One of my ultimate favorite shows growing up was Beauty and the Beast. I would watch it over and over again with my sisters. It was my dream come true when my mom got me a Belle costume for Halloween, I got to waltz around in my sparkly yellow dress being the "Beauty".
It's funny, many of us let go of fairy tales as we grow up. Life happens, darkness rolls in and dreams crumble. When dreams crumble and that darkness comes, life gets hard to live. Instead of living it to the fullest, it's like hanging on for dear life. Attitudes change, bitterness creeps in, anger is on the horizon, and depression takes over. In the darkness, fairy tales and beauty are the last thing that enters the mind.
I love what Beth Moore has to say about fairy tales... She's says they do exist (I knew it!).
There is a real kingdom, there is a king, and he is coming here to rescue us!!!!!
Meanwhile, while he is getting everything perfect in heaven and getting ready to come through at the right time, will we be beauties during rough times... dun dun dun... or will we turn into the beast?
I recently read this in Psalms and it made me laugh/cringe.
Psalm 73:21-22 "When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you."
Oh gosh how that made me cringe and laugh at the same time! Laugh, well because I know what hard times are like, and what a fitting way to describe the way we tend to act during those times! And cringe, well because yikes- I hope that being a beast is the farthest thing away from me! Brute beast and hard times go hand in hand, lol.When life really stinks it is so easy to take on a bad attitude. When dreams are shattered, tensions get high and perspective gets lost. The princess who behaves herself can get UGLY (think that line from Lion king when the hyenas say, "And boy are they uhhgly)! I sure hope that as I have traveled through these last several rough months that I have been a source of beauty to God and to the people around me and oh gosh, "cringe" not a brute beast.
I just want to encourage anyone out there keep hope during those dark times and be a beauty to those around you. Life is hard. There are so many awful things that happen to people and we need beauties who will step up and be a light to others. In Beauty and the Beast, the beast's hope was found in love. If someone would only love him and if he could learn to love in return, the beast would return to his origional nature. Being the beauty during those dark times will help others to shed their beastly nature and help them to become like God intended them to be. Like the hope of a first spring flower, so is the hope of the beauty to a cold and hurting world.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Under His Shadow
As I was reading my Bible tonight the line, "Live by the day- aye, by the hour," caught my eye. It is a small section entitled Under The Shadow by Charles Spurgeon. The whole thing is really good, but here are a few lines that stood out to me. I hope that they encourage you as well.
"Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning."
"Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are."
"Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her great guide."
"... be it ours, when we cannot see the face of God, to trust under the shadow of his wings."
"Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning."
"Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are."
"Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her great guide."
"... be it ours, when we cannot see the face of God, to trust under the shadow of his wings."
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Adventures of James and Carrie- Going on a House Hunt (part 1)
James and I have taken house hunting to the extreme...
We are literally in a race against a guy named Adam and his wife in the hunt to find a house! You see, several of the houses that we have looked at have been bought by Adam and his wife who fix them up and sell them for a much higher price (which incidently is much too high for us).
To catch some of you up to date, we put an offer on a cute two story white house about a month ago. It was a foreclosed Fannie Mae home that we both began to fall in love with. James loved the two car garage full of shelves for all of his hunting stuff. I loved the laundry/sun room with beautiful wood paneling and huge windows, and I loved this little nook upstairs with a big window (the perfect place to write). The yard had some big beautiful trees in it and the location was perfect. However, it needed lots of work in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. The kitchen looked like it was built in a closet, so I didn't like it at all. Uncle Bob said we could knock out a wall and would be able to open it up. Our offer ended up being refused because the paperwork went through to put it up for auction the morning that we had put the offer on it. Since then, no one has heard anything about the auction (including the realtor).
The next house we were really looking at seriously is my great great great Grandma's house. Her name was Carrie Little Ringer, so this house literally has my name on it (Carrie Ringer Austin). My family members have mentioned that because I'm little ( a whopping 4'11''), it really does fit... :) It has been a fiasco to get any information on this house! We went to the courthouse and talked to the judge, who sent us to the treasurer, who sent us to the ascessor, who sent us to the recorder, who sent us to the sheriff, who sent us back to the recorder... yes, like I said we are extreme when it comes to house hunting... What we found out is that a couple got divorced and both walked away from the house. They may or may not still own it... The realtor tried to e-mail the man, but we have not heard anything thus far. We drove by and it is a big beautiful two story white house, but we have not been able to see the inside. I think it would be really awesome to own my grandmother's house, but it is not looking too likely as of now.
