I really wanted to take this jeep offroading, but you have to let the guides drive - what fun is that?!

Here's Beth falling of the huge rock at the vortex.

On Wednesday a.m. in Sedona we got up at 4:50 a.m. and hiked down the mountain about a mile to watch the sunrise over the red rocks at the vortex. We climbed up a huge rock and sat at the top. A vortex is a special place where some people can actually feel the earth's magnetic pull - Beth said she could feel a vibration in her heart - I didn't feel anything. I was totally overwhelmed with the beauty and magnificence - the mountains were all around us - it was unbelievable!

Here's Beth "chillin" in the dessert. It was really hot - about 108 degrees - luckily this trail wound around to the beautiful stream below.

This is a stream we hiked along on Wednesday in Sedona.

Here's Beth's backyard - it's gorgeous. It was like being at a fancy resort! Over to the right is a table with all around seating inside the pool (to play cards on or whatever) and in the back, far right, is a beautiful natural rock waterfall. The umbrella in the shallow part of the pool is really cool too!

I'm in Phoenix with my friend Beth!

Very early Monday morning (like, 4:30 a.m. early) my wonderful husband drove me to the SBN airport to go visit my best friend Beth in Phoenix. She moved almost a year ago and we have not gotten to spend a whole lot of time together since she's moved. It was SO GREAT to see her when I got off the plane - I've been here for 3 days now and we haven't stopped talking once (except to sleep).

We just got done spending 2 days in Sedona ( we just got back) and it was AMAZING!!! Amazing conversation, amazing scenery, amazing energy, amazing food, amazing everything! I can't wait to post pictures for you.

Last night we stayed up on the side of a red rock mountain at a charming place called "Sky Ranch" with an unbelievable view. At 5:00 a.m. this morning I woke Beth up and we walked down the mountain about a 1/2 mile to one of the vortex's (not exactly sure what that is except that it's a place where some people can feel the magnetic pull and energy of the earth). The view of the sunrise was exquisite and it is something I will remember forever. Beth could actually feel the vortex - like a vibration or a flutter in her heart - and the weird thing is that ever since then she loves the color lime green. Everything she bought today was lime green - hmmmmm!

I think we're going to go float in the pool now (I know, it's a hard life) - I'll get pictures posted soon!

Some of my favorite students!

Here are some of my FAVORITE students in the whole world! They are all seniors and will be heading off to college in the fall. I have SO enjoyed my time with them and have loved every minute of watching them "grow up" over the years. I can't wait to see what's next for them.

I don't have a picture of my Lindsey - the one we took didn't turn out - so I'll post one from Chick Nite shortly and tell you more about her.

This is Ryan McGann - a Penn Graduate. I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico with him and he cracked us up the whole time. Even to this day, whenever we go over a speed bump Cody yells out "Tope" (you had to be there to know what that's all about. Ryan is going to Purdue and doing something amazing with robotics - he's really smart!

This is Jim Ralstin - also a Penn graduate. I have had some great times with Jim - we've gone on a mission trip together, I got to attend his Eagle Scout ceremony and I also was proud to witness his Senior exit project (which was excellent by the way)! If I had a daughter, this is the kid I would want her to marry! Jim is off to Bethel college this fall and he's thinking about coming back to Lifeline to be a leader - that would be awesome!

This is Albert Lacey (his sister Elizabeth is on the left, but she's not a senior - I get to keep her around for a couple more years). Albie went to Monterrey, Mexico with us last year and was an amazing part of the team. I'm so glad I had that experience with him. Albert is a computer and techie genius kind of guy - he already has his own business, so I think that he is pursuing that instead of college. This kid is amazing!

A Belated Birthday Pedicure!

This is my friend Erin and I getting a pedicure together. Erin had never had one done before, so I took her for her belated birthday present. It was VERY relaxing and our feet were very happy! I know you're wondering why my foot modeling career never took off - right?

