Every Girl Needs a Tutu!

Every little girl should have a tutu (and every big girl too for that matter). That's what I think anyway. They're twirly and magical and lovely! Life just seems brighter in a tutu! I am a tutu connoisseur. I wear tutus every chance I get and what with spending most of my time at Disneyland or in my kindergarten classroom, I get the chance fairly often! I have made tutus for lots of events and people of all ages. Going to Disneyland with my 15 cousins? We gotta all have tutus to correspond with our favorite princesses! Going to a bachelorette party? Gotta have bride and bridesmaid matching tutus! Going to a baseball game? Gotta whip up a tutu in Orioles black and orange (I'm still convinced I was thrown that ball by the outfielder as a direct result of my wearing a tutu)!  

For the past couple months I've been buried in tulle and ribbon and elastic waistbands as I prepared for my church's Holiday tea and boutique where I will be selling my tutus. I'm especially excited for this boutique because I get a special opportunity to share God's love and my tutus with some precious littles who have most likely never had a tutu. I'm partnering with Stacy Dewitt and the James Storehouse to give tutus to little girls in the foster care system. For every tutu that someone buys at the boutique, I will donate a tutu to a precious child in foster care. These tutus have been prayed over, both for the children whose moms are buying the tutus and for the little girls who don't get to live with their moms who'll be receiving one too! These are now holy tutus! And let me tell ya, tutus plus God's love equals one happy me! There's no better combination in my book! 

On our Twinkly Twins business card it says Colossians 2:2 (go on...say it fast...out loud...go ahead...get it? 2:2! Tutu! And yes I literally looked through every book of the Bible trying to find a chapter 2, verse 2 that worked). It says, "I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery." That is my prayer for each lady who comes to the event tomorrow, for each little girl whose mom buys her a tutu tomorrow, and for each precious child in the foster care system who will receive a tutu as a result of the event tomorrow. I pray that each woman and child would know that she is dearly loved by the God of the universe and that she is a part of His tapestry, His plan. She is not alone...never has been and never will be because God is crazy about each and every one of his precious daughters. I pray that each woman and each child (especially those littles in foster care who don't get to live with their earthly mommies and daddies) would walk in confidence and rest knowing that her earthly Daddy loves her dearly and wants so much to see her jumping with joy, dancing with delight...and twirling in a tutu!

*For any information on where you can get a tutu to twirl in, contact us at    bvkirchy@gmail.com and don't forget to check out the James Storehouse Ministry at www.jamesstorehouse.org

Happy Reformation Day!!!

They didn't deserve it. They knew it. I knew it. Kindergartners have a good grasp on what is fair and what isn't and as I moved each clip up to the top of the clip chart at the end of the day, they knew that they didn't deserve to all be up there...but they cheered all the more joyfully because of it.

This week each year I attempt to explain the concept of grace to my littles because this week, on October 31st, we celebrate Reformation Day. If you're not familiar with this holiday, you're not alone. I think a lot of people forget Reformation Day or are never taught what it is because it falls in the shadow of Halloween and when stacked up against all the costumes and candy, who can remember this lesser known church holiday? I love dressing up as much as the next person, actually probably way more than the next person, and goodness knows I have a sweet tooth (as seen by the exorbitant amount of sugar I put in the tea I drink each day that most southerners probably wouldn't be able to get down), but as we near this time of year, let's not forget the sweetness of Reformation Day! This is the day we celebrate Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg and thereby claiming the powerful truth of God's grace to take away our sins, not the buying and selling of indulgences. Martin chose to stand firm for God's truth in the face of anger, evil, and ultimately death.

So back to grace...many might think that five and six year olds can't grasp an abstract concept like grace, but I think they understand more than we might think. They understand getting something that they don't deserve or not getting something that they do deserve (like a friend who has done nothing wrong taking a spanking for someone who did do something wrong). And they definitely understand that with all the whispering voices in chapel and people getting up without asking or raising a hand, that they do NOT all deserve to be at the top of the clip chart at the end of the day, but oh how I wish you could see their faces when I rip up the clip chart count for the day and place them all at the top! Those are the faces that glow with the sweet knowledge that they have been shown grace.

