Grabbag

Be careful; you never know what you might read about in today's post...

*We have a future dancing queen on our hands, as we found out after church Easter Sunday while visiting the Myers in Virginia:

V also met a potential suitor on the visit:

Apparently she hasn't made her mind up about little boys yet. Her daddy is okay with that.

*Moving on to another random topic, I thought I was in fairly good shape after 2.75 months of Turbo Jam. Then I did a 15-minute Turbo Fire workout on Tuesday. I was wrong. I don't think I've ever had that much sweat dripping off of me in my life. I have been sore ever since. What was I thinking?

*Work has been a bit of a bear lately. It really is tempting to gag when a patient hands me a specimen in the waiting area of the ER and says, "By the way, there's a worm in this. But don't worry, it's not alive or anything." Really?? Somehow I don't feel like I signed up for this part of the job. (By the way, there really was a worm in it.)

Turbo what?

Beginning Monday, I'm going to be starting a new workout program. Turbo Jam has been fun, but I am ready to up my intensity level...I think. Here is a sample of what I've been doing:

I know the video is a little long, but that's YouTube for you. They don't even have a great video for Turbo Fire (what I start Monday) yet that isn't basically an infomercial, so I didn't bother to post it, but just think Turbo Jam on crack. I'm slightly nervous after watching a few of the videos, and will probably die next week, but I think it will help speed up my weight loss and I also think it will be a good challenge for my body, although there are definitely ways I could make Turbo Jam more intense. I have about 20 more lbs. to go to reach my final goal weight, which is exciting, and about 10 until I reach my pre-Verity weight. I also have biceps now, although I don't think you will be able to actually see them until my arm fat goes away. For a girl who's never been able to do a pull-up though, that's saying something!

Wait for daylight...

I guess it's been a little bit since I last posted. It seems like we're in the midst of a fairly stressful, trying season here in the Martin household and I just plain haven't had time to get on here lately. I keep waiting for things to slow down, which they don't, or for some sort of reprieve and it never comes. I shared with the girls in our community group tonight that I know I need to have a bigger perspective and look at this time in light of Romans 8:28-30, which is what we studied tonight, but quite frankly, I'm tired. I guess a step in that direction would be to focus on the blessings that God has given us during this time though, so here are a few of them:

*Joe and I both have jobs, and they provide decent health coverage. A lot of people don't have either of those things.

*One of us is able to be home with Verity for all but a few hours every week. We have been able to witness all of her, "firsts," and we haven't gone completely broke paying for daycare.

*We have great family and friends all over the country, and a very special spiritual family here in Louisville. We are so blessed to have so many people who love us both at Sojourn and from our previous church. They have been so supportive over the past two years as we've gone through an intense season of mourning into a season of joy and now a season of trial and struggles.

*God chose us, for some reason way beyond me, to be His children and to save us from our sin and the punishment we deserve for that sin. We have found mercy, grace, hope, and healing in the gospel and are becoming more like Christ every day, even though we don't always see it.

There is also the hope that we won't always live in this world that has been marred by sin but will one day be united fully with Christ in heaven, where there will be no suffering or sin or pain. The more trials and suffering I go through and the older I get, the more I look forward to this. I guess I didn't mean for this post to turn into a sermon or anything, but the more I reflect on the blessings in my life, the more I am pointed to Christ and what He has done for us on the cross. I guess that's appropriate seeing as it's Good Friday and Easter this week...and it would be appropriate even if it weren't. :)