Random

Cody got his braces on yesterday morning. He was so excited to get them and now he wants them off already! He is in a lot of pain. I made him at least try to go to school today for a couple of hours, but I really don't think he's going to make it all day. He looks so different and it is not making me excited to get my braces next year (I'm waiting until his come off to get mine).

Yesterday was my last day in the office at GCC. It was weird cleaning out my desk and packing a tub of stuff up. It was hard, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be - I just tried to think of all the good stuff that has happened and then imagine all of the things that will happen as I progress closer and closer to where God is leading me.

I attended my last SWAT (staff meeting) which was a great way to exit. The best part was that my friend Shelley Arredondo made an announcement that it was my last day so Kem, who was leading, asked Judy to pray for me and for Walter (a student of mine who is also leaving). Judy prayed a beautiful prayer of blessing over us, and it was really cool that I got to share that with Walter, since he has been one of my students the entire time I've been on staff. Afterward, many of my staff family came and hugged me and wished me the best - it was great to have everyone's blessing and excitement for the next phase of my life!

Sunday was my last Lifeline as a staff person and I made it from school just in time to get to do 3 worship songs with my students. It was awesome and again a beautiful way of closing that door and moving on. I got to say goodbye to a lot of my students and I'm excited to be in a volunteer position next year so that I can spend more time with them.

My dream of giving milk to an entire community of poverty stricken people who live in the "Rio" (a squatters village of hoomes made out of trash) in Monterrey, Mexico is a step closer to happening! When I turned over all of my responsibility for the Lifeline Mission Mexico team over to John, I begged him to follow through with it, so I hope he and Corey will. Last year when we were there, all the kids wanted was milk, but we didn't have enough for everyone (they hardly ever get milk - in fact the babies drink pop because they can't get milk). So, this year we have the opportunity to actually bombard them with cartons of milk and it looks like that may happen - I am so excited and dream of the day that every single child there has so much milk that they struggle carrying it all home!

School last weekend was incredible - I actually don't even have words. All I can say is that I learned so much about helping people and I learned a whole lot about myself. It was confirmed to me over and over that this is exactly where I should be and I learned that I am actually pretty good at coaching and helping people uncover what is important to them and what they want to do with their life. I'm way excited for my next class at the end of June!

We're off to Silver Lake tonight after Cody's choir concert. Trent already took off this morning - and we will meet him up there late tonight. We are definitely looking forward to a weekend of relaxing, some quality family time and a great time with great friends. Oh yeah, and some serious off-roading in "Damage" out on the sand dunes is going to be a blast too!

So that's about it - have a great holiday weekend friends!

Thanks Corey - you know for what - have a great weekend with your family.

I'm off to school!

This morning I'm off to Chicago for 3 lovely days of Life Coaching school. I'm looking forward to it and can't wait to see what I'm going to learn and who my classmates are.

The classes are limited to just 15 people, so by them time we've been stuck together for 3 solid days in a tiny hotel meeting room, we become great friends. I hope that some of my friends from the first class will be there.

I'll give you an update on Monday - have a great weekend!

Waves

From the deep Lord you are beckoning

You call out my name and say don't be afraid
I'm here just believe me

So I won't look at the waves
I'll look on your face and I'll walk when I see you
Lord give me faith to never look away

It's not that far to where you are
You've called me by name and I'm not afraid

I'm here, I believe you
I won't look at the waves

I'll look on your face and I'll walk when I see You
Lord give me faith to never look away

Adapted from the song "Never Look Away" by Building 429

Mother's Day Weekend

Well, even with the rain it was a good Mother's Day Weekend!

On Saturday I got up and Trent and I went to his favorite store - RURAL KING - in Niles (it's a farm type store) and we got all kinds of stuff for landscaping, and he bought me a really nice glider to sit in out by the river. I almost bought 3 baby ducks (they had them there for only $2 each). I think it would be so cool to have your own pet ducks, plus we live on the river, so that seems to make sense to have pet ducks. I had them all picked out, when I started running my decision through the "is this going to simplify my life" filter. When I started picturing us up at Silver Lake every other weekend taking a dog, a cat, and 3 ducks - I started thinking, this IS NOT going to simplify my life. When I pictured them grown up and flying away and me being heart broken, I thought - this IS NOT going to simplify my life! So, I left Rural King WITHOUT the adorable baby ducks (I'm so proud of myself). I think Trent was relieved too!

