The End of a Year

2010.

This year has been full of so many good things, blessings from the Lord, and also of hard lessons and big decisions.

I'm not too sentimental about the end of a year, but it is nice to take a look back. See what God has taught you. See what He has done in your life. See what a different person you have become (a better one, hopefully). Reminisce all the fun times and experiences. We are so undeserving.

We are so thankful to God for allowing us to see the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. He is far too good to us!

Christmas

This year I have kind of been a scrooge about Christmas. I seem overly irritated by spending money on things that people don't need, by the over the top decorations, and by the frantic need to please everyone. This feeling comes over me about every three years or so and it has made it's rotation in 2010. And it's not just Christmas specifically, but December as a whole.

I hate that December has become a time for us to be so busy and focused on so many other things than celebrating Jesus. We run around shopping in large crowds being grumpy at the bad drivers, the woman that grabbed the last item off the shelf as you were reaching for it, the long lines at Target, the sassy employees. But do we spend enough time meditating on the fact that God came in human form to earth in the effort to save us from sin, death.

I don't want to be one of those people who is in a bad mood for the whole month of December. I love being with family. I adore getting to see my friends that I don't see often. I like the break from school and from work for a little bit. It's not all bad! And I'm not saying that if you LOVE shopping and wrapping presents and decorating every square inch of your house that you are a bad person and don't enjoy celebrating Jesus. I think we can do both. The only catch is, we have to make sure we actually do both. And not just split the time up evenly, but you can worship Jesus in the decorating, in the cooking, in the gift-giving, in the spending time with family and friends.

This year, let's be focused on Jesus in all things. I need to remind myself to to do this all the time. It's a daily task.

Happy Christmas, everyone. I hope you find time to worship Jesus today!

Purple Hippos

So, back in junior high, me and my best friends formed a group called the Purple Hippos. If you know any of us, you've probably heard us mention this at least once! I can't even remember the exact circumstance that warranted the naming of our friend group, but let me tell you, once we did...it stuck. So we were 10 years old when this happened and the group was this: me, Kimmie, Liss, and Heather. We are all grown up now and a lot has changed in our lives, but one thing that remains the same is that we are all still good friends.

We are all spread out. Heather lives in Florida. I live in Texas. Elissa lives in Tennessee. Kimmie lives in Mississippi. Heather's family also lives in Florida, but the the other three of us have family in Jackson, MS. At Christmas, when we are all home, we have begun this tradition of the Purple Hippo reunion. We miss Heather, but we have a great time.

A lot has changed too. We've grown and a lot has happened to all of us. We love getting together and enjoying some time catching up and being silly. Here's some pictures from the past 2 reunions.

2008

2009

I can't WAIT to see these girls next week for round 3 of the reunion. We'll be at our 17th year has friends. And this time, both Kimmie and Liss have BABIES to bring. Last time they were both pregnant. I can't wait to meet Lydia and see Willow again! I love them so much and they are all such a blessing in my life. I am thankful that God brought them into my life at 10 and we have managed to span the awkward years and the high school drama and physical distance to remain friends for so long.

PS I also think it's funny that in both pictures, we are all wearing brown, gray, or black. What a neutral bunch. I'm going to wear a color this year! :)

End of Another Semester

Each semester we always celebrate being done with 4 more months of graduate school. Lately I've been hard on myself for continually pushing back my graduation date back. I'm working on a 64 hour degree program that will take me 9 semesters to finish, which is how long it took me to finish my undergraduate degree that was more than double my masters.

I have been dreaming of the day where I can read for fun. When I don't have to write a paper. When I can come home from work, prop my feet up, and watch TV without guilt that I should be writing a paper. Without the stress of midterms and finals. Without having homework.

While my pride has taken a hit because of this, I am deciding not to worry about it anymore. I am so thankful that God has given Ethan and I the opportunity to be in school. I'm glad he called us here. So looking back, there are some pretty huge perks to taking school a little slower than normal. We have really soaked up all of our classes. I mean, we have really learned what we are supposed to be learning because we are not in class overload every semester. We have gotten to know some of professors really well. We will have lasting relationships with these brilliant people that we can fall back on throughout life. We have made so many friends. Although we've seen people come, graduate, and go, since we are still here we are meeting the new students. We have had lots of ministry opportunities. We have been able to take the summers off of school. I could probably go on and on.

So, although some of our friends who graduated at MC with us are already finished with med school and are currently signing their names as "Doctor," we are thankful for our time in Fort Worth so far and are looking ahead to many new things to learn and much more ministry to do!

Fall Update?

So, it appears as though I only update my blog once a season...so here's the fall update. :)

What has happened since July when I wrote about our adventure to Puerto Rico, you ask? A lot!

1. I got a new job! I now work full time for the seminary in the Office of Admissions. I am the Administrative Assistant to the office which I love. It allows me to be very organized, do paperwork (which I love), take care of people, talk to prospective students, and be bossy and let's be honest, you know I love to do all those things.

