On the Way Through Decade IV

Yep, I officially stepped past 40 with my first year in my pocket. My sweet husband reminded me the next "big one" is 50. Thank ya very much! But then he said, "Think of all we've done since 30!? Weve got a great time ahead."

And you know what? He's right! (I didn't just marry him for his looks after all :))

Just before and during our 30's...
...we celebrated our 7th anniversary
...we'd built our first home together
...we were settled with a great company and great careers
...we hit a bump and came out stronger (All the Glory!)
...we decided to alter the complete course of our lives and try for a family
...we got lucky and were blessed with our first child
...we built our second home together
...we got surprised (6 months after #1 arrived) and were gifted by a second
...we grew in our love and companionship more than we could have dreamed

And to think, we've got 10 years ahead to beat that.  Plus I have this to keep me young...

GAME ON!

From Here to There

I know I've mentioned to several of you about the message series we are in the midst of at Church of the Highlands, "From Here to There". I think just about every church starts of the begining of the year with a theme centered around change - changing habits, changing perspective, making changes, etc. What better time of year other than January can you reach out to people when they are bound to be making resolutions for the rest of the year.

What I find intriguing about this series is that rather than focusing on resolutions (which for me are exactly the same as the previous year because I never actually get them accomplished), Pastor Chris is focusing on the journey. I know where I want to go, but I never seem able to focus on how exactly to get there.

Apparently I am not the only one that finds this series inspiring, because we are now maxed out in two of the three Sunday a.m. services, including the overflow auditorium upstairs and therefore are adding a fourth, at 1pm in addition to the Sunday 6pm service. And that's just our main campus! It's so wonderful to see each Sunday the lives that are changed through these messages and it makes me want to reach out and share with others what we are experiencing. Of course, for those of you that are local and are reading this, PLEASE, by all means, come to one of our services! This experience at Church of the Highlands began for Cory and I seven years ago - just a year after the church opened with just 300 members, and now we are 11,000+ strong, with 4 (I think: Grants Mill, Riverchase, Tuscaloosa and Auburn) campuses and I can't count how many services. Plus there are over 700 weekly small groups - lunch groups, moms groups, mens groups, sports groups, work groups, outreach, etc. that you can join at any time to get connected. It's nothing short of God's miracle on earth that so many have found a relationship with Him through this amazing church and the people that have made it there home.

Back to the message series...each of them have spoken to me in one way or another, but today's really hit at a time I needed to hear it. (For some reason, this happens quite often, hmmmm....)

The theme verse to this series is Proverbs 29: 18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." and with it is this thought:

Everyone ends up somewhere.
Few people end up somewhere on purpose.

Week 1 focused on this thought, and a visiting pastor, Craig Groeschel, from Oklahoma City, challenged everyone to uncover our core values.

Week 2 moved to spiritual goals and understanding how to improve our relationship with God. Pointing out everyone is at some stage of hot, cold or lukewarm and the danger of these is the lukewarm - those that know God, but are drifting from that focus and rather than having a consistent relationship with Him; my friend, my father, my everyday buddy. And this is one area I have found I firmly agree with and for me I pray regularly that anyone in my life that finds themself in this place be moved by my example to go the next step. Many believe in God, but have no actual tangible relationship with Him - without the relationship, I'm sorry to put it bluntly, you do not know God. There is no deadline you have to meet to change that, but I encourage anyone that is in this place, please, make it a priority to make God an everyday part of your life, talk to Him, ask Him for help, thank Him for what he means to you and does for you, make Him a part of your everyday!

Week 3 I missed due to a sick child, BUT, there's always the internet video to watch - which I plan to do this week now that things are considerably less hectic. The theme - Work Life! I can't wait to see it as this is an area that creates constant stress not just for me, but others I work with that I feel close to and want to help them grow in. And, of course, muddy waters run deep, with Cory and I both working for the same company, work life is very intermingled in our home life.

Week 4 Financial Life was the focus last week, and all I will say on this was Cory and I spent the better part of this week revisiting our budgets and accounts and he has already met with the accountant on our 2008 taxes and I met with our financial advisor on moving some of our funds around and adding to our retirement and college savings plans. So, enough said, we were moved by it!

