MAYhem

WOWZERS! (that's right, I said it.)

What a month!  Looking back at what May has brought, I am feeling full. So full. Psalm 23 sums it up pretty well. In May:

• We ran a 5k - I had sub 10 minute miles (this is AWESOME for me!).  Afterwards, I made my first breakfast bake and sweet potato hash and got to fellowship with friends.
• No studying this month - so I picked up a handful of books that I am looking forward to reading.
• Great weather for outdoor soccer - we haven't been rained on yet! And, no injuries to report this season. (so far)
• Date-a-versary.  Jason and I had our first date 9 years ago. Has it really been that long?
  
  

  

  My Junior Prom, May 2005

  
  
• We visited Lake Chelan for the first time.  Big house. Lots of friends. Wine tasting. Sunshine without the sunburn.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Jason built me a raised garden. Vegetables have been planted (and are growing).  I may have to put him to work on a second garden....
  
  
  
• I am about to sign up for my first half marathon - yikes!
• I spent time and was able to catch up with a few friends I hadn't seen in a looong time.  
• We painted our bathroom. This has been on our to-do list for a very. long. time.

  

  ....and it may have grossed me out a bit.

  
  

  

  We may have discovered a dirty mess...

  

  ...but now it is clean...Amazing what a little bit of paint can do!

• I think we have both had some PR's in crossfit this month. In fact, I have battle wounds from a hero workout called Murph.  Learn about the hero, Navy Seal Michael Murphy, here.

My knees...because I still do 'girl' push-ups.

• Jason is wrapping up the month by spending the weekend in Denver visiting his brother, and today I was able to attend a baby shower for one of my best friends. 

I am so glad for all the fun and productive activities we were able to do this month.  I have this constant struggle with the 'battle of busy', but I think this month we had an adequate amount of time to rest, play, and be productive....but more on that another time.  Right now, I'm just going to be grateful for the month of May.

Cheers!

Internal pressure in an external world

Do you ever feel like you just aren't doing it right? Whatever it may be...work, dating/marriage, other relationships, parenting, social skills, evangelizing, right down to the nitty-gritty details, like how those stains come out on laundry day. Life?

Christ instructs us to be in the world, but not to be OF the world.  This is hard. Everyday. 

We are surrounded by people and media who influence us. We watch, we learn, we listen...and sometimes we think why can't I be like that? Don't let them fool you. They may seem confident, and maybe they are (most of the time). But don't think for a minute that they don't have any insecurities... we all have moments of doubt. 

It seems many of the pressures we feel may be self-induced.  Do we assume we are inadequate based on the rest of the world?  Are we creating problems we don't have?

We are all victim to our own thoughts, and they may go something like this:
Am I keeping up on the house properly? Work is exhausting, should I even be doing this job?  Do I belong here? Did I say the right thing? Did I do the right thing? Did he notice my new haircut? Are we still friends? I should call, or should I?  Double-guessing yourself. I heard she does it this way, maybe I should do it that way, too. The comparisons. Am I being as good of a wife as so-and-so? Then, the guilt.  Oh no, I forgot another birthday.  I didn't have time to clean the house before guests arrive. I just want to be more like.... Jesus, help me! 

And He does.  Every time.  When I start to detract my focus from Him, I find the insecurities hiding in the depths of my mind and feel the pressures of the world weigh in on my heart.  However, God has provided us with the gift of Christ, who carries our burdens...even when we feel like we can't keep up. 

I am never going to get all of it right. Neither are you. So, how do we move forward knowing that old insecurities will wear us down, and new pressures will test us? I am trying my best to learn, keep going when I get it wrong, and most importantly accept the grace that Christ has provided for us.

In the beginning

Here it goes!

Let me begin by explaining to you why I have decided to begin blogging:

1. I may have something important to say.  I guess we will find out, eh?
2. Like many people out there, I love photography.  I take many photos that just end up sitting somewhere on a hard drive - it's time to share!
3. Communication. I would much rather sit down and talk over a glass of wine, but distance IS an issue.
4. I want to be accountable to myself to live a better life - I am hoping that blogging will help me to continually strive to improve (because you will be watching!).
5. I'm a slow mover.  I guess I'll start now.

Okay, so maybe my reasons aren't great, and perhaps I don't have anything fantastic to share...in fact, this blog is going to be cheesy, full of poor grammar, improper punctuation, misspelled words (spell check should help in that regard).  It won't be eloquent, but then again, I'm not here for the poetry. 

For now, this blog is a little bit about my life, my thoughts, and how I am growing through Christ.  A theme may evolve with time, but for now you should expect a little bit of everything, or a lot of nothing.

Cheers friends!