An Impulse to Soar

10 Weekly Goals

2011-10-11T06:32:00.039-04:00

Source: http://moneysavingmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/4564135255_23e3aee2ac211.jpg

I have struggled all throughout this pregnancy to get things accomplished in a timely and orderly fashion. I make my "To Do" list every night or early morning and then proceed to maybe do one to five things (based on my nausea/energy) for the day. There were quite a few good days throughout the summer and a few this fall, but overall, it's been quite discouraging to consider how little "get-up-and-go" I have in me (this is even more true in this 3rd trimester). I've been a long-time reader of Money Saving Mom and she has been posting on Mondays her 10 Weekly Goals. I really like this idea. Now 10 might be too much for me in this stage of pregnancy, but I'm still going to try. I like that they are "goals." The word doesn't feel as constraining and I know if I don't get to them all, it won't be the end of the world. I know that 3rd trimester is just a season and there will come a day when I regain my boundless energy (I can hope, right?!!!) and my nausea will fade to just a distant memory.

Pregnancy Goals:

1. Continue reading The Jesus Storybook Bible to the little guy each night

2. Relaxation/labor practice each day

3. Finish reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

4. Set up interviews with pediatricians

Personal Goals:

5. Exercise twice a day (no matter how little) for 5 days this week

6. Finish reading A Thousand Gifts

7. Morning Bible reading/prayer before I turn on the computer

Home Management Goals:

8. 15 Minutes of Decluttering each day

9. Spend 10 minutes/day picking up the entryway, dining room, living room

10. Get budget caught up and have budget meeting w/Ciaran

A Thousand Gifts: #201-218

2011-10-10T13:52:00.001-04:00

My nausea has left me groaning and moaning on the bathroom floor yet again today. It didn't set in until about 11am though so I was able to get a bit done this morning which was really nice. Since I am feeling quite frustrated about my nausea, I figured it was time to chronicle all that the Lord has blessed me with. I need an attitude change really badly right now.

Thank you Lord for....

201. My mom spending three days with us (cooking, cleaning, organizing, shopping, etc. in preparation for Baby).
202. The comfort of being home when the nausea and vomiting becomes unbearable
203. Seeing Baby via ultrasound on Wednesday
204. Normal blood pressure reading
205. Normal labwork results
206. 33 weeks of pregnancy so far for Baby to grow (even though I'm very weary of it at this point)
207. Ice cold washcloths on my neck
208. A freshly made bed
209. A sweet husband timing my BH contractions for over an hour (just to make sure they are indeed BH)
210. The sheer joy that comes from spending time in God's Word and in prayer
211. Being able to pray for my church family, even when I can't be with them
212. Warm,sunshiney fall weather (even when I only enjoy it through a window)
213. Worship music playing in the background, always pointing me Godward
214. The delight on Ciaran's face as our little guy pushes back against his hand on my belly
215. Delicious sips of Coca Cola to help ease my nausea (don't worry, it's OB approved)
216. Time to rest when the fatigue overtakes me
217. Finding bassinet sheets that fit our Travel Lite crib
218. Waking up with no alarm clock this morning

A Thousand Gifts: #186-200

2011-09-05T11:54:00.000-04:00

Today I am clinging to the sovereignty of God as I write this post. I am so grateful that it is He who reigns and not I. And as it is Monday, I will continue to chronicle my 1000 gifts with which He has so generously blessed me.

186. My husband's strong arms to hold me when I cry
187. The wonder of our little guy kicking away so strongly inside of me
188. God's sovereign rule over all
189. Cool breezes through open windows
190. Chocolate brownies this morning right when I'm feeling the most emotional
191. God's Word to guide me
192. The laundry clanging about in the dryer
193. Warm showers
194. Joy in sickness
195. New worship songs to learn and memorize
196. Leaves falling to the ground
197. The shrill sound of whistles blowing at soccer games
198. Cheering and encouraging soccer player parents
199. My husband's calm, confident, and steady stance as he coaches soccer players from the sideline
200. The wonder and delight on my husband's face as he feels his son push back against his hand as it lays gently on my stomach.

In the Valley

2011-09-04T15:57:00.000-04:00

As I laid on the bathroom floor this morning at 5am, this song coursed through my mind and drew me Godward...where my mind should be focused as I endure this 3rd trimester morning sickness (and sometimes all day sickness). Love this song! Hope you enjoy!

July 2011: Monthly Financial Check-up

2011-07-13T20:11:00.002-04:00

We're stepping out in faith this month. My paychecks are coming to an end and we'll be living solely off of Ciaran's income. Our savings goals are going to slow down considerably now, but I'm still excited about working slowly toward achieving them. This past month we were able to finish saving for Ciaran's fifth and sixth graduate classes, set up an appointment to meeting with an investing ELP, and put some more money toward our house downpayment fund. We're praying so hard that the Lord will continue to help us to be wise stewards of the funds he has allowed us to manage.

2011 Financial Goals

~~1. Pay for Ciaran's first grad. class with cash~~

~~2. Finish Babystep 3 (6 months fully funded emergency fund)~~

3. Meet with an investing ELP Meeting set for Thursday 7/14

4. Begin contributing to a Roth IRA 65.8% saved toward initial investment

~~5. Pay for Ciaran's second and third grad. class with cash~~

~~6. Save for Ciaran's fourth grad. class~~ (tuition due in December)

~~7. Save for Ciaran's fifth and sixth grad. class~~ (tuition due in April 2012)

8. Save $5,000 toward house down payment fund 20% done

9. Pay for all birthing expenses in cash

Baby Names Update

2011-07-11T22:31:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday, July 5, Ciaran and I spent about six hours in the car together so we had a lot of time to talk. We have now narrowed our girl names down to one with the others being alternates in case our little one and the name don't quite fit. And although we're pretty set on our boy name being Ciaran Jack and have been since the beginning, we added one more name to the pile.

So our girl name is Claire Elizabeth (with Madelyn Sinead now an alternate, along with Emily Christine).
Our boy name is still Ciaran Jack (with Liam Carter, Eamon Louis....and now the new one which we both absolutely love Declan Gabriel available as alternates).

**All middle names are family names.

A picture my brother sent me from Germany...

2011-06-28T15:56:00.000-04:00

OK, so I know this doesn't represent what I am doing this summer since it's a picture my brother took in Germany, but I so love it and had to share.

1000 Gifts: June 2011 Edition #171-185

2011-06-27T07:00:00.028-04:00

I was listening to a John Piper sermon entitled "Sustained by All His Grace" and this quote really stood out to me. "The function of gratitude is to worship the Lord for yesterday's grace and in that worship to have our faith in tomorrow's grace strengthened." And that is so why I catalog my gifts. I find my faith strengthened as I read through my gifts. I know that His mercies are new every morning. And cataloging these gifts opens my eyes to Him and His work all around me.

171. God's grace
172. Adorable little baby clothes and toys from my students
173. Softy, fuzzy blankets
174. Pale yellow colors
175. Peanut butter cups
176. The crunch of green, green celery as I slice it up for salad
177. Sermons online to listen to as I rest and as I work
178. Strength to get work done around the apartment
179. Encouraging Christian women
180. Coupons and blogs to help me save us money
181. Family stopping in to visit
182. My husband making me dinner when I'm too sick to cook
183. FlyLady to help keep me from becoming too overwhelmed
184. Chocolate milk
185. A full to do list

Reading the Bible in 90 days

2011-06-23T17:04:00.000-04:00

I have taken up a new challenge. I'm going to read through the entire Bible in 90 days. I have been praying about getting involved in a Bible study this summer, but all of the classes that I'm interested in here in my town don't start up again until the fall. Then I read about the 90 Day Challenge on a blog I like to frequent and I knew this was the challenge for me. Be praying for me, dear readers. This is a huge commitment and I'm going to need a lot of prayers to keep me going. But I'm so excited! Anyone want to join me in this challenge?

Here's the link to the blog and the official sign-up post.

My bucket and Febreeze

2011-06-08T19:02:00.000-04:00

I was so sick today. There is no air conditioning in my classroom and so my vomiting returned in earnest. My bucket and Febreeze were my constant companions as I taught today.

My desk at the end of a 13 hour work day...feels so good to get a lot accomplished!

2011-06-06T21:06:00.005-04:00

Breakfast at Ciaran's parents' home

2011-06-04T23:53:00.007-04:00

Ciaran's dad, uncle, aunt and guests from India (and me, preggy belly and all).

We're packed and ready to head off to visit family and friends for the weekend!

2011-06-03T12:00:00.001-04:00

Thermometer for our House Down Payment Fund!

2011-06-02T21:44:00.001-04:00

As we have progressed through Dave Ramsey's baby steps, we found creating wall thermometers to be really motivating. Our first one was for our debt and we colored it in with red marker. Then once we started working on our fully funded emergency fund, we switched to green (because we were finally paying ourselves instead of paying debtors). For part one of our house down payment goal, we're doing green again. It was so fun creating this today and then hanging it up in our little laundry area.

Couponing

2011-06-01T21:49:00.000-04:00

Another day of no school because of storm damage and my pregnancy sickness is now confined to only being severe in the morning hours...so I actually started to catch up on my couponing today. So much fun!

June 2011: Monthly Financial Check-up

2011-06-01T20:40:00.004-04:00

I have been meaning to post some updates on our financial journey for quite a few months now and have yet to find the time to do it. Crystal over at Money Saving Mom gave me the motivation to finally do so. At the beginning of this year, Ciaran and I came up with quite a few financial goals and we're still determined to meet them...even though we're now expecting our first child in November and I am transitioning from full-time employment outside of the home to SAHM status (i.e. no paycheck coming in any longer). We so want to honor the Lord with the finances He has blessed us with. Here's our 2011 progress so far.

2011 Financial Goals

~~1. Pay for Ciaran's first grad. class with cash~~

~~2. Finish Babystep 3 (6 months fully funded emergency fund)~~

3. Meet with an investing ELP

4. Begin contributing to a Roth IRA or an IRA

~~5. Pay for Ciaran's second and third grad. class with cash~~

~~6. Save for Ciaran's fourth grad. class~~ (tuition due in December)

7. Save for Ciaran's fifth and sixth grad. class (tuition due in April 2012) 89% done

8. Save $5,000 toward house down payment fund 5% done

9. Pay for all birthing expenses in cash

We have power!!! Wonderful, glorious electricity!

2011-05-31T21:23:00.000-04:00

We have power! After 48 hours without it, I'm delighting in lamps that are cheerily glowing all throughout our apartment tonight. Thank you Lord for electricity!

Summer 2011 in Pictures

2011-05-30T21:00:00.027-04:00

I love pictures. I am not very good at taking pictures, but oh how I love them. I love how it's another way to chronicle the gifts the Lord has blessed me with. I love how pictures can usher me into His presence, quiet my soul, make me rejoice in the beauty of the world He has made, and remind me of His unwavering faithfulness. How do pictures do this? Well...I hope to show you this summer. Last summer I tried this little project with little success because I grew frustrated with my lack of quality photography skills. I'm not going to be bound by perfectionism this summer. I want to use these pictures to help me grow in thankfulness and it's hard to be caught up and held captive by my own perfectionism when I'm clinging and delighting in the perfection and beauty of Christ and not my own.

So my goal is to share one picture with you from each day of the summer, spanning from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2011.

So here's today's picture...on what I consider the first day of summer (even though the school calendar and my yearly calendar hanging on my kitchen wall say something a bit different). :-)

This is where we woke up this morning...in a lovely Holiday Inn hotel room. We lost power in a bad storm yesterday and since severe pregnancy sickness and no power don't go too well together, Ciaran checked us into that room for Sunday night and Monday morning. Such a blessing!

Counting It All Joy

2011-05-29T14:47:00.000-04:00

My nausea rages on. Even though I am 14 weeks and 1 day into my pregnancy, I woke up this morning yet again unable to even get out of bed without holding back vomit. Ciaran had to once again trek out to the kitchen to grab me some ice cold lemonade to wash down my prescription anti-nausea med. I then laid perfectly still for 30 minutes praying and focusing on all the ways the Lord has blessed me (this is the only way I don't begin to cry in frustration). Once the 30 minutes had passed, Ciaran once again got up, fixed me some cereal, and still trying to lay perfectly still, I consumed said bowl of cereal. Even with food in me, every movement triggered gagging. All morning long.

It's easy for me to start throwing a pity party for myself and bemoaning why I have to be the unlucky one to be so ill in pregnancy when so many of colleagues and friends sailed through their pregnancies without vomiting even once. I loathe our current morning routine. I'll admit it...somedays I even resent the fact that I can't roll out of bed without gagging or vomiting. But honestly, this does me no good. It doesn't alleviate the nausea. And it certainly doesn't make me a pleasant person to be around.

So I've decided...I'm just going to count it all joy. The Lord is growing a precious little child inside of me. And if I have to be ridiculously ill every day of this pregnancy to bring this child safely into this world, then I'm going to count it as joy. Every time I get sick, Ciaran reminds me I'm doing this for Baby and that this is just for a season. And he's so right. I need to deeply ingrain this in my brain. It's not as if I'm going to vomit like this for the rest of my life...it's just for a season. So pray for me, dear readers, that I will count it all joy and serve the Lord joyfully in this season of pregnancy...a pregnancy that Ciaran and I have been wanting for a long time.

Pregnancy Update: 14 weeks

2011-05-28T09:00:00.029-04:00

And the nausea rages on, but I am so grateful to be at 14 weeks. Hopefully relief will be coming soon. I am so amazed at how much love I feel for this little peanut. I can't wait to meet this little one!

Size of Baby: Somewhere between 3 and 4 inches long and weighing about an ounce

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've started to gain weight!!!! I'm fluctuating between 108 and 111 lbs; I'm so stoked!!!

Maternity Clothes:Going to be needed fairly soon. The hair ties aren't working as well any longer to hold up my pants and I live for the time of day when I get to come home and change into loose fitting pants or shorts.

Movement: Baby was kicking away at our doctor's appointment on Wednesday! Woohoo!

Sleep: I'm still waking up about four times a night to use the bathroom and I still feel quite a bit of fatigue all day long, although it not nearly as bad as it was earlier in the pregnancy when I could have slept all day and all night.

What I miss: I still really miss my energy and the novelty of going through an entire day without vomiting or feeling like vomiting.

Cravings: Simply Lemonade...I can drink an entire bottle of it through the course of one day! And chocolate milkshakes.

Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and headaches.

Best Moment this Week: Hearing Baby's strong heartbeat and hearing the little peanut kick a ton at our OB appointment on Wednesday.

Transitioning Home

2011-05-27T06:00:00.069-04:00

This all seems so unreal, but I am actually beginning to make the transition home. At the end of this school year, I will relinquish my title of high school English teacher and become solely Ciaran's wife, expectant mother of Baby, and homemaker. Sure, I'll wear many other caps, but those three will comprise my primary profession from here on out. I have always vacillated between wanting to stay home and raise children and having a career. When I married Ciaran though, something changed. As Ciaran and I discussed and prayed about our future and as I began to delight in making a home for Ciaran (and experienced the great frustration when my teaching load pulled me away from that) I realized that being a stay-at-home wife and mother might be what God has for me in this season. What always held me back was the stigma of the SAHM....and I'll admit it....my pride.

I've always been very ambitious about my career goals. And I like talking about my work when I'm out socializing (introverts like myself have trouble socializing and work is always a safe topic). But what happens when someone asks what I do for a living and I say, "I stay at home and care for my husband and children." I've watched this play out before in the company of people who aren't supportive of the career path of a SAHM. There's always an awkward pause...and sometimes a sneer....and almost always the overheard conversation later on where the SAHM is made fun of and labeled lazy...or the poor husband is pitied for marrying such a purposeless woman and glorified for carrying such a heavy workload so his wife can fritter away her time at home. Which to me, incredibly sinful, specifically prideful, people-pleasing, incredibly ambitious little me is as good as a death sentence.

