not much to write

I guess it has been a while since I wrote anything but that's okay. There's not a lot to write about, or at least that I feel like writing about. I am kind of tired and I feel more like going outside. But if I don't write something right now, then I might not have the chance again until sometime tomorrow, and I am such a procrastinator!

I have been working on a couple of Sunday School series that could last anywhere from 2-4 sessions. I have also been working on an upcoming Bible study that will be on August 6th with the women at Holy Cross. The Sunday School classes are directed at youth aged around middle to high school age. I am too tired to say much more, except one series involves watching "Godspell" and using it as a lens to approach and think about the sayings of Jesus and the genre of gospel. The other one can be an approach to the question of "what is grace?" by listening to varying styles of the traditional hymn "Amazing Grace." Each of these curricula will be for just the group at the time, using recordings we paid for. I don't plan on making any money at this at all. Of course, if I were to ever publish a book of Christian education, then perhaps I would have to look into ways to get approval from the copyright people for each of these educational ideas. If someone out there has a recommendation for me regarding this stuff, I want to be educated on the current laws regarding copyright infringement. I am aware that when we get into these informal "class" settings, it's easy to forget about that. The "class" turns out to be basically like, 6 teenaged boys. That's pretty much the youth group.

I am tired because we had a pool party last night at the house of one of the kids. It was fun and everything. I had a hard time waking up today. Merle and I are co-leaders of the youth group. I have this secret hope that eventually he will grow to enjoy it or feel confident enough that one day when I have to leave and work for a church of my own, he can keep on doing it. Or, hopefully learn from me a few ideas that teach him what he would want to do differently. Let us hope. Neither of us have children of our own, but I am optimistic that he can be good at it.

Let's see... We have had our very first jalopeno pepper. We have 4 little tiny ones on the way. This is all in spite of the hail and wild winds that struck these plants last week. Two of the sweet red bell peppers are dying, probably because of the hail. All the leaves are flattened down and without any spring in them, although they're still green. Yet 2 more of them are still looking good. We almost lost them to aphids, but the insecticidal soap seems to have helped. The leaves are mangled-looking, but have life in them, and are multiplying. One of the plants that looked the worse for aphids ended up bearing several nice flower buds, one of which is getting ready to open. Yay! I love sweet red peppers! The cilantro is going to seed, and the lettuce looks like it is pretty soon too. I hope to still pick some and then also plan some new seeds in half of the long container.

We have some wonderful-looking herbs out there too, including some sweet basil, dill, catnip, mint, and so forth. My parents are coming to visit in September. I am sure there is much more going on than that. Time to let the dogs have a little special treat.
Peace,
Amy