Purely Drivel

five minute friday: backwards

Go:

The kids have been going to the gym with us this week.

It's been a little bit frustrating - interrupting my workout to help them adjust machines, figure out exactly why Caleb is trying to run 11 miles an hour on the treadmill - but it's been amazing to see them learn new ways to take care of the bodies God created for them.

They've both come to enjoy the elliptical...but I've noticed the oddest little thing.

They both get on it and start going backwards.  When I ask them, they're not even aware of it - it's just the easiest way to go.It doesn't take but a few seconds and a gentle reminder, and they're pedaling forwards. 

Really, there's nothing wrong with backwards - it's just amusing to see them realize what they're doing and make that little change.

And I find myself wishing that all parenting were as easy as that. 

Stop.

What's 5 Minute Friday? From Gypsymama: So, here’s the skinny: I’ve been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.

we're all losers

 
photo source

Watching the season finale of The Biggest Loser a few weeks ago, Mom and I hit on a bit of inspiration.

side note: as much as I always want to watch that show and as inspiring as I tend to find it, I never seem to catch any episode other than the finale...and usually watch about 5 minutes of it.  this year was no exception.

We'd been looking for some inspiration - something to get the family moving and eating better this summer - and, in one of those lightbult moments, found it.

A family version of The Biggest Loser.

We're all weighing and measuring, eating better and working out, from yesterday until Labor Day.

Even the kids. 

They went to the gym for the first time yesterday, and both loved it.  They're a little bit limited by what machines they actually fit on, but I've come to believe that you have never seen cuteness until you've seen a 9 year old on the elliptical machine.  I might need to take in Hanna's Flip and record it.

We've been talking - a lot - about what better, healthier choices mean.   About how one good choice leads to more of them.   And that we're not expecting big results or perfection, but that we're wanting to make little changes that add up to big ones that last a lifetime.

Because we're competitive, we did add a little monetary incentive.  All of our recycling money, plus the dollar equivalent of what each person loses, is going into a jar for Labor Day.  Because there are a 9 and 13 year old taking part, I'm hoping we can take that money and do something fun together with it...but it's also been suggested that, like on the show, the person with the highest percentage of weight loss takes the prize.  We'll see.

Right now, my main focus is on those little choices and instilling in the kids a love of activity.  And if no one loses a single pound, but a bit of that happens - we'll be the best sort of losers of all.

full circle

Dos Palos United Methodist Church...

I was born a few blocks away.

It's the church I went to Tiny Tots at...

the church I attended once in a while as a child with my Grammy...

the church where Tom asked me to marry him - just to the right of that front door, kneeling on the soggy grass...

the church where we were married, nearly 15 years ago - on a day that was 115 degrees and the West Coast power grid went down...

the church the kids and I would visit, again with Grammy, when we were here from Florida...

where last summer, after leaving the ice cream social, I stopped on the grass for a moment and thought, how amazing would it be to come back here, to live here, to serve here, to be part of this community...yeah....right... there's a crazy dream...

 it's the church we began attending when we moved back to California.  A church that's been damaged in ways similar to our own story in an odd way. 

They asked Tom to preach, on his birthday, knowing that their pastor - this wonderful man who came out of retirement to simply bring healing to a fractured, hurting congregation - that he was ready to retire for the third time. 

And they loved Tom.

And we love them. 

It's funny - so very different from the church where Tom last worked.  So small, so connected.   Sunday services are not a slick production put out by a few for consumption by the masses...they're a love offering to the Lord, with so many working to bring forth worship.   There is an honesty and transparency that I have craved.  With hymns and readings, a piano and an organ, not even an overhead projector much less flat screens, flashy backgrounds and a large band, I've felt God's presence so strongly, so directly and healing has begun.   

It has been a journey - these months since Tom preached - so many ups and so many downs, to that phone call from the District Superintendent last Friday...saying yes...this is the best thing for this church, for you, for your family, for this community.

