2014: Looking Forward

2014 is going to be a great year for the Piatt family. We've paired down our efforts on a lot of things, and are looking to make changes in many areas of our life. Kristen at When At Home said it best in her blog post "Live Intentionally":

I don’t want to get to the end of this year and look at [Josh] and say, “What just happened?” I want to say “BOOYAH, 2014. The [Piatts] happened to YOU this year.” And that will be all.

The following are some areas we're focusing on, and the goals associated with them.

FINANCIAL:

We started the year off with the Financial Freedom conference through our church and got a big ol' eye opener of how terrible we are at saving and how much debt we really have. We're already taking steps to fix these issues and are well on our way towards our goal. Feels so good! We're also being more intentional in our giving. I've always been quick to give, but now Josh and I are on the same page about it after hearing the sermon series "Generous." We're experiencing financial peace by staying on top of our budget, intentionally saving, giving, and paying off debt, and communicating about what money is going where, and what our needs and wants are.

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.  

I Timothy 5:8

PHYSICAL:

Carter is 3 years old. We have a full-fledged, walking-around, talking-like-he's-grown toddler. On the medical side, we've gotta get this iron/anemia situation figured out pronto. Also on the list is to discuss with Ortho the long-term effects of Carter's hips going uncorrected. We plan to discuss with our urologist what our next move will be with Carter's urine output, since he's becoming more and more curious about the potty and his various body parts... plus, diapers are EXPENSIVE y'all!

My personal physical goals involve something like: run a real 5K, finish the Smolov Jr cycle, actually become somewhat proficient at pull-ups, and snatch 100 pounds. Getting in the garage two times a week is still tough... so we'll see :)

Josh's probably include: CrossFit 7x a day 10 days a week, advance to Regionals, beat Rich Froning in one thing... SOME thing... 300 pound snatch, 400 pound clean & jerk, and walk on his hands for more than 10 feet. No, but seriously, I know Josh has goals that he keeps to his quiet self in his quiet little head, and I want to make sure I'm supporting every decision to get him there. Every workout session in the garage or at the box. Every PR. Every competition. Every training course or certification. Every session he coaches. I'll stand behind that, because I know CrossFit is his passion.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.   

I Corinthians 10:31
 

SPIRITUAL:

This year we want to get fully involved in our church. I start serving this Sunday (eek!) as part of the Administrative Team, AKA the A-Team! Carter's still too young to have anything really going on, but he does love to be in Highlands Pre-school and it warms my heart that he begs to go to church. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they feed him pizza when I have to stay late, or that he gets stickers... :)  We're excited about the upcoming small group semester, and I've been looking and praying and pondering which one we'll attend. We want to go to every single conference, serve day, or class that is opportune for us. I want to read the Bible more, remember to pray FIRST in every situation, and memorize scripture that will encourage me in everyday life. This year is all about focus in the right direction - on the eternal.

And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 

EMOTIONAL:

This is something that shouldn't be overlooked when planning goals for your family. Our society can force us to become so busy that we completely tune out what's going on inside our heads and hearts. I'm the world's worst about getting too involved and deeply immersed in a passion or hobby and then letting it dominate the better part of my thoughts or actions. I tend to like responsibility a little too much. A friend gave me great advice not long ago, "You should still be involved, just as an Indian instead of a Chief." I plan to enjoy more time with my family and by myself instead of being the uber-socialite that I sometimes tend to be :) I want to have more quiet time in my home, read more books, do more yoga. I want us to take our first real family vacation now that Carter is big enough to enjoy one and travels more easily. I want us to unplug more - we're now a 1 laptop, 2 tablet, 2 iPhone family - and spend more time playing, eating, and conversing together.

 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 

Overall the goal is to have a great year TOGETHER. Even if these goals aren't completely met... like.. *cough* that pull-up... as long as we've spent good quality time growing together as a family I'll chalk that up as a WIN. I'm looking forward to the challenges presented - bring it, 2014!

