Something is amiss

This is what happens when your 20 month old nephew comes to visit:

This is what the cabinet usually looks like:

And yes, that cabinet is full of VHS tapes.  That I still watch on a regular basis.

Blessings jar update

I have taken a picture of the jar as we've progressed through the months, but I keep forgetting to actually put them on the blog!  Here we are almost to the end of September, and I've much to be thankful for.  I can't wait until January when I'll be ready to review the year!  Here are some blessings I've encountered in the recent weeks:
~Getting back to BSF on Monday nights was a true blessing.  I didn't realize that I had missed it until I was sitting in the pew on the first night.
~Time with friends--from dinner, to telephone conversations, to watching movies and playing games--I am blessed to have friends to spend time with.
~AWANA starting back and going from not enough leaders to an abundance of leaders.
~cooler weather
~good sessions with clients (while I feel like these have been few and far between lately, I am thankful for the sessions I can remember and count as blessings).
~quiet time at home to regroup when life gets crazy
~the fall schedule in general.  While it brings its own challenges, overall, I enjoy the craziness.

I hope everyone is counting their blessings and seeing how the small things in life add up!

Just a random roommate conversation

Teresa: You're picking up what I'm putting down?
Emily: Yep.  I think its lies, but I'm picking up what you're putting down.
Teresa: If I'm putting down lies, why are you picking them up?
Emily: I get the concept that you are trying to express even though I don't think it is true.

Never a dull moment in this apartment...

A Cultural Experience

Saturday I engaged in a cultural experience with some friends. Kari had some free passes to the Peoria Museum, so several of us went. It was a lot of fun. We really did some cultural things, like study the history of Peoria and look at Ansel Adams pictures. And then we entertained ourselves in the discovery area.   

Group picture at its best :)  See if you can find me...

I leisurely rode in a kayak.

While Kari worked to catch some fish.

Kari and Holly were playing catch with the fish.  Do you see the fish that Kari threw at me.  Everyone thinks it's funny to pick on the cameraman.

And then we discovered this buoy and had some fun taking pictures with it. :)

Man eating stuffed fish...I had to get away!

And another group picture.  We all look a little fishy.

After the museum we went to dinner at Chilis.  And stuffed ourselves on chips and salsa and other various foods.  Then we went back to Kari's house and watched Pitch Perfect.

Like I said, a cultural experience.  It was a fun day with good friends.  Happy Labor Day weekend!

Fall is upon us

How do I know fall is quickly approaching?

Not from the weather...but it's going to cool off soon.
Not from the leaves changing...but I'm looking forward to it.
Not from the introduction of all things apple and pumpkin...although I'd take something apple related right about now.
But because AWANA starts on Wednesday.
And Bible study starts on Thursday.
And my school schedule is in full chaotic swing.

The above picture is the state of our living room at the moment. My roommate is such a peach for allowing this to happen for a few days every year. Because it stays this way rather than me pick it all up and pull it all out again the next time I have time. I leave her a path to her chair, and I think that is all that matters to her! :)

Have scissors, will cut

This is Cubbie Bear.  He is one of about 6 billion that Emily and I cut out (along with the help of some friends) this week.  Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration :).  Every year I help with the Cubbie craft night.  It is a night that we spend putting together all the crafts for the whole year of AWANA (Cubbies is the preschool program).  But there is also prep work that goes into it.  And for some reason, we often get Cubbie bears to cut out.  We've developed a system, and I'd say it works.  Cutting is pretty mindless, so we cut while we watch TV.  And now we're ready to package tomorrow!

Just give me 2 minutes...

Okay, so let me start by saying how blessed I have been this summer with nice, cool weather.  No complaints at all.  If I could have 70 degrees for 6 months out of the year, I would gladly take it.  Low 60s at night.  Excellent.  I have loved most days about this summer.

But now, I have just a few complaints about this week's hot weather, because it's my blog.  And I can.
1.  Having a job where you are in and out of the office all day long is only good during moderate temperatures.  It makes me hot and cranky to constantly be going from air to heat to air to heat.

2.  Hot weather makes me nauseous the second I walk into it.

3.  Even the sun is too much.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just want a few days of overcast skies.  I had a migraine a couple of weeks ago, and since then, I feel like I have been more light sensitive.  I feel like I need double sunglasses to feel comfortable outside in that much light.

4.  I don't like when I don't feel like I can breathe.

5.  My car does not like to get-up-and-go when the air conditioning is running full blast.  I often have to turn the air off to get up a hill.

That's all.  Now back to the blessings.  Air conditioning.  A summer of mostly great temperatures.  Sunglasses.  An air conditioned car.  See--not really much complaint out of me at all.  It was just REALLY hot today.

Ministry as a Single Person

My church has a newsletter for the women in the church called, By the Way.  I was puzzling through some stuff on my own and was processing events in my life a couple of months ago and ended up with this article as I wrote out my thoughts.  I asked one of the ladies who work with By the Way if it would be something they were interested in.  Not a big deal, but as I read it again today, I continue to be in awe of what God does in my heart in regard to how I love people and how I relate to people.  Just Friday night, I had to make a decision between two events that I wanted to go to.  I chose to go to my Sunday School class social.  And I never regretted it!  They are an amazing group of people who welcome this single gal into their midst without thinking twice about it!  I love them for it and trust me when I say that they are a hilarious group of people to hang out with.  Cheese puffs and shaving cream might have been used in a game.

