*Cheese* Or Cheesy?

In an attempt to blog more frequently, I give you 4 of the 78 takes from
our church directory photo shoot.

Marathon. Not.

So Sunday was the day I was supposed to run my marathon. The marathon that I signed up for last winter. The marathon that I didn't end up running. I battled iliotibial band syndrome all summer and into the fall. I ended up spending more time with the physical therapist than I did logging miles. Ok, so maybe that's a sad exaggeration, but whatevs. I'm not bitter. *cough*



So this is me lining up to run the 5k. I wasn't even sure I was going to do that, after not running for over 2 1/2 weeks leading up to the race. It turns out that running is a good thing to do before you run a race. I logged my worst 5k time ever. On a happy note, I bought a super cute running skirt that I love and want to wear around the house just for fun. Love. It.

I know I sound like a total whiner, but honestly I had a ton of fun watching the marathon. My long time running partner, Kelsey, ran as well as our new running buddy, Tammy. Tammy is also a robot. Her husband Dan ran the race too. So it was super festive. I went all out and made signs and brought cowbells. I very well could have been the marathon's most annoying fan as I released my inner cheerleader and yelled encouragement to every single person who went by. Even some people who were just taking a sunday stroll in the park. (old man and old lady)
"YOU'VE GOT THIS! LOOKIN' STRONG!" Watching everyone cross the finish line, whether I knew them or not, was such an emotional experience. I was so choked up as each person came down the chute and completed their race. They are all champs.

Anyway, that's the marathon update. Right now I'm enjoying being a slug and not running at all but I have plans. Plans for the future. Plans to try again. Plans to conquer my knee and conquer the pavement. I hope.

Scripture

I'm not very good at memorizing scripture. So, what exactly does that say about me, since I know my scotcheroo recipe by heart? Anyways, when I was a kid my parents had a record? or maybe it was a tape, that was bible verses set to music. I still remember some of them. In order to remember the verse though, I have to sing the little song in my head. Lo and behold, the lyrics are scripture and the scripture is still there.

I've searched and searched for something similar for my kids. The only albums I've been able to find are super cheesy and I can't stand to listen to them in the van for more than three minutes with out wanting to gouge my eyes out. Until now. I came across The Rizers. That's short for "memorizers". I downloaded the album on iTunes yesterday and played it over and over in my kitchen all day long.
I was blown away. How could I have forgotten the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God? I take it so lightly sometimes. I do my bible study homework or read out of the Word in the morning and then I'm off to the rest of my day. If I'm going to be honest, a mom only has so much time to sit and ponder. There isn't much meditation time without somebody little needing something or breaking something or peeing on something. My time in the Word tends to be rushed. Yesterday those songs played over and over in my kitchen and as I sang along (sometimes a little too loudly for a middle aged mom), the Holy Spirit did something. He taught me. Things started to pop out of those lyrics in new ways.

For example, I've been really wrestling through some stuff in my life lately, turning things over and over in my mind. I'm always trying to figure it out, what should I do? How should I be? What's my response? What if! What if! And I get myself all worked up and pretty soon I'm a mess. And as I listened to Philippians 4:6-7 all day long, something struck me. That verse is a pillar verse. It's quoted all over the place and I've probably heard it a couple hundred times. It's familiar. It's lost it's punch. And then the Spirit whispered to me "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." How did I miss that all this time? I'm all in a tizzy and freaking out, but Heth...be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication I should make my requests known to who? To God. And how? With thanksgiving. And He will give me His peace. And His peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. My heart and mind could sure use some guarding. And I wanted to fall to my knees in worship and thank God that He would give me this encouragement through His word.

And that wasn't the only verse that spoke to me in a new way. There were more. As I listened to a sermon out of Hebrews 12 this morning, Matt Chandler said something that spoke to me, especially in light of what I just experienced yesterday. Sometimes you can't find joy in your circumstances, but when we can't have joy, God gives us peace.

That peace is where I want to live.

First Day

Even though the first day of school was two weeks ago, I'm still going to post first day of school pics.

We have a new Kindergartner.

And also a 10th, 8th, 6th, 3rd, and 1st grader.

And a very sad 3 year old who really wishes he could go to school.

