Talk Is Sheep

Can you believe that in just two weeks we’ll be in the air to India?! I can’t. Everything that we’ve been praying for is falling into place and it’s truly all God’s provision. We have just $45 dollars left to raise to meet our $2500 goal. You can see more details here:
http://indiatrip.chipin.com/childrens-ministry-trip-to-india

Our passports have been mailed back to us this week. We have gotten all of our vaccines (always a fun experience). And it’s official. We bought our airline tickets for the trip last week.

Unbelievable.

I’m left wondering how I can better prepare myself for this kind of trip.  What else can I do but ask that He works through me, Lee, Kathy and everyone else on the team so that the people we’re training are truly better equipped to lead children to Christ?

Nothing.

Wow, almost a month goes by and that’s how you know we’ve been busy celebrating the summer and watching it fly by…and now it’s Fall! Yet another great season to celebrate! This fall Lee and I have an opportunity that we’re both so excited about…a Mission’s Trip to India! We’ll work alongside Kathy, my wonderful mother-in-law, and train Children’s Ministers, Pastors, and Leaders how to be more effective teachers to children.

If you would have asked me if I thought I’d be doing this two years ago, my answer would have been something like…”That sounds like a really great experience…I just don’t think I’m ready” or “I’ll go but I have no idea what I can contribute.” These last few years have meant a lot to me in building up confidence, trust, and faith in Christ and His plan’s for me. Around two or three years ago, I started assisting teachers in the pre-school class for Providence Church. I would do whatever the teacher said, but I felt overwhelmed with all those little children running around…but I would gain confidence after some time. Then the big one hit. Kathy wanted Lee and I to lead a class together for Elementary kids. Kids who can walk, talk, make some sort of sense, and make trouble! I was nervous before almost every class, but I would pray through it and something happened. I began to pray beyond the nervousness, prayers that were effective in building my trust in God, that He knew exactly where I was and that He had plans for me in the classroom. And now I’m again at the point where I can see He is increasing in me, and this trip to India marks a new step of growth in Him.

So here we are. Lee and I have been making plans and raising support and asking people to pray for us over the last couple of weeks. We’re excited to offer anyone who would like to support us a chance to win something, too….an iPod Touch. You can read more about the raffle details if you go to this page: http://indiatrip.chipin.com/childrens-ministry-trip-to-india

…but here is the gist: the raffle is open to the first 500 entries. For anyone who donates $5 for our trip to India, you get 1 entry to win the iPod touch. So, if you give $20, that give you 4 entries…you do the math! As soon as we reach our goal we’ll randomly choose a name from the list of entries. We’re so excited to be able to go to India, and we’re trusting in God to provide for us for this trip. Please help us get the word out by posting this link on your blog or social network pages. http://indiatrip.chipin.com/childrens-ministry-trip-to-india

Much love,
Sarah and Lee

Oh no! We’ve fell into a void of nothingness and no new posts!!!! I need to remedy that quick!!! How fast does a year pass? Unbelievably fast. Our year anniversary is quickly approaching and as I try to come up with ways to celebrate, I find myself reminiscing quite a bit about this last year. I try to come up with my favorite dinners, my favorite dates, my favorite memories, my favorite things since we’ve been married. I’ve been asking Lee the same. We’ve had a lot of fun traveling this year. To Florida, Wyoming, Tennessee, and soon to India. We’ve cooked a lot of meals for ourselves, and for family and friends. We’ve spent nearly 365 days together…I would say roughly 358…and we still enjoy being around each other.

So, did we figure it all out in the first year? Nope. Not even close. I finished the Love Dare a while ago and last night I realized I was already forgetting some of the important stuff that I’d learned…so you know what!? I’m going to start it all over again. With new and refreshed eyes. As this year ends, I’m reflecting on how I’ve learned to be a better partner to my husband. And I’m praying that will continue all the years to come.

