A day in the life...

So, if one has 2 different blogs, is one expected to blog regularly in both????
Or, as in my case, blog regularly in neither :(

So, I've been busy. There's something you don't hear me say very often. Truth be told, I think I've been more distracted than busy. Sometimes I am just too overwhelmed to press on and do the things I'm supposed to be doing. But today is April 15th and my taxes were mailed today. That's good for me. An accomplishment and an item checked off my to do list :)

I'm catching up at work it seems. This could be looked at as a positive or a negative. Yes, I'm catching up, but that's because there is a lack of new work coming in to distract me from the piles all over my desk. I've decided it's ok for awhile since I've been lost in the piles for far too long.

Mr & Mrs is getting ready to launch a new website, thanks to Carol, a phenomenal person who likes to stay in the background helping others and seems to live with a "git er done" attitude! So check us out at MrandMrsOnline.com. Of course feedback is always welcome.

And I think I've found a new favorite author, Jen Hatmaker, author of the Modern Girls Guide to Bible Study. She is refreshing and funny and leaves things in there, that most people would leave out, and those things typically make me laugh, sometimes even out loud :) I think I've found what I'll be teaching in September as well. Thank you Ellisa for the great recommendation, and of course for the willingness to lead the fall class with me.

So that's it for now, feel free to jump over to SoulyHis.Blogspot.com to check out things that make me go hmmm...?

The WorkOut Challenge Rantings

I went to the gym last night after work. At 7:30. I didn't want to go then and I'm pretty confident I will not want to go tonight, even though I turned around this morning to go home and get my gym bag.

I'm really having a hard time getting going with this whole eating right and exercising thing. It's not like I haven't been here before and I knew it was coming, but I still hate it. And I know that the reason I hate it, is the very reason I so desperately need it. But I still hate it.

Mind you I always feel better when I leave than I do when I skip, and I can envision what I want to look like as someone who regularly works out, but still nothing.

Paul says in Romans 7 “I do the things I don’t want to do but the things I want to do those I don’t do." Why? If I want to do something, then why can't I just tell my body to do it and enjoy it? Oh, how I wish I knew. I am comforted by the fact that Paul struggled with some of the same struggles as I do, and yet look at how much he was able to accomplish.

So I guess I just keep doing it, even when I don't quite feel like it. Since the one thing I do know, is that it is impossible for me to achieve my goals from my living room couch!

One of these days I'll wake up and love exercise, I just know it!

So 2 months of....nothing? I think not!

How about 2 months of craziness? I have really felt the need lately to become a structured schedule maker, although it goes against everything I believe in :) I'm just so tired of NOT doing the things I want to do, and instead getting caught up in things which are no benefit to me.

So, although I have many regrets from the past 2 months that I could dwell on, I choose instead to move forward with today. Today was a new day. It started by going to bed by 9:30 (ish) last night. My husband told me that he has fantasies of a wife who actually goes to bed at night the same time he does. I'm working on it, knowing it does so much good for my desire to get up early and have bible study before going to work.

Well, today it worked. It helped that there was snow and Ron decided to stay home giving me an extra 1/2 or so in my morning. So I picked up an Inspirational Study Bible that I had started a few years back in my never ending attempt to read through the bible. Apparently I had stopped at John 12 because that's where my ribbon was today. So John 12 it was. Oh the discoveries! Isn't it amazing how you can read through something so many times and see different details each time? I don't always know what I'm going to do with these details I pick up on, but I sure love picking up on them. I imagine many of them as further studies and/or presentation opportunities and get excited over the opportunity to find out more!

So here are a few of this morning's discoveries:

1. Judas had been stealing from the disciple "fund" all along (vs. 6). It makes me wonder about what Jesus knew when he picked him. Did He know he would be the betrayer? Or did He see good and Judas changed midway through His ministry?

2. The chief priests had made a plot to kill Lazarus as well, since many Jews were following Jesus after His raising Lazarus from the dead (vs. 10). It's interesting to me what lengths people will go to in order to protect their position.

3. When Jesus road in to Bethany (on the donkey) He was speaking about the reason he came and a voice from heaven answered Him. Some of the crowd thought it was thunder (I wonder about the word translation here) and others said an angel had spoken to Him (vs. 28-29). I'm still pondering this discovery....

4. Many of the leaders believed in Him but would not confess it "for fear they would be put out of the synagogue" (vs. 42). They valued their position more than the eternal life Jesus was offering. How we all must be careful to not make the same mistake.

5. He speaks about the judgement for those who hear His words and reject them (vs. 48). I want to start paying close attention to when he talks about judgement and who it involves. I want to be prepared for believers to be judged, but I think it may be a different judgement than those who reject Him will face. Stay tuned on this one...

So, there you have my morning nuggets. May they create a stirring in you to discover more, as they have for me. I can't wait to see what tomorrows discoveries will be, as I continue on to John 13, in an effort to finally read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation!

A new year. A new me?

I was going to start back to blogging by looking back over the past year and all of the pain we as a family experienced. But last night, right before bed, someone posted the serenity prayer on Facebook and after reading it decided I needed to look ahead to what's in store instead of looking back at things I can't change anyway.
Now most people are familiar with the serenity prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." But I wonder how many realize that there is more to it than that. Pastor read the rest of it in a sermon a few weeks back and I remember thinking it would be worth embracing on a daily basis.

...Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen

Wow, if I were to underline the parts of this prayer that hit me, then the whole thing would be underlined! How often have I been upset at not knowing what the future holds when I should just be concentrating on today? And how many times do I ask God to work around my will for things, instead of trusting in His? And as pastor brought up in another sermon, are we living for the dot of our existence or are we living for the line of eternity? Lord help me to remember to always live for the line.

So, while I am not a resolution maker, I still have objectives for 2010:

1. Take a spiritual journey, studying and reading scripture like never before.
2. Grow our Mr. & Mrs. ministry to effectively reach married couples before they are in crisis.
3. Continue to prepare myself for the ministry God has called me to, praying and seeking His ultimate will.
4. Continue into year 2 of our 5 year financial plan. Even though year 1 didn't go at all like we anticipated.
5. Make exercise a normal part of my routine.

I'm sure there is more that I haven't thought of yet, but these are the ones that have been on my mind a lot lately.

So, Lord I pray for the strength, wisdom and courage to carry out your plans in 2010. Living everyday for the line and not for the dot. Amen

A Beautiful Fall Weekend

With the end of September here, we in Michigan know that if it's nice outside you better take advantage of it because there is no guarantee of another nice day, especially if it's a weekend. So, with that in mind we began our first official fall weekend.
Friday night Liz was out with Lexi, so the 3 older A's and I headed down to check out the playground at Angus Elementary. It's been a long time since I've been there and I was impressed by the size of it, as well as the fitness equipment they had for the adults. The kids loved it and just ran around from play area to play area, having a great time yelling and running and not having an adult yell at them for it :)

Andrew loved running around the play areas, and I loved thinking about how well he would sleep that night.....

Amerie just climbed all over everything saying "look at me!"

Holding still for a moment, right before leaving (apparently they were pretty exhausted).

I wish I could [still] do this.....

...and this....

...and of course this.

Saturday was more of a typical Michigan fall day and it threatened rain all day, even though the weather channel said it wouldn't rain until evening. The cloudiness made us feel like not doing anything but instead we decided to make a trip to the Mt. Clemens Farmers Market. I had never been there myself but I had heard about the nice veges at amazing prices :) For dinner I made eggplant parmigiana with the baby eggplant we had purchased using a recipe from WholeFoods.com. Yum-mo!

We bought this giant cauliflower for $2.50! (yes, it fills more than 1/2 the shelf in the fridge)

Saturday night it was back to the playground. After we got home and Liz bathed them all and put them to bed, she was convinced by the way they were all fast asleep within moments of their heads hitting the pillows, that a playground visit should become a nightly ritual. And with the fitness center and track around the play areas, her and I will be able to get in a nice workout, too. I'll keep you posted on how well this works out for us ;)

Sunday after church we made Pumpkin Pancakes. I'm not sure where Liz saw the recipe but we basically just added a small can of pumpkin to a double batch of pancake mix. I also added some cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Boy were those a perfect start to the day!

Then it was off to the cider mill. We decided to try the Franklin Cider Mill for the 1st time. Very charming, very good, and very expensive! We enjoyed our cider and donuts (after waiting in a very long line) and then took a little walk into the village of Franklin and along a walking path which actually ran along 14 Mile Road.

There was a creek with some ducks in it.

Amerie didn't want her picture taken...

Unless she was in charge....

Perfect picture for a perfect day.

So if I can say so myself it was a pretty amazing weekend. God is good!

Morning Devotions

So, I received a Bible a few years ago for Christmas. It was on my list, as I had purchased one for friends the year before. It's the "Knowing Jesus Bible" and has 365 "discoveries" throughout the old and new testament relating the passage to Jesus' life, death and/or resurrection. Very good stuff, and although it's meant to be completed in a year, it will most likely take me significantly longer to complete.

Especially with days like today. I felt like Acts was where I needed to be this morning, and on my way there I ran into Esther, and now feel led to get into that book again as well. It was interesting that the notes mentioned that although God isn't actually mentioned in Esther, his influence is seen throughout the book. I wonder if that's how my life is. Even when I'm not talking about God, is His influence being seen in me? Then I moved onto Acts and discovered the words of Jesus that said "You will be my witnesses" and not "You will witness." So along the same lines, I need to ask myself am I being a Christian or doing Christianity.

Last week during a class a church we were asked that if we died today, what regret would we have? I think for me it's not so much about anticipated regret, as it is wondering if anyone will be suprised to find out I was a Christian. I hope not. I hope that He is seen in me by everyone and not just a select bunch.

Hmm, alot of introspect with my morning coffee today...

Ok, I'm starting....today

Todays the day, September 21st. I've always liked that date, so maybe this is a good thing. One month later than I had proposed my start date and 9 months after I said I should start blogging. Well, never mind about any of that, todays the day.

I think today might be a turning point for me. It was [another] rough weekend. Sometimes I'm just so sad, and so unmotivated, and so overwhelmed. All of these are things that I've experienced before, but typically not ongoing and seemingly never ending.

Today I have joy in my soul. How Great Thou Art is the song that came to mind during my Bible study this morning. And it just keeps remining me that what ever I'm facing, God is way bigger. And if I'm living for Him, then anything I can dream to do for Him, He can dream for me so much bigger. Today, I choose to live in victory. I will not let Satan have this round!

Praising God for who He is and for who He is making me!