Somtimes God uses billboards

God uses the most bizarre ways to get my attention some times. I don't know if that's a good thing or if it just shows how clueless I can be. This particular incident that I am writing about occurred maybe a month or so ago. It was an unusual grey, cold day. The trees were starting to turn green but they weren't quite there yet. I had been inside all day and was dying to get out and just breath in the fresh, crisp air. I had been stuck inside all day and with little to do my mind couldn't help but wander to the thought that we were still waiting for that "change our life" phone call from our adoption agency.

By now, every time my cell phone rang I hoped, no I pleaded that it would be the call from our adoption agency telling us that we had a beautiful baby born and we could go ahead and pack our bags and pick him or her up. However, on this particular day my phone hadn't rang at all. I tried not to keep checking it. In fact, I even left it in the other room because I was so annoyed with how obsessive I  had become with making sure it was within eye sight, and then making sure the volume was up, oh and then checking it to make sure it was turned on.  I was sick of feeling like my child was so far away and all I could do to bring him/her closer to me was literally wait for a phone to ring. I couldn't take it anymore, I had to get a break.

So as I left our neighborhood and made my usual way past the post office and the little elementary school I turned left at the light and that's where I saw it. A new billboard, not even a mile away from my house. The billboard read, "You're closer to your child then you think". As I drove past I thought, now that's strange. I don't remember seeing that before. The billboard didn't even have a name or a phone number for an organization or advertisement company. It just had a picture of a lady holding a child with the simple phrase, "You're closer to your child then you think". That billboard has been up now for over a month and I thank God every time I pass it. I don't know why, but every time I read it, it gives me just enough push to continue on.

Thank you Jesus for not giving up on me. You defiantly have my attention, hopefully next time you won't have to use the billboard! 

"no shelly...get out of bed..."

This has happened a few times since we've started the adoption process, when I am completely exhausted and I fall asleep and start having happy dreams that are suddenly interrupted by this feeling that I need to get up and read my bible. It's so weird. Well, this happened to me this morning around 7:00am. I woke up  and just laid there for about 15 minutes trying to get back to sleep. I felt like God was saying, "no shelly... get out of bed and pick up my word. I have something to show you". So silly me, I thought I could hide from God trying to wake me up so I just shrugged it off as my lack of sleep, and didn't listen and instead laid in bed for another miserable 15 minutes staring at the ceiling. After laying there for a half hour total with no success of getting back to sleep, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my Bible. Right now I am studying John and that's what I was planning on reading. However, I opened my Bible and felt I needed to read Isaiah 60. I started reading and was amazed at how God's words just started jumping out of the page at me. I was amazed. Once again, God knew that I needed to hear that particular piece of His word more then I needed sleep. Silly me for not listening the first time. This is what I read:

Isaiah 60:1-5   "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you... the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light... “Lift up your eyes and look about you... your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip."

God knew that before I went to sleep last night I was fighting my own fears about adoption and the thought of how in the world a little white girl from NC was going to find her beautiful baby in this HUGE world. My mind was racing, trying to think of what I needed to do to make myself shine brighter then all the other thousands of adoptive parents out there. This verse touched me, telling me that my light is not cutting it. The light I need can only come from the Lord. God has shined His light on me (and Eric) allowing some brave mom to make her way through the thousands of options for her baby and choose the place where her child is meant to be.

Thank you Jesus for knowing me better then I know myself and for always being my light in the darkness! Please protect the birth mother of our future child as she slowly makes her way toward us. Protect her from Satan's deception and schemes and please, please keep that baby safe.

