Life here is moving right along.  We are getting into our summer groove, enjoying longer days, and a more flexible bed time.  We are pretty strict, or at least try to be, with bed time during the school year.  But summer brings with it a sense of ease and a lack of anywhere to be early the next morning!  :)  Although, this does not mean my children believe in sleeping in.  My oldest is up by 6:30 every morning, and that is because we make him lay there until that is what the clock says!  My husband and I often wonder when do kids start wanting to sleep and wanting to eat.  There is not a day in my adult life that someone would have to force me to take a nap or eat a meal!

My husband has taken on the challenge of completing a half triathlon in September.  He will complete 70.3 miles of combined swimming, biking, and running.  Needless to say this is an event that will take some training!  And not just a little training.  His workout regimen has beefed up quite a bit as a result of this upcoming race.  I am really proud of him for taking on this challenge, but I also recognize that it comes at a cost.  All that training takes up a lot of time.  He works out for hours a day, and we are only at the beginning.  I am in full support of his decision and realize that I have a role in his dream.  No, I'm not training with him, thank goodness!  But, I do need to be supportive of him by allowing him the time to train, encouraging him along the way, and providing him the correct kind of nutrition.  Some may think I am crazy, and a lot probably think he is, but I want him to be successful.  I want him to accomplish this goal.  I want him to know that I'm right there with him.  And that although I am not completing a 70.3 mile race, I am setting goals for myself during this training time as well.

• I will not complain about his workout schedule and the time it takes.  (read time that I usually have his help with the boys that now is eaten up by training)  Instead, I choose to encourage him and be his biggest cheerleader.
• I will involve our whole family in his race.  What a great example of setting a goal and accomplishing it for my boys to see!  They will be there on race day.  :)
• I will provide proper nutrition for him.  Dinner time will include the nutrients he needs to keep up this crazy training schedule!  And I will make sure to have healthy carb rich snacks available to him such as homemade granola and granola bars.

So, here's the deal.  I think that all of this sounds great right now.  We are at week two or three of training.  We have a long way to go.  And I keep thinking about how I have all these great intentions and then my human nature creeps in there and gets the best of me! I need to get over my selfish tendencies and remember to put my husband first.  That is what I am called to do as a godly wife, as a submissive wife.  (I know, I threw the "s" word in there!)  It is an act of obedience.  As I have been reading Genesis, God at one point tells Abraham that his obedience is a "continual responsibility".  (Genesis 17:9)  I love that!  Obedience doesn't just happen once. It is something that needs to happen over and over.  I expect that out of my own children.  Obviously, this is something that God expects out of us as well.  But as easy as it sounds, it doesn't always work that way.  I don't get to just not complain one time about the time consumed by training.  It is my continual responsibility to be an encouragement.  It is my continual responsibility to be obedient in my role as the wife that God has called me to be.

My husband has really been passionately pursuing a vision for our family.  We have taken and taught a class in the past called Family ID.  It is wonderful and we plan on teaching it again in the fall!  It is all about doing your family on purpose, creating a vision for you family, and being intentional with the family God has blessed you with.  So, part of our summer Bible study has been devoted to listening to God through His Word with what He wants our family to become.  We figured what better place to start than with Abraham.  We began in Genesis 12 and will continue through Genesis 25.  It is amazing what I have learned through God's Word in regard to the character of Abraham and his family and how that can be applied to my life.

Today I was reading Genesis 16, the story of Sarai (soon to be Sarah), Abram's wife, giving him Hagar, her servant, to bare him a child.  Sarai was unable to have children.  God had spoken to Abram (soon to be Abraham) and told him his descendants would number the stars.  But Sarai was barren and God didn't say that the descendants would come from her, and it was normal cultural practice to give servants during that time to your husband to have children.  Those children would then be treated like they were from the wife and would be able to be heirs.  So, I can imagine Sarai's thought process, "I want my husband to be able to have all these descendants that God has promised him.  I don't want to stand in the way of God's blessing."  So, she decided to take matters into her own hands, take control of the situation, and fix this problem herself.  (Oh boy, starting to sound familiar!)  Of course, things start going down hill.  Sarai gets mad and jealous.  Her human nature kicks in and even blames the whole situation on Abram, "The Sarai said to Abram, 'This is all your fault!  I put my servant into your arms, but now that she's pregnant she treats me with contempt.  The Lord will show who's wrong-you or me!".  Hagar starts treating Sarai rudely, and Abram just wants nothing to do with the whole situation (who could blame him!).  But just think, if Sarai would have just waited on God how much heart ache could have been avoided.  If instead of trying to fix the problem herself, what if she took it to God first?  What if I did this in my own life?

