Routine & Mission

How is it so easy to neglect the blog?

I think part of the reason is that Paul and I have been settling into a routine - or at least a routine that defines this season of our life together. I am working part-time at my new stressless job for 20 hours a week and then interning with a school counselor 20 hours a week. Currently my class load is light, however I am also meeting weekly with a group of ladies to begin studying for the comprehensive exam we need to pass in order to receive our degree this year.

Paul continues to work too hard and has also been taking part in a ministry at church called Counseling in Community. We have also started a new (but familiar) community group that is closer to our home and affiliated with our church campus.

Did I mention we wake up around 4:30am Monday through Friday? Our other new routine is Waffles on Saturday - which has been a fun way to start our morning weekends together!

Some parts of our routine are new, but fit into a mission that we are trying to develop for ourselves as a married couple. As we have been talking about mission with each other, I have also had the theme show up in a book I am currently reading.

I have been reading Love & War by John & Stacey Eldridge. Though I have to admit I started the book before we got married, lost it for a couple months, and once found - I have been reading it very slowly. One paragraph though, that struck me on mission goes like this:

"It was not by accident, mere chemistry, sexual attraction, or some bizarre alignment of the stars that we had been drawn together and gotten married. It was planned in the heart of God. We were made for each other. God had brought us together for a reason; the whole of who we were - our life experiences, our unique desires, our spiritual gifts, our talents, even the man and woman that we were on the road to becoming - all this fit together in a way that made sense. We had a purpose, we shared a calling; we needed each other."

Right now, we are still asking God questions about our mission. We have had doors opened to us as we're sorting things out. We know that service, community, and mentoring are important components for both of us. Sometimes when I think about mission - I think about a cheezy corporate mission statement that is meant to rally the troops and keep them motivated. I guess Paul and I do not necessarily need to be rallied, but motivation is important because it is easy to get bogged down by the world. A mission statement for us is a reminder that we are in this together and that we are seeking the specific mission God has for us to share in.

Well, that is a brief update from the Paul + Charity Show!