Aiden & Eli's 1st Basketball games!

The big boys are on different teams- Eli is on the "Sharks" and he is the one (#1 white team) with his arms up in the middle of the screen (at both sides of the court, haha!), his team won 12-6! Aiden is (#14 white team) the cute (but dorky) one with the tucked in jersey & short shorts (they got wrong sizes, haha!) Aiden actually gets an assist, and he made a score later on to tie up the game 4-4! His team is the "FireBalls". Ross gets to help coach both teams.

The Good Fight of Faith

The topic of faith has been on my mind a lot lately. What it really means to have faith in God. There is a song by Caedmon's Call called Shifting Sand that used to always bother me because as you can see in the lyrics it said "my faith is like shifting sand, changed by every wave". I guess I never really related to that feeling until recently with some things I've been dealing with. I've felt like Jekyll & Hyde lately with my faith and doubt. Thankfully faith days have been winning out lately.

As I was reading Romans 4 one day I came across this passage, vs. 19: 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

This challenged me. I don't have to ignorantly, blindly step out in faith... but I can face the facts. Realize what reality looks like... while not weakening in my faith or waver in unbelief, but I can look at reality and see that God is bigger, stronger and mightier than any situation and circumstance I see as reality and trust that He cares for me, and is a victorious God that can bring transformation.

I always battle with trying to muster up in my own strength, faith. Which ends up looking like "talking myself into it" and ignoring the facts and determining whether I feel faith well up in me or not. When in reality faith is not something I can "do" to get results. I can't tell myself "have faith, and God will answer your prayers". It is a gift of God that I must call upon him for.

Meeting the Needs

There are so many needs out there. It can be overwhelming when you think too much about it. From tasks in your job, to taking care of the poor, hurt, or homeless, to friendships and relationships, how do you do it all without getting burned out?

I've been thinking about this lately. Dealing within our family alone, meeting the needs of a husband and 3 young boys, as well as serving in the church and connecting with family and friends, it does get overwhelming at times. The last thing I want is to be incapacitated simply because I was too concerned with what was going on around me, rather than meeting the needs within myself.

What I get back to each time is we must make sure we are refilling our cup. How easy is it for us to constantly give, serve and pour out, to the point it comes from our own strength and eventually runs dry. In 1 Cor. 10 Paul saw the tendency of people to be so concerned with helping others (which is a good thing) all the while neglecting their own spiritual lives, disciplines and health (enter the bad part). It is much harder to give of yourself when you are empty, and that is where we put ourselves at risk.

Where it is a GREAT thing to put others needs before ourselves, and to desire to help others, if we aren't taking care of ourselves, how will we truly be of any help? In our small group this week, we talked about this very thing. An example from my own life we laughed at, was as a mom, how concerned are we that our kids are bathed, fed well, and sleep well, yet we forget to eat lunch ourselves, or even sometimes take a shower (gasp!). How similar is it with our spiritual lives.

When our relationship with God is put first, we will be able to really help others. When we find the way that we refresh ourselves best, we can refresh others. That is when we find as we are generous and refresh others, we will be refreshed, (Prov 11:25). The point: how can you give and be generous if you don't have anything stored up to give? If Jesus needed to retreat and refill with God, how much more do we as humans need to!



On a practical note, here are some ways I have been thinking that best re-energize my life:
- Spending time with God- reading, praying, worshiping. (for me it looks more broken up throughout the day according to nap times, etc at this phase of my life).
- Really engaging with worship and responding to the Word (at church & at home).
- Getting some extended quality time with God when I can.
- Staying accountable with someone (for me it's Ross- when we go on a date we ask each other what God is speaking to us lately)
- 1x a year Ross and I try to do a "spiritual retreat"(overnight with no kids, intentionally praying and seeking God together).

What are some things you need to change, or what are tips you have to refill your cup? 

Mean Girls turn Nice?

When the movie Mean Girls came out, I thought it was hilarious. I think everyone can identify coming across characters like at some point in their life. I was reminded of this story last week when I shared about True Beauty at a girls night.

