Thursday, May 28, 2015

Thoughts | Not called to easy

Don't you love it when God uses less than ideal circumstances to teach you some Kingdom lessons?

This week I'm learning that being the hands and feet of Christ is hard work. So often I say "God, please use me" but then I'm unwilling to be challenged or stretched. I want my service to be comfortable, simple, easy. I don't want it to cost me anything - literally. Come on Lord, I'm on a budget here.

Yes, the Gospel is wonderfully and beautifully free, but it costs to spread it. It'll cost time, energy, and money. It takes work. It takes building intentional relationships. It takes lots and lots of prayer. It takes a car ride on a busy Wednesday night when I have so much to get done. It takes being willing to listen for sometimes long periods of time. It takes making myself available. And I'm finding that it will probably always take more time than I think.

Yesterday I spent my car rides audibly venting my frustrations to God (the people driving around me probably thought I was crazy). I just wanted Him to tell me when enough was enough. How many times was I going to have to go through the same cycle over and over before I saw some results?When is the time to wipe the dust off my sandals and move on? When am I allows to call it quits? It hurts. It's costing me money. It's costing me time. What do I do?

I remember saying that I wish He would respond audibly because I really wanted to know. I needed some answers.

Funny thing, prayer - it actually works.

No, I didn't hear the audible booming voice of God. Instead, He planned for my husband to share the perfect message with the youth. He planted some wonderfully challenging words in Adam's mouth that I desperately needed to hear. And I have my answers.

I would have loved to hear that I should throw in the towel and give up. That would have been easy. But you know, we aren't called to live easy lives. Christ was our example and He was willing to die. With that in mind, how hard is it really for me to spend a few bucks a week in gas if it means one person realizing who He is and all that He did for them?

So, I'll continue. It won't be easy or comfortable and I may never see the results, but I'll continue to ask Him to use me. And I sure hope that He continues to teach me what it truly looks like to imitate Christ. Shew, I've got a long way to go.

Who wants to be my accountability partner? I really need someone to smack some sense into me when I start complaining. But really.

Picture by Wyman H / unsplash.com

Monday, May 25, 2015

For the love of puppies

I love my pups. But sometimes...sometimes. Sheesh.

I finished planting some beautiful deep purple petunias in that pot there. 10 minutes later, this is all that's left.

I suppose that is what you get when you leave a six month old puppy who hasn't eaten breakfast yet alone with some tasty looking flowers within reach. Too much of a temptation...my bad Ginny. My bad.

Next time I'll know better.

Done any gardening lately? How's it going for you?

Thursday, May 14, 2015

One Year | 5.3.15

One year.

One WHOLE year.

Wow.

Recently, Adam and I celebrated the one year anniversary of our move to South Dakota and our transition from school into full time ministry. Honestly, that day we didn't even realize it was THE day until it was almost over. It had been a crazy, hectic, over-scheduled Sunday and we were exhausted and waiting for a special evening service to be over so that we could go home and crash. But then the realization came. We had been here for one whole year.

Now of course that calls for celebration! So some of our favorite people, a couple we never would have known had we not stumbled upon this position, a couple who we love dearly and learn from everyday, took us out for a late night snack party.

And it wasn't a huge deal. We didn't have any strikingly profound realizations or mind-blowing epiphanies. We didn't party for hours. We just sat and talked about life for 20 minutes or so, then went home. It was simple and it was wonderful. And it makes me so happy that this is what the last year of my life has led up to. Sitting and enjoying deepening relationships with amazing people.

I hope and pray that each year leads to more of that.

Heres to one whole year!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Currently // v.3

Spring. Mother's Day. Graduation. & Gardening. 

Designing// Graduation cards. We have a handful of youth graduating this weekend, so I'm hoping to develop a fun little card for their gifts. I'd rather not buy them (as they are so stinkin' expensive!) and I want them to have a bit of mine and Adam's personality. We'll see how that goes.

Enjoying// The wonderfully warm weather. I spent as much time as I could outside this weekend because it was BEAUTIFUL. Spring, please stick around for a while, would you?

Ordering// Mother's Day gifts. Being on the other side of the country makes holidays like Mother's Day a little more difficult. Adam and I can't be there to celebrate with our amazing moms, but we can send them a little something in our stead. I'm actually really excited about what I got my mom, I really think she'll love it! ...and I may have been severely tempted to buy one for myself. Sadly, I can't tell you what it is just in case she reads this. Hi, mom! Love you :)

Celebrating// The successful making and planting of our very first vegetable garden! Adam spent his whole day off building us some raised garden beds and trucking in dirt to fill them. Then yesterday, we went home a tad early to place the veggie plants we bought into their new homes. I am so excited to see them start growing! Confession, we may have gone a bit overboard for our first year. We've got two different types of tomatoes, three different peppers, carrots, green beans, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, and basil. Ah! I can't wait to have some fresh produce right from our own backyard!

Tasting// (not yet, but) Graduation party food. Okay, up here people go nuts on graduation parties. Parents will refurnish their houses, and redo their garages, order caterers, and a whole bunch of other nonsense. It's a wee bit crazy. However, it's great for party goers! We went to a few last year, and the food is excellent! It doesn't matter what they serve, it's great! But then again, thats also the norm up here...people always have tons of good food. Anyway, I'm stoked for our first round of graduation parties this weekend. Of course, I'm mostly looking forward to celebrating the successes of our students...but I'm pretty excited about the food too :)

Link-up with Anne and Jenna