Date Night AGAIN

Tonight my Man and I had ANOTHER date night! That is like 2 in a month for us! Record breaking really. We are praying that it was the last time that we have time for one before we move. Having big faith here.

We were supposed to drop the girls off at my parents at 5:30 pm but my Mom called me around 1:00 pm and suggested that I drop them off early so that they had time to play before dinner. So of course we obliged them and dropped them off at 3:00 pm. We were meeting our friends for dessert until 6:00 pm so we had some time to kill. Being the romantics that we are, we went to Meijer for some groceries since it was right were we were needing to be to meet the Popps. Unfortunately Meijer may have a large organic selection but their gluten free products are few and far between. Still time to kill so we tried Kroger. I knew they had at least one full aisle of gluten free/organic products. But I was watching the prices now that I am on a VERY tight grocery budget. I didn't buy a thing. We'll stop tomorrow at Whole Foods after church. Most people think WF is high priced. And I wouldn't argue that. On most things. But when something is on sale, they are reasonable. But I digress.

Since we were meeting at Starbucks for dessert, we decided to try Pei Wei for dinner. YUM-O! And they have a gluten free menu. Dinner was delicious and I had enough left-overs to bring home for lunch tomorrow. After dinner we met the Popps at Starbucks for tea and dessert. We haven't seen them in ages so it was nice to get together. We chatted for THREE hours. I guess we had a lot to catch up on.

I don't put any stock in 'fortune cookies'. But God does speak to me in unusual places. I've had a very rough week this past week. A lot of ups and downs re: the move to NYC. Tonight this was my fortune:

"Your eyes will soon be opened to a world full of beauty, charm, and adventure"

What a nice way to end my evening.

New Header

I know, it's been over a week since I last posted. But in my defense, we were on our first family vacation of the YEAR! I had planned a few pre-posts but never got around to them. Sorry. BUT while I was gone, did you notice something change?

So what do you think of my new header? I won it FREE over at Healing Designs. Please visit Cathy and tell her if you like her design.

Schooling for the Fall

It's that time of year again. Back to school time. Many of my friends look forward to this time of year. Time to send the kids back to school! Time to let their teachers handle them all day. Not me. I look forward to this time of year as a renewal. Renewed thanksgiving to the Lord that gave me the passion to home-school my children. Thankful to the Lord for putting it on my Man's heart to allow me to give this a try.

We are into our second year of homeschooling now. I wouldn't trade it for any other job. (Please feel free to remind me of this around November : ) I'm not a perfect teacher teaching perfect children. But with the Lord's strength and guidance, we are doing the best that we can. I cherish everyday that I have to have my children home with me. Not at school, preschool, or daycare. But home with me. It may not always be this way either, but for now, I am blessed.

The Lord says:
Proverbs 22:6 "6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it."

I read this verse every single day, reminding me of what I am commanded to do.

Now back to the library website to check-out the books that we will need for September.

To Move or Not To Move Now

That is the question of the month. This week will now be 6 months that we have lived with my Man's parents. They have been very generous in not only allowing us to live with them (2 retired people whom are home all day and have not had anyone living with them since SIL moved out about 7 years ago) but they haven't allowed us to give them any money in the form of rent or even towards the utilities which you know for sure have increased since we moved in with them. We are also loud. All 5 of us. We sure have upset their quiet household.

We also don't do a lot in the way of housework. My MIL is quite hyper and usually does things faster than I would. I used to think I was quick to clean up around the house but not compared to her. If I think about vacuuming for my to-do list for tomorrow, she does it today. If Pete plans to cut the grass over the week-end, his Dad does it 2 days before. With 3 kids, I've had to learn to plan out these things a few days out so that I know I've allowed time to do it. Especially now that I home-school the girls, I have to make sure that I do their schooling before anything else. Last week Pete asked his Mom to leave the vacuuming for us to do over the week-ends but she said she didn't mind. I feel like we need to do some things but I also need to plan them out. I consciously try to run the dishwasher and empty it before she does but she often runs it when I don't think it's full enough. I try to do as many little 'green' things as I can in a day but now I find myself running it just so I can run it before her! How crazy is that?!

