It is funny the stuff that comes up when you google "it feels like chaos peace" like I just did. There were such a wide range of websites that came up for where people think that they can get peace in the midst of their chaos. I could really tell from his blog that this one guy was really searching. Another lady had some really strange ideas and a very large following. How can you find peace without Christ? I really think that it is impossible! You can try all you want with meditating, de-stressing, etc but the only source of peace is Jesus Christ. The reason I googled it is because I feel like my life is chaos right now and this song by Sanctus Real keeps going through my head because I have heard it on the radie several times lately but I don't know the words. The part that keeps going through my head is "it feels like chaos somehow there's peace" and I really wanted to know what they words were so.... google to the rescue. Of course many other people had wanted to know the words and put them in their blog so now I join their number. It really seems an appropriate song to start out this new year with. It is time for healing. God longs to heal me. It is time to fix my broken parts and God wants to do that. He is not going to choose ways that I would particularly choose BUT He does know what is best and He will choose the best ways for me. It's time to surrender to What I can't see because He is making me into something beautiful, something fit for heaven. Oh Lord, I surrender. Fill me with Your peace that passes understanding in the midst of this chaos. I trust You.
Whatever You’re Doing
by Sanctus Real
It’s time for healing time to move on
It’s time to fix what’s been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It’s time to find my way to where I belong
There’s a wave that’s crashing over me
All I can do is surrender
(Chorus)
Whatever you’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there’s peace
It’s hard to surrender to what I can’t see
but I’m giving in to something heavenly
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender…
To…
(Chorus)
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I’ve wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears
Whatever you’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You’re up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Whatever you’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly
It’s time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out
Friday, January 02, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Out with the Old, In with the New... 2008 in Review
The first of the year always makes me reflect on the old year as I look forward to what God has for us for in the new year. I don't usually make resolutions but I did last year. I don't remember all of them but here is how I did on the ones that I remember:
1. Spend time with God every day - this is a normal goal I have every year. I did pretty good on this one this year. God has taught me a lot but I still have a lot to learn!
2. Use only cloth grocery bags. I did pretty good with this one this year. It probably helps that I do a lot of my grocery shopping at Aldi and I am not willing to buy plastic bags from them to put my groceries in. The rest of my shopping I do at Wegmans and they have those great "Did you remember your bags?" signs out in the parking lot which remind me to grab my stack of black Wegmans bags that I adore. They are so great! I use them all the time, even when I am not grocery shopping :). I think that I probably collected less than 20 plastic bags from various stores over the whole year which I really don't think is that bad.
3. Do not shop at WalMart. I kept this one! We haven't been to WalMart since November 30, 2007. I am sure that it has saved us a tremendous amount of money and hassle. I haven't missed it. When I have needed something it I've often prayed about it and it has been on sale at Wegmans when I do my normal shopping.
4. Blog at least once a week. I did better at this than in some previous years but still not great. I will try to do better this year.
I don't remember if I had any other resolutions and I haven't decided on ones for this year so I am now going to reflect on the last year. I'll put links to some pictures and some of my blogs if you want visuals or more information.
January
Did lots of sledding down "our hill" in "our valley" by the Conservatory in Highland Park. Found a mattress for Lydia's trundle bed on Craigslist. Had a minor car accident when a lady turned into our Burb near BJs. Checked out the new Elmo's world exhibit and the traveling Grossology exhibit at the Strong Museum of Play. Heard from Upstate that Glenn was put on the bad wait list. Enjoyed time with our community group and at AWANA. My dad and Russ visited our house for a couple of hours.
More sledding. SuperBowl party with community group at Schulers. Started Financial Peace University with our small group. Glenn interviewed at U of R. Valentine's Day party at the Museum of Play and date night at Lishawa's with our community group. Enjoyed visits from AmyJo, Kyle, Ehren, & Dad, Kim Hunt, Russ & Camy, Zach & Chris. Celebrated Lydia's 4th birthday with a trip to the Museum of Play. Ended the month with everyone sick.
Visited Dad at Rochester General after his heart catheterization. Went to the Public Market in a blizzard. Had Lydia's birthday party. Took walks in the snow after dinner because it was still light out after the time change. Went to the St Patrick's day parade downtown. Enjoyed Easter dinner at Lishawa's with Hoffmans, Lilites, and Ippolitos. Quick trip to Waterloo because they thought Dad had had a brain stem stroke, it turned out he was just having seizures b/c he had missed some meds. Caleb started reading Redwall. Kids did Read Across America at the library. Had dinner at the Bertrams. Had community group over for Hawaiian Haystacks.