Ciaran and I have discussed this a lot over the last few years. And we both know this will be good for me. I am going to have to cling even more tightly to the knowledge that my worth is in Christ as I work diligently each day on the home front. And I'm going to have to be more prayerful about trusting the Lord to provide and give me continued purpose and conviction each day that this is what He has for us in this season. We serve an awesome God and I am so, so fortunate to get to become a keeper of my home. We are wholeheartedly convinced that this a good calling and this is a job I should delight in and be proud to claim.

And thankfully I am blessed with a whole host of SAHM's whom I can learn from in the coming years. I am surrounded by women who daily prove that this is a calling that is worth pursuing and pursuing diligently and faithfully. Just as I have studied the work of high school English teachers in my school and across the country, I now get to study the work of SAHM's in my church, circle of friends, and across the country (through many different books and blogs).

So as I begin to pack my things in my classroom and watch and savor the last moments teaching before a different crowded group of teenagers every 90 minutes during the work-day, I rejoice that God has made me a woman and given my husband a vision for our family, and that God has called me home. I know it will probably be the toughest job I've held to date, but I rejoice that it's where my heart is and that God will equip me for each new challenge, just as he has done all throughout my teaching career.

Video: Gospel-Centered Parenting

2011-05-24T05:00:00.006-04:00

Ciaran and I now spend quite a bit of time reading about pregnancy and parenting. You can imagine my delight when I recently found out that Elyse Fitzpatrick has a new book on parenting. Ciaran and I watched this video yesterday and were greatly encouraged.

Note: We skipped the intro. stuff and started about 21 minutes in. Enjoy!

Video: Gospel-Centered Parenting

1000 Gifts: May 2011 Edition (Part 2)

2011-05-23T05:16:00.034-04:00

A new work week and a new start! I love the freshness of Mondays. Even when I'm not feeling my best and working from home. Here are some of the gifts that I'm thanking the Lord for from the past week.

155. 13 weeks of pregnancy!
156. A fantastic, retired English teacher willing to sub for my classes to give me a two-day break to rest at home
157. Relief from vomiting when I am laying still in bed
158. The joy of prayer
159. The calming presence of the Lord in the midst of physical distress
160. Vision for a new chapter in life
161. Green grass
162. Leafy trees
163. Syrup drizzled over pancakes
164. The coolness of pineapple touching my tongue
165. Focus for the moments
166. Ciaran deeply engrossed in his reading of a book about Alex Ferguson
167. The glorious sound of silence as we limit our TV consumption
168. Learning new things about blogging
169. Finding ways to pinch pennies
170. Little baby Canadian geese wandering by our back porch all fuzzy and cute

1000 Gifts: May 2011 Edition (Part 1)

2011-05-16T05:15:00.036-04:00

Ciaran and I celebrated 12 weeks of pregnancy this Saturday so it is with great joy in my heart that I catalog my 1000 gifts today. After losing our first little one in the early weeks of pregnancy in December, Ciaran and I delight and treasure every day that this pregnancy goes beyond the last. God has blessed us with gifts all around!

126. 12 weeks and 2 days of pregnancy!
127. God as my refuge
128. Emergency room doctors and nurses to get IV fluids and meds in me on Friday
129. The subsequent relief from vomiting!
130. My salvation in Christ
131. My wonderful English II students who stay committed to learning and growing even when their teacher is consistently fleeing the room to vomit
132. Being able to read of God's faithfulness to those who came before us
133. Ciaran's spiritual leadership
134. Ciaran's loving care and willingness to pick up my slack on the home front
135. My mother's willingness to spend Mother's Day weekend with us, cleaning my apartment, doing laundry, finding food to tempt me to eat
136. Being able to consume protein-packed foods without vomiting and the little surge of energy I get afterward
137. A little miracle prescription drug named Reglan
138. Online pregnancy resources to answer all of my many questions
139. Working internet
140. Satellite TV and Netflix to distract me from my nausea
141. The hope and comfort I experience knowing God is sovereign
142. Finding a Bradley Method birthing class with 35 minutes of our apartment that is also offered right when we need it (Saturday nights...which is actually the only evening we have available August through the beginning of November primarily because of soccer season).
143. Ciaran completing his first grad. class successfully and beginning two more classes today (all of which we were able to pay for with cash)...Thank you Lord!
144. Being able to go for a few short walks outdoors
145. A sermon provided by a fellow blogger right when I needed it
146. The steady lullaby of rain outside the bedroom window
147. Brown sugar toaster pastries served with cut up pineapple on the side (all eaten in bed)
148. Worship at home with Ciaran laying by my side
149. The sizzle of pancake batter on a hot griddle
150. The warm light of my bedside lamp
151. Cheery birdsong outside my bedroom window
152. YNAB budgeting software to keep us focused on being wise stewards of the finances the Lord has blessed us with
153. Grace and strength given to get me out of bed in the way too early morning hours
154. Strength to make it through showering

Pregnancy Update: 12 weeks

2011-05-14T06:04:00.011-04:00

Well, I'm twelve weeks today and I still feel pretty miserable. But that's ok as long as little Baby is still doing fine. Our next OB appointment isn't until May 25 so I have a way to go before we'll get confirmation that Baby is doing well. Here's my latest pregnancy update!

Size of Baby: According to most websites, Baby is about the size of a plum at this point.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm still below my pre-pregnancy weight. Ugh. Stupid vomiting.

Maternity Clothes: Not needed yet. I am able to wear my work pants by threading a hair tie through my button hole and fastening it around my button. It gives an extra inch or so in the waist. So nice.

Movement: Not feeling anything yet obviously, but according to most websites, Baby is already quite the acrobat at this stage.

Sleep: If I could, I would sleep every hour of every day. Unfortunately, life and work don't allow this. I'm struggling more and more to get comfortable and stay asleep at night which is quite frustrating. Oh well.

What I miss: All of my energy. Completely crossed off "to do" lists at the end of the day. An orderly apartment. Cooking without gagging or vomiting. Being organized in my classroom. Driving to work without vomiting on myself. Being able to drive anywhere without feeling like vomiting.

Cravings: Fruit, fruit, and more fruit. And Edy's strawberry popsicles. And strawberry milkshakes. And colby jack cheese. And cottage cheese. And orange juice...particularly McDonald's orange juice in the early AM. Oh, did I mention that my cravings have fully taken over?! :-)

Symptoms: Ugh, nausea and vomiting. 2nd trip to the ER was required yesterday for severe dehydration. The ER doctor mentioned that I may have to look into a PIC line because I'm not responding very well to anti-nausea meds and I may just have to focus on staying hydrated via IV fluids since my vomiting and nausea aren't letting up. He said to give it a few more weeks before we start to make decisions of that kind though.

Fatigue is still a pretty big issue, but I think it's more from being so dehydrated all of the time.

Best Moment this Week: Two moments this week:

1. Signing up for our Bradley method birthing classes (starts on August 6 and runs for 12 weeks). Oh man, does it seem official and real now! Woohoo!

2. Discussing baby names with Ciaran and allowing ourselves to get really giddy about this baby. We are REALLY getting excited!!! And the baby names we're considering at 12 weeks are as follows:

Boys:
Ciaran Jack (he'd go by Jack around family/friends so as not to be confused with my husband)
Liam Carter
Eamon Louis

Girls:
Madelyn Sinead
Emily Christine
Claire Elizabeth

For those of you who know us and our family really well, you're probably noticing the trend with the middle names. Yes, they are all family names. The first names are not family names except for my husband's. He doesn't want to name our firstborn son after himself...but I love his name so much, so I'm trying to convince him otherwise. :-) And I keep reminding him if we went with that name, the little one would be called Jack most of the time (after my beloved grandfather), so it wouldn't be that big of a deal. The other two boys names we love equally as we do the three girl names so we'll see what we end up deciding upon come Thanksgiving weekend!!!! So exciting!

Pregnancy Update: 10 weeks

2011-04-30T08:25:00.023-04:00

Well, everyone. Ciaran and I are pretty stoked. We've made it to the double digits!!!! I'm 10 weeks pregnant today and my chance of miscarriage has dropped to 5% (according to my OB on Wednesday when I had my first "official" pregnancy appointment with him). And my baby bump made it's grand debut this week. I thought maybe I was just a little bloated, but Dr. assured me that I do indeed have a little baby bump already...my tiny frame and where I'm carrying the baby is the reason for it. Fun stuff, huh? It was a bit frustrating trying to find pants to wear to work this week...I may be wearing skirts and dresses for the rest of the school year.

Size of Baby: According to most websites, Baby is about the size of a prune at this point

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm still below my pre-pregnancy weight. Ugh. Stupid vomiting.

Maternity Clothes: Not needed yet. I just need to go up a size in pants or wear skirts or dresses from now on. :-)

Movement: Not feeling anything yet obviously, but according to most websites, Baby is already quite the acrobat at this stage.

Sleep: If I could, I would sleep every hour of every day. A little miracle drug called Phenergan is helping me sleep through the night and has been a real life-saver! Previously, my nausea had been keeping me from getting the sleep I so desperately wanted and needed.

What I miss: All of my energy. I used to be such a motivated and industrious individual. For the past six weeks all I live for is surviving my work day and coveting a place on the couch or in my bed. Weekends are now devoted entirely to sleeping.

Cravings: Oreo cookies, McDonald's Bacon, Egg, and Cheese bagel meals with orange juice (I remove the bacon...I like the flavoring of the bacon, but can't stomach the actual consistency of it), and chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate milk shakes are also desired at all points and times of day.

Symptoms: Nausea with vomiting is now confined to no more than three times a day. Woohoo! False alarms (gagging and hanging over the toilet) are still ever present. Nausea exists pretty much 24/7 still. Fatigue is present (although not as extreme). I've also experienced some aches and mild pains as my body has started to shift things around to accommodate Baby. Mood swings are the newest addition to my symptoms. Ciaran probably feels as if he has whiplash from the extremes that I have fluctuated between this past week. His "trooper" as he has referenced me as a number of times earlier in this pregnancy is no longer a good trooper. I'm tired of feeling sick and tired.

Best Moment this Week: The sun coming out on Friday and the fun of watching the royal wedding on TV on Friday night (recorded from earlier in the morning). Such cheeriness and beauty after being so utterly miserable for so long! It was a welcome sight...both the beauty of the sunshine here at home and the beauty of the wedding across the pond.

So, so, so sick

2011-04-23T17:58:00.001-04:00

I'm 9 weeks into this pregnancy and I'm sooo sick. Today's been the worst day so far since I got my anti-nausea meds. Even with the anti-nausea meds, I haven't been able to get out of bed. Thankfully, I live in a time when I have tons of encouraging resources at my fingertips so I've spent most of the morning listening to sermons, praying, and meditating on Scripture. Then, thanks to the wonders of Netflix, I spent the afternoon watching Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.

I've also been reading through the first present we got for Baby to celebrate 9 weeks! It's called The Jesus Storybook Bible and I'm absolutely loving it! I cannot wait until Baby can hear. I'm going to love reading this to our little one.

Pregnancy Update: 7 weeks 4 days

2011-04-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

I've decided to share my news with my online friends. I'm pregnant!!! I was reflecting about how soon I wanted to post this and since my miscarriage in December, I was feeling a bit hesitant. Then I realized that I want to celebrate this little blessing for as long as we have him or her with us. Friday we heard our dear little peanut's heartbeat. It was absolutely amazing. On Friday, our peanut was measuring exactly as he or she should so my due date is still November 26.

So I want to have memories from this pregnancy so I thought every few weeks I would keep a record of what's going on. I barely journaled during that first short pregnancy and I'm finding that I'm forgetting a lot about my time with that little one and it breaks my heart. So this is me learning from last time and treasuring the moments.

Size of Baby: On Friday, was measuring just about a centimeter (seems so incredibly small!!!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've lost quite a bit of weight from really bad morning sickness, but Zofran came to the rescue and now I'm able to keep food down. Hope to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight soon and then starting GAINING when the time comes!

Maternity Clothes: Obviously not needed nor have I looked at them yet (except for glancing at Old Navy maternity bathing suits).

Movement: Too early. Very cool seeing the heart beating on Friday's ultrasound though! The flickering of the heart in our tiny little peanut was so unbelievable.

Sleep: Even though I am exhausted all of the time, I'm struggling to fall asleep at night. Once I'm out, I'm out which is nice (minus bathroom breaks).

What I miss:

My church family at RBC. Before I experienced pregnancy sickness I was sick with a nasty flu bug and stayed away from church so I didn't infect pregnant women and small children. Then as soon as the flu bug retreated, I got sick again (surprise, surprise....it wasn't the return of the flu...it was little peanut!!!) But it's been so long since I've seen my dear RBC brothers and sisters, I just ache for the moment that I can tolerate a 35 minute car ride and get to church!!!

Enjoying eating. I loved eating pre-pregnancy and now I dread it. If it weren't for Starburst Jelly Beans (which I eat as an appetizer and all throughout the day), I probably wouldn't eat at all....that is, until today....(see below). Ciaran just bought two more bags for me yesterday.

Cravings: Had my first real craving today. Despite horrendous nausea this morning I woke up thinking about Subway and how much I wanted a sub. I thought about that sub literally ALL DAY! I was acting out a scene from Arthur Miller's The Crucible for my students today and I was so afraid I was going to randomly insert "Subway turkey sub" into my lines. I refrained though, thankfully....my students already think I'm the craziest pregnant woman they have ever met with me popping Starburst Jelly Beans every five minutes to keep from gagging in front of them as the nausea sweeps over me. Then of course, there's always my mad dashes out of the room so I don't throw up in front of them to keep them thoroughly entertained or completely grossed out (depending upon the student). Thankfully Zofran has kept those mad dashes to a minimum.

Symptoms: As previously illustrated--nausea....every moment of every day. Vomiting until Zofran came to the rescue on Friday night (if I miss a dose, vomiting returns very quickly), intense fatigue, motion sickness when riding in the car (I drive with my windows down and barely survive my 7 minute commute to work), and then there are a few other unmentionable symptoms. Pregnancy is a bit icky.

Best Moment this Week: Hearing our little peanut's heartbeat. Ciaran and I can't stop talking about it. It was the most amazing moment of our married life so far. We were absolutely in awe and in love!!!! 2nd best moment was on Monday when I returned to school after spring break and all of my students were grilling me about how Baby is doing. When I told them that we heard the heartbeat, each block cheered and clapped. Teaching high school students has its fun moments. A student in my first block had a baby just a few weeks into this semester. She's back in class now and she's been a huge help in giving me tips to quell my nausea too.

Well, that's my pregnancy announcement and update.

Favorite 2011 Super Bowl Commercials

2011-02-07T20:32:00.001-05:00

For those of you who know me really well, you know I'm not a big fan of American football. I love real football (aka soccer). But every year, I usually have the Super Bowl on in the background as I do homework, grade papers, lesson plan, etc. And every year, there's usually a commercial or two that I enjoy. This year I really enjoyed two commercials. The first one is the "Volkswagon: The Force" commercial. I love, love, love this commercial and I've watched it quite a few times today. It makes me giggle so hard. The second one is the "Chrysler--Imported from Detroit" commercial which I love because I'm a Michigan girl. Enjoy!

Lessons from the Kiln

2011-01-28T20:39:00.002-05:00

As the remaining hours of a turbulent semester of teaching wind to a close, I am in a reflective state of mind. What was the purpose of this hectic, exhausting, emotion-filled semester of teaching and personal struggle? What was God teaching me through the midst of chaos, frustration, and grief?

