I have a ton of notes I keep on my phone. Mostly ideas or things I would like to remember. I am trying to clear off as much of my phone as possible, to see if it will run less like a 90-year-old. It's nearly 4 years old, which is about 90 in phone years, so this is to be expected. Anyway, many of the notes could just be deleted...but some I would like to remember. So expect an increase in posts in the next coupla days. Probably.
For example, this. Here are some family Christmas present tradition ideas. We did this last Christmas, and I hope to continue the tradition. I am on an anti-too-much-stuff kick, so having categories keeps gift-giving meaningful, yet under control.
Each kid has their presents wrapped in their own different wrapping paper; in order to find out which presents are theirs, they will find a small stocking stuffer wrapped in their paper in their stocking.
Each person gets a present that is or represents:
an indoor activity (puzzles, books, games, tickets to an indoor experience, etc)
an outdoor activity (bikes, sleds, sporting/camping equipment, tickets to an outdoor experience, etc)
a delightful surprise (just how it sounds)
Stocking stuffer (something small in size...and a clementine...and other treats)
and of course, Christmas Eve jammies!
Do you have any Christmas present traditions in your family?
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Writer's Block
Currently evaluating my social media and internet usage and what I would like this blog to be, if anything. I'm having a bit of a social media existential crisis, which I have every so often, but I feel as though this one might be a little more defining in that I am making decisions and simplifying. Asking the questions of why I use a particular social media outlet, who I want my audience to be, and what I want to and should or shouldn't share (and why). All very philosophical.
Anyway. Sorry I haven't written here in a very long while. This has been my worst blog ever, though I believe it still has the potential to become my best. I just need to evaluate and articulate (for myself) who I am writing for, and why.
Cheers!
Anyway. Sorry I haven't written here in a very long while. This has been my worst blog ever, though I believe it still has the potential to become my best. I just need to evaluate and articulate (for myself) who I am writing for, and why.
Cheers!
Friday, November 20, 2015
Weight Loss Challenge
Oh, hi!
Sorry dear blog reader. I have not had a lot of time to sit down and write out my thoughts. Apparently for months! Oops.
This past February, Steve and I started our Healthy Wage challenges. I was going to lose my pregnancy weight by A's first birthday (so I was going to lose 24 pounds in 9 months) and Steve was going to get down to below 200 pounds by the following February. Steve is still working on his challenge (and is doing great so far), but I have completed mine! Wahoo!! I have an extra $1141 in the bank as a result. This is the real deal!
And since I'm a successful Healthy Wage Challenge participant, I get to be an affiliate for them (meaning, if I inspire you to start your own challenge and you click on any of my Heathy Wage Links to start your own challenge, I get a little extra referral money to go toward paying my bills). Don't worry. This blog isn't going to turn into an ALL HEALTHY WAGE ALL THE TIME blog. Or an anything all the time blog for that matter. And I don't want you to feel any pressure. But If you were going to do a challenge anyway, why not go through my link and help a girl out?
So anyway thanks for reading this far. If you have any questions, I will try to remember to check the comments. Otherwise we have found that the Healthy Wage folks are pretty good about checking their email and answering questions, too. If you have been thinking about losing some weight, but need a good motivation, I would recommend looking into it. And clicking my links, haha.
Ok, that's the last you'll hear about this for awhile. I might do another post about it around the New Year when you are making your resolutions to lose all your holiday weight, otherwise I'm not going to push it.
Also! If you're not really into individual challenges, but would like to try a team challenge, I get a little something for each team member that uses my link as well.
Ok. Carry on.
Sorry dear blog reader. I have not had a lot of time to sit down and write out my thoughts. Apparently for months! Oops.
This past February, Steve and I started our Healthy Wage challenges. I was going to lose my pregnancy weight by A's first birthday (so I was going to lose 24 pounds in 9 months) and Steve was going to get down to below 200 pounds by the following February. Steve is still working on his challenge (and is doing great so far), but I have completed mine! Wahoo!! I have an extra $1141 in the bank as a result. This is the real deal!
 |
| On the left: a still from my first weigh-in in February On the right: a still from my final weigh-in on November 1 I'm probably not really more tan now, just lighting. |
Here's how it works. You determine how much weight you want to lose, and in how much time you want to do it in. Then you pick an amount you would like to invest in yourself each month.
So for me, I said I would lose 24 pounds in 9 months, and that I would put in $100 a month. If I lost all the weight I said I would by the end of 9 months, I would get my $900 back, plus some prize money ($241 in my case, for a grand total of $1141). If I did not lose the weight, then I would not only NOT get a prize, but I would also be OUT the $900 I had invested in myself.
I say invested instead of wager, because that feels like a more accurate description to me. Wagering to me seems like you are taking a risk on something that you really have no control of the outcome, whereas if you are investing in something, you are still taking a risk, but there is a certain amount of care involved...a connection to what you are investing in.