I was in middle school. As if that time of your life isn't hard enough with your hormones raging, pimples rearing their ugly heads (stories of that to come), the word awkward pretty much sums up how you dress/look/feel. Well, I had braces & bangs. BIG bangs, the kind that started half way back on my head. That didn't help. I was desperate to grow those suckers out, but of course bangs are the slowest to ever grow.

One morning I had enough. I was going to pin those bad boys up some how. I pulled a "pebbles" and used a nice fluffy scrunchy and TONS of hairspray and tamed them in a way that looked like some of the cheerleaders (aka cool girls).

I was feeling pretty good about myself. When I got to about 4th period that day our class was watching a movie and the hairspray started wearing off. One by one my bangs started jetting STRAIGHT out, eventually looking like stiff fingers coming out of my forehead. OMG. What do I do? I started to panic. I frantically looked around the room for help.

I saw 2 cheerleaders (who typically played the mean girls role) across the room snickering at me. I thought I was a goner. They motioned to me to crawl over to their desks in the back of the room. I thought for sure it was to make fun of me.

I think they saw how desperate I was and actually played the good samaritan! Mean girls with compassion?! I couldn't believe it, I was humiliated, but this gave me a glimmer of hope. I will never forget how those girls helped me out. Needless to say I never pulled a pebbles again.

Moral of the story: Don't try to be someone you're not.... and be kind to everyone, you never know when you may need their help.

Dusting it off...

it's been a good minute, okay, okay, 2 solid years since I have used my keyboard for blogging purposes. I am interested to see where this goes. I've been a bit busy, but it has been on my mind.

I have been weighing the purpose- I think twitter temporarily satisfied my need to share thoughts/ happenings/ humorous moments/ life lessons I'm learning along the way... I mean, is blogging as popular as it was or is it a dying fad? I've always enjoyed writing, and this is a great way to practice and learn how to form thought-out ideas, I won't lie when I say I wouldn't be disappointed if this turned into something a little more permanent (even paperback). :)

So as to not put the cart before the horse, let's see if I can be consistent. If I have anything worth sharing. If I can put to words all these silly little thoughts swirling around in my mind.

Any topics of interest out there? Do share!

Just Keep Going

What do you do when something you have been believing for hasn't happened or seems to end in disappointment?

Just keep going. Life goes on. Baby steps.

We must remember: His Grace IS Sufficient. When things don't go they way you want or expect, don't forget God is the author of our story, and tests our motives. His Grace is sufficient. 2 Corinthians 12:9. We need to believe that not only will we make it, but when we are in God's Will we will not only survive in it, but thrive.

Another thing that has been swirling around in my head is something Pastor Mark Batterson says all the time: "Don't put a period where God puts a comma, and don't put a comma where God puts a period."

Just keep going.

Being Intentional

There are so many thing we need to be intentional on, our relationship with God, being a good friend, keeping marriage lively, raising non-mediocre kids, and the list goes on...

One area that has been on my heart a lot recently is being intentional to have a Christ- Centered Family. We can not just say we have a Christian home because we go to church, and Ross and I happen to be pastors. I went to the Focus on the Family Parenting Conference a few months ago, where I realized we need to be more intentional in changing the culture in our homes for Christ, not just outside our homes, hoping that rubs off on the kids.

We as parents have to take responsibility to change in the home and spiritually develop our kids, not just hope that they get it from an average of under 30 hrs a year in Sunday school or going to youth group. Mom's and Dad's are 2-3x's more influential than church programs. (which on a ministry side note, makes me realize we need to be spending more time, energy and resources in equipping parents to be able to have faith in the home) Deut. 6:1-20 really addresses our role as parents.

To being changing the culture in your home we need to know, you can't pass something on to your kids, that you don't have yourself. 61% of Churched teens don't got to church after 20- the #1 reason: Hypocracy. Do you live what you say you believe behind closed doors?

