Thoughts of Spring Blog Party!

I just love blog parties!  They are a fun way to "meet" other bloggers, and possibly win some awesome prizes!!  Lynnette @ Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is hosting the "Thoughts of Spring Blog Party" this week.  To all of you hopping over from her site, WELCOME!

My name is Bethany, and this blog is an attempt to share my life experiences, the MANY lessons that God is teaching me along the way, and to brag (just a little) on my three amazing blessings, ages two and under.  I have been married to my husband for three and a half years, and love him more than any person on this earth.  He has been serving in different areas of ministry since we got married, and we have learned a LOT in that short time.  Ministry is not easy, but we are confident of God's call.  I stay at home with the babies, and am learning each and everyday the definition of love and patience.  :)

Just a few more random facts about me (because I know you're dying to know...):

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.) Are they right?  My husband said Faithfulness.  I hope he's right. :)

What is your comfort food/drink? Anything chocolate, and a cherry coke.

Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it? Well, right now I have a strong desire to learn how to sew, but we'll see how it goes! :)

Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres? There are some great action movies that I love, but if I have a choice, I almost always prefer something light-hearted and funny.

Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?  When I have time to read, I love historical fiction!

Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).  Trying to please everyone.

If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?  I would like to be back on the east coast, or with my friends in Nicaragua. :)

Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or some perform some other strange feat?  I really have no crazy, hidden talents.  I wish I did, I would be much more interesting! Haha!

What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).  Well, I guess I'm pretty good at math.

When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?  Talked more. Always.

If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in? I would probably still bargain shop at Target.

What movie or book character can you most relate to? The main character from The Measure of a Lady by DeeAnne Gist.


Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by, I'd love to "meet" you! :)

Stylish Blogger!

Last week, a sweet blogging friend Jill @ Pathway to Purpose passed on the Stylish Blogger Award to me.  It was such a crazy week I forgot to mention it!

Jill is always such an encouragement to me, I hope you will check out her site!  And while it was so sweet of her to pass this on to me, I have to say, I do not consider myself to be particularly stylish!  :)

Anyway, the rules for this are:

1.  Link back to the person who gave it with you

2.  Share seven things about yourself

3.  Pass it on to seven other stylish and trendy bloggers

4.  Let them know about the award!

Soooo...seven things about me:

1.  I married my high school sweet heart after dating for almost five years.  <3

2.  I love, LOVE cherry coke.  I have probably said this before, but I'll say it again. :)  The other day I was reading this post on Stuff Christians Like. Creating Your Own "Love Language."  (Go read it, it's hilarious!).  So my husband and I starting talking about what our love language would be, and I said mine would be a cherry coke from Sonic.  Yup, nothing says love like showing up with a Sonic drink to make everything better.  :)

3.  I love to read historical fiction (especially Philippa Gregory) but I never have time anymore.  Shocking, I know!  But I have a whole pile of books to read as soon as I get the time to get caught up!

4.  I have a passion and a love for the people of Nicaragua, and I have been there three times to share the Gospel.  I also have some very special friends who live there and are serving right now.  Check out their site and please be in prayer for the work that they are doing!

5.  Some of my favorite t.v. shows are Friends, Glee and Psych.  And I just realized I have all of them on DVD, so I guess I really do like them!  There are not many shows (or movies, for that matter) that I can watch over and over and over.  But I could definitely watch these all day long!  

6.  I am currently reading Daily Readings from the Life of Christ v. 3, by John MacArthur.  It's a simple daily devotional, but what I like about it is that it goes verse by verse through scripture.  One or two verses a day.  I would highly recommend it!

7.  It took me a solid half hour (maybe longer? I'm not really sure...I took a break to get a cookie and some milk...) to think of seven things to share about myself.  Man, should it really have been that hard??

And now, I am supposed to pass this on to seven stylish bloggers.  But honestly, I don't really have the time or the energy to share seven blogs and then contact all of them.  (After all, I just spent way too much time making my about me list...).  So instead, I will just share two of my very dear in real life friends who each have a sweet and beautiful blog.  :)  Maybe they will pass it on to seven others!!

Katie @ Simply Sweet

Brittany @ Naturally Estes

Enjoy!  

Back to Blogging-Day 5!

Just a reminder, today is the last day of the SITS Girls Back-to-Blogging Event.  A special thank you to the wonderful sponsors: Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.  

