To all my friends and family out there:
As you know, we are preparing to move to Madison, WI to help launch a church. Ezra Church (www.ezrachurch.com) just started officially in April. We plan to move there at the end of August, and are pretty excited for this adventure!
We are seeking prayer and financial supporters. This could be you! (In fact, if you are a follower of Christ and know how to pray, than I KNOW this is you. :) )
We've heard it said that church planting is on the "front lines" of ministry--Satan does not want effective, vibrant churches to flourish in the nation! 3,500-4,000 churches CLOSE every year in America. And only 1,000-1,500 are planted. This is why we believe in taking this next step! A new church plant has advantages in reaching people for Christ:
A: It's a fresh new start--it's new, people wanna check it out.
B: It has a strong vision--hey, the vision was just created, so it hasn't had time to dilute and fade yet!
C: It's outreach focused--there is no "in" club, no cliques--everyone is new!
Please consider joining us in the adventure. If you'd like to join our prayer team, please email me at kristin.lindeen @ gmail.com (omit spaces). If you'd like to find out how to make a monthly financial commitment, or even give a one time gift, please contact me! I'd love share more with you.
And check out Erik's blog at www.lindeenfamily.com.
Thank you for your support! We couldn't do this without you.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Trick Explosion!
So, Joshua has had a "trick explosion!" In the last week, he has figured out the following:
Joshua, what does a bear say? "Rawr!" (It's much more adorable that I can do it justice on the web. I'll try to capture video ...)
How big is Joshua? Lifts his hands semi above his head and kinda wiggles his fingers.
He is FINALLY at least attempting to clap--instead of clapping, he holds his hands in front of himself, palms down and lifts his hands up and down over and over so that they hit each other on the way up and down. Clapping--Josh style.
Although he has spent absolutely zero time around his Uncle Jordan (which is actually a very sad thing to realize) he has discovered there is a whole on his face. Two of them in fact. And when he is confused or overwhelmed, he sticks his little finger into his nostril. What the ... ?!
He has finally mastered the mouth trick where he takes a finger, wiggles it and hits his lips/mouth and makes a noise. In fact, he just tonight figured out how to make the "bla-er bla-er bla-er" noise without his fingers. So he just sits in his car seat using his tongue to make the sound. Hilarious! (Just yesterday, he was still putting one hand up to his mouth, and then attempting to hit his lips like Mommy to make the cool noise, but with his other hand. So instead of making the cool noise, he just ended up slobbering all over one hand, while aimlessly waving his fingers in front of his chin with the other hand. Again, HILARIOUS!)
He is slowly but surely learning the sign for "All done"--though it's still always followed by a mischievous grin and food throwing.
He also lifts his arms now in the classic "All gone?" or "Where'd it go?" motion.
He points up the stairs, and then to his crib when he wants to take a nap. (I LOVE this one!!)
He says "Brrrrrrrrr" for ball, balloon and bird.
And now something like "Ni-Na" seems to be a word for lights. Not sure why ....
QUITE the explosion of tricks!!
Joshua, what does a bear say? "Rawr!" (It's much more adorable that I can do it justice on the web. I'll try to capture video ...)
How big is Joshua? Lifts his hands semi above his head and kinda wiggles his fingers.
He is FINALLY at least attempting to clap--instead of clapping, he holds his hands in front of himself, palms down and lifts his hands up and down over and over so that they hit each other on the way up and down. Clapping--Josh style.
Although he has spent absolutely zero time around his Uncle Jordan (which is actually a very sad thing to realize) he has discovered there is a whole on his face. Two of them in fact. And when he is confused or overwhelmed, he sticks his little finger into his nostril. What the ... ?!
He has finally mastered the mouth trick where he takes a finger, wiggles it and hits his lips/mouth and makes a noise. In fact, he just tonight figured out how to make the "bla-er bla-er bla-er" noise without his fingers. So he just sits in his car seat using his tongue to make the sound. Hilarious! (Just yesterday, he was still putting one hand up to his mouth, and then attempting to hit his lips like Mommy to make the cool noise, but with his other hand. So instead of making the cool noise, he just ended up slobbering all over one hand, while aimlessly waving his fingers in front of his chin with the other hand. Again, HILARIOUS!)
