July Evaluation

Spiritual

• Read through the entire Bible in a year following a chronological reading plan- Currently on track
• Memorize a verse a week (for full disclosure I am starting with verses that I have previously memorized but have lost full memory of)- Not really doing this, but working on verses with my kids and believe this is where I need to focus my Scripture memory right now
• Spend 30 minutes daily concentrated on prayer and Bible reading- Did not really do this. 
• Continue to record daily blessings to cultivate thankfulness (Goal is 10,000 things)- Still doing this you can see this months blessings here, here, here, and here 
• Praying throughout the day for specified things (still developing lists and plan for this)- This did not really happen either. August is a new month

Personal

• Read a book a month apart from SWI matrerial- I read The Key and finished reading Let the Nations Be Glad.  
• Journal 5 days a week- No
• Write (working on books) 5 days a week- No, but working on incorportating this
• Finish my first fiction book- Still seriously behind where I hoped to be at this point- This may not happen not this year either
• Write 3 blog posts a week- Yes!
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Finally met in July. Great time of encouragement
• Have one day a month for personal retreat time to pray, read the Bible and write- Um, no
• Complete Level 1 of Rosetta Stone Russian- Plugging away
• Begin working on a Christ-centered prenatal/delivery/postnatal education- God has opened so many doors for this! Putting together a class for my church and hoping to do in September and working on a book to go along with it later

Marriage

• Go on a date once a month- Yes!
• Go on one overnight trip away- Done in May
• Read together for 30 minutes once a week- Um, No 
• Discuss and plan the week to come on Sunday afternoon- Yes

Kids

• Take each child on a "date" once a month- This did happen without planning! God's grace alone
• Spend individual time with each child at home once a week (at least 20 minutes)- Still working on this. Some weeks were better than others
• Work on memorizing Psalm 23 with Jamey and Lillian- Yes! Both have it memorized as well as Psalm 67 with most of Proverbs 31:10-31 and Psalm 1.
• Finish current Pre-K curriculum with Jamey and Lillian- We are done for the year! Time to start planning for next year
• Continue going to playgroup on Tuesdays- Yes
• (I need to develop more educational goals, so I guess a goal for this year will be learning to do this for next year)

Homemaking

• Begin a garden planting at least tomatoes (hoping to do more)- We have lettuce which we have eaten, and currently have plants growing for tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, green beans and maybe peppers (we're unsure due to labeling confusion)
• Try 1 new recipe a month- We tried 3 or 4 new ones this month! Fun times
• Keep up with cleaning calendar- Not much
• Develop general cleaning schedule- Working on tweaking the calendar I have to get everything but fits our lifestyle

Health and Fitness

• Exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days a week- I have been managing some form of exercise a couple days a week
• Lose 30 lbs- Down 3 lbs from my plateau!

Ministry

• Continue hosting Women's prayer once a month- Yes, still praying for more people to pray
• Email workers once a month- Yes!
• Send 2 encouraging notes a month- No, still hoping to catch up and improve in this area

July was a fun month. We made connections with people, went on vacation and saw God moving in many ways. It was definitely a blessed month in so many respects and I look forward to charging into August with gusto (though I am dragging today :) ).

How was your July?

Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper

I really enjoyed this book, though I seriously need to go back and read it again. It is full of encouragement and challenges. Personally I was convicted many times as I read it as to how much I have glorified mission for the sake of mission over the worship and glory of God. God has been teaching me a lot about living a life of worship and reading this book along with my chronological Bible readings has really helped me in seeing how much I need to focus on God. We must be fully satisfied in Him and mission comes as an outflow of worshiping the God who satisfies our every need. I hope the next time I read it I will be able to write about each part and what it teaches me as there is too much to put in a review. Read it! I think all Followers of Christ should read it. It is for everyone, not only those who seek to live and work in another country.

