Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Ang
I went to the Dr. yesterday for a follow up on my test results. I did the glucose test 3ish weeks ago and we were seeing if that is what keeps us from being prego. My glucose levels were fine. But my insulin levels... at fasting a normal level should be 10. Mine: 120. After the drinking the glucose a normal level should be 20. Mine: 101. So I have extremely high insulin levels which determines I do have PCOS and an insulin blocker. woot. so I have started taking Glucophage which will slowly bring my insulin under control and help me lose weight (That's good stuff) But... I will be on this forever. I don't like that. I am a more likely than not to have a child with insulin issues. You are welcome baby Groves. That's my biggest beef with this whole thing. Me have issues fine. I don't want to pass it on. But here's my silver lining. I am not diabetic. If I can get this under control I will not have gestational diabetes and will be thinner. If we had not moved to NC we never would have known. While I loved my Dr. in TX, she was ready to send me to an infertility specialist (too expensive). Since this leans more towards a diabetes setting, insurance will cover it. If we had not moved to NC, I would not have run into people who knew exactly my symptoms and were so willing to help me go in that direction. God is amazing how we wait and pout but he is always on the same page. I'm also very thankful for the 5 1/2 years with Tim by ourselves. We've gotten to do a lot that had we had children wouldn't have worked and how many people want to be on the 5 year plan and never make it? We did! Now, we're still not sure how long this will take but at least we know what it is.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Angela's 6 month update
So we've been here six months, today! My how the time flies. How you miss your family but you don't miss the heat. I miss my Mexican food, but love being closer to the beach (eventhough we haven't been yet!) I love our new friends and church but miss the old ones too. Jobs? Mine - meh - take it or leave it! Tim's? Great! Mingus is doing great, he's in intermediate training and we're working hard. Babies? I have a follow-up appt. with Dr. Peacock on Monday. So we'll see. What a journey! How wonderful it is to see where we've come from and know we're on the right path.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Snow - the theological implications
As I sit here at 12:30 on March 2, I'm watching the back of a snow storm Charlotte is going through. We had something called "Thunder Snow" which, to me, sounds like the name of a really bad band from the 80's. What it is, however, is the winter equivalent to a Thunderstorm in the summer, complete with heavy show fall, thunder and lightning - it really is a beauty to behold.
Let me also say this, having been raised in Texas (which I am grateful for), I have never seen a weather occurrence like this. There's several weather occurrences I have never seen, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, just to name a few. Yet this snow fall was such a beautiful picture to me.
Aside from the flittering huge white flakes floating to the ground and landing in an exact pre-determined spot (okay, maybe not, but it's kind of cool to think about), there's the fact that the snow, especially when it falls in such a great amount begins to cover every surface it touches.
Wood, covered.
Plastic, covered,
Automobiles, covered,
Roofs, covered.
It doesn't matter what the surface, hard or soft, new or old, light or dark. The snow will cover it.
This is a picture of God's grace. His grace covers all surfaces, no matter how cracked and weathered, no matter how small or large. The snow doesn't look at the roof of a mansion and think "oh man, that is WAY too big of a surface, let's skip that." It falls where it wants, and in this type of storm, it falls EVERYWHERE. My car has more snow piled on it right now than it has ever had before. I hope it starts in the morning.
Earlier tonight, Ang and I went out to play in the snow for a bit (this included running around on the deck without shoes on and slipping and sliding all over the place.) It was a blast. Spontaneity keeps people young. After we made our places in the snow from tromping around, I watched, hour after hour as the snow continued to fall - that those spots in which we disturbed the snow were being covered up again. As if we had never been out there, and I began to see a new picture of God's grace.
God has given us a perpetual, unstoppable snowstorm of grace in our lives. He gave us this when Jesus Christ took on our sin and died on the cross. Now we live, not free of sin, but hidden beneath the snow of God's grace, we we no longer are slaves to our sin. When God sees us, He doesn't see our sin any longer, He sees us as undisturbed, pure white snow. This is God's grace. It doesn't matter what you've done, or how dirty or old or worn down your surface is, God's snow still falls on it and covers that brokenness with His perfection.
This would have been enough for me, but as I sat out here watching the snow fall just a few minutes ago I noticed how heavy the snow sat on the trees, how much it weighed them down especially when the wind would pick up. The way the trees lamented having the extra weight, you could just feel the stress in their branches. And I thought, "okay, smart guy, so how does God's grace weigh people down?" and maybe this part is a bit of a stretch, but track with me for just a moment.