**So funny story. Another time God woke me up was when we lived in OH. I was in the process of finding a job and felt really down from not having any success so I was trying to hide the sadness with sleeping the day away. Well anyway around 12pm I woke up and tried for a long time to go back to sleep and I just couldn't. So I decided to get up and start my day.  I sat down to do my devotions and opened my Bible (no joke) to Proverbs 6:9-11 which read, "How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man."  OUCH.. is all I can say to that!! :)

6 months +3 weeks update

So we've hit our 6 month +3 weeks (who's counting.. hehe) waiting mark so I decided to email our agency and get an update. :) Here is what they said:

"Hi Shelly, We are currently working with 4 birth mothers. Two have been matched and two are not quite ready to be matched. I would say that there has been several birth mothers interested in your family. We have even had a few that narrowed it down to you and one other family but ultimately, they chose the other family. Most recently that has been because they wanted a family very close by. We do have more families now who are open to any race. We typically only show 3 to 4 portfolios to any birth mother at one time. If we have even more families who meet her criteria, then we choose only the families based on the length of time they have been waiting. That way, the families who have been waiting longer are given priority. I hope that makes sense. I know the wait is always hard. I hope to have some good news for you soon!"

I was encouraged by this. At least there's interest. :) Happy Friday everyone!

Our Adoption Journey

Wow! Have I really not blogged since September of 2008! Sorry. No wonder people lost hope. Well, I've decided to take a different turn for my blog and I'm wanting to focus more on adoption. I thought about changing the title, but honestly learning to be content is a *H*U*G*E* part of adoption.

My blogs purpose:
1. Timeline for adoption process
2. A way to get information for prospecitve adoptive parents, or people who are just curious how adoption works.
3. A place for you to see a raw, unedited view of how adoption can be an eye opening and heart breaking experience.
4. Update my family and friends who are wondering where we're at and how we're doing.

Stone Mountain State Park

I'm back! I know that everyone has probably lost faith with me now that I will continue updating my blog... but hang in there.. I can't write everyday but I will try to do better then updates every two weeks.

We finally found carpet that we like for our house and the installation guy is coming out tomorrow to get estimates and measurements. Seriously, I can't tell you how happy this makes me because I never knew how stressful picking out carpet could be. With this whole "home buying" thing I have been telling myself daily to kick back and relax and enjoy the decisions that have to be made.

This past weekend Eric and I went camping at Stone Mountain State Park. We had a great time and lots of laughs. The first night that we were there our stupid air matress finally died after three good years of life. Unfortunately, it was at 3am when we finally decided to pull the plug and sleep on the ground (gravel). This wasn't so bad that night, however the next morning we both woke up with our hip bones and ribs bruised from being crushed up against rock for 8 hours.

On Saturday we decided to go on a hike and for some reason picked the longest and the most strenous hike that the park offered. Let me tell you from experience.. if the map says it streneous... it is speaking the truth!! We literally climbed up to the top of the mountain (which I believe was about 2,305 feet. This is a picture of us at the top of the mountain:




Since we had so much fun the first day of hiking we decided to climb the mountain again the second day.. except this time we went the opposite way. Well about 1 mile into the hike Eric and I decided to reenergize with an apple and a granola bar. DO NOT EAT FRUIT AROUND BUGS!! So as we were walking I felt something land on my finger.. then all of the sudden I felt a pain that I have never experienced in my life!! My finger was throbbing and burning all at the same time. I immediately pulled my finger up to look at it.. and sitting right above my knuckle was a hornet. I freaked out, started screaming and flicked it off my finger. It didn't like that.. before I knew it, it had jumped on my back and Eric saw it and gave it a good flick. This stupid hornet continued chasing us for a few more feet and then finally went away. At this point I was hysterical. I felt like my finger had been smashed beneath a tire and then injected with some type of fluid that was slowly eating away at my skin. I believe my words to Eric a few hours later were "I would rather have surgery then be stung by another hornet".

