Purpose

"Human life is absolutely significant; every fleeting thought, every choice, every experience matter. [This] God calls you to faith, obedience, and responsibility. Because His purposes will not be thwarted, you can leap to the call, learning to be courageous, optimistic, persevering in love through troubles. His purposes sustain you through it all. His rule establishes the significance of our choices. Any other view would be absurd- human life counts, God's will controls. His will of control is to be trusted as the frame of reference behind every experience, his will of command is to be obeyed with all our heart." Seeing with New Eyes by Powlison. Pg 47

Death is not Dying

This weekend we were back in Ohio to celebrate more wedding festivities! While there was a lot of driving involved and family and friends to see, I couldn't help but be captivated by a particular person that I met- Kylie's Aunt Vicky. Kylie has talked about her a lot and the impact she has made on her life, but man, have you ever met one of those people that are just totally living their life not for this world? Or someone who radiates a humble and thankful spirit? This was Kylie's Aunt Vicky. You can identify these people right away because they are so not like this world. Meeting people like that puts life back in perspective. They remind me WHO really makes us beautiful and what this life is really all about.

Another person really impacted me this weekend. Her name is Rachel. Unfortunately, she died a year ago, so I didn't get a chance to meet her. But, I am very thankful that Moody radio decided to air a talk that Rachel gave 4 months before she died (last March). As I was driving to meet Dan on Friday, K Love was playing their usual reruns so I was flipping through the radio to find something worth listening to when I landed on Moody radio that was airing a talk that Rachel was giving to her church. Since I caught it half way through, I decided to listen to the rest of it this morning. Diagnosed with bone cancer at 37 years old, she was told she had about 6 weeks to live. Her church asked her to give a talk to about 40 women, but 600 ended up coming to hear what she had to say. Her boldness to share the gospel and talk about eternity amidst leaving her husband and two small children behind was one of the most impactful talks I have heard in a while. If you have some time I would highly recommend listening to it here.

Be imitators of God

So the other day I had on Kate plus 8. I know, I know- judge away. But, since they took away HGTV from our cable package, I have to resort to TLC in my spare time. Anyway, this contractor comes in her house and sets his stuff on the island in her kitchen, and she proceeds to have a panic attack and explains how the kitchen is "her space" and he needs to quickly move his things to the other room. In another scene the hose is leaking and she almost has a meltdown on camera because it is another thing she has to add to her list of things to do. I have to admit I felt bad for her, but mainly I was scared- scared because I see a lot of myself in her, and it doesn't look pretty.

In my new position at Trinity I get to use the gift God gave me for event planning. I love details, schedules, and planning so this is a perfect fit for me. The problem comes in when I view the rest of my life like this. Buying a gift for someone? (we have 7 gifts we have to purchase this month...so this is an example that is fresh on my mind!) While I could see this "task" as an opportunity to love and serve the people I'm buying the gifts for, in my mind I think "how can I find a cheap gift as quick as possible so I can check it off my list?" Ugly isn't it? This makes everything about me: how am I going to get this done? How is this affecting my schedule and the other things I have to do today? And guess what? It's stressful. I'm moving from one thing to the next, constantly evaluating what I need to do, and I'm only satisfied when it's done. I get so lost in the little things that I don't bother asking "God, how do YOU want to use me today? Even in the little things?"

So why the title of this post "Be imitators of God?" Well, in the book I'm going through, "Seeing with new eyes," Powlison has us evaluating our desires and passions (mine being the above paragraph) which led me to Ephesians 5 which says "Be imitators of God." Imitating God means displaying the fruits of the Spirit- peace, patience, love, kindness, joy, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Let's just say the fruit I am bearing when I am in my "go go go" mindset looks more like this: stressed, anxious, selfish, prideful, short tempered, and self dependent. Praise God that He transforms us and makes us new. He says "I understand that you can't do this on your own. I'm asking you to follow me in a radical way. That is why I have made you NEW, created after the likeness of me in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4)."

Today I am praising Him that I am a new creation, and that He gives me the power to overcome my selfishness and sin. So this afternoon when I head to Barnes and Noble to purchase my gifts, I will choose to have a new attitude, and rely on Him in the process. Is it sad that I can't even shop on my own without relying on God? Maybe. But it is moments like this that I realize how desperately I need a savior.

Car shopping..

