2 Samuel 23:20-23
the purpose of our blog is here.
aug. 25, 2008 - 9:35pm
8lbs 4oz
20.25 in long
amazing mother.
proud father.
thank you for all your prayers!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
a lion chaser is born
the purpose of our blog is here.
aug. 25, 2008 - 9:35pm
8lbs 4oz
20.25 in long
amazing mother.
proud father.
thank you for all your prayers!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
book review: wild goose chase
Last year Dave read In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson and loved it. Not that Dave never reads, but he almost couldn’t put this book down, which definitely told me it was special. Well, I realized just how special it was when after we found out we were having a boy Dave said he wanted to name our son after Benaiah, the character in the Bible that this book is based off of. After reading it myself, I realized that yes, it is a great book and is very inspiring and challenging and I also began to understand why Dave loved it so much. Dave LOVES quotes. And I found myself highlighting passage after passage. *we even painted a quote from the book on our nursery wall*
Mark Batterson’s second book, Wild Goose Chase, has that same readability which drew my highlighter to it’s pages. And although I think technically Dave is supposed to review his book, I stole the opportunity from him because frankly…what else was I supposed to do while I wait for our Beniah to come out? *I agreed to name our son after this lion chaser...we just decided to spell it phonetically*
While In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day challenged me, I actually had the time to process through Wild Goose Chase more and therefore I think I’ve gotten more out of this book. Mark seems to be calling all Christians to a life of spiritual adventure-something that I think Jesus also calls us to. It’s frustrating that we tend to get caught up in the everyday mundane processes of our lives and forget to listen for the adventure that God calls us to. I think this is why both of Mark’s book have been so popular-it’s a very simple message, but one that we either forget or can continue to be challenged in.
Anyway-in this book Mark challenges us to chase after the “Wild Goose”..aka the Holy Spirit and then explores six different “cages” that may be keeping us from our chase.
Cage one: Cage of Responsibility
Cage two: Cage of Routine
Cage Three: Cage of Assumptions
Cage Four: Cage of Guilt
Cage Five: Cage of Failure
Cage six: Cage of Fear
His writing style is very straightforward, while still being insightful. And since my highlighter was so busy while reading…here are some of my favorite passages/quotes.
“I wonder is some of us are living such safe lives that not only are we bored, but so are our guardian angels.” pg 7
“In fact, spiritual maturity has less to do with long-range visions than it does with moment-by-moment sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” pg 58
“We pick and choose the truths we want to accept. We become trapped by our own logic. Our lives are limited to those things we can comprehend with our cerebral cortex. We end up in the cage of our own assumptions. And the more assumptions we made, the smaller our cage becomes.” pg 72
“Faith is not logical. But it isn’t illogical. Faith is theological. It does not ignore reality, it just adds God into the equation.” pg 79
“…our reactions reveal who we really are. And maybe that is why Jesus focused so much of His teaching on reconditioning reflexes. Pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” pg 99
“I think some of use want to know the will of God more than we want to know God…You can’t do the will of God if you don’t have the heart of God.” pg 137
In short, I think this book could be beneficial to anyone at any stage in their life. At the end Mark encourages us to compile a life-goal list as a way to start playing offense with our lives instead of defense. You can view his life-goal list here. I still haven't compiled mine, but I’m excited to put it together…not sure I’ll be as vulnerable and share it on my blog though-we'll see! There is also material on the website for the book to help you start your own life-goal list which definitely seems worth checking out.
SO…we have a free copy to give away. I decided to hand off the book to the first person to check out his website and download “10 steps to setting life goals”. Leave a comment once you've downloaded the info and let me know! *for purchase confirmation enter "blog tour"* I’d love to hear what goals you decide on…maybe we can exchange ideas.
Mark Batterson: http://markbatterson.com/
Wild Goose Chase: http://www.chasethegoose.com/
The book releases today and is avaliable at http://www.borders.com/.
Monday, August 18, 2008
a look back..revamped
since my gracious husband purchased a digital camera for me *after making the target guy really uncomfortable by giving me a talk in front of him..poor guy haha* i thought i would update the progress.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
things i have learned..
some things i have learned while being pregnant..
the human body is an AMAZING thing.
i continue to be in awe of myself and the fact that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the last 38 weeks or so i have been growing life. growing LIFE! there is a heart and brain, not to mention cute toes and fingers growing and living inside of me. truly amazing.
people will love to tell you how your pregnancy is going.
a customer of mine, who is semi-frequent, asked me to turn to the side and pointed at my belly and exclaimed, “two months!” i looked back at him and muttered, “actually…more like a month.” and then he proclaimed, “it’s a girl!” and i laughed and said, “um, no. it’s a boy.” he smiled, wished me luck and went on his way. i find this most hilarious when it is a complete stranger.
most people are very kind to pregnant women…and not so nice to women with children.
