Bendabout Bits

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Mike's Mission Trip to India 2010

Mike returned from India on Monday February 15th after a 2-week mission trip. Below is just a sampling of some of the photos he took while in India. Mike said he is already planning his next trip! I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you who made this trip possible for Mike. Whether you gave financially or of your time in prayer, or both, we appreciate you!!! We know that God knows who you are and He will bless you. Thank you for making such an amazing adventure possible. I know that in just two days of the trip there was 50 professions of faith! YOU share in a part of that victory. May God bless each and every one of you.

Here is the blog of the missionaries ~~Nate and Kari~~ that are currently living in India. We ask that you continue to pray for them as they teach the Word of God to those in India!!

Mike's Mission Trip to India 2010





2/2010 India Trip

The guys always drew a crowd wherever they went.

So sweet and innocent, one of my favorite pictures.
Some of the believers in a training class.
This was one of the nicer places the guys went to eat....look at the dishwasher...yes, it is a dog and yes, the guys still ate there. And to think we complain when we have to wait 15 minutes for our food...shame on us.
Look close....the women are doing the days washing....look who is sharing the wash water with them. So which one of you is still going to complain about not having the newest front loading washer?

Faces of India

These boys just returned from hunting fox.

Some of the precious children

Mike and Barry witnessing to a man.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

hmmmm

I've tried to re-post the below without all centering issues, can't figure it out....oh well, you get the drift. :)

Books Read in 2009

My goal for 2009 was to read 2 books a month! I far exceeded my goal! I know that I read 35 books, but I can't remember all of them. Below are ones that I remembered. Some I recommend, some I do not. My goal for 2010 is to read another 35 books! (and this year I promise to write them down!)


Homer's Odyssey (*****) What a fantastic Book!!! This is a TRUE story about a blind cat that no one wanted, was adopted, and ended up saving a young womans life on more than one occasion! The cat scared away a burglar!!! This is one of my new favorites. Read the book, and think outside the kitty litter box so to speak. Even if you aren't an animal lover, you can learn something! Compassion for those smaller and weaker. Strength for those of you that don't want to roll out of bed in the morning! If Homer can live a happy life, so can you! I laughed and I cried reading this book. The GOOD thing....Homer is alive and at a healthy 13 years of age. Read the book and visit Homer's Human's blog here.






Knowing God (*****) Fantastic Book, Must Read!! What an amazing author, I would recommend any book by him!






Hard To Believe (*****) Fantastic Book, Must Read!!




Don't Make Me Count to Three (*****) By Far THE BEST Parenting book I have ever read!!! And if you know me, you know I've read them all! If only they would have taught this in all my child development classes in college!!






What's The Difference (**) No Photo Available















Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (**) The recipes included aren't that great.













The Birth Order Book (**) I studied Birth Order when getting my Bachelors degree....I was hoping to learn something new. It is a good book if you are new to birth order, but if you have studied it before, you won't need this one.





Look Me in The Eye, My Life With Aspergers (****)












Total Money Makeover (**) Not that I didn't like this book, but if you read any Dave Ramsey book, you'll get the idea, no need to keep buying his books. GREAT plan that DOES work!















Don't Lose the Wonder (**) Another old one.
No Photo Available










Parenting From the Pew (**) Not sure I agree with all of it, but will be good for those parents that have perfect angels that can sit for long periods of time. IF you have a strong willed child or a child with ADD or ADHD, don't bother with this book.



Simple Church (*****) Good book, not sure I agree with everything, but I agree that "church" as we know it today is not what God intended.






The Five Love Languages of Children (*****)






Emotions, Can you Trust them (*****) This is an older book and I was surprised by how good it was!






House (***) By one of my most favorite Christian authors! Not his best work, but good.






Have a New Kid By Friday (***)







Sorry, no photo available.

The Shack (Disgusting book, don't read) IF you want to know why, let me know. I could write an entire blog entry as to why NOT to read this book. I'm amazed by how many Christians LOVE this book and by how many of my churched friends recommended this to me. I'm not putting a link or a photo, I cringe thinking someone might actually click on it and order it!















Love and Logic Tickets to Success (*)

No Photo available

Monday, December 21, 2009

December 21, 2009

New Posts coming....don't freak out!!!! whoohooo

Friday, April 17, 2009

Monster


I'm so behind in my blogging it's not even funny!! Here is a another book that I read in January from one of my favorite authors, Frank Peretti. IMHO it wasn't as good as his others. It seemed as if there were way too many characters to keep up with. Still, it was a good book and I would recommend it....and you know I'm not too much of a non-fiction reader...but I LOVE Peretti. The great thing about him, is he sucks you into his books quickly!! It was an easy read and I think it only took 3 nights or so to read it.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Finding Nemo...

Not the fish....our new puppy!!! Yup, new baby at our house. Mason loves him, Stanlie loves him and Mike loves him. Mokie...not so much, but Mokie doesn't like anyone...but me (Melissa). Once we get this guy potty trained he's gonna be a GREAT dog. He has SUCH a sweet disposition. His mom was pure Beagle and daddy....well, no one really knows. They "think" it was a brown dog. Nemo has the coolest markings. We gave him the name "Nemo" because he has a gash on his ear....kind of like Nemo's gimpy fin. Enjoy a few pics of his first day home with us. ((My camera is broke...so I had to borrow my moms camera...I HATE her camera, hence the terrible pics))
"Look mom!!! He loves me!!"

They ran for an hour!!

resting...

and resting....ahhhh the life of a little boy and his dog...stay tuned. :o)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Bye Bye first tooth

Here are some recent pics of Mason...some with and some without his front tooth. Sorry for the fuzzy ones, he was "helping" me scrapbook and wouldn't stand still. LOL Oh and I posted some of his "dorky hat" pics. He LOVES that stupid hat!