Everyday Blessings

Wow, what a whirlwind the last 2 months have been!  So much has happened, times full of Everyday Blessings.  These two months have been a time to reflect on and receive more of the blessings of God.  So to keep it all straight, I think I will join the "Bullet List Bloggers."

• D started his new job (a dream job) at our church last month.  What a blessing and an answer to months of prayer.  God is so good!  When we moved to Houston, D left his job for me.  He began looking for a new job in Houston a month before we moved.  We thought that he would find a job quickly since we were moving to a big city.  Boy, were we wrong.  D is a graphic designer and well, with the economy, no one was hiring in the creative department.  But, the 10 months he was unemployed were really a blessing.  First, this was one of those trials that brought us closer together and really strengthened our married.  Second, we both learned to truly trust God with our life.  Not just say we trust Him, but really live it out. For example, not living in a constant state of anxiety and worry.  For those of you who know me, you know that is totally out of character for me.  I was transformed through this experience.  I can't say I did not have my moments, because I had just a few.  But we gave it up to God and trusted he would take care of us, and he did.  It was so freeing, a feeling I had never experienced before.  Even though we are already frugal, Dave Ramsey people - we learned how to live on what we have and enjoy it.  So much of what we thought we had to have to live was "fluff."  Plus, when this job opportunity finally presented itself, it was more than we even hoped.  The world may look at it and not think so, but it meets all our needs plus more than money can buy.  My man loves his work - he tells me he's excited to go to work in the AM and just as excited when he comes home, he works in ministry, he loves his team, and it's at our church - so many work/life balance issues resolved there.  We are truly blessed!
• We are buying a home!  We thought we would have to wait another year to buy a house since D had been out of work for so long and with the new mortgage laws, but God came through again.  We found a house way within our budget, newly redone (it's like moving into new construction), in a well-established neighborhood, lots of old trees, 4 bedrooms (for kiddo's and visiting fam/friends), 10-15 minute commute to work and church, on and on and on.  The blessings don't stop there.  When the home was inspected it was found that it needed a new roof - the sellers replaced it! New legislation went into effect Oct 1 which would have significantly raised our monthly mortgage, but we were grandfathered in (missed it by just days).  It's been incredible.  Plus, the biggest blessing is our realtor, Patty Cwalinski with Houston Heritage.  If you live in the Houston area and need a realtor you must call Patty.  She was awesome!  Plus through her referral we found our mortgage lender, Jamie, who has been a miracle worker.  I was fearful this would be a very stressful and difficult process and they have made it so easy.  So, I'll post pics of the new digs as soon as we close, which should be Oct 15 - crossies!
• D's car is dead.  Ok, I know what you are saying, "How is that a blessing?"  Well, because, again, God is showing us how we can be completely content and happy with what the world sees as inadequate.  Sure, we have had to make some adjustments with only having one car, but I've never felt like it is a problem.  We will have to buy another car once we start having children, but for the short term it's fine.  Plus, when we do go buy a new car, we won't feel like we have to buy something extravagant.  A car is just a mode of transportation, not a symbol of who I am.
• Veritas/Small Group.  Veritas is the name of our Sunday School class and the people there, and in our Small Group, have been the biggest blessing of them all.  I don't know if we would have taken all these issues that have come our say so well if it were not for our Veritas people's.  They welcomed us with open arms from the moment we stepped into that classroom and have not let us go yet.  They allow God to move through them and we have reaped the benefits.  We love them all so much and look forward to continuing to Do Life Together with them all. 
• My Accountability Partner.  K is my accountability partner.  We have only been meeting for about 2 months now, but that relationship has changed me.  God brought us together at the exact right time for us both. We are both dealing with some discontent in areas of our lives, as well as change.  Also, she is just about my baby sister's age, so she's helping to fill that void.  I miss my sister so much!  Our talks have helped me to truly put some things in the right perspective, to accept the challenges that God has put before me, and to confront them without a whining or resentful spirit.  I love that girl and can't wait to see what God will do through our lives.  K, if you're reading, you are constantly in my prayers!

There are so many smaller (for lack of a better word) blessings which we have experienced in these 12 months since we moved.  If I listed them all I would have the longest blog post ever.   But I felt, since we are moving to a new chapter in our Houston life, it was time to truly reflect upon and write out all God has done for us.  It was a big leap of faith to move to Houston and God has been faithful.  My prayer is that our life, this particular chapter especially, can be used to bring others to a saving knowledge and relationship with my God and Savior. 

So on that note, here are the verses which sum up my life and faith at this time:

Philippians 4:4-9, 11b-12

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

...11for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

K and I are reading this book, Calm My Anxious Heart, I highly recommend it for anyone.  We will all face circumstances which bring us discontent and anxiety. 