Have you ever met someone that was so involved in everything? Every activity, every opportunity, every possible social, ministerial and community event that they had nothing left of themselves? Did it seem as though they were weighed down?
I have been in that place. Where I could not say no, where I was worried about not making the right people happy and pleasing their ideal of what I should be. I was weighed down, I wasn't aware of the freedom which grace allowed me to have.
Rob Bell puts it this way - the only thing I have to focus on is pursing my relationship with God to reflect His glory and discover how beautiful He is, anything beyond that is sin. So it is possible to be weighed down, maybe not necessarily with God's grace but with our perception of what we need to be or do in order to win God's grace. What we must realize is that God has already given us all the grace He can and all the grace we need. There is nothing more we can do to convince God to give us grace.
All we can do is accept it or ignore it.
If we ignore it we live life like those trees, heavy laden, lacking vibrance and energy and hanging our head to the ground.
If we accept it, we live life hidden underneath the snow storm, covered in a white, continual blanket of God's grace.
The snow has just about tapered off now, though there might be more coming, who knows. But I pray that we would all learn to live under the blanket of God's grace, not weighing ourselves down with the expectations others put on us,
My brother Trey, and I had a conversation when he first moved back to Texas a couple of years ago. He said "I don't have time to worry about what other people think about me or the ministry in which God has placed me, I have to focus on running after God."
Maybe Trey should write a book...
Let me also say this, having been raised in Texas (which I am grateful for), I have never seen a weather occurrence like this. There's several weather occurrences I have never seen, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, just to name a few. Yet this snow fall was such a beautiful picture to me.
Aside from the flittering huge white flakes floating to the ground and landing in an exact pre-determined spot (okay, maybe not, but it's kind of cool to think about), there's the fact that the snow, especially when it falls in such a great amount begins to cover every surface it touches.
Wood, covered.
Plastic, covered,
Automobiles, covered,
Roofs, covered.
It doesn't matter what the surface, hard or soft, new or old, light or dark. The snow will cover it.
This is a picture of God's grace. His grace covers all surfaces, no matter how cracked and weathered, no matter how small or large. The snow doesn't look at the roof of a mansion and think "oh man, that is WAY too big of a surface, let's skip that." It falls where it wants, and in this type of storm, it falls EVERYWHERE. My car has more snow piled on it right now than it has ever had before. I hope it starts in the morning.
Earlier tonight, Ang and I went out to play in the snow for a bit (this included running around on the deck without shoes on and slipping and sliding all over the place.) It was a blast. Spontaneity keeps people young. After we made our places in the snow from tromping around, I watched, hour after hour as the snow continued to fall - that those spots in which we disturbed the snow were being covered up again. As if we had never been out there, and I began to see a new picture of God's grace.
God has given us a perpetual, unstoppable snowstorm of grace in our lives. He gave us this when Jesus Christ took on our sin and died on the cross. Now we live, not free of sin, but hidden beneath the snow of God's grace, we we no longer are slaves to our sin. When God sees us, He doesn't see our sin any longer, He sees us as undisturbed, pure white snow. This is God's grace. It doesn't matter what you've done, or how dirty or old or worn down your surface is, God's snow still falls on it and covers that brokenness with His perfection.
This would have been enough for me, but as I sat out here watching the snow fall just a few minutes ago I noticed how heavy the snow sat on the trees, how much it weighed them down especially when the wind would pick up. The way the trees lamented having the extra weight, you could just feel the stress in their branches. And I thought, "okay, smart guy, so how does God's grace weigh people down?" and maybe this part is a bit of a stretch, but track with me for just a moment.
Have you ever met someone that was so involved in everything? Every activity, every opportunity, every possible social, ministerial and community event that they had nothing left of themselves? Did it seem as though they were weighed down?
I have been in that place. Where I could not say no, where I was worried about not making the right people happy and pleasing their ideal of what I should be. I was weighed down, I wasn't aware of the freedom which grace allowed me to have.
Rob Bell puts it this way - the only thing I have to focus on is pursing my relationship with God to reflect His glory and discover how beautiful He is, anything beyond that is sin. So it is possible to be weighed down, maybe not necessarily with God's grace but with our perception of what we need to be or do in order to win God's grace. What we must realize is that God has already given us all the grace He can and all the grace we need. There is nothing more we can do to convince God to give us grace.
All we can do is accept it or ignore it.
If we ignore it we live life like those trees, heavy laden, lacking vibrance and energy and hanging our head to the ground.
If we accept it, we live life hidden underneath the snow storm, covered in a white, continual blanket of God's grace.