April
Celebrated April Fool's day at the playground with unseasonably warm weather and cake for supper. Took many trips to Lishawa's to feed Sammy and do our laundry. Had an interesting conversation with Caleb. Baked lots of bread because Caleb was helping and added lots of sugar to the wrong bowl. Got too many books from the RCSD book giveaway. Had dinner at the Dudleys. Hosted a party with a direct sales kitchen tools company and decided to sign up to be an independent consultant. Awana hike at Durand Eastman Park. Practices and meetings for Spring Fling. Burb failed inspection because outer tie rod broke.
Celebrated Glenn's birthday and 3 days off in a row with a short vacation to Fillmore Wesleyan Church, stayed with the Nafzigers, and I had my first Cooking Show at Jenn Keeler's house. Enjoyed Highland Park in the spring with cherry blossoms, dogwoods, magnolias and of course lilacs. Spent Mother's Day with Dad and the Nelsons at my cousin Jamie's house. Held 2 other Cooking Shows. Struggled a lot with depression and unknowns of our future. Applied for passports for the possibility of going to Caribbean for med school. Hannah learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. Steph and Brody visited. Glenn dropped his phone in the toilet. Awana closing. Spring Fling.
Dad went home to be with the Lord. Calling hours. Funeral. Kendra came to visit. Played in Lake Ontario. Abigail started potty training. Community group camping trip at Letchworth State Park. Had a couple more Cooking Shows. Kristina helped me sort the kids room and we got rid of a lot of toys in preparation for going to Caribbean possibly. Got letter from U of R that wait list wasn't moving enough and so Glenn didn't get in. Started packing.
Lots of packing and sorting. Watched fireworks from the top of Highland Hospital parking garage. Weekly free movie at Regal theater with the Free Family Movie Festival as well as free movies in Highland Bowl. Trip to Waterloo to go to Sauders, visit Phoebe and go to Zach's graduation party. Found out Caribbean school lost Glenn's application so going in the fall not an option and after much prayer decided to stay in Rochester but found out our apartment was already rented out. Seneca Park Zoo with Robin, Stacy, Bethany & Ava. Celebrated Caleb's 8th birthday with Dudleys, Kristina & Betty. Bought our Mac G4 laptop off craigslist. Tales with Tails at the library. Challenged by City Builder and City Watching sermons at church. Went to Museum of Play with Jenn, Noelle & Mya. Sold several things on Craigslist. Started moving stuff to Betlem Storage. Weekly story time and summer reading program at the library. Communtiy group yard sale at Hibbards. Help moving from many friends. Said goodbye to Highland Park and 1090 and temporarily moved in with Lishawas.
August
Got settled in at Lishawas'. Glenn biked the 3 miles to and from work all month. Arnett Community Block party. Digging and Dunking at church. More weekly free movies and summer reading as well as many visits to Arnett Library. Glenn shadowed a DO. Had stuff stolen from in the house while we were in the front yard including our cell phones, Lishawa's computer, one of Glenn's bikes & his favorite messanger bag with some important stuff in it. Glenn's bike was recovered but it took several weeks of red tape for him to get it back. Went to Family Camp at Letourneau during our anniversary. Kids enjoyed playing at Lishawas. Played at the Files on their trampoline often. Got new cell phones after almost 3 weeks of hassles with Verizon. Glenn applied to many medical schools. Celebrated Hannah's 6th birthday. Weekly prayer time with Lishawas.
September
On Labor Day had Dad's burial then spent the afternoon by and in Grandma & Grandpa Nelson's pool. Made a castle out of a refridgerator box. Started a new small group on the south side of town. Kids started AWANA Caleb - Truth & Training, Hannah - Sparks, Lydia - Cubbies, Abigail - Puggles. Starting homeschooling - Caleb 3rd grade, Hannah 1st. Spirit of America. Darien Lake. Lishawas left for Jordan. Greatly challenged by Fighting Fair series at church. Honey extraction at Tinker Nature Center. Deaf Awareness and Curious George at the Museum of Play. WXXI Open House. Museum of Play with Pines.
October
Moved into our new little house. Sparks hike. More moving. Sonja started Beth Moore's Daniel study. Went apple picking. Raked lots of leaves. Family Fun Fest at Brighton Library and other visits there. Halloween party at Museum of Play and went trick or treating and got amazing amounts of good candy.
November
Abigail got sick. Filled up our tank for less than $100 for the first time in years. Voted. Rochester Book Festival. Got our CLA. Lots more raking. Caleb's first overnight at a friend's house (Will). Sold more stuff on craigslist. Girls all got bad colds. Watched Frosty the Snowman in honor of the first snow that stuck. Many visits to Brighton Library. Celebrated Abigail's 3rd birthday. To Haywards for Thanksgiving. Had dinner at Chalones.
