We're going back again!

So, we made it through the 8 hours of interview. Whew! We were exhausted and it literally was 8 hours, but time did not drag by and there was a very sweet spirit. Before we could get home, we got a call. One of their committee members had had to leave unexpectedly and wasn't there at all and another one was only able to be there for a small portion of our time there. The missing committee members is their main concern. So, they have asked us to come back. This time they will have an open house for us on Saturday night for people to come meet us. They want Michael to preach on Sunday morning. Then there will be a pot-luck after church followed by a question/answer period with the whole church. Then the committee will get together again and if the people who weren't there this weekend like us as much and those who were there this weekend, they are expecting to recommend to the congregation that they call us!!!

We are very excited and nervous. We ask, among other things, that you would pray against a spirit of fear. At different times during the weekend, Michael and I were both seized with a spirit of fear: "you guys can't do this," "what are you thinking," "you have no idea what you are doing," etc. We realize that this is an attack from Satan. We know that God will always enable us to do what He has called us to do and we have peace about the process that we are in the midst of right now. So, please pray with us against ungodly fear in our lives as we seek and follow the Lord. Thanks, we love you.

Interview!!

OK, here goes. . . Michael is interviewing with Columbus Baptist Church in Columbus, MT! We are driving down after church today (in the midst of a winter storm warning, no less). They are starting the interview process tonight and it will continue through the morning and afternoon on Monday. We are excited and nervous (he didn't sleep much last night). We appreciate your prayers for us and for the church, that we would all be following the leading of the Holy Spirit; He will bring the right pastor to the right church. We love you and will keep you updated.

It's Fall!

When I was a kid growing up in Florida, I always thought that the seasons should start changing when school started. I was disappointed every year as September became even hotter than August! Now the fact that July here in Montana was mostly triple digits makes it kind of hard to get hotter, but still. This is the time for what I call "whiplash weather." We're going from highs in the 80's to highs in the 60's and back in one week. And just because the highs are in the 80's doesn't mean the lows won't be in the 30's. That's right folks, 50 degree temperature swings in one day! Ahhh, Fall. It's cooling off in September, just like it should :) On the other hand, I think Spring should start in March (like it did in Florida when I was a kid) but here it doesn't usually start until May or June. Oh, well. You win some, you loose some.

Joy

I heard a sermon today on Hebrews 12:1-2. Joy is now my theme. I know, it's not the usual "Joy Passage" but it works for me. God is doing something and whether it's preparing me for something big or just the regular work of making me more like Christ, the fact that He's doing a work in me should bring joy, even if it's painful. I'm thankful that I feel like I'm becoming more aware. Aware of my moods and feelings, what might be behind them and whether or not they're worth paying any attention to. I hope it continues. Thanks for your prayers.

First Flush

Well, Haddie finally started putting all of the training and hard work into use today...and made me very proud in the process. We went out this morning for a couple of hours and she ended up flushing two coveys of sharptail grouse and a rooster pheasant. The first covey I think was an accident, she was pretty sure on the second covey, and she actually trailed the pheasant for 25 yards before it flushed about 2 feet in front of her.

I managed to down two of the sharptails (pheasant isn't in season yet) but we only found one of them. Still have a little work to do on retrieving them once they're shot, but today was a great step. Here's a pic of our pup with her first bird.

Pouring out my heart

Psalm 143:10-11
Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God:
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
For the sake of Your name, O Lord revive me.
In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

When I started this blog, I really wanted it to be a way to keep our family and friends up to date with what God is doind in our lives. We have included updates on the church plant, opportunities that God might be leading us toward and a good amount of fun fluff (see the previous post). Now I'm goign to share with you a spiritual struggle I'm in the midst of.

I had my two-year review last week at work. Although I maintained good ratings in most categories and increased to a "superior" in job knowledge, I received a "marginal" score for performance. This included attitude and accuracy.

I can feel it when I get stressed at work. It's busy and there are things I have to get done and customers need help and co-workers have questions. . . It's hard for me to switch back and forth between them all. What I didn't know was that I have a Dr. Jeykel/Mr. Hyde personality (that's a quote). Apparently I'm "happy Christina" 90% of the time and the other 10% I'm scary! This news was kind of devastating, because I didn't know that I was making my co-workers feel like that and because it's such a terrible witness!

I have had at least one offage every month for the last year. I spent some time thinking about this, pondering why they thought that was so much worse that I was feeling that it was. One day off out of twenty work days is 95%. That's an A! My worst month I was off 4 times!! OUCH! But, still only an 80%. I just hadn't gotten it into my head that I'm not being graded like I was in school. There is not scale - it's pass/fail and it takes 100% to pass. Besides this perception problem I had, I thought I was checking all my work. I truly am supprized when I get an email saying I neglected to perfom or follow through on some duty.

