I have a 4 year old boy. He's very much into superheros, star wars and transformers. He is often handing out weapons to various family members in order to have a 'family battle'. Hope gets in on the action by holding out a sword and giggles every time someone hits it softly. I'm trying to figure out where the 'line' is in the midst of all of this. He one time told me that he cut my head off with his sword...um, no, not in my house. But where is the line? How much violence in playtime is too much? His idea of killing someone is that they're asleep. And they always come back to life. And interestingly, this morning, he related them coming back to life because they're in heaven. Ahh, the blurred lines of theology and imagination.
I'd love your thoughts and ideas!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
So how am I doing?
It's almost March. I thought it was time (more for myself than anyone else) to do a quick update on my list of resolutions for the year.
1. Read 3650 chapters of the Bible in 365 days. I'm about 75 chapters behind. The flu snuck in there, and a weekend in Chicago...but enough excuses, I am fighting to catch up again. I've already read about 40% of the Bible since January 1st. I'm really enjoying the variety of readings each day and the interesting ways they often have similar themes. It's been enriching and challenging so far.
2. Pay off debt. Well, you have to have money to do that, so we haven't made any progress. But, I spent a few hours today gathering all of our tax stuff to get to our 'guy' so we can get that fat return check and pay off a few! We're also starting to look into possible jobs for Marc for the summer - if anyone has an idea or a lead, let us know!
3. Build a better routine. I think my internal alarm clock is starting to work again. Most mornings I'm waking up at 7:30am and get going pretty much right away before the kids are up. That certainly helps our mornings go a bit more smoothly, but the rest of our days are a bit scattered yet. My work & the kids sitter schedule is different every day of the week - it's really challenging to find a routine in the midst of that. Our nighttime routine is a bit better, however. Marc has been great about helping with that!
4. Try a new recipe each week. I think I've missed one or two weeks here, so I'll give myself one thumbs up. I haven't really recorded the new recipes though, so I get a thumbs down for that.
5. Use all my lotion. Am I alone, or do other people hate putting lotion on when you haven't shaved your legs? I can't handle touching my prickly legs. And it's winter, people, I don't feel the need to shave all that often. So, I was doing well, and I've probably reduced my stash by a full bottle by Jan 1, but I think spring & summer will help boost this goal.
6. Be more crafty with the kids. I'm in a card making rut with Isaac. I find one good craft & stick with it. I did find a cross craft that we'll do closer to Easter, and we're going to gather everything this week for our own resurrection eggs, but I'm no martha stewart.
7. Pray more diligently for those who don't know the Lord. Pray more in general. Prayer in general has increased slightly, but it's hardly noteworthy. And I completely fail at praying for those who don't know Jesus. Completely failed.
8. Focus on healthy habits. Doing so-so on this one. I went and worked out on Saturday for the first time in forever, and hope to continue. I need to work on drinking more water & going to bed earlier this week. Small steps, right?
9. Play WITH my kids more. This might be my most successful goal yet! I find myself saying "yes!" to my kids more than I used to. Pretend this hanger is a lightsaber? You bet! I'm Darth Vader and you're Luke Skywalker? Sounds great! Put on our VBS Cd & play pretend drums on the ottomon - AWESOME! I'm kicking my laziness in the butt & getting on the floor much more with my kiddos. What joy it brings!
10. I need to work on being the wife God has called me to be. Marc and I started our new year with a night away in Saugatuck. We took along a series about marriage and actually did a few lessons together. We prayed together, read scripture together, listened to one another, and really connected on a deeper level than we've been for a while. It was the perfect way to start off the new year. I can't say I've succeeded in this area, but I can say I'm more focused on figuring out what this looks like. I'm trying to deny myself more and take more opportunities to serve. Maybe Marc should be the one to update on this goal...he's probably got a more realistic view of how I'm doing! :)
Okay, there we have it. Almost two full months in. Making progress, but lots of room to continue growing. Time to go read a few more chapters...
1. Read 3650 chapters of the Bible in 365 days. I'm about 75 chapters behind. The flu snuck in there, and a weekend in Chicago...but enough excuses, I am fighting to catch up again. I've already read about 40% of the Bible since January 1st. I'm really enjoying the variety of readings each day and the interesting ways they often have similar themes. It's been enriching and challenging so far.
