Christmas Time Is Here

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14


What a wonderful time of the year! Friends, family, time together, gifts, memories, pictures, programs and special songs... but most importantly, a time to meditate on the birth of our Lord, THE Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who was born in a manager, the lowest of all places, yet born as a King and Savior. I love the song, "Mary, Did You Know?" ...

This child that you've delivered Will soon deliver you... Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?.... And when you  kiss your little baby, You've kissed the face of God.

What an incredible thought.  I've been reading through Luke and I love how Mary "treasured up in her heart" the things she was revealed, heard, or saw. I would love to grow in a heart that treasures up and ponders on the Word of our Lord.


On a lighter note, Dave and I have been a little impatient with gift giving for one another this year! haha We decided this week to give each other 1 gift everyday (rather than just wait until the end of the week like most people do). It's actually been really fun...and funny.


I've also made a new rule for our home that Dave is not allowed to touch his presents anymore from here on out. In the past 2 years he has correctly guessed almost every gift that I let him shake, hold, or even give a hint about.  Just an example of how sick Dave is... this summer I was going to surprise him on a date and take him putt-putt. We hadn't done that in months, nor had we discussed it at all. He asked for a hint about what we were doing and I said, "Well...It's green and black."  His first guess? Putt-putt. Who in the world would guess that?! 
This week Dave took one of his gifts, which was in a hard plastic tube, and started shaking it.  "Ummm...it's headphones, isn't it?"  ...Yes, it was head phones. *sigh*


Last night we celebrated with his Mom and immediate family. We had a great time and are looking forward to Friday with his dad and immediately family and this weekend with my parents! 

Tis The Season To Be...

...Thankful!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. Thanksgiving morning Dave and I put up our Christmas tree and decor! So fun! We want to do a tradition where every year we buy a special ornament. This year we found one that is a bride, groom, and wedding cake :)

 We spent Thanksgiving Day with Dave's family and a large gathering. Then that weekend drove up to my parent's for a very small family gathering. By small I mean 7 people. But the way my mom cooks, it looked like she was feeding an army!

And I got to see my Babe dog :) She has been sick lately and it isn't looking too good for her :(

Now it is December 5th and so far we have had 2 days of extremely light snow flurries. Just tons of rain. Welcome to Evansville, Indiana. Bring the SNOW!

Tonight the girls I am discipling are coming over and we are going to have dinner, Bible Study, and then a Christmas Party complete with tacky sweaters and presents! I am so excited! I love these girls and we have so much fun together :)

Radical

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted! If that tells you anything about our schedules! haha I was talking the other day about how it will be so nice when life slows down for us in a year or two, and then I caught myself and said, "Who am I kidding? Then comes kids and life will never be calm!" haha

But in all seriousness, we are so blessed to be in the season we are, and I would not do anything differently. I remember a few years ago when Allie Hook/Allie Gwinn got married after her sophomore year of college, and was talking about how hard it is to juggle college and jobs and marriage and I asked her, "If you were to go back and do it again, would you have waited a little longer before you got married?" She said, "Definitely not. If anything, I would have gotten married to Thomas sooner."  And that's how I feel right now. If anything, I would have married Dave sooner so I would get more days in our lives together :)

We have started reading a book Radical by David Platt and it is outstanding. It is talking about as Christians we need to fight against the "American Dream" that we are so content to default to. We have been so challenged this  past month with how we spend (or keep) our money, what kind of house we should purchase when that time comes, our desire for missions, etc.
I remember in a sermon one time Paul Washer said something along the lines of...People ask me if its hard to be a missionary in Peru. I tell them its the easiest thing I've ever done. When the Lord provides food, I eat. When he provide a place to lie my head, I sleep. It's so simple. You trust the Lord to provide everything. But when I come back to the states, that's when the struggle starts. Instantly I'm surrounded by shopping malls and lights and glamor and fast cars and lots of food and wealth. That's when the struggle begins.