December
Glenn started volunteering at St Joseph's Neighborhood Center. Did a couple of Holiday Bazaars for my business that weren't very successful. Burb wouldn't start several times so we got it a new battery. Had Chalones over to play. Went to a party with our old community group. Museum of Play with Keelers, Mesmers, and Nelsons. Fun time hanging out with our small group and singing carols. Went sledding. Took kids Christmas shopping for each other at Museum of Play store. Went to a big Christmas light display after going to the late Christmas eve service at church. Celebrated Christmas by enjoying Christmas morning at home and Christmas dinner and games at Files. Glenn's parents came to visit on the 30th for a week and a half and helped us ring in the new year.
I often get comments on how much my kids have grown. So as of right now this is how big they are:
Caleb - 55.5" 72#
Hannah - 47.25" 47#
Lydia - 45.75" 41#
Abigail - 38.75" 33#
Well, I think that was my longest post ever. We are excited to see what God has in store for us for the next year and know that He will be faithful through it just as He has been this year.
August
Got settled in at Lishawas'. Glenn biked the 3 miles to and from work all month. Arnett Community Block party. Digging and Dunking at church. More weekly free movies and summer reading as well as many visits to Arnett Library. Glenn shadowed a DO. Had stuff stolen from in the house while we were in the front yard including our cell phones, Lishawa's computer, one of Glenn's bikes & his favorite messanger bag with some important stuff in it. Glenn's bike was recovered but it took several weeks of red tape for him to get it back. Went to Family Camp at Letourneau during our anniversary. Kids enjoyed playing at Lishawas. Played at the Files on their trampoline often. Got new cell phones after almost 3 weeks of hassles with Verizon. Glenn applied to many medical schools. Celebrated Hannah's 6th birthday. Weekly prayer time with Lishawas.
September
On Labor Day had Dad's burial then spent the afternoon by and in Grandma & Grandpa Nelson's pool. Made a castle out of a refridgerator box. Started a new small group on the south side of town. Kids started AWANA Caleb - Truth & Training, Hannah - Sparks, Lydia - Cubbies, Abigail - Puggles. Starting homeschooling - Caleb 3rd grade, Hannah 1st. Spirit of America. Darien Lake. Lishawas left for Jordan. Greatly challenged by Fighting Fair series at church. Honey extraction at Tinker Nature Center. Deaf Awareness and Curious George at the Museum of Play. WXXI Open House. Museum of Play with Pines.
October
Moved into our new little house. Sparks hike. More moving. Sonja started Beth Moore's Daniel study. Went apple picking. Raked lots of leaves. Family Fun Fest at Brighton Library and other visits there. Halloween party at Museum of Play and went trick or treating and got amazing amounts of good candy.
November
Abigail got sick. Filled up our tank for less than $100 for the first time in years. Voted. Rochester Book Festival. Got our CLA. Lots more raking. Caleb's first overnight at a friend's house (Will). Sold more stuff on craigslist. Girls all got bad colds. Watched Frosty the Snowman in honor of the first snow that stuck. Many visits to Brighton Library. Celebrated Abigail's 3rd birthday. To Haywards for Thanksgiving. Had dinner at Chalones.
December
Glenn started volunteering at St Joseph's Neighborhood Center. Did a couple of Holiday Bazaars for my business that weren't very successful. Burb wouldn't start several times so we got it a new battery. Had Chalones over to play. Went to a party with our old community group. Museum of Play with Keelers, Mesmers, and Nelsons. Fun time hanging out with our small group and singing carols. Went sledding. Took kids Christmas shopping for each other at Museum of Play store. Went to a big Christmas light display after going to the late Christmas eve service at church. Celebrated Christmas by enjoying Christmas morning at home and Christmas dinner and games at Files. Glenn's parents came to visit on the 30th for a week and a half and helped us ring in the new year.
I often get comments on how much my kids have grown. So as of right now this is how big they are:
Caleb - 55.5" 72#
Hannah - 47.25" 47#
Lydia - 45.75" 41#
Abigail - 38.75" 33#
Well, I think that was my longest post ever. We are excited to see what God has in store for us for the next year and know that He will be faithful through it just as He has been this year.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Expectations
I haven't blogged again in a while. I have lots of stuff to blog about but I just haven't sat down to type in a while. So, instead of coming up with something original tonight I just thought I would copy and paste an email I sent out to the girls in my small group a few days ago. It tells a little about what is going on in my life right now. I will blog more, with pictures from ummmm, let's see... Abigail's birthday up to Christmas, etc soon, just not tonight. But until then, here's that email:
Guess what... that verse I was telling you about my expectations being from God alone is in the Bible and guess what? it is from Psalm 62 (ever heard of that one? ) [Psalm 62 was the song of the month in November at church] in the NKJV it says "My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him." So..... how did you do on Christmas with your expectations being on God alone? huh? I have been praying for all of you. Please reply with your report on your Christmas and how you did.
here is my report: We had a pretty good Christmas. The kids were thrilled with all of their gifts and had a really fun morning. It was fun to watch them this week as they were not only excited about the gifts that they were going to be getting but they were also very excited about the gifts that they were going to give each other and to see their siblings' reactions. Glenn and I don't usually buy each other gifts. Over the years we have both been hurt by the reactions from gifts that we have bought that were not well received so it has just been easier to not get gifts than to get hurt. I wasn't expected to get anything for Christmas and wasn't disappointed so that was good.