Besides that, we drove past some houses that were supposedly on sale to find people working on them. I drove back the next day to check it out, and that is where I met Adam, and his wife, and their beautiful little preschool girl. It turns out they had just bought both of the houses and were fixing them up. They will be for sale this week, but with a much larger pricetag... Adam informed me that they buy and fix up 2-3 houses a week in the area... hmm
We were going to make an offer on another house last Friday. The price had just been reduced as a last ditch effort to sell it before putting it up for auction. Unfortunately our realtor called us Friday morning and someone had beat us to the punch and made an offer sometime on Thursday.Using my Nancy Drew skills I am willing to bet I know who got to that house... ;) Anyhow, I can't help but think that God was rescuing us from this house. I keep praying for a cute house, and this one was going to take some hard work to try and make it cute if you know what I mean. :)
We have been a little distraught by this house hunting experience. Our options keep falling through, but we keep just trusting God that has the perfect place waiting for us.
This coming Thursday we are looking at a few more houses that have been foreclosed upon, both in "Adam's territory", so wish us luck as we continue this crazy house hunt! We will keep you updated!
Lots of Love, The Austins
We are literally in a race against a guy named Adam and his wife in the hunt to find a house! You see, several of the houses that we have looked at have been bought by Adam and his wife who fix them up and sell them for a much higher price (which incidently is much too high for us).
To catch some of you up to date, we put an offer on a cute two story white house about a month ago. It was a foreclosed Fannie Mae home that we both began to fall in love with. James loved the two car garage full of shelves for all of his hunting stuff. I loved the laundry/sun room with beautiful wood paneling and huge windows, and I loved this little nook upstairs with a big window (the perfect place to write). The yard had some big beautiful trees in it and the location was perfect. However, it needed lots of work in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. The kitchen looked like it was built in a closet, so I didn't like it at all. Uncle Bob said we could knock out a wall and would be able to open it up. Our offer ended up being refused because the paperwork went through to put it up for auction the morning that we had put the offer on it. Since then, no one has heard anything about the auction (including the realtor).
The next house we were really looking at seriously is my great great great Grandma's house. Her name was Carrie Little Ringer, so this house literally has my name on it (Carrie Ringer Austin). My family members have mentioned that because I'm little ( a whopping 4'11''), it really does fit... :) It has been a fiasco to get any information on this house! We went to the courthouse and talked to the judge, who sent us to the treasurer, who sent us to the ascessor, who sent us to the recorder, who sent us to the sheriff, who sent us back to the recorder... yes, like I said we are extreme when it comes to house hunting... What we found out is that a couple got divorced and both walked away from the house. They may or may not still own it... The realtor tried to e-mail the man, but we have not heard anything thus far. We drove by and it is a big beautiful two story white house, but we have not been able to see the inside. I think it would be really awesome to own my grandmother's house, but it is not looking too likely as of now.
Besides that, we drove past some houses that were supposedly on sale to find people working on them. I drove back the next day to check it out, and that is where I met Adam, and his wife, and their beautiful little preschool girl. It turns out they had just bought both of the houses and were fixing them up. They will be for sale this week, but with a much larger pricetag... Adam informed me that they buy and fix up 2-3 houses a week in the area... hmm
We were going to make an offer on another house last Friday. The price had just been reduced as a last ditch effort to sell it before putting it up for auction. Unfortunately our realtor called us Friday morning and someone had beat us to the punch and made an offer sometime on Thursday.Using my Nancy Drew skills I am willing to bet I know who got to that house... ;) Anyhow, I can't help but think that God was rescuing us from this house. I keep praying for a cute house, and this one was going to take some hard work to try and make it cute if you know what I mean. :)
We have been a little distraught by this house hunting experience. Our options keep falling through, but we keep just trusting God that has the perfect place waiting for us.
This coming Thursday we are looking at a few more houses that have been foreclosed upon, both in "Adam's territory", so wish us luck as we continue this crazy house hunt! We will keep you updated!
Lots of Love, The Austins
Friday, September 24, 2010
Give Me A New Song to Sing
It seems like the course of our life has been a continuous downward spiral for awhile. People ask us how we are doing, or if there is any good news and we keep trying to smile and say that we are hanging in there.