So I had to come up with a PIP (personal improvement plan) I was able to come up with some practical things as well as some ways my supervisors might be able to help. I also included a spiritual section to my plan because that's not separate
from every other part of my life. My supervisors thought that was good because they know how important my faith is to me. So, I expected things to be/get better immediately.

Instead they got worse! The first thing I saw at my station when I came in today was a list of things I had neglected to do/done wrong at work on Saturday. I had to go to the bathroom and dab at my eyes! Today was the fourth, off-the-charts-busy day in a row! My checks didn't match in the middle of the day! Usually this happens because I type in the number wrong when I'm adding them up, or I made some other small, easily fixable mistake when processing the transaction. Not so toady! I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for it, while the two girls who came in early stayed just as late as the rest of us trying to get everything taken care of. And now, while I have tomorrow off, someone else has to go back through every piece of work I did trying to find my mistake!!

I'm crushed! I don't know what else to do to fix whatever it is that has made these last couple of months so bad at work. The grace, patience, love and servanthood that my supervisors have shown/are showing is a daily conviction to me (especially considering my current attitude issues). But, I feel like God is doing something. I don't know what. I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do or learn. I don't know how this is going to glorify God or how it will prepare me for what God has in store next, but I'm confident that it will. And it feels like it's something BIG!

I'd like to thank my brother-in-law, Phillip, for his great reminder of these things. Also, I really covet your prayers while I continue through this time striving to keep my eyes on Jesus and seeking my strenth and joy in Him. Please also pray for what God has in store for me/us and that His Spirit would complete this work of preparation in me.

I love you all and thank you for your love and prayers.

A Study in Opposites

I have come across two great joke lists - one for where I live now and one for where I grew up. Notice some of the opposites:


Jeff Foxworthy's comments on Montana

If "vacation" to you means going shopping for the weekend in Great Falls, Billings or Bozeman (while the kids swim at the Comfort Inn),You might live in Montana.

If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord, You might live in Montana.

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, You might live in Montana.

If you're proud that your state makes the national news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation, You might live in Montana.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, You might live in Montana.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, You might live in Montana.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You might live in Montana.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, You might live in Montana.

If you know how to correctly pronounce Butte, You might live in Montana.

If you measure distance in hours, You might live in Montana.

If your family vehicle is a crew cab pickup, You might live in Montana.

If you know several people who have hit deer more than once, You might live in Montana.

If you often switch from "heat" to "A/C"in the same day and back again, You might live in Montana.

If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching, You might live in Montana.

If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events,You might live in Montana.

If the largest traffic jam in your town centers around a high school basketball game,You might live in Montana.

If there are more people at work on Christmas Eve Day than on Deer gun Opener, You might live in Montana.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, You might live in Montana.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, You might live in Montana.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, You might live in Montana.

If you can identify a southern or eastern accent, You might live in Montana.

If you consider Red Lodge exotic,You might live in Montana.

If the sunbelt to you means Miles City, You might live in Montana.

If a brat is something you eat, You might live in Montana.

If you find 0 degrees a little chilly, You might live in Montana.


You know you're from Florida when.....

"Down South" means Key West.

"Panhandling" means going to Pensacola.

Flip-flops are everyday wear.

Shoes are for business meetings and church.

No, wait, flip flops are good for church too.

Socks are only for bowling.

Orange juice from concentrate makes you vomit.

Tap water makes you vomit.

Sweet tea can be served at any meal.

An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.

You smirk when a game show's "Grand Prize" is a trip to Florida.

You measure distance in minutes.

You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store,but everything to do with shade.

Your winter coat is made of denim.

You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

You know the four seasons really are: almost summer, summer, not summer but really hot, and Christmas.

It's not "pop." It's "soda" or "coke."

Anything under 70 is chilly.

You've attended a hurricane party.

You go to a theme park for an afternoon, and know when to get on the best rides.

You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.

You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee, Withlacoochee , Okahumpka and Loxahatchee.

You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

You were 8 before you realized they made houses without pools.

You were 12 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.

You could swim before you could read.

You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

You've gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark.

You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

You dread the lovebug seasons.

You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances...but Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.

You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

You were twelve before you ever saw snow or you still haven't.

When the northerners complain that 80 is 'so hot', you just stand there and smile.

You refer to the seasons as "Tourist Season", "Fire Season" "Hurricane Season" and "Mosquito Season".


Perhaps these illustrate why my life is so full of extremes :) Hope you enjoyed!