The New Amanda Story! ~Kelli

Okay, as many of you read in the Pink Stuff post by Steve there is a new Amanda story. So like he said, we did two shows in Ridgeland, WI this past Sunday. This involved me being insane as usual (and as many of you know and love me) getting up and being on the road by 4:30 a.m. The first show was in a little church where Jovanna did point out that we were a fire hazard. We then had some great lunch and fellowship time with each other and new friends and were also introduced to the now famous (to us) pink stuff. Some of us went to set up at the next show location and the two college students (Jovanna and I) did homework. Seems pretty normal right? That’s what I thought too.



Before Steve starts the show I’m walking around handing out ear plugs and come to a family that doesn’t want any. They said they go to many monster truck rallies and this should be fine. I thought nothing of it. Just before the show Pastor Sue walks up to Steve and I and asks my permission to have my story told because she thought it would be good for them to be able to put a face with the story. Once again I thought nothing of it. It comes time for the second guest drumming song and my former guest drummer picked the daughter of the family that I briefly talked to before the show. From the instant she said “Hi, my name is Amanda” all I could think through all of ‘Every Time We Touch’ was Amanda Maser, Amanda Maser, Amanda Maser. We got done with guest drumming and it comes time for Steve to tell the stories for the day. I am used to hearing and telling my own story, but I know when I’m not the one telling it I cannot make direct eye contact in the audience, I just can’t do it. I didn’t see with this Amanda right away.


After the show Amanda, her brother and her parents came to talk to Steve and I. Amanda and her mom told me how Amanda had problems in school because she was born with a learning disability, a physical disability, and was heavier set. They said she had really identified with my story, and the fact that she was my guest drummer helped her to connect that much more with me, and understand how I was able to change (at least a little bit). Her mom then went on to tell me how she shouldn’t be here right now because of an accident she had had a while back, and that Amanda had an extremely hard time getting through it without the help of her friends. The only reason she is here on this earth today was because of her saving grace the flute. Amanda found a way to express herself and found her only real friend in that flute. Her mom moved on to talk to Steve, and Amanda and I continued talking. She told me how she had finished with high school and was studying at some college in the area. I asked her what she was studying and she replied with music therapy. Right then my jaw dropped. What are the chances that she and I would connect on so many different levels including studying the same things in college?!?! I couldn’t believe it. That family ended up having to get going as Steve and I still had yet to tear down after the show, but as we were tearing down I told Steve all that I had learned about this family.

If you all thought Amanda Maser and I connected quickly, you wouldn’t believe how quickly this Amanda and I connected. She texted me my entire five hour drive back to school, has added me on Facebook, and texts me almost every day. God was definitely working through all of us that day. First of all that family had seen a sign driving home one day and decided to randomly show up to the show, secondly I decided to go against my mom’s wishes (which I don’t suggest anyone else doing!) of going to the show, and also Pastor Sue wanting to have my story told on a gut feeling. Obviously God has a plan for that family, for me, and for SR. Amanda and her brother plan on attending practice with Pastor Sue, and hopefully we could get a site going up there. God was working through each and every one of us at the Ridgeland shows that Sunday, and who would have ever thought that I would have TWO very special Amanda’s in my life???

Comment what you would like to about this story, but make sure to comment on the last two postings as well because they have all come within just a few short days! I hope it all makes sense to you because I'm still out of it with the "mysterious Ridgeland sickness" as Erica calls it. But I would love to hear your comments!!!

SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #9-Amanda

Hey everyone!!!!!!

I haven't talked to anyone in a long time. Sorry I have been really busy. I graduated about 2 weeks ago and so I have been busy down here. I am about 2 weeks late on my post I was suppose to do and Sonja thank you for posting when I did not. Because of the fact that I'm running short on time I'm just going to put up some lyrics. All of you know this song. I know you do. Steve is the one who showed me this song and I fell in love with the song from the first time I heard it. Steve likes to think of this song as "my" song. I love this and I know some of you (hint hint Dee Harr) love this song.


According to you

I'm stupid,
I'm useless,
I can't do anything right.
According to you
I'm difficult,
hard to please,
forever changing my mind.
I'm a mess in a dress,
can't show up on time,
even if it would save my life.
According to you. According to you.






But according to him
I'm beautiful,
incredible,
he can't get me out of his head.
According to him
I'm funny,
irresistible,
everything he ever wanted.
Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
according to you.






According to you
I'm boring,
I'm moody,
you can't take me any place.
According to you
I suck at telling jokes cause I always give it away.
I'm the girl with the worst attention span;
you're the boy who puts up with that.
According to you. According to you.
But according to him
I'm beautiful,
incredible,
he can't get me out of his head.
According to him
I'm funny,
irresistible,
everything he ever wanted.
Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
so baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
according to you.