Martin Luther said, "I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth." That's just what I am attempting to do by taking the time to celebrate Reformation Day in kindergarten. Plus it's fun! Grace is awesome! And then throw in getting to "nail" the 95 Thesis to the door with a little, plastic hammer, and getting to write with a "quill pen" (really just a ballpoint pen with a brightly colored feather hot glued to it) while listening to Amazing Grace on spotify, and ending the day with everyone (regardless of behavior) at the top of the clip chart! Those littles wish every day was Reformation Day! Well here's the best part...it is! Every day IS reformation day because every day God gifts us with His unbelievable, amazing grace! Let's celebrate it!

*Here are some of my most favorite Martin Luther quotes! What a humble, wise, and oh so courageous man of God!

"I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen."

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right….”

“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”

“I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.”

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” ― Martin Luther

Dreamy Villains

In case you didn't already know, I'm a princess person. I love the princess movies; nothing puts a smile on my face faster than precious little girls in their princess dresses (and yes, I even have my own Belle  dress hanging in my closet); and I'd rather spend my entire day at Disneyland taking pictures with princesses than riding any rides!

 When I get in line to meet one of the princesses at Disneyland, I start out super excited and as I get closer in line, I inevitably start getting super nervous about actually speaking to them until Kate pushes me up there! I'm just like the three-year-olds who have been talking for weeks about meeting Cinderella and want to do nothing else at Disneyland but meet Cinderella, and are dressed as Cinderella, and the minute it's actually their turn to meet her, they freeze up! What can I say, the three-year-olds and I are in awe in the presence of royalty! 

And if you happen to be one of those people who thinks that Disney princesses are bad role models for our little girls because they need a man and always wait to be saved, I would like to politely ask you to please keep it to yourself and go spend some time watching Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Tangled, and Frozen because you obviously haven't watched them enough!

All that to say, I was surprised to find that my most magical moment from this past weekend at  Disneyworld did not involve a princess! Quite the opposite in fact! It was a tall, arrogant, villain who made my day this time (unheard of in my book). I knew Gaston was a character I wanted to meet on this trip because he's the only one I know of who I can't meet at Disneyland. I knew he'd be hanging around his tavern in the new Fantasyland and as I walked over, I could see the line stretching long of people waiting to meet him. I tucked myself into a corner and just watched him for a while and as I did I began to understand why so many people wanted to meet this Villain. He's a comedy show waiting to happen! I've never seen so many people just stand around watching a character (people who weren't even in line, they just wanted to watch him interact with guests!). My favorite interaction was with a little girl dressed as Belle who seemed very shy to meet him. After talking to her a while (complete with marriage proposal) he put one arm around her, flexed his other arm, gave a ridiculously over the top, model smile and said in his deep voice, "now we've been over this Belle, just look straight at the camera and say, "I do!" There was another little guy that Gaston was attempting to teach how to make any woman swoon and he got the little dude to practice on the character greeter standing by! 

After nearly an hour of just watching him interact with other guests, I finally worked up the courage to get in line myself. Kate wasn't there to keep me from chickening out this time so I grounded my feet and made myself stay in line! When it was finally my turn I stepped up to him (the top of my head not even reaching his shoulder) and he looked at me and gushed, "You are so attractive! Just look at that hair! And those gorgeous eyes!" At that point he took my sunglasses off my face and held them up to get a better look at his reflection, which is of course what he was talking to the whole time! Typical! 

We took our pictures together as he did his array of model poses and at the end of my few minutes I asked if we could take a flexing muscles picture like he was taking with the guys in line. He scoffed and said, "you don't have muscles! You're a girl! You think you have muscles?" I timidly nodded in the affirmative and he grabbed my hand and pulled me across the street saying in his booming voice, "alright move aside everyone! We've got a girl here who think she has muscles!" He plopped his arm down on the flat top of a trash can and challenged me to an arm wrestling match then and there! 