Anyway, whatever you call it, there is a monetary risk involved, and for me it served as a great motivator. We can't really afford to lose $900, so if I had the choice to eat crappy food or get my $900 back, I almost always chose to try to earn my money back.
The more challenging your weight-loss goal, the more risk involved, the higher your return will be (the bigger your prize). They don't care how you lose your weight (so if you are doing some kind of program....Weight Watchers, 21 Day Fix, etc -- great, or if you are just doing your own thing, great too), but you have to unofficially weigh in once a week to show that you are losing it in a healthy way. Whoa, whoa, whoa I'm getting ahead of myself.
So first you set your goal, you say what you will lose and how long it will take and what you will invest (I think you have the option to pay it in all at once, or to pay it in monthly installments).
Then you have to get your weight verified. There are a couple ways to do this (which are on the Healthy Wage site); we chose to take a weight-verification video. So you basically take a video of yourself stepping onto a scale with a newspaper next to it showing today's date. Easy-peasy.
Then it's up to you to meet your goal! You need to check in with your weight once a week (hint: set a reminder on your phone), but other than that your job is to figure out how to lose the pounds. You may do your final weigh-in video any time within a two-week window of your goal date. So I said I would lose my weight by November 12, and I did a weigh-in video right away at the beginning of the month.
How did I do it? No specific program really. I am an avid breastfeeder, and that is a way that has worked for me to shed pregnancy weight (but I know that that does not work so well for all moms). I try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils (lots of label-reading)...try to eat real, unprocessed food, more fruits and veggies, smaller portions, protein for breakfast, I don't drink a lot calories (but lots of water), walk when possible, try not to eat a ton of sugar, snack on nuts and seeds, and not too hard on myself when I treat myself. We did the Daniel plan detox for ten days, and that helped shed lots of inches, but I didn't stick with it once ten days was up.
So a little of all of that! Being Steve is also doing a challenge, it helps that we are in this together. We can encourage each other and are not alone in our decision to make healthy choices.
So a little of all of that! Being Steve is also doing a challenge, it helps that we are in this together. We can encourage each other and are not alone in our decision to make healthy choices.
But I don't think there is one magical thing that helps everyone. Some things that work great for me might not work at all for you (and vice versa).
So anyway thanks for reading this far. If you have any questions, I will try to remember to check the comments. Otherwise we have found that the Healthy Wage folks are pretty good about checking their email and answering questions, too. If you have been thinking about losing some weight, but need a good motivation, I would recommend looking into it. And clicking my links, haha.
Ok, that's the last you'll hear about this for awhile. I might do another post about it around the New Year when you are making your resolutions to lose all your holiday weight, otherwise I'm not going to push it.
Also! If you're not really into individual challenges, but would like to try a team challenge, I get a little something for each team member that uses my link as well.
Ok. Carry on.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Action
Psalm 50:16-23, 2 Samuel 12:15-25, Ephesians 4:17-24
I am a lady of action. I prefer to solve problems rather than to just talk about them or make memes to post on Social Media. I have never related well to that advice given to boyfriends and husbands saying that women want to just vent sometimes, they don't want to solve the problem. Not this woman. I want to vent sometimes, yes. But what a waste of time if that venting does not lead to some sort of action in the right direction at the very least.
It has been quite a Summer. In our own family, we are (again) (still) in the midst of change and transition (career change, moving, uncertain about the details of our future, to name a few). In the world it seems that there are more and more headlines that people feel the need to take strong stands on, and if you are not on their side, you must be a terrible person indeed. It seems on both sides (of any issue), there is a lack of empathy. A lack of trying to see the other side's point of view. How can we work together? How can we help people instead of making bold statements all the time? How can we remove the log out of our own eyes before we talk about the speck in our neighbors'? How can we take more action than just posting on Social Media? Do our posts inspire others to take action, or do they inspire eye-rolling and muting/hiding/unfriending?
In our own little family, we've decided that one of our mottos will be, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and Love your Neighbor as yourself. No matter what." It's hard. These two statements are supposed to go hand in hand, and yet as sinful humans we even manage to mess this up. Our loving God seems to be at odds with loving our neighbor, and our loving our neighbors seems to be at odds with loving God. And lately it seems that certain decisions being made higher up on certain issues are causing people to crumble and question our society's morality. But how about, instead of crumbling and moaning and complaining and meme-making, how about no matter what we look for the opportunity to Love Better. How can we love God no matter the situation, and how can we love our neighbor, no matter the legislation. I am trying to be general, because there are a lot of issues that one could take a side on, not just one...and just because someone takes the same side as you on one issue, it doesn't mean they take the same side as you on every issue. This post isn't about solving any one specific issue, but about how I am feeling at a loss about how to take action on many things. I want to help all the people and take care of all the things and solve every problem in the world, but as I write this my living room is in shambles (toys and clutter everywhere) and the dishes and laundry are piling up. We have kids to care for and homework to do, and a move to make. I would love to advocate for all the victims of racial injustice, murder (no matter what the method or the reason), sexual abuse, violence, abandonment, inequality, etc But, using airplane rules, I think I will be ineffective in helping if I can't get my own act together first. And no matter how much I want to, no matter how much I feel I have my act enough together, I just can't take action for every single thing. I need to evaluate what my heart is most drawn to and passionate about, and then what I can actually make happen given my circumstances and resources. So I am sorry if I don't retweet or share or even like every single thing that gets posted. It seems like a waste of time. What is it accomplishing? Does it give a complete picture? Does it insult the so-called other side of the issue? Does it help me to Love Better?
