February in Review

(This 3x per week thing is not working out so well.)

• Matt gave up "screens" for the month, and within 5 days, because God is just that amazing, he had a new job. Related? Hard to say, but choosing to believe so.
• Celebrated Valentine's Day simply - dinner out the weekend before, and then babysitting for friends so they could enjoy the night.
• Won an ipod touch at a meeting i didn't even want to go to...
• Matt started his new job, and is working 6 days a week for a season.
• Launched a third service at Creekside.
  
• Decided to adopt a dog... adoption pending.
• Went to Leavenworth with mom & family. They rented a cabin for the weekend and we played hard - sledding and snow-shoeing.

Judging by the length of the list, one might think it wasn't much of a month, but boy was it! More later...

30 things before i turn 30

Just before I turned 25, I made a list of 25 things to do in my 25th year.

(For the nitpicky and detail-oriented, it would've technically been my 26th year, since you turn an age at the end of a year of life, not the other way around, but whatever.)

I was marginally successful. There were a few things that lost priority for various reasons (like, instead of a new camera, we bought a house), and others that just became impossible, and still others that I lost interest in. And that's okay. By the end of the year, I'd accomplished about 14 of them, and made very good attempts at 3-4 others. Not bad, especially considering some of them were mighty ambitious and even expensive.

Now, I'm quickly approaching 30 - two years away - and instead of waiting until next year to tackle a list of 30 things, I thought to myself, "Self, why not spread that list out over the course of two years?"

The list is not yet complete - and I'm giving myself permission to not complete it now. Part of what killed enthusiasm on my 25 Things list was that some of those things were hair-brained ideas, and if I have 100 ideas a minute, only 3 of them will last more than 5 minutes...

Without further ado, here it is - my list of 11 (going on 30) things to do before I turn 30:

1. Grow tomatoes. Successfully.
   
2. Pay off our debt.
   
3. Go on a road trip.
   
4. Finish a quilt!
   
5. Go on a cruise.
   
6. Make a dress for "Dress A Girl Around the World"
   
7. Finish Bible school. (Heh. This was on my list of 25 Things as well.)
   
8. Be ordained.
   
9. Learn to crochet.
   
10. Host a tea party.
    
11. Take my nieces to the Imagine Children's Museum (I know that this sounds like I'm doing it for them, but really, I've wanted to go there forever, and they're my excuse!)
    

Will add more later, for sure.

birthday musings (or, holy cow, i'm 28!?)

1. lisa cut my hair yesterday and was kind enough to point out a gray hair.
2. allie and i had brunch with my mom, then shopped, and finished off the day with afternoon tea at the Queen Mary.
3. matt and i saw Grease at the Paramount last night, preceded by dinner at Cheesecake Factory. faaaantastic all around.
4. it hasn't arrived yet, but last night at dinner, matt told me what my gift was: a new wedding ring. YAY!!! so wasn't expecting that. he did good.
5. showed up at mom's this morning before brunch to find a big, assuming box, freshly wrapped with my name on it. she insisted i open it. i was not expecting a new sewing machine. WOW! just when i thought i couldn't be more spoiled this birthday!
6. i've had about 50 comments to my facebook wall. what lovely people i know!
7. i keep thinking "when my mom turned 28, she had a 6 year old." not really sure how i feel about that.
8. there's still more celebrating to come.
9. technically, it's the "end" of my 28th year - i've been alive for 28 whole years. which means this is the start of my 29th year. oh my. let's not linger on that.
10. this might be the first year i actually have felt a little older... more grown up at least. ;)

saturday's child works hard for a living...

"Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay."
-Mother Goose

observations:

1. only one in seven children must work hard for a living!? hmph. good timing, mom.
2. i was born on a saturday, and this year, my birthday falls on a saturday.
2a. i was born exactly 1,456 weeks ago, to the DAY.
2b. this seems worthy of special celebration.
2b, i. when i told my mother this, she just rolled her eyes.
2b, ii. i'm not sure what this special celebration would entail, but i'm sure i'll think of something.

two weeks

i'm reflecting today on how suddenly life can change. more than once, in a period of, let's say, two weeks, my life has changed completely.

january 1st brought my 4-year anniversary at Creekside Church. i remember the day i was told i was being considered for the position. just two weeks before, i was wondering where life was going, when we'd have a family, when i could "move on" to the next stage of life. and two weeks after that conversation, i was being offered a ministry position and entering completely new territory. it happened again 15 months later, when i was brought on staff full time. a year after that, we moved into our new campus, and again, over what seemed like a period of two weeks, life shifted.

it makes me wonder what might change completely in the next two weeks, and it certainly reminds me to savor now my place, because it could all be very different, very soon.

2011 - One little word...

(Read more about the "One Little Word" movement here.)

Content.

This is my one little word, my focus, for 2011.

As long as I can remember, I have been in a hurry for progress. As a child, I was in a hurry to grow up. As a teenager, I was in a hurry to move out on my own (so much so that I skipped the typical college experience in order to work full time to support myself.) As a young adult, I was in a hurry to get married. As a young married, I was in a hurry to buy a house, have children, etc. Newly into part-time ministry, I was in a hurry for a full-time position. Having purchased a fixer-upper home, I was in a hurry to fix it up. In fall, I'm ready for winter. In winter, I'm ready for spring. In spring, I'm ready for summer. In summer, I'm ready for fall... I've always desired the next stage of life, rarely stopping to enjoy my current season.

Thankfully, circumstances have often prevented me from moving at my desired pace. If we had children early on, our marriage might not have survived it. If we had gotten married on our own time-line, instead of waiting another year when our parents asked us to, we might not have survived that. This, to me, is evidence of God's grace and God's hand in my life - ushering that which needs to be ushered, and holding back those things that I think I want, but for which I am not prepared to handle.

So in 2011, I will focus on simply being content.

Do I want to begin our family? Oh sure. That's a given. But instead of feeling discontent with my place in life, I will choose to be content with the season in which God has placed me, and I will use it to bless others.

When ministry gets challenging, do I sometimes dream about being a housewife? Yes. But let's face it, I'd go crazy, and so instead of being restless, I will thank God that He has wired me to need some busyness in my life and to function well under stress.

Do I wish that my house was perfect, finished (and perhaps 400 sq. ft. larger)? Often... But instead of feeling dissatisfied, I will choose to see that we can even own a house on our modest income as a blessing and will do my best to make it a haven for my husband and those we love.

Contentment.

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30

"Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." 1 Timothy 6:6

Happy New Year! May you find contentment in your own season.

2010 In Review...

January

• Celebrated my 27th birthday with a whole week of fun. Three syllables. Sounds so much older than two.

February

• Welcomed our nephew, Kole, into the world.
• Took the first course in training for foster/adoption. Not sure if this will lead anywhere, but it may, eventually and in God's time.
• Sold a bunch of stuff on craigslist. Yay!
• My aunt, JoDee, visited from Turkey.

March

• Took a few key leaders on our team to the NW Ministry Conference - my favorite conference of the year!

April

• Worked together with MLT businesses for the first MLT Egg Hunt. Fun & simple way to serve our community!
• Visited the Tulip Fields with Marisa & the girls.
• Took Matt's mom on a "Mother's Day Picnic" with Marisa & the girls at Ballard Locks.

May

• Joined the camp leadership team to help with planning games.

June

• Surprised my dad to celebrate his 50th birthday.

July

• Had our first sleep-over visit with the girls! Crafts and baking!
• Spent the 4th of July at the Lakehouse with the family.
• Took 14 kids to summer camp.
• Took a trip in the Kayak with mom down the Skagit River from Sedro Wooley to Mount Vernon.

August

• Celebrated 6 years of marriage.
• Said goodbye to my kitty, Fugue, after a long battle with a sinus issue that had turned cancerous.

