Halloween

Just a quick snippet of life today:

This will be the first year for pumpkins in our own house.. even if we're late carving them :) Since we always help at our church's "Harvest" (Halloween) Party, we won't even be home to pass out candy. That's ok though, we enjoy the harvest party immensely. Its safer than trick or treating and just as much fun, plus there's all sorts of games that make it family friendly. There's even a cardboard maze through parts of the building. Last year the youth group made it, this year our young adult group will be making it instead of meeting at our house for our usual Bible study.. fun fun.

Well, that's its for now. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Just Love Them

Its crazy how busy life is. I'm sitting here listening to the rain and wind outside our cozy living room, just thinking. Life/Work/Church/Future/Family/Friends/Home.. Its 11pm and I could fall asleep right now, but I don't want to go to bed. My head is spinning..

I love this craziness. This world is insane, and as much as we all sometimes want to deny it, we can't. I often think about the students in the high school youth group I work with. Some of their lives are unimaginable. So are the lives of many of the middle school students that come to our Jr. High program. It hurts to hear about their lives and wonder what it must be like to live daily in their situations. We don't give some of them enough credit for just living. Coming from families with one (or no) parent(s), raising siblings, taking care of the house, dealing with drugs, gangs, wrong crowds, etc. Todays youth face so much more today than they did just a few years ago. Can you imagine how strong some of these individuals must be? And they're not even technically adults yet. We each face our own battles, so those of us who didn't grow up in situations like theirs have no idea what its like to live in their 'world,' and its hard to bridge that gap because many students from those situations have walls built up around them. Our church recently hired a new youth pastor after searching for over a year. He grew up in the area and really has a heart for students, and people in general. In a conversation with him early this summer, we were talking about how to get through to students like I mentioned above. This is what he said: just love them. 'Just love them?' I thought about this for a very short time before it clicked. Just love them. Thats what Jesus did; He just loved people. Like the woman at the well, and Zacchaeus, and everyone else. We're all drawn to Him because of His love that seems so unimaginable to us. So it made sense that the way to get through to our students is to just love them. They're not going to open up to someone who is judgmental, rude, not genuine, and doesn't seem to care. No, they're going to run to the person who has repeatedly made it know to them that they have value, and that they matter. And I'll tell you, it works. So, needless to say, "just love them" are three of the most valuable words I have ever been given in ministry advice to this day.

Just love them. Three words, just for ministry, right? Wrong. After thinking about loving these students it really made me think about just loving people. At some point in the last few years I made the decision to love people like Jesus did, but it never clicked as much as it did this summer. Lets get real, as adults - or anyone for that matter,  to 'just love them' is harder than it seems. We deal with so many people per day; young, old, smart, challenged, rude, etc., that sometimes we flat out don't want to show them love. We want to be rude just they like were to us, we want them to get paid back for the wrong they did, and on and on. But thats our nature, as humans, and its a daily battle. Loving can be a very hard and conscious choice, but can be easy for some. I'm not one of those people, and I'll be the first to admit it. Loving people isn't always easy, but its one of those things that drives me. Even within my family, its hard. Growing up I fought with my siblings, parents, extended family,.. everyone. I wasn't exactly agreeable. And then I moved out. And I realized how big of a jerk I was. I realized that the love I needed to be showing them should imitate the love of Christ. I still don't succeed in always showing that love to them, my husband, or others, but I can look back and see the progress I've made, and know that God's not finished with me yet. I make a conscious choice to love, and move on. Its one of those one-line prayers we utter, mine being "God help me to just love them" and rely on Him to guide us and grow us into a more loving person. After all, we're all just people trying to live, survive, and figure out where we're supposed to be; so lets cut each other some slack. Give grace, give love.

Just love them. Pure and simple.

Just love them.

Free to Struggle

 If you haven't guessed already, Tenth Avenue North is my favorite band. A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to go see them in concert again, this time a little closer to home, and without it being 95 degrees standing in the sun.. but, we were a lot further away from the stage.