So we bought a car. Not just one car- 2 cars! All in a 24 hour period. Can I just tell you all how glad I am that it is ALL over? I was definitely convicted by God and Dan that I needed a better attitude throughout the process. I think the fact that Dan and I were sharing one car didn't help, too. We spent last week literally going to work, leaving at 6, going out to eat because we hadn't had time to go to the grocery store, heading to a car dealership, then heading home to make lunches and get ready for the next day. Then we did it all over again.

Then, at every dealership we went to there was so much pressure to buy a car that day. I don't want to hear anytime soon the following phrase again: "Let me ask you something, if we can bring the price down for you can we earn your business today?" And, I can't tell you how many times the salesman showed us a brand new car, even after we told them our budget and how we had to buy 2 cars. No we do not want to buy your Jeep Cherokee for $20,000 thank you very much. And no we don't care about the interest rate that you just lowered by .1% for us. Nonetheless, I am thankful that we are in a place financially where we can purchase two cars that will prayerfully last us the next 10 years! I really am happy that we took our time, looked at our options and did our research, because now we have two cars that we got for great deals, and that we like driving! (Dan and his Pontiac G6, and my Hyundai Tucson!) But, I figured I should share our car wisdom with the rest of you who someday may be looking for a car.

1. Everything is negotiable. My dad told me that until they say "no" they can keep going lower on the price- which we found to be true! 2. Don't be intimidated when the "manager" comes over to talk to you. This one manager asked to meet us "half way" in the price we were asking and we told him we would have to walk away if we didn't get our price. What did he say? "You're seriously going to walk away from this car over $500?" We told him we would. What did he to? He came down to our price and we got the car.

2. Be patient. Literally- be willing to walk away from ANY car. We kindly told one dealership that we appreciated how much they brought the price down, but it still wasn't in our price range so we walked. What happened? 3 hours later we got a call from that dealership. Too bad we had just bought our second car lol

3. Stay focused on the total cost. They will try to ask you what you want to pay monthly and convince you that $50 more per month isn't that bad. Stick to focusing on the bottom line.

4. Don't be pressured to spend a couple extra "thousand dollars." I know this sounds absurd, but in the heat of the moment and when you're looking at these cars that are "fully loaded," it is easy to lose sight of the goal/budget and think that a couple extra thousand won't matter (especially when you're spending so much already!)

Let's just say when we make our next car purchase, It will go MUCH smoother. And who knew that I can actually be a pretty hard nosed negotiator? Dan was surprised lol

Home

Last weekend we ended up taking an unexpected trip home. Our plans to stay in Indy then drive to Columbus for a wedding fell through, so we drove all the way to Cleveland and stayed home for the weekend and made the trip to Columbus in the process. While it was quick and busy I really enjoyed it. And, I realized I'm finally getting to the point where I am nostalgic when I go home.

As we headed down Edgeview Drive toward my house I remembered all the memories from the people who lived there, our sledding adventures, shoveling the driveway, raking leaves, and riding our bikes. When we got inside I remembered the place we all used to throw our backpacks when we got home from school (and then got yelled at 3 hours later to pick them up lol). I walked into my room and tried to remember what it looked like. So much of my furniture is moved around- all that is left from my original room is my bed. It's weird because it is super clean- you can still see the vacuum marks from the last time my mom swept- which was probably weeks ago because nobody goes in it anymore. It's kind of a ritual (with myself haha) when I go home to try on my wedding dress- since it just sits in my closet. I'm only home usually once every 6 months, if that. I usually drag it out of my closet and throw it on my bed. It's super heavy, but I always manage to put it on, then I come bounding down the stairs to show Dan that it still fits. He just laughs at me and shakes his head. He thinks I'm crazy sometimes but its ok :)

I think my nostalgia increased when I saw on our coffee table a book that my brothers made for my mom on Mother's day. It's funny because I came downstairs and Dan was looking at it and I asked him how the book was. All he said was "well, there are a lot of pictures of you in it." I knew that couldn't be good, and after looking through it couldn't help but crack up at (some of) the awful pictures that my brothers put in there of me. In their defense they put some pictures from our wedding day, too. But, the book made me think about when our house used to be filled with high school friends raiding our fridge for pop and my mom's leftover mashed potatoes. It's crazy how many memories a house can have! I guess now I know why Dan will be sad when he has to trade his jeep in for a new car soon :(

While it's easy for me to get caught up in all these memories when I get home, I'm excited for where God has Dan and I. While Chicago is only beginning to have that "home" feeling, Hudson will always hold a special place in my heart. In the meantime, I can look back and thank God for all He has taught me and where He has brought me. "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant place; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." Psalm 16:5,6 On a whole other note, like I said this weekend we went to a wedding. And again, it was a great time of reminiscing about another time in our life: college. It was fun to sit at a table talking with couples who lived in Morris Hall and go to OBF. We are so blessed.