Ok, so this week was a little crazy, and I missed day 4.  Oops!  But I want to finish the week strong, so here's my post for day 5.  Today's topic: Why do you blog?

Great question.  And really, one that I haven't addressed since I first started blogging.  So I guess now is as good a time as ever to think about why it is that I do this, especially considering I am not (I repeat am NOT) a writer.  I have never considered myself to be a writer, or even a particularly articulate person.  But I AM the mother of many small children (Soon to be three under two.  Yes, you read that right.  Three babies under two).  And as the mother of small children, I don't get out much.  Shocking, I know. 

Being very much a type-A personality, going from staying busy and going non-stop, to not being able to get out and do anything and everything that I want can sometimes make me feel hindered. This is particularly true when it comes to serving the Lord.  I like to be involved at church.  I like to help with the kids, and sing in the choir, and go to bible studies and teach bible studies, and work with the youth.  But now that my priority is at home and is to take care of my kids, my participation and involvement is much more limited. 

I have found, however, that through blogging, I can still have an outlet to share the things that God is teaching me.  I can still reach out to others, even if I can't actually get out of the house.  I can share our hurts and struggles,  joys and praises, and give all the glory to God for others to see.

First and foremost, this is why I blog.  To share the joy and peace that I have in Jesus Christ.

And yes, I realize that I do not have thousands and thousands of readers, but even if only one person can be encouraged by reading what God has taught me through our trials and tribulations, then it was worth saying and writing on this blog.

And as an added bonus, I can show off my adorably precious babies, and chronicle our life so our friends and family can share in it and keep up with us.  Because now that we're in Texas, we don't live near a single family member.  And although reading about the kids and looking at cute pictures is not the same as being with them in person, it's something.  :)  

(Disclaimer: this blog is in NO WAY a substitute for real, personal relationships! I do still hang out and talk to and pray with people in real life!) 

So that's a little about me!  There are practically as many reasons for blogging as there are blogs, so tell me, why do YOU blog?

Scavenger Hunt!

UPDATE:
Ladies, I will probably not be participating in the scavenger hunt, but my family and I could truly use your prayers right now.  I gave birth to my son this morning (November 11) at 1:21 am.  He was almost 12 weeks early, and is now in the NICU at our local Children's Hospital.  He is doing about as well as can be expected so far, even breathing on his own without a ventilator, which is great, but he has a very long way to go.  It will be a long stay in the NICU, and I'm sure a stressful time for our family.  Please keep him in your prayers, that he will keep on fighting as strong as he is so far.  I will try to post updates/pictures often.  Thanks, Bethany 

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife is hosting a super fun scavenger hunt for all of us Pastor's Wives.  Here are my answers to some fun "about me" questions.  Let the hunt begin!!

1.  First Name.  Bethany

2.  State and Country of Residence.  Texas, USA

3.  Husband’s Ministry Title.  Minister of Music

4.  Length of time in Current Ministry Location. We have been at our church in TX for about 17 months.

5.  Children?  If yes, give gender and ages.  Yup!  One beautiful daughter, 10 months, and one son, currently on the way.

6.  Number of unique  homes in which you’ve lived during your marriage.   Well, one apartment, then a friend's basement, then a duplex, then the first home we ever bought, where we are now! So I guess that would be 4?

7.  Cook Sunday lunch or eat out?  Um, if given the choice, the answer will always be eat out.  I am still trying to learn to like cooking. 

8.  Typically on time for Sunday School or not?  Definitely NOT if I am driving myself and daughter.  But now that we drive as a family, we arrive about an hour BEFORE it starts (Yay for being a PW!).  And then I end up being the only one on time.  :)

9.  Favorite TV Show.  Friends.  I have almost every season on DVD.  Is it ok to admit that?

10.  Something you watch/like/do that you would never tell the church people. (Except now you just did…lol) Well, I guess besides watching Friends, I would never want people to know how lazy I often am during the day.  Sometimes it is the middle of the afternoon before I get a shower.  But at least I get a shower, right? 

11.  Most annoying church-related pet peeve.  Sharing other people's "prayer requests."  aka using prayer requests as an excuse to gossip.

