Promises

Yet again, it has taken me over a MONTH to blog. *sigh* Where in the world does the time go? To start with, let's catch up to all the happenings of the past month.

1) God blessed me with not one, but TWO part time jobs (Hallelujah!). So, I am now a hostess at Romano's Macaroni Grill and a Specialist at the Apple Retail Store in the mall down the street from our house. Yes, I am enjoying both jobs, especially the people I work with, but it has definitely been an adjustment! There are days where I don't think I can do anymore (especially Fridays and Saturdays), but somehow the grace of God gets me through. Not to mention, Daniel has been so supportive and helpful!

2) Speaking of...this has been the craziest month at school for him. He has had countless hours reading, a 3-hour mid.term, and 3 (yes THREE) different 10-page papers due! He is such a rockstar! I am so extremely proud of how well Daniel has adjusted to working part time and keeping up with his school work. Taking 12 hours in master's courses is about the equivalent to 18 or more hours in undergrad courses. So stinkin' proud of that boy.

3) We have officially been "Louisville-ians" for 3 months now (as of October 21st)...CRAZY i know!


So, those are the major events that have been happening-- which also, coincidentally, they happen to take up the majority of our time. Now, don't get me wrong. The absolute LAST thing I want to do is sound ungrateful or lazy or not happy. But let's face it, when life throws curve balls at you (fast), it is hard not to be overwhelmed or overly-emotional. Saturday was definitely like that for me. I felt completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and just did not have a good attitude. I was crying and  praying "angry prayers" saying things like, "God, thank you for blessing me with two jobs, but it is so not fair! How come I don't have a normal 8-5 job, with my weekends and nights free...not to mention a little more income? I feel like I am busting my butt working to help support my family and I'm not getting much in return." Ever had one of those? Yes, I think we all have at one time or another.

But then I got to church Sunday, and it was like God just halted time to grab my attention and said "I have you exactly where I want you. I will never leave you or forsake you, and when it gets too hard, lean on me and I will carry you through it." In Sunday School we are going through Hebrews, and this week we were in Chapter 6...talking about God's promises. HOW ENCOURAGING. I loved every minute of it and just felt like a burden had lifted off my shoulders. God never promised life would be easy, but He did promise to never leave us or forsake us. Let me tell you, Daniel and I have both learned some lessons since we have been here about relying on God. Things have not gone as we expected....you know, find a great apartment and then the perfect job and life will be just peachy. Wrong! BUT even though it's been one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through, it has also been one of the most rewarding times in my life thus far. I have grown so much in my relationship with God and my husband--double blessing!

Engagement

Today marks the 2 year-anniversary of our engagement...the day that my dream of a life with the man I love became a reality. As many of you know, I was surprised (or maybe a better phrase is absolutely SHOCKED) and completely caught off guard when he proposed--which lead to my infamous response of "shut up!". :)

I'm going to take a moment to brag on my man: he did SUCH an amazing job with the proposal. It was better than I could ever have imagined! He really put a lot of thought into it--he knew my favorite place in the world was the beach, he picked out the absolute perfect ring, AND he kept the entire thing a secret for 2 months. But the best part of the whole thing was that he told me those words every little girl dreams of hearing from the time she is 6 years old: "I want to spend the rest of my life with YOU...will you marry me?" ME. He wanted to marry ME. At the time, I was too shocked and speechless to cry, but when I think about it now-- about how special that moment was, I'll admit I get a little teary-eyed.

Since that day, we have been through lots of life changes:
1) planning a wedding--and ALL the little details that go into it
2) we have since both graduated from college
3) we found our first home together...a duplex in north little rock
4) he got his first "big boy" job
5) made it through our first year of marriage (which was absolutely WONDERFUL, but it takes some adjustment to learn to live with someone)
6) prayed about and made the decision for him to go back to school at SBTS
7) moved to Louisville
8) currently looking for MY first "big girl" job

Throughout all of those changes, it has been a huge emotional roller-coaster...and i'm really not one to be very emotional. I have learned so much about myself and grown a lot in my faith. But even though it has been a roller-coaster, I have had two big constants in my life: my God and my husband. God has proven his faithfulness over and over and over, from jobs to where we live to taking a HUGE leap of faith and moving to Kentucky. And Daniel has proven his love and faithfulness as my husband, being my rock and comforter and best friend.

My mom always told me when I was younger that time flies as you get older...and I was always like "yeah right." But it is so true! Looking back at all that has happened in 2 years, let alone just this past year, makes me excited about things to come in the future years. My life verse for the next year is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future." God ALWAYS keeps His promises.