Our Marriage

Tonight we have been asked to speak at The Chapel pre-marital class dinner. They have a wonderful program that over the span of a few weeks, gives lots of information that, if you pay attention in class, can help make the transition from singleness to marriage a little easier. It all culminates with a class dinner where two or three "newly" married couples come share about their marriages.

This will be our third time, which means we must have a least a little wisdom to share. Only being married three years, almost, I am surprised at that little bit of wisdom. Surprised that it's there. Surprised at how little.And sometimes even surprised at how much.

Before getting married I thought I was wise about marriage.
Then, I got married.

I quickly learned that wisdom in marriage doesn't come from knowledge about marriage, but from actually being married. It's learning about your spouse. Remembering what you have learned. Applying what you have learned.

It's turning the other cheek, loving, forgiving, sharing, caring, helping, building, nurturing.

It's amazing.

Thanks to Josh for being on my team, slowly helping to build the wisdom.

Baby Baby!

No, still not us!

I met Allie yesterday.

She's gorgeous, literally!

Beautiful skin tone, brown hair with highlights!

She's amazing.

Her parents are doing great, which we knew they would.

Congratulations again guys!!

Baby!

No, not us.

Not yet.

Maybe sometime.

At least Josh will talk about it now. Well, he always would talk about it, but now talking about it doesn't make him sick to his stomach.

Anyway, congratulations to our friends Gary and Jennie Underwood on the birth of their daughter Allison Joy. Check her out here!

They are the real reason behind today's blog. We are very excited for them! We look forward to watching Allie grow, and watching Gary and Jennie grow as parents.

Birthdays

Well, here I am, another year older. Today is my birthday, not technically until 10:34pm. But anyway, I'm 28. I can't believe it.

I have never been a big fan of birthdays, at least not my own. Not only because I am aging every year, but because I don't want anyone making a fuss over me. I have spent the past few days explaining this to my husband. He doesn't quite understand, but he knows I can be strange about somethings so he just accepts what I am saying.

We spent last night trying to figure out how to divide tonight between our two families. We had already planned to have dinner with my family and cake with Josh's. Then we found out my family was getting a cake too. Two cakes? For me? I guess 28 isn't too bad. Along with not being a big fan of my birthday, I am also not a fan of dividing our time between our two families. So, it took Josh and I awhile, and a little argument to nail down how we'd spend this evening. All of which again, made me me not too excited about celebrating my birthday.

Then came this morning. I came to work expecting it to be an ordinary day. A "Happy Birthday" here and there, but no big deal. I was wrong. I walked in the door greeted by a beaming almost 4 year old, yelling "Happy Birthday Kirsten!" Then upon entering the kitchen, I see a cake. A CAKE! For me!! What a surprise! I almost cried! Then the family sang Happy Birthday to me. Again, another huge surprise. It made me feel so special, so loved. What a way to start my day.

I feel better now about celebrating the start of the 28th year of my life. A little more optimistic that it won't be a hassle. Maybe next year I'll be a fan of my birthday again. I'll have to keep you posted.

The Pool

I love going to the pool. I grew up going to the pool, Montrose Swim Club. It was the best pool! It was huge. Two Olympic sized lap pools connected by a diving well, complete with a water slide, a high dive, and two low dives. A giant U shape of fun, and memories. If I am ever asked the question, "What's your favorite summer-time memory?" My answer is always, "The Pool!"

I can remember going to the pool when my brother was a toddler. That wouldn't seem like a big deal except for the fact that he'll be 21 in November. So, toddler time for him was a long time ago. My mom would pack us all up, we'd pile in the car, find a shady parking space and file into the pool. She'd pick a lounge chair near the baby pool so my brother could play, but also so we could easily access her in case of emergency. Or if we wanted her to play with us in the big pool, or feed us, or give us money to buy a snack at the snack bar. Can you say frozen Twix? Yum!

Being there all the time, we made lots of friends at the pool. Some of those friends I went on to graduate from high school with. Though we weren't close in high school, we always had the special bond of the pool. Some of the friends we made at school, we convinced to become members at the pool. One of those friends and I spent almost everyday of the week there, literally.

We would get up early each morning to check the latest weather report. We always needed to know if it would be a good pool day. For awhile my sister was head life guard and needed to be at the pool from 8am-9pm. Very early and very late in the day, it was too cold to swim, but we were there anyway, often in sweat shirts and jeans until it was warm enough to lay out.

Oh to have the time to just lay out again! We would lay there for hours,listening to the radio, talking, eating frozen Twix. The last time I had a tan was for my wedding. And it was a fake tan at that!

After laying out all day, sometimes we would stay later at the pool for a teen dance party. We made up our own dances, learned dances others made up. We made boyfriends and lost boyfriends. We had the time of our lives dancing, seeing all of our friends, being at the pool.

Sadly, Montrose Swim Club had to come to an end. There was a need for some
costly repairs and the Montrose area was booming with retail business. The club was sold, demolished, and the land is now home to a Swenson's. I guess it could be worse.

