Transparency

I know many find my open expression of who I am to be odd. I don’t use a lot of filters in my life. The reason is very simple. Our culture has seen plenty of people in church leadership fall. We’ve seen the hidden sins of people we felt were holy revealed. Many don’t trust the church, don’t trust our message based on that simple fact. I’ve heard it many, many times. “I won’t go to church because it is full of hypocrites.” The cry of those outside of the church seems to be “Show me who you really are!” Because of this, because we are a pastoral family, I choose to live a life of transparency. Often, it comes across as too much information. But it will never be said we have anything to hide. I would much rather give too much information than for anyone to think I’m hiding. You come in and you can see all the movies on our shelves. You can check my Facebook and see how I really feel and think. I keep all our books on Goodreads and anyone can see what I am reading, what I have read, and what kind of literature fills our home. Anyone can ask me anything and receive a completely honest answer. Nothing is hidden. I think that we, as Christians, need to be able to show what we are made of. We have a message, that is well and good. But the truly interesting and inspiring thing is not just the message, but how that message impacts our life. I would challenge everyone, not just those of us in church leadership, to live lives of transparency. To let the world, and the Church for that matter, see who we really are. No masks. No acting. Just living together openly.

My Wish List is here.

You can see the books I am reading and books I own here on Goodreads.

My Amazon wishlist, which I use to remind myself of the books, movies, etc. that I want to buy can be found here. You can also look on my Amazon profile and see my reviews and my purchases.

And, of course, here on my blog, you can get to know me- what I think, what I do.

New Tutorials Coming Soon!

**Note: Photos in this post are completely unrelated to content. I just hate posting without pictures.**

Oy! Life has been so busy lately! I haven’t had a chance to share with you some of my newest designs! I’ve recently created a half-yard apron pattern (per my Mother’s request) and a plastic bag holder pattern. I will get around to posting them asap! (Have to take all the pictures first!) I will also attempt to post a tutorial for my hoarding apron. Not sure how well that will translate, since I had to draft the pattern for it, not just measuring squares and such. We’ll see. I’ll try. You see if you can manage!

We have had two illnesses fly through the parsonage this month. Yuck. Everyone but the Pastor got the flu earlier this month. Then the big littles got a stomach virus this week. No fun!

This weekend, a crew of volunteers will be giving our church (the building, not the people) a make over. Everyone needs a little “spruce” now and then. (And no, that was not a hint to the wall color.)

I have made 3 Etsy sales in my one month (almost) of being open. I consider that a success (though I would have liked to have sold out) considering it is a new shop. (And since many other sellers are complaining about low sales right now.) Maybe my giving the patterns away for free won’t bite me in the butt. One can hope! I’ve got a few skirts that will be in the shop soon! (Just have to take some pictures of them!) Believe me, these skirts are gorgeous! I’m very tempted to keep them for my own princess!

Church Facebook Page

A year ago, our church had a Facebook page (group) that was started by some of the yutes in the church. Funny, I was unable to join because Facebook for Blackberry was pretty limiting and wouldn’t allow me to do it from my phone. (We didn’t have any regular internet access at the time.) Well, that group disbanded- disappeared without a leader to help them along.

A few weeks ago, one of the yutes was asking about starting a Facebook group for our church. I doubted The Pastor would do it, but waited to see what would come of it. After finding the previous group has gone away, he decided to begin anew. So, our church now has a Facebook page.

The Pastor puts silly things up, like adding events for things like Advent services. (Silly, Pastor!) We also discuss and joke with one another about various topics. (Though my comment about Narnian music was not a joke- that is what I prefer!) It is a goofy little way for us to stay connected and get the word out about things. (Though they are usually repeated through the eloquent e-mails from The Pastor, for those that choose not to participate in Facebook.)

You can check it out, or not. Whatever. (I sincerely hope that link works. I’m pretty bad about linking to Facebook. There is something about it that I just don’t fully understand.)

Corn Puns Abound!

The Pastor planned a fall outing for the gaggle of youths that he’s been ministering to. I decided to tag along with my kids, since I thought they would enjoy it. About half the youth (actually a litle less than half) we able (or desired) to make it. We went and wandered about corn “maize” for a while, then refreshed at the “corncession” stand. We headed back home for a bonfire and cook out at David & Christie Chandler’s home.  There were 14 of us at the farm. And, I think, 19 at the cookout/bonfire.

The youths and I, we spotted quit an interesting site. A site that really begged to bed shared with the world. Just take a gander at the gentleman with the platinum skullet ponytail. Yeah, I just made your day, didn’t I?

An Update

I’m so lame. It has been forever since I posted and all I can come up with for a title is “An Update.” Lame, really lame!