And as I reflect, I am gently reminded to pray. To commune with my sovereign Lord. God recalls to my mind that He is my true portion. He was my strength when I was completely unable to press forward and teach. He was my comfort when I felt like a complete failure. He reminded me over and over again that I am always clothed in His righteousness and not my own. And ultimately that this feeling of displacement that I experienced so frequently this semester was because this world is not my ultimate home.

I love these whispers of love when I bow my head in prayer. These are what keep me moving forward. Sitting at his feet and drinking in His Word...that's what keeps me putting one foot in front of the other. This reminds me of all He has taught me in these soul-wearying months. How I know Him as my God so much more intimately than I did before this semester in the kiln began.

Ultimately, I don't definitively know what the purpose of this semester was, yet it has reminded me and humbled me and drawn me to the Lord who is my true portion in this life. He is my joy. He is my hope. My delight is in Him. It's so easy to forget this when the pressure mounts and expectations rise all around me. And it's so easy to forget this when I fail. And this semester has felt like the semester of failure. But as I close the final page on this semester on Sunday evening, I do so not in defeat, but in victory. Victory, because my Savior lives and He has redeemed me as His own. And because He used a rough semester to sand out some very rough edges in me and draw me closer to Him, my truest portion in this life.

So with rejoicing, I will enter into this next semester and glorify Him with my moments. He is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).

.

1000 Gifts: January (Part 2)

2011-01-17T06:02:00.047-05:00

As the month stretches on, I am finding myself growing more and more optimistic. Chronicling 1,000 gifts truly does change us. Situations and circumstances that used to discourage or deter me are now not so bad. There are blessings in so many places and joys to be found in disappointment. God is so good.

102. My job which gives me endless opportunities to learn patience and perseverance
103. The sense of accomplishment after decluttering an area of my classroom
104. A weekend of fun with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law now that they are living in Michigan
105. Watching my husband create a beautiful piece of furniture out of a pile of wood
106. Don Pablos leftovers to reheat on a Sunday afternoon in my classroom
107. A cheery lamp that a colleague gave me to brighten my desk on dreary January afternoons
108. Tons of teaching/lesson plan ideas circling in my mind
109. Layers of freshly fallen snow
110. A tidy apartment
111. A toilet that flushes
112. A shower that streams hot, clean water
113. A warm classroom
114. Freedom to read my Bible without legal consequences
115. Watching EPL soccer on a Saturday morning
116. Internet that works
117. XBox Kinect for a great workout
118. Cuddling with Ciaran
119. A washer and dryer in our apartment
120. Sweetwater's doughnuts
121. My sister-in-law's homemade bread
122. The Psalms
123. Warm scarves, gloves, mittens, etc.
124. Dragonfruit Febreeze
125. Energy that comes after a great workout

1000 Gifts: January

2011-01-10T06:01:00.000-05:00

These past several weeks have flown by with so many whispers and shouts of God's love that I don't even know where to begin, but begin I must, completely aware that this list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of His goodness and faithfulness to us.

71. The close proximity of my OB/GYN and blood work facility (both less than 2 minutes from our apartment complex) for my many appointments I had in December.
72. The blessing of supportive family, church family, friends, colleagues, secretaries, and students.
73. A bouquet of a dozen roses hand-delivered to our apartment by a few of my students
74. Encouraging words sent just when I needed them the most
75. Joy in being a follower of Christ
76. Joy in being a wife
77. My husband's compassionate and tender care making me smile and feel warm again
78. A cozy, snug apartment with glowing Christmas tree lights illuminating the darkness
79. A slow-paced, steady routine those last few weeks of December in place of the frantic, chaotic schedule I've been keeping for almost four months now
80. Delight in small, simple things all around me
81. Hope/Ideas for redeeming the three months between now and when we can begin thinking about getting pregnant again (I won't deny that this has been the toughest one)
82. Anticipation and excitement for the next boys varsity soccer season which I'm now (Lord willing) going to get to view since we won't have a newborn at home
83. Joy in exercising without fear
84. Drinking caffeine and eating cold deli meat
85. My bright and cheery classroom
86. A joy-filled Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior
87. My grandmother's wonderfully peaceful home
88. Spending time with my awesome niece and nephew
89. Lots of fun and laughter with family
90. Tons of new Chelsea gear from my brother
91. My new Pandora bracelet
92. A peaceful morning looking out at the beauty of the snow-covered woods behind my grandmother's house
93. Returning home to an apartment filled with work for me to do
94. Strength to survive my 14 hour first day back at work
95. Coming home from above-mentioned 14-hour work day to an XBox 360 w/Kinect all set up and Ciaran dancing in the living room
96. Endless fun with the XBox 360 w/Kinect
97. Long workouts
98. The stability of a work routine
99. Lots of fast food available when I'm too tired to cook
100. Precious fellowship at RBC
101. Joy in gathering to worship our great God with fellow believers and the privilege of sitting under godly teachers.

More Like Me Again

2011-01-08T13:58:00.003-05:00

Source: photoxpress

Today the sun is shining and I feel like myself again. It's been a long time since I have felt like this. After weeks of morning sickness, intense fatigue, and then the intense grief over the loss of our unborn baby on December 11th, I haven't felt like me in quite awhile. Getting back to my work routine this week and starting my new exercise regiment (Your Shape on XBox360) has been really good for me. Then getting over 13 hours of sleep last night and all of the water I've been drinking lately has made me feel so good today.

But above all, I am so grateful that I worship and serve a sovereign and loving God, who has taught me so much about himself in the past few months. He truly is my Rock and most worthy of worship. He is my compassionate and wonderful Healer who gives me a hope for the future and joy in the moments. I can't wait to share my gratitude journal on Monday with all of you. It will be a long one, so be prepared.

Have a happy Saturday and a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow.

1000 Gifts While Grieving

2010-12-13T18:30:00.001-05:00

Today as I chronicle my 1,000 gifts that the Lord has more than abundantly and graciously blessed me with, I do so with a grieving heart. Ciaran and I lost our first baby this weekend. I was just about to my 7th week of pregnancy...we hadn't even told many of our family members; we were looking forward to sharing the news at Christmas. Our little one was due to be an end of July or beginning of August baby, arriving just before the start of soccer season. The timing seemed so perfect, yet it was not to be. As we've grieved this weekend, I have been overwhelmed by the comforting presence of the Lord, taking our grief and ever so slowly, replacing it with hope and joy. Ciaran and I serve an awesome God. And we trust Him.

61. A wonderfully joy-filled few weeks of pregnancy
62. A gentle and kind emergency room doctor and nurse to care for us in scary hours
63. A God who comforts in the midst of incredible emotional pain and sadness
64. A husband who stands as my rock and strength even when he himself is incredibly distraught
65. Colleagues who provide immeasurable practical support so I can rest at home
66. A new devotional (Spurgeon's Beside Still Waters) arriving in the mail just when I need it the most
67. Hope in the future
68. Trickles of joy seeping in at all different moments
69. Morning devotions with Ciaran
70. Prayer with Ciaran

1000 Gifts: November Edition (Part 2)

2010-11-22T18:40:00.000-05:00

This Thanksgiving week, I have so many things I am thankful to God for. He is such an awesome God!

51. A husband who appears at my side to help every time I pull a load of laundry out of the dryer (he knows how much I detest folding laundry).
52. A job that allows me to read great literature every day and get paid for it!
53. Yummy food in our fridge
54. Our growing emergency fund
55. An amazing software program for our budget to track our spending (I love YNAB!)
56. My Precepts Bible Study material
57. Warm November days
58. Freshly laundered, sweet smelling sheets to crawl under after a long day
59. A husband who picks up the apartment so I can go to bed super early
60. An amazing team-teacher who helps me keep up with our 4th block grading

1000 Gifts: November Edition

2010-11-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

Work is keeping me busy and usually I don't have any time for this on Monday nights. But I decided today while I was at work that I needed to make time for this tonight. Gratitude transforms my days and I want to record a sampling of what I'm thanking God for as I navigate this chaotic semester.

43. A sink full of dirty dishes because they are a reminder of the tasty home-cooked meals we feasted on this weekend.
44. My workout clothes sitting on top of my dresser, reminding me to take care of my body in the midst of busyness.
45. Ciaran's sweet hugs after a long day
46. Ciaran's jokes and funny comments after a long day
47. Colleagues' support/encouragement when I'm faced with discouragement in my classroom
48. Fox Soccer Channel
49. Pretty pale yellow towels
50. An old workout DVD newly discovered

A Holy Experience

2010-11-04T17:29:00.002-04:00

I have a blog recommendation to share. In the midst of an incredibly busy semester, I have to share one bright spot that keeps pointing me back Godward as I struggle to keep my head above water. Every evening, I come trudging in from work: weak, weary, aching from the fast-paced demands that are everywhere and all around me. After putting away my work stuff (and sometimes even before that), I slip out of my work shoes, curl up on the couch with a glass of chocolate milk or raspberry lemonade and I pull up this blog. Without fail, I feel my shoulders slowly lowering, stress fading with each soothing strain of music that flows from the computer as I read the beautiful, God-exalting words that this dear woman records. By the time I am done reading the current day's entry...and reread a few of the previous day's entries, I find myself rejuvenated. Usually I pull out the Word and spend a few more minutes in the Lord's presence and then I am filled with energy to continue on with the rest of my evening. Peace, joy, gratitude, these all flood my soul in these quiet moments after work and by the time Ciaran comes home (or as is often the case since I often get home after him) by the time I'm up and moving with my evening tasks laid out before me...I can be the wife he deserves and the wife God intends me to be. Check it out by clicking the button below.

1000 Gifts: School Year Edition

2010-10-11T06:00:00.047-04:00

Before I head in to work this morning, I want to catalogue my list of things I'm thankful for. It's so easy to be discouraged and stressed this semester, so I want to refocus and think about all of the ways the Lord has blessed me. Here's some of the things I'm thankful for that are coursing through my head:

26. A restful Sunday to renew me for this upcoming week.
27. God's ability to take my burdens and equip me for my work in spite of my incredible inability
28. The Word of God and how it nourishes my soul
29. Faithful pastors who preach the Word and keep me focused Godward
30. A loving husband who comforts me when I am distressed
31. Netflix movies to watch with Ciaran
32. An early afternoon date w/Ciaran yesterday at Olive Garden
33. My dear 95 high school students this semester whom I absolutely treasure
34. Ciaran's soccer team and the joy of watching them triumph over both Portage schools (first time in Ciaran's school's history)
35. Exercise DVD's
36. Cold and clean water to drink
37. Nice hot showers
38. A freshly made bed
39. Access to hundreds and hundreds of books
40. Sermons on the internet
41. Wise teachers to learn from
42. The vast number of godly women bloggers keeping me focused Godward throughout my week

Women in the Word Wednesdays

2010-10-06T19:54:00.000-04:00

I have been meditating on one little phrase all day, "Do not be idolaters..." (1 Corinthians 10:7). Idolatry is such a huge struggle for me. I've heard a number of pastors preach on this topic and a number of them have mentioned that idolatry is the root cause of all sin.

Ciaran and I stayed home from church on Sunday and worshipped at home. We listened to a Mark Driscoll sermon and he asked a series of questions in this particular sermon with the intent of identifying idolotry in our lives. I have been ruminating on these questions and the 1 Corinthians 10:7 passage as a result. His questions that were most convincting are as follows(along with a few of my answers):
What am I most afraid of? Failure
What do I long for most passionately? Success
Where do I run for comfort? Ciaran, sleep, escapism through movies and books
What do I complain about the most? My job
What angers me most and gets me frustrated? Disrespect, people talking badly about myself or my family or God
What do I sacrifice the most for? My job.
Why? I want success. I don't want to fail.
Whose approval am I seeking? My students, their parents, the community, my adminstration, my colleagues (It should be God!)
What am I mad at God about? My 3 preps. I want to be a good teacher and I just can't do a good job with this much work to do.

As I reflect on these, God has been showing me how my idol is my job and and I'm serving my pride and striving for success for me. He's not giving me my idol this semester. So I have two choices. I can whine and complain and pout and feel sorry for myself. OR, I can quiet myself before Him and seek for my joy, approval, my identity all in Him. I exist to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. I can keep striving for success and clamoring for man's approval. But that will all be in vain. At the end of the day, my peace is found only in one place and that is in Him. Christ is my everything. Yet, how quickly I forget that when the school year gets underway.

"Do not be idolaters..." (1 Corinthians 10:7)...I know I cannot obey this command without Christ. Yet it is my prayer as I continue throughout my night tonight and as I begin my day tomorrow that He will work in me and fix my eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of my faith, and keep me delighting in Him throughout each moment. Christ is who I need to treasure most.

1000 Gifts

2010-08-23T21:57:00.002-04:00

And I come to another week of cataloging one thousand gifts for which I am incredibly grateful! I love how this little project makes me look at almost every event/scenario in my life so differently. This week, my heart is overflowing with gratitude to the Lord. I could list and list and list all of the amazing blessings all around me.

11. How warm and cozy our apartment is at night.
12. Leftover Eudici's pizza from my hometown
13. The thrill of watching the first soccer game of the season under the lights
14. Watching parents love on their kids
15. A child's giggle
16. My husband's calmness, steadiness and incredibly strong leadership as he coaches teenage boys
17.  My brother's hugs, especially after too long has passed since we last saw each other
18. The Word of God and how it nourishes me first thing, far better than the most hearty breakfast
19.  My new Precepts study that just arrived in the mail
20. My new purse
21. A full fridge
22. A freshly made bed
23. The amazing privilege of prayer
24.  A full agenda for tomorrow
25. Good health and energy

The Simple Woman's Daybook 8/17/10

2010-08-20T23:29:00.003-04:00

It's been a long week. My brain is mush, yet I can't sleep. I have a million and one different blog post ideas, yet can't bring myself to complete any of them. So, I'm employing The Simple Woman's Daybook tonight.

Outside my window...
it's dark and the cicadas are singing.

I am thinking...
of all of the things I need to get done tomorrow before we leave for Auburn Hills.

I am thankful for...
the warmth radiating from my husband as he lays on the opposite end of the couch from me.

From the kitchen...
I didn't cook tonight. I had a bunch of errands to run and the only time I had for those errands was between 4:30 and 8:30 tonight. Ciaran grilled burgers and I grabbed fast food.

I am wearing...
my favorite turquoise pajamas.

I am creating...
a new work wardrobe for this upcoming school year and incorporating more skirts and dresses.

I am going...
to the Auburn Hills area tomorrow for my sister-in-law's Michigan wedding reception!

I am reading...
Beowulf and a book on small groups by C.J. Mahaney.

I am hoping...
to be able to make it up to my hometown on Sunday to visit my brother for a few hours (he's in from California for the weekend).

I am hearing...
Ciaran shifting in his sleep.

Around the house...
I need to do a number of "Room Rescues" ala FlyLady and get caught up on laundry.

One of my favorite things...
is the few weeks before the start of a new school year. I have my new teaching schedule, I'm reorganzing my classroom, prepping course maps and unit plans, reviewing state standards/benchmarks and national standards and cross-referencing assessments to those standards, assisting Ciaran as he starts the soccer season, racing to finish up projects around home and so much more. I love this time of year and getting back onto my 5am to 9pm schedule. It feels good.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Tomorrow I need to wrap up some projects here and then head across the state to the above-mentioned wedding reception that is sure to be a TON of fun!!! Sunday, (as I've also already stated) I'm hoping to make it up to see my brother before he heads back to California. Then Monday, it's back to the grind and Monday night we have Ciaran's first soccer game as varsity coach for his school. It's an away game so I'm going to have to make a 50 minute drive to see it, but it will be worth it!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
N/A (I'm using my work laptop and I don't have any pictures saved on here. Our laptop's powercord broke so we haven't been able to use it for almost a week now.)