Thankful for aunts

I'm very thankful for the female influences in my life. Most of those came in the form of aunts. My mom has three sisters: Melanie, Melissa, and Heather. (My mom falls between Melanie and Melissa.)  

Left to Right: Melanie, my mom, and Melissa

 

My aunt Me-Me (Melanie) lives in Lake City, FL. She's been a nurse basically her whole life, and has a true servants heart. She has two boys, Landon and Jordon, and I spent many summers at their house since Landon is only a year older than me. We almost lost her in October of 2009. She contracted H1N1 and went through months of treatment and therapy. She was one of the most critical cases to come into the Orlando hospital, but the prayers of many were heard and she was restored to full health. When I found out about Carter's complications, I knew immediately that I wanted her here with me when I delivered. Landon's wife was pregnant at the same time, and she delivered Nathaniel on January 5th, 2011. They scheduled my induction for January 10th, and my sweet aunt Me-Me left her brand new grandbaby to come take care of me and put my mind at ease. She was an absolute blessing, keeping me and my mom calm and advocating for me to my nurses and doctors. I'll never forget that, and will always be grateful.

My aunt Melissa passed away on December 14th, 2012 while still living in Williston, FL, the city where they all grew up and my grandparents reside. My favorite memories of her typically involve animals. Over the years she had many interesting pets: two Persian cats (Murph and Butler), a snake, a horse named Dino, and the living legacy (who my mom inherited) Boo. She worked at a vets office for a while and I loved to visit and color with her. I lovingly referred to her as "Uncle Lissa" when I was little. She loved children but was never able to bear any. She led a much different lifestyle from the rest of her family, and ultimately ended up on a bad path of prescription drug addiction. She fought hard to battle it, and went through many ups and downs in the process. Many of us became very frustrated with her decisions, and began to limit our exposure to her. Her cause of death was an accidental overdose (a bad combo of medicines) while receiving treatment for her addiction. Our avoidance of her over the years leading up to her passing caused a lot of emotional grief and a tremendous amount of internalized guilt and regret. This experience taught us all that FAMILY should always be there for each other, no matter what the situation. Not to become enablers, but just to be a constant encouragement in their life, giving a steady stream of love and prayer. We're coming up on the anniversary of her passing, and I ask that you'd please pray for our family, especially my grandmother.

Heather and her husband John

 

Heather married into an Air Force life and currently lives in Ellicot City, MD. She has lived all over, and I've been lucky to visit most of the locations she's lived such as: San Antonio, TX, Colorado Springs, CO, Greenville, SC, and Ocean Springs, MS. My mom was lucky enough to visit them at their most recent location in Germany (I'm not bitter). Heather is by far the aunt that I'm closest to. She lived with us for a while, and I even became extremely jealous of her since my mom's attention was divided between us (little did I know Greyson would come along...). Some of my favorite memories with Heather include me biting her nose because she was aggravating me, crying because she "said I had a turtle neck" (I was wearing one), and her gesture/explanation of what the male genetalia looked like. She has two children, Ryland (who is a little older than Grey), and Ella (a little younger). She's always good for parenting advice - one of the most helpful things she told me was this: "Don't let him determine what you're going to do. He'll adapt." I was always impressed at how GOOD her kids were for a shopping trip or a day in town, and it's because they were always on the go. She refused to sit at home and let life be dictated by feedings and naps. As a result, I've instituted the same with Carter, and he LOVES to go, much to Josh's dismay :) That's probably why he's awesome at competitions and can snag a nap in the midst of chaos!

The Fill-In

 

Kelli, lovingly referred to as "KK", is Josh's aunt (his mom's sister) and she lives in Millbrook. She is the perfect fill-in for an aunt when my blood is just too far away :) She's always good for a laugh (or a SNORT!) She recently became an animal lover and has a cat named Roxie, for which Josh loves to tease her. She works with kids through the National Guard, but doesn't want any. She's one of the most independent women I've ever met and I truly admire that about her. She recently switched to our church and started CrossFit, and we're loving the extra time with her. 

