$25 Target Challenge

The $25 Target Challenge is by far our favorite Christmas tradition. Tony dreampt this one up the first year we were married and we just finished our 4th challenge! It seems to get more fun every year. It's a perfect activity for a "day off."

We didn't really take a day off last week, but we felt refreshed after moving our offices from the church to a fireside table at Caribou in Coralville all last Thursday. Every once in awhile it seems to benefit our creativity levels to pack up our laptops and do our dreaming and planning from a new location that offers lots of caffeine and sugary pastries. It was a fun day of bouncing ideas off of each other and pounding out some planning and writing.

When we began feeling as if we'd worn out our welcome at Caribou, we headed over to Target for the $25 Challenge. The challenge is simple: We each get $25 and 25 minutes at Target to buy Christmas gifts for each other. The $50 we spend comes from Tony's "sock drawer money," so it doesn't really factor in to what we'll be spending on each other for Christmas...it's just for fun! When we got married, Tony had saved up a stack of cash he calls "sock drawer money." Whenever we head out for coffee together or sometimes when we go out for a nice dinner, Tony funds the trip with sock drawer money. He started saving in college because he wanted to make sure we always had money to date. How cool is that?!? Of course we realize these dollars won't miraculously replenish themselves, but it's been so fun to treat ourselves once in awhile without thought to the cost. Plus, the sock drawer money funds the Target Challenge which makes our Christmas extra fun.

I had a new strategy for the challenge this year. I had Tony walk around the store with me first to look at some things we needed to get for other people, and then I tried to be super sly and point out things I liked. Then, when I had things for him in my cart, I would cover them up with stuff for our house that I like, so in case he saw me he would either 1.) Be afraid I'm buying him boring house stuff for him or 2.) Think to himself "I bet she picked that up to show me and see what I think, I should go buy it for her." Sneaky, eh?

We crack ourselves up as we creep around the store trying to be super stealth so we don't accidentally see what we'll be getting. I can't tell you what I picked out for Tony until after Christmas, but I'll give you this clue - I always head straight to the Toys and Sports aisles. I didn't peak at what he got me (yet...just kiddin!), but I'm fairly confident my gift will include at least one pair of $1 ankle socks and 1 pair of mittens....those are staples for the challenge.

If you're interested in doing a $25 challenge, let me give you a few pointers.
1.) Target is a really good store for the challenge. We experimented with a $10 Wal-Mart challenge last year - not worth it. (Tony, if you're reading this, I'm sure I loved whatever you got me there. I'm just trying to help people out).
2.) Setting a time limit is critical. It adds to the thrill of the game and keeps you from waiting an hour for your indecisive wife.
3.) Make sure the store you choose has shopping bags or dark colored plastic bags. This, of course, prevents your spouse from being a dirty, rotten cheater and peaking through the bag. Target has those extra large red ones that work perfectly!

We'd love to hear about your goofy traditions too! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Presents

Creating Christmas traditions with Tony is so much fun! Bringing together two sets of family traditions and memories of Christmas can make for an interesting challenge, but we really enjoy putting pieces of each of our childhood memories together as we create new ones.

Tony loves buying Christmas gifts. He also loves wrapping them. Is that just plain strange, or am I strange for thinking that wrapping gifts is a tedious task that should be put off until the last possible moment? It's a good thing we have two Christmas trees because both of them are already nearly full of presents and it's December 12th. Growing up, there was never a present under our tree until Christmas Eve, so this whole tree full of presents in the middle of December thing sort of throws me off...and makes me feel really behind...until I remember I still have 13 whole days to wrap gifts. Ask me how I'm doing on that in 12 days.

Anyways, I love Tony's love for presents. He spoils me every holiday with incredible gifts! I will say, while he definitely values the quality of gifts, he may value the quantity of gifts even more. I can't fault him for that. There is something lovely about an enormous pile of presents stacked under the tree. Tony makes sure that whoever he's buying for receives lots of gifts, not just one big gift - that would only be one thing to wrap...BORING!

Lots and lots of presents and wrapping means we need lots and lots of boxes to wrap things in. If you were to open my pantry during the month of December, you'd find that it has been raided for any possible box. Cereal bags have been removed from their boxes, granola bars are in a pile, crackers are now in rubbermaid containers, frozen foods have been transferred to freezer bags. Tony is very resourceful when it comes to wrapping gifts. I never would have thought to use food boxes to wrap gifts, thank goodness I married a genius. By the way....are less and less stores giving boxes for wrapping nowadays? Sure seems like it, what a bummer!