A new picture for my blog !

This is GREAT!

I stole this from Becky's website, which I usually don't do, but it was too good to pass up.

Click Here!

If only I would have watched this 2 days ago when I was having a bad day, it would have made my day so much better!

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.

Here's something that God has been working on with me lately and this morning I found it perfectly worded in the book Captivating, by Stasi Eldredge:

You are a woman - an image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced and the passionate desire of your lover, Jesus.

You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power, and you are needed!

You speak to the world of God's mercy, mystery, beauty, and his desire for intimate relationship. The eyes of his heart are ever upon you. The King is captivated by your beauty.

You are meant to grace the world with your dance, to follow the lead of Jesus WHEREVER he leads you. He will lead you first into himself; and then, with him, he will lead you into the world that he loves and needs you to love.

His gaze is fixed on you. He is smiling. He cares nothing of the opinion of others. He is standing. He will lead. Jesus is extending his hand and inviting you "May I have this dance . . . every day of your life?"

Ladies, this is an invitation for every one of us - are you ready to dance? I am!!!

I Lost!!!

I lost my tennis match - I think I jinxed myself by putting it on my blog!

The match started out good - I won the first game fast - then my opponent got serious and we battled it out really hard. The first set was sad - 6 to 1 (me being the "1"). The next set I focused even more, used a ton of strategy, and I started out strong. We were neck in neck and I almost had her - we were headed for a tiebreaker so that I could have the second set and at least I could have said we tied - when I threw the last game away - every single ball I hit went out of the court - and I LOST - UGGGHHHHH.

It was at that moment that I SNAPPED and went completely psycho - I don't know what happened to me. I threw my beautiful new Wilson N Code racquet across the court, grabbed my water bottle and headed up to the net. As she came up to gloat and tell me "great game", I just emptied my water bottle right in her face.

She was shocked for a second, but then she grabbed me by the hair and pulled me right over the net - then it was on and we went at it hard. The girls from the other courts came running over and had to pry us off of each other - it was nasty. Roger who runs the South Bend Racquet Club came out yelling and told me that my membership was officially terminated. When I heard that, I turned on Roger and tackled him right on the tennis court and demanded my money back for the remainder of the season . . . . ha ha, got ya! Did you really think that I would do that?! None of the last 2 paragraphs is true!

All of that was just to take your mind off the fact that I lost and am no longer undefeated - but I don't really care, we had a great match. Afterward, my opponent and new friend Minde and I sat around and talked about God, church and babies. We had a great time playing each other and to be totally honest she deserved to win - she's a better player than I am - but I'll get her next season!

Undefeated . . . so far

Some of you know that I LOVE to play tennis (and if you didn't, you know now). I took the sport up late in life, I started about 6 years ago. Since then I have played off and on on leagues, but just recently I started playing competitive singles in a league on Thursday mornings, and let me tell you, it was a stretch - I had never played singles before and it is TOUGH!

The first season I played I got my bootie kicked all over the place - it was very sad. The second season, I made some improvement and started holding my own. This season, my third, I decided to get really serious and bring my average up. Well, we are almost done with the season and I AM UNDEFEATED - can you believe it?!

So I have 3 more players in the league to battle and they are all very, very good. I'm excited to see if I can remain undefeated today. Before I always went for fun and exercise (did you know you can burn off 650 calories from playing an hour and a half of hard tennis?) - but now I just want to win! I'll let you know what happens.

I'm such an . . .

This is a public apology to my dear friend Erin Koczan for missing her birthday. It doesn't mean I don't love you - it just confirms my adult ADD. Sorry for being such a, well, you know . . . I love you and hope you had a wonderful day!

My day off (Monday)

Monday is my day off (normally) and I LOVE my Mondays because I get to stay home and do stuff around the house - in fact, I call it my "Domestic Day". I have the house all to myself and I usually get to have a GREAT quiet time in the a.m. without having to rush around anywhere. Sometimes I take a nap and sometimes I don't even take a shower or get dressed until right before Trent gets home!

