What a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day that God has provided! I don't know how I have a moment to even write this blog..but I do. We are headed to John's uncle's home in Rochester for the day.
Eight people packed into a Chevy Venture for an hour and fifteen minute drive shall be interesting. The only thing I was responsible to make was homemade dressing and ricecrispy treats! Yay!!!!
There is something about the holidays that motivates me to clean out my van. I feel a breath of fresh air once I've cleared out all the crud and vacuum it. Did I ever tell you that I love to throw away things...I really do. Some people are marked as pack rats..but nope..not me! I love to clean out and minimize.
Gotta load up....have a blessed Thanksgiving day.
I'm thankful today for my husband, children, family and friends. The things that matter most to me are back at the top of my priority list..I am sooooo glad I quit work!
Love ya,
k
Life is Good because of God! Thumbs up!!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Watching for Wooing
It's a rootin' tootin' good morning in the Townsend household! The scales gloriously sang to me this morning as I viewed the glorious number of 248.4 (I'm down 5.4 lbs.) Oh my goodness!!! God has been gracious to me over this past week. Also, I've done 5 min. of my 150 min. per week on the cardio. Not much cardio yet for the day..but I'm hoping to get in at least 15 more later today. This is soooooooo such a God thing! On my own- I'm a total loser when it comes to eating healhty and exercising- but God is going to get me through this!
Prayer request- John is making some final decisions on the septic, who we are going to go with to do it and all that. Please pray for amazing wisdom and the finances. Something keeps tugging at me that He's going to provide above and beyond just a loan. Could be wrong, which is fine- but I sure don't want to miss His blessings!
My goals today are to walk carefully and cautiously in submission today. I'm going to drink lots of water and my plan for lunch today at work is beef jerky and some fruit. Have I already told you about the most delicious prepacked LOW sugar apple cinnamon oatmeal packets from Kroger's/Payless? Oh! I love em!! They come 10 in a box for only $1.69 (this is an ongoing sale they seem to have) To die for! You pour it into a bowl, add about 1/4 c. of water and pop it in microwave for 1 min and voila...a healthy hot, high in fiber breakfast. This is a $.17 breakfast...I can even afford to feed my clan this too!!
These past few weeks have been humbling as I've basically fallen apart before your very eyes- health, emotions, stability, etc. But my prayer is that above me you will see an amazing Lord God working in me- putting back together the shattered mess. One of my favorite studies of all time was Brokeness by Nancy Lee DeMoss. She reminds us that being broken is not a one time deal but a day by day process of seeing our desperate need for Christ. It's a good thing to be shattered on a regular basis. This may sound scary to you, but truly- God works the most when we are at our weakest points. I can not be strong on my own- it's impossible. Even as I pour my heart out to you, I hear a lie in the back of my mind that says "Kara, you know you won't stay at this wonderful point forever, so are you sure you want to reveal this 'high' point to your closest friends?" And the answer to that question is "Yep! Sure do!" God calls me to live in the here and now- the past has sucked on so many levels and I can't go back. The future is unknown to me, but God is in control. Whether I lose one more single pound or not- God is still the author of this universe and totally is in love with me. I'm looking forward to some more "wooing" today- can't wait to see what my precious friend Jesus has instore for me today..what blessings, what surprises, what encouragement, what love......I'll be watching...
love you all!
k
Prayer request- John is making some final decisions on the septic, who we are going to go with to do it and all that. Please pray for amazing wisdom and the finances. Something keeps tugging at me that He's going to provide above and beyond just a loan. Could be wrong, which is fine- but I sure don't want to miss His blessings!
My goals today are to walk carefully and cautiously in submission today. I'm going to drink lots of water and my plan for lunch today at work is beef jerky and some fruit. Have I already told you about the most delicious prepacked LOW sugar apple cinnamon oatmeal packets from Kroger's/Payless? Oh! I love em!! They come 10 in a box for only $1.69 (this is an ongoing sale they seem to have) To die for! You pour it into a bowl, add about 1/4 c. of water and pop it in microwave for 1 min and voila...a healthy hot, high in fiber breakfast. This is a $.17 breakfast...I can even afford to feed my clan this too!!
