Strength for Today, and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

I was a part of a ladies conference this weekend called Empower 2012: Treasured.  I would LOVE to write a post all about it, but I have no pictures from the event.  Since planning for this event consumed my life for the better part of the last few weeks, a post will be coming... just not until I can get some pictures from a beautiful pregnant friend of mine named Ria :)  Or anyone else who will post some to facebook... I don't discriminate, I just need pictures!

The title to this post is from an old hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness.  I've sang this song so many times, but this weekend during the conference the phrase "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow" really stood out to me.  

Since my last blog post at the end of October a few things have changed in my life.  Things like my kids growing bigger, smarter, cuter... my husband's return date coming sooner... and my longing for 80 degrees and sunshine becoming stronger have been the usual, expected changes.

But then there were a few unexpected changes as well.  You've probably had some too... you know, the ones you don't plan for.  The ones you don't see coming.  At the top of my list of unexpected changes is the announcement that my Pastor of 16 years was going to be leaving his role as our pastor to go be the "Executive Director of International Ministries" for Converge Worldwide.  

I was beyond shocked when I heard the news.  I mean, talk about unexpected change!  Pastor Ivan has been my only pastor, ever!  I grew up being best friends with his daughter, he was practically my second dad for a big portion of my life.  I never saw this coming... and neither did he.

As a person who likes change, I can see that this is super exciting for both our church and Ivan and his family.  I know that God has a plan for his ministry as a big-shot director, and I know that God has a plan for my church, Edinbrook. 

That hardly makes it any easier to say goodbye.

Today was Ivan's last day as our pastor. As we commissioned him to his new position, from the Pastor of our Edinbrook to the Director of International Ministries I remembered that we are given strength for today, and a bright hope for tomorrow.

For Edinbrook, we have strength in this time of uncertainty, and hope that our God who started a good work in our church will be faithful to complete it. (Philippians 1:6) 

Today God offers strength 

• in the often tiring and tedious job you have as a parent
• while you pray for your friend/child/parent/sibling that is far from God
• while you are getting through the work day at a job that you only have to pay the bills
• as you wait for a resume to catch an employer's eye
• in the pain and hardship of this life

And the bright hope that

• your dedication, love, and reliance on the Him will amount to a young life that is sold out to Christ. (Proverbs 22:6)
• He is able to melt the heart of stone. (Ezekiel 11:19)
• His purpose for your life is better than you can ask for, think, or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
• He will provide. (2nd Corinthians 9:8)
• He has overcome this world. (John 16:33)

Will you allow His strength to work in your life today and trust Him for a better tomorrow? God is to be trusted!  His word never fails!

I want to end this blog post with a short video. Shane, is the 17 year old son of my pastor who will be leaving his friends, school, band, and church behind to follow his parents in this ministry.  He wrote a short song with a clear, simple message that I am thankful to be reminded of.

A Photo Collage of My Life the Past Few Weeks

*** WARNING ***

A photo blog post sans witty commentary is all you will get in this post.

It's going to be really boring.

Similar to the title.

I just wanted to get some pictures up for the hubs.  

Who, by the way, just got promoted to Sergeant!  

On to the Pictures...

Women of Faith

Anoka's Halloween Parade

Peyton Being Unnaturally Adorable

Halloween Harvest Fest at Church 2012

<3 <3 <3

A Day To Just 'Be"

Thursday has become my one day of the "work week" that has nothing planned, and I am so thankful for that this week. It's been an unusually crazy week so far, and I don't see the craziness letting up any time soon.  And that's ok.  We're just taking things one day at a time.

Tomorrow the kids and I will be focused on having fun and not worrying about the time, or getting out the door! Ohh man, I am looking forward to it :)

I'll be posting pictures of my rapidly growing kiddos... because it's been a long time!  Something for you to look forward to :)

For now I'm hoping that my tired-ness has still allowed for some sort of comprehensive blog writing to have been done ... I might regret this post in the morning.  Though, regret may be a common feeling around these parts after you read my midnight-brain posts...

Ok, I'm going to bed now.

Goodnight friends <3

NLC Part 3

Andy Stanley
This was one of my favorite sermons of the day.  Andy totally spoke my heart and said in a clear and well-thought-out way what I have been thinking and tripping over for a while now.


Here are a few of his thoughts in my own words...