When Pete asked his Mom if we could live with them, he said it would probably be 6 months (I was thinking that maybe it'd just be 2 -3 months) Here we are now 6 months later. If it were just Pete and I, we'd move out. As adults, we don't mind change. I personally thrive on CHANGE! It does drive my Man crazy though. We have to think about how it impacts the girls though. For them, we told them that we would live with Oma & Opa until we moved to NYC. Now if we move into an apartment locally, what does that tell them about NYC? That God changed his mind? That we heard God wrong?

I wanted to live here as opposed to with my parents because I wanted the girls to have some quality time with my in-laws before we left because they probably won't ever have that chance again. I felt that this is where God wanted us to be as well. In the past, we didn't see my in-laws a lot so this would give them the opportunity to really get to know each other. They have had that chance now so I feel like we can move.

I don't want to overstay our welcome. I don't want my in-laws to think that we don't TRULY appreciate their generosity. I also don't want them to get frustrated with us being here and start to resent us for being here. I know that my MIL wants her fridge and kitchen back. I want my routine back. Is God ready to let us have that? Or is there still more for us to do here?

So, my Man spoke to his Dad. You know how men talk. Here is how I imagine the conversation went:

P: So Dad it doesn't look like I will have a job offer soon
D: Yeah
P: So we were thinking that maybe we should look for an apartment here
D: No sense moving now and then moving again in a few months. Just wait.
P: Are you sure Dad?
D: Yep - no sense

So, it looks like we will still live here for awhile longer. I pray for continued peace and patience on everyone's part while we wait for Pete to find the right job that God has lined up for him.

It's Fall now. Fall always feels like a time to start fresh. I REALLY thought we'd be in NYC to start the Fall. As much as I would miss the Kellys, Banters, KK, etc., I am ready to go. I know I have said that in the past, but I don't think I was honestly ready to go to NYC. Some days I still wished God had changed his mind. These days, I just want to follow His will for our lives. He's confirmed that that is in NYC. I am praying like I've never prayed before that His is timing is now. His timing is perfect though. I will continue to wait until he paves the way but I still pray that it is now.

Date Night

What do Panera, Kensington, Starbucks, and Staples have to do with each other? They spell out a perfect date night with my Man.

Some couples do dinner and a movie. Others go to the bar and have a few drinks. We have a perfectly light dinner, go to church, have a relaxing Chai afterwards and chat, and cap it off with a browse through the local office supply store. Not exciting to most, but perfect for us.

We dropped the girls off at my parents house on Saturday after we left the homeless BBQ in Detroit. I asked hubby where he wanted to have dinner and he said somewhere that he could have a good salad (never mind that I had spent a fortune the day before at the fruit market buying all the fixins' for a perfect salad and had them at home) So we headed to Panera and he ordered a Fandago salad. I interrupted his ordering and said, minus the gorgonzola. We stepped down to watch them prepare our food and I had to ask the girl if she was going to put those walnuts on that salad and of course she replied yes. I had to ask her to leave them off. We grabbed our food and sat down. Pete looked down at a plate of greens and oranges. He said, "Not what I had in mind for a good salad tonight." So sad. It is really difficult for us to eat out anymore. I don't know why we even bother. Realistically though, a restaurant that is know for it's BREADS is probably not the place we should be eating - even if we are just having salad. Mark that restaurant off the list. One nice thing though is that more and more restaurants are becoming sensitive to food allergies and some like Outback and Chilli's, have a gluten free menu. It's basically plain meat without any seasonings, but at least it's a start.


Staples isn't so exciting. This I know. But, we're nerds and we LOVE office supplies! Pete likes to look at new pens and I'm all about looking at new pretty notebooks and organizers. We actually did need to go there to buy a box to ship something I sold on amazon so that gave us a good excuse to go there.