So at this point we continued on the hike and finally made it to the bathroom where I stuck my now swollen finger and hand under the faucet hoping to get a little relief from the pain. This helped.. but not much. The constant pain continued for about 6 hours and then finally we made it back home and I was able to take pain medication and Benodryl. As I sit here and write this, which is 2 days and a few hours after the incident my hand is still swollen but instead of having the constant pain I have a constant itchiness!! It stinks!! So stay away from hornets... they are trouble!!! Also, unless your throat starts to close, don't bother going to the ER because all they will tell you is to take some Benodryl and Tylenol... trust me this is what they told me at 4am when we went in. Here's a picture of my hand (notice I had to take my wedding ring off because my hand was so swollen):



Oh I also forgot to mention that little Milo made both hikes with us up and down the mountain. She really enjoyed seeing all the dogs and getting all the attention. Here is a picture of her at the top of the mountain:



I'm still waiting on the job at the United Methodist Children's Home. I'm trusting that God knows what's best and He will put me where I am supposed to be. Please pray with me that I will have the patience and the understanding to trust God during this time.


UPDATE: I found out tonight that biting a metal fork is never a good idea.. also not a good idea is eating chicken nuggets with a fork. I chipped my tooth! UGHH... this week is turning out to be a BAD WEEK!

DAY 7

Detox Day 7: Break a habit! Analyze the things you do regularly, and ask whether any of them are in control of you, rather than being things you choose. Even if it is only for a specific length of time, overcome the habit to demonstrate your freedom. And thank God too for the freedom to worship him.

The first negative habit that comes to mind is eating when I'm bored. I hate that I do this. Why can't I be like the people who run 10 miles when they're bored! I actually at one time printed out a picture of an extremely obese person that I found online and put it on my refrigerator so that every time I went to the fridge I would see that picture and then just maybe I would think before I just grabbed something out to eat or drink.

The second negative habit that I've noticed is that I don't necessarily eat bad.. I drink bad! I am totally addicted to pop (just ask Laura or Christy and they will totally agree). I have tried giving up pop about 786 times.. and failed every time! I finally got so tired of failing all of my New Years resolutions that this past year my resolution was to continue drinking pop, but MAYBE drink a little less. :) Haven't failed that yet! I remember when I went to Weight Watchers (for one day..hehe) they told us not to let our calories be in our drinks because our body needs to actually chew something in order to feel full (not sure that I totally agree with this). I know that when I drink less pop I feel 100 times better, but yet I keep returning to that chocolate colored, bubbling, mouth-watering, coke! Lord help me.. seriously!


Update: I had my second interview today and all seemed to go well. The only thing.. now they are doing third interviews. Hopefully I'll get a call! This job sounds too good to be true.. they actually come in and set up an office in your home. They provide: Computer, Cell phone, Printer, Copier, Fax, Tack Boards, Desk Chair, Desk Mat... and much more. :):) Also we had out termite inspection on our house today and we officially have no termites roaming around in the inside or outside of the house. Tomorrow is the regular inspection, please pray that things go well.

Day 6

Detox Day 6: Set aside an hour this week to go at a different pace. (A whole day would be better, but an hour is more realistic.) Go through it slowly and relish every moment. Eat some food and taste it properly. Take a bath and enjoy it to the full. Notice colors. Go at the speed of a three-toed sloth. If you meet anyone you know, smile serenely as if you're in the Brazilian rain forest, and hang around. Dwell on all that God has done. If there are troubles in your mind, stop and pray about them. Slowly get ready for eternity.

This chapter really hit home. With all the craziness that is going on in our (Eric and I) lives this was a good reminder to just sit back and relax. The author said it best, "I am speeding through life like a jaguar, and God is working out his plan like an ai (slot). Just as the jaguar moves so fast that he doesn't even see the sloth edging onwards, so we operate at such a speed that we miss God's relentless progress towards an utter triumph. This is my prayer that I will slow down in all areas of my life.

GOOD NEWS: We have our inspections scheduled for our house this week!! YAY! :) Also, I had an interview today at the Methodist Home for Children and they called me back an hour later and asked me to come in Thursday for a second interview! :) Please pray... this job sounds great! I get to work from home. :)

Time for bed. Everyone have a great night! :):) Oh yeah, I totally held a sloth when we were in the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon. Mine was not nearly as cute as the one in the picture above.


