Lover

So I'm going to get mushy for a minute.

I just love my husband. He really is the best. After almost 6 years of marriage, some people might start to refer to their husbands in less than appealing terms, but not me. I got the cream of the crop ladies.

Last weekend, our family had the chance to be photographed by the ever talented Shelley Foster. She caught some amazing shots of our sweet little guy, Gabriel. But on a whim, she took some photos of just Michael and I. This picture really sums it up of how much I love and adore my husband. And we're past the ooey, gooey, make you want to throw up infatuation. This is deep, folks. Our marriage has definitely had some trials, but the one thing that has remained constant through those trials has been our love for one another.

We're approaching our 6 year anniversary and I can say with confidence, I'm ready to spend 66 more years with this man, if God allows it to be.

Alright, a few paragraphs of gushing is about all I can handle for one day. I love you, babe. Enough said.

The 30 Day Challenge

I get all my best ideas when I'm in the shower, and this day did not disappoint. As I'm trying not to get soap in my eyes, I begin reflecting on the countless times I have failed meeting my healthy living goals. I stink at eating right, I'm horrible at counting calories, and working out is a joke.

But why?

If you were to read my journals, you'd see they're littered with outcries to God to give me the motivation and the will power to make a change that would stick. A change that would push me to get rid of the extra weight having a child can leave behind. A change that would encourage me to choose a carrot over carrot cake.

Then it dawned on me, why don't I make this a game? I have a bit of a competitive nature in me, even if the competition is myself. What if I set up the game to include a prize at the end. I really liked where this was going. And through my routine of lather, rinse, repeat, I came up with this.

The 30 Day Challenge:
For 30 days (5 weeks total - M-F only), the contestant (that's me) will do the following: will get up by 6:00 or 6:30 each morning, have quiet time, and then do 30-60 minutes of physical activity. This activity may include workout DVDs, going for a power walk (Remember, no running aloud. Doctor's orders.), or after child gets up, taking him on a walk in his stroller. If the morning gets thrown off with child waking up early or it's raining, or some other act of God occurs, then working out will be done in the evening after child goes to bed.

This challenge must be met for 30 consecutive days, where upon meeting said challenge, the contestant will win a prize! However, should the contestant miss even one day in the 30 days, the challenge starts over from the beginning.

What do you think? Was I enlightened? Guess we'll just have to see how effective it is in the next 5 weeks. Day one was tonight. So far, so good. I'm following it up by tracking my food intake at Spark People (they have a great app for the iPhone too). It's like Weight Watchers for F-R-E-E. This added portion to the challenge would consist of logging everything I eat. Not just the good things, but everything. Even the bad. It may seem daunting, but I have hope. I have excitement. It's now a real challenge.

Now I have to figure out what the prize will be....hmm....I'm thinking a Coach purse might be in my future.

Ahhhhhh.....

Pass me some expensive cheese and a fine bottle of wine! I just finished up my last test of graduate school and I'm ready to celebrate!

It seems surreal that in just five short weeks I'm going to have a real master's degree in my hot little hands. Reflecting on this with my friend Ali, I realized how big of an accomplishment this is for me. Ali exclaimed, "Wow! You did this, and were also able to be a full time mommy and wife!" You know what? She's right! I DID! I stuck with it. And it was hard. But it was worth it. I've found a career that I absolutely love. It's extremely rewarding and allows me to incorporate God's truth into helping people heal from their hurts.

So now, before I begin "working" for real (aka getting PAID to counsel), I'm going to enjoy this reprieve and bask in the greatness of God blessing me with this moment.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Easter is this weekend. I'm so excited about it! Our church is putting on an original production for Easter called Emmaus. (click on the link to check it out!)

As the weekend is approaching, God is placing something on my heart that I've never experienced before. And it makes me feel WEIRD AND UNCOMFORTABLE. Actually, it's been on my heart for about 3 weeks now, but I've been ignoring it, thinking God will stop pestering me about it if I continue to ignore Him. But it looks as though that's not how He works. You see, I have this burden on my heart to invite our neighbors to church. Now, I know that probably doesn't seem like a big deal. But it is to me. I wouldn't exactly describe myself as evangelical. And, we aren't exactly "neighborly" with our neighbors. Not that there's any bad blood or hard feelings. But, we (meaning Michael and I, as well as the neighbors) haven't really ventured across our little plot of land and just visited. So the idea of showing up on their doorstep, ringing the bell, and saying, "Hey, I know we've never really talked or hung out, but do you want to visit our church this weekend?" is an incredibly daunting thought. It seems almost insane.

