Sooooooooooooooooooooo...
busy month of May, yikes.
It's been unpacking boxes for Dad & me who tried to help when & where I could.
It's been crazy, but this past weekend went suprisingly well. My whole family was there, siblings, aunt/uncle cousin & dad. We looked through ALMOST everything, I couldn't believe it. We didn't fight over any items that we treasured. I was again, suprised. Also, we had time to visit & play cornhole & drink summer brew. I loved playing with my nieces & nephews. The other big thing that happened this past weekend is that Joshua, my nephew, & now Godchild, was Baptized. I am very proud & honored to be his Godparent. We got to celebrate that too.
So the weekend-success! Now Dad & I are preparing for the Moving Sale next week. Plus putting things on Craiglist etc. Getting organized for the Sale is the biggest part though. June 4-6th!
Some other things that have been going on:
Luke played at Little Tony's again on May 9th & will play again on May 30th.
I joined 2 sand volleyball leagues on Tues & Wed nights. That makes me happy, because I miss playing. the first league i'm on w/ friends & the second league i'm w/ strangers, but they are all nice so far!
My friend's husband graduated from Boot Camp for the Army-please pray for him & her because they have been apart since Feb. & will be until Sept. at least.
We practiced for the new softball league we're in-I really stink at it, but I'm getting slightly better each time I play...I hope.
Luke hosted the St. John's athletic banquet. It was really great & well put together. I had to give a speech for my 7/8 gr. volleyball team & got through it ok! We had an awesome season (Undefeated in league, League Tourney champs, and ohio lutheran tourney champs!) Just had to add in our victories there. luke had to talk throughout the whole thing & i'm worried about one little speech! he had a lot more pressure on him than me!
Luke surprised me while my family was here w/ a Buster Bar cake & singing happy birthday. he knew that would make me happy to do that while my whole fam was there. it was very sweet.
ok that's all for now! gotta go!
It's been 3 weeks, but I'm back.
Other Life Details...
*Wednesday, April 29th-Luke played @ Open Mic night in Columbus again. But I was mad he didnt' get to play very long! The other band kind of took over in the beginning...which left LB little time. Dad, Theresa & Jonathan got to come too & beforehand we went to a little Irish pub in Dublin to get discounted 10 oz. burgers-$3.50! W/ crispy chip fries douced in vinegar! yum!
*Friday, May 1st Luke had his Annual Walk-a-thon Fundraiser @ local metropark. He said it went well...yet there are always a few glitches, of course. I know he was super stressed about it, because of all the work that was put into it, plus when the t-shirts didn't come out the way he'd asked, that was dissapointing too because he designs & puts a lot of time into them. I think they look great though! And even though I wasn't @ the walk-a-thon I know he did an excellent job putting it together. he was so exhausted from the past couple of weeks with finalizing the plans for it (plus going to happy hour), he slept from 7pm-ish until the morning came! That shows he's pooped when he sleeps on a Friday night (we're usually out!)
*Saturday, the special occasion was going to the Mother/Daughter Banquet @ St. John's. I invited a lady from work, who didn't go, but I took her 3rd grade daughter, Hannah. She was so polite & I was glad to be w/ her there. The other people who came were Angie & her daughter Kylie & Regena. Angie is the mother of Garrett, the little boy I help as my part time job. (The program they are doing for Garrett is the Son-Rise Program, go here for more info: http://www.autismtreatmentcenter.org/, it's an awesome program). Kylie is her 7 yr. old daughter. Regena is my good friend who I used to work w/ @ Creekview School. She was my mother for the afternoon & an amazing woman. I was glad all of them could come! 2 years old when I was invited by a lady from church, I was really lenient about going to it. I thought it was going to be really hard to be there etc. I feel like I've come a long way since that 1st M/D Banquet w/o my Mom...this time at the banquet, I felt sad of course, but I also felt proud that I had a mother who loved so much! She would have loved going to these banquets w/ me & vice versa.
*Saturday night, the three of us (LB, Dad, me) went to our friends house to watch the Bulls/Celtics play. I haven't watched that much an NBA game for a long time. We also played Bonanza w/ everyone there w/ the Bonanza board that Luke's dad made for us for Christmas one year. We love it.
*Sunday...church, boxes, work...then Luke had his first church softball game. They won! Also on Sunday (Luke couldn't make it) Dad & I went to or Bible Study/ChristCare grp. It was the beginning of Rick Warren's study on the 40 Days of Love (author of the 40 Days of Purpose). I'm not sure what people or Pastors think of Rick Warren...this is my first time ever doing one of his studies...but the first 2 lessons of 40DofL were really good. Let me know what you think.
Lesson One:
Key Verse-1 Corinthians 14: 1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. (NLT Let love be your highest goal!)
1) Love is the Supreme Value in life. (Matthew 22:37-39, Galations 5:14)
-Get the message: relationships-love-is what matters most in life.
-Human love wears out, but God's love lasts forever.
2) Love is the Primary Objective of life. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
-If I don't live a life of love nothing I...say, know, believe, give, accomplish...will matter.
*Words w/o love are worthless.
*Brilliance w/o love equals zero.
*Faith w/o love does not matter.
*Giving is not necessarily loving.
*Relationships are more important than accomplishments.
3) Love is the Greatest Power in life. (1 Cor. 13:13, Ephesians 5:2)
-God has shown us how to leave a lasting legacy-fill your life w/ love.
