A Rainy Birthday

It's my turn to write on this thing...Josh has been so good at updating you on our lives...and so I am just now learning the details of blogging...

This week has been BUSY. I thought that as a non-working wife (those are still foreign words to me!), I would have oodles of time on my hands...I'd even get bored sitting in my house staring out my picture window. But, that has not been the case, at least not in the last week. We've visited with church people every day this week...and in between that, I've made a gazillion Wal-Mart runs to pick up things for the house...I always intend to be quick and get right back home...but then I see a new store, and it draws me in, so that I am gone from the house for hours! That's probably not a shocker for most of you who know me though...shopping is my way of relaxing:). I found out that the Farm & Fleet store has lots more than just farm equipment...it's actually full of clothes, wall pictures, kitchen and dining items and a really cool craft table/armoire that I'd like for Christmas (hint hint!).

Today was our second Sunday at the church, as well as my 26th birthday (I don't look that old, do I!?). And it was an emotional roller coaster. The good news is that we had 6 kids in service today...and I spent all yesterday preparing a Sunday School lesson (for kids ages 2-10) and kids packets that went along with the Sunday school lesson and sermon passage for them to do during service because we don't have a children's church yet and as of last week we didn't have anything to offer kids at all. So, this 1st Sunday was a learning curve. The kids packets were a hit with the kids--however, I have learned that I can't use paper gift bags to hold the contents...because they are so LOUD. In a small church used to quiet listening, six children with paper bag kids packets are definitely a disruption...so I failed there. But it's hard to know how to minister to them (and we definitely WANT kids to be part of our church AND they are AMAZING kids), and lead worship (which I did for the 1st time today), and teach Sunday school, and meet the adults of the church all at the same time, and not feel completely overwhelmed when my idea doesn't quite hit the mark. Any suggestions? (Earlier today, if given a suggestion, I would have left crying, but I've adjusted now, and could use all the help I can get...and if you have a burning desire to move up to the Wisconsin Dells area and give me another hand, I'll put you up in my new blue guest room for free!!!).

The problem is...right now it's just Josh and me who are able and willing to help (especially with kids). Tons of great ideas abound, but there are not yet enough hands to do the work. And our church needs updated badly...a new crib, a chair for the nursery, new-kid-friendly paint downstairs, welcoming colors and decoration upstairs...an overhead projector light bulb, current kids curriculum for a variety of ages, volunteers to teach AND people to just come to Sunday School, and so forth.

Needless to say, Josh and I both cried today for quite awhile after church...it's hard to see your husband sobbing because he is homesick...and frustrated and overwhelmed. And Wisconsin wasn't pretty today...just rainy and dreary, so we weren't even tempted to keep living here. We both just wanted to pack up our little car and head home to Indiana.

But we are not quitting...we've unpacked too many boxes and have too much hope for the kids here and the church...and God wouldn't let us anyway...

I did get to talk to my family this afternoon (yea!), and Josh took me out for dinner (I got a huge dose of Packers football sitting in front of 5 large screen TVs at Damon's). And I now know that GB means Green Bay on the score board, and this is the first game they have not scored in for 4 years...so I am adjusting.

In all of this, I KNOW that God is still faithful, and He is still with us...and I am not supposed to be strong, but I am supposed to lean on Him, because He is always strong. (That was part of Josh's sermon today--I am so proud of him..that boy can preach, even with distractions!)

So to all of you reading this, know that we love and miss you...keep praying for us...we need that!...and know that we are not giving up. May God be praised!