Bragging

I have to brag a little. I have achieved something that I never thought I would actually achieve. And I'm going to share some info that maybe I shouldn't share, but I'm not ashamed to share it.

Below, I have two pictures. I just have to share the difference. The first picture is 2 1/2 years ago. Yes, it is me:





The next picture was just taken Friday night at the Leoti fair. It's of my daughter and myself. I'm the one on the left...obviously. I just have to share the difference that 40 pounds makes.




Yes, in 2 1/2 years I have lost 40 pounds. I was just looking at pictures of me earlier tonight and I almost didn't believe myself that it was the same person. That and I'm so proud of myself for staying dedicated to losing weight and getting healthy.

Scott keeps telling me that even though he has loved me the whole time we have been married, he does like to see me taking care of myself like this a little better than I used to.

I know it's not easy, but I've done it. I still have a little ways to go...and obviously these pictures are just of my face, but I'm shocked by the difference in just the shape of my face.

I hope this might inspire someone to be motivated to do that something in your life that you want to do but haven't done. It doesn't have to be losing weight (that's a personal choice). But maybe there's something you've always dreamed of doing, and something else always stands in your way and you back down from your dream.

I want you to know right here and now, that you need to stand up, dream your dream some more, and then make it happen. Stick with it until you've conquered it.

Now that you've had your motivational speech for today, I challenge you to share what your dream is...and I'll support you 150% in whatever you want to do. Come on....you can do it!!!!!

More life changes

So, it's been awhile. Summer gets busy and especially now when it's close to school starting up again. Can you believe it's just a couple more weeks?

We have something new possibly happening in our lives. We kept saying we wouldn't do this if we had Martie in the house...and look at us now. We are working on getting it done. What am I talking about? Getting a foreign exchange student.

It's not for sure yet. In fact we should find out by tomorrow if the girl wants to come to our small town. Martie is so excited. She's ready to have a "sister" in the house with her.

The girl we picked is from Norway. So it will be interesting to learn about her culture. And I hope she enjoys learning about our way of life. I think it will be a great learning experience for all of us. And of course Scott and I vowed we would not have another teenager in our house....I guess that's what happens when you say "never".

So, I'll keep you all posted on the possible new member of the "Musical Soodsmas".

What's another life change? Well, this one isn't for certain. It depends on how gutsy I get. I want to, but sometimes I get a little scared of failing. But I guess the only certain way of failing is not trying at all.

I love scrapbooking. It's my release from life and it gets my creative juices flowing. I love to watch the pages turn from nothing to something beautiful.

I want to create pages or even books to sell on e-bay or locally or wherever. But more than that I would like to offer a service for those people who have boxes of photos that are not even sorted. I would like to charge a fee for helping them sort thru their photos, and if they would like me to, I can scrapbook them personally. That is if they don't like to or have the time to scrapbook themselves, and don't want just a generic pre-made scrapbook.

This is something I have done for my mom. She likes to have scrapbooks of her photos, but she's not really into (and doesn't have the time to) scrapbook them herself. We have sat down and organized the photos. She tells me what they are (if I'm not certain) and then I get the supplies and scrapbook it all for her.

Now, of course for her I do it for free because I never thought of doing it as a business. And maybe it won't even work to do that as a business. I mean, maybe people won't want someone else scrapbooking their stuff. But boy would it be the perfect job for me. I can stay at home, and set aside certain times of the day and just scrapbook my heart away.

I guess if there's anyone out there that reads this that has a comment about whether or not this business would work, let me know. I will at least try to sell pre-made books and pages on e-bay and stuff if nothing else.

Who knows, maybe this is the start to a great booming business.....or maybe it's just me dreaming a dream. I guess we'll see.

So now that I've updated you all on how the "Musical Soodsmas" are doing and what's happening...I guess I'm done here for now. I hope to get some feedback about my new venture.

God bless you all. Remember how much He loves you!

Stevens Park

So this Sunday I am doing another Stevens Park Concert. I've been doing these concerts for like 10 years (I can't even remember exactly when my first one was). They are so much fun. It's so informal and there are those who do come just to listen, but for others they come and eat a picnic supper, play football or frisbee, and I'm just the background music.

I enjoy it so much. There's no explaining what it's like on stage while I'm singing. It's like there's this connection between me and the audience that would normally not be there. Depending on the situation and the songs I'm singing, it's almost as if sometimes I can feel what some people in the audience are feeling.

The strangest example I have of that (well, to me it was strange at the time) was the first time I sang the song I wrote (He Loves You) in public. It was at the end of what our youth group called "Yes Night". Which is just a praise night for teens.

I felt led to share the song with the group, but did not want to be pushy about it. So I prayed that if God really wanted me to share it that He open up the door to do so. Not more than just a few minutes later the youth leader asked if there was anyone who felt led to share something.

I hesitated for just a moment before raising my hand. Since my youth leader was the one who helped write the background music for the song, it was perfect. I went up there, told him what I wanted to do and he agreed that the song needed to be shared.