July 22 to 28

3881. Sleeping until 7 am with little interruption
3882. Jamey playing quietly by himself until we got up
3883. Getting 3 1/2 days of reading done
3884. Lillian sleeping until 9:30
3885. Good grocery shopping time
3886. Doing well at the grocery store
3887. Not buying any sweets
3888. Cleaning out leftovers from the fridge for lunch
3889. Laughs around the table
3890. All 4 kids napping
3891. Time to read
3892. Getting emails sent
3893. Quiet time
3894. Making a general list of bigger things that need to be done before school starts
3895. Great fun at dinner
3896. Jamey saying Psalm 1
3897. Jamey helping Becca say Psalm 1
3898. Reading our current family book in the living room
3899. Time for a family movie
3900. Smooth bedtime after naps!
3901. Chilling with Jim
3902. Waking up
3903. Jim making eggs for breakfast
3904. Working towards switching our meals around
3905. Jamey and Lillian asking if we were doing school
3906. Getting several chapters read in my Bible
3907. Walking to playgroup
3908. Gabriel sitting up in the stroller
3909. Gabriel crawling around and interacting at playgroup
3910. Having a fun crowd at playgroup
3911. Jamey, Lillian and Charlotte all playing together
3912. Reuben playing with Jude
3913. Reuben going up in the playset
3914. The laughs and playful screams of children
3915. Encouraging conversation
3916. Eating lunch at home
3917. Kids all eating lunch well
3918. All kids napping again!
3919. Running errands with Jim
3920. Reading regularly in Redeeming Childbirth
3921. Getting emails read
3922. Really yummy dinner
3923. Gabriel wanting to feed himself
3924. Gabriel eating everything we give him (as long as he can feed himself)
3925. Nice family time before CG
3926. Girls Night with CG
3927. Coffee at Quills
3928. Open honest conversation
3929. Being able to share
3930. Opportunities to encourage
3931. More opportunities to give grace
3932. Learning to be more OK with the grey
3933. Fun laughs
3934. Teaching a friend a different way home
3935. God's unique plan for each person
3936. Sleep
3937. Sleeping until 7 am again
3938. Jim getting up with the kids
3939. Mental wrestling
3940. Doing summer "book work" with Jamey
3941. Jamey's gusto for learning
3942. Work books to help me see where the kids are
3943. Jamey wanting to do (and doing) book work for 3 hours and finishing a whole book
3944. Reuben showing interest in the toilet
3945. Wonderful April/May like weather
3946. Becca volunteering to mow the lawn
3947. Reuben playing outside
3948. Jim getting a lot of stuff cut down in our yard
3949. Jamey and Lillian learning about yard work
3950. Getting to do a couple surveys
3951. Swagbuck swag code day
3952. Hearing from Dawn
3953. Scheduling a time to Skype
3954. More reading time
3955. Getting caught up on my Bible reading plan
3956. Having access to God's Word
3957. Having access to God
3958. God teaching me all of the time in all things
3959. God breaking my pride little by little
3960. Growing in my desire to learn
3961. Being able to admit I don't know everything
3962. Learning to repent
3963. Learning how to ask for help
3964. Really yummy black bean burgers
3965. Theological discussions
3966. God inviting us to wrestle with Him
3967. Nice rest time
3968. Pancakes for dinner
3969. Kids playing Wii fit
3970. Kids growing in sharing and playing together
3971. Reuben really loving on Gabriel
3972. Gabriel wanting to stand up
3973. Gabriel wanting to be part of everything we are doing
3974. Jamey and Lillian playing well together throughout the day
3945. Lillian wanting to mother (and teaching her to tailor it)
3946. Smooth bedtime
3947. Watching "Wheel" and "Jeopardy"
3948. Calm evening
3949. Opening the windows
3950. Not needing the A/C most of the day
3951. Sleeping until 8 am!
3952. Jamey and Lillian playing quietly together in the living room this morning without waking the rest of the house
3953. Really good breakfast
3954. Learning to eat different things for breakfast
3955. Another lovely "spring" morning in July
3956. Kids playing outside
3957. Trying to jump rope with the kids
3958. Jamey bragging on Reuben
3959. Jim getting completely done with his Hermeneutics class!
3960. Kids playing well together
3961. Gabriel exploring everything
3962. Jamey eating all of his lunch
3963. Gabriel eating peas
3964. Gabriel wanting to eat real food
3965. Doing book work with Jamey and Lillian
3966. Reading to Jamey and Lillian
3967. Finishing The Key
3968. Nice quiet rest time
3969. Reading my Bible
3970. Writing in my journal
3971. Emailing Joanna
3972. Reconciliation
3973. God weeding out sin in our lives
3974. God using all things for our good
