Unstoppable

Our pastor, Tommy Sparger, has a passion and a devotion that is nothing short of inspiring. It is no wonder he is the pastor of the 9th largest growing church in America and that North Point, which began around the time Sarah was born is already ministering to over 4,000 people every week. This weekend's message was particularly inspiring to me, so I wanted to write it down, so that I didn't forget! It was about being an Unstoppable Person (because in order to have an unstoppable church, it must be made up of unstoppable people!) Mathew 5:13-16

• Compassion - Does my heart break for the things that break God's Heart?
• Sacrificial Generosity - Breaks the back of materialism. Make it a lifestyle.
• Healthy Discontent - Do I look at the world and want to change what is broken about it? AND what am I doing about it?
• Active Dependence - John 15:5 Depend on God, but not in a passive way. Be aggressive, productive and self-motivated.
• Servant hood - Breaks the back of selfishness.

God, show me where I can grow in these five areas AND help me to take action to change!

Hope

So, I have been needing a bit of hope lately, so I looked up the definition. I like this one: "to expect with confidence". So what if I begin 'to expect with confidence' those things I am needing hope for? For example...

I will expect with confidence that my kids will grow up to be happy, productive individuals, who love God...despite the fact that I have no manual to raise them and half the time I am wondering if I am doing anything right!

I will expect with confidence that the perfect job will open up for me this fall...even though I want to worry about it when I look at our budget and the fact that we are needing a new vehicle. We have 2 trips to MI and NY this summer and one car has over 200,000 miles and the other over 150,000 miles. Guess I am also expecting with confidence that our vehicles will safely get us to our destinations to visit our families!

I will expect with confidence that the deep (local) friendships I desire are just around the corner...despite the fact that it's been two years since we've moved and I am still struggling to let down barriers in my heart.

I will expect with confidence that the desires God has placed in my heart are there for a reason and at the right time I will have the opportunity to pursue those dreams...despite the fact that it feels like they might always remain just dreams.

Yes, today, if nothing more, I will 'expect with confidence', and for today, I am hopeful that it will be the encouragement that I am needing.

Morgan & Sarah’s A to Z Days of Summertime Fun!

In between vacations and camps, here are some of the fun plans we have to fill our summer days! :) It was hard to just pick one thing a day!

A – W 2nd - Arts & Crafts Day
B – R 3rd - Baking banana bread and making barrettes
C – F 4th – Camping Day, don’t forget your camera!
D – M 7th – Dip in the pool!
E – T 8th – Experiment Day
F – W 9th - Friend Day
G – R 10th – Go geocaching.
H – F 11th – Half-price sonic drinks
I – M 14th - Ice Cream and Invest money at the bank
J – T 15th - Jewelry making.
K – W 16th - Kindness day (how can we be kind to others today?)
L – R 17th –Lava lamps…we’ll attempt to make our own.
M – F 18th - Mail letters to friends
N – M 21st – Nails, nails, nails!
O – T 22nd – Outside day
P – W 23rd – Park ‘n Pizza
Q – R 24th - Quarters….hmmm?!
R – F 25th – Reading, reading, reading!
S – M 28th - Scavenger Hunt
T – T 29th Take Daddy Lunch
U – W 30th Ultimate surprise!
V – W 14th Volcano (make one!)
W – R 15th Water Day
X – F 16th - “X Marks the Spot” Treasure Hunt
Y – R 22nd - Yesterday’s memories (scrapbook)
Z – F 23rd - Zoo

Y Day

So my daughter's teacher did an A to Z countdown for the last 26 days of school. I thought it was such a cute idea, that I decided to do the same thing for the teachers whose rooms I work in on a regular basis, with quotes and little surprises to just add some fun to the last 26 days of school (shh, I didn't really say fun!). These last few weeks of school have been quite interesting with every last teacher moving to a new building...lots of goodbyes, lots of changes, lots of chaos.

Today's day was "Y" and this is what I wrote. It sums up what I'm feeling these days.

It's Y day...and I can't help but wonder 'why'?

Why do goodbyes have to come? Why does life have to change? Why must we move elsewhere when we were content with here? Why does God allow some people in our lives for only a season, and others for a lifetime? Why, why, why?