2. Ethan got a new job! Ethan is now the college director at Wedgwood Baptist Church. We are loving it! It's funny, we didn't think we were very old until we started hanging out with college students. But we are having so much fun loving on them, ministering to them, hanging out with them. And we love Wedgwood. What a great place to worship and hear God's word preached!

3. My sister got married! We all converged upon New Orleans for a beautiful wedding weekend. It is kind of a blur, it went by so quickly. The wedding was gorgeous and we had such a great time.

4. Both of my childhood best friends had babies! They are both girls. Beautiful, perfect, baby girls. I cannot believe we are old enough to be mommies already, but we are. They are great moms and I can't wait til Christmas break when I get to see them!

5. I hosted my first family Thanksgiving. The food was ready on time and it wasn't burned so I consider it a success! I have so much to be thankful for!

6. Ethan and I are ALMOST done with one more semester of seminary. We've both pushed our graduation dates back to next December, which I cannot lie, kind of made me sad for a while, but we won't be so stressed and we'll be learning so much and actually taking it all in.

So, that's a recap. We have really enjoyed this fall, it has just flown by!

Not what I expected...

Ethan and I had the privilege of working with World Changers again this summer. We were transferred to Puerto Rico, which I happen to love! I was the Project Coordinator and Ethan was the Worship Speaker. I was so thrilled to be able to go to this place that I love and run a mission project that would help the people out immensely. We had such an amazing time last year in New Orleans with World Changers that I was expecting a similar experience.

However, it was nothing like I thought it would be. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety about the upcoming trip that by the time we arrived in San Juan, I was almost overwhelmed with worry and anxiety. It was hard to really enjoy our "time off" because I was still having to work on the project and deal with the random things that had come up. When we got to the project city, I was not feeling well. I kept feeling worse and worse, until I was sick enough to need to go to the doctor. That was very difficult. Being sick and trying to run a 200+ mission project is not easy. I had great people around me that worked so hard. It is because of them that the project even happened!

But me being sick was really the least of the problems that we had. We did not have supplies for most of the week at most of the houses. We were supposed to complete 9 houses and we did not even come close to finishing 1. We had no electricity for a whole day on registration day so that made checking people in difficult. We had a group cancel and two groups miss flights and arrive late. Our worship leader was not feeling well at the end of the week. We had issues with credit cards, so buying food for camp was difficult. And we had two of the participants have family members die while we were there. It was one of those weeks where I sat back and asked God why he had even brought me there!

Now sitting back and looking at the week, I can see that God was moving all throughout. The gospel was presented many many times and people were loved on by the youth that came. This is the most important thing. When they did not have building supplies, they were meeting neighbors, praying over the community and sharing their faith with people. I learned a lot personally about relying on other people and not taking so much on myself. I also learned a lot about faith and trust in the Lord. I really deal with anxiety a lot, to the point that it is really a problem sometimes. This week really tested that in my life and in my faith. I wish I could snap my fingers and be calm and not worry, but this is not the case. I'm not quite sure what all God is teaching me through what happened last week in Puerto Rico. I may never see what all God was and is doing in Juana Diaz, however I am sure he is working. However, I will see what God is doing in my life and in our marriage, although I may not understand why. I will say this, I am much more open now about my life and my struggles than I have ever been before. I'm not sure whether this is good or bad, but it certainly helps to not keep it bottled up.

I have a doctor's appointment next week to follow up from the one in Puerto Rico/annual check up. I'm a bit nervous, but I know the Lord is in control. Maybe this blog is turning into an anxiety blog...you may learn more of my struggles that you ever wanted to know!

End of Semester

Well, we've made it to another end of semester. Exams start this week. I thought we'd never get here and now I feel like the semester has gone so quickly. It has been a really busy, hard semester, but as always it is fun to look back and see how God has provided for us and taken care of us each step of the way.

Like I said, we've had a really busy semester...

In January for my birthday I met my mom and sister in New Orleans for a girls weekend, which was a blast. Full of shopping and good food.

Also, in January I had to say goodbye to my best friend for 2 months.

In February I planned the Ladies' Retreat at our church. It was a lot of fun to plan but even more exciting to get to implement it. The best part was that one of my favorite people was our speaker and I got to spend the whole weekend with her.

In March for spring break, Ethan and I went to Puerto Rico on a mission trip with our church. That was a great trip! I expected it to be one thing and God totally had different plans. I got sick the first day there and had a rough week after that. God taught me a lot about submission and giving up control. I do not always have to be the one doing everything. Sometimes it is ok to sit back and just minister to people.

Also, in March I had to say goodbye again to my best friend as she moved to Africa to tell people about how much God loves them. I was REALLY sad for a little while, but more than anything I am full of pride and joy for her as she is right where God wants her.

In April, Ethan was ordained at his home church in Mississippi. Now he's legit! ...just kidding. It was a beautiful time of worship and challenge. The church did an amazing job making Ethan feel special and me as well. Ethan and I both were highly challenged and encouraged and God really used that weekend to affirm our call to ministry.

