Being a Disciple of Jesus, Daily Life, Project 365

Can I be Content

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Today was one of those odd, gloomy sort of days where my spirits were a bit downcast. I woke up early, messaged with a friend in Montana, read my Bible and saw that Tim and Daniel were both already up and out of the house. I got some breakfast and coffee and sat down with a book to read.

A stack of school books, essential oils, a Kindle and some journals.

A stack of school books, essential oils, a Kindle and some journals.

That messy stack pretty much offers a nice little snap shot of our school days – a box of my essential oils, a plastic massage roller, a Kindle Fire, some journals, poetry and history books, chargers for phones and tablets, pens for drawing, a napkin for snack time. Ha.

I’ve been thinking about backyards and landscape design and how to make things pretty here at home. We’re putting in new carpets and having the walls painted at our house on the Olympic Peninsula. It’s distracting and entertaining to look at Pinterest boards on covered porches. It’s fun to match and coordinate colors on the Benjamin Moore paint site. But in it all, I have to carefully guard my spirit. I am SO EASILY discontented and frustrated with my own yard, house, belongings, gifts, talents, and on and on and on.

Beautiful Mother's Day flowers from Daniel.

Beautiful Mother’s Day flowers from Daniel.

For the past two weeks, in our devotional study book, the kids and I have been studying the commandment NOT to covet. Such good teaching, and so many excellent reminders:

1) Everything we have is from the Lord
2) Both the good and the bad – God wants to use it in our lives
3) True satisfaction comes in loving and glorifying the Lord
4) We should rejoice in the gifts, talents, blessings of others (rather than covet them)
5) We need to guard our thoughts and our attitudes
6) The Commandments reveal our desperate need for a Savior

So, I can enjoy dreaming about adding flower boxes or a covered porch or painting the house, but if any of it causes me to stumble into discontent, anger or resentment, than I need to STOP. Instead I need to spend some time THANKING Jesus for all He has given me. I need to spend some time SERVING others. I need to REMEMBER those who are lost and hungry and homeless.

And I can take some pictures of my blessings and the little silly moments that make up TODAY.

Sarah gets in some reading before dinner.

Sarah gets in some reading before dinner.

Marco likes to snuggle up on the couch.

Marco likes to snuggle up on the couch.

David rode his bike to a friend's house and then spent some time swimming (or was it hanging out in the hot tub?).

David rode his bike to a friend’s house and then spent some time swimming (or was it hanging out in the hot tub?).

Even on gray days, there is so much beauty all around.

Waiting for Tim to come home.

Waiting for Tim to come home.

Where is my sweetie? Late coming home today. There he is!

My beloved!

My beloved!

As the Psalmist writes:

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:23-26

May this be true of me – desire Jesus more than anything else and remember that He is my strength and my portion forever!

Project 365 – Day 132
Kathy

Related posts:

Project 365, Tim

Counting My Blessings

6 Comments

When I was a few weeks out of Basic Training, I weighed 163 pounds. The rest of my time in the Army, I weighed about 185 pounds (the limit for my height). When I graduated from college, I weighed 215 pounds. About two years ago, when I was discharged from the hospital after appendicitis and kidney surgery, I weighed 209 pounds.

Other than that, I’ve pretty much spent my adult life between 230 and 250, overweight by at least 50 pounds by any reasonable measure. I’ve tried lots of diets and exercise plans, with limited success. Before Christmas, I had worked my way down to 228, but I gained almost ten pounds by the time January rolled around.

Lately, I’ve been doing this crazy thing, ‘counting calories’, they call it. I use My Fitness Pal to accomplish this — it is a pretty decent (and free) app with some really nice features.

A great app for calorie counting

A great app for calorie counting

My favorite thing about it is that, as you complete each day, it gives you a projection, based on your calorie consumption for that day. For example, today I consumed about 100 calories less than my allotment, so they are fairly hopeful:

If every day were like today… You’d weigh 224.1 lbs in 5 weeks

I actually sort of like this calorie counting thing, although I can see how it will get old, quickly. I am just now finished with my second week of following this plan, and I like the freedom it gives me to eat the things I really enjoy.