Update: Eric just informed me that it was an anteater that I held not a sloth!! I can't believe I would have held one of those things.. Night.

DAY 5

Detox Day 5: Where are the places and when are the times that you are most likely to fail the standards that Jesus has set for you? Last thing at night? After a drink? In a particular shop? With certain people? As part of your detox, analyze whether there are areas of your life in which you need to be shaken awake, and take steps to make sure you do not let your guard down.

I came across this video that goes along great with the goal for today. God's Chisel


Update on life: Saturday Eric and I rode the motorcycle to Mount Airy, NC.. aka Mayberry! In case you don't know what Mayberry is, it's where the Andy Griffith show was filmed and supposedly where Andy Griffith grew up. It's a very quaint little town. We drove a little over 400 miles which means that I'm not even half way to being a part of the iron-butt club. HA! (A real club for motorcycle people who drive 1000 + miles in 1 day!!).

On our way back home from Mayberry we stopped at Pilot Mountain State Park and drove up to the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful view!! Maybe next weekend we'll hit the beach. ;) Oh also, we just found out today that our offer was accepted on our house. Looks like this is going to be an exciting and a busy week with inspections, interviews and other things going on. YIPPEE!:)

Day 4

Detox Day 4: For the next few days write down in your day planner the hours that you intent to sleep, as if your sleep is an appointment that you intend to prioritize. Fit in your other activities around it, and monitor whether you feel more refreshed as your body gets used to the discipline.

For those of you who have Facebook I'm sure you read what Eric posted about the bug that I found in our bedroom the other morning. TERRIFYING!! Pretty much since we have moved here, to North Carolina, I have found it more difficult to get good sleep. Bugs and Milo are the top 2 causes of my lack of sleep. Heres why:

Bugs - ever since Eric bolted out of bed a month ago and said that he got bit by a long centipede looking bug (which he didn't find!!) I have not been able to really sleep! All I can do is lay there and think about all of the bugs that are smiling because they can now have some fresh blood to eat. So usually what happens is I lay there for about 30 minutes with my eyes WIDE open and then I decide that I better get the flash light out for one last check around the room, just in case there are any bugs hiding in the corners. Which, PTL (haha) I did this the other night because I found a GIANT Silverfish... AKA carpet shark waving his tentacles at me and waiting for me to turn my flashlight off so he could come down and start munching on me! Thanks to my sister I found out that they only eat paper, glue, dandruff, hair and a few other things which don't include human flesh. :)



Milo: The second reason I don't get good sleep. Usually what happens is I put her in her cage and Eric and I read for a little while and the turn the lights off and somewhere between the time that we turn the lights off and the time that the lights come on because it's morning, sweet Milo is snoring away right beside me. I think what happens is, while I'm looking for bugs with my flashlight and scanning across the room making sure I've checked every square foot I scan my light over to Milo's cage and see her either shivering or scrunched up in such a tight ball that she looks about the size of an over stuffed hacky-sac. I can't stand seeing her like this so I sneak out of bed and stuff her under the covers. :) Like I said though, this is all hypothetical, because I'm still not convinced that Eric doesn't do the same thing, every night!




So between the bugs and the snoring Milo, who starts out at the bottom of the bed and slowly creeps her way up to my pillow, I have a really hard time sleeping. Maybe I am in need of some change...

