Matthew made dinner!

How wonderful!  He got home sooner than expected today and went straight to work on dinner. He made a tasty salad with turkey and homemade croutons.  Yes croutons! He got creative and made some croutons with the heal of the bread that everyone throws away.  It was delicious.  I LOVE MY HUSBAND!  Too bad I didn't think to take a picture.  I'm still working on that one :) So instead here is a cute picture of the chef!

The group shot

Neel, Gunjan, Chris, Bryan, Spencer, Abhishek, Bhaskar, Matthew 

(Janet was taking the picture)

Neel did all the dishes!!

Today was the 6 miles run to get ready for the big 13 mile run in January.  We had everyone over for pancakes and oj to relax after the run. The training schedule goes up by one mile every Saturday and then tapers off before the race day.  We'll see if we get such big smiles after the 12 mile run in December!

3 months already...

I have been thinking about how it has been three months since my second surgery for thyroid cancer.  I'm still not sure I believe I had cancer.  I can't identify with patients who have had chemotherapy, stayed in the hospital for weeks or even months at a time, loosing all my hair or feeling weak and feeble due to the many medications.  What I can identify with is hearing the word cancer and the flood of thought that takes place in your brain the minute the doctor uses it.  I can identify with having so much blood taken you're not sure you are going to have any left and having a scar as a constant reminder that you have battled something horrendous that was wanting to break down your body.  

I am thankful to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as I have gone through this.  I would not have been able to make sense of any of it and the worry and anxiety would have killed me long before the cancer.  How do you make sense of cancer?  Well, what I know is true is that the Lord has a purpose and a plan for my life.  He never promised that plan would be free from disease or trial, in fact he promises we will be tested through trial and can expect it.  That testing will grow our faith and develop perseverance.  I actually like the word long-suffering instead of perseverance.  It paints a better picture of what it means to push through.  It may be long and we may suffer.  My battle with cancer is not a closed book.  I would be foolish to dismiss it and continue with my life as if it never happened. I can count on more doctor appointments and blood tests.  Only the Lord knows if it will return again and there will be the need for more surgery or radiation.  

I have been encouraged by a book titled The Cup and the Glory by Greg Harris.  It wiped out my old perspective on suffering and gave me a fresh look at it.  Really I haven't suffered - Christsuffered on the cross when he was crucified and took on the sins of the world so that we wouldn't have to pay for them ourselves.  He knew it was not going to be easy, He knew it would be painful, He asked for "the cup" to be taken from Him.  But it wasn't and He SUFFERED.  I have not suffered to the extend Christ did, but the sliver of suffering I have experienced allows me to understand and to identify with my Lord and Savior.  It makes me honor Him more and fall before Him in humble gratitude for what He did for me. So I'm thankful for cancer.  I really am! Anything that draws me closer to the Lord and fixes my gaze solely on Him I am thankful for.

And I'm thankful for all of you, friends and family, who prayed for me and encouraged us greatly as we navigated the rough terrain. I was taught how the body of Christ loves one of its members and seeks to hold them up through the suffering.  Matt and I joked on our wedding day that it will be a long time before we felt so loved again.  We were wrong.  Just two years later we had love heaped on us in healthy servings.  My cup runneth over again as I think about it, just like it did 3 months ago. 

What a great weekend!!

The weekend started off with a celebration for Brieann's birthday.  We went to El Ranchito for dinner - so good!  Happy Birthday Brieann!  I love you and am so glad to be able to celebrate another year of your fabulous life!

Heather and Brieann - Carp House roomies :)

Then Melissa and Eric came down to spend the rest of the weekend with us!  This is the group at Chick-fil-A with the cow.  Aren't they cute?!?!

Then Matt and I both got haircuts!!  A haircut is one of the most wonderful things available to us on this planet.

The final product!  Thanks Melissa! We love you to pieces :)

And we saw some wildlife...out of the preserve I'm sure.  This is the second time I've seen a bird like this in our parking lot!  Still nothing when I'm actually driving through the preserve.  Oh, I found out you can get a tour...I think that might need to happen.

Calling all runners!

Well at the prodding of some of Matt's friends from school we are going to run another 1/2 marathon.  I know I said I would never run another - but here I am.  Going for a run is the perfect thing to do with the extra time on my hands.  I know someday down the road with some mini Poladians in tow I will be remembering the days with longing when I had extra time to go for a run.  So why not soak it up!  