These past few weeks have been humbling as I've basically fallen apart before your very eyes- health, emotions, stability, etc. But my prayer is that above me you will see an amazing Lord God working in me- putting back together the shattered mess. One of my favorite studies of all time was Brokeness by Nancy Lee DeMoss. She reminds us that being broken is not a one time deal but a day by day process of seeing our desperate need for Christ. It's a good thing to be shattered on a regular basis. This may sound scary to you, but truly- God works the most when we are at our weakest points. I can not be strong on my own- it's impossible. Even as I pour my heart out to you, I hear a lie in the back of my mind that says "Kara, you know you won't stay at this wonderful point forever, so are you sure you want to reveal this 'high' point to your closest friends?" And the answer to that question is "Yep! Sure do!" God calls me to live in the here and now- the past has sucked on so many levels and I can't go back. The future is unknown to me, but God is in control. Whether I lose one more single pound or not- God is still the author of this universe and totally is in love with me. I'm looking forward to some more "wooing" today- can't wait to see what my precious friend Jesus has instore for me today..what blessings, what surprises, what encouragement, what love......I'll be watching...
love you all!
k
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Submission and Stitches :)
Hi! Sorry I haven't posted for a few days...all has been great though! I'm actually looking forward
to getting on the scales tomorrow as odd as that may seem. I know I'm down in weight! Hooray!
This weekend has been a blast. My eyes are being opened to what obedience yields. I'm a big believer of prayer and it's power, especially as I walk out a new kind of life with the support of all your prayers. The support has been overwhelming as I've shared with you all our decision for me to come back home as a homemaker. You've embraced me, encouraged me and just loved me right where I am. I have 3 more days of work this week Mon-Wed and I ask for your prayers for open doors to just witness to people-bold, truthful and loving witnessing!!!! God is moving in me and I don't want to miss any of the blessings that He has in store.
I'm being "wooed" by God. I've heard about this "wooing" before and thought it sounded a little out there to be honest! But, as I press on and just claim His goodness and faithfulness, despite my ugliness and sinfulness...the more I am wooed and loved by Him. I know, I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense. I have lived in such dark, desolate and sinful times that I can not wrap my pea sized brain around how or why Jesus would love me. Yah, Yah, you've heard me say this a bazillion times...but seriously, I am one nasty sinner. If you could just take a peak inside my heart and thoughts- you'd see how desperate I am for forgiveness!
Today, some neat things happened at our family group- all of which are blessings from God. I see God working in a new way, a peaceful, joyous way. This all stems 100% from Pastor Randy's recent sermon series on marriage. I think I'm coming to actually love the word "submitt." It's a beautiful word, one defined by pastor as "an intelligent response to God ordained authority." One of the major areas that I battle is with authority, especially my husband's authority. This is quite embarrassing because it's outright disobedience and results in chaoticness! Things have been out of whack for quite sometime in my life (obedience and submission mainly!) Have you ever just stopped and looked at your life to say "How on earth did I get here to this point?"
There's a song that plays on the new movie "Fireproof" called "It's a Slow Fade." How true. How true. From the outside looking in, possibly my life seems alright. I look to be a happy, cheerful, go getter type of gal, able to balance work, family, church, etc pretty decently. I show up faithfully at church Sun and Wed, etc etc. Some of you have even said recently that you were quite shocked by my sudden change of direction. Well, just remember "it's a slow fade." I didn't just wake up one day and say "I think today's the day that I will quit work and flip my whole life a new direction." Nope...it was more of a slow, day by day, drifting away from God, seeking after what I wanted and dreamed for (which was a position in management, better pay and recognition in the work place for accomplishments). The bold evangelistic Kara was slowly fading away into the business world. My main focus and desire became money...making extra money at work through certain products. My real motive of making moola became masked by "I'm here to just help the customers and provide good service" lie that is sooooooo easy to buy into. Who was I fooling? My job did NOT line up with scripture and where my heart is supposed to be- which is home. My thoughts became consumed with advancement and slowly faded away from the Good News of Jesus. Got to go......
p.s. Evan was running around the house like a naughty boy boy and wiped out near the stair, slamming his lip right onto the ledge...he slit the inside of his lip open. Anna told me about this over the phone at the beginning of family group...I figured it was no bid deal since it stopped bleeding and he was fine. But, when we got home and assesed it- major split in the upper inside of the corner of his mouth. The gash was so bad that I was shocked that it wasn't still bleeding. So, John took him to the ER for stitches. He just got home and has 3 stitches in his mouth. John said he was very brave and only said "ouch" one time! What a precious boy!! I just love him!!