So do I give up Milo or the bug searching?? :)


Funny story: A few months ago I got a tattoo on my foot that says Forgiven. Well, unfortunately the "n" sort of looks like an "r" and therefore MANY people have said, "Oh cool your tattoo says forgiver"! Well, a couple weeks ago while Eric and I were traveling we stopped at McDonalds for a bathroom break. I decided to get in line for something to drink and while I was waiting I noticed someone looking at me. While feeling slightly awkward I turned toward the direction of the guy starring at my foot and he looked up at me and started cracking up. Feeling even more awkward and a little self-conscious I smiled but didn't get a chance to look away before he said, "Sorry I was just laughing because I read your tattoo and thought it said F**K*D". At this point I was so shocked that I neither laughed nor smiled, I just kind of stood there with disbelief that someone seriously thought I had the F word on my foot!! Only a few seconds went by and the guys friend said, "Seriously man you need to apologize, you don't say the F word in front of a lady". So ... my favorite part of the whole story... He gave his friend a little head bob and nod and said, "No need to apologize my man, she has already forgiven me because her tattoo says she's a forgiver". UGHH.... I want to be mad.. but I can't help but laugh. :) :):)

Day 3

Detox Day 3: Look in your day planner at your plans for the next two weeks ahead. When will the highly-charged days be? And within those days, which will be the most stressful hours? Reserve time after those events in which to recover with nourishing food, rest and the kind of company you enjoy. Plan your recovery and write it in your day planner now.

With moving to a new city I would not consider my days, weeks, and months to be "highly charged". HA! It's actually been quite relaxing. However, just recently we have been scoping out houses with our Realtor and last Saturday, Eric and I put an offer in on a house that we love. It seems to be the perfect house for us but we will have to see. The weird thing is, you would think this would be a stressful process.. and at times it has been, but it's been so amazing to see how God has given us both a peace about things. I told Eric the other day that I am so excited to have neighbors that are more permanent then the ever so changing apartment neighbors that we have been through... don't get me wrong I love my apartment neighbors! I just can't wait to settle down and build relationships with people and not have the looming feeling that I'm soon going to move and have to start all over again. I guess this is what my blog title is all about.. Learning to be content...day by day. It's a process and I don't think we ever arrive, at least I don't think I ever will, at least not on earth. But in the meantime I will wait with a purpose and continue to enjoy the journey!

Side note: when it says to enjoy nourishing food... do you think that includes a large Iced Carmel Mocha from It's A Grind (my new favorite place)?? :)

Day 2

I didn't explain in my last entry from yesterday that I am doing a 40 day spiritual detox. I am reading a book entitled, Detox your spiritual life in 40 days by Peter Greystone.


Detox Day 2: Bring to mind things that have been nagging you about your physical health, and set a target of doing something about them by the end of the forty day detox. Make an appointment to see a doctor if necessary. Organize some exercise and stretching. Relax and breathe deeply. Book a neck and shoulder massage at a reputable health center. If you drink caffeine or alcohol, substitute some or all of it with water. Get some fresh air, particularly if work or parenting require you to be in an office or at home for long periods.

Interesting that this chapter points out caffeine because I am sitting here having racing thoughts because of the 6 cups of coffee that I have just consumed. Seriously, I can't even type one word because my fingers want to type about 100!!!! I guess my New Years resolution of starting to drink coffee and continuing drinking pop wasn't a good one...?? :) I feel about how this guy looks. ---->

One thing mentioned in the book was several different ways that you could tell if you were in need of a physical detox and the author said, "minor irritable instances may simply be symptoms of treating your body like prison, not a temple. WHOA! When I read this I instantly thought of someone who is in a dark cell who trembles every-time he hears someone coming close because his form of torture is to be stuffed with food so much that his belly aches, he can't breathe, and he feels just miserable and there is nothing he can do about it because his master keeps filling him up with all this crap. He tries to tell his master to stop by complaining about these terrible feelings but his master doesn't listen and instead continues to fill him up so full that he has no energy to leave his cell and instead just lays there moaning and groaning with pain. I know, I know I'm such a dramatic person... but this is what I picture my stomach saying.

