1/4 Full or 3/4 Empty?

Today we had a neighborhood garage sale. Over the past few months, I have been cleaning out our closets and selling anything we don't use to Craigslist or saving it for the garage sale. When I say "use", I mean we really have to be using it on a regular basis. That obviously cuts out a lot of things in our house. There are very few things that I am sentimental enough to keep when we are not using it. When I am given the choice of packing it up and storing it or getting rid of it....I choose the latter. I am proud to say that each of our closets are now only 1/4 full (or 3/4 empty :) )! It has been freeing and I really enjoy looking into our closets and not thinking about how I can organize them better. There is so much extra room that there isn't even a need for organization!

I guess the theme for my next few months is discipline. God is already teaching me a lot. Tim and I started FPU (Financial Peace University) last week to help us better prepare for being on a tighter budget and use our money more wisely. We have always been pretty good in this area, but we know there is still so much more to learn. We are going to try the cash system on some areas of our budget which will be really hard for us - Tim and I both hate carrying cash. I am typically more likely to buy a drink, snack, etc with cash than I am with a credit card. It's worth a try, though, when I have to dig it out of the special envelope and know there is a definite limit.
I also started a women's bible study on "Listening to God". We are held accountable in spending time reading the Bible and praying daily. I need that. Instead of just skimming through the Bible (which I sometimes get in the habit of doing to just check "quiet time" off my list), we have to write down things that we are learning. I am embarrassed to say that I had forgotten how much I could learn from just one passage or chapter of Scripture.

Atlanta News:

• We sent off our $2000 (gulp) deposit check this week to GFM. Our spot and apartment is now reserved! The good news is that we only owe $3000 more for our remaining tuition/housing. The bad news is that we have $2000 less in our savings...which should not be a problem since we'll be saving all sorts of $$ from what we learn in FPU, right?? :)
• We still do not have any serious leads for a housesitter/renter. Please be praying that the right person(s) will come a long so that we do not have the financial burden of our home while we are in Atlanta.

September Letter

Below is a copy of the letter we are sending out this month. Just in case you didn't receive it or can't wait to re-read it :)

Dear Friends and Family,
It's official - our family is about to embark on an exciting adventure! In January, we will be moving to Atlanta, Georgia, for five months while Tim attends a missionary training school. Some of you may have already heard the rumors, but if not, I'll try to give you a condensed version. This past March, Tim led our church's mission trip to Mexico like he has done for the past 3 years. They went to Oaxaca and worked with an organization called Global Frontier Missions (GFM). Tim came home impressed with the organization, the people, and their mission and felt that God was asking our family to make some changes to live more missionally. Over the next few months, we prayed about it and felt that God was asking us to attend the GFM Missionary Training School. The school has a very intense curriculum and lot of hands-on training. Tim will be spending each morning in classes and each afternoon will be spent volunteering at various international organizations. We have all sorts of opportunities for us when we return to the KC area, but we are waiting for God’s direction before making any definite plans. We are excited and nervous all at the same time.

We want to ask you to be in prayer for us over the next year.
Our specific prayer requests are:
*Smooth transition and move to Atlanta (especially for Sarah and the kids)
*A house sitter/renter who can take care of our home and cover our bills while we are gone
*Open and willing hearts to His direction and teaching

If you feel led, we are also welcoming any financial support. You can make monthly donations (now through the end of February 2010) or a one time donation. The school's tuition is $1000 per month (includes housing) and totals $5000 for the 5 months we will be there. We are planning to pay all additional expenses (insurance, groceries, travel/move expenses, etc) from our savings. If you would like to support us financially, you may make tax-deductible donations to Westside Family Church Missions.

Please feel free to email us at any time. We are so thankful for you being in our lives!
timothyjoelhayes@gmail.com
sarah.hayes79@gmail.com

Donation Info
Checks payable to “WFC Missions”(write "GFM" on memo line)
Mail to: Sarah Hayes 7542 Anderson St, Shawnee, KS 66227

A Wonderful Day

Today we found out that Tim's mom is in remission! We are so thankful that God is healing her. Please continue to pray for her as she finishes her last 3 rounds of chemo.

Things are moving forward as we work towards our transition to Atlanta. We are having a garage sale in 2 weeks to get rid of some stuff we have unnecessarily accumulated. Just when I think I have finished collecting everything for the sale, I find something else that is just taking up space. We are also finalizing the details on the financial processes and will hopefully be able to begin raising support in the next couple of weeks. So for all of you who are just jumping at the bit to help us financially, we will have those letters/emails out soon. :) We received a link to the apartments we will be living in in Atlanta, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that we are getting a 2 bedroom! Anyone who knows of our sleeping issues with Joel know what a blessing this is....

I am really getting excited about all the changes that are taking place. There are still those "why are we doing this?" moments, but overall I am very content and looking forward to the growth in our family.

A Successful Nap (at least Joel thinks so)

I read Joel a few books and then put him in his room to take a nap as usual today. It was pretty quiet, and Caleb soon went down for a nap as well so I decided to go outside and get some yardwork done. I peeked in every 15 minutes or so to check on the boys and didn't hear any screaming or loud bumps so I assumed they were peacefully sleeping. After mowing the lawn, edging, and pulling weeds, I came inside and decided it was time to "wake" Joel up. As you can see, his naptime was very productive. Not in a sleeping sense....please notice the naked boy with diaper on the floor (he soon informed me that it was wet), the bed rail has been attacked, sheets are off the bed, his shirt....well, I am not sure what is going on there! What you can't see are his clothes, books, and blankie that are tucked neatly between the wall and the bed. He was in a very chipper mood while telling me all about his activities while I was gone. I remained very serious and did some "mom chastising" on the outside, but my insides were laughing!