The Intentional Life

We started out as a handful of newlyweds, early 20's, still working our way through school. Paul met Keith through an on campus Bible Study and it was found out that they were both getting married within a few weeks of one another. One thing led to another and soon we were meeting on Tuesday nights, working through the Word, challenging one another, and helping each other navigate the path of married life + college. We did that for 2 straight years.  I think the only time we missed a Tuesday was for Christmas break. I have thanked God countless times for these precious couples He placed in our lives.  God-honoring husbands and wives who have brought about some pretty sweet, Jesus-loving children as well. Thankful that nearly 13 years later we can sit down and pick right up where we left off. We now live several hours apart from one another: Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Thank you, Davis's, for hosting the converging of the Tri-State. We

  Yada, yada, yada, time goes so fast. O blah dee, oh blah da, life goes on. We've all heard it. Because it's true. But we are still amazed by it just the same. It was just yesterday that we were bringing Owen home from the hospital, starting on this journey of parenthood. And already we are seeing our youngest graduate preschool, teetering on the brink of Kindergarten.  All 3 of our children will be in Elementary School. Hold me.

It used to come to me a little easier.  I had these thoughts tumbling around in my head.  So many things that I was trying to keep straight. The only way for me to organize it was to type it out. Post it here. My writing has fallen off quite a bit in the last several months.  I couldn't quite pinpoint what the cause of it was. Writer's block?  Busy schedule?  My life lacks inspiration? Perhaps a bit of all of that.  But I think the biggest deterrent... Pressure to perform.  Keep up with Joneses. I starting writing this blog to first post pictures for the Grandmas .  Owen was an only grandchild on both sides, the grandmas couldn't get enough of him, so I obliged. Then it evolved into a soothing balm, therapeutic healing, as I would write of the struggles of parenting teens. And my audience grew from 2 grandmas to a wider scope of readers. And while I have always strove to keep things authentic, and only post when I have felt the Spirit compel

Michael and Suzanne say they're just an ordinary family. They help out with homework, share family dinners, and try to keep their schedule straight. While this ordinary family started out with three children, God has been leading them on an adventure... Through a study of Isaiah, God spoke to Suzanne through His Word, piercing her heart to "seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17) This was the start of a four-year journey leading Suzanne and her husband, Michael, to Ethiopia 3 separate times to adopt 6 precious children. How in the world could they afford this? Through the love, support, and generosity of their local orphan ministry, they received matching grants through Lifesong to help fundraise to meet the financial cost of each adoption. The dollar-for-dollar matching grants acted as a catalyst, encouraging others to give, while raising awareness of God's great love for orphaned

I wish I could say that I have always appreciated the hard work that teachers do. But, unfortunately, that is not the case. During my years as a student, they were certainly taken for granted, no thought for all the prep work and time spent outside of the classroom. The classrooms just come looking that way, right?  With all those posters and creative bulletin boards? I didn't think about all the homework assignments, tests, project, quizzes that had to be prepared before ever giving them to the students.  They just took them right out a book, didn't they? I mean, I know they had to spend time grading tests and homework, but they could get that done in about 30 minutes after school was done for the day. Done with work at 4PM?  Getting 3 months off in the summer and two weeks at Christmas, plus all those other random holidays? Psh. But that was then.  Sorry, teachers, I was a self-absorbed, naive student. I've had a few other lessons taught to me since then.

I've lauded and praised the attributes that October holds.  And though October holds a special place in my heart as the best month of all.  April is runner up.  Birthday flowers! Paul and the kids surprised me at work with a bouquet. Though flowers don't hit full blown until usually the end of the month, I love the emerging buds and green leaves popping through the earth.  The quiet celebration of the end of winter.  Which crescendos into a shout of hallelujah by the time May hits.  Praise the Lord. April often is the holder of Easter, though it has to share with March every now and then because it's nice like that. And, though it held more excitement 20+ years ago....it also has my birthday in it.  Meh. With that, April was a month of celebrations.  We started with my birthday on Maundy Thursday, along with a Seder dinner which will become a yearly tradition in our family.  It was a special, sweet time with our kids, and I loved that it fell on my birth