BUT... I have had a horrible attitude lately and have allowed myself to wallow in depression and have justified it by the fact that I have no parents and I have no idea what my future holds and that I am just a messie, etc. I was convicted of that this morning in my quiet time. I should have been convicted of it 3 days ago but of course I have been neglecting my time in my Bible because I would rather wallow than do something about it. Last night God told me to get out my Creative Counterpart book and start reading it again.... ouch! Then this morning in 1Tim 4:16 I read "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." I have not been paying attention to myself or persevering. I have been holding to my "Woe is me" attitude and that is not right. Please pray that I will find my hope (what my Bible say for expectations) in God alone and ask me how I am doing about it.
Guess what... that verse I was telling you about my expectations being from God alone is in the Bible and guess what? it is from Psalm 62 (ever heard of that one? ) [Psalm 62 was the song of the month in November at church] in the NKJV it says "My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him." So..... how did you do on Christmas with your expectations being on God alone? huh? I have been praying for all of you. Please reply with your report on your Christmas and how you did.
here is my report: We had a pretty good Christmas. The kids were thrilled with all of their gifts and had a really fun morning. It was fun to watch them this week as they were not only excited about the gifts that they were going to be getting but they were also very excited about the gifts that they were going to give each other and to see their siblings' reactions. Glenn and I don't usually buy each other gifts. Over the years we have both been hurt by the reactions from gifts that we have bought that were not well received so it has just been easier to not get gifts than to get hurt. I wasn't expected to get anything for Christmas and wasn't disappointed so that was good.
BUT... I have had a horrible attitude lately and have allowed myself to wallow in depression and have justified it by the fact that I have no parents and I have no idea what my future holds and that I am just a messie, etc. I was convicted of that this morning in my quiet time. I should have been convicted of it 3 days ago but of course I have been neglecting my time in my Bible because I would rather wallow than do something about it. Last night God told me to get out my Creative Counterpart book and start reading it again.... ouch! Then this morning in 1Tim 4:16 I read "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." I have not been paying attention to myself or persevering. I have been holding to my "Woe is me" attitude and that is not right. Please pray that I will find my hope (what my Bible say for expectations) in God alone and ask me how I am doing about it.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Boxes
Long time no blog. Glenn told me that we got internet at home so I would blog more but we've had it over a week and I haven't blogged. Well, I'll write a quick one this morning. I have an old one that I wrote somewhere here on this computer that I will have to post too but for now...
I think that I will write about boxes. Boxes have been the bain of my existence. OK, not really but I have become very familiar with them. Our favorite boxes are Baxter boxes. If you are ever likely to move often you really need to become friends with someone on dialysis that is done at home and ask them to save their boxes for you. That is what we did. When my dad was doing dialysis at home we saw his boxes and asked him to PLEASE save them for us because they looked perfect for nomadic people like us. They are just the right size because no matter how full you make them or how heavy the stuff is that you put inside of them the average adult can still lift them. With light stuff inside them even the kids can carry them! They are also great because they are all the same size and therefore stack very nicely into moving trucks, the back of the Burb, horsetrailers, or whatever else you decide to use to move with. They also stack nicely in storage units when you are between places. I am getting better at moving. As I have unpacked this time I have kept the Baxter boxes together by type (kitchen, books, misc, etc) and have put them into piles of 10 then surrounded them with plastic wrap before putting them into the shed for our next move. I think that this will make our next move easier because when I decide to pack books I will just look for the stack of boxes marked "books" and start filling them instead of sorting through a pile of boxes for a box marked 'books." Then I will not have to use the big black marker as much because the boxes will be already labeled. I have tried to do this in the past so very few of the boxes actually have much crossed out on them. I am trying to remember how many moves these boxes have helped us through.... I think that our Baxter boxes have survived at least 7 moves so far and they are still going strong. I think that I am a snob in many areas and boxes are definitely one of them and Baxter boxes are my boxes of choice.
