It seems this season is so busy with kids coming and going. We are hardly ever all home for a meal together unless we wait for all the kids to get home from practice which is after 8 pm. Tonight Travis is grilling hamburgers, but we won’t eat until nearly 9 pm when they all get home from church. It’s a very busy season for sure! And I’m not complaining. They love school, love football and volleyball, love their friends. The Lord has blessed them with health and energy to handle it all. The biggest perk for me is not having to remind them to do homework!

Ryan is doing great in school and as we predicted, he is loved fiercely and deeply by his paras and teachers. He recovered quickly from the stomach bug that kept him from surgery last week, and surgery was rescheduled for next Monday, September 22nd. Same time, same place. Travis has training all day on Tuesday so I’m going to stay home with the little guy and give him an extra day of rest. He’ll need it as I’m sure his incision will be sore. The stimulator is buried in his chest wall muscles so it will be tender for a while.

Travis’s mom sees the oncologist on Monday while we are at Children’s. As you can imagine, everyone is anxious to find out what her treatment plan is for the next few months. I hate to see anyone have to go through chemo, but there really isn’t any other choice. She has a very strong community of family and friends to come together and offer support. That in and of itself is such a tremendous blessing!

I just love this time of year and all the fun it brings looking for fall recipes. I’m having a renewed love affair with pinterest and all the cooking blogs I love. And then there are pumpkins (outrageously priced at $6 a pumpkin! Seriously?!) and cooler weather and football on TV. And with the changing leaves and open windows comes the big double birthday. We have just under three weeks before Sidney (15) will be driving and Ryan (11) will be celebrated too. I look around and wonder how it’s possible we are now reaching 11 years since Ryan joined our family. What a blessing all four of these kids are! I can’t imagine my life without them.

I was reading one of Lysa TerKeurst’s books recently and was struck by a simple two word phrase she used – “unsettle me”. Simplistic but powerful at the same time. It’s been my prayer lately. It’s so very easy to get stuck in a rut – a good place – but a rut none the less. My life revolves around the kids’ sport schedules, making sure their laundry is done, checking grades and keeping up on the events of their days. And in the busy life we find ourselves in, it’s easy to get stuck. To feel settled. To be complacent. And that’s not a place I want to be. So the simple phrase “unsettle me” struck a cord in my heart. I don’t want to settle for anything, but I find myself in that exact spot on so many levels. Instead I want to be an encourager. I want to minister to someone around me who needs love. I want to push myself past the limits of my “I can” and find my “I will”. I want to set goals and strive to hit the mark. I want to communicate love to my family and friends. And most importantly, I want to be Jesus to those around me. I know of some people in my circle who are desperate for love. Who are lonely and met with sorrow. I know of some who have met stress at the peak of breaking and others who simply need to hear the words “I care”. Because no matter what those around us are facing, we all need to be unsettled. We all need to push beyond our comforts and give some love. Hand over encouragement. Be the friend who sits silently close by. My prayer for each of you is that you find your “unsettle me” moment and grasp the hope of Jesus to extend to those around you. People are fighting some big battles. Let’s all be unsettled, thrown on some compassion and bless someone around us.