Fresh Start

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments about the new look! I am still just on cloud nine about how everything came together and look forward to this new chapter.

When a family plants a church, the church basically becomes another child. After launch, it needs love, affection, and a lot of time. It also requires that the "parents" and other relatives (basically the others on the launch team) fill in the gaps, making sure that all odd jobs to take care of it were covered. When we moved here a little over a year ago, we were blessed to find people who were willing to roll up their sleeves and see this thing come to life. Launch day is still one the greatest days of my life so far and so far we've managed to nurture our little sprout and it is growing in the right direction. But in the beginning, just like everyone else, I filled in wherever I needed, which was leading our kids' ministry. Because I had a very clear picture of the vision for our church and our children, I was the best fit for the role even if I felt underqualified. I started building a team, branding everything, creating registration forms, policies and procedures, training people to serve, and the list goes on and on. Once we launched I had to focus on some weekly issues such as making new nametags and registering the new kids that came through the door, which thankfully we've seen happen every week, continue to train our leaders as that team grew, schedule for future months, and make sure the balance of volunteers to kids was at a safe place week to week, even if that meant stepping in and filling in somewhere myself. We are six months into the life of our baby and all in all I have been to one Sunday morning service... at our own church plant!  Crazy, right? But oh so worth it.

I think I've alluded to the busy-ness of our lives in past posts, and even though launch season is crazy, the day after launch day proves to be no more relaxing. As our numbers grow, so do the people that we get to love on and pour into on a weekly basis. I knew that praying for rest was something that might not happen, but I trusted God that He would know how much of a load I could carry and for how long, all the while balancing my marriage and kids and a full-time job... and somewhere deep inside my spirit the word "soon" continued to ring out.

Wanna know something wonderfully amazing about our God? He keeps His promises... but I bet you already knew that. The "soon" that I kept hearing is here, which just blows my mind. Not only did a family move down from our old church (who were originally going to plant with us in the first place but the timing was not right) to take over the kids' ministry, but we also had a miraculous NINETY-THREE people at our Discovery course the other night. This class is on a Sunday night and is a place where we teach on your spiritual gifts and personality, trying to find the place for everyone to get plugged in and serving. We want everyone to find their "sweet spot," serving in an area becuase they get fulfillment out of it and not just because we "need" someone to fill in that spot. For many smaller churches and church plants, the doing things becasue we "need" someone to do it season lasts a long time, so praise God that we're already coming out of that season and into a new one. Josh and I literally sit on the couch at night and there are no words to express our awe of what has been happening through this church, so we are just faithfully and diligently trying to listen and obey... and not trying to screw things up in the process (which is our most common joke!).

That was a lot of back-story for where I am going with this, so thank you for bearing with me. With all this being said, I am so very excited for this period of time that He is giving me to get all of my ducks in a row again... to focus on me for a little while. When I was younger, focusing on me would have meant being selfish and doing things that gratify me temporarily- such as shopping, watching movies, and basically wasting time. I feel so different this time around though. I feel like He has extended me some relief, but I need to be responsible with how I use it. Now it's not to say that I won't spend an hour here or there watching HGTV, but more than anything I feel the need to fill myself back up. One of my favorite Reflections posts was about the song "Desert Song" (which is oh so amazing by the way if you don't know it) and I mentioned that I was running on empty after a harvest. To be honest, in all of the running around, I never got to a place where I could fill myself up again and have been living in that place for montshs. So now that I am transitioning out of leading the kids' ministry (although I will still be serving our sweet little ones since I love it) and Jake is in preschool a few days a week giving me a small break, I am going to use this wisely. It's not a coincidence that our church started a series called Fresh Start this week and I find it so very fitting. In the grand scheme of things our time here is short, and I want this week to be a fresh start in how I utlize this gift he's given me. I am not a morning person but know that people can train their bodies to get up early, so yesterday I got up at six just to spend an hour of quiet time in the word. And becuase our God also loves to give confirmation, He opened a door up last night for me to teach one of our favorite high school girls exactly what I had studied that morning. Love when that happens. I already look forward to doing that every Monday and Wednesday from now on. The other side of that is getting back to taking care of myself physically. As much as you know I love to run, I can't tell you the last time I pounded pavement aside from a random 5K I did this month. So on Tuesdays and Thursdays I am going to pursue that passion and get my physical self back in shape, too. I want to take this time and work on being a better wife, a better mom, a better playmate for my kids, a better sister, a better daughter, a better friend, and a better servant to those in need. I want to read more, build a more solid foundation in the Bible, pray more, and make my time matter. I am thankful for this season because I know it won't last long... something tells me that God is giving me rest to prepare for whatever is coming next.  And whatever it is, I want to be ready.

