Because He Really Is The Greatest

Yes, this is a mushy "I-love-my-husband-to-Jesus-and-back" so if that's not your "thang" you might want to keep on keeping on with another blog today.

Ahem.

Plainly stated- My husband rocks.  He is so amazing.

So what warrants all this love for my better half?

I just slept for a glorious 11.5 hours.

Yes, I've slept for almost half a day.

See, I've been having a really rough week.  Just feeling "blah" and exhausted by the time I get home.

Partly because we had a busy weekend last week and I just never had the chance to catch up.

And partly because life can be, well, exhausting!

Yesterday when I came home I had the worst migraine.  I tried to get in some quality time with Phillip and Carl and all I could do was lay on the couch.  I was still able to carry on a convo with Carl and play with Phillip and his cars, but most of the time my eyes were closed and I was trying me best to just be still.

It was horrible.

Carl fed Phillip dinner and gave him a bath.

Me? I moved from the couch to the bed.

Carl got Phillip dressed for bedtime.

Me? Nada.

We both read Phillip a book and said bedtime prayers.

I returned to the bed.  I have no idea what Carl did because the next time I saw him he was leaving for his men's ministry.

This man had to fend for himself last night.  Don't get it twisted, he is perfectly capable of handling things on his own.  I try my best to bless him with home cooked meals as much as I can.  But last night? It was a no go.

So after fending for himself, he woke up at 5:30 this morning to head over to the men's ministry.

Because in addition to working 40+ hours a week, he also plays music for the men's worship team.  Every night he practices the new line up.  On Saturdays he leaves before dawn to help prep and lead the men in worship.  

I am so proud of him.  He loves to play music but usually only just in front of family.  And singing? I think he's only sang in front of his home church when he was a boy and me.  So basically just his immediate family.

Now? He's front of 20+ men every Saturday bringing praise and glory to God.  

God called him and he stepped up like a man should.

 Simply AMAZING

And Sundays?  He's at church by 6am to help with the set up (tables, chairs, stage, tents).  

I can't remember the last time this man slept in!

I've tried asking him if he'd rather stay home one morning- I mean the guys won't really miss him that much if he misses ONE day.

He turned it down.  He loves being with the guys and praising God.  It's a nice change from hanging with the guys at a bar or BBQ talking about, well, other things than God.

He's not just playing music and setting up equipment- he's building relationships with other men of God.

And he does it all with a joyful heart.

While letting me sleep in. 

Swoon.

Luke 12:31

Today I'm doubling down again with my girl Jenn from Jenn's Adventures for Speechless Sundays and Morgan at "quite" the blog for Saturday Morning Blog Hop (Yes, it's Sunday... i know...)

Speechless Sundays are for those things that leave us inspired, encouraged, and yes- speechless.  While the post itself may be speechless, it is not a requirement =)

I would like to shed some light on what my family and I have been going through and why I chose to go on a social media fast.

(confession: I did not fast.  I browsed blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest the entire time.  However, my time was significantly less than normal and my participation through comments and tweets was minimal.  At least in my opinion. -whoops!).

A lot of times I feel obligated to participate in social media.  I feel like if I don't, I'll be left behind and won't ever be able to catch up with everyone on current events, celeb happenings, trends, etc...  

Once I gave myself permission to be an observer and not a participant, I felt relieved and eventually renewed.

As a Christian, fasting for me means to sacrifice something I enjoy so that the void could be filled with God.  When the fast involves food, it usually means I rely on God and prayer to overcome discomfort and cravings.  

The purpose of this fast was to spend less time on social media and more time in prayer and Bible readings with my family.

My son has been sick for the past 6 months. Since July he has had 7 ear infections.

Seven.

As soon as we'd finish his round of antibiotics, he'd be good for about a week to 10 days.  

Then BAM.  More cold symptoms and overnight- an ear infection.

As a mom I often pray I could take on my son's suffering.  I am willing to take on his ear infections so that he won't have to suffer.

I prayed to God to bring healing to Phillip so that he may know what it's like to just be healthy and thrive.  

That is when God asked me to fast from blogging.  And social media.  

Over the past 2 weeks, I learned how to focus my time more on God and my family.  

While I didn't accomplish all I wanted to with the fast (social media is so darn tempting) I realized that it's not as great of a necessity as I thought it was.  

I also learned that I try to do to much and that I needed to slow down and focus on what's really important to me. 

For that reason, Carl and I decided to scrap all our New Year's resolutions (shocking, right?) and focus instead of building our relationship with Christ.

Our 2013 goals are still to join a ministry and a small group, as well as complete our devotions.  But all the other goals have been released.  

We know that by focusing on our relationship with Christ and each other, everything else will fall into place.  

Instead of focusing on our budget and fitness goals, we will be sure to spend our money wisely and to treat our bodies with respect.  

We won't get wrapped up in how many pounds we lose or how much money we save.  Yes, those things are important to us, but not top priority right now.

Our top priority is to strengthen our walk with Christ.

Ironically, since we've made that decision, we've been tested like no other.  One of our cars broke down, we've been confrontational with others, and our bills are piling up.  