3975. Feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders
3976. Jesus dying so we can be reconciled and have sin weeded out of our lives
3977. Making dinner with Jim
3978. Trying a new recipe
3979. Finding out how easy it is to grate zucchini
3980. A lower calorie breakfast casserole
3981. Great dinner conversation
3982. Having an in depth conversation with Jamey about God and Jesus
3983. Movie night and ice cream for less than $2
3984. Watching the first part of The Hobbit movie again
3985. Great morning
3986. Good breakfast (loving switching things up)
3987. Getting out of the house early for playgroup
3988. Gabriel being able to stay with Jim
3989. A great playground in Indiana
3990. Fun playgroup
3991. Meeting Laura
3992. Meeting Shelly and her kids
3993. Great uplifting conversation
3994. Hearing from a Sister with 7 kids
3995. Opportunity to connect with a Sister desiring to be a nurse
3996. God is amazing!
3997. Kids playing well for over 2 hours
3998. Jamey playing with other kids
3999. Just connecting in every day life
4000. Getting home well
4001. Jim playing with Jamey and Lillian
4002. Teaching opportunities in a difficult rest time
4003. Time to read while waiting for dinner to finish
4004. Trying another new recipe
4005. Hearing God's Word coming out of my kids' mouths
4006. Nice evening
4007. Smooth bed time
4008. Chilling with Becca
4009. Getting to sleep at a decent hour
4010. Getting good sleep even with kids waking up in the night
4011. Jamey and Lillian lying on the sofa with me
4012. Feeling rested
4013. Yummy breakfast
4014. Kids playing outside in the rain
4015. Kids playing well together
4016. Opportunities to teach
4017. Quiet time to read my Bible
4018. Gabriel taking a good nap in the swing
4019. Having a Mama and Lillian date to the store
4020. Getting good deal on contact solution
4021. Doing well at the grocery store
4022. Lillian asking lots of questions
4023. Seeing Lillian grow up
4024. Lillian's laughter and love of life
4025. Teaching opportunities for life skills
4026. Easy lunch
4027. My kids loving fruit
4028. Early rest time
4029. Getting emails sent
4030. Reconciliation
4031. Nice rest time
4032. More teaching
4033. Getting a good Groupon to go on a double date
4034. Getting out of the house in a timely manner
4035. Not having any trouble finding our Friends' house
4036. Celebrating Charis's birthday
4037. Really yummy homemade Latin food
4038. Really good homemade cupcakes
4039. Meeting lots of new people
4040. Meeting Barb who is a postpartum nurse at Suburban and excited about Childbirth class
4041. Meeting several Sisters who want to contribute to childbirth book
4042. Kids playing well with others at the party
4043. Meeting more Sisters who want to pray for the nations
4044. Gabriel playing
4045. God ordaining all things
4046. Seeing God's hand at work in every day life
4047. Nice ride home
4048. Smooth bed time
4049. All kids going to sleep quickly
4050. Time to connect with people online
4051. Getting to write
4052. Learning Sojourn is for childbirth class
4053. Catching up Goodreads
4054. Blogging
4055. Nice quiet and productive evening
4056. Great morning
4057. Hearty breakfast
4058. Reuben sleeping late
4059. Gabriel sleeping 12 hours without an extra feeding
4060. Getting ready to go in a timely fashion
4061. Beautiful cool weather
4062. Walking to church
4063. Talking to Heather
4064. Finding out another family is going over seas
4065. A wonderful message on Mercy
4066. Praising God through song
4067. Seeing Katie
4068. Connecting with the family going overseas
4069. Seeing God's hand at work throughout the day
4070. Seeing Sarah
4071. Seeing Emily
4072. My kids loving to go to church
4073. Seeing Barb
4074. Fun lunch
4075. Kids playing outside together
4076. Time to read
4077. Time to write in a journal
4078. Jim getting a good nap
4079. Kids having a good rest time
4080. Meal planning
4081. Some Jamey parent time
4082. Playing a game together
4083. Cleaning out leftovers from the fridge
4084. Lots of laughs at dinner
4085. Reuben and Lillian taking good naps
4086. Playing a dance game together
4087. Lillian doing really well with the dance game
4088. Jamey doing well with Wii fit
4089. Fun family time
4090. Teaching moments while playing
4091. Relatively smooth bedtime
4092. Working on August calendar
4093. Playing a game with Jim
4094. Making a cleaning plan for the week
4095. Feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the day
4096. Learning to see things through new lenses
4097. God teaching me constantly
4098. Learning to be more attune to the Holy Spirit
4099. Making dinner plans to meet Jonathan
4100. God's perfect timing

