Walking Wounded

Life is a bit crazed. More than ever I am in the figuring life out phase. Though, I really think you go through your entire life in that phase. But the middle of the 20′s is where this is experienced the most.

Probably the biggest thing in my life right now is my church, H20. Yes that is an actual picture of a Sunday morning service. I love this church on a whole different level. I’ve never loved my church and believed in it’s vision so much. Many things that are hard for me in church I don’t find difficult here. Not only can I tithe here but I want to tithe which is a whole new experience for me. I want to give myself to the church not just for my own benefit or for experiencing community but because I believe in their vision. Fortunately I get all of the above.

This past Saturday we had a church work day. It was a lot of fun. Definitely hard work, but fun. I started off simply emptying out storage areas that were filled with a lot of junk. It’s amazing how quickly my leadership skills come out naturally. Without even realizing it I starting taking a little bit of charge with how we were moving things and doing things to speed up the process. Then after that we got presented a potential project to fix theses temporary/removable/home-made wall panel things (great description right?). Anyway, I took on the project without any direction and just went to town. I directed what we should fix, how we should do and pretty much every step in between. It’s cool to see God using my gifts in that way. The project took me a good 6 hours so I had about 4 different people helping me throughout the day. It was great getting to know them. I’m more and more becoming a known name around h20. And this is before even playing in the band! Cool stuff. Though I can’t wait to play in the band. We’re still waiting on a band director to organize that stuff.

A big change in my life. I cut my hair off! I got it cut shorter for a while and then just decided to go all the way. There were many reasons. One, I was ready for a change. Don’t get me wrong, I love my long hair. I will assuredly grow it again someday. But for now we are going back to short. I’m enjoying it so far. A big pro is I can drive with the windows down and enjoy it rather than be irritated. Another one is it is much cooler, easier to clean and to manage. It makes me look taller and makes my face skinnier. I do miss my beautiful ringlets but I will see them again someday. Aren’t I a stud.

Next topic. Life in general. I’m working hard to get everything together. Especially financially. We are going over finances in small group and it has really convicted me. I am not handling my money to the glory of God. I’ve decided to get a third roommate again. I could really use the extra $500 a month. Anyone interested? This means I’ll be moving my office into my bedroom again. I’m cutting back on eating out and getting my budget together. As one man said in our small group “The kingdom could definitely use some millionaires” when referring to how a good steward of his money could save and invest. I’m seeing just how biblical it is to manage your money well. In group he was talking about removing all your debt and what you could do with that money. It was exciting. You could retire and fund your own mission trips. Donate to churches, feed the homeless. Not that you neglect those things for 30 years, but managing your money well can really benefit the kingdom.

I’m working on getting my house clean and tidy and nice. I feel like every step forward I make is two steps backward. Maybe I have to kick it up another notch. I really want to start hosting Texas hold em weekly/biweekly parties. I’ve been watching the World Series of poker and I just have to get back on that. I’ve already talked to a bunch of h2o peeps and they are on board.

Ted and I have made some changes to the family room/kitchen area. I’ll have to post some pictures. We moved the mini fridge into the kitchen yesterday which is already proving to be a great idea. That little extra space is so handy. It’s basically the drink fridge. With what? Bottled Water, lemonade, Gatorade and beer, of course.

This post is getting long and I’m only halfway through what I had in mind, so until another day. Here’s all you get.

No, I haven’t named the cat yet. But I have great pictures of the cat and dog. First here is a very tired puppy

Here is why the cat does not like Ted. Because he does things like this to the cat then takes a picture. Cats don’t like unflattering pictures of themselves.

Finally here are a couple of pictures of the dog and cat napping together. Aw! Isn’t it cute!

First the dog. Now a cat. I’ve had her for about a month now and still haven’t named her yet. She is a beautiful cat so I have to find something pretty. So far haven’t a cat has been great. The first couple weeks were trying with introducing the dog and the cat. We started with the two of them in separate rooms and would switch them around until the cat was comfortable with the house which only took about 2 days. Next we put Sammi in the kennel and let the cat roam. Then after about a week we let Sammi out and kept a close eye. That was a tough couple weeks. We had to constantly discipline Sammi for being to rough with the cat. The problem was that the dog liked the cat too much and just wanted to play. Little does Sammi know that when she steps on the cat it can hurt the cat. Sammi is very unaware of her own strength.

Now however the two of them get along great. They play maybe an hour or two a day together and otherwise do their own thing. I have many stories I could tell about having a cat but they’ll have to wait. For now I just wanted to get some pictures up. Hopefully I can talk about my experience with having a cat vs a dog at some point.