Christmas is a beautiful time of year. We are blessed to be able to give gifts to those we love and to those around us who need to know the love of Jesus this Christmas. I'm teaching on the virtue of Joy this month for the children in our church. It's been such a blessing to me. While presents and traditions are fun and bring momentary happiness, the reason Tony and I can rejoice this Christmas is because we have surrendered our lives to a God who loves us, sent His Son to come to Earth, die on the cross for our sins and bring us forgiveness and salvation. Through Him we have an inexplicable hope and inexpressible joy. The last year has been tremendously heart-breaking for us in many ways. Christmas causes us to reflect on our recent heartache, but also allows us to rejoice in a God who holds our lives in the palm of His hand, who will never leave us, and who will allow us to be safe in His arms for all of eternity!

Part Time Game Tester

Part Time Game Tester. That's one of my job titles. It goes along with being married to a YP I guess. At least once a week Tony will come into my office with an assortment of strange objects and make me test a game idea with him. He's constantly thinking of new ideas for games or on the hunt for great ideas other people have come up with. (Thank goodness for Minute to Win It!) He tries to test every game before he attempts it at Youth Group...it gives him a little better idea of whether or not it will be a flop. There are the few times that games have been complete failures even after we’ve tested them and thought they were sweet, but we think we’re pretty good at predicting the likability of a game.

Just this week I was at my computer working on an agenda for a meeting when Tony comes in, places a glass right in front of my keyboard, and starts throwing pencils at my desk to try and get them to bounce off the eraser and into the cup. Thank goodness I have cat-like reflexes, or I might be down to one eye. I put an end to that game pretty quickly. No pencils were landing in the cup.

If you were at the church late last night, you would have found Tony and I standing on the youth room stage, at the edge of a ping pong table top. We were bouncing ping pong balls off the table top and onto a table full of whip cream containers set up like tic tac toe. I was the first to get three in a row! That game’s a keeper!

Another day we were standing side by side by a microphone stand set up with two rolls of toilet paper on it, racing to see who could unroll their TP the fastest. That turned into the TP 500 – a new youth group favorite.

I must admit, Part Time Game Tester is a title I just don’t mind keeping. Send game ideas my way if you’ve got any worth trying!

Cheers and Tears

Last week we worked through Thursday and took Friday off to head to the UNI dome and watch our WACO Warriors compete in the State High School football tourney. We're so proud of those guys and we love getting to watch them play. We sat down front, close to the sidelines, and ended up in front of the spot the cheerleaders were for most of the game.

The whole experience proved it all over again - my husband is the greatest guy ever. The cheerleaders were cheering their hearts out throughout the game, but the fans around us were soooo quiet. The silence didn't phase Tony for a second. Every time those cheerleaders asked for crowd participation, he was on his feet cheering at the top of his lungs. Of course I joined him. Later that week, even some of the football players commented that even when no one else was cheering along, they could hear Tony's voice. Cool, huh?

After spending over three years with some of these guys and girls, we really have grown to love and admire them so much. When the senior boys went forward to receive their trophy, I looked up at Tony and his eyes were all filled up with tears. (Thankfully he's not one of my avid readers because he may be embarrassed I shared that :)). I thought it was awesome. He really does love those guys and love his job.

The Coffee Shop

We spend a lot of time (and a good deal of dollars) at our local coffee shop - the Coffee Corner. We love the owner, Gina. We love the lattes (Cari) and coffee (Tony), and we love the conversation. Many of you have heard me say that I was not particularly pleased when the Lord called Tony and I to small-town Iowa. Over time, however, he has molded our hearts and given us a deep love for the people of our community. One thing I have come to appreciate about our small town is the guarantee that wherever you're headed, whether the grocery store or the coffee shop or the YMCA, you're bound to see a familiar face. (Yes, there are days when this falls on my list of things I don't like so much, but usually it's a positive.)

I've blogged about the old men at the coffee shop before and I must bring them up again. Each time we go in, there's a table full of anywhere from 5-12 gray-haired men in the back corner sipping on coffee. Tony always heads straight back to greet them, and they smile as they see him coming (who wouldn't?!?). Then they start in with their questions about when we'll be having a baby (or some other topic to harass Tony). I always end up laughing while listening to the boisterous sound this crew makes as they laugh so hard at themselves they about roll off their chairs.

