What a terrible turn of events... I'm still in shock and don't even know how to proceed.
We found out last night that our USDA loan has not been approved simply because the USDA would rather sit on it and refuses to commit to Monday as our closing date but not only that, they have refused to commit to any date at this point so there is not closing in site.
This is a HUGE problem on many levels. We already gave our 30 day notice to break our lease with our apartment complex. Which means, even if we have no house to move into we have to be out by the 10th. Also, the $1500 buy out fee has to be paid by the 10th. Our builders were going to cover that cost upon closing. If we don't close they won't pay and it's Ryan's and mine signature on the contract that says we are responsible for paying that buy out.
We also already cancelled things like electricity and Internet over here and have set up dates for them to start/install on Monday or Tuesday. We already got our change of address in at the post office, we've booked movers, called the factory to have our fridge delivered etc. There were a lot of things we had on our list to get done before closing and we did it all. I took about 20 boxes up our (SEVERAL)apartment stairs and into a storage building. We are using paper plates and cups etc because I packed up the kitchen thinking we could get by for the next 3 days.
This is such a mess I don't know where to begin. I think right now I'm just learning to pray and try to take things one step at a time but life feels like someone pushed the pause button. I don't know how to move forward from here.
Anyway, this is just an update... prayers are GREATLY appreciated!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
All About Bree
Wow! This is amazing! I made a list yesterday and only had a limited amount of time to get it all done and not only did I get most of it done but I also managed to give Bree a bath and put her in an outfit! LOL (It was three bucks!)
She likes to try to each the fuzzy on the end of it.
These pics got all out of order, her dress is a little orange pull-over with sparkly bats and spiders on it and a little black boa attached to the end. =)
This picture is for size reference and I've been meaning to send it to Mama A for a while! LOL
This just cracked me up so I thought I'd add it to the bunch. Bree has figured out how to get on our coffee table and likes to lay on it because it is marble and stays cool. She should be content with the tile in our new house.
Last one in her Halloween dress
Time to make a list for Tuesday!
We still have plenty to do but are really looking forward to the upcoming week! Can't wait to see family and be in our new home.
Today I need to get more packing and decluttering done but between work and an appointment my time today is a bit limited.
That's ok, I'll get started!
Happy Tuesday!
She likes to try to each the fuzzy on the end of it.
These pics got all out of order, her dress is a little orange pull-over with sparkly bats and spiders on it and a little black boa attached to the end. =)
This picture is for size reference and I've been meaning to send it to Mama A for a while! LOL
This just cracked me up so I thought I'd add it to the bunch. Bree has figured out how to get on our coffee table and likes to lay on it because it is marble and stays cool. She should be content with the tile in our new house.
Last one in her Halloween dress
Time to make a list for Tuesday!
We still have plenty to do but are really looking forward to the upcoming week! Can't wait to see family and be in our new home.
Today I need to get more packing and decluttering done but between work and an appointment my time today is a bit limited.
That's ok, I'll get started!
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, October 25, 2010
SO MUCH TO DO!
Wow! I'm gonna make this a quick blog because I have SO much to do!
We are T-8 days!!!
I suddenly have even more respect for my mom and sisters who have moved not only their stuff but their husbands stuff as well! Getting everything organized in the midst of a move is hard work!
I've still got house work and everyday life to tend to not to mention packing and sorting and getting rid of stuff or changing our address with the post office and other important people, setting up electric, Internet, canceling the ones we have out here in Austin, making sure our fridge comes when we move, booking movers!
Wow! Breathing time....
OK, I've gotten a lot of the calling, canceling, and setting up done, but our poor apartment is in complete dissaray! (Bree helps with that quite a lot, I'm looking forward to being able to exile her to our giant back yard!)
I have 2 and a half hours before I have to be at work to get all the laundry done, dinner prepped, kitchen wiped down, bedroom and bathroom cleaned, and some organizational stuff as well. I CAN DO IT! (I hope)
IN OTHER NEWS....
