God prepared us, even then.

This is an old blog post from 2006. Tim and I weren't even married yet. I found it wandering around my own blog and thought it was interesting to see how something I wrote almost five years ago applies to my life in the present. This is often how Tim and I have been viewing our years here in Anderson, the big town with little hope. There certainly wasn't much "pulling" us to Anderson, but we were every bit shoved out here by God telling us to stop complaining about the church and BE the church. We don't necessarily consider ourselves 'missionaries' in the vocational sense, but maybe we should.

what is a missionary?
october 26, 2006

this morning's devotion has been sticking in my mind so clearly today. many times i've had to reread things in order to really process what it's saying, especially in the morning and today was no different. along with having to explain it to myself to make sure i understood instead of just read, i connected it to....be surprised.....a teaching strategy.

i've often taught a lesson about the pioneers and the California Gold Rush. there were many things that "pulled" settlers out west, things that enticed and were attractive to men and women alike that gravitated them West. Things such as harsh conditions and failure in their original homelands are categorized as things that "pushed" them.

again, we have conditions that attracted them "towards" something and conditions that repelled people or "pushed" them from behind.

in church words, we could say some were "sent" and some were "called". make sense?

missionaries are often persuaded to present their missions using graphic stories, outstanding statistics, and desperate faces on their slides and displays. don't get me wrong, needs have to be met and sometimes we have to have that certain heartstring pulled inside ourselves in order to feel motivated at all. situations have to appear desperate enough in order to "call" people to them.

however, Oswald Chambers challenged me this morning to look at it a different way.
missionaries are sent. they might feel called, but i believe that in fact, they are commanded by a force BEHIND them. they are not sent by the people who need them. they are pulled towards them, but sent by Jesus.

the most important part of the whole missionary equation is the command. don't go because they need you. go because you were told to go.

fix the "pulls" as a result of the "push".




In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God's call is effaced by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters an dfails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ- "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations."

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

For today

Outside my window: it's dark, yet surprisingly bright with all the snow on the ground.

I am thinking: about paint colors for the main bathroom. And how i'd love to own a house and do what i wanted, but that takes money and commitment. Neither of which i have.

I am thankful for: my husband, who lets me sit in the recliner and hog the computer. during the superbowl.

From the kitchen: I have potato soup planned to feed our small group tomorrow, and i must stop making desserts.

I am wearing: my pajama pants from Goodwill. that's right. well, and a tshirt. geez.

I am reading: nothing printed, except for the occasional cookbook.

I am hoping: that spring comes quickly and isaac's nose will stop running. :(

I am creating: an opportunity for change in my eating habits (a continuous effort, since i am a lover of all desserts)

I am hearing: the Super Bowl wrapping up, and the click of my husband's camera as he attempts some night shots.

Around the house: we are slowly purging out the unnecessary and organizing!

One of my favorite things: is my little boy's laugh.

A few plans for the rest of the week: First night of our new small group, zumba class, MOPS on Thursday, and hopefully getting back into the routine of going to the Y after so much snow has canceled everything i look forward to!

simple cleaning recipes

my last post was intended to give you a few simple cleaning recipes that i've bookmarked and used, but i ended up ranting and raving about our messy closet. messes bother me. obviously.

so here are those recipes i wanted to archive for myself and share, if you haven't already discovered how simple cleaning can be without chemicals and yucky stuff.

Floor cleaner:
In a bucket of hot water (or plug up the kitchen sink like I do), add one cup of white vinegar and a drop of (hand) dish detergent. Add a pinch of borax if you have ant problems. The borax creates a slight natural residue on the floor that acts as a repellent for ants.

Drain cleaner:
Pour half a cup baking soda down the problematic drain, chased by one cup of white vinegar. The soda & vinegar will react. When fizzing stops, pour a kettleful of boiling water down the drain.