He is slowly but surely learning the sign for "All done"--though it's still always followed by a mischievous grin and food throwing.
He also lifts his arms now in the classic "All gone?" or "Where'd it go?" motion.
He points up the stairs, and then to his crib when he wants to take a nap. (I LOVE this one!!)
He says "Brrrrrrrrr" for ball, balloon and bird.
And now something like "Ni-Na" seems to be a word for lights. Not sure why ....
QUITE the explosion of tricks!!
You went where?
"Where are you headed?"
"Bonners Ferry, Idaho."
"Where?"
"A little town in northern Idaho."
"Never heard of it. Where exactly?"
*Sigh* "Canada." :)
Joshua and I just returned from a 5 day trip to Far North Idaho--Bonners Ferry. Almost 10 years ago, I got a slip of paper in the mail that informed me my college roommates would be Joelle Knappen from Alexandria, MN and Corella Butters from Bonners Ferry, ID.
For whatever reason, I saw the "ID" and took it to mean "Indiana". It only took me a phone call or two with my soon-to-be roommate to realize I needed to work on my state abbreviation recognition. "ID" is Idaho, not Indiana. Oh, what a easier but much more boring trip Indiana would have been for Joshua and me.
I learned some things about myself--and my son--over the past week. I'd love to share so here goes: (Warning, I'm still processing these things, and at this exact moment only know of two that I'm going to list here. Let's see what comes out of me as I type ...)
1. I can live without my Blackberry. And not just survive--but enjoy it! There's no cell service where Cora and Troy live, and while I thoroughly missed being able to talk to my husband, wow was it good to glance at my BB and see no flashing red light, no tiny numbers with a red asterisk indication unread emails ... nothing. It was good for nothing but telling time and a good game of Bejeweled before bed. Beautiful.
2. Joshua can live without T.V. Because Erik and I both work from home, there are often times during a week where we need to answer an email or make a phone call, and these times seem to almost always coincide with Josh's most needy moment. Hence, baby DVDs. This week, he survived without DVDs. Yay!
3. I tend to underestimate my son. He really is a great kid, and I, as a mommy, visualize the worst possible scenarios when we are trying new things instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt. He did so great at the airports, on the planes, in the car, at a Seussical Musical, in a new environment, on a hike .... what an adaptive little guy!
4. I tend to underestimate myself. Erik and I are very much partners in the parenting endeavor. We agree that we are usually a 60/40 split. This week I was definitely 100% parent--and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to handle it. But guess what? I'm a great Mom. I'm the perfect Mom for Joshua, and I did just fine.
5. There are a lot of minutes in the day. Eliminate TV, internet, and cell phone, and suddenly, there's a TON of time in the day! Incredible!
6. God blessed me with an incredible roommate so many years ago. Cora Butters now Roberts, where would I be without you? Who would I be? We've had so many awesome chats, lived in a couple of different rooms together, seen God do amazing things in both of our lives ... I am so honored to still be a part of your life. Thanks for welcoming me into your home and for loving my son. (And I realize you won't read this until you're back in Alaska with internet, perhaps, and even then, you'll be a brand new mom so heck--maybe you'll NEVER read this! :) )
Joshua and I traveled to Far North Idaho. It was a big trip, I was anxious about it, but we did it. And it was good.
"Bonners Ferry, Idaho."
"Where?"
"A little town in northern Idaho."
"Never heard of it. Where exactly?"
*Sigh* "Canada." :)
Joshua and I just returned from a 5 day trip to Far North Idaho--Bonners Ferry. Almost 10 years ago, I got a slip of paper in the mail that informed me my college roommates would be Joelle Knappen from Alexandria, MN and Corella Butters from Bonners Ferry, ID.
For whatever reason, I saw the "ID" and took it to mean "Indiana". It only took me a phone call or two with my soon-to-be roommate to realize I needed to work on my state abbreviation recognition. "ID" is Idaho, not Indiana. Oh, what a easier but much more boring trip Indiana would have been for Joshua and me.
I learned some things about myself--and my son--over the past week. I'd love to share so here goes: (Warning, I'm still processing these things, and at this exact moment only know of two that I'm going to list here. Let's see what comes out of me as I type ...)