2. Pay off debt. Well, you have to have money to do that, so we haven't made any progress. But, I spent a few hours today gathering all of our tax stuff to get to our 'guy' so we can get that fat return check and pay off a few! We're also starting to look into possible jobs for Marc for the summer - if anyone has an idea or a lead, let us know!
3. Build a better routine. I think my internal alarm clock is starting to work again. Most mornings I'm waking up at 7:30am and get going pretty much right away before the kids are up. That certainly helps our mornings go a bit more smoothly, but the rest of our days are a bit scattered yet. My work & the kids sitter schedule is different every day of the week - it's really challenging to find a routine in the midst of that. Our nighttime routine is a bit better, however. Marc has been great about helping with that!
4. Try a new recipe each week. I think I've missed one or two weeks here, so I'll give myself one thumbs up. I haven't really recorded the new recipes though, so I get a thumbs down for that.
5. Use all my lotion. Am I alone, or do other people hate putting lotion on when you haven't shaved your legs? I can't handle touching my prickly legs. And it's winter, people, I don't feel the need to shave all that often. So, I was doing well, and I've probably reduced my stash by a full bottle by Jan 1, but I think spring & summer will help boost this goal.
6. Be more crafty with the kids. I'm in a card making rut with Isaac. I find one good craft & stick with it. I did find a cross craft that we'll do closer to Easter, and we're going to gather everything this week for our own resurrection eggs, but I'm no martha stewart.
7. Pray more diligently for those who don't know the Lord. Pray more in general. Prayer in general has increased slightly, but it's hardly noteworthy. And I completely fail at praying for those who don't know Jesus. Completely failed.
8. Focus on healthy habits. Doing so-so on this one. I went and worked out on Saturday for the first time in forever, and hope to continue. I need to work on drinking more water & going to bed earlier this week. Small steps, right?
9. Play WITH my kids more. This might be my most successful goal yet! I find myself saying "yes!" to my kids more than I used to. Pretend this hanger is a lightsaber? You bet! I'm Darth Vader and you're Luke Skywalker? Sounds great! Put on our VBS Cd & play pretend drums on the ottomon - AWESOME! I'm kicking my laziness in the butt & getting on the floor much more with my kiddos. What joy it brings!
10. I need to work on being the wife God has called me to be. Marc and I started our new year with a night away in Saugatuck. We took along a series about marriage and actually did a few lessons together. We prayed together, read scripture together, listened to one another, and really connected on a deeper level than we've been for a while. It was the perfect way to start off the new year. I can't say I've succeeded in this area, but I can say I'm more focused on figuring out what this looks like. I'm trying to deny myself more and take more opportunities to serve. Maybe Marc should be the one to update on this goal...he's probably got a more realistic view of how I'm doing! :)
Okay, there we have it. Almost two full months in. Making progress, but lots of room to continue growing. Time to go read a few more chapters...
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Quimby Update
So our Quimby house is back on the market. Again. We've been through enough with this house that it's not surprising to me and I'm not anxious or angry. I merely let out a *sigh* and went on with my day.
The story is that our current buyer had some issues with her work history. They sorted it out, but it resulted in the need to resubmit paperwork to the IRS. It's been submitted, and now we just have to wait on the IRS. This could take weeks or even months. So in the meantime, the house is back on the market and if someone else makes an offer and can close before this buyer, we take it. We're under a bit of time pressure due to the nature of this whole ordeal, thus the rush to get a buyer.
So, please pray that we would continue to trust the Lord in this period of waiting.
The story is that our current buyer had some issues with her work history. They sorted it out, but it resulted in the need to resubmit paperwork to the IRS. It's been submitted, and now we just have to wait on the IRS. This could take weeks or even months. So in the meantime, the house is back on the market and if someone else makes an offer and can close before this buyer, we take it. We're under a bit of time pressure due to the nature of this whole ordeal, thus the rush to get a buyer.
So, please pray that we would continue to trust the Lord in this period of waiting.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I doubt it.
Sunday night we had high school youth group. I had a student lined up to talk about his trip to Israel last spring break and was really excited for him to share that, and to talk about his faith journey over the last few years. We have been out for coffee/ice cream a few times and it's not been an easy journey for him. I was impressed that he wanted to share as openly as he was planning.
So 5pm rolls around. There are about 7 students. By 5:15pm we have 9, and that's as many as came. Now, I try not to dwell on numbers, but it's quite obvious when over 1/2 of your group doesn't show up. It's discouraging. It's frustrating. It kinda puts me in a funk, though I don't show it. But guess what? God can minister to 9 or 90. He had a reason for those 9 students to be there that night.