It wasn't going too well until he told me I could use both hands at which point...I still couldn't budge him! Come on, what did you expect! He's the quintessential muscle man! He gave a wink and I was on my way back into fantasyland.

And that was my magical moment...getting beat in an arm wrestling match by Gaston! Sound silly? Maybe so, but he was better at his character than anyone i've ever seen and he took so much time and focus on each guest, making them laugh, making them blush, making them roll their eyes. So while I'm a self-proclaimed princess fan, team villains earned a point yesterday! That's princesses: 1,000, villains:1. Well done, sir! keep it up! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to attempt to sleep on this last leg of the flight and dream of  deep voiced, dreamy, Disney villains!

-Beth

Dressed for Where I'm Going...

I recently heard this statement in a sermon: 

“I wasn’t dressed for where I was…I was dressed for where I was going!”

How many times have I been dressed in a tutu in the bait and tackle shop, or in a princess dress in Los Angeles International Airport, or as an 18^th century street urchin in a movie theater, or as a Colonial girl in downtown Washington D.C., or in a ball gown in a chick-fil-a, or in onesie footie pajamas in…lots of unconventional places (really though…is there a conventional place to wear a onesie?)? I get double and triple takes, confused glances, odd looks (and children asking to take pictures with me) because the people around me don’t know where I’m going. 

They don’t know that I’m dressed in a tutu at the bait and tackle store because I’m headed to our kindergarten Valentines Day celebration (where tutus are most necessary). 

(This isn't in the Bait and Tackle Store, but it was that same day)

They don’t know that I’m dressed in a Princess Belle dress in LAX because I’m headed to the International Sweet Adeline competition in which my quartet members and I are all dressed as four Disney princesses for our competition package. 

(On the airplane flying to the competition on those princesses dresses)

(Pumping gas before the airport...even princesses have to pump their own gas apparently)

They don’t know that I’m dressed as an 18^th century street urchin in the movie theater lobby because I’m headed to the midnight showing of Les Miserables. 

(Woman in the movie theater lobby: "Are you Amish?"

They don't know that I'm dressed in a white dress with a blue satin sash along with a whole gaggle of other girls because we're on our way to the Sound of Music Sing-a-long at the Hollywood Bowl.

They don't know that I'm dressed from head to foot in shark attire because I'm headed to a party for the beginning of Shark Week on Animal Planet.

They don't know that I'm dressed like a cow because I'm going to Chick-fil-a to get free food.

They don’t know that I’m in oncsie footie pajamas because… ok there’s no good reason for the oncsie, it’s just the most comfortable article of clothing ever! 

They can only see how bizarre I look in my current surroundings because they don’t know where I’m headed. But I do…and so does God.

            How often do Christ followers get weird looks or stares of disbelief or shaking heads because of what we wear? I don’t mean what we’re actually wearing, although those “Jesus is my homeboy” t-shirts deserve some odd stares! I’m talking about what else we’re wearing…kindness to enemies, mercy instead of revenge, forgiveness in the face of injustice, hope instead of fear, joy in all circumstances, belief in the impossible. I’m sure Jesus got weird looks daily because how that man acted was, to be quite honest, NOT normal! Asking God to forgive the people who are literally killing you is not normal! The love He chose to dress himself in was not normal and it looked odd to those around him, but only because they didn’t understand that He wasn’t dressed for this place, but rather for where He was going…heaven.

            What pains me about Christ followers, including myself, is that there are times when we don’t stand out at all; we don’t look different; we go about our merry way through the bait and tackle shop, the airport, the restaurant, the movie theater, looking exactly like everyone else, eliciting stares from no one. That’s when something’s wrong. The kind of life that we have been called to as followers of Jesus doesn’t have to be loud or showy or crazy, but if we’re truly following this God-Man, loving as He loved and living as He lived, how could our lives not make others take a second glance. He walked where others wouldn’t. He healed what others couldn’t. He touched the untouchable and unclean. He talked to and sat with those “beneath” Him. He served when others should have been serving Him. He turned the broken into beauty and the lost into loved. He called down forgiveness on those who hated Him when He could have called down an army. In following such a man, how could we possibly live a life that fits in so well when all he did was stand out?

