2014 Summer Camping Trip

Camping. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. I love the getting away, unplugged family time. I love the beauty of nature and exploring new places. I love to be away from the city hurry and traffic and lights.  What I don't love (hate does seem a bit strong) is the planning, preparation, less convenient living and yes the bugs. When Shane asked if I was having fun this year, in the midst of our first long distance camping trip, I confessed my pros and cons but agreed in the end the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.

This year our camping explorations took us to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. I felt bad my parents couldn't join us in their RV cause last time we ventured that far west they were with us and it was 10 years ago AND my Dad LOVES that area. But even if we missed Nana and Popop, we had a blast of a family adventure!! Hiking, setting up camp together, tent sleeping, campfire treats and fun meals, swimming, playing, resting and working together. These are the kinds of memories I am thrilled and blessed to create as a family. I'm so glad I married an adventuring man who's not afraid to try new things, explore new places and put the effort into making it all a reality.

 

The heights of the Badlands made a chicken mama worried but the kids had their dad as leader and protector and we all came home safe with no cliff/hiking mishaps. The beauty enraptured all of us. And old-Goldie got us there and back safely! By God's grace!!

Next year's dream: Glacier National Park, Montana. 

Long time no write

Well this blog isn't turning out exactly as I thought it would.  I thought I'd make all kinds of small entries noting the big and little moments of a variety of days.  Instead I've been summarizing sporadically and not very often.  My intentions haven't panned out like I thought they would but that happens.  The year of 40 is already half over!  Time has a way of doing that...zipping by.

I want to sit back and remember summer as it has played out so far.  It has been glorious in so many ways.  As a homeschool mom I think I anticipate the start of summer break just as much, if not more, than my kids.  It's not that I dislike homeschooling but I am just so ready to take that teacher hat off because it's a balance to wear the hat of both mom and teacher and to be honest by the end of the school year I don't know that I like wearing both.  It requires a lot for me to be intentional and organized because that is not my natural bent so to get a chance to be carefree and plan-free for a bit is just lovely.

I remember taking this picture on the last day of school.  We picked Isaac up from his class at Keewaydin and went straight to the pool and though I didn't jump in with them I was so delighted to sit there with my kindle and half-read/half watch them play and splash....SUMMER was here at last!!!

And it has really been a refreshing one so far.  Prior to school officially being over Shane and I got away for our anniversary.  I am so grateful for the patterns Shane had the foresight to set in place at the beginning of our marriage for they have only become more precious with each new year.  This year we had the privilege of spending 5 days in Longboat Key at a beach house that is in Shane's half-sister Rhonda's family.  For 2 years she has been generous to give us the key and let us stay there.  A perfect quiet 55+ community that has a beach on one side and a bay on the other...it offers us the perfect blend of quiet and respite and local fun restaurants and places to explore.  We rested well there and just simply enjoyed one another...a gift after 17 years of marriage!!

Back at home, June was full of swimming and hanging with neighbors and local friends.  Last summer with the adventures of sabbatical we did miss out on a lot of local fun so that has been really fun to be home and take advantage of that.  VBC at our church kept us busy and tired in a fun way for a whole week.  Our front and back door revolve with neighbor kids...old and new ones just moved in. Neighbors...we have really been wanting to grow in how we form relationships with our neighbors and how to be intentional and how to move from being simply relational to truly caring for them so that the gospel will have a bridge to walk across that doesn't seem fake or project-like.  This is is such a work in progress for us but it definitely helps that our kids spend time with many of the kids on our street and that has provided windows of opportunity for us as adults.  We feel like we have so much growing to do in this area.

Marathon training...it is always in the mix these days.  Some days it feels right and helpful and others we wake up wondering, "Why did we decide to do this?"  And really it was me that pushed us to the marathon and I do wonder some days if I made the right decision to go from being a non-runner to training for a marathon.  Surely we are not the only ones to do so...and I know that is true.  In those moments I just come back to the one-day-at-a-time approach.  Trust the plan.  Know it will give you the steps you need to get to your goal.  If I have that mindset I really don't get worried.  I have learned so much already and I know that that is the ultimate goal - to be changed, to not be the same, to do something hard that I might be shaped by it and grow because of it.