The most inspirational things lately, to me, have been reports of what people are doing. Ways they are taking action about what they are passionate and what they feel the Lord has called them to. This is what I want to do. Instead of writing and reading and posting articles (I see the irony in writing this blog post), I want to just do and be and let people know how they can be a part of it.
The idea of adoption has been on my heart lately, and I have been reading a lot about it (mostly anecdotes) and thinking and wondering if adoption is in our family's future. Currently we are in-between jobs and houses, so I'm thinking not in our near future. But it is a great way to take action, regarding many issues. Maybe someday!
We also don't think that we are done with overseas missions yet, as that is frequently on our hearts too. But that will have to be down the road as well. Now is the time to focus and live well in the present. Now is the time to get more education and experience (Steve is at the very beginning of a journey to go back to school to join the nursing field), and raise our boys. I am terrible at living well in the present, so in my prayers the other night (and often), I asked the Lord what I was supposed to be doing. How can I live well and love well now, and still prepare for whatever lies down the road? And the following words came to me:
simplify
wait
trust
make
(do?)
Simplify
Simplicity (in all areas of life) has been a desire of mine for almost a decade now, and an ongoing process. My hope is that simplicity itself won't become an idol, but that it will remove anything that has become or has great potential to become an idol.
Wait
There is so much unknown. Where will Steve get into school? Which school? When will he start? Where will we live? What will be next? How will we have enough money to eat? How much longer until our car is completely unfixable? Are we supposed to have a car? And on and on. There is so much to wait on. Things that because of logistics, we just have to wait and see. We can't have everything NOW. For some things the action we have to take is simply to wait. Sit tight. Ugh so hard.
Trust
This goes hand in hand with Wait. We have seen time and time again that the Lord will take care of us. And he is. But sometimes I get caught up and nervous about the details. I don't have a lack of trust in the care, but in the how. I want to know the answers to all the above questions in the Wait category, but I'm getting the feeling the Lord just wants me to Trust that it will all get done if it is supposed to. In the right time. And in the right way.
Make
Make...this word came up, and I don't know exactly what it is referring to, but I will take it to mean taking my (many) ideas, and bringing some of them to fruition. We are going to move soon. Again. And we know this particular place is not our Forever home (whatever that really means), but we don't know how long we will be living there. Could be until May, or could be until the end of 2017, or somewhere in-between. All depends on some of those answers to the Wait Questions. No matter, I am determined to Make this next place a home for us. Even though we have always had a place to stay these past 2+ years, there has always been a feel of "this is only temporary," so we have never completely unpacked. We never hung things on the walls. Never decorated. Never gave items a place. Never made a home. It has been as awful as it sounds. So this time I am determined to do things differently. Even if we only live at this next house until May (we don't know), we are going to unpack everything, settle in, and make it our home. In case we are staying until the end of 2017. It will be a lot of work, but I can't do "this is only temporary," anymore. Even if it turns out to be just that. The other idea for Make is that I have had all these ideas for things I would actually like to make that have been taking a backseat (for plenty of reasons. You can probably guess). So the past two weeks I have been carving time out to Make and Create. If any project ever gets done, maybe I will post about it on here. Time will tell!
(Do?)
This one is question-marked and parenthesis-ed because while the other words came to me at the end of a time of prayer and seemed to be from the Lord, at the time I wasn't sure if the word Do was from me or him. Or if the word Do came because the Lord wanted to reassure me that even if I am not changing the world in Big Ways, that Simplifying, Waiting, Trusting, and Making are small things that will add up and prepare me for bigger actions down the road.
Long-winded! Thank you dear Reader for making it this far. My original idea for this post was to brainstorm a bunch of different ways to take action other than posting on Facebook, but that is not the direction it took at all. But I hope in sharing some of the small ways I feel I am being called to take action will inspire you to take your own. It is ok if we take action in different ways from each other.
