back porch, and these 2 rafters came down the river and one kept saying to the other one:  "get the camera, get the camera, look at that, get the camera!"  She never could get the camera in time to take a picture.  She did almost capsize her raft trying though.

It's easy to tell people where Jeanne's house is though...you just say, "her house is on the river, you know the one with the giant panties!" 

She flies those panties like the queen.  You always know she's there if the panties are blowing in the wind.

Patrick

Meet Patrick.  He's a huge stuffed animal that a family gave me with an equally huge box of candy one Valentine's Day.  He took up an entire chair in my office for a few weeks, then I decided that he was going to go  home with a different child each week, and have fun adventures with them.

He's been out to countless restaurants, the dentist, museums, on vacations all over the place, he's a great cuddler, but one thing that the kids know...Patrick doesn't like water.  They take good care of him.

These days, he's looking a little loved on, and not quite as big as he used to be.  That's just fine!  He's becoming the Velveteen Patrick!

So it was time for me to go on vacation a few weeks ago.  I packed Patrick along with all our luggage and gave him the trip of his lifetime!  He went to college, to the Air Force Academy and even fell off the side of a mountain on a hiking trip.  (Thank you Sam-my brother-for rescuing Patrick!)

NYC

My son is at NYC (Nazarene Youth Conference) in Louisville, KY this week.  He's there with 6500 other kids participating in service projects, f.u.n., workshops and service times.  He's having a great time!

I'm so excited for him...I remember my NYC...it was in Oaxtepec, Mexico.  Waaayyy back in 1983.  I hadn't really taken time to think about NYC in awhile, even though I was helping Landry get ready for much of last week.  I was prompted to think about it today though on facebook as NYC alums began posting "which-NYC-did-you-go-to" questions.

My NYC was an international event, so there were kids from all over the world there.  I made friends with some kids from Mexico, and one of the guys gave me this bookmark.  I hadn't thought about it in a very long time, but went to my bookshelf where I have an old Bible..and found this memento of NYC.  The students from Mexico were giving these away.  I've kept it all these years.  I'm not a pack rat, so I'm surprised!

The boy who gave it to me was trying to learn English, I was trying to learn Spanish, so for years afterwards, we wrote letters back and forth and would translate them.  Somewhere along the way, we lost touch.

I have fun memories of NYC like...
...we met a cab driver who would drive us into Mexico City a couple of times to shop. (where were our youth sponsors?)
...you had to time your curling iron time because there were electricity difficulties at the resort where we were staying, so you didn't want it to go out before you were done.
...making friends from all over the world.
...everyone had to bring a transister radio and you could tune to different frequencies to hear the services in different languages.
...it rained a lot, so during a service one night a girl went to sleep while leaning her elbows on her knees and fell forward into the mud under our feet.  (a ps to this story is that my freshman year of college, we were in the dorm telling funny stories, and I told the story of this girl...and she was one of the girls in the room! bwhahahahah)
...the last service where they called us out of the tent by district (like Houston district...SEO district, etc) and they'd say, "Southeast Oklahoma-go and make disciples", etc.  It was very powerful for me.
...we found the only restaurant on the resort that would serve ice in colas! We hit the jackpot!

I've been praying for my son that his NYC would be life changing like mine was.  So thankful that from the tweets and texts...God is working in his life.

10 Yrs of Ministry means 10 Yrs of Memories #10 Christmas Lights

Now this isn't particularly funny to others, but one of my favorite memories.

We have the G-R-E-A-T-E-S-T Staff at our church and have tons of funny, blessed memories over the time we've been here. 

We go to our District Ministers' Christmas Dinner each year, and one particular year we trecked out to East Texas for the evening.  It was comical at every turn, and the big finale was our drive-thru Christmas Light trip.  We pulled off the highway and were awed and inspired by millions of twinkling lights. It turned out to be pretty cheesy, a little hillbilly and we laughed the whole time.  Now each year, someone brings up the Christmas Light drive and we burst into laughter. 

My Friend Missy

I have a dear friend, Missy, who is going through preparations for a liver transplant.  Her husband is blogging about their journey, and this post is especially frank, insightful and inspirational all at the same time.  I thought I'd post the link here .

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #9 Silas Praying

As I mentioned briefly in the previous post, prayer has been a huge part of what we do in Children's Ministry at our church.  One of my favorite stories is of Silas, who at the time was 5 years old.  We had passed out hearts to adults in the church on the first Sunday in February and asked them to write a prayer request on them.  Then each time we came to church during the month, the children would divide them up and pray for the requests.

Silas needed help reading the adult writing on the prayer hearts, so I had Kaylyn, a teenager sit with him and tell him what to pray.  She read the request to him and he'd close his eyes, pray, and then when he was finished he'd let her know.  He didn't rush through the prayers, and was very intent on praying over each reqeust.  It was so powerful.  When he got thorugh his stack of 6 or so prayers, he came to me and got more hearts, went back and sat in Kaylyn's lap once again and together they prayed through the stack of prayer hearts. 