12.  One thing you need to throw away but can’t bring yourself to do it.  Well, I'm a little bit of a pack-rat (thanks, dad) so there are probably a lot of things in my house that need to be thrown away.  One thing that comes to mind, though, are receipts.  I tend to keep every single receipt ever, most of which I have absolutely no need for.  I'm working on keeping receipts til the end of the month, then sorting through them and throwing out any that we don't need.  It's a work in progress.  

13.  The one food you can not live without.  French fries.  Preferably from McDonalds.  (Or Chick-fil-A).  It's often the only thing I can stomach while pregnant.

14.  Parsonage or have your own home?  My own home!

15.  Freak when the doorbell rings or always ready for a visitor?  Probably freak a little.  I try to keep the house clean, but if anything is out of place, I do NOT want anyone to see.  I'd much rather have a chance to prepare and be ready for visitors.  

Just one more thing I would like to share with other PW's (or anyone else, really).  A friend shared this video with me the other day, and it was just too hilarious not to pass on!

Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pastors

Blog Party Introduction!

This week, Lynnette Kraft at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is hosting the Harvest of Friends Blog Party!  If you would like to participate, create a post introducing yourself, link to the party via her blog, and then go explore other fun blogs and make some new blogging buddies!!  It's going to be a great time!  (p.s. Feel free to use all, some or none of the 20 questions below to help us get to know you a little better!)

So, I guess I will introduce myself now.  I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and try my best to live a life that honors Him.  I am married to my high school sweetheart who is the Music Minister at our church.  We have one beautiful baby girl, and are now expecting baby number 2, a little boy.  We are still trying to finalize his name, but once we do we don't tell anyone because we like for something to be a surprise, which drives all our friends CRAZY.  :)  We also have a slightly neurotic cat who thinks he's a dog, and keeps us pretty entertained.

I went to school at the BEST school in the country, James Madison University, and received a degree in Mathematics and Teaching.  I then spent one whole semester teaching high school before going on maternity leave and staying home with my baby.  I am contemplating going back, but change my mind every other day.  While at JMU, I marched with the award-winning Marching Royal Dukes, because, yes, I am a band geek, and I'm not afraid to admit it!  

I suppose I could go on and on about myself, but for now I'll leave it at that and answer some of these fun and silly questions:

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging?  Honestly I don't usually eat while on the computer, but if I am snacking, it is probably a bag of chips.

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?  Ok, I'm going to cheat a little and say two things- my family and my bible.

3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?  BEACH- I'm from the beach (in Virginia) and miss it terribly.  I also miss the beautiful beaches of Nicaragua.

Morgan's Rock, where we spent our honeymoon

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?  Cleaning the bathroom...

5. Who do people say you remind them of?  I used to hear Katie Holmes a lot...although I have to say I do not see a resemblance at all.

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam?  99% of the time I would rather just spend time with my family.  I'm not usually a social butterfly.

7. What's your all time favorite movie?  Wow, I have a lot of favorites, but one of them is definitely Gone With the Wind.

8. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night?  Well, being a Mary Kay consultant, I better say I always remove it :) (But honestly, I am 6 months pregnant and tired all the time...so every once in a while, I sleep in my makeup...)

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?  I definitely do not have any hidden talents, but I do own a guitar that I would LOVE to be able to play one day!!

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?  Again, no hidden talents...but I am good at math, which is probably strange to some people!

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?  How different he was from all the other guys I knew.  He was passionate about what he believed, and I really admired that.

12. What is something you love to smell?  My husband's shaving cream or hair gel.

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.  Hmm...I can't think of anything right now...I'll ask my husband, I'm sure he can name some things! haha

14. When you have extra money (HA!) what's the first thing you think to do with it?  My first instinct would be to buy something for my daughter, or for our house, but then I know the responsible thing to do is to use it to pay off debt.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?  I think I am only a loud laugher when something is really really funny.  Like an episode of the Office or Psych

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?  Target.

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?  Go on walks with my family.

18. Are you a big spender or frugal? Definitely frugal.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time (from a movie or book)? (Can't be real)  The main character in the book "The Measure of a Lady," by DeeAnne Gist (Can't remember her name right now).  I can relate to her a lot.

20. Would you want to be famous?  As a Christian, I would like to have that kind of influence to be able to reach more people, but that would be a lot of responsibility and I'm not really sure I could handle it.

Hope you will join in the party as well!