ten months later

Remember when I used to be really good at posting blogs on a regular basis?

Yeah, me neither.

I always think that once I get through this season, I'll do it. Once we're not traveling all the time, or I'm not working so much, or I hire a full-time nanny/cleaning lady/chef so I can drink coffee and read magazines and turn everything I own into a chalkboard and play on blogs all day.

So maybe that won't ever happen. But I at least felt like I owed the 2 1/2 of you who read this a follow-up to my post this spring on our jumping off the proverbial cliff of quitting-a-wonderful-job-not-knowing-what-the-next-step-would-be.

The super short version: God has been so faithful to provide exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. This summer was the perfect combination of traveling, doing projects around the house, getting more plugged into church, getting school knocked out, and just enjoying the space in our schedule to cook out with friends and go to the lake and visit family, things that have been missing from summers the last few years.

Financially, I was amazed. On one hand, this summer was an absolute financial disaster. We had emergency after emergency - an iPhone in the lake, three flat tires, a dead car battery, a shattered kitchen tile, a faulty septic system (a big, big deal), a tree limb on our electric wire (I think we paid for the electrician's summer vacation, as well as a new chainsaw for our collection), two visits from the ac repairman, a trip to the E.R. and another trip to urgent care (thank you, peanut allergy), the chipped-tooth incident, a last-minute cross-country trip to a good friend's wedding (a fun emergency, albeit an expensive one). And yet - we never even touched our emergency fund. I say this (write this?) with an overwhelming feeling of awe. Yes, we're Dave Ramsey followers and we planned and saved and spent conservatively, but I don't think anyone could plan for the kind of summer we had. And yet - we had more than enough. I find it no coincidence that our study with the college students this summer was in the Sermon on the Mount.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ... Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you..." -Matthew 6:25-34

Fitting, no? But that's another blog for another day.

So...our summer was exactly what we needed - relaxing, refreshing, but still with a purpose. 

In August, Clint started working part time at our church here and ventured into the world of full-time grad school. We're so thankful to get to continue investing in our community here, and to get to do this whole seminary thing without doing Crazy (those of you who have juggled kids and ministry and grad-school know exactly what I'm talking about).

I absolutely love keeping up with all of you by following your blogs (I read them religiously, even though I'm horrible at commenting), so I'm determined to try to fit writing into my routine as well. See you soon!