cheval glass

two weeks

I have been in somewhat of a "fog" the last 2 weeks as we spent one week packing and this past week moving. I looked at Todd at some point this week and said, "Honestly, if there was a gun to my head right now, I could not tell you what day it is." We are SO happy to be in our new home..pics to come! So , here is what happened around the Cullen house the last two weeks...

• Sydney finished preschool...she is officially a Kindergartener...say that 30 times really fast! She is headed to HHCA in August.
• Todd and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary on June 3rd. For those who know us REALLY well, we can all say that Todd deserved a big kudos for that!
• My Worship Arts Intern, Emily Wolffe, from my Alma Mater, Liberty University, started this week. Her 1st task? Painting Sean's bedroom last Friday night! She is an awesome woman, gifted musician, and a REAL servant to put up with our move being right smack in the middle of her 1st week on Hilton Head! We are going to have an awesome summer!
• Ellie Lancaster was in Hilton Head this week and we had the chance to reconnect. We have known each other for about 9 years from NorthStar and most recently we were original staff members of The Gallery Church in NYC. We love you, Elle!
•   Sydney turned 5 years old today. She is such a big girl and just a joy to our lives. I would think after 5 years of being a parent I would have more of a clue? NOT! We celebrated with some of Sydney's close friends and our friends as well at the Yacht Club (My b-day is tomorrow.) Yes, it was a much deserved treat...sitting around the pool and they fixed the food!
• We love our new home. We feel SO blessed that God has given this to us. Our friends, the Krupas, from ATL were able to move into our rental house. God just worked the whole thing out! Now the fun begins...painting, pictures, and giving this place "our touch."

Hope you had a great two weeks...looking forward to being back in the blogosphere this week!

Being a mom means...

1. That my personal priorities are always filtered through what I desire for my children.
2. That I have to be ok with house work not getting done because sometimes they just want me to sit with them and watch a movie.
3.  That my kids "need" a new outfit before I really ever think about the fact that I have been wearing the same pair of pants for 4 years.
4. My heart breaks anytime I hear about a child being hurt.
5. That I have 4 eyes watching my every move.
6. That I can have one day that I feel like "Mom of the Year" and the next day feel like an unfit parent.
7.  That I truly believe my mom was crazy to have 3 kids.
8.  That my kids give me the greatest joys in life and the deepest sorrow - sometimes in the same hour.
9.  That I will always feel guilty that I am not doing enough to raise them right.
10. That I will never grow tired of bedtime prayers and songs.
11.  That I will never grow tired of mealtimes together.
12. That I will never grow tired of their hugs and kisses.
13. That I maybe understand now that my Heavenly Father truly only wants what is best for me.
14. That I cannot fathom God's love for me to give up His only Son's life for someone like me.
15. That I am able to give my kids the legacy of faith that my mom gave to me. I love you, mom!

To all mothers out there, enjoy your day. You deserve it.

Teaching children about God

Sydney looked at me the other day while we were having lunch and asked me "Mommy, what is sin?" She's been hearing the Easter story at preschool and at church and she had a big question. My greatest struggle as a worship leader/church leader/mom is balancing how much I tell them about God and giving them the opportunity to ask and discover on their own. This post by Piper really helped me to understand what I am feeling about how I want my kids to learn about God (and if you know his story with his kids, you DEFINITELY know that He gets it). This one as well really hits on what kids need to understand first.  I have spent most of Sydney's preschool years discussing Creation and God's design for it and for her as an individual.  This has sparked great conversation about God and how the universe works.  Certain concepts make her afraid right now like Heaven - she doesn't want to go up in the clouds because it is too high! So, we are sticking to creation right now :)

What are some things you do to teach the basics about God to your kids?

10

Preparing dinner for our family is tough. First of all, cooking is not a pleasure for me.  I do not like to cook and I'm not really good at it. My husband is the chef in the family...a little of this and a little of that and he has a masterpiece! However, we cannot afford to eat his meals a lot of times (I meant it, he is REALLY a good cook!) We both work and during the week, we are running just like everyone else. Todd gets to prepare a gourmet meal every now and then (when I can budget one) and he helps with most meals during the week (aren't you jealous, girls?) I do not believe in the "fix everyone what they want" mentality.  We also eat out WAY to much and since we are  Dave Ramseyites, that is out of the question. With all of that said, I have been looking for 10 meals that EVERYONE likes to prepare on a regular basis. These are meals we have on hand that are easy to prepare with just a little bit of thought.  Why 10? Our budget and our schedule dictates that we can eat dinner at home no more than 5 times a week...thus 10 meals per pay check. Well, folks, I have found them!  Click here to see the meal plan.

Is Green your thing?

Raising children has given me such perspective on the issue of our taking care of the world around me. I have made great strides with Sydney as a preschooler to teach her that God made the world and everything in it (Acts 17:24a.) and that He has asked us to take care of it (Gen 1:26.) This is why we conserve water by brushing our teeth and not letting the water run. This is why we take our plastic bags back to Publix to recycle. This is why we color on both sides of our paper. I admit, I have a long way to go in certain areas of doing more for the environment (I love water bottles!) But, it has become a spiritual issue for me. I cannot walk around in defiance and ignorance. I CAN contribute to taking better care of the world around me.  I need to learn to do it better and I want my kids to grow up understanding that this is important. So whether  "green is your thing" or not, you can't ignore it that you can make a contribution to taking better care of God's world.

One of my favorite hymns was written by Maltbie D. Babcock in 1901.