I did replace my sewing machine. He just wouldn’t behave, so it was time for us to part ways. He is still in my house, just not being used. If anyone needs a basic sewing machine and you don’t feel the need to use it on a daily basis, he’s up for grabs. The pastor wants me to keep it for Imogene, but seriously, it will be a long while before that child needs a sewing machine! I bought a Babylock and I love it! It is the smoothest, quietest sewing machine ever! It could probably sew an entire outfit all by itself without any help from me! It is fabulous!

The church is going. We found a better place to meet at the beginning of the year, but it is also temporary. We are meeting at Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Park. They have a nice meeting hall facility there that we rent. Unfortunately, we cannot seem to rent it every single Sunday, because some are already booked. So, we really do need something a little more stable. We have had several visitors since we’ve moved out there. It is much more appealing to outsiders than meeting in someone’s living room. We still need your prayers. We are so busy all the time! I still think a 10 day week is in order!

The kids are getting bigger and bigger. Aidan has finally decided to swallow his pride and try to walk. He falls a lot. He staggers around like a drunk man and tries to do so at top speed. He might have more luck if he didn’t insist on running, but that just isn’t his style. He also talks a lot more, although his enunciation is terrible. But you can usually figure out what he was intending to say.

Imogene’s vocabulary is always growing and changing. She can hold a conversation pretty well, now. Although she does like to talk about strange things. She is very excited about the new baby and is very insistent that she is having a sister! We are finding out the sex this time around, so we’ll hopefully know in a little over a week if she is right.

I am having to see a perinatologist for this pregnancy. I have my first visit and ultrasound with them in a little over a week. Nothing is too terribly wrong, they just want to monitor me closely since I am an anomaly. You always knew I was different, huh? So, they’ve labeled me high risk. The good part of it all is the super duper ultrasounds that come with being high risk. It is always fun to get to see the baby before the big day!

As The Pastor and I plan camp, I realize I am getting older and loosing my cool. I know. When you become a mom, your cool factor plummets. Now, I have trouble figuring out is something is indeed as cool as I think it is or if I am just weird. Usually, I find that I am just weird. Age has not changed my uniqueness in the least. I still find that I am one of a kind. But I do have to run things by the youth to ask if they are cool or not. I am just getting old. (Mom, that makes you REALLY old!)

I need to go. Adam and the kids are waiting on me at the bakery around the corner for cookies! Yeah! Cookies! Joey and I are excited about that! (Joey is the baby’s nickname until birth!) That remind me, to let you all know, since we are being so kind as to tell you if we are having a boy or girl, we are not discussing names with you. We know we have weird taste and we will just surprise you with the fantastic chosen name when you can see our cute little bundle of joy! If you ask, we’ll probably tell you we don’t know yet, just so we’re not rude. But know, we are not discussing this for a reason! (To be honest, it was the only way I could convince the pastor to find out the sex. I had to promise him we could keep the name top secret until the baby is out.) Sorry to bum you out. If you’d like, you can just assume is will be Josephine if its a girl and Joseph if its a boy!

I made the pajama pants these cute kids are wrestling in! They are wrestling around in a pile of fabric that was waiting to be washed! I got such a good deal on it at Joann’s!

Life Sure Moves Quickly When You’re Tired

I know I have not updated very much since moving back East. Sorry about that. Life is crazy and hectic. I am doing all I can to maintain my real life relationships. Sorry to say my virtual relationships have suffered. A girl has to have priorities, right?

As a mother, I am tired. My children are doing well and fabulous, though. You can check out their blog for cute photos and such! Imogene is getting so big. She and I have the funniest conversations. She is trying to better understand her world and I am doing my best to help her understand.

We did have a funny incident recently with a snake skin. We saw a very large snake skin outside our little house. I pointed it out because I knew the Pastor would be scared. (He is so scared of snakes.) As a joke, later that night when he was going to take out the trash, I said, “Watch out for the big snake!” Of course, it did freak him out a bit. But Imogene really got concerned about the “sswake.” She said, “Oh no! A swake get a Daddy!” I told her the snake was not going to get her Daddy. She replied, “Oh no! A swake get I-gene!” (She refers to herself as I-gene. Please continue to call her Imogene. She will eventually learn to say her name as long as people don’t reinforce her cute mispronouncing.) I told her the snake would not get her, I was simply joking with her Daddy about the snake to try to scare him! She then got it in her head that the snake was going to come eat her. She jumped up on the couch and started screaming, “Oh no! A swake eat I-gene! Oh no!” The only thing I could think to do was to go ask the snake if it wanted to eat Imogene. She would not listen when I told her snakes don’t eat people- well, at least I doubted this snake would eat her. So, out we went to look at the snake skin and look for the snake. This part, she did not find scary at all. When we could not find the snake (thank heavens!) I told her he must be in the woods with his family doing snaky things. She asked “What swaky sings?” I told her, “Well, like… slithering around and looking for nice bugs, lizards, mice, birds, and other small animals to eat.” That was fine with her. She had no compassion for the things the snake would eat- just so long as she was not on the menu.

