Twirl

My husband and I work out of the same office 3 days a week. It is some of my favorite time together. The other two days of the week (not weekend) we trade going to the big city for work. I get to go to Poznan on Tuesdays—he on Thursdays.

Which means that we each get a very personal day with the kids at home. He said that while Sundays used to be his favorite day of the week (He is the pastor of an international church-and we love Sundays and we love Poznan International Church), Tuesdays are creeping up on Sundays in the race for favorite.  Uh-oh and watch out, PIC 😉

Richard LOVES the free day that he has. And he spends every minute of it with his children. He takes them to the park. He takes them grocery shopping. He jumps with them on the trampoline. He makes them lunch. He makes me dinner.

It is a GREAT day.

And I love my Thursdays. Most of the day I spend in sweats and usually (except for today), electronic free. I love cooking with my kids—and my daughter always has her best friend over after school.

Anyhow, back to the office days with my husband. When I go to the office with my husband, I try and dress up for him.

It’s not that he didn’t see me 30 minutes earlier without makeup, lion’s mane, and fresh out of bed. He knows what I really look like—and, I must say, it’s really HOT (if by hot I mean—BURN THE LOOK) 😉

Anyhow, it’s kind-of silly to know that I get dressed up to go to work…with my husband.  But I do.

Do you know why?

Because, as we work together, he glances across the office or looks up from his desk and he sees me.

And I love it when he sees me and smiles.

And sometimes—just sometimes—he says, “Can I take a photo of you?”

And then I smile. Because I know that not only does he love me—but he likes the effort that I put into going to work with my hubby!

I hop up. I smile. And, the other day, he said, “Now twirl!”

So I did.

To be honest, the motion made it really hard to capture a photo, but this is what he sent me…his new phone screen.

I love my husband.
I like him, too.
I LOVE going to work with him.
And I am glad that he likes it, too!

So, my friends…I encourage you. When you have that chance, get dressed up for your special someone.

And twirl!

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Have yourself a Mary little Christmas! And find a man like Joseph.

Mary is blessed.  She is.  She was honored and chosen to be the Mother of Jesus.  She was a humble servant and, although she questioned, she said, “May it be unto me as you have said.”

When Mary visited Elizabeth, John leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.  Elizabeth proclaimed the greatness of the child Mary was carrying.

And when the shepherds came to see all that they had heard, Mary pondered and hid their proclamations in her heart.

Mary is the mother of Jesus.  And, if you have a mother of your own, you know how important that role is.

Your mother may have been a good example for you.  Your mother may have not been the best example for you.  But, no matter what, you grew, as a child, feeling the weight of that role.  The role of your Mom.

And Mary was a mother with a BIG role!

But Joseph…

This is what I type to you today.

I hope that you find yourself a Joseph.

Let’s take a look at him for a moment.

Joseph is from the City of David.  And he was pledged to marry a young virgin Mary.

And then, one night, an angel appears to him and throws all of his beautiful plans into the air.

No longer is he only going to marry Mary, he is going to be a father to a baby boy that will eventually be wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger…

Oh, and this little boy is the Son of God.  The Messiah.  The one that prophets have spoke of forever. Literally like forever.

And he, Joseph, he was going to be the earthly father of the Most High.

No pressure, Joseph.  No pressure.

Joseph had the opportunity to not take Mary as his wife.  He had every right to refuse the rather large job set before him.  And he could have asked for someone else to come alongside of Mary and help her with this baby whose name means God Saves.

But he didn’t.  He accepted the job.  He humbly stood next to Mary.  He took care of her.  He blessed Jesus.  And he allowed the story of Jesus to be HisStory (Get it?  God’s story.  History).

Joseph, not a lot is said about him.

Ladies, it is because he was humble.

But more than that.

He was also strong.

There’s more.  Joseph willingly raised a child that was not his own.

And, most importantly, Joseph put God first.

Lastly, Joseph remained faithful to the Word of God, bringing Jesus to the Temple to be blessed.

Ladies, it’s a simple answer, I know.  But let’s take a look at it again.

Humble.  Strong.  Willing.

God first.

Protector and provider.

Do-er not just hear-er of the Word of God.

All characteristics of a great man.

