Seasons change...

Obviously, for me the blogging season has changed. There is so much to do interacting with real life that I have precious little time to blog anymore. And to be honest, much of my blogging was for my dad, who used this blog to keep up with the dailyness of our family. That doesn't mean I won't ever blog anymore... goodness, it's in my blood to express myself in writing, but there are so many other outlets that this has fallen by the wayside for the time being... in case either of you have noticed. :)

Our seasons are changing, and here's how:

1. Kelsey is heading to Chapel Hill in a few months to begin living the dream she seized hold of back when she was in middle school.  She has a dorm and a roommate already. Yay! I am so proud of her; she has worked tirelessly, tackling countless hours of AP courses and volunteer opportunities. She has turned into an amazing young woman of God. I am in awe.

2. No prama this year. Kelsey and her boyfriend broke up in September. (His mom is still one of my best friends on the planet. No teen season of love/breakups will change that.) Blessedly this time, in one of those scheduling debacles that plagued our entire time at our old church and Kelsey's current school, the Joy Prom is the same night as the Junior/Senior. It took her about 1/2 a minute to decide she was going to the Joy Prom instead. So, no prama posts for 2012 either.

3. Zane has successfully transitioned into the neighborhood school from the Christian school. As we wrestled with what to do for next year when registration time rolled by, he asked to stay where he is now. He has friends. He has a starting position on the highly successful varsity football team. He has a leadership role in FCA. He has opportunities to share the gospel with people who don't know yet.  So, he's staying.

4. Zane is also plugging-in to student ministry at our new church. It's pretty cool how old friends from different places have welcomed him. I have never seen such caring and compassion come from a group of guys. Usually it's a trial-by-fire type of friendship among teenage boys, but here there is genuine encouragement and accountability. It is an answer to prayer after many months of suffering and solitude.

5. Zack is staying right where he is in school for next year. He hates change. Hate may be an understatement. With Zane leaving their school last year and Kelsey leaving school and home to go to college next year, we decided after much prayer that Zack needs to stay right where he is, even though it is very challenging for him academically.

6. Jimmy's found himself in the position of many in the business world over the past few years. As the company makes cut-backs through attrition, his hours working are steadily increasing. His territory is doing great, though. We are blessed. (But we are busy. Who isn't?)

7. Our transition to a new church family is pretty well complete. We don't know how to "sorta" do anything, so we dove head-first into the deep end. After three months of visiting the church and two months of being in a small group, we joined. Thing is, our small group is growing huge, and we find even more people asking to visit. With a void of small groups in our immediate area and several interested families, Jimmy and I felt called to be part of the core team of families planting a new small group, closer to our part of town. We're busy training and learning, and we're totally excited about having the opportunity to participate in our church's gospel mission.

8. In light of college for Kelsey next year and college for Zane two years after that, I am pursuing a full-time job. Last time I crashed and burned on the schedule, but prayerfully, that won't be the case this time. The way positions work now, things are much more streamlined. We'll see. Haven't heard anything yet.

9. Although she has up days and down days, my mom (Miss Daisy) continues to recover well from the fall last September that landed her in the hospital/rehab for several weeks. She is looking into new things to do and does better and better the busier she stays during her retirement. In this season, we help her with groceries and lawn care and housework. She's pretty feisty though, so our roles even in those areas are decreasing. I'm proud of her "fight."

10. Summer Bible study has always, always, always been my favorite activity of the year.  For so many years, I have wished for SBS fellowship to last all year. This year, through our small group at church, I have been blessed to connect with a group of women who are committed to fellowship, prayer, and Bible study on a regular basis year-round. I believe "doing life together" is the current term for such relationships. Jon Acuff would be so proud of us. We "love on" each other too! SCL fans will know exactly what I'm talking about. I dearly love my old SBS friends. Dearly. Yet, I am so very grateful that those types of relationships can be year-round and not confined to just June-July.

11. After nearly two months of searching, we finally found my dad's will, which named me executrix. It didn't go so well. I tried, but living such a full life over two hours away from where everything needs to happen made it difficult to carry out my duties. That and the fact that my brother and I hold very different values systems made it clear that the conflict wasn't worth going to court. So, I resigned the position, after a time of prayer and seeking godly counsel.

12. So far one of the things that hasn't changed is where we live, but who knows what will happen there either. Our "yes" is on the table, as we say at church, so we're waiting to see where the Lord will lead in lots of areas.

Thanks for stopping by. I love and miss so many of you who used to drop by here on a regular basis. I pray the Lord is shining His glory through you each day!