Too Big for Me

 

He met me outside of our home on an icy, cold winter's night as I was schlepping all of my dance bags out of my car.  I smiled because that's the kind of guy he is, this man I love with every fiber of my being.  In one smooth movement, he kissed me hello while simultaneously taking my bags and putting them on his own shoulder.  And then I burst into tears.

Like most guys would, my husband froze like I was that T-Rex in Jurassic Park and stared at me in confusion as hot tears rolled down my cheeks, dripping onto the frosty ground.  "Did I...do something?" he tentatively asked. 

"N-n-no," I sobbed.  I saw him relax in relief through my tears.  "It's just too much.  My burden is too heavy.  This is too big for me."  And then, all the feelings and emotions that I had been unable to fully process for months spilled out in the form of massive liquid jewels streaming from my eyes.

Have you ever had a moment like that?  Where things just seem overwhelming?  Out of control?  Too big to handle?  What do you do?

After he listened to me, my husband reminded me of what Scripture says we're to do in these situations:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (HCSB)

 

It's humbling to be vulnerable, isn't it?  Especially for someone as independent and self-sufficient as me.  But the truth is that when we're at the bottom of the proverbial barrel, we have no choice but to acknowledge our need for our Savior.  When we finally learn to cast our cares on Him--that beautiful moment of sweet surrender--we become truly free.

 

In that moment--when my husband was a representation of Christ's love for His bride (us, the Church!) and taking on my burdens as his own--I knew what it was like to hold out my tiny hands and lean on the everlasting arms of my great and more-than-capable God.

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.   For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (HCSB)

Walking this journey with you,
Kirsten

How I Earned Over $150 {By Saying "No" To My Yearly Yard Sale}

I used to be a yard sale queen.

You see, I've hosted at least 10+ yard sales over the course of my lifetime. Whether it was helping out my mom, a friend, or hosting sales here at our own home for the last 3+ years.

But, This year I was too tired, too busy and too worn out from the idea of hosting a sale. On the other hand, I didn't want to lose out on earning extra cash from items we had purchased. Every yard sale we've hosted at our home has produced well over $100 for just 3-5 hours of work. Not bad!

So I set out to find ways to get rid of our "spring cleaning purge" items without hosting a sale on our front yard. In the end, my efforts have produced $150.00+ of extra cash that I didn't have before.

Here are the outlets that I used:

Weekend Consignment Sales:  There are three relatively large consignment sales that come to our area each year. They all have different rules and items that are allowed. I ended up choosing a sale where a portion of proceeds would benefit an upcoming missionary trip. They were also the easiest to to work with! I spent about 1 hour pricing items and 10 minutes dropping them off at the site. The end result was over $50 in cash!

Book/Media Buy Back Programs: We have a couple of book stores that offer buy back or book credit programs. Personally, I love the credit program as it gives me some "fun" money at the local media store. I earned $14 in buy back credit.

Online Yard Sales: After cleaning out our toy room and office area, I had a ton of items that were in good enough condition to sell through an online yard sale. I found mine by searching for local online sales through Facebook. I ended up earning $94 in cash!

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Summer Stress Buster List!

 

Just a little something to help you stress less, and enjoy the upcoming summer months! Happy Sunday. :)

Summer Edition: 10 Things In 10 Minutes

Remember our last list of 10 Things in 10 Minutes? Well, here's a summer version. What would your list look like?

• Weed flower gardens.
• Shred old paperwork.
• Sweep front or back porch.
• Wash front door/back door.
• Go through summer outdoor equipment.
• Make sure all faucets are working correctly.
• Maintenance your A/C unit.
• Go through your book/movie/other media collections.
• Sort winter clothes and store items you will be keeping.
• Freshen summer wardrobe by washing in baking soda.

My Safe People

I'm a driven person. 

I work 80+ hours each week (comprised of 14-17 hour work days), and my work is never ever finished.  I go to bed each night believing that I did my very best and satisfied with how I worked today.  However, I don't sit down at the end of each day feeling like I accomplished everything I could have done, and as an entrepreneur and small business owner, I am not happy or satisfied as a person unless I'm inventing, creating, or challenging the status quo.  When I go to bed at night, my mind swirls with ideas and visions from the Lord.  It's not exhausting most days because I do everything (live, love, cry, laugh, trust God) will fullness and passion.  I never want to change that about myself.  I would get so bored (I'm not kidding).

Don't get me wrong...I make sure I take rest times, too.  They are equally important.  But I am a perfectionist as well.  I'll admit it. 