What verses are you clinging to right now?  How is God working in your life?  Let me know, I'd love to hear it and it will be an encouragement to others.  If you have a blog, post about it and then link up below at my Mr. McLinky.  If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment.

Look for those everyday blessings!

The Houston Chronicles: Minute Maid Stadium and other stuff

I’m just now getting around to blogging about my wonderful weekend – it’s been a busy week.  It was sooooo beautiful in Houston!  Nice and warm and breezy – perfect baseball weather.  What?  Did this girly girl say baseball?  I sure did.  Now, granted, I don’t know the first thing about baseball, but when a friend has tickets – you go.  You go especially if you live in Houston and the game is at Minute Maid Stadium.  What an experience.  I’ve never lived anywhere where the baseball stadium was so nice.  I have to give some big props to whoever built Minute Maid.  It was awesome, so comfortable and clean.

D and I ended up going because our friends Erin and Matt at Chocolate, Tater Tots, and Cheerios invited us.  A vendor at Matt’s work gave him the tickets, which is great because whoo is it expensive to go to a baseball game nowadays.  Of course we had great seats.  We sat right behind the Houston Astros dugout and had incredible views.  Here’s a few pics.

Isn’t this the coolest. Oh and I forgot to mention the roof was open!  Yes, our stadium has a retractable roof.  I mean, I know I sound like country come to town, but I just think that is the coolest (how many times do you think I can say “cool”, “awesome” and “incredible” in this one post?)  And did you notice the yellow foul ball marker?  Yes, that is a Chick Fil A cow and it says “Eat More Fowl.”  Great marketing.  I love the train running on top of the wall, it really moves.  And we were right on top of the field.  It was so great.  Well, not so great for the little girl sitting behind us – she got clobbered by a foul ball in the 3^rd inning.  Poor baby, everyone was so concerned, but she was ok, more scared than anything.  But wow those balls come at you fast – I guess it’s the price you pay for getting great seats.

Here’s another view.  I made D take a pic of the Minute Maid Park sign.  Yeah, I’m a dork.

Here’s Erin and I.  Isn’t she gorg?  She always has on the cutest outfits and looks so beautiful.  I’m not looking too glamorous – I came straight from work and I didn’t do much with the hair that morning.  Plus, that close up isn’t very good for the double chin.  And don’t you just love the yellow pallor on our skin from the stadium lights (yikes)?  But Erin’s gorgeousness shines through all the pallor.

Me and the Hubs.  Yeah, he’s a dork.  But he’s a cutie and he’s mine.  Love him!

The Dubroc’s – Erin and Matt.  Love them-sweet new friends in Houston.  They were the first people to invite us to dinner.

All in all, it was a super time.  But we always have a good time when the Dubroc’s are involved.  Oh, I almost forgot, the Bush’s were at the game.  As in Former President George Bush (Sr., as well call him in the South) and Barbara.  We actually did not know they were there until they left because everyone stood up around us and applauded.  But it was nifty none the less.  I love how Americans honor all presidents (I mean I’d stand and applaud for Bill and Hillary – no matter what my opinion – they still served our country for 8 years).  Thanks George and Barbara, we love you too!

So that was Friday evening.  Then Saturday began with my certification exam prep course. I plan to take my exam this summer so I started a 6 week prep course this Saturday.  It wasn’t bad at all, only 4 hours.  It was very good actually, I’ll certainly be prepared when test taking time comes around.  After that, I zoomed home so D and I could attend little Claudia’s First Birthday Partay! Please go to The McClendon McBlog to see the pics – they are hilarious!  We had a great time.  D got to spend some much needed quality time with his fraternity bros and I got to visit with the ladies.  I just love baby birthday parties.  It’s so much fun to see them destroy their smash cakes and open gifts.  I think my favorite is when they end up playing with the tissue paper and wrapping paper instead of the gifts.  It’s the simple things in life that satisfy.  At the party, my husband ate a piece of cake, 2 cup cakes, drank an Arnold Palmer (like an 80 ounce can of tea and lemonade), and several small sodas. So when we got home at 5:30 he went straight to the bedroom and passed out.  He slept for 4 hours.  I guess you can still get the sugar rush and subsequent crash even when you’re 30.  It reminded me of the episode of The Office where Michael gets the gourmet pretzel with every topping, starts bouncing off the walls from his sugar rush, then crashes and falls asleep at his desk for hours.  Oh, my man, I love the kid in him.

Well, that’s enough for one weekend.  It was a blast, but I think we’ll take it easy this weekend.  How was your weekend?  Any cool, incredible, awesome (hehe!) plans for this coming weekend?  Share, that’s what we do in Blogland.

See ya lata!