To Attain More (and more)

**Edited**(at bottom)
We have had plenty of time to do lots of thinking. Some might argue that we are doing too much thinking. O well.

God is stirring and mixing every emotion we have. I think that is good. Not really easy, but good.

When we sell our home we will have the great privilege to be completely debt free. I cannot even imagine my life without school bills. Our plan is to stay that way. Telling this was not my point of this post, I promise. We are just excited about the opportunity to be free from the bills. It makes us able to pursue any place that God desires to take us. That is what you call an adventure. We have a missions degree and are open to those possibilities. We, of course, don't want to go anywhere God is not sending us. We are just waiting. Today the wait is exciting.

Even if we do not pursue a mission field (maybe Haiti) then we have made a decision to live simply here. I don't think this will be a problem considering that we have always lived off of one salary. Most of our married time we have had one car. To think back we only had 2 the first year of marriage and then in Abilene. While in Missouri we were so close to school it really didn't matter. I am going to be flat out honest...I have always desired stuff. Nice stuff. I always say that I was born to be rich. If God did give me wealth, what would I do with it? This week I read a quote on a blog that said "live simply so others can simply live". That has been going over and over in my mind.

Our desire is to live and give. Dan, from Lift Student Ministries, always says that you have 20,000 days to live what are you going to do with them? Our answer is to give them in whatever way God leads.

**Edited to Add** I worried about this all night...I don't think it is wrong to have or desire nice things. These were thoughts coming out kind of scrambled. I do desire to live simply and the battle about it is raging in my mind. That is what I wanted to share. I hope that I didn't come off as arrogant.We all know that I am a lover of shopping. I just plan to spend wisely.**

The Week In Review

My mind (as usual) is flooded with more than I can express.

Here are the toppers.

Adoption. Aaron & Jamie are beginning the process for their adoption. Our heart yearns to begin but we are still in the waiting of that too. Our minds have been dreaming on ways that we can start the process. Why is this so heavy if at the moment we have no way of answering. Or is there a way and we are just not seeing it? The feelings are definitely rekindled and burning hot.

Swap. I signed up for an online swap. It is kind of like secret friends but online. I needed a cheery something in the mail so why not??? Last night I had to create a list of my likes and dislikes. It was really hard. Why is that? Amanda maybe I will get you to buy for?

Ministry. Eager to return to work. Also, thinking how can I do ministry right here, right now? Am I wasting time just waiting around? What should I be doing?

God. Most of all my mind is centered on staying close. It has been so hard. At many moments I feel forgotten. My heart is sad and then I run to his word to remind the weepy heart of God's truth.

I heard a new song this week, The More I seek You. It may not be new to you but it is to me. Where have I been? I love this song. It speaks to every part of my desire. Listen and tell me what you think. I am a sap for love songs.



What else? What else?

The kids are loving school. That is great news. Here they are on the first day.



And last but not least...

I want to thank everyone that has commented, e-mailed, or myspaced me for encouragement. I have read them all and am truly grateful. I hope to getting around to responding personally. It has just been craziness around here.

Goodness on Saturday

We made the trek down to Galveston and spent the day at East Beach. I love the beach...any beach. There is just something about the sound that is so relaxing. The kids played and we all rode the waves. The best part of the beach experience was opening my bible and talking to God in the midst of all the sights and sounds of my favorite kind of place.
I loved being away with the family. The four of us sat and talked for hours. It has been a while since we have done that. As I am typing this my arms are feeling the pain of boogy boarding far too long yesterday.

 

 

We left the beach a little early because we wanted to visit a new church tonight. The church was Fellowship of the Woodlands. We went to their 7:30 emerge service. I really liked it...we are going to go back (if we are still here). Here is a picture of a water fountain in thier plaza.

 

The kids start school tomorrow. We are all a little bit on edge about it. I am sure that it will be fine. We will have to get there early to register them and take them to class. First days are always fun.

For updates sake...we have been doing a lot of thinking...

We are open to God's move. Whatever and however he moves....

We had some hoped for plans (they are still there) but are willing and open for anything.

Maybe that was one of the purposes for bringing us here.


He only knows our future...

I've got sunshine...

I just thought I would share that today was a good day. You are all so sweet to share verses with me. They are treasured.

My God is good. He is good to me. (and you)

On a funny note my 9 year old has now taken up knitting. I must say she is pretty good. It is so cute to see her walking around with her yarn and needle. She brings me joy.

Choice

I had one thing in mind when I sat down to type. As for now that one thing is now something different.

Life.

To the core of myself I am struggling. Struggling to pursue faith. Struggling to keep on believing. Right now, I am even wondering if I am going to post this.

