August already

Sorry it's been over a week since my last post. Things haven't slowed down yet, but hopefully this week will be better-- I think we're over the hump of crazy. Brad's new client is up and running with their new software, so hopefully his work there will be more maitenance-type work instead of the frantic tons of work he had before. And he cut back on men's group (every other Tuesday night) and asked to be removed from the worship band schedule for the next few months, freeing up every other Thursday early evening. So now our evening schedule is more open, and we have time to actually open our mail and do some laundry.

Last weekend, actually two weekends ago, was family weekend. We had family night at our house to celebrate three birthdays, which was fun. Saturday Brad mowed and then we had a barbecue in the afternoon for Rico's birthday. We left early, exhausted from the week, and had our first Sonic experience. Ever see those Sonic fast-food commercials on tv? Dumb question-- I'm sure they play them everywhere. We used to see them in Chicago, and I don't know if there's a Sonic anywhere near Chicago. The commercials are humorous and caught our eye, so we sought out the closest Sonic, in North Port, Florida, and drove an hour for dinner on Saturday. Have to say, the burgers were ok, the cheese fries are fries with a slice of american cheese draped over them, the onion rings were good-- the batter tasted like pancakes, the 99 cent banana split was just perfect, and the butterfinger blizzard, or their version of it, was fantastic. Oh, and the strawberry limeade was great, too. I'd go back, even if it is an hour away. HOWEVER, they just opened another one much closer this past weekend! So maybe we'll get banana splits more often. Yum. It was a fun adventure and we got to see some Florida north of Fort Myers. It was the weirdest thing, though-- on the way home we were driving through rural who knows where and the place smelled like baked potatoes for miles. What could it have been? If it was really baked potatoes they must have told everyone in the town to bake potatoes at the same time-- it was strong! Chalk it up to Florida's weirdness.

Sunday Brad played in the worship band all three services and I played hooky. I'm having issues with the role of women in our church and needed a week off. I'm just so irritated that old traditional gender roles still exist. Women are wired and gifted to do much more than bake the cookies and watch the children. Some comments I heard from one in our church leadership led me to believe that perhaps the church leadership and I don't see eye to eye-- it's actually been a really big deal for me lately. I'm wired to be a leader, but many churches want me to lead the children (no thanks) or the hospitality ministry (maybe, but I think there's something else that I'm called to). Perhaps I shouldn't get started. Just know it has been an issue and it's not easy to find a place where I fit in here.

This week was busy busy, as usual. The last few weeks' schedule has been hectic and while this week was a bit slower, the housekeeping/laundry/tidying/grocery shopping has been neglected, so we've been trying to catch up and/or find other ways to do things. I went grocery shopping on Saturday but when I came home I didn't have space in the freezer or cabinet to put things away-- that's not so good, so I made a huge inventory list of every piece of food we have, and my job tonight is to make some meal ideas out of it so we can pare down. No need for all this excess.

This past weekend we spent time relaxing-- Brad's allergies are manifesting in odd ways down here. He got a really bad earache on Friday and spent most of the weekend resting and downing Zyrtec and Advil. I did the driving. We did go out to dinner on Saturday-- you know it's bad when the best steakhouse around is Steak and Ale. I admit that I am a food snob at times. But Steak and Ale? Oh, how I wish there was a Wildfire down here.

Sunday was church and then a social time with our small group. At church we talked with a guy who is going to be starting a church plant in Lehigh, meeting at the school at the end of our street. LOVE the proximity idea, but when Brad asked about the role of women on his leadership team, we were both disappointed with his answer.

Here's the thing-- I'm not asking for women to be senior pastor, though I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I am asking for women to be part of leadership. If the church is run by men alone, it will cater to men alone. Men simply cannot minister like women can, and vice versa. We need each other! And we are gifted as people, not as genders. So I am looking for a church that recognizes women as equal partners in ministry, and I'd like to see women on staff with other responsibilities than the children's ministry and hospitality ministry. Please don't hear me knocking women in children's ministry or hospitality ministry-- those women are gifted and needed and should be appreciated deeply for their service. But women can serve other roles, too. That's all I'm saying.

And I said I wasn't going to get started on that.

This week looks like a slower week-- no men's group tonight, so we have some time together to plan our small group tomorrow and to get caught up on laundry and mail. Tomorrow is small group, and Thursday Brad has band practice (only until the end of August!) and then we have free time-- Brad plays his computer game and I sew or watch HGTV. Friday is family night again. Saturday Brad will mow and I'll go help one couple in our small group who just had a baby-- she needs help watching their 2-year old while her husband mows. Maybe we'll get to paint in the evening-- that's been needing to get done for a long time.

That's all for now. Love to you all!