I need to feel appreciated,
like I'm not hated. oh... no...
Why can't you see me through his eyes?
It's too bad you're making me decide.






According to me
you're stupid,
you're useless,
you can't do anything right.
But according to him
I'm beautiful,
incredible,
he can't get me out of his head.
According to him
I'm funny,
irresistible,
everything he ever wanted.
Everything is opposite,
I don't feel like stopping it,
baby tell me what I got to lose.
He's into me for everything I'm not,
according to you. (you, you)
According to you. (you, you)


According to you
I'm stupid,
I'm useless,
I can't do anything right.


Well I hope you like it. I will more next week or so. Love y'all!!!!

Pink Stuff

Hey all!  Finally it is time to get something up on the blog again...have some free time today before our show tonight...for rabbits, guinea pigs, and their caretakers...should be interesting!  We had a great day in a very small town yesterday (Ridgeland, WI...population 245)...where Sue Lewan has her first pastor job (at 2 churches...one in Ridgeland and one in Prairie Farm)...among many people who heard SR for the first time yesterday and were very moved by it...Kelli found a second Amanda in the world...(Yes, Amanda Maser, there are TWO of you out there!)...I had to teach how to play SOFT in the church since it was the 2nd smallest performance space we have ever been in...and PINK STUFF became my favorite dessert of all time!  YUMMY!

With that said, I will ask Kelli to post the story about Amanda 2...to show you all how God truly does use SR in ways we simply never expect...so you can look forward to her version of the story since she has more details than I do...and a new friend.  You will love that story...whenever she has a free moment to get it up here.

From me...by VERY popular demand...the recipe for PINK STUFF.

1 small container cool whip

1 box instant vanilla pudding

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1 can cherry pie filling

3/4 cup cooked + cooled white rice

Mix all ingredients together.  If it is too dry, add a little pineapple or cherry juice.  It is beyond yummy...and very PINK...hence our new name for it.

Speaking of new names...Jovanna will have a new name sooner or later...mainly because (a) she thinks I never read facebook posts and (b) she decided that calling me STICK instead of STEVE is simply the funniest thing that has ever happened in her life.  Though, I must admit, I am proud to be part of the STICK family...including my cousins, Drum and Mission.  If NONE of this makes any sense to you at all...well not only am I sure she will have something to say about it all...but you will all meet more of the STICK family soon!!

More from me in the next 2.5 weeks before I take time off for some VERY READY FOR IT R + R.

SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #8- Sonja!

Hello, All!


In this day and age, it's easy to find evidence that we are living in a broken world. We see crime in the papers, we hear about how people are losing their jobs, we read about war, hate, and hunger.


But if you look hard enough, we find little glimmers of hope. A few months ago, my archery team had a car wash. While I was working, a man walked by. No car to wash. He didn't want to buy pizza or a soda. He just GAVE us some money for our team. Similar things kept happening. People would give us way too much money, then refuse the change that I brought them. It really stuck me how these people didn't know me. They didn't know my school. They probably didn't have some deep interest in archery. They were just being kind.


Tell everyone about the glimmers of hope in YOUR life. Let's light up the world!

Happy Halloween, everyone! What're you all doing for Halloween?

ANNOUNCEMENT

Ha!  Scared you with that title didn't I?

Just wanted to find out if your schools still have school announcements or not?  I was just at a school last night for a follow up practice and learned that the announcement was never made to all students that we were having a practice because the school has CUT school announcements.  They say that 5 minutes per day to do announcements means kids miss 11 days of school.  First of all, the math is wrong...5 mins per day across 180 days of school (usually) = 15 hours...which is what?  3 days at most of school?  More than that though...goodness...what better way do we have to communicate with each other than verbally?  The teacher sharing this told me that the school is doing announcements via email...which NO ONE is reading (gee, that sounds like my beef with SR and email to newbies who never respond!)...and she said that kids are missing all kinds of deadlines, programs, things they need to do, etc.

At least I had 10 kids come last night (who signed up and read their email from me!)...but we should have had many more...had an announcement been made.

Thoughts on this?

SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #7 Dee~

Hello everyone! First blog post from me! :D

Do you guys remember your very first drum practice with SR? Do you remember if you were excited, scared, nervous, all of the above?  When was your first day? I started thinking about this when I was looking at pictures.  It’s mind boggling to look at pictures from four years ago, and then look at recent pictures.  You see how much people have changed, grown up, and become better people.   I think it’s awesome how much someone can change and become a better person when you are in an amazing group like SR. I love when you get new people that join your site, and you get to see them change/grow. At first they are always scared.  They try and look like they are having fun but still scared at the same time. And then pretty soon it’s been a month, then 6 months…, and soon you see them change and have more confidence in their self and start having fun. You get to see them play at their very first show.  I think its awesome being able to watch someone grow in SR.

