A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsman

I've never really been a fan of the Amish fiction books, but I had decided t give this one a try. As it turns out, I am still not a fan of them, even though the book is written well.

The plot is full of lies and deceit, and the only difference in that it is in the Amish community instead of the English community, which is why I think that people are drawn to it. The main character, good girl Rhoda, ends up finding herself in trouble after being in the wrong spot at the wrong time, things get messy. A guy who needs her special skill comes to her rescue in order to save himself as well as get her out of a bad situation.

My impression of this book was that it is just another romance novel, full of drama and unrealistic love stories. If one enjoys this, then I would suggest this book, for it is well written grammatically. I, however, am not enticed to finish the series.

Quick Life Update

With so many ideas going around in my head about what my next blog should be about, this one is the easiest to write about, and its pretty exciting --  WE'RE MOVING TO MOUNT PLEASANT!

And we are very excited and ready for this new chapter of life. I feel like we have been waiting for this day for a few years, knowing that we would love to be back to MP someday, but knowing that it wasn't yet our time. I am so thankful for where God has taken us in the last four years -- I have made some lifelong friends, played in a band, lived in a 5th wheel, and gained confidence that I never knew I had. And now, God is telling us that it is time to use the trials and triumphs that we have experienced to reach out to the Mount Pleasant area and to Central Michigan University.

So, this week is crazy, seeing as how Josh works six days, and I am working five. On top of that, we will be starting the move as soon as we get the word that the apartment is ready for us, which could be as soon as tomorrow. If anyone wants to help us move, and is in the Mount Pleasant area, just let us know -- I'm sure we could put you to good use :)

Demolition

In high school, I was involved in many things: band, drama, BPA, NHS, Student Council, and Track, to name a few.

While I was a part of the track team all four years of my high school career, I could hardly run half a mile for our warm ups. After all, throwers shouldn't have to run, right? The track was about a mile (give or take) from the school, and all track athletes had to run to the track as a part of the warm-up. Except the throwers. I was never really pushed in my running, and even with our 2 laps around the track each day, no one ever watched us closely enough to make sure we did it. I was also one of the girls who dreaded the victory lap my team was insistent on taking every time we came out on top at a meet. One last thing to show you how much I disliked running -- my coach decided to make a team for the 4x1 race out of the throwers, so I had to run a 200. I hated it and told my coach that if he ever made me run a race at a meet again I'd quit... So -- I really didn't like to run.

So it was crazy to me when I decided that I wanted to start running. I started trying, and every time I tried, I got discouraged -- I was so out of breath after less than half a mile! I remember the run I went on with Josh, when he explained how to breathe in a way that made sense and finally -- finally! -- running turned into something that I might be able to do.

Since then, I've run four 5k's, and feel great after I run. After this last run, I finally came close enough to touch the wall of fear that I have been avoiding since I started running, though. Its so easy to get comfortable, and to do the same thing over and over, but that doesn't really ever challenge us. We have to push our bodies if we want to see change, and if we want to prove to ourselves that we CAN do something.

After my race last Saturday, for some reason, I was ready to face the wall head on. I was ready to push myself to see if I could run further than I ever had. 3.1 miles is a good distance, especially for someone who never used to run. My new goal was 4 miles. I was so excited last night, I couldn't really sleep. And waking up this morning, while I had lost some momentum from the night before, I had made my mind up that I was going to climb that wall and face my fear. I was going to run 4 miles.

With God running with me, I managed to run not 4 miles, but 5 miles. I can't explain the feeling you get when you push through to the end, and endure the pain because you see what is waiting at the finish line. I've never pushed myself to such an extreme, and I really wanted to do a dance and jump up and down when I finished. But I didn't, because I had to pee, and I was super tired :P

I decided that instead of leaving the wall up and risk potentially running into it again, I would just completely demolish it, proving to myself that I could run not only 4 miles, but 5 miles. I'm sure I could make this analogy even more cheesy, but I think you get the picture :P

I wasn't planning on making this all about my running experience, but I guess it is. I have learned so much from running -- Its such a unique sport, and the athletes are all different. The feeling of finishing a race is exhilarating. And I think the best thing about it is having your family/friends there at the finish line supporting you :)

I guess I just had to get this off my chest... I RAN 5 MILES TODAY!!! WOOOOOO!!!

