sick and tired | february recap

Isn't that just the jolliest blog title? As I was trying to come up with one, the general consensus about February is that most people are sick, and if they're not sick, they're tired. In our town, RSV was visiting the little ones, including Lena and a few other barely out babies, but thankfully they're all on the mend, just keep them in your prayers! Every child in the nursery has runny noses. Amie has had mono this winter, which means several other sicknesses that have been passed around as well. Other things I've heard going around is colds (obviously), H1N1, strep, bronchitis.... how I have managed to stay this healthy I do not know! Dreaming of warm weather and brighter days ahead, let's review February...

February 2 the children's choir at church sang in our not quite yet completed sanctuary.

February 5 was my dad's 54th birthday. We had something going on every night the week of his birthday, so Wednesday night after church everyone came over to the house for dessert. It looked very similar to last year...

February 10th we had a baby shower for Miss Lena Rae. It was so much fun to plan and decorate, and she got so many beautiful things!

 February 13 we got to keep Jace, Jackson, and Tanner for a few hours. We played and ate supper, they took a bath in the jacuzzi, we played, and then they ate popcorn while they watched The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

February 14 was not only Valentine's Day, but also the day we had our annual Sweetheart Banquet at church. I was able to decorate and plan some games, but totally forgot to take pictures, which makes me very sad because it was beautiful! (In my opinion. ;)) Then I helped keep the nursery and I'm pretty sure all the couples had a fun time. My sister and her friend Grace prepared all the food and did a marvelous job!

February 15 my friend Hannah and her husband Jacob announced that they're expecting a baby girl, Amelia Kate. I don't have any pictures of their reveal party because I wasn't able to make it, but here's a picture she sent me of her baby's little hand...

February 20 - 21 our basketball team was in a tournament, which was also their last two games of the season. They didn't win this year, but came in third place.

At least we won that last game in a big way!

 At some point, the sanctuary was completed!

♥ February snapshots...

I hope everyone had a great February! It sure has been cold these last few days, so hopefully warm weather is just around the corner and will chase all this sickness away! Have a lovely March, dear readers!

Summer Dreaming

The last few days here have spoiled me. Saturday the temps got into the upper 60's and I spent my time reading in the sunshine, cleaning my room with the windows open, and dreaming of summer.

Today it's back to the low 40's and I'm depressed (not really, but the bubble has been burst).

"Sunny day, chasing the clouds away..." Back in my day, Sesame Street was a good show for kids to watch. That's not the case now, but I still like that old theme song!

So how DO you chase the clouds away when it's cold and you pull your boots and thick socks on and your office is freezing and the space heater by your desk doesn't work very well? Brrr....I need a blanket.

To get my mind off of my cold fingers, I'm going to do my Seven Smiles on Saturday on Monday because everyone likes Saturday better than Monday and also it was sunny and warm and I want it to be like that again.

♥ Seven Smiles on Saturday on Monday:

1. Sunshine!

Stating the obvious, but it was glorious. Not that we haven't had any sunny days this winter, but it was warm and not too breezy, and it smelled good.

2. The smell of vanilla.

This is random, but my mom bought some Dr. Pepper the other day, and in celebration of the beauty of Saturday I had one. (Saturdays are cheat days anyway, ok? ;)) I pulled a page from my childhood and added a splash of vanilla to it, and it is an unspoken law that you cannot take the lid off of the vanilla without smelling it once or twice. As many lotion, soap, and candle companies have tried to get the vanilla essence in their products, they just haven't quite got it yet. That stuff smells heavenly!

3. Lena Rae.

There is nothing, nothing, nothing, like a newborn baby. Jacob, Christine, and their crew came over for a little while Saturday afternoon and I got to hold Lena while they were here. Definitely a big smile on Saturday!

4. Breakfast "mountains".

A biscuit with crumbled up sausage, scrambled eggs, and gravy piled on top. "Give me this mountain, and I will eat all of it."

5. Reading.

I guess we should have seen that one coming from me! I recently finished The Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers (a birthday gift from my mom). A fictional telling of the persecution of the Christians and Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem. (The last book in the series is set about 40 years after Jesus' resurrection.) The books are set in Jerusalem, Rome, Ephesus, Germania, and several different places in Israel. While it was fictional, it really affected me and prompted me to do my own research and digging about those places in this time period, so I filled my mind with truth vs. fiction, and she did a really good job! It opened my eyes to how weak my faith is, and convicted me to strengthen it. I've enjoyed several of her books, and Saturday I began another one, but I can't tell if I'm going to like it much yet or not.  

(In case you're wondering, yes, I've also read several non-fictional books and stories about that time period, not just feel-good fiction!)

