WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

It's catharsis time. Got to get this off my chest. My life is absolutely insane right now. I am completely and utterly stressed out more than I have ever been in my whole life, and that is saying something. And, while there is an end in sight, the end point of this insane rollercoaster ride is months away. And the big question is can I hold it together until we get to the other side of this or am I going to crack under the stress? Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. These are my constant prayers keeping me anchored.

Now, I lead a fairly busy life on a normal day. I have four kids. A full time job. I'm a pastor's wife and have duties at church. That's kind of a lot right there. But recently the whole mess has switched into overdrive. Here's what is stressing me out:

WORK: 1) New boss - this is always stressful, but especially when accompanied by saber rattling, shifting procedures, and mandates to clean house; 2) huge increase in number of projects and people I'm managing in the last few months - more than doubled since last September; 3) I am really behind - related to 1 & 2, every day I have about 5-6 hours of meetings so I can't seem to get my work done in the normal work day, so I am having to try to fit it in nights and early mornings.

FAMILY: 1) New baby - I am nursing so that takes time; new babies require extra work generally and there is so much laundry! 2) Terrible twos and potty training - other baby has entered fully into terrible twos and simultaneously has decided she no longer likes clothes or diapers and wants only intermittantly to use the potty. So every minute at home requres constant supervision of the toddler and many battles of the will. 3) baseball season has begun - I don't even want think about what this means for my evenings and weekends.

add to all of the above,
MOVING: We are also in the process of getting our house ready to sell and looking for houses in Lexington. THis is its own form of insanity in and of itself. For a whole range of reasons this is best done this year, but for the life of me I don't know how we are going to finish the stuff that needs to get done on the house, get it on the market, manage to keep the house picked up and be ready to show it, look for a new house, take care of all the paperwork with banks, inspectors, realtors, etc., pack up our stuff and move by the middle of this summer. And if you saw the list of home repairs we need to do to get our house ready, it would make you cry. This is going to be nothing short of miraculous.

Now some of these things I have control over, others I do not. I am saying no to things as often as I can. There are other things you just have to get through. As my momma used to say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

ST PATRICKS DAY PARADE POSTPONED

Come see St patricks church and its acolyte drill team on a new day and time. Because of bad weather the parade was postponed to Saturday, March 19, at 3 pm. The parade will go down Main Street. Be there!

Here's what I've been up to lately. Come join us Saturday, March 12th, at 1 pm on Main Street in Lexington, Ky, for some campy fun!

DRILL TEAM MAKES ITS UNIQUE DEBUT DURING ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

Media Advisory
For Immediate Release
March 8, 2005
Contact: Trudi Matthews
tlmatthews@juno.com
stpatricks@fsvmail.net

When you think of church, you don’t normally think of drill teams. But one Lexington area church is breaking with tradition in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Anglican Church has formed an “Acolyte Drill Team” for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Lexington. The drill team members use fake candlelighters, like those used during weddings, for their musical routines.

“We’re pretty sure this is going to be a one-of-a-kind entry in this year’s parade,” organizer Trudi Matthews stated. “In fact, we may have the only acolyte drill team in the entire country.”

Other drill team members had similar thoughts.

“I guess we’ll either be a big hit or we’ll be embarrassed about the whole experience as long as we live. I choose to think the former rather than the latter,” said Lester Ruth, drill team member.

When asked where the idea for a church drill team came from, Pastor Peter Matthews replied that his wife and another member thought it natural for the church to do something for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

“My nutty wife started making jokes about doing a parody of a drill team, and one thing lead to another,” Matthews stated.

St. Patrick’s Anglican Church is a new congregation in the Lexington area. It started in September of 2003. The church meets 4 p.m. on Sundays in the historic sanctuary at South Elkhorn Christian Church. Pastor Peter Matthews is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary.

For more information about St. Patrick’s Anglican Church or its acolyte drill team, visit the church’s web site at www.saintpatrickschurch.org or contact drill team organizer, Trudi Matthews.