Time

I am currently doing one of my FAVORITE things in Korea in the late fall season. Sitting in starbucks! I just LOVE coming here in November and December because it is so cozy, smells like starbucks from home, it's all decorated for Christmas and they're playing some of my favorite Christmas music. It makes my heart so warm. 

So here I sit with my Grande Caramel Macchiato. 

I want to write about the newest thing going on with Jon and I. 

The theme is Time. We are feeling a serious calling from the Lord to check how we spend our time this year. We are beginning to realize that this is the last year we will probably have together, just the two of us, away from the normalcy of our busy schedules in America. We will most likely never work together again, with the same schedules. We hope to start a family soon... whether it be natural or through adoption (which we feel called to, for those of you who did not know this already). We know life is going to drastically change in about one year from now when we return to the states Dec. 1, 2012. 

When we were in Arkansas we barely saw each other. Many of you know that I was a full time student with a part time job and also doing counseling 15 hours a week, while Jon was working a full time and part time job and we were both super involved in our church. We honestly didn't spend a whole lot of time together, just the two of us. What has surprised us about this past year is how much time we thought we would have together, but how little we spent together. It is amazing how your schedule can fill up if you aren't careful. We have loved all our experiences.. even the yucky tasting ones and what not :) But we have been invited on so many adventures and gotten involved in the church and gone out with teachers and friends until we were running low on energy left for really being together. All that to say, we both feel like this year is special and we don't want to waste the opportunity we've been given to be here like this. We know most couples never get this kind of experience together. We don't want to waste it doing things we like, but not doing things we love. Hope this makes sense. I don't know exactly why I'm explaining it all out, but it's our hearts right now and I guess we just maybe want to be held accountable to it. We both have a hard time saying no to good things. And we both have a tendency to be people pleasers. So when someone asks us to do something or to go somewhere we have a hard time saying no. Anyway, God has told us that this year we are building a metaphoric Ark, like Noah. We don't know exactly what that means.. but what I feel like I understand of it so far is that we are to build up a foundation in our marriage in which we are in the future able to be a place/home where lives will come and be changed.. be it adoption, people needing a place to stay for a while, fostering.. we don't know exactly. But we know there are things in us individually and as a couple that needs some work before we can be used well in this way. So this year is being dedicated to that. We are stepping away from some things in order to make more time to just be together while we can. 

The cool thing is that this unraveled over a month period where it was made more clear we were to be intentional to really make this year about us. A few days after we figured out more of what that meant we heard a sermon by Kris Vallotton, whom we both love listening to and really respect. I want to include some of my notes here because it was such a good reminder for me and just a confirmation of our choice to step away from other things for the sake of something else. 

Every time you’re doing something, there is something you’re not doing. Time is a non-renewable resource. There’s always enough time to do everything God has called you to do. Make sure you know what things He has called you to and what things He hasn’t. Prov 18:24 - ‘A man with too many friends comes to ruin.’ You can only have so many close friends because we as a body share in our joys and our wounds and you can only handle so much of other people’s wounds and burdens. If you spread yourself so thin then it will take it’s toll on you and your relationships. Make a not-to-do list and realize that you will lose some favor with men when you do. If you don’t develop a plan for your life, others will. If you don’t control your life, other people will. I am the only one who knows my spiritual, physical, and emotional capacity. It’s not easy to say no...but the results of not saying no when you should are worse. You have to manage your WHOLE man...not just your spiritual strength. I am a man - I need a certain amount of rest and a certain amount of play. God has given you grace, but you have to steward that grace. Sometimes you have to stop for the one - but the one might be at (your) home. You need a day that’s you, God, and your family. Protect it. We need to learn to say no. We can’t protect our time while trying to be famous or popular, because fame and popularity easily give way to others controlling you. People don’t like to hear the word no. I have to be okay with people misunderstanding me. God has assigned to us people and responsibilities that we are to touch, and there are others that we are proactively not to touch. We need to be more concerned with offending God than offending people

I wonder if this hits home for anyone else. I know it's so easy to get busy and it seems that sometimes the first things to get cut out when life gets busy is the time with people we love most...because we know they will understand, and they will still be there later. But it's still at their and your expense. I'm so thankful for this year and this time. God is preparing us for something special when we come home. We don't know exactly what it will look like, but we are excited. 

By the way, for those of you who have been reading this blog for a while now, you'll get this... I'll have you know I ate my last cadbury egg a couple days ago. :) I really made them last.