i’ve had doors opened for me, offers to carry things out to my car, or just random smiles thrown my way. it is all very sweet to receive such attention and care from everyday people, but i’ve noticed that women with small children typically don’t receive the same offers. especially if a baby is crying people are more likely to throw an annoyed look your way rather than one of concern. i’ve watched many customers try to maneuver their stroller with one hand and open the door with the other while people walk by causally and offer no help.
you will be judged for everything you choose to do or choose not to do.
i was told this by a friend and i’ve actually rested with this fact a lot recently. there are many decisions to be made when it comes to raising children and everyone has different opinions on what is best. no matter the topic people will tell you what they know to be best, even if you’ve made it very clear you are choosing different. my friend advised me to lend half an ear and do what I think is best. great advice so far!
and lastly...9 months is too short and too long at the same time!
i can't believe the time has flown by, yet i'm still finding things that i need to do before beniah decides to show up. i'm actually happy being pregnant. i haven't been sick at all and overall have felt really good. it has been a tiring 9 months, but now that i'm on maternity leave i'm convinced some of that exhaustion came from my crazy schedule of waking up at 3:25 am one day and 7:30 am the next. all in all, beniah is safe, quiet, happy, and clean right now. once he gets out it will be a completely different ballgame. so while my OB tries to tell me he hopes i have him within the next couple days i'm pretty content where i'm at!
the human body is an AMAZING thing.
i continue to be in awe of myself and the fact that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the last 38 weeks or so i have been growing life. growing LIFE! there is a heart and brain, not to mention cute toes and fingers growing and living inside of me. truly amazing.
people will love to tell you how your pregnancy is going.
a customer of mine, who is semi-frequent, asked me to turn to the side and pointed at my belly and exclaimed, “two months!” i looked back at him and muttered, “actually…more like a month.” and then he proclaimed, “it’s a girl!” and i laughed and said, “um, no. it’s a boy.” he smiled, wished me luck and went on his way. i find this most hilarious when it is a complete stranger.
most people are very kind to pregnant women…and not so nice to women with children.
i’ve had doors opened for me, offers to carry things out to my car, or just random smiles thrown my way. it is all very sweet to receive such attention and care from everyday people, but i’ve noticed that women with small children typically don’t receive the same offers. especially if a baby is crying people are more likely to throw an annoyed look your way rather than one of concern. i’ve watched many customers try to maneuver their stroller with one hand and open the door with the other while people walk by causally and offer no help.
you will be judged for everything you choose to do or choose not to do.
i was told this by a friend and i’ve actually rested with this fact a lot recently. there are many decisions to be made when it comes to raising children and everyone has different opinions on what is best. no matter the topic people will tell you what they know to be best, even if you’ve made it very clear you are choosing different. my friend advised me to lend half an ear and do what I think is best. great advice so far!
and lastly...9 months is too short and too long at the same time!
i can't believe the time has flown by, yet i'm still finding things that i need to do before beniah decides to show up. i'm actually happy being pregnant. i haven't been sick at all and overall have felt really good. it has been a tiring 9 months, but now that i'm on maternity leave i'm convinced some of that exhaustion came from my crazy schedule of waking up at 3:25 am one day and 7:30 am the next. all in all, beniah is safe, quiet, happy, and clean right now. once he gets out it will be a completely different ballgame. so while my OB tries to tell me he hopes i have him within the next couple days i'm pretty content where i'm at!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
'tis the season
if you were wondering why i haven't posted. i spent 90 hours in they gym over the last two weeks with johnny and angie rocking out those camps.
volleyball officially started this week, not to mention my new job at the high school in which i get to prep for three different classes...isn't that awesome? yet somehow, as much as i love to teach it is always trumped by volleyball season.
see, i have three passions in life: my faith, my family and my coaching (i also consider teaching a form of coaching). those three always seem to erupt in the fall, this season is no exception... maybe my biggest eruption yet.
a new job, a new family member, a team that has grown from 15 when i took over to 27 this season and the possibility of a new role at church?
what do you do when your passions grow so big it seems they could consume you? is that bad?
of course i think i can handle anything but my wife sure doesn't appreciate it when i get home from work and fall asleep on the couch before dinner even starts...or worse yet get home after she has already gone to bed, this is beginning to sound like my first year of marriage, up at 5:30 am home by 11:00 pm.
volleyball officially started this week, not to mention my new job at the high school in which i get to prep for three different classes...isn't that awesome? yet somehow, as much as i love to teach it is always trumped by volleyball season.
see, i have three passions in life: my faith, my family and my coaching (i also consider teaching a form of coaching). those three always seem to erupt in the fall, this season is no exception... maybe my biggest eruption yet.
a new job, a new family member, a team that has grown from 15 when i took over to 27 this season and the possibility of a new role at church?
what do you do when your passions grow so big it seems they could consume you? is that bad?
of course i think i can handle anything but my wife sure doesn't appreciate it when i get home from work and fall asleep on the couch before dinner even starts...or worse yet get home after she has already gone to bed, this is beginning to sound like my first year of marriage, up at 5:30 am home by 11:00 pm.
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