I have a phone interview this week with a family looking for a nanny after Christmas! I like this idea because I would plan on leaving my current job to get settled into our house and REALLY work on a good cleaning schedule before starting a new, higher paying, calmer job only 5 miles away!
PRAYERS PLEASE!
I think that's it for now! Happy Monday!
We are T-8 days!!!
I suddenly have even more respect for my mom and sisters who have moved not only their stuff but their husbands stuff as well! Getting everything organized in the midst of a move is hard work!
I've still got house work and everyday life to tend to not to mention packing and sorting and getting rid of stuff or changing our address with the post office and other important people, setting up electric, Internet, canceling the ones we have out here in Austin, making sure our fridge comes when we move, booking movers!
Wow! Breathing time....
OK, I've gotten a lot of the calling, canceling, and setting up done, but our poor apartment is in complete dissaray! (Bree helps with that quite a lot, I'm looking forward to being able to exile her to our giant back yard!)
I have 2 and a half hours before I have to be at work to get all the laundry done, dinner prepped, kitchen wiped down, bedroom and bathroom cleaned, and some organizational stuff as well. I CAN DO IT! (I hope)
IN OTHER NEWS....
I have a phone interview this week with a family looking for a nanny after Christmas! I like this idea because I would plan on leaving my current job to get settled into our house and REALLY work on a good cleaning schedule before starting a new, higher paying, calmer job only 5 miles away!
PRAYERS PLEASE!
I think that's it for now! Happy Monday!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Blockbuster... BUSTER
Oh my goodness what just happened?!
We recieved a sweet little Halloween card from gran and a little treat money. So we decided it was going to be movie night!
We went up to Blockbuster and began our search. We are often looking for a good laugh so there we were on the Comedy isle, Ryan standing next to me while I sat in a squat looking at the movies lower down. Ryan was exclaiming about Ghost Busters and how that should be our movie of choice.
And then it happened. The loudest longest real life flatulence I have ever heard. Ryan and I met each other's shocked looks and I lokked forward to see a large pleated pant covored buttocks just on the other side of the movie wall... That's right... I was gassed!
I don't know what the heck that guy was thinking! He must have been brave! He knew we were there, we weren't being quiet! I still can't believe this actually happened! It's like something from a movie!
Ryan burst out laughing and I quickly walked away not really sure what to do! I was disgusted! I was irritated! BUT... I couldn't not laugh!
What an experience!
We recieved a sweet little Halloween card from gran and a little treat money. So we decided it was going to be movie night!
We went up to Blockbuster and began our search. We are often looking for a good laugh so there we were on the Comedy isle, Ryan standing next to me while I sat in a squat looking at the movies lower down. Ryan was exclaiming about Ghost Busters and how that should be our movie of choice.
And then it happened. The loudest longest real life flatulence I have ever heard. Ryan and I met each other's shocked looks and I lokked forward to see a large pleated pant covored buttocks just on the other side of the movie wall... That's right... I was gassed!
I don't know what the heck that guy was thinking! He must have been brave! He knew we were there, we weren't being quiet! I still can't believe this actually happened! It's like something from a movie!
Ryan burst out laughing and I quickly walked away not really sure what to do! I was disgusted! I was irritated! BUT... I couldn't not laugh!
What an experience!
Monday, October 18, 2010
More House!
So, As you can see; our landscaping is in!!!!
LOVE these pretty autumn flowers!
We have a LOT of side yard....
And a HUGE back yard! Hubby and Bree were both thrilled to see how big it actually is! I'm excited too! It's a lot of yard!
AND THE CARPET IS HERE!!!! Everything looks so beautiful! It's like it just set in for Ryan and I! We got so excited when we saw it! It's pretty much done!
PRE walk-thru this Wednesday with Mom and Dad and Thursday is our first walk through. A week from Thursday is our second walk through and when they want to close! But they can't close without some paperwork and our final OK on the house so we are planning to push it back to the 1st. =)
We are SO excited! It still doesn't feel real! WE ARE GONNA LIVE HERE!? =0 =)
Allie Allen
What a weekend!
