Introduction

I started this blog over one year ago, and I have not made one single post. This in and of itself is a testimony to my fear of failure and struggle with perfectionism. I feel like the Lord laid it on my heart to begin documenting some of my spiritual journey that I have walked and to chronicle some of the roles I am called to fulfill in this life, but the blank screen seems to do a number on my nerves—so I do the next worst thing to perfectionism—I PROCRASTINATE! So here it goes, no more procrastination. I am not a gifted writer; instead you will find the meanderings of a forgiven, redeemed, and restored Christ-Follower, a wife, a mother, a daughter, and hopefully a friend, even if we have never met. So, pull up a chair, a computer, and a cup of your favorite Starbucks (a certain weakness of mine as my husband and my budget will attest) and let's chat. Leave a comment or two if you see something you like, or if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

I have no idea where this road will take me, so I am just going to travel. My intention is to share with you the new insights and information that the Lord is revealing to me. Since I am a mother of 4 (more about that in a second), you may occasionally find the humorous mother moments with which every mom can identify, but mostly I intend to write about my own questions and struggles and spiritual journey. First a little about who I am and how I got to where I am today.

I was raised in a conservative Christian home, mainly in the Nazarene church. My very young years were spent living on the mission field in Papua New Guinea, where my dad was raised from the time he was 7 until he left for college. My grandfather was a Nazarene pastor in PNG. I was saved at a very early age (4-years old) in his church. I remember the Sunday night very vividly and this is probably one of my very first memories. Do I believe that I really understood what I was doing at 4-years old? Maybe not fully, but I do have recollection of the fear of hell and an understanding that eternal separation from God was not something I wanted to face, a more full understanding came later in my middle school youth group years.

My family attended a Nazarene Church in Denver from the time I was very small, I was dedicated as a baby, baptized, joined the church, and married all in the same church. We attended there as a family from the time my mom was two weeks old (other than our time spent on the mission field). I was very active in that church and in the youth group the whole time I was growing up. Fellowship with the body of Christ is something I have always been a part of and has been instrumental in who I am today.

Pete and I met when I was only 16 years old and began dating about 9 months after we were first introduced. We dated through my last two years of high school and my freshman year of college and we were then married in September of 1997. I was one month shy of 20 and he was 4-days shy of 22. We were young, but very much dependent on one another and determined that together we could face whatever came our way (we had already survived 2+ years of long distance relationship, as Pete was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the time). Now just shy of 14 years later and 4 children later, I still consider Pete my best friend and biggest supporter and advocate. We have 3 boys, Peter (12), Quinlan (7), and Titus (6), and one daughter, Callie (3). God has blessed us mightily through the precious gift of these children and I try to continually be a student of each of my children. Learning their needs, what makes them tick, what do they love, what do they fear, etc.

Wow...... that was way longer than I intended and I kept adding and then deleting more information! Let me close this first post with one of my favorite verses given to me by a precious dear friend at a time when I needed it most, “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” -Zephaniah 3:17. Dear friends, can you picture the Lord your God, a victorious warrior, rejoicing over you with shouts of joy? I can, and guess what.... His word says it.... so He DOES!