Not the best way to start us off, huh?

But I know that as long as we stay focused on our #1 priority, the details in everything else will disappear.  

Prayer and Fasting

I had a really long detailed post trying to explain this but I can't find the right words.

And maybe that's OK.

I won't be around much in January for personal reasons.

I do plan, however, to continue to journal my thoughts and later compose them into posts but for now, I have to step back.

To be honest, I'm really disappointed since I've just gotten back into the swing of things with this blog.  But I feel this is something that God has really pressed on my heart.

As always, like all my other hiatuses, I'll be available via email.

Twitter and Facebook will be awfully quiet, though.

 I also won't be able to read and catch up with all your lovely blogs during this time.

This is a time of reflection and prayer for me and my family.

If you are the praying type, please say one or two for us.

Thank you for your patience with me during this time.  It's frustrating for me to have to do this but it's for the best and it's just for now, not forever.

Aloha-

Dumbing Down

A few weeks ago I did something most would think of as blasphemous.

How heinous could it be?

Welp, I gave up my smartphone- my Android.

I've had that thing for over 2 years.

We had some great memories, me and that phone.

It was there for me when I started running.  So I could take wonderful pictures and share with you all.  All while listening to my music at the same time.

It was there to help me take photos on the spot to share via Twitter and to post here on my blog for all my lovely readers.

It was there when we found out we were having our first baby.  It documented our journey of the growing belly.

And it was there for my son's first year of life.  Capturing all the joy and cuteness one smartphone can handle.

But the time had come for us to go our separate ways.

I don't remember when, sometime early in 2012 I believe, the sensor in the middle of my screen stopped working.  So I could scroll through screens using the right or left side.  But the middle? Nope, not a chance.

The worst part?  I couldn't hang up my phone! The END "button" is in the middle of the screen! I would have to turn off my phone in order to hang it up.  CRAZY.

But I loved that phone.

Maybe a little too much.

I found myself aimlessly scrolling through FB, Pinterest, Twitter, email, and whatever else I could find at any spare moment- in the car (dangerous, I know!), on the couch, at work, in restaurants.

There came a time when I knew it was getting out of hand.  I made a conscious effort to put down my phone while in the company of loved ones.  I began to find it annoying when others didn't do the same.  Not to me, but I would seen entire families at restaurants all staring at their screens.

So I decided enough was enough.  I was getting rid of it.  We have a computer at home where I can access all my social media platforms.  While I do love you all, I don't need to be connected all day every day to family and friends so far away.

What I need to do is be connected to those who are with me, at that moment.

And another perk?  We're saving money (hello financial resolution)!

Not as much as we'd like, since we got our unlimited data plan over 2 years ago, and prices/packages have changed since then.  But still, a dollar saved is a dollar saved.  Or something like that.

Either way, it's a good thing.  A win-win.

I'm less distracted and more focused on living in the now.  And I saved some cash.

Now please excuse me while I figure out how to use the buttons on my dumb basic phone (apparently phone reps don't like it when you call their phones dumb).

OMG More Resolutions? YUPPERS!

It's that time of year when lots of folks are making their resolutions for the New Year.

Or if you're like other people I know, you are instead refusing to set yourself up for failure and throwing all resolutions to the wind.

I love setting goals and challenges for myself.

But I'm also a planner. 

I don't just grab a goal and stick it on my fridge because it sounds nice.  I need to have a plan.

This year I've decided to focus on four parts of my life- spiritual, physical, mental, and financial.

My husband and I sat down and decided on a total of 12 resolutions to fit these categories.

Now, 12 might seem like a lot, but it's broken down by 8 individual (4 each) and 4 family goals.

Spiritual

For myself, I will complete my devotions at least 3X a week.  Devotions are daily Bible readings that also include reflection and journaling. 

As a family, we will share our devotions 1X a week and attend church weekly.

In the past we haven't kept up with our devotions and have gone months without attending a service.  It really took an emotional toll on us so we'd like to avoid that this year.

Physical

I will lose 20% of my current weight by the end of the year.  This is on average 3.5 pounds a month.  I'm a member of SparkPeople and will use that program and resources to meet my goal. 

I've used SparkPeople in the past and lost almost 30lbs.  I'm hoping to have the same success this time around.

As a family, we're going to take a weekly walk, either around the neighborhood, at the beach, or at a park.  Once a week we'll do something active as a family.

Mental

I will read 6 non-fiction books by the end of the year.  I've already got my list set up with our local library!

As a family, we will visit the library once a month.  Our son is too young to really enjoy the library but we'd like him to be exposed to the environment so that in a few years he'll be a pro =)

Financial

I will stick to our family's spending budget.  Since I'm the one who usually sets the budget, I also tend to give myself leeway when it comes to spending.  No more- I'm going to save any extra spending for true emergencies after consulting with my husband, first.

As a family, the husband and I will meet at least monthly to plan our budget.  

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If you set resolutions for the New Year, I encourage you to take the time to really plan out your action steps.  

A goal without a plan is simply a wish.

Don't wish for your life to be better, plan for it.

I believe in you!