Sending out props...

I need to send props out to a group of folks who are making a difference in the relationship between Mike and myself. You know who you are and we so enjoy our hour together on Sunday mornings. We appreciate every one's honesty and experiences and it helps to validate some of the situations we run across as a couple. I am confident in my relationship with my husband but it doesn't hurt to know that others struggle with the same issues/challenges that we do. I sometimes think that maybe we (or just me) should be volunteering to teach Sunday School or help in another way but I selfishly think that the hour of Mike and me time is really important for us right now. Sorry Amy!!

It all comes back to being put somewhere for a reason. We loved our little church in Canton, MI. The people there are wonderful and were awesome to us. But, we were coming to an honest crossroad in our lives as parents. The Christian education offered there isn't anything like what we now have here at Morton UMC. The opportunities we now have are just what we were thinking we were going to need to start looking for in Michigan. We never had to start that look or make the hard decision to do so because God decided a change was in order. Maybe we were brought here to have another door opened.

I am really thinking YES!

After all this deep thinking I think I'm ready for a nap! :)

New Kid on the Block

Have you ever been in a situation where you really felt like someone who was talking to a group was talking directly to you? This has happened to Mike and I on 2 separate occasions. Last August we were sitting in our church in Michigan, Cherry Hill United Methodist Church, listening to our Pastor, Merlin Pratt, give the sermon. We had been contemplating all morning if we should let the congregation, our second family, know that we would be moving. At first we weren't going to say anything but Pastor Merlin's sermon strongly moved us to share what was going on in our lives. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend a lot of time getting to know Pastor Merlin. He joined Cherry Hill the beginning of August and we moved Labor Day. But, he made an impact on us in a short time. That Sunday his message was about how sometimes in our lives we just have to move on and get past a situation. How we are not alone if we travel through life with God. It felt like Pastor Merlin was talking directly to us. That he knew we were struggling with the right words to share our good fortune, our fears and our concerns. It was a powerful moment for us as a couple.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. We are in our new church, Morton UMC. We have got to know the pastor a bit from his visits to the hospital with Molly and us. He is a very kind man who knows just the right thing to say. His name is Pastor Paul. His message this week was about fitting in to God's circle. I feel like we already knew that we were always welcome into the inner circle with God. The hard circle to sometimes fit in is when you are the new kid on the block. It's hard moving to a new community where you don't know a soul. I've had some blind luck and picked a good pediatrician office, a good preschool and fun ballet studio. But, it can be challenging to find the right "in" on things socially. I know it will help when we move into a neighborhood and a house. I remember feeling this way when we moved into our first house in Sagamore Hills. It took quite a while to feel like we knew our neighbors well enough to do social things with them. And now when I look back I can laugh at that because they are still, to this day, some of our nicest friends who we visit with when we go back to Ohio. I felt like Pastor Paul was saying to me, hang in there. You are already in the inner circle that you are suppose to be, the rest will come in time. I'm just not an exceptionally patient person so waiting it out can be frustrating for me. Although they say that all good things come to those who wait!