In today's Scriptures, I am reading them with Taking Action in mind. In the Psalm, I like the idea that giving thanks is a sacrifice that honors God. How can I be more thankful as I am simplifying, waiting, trusting, and making? In 2 Samuel, we see David fasting and praying and mourning over his actions and the likely consequences. How do I respond when life is not turning out the way I thought it would, (whether as a direct result of my own sin, or because of the Lord's timing being different (better) than my own, or something else)? In Ephesians it says to let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Before I can do anything, my thoughts and attitudes need to be in check. Probably best to seek help from the Lord (prayer, Scripture reading, etc) in this, than to be getting annoyed by the barrage of memes and news articles and opinions that seem to be so prevalent on all sides.
I hope this blog post has not added to the barrage, but inspired you to take action or to seek help from the Lord in whatever issue or situation seems to be the most pressing in your life.
I am a lady of action. I prefer to solve problems rather than to just talk about them or make memes to post on Social Media. I have never related well to that advice given to boyfriends and husbands saying that women want to just vent sometimes, they don't want to solve the problem. Not this woman. I want to vent sometimes, yes. But what a waste of time if that venting does not lead to some sort of action in the right direction at the very least.
It has been quite a Summer. In our own family, we are (again) (still) in the midst of change and transition (career change, moving, uncertain about the details of our future, to name a few). In the world it seems that there are more and more headlines that people feel the need to take strong stands on, and if you are not on their side, you must be a terrible person indeed. It seems on both sides (of any issue), there is a lack of empathy. A lack of trying to see the other side's point of view. How can we work together? How can we help people instead of making bold statements all the time? How can we remove the log out of our own eyes before we talk about the speck in our neighbors'? How can we take more action than just posting on Social Media? Do our posts inspire others to take action, or do they inspire eye-rolling and muting/hiding/unfriending?
In our own little family, we've decided that one of our mottos will be, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and Love your Neighbor as yourself. No matter what." It's hard. These two statements are supposed to go hand in hand, and yet as sinful humans we even manage to mess this up. Our loving God seems to be at odds with loving our neighbor, and our loving our neighbors seems to be at odds with loving God. And lately it seems that certain decisions being made higher up on certain issues are causing people to crumble and question our society's morality. But how about, instead of crumbling and moaning and complaining and meme-making, how about no matter what we look for the opportunity to Love Better. How can we love God no matter the situation, and how can we love our neighbor, no matter the legislation. I am trying to be general, because there are a lot of issues that one could take a side on, not just one...and just because someone takes the same side as you on one issue, it doesn't mean they take the same side as you on every issue. This post isn't about solving any one specific issue, but about how I am feeling at a loss about how to take action on many things. I want to help all the people and take care of all the things and solve every problem in the world, but as I write this my living room is in shambles (toys and clutter everywhere) and the dishes and laundry are piling up. We have kids to care for and homework to do, and a move to make. I would love to advocate for all the victims of racial injustice, murder (no matter what the method or the reason), sexual abuse, violence, abandonment, inequality, etc But, using airplane rules, I think I will be ineffective in helping if I can't get my own act together first. And no matter how much I want to, no matter how much I feel I have my act enough together, I just can't take action for every single thing. I need to evaluate what my heart is most drawn to and passionate about, and then what I can actually make happen given my circumstances and resources. So I am sorry if I don't retweet or share or even like every single thing that gets posted. It seems like a waste of time. What is it accomplishing? Does it give a complete picture? Does it insult the so-called other side of the issue? Does it help me to Love Better?
The most inspirational things lately, to me, have been reports of what people are doing. Ways they are taking action about what they are passionate and what they feel the Lord has called them to. This is what I want to do. Instead of writing and reading and posting articles (I see the irony in writing this blog post), I want to just do and be and let people know how they can be a part of it.
The idea of adoption has been on my heart lately, and I have been reading a lot about it (mostly anecdotes) and thinking and wondering if adoption is in our family's future. Currently we are in-between jobs and houses, so I'm thinking not in our near future. But it is a great way to take action, regarding many issues. Maybe someday!
We also don't think that we are done with overseas missions yet, as that is frequently on our hearts too. But that will have to be down the road as well. Now is the time to focus and live well in the present. Now is the time to get more education and experience (Steve is at the very beginning of a journey to go back to school to join the nursing field), and raise our boys. I am terrible at living well in the present, so in my prayers the other night (and often), I asked the Lord what I was supposed to be doing. How can I live well and love well now, and still prepare for whatever lies down the road? And the following words came to me:
simplify
wait
trust
make
(do?)
Simplify
Simplicity (in all areas of life) has been a desire of mine for almost a decade now, and an ongoing process. My hope is that simplicity itself won't become an idol, but that it will remove anything that has become or has great potential to become an idol.
Wait
There is so much unknown. Where will Steve get into school? Which school? When will he start? Where will we live? What will be next? How will we have enough money to eat? How much longer until our car is completely unfixable? Are we supposed to have a car? And on and on. There is so much to wait on. Things that because of logistics, we just have to wait and see. We can't have everything NOW. For some things the action we have to take is simply to wait. Sit tight. Ugh so hard.