Yesterday we packed all our clothes (Insert frustration here due to boychild longing for a glass of chocolate milk...okay I am back) and importants and drove ourselves to Houston. I cried as we gave the dog away and cried as we drove down the street. It didn't stop, the tears flowed as I was hanging clothes in the closet. At the moment I cannot grasp peace. What is that about? This is suppose to be the adventure of my life. At the present it does not feel much like that. Or maybe it does...just an adventure gone bad. Do I really mean this? I don't know. I cannot trust my emotions right now.

We arrived here early so to register our two in school before meet the teacher night. That is a no go. All their registrars are on training so they will not register until Monday morning. After some good advice today I think we are going to press on and attend meet the teacher anyway. We will just meet them all as well as find the lunch room and bathrooms.

Do you ever desire to just run to the store and purchase a faith injection?

I need to be running to the arms of my father but instead I feel myself pulling away. I hate this feeling. Lord, please change my heart. (and soon...) I need to do my devotional for the day. I have carried it with me all day I just have not done it. Picture me walking around my life carrying my purple duct tape bible and my 90 days with A Heart Like His.

Renew my spirit within me...i beg you...Father.

I know truth...I believe truth...YOU are truth. I am believing You. No matter what my emotions are saying at this moment...I choose YOU.

What verse do you long for when feeling faithless? I need some fighting words...will you help?

Usually when I am feeling really down I throw a praise party. The radio goes up and we dance till we laugh. We praise no matter the feeling present. I cannot do that here at the in-laws so let's praise him in typed word. I guess you could say that we will just dance our fingers away.

This would be a great time for my beloved lurkers to join in.

this.and.that

I made this using Big Huge Labs. The girl is completely in awe of American Girl stuff. She is saving her pennies for an American Girl doll. Her destination of dreams is NY City for a viewing of the famed American Girl Store. In her world there is God, Family, High School Musical, Limited Too, and American Girl. She loved the cover...what fun.

BTW...We are moving to Houston tomorrow. We are going to get our kids set up in school until we hear further news on the job front. We are waiting on one particular...if that does not pan through then we will go from there. Ernest will sub while there and I am going to delve in and learn all things photography. At least that is the plan for now. I have a writing thing on the back burner (far back) so you can keep that in your prayers.

Reflecting on Vacations Past

There is not a beach in my close future. Today we would have left four our week at S.Padre. It is kind of sad but very realistic that we do not go. The weather is going to be bad there plus we are still in the saving mode. We only lost out our deposit and the lady was very understanding. Thank you, God.

I know that sounds kind of down. Don't feel sorry for me...oh no! I have been richly blessed. Last summer was the summer of vacation. It was surreal even. So I am going to do a little feasting on what great fun that was. Wanna feast with me?

For starters, we camped at the bank of the Comal river (New Braunsfels). I sleep in a tent for 5 nights with my family. I loved it at it's best and hated it at it's
worst. We floated the river to our hearts content. The family vaca was ended with a weekend with friends in San Antonio. It was peaceful and free of stress.This was at the Riverwalk. I love this picture. Check out the big hair! That is what a week of camping will do to you.


Next, we hosted a misssions trip to Belgium. For celebration we had a day in Paris. I have a hunger to go back. The cobblestone roads alone draw my attention.
Romance in Paris

I can't believe I was there...

the boys

the girls

Flowers from the market in Brugge, Belgium.

Finally, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary we went on a cruise. It was a glorious five days cruising the ocean and ending in Mexican destinations. Talk about dreamy. I was alone with the man that I love...priceless.
Cozumel

Oh..for the love

Look at the darkness! I used spf30.

See what I mean? I have been vacation blessed.

What has been your favorite vaca?

Sunsets and Rainbows

Psalm 103:1-5
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

I praise his name. He gave us beauty tonight. Here is a view from our front porch. We went out to walk away from the norm and spend some time. He is so faithful to meet us where we are. The absolute coolest part happened when we walked out to the road for a closer view, it was almost more than my heart could take, then we turned around to find more. He gave us even more! A full rainbow was placed right over our house. Beauty. I captured just a bit of it before it was gone.

Don't you just love him.

Heritage from a MAN to his BOY.

I am married to an amazing man who was once a mischievous little boy. It is great truth that he grew in stature but also in craftiness. I stand amazed at the stories he has to tell about the things that he did. Much laughter.

