Camping. It begins!

What a great bunch of people!!!! Ryan and I had such a great time last night and this morning camping with these student friends of ours. We hung out, tossed some football, played some crazy human knot game and prayed for each other. What an amazing way to start the semester!!!! Please for us and them as we begin fall '12 tomorrow!!! Woohooo!!!!

Work

Today I prayed over Ryan regarding his work. I thought it was kinda ironic since just a few days ago we met with our Nav shepard (a trusted leader in the Navs that meets with us right now while our regional director is on leave) to do a Bible study on work, lazyness and the balance.

I've always had a hard time resting. I think because I have zillions of ideas that I just NEED to start. Ryan however, I think understands the weight of starting an endeavor and so he patiently waits before starting any new thing. I on other hand care am so fixated on starting something that the thought of what the finished product would actually look like...doesn't even process in my mind. This plays out in almost everything in our marriage. I start it, Ryan finishes. Even in our garden! I literally plant the seeds, but it's Ryan who waters the plants. Now I'm not making any claims to Paul or Apollos, BUT what I am saying is that our roles and wiring are very complimentary. Unfortunately, another word for complimentary can the be the word aggravating.

I keep wanting Ryan to start things and he just wishes I'd focus a little more. We work differently, that's all, right? Praying through this chapter though I began to remember the need for Ryan to finish things AND start them. To work hard and rest well. To know when to engage in work and when to disengage. Our work and our lives can at time be so wrapped up in one another that it can bring challenges into our marriage. I know that Ryan works hard, he teaches me how to rest and helps me remember how to say "no." But I pray that God would continue giving Ryan wisdom in these areas, because it's not easy. It's not easy for any man to balance work and life. And that is why we pray. Because only God can give us that balance.

Ecc 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:"

Lord, continue to give Ryan direction and wisdom as we navigate the different seasons of life and work. Show how to balance the two for your glory. 

Prayer: The Ultimate Love Language

With the season change, collegiate ministry focus changes. There are still a handful of students here, but during the summer our focus shifts, putting our ministry partners in a more prominent role. I'm excited for these two and a half months to hear what God is doing in the lives of each one of you. To swap stories of God's provisions, love, and comfort even amidst heart-ache. We could not do this ministry at SDSU as effectively without your prayers and support. God uses you in a mighty way.

While thinking and praying for my ministry partners, I easily tend to forgot to pray for my most prominent ministry partner. My husband Ryan. That being said, I really want to use this next month to cultivate my prayer life for him and our marriage so it will weather the trials of life and ministry come next fall. I encourage all of you wives out there to join me this month as we pray for our husbands.

When I first got married I was given this book. "The Power of a Praying Wife". However, it looked so out of date that I never gave it a second glance. However, one year I was visiting my old roomate Becca in Denver and I noticed this same book in her living room. I asked her about it and she mentioned she had just started reading the book, but it seemed to be a pretty solid read so far. (not her exact words, but that was the main gist). At this time ministry and life had begin hacking away at the 'honeymoon' period of our marriage and I really trusted Becca's insight, so I decided to give it a try.

WOW! I cannot communicate in words how thankfully I am to the Lord for Him showing me this book as a tool for strengthening our marriage. That being said, I would strongly recommend this book to any women no matter what stage of marriage they are in. Like all books, I don't agree with every sentence and thought, but God has used this book in a big way to show me the power of prayer, no matter how cliche that sounds.

That being said, I began this 30-day journey through this book this morning. The line this morning that spured me on is as follows:

"The point in all this is that as husband and wife we don't want to be taking separate roads. We want to be on the same path together. We want to be deeply compatible, lifelong companions, and have the love that lasts a lifetime. Prayer as the ultimate love language, can make this happen." -Stormie Omartian

I'm excited as I begin this month long journey, and I hope some of you wives will join me in this jouney as we pray for our husbands, our marraiges, and us as wives.

Pr 31

A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.

"I believe the most important "good" a wife can do for her husband is pray. Shall we?"

-Stormie Omartian

Flowers

              

Life of flowers

This is why I do what I do.

This is why I roll over to answer phone calls and texts at midnight. Why I eat sodium enriched Panda (which I'll later regret) while scorching in the heat under at patio someone forgot to put a roof on. Why I show up to a Bible study where everyone forgot to text me that they can't come. Why I invite students to talk about important subjects that make them feel uncomfortable when they'd rather be on facebook. Why I toss and turn at night over poor decisions my student friends make. This is why I gave up teaching music for a time and let God move us to SDSU. Because these flowers remind me SO much of the women God allows me to minister to. When I meet them, I only see a glimpse, a bud of who God created them to be. But as He allows me to see deeper into their lives, as He allows His gospel to penetrate their souls, as he tills and harvests character into their stories, these buds blossom and flourish in ways I could never have imagined. Each one unique. Each one blossoming in it's one time. I see these flowers, in their beauty and they remind me of His women at SDSU. The beauty he has created them into, and the power of His Gospel as it transforms them. I pray I never forget the beauty of every flower bud as I wait for God to begin to open its bloom.