Whoa...it's been a while

I didn't realize that it's been almost two months since I've posted anything, and the last thing to be posted was a survey. I'm a loser. Anyway, the past two months have been busy ones - here's a brief update:

• Spent Thanksgiving with Paul's family - super fun, let me tell you.
• Watched Alabama kill Auburn. :)
• Watched Alabama get killed by Florida. :(
• Spent Christmas (well, part of the week prior to) on a Disney Cruise with my dad's whole family. It was so much fun...seriously. I would recommend it to anyone who has kids (and even those who don't).
• Spent Christmas weekend with my family in Chicago - snow, family, good food, good times.
• Paul started back to school, including doing an internship with church - don't worry, he's basically been doing all of it already, so it's not much different than normal life @ SHC for us. Which is a good thing.
• I logged onto MySpace for the first time since October or November and cleaned it out. That was crazy.
• Had an amazing time at Worship @ Workplay.
• Spent this past weekend back in Chicago for an extended family Christmas party - this was with the family of the cousin who passed away in November. Sad, but still very good.

*Sigh* OK. Now that the update is officially done, here's what on my heart currently:

Marriage/Family: We are surrounding by marriages that are falling apart, even before they even had a chance to get off the ground. We're also surrounded by marriages that are falling apart after almost 30 years. It's truly unbelievable to me, but at the same time, I have to remember that life isn't going to get better or easier as we get closer to Jesus coming back. I know that sounds super spiritual, and trust me, I'm not one to talk about end times (that's a whole other blog...), but more and more, I am reminded that the things of God will be attacked the hardest before He comes back. I can't deny that it's started. Our hearts are broken by these broken marriages, homes, families, hearts...I almost can't put it into words. I have, however, taken all of this as a sign for me to be praying the blood of Jesus over my marriage, and those around us that are holding strong. I can't imagine my life without Paul, and God knows I'm not going to lose him without a super hard fight, no matter what may come. When God orchestrates something like marriage, I believe it's harder for the enemy to fight it. God knew what He was doing when HE created marriage, and I'm not going to stop believing that now, even in the face of the Church looking as bad as (or worse than) the world.

Church: People leaving, drama, miscommunication, lack of communication, heartache, people being stretched almost too thinly (in more ways than one)...GAH. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that God has a plan, and I'm going to try my darndest to keep faith even when other people won't. Paul and I fell in love with SHC over 2 years ago, and that love has not and will not die. Does that mean we're going to be at SHC forever? Probably not. But knowing that we are where we're supposed to be is HUGE. Being in a small church is hard, but as far as I'm concerned, we've been more rewarded by it than anything, and although the future is unclear, we are unashamed and moving forward. It's time to stop making excuses and start making progress, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is, and with God as my witness and prayer as my weapon...

New life: On a more positive note, we're so encouraged by new life, whether it's literal (as in a new baby or finding out someone is preggo), or it's spiritual (people fighting to let go of their past and to move forward with Jesus, or being saved - really saved - and giving up their lives to God). As you all know, I am a self-proclaimed control freak - I consider it my thorn. But I can't tell you how it encourages me to see other people giving up control about crap in their lives - surrender is attractive, and it's attracting me in the oddest ways. I feel like I am being pulled up out of the hole that has been my life for the past couple years, and re-embracing my life in Christ. It's a slow, hard thing, but so good. So, SOOOOO good. We're seeing it in people at church, friends near and far, the worship team (I'm smiling just thinking about that), in our marriage, our families, etc. God is so good, and He gets all the glory. Watch out...I'm about to get pentecostal in here! lol... In the midst of all the darkness, God is the light - I read about that on Sam's blog today, and it made me smile a huge smile! (Thanks for posting that, Sam!)

Coming events:

• FREE massage next week - not by Lindsey, but hopefully equally as good! Thank God for gift certificates!
• Winter Youth Retreat (1.30 - 2.1) - our worship team is leading worship for the kiddies at the retreat, and we are so pumped about it! :)
• Friends from Ohio coming for a visit (2.20 - 2.22) - woo-hoo!
• My birthday (2.24) - the big #26 lol...but I think we're going to Atlanta to see Ben Folds! YAY!