I am a self proclaimed control freak.  I like to know all the details, I like to know what is coming next, and when it is going to happen.  (This is reflected in my last post about planning out our days of the week for the summer.)  This has always been a part of me.  Nearly a decade ago I just knew my husband was going to propose any day...and it was KILLING ME!!!  My need for control over that situation was in overdrive.  So I constantly prayed this verse, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~Philippians 4:6  Unfortunately, I can not say that I have always been so great with letting go of control of situations.  Five years ago, we moved from southern California to Oklahoma, not because God was calling us, but because I WANTED or even thought I NEEDED to move.  I did not have an easy road to walk once we got to Oklahoma.  And looking back I know that if I had just waited on God and spent time seeking Him, I could have saved myself and my family a lot of heart ache.

But this story isn't over there.  Sarai messed up.  I mess up EVERYDAY.  But our God is so full of mercy!  I haven't read it yet, but I know the end of Sarai's story.  God blesses her with something she didn't even imagine possible...a son.  And although, I don't know the end of my story, I know that God has already blessed my socks off.  We serve a truly merciful and faithful God!

Summer is here!  And I am feeling like I am at the start of this grand adventure.  I have three boys...six, four, and oh so close to one.  My six year old just finished kindergarten, and I am so excited to have him back home with me and the other two boys for the next few months.  No, I'm not crazy, I do understand that there are trying times having all three of my kids home with me all day, but I also believe that your day is what you make of it.  If I have a good attitude my day tends to run a lot smoother!

Anyways, embarking on this adventure called summer I have so many goals that I want to pursue.  Goals for myself, for my kids, for my family.

For myself I really want to work on my "inner beauty".  "You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God." 1 Peter 3:4.  I was challenged earlier this year to give up television for the summer. I can do that I thought, the only true time I spend time watching tv is in the evening once the kids have gone to bed.  You know, that moment when total silence falls on your house and you want nothing more that to collapse in the fetal position on the couch and stare mindlessly at a screen?  Well, I took on the challenge and instead of time spent in the evening watching tv, which can be full of things that certainly don't cultivate my inner beauty, I have vowed to spend time reading, playing games with my husband, and learning to crochet.  So, the theme for my personal summer will be all about my inner beauty.  I want to fill myself with God and His Word and who it says I am...not what the world says about me and all the lies that satan deals out on a daily basis.

I also don't want to waste a minute of this summer.  I want to enjoy every second of every day to my fullest ability.  I want to soak my kids up and love on them like crazy and store the memories we are creating now back in my mind forever.  I just feel like my time with them is so fleeting.  I can not believe that my son is going into first grade, and my four year old is starting pre K in the fall.  I want to remain aware of the fact that in not too many more summers they won't be in my backyard making mud pies and playing sharks in the pool.  And for this reason, this summer I vow to play right along with them.  Bring on the mud and the water and the bugs and the frogs.  I want to experience it all with them, not simply watch them do it.  To help us achieve this I have decided to adhere to lose schedule for the summer that will help us have a plan.  Mondays are "Make it Monday", we will bake or cook something in the kitchen TOGETHER.  Tuesdays are "Too Crafty Tuesday", we will craft or create something TOGETHER.  Wednesdays are "Wet Wednesday", this will be our weekly trip to the splash pad TOGETHER.  Thursdays are "Thinking Thursday", weekly trip to the library TOGETHER.  (We are also involved in the summer reading program this year at our library, so excited about that!)  Fridays are "Free Day Friday", we will be off to the zoo or museum or park or whatever we decide to go that week TOGETHER.

Summer is here!  I am earnestly praying that I don't waste it.  The adventure has just started and I can't wait to see where all it takes me!