K
to getting on the scales tomorrow as odd as that may seem. I know I'm down in weight! Hooray!
This weekend has been a blast. My eyes are being opened to what obedience yields. I'm a big believer of prayer and it's power, especially as I walk out a new kind of life with the support of all your prayers. The support has been overwhelming as I've shared with you all our decision for me to come back home as a homemaker. You've embraced me, encouraged me and just loved me right where I am. I have 3 more days of work this week Mon-Wed and I ask for your prayers for open doors to just witness to people-bold, truthful and loving witnessing!!!! God is moving in me and I don't want to miss any of the blessings that He has in store.
I'm being "wooed" by God. I've heard about this "wooing" before and thought it sounded a little out there to be honest! But, as I press on and just claim His goodness and faithfulness, despite my ugliness and sinfulness...the more I am wooed and loved by Him. I know, I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense. I have lived in such dark, desolate and sinful times that I can not wrap my pea sized brain around how or why Jesus would love me. Yah, Yah, you've heard me say this a bazillion times...but seriously, I am one nasty sinner. If you could just take a peak inside my heart and thoughts- you'd see how desperate I am for forgiveness!
Today, some neat things happened at our family group- all of which are blessings from God. I see God working in a new way, a peaceful, joyous way. This all stems 100% from Pastor Randy's recent sermon series on marriage. I think I'm coming to actually love the word "submitt." It's a beautiful word, one defined by pastor as "an intelligent response to God ordained authority." One of the major areas that I battle is with authority, especially my husband's authority. This is quite embarrassing because it's outright disobedience and results in chaoticness! Things have been out of whack for quite sometime in my life (obedience and submission mainly!) Have you ever just stopped and looked at your life to say "How on earth did I get here to this point?"
There's a song that plays on the new movie "Fireproof" called "It's a Slow Fade." How true. How true. From the outside looking in, possibly my life seems alright. I look to be a happy, cheerful, go getter type of gal, able to balance work, family, church, etc pretty decently. I show up faithfully at church Sun and Wed, etc etc. Some of you have even said recently that you were quite shocked by my sudden change of direction. Well, just remember "it's a slow fade." I didn't just wake up one day and say "I think today's the day that I will quit work and flip my whole life a new direction." Nope...it was more of a slow, day by day, drifting away from God, seeking after what I wanted and dreamed for (which was a position in management, better pay and recognition in the work place for accomplishments). The bold evangelistic Kara was slowly fading away into the business world. My main focus and desire became money...making extra money at work through certain products. My real motive of making moola became masked by "I'm here to just help the customers and provide good service" lie that is sooooooo easy to buy into. Who was I fooling? My job did NOT line up with scripture and where my heart is supposed to be- which is home. My thoughts became consumed with advancement and slowly faded away from the Good News of Jesus. Got to go......
p.s. Evan was running around the house like a naughty boy boy and wiped out near the stair, slamming his lip right onto the ledge...he slit the inside of his lip open. Anna told me about this over the phone at the beginning of family group...I figured it was no bid deal since it stopped bleeding and he was fine. But, when we got home and assesed it- major split in the upper inside of the corner of his mouth. The gash was so bad that I was shocked that it wasn't still bleeding. So, John took him to the ER for stitches. He just got home and has 3 stitches in his mouth. John said he was very brave and only said "ouch" one time! What a precious boy!! I just love him!!