Yesterday was a little different, I got to play tennis in the a.m. with my good tennis buddy Denise, who I just love to be around. She's the only person I know that when I get a great serve and ace her she apologizes to me - she's just an all around nice girl - except when she's beating me!

In the afternoon I went and picked Cody up from school to go to an orthodontist appointment with Dr. Long. We've already been to one orthodontist, but we wanted to check out a couple before we committed. We realy liked Dr. Long and he came highly recommended.

Yes - Cody is getting braces, but the good news is that he doesn't need them for very long, probably just about a year or so. Here's the not so good news, I have to get braces too, so we've been going through this together. Can you even believe that I'm 40 years old and have to get braces with my 12 year old? UGGHHHHH. I have some problems with my jaw and a crossbite that is getting worse as I get older, so if I don't want to look like a freak when I'm 55, I need to get it taken care of. The bonus is that I will have a much better smile when they're done, and I have always dreamed of having a nice smile that I'm not ashamed of. So that's the silver lining that I'm going to hang onto.

After the appointment Cody and I went to the mall so that he could spend some of his report card money (he's very smart so the deal that he made with his Dad about getting $20 for every A is really killing his Dad's cash flow). We went to Pac Sun and got to see Hilary Ballard, which was a great treat - I love that girl and miss her so much! It ended up that they were having a really good sale - we walked out with new shoes, new jeans and a new shirt for Cody, but he didn't spend any money - I have no idea how that happened except that he's totally spoiled and lucky he's an only child!

Then it was off to my niece and nephews house to give them their birthday presents (which we bought at Pac Sun). Josh and Kayle turned 14 - I can't believe how grown up they are - It seems just like yesterday that they were born. They are GREAT kids and I love them so much!

Trent came home and we cooked dinner on the grill together and had some great chat time. We had a nice family dinner (I always fix a good meal on Mondays) and then Trent and I got in the hot tub after dinner and watched the sun set on the river. It was a really nice day - Mondays are awesome!

Breathtaking

A Prayer from my journal this morning . . .

God, you are BREATHTAKING and BREATHGIVING. Everything I have comes from you - every DESIRE that I have is yours.

You are more BEAUTIFUL and LOVING than I could ever IMAGINE or DREAM.

I LONG to know you and follow after your amazing and beautiful HEART.

BREATHE your life into me and make me the person that you CREATED me to be.

A Great Weekend

After a pretty tough week last week, we were blessed with a great weekend. Since the weather was so nice we headed up to the shack at Silver Lake to get it opened and cleaned up for Spring.

The first weekend up is usually no fun because it's normally cold and rainy and we have to work our booties off all weekend - cleaning, raking, washing windows, turning everything on, etc. This weekend the weather was gorgeous and we got EVERYTHING done that we needed to do. Now the next time we come up we can just have fun! We are a month ahead of schedule, normally we don't get this stuff done until right before Memorial Day weekend -woo hoo! (Thanks to our friend Gary who headed up the horrible job of wet leaf raking and even has the blisters to prove it).

Todd, Brenda, Nicole and Aaron - and Bob and Denise - our dear friends that we hang out with all summer were up too. Todd is our friend who went into cardiac arrest last fall and was revived - the doctors thought for sure he would be brain damaged because he was without oxygen for a very long time. He is doing really good and only suffers from some short term memory loss - a true miracle. We all have gotten so close over the summers - we do everything together - and it was so great to be together again!

On Sunday we got up at 5:00 a.m., got dressed for church and headed home to catch the 8:45 service at GCC. We made really good time, but we cut it just a little too close and didn't make the 8:45 so we went to 10:15 instead. It was a great service and a great way to start Easter Sunday.