September

• Celebrate with our friends Michael & Lani as they welcomed their first, Gideon, into the world.
• Built & launched "Club56" - a new way to minister to our 5th & 6th graders.
• Began my first consulting relationship with another church looking to grow their Children's Ministry.

October

• Joined a book club.
• Had the girls over to spend the night.
• Worked with MLT area businesses to host a Trunk 'r Treat.

November

• Finished my 3rd class for this year, meeting my school goal! 3 more to go!
• Crazy snowstorm the week of Thanksgiving cancelled my first attempt at hosting the big dinner! Went to mom's instead - went sledding for the first time AND played golf in the snow!

December

• Learned that my aunt, JoDee & her husband, Paul, will be moving "home" - well, to the west coast at least, to California. Good enough for me!
• Babysat Gideon for the first time. Man, he's cute, and now my confidence with babies is so much stronger!
• Rearranged our pre-K&K classrooms to accommodate our awesome growth.
  
• Flu knocked me out 4 days before Christmas, putting me 2 days behind in preparations for just about anything...
• Had the girls for three days, two nights. Swimming, Christmas lights, crafts, baking, cooking, playing!
• Had planned a special New Year's Eve party for my mom's 50th birthday, but the Worst Migraine Ever caused her to call it off yesterday. Instead, we drove north and met them near the Lakehouse for dinner.
• Rang in the New Year with Michael, Lani & Gideon.
  

Reverb10 - Prompt28

December 28 – Achieve. What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down... (More at Reverb10.com)

I have an annual routine of planning goals for the coming year each December. Generally, I choose about 6 goals - usually 3 professional and 3 personal. While I did choose 6 this year, one stands out above the rest as a tad hairy and audacious... It's do-able for sure, it just feels hairy and audacious because it's been on my plate for nearly 10 years.

This year, I will complete my remaining 3 Bible classes and apply for ordination.

I received my credentials to preach a little more than two years ago, but I began the three year program shortly after I turned 18. And I joke about how I "never finish anything". It's time to finish this.

I think I'll feel relieved. If we'd had kids before I finished this, I might never finish it. I think I'll feel proud of myself - not in a haughty way, but simply pleased that I accomplished something. I know I'll feel "done". I've wanted that feeling - to be done - for years. I'm ready for it.

Reverb10 - Prompt 27

December 27 – Ordinary Joy. Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year? (More at Reverb10.com)

In my line of "work", it's a fairly common occurrence, baptism. I suppose you could call it ordinary. And yet, no baptism is ordinary. Each is different - representing a different story, and more importantly, the soul of a different child of God.

Baptism becomes particularly special to me when it's one of "my own" kids in the tank - a child I've watched grow up in our church, whose eyes I've seen light up at the realization of God's goodness, whom I've had the pleasure of pastoring, loving and praying over.

In July, Shailyn was baptized. I didn't know her quite as well as I know many, as her family had just begun attending our church several months earlier. But I could see in her a real love for Jesus, and she had a story. As she shared with the church, bravely and thoughtfully, why she was choosing to follow Jesus, I cried as I thought to myself "this is why I do it."

Reverb10 - Prompt 14

December 14 – Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? (More at Reverb10.com)

You know what they say about how you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family? It's true about your spouse too. You can pick your spouse, but you can't pick is family. They're a package deal.

I have to admit that, with all the in-law jokes and stereotypes, I really didn't do too badly in this department. After all, I got a sister that I never had, who has given us two beautiful nieces. And this year, I've really come to appreciate my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law is a deeply caring person, and I know she labors in prayer for us. She has known hurt in her life, and she deeply desires to spare her children from the painful road that she has walked. She looks for ways to help us, and often blesses us at the most needed times. She's always glad to see us, she never makes us feel guilty for not visiting more (we can do that ourselves!), and she'll put down anything to talk to us. She is dedicated, for sure, and I so appreciate her love and counsel.