Friends!

Last Saturday we got to hang out with Alison and JK!!!  They made the trek down to Sylacauga to eat dinner with us and play some Taboo.  We had a great time with them and loved getting to hear what's been going on since they got married 2 months ago.  Hopefully we can do it again soon!

Fun Moments

Stephen and I got a good laugh the other night. Our front door is kinda finiky and you have to turn the handle just right to get it to open. It hasn't been much of an issue yet, because we've always been able to get it to open after a few tries.

Well Monday night we decided to splurge a little and order a pizza for dinner. When the dominoes guy got to the house, Stephen went to the front door to let him in and he couldn't get the door to open! He tried for a few minutes, yelled for me to come help, and then had to yell through the door for the guy to meet him down at the garage cause it just wasn't opening. :-)

We were both cracking up by the time we got the pizza. I felt kinda bad for the dominoes guy though...it was raining outside and he had to walk up to our door, then down to the garage in the rain.

Good times.

Redemption

This video is such a testimony to the redeeming, saving work Christ does in our lives.  I cried.  Hope you like it.

There is A Plan

The last few months I have been frequently reminded of God's sovereignty. Over and over I am seeing how God is in control of our lives and that He has a specific plan for us, for His people, and for the world as a whole (His creation) that He is faithfully bringing about.

Stephen and I can see this so clearly when we look back at how God brought us together as husband and wife. It's sometimes funny trying to explain to people how we met because it takes quite a while to explain all the little events over the years that God orchestrated to bring together two kids from completely different lives who never even lived in the same state until they got married. I like to think it's a testament to God's soveriegnty and plan.

Lately we're seeing God provide for us in the job category. For me personally, I feel like I am almost sitting back and watching God bring about a plan that has been years and years in the making.  I'll post more about it soon, but as I've reflected on God's direction in my life, it's reminded me of this beautiful passage from Psalms:

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:1-16

There's so much more I could write, but I'll stop here for the moment...more to come!

Various Weekend Adventures

This weekend we spent a lot of time unpacking our things and putting our own personal touch on the house.  We had some great help from Janet and Cole and actually got most of it done in just one day.  We're so glad to finally have our things.  It was quite the ordeal getting it out here due to our really bad movers, but we're just thankful it made it.  I was beginning to wonder if we'd EVER get our stuff back.  And Stephen has clothes again!  He was more or less on a 5 outfit rotation for the last month, so the first box he found was the one with his clothes in it.  The first one(s) I found had our dishes and pots and pans!  You better believe I had those opened and unpacked the same day they got here!

In other news, Stephen has a job!  He is the new CLC Director for FBC Sylacauga!!!  The CLC is the Christian Life Center, which is basically the recreation/gym/lobby area of the church.   This is such a huge answer to prayer for us.  He has been looking for a job for quite a while now, and God just placed this one in his lap out of the blue.  We literally had no prospect in sight and were praying that God would provide a job for him on Wednesday night, and then Thursday while Stephen was up at the church Pastor Tim asked him if he'd like to take the position.  When Stephen called and told me the good news, all I could think was, "God is amazing and He has totally answered our prayers."  Now we just need to find a new job for me!

We also got to go down to Tuscaloosa this morning to see our dear friends and celebrate the birthday and ministry of Keith Pugh.  This family is so special to Stephen and me.  Kameron was Stephen's best man in our wedding, KJ married us, and Keith & Teresa read scripture during the wedding.  It was great to see all of them and their respective families and to join in the celebration of leadership and a life devoted to God and ministry.  It was a great encouragement to hear testimonies of how God has used the Pugh family, and specifically Keith, to impact others for the Kingdom.  In many ways Stephen and I pray our marriage and ministry will mirror the Pughs.  They have been a godly example to us and we are forever thankful for them.

We Did What?!?

WE GOT A NEW CAR!?!?!!!!!

That's right!  On Saturday Stephen and I became the proud new owners of a Ford Edge.  After a few months of talking about getting a new car, we finally buckled in and drove out of the parking lot with one.  After signing lots of paper with lots of fine print, of course.

We bought it from this great man:

For those of you who don't know, the other man in the picture (besides Stephen) is my wonderful father-in-law Jeff.  He works for Long-Lewis Ford...which is how we were able to afford our nice new car.

