Open Letter Series: Part 5 – My Generation

Philippians 12:14-16

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Dear fellow Echo-Boomers:


I hate hearing stories about people my age that are doing something wrong, followed with the phrase “I guess that’s what you get at that age”.  This REALLY gets me fired up.  I don’t like being lumped in with a group known for being lazy and, quite frankly, selfish.  I’m 26 and I’m proud of that.  I don’t like people bringing down what it means to be in our twenties.  I’m sick of it, so I’m asking you to help me turn this image around.

In our day to day lives, it’s REALLY easy to get lost in the shuffle.  I know that, for me, it happens way too often.  I’ve got the kids, Randal and I to take care of, work, church, and other miscellaneous activities to keep up with.  It’s not rare for me to get caught up in my own little world and give into the temptation to not pay attention to anything going on around me.  And the older I get, the more I realize how disappointing that is, yet how often it happens – especially with our generation.  We get caught up in school and work, even in the ministries that we’re involved in.  We’re getting married; we’re starting careers and families.  It’s easy to let that consume us.  But we’re called to something much more worthwhile. 

We need to live differently.  One piece of that is staying plugged into the needs around us.  We are the technology generation.  We carry the internet in our pockets and purses.  How is that we are so out of touch with the problems that this world is facing?  I can’t count the number of times that a friend of mine has posted something on Facebook about a ministry or an issue and I have thought “how did I not know about this?” Sadly, it took a while for me to realize that I didn’t know about these things because I wasn’t searching them out.  I thought I was doing my part. I prayed when I was asked to and I helped where I could.  But I was waiting for the prayer requests, the desperate situations where someone would ask for help, someone organizing a mission opportunity, the link about the bake sale that I could donate to.  I was waiting for my church and my friends to get me the information.  How unrealistic (see statement above about lazy and selfish people and apply directly to me)!

If we really want to make a difference in this world, we have to seek out the opportunities to do that.  We have to ask that God would help us find the information that we need and then we have to go look for it.  We need to be more up to date about issues that currently plague this planet.  We need to get involved with important organizations that are bringing the Word to lost people all over.  We need to step up and take responsibility for a world that is ours.  We can’t just read the front page of CNN.com and pray for the requests on Facebook and Twitter and call it a day – we have to dig deeper.

There are needs in our families, churches, communities, country, and world that we cannot ignore.  There is information out there and there is a need for action.  There are a million ways that you can get involved.  Pick one and jump in wholeheartedly.  Don’t ignore it when the Spirit prompts you to do something - follow through.  Let Him use the experiences that you’ve had in your life to minister to others in their time of need.

There is a line in a song that chokes me up every time I sing it.  Brooke Fraser penned “Hosanna” and, in it, she wrote this:

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith


This is what I pray for us constantly:  that we would rise to the occasion that our Father has called us to. I know that we can be more.  I know that we can change the way that we’re perceived as “Gen-Y”.  I know that there is a lost world out there that needs saving and people that need comfort and love.  And I am confident in the knowledge that we are the generation that can change things and bring glory to the One who made us for His purpose.

Do I have this all figured out?  Absolutely not. Am I as action-minded as I need to be?  Absolutely not. But I'm ready to work towards fulfilling the plan that God has laid out for me.  And I know that includes leaving a big footprint on this world that centers on Him.

Hoping and praying that you'll join me,
Beth

My baby girl is TWO!

Wow.  Can't believe my baby is already 2!  What a joy Madison is - she is an unbelievable blessing!  I was so excited to throw a fun birthday party for my sweetie who is finally starting to come out of her shell.  She's starting to actually have fun with people outside of our house!  What a concept!

Little Miss LOVES to read.  When we have story time at night, she would just keep pulling all the books off the shelf if we didn't make her stop.  So I thought a Dr. Seuss theme would be perfect! I put out all of our books and borrowed a bunch from friends and from a great lady that we go to church with who is the school librarian here in town!  We had all kinds of titles - some that I had never even heard of!  They were so fun to look through!  Lots of reading fun!

We had lots of fun decorations and, of course, lots of goodies!  We had Dr. Seuss quotes, a "guess how many" jar of M&Ms, gummy letters, and what were supposed to be "Thing 2" cupcakes!

My little cupcake had a blast stuffing her face and being the center of attention!

She even had fun opening gifts this year!

We ended a great celebration with a trip to Red Robin!  No better way to celebrate #2 than with some singing and some ice cream!  This girl is serious!

I love this girl!

Here's the thing, 2011 didn't suck!

It’s my first blog of 2012!  Hooray for a new year!  I’m always so tired from the holiday season that I honestly don’t ever take enough time to appreciate the new start that January 1 brings to our lives.  But as I sit down and think about it each year (a few days later), I am even more thankful for the fresh start that I get every day.  I can’t ever begin to comprehend how different things are for me since my Savior gives me a constant clean slate.  I carry my baggage and filth to the cross and He takes it away.  I don’t need a New Year to make a fresh start.  So here’s to 365 days of new beginnings!  May we all use them to bring glory to the One who sacrificed His Son so that the world might know Him and praise His name!

We ended 2011 with a big bang!  December was CRAZY!  I had several baking jobs throughout the month which kept us busy.  We had Madison’s trip to KC, the church Christmas program, I played in the family fantasy football league championship (for the 2^nd year in a row, though I sadly lost my title), Madison turned 2 (which included party to be blogged later), I had the FBC Women’s Ministry Christmas party, we celebrated Christmas at 4 different family gatherings in 4 days, then Randal turned 30 and a few days later we celebrated New Years’ Eve with a surprise party for him (which kept me extra busy behind the scenes for the entire month and will blogged about as well). Needless to say, we needed a little bit of a breather by the time 2012 rolled around.

All in all, 2011 was a good year - lots of great stuff (including my sister's wedding in Mexico!).  You’ll read here about what I was looking for last year. While I haven’t met all of my goals, I feel ok about the past year.  Yes, we had some road-blocks.  I made some bad decisions, and so did others.  But we’ve worked through it and we’ve come out ok. 

*I’m still holding on to my extra weight and working on getting my mind set to get rid of it.  It’s bogging me down and I really need to get rid of it.  Frankly, I just need to get out of bed in the morning and exercise, and I’d be doing ok.  I tend to hit that snooze button a little too often.  I may have to find a buddy to call me at 4 in the morning and get my butt going! 

*My hair is long again, thank goodness.  That short hair was a bad idea.  I love a good pony-tail.  Period.

*I’m feeling a bit more girly and accessories have actually become my friend, sort of.  I’m still struggling to be a little more adventurous, but slow and steady wins the race!

*This past year has been a learning experience for me as a Christ follower, wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.  Yes, lots and lots of learning.  The Lord has taught me some tough lessons and has fixed some big cracks.  He’s pushing me to stretch myself, dig into Him more and to not get too comfortable with where I’m at.  He’s given me incredible opportunities to do ministry with some amazing people over the last year (and some that are just starting that I’m uber excited about!).  He’s showed me just how in control He is.  He’s strengthened relationships and shown me some that weren’t very healthy.  He’s showed me just what it means to trust Him to lead and to let go of my control, which is a tough lesson to learn. 

So there you have it! As much as 2010 sucked, 2011 was great, and I’m looking forward to a fabulous, Glory-filled 2012!  My goals for this year are to get more organized, spend more precious time with friends and family, and to continue to push myself in my learning and my “big picture” thinking and follow through on the ministry opportunities that I see laying out before me now. 

Now, we’ll see if the Mayans were right or if we can make it all the way to 2013!