And then I think this.  At the start of April I was running one minute at a time and I could not even fathom running one whole mile without stopping.  On July 3 I did this: 

I ran 10 miles only stopping a few times for a water break.  It was HARD but I did it!  I had great doubt when I first began this training and now I see that if that growth can happen in 3 months than in another 3 months I may just cross that finish line.  I'm learning a whole lot about discipline and being faithful and having accountability and a team to encourage you.  A few times I've had a running partner that has stuck with me the whole time and WOW how encouraging that is!  People with experience that will slow down a bit to my pace and stay with me and encourage me as I run and push me to a faster pace. This is life!  Sin entered the world and life became a challenge and a struggle but there is hope and God's plans were not derailed.  He had already planned a way to make things right again and his methods flow from who He is.  We were not meant to live life alone!!

Ebb and Flow

That's what it feels like with this blog.  I stay on it for a bit and then lose track of it entirely.  I'm laughing that my last post was about running because it gives the appearance that running has indeed done me in...literally.  But actually it hasn't been that bad...yet. : )  It does really help to look back 10 weeks ago and see that I wasn't running at all and now I can run 3 miles straight without stopping for a 1 minute walk.  Looking back is really helpful.  Looking ahead can get still get me pretty scared.  I've been sticking close to that mindset of simply focusing on: "How far do I need to run today?"  "What is my goal and objective today?"  And just stick the plan and not fret.  It's working so far. : )

On another note, today was our last day of the school year!!  I feel like a free bird.  I love taking off the teacher hat and just keeping on the mom one.  Fun summer mom.  That's what I'm aiming for.

Crazy Goals

Meet me new running shoes.

Yes, I did just say running, as in Heather is running.

This former running-hater has insanely committed to run.....

......a marathon.  

40 has officially gone to my head.  It wasn't even my idea to begin with (I blame that part on Shane) but I was, however, the one to push us over the edge of common sense.  On the night when Shane was waffling with whether to sign up for a half or full marathon, I said: "Let's just do the full marathon.  When am I ever again going to be this close to thinking about something this crazy?  Certainly not when I am any older than right now!"  And so.....we signed up.

And I commenced freaking out after that first week of running.  What in the world did I agree to, no ENCOURAGE us to do????  I found myself somewhere between scared silly and emboldened.  And I still am not sure where to land most days.  

SO for right now I am trying to stay in today, after all that IS usually what I do well.  I am the "live in the moment" girl who really doesn't think much about tomorrow or the next hour.  Week 13 when I run 10 miles and week 26 when I run TWENTY-SIX.  MILES....it's way out there still and looking at that is when I land on scared silly.  But this week my goal is 2.5 miles...and that is all I am choosing to think about.  After all, 4 weeks ago a couple minutes made me winded and tired.  

I still am not really sure why I made this plunge.  It was definitely out of character.  I can blame it on 40 or I can choose to think this might be something bigger for me than exercise and miles conquered.  

I don't really know yet but I'm keeping my head up and eyes and ears open.

One thing is for sure.  If I can begin to wake up at 6:15AM on a regular basis, ANYTHING is possible.   Right now it is the HARDEST thing about training and it's hard to foresee that changing at all.

Berlin Revisited

Skipping around a little here...there are some more pictures from Berlin I want to include here and caption so I won't forget this experience.  As it is, the pictures are limited and this is just a taste of those 5 days but I want to document what I have at least.

Closest to Italy I've ever been and I could tell.  This little Cucina Italiana was truly authentic and my tastebuds knew it!!  Wish I took a picture of my meal but I think it would make me salivate like crazy right now.  Pasta was homemade, marinara was perfect and simple and wine was oh. so. good.  Yep, the tastes of Europe...good stuff!  It was a cozy spot with real from-Italy Italians serving and cooking.  Definitely a favorite find!

This was also our first dinner in Berlin and the only one we had alone so it was sweet time despite our jetlag.

This fun bunch of people are the ones we spent most of our time with.  A mix of ReachNational folks that Shane serves alongside, US and global pastors and a couple of the missionaries that are currently living in Berlin a.k.a. our walking history books and windows to real-life Berlin.  Yep, we had a lot of fun together.