We love because he first loved us. 
- I John 4:19

Thankful for Charlie Jean

Today I'm thankful for a community of athletes that came together to support a family in need. The story started like this: Josh has competed with Brett at a few CrossFit competitions over the past couple of years. Some of our Facebook friends were circulating a page for a little girl that had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer. Her name was Charlie Jean. Josh finally made the connection that Brett was her dad this summer some time. I began to follow her page fervently for updates and progress. Late one night I was browsing Facebook and came across an update - they had been admitted at Children's for nearly a month, with no sign of "home" in their near future. Charlie Jean was very sick as a result of some of the treatments they were doing, and had developed a liver disease. If you know me, you know I have a huge heart for children with medical complications and families that are stuck in the hospital. Josh was at the station and I was just laying in bed crying and praying, so I texted him to ask him to do the same (pray, not cry... that rarely happens). The next day he talked to Jake (our friend and owner of CFI) about starting a donation bucket at the gym for the members to contribute if they felt led to do so. That night, Jake and Mandy decided that we'd host an event and take up donations to WOD and invite all of the local boxes. That week, I created the event on Facebook, and the response was overwhelming.

We ended up with 55 athletes as well as some spectators. Almost every box in the area came out to support. My favorite part was that Brett was able to come into town to participate, and to let everyone know about Charlie Jean's progress and their hope for future Charlie's Angels events to benefit neuroblastoma research or Children's hospital. This family has BIG faith, and it's so encouraging to see their continued diligence in spreading God's love through Charlie Jean's story. Please take a minute to like Charlie Jean's page, and keep her (and her family) in your prayers as she continues to fight.

Thankful for small group

Today I'm thankful for our small group, Strong in Faith. We have a wonderful group of men and women that meet at CFI on Wednesdays as part of the Church of the Highlands small group fall semester. I'm always sad when I miss it, and I'm refreshed when I make it. "Hump Day" is the perfect time of week to hit a workout and then fellowship with believers that will encourage you and lift you up in prayer. I'm thankful for every one of you, and super proud of Jake and Mandy for stepping out in faith to lead this group.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
- Matthew 18:20

Thankful for our Veterans

Today I'm thankful for our Veterans. Land of the free, because of the brave. Pray for our troops.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
- Matthew 5:9

Thankful for silence

Today I drove to work with the radio off. Just me and the quiet. I'm thankful for the time that I can spend in silent reflection and prayer with no distractions. Try it sometime!

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Thankful for health

Today I'm thankful for mine and my family's health. Josh & Carter just got over a bug, and I'm working on one (I think)... but in spite of that we are far healthier than others. Despite Carter's medical challenges, I am constantly reminding myself that our situation could be so much more dire than it is. His kidney is his most fragile component of his health, and we've been blessed for the issues surrounding it to be minimal. Right now we're fighting iron fluxes and anemia, but we could be fighting fluid retention with dialysis. We could be on a transplant list. I make it a point to stay in prayer for a child that has more immediate medical needs than Carter. Our precious cousin Brenna, Carter Cline, my preemie cousin Evan, sweet Charlie Jean - they all are reminders that our God is BIGGER than any medical anomaly and that my family is blessed with health. Along those same lines - I'm thankful for a God that provides peace when I do lose perspective in the times of sickness, and for His grace that will one day give me a Heaven with no more sickness, death, or pain!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

Thankful for faith

Ahh November, the only month out of the year we FOCUS on being thankful for things...First, some facts on the Thankful holiday:

(From Wikipedia... so you know it's legit...)

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well. Thanksgiving proclamations were made mostly by church leaders in New England up until 1682, and then by both state and church leaders until after the American Revolution. As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."