As Christians we can dream big, dream impossible, and to an onlooking world we may look crazy, but we’re dressing our bodies and minds not for where we are, but for where we’re going. We may not be there yet, but we serve a God who makes the impossible possible, and we know where we’re going…ever onward, becoming more and more like Him and more and more who he has created us to be as we walk towards a glorious eternity.

September 11th

How do you tell kindergarteners what we're remembering today...why their teacher is wearing red white and blue and failing to hold back tears at the flag salute? They weren't born when it happened and they have no concept that there is that kind of evil in their safe world...so today in kindergarten we didn't mention the words plane or crash or towers (there will be time for those scary words when they're a little older), but we did talk about the words unkind and mean and hurt and sad and hearing a 5 year old pray for "the mean people to come to know Jesus and start being kind and loving others" made a sad day better...at least more hopeful! 
-Beth

By Kate White:

I have never been a direction follower. I don't think I've ever read a whole manual in my life. I'd rather try and try and try again than read how to do it right the first time. I had to retake the SAT in high school because I didn't read the directions and started on the wrong page! For years I've had masses of 10-year-olds entrusted into my hands and there is nothing a 5th grader hates more than reading directions! I found my people. And we learned the hard way together. 

I would also always rather substitute something else for whatever I am missing than spend the time to get the actual correct item. This is met with varying degrees of success from "I'm a genius!" to "I can't believe I made it out alive!" No bisquick? No problem! I'll just substitute all-purpose flour! I think those pancakes could have been fine substitutes for industrial rubber. 

Here's the thing. My husband...he has read and still owns every manual for every electronic and appliance he has ever purchased! He also has the original packaging. In our first month of marriage the hot tub broke down. The man downloaded the PDF of the manual, read it for several hours, and then went to the backyard and FIXED IT! It's like I've entered an alternate universe! 

Marriage doesn't come with a manual, but if it did, my husband would have all the answers while I would be valiantly making wild stabs at getting it right. If I could sum up what is needed for marital success (based on my extensive 2 and a half months of experience) it would be GRACE. I'll admit it, I need more daily grace than my husband does, but nonetheless, through all the trial and error and trial again at doing this marriage thing right, a little grace goes a long way. 

Someone said recently in front of a group of people, "Kate makes the best beignets!" Goodness I can't tell you how good that felt. It’s nice to get something right. It feels good to do something well.

(Despite the fact that last night I tried to just add a little extra flour to the brownies since I didn't have the (ahem...) CUP AND A HALF of Cocoa that I needed on hand.) That experiment was a hot mess that warranted getting tools from the garage to extricate the cold, hard, not terribly chocolaty goo from the pan. The grace to let a few of those incidents slide, allows me the confidence to get up and give it another try. 

Sometimes this marriage thing feels like the brownie goo and sometimes it feels like the light fluffy beignets! One day I feel like I'm super wife and the next I feel like a mess. I have unending gratitude for my husband’s grace to just kiss me and laugh and tell me that next time will be amazing! And I promise... No more subbing in flour for whatever I'm missing! 

