About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: A New Beginning

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: A New Beginning: Hi everybody! I haven't been on here in, what seems like forever, but I have been very busy working on something that I have been hoping and...

A New Beginning

Hi everybody! I haven't been on here in what seems like forever, but I have been very busy working on something that I have been hoping and dreaming of for a really long time. I have finally, after literally years of saying I'll get around to it, started a website to try to sell my skits and plays. It is a new beginning for me. My website is http://www.skitsandscripts4him.com/ .  I really hope you will go to it and check out what I have on there so far and begin to read its blog. I am hopefully going to spend most of my blogging time on the new website, but it will be just like this one. It will still be mostly stories about my family and our lives together, so I hope that you will begin to visit me there. This blog won't be closed out, but the other one will probably be used more. Thank you, by the way, for reading my blogs. Your comments, both on the blog and in person,  have all been so encouraging. I have loved sharing my life with you in this small way and I hope to continue. I'd appreciate your prayers for this new endeavor of mine. Many of you that read this blog have seen my plays or been a part of them, so I would really appreciate any constructive advice for the website. Also, I'd love to add more testimonials to the website of what God may have shown you from watching or being in one of the plays. Please consider sending something to me and I'll see if I can add it to that page. Thanks for your love and support...Talk to you, soon!

Missing Loressa

I haven't been on here for a long time. My summer has been busy, but fun. It was full of mission trips, Vacation Bible School, youth camps and many days filled with random activities in order to be prepared for all of those big events. I started off excited about the summer, but dreading the end of it because of a very important milestone for our family that I knew was coming. I was hoping the day wouldn't really come, but, of course, it did come and now we are on the other side of it. My second oldest daughter, Loressa, left for Texas Tech to begin her adventure of living away from home. I wasn't sure that I would make it through the weekend of delivering her to Lubbock, but I did. I didn't make it without buckets full of tears, but I did make it through. For the last two weeks of summer, all I could think about were her days as a little girl. Oh, how I miss those days...I miss all of her little quirks. I miss the way she would only wear "spin around" dresses and her hair always looked like a mess because the pony tails had to be loosened just the right amount immediately after I put them in her hair.  I miss all those years that we played light-up electronic solitaire at night under the covers when I was supposed to be singing her to sleep. I miss a million other things about her childhood and I always will, but right now I also miss the all grown-up Loressa-the beautiful, wonderful, talented young woman who still has a million different quirks, and it is still those little quirks that make her so lovable. To say that I treasure all of my special memories of Loressa is quite an understatement. I hope and pray that the future holds many more special moments and the opportunity to make many more memories...Lately, I've been thinking back to my days of being a young mom so many years ago. I still remember older mothers telling me about how quickly time flies... I really wish that they hadn't been right.

Vacation Bible School and the Pecoraro Family

I LOVE VBS!!! I love preparing for it, decorating for it, rehearsing the music for it and getting to enjoy the wonderful children that come to it. One of my favorite things about VBS is seeing how the youth and adults come together to unselfishly make something wonderful take place for the sake of our children. The accumulated amount of time that is given is huge. There have been hours and hours of time spent to get ready for day 1 of VBS-hours of painting, hours of rehearsing and hours of organizing. Even when there are glitches here and there, the fact that children are taught with such enthusiasm and love is absolutely wonderful. One of the things I love about VBS week is that my family spends this week together. I'm so thankful that my family all takes part in VBS. Emily is helping with the 5 year olds and Violet is attending her first VBS.  Loressa is a guide and is singing every night with More Than A Memory. Halton is acting in the opening and closing and leading worship with More Than A Memory every night.  Bethany and Hunter are helping with the music and choreography and are guides to different age groups.  Mackenna is working with me with all of the music classes and teaching the choreography and, last, but not least,  Destiny is attending. As always, I am very thankful that my family gets to serve the Lord together in this way. I love that we get to be busy with service to the Lord in one place, but with each of us using the different gifts God has given us. Thank you, Lord! I feel very blessed!

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Accepting change...

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Accepting change...: "I haven't written anything for a while. I miss it, but every time I start on a new post something distracts me and I never finish. That is k..."

Accepting change...

I haven't written anything for a while. I miss it, but every time I start on a new post something distracts me and I never finish. That is kind of the story of my life....I get distracted, then I have trouble finishing just about everything. There are lots of things that I'll never finish... such as: I'll never get finished with the laundry. I'll never finish the dishes...I'll never finish...being a mom. I'll never finish being a mom, but I will definitely finish this stage of parenting with one of my daughters, Loressa Joy. Today, I thought I would attempt to write about her, but if I can't finish it, I'll have a good excuse. It will be because I can't stop crying....So, here goes my first attempt at accepting the change in my role as a mom and letting my precious Loressa move on to all that God has for her.
A couple of  weeks ago John and I went with Loressa to Texas Tech for her 'transfer student orientation.' It was fun being at Tech with her because that is where I graduated from, but it was also hard knowing that she will be going to college there...five hours away...having fun... without me. I can't imagine how hard this would have been if she had left me right after high school. At least I had her here while she went to Collin College and lived at home. I don't want her to leave, but I actually have a peace about her going to Tech. I know she'll be happy there. I know she'll build some special relationships. I know she'll live by her convictions. I know she will be able to use her beautiful voice in new and different ways. I also know that things will never be the same. I wish I could say that I'm ok with that, but my entire being begins panicking with even the slightest change even though it is entirely possible that, "Things never being the same," might just mean that they could get even better. I have always had a hard time with change, but not all change has been bad. Emily getting married to Sam was a huge change, but it has definitely been a good one. My grand-daughter being born was a wonderful, good change. I have to learn to find the good in this change, also. At the moment, I can't figure out any of the good for myself, but there will be a great deal of good for her. She will get to spread her wings and get to stand on her own two feet. She'll make important decisions about her future and I know she will have the time of her life. While she is growing and changing, I know at least some of what I will be doing... I will be missing her!  Missing my Loressa will mean missing a whole lot of little things. I will miss her and Halton staying up late together singing and writing songs. I will miss her writing her own songs and coming down in the middle of the night for me to hear them. I will miss editing some of her papers. I will miss hearing her lead worship with "More Than A Memory". I will miss her asking me to help pick between different outfits for her to wear, with me already knowing she will probably always pick the opposite of what I pick.  I will miss getting to always be in the audience when she sings. I will miss her funny way of looking at life. I will miss doing all my quirky 'mom' things for her, embarrassing her, videoing her every move like only this mom can do. I'm sure I will still have a hard time accepting these changes in our lives and I think it is safe to say that I will be a bit of a basket case when it comes right down to her leaving, but I know I'll be able to do it when the time comes. How do I know I'll be able to let her go and finish this stage of my parenting? The reason is simple...I won't have another choice:)

The stories of our lives...the musicals

The invitation song"In Christ Alone" summing up the entire play!