On Saturday night I got to spend the evening with my Mom, my mother in law Emma, my sister in law Ann, and my Aunt Dani at a Mother's Day Celebration at my Mom's church. I had the incredible privilege to be the guest speaker for about 50 women of all ages. Now keep in mind, this is my first real "gig" - so it was a totally new experience for me. I was a little apprehensive all day, but when I got there and I had a podium and a mike and everything, I got really nervous (I'm much more relaxed sitting on the floor). My Mom gave me a wonderful introduction and made me sound better than I really am (every guest speaker should have their Mom introduce them) and once I started, the nerves went away and God just calmed me and took over.

All in all I think the talk went really well - I got a lot of positive feedback and I felt good about it when it was over. There were a lot of people there that are not "church goers", so I kept that in mind and kept everything really simple and encouraging. I talked about how women spend a good part of their life focusing on what they "aren't", rather than what they "are", and I encouraged them to embrace the beautiful way that God created them and run with it, to not get bogged down with the "I am nots" and focus on the "I ams". There were tears, so I'm thinking that's probably a good thing! Public speaking is definitely not something I love to do, but I believe that God has called me to speak life into girls and women, so I am trusting him and getting out of my comfort zone and letting him do what he wants with me!

Sunday afternoon Trent fixed me breakfast and Cody put my glider together. It was very cute because Cody's never done anything like that before, and he was so determined to do it all himself, and he did! He worked so hard and it came out beautiful - he did a great job!

Then I went to Lifeline and got to hang out with my other kids - it was a great Mother's Day weekend!

The Light of Eternity

I’m holding all of my life up to the light,
the light of eternity

I know what I should let go, I see what matters most
in the light of eternity

I want You to see me shine.
in the light of eternity

Am I doing anything that will last?

Because I know You made me for so much more!

Taken from "The Light of Eternity" by Matthew West

Great advice from my new friend Shmuley

As I said last week, I found a new show that I LOVE and am using in my studies for being a life coach. It's Rabbi Shmuley from "Shalom In The Home" on TLC. I thought it was going to be a cheesy show, but I'm amazed at the practical and biblical wisdom this show has to offer.

Here are some great words of wisdom from previous shows that I think we all could use:

Your marriage is not a facet of your life. It is your life. It is not a detail of your happiness, but its source and greatest blessing.

We must raise our children to fear none but God alone.

(MY FAVORITE) The greatest gift that a man can give his children is to love their mother. Conversely, the greatest gift that a mother can give her children is to love their father.

We dare not make money into a commodity by which to purchase self-esteem.

The foremost sin in a marriage is to put someone (even your child) before each other.

Parents today are guilty of believing that they can have healthy children without having a healthy family environment.

There are no bad children. Only bad parents. When our kids act up, it’s time to look in the mirror.

Have you really been successful if the people who mean the most to you, think the least of you?

Did I really say that?

Last week when I was talking to Corey about my resignation, I was starting to get a little teary eyed and I actually said "Corey - this is really, really hard - for 4 years this job has been my life". WHOA - RED FLAG! Did I actually say what I thought I said? Was it a subconscious slip? Was my job really my life?

Right at that moment when I said that, it was like God gave me a quick (but loving) slap upside the head so I would pay attention. MY JOB SHOULD NOT BE MY LIFE!!!!!

Since then I have been revisiting that, looking inside myself, and facing some tough questions:

• Did I make my job/ministry and what I "did" for God more important than just being with God and putting him first - just loving him?
• Did I place my value and self worth in working at one of the "coolest" churches in America and working with "the cool people" instead of looking to Jesus to fulfill that in me?
• Why did I strive and waste so much energy trying to please people who don't even know me or value me?
• How many times did I sacrifice my husband and my son and put my job or other people before them?

I love my church, I loved being on staff at GCC, and most of all I love my Lifeline kids. I am not saying that working there was bad or being in ministry is bad - What I am saying is that somewhere along the line I think I got my priorities jumbled up and I wasted a lot of energy worrying about things that in the big eternal picture did not matter.

More than anything I want to make my life count and I want to live my life the way that God designed it to be. So even though they're painful at times, I'm thankful for the "slaps upside the head" that God gives me every once in awhile!

Change

There is huge change going on in my life right now that has been kind of "under the radar", so I finally want to bring it out into the open so that my friends and family can see where I'm really at.

Last Wednesday (5/3) I turned in this letter to my boss, Corey - not because there is a problem, but because God has been PULLING me to something else, and I know it's time to close this door and jump through the next one that he has open for me. Here's a copy of the letter:

Being on staff at GCC with Lifeline has been one of the true highlights of my life. I have learned and grown in ways that I never could have imagined. I have fallen in love with students and I discovered a passion for mentoring young women. God has stretched me and molded me in this ministry like no other job could have ever done. I can honestly say that I am not the same person I was when I started on staff 3 ½ years ago. God has done some amazing things inside of me.