Putting It Into Action:
-Show love to someone you haven't shown love to recently in an unselfish way!
PRAYER: Thank you, God, for loving me in spite of my imperfections. I have to admit that as hard as I try, I have difficulty loving some people. Help me trust you for the power to love. Lord, I turn to you for wisdom as I focus on one person to love this week. Help me to show that I love you by loving others. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Lesson Two:
Key Verse-1 Cor. Love is Patient, love is kind.
The Secret to Patience:
You Cooperate w/ God. (Romans 5:3-4) He has part & you have a part.
-God's part is to provide the Circumstances.
-Your part is to provide the Response.
3 Things Will Help You Respond w/ Patience
a) Discover a Bigger Perspective. (Proverbs 19:11)
b)Deepen Your Love. When you're filled w/ love, almost nothing will irritate you. But when you're filled w/ anger, almost anything will irritate you.
c) Depend on Jesus' Power! (Colossians 1:11)
*Patience is about Attitude. Kindness is an action. Kindness is not just a belief, it's a behavior.
The Secret to Kindness:
Kindness is Love In Action.
4 Lessons from the Good Samaritan
a) Start Seeing the Needs of people around you. (Luke 10:33, 1 Cor. 10:24)
*Kindness begins w/ the eyes.
*Become more aware & more observant.
*Why don't we see the wounds of the people around us? Busyness. Busyness is the death of love! Slowness=Love (Listen, have time for others)
*Do I see the needs of others? Rate yourself.
b) Sympathize w/ people's pain. (Luke 10:33, Galations 6:2)
*Sympathy begins w/ the ears.
* Eyes, ears, then heart.
*Do I listen to the needs of others? Rate yourself.
c) Seize the Moment (Luke 10:34, Proverbs 3:27-28, 1 John 4:18-Never walk away!)
* The Good Samaritan did what he could with what he had at that particular moment.
*To be a kinder person like the Good Samaritan: -You must be willing to be Interrupted.
-You must be willing to Take Risks.
*Fears: Take up too much of our own time, helping others might remind us of our own pain
*Do I quickly respond to a need when I see it? Rate yourself.
d) Spend whatever it takes. (Luke 10: 34, Isaiah 58: 7-8, 11, Psalm 103: 8)
*There is always a cost to kindness. Time, Energy, Money, Patience, Reputation...etc.
*Kindness is doing something for somebody w/o expecting anything in return.
Putting It Into Action: Rather than passing by someone who needs a 'good samaritan'...reach out to that person this week & do a specific act of kindness.
Ok, obviously I had a lot of time on my hands @ work this Friday afternoon...=)
But it's important to know & challenge yourself to love through Christ!
Ruth's Email
From a Dear Friend:
Shari,
I read your post but was unable to comment so I am sending this to the only Hub email addresses that I have.
Allison and I thought about "Aunt Lindy" on April 24 with laughter remembering her famous burp in NYC. We have it on tape. When we prayed at dinner, we did "hand up, hands out, hands together" (they did before snack every day in preschool) in honor. (Actually we still do that at least once a week). I was thinking how proud she would be at the decorating of my bedroom. when it was all done I sat back and said "LindE, how do you like it?" I felt confirmation.
As you go through a house full of wonderful memories and tearful moments, treasure each one. You are such an awesome family!!!!! You helped us through a miserable time. Linda helped me clean out my house and held me as I cried. She is an amazing woman and has 4 amazing children (even if some went to Michigan State). And Shari, thanks to you, I get the honor of sitting through days and days of volleyball. I am thankful that she has you for such a wonderful mentor. Thanks for posting to our blog.
And Bruce, I am amazed that you are taking these huge steps. The Villages will never be the same now!!!!
One day we will all reunite in Heaven and shout the shout of VICTORY! He is Risen indeed!
RuthE
Update on House & Life
Since the weekend of April 25th, Dad has been going through (w/ some help but he is ultimately the bearer of this 'burden') the vast amounts of items from his house. Dad sometimes gets in a funk wondering whether what he's doing is a waste of time or he's not accomplishing too much. Lately he's been very positive. But think about what he has to do...& also wants to do. The things that he's going through are from his life, the past 20-30 years & more. While it may be hard to dig through the dirt & grime of an old garage, trying to figure out what he's actually accumulated over those years, he's doing it with a pretty darn good attitude. I am proud of him for making these steps for himself. While sometimes, I can frustrated too...I remember that what I am doing is out of love for my father & my family. I actually feel bad because I can't help him enough, because of 2 jobs plus still continuing on w/ my life while he's here. In June...he wont' be here & it will be few & far between when I will see him regularly while he's in FL. Sometimes Dad gets on my nerves or we don't agree on something but it all works out in the end. Our goal is to get the items somewhat organized before the whole family gets here on the 22nd of May. Then 2 more weeks after that, we will have the enormous garage sale. It is helping to get everything organized now in preparation for not only family but for the sale. Now all we need is a million tables to put everything on! If we do not get it all organized before family...that is ok. We are doing our best w/ the time & energy we have. I mean, it's literally a house full of stuff packed away. I will be proud of our accomplishments & my dad's, when we have finished & we see an empty garage & closets & trailer (that we are putting stuff on).
Please still pray for patience etc. as we embark farther into the garage! =)
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