Sunday, May 15, 2011, is over. I was planning and working toward that day for many months and now it is behind me...a wonderful, precious memory. The musical, "Set Us Free," that has consumed my thoughts and time for the last several months was last night. What a blessing it was to see all of the hours culminate into a worship experience like none other. I think God always speaks to me more than anyone else through the process of preparing and presenting the plays. My husband, John, always says that watching the musical is like watching our lives acted out for everyone to see and I think, although it is never really my intent, he's right. One of the main characters in the play was the demon of insecurity (played by my daughter Bethany who, by the way, is such a wonderful actress). I am attacked by insecurity on a daily basis...I worry about saying things that I wish I hadn't said, second guessing everything I say, rethinking everything I say, worrying about how I look, worrying about what others are going to think about me, my family, my decisions. The list is long of what insecurity does to me...I guess that was why it was such a big part in the play. It plays a big, unwelcomed part in my life. Another big part of our lives was played out in the song "What it Means to Be Loved". Although the song was written about a family with a little girl with some special needs, it was very similar to our lives with Halton who was born with Spina Bifida. I remember very clearly being called back to the doctor after our first ultrasound and him asking that question, "What do you want to do". There was no question in our minds as to whether we would go ahead and have the baby. We felt blessed to have been entrusted to raise a child with special needs. If any of you know Halton, you know what we mean when we say that ever since the day we got to bring him home, he's been out to prove the doctors wrong. At the time, we had no idea what the future would hold, but God has blessed us far beyond any expectation on our part with being allowed to be his parents. The song expressed all of that so well, I just had to use it in the play....I'll probably write more about the stories behind the writing of the musical, but for now...I need to finish the insurmountable pile of laundry that has been growing and waiting for me for the past week...Have a blessed day!

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Random thoughts...

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Random thoughts...: "We are now in the last few days before the musical and, believe it or not, I actually do feel at peace about it all. I think that maybe a fe..."

Random thoughts...

We are now in the last few days before the musical and, believe it or not, I actually do feel at peace about it all. I think that maybe a few of you really are praying for me and I am so thankful. I love days like today. It started off with going to get Hunter's passport for our mission trip to Canada, so I already feel very accomplished. We still have school work to accomplish, children's choir and youth choir and LIFE tonight, costumes to finish, microphone and  props assignments to finish, the program with all of the names for "Set Us Free," as well as all of the other things that I'm behind on and I think we have some out of town company coming this afternoon.  Now that I made my list, I don't feel quite so accomplished, but at least it started off well.

The mission trip to Canada seems like such a long way away, but yet I know it will be here before we know it. This will be Hunter's first time to go with the rest of us because you have to be in High School to go. I'm so excited for the people we will be seeing to get the chance to get to know another one of my children. Now, they will have met all of my family except my youngest two kids. John, me, Loressa, Halton, Bethany and Hunter will get to experience this all together. What a blessing to have my children serve alongside me in ministry. Being together in ministry is one of the many things that I love about my family. The musical is one of those ministries that we all do together. I guess that is one of the reasons they are so important to me. We work together, discuss it together, pray over it together, stress over it together and enjoy it together I really hope you will come if at all possible. Three of my children, Bethany, Hunter and Mackenna are all demons in the play....You won't want to miss that.

What did I get myself into?

The musical is one week away which actually computes to 8 hours of practice time away.  I don't have any idea how it can all work out, but I'm trying to hold out hope that it will.  I guess I'll let you know. If you live in the Dallas area, I hope you will plan on attending. It will be at 6:00 on Sunday, May 15th at The First Baptist Church of The Colony. The odd thing about writing the musicals and working so hard on them is the wondering if it is all worth it. My family sacrifices a lot for me to write them. My family, the youth and parents that are involved sacrifice a lot to practice and make them worth watching. I guess it is around this time (a week before the presentation) that I start to wonder, "What did I get myself into?" I'm sure there are students asking themselves that same question....So...What DID I get myself into?... I got myself into a position where all of my inadequacies at putting it all together show (a humbling experience). I got myself in a position to be around so many awesome youth (again, a humbling experience). I get to see my writing come to life in a way that most people never get to see. (again, humbling).  I get to help create memories for the students and children that they will hopefully tell their own children about someday (spoken in a parent's voice-"When I was your age, I played the part of a demon in a play.") I get to obsess over whether or not I wrote what I was supposed to write. (you guessed it-humbling) And I get to deal with my own personal demon-the fear of man. What I really want the answer to the question to be is that I got myself into a place where God could use me, but I seem to keep getting in the way (very humbling)...If you have the chance, please pray for me this week. Pray as God leads you. Thanks so much......
 Lord, I pray that You will use the musical "Set Us Free" in my life and in other's lives. I pray that there will be joy and peace in my heart about it and that You will remove all of my fear. I pray that it will all be "worth it" to You and to Your kingdom. Amen.

Destiny "Face"

Happy Birthday, Destiny!