Then my side of the family got together and went to Doc Pierce's for family dinner and it was very, very good and not busy at all. They all came back to my house for an Easter egg hunt for my little niece Ariana and dessert. My cousin Matt and his girlfriend Kristin made a family announcement that they are going to have a baby in October, so that is very exciting that we're going to have another new baby in the family!

Sunday night Trent and I sat on the couch and watched "The Wedding Date" (not sure if I liked it or not - it was kind of weird, but there were some quotes from it that I really liked). Even though I was really looking forward to a Sunday night home with my boys, I wasn't really relaxed because I kept feeling like I should be somewhere (Lifeline) or doing something.

When I look back on the weekend, nothing extraordinary happened, but what made it a great weekend was spending time with people that I love and care about - I am learning that that is truly what life is all about!

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.

And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.

And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.

Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure.

But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."

John 3:16-19 The Message

You are my friends and the greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them

Jesus speaking to us in John 15:13-17

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

This is my command: Love each other.

Clarify what you want to have, do and be

Most of our choices fall into 3 categories. We can:

* Increase our material wealth (what we have).
* Improve our skills and expand the range of our activities (what we do).
* Develop our being (who we are).

Most people devote an entire lifetime to the first 2 categories. For example, many act as if they are "human havings" instead of human beings. For them, the quality of life hinges on what they have, and they devote most of their waking hours to getting more things. Human havings define themselves by the circumstances of their lives.

Some people escape the materialist trap by adding another dimension to their identities. In addition to living as human havings, they also live as "human doings". Their goal is to do everything well. They define themselves by how well they do their jobs, how active they are and how well they raise their children, etc. Their thoughts and goals are constantly about actions - methods, techniques and skills.

What if we lived our lives as "human beings" - what if we gave as much or more attention to our being - an aspect of our lives that goes beyond doing and having. What if we really focused in on our soul - our passion, purpose and values and lived out our life in the way that God created each and every one of us to do.

Our lives would be drastically different - the world would be radically different.

We are more than just human havings or human doings. We are human beings.

Who are you deep down inside and who do you want to be?

Idea taken from the book "Falling Awake" by Dave Ellis

The Rajski Spring Break Vacation '06

On Thursday a.m. we headed out to catch our plane to Ft. Myers to go visit Trent's Mom for a week in Naples, Fl. It was a great week of lots of sun, sand, surf and relaxation. We can't wait for Spring Break next year! Following are some highlights of our trip.

Saturday - Sea Kayaking to a little island

My baby - he's so darn cute!

An "artsy fartsy" picture I took back in the mangroves

Trent and his Mom, Emma on the beach in Naples

Sunday - Breakfast on Marco Island and Offshore Fishing

This is Cody, Trent and Lanette heading out to go fishing for shark, grouper and whatever else we can catch. Hope we catch something big and tasty for dinner!

We didn't catch any fish, but we got to hand feed a wild dolphin!

This was amazing! A wild 400 lb. bottlenose dolphin would circle the boat waiting for us to catch fish. When we caught them, he would come up to the boat and wait for us to feed him. He was so gorgeous and even though we didn't catch any good fish to eat, we had a great trip!

This is deep sea fishing? I've caught bigger fish in the pond off of our deck at home!

Monday thru Wednesday - The Bahamas

On Monday Trent and went on a little romantic get away to the Bahamas for 3 days and it was AWESOME (Cody stayed with Grandma and Hank). It was extremely relaxing and I can't wait to go back again someday! We'll definitely be dreaming about this place next winter.

This is the inn we stayed at called "A Stone's Throw Away"

This is a beautiful 10 room Bed and Breakfast that is just a year old. It is made to look like an old Bahamian mansion, it sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean on the quiet side of the island, and it is absolutely the most peaceful and beautiful place we've ever stayed at. I would HIGHLY recommend it. The staff treat you like royalty - they even have a chef that makes you anything you want every a.m. for breakfast. Our favorite was the Bahamian coffee and the french toast made out of home made coconut bread - yummmmm!