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" - Hebrews 12:1

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

Home Is Where The Heart Is

For a while, every time we pulled into a parking lot - the church, the grocery store, a gas station - our two-year-old daughter would yell, "WE HOME!" Its funny, because who would think of the gas station as home? But as I thought about it each time she said it, I realized she had a point.

What does being 'home' really mean? A lot of us have a building, our house, that we consider our home. College students live in dorms, a home away from home. But the Bible says that this world is NOT our home. So... what does being 'home' really mean? Since Josh and I have been married, we've moved around quite a bit; seven times in four years, to be exact. Maybe this is why I ask this question. We've never really settled into a certain place, but maybe we aren't meant to 'settle' on this earth.... maybe God is calling us to a higher calling -- to be unsettled in His name. To do His work on this earth until we are really called to our true home.

The saying 'home is where the heart is' is really a great truth. If my heart is on Christ, then my home is with Him, which makes dealing with the crazy of this world a lot easier. So I try to make my heart focused on Christ. 

Next, its easy to go through the motions, and not really be completely into a task we are doing -- if we are asked to take someone somewhere, for instance, and we say yes, but don't really want to. When we decide to have our heart and mind into the task we are performing, we are more likely to get something out of it that we God intended us to get. 

When my daughter yells 'We're Home!' as we pull into the grocery store parking lot, I now just smile, and say "yeah!" as I share in her enthusiasm. Her heart is into going grocery shopping, and her comment reminds me to enjoy the task at hand. She has already learned to be fully engaged in the task at hand, and when Mom can be fully engaged too, grocery shopping turns into valuable Mama-daughter time! 

Being a Christian with Teal Hair

I wish I had time to just sit and type out a well thought out blog. I probably do. But I haven't done it yet. And this is no exception. But it will be a jumble of thoughts from my brain that I have been thinking for  a while. Or maybe just for a second.

I've been learning a lot lately, and a lot of it comes from changing my hair color (and cutting it short). The stereotype of people with crazy colored hair is that they are a no-good, irresponsible punk. It's amazing how changing the color of my hair changed me from responsible to irresponsible -- not externally judged (too much, I hope) to judged instantly. What really shocked me, though, was the people I got the responses from. ****

Most of them were people who knew me well. Most of them were people who knew that I was capable of making good choices (for the most part). But because I had colored my hair teal, the first thing they saw was a punk. It was hard to see past it. This teaches me a lot about first impressions. They are important, sure. But it also teaches me a lot about how we as people have short comings, and once we get a certain idea or misconception etched into our brains, its hard to think differently.

(I was more accepted by non-Christians than I was to people within the Church. While this is not at all what the Love of Christ looks like, it was a great ministry opportunity....)

The reason for my drastic change? Because I too fell prisoner to the cookie cutter ideas and the stereotypes Christians -- or maybe churches -- seem to have. We are supposed to love everyone, and leave the judging to Christ, but how well do we do that? I was judging a man who had dread-locks and smoked cigarettes, wondering why anyone who called themselves a Christian would dress the way he dressed or would smoke. The plank became noticeable in my eye when, at the conference we were attending, he was one of the speakers. He was not only a passionate speaker, but he was passionate and in love with the One True God. I started to re-evaluate myself after this, and especially after I got to sit down with him personally and listen to him talk of the bible and Christ.

This started a war within myself. What had I become? Over the past seven years of being a Christian, I had become fake. A cut-out of what 'church people' tend to think is best, especially in a leader position. This would make sense, of course, because Josh and I had found ourselves in leadership positions for most of our married lives. But that still didn't cut it for me. I became angry with God, because I couldn't figure out what was going on. And then I realized that I just needed to start over. Its not about fitting the bill, or 'fitting in' to what the Church expects. Jesus hung out with the lepers and the tax collectors. The Church is supposed to welcome all people through its doors, no matter what we look like.