We have discovered another use for Baxter boxes... they make a fun Christmas tree. There are a couple of banana boxes that we got from the Lilites and the box from our computer speakers but it is mostly Baxter boxes. Our "tree" looks best in the dark but it is fun and the kids have had fun decorating it yesterday. I thought that it was appropriate to make our tree out of boxes this year since there were still so many in the downstairs of our house and because we have been filling them and emptying them for most of the year. There are more pictures of our tree in progress (with the amazing Baxter boxes) on a photo album that Glenn made on facebook here but here is a picture of it in the dark with the lights on.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving 2008
We decided that everyone had to share one thing that they are thankful for for every year that they have been alive... here are our lists from youngest to oldest accumulated on our trip home from Aunt Ruth & Uncle Jerry's house:
Abigail:
1.Mommy & Daddy & Lydia & Caleb & Hannah
2.Puggles
3.My friends
Lydia:
1.Daddy & Momma & my sisters & brother
2.that we could play around at Aunt Ruthie's house
3.that Hannah is letting me sleep with her sometimes
4.Matt and that we gotted to go sledding with Matt
Hannah:
1.we got to see Kyle & Ehren
2.that yesterday was Abigail's birthday
3.that we get to see the Files tonight
4.me and Ella got to be back friends together again
5.AWANA
6.we went sledding with Matt last year
Caleb:
1.God provides
2.my family
3.AWANA and church
4.my friends – Will & Drew Dudley, Levi, Gabe, Josiah, Benjamin, Hannah, Lydia, Abigail, Ehren & Kyle, Shandon,
5.Miss Emily (Sunday School teacher)
6.God's Word
7.Brian & Kristina Lishawa
8.Ben has changed
“I can't wait until I have 10!!”
Glenn:
1.Sonja- all her support and love for me.
2.Caleb and that he is growing spiritually and learning scripture
3.Hannah and that she is such a people lover
4.Lydia and that she is so indepentant and entertains herself well
5.Abigail, the one that makes me smile and laugh and cry sometimes, more often smile & laugh
6.That God wants me to grow and is helping me grow
7.Brian & Kristina letting us stay at their house for 2 months
8.our little house
9.my job, that I have one
10.church
11.small group
12.my parents
13.my interview at SUNY Upstate on 1/21/09
14.all of my secondaries are done
15.the Files
16.the Cronks
17.That our Suburban is still running and has been a good though gas guzzling vehicle
18.God's word
19.How God places reading material in my life that I need.
20.That Sonja has the strength and desire to homeschool our kids.
21.For the sermon series at Church on fighting fair.
22.Monroe library system
23.That God is in control in this crazy world
24.Friends that let us mooch wireless
25.I can walk to work
26.my Mac
27.we are living more simply and finding some good deals that help us live simply
28.God will be with me this year just as He has been in years past.
Sonja
1.God is faithful and keeps His promises
2.Glenn
3.How helpful Glenn has been, especially the last few months
4.Caleb and what a great help he is with and how much he loves his sisters and his love for reading
5.Hannah and what a good helper she is and her servant's heart
6.Lydia and her love for her siblings
7.Abigail and how she makes me laugh
8.our little house and that we don't own it :)
9.that Glenn can still walk to work
10.North Baptist Church
11.our small groups – old and new and the friendships we have developed through them
12.Brian and Kristina Lishawa (who are part of both our old and new small groups :)
13.that the Lishawas let us stay at their house for 2 months
14.the right to homeschool our kids
15.God's Word and what a help and a challenge it is to me
16.the Fighting Fair series
17.getting to visit the Middle East vicariously through David Whiting's blog
18.that I will get to see my parents again someday because they trusted Christ as their Savior and I have as well
19.God is a Father to the father-less
20.facebook and how I have been able to catch up with old friends through it
21.our kids play so well together
22.Monroe County Library System – particularly having 4 libraries within 2 miles of our house
23.“He sets up kings and deposes them.”
24.I'm learning to live more simply
25.my Wegmans bags – I love those things! I have only taken home about a dozen plastic bags all year because of them!
26.free wireless at libraries, coffee shops and friends' homes.
27.my new business and especially the difference that all of the free products I have earned have made in my kitchen!
28.my blog and how writing in it has helped me and others this year.
29.God always provides for us
30.my godly heritage and the privilege of passing it on to my kids.
Abigail:
1.Mommy & Daddy & Lydia & Caleb & Hannah
2.Puggles
3.My friends
Lydia:
1.Daddy & Momma & my sisters & brother
2.that we could play around at Aunt Ruthie's house
3.that Hannah is letting me sleep with her sometimes
4.Matt and that we gotted to go sledding with Matt
Hannah:
1.we got to see Kyle & Ehren
2.that yesterday was Abigail's birthday
3.that we get to see the Files tonight
4.me and Ella got to be back friends together again
5.AWANA
6.we went sledding with Matt last year
Caleb:
1.God provides
2.my family
3.AWANA and church
4.my friends – Will & Drew Dudley, Levi, Gabe, Josiah, Benjamin, Hannah, Lydia, Abigail, Ehren & Kyle, Shandon,
5.Miss Emily (Sunday School teacher)
6.God's Word
7.Brian & Kristina Lishawa
8.Ben has changed
“I can't wait until I have 10!!”