So, this summer, in more than 10 years, I am once again going to the pool. The family I nanny for belongs to a pool so I get to take the kids. We go usually three days a week. It is so much fun to sit by the side of the baby pool, watch the kids play and explore and make friends. What a gift! And to top it all off, this summer I might actually get a real tan.

More Inspiration and...Rain

What an adventure on Thursday night at Alive. After rain was predicted all day at home, and we had none, we traveled to Alive, thinking it would be dry. It wasn't. They had rain earlier in the day.

When we first arrived we got stuck in the mud, literally. Luckily were able to be freed fairly easily. The journey to find a seat was pretty sloshy, but we managed. Then the clouds started to roll in, we saw lightning in the distance. They made an announcement that a short storm front was moving through and it might be wise to take cover. We purchased dinner and headed for the car. At this point it was just drizzling, but within less than a minute of reaching the car, it poured.

So, we ate dinner in the car while listening to talk radio, WNIR. We learned of severe thunderstorm warnings all throughout the area and heard some rather strange weather reports from listeners calling in. We spent almost an hour in the car before trekking through the now mud, and rain, to stand for almost two hours, to listen to recording artists bring glory to God.

And, that's exactly what they did. Rebecca St.James and Toby Mac. If you don't know much about them, check out their sites. I would encourage you to make it to a Toby Mac show if he's ever in your area, so entertaining and so glorifying. He mixes rock, with hip hop, with old school, with worship. It's amazing!

We trekked back to the car, once again in the mud. We drove home with muddy feet and muddy shoes. We hosed off in the driveway. Our sandals are still there if you know where we live and are interested in stealing them.

For those of you paying attention to today's title, you may be wondering about where the inspiration is. Well, it's here. I was reminded last night of something I have been hearing about since I was young. Watching the two very different artists and performances, they both achieved the same thing, glorifying the Lord. No matter who we are, no matter where we are, no matter what our talents are, we can use all that we are to worship and glorify God.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

Alive

Almost a week since the first blog. Seems like a long time, but there are times when one is unispired. Then there are nights like last night. Josh and I attended
theAlive Festival, and we were inspired. We were surrounded by hundreds of fellow Christians, all gathered in one place to worship the Lord and to learn more about how to truly live for Him. Leading worship was the David Crowder Band. It was awesome. Not just because Josh and I are huge fans, but because their sole purpose in creating music, is to bring glory to God.

That is to be our sole purpose too. Or, should I say "soul" purpose. It is easy for me to think that it would be easy to daily bring glory to God if I were a part of a Christian band that toured around the country singing of my love for Jesus, or if I were a Christian speaker appearing at conferences and churches to share with others what I know to be true. But it actually isn't as hard as it seems.

In the small space I occupy in this world, I occupy a huge space in the lives of those around me. If I am working to my fullest ability on a daily basis, I am bringing glory to God. That means, loving the children I care for, being respectful to my employers, caring for their home the way I would my own. If I am loving my husband to my fullest ability on a daily basis, I am bringing glory to God. This means living out the Fruit of the Spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control", Galatians 5:22&23. Click here to read more. It also means daily asking the Lord, "How can I be the best wife to Josh today, the kind of wife he needs?" Thanks to Gary Thomas for teaching me this at his Sacred Marriage conference.

I will be the first to admit that I don't consistently daily live out any of these things, especially not in my marriage. I want to, and I am trying. I think knowing the right things to do is half the battle. Thankfully God is a forgiving God, a God of second chances. He knows I am not always at my best, and He is patient with me, gently guiding me back to Him, to His ways. Thankfully He has provided me with a forgiving husband, a husband willing to provide second chances to a wife who will continually need them.

So back to where I started, the Alive Festival. Josh and I will be worshipping there again tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday night. Being there makes me so thankful to be a follower of Christ, to worship Him, and in the words of David Crowder,thankful that, "i'm ALIVE, i'm ALIVE, i'm ALIVE!"

The First Blog: "Our" First Business Trip

I wanted to start blogging a long time ago. Actually, just a couple of months ago is when I first learned about blogging. My husband Josh told me he was going to blog and I honestly thought it sounded like kind of a strange thing to do. But, any of you who are married know that once your spouse has an idea, somehow you catch on too. So, here I am.

This first official blog isn't what I had originally intended it to be. I imagined something very deep and personal, but then came the first official business trip for my husband.

Josh is in Florida now and for the first time in our almost three years of marriage, we will be spending more than two nights apart. I know many people travel for work so many couples are accustomed to time apart from one another. But, when you've been married awhile, and always together, the first time apart is especially, well, different.

In our marriage, just like most, there are usually times of strife, tension. Recently during those times, I have been thinking, "This Florida business trip couldn't come at a more perfect time. I really need some time alone." And then departure day came for Josh, and I was wishing I hadn't thought those things and that I didn't really need much time alone.

This first day has gone well. Josh updated me on his travels so I knew he was safe. I was busy with work and having dinner with a friend.

Josh and I chatted on the phone for a few minutes not too long ago. He is in awe of his hotel and watching The Simpsons. I miss him, but probably not as much as I will on day four of his journey, the day he returns.

So, even though he is the one who has traveled 1,024 miles away,(It's exact, I checked!)a part of me has traveled with him. That's why this is "Our" first business trip.