Happy Birthday to my sister

Jennifer with Maggie at Grandma Shirley's shop June 2010

So... is this the birthday wish blog or something?  :)  Just a coincidence but a great opportunity to honor my sister on her special day.  Yes, birthdays change as we get older but our older age does not diminish how special it is that ...years ago Jennifer Lynn Schulting entered the world.  The day my parents world tipped upside down as they discovered what having children was all about!  So enjoy a few pictures of my sister and some of the people who love her lots. 

Jennifer with Sam Oliver at Grandma Shirley's shop June 2010

And now for an old video but sooo funny and sweet to remember on Aunt Jennifer's Birthday (Sam was just 8 months old at that time...May 2006)

Enjoying Ethan on his 2nd birthday!

Happy Birthday sweet Ethan Schulting!  Hugs & Kisses to you from your family out west:)  We love and miss you tons and tons and tons.

My first blog

The goal?  Share what is meaningful and not waste time...  Oh how I can waste time.  I have journaled since I was in junior high (~20 years ago...oh my goodness, am I that old already?)  What has been worthwhile to me is what has changed in those 20 somthing years.  A life reborn.  So here's to a blog to share sweet memories and thoughts from afar (for family and friends in the mid-west) and close by for those who care.  Now if I can learn how to upload photos and videos....

I realized something this weekend that seems obvious now.  Michael and I have been praying about something for quite a while and I realized that when we pray and keep walking God begins to answer out of our obedience to what we are called to do in this life.  He didn't answer right away and even now I don't think there was a clear "Here is what you should do."  But I have been praying that He would give me the desires of His heart.  Seeking the guidance of the Spirit that dwells inside of me and enjoying the benefits of that relationship.  What a relationship it is!

In Forgotten God Francis Chan says, " When we are referring to God, balance is a huge mistake.  God is not just one thing we add to the mix called life.  He wants an invitation from us to permeate everything and every part of us." 

In studying 1 Peter I am stunned by the comparison wives are given in encouragement for how to live out their role.  Giving up MY life...MY rights, MY authority over things, what makes ME happy.  It sounds pretty crazy...actually it sounds very selfish in that light, but what if what made me happy and what I wanted out of this life had more to do with getting to know the One who created me.  What adopted child has not wondered who his adoptive parents were?  Well folks, I don't believe that any of us evolved from some cells.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made...skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth... A creation who belongs to Someone!

I'll wake up every day and ask for the will to give up what is not mine in the first place...  What a joy this life, and my marriage, has been when I remember that.