Coffee maker:
Pour one pint vinegar in the water reserve and top off with water. Run the coffee maker through a brewing cycle enough to make one cup. Then turn the machine off and let sit for an hour. Turn it back on and finish brewing remaining liquid. Rinse thoroughly and brew a pot of water only to get rid of any vinegar-y taste.

get out the shovel

i've been reading a few books on simple homemade cleaning recipes & organization methods in an effort to finally get our house under control and not have to stash things behind closed doors when we're having company (a bad habit that i am very guilty of). maybe it's my post-nesting nesting stage, who knows. maybe i've just had enough. we took a trunk full of clothes & other items to Goodwill the other day and it's barely made a dent. we have way too much stuff in "storage" for a family of two & a half.

poor tim has fallen victim to this purging streak of mine when i was throwing out an entire garbage can of junk that had collected in the student room at church. i've cleaned out my car, i've purged even isaac's clothes of things we don't need, even with the chance that another kiddo could wear it one day. after our Starbucks date, the caffeine kept me up til 1am scrubbing floors, sorting clothes, packing away maternity clothes (woohoo!) and baby items, and wiping down furniture. i may have kept him up, then, too.

if you want to know the real truth about someone, look in their closet. tim and i share a (smalllll) closet in our bedroom and we each have our own dresser. tim even has a storage unit for just his tshirts (color coded if you must know-i had to practice putting them away in the correct drawers). we have a lot of clothes. it's a weakness. it's a lot of fun to be married to someone who likes a good sale at the Gap Outlet as much as you do, but it's brutal on the lack of closet space. we both keep sorting & folding, resorting & refolding in order to make it a little easier to live with but it's a vicious cycle. we even try to switch out winter/summer clothes to help with space. even with purging my clothes of the "let's be honest, court, you're probably not going to fit into that ever again" voice in my head filling bags to send to Katrina's, i still come out stuffed to the brim. we really just need a bigger closet. but for now, we'll have to go with what we have and make it work. i read in a book recently, "if you can't even find it, then you may as well not own it." good point.


tim's side

my side
help!

if i had places to wear skirts & boots, like super trendy NYC coffee shops and such, I'd probably have a pair of legwarmers for every day of the week.

unfinished [ok, fine. never started] projects for 2011

image source

i have great ideas. i'm really lousy at following through with them. if i had more space for sewing & organizing all of my supplies, i'd do it more. if i wasn't so impatient, i could actually do a project the right way. if i wasn't someone who needed instant results, i'd be a better crafter. if this, then that. blah dee blah.

i have a whole year in front of me to, if anything, make christmas gifts for next year. i'm not kidding, it may take me that long. sometimes i do get sudden urges to craft and make a mess of things (which actually is a hard thing for me to do after spending so much time tidying up).

i'd say you can hold me accountable, but that's a joke. even still, here's what my brain is saying i will accomplish with my creative hands this year:

-reapholster the guest room headboard
-sand & paint the guest room nightstand
-finish fabric covered bulletin board
-paint wooden benches for the backyard
-attempt to sew something for myself to wear
-make a few christmas/birthday/mother's day gifts
-learn to crochet and NOT give up before three rows
-paint the bathroom (only if we sign another lease...i'm tired of fixing OTHER people's houses)
-purge & organize the house, room by room

i'll keep my list small at this point. don't hold your breath, but send creative vibes my direction!

Believe it.

Things I never thought I'd do. New Year's resolutions. Craziest idea yet.

I wasn't quite sure what to give as the title to this post. Any of them qualify. But it's true. I am actually a real live Zumba instructor. They're letting me teach other people how to exercise! Yes, they're crazy and they have a LOT of faith in me.
If you've known me for any length of time longer than six months, you probably quickly learned that I am NOT (but seriously) the athletic type. I dabbled in dance in MS, then volleyball in HS. That's it. No intramurals, pick up games, anything. I was that girl who told the teacher she was on her period so she didn't have to run the mile. (Does that even matter?) I was the girl who took a C in P.E. class because she didn't want to dress out. I was the girl who stressed out about youth group games because I wasn't sure what to expect and if it required any sort of athletic ability, I was sure I was doomed.

