Turning it Off

Today I read a really interesting article in the New York Times on the effect of technology on our brains. The article talks about how we are always surrounded by electronics all the time. It gives the example of a lady at her fitness club on the elliptical. She is shooting out quick emails and texts, surfing the channels on the TV attached to the elliptical, and is listening to music on her iPod. She says that all these different things help to distract her from the workout and boredom.

I must admit, my first reaction was, “Wow, that’s way to much to be doing,” then I though about it. Just last night I went for a run at our gym on a treadmill and did the EXACT same thing. I was on my smart phone sending emails and texting, I was flipping through songs on my IPod and also watching tv, all while running three miles.

The question that the article brings up is when do we let our brains rest? If when we are working out we have this much going on, what do out lives look like the rest of the time? Most of us, including me, sit in front of a computer all day. Right now as I sit here, I am typing on my laptop, my desktop is sitting next to me, my smart phone lays on the desk while I text with my husband and friends, I have music playing and am also writing. At home it does not get much better. While I might not be in front of a computer as much, there is rarely a night that goes by that I don’t pull out my computer and do something. My phone is always in my pocket and whenever I get a email or text there is just something that makes me pull it out and see what is interrupting my evening. After coming back from my run last night my phone's battery died and I admit to feeling a relief. I chose not to plug it in because with it dead, work could not barge into my home life; Facebook could not interrupt quality time with my husband. I knew that if someone really needed to talk to me, they could call Phil, so I left it on the table dead, unable to reach me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti technology, in fact I love technology. However, I have realized the need for boundaries.                                 The need for space.                              The time for rest.

In all my “connectedness” it is easy to be “disconnected” from what really matters in life. Instead of spending my run “resting” by brain, I fill it up with more useless information about what famous actors are doing, or shows that I could really careless about. Even my quiet time spent reading my Bible and journaling get barged into by technology. This little black thing in my pocket has the ability to take me away from whatever I am doing and bring all my focus and attention to a email that could have waited until the next day.

So here is the deal. I am not going to give up my smart phone, my computer or even my iPod. They are not the problem. However I am going to start to figure out how to balance technology with my need to rest, to spend time plugging into God’s word instead of a new status on Facebook, to rest while at home and spend much needed time with Phil without being drawn back into the work world by reading emails when I don’t need to. To use my time running wisely so that I am able to recharge and focus on what really matters in life.

If you have time, I would highly encourage you to read this article; I found it really challenging and interesting! www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?_r=3

Happy Last day of August! (by the way... HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?)

Finished… a Word I Love to Hear

These past few weeks we have made incredible progress on our house projects. Phil and I have been working so hard to make our deadlines, and I am so happy to say that we made it!

Carpet was installed in the basement on August 21st making the basement project completely done. Our new favorite place to hang out is down there now! We were able to get the egress windows completely installed and trimmed as well as complete a few other little project that we needed to do before carpet. Both Phil and I were so relieved to have gotten everything done in time and also have the project done.

We also have completely finished the bathroom remodel! The project we hoped would only take a month stretched into five months, however we are very grateful it is done and absolutely love how it turned out. Phil made the comment the other day that he can’t wait until it is cold enough to turn on the heated floor, I am sure we will love that part a lot!

This past weekend we took a break from our constant house project and enjoyed some time at the Minnesota State Fair. I am typically not a huge fair person, to be honest, I am not a fan of the huge crowd of people and how expensive it is. However Phil loves the fair, so I tried really hard to have a good time despite my own dislike. We ended up having a blast and eating WAY to much junk food. After Sunday I think I might be a convert and love the fair…. Especially deep fried cheese curds, I mean honestly, nothing is better than that.

Happy Monday!

 
 

  

 
 

For your Friday Enjoyment

No, thats not makeup.... he is not joining the theatre....

The evidence of a hole being cut through our cement foundation... Stay tuned for final pictures... tomorrow is our deadline!