Kaylyn had tears in her eyes, and I a huge lump in my throat as we experienced this precious time of prayer with Silas.

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #8 Laughing with Kids

I love laughing with kids.  One of my favorite laughter memories is this one:  My ministry at DFC has been focused on prayer for the last 2 years.  It's been the most rewarding time I've had in ministry. 

In the beginning stages, I told the kids my own story of my "new name" and the incredible experience at a prayer conference.  I told them he could give them a new name too, and one of the little boys to me really quietly and said, "Ms. Mary, God gave me a new name too."  The boy told me about praying and hearing God speak to him.  He went on to say, "He gave Conner a new name too."  I said, "Really?  What is it?"  In all seriousness he looked up and said, "Wiggles-like-a-monkey."

It was really funny.  We had a laugh together.  One of my favorite things is making them laugh, or the kids working to make me laugh.  You gain immediate access into their hearts and minds, and draws teacher and student together in the most unique way.  It puts you on the same level for an instant.  It's just the best!

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #7 Hot Air Balloon

I've had the fun/nerve-wracking/stressful/gratifying job of directing camps for our district children for several years.


One of the fun memories of that first year was the hot air balloon that we had for the kids to go up in.

They LOVED it!  I LOVED seeing them smile!

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #6 Landry's Baptism

When Landry was 10 he was Baptized.  It was a special time for our family of course.  The baptistry in our church is located at the back of the platform with kind of a wall to hide the stairs up to it.  I stayed back behind the wall to help him, but ended up with the best view ever.  I got a great pic (which is filed somewhere and I can't locate it.)  My hubs Keith read Landry's testimony that he prepared, it was just a very special time. 

Then, as Landry got out of the baptistry and was preparing to walk back down the stairs, he hit his head on the nail on the cross that was leaning up against the wall.  Ouch!  Poor little guy!  Baptism took on a whole new meaning for a few hours as the pain in his head stung and hurt!

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #5 The $80 Pie

One year at the Youth Auction my son, Landry and I had a tiny miscommunication about when he was supposed to STOP bidding for a pie, and we ended up paying $80 for the pie.  It was the best pie I've ever tasted!

But it was for a good cause! And we love coconut cream pie. So I'd say it was a win-win!

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #4 Mice in the Shak

The Youth House at our church is called The Shak.  To give you an idea of what it looks like...it's somewhere between this:

and this:

It's a cool house.  Not quite as big as in the photo above, and one-story.  Over the years much of the work and remodeling and upkeep has been done by the youth themselves.  They have a real sense of ownership of the Shak, and if you ask any of them questions about it, they always say, "What happens in the Shak stays in the Shak."  It's cool that it's a safe place.

There are little varments in the Shak from time to time though.  When the kids graduate out of the children's department and go to the Shak, we have a cool event called, "The Crossing."  We've done this for 3 or 4 years now.  We actually go to a bridge in town, and the kids cross the bridge with the teens and youth leaders on the other side cheering them on and welcoming them to the youth group.  It has become one of my favorite things we do.



Before they cross over, I talk to them, and present them with a cross.  So I was in the middle of the serious words of wisdom that would carry one student through adolescence when she interrupts me, and says, 'Ms. Mary, are there really mice in the Shak?"  How funny.  That's all she was worried about!  I had to be honest with her and say, "yes sweetie, there are mice in the Shak."  Humbling.  Funny.  Helped me to remember to not be so full of my words, that I don't see real concerns.

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #3 Stuck in the Elevator

One time our pastor's wife, Monda, got stuck in the elevator.  Monda is always very dignified and for some reason on this particular day, the elevator quit working with her inside it.  She had to yell until came to help.  But I'm sure she yelled in a very dignified manner.  But of course!

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #2 The White Squirrel

Our youth pastor at DFC has been there a little longer than we have.  I quickly learned that he is always full of fun, and loves to play jokes on people.  It wasn't long before I heard him talking about the white squirrel.  At first I thought he was making it up, but I saw the white squirrel for myself one day.  It lived in the trees out in the yard of the church.  It was fun to see it running through the yard every once in awhile.

10 Yrs of Ministry Means 10 Yrs of Memories #1 10K Eggs

This weekend at our church they are celebrating our 10th Anniversary.  I've known about this for awhile even thought it was supposed to be a secret.  That's a whole nuther story.  (is nuther a word?)  Since I've known for awhile, I've had time to think about what 10 years means, and remember some of my favorite memories.  (Also, strategically placed questions have been asked by friends for the past few weeks.)

So I thought I'd share 10 ministry memories with you for the next few posts.  (Here's to consistent blogging and getting that post count up!)

#1 The Time we had 10,000 Eggs at our Easter Egg Hunt

This was in the first year I was here.  We really had 10 THOUSAND eggs at our egg hunt.  We kept getting more and more eggs donated, and I went through a few days of having panic attacks of not having enough eggs, and Wal-Mart had their eggs for $.10 a dozen, so I loaded up, so there you have it.  I found out the next week that the White House only had 8 thousand eggs at their egg hunt!  We got a big kick out of that!