Enter Katrina.

She asked me to go to a Zumba class in our area probably 4 or 5 times before I actually went. I had probably run out of excuses. I dragged myself there and actually made it through a class. The next day, I could hardly use the stairs I was so sore. But I had loved it! And it was so much fun! And I had worked out for an HOUR!?

That was in late October.

Not even three months later, Katrina and I are two weeks in to TEACHING our own Zumba class at church. And 43 of you actually took us seriously that first night.

It's been so much fun to see how God's been working in my life the last few months. It's amazing how He places people in your life to be your motivation, courage, and partner. I'm telling you now, this is something I'd NEVER EVER EVER thought in a million years I would be doing. And I absolutely love it.

As each month passes since I gave up my salary-paying job to stay at home and focus on my family & home, He has blessed us.

Katrina has played a huge part in that blessing. I'm pretty sure I'm here for comic relief and suggesting a few old school DC Talk songs. She came up with the idea of starting our own class in order to educate, encourage, & enable women in our church community to live healthy & active lives. So far, it's a big hit. Our prayer is that we can build a community of women to have fun together & make ourselves a priority so we can give back to our families a healthy & happy mom/daughter/wife/sister.

This is one of those times in my life when I think about if I had had the chance to "look into the future" a year ago and see myself on a stage in a Zumba tank doing the Beto shuffle....I would have DIED laughing. And then gotten really scared.

under her spell

hands down, my favorite cookbook ever. so far.

tim's probably already tired of me saying over (and over and over again) how much i love this cookbook and how i was impressed that i could reproduce her recipes so easily. he'll never say it, though. i might stop cooking.

not only are they great recipes, but she's a great gal. she takes wonderful pictures, lives on an *amazing* and beautiful ranch in Oklahoma (one day) and loves the stuffing out of her kids and cowboy husband. i mean, c'mon. i dare you to find a reason not to love her. she's not afraid to use real butter. see, told ya.

visit her blog (where i first discovered her talents) at www.thepioneerwoman.com

*HUGE thanks to my favorite sister-in-law for this *slightly hinted* christmas gift!

a new 2011

new year's resolutions aside, i think we're all ready for changes when it comes to be this time of year. we've gotten through the holidays and are now settling in for the winter (if you're in the midwest like me). once the busyness of the holidays wear off, we have a little more time to reflect on where we are and what we're doing. this time last year, i was still recovering from having a baby and was starting to crack through the shell of discontentment with my life, my body image, and my priorities. i still have a great way to go, but looking back, i can say that 2010 was filled with great and wonderful things.

in 2010:
-i spent the first 4 months enjoying maternity leave from teaching, figuring out routines for our newborn, and trying to catch up on sleep.
-tim bought a used Land Rover Disco, only to have it totally by a policeman unfit to drive. enter tim's dream car plan b, a Jeep.
-finished teaching the final 7 weeks of the school year with no real plans to return, honestly.
-i bought a sewing machine. and used it a few times.
-we joined a CSA for the spring and had loooooots of lettuce & greens to eat.
-we moved again. thankfully, we are in a great mold-free home on a full acre. marley is very grateful.
-i planted herbs. and watched most of them die.
-isaac traveled on a plane (twice in his first year!)
-my middle sister was married the end of June in the sweltering heat (and i mean that with every ounce of me).
-we spent a week in the Outer Banks of NC with family (isaac's first trip to the beach)
-we visited Grandma & Grandad in Ann Arbor (tim and isaac's first trip to A2)
-isaac learned to sit up, then crawl, get 6 teeth, then walk before his first birthday (just barely).
-i became a Pampered Chef consultant (to feed the bank a bit and my habits a lot)
-isaac moved to the toddler nursery at church (maybe only a momentous milestone for me).
-i attended a zumba class.
-2 months later, i am licensed to teach a zumba class! (yes, i'm for real)
-Blum family comes for Christmas

