Why I love PokemonGo….

So, let me start this by saying I don’t know much about my Pokdex. (I had to look up how to spell it correctly).

What I do know…..

I get to spend some fun (ish) time with my boys. 

You see- my boys have really bonded easily with my super husband.  Anything he does they love, laugh at, appreciate with ease…….

I have a great connection, but don’t always have easy connection points.

For example:

• I don’t know or really care about the college sports events.
• I don’t know or really care about professional sports.
• I don’t know a ton about WWII history.
• I don’t know or really care about mindcraft.
• I am not their Dad.

I DO love my boys and try to find connectors when I can.

When this game came out a much younger co-worker was so excited about the game so I looked into it. 

 I then set up accounts for my boys.  (let the angel music play).

Here is what I do know:

• I can take a walk with my kids and search for different pokeymon.
• I can set up a lure module and sit for 30 minutes waiting for pokeymon.
• I can go to local parks to go for hunts. Using incense.

This game how weird, stupid, a waist of my time….has become a time to walk and talk with my boys.

I am now on level 16 and have some very rare Pokeomon. Cool right------most of all it is a time where I do find out what my boys are up to and how life is going.  

Can I do this with out Pokemon Go?  Yes.  
But, this tool is something that I have embraced.  My church, and place of employment, has some cool Pokeystops that are right next to a cross and a pond.  This is a great place to just sit and chat. 

This crazy game that I don’t totally get has given me a place at the table with my kids.  I will accept that. 

Perspective:  So, you are a Pokemon hater…. that is fine.  I get it.  But, find a tool in your life to get some one on one time with your kids.  I know that I have 240 weeks before Slick graduates from HS and 344 with Pickle.  I am going to find ways to connect and build our relationships.   I will learn football plays, mindcraft stuff, study WWII…….I will keep a connection going, even with Pokemon.......

2016- Planning 101

I love color coding events in my life. Excel spreadsheets make me happy. My different calendars on my iPhone in different colors make me smile.  Why?  I don’t know.  I think it might be the perspective of order in my life.  I do understand that just because I have everything all nice and neat on paper it does not mean that life will turn out perfectly timed in reality.  But, for a moment when I look at my computer screen with all its color coding life is perfectly ordered. 

We all have a lot to balance as a church family.  I get it.  We have so many things on our calendars how can you make sure it all gets done?  This time of the year with holidays, parties, and events every other week, the calendar can be crushing.

As a family we gather together and take a look at what is most important on the calendar.  What have we committed to be at? What can be missed? What is going to transform our lives?  Then I notice that church is not on our calendar.  Somehow in all my color coding Sunday morning small groups and church services did not receive a color on the calendar.  I have my Sunday morning staff meetings marked and I have the scheduled baptisms noted, but church is not on the family calendar.  This really bothered me when I discovered it.  Then I realized why.  It does not need to be on the calendar.  It is a given.  

As a mother I want a lot for my boys and our family.  I want them to be happy. I want them to play sports and find some success in that. I want them to enjoy band and learn the music. Those events are things that we schedule and plan for.  My greatest goal for our boys is to have joy in their life.  True joy…  the type of joy that can only come from the love of having Jesus Christ at the center of their lives.  So, why is prayer and Sunday morning small groups and worship not on our calendar?  Well, I realized that not being in church is not an option; it is a part of who our family is.  Church is a stable of who we are.  The church family supports us in all that we do.  I could not imagine going through life without a church family to support our marriage, our parenting, and our children.  So, I am thinking that I might just create a new color calendar that is all things church.  Church is what is going to form my children into the men I desire them to be.  Church is what is going to support me when my family needs it the most.  Church is not a building, church is the people.  

So, in an effort to help you balance your family scheduling here is the 2016 St. Andrew Children’s Calendar.  Sit down and pencil us in…no use pen!  Make church a priority, because of all the things we as parents want our children to know as they grow up, is the story of God, and realize they are a part of His amazing story. 

May Madness…..June bliss?

I don't know who I was kidding when I said….when May is so crazy- I can't wait until June.  May might be crazy but this June is really no different; we are moving out of our first home, VBS is the end of the month, the boys have baseball tournaments, birthdays, etc. etc.

Why do we always want what is next?  My goal: I want to stop saying, I can't wait until…..

It is such an easy thing to say…..

"I can't wait until the kids are out of diapers."-----This might translate in your head that you clean less poop, but when you do…. it is everywhere from the toes to the nose!  You must also have 2 changes of clothing with you at all times for about 2 years.  This also means that pretty soon they will not fit in your lap after you pick them up from school......

"I can't wait until finals are over (you really can insert anything into "finals").  Yes, I might have a few weeks off school, but it is not long before I get  my book list for the next class and that list always takes my breath away!

"I can't wait until summer!"  This sentence last for about 2 weeks and then it changes to…."I can't wait for school to start."  Ok....that might be a stretch........but you get my point.

Ok, you get the picture…we can always wait for, wish for, the next big thing.   OR we can enjoy the moment that we are in.

I am not saying that every phase of our lives is always awesome…in fact at times it really stinks!  The picture above was a horrible Christmas when Dan was in the hospital.  But, thankfully I can now look back and find the good that was buried in the bad.  When you live into that moment it will turn into: a memory that you are happy to leave in your past, or a memory that you will treasure.

My perspective:  Keep your eyes on what is happening now.  Live into it…. the moments are so fast and every day is a blessing.  Honestly, even the bad ones they are a part of who you are.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, MSG After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.