While a pas­tor in Lock­port, New York, Bab­cock liked to hike in an ar­ea called “the es­carp­ment,” an an­cient up­thrust ledge near Lock­port. It had a mar­vel­ous view of farms, or­chards, and Lake On­tar­io, about 15 miles dis­tant. It is said those walks in the woods in­spired these lyr­ics. The ti­tle re­calls an ex­press­ion Bab­cock used when start­ing a walk: “I’m go­ing out to see my Fa­ther’s world.”

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.
I open my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”
This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world. Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.
No place but is holy ground.

This is my Father’s world. I walk a desert lone.
In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.
This is my Father’s world, a wanderer I may roam
Whate’er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.

Good questions

My husband Todd and I know that we are a little different. Most people would say planting a church with your husband could be a really, really dumb idea...especially if you are both staff members.  I don't care how many years you have been doing ministry on a church staff...church planting is a different ball game.  I'm not going deny that this experience has not had some really tough days. We are constantly learning how to keep margins in our life with ministry, people,and our family. BUT, as only God can do, we are surrounded with the most loving people in our church, leaders who are so willing to give, and a Lead Pastor who is the real deal. Our family is thriving here on the Island. We are "finding our groove" with our 2  preschoolers and having a blast in the process. With Sean and Sydney playing around us, Todd and I spent the afternoon identifying new leaders in our church for new levels of ministry. Here are some questions we asked ourselves...

1. What are we doing that someone else would be willing and more able to do?
2. What is our "TO BE" list look like - not our "TO DO" List?
3. Who are we robbing of the opportunity to lead by being too "hands on?"
4. Why is Sean covered in a sticky substance? (Just seeing if you were playing attention - he found the treasure box filled with candy in Promiseland - sorry, Barb!)

What are you asking about your job, family, or ministry? Share some of it here.

Speaking truth

The greatest thing about being a part of the blogging community is connecting with people...people that are just like me, totally different than me, smarter than me, crazier than me...you fill in the blank. The biggest blessing to me has been how God uses blogs of friends and leaders I respect to speak truth into my life...at just the right moment and just the right time.  Today, I received 2 blogs from 2 people I read a lot...Perry Noble and Seth Godin. These guys are on opposite ends of the spectrum of what they do and why they blog. However, today, they both had a word for me.  Perry's blog is pretty self-explanatory for why I loved it today.   #11 and #13 were a needed reminder. However, Seth's blog may be a little strange to you. He hit on something that I have experienced, watched happen to others, and that I want to help my children with one day when they face it. You're just dying to know what they said, huh?

Click here to read Perry's post
Click here to read Seth's post

I got the message

Hi, I'm Cynthia...I'm a workaholic. I made a commitment to God, myself, and my family that in 2009, I am going to work less. I have been very convicted about it the last few months.  I LOVE to work...I love my job...I have been working since I was 14.   I admit, being a mother and a part-time staff member is difficult to manage. I want to be with my kids and I want to work - it's tough. I am very fulfilled by contributing to an organization in some way - part-time or full-time - I really like being a part of team. I love spending time with my kids and being mom.  It brings me the greatest joy in life...Yeah, I'm a mess. Anyway, Monday is the day I have set aside to not work. I allow myself to respond to e-mail (thanks to my wonderful new iphone!), but I cannot generate an e-mail to anyone about anything work related on Mondays...and I did it this week. Boy, it was hard.  I had so many ideas and things about worship arts that I wanted to get started and I didn't do it. I had a great day with the kids - playing outside, reading books - it was awesome! Tuesdays are my long days and yesterday was one of those days. I was a little irritated that I didn't have enough time to do all I wanted, but I let it go. Wednesdays, I have morning stuff, pick the kids up from school and then work from home. Do you know what happened today?  Both of my kids fell asleep in the car on the way home from school so I transferred them to their beds...Sean is STILL sleeping 3 hours later!  Sydney woke up about an hour later and then a friend called and picked her up for a play date!  I got back every minute I would have worked on Monday and MORE because I have had 3 hours of no interruptions! I got the message, God, LOUD AND CLEAR!

Children change everything

I was one of those who waited...I waited 9 years before diving into the deep end...you know, parenting. We lived our 20's, worked hard, played hard, got into debt, paid it off.  We flew to NYC one year on Christmas Day and had brunch at the Waldorf-Astoria.  Life was...well, all about what we were into and working. It was fun, real fun. Then I turned 30...I was ready. Our precious little girl Sydney came along the day before my 31st birthday (the BEST present ever!) and then Sean was born almost 3 years later.  They have changed everything. It didn't help either that Todd and I decided to get mobile and move 3 times in the last 3 years!  Yeah, we have had A LOT of change. Forget the change of addresses, I have changed.  I don't want to buy clothes for me...I want to buy for them.  I don't care about gifts for me...I want to take Syd to Disney on her 5 year old birthday (it's free this year on your birthday!)  Disney is killing me...we have to have ALL the princess stuf - DVD's, dresses - ALL of it! Sean has more little cars and trucks - I can't stop! All of this to say that my parents took us to hear the ASO on New Year's Eve and it was fabulous. But, all I could think about was how I wanted Sydney and Sean to hear it and experience it.  It will never be the same and I don't care.  Life is more of an adventure now and there are no blue-prints. For those Seinfeld fans, "I'm out there, baby, and I'm loving it!"

Christmas mood swings

 

Christmas Day is 5 days away...where did December go? This time of year always brings such a wide swing of emotions for me. I think about all my grandparents who are in Heaven now (yes, all 4). I think about friends and family who are spending their 1st Christmas without someone very special to them. I think about the look on my kids' faces when they come out Christmas morning and see all the presents (especially the Jeep parked in the backyard - thanks, Aunt Christie!) I think about how thankful I am to have the husband, children, home, church, family, and friends that I have....and then I eat chocolate.