This morning it went a little something like this..."So Tony, do you have the nursery painted yet? Is it blue or pink? Doesn't your wife want to start a family?" Each question with hysterical laughter in between. Tony laughs along as he passes out a hand shake to each one of these great guys. It's a blessing to get to know people from different generations. We learn much from their experience...and their humor. :)

When 2 Become 1

It's a beautiful thing, wouldn't you agree? God's unique and miraculous design of bringing two completely different human beings into a loving relationship and making them one! Don't start thinking too hard about that or your brain may start to ache. After all, we can't totally understand God's design. I'm okay with that. I'm satisfied knowing that I can trust that God's design is perfect and good, even when it's just too big for me to fully comprehend.

God's grace has been so real to me since I've been on the receiving end of the incredible blessing of marriage. Part of that blessing is the joy and hilariousness that comes along with being married to Tony. At the end of days like today I just can't help but smile and laugh.

When two become one it's not as if two sets of interests suddenly mold into one. That’s what keeps life so stinkin’ entertaining! I’m a better person today (particularly in the area of athletics) than I was 3 years ago because I’ve been challenged by a husband whose interests…well, they just aren’t all the same as mine. Thankfully, we share a number of interests. Thankfully we each brought unique interests to our marriage.

Today’s entertainment made for a fun conglomeration of our interests. My interests were certainly satisfied by a good, long shopping trip to Von Maur and a trek through the mall. Is there a better store than Von Maur? I’m not sure there could be. We hardly ever make our way over to the mall Von Maur is at, so I’ve really missed it. Don’t let me fool you, it’s not my intent to pretend as if I spend a ton of time and money shopping…not the lot the Lord dealt this lady. :) I grew up tagging alongside my Mom and cousin Heidi on many a shopping trip to Von Maur, and my life in rural Iowa has made me appreciate a trip to my favorite store all the more. Thankfully, my husband is incredibly sweet and patient and let me spend a LONG time browsing the sale racks – a great way to spend a day off. He even decided we should start a new tradition – Thanksgiving gifts, so he bought me a precious new dress and had it wrapped all beautifully for me to open thanksgiving day. Oops…I was supposed to forget what was in there.

From Von Maur we went on to Scheels. There’s nothing Tony really enjoys about shopping except going to Scheels (and spending time with me, of course). He could spend a good deal of time browsing their sale racks…and he did. We left with a Thanksgiving present for him (can’t tell what it is, he’s supposed to forget) and a new “winter” coat. Tony spends most of the winter in shorts, and his winter coat is what most of us would consider a wind breaker. I don’t understand, and I’ve realized I never will. His new winter coat is what most of us would call a fleece. Better than a windbreaker, I suppose, and he looks good in it.

After dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, we hit the road. We got home at about 7:30 or 8 and my poor hubby was about stir crazy after a day of shopping. It was pitch black out, super windy, and the temp was in the 40s. The perfect tennis playing weather, right? Brrrrrrrr! This is where I find the whole “2 become 1 thing” to be so amusing. I felt obliged, after my kind husband pretended to enjoy shopping all day, to say yes (and say it enthusiastically) when he asked, “Hey Cari, want to go play tennis?” I bundled up from head to toe, grabbed my racquet and hiked up the street with Tony for a few games of tennis under the lights. It was incredibly fun. Something I never would have done if my life had not been joined with Tony’s. I’m thankful for that.

This whole post reminds me so much of some of the stories my Grandma Lois has shared with me about her marriage. I never had the opportunity to meet my Grandpa Victor, but Grandma Lois keeps his memory alive by telling us stories of him often. She has told me a number of times that Vic encouraged her to try so many things that she never would have on her own. I really appreciated that perspective going into marriage. Now I understand what a beautiful thing she shared with Vic, and I get to share with Tony.

A Different Kind of Date

I treasure the memory of our day off last Thursday. It was the most spiritually refreshing, rejuvenating, awe-inspiring day I've had in a long time. Thank you Jesus!

Wednesdays are long days...I know you others in ministry can understand. We start the morning with prayer at WACO high school at 7:30 and end the night around 10:30 after cleaning up and getting organized after our Wednesday evening programs. They are long, but wonderful days. The opportunity we have to share God's truth with young people is incredible, seeing the hard work of preparation come to fruition is rewarding, and getting a million hugs and smiles from my beloved little guys and gals fills my tired heart right up! Last week I even got a "I missed you so much, Cari" from a darling 4 year old whose life at home is just plain sad. Those kinds of words are straight from the Lord, a little shot of encouragement and energy to give me what I need to keep pouring myself out for His work.

