Thursday, November 27, 2008

Monday, November 17, 2008

What's new?

First off, I have to tell you what I great time I had while my mom was in a few weeks back! We hung out a lot, Mom helped me finish up some work for ordination and we went to Disney World.

I love going to DW with my mom. It makes me feel like a kid again and when we ride the Mad Hatter Cups I can't imagine anywhere I'd rather be than riding that ride with her! I ate and ate at the food and wine festival and Mom tried all kinds of foreign food. I was sad to see her go, but I'm glad we got that chance to hang out!

In other news, Martin and I are having a fight right now. We just bought BEAUTIFUL new furniture to go in our gorgeous house and great bookshelves to work as a entertainment center. However, he wants to put his childhood toys out on the bookshelves in our living room, and I want to keep things a little more "grown up." I guess that's the big difference between us, I want things to be really in "place" while Martin loves things that make him feel attached (like collectible Ghostbusters cars, which is cool and all, but I don't really want it in my living room!) I have given him the office, but that doesn't seem to be a very good consolation prize! Martin is currently gripping because I have a complaint that we always do what he wants to do, which is true, but he claims it's the other way around. Now, he's making fun of my snow village for Christmas. I have a mean husband. :(

However, I guess I should give in a little. We did just get great new furniture. In all my life I can't ever remember owning a couch that didn't come from a garage sale or used store (maybe my mom can clear this up for me) but especially since we have been married, we have owned nothing that was actually "ours." Our table is a hand-me-down from friends (who had passed it around a few times before we got it), our coffee table was made by my step-dad (which I love because it's so unique and beautiful, but it's not new), we bought our bed from Craigslist (which seems creepy at first, but you stay in hotels don't you? And, you don't get a chance to Lysol that bed before you crawl in it!) So, this purchase is really the first thing we have bought for the house that is "new!" We got a great deal at Big Lots (which I love!) We got the couch, recliner and lounger for under $600. It's really pretty and I love the way it looks.

In other news I had my first big event at work and I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't have a whole lot of time to plan, but overall it went pretty well. I really enjoy what I'm doing, but I wish I could slowly back away from the church. They are still killing me there! I'm the chair of evangelism, on the administrative council, stewardship team and teaching Disciple II. It's really awkward and weird and I really wish I could just take a break, but people keep insisting that I be there, it's really quite tiring. I guess it's good for me, I have my big ordination interview this coming Thursday and I'm super nervous. It can either go great, or I can fail, those are the options, so I guess I should deal with it!

On another note ... cable news is stupid! I have been watching Cambell Brown during this blog and 95 percent of the show was other news networks work (CBS Barack Obama interview, some lady on Good Morning America), man up CNN, DO SOME REAL WORK. Cable news is one of the reasons I didn't want to go into journalism full time, when the top job is to work for cable news that steals from the poor working journalist, it's just sickening!

Anywho, I've been reading this great book about Fertility (Taking Charge of Your Fertility) and learning all kinds of gross details about my body that Martin asks me to never share with him again. Kids are still a little ways away, but when we get ready I want to know what's going on with my body. It's been interesting to see the way God made our body with signs to teach us about our natural cycle. I would recommend every woman to read this book just so you can know these crazy facts! I also want to get my body in better shape before we get to popping out babies, like working out more and taking a vitamin (which I'm getting really used to). I'm going to join the local civic center and get better in shape so that I don't gain a thousand pounds when I finally do get pregnant.

Wow, so this blog has been all over the place tonight. Martin has since made up with me and removed the offending Ghostbuster Car and is now watching WWE in his new recliner. Life is good, and if new furniture and kids toys is all we've got to complain about then I guess it's all gonna be okay.

Ps. Sawyer says hi and he LOVES the new lounger chair. I also realized that I didn't blog at all about the election, but you all should know by now how excited I am to have Barack Obama as our new President-Elect! We had an election night party and it was a blast!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A World of HOPE!

The last six months of my life have not been the easiest. To be honest, there were some days that I was so fed up, so tired, so out of hope that I didn't even want to get out of bed in the mornings. I was overwhelmed in a job that put a lot of pressure on me to preform at a level that was beyond ANYONE'S ability. I was questioning God and my faith because ordination was going well, but as more and more things came to light, I knew I could not work in the local church. I was working through a long-overdue conversation with myself regarding forgiveness and truth when my Father passed away in March. And, I was house-hunting.

Late summer brought deliverance to my family and I want to offer praise to God for that deliverance. I gave my notice at First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee on July 31, 2008 with a heavy heart, but I was moving towards my call and my true passion. After a great trip home to Arkansas to visit my family, I began working at HOME on Aug. 8 as the Development Associate. I can honestly say that I adore my new job! We are a small non-profit working to break the cycle of homelessness in Osceola County. I am all public relations, all the time. I get to do all the things I love (designing newsletters, graphics, websites) and keep speaking in front of people about a topic that I am super passionate about, homelessness. What's amazing is that this job fits perfectly into my ordination track (as a Deacon, we are dedicated to serving God through working in the world). I have a great boss and I really admire the whole staff because they are all very talented and amazing women! It's honestly my dream job and I hope to be there for a really long time.

This fall has also brought deliverance. Deliverance from the world of hopelessness when searching for a home for Martin and I. Wouldn't it just glorify God that we would close on a house in less than two weeks, a house that someone in our Bible study told us about, on the day (September 30, 2008) after the market crashed 777 (yeah, anyone else notice the perfect number there)?

The new house is amazing, it is brand new, it's out in the "sticks" as someone put it at church and it's the perfect size to raise a (future) family. I can't wait to get moved in and settled!

It's been a hard six months, in fact, it's been a tough two years. I know that times will not always be easy. In fact, one of my friends suggested I delete my earlier, depressing blogs from Myspace. But, I don't want to do that. I want the reminder there. The knowledge that I have been tested and that at the end of the trial, God Provided.

I know that many people have problems with faith, and sometimes it's hard to understand why people are so faithful to a God that they can not see or understand. But, for me, faith comes easy. Because, I have been tested, and I've come out stronger. I know that my God provides in ways that I would have never imagined. It is not because of who I am that God has provided but because of who he makes me to be.

Isaiah 40:26-31

26Lift up your eyes on high and see the stars:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.

27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God’?

28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

29He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;

31but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

6-Ten Yoga

--> 6:10 a.m. Yoga club. Well, that’s what I’ve named us anyway. My friend Jenny (who also happens to be our child care provider...