Take 2

If you remember last fall Brad and I led a "Marriage 101" class - and only 2 couples attended. Despite being discouraged we were challenged with the fact that there are MANY young couples who attend our church regularly and would we want to try it again?

So in a few weeks we're going to give it another go. We're changing the time slot we meet at and the curriculum this time-
However, I found this study that I'm SO excited about!
It's by Dennis and Barbara Rainey- president of Family Life Today. (of which I am a HUGE fan) I love that each chapter of this study uses lots of Scripture in making it's key points about building your marriage. Our last study we used, while I liked it and will probably use it again sometime, emphasized more statistics and research.
This one says - you want a godly marriage? Ask God how!

So I'm wondering if you can help me out.
Chapter one is called Preventing Isolation.
My question for you (you can answer as hypotheically as you'd like ;-)

What are some ways selfishness can exhibit itself in marriage?
or
How does isolation affect a marriage?

I've been praying for another couple with a passion for marriages would be willing to take up the torch with us in this- (An older couple with more experience would be amazing!) I think the different experiences and personalities could bring a richness to the discussions and relationships.
Until then, I may have to keep asking you for some thoughts.

Applaude

So our new Senior Pastor told us today that from now on when it is announced that it's time for the offering- he wants us to break into applause.

"God loves a cheerful giver."

I think that's way cool.

My morning

While he typically prefers to wear either his Superman jammies all day or his multiple dress up clothes, Seth opted to wear clothes today. His outfit, however, still amused me. Note his too-big "church pants" are on backwards but the charming Buzz-Lightyear knee pads help hold in the extra bulk. I have no clue what the used-to-be-my-cleaning-gloves are for.

And Owen saw the camera out and ran over to say "EEESse" too.
So goes my morning. Aren't I lucky?!

A date to remember

Ok- I freely admit it-I was a dork growing up. (Was?) In 8th and 9th grades especially I was REALLY into Anne of Green Gables. Mind you- I have YET to read all the books- but I loved the movies (still do) and Gilbert and ...*sigh...
Helping the disturbed obsession was the fact that I had red hair and my best friend had "raven black tresses." So the summer of 1994- after my chemo/radiation treatments were done- my parents planned a trip with my "Dianas" family- to Prince Edward Island. (Which, I will just tell you is where the author was born and where the story takes place- shocking I KNOW that SOME of you may not know that! ;) Needless to say it remains one of my favorite memories of all time!
So- when I found a children's edition of Anne recently I thought I'd add it to Jaedon and my reading time books. Much to my delight- he loved it!
About a week later we discovered that Cornerstone was going to be doing the play of Anne! YAY!! So I schemed away (thanks, Granddaddy for the tickets!!!) and Jaedon and I went on our very first (kidna) date.

He opened my car door for me (altho it was a bit odd to have my "date" sit in a booster seat in the back ;-), opened the restaurant door, remembered his mealtime manners (mostly ;) and even held out his hand to help me walk across some ice. We had a delightful time talking together and enjoying each other's company. Isn't God good to give us these precious people to enjoy?
The play was done VERY well (Anne was outstanding!) and other than the last 1/2 hour when it was WELL past bedtime- we really enjoyed the evening.

Maybe I'm crazy but I'm thinkin' there's a bit of resemblance here...

Future heartbreaker.

Waiting

Several weeks ago in the Bible study I am currently in we ended on a nugget of truth that has had my mind churning ever since.
The question the teacher asked was 'what are your waiting for?'
A new job?
A baby?
A promotion?
An agreeable spouse?
A good's night rest?
A pay raise?
New house or car?
Better behaved kids?
warmer weather? ;-)
Really. What is in your mind that you would say "if I had.... then I'd feel better."
Honestly.

Isaiah 40:31
"Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength..."

The point is- anything else that we are truly waiting for - and if we're taking an honest soul-searching, Lord-reveal-this-to-me look inside we're all waiting for something- if it's not God's presence ALONE in our lives, then our strength will be depleted.

Oh I so remember being 11 months pregnant with Jaedon (ok, not really...) and waiting...waiting...waiting... his due date came and went... still waiting.
I can attest...my strength was depleted!

I know the feeling of waiting for the call about a job lead- and jumping everytime the phone rang!
Depleted.