We enjoyed a long get-a-way to Houston this weekend and one of my great goals was to get some great pictures of 4 week old Allie! Now I ran into a snag with my photo retouching because my free trial expired and I'm still waiting on my code to keep using the software so these are pretty much untouched:
We also went to the Renessaunce Festival this weekend which was super fun and great entertainment! Haha! I snagged a few pics of some costumes with my camera but my blog only lets my post 5 pictures per post. (Dumb!) We also really enjoyed ourselves just hanging out with Jimmy & Melissa and Jon & Em! It was a great weekend!
And today we went and saw the house! Seperate post to follow since I'm at my picture quota for now!!!
We enjoyed a long get-a-way to Houston this weekend and one of my great goals was to get some great pictures of 4 week old Allie! Now I ran into a snag with my photo retouching because my free trial expired and I'm still waiting on my code to keep using the software so these are pretty much untouched:
We also went to the Renessaunce Festival this weekend which was super fun and great entertainment! Haha! I snagged a few pics of some costumes with my camera but my blog only lets my post 5 pictures per post. (Dumb!) We also really enjoyed ourselves just hanging out with Jimmy & Melissa and Jon & Em! It was a great weekend!
And today we went and saw the house! Seperate post to follow since I'm at my picture quota for now!!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Little Ones
This week I have been at a different school every day.
I started out the week as usual. On Monday I went to my school and worked with my group of kids. My group has about 25 kids in it and our whole school averages about 54 I believe. Tuesday I went to a school who had 109 kids in the YMCA program and every single kid I talked to lied to me, most talked back with horrible attitudes, some of them literally pulled on me whining about one thing or another, and my overall experience was less than delightful. On Wednesday I drove 30 minutes out to north Round Rock and worked at the largest school YMCA has in there program. There were over 200 kids enrolled and that was complete madness. The kids don't listen and they are purposefully rude and disobedient because they know there's really not much we can do! SO frustrating! And Yesterday I drove another 30 minutes out to Round Rock to work at the school I worked at last year and found all the staff I worked with were gone and most of the kids I worked with weren't there either.
There were probably 75 kids at this school and a lot of yelling from the counselors. The youngers were mean and several came to me crying about who hit them, threw rocks, scratched etc... it was crazy! BUT two pleasant things happened this week.
One, at the largest school. When we took the kids outside I watched a little boy hurling a basketball at a hoop. I watched for a while before offering to help him with his form. (I only know this because my husband taught me.) I repositioned his hands on the ball, one behind and slightly under it, and the other on the side to guide it. I showed him a few times and let him at it. He got SO excited when he realized he was much more accurate this way! That was a rewarding moment.
The second was yesterday. I was on the playground with the little kids and I sat on a bench for a moment and the cutest little fuzzy haired, plump bodied little boy came and just put himself in my lap.
"Well, hi!" I said laughing a little bit at his forwardness.
"hi" he said in a little voice holding my hand. "What's your name?"
"Miss Tiffany" I told him. "what's yours?"
"Diego"
"You are very friendly aren't you Diego?"
"Yes."
"Why are you so friendly?"
"I like friendly people. Are you wearing lipstick?"
I laughed and answered "No not right now."
"It kinda looks like you are." He looked into my face and asked "Can I see your eyes?"
I placed my sunglasses on my head and smiled at him. He gave me a little happy gasp and reported "You have dark green eyes. I like them." I smiled at him. What a precious boy! He wanted to hold my hand the rest of the time I was there.
This week has reminded me that times aren't what they used to be. Respect in children has diminished almost completely. Obedience, kindness, etc. These are rarities. It makes me sad... and weary. But I know OUR kids will have respect, obedience, kindness and sweetness and the truth of the gospel taught to them. They will be sweet kids!
Speaking of sweet children, I'm so pumped for my second shot with Allie next weekend. I have several ideas I want to do and I may just have to do some prop shopping!