We are trying to start a new tradition as a family, we call it: Sunday Night Lights (well, I call it that, Ross just laughs) :) We try, at least 1x a month to do a small group bible study as a family. Originally the goal was to do it every week, but that was near impossible to be consistent because of schedules and random things popping up, so we have resolved to 1x a month. Glad to say we're on month 3, and it seems to be going good & the boys get excited about it! This isn't the only way we are trying to do to place Christ at the center of our home, but one of many. Another thing we do every night is read a bible story with the kids. FYI: So far my 2 fav. kids bibles are This One and This One. :)

Here are some things we've done so far:
Ross and I rotate leading each time. The elements we try to have each time are Worship, Bible Story, Illustration, Scripture Memory, Prayer. We keep it simple.

The 1st Sunday Night Lights we Read and Reenacted the story about David and Goliath. It was hilarious how into it the boys got with their swords, pretend sling shots and knocking daddy-Goliath down! They learned: God always wins his battles!

2nd we read about Elijah and the prophets of Baal. We actually went outside and had 2 clay flower pots, put paper in them, got one wet and left one dry. We showed how God lit Elijah's sacrifice on fire, but the prophets couldn't get their god to do it. They LOVED the fire, lol. They learned: God is most powerful!

3rd we read Jonah, I put a big blanket on me, and when Jonah was thrown out of the boat during the reading, I "swam" up to the boys and swallowed them in the blanket, they had to say "sorry for running away" to get out. Needless to say, it was a hit. :) They learned: Never run away from God, and Obey God.

I, as a parent, need as much help as I can get, and want to share what I'm trying out. I would love to hear your ideas too!

Bedtime Battles

We are into a new phase in our house... we affectionately have deemed it "bedtime battles". The boys are GREAT sleepers, I am so thankful for that... but actually getting them to sleep is getting harder and harder, this is new for us.

I would love any advice... here is what happens:

We have a consistent routine, starting at 7 or 7:30 we bathe, brush teeth, get p.j.'s on, pick out a book and a bible story to read, pray and sing a few songs together. That generally goes smoothly. Then the lights go out, and the battles begin...

Aiden is having the hardest time. Eli is usually pretty calm and quiet, unless Aiden tells him to do something naughty. We have 2 simple rules- 1. stay in bed. 2. be quiet. I don't mind if they talk, laugh or sing (as long as it's quietly), but lately they (Aiden) are breaking the 2 simple rules over and over and over and over...

We are super consistent about the rules and disciplining when they aren't followed, but Aiden is king of stalling and both of them are oh so stubborn! Yelling for bathroom, water, kisses, hugs, blanket put just right, or certain stuffed animals. I am trying my hardest to be strong, but I would love any suggestions if you have gone though this battle! I feel like I am forced to get my "angry eyes" on every night, and it is making me sad. I don't want them going to sleep with me having to be so hard on them!

What to do.

Where God gives the Vision, He gives the ProVision

That is a saying our pastor at NCC, Mark Batterson, says all the time, and more and more I see how true it is.

Ross and I have been living on financial support from many partners (from individuals and a few churches) for the past 7 years. It's been amazing how God has provided every pay check, and above.

I just wanted to testify on one of the many levels to His Goodness on this Good Friday. In marriage, it is so important to keep a consistent date night, for many reasons. I am so incredibly thankful that where God has given us a vision to keep consistent date nights in our marriage, he has amazed us with his Provision.

We joke that we are the King/Queen of the hook up... and I don't say it to brag on us, but on God! These hook ups aren't shabby, from vacations to restaurants. I am extremely thankful. It almost seems silly or trivial to think the Almighty God would care about a simple date night, but He does!

Our budget is beyond "tight" right now... and there is no way we would be able to keep our date nights (which more and more I see how crucial they are!) without God providing in special ways. I am blown away week to week to see the way He is providing. It sounds funny, but I can't remember the last time Ross and I have had to pay out of pocket for a date! We have been blessed in creative ways and with gift cards, and babysitting since we have had kids! I'm not kidding, even thinking back it blows my mind.