So food for thought.. don't allow your desires to imprison you and weigh you down.. :)

A little humor for today: So the maintenance man came in to fix some things in our apartment and we started the classic small talk about how's the weather, how women are terrible at fixing things (although he made sure that I knew he was NOT a sexist.. haha). Then, he said it.... so you're about as old as my daughter.. I paused and waited for him to say something about his super cute, fun, loving daughter... no.. instead he said yeah she is bogged down with several kids now and next week she'll be 33!!!! WHAT!!! No maintenance man I am not 33... try 26!! :):)

40 DAY DETOX - Day 1

Detox Day 1: Try to think about everything you have eaten in the past week – the meals, the snacks, the treats. Think about the speed, the company, the nourishment,and the habits that you have gotten into. Is God trying to tell you anything about you life through your attitude toward food?

Food has always been an issue for me. The reason why I even found this book was because God has been convicting me about the way I treat my spiritual body and my physical body. In my mind the two are so deeply intertwined that when I lack in one area the other area suffers as well. For example I've noticed that the days that I feel really bad about myself is mostly because I do not feel good about my physical body, not in a eating disorder way more in the way that I realize that I only have one chance at this thing called life and I really don't want to roll my way through it only feeling half as good as I could be feeling. I've also noticed that the days when I feel closest to God I feel like I could run for 12 miles and still have the “Jesus glow” about me. I find it so interesting that it wasn't until this year in the Nazarene General Assembly that obesity was brought up, yet every other time we have met people seemed so concerned about drinking and heaven forbid doing a little do si do with your partner. I'm sure that by writing this I have already offended twelve people but just hear me out.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says, “Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. Can't say I have been following this scripture because that means that every-time I run through McDonald's and have fries and a large coke that I am, or I should be eating and drinking that for the glory of God.. what?? I wish I knew more verses about this and if anyone does have any, please feel free to share.

I just finished reading Donald Miller's book called “Searching for God knows what”. After reading a few chapters in this book a very simple idea hit me (I'm sure I am the last person that has got this idea.. everyone else is like duh!!). When we choose to live in sin, God is not punishing us.. we are just feeling the natural consequences of our sin. For example, when I go into McDonald's (please don't think that I now believe McDonald's is the closest thing to hell, because I don't) and have my usual, which consists of a McChicken sandwich, medium fry and large coke I feel like crap. I feel like someone has sat on all of my airways and that I may just need oxygen to get me out to my car. I have also noticed that I feel like that for a while.. like maybe a few hours. After reading Donald Millers book I realized that this is a natural consequence of my sin. It's become sort of a joke between Eric and I now because whenever I fall into this temptation and I'm reaping the consequences of it later, Eric just looks at me with those “told you so eyes” and says “Natural consequence!!”.

See what I mean? I can't imagine what my life would be like, how much healthier I would be physically and spiritually if I gave God control of every part of my life and let Him make all of my decisions. Call me crazy, but I'm willing to try it. So I'm not going to declare a specific item that I'm going to give up, I'm just going to generally say that during this 40 day Detox I am going to let God make the decisions for everything, including what, where, how, when and whom I eat with.

Purpose of my blog

I was just thinking today, "what is the purpose of this blog"? I came to the conclusion that some people are good at venting their frustrations or their thoughts verbally while others need to vent through writing or typing their thoughts. I fit into the second category. I find it much easier to type out my thoughts or frustrations, not saying that I don't ever vent... just ask Eric I definitely do verbal venting. :) But anyway I always feel bad if I don't write in my blog everyday or once a week. However, I realized today that I don't always have frustrations that I need or want to vent or have deep thoughts that I want to share. So I hope that you all will keep reading my blog even if I'm not consistent. :)

On a totally different note.. today Eric and I are heading to a new park. The trail we're going on is 8 miles long and I'm so stoked! We get to take Riley with us too! :) Hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy the sunshine.

Life is good.

Hey Everyone! :) Just wanted to write a quick post. I don't have anything important to say but I wanted to write something since I haven't in a little while. This morning Eric went hiking with the guys. They are going on a 6 mile hike...I'm jealous.. I wanted to tag along! I am going to a meeting this morning for Big Brother Big Sisters. I am signing up to be a Big Sister.. I'm so excited!