But it didn't take long and he was content with his new status of King Of The House While Everyone Is Away. And his other new status of Official Everly Pesterer. He's very good at both.

Frog Jumping Contest

We skimmed the paper one day last week and off of the page leapt the words "frog jumping contest". The time and place were immediately written on the calendar and we started counting down the days.



Our new house is home to all sorts of amphibians. All summer long, the same little tree frog visited the glass on our deck door every evening, feasting on insects. Two others are regulars on our downspouts at dusk. The toads come out every evening and cruise the driveway just outside out garage doors. And the window wells are home to many leopard frogs. But for this competition we called in the big guns, the bullfrogs from the pond up the road.

Nate took two giddy side kicks and his fishing pole and headed up the road. In less than a half an hour they returned with three beauties in the bottom of their five gallon bucket. We coached them, we practiced, we anticipated a trophy.


There was one kink in our plan. An hour before the competition, a certain three year old little brother set the frogs free. A search and rescue ensued but we were only able to recover one, so Nate made a last minute trip to the pond and caught more. Phew.

When we arrived on Friday night, anticipation was in the air. Kids ran around with bucket holding their green secret weapons. We all held our breath, our chance wouldn't come until heats eleven and twelve. We waited, and we watched. We eyed up the competition. We became nervous. The little leopard frogs were dominating. Bullfrogs were getting owned.

And so it was, when our two little buddies had their chance, they were sluggish out of the gate. Younger, quicker, smaller frogs showed them up. We had disappointed boys, but that disappointment fuels their fire for next year. We know which weapon to bring. We know that bigger isn't always better, but that the hunt for the frog is half of the fun.




Watch out small town, next year we will be bringing home some trophys.

Grateful Despite Myself

In the chaos of basement stuff being moved to the garage, I came across a binder with old CD's. Ones we hadn't listened to in quite awhile. I popped in my good old Nichole Nordeman: Woven and Spun disc and drank in her profound lyrics.

I'm dealing with disappointment. Things that seemed perfect from the beginning but ended up being not so perfect. More of a nightmare. This house is one of them. It seemed like we had waited and waited and waited for a house with more space. Then it came. We prayed through the entire process that if this wasn't the right house, God would close the door. That He would shut us down. And He had done that very, very clearly on other properties that we had pursued. But this time everything fell into place, seamlessly.

And then the basement flooded. Twice. And our finished basement became unfinished. And our savings account dwindled. And we moved everything back out to the garage that we had just cleared boxes from. And the boys moved up stairs into their sisters rooms. And we were living in a three bedroom house again.

This isn't the only area of my life that I feel disappointment in. There are others, some of them big, some of them small. Things that promised to be an answer to prayer. Things that appeared to be perfect but turned into a source of heartache. One that seems small in the grand scheme of things is my running. The marathon. Six weeks into my training plan, and I'm out. My knee is giving me fits and I'm not going to be able to run it. I max out at 8 miles and that's no where near 26.2. Disappointment. So disappointed.

Why do I put so much stake in my circumstances? Pull the right strings and I'm happy. Drop them and I start whining and complaining and wallowing in self pity. Which brings me to Nichole. As I relistened to this song, I felt two things at once. A punch to the gut, the realization of how spoiled and pathetic and ungrateful I really can be. At the same time a tender comfort, a peace that settled on me that my God knows what's best for me. I don't.

Gratitude by Nichole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead

And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

Irony

I wrote the previous post Tuesday evening around supper time. That night a big black scary storm moved in and... you guessed it. More water in the basement. Two inches of rain in an hour. This time wasn't as bad as the first time but it could have been if we wouldn't have been home. We kept our window well drains clear, but that meant all that water was going to the sump pump. It couldn't keep up. We dropped a second pump down there and pumped that water up a hose and out the front door. Even with two pumps, we were only keeping even with the water coming in. Crazy stuff. Eventually we gained ground. Now our basement is full of fans and dehumidifiers borrowed from all of our friends. Thank you friends.

Again, good points:

1. We were home.
   
2. Nothing has been done to the interior since the first flood, we hadn't replaced the carpet pad or the dry wall yet.

We have someone coming to survey our yard right away in the morning so that we can get to work regrading as soon as possible.

I hope this is the last post I write about this topic.

The end. For reals.