People like to make points.  Christians so often have to be "right" when talking with non-Christians because we know that we're right.  And though that may not always lead non-Christians to have a bad taste in their mouths toward Christians... a better way to be an  influence in our world is to just be an example.  Hold your tongue sometimes... don't make a point just to make a point!

• It's always easier to make a point than to make a difference... you may have to forgo the point in order to make the difference

aaaaand

• Don't judge non-Christians for acting like non-Christians.

...Do I have any business judging those who are outside the Christian faith? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? God will judge those who are outside...

1 Corinthians 5: 12-13

Ohhh I am so glad there is a verse in the bible that says that!  Who am I (as a Christian) to judge a non-Christian for acting like a non-Christian!?  They have not committed to living following the Lord... so why should I expect them to act like it?  My job is to LOVE them...  the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Goooooooooood stuff :)

Jud Wilhite

Jud talked about staying grounded.  His church is in the heart of Vegas so when one of his topics was about staying a little crazy for God, we knew he knows what he's talking about...

When we are just a little crazy for God... he can use us better. We have to be able to give up control... and that doesn't happen if you are normal :) Jud talked about how having his church in Vegas is a little bit crazy, but how God using his church to reach a group of people that wouldn't normally hear about Jesus.

For instance... at my church I don't think we've ever had someone just pass out in a seat because they were so drunk, and I don't think we've had a working stripper in our small groups.  Those things are a little crazy... but God is working in those people when they are in His house!

Now, your "crazy" might not be opening a church in Vegas...it probably isn't.  BUT you should figure out what kind of crazy thing God is calling you to do...and then just jump in, because He want's to use you!

Allllright... this was my last installment of the NLC conference!  So if these last few posts weren't really your "thing" don't worry because tomorrow I will be back to blogging regularly about things like this...

Yes, that is poop on the wall in my entryway from 2 days ago that I just saw today.  How do I know it was from 2 days ago?  Well because 2 days ago my 2 year old came upstairs from her bedroom with a poopy diaper and poop on her hand.  I was incredibly and happily surprised that she didn't make a mess at all!  Looks like she's pretty sneaky.

So, yes.  Playing House will be back with normal-ness like that.  Apparently if you read this blog by choice... then you are into stories about poop. 

Seriously, that's not normal... you may want to see someone about that.

Just another one of those blog posts written at 12:30 am.

I'm busy.

So busy.

I'm so looking forward to Wednesday when I leave for the Newspring Leadership Conference in South Carolina.  I neeeeeeeed a break!  Ohh man.

So you know that bullet point list I made a few days ago.  Yeah that seems like a really lame idea now, I have no motivation to follow through with that list.  Plus there's other things I'd rather blog about.  

So here's the quick version :)

• the flat tire fiasco I had on the way to my much needed hair appointment concluding with the new tire install annoyance I got a flat tire and missed my hair appointment and I could have joined Peyton and Vandis in a cry fest, but instead I called Progressive Roadside Assistance and watched Dora with Peyton while someone came and changed our tire.  Good story huh?  Gosh, who made this list?
• Vandis sleeping on his tummy Yep.  He's old now.
• Peyton no longer even trying to be potty trained outside the house This is mostly true.  I just don't really have the motivation to keep trying to make her go on the big public potties.  Someday soon. It'll happen.  She's not even 2 yet, so I'm ok with her just being potty trained at home.
• the new volunteer position I have taken up in my church's youth group I am part of a 3 person team called the "Hub"  We work out all the logistical things that the youth group does.  It's time consuming but exciting and worth it!
• the new volunteer position I have taken up in BSF I am a discussion leader.  Which is entirely crazy.  But, I'm excited to see what God does through me and in me this year as a result of that.
• the old and loved volunteer position with ALIVE that I have temporarily let go of because of my graphic design class I needed to let something go while I am taking this class, So Alive it was.  I am really sad about it and it's really really hard to stay out of it, but I have to be a mom first and being gone Monday, Thursday, and Friday nights was just not going to be OK.  

Ok.  Glad that's done.

Now... on to more recent events that involve cute pictures.

I went to the Great Minnesota Get Together aka, The State Fair with my MIL and BIL and kids.  On the hottest day of the last few weeks.  We toughed it out, there was a nice breeze so that really helped.  Because it was so hot, I didn't really feel like stuffing myself with tons of fried food, so that was a helpful thing for both my waistline and my wallet.  It was Van's first fair adventure and he seemed to have fun.  He likes people and stuff to look at,  so the fair is a great place for him!  Peyton had a blast too!