I have this one idea I really want to do but couldn't find an example of it online. Allie has a cute little watermelon hat and I'd love to have JUST the hat on her with her laying in a watermelon bowl. How cute would that be!?
Also she has some tutus now so I want to do some shots like these:
I also love the baby in the basket idea. Like this:
It's also the same concept I want to do with the watermelon! =)
I started out the week as usual. On Monday I went to my school and worked with my group of kids. My group has about 25 kids in it and our whole school averages about 54 I believe. Tuesday I went to a school who had 109 kids in the YMCA program and every single kid I talked to lied to me, most talked back with horrible attitudes, some of them literally pulled on me whining about one thing or another, and my overall experience was less than delightful. On Wednesday I drove 30 minutes out to north Round Rock and worked at the largest school YMCA has in there program. There were over 200 kids enrolled and that was complete madness. The kids don't listen and they are purposefully rude and disobedient because they know there's really not much we can do! SO frustrating! And Yesterday I drove another 30 minutes out to Round Rock to work at the school I worked at last year and found all the staff I worked with were gone and most of the kids I worked with weren't there either.
There were probably 75 kids at this school and a lot of yelling from the counselors. The youngers were mean and several came to me crying about who hit them, threw rocks, scratched etc... it was crazy! BUT two pleasant things happened this week.
One, at the largest school. When we took the kids outside I watched a little boy hurling a basketball at a hoop. I watched for a while before offering to help him with his form. (I only know this because my husband taught me.) I repositioned his hands on the ball, one behind and slightly under it, and the other on the side to guide it. I showed him a few times and let him at it. He got SO excited when he realized he was much more accurate this way! That was a rewarding moment.
The second was yesterday. I was on the playground with the little kids and I sat on a bench for a moment and the cutest little fuzzy haired, plump bodied little boy came and just put himself in my lap.
"Well, hi!" I said laughing a little bit at his forwardness.
"hi" he said in a little voice holding my hand. "What's your name?"
"Miss Tiffany" I told him. "what's yours?"
"Diego"
"You are very friendly aren't you Diego?"
"Yes."
"Why are you so friendly?"
"I like friendly people. Are you wearing lipstick?"
I laughed and answered "No not right now."
"It kinda looks like you are." He looked into my face and asked "Can I see your eyes?"
I placed my sunglasses on my head and smiled at him. He gave me a little happy gasp and reported "You have dark green eyes. I like them." I smiled at him. What a precious boy! He wanted to hold my hand the rest of the time I was there.
This week has reminded me that times aren't what they used to be. Respect in children has diminished almost completely. Obedience, kindness, etc. These are rarities. It makes me sad... and weary. But I know OUR kids will have respect, obedience, kindness and sweetness and the truth of the gospel taught to them. They will be sweet kids!
Speaking of sweet children, I'm so pumped for my second shot with Allie next weekend. I have several ideas I want to do and I may just have to do some prop shopping!
I have this one idea I really want to do but couldn't find an example of it online. Allie has a cute little watermelon hat and I'd love to have JUST the hat on her with her laying in a watermelon bowl. How cute would that be!?
Also she has some tutus now so I want to do some shots like these:
I also love the baby in the basket idea. Like this:
It's also the same concept I want to do with the watermelon! =)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Thursday Thoughts
I have only been up for an hour or two but I woke up with a sore throat and am not feeling very well so at the start of the day I find myself battling a very grumpy attitude. My husband greeted me sweetly in a pleasant tone and my response was some sort of grunt. LOL. The puppy sis some business in the apartment and then as I tried to get my menu and grocery list together she decided to attack the boxes we have collected for packing. Now there are little bits of box all over the place. Our apartment officially went into packing stage yesterday which is exciting for sure! But how do you keep a tiny apartment organized while in the midst of packing? It just isn't working very well. LOL
We have our walk through's for the house scheduled. Both on Thursdays and the first one is two weeks from today. The 21st and the final one the 28th so it looks like we'll close on the 1st of November like we wanted. I don't have any more pictures yet because all of the changes are really happening on the inside which we don't get to see until Saturdays because the workers are there during the week and I don't want to bother them.