Recently, a missionary and his family that Faith Bible supports, Jyoti from India, came to the states to visit supporters, and he spoke with our small group about the trials and persecution in India. Soon there will be laws making it illegal to share the Gospel, the exclusive claims of Christ, with minors in India. Currently, their ministry is sharing with 100+ children. He showed up a video of a few Christian pastors and the son of one of the pastors being beat in Orissa, while the cops turn their backs until the Muslims have beat the Christians to death, or close to dying. It is horrifying the things that are going on overseas. Part of me was filled with absolute rage and anger, and the other part was reminded of scripture, 'Like a sheep led to the slaughter' and 'indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life will be persecuted' 'They persecuted me, they will persecute you.'  Yet they continue and endure for Christ's name and renown.

The other night I was lying in bed thinking and praying about my brothers and sisters in Christ overseas in the persecuted church and then it hit me... those are my brothers and sisters.  What if that were Crissie over there? I would be on my knees day and night for her, laboring for her in prayer and tears, sending her all the money she needed to do the Lord's work.....

Oh, the Lord is faithful to mold us daily...

Bagels

So for those who don't know, Charlie has the adventurous side of him. Whenever we are gone, he likes to jump in the kitchen chairs and sniff around the kitchen table. The other day I left a bag of month old bagels on the table that I planned to take later to feed to the ducks at the State Park. Well...I came home and instantly Charlie flopped over, pulled his ears up, did his guilty tail-wag, and told on himself. I knew the bagels were gone. So I started looking around. I found the first bagel under a pillow on the love seat. Later that night, I found the 2nd bagel under a pillow on the big couch.... I thought I had found all the bagels until around midnight I flipped over in bed, went to fluff my pillow and felt the 3rd bagel nestled under my pillow. This bagel was missing half of the other side. The next morning Dave went to get a shirt out of the clean laundry basket...and he found the 4th bagel. So far, we think we have found them all, but we are constantly on the search for bagels. Oh Charlie.

Our life is crazier than ever and we are so busy, but love the short time we have together during the week and weekends. Dave works full time and has class Monday night, softball Tuesday night, class Wednesday night, we have Small Group Bible Study Thurday nights. I have work Monday, internship and class Tuesday, work Wednesday, internship Thursday and then small group, work Friday and Saturdays, and Discipleship Group Sunday nights. Oh how nice it will be to be graduated...just in time to add little ones to the picture! haha

Wednesday will be 4 months that we have been married. Last night I was thinking how I hope time passes slow and we can enjoy each other so many years.

Lazy afternoon

Dave is gone with some guys to a Colts playoff game in Indy, so that means I have the house to myself today! I miss him dearly, but it is also nice to get stuff done :) So far after Church I've had lunch, cleaned out my car, washed dishes, read through the paper, started 1 out of 3 loads of laundry, dropped off some paperwork by the office, and got me a free caramel frappe. I picked up the house Friday (somehow it has stayed clean)...so I get to just kick back and relax!

A week ago it sounded like a great idea to have another yard sale. So, without much thought, we planned one for yesterday. Middle of August. Averaging 105 with heat index. Good 90% humidity. It was miserable. haha! But we made it. The first yard sale in April (which was so cold that day I had on my winter coat) we made over $300. This last one we made $70. So either we are running out of good junk to sell or people are much smarter than we are and staying inside during this weather on a Saturday. Probably the latter of the two.

Charlie has also taken a past-time to licking the couch. He must be bored, and I know he wants to go for walks, but he is a m.a.n.i.a.c. when we go out for those. He always tries to take off running for everything in him to the point that he is running on 2 hind legs, choking himself on the leash, tongue hanging out to the side and whining and yipping. Now add that to the middle of August and walking Charlie is sometimes a worse idea than the yard sale. Poor pup pup. I say that but then I remember how last week I made chef salads for dinner and before Dave and I even made it to the kitchen to eat it, Charlie had already snuck up in the kitchen chair and ate ALL the turkey I had in a bowl. I was so mad I could have cooked him and had dog meat on my salad that night. I'm determined to break him of getting on the chairs and eating food off the table. He only does it when we aren't home or aren't paying attention for an extended period of time. Grrr.