And, so, to all the single ladies—I encourage you.  Hold on.  And ask yourself:  Is this man my Joseph?  Because, if he is, then you know he’s God’s best for you.

You deserve him.  Just wait and see.

Meeting Your Spouse in the Middle…of Adventure!

(c. photo R. Nungesser, Dolomites, Italy)

When I thought about dating my husband, I kept two very important things in mind.  And these two things were no small matters:

1.  Richard was available to go anywhere in the world to serve God…ANYWHERE.

2.  Richard was very, very adventurous!

My father always told me that part of a good marriage was having fun and going on adventures.

So I had to think.  Hard.

How much adventure did I really want in my life?

How far did I really want to go to live—even if it was for God?

For some of you, these questions are no brainers.

You may say, “Anything for love!”

Or “Off, off, and away!”

Or “Never in a million years!  My way or the highway!”

Well, I had a very content life.  I was extremely into service in my community.  And I loved my job.  And my family all lived within 20 minutes of each other.

My life was rather comfortable.  Grand.  Lovely.

And here I was considering dating a man that would take this glorious life and FLIP it literally upside down.

But then I thought about it…Would I rather a comfortable life without Rich or an unexpected life with Rich?

And, well, you know how the story goes…

I went with the unexpected.  I married Rich.

(c. photo Bill Holmes at wedding of Rich/Brooke)

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I am full of adventure too.

I have been jumping off mountains LONG before I ever met my husband (para punting).

I am the one that dragged my husband bungee jumping.

I have been parasailing and snorkeling since I was in my teenage years.  And riding dirt bikes since the age of 5.  And camping-I’m a pro.

I’ve even been on helicopter ride (front seat) in New Zealand.  We landed and walked around on a glacier.  Yeah, baby!

You see, it’s not that I am a complete bore.

BUT—I do enjoy coffee, fires, books, movies.  I enjoy cuddling up at home.  I love to write.  And I love to eat!  Good food and lots of conversation.  Those are my leisure pursuits!

Then you have my husband:  white water guide down the Arkansas River in Colorado for 3 years and thousands of miles; sky diving; snowboard instructor; rock climbing guide; mountaineering man; pilot of a small plane.

Yep.  It’s obvious to see that he has out-adventured me.

And, yes, he’s taken me rock climbing (My least favorite adventure—let me tell you about the 90-foot-rappel.  NOT MY FAVORITE).

He’s taken me flying (and he wanted me to grab the gears while he TIED his shoes.  CRAZY MAN).

He’s taken me down the river—and he didn’t even dump us!  Impressive.  Because we watched three boats dump after we made it through the rapids and ended up helping rescue many floaters after that.

And he has taught me how to snowboard (I was a skier).  Ummm…I am not sure that my bum ever appreciated those lessons.  OUCH!

So, it’s not even that I am really a dud.  I have gone on some of his adventures with him…

In fact, 5-months pregnant, we went swimming with Manta Rays and snorkeling where I was STUNG by a jelly fish (yes, it HURTS…bad!).

But it comes down to this.

He can LIVE off of adventure.

I can only live to experience adventure.

And when we moved to Poland—a very flat part of Poland—I actually felt something for my husband.  Empathy.

Here he was in the peak of his health and physical fitness.  Here he was still young enough to experience physical adventures and we were in the land of flat.  Yes, many lakes, but very little places for high-risk adventure.

And, like I said, I was all chill with that.  But he-he was a bit sad.

That’s when I decided that I needed to step it up in the wife department and create adventure for my husband—Meet Him in the Middle.

While adventure was not near, I had to help create adventure from afar.

Here are some ways that I was able to help my husband achieve continued adventure:

He went to work in Uganda for 6 weeks (he had previously worked in Kenya for 3 months before we were married).  Before his work began, he was able to meet up with his brother and a friend in Tanzania and they all climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  In April.  In the middle of a massive snowstorm.  And, of course, my husband was in heaven.

In Poland, I got him Scuba Diving Lessons/Certificate for Father’s Day one year.  He can now go for his Level II.  (I’ll have to make that happen one day, eh?)

He was able to go to the Dolomites in Italy with a friend, Artur, and climb all of the routes that required helmets and ropes.  Again, heaven.