When I was first hired for the AA position I was so excited to get my “dream job”! I could not picture myself ever doing anything different – but I did not know what God had in store for me and that He was not done with me. What I have come to realize is that this job was not the end of my journey; it was the beginning – a stepping stone to something deeper that God is calling me to.

I don’t fit the AA role very well - I can fake it and get by, but my hearts desire and burning passion is to mentor and help people in a very close and personal relationship. I am not wired to be a “paperwork and detail” person – I am wired for connecting on a deep soul to soul level. My dream, and where I believe God is leading me in the next few years, is to become a catalyst for transformation in people’s lives - to help them discover who God has created them to be and what kind of life God has designed for them. I want to do this by being a certified Life Coach working one-on-one with clients, hosting retreats for young women, working with families, and speaking to women’s groups. I also want to focus a big chunk of my time on my family life while Cody is still home with us.

Please accept my resignation as AA for Lifeline, effective June 3, 2006. It has been a very hard decision that I have not taken lightly – I will miss my GCC staff family terribly - but as the saying goes “if you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat”.

It is my intention to remain highly involved with Lifeline. I would love to be one of the core members of our leadership team, I hope to be able to facilitate a girl’s small group next year, and I would still love to do girl’s events. I am not bowing out of Lifeline, just the AA position. If a job ever opens up that would fit my SHAPE, I would love to be considered for it.

Thank you so much for taking a chance on me 3 ½ years ago – I will always be grateful. I cherish all of the things that I’ve gotten to do, learn and experience over the years by being on staff with Lifeline. What an amazing and wild ride it has been and I will never forget it!

On Mission for Him,

Lanette Rajski

That was a REALLY hard thing to do, but in my heart there is no regret and no question that to get to the point where God is taking me, I have to "get out of the boat" and move to the next thing.

I'm really excited about my next steps. Right now the plan is to take some time off and really put Trent and Cody first. For the first time in our 16 years of marriage, Trent and I will be working toward the same goal, which will be to get his business whipped into shape before he has a heart attack with the stress. As far as Cody goes, he craves my attention and loves to hang out with me, so I am going to enjoy that while I can - he's almost 13, so I really only have a couple of good years left with him at home before he starts driving and getting his own life. During this time I will continue going to my Life Coaching school and working to get my license. Hopefully in about 2 years I will have my own practice up and running. (I'll post more later on Life Coaching).

So, right now it's kind of hard to close the door on this ministry and career that I have loved and worked so hard at, but I am totally confident that I am taking my next step toward where He wants me to be, and that's very exciting!

Shalom in the Home

I'm not a big TV watcher, but I am a sucker for shows that follow real life - American Idol is my current favorite and I was wondering what am I going to have to look forward on TV in a couple of weeks when it's all over.

Last night we just happened to have TLC on and a show came on called "Shalom in the Home" - so I decided to see what it was all about. OH MY GOSH, IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD - I LOVED IT!! I am now a Shmuley fan!

Rabbi Shmuley came from a broken family and went through a lot of pain when he was a kid. He vowed that he would grow up and make sure that other kids didn't have to experience the pain of divorce so he became a family counselor. Now he travels around the country looking for families to help. It's GREAT and I love the way the Rabbi Shmuley talks to his families he's working with. He brings some Jewish traditions and advice into it which is very interesting to me.

I love that Shmuley has taken the bad stuff from his childhood and has turned it into something that can help so many people. I LOVE SHMULEY.

If you want more info, click here HERE

A Surprise Lunch at P F Chang's

Yesterday Trent and I went to Midway to pick up his Mom and Hank. She called about the time we were passing downtown Chicago and said their flight was going to be a little late, so we decided to go into downtown for lunch. We LOVE P F Chang's (thanks Debbie) but I had no idea where it was. We decided to just drive and see what we could find and guess what - we drove right by it! What was even better was that there was an empty parking spot with money already on the meter just waiting for us - WOW!

I love when unexpected stuff happens like that! What a great day!!

You're going to WHAT?!

I just took Teddy in to be neutered - and I felt really bad leaving him there, the poor cat - he had no idea that he was about to become an "it".

I knew it was time to get this taken care of when I walked up into Cody's room last week and Teddy was getting very passionate with Cody's big teddy bear, Dudley. That was kind of traumatic and not something you want to see every day!

We're also getting him micro-chipped for an extra $30. I thought this was pretty important so that if he gets lost we can make sure that people can find where he belongs. When I told Trent he said "you mean I have to pay to make sure he comes back"? Him and Teddy have a "strained" relationship, but one of them will come around soon and I'm sure they will be best friends.