Wow, in the time I was away from blogger, even the blog format of writing a post changed. Kind of bizarre. I don't even remember what the last thing I blogged about was, so I guess I'll just try to catch up over the last few months. So, the big things...in March I stepped down as the prayer team leader at EastLake in order to become the new Growth Groups Director! It's a part time job that I call my full time passion. It has been one heck of a wild ride so far. I am learning SO much about my own relationship with God, how to train and lead other people, and how to help people connect with others and have fun while in a "church group" so that they feel safe to share their stories and grow closer to Jesus. There have been some ups and downs as I figure this out, and don't get me wrong, I'm far from close to feeling like I've got it all down pat, but it's been so much fun to hear the stories of people meeting new friends, see pictures of people conquering their fears (rock climbing! shooting guns!), and knowing that these groups, right now, are having an effect on the way people find and follow Jesus. That's pretty incredible. If you care to go back and read my story from Aug 2010, you'll see the growth groups had a HUGE hand in my story of healing from grief, depression, and loneliness. It's an awesome privilege to be a part of the journey for other people, to pay it forward to keep providing room for everyone through the groups that meet 3 times a year. I just LOVE it and am so, so blessed to get to be a part of what God is doing through EastLake and the groups!!
Another 'big' thing...a couple of weeks ago my hours at my full time job were cut pretty drastically. Boo! I was told it was nothing to do with my performance, it was simply to save some money and readjust their budget. They are going to take some of the funds they were paying me and hire someone part-time to be there as an activities director type of position, to help try to boost referrals as a source of income. I am still working a few hours a week, but definitely nowhere close to 40 like I was. While it sucks big time, and I definitely had one day of full out freaking out, the past three weeks have been...awesome. That might not be what you expected me to say. But it's true! I have had the blessing of more time, and it has been such a wonderful gift.
I've been focusing on my physical and spiritual health, two areas for me that tend to be put on the back burner first when life gets crazy. I've been going back to the gym several times a week...I'd forgotten how good it feels to sweat! The first two weeks I had to convince myself to go each day, and by the third week it's become pretty routine. I don't think I'll ever be one of those people that LOVES to exercise, but I can be a person who works it into their routine and it's just something you do, along with brushing your teeth and making the bed. Over the past couple of months I've lost about 15 pounds and finally am feeling like everything is clicking to get to a healthier me. I've had time to read my youversion study guide, and having more quiet time to reflect and pray without putting a schedule to it is wonderful. I've been able to volunteer more, visit a friend in the hospital, get together at the park for an impromptu picnic, meet a relative for lunch I hadn't seen in a while...I treasure these moments. None of it would have happened if I'd still been chained to my computer for 40 + hours. I choose to see the bright spots rather than focusing on the negative of the lost income.
Somehow it all works out that between the few hours for this company, my job with EastLake, and Michael's stipend, we're able to survive and pay our bills. There's not a lot extra, but it's doable. I don't think it's any coincidence I got the phone call about this the Thursday before a money series started. For the past 4 weeks EastLake has talked about how to manage money, materialism, and generosity. This series was also done about 2 years ago when I first started coming. I was NOT ready to hear it then. My heart wasn't in the right place, so most of what was talked about went in one ear and out the other. This time, I was ready to hear it. And we've begun to make changes.
After the second week we canceled our cable (if you know me well at all...this was hard! I LOVE Game of Thrones, Housewives on Bravo, anything on TLC, etc), and we have a plan to get rid of some stuff that's just taking up space in order to pay down some debt. I am really working on a heart issue of mine...impulse purchasing and the "I want it" syndrome. "Where your treasure is, there your heart also lies" finally has meaning to me. It's just stuff! Whether it's brand name or Wal-Mart, you can't take it with you when this life is over. Maybe this trial of financial struggle is a blessing in disguise.
So that's the bulk of what's been going on with me. In between all of this we celebrated Memorial Day at a bbq with a bunch of friends, went to see a few movies (Hunger Games, The Avengers, Brave, Snow White & The Huntsman), saw a solar eclipse, read some books, went to see fireworks with my sis and bro-in-law for the 4th of July, went to the lake for a fantastic but short weekend getaway (I heart boating big time), and Michael and I are in the middle of leading our own groups. He's doing a cooking group with our friend Kelli, and I'm leading a book study of a fantastic book called Sun Stand Still. It's a great group of women and I love getting to know them better each week. That's about it, now you're all caught up! Here's a couple of pics before I go:
Sister pic
The boys were seriously impressed with the size of the marshmallows in these s'mores.
Waiting for fireworks in North Lawrence
On a boat at Clinton Lake with the sun setting...magical.
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