Trust
This goes hand in hand with Wait. We have seen time and time again that the Lord will take care of us. And he is. But sometimes I get caught up and nervous about the details. I don't have a lack of trust in the care, but in the how. I want to know the answers to all the above questions in the Wait category, but I'm getting the feeling the Lord just wants me to Trust that it will all get done if it is supposed to. In the right time. And in the right way.
Make
Make...this word came up, and I don't know exactly what it is referring to, but I will take it to mean taking my (many) ideas, and bringing some of them to fruition. We are going to move soon. Again. And we know this particular place is not our Forever home (whatever that really means), but we don't know how long we will be living there. Could be until May, or could be until the end of 2017, or somewhere in-between. All depends on some of those answers to the Wait Questions. No matter, I am determined to Make this next place a home for us. Even though we have always had a place to stay these past 2+ years, there has always been a feel of "this is only temporary," so we have never completely unpacked. We never hung things on the walls. Never decorated. Never gave items a place. Never made a home. It has been as awful as it sounds. So this time I am determined to do things differently. Even if we only live at this next house until May (we don't know), we are going to unpack everything, settle in, and make it our home. In case we are staying until the end of 2017. It will be a lot of work, but I can't do "this is only temporary," anymore. Even if it turns out to be just that. The other idea for Make is that I have had all these ideas for things I would actually like to make that have been taking a backseat (for plenty of reasons. You can probably guess). So the past two weeks I have been carving time out to Make and Create. If any project ever gets done, maybe I will post about it on here. Time will tell!
(Do?)
This one is question-marked and parenthesis-ed because while the other words came to me at the end of a time of prayer and seemed to be from the Lord, at the time I wasn't sure if the word Do was from me or him. Or if the word Do came because the Lord wanted to reassure me that even if I am not changing the world in Big Ways, that Simplifying, Waiting, Trusting, and Making are small things that will add up and prepare me for bigger actions down the road.
Long-winded! Thank you dear Reader for making it this far. My original idea for this post was to brainstorm a bunch of different ways to take action other than posting on Facebook, but that is not the direction it took at all. But I hope in sharing some of the small ways I feel I am being called to take action will inspire you to take your own. It is ok if we take action in different ways from each other.
In today's Scriptures, I am reading them with Taking Action in mind. In the Psalm, I like the idea that giving thanks is a sacrifice that honors God. How can I be more thankful as I am simplifying, waiting, trusting, and making? In 2 Samuel, we see David fasting and praying and mourning over his actions and the likely consequences. How do I respond when life is not turning out the way I thought it would, (whether as a direct result of my own sin, or because of the Lord's timing being different (better) than my own, or something else)? In Ephesians it says to let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Before I can do anything, my thoughts and attitudes need to be in check. Probably best to seek help from the Lord (prayer, Scripture reading, etc) in this, than to be getting annoyed by the barrage of memes and news articles and opinions that seem to be so prevalent on all sides.
I hope this blog post has not added to the barrage, but inspired you to take action or to seek help from the Lord in whatever issue or situation seems to be the most pressing in your life.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
An epiphany in ordinary time
Psalm 21, 2 Samuel 5:11-16, James 5:7-12
Over a year ago I had a dream that I hoped was a glimpse into the future. I still don't feel like I need to share all of the details of the dream, but in it, Steve and I and our certain number of kids were moving to a certain place and into a certain dwelling, and doing a certain job, in a certain year. Those were the things in the dream that I remember the most. The kids, the place, the dwelling, the job, and the year (well, not specifically the year, but the kids' ages, and I did the math to figure out the year).
And perhaps it still will all happen exactly. It could, we are not yet to the year in the dream. But in hindsight...and present sight...I had an epiphany this morning about the dream. What if it is like the dreams in the story of Joseph, where things aren't meant to be taken literally, but mean something. Like the thin cows eating the fat cows symbolizing a coming time of fortune followed by a time of famine, and not literally that sometime in the future thin cows will be eating fat cows.
It seems like some of the details of my dream are happening slightly differently, and lately I've been asking the Lord if I mis-interpretted, or read too much into things, or made up my own dream and thought it was a glimpse when really it was just a plain old dream.
My epiphany this morning is that, as I look to the past...and the present...and the future, what have our worries and prayers been about? Having a family, a place to live and be, and a meaningful job.
Perhaps the Lord wasn't giving me all the specifics, maybe it was a reassurance that down the road (and now, even) we will have those things! He will care for our needs...though we still don't know all of those details of how it will work out.
In today's Scriptures, we see the Lord giving David his heart's desires, we see David realizing that the Lord has confirmed him to be the King, and we see the call for patience. All very timely!
How do today's lectionary passages speak to your situation? As you look to the past, present, and future, how have you seen the Lord's care and direction in your life?