Servolution

Just doing some quick blog reading in my google reader and read about Amy's church's annual Servolution where thousands of people from her congregation serve the city in areas such as:

• handing out bottled water
• painting houses
• delivering food
• manicures/pedicures
• block party
• lawn service
• visiting the nursing homes
• delivering gifts to the kids in the pediatrics ward at local hospitals
• mobile medical and dental clinics
• clean-up and repair of a local school
• car washes

It was interesting to me to read about what her church did this week-end because it was coincidentally our church's (yes I know that takes you to Kensington CC but we still attend services there) annual week-end to ask for new volunteers to step up to serve each other in our own church in areas such as Treasure Island, Coffee, Security, Ushers, etc. It is my dream that Communitas members will do things like Amy's church did on a weekly basis, not just annually.

This week-end, our family spent a few hours on Saturday in Detroit serving the homeless community with a BBQ. It has become a monthly event for us. With our new small group that is forming, we are going to try to do a serving activity twice a month. It's not weekly, but it is a huge step from where we were one full year ago.

My Blog Wordle

So my Man is supposed to have been working on his paper for the last 2 hours. He sends me this just now:

Cool huh? I like it. It's a Wordle based on my blog up until now.

I'm supposed to be preparing the girls lessons for this week. Guess I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing either.....

Coincidence?

Early this morning I dropped KK off at the NWA terminal at Detroit Metro Airport. She is going to NYC for the next 5 days. KK doesn't have a plan other than asking God to re-confirm his calling on her life and spend a lot of quality time with Him. We know she's been called but it is sometimes hard to keep that focus when you are still here in Michigan, dealing with everyday life, and trying to find Joy in TODAY.

I was a bit jealous or more like envious. I texted Superstar as I was leaving to tell her this and she was kind enough to remind me that jealousy is a sin. Thanks for the support Sister! I really do love her still. Many people have gone back and forth between here and NYC for various reasons, including the final move there. None of those instances has impacted me. Maybe this time it did impact me because it was KK and we've become good friends over the past few months. It was the first time that I felt a part of my heart leaving me. Sure, I've wanted to move for quiet a few months now but only because we are out of our own house. This time, I had a longing to go 'home'. I haven't really ever felt that way about NYC.

So as I was driving home I prayed to Father God. It was the first time in awhile that I was alone with Him without any children needing anything from me for almost an hour. I prayed my usual prayers of praise and thanksgiving and went through my normal laundry list of things I would like Him to help me with. Then I said, God, we are still here in Michigan. I know from your confirmations that you want us to go to NYC. We've been ready to go for almost 6 months now. Obviously You want us here for a reason. Please show me why. Please show me what it is You want me to do. What is Your will for me right now? What am I not doing that I need to be doing for You? I went on with this conversation for at least 15 minutes. Then an Explorer pulls right in front of me with a license plate that read "God Mn 1" Hmm. Then I get off the freeway and see a sign that read "Begin each day by asking the Lord what is His will for you that day". Hmm. Answers to my questions or coincidence?

I know I have been slacking in my quiet time with Him. Pete and I actually made a pact on Sunday to get up together at 6 am everyday (week-ends too) and spend quiet time with Him. Monday didn't go so well but the last two days were better. We've committed to each other to get back on the track that we seem to have fallen off of this summer.

K#2 asked me yesterday why we haven't been doing our morning reading together. She always gets up first and we try to read a bible story together before the other girls wake up. Being the middle child, I am trying to make an intentional effort to spend quality time with her so she doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Her reminder was additional motivation that I need to do this.

Prayer Band

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7,8

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

The Pastor Jim Cymbala and The Brooklyn Tabernacle has been very inspirational in my transforming prayer life. I have a new belief and understanding in the power of prayer like never before. I am even a member of the Communitas Prayer Team - something that I never envisioned for myself.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle has a Prayer Band that meets at the church, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, all year long. They prayer over all prayers that come in via telephone, email, and mail for 30 days. That is amazing to me! On their website, you can submit a prayer request for them to pray for. I've known about this for a few months now but haven't asked for their prayers. Today, I am feeling like I need all the prayer that I can get so I've asked them to pray for me/us. That is a big step for me. If you feel that you need additional prayer, you can go to their website here to submit a request:

http://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BT_PrayerRequest

They also asked that you report back at a later date with Thanksgiving to the Lord. Answered prayers are always motivational to hear about.

