Our Month Ahead: Shedding some Excess

This year, the month of November is going to be different than it has been in the past for our little DeJong family. I have just finished reading Seven by Jen Hatmaker and it helped me pinpoint some of my discontent with the way I have been living. For a long time I have been frustrated with how I spend money, the amount of waste our family produces, the unneeded stress, the wasted time on facebook/tv/#younameit and the way this takes me away from my real mission.

I want to love God with all my heart which means, in turn, I want to be overflowing with love and energy for his creation, both our earth and all its inhabitants. I am turning a new leaf in the month of November by reducing my excess in 7 ways:

1.       Waste: I will not purchase any individually wrapped snacks or drinks (With the advent of preschool, I have started to purchase a lot more of these things which are definitely not as healthy as fruits, vegetables or snacks that I prepare and also produce a massive amount of waste!)

2.       Food: All food that I purchase for our family will be either locally grown/raised or the least harmful to our planet that we can afford.

3.       Media: I will not post or look at my Facebook newsfeed. (Sadly this will be very hard for me!)  I will make one exception. I am hoping to blog about insight that God grants me throughout this month. I will post the link to my Facebook page but I will not even read any comments!

4.       Media: Our family will abstain from watching TV (Since we do not have cable, this includes all modes of watching it! We are even suspending our Netflix account! Matt asked for one exception, Sunday football games once in a while and I thought this could be used a relaxing family time so I agreed ;)

5.       Time: I will take time to pause and pray each afternoon/evening alone to ask God to reveal other areas I need to reduce or reallocate my time and efforts.

6.       Money: I will wait 7 days before making a purchase outside of our necessary food and household maintenance items we need. This is intended to give me time to reflect about how I am spending money and evaluate needs vs. wants before rushing into purchasing things just because I want them.

7.       Stress: Our family will take time for Sabbath. For the glorious month ahead, we will begin our Sabbath with dinner on Saturday nights with candlelight, thanksgiving, and communion, and we will take time rest in Him until Sunday night. Our Sabbath may look different each time. It can include sharing it with friends, staying at home, hiking outside, going to a friend’s house. It will include worship with our church family (including setting up, teaching, and tearing down everything for church. Which I do realize is work but we decided not to become so overburdened by the law that we throw our hands up and decide there is no time for rest in our fast paced world.)

I can’t wait for the month of November to begin. I look forward to the shedding of excess in order to make room for the Holy Spirit. I can feel him calling me to walk closer but I keep getting distracted by all this noise. I am eagerly awaiting the crisp November air and the extra time with my family.

My cultivation process

My life is full of exciting new things but with that comes a cultivation process that I cannot say I enjoy. I looked up a couple of definitions of cultivation and this is what I found:

preparation of land or growing crops: the planting, growing, and harvesting of crops or plants, or the preparation of land for this purpose

improvement: improvement or development, especially through study or education

As I read both definitions, I think they explain the process of working/learning in order to reap a harvest in the future. This means hard work! I started a new job (3 year old pre-school teacher 3 half days a week) and have some new item contract writing work (This is something I have done on and off for 3 years but there has been a lull in work for quite some time until the past month.) Combining these things with being a mostly stay-at-home mom has thrown me a major learning curve. I struggle balancing part-time work. If you know me well, you know that I like to plan, execute, and follow a plan the whole way through. I have many things remaining to set up in my classroom and more importantly, want to maintain a balance that allows me to be a mother above teacher. My friends who have done this; I give you a HUGE pat on the back.

The bigger part of my cultivation process is happening within me. In the past several months I have really felt a call on my life to love and serve my neighbors and community within Raleigh. Matt and I started a new community in which our mission is to get out group members to start acting as the hands and feet of Jesus. This Friday we are going to be leading Children's Chapel at the Raleigh Rescue Mission. It has been challenging to find the right place for us to serve because we are a small group of people with children so I am so excited to see how this will work out!

In the midst of all these new things, we had to "invest" (I do use that term loosely!) money in our van as well. As I was rushing around trying to fit everything in and "do" all the right things, I realized I had left God out of most of it. As I spend time today in rest and reflection, I realize that God has no interest in seeing me rush around. The number of things I do does not glorify him more. He cares about the people I meet along the way. I need to invest in them with my time and posture of love.

Last Saturday, we celebrated my little guys first birthday. Even before we knew he was a boy, I loved the name Asher. I chose this because it means blessing. His little life has been such a blessing. Every day since we found out he was a boy, I prayed that God would use his life to bless others. Little did I know that God was cultivating a heart of service in MY life by praying this for my son. I realized, how can I expect this little boy to understand how to be a blessing if I don't teach him this myself. I thank God for his life and the little repeated prayer that has changed our lives forever. We appropriately celebrated his birthday by collecting donations for the Boys and Girls Club. Asher, even at 1, is using his life to bless others in the name of Christ.