For example, a cup of cookies and cream ice cream 'costs' me about 260 calories, worth it every time.

For example, a cup of cookies and cream ice cream ‘costs’ me about 260 calories, worth it every time.

Kathy and I have also been using RunKeeper on our phones — we linked it to My Fitness Pal so it carries the calories from our exercise over and adds it to our allotment. So if you eat too much for supper, and you don’t have enough calories for ice cream, you can go for a quick walk and earn the calories you need. I speak hypothetically, of course.

runkeeper_logo

So far, I’ve lost about 6 pounds — not bad for two weeks of being mostly careful (except for the donuts and deep-fried seafood I had with David during our weekend away).

Somehow, I don’t mind being hungry during the day if there is ice cream waiting for me in the evening. I’ll do nearly anything to get ice cream. Let’s have another look at tonight’s treat, which is waiting for me, as soon as I finish this blog post:

I've gotten pretty adept at packing it into the metal measuring cup with my hydraulic press.

I’ve gotten pretty adept at packing it into the metal measuring cup with my hydraulic press.

On the left side of our blog, we continue to track our weight loss challenge for this summer. Sarah is right behind me … I’d better watch my step, or I’ll fall to last place again.

Project 365, Day 131
Tim

Related posts:

David, Parenting, Project 365

I’m Glad That’s Over!

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Well, David and I finished the Passport 2 Purity material, and managed to have a great time together.

Several times in the course of the more difficult sessions, Dennis Rainey pauses and tells the father and son: “OK. Pause the CD and look at your Dad, and say, “I’m glad that’s over!”

David Triumphant

David Triumphant

It was a light-hearted way to break the serious mood, giving us permission to laugh and to take a break from the intensity of subjects which (for many families) are pretty hard to talk about.

We camped near Ocean Shores, within about a quarter mile of the Pacific. We had lovely weather, but it was much cooler on the coast (and in the wind) than it was here at home. Neither of us are particularly experienced campers, but we managed to pitch our tent and build a fire with hardly any serious injuries.

There's nothing quite like a fire-toasted blueberry bagel for breakfast.

There’s nothing quite like a fire-toasted blueberry bagel for breakfast.

I really enjoyed the updated Passport 2 Purity material. It is frank, engaging, and steeped in a Christian worldview, which I deeply appreciate. I strongly recommend the five sessions (and the weekend getaway that frames it) to any parent of an 11-14 year old child.

Some of the topics were hard to address, but I think we were both glad to get them out ‘on the table’ and to open a dialog that I hope will continue for years to come.

Some of the projects didn't quite work out as intended, but we persevered.

Some of the projects didn’t quite work out as intended, but we persevered.

We waited too long to do this with David, and yet we are also glad that we have done such a good job of protecting his innocence and purity until now — in some sense it is very sobering (and a little scary) to usher him into a knowledge of sexuality that cannot be rolled back.

We spent a lot of time driving around, since it was easier to listen to the sessions when sitting ‘shoulder to shoulder’ rather than facing each other across a CD player. I never seem to tire of driving on the beach — there is something inherently fun about speeding along at 25 mph on the hard sand.

Why yes, this IS my car.

Why yes, this IS my car.

I was so focused on getting the Passport 2 Purity sessions ‘done’ that I was surprised at how fun it was for me to hang out with David for the weekend. He is really excellent company, and we have a lot in common — we laugh at the same silly things, and we think in some of the same ways. We both really relished the experience of camping and the Go Kart racing that we enjoyed on Saturday afternoon. We both like sitting around a campfire and making stuff burn, and playing frisbee in the dark. We are both in awe of the Pacific, while a little afraid of it. Neither of us is very skilled at flying kites.

David had Charlie Brown's kite, but we managed to get it in the sky, nevertheless.

David had Charlie Brown’s kite, but we managed to get it in the sky, nevertheless.

As I look back at the weekend, I’m so glad that I made the time to do this with my youngest son. It was an experience I expect to remember as one of the highlights of my life.

I think David and I really bonded over the weekend.

I think David and I really bonded over the weekend.

