It has been barely three weeks since I posted about my 2012 goals but I wanted to give an update on where I am. Not everything I write here will be directly related, but nonetheless, it is all connected somehow and important - no matter how hard to follow it comes out. I have a lot of things I want to say, but I'm not sure how to make it all 'flow'.
Sometime back in late November/early December I began doing regular devotions/reading passages of the Bible. And I am proud to say that since then I have maybe missed just a handful. I received a devotional book from Andrew for Christmas and I have only missed two days so far in that book. I am a little behind in my prayer life, but I am working on it. I tend to journal my prayers instead.
The first book of 2012 I finished is entitled Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. Rick Skinner sent this book up to me last year when I was asking for book suggestions for this upcoming year. While reading this book, I began asking myself - would I have the faith this family did? How would I fare against persecution? Do I have any persecution in my own life? Should I? If I don't, could the reason be because no one knows about having Jesus in my life? What am I afraid of? Why am I hiding?
One of the areas in my life I want to grow in this year is involvement - not just in spending quality time with friends and involving myself within the women's ministry of Hospitality House, but I want to be involved in the community. I would love to be involved in a women's only Bible study...there is one being offered on Sunday evenings through Changepoint, the church we attend. It starts next week I think. As much as I have been thinking about trying to sign up (it is limited to 20 women), I am apprehensive because I am afraid that Andrew will think we are doing too much. We don't - not really. Here is a rough outlook of the days of our week:
Mondays: work, run after work, dinner finished around 6:30/7. Hangout at the house/get lunch ready for next day...
Tuesdays: pretty much the same thing. Instead of running after work, I go to a Step class at the gym from 5:40-6:40 so dinner is a little later.
Wednesdays: Andrew picks me up from work and drops me off at the house before he heads to the Dome to do his marathon training group. While he's gone I make dinner.
Thursdays: After picking me up we head to Eagle River for the Hospitality House. We usually get back between 9 and 10 pm.
Fridays: Same as Mondays/Tuesdays. We might go out on the town after.
Saturdays: Andrew runs with his training group in the mornings. We try to sleep in a little. Usually go grocery shopping/clean the house. Go out with friends.
Sundays: Sleep in, Church @11:30 (until 1pm). Stop by B&N for weekly coffee. Afternoons pretty much open right now.
Would it really break our schedule to add a two hour discipleship class on Sunday evenings from 5:30-7:30 at Changepoint? I don't think so. There is one more factor that I am a little uneasy about and that is that I have to pay a small fee (like $50) to participate from January to May (or is it April?). Growing up I never had to pay for a Sunday School class or anything that was offered by the church, unless maybe we decided to buy a study book and work through it...but even then most times the church paid for it. Many of the classes have some sort of fee to them. Despite the fee, we really don't have any money to spare for it.
Another class that looked super interesting is a 16-week Perspectives on the Christian World Movement class meeting on Wednesday evenings. It presents the biblical, historical, cultural and strategic aspects on The Great Commission. It does cost about $250, and I could take it as a regular class and get a certificate of completion OR sign up for college credit through a participating university. We don't have the money for it now, but I am hoping that if the church thinks it is popular enough, that they will offer it again next fall or even next spring. Then I might think about taking it. I'll have to save for it. If you want to check out the church we have been going to, here is the website: Changepoint.
This weekend Andrew and I bought two things to enrich our lives and help our house feel more like a home (this may fall under the category of getting higher-quality things we've been wanting). The first, a ping-pong table that Andrew has been wanting for quite some time. It was over half off at Target. He's been working on putting that together these past two days. I think he's almost done since he just called me to help him.
And it is practically set up. We've been breaking down all the cardboard boxes we've been collecting in the basement and setting them out for recycling. At one point we thought about moving off-base, but right now, it seems that staying on base is a better idea. for one thing, to move off base in Anchorage, we'd have to get rid of Chip. And that's not happening. Although by the time we get the basement looking some-what decent, our friend Julian will be moving his stuff back in as he is taking off for a six month deployment starting in May. So the clean basement will become a mess of boxes again.
The second thing we bought was a five shelf bookshelf! Granted that it is not of the best quality, it is already set up and kitty-cornered in the dining room. It is so nice to be able to display our books and games. Most of Andrew's books are about running, while I have a bit of a different collection. We do have three copies of Crazy Love by Francis Chan, so the first one to claim dibs on it gets it...and I know you all will be fighting to get your hands on that book....
Having the bookshelf adds a new dimension to living in this house. Friends can browse and borrow. Andrew can read one of mine if he chooses too. We have better access to games. And it puts something in the space that has been empty for so long.
One more quick thing... this weekend I didn't watch any television! Or movies! Okay I did watch the new episode of Big Bang Theory with Andrew via computer, but other than that, I've been reading and busy with other things around the house. And I am happy this weekend has been t.v.-free. It is very refreshing. I hope it happens more often.
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