After reading my cousin
Krista's 5 Words Meme, I decided I wanted a little help to write my next entry. So much of my life is focused on my girls right now. They are keeping me busy, but in a good (usually) kind of way.
It's all part of a meme that you can do too if you'd like. Here's how it works. Someone gives you 5 words and you post about those things. If you want to join in, tell me in the comments section, and I'll send you your own 5! Here are the words Krista sent me.
1.
Jobs ~ How fun to think back over the jobs I have held throughout my life. I suppose my earliest job was babysitting. I started doing that around 11 or 12, first as a "mother's helper" and then on to soloing it. I loved watching babies and then being a part of families as those babies grew up. It is wild to think that the babies I watched in high school are 19 or 20 years old now! I babysat into my college and graduate school years. Great relationships AND good money.
I have also been a lifeguard, an event planner (in 2 different phases of life), a teacher, and now a children's ministry coordinator. I love how the different jobs in my life have come together, leading me to what I am doing now and into the future. For example, because of a random summer job helping my neighbor with his business planning choir tours and trips, Dave Horn at Gordon-Conwell hired me to be an event planner. Because of that job, I hired my husband-to-be to be an office helper which lead to a full time job at the seminary and eventually a promotion to Assistant Director under Dave Horn. My teaching experience in addition to my masters degree and my administrative job has come together in my current position as a part-time ministry coordinator for children at my church. I expect this will be a path I will continue to follow as my own children grow up and head off to school.
2.
New England ~ Who would have guessed this mid-Atlantic/Southern girl would fall in love with New England. So many people say how "mean" or "hard" New Englanders are, but I don't see them this way. The New Englanders I know are so "real" and "genuine." What you see is what you get. There isn't as much pretending that I experienced in other places. They may not smile when you pass them on the street, but they will be honest when you stop long enough to talk.
I also love New England seasons. We get FOUR of them! True, winters are hard and they can be VERY LONG, but I love watching the snow fall and seeing how beautiful it makes everything. It has become harder, especially now as a mom when I just want to get outside with my kids, but if it isn't too cold, the snow is so much fun to play in (I know, Daryl, I don't have to shovel... I might be singing a different tune.). Yet, after winter comes SPRING. I enjoy this season more because of the winter before. It is so beautiful watching the leaves pop out on the trees and seeing the flowers blossom. SUMMER in New England is amazing (yes, I know, this year we got very little of it.) The perfect blue sky is amazing and then being able to walk down the street to the ocean. The days are hot (well, except this year), but the evenings cool down the the lovely breezes off the ocean. AWESOME! But, who can beat a New England fall... the leaves, the apples, the crisp air... BEAUTIFUL.
In 1999, I arrived at Gordon-Conwell and moved into a dorm. Who would have guessed I'd still be here TEN YEARS LATER... married with 2 beautiful daughters!?!? Thanks, New England!
3.
Girls ~ Of course, the first thing that comes to my mind are my daughters. I don't think I had any idea how much I would enjoy raising girls. Hannah is getting to be so much fun with her sharp mind and imagination. Yesterday and today we spent time dancing around the kitchen in blankets wrapped around our waists as "dresses." We have had tea parties together and I delight in watching her imitate me as she "mothers" her dolls.
Both my girls have smiles that light up the room. Hannah loves people, which touches my heart in so many different ways. Grace is just beginning her life journey, so it will be fun to see how her little personality comes about.
The second thing that comes to my mind with this word is my girlfriends. I love looking back over my life and remembering the various "girls" who have blessed me so much. Especially in college, in Richmond, VA, and at seminary, I have a group of girls who I still keep in touch with even though we have scattered to different places. These relationships are SO IMPORTANT to me and I thank God for each one.
4.
Home ~ Where is home? For me, home is truly where the heart is... pardon the cliche. I feel like I have to give a dissertation whenever someone asks me where I from. Pennsylvania is the place of my roots. I love the fact that I have so many family members there and am able to go to that "home" every once and a while (although not as often as I would like). Georgia is "home" because my parents live there. Richmond, Virginia was "home" for the beginning of my adult years and I still hold a fondness for that place (and the people I met there). Gloucester is my current "home" and where I have put down roots for now, even though my children's children won't be considered native:-).
5.
Gifts ~ I'm so curious as to what my cousin was thinking when she came up with this word. It is so appropriate for what I am wrestling though right now. I hope I can explain myself. I've been reading 2 books by Peter Scazzero, "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" and "The Emotionally Healthy Church." One of the topics he addresses is the "gift of limits." Basically, as I understand it, we all have limits. We cannot do everything. Contrary to what the world tells us growing up... we can't be everything. There are so many factors that keep us from that... the talents and abilities that we may or may not have, our physical attributes, etc. etc. Recently I have discovered that contrary to what my type A personality says... I can't do everything. I can't give birth to a baby in August, raise a toddler, keep have my home, let alone give time to my husband and nurture my spiritual life AND continue full speed ahead leading the ministries that I have be leading at my church. Grace's birth and everything else is a God given LIMIT that I finally have accepted as a gift and pulled back out of the ministries for a brief season.
I finally get it... limits are a gift from God for a season and when I recognize them, I am a much more healthy, spiritually sensitive person.