I was reading through the Psalms yesterday and this stuck out to me-
Psalm 40:3a "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God"
I guess that is my prayer for now, that God would put a new song in our mouths and in our hearts. Life has been tough lately, and we need a new tune. Just two chapters earlier David says this-
Psalm 38:9-10 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes
That is how we have felt. We keep laying everything before God. We feel like we are at the end of our rope when it comes to bad news and we keep giving our sighs to God. It's hard not to get discouraged and it's hard to pick ourselves back up over and over again.
This is what David says over and over again throughout these Psalms- I love this!
Psalm 6:9 "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer."
Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart"
Psalm 28:6 "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy"
Psalm 31:22 " In my alarm I said, I am cut off from your sight; Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help."
Psalm 31:24 "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."
Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."
Psalm 34;15 "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to his cry."
Psalm 37: 7 " Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men suceed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Psalm 38:15 "I wait for you O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God."
Psalm 40:1 " I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry."
I love the part that says, "Be strong and take heart." It's almost as if David is whispering, "Hang on, God sees what is going on, and he hears you. He will come through, and he will give you a new song to sing..."
I was reading through the Psalms yesterday and this stuck out to me-
Psalm 40:3a "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God"
I guess that is my prayer for now, that God would put a new song in our mouths and in our hearts. Life has been tough lately, and we need a new tune. Just two chapters earlier David says this-
Psalm 38:9-10 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes
That is how we have felt. We keep laying everything before God. We feel like we are at the end of our rope when it comes to bad news and we keep giving our sighs to God. It's hard not to get discouraged and it's hard to pick ourselves back up over and over again.
This is what David says over and over again throughout these Psalms- I love this!
Psalm 6:9 "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer."
Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart"
Psalm 28:6 "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy"
Psalm 31:22 " In my alarm I said, I am cut off from your sight; Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help."
Psalm 31:24 "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."
Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."
Psalm 34;15 "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to his cry."
Psalm 37: 7 " Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men suceed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Psalm 38:15 "I wait for you O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God."
Psalm 40:1 " I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry."
I love the part that says, "Be strong and take heart." It's almost as if David is whispering, "Hang on, God sees what is going on, and he hears you. He will come through, and he will give you a new song to sing..."
Monday, September 20, 2010
THe Adventures of James and Carrie- Voyage of the Chrysler
Nothing too exciting going on for now with the Austin family.
James' job is going well. He is still training on first shift, but is also working part of second shift so that he can get to know the guys. This past weekend he went on a hunting trip with my dad and Uncle Bob to Missouri. As my dad put it, they spent their time boiling in the nuclear sun and feeding the bugs their own flesh. My dad the doctor gave everyone IV's and they all made it back alive! ;)
While they were gone the kids and I took our Chrysler on a voyage down to Washington, IN to visit Grandma Price. We had a lot of fun visiting with aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma! We ate too much of Grandma's good cooking and read lots of books with her.
We're all back at Grandma and Grandpa Ringer's and settling back in for now. This week we are going to see what we can find out about housing and get a post office box! Keep you updated as we go! :)
James' job is going well. He is still training on first shift, but is also working part of second shift so that he can get to know the guys. This past weekend he went on a hunting trip with my dad and Uncle Bob to Missouri. As my dad put it, they spent their time boiling in the nuclear sun and feeding the bugs their own flesh. My dad the doctor gave everyone IV's and they all made it back alive! ;)
While they were gone the kids and I took our Chrysler on a voyage down to Washington, IN to visit Grandma Price. We had a lot of fun visiting with aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma! We ate too much of Grandma's good cooking and read lots of books with her.
We're all back at Grandma and Grandpa Ringer's and settling back in for now. This week we are going to see what we can find out about housing and get a post office box! Keep you updated as we go! :)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Adventures of James and Carrie- Living With Grandma and Grandpa Ringer
Well, here is a little update on our nomadic lives!
Operation rescue James has gone well. His feet are doing better and he has been eating good ol' homecooked food! ;)
We have been having lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa! What a joy to spend time with older generations! I love hearing Grandma laugh. The kids are really funny and make her laugh all the time, which makes me laugh as well. Grandpa and James are having fun talking about football together. James said that he has to cheer for U of M, and Grandpa told him that if he cheers for Michigan teams over Indiana teams that he would fix up the chicken coop for James to sleep in! (I'm glad they are getting along so well).