Jeff and Michelle.  Jeff is on the Reach National team with Shane as the Director of Church Planting. Michelle is his wife who I really enjoyed getting to know.  They live in Duluth, MN so they are not local to us and this is the first time I had ever met either of them...had to get to Europe to meet them apparently.  We had a great time exploring the city, hanging out and having great conversations with these two over lots of meals shared.  I so appreciated Michelle's compassionate heart and effervescent personality!

"Kristina".  I don't remember her German pronunciation and she said to just call her that as most Americans do.  She was a last-minute fill-in for a history of the church in Berlin.  How very insightful and rare to hear the history of Germany from the mouth and perspective of a true German.  She was honest and funny and captivating.  Her words and the heart that shone through spoke of the power of God's redemptive plan that does not exclude Berlin.  It is a tolerant and secular city but God has not abandoned its people.  She is an active prayer warrior for Berlin and for Germany and she is not alone. I remember walking away feeling so thankful to have heard her unique and honest perspective of her country's history and hope anew that God IS NOT DEAD.

Reichstag Building.  We missed out on the tour of this which I know would have been so cool.

Brandenburg lit up at dusk.

Berlin Cathedral Church.  Largest Church in Berlin.  It is beautiful on the outside.  We didn't go in for the tour.  Hard thing about these beautuful old buildings is knowing the lifelessness within.

Museum.  I forget which one.

Pergamom Museum.  The one museum we did enter.  This was the most magnificent part of it -
King Nebuchadnezzar 's Ishtar Gate of Babylon.  This is the gate that the Israelite captives would have walked through.  It was AMAZING!

Fun night in Potsdamer Platz.  Wish I had more people shots!  These were all taken with Shane's phone because I am lousy at taking pictures when I am in the moment.

Another yummy Italian dinner...Could not get enough!!

German fare night meant good local dark beer.

A missionary couple in Berlin.  They recently opened a music cafe in the neighborhood they live in. They are teaming with others to create a gospel initiative in their community,  that their lives may intersect with others in need of Jesus' saving light and love.  Inspiring to us.  They have poured so much time, energy and prayer and are offering it to God for His kingdom's sake.

Berlin selfies.  

So very grateful for this man.  Thankful for the adventures God takes us on and for the privilege of traveling to Berlin together to give our minds and hearts a bigger picture of the world and of God who IS at work always, everywhere.

Our Small Group

Spent part of Easter Sunday with these crazy fun folks...

In September of 2013 we jumped into something we have been looking for ever since moving to Minneapolis almost 6 years ago...a small, local group of people to live and learn with.  Summer 2013 we prayed and asked God to show us what people we could invite to join us on a journey of learning to follow Jesus more closely.  We called it a Disciplemaking Learning Community because really that is what we are aiming to be about together.  The name doesn't matter all that much except that it gives us purpose.  We've been coming together twice a month on Sundays, sharing a meal and then discussing/wrestling over the truth we read in God's Word and seeking to apply it to our lives in real and practical ways.  We're getting to know one another so we can pray for, encourage and be truth-speakers in each other's lives.  It's a beautiful, imperfect work in progress and on Easter Sunday we just had a whole lot of fun celebrating our Risen King together.

There are a handful of littles, our kids being the oldest.  It's such a great opportunity for them to love on ones younger than themselves and serve in ways that leaves room for Jesus to shape their hearts to love like He does.  It's been a pleasure for me to watch them play with, laugh with, hug and care for the smaller people that walk through our door.

I'm just really thankful that God answered our prayers for a local community of believers to grow with and we are continuing to pray that God will keep our hearts soft to His ways and His heart.  Our prayer is that we won't turn inward and stay nice and comfy in our little group but that God will stretch our hearts and make room for those in each of our lives that He has already placed there for His purposes. Those people that need the hope and light of Jesus and who need to see it in us.  Personally I know that requires an unselfishness and compassion that I will not manufacture on my own by any measure.  I'm praying for God's transforming work to be the change factor for me and for this special group of people we have come to love.

Gram

Easter Sunday was also Gram's birthday.

I just find that so appropriate and I was thinking of her so much especially in the morning when I remembered it was April 20 - her birthday.  Mom reminded me she would have been 95 years old if she was still here with us.  Instead she is ahead of us already celebrating eternity with her King.

She will always be present in my heart.  Grateful for her life every day.

Looking back on something I wrote the month she went to heaven.