My sister-in-law texted me late on a Monday telling me about the concert that Friday night, and by the next morning five tickets had been bought. Exciting? Very! So we headed down on Friday night to see Tenth Avenue North, Rend Collective, and Audrey Assad. It was a great concert. There was an energy surging through the air, and so much was talked about. Mike Donehey (lead singer from TenthAve) spoke in between songs explaining some of the meanings. The man definitely has a way with words, and a way with conveying God's love in a way people can relate and understand. I think that sometimes we are so used to hearing about God's love only in sermons that we start to just think "yeah, God loves me, I know" but we don't process it, act on it, and really bask in His love. I mean, hey, we are His children. He died for us, knowing that we may reject Him.

He also talked about how many of us have hurts, shame, and so many other things that make us feel far from God. Friends, the fact is, God is never far away. In fact, He's so close we can't even imagine His proximity. He died to forgive the things that we feel shame for. He died to give us life. He died out of love, and that same love is waiting for us to run to Him and ask Him to heal our hurts. He longs for us to come to Him, and He will always be there, never giving up on us, or failing us. Our egos, shame, sin, and so many other things make us feel like we're not good enough, that we we're not worthy to come to Him. But He died for those reasons, so we can come to Him. He's there, and always will be. He loves us. And always will. I pray that you not only believe that, but act on it in a way that gives love back to Him.

The new album is called 'the Struggle', and talks about how we're free to struggle, but we're not struggling to be free. Christ has already set us free. We're free to fail, because we fall into an ocean of grace. What a huge relief. I think so many people are afraid of failing... terrified, of failing. So, they don't act. But we can miss out on so many amazing things if we fear failure and don't do anything. We're not perfect, we're going to fail; but when we fail, it means we tried. God doesn't call us to be idle. Don't fear failing.. fall into an ocean of grace.

Check them out here:  http://tenthavenuenorth.com/home

"Hallelujah we are free to struggle

We're not struggling to be free

Your blood bought and made us children

So children drop your chains and sing"

The Self Worth of Today's Girl

My original intent for tonight was to post about a Tenth Avenue North concert and our small group Bible study, but I saw this quote on Facebook and had to give my own two cents:

Girls, why is it okay to call ourselves fat, ugly, and dumb, but if we admit to being smart, funny, or pretty we're conceited? Stop selling yourselves short. Being a "dumb slut" isn't endearing, or cute. What's cute is a girl who knows her worth. Can we stop ripping ourselves down for the sake of seeming humble? There's a difference between being humble and hating yourself.

 How well do you think this sums up many girls/young ladies/women today? I think it sums up their thoughts so well that many wouldn't admit to it. The thing is, that its true. An acquaintance from high school posted this. She grew up a PK, is going to a secular college, and is a fantastic young woman. I feel like her saying this and it being spread around could give so many girls the guts to start believing in themselves instead of cutting themselves down.

Thinking that girls today don't think these things about themselves and what this girl posted is out of line? You're wrong. Some girls know their worth, others believe what society has engrained into them. The girls that believe what society has engrained into them believe what the above quote is saying. In todays world, I'll be the first young adult to tell you that girls demean themselves in order to be seen as humble, but if we admit the good things about ourselves we are accused of being conceited. Thats how it is. Crazy? Ridiculous? Absolutely. Girls are taught to have hardly any self worth, and yet people wonder why eating disorders, rates of suicide, mental conditions, etc., are running at a high.

How can we help? Encourage girls around us. Let them know that it is o.k. to acknowledge their strong points and low points, but dwelling on either could pose a problem. We are each created so beautifully and uniquely that we shouldn't have anything bad to say against another. We are all different. That means we will all look different, think different, and have different qualities; good or bad. That's who we are; who God created us to be. Regardless if you believe in God or not, we are all worth more than we acknowledge, and that is a problem. Will you help me start a trend of treating others with worth to help turn some of these negative thoughts around?

Whats Up

This is how quite a fews go for me: rise'n'shine, work, home, walk, dinner, bed. This is the sight I see when we go for a walk.. head on is the channel going to Lake Michigan; passing through two marinas, and one that would go behind the onlooker. Beautiful, any day and any time.

Two Sundays ago, Caleb took me for a drive to show me where he had worked for a few days, some pumpkin patches, and miles and miles of turbines. I had never been this close to them before, so I couldn't help but take some pictures. In our corn fields they look like giants standing watch over their territory. They go for miles..

