The Current Moment: Moving from Everything to Nothing

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,according to the power that works within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Nate and I got married in August 2005 and moved to Rogers, AR. What an experience... Move out of your parents house to go four hours away with the man that I love. It was a hard adjustment, but Nate and I learned a lot about love and each other because we had nobody else to lean on. Those were some great days that I will never forget. I will always say that living away from family for a little while can be a good thing. We built a great life in Rogers, and God gave us some great friends that we will always be close to. Rogers will always be the first place we lived after we got married, where we had our first house, where Nate had his first job after college, where Nate started and finished his master's degree, where I graduated college, where we learned how to have friends, where we fell more in love with youth ministry, where we learned how to take care of ourselves, where I taught myself to cook... a little bit, and where a little piece of our hearts will always be. A lot of memories and emotions are in our hearts and minds when we think of Rogers. God taught us so much and we are thankful for every day we spent there and at FBC Rogers.

On November 2, 2010, we moved to Yukon, OK. It was the hardest thing that Nate and I have ever had to go through... Leaving the life that we had built there.... Leaving the youth, youth workers, and our friends (and their babies). But, it was also the best thing to do.... all because we were following God's will. We love Yukon! We love FBC Yukon! We love the relationships that we are making. Things at the church are going great. We are seeing some growth start to take place in the students and can't wait to see what God is going to do this summer. I am filling in for one of the secretaries at church and it has been great to be in the church everyday! It is like my dream job... ha. Everything with work is going great, but our personal lives are on hold. All of our earthly possesions have been in storage for six months. We are starting to wonder when our house is going to sell. That house means so much to us and we did so much to make it look better that we don't understand why it hasn't sold. Plus our realtor has been telling us for six months that it is just so cute that someone will fall in love with it and it will sell quickly. Whatever. That isn't even what really bothers us though.... It is just that we want to move on with our lives here. We want to be able to have the students and new friends over to "our house" and I want to be able to cook.... and not pay all the extra bills. It is 83 degrees outside today and neither one of us have any summer clothes out and it is impossible to get to them. ha Right in the middle of all these selfish thoughts... we call them our bad days... I saw this video

I feel like a self-centered jerk. Nate and I are fine. We have each other and a place to stay... Just because it isn't what we are used to, doesn't make it bad. We are learning again how to trust God with everything and He has provided. We want what God wants.... We are just trying not to get in the way.

God is God and God is Good!

Memorable Moment #3: Courtney

"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

~2 Cor. 12:9-10

I graduated from college in May 2008. What a day that was..... It was exciting to be meeting a goal for myself and my parents.... It was exciting knowing that I never had to sit through another boring business class.... It was the first time a lot of my family had visited us at our house in Arkansas.... It was a day I will never forget for these reasons, but also because it was the last day I saw my good friend, Courtney. When you are married and in college for a degree and not to party, you quickly find others that are like you. Courtney and I met in our first semester at the University of Arkansas. We were in a couple of the same classes and seeing a familiar face everyday was comforting. We quickly became good friends.... coordinating our schedules for the rest of our time at the good 'ol Walton College of Business. We would go to lunch, share paper/reading responsibilities, and entertain eachother while we were bored out of our minds in class. Although I knew a lot of people, she was my one really good college friend. We were so much alike and so I knew that we would be great friends for the rest of our lives. We were running around together at graduation trying to find out where we were supposed to be. We had to separate because she was a marketing major and I was management, but we planned to get together afterwards so our families could meet. Little did we know how crazy it is after a college graduation. They made us file out different doors... Nobody could find anybody. Long story short, we didn't find each other. We just talked on the phone and decided it was impossible. A couple weeks later, I saw Courtney driving down the road and that reminded me to call her. We talked about her new internship and how we wanted our husbands to finally meet. Nate and I were going to summer camp that next week so we made plans to go out to eat the Saturday we got back. I got a call on Wednesday from Courtney's dad telling me she had died in a motorcycle accident.... I was in disbelief. Everyone was already asleep when I checked my messages so I spent half of that night in the bathroom of our little room. The next day I talked to her sister and walked around in a trance. My good friends Hanna and Allie were there to give me a big hug, which I really appreciate. Courtney was funny and full of life. She and her husband Matt had just bought a beautiful new house.... She showed me where their babies would sleep. She taught me how to let loose a little... when I would be coloring in the lines she would draw a sloppy line across the paper. Nice. She made me feel comfortable in an uncomfortable place. She was a lot like me. More importantly, Courtney loved to see people come to know Jesus as their personal Savior. She helped in the baptistry every Sunday at her church. She was passionate about her faith, family, and friends. So instead of going out to eat on Saturday, we went to Courtney's funeral. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to sit through. Isn't it funny how life can change so drastically so fast? I still think about her everyday and miss her greatly.... But I also think about how she isn't missing us because she is in the presence of the Lord. What a great peace. I am so thankful for Courtney and our friendship.... She will forever be in my heart and part of my life. Her testimony continues to reach the girls in our ministry.... We are not promised tomorrow. Live everyday.... Really live.

