2012...Resolutions...Goals...Aims...Wants

I hate setting myself up for rebellion. Making resolutions kind of does that for me. I don't believe that rules are made to be broken, but if I can find small ways to break rules, it feeds the rebel in me. So resolutions are quickly broken, not because I can no longer follow through or no longer care, but because it is a small rebellion that really harms no one.
But I do have areas that I want to move toward change in my life in 2012. I feel like sharing those changes even in small ways like in a blog or to my Bible study group holds me accountable. So here is my list:

1) Discipline - I have always been somewhat of a free-spirit. I don't keep a calendar or planner. I am rarely on time, and I often don't think to do basic things. My husband says I live in my own little world (which used to offend me, but now I embrace as part of the unique way God made me). Discipline is hardly a character trait that I naturally possess but having studied discipline a little in one of our Bible studies last year, I realized it is a character trait of God. Jesus is my model in this life. I am chasing after Christ-likeness, so I want to be disciplined. There are several areas in my life I need to strive to be disciplined in. I have a list that began with food and exercise and is moving on to deeper, more difficult areas...specifically prayer and spending.

2) Missional - God has touched my heart and awakened a real awareness and outrage over slavery. I am committed to learning, listening and following the Lord's guidance on how to be intentionally missional in this area. The first thing He is asking me to do is make sure that my consumer voice is heard through the way I purchase. I am having to think hard and have new priorities...I am having to be disciplined in how and where I spend money. We will see where He leads next. I pray I am willing to follow.

3) Prayer - I need a season of prayer. I have so many people who are very dear to me with pressing concerns...which is often true but feels different this time. I feel a call to intercession. Now intercession is not one of my spiritual gifts...it's not even in my top 5 and prayer is sort of a constant state for me and God. We are always in the middle of a conversation. But I feel called to a season of intentional, set aside, extended time of prayer. I am taking the desire to be like Christ in discipline and applying it to this area immediately.

4) This is vastly different from my other goals, but I wanna be a hugger! I actually came to the realization that I wanted to become a hugger sometime in November or December. I am not naturally a hugger, but when I think about the people that I often hug, I recognize a closeness to them I don't feel for everyone. Can a non-hugger become a hugger? Is there a class I can take? What are the rules of hugging? I am most concerned about that awkward time where you try to decide if the other person is receptive to hugging and, by the time you figure out they are, the moment is lost and then you just look stalker weird trying to hug them. Pressure. This is an area I know you can help me with...first, if we have known each other for a long time and I have never hugged you before, please give me grace for the first few times. Second, if I forget to hug you, call me on it. Third, help me out on the hugging rules...do you hug when you see someone and when you leave them or just once during the time spent together...what if you see them 4 times in one day? Is there a daily hugging limit? How well do you have to know a person to hug them? Hugging strangers only if you feel a potential for relationship? What about people you really don't care for? What if someone is dirty? ACK! So many things to consider!

So, that's it! The things that I want to focus on in 2012...or at least this part of 2012 because I definitely want to leave room for God to do an amazing work in another area of my life...there are so many areas that need Him!

One of those days...

It's turning out to be one of those days...

when my spirit is gunked up
when there was too much truth
when relationship is messy
when feelings are hurt
when living in my own little world doesn't leave room for anyone else
when I do things that don't feel wrong but seem to be
when you can't please anyone
when being sorry gets ignored

when I am reminded I have so far to go.

Passion: Life Changing

At Passion 2011, God changed my life. He rearranged my thinking about where I live my life. I don't mean Tampa so much as where I spent my time...where I was dwelling. He seered Psalm 84:10 so deeply into my spirit that I could not escape it until I began living it. I was in a place that did not allow me to live to the glory of God. I began to realize the God has called me to the church (a great realization that I would have done well to clue in on earlier...maybe when I married a minister). I think that I felt like because I was not called to vocational ministry that I could not have been called to the church. Jesus opened my eyes and heart to see that supporting those in vocational ministry is ministry. There is something to be said for paving the way and aiding people that are mouths on this body of Christ. That is what we did as volunteers at Passion. We held the door that let those who came enter into the presence of God. Throughout 2011, I began to see the church as a place to empty myself and realize that there is great need in the church...it is a mission field. When you break down the Great Commission into parts, it asks 4 things of the body of Christ. Understanding that I cannot excuse myself from any part but also realizing that I am only part of a whole body, I am believing more and more that I am called to the fourth task given. Teaching Jesus' commands. My heart is with the church. I rearranged my life to reflect all of this and believe that I am exactly where Christ wants me.

So going into Passion 2012, I had high expectations. I don't know what exactly I expected, but I knew I would be met there by Jesus. Once again, the way that I think has been radically altered. I've realized that there is so much about this world that I am ignorant to that God sees and hates. I cannot remain ignorant and indifferent while ones precious to our Lord are abused, mistreated and enslaved. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. The work of the cross was not just for me...for those in my church...for those that I know. Christ came to set all captives free. How much more for those who are captives both spiritually and physically. 27 millions slaves today. That is unimaginable and horrifying. I am still working out exactly what direction God wants me to go with this heart broken and heavy for those enslaved. For now, I am educating myself and praying for them and the ministries that are heroically laboring for freedom all over the world.