Ahhhhhh. I’m away from Lee for the first time in our 10 and a 1/4 months of marriage. After being with someone at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 10 months (minus the night he spent in the hospital), I was kind of amazed that I didn’t just break down when I realized that an essential part of me (my heart, as discussed in the previous post) wouldn’t factor into the equation for about 4 days. There is a major difference that I have noticed from the time I spent apart from Lee when we were just dating to these last couple of days we’ve been apart now that we’re married….a marked increase in Lee calling me on the phone! I love it! When we were dating, it’s more than possible that I pursued Lee by telephone more than I should have…and in general ripped him off as being the pursuer at times. Now that we’re married, it’s a rare (and wonderful) occasion that we would take time to talk on the phone while we’re not in the same place. I think I’ve learned a lot about confidence since we’ve been married. Not self-confidence…but a confidence in what our marriage means to both of us. By letting Lee take the lead in calling me, I’ve been able to see that he views me as a priority, that he’s willing to take time out of the daily grind to know that he is thinking about me while I’m away. That I’m important to him. And that he misses me, too. I hate to say it but the old adage rings true for me. This week I’ve been able to just appreciate Lee. He’s a wonderful man. And even though I’m only his arm. At least it’s attached to his hand. That I can’t wait to hold again.

Welcome to “Comparing and Contrasting the Sexes – Episode I”. In this installment I’ll be examining the importance we place on the significant other in terms of physical relation.

I recently said of Sarah that in her absence I was missing my right arm. She deftly replied that she was missing her heart. These quotes I’m sure a driving you readers batty with 7th grade level cuteness and exclamations of “awwwwww…” etc. etc. But I particularly thought that this was an interesting observation of our perceptions of each other. Read the rest of this entry »

In a funny turn of events, Sarah posted the same thing that I was going to post without either of us talking about it. But I think the little things are the things that are important, so I’m just going to highlight my side of the coin. Read the rest of this entry »

In a lot of ways I’ve found my relationship with Lee to be unique. I know everybody has their own quirks, and we’re just two crazy people who managed to meet and somehow fit pretty well together. We like to do crafty projects together (well we start them…and they’ll usually get done within a year or two). We make up and sing opera‘s in the car. One thing that took us a while to find our niche in was hand holding. Anyone who’s been around me for an extended amount of times knows I’m a toucher. I’m a hugger, a back scratcher, and I am definitely a hand holder. The first time Lee held my hand it was a simple twining of our pinkies. So minuscule, but so meaningful. Little did Lee know that with that gesture, I’d be an insatiable hand holder. At first we’d try the intertwined fingers. This was somewhat painful and if I had to hear Lee say, “I don’t like holding hands like seventh-graders” one more time, I would kick him! (no offense to anyone who enjoys holding hands this way!). OK…so we moved on to the “hand clasp”. Where all fingers are kept close together and fit right next to each other’s thumbs. OK…this will do sometimes…but I’ll admit…there’s something joyous about the “seventh-grade” hand hold that was lacking with this one…So after many months of alternating and a little griping…we managed to find a compromise that fits both of us like…two hands in the perfect hand hold! Each time we hold hands now, we pay homage to that first time we twined pinkies.

Today, Lee and I have been married for 10 months! So far, time has passed quickly. We’ve enjoyed starting traditions that we hope will last a lifetime as well as enjoying a spontaneity that comes when you’re married to someone who doesn’t think or act the same way that you do. Here are some things that I have enjoyed with Lee since we’ve been married: Breakfast together before the big sendoff to work. Friday’s together when Lee works from home. Praying together before going to sleep. (Well before I start talking before going to sleep .

In a lot of ways we’ve sought to find our contentment in God only…of course this is a work in progress, but it’s incredible how much pressure this takes off of each of us…and allows us to be content in our marriage and with each other. Our communication has improved in amazing ways. We’re committed to communicating honestly with each other. Even when it hurts. I appreciate Lee. I cherish him. And I realize that we have many more years and experiences to go. Much love to you, Lee!

I’m not really too sure how really relevant, deep or content worthy this post is. But I really had an ache for you loyal readers who have been checking back on this site but have been disappointed not to find anything new since last week or so. Read the rest of this entry »

Hello loyal reader. I’m sorry it’s been over a week. I usually try to add my thoughts to this blog thing at least once a week, but last week I ran into a bit of a snag.

Doctors like to call the snag I ran into appendicitis. It’s not a particularly fun snag, but for me it had it’s perks. Among the perks was the adventure of going to the emergency room for the first time, having my abdominal cavity opened for the first time, purposefully removing an organ for the first time, and sleeping over at a hospital for the first time (oh and great, funny stories to boot). Lot’s of firsts, all of which happened a couple of days before Sarah and I celebrated being married for 9 months. So it was kind of a bunch of firsts for both of us. And despite the fact that a trip to the hospital is never a good thing, I honestly enjoyed my time there and I learned a lot about Sarah’s love for me. That’s always a good thing.

Read the rest of this entry »