Destiny sandwich

So, my baby girl is officially 10. She is adorable, precious and a constant source of love and encouragement. Destiny's age is a perfect reminder of how long we have been at our church. John was called to be the youth minister here immediately after I had her. She was a tiny, 6 pound, three week old baby when we first came here. I can't believe I was that crazy to make a road trip with my six other young children and my tiny, Destiny Faith after a very difficult pregnancy and birth. What was I thinking? It was definitely the beginning of a crazy life, that's for sure.  Mackenna was just three and she couldn't say Destiny Faith. She called her "Destiny Face". Now, 10 years later, there are still a few people at the church who call her Destiny Face because of that first weekend when we came.

Destiny is such a wonderful "baby" of the family. She helps to keep me young at heart even though I'm so much older than all of her friend's moms. Of course, she helps to keep all of her siblings young at heart, too. I love that about our children. They have all allowed themselves to still enjoy some of the pleasures of childhood even after many others may have grown "too old" for those simple pleasures. I think that it's important to be able to keep some of childhood alive in your heart. It's a trait that will help them all to be better parents someday and, of course, I enjoy it, too.

I am so thankful that God has entrusted me with these precious children. I try not to take that blessing for granted. Today, I'm especially thankful for my precious, wonderful Destiny Faith. Thank you Lord for knowing how badly I needed her and for allowing me to be the recipient of her constant and unconditional love.

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: The last day of single digits

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: The last day of single digits: "Today is quite possibly going to be a bit of a hard day for me. I'm not a big fan of my children growing up and today is the last day for my..."

The last day of single digits

Today is quite possibly going to be a bit of a hard day for me. I'm not a big fan of my children growing up and today is the last day for my baby, Destiny, to be nine years old. Tomorrow she will be having her tenth birthday and I am just not ready for all of my children to be in the double digits, I know I probably have written about this before, but I miss my babies being babies. I miss the slow pace of parenting young children and I miss the position that I held in their lives when they were younger and they thought I knew everything.  I miss the days when no one had a job or college classes and we all got to spend the days together in the same room enjoying life together. I guess I like that my children are all responsible young people and they all work and pay their own way to all the things that they want to do, but I hate that, in order for them to be so responsible, I've had to give up my time with them. I wish I could make time slow down so that I could really remember every moment because so much of it is starting to blur together....I hate wasting the precious time that I have left with them and I'm starting to feel like that is what is always happening around here. Time is wasted on TV and on computers and on iphones and ipods. We are all very good at wasting time and, in some ways, I think that it is Satan's way of robbing from me, so that I always feel like I have missed out on potential precious moments.....With all of that said, we are all going to try to make today and tomorrow very social days for Destiny, the birthday girl. Right now, we (those of us still at home) are going to play some games and do a few special activities with Destiny. Then, tonight, we are going to all go see a movie together and try to get home so that we can have our midnight celebration for her birthday. Destiny has always been such a wonderful little girl. She is always ready to make me feel loved and appreciated and I can't even begin to think of what my life would have been like without her. I think I'll have to write another note later about my precious Destiny, but for now I have to go. A precious moment is happening and I don't want to miss any more of it...

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Almost

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Almost: "It was extremely hard to get going today. I think sometimes I just have too much to think about, so I have a hard time zeroing in on accompl..."

Almost

It was extremely hard to get going today. I think sometimes I just have too much to think about, so I have a hard time zeroing in on accomplishing anything. My mind goes in a million different directions and, although I have good intentions, I "almost" always end up doing the last thing on the list of importance. It's kind of like thinking, "I have to get all of these things done today, but I think I'll sit down and write on my blog instead."Somehow, I'm thinking that this little update for all of you is ranked a little lower than everything else, but yet, it's the easiest to accomplish...Maybe I need a personal assistant, or a maid, or...or maybe I need kids to help. Oh wait, I already have those. Maybe the problem with today is that my biggest helper is a bit out of commission. Hunter fell off of his bike, "almost" landing a perfect flip. The key word in that sentence is "almost." Since he "almost" made it, he ended up with a fractured radial head in his right elbow and "almost" a hundred different cuts and bruises and a concussion. Needless to say, it would have been great if he had landed the flip. I'm hoping for a very quick recovery for him. He was counting on the money he was going to make mowing yards and crocheting (those two things still don't really go together) to pay for all of his summer mission trips and camps with the church. Hunter, as usual has a great attitude. Now, back to me, what was I supposed to be doing? Oh, yeah, I "almost" forgot...my list! I'm supposed to be working on my list. I guess I better quit writing and try to accomplish something. Where is that list anyway? Oh, yeah, in my head with all those millions of different thoughts....I "almost" wrote everything down this time so I would remember it all, but , again, the key word in that sentence is "almost."

Easter

Wow, Easter is here already. Most of my family is at a youth prison today to have an Easter service for the inmates. John is preaching. More Than A Memory is leading worship and a bunch of other youth are there to talk with and encourage the people in the prison. I'm glad they are getting the chance to go out of their comfort zone to make what Jesus did on the cross a reality to those that need to hear inside the prison walls. They are taking an Easter service to them while many other people are busy preparing their own Easter celebrations in their homes and churches...Easter is a special holiday, especially for those us who call ourselves Christians. It is a reminder to all people that our Jesus did not die just for the sake of suffering and dying for us, but also in order to prove that He had power over death. I'm glad to have Easter as a symbol for all of the rest of the people of the world, but for me, personally, every Sunday is Easter. Actually, every moment is Easter. Jesus' resurrection is what we, as Christians, celebrate every single moment of our lives. Without it, we are nothing. Without it, there is no hope. Without it, our Savior is still in a grave like every other man. My risen Savior didn't die just to be "celebrated," He died to give me forgiveness and hope and eternal life and a relationship with God and...He died to give me LIFE, so that my entire LIFE could be a "celebration" of His resurrection...I pray that every moment will be a celebration of "Easter Sunday" in my heart and yours.

In my arms....

Today, I am typing one handed.Why, you might ask? Did you break your arm? Hurt your wrist? No, nothing like that. Today, I am writing one handed because I have my precious Violet Rose sleeping in my arms. Oh, I know I could put her down and get a few things done around here that require two hands, but why should I? Mackenna and Destiny are near me doing their school work. Bethany is upstairs writing an essay and Hunter is working on a neighbor's yard.  Loressa and Halton are in class at college and I am holding my grandbaby. Life is good and I am grateful. Thank you, Lord!