My heart loves the church but yearns to be intentionally missional in the area of human trafficking. I am thankful for a Savior that is also a Sanctifier. I am a work in progress. I remember telling Troy before Passion this year"It can't change your life every year, otherwise you are just a flake." I was wrong. There is still so much work to do on me. God can change my life every year...every day. Please do, Sanctifier.

Our Greatest Struggle

I am becoming more and more convinced that the greatest challenge to a person who chooses to live life in relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe is to pursue that relationship through difficult circumstances. Having faith during difficult times is one thing...a good thing, but being in an active, growing relationship with the only One who can truly change your circumstances is completely different.
It is not in our nature. If someone is repeatedly making our lives difficult, our relationship with that person suffers. Whether the relationship is with your spouse, your child, your parent, a coworker or friend, when one party has the ability to change negative circumstances and does not, that relationship will suffer. It may not end, but interactions will be strained; discussions will be pain filled...maybe, less frequent.
A proper view of God acknowledges that He knows all things, allows all things and can change all things. He is sovereign. He has the first word and the last word in every situation. One who understands God also knows how deeply He loves us. We cannot imagine, explain or escape the love of our Savior. It is without measure.
Knowing both of those foundational truths anchors my faith. Difficult circumstances in our lives seem to run a crash course straight into our belief of those two truths. If God can change my circumstances and loves me deeply, why doesn't He end my pain? From that point, we choose whether or not to have faith in His sovereignty, goodness and love. At some stage during years of maturing our faith, we come to a place when the decision to have faith or not becomes moot. We believe. We trust. There is no question or doubt that He is Faithful and True.
Moving forward in relationship at this point is one of our greatest struggles as believers. We know Jesus. We trust Jesus. We are in an intimate relationship with Him. But how do we pursue the intimacy of that relationship in the midst of painful circumstances...with a list of earnest prayer requests so extensive we don't know where to start? ...when every conversations seems to become tear-filled pleas that have gone without tangible response for what seems like too long to bear? ...when we begin to read Scripture and think "...that isn't true for me"? How do we maintain a good relationship and even pursue Jesus when we are angry at Him?
I have no answer. But I think that James, the brother of Jesus,who knew heartbreak well (most poignantly, the loss of his father at a young age), would say to us:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I don't think that James is trying to explain why we face trying times or why God answers on His own timetable, but more so, how we should respond to such situations. One more thing that a mature believer understands without hesitation is that our faith is far from complete. No matter how far we have come, we have so far to go. James encourages us to take joy in knowing that Jesus is still at work in us longing for us to look more like Him. He tell us to ask for wisdom as we struggle and not doubt that He will answer our pleas. James gives us the gift of knowing that God will grant us the wisdom for which we ask and that we can stand firm knowing His wisdom is far better than ours. James reminds us that pursuing a relationship with Jesus is worth it because not only will the situation improve so will we in the process.
Hard to live, huh? So true of so much in Scripture. But I've found that every time I choose faith and pursue intimacy with Jesus it is so worth it...every time.

2 Things

(nothing earth shattering or life changing)
1. You may already know this one but according to experts, the color of 2012 is Tangerine Tango...which is just a fancy way of saying orange. I have no idea who the experts are or why they chose tangerine, but it is a flattering shade of orange. It is sort of a warm, reddish coral color that looks good on most skin tones. So if you want to impress your friends, pull out something orange...sorry, tangerine and tell them it is THE color this year...like officially. Gators fans or lucky ladies who picked up that Premier coral necklace that has been retired are set. If you don't already own something but want to show-off your fashion IQ, think accessories not closet staples in tangerine. A purse or pair of shoes...maybe, a scarf or piece of jewelry should do the trick. You could even just get a pedicure and choose the new IT hue!

2. Tight is not cute. This should go without saying but, sadly, so many seem to think the tighter the better. Well-fitted is NOT tight. Well fitted means it skims your body not clings onto your curves. Once you hit a certain age, only three people should ever know the exact shape of your body: you, your husband and your doctor. I know way too much about some of you.
Here are a few visual examples. Please note I picked plus size models for the dos in all but one picture. The only exception is pregnant actress January Jones, who wears a T so perfectly fitted that she looks cute pregnant not miserable pregnant.

So bad. On the left, both her shirt and her pants are WAY too little and it is making her look bigger. Our goal is not to make ourselves look heavier, is it? And on the right, it's like a topagraphical map of her body. Please just don't!

So GOOD! These looks are flattering and stylish...which is what we all want, right?

