Is fall really here?

What a beautiful weekend we had! The weather was amazing - it feels like fall and we are still in August. Every year I am surprised by the changing seasons (my brain still feels like it is stuck in the hot/hotter seasons of Texas).
On Friday night, we took the kids to Chick-fil-a. I must say, it is is the best family friendly fast food place. Good food, clean restaurants (and bathrooms), great service. They even put little disposable placemats and hand sanitizers on every high chair. Ok, enough raving about it....Tim says I should get paid for my advertising :) Tim worked on Saturday morning, but then we got to hang out with some good friends for a couple of hours before heading to his parents to celebrate his mom's birthday. We hired a babysitter for the evening, and it was really nice spending time with his family without being in my "mom" mode. Today we went to church, took naps, and then went hiking. Then a friend brought over a bunch of "hand-me-downs" for Joel. What a blessing!
It is times like these that make me really sad about moving. I know, we will only be gone for 5 months, but I don't want to miss a thing here. After much praying and talking the past couple of weeks, we went back to our original plan. Which is really not much of a plan :) All we really feel confident about it going to the GFM school in Atlanta. We both feel like we are to wait on God's direction from there. We are still planning on moving closer to downtown after we return, but we are not sure where exactly and what we will be doing. I hate the unknown, but it is much better than making plans when we are not exactly sure if God is behind them. Please continue praying for us as we make decisions for our move - our house situation (finding a renter/housesitter), finances, and direction. Please keep Tim's mom in your prayers as well. She is half-way through her chemo treatments (4 left) but each treatment seems to be taking a higher toll on her body. Pray for health, healing, and continued faith in His goodness.

Playing Catch Up

I have been really bad this past month on updating our blog. So much has happened so I am now subjecting you to a really long update....

First, I'll catch you up on our mission adventure. We received an email a couple of weeks ago from GFM questioning whether Kansas City is a good location to start one of their schools. We have questioned that very same thing considering KC is not as diverse as their other 2 locations (Atlanta and Houston). GFM's current mission statement, though, includes teaching "families to live on mission wherever they are", and we feel that this is needed everywhere and is an area we have a heart for. If their mission is narrowing, though, a GFM school in the KC area may not be needed. This is not huge in itself, Tim and I are content to let God lead us in whatever direction whether or not starting a school in KC is in the picture. On the other hand, this may impact whether we should be attending the school at all. If we are not planning to go to the 10/40 window or start up a GFM school and this is their whole purpose, then we are not the right ones to go. It has been a confusing couple of weeks as we have been processing and talking through all this. I personally am having a hard time dealing with whether I heard God right or whether I am hearing Him now. I really wish He would just send me a letter in the mail telling me exactly what we should be doing and how we can be serving Him best. :) Please be praying for us - that we will be listening to His direction and not our own desires.

Last week we went to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for 5 days while Tim attended a work conference. Besides the 9 hour drive each way, we had a wonderful time. I am getting a lot more adapted to traveling with little ones and am more confident in taking care of them by myself in hotel situations. We visited the water park that was on-site every day and I took the boys to an apple orchard one morning. It was beautiful!

We started potty-training Joel 2 weeks ago and what progress he has made! It took him TWO full days of peeing in his pants before he went on the potty for the first time. If Tim hadn't encouraged me to try another day, I would have given up. I did countless loads of laundry and was quite frustrated with the whole process. Over the first week, he progressively got better and I learned not to ask "Do you need to go potty?" I learned quickly that a 2 1/2 year old's response will always be "NO!" (followed by peeing in their pants). I just take him when I feel like it has been a while or when he asks. He hasn't had an accident in 4 days now.

To top off the last couple of weeks, we celebrated Caleb's first birthday and my dad's 55th birthday this past weekend! They share a birthday so I will always get to spend my dad's birthday with him now :) I can't believe is has been a year since Caleb was born. He is such a joyful and peaceful baby. He is so calming to me and I thank God for blessing us with him. Along with Caleb's birthday party, we also dedicated him with our close friends and family. My dad led the dedication and Tom (Tim's dad) also prayed a blessing over us. It was very special and I'm thankful for everyone who is keeping us accountable in raising our boys to be like Christ.

Time for Some Mouthwash

I am really dense. When God is trying to send me a message or convict me on something, He has to tell me in all different ways before I finally listen and get the hint. The past few weeks, He has been hitting me hard on controlling my tongue. First, He told me during one of my quiet times. A few days later, Tim and I had a discussion about it. Then to top it off, I was preparing for my small group study tonight and guess what? It is on the same topic. I gossip. Not specifically to hurt anyone, but to vent and "talk things out". I hate confrontation. It is much easier to tell someone else about my hurts than it is to tell the person who hurt me. Sometimes I do it to make myself feel better. I seem much more normal when I talk about how weird or different someone else is. I guess I am looking for confirmation that I am doing things the "right" way.

There are so many scriptures that teach on the power of the tongue - it is hard to list just two.
Proverbs 15:4
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians is tough. Not only are we to control our tongues, but what we do say needs to have a point - something that is helpful to those we are speaking to. And in order for my words to change, God is going to have to do some cleaning up on my heart. My words reflect my heart. Ugh! I think I am going to have a lot less to say...