Inside the mind and thoughts of Beth

tomorrow will start my 2nd time of observing lent…ever!
i gave up coffee one year in college, it was a HUGE sacrifice. (i had a slight addiction to coffee in college) but a good experience.

this time i am giving up using my credit cards. they have become a crutch, and i need to get back to living with just what i have. what i have is such a blessing, and i am so rich, i shouldn’t feel the need for more.
i am also going to go through the devotional version of “get out of that pit” by Beth Moore. so handy that it is a 40 day devotional journal.

so if you think of it, say a prayer for me. this will be a bit of a struggle for me.

you should all go vote today!!
if you aren’t registered…shame on you…but go register today so you can vote in the final election.

i voted…and i have the ever so chic “i voted electronically” sticker to prove it!!
haha! have a great super tuesday….fat tuesday…siren testing tuesday….anniversary of the mexican constitution tuesday….i think that covers it.

i went on a road trip to Grand Rapids, MI this weekend with several new friends and a lot of old friends as well (launch team for Imago Dei). it was GREAT! it had been a long time since i had gone on a trip like this without any real responsibility for planning or carrying out the trip. while i do enjoy the other it was a lot of fun to just be with my friends.
the best thing about this weekend, relational wise, for me…i got to reconnect with a friend that there was some strain there. it was good to just talk, catch up and start to get back to normal. it was one of my goals for the weekend…i’m glad another friend “forced” me to achieve it.
it was great to feel like a church body as well. before it was different groups of people that all got along and were excited about what God is doing and going to do through Imago. On the way back, it felt like a unified body. again it’s been a long time since i felt that unity and i am so excited to be a part of it.
i look forward to more time with my new friends and my new church.

i have decided i have been in a bit of a rut the past year. i have been doing all the same things all the time. (my cruise being the exception there!)
so one of my goals for this year is to try new things.
first new thing… i signed up for 2 FUNshops at ICC this morning. one is a cooking class and the other is an art class. should be fun! my friend Becky is taking them with me, so it will be easier to talk to others. strength in numbers and all that.
it is refreshing to just be signed up for them!
i think my theme for the year is going to be, embracing change…that is if i was the type to have a theme for the year…haha!
any suggestions of other things i should try?

yesterday i offically changed churches. it was the first church service (for the launch and leadership team only) for Imago Dei!!
it was awesome!! several were moved to tears at what God is doing and what we know He is going to do. I have been looking forward to this for a long time and it was great to have it actually happen. i am so excited to be a part of this and can’t wait to see where we will be in 3 years.
it already feels like my church.
something strange happened yesterday though as well. i had a meeting at northwoods in the afternoon and when i walked in there, i had an overwhelming feeling of that not being my church anymore. there was no anger or frustation….just me, moved on. thank God for that!!

is something i have been thinking a lot about in the past few months.
i think it means different things at different times.
when someone we care about messes up, it means talking to them without judgement and helping them. all the time remembering that we can all be in that spot with just one bad decision.
when we are the one that messes it up it means being patient with those around us effected by our mistake. letting them process and praying they give us the aforementioned grace.
with those we don’t know, it means being Christlike. it means showing them that we all mess up and there is healing on the other side of our mistakes.

one of my goals for 08…be more gracious, leaving all judgement to God.

My mom has this notebook full of handwritten recipes she has collected from friends, family, coworkers, ect. I recently asked her for a recipe and it was fun to listen to her as she looked through it, “oh, i got this from Lori over 20 years ago. she used to bring that to every get together. it was her mom’s recipe and….” and other stories of friends she has had in the past 30+ years.
So as i am building my own notebook, i wanted to ask you, my friends, what are some of your favorite recipes? can i have them?

my friend Vicky told me she still checks this thing everyday to see if i have gotten my bum in gear and posted something. so this is for you Vicky!

wow, it’s been 2 months since i last posted, i am a slacker!!

there has been a lot going on that i could have posted about.
mostly the past few months have been about getting ready for change. change in friendships, reconciliation, upcoming change in where i attend church, perspective, change in the ministries i am active in and in my attitude.
while change can be painful, it is for the best.

i am looking forward to embarking on a church plant and being part of something new and exciting. mostly i am looking forward to watching what God does when we leap out in faith.

i am looking forward to being able to focus completely on my reality life group and not all the other stuff. although i will miss spending time and being silly with a lot of the other students.

with new perspective comes a new attitude. there are things in my life that need to be refined and dealt with. i am working through that. this is where the painful part comes in, but i know healing is on the other side, and that is my motivation.

so if anyone (besides Vicky) is still checking my blog, thanks for hanging in there. i am going to try to get back into this. i had an original goal of 5 posts a week, i think i am going to lower that to 3.

tonight Cal was talking about the 6 stages of faith.
stage 5 was the dead end. when you come to a point of brokeness, knowing nothing is going to happen or change without God stepping in and doing His thing. you no longer can think of a thing you can do to help Him out or do on your own.
this is where i am at.
praise God there is a step 6, and it is good.

sorry for the lack of posts in the last month and a half!
lots going on…few weddings, babies, 10 year reunion, mom had surgery, busy at work….
weddings, have been fun this summer. it has been great to see my friends dreams come true.
babies, again, awesome to see families begin to form.
reunion, awesome! very encouraging, good to reconnect and remember high school.
mom, doing much better, nothing too serious.
work, busy and stressful recently. feels like i am running up against a brick wall the past week.