What is your "I statement" this summer?

The following is something I wrote for our church newsletter upon returning from our summer Youth Conference. Perhaps it will get you thinking about what God is trying to teach you currently. What is your "I statement"? How is God moving in your life?

CHIC 2009 (A triennial Youth Conference for the Evangelical Covenant Church)

The final night of CHIC we sat together under the dark Tennessee sky, all forty-two of us minus one leader who was still praying with students. We had just come from the last evening worship session and as we sat in a circle Lars challenged every student to come up with an "I statement". A statement that begins with 'I'. One by one students came to the center of the circle and shared and as they did I had an overwhelming desire for the whole church to be sitting there with us. They were Holy moments we shared sitting in that circle and as I listened I quickly searched for a piece of paper and began to madly write and record the good work that God had done. And now I share it with you the church so that you can be encouraged and edified by hearing of God's grace and work in the lives of our youth.

"I learned to love myself."

"I learned to stop pretending."

"I came to CHIC unsure of what I was supposed to do with my life, and I leave ready to do anything God calls me to."

"I am excited to go home and share about Christ."

"I was able to accept myself the way I am."

"I am leaving CHIC not afraid to tell others about Jesus."

"I gave my life to Christ."

"I learned I want faith in my life forever."

"I learned that we're all one Church."

"I learned that I'm God's beloved and I need to take off the 'make-up' and my insecurities."

"I came to CHIC because God wanted to show me what I was missing."

"I came here looking for a charge and instead I became undone."

"I came here a perfectionist and I'm leaving feeling okay about being imperfect."

"I came here angry and confused and I leave feeling hopeful."

"I never knew I could be this close to God."

"I don't want this to stop now, I want to find this at college."

"I learned to be more real with my friends and with God."

"I learned that God's love is enough for me."

I write this to you the members of our church in large part to encourage you and also to tell you your work is not done. Please commit to pray for these students. Some have hard work ahead of them. Some felt called to give things up, relationships, habits and addictions. Some are working hard to stop believing the lies that Satan feeds them about their worth, value and beauty and instead choose to believe the truth that they were made image-bearers of God. Some return home to parents who know how to build-up and encourage their faith, others do not. Please pray for these precious students, many for whom the coming weeks and months are a vulnerable time. Pray that hope wins and truth would reign in their hearts. Pray for change and growth. And as we were challenged by the theme of CHIC this year, pray that these students might continue to become undone, so that they can go on to do the undone work of God's kingdom in the world.

What a joy it is to walk alongside these students. God is good.

Katie Stromberg

Hope

My husband and I are in full-time church ministry.  And we are continually reminded that we do not hold the future, God does.  Being a mother, wife, daughter and sister I feel pulled in many directions with wishes and desires for our young family's life.  I think pretty constantly about the future.  I suppose it's how I'm geared in many ways.  I'm the kind of person who has a strong desire to be "settled".  And it's just been recently that I have come to terms with the idea that this desire is simply a wish.  Nowhere in scripture does it say anything about being 'settled'.  And perhaps more importantly it is often the case that as we are open to God's leading and direction life takes turns and moves in ways we never could have imagined.  

A couple days ago my mother-in-law sent me an excerpt from Living the Message/Daily Reflections with Eugene H. Peterson.  This excerpt helped me come to a new understanding of what I am called to as a believer.  I am called to HOPE.  I am called to hope for what God will do in and through me.  I am called to "live in anticipation of what God is going to do next." 

What a fantastic way to live life.  Not projecting onto God what I want him to do next, but rather living in joyful anticipation for what he desires to do.   So with this said, I am trying to surrender the wish I have to be 'settled', to know what will be for our family.  Instead I will focus on hoping for all that God wants for us.  And through this discipline of hoping I anticipate God will teach me greater openness, greater dependence and greater faith in all he has in store. 

Subject: Wishing and Hoping

It is essential to distinguish between hoping and wishing.   They are not the same thing.

Wishing is something all of us do.  It projects what we want or think we need into the future.   Just because we wish for something good or holy we think it qualifies as hope.  It does not.  Wishing extends our egos into the future: hope desires what God is going to do - and we don't yet know what that is.

Wishing grows out of our egos: hope grows out of our faith.   Hope is oriented toward what God is doing: wishing is oriented toward what we are doing.  Wishing has to do with what I want in things or people or God: hope has to do with what God wants in me and the world of things and people beyond me.

Wishing is our will projected into the future, and hope is God's will coming out of the future.   Picture it in your mind: wishing is a line that comes out of me, with an arrow pointing into the future.   Hoping is a line that comes out of God from the future, with an arrow pointing toward me.