K
Friday, November 21, 2008
Better
Your prayers have been helpful. I'm finally feeling a bit revived. My monthly friend decided to visit and wiped me out yesterday. I slept for 3 hours in the middle of the day- ahhhh...it was a yummy nap! I asked to not go back to work until this next Monday which I'm very relieved about. I can't remember another time in my life when so many stresses came crashing down all at once. Many of you have been worried about me and I know you love me. Thank you.Thank you. Thank you. I wish I could make more sense of myself...but I can't. Thank you for loving me right where I am. I am very, very, very bad about admitting when I'm getting maxed out until finally the volcano just erupted. It's NO ONE's fault for not seeing it coming. I'm just taking it one day at a time and breathing deep breaths again. The problem with me is that I can stay afloat and appear to be just fine...why? because I begin to tune out the big things around me, the kid's fighting and not obeying. I've decided to slow down majorly! Majorly! I'm planning to mass organize things in my home, would love to paint the living room before Christmas, and shampoo the carpets.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Need prayer!
Needing prayer! I've been ill and very overwhelmed...please just pray. I've asked to not go back to work until Monday. I do love God and am seeking after Him. Just trying to keep it real as to where I am and I NEED your prayers for strength, wellness and healthiness. Can't really say anything else right now.....please pray!
k
k
Monday, November 17, 2008
Supreme Winter Health Plan
You'll notice the new look of my blog. I tried to chose a fun cheerful winter look since I know that winter can be a bit depressing at times. But, I strongly believe that God is calling me to a supreme winter health experience. I've decided to start 2 new trackers- one for weight and one for cardiovascular exercise. My goal is a total of 150 min. of cardio per week which is an average of 30 min /5 times per week! I can do this with God's help!!!! You'll notice that my weight tracker is back up a little..but I'm not stressing about that. I plan to weigh in every Monday- HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!! I squeezed in just 5 min. of cardio this evening by stepping up and down on our stairs. By the end of that 5 min- whew..i was out of breath. Yes, sad! But true!
I'm going to map out some attainable goals with my life and new direction- #1- ALONE time with God and His Word every day. My plan is to set the alarm for 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, get up and on the treadmill for just 15 min.. Then I want to spend time reading the Bible and choosing a passage to memorize/pray. I then want to play soft Christian music through my computer, start breakfast and at 7 a.m., sweetly wake each child up with a gentle touch. Ahhhhhhh...how peaceful. As soon as the first fight breaks out admist the children, I plan to quietly explain to them what the Bible says about this behavior, give them a warning to choose a better attitude, and then have them reconcile the situation. :)
After they leave for school, I will take Avry to "school"/church daycare! Friday will be her last day and then i plan to see if mom or A. Robin can watch her Mon, Tues, and Wed. of next week (during the day only). Once I return home from taking her, I plan to crank the music and get pumping around this house! Oh Lord, please give me a new vision for my home. I want to get back into that decorating on a dime mode, do some painting soon, and clean the carpets! Mom offered to lend me her carpet shampooer which is cool! But for tomorrow, just focus on putting folded laundry away, cleaning up the cat litter area and there's this spot of blue paint on the floor that his been driving me nuts- I think i actually will get a wet rag and clean it up tomorrow :)
Shockingly, all of the kid's bedrooms are pretty clean right now and there's nothing on the floor (except Anna's room, which she's going to work on). I plan to call john at work and brighten his day somehow, along with getting a top priority from him for my day. i will head to work in the afternoon.
Oh..my...I have not even updated you on the septic system! The Lord prompted my aunt to offer to loan us the money. Hallalujah!!!! So, we contacted the original 2 companies that we had estimates from. Numbers were still looking steep. As we went to bed last night, the phone rang and it was a different uncle wanting to razz John about not knowing that we were having septic issues! He said that we needed to call Jerry Beck who does a phenomenal job in this field and would be more reasonable. He's coming tomorrow to give us an estimate......I think God's fixin' to do something big here...PLEASE continue to pray!!!! I've never been so excited over such a "poopy" topic :) teeheeeeeee!