He grew up a pastor's son which meant that he did not miss church. God love him, there were many times he felt the need to entertain. So entertain he did! Once during worship he thought up a jewel of an idea. I can picture his face fill with that smirk smile. While the congregation was standing he placed a straight pin in a very strategic place...right where his mom would be sitting. I had to stop and laugh a bit just for the mere thought. Soon enough the entertainment ensued with the scream and jump of his mother, the pastor's wife. Can we just chuck it up to the holy spirit? She was filled all right. To this day this man takes much pride in sharing this story. Oh what a joy to be his mother. She must have laughed much. If you think this is something we could top it. Oh yes, there is more, like the time his father was preaching on suicide. Let's just say that this ended in a trip to the emergency room during the middle of service.

Prankster, enough said.

This boy is now a father. A father to a young boy. The joy continues! I must say that Colton is crazy at times and then again shy at times. He is either all or nothing. Lately I have been watching this little guy learn the craft of his father. His heritage of pranksterness.

One night I was relaxing up in the loft when I heard what could only be described as shreeks coming from the Carly's room. I could not get there fast enough. Her voice was in sheer pain as she cried. I got in there and saw her holding and bunch of little tacks in her hand. She looks up at me and immediately I understood. They were in her bed. Placed there for her to find by the sensation only they could give. Who would do such a thing? Colton. Yes, you guessed it, the boy found his way. Without hesitation I ran into his room and immediately he found the error of his ways. I didn't even have to say a word my presence over his bed was more than enough. His eyes matched mine and we both knew...

All of this was dealt with while the Man of the House sat on our bed laughing in silence. His grin was huge and his pride even larger. That's my boy! I could read the thought all over the smirk that had settled on his face.

That night will go down in our history. The story will be told many times over the years. No matter how distorted and stretched that it becomes it will always live in our memory. The memory of four people that lived in a house full of love and craziness. Priceless.

I shall praise even still...

We are in a peculiar place in life right now. Sort of like a crossroads waiting to see which turn to take and where that will lead us. There is a specific opportunity we have been praying about as well as our house selling. We truly felt that yesterday was the day. We were suppose to receive a phone call about this opportunity and on Sunday we had an open house with a lot of people coming through. We really were confident that we would receive both phone calls yesterday. We talked about it, prayed about it, expected it. We were even told to be expecting the call about the opportunity. Anyways, the minute ticked by. The hours came and left and at the end of the day not one phone call. I couldn't believe it. Why? I really don't know why.

As I was driving in the car yesterday evening, kind of internally pouting about the whole situation, I felt God ask, "So, no phone calls, will you praise me even still?" I had to think a little bit and then had to respond with a , "Yes, Lord, I will still praise You."

It is not always easy. I won't even pretend to understand it. But I do praise my Lord. Trusting Him.

some googleness

What is your homepage? I use igoogle and I love it. I do. Not like I love my husband but you know love in the really like kind of way. Why did I feel the need to expound on that? O well...I feel better.

You can choose from all sorts of gadgets. One of the gadgets that I have is google reader (I use this instead of bloglines). As soon as I click online I am updated on blogs that have updated. Good stuff. I also have google talk (people get on there) and my email gadget. For fun we have hang-man and post-it notes. I could live on this page. Amanda over at Oh Amanda is the one who showed me the way. I must say she is pretty smart. :). Also, if you have igoggle, make your own personal gadget (click here) and share it with me. I would share mine with you, but well, I don't know how to do that just yet.

I know this is a random post. Yea for randomness and on that note yea for all things google.

49 years

Today is my parents 49th Anniversary.

Amazing.

At the edge of my seat...

My man is coming home. He has been gone for 5 nights. I miss him...to say the least.

Also, be praying, someone came by to look at our house today. Who knows? Maybe this is the day!!!

Here is a look at my to-do list:
1. sell house
2. find job
3. buy house

So happy...I could sing a song.

Summer Afternoons and School Clothes

Can you believe they asked me? It's true. They asked to have their picture taken. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The catch was that they wanted to wear the school clothes we purchased yesterday. I am up for shooting on a lonely afternoon. So off to the park we went.
Look at these shoes! They are super cute. The sweet girl loves them. In case you cannot tell they are covered in hearts. In her words..."who cares if they don't match everything...!...they have hearts all over them!"
This girl is all about a great accessory. We found this headband at a new store called Zida. It is one of those in love stores.
Oh for the love. This boy steals my heart. He picked out this shirt from Ross. As soon as his eyes saw this it became his favorite. It will most likely be the shirt he wears every time it is clean. You know the one? Did you notice his new do? He got a faux hawk back when we were traveling with LIFT. He felt the need for some newness.
His football made the pic. It was easier than the ball and bat he wanted. I enjoy his love for sports. If only I understood more about them.
Do you ever feel like your heart lives in others? I believe it is the ones whom we love that carry our heart.

