Back from Texas

Silas and I had a wonderful time in Texas! I have so much to write and as usual, little time. This week is quite full with meetings, errands, laundry and ball games. Oh, and a concert! That is right, I am going to a concert this week to see Bon Jovi and Daughtry. It should be lots of fun. But I could not let another day go by without a small recap of our trip! So here are the highlights (and maybe some lowlights!) from our 5 days away.

* Our flight was delayed an hour! Keeping an 18 month old entertained for a 2 hour plane ride and one hour check in process is hard enough, add an extra hour and I think they just might have been testing my sanity! Silas did great and even fell asleep on landing!
* It was wonderful to see Christy and her daughter Olivia waiting on us in the baggage claim area. Tears filled my eyes when I saw them. They are two of the most precious people in my life!
* I can’t forget to tell you that while we were outside, Silas managed to get inside and lock the door! Thankfully, Christy’s husband, Brian, was able to get in through a window!
*Christy and I went out for dessert and coffee one night while the children were in bed. It was so fun to learn more about each other. I walked away from that night encouraged, challenged and renewed.
*I had the chance to visit her church. They are a start up church and it was fun to see the foundation and community they are building there. The message was great (and being that it was live was quite a difference!) and I walked away with some questions for my heart! I also realized that I loved my church even more and I could not wait to go back!
*I had the opportunity to interact with the entire family. Brian is an amazing man and I am thankful the Lord brought him into Christy’s life. He is really the best person for her and it was great to visit with all of them.

As I said, this week is busy but I will be back on and writing often….when I can!

Randomness

I had a friend do this survey recently and I thought it was a fun get to know you kind of thing. So if you don’t know me already, here are some random things about me. What about you?

A) Four places that I go to over and over :
Church
Kroger
Boy’s Schools
Sonic

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Christy
Brandi
Mom
Heath

C) My favorite places to eat:
Carrabas
US Border Cantina
Anywhere with my grandparents
Houseblend Coffee

D) Four places I would rather be right now :
I am happy here but I guess my wish of places to visit would be:
South America
England
Hawaii
Colorado in Winter to ski

E) Four TV shows I watch all the time :
Top Chef
Project Runway (when it is on)
One Tree Hill
American Idol

As you read this

I am either on a plane bound for Texas or I am in Texas already! Silas and I left our house early this morning for this trip. I am so excited. Silas has no clue what is going on, of course. We are going to visit my best friend, Christy. Christy and I met when we were five years old. We lived 2 houses apart. She moved to Arkansas after our freshman year and then to Texas about 3 years ago. I am still amazed that our friendship withstood time. Christy was a huge part of my coming to Christ. I grew up in a Christian house and went to church weekly, but there was something huge about having my friend encourage me to have a relationship with Christ. She would always call me out on my behavior that was not Christ like. At the time, I had to tell you, I hated it. But looking back, it is what kept me out of a lot of trouble, too. Her family was my second family and to this day, I still think of them as that.
I will still have some posts up (thanks to post timestamps!) and I will be back next week…with tons of stories I am sure!

Linking up

It seems like more and more people are blogging these days! My friend Carmen got me into it and I fell in love with the blog world. It has been exciting to ‘meet’ so many people from my blog! Now, more of my friends are blogging! And let me tell you, it can get to be a challenge to keep up with all that reading! Thankfully, there is Google Reader!

Jenni – Jenni is the Executive Director at Crosspoint. Let me just tell you, Jenni’s heart and talents are amazing! She is a true leader. Her blog is full of personal highlights (she is running a 1/2 marathon next weekend) to leadership things she has learned over the years!

Pete – Pete is the Senior Pastor at Crosspoint. Heath and I are fortunate enough to no just call him our pastor but to call his family our friends. I often tell myself that if his wife can be a pastor’s wife ans still raise three little guys, I can do it too! Pete’s humor and thoughts are always enjoyed.
Eve – She only posts once a week but every time she does, it is my first read that day! Eve is probably to first person to take a serious risk on me in leadership. I had the opportunity to shadow her and learn from her. She is super talented and her thoughts are always things that make me think.

What blogs are you reading? How do you keep up with them?