Prom 2011

Well, I haven't written anything since before Prom. I started a post, but never finished, so I think I'll do that right now....This past weekend (the weekend of April 9) was as busy as ever in the Pecoraro home. We went out of town late Thursday night in order to spend Friday with John's family and some close friends. Then we left Saturday morning so we could be home in time for Bethany to have a hair appointment so she could have time to get ready for Prom. Prom could not have been more wonderful. The students had a wonderful time. They danced. They ate. They had fun. And they did it all in a very wholesome, godly atmosphere. The music was wonderful, too. It was a huge blessing to be a part of and I'm so glad that it all came about. The week before the event, we all had a two hour long dance lesson to learn line dances and the waltz and the two step and the quick step and a few that my old mind and body can't remember. My mind was spinning at all of the dance information to remember, but the students all caught on really well and, of course, we also had "Just Dance 2" on the wii to add to the fun. I loved it all...the preparation and the actual event. Our church has never sponsored anything like a prom, but I am hopeful that it will become an annual event. I loved how the students that came to our prom had a blast together and walked away glad that they came. Most of them had actually decided beforehand that they didn't want to be a part of regular school prom because of the things that they had all heard about going on there. Wouldn't it be great if kids like ours who really would like to have fun at their prom, without all the unwholesomeness, would all have an alternative to what the schools have been offering them? Who knows, maybe good clean dancing can catch on everywhere. I hope so....Now, I have another idea. Wouldn't it be fun to have a prom for all of us married couples who would like to learn a dance or two? I've heard of having a "Second Chance Prom." I would so go for something like that. It would be fun to have an excuse to get dressed up and dance with my husband. So.....who could I get to plan that for me?

A Day Without Shoes

TOMS, the shoe people, are hosting "A day without shoes". The purpose is to remind people who are blessed with the finances to buy shoes that there are children all over the world who go without shoes every day. What a great concept! I don't know about you, but I need a reminder that having shoes is actually a luxury. In America, we often think of an extra car as a luxury or maybe a new dress or even eating out as a luxury. How many times do we think of shoes as a luxury that we really don't exactly "need"? If we were to be honest, we would all call shoes "a need"and we would fit it into the category of God meeting our needs. We would probably remind ourselves of God clothing the lilies of the field and how he tells us that if He will clothe them, He will surely also clothe us and we put a few pairs of shoes into that category. Don't get me wrong, I know that in order to function in our society, we need a pair of shoes. You can't go into eating establishments without shoes. You can't go to work without shoes and, let's face it, feet are ugly, so we really should have a pair of shoes to cover their nastiness. But, do we need 20 pairs? ...10?... 5?...2? I don't really know where it stops being a need and becomes a luxury.
My own family has lived many of the days of our lives as "a day without shoes". My kids never wore shoes when they were kids unless we were going somewhere. In fact, to this day, if I put my shoes on during the day the kids ask me where I'm going. And they are almost always right. I don't put my shoes on unless I'm heading out the door. Of course, we don't decline wearing shoes because of children without shoes in other countries. We don't wear them because Pecoraro feet were just not made for shoes. Ask Hunter about shoes and you will most definitely get a negative response. He would rather do everything shoeless, but he has to live up to the standards of the day, so he is now forced to wear them. I kind of wish he didn't have to. I wonder how many "well meaning" grown-ups have thought I was a bad mom through the years because of my children's shoelessness. I'm sure I'll never know and actually, now that I'm older, I don't care... but now that a highly respected shoe company suggests having a day without shoes, maybe we will finally be understood....or... maybe not.

Youth choir...to the parents and the youth!

I was going to tell all of the kids in youth choir tonight that this was going to be my last play and that I was going to quit youth choir cause I just couldn't take it anymore...and then tell them April Fools!!! but I couldn't do it. I LOVE LEADING YOUTH CHOIR! Tonight we had our first long rehearsal for the upcoming musical entitled "Set Us Free" and it was wonderful! Our youth group is filled with creative, talented kids who love being together. It makes me really happy to watch them work together and accomplish so much. I watched as they taught each other choreography to the songs and I'm amazed at the way they willingly accepted the responsibilities that I gave them. I don't think there are very many, if any, churches that have the kind of group that we have. I mean, think about it: 40 or 50 kids-friday night-rehearsing-singing-dancing. They could have all probably been doing something different, but they chose to spend the evening working toward the goal of presenting something worthwhile for the Lord. I am so pleased!!! If you read this and you are a parent of one of those kids, I just want you to know what a blessing your children are to me. Thanks for letting me have them in youth choir!

A Project for a Procrastinator

I have a huge announcement that is going to make you all very proud of me. Are you ready? I, Pam Pecoraro, admit that I am a procrastinator and I am currently undergoing treatment for this unfortunate disability. My first round of therapy for my procrastination began yesterday by starting a project that I have been planning for the last 9 years. What project, you might ask, could take 9 years to plan and finally fulfill? Are you ready??? Painting our family room!!! Over the years, I have probably gone to Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart and picked up those little paint color cards more times than anyone should admit to. I would conservatively guess that I have probably picked up enough of those cute little cards to wallpaper an entire room, but of course, I don't want to wallpaper, I want to paint.  For the many years that we have lived in our current house, I have never liked the dull, plain paint that covers most of our walls. I have always wanted to spice up our rooms with some creativity and add a little color, but most of my ideas stay in my head. I put them off and they never actually make it to the "spicing up" stage.  Several years ago, I had my first treatment to counteract my procrastination and fulfill some of my creativity issues.  I painted a huge Superman "S" on the wall in the boy's room and that, along with all the stuff I paint at church, has managed to tide me over in the creativity department to some degree. My family even intervened on my behalf before Emily's wedding and surprised me by painting the downstairs den, (I had purchased the paint-just hadn't ever painted).  Now, I'm happy to say, it's time for another session of treatment and it, once again, involves paint.  I couldn't wait to pick out the paint and there was always only one color that I for sure didn't want to use and that was the color "green." Somehow, I considered green the wrong color for me. Maybe my fear of green is because of the avocado green of the 70's. You know, the days when the color of your appliances was chosen in order to camouflage the guacamole you splattered on the wall. Well, guess what color we chose for the family room? Green!!! And not only, green, but two different shades of green. Now that I've admitted my procrastination issues and my issues with the color green, I feel so much better. Now all I have to do is finish...Hopefully in less than 9 years.