Aidan is getting big. He just celebrated his first birthday. (And by “just,” I mean “over a month ago.”) His first birthday really snuck up on me. I kept crying trying tp pick his first birthday card from me and the Pastor, so the Pastor had to pick one out. He is just so big! He is getting around really well, although not yet walking (please don’t rush him!). He is also starting to talk. He can say mama, dada, bye-bye, hi, and no. He is working on others. I can get him to mimic me at times, but he doesn’t really know what he is saying. He is very much a Momma’s boy and it drives his Daddy nuts! Although, he will only let the Pastor put him to bed these days! If only I meant his bed when I said to bed. Oh well. He’ll move out of my bed before college at least. He is still a happy little breastfed baby. We’ll probably be working away from that in the coming weeks.

I’m not sure how things are going with the church. It is really hard to gauge how you’re doing on a church restart. Numbers don’t mean much of anything at this stage. Money is only what we use to keep the ministry going. I think we are making a difference. I think things are going alright. They could be going better. Of course, if you ask me, things could always be better. I am always trying to improve and revamp and move forward. Keep praying for us. We need it. We really need an extra couple days in the week. Anyone up for a ten day week? I guess this is church related, and I really feel like I can share this with the world. I am having to overcome big, personal hurdles in this church restarting/planting business. I am naturally not inclined to make friends. I am naturally very social while holding people at a safe distance. I am slightly agoraphobic and do have panic attacks from time to time about meeting new people or being in settings that I cannot control. A lot of church planting is about building relationships with many people. I am finding this increasing difficult for me to do. My aversions make me a wonderful asset in existing churches when determining what is or is not visitor friendly. But in this new world of going out to meet new people, I am poorly equipped. I am trying, but I am finding it increasingly difficult. I don’t just make friends. I’ve never been that kind of girl. I know, you’re thinking “Wow. I’ve never met an agoraphobic pastor’s wife.” I know. Pray for me on this.

The situation I asked you guys (and beautiful gals) to pray with me about last time is still not resolved, but it is looking promising. We have had to come to the realization that we are not right for everyone and not everyone will want to come with us on this next leg of the journey. While it is easy to say that for those theoretical people out there we have yet to meet, it is difficult to say it about those that have always been a close part of our fellowship. I have a vision. We (the Pastor and I) have always had a vision for Faith Methodist Church. I would like for people to be all on board with the vision- but not everyone will be. That doesn’t make them wrong. That doesn’t make me right for everyone.

I have made some things lately, I just haven’t taken pictures of them. I made an awesome bulletin board for the Pastor’s 5th grade class. I have made hooter hider sets (hootys, butties, burpies, and diaper clutches) for Jesse & Steven and Janna & Brian. I made Imogene a bag for her Gigi doll. (The name on the box said the doll’s name was Genevieve. Of course Imogene could not say that, so we call her Gigi.) I also made myself a pink dress. I like it. It is cute. I’ll get the Pastor to take a picture of me wearing it and post it some other time.

This is the closest thing to a family picture in the recent days. Well, I think Marshall took one of all of us, but I don’t have it yet. So, here’s my adorable little family.

How is that move going?

Well, it is going fine. Let me tell you, it is difficult to continue running your house while adding the unpacking bit to the mix. I am not completely unpacked yet. Oh well. My kids are happy, so I guess I’m getting the important stuff done.

I do not currently have internet access. Terrible, I know. It is especially bad for me since I am connected to all my family and friends almost solely by the internet. I know there are some out there dying for photos of the little cuties. I don’t have them. I planned on having them. But I forgot. I did remember to put shoes on the kids this morning, though. That is a plus, right?

So, we moved into our house with some  much needed help from some of the youth. Their help was very much appreciated along with the help of my in-laws. I still have boxes and boxes stacked at the house, but the important stuff is out and I know where every box is and what it contains, so I’d say I’ve got it under control. Imogene has become rabbit and deer obsessed. We have lots of both at our new house. (For those out of the know, we are renting a small 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house.) Both of the kids stand at the window and stare at the deer and rabbits that come to eat apples off the apple trees. That’s right, we traded plum trees for apple trees. I suppose I should make some apple jelly. My plum jelly has been a big hit. I think I should make some more jelly and see if that was a fluke or if I am indeed, a good jelly maker. What do you call a jelly maker? Jammer? Jelly Chef? Hmmm…

The church here is currently meeting at 10:30 AM in Paulding County (in a home) and at 4:00 PM in Buckhead (in a home). We do need a place to meet in Paulding County, so be in prayer for that. We have already added one new family in Paulding County. We are looking for more. We want to impact lives here. We want to go and make more and better disciples. Pray for us. Pray that we can meet the needs of our community. Pray that we find a suitable (and affordable) meeting place to better meet our community. Our main focus, at this time, is the Paulding County branch of Faith Methodist. We have been having good meetings with the Buckhead group, as well. It has been very busy. My heart is still burdened. There is still one thing that needs to fall in place for us (th church) here. I cannot disclose to you now what that is, but please be in fervent prayer with me on it. I thank you in advance.