Glenn:
1.Sonja- all her support and love for me.
2.Caleb and that he is growing spiritually and learning scripture
3.Hannah and that she is such a people lover
4.Lydia and that she is so indepentant and entertains herself well
5.Abigail, the one that makes me smile and laugh and cry sometimes, more often smile & laugh
6.That God wants me to grow and is helping me grow
7.Brian & Kristina letting us stay at their house for 2 months
8.our little house
9.my job, that I have one
10.church
11.small group
12.my parents
13.my interview at SUNY Upstate on 1/21/09
14.all of my secondaries are done
15.the Files
16.the Cronks
17.That our Suburban is still running and has been a good though gas guzzling vehicle
18.God's word
19.How God places reading material in my life that I need.
20.That Sonja has the strength and desire to homeschool our kids.
21.For the sermon series at Church on fighting fair.
22.Monroe library system
23.That God is in control in this crazy world
24.Friends that let us mooch wireless
25.I can walk to work
26.my Mac
27.we are living more simply and finding some good deals that help us live simply
28.God will be with me this year just as He has been in years past.
Sonja
1.God is faithful and keeps His promises
2.Glenn
3.How helpful Glenn has been, especially the last few months
4.Caleb and what a great help he is with and how much he loves his sisters and his love for reading
5.Hannah and what a good helper she is and her servant's heart
6.Lydia and her love for her siblings
7.Abigail and how she makes me laugh
8.our little house and that we don't own it :)
9.that Glenn can still walk to work
10.North Baptist Church
11.our small groups – old and new and the friendships we have developed through them
12.Brian and Kristina Lishawa (who are part of both our old and new small groups :)
13.that the Lishawas let us stay at their house for 2 months
14.the right to homeschool our kids
15.God's Word and what a help and a challenge it is to me
16.the Fighting Fair series
17.getting to visit the Middle East vicariously through David Whiting's blog
18.that I will get to see my parents again someday because they trusted Christ as their Savior and I have as well
19.God is a Father to the father-less
20.facebook and how I have been able to catch up with old friends through it
21.our kids play so well together
22.Monroe County Library System – particularly having 4 libraries within 2 miles of our house
23.“He sets up kings and deposes them.”
24.I'm learning to live more simply
25.my Wegmans bags – I love those things! I have only taken home about a dozen plastic bags all year because of them!
26.free wireless at libraries, coffee shops and friends' homes.
27.my new business and especially the difference that all of the free products I have earned have made in my kitchen!
28.my blog and how writing in it has helped me and others this year.
29.God always provides for us
30.my godly heritage and the privilege of passing it on to my kids.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
what is new
Here is a blog that I wrote last week. I finally am able to post it so here it is belated...
11/20/2008
8:45pm
Well... what is new? Why is Sonja not blogging? Does anyone out there miss my blog? I miss blogging. At this point we do not have internet at home because we haven't found space for it in our budget that hasn't been looked at since FPU (sorry Dave Ramsey! - oops! we're working on that but that is another story) so Glenn checks his email at work and occasionally glances at mine and I check mine once or twice a week before or after small group (all of the homes we've met at so far have wireless) or at the library. The budget thing is true but it is not the real reason that we don't have internet. Getting rid of the internet for a season is something I really needed to do. Sure, we could have called up Time Warner as soon as we moved in but I knew that would not have been good for me. I am struggling with so much stuff right now both emotionally and school-wise and box-wise that I knew it would be easier for me to hide on the computer rather than deal with real life that really needs to be dealt with. I had way too much of an internet addiction (can anyone say facebook??) and it really needed to be broken. This fall I have been doing Beth Moore's study on Daniel at church and I have been amazed as I look at my pretty unmaterialistic in my opinion mindset how much I am influenced with our “Babylonian” society's mindset. It is everywhere – you can do it all, be it all, have it all... you deserve it, you need it. “I am and there is none besides me.” How God has had to break me and make me step back and realize that it is NOT all about me. We do not have to buy into this world's mindset but “godliness is never accidental.” So I am trying. Someday we will have internet at home again and my treatment of it will be different. I am reminded of that song “He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be, it took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and jupiter and mars, how loving and patient He must be cause, He's still working on me.” And I am so glad He is.
