Moving is hard.
Never in my life have I felt so utterly alone. Logically, I know that there are friends and family who care for Lucas and I immensely.... but most of them are thousands of miles away.
Lucas still has not found a job and we are slowly watching our savings dwindle away with my tuition due soon and Christmas right around the corner. Why is it that faith and money tend to be so closely related? I hate money and the feelings of necessity and want that it evokes in me... and yet I love the feeling of comfort and security that it brings. Security, of course, is an illusion. God giveth and He taketh away and He is the one who ultimately provides what we need. I know these things... so why is it so hard to trust Him to provide a job and the finances that we will need to make a life here?
I know that our being here was ordained by Him. I was accepted into the program here at Elon, my top choice, and the first and only school that I applied to, with little effort. We also found a house to rent only 4 blocks from campus, after I had been heartbroken at the thought of renting an apartment for the next 3 years. I don't believe in coincidence; I believe that our steps are ordered aright by God. So if I believe and KNOW these things... WHY is it so hard?
I have come to the conclusion that I apparently desperately need a lesson in faith. It is so easy to trust Him and love Him when things are cushy and going the way we want them to. It however, is not easy when they are not. So here I am... praying and pleading that God will provide what He always has and that I will learn to trust and depend on Him when our bank account is empty as well as when it is full; when we have friends and when we do not; and when the sun is shining and when it is not.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Car trouble in NC
Hello friends and family!
Can you believe we have already been gone a whole week?!?! We can scarcely believe it ourselves. Time has absolutely flown! Things have definitely not worked out exactly as we had envisioned, but God has obviously been with us every step of the way.
We arrived last Monday night and immediately found a car on craigslist that we were interested in. It was a really cute convertable Mustang with great gas mileage for a great price. So we called the gentleman who was selling it and arranged a meeting for the next day. For Lucas; it was love at first sight... for me, it was love at first price. :) So we gave the man some money to hold the car for us and set about trying to actually get at our money, which has proven to be very difficult as there are absolutely no WellsFargo banks anywhere near here. After a lot of hassle we finally secured a way to transfer to our new bank account and we were able to get the car!
So as we're purchasing the car the seller tells Lucas that he'll be taking his license plate off the car (what?!?!) Okay.... so he says that we have to go to the plate office and apply for a new license plate for the car. So the seller drives the car to the office, proceeds to remove his plate and leaves us there to get a new plate. So in North Carolina before you can get a plate you have to have proof of insurance.... so now we're sitting in the office trying to secure insurance for our new car. Once that's done, we bring our proof to the window and then we are informed that we cannont get a plate because neither Lucas nor I have a NC driver's license. (Are you kidding me?) So then we call the DMV and speak to a very nice lady who proceeds to tell us that we have to become NC residents so that we can get a NC driver's license so that we can get a license plate so that we can drive our new car. I think it would be easier to buy a 2 headed giraffe.
After much debate with the nice lady, we come to the conclusion that because I am going to be a student in NC that I would be able to get a NC resident card, only after I had proved that I would be living in NC (via proof of my lease) and that should be sufficient to get the plate for our car. Now if only we could locate my SS card... as that was lost in the move, we are now waiting for that to come in the mail so that we can drive our new car. Aren't you glad you've never had to buy a car in NC?!?!
Aside from that total mishap, things have been going really well... we took our roadtrip up through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. We went to a Penguins game on Thursday and had a really good time even though they lost. :( And on Friday we went to Ohio to go to Cedar Point and ride roller coasters! We rode one that went 127mph on only lasted 17 seconds because it was so fast.... SO much fun! And then on Sunday we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA and rode more rollercoasters! I could tell you stories about the travel lodge in VA though.... beware! Talk about a nasty hole in the wall....
Speaking of hole in the wall, Lucas and I cleaned out the fireplace today in our new house. It had been blocked off for who knows how long and when we opened it up there were beer cans, bottles, cobwebs and a skeleton of a dead bird! GROSS!!! Despite the fact that our new house has A LOT of work to be done on it, we are really excited and think it will be really cute when it is all done. As we finish things I will post before and after photos!