I am NOT by nature a patient person by any stretch of the imagination. Waiting on a preschooler???? ;-) DEPLETED!!!!

Only when our wait time is in time with God's time will be not only be strengthened but renewed!
Here's to waiting well.

edited...

So yea- wrong month in my previous post.
APRIL 1-11 are the dates.
Thanks, Jen! ;-)

Details please

I know- I'm so American.
I want a schedule and details and specifics of our upcoming international trip!! (am I crazy to want these??? oh..I'm asking a bunch of other Americans...)
I am already praying that I will be totally laid back about every aspect of this trip- which is no small request!
However, last night Brad and I met with our missions Pastor just to nail down a few details. And, officially, they are not nailed down as of yet but the potential plan is:
Fly out of GR Thursday 5-1
Get to Johannesburg 5-2 and spend an overnight in one of the worlds most dangerous cities!
Fly to Livingstone, Zambia 5-3 and be picked up by missionaries and taken to their home in Jembo.
Celebrate Easter Sunday with believers in Jembo- which I'm totally geeked about.
5-5 -5-8- go to Choma- staying with World Hope which is where the school is.
5-9-5-10 Sight Seeing which, hopefully, will include Victoria Falls and a Safari!
5-11 fly home. We were going to come home a day earlier but we could save $500 a person if we flew home one day later. uh...sure!

I will post another schedule with flight info when the time is closer but I thought I'd pass this news along too! yay!

Sweet n Silly Seth

Sometimes there are no words...
and there doesn't need to be.

I Took His Hand and Followed

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I,
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood;
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill,
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

Curbside special...

I'm almost too embarrassed to post this but I told my mom I would...

While taking a walk the other day with Jaedon we discovered this furniture out on the curb with a large "FREE" sign attached to it. As you can see- after some laughs and rolling eyes- we decided to take them up on their offer. So after some fixing and cleaning... we doubled our dresser space- and the price was just right ;-)

The Way Home

I found a collection of childrens books written by Max Lucado at the library the other day and decided to read one of them to the boys last night. It was rather long so I pre-empted a coop by letting them know we'd read some of it tonight and finish it the next day. The story, in typical Lucado fashion, was very captivating- a princess, "lowlanders" (that resemble Gollum), a King an evil Olbaid- and I found myself saying...ah forget bedtime...let's keep reading!
It's a great allegory which was SO fun to watch Jaedon's face light up as he exclaimed "OHh! I get it!"
I'm not going to tell you a thing about it though- go borrow your own copy! ;-)

Stubborn, Faith or Stubborn Faith?

As you (probably) know, Brad and I are planning on going to Zambia this Spring Break. (see side counter) Well, to make a long story somewhat abbreviated- we have not had a lot of information regarding our trip and have felt a bit blind. We were also recently informed that we ARE the team- no one else is going with us on this trip!
There comes a point when you have to ask yourself "is this really what GOD wants me to be doing or is this something I want to do and am going to do it no matter what."
A line between stubbornness and faith.
So I was telling a friend of mine this and just asked her to pray that God would make it clear
either way.
I then went to check my email and Brad had forwarded me an email from the director of the school we are going to in Zambia. (Brad had written him about 2 months ago and we hadn't heard any response.) He very enthusiastically told us what he was hoping Brad could do with the music students (which is exactly what Brad does every day of his life so it fits him to a T!) I, on the other hand was reading it thinking "hmm... I better brush up on my piano skills and dust off that theory book!"
Then I read the second paragraph of this email.
His wife runs their "nursery school" and he was hoping "someone on the team would be interested in helping with about a dozen younger children."

...

Ok. For not HAVING a "team"- I think they pegged Brad and I quite accurately don't you?
I, very excitedly and with a bit of chills, quickly called my friend back to let her in on this very clear confirmation.
So with our stubborn faith- we press on!

L-O-V-E

I was reading a blog yesterday and it has had my mind chewing on the contents of it since. She is talking about the fact that love is a verb- it's something you DO. Here's what she said:

Love as a noun spent all last week wondering what your spouse was going to do for you for Valentine’s Day. Love as a verb spent all last week preparing your expression of love for your spouse.

• Love as a noun feels despair when you no longer feel “in love” with the person you are married to. Love as a verb understands the ebb and flow of feelings. It focuses more on expressing love than feeling love.