I love the lyrics to Amy Grant's song, "Somewhere down the Road"

Why, why, why... Does it go this way?
Why, why, why...And all I can say is...
Somewhere down the road, There'll be answers to the questions
Somewhere down the road, Though we cannot see it now
Somewhere down the road, You will find mighty arms reaching for you
And they will hold the answers at the end of the road

We don't have the answers to the whys, yet we can live with a confidence that God is in control and because of his deep love for us, we can move forward on this journey.

"Yesterday is the past. Tomorrow is the future. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present."

So now I must go and finish working on our family's A to Z Days of Summer fun! Summer vacation begins tomorrow!!!

Race Day - Part 2

I am still in disbelief. Not only did I finish the race, but I am sitting here typing with a medal around my neck! I placed 3rd in my age group today!! I finished in 30 min 32 sec! Not bad for my first race ever. I never ever thought I could run...and yet with determination and hard work, I did it! I'm not saying it was fun. I literally thought my legs were going to collapse out from under me the last 1/4 of a mile...but they held me up and got me across the finish line! I just kept saying "Winners never quit and quitters never win...keep moving....it will be over soon!" It also took me at least 10-15 minutes to catch my breath afterwards. I will say that I feel a deep satisfaction in accomplishing that which I set out to do. And I'm thankful that Mike shared the journey with me and finished strong, as well. Lastly, I am thankful that Darian spent her Saturday morning hanging out with the girls at the 5k so we could run and they could share in the experience with us! And I'm thankful to Emily for cheering me on! :) Oh yah, I won a door prize too! fun! Here are a couple of pics before running the Habitat for Humanity 5k today.



And of me with my medal back at home. Think I'm spending the rest of the day on the couch reading a good book!

Race Day - Part I

I can hardly believe that in less than 2 hours I will actually be running my first race ever! I really have no hopes of actually placing...but I do have high hopes of finishing this journey I started! At the beginning of the year I made a commitment to run 3 times a week...not so much for my physical health, but rather for my emotional health. Ever winter I struggle thru some depression and this winter I made the commitment to exercise in hopes that it would help me through the winter months. And it did. Oh I still had some 'down' feelings/days, but all in all I really found that it helped my mood. I began just running in January, as far as I thought I could, then I'd walk. Then I discovered the couch to 5K program (a 9 week running program that gets you from the couch to a 5k race) and here I stand today at the end of those 9 weeks.

I am definitely glad Mike and I committed to do this together, as we helped keep each other motivated along the way. And I have so enjoyed that our run has meant built-in conversation to our days. More than the running itself, I have looked forward to spending the time with him and just talking about everyday stuff.

I am filled with excitement this morning, so close to accomplishing what I set out to do. Wishing I felt a little better, wishing I had slept a whole lot better, and thankful it's not raining!

Crossroads of a Decision

So Mike tells me, it's an easy decision... and I wish I could look at things as simply as he does. But I don't. For me, making a decision means that I have to analyze and over analyze and ponder every possible outcome. I have to consider priorities and how those priorities play into the decision. It's like a wrestling match...I have to wrestle thru a decision...fight, struggle...really, it's quite mentally exhausting. In big decisions, I have to ask myself questions like, 'when I get to the end of my life...do I think I'll be pleased with this decision, or have regrets?'. I ponder things like, 'God, is this a decision that is right for me/for my family?' Why do I ask these questions? I don't know...but that's how my brain is wired! Whether I want it to or not, my brain just goes there when I'm facing a big decision. So here I stand, once again, at the crossroads of a decision... and feeling quite exhausted with the process. Sigh.

My Amazing Husband

Everyday Mike gives me at least a dozen reasons or more to appreciate him! It's hard for me to put into words all the ways I appreciate him, but today, I just wanted to pause and share a few of the projects he's done around our home the past year and half. He never has a pre-made kit, he just figures it out in his head and makes it. I am so proud of him and his ability to make stuff like this and so appreciative of his willingness to try these many projects I come up with! Let's see, next project? Build some benches with all the bricks that we have laying around!

Most recent project: Coat Rack in Laundry Room (Winter 10)

Hard to get a good picture of this, but he built playhouse and swingset for girls (Spring 09)

Fireplace he designed and put in our basement (Fall 09)

Bench he built in our kitchen (Summer 08)

The Power of Words

So in the silence of my home this morning I am touched by the words of stranger. I received a card from her today. Her name is Bridgette and I've never met her. But two months ago I sent her a card. You see 3 years ago her son was murdered. And she is grieving still. A part of her grieves every anniversary of her son's death.