And, one of my proudest, Mt. Elbrus on the Russia/Georgia border.  Unfortunately I sent him there during the Russia/Georgia conflict.  Let’s just say that it was a good thing there was a snow-covered mountain between them and the conflict.  (In fact, I think that he’s going to write about this adventure in his next blog posting for us)  But they made it successfully.  Phew!

(Richard on Mt. Elbrus, Russia)

What did I do while he went on his adventures?

Well, I worked.  I took care of Adelyne.  I “stoked” the coal and took care of all of the home-front fires.  But that’s all okay.   Because I was very glad to do it.

And I am still glad to do it.

One of my greatest joys in life is not only to see people come to know how awesome Jesus is—but it’s to take care of my family.

If that means sending them off to the wiles of the jungle-then so be it.  As long as they are happy to go AND remember to come home safely.

I know one day Adelyne and Maxwell and Belly Josephine will also want to go on adventures.

And I’ll have to take a look at their dad and say, “It’s your time.  Go forth and shine!”

And it’ll be a time for new adventure in his life-Teaching his children how to go and experience the world.

I’ll sit at home, with my coffee and a big dose of prayer on my lips.  But I know that it will be worth it.   Because seeing joy in the eyes of my family is enough of an adventure for me!

And that is how I meet my spouse in the middle.  How about you?

Here came the discipline!

I hope that you took the challenge to be bold in your faith and share the hope that you have in Christ.  Do it.  You are legendary.

Today, however, I’m going to be talking to men.  If you’re a woman, I’m sure that you can use today’s topic as well. 

My daughter and I traveled back from California on Sunday.  The first flight that we thought that we could take was full.  So we planned on taking the last flight out of Sacramento on Sunday.  This flight was scheduled to leave at 19:00.  We walked up to the gate just in time for the flight to depart.  And what we heard on the PA was a two hour delay.  Then that delay became a two-hour and forty minute delay.  Needless to say that by the time we arrived home it was after 00:30.  Tired we both went to bed. 

We both woke up early that Monday morning.  I got ready for work, and then I woke Adelyne for school.  We both had busy days with school and work. 

That evening Brooke went for a girls’ night out, and I stayed home with both Adelyne and Maxwell. 

We had a great time together.  I made dinner, we ate, laughed, and cleaned up.  Then I bathed Maxwell and got him ready for bed.  Adelyne took her shower while I finished getting Maxwell into his bed and down for the night. 

After Adelyne’s shower I asked her to get her pajamas.  She refused.  I asked her again and again.  She would change the topic and start trying to play with something else.  Again I asked.  Adelyne would say, “But, but, but.”  By this point my fuse was almost gone.  I told her to get her pajamas or she would be in big trouble.  Once again she flat-out refused and started to whine.  This went on for quite a while before I put my foot down. 

Here came the discipline!

Adelyne knew by this point she was in big trouble for refusing to do what she was asked.  I was tired, and I knew that she was tired.  But tired or not she still needs to do what she’s been asked to do. I had every right to discipline her, not because I’m harsh, but because it had been a long week of trying to get her to follow through with what her mommy and daddy have asked her to do. 

It was time for the discipline.  Just mere seconds before her discipline, however, I asked her a question.

“Adelyne, do you know what GRACE is?”  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and a strange look on her face.  She was probably thinking that I was talking about her cousin Grace that we spent the weekend with in California. 

“Adelyne, do you know what GRACE is?”  I asked again.  She thought for a second and said not really.  I explained to her that Grace is getting something that you don’t deserve.  It’s a gift of love.

I went on to tell her that because of her disobedience she deserved consequences of her actions.  But this evening I’m going to give her something different.  I’m going to give her GRACE.  We talked more about God’s grace that He gives to us. 

I’m thankful that God’s grace is given to me every single second of every single minute of every single day.  The very fact that I’m breathing is a sign of God’s grace in my life. 

But I’ve found that in my life I’ve never been the one to extend that same GRACE that God has extended to me to my own family (wife, children, and even the dog).

God has extended to you grace today.  Let that sink in.

If God can extend GRACE to me and you, then let us be men.

Go now and extended it to your spouse!

Go now and extended it to your children!

Go now and extended it to your neighbors!

Go now and extended it to your supervisors!

Go now and extended it to your employees!

Go now and extended it to your enemies!

Thank you, God, for extending us GRACE.