Our Annual (...kinda) Family Letter

Greetings from the Borst Family in Tampa Florida!
We hope this letter finds you in the new year of 2012 doing better than 2011. Our 2011 was quite full as we know most of yours probably was as well. Take heart, the Mayans said the world would end this year… so don’t worry about 2013. Live it up this year in 2012!
Our lives in 2011 revolved around family, church, and school. We took trips to Longmont, Colorado to see Troy’s grandmother and family, Atlanta to see Kelly’s parents, and Houston to see Troy’s parents. It was a full year of trips to see family. The kids each spent a week at Lake Aurora Christian Camp in Lake Wales, Florida and loved it. They all started a new school in the fall… a charter school in downtown Tampa which has turned out to be a complete blessing for all three kids and a great step as they will open middle school grades next year. New Beginnings Christian Church always keeps us busy and is the hub of friends and activities.

You all of course want to know about the kids first. Abigail is 10 and doing great in 5th grade. Abby concluded her interest in Girl Scouts so you all will need to find a new source for cookies this year. She just won the Science Fair for the second year in a row for her grade and will be heading to the countywide Science Fair in February. Her project this year was a blind taste test of different apple varieties. She is  looking to be “Superior” two years in a row! She is an avid reader and will be making great use of the Kindle she received for Christmas. She is also looking forward to trying cheerleading with UpWard Sports in 2012.
Nathanael is 9 and in the 4th grade. He loves Super Heroes, building things, and enjoys sports whenever he can play. He recently wrote a descriptive piece about being a Paleontologist when he grows up… after being Iron Man. We’ll have to see how things work out. The rest of us think he will be an architect. Nate is looking forward to getting back on a regular team in 2012 as he will try out basketball with UpWard Sports. Dad, Nate, and Ian have been shooting a little hoop in front of the house to prepare. Nate is beginning to enjoy reading more and more and just finished a book about the sinking of the Titanic.

Ian is 8 and in the 2nd grade. He is our video game guru and beats everyone else in the house at most video games. His dad can still school him every so often which comes as quite a surprise to him. Ian is the most outgoing and friendly child and is always surrounded by a cloud of friends no matter where he is. Ian also loves to read and is into the “Secret of Droon” series as well as the “Magic Treehouse” books. His #1 request for Christmas was a Gamestop gift card followed by a Barnes & Noble gift card. He will use them both soon after Christmas. Ian will also try out basketball like Nate and thinks he will do pretty good on the team.

Kelly is thoroughly enjoying her new job with Bayshore Baptist church in South Tampa. It was a great move for her personally and spiritually which allows her to pick up the kids from school and have a better schedule. It is certainly less stressful and brings more meaning to her work day. She was blessed with this job after praying over Psalm 84:10, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” She still enjoys leading women’s Bible studies at the church and even branched out for a few non-Beth Moore studies. Shocking! In 2012, she will return to her Beth Moore roots which will be great for all involved. One of the highlights for Kelly was organizing a successful women’s conference at church called ‘Fresh Start’ which enabled women to enter the workforce with confidence (and a new outfit) with our youth minister's wife.

Troy is busy but balanced. He is the Associate Minister at the church and will begin to transition to the Senior Minister role within a few years. He is on the downward slide of his PhD with Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia and also began to teach Public Speaking for Florida Christian College in Orlando this year. Getting this instructor position marks the first in a long line of bucket list items he checked off this year. He also fought in the US Open Karate tournament and lost, but plans to fight again several times in 2012. He also self-published five books for the Amazon Kindle, with a few more in the works (another bucket list item… sort of). Troy and Kelly also lost over 80 pounds between them and are sporting slimmer figures with more hard work and pounds lost to come in 2012. In 2012, he also plans to flesh out two fictional works which have been brewing in his mind.
2012 for us holds great promise. Organized sports, a Bahamas Missions trip, concluded coursework for a PhD, weight loss, camps, trips, the NACC in Orlando, and things not yet dreamed of are on our agenda. All of it must be taken on faith… right? James 4:13-15 says, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.’ So, in view of that, if the Lord wills it, we will complete our plans, but in all things we will let Him direct our ways. We wonder what He has in store for us. For you? If the Lord wills it, we hope to do all we have planned and more.

May your 2012 be full of promise! And, by the way, just ignore the Mayans.


(written by Troy)

FAB: New Favorite Blogs

I hope you all are reading the fabulous blogs by our NBCC family like Seconds and Esther's Blessing.  I also want to share with you all some blogs that have recently become my favorites!! I think you will find one to love!

I love The Dating Divas! The dating divas are married women who are committed to keeping the romance in their marriages by dating their husbands. Eleven women share a different date idea each week and fun stuff in between. It's fun and encourages me to think about ways to focus on my marriage.

The Girl Who Ate Everything has some great recipes! I found her on Pinterest (obsessed with that, yet? Let me know if you need an invite).

Plain Chicken is another recipe site that I found on Pinterest.  The recipes are easy to follow and have been delicious!!

I get my fashion fix at Polyvore. It is full of outfit ideas.  Another Pinterest find, most of the fashion ideas that are repinned come from Polyvore!

For the guys...check out "husbands", a user's guide. I know there is a grammatical error in the title, and it should be a blog for wives to understand husbands.  Honestly, that almost disqualified the blog from my favorites list. But the content is too good not to share. This blog has Biblical encouragment for husbands. I was really impressed with the writer's honesty and the topics he tackles. Definitely worth the time, guys!

Check them out and let me know what you think!!!