Amazing Grace

If you’ve been remotely in my presence this summer you have most assuredly heard about me getting to see “Amazing Grace” on Broadway. Most likely I told you that it’s my new favorite musical of all time, described the unbelievable set design and staging and costumes, played you songs from the show (it has the most beautiful, powerful music ever heard this side of Heaven), showed you the clip of the cast singing on Jimmy Fallon, and on and on. There is no cast recording out yet, but I’ve searched youtube attempting to find as many full songs as I possibly can so I can still listen to the music (I’ve found six so far and I listen to them daily). One song in particular I’ve listened to before going to sleep almost every single night of the summer since I saw the show! It helped me go to sleep countless nights this summer as I slept alone in the house or alone in my room at Kate’s house (I hate sleeping by myself in case you didn’t know, but it’s a little easier with Josh Young singing to me as I go to sleep)! I may or may not check the Amazing Grace facebook page and instagram daily to see what others think of it and voraciously look for when they will release a cast album. I neither confirm nor deny that I pray daily for the people going to see the show, for the cast, and that a cast album will be released soon! I can’t help it! It’s AMAZING!!! And if you haven’t seen it yet, don’t judge me! Just wait until it’s your turn to be standing on your feet at the end of the show with tears streaming down your face joining your voice with the incredible voices on stage in that age old hymn! You’ll understand!

(Slightly excited about my tickets to see the show I've been waaaaaaaiting for!)

Quick recap (in case you didn’t see me this summer): Amazing Grace tells the story of John Newton who was a sea captain and slave trader and follows this horrible, crazy, lost man (and his childhood sweetheart who never stops asking God to change his heart) through his young adult life until God grabs a hold of this young man’s heart through some horrifically hard circumstances and his life is completely changed. He ends up becoming the hymn writer who wrote the words to the most popular song of all time, Amazing Grace. Along with that, it’s also the story of the brave men and women who began the fight for the abolition of the slave trade in England and the story of many of the beautiful Africans who were a part of it. It’s the story of humanity's utter depravity and God's matchless forgiveness and grace. It's the story of people...the sinful, the unmerciful, the beautiful, the brave, the lovely and depraved. It shows humanity at its most ugly, sinful core and God's ability to turn the ugliest sin into wild beauty! The whole story is epic, redemptive, glorious and best of all, completely TRUE!

  Mr. John Newton (Josh Young) himself! This man has the most 

     unbelievable voice I've ever heard and the emotion and passion he 

      puts into sharing this story is utterly astounding! P.S. I look like I've 

been crying because...I have!

            I’ve been trying to figure out why this show grabbed me and wrapped itself so tightly around my heart and mind (aside from the glorious music and exquisite costumes and beautiful voices and impressive staging) and I think I’ve figured it out. I think it’s because it was a new, clear, almost tangible way of seeing and hearing God bestowing His grace and choosing to use someone who was wholly undeserving. Someone who was mean and horrid and despicable and disrespectful… someone like every sinner… someone like me. It’s so easy to view myself higher than that because I’ve never sold human beings or mocked authority and God, but when I view myself as higher than the sinner that I am, it lessens the grandness and power of God’s grace because really, how much grace could it really have taken to save me? My song would surely be called, “A Little Grace” or even “A Spoonful Of Grace” (cue music: “Just a spoonful of grace makes the sin go down…”) but surely no need for “Amazing Grace.” But I don’t want to dilute God’s Amazing Grace with my delusions that it didn’t take the much grace to save me. The truth is that is takes every bit as much grace to save me as it took to save that slave trader. In our own lives if there has been no slave trading, no murder, no adultery, no abuse (all those sins we use as a barrier to say, “well I’ve never done THAT, so how sinful could I really be?”), Jesus would still have gone to the cross and that grace would still come at the same bloody cost because sin is sin. Period. It’s only by God’s Amazing Grace to slave traders and kindergarten teachers alike that we are saved.

The other reason that this story grabbed a hold of my heart is not just because of God choosing to save John Newton, but because of John Newton’s response. In the show his immediate response is in song and I don’t know that John Newton could or would actually sing, but the words to that song are certainly what he must have felt because they are what every sinner has felt at one time or another when confronted with his own sin and the overwhelming face of our great savior. “And I never can repay what the Lord forgave that day. He came for me…came to set me free.” When he finally confronts his overwhelming sin  and looks to the grace of his overwhelming savior he lives his life in overwhelming humility. That is the right response…a response I don’t always live out. After seeing the show I got John Newton’s autobiography, “Out Of the Depths” and basically devoured it. Something that struck me is the humbleness in which he lived his life after meeting Jesus. Just listen to some of his words:

“It was well worth standing a while in the fire for such an opportunity of experiencing and exhibiting the power and faithfulness of His promises.”

