Since November, we had been doing our best to not buy anything except milk/eggs/bread at the grocery store, so that our fridge and pantry would be pretty well cleaned out in time for us to move. I decided that even though we are here in Springfield for longer than expected, we may as well eat well! So I did some grocery shopping today and yesterday and we now have a pretty full pantry and fridge again. I also looked up some recipes from "the Pioneer Woman" and have picked some that I want to try! I have loved going through her website, she cracks me up! Also she cooks with no regard for fat content- cheese and cream seem to be two of her staples. So she is my kinda woman! lol. I think it will be good for me to try some new things and keep myself occupied and my husband's stomach full! ha!
We are now in the process of figuring out what to do. Should we stay in Springfield and volunteer somewhere, I can work at the Tower Club 2-3 shifts a week? Should I try to find a temporary job at a hotel somewhere so I will have more "hotel" experience? Or, will Caroll get a cleaning job in KC where we can both work and help her? We don't want to chose the option we would "rather" do, but rather we want to do what will be best for us in the long-run.
We have so much faith that God knows what He is doing in our lives. He has some sort of plan that we just can't see yet. I've also seen some really encouraging verses these last few days, including:
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and again and keep going! (2 Corinthians 4:8,9 TLB)
I am praying to you because I know You will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. (Psalm 17:6 NTL)
And finally, a quote I found on someone else's blog:
"Set your thoughts not on the storm, but on the LOVE that rules the storm."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
hard week
Well, everything started going downhill after I wrote my last post. It's been a pretty rough week for our family!
We met up with Paul Tuesday afternoon and set a date (Feb. 18) for Steven to start, meaning we would hope to spend the week before that on the move. The timeline seemed perfect because that would give us 30 days to make an offer on a house and get everything finalized there. We spent the rest of the day looking at houses, and found two that we liked pretty well. There were two more that we couldn't look at until Wednesday, so we decided to stay another night so that we could look at all the houses before making an offer.
Wednesday started off rough because Steven and I liked different houses. I liked one we went to Tuesday (Vandalia house),
while he liked the one we had just seen that morning (Wickliffe).
We were both pretty much set on "our" house and really weren't in any position to be making an offer on either of them! It was hard on me because I had always envisioned us both falling in love with the SAME house- I knew that whoever didn't "get their way" would always half-way have it in the back of their mind, "what if we had bought MY house..."
We went back to the Vandalia house so I could do my best to persuade Steven that THIS was the house we needed! ha! On the way, we got a text from Paul that we can't pull the trigger and needed to get together with him ASAP. After a quick run-through of the house, we met him at the church where he explained to us that they no longer are able to hire Steven in the time-frame we had discussed, and they don't know if they will be able to hire him at all. He also couldn't tell us a time-line of when to expect any more answers and told us not to wait for them if we are offered a different position somewhere else. We were DEVASTATED. After about an hour, we left and headed back to Springfield with no house, no job, no nothing.
Basically, it was nothing against Steven. Paul said he still likes Steven and if he is able to offer the job to someone, it will be him. But, the church is in a transition stage right now, in that their former pastor was shot and killed a year ago. They are now in the process of hiring their interim pastor, to be full-time. They made that commitment to him last year, and with the commitment, the hiring comittee told him that the church would not hire any new personell until they were under his full-time leadership (which begins February 1). Paul was not aware of this when he started the interview process with Steven, and just found out about it Wednesday night when he was wondering why there was such a delay getting Steven's contract ready. So ultimately, Paul had to honor the new pastor's wishes of being involved in the hiring decisions.
We still don't know why this happened... Maybe they will be able to hire him in February and there will be a house then that we will both agree on and God just wanted us to wait on that? Or maybe Maryville isn't where He wants us at all? We have been praying all this time that God would open the right doors and close the wrong ones so it is obvious to us where He wants us. So I don't understand why the doors kept opening and opening and working PERFECTLY for Maryville, all to be slammed shut with a little tiny crack still open- only enough to give us hope of a future job there.
We are now back at square one- back to the interview process with a few different churches. Except now I don't have school and it is the slow time of the year at the Tower Club so I really don't think it would be worth it to confine myself to there.
We know that God has a plan. We know that everything will be SO worth it when we are where God has for us. We know that we will look back on this as a time when God was at work in our lives. We will be able to use this experience as our testimony and also as an avenue to relate to others who are in a "waiting" time of their life. We know that "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it" and that God WILL bring us the right thing at HIS timing.
It's just hard to wait.
We met up with Paul Tuesday afternoon and set a date (Feb. 18) for Steven to start, meaning we would hope to spend the week before that on the move. The timeline seemed perfect because that would give us 30 days to make an offer on a house and get everything finalized there. We spent the rest of the day looking at houses, and found two that we liked pretty well. There were two more that we couldn't look at until Wednesday, so we decided to stay another night so that we could look at all the houses before making an offer.