As you can probably tell by the random trailings in my blog, I have a lot on my mind and heart. My prayer as I start this week anew is that I take time to cultivate without trying to rush ahead to an early/weak harvest. I pray that I will take the time to have a posture of love in the midst of new stresses.

Not Right Now

"Not Right Now" is one of those phrases that tops my least appreciated answers list! As a child I remember my parents using this phrase occasionally. Looking back, I remember it was usually because not only was my question out of line but also my timing to ask was not very well thought out. Rather than hurting my pride in front of others, they would give me that answer and I knew a sit-down was put on the books for later.

It's funny and also kind of sad that still at 29 years old, I struggle with this answer. I am learning to spend time in thought, prayer, and discussion with my family before forging ahead with my plans. That is usually the problem, they are my plans that are centered around ME. Sometimes I may sugar coat it by saying that I want what is best for my family, or my husband, but ultimately I am usually looking to satisfy myself. I was reminded of that this week as I was slapped with a "Not Right Now".

Let me back up a few months to fill you in on the details. In the past months I have seen my friends and family take steps forward by moving to new places, starting new careers, advance their careers, start/finish their master's degrees, etc. As I watched all this unfolding around me, I started questioning why isn't my calling in life to be more glamorous, prestigious, holy, you name it and I thought it. Now please don't get me wrong, I love my children and I love fostering a loving and highly engaging learning environment for them.

In the midst of all this, I decided to seek after a preschool teaching job which I am so excited about! I can't wait to be in the classroom part-time again and also allow my boys to have that social interaction as well. In the process of applying for the position, I decided to locate a copy of my teaching license (the original is probably lost in a box in the attic but I searched for a while and then decided to order a new copy!) I knew that my renewal year was soon but I didn't realize it was THIS year! I immediately started looking into all my options for renewal and it turns out that it really is not too bad at all!

I am taking a couple of online classes through Wake Tech and enjoying them so far. This got my brain thinking in another direction...why not go for your masters Alex. Obviously, I have nothing but time on my hands and quiet...right!?! I started looking into programs and I was really getting ready to take off with it. Then, several events happened...

1. As I was trying to rush through several things at once so I could have time to research Masters programs further, I was getting very agitated with Levi (who wanted my undivided attention). I took him outside with me to do some yard work and next thing I know, there was a bee trapped in his sandal and it stung him (I had to pull the stinger out kind of sting!) and he immediately started sobbing.

2. My sweet husband (and I do mean this Matt!) reminded me that he had put his Master's on hold so that he could be home more while the kids were young.

3. I prayed that my motives and heart would be laid bare. It turns out my motive is mostly when it comes down to it...fear. I know that I want to go back to the elementary or middle school classroom eventually. Deep down, I am fearful that after taking time off schools will be reluctant to hire me.

4. I took a look at my boys this morning and realized this time is SHORT! I am the kind of person that carries stress around like its a full time job. I don't want to carry stress like that as I raise my precious little boys.

5. I answered myself "Not Right Now Alex". Just as I finally have really begun to make progress and life changes to live a kingdom centered life, I start to waiver.

I have decided that I am asking the wrong question and definitely at the wrong time. Maybe my future will entail pursuing that Master's of Education. However, my boys are little and my life is focused in the here and now. I sit here and look around at pictures of their smiling faces, cute art work, and listen to their sleepy breaths during naptime. Thank you God for renewing my mind and heart for its purpose in the here and now. For the first time, I appreciate the answer "Not Right Now."

Go!

My East Bridge Church family embarked on an exciting new adventure today. We served lunch at the Helen Wright Center today. It was amazing to see all the planning and preparation come to fruition today.

Meet the crew (missing a few here!) 

 A few months ago a seed was planted in my mind after reading the famous Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." Some reading material I had been reading got me thinking about the church (as a general population...not all!) so often focused on the making disciples part and looking right past the key word "Go!" More importantly, I am learning the importance of taking the time to build relationships that matter by sacrificially loving my friends, neighbors, and even strangers by sharing what I have been given.

Levi helped me make the dessert :)

I am overwhelmed by the way that everyone eagerly jumped in to help provide food, their time, and their positive attitudes in providing this meal. I can't thank my meal provider team enough for their help in preparing everything in the morning and helping to get everything transported and ready to serve today. Another key element to this entire operation came in the form of childcare (8 kids for 5 hours) Go team!

I will leave you with one final thought. "Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8
If you are reading this, chances are you have the resources to give something: time, kind words, a shoulder to lean on, food, finances. I challenge you to find a way this week to freely give what you have freely received. Please share how you have impacted your community if you'd like!

