So, we bought a house! Finally!!
We close May 9th & will move in after that (duh). We are pretty excited. We've been looking for what feels like forever. Mark's parents will be living in their own apartment-style area downstairs, and we will have the top 2 floors. It's a beautiful home - newly remodeled, very up-to-date, but also a bit smaller than what we were hoping for. It's also a little ways further from the church than what we dreamed, but it's still WAY closer than we are now, and we are sure that God will have families in our neighborhood for us to reach out to. I will make sure to post pictures… eventually :P
Lately, my days have consisted of cleaning, packing, consoling a crying baby, feeding hungry children, repeat. Yeah, such a glamorous life! I'm trying to find the fun & blessing in it, but it can be downright disheartening. It's a good thing I have an incredible husband & amazing best friend, who constantly encourage me to look to Jesus & trust Him for this stage of life & for purpose. Honestly, I know in my head that being an example for my children of a woman who joyfully trusts Jesus whole-heartedly is the most important thing. But it feels SO hard most days. So boring. And then I feel guilty because I know that living for Jesus shouldn't feel "boring," but that I am the one making it boring because I don't understand the awesomeness of God the way I should. My prayer is that I would understand Him in a way that really changes me, a way that shows my children He is real, loving, just & true.
I've been reading in Acts lately & it's tremendously eye-opening. It's incredible to see the first followers of Jesus & what their life was like. It's weird to think of what it means for me, and convicting because I feel on a completely different page than they were. Yes, there are many cultural differences, and yes, the church was in a totally different stage of growth, but I know that I am still not where I should be. If God's kingdom was/is so important, what in the world am I spending my time worrying for? Seriously. What am I even doing? But then the baby cries, my exhaustion rears its head & I don't even have time to make coffee without a small person interrupting me for something. Then I read in Acts again the next day & remember that I forgot that I was supposed to be thinking about all of this again!
I know, this stage of life is hard. I've not had more than 4hrs of solid sleep in ages. At least I had a few nights on our vacation! But seriously, I don't want to let the chaos & demands of this "baby stage" deplete my understanding of the role I have in God's kingdom. I want to be so convinced in what I am doing, that sleep deprivation, nightly (and often daily) torture, chores that never end, and anything else that life throws my way, won't deter me from telling people about Jesus. But how… when… and how again??
These are the things I am working through. I'd love to hear from you, links on great books or articles, words of encouragement, ideas on sharing the gospel with my (from my perspective) limited sphere of influence… Not that I have all this spare time to read it, but I will try!
Thanks again for tuning into my brain & fingertips for a bit. I do look forward to days when I have a bit more spare time, but I also am enjoying the stage of carefree idea-sharing & giggles that my kids are in. Even through the exhaustion, there are too many funny things that happen and are said each day to share. Hopefully I will be writing again soon after the move - say a prayer for us!
We close May 9th & will move in after that (duh). We are pretty excited. We've been looking for what feels like forever. Mark's parents will be living in their own apartment-style area downstairs, and we will have the top 2 floors. It's a beautiful home - newly remodeled, very up-to-date, but also a bit smaller than what we were hoping for. It's also a little ways further from the church than what we dreamed, but it's still WAY closer than we are now, and we are sure that God will have families in our neighborhood for us to reach out to. I will make sure to post pictures… eventually :P
Lately, my days have consisted of cleaning, packing, consoling a crying baby, feeding hungry children, repeat. Yeah, such a glamorous life! I'm trying to find the fun & blessing in it, but it can be downright disheartening. It's a good thing I have an incredible husband & amazing best friend, who constantly encourage me to look to Jesus & trust Him for this stage of life & for purpose. Honestly, I know in my head that being an example for my children of a woman who joyfully trusts Jesus whole-heartedly is the most important thing. But it feels SO hard most days. So boring. And then I feel guilty because I know that living for Jesus shouldn't feel "boring," but that I am the one making it boring because I don't understand the awesomeness of God the way I should. My prayer is that I would understand Him in a way that really changes me, a way that shows my children He is real, loving, just & true.
I've been reading in Acts lately & it's tremendously eye-opening. It's incredible to see the first followers of Jesus & what their life was like. It's weird to think of what it means for me, and convicting because I feel on a completely different page than they were. Yes, there are many cultural differences, and yes, the church was in a totally different stage of growth, but I know that I am still not where I should be. If God's kingdom was/is so important, what in the world am I spending my time worrying for? Seriously. What am I even doing? But then the baby cries, my exhaustion rears its head & I don't even have time to make coffee without a small person interrupting me for something. Then I read in Acts again the next day & remember that I forgot that I was supposed to be thinking about all of this again!
I know, this stage of life is hard. I've not had more than 4hrs of solid sleep in ages. At least I had a few nights on our vacation! But seriously, I don't want to let the chaos & demands of this "baby stage" deplete my understanding of the role I have in God's kingdom. I want to be so convinced in what I am doing, that sleep deprivation, nightly (and often daily) torture, chores that never end, and anything else that life throws my way, won't deter me from telling people about Jesus. But how… when… and how again??
These are the things I am working through. I'd love to hear from you, links on great books or articles, words of encouragement, ideas on sharing the gospel with my (from my perspective) limited sphere of influence… Not that I have all this spare time to read it, but I will try!
Thanks again for tuning into my brain & fingertips for a bit. I do look forward to days when I have a bit more spare time, but I also am enjoying the stage of carefree idea-sharing & giggles that my kids are in. Even through the exhaustion, there are too many funny things that happen and are said each day to share. Hopefully I will be writing again soon after the move - say a prayer for us!
