Bowling(FFFN)

this Friday family fun night we went bowling. The alley has this deal in the summer. Kids get to bowl free. sounded like a good deal but we still had to pay for shoes. so it costed us 10 instead lots more. =) Hannah enjoyed it more than Joy. Joy only lasted a few rounds.

Friday Family Fun Night

I got this idea from another blogger, Whittaker Woman. But hers are way more creative and clever. We started this tradition shortly after we moved here. One of the best decisions for our family. Our family has gotten so close. We are the happiest we have ever been even though our bank account is the smallest it has ever been. Just another argument that money does not buy happiness and you dont need lots of it to have fun. So Friday is sacred family time and usually dont let anything else come before it. Our typical time involves frozen pizza, movie, popcorn and ice cream. Our kids love fridays even though it is so simple. For a few weeks Joy would ask each morning, "Is tonight family fun night?" And she is bummed when we tell her no. This Friday we rolled out some butcher paper and decided to draw some things we want to this summer. Then we decided to hang it up in the living room to remind us what we want to do. It worked great. We were able to do it all.

Silence and Solitude

A few weeks ago our Bible study group was learning about peace and how to cultivate that in our lives. A key factor in doing so is regularly practicing the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. One question asked how peaceful is your life right now? My soul is at rest cause i security in knowing where i will be when i die, with Jesus. but the day to day, can be chaos. I began to recognize that the only time I am experiencing silence and solitude is when i am asleep. And not even that is uninterrupted. =) Thanks to that week's study i am now trying again to make these disciplines apart of my life. But like any discipline(eating right, exercise, study...) it actually takes work and effort and will not happen on its own. An old adage that stuck with me was, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." So true. Like i had to right it in my planner to get up early today to be alone. and even then, jeremy had to remind me. But like all disciplines, it is so worth it even though it may be hard to take the first step. As i write isaiah is now up from his nap crying. will complete later. =) days later, i am back. anyways, my alone time was awesome. i walked to our community lake and just sat. on the way there my mind was going like crazy, thinking and praying but when i got there i tried to just be still and quiet. sometimes i just need to zip it. It was so peaceful. There were no demands of me. i was not cleaning, not wiping butts, not making meals, not texting, not on the phone, not checking facebook, not worrying about money, not nothing. these times are so wonderful for my soul but i dont make them a priority. i am trying. i hope to do this again next week. good luck in your attempts to gain peace in your life and as you seek the Prince of Peace. i would love to hear how it goes for you

God's Provision

I have been blown away lately on the abundance of blessings we have received. God has provided for us through the radical generosity of others. jeremy taught on radical generosity this sunday. So i have been thinking how can i be radically generous. I definitely did not expect to be the recipient of radical generosity. One friend gave me a generous amount of money after babysitting her kids(totally unexpected). Another friend has offered to treat me to a mani and pedi. A family member sent a cash gift in the mail(the exact amount we needed this week for groceries). A local pastor gave Jeremy $250 and told Jeremy to take me out with it. That is alot of date nights! Two friends from Story Church gave us generous money gifts. Then there are those who are generous with their food and time and invite me into their homes. Then there are those who give of their time and love by watching my kiddos. Thank you Jesus for providing for us through wonderful people.

Wow, What a God morning!!

Today at church was amazing. ever have those moments where God feels so real and close? If not, i encourage you to ask Jesus to reveal himself to you. James 4:8a (one of my favorite verses) says "Draw near to come and he will draw near to you." i could share amazing stories where that has happened (let me know if you ever want to hear them). Okay, sorry about the tangent - back to this morning at church. While Jeremy was speaking I was overwhelmed with emotion and just feeling that this is exactly what God created Jeremy for. For him to be a life-giving pastor and to lead this church. What an amazing feeling to know this is exactly where we are supposed to be. Then the worship was perfect, fit the message so well. Usually jeremy talks with Alastair about what the message is about so he can find suitable songs. well this week he did not have a chance to talk to him about it. So it was totally a God thing. Talking with Jeremy afterward and he too had an overwhelming sense of God moving and working in our presence. He said it was like he was just sitting back observing, watching God move and knowing none of it was our doing but all the work of God. Jeremy shared how he had so little time to work on his message this week because he was meeting with people (which he loves to do). and also that he had so very little notes. He felt it was a message from God. That it was just flowing out of him. Then after service I received one of the most meaningful words ever. Someone had said, "Thank you for obeying God and coming here (planting in durham). We have been blessed by it." I shared this with jeremy cause i knew it would bless his heart too. He then said someone else had shared similar gratitude. He said, "I know why God had brought you to Durham. It was for me." He then went on to share his amazing story of Jesus totally changing his life. and now he has peace, hope and joy. And so many other cool detail that we hope to share on our website and in church soon. We feel so incredibly blessed that God would allow us to be apart of this. I am so thankful we did not let fear and uncertainity hold us back from going on this adventure. I think back to where we were two years ago. We had just told our staff and youth group we were leaving and moving to Durham to plant a church. There were many who asked, "Why NC? Why Durham? How do you know God is calling you to this?" Not knowing all the details of how we were going to do it definetly made it insanely scary. We felt he was leading us to Durham but we couldn't explain why. Their questions often made us second guess our decision. Doing it alone without a team was also so unnerving. But we could not wait until people decided to come with us but had to just go for it and obey His leading. I have an Andy Stanley quotation on our bathroom mirror,"What God originates, God orchestrates." We have needed that constant reminder that God was going to take care of the details of this dream and that we needed to jump into it. Another quotation (donald miller) on our mirror says, "the great stories go to those who do not give into fear." We want to live a great story and have thoroughly enjoyed the story He is writing thus far through us. I leave you with one of my favorite quotations ever by Mother Teresa, "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."

my kiddos

Running on Empty

man, this mom stuff is hard. i have been feeling like i am running on empty, with not much more to give. lately i have felt that out of all my roles(mom, wife, friend,pastor's wife...), the one that i spend the most time and energy being is a housekeeper. having a newborn and a two year old tornado is hard. my six year is helpful and fairly easy but the younger two keep me going nonstop. one of my favorite quotes of all time is, "cleaning your house while your kids are young is like shoveling while it is still snowing." it is insane how true this is. hannah often asks what the point of cleaning her room is cause it is gonna just get messy again. just like our house. but i know i have to keep shoveling otherwise we are gonna get snowed in. i have had to realize and accept that the driveway wont be clear of snow for awhile. that this is only a season. but it is a season every experienced mom says i will miss dearly. so amidst the chaos, butt wiping, meltdown adverting, toilet scrubbing, i need to remember to enjoy these sweet angels. after the girls were in bed i gave isaiah his bath. afterward i had him all bundled up on my chest and he was struggling with all his strength to lift his head to gaze up at me. and of course the tears start coming. probably partly cause i am so emotionally, physically exhausted which makes it easier for the water works. but they were also tears of joy. even though this is the hardest job i will ever have , i also know it will also be the most rewarding. these joyful moments i need to cherish and remember when i am feeling so weary. by the way, i am certain the word "weary" must have been coined by a mom with young kids. it is cool how God works. while feeling so pooped earlier this evening a verse came to my head. "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest." just now i had to look up where that was and it is matthew 11:28. i know i have been so weary lately cause i have not had any silence and solitude. words that dont go with mommy. not only does my personality love these things but they are also spiritual disciplines that help your soul grow and connect you with Jesus. recently the time i felt most refreshed was when i went for a walk by myself with ipod listening to worship music. it was so good for my soul to be outdoors, alone and praising God. so it is after a hard night and couple of weeks that i realize that silence and solitude cannot be ignored and that i desperately need them for my sanity and soul.