Five Minute Friday: Community

Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking

Five Minute Friday: Community

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i often write about and think about what life should look like.  if we all really were on board with living our faith in a tangible way in front of other people.  and by 'we all' i really mean me.  community is a big part of life - my church community, my family community.  these are the people i live life with.  these are the people i borrow and loan things with because with these people, i don't have to hold on too tightly.  to my things or to myself.  they know me.

my community is moms.  my community is believers.  my community is teenagers.  my community is sometimes messy and sometimes too barren.  i don't really believe community is a balance because it seems like something that has to be constant, not compartmentalized.

im not good at it all the time.  i do not gain energy from being around large groups, especially of people i don't know.  i like to spend time with groups to build community, i love to spend time with my friends.  but then i need to come home and recharge and refocus before i can again go out and -hopefully- remove the focus from myself and focus on my community.

Stop.

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten #54

I AM THANKFUL!  This has been a long, hard couple of weeks.  To put it gently I've been hormonal and I have had a LOT going on.  But man, I am thankful.

1. I am thankful for our new mini-garden out the back door!

2. I am thankful that Abi is such an easy-to-bed, easy-to-rise kid!

3. I am thankful that the girls let me get in 2 hours of extra work time this morning while still getting to hang out with them!

4. I am thankful for the moms at our church and in my life and our playdates!

5. I am thankful for the knowledge that the Lord is faithful, all the time.

6. I am thankful for the accountability that teaching a Bible study brings.

7. I am thankful for my dear friends who understand me!

8. I am thankful for family dinners.

9. I am thankful for rest.

10. I am thankful that He is my Rock and my Salvation.  Whom shall I fear?

I wear mom jeans.

Recently my jeans have been called "domestic" and "ugly" specifically and a few other very broad comments have been made about them.  Here is what I have to say to that.

I have two babies.  Clothes just don't fit me like they used to.  I have no hips and my tush does not fill out pants.  Sorry they are baggy and don't fit like they do on models.  Deal with it.

I don't need to impress.  My husband loves me for who I am and what I do in our family, not for whatever jeans happen to be on my body.  Sure, I like to look nice for him...but since he helped create those two babies, he understand my above dilemma.

I don't want to spend tons of money!  I have found that Gap jeans fit me nicely...at $50 a pop.  Do you know how many diapers I could buy for that?  Not many - and my kids need diapers...so you see, one day I will be a priority again but not right now.

I see enough butts a day changing diapers, I don't need the world to see mine.  I HATE how most jeans are cut...and if the ones that are cut high enough to cover my tush are "mom jeans"...well, I'm ok with that.  Better than seeing my mom rear end.

Ok, I'm done ranting now.  This was a poorly constructed and not well thought out rant against those who mock me! :)

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Five Minute Friday: Together

Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking

TOGETHER

Go.
my husband and i recently had a meeting where we were asked how long we had been with harvest youth ministries.  i thought about it and said, oh, i don't know seven, eight years maybe.  he looked at me surprised and said this is nine years for me and you've been around longer than i have.  he's right.  i'm coming up on ten years with this ministry and oh my.

this ministry brought my life together.  at a time when i was struggling with who i was as a teenager and who i was going to be as an adult i found the right glue that got me back on track.

this ministry brought my family together.  my husband and i worked side by side, day and night.  first we served the Lord as individuals with a common goal but not as a team.  then we served Him investing our lives together a bit at a time.  now, we serve Him as a team everyday.

this ministry gave focus to my heart's desire.  at is says in thessalonians, we loved you so much that we wanted to not only share the gospel of Jesus Christ with you but our lives as well.  this ministry has brought so many people into my life - some of them so closely that we do life together - regularly.  i love that they see my junk and i see theirs and yet, here we are, still together so many years later.

it is a blessing to see lives changed and know that the change is forever.  there is no going back so together we go forward.

Stop.


(Family Ministry Page)

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten #53

Oh guys, I wanted to badly to sit down with ya'll yesterday and just write.  Not that I had anything super important to say but I feel myself retracting into that place where I get caught up in my own doubts and fears and uncertainty because I don't take the time to express what is going on in my world.  Call me crazy, but I love knowing that I'm not the only one who feels like I am still just trying to figure life out!

Here are my thankfuls this week!

1. I am thankful for my babies.  One of my two year olds favorite phrases (in addition to MOMMY, HELP, come quick) is "watch me!".  It makes me sad though for children who do not have anyone to delight in them.

2. My new android phone.  (How about that transition from deep to shallow?)  Draw Something is good fun. Except for the people who write the word.  And the people who I know are judging my drawing skills!

3. My ability to take better kid pics and videos on above said phone for further above said reason.

4. A busy but productive week.  I feel like I have been going non-stop this week working tons of hours and getting stuff busted out.  Hopefully we will see visible results!

5. FOURTEEN girls who are signed up for Princess Program this time around.  FOURTEEN!  And three more who are doing Experiencing God with me...speaking of which I need to go do that homework.