1. I can live without my Blackberry. And not just survive--but enjoy it! There's no cell service where Cora and Troy live, and while I thoroughly missed being able to talk to my husband, wow was it good to glance at my BB and see no flashing red light, no tiny numbers with a red asterisk indication unread emails ... nothing. It was good for nothing but telling time and a good game of Bejeweled before bed. Beautiful.
2. Joshua can live without T.V. Because Erik and I both work from home, there are often times during a week where we need to answer an email or make a phone call, and these times seem to almost always coincide with Josh's most needy moment. Hence, baby DVDs. This week, he survived without DVDs. Yay!
3. I tend to underestimate my son. He really is a great kid, and I, as a mommy, visualize the worst possible scenarios when we are trying new things instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt. He did so great at the airports, on the planes, in the car, at a Seussical Musical, in a new environment, on a hike .... what an adaptive little guy!
4. I tend to underestimate myself. Erik and I are very much partners in the parenting endeavor. We agree that we are usually a 60/40 split. This week I was definitely 100% parent--and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to handle it. But guess what? I'm a great Mom. I'm the perfect Mom for Joshua, and I did just fine.
5. There are a lot of minutes in the day. Eliminate TV, internet, and cell phone, and suddenly, there's a TON of time in the day! Incredible!
6. God blessed me with an incredible roommate so many years ago. Cora Butters now Roberts, where would I be without you? Who would I be? We've had so many awesome chats, lived in a couple of different rooms together, seen God do amazing things in both of our lives ... I am so honored to still be a part of your life. Thanks for welcoming me into your home and for loving my son. (And I realize you won't read this until you're back in Alaska with internet, perhaps, and even then, you'll be a brand new mom so heck--maybe you'll NEVER read this! :) )
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Mixed Up, Muddled & In Between
What a funny stage of life we're just now entering. I feel a little Mixed Up--Where am I going? What am I supposed to be doing again? Who am I connecting with?
I feel pretty Muddled--Wait, what? Who's idea was this? What's the plan again?
And definitely, quite In Between.
Part of my heart is in Madison, because I know that's where we're going.
Part of my heart is in Broomfield, because that's where I just left.
Part of my heart is and always will be in Colorado, because it's my home, my safe place, my family.
Part of my heart is ... in San Francisco? :)
I feel so In Between.
We just started the newest phase in our life--the In Between Colorado and Wisconsin phase. The In Between Discovery and Ezra phase. The In Between known and unknown phase. The In Between home and adventure phase.
And I'm not quite sure what to do ... do I pack? Or do I not? Do I plan? Or do I not? How do I keep doing life here, since parts of my life have not changed, all the while knowing that this life I'm doing is rapidly coming to a close? I just don't know.
We're learning how to have more faith than ever. We're learning how to raise support, when really, we have no idea how. We're learning to cast a vision to others for something we've only just grasped ourselves. We're learning how to walk this road together. We're learning how to relax, let go, be still--and know that He is God.
That's a lesson I've supposedly learned many times in the past, and it's a lesson I'll continue to learn for the rest of my life. I'm so Mixed Up, Muddled and In Between ... and God is right here with me. And so, I know we'll be okay.
I feel pretty Muddled--Wait, what? Who's idea was this? What's the plan again?
And definitely, quite In Between.
Part of my heart is in Madison, because I know that's where we're going.
Part of my heart is in Broomfield, because that's where I just left.
Part of my heart is and always will be in Colorado, because it's my home, my safe place, my family.
Part of my heart is ... in San Francisco? :)
I feel so In Between.
We just started the newest phase in our life--the In Between Colorado and Wisconsin phase. The In Between Discovery and Ezra phase. The In Between known and unknown phase. The In Between home and adventure phase.
And I'm not quite sure what to do ... do I pack? Or do I not? Do I plan? Or do I not? How do I keep doing life here, since parts of my life have not changed, all the while knowing that this life I'm doing is rapidly coming to a close? I just don't know.
We're learning how to have more faith than ever. We're learning how to raise support, when really, we have no idea how. We're learning to cast a vision to others for something we've only just grasped ourselves. We're learning how to walk this road together. We're learning how to relax, let go, be still--and know that He is God.
That's a lesson I've supposedly learned many times in the past, and it's a lesson I'll continue to learn for the rest of my life. I'm so Mixed Up, Muddled and In Between ... and God is right here with me. And so, I know we'll be okay.
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