 “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

 “If God may be glorified by my efforts and His children in any measure be comforted or instructed by what I have to declare of His goodness, I shall me satisfied.”

 “His sovereignty is connected with infinite wisdom and goodness. Consequently, if it were possible for me to alter any part of his plan, I could only spoil it. Such a short-sighted creature as I, so blind to the possible consequences of my own wishes, was not only unworthy, but also unable to choose well for myself. It was therefore my great mercy and privilege that the Lord condescended to choose for me.”

 “Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

Sometimes I forget how truly astounding it is that God would choose to love me, to save me, but this summer I remembered through the humility and obedience of a slave trader turned hymn writer who died over 200 years ago, but whose words live on:

                     “Amazing grace! how sweet the sound                                        That saved a wretch like me!
                       I once was lost but now am found,                                            Was blind but now i see.”

-Beth 

(See it's not just me...others are super excited about it too! Just look:)

*Last thing...I promise! Did you know that the man who wrote the script AND the music AND the lyrcis had no background in musical theater or composition...He was a police officer who read John Newton's autobiography and decided the story had to be shared and he has spent the last twenty years writing the script and the music and the lyrics and trying to get it to Broadway! What?!?! Talk about AMAZING!!!

New Beginnings

I have lot of little friends who are starting kindergarten this week and in many ways, I feel like one of them. We smile knowingly when we see kindergarteners going off to school for the first time. They’ve got a wide-eyed look of uncertainty that is comically exaggerated by their oversized, lopsided backpacks. We smile knowingly because we’ve all be there and despite a possibly tentative start, everyone knows that Kindergarten is the best year of your schooling life! Mention the word “kindergarten” to any kid ages 7-18 and you’ll probably see an endearing smile spread across their face as they remember “the good ol’ days.” But do you remember that very first day? Having to say goodbye to your momma and feeling like you’re all on your own? It can be a very scary day. 
A sweet kindergartener whom I know well wants to bring a picture of her family with her in her lunch box every day so that she can look at them while she eats! In the midst of change we all want to have something to remind us that the home and people that we love are not so far away. As we grow up we somehow forget what it’s like. We look back as adults and think it’s cute how nervous these little people are, because we’ve already walked through it and we know it’s awesome. 
After going to school every September for 23 out of my 28 years of life, this September marks a new and sometimes scary change. I feel like a kindergartener all over again. I’m bravely waving goodbye to my parents and sisters as they all head back for the first day of school, and this is the first year that I’m not going with them. After all those years of school, it seems funny to think that now the scary change is the fact that I’m not going back to school. I love this new life in Texas. I love being married. I love this new season. I love the limitless possibilities. Romans 5 says, 

“ We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”

And yet sometimes, even though we know they’re such good, wonderful places, the wide-open spaces can seem a little scary. So this one’s for you my 5-year-old friends. This one’s for you my mother-of-5-year-old-friends. This one’s for you any friend who is facing something big a new. We’re gonna be okay. More than okay, we’re going to thrive. Let’s step out in faith. Let’s dwell on God’s words of hope and peace and carry them with us in our lunchboxes a reminder of our good Father and our home. Happy First Day of School and Happy New Beginnings!

-Kate

(Two little kindergartners who might look familiar!)

Dreamy Paper Airplanes

Am I the only person who boards an airplane hoping to sit by a baby or at least a kid? Maybe so. Unfortunately I usually don't get to, but when I fly on Southwest I have have an advantage because I get to choose my own seat and families with kids board first, so theoretically I should be able to find a baby to sit by! Well this summer I got on fourteen airplanes and I didn't get to sit by a single baby! As I boarded my 14th airplane I finally spotted the seat that I'd been waiting for. There was a row about halfway through the cabin that only had one person sitting in it...a little African American boy staring excitedly out the window. Perfect! I sat down in the aisle seat hoping that no one would sit between us and we'd have some room but before too long a woman came walking down the aisle about to steal my seat next to the little boy! Woah lady! Hold up! That's my kid to make friends with! You can't go stealin' my kid! I quickly scooted over into the middle seat and we were both happy...she with her newly acquired aisle seat and me with my future friend still safely next to me.