Today's message wasn't available to link to this blog at the time I posted it, but I encourage everyone that reads this blog entry to listen this week. The message was on Relationships and defining goals in this area.

You can listen and watch as soon as it's posted, sometime surely by tomorrow, and I hope you do, and although for Cory and I, it's the marriage relationship that we constantly need freshening and a reminder to focus on, really all relationships need to nurtured in some way. Here are four preconditions we discussed that you need to do before you can even consider getting to where you want to be in your relationships:

Am I willing to change?
Am I willing to put others first?
Am I willling to let go of the past?
Am I willing to lvoe as Jesus did?


I hope that if you are struggling with a relationship in your life, that you will give this message a listen and see if it moves you to conversation with the person you want to improve your relationship with. Cory and I talked more productively on the way home from church today than we have in a month and it was much needed. We are looking forward to continuing this work in the week ahead!

God Bless!

Real Life

Now that I have some "me" time each day since the kids are now basically on the same schedule, I've begun to regroup and reorganize. Since we moved into this house when Jack was only 3 months old, I really haven't had much of a chance in these past two years to have time to breathe much less get things around here organized. So for the past few weekends, bit by bit, I've tackled a few tasks.

In doing so, today I found message notes from a message series back in October that Pastor Chris did called "Real Life". I remember enjoying it (obviously since, I kept a few of the note handouts) but after reading them again I realize there are probably many others out there that might also benefit from my sharing them. It seems for Cory and I each year around this time we get into a little "funk" in our marriage. Nothing major, but as summer and the freedom it brings ends, and work gets into crunch time gearing toward putting up good numbers come year-end and all the craziness the last few months before the holidays (and nearly every birthday for our families!) bring, I find us both needing sometime to refocus on our relationship - not just as husband and wife, but as Mommy and Daddy, best friends and even our own identities as Cory and Sarah.

So, with that in mind, here's just an outline of the message notes I took, I hope they give someone I love a lesson for constructive study and help to heal and strengthen some relationships. I've also included some scripture references for those I particularly liked, if you are so inclined to look them up and see exactly what the bible reads on each. The theme that Chris used for the whole series was the Song of Soloman. Of course, you can also listen to the actual messages online at the church website, the link is on the right of this page.

Til Death Do Us Part
The Power of Commitment - (Proverbs 20:25) "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows."

• My commitments show my values.
• My commitments shape my life.
• My commitments determine my destiny.

Anything worth having costs - EXPECT IT TO BE HARD!

• Pay the price. Decide to pay for it up front.
• Give your best. Think about what you can do today to add value to your relationships!
• Live by principle, not by pressure.
• Guard your eyes.
• Keep Christ first - it all begins with God.

Commitment matters when things are tough not when all is well and good.

Trouble in Paradise - When trouble does hit!

Work it Out

• Resolve it as soon as possible. (Ephesians 4:26)
• Seek first to understand. Force yourself to state the other person's issue. It forces you to understand what's upsetting to them. (Proverbs 18:13, this is one I have to work on!)
• Guard your tongue.
• Fight the real enemy.

There are four things that infect a relationship: Withdrawl, Escalation, Belittling, False Beliefs.

The following is the best and most simple process I have ever come across to heal a realtionship - but it is easier said than done unless both parties will believe and put it in their heart to follow it.

First, Forgive. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Second, Accept - unconditionally, reach out and bring the other in. (Romans 15:5-7)

Third, Serve - do small things for the other that does nothing for yourself (Philippians 2:3-5)

Fourth, Encourage - intentionally look for something to build someone else up (and make it genuine!) (Ephesians 4:29)

Finally, Submit - to one another. (Ephesians 5:21)

If I have learned anything in the past 5 years it's that I do not need to have control. If I trust and believe in God and what he wants for me, I will be rewarded in everything I do. I am on his timeline, not my own and the more I try and control whatever I am facing on my own, the longer he will wait to step in and resolve my struggle. I know, I'm not the same old Sarah and we are all happier for it!

Love you all!