All this to say... build your faith! If you have a vision for consistent date nights, pray and believe God and have faith to ask him to provide. He won't let you down!

A quick (but not exhaustive) thank you list:
Joel
Elizabeth
Grace
Mom & Dad
Jim & Martha
Anonymous NCCers
Stephanie
Shelby
and the list goes on...

Miami Fall 2010!!

Here is why we are moving to Miami... and how YOU can play a part!

Not dead but Asleep

I was reading Mark 5: 21-43 today and the reality of this passage lights me up.

So the man's daughter is going to die, and he wants Jesus to go touch her. Jesus starts going in that direction, but gets "side tracked" by mobs of people needing/wanting him, and he stops to spend time "healing another with His touch" (the lady with the issue of blood). So the man gets upset that it's too late now, and his daughter has died. Jesus ignores what they say, goes and raises her from the dead.

Here are some points to consider:

1- Jesus demonstrated a healing through touch (just what the man wanted Him to do for his daughter), but that still didn't sink in to him- to have faith, like the woman w/ blood.

2- God's timing and order are perfect, and have a purpose.

3- God is God and we are not. We may grumble and complain that our prayers aren't answered the way we think or as fast as we think they should be, but there is a reason.

4- It just takes one word, one touch, one thought from Jesus and it's done.

So... do you have a prayer or a dream that you have asked God to come touch?

• Maybe God has to do a few other miracles first on the way to fulfilling your dream.
• Maybe God is building Hope and Trust in you, even when the dream looks dead.
• Maybe God is wanting to demonstrate His greater power in your situation, rather than answer your prayer the easy way like you expect.
• Maybe God wants to see if your Hope is in Him, more than in the dream you seek.
• Maybe God wants to build your faith first by doing something else that looks to you like He's gettting side tracked. We need to think bigger picture!

"Don't be afraid. Just Believe"- Mark 5:36

Thoughts by Martin Luther

I was reading some great quotes by Martin Luther, and thought I would share some powerful ones:

Pray, and let God worry.

If I am not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.

Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.

Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.

There are so many other great quotes, I recommend you check out some of his writings!

So True.

Saw this quote in an article this week and it has stuck with me. I'm reading through the Bible in one year with NCC right now and it truly is coming to life for me!

When asked if he accepted the historical existence of Jesus, the famous scientist, Albert Einstein, once told George Sylvester Viereck in a 1929 interview: "Unquestionably. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different, for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes of antiquity like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus."

They Never Cease to Amaze Me

It's hard not to compare my boys to each other. It's amazing to me how the DNA passed and they are so different. Aiden's personality is a lot like mine, and Eli's like Ross. Yet they share some, go figure.

I try not to compare them too much, because they ARE so different. Aiden was running by 10 months old and could read the whole alphabet by 18 mo, Eli didn't even try to walk until 17 months and is 26 months old now and still hasn't done the whole alphabet. haha. Aiden is mr. social, and just the other day on our walk home from school, passing the Capitol and all the "important Hill staffers" and he waved to EVERY person and said "Good Afternoon!". (that was a fun social experiment!). Where Eli is a little timid when he firsts meets people and it takes a minute for him to warm up (then he's about just as social).

So the other day we were at church and I was trying to pass the time while waiting for Ross to finish talking. It's always a battle to keep the boys content, so I asked them to start counting the chairs. Eli just started right up! From the kid who has only counted to 3 ONE TIME before, he, just plain as day, counted perfectly and loudly 1 all the way through to 10!!! I didn't even know he had it in him!!!

Now I don't feel as guilty that I haven't had as much 1 on 1 time with him teaching him (being the 2nd child) stuff like that as I did with Aiden, he has somehow absorbed it without me even trying! Phew! :)

Never Thought I'd Admit....

...that I miss Florida Weather. There. I said it. :) I grew up in Florida pretty much my whole life. I always thought I'd want to live more up North where I could have all 4 seasons. After being gone for 5 months now, it's true, I miss it!

