The Saturday 7

Oops. I forgot to blog last week. Better get caught up . . .

1. So I did indeed quit Keto. It wasn't worth the trouble. I immediately gained my 5 pounds back, and they all went straight to my stomach. If you see me in person, let me assure you that I'm not pregnant - I just love carbs and my body does not. I think I'm going to try low calorie for the month between my birthday and our trip. We'll see if that works any better than Keto, or if I'm just destined to stay at this weight. Justin has continued to do Keto-lite and has lost a ton of weight. It's a good thing I love him . . .

2. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Lena started gymnastics again. She was so excited about it until a few hours before the first class, when the panic attacks started. But she was able to push through, and said that her nerves fled as soon as she set foot on the gym floor. We talked a lot about how she knows logically that there's nothing to be afraid of, so she has to do it even when she's scared in order to show her body who's boss. I'm so proud of her for forcing herself to do it and experiencing the fruit of her courage. We prayed multiple times in the car on the drive there, so it was also cool for her to see her prayer answered so clearly and quickly. 

3. This week was homecoming at school, and I felt like I spent most of it driving kids to and fro. I love that the girls are so involved, and want to be with their friends making floats and lip dubs and whatnot, but I wish their friends lived a little closer! I just despise being in the car for so long, and get a little annoyed that I have to do it all because Justin always has soccer. Woe is me. 

4. To help combat boredom while driving for hours on end this week, I decided to listen to an audiobook. In my quest to get to 40 nonfiction books before October 10, I started randomly perusing audiobooks on Everand, and ended up listening to The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. I knew a little bit of her story, but it was a really interesting read. She was a lesbian professor of women's studies and feminism at Syracuse University when Jesus radically got ahold of her. She says that choosing to follow him destroyed her life, but she couldn't resist any longer. She lost her job, her friends, her girlfriend, and her identity. But she also says it was worth it for the joy of knowing Jesus. It was heart wrenching to read a conversion story that was so fraught with struggle, and actually reminded me a lot of the other biography I loved earlier this year (Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi). As much as I love dramatic conversion stories, I can't help but wonder if I'm doing my children a disservice by raising them in a Christian home. Haha. That sounds so backwards. But as a lifelong Christian, I feel like I don't truly grasp the depth of my own salvation. It was never a clear "old me" vs. "new me." My story has been one of gradual growth, and I think with that comes a certain pride and a wrong belief that I was never "that bad." Whereas Rosaria and Nabeel's stories are rich with awe at the grace Jesus pours out, and their lives are radically changed as a result. I'm so convicted that my faith is just another compartment that makes up my life, and it doesn't consume or rule me like it should. Am I just a Pharisee raising little Pharisees? How do I make the leap from knowing Christ to experiencing Christ? And why am I still asking these questions after 35 years of calling myself a Christian??

5. I also read The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung and The Practice of the Presence of God by brother Lawrence. They were both short easy reads. I love Kevin DeYoung's writing style. He's so funny, but also asks (and answers!) the questions that I'm thinking but can rarely articulate. This is the first page of The Hole in Our Holiness. Needless to say, I was hooked from the get-go:

I didn't love the brother Lawrence book quite as much, just because it seemed so impractical. He spent almost the whole book talking about what it means to live in the presence of Christ - a life of rapture and peace no matter your circumstances. It's probably wrong of me, but I kept thinking, "Yeah, that must have been easy for you, Bro. You were a monk. Your life's work was to read and pray and study. I have kids and laundry and grocery shopping. I can't be in a constant state of rapturous union with Christ while I'm trying not to ram my cart into the little old lady blocking the bread aisle." Honestly, his point is that it's a state that should be strived for in every moment, but I wish he would've spent more time explaining how to actually do it. 

13 books to go. I might have to start reading children's nonfiction . . .

6. Two points for pics and memes since I have two weeks' worth:

I got to join Lena and her small group at the Equest Therapeutic Center last week for Service Day.

Don't let that sweet kitty fool you. See that hole in the screen above her head? She put it there by jumping out the second story window to chase a bird. 

Pajama day!

Levi as an FBI agent on "career day."

Hat Day

Neon Day.

Spirit Day

Lena being a hungry, hungry, hippo

Lucy dressed up for almost all of the spirit days. She's just not as willing to be photographed as her siblings. That said, I did make her pose for a few pictures before the homecoming "dance" tonight . . .

How did she get so grown up and beautiful??

She looks like a totally different person with her hair up!

I was in charge of the alumni "hospitality room" at the homecoming games.

I've never been so thankful to not be on a diet. 😂

My sweet Lena has a friend who is going through a very hard time. Lena asked if she could put together a goodie basket for her, then got on Amazon and found all these things by herself. She also crocheted the most adorable guinea pig (on top of the emotional support nuggets). She has the sweetest heart.

For memes this week I've got one serious, two funny, and one snarky. Something for everyone!

I'm not lobbying for more chemistry classes. I just want people to stop shaming me about my eating habits by saying, "Do you know how many chemicals are in that?" There are chemicals in your organic kombucha, too, hipster!