So, today I am trying to focus on the good things and a righteous attitude and the excitement I had on Monday for living an exciting life for Christ. I have to be honest though, at this very moment, it's a lot harder than on Monday. LOL
This week I have been filling in at different schools for people who are sick or in training and yesterday I was at a site that had over 200 kids in it's YMCA program! Insanity! But one thing I started doing this week is, while I'm driving connect my ipod to the stereo and have my music on. I recently found the scraps and scratch recordings of an album I didn't finish shortly after high school.
I listened to all of the songs and was transported back to the sad state that I was in when I wrote the songs. And thinking back on it now, it's sort of revelatory (Is that a word?) I was very honest in those writings, something that, at the time was quite opposite of my typical behavior. I was even honest with myself. Most of the songs had a way of telling the simple truth; I need God. I miss working with music. If I had the right connections and all that I needed to really produce an album I would use those old songs and compile an honest album called "Confessions of a Prodigal" I'm not proud of where I was but these songs remind me that at some point, I did understand what was wrong, what was missing. Even when I was pursuing MY dreams MY way and living MY life the way I wanted... I couldn't live with ME in command. Left to myself I will ruin everything.
And even if a person isn't quite as far in as I was, isn't that the truth for all of us? We have a savior because WE CAN'T SAVE OURSELVES!
We have a God who loves us and looks out for us because living our lives on our own is dangerous and produces very little.
One of these songs was just a revisit from a time before all my mess, where I just felt dry spiritually. Maybe because of the church or the people we were around but through that came a song called Oasis which is just about Christ being the water that sustains us in the dessert.
I still feel that way sometimes. Distant from God, wandering a dessert because my discipline is lacking... again.
I often wonder why God gives us certain passions. Why have I always wanted to sing? Even to a fault where I made it top priority above more important things... but where did that desire come from originally? God? Why? What's that for?
Why do I love to tell stories, create adventure, write novels? What does God want me to do with that? And why do I just love capturing life on film? I've always been a visual thinker, with images in my head, and now I find that "images" are a big part of my life and my next career move. What's God's plan for that?
And why couldn't I have just one thing that I really love? Why three? And what do I do with them? LOL Sometimes I wish God would give me a map for life! =)
Anyway, I'm off to the store.
Happy Thursday!
We have our walk through's for the house scheduled. Both on Thursdays and the first one is two weeks from today. The 21st and the final one the 28th so it looks like we'll close on the 1st of November like we wanted. I don't have any more pictures yet because all of the changes are really happening on the inside which we don't get to see until Saturdays because the workers are there during the week and I don't want to bother them.
So, today I am trying to focus on the good things and a righteous attitude and the excitement I had on Monday for living an exciting life for Christ. I have to be honest though, at this very moment, it's a lot harder than on Monday. LOL
This week I have been filling in at different schools for people who are sick or in training and yesterday I was at a site that had over 200 kids in it's YMCA program! Insanity! But one thing I started doing this week is, while I'm driving connect my ipod to the stereo and have my music on. I recently found the scraps and scratch recordings of an album I didn't finish shortly after high school.
I listened to all of the songs and was transported back to the sad state that I was in when I wrote the songs. And thinking back on it now, it's sort of revelatory (Is that a word?) I was very honest in those writings, something that, at the time was quite opposite of my typical behavior. I was even honest with myself. Most of the songs had a way of telling the simple truth; I need God. I miss working with music. If I had the right connections and all that I needed to really produce an album I would use those old songs and compile an honest album called "Confessions of a Prodigal" I'm not proud of where I was but these songs remind me that at some point, I did understand what was wrong, what was missing. Even when I was pursuing MY dreams MY way and living MY life the way I wanted... I couldn't live with ME in command. Left to myself I will ruin everything.