Speaking of football... James took me on a date to Scottie's is a bar/burger joint in Lafayette, we went to watch football. Anyhow, it was so packed full of Hoosiers watching the Colts game, that we had to sit at the bar (a first for both of us). Luckily, we found a T.V. that was showing the Lion's game. We had a great time cheering for the Lion's while everyone else was cheering for the Colts. We had a lot of fun watching Best and Suh and can't wait to see what they will do this year. That call with Johnson was ridiculous too... How upsetting for all Lion's fans! They really should have won. My Grandpa was even sympathetic for us... He said it was too bad because it was probably the only game they would have won this year. :)
Besides all that, the search for a home keeps hitting dead ends. It has been a bummer. The home we put an offer on is supposedly going to auction (that's why they didn't take our offer), but no one has any information on it so far. We might have to end up renting, but we keep holding out for a house... we'll see.
James job is okay. He is getting used to it. He came home yesterday and said that after someone gets a four-year degree, the point is to be able to use your mind, not your body to work. It made me sad for him. I can't imagine what it feels like for him to not be able to do what he really wanted to do, and not be able to use the education that he worked so hard for. He comes home pretty tired and his hands and feet are pretty roughed up from the job. However, we are so thankful to have a steady income, and to be around a supportive family network down here.
Suitcase living-
My major excitement about suitcase living today is that I am so excited that I brought some things to remind me of home. I learned that from my wise mother. Here is what I am so thankful that I brought to make our lives seem more like home:
- Pictures of me and James
-Our bedding (and the kids too!)
-Pillow Spray (at home I spray it on our bedding often, so now it smells like our house)
-A bunch of the kids toys
-My journals/notebooks
-My favorite- my beloved cast iron skillet! As silly as it sounds, it is so nice to go into the kitchen and use the pan I have used for the last couple of years. I know exactly how the food will taste and turn out because I am so used to working with that pan... :) (I brought my favorite spices to cook with as well)
Then only other thing I wish I would have brought is my teapot and my favorite teacup.
We will continue to keeo you updated!
Operation rescue James has gone well. His feet are doing better and he has been eating good ol' homecooked food! ;)
We have been having lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa! What a joy to spend time with older generations! I love hearing Grandma laugh. The kids are really funny and make her laugh all the time, which makes me laugh as well. Grandpa and James are having fun talking about football together. James said that he has to cheer for U of M, and Grandpa told him that if he cheers for Michigan teams over Indiana teams that he would fix up the chicken coop for James to sleep in! (I'm glad they are getting along so well).
Speaking of football... James took me on a date to Scottie's is a bar/burger joint in Lafayette, we went to watch football. Anyhow, it was so packed full of Hoosiers watching the Colts game, that we had to sit at the bar (a first for both of us). Luckily, we found a T.V. that was showing the Lion's game. We had a great time cheering for the Lion's while everyone else was cheering for the Colts. We had a lot of fun watching Best and Suh and can't wait to see what they will do this year. That call with Johnson was ridiculous too... How upsetting for all Lion's fans! They really should have won. My Grandpa was even sympathetic for us... He said it was too bad because it was probably the only game they would have won this year. :)
Besides all that, the search for a home keeps hitting dead ends. It has been a bummer. The home we put an offer on is supposedly going to auction (that's why they didn't take our offer), but no one has any information on it so far. We might have to end up renting, but we keep holding out for a house... we'll see.
James job is okay. He is getting used to it. He came home yesterday and said that after someone gets a four-year degree, the point is to be able to use your mind, not your body to work. It made me sad for him. I can't imagine what it feels like for him to not be able to do what he really wanted to do, and not be able to use the education that he worked so hard for. He comes home pretty tired and his hands and feet are pretty roughed up from the job. However, we are so thankful to have a steady income, and to be around a supportive family network down here.
Suitcase living-
My major excitement about suitcase living today is that I am so excited that I brought some things to remind me of home. I learned that from my wise mother. Here is what I am so thankful that I brought to make our lives seem more like home:
- Pictures of me and James
-Our bedding (and the kids too!)