 

Look at the first picture of this post one more time. The peninsula the next few pictures are taken at, is where the left side of the first picture is.. it's only a couple hundred yards from one side to the other, but if you wanted to travel from one side to the other by anything other than boat, you have to drive south for about five minutes, turn west another five, and then go north yet another five minutes to be on that peninsula. However, the view is completely worth it. We drove here on our way back from looking at the turbines because it's gorgeous, and it's the only beach nearby where dogs are allowed.

Honey loves all the trails up and down the dunes :) She kept running up and down them and would run ahead a little bit them turn around and look at us as if to say; "Come on, hurry up! There's so much to see!" 

Sizzle steaks, with acorn squash and sauteed onions and peppers. I love to cook :) I have a lot of fun doing it... thankfully, ..because we have a few big eaters here. I can't imagine the size of the meals I'll have to make if we have a few teenage boys around someday though :0 yikes.

Our Honey is terrified of the mower (which I think is both good and bad..), so when Caleb put her up on his seat, it took all the she had to not jump down. She was shaking and wiggling, and it was so cute. She was ok after a while though.. considering it wasn't on or moving.

The fire dept. did a practice burn last Saturday.. except practically the whole town didn't think it was a practice burn. From the highway, it looked like something rather large was burning; huge billows of this thick black smoke were rolling high and over the highway. It made quite the spectacle, and many gawkers couldn't help but follow their curiosity to the end of the road to see what was happening.

This is  the latest project in our house: getting one more room done. The room is now completely livable. Caleb made the frame for the bed and the guys helped bring it upstairs on Tuesday, and there are now shades, a lamp, a complete vanity, and dresser all in place. Ready to go for whoever comes to visit! :)

And, finally, this is what I saw yesterday on our walk. Its just a few hundred yards up the walkway from the first picture of this post. The trees in the distance are the peninsula I talked about... and are absolutely stunning right now. Not to mention, it was misty/foggy yesterday, so it looked even more cool. I love this sight.

Well, thats it for now. Sorry the formatting is crazy, I can't get it to go how I wanted.. and its driving me nuts so I'm just going to leave it be :) Sometimes its better that way.

Blessed is He..

It seems like forever since I've been on here. For the last two weeks, every night I have thought, "I should post, I have so much to say, we've been doing so much!" But time passes me by and here I am, over two weeks later, with more to say than I can write. So, I'll write whats on my mind, and then fill you in on the past two weeks in a continuation or another post.

This morning started with sleeping in, Jesus, coffee, and a cuddly puppy. Yes, I actually have a day off! (imagine that..). So, before tacking a to-do list, I sat down to spend some time with my Maker and see what He had to say to me through His word. I was in Psalm 83 and 84 today, and what hit me was from chapter 84. Here's the whole thing (NIV):

How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.^[c]

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield,^[e] O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.

¹²     

Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Now, this Psalm may seem familiar, as the song 'Better Is One Day' starts out with the first verse of this Psalm. So lets talk.. first, what is the interpretation of "dwelling place." Some might ask what that is. A different version I have calls the dwelling a tabernacle.  In the footnotes of my Bible, I'm told that the temple worship center was special in the OT because it allowed individuals to come into the presence of God. Think about it this way; "How lovely is Your [presence], Lord Almighty" That seems to be easier understood than dwelling place. But the writer, Asaph, is calling attention to how wonderful it is to be in God's presence, and I couldn't agree more.

Next, the word 'blessed' is used three times in this Psalm (verses 4, 5, and 12), and is describing the happiness of those who take refuge and trust in God. "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house... Blessed are those whose strength is in You... Blessed in the one who trusts in You" Replace blessed with happy/content. What do you think? I've found that taking refuge in God and truly searching out His heart for satisfaction gives a happiness nothing else can give. He is the giver of life, our deliverer, our rock, our hiding place, ..and yet so many times we look to things of this world like money, relationships, possessions, etc. to make us happy. We're looking in the wrong places for happiness, friends. "Blessed is the one who trusts in [Him] (v. 12).