On July 1st, Tom will become the pastor of Dos Palos United Methodist Church.  

We have already been so extravagantly loved on, so supported,  so blessed by this congregation we hardly know what to do.   It won't be an easy road - this is a small town with a massive unemployment rate, schools that are flailing, a gang problem, and he will be fighting a bad legacy left by a previous pastor (not the current one).   It's a church that needs to grow for a future, but that is ready to.

And I think again and again of God's words in Jeremiah 29:11:

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.

And these words from Elizabeth Elliot, that stukk continue to bring me hope and peace:

"God is God. Because he is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

And I laugh. 

Never - not ever - in these past 15 years of marriage, have I ever truly thought that God would bring us to this place.   Never, in the midst of the pain of these past few years of ministry, had I ever thought this was where He was leading.   When we moved back to my hometown, it was because my parent's had the most room in their home and we thought we'd be here for a few months before leaving to take another position.  It certainly was beyond my thought process that He was bringing us full circle to serve Him.

 Full circle. 

Right now, it's a very good place to be.

sprint to the finish...

  

The last week of school.  What a long, crazy road this year has been! 

I'm trying so hard to get back to some sort of regular writing schedule and struggling.   There's so much going on - and so much I want to share - but I just can't seem to find the time.  I've got half-written posts clogging up my brain...but this week?

This week is nuts.

Nuts.

Today, awards assemblies at both kid's schools.  Allergy shots.  Things to ship.  Bank statements to fax (an offer on our house in Florida - praise God!).  Pizza with the baseball team.  Tomorrow, my nephew is coming over to play and I've got to run to Costco.  Thursday?  Last day of school and more nephew time.

Oh, and I thought it would be fun to let Hanna end the year with a sleepover...so we've got a few of her friends coming over to spend the night, and that means a little extra cleaning and cooking and planning.

It really wouldn't be a big deal...

but I've got anywhere from 40-50 guests coming Saturday to help celebrate Tom's completion of his Master's degree. 

*insert sarcastic comment about what a genius I am sometimes*

And somewhere, I'm praying I can find time for the gym, or at least a few laps at the park.

Next week, life should calm down a bit...with big news and good changes on the horizon.

And I can't wait to finally be able to share them.

on this Memorial Day...

 
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.
                                                                                ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

To those who serve...to those who have served...to those who will someday answer the call...

thank you.

menu plan monday - 05.23.11

 Second to last week of school...the speed with which this school year has flown by is just incredible.  Our last two Little League games are this week and confession: I just haven't been able to figure out how to get a decent dinner on the table those nights.  If we're looking at football starting this summer, I'm going to have to put some more work into figuring that out.

A quick note: while most of my family isn't, I am gluten-free and eat very little meat.  Any recipes that call for pasta, I just substitute brown rice or quinoa pasta.  I skip bread, and eat extra veggies and the grains I can eat instead of meat.

Monday
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage
Roasted mushroom with garlic and olive oil
Green Salad
Garlic Bread

Tuesday (baseball)
Hamburgers (veggie burgers for those who prefer)
Lemon Slaw (seriously easy Trader Joe's recipe - their chopped 8 veggie salad with a mix of TJ's lemon curd and mayo)
Corn on the cob (I hope!  Love to find some this weekend at Farmer's Market)

Wednesday (very last ballgame of the season) 
eat at the game

Thursday
Grilled Tuscan Lemon Chicken
Steamed Artichokes
Green Salad
Bread

Friday
California Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
with Chicken sausages
Watermelon

Saturday
Tri Tip Steaks
Rice Pilaf
Green Salad

Sunday
Tacos (love the brown rice tortillas from Trader Joe's!)
Pinto Beans
Fresh Salsa 

 This post will be linked to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.  Looking for meal inspiration?  It's a great place to visit!

five minute friday: when seasons change

Go:

The margins of seasons - that first peeking blossom of sping, the unexpected leaf that falls heralding autumn- echoed in our lives as in nature.