I will bend over backwards and do everything I possibly can to make sure things are running smoothly (read: the best you have ever seen).  And sometimes that hurts.  Especially when the inevitable times come where I fail and let people down.  For a perfectionist to fail--especially other people--is devastating.

And during those times I turn to the Lord first.  I'm so grateful for my relationship with Him.  I go right to my knees, I cry, I ask for forgiveness.  The Lord is my strength and my song, and through the whitewater rafting trip that is my life, I've learned to rely solely on Him.  I have learned to be okay when it's just me and Him because He is all I need.  "He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken." -Psalm 62:6 (HCSB)

I've also learned that you need safe people, too.  You need people who you can cry to.  You need people who you can let your hair down with.  You need people who are trustworthy.  You need people who will listen to you.  And it's okay to need people...as long as you're not needy and co-dependent.  Relationships are a gift from the Lord. 

I'm grateful for my safe people.  My husband is my number one safe person.  My parents and grandparents are others.  Then, I have a few close girlfriends who make up the complete circle of my safe people.  I'm so thankful for them and how they've invested in me.  Because of them I can be a safe person for others.

Who are your safe people?  Why don't you tell them how grateful you are for them today?

And so, my dear, sweet sisters, I leave you with the following blessing from God's Word...

"The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you." -2 Corinthians 13:14 (HCSB)

On this journey with you,
Kirsten

Date Nights on a Budget

We live on a pretty tight budget so date nights aren’t extravagant for us.  In addition, often by the time we both get done from a long week of work, sometimes a night out consists of us looking blankly at each other across the table because our tired brains don’t seem to have anything exciting to say.  

We’ve learned not to let the tiredness deter us from spending consistent time together though, because simple companionship can be a calming salve in the midst of busy and stressful lives.

Dates for us are usually Friday night or Saturday morning, depending on our schedule and commitments for the week.  We don’t always feel like going out, but we try to set it aside to be “our” time, even if that means falling asleep on the couch halfway through a movie. 

If we decide to have dinner out, we often end up with a pizza or go to Qdoba where we usually have a buy-one-get-one-free coupon.  After dinner might be errands, a walk, or home to watch a movie.   The local coffee shop also has frequent BOGO coupons so sometimes we switch it up and go there to talk and decompress.  

When Saturday morning ends up being our time away, we sometimes go to Panera where we can each get a bagel, split the cream cheese, and enjoy limitless coffee.   Usually these trips are when Mike has homework to catch up on.  We can talk for a while before he pulls out his books, then he studies while I read or blog.  Makes for a nice variation in scenery for him.  We sometimes do the same at the local library; I peruse stacks of books while he studies. 

Nice evenings after work we often walk one of the trails that adjoin our neighborhood, or grill dinner and eat outside at the picnic table.  We’ve found that making the effort to have focused time together is worth far more than finding something exciting to do.  Sometimes we’re spontaneous in the summer and drive to the beach with our mini-grill and a cooler of ketchup and hot dogs.  We set up near the parking lot and feast on our dogs and watch the seagulls play in the sand.  There are also the times we just need to hear the sound of the waves even when it’s cold out, so we drive there with our chairs, books, and piles of blankets to read, relax, walk the pier, and watch the sun go down. 

Don’t limit yourselves to traditional “date nights” and feel like it has to look or feel a certain way.  Find what you love to do together and embrace it.  We both love music, so sometimes we just enjoy picking different songs and listening to one after another on iTunes, or finding a great mix to crank up in the car.  We love going for long walks, exploring unique grocery stores, watching a football game, reading outside in the sunshine, looking at beautiful plants in the many greenhouses in town, seeing new exhibits at nearby museums, or venturing through the local farmers markets. 

Other free dates nights could be bike rides, playing games, working a puzzle, driving around looking at Christmas lights, perusing shelves at a bookstore, or cooking up something new in the kitchen.  Dates are about intentional reconnection and quality time.

These are often the moments we find out the most about each other.  We might discover an affinity or appreciation one person has for something we didn’t even know about.  Spending focused time with my husband is like an adventure book I don’t want to put down.  Each chapter is full of wonderful conversation and insights into the incredible person that he is.  I love getting to know him better and better as the years go by.  In turn, it is such joy being able to immerse myself into things I love and have him try to enjoy or appreciate them as well.  This is how he started to enjoy theater, and I discovered my enjoyment of sports.  Who knew? 

How do you spend your date nights, or strive to get to know your husband better?

You can find more of Anne's musings at Sincerely, Britches