Don't be fooled. That last paragraph sure makes it sound like I always have an oh-so-positive, ministry-is-the-best kind of attitude, and I sure wish I did. The truth is - I get tired, really tired. I forget to depend on the strength of the Lord, try to depend on mine, and run out really fast. I get frustrated and discouraged. I find myself completely confused and lonely. I get so busy with the work of ministry, that I forgo quiet moments spent alone with my Savior.

Oh my...that's an honest look at what you'd find if you took a close look at my heart some days. Consider this a confession. I know as well as you do that is by no means what the heart of one of God's chosen, beloved daughters should look like. I let sin creep in.

As Tony and I packed up our offices last Wednesday around 11 p.m. - I was feeling the effects of trying so hard to minister on my own strength...truth be known -I don't have it. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that I can do Kingdom work. That's the crazy thing about vocational ministry...it is all about letting God work through you. It is all about making sure the glory is His. It's an interesting concept, one I continue to wrestle with. He gifts you with what you need to do the work, but you must rely completely on Him. I suppose that should be true anywhere, but in ministry we must rely completely on the presence and work of God to accomplish our goals. With that said – constant, close communion with the Lord is critical. I was desperate for that communion.

We both knew that meant our Thursday “date day” the next day was going to look a little different. We needed a “date day” with the Lord. I could hardly wait to wake up! I was so looking forward to my retreat with the Lord!

We packed our lunches, our Bibles, our journals, some books, some music, our baseball gloves, and a frisbee and set out for Lake Darling State Park. It was a GORGEOUS, warm fall day! I found a spot at a picnic table overlooking the lake (the lake is currently drained, so it’s not all that beautiful, good thing I have a great imagination.) For the next few hours, I sang praises at the top of my lungs, wept at the thought of how good and faithful my God is to meet with me, poured through the Psalms, and studied the book of Titus. There was no one around…just me and the Lord and that was exactly what I needed. The Lord spoke so much truth into my heart. He is SO FAITHFUL!

Let me encourage you others in ministry with a verse that blessed my heart – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:9-10.

Tony and I ended the afternoon with some Frisbee, baseball, and a nice long hike along the Iowa prairie. We pretended we were Bear Grillz and tried to figure out how we would survive in such rough terrain were we left to fend for ourselves. Gotta love Man Vs. Wild.

I love my God, I love my husband!

Wow Wow Wow - Prayer Works!

It is an incredible gift, ya know? The blessed opportunity to communicate freely with the God of the universe. Sadly I often forget the beauty and power of spending time talking to my Abba Father. When I start to think about prayer, my mind begins a spinnin'. I can never comprehend it. I can't get enough of it. I'm humbled beyond belief. I'm blown away.

Every Tuesday morning at 7:30 Tony and I head to Washington High School to pray with a faithful group of students. We pray for their friends, for their teachers, for the Principal, and for one another. As you're probably aware, neither Tony nor I are "morning people" per say. I should mention that Tony is INCREDIBLY perky and pleasant whatever time he may wake up (me...not so much). Tuesdays are super early mornings. Tony's first meeting of the day starts at 6 a.m. He's out the door by 5:45. He comes back to pick me up a little after 7 for prayer at the high school.

While I dread the early mornings on Tuesday (especially after working until 1 a.m. Monday night...), I was reminded this morning what an AWESOME gift it is to pray inside the walls of Washington High School with amazing guys and gals. I was so touched this morning.

For the last year, we've prayed in Room 207...the Spanish teacher's room. We don't know her, but she offered her room to us, and we've been very grateful. Last week as Tony was walking into the school, the Principal pulled him aside. Tony was afraid this meant bad news. Quite the opposite! Mr. Bucholz informed Tony that another teacher had heard about our prayer group, and requested that we begin praying in her room!! She works with children with severe behavior disorders and is having the most challenging year of her career.

We met in Room 106 for the first time today. The Holy Spirit met with us! Two guys and two gals joined us for an AWESOME time of prayer. We got to chat with this teacher a little and she asked us to anoint her room. She said it's been years since she's been in a church, but she knows she needs prayer. PRAYER WORKS! All the prayers we've been praying for the last year are causing a movement of the Spirit at Washington High! Why else would she feel like asking us to come to her room? We certainly have nothing to do with it - thank you Jesus for being real and alive and for listening to the cries of your people! It was incredible to hear those four high school students ask the Lord to give this teacher strength and patience and to draw her into a relationship with Himself. They prayed that she'd understand God's purpose for these students, and have wisdom in dealing with them! Wow, God! I was blessed by the prayers of your children this morning.