Memorable Moment #2: Our First Dog

These moments aren't in any kind of order of importance...haha. And, yes I am about to blog about our dog...cause she's that important :)

We have offically become some of those "crazy dog people." Even when I was a little girl, I always wanted an inside dog. A year after we were married I brought home a little Maltipoo. My cousin Cassie raised these dogs and this was the last litter. I had to have one. Claire was born on December 10, 2006.

Our favorite show is LOST (more on that later), so we had to give her a name from the show. After we named her Hurley cause we thought she was a boy.... we found out she was a girl so Claire it was. Now we like to call her Claire Bear or Clairice. ha

Really and truly, she brings a lot of laughter and fun into our house. She is the best dog we could ask for. It is weird to us that she will one day know our kids, but for now we will baby her. I don't know if we made her the way she is, but Nate and I both think she was just born a little.... uh.... spoiled.

She won't walk on cold tile unless she absolutely has to.... Likes to have her coat in the winter.... Always has to be close to one of us.... Sleeps under the covers.... Tells us when she wants a chew stick.... And, will let you hold her like a baby until you put her down.

She has never been too hyper, and doesn't like other dogs that are. She loves meeting new people. All in all, we love her. She always brings a smile to our faces, and we are very thankful for our 3 year old puppy. We could all learn a thing or two about loyalty from these cute little furry friends.

Memorable Moment #1: Our Wedding

When I think back on the life that I have lived so far, there are definitely certain memorable moments that stand out. I want to write about these things and what I learned from them.... if I learned anything. Nate and I met when his dad came to be the pastor in the church where I grew up. I remember that day and how I was just a little kid and he was a big bad high schooler. ha. I never thought about us as a couple, but knew that we would be good friends just because we were both always at church. We both remember me talking about how my pen matched my shirt (I was nervous). On March 19, 2000, God answered my prayer and gave me a boyfriend. haha. But really, I never knew what a blessing that would turn out to be. I am a very loyal person and I quickly learned that Nate is too. We dated all through my high school days and his college years. When we got engaged in May 2005, I didn't think twice about saying yes. So, I will never forget a lot about our dating relationship... like how we had a phone date every night at 8:00 while he was in college... but the real story started when we were married on August 19, 2005.

After only having two months to plan, we really did have the sweetest little wedding. It wasn't hard finding a venue or a pastor.... I had all these plans in my head already so we made it happen. I wanted a lot of white, so my mom made a huge curtain... bam, decorated. I remember my Aunt Jana on top of scaffolding hanging it. I got my own flowers and did all the boutonnieres and bouquets. It was a very personal wedding because my mom and I did everything ourselves... even the bridesmaid dresses. The reception was full of our favorites snacks and pictures of us. It was a great day full of family and friends. The thing I remember the most if the song that Nate wrote and sang for me. It was so sweet and the lyrics are framed and always hanging in our living room. To both of us it was kind of a blur, but really one of those days that we will never forget.

From this day on I have really learned all about love. Love is selfless.... Love is always thinking about Nate before I think of myself.... Love is being ok with having nothing else but each other.... Love is the best feeling/emotion in the world. Nate and I truly can love deeply because we know the love of our Savior, and He is the center of our relationship. We love way beyond our years. We have already been through things that married couples never have to go through, and we are each other's rocks. I pray everyday for Nate and our wonderful marriage.... please let us have many more happy healthy years together :)

Why This Blog?

Yesterday, I went to visit a baby in the NICU and started to think about the children I will have one day. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this.... but want to do this blog to show our future children who we are, what we like to do, and what really matters in life. I'm too cheap to scrapbook, and don't like to write for long periods of time, so the internet is the perfect solution. I want to write about the moments in life that I will never forget.... the lessons that we have learned.... the important things we go through. This will be a blog with a meaning. I like to use my life story and things I've been through to lead small groups at church, so what better way to teach my children than with....... The Story of Us.