One Thousand Gifts-The Start

2010-08-16T18:03:00.003-04:00

A dear woman at my church shared with me last night the name of a blog she follows. When I got home from church yesterday evening, I immediately checked it out. And now I'm completely captivated by it. One of the many things that captured my interest in this blog is her gratitude journal. This blogger takes the time to record many of the blessings and graces that the Lord pours out on her throughout her day. I love this idea, so I'm going to join the Gratitude Community as well! Especially since I just spent all day learning how to use Data Director and Data 4SS at my local ISD in preparation for the new school year. I desperately need to stop and consider all of the beautiful love letters and whispers of God's grace all around me because right now, student data is all that is richocheting around in my mind.

Ahhh, after just a few minutes in prayer, I love how God opens my eyes to all of the beauty and gifts around me. I am so thankful for...

1. The sunlight streaming through the blinds in front of me.
2. The cloudless, blue sky.
3. Quiznos Turkey, Ranch and Swiss sub after a long day
4. Tossed salad sitting on my counter for 21 soccer players
5. Boiled chocolate frosting

6. God's grace
7. The Bible
8. Sweet fellowship at RBC yesterday
9. Laughing and chatting and snuggling with Ciaran until late in the night as we debriefed from our busy week
10. A husband who leads me spiritually and makes our devotional/prayer life as a couple a priority even in the midst of his hectic schedule.

My Journey with the Lord: My First Church

2010-08-13T06:30:00.002-04:00

Once I became a Christian, my friend explained to me the concept of church (why we go to church as well as emphasizing the importance of fellowship with other believers). He invited me to come and visit his church, but I decided to attend the church my mom had been attending for the previous six months or so.

Even now, as I just paused for a moment remembering my first church experience as a believer, I can't help but smile. I remember the smell and the color of the pews and the wonder of looking around me and watching other believers worship God together. My very few previous experiences with "church" had made me feel like it was a formalized, dry routine that people had to go through to just "put in" their time to soothe their consciences or boost their self-esteem. Church as a believer was a much, much different experience.

First, I remember the experience of singing praises to God and the wonder of listening to all of these voices around me wholeheartedly worshiping God together. I remember turning and looking at a teenager standing on the other side of the aisle from me. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be singing directly to God. I then focused in on an elderly couple in front of me. Their heads were bowed as they sang, incredibly reverently. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

And then the pastor approached the pulpit and began to pray and then preach. I furtively glanced across the aisle at the teenage girl who had previously seemed so intimately connected to God. She had an open notebook in her lap and was scribbling away as the pastor preached and I couldn't help but notice her Bible was all marked up with notes and underlined verses. This all seemed so intriguing to me as a brand new believer. I couldn't be intrigued for very long though because God pulled me to attention as the pastor continued to preach. He was referencing chapters and verses in the Bible and the people around me were quickly flipping to the appropriate page. Panic set in. I had no idea where these chapters and verses were in the Bible. I didn't know what books were in the Old Testament or the New Testament. The prideful, little perfectionist in me reared her ugly head and I found myself embarrassed at my lack of knowledge. Thankfully, just as my face started to flush pink, the pastor gently mentioned that if anyone was new to reading the Bible, the passage could be found on page ---. Relief washed over me as I quickly flipped to the appropriate page.

The preaching itself was another amazing, new experience for me. The pastor took us through a select passage of Scripture, reading it and then explaining what was going on giving context to the reading. He then ended with instructions on ways to apply what we had learned to our lives. I gobbled this up, desperate to know more and more about this God who had chosen me and drawn me into a relationship with Him. I was so grateful to be His child and I wanted to know more and more.

As the year progressed on and I continued going to church Sunday after Sunday, I started to become friends with other Christian girls. By the spring of my junior year of high school, I joined a small group of girls and we met every Sunday evening to pray, study the Bible together, hold each other accountable and be mentored by a young mother in our church who graciously gave up her time to disciple us. God used this small group to take my relationship with Him to a whole new level. I greatly admired the young mother who led our small group and I watched her very closely, trying to emulate her relationship with the Lord.

Through this small group, I became very close friends with another girl my age. She was so passionate for the Lord and we spurred one another on to a deeper walk with the Lord all that summer between our junior and senior year of high school.

It was also during this year that the Lord began to give me a passion for missions. I was so excited about this new relationship with Jesus that I wanted to share Him with everyone. Although I scaled back and wasn't as pushy about my faith as I was in those first few months as a believer, my heart still would beat faster every time a missionary would come to our church and speak. I found books that fed this passion during that first year as a believer. Books like Shadow of the Almighty were incredibly instrumental in introducing me to the world of missionaries. Also, my friend who had led me to Christ had many extended family members who were missionaries (his great-grandfather was martyred in Bolivia). And then, most importantly, my church continued to display a strong commitment to seeing the gospel spread which obviously had the biggest effect on me as we prayed Sunday after Sunday for specific missionaries and heard about their work.

As I grew in my faith in this first year as a believer, I looked forward to my time at church. I couldn't wait to get there on Sunday mornings and to learn and grow and fellowship with people who shared a genuine relationship with the Lord. It was so new and so amazing!!!

My Journey with the Lord: Salvation Story

2010-08-11T06:00:00.007-04:00

So I last left you with my friend explaining to me about his relationship with the Lord and how his identity was found only in his Savior, Jesus Christ.   I wish I could say I remember vividly every single detail of this conversation...but I don't. I vaguely remember my curiosity at the direction the conversation had taken (after all, I knew he was a Christian...and he knew I wasn't a Christian....why were we talking about this now, after all the time we had known each other?!)

That night we ended up at our local Barnes and Noble with open Bibles before us. The first verse that stood out to me was in the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I latched onto this verse as the phrase "poor in spirit" echoed over and over in my head. That night, God began to reveal to me my poverty of spirit. One simple verse, that's all it took for the Holy Spirit to convict me. All I could see as my friend read that verse out loud to me, and other verses throughout the Bible, was that all of my strivings truly were in vain, that no matter how brilliant I would try to be in theater, in academia, or how nice I was...all of that couldn't get me to heaven.    My poor friend tried to ask me questions about the passages we were reading and I know I must have responded a bit inanely...I couldn't help it, only that first part of Matthew 5:3 was churning in my mind.

Thankfully, my friend pressed on and drew me back. He walked me through the Scriptures, pointing out to me various passages, explaining what sin is and how the wages of sin is death.    The enormity and weight of my sin was truly palpable and I longed so desperately for this heavenly Father’s love and acceptance as He opened my eyes to the truth of His Word. Then my friend took me to passages that were like a refreshing drink of cool water as I waded through the desert that was my sin. Romans 6:23 stood out to me, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And then, as my sin seemed so overwhelming and yet I knew intellectually that I was being offered a gift, I was turned to 2 Corinthians "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." I knew I wanted heaven. I knew I didn’t want to live with this newly discovered awful weight. I was tired. Tired of trying so hard. Tired of being so angry. Tired of wanting something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I wanted to be clothed in Christ's righteousness and be able to access this amazing God who offered such amazing freedom to me! So that night, after my friend walked me through Romans 10:9-10, which says,

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

I knelt in Barnes and Noble parking lot and confessed that I was truly a sinner and in desperate need of a Savior.

Praying for the first time, I remember actually being nervous. Not because of my company, or the fact that I was in a parking lot (please note: by parking lot, I mean a grassy area at the end of the parking lot) with cars whizzing by me, but because I had no idea what to say to this God I was just being introduced to. Luckily my friend, college boy that he was, actually was sensitive to my discomfort and prayed with me which made it a bit easier.

It wasn't until I was finally in my car, alone with the Lord, that I think everything finally clicked. As I drove the 20 minutes back to my house, in the quietness of that drive, I confessed my sins to the Lord out loud as He brought them to mind. I told God that I wanted to belong to Him, that I felt like I belonged to Him and that I wanted to know Him more. I thanked Him for sending Jesus to die in my place for the penalty of my sins. I thanked Him even more that because of Jesus' death and resurrection, I could now stand in His presence clothed in Christ's righteousness! In my excitement, it was a bit difficult to fall asleep that night!

The next day once I finished fourth hour (it was the first week of school), I raced out to my car and practically flew the 25 minutes to the theater where I had an internship all that junior year of high school. I scarfed down my sandwich and couldn't wait to read my Bible. I'd had a Bible for about six months (since about the time my mom had started going to church), but it didn't make sense when I read it, so I had barely used it. When I opened it up that day, I felt so excited. I immediately turned to where my friend and I had left off in Matthew 5 and dug in.

In the weeks that followed, I gobbled up Scripture as God continued to open up my eyes to the truth and beauty of His Word. He revealed to me more and more of His character and what He has done for me and what He continues to do. In those weeks that followed, God ultimately showed me what my heart had always been longing for: Him. I couldn't believe how supremely satisfying a relationship with God could be. In my excitement and zeal, I started sharing with everyone and anyone I could. One of the guys that had a locker near me at school, starting teasing me and everytime he'd see me, he's laughingly call out, "Save me Je-bas, save me" quoting a line Homer Simpson says in the TV show The Simpsons.

As the year progressed on, I toned down in my overzealous sharing, but not in my relationship with the Lord. I couldn't wait to get to church every Sunday and I treasured my daily Bible reading in the quiet greenroom during lunch at the theater. I loved being a child of God and I couldn't wait to see where God was going to take me throughout the rest of my life as I walked with Him.

My Journey with the Lord: Pre-Christian Story (Part 2)

2010-08-10T06:30:00.001-04:00

The defining moment in my pre-Christian story took place in 1997. It was at this point and time, when I was fourteen years old, that my mom and dad decided to separate. Although I was by no means shocked when they told my brother and myself, I still was at an incredibly awkward and rebellious age, so I didn't cope the best with this break-up of our family. To say I was one angry, little teenager is a vast understatement. My desperate quest for comfort began in earnest after my dad moved out and things with my family became very messy. I was fourteen years old: awkward, rebellious, and desperately searching for an identity and comfort anywhere I could find it. I'm sure you can imagine where this is heading...

Actually, here is where I can see the first, very evident, intervention by the Lord. At this point in my life, at fourteen years old, incredibly rebellious, desperately looking for comfort...things could have gotten pretty ugly, pretty quickly. But they didn't. I was a freshman in high school and the first new friends I made were at band camp and they were upperclassman and all very positive, kind, and even a bit motherly toward me. Every time I got down and depressed, they were there lifting me back up. They didn't feed my sour moods, but instead, helped me to stay positive. I also became friends with my drum major who, conveniently turned out to be a Christian.

I loved the arts, and quickly found my niche transferring from music to the world of theater, and once again, found myself surrounded by Christians. My first real boyfriend was a devoted Christian and a number of the people I interacted with on a regular basis (including his family and best friend) were devoted Christians as well. But I still didn't know the Lord. And as a result I sought my comfort and identity in the world of the theatre and treasured the escapism it provided. If I wasn't at school, I could be found at our local community theatre. I reveled in that world and thought that nothing mattered more than it. I continued to look for comfort not only in the theatre, but in the relationships that world provided as well.

One night, after a particularly grueling rehearsal, I came out of the theatre with a friend of mine (read: my former, first real boyfriend). We started talking about the stress of the night, my frustrations with my lack of perfection in theatre, with academics, etc. I began ruminating on the futility of it all and philosophizing on whether or not this truly all mattered in the long run. In my mind, I was just venting to a dear friend of mine, but the Lord had a different plan for this night.

After patiently listening to me, my friend began talking about his relationship with the Lord and how his identity and perfection itself was found in only one place, and that place was in his Savior, Jesus Christ. I vaguely remember my curiousity at the direction the conversation had taken, and the earnestness with which he shared these thoughts...

To Be Continued

My Journey with the Lord: Pre-Christian Story (Part 1)

2010-08-09T06:30:00.015-04:00

A week ago, Ciaran and I were back in our hometowns visiting family. When Sunday morning rolled around, since we were staying with Ciaran's parents, we didn't feel like making the forty minute drive to my home church. So we decided to visit the church that I attended when I first became a Christian (since it's about 1 minute from my in-laws' house). It wasn't that monumental of a decision...actually it was made spur of the moment without much thought....yet that one visit did more to revitalize my affections for the Lord than anything so far this summer. From the moment I walked in and took a seat in one of the pews, I felt like a brand new believer again. I remembered how I treasured the stillness of the sanctuary, how close I felt to the Lord as I would open a Bible and read and learn things I had never known before. How exciting my walk with the Lord was back then when it was all new! As I've reflected on those feelings, the thought struck me that it might be fun to share my testimony over the next few weeks and where the Lord has led me as a believer so far. As I combed through the archives of this blog I realized I've never actually shared my testimony in full. And since I'm quickly approaching my 11-year spiritual birthday, I thought this would be a fun way to round out the summer.

Also, Ciaran and I are becoming members of the church we've been attending for the last 16 months at the end of August and part of the membership service includes sharing our testimonies with the congregation. The testimony I'm going to share with the church is greatly condensed, as in 1/14 of what I will share here (basically just my salvation story), which makes this little blog project even more meaningful to me. Reflecting on where the Lord has brought me so far always draws me closer to Him and reminds me of His faithfulness.

So without further ado, let's start with my pre-Christian story:

During my childhood, I considered myself to have been (for the most part) un-churched. My mother was raised Methodist and my father was raised Presbyterian. I remember a short space of time when I was in early elementary school when we attended a Presbyterian church and then another short spell when we attended the Methodist church in my later elementary school years. I also attended the Methodist church a few extra times throughout my childhood with my grandparents, but it was more out of adoration/devotion to them that I attended, rather than a desire to know God and worship Him.

Even though I was for the most part, un-churched...I can see evidences of God introducing Himself to me and drawing me to Him all throughout my childhood. I loved going to the community summer VBS (Vacation Bible School) that was offered in my hometown. Four of the local churches would get together every summer and put this summer program on, but sadly, I only loved it for the opportunity it provided to catch up with a bunch of my classmates and sing songs and play fun games.

I also had a number of children's Bibles and I remember playing "Sunday School" with my grandmother during the summer months. My grandmother would read to me a Bible story and plan a craft project for me to do that went along with the Bible story in between working out in the garden or somewhere else around the farm. I remember specifically thinking of the Bible as just a collection of "stories" and that the "stories" were meant to provide a moral lesson, much like the fables and short stories I would read in the books I got from the library.

Although, the two above-mentioned remembrances from my childhood hardly testify to knowing God personally and believing in His infallible Word, I do believe these few introductions to the Christian faith were the little seeds that were sown in my heart to introduce me to the God I now worship and adore today.

The defining moment in my pre-Christian story took place in 1997. It was at this point and time, when I was fourteen years old, that my mom and dad decided to separate. Although I was by no means shocked when they told my brother and myself, I still was at an incredibly awkward and rebellious age, so I didn't cope the best with this break-up of our family. To say I was one angry, little teenager is a vast understatement. My desperate quest for comfort began in earnest after my dad moved out and things with my family became very messy. I was fourteen years old: awkward, rebellious, and desperately searching for an identity and comfort anywhere I could find it. I'm sure you can imagine where this is heading...

Frugal Friday-Price Book

2010-08-06T17:43:00.000-04:00

In my ongoing quest to shave pennies from our grocery budget, I've started keeping a price book. As I'm grocery shopping, I tend to believe sale markers. If the sign says the item is 50% off, I'm inclined to buy it. That was until I started using my price book. A price book is a simple document where you track the prices on specific items over a set amount of time. My goal is to track prices over the course of 12 weeks. When I first started this, I used an Excel spreadsheet, but it got way too confusing. Just this week, I've transferred over to Money Saving Mom's price book and I'm loving it! She has multiple formats to choose from, but I've settled on this one.