The coolest part is that I know, without a doubt, that God heard every prayer we prayed and He WILL be faithful to answer. I can't wait to see how he works in this teacher's life and then uses her life to affect the lives of others at WHS!!

Tomorrow morning we'll meet for prayer at WACO H.S. God has been moving there too! We meet in the classroom of a teacher from our church. God has opened doors for him to have great conversations with other teachers about what kids are doing in his room early Wed. mornings. Amazing! We have students come and join us in prayer that have not yet received Christ, but want to be there as we pray. Father, work in their hearts, bring them to Jesus, and make them kingdom workers!

All that to say - prayer works! Of course it does, but God is faithful to remind me in such sweet ways. Can't wait for tomorrow morning!

We look a little something like THIS

I never intended to be THIS slow at putting some pics up of our new hair-dos. I'm feeling like I may have hyped them up a bit too much. My sincere apologies.

We started the day looking like this...(we stopped at Yotty's ice cream in Kalona on our way to Iowa City - best soft serve ice cream ever!!)

A little while later I looked like this...

Now I look a little something like this...

Together, we look like this...(can you see the hawk?!? i love it!)

And this...(trying to stay warm at LifeLight Music Festival)

I looked like this last weekend - moments before I was thrown into Pine Lake by one of our dear high school students...

Just kiddin' about getting thrown in.

J High Boys

oh boy oh boy oh boy....This weekend was a trip to Pine Lake Christian Camp with junior highers. I ate a little healthier, and laughed a lot harder. I'm not typically amused with stories of flatulence and bowel movements, but a little while into the un-ending debate over the best bathroom story, I just couldn't help but laugh. Let me give you a little taste of a few of the conversations (I've made up names to protect the future hire-ability of these boys)...

JACK: Hey Tony, I gotta tell you about the paper I'm writing for my english
class. It starts with 'I sat on the toilet and a horrible smell filled the room.'
CARI: Are you serious, Jack?!? You really wrote this in a paper? And you're going to turn this in to your teacher? Aren't you afraid you'll fail???!?
JACK: No, I already told my teacher what it's about. She just told me not to make it too detailed. Anyways, the next line is, 'I felt the log drop into the bowl and water splash my cheeks.
CARI: Jack, I hope you are joking. This is RIDICULOUS! You're teacher will be furious.
JACK: Nah, it's not a big deal. The next part is...then I felt a long one coming....
CARI: Ok, ENOUGH! I think we get it.

I feel a little rude for even sharing these conversations in a public forum, but my current state of disbelief leaves me needing to write these down to believe just how crazy our life with junior highers can be.

Another junior high boy, we'll call him Zach, felt the need to top Jack's story and shared the following one.

Zach: Tony, Tony, Tony you've got to hear this.
Tony: What's up, Zach?
Zach: You'll never believe what me and my cousin did to our girl cousin. We
took a piece of poop and tricked her into thinking it was a Snickers bar.
Cari: Zach, that is not true. You're making this up.
Zach: No, I'm dead serious. We wrote on it with a Sharpie marker and put it
in a wrapper and she took a bite of it.
Cari: Zach, she did not eat it. And, you could not write on that with a
Sharpie marker.
Zach: Uh, huh. I'm dead serious.

...I think you get the point.

I fell into the role of human lie detector often this weekend as I tried to remind these crazy boys that it's so important to be honest. Even exagerrating ridiculous stories is dishonest, and not a wise choice of words.

Aside from the crazy, inappropriate stories, we had a beautiful weekend for a Fall Retreat. The Lord uses Pine Lake in incredible ways to quiet minds and speak into hearts. Our small group discussions with girls and boys were honest and inspiring. We studied 2 Corinthians 5 and challenged one another to be Christ's ambassadors, and to allow Christ's love to control us. We were challenged to clean up areas of our lives that don't represent Him well, and encouraged to add to our lives the fruits of the Spirit that help us share Christ with others. I'm always amazed at the miracle God works when he shifts a conversation and train of thought from what was written about above into a meaningful spiritual dialogue among brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thank you Lord for blessing our hearts, for refreshing us with your Word, and for allowing us to crack up at the craziness!

Diet of a YPs Wife

I am encouraged after spending yesterday and today with 10 high schoolers at LifeLight - a Christian music festival. I am also extremely tired and much too full of JUNK food.