Off I go to make more lists! Goodnight friends! You'll be hearing from me on this blog on a consistent basis now that my life is going to get refocused!
love ya,
k
I'm going to map out some attainable goals with my life and new direction- #1- ALONE time with God and His Word every day. My plan is to set the alarm for 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, get up and on the treadmill for just 15 min.. Then I want to spend time reading the Bible and choosing a passage to memorize/pray. I then want to play soft Christian music through my computer, start breakfast and at 7 a.m., sweetly wake each child up with a gentle touch. Ahhhhhhh...how peaceful. As soon as the first fight breaks out admist the children, I plan to quietly explain to them what the Bible says about this behavior, give them a warning to choose a better attitude, and then have them reconcile the situation. :)
After they leave for school, I will take Avry to "school"/church daycare! Friday will be her last day and then i plan to see if mom or A. Robin can watch her Mon, Tues, and Wed. of next week (during the day only). Once I return home from taking her, I plan to crank the music and get pumping around this house! Oh Lord, please give me a new vision for my home. I want to get back into that decorating on a dime mode, do some painting soon, and clean the carpets! Mom offered to lend me her carpet shampooer which is cool! But for tomorrow, just focus on putting folded laundry away, cleaning up the cat litter area and there's this spot of blue paint on the floor that his been driving me nuts- I think i actually will get a wet rag and clean it up tomorrow :)
Shockingly, all of the kid's bedrooms are pretty clean right now and there's nothing on the floor (except Anna's room, which she's going to work on). I plan to call john at work and brighten his day somehow, along with getting a top priority from him for my day. i will head to work in the afternoon.
Oh..my...I have not even updated you on the septic system! The Lord prompted my aunt to offer to loan us the money. Hallalujah!!!! So, we contacted the original 2 companies that we had estimates from. Numbers were still looking steep. As we went to bed last night, the phone rang and it was a different uncle wanting to razz John about not knowing that we were having septic issues! He said that we needed to call Jerry Beck who does a phenomenal job in this field and would be more reasonable. He's coming tomorrow to give us an estimate......I think God's fixin' to do something big here...PLEASE continue to pray!!!! I've never been so excited over such a "poopy" topic :) teeheeeeeee!
Off I go to make more lists! Goodnight friends! You'll be hearing from me on this blog on a consistent basis now that my life is going to get refocused!
love ya,
k
Sunday, November 16, 2008
NEWS!!!
Oh dear friends!
Today is a freeing and glorious day. The Lord has directed John to be the sole provider for our family again and for me to resign.
Here's a copy of what I sent to my wonderful employer:
Management staff, whom I consider my new friends:
After much prayer and thought, John and I have come to the decision that I should devote all of my time and energy back to being a stay at home mom. As much as I do love my job and working with all of you, it’s producing some unforeseen challenges that are not worth any amount of money. I can not thank you all enough for everything you’ve taught me and your willingness to be flexible. Walgreens is an extremely reputable company whom I have been honored to work for. I know this comes as a shock to all of you since I’ve been motivated to move up towards management. However, I'm learning to not worry about what other's will think of me and put God first- this will always bring the peace that surpasses all understanding. My eyes have suddenly become open to a bigger picture, and I have to embrace it and do what’s best for my family.
We’d like for my last day of work to be Wednesday, Nov. 26th or as soon as you can fill my shifts. I'm in bed again today with another colon attack...no fun. I'm still planning to work tomorrow though unless things worsen.
I'm mean this from the depth of my soul...you ALL have been amazing to work with and I consider you my new friends.
Thank you,
Kara Townsendp.s..Betty, please do NOT think this has anything to do with our conversation of Friday. This has been on my heart for sometime and it just came to a head over the weekend through John's wisdom! :) I care for you all!
The crazy thing about life is that you feel like such a fool when you repeat the same mistake twice. I KNOW 100% that God has called me to NOT work. Eight years ago, I heard Him and resigned from my job, stayed at home for about 3 years, then dove into Pampered Chef for 3 years and heard God speak again. So, I resigned. Then, here I am again. Can I say 100% for sure that I was supposed to go back to work any of these times......no. However, God did use them to bring some precious friends into my life and worked it all for His glory!