Over a year ago I had a dream that I hoped was a glimpse into the future. I still don't feel like I need to share all of the details of the dream, but in it, Steve and I and our certain number of kids were moving to a certain place and into a certain dwelling, and doing a certain job, in a certain year. Those were the things in the dream that I remember the most. The kids, the place, the dwelling, the job, and the year (well, not specifically the year, but the kids' ages, and I did the math to figure out the year).
And perhaps it still will all happen exactly. It could, we are not yet to the year in the dream. But in hindsight...and present sight...I had an epiphany this morning about the dream. What if it is like the dreams in the story of Joseph, where things aren't meant to be taken literally, but mean something. Like the thin cows eating the fat cows symbolizing a coming time of fortune followed by a time of famine, and not literally that sometime in the future thin cows will be eating fat cows.
It seems like some of the details of my dream are happening slightly differently, and lately I've been asking the Lord if I mis-interpretted, or read too much into things, or made up my own dream and thought it was a glimpse when really it was just a plain old dream.
My epiphany this morning is that, as I look to the past...and the present...and the future, what have our worries and prayers been about? Having a family, a place to live and be, and a meaningful job.
Perhaps the Lord wasn't giving me all the specifics, maybe it was a reassurance that down the road (and now, even) we will have those things! He will care for our needs...though we still don't know all of those details of how it will work out.
In today's Scriptures, we see the Lord giving David his heart's desires, we see David realizing that the Lord has confirmed him to be the King, and we see the call for patience. All very timely!
How do today's lectionary passages speak to your situation? As you look to the past, present, and future, how have you seen the Lord's care and direction in your life?
 |
| Sometimes the path you're on doesn't look exactly like you imagined. |
Monday, June 15, 2015
Two posts in the same month, whaaaat
Psalm 53, 1 Samuel 13:23-14:23, Galatians 6:11-18
In the past, trying to determine where the Lord wanted me to be and what I was to be doing seemed as simple as praying about it and then watching doors close and others open, and then walking through the open doors. Proverbial doors of course. Like, if there were two opportunities presented to me, it would eventually become clear that one of those opportunities was The One.
Over the course of the past couple years, it has gotten more cloudy and complicated. There are suddenly multiple doors open, and we have to cling even closer to the Lord to know which ones to walk through, and which ones to walk past (but leave open? sorry to be hopping in and out of metaphor). Like, there are two opportunities, and we've had to fast and pray before we knew which opportunity was The One, because both doors seemed wide open. And if we walk through one door, does it mean that the other door closes, or does it stay open, to walk through another time? Things are more complicated because we are not only just responsible to the Lord and ourselves, but now to our children as well. When we are presented with an opportunity or a new idea, we have always asked, is this where the Lord wants us? But now we also think through, how will this affect our family? And of course we know that ultimately the Lord will care for our family regardless of what decision we make, but as responsible people we still ask the second question. Is this what the Lord wants for us as a family?
Anyway, metaphors and doors aside, over the course of the past 2+ years, we have been in constant transition, trying to determine what it is that the Lord wants us to do, and to where he is calling us. And it doesn't seem as simple as it once did. We have had to pray and consider and think and fast and tell people "no" even when on paper it seemed like a definite "yes." And we've been told "no" in scenarios where we longed for a "yes." It's been a lot of waiting and praying. And of course waiting "teaches patience," but also I think that waiting is sometimes necessary for more than just that. Sometimes, I think, waiting is necessary because things simply take time. Things don't happen all at once, and we have to wait for certain details to fall into place. Experiences need to happen, skills need to be earned. "Learning patience" is just icing on the cake. Or gravy on the potatoes for my savory audience. In today's Samuel reading, we see Jonathan discerning what the Lord wants him to do. If this happens, then we will go this direction. If that happens, then we will go that direction. For him it is still just as simple as the Lord closing one door and opening another. Jonathan has complete trust that the Lord can help him, and determines that He will.
I don't think that Steve or I are lacking in trust. We've seen the Lord lead us on many adventures and carry us through loneliness and difficulty in the past, and we have no reason to believe now is any different. But perhaps the cloudiness and complication is due to too much clutter in our lives and in the way we spend our time?
I am lately on a decluttering and sorting and minimalist kick with our material possessions. Soon (but at a yet undetermined date. PATIENCE!) we will again move. Again. Clearly we have been wandering like the Israelites in the desert these past couple of years, waiting for our Promised Land, and a large majority of our things have been in boxes the entire time, as we have lived in one sort of temporary housing or another. I know, the wandering in the desert is a terrible analogy, and there are plenty of people who wished they had it so good (we have always had a place to stay, and food to eat, and pride to swallow), but we just want to be somewhere we can call home and dig roots. We haven't had that. And we are aching for community and roots. We are working on that. And in this upcoming move (which in the long run will be temporary...but we know we will likely be there at least a year, maybe more...hopefully more), I have decided that we are not going to live out of boxes. We are not going to keep moving and storing the same things year after year. We are going to make a home. We will sort through everything and get rid of everything we don't need and have a big garage sale before we move to throw off everything that hinders us.