So tell me... with a new school year starting, do you see this time as a Fresh Start? What goals do you have for this upcoming year?

You Found Me!

Hello, hello!  So glad to see that you jumped on over here and found me... welcome to my new home! Even though I will no longer be posting over at Mauneyland, I was thankfully able to import everything from the old site to the new site so newcomers can get the whole story.  As I mentioned in my very last post over there, it seemed time to retire that one and start fresh since I felt like my writings and topics over there were taking on a new life of their own, leading me here.

So why "The Seeds You Sow?" Well, I want it to be a place where I can share some goodness with the world, and for those who may not know me, my goodness comes from above. I want to encourage, inspire, and help those on their own personal journeys as they grow in their faith. Trust me when I say that I have come a long, LONG way and am so very far from perfect and there are still many days when I don't get it all right, so I hope others find comforts in the ups and downs of my crazy life. Plus, I feel like if we all put a little more love out in the world then perhaps we'll get it back tenfold... and we could all use a little more love.  I am still going to continue with my Thursday Reflections series where we spend a week reflecting on a particular topic from a blog, song lyrics, scripture, sermon, etc. and share thoughts on it the following week, so if you would like to join me in doing that I'd love it. The next topic will be posted this coming Thursday and you can now find all post posts under the "Reflections" tab at the top... fancy, eh?

So if you're new here, welcome!, and if you've followed me over from Mauneyland, thank you for clicking over and this is where I'll be from here on out. I will probably expand on the new blog design and that whole process (and yes I had hired help... there is no way I could have figured out how to do this on my own!) in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime, what do you think?

Crickets

As Jake would say... "Mommy, where arrrrreeee you???"

Yes, I've gone missing this week, but it's because someone's blog is getting a little makeover.  I cannot wait to share in just a couple of days.

Don't worry... I have plenty of goodness to come including Jake going to preschool, an update on both kids, a new series of FAQ from other church planter wives, and a new Reflections topic, which I skipped this week to give me time to catch up on life a little.  I'll be back soon, I promise.

Stay tuned...

Friday Funnies

In an effort to get back to the lighter side of life here on my little blog, I thought I'd share a few fun things to make you smile. Then again, it's Friday, so hopefully you're already smiling!

First up... click on this link and watch this short "campaign" video. This might be my favorite thing that the Daily Show has ever done:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-9-2012/exclusive---barack-obama-attack-ad

Next... please enjoy this video of Jake's rendition of the Black Eyed Peas's "I Gotta Feeling." Yes, my son is awesome.

And lastly, how about a dose of double cuteness... there is no more fun toy than a big, giant box.

Have a happy weekend, everyone!  Check back on Monday for the weekly Reflections topic (and trust me, it will be sunshine and rainbows after last week's!) and some pictures of Jake's first day of pre-school. I'm not sure yet if that's going to bring tears or squeals of joy... from me, not him. I'm pretty sure he's not going to miss us AT ALL, so we'll just have to wait and see how I handle it!

Happy Friday!

