What I’ve been up to…

Obviously, blogging has fallen down a few notches on my priority scale. 😛

Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day…here’s a little peak at what I’ve been up to instead…

1) Decorating my “paw”sitively adorable classroom

I’m easing back into this work thing by going back half-days…and half-weeks. Sadly, this pace will only keep up for another week or so, then I’ll have to be back full time to get all of my business taken care of. In the meantime, I’ve arranged furniture, hung lots of bright paper, and made plans to carry out a dog theme that will have everyone waggin’ their tails with excitement. Pictures to come once it’s all complete, of course. 😉

2) Making Pinterest proud by hosting what was the cutest baby shower EVER with several of my girl friends

A post to come on this one later in the week…if for no other reason than to show my mom the pics and give us a chance to add a few original pins to Pinterest. 😉 I’ll give you this teaser though…

Oh yes. SkippyJon Jones was involved.

3) Finalizing all of our new insurance plans

Sorry if you are reading this, current insurance lady. You are about to get dumped. (Once I get the you-know-whats to do it.) After meeting with the rep from a different insurance company, we were delighted to find that we could save over $50 a month (that’s a lot of money in a year, my friends!) on our insurances for the same, or in some cases, more coverage. We’ve signed the dotted line, paid the deposits, answered a bazillion weird questions…even had our blood drawn and peed in cups. Now all that’s left is getting a few appraisals done and breaking up with the old company.

We’re pumped about the savings…but geez, this has taken (literally) blood, sweat, and tears to pull off. I’ll be glad when it’s done for sure.

4) Completing comp training for the new year…YouTube style

Last year my teaching partner introduced me to something called Whole-Brain (or Power) Teaching. I won’t go into all the legistics here, but I’ve been doing quite a bit of internet research on it in preparation for the new school year. In fact, when all is said and done, I’ll need to have completed somewhere between 5 and 10 hours of research. Right now I’m sitting a little over an hour and half.

I’ve got a ways to go, to say the least.

5) Squeezing in end-of-summer doctor’s appts

Which for me has been multiple visits to the chiropractor and the eye doctor. Speaking of…check out my new glasses!

So cute, right?! (A little bright and teacher-y perhaps, but I think they’re fun!) Just for kicks, here’s a picture of the side view…check out how thick they are. That’s why I have to get such small frames…anything much bigger and the sides would definitely start looking coke-bottle-ish. Not exactly what I’m going for.

And yes, the chiropractor is still crackin’ on me. My back is definitely improving though, and I’ve ordered custom orthotics to help with my long-term situation. I’m super curious to see which shoes they will / will not fit in…and I can’t decide if I’m hopeful or not that a little shoe-shopping may be in order. 😉

6) Seeking the Lord’s promises for myself, my husband, and my marriage

This may be last on my list, but it is by far the most important. God has really started a revival in our lives, and prayers are being answered. Chris and I attended a marriage conference this past weekend through our church and Family Life Ministries (called “The Art of Marriage”) that was such a blessing. In addition, I’ve really been digging into God’s word and seeking to store His word in my heart so that I can pray more scripture. That’s what I’ve spent large portions of the evening working on, and it is well worth the time.

In fact, I was thinking just yesterday about all the areas of my life in which God deserves glory and praise. I hate running, and yet He is helping me become a runner and (dare I say?) even enjoy it a little. I’m not that great of a cook, but through seeking to cook healthier / cheaper meals for my family He has enabled me to make some pretty yummy meals this last week or so. He deserves all the glory and honor for the changes that are happening in my marriage…He is just so, so good.

I hope you know Him. I hope you are giving each area of your life over to Him.

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And as for this next week? More of the same…back to the eye doctor to try out new contacts, complete jewelry & truck appraisals to turn into the insurance man, running, bible studyin’, YouTube research, classroom decorating…the list is growing!

Oh, and I’ll hopefully be marking something off of my “30 before 30” list..any guesses as to what that might be? *wink*

Hope your week is a blessed one!

KEEP CALM & THANK THE LORD IN EVERYTHING!

Facing my Giant

I’ve seen “Fireproof.”

I’ve seen “Courageous.”

How had I not seen “Facing the Giants”?

In case you haven’t heard of / seen any of the above movies, I’ll just say…you should! They are clean, Christian films that focus on very real issues. I think each one gets better than the last, and all of them had me laughing and crying and thinking.

This last one really did that for me, and kind of out of the blue. When I saw “Facing the Giants” on tv a couple of weeks ago, I decided to DVR it and save it for a lazy day. I was expecting a good movie, some football drama, and a healthy dose of inspiration.

Instead I found myself looking my most recent, and pretty big fear, right in the face. In turn, this lead to tears, snot, and my dog running into the other room just to get away from the crazy lady who wanted to snuggle. 😛

You may remember a post from a couple of months back called “Praise vs. Fear.” It was about a road Chris & I were traveling down, and the crossroads of choosing fear or choosing to praise God. And not just praising Him in the good, but praising Him in the bad. Praising Him if the answer isn’t easy, or even if the answer isn’t given.

In the days since that post, we’ve been making that choice (praise vs. fear) over, and over, and over again. Probably me even moreso than Chris. We’ve dealt with a bit of a runaround from doctors, trouble with scheduling, and lots of questions.

So then, on Saturday, when the secondary storyline of the movie unfolds, I come back the that crossroads. I was expecting football, not infertility. I was expecting to watch someone else’s problems for a while, not stare mine in the face.

See, that’s what Chris and I have had lingering questions over. I won’t go into all the details here, because the story is not mine alone to tell. The point is that there was a question as to how Chris & I would be able to start a family one day  and after a lot of discussions we decided that the time had come to find out where we stood.

In the movie, the man asks his wife something along these lines…“But will you love Him <God>? Will you love Him even if He never allows us to have children of our own?”

Talk about a crossroad staring you right in the face. Would I love Him, even if He never allowed Chris & I to have children of our own?

It reminded me of just about a year ago, when I was facing the potential of job loss and the question “Will I trust Him, even if He allows me to lose my job?”

God has grown me since the job-scare. I’ve learned to trust more, I’ve learned more about God’s will & what He does and does not promise His followers. But that doesn’t mean I’m without worry or angst. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have to regularly decide that God is worthy of praise whether he makes my life easy or not.

And I had to accept that He would be worthy of my praise, no matter what the test results were. I would love Him, no matter the result.

So I turned again to 2 Chronicles 20…a vast army was coming against them, so they inquired of the Lord. He told them “‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them….You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you…Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.”

On Monday, we faced that battle. I gave it to the Lord yes, but we still had to face it. And guess what? He deserves our praise. He is worthy of all devotion and love and admiration. And he would have been just as worthy if the test results had come back and said we most likely would not have children of our own.

But that wasn’t the case.

Praise God, the doctor said that we should be fine moving forward! Thank you Jesus!

It’s always been in God’s hands, but when I’ve considered having children in the past it’s always included a lot of calculated planning on my part. Coming through this, I’m recognizing more and more that my “plans” are…nothing. So here we are, yet again at a crossroads. Will we trust God to bless our little family with a child in His timing? Will we love Him if it happens before we think we’re ready? Will we love Him if it takes longer than we’d like? Will I trust His plans above my own?

Such is life, isn’t it? A bazillion crossroads everyday, some small…some ginormous. Will you keep your eyes on Him? Will I?

I pray that we do, because His plans far exceed our own.

KEEP CALM & PRAISE HIM!

P.S. – For more information on the movies, check out their webpage. I have found them all to be so incredibly life applicable…God is moving through this movie ministry! http://sherwoodpictures.com/