All in all, things are going well. I meet discouragements daily, but God is still good. Thank you guys for praying. Hopefully I can update again soon. Hopefully I can open my online store soon.

Goodbye To The Parsonage

I guess it is time to let the proverbial cat out of the bag. The Pastor and I are moving back east. We have very much enjoyed our time here at Salem. We knew it wasn’t forever when we came here but we had not anticipated what exactly God would do. Our lovely little family will be moving on August 4th. We are both happy to go and sad to leave. We have developed some great relationships here in Mississippi and are sad to leave the state behind. We love our church here and will miss it. I doubt I will ever taste caramel pie as good as I have had here. We appreciate all the Lord has done for us here and are very thankful for our time and experiences here. I have learned to trust God more fully while living in this state. We must go where we are called. When the pastor told the church we would be leaving, one member asked if this is what God was calling us to do. The Pastor said, “Yes. We believe this to be His will.” The member then said, “Well, then you have to go. You can’t stay here!” That is the kind of faithfulness we have seen in the Lord’s servants here. People who are willing to set aside their own personal wants and feelings and welcome the Will of God no matter what that means.

Imogene did break my heart yesterday. I was packing boxes for the move and she was watching each item I put in the box. She asked me what I was doing. I told her I was packing for us to move. She started crying saying, “no” over and over. She even attempted to unpack the box for me. I sat down with her. I told her we were moving and it would be okay. She cried. She asked about her bed. I told her we would be taking her bed with us. She asked about her books. I told her we would be taking the books, too. She asked about her doll. I told her the doll was moving, too. Then she asked about her friend at church. I had to tell her that her friend from church would be staying here. She cried and cried, saying “My Lily!” over and over. I told her it was okay. I explained that we still had a few weeks and she would be able to tell her Lily good-bye before we moved. I told her she would make new friends. She cried a little more and I rocked her. I never thought a two year old would notice if we moved. I never thought she might miss her friends here. I know she’ll make new friends. She’ll probably forget all about Lily and won’t even remember her in a few years- even if she saw her. But it still broke my heart. I do hope she does well with the move.

So, in two and half weeks, Notes From The Parsonage will no longer be written from this parsonage. We are following God and stepping out on faith. Our hearts are at rest. Please pray for us as we move and dive into the ministry God has called us to. Pray for Salem that they find a new pastor. I know God has already set into motion this new pastor coming to them.

And I do not need help packing. Thank you very much if you thought of offering. I am a little psychotic about packing. I like to personally place each item in the box and label it. It is a task I will not even trust The Pastor to accomplish. I have a very specific system and I cannot unpack properly if I do not pack properly by myself! If you were (or have) offered- I prefer to pack alone. If you want to come on moving day and load or unload a truck- I’m all for that! Just not the box packing thing.

This Easter With My Kids

The season of Lent is over. I must say, it was difficult for me to uphold my commitment for Lent, but I did it and I am happy that I did. I enjoyed Easter with my kids this year. We did not have Easter Egg Hunts at the church or extravagant Easter parties this year, so it was very easily managed. I had a lot of fun putting together their Easter baskets. Aidan is so young, it was difficult to make him a basket of equal size to his sister’s. I made it work. My beautiful kids seemed to really enjoy Easter, especially Imogene. We spent Holy Week with family and friends. I enjoyed the company of both, but had a rough week. Sorry guys. We did start a new tradition in our family this Easter. We decided to not worry with Easter baskets until after the morning festivities had ended. We waited until after the morning church services to give one another Easter goodies. I think this is a good and helpful tradition for us. Sunday mornings can be hectic enough around the parsonage. It really helped us (parents) enjoy the day a little more. I really liked Aidan in his little hat. Chubby boys look cute in hats! Imogene opted for a white headband. She actually insisted on wearing it. I enjoy spending holidays with my beautiful children. It is really neat to make the holy days special for them and see them enjoy it. Imogene was especially fond of her chocolate bunny! Even though she was a maniac after eating it, I am glad she enjoyed it and the day. It makes me feel like I’ve done my job well.