No Bake Cookies

I made No Bake Cookies tonight. Yum. Haven't had them in f-o-r-e-v-e-r!  As I was stirring (and stirring, sigh) the chocolate, I thought about No Bake Cookies and came up with lots of flashes in my memory banks.

My friend's mom made them all the time. I loved going to her house because she had a kitchen center. Ironic that I liked to play in the kitchen as a little girl. Not so much now!

They had these in the school cafeteria when I was in junior high. You could buy 2 in a sandwich bag (you know the wanna-be ziploc bag) for .25 cents. What would Jamie Oliver have thought of my junior high cafeteria? Scary!

In college we made them all the time. We knew just how the chocolate was supposed to look when it was ready. If it doesn't cook long enough, it doesn't get hard.

Sometime after college we quite making these yummy treats. For the past week I've thought about them every day and couldn't resist the craving any longer! So tonight, I stirred and stirred, and watched for that moment when the chocolate changes ever so slightly, and wah-la, the yumminess begins!

Spring Break

I spent my spring break in San Diego.  The men in my house went snowboarding,

but I headed even further west to learn, think and fill my noggin with new stuff for children's pastors. 

It was beautiful weather there, so sometimes I must admit, it was hard to go inside as I was walking between the different seminars offered.

Sometimes I just wanted to kick off my shoes and walk through the green, green grass.  (It's so GREEN in San Diego already!)  But I resisted.

Sometimes a really tall guy would stand outside the room where our general sessions were held holding up this sign.  I guess he got tired at this point and thought he'd let the sign speak for itself.

Sometimes I had to stop and take pics of the beautiful flowers that were everywhere on the resort.  Look at the color...wowza!

It was a great week of networking, learning and introspection for me.  But I must say, I'm glad to be back in the routine of my days.

My Little Girl

Saturday I sang at the Ladies' Tea at our church.  The theme was kind of valentiny even though it was actually after Valentine's Day.  So in the spirit of love, I sang a silly little song that my dad sang to me when I was a little girl-before I sang the serious song.

I told the ladies a little about my Dad. He loved music. Driving together, he'd say something like, "Listen to this song I wrote." and off he'd burst into song.

He was a huge jokester, and sometimes I knew that he really didn't "write" the songs he was singing to me, but sometimes he fooled me. 

So Saturday, right before the tea began, I stepped to the hallway, called my mom and asked if he actually wrote the song that I was going to sing.  She thought it was pretty funny that I was going to sing this song at the tea.  She said, "no, honey, he didn't write that one."  So I returned to my seat, and 2 seconds later, she called me and said, "but go ahead and tell them he did!"  My Dad wasn't the only jokester in the fam!

So here is the little song:
My little girl, she got sleepy,
So she went upstairs to bed.
She laid her glass eye on the mantle,
She placed her peg leg 'neath the bad.
She put her false teeth on the dresser,
and her false hair in the chair.
My little girl, I could love you,
But you're so scattered everywhere!

I love that my Dad loved to laugh, and passed that down to me! I'm proud to be his little girl!

What did we ever do without these fancy phones?

I love my Smart Phone.  I'm pretty much attached to it all the time. I thought I was pretty smart at Christmas time.  I was about half way through moving my regular dishes up high and my Christmas dishes down low in the cabinet when the thought hit me...I'm never going to remember where all these things were.

See that was/is a really big deal for me because I agonized with just the perfect way to organize my dishes because, ahem, I have too many a few more than I probably need; so to make them all fit takes skill!

I snapped this pic before I moved another thing...so I would remember where everything was after Christmas when the big put up (Christmas dishes) put down (regular dishes) had to happen.  And then you know what? That sweet guy that I'm married to, I'm just going to have to start calling him Mr. Wonderful, executed the big put up/put down for me, and remembered where everything went on his own!

I did pull out my snappy photo to show him though! Didn't want it to go to waste!

What to do...what to do?

I came to my office at church today. and THIS is sitting on my desk.  From Christmas Eve.  Sigh. What to do...what to do?

It's on my desk because I gave these away to the kids during my Children's Sermon at the Christmas Eve service.  I don't know WHAT to do with them.  My first instinct is to chunk them!

or...I could take them to the grocery store and drop them in people's purses when they're not looking.

or...I could put them in a drawer in the Youth Pastor's desk.

or...I could put them in an envelope and mail to my sister. (I say that because once she cleaned out her desk at work and put all the stray paper clips, lint, etc in an envelope and mailed it to our other sister...hahahaha!!!)

or...I could "bedazzle" the top of our Office Manager's phone handle.

or...I could give them to our Pastor's wife to use as shoe jewelry.

There's a story here....she was in a walking boot for awhile, so I gave her some bling for it!  Pretty cute!

or...I could take them to the game room and let the kids use them as checkers, or any playing pieces.  That's a great idea actually! They are always losing game pieces!

Got anymore ideas for me? Do you want them? Send me your address and I'll put them in an envelope and mail them to you.