Over the course of the last 3 years, I have asked myself many times when the day will come that Tony and I can develop super healthy eating habits? I'm still asking...

I tend to blame my over indulgence on junk food on the fact that I spend a great deal of time with high school and junior high students who love being fed donuts, chewy chips ahoy cookies, potato chips, pizza, and pop...and who have yet to become concerned about the nutritional value of their chosen food group - junk. I however, am concerned about the nutritional value of these items, but eat it right alongside of them. My Mom's constant reminder haunts me - That's going to catch up with you. uh-oh. Thank goodness for a Y membership.

Not only do high school/junior high students love eating these foods, Youth Pastors (Tony included) LOVE feeding them these foods. Why? They are cheap and they are easy, a perfect combination. (Thank goodness our events don't have the federal regulations that schools do, we'd be sunk). When packing for a weekend of camping there is nothing easier than individually wrapped chips, boxes of cookies, and crackers w/ peanut butter to snack on. Throw in some Pop-tarts, donuts, and bottles of less than 1% juice something or other for an easy breakfast. I'll admit, even though I'm embarassed, that everything I just listed has been my diet this weekend, plus a couple of hot dogs and a hamburger from the food vendors. EEEEWWW.

Tony and I had a serious discussion on the way home and decided we're dying for a more healthy diet. Our plan is to give up a few things until Thanksgiving, to kick start our healthy eating. 1. Pop - I can go long periods without drinking pop and not really miss it, but lately we've gotten in a bad habit of drinking at least a pop a day. 2. Sweets. This will be challenging for me. 3. Chips - this will be the challenge for Tony. In addition to the removal of junk, we will be attempting to spend more evenings at home so we can prepare healthy meals for ourselves rather than constantly eating on the fly. Don't ask me what we'll do if we host an event for our youth group kids. We'll be lost. Maybe we'll introduce them to healthy eating, maybe we'll learn self control, who knows.

In college, my roommate Taylor would refer to some foods as "socially unacceptable foods." I feel as if this whole blog post falls in that category. (In college it was our love for chili dogs). Now I've just publicly confessed my love for Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies and donuts. That is certainly socially unacceptable. I should be ashamed of myself. At least they never make their way to my cupboards, right? I still feel like I can blame this on our busyness with youth ministry. I better quit trying to justify and go make my grocery list. Adios.

Urge for Spontaneity + Need for Haircut = Lethal Combo x 2

It’s true. We ended our night by significantly changing our appearances. Will we wake up tomorrow and regret it? I’ll let you know in the morning. If the answer is yes, I will not post pics, if it’s no – I may try to get some up here.

The decision came out of our conversation over dinner at the Olive Garden. Dinner, by the way, was delish. You can always count on OG for a great meal! Our $25 gift card made it taste even better. I must interrupt my own train of thought here for a moment and say that we are blessed by the most generous and loving church congregation. The gift card was from a family in the church, who out of the kindness of their hearts, decided to send us $50 to Olive Garden just as a thank you for no specific reason. I have learned so much about being generous and giving of what I have to others from the incredible examples of generosity in our church. THANK YOU Faith Baptist for showering your YP with love.

Back to our dinner conversation…

Tony has always wanted a Mohawk. I have tried to give him a Mohawk and failed miserably. He has paid for a Mohawk at a local salon and they failed him miserably. Since we’re headed to a music festival this weekend with our high school students, he felt the timing was right to give the crazy-do another try. I needed a haircut. I love Jackie @ Zenders Salon and I haven’t trusted anyone else with my hair for the last year. However, my terrible hair day left me desperately wanting to chop my hair off into a short cut immediately. (I’ve been adamant for years that I will NOT have short hair until I’m old). Our dinner discussion was a debate of whether we should act on our impulses and get the Mohawk and chop my hair, or act more reasonably and schedule an appointment with Jackie and skip the hawk. You already know what we decided.

There are three salons across the street from Olive Garden. We drove across, parked the car and marched into Blaze Salon. I sat down in the chair and told the stylist to give me short hair. As soon as I was finished, we walked outside, down the sidewalk and in to Great Clips for the hawk.

The result? I’ll admit it, I love the Mohawk. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. The stylist told Tony he could totally pull it off. Is that a compliment?

The short hair will have to grow on me. I think I like it, but I usually regret it when a pony tail isn’t as easy. I’ll know when I have to style it for myself in the morning.

