Summer Longings

"Longings" is the best word I can come up with to describe what has been going on in my heart this summer.

As each week is passing, I feel like I am coming more and more alive in this *new* culture we are living in (yes, I was born and raised here, but so much has changed, and I've lived away for so long). God has been stirring up joys, passions, and longings that have kept me verbally processing with a close friend during our weekly FaceTime phone dates.

On a Sunday morning when my husband plays his guitar and leads a local group of believers in corporate worship (like in the video above), my heart rejoices and longs at the same time for him. I see him monthly growing in this spiritual gift he's been blessed with, and can't wait for what God has in store for him. I don't know what it is or when it is, but each time he leads, my heart is reaffirmed that this path we are walking in faith is what we're supposed to be doing.

During the week as I tidy up the kids toys in their play area, or adjust to cooking with someone else's things (ladies, you know what I'm talking about, there's nothing quite like your own kitchen items), or tuck my son to sleep in his currently purple room, I long for the day to come that we are once again in our own home. I dream of my home with four bedrooms, one for each kid, one for us, and one for any guests visiting or local people needing a place to stay. A home with a kitchen window overlooking a backyard, so I can watch my kids play outside in the sunshine (our old home didn't have a kitchen window, or really a backyard...). And it will be like Christmas getting to open up all my kitchen things. Who knew a woman could love her silverware, pots, and dishes so much? :-)

Needless to say, these things are challenging to talk about. The last six weeks (since my last blog post), I have been pondering how to put into words some of these thoughts & emotions. They are not easy to verbalize, and don't fit quite into the normal "this is how we're seeing some awesome things God is doing!" update. Yet He is doing some great things. Some of them tangible, some of them only heart stirrings.

The friend I weekly try to FaceTime with (she teaches English in Europe) shared with me something she has been learning... to ask "What is God calling me into? What is He inviting me into?"

Then this last Sunday, our pastor put before us the question, "In what ways am I making myself available to hear from God?" (and I might not have gotten the wording quite right, but that was the gist of it)

I have loved walking alongside Nathan as we've served the Lord together for almost six years now (whoop-whoop!). This has been an exciting, long, painful journey of seeking what is next. And day by day walk into the unknown in some ways. Some days are filled with so much joy. Some days have tears and anxiety. And some days are both joys and longings for what the Lord is going to do in our lives next.

I am near family. I have been weekly reconnecting and spending special time with my parents, sisters, and grandparents that I have lived long distance from for so long. I have two healthy, energetic toddlers, and a humble, godly husband who is working so hard to provide for his family.

God is faithful to provide, He has been faithful to lead, and He continues to be faithful in working in our hearts. These longings remind me of the woman Hannah in the Bible who longed for a child, or the Hebrew people who longed for their own land, or King David who longed after God. So I will keep on taking these longings right back to Him. I will daily ask Him to open doors for us. He is our Hope.

Will I laugh during these fun family memory-building times? Will I give God praise at the very visible, very tangible ways we see Him taking care of us? Will I rejoice with friends who are seeing answers to their prayers? Will I sit and soak in His presence and peace during the quieter times? Yes yes yes and yes.

Will I long for our future, to see my husband once again daily using his gifts of musical worship, teaching, and discipleship? Will I long for my dream home?  Will I cry on days that are hard? Yep, and sometimes it's all of those things on the same day... :-)

The best way I can say it is that this is a sweet and painful journey all at the same time.

Summer Joys

The heat & humidity of a Gulf Coast summer has finally settled in the Houston area, meaning more indoor play time and lots of pool time.

Levi had fun taking swimming lessons in June, and conquered his HUGE fear of getting water in his face. He now jumps, slides, and any other way he can think of, makes huge splashes in the pool. Still not completely swimming on his own, but getting closer and closer. He also has gained several pounds and grown out of an entire size of clothing, which God provided for by an awesome summer clearance store. He is now restocked with running shorts, tshirts, and a few short sleeve dress shirts.

Eliana is just about as adventurous in the pool, trying to keep up with everything big brother does. She daily amazes me with her curious, active, adventurous little personality. Well, big personality in a pint-size body. She is getting taller and slimmer, but still in the same clothing size, so we also went shopping for some new clothes during the summer clearance for her. Her other summer clothes are getting so faded and stained being worn for so many months (and were from garage sales themselves).