-Pillow Spray (at home I spray it on our bedding often, so now it smells like our house)
-A bunch of the kids toys
-My journals/notebooks
-My favorite- my beloved cast iron skillet! As silly as it sounds, it is so nice to go into the kitchen and use the pan I have used for the last couple of years. I know exactly how the food will taste and turn out because I am so used to working with that pan... :) (I brought my favorite spices to cook with as well)
Then only other thing I wish I would have brought is my teapot and my favorite teacup.
We will continue to keeo you updated!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The Adventures of James and Carrie- Operation Rescue James
Yesterday we deemed it necessary that someone had to go in and rescue James... The cause? He has been eating McDonalds for food all week! There aren't many resturaunts in town, and I was not down there to cook. After being horrified by his confession, we planned a rescue mission! (Not only that, but his feet have been really sore too, apparently he was having trouble finding someone to rub them!)
In all seriousness though James has been in IN and the kids and I have been in MI for the last week. He was supposed to come home Friday, but ended up having to work over the weekend. The girls and I have begun the next journey to nomad life and are in Williamsport, IN with Grandma and Grandpa Ringer and James now.
Suitcase living has been interesting so far! I have found it is very disorganized! I have also found that it has been fun to spend time with each of the families that we have been with! My week with my family was awesome and I am looking forward to spending time with Grandma and Grandpa!
In all seriousness though James has been in IN and the kids and I have been in MI for the last week. He was supposed to come home Friday, but ended up having to work over the weekend. The girls and I have begun the next journey to nomad life and are in Williamsport, IN with Grandma and Grandpa Ringer and James now.
Suitcase living has been interesting so far! I have found it is very disorganized! I have also found that it has been fun to spend time with each of the families that we have been with! My week with my family was awesome and I am looking forward to spending time with Grandma and Grandpa!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Hey God! Do you know what direction we are going?
As tough as this semester has been, we like to laugh about it if we can. (If we don't laugh, we'll end up crying). Proverbs 17:22 "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." I hope by laughing it will mend the overwheliming brokeness that has been in our hearts. If we walk around being angry, hurt, and bitter about what has happened, then we will probably be about as useful as dry bones (which I equate in my mind with dead bones laying in a desert...)
Something that has made me laugh is just the sheer irony of where we can come from as a married couple and where we are going now...
A week or so back James and I were traveling to Indiana to look at houses. Normally in the car I'm pretty talkative. I relish in the fact that we are stuck in the car together for several hours and I can chat on end with James. We both really love car rides together. However, I was quiet on the way down thinking of all the things that I would miss about MI. As I was thinking about this, James and I had to turn left and it ended up being a little dangerous! As everyone in MI knows, you can't just turn left across several lanes of traffic. No, we are a little crazy in MI, we have to go right to go left (as we found out it is actually a great safety precaution!). After our endeavor to cross four lanes of traffic and turn left rather than just turn right, merge to the extra left lane, and then cruise nicely into traffic I blurted out loud, "I'm even going to miss Michigan u-turns." James started to laugh and I joined him realizing how ridiculous I must have sounded to him because I hadn't said hardly anyting for most of the trip.
Now the "go right to turn left" thing really isn't a u-turn, but we started to talk about u-turns. They are funny because they take you exactly where you were coming from. When we become Christians, the last thing we normally want to do is take a u-turn and go back to the lives we were once living. The thing is, that is exactly where James and my life are heading.
Our first year of marriage, neither of us went to school. We took that year off. James worked in a factory working long hours. It was horrendous. We didn't get to spend much time with him, and when we did he was usually grumpy due to lack of sleep and the stress of his job. As spring and summer approached we decided we were going to go back to school so that we could have a better life than that. James wanted to work at a job where he would change students lives and where he would be able to work normal hours and spend time with us. It lead us to Cornerstone where we put in 4 years of hard work.
This spring was supposed to be an exciting time for us. James would be graduating and getting his dream job as a teacher changing student's lives. Instead it was a nightmare and all of the dreams that we had were ripped away from us.
And now here we were on a trip to Indiana to start to get ready for his new job down there... Another factory job... the exact thing that 4 years ago we had wanted to get away from, it was our reason for starting school again.