Trent and I on the "honeymoon seat" in the front of our ferry boat to Paradise Island

The back of the Atlantis hotel from our ferry boat

This is the closest I'll probably ever get to Nicholas Cage (or rather his boat)

Paradise!

Our own private little pool with a waterfall - we're putting one of these baby's in our backyard!

This was the view right outside our window

On the beach in the Bahamas

Thursday - Cody at the Skate Park - just a few blocks from the gulf

It's the end of another great visit to Mom and Hank's house

Middle: Hank
Left to right: Emma (Trent's Mom), Cody, Trent Lanette

We're Back!

We're back from vacation and we had an AWESOME time! The weather in Naples, FL was incredible - sunny and in the 80's every single day. The 3 days we spent in the Bahamas was amazing too - we couldn't ask for any better weather! The best part was that we had lots and lots of quality family time - we went deep sea fishing and got to hand feed a 400 lb wild bottlenose dolphin, we rented sea kayaks and found our own private beach to spend the day on, we played tennis together almost every day, my mother in law cooked for us and spoiled us every single day, we ate a ton of food that was bad for us but tasted really good and we took lots of family walks. It was GREAT! I'll post pics as soon as Cody loads them on the computer.

♥ Happy Birthday Trent! ♥

You are my best friend and the love of my life, there is no one else I'd rather be with.

I love spending time with you, you are so much fun and you make me laugh.

My favorite part of every day is waking up next to you and then having coffee time together.

You are everything to me and I appreciate the life you've made for us.

I love you very much and hope that we have another 50 exciting years together (that would make us pretty old).

Starbuck's Wisdom

They told you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What they failed to tell you is that it is best seen with the eyes closed.

What you look like isn't important.

What is important is who you are inside and the choices you are making in your life.

-- Tiana Tozer

Starfish

One night, on a sandy beach, a terrible storm started. It rained. The wind blew so hard that it shook the houses along the beach.

The next morning was foggy and gloomy. Many starfish had washed up on the beach. A man named Buck walked out on the beach to look around. Peering into the mist he saw a young man walking along the beach. He was tall and slender. Buck saw him throwing starfish back into the ocean

Buck walked up to the young man and said, "Why are you throwing those starfish back into the ocean? They'll just wash back up on the beach again. It doesn't matter."

Without a word the young man bent over, picked up a starfish, and threw it with all his might. It went way out in the ocean. The young man turned to Buck and said, "It mattered to that one."

I know this poem is kind of corny, but working in youth ministry I HAVE to come back to it often. Sometimes there is SO MUCH going on with my students that it seems IMPOSSIBLE to help them. That's when I remember this corny story about the starfish and it motivates me to keep plugging along and keep making a difference.

You would be shocked at what Corey, John and I deal with every week with our Lifeline kids. Whatever you can imagine, just multiply it by about 100 and that might give you an idea what our kids here in our church (not in some big city like Chicago) are dealing with. The job is too big for just a full time youth director and 2 part time people. It is impossible.

But I know that my God is bigger than all that.

So when I'm knee deep in the "water" trying to pick up just one or two little starfish and get them back to safety - I know that God is telling me "it mattered to that one, and it matters to me".

5 days and counting . . .

In 5 days we leave for Spring Break and I can't wait! We will be leaving on Thursday and going to visit Trent's Mom in Naples, FL. We ALWAYS have such a great time with her and Hank and their friends. Plus, I get to play tennis just about every day!

On Monday a.m., Trent and I are driving over to Ft. Lauderdale to hop a plane for a romantic get away to the Bahamas for 2 nights. At first I really wanted to stay at the Atlantis (the SUPER HUGE hotel on Paradise Island), but while waiting to see if I could get any deals at the last minute to stay there, I found this place. It's a little 10 room bed and breakfast on the quiet side of the island and it is perfect!