Happy Friay!

On Setting Goals

Have you ever realized that setting goals is kinda scary? I get that they are good, and that we all need to have goals, but once you say you are going to do something there is instantly this looming question over your head asking if you will really be able to accomplish what you have set out to do.

There are some goals in life that I have set and have been easy to accomplish, like school. Maybe this is just because there is an expectation you will graduate from high school and college, and that makes the goal easier (not that college was easy! I just never thought about quitting.)Or the goal of owning a home someday, not the easiest thing in the world, but it was easy to accomplish… but then again maybe that was because it was something we both wanted so much.

However there are the other goals, the ones that I find much harder to set and much harder to keep. To be honest, sometimes I will shy away from setting a goal in these areas because I don’t want to feel failure again. Do you know what I am talking about? For me these areas are trying to lose weight, getting in shape, committing to reading my Bible everyday, and other things like this. You see, here is the thing. I can set a goal of finishing school, and I have the support of others in my classes and the accountability of professors and Phil. Quitting, though some days I wish I was not in school anymore, just does not seem like an option. Yet in my personal life, somehow I can justify not following through with things.

Part of the problem is I am so hard on myself. If I miss one day of reading my Bible and journaling, I will be so hard on myself and believe that I am a failure because of this. I have been realizing over the past month, that I need to start giving myself a break. Yeah, I do want to be a person of integrity who follows through with what I say I am going to do, however I am not leaving room for my humanness. The truth is, I am going to set goals that I will falter in. I may have days when I eat junk and don’t work out.

I think the key in all of this is perseverance and grace. Instead of letting one bad day become a week of exceptions, letting the one bad day be one day, and starting over fresh everyday.

So I am going to do it… yep I am setting goals that I am a little scared to do! However I know that I have the ability to do what I have set out to do, and am excited to see what the future holds!

My first goal… I am going to start running again on a very small scale. My goal is to run a race in September and October… Here I go…..

How do you set goals and stick to them?

A End to a Story

This summer I had still been planning on running the marathon on October. However my plans have now changed. Sometimes it does not matter how much you want to do something or how hard you try, it is just impossible! That is what I have found out this summer!

I was training up until the first week in July, but the pain in my leg never fully went away, and the more I ran, the more it hurt. After resting for a while, I went back to the doctor who I had a repeat MRI with to rule out a recurring break. Thankfully the MRI showed that it is actually healing really well, however because of being on crutches and favoring it for so many months I have severe muscle fatigue. So as a result I have stopped running completely and am focusing on healing without a timeline.

Strangely, while there was some level of sadness, I mostly felt relief. Every time I would run, I felt so anxious because I was not able to do enough. It was a constant stress of knowing I needed to be further along in my running plan, yet truly unable to run more than a few miles without severe pain. Knowing that I am just not able to run has given me the freedom to really take my time healing and not pushing it at all.

I am going to start running again soon, and am really excited to start training again. Though this year is not my year to run the marathon, I am still hoping to do a few other races this year and am excited to try again next year!

My greatest disappointment is that I felt really passionate about running for World Vision and helping children if Africa. However it is so cool to see how God works! Instead of running for World Vision, I am going to be going to the Dominican Republic on a medical mission’s trip in October instead! I am really excited to share more about this and how it all came about.

Looking back, it has been a really long journey with my broken leg and hopes of running the marathon, and though I wish things could have been different I have learned so many lessons through this time, and will never take for granted the ability to walk and run!

We're at it again!

Sometimes I wonder what we would do with all our time if we did not have a house! This summer we have finished a few project as well as started a few more, of course! Our latest project has been to put egress windows into out basement. For those of you who do not know what egress windows are, let me explain. Egress windows are full size windows (like you would have in a bedroom) that are in the foundation with huge window well around them. The reason we are putting them in is because it allows much more light to get into the basement as well as to comply with fire regulations. You see, according to law, there can not be a bedroom in a basement without one of these, shhhh don’t tell that it has been a bedroom all year!

