Makeovers

If you read this thing, you may notice a change. Although I loved my blog background dearly (seriously, for some reason i loved looking at that thing), it was time for a change. And I am really into the bird thing now for some reason... anyhow... hope you enjoy a change of scenery! I wish a body makeover was as easy as a blog makeover! geez!

My 2009 Book List revised...

So I am not good at making final choices on things, especially not books. Therefore, I am revising my book list a little to add in a few books I have really wanted to read, and take out a few books I just dont seem to want to read right now.

Currently Reading:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Personal Growth:

✓ Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

✓ Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Family Growth:

✓✖A Handbook for Ministers’ Wives: Sharing the Blessing of Your Marriage, Family and Home by Dorothy Patterson (only read half bc i didnt like it at all)

On Becoming Babywise: Giving your infant the gift of nighttime sleep by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

✓ Them Diligently: How to use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo

Ministry Growth:

✓Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

✓ Be-With Factor: Mentoring Students in Everyday Life by Bo Boshers and Judson Poling

✓Handbook on Counseling Youthby Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler (this one is not really meant to be read cover to cover, so I have skimmed it thru and think it will be valuable to go to when issues come up)

Just for Fun:

✓My Life in France by Julia Child

✓Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

What I should be thinking about... and what I am thinking about.

I am sitting at Starbucks... surprise surprise! I love this place. None the less...

I should be thinking about the job interview I have in 30 minutes at WKU. I should be going over questions in my head and my possible answers (yes this is how i prepare... dont judge). I should be focused.

I should be thinking about the talk I am giving at our youth retreat this weekend. I should be going over my outline (and finishing it for that matter) and praying praying praying. 

But what am i thinking about?

People who fall away from the faith. Friends, some dearly close and some mere acquaintances, who at one point in their lives challenged me to seek the Lord more and more each day. Friends who had their priorities straight. Friends who seemed genuinely in love with the Lord. Friends who, for whatever reason, are no longer seeking the Lord. Or who are seeking a more liberal, man made version of the Lord. It breaks my heart. 

And it makes me wonder, why?? Was it all pretending in the first place, or can our hearts really change that much? I have no answers and no judgements, it just makes me sad. I just read the blog of someone who used to be a strong Christian leader, and now believes that the Bible is cool but is not the way we learn about God. We get to pick how we learn about Him. 

I dont have time to go into this (interview, retreat etc) now, but I know I will be thinking about it. And maybe Ill share more?? For now, I am just heavy hearted for people who once were in communion with such a gracious Savior and somehow walked away from the only true love we can experience. How can that happen? 

help a brotha out!

So my dear friends the Comer's are in a photo contest! Yay! They recently went to the beach for Vaca and Comer (Justin) took a picture of a crab and entered it into a contest with the Tennessean (yay for TN!) and he totally made the top 20!! Way to go Comer! So here is where you come in, my faithful readers (whoever you may be!):

http://tnne.ws/3y

Click on the link and vote ASAP for photo #6 (the crab in the sand)! He was in 2nd place when I voted, awesome! As far as I can tell, you can only vote once per computer. So please go do this, it only takes a second and it will be totally cool if they win! There will be 2 winners: the readers choice wins $100 and the judges choice wins a trip to the Beach! 

If the link above doesnt work then try this one: http://www.tennessean.com/section/TENNESSEANTRAVEL9906

Now get to it- Quick!! Thanks! 

what's in a title?

well a few moments ago i realized i had still not changed my email signatures from when my job ended. you see my email signature has read: 

Sabrina Pate

WKU Baptist Campus Ministry

Assistant Campus Minister

(270)781-3185

for the last two years. and for the two years before that it was very similar (Campus Minister Intern). but for the last 2 1/2 months this has not been my title. 2 1/2 months already? wow!! so as i sent an email about leading a bcm dgroup today, i realized the time had come... and I am now title-less. my signature is now: Sabrina Pate. thats it. 

am i upset? sad a little... but I a more upset or surprised by the fact that it is almost the end of August and I do not have a job. I think when this whole journey started I just was super naive about how long it would take to get a job... at least at WKU. (seriously, why didnt someone tell me? i would have started looking in January/February instead of waiting till april!) but alas this is where we are... August and jobless. 