Wednesday started off rough because Steven and I liked different houses. I liked one we went to Tuesday (Vandalia house),
while he liked the one we had just seen that morning (Wickliffe).
We were both pretty much set on "our" house and really weren't in any position to be making an offer on either of them! It was hard on me because I had always envisioned us both falling in love with the SAME house- I knew that whoever didn't "get their way" would always half-way have it in the back of their mind, "what if we had bought MY house..."
We went back to the Vandalia house so I could do my best to persuade Steven that THIS was the house we needed! ha! On the way, we got a text from Paul that we can't pull the trigger and needed to get together with him ASAP. After a quick run-through of the house, we met him at the church where he explained to us that they no longer are able to hire Steven in the time-frame we had discussed, and they don't know if they will be able to hire him at all. He also couldn't tell us a time-line of when to expect any more answers and told us not to wait for them if we are offered a different position somewhere else. We were DEVASTATED. After about an hour, we left and headed back to Springfield with no house, no job, no nothing.
Basically, it was nothing against Steven. Paul said he still likes Steven and if he is able to offer the job to someone, it will be him. But, the church is in a transition stage right now, in that their former pastor was shot and killed a year ago. They are now in the process of hiring their interim pastor, to be full-time. They made that commitment to him last year, and with the commitment, the hiring comittee told him that the church would not hire any new personell until they were under his full-time leadership (which begins February 1). Paul was not aware of this when he started the interview process with Steven, and just found out about it Wednesday night when he was wondering why there was such a delay getting Steven's contract ready. So ultimately, Paul had to honor the new pastor's wishes of being involved in the hiring decisions.
We still don't know why this happened... Maybe they will be able to hire him in February and there will be a house then that we will both agree on and God just wanted us to wait on that? Or maybe Maryville isn't where He wants us at all? We have been praying all this time that God would open the right doors and close the wrong ones so it is obvious to us where He wants us. So I don't understand why the doors kept opening and opening and working PERFECTLY for Maryville, all to be slammed shut with a little tiny crack still open- only enough to give us hope of a future job there.
We are now back at square one- back to the interview process with a few different churches. Except now I don't have school and it is the slow time of the year at the Tower Club so I really don't think it would be worth it to confine myself to there.
We know that God has a plan. We know that everything will be SO worth it when we are where God has for us. We know that we will look back on this as a time when God was at work in our lives. We will be able to use this experience as our testimony and also as an avenue to relate to others who are in a "waiting" time of their life. We know that "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it" and that God WILL bring us the right thing at HIS timing.
It's just hard to wait.
Monday, January 17, 2011
I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight....
Well, I am catching up here on Blogger from St. Louis!
Friday morning, we left for Memphis. We had a really great trip. While we were at the Peabody hotel waiting to get hungry for our first dinner recommended by the Food/Travel channel, Steven got the phone call we were waiting for from Maryville! We were expecting it but were so relieved for it to be more official. Had dinner at Rendezvous in downtown Memphis. Afterward, we went back to the FedExForum where we had parked to get our car, and the doors were locked. We ended up walking all the way around the stadium to get into the first floor and finally find our car!
Saturday was a full day. We started out with brunch at Alcenia's. It was decent food but the slowest service I think we have ever had. After, we went to the Zoo, then to Gus' Fried Chicken for dinner. YUM!!! It was seriously the best fried chicken ever. After that we went to the Memphis Grizzlie's and Dallas Mavericks game. When it was over we went down Beale street, and Steven was hungry so we went to another BBQ place, Marlowe's.
Sunday was a very chill day- we went out for lunch at Uncle Louie's and then got dinner at Lou's? Finished up with milkshakes from Baskin Robbins.
Today (Monday) we ate at Gus' again for lunch because it was just that good. We headed to St. Louis instead of Springfield, though, because we are going to look at houses tomorrow! SO excited!
Friday morning, we left for Memphis. We had a really great trip. While we were at the Peabody hotel waiting to get hungry for our first dinner recommended by the Food/Travel channel, Steven got the phone call we were waiting for from Maryville! We were expecting it but were so relieved for it to be more official. Had dinner at Rendezvous in downtown Memphis. Afterward, we went back to the FedExForum where we had parked to get our car, and the doors were locked. We ended up walking all the way around the stadium to get into the first floor and finally find our car!
Saturday was a full day. We started out with brunch at Alcenia's. It was decent food but the slowest service I think we have ever had. After, we went to the Zoo, then to Gus' Fried Chicken for dinner. YUM!!! It was seriously the best fried chicken ever. After that we went to the Memphis Grizzlie's and Dallas Mavericks game. When it was over we went down Beale street, and Steven was hungry so we went to another BBQ place, Marlowe's.