families and funerals

Yesterday, my family went to a funeral. Two of my children had the privilege and honor of singing at it. Over the years, my family has been to many funerals. Sometimes, they have been the funerals of people we knew well and, almost always, they have been the funerals of people we wish we had known better. Today, I was reminded of the fact that even when we think we know a person, we often only know the small, little section of their life that they have shown us. If we have only known a person for a short amount of their life, all we know of them is the person that they were during those years. Today, as I watched a slideshow on a screen of my friend's life, I saw glimpses into the years before I knew him. It made me think to myself, I wish I had taken the time to look at all of his pictures before he passed away and listen to stories of his younger years. I never even thought of what he was like as a young man, but I should have. I should have been a better listener. I realize now that people look at me the same way. They only know the small portion of my life that I have shown them. If I met you when I was a child, I was full of adventure and you may have called me Pammy. If I met you as a teenager, you would have thought of me as bubbly and fun loving-always singing, always looking for ways to be in the center of what God was doing. If you met me in college, you would again know me as a singer, but also as a listener and an advisor. As a young wife and mother, I was simply in love with my husband and my children and joy flowed forth from me. As I got older, life became much more difficult and that bubbly personality moved out of the way in order to allow a grown up in. I still can't really remember when it happened, but I definitely did grow up. My parents and sisters are the only ones that watched that whole transformation cause they are the only ones who have known me all my life.  Even John, my husband, has only know me for the last 29 years of my life.  Mostly, people have only seen the stage of my life that was in view when I knew them best. It has always seemed strange to me that the people that know me now, in our present home, only know me as a 50-ish older woman with a big, loud, busy family. They never knew me when I was cute and young and singing all over the world. They never knew me when I  had eighties hair and no wrinkles and fit into cute, trendy clothes. They never knew me when I first got married and lived in Spring, or a few years later as a young mom with four children under the age of 6 in Sweeny. They never knew me as I was having all of my children. Some of them first met me after all seven children were here.  They only see who I am right now and, of course, I only see who they are right now. I wish we could all take better, longer, more detailed looks into each other's lives while we are still alive. After a funeral, it's a little late to wish we had spent more time with someone in order to know them better. Yesterday was a blessing as we celebrated someone's life...Lord, I pray that I will begin to take the time to celebrate and enjoy the lives of the people who cross my path each and every day.

Set Us Free

Well, It has been a little while since I lasted posted anything. I came down off the wonderful high of D-NOW to concentrating on writing the new youth musical. After many late nights, I think I have finally finished it. The working title is "Set Us Free" (and is subject to change).  I've enjoyed the process of writing, although the subject was sometimes difficult. The play is about spiritual warfare. We are going to take a very intense look at some of the spiritual attacks that continually bombard our lives and the lives of others. I'd appreciate your prayers as we put it all together in order to present it on May 15th. I come to you to ask for prayer because of the spiritual attacks that often go hand in hand with God working in our lives. A couple of years ago, the play that I wrote was about "fearing God or fearing man. " I've always struggled with the "fear of man," but I must tell you that I've been spiritually attacked by that very dilemma in a much larger way ever since I wrote the play. I would be so grateful if you prayed for me, my family and the youth and children of our church as we work on this next play together.  I could see God doing some wonderful things in our lives as we honor Him through our work on "Set Us Free." Thanks for listening and God Bless.

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Masquerade written by Halton Pecoraro

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Masquerade written by Halton Pecoraro: "These are two of my children, Halton and Loressa, leading worship with their band 'More Than A Memory.' I love to hear them singing an..."

Masquerade written by Halton Pecoraro

These are two of my children, Halton and Loressa, leading worship with their band "More Than A Memory."  I love to hear them singing and praising God together. The Lord has been using the band here at our church for some time, but I'm hoping and praying that they will begin to get more and more opportunities to lead worship other places. They are all such a blessing to me.

Right before D-NOW I mentioned to Halton that it would be awesome if he and Loressa wrote a song for it. About an hour later he texted me from upstairs and asked me to come and listen. This is the song he had written and it blew me away at how perfect it was for all that we were going to be talking about during the weekend. One of the big events for D-NOW was a Masquerade Ball and I loved how Halton took that and wrote a song about hiding behind a mask. I'm so thankful for the way God is using my children.

