Juggling

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table this morning juggling. . .well, not juggling for real. . .but my own version. I got up early to take a run and get myself ready for the Bolder Boulder 10K. . . that I now have to run because I made it public of my intent yesterday on both my blog and facebook. I suppose there is no going back now. My coffee cup is almost empty and I am in need of a bit more brown water to get me into the afternoon hours. I just finished updating my facebook group, "church planting wives," which is turning into another great adventure. Emma is across the table doing her math. Claire, my second scholar, is beaming because she just finished school for the day, Olivia is begging for food and gum and ECO (the dog) keeps eating the girls toys and running under the bed to safety. It's a typical morning in the Colon household. . .

And in the middle of it all, I'm wondering. . .what is it that you are juggling today? People say to me all the time, "I don't know how you do everything that you do." That statement always hits me as seeming so odd. I know that I do a lot, but you do too. We all do a lot. Busyness is the status that most people carry around today. I'm not unlike you. The only thing that I can say that others might not be able to is this. . .I am busy with things that I love. I am busy with things that I am called to do. I am busy taking care of myself and my family. I am busy enjoying life. I am busy enjoying my kids and my husband and life. I have learned the art of saying "no." and it has paid off. Now I must admit. . .some days the busyness kicks my butt. . .even though I love what I do. I want to escape it all and hide under the covers with a box of chocolates and a good movie. But days like today I am rejoicing because life for me, as stressful as it can get sometimes, is just as it is intended to be. I love the peaceful feeling of that.

So. . .what do you need to add and subtract today to your "busyness" so that it can be just as God intended? What are you really intended to juggle? AND what do you need to do to find quietness in the middle of it all?

My Newest Goal

May 26. . .Bolder Boulder 10K Race

I have lived in Boulder County for almost 6 years now and I've never run the biggest race of the year. There has always been some excuse for me to wait until the next year. This year I'm not waiting any longer!

Wish me luck! I exercise all the time on the eliptical and doing pilates, but it has been quite a while since I have run far distance. So today. . .the running begins. Anyone want to join me?

Claire's Baptism

What a fun day! Claire was one of 6 who got baptized last Sunday. She was such a big girl and did a terrific job. She said the water was "super warm." We should have had a hot tub party after church! :-)

What Happened?

I'm really not as addicted to Starbucks as it may seem from reading my recent blogs. Really. It's just the world that I live in. In Superior I am surrounded by the lifestyle of technology, fitness, outdoors, "Green," $ (or lack of it) and yes. . .Starbucks.
It's the social hangout. It's were you go to meet your friends. It's where business men and women go to work and relax and get their next shot to help them through the day. It's where we do Bible studies and book clubs. It's culture. And yes, no matter how hard I try not to some days, I have learned pretty well how to morph into my Starbucks world.

I realized this in a huge way last night as I was confronted for the first time with the new Starbucks cup. Laugh and laugh as much as you wish, but I bet some of you reading this have experienced a similar shock if you have patroned your local Starbucks this week. This new cup bothered me so much that I had to do some research on it this morning. You can read my findings here if you care.

Anyway, to sum it up, Starbucks is going for the shock factor with their new cup. They are going retro to shake things up a bit. They are trying to create conversation. And obviously it is working. But what bothered me the most about my experience last night was how something as insignificant as a cup had such a quick and shocking effect on me. It's ridiculous. We are talking brown water here! And yet it struck something inside of me and I'm not completely sure why. Maybe because it rattled my predictable world.

So this morning I am thinking. . .how is it that something as insignificant as a cup of coffee can rattle me so much? And how is it that every day when I am faced with so many injustices - so much sadness around me - so many people in need and so many people without hope - those things don't prompt me to do something. Those things don't rattle me enough to Google them. Those things don't shake me enough to relentlessly strive to make a difference. But a cup of coffee. . .I can spend hours of useless time on that one. Doesn't make sense, does it?

I'm gonna think on this some more and add to this blog after I get some good answers. Until then, I'd love to hear your comments.

Jesus Smiling at Starbucks

So Kevin and I were on our date night on Tuesday. . . After a gourmet dinner at Chipotle :-)we found our way to Starbucks (the newest one in Superior - did you know that we now have 7 Starbucks in about 2 square miles from our house??) as usual. We really enjoy using this time to check up on each other. We ask questions like, "how is your week going?, "what has God been teaching you?, "how are we doing?" We get catch up on the girls as far as school and plans for the summer. We dream about the future. Yes, we often talk about church (but just for a brief time), and before the night is over something typically comes up about money. Yes, money. . .that thing that we never want to talk about.

So this week the conversation turned to money once again. My husband, who is mostly oblivious to the rising cost of food and gas, needed to be reminded to spend wisely. And as the conversation continued I shared with Kevin that in March we overspent in gas and groceries by about $200 (according to our budget). Most of you reading this blog knows just how easy that is to do lately. Anyway, we agreed to be very careful this month. And then Kevin went into his typical speech about how it's up to God to provide for us. It's up to him to keep us afloat. If He wants us to stay in Superior (which we know that he does), then He is going to take care of us. It's as easy as that. (BTW - Sometimes Kevin's faith makes me crazy!! Come on. . .worry a little bit with me, Kevin! :-)) So we vowed to continue to be wise and that was that. (Yet in my stomach I am always still a bit nervous even though God has provided in huge and small ways more times than I can count.)

Anyway - this is the point where I now know that Jesus was smiling at Starbucks - completely giddy at the event about to unfold. . .

A long story short. . .the very next morning as I was balancing my checkbook and paying monthly bills I opened what I thought would be a bill from the mortgage company. Instead it turned out to be a check for $256.00. We had overpayed in our escrow account and they were paying us back. That check had sat in a pile for at least 2 weeks unopened. I had no idea. But Somebody knew that there is a perfect time for everything. . .and once again, He provides. . .another lesson learned. Yep, another time Kevin was right. . .humph. . .