A number of people advised me to start with just 20 items and track those and then move up from there. I'm actually tracking around 40 items right now, but that's because I'm on summer vacation and have that extra time. Once the school year starts, I'll probably just choose 15-20 to track and then move on to the rest later on.

One of the biggest benefits of the price book so far is that I've discovered that sale markers are not always truthful. A number of places actually mark up the price before putting it "on sale." I'm definitely liking my price book! Now I'm learning when something is at a truly "rock bottom" price and I can stock up then. It's pretty sweet.

Happy Friday everyone!

Completing Him Challenge - Showing Respect

2010-08-02T06:45:00.065-04:00

All right, it's my second week of the "Completing Him Challenge" that Courtney has going over at Women Living Well. This week's mission is as follows:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! No complaining, criticizing, rolling your eyes, nagging, or giving him any friction this week. Enjoy a week of peace in your home!

I started this challenge last Wednesday, praying that God would reveal to me where I have been creating friction in our marriage, where I have been showing any disrespect to Ciaran, whether it be in my words, action, tone of voice or something else.

I adore my husband. That's no big secret. So this challenge was a bit frightening to me as I considered that although I adore my husband, my minute-by-minute actions could be conveying an entirely different message to him.

The first thing I discovered in this challenge is that I roll my eyes or arch my eyebrows a lot when he's goofy. Ciaran has an awesome sense of humor, and although I LOVE to laugh, I sometimes can be a bit too task-oriented and serious and instead of enjoying and delighting in his goofiness...I turn into the eyebrow arching, eye-rolling wife. What does this convey to Ciaran?! There's a bit of a superiority message passed on there. An almost parent-child superiority which is completely unacceptable from a wife who claims to treasure and respect her husband. I felt really convicted about this once God revealed this to me.

As I prayed for God to help me change in this area, I began to think about the repercussions if I didn't change. Ciaran and I would love to have children if and when the Lord blesses us with that gift, and so I paused and considered what could happen in our little children's hearts if they saw their mother consistently rolling her eyes or arching her eyebrows at their wonderful father. Could they learn that from me in the future and treat their father with actions that could be interpreted as perceived superiority or disdain? What a scary thought! Especially when those feelings couldn't be further from what I really feel toward Ciaran. I love his sense of humor and goofiness and how after a long, stressful day, it's nice to unwind and not have to be so serious! I love how Ciaran balances me out in this area!

So, after praying for God to change my heart, I went and apologized to Ciaran. He laughed and said he doesn't notice it if I'm doing it, but I'm almost certain he does. He's just an incredibly nice guy and doesn't get upset about much. But that still doesn't mean I'm off the hook. I now am aware of my actions and by God's grace, I'm starting to change.

So that was my big take-away from this week's challenge and I really feel these challenges are helping me grow and making me realize more and more how much I love this man of mine!

Frugal Friday-SparkPeople

2010-07-30T06:45:00.089-04:00

Well, another Friday is here and for this week's Frugal Friday post, I want to share about a site I just discovered. It's called SparkPeople and I've used it a lot in the last week! I first joined this FREE site to get a little inspiration for my daily exercise regimen, in lieu of a personal trainer. Come on, I know I'm not the only one out there who wishes she could afford a personal trainer.

This site has a plethora of resources!!! Not only will it set up a custom-made exercise regimen (incorporating both cardio and strength training), it also allows me to set up a nutrition plan as well. Then there are message boards, blogging and journaling options, a planner (that even sends birthday and anniversary reminders to your e-mail), inspirational and information articles related to almost any question you have in your wellness journey, etc., etc. and etc. It's pretty impressive. And the crazy part is...it's free! Absolutely FREE!

I feel as if I have my own personal trainer now. And I'm finding myself more committed to working out and improving our health since joining this site. Ciaran's even noticed how much more I'm trying to weave vegetables and fruits into my meal planning. Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to share my favorite part of this site. Every time you record something that helps improve your health and wellness, such as eating a serving of fruits and vegetables, logging in exercise time, reading health-related articles, drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, etc., you can earn SparkPoints that accumulate so you can eventually win virtual trophies. It's the craziest thing, but those points really get the little competitor in me motivated. Take yesterday morning, for instance. Ciaran and I were supposed to leave to head to my in-laws yesterday night and so when I woke up, I had a million items on my "to do" list to get done before we left town for five days. Normally, I would have decided to just skip my workout and get up extra early this morning to go for an extra long walk around their neighborhood to make up for it. Nope. Not for this newly born SPARKler! I knew when I woke up yesterday morning, that even though I had a lot to get done, I was only 45 points away from my next trophy, so I changed into my workout clothes as soon as my feet hit the bedroom floor, took a swig of water, scarfed down a handful of frosted mini wheats, and I was out the door!

The same thing has been true with my water intake. I'm supposed to drink an inordinate amount of water to help prevent my kidney stones from forming so often. Even though I know how painful and miserable it is having kidney stones (I've had kidney stones five different times since I was eighteen), I'm still not good about keeping up with my water intake. Now, because I earn points on SparkPeople for drinking my water...I'm guzzling away like a crazy camel!

Having said all this, I need to pause and clarify something. Have I seen a total change in my health and wellness in the past week? Nope, I'm still the girl who gobbles down Whoppers and Big Macs and delights in my Culver's Turtle Sundaes. But what I have seen are those small mental and physical changes that often translate to a commitment to lifelong wellness. And I feel that is definitely worth getting excited about!

I'll try and remember to post a follow-up on this topic to see how long this streak goes, but for now I'm very impressed with this free site. It's definitely a frugal girl's dream come true! Check it out at http://www.sparkpeople.com/.

Our Financial Journey-Freedom from Debt and the Future

2010-07-29T07:00:00.079-04:00

WE'RE DEBT FREE!!! That had been the desire of our hearts for almost 16 months and finally we were able to scream it at the top of our lungs!

On June 19th, Ciaran and I were curled up on the couch watching a movie. I couldn't get interested in the movie, so I absent-mindedly turned my laptop on and without thinking, found myself typing in my student loan website (one of the perils of this journey to freedom from debt...the payment page on your debts become something you can navigate in your sleep). As I logged in and my payment page popped up, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Loan Balance: PAID IN FULL

I just sat there.

That's right, I just sat there. I couldn't believe my eyes.   Once I got over the initial shock, I turned to Ciaran and calmly stated, "The last payment on my student loan just posted." Looking into Ciaran's eyes at that moment, it registered.   It was over. We were debt free. No more watching all of that hard-earned money slip through our fingers. No more staggering interest rates. It was over!   I laughed and was giddy as only I can be. We hugged and laughed some more. It was OVER!!!!! Our slavery to our debtors was OVER!!!!

And now, the future. Only the Lord knows what our future holds. But He has been so faithful and amazing in leading us in this journey. We fully give Him the glory because we know we couldn't have done this on our own! As we've prayed about the future and discussed and discussed and prayed some more, we know our financial journey is far from over. We do not want to go back in debt (other than a house mortgage) and so our next steps are to take care of a few matters so we, Lord willing, don't have to be enslaved to debt again.

First, Ciaran and I have to pay for graduate school. To keep our teaching certificates (so we can continue earning an income), we have to each complete 18 credits of graduate school. Ciaran has just under two years to do this in and I have three years. Since we have to work full-time jobs while we do this, there isn't a lot of funding available for us...which means we're going to have to pay for 36 graduate credits out of pocket in the space of three years...on our meager teachers' salaries. Scary beyond all reason? Yes. But God is faithful and we know He'll provide. Thankfully, we now know how to live frugally so we're going to just keep living the way we have for the last 17 months...if not even more frugally.

Next, since we're continuing to follow Dave Ramsey's Babysteps, we're going to work on Babystep 3, our fully funded emergency fund of 6 months worth of expenses. We started that this month, but progress will be really slow on this as we try to cash-flow grad school. The logic behind this huge emergency fund of untouched money, sitting in a savings account, is that when a true emergency comes up, we won't have to pull out the old credit card and accrue debt. I know the challenging part for me is going to be not dipping into that fund when I have a "want" that comes up. But it is imperative that we are disciplined with this step if we are really serious about not going back into debt again.

Finally, once we cash-flow grad. school and complete saving 6 months worth of expenses, we will finally have the opportunity to start saving for a house!!!! Now this is the part we've been praying about for almost the entirety of our marriage so far. What I'm going to share may seem a bit crazy, but just know it's been bathed in a lot of prayer and we really feel that this is how God wants us to proceed as a couple, as faithful stewards over the funds He has entrusted to us. OK, so here goes:  Our goal is to save for a minimum of a 20% downpayment and...here's the tough part....we only want the monthly house payment to be 25% of Ciaran's take-home pay. This probably means we'll end up making more than a 20% down payment. To make this even more interesting...we only want a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage. So yes, we're probably going to be renting for quite some time.

But we're ok with that. Our goal when we started this financial journey was to glorify God with our finances, keep the lines of communication open between us, and to "live like no one else today so one day we can give like no one else!" God has been faithful and we will continue to submit our finances to Him, as He leads us by His grace. It's been an exciting journey so far and my faith in the Lord has grown so much through this journey. It's my prayer that Ciaran and I will continue to grow in our relationship with Him and with each other as He teaches us how to be faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us.

Our Financial Journey-Building Momentum in the Debt Snowball

2010-07-28T07:00:00.005-04:00

I last left off in "Our Financial Journey" series with cutting expenses. Now I get to share about building momentum in the debt snowball. This is where it starts to get fun. As I mentioned in a previous post, in December 2009 we paid off Ciaran's car. This is what Ciaran and I identified as the moment when the momentum began to build. We were beyond excited. But before I go on, I want to take a moment and share exactly why this was a monumental moment in our journey.

Up until December 2009, we had been diligently working for almost nine months, without really seeing noticeable progress. Sure, we were watching the balance on Ciaran's car go down, but we still were feeling the incredibly overwhelming burden of debt. I think the biggest struggle was that even though Ciaran and I have very modest incomes as high school teachers, we'd still never seen this much money go through our hands before and to see it all going out the door as soon as it came in was so disheartening. Ciaran and I longed to have a house of our own with a nice woodshop for Ciaran out back and it just seemed to be a dream that would never come true for us at the current rate we were going. Then after school let out for break in December 2009, we watched that final payment post and received the letter declaring the car was paid in full. We danced around our little apartment, giddy beyond reason. This moment gave us the hope we so desperately needed! This plan was actually working! Ciaran announced at our family holiday gatherings that "Frank," as Ciaran lovingly named his car, was ours! We were so excited!!!!

When we got home in January and sat down to do our monthly budget, the momentum officially began to build. We now had one less payment and all of the funds we had been throwing at Ciaran's car, now could go toward my car. With one less payment, we paid off the remaining balance on my car by May.

I have to interject, before going on, to share our one major setback during this amazing, momentum-building time. In February, Ciaran and I had to suspend our debt snowball as both of us were potentially facing lay-offs. Every penny we had been applying to our debt snowball was funneled into a savings account in case we both lost our jobs. We were so disappointed. To experience the success of paying off Frank Sonata (hehe) and then to have to temporarily suspend paying off my car was really hard for me. We continued to pay minimum payments on my car and student loan all winter long. And what a long winter it was for me! Then spring came and once we found out at the very beginning of May that Ciaran's job was safe, we drained our savings back to just about $3500 and paid off my car in one single payment. [The logic here was that we needed our $1,000 baby emergency fund and $2,500 extra as one full month of actual living expenses, in case I lost my job.] It felt amazing! Looking back, the wait was worth it. Every single, agonzing extra day I had to wait was worth it when I saw the balance online say "Paid in Full."

After paying off my car, with all of the funds that had been going toward our cars, and the $2,500 left over in the bank from our winter of saving (once we knew my job was safe, of course), we were able to knock out our last debt, my student loan, in just under two months. June 19th was the day our last debt payment posted.

During this "momentum building" portion of our financial journey, I have left out something. As the momentum built in the debt snowball, something funny happened. We found ourselves becoming more and more intense, more frugal, more determined to cut expenses than we ever had before. Every little extra penny we could scrounge up, we immediately applied to debt. Before this journey, if a surprise rebate came in the mail we would have treated ourselves to dinner out, or to some fun shopping. But because of what we were learning in this journey, we wanted nothing more than to use surprise money and really, an money that wasn't being spent on necessities, to go directly toward our debt. This is where God really taught us a lot about being content with what we have, with Him and with each other.

Make sure to come back tomorrow as I wrap up this five-part series on our financial journey (thus far).

Completing Him Marriage Challenge--His Vision

2010-07-27T07:00:00.002-04:00

This challenge is almost over, but I'm jumping in anyway (since I just found it). Courtney, over at Women Living Well got this started at the beginning of the summer and I think it's awesome!

This week's challenge pulled directly from her blog is as follows:

It's week #7 in our Summer Completing Him Challenge! Here's this week's challenge: Support his vision. Discuss his vision for your family. Where does he see your family in 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Share with us how you let your husband lead.

First of all, this is an area that I know I'm going to have to work on for the rest of my life. For those of you who know me really well, you know that I have a pretty strong personality and that I have absolutely no problem taking the reigns and leading...in almost any and all situations. From age fourteen on, I lived in a single-parent household and I got to exercise a lot of leadership in our day-to-day home life. My mom was always grateful for any help my 12-year-old brother and I could offer as she adjusted to working full-time outside of the home. During my teenage years and on, I loved my "to do" lists and I loved goal setting and big picture stuff...along with detailed daily work.

So when I got married over 22 months ago, I knew I would really need to be prayerful about how I conducted myself within my marriage and that I had a lot to learn if I was to take God at His Word with regards to submitting to my beloved husband's leadership. That's why I got so excited when I saw this week's challenge.

So this past weekend, I asked Ciaran these questions. We had a great discussion and I learned so much about Ciaran's vision for us as a family. We are always talking about these things, but sitting down without the TV on, without having a bunch of other stuff to discuss really made this a memorable evening.

I married a visionary man. I've known this about him since I met him. I deeply admire his vision and leadership abilities within the teaching field, within the coaching arena (to watch this man of mine coach teenage young men on the soccer field still takes my breath away...just as it did in June of 2001 when I first met him), and now within our marriage. But Ciaran can also be a reserved man in the home and throughout the course of our discussion this weekend, I realized how much he envisions for our family. It's so easy for me to interpret his reserve as passivity and this challenge taught me that nothing could be further from the truth. As a result of this challenge, I now see Ciaran as a strong and visionary leader in the home...it's just that he has a pretty strong-willed wife that can easily eclipse him.....hmmmm...something I need to be more prayerful about!

The best part about learning Ciaran's one year, five year, and ten year vision for us is his vision is completely something I can come alongside him as his helper and support. Now, I can't wait to see where God takes us as God continues to teach me how to support and be a suitable helper for this wonderful man of mine!

Apologies

2010-07-24T14:11:00.000-04:00

I'm in the process of opening up my blog to the public. Before now, you couldn't search for my blog and find it...you had to have the exact URL to access it. So if you've been around since 2006 when I started this blog and have subscribed to it, I need to apologize to you right now. You are going to be inundated with updates in the next few weeks, that is, if you haven't already noticed. I'm going through and updating stuff for privacy purposes. I'm not being fanatical about this by any stretch of the imagination...pictures are staying up, some of my more personal posts are staying up too...I just want to eliminate some of the last names of people I reference, along with some specific location names, etc. Nothing too fancy, but for those of you used to receiving e-mail updates, please bear with me for the next few weeks. Also, if you note something that you think should be taken down, let me know!

