Life Unexpected

This past Monday, while setting up Advent Prayer Space for the church, one of my teens said to me, "I think you like to work."  This statement came after she had arrived early to the church to help set up, only to find that I had already set everything up.  I laughed and proceeded to tell her that I kind of went into panic mode earlier that day, afraid we might not get everything set up in time, and decided to do most of it myself.  She graciously put out the pens and cookies, and the other small jobs I had left for her, and we waited for people to arrive.  I keep thinking about that statement.  "I think you like to work."  The truth is, while I love my job, there are a lot of days that I struggle with whether or not I have done a good enough job.  And so I work.  There are days that I buy the lie that the more work I do, the more valuable I am.  The longer hours I put in, the more effective I will be.  The more activity in my life or extra hours worked at hom

Yesterday I tweeted these words, "God rarely calls us to comfort and convenience, but rather a life of faith and trust (Debbie Eaton-She Reads Truth)."  Those words could not have been more spot on for where Nate and I are in our life right now, because, get ready for it...WE HAVE STARTED THE ADOPTION PROCESS AGAIN!!!! Even as I type those words, it still feels a little surreal to me.  What's not surreal is the fact that we sent our first big check today with our application fee, and we have officially started the process to adopt a child from INDIA.  We don't have any details, we haven't been matched, and we are just in the beginning stages of what will most likely be a 12-18 month process.  We will be assigned a family service coordinator in the next few weeks and will then begin the daunting process of preparing another Dossier (which will include another home study). Over the past year, we have been praying that God would open the door for us to adopt ag

It's been well over a month since we ran the Chicago Marathon and I still can't believe we did it!  If you would have asked me a couple of years ago if I would be willing to train and run 26.2 miles, I know I would have said a big huge NO.  It's amazing what a trip to Africa and a little peer pressure can do to a girl!  Last year, when my friend Victoria and I began to share our love for Africa, but knew that traveling back wasn't in the cards for the year, we started dreaming what we could do to make a difference from home.  We had heard that you could run marathons on behalf of World Vision, a nonprofit that we had a huge respect for, but honestly, neither of us were really big runners.  The more we talked about it and prayed about it, the more we felt like God was asking us to just be courageous and run.  After talking Nate (my husband), and our friend Chumpy into doing it with us (also not runners), we set a goal of raising $5000 for clean water and began to train

It's been almost two months since I posted an entry on my blog which I am pretty sure is one of the golden rules of "what not to do" as a blogger.  My excuse...training for a Marathon was way more difficult than I could have ever imagined.   Last January, I made a bold decision to run the Chicago Marathon.  I am not really sure what I was thinking.  At first it sounded like a really great decision.  Earlier that year, I had been challenged by a member of my Youth Ministry Cohort to run a Marathon.    That same month I had the opportunity to travel with World Vision, an organization that fights against injustice and poverty, to Mozambique, Africa to look at some clean water projects.  When I found out that you could run with Team World Vision at certain marathons, and raise money for clean water, it sounded like the perfect thing.  I began talking with a few of my friends, one who has a huge heart for Africa, and in January 2015, we made the decision that we would run.

Yesterday, I had "Mommy Vision" that came out like a stealth bomber.  We had decided to meet up with one of my best friends, Jenny, and her family at the park for lunch.  We figured there was a ton of space to play, run, and roam and we could just catch up on life.  Jenny, who had just had twins, was rocking them in the double stroller and we were deep in conversation as our husbands were manning the other three kids on the playground.  I had just noticed this HUGE...I am talking HUGE...swan creeping behind the trashcan about 50 feet away from us.  I turned to Jenny and said, "Oh my word!  Check out that swan.  It's HUGE!"  She turned and looked, agreed at its bigness, and we went back to our deep conversation. Then all of a sudden, out of my peripheal vision, I noticed Biruk, my very fast (he comes from the region of marathon runners in Ethiopia...he...is...fast...) toddler, sprinting towards the swan.  Side note:  I have heard that swans are mean.  They

When I signed up to run the Chicago Marathon, I knew it was going to be a challenge.  While I was a runner in high school and have completed one half marathon, there is something overwhelming about signing up for a race in which you choose to run 26.2 miles.  I knew it would take a lot of time to put in the runs, a lot of mental energy to complete the really long runs, and a whole lot of willpower to not quit halfway through.  What I didn't know was that I would have a setback at the halfway point of training. A couple of weeks ago, I came home from coaching volleyball and noticed a pain in my lower leg.  At first I thought maybe it was shin splints (I had some great experiences with those in my high school track career), but when the pain seemed to persist in one area, I thought it would be a good idea to go to a sports doctor to make sure I hadn't suffered a fracture.  The good news was that I hadn't.  The bad news...I had a pulled muscle that runs tight next to the sh

