A time to reflect...part 1.

I am an extreme extrovert.  I yearn for time interacting with people. I like having a calendar filled with outings and adventures with family and friends.

But I also really love quiet times to reflect upon my life...times to celebrate the changes/growth I see in my kids and the house projects that have been completed....and also time to reflect on things I've been misprioritizing and look head on at the same sins that seem to creep back to the surface.

Reflection is healthy and needed for so many reasons, and I have realized that I haven't been doing as much reflection as I really need to do these last 6 months.

There's a sign that hangs outside a professor's office at Simpson College, where Sammy takes viola lessons.  My productive side loves it and embraces it fully.  My procrastinate side likes to ignore and disregard it.  The sign says:

"If it is important to you, you will find a way.  If not, you will find an excuse." 

Ouch!  I seem to be finding all sorts of time to do things that really don't rate as "truly important" in my life.  If quiet reflection is genuinely important to me,  I need to stop making excuses for why I haven't practiced it well.

Life has been full this spring and summer.  Full of really wonderful things!  But...as one thing finished, another one seemed to fill its place.  And so, many months have gone by without a lot of reflection, without a grateful heart for God's continued faithfulness or a pause to honor wonderful accomplishments or celebrations.

Last week I felt compelled to write some letters (actual, hand written letters...remember those?) to a few people that God has brought to my mind. In some of those letters, I included some photographs.

Photographs are a beautiful way to see a moment frozen in time. They remind us of wonderful times. Even of times that were difficult.  For me, as I looked through our 2017 photos recently, they reminded me of how far God has brought our family as we approach the one year mark of being in Indianola. Today is actually ONE YEAR that Brad began working at Grace E Free Church, and I feel compelled to give thanks for God's faithfulness.

So, even though I have lesson plans to finish for Sammy this week, meal planning to do, and a few mounds of clean laundry to fold, I find myself drawn to reflect and share God's work in our lives.

One thing I'm super thankful for is that I get to stay at home full time. I love being at home...learning more each day about how to run a household better, pouring into my older kids, and hanging out with this great, little guy each day.

And OH how my heart fills with joy when I think about the sweet friends God has provided for my kids at church and in our neighborhood.  When Hannah's birthday rolled around in April, she told me she didn't know who to invite because "all" of her friends were in Minnesota. We talked some more and we came up with a fun birthday celebration with her sweet friend from church.  Hannah said it was one of her best birthdays yet!

I'm so grateful for the friends God has given my kids.  These two next pictures may seem pretty normal and generic, but they make me want to cry every time I see them. 

Sammy would NEVER have survived this last year without her best friend, Maggie.  I am so, so, so thankful for Maggie and her family!




And this picture of Caleb playing basketball with some friends...this is what I prayed for him when we moved...a neighborhood filled with boys to shoot hoops with and ride around on bikes.  What a gift!

I'm thankful for Grace E Free! This was our Easter picture....aren't we cute?

And if you EVER visit Iowa, make sure to stop in Pella for the Tulip Festival.  We went there in early May, and it was worth the drive and worth the crowds.  The flowers were AMAZING, the town was very friendly, and OH MAN the bakeries and meat shops! The Dutch letters are delicious! 

Shortly after we visited Pella, my uncle Paul passed away.  Josiah and I drove to Bismarck so we could attend his funeral. It was a difficult time....my dad deeply loved his brother Paul, and I had such great respect for him.  I did get to see most of my dad's siblings and spouses, and that was a blessing.

My dad with his brothers Gerry and Mark and little sister, Agnes. 

A few of their spouses were able to be there as well.

Just three days after I got home, Brad and I loaded the kiddos into the van and headed back up to Bismarck to celebrate my 3 nieces' graduation.  It was a joy to celebrate with them...and oh how I love my Beth!!! 

When I look back at our June pictures, I remember all the house projects we got done....thanks Dan for lending a hand with our new shelves in our garage!

 


And the short, but very sweet weekend we had in early June when Beth and my parents drove down for Hannah's dance recital. 

Somebody was made to be a little dancer! 

Today, there is MUCH to be thankful for!  A full year of Brad's job at Grace...friends for my kids... much, much milder weather than Minnesota....and a few quiet minutes to reflect as Josiah plays quietly.

I feel like I've been in a bit of a slump the last several weeks, and I'm grateful for pictures that remind me of God's good gifts and a summer exploring a new place, making new friends and new memories.  There are still hard days when unmet expectations reek havoc with my emotions, but I'm getting better at looking closely at my emotions and aligning them with Scripture and with what I know to be true of God's character.

And for that reason, today I CHOOSE JOY!