• Side note: The mentioning of these books is not a personal recommendation from me. They deal with dark times and several controversial topics that I don't feel comfortable discussing on this blog. They are definitely for a mature reader, and because of my own beliefs and convictions, I simply cannot recommend them. I do however recommend learning as much about the persecution of Christians and Jews as your heart can handle. Our walk with the Lord in 2014 is nowhere near that of those who lived in the days after Jesus ascended. Broaden your mind, increase your faith!

6. Laundry from the line.

Laundry days at our house are usually Monday and Thursday, but because it was so pretty Saturday we did several loads so we could hang them on the clothesline to dry. They smell like fresh air and sunshine and I just can't understand why more people don't do this! It's wonderful!

7. Sunday Smile - This thought on prayer:

What if God had a shelf with all the things you've ever prayed for and He wanted to give you, but when the time was right for you to have it, you had stopped trying to please Him, stopped reading your Bible, praying, walking with Him? What kind of things is He waiting to bless you with if only you'd get back into step with Him, increase your faith, and make Him your number one priority?

The Bible shows us that God answers more prayers than He doesn't. He wants to answer our prayers, but the number one hindrance to that is sin. What would happen if we truly believed in the power of prayer?

"Satan tries to limit your praying, because he knows your praying will limit him."

Reckless Abandon

Lately several people have mentioned how I've been slacking on my blog posts. It's not for lack of trying, but rather lack of the proper amount of time that I need to overcome writer's block. I have a lot of old articles and letters I've written saved on my laptop, so I went through several of them today to see if I could use any of them as a blog post. Sometimes I'll run across something I wrote months ago and have no recollection of writing it whatsoever, and it's like some part of me in my past comes back to help me in my present. I found this document today titled "Reckless Abandon", and I didn't have any memory of writing it until I got halfway through and realized it's a letter I wrote Faith while she was in Papua New Guinea this summer. I know it's a letter, so I hope she doesn't mind me sharing! I definitely poured my heart into this one, and I'll try to scale this high wall that separates me from writing again soon and have some new stuff for you. Now, on to the letter...

I was just reading Robin Jones Gunn's latest blog post, and it was titled "Reckless Abandon". It was about when the Lord calls us to do something, to just do it, and don't worry about it. You may have already read it, I know you get her newsletters, too.

It reminded me of Lady in Waiting, when they pointed out that Ruth followed Naomi, and then the Lord, with reckless abandon. I think that's my new favorite phrase. It's so much wrapped into 2 little words.

We do so much in our lives with reckless abandon and label it "spontaneity". Sometimes even dangerous, thoughtless things that could end our lives. Wouldn't following the Lord with this same abandonment be so much more rewarding?

What if the Disciples had not dropped what they were doing to recklessly follow the Man who told them to? Where would we be without the Gospels? The Bible wouldn't be complete if John had not abandoned his net, his career and livelihood, to follow Jesus. We wouldn't be sitting in church on Sunday nights studying the book of Revelation if he had said "I should probably think about this for a few days..."

I have this thought so engrained in my mind that when the Lord doesn't ask me to recklessly abandon for Him, I feel confused and a bit misplaced. Like why doesn't He think He can use me? What's wrong with me? But I know that it's in the willingness to be a reckless abandon-er that He's using me. Being here, putting out newsletters, editing and mailing prayer letters, helping with the 3 camps and working in the nursery, is me getting more accomplished for the work of God than I could in a third world country. It's in His calling where we recklessly abandon our dreams and wishes that we get the most done.

You, too, have recklessly abandoned for the work of Christ. You've put your life on hold for six months, because He's given you the burden for PNG, which is a way of asking you to recklessly abandon some things for His cause. You don't know if you'll marry someone called to the mission field, you don't know if you're going to keep going back and back to New Guinea. And that is reckless abandonment. Setting those thoughts and worries aside and working for the glory of God.

Being a Reckless Abandon[er] isn't the same for everyone, I think that is abundantly clear. Some of us will be asked to give up material items and comforts, some of us will be told that our dreams and desires are all wrong. And we will change, we will be reckless in doing so.

But, just maybe, those of us who are reckless enough to abandon will be the ones who, when people look back years after we are gone, they will say "Where would we be today if they hadn't recklessly abandoned for the Lord?"

cold, cold, cold | january recap

Happy 2014! I cannot believe it's nearly February already. Where did this month go?! I'm not ready for it to end - time has been moving way too fast for me to keep up!

Jan. 1, New Year's day! We didn't really do anything super special on this day, but some teens and young adults from church spent New Years Eve at our friend's house eating, singing, and just talking and hanging out.

Jan. 5 was my 21st birthday. It was on a Sunday and it was sunny and fairly warm. Jacob and his family came over for lunch.  

Jan. 6 the temps dropped down to the negatives, and when it reached 8 degrees we went shopping so I could spend some birthday money and went to my favorite restaurant for lunch. We were some of the only people out and about that day, so that was a lot of fun! But this weather, man....when it gets below 20 degrees, us Southerners hibernate and wonder what's wrong with our world! Give me 105 any day! ;)

Jan. 19 we had the young adult class over for lunch after church and we spent the afternoon eating and playing games.

