New

Oh yeah! I cut my hair.

I've had the same haircut for 3 years due to one bad, slightly short haircut, and I thought it was time for a change. I didn't want to be stuck in a rut, I mean, I'm young! It's the time to try those wild things right?

A successful wacation.

Well, we're back from our 16-day honeymoon excursion. It was fantabulous. Jesse and I kept a log of all the things that happened, plus all the many blessings and way the Lord took care of us. It was astounding. We have a wonderful Papa. 


On another note, I greatly missed cooking! It is such a delight! I wandered the aisles today, finding various new things to try in salads, and found the yummiest, olive oil-basil-sundried tomato- vinaigrette. I can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow! Tonight I am making a vegetable couscous salad with grilled chicken. Yum!


Oh! And another blessing for today! We get to meet a brand new baby! Our friends had a baby while we were gone, and we get to meet little Riley Mae today. woohoo! 


Life is grand.

Cross-Country Honeymoon Extravaganza

That's right! We're off on our belated honeymoon! Yehaw!

We are packing up the car to leave any minute now. My husband is getting a power-nap before we kiss our Mommies goodbye for a week-ish. Since we are driving, and have zero obligations here right now, we have a super flexible schedule, which is awesome.

So, the plan is, get to CALIFORNIA! Can you see me beaming with excitement?! Well, first stop is to crash somewhere between here and there, nestled in the Rocky Mountains. We'll get some great coffee, explore for a bit, and then finish the drive to our B&B in southern California. Whew. I plan on finishing Harry Potter 7 on the way. chyeah....

So we frolick a few days there, visit a pretty amazing Calvary Chapel and drive on to meet up with some dear friends in a town nearby. We also want to visit another church there on Sunday with them. After that things are pretty flexible, so if we want to stay a bit longer and visit more friends we can. The final stop we are sure to make is in Texas on the way home. We're going to visit my Sister-in-law and all our energetic nephews and niece. Finally, we commence with the drive home,

Purposes of the Trip
1. Awesome Honeymoon
2. Relax
3. Spend much time searching and listening for God's direction.
4. Visit many good friends and family. Awesome fellowship and love!

Please pray for safe travels and that God would open a door for us in our future endeavors!
Ciao!

A change in tide.

Today marks both the end and the beginning. The end of my commitment here in Ohio and the birth of a brand new something.  I can share this all now.


A little over a month ago, God began speaking to my husband and I, calling us out of our jobs here and on to "the land that I will show you." God's land. God's opportunity. After loads of freaking out, tears, uncertainty and surrender, we've been packing away our belongings, preparing to leave at a moments notice. It all seemed like such a whimsical mystery as to where to begin, and yet we knew with certainty this is what He wanted. 


And then, the fateful Monday. I can be thankful now for that Monday, but as it was happening, it was hardly a thankful occasion. I would like to say I handled it well, being forced to leave my home due to circumstances well beyond our control. In the moment all I could think of is how entirely unfair it was that we should have nowhere to live when we were not at fault. We now jokingly refer to it as "The Exodus".


Fortunately my Mother is a saint with a large house. As we moved our belongings in all I could think was, "Well, God did tell us to pack..." It just wasn't like we thought it was going to be. It almost never is. The tides have turned and I can say with full confidence that it was ordained for us to be living with my Mom for this short while. The blessing it has been for all parties involved astounds me and I could write an entire blog itself to list all the reasons why it's a good thing. (Strange, I know) I never thought I'd say the Lord willed me to live with my husband at my Mother's. ha. How he humbles. 


To summarize, today was my last day of work. I am free to come and go as the Spirit wills. We are listening intently for the faintest whisper and then we are off to the opportunity He brings. To live as the disciples. To trust Him at His word. To live off of every word that proceeds from His mouth. We are packing, wrapping up some last farewells and spending some very important time with those whom God is compelling us to seek after. 


Pray for us. We just may be coming to you! Who knows? It could happen.

Black Sheep

I am the Black Sheep of the family. Tis' painfully true. If I weren't me, I wouldn't know what to do with me either.

Many mysterious and difficult things are happening in life. While I'm trying to see it as adventure, most days it feels like pain and endurance.

Nevertheless, the Word of the Lord is sustaining me. I love that it never changes. It's rock solid, and when I rest there, life pauses and I feel clear for those moments. Perspective grows and it's one more breath of life that I get to take uninhibited by the chaos which seeks my demise.

We've stepped out onto an invisible ledge, praying, that like Abraham, we too would uncover where we are going. God keeps giving us snippets of the vision, and the pieces are slowly forming an unconventional and possibly controversial way of life. Freedom please. Death to Babylon! May we enter the glorious Kingdom, and get so lost that we never find our way out.

Sound the trump! Herald us home!

Summer on the roof

I think we may possibly have the coolest bedroom ever. It's got these two massive windows that overlook the tops of the trees. (We're on the second story) Literally, it looks like the forest, and these rays of sunshine peek in, joined by a slight breeze. We decided it felt like a treehouse, so that's how we painted it. Green and light blue, with hints of chocolate brown that Jesse declared "looked like trees". Thereby making it our treehouse.

But get this, the best part is the roof access that leads directly from one of said windows, which I currently am enjoying. It's warm, the neighborhood children are screaming, dogs barking, gangsta music blaring from pimped-out cars, trains faithfully sounding, but it's my little bit of hideaway. Other than that, it's pretty secluded.

I plan on enjoying this fully this summer. 

Mr and Mrs

May 16th seemed like a good day to get married.

But in all seriousness, yes, we did move the date of the wedding up, and yes, it was the best decision of my life. After much prayer and discussion, we both uncovered our discomfort with August 6th as a wedding date. There are many more reasons than there is time to elaborate on why we decided to marry sooner, but it ultimately came down to trusting that we were being obedient to what the Lord was leading us into.

The way of the Lord is a mysterious path, that all those who walk it must be daring to lay down and die a million deaths. daily. God laid my wedding on the altar, asking for it. More than all my girlish fantasies of happily-ever-after and having everything picture-perfect and orderly, he wanted my heart and trust. He assured me after all that I was getting an infinitely better marriage than a wedding. And boy, is there a big difference: a wedding is one glorious day, but a marriage is daily. I have it everyday, and ultimately that is more important than any primo wedding that could be fabricated by enormous wealth (which we don't have anyway.... hah)

We've only begun to uncover the wealth of blessing and growth that God has started. It feels like this is the way life was meant to be lived, the two of us together, doing life. Completely normal. Completely amazing.

Keep us in your prayers. It is the Lord who has begun this good work, and the Lord who will keep it going. He is the head of our life, and we are devoted to His life.