While I was in Poland, I really wanted to find a way that I could get involved in the community and I think this will be a great start. I also realized that I am very selfish with my time. Sometimes I forget my true purpose for being in this world. I know I have to be careful not to over commit and allow a little time for myself... but I still think that we could all volunteer a little time every once in a while. :):)

Well I'm off. If you're in Ohio enjoy the sunshine!! I'm so excited! I think Riley and I will go for a little hike ourselves. :)

I just love this man!!:)

Anybody there??

Wow! This has been the longest that I've gone without writing in my blog. It's actually been kind of freeing. All you bloggers out there know that it's not always easy or fun to keep your blog updated.

Lots of change has taken place since I wrote last. We are now back in the states and living in Ohio again. It feels good to be home, although I must say that I really do miss Poland. I really enjoyed being there and the people that we met were amazing! Sometimes I have to remind myself that I actually lived there for several months because it feels like a dream. Luckily, we were able to do some quick last-minute shopping before we left and so we have a few things sitting on shelves (actually, I don't really know where they are at this moment...ughh.) to remind us that it wasn't just a dream.

Eric is back at his same job. He even has his old office back...totally not far. I am out looking for a job. I've had several phone calls but no interviews yet. In the meantime I have been taking care of our 8 week old puppy, Riley. She is a handful! She's a weimaraner and let me tell you... she may be cuddly and sweet but she has a very wild side to her! It's fun though! (this actually is not a picture of Riley, but she looks just like this)

We are so thankful to have such a wonderful church that we have been welcomed back into. We are actually getting ready to start a new program called Element! It's going to be so awesome and we are thrilled to be a part of it!

So how are we doing with all this change and craziness? Pretty good. This week has definitely been better then the past couple of weeks. I think I've had a mix of culture shock and satan trying to get me down. I always think about the what ifs' and those are the times that satan really starts to take me for a spin. Please pray with me that God will give me the desire and the hunger for more of Him. It's been hard these past couple of months and I don't feel like my relationship with God is the same as it was before we left for Poland. I've let some negative thoughts creep into my heart and they have been pushing and pushing and not leaving enough room for love and passion for my creator. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me through all of this. I love you and could not have done this without you.

Well, I just got a new vacuum and I'm really excited to try it out. :) Let me know if anyone still reads this... if not I may stop blogging.

We're Moved!

This is going to be a really short post. Just wanted to let everyone know that we moved to Gdansk and we are in the process of apartment hunting! Please pray for us! We're excited to get started on ministry work and meet the people here! Today we are going out and looking at a few apartments. Tomorrow we have Kids Club and we're going Bowling with the teens! We're excited to be able to hang out with people and start developing friendships here!

Got to run!!

Love,
Shelly

The Simple Things

I can't believe that we have been here for almost 2 weeks! The days have gone fast and slow all at the same time. We have kept fairly busy with mostly just getting situated and learning the in's and out's of Poznań. Eric has already started working on the computers here and helping the "flaky" internet connection. I have been meeting with fellow christians in the community and seeing how we can partner together. We have found a lot of the staple restraunts and grocery stores. We've been to 4 malls, ikea and I don't know how many other random stores. We feel pretty confident walking around by ourselves and getting around on the trams without help. The missionaries here (Ev and Rhonda Tustin) have been amazing. They have been extremely helpful and made us feel very at home.



We have already gone through what people call culture shock. I'm not sure what it is but whenever people go over seas it causes them to stop and think about what's going on in your life. It can be a difficult time and somewhat depressing. We are doing good though. Like I mentioned above, we have a good support system here and they have been a huge help.


So that the title of this post isn't totally random I wanted to share with you a few of the simple things that have come to my attention that I took for granted while living in the states. Here are just a FEW:



1. Eavesdropping. You just can't do this here. There's no hearing about a random persons best friends boyfriend that broke up with so and so's sister. I guess that's what happens when they all speak Polish.

