Don't Waste the In Between

As the 2 of you who actually read these posts know, this year has already not gone the way that we planned. On January 9th, I found myself without a job.  While the past couple of weeks have been full of resume writing and job hunting, they've also been full of reflection and thinking. God's already teaching me a lot of lessons - on faith, grace, forgiveness, and trust. Most of all, He's teaching me how to use my time no matter what. He's pressing me...forcing me to realize...that I shouldn't waste this time. That this "in between" can be used to accomplish great things, if I make sure I put in the effort to make the time count.

2014 - The Year of Learning Love...

There's this trend that's been going on for a few years now, where people assign a word to the year. This word will encompass what they strive for in the new year and what they hope God will show them and grow in them over the next 12 months. I've avoided the trend simply because I tend to try and do that, but I couldn't get away from it this year...because of what God has been pushing and nudging me - sometimes not so gently- towards learning. So here it is...my "word" for 2014:

2013 - A Schafers Year In Review

It's more than half way through January, so why not FINALLY get around to summing up the previous year? Everyone else does Christmas cards, but why be so prompt?  Let's give a retrospective once we're a bit removed, why don't we?

Okay, okay - now that I'm done reasoning with you on why I'm so late with this, here it is! 2013 was an eventful year for our family, full of twists and turns, stresses and disappointments, celebrations, and lessons worth the learning!  Here's a much too brief recap of what our year looked like.

She's HOW OLD?!?!??!?!?!

It seems like only yesterday that we were welcoming a 4th member to our little family. I can still feel the all day "morning" sickness and can remember how crazy her entrance to the world was. I cannot believe that it's been 4 whole years since this sweet face entered this crazy family:

'Tis the Season {to be Honest & Messy}

It's the holidays. That brings a multitude of emotions to the table, depending on your circumstances. But one thing, I have found, is pretty consistent: Our ability to put on a smile simply because it is the holidays, regardless of the storm that's brewing underneath.

We pretend we have it all together. We pretend our circumstances are better than they really are because we all want that great time of celebration just like we see in the movies and on TV.

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of this...especially as of late. I'm pretty much over pretending and want to encourage others to create a culture of honesty and transparency. A culture where the perfect Christmas means a bunch of broken people coming together and being filled with joy because of what their brokenness means, instead of pretending to be filled with joy in spite of it.

What a better time of year to celebrate how messed up we all are? The whole point of the Christmas celebration is that a Savior had to come save our messed up lives, so why not embrace that?