Well, enough of that. What is new? Maybe I can come up with a list of 10 things. We'll see how far I get:
1.Our new small group. We loved our small group from last year but we were getting so big that it was time to multiply. We split off with the Lishawas to start a group down in the south part of the city on Monday nights. There are 6 couples that regularly meet together when our doctors and nurses are not at the hospital. We have decided to take a sermon discussion approach since it worked so well during the relationship series during the first 6 weeks and it has been great to grow and pray together and hold each other accountable. I am so excited about the work that God is doing in all of our lives and the victories that we have made. I could go on but I am going to try to keep this short.
2.Fighting Fair. Our pastor did an amazing series on Fighting Fair at church this fall. If you are in a conflict with anyone right now or ever have been or ever will be (did I get everyone?) this is an amazing series for you to listen to. Go to www.northbaptistchurch.org and look under sermon archives or something like that and look for messages from September 7-October 19. Download all of them and listen to them!! It totally changed my life and perspective on conflict. There were messages about asking for forgiveness (a lot different than just saying 'I'm sorry'), confrontation, the cost of forgiveness, church discipline, overcoming evil with good. To sum it up quickly:
1.Sinful people respond sinfully when they are sinned against.
2.Your goal in conflict cannot be to win the conflict or to avoid the conflict, your goal must be to please God.
3.God's goal in conflict is to make us more like Him.
4.My biggest enemy in conflict is ME!
3.We have resumed school. Our “one week off for fall break/moving” turned into almost 3 weeks. It was bad. I was so overwhelmed with trying to find places for stuff and not finding places for stuff and sitting amidst boxes and pulling my hair out trying to figure out how and where to do school in this house but it has gotten better. Glenn helped me to come up with a schedule for our day and encouraged me to stick with it and it has gone much better. Some grumbling to start but we are enjoying it again so that is good.
4.Our CLA (Couch Like Apparatus). Space and storage is of the essence when you are living in a house of less than 600 sq feet with 5 other people. Glenn wanted to make a couch for us that the seat lifted off and we could store our camping stuff or off season clothes in it but hadn't made progress on it and we were all longing for something else to sit on besides our one recliner. Yes, all 4 kids can sit on my lap on it while we are reading a story but it would be nice to spread out a little so we started looking for a couch on craigslist. I thought we would just find a love seat or something else that would work for the time being but we found our CLA. It was homemade by the people we bought it from with really heavy pieces of wood but it has storage under it and we have been able to put some stuff that we wanted to keep but didn't want out or didn't need this winter under there. It is huge. When sitting on it my feet do not touch the floor. I am thankful for it though it was not exactly what we had in mind for a couch.
5.We have sold some stuff on Craigslist (we are not just buying this time). We sold out roll top desk (which we had no room for), our sleigh bed (which, if you remember, we could not get the boxsprings up the stairs for), and Caleb's old white bmx bike. It seems like there was something else but I can't remember what it was. There are a few more things that need to be posted and, I think, one thing still out there but that is a praise!
6.Glenn and I have both gone out this week with other people without any family member. On Tuesday I went out with a couple of ladies from small group to Phillip's European for dessert because I had been stuck in the house all day on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with sick kids so couldn't go to church or small group or the library. It was fun getting to know them better and sharing our lives (until 11:20 – yikes!). Tonight Glenn is at the Distillery with some people from work because it is the last day of three different employees from his unit. With Glenn at small group on Monday and me at AWANA last night and the opposite person staying home with sick kids we haven't really seen each other much. I think that we need to go on a date. We haven't been on one in several months. Somehow I really need to start making my relationship with Glenn a priority again!
7.Speaking of Glenn.... he has been offered an interview at Upstate on 1/12/09. Yeah! His first one. I am praying for more, specifically for U of R but God knows what is best.
11/20/2008
8:45pm
Well... what is new? Why is Sonja not blogging? Does anyone out there miss my blog? I miss blogging. At this point we do not have internet at home because we haven't found space for it in our budget that hasn't been looked at since FPU (sorry Dave Ramsey! - oops! we're working on that but that is another story) so Glenn checks his email at work and occasionally glances at mine and I check mine once or twice a week before or after small group (all of the homes we've met at so far have wireless) or at the library. The budget thing is true but it is not the real reason that we don't have internet. Getting rid of the internet for a season is something I really needed to do. Sure, we could have called up Time Warner as soon as we moved in but I knew that would not have been good for me. I am struggling with so much stuff right now both emotionally and school-wise and box-wise that I knew it would be easier for me to hide on the computer rather than deal with real life that really needs to be dealt with. I had way too much of an internet addiction (can anyone say facebook??) and it really needed to be broken. This fall I have been doing Beth Moore's study on Daniel at church and I have been amazed as I look at my pretty unmaterialistic in my opinion mindset how much I am influenced with our “Babylonian” society's mindset. It is everywhere – you can do it all, be it all, have it all... you deserve it, you need it. “I am and there is none besides me.” How God has had to break me and make me step back and realize that it is NOT all about me. We do not have to buy into this world's mindset but “godliness is never accidental.” So I am trying. Someday we will have internet at home again and my treatment of it will be different. I am reminded of that song “He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be, it took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and jupiter and mars, how loving and patient He must be cause, He's still working on me.” And I am so glad He is.