It was just weird. It felt like we were doing a u-turn in life, like we were going back to the thing that we had wanted to get away from. Our situation has been completely out of our control. It's funny because we were origionally praying how we would like our situation to turn out and how we wanted God to come through. It finally got to a point where everything around us was so crazy that we would throw our hands up and say, "Okay Holy Spirit do your thing because we have no idea how to pray for this...":)
I guess when life gets so crazy, it puts you in a good position to let God just takeit becuase you don't know what to do anymore. Well, I don't know what that Holy Spirit told God, but now he is taking us on this crazy ride that we don't understand. Yes folks, he pulled a u-turn. I am in the back screaming "Hey God, do you know where we are going?" We continue to go the same direction so I scream a little more frantically "Hey God! did you know we are doing a u-turn, aren't we going the wrong direction!?"
It cracks me up, because here we are frantic in the back seat wondering what in the world he is doing, and God just continues cruising on peacefully because he knows the bigger picture.
Heres what we are holding to:
2nd Chronicles 20:12b "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
This whole chapter has helped us to keep up hope during our dark times this semester, but I love this part because we don't know what God is doing with our lives.
We had this fall all planned out. James would have a teaching job, we would get a little house, and we would have a solid income with great health insurance. Our lives would finally be steady and normal compared to the crazy life trying to be students and work with not much of an income. Really, we have no idea where our lives are going to lead now, we don't know why God is taking us in the direction we are going, but we will continue to have faith and hope in him.
Something that has made me laugh is just the sheer irony of where we can come from as a married couple and where we are going now...
A week or so back James and I were traveling to Indiana to look at houses. Normally in the car I'm pretty talkative. I relish in the fact that we are stuck in the car together for several hours and I can chat on end with James. We both really love car rides together. However, I was quiet on the way down thinking of all the things that I would miss about MI. As I was thinking about this, James and I had to turn left and it ended up being a little dangerous! As everyone in MI knows, you can't just turn left across several lanes of traffic. No, we are a little crazy in MI, we have to go right to go left (as we found out it is actually a great safety precaution!). After our endeavor to cross four lanes of traffic and turn left rather than just turn right, merge to the extra left lane, and then cruise nicely into traffic I blurted out loud, "I'm even going to miss Michigan u-turns." James started to laugh and I joined him realizing how ridiculous I must have sounded to him because I hadn't said hardly anyting for most of the trip.
Now the "go right to turn left" thing really isn't a u-turn, but we started to talk about u-turns. They are funny because they take you exactly where you were coming from. When we become Christians, the last thing we normally want to do is take a u-turn and go back to the lives we were once living. The thing is, that is exactly where James and my life are heading.
Our first year of marriage, neither of us went to school. We took that year off. James worked in a factory working long hours. It was horrendous. We didn't get to spend much time with him, and when we did he was usually grumpy due to lack of sleep and the stress of his job. As spring and summer approached we decided we were going to go back to school so that we could have a better life than that. James wanted to work at a job where he would change students lives and where he would be able to work normal hours and spend time with us. It lead us to Cornerstone where we put in 4 years of hard work.
This spring was supposed to be an exciting time for us. James would be graduating and getting his dream job as a teacher changing student's lives. Instead it was a nightmare and all of the dreams that we had were ripped away from us.
And now here we were on a trip to Indiana to start to get ready for his new job down there... Another factory job... the exact thing that 4 years ago we had wanted to get away from, it was our reason for starting school again.
It was just weird. It felt like we were doing a u-turn in life, like we were going back to the thing that we had wanted to get away from. Our situation has been completely out of our control. It's funny because we were origionally praying how we would like our situation to turn out and how we wanted God to come through. It finally got to a point where everything around us was so crazy that we would throw our hands up and say, "Okay Holy Spirit do your thing because we have no idea how to pray for this...":)
I guess when life gets so crazy, it puts you in a good position to let God just takeit becuase you don't know what to do anymore. Well, I don't know what that Holy Spirit told God, but now he is taking us on this crazy ride that we don't understand. Yes folks, he pulled a u-turn. I am in the back screaming "Hey God, do you know where we are going?" We continue to go the same direction so I scream a little more frantically "Hey God! did you know we are doing a u-turn, aren't we going the wrong direction!?"
It cracks me up, because here we are frantic in the back seat wondering what in the world he is doing, and God just continues cruising on peacefully because he knows the bigger picture.
Heres what we are holding to:
2nd Chronicles 20:12b "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
This whole chapter has helped us to keep up hope during our dark times this semester, but I love this part because we don't know what God is doing with our lives.