Nathan has stayed very, very busy working as a manager at Chick-Fil-A, mowing a few yards, and leading worship several times a month at the church we're attending.

This summer we have had fun as a family visiting the local Houston zoo (pictured below), attending the Ringling Brothers Circus (courtesy of ChickFilA), picking fresh strawberries at a local farm, and over course, eating & playing at Chick-Fil-A! :-)



And I have stayed busy keeping up with those three! Last week Nathan and I had the joy of a 48hr. getaway to the "Hill Country" of Texas (about 3 hours away). We celebrated both of our 30th birthdays this summer by visiting a winery, going to a huge waterpark for a day, touring a cavern, and tubing/floating for several hours on a river! The kids got extended time with my parents while we were on our adventures. And we just had a wonderful time. So, so good. Just a refreshing time for our marriage & friendship! We both agreed it's one of the best trips we've ever been on.

This is Canyon Lake, the beautiful lake we stayed on (thanks to a Groupon voucher!)



These are just some samples of the blessings we've had as a family this summer. Our continued focus has been building memories together. And we definitely have built some to last for a lifetime! Can't wait to build some more!

"Resting" in the Lord

"My soul finds rest in God along, my salvation comes from Him" - Psalm 62:1

This verse plays through my head because of the upbeat rendition called "Never Be Shaken" by Seeds Family Worship (we listen to "Seeds" regularly).

And towards the end of June, we got to experience the "resting" in God in a way that still brings a soft smile to my face and a bubble of joy inside.

To make our big move down here, we really simplified what we owned. We had several garage sales, sold items online, gave things away to friends, donated items, etc... In the case of our queen size 13 yr. old mattress, we simply put it out for the garbage men to collect. It was sadly sagging in the middle and we had been saving up to purchase a new one this year. My parents had a full bed in the guest room, so why take up truck space bringing an old mattress with us, or haul a new one 1,300 miles? We added "queen size mattress" to our prayer list for God to provide in the future.

So our first month living in Texas went by, and we learned a full size bed is not-so-fun when a couple is 6'2" and 5'7". It works for a short time, but not my favorite thing long-term. Memorial Day supposedly has the best mattress deals of the year, so we started researching and looking at our budget for buying a mattress.

The weekend came, and we started looking at the sales, and for some reason just didn't feel a peace that we should buy a mattress at that time. I was really disappointed, because I couldn't wait to stretch out in a queen bed once again! But I also knew that Nathan and I have learned over the last several years to not push past hesitations when making a purchase (of any size!).

At the end of June, we were having "family time" outside, clearing & burning brush on my parents 5 acres. I went inside for a quick drink break, and my mom told me that a friend of hers in the neighborhood had just called, and wanted to know if we would be interested in a a queen size mattress set. So I automatically said sure, could we get more info (age, price, type, etc...). Mom replied that the mattress was less than two years old, had only been slept on for a month or two, then made into the guest bed because the couple bought a king instead. To top it off, they wanted to just give it to us.

Stunned, I walked outside and shared the news with Nathan. He stopped what he was doing and just about cried.

Within an hour, we were returning home with a *new* mattress, and that night, slept on a queen size bed once again.

When we arrived at this lady's house, she told us they had bought a top-of-the-line mattress to help with their back/joint issues. But quickly decided to upgrade to a king size for more room. And it's been sitting unused since. She apologized for not being able to give us a frame or sheets, she needed to keep those. And when I tried (through tears) to tell her what a blessing she was, she said WE were a blessing to HER.

Definitely confused, I asked "how?" And she replied that she felt the Spirit telling her for several days to call us about the mattress, instead of listing it for sale online. Our having an exact need for that mattress was confirmation to her that she had been listening to the Lord. What an incredible perspective. She had only heard through my mom that we had moved down here and were looking for a ministry position, and we had not previously met her. Yet here was God providing one of our biggest needs through an almost stranger.

During our journey of following the Lord right now, this was such an encouragement. Not only did God show us in a huge way that He is providing for us, He is going above & beyond our "need" (we couldn't have EVER afforded this mattress). He blessed us with an item that has been a daily reminder that He is taking care of us, and we can "rest" in Him.

And in the last six weeks, Nathan and I have noticed our chronic lower back pain (Nate) and hip pain (me) completely go away.

So we continue to seek Him. And continue to find our rest in Him.