Also in April, my sister got engaged! Ethan and I unfortunately were not able to make it back to Mississippi for the family stuff this weekend because of really really really bad weather (think 54 tornados in one day in MS). We did get to Skype in for the big story and reveal of the ring. Hopefully I'll get to see her soon.

In May we will see another completed semester and have a few little things to do...hopefully see Wicked, visit with Ethan's sister and her boyfriend, and relax before...

In June, we go back to Puerto Rico for World Changers.

Sheesh. We have a lot going on. But it really a fun and exciting time!

Another 10 Things

That last post was really easy so I think I'll do another...

10 Things that Surprise Me:

1. the unique ways God blesses Ethan and me.
2. that I could be more in love with Ethan today than 3 1/2 years ago when we married.
3. how at 26, I still feel like a kid.
4. that I still, for the most part, really like being a student.
5. my hair being straight now instead of curly.
6. that I still fall for the trick of someone tapping me on one shoulder, but really being on the other side of me. every time. my whole life.
7. how much I enjoy cooking and baking.
8. that life can be lived with only one cup of coffee a day.
9. how many places I have been able to travel.
10. how much my sense of style has evolved, into more of a grown up funky instead of just weird.

All for now...

10 things...

So, everyone is doing lists these days. I thought I'd try one out...

10 things I love (or at least really like a lot!)

1. my God, who loves us beyond all measure.
2. my Ethan. he is awesome.
3. our families, both Jones and Prince. both wonderful.
4. my sweet, sweet friends who build me up and hold me accountable.
5. coffee....mmmmmmmmmm.
6. any frozen dessert, i.e. ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, etc.
7. music, especially live.
8. sunshine.
9. haircuts (obviously) and clothes
10.traveling.

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, but that's it for now.

Haircut

Why is it that a haircut can make you feel so good?

I just got back from seeing my sweet Lauren, who does the most amazing job cutting hair I have ever seen. I love every single hair cut she does for me and I look forward to going to see her every 8-9 weeks. This time I went a little shorter than normal, but I really really like it. I think it's fun to get a different look every now and then. I get super bored with the same hair cut after a while. There is just something refreshing about knowing that you can do something different and it isn't permanent. If I hate it, I can grow it out. If I love it, I can keep it. I get to start over and try something new, a reinvention of sorts.

Anyway, I'm not sure why this subject merited a blog post, but i was thinking it, so I thought I'd write it. Have fun...get your hair cut and try something new!

Birthday...

So it's my birthday weekend...and as usual, the middle of January is a super busy time. We started school on Thursday and had to say goodbye to one of my closest friends. But it wasn't all sad...

My mom, sister and I went to New Orleans last week to celebrate my birthday and also to spend some time together before my sister moved. We had a blast, even though it was cold and rainy.

This weekend we had Winter Blast (our D-Now) at church and it was a great time of learning and worship for our students. I am sure God was glorified through the weekend.

My sweet friend Michelle had to say "see you later" yesterday at church. Everyone is heart broken to see her move halfway across the world, but we are also so very thrilled that she is following God's call on her life that far away. I can't wait to go visit! I will miss her every single day and am not excited about two years of my life without seeing her face daily, but I can't be selfish. I am SO happy to be able to pray for her as she is sharing God's love with those who have literally never heard. God's strength is amazing. He filled me with it this weekend, keeping me from being a total wreck and God will fill her each day as she goes through her journey.

I am also so thankful for other great friends that decided to come over and hang out so that none of us had to sit alone and be super sad. We watched football and got some frozen yogurt at Menchies. It was delicious. AND we watched 24. So overall, a good day yesterday, but glad for a day off to relax and get stuff done today.

That is all for now...

Welcome 2010...

2010...wow! Another decade has begun. In 2000, Ethan and I both were 16 years old, with a driver's license, thinking we knew it all. At 26, we still feel like kids! Fortunately, God has really brought us a long way since 16 years old. We are so happy where we are because we know we are right where God wants us. And I know people say that all the time, but it's true. It isn't always easy. There is so much to think about, being an adult and a student at the same time. There seems to be some kind of stress always, with work, school/studying, finances, etc. God has been so faithful to us in this past year it would take hours for me to type everything we have seen him do for us. 2010, 26 years old, is going to be another fabulous year...I can tell!

I thought I'd post a picture of us last year and of us this year. Not much of a change, but still fun. We are lucky to have such talented photographer friends.

2009























2010
















We don't make resolutions at the beginning of a year. However, we do try to make goals for each semester. Ethan is trying to do more reading and he has already finished 5 books since Christmas. My goal is just not to worry as much. I make this goal every semester and eventually I plan to have my worry whittled down to nothing! Other than that, we are going to do our best in school again and work hard to honor God in the things we do. We are thankful for the ability to be students and the financial miracle that God does for us each semester. We are so blessed!

So, happy 2010!