Michael and I talked about it in depth last night. Why are we so afraid to ask them to church? We know our church is awesome and very welcoming. And, we're pretty sure they don't know Jesus, which means they've got reserved seats on the 245 to Hellsville. Shouldn't that prompt us to act? Why is reaching out to people near you so difficult? I'll tell you why. Fear of rejection. What if we do ask them and they say no? Then we might be the "weird, Christian neighbors...." But then I remind myself that Christ says to follow Him means to take up our cross and to leave the worldly behind. Am I ashamed of Him? No. Do I believe that He can save us from a life destined for hell? Yes. Do I believe that He is the Savior of the world? Yes. Do I believe that if our neighbors don't hear about what He did for them and accept Him, they will continue down the path to hell? Yes. So what's stopping me?

Fear.

I know that to step out of my little house of comfort and cross the street, cookies and an invitation in hand, could possible change their lives. Why does God stretching me have to feel so uncomfortable?

(Sigh)

So, if you read this before Easter, please pray for me, Michael and our neighbors. Pray for courage, pray for openness, and pray for God to do a work in us. They may reject our idea, and yes, we may end up being labeled as "weird." But then again, they may accept our invitation and come to know Jesus the way we do. As a Savior.

Face Lift

My blog just had much needed update, thanks to my sweet husband. Comments from the peanut gallery?

Gratitude

Two of our dearest friends, Chris and Ali, recently had a four year long prayer answered. This past Friday, they got to bring home their new baby girl, Olivia Nicole. This moment was joyous for a variety of reasons, but for me, the biggest joy was finally getting to see one of my best friends finally get to be a mom.

I know that I take it for granted that I'm a mother some days. Those days when Gabriel tests my limits and my patience is not present. But on Sunday, when we met Ms. Olivia, I was overwhelmed with the goodness of God. Not only did God bless this family with the adoption of sweet Olivia, but God blessed Olivia with a wonderful set of parents. It reminded me that God chose Michael and I to be Gabriel's parents; what an awesome privilege! I'm so excited for my friends to be able to experience all the wonderful firsts of parenthood. I'm excited for this little girl to have the opportunity to grow up with parents that love God with all their hearts. And most of all, I'm excited that she has parents that will introduce her to God's beautiful and precious gift of salvation.

Congratulations Chris and Ali! She's beautiful!

Pause, Jane.

I want to tell you about a woman I know; let's call her Jane. Jane's had a tough day. Her son woke up at 6:00am and has only taken an hour nap today. Which means that laundry is the only thing she's really gotten started today. Although the day has flown by with sweet play time with her son, the evening is approaching along with the witching hour. Jane realizes that only one thing on her list of 10 thing she needed to get done today has been completed. As Jane sighs from exhaustion, she remembers that her hard working husband (we'll call him Bob), will be arriving soon from a long day of work.

Jane begins searching through the pantry, thinking about what she can make for dinner that will be fast and easy while the toddler is attached to her leg, screaming for more milk. While trying to pick out the quick meal and attempting to the toddler's grip on her leg, Jane remember that she had an assignment due to her professor the night before. You see, Jane isn't just a wife and a mother, she's a graduate student. And Jane completely forgot about that stupid assignment. So Jane sticks her kid in front of the TV, tries to whip up some Hamburger Helper and while it's simmering on the stove, she attempts to do her assignment that was due yesterday. But only 3 minutes into her attempt to further her education, Jane's son feels the need to bother her. He begins demanding to be picked up so he can watch Murray on Sesame Street on her computer. While trying to pull up to windows on the computer (one for her son and the other for her assignment), Jane remembers that she has another assignment due by Sunday. But, she has already committed to a couple meetings at church and a lunch date with a friend on Sunday. While these thoughts are going through her head, she realizes her child is glued to the show she's pulled up on the computer, not moving a muscle; completely captivated by the animated pictures and crazy music.

Jane begins to feel horrible, remembering that "the TV should not be a babysitter." Then in the midst of her tears welling up due to feeling like a failure, her sister-in-law calls. Jane answers the phone, leaving her toddler planted at the computer. After diving into what a terrible mom she's become, Jane takes a breath and is about to tell her sister-in-law she should throw in the towel. But before she can say one more word, her beloved sister-in-law says, "STOP."

"What? Why?"

"You need to give yourself a break."

"A break? But how? I'm behind in school, my kid is becoming a television zombie, and---"

"YOU NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!"

Then after giving Jane a slew of reasons why she's a great mother, wife and student, Jane lets out a sigh of relief. Jane's dear old sister-in-law is right. Jane is doing the best she can with what God's given her. Her toddler is not going to "get dumb" by watching a few shows. Jane is not going to suck as a student just because she missed one assignment. Bob is not going to leave her just because they've had Hamburger Helper 2 times this past week. She's doing the best she can. And the people around her know that.

So breath, Jane. Breath in and out, in and out. It's going to be okay. May is only a few months away....