Today is Monday... the Monday after D-NOW. It was more wonderful than I had even hoped for and the youth and college participants all seemed to get a lot out of it. Our theme was about being a secret agent for God. Hunter built an obstacle course for everyone to go through on their way to the youth room complete with black lights, strobe lights, lasers, turnstiles, air ducts to crawl through, and dropping doors.  He had made it really complicated and it was a lot of fun for everyone to go through. In the bigger room, where all of the training sessions took place, we had made huge outlines of all of the different continents to cover the walls and we had targets on places that we knew of people who were serving as missionaries. We also had the outlines of secret agent men heading from country to country with targets on their hearts. They were all painted in neon paint so that the whole room glowed from the backlights that we had hung in the ceiling. As always, I was worried about whether I would be able to finish it all in time, but I had some incredible angels that swept in towards the end and finished it all for me. They were awesome. I think all of the decorations set a really good mood for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, after the second training session, the students were regrouped in order to head out and confuse the enemy (Satan) by doing random acts of kindness all over The Colony and on the Dart trains and down in central Dallas. Everyone had a really good time serving others. A lot of the groups went to some of the older women in the church and planted flowers and cleaned up their yards. Some picked up trash all over town and some went to a nursing home to give out flowers and hugs and sing. Some groups went on prayer walks in downtown Dallas and passed out water bottles and Gatorade. Some went to the Jubilee Center and some went to Dallas Life shelter to clean and work in the clothes closet. It was a wonderful day! I wish you could have all been with us. We finished up Saturday night with a Masquerade Ball at The Tribute. It was magical. The students went all out in getting dressed up for the occasion. The girls traded dresses and went shopping together. Even the boys put a lot of effort into it. They all bought or made masks in all shapes and sizes. I can't believe how much they got into it all. It was so much fun watching them have fun. Prior to the event, we had given the students an opportunity to learn how to waltz and it was so much fun to watch them all dancing like that. I think the most wonderful part of the weekend came on Saturday night. After we got finished with the Masquerade Ball, we went back to the church for our last session and a very short small group time. The final event of the night was very special. In the front by the stage, we set up 130 silver masks. The students were encouraged to come to the front and write what God was showing them on the masks. Many of them wrote things that they were struggling with...things or situations that they needed to give over to God. We wrote them on the masks because so often we hide behind masks of our own making. They actually wrote on the masks in invisible black light ink. You could only see what they wrote when we were in the black light. Once the real lights were on, the words were gone. God can clean up our lives like that if we will let Him...The weekend was wonderful. Thanks for letting me tell you about it.                                                                                                                    

Disciple Now 2011

 DNOW! D NOW!  D-NOW! Disciple Now! No matter how you write it...It's HERE!!! This is a very exciting week in the Pecoraro family. I have been living and breathing Disciple Now for several weeks and therefore, so has my family. D NOW is one of my favorite events with the youth at our church. Every year, we get to come up with a fun and exciting theme and then we (my family, myself, and my good friend Rashel) get to brainstorm idea after idea in order to plan just the right activities to make the weekend come alive. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!  This year is extra special to me because some of the events of this weekend are things that I have wanted to do for several years, but they just haven't materialized until this year....It makes me happy:)
Some people wonder why I would put so much effort into an event like DNOW. My reasons are simple. I want the Lord to speak to us and I want us to hear and understand what He is saying. I also want to help attach a memory to DNOW through the decorations or activities that will stay with the youth forever. I realized many years ago that, even though God speaks to me all the time, there are certain markers in my mind of the times when God has shown me something big. It may have been through a camp or a Bible study or just about anything. Usually, if I remember it well, it's because it has a special or unusual memory attached to it and when I think of that memory, I think of what God taught me.  God may call one of the youth into the mission field this weekend...when they look back and remember what God showed them, just maybe it will be a more vivid memory because of the unusual way that the youth room looked or the exciting game we played or the people we ministered to. I'm not trying to say that God needs my gimmicks or ideas, but since He gave me this overactive imagination, I might as well be using it for His glory. Anyway, it makes sense to me...
I used to always have a rule that my children who are involved in a certain event aren't allowed to help me with that event. That way, all of the plans and decorations are a surprise to them along with everyone else.  This year though, my son Hunter, and my daughter Mackenna, have been working alongside of me and helping me to get everything done instead of waiting for the surprise. What a huge blessing they are to me! If it weren't for them, so much of the decorating would not get done. In the beginning, I wanted them to experience the surprise along with everyone else, but then I realized; I have shown my children year after year how much I love decorating and now they enjoy it with me. I get to share something I love with them and they get the joy of knowing they have created something very special for others to enjoy. How exciting is that? I love my children, I love my husband, and I love our youth group at the church. I sure hope they will all love DNOW as much as I do, but more importantly, I pray that God will show them something and speak to them in a way that they will always remember.

Awesome teenagers

I have a very special privilege pretty much every day of my life... Because of working with teenagers for so long and because of my husband's position as a youth minister and because of my own family of mostly teenagers, I get to be blessed by the "cream of the crop" of teenagers almost every day . I am constantly amazed at the way they are willing to be used by God and I am also constantly blessed by their good attitudes. One of my "eye-witness" accounts of their great attitudes took place last Friday night. I invited youth from our youth choir to come over if they wanted to help me with reading through the script that I am writing for them so that I could get their feedback and their advice and also so that I could hear the parts read out loud instead of just as voices inside my head. No one had to come, but about 20 of them showed up. They laughed when they were supposed to and they gave me some good suggestions and then I divided them up into groups to make up dances to go with some of the songs...It was a very productive night and all evening long I kept thinking of how honored I feel to work with these incredible students......Fast forward two days and I get to have another house full of teenagers, but tonight it's all boys.
As I sat here writing this, I got to watch this house full of boys go from wrestling in the back yard to making a movie of fake fighting to them hilariously doing all of the dancing parts (guys and girls parts) in a dancing game on the wii. The whole time I sat laughing at how cute they all were. In a world where a lot of teenage guys are struggling with peer pressure to travel down roads that would take them far away from the Lord, I get to see young men who just like to have good clean fun. I am so, so blessed! Thank you, Lord.

Chick-fil-a

As I've said before, my family has a lot of things that we take part in that have kind of become rituals. One of those rituals is Chick-fil-a on Tuesday nights. We have eaten there once a week for a very long time. On those rare occasions when we are out of town or unavoidably detained and can't make it there, we all begin to crave it. Not only do my kids crave it, they begin to talk about it and wish for it more and more as the days go by that they have to do without it.  I think they might actually put an additive in the food that makes it addictive. Last week, when we were snowed and iced in, we had to miss our Tuesday night ritual. It was heartbreaking...Tuesday was the first of many ice days for us, so there was no Chick-fil-a until...Friday! Oh, wonderful , glorious Friday when the roads became clear enough to move about a little. My sweet husband ventured out of the house to pick up my daughter and grand daughter to bring them to our home so we could all have the pleasure of each other's company when, lo and behold, they passed an open Chick-fil-a! Joy was heard throughout the house!!! Wishes for Chick-fil-a were being granted, but alas, poor Bethany and Hunter, they had just gotten home from having their wisdom teeth taken out that very morning and were unable to actually eat it:( Like I said... missing Chick-fil-a... is...heartbreaking!