If you are interested in joining us in our 13 mile race to the finish look at this link and send me an email so I can send you the training schedule.  It will be fun...I promise :)

http://teamtrax.net/schalfmarathon

Shane and Shane

We had the chance to see Shane and Shane in concert this weekend at Biola.  What a great concert!  They seem like two regular guys up on stage..so unassuming.  But they are amazing!  The Lord has blessed them with such a talent and they use it to His glory.  They sang for about 2 1/2 hours with a few fun stories in between.  I was encouraged to hear about the song that was inspired by Shadrach Meshach and Abednego.  They were just three guys who wanted to serve the Lord and not bow down to any other king and were thrown into the firey furnace. Daniel Chapter 3:17-18 says this:  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Shane and Shane commented on the part that says "But if not." The three guys were willing to serve God and not bow down to the king whether God would save them from the furnace or not.  Their song talks about "burning in the furnace of the Lord's desire."  The Lord chooses to send us into all kinds of situations and we need to be willing to go - whether it is easy or tough.  This convicted me...

The Wildlife Preserve

Believe it or not, we live on the edge of the Wildlife Preserve in Irvine.  Don't worry - we aren't in danger of tigers or lions showing up outside our door.  In fact I have yet to see any type of wildlife in the Preserve.  I have seen a man running with his dog, two people in their wheelchairs taking a stroll, and many cars driving through.  But no wildlife...interesting.  It is plesant that the open space will not be developed and as Matt said "it's kind of nice driving through the Wildlife Preserve."  I'll let you know the first time I spot something! I'll get some pictures so you can see it too.

The What ifs and the If onlys

If only I could stop with the if onlys..haha!  While it is fun to joke, I'm actually very serious about this one.  I've noticed how often I find myself deep in thought about something that is an if only or a what if.  How pointless.  The bible very clearly tells me to focus my thoughts on above.  What is right, true, pure, holy.  But instead, I go straight to dwelling on what if.... 

I've noticed this a lot more since being in Irvine.  We know Matt's program is only 2 years and then we will move.  Only the Lord knows if we will move down the street, back to Woodland Hills or some other far off place - but it is certain we will move.  Graduate student housing doesn't look kindly on squatters who have finished their program.  I have found myself on numerous occasions thinking deeply about our situation.  What if he gets a job around here and we end up staying permanently, if only I knew what the next two years were going to look like then I could plan accordingly, what if we have to wait to start our family until he is graduated, if only I had the perfect job then I wouldn't think about how we are going to pay the bills.  I could continue and you would be appalled at my thinking.  What might appal you even more is that I am comforted by my thoughts.  Not true comfort, like what comes from the Lord, but comforted to know I'm thinking and examining all possible scenarios.  Silly - He doesn't ask us to sit in anxiety over what might happen. He asks us to pray, submit ourselves to his leading and grow in our understanding of Him. I recognize there is nothing of value in any of my thoughts and if this is all I think about I have not moved forward in my pursuit of holiness.  The Lord has been revealing this sin in my life and urging me to cast it off.  But the writer of Hebrews is right in saying we are so easily entangled by our sin.  

So I find it is helpful and necessary to always go back to what I know is true.  The Lord promises He will never leave or forsake us.  This doesn't mean that He will go along with my plan - but rather the Poladian family will be right where He wants us.  Under His wing and in His will.  Oh, I pray that my comfort would come from that instead of from all my crazy thoughts.  I know I can not make decisions looking backward - I need to have faith and rely on the unseen when moving forward.  I'm thankful for this time of stretching.  My faith is growing and that is always good.    

Twofer

Have you ever thought about driving?  Pretty weird when you think about it - although this one doesn't fit with the theme of changing into an different outfit.  We willingly put ourselves into a metal box and drive around.  The only thing keeping other cars from coming into your lane are lines painted on the ground.  Painted!  Paint is what keeps people in their own lane - obviously this falls apart when we start talking about accidents -- but otherwise we sit in our metal boxes and drive around following lines of paint on the road!  WEIRD!!  

Here comes the twofer..while in the metal box we listen to the radio.  What posesses people to call into the radio.  I've heard some pretty interesting things said by callers and hosts.  For example one host told a lady she "had no idea what she was talking about" probably 5 times during the course of their conversation.  I don't know about you, but it has never crossed my mind to let a radio host know it was my birthday or anyone elses, my opinion on the latest with politics or to discuss a family situation and receive advise.  Who started this calling into radio shows anyway?? Weird.

Rachel Bishop knows what I'm talking about!  So does Andrew Gutierrez!