While I was singing it, there was a girl in the front row. She started crying when she heard my first verse and cried through the rest of the song. When I looked at her my heart broke, and then the weird part happened. It's like God opened her heart up and I was able to see it. I saw all the hurt, all the pain, all the emotions. It was almost overwhelming as I stood there singing and at the same time was singing to her pain.

I know some of you may not understand what in the world I'm talking about, but as I got used to it, I find it a regular part of my singing now. I've come to know that it's a gift the God has given me, a gift to feel other's pain and to try to communicate with them by the language of song.

Even if I'm never famous for singing, I feel (and should always remember to feel) blessed that God has given me this gift. He will allow me to touch whoever He wants me to touch. so today that's my prayer. That God will bring to Stevens Park, those who need a touch from Him. And I pray that I would be an open and willing vessel to speak His love to those who need it the most.

God bless!

Song for the week

I haven't done a song of the week for awhile. So here it goes once again. The song of the week. I picked one that I'm singing next week at my concert at Stevens Park. It's an oldie but a goodie. I've been singing this song since I was in high school, but it's been a few years since I've had it out and worked on it. With some of the things that I've been through recently, this song spoke to me tonight as we were coming home from my in-laws. You will have to just read the words and maybe you can look up the song on i-tunes or some other internet program that allows you to listen to songs. It's a good one. And it's true for me...He's my Adonai!

Adonai

One single drop of rain
Your salty tear became blue ocean
One tiny grain of sand turning in your hand
A world in motion
You're out beyond the furthest Morning Star
Close enough to hold me in Your arms

AdoniaI life up my heart and I cry
My Adonai
You are the Maker of each moment
Father of my hope and freedom
Oh, my Adonai

One timid faithful know
Resounds up the Rock of Ages
One trembling heart and sould
Becomes a servant bold and courageous
You call across the mountains and the seas
I answer from the deepest part of me

AdoniaI life up my heart and I cry
My Adonai
You are the Maker of each moment
Father of my hope and freedom
Oh, my Adonai

From age to age you reign in Majesty
And today You're making miracles in me.

AdoniaI life up my heart and I cry
My Adonai
You are the Maker of each moment
Father of my hope and freedom
Oh, my Adonai

Is He Your Adonai??

Colgate Country Showdown

I am so excited to be able to post this one. More excited than I've ever been. I have now entered a talent contest that should be so much fun. It's called the Colgate Country Showdown.

What is this talent show?

It starts at the local level (which for me is actually an hour away). This one is this coming saturday (July 10). I get to sing a song (for 5 judges) and they will judge me on talent, stage presence, and things like that. I was told there are 8 contestants at this level, so I'm one of 8. (not too bad for my chances, right??)

If I win that level I would perform at the state level (which is actually at the fair in the same town that I'm competing at the local level). The prize for that is $1,000.

If for some reason I make it past that level, I will go to regionals (don't know where they are at the moment).

If I win at the regional level, then I make it to nationals (which I think are in Orlando, Florida...Awesome!)

The winner of the national competition is the winner overall. This performance is on radio, internet, and possibly tv (I think). The winner of the whole thing gets $100,000. Plus a lot of publicity (even if you don't win).

I'm doing a Martina McBride song "Ride" which is one of her newer ones. I'm excited because it's a fun song to sing, and I get to practice having a bunch of energy on stage.

In fact right before I came downstairs to blog, I was working on this song for an hour. Just singing it over and over again working on stage presence.

I didn't realize how much energy you really have to have on stage for it to look good, really good. (I've always just been kind of average I think). Stage presence has always been something I know I need to work on, so I'm working really hard this week so I can look and sound really good.

I'm hoping to be able to video-tape it and maybe even put it on here or on facebook. We'll see how it goes.

I guess I better go. I'm a little tired and I'm ready for a good night's sleep. I plan to work on my "energy" for a few hours tomorrow.

Love ya'll and God bless you!


***Update....I did not make it past the first level. Let me tell you that there were some really good singers even at this level. I plan to try again next year. For now I'll keep singing where I'm at.
Loves to all!

Michigan

We need something fun and positive on here. So why don't I tell you all about our trip to Michigan. Are you ready for lots of information? It might take me awhile to tell you everything. I'll start at the beginning...and when I get to the end...I'll stop. (that's my favorite line from Disney's Alice in Wonderland).

We got on the train at 11:30 pm. in Garden City on Wednesday June 2. Since it was bedtime, we pretty much just slept until we reached Kansas City (where the train stopped for like 45 minutes). It was after Kansas City that it got a little more exciting. A drunk guy decided to board the train and a couple hours later in La Plata, MO. he was escorted off by a police officer. Poor guy couldn't even stand up straight, let alone tell the officer if he had any personal belongings.

We went over the Mississippi River and just saw some very pretty scenery as we went through Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois (and I think a corner of Indiana).

