youth

Our Kids Need Saving Too

taintedfishsticks 2 Comments

Noah's Baptism

Noah’s Baptism

I found Jesus in my 30’s. Well, not like I FOUND him, you know, on a piece of toast or in a cave or something, but more like He found his way into my heart. I am thankful that God prompted both my husband and I to take our then four year old son to church. I love how God can use children to draw us to him. Because of us following that prompting, our son, now 13, was baptized at age six. On his own accord, and because of the love and teaching of his pastor (we love you Shelly) at the time, he gave his life to Jesus, and has never turned back. I love that we were able to give him the oppotunity to know and love God, and I love that our church provided that enviornment for him.

For my husband and I, it took us a little longer to be saved. And by saved, I mean, for us to dip our foot in the water, so to speak, and proclaim that we too were all in to follow Jesus. And we were baptized on the same night by our two pastors. It was incredible, and something I will never forget. And it started what is turning out to be a journey I never knew existed. It started changing our hearts, individually, healing our marriage, and closing up large wounds of our past. There’s a lot of work still to be done, or undone, I like to say, because we spent most of our life NOT following God, and not knowing his plans for us.

All of this prompted our work in children’s ministry. And by work, I mean serving there. We dove in head first with the goal to love on and save as many kids as we could that came through our church doors every Sunday. We worked with an incredible team of leaders and saw a lot of hearts changed.

Right this minute, I got up off my chair and started to walk away from my computer. Because my heart hurts and I don’t know how much more I can write. It hurts for all of the kids out there that don’t know Jesus. And I’m watching so many of them grow up without Him. And it brings me back to my youth, which, in all honesty, wasn’t so terrible, but it could have been so much more with Jesus leading my way. I want to yell and scream through the streets of my neighborhood and gather up all the wandering kids who don’t know where they are headed. I want to love on all of them and share how much Jesus wants to know them. Yes, that might be a little over the top. I’ve been told before that sometimes I speak louder than I need to and not always in love. I’m working on this.

But, seriously, my heart does hurt for kids who don’t know God. ALL of them. Even the ones that go to church each Sunday with their parents, but haven’t figured out how to have a relationship with Jesus yet. And that seed God planted in my heart has grown into a tree, I think. And God has prompted me, once again, to help lead kids to him. And he’s giving me all the help I need, of course.

I’ve been praying for a long time about becoming a volunteer for Young Life, which is just getting started here in my hometown. I was freaked out about it for a long time, but God never let me forget about that seed. And, through prayer, and growing closer to Him, he’s opening more doors for me, and I couldn’t be more excited about it! A program for middle school kids will be starting up in the fall, and I get to be a part of it. I can’t wait to reach out to kids who were right where I was all those years ago. I can’t wait to know them right where they are, with no pressure or agenda. I can’t wait to be an ear and a voice for them. And I can’t wait to see how their heart might change just because we’ve provided them a fun and safe place to hang out and be themselves. What an incredible opportunity to love on our youth, and I get to be a part of it!

So pray for me as I embark on yet another scary journey. Pray for those kids who I might be able to reach through this. And pray for our organization to reach those who need it.

Where is God prompting you to serve? What is on your heart right now?

Teen Mom: 13 Years in the Making

taintedfishsticks 4 Comments

SI am a mom. I am a wife. I am a blogger. I have multiple random jobs. And now, I have a son who is 13.

People say that, ‘time flies!’ and, “kids grow up so fast!” But, honestly, I think it has felt like exactly 13 years since he came into my life. Not a minute longer. Not a minute shorter. I feel like I’ve seen him grow and change in the perfect timing. And, even though I told him he’s not technically a year older until 10:50 tonight, I’m totally okay with the fact that he’s now 13.

I have, hands down, the most incredible son. God gave us just one child, and he outdid himself with this one. Sometimes I think we were only given just one because THIS one is enough. He’s like several people in one. And the perfect fit for our family. We were chosen to raise this amazing creature. And we’ve taken on the task in all seriousness.

My son is generous, compassionate, creative, driven, confident, talented, non-stop, and an old soul. With all that, he’s also just a normal 13 year old kid. He still fights with me. He still thinks he’s right all the time. He still needs reminding to brush his teeth and put his name on his math homework. And he still hugs me good night. Every night.

Many people compliment my husband and I on what a great job we’ve done raising him. And, you know what? I would agree with that. And I’ll take it. WE will take the compliment. Because he IS an incredible human being. However, we won’t take ALL the credit for who he is today. Our son’s life has been filled with so many people that have helped him along his way. That have loved on him, encouraged him, disciplined him, taught him, and prayed for him. We could never have raised such an outstanding person without a lot of help and influence from all of the pastors, teachers, caretakers, family, and friends in our lives. It takes a village.

So, today, on his 13th birthday, we celebrate the person he has become, and the person he is destined to be. And we thank each and every person who has touched his life in some way. But, most of all, we thank God for chosing us and others in his life to care for him. In His perfect timing, our son came into our lives, and the perfect people surrounded us and have brought our son to where he is today.