I love religiously founded holidays like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. For those families that may not have their feet firmly planted in faith, it's a time of year that they stand still and recognize that religion, faith, and the belief in a greater power are still prevalent in the world, despite the fight to demolish those views by our society and our government. It's an opportunity to share with our children about "true meanings" of a season, and that while we can enjoy the secular spins on these holidays (ie; candy, presents, food) we always remember and honor their roots.

This year I am most thankful for my faith. Through every trial of life, my faith in Christ has kept me going. I've watched others who have little to no faith face situations that instilled in them some hope of a God that loves them and takes care of them - that's an awesome event to witness in a life.

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. --George Müller

I wrote a book report on George Müller in high school, and his accounts of prayer and faith have stuck with me. George Müller was known for caring for over 10,000 orphans, as well as his education and missionary activities. Many times he could barely make ends meet for the orphanage, but he never solicited funds. He always prayed. Every need he ever had was met through prayer and faith. It doesn't get much better than that!

For many, faith is something that seems far out of reach. For others, faith seems silly and uncalled for - to depend on an "imaginary" being to provide for them. For few, a devastating life event will bring them to their knees and cause them to beg a God they may have never called on to answer a prayer, and they will find faith, and it will bring comfort and peace like they've never known.

I was raised in the church, but it wasn't until our experience when I was pregnant with Carter that I truly understood the power of prayer and the peace that faith brings to a situation. I'm thankful that my upbringing prepared me for that call to faith, where others may have been more likely to waver. You'll hear more on that subject in future thankful posts :)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. --Hebrews 11:1

Lent... not to be mistaken for "lint"

As we all know, Easter was last weekend. And in the hustle and bustle of activities... plus the fact that I hadn't started this blog until just days ago... I have not had a chance to blog about how my first stab at Lent went. First, let me share the inspiration for participating in Lent this year. Enter Kathryn Whitaker. She's a Texas livin', Aggie lovin', Catholic momma of 5 beautiful children, a loving wife, a business woman, and a prior NICU momma of a child who also has some special medical needs. She. Is. Awesome. Now, as I've mentioned before - I'm Baptist. However, I have always been intrigued by the structure and beauty of Catholicism. Reading this woman's blog has given me wonderful inspiration to delve deeper into my relationship with God. And this brings us to her post about celebrating Lent as a family. I LOVED this concept of getting children completely involved in this holiday that is so important to the Christian faith. Plus, it's teaching them wonderful things like prayer, and having a spirit of giving. She breaks down the three aspects of Lent. Most people are aware of the fasting aspect, and not the other two:

Prayer

Fasting

Alms giving

I thought long and hard about what I could do to deepen my prayer life, what I could give up that I could actually adhere to that would be a true sacrifice and bring me closer to God, what I could do to give back and show thanks for what God has done for me and my family. And here's what I came up with....

Prayer/Fasting - I decided that my prayer and fasting could be best done in a complementary way. I gave up listening to the radio in my car. It seems silly when you think about it.... but try driving around with it off... some people can't handle the quiet (my husband is one of those people, so my fast was broken if we were riding together somewhere). This gave me time to reflect on everything about my day.... things I could've done differently. It gave me time to pray. Every morning Carter and I prayed on the way to school for his friends around the globe with OEIS, our family, his teachers, for him to EAT! We sang songs and "talked".... and sometimes it was just quiet. It was the best thing I've ever done for 40 days... and even now that Lent is over, we still are doing it some mornings :)

Alms giving - I stole this idea from Kathryn. 40 notes of thanksgving. Over the last year and a half I have been through so many life-changing events, and have had so many people by my side to support and encourage me. These people deserved a thank you from me, so I decided this was the perfect opportunity. I will be honest... even now, I have only mailed out half. I didn't want to rush my thoughts onto the notes and have them coming out sounding insincere. I will eventually get all 40 of them out, and every one of them will be heart-felt.

So this was my first Lenten experience, and I can't wait for next year! You have a whole year to decide if you want to participate in Lent, and come up with the perfect concoction of PFA. I can't wait for Carter to be old enough to participate actively with me!