It was the first haircut I’ve ever had with Tony in tow. It made the whole experience much more entertaining. He took pictures the whole time just to be funny. I know I’ll look at those one day and be so thankful to have the experience documented in film. Ha.

Actually, it was a blessing to share the hour with him. We were able to engage in some really neat conversation with Kendra as she was cutting my hair. Tony was able to share his testimony of coming to know the Lord and going into youth ministry and we let her know about a new church plant in Iowa City. God provides so many opportunities for us to share His love and goodness. I pray I’m faithful to take advantage of those opportunities. People need Jesus, I want to share Him.

Tree Huggers?

I’m not sure how to properly define a tree hugger, but I know that today was the first time I really started to wonder – could it be true? Have Tony and I become nature-loving, tree-huggers?

It’s Thursday (now 12:07 a.m. Friday) and we’ve just ended another immensely enjoyable day off. It was hot and windy outside this morning, and hot and muggy inside our house. We needed to be outside.

First things first, we had to accomplish a few chores around the house. #1- Laundry. For the past couple of months, we’ve been hanging clothes out on a clothes line in our backyard on hot, windy days like today. There’s something very refreshing about hanging clothes out to dry. And something very hysterical about my husband’s underwear in the middle of the backyard for the neighbors’ viewing pleasure. Hanging clothes outside is definitely an eco-friendly move, and it makes us spend a lot more time with the 2 trees suspending the clothesline – does that classify us as tree-huggers? Not quite yet?

During lunch on the porch we had a deep discussion about whether any of the 4 trees in our backyard made for good climbing trees. Since we’ve only been in the house for a few months, everything still feels pretty new. Our deep conversation over the trees led us to realize we didn’t really feel as if we “knew” our trees. We know a few things about them– they terrify us every time it storms, they leave tons of sticks in the yard every time it rains or the wind blows, they provide some pretty sweet shade, and we’re scared silly about how large a mountain of leaves they’ll create in the next month. But we don’t really KNOW them. You may think I’m crazy with this personification of our trees…I probably am. Would you agree that there’s something about climbing a tree that makes you really love the tree?

I wouldn’t be able to get into any of our trees without a ladder, so I thought it would be a perfect job for my super-human, burly husband to experience the tree climbing for the both of us. He gladly obliged. After a few minutes of plotting his climb, he ran from the neighbor’s yard and somehow scaled the tree trunk to begin the climb. Our 60-something retired neighbor looked on in wonder. Just to clarify - it was more of a “how old are my neighbors??” look of wonder on his face than a “wow that guy is incredible at tree climbing” wonder. My look of wonder was more of the latter. :)

That simple tree climb left both of us feeling a little more at home in our backyard. Trees were made for climbing.

Readers - I guess it’s up to you to weigh in. Are the Widdels tree huggers?

Crazy Jobs, Sweet Words

It's September 19th. Youth ministry is back in full swing and I heard the sweetest words come out of my husband's mouth tonight (i'll share them as you read on).

As Tony's wife I often find myself giggling at some of the "jobs" I end up doing throughout the week. The last couple of weeks have been as interesting as ever. Youth group kicked off last week in our town square. It was an incredible night - 75 students gathered in the center of our town to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and worship through song with The Ransom Project. It is a beautiful thing to have the Lord's praises ring out from the bandstand in the square. Wow!

In order to prepare for such a great event, a YP's wife can expect to do a couple things:
- Head to Orscheln's Hardware store by herself and purchase eight 50lb bags of sand to secure screens on the stage. If you can picture this weakling lifting eight 50 lb items into a trunk, you may get a little chuckle. Needless to say, it wasn't a quick trip. Preparing for youth events can leave a YP's wife very sore.
- Set up enormous wall dividers to serve as screens (on a stage six feet off the ground) only for a large gust of wind to come and blow them off the stage. Hence, the need for sand. Be prepared for slight embarassment as passerbys gasp and run to help with the dilemma.

Tonight we had Sunday Night Alive at the church for the first SNA of Fall 2010. It was a blast. Tony spoke on Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." He used an analogy of a Defensive Line for an NFL football team and the tremendous effort they pour in to protecting their end zone and keeping their opponent out. In the same way, we need to go to great lengths to protect our hearts from evil influences. We launched a new format for youth group that divides junior high and high school students completely and allows for small groups each week. It was a success!

