Relationally Challenged? II

Well I did it! I did ask my friend out for coffee--just the two of us. It has been almost impossible for us to get our whole crew together with the schedule conflicts and such, so I just asked her if she and I could ditch our schedules for awhile and hook up. I haven't gotten a response yet so we will see. And I don't expect a deep discussion either, but I am hopeful just for some time to tend to the relationship while I analyze my issues! :)

Relationally Challenged?

I have been thinking about some of the relationships I have and have had. I have one who I would say as a pre-teen and teen was definitely a best friend. Over the years, we have grown up, were in eachother's weddings, had kids etc. I love her dearly, and so much of our lives have parallelled which is cool, but in the past few years we have drifted. It doesn't seem a "bad" drifting by any means, it just seems that our lives don't really intersect anymore. She only lives about 35 minutes from me and it seems so tough for us to get together! It is bad and I carry a lot of guilt over it. I know I shouldn't but I do. I do love her and yet I also wonder if I am relationally challenged? There is also a part of me that says....gulp....it really doesn't matter. Now I don't mean that SHE doesn't matter or even that WE as friends don't matter. It's more that the fact that we have gone off a distance in our friendship is ok? But is it? I really need to look at this. I don't want to be callous in my relationships. Perhaps it is just time for us to have coffee together and iron this out. Maybe she is ok with the way things are and I am just beating myself up? Gotta find out.

For my Wednesday Night Girl...(You Know Who You Are)

I was listening to some old Avril Lavigne songs...(yes I admit, I love her music and her voice), and this song is just so for you on so many levels! :) Enjoy!

Neighborhood Hub

I love to have people at my house. It's in my wiring for sure. But my oh my sometimes it can be extreme, like today for instance. Our neighbor boy comes over multiple times a week, which usually is fine. We enjoy having him over (most of the time), and he keeps the kids occupied, not to mention he has helped us out with projects around here too! Today, he brought his friend whom we also know, and they all had to play in the house--go figure--and there was sooo much noise I thought I might lose my mind. I guess I shouldn't complain, I do like the fact that the kids come HERE and I can keep tabs on the activity my kids are involved in. That is a blessing! And right now, they are all gone or outside and I am enjoying a shred of silence.....:)

Terrifying Drive Home

I went fishing with Lydia tonight for a few hours after dinner. She is not much into fishing {yet, if I have any say}, but was more content to eat snacks and play with worms. At least she is not grossed out by worms and fish--that's a start! :) Anyway, I knew there were storms coming so when I saw the first few flashes of lightening, we packed up and headed home. It seemed fine but within minutes it turned black and the sky was on fire. Lydia said, "The lightening is SOO beautiful!" I tried my best to agree, while listening to the radio about the tornado warnings and high winds etc. that were heading right at us! I started to feel my heart thumping and hands shake because it was sooo black, I couldn't tell if there was a tornado or not? I did actually wonder if we should get out of the car and hit the ditch because the sky was so strange. It was mostly black with this patch of eerie pink with a wall cloud inside of it. When the rain started I was on Skogman Lake Road and could literally see nothing. At that point, Lydia was saying, "I don't like it!" over and over and all I could do was pray. I seriously thought we were in the middle of a touchdown it was so bad. I drove like a turtle and finally reached the highway. Cars were stopped because there was no moving really. Finally some people started to move and I just followed the taillights to our road. OM Gosh! I was shaking like a leaf when I got home. Thank you Lord for keeping us safe!!!

Why Such a Battle for R & R?

It seems to never fail, that when our family makes a point of getting away, there is ALWAYS a fight for us to even be able to leave. And once we are gone, it is almost without fail, that there is a major issue back home that requires our attention from a distance. OR once we are gone, there is stress of unusual sorts, like expensive car breakdowns or tornados. Why is this? We are responsible people, we do our best to minister to others, and just a simple getaway is sometimes more stress than it is worth. I mean like crazy stuff, like you go to the ATM to get some cash before you go away and find out there is a $4000 overdraft! Simple error on our financial investor's part, but still! We have come to the conclusion that it is probably not us creating this issue. Is it the enemy? We push through and make it happen no matter what, but it sometimes feels easier to concede. Help me figure this out!

Vulnerability

My husband has been talking a lot lately and usually into the wee hours of the night. His topic of late is vulnerability. He is musing that part of the reason we can't seem to understand the Bible or relate to the life and teachings and life of Jesus is because we so fear vulnerability which was central to the life of Jesus. We actually wish that we could rewrite the Gospel to erase the things that make us uncomfortable. We don't like the fact that Jesus came as a baby, and that He was ridiculed and suffered. We want all of the strength that the Word has to offer but we fail to see that vulnerability is a TREASURE. A treasure?! Wow, I never looked at like this. I need to chew on this some more. This could really be a thing of transformation.

You Have Not Because You Ask Not Part II

It occurred to me this morning that not only is it a good idea to put on the armor of God daily, but I think I should make it a practice to intentionally "give" God the things I love and cherish and even the things I struggle and worry about DAILY, like first thing in the morning. I used to babysit for a lady who was a Mary Kay saleswoman and she always had some inspirational note cards plastered all over her bathroom mirror. In that case, I think it was stuff about success and blah blah. I need to plaster my mirror with reminders of what I should give to the Lord every day. I'm sick of carrying my worries and burdens around, and Heaven knows He can do a better job with the things that I love than I can....