Snow days for homeschoolers

Well, the last couple of days have been quite interesting. Texas has had temperatures that we are really not used to. It is sooooo coooold! The public schools have been closed, but there really is no such thing as a "snow day" for a homeschooler. After all, we don't have to face the weather in order to get to our schoolwork. It causes quite a dilemma. Do we stop doing school work because everyone else gets to, or do we keep working because we can?  Tuesday, we chose schoolwork. Wednesday, we chose to work on home and family relationships by hanging out together. Family time is always worth it and as a mom of a pretty big family, I gladly choose to have my family all together even if a little chaos rules the day. Yes, I said it. Being all together is sometimes very chaotic, but hopefully the memories we make are worth it. We started the day late, but quickly went outside to make the most of the sunshine and ice combination. I learned an important fact about playing on the ice. I learned that the freezing cold is only fun until you can't feel your fingers anymore and then the fun must subside until you have warmed up. The cold weather is also more fun if you have all of the right accessories-such as waterproof gloves, warm hats and thick coats. Unfortunately, my family doesn't own very many of those things, but we do own ice skates, so today we ice skated up and down our street. It was a pretty awesome thing to do. Hunter even put duct tape on the bottom of our shoes so those that didn't have ice skates could still slide on the ice. Nothing stops Hunter from figuring out how to have fun in every situation. The fun just didn't get to last too long because of the lack of accessories....Along the lines of the cold weather; my children and I have all decided that my husband must have a very special relationship with the weather man. While the kids are all on their phones or ipods texting their friends all day, John was constantly checking out the weather. It has been pretty funny to watch.

Staying up late...working on projects

I have my two biggest projects of the year coming up very soon so I have been working and working on the plans for them. Actually, by working, I mean staying up all night typing and retyping.  My ongoing "biggest" project is writing the next musical for the youth and children's choirs at my church. I absolutely love the feeling of getting the thoughts down on paper that God shows me to write about.  I love how He shows me things to add or take away and how He gives me the ideas to write about in the first place.  I love how He shows me in my mind what I'm supposed to get across to the audience. It gives me a joy that I have only recently realized that I receive from it. The play this year is going to be about spiritual warfare and the songs are incredible. They are all written  by some really talented songwriters. It will touch on some very important issues that affect us all in one way or another such as relationships, divorce, loosing our way and the struggles to lead our families the way that we should. As I have been choosing songs and writing on the script, I've been thinking about how intense the material is. At moments, it seems like I should pick material that isn't so heavy, but then I remember that God led me to the ideas that He wants me to address.... Life IS hard more often than it is not. Life DOESN"T always turn out the way we think it will and life IS going by quickly, so we must not waste the few years we have on this earth. I hope the play will speak to the people that choose to come to it. If only I could get it finished, then maybe it wouldn't consume my every thought. My other big event will be the  decorations and activities for the upcoming D NOW  at our church. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but a lot of it is still a secret, so I can't yet (just in case any of the students ever read this). I'm so thankful, by the way, that both of these things bring me such joy!!!! I'm sure I'll tell you  more about both of my special projects in the weeks to come because both of them sort of consume me.... Oh, well, I guess I've taken a long enough break...The script beckons me....I must go...

Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a blessed day:)

Let me tell you about...my son Halton

     One of my goals for this writing adventure of mine was to spotlight my different children from time to time, so... today I thought I'd let you know a little about my son, Halton. For those of you who know me personally, you probably already know about the road that he has traveled to become the person he is today, but maybe you wouldn't mind reading this recap of the beginning of his life.

While I was pregnant with Halton, John went on his first of many youth mission trips. I went to my parents home in Amarillo with Emily and Loressa while he was gone and during that time I received a phone call that began the marathon that we have been running ever since. You see, that phone call said that they suspected something was wrong with Halton and that they thought it was Down's Syndrome. They told us to come in immediately for further tests. Of course, "Immediately" was impossible because we were out of town and, since I knew that we would keep and love Halton no matter what, it didn't really make a difference how long it took to get more tests done. When we finally made it back to take the other tests, I was well on my way to the acceptance and understanding that God was taking care of my family and so I had nothing to fear. After they had done some more extensive testing, the doctors decided that the earlier tests were wrong and that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him, but I think John and I both spent the rest of the pregnancy with the feeling that we had been given that wrong information in order to prepare us for something. That "something" was Spina Bifida.

     Because of being born with Spina Bifida, Halton has spent the last 19 years of his life in and out of hospitals having 19 different surgeries. He's had surgeries for big things and small things, from straightening his little toe, to bladder augmentation, to being in a body cast after a surgery to try to straighten out his pelvis, to staff infections, to wearing the Ilizarov in order to lengthen his shorter leg and, to his most recent, jaw surgery. Life in our family was often centered around his stays at the hospital and all of his doctor's appointments.  When he was just a little boy, we went to a wonderful church called First Baptist Church of Old Ocean where some sweet men helped us to get Halton into the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Because of Scottish Rite, Halton always got the best care possible. In order to help us with our many trips to Dallas to go to the hospital, the church started the "Halton Fund." I think that our lives would have looked a lot different if those sweet people from Old Ocean hadn't taken such good care of us and I will always be very appreciative. Looking back, those hospital and doctor visits marked our lives in a very positive way. We grew closer as a family because of those trips  and that has shaped our family immensely. What could have been looked at as a burden ended up being a beautiful blessing to our family.

     A lot of people already know that Halton's favorite super hero has always been Superman and when he was little he wore a blanket around his neck as a cape for several years. Yesterday, as Halton began his first day at work, some little girls told him that "Superman" wasn't real. In his attempt to convince them, he finally let it slip that he was indeed "Superman" and yet, they still didn't believe him, so he playfully argued with them. Finally, he said, "Go ahead, kick me, I'm invincible, I won't feel a thing." So he stuck out his leg (the one with the brace that is paralyzed below the knee) and let them kick him....That's my "Superman." When he told me the story, I thought... only you, Halton, could take what some would call a disability and make it into a super power.

