Some Highlights

Wow...we've really let this blog go. We've neglected it. If this blog were a houseplant, it'd be dead by now. I apologize. Not that I think we're particularly interesting, but I know it can be annoying to check in on a page that hasn't been updated in a while, so I'm sorry. Since it's late, I'll hit a few highlights:

1) Sam is awesome. He's getting huge, he's getting very interactive- that is he laughs and talks a lot- and he is now sleeping through the night. When I say "through the night," we're talking 10:00 p.m.- 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. For those of you without kids, I know that probably seems early, but for you parents who read this, you know how great that is. No more middle of the night feedings going on. Also, he's a hoss. I took him for his 2 month checkup on Monday, and he's 25" long, weighs 16 pounds. According to our dr's little chart, that puts him in the 90th and 98th percentile for length and weight, respectively. Halloween costume pics to come soon...

2) Liz is back at work, and doing well. She's still trying to get caught up, since she started out 8 weeks behind, but it's getting better. The kids she has this year are way different than last year's group, so it seems like all the teachers are trying to adjust, but she keeps reminding herself that she's there for a reason. She's at that school with those kids and those teachers, at this time, for God's purposes. As long as she keeps reminding herself of that, she's good to go.

3) Church is also going great. In the last 2 weeks, we've had 3 kids make "professions of faith" as we call it in church world (it means they made a public commitment to Jesus), baptized 2, and had 3 families join. We also took 15 men on a dove hunting trip (we only came home with 12 birds...they just weren't flying that day, but we had a great time), and had our "Fall Fest." We didn't get an exact count on how many attended the Fall Fest, but we know we had food for 100 people and ran out. Plus, everyone had a great time, so it was a huge success. I know that in some previous blogs we were having a hard time with the church, but church life is like life- ups and downs, ebbs and flows, times of drought and times of abundance, feast and famine, etc...

4) I'm still running. I do it 3-4 days a week, and it's going great. I've lost about 8 lbs, and tomorrow I'm scheduled to do 4 miles. I've been doing 2.5 this week, so I'm confident tomorrow won't be a problem. Also, I signed up to do a 10k in Beaumont on Thanksgiving day. It's called the Turkey Trot, and I figured if I signed up and paid my entry fee, I'd have to do it. So I did, and now I am. I have a goal time in mind, but mostly I just want to finish. (that's what slow people say)

In a nutshell, life is good. I'll try harder to make sure this blog stays more up to date. Please forgive us, and don't give up on us. More to come very soon...
-Jared

Life is precious

Our friend Kim took this picture after church last Sunday. I can't believe how it turned out. I am so thankful for this amazing little man. God is so good and He is always in control. Even when we don't understand He is still on His throne. Sunday was such a great day. A precious little girl got baptized. So many people came just to see her. I don't even think she knows the impact she had just with her profession of faith. Her life is already influencing the Kingdom. I pray so much that Sam makes an impact for the Kingdom. I pray that he would become a godly young man who loves and serves the Lord. He is already such a blessing. Lord, we give him to You. Just like Samuel was dedicated to You by his mother, we dedicate our Samuel to You.

Back to Work

My first official week of school is now done. Wow...what an exhausting week. It started off with a 12 hour day...parent conference day. The kids got out at 1, but we had to be at the school until 7. Talk about a long day. I'm so thankful that it was so busy b/c it really helped me keep my mind off of Sam being at home without me. Everyone kept asking how I was doing and how he was. My reply: I'm okay, right now. And I was. The Lord blessed me with a great morning. I get up at 5:00 every morning to give myself time to spend with Sam in case he wakes up. Every day that week he woke up. He wasn't hungry, he just wanted some Mommy time. I am so thankful to get to spend time with him each morning, and I rush home each day to see him. At first I was afraid he would forget who I was or something big would happen while I wasn't there, like him rolling over for the first time (we're getting closer to that each day), but then I came home and Sam just flashed that sweet smile for me and it made it all better. I love it when other people are trying to talk to him, but he can't take his eyes off of me....that's the greatest feeling in the world. So for a first week back to work it wasn't too bad. I'm still trying to juggle the whole teacher/mommy thing. It's exhausting but well worth it. My students this year are A LOT different than my students last year so the word that could best describe last week would be adjusting. Adjusting to new roles, schedules, students, lesson plans, everything. I am enjoying it though. I am just so much a planner and list maker that I want to get everything organized but at the same time refuse to stay at the school all evening. The time that Sam is actually awake when I get home is limited and I want to make the most of it. Right now, Sam is laying on his play mat falling asleep. He absolutely loves that thing...he is trying so hard to roll over to get to his toys. The top part of his body made it, but the bottom half is still trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I'll have to post some pictures. He is growing so fast. I can't believe he's already two months old...time flies that's for sure.