Don't get me wrong, it is really pretty seeing the leaves change, and to get to play in snow. That is really fun. But the cold is just relentless! I have been used to N. Florida for the past 10 years and it getting pretty cold, then the next day up in the 70's. :) I loved wearing jackets and everything, but now after having to wear jackets and gloves and hats every day since October, I'm over it. lol.

I cannot wait for Spring! I Never thought I'd admit it, but I'm a Florida Girl. I am getting the most out of my time here in DC while I can, and enjoying the almost 30" of snow we got today... but I am now honestly really excited to move back to Florida in the Fall!

The Way to My Little Man's Heart

The cutest thing happened today. Eli was taking a sweet long nap this afternoon. I had to wake him up to get to Sat. night church. Aiden and I were both sweetly trying to wake him up and he was sleeping so hard. He started getting mad and kicking.

Then Aiden walked in with a bag of popcorn.

Without Eli even opening his eyes he softly says "popcorn?" and got a little grin (eyes still closed) and slowly started sitting up. My Little Man has a good sniffer! I can't believe that made him get up so happily and that he knew the smell so good!

Using some Johnny Maxwell in the Family :)

Something we are working on in our household lately is a simple little concept known as Self-Control. I am so convicted lately because I realize that "everything rises and falls on leadership" as John Maxwell says, and that doesn't just apply to the workplace, it completely relates to family life. How I go, is how the family tends to go.

If I want my kids to show self-control, I HAVE to show it first. This doesn't sound that a "light bulb" moment, but it is in my head. Every time I start to feel my blood pressure start to rise when the boys are getting wild, the first question that pops in my head now is "what am I doing?". It can spin out of control FAST if I don't take that second to pause and collect myself and assess.

Some tips I've heard that seem to help us with a 2 & 4 yr old are:
1. Get your kid to say the word. example: if they are being impatient and want something, make them stop and say the word "patient" and go over the definition. By the time they repeat it, it usually gets them to calm down enough that you can "talk". If it gets ugly from there, you know discipline must ensue. :) This works when trying to get them to learn any of the fruits of the Spirit.
2. The calmer you are, the quicker you see a change in their attitude. I am definitely working on. I get easily revved up, and I learned this lesson from watching the few episodes of the Duggar family with 18 kids, that mom is amazing how calm she stays in chaos.
3. Take a time out. As much as the kids may need it, I do too. :) If I don't take a few minutes to recollect myself, it's not pretty. This also goes for "time off". I don't like using that term, but it's the best way I can describe it. Taking a few hours, have someone stay with the kids (usually my hubby in my case) and decompress. My goal is to try to do that once a week.

So I in no way have it all figured out, and would love ANY tips you may have for teaching self-control and patience. This is a work in progress. :)

Kid Friendly Big Cities?

We got to travel up to NYC the 1st week of January to visit my sister in law and her hubby. We had a great time, but I discovered 1 thing, NYC is not kid friendly. I love visiting the Big Apple. This was our first trip with the boys. We had a great time. The 2 famous huge toy stores were the big hit for sure. NYC does have some great things to offer for little kids, Central Park, Times Square Toys R Us, FAO Schwartz, and a few others.... but the NYC Subway system is NOT, I repeat NOT kid friendly. I think I have gotten spoiled in DC with their Metro system & free events/museums.

#1 We don't have a rat problem here,

#2 we have elevators at every Metro stop, and escalators too,

#3 you have to pay for just about everything.

The entire time we were in NYC we didn't see 1 elevator or escalator for the stroller. Luckily we just brought our small umbrella one and we had extra hands, because we would have been out of luck if we had the double stroller.

So note to self, if you feel the itch to go to a big city with little kids, I recommend Washington, DC... so many free great places to go with kids, and a friendly Metro for sure! If you live in NYC- God Bless you if you have children, I don't know HOW you do it. :) Don't worry I still {heart} NYC!

Monthly Ministry Newsletters

If you are interested in reading our monthly ministry newsletters or signing up to be on the email list for them, let me know. Here is a link to check it out!

Middleton Monthly Ministry Newsletter