We don't know what the future holds for us exactly, and I am trying really hard to live in the present. Trying really hard to do now well. Though I do think that every experience we have is to prepare us for something...in the future. Sorry. My number two strength is futuristic. I have a really hard time living in the present. Even my present is just help for the future. So anyway, I've felt this call to simplicity and minimalism. We are not even close to there, but it is a process! And it dawned on me recently that this not only has to do with material stuff, but other things in life...that get in the way of being able to see clearly and simply where the Lord is leading. Yes, I am trying to tie this all together. It is long-winded, but it all made sense in my head from the very beginning of the post. Thanks for sticking it out. So I am also thinking about this Other Stuff, and what it could be. Along with the way I think about material possessions, I also need to do some inventory on how I spend my time and where I devote my energy. What do I read? How much do I spend in front of a screen? What do I do that is of quality, and what is a waste?
Do you ever think of these things? How do you know where the Lord wants you to be, and what he wants you to do? What things hinder you in the race of life?
I have always gotten a little annoyed whenever it seemed like someone only said "God is so good!" only when good things were happening. Well I'm here to tell you. Times are hard, but God is still good. He is teaching us and carrying us, and leading us on a great adventure. We just don't know exactly what these experiences are preparing us for, but it will all make sense some day. I hope.
Oh! And every good blogpost needs a picture. You guys, this blog will never earn any money. I am way too long-winded, inconsistent, and don't self-promote very well. But by golly, I do follow some rules. Like, good blogposts having a picture. In all of my unpacking and sorting, I finally FINALLY found our Jesus Storybook Bible. It has been in a box for over 2 years. I almost thought it was lost for good and then I found it the other day. Prodigal book! We've been reading it for bedtime, and I'm pretty sure I love it the most. For now. Anyway tonight we read the story of Abraham and Sarah learning they would be parents in their old age. After so long, their dreams were coming true...though not in the way they would have imagined in their wildest...dreams. If anyone can relate to waiting on the Lord and wondering and hoping and leaving things behind, it's Abraham and Sarah. This picture from the book is just so beautiful. This old, hopeful couple. Holding what the Lord promised them.
In the past, trying to determine where the Lord wanted me to be and what I was to be doing seemed as simple as praying about it and then watching doors close and others open, and then walking through the open doors. Proverbial doors of course. Like, if there were two opportunities presented to me, it would eventually become clear that one of those opportunities was The One.
Over the course of the past couple years, it has gotten more cloudy and complicated. There are suddenly multiple doors open, and we have to cling even closer to the Lord to know which ones to walk through, and which ones to walk past (but leave open? sorry to be hopping in and out of metaphor). Like, there are two opportunities, and we've had to fast and pray before we knew which opportunity was The One, because both doors seemed wide open. And if we walk through one door, does it mean that the other door closes, or does it stay open, to walk through another time? Things are more complicated because we are not only just responsible to the Lord and ourselves, but now to our children as well. When we are presented with an opportunity or a new idea, we have always asked, is this where the Lord wants us? But now we also think through, how will this affect our family? And of course we know that ultimately the Lord will care for our family regardless of what decision we make, but as responsible people we still ask the second question. Is this what the Lord wants for us as a family?
Anyway, metaphors and doors aside, over the course of the past 2+ years, we have been in constant transition, trying to determine what it is that the Lord wants us to do, and to where he is calling us. And it doesn't seem as simple as it once did. We have had to pray and consider and think and fast and tell people "no" even when on paper it seemed like a definite "yes." And we've been told "no" in scenarios where we longed for a "yes." It's been a lot of waiting and praying. And of course waiting "teaches patience," but also I think that waiting is sometimes necessary for more than just that. Sometimes, I think, waiting is necessary because things simply take time. Things don't happen all at once, and we have to wait for certain details to fall into place. Experiences need to happen, skills need to be earned. "Learning patience" is just icing on the cake. Or gravy on the potatoes for my savory audience. In today's Samuel reading, we see Jonathan discerning what the Lord wants him to do. If this happens, then we will go this direction. If that happens, then we will go that direction. For him it is still just as simple as the Lord closing one door and opening another. Jonathan has complete trust that the Lord can help him, and determines that He will.
I don't think that Steve or I are lacking in trust. We've seen the Lord lead us on many adventures and carry us through loneliness and difficulty in the past, and we have no reason to believe now is any different. But perhaps the cloudiness and complication is due to too much clutter in our lives and in the way we spend our time?