Last Fall, through a national organization called Parents of Murdered Children, I began writing 'anniversary' letters to strangers, hoping and praying that that my words would let them know they are not alone. Their loved ones are not forgotten. Their grief is real. There is something so very powerful in words. And as much as I love technology, there is something very powerful about a handwritten note. So every month I write to 25 strangers and whisper a prayer that the God of this universe may touch them in the very depth of their soul and bring them to the next place of healing on this journey. Bridgette wrote "Thank you so much for your tender words and kind thoughts, during this time. I thought this month would be so hard to deal with, but through the prayers of people and God's wonderful mercy I made it through!"

I am thankful that we are not alone in this world, we have each other, and we have a God who is as near as our whispers. And we have words to help us express it all.

Sweet Reality

So last night as I am going to bed, I say to Mike "Sweet Dreams" and he says, "Why do I need sweet dreams when I have a sweet reality?" I've thought about that all day. That's kinda the season of life we are in. We've been thru hard times and we aren't naive enough to think that hard times won't come again, but for this moment in our life...it truly does feel like this sweet reality. Perhaps that's why I want to capture into words so much of our days. I want this sweet reality to live on forever. I don't want to forget the details. I'm also aware of how quickly these years with our girls are flying by! So here are the details of our Easter day:

So Easter morning begins before 6am...Sarah is wide awake with a huge smile and ready for Easter! By 6:20, her sister is also awake, so they crawl into our bed, full of excitement. Morgan says, "I like finding the chocolate eggs.: I reply,"oh really, what eggs? Better go see if there are any this year!". We lay in bed just listening to them search. Then the crying starts...you're finding too many, it's not fair...oh my, now I know why my mom had one of us find the eggs in the basement and the other found them upstairs. Note to self: Next year's egg hunt will be on both levels of the house. :) So finally after a little while, they inquire as to their baskets. After getting the first clue they are off on a treasure hunt for their baskets. They are so full of excitement and so giddy over every little thing in their baskets. They loved the nail clippers (when I got them, Mike said, "oh, that's just what I'd want for Easter!" I knew they would love them and they did.) They also really liked the aqua sand and spent a lot of time playing with it today. Yes, it made a mess everywhere, but messes clean up.

We then had our cinnamon rolls for breakfast and got ready for church. I took the time to put curls in the the girls' hair, something they just love! Morgan tried to curl her own hair and got a little burnt. :( They were also very excited that they got to wear dangly earrings today. I also got to wear a new outfit that I got shopping with my mom when she was here, so that was fun. We then paused to capture a few pictures.


We had a fun church service and enjoyed celebrating with others the Risen Christ! After church, we got ready for our picnic and went and had our Easter picnic by the creek. It was a perfect spring day...77, breezy, everything is flowering (forsythias bright yellow, brilliant white pears, beautiful pink tulip trees). We also went for a short walk. And on our walk, and throughout the day, I keep hearing Morgan sing my favorite Easter Song "Was it a Morning Like This?" by Sandi Patti. It was perfect.

We came home and tried to fly a kite, as really it wasn't just breezy, but quite windy. We were mildly successful. The girls just played awhile after that. I got a chance to talk with my mom and got tears in my eyes that we couldn't be there for Easter dinner. My sister also called and left a message, which was nice. We then made up some deviled eggs and had those for dinner, along with milkshakes. Then we decided to end the day geocaching. We found all 3 of the caches we went searching for! At bedtime, we completed the last 'egg'...we have Resurrection Eggs that tell the Easter story. In the past, I've just told them the story, this year, we actually took time and read all the scriptures that went with the eggs and had a deeper discussion. So at bed, I asked the girls their 2 favorite things about today and here is what they said:

Morgan's favorite 2 things today...going on a picnic and Jesus rising from the dead. And Finding chocolate Easter eggs first thing this morning. And wearing dangly earrings. (Think that's 4...but sometimes it's just so hard to choose!)

Sarah's favorite 2 things today...finding her Easter basket and going geocaching just before bed.