Hope means being surprised, because we don't know what is best for us or how our lives are going to be completed.  To cultivate hope is to suppress wishing - to refuse to fantasize about what we want, but live in anticipation of what God is going to do next.

                ...alert for whatever God will do next.  In alert expectancy
                such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.  Quite
                the contrary --we can't round up enough containers to hold
                everything God generously pours into our lives through the 

             Holy Spirit.

                                                  Romans 5:4B-5

Oct. 24/Living the Message/Daily Reflections with Eugene H. Peterson

Tables

So many important things in our lives happen around tables.  

Birthdays, wedding showers, holidays, baby showers, family gatherings, 

and list could go on and on. 

As I was pa-rousing my picture library I couldn't help but notice the overabundance of what I will term, "table pictures".  Each table had two things in common.  Each was beautifully decorated and they had happy smiling faces around them.  Hospitality is of high value in my dear husband and my families, which in turn speaks to other values.

People. Conversation. Family. Food. Time. Beauty. Tradition.

Do you have any "table pictures?" What do they mean to you? 

Does this count as a table? 

Wow!  That's a lot of tables.

Scrap Book Gift Idea

A couple years ago we celebrated my grandmothers 80th Birthday.  

After collecting memories, stories, and other anecdotes from 

all the cousins I put together a little tribute, memory album for

her and she loved it.  A fun idea for any birthday milestone. 

Easter Eggs

This years Easter craft was inspired by Martha Stewart herself. :) I made these eggs for my mother's Easter table as favors for our relatives. I had a great time working on them and I'm hoping I might be able to sell them at an area gift shop next spring. We'll see. If anyone reading this has connections at gift shops please pass along any contact info. you might have. Thanks.

Advent Calendar

So in late November I looked through the seasons latest

Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  I saw a fantastic advent calendar with fun little 

pockets that hangs on the back of a door and the price tag quickly inspired 

my creativity.  Many of my creative motivations are born out of the

 idea that, "I could do it cheaper."  In this particular case the price tag 

being near $70 dollars drove my motivation.  

As I took notes on the calendar and how I might tweak it and make it for 

my kids, the idea quickly grew into a gift idea for my nieces and nephew 

as well.  I wanted to give them something that would encourage a special 

family tradition.  So, this was perfect.  It was a lot of work, 

but so much fun.  When I finished my last pocket I asked myself, 

why couldn't I have discovered this idea in August!?!

Here it is ready to be stitched onto the felt tree.

Oh, and I also decided that Santa did not belong on Christmas Day, 

baby Jesus did.  So, here is what my mom came up with as an idea 

for Christmas day.  I love how it turned out.  Two were given as gifts. 

 I have yet to assemble our family's calendar and my sister ennifer and 

bro-in-law John's, (sans children) is in process as well. 

But all 100 pockets are finished!  

'twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...

Lars was a big help in the project.  He came up with the idea 

to do Santa Lucia, sleigh bells, the candy cane, 

the holly leaves and others I'm sure. 

Here is the finished product. Each pocket is ready to hold a special treat, 

note, or other prize as the kiddos count down the days until Christmas.  

Now they just have to wait a year. :)

25 Things...

So, here's me. 25 things no one really needs to know, but I guarantee a laugh.  

Here goes...

1. In another life I would be a Broadway star.

2. I am happiest when my kids make each other laugh

3. I once used a cute southern accent while waiting tables just to get a bigger tip, and it worked.

4. I am 25% less Swedish than my children.

5. I have completed half a Masters degree in Counseling Psych

6. I was the kid with glasses and an eye patch in grade school 

7. I have an intense fear of awkward interactions

8. I know how to set a beautiful table

9. I am grossly afraid of smallish African monkeys

10. I have been mistaken for Sabrina the teenage witch on multiple occasions

11. I hate cats

12. Making lists makes me feel like one of those organized people

13. I could win a show tune show-down any day

14. I have never dyed my hair

15. I love family traditions  

16. I was a cheerleader in highschool until I realized that I was a cheerleader in highschool

17. I find professional women basketball players more intimidating than professional male football players

18. I am committed to the ministries of the Church

19. I didn't like breakfast until I got married

20. I have a special place in my heart for Africa

21. I am a loyal and committed friend

22. I own 6 pairs of Swedish clogs

23. Spring is my favorite season

24. If I could survive on LaCroix and Lemon cake I would

25. I used to collect/steal airplane safety guides because I thought the pictures were hilarious (and they are!)

And just for fun...

26. I feel like I spend a significant portion of my day cleaning up poop...and I don't have a pet! (ahh...potty training)