~SR Uber Wootin' Writeres Blog #19 *Kellex 'n' Dee*~

Hey Everyone!  Sorry we have been failing so badly at keeping up to date on the blog, but this post is special.  Can you tell why?  Look at the title “Kellex ‘n’ Dee”…you guessed it your writers, yes multiple, are Kelli, Alex, and Dee who are all in the same state!  This, for those of you that don’t know, is not normal.  This has been in the works for over a year.  Talk about doing the Im-poss-i-ble!  Dee is spending an entire month in Iowa.  She came in on Kelli’s birthday (July 3) and joined in on the adventures of Kellex (Kelli and Alex).  Let’s just say it has been an eventful month so far.  

Kellex got to spend 45 minutes on a drive home from the Iowa Falls show changing a blown tire after an extremely long week of Nashville Mission Week.  They got up early to go to church and then do more driving down to West Des Moines where they picked up Dee.  Dee came via moving trucks with another member from Ohio, Sophie, who is on the move to Texas.  We got to spend some time together as a trio at the Cheesecake Factory, which is a first for all three of us.  An eventful car ride back to Lake Mills pursued with some interesting times being had as Alex slept in the back seat.  We are only protecting Alex by not telling the stories of him “not always sleeping” in the car.

The next day brought the 4^th of July, and boy was it insane for our trio!  We started the day off in Northwood, IA where we did a parade and show.  The show had some adventures of its own with a lot of noise and the flatbed really rocking.  As soon as the show was done our trio took off on a four and a half hour drive to De Smet, SD.  Don’t know where that is?  Neither did we!  Thank goodness for Garmin (or in the case of Kellex, Gremlin).  The fun didn’t stop there, however, the real fun started on the drive to where we were staying.  What should have taken about an hour in the car to get to Sioux Falls and where we were staying for the night ended up taking over three hours!  The first road we tried to take was covered in water, so we hit detour on the GPS and went on our merry way.  Little did we know that every detour we took would take us to another water covered gravel road in the middle of nowhere South Dakota with fireworks being shot off everywhere we looked!  We felt like we were in a horror movie!  Jordan is still probably laughing at us today, nor will he let us live it down I’m sure.  No worries though, we found our way to the place we were staying for the night.  Be sure to look for videos to be posted on Facebook of that lovely adventure.

The 5^th brought more driving for our group as we headed back to the good ‘ol’ IA.  Alex parted ways with Dee and I and we took off for a week of fun in Waverly, IA.  We have been able to craft it up, have plumbing issues, watch a guy use a blow torch on the plumbing, cook a delicious meal, learn what Hy-Vee is, visit a painted piano in the park and a giant coffee mug, and tomorrow brings Dee’s first HuHot experience.  Alex will be meeting us in Cedar Rapids before we take off back to Lake Mills for a Saturday full of four shows!  We will see Steve and Jordan, and get to have a practice together with Cedar Valley and Conrad.  We will all then part ways until Sizzilin Summer Drummer Bash.

Speaking of Bash, are you getting excited?!? Boy do we have some surprises!  Make sure to keep an eye on the board slave, I mean, assistants…we may or may not have something up our sleeves…you didn’t hear that from us though.  This has all been a dream.  Yes, it is true, you dreamed up this entire blog.  You are really just in the back seat of a car asleep as you ride home from that show.  Well this is it from Kellex ‘n’ Dee.   

We hope to hear from you soon!  In the meantime, keep being you!

~SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #18-Kristen~

Hey everyone!!!

So first off this is one crazy summer already! I am working at Camp MO-Val. It is a United Church of Christ church camp. It is absolutely amazing and I love what I do. Which consists of hikes, campouts, campfires, Life Guarding, singing, and most importantly children! I have never been to this camp before so I am new to the place and I am discovering new things everyday!

But with these great, exciting things; comes a lot of sacrifices. I have given up my computer time, my cell phone, seeing my family, and most importantly seeing my SR family and doing shows. It is very hard to give up these things but on the bright side, I do get to make a difference in the souls of children by bringing them closer to Christ, which is awesome. Sometimes we need to stop and see through the rough things in life to get to the bright side of things.

So what have you given up recently that you found the good side of giving it up?

I hope to see you all at the SSDB!!! :)

~SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #17: Amanda~

Hey Everyone!!!!! Happy Easter!!!!!! In past years SR would normaly have anywhere from 80-116 drummers on the stage in front of Mt. Rushmore. I know all of you have lots of memories of being up at 5 AM or sooner just to get ready and be at Mt. Rushmore at 6am for set up. We all of memories of the late nights in the hotels and the family time we get when to go out and play.We all have memories of Mt. Rushmore.

So my question for all of you is what is your favorite memory/memories of going out to Mt. Rushmore??

~SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #16; Kelli~

Hey everyone! I’m sorry that we are doing so poorly on updating this lately. I guess we all tend to forget about some things with everyone having busy schedules.


So, I don’t know about you guys, but I have had a really off/rough week. I decided to finally let a friend of mine from Wartburg know the real me. I haven’t been fake with my friends all of this time, they just don’t know the full me yet. I decided to tell her my story, and it really got me thinking. After reading it, I emailed her because she is now on medical leave; she said that she understands why I am so into Sheltered Reality. I started to think back about how I first ever became connected with SR. I know I had seen them multiple times before I actually joined, but I keep going back to the Northwood church show the day I joined. I still remember exactly what Steve said to me after guest drumming and my response back to him. I also remember cutting my hand on Matt’s cymbal, which go figure one day mine would be ten times worse than his, but that’s another story. Anyways, I am surprised that I remember that day just like it was yesterday. But if I am able to remember that I am sure you are all able to as well. So, I was wondering, how did you first become connected to SR, not necessarily joined, but just connected? I think it would be really neat to hear everyone’s story, and it gives us all a chance to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

After what happened this morning a very special guy in my life told me to look at Jeremiah 29:11, which is my favorite bible verse. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.” I’m not really sure exactly what God was telling me this morning other that “Hey you! Pay attention, and don’t push yourself so far!” But anyways, this verse is also what gave me the idea for this blog. God has a plan for each and every one of us in SR. He wants to use us, teach us something, or even both. What does God have planned for you?