Sunday was a very chill day- we went out for lunch at Uncle Louie's and then got dinner at Lou's? Finished up with milkshakes from Baskin Robbins.
Today (Monday) we ate at Gus' again for lunch because it was just that good. We headed to St. Louis instead of Springfield, though, because we are going to look at houses tomorrow! SO excited!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
I was so excited today because we heard again from Maryville! Although everything is not official, we are looking at being introduced to the students January 28 weekend during their D-Now!
That gives Steven and I three more weeks of absolutely nothing to do... unless we make something to do.
I have been reading Ecclesiastes lately and let me tell you- it has been cracking me up! It might help that my Bible is New Living Translation, but some of these verses are just so blunt and maybe I'm just tired when I'm reading, but they crack me up. But one that especially stuck out to me was Ecclesiastes 11:9 "Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do."
LOVE it! It got me to thinking... that Steven and I should take advantage of this time in our lives. We are young and for the next three weeks- have completely open schedules so we should take advantage of that! For the rest of our lives, we will have to ask off work, schedule a dog/house sitter, pack things for kids, etc whenever we want to go anywhere. But for this short time in our lives, we have a totally open schedule to do whatever we want. And I don't want to waste that just sleeping in, watching TV, and running meaningless errands just to get out of the house.
So we did some research online, and we are going to try to take a mini-vacation to Memphis! It's only a 5 hour drive and if we Priceline a hotel I think we can have a nice cheap trip! Steven has never been there, and I have been there once but I think it was for only one night on our way to Pensacola. This month is Elvis' birthday, so surely they go big for that. Also, we found tickets to the Grizzlie's (their NBA team) for only $8. They also have a zoo and ice skating rink! I am thinking we will be able to keep ourselves entertained for 3 or 4 nights, and am really excited about it!
Yeay for unexpected, last minute trips!!!
That gives Steven and I three more weeks of absolutely nothing to do... unless we make something to do.
I have been reading Ecclesiastes lately and let me tell you- it has been cracking me up! It might help that my Bible is New Living Translation, but some of these verses are just so blunt and maybe I'm just tired when I'm reading, but they crack me up. But one that especially stuck out to me was Ecclesiastes 11:9 "Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do."
LOVE it! It got me to thinking... that Steven and I should take advantage of this time in our lives. We are young and for the next three weeks- have completely open schedules so we should take advantage of that! For the rest of our lives, we will have to ask off work, schedule a dog/house sitter, pack things for kids, etc whenever we want to go anywhere. But for this short time in our lives, we have a totally open schedule to do whatever we want. And I don't want to waste that just sleeping in, watching TV, and running meaningless errands just to get out of the house.
So we did some research online, and we are going to try to take a mini-vacation to Memphis! It's only a 5 hour drive and if we Priceline a hotel I think we can have a nice cheap trip! Steven has never been there, and I have been there once but I think it was for only one night on our way to Pensacola. This month is Elvis' birthday, so surely they go big for that. Also, we found tickets to the Grizzlie's (their NBA team) for only $8. They also have a zoo and ice skating rink! I am thinking we will be able to keep ourselves entertained for 3 or 4 nights, and am really excited about it!
Yeay for unexpected, last minute trips!!!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Steven and I have enjoyed the last couple of days just laying low! We honestly haven't done much more than sleep, watch TV/movies, and go out for ice cream. It's nice for a couple of days but I'm not sure how much longer we can do it lol. However, I know that a year from now, we will both *hopefully* have jobs and full schedules, and we will be thinking back to these days when we had nothing to do and be grateful for them! So I'm trying to soak it in.
In further news, I added up our "coupon savings" for 2010 and we are at a grand total of $1132.50! The little things definitely do add up. After reading The Treasure Principle this year, we felt prompted to give half of our coupon savings of the year to missions/charities, while saving the other half. I am excited for this to become a new tradition! There is nothing better than giving to those who are not as fortunate as yourself and being a blessing to them... We have been VERY blessed and God makes it clear that "to whom much is given, much is expected." We can definitely do better in this area and one thing I am most excited for as we are finding a new church home to be more giving in not only our finances, but also our time.
That's all for now... I'm hoping to watch a movie with my hubbs after this football game is over!
In further news, I added up our "coupon savings" for 2010 and we are at a grand total of $1132.50! The little things definitely do add up. After reading The Treasure Principle this year, we felt prompted to give half of our coupon savings of the year to missions/charities, while saving the other half. I am excited for this to become a new tradition! There is nothing better than giving to those who are not as fortunate as yourself and being a blessing to them... We have been VERY blessed and God makes it clear that "to whom much is given, much is expected." We can definitely do better in this area and one thing I am most excited for as we are finding a new church home to be more giving in not only our finances, but also our time.
That's all for now... I'm hoping to watch a movie with my hubbs after this football game is over!
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