Well...I think thats all I have for now. Nothing really eventful has happened lately. And sometimes that is a very good thing :)

Battle Wounds

The other night Dave and I were lying in bed comparing battle wound stories.
Dave's went something like this...

Broken ankle from baseball.
Severe stress fracture in his back from pitching baseball.
Massive scar from bike wreck.
Tendonitius from baseball.
Torn Achilles from sports and work
Rolled ankles from sports

Mine went something like this...

Broken arm from falling into some bushes.
Broken toe from running on hardwood kitchen floors and sliding into a wall.
Massive scar from a conch seashell falling on my face from my wall shelf in bed.



If our kids are athletic, we know it will come from Dave. And if they are anything else, it comes from me.

Book Fair!

So we went to the Evansville Public Library Book Sale Saturday morning [which was an absolute madhouse!] and we scored some awesome books!

• Knowing God-J.I. Packer
• In the Grip of Grace- Max Lucado
• Puritan in Holland, England, and America  (it is a copy from the late 1800s!) -Campbell
• The Reason For God-Tim Keller
• Surprised by Joy- C.S. Lewis
• Martin Luther Biography- John Todd
• The Last Days According to Jesus  - R. C. Sproul

All for only $1 each!!! I started reading Knowing God this morning and it is excellent!

Hot Pink Nail Polish

So the other day, Dave came home from work and I held up my foot [with freshly painted hot pink nail polish on it] and said, "What do you think of this color on my toes?" Dave said, "Well..it's kind of bright." I then asked, "How do you like it on the white rug?" He looked down and said, "BABE! What did you do!?" Hahaha "I dropped it. But I got it off the real carpet and thats what matters!... Besides, I was just adding a little personal touch to the rug. That's all.

Last night we had DQ and went to play putt-putt with my free coupons I had [I'm a coupon freak]. It was a lot of fun! Dave told me he scored 52 and I got 60. I instantly got really excited and said, YES! I won! He informed me, "Babe...it's putt putt...lowest score wins. You had more strokes than me." ...Talk about crushing my spirits. Every other sport its the highest score that wins :)

And just another funny moment... the other day when I was out with my sister and did the most horrible parking job in the world at a gas station. Which is nothing new or unusual for me. And my sister took a picture of it... Well anyways... Dave (who always reminds me that there are laws to abide and follow, which include properly parking) saw it and said, "Oh my goodness. What is THAT?"  I said, "In my defense, no one was around when I parked!"   To which he replied, "In your defense?! Babe, it's the LAW!" Bahaha!


We officially are members of Faith Bible now! And Eric spoke a wonderful message over John 18 and how Peter denied Christ. First of all, notice Peter was the only one who followed Christ after his arrest. The rest of the disciples scattered. Peter was always ready for battle, always Jesus' right hand man except for this one time. Why? 1. He was talking when he should have been listening--Jesus warned Peter of his denial, but Prideful Peter wouldnt have it. 2. He was sleeping when he should have been watching -Peter and the others slept in the Garden during Christ's most intense moments before the cross. And that is evident in our lives in the fact there is a war-a spiritual war- more dangerous than militant muslims or nuclear world war 3 [in words of John Piper) and we are so content to be fat and happy in front of a TV, as the world rocks us to sleep to the tune of entertainment. We are too asleep to get on our knees and pray.  3. Peter followed at a distance. He did not stay near enough to Jesus during that time.   4. Peter was standing with a compromised crowd. Bonding yourself together in close relationships with unbelievers will only lead to sin and compromised convictions.  And last, 5. Failing in the critical hour. You cant wait until the hour of temptation to figure out how you will deal with it.  You need deep relationships with believers--who know your life in and out-- to help you fight this war on sin.

Sin will take you farther than you are willing to go. Keep you longer than you are willing to stay. And cost you more than you are willing to pay.

Strings...

On the show Heroes, there is this part where Hiro takes a color of yarn for every person with "powers" and makes a time line of their life. A lot of the yarns cross and intersect and tangle together. Some of them hinge solely upon another...