When I was in my first year of Seminary, I got my first volleyball coaching job.  I was a barista at the local Starbucks in the community and quickly came to know the Athletic Director at the private school right down the street.  Within a few months of working, he found out I was a volleyball player and offered me a coaching job.  Although I felt inadequate...story of my life...I took the job, and it wound up being an amazing experience.  I not only had the chance to teach girls how to play volleyball, but I was given the privilege of speaking into their life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.  That job was the start to my love for coaching. When we moved to Maryland, I was quickly given another opportunity to coach, this time as a volunteer at a local high school.  A couple of years later, a friend invited me to be the assistant coach at another high school.  I took the position and wound up coaching at that school for 8 seasons with a coach who became a good friend to me and

Almost a year ago, I finished a Women in Youth Ministry Cohort that had a significant impact on my life.  It stretched and challenged me in ways that have changed me personally as well as how I approach ministry (you can read more about my experience here  10 Months...One Defining Chapter ).  To be honest, when I was surrounded by a group of women youth pastors who were asking hard questions AND holding me accountable on a monthly basis, I was somewhat forced (not in a bad way) to face the very things that scared me.  As a result, I have said yes to A LOT of things I didn't ever think I would say yes to, I have taken risks that typically would have been squelched by my fears, and I am learning (still in process) that the things that take us so far out of comfort zone are the very same things that draw us into this deep dependency on God that we could have never imagined.   That dependency is real in my life right now, because...I am training for a marathon! It's funny how G

I still remember seeing Nate for the first time.  There was something about him that was over the top charming.  He liked my best friend, but it didn't matter.  I liked him more than she did!  And so for two months I chased him down.  I told him every day how much I liked him, we did life together as best friends would do, and I waited for him to figure out what I had been hoping and praying for...that he would one day like me too.  We were only Freshman in college, I never had a real boyfriend, and I had no idea what falling in love would look like.  October 17th, 1997, I gave him an ultimatum in the back stairwell of Eastern Nazarene College.  I was tired of waiting.  He had to make a choice.  Was he in or was he out?  Would he be my first real boyfriend or not?  And then he kissed me... I can't believe that we have known each other for half of our lives and today have been officially married for 14 years.  It blows my mind every time that I think about it.  I got to m

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get away for a couple of days with my Dad for a weekend of planning and dreaming for our ministries this Fall.  My Uncle's beach house was available, my Dad and I both were able to clear our calendars, so we hopped in the car and headed for a 48 hour retreat of sorts.  My intentions were to think about Youth Ministry and come up with this killer list of things that I hoped I would happen this Fall.  While I was able to spend some time dreaming and planning, I think I spent more time trying to make sense of where I am personally at. The past few months have felt as though I have been wandering in the desert.  For starters, we have been in a transition year of youth ministry.  With almost 15 seniors graduating last year, many who were leaders, we have struggled to find a rhythm this year.  Life is complicated.  Families are busy.  Youth ministry, and more importantly Jesus, doesn't always wind up at the top of people's priority l

Last Thursday I had one of those "mommy moments," and when I say "mommy moments," I'm not talking about when your child pees on the potty for the first time, brings you a bouquet of flowers he's picked in the yard, or eats everything on his plate.  I'm talking about one of those moments that leaves you in the parking lot of Target, bawling your eyes out, with a kid screaming at the top of his lungs, as you pray that no one "notices" the unbelievable scene that is being played out for all to see.  Thursday was not a good night. A couple of weeks ago Nate's mom had come to visit and this past Thursday he had decided to take her to a Southern Gospel Concert.  I was actually excited, because it opened up this awesome opportunity for a Mommy/Son date night.  I had it all planned out.  Biruk and I would go to see some of our teens play in their lacrosse game, we'd head to Coldstone for ice-cream (thank you gift cards), and drop by the s