The snow has just about tapered off now, though there might be more coming, who knows. But I pray that we would all learn to live under the blanket of God's grace, not weighing ourselves down with the expectations others put on us,
My brother Trey, and I had a conversation when he first moved back to Texas a couple of years ago. He said "I don't have time to worry about what other people think about me or the ministry in which God has placed me, I have to focus on running after God."
Maybe Trey should write a book...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A Lyrical Ode to the of Love of My Life on Her Birthday
Here it is your Birthday
And it’s your 29th
30’s just around the corner
Let not think about that tonight!
For 29 amazing years
You’ve brought joy to all you’ve known
You’ve showed them all the love of Christ
And how you too have grown.
You’ve grown into a Christ Follower
You’ve grown into a Friend
You’ve grown into someone that we all can trust
From now until then end
But for me you’ve been so much more
More than literary efforts can portray
A friend, a helpmate, cheerleader, and true love
Growing closer day after day
And although I’ve known you now
For only nine wonderful years
I’ve seen in you all that is beautiful
Through laughter, hope and some tears
I am so blessed to call you my bride
To come home to you each night
To hold you, protect you, care for you too
To love you, even when we fight!
So here’s you my Princess Goldstar
My Icy Hot, daughter of the Most High King
Happy Birthday, my wife –the love of my life
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!
And it’s your 29th
30’s just around the corner
Let not think about that tonight!
For 29 amazing years
You’ve brought joy to all you’ve known
You’ve showed them all the love of Christ
And how you too have grown.
You’ve grown into a Christ Follower
You’ve grown into a Friend
You’ve grown into someone that we all can trust
From now until then end
But for me you’ve been so much more
More than literary efforts can portray
A friend, a helpmate, cheerleader, and true love
Growing closer day after day
And although I’ve known you now
For only nine wonderful years
I’ve seen in you all that is beautiful
Through laughter, hope and some tears
I am so blessed to call you my bride
To come home to you each night
To hold you, protect you, care for you too
To love you, even when we fight!
So here’s you my Princess Goldstar
My Icy Hot, daughter of the Most High King
Happy Birthday, my wife –the love of my life
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!
Monday, January 26, 2009
In the classroom all day
and only 1 meltdown and it wasn't me. There was 1 poop in the pants during nap and 1 wet the mat during naptime. But I didn't have to clean either up. WooHoo! But I like my class. There's definitely opportunity for ministry to kids and parents. I'm making cake pearls tonight since Tim's at Men's Frat. Other than that not much is going on!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
1st day at IHBC & Happy Birthday Daena
Happy Birthday MOM! We miss you and love you and hope you're having a wonderful day! Our first day at IHBC was great! We spent the night at Judy's so we'd have a bed, but overslept 30 minutes past when we wanted to get up. We still were early to the 7:40 call, but we sure would have liked to have been there earlier. I flat ironed my hair and put on makeup in the church bathroom but no big deal. First service went amazingly well (contemporary), and Todd and Tanya (pastor and wife) and I snuck off to Bojangles for breakfast during the S.S. hour. (Shhh it's a secret!) They don't have donut shops on every corner so they have to eat real breakfast foods on Sunday :) Second service was again great and we're about to go eat Chinese with the Children's Pastor Sarah and her family! Have a great day! Oh if you haven't see our video on Facebook - Now all of NC thinks we're nuts too!
Love you,
Ang
Love you,
Ang
Friday, January 9, 2009
1%
So I had an interview today with Wachovia Child Development Center for their 3 & 4 year old class. They were super nice and I have a working interview (I go to the classroom for a few hours to see how I fit) on Tuesday. So why the 1%. I put my resume on careerbuilder.com and our Children's pastor told me that 1% of people who put their resume online get an interview. Wow! That is a God thing.
Back to our Mingus drama - So last night he was cold downstairs and started barking at about 3am. So Tim brought he and the crate upstairs and while a little happier, barked until 4am. Tim put a towel over his crate and finally he clued in that it was time to sleep. It's got to get better!
So our belongings should arrive Monday and we'll have 2 cars again and pots and pans! I miss cooking and baking and such. But things are great! You can see videos of Tim's office and the church on our Dads' facebooks.
Ang
Back to our Mingus drama - So last night he was cold downstairs and started barking at about 3am. So Tim brought he and the crate upstairs and while a little happier, barked until 4am. Tim put a towel over his crate and finally he clued in that it was time to sleep. It's got to get better!
So our belongings should arrive Monday and we'll have 2 cars again and pots and pans! I miss cooking and baking and such. But things are great! You can see videos of Tim's office and the church on our Dads' facebooks.
Ang
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