And even if a person isn't quite as far in as I was, isn't that the truth for all of us? We have a savior because WE CAN'T SAVE OURSELVES!
We have a God who loves us and looks out for us because living our lives on our own is dangerous and produces very little.
One of these songs was just a revisit from a time before all my mess, where I just felt dry spiritually. Maybe because of the church or the people we were around but through that came a song called Oasis which is just about Christ being the water that sustains us in the dessert.
I still feel that way sometimes. Distant from God, wandering a dessert because my discipline is lacking... again.
I often wonder why God gives us certain passions. Why have I always wanted to sing? Even to a fault where I made it top priority above more important things... but where did that desire come from originally? God? Why? What's that for?
Why do I love to tell stories, create adventure, write novels? What does God want me to do with that? And why do I just love capturing life on film? I've always been a visual thinker, with images in my head, and now I find that "images" are a big part of my life and my next career move. What's God's plan for that?
And why couldn't I have just one thing that I really love? Why three? And what do I do with them? LOL Sometimes I wish God would give me a map for life! =)
Anyway, I'm off to the store.
Happy Thursday!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday Musings
"And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet." Romans 16:20
As our small group wrapped up it's study of Romans this week we all spent some time really meditating on this verse, discussing it's meaning and more importantly describing what it would look like to live in full belief and faith of this verse. What does it look like to live as though God WILL SOON crush Satan underneath our feet?
I mean, when you think about it, Satan is responsible for a lot of evil in the world. Persecution, spiritual warfare, death, fear, anxiety, etc. He can aid or even plant several of these things in our lives, crippling us. Taking our eyes off of Christ and the cross and onto ourselves and our perfect comfort or lack thereof.
Living as though you would stake your life on the truth in this verse was only ONE of the SEVERAL things that has challenged myself and my husband lately, to live our lives differently! The discussion of this verse in our small group lead both of us back to a study we did in our old small group before we were even courting. It was called GET UNCOMFORTABLE! And the passion and the fire to change the world as best as I can is slowly making it's way back into my blood, to pulse through my veins!
Our pastor has been preaching about how many Christians do live and then how all Christians SHOULD live! One sermon was about ladders and the bulletin actually had a put-together-yourself paper ladder for visual aid. We discussed the deceived legalistic theology that several church goers have about where they are on the ladder, and how "Well, I'm better than that guy, but I'm no mother Teressa" And that's it!!! No that shouldn't be it! So we all laid our ladders on their sides and were reminded throughout the week to stop comparing and doing things in life because we want to climb a ladder. That's not what it's about!
Then there was the segway sermon! Pastor Matt told a story about how he rented a segway and went as crazy as possible with the thing at the risk of his own health, but was remembered more than any other customer and ended up bringing in several more customers!
We as Christians should live our lives in such a way that we are remembered! In such a way that people want to know what's at our core.
We should live daring lives! Exciting, and uncomfortable lives!
The there was THIS week's sermon about Abraham and his covenant with God about his land and children. Pastor Matt used that example to preach the gospel. We are in a one sided contract. God came to closing and signed everything while we slept in! God put a deep sleep on Abraham while he did the traditional "Cutting a covenant" on his own so that only he would be bound to his promises to Abraham, and that's our life! Christ died for us! So that we could live with GRACE! NOT so that sin could abound but so that we can live for Christ through HIS power and not our own!
When Abraham struggled with his faith in God's promises God brought him outside and told him to look at the stars.
To really help us understand how powerful this was all the lights in the church dimmed and the screens were vibrant with the milky way and it was beautifully astonishing! Many of us who have known of God's great works begin to become accustom to the things of God and therefor lose appreciation and awe.
LOOK AT THE STARS PEOPLE! (Like could play says)
Look at all the crazy things in this world that were created by a God we can't even comprehend! A God so far beyond anything human, but a God who loves us so much he belittled himself to our level and DIED a horrible death to save us, and CONTINUES TO SAVE US with His grace and Mercy!