in 2011:
-tim and i will TRY to plan a trip for just us before more babies, weddings, etc. come along
-i will start teaching a Zumba class at church with Katrina!
-Port Hope trip is already underway for this summer, and plans are to plant apple/pear trees in the orchards for the years to come
-we will consider adding to our family of 3:)
-tim and i will do our very best to eat organically, locally, and all around healthier.
-i will continue to procrastinate on projects that involve a sewing machine.
-i will read actual books, not including magazines or blogs.
-isaac will continue to amaze us and perfect his "gets it from his mother" strong willed personality that will keep us on our toes (and laughing).
-tim and i will go mountain biking TOGETHER.
-we will continue our journey at Bethany, loving our kids more and more every day.

Happy New Year, everyone!

if i had the time...

...i would make these.

Mary's Prayer

I've never read something that says what I have felt (in a millionth of a fraction)as a mother quite like this. Like I said, Isaac was born about a week before Christmas, so there was no way not to think of Mary and how she must've felt about her new baby. And on top of that, add the humiliation, fear, embarassment & sea of unanswered questions she still had.

Mary’s Prayer

God. O infant-God. Heaven’s fairest child. Conceived by the union of divine grace with our disgrace. Sleep well.

Sleep well. Bask in the coolness of this night bright with diamonds. Sleep well, for the heat of anger simmers nearby. Enjoy the silence of the crib, for the noise of confusion rumbles in your future. Savor the sweet safety of my arms, for a day is soon coming when I cannot protect you.

Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold. You will grasp no pen, guide no brush. No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious:
to touch a leper’s open wound,
to wipe a widow’s weary tear,
to claw the ground of Gethsemane.

Your hands, so tiny, so white—clutched tonight in an infant’s fist. They aren’t destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony. They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross.

Sleep deeply, tiny eyes. Sleep while you can. For soon the blurriness will clear and you will see the mess we have made of your world.

You will see our nakedness, for we cannot hide.

You will see our selfishness, for we cannot give.

You will see our pain, for we cannot heal.

O eyes that will see hell’s darkest pit and witness her ugly prince . . . sleep, please sleep; sleep while you can.

Lie still, tiny mouth. Lie still, mouth from which eternity will speak.

Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead, that will define grace, that will silence our foolishness.

Rosebud lips—upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you—lie still.

And tiny feet cupped in the palm of my hand, rest. For many difficult steps lie ahead for you.

Do you taste the dust of the trails you will travel?

Do you feel the cold seawater upon which you will walk?

Do you wrench at the invasion of the nail you will bear?

Do you fear the steep descent down the spiral staircase into Satan’s domain?

Rest, tiny feet. Rest today so that tomorrow you might walk with power. Rest. For millions will follow in your steps.

And little heart . . . holy heart . . . pumping the blood of life through the universe: How many times will we break you?

You’ll be torn by the thorns of our accusations.

You’ll be ravaged by the cancer of our sin.

You’ll be crushed under the weight of your own sorrow.

And you’ll be pierced by the spear of our rejection.

Yet in that piercing, in that ultimate ripping of muscle and membrane, in that final rush of blood and water, you will find rest. Your hands will be freed, your eyes will see justice, your lips will smile, and your feet will carry you home.

And there you’ll rest again this time in the embrace of your Father.

an excerpt from Max Lucado's God Came Near

suggestions welcome

Ok, I need some help with this "closet". I have no idea what to do with it. It's not really a closet, but more shelves and storage in a doorway...yes, weird. we walk through it to go from our hallway by the bedrooms through to the kitchen/office area. the closest thing to it are the desk & pantry.

i'd love to use it practically, for storage maybe, but what does one store in a pass through closet on the way to the bedrooms?

i wanna hear what you think! do i make it decorative or functional? really, i'd love both. the opposite wall from the 2 shelves has nothing, but not really any room for coat hooks since we walk through it.

help!

in the spirit of christmas...

