One of the difficulties in returning to your hometown after time away is convincing people that you’ve changed. In their mind, time has stopped and you are the same person you were when you left. Experiences, achievements, life changes are suddenly obliterated by the truth of who you used to be.

Five years is a long time to be absent, and a lot has happened to me in that time. Therefore, I will be proactive and {re}introduce myself to everyone before we return — because EVERYONE in Washington reads my blog, right?!

1. I now drink coffee, and Coke, and sometimes {gasp} alcohol. When I moved out of the Pacific Northwest, these were the last things I ever would have chosen for liquid refreshment. Now, one of them has become a daily necessity…can you guess which one?
2. I’m a blogger {duh}. This means that I’m obsessively involved in social media — I update, I comment, I overshare, and I love to talk about comment applications, memes and site designs. Some of you will think I’m narcissistic, many of you will not understand {or care}, and a few will embrace me with open arms as one of your own. I’m ok with all responses.
3. In my time away from the Northwest, I have doubled the amount of children I left with. FOUR! Yes, that’s a lot of kids. Yes, I have my hands full. Yes, we are loud, crazy, sticky, poopy, and we are full of love. Also, we have definite ideas about how we will raise and discipline our children. That does not mean that you have to raise yours the same way, or that I will judge you for being different. I really just want to hang out and drink coffee with you while my kids discover puddles {a mythical body of water they’ve heard of, but not seen}.
4. I’m a licensed pastor and I have a Bachelor’s degree in Ministry & Leadership. Josh and I have ministry dreams: to plant a church, to start a mentoring program for young leaders, to have a retreat center for ministry burn-out prevention. My degree and license are not proof that I am perfect. In fact, I’ll probably say and do a lot that make you wonder why anyone would give me either of those two things.
5. Remember #3? That has changed the way my body looks. Yes, I’m aware. Yes, I plan on working on it. Yes, I shouldn’t eat that brownie.
6. Lastly, I hope that you will find that I now take criticism better, use sarcasm less for humor, value people more than tasks, endure frustration quieter, and extend grace to all.

I’m sure there’s more, but I thought I’d leave a few for you to discover on your own…

How about you?

What changes have you seen in your life in the past five years?