Eye opening

A couple nights ago, I had the privilege of attending a new members class for our church campus. I say privilege, because since we were members of the main campus, we have not attended this class. It was amazing to me to hear from these men and women about how Crosspoint has changed things in their lives. A simple postcard or even a call prompted them to walk in the doors of a school and give this church a chance. Then, they sit in this living room and make a decision to join the church.
I shared with Jenni that night, that sometimes I get numb to the impact Crosspoint, or any church, has on people because I am right in the middle of it. I think I am used to having Sundays where I feel challenged and spiritually fed and I forget that there are people who either aren’t going to church or who are and still don’t walk away feeling encouraged. It was almost like a new fire was lit in my heart that night. I realized that people don’t just need church, they need something that speaks to them. They don’t need a pastor who is perfect, they need a pastor who is willing to be honest. It was wonderful to share just a few moments of their week with them.

99 Balloons

If you are prone to cry easily, I beg you, grab a Kleenex. You will need it.

I wrote yesterday that I saw a video at church. I want you to watch it first, then I will tell you how it impacted me.

I want to tell you I did not cry. I had tears in my eyes but I found myself in a sense of awe rather than sadness. There was something beautiful about a mom and dad that found themselves in love with a child they knew would not live the perceived common life. There was a simple joy that found it’s way into the father’s words. I am not saying it was always happiness but you could feel peace. I was mesmerized by a wife who became a hero to her husband as she cared for their son. I found myself in awe of how God created this family full of unconditional love. I also found myself humbled. Sometimes I think of my first year with Silas and the issues we went through with him. In that moment, it seemed overwhelming. Yet, I see this couple and I am reminded that we have been blessed…three times! We have three wonderful healthy and active little boys. Yes, they are loud. Sure, our schedules can be busy. But, they are miracles.
Did you hear him when he said “an undeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it and DNA that placed faulty information in to each and every cell in your body could not stop God from revealing himself through a child that never uttered a word”. Stop, read that again. I move and talk. I am almost 27 years old and I wonder, how has God revealed himself through me? Am I a living example of Christ? I wonder, how many times do I walk through life focused on me or on my circumstances. Honestly, it is much more than I would like to admit.
I never met Eliot, or his family. Yet, whether they will ever know it, they have impacted me in a way that words can not explain. They have challenged my heart as a mom but they have also caused me to strive to be more like Christ every moment! To the Mooney family, thank you for the bravery to share your story.

What does your faith look like?

This past Sunday was amazing. We saw a video (which I plan to link to tomorrow) which created awe, thankfulness and humility in me. The base of the message (or at least what I got from it) was what happens when your faith is wrapped around a dream, but the dream does not come true? The illustration was plastic wrap around a beach ball. When the beach ball is popped and the air exits, what happens to the wrap? It folds, crumples, it is no longer what you thought. The illustration was great. Faith can be fragile and protective all at the same time. At first, I have to tell you that I felt removed from the message. I have never had a dream that didn’t come true, yet. Then I realized, it wasn’t about dreams, sometimes it was about perceptions or ideas. I thought about days when my ‘ball’ was popped. It could have been the day my best friend moved away. Possibly it was the time I was telling my parents I would be going straight to work rather than college. It might have been the time I heard my mom had cancer, or the time the doctor said it had returned. I am sure it popped as I lay in the bed crying that Silas was not ready to come into the world as the nurse tried to stop my pre-term labor. It might just have been the day I found out I was pregnant when we had no insurance or place for a child in our apartment. There have more times than I can count that my ball was blown away and I felt like my faith was truly the size of a mustard seed. The plastic wrap gone, torn to shreds and blown every which way by the wind. I would love to tell you that I fell into the arms of my Father in Heaven and found peace. And while that is true, it was a journey to get there at times. I can remember literally screaming on the phone while my mom was sick. I can remember shaking with fear in a hospital bed. I can remember laying in my husband’s arms as be both cried trying to figure out how to be parents to our first unborn child. In those moments, my faith seemed to barely exist. Yet, looking back, I can’t imagine my faith growing more than those times. I learned that God was our provider, not our paychecks. I learned God formed my children and held them tenderly in His hands before I ever did. I learned He was the ultimate physician. My faith is still shaky at times. I am sure there I are times I seem sure of my faith in Christ, but I know better, my friends know better too. I have learned that my ball may pop, but this time, my faith isn’t around that ball. It is tied to my Saviour. And when I feel weak, he uses it to wrap me in His arms.