Hope all of y'all are doing well! We love you and miss you and would love to hear from you!
Can you believe we have already been gone a whole week?!?! We can scarcely believe it ourselves. Time has absolutely flown! Things have definitely not worked out exactly as we had envisioned, but God has obviously been with us every step of the way.
We arrived last Monday night and immediately found a car on craigslist that we were interested in. It was a really cute convertable Mustang with great gas mileage for a great price. So we called the gentleman who was selling it and arranged a meeting for the next day. For Lucas; it was love at first sight... for me, it was love at first price. :) So we gave the man some money to hold the car for us and set about trying to actually get at our money, which has proven to be very difficult as there are absolutely no WellsFargo banks anywhere near here. After a lot of hassle we finally secured a way to transfer to our new bank account and we were able to get the car!
So as we're purchasing the car the seller tells Lucas that he'll be taking his license plate off the car (what?!?!) Okay.... so he says that we have to go to the plate office and apply for a new license plate for the car. So the seller drives the car to the office, proceeds to remove his plate and leaves us there to get a new plate. So in North Carolina before you can get a plate you have to have proof of insurance.... so now we're sitting in the office trying to secure insurance for our new car. Once that's done, we bring our proof to the window and then we are informed that we cannont get a plate because neither Lucas nor I have a NC driver's license. (Are you kidding me?) So then we call the DMV and speak to a very nice lady who proceeds to tell us that we have to become NC residents so that we can get a NC driver's license so that we can get a license plate so that we can drive our new car. I think it would be easier to buy a 2 headed giraffe.
After much debate with the nice lady, we come to the conclusion that because I am going to be a student in NC that I would be able to get a NC resident card, only after I had proved that I would be living in NC (via proof of my lease) and that should be sufficient to get the plate for our car. Now if only we could locate my SS card... as that was lost in the move, we are now waiting for that to come in the mail so that we can drive our new car. Aren't you glad you've never had to buy a car in NC?!?!
Aside from that total mishap, things have been going really well... we took our roadtrip up through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. We went to a Penguins game on Thursday and had a really good time even though they lost. :( And on Friday we went to Ohio to go to Cedar Point and ride roller coasters! We rode one that went 127mph on only lasted 17 seconds because it was so fast.... SO much fun! And then on Sunday we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA and rode more rollercoasters! I could tell you stories about the travel lodge in VA though.... beware! Talk about a nasty hole in the wall....
Speaking of hole in the wall, Lucas and I cleaned out the fireplace today in our new house. It had been blocked off for who knows how long and when we opened it up there were beer cans, bottles, cobwebs and a skeleton of a dead bird! GROSS!!! Despite the fact that our new house has A LOT of work to be done on it, we are really excited and think it will be really cute when it is all done. As we finish things I will post before and after photos!
Hope all of y'all are doing well! We love you and miss you and would love to hear from you!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Big Changes
Hello friends and family!
As most of you are probably aware, Lucas and I ship out to NC very soon! One week from today to be exact. We are very excited, but also very nervous as we were both raised in the state and have never left home. If you think of us in the upcoming months, please pray that we will adjust well, make friends, find a great church, and that we lean on God for His strength and provision. For those of you whom I haven't spoken to in a very long time, I am on my way to physical therapy school (a three year program), which will start in early January. I will be attending a private school called Elon University and when at long last I finally graduate, I will be a doctor of physical therapy. We are fortunate enough to have already signed a lease on a quaint 2 bedroom house only a couple of blocks from campus. It is what one might call a "fixer upper" but the monthly rent and location couldn't be better! So we are very excited to move in and get settled. I will try to remember to send pictures. Once Lucas and I get to NC we are going to take a road trip up to Pittsburgh to watch a hockey game (go Penguins!) and then we are going to 2 amusement parks, one in Ohio called Cedar Point, that just happens to be one of the biggest amusement parks in the world (I'm super excited, can you tell?), and then down to VA to hit up the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. This little vacation should be just what we need to recharge the batteries before we buckle down to all the practicalities of actually moving in. Well... that's about all there is to tell at the moment.