Let me just say, that if you were not at EFC this morning, I strongly strongly encourage you to listen to the sermon online at www.elstonfamily.org (It may take the person who posts them a couple of days to get it on there) Pastor Randy's sermon confirmed exactly what John and I decided last night. I giggled all through the sermon because it felt as though pastor had been present during our conversation last night although he wasn't :)
That's God for ya...always doing miraculous things. I must admitt that I didn't really think He'd release me so soon from my job. Yet, I'm called to just obey. It's not my job to please man but to instead please God :) This is very freeing!
To ALL of you who read this blog- your prayers have mattered greatly. I know many of you went to our heavenly Father in prayer on my behalf and begged Him to reveal himself. He did. He has spoken and we have peace.
In a sick kinda way, it's rather funny that I'm in bed right at this minute with another colon attack. But don't worry- God is on the throne and I will be fine with Him by my side.
The passion in me is quickly reigniting and I feel close to Him, close to John and close to my children. This is what counts!
He is holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. He is Lord God Almighty. The Bible is truth and obeying it will set us free. I'm very pumped about He will take me from this point forward.
The glow on my children's faces today when we told them was enough to melt my heart.
I love you all,
K
Today is a freeing and glorious day. The Lord has directed John to be the sole provider for our family again and for me to resign.
Here's a copy of what I sent to my wonderful employer:
Management staff, whom I consider my new friends:
After much prayer and thought, John and I have come to the decision that I should devote all of my time and energy back to being a stay at home mom. As much as I do love my job and working with all of you, it’s producing some unforeseen challenges that are not worth any amount of money. I can not thank you all enough for everything you’ve taught me and your willingness to be flexible. Walgreens is an extremely reputable company whom I have been honored to work for. I know this comes as a shock to all of you since I’ve been motivated to move up towards management. However, I'm learning to not worry about what other's will think of me and put God first- this will always bring the peace that surpasses all understanding. My eyes have suddenly become open to a bigger picture, and I have to embrace it and do what’s best for my family.
We’d like for my last day of work to be Wednesday, Nov. 26th or as soon as you can fill my shifts. I'm in bed again today with another colon attack...no fun. I'm still planning to work tomorrow though unless things worsen.
I'm mean this from the depth of my soul...you ALL have been amazing to work with and I consider you my new friends.
Thank you,
Kara Townsendp.s..Betty, please do NOT think this has anything to do with our conversation of Friday. This has been on my heart for sometime and it just came to a head over the weekend through John's wisdom! :) I care for you all!
The crazy thing about life is that you feel like such a fool when you repeat the same mistake twice. I KNOW 100% that God has called me to NOT work. Eight years ago, I heard Him and resigned from my job, stayed at home for about 3 years, then dove into Pampered Chef for 3 years and heard God speak again. So, I resigned. Then, here I am again. Can I say 100% for sure that I was supposed to go back to work any of these times......no. However, God did use them to bring some precious friends into my life and worked it all for His glory!
Let me just say, that if you were not at EFC this morning, I strongly strongly encourage you to listen to the sermon online at www.elstonfamily.org (It may take the person who posts them a couple of days to get it on there) Pastor Randy's sermon confirmed exactly what John and I decided last night. I giggled all through the sermon because it felt as though pastor had been present during our conversation last night although he wasn't :)
That's God for ya...always doing miraculous things. I must admitt that I didn't really think He'd release me so soon from my job. Yet, I'm called to just obey. It's not my job to please man but to instead please God :) This is very freeing!
To ALL of you who read this blog- your prayers have mattered greatly. I know many of you went to our heavenly Father in prayer on my behalf and begged Him to reveal himself. He did. He has spoken and we have peace.
In a sick kinda way, it's rather funny that I'm in bed right at this minute with another colon attack. But don't worry- God is on the throne and I will be fine with Him by my side.
The passion in me is quickly reigniting and I feel close to Him, close to John and close to my children. This is what counts!
He is holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. He is Lord God Almighty. The Bible is truth and obeying it will set us free. I'm very pumped about He will take me from this point forward.
The glow on my children's faces today when we told them was enough to melt my heart.
I love you all,
K
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