This morning, my sisters and I had the time of our life taking part in a Mother's Day Photo shoot with our kiddos.  As I held Biruk on my lap, I couldn't help but think about the journey that we have taken to get to this place in our life.  This weekend marked 5 years since we signed our very first paper work to begin the adoption process for a little boy who at the time wasn't even born.  We had no idea what the years to follow would look like, but we knew deep down in our hearts, life was going to change in so many ways. We knew late night waffle house runs would no longer exist unless Grammy or Nan were around for the night.  We knew our living room would probably look like a toy box exploded in the center of it and the likelihood of us not stepping on a matchbox car at least once a day was probably slim to none.  We knew we were going to love family get togethers even more than we already did and that adding an additional child to the "Long" shenanigans woul

Several months back, my 8 year old niece Emma was asked to answer a prompt for a writing piece at school.  The prompt stated, "The World Would Be A Better Place If..."  When I was 8 years old I am pretty sure that my response would have included something along the lines of, "The world would be a better place if it was covered in cotton candy, or if every kid could ride their bike all day long, or if we could all have pet monkeys in our house."  Emma's response was far more thoughtful than anything I couldn't have come up with at 8.   In fact, her response was so thoughtful, it won an award for excellence at her school and in the county and eventually made it to the state level.  While I am beyond proud that Emma was chosen to represent her school for her writing, I am even more proud that I have a niece who is developing a compassionate heart for Jesus and a love for orphans and can't wait to see how God will continue to use her to make a difference i

Last Monday night, I found myself wondering what happens when we don't inspire the young people in our life to "dare to discover what God has dreamed up for them."  As a young girl, I had no idea what plans God had for my life.  I was full of energy, had a love for people, loved being around the church, loved being a Pastor's kid, developed a deep love for Jesus, and spunky seemed to be my middle name.  While I had a few plans and dreams for the future as a child, none of them included being a Youth Pastor. I had a lot of amazing people pour into me as a child.  My Mom was always a huge source of encouragement.  She taught me (and continues to teach me) the value in making people feel "valuable."  My Grandpa showed me what it means to really love people, regardless of where they come from.  I had a Sunday School teacher in the third grade who not only put up with my spunkiness, but instilled a deep love for Jesus at an early age.  My best friend's p

It's pretty amazing how much knowledge a child can stuff in that little brain of theirs.  Seriously, they are like a little sponge that soaks up everything you throw their way.  I realized just how scary this is when Biruk began to repeat over and over the other day,"Dang it...dang it...dang it," which coincidentally happened about two days after I slammed my head on the refrigerator door.   They soak up EVERYTHING. Yesterday, we were walking the dog in the neighborhood when a 20 year old flew by on his skateboard.  When we rounded the corner, he was in the parking lot, listening to his music.  As soon as Biruk saw him he yelled out, "Hey little man!  Whatcha doing???"  The 20 year old gave me a puzzled look, took off his Beats, and Biruk repeated it again.  "Hey little man!  Whatcha doing?"  A phrase often used by the teens in our youth group had now become one of Biruk's new phrases. Kids soak up everything. They soak up song lyrics, phra

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to attend the "Together Called Retreat" put on by the Sparrow Fund.  We had heard about this retreat at an adoption summit we had attended and knew that it came highly recommended.  In fact, the girl who told us about it said, "You have to register right when it opens, because it fills up that fast."  We took her advice, registered early, got in, and even talked some of our friends into attending with us. Nate and I have been married for almost 14 years and have never been on a marriage retreat, let alone a marriage retreat for adoptive parents (honestly, all the retreats we attend usually have between 30-50 teenagers present, include getting about an average of 4 hours of sleep a night, and usually require you to live off of insane amounts of caffeine and junk food to survive!).  So honestly...we had no idea what to expect.  When we arrived, we were totally blown away.  For starters, it was held at this incredible ski r

When I was 14 I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  The summer before my sophomore year, while at Teen Camp, I felt God call me to be a Pastor.  At the time I had no idea what saying "yes" to God would look like, but I also knew I couldn't shake what I felt inside of my heart.  Twenty one years later, I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life.  Despite my fears, my inabilities, my insecurities and my "lack of's," God has shown me that this was what he created me to do. I believe that we were all created to do something in this world.  We aren't here by chance.  In fact, I believe with all of my heart that we hand crafted by our Creator to do something specific here.  No two people are alike.  Nobody is excluded.  Everyone has a role to play in this amazing story God is writing.  Even Doris. The first time I saw Doris, I knew she was someone I wouldn't forget.  She looked like she could have been a brand new 7th grader in my youth m