Anyway, here is the article I wrote for everyone who doesn't get By the Way:

Ministry as a Single Person

In my final year of graduate school, I lived with a family as a nanny for a year.  This was a huge blessing to me in so many ways.  It was there that I was first able to see the love of Christ demonstrated through family and what it means to raise a family as believers.  When I graduated, the husband and wife (Chris and Sarah) sat me down to have a conversation about my future.  I don’t remember much of what we talked about, but one part of the conversation has really stuck with me and has been a guiding force for me in ministry and how I pursue relationships with other believers.  First, Chris asked me when I would ideally want to be married.  I jokingly said, “Two years ago.”  But joking aside, my desire was for marriage and a family, and they knew that based on my heart to take care of their children and be a part of their family for that year.  Their advice to me as I was moving from Texas to Illinois, while partly about finding the person I would want to spend my life with, was to find a church where I could serve families and serve alongside families in ministry.  They knew this was where my heart was in ministry and they believed that in doing so, the man the Lord had for me would be found serving alongside me in these ministry opportunities. 

It has been seven years since that conversation and I am still struck by how much those words have meant to me and have driven how I do ministry as a single person.  I am often struck by the diversity of the body of Christ.  And as a single person, that diversity can sometimes be intimidating and can sometimes make me want to crawl into my single person shell and only seek other single people who understand me. Finding places to serve can sometimes be intimidating as a single person.  For a long time, I had a misguided idea that some ministry opportunities were only going to be relevant for me if I were to get married.  For example three years ago my question was: How could I possibly be a director in AWANA when I am younger than many who serve and I don’t have a family of my own? I quickly was given counsel in this area and was able to realize that it was my own fear stopping me and creating doubts.  The more I find opportunities to serve alongside families, the more blessings I am able to receive and bestow.  You can currently find me directing the T & T AWANA girls on Wednesday nights, serving on a couple of nursery teams, and helping in the kitchen for different events.  Most Sunday mornings (because I am a creature of habit), you can find me sitting five rows from the front on the left side with a wise woman in the faith.  We originally met on a committee for Women on their Own.  I sit with her because I do not have opportunity to see her outside of church and because it is nurturing to my spirit when I miss a week and find out that she has asked others where I am.  And even in our few minutes of conversation before and after the service, I gain a new perspective on my own Christian walk by listening to the perseverance of a saint as she tells me about her week.   Since last year I have been attending one of the multi-generational  ABC classes on Sunday mornings.  Through that class, I am able to study God’s Word with people who are my parents’ ages, who have families, and who are just starting families.  Our life stages do not matter, because God’s Word doesn’t change for the single person or the married person or the widowed person.  God’s Word remains true no matter our life circumstances.  I am also in a small group that has people from other countries in it and people of different life stages.  And again, we are all able to study God’s Word together and encourage one another through the study of His Word. 

Through Bethany, I have found exactly what Chris and Sarah prayed that I would find.  A church where I can minister among families and to families.  A place where I am part of something bigger than myself and where I can seek to glorify God today.  Not while I am waiting, but as I am in service for Him.  Have I found that husband?  No.  But I can’t say that it was ever truly my motivating factor for following Chris and Sarah’s advice.  My motivating factor was to trust the Lord’s good for me and that He would give me the desires of my heart.  Those desires are not always fulfilled in the way we would want them to be fulfilled.  Do I have a family of my own?  No.  But I have children I minister to in multiple ministries.  And I have families who welcome me into their homes to share life with them.  And I am filled with joy as I seek to live out the plans God has for me today.

Happy Birthday, Amy!

22 years ago, I was blessed to have an additional member added to my family. It was the year that Dad married Amy. While it might have been a rocky start, mainly because I was 12 and did not want to give up my time with my dad to another woman, that rockiness did not last long. I have loved having Amy in my life. She has been a great sounding board for many emotional ups and downs. She has supported decisions I have made and counseled me when she thought decisions were not great.  I love that we are in the same profession and that as I started out as a therapist, she was there to be a sounding board with much more experience.  I love that she pushed me to try new foods during the early days of our relationship.  I love our late night chats when we should both be sleeping but it is the best time for girl time. I love that she does not like for me to introduce her as my step-mom because she does not like the negative connotation that goes with that word (even though we have never come up with a good alternative to introduce her because, "Hey, this is my dad's wife" makes it sound even less like I want to claim her!).   I love that we are just family and we don't have to explain it further than that. 

Thanks for doing life with me for the past 22 years, Amy!  My life is blessed because you are in it and I couldn't imagine it any differently!

Forsbergapalooza, Part 2--Organizing the Chaos

My Aunt Kathy is the queen of pictures in our family. Saturday, we shared picture taking duties, but she was still in charge. And of course she said we needed to get some group photos. I protest a lot, but secretly I don't mind so much.  It's just fun to protest! :) 

Above is all of my generation of cousins plus spouses.  Well, this was everyone who was in attendance.

And then we added in all the next generation.

And then we attempted to get a picture of all the younger generation.  I grabbed the camera from Aunt Kathy while she attempted to help organize because I knew the pictures of the organization would be the best.

Missing one twin...

And now he's escaping to the left...

And his mom is trying to catch him as he exited to the right (see some of the kids looking that way)...

They are dropping like flies...

Thanks Jeremy for catching the other twin...

The paparazzi!

Finally...they are all sitting.  Not all looking at the camera, but they are all sitting! :)  We call that success!

And just in case you thought that the adults took their picture with ease, here is one of the outtakes.  Not really sure what Sara was doing but Michelle thought it was really funny!

Later in the evening we had an impromptu gathering of the men.

And the paparazzi swarmed again!

In case you thought this was a lot of pictures to look through, just know that there were over 300 pictures taken on Saturday.  I narrowed it down to about 30 between the two posts!