To prepare for a weekly SNA, a YP's wife can expect to:
- Make a last minute run to Hy-Vee to grab as many bags of chips as she can hold on to without taking the time to get a cart. The lady at the check-out may give her one of those super rude "you eat way too many chips" looks when she rings up nine bags of chips. Okay...maybe the look was just my imagination. I get a little self conscious while checking out with 5 bags of jet-puffed cheetos. Ah well.

After the crazy chip errand, I served as the sound/powerpoint/techy person at youth group. I'm not all that techno-savvy, but I'm good enough for Tony to trust me with the reigns. Luckily, things went well. I beat him home by a couple of minutes tonight when things were done and as I turned the corner to see him coming in, the first words he managed to say were "I could not do youth ministry without you.". WOW! Those words were so precious to me! I love serving alongside my husband and I work hard to be a great support and encouragement to him, but to hear him say he couldn't do it without me was enough for my eyes to swell. Sweet, sweet words from a sweet, sweet YP.

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A Day of Play

We're starting this blog 2 weeks into taking Thursdays off to date. It's 1:25 a.m. and I will attempt to re-cap a day full of moments that reminded me I'm married to a youth pastor.

10 a.m. Breakfast at downtown coffee shop. Yes, our Thursday breakfast will begin at 10. That is early for this Youth Pastor and wife. I should expect this by now, but it catches me off guard every time we go to the Coffee Corner. The gray-haired men in the back corner love nothing more than to see Tony – as energetic and outgoing as ever – bound through the doors. As soon as they see him, they bombard him with questions and tease him relentlessly. In no time, what could have been a meaningful conversation for the two of us over lattes and a giant cinnamon roll, has become a history lesson from said gray-haired men. I don’t mean to complain, their stories are always entertaining.

11 a.m. Hit the golf course. Side note: I started the day in a darling cardigan, nice jeans and loafers for my 8:30 Main Street meeting. I knew that as soon as I got home to begin our date day, I'd need a wardrobe change. Tony's idea of a date always includes a great deal of athletic activity - or play if you will - so, I quickly switched outfits and tied my tennies. I’m really not very good at golf, so thankfully Tony is not one for closely following the official rules of golf. He never seems to mind when I pull out my foot or hand wedge for a couple swings.

2:00 p.m. Lunch @ Kalona Bakery. Tony’s meal: 1 jelly filled donut, 6 donut holes, pulled pork sandwich, cheetos, and root beer. Yep – that’s my youth pastor.

3:30 p.m. It’s time to get down to business. We need to pick out tile and countertops for our kitchen. The next couple hours were spent at Menards and Lowes. Long periods of shopping don’t typically make for an ideal day for Tony, but he’s really good at keeping himself entertained despite having to shop. Here are a few of his ideas for other youth pastors to try if forced to shop with their wives: Sing at the top of your lungs in the parking lot – everyone entering and exiting store will be highly entertained (except for maybe your wife). If that doesn’t work, act like you run into every obstacle in the parking lot and through the front doors of the store, then grunt loudly to show your imaginary pain.

5:30 Our day needs more play. We drive around in search of a park to play Frisbee. We head into a large field at an Iowa City park and begin some catch. I’m not the talented athlete that my husband is, but when I’m with him I’m always the champion. He’s a great encourager. And, hey – we even made it to 31 catches without dropping the Frisbee. He’s always got a challenge or game up his sleeve.

7:00 Dinner @ Applebees. That 2 for $20 is a pretty good deal…especially when you have a $25 gift card! Tony’s meal: Chicken tender basket, the usual. He looked at the fresh veggies on my plate and said, “Maybe I need a more adult-looking meal.”

8:00 We’ve got some time to kill before picking a former youth group student up at the bus stop, so we take a stroll around downtown Iowa City. While watching all the college kids out and about, we began reminiscing about our college days.

9:30 Moments like these remind me how precious a gift it is to be involved in youth ministry. We found ourselves chasing a greyhound bus to the bus stop to greet one of our youth group students who graduated last year and was coming home from college in Chicago to visit for the weekend. We did the typical “we’re really excited to see you and we’re probably embarrassing you” things and waved our hands frantically and screamed his name as he came off the bus. Tony and Matt embraced and in moments we were hearing story after story after story of the amazing things God is up to in Matt’s life at Moody Bible Institute. Matt is going to school to be a youth pastor too. Hopefully his future bride can find this blog very useful. ;) Matt gave Tony a pretty sweet compliment tonight – “Ya know Tony, you would have been a great youth pastor even if you didn’t go to college for it. Some people just have it, and you have it.” I agree.

Here’s to happy dating. Good night….errr good morning.