6. Have I mentioned I love my job?  Mainly because of reasons like thankful #5!  I also get to work in my home with my coffee and my sweet babies around!

7.  Sleeping in!  When Gabby (my 4 year old sis in law) stayed with us last week she got me up around 7, 7:30 every morning.  I am NOT a morning person.  So I mentioned to my husband that I would like to sleep in Wednesday morning.  He got up with the girls and then came and woke me up at 9am.  So sweet.

8. No babies in my bedroom!  Now that Gabby is back at home we re-kicked Abi out of our room...and it is nice not having to tiptoe around to go to bed!

9. Laughter. 

10. Windows.  Can totally hear the beatles smacking against the window and beatles creep me out. :D

:)

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten #52

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten #52

1. ONE YEAR OF THANKFULS!!!!!

2. Family trip to Young's Jersey Dairy last night!

3. Easter family time!  I LOVE spending time with all my family!

5 Generations



 4. Pretty Easter dresses on my babies! (And new family picture!!)

5. Daydreaming about a trip I hope to be taking in June!

6. Having my little sister in law spend the week with me and the girls!  (Although can I say, I think it is super funny the looks I get when I have all three of them...however if we continue our 2 year pattern this would be my life in 2 years!)

7. "Wait a minute, how'd you do that?" Coming from a lady behind me at Target when I saved about 60% on my bill.

8. A husband who understands me and knows how to handle my crazy.

9. My crazy kid who just gets bigger every day!

10. My Princess Girls who I get to start working with again tomorrow night!!!

Thoughts, Coupons and Silliness

Did I already mention on here I have a four year old at my house this week?  My little sister-in-law (yes, she is four...my husband will be 34 this year...and she isn't the youngest...wrap your head around that one!).  We have had such a good time so far but I'm pretty sure she will be ready to go home when the week is up.  My darling 2 year old has been harassing her sun up to sun down.  I think she just likes playing with someone with as much energy as she has.

Tonight I started doing the Experiencing God Bible study with 3 lovely young ladies.  My big kids told me they missed me though, that made me sad.  I love them dearly but time is fleeting for sure!  Friday we start our next Princess Program and I have 12 (TWELVE!) girls interested!  Oh my!  It should be a ton of fun though.

One of the Attic girls called this morning wanting to chat so I picked her up and headed to the park with the kids.  I love my job.  It isn't every day you get to be a friend, mentor, encourager and mom all in the same moment.  It's the best!


Here was my Target trip tonight:

Ammonia 1.12
Method Kitchen Cleaner 2.69
3 4-Packs of Light bulbs 7.17
Aquafresh 2.19
8 boxes of Pasta 8.00

I paid...... 7.50..... for all of it.

Ammonia 1.12  (1.12)
Method Kitchen Cleaner 2.69 (.69)
3 4-Packs of Light bulbs 7.17 (free, plus .83 overage)
Aquafresh 2.19 (.19)
8 boxes of Pasta 8.00 (6.00)
Tax (.34)

Thankful Thursday Top Ten #51

Oh no guys, next week I'll hit one year of thankfuls and I haven't even BEGUN to look through them yet!  I can't even imagine how much fun it is going to be to go through and celebrate again.  I'll get to relive those weeks where there were so many thankfuls to choose from, and those weeks that were hard, that we learned from and that we got through.  Our God is good, all the time.



Did you know my grandpa and I share a birthday?  It's the BEST!

I have had a chance to sit down - across many miles over the phone - with my best friend this week and just say things that needed to be said.  Things that were on my heart that I don't talk about much and can I tell you how thankful I am for those friendships?  I can't imagine what my life would be like without her and those people who I know will rejoice when I rejoice and let me hurt when life hurts.  I'm so blessed, I really really am.

1. I am thankful for the reminder that my kids are only little once and to enjoy them while I've got them!

2. I am thankful for a band that is coming to the teen center tomorrow with an amazing ministry.  It will be one of those nights where we will just ask God to blow us away with what He is going to do next.

3. I am thankful for my Princess girls!  I can't wait to get started next week!

4. I am thankful for amazing opportunities to work with teen girls.  I just wish they could all move in to a house next door to me so it was easier to see them more often (but then I can go home while they stay up all night giggling :)

5. I am thankful for friends who know that thankfulness and making it through sometimes just go hand in hand.

6. I am thankful for Easter!  Oh my, I am so grateful that a lot of my extended family lives close by and we get to see them fairly often.  I am delighted that I have such a great relationship with my grandparents (Happy birthday Grandma!) and that my kids get to know them!

7. I am thankful for my husband fixing things!  We've had a lot of random lights break lately, walls that needed repair (I may or may not have pulled a chunk of plaster off with Command hooks) and just random things that needed to be done.  He has been awesome at tackling them!

8. I am thankful my kiddo LOVES to help me bake!  She is so much fun!

9. I am thankful that messes clean easily ;)  (so far anyway)

10. I am thankful that who I am today is enough and who I am tomorrow will probably be even better.