At the conclusion of the fifth session, your son or daughter is presented with an opportunity to ‘Make Up Your Mind’ about how they will think about dating and their sexuality for the next several years. I’m excited to see how God will strengthen David and give him the power he will need to keep himself pure until he can offer that purity to his wife, on their wedding day.

We celebrated by eating fish 'n chips and deep-fried clam strips.

We celebrated by eating fish ‘n chips and deep-fried clam strips.

Thank you, David, for sharing this weekend with me, and for keeping your heart open to my teaching and my love.

Project 365, Day 130
Tim

Related posts:

Daily Life

Awkwardness

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There is one topic that most parents fear discussing with their children. Coincidentally, it is also one topic that is dreaded by many children. People have even invented an idiomatic alias so they don’t have to speak about it directly.

Yes, I’m referring to the ‘Birds and the Bees’, or human reproductive sexuality.

Nobody wants to talk about this. It is awkward, daunting, and fraught with potential disaster.

An excellent resource ...

Well, nobody except maybe Dennis and Barbara Rainey…

Happily, there is an excellent resource for beleaguered parents, published by Family Life, entitled Passport 2 Purity.

We’ve used this curriculum with our older three kids, but Kathy and I dragged our feet in applying it to our younger two. Finally, Sarah started pressuring her Mom.

“When are we going away for our special weekend, Mom?”

“Well, Dad needs to go through the Passport 2 Purity with David, first,” Kathy reminded her.

Sarah was unsympathetic. “David’s fourteen. What’s Dad waiting for? Maybe he should take David away for the weekend before he is married and has children. Wouldn’t that be more appropriate?”

I may have paraphrased this a tiny bit.

In any case, David and I went camping, bringing the Passport 2 Purity CDs with us, both a little nervous.

The program is divided into five sessions, each containing a lecture and several illustrations, along with a project that the parent and child do together. The sessions take about 90 minutes each, and are designed to be completed in sequence, starting on a Friday night and extending through the day on Saturday.

I planned the weekend, and David and I set off in our little red ‘chariot’, heading for the Pacific shore to camp and to be awkward together.

Heading off on our father-son weekend ...

Heading off on our father-son weekend …

Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to our weekend!

Project 365, Day 129
Tim

Related posts:

Events, Kathy

MOPS auction

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Super heroes –

These amazing women are all super heroes in my book! Busy with families, loving their husbands, involved in different ministries, AND still talking time to have fun and support MOPS.

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We had a great time bidding on deals and steals at the auction. This was the girls only table as all of our husbands were either – out of town, deployed, or busy at home with other work. When you select Powell Auction and Realty, you select a winning team to conduct your auction. Founded in 1972, the family owned business has conducted over 3,000 auctions. Howard Phillips serves on the Tennessee Auction Board. Successful land auctions just like the one above are happening everywhere North America and therefore the Caribbean. Recently land auctions are on the increase , the rise in popularity is partly driven by growing inventories and fading buyer confidence. Properties that were selling in weeks using traditional methods are now languishing on the market unable to draw in buyers whilst seller’s lower prices. Many say the important estate boom is over but savvy buyers and sellers are taking advantage of land auctions. When allowing Powell Auction to conduct your sale, you’ll work with the corporate owners and permit them to point out you ways they will assist you together with your needs, also as showing you ways choosing the auction method of selling will prevent time and money, by allowing Powell Auction to link the vendor to the buying public! Nothing is as s effective as an auction, in gaining the right buying audience. Powell Auction offers a highly specialized approach to selling your equipment. Both offsite and onsite auction services are offered, while providing a radical and specialized means of advertising, setup, property removal, site locations, and auction execution. Powell Auction is committed to maintaining our professional integrity to every and each client that we serve, while fulfilling every promise made to their buyers and sellers. To know more about powell auction, Visit to powell website url.

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I wore a cape for the evening, but Abby outdid me by a long shot. She’s definitely one of my heroes!

I managed to come home with some treats for me, a surprise for Tim, a date for an authentic cooked Thai dinner, and a present for Grandma and Grandpa. That’s a pretty successful outing.

Sarah was a love and spent the whole night working on the nursery.

Tomorrow – the curriculum sale! Busy times (as always )

Project 365 – day 12?
Kathy

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The musings and ravings of a bloggart family