Walking Down Memory Lane

I find the summer to be filled with fun with the kids but if I'm not careful, it can suddenly be filled with activities every spare moment. Don't get me wrong, I love planning fun things to do with the family, but I am trying to savor the moments.

This past week, I have been feeling very sentimental. The end of June marked seven years that I have called Raleigh home. Thinking back on my time in Raleigh has sent me down many memory trails. I remember the first summer I moved to Raleigh, I thought the summer would kill me. I had never experienced heat and humidity for such an extended period of time. My second week in Raleigh was July 4th, my sister came to visit and we attempted to go to the fairgrounds and stay until the fireworks display. After an hour we looked at each other and had the same thought. "AC...RIGHT NOW!!!" It was still 104 at 9:00 that particular day.

I also started thinking back to becoming homeowners for the first time. We were so excited but also so scared...haha! It has been such a blessing to have a house we call our own. I can't believe it was five years this past May!! I guess we don't take many pics of our house...haha. There's the top for your viewing pleasure :)

Levi's first Halloween

 

Another host of memories comes into play when I first opened my home daycare. I knew I wanted to be home with Levi and everything just fell into place. The families that allowed me to take care of their babies will forever hold a very special place in my heart. They not only gave me the opportunity to stay home with my son, but they also trusted me with their own sons. It was always an adventure!





Garbage truck Fridays!

 

 

Painting Pumpkins...its too bad we didn't take an after picture with paint everywhere!

Me and my fellas

Now that it is the first of July, I can't help but think forward to August 10th. The day my baby turns ONE! I can't believe how fast this year seems to be flying by. August will be filled with new for all of us. I just accepted a preschool teaching job. I will be teaching 3 year olds Tuesday - Thursdays. Levi and Asher will also be attending the preschool. The catch is, Asher has to be walking...so I am only forcing him to use his walker 6 hours a day for now :) Of course I'm joking!! Levi will be in another 3 year old class because I requested that I not be his teacher. I am so excited for this opportunity to be in the classroom again but also have my children right there too! Levi is SO excited!!

Asher - 10 months

Levi - 1 year

                   

Memory lane makes me teary eyed wishing time didn't fly by so fast. However, it also makes me want to slow down and savor every moment. I resolve to spend the rest of this summer taking time to enjoy my family!



Loving Well

Since my last blog post, I have been on a journey. I decided to seek the path of choosing love and found myself on an adventure! Matt and I decided to begin "spear-heading" operation solve the homeless problem in Raleigh. Well, at least that is where my vision was headed. With a little thought and community involvement, why couldn't we...right?

What I have come to realize is that there are so many wonderful people in Raleigh on the front lines already working hard to serve the least: the hurting, the homeless, the elderly, the lost, the hungry, you name it there is an organization out there that you can get involved with. I am learning the importance of getting on board with people that already know what they are doing.

After talking to many people and attending a few meetings, we are finally on our way! In a week and a half we will be serving a meal at Urban Ministries for about 45 people. We have started making preparations and are getting so encouraged by the way the people in our small congregation at East Bridge want to jump in and help serve a meal at the Women's Center. A few of our guys are even going WAY out of their comfort zone to bring a stocked cooler and bug spray to one of the homeless camps we've recently found out about this Saturday morning.

My purpose in writing about this is to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to open your eyes and see the need in your communities. There are people that you walk by every day who need love in some way. Who are they? Are you going to keep walking by and telling yourself someone else will help them? I challenge you to just start somewhere: mow an elderly neighbors lawn, make a meal for someone in need, listen to someone who has no one else. If we all start remembering that our ordinary American life is actually a mission field, what could we do? Could we turn our world upside down by showing that we actually love well?

Are you in? I know I want my kids to grow up spreading this love to others!

Choose Love

I am nearing the end of my reading of Barefoot Church that I had mentioned in my previous blog post. It is fantastic! The big thought I am trying to carry through this week is "Choose Love".

I think it is so easy for me to get caught up in the consumerism of America. Don't give too much of your time, your resources, your energy, your whatever because you need to make sure you have a bank of it stashed away. I know this is a grim way to think about it but the more I think about my lack of love for others in the past, it just sickens me. I am vowing to remember to choose love. This passage from Barefoot Church really hit me...

Here's a suggestion: when in doubt, choose love.

• Can't decide if you should give? Choose love.
• Can't seem to swallow your pride on a foolish matter? Choose love.
• Having a hard time forgiving someone? Choose love.
• Rather keep your time for yourself than help someone in need? Choose love.
• What would Jesus really do? Choose love.

This makes the choice for me so simple. All of my excuses, exceptions, and choices can be completely turned around if I choose love. I am so excited to see where choosing love will take my life and the lives of my family.

How could I not choose love with this precious cargo God has decided to put me in charge of?