For his 13th birthday, our son has given up presents to help provide clean water to people around the world. Just a piece of evidence of his caring heart. Please visit his Charity:Water campaign page and consider donating in honor of him today. http://mycharitywater.org/noahs13thbirthdayforcleanwater

Middle School Brain

taintedfishsticks 4 Comments

I’ve reached the point of parenthood where I struggle to understand my child. I know I was once a 6th grader, but I was a whole lot different than my son, and well, I was (am) a girl. If I could get inside of his head for a moment, I wonder what I might learn?

Never hang up your towel. It’s more convenient to run naked across the hall after showering to dry off in the bedroom.
Dirty clothes should go directly NEXT to the clothes hamper on the floor.
Brush your teeth as little as possible.
Saying that you brushed your teeth is the same as actually doing it.
Flat surfaces are for placing all kinds of interesting objects that you might want to keep.
Moms don’t understand why these objects are important.
Eating in front of the tv is necessary and productive, like multi-tasking.
No matter what Mom says, always freak out about it.
Telling your parents they stress you out will always get them off your back.
I am smarter than my parents and I always will be.
Note to self: when I am a grown up, I will have a garage full of Arizona Iced Tea and drink it whenever I want.
A schedule is just a rough idea of what I might feel like doing.
Cramming papers into your binder is an acceptable way to transport them to and from school.
All school work is stupid and a waste of time. Except science, which is cool.
Anything your parents suggest doing will always be boring.
Be somewhat rude to your parents most of the time. Keep kindness for when you want something.
Use phrases like, “you don’t understand!” and “it’s not a big deal!” in most communication with your parents.

I may never know what goes on in his head, and I may never quite be the Mom he thinks I should, but I’ll keep doing my best with what I know and keep loving him for who he is on the outside. And, yes, he will read this because he follows me on Twitter. I hope he gets a laugh, or maybe can let me know if my list is anywhere near accurate.

41 is the new 15

taintedfishsticks Leave a comment

Haven’t you heard? 40 is the new 30 and 30 is the new 20! What in the world does that even mean? I really think it’s a way to soften the blow about the reality of getting older. A 40 year old body is still technically 40, and I know for sure my body was ‘younger’ at 30 than it is now.

It’s been said that age is a matter of how you feel inside. I guess they mean emotionally, or perhaps maturity has something to do with it. When I really started to think about it this way, it made a lot more sense to me. And when I reflected on my past, I came to the conclusion that 20 was the new 30, 30 is the new 50, and 41 is the new 15.

Throughout my life I’ve experienced many depressing times. Depression runs in the family, along with youthful skin. It all balances out, right? Not only during periods of depression, but also periods of personal growth, have I felt a different emotional age than physical one.

I have to say when I was ‘in my 20’s’ I felt like I needed to be older than I was. Don’t get me wrong, I was still reckless and immature, but I had my sights set on a certain life, and was working hard to be the person I thought I was meant to be. Just after my 20th birthday, my dad died. I reacted like any other YOUNG person would, business as usual and continued to keep things going as if nothing had changed. Becoming emotional would have been the immature way to handle it.

As I continued to ‘grow up’, I got my first and second career jobs, got married, bought a house,and had a baby. I was on the perfect path, and had achieved all of this before my 30th birthday. Somewhere along the way, I forgot about myself. I continued on the path of success and let go of the journey to true happiness. I grew up too fast because I thought that’s who I was.

My 30s were tough. Emotional and spiritual growth were knocking hard at my door. More life lessons than I ever wanted to learn were thrust in front if me on a constant basis. All the things I had worked for and that fit into my perfect plan were falling apart. Marriage, career, friendships, growing my family, health, finances, and more. Without all these things, I had no clue who I was. To be honest, I have almost no recollection of that entire decade of my life.

Starting at about age 36, the reality of turning 40 really hit me hard. My body was freaking out in all kinds of ways which made me feel like I was just around the corner of old age. I felt so physically and emotionally weak, and I let it get the best of me most of the time. I saw that looming number as a road block to any further growth or happiness in my life. I might as well have been inviting death to come over and rid me of my misery.

Those next three years were pivotal in my life, and I can’t imagine where I would be today if God had not interceded this mess by placing some incredible people in my life. Through these amazing people, I learned again who I really was and what my purpose on this earth is. I have a burden on my heart to help people, and my work here is no where near complete.

The summer of my 40th birthday was incredible! I took control of my physical and mental health with God at my side. It was a celebration of my life that I have yet to live. One that I don’t need to plan anymore. That’s already been done for me.

I remember my 15th birthday well. It was the last sleepover party I had. Several of you who will read this were there. We played at Coulon Beach Park all day, dressed in matching Gorton’s t shirts, courtesy of my dad, grubbed on hamburgers, and slept outside in my backyard. It was a celebration of my life with my best girlfriends and my family. It was a pivotal year for me and a lot changed over that last year. I grew up emotionally and loved who I was.

So today, on my 41st birthday, I can honestly say, 41 is the new 15.