Birthday Week Festivities

What a great birthday week! I have rung in 32 with style. Here is a glimpse of my week:

Tues 19th-Mom and dad treated us to dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Wed 20th-Brandon and I took the boys to JMK Nippon’s for lunch. Owen kept trying to address the hostess, chef and wait staff to tell them it was my birthday so they would sing to me. His wish came true when the staff came out with my pineapple bowl complete with candle. He enjoyed the attention much more than I did! Church was cancelled this night due to ice, so I had a nice quiet evening with Brandon.

Thurs 21st-Well, this day was not so great. Poor Brandon woke up with a really bad case of vertigo. Anytime he would lift or turn his head he became dizzy and nauseous. He was pretty much bed-ridden all day. I stayed home from bible study to look after him. I love bible study and missed my group, but enjoyed some quiet time at home to read and study.

Fri 22nd-After work, mom and I headed up to Madison, Wisconsin to see Little House on the Prairie the Musical starring Melissa Gilbert. I have loved Little House since I was a little girl. I know every television episode forward and backward and even read some of the books. I own a Laura collector’s doll and an 8x10 of the Ingalls family. Hey, we all have our stuff. When we got to the theater, we learned that our tickets were in the front row! I’m pretty sure we had the best seats in the entire house. It was wonderful! I even got a little teary when the music started playing. In my head I started to think . . . this is heaven! However, I became even more overwhelmed by the fact that Heaven is going be (insert biggest number possible here) better than even Little House! Now that is something to look forward to!

Sat 23rd-Today is my really good friend Tona’s birthday. This is our third annual Tona-Keri birthday event. Year one we saw Brian Regan at the Coronado. Year two we went to an Ice Hogs hockey game. Year three (today) we had a spa day! Oh my was it wonderful. I have never had a facial or massage and received “mini” ones today. We also had a pedicure which was wonderful. After that, we grabbed lunch. It was such a fun way to celebrate and it is becoming something we both look forward to.

Sun 24th-Tomorrow I will attend week 3 of the Sunday School class I helped organize. I have been learning a lot from the class taught by Pam MacRae. After church, I get to spend a few hours with some of my favorite 7th grade girls. We have a great time together. After d-groups, I have BSB with a few good friends. We are reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan and I can’t wait to discuss what we are learning!

Object Lesson: Priorities

I am all about object lessons. As a visual learner, seeing things helps me better understand and remember information. Several years ago, my good friend Tona did an object lesson for the Jr High small group we were leading together. Little did I know that day how much that lesson would impact my life.

The lesson materials included a large glass vase, 3 or 4 ornament-size balls, a bag of small pebbles and some sand. Tona demonstrated what happened when she first filled the vase with the sand and then the rocks. The balls did not fit. She started the process again. This time, Tona placed the large balls in the vase first. She then added the pebbles, followed by the sand. Guess what? It all fit! The lesson . . . when we daily put the "big things" in our lives first, everything else falls into place.

What a great lesson! I began thinking about what those "big things" needed to be in my life. I eventually figured out that having quiet time with God, living a healthy lifestyle (diet and exercise), and keeping a clean home were the "big things" I needed to put first in my life. This is where my Tresolution (3 year plan) came into play.

How does it all work? My quiet times with God have given me perspective on life. I am reminded of who God is and His plans for me. Living a healthier lifestyle has increased my energy and strength to live out what God has called me to do. My hope is that decluttering and organizing my home will eliminate some of the distractions that material possessions can cause and allow our family to be better stewards of what we are given. As an added bonus, improvements in each of these areas has great potential to positively impact my family.

I want to serve God with all that I am and all that I have. When my day begins to fall apart, I remember that object lesson and ask myself the question . . . What's in my vase?

Top 10 for 2010

Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2010 (in no particular order). . .

1. Little House on the Prairie the Musical (22 more days!)

2. Two new nephews due to arrive this month

3. Group's Simply Youth Ministry Conference in February

4. Jr High missions trip to Kentucky in June

5. Two good friends getting married

6. Celebrating 10 years of marriage in August

7. Sending Owen to Kindergarten in August (he'll love it, I'll probably cry)

8. Being a diaper free house (hopefully sooner rather than later)

9. Decluttering my home, the Salvation Army is my new best friend!

10.Continuing to study God's word, cook, and exercise