I was thinking today how amazing it is that God could ever bring Dave and I together as husband and wife.
Keesha Knox went to USI. Her sister Kylee Knox was one of my bffs in high school. Kylee went to USI because her sister went there. I went to USI because Kylee went there (and it was away from Terrible Haute). God placed Allie Gwinn in my life at USI and  He brought me salvation. He also brought me to Faith Bible with Allie and plugged me in. He, as well, brought Matt White to USI, saved him through Caleb Patton, provided Matt a job at Tradehome Shoes... where Matt invited his manager, Dave Cannon to church with him... Dave happened to be sharing with guys in Newman dorms, where I just so happened to have chosen to be that semester. His friends randomly asked my friends out to lunch after Church one Sunday. Dave happened to have classes in the same building I worked in all week... All these fine little details that God works for our good. Isn't it wonderful? I am so thankful.

On a funnier note... Dave reminded me last night as we embarked on an intense game of Boggle [we don't mess around] that the last few times we played, he won. Well, pride cometh before the fall, and I won. It probably helped that I had 38 points in just one round! mmm... Boggle Champion!  Do we have any takers?

Charlie has also redeemed himself and caught two flies-- in the air-- in his mouth. Outstanding! I think there is a fly farm hidden somewhere in our house...they mysteriously appear... we probably kill 15 a day.  I call myself The Slayer.

Last night I tried a new recipe- Zesty Chicken Noodle Casserole... from a Weight Watcher cookbook. I was not impressed at all. The only flavor came from the random bites of onion. I also tried their recipe for Banana Cream Pie... Didn't do it. And awhile ago I tried something else...mmm...can't remember. Moral of the story: forget the Weight Watcher recipes. No good. But I keep chugging away and cooking like a good little wifey! Tomorrow we are trying maple glazed porkchops. Hope they taste delicious!

The other night we rented "How to Save a Life." Pretty good movie.. but not exactly Biblical. It had what I would call "wordly Christianity" for lack of a better term ... plenty of talk about God but nothing about Christ or the cross. Good idea, though. Suicide and cutting are just (unfortunately) a normal part of teenage life anymore within public schools without a doubt and there really needs to be a lot more awareness and help out there.

And Sunday we are officially becoming members at Faith Bible :)

Swing, Swing

Today we both had the day off! Yippee! It was so nice not to wake up to an alarm :)
We met with our pastor, Ernie, today over lunch and gave him our paperwork so we could officially become members of Faith Bible :) We are so excited to join as a couple and serve. There are so many opportunities! We are just so thankful to have a solid church that is soooo committed to teaching the Word. I have never seen a church with such a high view of scripture and the gospel. We have men of integrity leading it. So many Godly women that I have to learn from.
Last night Dave and I were flipping through channels, and this guy, Jentzen Franklin was on preaching to his mega church and instantly we were so filled with anger when we heard him preach the most watered down message I've heard in a long time. He took a precious parable of Jesus about the field that has the kingdom of heaven and how the man sells all he has to purchase it... Jentzen turned it into this horrible message out of context about how "you have to find treasure in yourself, in others. You can dig in a field all you want. But its dirty. You always have to be looking for treasure. All around you." Oh I get so angry when I see thousands of people being blindly led straight to hell. Sheep without a shepherd. It was so sad that in the middle of his tirade about a dirty field, Dave and I looked at each other and said, "What in the world is he talking about?!" while the people in the audience were cheering and clapping. Hosea 4:6 "My people perish for a lack of knowledge." But I know that if it were not for God's kindness towards me, I would still be following the ways of the world today.

We also went to the park this afternoon and spent some time relaxing on the swings.  It reminded me of almost 2 years ago when Dave and I either started dating or right before, he took me to Sonic to get drinks and then to Burdette Park where we sat on the swings and shared our testimonies with each other. I also remembered the swingset Crissie and I had as kids and how my dad never actually put it deep enough in the ground, so whenever we would start to swing too high the whole front end of the swingset would come up out of the ground and start to tip backwards. It was kind of a game to see how far back we would let it tip before we got too scared and stopped.