      Halton has always been a joy to be around. He has never complained and just accepts all that he has been through as a part of the life God wanted him to have.I hate my kids growing up, but one thing is for sure, I love what God has done and is doing with Halton . He's going to make a wonderful husband and father someday, although I'm not sure if there will ever be a girl good enough for him in my eyes. (It's hard to imagine who could fill the position of Lois Lane to his Superman.)

     Halton is a gifted worship leader and songwriter. He and Loressa lead worship with our youth with their band, "More than a Memory" and they have begun to play at D-NOW's and retreats. If any of you have any need for a great worship band or know someone who does, please keep them in mind. Halton also writes songs filled with romance and has recorded his first CD and hopes to have it all finished really soon. You can look up Halton's music under Halton Peck on youtube or by looking up Treehouse Lane (Halton's band name) and you can find a little bit of MTAM's music on my youtube page (pampeck9) as well.  I'm going to try to post a video of one of his songs on here so you can get just a taste of it, but you know me...You might be better off just looking it up on youtube or on my Facebook page.

     I hope you have enjoyed this little excerpt about Halton's life. I know I enjoyed traveling down memory lane in order to write it:)  I pray God's blessings to you  and your families.

It's not about me...It's not about you, either!

Every Sunday night we have an event at our church for the youth called Pier 7. The youth room is called "The Harbor," so these small groups are accountability groups where we "dock" every week and keep up with each other and study together. My group is small-just me and three high school girls. This semester we have been studying the book by Max Lucado called "It's Not About Me."  I've really gotten a lot out of the book myself and I hope my small group has. I noticed almost immediately that when people heard the title of the book, they thought we were doing a study on getting the students to take their eyes off of themselves and to put them on others, so that they would notice other people's needs and not be self centered. As I heard these comments from people, (mostly parents), I remember thinking that I wished all the parents would read the book, too. I get a little defensive when people act like teenagers are selfish all of the time because, in my eyes, most of the teenagers that I'm around are seldom selfish. They are, for the most part, looking outside of themselves more often than those of older generations....but, I digress. The book is not about thinking of others as more important, it's about the fact that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is about Him. Once we get that worked out in our hearts and minds, it's easier to see the needs of others and act on what God is telling us to do about those needs. It's easier to live a Godly life, not in order to find favor with God, but because a Godly life comes when our eyes are constantly on Him. I love that if I can take my eyes off of me and my own little world and set my eyes on God, I end up with a better perspective on my own life. If I'm the center, the world is small indeed. If He is the center, the world is....well, you get the picture. Like I said, I've been learning a lot:)

Being intimidated by the word "Blog"

Hi everybody, I have to tell you that it makes me so happy that a few people have been reading my blog. I do wish it wasn't called a blog, though. For some reason, I'm uncomfortable saying the word.  I think it just sounds funny coming out of my mouth. Like when I tell the kids, " I wrote a new blog today!" or "I wrote about you in my blog." The word "blog" is just weird. I think that maybe I don't like the word because I'm over 50 and it just seems like something that a younger person should be saying....I know, I know, saying the word "blog" should not be difficult or uncomfortable for someone who has birthed 7 children, but yet, we are talking about me-the one who second guesses just about everything she says and replays conversations over and over again in her mind to figure out if she said something wrong. Yeah, that's me- the woman who wrote a blog about how uncomfortable she is saying the word "blog." Maybe I could think of something else to call it - like a code word for "blog." Let me know if you have any bright ideas:)

Well, I've been a grandma since Wednesday and I love it! The only hard part is that I can't be around Violet Rose 24/7. Her parents have this silly idea that they are supposed to be with her more than she is supposed to be with me. I guess they are right, but, oh, how I wish I could hold her constantly. She is so beautiful and I look forward to the future that she has. Speaking of the future,... I think it's really unbelievable that time goes by so fast. Emily was that tiny baby in my arms 23 years ago and it seems like yesterday. I'm scared that if I blink I'm going to miss part of Violet's childhood......I know, I'm a little obsessive, aren't I, but that's still how I feel about all of my own kids, too. I don't want to miss a single thing. I video things that are probably unnecessary and I take extra pictures of just about everything.  I've spent most of my days as a parent in a quest to make memories and to make sure that I will remember and celebrate special moments, but I still can't stand time passing by. I know I should be used to it by now. Three of my children are pretty much grown and the other four will be catching up to them before I know it, but I will never get used to time marching on....See why I need to hold Violet, I need a distraction from over-thinking growing up. I just need Violet in my arms because when she is in my arms all I can think about is her:)

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Let me tell you about...the birth of parenthood

About Life4Him-skits, scripts and stories: Let me tell you about...the birth of parenthood: "Oh, my goodness, I couldn't wait to get on here and write about the wonderful events of the last 24 hours. Yesterday at this time, I was jus..."

Let me tell you about...the birth of parenthood

Oh, my goodness, I couldn't wait to get on here and write about the wonderful events of the last 24 hours. Yesterday at this time, I was just a mom....Today, I'm a grandma. My first baby, Emily, has just given birth to her first baby, Violet Rose Fulks!!! I'm so proud of Emily and Sam. They are already wonderful parents. It is so amazing to watch the transformation into parenthood. God is so wonderful in the way that He made the woman to carry the child inside of her for 9 months. The couple has that time to get used to the fact that they are going to be a mom and a dad.  Then comes the anticipated moment when they realize the baby really is coming. There is excitement and maybe even a little confusion over what is going on and then, in the wee hours of the morning, the miraculous moment when she arrives. All that they have talked about and imagined for 9 months is reality and they, in that moment, change into a mommy and a daddy. They have just met, in person, the child they have been waiting for. Emily is radiantly beautiful, as always, and Sam is just as handsome as before, but I can see an immediate difference in their countenance. They have stepped across the threshold into parenthood and they will never be the same...They know they have been part of a miracle...