Fall is here and that seems to make my spirits even brighter. I'm not going to share Sam's halloween costume until the day of. It's super cute, that's all I'm going to say. I'll try and post more often, but won't make any promises. These days I'm just spending time with my boys. They're the best. Sorry I don't have anything encouraging or thought provoking to post. It's just been a long week. When things get in the groove maybe my brain will start working again.

For now,
~Elizabeth

All Smiles Here!

So focused on Mr. Octopus here. They were having a staring contest....I think Sam won.

Sam has started staring into my eyes and just loves to talk to me...it's the sweetest thing ever. Music to my ears!

Did I mention how happy he is? He just loves to smile and laugh...

These are no small laughs, they are full body giggles!

Laughing and loving life! What could be better?

Crazy Week Ahead, and Goals Update #1

A few quick updates-

1. Liz had her wisdom teeth out yesterday. It went well, and she's feeling ok today. Let me just say, if you ever get the opportunity to accompany someone to the dentist when they're having work done- do it. You couldn't pay for a better laugh. After the procedure, the nurse came to the waiting room and brought me in to see Liz. She was asleep when I got back there, but woke up (as much as she could) once she realized I was there. At first, she thought something was wrong, and that's why they had brought me back. She got a little scared because she was confused, and felt funny, and really had no idea what was going on. After I calmed her down, and told her I loved her, she pointed at me and held up two fingers. "Me too?" I asked. "You love me too?" "No," she mumbled, through a numb mouth and wads of gauze. "There's two of you." She was seeing double. Then she stuck her tongue out as far as she could. "What are you doing?" I asked. She replied, with her tongue still hanging out, "Ith thith my thongue?" Trying not to laugh, I assured her that yes, that was indeed her tongue. She put it back in her mouth, and started smacking her lips together. "Is this my mouth?" she asked. I couldn't help it. I laughed, and said, "Yes, babe. That's your mouth. You're ok. Just try to rest." We eventually got to the car, and she slept the whole way home. It was quite comical. She's totally coherent today, and aside from some soreness and swelling, she's ok.

2. Last night was my turn to take care of Sam. We alternate nights, and since Liz was on drugs yesterday, I took last night. We gave him a bottle at about 10:30 and put him to bed. He woke up for a bottle at 4, and went back to sleep. He took another bottle at 7:30, but then we brought him to our room, where we all slept until 9:30. And THAT is a great morning when you've got a two month old.

3. Week one of running again is almost in the books. I went Monday, and planned to go again Wednesday, but we had a big church party Wednesday night that kept me tied up all day, so I didn't make it. I rode the bike pretty hard for half an hour last night, and will go running this afternoon. Summary: Wanted to do 4 days, only did 3. Feeling good. Lost 3 pounds. I'd give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

And finally, today starts a pretty crazy week. Our music minister, Waylon, and I are leading a revival in Nome, TX. We're driving to Beaumont to stay the night tonight. We'll do two services tomorrow, then come home. We'll drive back Monday for an evening service, then come home again. Then Tuesday, Paul will go with us, because after that service, we're all driving to Houston, stay the night, and we fly to Atlanta Wednesday morning for Catalyst 2009. (It's a big leadership conference- this is my 4th year to go. www.catalystconference.com Andy Stanley, Rob Bell, Francis Chan, Matt Chandler, Dave Ramsey...just to name a few) The conference is Thursday and Friday, we'll be back Saturday evening.