My senior shared pictures and stories of his time in Israel. He connected Bible stories and Scripture to a lot of the pictures. We saw pictures of the Dead sea, the See of Galilee, the corner of the temple where Jesus might have stood when he was tempted, the hill where Jesus sent out the demons into the heard of pigs, the dessert, the field where Samson sent the fiery foxes, and more. It was fascinating.
Then, when the pictures were done, he shared about his doubts about Christianity over the last few years. He shared his struggles to believe it's true. He opened up about how he has started to grab hold of faith once more, but how that doesn't mean all of his questions have been answered. It was very powerful to hear this strong, intelligent, athletic and confident student share his heart. When he was done, I shared for a minute about the place of doubts in our lives. We all have them to varying degrees and we are often uncomfortable with them. We don't know how to handle them. We are often shut down when we express them or given overly simple answers that don't do the question/doubt justice. We too often feel we have to have our faith figured out and put on a 'got-it-all-together' face when we're at youth group (or church). I assured the students that the leaders have our own doubts and we certainly don't have all the answers. I invited them to share their doubts or questions about Jesus, the Bible, their faith or anything else in their small groups.
The girls took our usual spot in the lobby area of the women's restroom :) and the only thing I really said was "Israel, the Bible, doubts, faith...Talk". I could sense this pot about to boil over in many of them, who were longing to spill some of their thoughts. We had planned for about 30 minutes and went about 45 because there was such great conversation happening. It again, was very powerful.
Shortly after youth group, I got an email from a parent who said, " (my daughter) was SO VERY excited tonight when I picked her up from Lifeline!! ...and she learned so much, saw so much, connected so much. She asked me if we could "please visit Israel someday" and this was "the best Lifeline ever!"
And here I was worried about only having 9 students there. I doubted it would be a great night. Yup, God, you're bigger and better than any plan I can lay out.
Thanks be to our powerful Lord who was working in the lives of the students on Sunday evening. It's such an honor to be a part of his work.
So 5pm rolls around. There are about 7 students. By 5:15pm we have 9, and that's as many as came. Now, I try not to dwell on numbers, but it's quite obvious when over 1/2 of your group doesn't show up. It's discouraging. It's frustrating. It kinda puts me in a funk, though I don't show it. But guess what? God can minister to 9 or 90. He had a reason for those 9 students to be there that night.
My senior shared pictures and stories of his time in Israel. He connected Bible stories and Scripture to a lot of the pictures. We saw pictures of the Dead sea, the See of Galilee, the corner of the temple where Jesus might have stood when he was tempted, the hill where Jesus sent out the demons into the heard of pigs, the dessert, the field where Samson sent the fiery foxes, and more. It was fascinating.
Then, when the pictures were done, he shared about his doubts about Christianity over the last few years. He shared his struggles to believe it's true. He opened up about how he has started to grab hold of faith once more, but how that doesn't mean all of his questions have been answered. It was very powerful to hear this strong, intelligent, athletic and confident student share his heart. When he was done, I shared for a minute about the place of doubts in our lives. We all have them to varying degrees and we are often uncomfortable with them. We don't know how to handle them. We are often shut down when we express them or given overly simple answers that don't do the question/doubt justice. We too often feel we have to have our faith figured out and put on a 'got-it-all-together' face when we're at youth group (or church). I assured the students that the leaders have our own doubts and we certainly don't have all the answers. I invited them to share their doubts or questions about Jesus, the Bible, their faith or anything else in their small groups.
The girls took our usual spot in the lobby area of the women's restroom :) and the only thing I really said was "Israel, the Bible, doubts, faith...Talk". I could sense this pot about to boil over in many of them, who were longing to spill some of their thoughts. We had planned for about 30 minutes and went about 45 because there was such great conversation happening. It again, was very powerful.
Shortly after youth group, I got an email from a parent who said, " (my daughter) was SO VERY excited tonight when I picked her up from Lifeline!! ...and she learned so much, saw so much, connected so much. She asked me if we could "please visit Israel someday" and this was "the best Lifeline ever!"
And here I was worried about only having 9 students there. I doubted it would be a great night. Yup, God, you're bigger and better than any plan I can lay out.
Thanks be to our powerful Lord who was working in the lives of the students on Sunday evening. It's such an honor to be a part of his work.
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