Aaaaaand I'll leave you for the night with the progress that has been made in operation girl room to boy room...

before:

after (in progress):

LOVE how it's turning out!!!!!!! More pictures and progress coming... so stay tuned!

Thanks Sun Country!

One afternoon a few weeks ago I went through the Wendy's drive through and got a Frosty.  When I got home I was stalling on the computer, probably not wanting to blog or something, and I decided to enter the code that was on the bottom of my Wendy's receipt.  I had to make a KS95 (a local radio station) account and enter the code on their website.  Easy peasy... I was done in a matter of minutes and probably said a quick prayer that I would win :)

Well, fast forward a couple weeks and I'm up north with my family on vacation listening to a voice mail on my phone "Hi Sarah, this is so-and-so from KS95 calling to let you know that you've won 2 Sun Country round-trip plane tickets"  What?!?! I was totally surprised and so excited!

I went to the radio studio a few days later and picked up my totally legit ticket vouchers that I can use toward and 2 round-trip domestic flights between now and August 2012!

I am like beyond excited about this... Ryan and I are looking for a cruise to go on after he gets home!  Yay, yay, yay!!! The most expensive part of a cruise for us Minnesotans is the plane ticket to get down to Florida or wherever the ship departs from, so this is going to be so perfect :)

So, I would like to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Sun Country for these tickets!  You've made Ryan's homecoming that much more special for us :)  

And for those of you who've always wondered (like I have) if those codes on the bottom of receipts actually have a prize attached to them... they totally do!  Which is SO TOTALLY AWESOME!

When I Really Don't Feel Like Blogging

I'm having one of those weeks where I could blog about a lot of different things... but I just don't want to.  Posting on this blog has been a real discipline for me. It's something I make myself do to remind myself who's boss!  1st Corinthians 9:27 says:

I keep my body under control and make it my slave...

and that's what I'm trying to do by blogging regularly.  Keep my body and my mind under control.  Telling Netflix "you don't rule my life!" by blogging before I watch something makes me feel like I'm not wasting as much time.  You know?  

Anyways, these last few days I could have told you all about

• the new workout video that I started doing
• the plane tickets that I won
• the weddings I went to this past weekend 
• the flat tire fiasco I had on the way to my much needed hair appointment concluding with the new tire install annoyance
• Vandis sleeping on his tummy
• Peyton no longer even trying to be potty trained outside the house
• the new volunteer position I have taken up in my church's youth group
• the new volunteer position I have taken up in BSF
• the old and loved volunteer position with ALIVE that I have temporarily let go of because of my graphic design class

I mean... I have stuff.  Lot's of stuff.  I just haven't been disciplined enough to write about it!

Here's what I'll do.  Since I am good with lists and plans... I will just kind of run down that list and post every day one or 2 of those things!  Consider those bullet points as tiny commercials to what my next few posts will be like.  If that list looks like the most boring commercial you have ever seen than come back in a few days and see if I'm done being boring :)

I'll start tonight by telling you about this new workout video I found on Netflix Instant Watch.  It's called Crunch: Super Slim Down.  

Since Ryan has been gone I have been eating a LOT.  I don't know if any of you can relate to realizing that that person you are just a little bit embarrassed or proud to eat too much in front of being gone and you just eating, and eating, and eating because you have no accountability.  I am like that.  Totally.  In the spirit of keeping my body under control, I knew I needed to make a change.

I've realized that I can't eat all that food and still be happy with how I look or how I feel.  So that means I have to eat less and work out more.  And my more, I mean more than the nothing that I do now.  And by nothing that I do now, I mean the nothing that I did 2 weeks ago.  'Cuz I totally work out now.

The video is about 40 minutes long and I do it at night or during the kid's nap time.  Peyton does not like it when I do it in front of her.  Which is AWESOME.  Not.

The instructor is super nice and I like listening to her.  I really feel great after I'm done with it and I totally get a work out!  The last few minutes before the cool-down are super intense!  But it's great!

All you need is a yoga mat, but doing it on carpet might work too.  

If you are looking for a way to get more active, I'd recommend Crunch: Super Slim Down!

You should tell me of any videos you like, I'm bound to get bored of this routine sometime soon :) 

<3

Wedding Weekend

This weekend will be the last of the weddings for the summer.  I still have one in September though :)

My friend Erika is marrying her Marine Man, Dan on Friday

And my friend Ksana is marrying her Engineer Man Mike on Saturday!

Ooooh I just love weddings!