At the Warren, Ohio Site we have a new member named Vince. He is so funny!  I walk in and he says hi and then asks me 1000 questions about beats, songs, everything.   He went on Sheltered Reality’s website and saw Lauren and Colleen’s picture.   He printed it out and asked me if it was them.  He was excited to find out it was.  He is so thrilled to be in this group and loves every minute of it.  He ALWAYS has a smile on his face and wants to help with anything he can.  He always tells me how he practices a lot.  He told me that he plays on boxes, and how he used to play on phonebooks until he started putting holes in them. :D  He gets beats so fast!  On beat accelerator, he’s on track 6! He is doing an awesome job.  He always says whatever you want to teach me, I’ll do it! Lol.  He seems to really enjoy drumming practices, and I’m happy about that.

Well, this is all I have for now! Super excited for the meeting next weekend!!!!! Woot! :D

STEVE POST; Changes Good and Bad

Actually I really don't have a plan for this blog today, but knew it was time for me to write something!  So, here we go...and who knows where we will end up at the end of it all :)

First of all...the change I want to talk about the most...for our 15th year anniversary year (which I think SHOULD have some special celebrations in it!!) we are going to work up Music Again (Adam again) as the NEW opening song for our shows...goal will be to have it ready by June, 2011, for the busy summer season.  As I said to audiences this summer, some who had seen us for the past 10 years at least, that "this is our 14th year and the opening song is still Cuba Libre" I came to the conclusion that I COULD NOT say this when it was "this is our 28th year and our opening song is still Cuba Libre"...no way that was going to work.  So, it is time to move Cuba Libre to a new "greatest hits section" towards the end of the show, and create something new.  I promise that I will resist making it harder than If I Had You (though I am tempted!)...but we will have to work up some really exciting opening show choreography for it...AND...I promise you all the longest memorized drum solo that will be part of this song (over the 16 measures of guitar solo in the song)...so you can start looking forward to that.  I may have some basic first parts for the last round of practices this year; if not, then for sure in the first set of 2011 practices.  Be ready :)  I am curious though...this is a big change to the show...so vote on the new poll about this and let me know your thoughts.

Second, after a recent crazy interaction with a potential new family at one of our new sites, I have decided that we must get started on the SR book.  I was talking with the Sioux Fall-ians last night about this and they agreed...we must get started on this.  At our upcoming Site Coordinator's meeting, Jordan will be presenting his VERY hard work of this year...putting together all of our press things, from all 14 years, at long last!  This has been something that has been ongoing, and failed at, for many years...mainly because there is so much STUFF about us out there...he has finally organized it all in some great books...and we want to figure out how to turn it into something COOL for everyone to have access to...in some format.  To go along with this, we need to get the book started; Jovanna, are you still up for writing it...or helping write it?  I have some ideas finally how to get started on it, so let me know if you are willing to help...anyone else is welcome to help to...so let me know!  It is time to get down all the stories about up's, down's, and crazies that have helped truly form the NEVER GIVE UP step of SR.  If you are curious about my recent crazy interaction (one of many that happens each month sadly), you will have to wait for the book.  HA!

Third, I am sad to see more and more schools cutting all of the arts programs; music, art, drama, etc.  This seems to be a fast-growing trend, meaning that SR needs to become an outlet for kids who are losing their access to this at school.  We can at least work to meet the musical needs out there.  For those schools not losing them, they have certainly been marginalizing these programs; making kids come at 6am for practice...making it a super-choice between art-oriented classes vs. core-curriculum-oriented classes...which then forces some kids out of the arts area as they work to meet their core needs.  (This of course never happens with sports of any sort) :(   So, you can talk about these changes in your own communities/schools/perspective, as I would be curious to hear about your views on this.

Finally, there seems to be more fear out there economically speaking than at the beginning of the year.  I know it means we are going to have to increase fundraising for scholarships next year, so plan to be talking about this with me at all practices towards the end of this year and beginning of next year, as we are going to pull together nationally and help those who will need extra help to be in SR...because that is what we do...help each other.  We will have to find ways to think more nationally about this...and make sure all our current members are aware that if they are raising money to help a local new member OR a far-away-site new member, they are still meeting SR-goals...because we will never let money preclude someone being in SR...and succeeding at their journey with us...even in times when there IS no money out there...few jobs...and a whole lotta hopeless feeling people...it is up to US to show them that there is still a way...something positive going on...and bring hope to those who need just that.  I will ask you all to be praying on ways to go about this so that we can all pull together when 2011 rolls around.

There...a very long, multi-subject post for you all to enjoy...now to make it pretty colors :)  See you all soon!