The time machine is headed back to high school...come along.

1. Who was your best friend? For most of the years it was Brandi Jackson. We did everything together. We even felt the need to work at the same place. The last couple of years we slowed the hanging out process due to different ideas of fun.

2. Did you play any sports? I had an athletic pass. Does that count? Our school counted Dance Team as a sport. The husband and I still have feuds about this topic. I really don't care if it was a sport or not, I just wanted to get into the events for free. That's me SPORTY debra.

3. What kind of car did you drive? I had a White Nissan Sentra. I still have the car keys. I loved it. I loved it even more than you think. I would like to tell you what year it was but seriously I don't remember. After that car was wrecked (I don't want to talk about that) I got a Mitsubishi Mirage, also white, that was nicer but I didn't like it as much.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Eagle Stadium. Oh the memories! The lights, the sounds, the fun are unmatched to this day. At half time we would go out and perform some goofy routine. The highlight of the night, for me, was officer strut. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. Before the team would perform we (the officers) would do our own little dance while the announcers introduced us. As shallow as that sounds it was great fun.

5. Were you a party animal? That was not me. I was a little too scared to party. One time (okay...two times) I did go to a teen dance club in Houston. My parents didn't know until I told them...that same weekend. I just couldn't help myself...I was so scared they would find me out. About the club: I loved the dancing and music but I hated the drunk smelling guys thinking they could dance all over you.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Hmmm. I really don't think so.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? I was in performing choir. It wasn't as important as it sounds. I enjoyed it. I was also in the girls class act choir and my name made the credits as the choreographer for pop show.

8. Were you a nerd? Most likely borderline...who knows?

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? No. I had detention often. I don't remember why. Probably tardies.

10. Can you sing the fight song? Yes. If the music were on I could belt out the words with strength. I think that is my husbands, the football player, fault.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr.Johnson from Middle School. He was cool. He gave me a writing award. My least favorite was a guy from Intermediate school, Mr.Skinner, who would spray WD-40 on me because he said I was squeaky.

12. What was your school mascot? The Eagle

13. Did you go to the Prom? Of course. I wouldn't miss that party.

14. If you could go back, would you? Sometimes I think so...

15. What do you remember most about graduation? Feeling so sad that this was actually happening. And then again very excited about the future.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? Did we have one?

17. Did you have a job your senior year? What wasn't my job. I worked at the movie theater for years and then my senior year I needed a change. So change I did. A lot of job change.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? This is a tie between the steak and potato bar and the taco salad line. I know this is weird but I liked our school food.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Sadly yes. Well not sadly! I would look weird if I were still that small. I think I weighed all of 100 lbs.

20. What did you do after graduation? KW Community College for a year. Got married then went to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO.

21. What year did you graduate? The Class of 1995

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? The love of my life...Ernest

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? Missed it due to a youth function. I was able to see all the pictures and that was better. We sat and laughed for hours. It is crazy how much we all change.


If you dare go back in time with me let me know...

Thank You Mer!

I feel very honored to have received this award from sweet Meredith. She keeps a great blog so go and visit her. Thank you Mer!

Chasing HIM.

Do you long to be a world changer? Do you? Are you truly in love with God? If you love him as much as you say you do then what would you do for Him? Would you risk failure? Would you risk security? Would you risk loosing yourself? How much do you care about your image? Would you be willing to be crazy for him? Key word...crazy. People might just think you are crazy. Are you okay with that?

These are all questions that I have had to answer in the last year. It is essentially where the rubber met the road. Where my true love would be shown.

I, in no means, am perfect. Actually far from it. FAR. We have been places. We have hurt each other and other people all the while lathering in selfishness. We have learned grace through horrible circumstances. We faced many failures in our faith walk all the way back to our teenage years.

All the while something divine was happening. God was essentially wooing us to him. We knew him we just didn't know him.

Today I read in 1 Samuel 14 about Jonathan going out and taking on the Philistines all the while Saul is sitting under a tree. I long to be a Jonathan rather than a Saul. I don't merely want to watch this God thing happen, I want to be in the midst of it. I feel renewed in my faith today. Thank You Father. I don't care what I will be doing in the midst of things...I will change trash can liners for my LORD. Wherever he chooses for me to be will be my happiness. He is happiness.

We can all be God lovers. That is the beauty. We are all called to an adventure! Are you out of your comfort zone? That is a pretty big clue that you are in God's amazing will.

At the end of your life...what will the headline of your life say. Not what do you want it to say but what (because of the way you live your life) will it say...

He is out there. Chase after HIM.