Now let me explain a few things.  First of all, the last straw that contributed to us making the big decision to get a car was what I now refer to as one of the most miserable days of my life so far.  The windows in my old car have been giving me problems for over 2 years.  Two of them decided to stop working, and one of them would not go back up - it was stuck with the window down.  I took my car in and was told that it would cost about $500 PER WINDOW to fix them.  So of course I decided it didn't really matter THAT much that I couldn't use my windows, so I just had them bolt the one window that wouldn't go back up into place.  This was about 2 yrs ago.  

Last Thursday, my driver's side window decided to get stuck in the down position and not go back up.  This wouldn't have been the end of the world IF I hadn't been in Birmingham when it happened AND if it hadn't been POURING DOWN RAIN outside. 

Here's the story.

After work Thursday I had to go to the doctor's office.  My window had already decided to stop working earlier in the day.  As I was sitting in the waiting room, with a clear view of my car out in the parking lot and my window WIDE OPEN, the skies opened up and rain came pouring down.  There was nothing I could do.  There was no way to get my window back up.  So I sat there for about 30 minutes and just watched the rain pour into my car as I waited for the doctor to call me back.  All the while knowing I would soon have to drive home in the soggy seat in the rain.

Once I finished at the doctor's, it was STILL POURING DOWN RAIN.  Remember, I'm in Birmingham and have an HOUR drive home to Sylacauga.  It rained pretty much the whole way.  At one point I attempted to open an umbrella and hold it over the window while I was driving, but the wind kept blowing the umbrella around, and really it wasn't doing that much good.  Plus it was probably pretty dangerous to be holding the umbrella up to my window while I was trying to drive in the rain.

Then I decided to stop at WalMart and buy a garbage bag and some tape - maybe I can tape up my window and keep the rain out.  Good idea except for the fact that it's still raining and the entire inside of my car is wet, so there's no way for the tape to stick.  Plus the wind blew the trashbag off the window.  

I did however buy a towel.  To place between my wet clothes and my very soggy seat.  Not that it did much good at that point.

All that to say, when I finally got home soaking wet, the first thing Stephen said after "I'm sorry" was "We're going to buy a new car this weekend."  This was music to my ears, no matter how much it might cost in the long run.

So we went to see Jeff and came home with the Edge.  It's a crossover, so it gets better gas mileage than an SUV and it looks super cool.  Here's some pics of the inside.

I LOVE the moon-roof/sunroof!  It covers like the entire ceiling of the car.  It's almost like driving with the top down and I've ALWAYS wanted a sunroof.

So that was our big purchase for like the next 10 years.  It sure has made the drive to work each day a little more fun.  We're really enjoying it and will be taking it on a little roadtrip this weekend to Atlanta to see my aunt & uncle.  Should be fun!

Life In Sylacauga

Sorry it's been a while.  Stephen and I have been keeping pretty busy here in Sylacauga.  We had a GREAT time at the lake with my family for the 4th of July.  It was so good to see everyone, even if it was just for a few short days.  We had lots of fun hanging out on the lake and Stephen went fishing with the guys and caught some big 'ol fish!

A different group of our family went each night and my Aunt Mary actually caught the biggest fish of the weekend...beginner's luck, I guess!

Since then we've been entertaining lots of friends and family in our new house!  Our dear friend KJ Pugh (he married me and Stephen) came and stayed for a night last week after preaching at a youth retreat in the area.  It was great to have him over and catch up for a little bit.   Next time we hope he brings his sweet family along too!  We're excited they've moved to Tuscaloosa and hopefully will get to see them a little more often.

This past weekend we had a big group over for dinner.  I guess "big" is relative.  We had Janet, Jeff, Frank, and Chad (family friend and carpenter/house refinisher extraordinaire), plus Stephen and me.  Stephen grilled steaks on our new grill and they turned out soooo good!  And I had fun in the kitchen with Janet getting all the side dishes and desserts ready.  We had a great time of fellowship together and hopefully will be having many more meals just like that one.

We also made a large purchase over the weekend, which I will be posting about hopefully tomorrow after I take some pictures!  Get excited!!!