What are 7 areas where you can be happier with LESS??

advent calendar tutorial

I have to give credit to my friend Jennifer of Laineybug Creations for the inspiration of this calendar. The above picture is the banner she made for the hospital door when Isaac was born last year. It reads "Baby Isaac" and has a blank tag in the middle where we filled in all of his stats. It made it easy for visitors to find our hospital room, and we now have it hanging in his room. So when I wanted to make a simple advent calendar, I used this banner as a jumping off point.

Here are the supplies you'll need:

-Scrapbook paper (I used 4 different coordinating colors. You can use more or less, depending on how uniform you want your calendar to be)
-9 feet of 1/4" ribbon (I found mine in the scrapbooking section at JoAnn's for $1 a spool)
-Glue stick
-Hole punch
-Scissors
-Ruler & pencil
-Letter stamps & coordinating color ink pad (optional)
-Craft punch (optional)

1. Choose 3 coordinating colors (optional if you want all one color) for the tags themselves and 2 colors for the numbers & background.


2. Fold the paper in half, and then in half again.




3. Cut the piece of folded paper in equal parts. You should get four in each piece.

I glued the insides of the paper to itself (glue white to white) to make it a little sturdier.

4. Cut 25 rectangles of coordinating colors to use as the backgrounds for the numbers. You will also need circles for each numerical digit (one circle for the 2 and 5 in "25"). I used a craft punch, but you could use scissors if you wanted.



5. Assemble the pieces in the pattern that you choose.



6. Use stamps, markers, or whatever you choose to number each dot on the cards. Then put the Scriptures in each card. There are several books and online resources for finding Advent Scriptures.



7. Using a hole punch, make holes in the corners of each card. Use the ribbon to tie each tag together, making sure to tie a ribbon on each end for hanging.




Hang it somewhere you'll see every day. We have ours in the kitchen doorway where we can see it while we eat breakfast. I even considered wrapping it around our Christmas tree like a garland. Either way, enjoy!

starting advent

my mom always had an advent wreath on our table growing up. the one with three red candles and one white, for the last Sunday or Christmas. we jumped around several different denominations and churches when we were young, finally finding a home in a Christian church in Virginia. so needless to say, i've had a lot of experience dabbling in other church Christmas traditions. my paternal grandfather was a clergyman in the Episcopal church and i think we, at one point or another, have attended Presbyterian, Nazerene, United Methodist, Church of Christ, and Christian church. whew. i'm pretty sure all we've concluded from our "church shopping" as we always called it whenever we moved somewhere new, was that if a church honors the Lord, follows Jesus as Savior, and believes the Bible is God's inspired word and LIVES IT, then they're ok with us. or me. i guess i shouldn't speak for the rest of my family.

not to get into unnecessary discussions about denominations, blah blah crappity crap.

my POINT is... i've been aware of the celebration of advent since i was a kid. (sorry it took me so long to get there).

now that tim and i are parents, we have been forced to step back and really evaluate how our life looks to others. we realize that our children can be told what's important a bazillion times, but i'd rather them KNOW what's important because they see us making priorities. one thing that tim will "soapbox" about is the hype and ridiculousness that is Christmas gifts. how is our celebration of Christmas really any different than someone who doesn't follow Christ? oh, er...*awkward silence. i guess it's not.

enter, advent calendar. not the cardboard calendar where you get a piece of chocolate when you open each numbered door (which i loved dearly as a kid), but one that really hits home with the anticipation of Christmas. that's what we all love about the holiday anyway. so, instead of anticipating gifts and Santa and getting, getting, getting we hope to create a season of celebration and wonder and excitement for celebrating the coming of a baby named Jesus. we're still decorating like crazy, playing Jingle Bells, and buying gifts but the excitement will hopefully come from a different perspective.

it's only the first day, but already, i love it. we worked on our homemade advent calendar together (that's a first!) and i think it turned out pretty good. each day has a Scripture to read. we've decided to get up early (ok earlier than isaac), eat breakfast together (meaning i need to actually make it) and read that day's verse as a family. whoa. that's high expectations for us. today's verse was Romans 13:11-14.

