I’m realizing now, as life is beginning to pick up — in a good way =) — now that I’m learning to make time for things I actually want to do and following opportunities that have been coming along my way to do these things, I don’t have quite as much “quiet” time at the end of my days to sit and adequately write up essays on all these topics that have been flowing through my mind and conversations with people I see.
SO…my current proposed plan now is to spend 2013 more just blogging as I seem to be seeing some other people blogging — just quick write-ups on what I’m up to, what I’m learning, what I’m putting together (now that I have a few cool curriculum writing and teaching opportunities lined up)… In 2014 (hopefully January) I will invest in a nicer website (yes, I am aware that my current “design” is quite lacking aesthetically, as well as my structure/organization is a lot more random and all over the place at this point), and be ready to launch something more formal, with a set plan of monthly columns, articles, devotionals, etc.
I realize that I am no celebrity and that my life as a stay-at-home mom is not exactly the type of life that makes headlines, so please note that I won’t be offended by any means if you modify your subscription settings (I will categorize these blog entries under “My Life”, and any articles/essays on relevant topics that I write along the way — especially if anyone sends me questions on something they’d like answered or discussed? — I will continue to categorize by topic).
Anyhow, here’s an update on some of the things going on in my life right now, to give everyone an idea of what I have been up to =)
FAMILY:
Finally feeling more settled into my role as a non-working stay-at-home mom of 3, and actually enjoying this season. My mother-in-law moved in end of March, and we are finally getting into more of a routine with one another, as well as feeling increasingly more comfortable communicating our needs and wants more regularly to try and work out our schedules together (I think both of our defaults is trying to observe and guess at what the other person is going to do before feeling comfortable making our own plans…which is really not very efficient or effective or happy). I am still growing in this area, but things are moving in a good direction =). Overall, it’s really amazing to have her extra help (and experience!) with the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and also just the possibility of being out of the house more often especially in the evenings when the kids are sleeping.
The school year is on its final stretch for Amethyst and Olivia, and Trevor (now 15 mos. +) is running around and climbing and attempting to say words (or sounds of words) here and there, growing fast and changing a little bit everyday. It’s fun to watch their little personalities develop, and to try our best to figure out strategies in discipline and teaching/training them to be confident, caring and considerate. These days, there is a lot of dealing with things like taking turns and sharing, having thankful hearts and positive attitudes, listening and obeying us, other parents and teachers etc. (not out of fear, but out of trust and love and respect), navigating the elementary school social world of friendships and not always being first and not always getting your way and sometimes not being included in at recess, play dates and birthdays.
We will be heading to LA on Monday for our family vacation this year, first trip for the kids to Disneyland! (And first time ever traveling with Trevor, I think). I’m looking forward to it, but also not 100% sure how the kids will be. Thankfully, Ivan’s mom will be travelling with us, and a couple of my really good friends will be meeting us down there as well, including for the 2 days we’ll be at Disneyland, so we won’t be on our own, and we won’t have to experience traveling out-numbered by the kids quite yet =)
HEALTH & FITNESS:
Our Church has also kicked off it’s 90-Day Fitness Challenge (last year, it was the 90 Day Challenge which I did not participate in as I was still nursing my newborn; this year, we are calling it “Wholeness 90,” with a greater emphasis on cultivating a sustainable healthier lifestyle and doing this in community). Website can be found here: http://catalystbody.com/
For now, I am easing my way in trying to re-establish my baseline as a runner (used to run regularly…over 6 years ago! before I was pregnant with Amethyst), and revisiting my Bikrams Yoga Classes that help me stretch and strengthen and relax my muscles (I found out last Tuesday that I still have 27 unused classes left that I purchased also more than 6 years ago, before I was pregnant with Amethyst). The challenge for me really is to just make that time for me to get out and exercise a priority that I can attend to even when there’s laundry and cleaning to do at home (which…it seems…is endless and never really complete).
My “biggest” step which I’m happy is going well was deciding last Friday to no longer drink my coffee with sugar in it, so I have been adding only milk into my Starbucks morning coffee, and ordering my $1 McDonald’s Iced Coffees with only milk (no syrups). It only took a few days to actually be enjoying my coffee sugar-free again (which is how it used to be before I acquired a sweet tooth that has stayed since my 2nd pregnancy).
As per the challenge, I did my best to eat lots of apples this past week (women were supposed to eat 1 apple before every meal; men 2 apples). My husband will be helping me stay on top of all the Wholeness 90 challenge requirements after our family trip to LA next week. He has stocked up on all the recommended supplements and is, as would be expected with his strong discipline and already pretty regular fitness routine, well on track with the program.
