~SR Uber Wootin’ Writers Blog #10- Kristen~

In honor of Thanksgiving...here is a post about giving thanks!

Most of us have been with family over the past few days (for me...a week...). With family comes LOADS of great food and family fun. In my family, I get the privilege each year to enjoy 2 Thanksgiving meals with 2 amazing parts of my family. Every day I take the time to thank God for the family I am blessed with. I thank God for the food that we have to eat that many others don't have. And last but not least I thank God for this wonderful SR family that I have been blessed with. Without all of you....my life would not be the same.

 Just because it is Thanksgiving time and you are told to give thanks, doesn't mean it is the ONLY time to give thanks. Give thanks each and every day. Going back to the comment Kelli posted a couple weeks ago....it is the simple little things like receiving a note from an anonymous person saying "thanks for this" are what matters most.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving....now....it's time for Christmas!!!!!!!! :)

Last Steve Post before Break :)

Hey Bloggers/Wooters/and everyone reading!

I figured today at the airport was a great day to put up my last post until I return from break.  I must tell you all again...I am wiped out this year...goodness it has been a packed, never-ending, always-traveling year for me...and I am ready to rest up for SR 2011.  I must say that looking back on this year, I am amazed at what we have done...the HARDEST SR song ever...and mastered by SOOOOO many of you!  It is great to see you all so excited everytime it rolls around in a show...you have made me very proud at your willingness to Never Give Up, do Whatever It Takes, to challenge yourself and master the impossible.  Though I do think it is what has me more worn out than ever...that darn choreography...teaching it practically everytime has kept me sore and tired since August...but it was worth it!  Now, you can look forward to whatever I decide to do with Music Again...starting in January.

Had a great last show in New Underwood, SD yesterday with drummers from Rapid City and Faith both...and we should have NEW drummers joining Rapid from New Underwood...it was a great school.  Personally, not one of my better shows...I was tired going into it and sounded tired during it, but I guess the audience all had a great time, and they listened well to my updated Kelli meets Amanda 2 story...so that was a good way to end shows for me in 2010.

My annual Christmas letter to the SR family is on its way pretty soon...please read and respond to it, since there is a question for EVERY member in it :)

Elizabeth Johnson, from Faith, had a speaker at school yesterday before she headed to our show...who talked about some great things...from her email to me about this experience:

  V.J. Smith wrote a book named The Richest Man in town and he was at our school today talking to the high school about it.  Anyway today he one of the things he talked about was how people should say thank you more often, and everytime that he does something and doesn't get thanked for it he will give that person a card. So he handed these out today and then afterward if you wanted it signed he signed it. He is such a good speaker thought that he was making himself cry.

This made me think of something to challenge us all in SR for 2011...simply being DECENT to our fellow human beings...saying things like "Thank-you", "Nice to Meet You", "How are You", "How can I help", etc...would make the world a much better place if everyone practiced that golden rule of treating others as you wish to be treated.  (THOUGH keep in mind...to say these things "just to say them" is not enough...you must actually MEAN them, and make a real connection to others, not just be fake and superficial!!).  So, I challenge all of us to find ways to bring more decency into our world...because in my daily adventures I do see so much rudeness and very little human compassion...and maybe we can find new ways to DRUM decency back into people...something for you all to think about.

To my Woot Woot writers, readers, and followers...thanks for a fun year on the Blog.  We will do more with it next year...one way or another, since we did not quite do all I had planned this year, but that is the way of things...some things work, others do not, but you just keep Never Giving Up!

A blessed Holiday period to you all...enjoy family and friends...and I will see a few of you in late December, and everyone else in the New Year!

Until then,

HAPPY DRUMMING!!

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?