A Different Type of Gift

Today, I got a text message from my sister saying that she had bought me a "treat," and I should come by to get it after work.  Kathryn's love language is definitely GIFTS, so all day I fantasized about a new lip gloss, cd, or shirt.

When I got there she said, "I hope this won't offend you."  ...Never a good sign.  Spanx?  A miracle bra?  Whitening strips?

Close.  The Flat Belly Diet Journal.  Add it to the list. She knows me too well. 

The fun part?  She bought herself one too, AND, she'd spent the afternoon writing an encouraging note and taping "motivational" pictures inside of them for us.  (She really has learned something from me!)

I even found this little stinker on the last page... She's so cute.*

Then, we had a super exciting sister-trip to the grocery store to stock up on the necessities for the Four-Day Anti-Bloat.  It also happened to be in the midst of a miniature snow storm so, things were a little hectic.  Kathryn may or may not have gotten in a fight with a few of the cashiers.  We may or may not have been pushing identical carts and checking off items in our journals.  You know how I love things like this...

Here's what I'll be eating for the next 96 hours. 

(Yes, I posed my groceries portrait style.  I'm honestly not sure what that says about me!) And no, contrary to what might appear, this post was NOT sponsored by Kroger brand products. ;)

For now, I think I'll have another slice of pizza and go mix up some ginger-root, organic lemon, and mint "Sassy Water" for tomorrow.  The website says I can "lose up to 7 pounds and 5 inches in just the first three days."  I hardly think that will make me look like "bikini girl," but it's a chance I'm willing to take. 

If your sister can't tell you you need to get a grip, who can?!?  Thank you girl!  26 Days... Here we come... tomorrow.

*Not a word typically associated with Kathryn.  Only sisters get to see these sides of people!

The Gift of Transition

Today, I'm unwrapping the gift of TRANSITION.  Not exactly the gift I would ask for, but it's what God has given me time and time again in life.  And, I have a feeling it will just keep coming...

This weekend, as Jeff and I checked into the crowded hotel lobby at the Young Life conference surrounded by shrieking groups of reunited friends, I felt... OLD.  Most volunteer leaders are college students, and most committee members are parents' of teenagers so, tired from our work week but still excited to sleep in a king-sized bed in a nice hotel, we were obviously very inbetween.

It wasn't very long ago at all that I was one of those giddy college students who couldn't wait to graduate, get married, make some money, and "have it all together."  And now, here I was fighting off the urge to go yell at the "noisemakers" in the hall for keeping me awake at 2:30AM, and frantically searching the hotel the next morning for somewhere to trade in the juice that came with our breakfast for some good strong coffee.  I kept saying to Jeff, "We are so old and lame now."

But, thankfully, God is good.  On Saturday afternoon, during a break-out session titled: "Finding Peace in Transitions,"  I was challenged to think about where God is in those "inbetween" moments of growing up.  My natural tendency, like so many others', is to think that when one area of my life changes, everything else has to too.  For example, I can't tell you how often Jeff and I talk about all the things we won't be able to do anymore once we decide to have kids.  The session, however, reminded me that even though the seasons of life will always change, God's call to ministry does not.  While our ministry will LOOK different as we "grow up", it doesn't have to stop... In fact, I can have hope that it will only get better as I grow in wisdom, experience, and confidence in who God made me.  As hard as it is sometimes, this transition IS a GIFT.

I don't want to look back on my life 40 years from now and think "my ministry was the best when I was in my twenties."  Instead, I want my life and my marriage to always be about giving my life away -- in whatever way God leads me. That's the legacy I hope to leave for my kids one day.

On the way home Sunday, Jeff and I talked a lot about what our lives will look like through some of the next transitions.  Of course we don't know what in the world God will do with us, but we both got excited thinking about the way he has already been faithful with our gifts and passions. 

So for now, I will choose to be happy in this stage.  The one where it's ok to have a stained carpet because too many people have spilled coffee/tea/wine/etc. over good conversation.  The one where we can stay up until midnight on a "school night" playing board games with friends, or eat frozen pizzas two nights in a row.  The one where friendships mean more than just seeing each other every day, and where I actually have two hours to think about all these things...

Not Me Monday

I did NOT actually take out my planner and mark Jason & Molly's Bachelor Wedding (on March 8th), as if I was actually going to be attending it, when I saw the preview yesterday. (Oh, what ever will I wear?) 

Photo from US Magazine. 

(Of course, it NEVER occurred to me that the very fact that these pictures are already featured in magazines and available on the internet makes it painfully obvious that I will NOT really be attending the wedding... I didn't even think of that!)

I also did not find it my responsibility to defend the "realism" of the show to my co-workers on Friday, despite the fact that this will only be the 2nd couple in Bachelor/Bachelorette history to actually go through with the wedding that serves as their "prize" at the end of the season. I mean, afterall, I firmly believe that a diamond engagement ring is a totally appropriate reward to the girl who suffers through eight weeks in a mansion in California going on all those ridiculously boring dates with a hideous and unsuccessful man!

Credit

And, don't worry, I have not planned my entire evening around Jake's Final Rose Ceremony tonight.  I live much more in reality than that and have many more important things to do like cook gourmet meals and rescue kittens from 8 - 10PM.

Folks... of all the New Year's Resolutions I've ever had, this one is by far the most successful! :)

P.S. Don't forget to go check out Friday's post about my 30 Before 30 plans and let me know you're in.  I'd love some more feedback so we can get busy making lists.  (Who doesn't love a good list?!?)