I had teal hair, and instead of turning me into a rebel that disobeyed the rules and sought myself above everything else, it did the opposite. It has helped me to seek the Lord in a new, exciting way. It has opened my eyes to what it feels like to be judged before uttering a word. It has helped me to truly know the love of a Savior that never leaves me side, even when it feels like I am alone.


So are we going to believe all the ideas about different types of people? Are we going to let ourselves judge people before knowing them? God said 'judge not lest ye be judged'... Its our job to love people regardless of hair color, skin color, clothing, or tattoos/piercings. Let's start being the Church that God intended us to be.

Rockin' out for Jesus at Faith Fest 2013

****This blog is in no way written about a single person that I encountered, and in no way represents all Christians. While I am basing this off of MOST of the accounts I had while sporting teal hair, I also had some positive reactions from loving, devoted Christians within the church.

Life Update: Where We Are Headed Next

      As this season of life is wrapping up, we feel excited about the next one headed our way. I am going to be graduating (finally!) with my Associate of Arts degree in the end of June, and Josh's job wraps up here in Harbor Beach in the beginning of June. As many of you know, we have been living with Josh's parents since we moved out of our friends' house in Kingston. While it has been a great time of growth and learning, we are excited to finally have a destination for our family during whatever adventures await us. I never thought I would find myself living in the thumb, but it has been a great experience. We have made some awesome friendships that will last forever, and I am so thankful for the people God has put in my life since we moved back to Michigan in 2010.
      I am excited to announce that we will be moving back to the wonderful city of Mt. Pleasant, MI sometime this summer as we work on our music and our relationships with God. We are excited to be going back to the church where we met (His House!) to serve with them in the Central Michigan area. I am also excited that many of our friends from college still live in Mt. Pleasant, and we will get to do life with them again!
      Obviously, you can tell I am excited. I know that there will be challenges, as there always is in life, but we will take them as they come, and we will be able to have some great support from the people around us. On that note, we really always have had great support from the people around us, in all sorts of ways, and I couldn't be more thankful and blessed for that. Its amazing just how much love everyone has shown us, from supporting us financially, or praying for us, or even taking us in when we needed a place to live, and feeding us! It's awesome to see God's family actually acting like a family, so thank you to every single person who has blessed us in some way or another (there are WAY too many people to list, but you know who you are!)

Anyway, get ready Mt. Pleasant: We're coming home!

Aurelia Update

Just a quick update on the last week, and Aurelia's health :)

First of all, thank you all so much for the continued prayer for Aurelia! I know that above all else, God is the best medicine, for He is the one in control.

Aurelia got sick on Monday night, and after two restless, almost sleepless nights, I decided to see if this was more than just a cold. She was already on her breathing treatments because of her brittle asthma diagnosis (this causes asthma to flare up during any sickness, causing her to need treatments).

On Wednesday, the doctor told us that we were doing the right thing for the asthma, but her lungs were still too closed off. So we left the offer with an oral steroid plus an antibiotic for an ear infection. The next couple nights Aurelia seemed to sleep much better, and seemed to be getting better in general.

We went back to the doctor today, and I could tell right away that something wasn't quite right when the nurse was taking Aurelia's stats. They ended up admitting Aurelia because her oxygen level was still too low, especially after having a few days of treatments in her. Once to the hospital, Aurelia seemed to be completely fine to me, and her numbers were staying where they needed to be. The doctor came in and told us that when Aurelia was sleeping and her oxygen stayed above a certain number, than she would be able to go home. Praise God! Her numbers stayed up, and we were home by 6pm.

Please continue to pray, as Aurelia is still on her breathing treatments as well as an antibiotic, and still in pain. Also, the doctor is ordering some extra tests, as a precaution, because many of the symptoms she has had throughout her life have been similar to symptoms of some other diseases out there. On Tuesday, we will be going to see the doctor and talk about the next steps in making sure Aurelia is as healthy as she can be.
We know that God has a plan for everything, and we are putting all of our trust  in Him. Again, we thank you for your continued prayer for our family! God Bless!