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…..and you embrace it.  But sometimes SOMETHING has to give.  For me over the last two months, I have had to set aside my blogging in order to do things well!  To be a good wife, a good mom, and a good ministry leader, and most importantly a good Princess…I am a child of the King after all..  

So this is my return.  I am refreshed and renewed.  I have soaked in God’s word (as I continue to do so).  My house is clean…(mostly) and my kids are all snug in beds….ok so I am sitting outside of a bedroom as I type this struggling with a special needs kiddo who thinks sleeping is old fashioned!

These last two months of veritable silence  here in my little home sweet home has not just been full of busyness (and it has) but it has been a time of peace, renewal, a time of wrestling with God(more on that in a bit) and a time of new insight, not just into my heart but into the lives of my hubby and children.

Does this all mean that my life is any less crazy right now???   Not a chance!  I will ALWAYS be busy!  That is quite ok though.  I would rather have a gazillion things on my plate than to be absorbed into a fake world that leaves me with countless hours of wasted time, money and brain cells.  

So what just has happened over the Last two months

Well Hubby finished his M.A. In Linguistics

      So for those keeping track

         Associates in Wood Products engineering

          Bachelors of Religious Education Pastoral/Languages Emphasis

           Master of Divinity

            Master of Theology

             Master of Arts in Linguistics.

Words cannot express at just how proud of him I am.  Not because he has 5 pieces of paper, but because of his diligence to what God has called him to do, always willing to better himself to help others!  It makes every single second worth it!

Then there is the end of the school year activities

Along with picnics, awards ceremonies, 2 zoo trips, 

A drive across the state for a retirement recognition for hubby’s parents

And THIS…..

We were so saddened to hear of the death of a dear mentor of hubby’s.  This actually pushed back my original restart date by two weeks as my dear husband grieved the hardest I have ever seen him grieve. And even though he has done over 20 funerals in five years he was still touched very deeply by this loss!  But we can rejoice that he is with God in Heaven learning even more of the ins and outs of Greek and God’s word than ever imaginable, he is still greatly missed!

And you might as well

Because I too have engaged in a wrestling match with God over the contents of a book I am working on.  Thankfully no dislocated hip was endured, but a process of dealing with stuffed emotions for many years has culminated in a recurring theme. A friend (ok MORE THAN ONE FRIEND) has been repeating themselves, “share your story you’ve been given,” as they encourage me. Sometimes we don’t want to for whatever reason, but I have laid down my preferences, I have cried uncle and I will press forward.  I don’t know how I am going to do this BUT, in all of it, I will trust God to hold my hand!

So in a VERY abbreviated nutshell this is what has consumed our life over the last few months!  

It’s not been easy but the refiner’s fire gets rid of the impurities so we may shine all the brighter for the one who died such a radical death for me.  So here I am ready to run this race again.   Be watching for some changes and encouragement .

With much love,

 

 

 

Hello!  Do you remember me?  Oh good…

I just wanted to let you know YES I am still alive!

Over the last few months life has been hectic to say the least AND. I had a major finger infection!

ICK!

But hubby is now done with school AND has passed!  He will receive his diploma some time in mid June AND the two oldest children will be done with school within the next week and a half….at that point I will return to my normal blogging schedule.  But have no fear I have a huge list of fun things to talk to you about AND there are going to be some new stuff around here as well.

We will refer to it as BLOGGY SPRING CLEANING! 

So if you will just bear with me and we will see you soon 

Love,

This book  has two sections

DIGGING DEEPER

and

REACHING OUT

Mark Hal, lead singer of the band Casting Crowns paints a beautiful picture of what Thriving looks like!  Like the tree on the front cover Mark challenges every single believer to grow deep in your faith, but it’s only when you have that deep ness that you can then reach out and give from those roots!   

Reaching out as Mark states “is the way we  sow the world we belong to Jesus”

I would be lying if I said this is an easy read!   Not that is horribly written or biblically unsound, BUT, that it challenges cut to the inner struggles we all face!  Each chapter takes some working through.

One of my most favorite quotes  from the entire book (and there are Soooooo many gems) comes right from Chapter 3 Unknowns

The more I looked at Scripture the more I found broken people rather than whole people-people like Moses, David,Peter, and Mary. I see how the weak overcome the strong. The poor have an easier time getting into heaven, than the rich.  Everything the world calls success I didn’t find in the Word, and I learned that God takes you just as you are.

When you finally get your brain wrapped around that one statement, your perspective changes, and so does your life!  This book gets five stars!    It’s challenging to the core, but the amount of growth it invokes is amazing!

As a kid I LOVED ANIMALS!

Every animal…..there were a few that I held an even deeper fondness for, are you ready for this?

Whales

Dolphins

Frogs

Turtles

Lizards

Koalas

Pandas

Moneys (specifically Chimpanzees)

I still have a major dream to swim with Dolphins.   I loved the series Voyage of the Mimi!   I wanted to be a Marine Biologist! I loved Biology…..and science in general.   My interest was made even deeper by a trip to inner harbor Maryland!  AMAZING! That’s where I met Taz in my first Dolphin show!  (Yes I had just completed 7th or 8th grade and I can still remember the dolphins name but not what year of school I had finished!)

But until in college had never been to a zoo!   My now hubby took me to my first one!   And on our honey moon we went to 6!!!!

I am simply amazed by God’s creation!

I have been to major zoos all over the east coast, you could say it’s kind of a hobby!  But at some point (not really sure when exactly) but God changed my heart from working with animals to working with people. I know exactly when I wanted to be a pastors wife, but that took 2 1/2 years of college!  Truth be told that’s when I said yes to God, but I had really been wrestling with it for almost 5 1/2 years.  It started with a love for serving…I did everything.  I laugh at what I did as a teenager, if I was asked I did it!  

Then came a missions oppertunity.   I had never ever left the country before…..and this, this was huge!  I so desperately wanted to be a missionary and I did for 6 AMAZING weeks! And then I came home and suffered what is called reverse culture shock.  Add culture shock as I moved into a girls dorm 10 days later ( I was a Tom boy!). I just wanted to go back AND FAST!

But that’s not what God had planned!  He closed doors to return!   I was very sad!  Then came a really awesome inner city kids ministry!  This country girl felt strangely at home.   I attached myself to youth ministry,.   But that slowly morphed, though it is still a favorite that wasn’t what God wanted.  Then came along this guy, now I’m not one of those girls who said sure I will be a pastors wife BECAUSE. You are going to be a pastor.  God brought us together both not wanting to be in a pastoral position, but both of us, yielding to God’s plan for our lives.   And then through our friendship God brought us to a place of wanting to serve Him in Pastoral ministry.  Though it took me a little longer because when I figured out that my friend was “the one” I ran.  I tried to get my roommate interested in him…..I didn’t want to get hurt again!   

But you can’t get very far when God is holding the back of your shirt!  AND ta-Da here I am….Pastor’s wife!

Laundry…..at church?