Reflections - Accountability

Sorry for not getting this up until today (which goes for Brittany over at Daughter... Wife... Mom... Sis too) but my husband was out of town all week and, well, I wasn't able to accomplish much of anything aside from chasing down two little ones. And Brittany's 4-year-old had his tonsils and adenoids removed yesterday so she's been tending to that and will have her post up late as well.  Life happens, you know? But kudos to Laurel over at Welcome to Deckerville for beating us both to it.  So onto this week's topic, which is accountability:

Friends... we all have them.  Some are friends for a short season and some are friends for life.  Some are friends that you partied with in college or went wild with on spring break, memories that you'd maybe rather forget.  And then others are the ones who console you when you're upset or going through a difficult time, give you advice, and hopefully steer you in a different direction when you're choosing a not-so-great path.  Throughout my life I have had all of these sets of friends, many that are and will be my best friends for life, but if I had to choose one that holds me most accountable, it would have to be my husband (say it together... "awwwwww").  But seriously, since day one, he has been the one who has supported me the most, encouraged me always, and challenged me to be the best version of myself, even when it meant making tough changes in my life that I did not always want to make.  And his baseline measurement for everything?  Scripture.  With every protest I had and every time I thought he was wrong, he opened that book and showed me things I had never seen.  For example, if I got caught in a lie, he would point out that the Bible  It's funny to me now, but looking back on our journey together I can remember how frustrating it could be. To me the Bible was just a book of stories, but to him it was a manual for how to live your life, which is what it is supposed to be. Fast forward to now and it's the same for me and I hope and pray that my children will always view it that way.

But let me back up a bit and give you a little background here.  Josh and I met and had a bit of a whirlwind romance. We were already in our late twenties and were both ready to meet "the one." After one date it was evident to both of us that this was it- and he was even bold enough to tell me that. On date two. Yeah, my husband can be a bit intense.  And because of these feelings he asked me to marry him a mere six weeks after that first meeting. To look back on it, I still think it's a little bit crazy, but it's one of those things that with hindsight being 20/20, I know it was God's timing... because if we hadn't gotten engaged that quickly, we probably would not have made it.  Yes, you read that correctly... because we made a commitment to each other so early on, we decided to work through a lot of things that would have probably broken us otherwise. And these things I speak of are all accountability issues.

Let me preface this by saying that I was not some sort of horrible person before I met Josh. As a friend, I am the same... fun-loving, outgoing, caring (sometimes to a fault), and compassionate. I love people so much and am fascinated by how different we all are and love getting to know people better. But the trouble with this is that not only do I attach myself to the good ones, but I also attach myself to the "bad" ones. I put bad in quotations because I do not think people are inherently bad, but there are some who influence others in not-so-great ways, myself included. Because I love people, I also crave acceptance- I love to be liked, and to be popular if possible. With that desire being bigger than any set of standards I had set for myself and who I want to be as a person, it's very easy to make decisions that are not in your best interest... just to be cool. To be liked. A person (like me) often does things to impress whatever crowd they're running with at the time, whether good or bad. You see this with Olympians- they are all great because they surround themselves with greatness. On the other hand, a drug addict never set out to become one, but because they more than likely surrounded themselves with other drug addicts, they eventually end up running that same course, too. It's all about your circle of influence.

Before meeting Josh, I really thought that once you became someone's friend, it was almost your responsibility to always be that person's friend. But as he began to point out to me, some relationships do more harm than good, so why would I want to keep them in my life?  Uhhhh... I had no answer. Through our engagement, he encouraged me to evaluate all of the people in my life and try and sort out who it was that made my life better, who shared the same values, and who built me up to be a better person, rather than dragged me down.  Often people think that they are going to be the friend that changes a person for the better, perhaps helping them turn away from a bad habit or a bad relationship or even lead a non-believer to Christ. While in some cases this is true, more often than not the opposite happens. A person has to be willing and open to change before you can change them. But even more so than that, you need to remember that YOU can't change anyone, only Christ can do that. Severing ties is one of the most difficult things a person can be faced with, particularly if you inherently care deeply for the other person. But if a "friend" or past relationship is continuously tearing you down or bringing you pain, it's time to evaluate whether or not you will be a path to that person's heart change. And if not, it's time to move on.

