Long Time

Okay so it's been a week or so....I do think about blogging more than I actually do. It's been a good week. Highlight personally is that I've been reading my Bible a little more consistently this week. We're reading Psalms so it's easier reading for me. I've also been running more. I've gotten 3 times in this week which is a victory for me. I'd really like to do 4 times a week, I'll get there. I start working next week and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Okay so it's only 2 days a week so I don't want to overexaggerate. It's been so nice NOT to have to be anywhere so the thought of having to be somewhere at a certain time is kind of scary. I'm excited about the opportunity and I know it will be great, it's just getting back into a routine. And then to counter that, I'm really excited about getting back into a routine. This summer has been wonderful but I find myself forgetting what day it is. That could be a sign of getting old too.

I'm consistently amazed at what God's doing at Catalyst and the people. They are awesome. I am so thankful for this opportunity. There are times when I feel overwhelmed. I just have to realize as we grow, I have to pace myself. I think of all of our wonderful people so often but don't call or email or visit as much as I'd like.

I'm trying to be a grace giver and see people through God's eyes. Man, that's hard sometimes. I try to stay far away from legalism and judgment. My personality is rulesy and I want justice. So to be a grace giver and receiver sometimes is hard for me. I truly love people so it's kind of a struggle for me at times. I hope I'm constantly growing and drawing closer to God, that's my desire.

We're having our Back to School Bash and I'm excited for more fun at church. I love that I have fun at church and look forward to it. I pray that God would bring more people to Him through our church:) I love it!!

Update

It's been about a week since I blogged so I need to update....except there's not too much to update. I feel like I'm finally adjusting to being back home. This last weekend was good. I had my orientation for the preschool. I'm excited about being there. It will be fun. We had dinner with some friends at their house and it was really good (the food & fellowship). It makes me feel good with people without kids have us over to their house. Sunday was great, Levi did a really good job. I really feel like he shared from his heart and it moved me. This week has been fine. I've tried to stay home and get caught up on laundry. I'm still not caught up. I know that's not so exciting for an update but that's all I've got:)

Fear

So, I've been thinking about fear today and how it paralyzes people. It's interesting to me that at times we are controlled by fear of what people think instead of being controlled by Christ. It's like we live up to people's expectations or wants instead of checking that with what God would have us do. Another thought I've been pondering today is living two lives, being one way with certain friends and completely different with others. I remember hearing a lot about that as a teenager and honestly even then, I couldn't handle living two lives. I would have slipped up. I am a pretty transparent person, which has it's faults too. I want to be one person. I think it's dangerous to play both sides of the fence and think that's okay. I've learned over the past couple of years that I have to live with the convictions that God has put in my heart and I can't worry about what others think.

Trip

We had a fabulous trip to North Carolina over the weekend. It was nice to get away. It's been a while since we've done that, in fact, I guess Christmas. Our family needs to do that more often, it's so nice just to enjoy each other. We had a wonderful time at the wedding. Levi did an awesome job and it was perfect. It truly was a fairy tale wedding with all the stops, GORGEOUS!! So glad we got to be a part of it. I sang with a friend of the couple and it was good to make that connection. I have really gotten accustomed to singing with Sprang and feel like we just gel. It was a good experience for me. It was WONDERFUL seeing all of our old friends. It was really good for me to have so much fun with them. I really miss them. It felt so natural and just like old times. I'm so thankful for all of the relationships that we had there. There are so many wonderful people that love our family. I'm thankful for that. I even got to go to the Amish store. It was an awesome trip. We are truly blessed!! It was good to get back home. BTW, I think K only had a wet diaper maybe 3 times the WHOLE trip, he did awesome. I'm going to try to potty train him now that he's potty training himself. I feel like I have more to share but need to run. More later!

Tuesday

Tuesdays are really productive days for me, thankfully I have one. I get up early and go to Sbux and then to work out. I get home while the kiddos are still sleeping so I can catch up on me time (email, laundry, straightening, whatever). When I was jogging today I listened to a podcast from Mosaic Church in LA. Erwin McManus rocks. I love listening to him. Today it was on creativity and he taught about David & Goliath but from a total different perspective. He said how all of the soldiers could have done what David did but they didn't. He was creative with his slingshot (noone before had killed a giant that way). They all had the power but noone tapped into. He said that it was like that for them planting their church, they had to get creative. It was so good. He talked about how they met (and still meet) in a club. And how from the outside that appeared glamorous. What outsiders didn't know is that his team met early Sun. and cleaned that bar from all the grossness of the previous night (vomit, urine, and worse). And how they did it because they loved God and they wanted others to feel that love. How cool is that!! I pray that we're doing that at Catalyst.

I think too often we get hung up on doctrine and legalism that we forget we're all just here to love God and then love others. I hate hearing that people dog other churches because of differences that aren't Biblical at all. They're just manmade interpretations. I hope that makes sense. I don't ever want to turn my nose up or be negative about another church, we're all on the same team.

Still

Still a little cranky these days, not sure what my funk is but ready to be out of it. We're taking today easy. The kids naps have been weird or missing and it's good just to rest at home and get some stuff done around here. It's going to be really hot again this week, last week was a nice teaser. We had a nice weekend. We met the Bloomers Sat. night at Braum's for dinner. They're so great and I love the babies. Yesterday was a great day at Catalyst. I was back with the elementary kids and had a lot of fun. I do love kids, I think they keep you young (as long as they're not your own). We had a birthday party at a good friend's house. She is so creative and inspiring. And then the Booth Family came over last night for dinner. I love being with people. I love connecting and hearing their "story." I love Catalyst and what we're about. It truly is just loving people where they're at and living life with people. I love that. Please know that I'm not tooting my own horn (or Levi's for that matter-although he is rocking it). It's Catalyst, the people, who are so incredible. They are a diverse, loving, and accepting group (that's growing-yee haw). I just love going to church and seeing what God's going to do. Love it!! This week is a short week. We're excited about seeing old friends this week. I guess that's it for my update...as random as it may be.

CRANKY Pants!!!

Oh my word, yes I am!! Not sure what is going on with me but I am not in a good mood. I'm just feeling overwhelmed and kind of stressed. I feel like I haven't gotten the house back in order from being gone last week. That always bugs me. I want to stay on top of that. I should have stayed home this week but seemed to have something everyday so far. I'm going to chill at home tomorrow. I took the kids to get haircuts today. Addy was great. Keegan started out great and then decided he didn't want his hair cut. It's shorter but still needs some shaping on the sides. It just frustrated me. My phone that I dropped in the toilet worked for a week and then died last night. I don't to spend a lot of money on a new phone. If anybody has a Verizon phone they can part with, let me know. I just need it to have a dial tone. I went to the Verizon store to see if it was a battery issue (I can get one of those cheap on ebay). Of course, they don't have any of those phones or batteries to test it. The kids are restless and I'm again frustrated b/c they can't fix or tell me what the issue is with my phone. We disconnected our home phone b/c we're going to get a SKYPE phone. We can't get the adapter to sync with our computer or something...Levi hasn't had time to fix it. I emailed and they sent me a solution but it's not working (probably user error on my end). I'm frustrated at that. I'm just frustrated. I was supposed to go to a playdate tomorrow but I canceled. I'm feeling like we need to spend time as a family and just chill. We leave to go out of town next week for a wedding and I want to get caught up on everything and in a better mood before then:)

Do you ever have days/weeks like this?

On a positive note, we're going with the Chatham Family to the Circus tonight. It's one of A's favorite things to do....I've got to improve my mood by then.