Here are some pictures:

Florida

These past two weeks have been such a blur! Dan and I realized we are home only one weekend in July.. nuts. While that makes for a lot of traveling, it also means we get to see a ton of friends and family... which we love :) Right before July we went to the Florida Keys with our good friends Andy and Becca, and Rachael and Brian! I have never been to the keys so we had a blast eating at all these fun local restaurants, kayaking, bike riding, playing basketball ... aka "horse" for the girls, blongo ball, and just hanging out in the pool. It was definitely a hard adjustment to come back to all the responsibilities!

Here are some pictures from our vaca:

Bike Riding!

Horse! Me and Rachael before dinner

Playing on the kid's playground

Kayaking!!

The girls :) Becca, Rachael, and I

Daniel and I!

Blongo Ball!

Playing Volleyball in the pool!

We learned lots of things on this trip: In Florida heat, I can only run about 5 miles before I physically think I will pass out (Becca was a very good and patient running partner!) Bailey's milkshakes are really good. Dan and I speak two very different languages when we play catch phrase lol. We will never rent a Chevy Cobalt again. Quiet times by the ocean are wonderful :) Coconut crusted anything in Florida is always a good choice. I will never order a shrimp salad sandwich again (don't ask me why I did in the first place). This trip reiterated the fact that I hate cockroaches... and spiders. A man's ability to grill directly affects their self esteem. Don Bailey flooring has the best advertisements ever. Everything is a competition with guys.

Lastly, we love going on vacation with friends :)

Below is a video Rachael captured of Dan and I on a child's swing at the resort. Daniel and I at our finest :)

2 years, 730 days, 17,520 hours, 1,051,200 minutes.

That is how long Dan has put up being married to me. It's crazy to think that it has been 2 full years since our wedding day. I'm sure I'll look back in 20 years and think that 2 years is nothing, but when I think back to that day there are SO many memories it's hard to just pick a couple. 15 girls camping out in our basement. Pulling over on the side of the road to watch the fireworks. Praying it wouldn't rain because every Saturday before our wedding day it poured. Trying not to freak out that 250 people were traveling to Hudson, Ohio all to watch us make this commitment. I'm nervous just thinking about it lol But, I would have to say I am not the same person I was two years ago, and I attribute much of it to our marriage. Here's just a couple things I've learned:

• Yes, Dan really does smile all the time.
• Steve Nash gets injured almost every time the Suns play.
• The Florida Gators aren't as bad as I thought... I can't believe I just typed that.
• I'm a lot more stubborn than I realized... having someone around to call you out on your faults is a great and bad thing.
• I live to eat, Dan eats to live.
• I am the best wife I can be when I am most right with God. Our marriage is directly tied to our relationship with God.
• Marriage really is all about serving- when he's putting my needs first and I'm putting his needs first, we don't have to selfishly worry about our own individual needs.
• Dan likes his Jeep Cherokee a lot more than I realized.
• Learn your love languages, it will really help you understand your spouse.
• I am SO thankful to have a husband who could care less about material things. Example: I told Dan at the end of the month that he still had his "spending money" left to spend. He told me to just give it to the Persecuted Church. I spent mine on clothes. Awesome.
• With that being said, our marriage has pushed me to think about others more than myself. Like the persecuted church.
• Dan is really good with Jr High kids.
• I really like having someone around all the time to rub my back.
• Dan is horrible at imitating accents... and so am I lol (my favorite is his Irish Pirate.. ask him about it :)
• I am SO thankful to have a husband I can laugh with- and make fun of myself with!
• I love being with someone who trusts me and isn't afraid of trying new things- like having me cut his hair.
• You really can change someone's taste buds in the course of 2 years- just put Sirachi sauce on everything lol
• It's really nice to have a running partner.
• Lastly what have I learned? That I love being married to a Godly, wonderful, selfless guy, who loves me more than anything. And it doesn't hurt that he's really attractive.. :)

Onto year three!