Easter with my family!

It's not Easter until we go to Aunt Pat's and eat lots of yummy food then have an Easter Egg hunt. Without further ado, here's my family!! Happy Easter everyone!!

 

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Things I wish I could have told my teenage self!

I think about this topic a lot lately. I have lots of teens & young adults in my life. I see myself in their shoes. So many of them struggle with things I struggled with. Things that really weren't important in the long term. So here is the list of things I would go back in time & tell myself:

1. Don't worry about dating! - I am no longer the person I was in high school. The things I wanted in a guy then is not what I wanted when I started thinking about marriage. I wish I had worried less about dating & more about hanging out with friends. How could I even think of loving someone else when at that time I didn't really know what love was. I wasted so much time & so many tears on guys who were not Husband material.

2. Focus on finding out who God made me to be! - I wish I had spent more time getting to know God & exploring the gifts He equipped me with. I wish I would have found a mentor to study God's Word with. I wish I would have tried serving in different capacities in my church to find out what my gifts were. I also wish I had memorized more scripture. It is much harder to memorize when you are in your 40s!

3. Don't worry about being popular! - when in high school, there is lots of pressure to be in the in crowd. I wish I had worried less about that & instead cultured my friendships with those I had common interests. Once you get out of school, you look for those who like the same things you do. You never again try to force yourself to be friends with people just because you are the same age. You choose friends who have the same beliefs, or who have the same career or who live in the same area.

4. Stop trying to grow up so fast! - I remember as a teen wishing time would fly & I could be out of this stage of life. Now I look back & wish I could go back. That time had less responsibility & worry. If I had focused on what I could do back then, I might have enjoyed it more.

5. Start good habits! - I wish I had started exercising regularly & eating healthier back then. I also wish I had learned good money management skills. It's easier to start good habits when you are younger & harder to break bad habits when you are older.

6. Listen to your parents! - I know I thought mine didn't understand me, but now I see that they did. They could see a bigger picture of life. They knew there was more to life than high school. They didn't always do things right, as they were human after all. But they always had my best interests at heart.

7. You do not have to be like everyone else! - I think the biggest lie I believed as a teen was that I needed to be just like everyone else. Guess what? There is no "normal" person. God made each person unique & most teens feel like they are different. You have a choice: try to be just like everyone else or embrace your uniqueness & be happy with who you are. This goes back to point 2. By focusing on God's Word & learning about His love for you, you will be able to embrace life & become who He made you to be.

Life as a teen is hard. I struggled emotionally. But God was Faithful! He helped me to stay strong & faithful in my walk with Him. Because of Him, my life became a witness to those I grew up with. If you lean on Him, study His Word & find some other Christians to encourage you, God will use you too!! Seeing God work in my life over the years makes life exciting! I eagerly anticipate what God will do next in my life.

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I should be panicked!

My Hubby is a medical software trainer since 2006. Since 2008, he has been on the road traveling to locations all over the U.S. training doctors & nurses. During this time he has worked for 5 different companies.

His current company will pay up to 90 days if they don't have an assignment for you. It's called bench time. Well, Hubby's bench time ends on Thursday. Hence the title of this post.

I should be panicked, but I'm not. I know that God is in control. He has a plan for us that is better than I could imagine or plan myself. I'm excited to see how God provides for us.

Will He provide another travel job that carries us all over the country again? Will He provide a job near home giving us a more "normal" life again? Will He move us to some other state?

I don't know, but I'm excited to see where this all leads. How is God going to use us & shine is light through our situation?? I'll keep ya all posted...

 

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Be faithful!

I never thought going to see a long-time friend would humble me so much. My friend, who I've known since age 4, is battling complications of cancer. I went to see her & to try to encourage her. She ended up encouraging me & showing me how God has been working through me over the years. It is so humbling.

As I look back at my life, it isn't too spectacular. I don't have a big back story. No big tragedy or rebellion. I have awesome parents. I did ok in school. I wasn't a trouble maker. I had a few friends, but wasn't really popular. I always felt like I didn't fit in. Part of that was because I gave my life to Jesus at a young age. I was always reading my Bible, even in school. I didn't cuss, I didn't drink or smoke & I followed the rules. I was labelled a "goody-two shoes" & teased a lot.

Even as an adult, I haven't strayed much. I'm not trying to brag, but trying to point out that my life has been pretty boring. I never thought I had much of a testimony.

So, back to the visit with my friend. We chatted about the old days. Then she thanked me. I couldn't imagine what for. She thanked me for being faithful to God. For not swaying. I was immediately overwhelmed & humbled. I really thought my life was so insignificant in God's whole scheme of things. In a second, I saw how God has used my life.

I say all this to encourage you to keep walking with Christ! Keep following Him even when you get teased or ignored. Keep faithful even when your life doesn't seem to matter. Because it does matter! God is using your life. You may not see it until 20 or 30 years later, or maybe not until you get to heaven. Your faithfulness reflects God's faithfulness! It encourages others to seek God more. It draws those who are seeking to God. They want what you have. So Press on!!!

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14 KJV)

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Snow Fun

The kids helped me shovel our drive & our neighbor's drive.

Below is the finished product!

After a yummy lunch of tacos made by Hubby, the kids played out back.

And here are a few pics of the pretty snow!

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