The Key

I remember wanting to read this when a friend of mine had it 8 years ago. She gave me a copy as a gift but it has taken me this long to read it. I was so disappointed by this book! Overall I thought this book was terrible and a poor excuse for a "Christian" novella. The plot was weak and terribly predictable. I put Christian in quotation marks as there is very little evidence of this. The thoughts are real, but little hope or anything worthwhile in them. I would call most of it quite cliche. The redeeming factors are the "conflict" that did make me laugh and dealing with forgiveness, but even the forgiveness is done weakly. The end was also weak and just as predictable. I would not waste your time on this book.

Sometimes Gray is OK

I'm a very black and white person by nature. I want everything to be clear cut as either right or wrong, good or bad. It's easy as a "religious" person to label things as such that really are not. There are things God clearly says are right and wrong in the Bible. But the more I live and study God's Word, the more I see how many things are NOT there. There is nothing in the Bible about what job you should have, where you should live, how you should school your kids, how and where you should give birth, what specifically is modest, what TV shows and movies you should watch, what books are OK to read and I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

In the last few days I have been hit with several things that are quite subjective and it has really been a battle for me. I want to say it should be this way or it must be that, but they are things that you just cannot say that about. And I have to be OK with that! It's not my job to dictate what should be and every body has a different life. God directs life so that it will bring Him glory and that is all that matters. This is helpful to realize and remember as you seek what God would have you do and as you seek to help others discern where God is calling them.

So today's question: Are your decisions based on following God and bringing Him glory?

Grieving What You Don't Know

(Warning: What I'm about to write may sound a bit selfish, but it's what I'm wrestling with right now.)

A week ago Dr. Cutrer suddenly died from heart failure during his morning bike ride. Jim and I were signed up to take a class with his wife and him in the fall. I did not know him well. I had seen him in the seminary clinic once where I remember us discussing Labor and Delivery and Writing. I also took a seminar during seminar Saturday with him and his wife. I was really looking forward to sitting under more of their teaching. All of this just makes me wonder why him and why now. There was more work for him to do. There were many couples signed up for their class. I learned tonight that he taught a Sunday School class and they were about to begin Revelation. Sister Lora had talked with him about the childbirth class I am working on and told me tonight that he was getting material together for me!

As I reflect on these things I wonder why I am so broken over his death. I think I am grieving what could have been. I'm grieving what was to come. Now I will never know what he might have taught Jim and me in his class. I will never know how much knowledge he could have imparted to me from his countless years as an OBGYN. I will never know how he could have helped spread the word of what I'm seeking to do. There is a lot I will never know, but it's not usually so blatantly obvious.

I know there is a purpose in his death. God decided it was time to take him home. I really wish I understood it better right now. One day it will make sense.