Jan. 20 saw the beginning of renovation on our sanctuary at church. Gym renovation was completed last fall, and we have once again outgrown our church building. After knocking out the back wall twice and a classrooms and offices addition, we didn't have any other option (besides a new building) than to knock out our baptistry and shrink the platform. This meant changing a good portion of the appearance of our sanctuary. Clean up that nasty old gym all you want, but going to town on our beloved sanctuary was a bit harder to take. However, it will be completed soon and have a new beauty we will all love. After 20+ years, change is good and of course, growth is wonderful.

Jan. 21 Lena Rae was born! Here she is just a few days ago. Call me prejudiced, I know I am, but this little girl is
b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. ;) ♥

Jan. 25 was our church's annual Pinewood Derby. Jacob made a replica of his big black Dodge and the boys were just all about that!

Other things included ball games, church meals, babysitting, and finding out my friend Hannah is expecting her first baby!! WHAT?! Since when are my friends grown up enough for babies? And if they are, then that means I'm getting older too, and that's just weird! ;) I am beyond happy for her and her husband Jacob, and I can't wait to meet their little baby in about 5 months!

I hope each of you had a lovely January, and a wonderful start to 2014!

Lena Rae

I would like to introduce my brand new niece...

Lena Rae was born this morning at 5:30, 8 days before her due date! She weighs 9 pounds and 4 ounces and is 21 inches long.Our family has a girl at last!

They brought her home today around 2:30, and we took the boys back home to meet her.

Jace and Jackson have been here before, but it's all new to Tanner and he absolutely loves his little sister.

....and so do the rest of us!

Welcome to our family, Lena! We are so excited to meet you!

Give Me Jesus

He is so good. Sometimes when I'm still and I'm alone, when it's all quiet and and I focus, it's as if I can feel Him sitting beside me. I close my eyes and inhale peace.

He is my rock. The foundation I lean on when the world around me is shaking and trying to hurt me. When what was so good has been broken forever, He is my comfort and my unchanging One. I slow down and inhale strength.

He is my happiness. When everything goes awry, when my dreams and plans are shattered and I don't know where I'm going anymore, He shows me His love. He reminds me my main goal and focus is pleasing Him, and as long as I follow His direction, He'll lead me to His will. I smile and inhale joy.

He is my protector. The One who bears my burdens. When sickness weakens my family, when my friends are far away, when someone I love is straying from the flock, He shows me He's in control of it all. I rest in Him and inhale security.

He blesses me. More than I deserve and more than I could ever repay. He fills my life with joy and light, I'm not afraid of the future for He is teaching me to trust. He allows me life and gives me breath. I inhale and exhale Him because without His goodness and grace neither would be possible.

So you can have this world, but give me Jesus.

I did not write the song below, and I can't find out who did. I think it has beautiful words and as I listened to it today I sat down and wrote this. The words are simple, but I love them.

"Give Me Jesus"

In the morning, when I rise,

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus

2013

As I sit here trying to think of a post that doesn't sound full of excuses for lack of content, something that doesn't sound over the top with cliches about what a wonderful year this has been, I think about all the things that have happened this year. On December 31 of every year, we all review the past twelve months. The good, the bad, the difficult, the emotional, and every year I say "I learned so much" and "It was an amazing year".

The secrets of life are hidden behind the word "cliche". No one likes to use them because they're overused and just so, well...cliche. Things like "never give up", "just believe in yourself", etc... And so as I joyfully welcome in the new year, I'm going to be cliche. Because you know what? It's a wonderful life, and I don't care how many people have already said it!

My Cliche 2013...

A year of difficult changes.

A year of learning to be alone, and "on my own" more than I ever have been before.

A year of making new-ish friends.

A year of stretching myself.

A year of growing up.

A year of realizing just how small we are.

A year of contemplation. 

A year of smiles.

A year of even more tears.

A year of beautiful changes.

A year of stepping outside my comfort zone, inch by little inch.

A year of finding a peace that can only come from God.

A year of getting comfortable in my new shoes.

A year that went by way too fast.

This year was wonderful. It was incredible. I missed people. I cried a lot of tears. But I learned. I got tired of being alone and sought out friendship from people willing to give it, I just hadn't looked before. It was amazing. 

As I went through changes, I was afraid. No one enjoys the unknown bleakness of the future. But as I stepped into it, I realized that God is already there. I'm always nervous entering a new year because we don't know what it holds for us, but as I listen to the fireworks going off outside, I know... He's already here, too. The unchangeable. The steady. My rock and comfort.

2013 was a wonderful year. It's a wonderful life. May each of us resolve to make 2014 even better.

Happy new year, dear readers! :)