Have a great weekend!

~SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #15-Jovanna~

Heya, bloggers!

I know you're all thinking it. It's ABOUT TIME for a new post up here! So I must apologize for holding out for so long. It was difficult for me to come up with a topic, and when I finally settled on one, I was simply too busy to write up a post for you. Three days later, much has happened in my life and as a result, I have a new topic for you! So I shall save the old one for a later date.

Let me start out by telling you that I have been one big ball of stress since the weekend began, and it all originates with an essay I will be writing on Pi of all things. As I started my research, I realized that (1) I know nothing about Pi, (2) I'm not finding much scholarly information on the history of Pi, and (3) the paper is due next wednesday.

Anyone who has talked to me over the past few days knows that I was in major panic mode.

But God is good. All the time. He promises to always provide for us (Matthew 6:31-32) and give us peace in times of panic (John 14:27). Do we always believe these promises whole-heartedly, though? Yesterday, I did not. In my mind I told myself that God would never give me more than I can handle, and yet my heart did not believe it. I sank into a panic that only grew and grew and grew.

One verse, one prayer was impressed upon my mind throughout the day. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" -- The cry of the father of the boy with the unclean spirit in Mark 9. He cried out in desperation after Jesus had announced that all was possible for those who believed. "Help my unbelief." What a God-honoring plea. This father knew that he could not believe without help from God. We only have to ask, and God will reach out to us.

We are utterly dependent on our Father, and I would have it no other way, for if every decision were left up to me, I would make the wrong ones. If my success depended on my own strength, I would not have it.

This afternoon, I received an email stating that my math paper's due date had been pushed back--and it was almost as if God had added His own post-script: DO NOT WORRY! I am in control!

Where do you need to hand control over to God in your life? What worries do you need to give to Him? What has He had a hand in lately that you need to thank Him for?

~SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #14-Kristen~

First off I just want to say I am proud to write post #14. 14 is my favorite number! Haha...

Okay so I have some lyrics this time. I know that pretty much all of you have heard them because they are from High School Musical! :)

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right

Here and now its time for celebration
I finally figured it out (yeah yeah)
That all our dreams have no limitations
That's what its all about(yeah yeah)

Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
Were not the same
Were different in a good way
Together's where we belong

We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true

Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right

We're all here
and speaking out with one voice
we're going to rock the house (YEAH YEAH!)
the party's on now everybody make some noise
come on scream and shout

We've arrived because we stuck together
Champions one and all

We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come

We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
There's a chance
That we have
And we take it

Wild cats sing along
Yeah, you really got it goin' on
Wild cats in the house
Everybody say it now
Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
That's the way we do it
Lets get to it
Time to show the world

We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true

We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
There's a chance
That we have
And we take it

Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
That's the way we do it
Let's get to it
Come on everyone!

The reason why I chose these lyrics is because they show us to work together as a team. There is no I in team therefore, when working together it is a group effort. As members of Sheltered Reality we can't do things alone to "Do the Impossible," we have to work together as a group to show that we can "Do the Impossible." So throughout this year lets show the world that we can "Do the Impossible!!!"

So what can you do at your school or work to show that working together makes a difference in lives?

SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #13~Dee

Guten Tag!!


First post of this wonderful 2011 year!  Can you believe it?!?! I sure can't.


This post is going to be about bullying.  Today in school we had an assembly about bullying.  Once everyone got in the gym and sat down, this lady started talking to us about depression.  She said that depression is the number one cause of suicide.  Then, she asked us to raise our hands if we know someone that died from suicide.. and I look over and there was so many hands up it was crazy.  Then, she asked us to raise our hands if you know anyone who attempted suicide... more hands went up. 


As I was sitting there thinking about all the students that put there hand up, this guy that was sitting next to the woman talking stood up.  He is 19 years old and he told us a story that happened his freshman year.  (I think his name was Curtis? It was to loud to hear it) He told us how he was a bully and that he would pick on this senior kid.  He said that they used to call this kid polar bear because he was a little big, they would also make fun of him because he was a senior and was still on the bus and that he was very smart.. one of the smarts kids in his school.  One day he went to school and he told us how something didn't feel right.. that something was missing.  He then told us that his teacher was 50 minutes late for class and when she walked in she was crying so everyone started wondering what happened.  On the announcements they said that Andy committed suicide at 8:38 yesterday night.  Curtis had no clue who this Andy person was until his one friend said Andy was Polar bear.  He said that he couldn't even move, speak, think.. anything.  He didn't know what to do with himself.  A few weeks later Curtis went to Andy's house to tell his father that he was the reason for Andy's death and that he didn't mean it.  Andy's dad told him it was alright and that everyone makes mistakes.  In the end Andy's father and Curtis started an organization for helping kids be happy and to get through things and not choose suicide. 


Curtis said it is hard to wake up in the morning and remember everyday that he was a bully and made an amazing person die all because he was being a jerk.  He told us that there are may organizations out there that can help you go through things and change your life around and many people willing to help you.  The last thing he told us was, if you know anyone that is depressed.. talk to them, be there friend.  Tell them that you are there for them no matter what and to believe in themselves that they can help someone.  Right then I of course thought of SR and everything we do. 


Do you think bullying is a big thing happening in this world? What can SR do to stop bullying?