Today I got a flat tire on my way to my hair appointment.  Which is really sad because now I still have gross-overgrown-shaped-like-a-triangle-in-the-worst-possible-way-hair and it won't be better till Wednesday.  Sigh... 

This week has been crazy busy, but it's going to be a great weekend friends, I'll just be enjoying it while rocking an updo :)  

I'm off to bed... gotta keep the energy up for the cardio workout dancing these next two nights!

I'm Officially A Student!?!

Yesterday I applied to the local community college, and signed up for a class.  I got my books, student ID (nothing like an awkward picture to say welcome to school) and found my classroom today and I start class on Monday.  Nothing like last minute, right?  I use the term "student" loosely as I am really just taking one class and have no intention of walking across a stage to get a piece of paper that says that I know stuff.  Not that that's a bad thing, at all!  I just don't see myself needing that.

So, I am a "1 class at a time to learn what I want to, when I want to" student.  The class I am taking this semester is an Intro to Graphic Design class. It will cover a wide variety of things including web design!

I'm excited!

And nervous.  About normal, very rational things.

You know, like that everyone in the class will know way more than me.  And they will all know each other and already be best friends before the class starts.  And that I'll be all alone in the front left corner of the room because no one wants to talk to the weird old girl with 2 kids and a mini van who uses her fingers to add 6+8.  Rational.

I never envisioned myself going to a Technical College... where there are many smart people.  The kind of people that probably don't need to spell check "envisioned" or use a calculator to divide single digit numbers or have to turn around 3 times while trying to find their classroom so they aren't late on their first day.

But, I'm sure I'll be fine :)

Because when I do stop and think rationally, I know that it's not a coincidence that I got the last spot of this class 4 days before it started.  When I think rationally, I know that this class is preparing me for something that is part of the big picture plan for my life.  The plan that God alone can see.

That's what makes me excited!

So if all my irrational fears that I think are totally rational come true on Monday and I am the outcast who doesn't know anything, I'll just remind myself that God has a plan...and I just have to be obedient.  Which is something I can do!

Family Vacatiaon Day 2... creative titles are my strong point

What a view, right!

Unfortunately, I can not take photographic credit here as I did not take the trek up this massive hill.

Neither did my brothers.  Though they did race up to a certain point and then came back down again. No, no.  Us young, spry kids decided to turn back about a third of the way into our walk and let our parents go the rest of the way leading them to the view that you see above.  Nice, huh?

My siblings and I were hungry.  And we wanted to go swimming.  And we knew we could see the best parts in pictures later.  Without the snakes, ticks, spiders and bears.

So, really my parents have the strength and we have the smarts.

Yeah.  That's it.  Anyways, we left Biwabik this morning after our 2 night stay at Giant's Ridge.

After two days of family fun out in nature, we enjoyed 5 hours of family bonding in the car.

Nature is more fun than the car.

We took a detour to Brainerd to visit my grandparents which was well worth the extra hour and a half of driving. 

Our family vacation was a major success.

Such fun memories that will stick with us a long time :)

Thanks for the FUN, family <3

Quick Kid Update

I thought I'd do a quick update on my kids.

Like real quick.  I'm tired and I don't want to think too hard or be witty.

Peyton

• My firstborn 22 month old daughter is potty trained.  Except for overnight and nap time that is.  Still some learning to be done, but the hard part is behind us! 

• She knows how to drink out of a water bottle.

• She knows how to shake her booty. It's adorable.
• She gives Vandis multiple hugs and kisses a day.  Sibling love :)

Vandis

• Van man is a warrior.  He lets out a battle cry like you wouldn't believe!  It's not that he is upset at all.  He just yells for the heck of it.  It's real nice.

• Is is a pro back to stomach roller.

• His favorite song to sing is "My God is so BIG, so STRONG, and so MIGHTY, there's nothing my God can not do, for YOU!"  Complete with hand motions.  He laughs every time.

• He started eating baby food a few days ago.  That means he's old. Which is not OK. But he is really good at eating.

Aaaand there we have it.  A quick little update on my kids.  

The Best Anniversary Gift Ever

For our 3 year anniversary Ryan made and sent me a photo book from Shutterfly.  It is seriously the best gift I've ever gotten!  I love that he made it :)  It's a homemade gift that I actually like haha!  For all you out there googleing "the best anniversary gift" here's my suggestion.

Aside from having him here, this was the best gift I could have ever thought of!  Thanks babe :) I love it!