As it says in Matthew 17:20-21, "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Sparkling Gems From the Greek

So last month, I was attempting to help my scrapbooking buddy with her garage sale. I don't know that I was much help. I did help her out by taking 6 books and a journal off of her hands : ) We spent the good part of 5 hours just chit chatting away. I had a wonderful time with her as I always learn a few new things when talking with her. She suggested the book Sparkling Gems by Rick Renner to me. Click on the title to go see it on-line. I'm always up for a new book so on Monday when the girls and I were out running errands, we ran to Family Christian bookstores in hopes of finding it. It wasn't in stock BUT it was on sale for 43% off PLUS I had a 25% off coupon that I was able to use on top of that and have them order it for me. At a price under $20, who could resist that? They called yesterday to say that it was in and since I needed to run a few more short errands, I ran over there to get it. I've been trying to keep all of my errands packed into one day with the price of gas these days but I just knew I needed to get that book! I can't wait to dive into it!

Family - Earthly and Spiritual

We can all relate to earthly family strife. I can't think of a single person on the Communitas team that has not had some sort of family conflict over the past year. From financial struggles to marital discord to unexpected pregnancies, I think we've experienced it all. But we have been there to support each other as we work through these things with our families. I don't think one of us is not going to miss our families, as crazy as they all are, but it is comforting to know that we have each other as family as we make this move 650 miles away. I've never lived more than 10 miles away from my family and I'm currently living with family as well. This is going to be hard but this was in my in-box today. I hope it blesses you as it did me.

Our Spiritual Family Is for Eternity
by Rick Warren

See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

Every human being was created by God, but not everyone is a child of God.

The only way to get into God’s family is by being born again into it. You became part of the human family by your first birth, but you become a member of God’s family by your second birth. God “has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family” (1 Peter 1:3 LB).

Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever.

The invitation to be part of God’s family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus. The Bible says, “You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26 NLT).

Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death.

On the other hand, our spiritual family – our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity. It is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships.

Whenever Paul would stop to consider God’s eternal purpose for us together, he would break out into praise: “When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth” (Ephesians 3:14-15 LB).

Leadership Summitt

Today and tomorrow I am spending the day at the Leadership Summitt being hosted by our home church, Kensington Community Church in Troy. It was the best 8 hours I've spent in a long time (it might even beat out the Beth Moore event from last week-end but it'll be close) I've wanted to attend for the past couple of years but have not. For 1) I've never considered myself a leader and 2) It is $119 for the 2 days. It is WELL worth the money but still, it is money spent. Last year hubby attended and it was the start of major changes in our lives.

A few friends are attending as well. When I talked about it with my prayer partner, I got very excited about going. But alas, the funds. How could I justify as we tried to get ready to leave for NYC. Then I bit the bullet and registered. Then a VERY generous friend offered to pay for half of my registration fee! How could I pass that up? I did try but she insisted so I let her bless me. It has been one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what else we will learn.

I'm still processing all of the sessions from today but I just can't get over what a wonderful experience it has been!

It's Time

I have been eating better. I have lost 8 pounds over the past 2 months. Not the greatest weight loss but still a loss. I know I need to get physically in shape - not just weight wise but also cardio wise. Hubby runs. I ran in a past life. I could never keep up with Hubby now. But maybe with his still sprained ankle I could : ) I've been convicted about this for quite some time now. Now I'm going to do it. I'm going to blog about it and let the whole world keep me accountable.

I'm going to do the Couch to 5K Running Plan. Check it out.

Superstar and M'chelle both do tri-athalons. If I'm going to hang with these chicks in NYC, I need to get my but in gear.