And though on a moment by moment basis I do have doubts or fears, in my heart I know the Lord has and will provide. I ran across this sentence in my bible study yesterday... 

"I found Him faithful yesterday, He will not be unfaithful today." (Beth, Living Free)

And it is true... "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself!" 2 Tim 2:13

this made me laugh... hope it makes you laugh too!

So i have once again stumbled upon a new blog (yep, 61 now...  I really need a job!) And this lady is super cool. anyhow, i am just straight up copying this from her blog post bc i loved it! and so many of this ladies things are things i would say! ha! here it is for your mid tuesday enjoyment:  

Caffeinated Randomness:: Always, Sometimes, Nevah Evah

I saw this fun little ditty at a new blog I found last week called Striving for 31 - and I knew I had to do it for Caffeinated Randomness! (By the way, she means Proverbs 31, not like 31 kids or anything. That would be crazy!)

I ALWAYS...

- have coffee when I read my Bible. It would be sacrilege not to!

- check what's going on in internet-land before I do my real housework.

- hate grocery shopping. And meal planning. There. I said it. (Sorry, Michelle!)

- have to have dessert, even if it's just fruit.


I SOMETIMES...

- don't move things when I'm cleaning. My mother would die if she knew that!

- pretend I'm getting a migraine so the kids will be quiet for 5 minutes.

- ignore the phone if I don't want to talk to whoever is calling.

- would rather have dessert for supper. But I never do.

- wish I was back in school, not because of the work, but for the fun I had!


I NEVAH EVAH...

- clean the outside of my windows. That's what rain is for.

- go to sleep with closet doors open. It freaks me out.

- eat potato salad.

- refuse chocolate. Seriously.

- say "nevah evah". But it sure would be fun to see my husband's reaction if I did. Hmmm...

blog party!

So Liz at Its Great to Be Home is hosting a blog party today! Yay! And what is the party about?

"It’s simple - I want to feature anything you’ve posted about that inspires you, and that you think would inspire other readers.  It could be a gorgeous room you ran across, a new DIY project you tried, a fab recipe . . . whatever inspires you!!"

So what inspires me today? The fact that I actually finished a cheap DIY project of my very own! I am now inspired to do more! Check out the project on this post! 

And go to Liz's blog to get in on the party! 

another one down...

well about a month ago now, i finished my 2nd book list book! but since then i have barely read at all! so finally i am starting my 3rd. 

the book i just finished was "The Be-With Factor". it was pretty good actually. the main point was about picking a few students that you will not just mentor, but do life with. it wasnt anything new or life shattering for me, but it was a good reminder and had some good ideas for one on one times. if you are involved in youth or college ministry i would recommend it. 

my weekend

i have had a fabulous weekend. it has been so long since we had a whole weekend to just do what we wanted to do, with no events to go to etc. so what did we do?

friday night we had a yummy and easy dinner from the grill at home, then mr.pate decided he really wanted to go play putt putt golf. actually he said he really wanted to go dominate me in some putt-putt golf. ha. what ended up happening? i won, as always. its funny bc i am not skilled i just always get lucky when we play. anyhow, after that we went to kohl's to browse around (i found a pair of jeans i love which my hubby refused to let me try on or buy... i mean i guess i dont have a job, whatever!). then we went to kroger and bought some chocolate milk and headed home to some tv and sleep. 

saturday we slept in! yay! then mr.pate cut grass and i did some laundry (so we were mildly productive). after that we decided to go out and browse around some of our fav stores (can you tell we enjoy this?) in search of a new trash can and a new dining room table for my mom. and then we... went to see a movie!!!! we never go to the theater, so this was a super happy treat. we have had movie gift certificates since christmas, but we just never remember to go! so anyhow, we went to see Julie & Julia- I loved it! it made me want to cook cook cook (but i got over it quick ha). after the movie we went to meet some friends for mexican and came back to our house to hang out. it was a lovely day!

and sunday. we got up and went to our sweet church, i taught my sunday school class (which actually went crazy and was not normal at all today) and then we had a great time of worship. we have had several visitors lately, which is so exciting! then it was off to lunch (small crowd today) and then home to watch juno (we rented it earlier in the week- i liked it except it is really crude) and take a nap! then tonight we played some tennis and now we are chilling out, maxing and relaxing all cool (but not shooting bball...). 

i hope all of you had great weekends too!

