The Never-ending To-Do List

I usually like to-do lists. They keep me on track and I love that feeling of checking stuff off. The best part is when I look at the list and realize everything is done and I can have some relax time without feeling guilty!

Recently, however, I have developed a never-ending to-do list of things to be done before moving day. It is stuck up on the refrigerator, taunting me all day long. Half the time I add something to this list without checking anything off that day. I loathe this list. It makes me feel overwhelmed, unaccomplished, and guilty whenever I'm doing something that's not on the list.

I also have this terrible tendency to just not do anything if I feel like I can't do everything. I don't know why this is. I think it has connections with my tendency to not want to play games if I can't win, or answer questions I'm not 100% positive about, or try anything that I am pretty sure I'll fail at...ok, it's called pride.

Lord, in the middle of my overwhelmed, unaccomplished, guilty, prideful, worried and tired life, help me to remember to be still and know that You are God. You will not give me more than I can handle. Everything on my to-do list will eventually be done, and even if it's not the world will go on. Thank you for giving me peace beyond understanding and the strength to do what must be done. Thank You most of all that I do not need to do anything to receive grace and salvation from Jesus...He finished that list on the cross.

A little more info for you...

I figured that after my last post, maybe I should go ahead and give you some more information on what's going on...like, where I'm going! Here is the update email we sent out a few days ago. If you already got that then you don't need to read this--no new information yet!
P.S. Do you think it's weird that the email was written in third person? I just couldn't figure out a better way to word it.

Dear friends and family,

Hello from the Sharick family! We hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer so far. Hopefully most of you know by now that we have a beautiful baby girl, Evangeline Zoe. She will be 6 months old on June 30th and is so much fun! We're attaching a picture of the three of us. Adam is working at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center nearby...it is the top rated in the country and has been a really great place for him to work. He enjoys it and financially it has helped us out a lot, especially with a new baby! Hannah is still babysitting an almost 2 year old little girl two days a week. She brings Evangeline with her and practices for the future when we have more than one child. (-:

The other big news is that Adam is done with his stateside classes at the seminary here in Wake Forest, and we've officially been accepted by the International Mission Board to serve as missionaries for two years in Tokyo, Japan! Adam will graduate with his M.Div. in International Church Planting when we return.

We are so excited to have this opportunity to go do what we know God has been calling us to for several years. We will be working alongside the missionaries who are already there, as well as Japanese Christians, to do church planting, evangelism, and discipleship--particularly among the urban young adult crowd. We have been hearing about so many great things happening and can't wait to be a part of what God is doing there right now.

Our schedule for the rest of the year will be pretty chaotic. We will be leaving Wake Forest at the end of August to spend 3 weeks in Florida with Hannah's family. From there we will go up north to spend 3 weeks in Pennsylvania with Adam's family. We will then have 8 weeks of training near Richmond, VA. Training will end December 16th, and from there we'll have about two weeks before we arrive in Japan! Our scheduled arrival date is December 30th, 2011...Evangeline's 1 year old birthday!

If you are a Christ-follower, we would love for you to partner with us in prayer as we prepare to go and when we are there. Also, if you are near Wake Forest/Raleigh, in Central Florida, or near Pittsburgh and you think your church would be interested in learning more about what we're setting out to do, let us know! We will try our best to come and talk to whoever is interested. We can use all the support we can get.

Here are some of our prayer requests/praises for right now:

• Praise that we got medical clearance and have been officially accepted by the IMB! It was a long and sometimes frustrating process, so it's a wonderful feeling to be through that.
• Pray for us as we get ready to move. Packing is stressful, especially knowing that there is a very limited amount that we can take! Pray that we will have wisdom in weeding out the material possessions that are not worth taking or storing.
• Pray that our marriage will be strengthened during this time.
• Pray that we will continue to grow in our personal relationships with Christ.
• Pray for Evangeline during this time of transition...change is hard for little ones (ok, it's hard for us too!).
• Pray that we will be able to raise the money we need. Although the IMB will cover all our living expenses while we are in Japan, we are required to raise the money we need for travel expenses to Adam's modular classes and tuition. The total we'll need to raise before training begins is going to be close to $9,000-$10,000. Pray that God will provide this through the churches and many people who are supporting us.
• Another financial prayer request is that we will be able to pay off Hannah's student loans, or come close to it, before we leave. We have been able to save quite a bit towards them so far, but it would be great to have those behind us before we leave! 

Thank you so much for supporting us this far. We can't wait to see what God is going to do in the next few years. 

Let us know if you have any questions or want more information!

So I go

I realized the other day that even though I want to be a missionary and I want to tell people about Jesus, if I didn't know that God was calling me to go live in a different country, I wouldn't. I like it here too much. Of course, I would go where Adam went...but if I hadn't been sure that I was supposed to go overseas, he probably wouldn't have married me. My desire to stay where I am comfortable is very strong. VERY strong. It's only the fact that I know that this is what God has given us to do that keeps me going, and keeps me joyful about it, too. How can I not find joy in the fact that my Lord is sending me and my family on such an important mission? So my flesh wants to stay here, where I can see my friends and family, where I can speak the language, where people are "like" me, where I'm surrounded by other believers, where I have a wonderful church family, where I don't stick out everywhere I go because I have blond hair and blue eyes, where I know my way around, where I can read labels when I grocery shop...

But my spirit says go. The Holy Spirit within me says go.

And so I go.

Modesty Revisited

A little more than a year ago I wrote a a blog about modesty. I got quite a bit of flack about it because I was really harsh on women...looking back I realize that I deserved that flack and that I could have written something that would have expressed how I felt and been much more edifying.  My body has changed since being pregnant and breastfeeding, and I'm  getting a taste of how difficult it can be to be modest. That is not an excuse to be immodest...I am just much more sympathetic to those who struggle with what to wear everyday.

That's why I want to share this blog post I found which was written by a lady here at the Seminary on the Women's Life blog. It's encouraging, edifying, and convicting. Best of all, the cross is at the center of it. Please read it and know that I'm sorry if I offended you with my previous post. I hope that you'll continue to be modest for the sake of the cross.

Perseverance in Modesty

Photo Book

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