We had this fall all planned out. James would have a teaching job, we would get a little house, and we would have a solid income with great health insurance. Our lives would finally be steady and normal compared to the crazy life trying to be students and work with not much of an income. Really, we have no idea where our lives are going to lead now, we don't know why God is taking us in the direction we are going, but we will continue to have faith and hope in him.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Adventures of James and Carrie- Nomads
Well today we have officially stumbled into our new adventure in life! Our nomadic wonderings have begun, and they are taking us in different directions. James left today for Indiana in a little red truck borrowed from his grandpa stocked with hunting stuff and mountain dew. He is heading down to Indiana to begin his new job at TMF as the paint manager. He is training this week, but will end up working second shift. He plans to sub at the local schools to hopefully get his foot in the door for teaching.
My wonderings take me and the kids to my parents in Kent City, the back of my car was stocked with kids clothing and stuffed animals...We are doing a bunch of "Michigan things"that I will miss when we move to Indiana. This includes running up and down sand dunes and jumping over lake MI waves, eating ice cream at Whippi Dip (a Lake MI must!), going to the Apple Orchard for honeycrisps (MI apples are the only good apples!), homemade cider, and pumpkin spice doughnuts, and visiting downtown GR to look at artprize and hit the museum. I am also trying to stay busy enough to keep from becoming depressed from missing James! :)
Why are we nomads? We are in between homes. We looked for houses in Indiana a couple of weeks ago and found the perfect one within our price range. It is an old white 2 story farmhouse that is in need of some love! ;) The neighborhood is great and it has a few beautiful trees in the yard. James is in love with the garage where he has plenty of room to store his hunting stuff, and I am in love with this little nook on the second story where I can sit and stare out the window and write. We put on offer on it and headed home to MI where we waited in anticipation to hear back from the realtor....
Of course, our lives can't be normal. We can't just put an offer on the house and agree on a price, so that we can move in and get adjusted to our new life. Nope, instead we found out that our offer was an afternoon too late! The house went to auction that morning (it was a foreclosed home). Anyhow, all we know is that at some point it will be auctioned off online, and that is it for now. We are waiting to hear back from the realtor about when the auction is and what type of auction it is.
Therefore, we have now become nomads traveling from place to place living out of our suitcases. Most of our things are packed up in boxes sitting in a hallway in Grandma and Grandpa Austin's house. James is in Indiana and I am in Kent City. This weekend we will rejoin back at Grandma and Grandpa Austin's and then head back to Indiana together the following week.... I will keep you posted on suitcase living! We are about to find out just how crazy it can get!
My wonderings take me and the kids to my parents in Kent City, the back of my car was stocked with kids clothing and stuffed animals...We are doing a bunch of "Michigan things"that I will miss when we move to Indiana. This includes running up and down sand dunes and jumping over lake MI waves, eating ice cream at Whippi Dip (a Lake MI must!), going to the Apple Orchard for honeycrisps (MI apples are the only good apples!), homemade cider, and pumpkin spice doughnuts, and visiting downtown GR to look at artprize and hit the museum. I am also trying to stay busy enough to keep from becoming depressed from missing James! :)
Why are we nomads? We are in between homes. We looked for houses in Indiana a couple of weeks ago and found the perfect one within our price range. It is an old white 2 story farmhouse that is in need of some love! ;) The neighborhood is great and it has a few beautiful trees in the yard. James is in love with the garage where he has plenty of room to store his hunting stuff, and I am in love with this little nook on the second story where I can sit and stare out the window and write. We put on offer on it and headed home to MI where we waited in anticipation to hear back from the realtor....
Of course, our lives can't be normal. We can't just put an offer on the house and agree on a price, so that we can move in and get adjusted to our new life. Nope, instead we found out that our offer was an afternoon too late! The house went to auction that morning (it was a foreclosed home). Anyhow, all we know is that at some point it will be auctioned off online, and that is it for now. We are waiting to hear back from the realtor about when the auction is and what type of auction it is.
Therefore, we have now become nomads traveling from place to place living out of our suitcases. Most of our things are packed up in boxes sitting in a hallway in Grandma and Grandpa Austin's house. James is in Indiana and I am in Kent City. This weekend we will rejoin back at Grandma and Grandpa Austin's and then head back to Indiana together the following week.... I will keep you posted on suitcase living! We are about to find out just how crazy it can get!
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