60... the big reveal

well since so many of you are just dying to know... well since sarah is dying to know what the 60 is:

drumroll please....

60 is the number of blogs i am now subscribed to. for some of you that might sound like a million, and for some of you that might sound like 2. for me i cant believe i have stumbled upon 60 blogs i care to read. (to be fair... there are several frugal blogs i have not given up but dont really read) and the funny thing is majority of them are just real life blogs, like people that i know blogs. 

so anyhow, it wasnt very dramatic but i just noticed it yesterday and was surprised. 

60

yep... 60. 

can you guess what that is the number of? i will share tomorrow... until then lets see what you got?! ha! 

kitchen redo!

old post is now part of Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party! Head over for some great ideas!

** I forgot to add that the whole thing was done for right under $300... $180 for the new counter, $60 for the stain on the cabinets and supplies, $30 for handles, $10 for spray paint.

well, as i had mentioned earlier, we did a little bit of kitchen updating this summer! in july, justin's dad and younger brother came down to visit... so we put them to work! ha! the pate fam applied a gel stain to our kitchen cabinets to make them look super rich. we also spray painted all the hinges and got new handles (thanks to angela and tj!). then we took out an old counter the guy we bought the house from had put in, and replaced it with a new one that matched better and has an overhang for a bar! yay! now if only we could do the floors and get new appliances... cant have it all!!

so i wanted to share the before and afters!

before...

after!

before...

after!

the new counter
a view of the color palate

a close up of some drawers

the new handles

old habits die hard

so the other day, mr.pate and i were doing one of our fav activities, browse-shopping, and i noticed a quirk of ours... we always gravitate towards the same items. there are just certain items we seem to always look at or pick up or go by the area of the store. 

so i am wondering, is this something others do? 

what are our "items of interest" you might be wondering? (or maybe you arent, but i am going to tell you anyhow!) in no particular order:

1. cool chairs (like patterned chairs)

2. ottomans

3. pub tables

4. lawn games

5. board games

6. throw pillows

7. french presses

8. art work

9. comforters

10. console tables/ sofa tables

strange assortment i know, but i just noticed that we are always looking at the same things. and the funny thing is, either  we dont need these things (chairs, sofa table, comforter) or we for some reason refuse to buy them (french press, art work). anyhow, i just thought it was a strange habit and wanted to know if any of you do this also?? do share! 

if you were stranded on a deserted island...

ok well maybe not a deserted island, but the other day i was listening to the radio and they posed a question that i thought would be interesting to pose to you guys (whoever you are, ha!). 

if you had to pick one tv show to watch for 24 hours or longer, what would you watch?

they were asking this bc some guy watched every episode of friends in a row and set a world record for longest time of watching tv or something... but i knew immediately what would be mine and wanted to hear what all of yours would be... so i want EVERYONE who reads to answer- even you Duke the "silent reader"! 

mine would be... (drumroll please)... One Tree Hill... (no surprises here).

2nd choice and close runner up: Dawson's Creek. 

Ok your turn!!! 

what is that all about?

ok so i haven't been blogging much i know, and its not bc i got a new job and have been busy there- but i still believe it will happen when the Lord wants it to!! i just am sick of answering the stupid question "hear anything about a job yet?" "NO! do you not think i would be screaming it from the rooftops??!!!!"... sorry, some repressed frustration getting out there, but that is not the point of this blog. i have been babysitting my fabulous niece this past week and before that vbs and before that a kitchen remodel and before that mexico and basically the last month just straight up flew by!!! 

so i have a list of things i have wanted to blog about (i can hear kristi making fun of me now for making a list of things to blog about... mocker!) and i fianlly got to catch up on some blogs this morning and was all ready to post. but i read one blog and now i am blogging about something not on the list... ha as if you really even needed to know any of this? so on to the post. 

from kelly's korner: 

"I had a post all planned out that I wanted to write about how being a mom is such a hard job and how you can feel so insecure about all the choices you make. I've had a hard time lately thinking about how us mothers are so quick to judge or make other mothers feel bad because they don't make the same choices as we do. Whether you breastfeed, use formula, are a working mom or a stay at home mom, whether you use cloth diapers, make your own food or use store bought, whether you home school or send you kids to public school.......we are all (hopefully) trying to do the best for our children and families. I think as mothers we should know we are all in the same club and try to lift each other up.........not tear each other down because we aren't all doing things the same way.