It's called "A Stone's Throw Away" and it's up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It has it's own private beach and a beautiful small pool with a waterfall. In the morning when you get up there's a chef stationed out on the porch who will cook anything you want for breakfast. You can check it out HERE. Three whole days of romance with my hubby and best friend Trent - I CAN'T WAIT!

Holy Cow . . . I'M GOING TO INDIA!

Yes - you read that right - I'm going to India (not Indiana). I am scared to death, but really, really excited at the same time!

I will be going with a team of around 30 people from GCC at the end of October to spend 10 days in Chennai, Southern India to help rebuild homes in the tsunami-affected communities throughout the area. (We'll be doing this in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity)!

I remember a year and a half ago when the tsunami hit and I felt so sad and helpless - my heart just broke for the people there. I can't believe that God has opened this door and that I actually get a chance to go over there and help them - to have my fingerprint in a part of history while at the same time taking Jesus with me and helping to advance his kingdom! WOW - God is sooooo good!!

There is a team that just got to India yesterday that is there doing training so that our team in October will be extra effective. Go check it out HERE.

Heart 2 Heart

We started a new girl's group at Lifeline last week called "Heart 2 Heart" and I'm so excited about it. My friends Colleen Sweeney and Stephanie Weber are helping me lead it and a bunch of my other awesome female leaders are helping too.

It is a 7 week journey through "Captivating" along with a really cool journal the girls fill out to help them learn more about themselves. It's not a book study - I give them an interactive lesson every week about what the book talks about (they can read the book if they want, which I recommend). We had a great turn out last week , and we played some fun games to get to know each other. I'm really excited to see them again and learn more about them this Sunday.

This week we're talking about some great stuff - how we (women) were created in God's image and through our hearts He shows a part of himself. Also that God is an amazing artist - while He was putting creation into being it kept getting more intricate and more beautiful - and what did he choose to save for last - what is his final, most beautiful and intricate work? It's WOMAN - WE ARE THE CROWN OF CREATION! Us girls need to hear and know how truly beautiful we are - because mostly we are told we are either "too much" or "not enough" by the media, the men in our lives, our loved ones, etc.

I know that God has big plans for every one of these beautiful girls and women that have joined this journey and I can't wait to see what happens. If you're reading this and you are a high school student, you can still jump in with us - you can even bring a friend or an adult woman to join you. Just show up at 4:00 at GCC - we'll be downstairs in the Great Room! We have a great surprise at the end of the class on Sunday - so don't miss it!

Wow - I've been so busy blossoming I haven't had time to do any blogging! It's been a crazy few days. Here's random stuff that's been going on:

• I had the flu Saturday and Sunday - yuck! But thanks to my Seaweed Essentials, Vitamin C and the avocado that I eat religiously, I was able to kick it in less than 24 hours.
• My cat Teddy was missing for 2 days and I was pretty sad. Sunday night we got a phone call around 10:00 p.m. (during the thunderstorm) that he was over in the next neighborhood. We told them not to worry, as soon as it stopped raining he would come home. Well, he never came home and luckily on Tuesday a.m. a lady called and said she put him in her screen porch, so I went and rescued him. I was really, really happy to have him back and I felt so bad that I didn't go get him Sunday night.
• Cody got to go on a 6th grade trip to Medeival Times in Chicago today - he was really excited about the food they serve - he told me "Mom - they give you a whole chicken to eat". Can you tell that he really loves food?
• Trent and I got to get away to the GCC overnight marriage retreat and we had a great time. We got to hang out with some of our old friends from small group that we never get to see, and we got to spend some quality time with Debbie and Corey. It was a lot different than the retreat we went to 7 years ago that we escaped in the middle of the night from (not a GCC retreat). Dr. Bob was awesome and we learned a lot of great tips to make our marriage better.
• I have a list at work of about 35 things that need to be done and I don't know exactly how I'm going to pull that off - But they are all really great things and I'm so excited to have so many opportunities. This time of year always speeds up because we are going into our final weeks of Lifeline for the school year. We've been running the race hard all year, but now it's time to kick it in the butt and finish strong!
• Cody amazed me last night by showing me a 2 page poem that he wrote. It's beautiful and profound (and no I'm not saying that because I'm his Mom) - you would never know that a 12 year old boy wrote it. Maybe he'll let me post it sometime.
• I've been very "relational" and "verbal" lately and I'm probably driving my boss Corey crazy, but it helps me work so much better.
• My dog is sitting here staring at me with drool running out of his chops watching me eat pretzels and dip.
• Trent and I are getting ready to go out on date night - we're going to go to Lowe's and pick out our new kitchen. Isn't that romantic?
• I was at the post office today and witnessed one of the rudest postal workers ever. Enough about that.
• We have been drinking Tim Horton's coffee every a.m. this week (like Starbucks but from Canada) thanks to our good friends Tristan and Amelia - thanks guys! We love it!
• My niece Ariana came over on Monday and we had a blast together. I love being the "fun" auntie and then sending her home all wound up! I convinced her there was a monkey living in my shower so she's been running around saying "monkey, get out"!
• We had a really great SWAT today (staff meeting at GCC). Mark Beeson was back from family vacation and we listed to each other tell stories about how they met Christ and how they've been changed. It was very inspiring to hear how so many lives have been totally transformed by Christ. I LOVE being part of a church that is helping people doing that!

Well, I could go on and on, but that's probably more than you really wanted to know!

I'm Blossoming Baby!

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin

This quote is EXACTLY where I am right now. After going to the student conference at Willow and then going to my new school this week, something intense and extraordinary has begun to be uncovered in me. I've known for a long time that I've been being pulled to change and risk, but it was more comfortable for me to stay in the "bud" where it feels safe than to believe in myself and risk the pain of failing, being rejected or being criticized for who I am. I really know now that being in the bud is much more painful than blossoming and it is truly killing me inside. I'm ready to take the risk and LIVE - really live!

I know that I'm at a crossroads right now and HUGE change is going to begin to take place in my life - God has designed so much more for my life and there's so much more He has out there for me. I am not truly being myself - I'm being what everyone else wants me to be and as of this moment, right now, I'm done - I'm truly done. I'M CHOOSING TO BLOSSOM BABY!

I'm choosing to embrace and uncover who God created me to be and I am going to honor him not by DOING, but by BEING . . . just being . . . being myself, being true, being honest, being aware, being in touch with my feelings, and being the beautiful human BEING that he created me to be.

I challenge anyone who is reading this to really think and ponder on these questions:

What areas of your life are you a "HUMAN DOING" instead of a "HUMAN BEING"?

Where are you staying in the "bud" when you know that you can blossom?

I'm back . . . and now I'm leaving again

I just got back from the Willow Creek Student Ministry Conference and it was incredible! I don't know why, but I didn't have really high expectations, but it ended up blowing me away. I went with my friend Lisa Baugher and we had a blast together. My favorite part of spending time with Lisa was when we kicked back and watched a chick flick together on Monday night (Just Like Heaven - it was a great movie and you gotta see it). Lisa has the BEST laugh and she's so much fun.

We also went with Corey and John Keim - and we had a lot of fun with them as well. Johnny got the flu on Monday and I felt really bad for him. Luckily he has age on his side and he recovered quickly and only missed the a.m. sessions on Tuesday. We got LOTS of great ideas, encouragement and we also got to worship with The David Crowder Band - AWESOME!

Now I'm off to Chicago to start my new school and my new career path. I think I'm still going to wait until I get back to make the formal announcement, just to make sure that this is where God is leading me. Don't worry (Lindsay), I'm not planning on leaving Lifeline yet - this new career can go hand in hand with what I am doing in youth ministry now, so the dream is to use my schooling to advance in my ministry at GCC.

Have a great weekend friends!