The sense - growing - that seasons are changing once again.

From a long winter.  Such a long winter, not only in nature but in life.  The choices made, the moves completed, the lingering wait for the next.  

Never easy, always welcome.

Seeing the first blossoms, the skies turn blue, the trees bud green, the sun turn to warm...in the yard as it is in my soul.

Waiting.  

Feeling God's presence.  Seeing His hand.

Knowing His will shall be done.

Longing for the fullness of summer, the harvest of autumn.  

At seasons change.

Stop.

What's 5 Minute Friday? From Gypsymama: So, here’s the skinny: I’ve been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.

five minute Friday: deep breath...

photo by Hanna

Go:

This week, the mask has slipped.  

The girl who has it all together - in spite of the fact her husband hasn't a job since mid-January...in spite of a house for sale in a market that won't recover until about 2030...in spite of the fact she's exhausted and overwhelmed by a crazy schedule...in spite of the kids and dogs and the cross country move to live with her parents...in spite of (or maybe because of) that long desired ministry position that we're right on the thresh hold of - that girl fell a part.

Big time.

Sobby, anxiety ridden, frustrated.

Not wanting to hear platitudes.

Not wanting to hear oft-quoted Scripture.

Wanting to hear God.

Wanting to see Him move.

Needing to know...just a little...of where this path is leading...that this struggle is worth it.

Deep breath.

Pray.

Refocus.

Pray.

Peace.

Just when I thought it was all I could take, God spoke.  He moved.  He gave me that little glimpse I needed to shore up my hope.

Deep breath.

Stop.

What's 5 Minute Friday?
From Gypsymama: So, here’s the skinny: I’ve been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.

love this

I overuse the word love quite a bit.

And while I think it's okay - and certainly better than hating everything - I think sometimes my overuse of love dilutes the word a little.

I love Jesus.

I love my family.

I love my Catwalk Root Boost Spray.

I love fresh, clean sheets.

I love the diet Pepsi at Butch's (a local drive-in burger place).

I love the crunchy ice that comes in the diet Pepsi at Butch's.

See what I mean?  

Do I love crunchy ice as much as I love Jesus?  No.

But I love what this picture represents.

Caleb and my nephew Evan, playing with the hose...on a crazy, windy evening...being boys...having fun.

It's that level of comfort, of knowing each other and just being goofy boys together that I love.  For six years, it would take at least the first half of our visit to get there.  

It hasn't been easy to come back to my hometown...to live with my parents*...to live these past four months without a job or really an income...to not know what the future holds...but little moments like this make it worth it.

And I love that too.

Disclaimer: I really don't intend to infer that living with my parents has been difficult (because most of the time it's pretty easy), but it can be a struggle to live in a home that isn't yours.  

confessions of a first time baseball mom

• I have a mini panic attack every.single.time he's up to bat
• when he played short stop for part of a game, I nearly had a heart-attack.  right field is far more to my liking
• lesson: you can't judge what a season or a player will be like by the first practice of the season
• wins and losses don't matter as long as your player loves the game (unless you're beating Cranky Slim Shady's team by a lot...see below)
• the annoying coaches of other teams deserve the nicknames you give them: Cranky Slim Shady and That Jerk! need to take Little League a lot less seriously
• what impresses me in a coach: encouragement, "smart baseball" and instilling a passion for the game
• playing the late game is not good...especially when it doesn't end until nearly 9 and leads to a rough morning the next day
• nachos at the Little League park taste just like the nachos of your high school memories, but they sure don't hit your stomach the same way
• somewhere around week 5, I started wondering when the season would end.  now, in week 6, I'm wishing it wasn't over so quickly
• hearing talk about "next season" before this one is halfway over is pretty cute
• I'd probably pull Caleb from two coaches teams (see above) and I'm already worried about next season when I'm pretty sure his coach will be moving up to major's with his son
• the changes in the boy's physique have been incredible since his first practice two months ago.  where did those shoulders come from?