Frugal Fridays-Coupon Binder

2010-07-23T07:00:00.033-04:00

In my continual quest to shave pennies off of our grocery bill, I have taken up couponing. When I first started couponing a year ago, I quickly felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of coupons and experienced an almost constant struggle to quickly locate a specific coupon when I needed it. Another struggle I had consisted of finding sale prices at the grocery store (that weren't advertised), only to find out I had left a coupon for that sale-priced item at home.

So last fall, I started researching ways to organize coupons and stumbled upon this revolutionary idea. The Coupon Binder. Once I found this, I started looking for ways I could create this for myself. More research ensued.

This blog post was all I needed. I followed her steps and created my very own coupon binder and 10 months later, I'm still loving it and using it every time I go grocery shopping. The only downside to this resource is that it draws questions...about once a month someone stops me in the grocery store and asks about it. Also, if you shop during hours when the store is super busy, you might frustrate some people. I haven't experienced that yet, but it might happen. I generally shop when it's quiet because I'm working on a price book (which I'll post about it another Frugal Friday post).

I love shopping now and I've watched my savings double over all and the first few weeks, it tripled my savings. And I'm still learning, so I'm hoping to see our savings grow even more. Happy Couponing!

Our Financial Journey-Cutting Expenses

2010-07-20T07:05:00.092-04:00

I last left off with the excitement of working the debt snowball in Dave Ramsey's Babystep 2 and our first taste of real success when in December 2009 we paid off Ciaran's car. Yet in the previous post, I sort of glossed over the whole "pinching pennies" part of the process. Cutting expenses and looking for additional sources of income was huge in this process. Saying "no" to the whole "keeping up with the Jones's" mentality was absolutely vital (which was actually tougher than a lot of people think).

First, there was absolutely no exact science to this part of the process. There was just a whole lot of prayer and discussion and research each and every month as we worked the budget and tried to find more money to throw at the debt snowball. Areas we cut back in were groceries/restaurants, cell phone plans (we already didn't have a land line), clothing, TV, entertainment, recreation, etc. Ciaran found a way to get free golf in the summer by volunteering as a coach at a local golf course; we took the plunge and cut our satellite (yes, we actually have survived with only 4 local TV stations); I rediscovered the joys of rereading books and utilizing our local library weekly; we limited going out with friends to times when we could do cost-free or minimal expense activities; I spent endless hours couponing and researching sales and frugal recipes; we packed our lunches every day for work; I would spend weekends prepping meals for the week to limit eating out; and I explored ways to bring in additional income through survey-taking and other online income generators, on top of my typical 70 hour/week teaching job. Ciaran, of course, was busy coaching on top of his teaching load and he also was on the lookout for ways to generate additional income (such as working toward certification to be a driver's ed teacher). We spent most Friday and Saturday nights at home (typically because we were so exhuasted from our work weeks) and just kept a diligent work ethic. We knew that this was only for a season so we kept our noses to the grindstone, for the most part.

Now, the part that I can't emphasize enough, is how much God poured out his grace upon us as we waded through this process. It's so easy, when writing or reading this, to get overly caught up in the actual steps and not acknowledge that all of the strength, wisdom, mercy and purpose came from the Lord. We wouldn't have been led to want to get out of debt if it hadn't been Him showing us in His Word how he feels about our finances. We wouldn't have learned the vital lessons about finding contentment in Him and how no amount of stuff brings joy and contentment. We wouldn't have discovered deeper joys in our relationship with the Lord and with each other if He hadn't been the one leading and equipping us as we traveled through the sixteen months it took to get out of debt. Ultimately, it is God who is the "strength of our heart and our portion forever." And we praised Him all the way through this sticky portion of our jouney as we cut expenses and tried to generate additional income.

Check back later this week as I share further about our particulars of momentum building in the debt snowball!

Our Financial Journey--Enter Dave Ramsey

2010-07-19T07:00:00.045-04:00

In the second part of this series on our financial journey, I want to share how a man named Dave Ramsey entered our radar and changed our perspective on financial matters. If you read my post on Saturday, you know how when we first got married, we sat down, merged our finances and prayerfully set out to maintain a monthly budget and track all of our spending for a space of three months. Now we need to fast-forward to March of 2009.

In March of 2009 Ciaran and I were still budgeting with YNAB and having a minimum of one financial meeting a month (at the end of each month/the first day of the next month) to reflect on our past budget, how it worked and what we needed to do differently for the upcoming month. We would take our earnings and spend every dollar on paper before the month began, until our balance said $0. We would discuss any foreseeable bigger than normal spending coming up and plan for that, to a degree. I continued to read on YNAB's website and go through the instructional manuals there hoping to glean any information that would help us know how to better manage the money God was entrusting to us.

Now enter Dave Ramsey. It was either on YNAB's website or on the radio or on the TV, but somehow I heard the name Dave Ramsey. Then I went to my local library one day after teaching and started to peruse the finance section and explore what books were out there to give us guidance. I saw Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover and grabbed that book immediately. I went home and read it in one sitting. I knew I needed to get Ciaran to read this and get his opinion on what he thought of what was espoused in those pages. We were heading back to visit family in our hometowns that weekend so I picked up the audiobook at our library the next day after school and Ciaran and I listened to the book on CD in the 5 hours we spent in the car that weekend. We had to keep pausing the CD to discuss it so when we got home we finished the audio book and went to his website and after a couple days of prayer and further discussion we decided to try this "Total Money Makeover."

The first step was to drain our savings down to what Ramsey calls a $1,000 Baby Emergency Fund (this can be altered if you have a very small income or a larger income), but our combined salaries put us in the middle so we went with the $1,000. We had a little bit of leftover wedding money that hadn't been used when we set up our apartment, so we drained the savings down to that $1,000 and applied the rest directly to what was left of my medical debt which was our lowest balance on all of our debt. The awesome part was that it wiped out what was left of the medical debt and we experienced our first victory in Ramsey's Babystep 2 which is called "The Debt Snowball."

Next, since we weren't really sure the current balances on all of the rest of our debts, we had to spend some time calling a bunch of phone numbers and checking online accounts. Once we knew the rest of our remaining debts and their balances, we listed them from smallest balance to highest balance. The funny part at this stage was when we sat down to share each of the balances, we realized that each of the three remaining debts stood just above $11,000 each. So more research ensued as we discovered that if each of the balances are around the same, you can then begin to pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. Ciaran's car won. So we wrote down the minimum payments for my car and my student loan and then every spare penny we had above those two minimums we started sending to Ciaran's car. Month by month, it was so exciting to watch the numbers fall downward on that balance. "Frank," as we lovingly refer to Ciaran's car, was slowly coming closer and closer to becoming fully ours.

Months and months went by as we pinched pennies and worked so hard to pay off Ciaran's car. Then in December, just before we left to go visit family for Christmas break, we watched the balance on Ciaran's car go to $0. We were ecstatic!!! DR's plan was working!!!

Our Financial Journey--The Budget

2010-07-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year I shared some of my New Year's resolutions and one of those resolutions was to become debt free by December 31, 2010. As I had shared earlier this week, on June 19th, Ciaran and I became completely DEBT FREE!!!!! No more medical debt, no more car loans, no more student loan. They all have been paid in full. We are very excited and feeling very grateful to an awesome God who led us every step of this way as He taught us (and continues to teach us) how to glorify Him with our finances and be faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us.

So in our excitement, I thought it would be fun to share with you about our journey to becoming debt free. As Ciaran and I discussed how I would structure these posts, I realized this 16-month journey is so much more than just a quest to become debt free...it really has been an almost 22-month long journey devoted to getting our finances in order (as husband and wife) so we can honor God with what He has entrusted to us.

So having said that, I thought it would be fun to share in a 5 part series, the components of our financial journey so far. We're far from perfect in this area and we're continuing to learn as we go, but we'd love to share what we've learned so far. This series is going to be broken down as follows:

The Budget
Emergency Fund Savings and the Debt Snowball
Cutting Expenses
Building Momentum
Freedom from Debt and The Future

So without further ado, let's begin at the beginning of our marriage...or rather the last week of September 2008 (we'd been married almost two weeks) when we had our first financial meeting as a couple and merged our finances officially. This was incredibly interesting because I don't know about all of you, but I didn't have a single financial class in high school or college to teach me how to manage money, so this meeting was something neither of us really knew how to conduct...we just knew we had to do it.

So first, I was very fortunate because a dear friend of mine (Jen) recommended a budget software to me a few years earlier called YNAB. Since I'd been using that for a few years, I just shared it with Ciaran at this wonderful meeting at the end of September, showed him the website and what I had learned from using the software and he said he was game to try it. So we merged our finances and off we went. That's right, no separate accounts, no hidden money, just every single penny we had between the two of us was laid before us in this budget.

The next challenge we faced was how to steward these funds within our budget. What percentage of our income should go to what?! So we started first with our tithe and then proceeded to monthly expenses: rent, utilities, food, debt payments, etc. and went from there, plugging in each number into our budget. We still had no clue how much we actually needed for the two of us for food or how much our electricity bill would be each month, so we just made a guestimate and plugged that into the budget. We did this until every penny was spent. [Please note that by "spent," I mean it was given a name/job so some money was put in a category knowing we wouldn't spend it that month, but it would be available in that category for future months or was money sitting in a savings account.] After praying together, we then closed our first budget meeting. That was it. It was that simple. We had no idea what we were doing, but we knew that many marriages end over financial issues, so we just purposed to get on the same page within those first weeks of marriage and off we went with it, prayerfully determined to figure this out.

The next component of our budget, other than spending every dollar on paper before the month (October) started, was a determination to track every penny we spent and record it in YNAB. This was the area that Ciaran and I were most reluctant. I had had great success with this during my single years, but I didn't have nearly as many expenses as I now was going to have. But we purposed to do it anyway. Note, we didn't purpose to "try," we purposed to "do," for a trial period of 3 months. If, after 3 months, it wasn't working for us, then we would try something else.

That was one of the greatest gifts for this financial component of our marriage. It was eye-opening to me as we would sit down and plug in our spending each night or week (if we did it every night before bed it would take about a minute or two and if we did it weekly, it would take about 15 minutes or so). [Now, almost 22 months later, we do this daily, for the most part.] This simple step opened the lines of communication between us with regard to finances and then as a by-product, we found ourselves calling each other if we were in the store and about to make a bigger than normal purchase, checking to see if it was "in the budget" if we forgot, or if we could reallocate any funds for any surprise expense we were facing. We also learned more about each other's interests, strengths and weaknesses through this process.

Ciaran and I had been good friends for seven years prior to marriage, yet I learned more about this beloved husband of mine in those three short months, than I ever had before. The oneness that we have in our marriage was deepened through this process of getting our finances together and the necessary communication that ensued. It has been so awesome and I cannot recommend enough the value of getting on a budget. I've heard many friends say that far from being a restricting tool, it has felt like they were given a raise when they sat down and starting making their money work for them instead of working for their money. A zero-based budget was the first step in our financial journey and if you're interested, I have a few links below to show options for creating a zero based budget. You can always just do one on paper, but I find it to be a bit cumbersome, so that's why I'm linking below some of the electronic versions.

-YNAB
By far my favorite and what we use! Clear interface, easy to use, free webinars for support, online tutorials, etc. Love it, love it, love it!

-Gazelle Budget Lite
Seems a good option if you are just getting started and want a very simple budget.

-My Total Money Makeover
With this paid subscription there is a budget tool within the site you can use. I like this budget because it shows what percentage of your income is going to each category right on the main interface of the budget.

-Mint
I've never used it, but have friends who testify that it works really well for them.

-Mvelopes
A lot of people defect from this to YNAB. It seems pretty good though...just not as good as YNAB in my humble opinion.

-And then of course there is the wonderful Excel spreadsheet. I used this before Jen got me hooked on YNAB.

All right, that rounds out part one of our financial journey so far. Be sure to check back on Monday, when I get to share with you the next component that comprised our journey to becoming debt free! Also be sure to post any comments related to what has worked for you if you use budgeting software. Ciaran and I love to learn and any wisdom you have to offer, we would gladly welcome!

Frugal Fridays

2010-07-16T10:17:00.002-04:00

I thought it would be fun to start a Frugal Fridays series. If (and that's a big "if") I post on a Friday, I'm going to share at least one thing the Lord is teaching me about being frugal and becoming a better home economist.

What I want to share with you today is a website that has been hugely instrumental in this quest. The author of this blog is Crystal Paine and she used to have a blog that I read all of the time called Biblical Womahood. Since she no longer has that blog, I transferred over to the one that I'm going to share with you today.

It's called Money Saving Mom. She has tons of leads on good deals at the grocery store, how to cut your food budget, freezer cooking tips, etc. I have learned so much since I started reading this blog on a weekly basis. Once a week when I sit down to plan the week's menus and make my grocery list, I pull this website up before I peruse my week's sale flyers and coupons. It's been a big help and a much-needed source of inspiration as I learn and grow in this area of homemaking.

The Perils of Summer Vacation

2010-07-14T16:48:00.004-04:00

It’s 4:45pm and I just looked around my apartment. There are dishes piled in the sink; there’s clutter all over our dining room table and coffee table; the bed is unmade; my bathing suit is drip-drying haphazardly over a clothes rack which is completely taking over our guest bathroom; and the laundry is sitting in the machine, waiting to be turned over. And where am I? I’ve been sitting on our couch for the past hour reading blogs.

Summer vacation is such a wonderfully glorious time. The beauty of Michigan summers are a particular love of mine, the time away from my classroom is always welcome by June, and a million projects are always waiting for me to get started on. Yet, summer vacation also has its perils as the above scene more than amply portrays.

Summer vacation was much needed for me this year. As Ciaran and I discussed what I would be doing with my time this summer, he lovingly pointed out that my 70 hour work weeks were taking a toll on me and that he would support my resting this summer and gearing up for another grueling school year. And so that’s the reason I’m not working another job this summer.

But that doesn’t mean that I have a license to be slothful. Yet, as summer progresses, I find myself spending more and more time on the computer; taking ridiculous amounts of time to do seemingly simple tasks; etc. This simply will not do.

For the month of July, I've been reading a chapter in Proverbs each day as part of my morning time with Lord. Here was the verse that the Lord just brought to my mind as I wrote this post, a verse I read only just this morning. It's a reminder for me to rise and work diligently serving the Lord with this time He has blessed me with and not get caught up with planning and "saying" I'm going to get to work...and then sitting idly looking at blogs all afternoon:

"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty." -Proverbs 14:23

So with that reminder, I'm going to rise and get to work joyfully serving the Lord and my husband.

Under Construction

2010-07-14T16:18:00.003-04:00

My blog needed a little face-lift so it's going to be under construction for the next few days. So if you pop over here and it looks different each time you visit...well, that's why.

End of my Summer in Pictures

2010-07-13T19:47:00.002-04:00

As you can tell, I didn't continue on with my "Summer in Pictures" theme. The Lord revealed to me that there was just too much "me" in this little project. And the last thing I want to do is promote my glory over His. My sole purpose is to glorify and enjoy Him...not glorify and enjoy myself. So while I will periodically be posting pictures, I'm not going to make one picture a day rule my life this summer.

In other news, we officially became debt-free on June 19th!!!!! It was the coolest feeling when I hopped onto my student loan payment website and saw PAID IN FULL in the balance. I'll be posting our debt free story in another couple days probably. God has taught us so much in the past 16 months during this financial journey and I can't wait to share some of the fun details.

The start of our evening storms

2010-06-18T20:41:00.001-04:00

Started my full-time summer job today!!!