COMMUNITY GROUP & INNER HEALING:
One thing I am very excited about these days is a series on Introducing Inner Healing I’m putting together to teach my Church Community Group that meets every Wednesday in our home. Our group has more or less been meeting for the past two years now, so there is a trust level that has been built, as well as a level of maturity and understanding (just the character of the people in our group), that makes this basically a perfect setting for me to start trying to collect my notes/thoughts to share with people who, as they are “learning,” can give me valuable insight and ask good clarifying questions that lets me know what is important or significant to share or not. I likely will be sharing more insights from our discussions throughout the next several months =)
Last Wednesday was our first session on this topic. We discussed a working definition of Inner Healing, covered different signs to identify areas of our hearts/souls that need healing, as well as talked about how spiritual warfare and the problem of sin come into play.
OTHER MINISTRY THINGS GOING ON I’M EXCITED ABOUT:
Interestingly, it seems it was only a couple months ago that I left my part-time work-from-home job with Rewards1.com to make more time for family life, and developing this website, and also a couple transcribing/editing projects I want to attempt to turn some of my Church’s teaching into books/booklets that can be distributable resources…since not much else was really going on… But now I feel like my plate is quite full, but full of all these things that had been on my mind and heart for the last few years so I am…well, quite busy everyday (never really such a thing as a day where I don’t have something needing to be worked on), but happy and very excited (as long as I’m not letting myself feel guilty or overwhelmed by all that I’m not doing) =)
–Bible Study on James: I have been putting together and doing a Bible Study on the book of James with my good friend every other Thursday morning for the last few months, and we have 2 more studies left before we have finished our first book study . She had been looking into joining a local Bible Study Fellowship group, because she wanted to study the Bible with homework assignments, but wanted to be able to discuss things as relevant to what is going on in our lives and our Church (she is also a stay-at-home mom and very involved leader in our Church — has 4 young kids, home schools her 6-year-old son). It has been a huge blessing to me to not only be pushed to be reading the Bible in a more thorough, systematic and investigative way again, but also to be attempting to write the study and see someone I care about benefit at the same time… Hopefully this is something that we can continue doing long-term =)
–Love After Marriage: Our Friday evenings (10 total, with 2 weeks left after we are back from LA) have been set aside to assist our good friends, Brian and Doris Ha, who are the Marriage & Family Pastors at our Church, with leading our Church’s 3rd year and group going through the “Love After Marriage” Seminar by Barry and Lori Byrne from Bethel Church in Redding, California (Website at: http://www.loveaftermarriage.org/).
We personally went through the seminar last year, I a bit reluctantly simply because time and energy were so limited with taking care of my newborn and 2 growing girls, but it really was an amazing experience that brought a “completeness” to breakthrough we had already started the year before but still needed in our marriage to really open up communication and trust at ever-deepening levels.
It really has turned out to be a huge privilege to be part of this year’s group, watching younger couples (all have been married under a year to 3.5 years) take the time out of their busy schedules to really invest in each other and in building a solid foundation for their marriages. I can’t wait to see the fruit that will come out of their strong foundations as they journey through life together and start their families after learning how (or at least acquiring the awareness of tools to work with) to really connect and communicate and care for one another at that deeper level =)
–Speaking on Depression : One topic I’ve been hoping someday to become a resource to society on is depression, since it’s something I struggled so deeply with so many years of my life, and is one of the major areas of brokenness I always felt God leading me through to understand and to overcome, layer by layer, step by step. It is probably the biggest breakthrough in my personal testimony as a believer, and not in one of those ‘instantly healed’ ways, because for me it was always clearly a complicated, interpersonal inner healing journey versus a biochemical issue. I have been invited back to Evangelical Chinese Bible Church’s Friday Night Youth Group (where I worked as Youth Director before becoming a mom) on June 21st.
–Introduction to Christianity: This is my most recent potential project set to begin in August, to teach a class at Church for people who have recently become Christians, or who just never had a chance to learn the basics of what we really believe, and how we actually grow this relationship with God we have been gifted access to through Jesus’ work of reconciliation on the Cross… Anyhow, most people understand that someone saying they are a Christian does not automatically mean that person is actually transformed as a person, and even regularly attending religious services and activities doesn’t automatically transform a person’s heart.
SOME QUESTIONS I’VE BEEN CONTEMPLATING:
(1) What makes real flowers better than fake ones? And what does this reveal about the value of human life?
(2) What is it about nagging that makes it so negative and destructive?
(3) What does it look like day-to-day to be faithful, humble, diligent and hardworking, AND to live by radical faith in God’s faithfulness for destiny and provision?
(4) How does God really heal our hearts and restore our lives? How do we help each other encounter God in this way, and to be truly transformed for the better?
(5) How do we balance what can become very time-consuming online social-networking activities with living life and still having room for building meaningful relationships and actual face-to-face interactions?