this time of year brings back strong memories for us, since our isaac was born about a week before Christmas. we had the anticipation of a baby in real life. i never payed attention to the words of songs like "Mary Did You Know" and "What Child is This?" like i did last year. the wonder and anticipation of a baby is pretty amazing any month of the year, but near Christmas it just seemed escalated. i would wonder if what i felt was just a smidgen of how Mary did when we was too swollen and tired to put up her Christmas tree. or ride on a donkey. whatever.

i'd love for you to follow along with us as we go on our advent journey as a family. i'm not even going to dare to say that i will blog about each day, but maybe in the next 24 days i will have a few to highlight. this has also inspired me to change up the breakfast menu a bit. i have several omelettes, fruit & oat scones, and an apple & sausage breakfast casserole (interesting) planned to get us away from the pancakes/waffles i usually depend on.

happy december, everyone! may you see Christ this Christmas.

4. anger

This blog post from a frequently visited site on my list is just great. Read it.

Let Nothing Stand Between You

3. laundry

As I was sitting here trying to choose something to be thankful for, I remembered that I had laundry waiting to be changed over and I complained about it. How selfish! Let me complain about how I have clean clothes and towels waiting downstairs in my less-than-a-year-old front loader washing machine. Come on, Court. So I am thankful that I can do laundry any time I want; I have clothes that need washing in clean water that's fully accessible at any time of day, and I have a family that is active and gets their clothes dirty.

I suppose I should be thankful for the dirty dishes, too...that will be waiting for me tomorrow.:)

2. growth

Not only am I thankful that my little boy is healthy and growing like a weed, learning new things every day, but I am thankful for my own growth. I've said before that I live a life of seasons, and this last year has definitely been a growing year for me. I guess becoming a parent will do that to ya. I've had to stretch beyond myself and make my life about someone other than me. The sad truth is, I should have been doing this all along. As a follower of Christ, I should have been living my life as a way of pointing to Jesus, but let's be honest.

This last year, I think Tim and I both have been re-evaluating a lot about ourselves and the way we live. We've tried to be intentional in everything we do, whether it's what we eat, who we are around, or what we spend our money on. We've had to make some major adjustments because of Isaac, but I really don't think I would change any of them. I love the challenge of trying to live more simply, more intentional, with more regard to others and the life that Jesus has come to give us. I've grown in many ways this year, and really feel like I'm finally starting to taste the fruit of this life we live for God. And it's good stuff.

serving thanksgiving a little early...

So I have been encouraged by several Facebook friends and bloggers that have started listing one thing every day in November that they are thankful for. I'm a few nine days behind, but it will give me something to blog about daily and maybe even solidify how blessed I already know I am.

1. Grandads

This was taken the weekend of my little sister's wedding at home in Virginia. Dad wanted Isaac to try the pool, and of course, he loved it. Isaac had a disposable diaper on and it kept swelling and swelling with the water. By the end of their swim time, Isaac was practically bottoms up from the floating diaper.

is currently reading...

I don't get to go to the library very often, since we now live outside the city limits and the PUBLIC library isn't accessible to me. *whatever* Since tim has a library card with the church, I ask politely like a little girl wanting her daddy to take her to get ice cream and we make a trip.

This is what I came back with:

I'm really excited about this one. I've been wanting some really fun, intentional family traditions to start while Isaac is young and I think we will enjoy this one. You can make or buy an ornament for each day of Advent. There are devotionals to do with your kids, songs to sing that go along with that day's theme, and devotions to do with other adults as well. As a kid, we always had an Advent wreath so it's special for me, too.

This one looks really good, too. The topic of Advent had me thinking, so I picked this up.

Before you think I'm going to get all femi-Nazi on you, it's quite the opposite. But not in a spine-less, weaker link sort of way. I first heard of this author when a friend and I attended the True Woman conference last month. One of those things that change your entire perspective.

I honestly never thought I'd be reading this, just because I never thought I'd be a mom of boys. So glad I am. :)