There are still people in my life that probably question my decision to turn my back on some people from my past, shutting them out completely. In the world of social media overload, it's common for us to keep connected with everyone, good or bad: ex-boyfriends or girlfriends and even people who have betrayed us somehow still continue to be our Facebook friends. And for what? As Josh once asked me, do you think he/she really cares how you're doing these days? Curiosity is one thing, but caring is completely different. How I'm doing probably has nothing to do with a person from my past's happiness... that thought alone was just a bit egotistical of me. Like I said, it's not easy and the decision will probably be questioned, but in Josh I saw light and a future. I saw a man who would teach me the right ways to live according to the living Word. And without knowing it at the time, I must have had a glimpse of a future filled with freedom from those past decisions that brought me guilt or shame, often derived by unhealthy relationships with people who weighed me down or led me astray. Is my husband perfect? Of course not, nor does he claim to be. In fact, there are days that he drives me completely nuts and we still disagree on things from time to time. But at the end of the day, moving forward with him and making our marriage and friendship as strong as possible is far more important than the road I traveled down to get here. 

I hope you find this encouraging if you're facing any similar situations. I pulled few verses that helped me through a lot of this to share with you as well:

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

***

As for next week, I don't even know what the topic is because it's Brittany's turn to pick!  Keep an eye out for her post sometime soon and it will be at the bottom.  And as soon as I find out what it is, I'll share it in a new post, too!  I hope my words are encouraging to you, especially if you find yourself in this situation. Just remember that no matter what, you are loved. Have a fantastic weekend!

Vacation - Photo Favorites

I promise that this is the last of my vacation posts!  I'm like that person in the 70's that made you come to my house and sit through slideshow of my trip.  Thankfully you could walk away from this any time you'd like!  Over the past few years I've been using the manual mode on my camera more and more and am definitely enjoying it.  Thanks to digital film I can experiment and get creative without worrying about running out of film; it's definitely becoming even more of a passion than it already was.  But enough about me... let's check out the favorites from our family trip, shall we?  All of these are straight out of the camera with no after-effects or edits:

Not really a favorite, but I snapped this through our windshield because I loved all of the brightly colored beach houses. One of these days we'll stay in one.

Seriously the sweetest face on the planet. And one of my favorite pictures of her to date.

"Mommy, I see you!" - A little fun with aperture (a fancy photog setting)

And fun with shutter speeds. The dude LOVED the carnival rides. He's my little daredevil.

My #1 favorite from the trip. Love that proud daddy in the background.

And a big BIG thanks to this family for really making all of this happen for us. The Doran family opened their doors to us and went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. If you are anywhere near the Wilmington area you need to check out their church, Refuge City. They are fellow church planters and the love that they showed us really just flows through that whole place. It was one of the best services I have been to anywhere and they are six months old. Thank you for making this one truly memorable and perfect week!  We love you guys!

Now... 350 more days until the next summer vacation. Insert the world's biggest sigh.

Vacation - Part 4 - the Aquarium!

You didn't actually think that I had run through all of my pictures by now, did you?  Not only do I have a few more to share today, but I have a couple of favorites to share on Monday as well... and then I'm done and the countdown until next year's beach trip will begin.  Sigh.  So without further ado... here are some photos from our day at the aquarium:

Jake definitely loved the aquarium and kept talking about Nemo.  He was much more captivated by the large fish tanks than he was any of the attractions where you could put your hands in the water and touch different things, which was rather surprising to me.  I think he could have just stared at the fish all day and we had to drag him away from certain tanks... it was awesome.  And I am just always in awe of how many creatures live under that big blue ocean; it is just absolutely incredible.

Know what else is incredible?  The fact that we had someone take a picture of the two of us... probably the first one we've had taken in years!  Yeah, baby... we've still got it!  Haha!

Thanks for looking through my ridiculous amounts of vacation memories... it was just so nice to get away that I wanted to share them all.  I hope you have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday for the favorites from the trip!