2010-06-17T18:16:00.004-04:00

As a homemaker!!!! I love my summer job! My boss is the best too...he's incredibly easy on me! Love you, Ciaran! :-)

This picture represents Ciaran's favorite product of my work today (he loves when I cook & bake from scratch). And now, on to detail cleaning and organizing my guest bedroom. Katelen (my seventeen-year-old cousin) is coming for a week's stay in about a week and a half from now!

Lesson 3 of FPU

2010-06-16T22:23:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, June 15, 2010-Cleaning my Classroom!

2010-06-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

Monday, June 14, 2010--Cleaning Day w/my mom!

2010-06-16T22:04:00.002-04:00

Sunday, June 13, 2010

2010-06-16T22:01:00.001-04:00

No image. I forgot about my camera. The image should have been one of our 5pm dinner gathering: Grandpa Dick, his wife Kathleen, the newlyweds: Mike & Aunt Jill, my dad, my step-mom Mimi, my stepbrother Elliott, my cousin Taylor, and then Ciaran and myself.

Saturday, June 12, 2010--Aunt Jill's wedding

2010-06-16T21:58:00.001-04:00

My beyond amazing present from my darling husband! A hand-crafted dresser!!!

2010-06-11T20:22:00.002-04:00

Ciaran amazes me more and more with each passing day. That he was able to build this beautiful creation just astounds me. I will treasure this present for the rest of my life!!!!

Thursday, June 10, 2010-Final Exams Begin

2010-06-11T20:07:00.002-04:00

Wednesday, June 9, 2010-Lesson 2 of FPU

2010-06-11T20:05:00.002-04:00

Made it out of work before 9pm!!!

2010-06-08T21:36:00.001-04:00

Final exams all prepped and ready to go for Thursday and Friday!!!

2010-06-07T19:30:00.001-04:00

A Good Laugh

2010-06-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

Had a good laugh over this one. Watch and enjoy!

Saturday Afternoon Soccer

2010-06-05T18:53:00.002-04:00

June 4

2010-06-05T18:43:00.003-04:00

Exhausted after a long week...too tired to cook. Mmmm...Taco Bell.

My 4th block class!

2010-06-03T19:53:00.007-04:00

Hehe, yes it's almost empty...the 30 seniors are gone and now I only have one junior (not pictured) in my 4th block class.

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University-Lesson 1 Tonight

2010-06-02T21:36:00.002-04:00

Waiting to be graded first thing this morning...

2010-06-01T20:33:00.004-04:00

Summer in Pictures

2010-05-31T11:09:00.006-04:00

Memorial Day, a day to honor those who have served our country. I'm so incredibly grateful for the sacrifices our service men and women have made so we can enjoy the freedom that we do in this country!

Memorial Day is also when summer starts, at least in my mind...although the school calendar does say something different. So even though I still have two weeks left of teaching, I want to start my summer project. But first I need to make a disclaimer. I have very little experience with photography so the project that I'm starting will probably frustrate you expert photographers out there.

So the essence of the project is simply this. I'm going to try to post a picture every day ending on Labor Day (the end of summer). I'm sure many of the pictures will be mundane, and I'm ok with that. So here's my first day of summer. I'm sitting in my apartment, sick with a bacterial infection, but I've had a wonderful morning with the Lord! There's nothing better than the quiet stillness of the morning and some ice-cold water, my Bible, sermon notes, and journal. Hope everyone's having a blessed day!

An Image that is SO True!

2010-05-15T10:03:00.003-04:00

New Year's Resolutions

2010-02-20T07:49:00.009-05:00

It's been a long time since I last posted. With the rumors of FB converting to a paid subscription, I decided it was time to become reacquainted with my blog. As the title of this post implies, I'm reflecting on my new year's resolutions today. This is usually the time of year that many people begin to abandon their once earnestly-created resolutions, but by God's grace, I haven't abandoned mine yet. I love new year's resolutions and a lot of prayer accompanies the formation of those specific resolutions. This year my resolutions consisted of:

1. Spend quality time in the Word every day.
I have three very different 90 minute preps this semester at work and so knowing that was quickly approaching (the semester started February 1), I knew this needed to be at the top of my resolutions. I am a very task-oriented creature and I knew with an increasingly demanding schedule, my time with the Lord would be reduced to half-hearted prayers muttered on my way to and from work, before meals and bed as I focused on my "almighty to-do list." And I refused to let this happen. I want my life to be lived for the glory of the Lord and it's impossible to do that in my own strength. Thus my emphasis on the Word and quality time with the Lord. Although there have been a few days where my time in the Word consisted of a cursory glance at best, I have kept my Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan by my bed every day and that has served as a reminder to get in the Word before racing off to work and before going to bed. I even put up a few post-it notes around our apartment reminding me to make God my #1 priority.

2. Become debt-free by December 31, 2010
Ah, to be debt-free. Ciaran and I started listening to/watching Dave Ramsey on TV last March after discovering his methods at my local library through one of his books, The Total Money Makeover. Ciaran and I have begun what we think is shaping up to be an awesome financial journey. We listened to The Total Money Makeover book on CD on one of our trips that winter to Freeland/Saginaw and we began to embrace the commitment to becoming debt free as soon as possible. We crunched numbers again in December and committed to continue to keep living ultra-frugally and the hope was to become debt free by the end of this year. This month during our second budget meeting of the new year and after much prayer, we've decided to temporarily suspend our debt snowball and to take all of the money that would go toward the debt and put it into our emergency fund savings account. I am expecting to be pink-slipped at the end of this school year and now there is a possibility that even Ciaran could be pink-slipped. With this knowledge, we feel it is much more financially responsible for us to save up in case Ciaran does lose his job. If he doesn't lose his job, then we will empty out whatever money we saved over these next couple months and apply it directly to our debt and hopefully we'll be right back on track. So although this resolution appears to have been forsaken, it really hasn't. Our goal is still very much to become debt free before the end of the year.

3. Merge to living solely on Ciaran's income.
This resolution is closely tied to the previous, but deserves it's own separate place because of its importance to our future. As we became more acquainted with Dave Ramsey and his "Total Money Makeover" we also began to adopt his mantra of "Live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else AND (more importantly) give like no one else." The essence of this is that we will be content with living below our means (living like no one else...or more accurately: living as a minority of the population do) so that one day we won't be living paycheck to paycheck and be able to give to those in need. Since we were married, Ciaran and I have purposed to live on just his income and save whatever I make. It has yet to happen, some 17 months later. Some months we have been very close and other months, not so much. When we committed to becoming debt-free, it gave us the motivation to use most of my paychecks to paying off debts, but we still haven't completely arrived. And now that layoffs could be around the corner, we really need to step up our resolve!

And just when we thought February would be the month we would finally achieve this resolution...I found out that the front two tires on my car need to be replaced. Oh well, here's hoping by March we'll be able to live off of only Ciaran's income! :-)

4. Exercise a minimum of three times a week
And lastly, I always have to have a fitness resolution. I've met this every week so far except the week of February 1st because I got a nasty gastrointestinal virus that week that left me pretty weak. I needed to have this resolution because exercise always seems to be the first thing to go when my work week gets intense. And I notice such a difference in my work ethic and general mood when I don't exercise. So to keep my motivation, I've been ordering workout DVDs through our Netflix account. I love variety and this really helps knowing I'll get one new workout to try a week.

Well, that concludes my new year's resolutions update. And for those of you who are very familiar with my priorities in life and are looking at that list and wondering where Ciaran is in those resolutions....hehe, well we're only 17 months into our marriage so it's still a honeymoon. By God's grace, I haven't needed to have a resolution yet for keeping him a priority second to the Lord. My time with him keeps me sane and balanced. I feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing husband. Between having the Lord and Ciaran in my life, my days are very happy! Hehe, so that's why he's not there. I do try and find new ways to encourage him every day and support him, but that's more like a fun game for me! So there's my quick disclaimer. ;-)

OK, this post is incredibly long. I promise, subsequent posts won't be this lengthy. Have a wonderful Saturday!

Commencement

2009-05-31T16:34:00.007-04:00

Today marked the first graduation I participated in as a faculty member. It was enjoyable to watch my seniors graduate today.

And while we're on the topic of school...we have 6 1/2 teaching days left and I am beat. I keep willing myself to grade these piles and piles of papers and tests, but I'm just too spent. So I'm going to spend some time with the Lord now and pray that He will provide the strength to get through the rest of the day and the remaining time I have in the classroom this school year. And regarding the many inquiries about pink-slipping..... Yes, my district pink-slipped a number of teachers, but dear Brenda (pictured above with me) decided to retire and saved my job. So I have at least one more year at H.C.!!!

Reality Check

2009-05-21T19:00:00.003-04:00

In the craziness of the final three weeks of school, I received a much-needed reality check tonight, in the form of an audio message given by a woman I have never met. Her name is Rachel Barkey. She is a married woman and a mother of two children. And she's dying. Her message pulled me back to what matters most in life: Christ. I urge you to listen to this, whether you are a Christian or not. It really put things back into perspective for me.

http://deathisnotdying.com/death-is-not-dying-event-audio/

Friends, Soccer, Church

2009-04-26T18:03:00.003-04:00

Ciaran and I had a fun weekend! Unfortunately, I once again forgot to take pictures of said fun weekend. Oh well. The Skidmores came to visit us with James (a young man who is staying with them). They were here for a soccer tournament that James was playing in this weekend. Friday night we enjoyed a few hours catching up and then Saturday we woke up early and headed off to watch James play. A few severe thunderstorms cut our day short, but it still was fun to be out watching soccer again. Then while James was out socializing with his teammates, Ciaran and I took Dave and Teri around town and to our high schools. Then we enjoyed a nice meal and fellowship together. I have missed this family so much since moving down here and it was so awesome having them here this weekend.

Then this morning (thanks to the lead/research provided by Dave and Teri) Ciaran and I went to visit a church about 40 minutes from us. As many of you know, I've been really struggling going to an Arminian church here in town, but there was a clear absense here with regards to solid Reformed theology. There are a number of Reformed churches here in town, but not any (that we have found yet) that truly hold to Reformed theology. Well, we made the journey over there and visited RBC. And what a great visit it was! As Ciaran and I left the church at the end of the morning, he looked down and me and said, "Well, we'll definitely be going back there again!!!" Hahaha. So true. I have never felt more welcome at a church, the worship was so Christ-exalting and the message was so awesome. I am SO excited that we have found a solid Reformed church. The only down-side is that it's a long drive which would be a nightmare come winter. But right now, as we fastly approach summer vacation, I'm determined to enjoy attending this church while we keep looking for a solid Reformed church closer to home.

And that's been it for our weekend. Hope everyone's had an enjoyable weekend as well!

Remembering the Fun of Christmas

2009-04-11T12:32:00.016-04:00

YAY! It's so nice to have found this USB cord! Here's just a small sampling of all the fun we had at Christmas (a VERY small sampling b/c I still haven't switched to a digital camera yet, so most of the photos from my side of the family's fun were not done digitally). :-(

First, we have the kittens Carter, Ciaran and I got Mom for Christmas. We ventured off to Frankenmuth a few days after Christmas to go to this amazing animal rescue mission and there we picked out the newest additions to my Mom's household: Jake and Jesse. Here they are hanging out in my brother's lap/legs. :-) These cats are so amazingly awesome and so sweet and social.

And now we shift to Ciaran's parents' house.

It's party time. Ciaran's parents throw the best parties!

Happy New Year! We're shivering and just about to go in after lighting sparklers outside in the first few minutes of 2009.

Ciaran and Shea goofing around while Neeva and I try to take the perfect picture of it.

Ciaran and I with his Uncle Om and Auntie Ann.

The hottest pop group on the face of the planet!
[Note: Ciaran wrote this caption.]

And that concludes our fun little walk down memory lane. Good times at Christmas and New Year's. Well, now that we have our camera hook-up, stop back in to see more pictures posted in the weeks to come. Enjoy your day!

Hanging out with Shea and Neeva

2009-04-11T11:53:00.009-04:00

Neeva, Ciaran and Shea

David, Shea and Neeva stopped in to visit for a couple hours last night on their way home. Even though it had only been a couple of days since we last saw them, it was so awesome to spend some more time with them. Ciaran and I absolutely adore these two kids. Here's a few pictures of us hanging out at our apartment.

Neeva, Me, and Shea smiling big for Uncle Ciaran

Neeva and Shea winding down at the end of the night to watch some TV

Hanging out at Uncle Ciaran and Auntie Michelle's? Neeva gives it a thumb's up.

And now that we've found Ciaran's USB cord for the camera, I'll be posting many more pictures! I still have a few highlights from Christmas that I wanted to share and I completely forgot about until we starting snapping photos yesterday night. :-D

Good Friday

2009-04-10T13:55:00.003-04:00

"Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed"
Words, Isaac Watts (1674-1748) / Music and new and alternate lyrics, Bob Kaufflin / Sovereign Grace Praise

Verse 1
Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree.

Chorus
My God, why would you shed Your blood,
so pure and undefiled,
to make a sinful one like me Your chosen precious child?

Verse 2
Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in,
when Christ, the mighty Maker, died for man, the creature's sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears,
dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my eyes to tears.

To listen to this song and worship our precious Savior with other cross-centered songs, check out Sovereign Grace Music's site here.

I always feel in such a somber mood on Good Friday. Reflecting on what my precious Savior did on the cross is always a sobering time, but a much needed time. It is my prayer that as we lift our thoughts Godward today and consider our precious Savior's sacrifice, that we would all be drawn into a closer and deeper walk with Him as a result. Have a blessed day!

Spring Break

2009-04-09T16:10:00.003-04:00

Ciaran and I have been on spring break for almost a week now. It has been such a nice time off from work, especially considering what a nightmare work had been for the last two weeks for me; I was in desperate need of this break. We headed back home to visit family for a few days. We didn't get to see everyone that we wanted to, so we're sorry if we missed you on this trip back home, but our time at home always seems to be a bit of a whirlwind. The best suprise though came on Saturday when we found out that our niece and nephew (Neeva and Shea) were in town! We had such a blast with them. And they're going to come and visit us tomorrow at our apartment on their way back home. Ciaran and I got home yesterday night and after dinner we looked around the VERY QUIET apartment and he smiled and asked if I was missing the kids, and wow was I ever. He was too. They are just too much fun! :-)

As for today, I haven't gotten all I wanted to get done because I've been feeling a little under the weather. I've actually been camped out on the couch with a heating pad for the past couple hours. Ciaran and I are going to grill burgers tonight on our new grill (we got it just about two weeks ago), so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.

And as I've been doing a lot lately, I'll now share with you my newest online interest. And nope, it's not a blog this time. It's something called the FlyLady Forum. For those of you that enjoy FlyLady and are looking for a little motivation or encouragement, I cannot recommend this forum enough. It is so great! It really helps get me motivated to get housework done. I like the Fun and Games forum the best. So if you're into FlyLady, check it out. Well, I need to go get some more Advil in me and hopefully I'll be off this couch in another hour or so. Enjoy your night!

My Morning Routine

2009-03-23T20:32:00.003-04:00

Tammy over at TammysRecipes.com is now hosting the "Making Your Home a Haven" series that I have loved for so long over at the Biblical Womanhood blog. So in keeping with the Monday challenge, I have included my morning routine below. This was a good reminder, especially since I have been struggling a lot more with getting up and getting things done right away before heading off to work.

Morning Routine:
1. Get up, prayer, shower, get dressed
2. Empty dishwasher and eat breakfast
3. Finish getting ready and pack lunch
4. Make Bed & Time with the Lord (Bible reading)
5. Put out Hotspots for 2 minutes ala FlyLady

And that's my morning routine. My weekend morning routine is a little more complex, but that's the gist of it for most mornings.