Our God is beyond incredible. 4 years ago today, without the help of a great church or perfect Christian home (Is there such a thing?) he pulled my wonderful husband out of a life of misery. 4 years ago today our great God brought my husband to Himself and began a great journey with him. And for the past 4 years God has given my incredible husband the strength and focus to stay sober and dedicated to Christ.
Not quite as long ago Christ save me from myself. From selfishness that led to great destruction and turmoil, deceived realities and false ideas of who God really was. Christ saved me from myself physically, and spiritually and tuned me around completely and began me on a new journey.
It's crazy to think that in a great environment growing up I still managed to have a misunderstanding of Christianity and a RELATIONSHIP with Christ because I was too much a part of the picture. Like Paul (I think) says I must become less so that Christ may become more.
THIS is our God and just a tiny glimpse of His power and glory and kindness. What are WE doing for Him? What are we doing for His kingdom? How are we showing Gratitude for our lives? Our salvation, provision, companionship, our comfort?
I saw a movie at my parents house of this speaker clinging to a balance beam talking about living a save predictable Christian life away from the dark and scary world. At the end of it all when he's "before the judge" he lets go and throws his arms in the air as if he dismounted at the end of a perfect routine.
"Can you imagine?" he asked "If the Olympics were like this? everyone so afraid of falling, getting hurt, or messing up that this is all we see?"
I'm with him! Who wants to watch that? It's not memorable it's boring!
Our Sunday School class touched on our talents and God given gifts and personalities and using them to the fullest without arrogance, false humility, or doubt.
And what about legacy? What will our obituary say? What will we leave behind us? How many lives will we touch and be a part of?
This is just a few of things we have been presented with in the past few weeks but obviously God is telling us something!
At this point we are doing a lot of seeking about how God wants us to get uncomfortable and how we should live more daringly. We know for sure our new home when it's finished will be a place to share God's love and provision with other people... constantly.
There is a mission trip to Mexico this Thanksgiving with our church and unfortunately we have plans with family that week but they did another trip at spring break last year and if they go again in March we plan to be a part of the team.
So we are praying and discovering more and more as each day passes and thinking about what our days consist of and how we can be more purposeful and daring. What can we do? what can I do? On just a regular day?
Well, this mundane Monday is about to find out!
As our small group wrapped up it's study of Romans this week we all spent some time really meditating on this verse, discussing it's meaning and more importantly describing what it would look like to live in full belief and faith of this verse. What does it look like to live as though God WILL SOON crush Satan underneath our feet?
I mean, when you think about it, Satan is responsible for a lot of evil in the world. Persecution, spiritual warfare, death, fear, anxiety, etc. He can aid or even plant several of these things in our lives, crippling us. Taking our eyes off of Christ and the cross and onto ourselves and our perfect comfort or lack thereof.
Living as though you would stake your life on the truth in this verse was only ONE of the SEVERAL things that has challenged myself and my husband lately, to live our lives differently! The discussion of this verse in our small group lead both of us back to a study we did in our old small group before we were even courting. It was called GET UNCOMFORTABLE! And the passion and the fire to change the world as best as I can is slowly making it's way back into my blood, to pulse through my veins!
Our pastor has been preaching about how many Christians do live and then how all Christians SHOULD live! One sermon was about ladders and the bulletin actually had a put-together-yourself paper ladder for visual aid. We discussed the deceived legalistic theology that several church goers have about where they are on the ladder, and how "Well, I'm better than that guy, but I'm no mother Teressa" And that's it!!! No that shouldn't be it! So we all laid our ladders on their sides and were reminded throughout the week to stop comparing and doing things in life because we want to climb a ladder. That's not what it's about!
Then there was the segway sermon! Pastor Matt told a story about how he rented a segway and went as crazy as possible with the thing at the risk of his own health, but was remembered more than any other customer and ended up bringing in several more customers!
We as Christians should live our lives in such a way that we are remembered! In such a way that people want to know what's at our core.
We should live daring lives! Exciting, and uncomfortable lives!