Observing HIS Body

Yesterday was amazing! Actually, this weekend has been pretty good. We spent about 4 hours at the ballpark Saturday watching both Isaiah and Joel play t-ball. Then my parents took the boys for the night and Heath and I went out together. We had a great time just talking and eating as just us. It is rare we have time without the boys so we try to enjoy it.

This morning I got up as usual for church (minus three little guys). As I walked in the doors I noticed new people there setting up. While I don’t see everyone all the time, it was a great reminder of how it takes so many people to make a church in a school come together. I also had the opportunity to get into service today. Since taking the interim position at church, I had not had a chance to hear the new series, Plan B. I am telling you, this morning was awesome! I plan to write more this week because it is early and we still have to get to school….and I really want to share what I learned.

After church, we were tearing down as normal. As I carried things outside, I noticed there was a light rain. However, as I walked further outside, I realized it was a rain and sleet mix. And there are a group of guys standing in that mix packing up all the things from inside. And you know what, they were smiling! I am always amazed at this group of men who give up a portion of their day to pack up everything. Today, they did it in cold and rain and were smiling. It is just a great example to me of how we all have different strengths. I left today thankful for a body of believers that uses their strengths to be the body of Christ.

More tomorrow….or maybe today!

How far I have come

Tonight we are staying home! It is our first night home since Saturday night. I have thought about if I had to say that statement 10 years ago, it would have sounded something like “I have not been home since Saturday night last month”. Time has truly changed me. I think back 10 years ago and the thought of staying home was repulsive to me. Now, the idea of staying home is a gift. Somehow I have learned the value of down time. Recently, I have started thinking back to who I was as a person 10 years ago. I certainly never saw myself as a mom of three and married for almost 8 years! However, I also never saw how my heart would change. I was much more exclusive back then. I was in my own little circle and I was carefree and careless. I cared mostly about me, my feelings and my desires. If you got hurt or run over in the process, that was too bad. As I have thought about that time in my life, I have realized I was simply not living out the love of Christ. The fact is, I am still pretty set on my goals. I tend to be focused but I do it much more compassionately. I think the reason I was exclusive with friends came from insecurities and the lack of trust. The fact is, I still feel insecure most days and it is hard for me to branch out and trust people with my life. However, I am making more of an effort to let people into my life, share my life with them. I also remember that God has given me strengths (and thankfully allows me to have weaknesses) and I can operate with those strengths in confidence. Do you ever think back about how you have changed? 

The road to busyness

Honestly, I can not even remember the last time I posted! It actually pains me not to write more frequently on this blog! However, we have entered into a busy season in life right now. I have thought about how to express the busyness without sounding like I am complaining. As tired as I am some days, I am so thankful for this time in our life. Both Isaiah and Joel are playing t-ball…on separate teams. I think the ball park might just become our second home! They both are enjoying it. Isaiah had his first game last night and his team won. He came home so excited! Joel is doing well and thinks that hitting the ball is one the best things ever.

I have recently stepped into an interim position at church. For the next 5 weeks I am serving as the Children’s Director. Honestly, most days I don’t think I am well equipped for it. There are a couple women serving with me who are amazing. I love seeing their strengths abound…especially in my weak areas.

Add to all of that busyness, I am flying out of town a week from tomorrow. I am going to see my best friend since I was 5. I am taking Silas with me but Heath is keeping the other boys.

Speaking of Heath…he is simply amazing! I really can not express how great he is with the boys. While serving in this interim positions, he is serving as ‘dad and mom’.  I still leave early. He gets them fed, bathed and dressed. I am always amazed that he walks in the door for church not just on time, but early and with a smile. He now brings them home, prepares and feeds lunch and gets them down for naps. I get home around 130 in the afternoon. He truly is a rock star dad!

I hope to be posting more soon. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head that I need to get out!