Hello World...I'm Working on a Better Title

So, when I was playing a game of Catch Phrase tonight I was thinking about some things. For starters, why was my team getting beaten so badly and a close second to that, how is it that my team is not picking up my slack since I am terrible at the game. After I got past that I started to reflect on life and all that has been going on these past few months (not really but it sounds like a good transition right?) and this is what I came up with.....
If anyone ever tells you that getting married, moving to a new state where you know almost no one, finding a brand new job (perhaps your first full time job ever), your spouse starting grad school and working part time, and trying to find and get involved in a new church all within a couple months of each other is easy, slap them in the face and call them a liar. Seriously though, I never would have thought that working full time in a secular job would be as hard as it has been. Let alone all the other crazy stuff going on...like marriage, which, for the record, is way more awesome and life changing and growing than any little ol job will ever be. I just think I had it drilled in to my head a bit more about what marriage would look like. My wife is amazing and I totally don't deserve to have someone who loves me so much, cooks such great meals, cleans the house up all nice, learns tons of cool stuff that she shares with me, and on top of it all remembers daylight saving time (thats right people it is not savingS).
Speaking of daylight saving time, I don't feel like it is really saving me time at all, but more like robbing me of an hour of sleep my body is going to miss dearly. I already get up entirely too early and now my body will feel like it is an hour earlier, which until last night was the case. Weird...did you notice that the word weird does not follow the i before e rule?
Life is great. The Lord is teaching us tons, and I hope and pray that I would be humble enough to listen to His voice and He leads us. My wife is wonderful, as previously mentioned, and challenges me daily to be a better man. The job is a job, but it is such a provision from the Lord. So all in all, the guy you slap might not be too far off if you are going to listen to the Lord's leading.

Too Easy To Complain!

With life whizzing past it's so easy to focus on all the hard things that are going on or all the things you wish had gone different... so I'm taking this moment to celebrate the good things!

1. The fact that I'm able to blog shows I am done with my Greek homework
2. It has been clear and sunny this whole week
3. I got to work out last night
4. I've had a coke everyday this week
5. I can have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a grilled cheese every day if I want
6. We can afford groceries and all our bills
7. I am married to a man that loves me all the time... and if you know me, you know how amazing that is!
8. I slept through the entire night on Tuesday night
9. I have really warm fuzzy slippers
10. I have a job that let's me not only teach school but teach Jesus to teenagers

There are so many more littler things I could think of, and want to think of more. The main thing is... no matter how crummy or overwhelmed I feel and no matter how much our paycheck says, we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and that from now on God calls me his heir and loves me as his own child. No matter how I act or what my grades are he is changing me from one glory to another and listens to my cries and answers them. He is a good God, He is the only God and that is enough to make my Spirit say HURRAY!

Think about the good when all you feel is bad!

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

Our first picture together! Isn't she beautiful?!



In one of her favorite places, the Sea Grill in NYC




Now THIS is MY MOM!!
This picture pretty much says it all!
She's spunky, she's fun, she's beautiful and so much more.... and we love her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Home Sweet Home!

WE ARE GOING.......


Yes that's right, in just one week we will be seeing...



from a plane window!
Ok, more realistically we are going to see...




For those of you who have not yet begun to live, aka lived in Texas, these are pictures of my hometown Fort Worth and Drew's hometown Dallas!
We are flying home next week to see our family and go to grandma's memorial service. It is a sad reason to have to be going but I know Drew and I can't help but be excited that we get to see our families and love them through this time! The closer it gets the more I am busting at the seems to go! I really love Kentucky and all that the Lord has blessed us with here... but I really really love Texas and miss all that it contains (family, friends, college, flipflops etc).

Just thought you should know... and picture... and pray for our safe travel!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

(que up song....)
Going to Sonic




and Reusable styrofoam cups





Grilled cheese
and apples but only the crisp ones





Hanging with hubby



and watching 24

These are a few of my favorite things





When the great dane downstairs howls all night



When my nose is so clogged it won't work right



When I'm feeling over Greeked


I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feeeeeel soooo bad!


When it gets over 30 degrees and my toes defrost

Pink Puffy Vest



and clearance at all my favorite shops



Tortilla Soup with salty chips and cheese
These are a few of my favorite things


When my tutor kids forget their work
When they cancel without calling first
When I'm feeling whiped out



I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feeeeel sooo bad!

Please Pray...

Yesterday we found out that Drew's grandmother has passed away. This is Drew's dad's mom. She has been aging rapidly since the death of her husband a few years ago and from what I have heard has had many complications. Her memory was the thing that I think I (and we all) missed the most in her because I never really got to know her, nor her me. She was not able to access her short term memory and thus felt that she was constantly neglected by the family, who really loved her and visited her on a constant basis. Though we are thankful that she is no longer suffering and perhaps now knows the love that she had here, we are so sad to have lost her. We especially want to lift up Drew's dad because this was his mother and we all know his heart is grieving the loss of his parents; you never outgrow your parents. Please pray that Drew's parents will have time to get things done that have to be done and to also take time for their own hearts.. all while running a business. Pray for the peace of the family and the salvation of anyone who has been resistant to the Lord.
Also, please pray for Drew. It is hard for Drew to see his dad so sorrowful and not be able to be near. He is also sick. Drew never gets sick but has some sort of cold or flu. We are taking preventative steps but he is really worn out. We will also be traveling home for the memorial service in a few weeks and need prayers for sensitivity and favor at work and school to be able to take the time away.
This is sort of a downer... but such is life.
May God be glorified in every circumstance.

Things You Learn In Seminary

Pictures help you learn (ok ok so I learned that at work, not seminary.... but it got you to read it!)

So I thought since I am currently priveledged to be going to the best theological seminary in the world that I should be imparting the wisdom I receive to those of you who are less fortunate than I.... hahaha
Week One:
1. Sonic Gift cards make handy ice scrapers
2. There is a type of poetry where each poem excludes one letter of the alphabet for the entire work
3. It is possible to do a lap around the entire school in the time it would take a person to walk from the MSC to Blocker
4. I am invisible... also known as a girl going for the MDIV in a Southern Baptist Seminary
5. Seminary doesn't have to close for snow days because they know we are all predestined to be there anyways
A. Heavy snow fall is not as fun with out snow days...
6. I am still a procrastinator
7. Seminary has it's own style manual (as if all the styles we learned through high school and then the other styles we learned in college weren't sufficient) and it's own sense of humor.
8. It gets colder when the sun comes out
9. Angels sit at mall fountains
10. There is a stoll that has pink on it... do I hear degree change?!
BONUS: It has become evident to me that I was predestined to go here because... they cater chickfila to school functions!
Well, some of these are lame, but that is my week. I did however manage to ace my first Greek quiz, turn in 35 pages of writing for my JTerm, make it to every class on time and succeed in never being spoken to by a male in my class. I am the only person on campus that carries a large pink purse, writes in pink spirals and wears pink clothing on a daily basis... that is really how my friends identify me from afar.
What I'm reading
The Holy Spirit, Furgeson
Systematic Theology, The Holy Spirit, Grudem
Greek New Testament
The Secret Life of Bees (friday fiction)
What my next paper is about:
Where the people in the old testament indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
**** Please feel free to leave your comments and questions on this topic for the sake of research....

How's Drew??? He's asleep....