We got to Chicago at 3-something and had a two hour lay-over. We were a little nervous to venture out, so we stayed in the train station. But this was not a bad decision, because we went to the "Great Hall" in the old part of Union Station. It was so beautiful. I will eventually post pictures of it, but for now, I just don't have the time to get it done. I guess there have been movies filmed in this "Great Hall." I can't wait to start researching and finding out what they are so I can watch them and recognize the room.

We got back on the train two hours later and were on our way to Grand Rapids. Pretty uneventful.....we were pretty tired by this time. We got to Grand Rapids at 10:30-ish (Thursday night). Scott's brother picked us up and we went to his house and got a quick house tour and went to bed.

We woke up Friday morning ready to get on with the sight-seeing. We slept in a bunch and had breakfast out on their deck. Did you know that Michigan gets hardly any wind, and they don't have the pesky bugs that we can get? We were able to eat breakfast in peace (while watching Alvin, Simon, and Theodore play in the yard...lol...really)

We went to a music festival for a couple hours right around lunch-time and saw some groups perform, but then we went and got Amy (Kevin's wife) from work and went home to eat some supper.

After supper we went to a baseball game (the Whitecaps). It's the farm league for the Detroit Tigers. The Tiger Mascot was there...it was cool. Again I got lots of pictures. Martie and Scott ate Dippin' Dots for the first time at this game..it was exciting. And our team even won.

Saturday....we had an even better day. We drove to Shipshewana(sp?), Indiana. This is an Amish community that is a big tourist place. We went to an Amish grocery store, saw Amish made furniture, and even went for a buggy ride with an Amish guy. He showed us some of the town and a little bit of the country around the town. We saw many little shops and ate at a small deli (awesome sandwiches) for lunch. We visited a cheese place, a popcorn farm, and even a honey farm. Some of these places don't even have electricity in thier stores. It really showed us how spoiled we are.

That night we ate at a huge Amish restaurant. The food was all home-made, really home-made and for dessert we had home-made pie. The best and biggest pieces of pie I have ever eaten. Wow.

Sunday was pretty calm. We visited Kevin and Amy's church and then visited Amy's parents (and went on thier paddle boat in the lake behind thier house). After that we just went back to Keven and Amy's house and watched tv and fell asleep.

Monday we went to Lake Michigan and saw a light house, a coast guard station, and lots of water (duh). The water was pretty and there were tons of boats. The pictures describe everything about that better.

Then we went to a place called "Craig's Cruisers". This is where we rode go-carts, bumper boats, and played some arcade games. Scott tried to play a semi-truck racing game, but it was broken....darn. Then we ate Mongolian BBQ (a first for Martie). It was good.

Tuesday was our going home day. We got on the train in Kalamazoo, Michigan and again went to Chicago. This time our lay-over was 3 hours...and we decided to venture out a little. I'll admit the big city scared me a little (we were in the heart of downtown Chicago). If you've ever seen movies set in the big city they are pretty accurate....the horns honk, and the machines are really working on the roads and sidewalk, and lots of people walking thru downtown.

We ventured a block and a half over to what used to be called the "Sears tower". It has been re-named to the "Willis Tower". We went up to the 103rd story and got to look out the windows. Again, awesome pictures. It was a little scary, other than an airplane I've never been that high off the ground. It was cool.

Then it was back on the train and heading for Garden City. We finally got to Garden City train station at 7:30 Wednesday morning (we were delayed an hour for flash flood warnings). Got home and slept for the rest of the morning.

Wednesday was our day of being lazy and now we are almost back to normal life (Scott still isn't back to work yet).

This was a great trip and Scott and I have already decided we are eventually going to do it again. Now that we know more what to expect the trip will be smoother next time.

Hope to have a post filled with pictures for you soon.

God bless you.

Song of the Week

Ok, we were in Michigan for almost a week, so I haven't posted for awhile. My first post I guess will be the song of the week. I forgot about this song (sort of) until someone commented on the lyrics for it on my facebook page. So I re-listened to it and realized that I need this song right now as I learn go say good-bye to another "angel" baby..my sweet Lily Rose.

If you're going through some tough times, just sit back and listen (maybe read the lyrics) and remember that you are not alone, no matter what.

You're Not Alone

I search for love
When the night came and it closed in
I was alone
but you found me where I was hiding
and though I'll never ever be the same
It was the sweetest voice that called my name
singing

You're not alone
For I am here
let me wipe away every fear
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through the darkest night
and I'm the one that's loved you all your life
All of your life

You cry yourself to sleep
cause the hurt is real
and the pain cuts deep
All hope seems lost
With heartache your closest friend
and everyone else long gone

You've had to face the music on your own
but there is a sweeter song that calls you home
**sayin'

You're not alone
For I am here
let me wipe away your every tear
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through the darkest nights
And I'm the one that's love you all your life
All your life

Faithful and true... Forever
For my love will carry you....

You're not alone
for I... I am here
let me wipe away every fear... Oh yeah
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through your darkest nights
Your darkest nights
And I'm the one that's loved you all your life
All of your life