Staying Balanced in Extreme Busyness

2009-03-22T16:26:00.003-04:00

All right, so the title is a bit misleading. Am I managing to stay balanced in the midst of exhausting busyness? Absolutely not in my opinion. Lately I've been feeling like I am hovering on the side of a cliff. On one side, the stable land side, is a balanced, God-centered life. The other side, the huge canyon, is a crazy, want-to-pull-out-my hair and scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs, completely-losing-it life. Hehe, ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but you get the gist of it. But I've had a number of people ask me in the past week to post/give advice about how to stay balanced. So take this post, or leave it. But know that what is shared below is coming from someone who definitely doesn't have it all figured out yet and has so much room for growth. And Lord willing, He'll keep giving me day after day to walk with Him and learn how to glorify Him in the midst of my busyness.

So first of all, and especially to my dear teacher friends, is my walk with the Lord. Can we possibly do everything that is on our plates every single day? No. But I can commit to getting up a few minutes earlier than I normally would and begin my day in prayer and commit my long to-do list to the Lord and ask Him to give me His priorities for my day. Now when I ask Him for His priorities for my day, does that necessarily mean that my grading will always be caught up? Absolutely not. Does it mean that my apartment is tidy every single day? Nope. Does that mean my dear husband is enjoying three-course meals every night? Nope again. Sometimes God shows me that following up with a student is more important for my after school time than grading that big pile of papers the day they were turned in. Other days it means not cleaning my apartment as perfectly as I want to spend more concentrated time alone with Him, digging into His Word. And other days, it means giving up exercise time to prepare and have that nice three course meal and quality time with Ciaran. So again #1 for me is place God first no matter what. Spend time in prayer, get His priorities and spend time in His Word. All my strength comes from my Creator and no where else.

The close second for me is making Ciaran my #2 priority. After being a child of God, my most important calling is being Ciaran's wife. I find by taking a few minutes to see how I can help him in his work for the day or if there is anything he wants/needs, I am so much more peaceful. There's something about following the Lord's directives that sets my day aright. More often times than not, Ciaran doesn't have anything for me, but when he does, I derive so much joy from serving him and being my husband's helper.

Another thing for me is exercise. I'm prone to extreme fatigue. My optimal night's sleep is somewhere between 9 and 11 hours. Obviously getting that much sleep is rarely an option, so hence the need for exercise. Here's my workout regimen and some DVD's that help assist that.

Cardio: Minimum 3 times a week
To get my cardio in this winter and early spring, I have been using:
-Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion (I can just opt to do the cardio portions, or if it is a strength training day, I can do the weights, abs or lower body work)
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training (actually has a cardio only option on the DVD menu)
-Keli Robert's The Ultimate Step Workout

Strength Training (minimum 2 times a week, trying to work up to about every other day)
-Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body
-Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion
-Karen Voight's Ultimate Circuit Training
-Cathe Friedrich's All Step (I only use this for the shoulder work segment toward the end--it's amazing)

Stretching, Pilates, Etc. (At least 3 times a week)
-Cathe Friedrich's Total Body Stretching
-Tamilee Webb's Total Stretch for Beginners
-Windsor Pilates
-A.M. & P.M. Stretch
-Windsor Pilates Back Workout

And that's pretty much what I'm doing. I occasionally switch in stability ball, medicine ball or kettlebell workouts for strength training if I'm bored or I pull out one of my five other step aerobics tapes that are really old. But those listed above are pretty much my go-to workout DVD's that are keeping me motivated at present. I'm still not in the shape I want to be in because my workouts have to be so short, but they are helping fight my fatigue.

And as for keeping my apartment fairly decent and presentable and laundry clean, well I've been using the FlyLady system of cleaning since last March and I have to tell you... this has been a Godsend since getting married and working a job with such long hours!!! I've also adapted it to my classroom and it has made such a difference.

And as for cooking, well I simply just force myself to sit down and make a menu plan every week, then I grocery shop with Ciaran with that menu in mind. After grocery shoppinjg, I post said menu plan to our fridge. And every night before I go to bed, I check what's on the menu for the next day, pull out the necessary meat from the freezer (if applicable), prechop or prepare anything that can be done ahead of time and it seems to make meal preparation a little simpler when I get home completely exhausted from work. But once again, poor Ciaran is getting his fair share of freezer meals and take-out this year. I aim to prepare four solid meals a week, sometimes I do more, sometime less, depending on both of our schedules. Ciaran also is a great cook and jumps in on some of the days when I'm drowning in papers or just need a break. (My two current favorites that he makes are salmon and beef enchiladas...and we just bought a gas grill that should arrive a week from tomorrow, so I'll get to enjoy his amazing grilling soon--I've missed that since we've moved down here).

Well, that's enough commentary on the attempt to stay balanced and semi-sane in the midst of busyness, hopefully I'll be able to post more later this week. I hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous Sabbath.

Andy Stanley Revisited

2009-03-20T19:25:00.002-04:00

Hehe, all right, I know that title alone may have pulled a few Midland Free people (from the old days, i.e. 2005 or so) to this blog. Andy Stanley isn't really a name I have come across lately. But there was a time in the past, that I heard the name mentioned frequently...hehe, almost ad nauseaum. :-) I'm not a big fan, never have been really so you can imagine my interest when a blog I frequent had a post entitled "Good, Bad, and Ugly--Andy Stanley on Preaching." Well of course, I had to click right over and see what the post was about. I invite you to do the same if you are so inclined. The pastor who authors the blog (The Dead Theologians Society) brought up a few points that have concerned me for quite a few years. Yes, Andy Stanley has a noble passion to see pastors as effective communicators, but often I find he does so at the expense of the Truth. Make sure you check out the post. Hehe, did you catch the name of the blog? The title alone makes it worth visiting. You all know how much I love my dead theologians. :-) Which, by the way, I still enjoy--I'm gobbling up Jonathan Edwards' The Religious Affections again. ;-) And the blogger is a pastor of a little church over in Bay City, just an FYI.

Also, if you check out the blog mentioned above, make sure you click on the Recommendations tab before you leave. I love his book recommendations--they are most helpful!

Worn Out

2009-03-20T18:21:00.002-04:00

Whew, people weren't kidding when they said that March is one of the most difficult months to teach. I am WORN OUT! I still love my job, but man do I need a break. The kids are squirrely, I'm exhausted and you combine those two ingredients and you have a recipe for frustrating days in the classroom. I'm drowning in papers to grade once again and I just want to sleep. But nine more school days and it will be spring break. Goodness, it can't get here soon enough. I am so worn out I actually opted to stay home tonight instead of going to watch Ciaran play soccer. Now you know I'm exhausted when I opt out of watching my amazing husband play soccer. :-) Speaking of my dear husband--we celebrated our six month wedding anniversary on Thursday!! Can you believe it?! Time really does fly when you're having fun.

And as for my exhaustion from work, Nicole and I attempted to remedy that last night after dinner. I got this new workout DVD, it's a five mile walking DVD (12 minute miles). I am so out of shape, I was huffing and puffing after two miles. Then we did some ab work and we both were so sore today by 4th block. Praise God though for encouraging friends to keep me motivated to work out and choose healthy activities to help remedy my exhaustion.

In other news, my mom is really quite sick right now, so please keep her in your prayers. I am so grateful for family and dear Christian brothers and sisters who step in and have been caring for my mom, especially when I am two and a half hours away from her. Thank you all of you--you have been such an answer to prayer!!!

Football?

2009-03-12T18:37:00.002-04:00

Ah, I've been remiss in not mentioning any football news here. Unfortunately the demands of my job have kept me from fully indulging in a lot of Chelsea action. But I am looking forward to Champions League quarterfinals. I love Champions League so much and both Man. U. and Chelsea are heading into quarterfinals. I'm hoping our two teams don't end up having to play each other before we can both make it to the finals. I really would like a Man. U v. Chelsea Champions League Final. Well, here's hoping. All right, that's about it for football thoughts tonight. Back to grading papers I go.

Currently Reading

2009-03-12T18:12:00.005-04:00

I just got a new book today. It's James R White's The Potter's Freedom: A Defense of the Reformation and a Rebuttal to Norman Geisler's Chosen But Free. Oh my goodness, I've only read a few pages and it's already impossible to put down. Since I've been attending an Arminian church for almost six months now, it is so refreshing to go back to the Bible and be reminded of "God's sovereignty and the perfection of the work of Christ" (13) and read and pick apart the "thoroughly biblical theology of man's deadness in sin and God's kingly freedom" (14). If you're looking for a book to take you back to God's Word and counters Geisler's confusing and disturbing Chosen But Free, then this is the book for you. This book came highly recommended by a good family friend and her pastor and even though I only just began reading it today...it simply is too good to put down.
Happy Reading!

Hitting My Stride?!

2009-03-10T19:25:00.002-04:00

I've been meaning to post something about teaching for quite a few weeks now, and something always arises to prevent it. But tonight, I decided to set a timer for fifteen minutes and blog for just a little bit. For those of you who had to listen to me complain first semester about all my struggles with teaching, I wish you were here now. I am LOVING teaching. I don't know what changed or really when it changed, but sometime around the end of February I found myself smiling at the end of the day as I surveyed the piles of student work or my desk piled with research for my lesson plans. I found myself relishing the time in the classroom and having a reputation for being crazy and passionate about English Language Arts. And all I can do is praise God for helping me transform my time in the classroom into a form of worship of Him. Because I think that was the root cause of the change. It's so hard to put into words, but take yesterday for example. I looked around at my thirty-four students in my fourth block and I just felt as if I was going to burst with joy. Here I was, coaxing reluctant and sleepy fourteen through eighteen-year-old students to get excited about Arthur Miller's The Crucible and I was acting out stuff all dramatically and I realized....oh my goodness, I think I am finally hitting my stride as a teacher. The kids were smiling and actually looking at their text and I don't know, it was a cool moment for me. And I've been having moments like this almost every other day for the past couple weeks. Praise God, work isn't something I dread any longer!!! While Ciaran and I were on our way to the grocery store last night, I shared some of this with him and he was actually pretty surprised because he said it wasn't really until his second year of teaching that he really started to experience some of the things I described to him. And you know what, I really have to attribute this to the Lord. I was praying so hard about this all of January and in one of my times alone with Him, He reminded me that all work needs to be done for His glory and so I prayed that He would help transform my heart so my work would become a form of worship. And now, almost two months later, I'm starting to feel this a little. Praise God! All right, my time is up to write, I hope these jumbled thoughts make a bit of sense. If not, maybe I'll be able to carve a little bit of time out of my schedule tomorrow to post some more.

Saturday Doings

2009-02-21T20:10:00.003-05:00

This post was supposed to have a few pictures to accompany it since I meant it to be a glimpse into a typical Saturday in our household. But alas, we forgot the camera in Ciaran's classroom. Oh well, maybe next Saturday. All right, here's a list of doings for the day.

-An early morning grocery run to Meijer, battling the blinding snow and wind
-Donuts at a local bakery
-English Premiership soccer viewing (back in bed)
-Time alone with the Lord and to-do list making
-Cleaning and laundry
-A short nap
-Making tacos and Spanish rice (yum)
-More cleaning and laundry and paperwork
-Grading papers
-More laundry
-A drive around town to look at houses
-Making stir-fry and egg rolls (so we don't have to cook tomorrow)
-Michelle: Blog patrolling / Ciaran: Woodworking videos online
-Devotional Time/Review Sunday School lesson for tomorrow

Just a brief recap of our day. See dear family, I told you we have an incredibly low-key life down here! And this was a pretty typical Saturday, except usually (when we aren't getting a lot of snow) we head in to our classrooms for at least a couple hours--sometimes we go to our individual rooms to work, or I pack up my work and take it to Ciaran's shop so we can be together. Fun stuff eh?! I hope everyone's having a wonderful Saturday. Have a happy Sabbath tomorrow!

A Challenge

2009-02-19T17:54:00.002-05:00

I don't know if any of you are like me, but I love patrolling blogs. I'm the classic lurker. I rarely post comments, but I keep up with about twenty or more different blogs weekly via my Google Homepage. I read blogs focused on everything from biblical womanhood to missions to teaching to personal finance. And then of course I read the blogs of family, friends and even mere acquaintances. Some would argue that blog reading can be an incredible stealer of time(and they are right in some instances), but lately as I struggle to develop good quality female Christian friendships in this new town, I find myself consistently encouraged and challenged by the women who write many of these blogs. In the coming weeks, you'll probably see many posts related and written in response to some of their posts. Take yesterday for example:

I was doing my daily blog patrolling and saw a post on my Google Homepage from the girl talk blog entitled "School of the Word." This, of course, greatly intrigued me and I clicked on it only to receive an excellent challenge as I navigate these upcoming years as a married woman without children. The post is directed toward single woman, but Ciaran and I have been discussing a lot lately how to use these years (years in which we do not have children) wisely. In the post, Carolyn Mahaney encouraged us to use this time to study doctrine and grow in our walk with the Lord; to diligently pursue this time in study. Then the post linked to a list her husband C.J. recommended as "must-reads." Topping the list was J.I. Packer's Knowing God. I have read bits and pieces of this book over and over, but I know I have never read this book cover to cover. So last night, I got into bed an hour early and curled up with my Bible, journal and Knowing God, and dug into the riches to be found there. Oh what a sumptuous feast! God drew me so close to Himself in that simple hour and I fell asleep meditating on the character of God. What a perfect evening.

Well, I've spent enough time typing away here tonight, but before I end, please be in prayer for Ciaran and I in the coming weeks. We are going to be meeting with the pastor of the church we've been attending since October, to discuss doctrine/theology, membership, serving in the church, etc. We've been holding off for quite some time hoping to catch wind of a local church committed to Reformed theology, but haven't been successful thus far. I'm fine with getting more deeply involved in an Arminian church (in the absense of a clearly Reformed church) as long as I know that right up front. Hence our meeting coming up in the next couple weeks. Please be in prayer for us to maintain a humble and surrendered heart to God as we navigate this process. Thank you so much!

Hyundai Superbowl Commercial

2009-02-01T21:12:00.002-05:00

My favorite Superbowl commercial this year was the "Angry Bosses" Hyundai commercial. I have it below, check it out. Now for the reason this is my favorite. Ciaran and I are about to buy a Hyundai Elantra and a Hyundai Sonata. My local mechanic told me to unload my car ASAP since I've already dumped more money into it than its worth (he told me this back at the beginning of January) and since Ciaran's car was totaled back in November, we've been searching for two cars this past month. After a very long month of car shopping, we've finally settled on the two cars as I've mentioned above. This week we're working on financing and hopefully by this weekend we'll be proud Hyundai owners. But as we've sought the counsel of family members throughout this big decision, we've been struggling with the proper pronunciation of "Hyundai"; every person has pronounced it differently. So being the rather anal person that I am, I looked it up this afternoon after church and found that it's pronounced "Hunday, rhymes with Sunday." When I told Ciaran how to remember how to pronounce it, he laughed. Then we're watching the Superbowl tonight and this commercial came on and at the end they comment on the proper pronunciation of it. Too funny! We laughed. Enjoy the commercial.

Drowning in Papers and Praying for our New President

2009-01-20T17:41:00.004-05:00

It's finals week at my high school and I am drowning in papers to grade. But as I grade these piles of papers I am praying for our new president. It's been so fun to watch the inauguration unfold today, but with each passing hour, God has given me such a fervent desire to pray for our new president, his family and the entire new administration. Then I stumbled upon this prayer by Albert Mohler on his blog. Check it out here. Please join me in praying for our new president and his administration!