• Love as a noun demands its own way. Love as a verb works to understand differences and is open to new ways of doing things.

• Love as a noun finds faults in others. Love as a verb gives grace and forgiveness.

• Love as a noun expects others to serve them. Love as a verb serves freely.

• Love as a noun expects to always feel warm and fuzzy and “in love.” Love as a verb realizes that often we have to choose to love even when we don’t feel like it.

The most frequently quoted Bible verse at weddings is I Corinthians 13, which is often referred to as the “love chapter.” It says that “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”


The most interesting thing, however, is a less often quoted part of the verse that says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”


So love has to grow up. It has to mature. Who knew grammar could reveal so much about love?"

-Jill Savage.org

I was also thinking about 1 Cor. 13. They are such familiar verses...what if we read them in different terms?

Love does not need to hurry things along.
Love is not meanspirited.
Love is secure.
Love is humble.
Love is thoughtful.
Love puts the other first.
Love has a lot of grace to give.
Love throws away the record book.
Love celebrates victories.
Love does not leave someone vulnerable.
Love believes in them.
Love expects greatness for them.
Love cannot be tossed aside.

Hmm... some food for thought for me.

On-Purpose Living

This past weekend Brad and I had our annual "Marriage Maintenance" retreat. I so look forward to this yearly getaway for many reasons but mostly for the opportunity to have extended, deep conversation that is *uninterrupted* !!
HUGE thank you to Grandma Jan and Granddaddy for keeping our little interruptions for us!

What amazes me is how naive I used to be (and still am) about how a marriage and family works. It doesn't just HAPPEN.
I'm convinced that making a marriage what you want it to be takes work, time and investment. I'm equally convinced that raising a spiritually strong family takes just as much work and investment.

This weekend is one of our investments.
It sounds so nerdy but we go stocked with books, notebooks, worksheets, and pencils ready to figure out our marriage and family goals for the upcoming year and we evaluate ourselves and each other in how we did accomplishing our last years goals. Ok ok..laugh all you want but it works for us. ;-) (and just a side note, we have plenty of fun and games too ;-)

It was a great time of connecting and seeing how we've each grown in our walks with the Lord lately. Such an encouraging and renewing time for us.

There are SOO many great, Bible based books that are out there to help us in this journey. There are a few we use...
I hope none of this sounds like we "have it all figured out"! Hardly! Maybe we need more help than the average person which is why it takes us a whole weekend away! ;-) The great thing is- if we are believers in Jesus Christ we all have the same purpose- to bring honor to Christ. How we go about doing that -in our marriages, in our families- all looks different and while it is great to get ideas from those who have 'been there done that' it's important to keep in mind that WHAT you are doing is not nearly as important is that you are DOING something!
I'd LOVE to hear how you are working at living on purpose!

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the word of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

From "Eh?" to "Ahhh!"

Just for recording family events sake- I thought I'd put a post in here about Jaedon's Adenoidectomyistolgy. Ok, so that's not really a word -

We tried to forewarn Jaedon as much as we could about what was going to happen. Surprises are not his favorite. He didn't love the idea of an IV but fortunately they put it in after the bubblegum-flavored gas put him to sleep so he didn't feel the poke. He also didn't love the idea that he wasn't allowed to eat anything the morning of. He wore a shirt that said "Feed Me" to tell the nurses he'd want to be fed after his surgery. (later to discover he didn't really want food then either)

I had forgotten that the rule of doctor's visits is 'hurry up and wait.' I read more of my book in a morning than I usually get to in a month!
I felt like a "bad mom" because 1. I forgot my camera (ok, that would've been a bit weird but I do tend to like to document stuff with pictures...plus he looked really cute in his little hospital getup.) and 2. I forgot his "JR." (as in junior Asaragus from Veggie Tales...his beloved friend!)
Amazingly enough- we both survived without either.

All went well- recovery room was hard on me. He just looked so little and vulnerable curled up and sleeping.
We were surprised by friends later on who brought him some Sponge BoB chicken noodle soup, balloons, homemade cards, videos to borrow, Star Wars coloring sheets...
isn't friendship sweet?

It was all worth it just to hear him say:
"Mama, can you please turn the music down? It's too loud."
Smile*