I asked him if he was flying by himself and he pointed at his mom and big sister in the row behind him. His sister had also wanted a window seat so his mom had told him that he could sit one row in front of them. I could see that he had no backpack or bag in front of him. No books. No iPad. Just good old fashioned talking, which we did for quite a while. I learned that his name was Alan and he was going into 2nd grade on Monday and He liked looking at pictures of my twin and Disneyland (basically the only pictures I had on my tablet because they're the most important. Obviously!). I taught him how to make paper airplanes from pages I ripped out of my journal and we put our little pretzels from the airplane snack packs in our paper airplanes and threw them back between the seats to his sister who giggled behind us. We spent three marvelous hours talking and spotting animal shapes in the clouds and making paper airplanes and playing hangman until our plane descended into the Los Angeles airport. We got our carry-ons and said goodbye and went on our merry little separate ways. 

I always enjoy airplane rides...something about the large, uninterrupted chunks of time in which I have nothing to do but journal and read. Now, while I love both those things dearly, you know what I love even more? Making little paper airplanes with a friend I just made three minutes ago. Why is it that I spend three minutes with an adult and I've barely learned his name, but three minutes with a kid and we're already fast friends making paper airplanes together? Just wondering. Flight number fourteen was by far the dreamiest of the summer!

-Beth

Our snack plane about to take flight

The tray table runway

Why Twinkly Twins?

Here goes...Twinkly Twins...

"Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life."      Philippians 2:15-16

That's it. That's exactly how we want to live...shining, shimmering, twinkling with God's love...peace... joy...hope...to a world that so dearly needs Him. We want to shine His light out of every fiber of our beings so that people are drawn to the light He has placed in us and consequently come face to face with the creator of  light who loves them fiercely and perfectly. 

We love light! Aside from precious babies, light has to be our favorite of God's creations. Here are our top favorite light sources:

- White fireworks

                                     (4th of July fireworks this past year over the New York City Skyline)

- Christmas tree lights

                                                        (Jenn is our master twinkle lights electrician)

- Starlight 

                                                                             (Glittering and glorious!)

- Stadium lights

                                                                             (Big...bright...beautiful!)

- Stage spotlight

                                                  (Our view from the stage for the Easter service)

- Candlelight

                                (Our absolute favorite candlelight is at the Christmas candlelight service!)

We think it must be one of God's favorites too! Just look what it says in His Word concerning light:

"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

- Matthew 4:16

                                         (A picture I took on an airplane going...apparently to Heaven!)

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

-Matthew 5:16

                                      (Pure shimmering delight! Can't beat the fireworks over the Disney Castle!)

(Or the Magnificence that is World of Color!)

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

 -John 8:12

                                                     (Sunset over the Indian Ocean from Zanzibar last summer!)

"God Is light. In Him there is no darkness at all." - 1 John 1:5

                           (Magical twinkle lights over Kate's wedding this summer...perfection! P.S. love that baby moon!)

"Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." 

-John 12:36

                                  (The only thing that makes a sunset over Zimbabwe more beautiful is elephants!)

                               

God has called us as believers to be light to a dark world...which brings us back to the verse that launched the name Twinkly Twins...

"Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life." Philippians 2:15-16

We attempt to live in a twinkly way...a way that makes others smile and giggle and wonder and sometimes shake their heads in confusion thinking we're a touch crazy, but ultimately a way that points to God and the joy that comes with being His (after all, people thought Jesus was a touch crazy too). This blog is an attempt to chronicle those twinkly moments that God blesses us with each and every day...the big, bright, firework moments and the small, solitary nightlight moments alike. In a nutshell we want our lives to glow with Christ's love and these precious words:

 "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!"