2. Asking to borrow a chair. Eric and I went to KFC (yes, they have KFC here) and there was only 1 chair at our table so normally not a big deal, right? WRONG.. I had to sit there for like 20 minutes deciding which charade skit would work best to act out asking for a chair.

3. Cooking. I can't even believe that I brought this up. I've already blown things up, caught things on fire, made hamburgers... no wait turkey burgers, ate pickled canned kiwi... It's been crazy. I miss the days of easy mac.

These are just a few of the things that we have learned while here. I will sure more later. Have a great evening! Love and miss you all!

Dzien Dobry!

Twelve hours and three planes after we left on Wednesday afternoon, we arrived in Poznan without any problems at all. Every one of our bags arrived, we didn't get hassled at customs, and we even managed to sleep a little bit on the flight(s) over.

The past couple of days since we arrived we have been sight-seeing and unpacking into our apartment. We feel so blessed to be here in Poznan and to have such a wonderful opportunity to share God's love with the people here.

I wanted to share a few pictures of our apartment with you all.Unfortunately the Internet connection here in our apartment isn't the strongest so it is hard to download pictures. If you check out our website you can see a few pictures that Eric downloaded last night of our apartment.

Well, I'm going to be off. Time to start getting reading for a new day! :)

Love and miss you all!
Shelly

listen.

Have you ever had those moments where you sit back and actually listen. You get rid of all the craziness and head noise and you sit in silence. You drown out the cars outside or the neighbors voice that you hear creeping through your walls. I try to do this often, except most of the time this type of listening ends up with to-do lists and me racing off to finish something that I had forgotten about earlier.

However, tonight I listened. I stopped, and I listened.

I was able to forget about the past few hours, days, weeks and listen. I felt so blessed. I felt so unworthy. I felt so loved.

Less then 2 weeks!!!

Wow these past few weeks have flown by. I realize that I haven't written in my blog in over a month. I apologize. I want to at least write something once a week, but these past few weeks have been crazy.

What have I been doing?

Buying tape, stalking people at meijer and walmart so i can steal their very large empty boxes, using those empty boxes to pack, selling things, cleaning the empty shelves, trying to make our somewhat empty home look like a home and last but not least enjoying my last few weeks with my dear family and friends.

How have I been doing?

I've been doing pretty well. Besides packing up there have been a lot of other things going on. My Grandpa hasn't been doing the best and has been in the hospital for almost a month now. That has been tough. I am very close with my family and it's been hard not living closer to them. Also a couple weeks after my grandpa was admitted to the hospital my Great Grandma Sheets passed away. This has been hard, but I rest assured knowing that she lived a long, wonderful life and she is now spending eternity with our Saviour! :)

Just a couple things I wanted to share and then I'm off to bed. I've been thinking a lot lately about my Grandpa Norris and the amazing life that he has lived. This guy doesn't know a stranger at all. Eric and I went to visit him a couple of nights ago and couldn't remember his room number so we ended up asking the receptionist at the front desk of the hospital. Her response was, "That James Norris, I should just write his name and information down on a piece of paper and keep it here on my desk. He is our most popular guest here in the hospital. :) That's my grandpa. I hope that I can show love the way that he has and continues to do despite his rough situation. No matter if he has stomach problems, a blood clot, amnesia, hallucinations, strokes, internal bleeding... he still shows Christ to others and prays continuously for the lost people in our world. :) What a blessing my grandpa has been to me. :) If you read this grandpa, I love you so much! Thank you for being an example of Jesus to me! I will never forget the things that you have taught me and the unconditional love that you have shown to me.

(I will try to write more later this week. Please pray for us because tomorrow is our last day to pack everything up. We are getting the Uhaul on Friday and moving all our stuff Friday and Saturday. I can't believe we are moving to Poland in less then 2 weeks! How exciting!!!)