Tonight we took Charlie for a walk and was looking around in the area at houses for sale. I wish more houses had those information papers available to take! I have a feeling when we do decide to buy a house, it will take us quite awhile to decide on one. I like the house we are renting now, but it will be so nice to have our own house to paint, remodel, plant a garden, add another puppy dog  :), etc.

Thursday I get to hang out with my sister!!! I'm so excited! I miss her very much....

Thats all for now :)

Weekend Review

Saturday morning I went yard saleing. I got a twin sheet set, bracelets, The Pilgrims Progress, and a leather My Utmost for His Highest journal all for...*drum roll* $1!!! That's right! Later that night we went on a date. Quiznos, a movie, and Gordmans. We saw Grownups, and I was let down. With all those funny people in the movie, it wasn't very funny! And we all know that I laugh at just about anything.

Today after work, Dave and I went to The Mission and got a Nike dry-fit polo for him, a fleece pull over for me, and a pretty red linen table cloth all for $4! We are rocking the deals. We also stopped by his momma's to drop off some stuff and we saw Tristan. He is definitely almost 5 feet tall. And he is 6 years old. I am not lying one bit. Tonight we watched The Bounty Hunter... Cute!

Also within this weekend was the following:

Dave giving me the look when I told him I have never eaten ribs.

Dave trying on MY Eville Monkey shirt. "What if I wore THIS to my game?"

And this happens about every night...

Charlie did that himself.

Well... I do believe that is all I have for now. 

Love, Me :)

Let me introduce you to our "kids"

This is who Dave brought into the marriage. The Charlie. When he is being silly or has his ear flopped back, we call him Goofy. When it is raining outside and he refuses to go off the porch to use the bathroom, we call him Charlene. He is also the biggest baby... he sleeps with a blanket at night on the floor that he wraps himself in until he is completely swaddled up in it.

These are my pup pups that have to stay back home :(

Clarabell. Our little carry-me-around-everywhere dog. She is about as crazy as my  momma. She always likes it when you cradle her like a baby and start howling...she loves to throw her head back and chime right in, too. Claire is known to jump on the back of the chair whenever someone comes home, and get so excited wagging her little tail that she flings herself off the chair and onto the floor...a good 4 foot drop. 

Babe. Babe is an extremely animated character. She moos like a cow whenever you give her a "munchy bone"--which is a very big treat, and a very big favorite of Babe's. She insists on sleeping in someone's room at night when she stays inside during the summer. Tthe other night my parents leaped over babe, ran into their bedroom, and shut the door tight. Babe ran down the hallway and absolutely plowed into the door to try to get it open. My mom thought for sure the door--and the wall--was coming down. Even though she looks like a bear, she loves it when I wrestle with her and cuddle on her. 

 

....68 Days Later...

We have officially been married for 68 days [thank you Facebook Wedding Counter]. Today Katie Blakenberger asked me if it seems like we have been married longer than or less than the 2 months... I laughed and said Longer! So much has happened already! 


Since we have been married Dave started a new shift at work [Praise Jesus!], I've been promoted to a new position, both of our cars had to be worked on and cost a ginormous chunk of change, I've been through a Jonah precept study at Church, gained 10 pounds! [no babies, though!], had our roof redone, turned 23, found out one of my bestest friends is having a baby, in process of getting my bumper redone from Mr. Mike Blake Jr. of Channel 14 backing into my parked car [gotta chuckle], dropped yet another phone and had to get it replaced, taken a roadtrip back home, finally got Dave to clean out 50 tshirts to donate [and he still has 3 drawers of just Tshirts), interviewed for a new job that I did not receive [trusting God has me where he wants me), Dave has had his wisdom teeth taken out, came down with the flu, watched our nephew for 2 weekends, bought a new bedroom suite....everyday is some sort of adventure!! Is life always this crazy? :)


Christians say the first year is always the hardest. I agree. And we still have 10 more months to go. It is so hard to just be selfless and gracious, to "look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." -Phil 2:4 The flesh hates it! Dave and I are learning a lot about each other...as well as ourselves. I am sure thankful our marriage is rooted in and rests in Christ...because I sure couldn't do it myself. 

Rooted in Christ