I chose to stay at home and I was blessed to be able to and I chose to breastfeed but I can tell you right now I don't think I'm a better mom than a working mom who formula feeds. I know their children feel just as loved. I just hope we do what we can to encourage other mothers - we are all running the same race."

so i am not a mother yet, but i totally know this is true. and really it is just true for all areas of life, not just parenting (although i think people are more vocal about it with parenting). and it just flat out makes me mad! MAD! Mad at myself cause i totally do this, and mad at others bc they do too! but really it makes me mad at SATAN bc he is getting the satisfaction of tearing apart biblical community.

 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

the way Christians love each other was supposed to be the defining attribute of the church. and sadly in today's world it is the opposite. the way we dont love one another is our defining attribute. and i am so sick of it! and i am sick of myself for being a part of it. 

i have no big point i guess... just that today we should all be mindful of how we judge one another and how we love one another. lets strive to love like Christ loved... with truth but with grace! 

Throwing in the towel!

Yep thats right, I am throwing in the towel... giving up... raising the white flag... calling it quits... 

to what you are wondering? (and i would imagine that some of you who read this blog would possibly assume to job hunting? nope, thats not it)

couponing. for the last year i have read frugal blog after frugal blog on how to save money at the grocery store. i have been amazed at the stories of these ladies and just how much money they can truly save at the store. i have coveted (yep that strongly) these savings and being able to accomplish this. and i have attempted and failed time and time again at saving any money in this area. 

so as of today, i am giving up on the couponing endeavor for now. 

i have to look at what is best for my family at the phase of life we are in right now. you might think, "why would saving money not be whats best for your family?" and that is the thought (and the fear of others judging me with that thought) that has kept me trying for so long. but i have reasons this doesnt work for me.

1. the thing is, Mr. Pate and I dont live a lifestyle that is conducive to constantly clipping coupons, going to several different stores, printing tons of coupons (we dont even have a printer right now!), stocking up and planning meals around the "sales". i was spending some of the only free time my husband had too busy for him b/c I had to save us money...

2. the things that were on sale or were super cheap with coupons were never things i normally buy. maybe we are just weird shoppers, but what is the point in getting free stuff if it is not anything you would normally get? i would spend the same amount of money but come home with extra "stuff" that i got dirt cheap, that we didnt eat!

3. our meals suffered. with this couponing thing, you are supposed to plan all meals around hat you can get cheap- and eventually you are supposed to be stocked up and have lots of stuff to chose from. this never happened for me and we were just having the most random meals bc i was trying deparately to stick to the "rules"!

4. it was more about meeting others expectations (well my expectations to live up to others standards) than my hubby's. i was spending my time and energy trying to gain wife approval by being super frugal, but i was not even caring about my hubby's approval and if i was meeting his needs. 

5. I would make plans to be able to go to a million stores with all my scenarios and "work the system"... but then i would get a call from a youth who needed to talk, or from my hubby needing us to go visit a family, or from a college student needing whatever... etc etc etc. and the truth is all of those calls are my priority right now... i have no kids, this is the time to serve in that way, to be available. 

so this is why i am throwing i the towel. i know plenty of fabulous people that are able to make this couponing thing work for them, and i am quite jealous. but it is time for me to just go back to my $200 a month budget being frugal enough for me and focusing on enjoying mr.pate and cooking again. 

but the real reason i am posting this? (obviously most of you could care less if i am couponing or not) i feel like we all let things like this creep in and control us. we strive to do something as good as or better than someone else. we feel like if they do it then we have to do it to be a good wife or girlfriend or daughter or employee or whatever... and we let these things rob us of seeing to our greatest priorities. and we have to start calling one another out on this, we have to start pulling each other back to what is the best thing for US right now. 

right now God has called me to minister to and alongside my husband. for me that means having a home that i relaxing and well kept, a kitchen that feeds us without stress, and a schedule that is flexible and able to bend for our current areas of ministry at church. and for me and the way i am wired, couponing doesnt fit into that right now. it is time to seek "first things first" as good ol lizzie george puts it. 

i hope you will work to do the same, realizing that your will look different than mine.