Ah, To Be Young Again

Since I am homebound for the evening and have been since noon today, it's time for an update. I'm actually bored out of my mind even though I have a few things to get done and I've already been pretty productive for someone who has a sever sinus infection, no voice, and can't stop coughing to save my life.

There's not too much to say since my last post yesterday. It's funny how when I'm busy I want to be home but when I'm stuck at home, I desperately want to be busy. When I woke up this morning and barely had a voice, I decided that a doctor's visit was in order. So I went ahead to work and called the doc 15 minutes after they opened. I was in and out of there in 30 minutes so after dropping off my prescription, picking up breakfast and working a bit longer, I made my way home. I was online for a bit and tried to sleep but could only doze. So I got up and did what any sick person would do.

I made pancakes, washed dishes, filed bills, organized my planner, rearranged kitchen cabinets, took out the trash, wrote a birthday card, checked e-mails and here I am. I definitely don't like this whole "lay around the house all day" thing which is why I would never be a good housewife. I'd at least have to volunteer or work part time. (And I am definitely not opposed to either of those options.)

Since The Refining (my girls' small group meeting) last night, I haven't really been able to stop thinking about them. I had 5 teenage girls 13-17 and in all honesty, I had no idea what to do with them. Our lesson was about feeling invisible and how we aren't invisible to God but they shared so much more than I imagined they would. I am amazed at how much young women determine their value based on what boys say about them. Or even their friends. My heart breaks for them and longs for them to understand that the only opinion that matters is God's. But I catch myself, even before I say something that sounds like it came straight out of my mother's mouth, remembering how I felt at 15 and what I wouldn't have given to have just 1 boy tell me I was beautiful. The extra sad thing about this? All of those girls are beautiful and have no idea how much potential they have. But then again, at their age, neither did I. It's so ironic how similar we (girls) all are and how much we long for the same things and really just desire acceptance and love. And no matter how long I preach that God created us exactly how He wants us to be and loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine, we still just desire human love and affection-myself included. I can't tell you how many times I catch myself wishing for the days of my teenage years again and what I would do differently and how great my friends were. And then I remember the angst that every teenage girl feels and all the time I wasted focusing on boys or how good/bad I looked. As the phrase says, "If I had known then what I know now..."

I just pray God is helping them through me. I pray that they would learn to love and accept themselves as the radiant and beautiful young ladies that I know they are. And above all else to seek the approval of the only One who truly matters...

For His smile,
B

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Busy, Busy

Yeah, I'm over a month overdue for a post. And I would apologize for that if I felt sorry. But I don't. These past 5 weeks have been jammed full of "stuff". After spring break week-which ended wonderfully with our few days away in big D-work kinda spun outta control. Apparently, spring break signifies "the point in which we stop working" to the kids and teachers. A fact which I have forgotten since my elementary school days. Everyone's been stressed to the max and we still have some TAKS tests (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) to go. Not to mention I've been preparing paperwork for 500 packets to be given to new and returning students this coming week. Thankfully, I had a parent volunteer and my sweet husband to help me finish all of them. Otherwise, I'd be going crazy over finishing them. Needless to say, the next 6 weeks should be quite interesting as things start to wind down. And I'm just hanging on til summer break. Once the kids are gone, my days shorten and I'm pretty sure I'm off on Fridays. Hallelujah! Thank ya Jesus!

I'm supposed to be at church right now but Friday, I had the WORST sore throat ever accompanied by tons of drainage-yep, I just said that. Yesterday was ok but my breathing was still quite constricted and when I woke up this morning, everything had shifted and it all felt like it was moving to my chest. I've already battled pollen and won and we are FINALLY getting a good rain (after 2-3 weeks without much beyond some sprinkles of showers) so I'm hoping I can fight this off pretty easily. Z is the best and told me to stay home and get some rest so I can be ready to teach The Refining (my girls' small group) tonight. So here I am, listening to David Crowder and writing from bed.

I can't believe I didn't even write about the youth pastors' retreat because HELLO! It changed my life. Yeah, in some small ways but Z and I had so much fun and hung out with such cool people. We just really received much needed refreshing and were able to spend some good, quality time together. And we stayed at this AWESOME hotel which was just perfect and beautiful. (As a side note-I would just like to say that I LOVE heated pools.) I'm looking forward to the end of the month because we're attending a live recording at Christ For the Nations Institute for free and may get to stay at the same hotel.

The end of school may translate into a slow time for me at work but it means MAJOR acceleration with youth activities. We're 7 weeks away from our mission trip to D.C. I'm very excited but I'm just praying God will prick the hearts of our church people to support us in our endeavor. Our kids are going to have some amazing opportunities to see what true missions is all about instead of just giving it lip service or throwing money at it like so many people do. I believe this trip will literally change their lives.

We'll also be heading to youth camp in July and having pool parties, overnighters, and all the other fun events that make youth pastoring so "rewarding". Ha! We've got a 30 Hour Famine planned for the upcoming weekend and then 2 weeks after that is Fine Arts competition. Both of which are overnight events but will be fun to attend.  I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time with the kids since my job will allow me that opportunity unlike last summer. Our kids are making some serious spiritual advances and I'm so proud of them and the time Z is pouring into them.

Speaking of Z, he and I are still working on our weight loss. We've both lost 7 pounds and I'm so proud of both us for sticking with it. We didn't get to the gym as much as we'd hoped last week but it's a new day and we should make it this week. Yes, we want to lose weight but we're learning a lot about just living healthfully and making better choices. We're both drinking water exclusively (with a sweet tea thrown in maybe once a week) and overall, just feeling better. With working the weights at the gym, we're also feeling ourselves becoming stronger and toning up our muscles. It's amazing how much better we both feel.

Well, this post is ENTIRELY too long. So sorry but thanks for reading. Hopefully it won't take me so long to update next time. By the way, I didn't even touch on Easter Sunday or our church's building dedication but both were a great success. And you should check out this song I sang for Easter-had me crying by the end of hearing it the first time. Truly, we are the reason He had to die.

Thankful for His sacrifice,
B
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8