July 15 to 21

3661. Getting to sleep extra on the sofa after Gabriel waking me up at 5:30
3662. Jamey helping Gabriel after he got up at 6
3663. Getting the kids ready to go and be on time for VBS
3664. Reuben/Mama date
3665. Great deal on Revlon nail polish
3666. Doing really well at the grocery store after forgetting my list
3667. Not giving into sweet temptation
3668. Meeting people in line
3669. Reuben having fun at the store
3670. Jim finishing all his videos
3671. Quick run to get what I forgot
3672. Running into Ann while picking up our kids
3673. Catching up with Beth while waiting to pick up the kids
3674. Being able to help someone get to the church
3675. Lillian taking a nap
3676. Getting a decent amount read in Redeeming Childbirth
3677. Exercising!
3678. Having a Wii
3679. Getting my heart rate up on Wii Fit (this can be difficult to do)
3680. Really tasty black bean burgers and sweet potato fries
3681. Being married to a great cook! :)
3682. Reading more in The Horse and His Boy (really liking this story)
3683. Except for Wii fit the TV being off until time for Wheel
3684. Lillian being old enough to attend VBS this year
3685. Teaching sharing and taking turns
3686. Smooth bedtime shifts
3687. Learning more about my kids every day
3688. Reading some of Faithmapping
3689. Falling asleep early
3690. Kids learning about worship
3691. Sleeping a little later this morning
3692. Walking the kids to VBS
3693. Seeing Karey
3694. Getting to talk with Dana a little bit and get to know her better
3695. Reuben playing in the grass
3696. Getting some more one on one time with Reuben
3697. Gabriel scooting and getting so close to crawling
3698. Meeting Jill
3699. Seeing Beth
3700. Kids learning about serving
3701. Seeing Christine
3702. Meeting Sarah
3703. More confirmation and encouragement
3704. Getting back on My Fitness Pal
3705. Learning to love being outside even in the heat
3706. Learning to love exercise
3707. Learning what 1500 calories really looks like
3708. Planning out food and exercise for the day
3709. All kids taking an afternoon nap!
3710. Catching up with Bethany
3711. Emailing Dawn
3712. Spending some one on one time with Gabriel
3713. Gabriel's contagious laugh and smile
3714. Gabriel's hugs
3715. Gabriel falling over then turning to me with a huge grin and laugh
3716. Talking to Jim
3717. Jim emailing Jonathan
3718. 3 Years in Louisville!
3719. Fun snack time with Reuben
3720. Reuben playing outside
3721. Getting back to water aerobics
3722. Talking about God's sovereignty
3723. Hearing stories about God's provision and goodness
3724. Sharing a little of our story
3725. Picking up trash on Camp St.
3726. Seeing other Sojourners
3727. Ice cream sandwiches
3728. Fun conversation
3729. Learning more about each other
3730. Funny stories
3731. Spiritual warfare
3732. Getting out of bed
3733. Walking the kids to church again
3734. Seeing many Sisters
3735. God's protection while driving and not getting in a crash
3736. Seeing Nora Allison at Quills
3737. Meeting Chandi Plummer
3738. Sharing my vision with Nora and Chandi for childbirth education
3739. Spending time talking to Shannon about childbirth
3740. God growing me in educating others
3741. Learning to express a well rounded view with facts and experience
3742. Trying a new coffee (this is not something I normally do)
3743. Really good yogurt and granola
3744. Having plenty of time to talk about things
3745. Jim and Reuben having a great morning together
3746. Becca being able to bring the kids home
3747. Gabriel's giggle fits
3748. Good rest time
3749. Lillian napping
3750. Encouragement from unexpected places
3751. Great dinner time
3752. Listening to Jamey sing Scripture
3753. Family movie
3754. Talking to and praying with Jim
3755. Dancing with Lillian
3756. Walking to church with all 4 kids
3757. Meeting Christin and her kids
3758. Being able to help her find her phone
3759. Christin wanting to come to church with us
3760. Seeing Jill
3761. Meeting Julie
3762. Being present in the neighborhood
3763. God blessing my efforts
3764. Running to Target
3765. Seeing Heidi at Target
3766. Building more relationships
3767. Finding out Christine has another resource for me to look at in developing childbirth education
3768. Great lunch time
3769. Getting my bellsouth email caught up
3770. Spending the afternoon talking with Rebekah
3771. Hearing her story and sharing mine