I am lately on a decluttering and sorting and minimalist kick with our material possessions. Soon (but at a yet undetermined date. PATIENCE!) we will again move. Again. Clearly we have been wandering like the Israelites in the desert these past couple of years, waiting for our Promised Land, and a large majority of our things have been in boxes the entire time, as we have lived in one sort of temporary housing or another. I know, the wandering in the desert is a terrible analogy, and there are plenty of people who wished they had it so good (we have always had a place to stay, and food to eat, and pride to swallow), but we just want to be somewhere we can call home and dig roots. We haven't had that. And we are aching for community and roots. We are working on that. And in this upcoming move (which in the long run will be temporary...but we know we will likely be there at least a year, maybe more...hopefully more), I have decided that we are not going to live out of boxes. We are not going to keep moving and storing the same things year after year. We are going to make a home. We will sort through everything and get rid of everything we don't need and have a big garage sale before we move to throw off everything that hinders us.
We don't know what the future holds for us exactly, and I am trying really hard to live in the present. Trying really hard to do now well. Though I do think that every experience we have is to prepare us for something...in the future. Sorry. My number two strength is futuristic. I have a really hard time living in the present. Even my present is just help for the future. So anyway, I've felt this call to simplicity and minimalism. We are not even close to there, but it is a process! And it dawned on me recently that this not only has to do with material stuff, but other things in life...that get in the way of being able to see clearly and simply where the Lord is leading. Yes, I am trying to tie this all together. It is long-winded, but it all made sense in my head from the very beginning of the post. Thanks for sticking it out. So I am also thinking about this Other Stuff, and what it could be. Along with the way I think about material possessions, I also need to do some inventory on how I spend my time and where I devote my energy. What do I read? How much do I spend in front of a screen? What do I do that is of quality, and what is a waste?
Do you ever think of these things? How do you know where the Lord wants you to be, and what he wants you to do? What things hinder you in the race of life?
I have always gotten a little annoyed whenever it seemed like someone only said "God is so good!" only when good things were happening. Well I'm here to tell you. Times are hard, but God is still good. He is teaching us and carrying us, and leading us on a great adventure. We just don't know exactly what these experiences are preparing us for, but it will all make sense some day. I hope.
Oh! And every good blogpost needs a picture. You guys, this blog will never earn any money. I am way too long-winded, inconsistent, and don't self-promote very well. But by golly, I do follow some rules. Like, good blogposts having a picture. In all of my unpacking and sorting, I finally FINALLY found our Jesus Storybook Bible. It has been in a box for over 2 years. I almost thought it was lost for good and then I found it the other day. Prodigal book! We've been reading it for bedtime, and I'm pretty sure I love it the most. For now. Anyway tonight we read the story of Abraham and Sarah learning they would be parents in their old age. After so long, their dreams were coming true...though not in the way they would have imagined in their wildest...dreams. If anyone can relate to waiting on the Lord and wondering and hoping and leaving things behind, it's Abraham and Sarah. This picture from the book is just so beautiful. This old, hopeful couple. Holding what the Lord promised them.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Big Day
Psalm 108, 1 Samuel 7:3-15, Revelation 20:1-6
Today was a big day in our house. For the first time in over a year, we have the internet! Welcome to the future. Of course now is the soonest I could sit down for a minute to blog, so by the time you read this, it will be yesterday's news. Expect to see a rise in blog posts until the novelty wears off!
The other big news from today is that we ate from our garden for the first time this season! We harvested some lettuce and radishes and made a salad to accompany our leftover gas-station pizza (we don't like to let ourselves get too snooty ;)
Anyway, more on our lives soon. As for the Scriptures for today, the part that stuck out to me was how in 1 Samuel, the Israelites have to get rid of their foreign gods and turn their hearts to God alone. There is a lot of fear of the unknown, especially anything or anyone that is "other" throughout history, and now, even. I don't think that this about getting rid of anything that is foreign or other, but getting rid of anything that takes the place of God. For a bit of the afternoon that I read this passage, I wondered what foreign god the Israelites would have to get rid of if they had been living in my current country. And I think my answer is: the god of self. Of loving ourselves first and most. Still chewing on that and thinking about the implications. What struck you most from today's Scriptures? What do you think the main gods of today are? What gets in our way of turning our hearts to God alone?
Today was a big day in our house. For the first time in over a year, we have the internet! Welcome to the future. Of course now is the soonest I could sit down for a minute to blog, so by the time you read this, it will be yesterday's news. Expect to see a rise in blog posts until the novelty wears off!
The other big news from today is that we ate from our garden for the first time this season! We harvested some lettuce and radishes and made a salad to accompany our leftover gas-station pizza (we don't like to let ourselves get too snooty ;)
 |
| beautiful radishes |
 |
| salad, featuring garden lettuce, garden radish leaves, farm fresh eggs, store-bought tomatoes (apparently from Minnesota, but HOW), and some homemade dressing Steve made with mayonnaise, honey, vinegar, pepper, and green onions. Also some dirt that didn't get washed off. And a tiny little worm. I hope it was the only worm and that there isn't a family of worms nesting in my digestive tract. |
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