For those of you that we are leaving... we love you and will miss you very much and will do our best to keep in touch... you'd better do the same!
And for those of you that we are moving closer to... we are excited to see you and get to spend some quality time with you!
As most of you are probably aware, Lucas and I ship out to NC very soon! One week from today to be exact. We are very excited, but also very nervous as we were both raised in the state and have never left home. If you think of us in the upcoming months, please pray that we will adjust well, make friends, find a great church, and that we lean on God for His strength and provision. For those of you whom I haven't spoken to in a very long time, I am on my way to physical therapy school (a three year program), which will start in early January. I will be attending a private school called Elon University and when at long last I finally graduate, I will be a doctor of physical therapy. We are fortunate enough to have already signed a lease on a quaint 2 bedroom house only a couple of blocks from campus. It is what one might call a "fixer upper" but the monthly rent and location couldn't be better! So we are very excited to move in and get settled. I will try to remember to send pictures. Once Lucas and I get to NC we are going to take a road trip up to Pittsburgh to watch a hockey game (go Penguins!) and then we are going to 2 amusement parks, one in Ohio called Cedar Point, that just happens to be one of the biggest amusement parks in the world (I'm super excited, can you tell?), and then down to VA to hit up the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. This little vacation should be just what we need to recharge the batteries before we buckle down to all the practicalities of actually moving in. Well... that's about all there is to tell at the moment.
For those of you that we are leaving... we love you and will miss you very much and will do our best to keep in touch... you'd better do the same!
And for those of you that we are moving closer to... we are excited to see you and get to spend some quality time with you!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A Modern day Miracle
As Christian Americans of the 21st century, we long to see miracles such as those we have read about in the Bible; the dead being risen, the blind given sight, the lame made to walk. But the question I would like to ask is; Are we looking for them? In today's society it's easy to dismiss things that happen every day as ordinary or normal; a logical progression of technology and science. While this may be partially true, as Christians, shouldn't we give credit where credit is due? For example, the logical explanation for the sunrise each morning is due to the Earth's rotation aroudn the sun, but should we not recognize that the Creator caused the Earth to rotate around the sun?
And what about the "not so miraculous" things such as your car breaking down as you pull into town from a long road trip, or having no money after you've paid all the bills, or having your house broken into while you were away. While none of these situations are idea, think of the alternative... Praise God! It is so easy to be ungrateful or to dismiss the amazing or coincidental as ordinary instead of miraculous. I would like to challenge all of us to change our perspectives, if we look at life as miraculous, then I believe that we will begin to see more of the miracles that God performs in our lives each day.
For those of you that don't know, I received LASIK eye surgery today; a $3000 operation that didn't cost me a dime to get. Today, God made the blind see. Yesterday, if I was a foot away from my husband I couldn't tell it was him, today, I can read street signs and tiny print without any contacts or glasses to aid me. Today God allowed me, a poor newlywed who has had more car problems in the last month than in her entire life, to have clear vision (which I've never had in my life) for free... if that's not a miracle, then I don't know what it.
And what about the "not so miraculous" things such as your car breaking down as you pull into town from a long road trip, or having no money after you've paid all the bills, or having your house broken into while you were away. While none of these situations are idea, think of the alternative... Praise God! It is so easy to be ungrateful or to dismiss the amazing or coincidental as ordinary instead of miraculous. I would like to challenge all of us to change our perspectives, if we look at life as miraculous, then I believe that we will begin to see more of the miracles that God performs in our lives each day.
For those of you that don't know, I received LASIK eye surgery today; a $3000 operation that didn't cost me a dime to get. Today, God made the blind see. Yesterday, if I was a foot away from my husband I couldn't tell it was him, today, I can read street signs and tiny print without any contacts or glasses to aid me. Today God allowed me, a poor newlywed who has had more car problems in the last month than in her entire life, to have clear vision (which I've never had in my life) for free... if that's not a miracle, then I don't know what it.
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