We have wanted to do this since we moved in, but it is a huge amount of work as well as a bit of money so we have just have not made it a priority. However I knew that it was to dangerous to have my sister living down there without a fire escape path, so we decided it was a priority this summer! As soon as our summer renters moved out, we went to work… and are still working!

The first step to the project was digging holes 5x5 and 7 feet deep. If you don’t get it, that is a REALLY big hole. I mean really big!

See? Three grown men all in the hole, if you can’t tell, its over all of their heads! Yes, a big hole. The guys worked SO hard. I was amazed at how much work they put in, and the best part… the whole day they were laughing and joking around, even at 10pm when they were still working.

The next step was to build a fort. Ok, well that is not really the next step but it happened anyway. Yes, our neighbors think we are crazy, and yes, we were like a bunch of children, but you gotta have fun while you work… are we sure did!

Yes, that is Phil in the fort with Charlie on top! (look close... he is there!)

Yup, we are in the fort!

After the fort making was over (trust me, it was hard to go back to working) we started building the window well with the fort.

The window well is now all complete and we have started digging the second hole. Our deadline is August 21st when the carpet is being installed in the basement. We need to have everything done by this point so that the new carpet does not get all dirty right away, and it is going to get really messy, just wait!

Tonight we have a mile long list to be completed so that the actual room is ready for carpet. Our goal is to have any finishing touches to the basement done before carpet as well so there is no construction on the carpet.

Stay tuned for more stories and dirt… I mean progress!

A New Beginning!

 Welcome to my NEW and improved blog… ok well I don’t know if it is improved but it is new!

So much in life has happened over these last two months since I have been absent, but it mostly can be summed up with one word… BUSY! There are many stories, great times, crazy hours worked, house projects and other things that I am excited to blog about, but first some business!

Many of you are probably asking why the change of blogs… well let me tell you! Over the past few months I have been contemplating why I blog and how I want to do this in the future! When we started the first blog, we were doing it in attempts to stay in touch with family that lives all across the country, in sort, kind of like a Christmas letter but updated more often. It then morphed into my outlet and I have learned to love writing what we are doing, what I am processing though and other things. I have been so overwhelmed with the many of you who have commented, sent me emails, and talked to me in person about something I wrote about. I am truly honored that anything I could say would have meaning to you or impact your life.

As I continue on, I want to continue to blog about life, marriage, house remodeling, and am honored to have your read. I love to interact with you, so please feel free to comment, email, or share posts with others.

So why the title “Diving In” you ask? Let me tell you about it…..

Over the past few months I have been doing some really good soul searching and have been really challenged by a thought… There are a few different ways we can live our lives, we can be pretend that nothing is wrong in the world and essentially have our head in the clouds, we can only see life as harsh, mean, unpredictable and let it bitter us, or we can dive in. Diving in means we don’t sit on the side of the lake and watch everyone else swim, we get in the water. We go through the hard times in life an come out stronger on the other side, we do not just settle for what is ok, but strive and search for the best in life. While this is a very simplistic explanation, this is what I want this blog to be about. Some days life is pretty great, and we go to bed laughing and with a great story to tell. Others we struggle through and crash into bed without energy to even cry. Then there are the days in between. All these days I want to dive into, to live fully in every moment.

As I move forward in this blog, that is my passion and goal. To be real, to share the funny, the hard, the pictures and stories and to dive into life. Ephesians 3:14-21 sums up well what I feel and want, to make Christ more and more at home in my heart and experience how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Christ’s love for me truly is.

So I invite you along on the journey and to “dive-in” to your own life. I pray that as I journey, you will journey with me as well.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.



Coming Soon….

Yep, we started another construction project! (I bet you just can’t wait to hear all about it!)

Summer Vacation

Crazy Summer of Work

… And More!