Everyone Has A Story

Today, I went clothes shopping for my husband and daughter. I took my two-year-old with me and made sure to put a package of fruit snacks into my purse to pull out at just the right time. We went through the Starbucks drive through (thanks to a gift card from my husband). After that, we proceeded to the one department store that was closest to home and then the consignment store to look for a "spinning dress." When the shopping was completed, I came home, made lunch for myself and four kids, and then encouraged them to finish their jobs and school work. That put us at about 1:00 and the day continued in more details and comings and goings.

What I didn't think much about today, is that everyone else had their own stuff going on at the same time as I did. Somebody somewhere woke up in a hospital this morning. Somebody was clothes shopping at the same time and place as me. Somebody didn't have a gift card and so couldn't go through the Starbucks drive through. Somebody received a promotion today. Somebody celebrated a birthday. Sometimes I live my life so self-focused, I'm afraid I miss out on a lot.

It's easy for us to get wrapped up in our own lives and not notice those around us. It's easy to forget that everyone has a story when we are so involved in our own. Jesus is a perfect example of living His story while at the same time, paying careful attention to other people's stories. In fact, His mission, the purpose for His story, was to impact other people's stories. As we become more Christ-like, shouldn't that be our mission too? Unfortunately, we tend to get buried in the pages of our own sadness, happiness, or routine and forget to interact with others.

Here are some questions that I am asking myself:

1. Am I so wrapped up in my own story that I am not a part of other's stories?
2. Is my routine so busy that I am not taking time to see other people around me and listen to their stories?
3. What can I change in my schedule, routine, or attitude so that I can better appreciate and enter into other people's stories?
4. If I am a part of other's stories, am I a having a Christ-like impact on them?
5. Whose story can I intentionally become a part of?

He's Changing Me

One of my favorite books at present is a book that my friend gave me, entitled Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. It is the fictional story of a woman named Katherine written in the form of her journal. The entries begin the day she is sixteen years old and continue until after she is married and has children of her own. Though it is fictional, it is written with the purpose of the reader learning life lessons from it--not solely for entertainment purposes. One thing that impressed me about this book is the way the character grew and matured in the Lord. As a reader, and someone looking at the whole picture, I could see a huge change in her from the time she was sixteen to the time she was married with children. Yet, in her journal entries, she often lamented her immaturity and lack of spiritual growth.

I find myself often doing the same thing. I get so frustrated when I repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Discouragement can come easily when I dwell on my many shortcomings but reading this book gave me another perspective. If I step back and look at my life from the time I was sixteen until now, I have grown, matured, and changed drastically. It is an encouraging reminder that God is continuing his work in me--constantly teaching me and molding me into the person that He ultimately wants me to be. Until I reach heaven, I will not be that completed person and that's what this life is, my journey towards heaven to be with my Lord, Savior, and Friend.

"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT

*If you're interested in reading the book, there is a free audio-version here http://librivox.org/stepping-heavenward-by-e-prentiss/ or here http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/stepping-heavenward-by-e-prentiss.

Best Friends

I love being married to my best friend. Are you married to your best friend? Because people are always changing, learning new things, and in different phases of life it is easy to lose that friendship and just be living two lives side by side--especially with the busyness of children and their activities, work, bills, pets, house upkeep, other friends, and the list continues.

My husband and I are intentional about staying best friends--here are some of the things that we do:

• We find things in common that we like to do, and we make time to do those things together.
• We stay interested and engaged in each other's work lives. So if my husband is reading a book or going to a conference, I try to join him. He stays engaged at home with me and the children and loves it when I send him updates throughout the day of things that are happening.
• We talk about deeper things than the weather and not just about our children, though we do talk about them a lot! For instance, we might discuss politics or our Bible reading for the day.
• We learn new things together like a game or a new hobby.  Recently we've started geocaching which is a fun whole family activity. Now we are on the hunt for a new board game.
• We give each other space to have our own individual hobbies.
• We pray together.
• Sometimes, we read a book together--and I do mean we read it out loud together! It's been awhile since we've done that one but it was a great experience that we will repeat.
• We have date nights and actually get out of the house without children.
• We laugh together.

What are some things that you do to intentionally stay best friends with your spouse?

A New Year--A New Hobby

I have never been successful at making New Year resolutions. A few years ago I finally made it my New Year resolution to NEVER make a resolution again because they just made me feel like a failure. I have been successful at that one but I still feel like I am missing something when I don't make a resolution.

This year, following my wonderful husband's example, I decided to take the opportunity to learn something new. For some reason, I've been wanting to learn how to knit. My mom gave me a book, DVD, and starter kit for Christmas. I bought some cheap yarn at Walmart (which I probably won't do once I learn the basics) and I started.

So far, I have learned how to cast on, knit stitch and cast off. I am now making a practice scarf just so that I can learn the knit stitch really well before learning the purl stitch.

Surprisingly, it's sort of addictive. There is a therapeutic rhythm to knitting. There is something calming about the repetitive motion; the organization of it. It is almost mentally relaxing--definitely not physically relaxing though. My shoulders tend to stiffen up and I've discovered muscles in my wrists and hands that I previously didn't know existed.

Knitting is a detailed process. It takes time, creativity, and thought, especially when making something with a detailed pattern. I love the picture of God knitting me together. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13 NIV) He has a plan and though I am not a completed project I trust Him that His pattern for me is perfect. I'm excited to see the way He's daily changing me and looking forward to someday being the finished product.

Learning something new has been a fun approach to the idea of a New Year Resolution and I already feel successful! Here's a picture of my practice scarf so far.

Yes, I know I'm using the wrong yarn for the pattern. It's not bulky enough for the pattern and the size of needles that I'm using. I know there are some holes where I dropped some stitches--don't know how to fix that yet. It's definitely a work in progress (just like me) but it's good practice and my daughters will be vying for it no matter how it looks.