The there was THIS week's sermon about Abraham and his covenant with God about his land and children. Pastor Matt used that example to preach the gospel. We are in a one sided contract. God came to closing and signed everything while we slept in! God put a deep sleep on Abraham while he did the traditional "Cutting a covenant" on his own so that only he would be bound to his promises to Abraham, and that's our life! Christ died for us! So that we could live with GRACE! NOT so that sin could abound but so that we can live for Christ through HIS power and not our own!
When Abraham struggled with his faith in God's promises God brought him outside and told him to look at the stars.
To really help us understand how powerful this was all the lights in the church dimmed and the screens were vibrant with the milky way and it was beautifully astonishing! Many of us who have known of God's great works begin to become accustom to the things of God and therefor lose appreciation and awe.
LOOK AT THE STARS PEOPLE! (Like could play says)
Look at all the crazy things in this world that were created by a God we can't even comprehend! A God so far beyond anything human, but a God who loves us so much he belittled himself to our level and DIED a horrible death to save us, and CONTINUES TO SAVE US with His grace and Mercy!
Our God is beyond incredible. 4 years ago today, without the help of a great church or perfect Christian home (Is there such a thing?) he pulled my wonderful husband out of a life of misery. 4 years ago today our great God brought my husband to Himself and began a great journey with him. And for the past 4 years God has given my incredible husband the strength and focus to stay sober and dedicated to Christ.
Not quite as long ago Christ save me from myself. From selfishness that led to great destruction and turmoil, deceived realities and false ideas of who God really was. Christ saved me from myself physically, and spiritually and tuned me around completely and began me on a new journey.
It's crazy to think that in a great environment growing up I still managed to have a misunderstanding of Christianity and a RELATIONSHIP with Christ because I was too much a part of the picture. Like Paul (I think) says I must become less so that Christ may become more.
THIS is our God and just a tiny glimpse of His power and glory and kindness. What are WE doing for Him? What are we doing for His kingdom? How are we showing Gratitude for our lives? Our salvation, provision, companionship, our comfort?
I saw a movie at my parents house of this speaker clinging to a balance beam talking about living a save predictable Christian life away from the dark and scary world. At the end of it all when he's "before the judge" he lets go and throws his arms in the air as if he dismounted at the end of a perfect routine.
"Can you imagine?" he asked "If the Olympics were like this? everyone so afraid of falling, getting hurt, or messing up that this is all we see?"
I'm with him! Who wants to watch that? It's not memorable it's boring!
Our Sunday School class touched on our talents and God given gifts and personalities and using them to the fullest without arrogance, false humility, or doubt.
And what about legacy? What will our obituary say? What will we leave behind us? How many lives will we touch and be a part of?
This is just a few of things we have been presented with in the past few weeks but obviously God is telling us something!
At this point we are doing a lot of seeking about how God wants us to get uncomfortable and how we should live more daringly. We know for sure our new home when it's finished will be a place to share God's love and provision with other people... constantly.
There is a mission trip to Mexico this Thanksgiving with our church and unfortunately we have plans with family that week but they did another trip at spring break last year and if they go again in March we plan to be a part of the team.
So we are praying and discovering more and more as each day passes and thinking about what our days consist of and how we can be more purposeful and daring. What can we do? what can I do? On just a regular day?
Well, this mundane Monday is about to find out!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
No Carpet?
So! We went to the house today and the carpet truck parked literally in our back yard was apparently NOT to carpet our house. Hmmm... it'll get done though!
What we DID get though is painted walls, baseboards, closet hardware, and our lovely six pannel doors! We also got.... OUR CABINETS! They are GORGEOUS! And they started some tile! It's the backsplash in our guest bathroom in the shower. =)
Here are the latest pictures!
What we DID get though is painted walls, baseboards, closet hardware, and our lovely six pannel doors! We also got.... OUR CABINETS! They are GORGEOUS! And they started some tile! It's the backsplash in our guest bathroom in the shower. =)
Here are the latest pictures!
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