3772. Praying with Rebekah
3773. Jim and Jamey getting some good one on one time
3774. Pancakes and chocolate syrup for dinner
3775. Trying a different reading routine
3776. Not turning on the TV until wheel
3777. Always learning how to teach our kids
3778. Smooth bed time
3779. CSI: NY on Netflix!!!!!
3780. Getting up in the morning (it was very tough this AM)
3781. Walking the kids to VBS
3782. Talking to Erin
3783. Getting a ride home (I was really struggling)
3784. Finding out Erin's family listens to Adventures in Odyssey!
3785. Being able to show Erin the Sonlight material
3786. Jim getting more school work done
3787. Watching the kids sing songs they learned at VBS this week
3788. Lillian dancing to the music
3789. Seeing many people
3790. Chinese for lunch
3791. Taking a nap
3792. Kids staying in their beds
3793. Breakfast casserole for dinner
3794. Getting Jamey in bed
3795. Walking to Four Pegs for farewell party
3796. Talking to Shannon
3797. Talking to Heidi
3798. Learning to love walking
3799. Expressing some of my fears
3800. Admitting lack of faith and learning to ask for more
3801. Kids going down well for Becca
3801. God bringing people together at the right time
3802. God's personal love for people
3803. Reading more in Let the Nations Be Glad (so need to read it again)
3804. Seeing Joanna
3805. Walking a lot throughout the week
3806. Beginning to really appreciate walking
3807. Being able to get up again (another long night)
3808. Not losing my temper this morning
3809. Leaving a little early
3810. Time to read my Bible
3811. Getting 2 days worth of reading read
3812. Realizing I need to long for Jesus more than what He does for me
3813. Yummy breakfast sandwich and coffee at Panera
3814. Writing Group!
3815. Sharing and Praying
3816. Reading our work and helping each other grow in writing
3817. Great time of fellowship and work
3818. Gabriel and Reuben napping well
3819. Jamey and Lillian playing outside well together
3820. Getting some important emails written
3821. Getting emails read
3822. Finding out about a project to publish a lot of old resources!
3823. Having a little time to read more Redeeming Childbirth
3824. Getting to read a little of The Horse and His Boy as a family
3825. Counting calories 4 days this week and doing well
3826. Working on getting pictures uploaded
3827. Having more than one computer in our house
3828. Encouraging blog posts
3829. Getting blog posts written
3830. Dancing with Lillian
3831. Sharing popcorn with the kids
3832. Reuben feeding me popcorn
3833. Jamey's hugs and snuggles
3834. Watching the kids play together
3835. Wrestling boys
3836. Thinking about having a library of 1000 great books
3837. Gabriel beginning to crawl
3838. Watching my kids grow and learn
3839. Realizing I need to be more intentional in teaching my kids how to converse
3840. Getting a card written
3841. Really smooth bed time
3842. Watching The King's Speech with Becca
3843. Enjoying a new movie
3844. Multi-tasking on getting a few things done that did not need full attention
3845. Having Lean Cuisines on hand (yay for sales)
3846. Reading some of The Key a novella I have intended to read for years
3847. Desiring to read more (now just need the discipline to do it)
3848. God moving in my heart all the time
3849. Good time of prayer
3850. Holy Spirit led prayer
3851. Getting up (yet another rough night)
3852. Relatively smooth morning
3853. Jim getting home
3854. Walking to church
3855. Listening to the band practice before church
3856. Sitting with Chris and Bethany
3857. Seeing Melanie
3858. Learning about God's wisdom
3859. Being reminded that God's wisdom seems backward to human thinking
3860. Learning new songs
3861. Taking a nap
3862. All the kids sleeping a little
3863. Getting everyone ready for our evening with naps
3864. Going to Erin's farewell party
3865. Seeing Janet and meeting Patrick
3866. Talking to Lora and Angela
3867. Talking about childbirth and educational needs
3868. More encouragement
3869. Sharing with Sisters who are having similar thoughts and struggles
3870. Meeting Sameh
3871. Seeing Erin
3872. Kids playing well
3873. Seeing lots of friends
3874. Graeter's ice cream
3875. Mediterranean food
3876. Not having to figure out dinner
3877. Relatively smooth bed time
3878. Getting meal planning done (I need an easier system)
3879. Hearing from Dawn
3880. God's grace