Festivus for the Rest of Us

Curtis and Catherine came to visit this weekend. We are so glad to have them as our friends. We always have such a good time together, and we never feel like we have to entertain them--they are easy guests! Saturday morning, Chris and I accidentally didn't wake up until 9am (which is really late for us), and we felt really bad because we were hosting company, but they were already up and were making breakfast for all of us! They live in Dallas, so we only get to see them every couple of months. They bought their first home around the same time as we did, so we've been sharing the journey of remodeling together.

Today we had our Fall Festival at church, so it has been a busy day. I have a couple of hours this afternoon before I head back tonight. I have finals to study for, homework, and cleaning to do...but what I'd really like is to just plop in front of the TV and veg out for the afternoon. I'm pretty tired.

Chris is training for a half marathon, so he's running this afternoon with his co-workers. He's been working a lot on the bathroom lately. In 2 weeks, his parents are coming in town to help install the shower and floor tile, so we're hoping to get to a certain point before they get here.

It's almost November and that's a good sign that the semester is coming to an end. I am declaring the year of 2007 as the year that my life will be simplified. I'd like to narrow down my two and a half jobs down to one, no school, and the least amount of responsibilities as possible. I'll be taking a break from Equipping classes at our church, babysitting, and extracurricular activities. I'd like to really focus on growing and deepening my walk with Christ. I have been just way too busy this year. I've learned my lesson.

Before & After

We got haircuts...can you see the changes? Maybe not with the both of us. :)

Some Amazing Mommies

These are a few of some great moms in our church. It has been fun watching and learning as they raise their children grounded the Word of God.

Debra is the first mom, with baby Ezra. She told me this story a couple of weeks ago. Jude is her older son, 4 years old. One day at home, he asked, "Mommy, what happens someday if Ezra doesn't love Jesus?" After getting her emotions toghter, she just looked back at him and in a serious way said, "Well, Jude, he might not, so you better start praying that he will someday." She said that immediately he got down on his knees, closed his eyes, folded his hands, and started praying right then and there!This is Mickie and her daughter Makayla. Mickie's daily prayer is to exalt the name of the Lord and do it as a testimony to her 3 children. She and her husband, Jason, have been married for about 7 years now. When they got married, Jason wasn't a Christian. Through several difficult years, praying and relying completely on God, she got to see her husband come to know the Father. And now because of that, he also is a great daddy to his kids.
And this is Becky with Peyton. I love them! Becky is the Children's Ministry Assistant for our church. God has called her to this place and is using her in a strong way to not only raise up her two children in the Lord, but also to be working so that other little ones would come to know Him, too. She has a great love for people and connects well with other moms.

On a Brisk Night in October

Life (a.k.a. my busyness) just isn't getting any better. And I was thinking yesterday how our lives are so short here on Earth. Really, when you think about it, we are here today and gone tomorrow. It's silly when I put it in that perspective because I wonder, "what am I doing to myself?" I have absolutely no down time. I'm constantly running from one committment to the next. I feel like I've jumped into some things that just weren't intended for me, but I can't back out. I want to be responsible and follow-through with committments and jobs and relationships, but I'm getting so worn out. My nights feel like I close my eyes and open them 10 minutes later. I woke up this morning (4:45am) and just started crying because I was so tired and knew that I had a long day ahead of me. But even as I am writing this, I am convicted once again for not seeking complete and utter satisfaction in Christ. I have been praying for contentment and specifically that He would be my Prince of Peace. I have not sought happiness from my days lately. I have been fatigued and have been recovering from strep throat and have simply been exhausted from life. I confess that I have been really selfish in not seeking Christ alone. He is IT. He is the only thing that matters and He will be the only thing that will ever give me joy and rest, even when I'm not physically rested. He loves me deeply and wants me to be in relationship with Him. I've missed that. I can honestly say that I haven't had any quality time with Him in quite awhile now. And my personality is affected because of it. What rambling I'm doing...

On a brighter note, I had Monday off from school and Chris and I took it off from work. We went to Enchanted Rock State Park and hiked to our heart's content. It was definitely the most fun day I've had in Texas since we moved here. It was the first day I started feeling better after having been sick, the weather was great, and I was with the one whom my heart loves. It is beautiful out there. We got sunburned and skinned some knees and bit by fire ants...and I got stuck on top of a huge boulder for a bit...but we had so much fun together. We drove through Fredericksburg on the way back. Chris had never been there before. It's an old German town with lots of cute street shops. We went to a Chocolatier. That was really interesting to me since I studied chocolate art and the making of it in my P&B class. I got to watch the process in the store, then we bought 2 each and savored the flavor on the front bench outside the store.

(Sidenote: I lost my cell phone, in case any of you have tried to contact me. I am continuing to check my messages, but won't be able to call you back most likely since I don't know your number by heart. Call Chris if there's an emergency or you can email me.)

The last thing I'd like to express tonight is still how lonely we are down here. We keep on praying for some close friends, but it's just not happening yet. And we're here for a good amount of time, we believe. Chris has found a seminary campus he can commute to when that time comes, so that will keep us in Austin indefinitely. We love Austin, but we miss our families and our friends so much. I've tried to really let people know how much we are in need of community, but we don't feel like there's genuine interest in us (This isn't true of all parties!). Please pray for that.

I feel extra pessimistic tonight. Disregard my crazytalk. I love you all. I wish I knew if anyone looked at our blog. :)

Time to Slow Down

Chris and I have both been working a ton, but now I have strep throat, so I think that's a reason to slow down. Miraculously, my two events this weekend for work got cancelled, so I have 3 whole days of absolute, committment-free bliss. And even better--I have no school on Monday! If I feel better, we are planning to head out to Enchanted Rock State Park for some hiking. I have felt guilty for awhile now that since I've been working so much, Chris has been getting my leftovers. Leftovers of time, energy, happiness, etc. We had a couple of hard days there, but nothing that some quality time together couldn't fix. We love each other a lot, but we are constantly learning how to love well like Jesus does for us. He does that really well.

I don't remember the last time I had extra time...so this is really wonderful. I took a 4-hour nap after school today, took a shower, did dishes, walked to our mailbox to get the mail, sent out some emails, looked through pictures, planned a menu for next week, and wrote a card. Really, as silly as this is, I am joyful to have time to slow down. Tonight Chris and I are doing a Prison Break marathon, I hope. And maybe some ice cream. Because it's good for my throat, right??