K#2 Birthday Week

This year, K#2 6th birthday falls on Friday. Pete and I will be at the Leadership Summit until 630 pm that day. So, a little parental guilt on my part. I have never yet not spent the entire day with one of the girls on the birthdays. When I realized this conflict, I asked K#2 if it would be OK if I still went to the Summit but we would go out to dinner for her birthday to the restaurant of her choosing. We rarely go out to eat and if we do, it's normally breakfast or lunch because it's cheaper and quicker. She of course chose Chuck E Cheese's (Or Chuck E Diseases as I prefer to call it).

Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff won't be around all week-end because Uncle Jeff has a race this week-end. We invited them over tonight for a special birthday dinner with K#2. She has now deemed it her birthday week and is all aglow in the glory. I guess this makes up for being the middle child. Whens she is older and lists all of the ways she was slighted, I can refer her back to her birthday week. Tomorrow night is off to Nanu and Papa's for a sleep-over and special birthday dinner with them. More presents too.

Here is a quick video of her cake and the blowing out of the candle. She said the candle stunk and she just wanted it blow it out the entire time. Check out the cake - it is a chocolate mouse cake with a chocolate basket of chocolate covered strawberries on top of it. I had it so together today that I didn't bother to realize it was a chocolate mouse cake and had it sitting out for a bit today while I started dinner and made room for it to fit into the fridge. It caved in a bit ....

Good Eats

We just got home from a FABULOUS dinner out! A has been on the Communitas Team since the beginning so we've had a lot of time to get to know her. A and C were married at the end of June so we are just getting to know C. With their honeymoon and a new apartment and adjusting to a new life, we haven't been able to see each other. Tonight they invited us over to their apartment for a home cooked meal.

I asked A what could I bring. She said well lets talk about the menu. I say well, Pete can't eat pasta, bread, pretty much anything in a package. Can you deal with that? She says, Well that's pretty much how we always eat. Some meat, fresh veggies and fruits, fresh herbs. That's not so hard to work around. Love her! That's is how we like to eat too.

We thought it would be fun to practice what it will be like to socialize in NYC in 850 sq feet. It was so much fun that we went to the park across the street for dessert so the kids could spit out their watermelon seeds there. I pride myself on being a good cook but I generally don't eat anything I cook and therefore end up having salad or cereal for dinner. A and C are SUPER cooks! We loved the meal that they spent all day preparing for us and getting to chat with them wasn't too bad either : )



Yes, that is the bride in the bounce house that you see below. You just gotta love a woman that not only dyes her hair bright pink for her wedding day, but also gets in the bounce house that she had provided for all of the kids at her wedding to play in.

A Better Place To Be

"Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)"

*** *** *** ***
Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? Maybe it was a job, a town, or a marriage. Maybe it was a stage in life, like singlehood, or a state in life, like a disability. It’s very possible that as you read this, you’re wishing you were somewhere else – anywhere else – living a different life, but you know it’s not likely that anything is going to change any time soon.

God has a word for you. It’s the same word he gave a group of people when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d folded their arms and said, “We’re going to wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity” (Jeremiah 29:5-7).

Don’t invest your energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest your energy in the people around you. Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Jesus requires we be fully present in the present.

You may feel like you’re in exile too, but God is still working in your life; and his message to you is: Dig in and fully embrace the life around you." - Jon Walker

I've been feeling like this a lot lately. Things will change once we get to NYC. I can't wait until we get to NYC. When are we going to get to NYC? I've been missing out on the here and now. I don't want to think like this but what if I never get to NYC. What if this has been all about the process that God has been having me go through and the end result is not NYC? I've put my life 'on hold' so to speak in the last couple of months waiting to leave. I've made the decision TODAY to live for TODAY and not worry about tomorrow or the next day or really the day that we might get to NYC.

I've made the bold move to plan for next month. I've been afraid to do that because 'what if we leave?' I need to trust in God's timing. He knows what plans we have and what plans He has for us. I know it will all work out. What if we do leave? Then everything will work out. Maybe not the way that I want them to, but they will work out.