Well, enough of that. What is new? Maybe I can come up with a list of 10 things. We'll see how far I get:
1.Our new small group. We loved our small group from last year but we were getting so big that it was time to multiply. We split off with the Lishawas to start a group down in the south part of the city on Monday nights. There are 6 couples that regularly meet together when our doctors and nurses are not at the hospital. We have decided to take a sermon discussion approach since it worked so well during the relationship series during the first 6 weeks and it has been great to grow and pray together and hold each other accountable. I am so excited about the work that God is doing in all of our lives and the victories that we have made. I could go on but I am going to try to keep this short.
2.Fighting Fair. Our pastor did an amazing series on Fighting Fair at church this fall. If you are in a conflict with anyone right now or ever have been or ever will be (did I get everyone?) this is an amazing series for you to listen to. Go to www.northbaptistchurch.org and look under sermon archives or something like that and look for messages from September 7-October 19. Download all of them and listen to them!! It totally changed my life and perspective on conflict. There were messages about asking for forgiveness (a lot different than just saying 'I'm sorry'), confrontation, the cost of forgiveness, church discipline, overcoming evil with good. To sum it up quickly:
1.Sinful people respond sinfully when they are sinned against.
2.Your goal in conflict cannot be to win the conflict or to avoid the conflict, your goal must be to please God.
3.God's goal in conflict is to make us more like Him.
4.My biggest enemy in conflict is ME!
3.We have resumed school. Our “one week off for fall break/moving” turned into almost 3 weeks. It was bad. I was so overwhelmed with trying to find places for stuff and not finding places for stuff and sitting amidst boxes and pulling my hair out trying to figure out how and where to do school in this house but it has gotten better. Glenn helped me to come up with a schedule for our day and encouraged me to stick with it and it has gone much better. Some grumbling to start but we are enjoying it again so that is good.
4.Our CLA (Couch Like Apparatus). Space and storage is of the essence when you are living in a house of less than 600 sq feet with 5 other people. Glenn wanted to make a couch for us that the seat lifted off and we could store our camping stuff or off season clothes in it but hadn't made progress on it and we were all longing for something else to sit on besides our one recliner. Yes, all 4 kids can sit on my lap on it while we are reading a story but it would be nice to spread out a little so we started looking for a couch on craigslist. I thought we would just find a love seat or something else that would work for the time being but we found our CLA. It was homemade by the people we bought it from with really heavy pieces of wood but it has storage under it and we have been able to put some stuff that we wanted to keep but didn't want out or didn't need this winter under there. It is huge. When sitting on it my feet do not touch the floor. I am thankful for it though it was not exactly what we had in mind for a couch.
5.We have sold some stuff on Craigslist (we are not just buying this time). We sold out roll top desk (which we had no room for), our sleigh bed (which, if you remember, we could not get the boxsprings up the stairs for), and Caleb's old white bmx bike. It seems like there was something else but I can't remember what it was. There are a few more things that need to be posted and, I think, one thing still out there but that is a praise!
6.Glenn and I have both gone out this week with other people without any family member. On Tuesday I went out with a couple of ladies from small group to Phillip's European for dessert because I had been stuck in the house all day on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with sick kids so couldn't go to church or small group or the library. It was fun getting to know them better and sharing our lives (until 11:20 – yikes!). Tonight Glenn is at the Distillery with some people from work because it is the last day of three different employees from his unit. With Glenn at small group on Monday and me at AWANA last night and the opposite person staying home with sick kids we haven't really seen each other much. I think that we need to go on a date. We haven't been on one in several months. Somehow I really need to start making my relationship with Glenn a priority again!
7.Speaking of Glenn.... he has been offered an interview at Upstate on 1/12/09. Yeah! His first one. I am praying for more, specifically for U of R but God knows what is best.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
October Pictures
Well, I haven't posted in a long time because we don't have internet at home but here are some pictures from the month of October. There are pictures from our Sparks hike for AWANA, moving into our new place, Caleb's best friend Will's birthday party, our last trip to Seneca Park Zoo before our membership expired, Halloween fun at Brighton Library, Strong Museum of Play and trick or treating, and cleaning up around our new house.
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