Life is hectic, but oh so good.
Be blessed, and be a blessing today,
-Jared

Goals

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Last Friday, Sam, Liz and I went on a little family outing to Lufkin. Liz needed to get some school clothes, I needed to go to Academy, and we all needed to just go out and play together. So we did. While she and Sam were in JC Penney looking at clothes, I wandered over to Borders bookstore. I love to read, but honestly, I think I love books more than I love reading. Does that make sense? I mean, I read a lot, but more than reading, I just love books. Anyway, I found one called "50/50" by a guy named Dean Karnazes. This guy is ridiculous. Men's Health called him the fittest man alive. He's the guy who ran on a tread mill over Times Square for 24 hours a few years ago. He's also run many "ultramarathons", races of 50, 100, or even more miles. The book I bought is the story of when he ran 50 marathons, in 50 states, on 50 consecutive days. Like I said- ridiculous.

At the end of last year, I became a runner. I did it for a few days, and quickly got hooked. It's fun, it's invigorating, it's great to finish and be able to say, "Man- I really just ran ___ miles." I did really well for about 4 months. I was running 3-5 days a week, doing as many as 6 miles, and even entered a 5k in January. My time wasn't great, but I did it. I accomplished a goal. It was awesome. But then, life happened.

In mid-February, we had a church retreat that took a lot of planning and preparation, so I missed a week of running. After that, my running partner was out of town, so 1 week became 2. 2 weeks quickly turned into 3, and now it's been 7 months since I last ran regularly. I hate that about myself. That's my pesonality. Make a commitment, do well with it for a while, lose motivation, just quit doing it.

Before we went to Lufkin, I had already decided that this week I was going to start running again, so when I found that book, it was just a little extra motivation. Sunday night, I sat down and typed out my running schedule. I printed it out and hung it on the fridge. Yesterday was day one, and I did it. Today's an off day, but tomorrow I'll be at the park again. I'm typing this post for two reasons. 1- accountability. I figure if I'm telling people that I'm running again, I've gotta do it. I have a goal and a date written on my schedule. On __/__/2010, I'm going to run __________. (I promise it's written on my schedule, I'll share it with you later.) 2- maybe my motivation will motivate someone else. Maybe you're like me- you know what you want to do, you just don't really feel like doing it. Well, I'm doing it, so you should, too. If my chunky rear can wake up early and go running, surely you can do whatever it is that you've been thinking about doing. Maybe it's not health related. Maybe your goals involve relationships, money, hobbies, whatever. Seriously, if I can do it, anybody can. I'm the world's worst at this sort of thing. In the immortal words of Rob Schneider, you can do it.

I'll update soon,
Jared

Dean Karnazes's website:
www.ultramarathonman.com
Other sites I'm reading a lot:
www.runnersworld.com
www.active.com

Your Faith: Compartmentalized or Complete?

The past several weeks Jared has been preaching a sermon series challenging us to evaluate what kind of faith we have. Last weeks sermon was titled Your faith: convenient or consistent? Yesterday's sermon was titled Your faith: compartmentalized or complete? Just like a waffle has different compartments sometimes we put our faith in the same arena. I'm afraid I'm guilty of this myself. Sometimes I'm only willing to give the Lord certain areas of my life. But the real convicting part of the whole sermon was boiled down into this one statement: "If you want God to bless ______, then you have to be willing to give God ________." We can't hold back parts of our lives from God. When God saved you and I, He saved us completely. Not just the cleaned up, Sunday morning best part. EVERY part. Since getting our hospital bills then having to get my wisdom teeth taken out and not being at work for the last 6 weeks, I've really been stressed out about our finances. But the Lord really showed me that I wasn't giving Him control. I was trying to figure things out on my own instead of trusting that God would provide. He does and He did.

Whatever is going on in your life, ask yourself the same thing. Am I giving this area to God or am I holding onto it for myself. God saved you through and through. I pray that would be an encouragement to you today.

~Elizabeth