Where did the last 8 years go??

I guess God's really trying to get the concept of TIMING through my head...I'm glad He hasn't given up on teaching me yet!

My way-too-big 8 (almost 9, he'd say) year-old boy went off to camp this week. The only reason I could send him off without crying was because his daddy was going as a counselor! Which, by the way, will be a great shock to the boys in Steve's cabin. Steve seems to think it's a chance to relive his Air Force survival training, and took off for camp with his actual survival hat and grand plans of waking the boys up to sit-ups, hunting for bugs to eat, and maybe even buzz haircuts!!

Anyway, I realized just how FAST the past 8 years have gone when Nate informed me that it was fine for dad to be a counselor as long as he didn't hug him in front of the other kids. What is that?! I already told him I would not be able to stick to that rule when the bus pulls back in on Friday. Then, he let me know: "Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but" (that's when I brace myself), "I may be having too much fun at camp to miss you. I might even forget to think about you." OK, no problem. Only the Holy Spirit kept me from reacting to that one with wails of, "I'm your mother, I gave birth to you, I'd die for you, " and so on and so on. I just nodded....

All this to say. Life is just a blip on the radar screen. God meant for my life to matter. I don't want to waste any more time worrying about the silly things. I mean, when I get to heaven, where I'll be spending a LOT more time than I ever spent on earth, it won't matter if my house was picture-perfect. In fact, my house will be gone. It won't matter if my clothes were cute...I'll have a whole new wardrobe!! (Is there an Old Navy in heaven?) It will matter how I treated my friends and family, my neighbors, and anyone else who might end up there too if I open up my mouth and tell them about Jesus. So, I can't wait to see you there, and if you want to look me up, I'll be at the Starbucks!

Time's a tickin

We're celebrating 13 years of marriage this month!

We are also 2 weeks into "full-time" work on our transition for Guatemala. Steve's last day of work was the beginning of an exciting part of this journey.

We found a little nugget of truth in patience from our 3 year old. He has just learned to stay in his room until 7am. When the digital clock says "7:00" we hear loud and clear from his room..."Moooooommmmmmmmyyyy, it's seven!". We were all excited! That is until we decided to teach him how to sleep in another 30 minutes so he'd get up with his siblings. We set the alarm for 7:30 and told him to stay in his room until his clock "sings". Easy, right? Well for the next 2 weeks we got the 7:00 wakeup call "Mooooommmmmy, it's seven!" and we would go to his room each day and tell him to wait until his clock sings. He's finally got it, and we are all so excited! We laughed about it the other day as we work towards leaving for Guatemala. If there's a change in plans or a delay, we get all flustered with God. "But why do we have to wait so long? Why can't we just pack up and move down there now?" is the typical below-the-surface grumblings. Thanks to our 3 year old, we can better realize that a little extra time is actually meant to help us prepare, not to frustrate us. So, now we are taking every opportunity, and are excited about the lessons ahead. :0)