A Good Day, A Good Husband

It's been so long since I have felt I have had a "good day" of note, that I just think I have to remark about yesterday, Sunday, Sept. 16th. Yesterday I went to church where Pastor talked about the fact that when we're on the right track in the Christian life, we're going to face opposition (from Satan), so we should take heart and not be discouraged. I needed that encouragement.

I have felt discouraged of late...doing a lot of questioning and soul searching, too much working and studying and not finding time for refreshment, joy and wonder. Admittedly, I'm not finished questioning, but it was good to be encouraged not to give up fighting the good fight, living as a Christian.

After the service we did the usual chit chat with friends. My friends Katya and Greg are getting ready to have a baby in just a few short days. It is so wonderful to see how God is blessing them with this little life. (The miracle of life ladies and gentlemen!) They will be first time parents, and as I talked with Katya and she shared some of her thoughts about getting ready to be a mom, I realized, we can't possibly anticipate everything that will happen when a new change comes into our lives. We can try and plan, but until we are in the thick of it, we don't know what will happen or how we will react. It was neat to see the metaphor that God is with us always, exemplified in the uncertainty of parenthood. Someday I hope to share in that mystery.

Jeff and I said our goodbyes and then we went to Panera and had a yummy lunch (Jeff surprised me). We were on our way to Barnes and Noble where I was to meet up with a classmate/friend Christi and come up with some objectives for our geography unit project on Maps and Mapping for 2nd graders when we pulled into Airport Square Mall for lunch. (Incidentally, if anyone has any pointers for this unit, I'd appreciate it! I also have to come up with an independent social studies handycraft to do with Elementary-aged kids, I'll take suggestions :) )

Well, the lesson and objective planning took a little longer than we thought it would...Jeff was a super trooper, so patient and kind. He did some independent reading, bought a book and hung loose until we were ready to all go to dinner together. Christi's boyfriend Ben met the three of us at UNO's. Jeff and I shared our dinners with eachother. I love it when we do that. Other people's food always tastes better to me :) It's a bonus when your spouse shares with you. We had good food and fellowship and then went our separate ways.

I wrapped up some laundry etc., played with the cat and went to bed so I could get up for boot camp this morning. I told you all this so I could also share how fun it was to be with my husband yesterday and to be with friends, and have the opportunity to eat out two times in one day! Wow! That was a treat.

Usually my days are a blur...one day running into the next, in fact, the only way I ever remember what I did over the weekend is to write it down. My brain is overloaded right now. Can you tell? Anyway...a good day. When is the last time you had one? What did you do? What made it "good"? Share with us, will yah?

The stuff of life

Dieting: Now that I am officially dieting, I have to be super aware of everything I eat. I have to write everything down and be all self-aware and stuff. Sheesh. :) This is another exercise in planning. If I plan out several meal/menu combinations that I enjoy and assign them point values, it will take most of the work away from the task of dieting. In the great words of Bruce Willis, "Yippee Kai Yay..."

Projects: I've started decorating my amo can. I've been spray painting and sanding and spray painting it under Jeff's supervision. He's the spray-paint-experienced, artsy person out of the two of us. I still have to add two more colors of spray paint (I'm going for the pink and gray camoflage scheme) and superglue some bedazzled butterflies, maybe stencil on some butterflies too, we'll see. I wrote my last name in black permanent marker on my canteen to personalize it. I'm sore and tired, but dealing. I still have a lesson plan to write for tomorrow night. Yowser.

Tomorrow is Marathon Wednesday. I get up around 4 a.m. and go to bed after 10:30 p.m. What was I thinking again? Oh well! Something must be done to stem the tide of fatness, in this case, it's doing bootcamp AND continuing my education. The question is, will I still have enough energy to do it ALL?

Love and Respect, for the Ladies

He must love her, she must respect him, whether or not he or she is deserving of that love or respect. It figures that the hardest thing to show to your spouse is the very thing that God demands. Women easily and naturally love with abandon, and men good naturedly extend respect to their fellow man. How hard it is for a woman to respect her husband's God-given authority or for the man to love his wife as Christ loved the church!

It is the age-old struggle. Women consciously or subconsciously fighting their husbands for control in the marriage... Men struggling to step up to the plate and lead... Women not being satisfied with the attempts men make to help out around the house...nagging them to do it better, faster or differently altogether...

I think it is even harder to biblically submit to our husbands in this day and age when most women are working 40 plus hour weeks along side their husbands and then they have the house to come home to (and potential other responsibilities outside the home)! Men who have grown up in a home where their mom has done all the housework may decidely refrain from engaging in household chores leaving these duties to their working wives... and this is a source of friction in many a marriage.

What are ways that you have addressed this in your marriage? How do you communicate with your husband about who pays the bills? How do you divy up the chores? How have you set up your budget? Any advice?

Vacation Anyone?

Where did you take your most restful vacation ever? Where did you go? What did you do? What did you see? What was your favorite part about it? I'd like to know.

Jeff and I are going on vacation at the end of the month to NC. We enjoy it. It's peaceful, there aren't a ton of people and I can wiggle my toes in the sand and take walks while listening to the birds and the waves. Jeff enjoys boogie boarding and casting his fishing net.

Where do you go to get away from it all?