Today I am thankful.

The last few months have been very challenging for numerous reasons, and just as I'm getting somewhat settled in my old room at my parents house, it's time to pack up [again!] and move in to a new apartment with Byron!  Whoop!  As my life is thrown back into boxes, it's very tempting to get caught up with the stress and focus on the irritations that accompany the moving process.

So, before the whirlwind of packing, moving, unloading, and unpacking begins, I'm taking a moment to be thankful for some things that have made this transition period of life more-than-mediocre. 

I am thankful for . . .

1. God's timing.  [How many times have I mentioned this?!] I can't express just how wonderfully God's strategically pieced things together.
2. My encouraging, loving husband.  Being apart has been rough, and on the hardest days Byron's always had scripture, funny pictures, or sweet comments to counteract my sometimes sour moods.
3. My family and the willingness to have Bridget and me back home.  My parents are great and I will be ever-thankful that they let me stay at home and cooked me dinner while Byron and I weren't able to live in the same city.

4. My incredible father-in-law and mother-in-law.  They've always welcomed Byron and me on the weekends and let us [and our pups] spend the weekends at their home.
5. Wonderful friends and co-workers.  I am beyond blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people every day.

6. The nice air mattress I've been sleeping on -- because it's MUCH better than the floor!

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit.  Mmmm!  Blueberry muffins have always been one of my most favorite treats, so this year I decided it was time to make some from scratch with the freshest blueberries I could find.  I made them a few times this summer. . . and even on the first day of fall.  [Saturday felt a little bit too much like summer to bake pumpkin muffins!]  I'm looking forward to fall, but I'm definitely gonna miss these babies.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe
Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
12 1/2 ounces cake flower
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup Vanilla yogurt [I recommend the Kroger Brand Carbmaster Yogurt]
1/2 scoop Vanilla protein powder
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
Wash blueberries and let them dry.  Preheat oven to 380° F.  Place muffin liners in pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flower, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and protein powder.  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg, and yogurt.  Once the mixture has a nice, smooth consistency, add in 1 cup of blueberries.  Fold the mixture over the blueberries.  Scoop the batter into the muffin pan.  Fill each cup about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of muffins before setting in the oven.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until golden, rotating the pan mid-way through.  Let them cool for a few minutes and enjoy.

I bet you can't eat just one!

I couldn't have planned it better myself

It's funny and humbling to realize how silly our plans our in comparison to God's, isn't it?  When after all the time we've spent trying to piece details together and stressing about the incoherence of it all, God steps in and shows us what actually happens.  Everything we've planned is washed down the drain when His plan for us is revealed, and suddenly, the details we worried endlessly about fall right into place.  Do ya know what I'm talking about?

Many are the plans in a person's heart, 

but it's the Lord's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

After months of praying, Byron and I joyfully waved goodbye to our plans as God overwhelmed us with His:

1. Byron was offered a job (one better than the one we've been praying for since before the wedding, which he had to decline). 

2. We found an apartment in the middle of our 2 jobs with a unit becoming available this Friday!! which is great because . . . [#3 & #4]

3. Byron's new job start on October 1st!

4. Our lease in Macon ends on October 11th.

We have an exciting few weeks ahead, filled with packing, moving, unpacking, a new job, and living together again!  Amped does not describe our feelings right now.  We are so thankful for God's faithfulness and His love for us.

But you, Oh Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, 

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15

1 month from now. . .

Where will we call 'home'?  Who will be our friends?  What will the life we're living look like?  The uncertainty of the future is nerve-wracking and no one on this earth knows what is yet to come.  Everyone finds some manner to cope with the possibility of what might or might not happen.

Lately, I've turned to worrying, stressing, and praying.  A lot.  [Big surprise, right? ha]  What is going to happen in my life?  Will Byron and I get to live in the same town again?  Is he going to get a job near me?  When's it going to happen?  Where are we going to be living?  These are the questions that bounced around in my head (and out of my mouth) incessantly for the past two months.

On Saturday afternoon as Byron and I apartment hunted, he made comment, "I wonder what our lives will look like in a month."  He didn't mean it as a heartfelt, thought-provoking statement, but it did make me think, What will our life look like in a month?  I've been so worried about the future that I haven't had time to hope for it.  So I'm trading in my repetitive, doubtful question for an open-ended statement that lends itself to joyful anticipation and excitement:

One month from now, I will . . .
- live in the same apartment with my husband!!!  [where? to be determined.  when will we move? not yet decided.]
- have a husband who works at a company called ____.  [that's still in the works, too]

I'm asking the same questions as before, but this time my perspective is different.  I still lack the answers and don't know all of the details [Do we ever?!], but I am so giddy and hopeful for the future.  [If you've been reading my last entries, you're probably wondering who exactly is writing this entry!]  Things are finally swinging into motion for Byron and me, and I couldn't be more excited.

it's like we're married or something!

Byron and I have been able to see each other 5 of the past 6 days . . . What a joy!  It's like we're married or something!  Sometimes I forget just how much I love spending time with him.  I'm more joyful and energetic around him and I love doing all of the normal things together, like running errands and eating dinner, as well as what's fun and exciting.  My husband is one of God's greatest blessings in my life and I impatiently anticipate resuming our lives together in the same city.

Love this man.  Every week I look forward to our Sunday night dates.

The Lord said, "It is not good for a man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him." 

Genesis 2:18

Hope.

There is one thing Bridget really looks forward to all day long.  From the time she wakes up, she anticipates it.  For the entire day, she tries her best to patiently wait [somedays she’s not so patient, though].  What is it?  A walk.  It’s something so small, yet means so much to her.  Every night she sits under the dinner table hoping that once the dishes are cleared I will lace up my sneakers and reach for her leash.  She hopes.  (I know, I know, she’s a dog.  But trust me, you can see it in her eyes!)

Can we go yet? Come on, I'll lead the way!

Hope.  What does that word even mean?

hope: verb 

1. to cherish a desire with anticipation; 

2. to expect with confidence

What do you hope for?

A boyfriend?  To pay off your student loans?  For the rain to hold off until you make it home from work?  A job?  A new car? That your mom will be healed of a life-threatening disease? 

We all do it… we have big and small hopes.  Hopes for material things and for God to make things happen, in the way only He can.  And it’s frustrating as all get out when what we’re hoping for doesn’t happen when or how we think it should. 

Right now, I’m hoping and praying for my husband to find a new job.  That we’ll be living in the same city again.  For God to show us where he wants Byron to work.  For it to happen [soon].  And right now, I’m frustrated.  A month has gone by and we’re still living apart.  I know and trust that God is in control of the situation and has something in store for us, but it’s challenging to be hopeful when the only thing I can do is wait.  And when, from my perspective, I can’t see anything in motion.

I could do different things:

1.     be angry with God because His plans aren’t aligning with mine, or

2.     humble myself, and continue to pray with hope for our situation.  

I choose the second. 

I trust that His plans are better than mine and know that He loves and cares for me. I’m working on my patience and trying my best to stop planning my life and let the Lord have control.  My prayers are heard and God knows my heart.  He does know what He’s doing, after all.  So, until His plans for me are revealed to me, I’m determined to stay hopeful for the future.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, 

and his ears are attentive to their cry; 

the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

 he delivers them from their troubles.  

Psalm 34:15 &17