love & respect

Before Matt & I got married we each read Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. We each had our own copy of the book, read it seperately and then discussed it together afterwards. The concept of Love & Respect discusses a marriage relationship as outlined in the bible and as how God intended it to be; despite what our culture or our selfishness or our egos say.

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When we read the book before we got married it was very worthwhile and I have remembered it since. Now that we have been married for almost 2 years these principles are becoming much more relevant. Since we've started going to New Vision church we joined a Sunday school/community group for newlyweds and engaged couples that meets after church. The last 2 Sundays we've started watching the DVD companion series that goes with the book. After walking out of the first class last Sunday Matt & I immediately agreed that watching Emerson speak about this on the DVD was 100% more impactful and the principles have had immediate ramifications on our marriage.

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I'm sharing this because I want to urge anyone who has not heard of or experienced Love & Respect to do their best to find a way to do so. And if you've just read the book I would highly recommend trying to watch the DVDs. Not only does this affect the way you view your husband or wife and your relationship with them, this concept carries over into how you treat your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and really anyone you come into contact with.

barefeet

Yesterday Matt & I attended New Vision for the second Sunday since we've been here. Their new series is about having "Close Encounters with God"...wanting something more out of our experience of walking with Jesus. Having that awe inspiring moment where you feel truly consumed by our Savior. The first teaching in this series was over Exodus 3 where Moses encounters God in the burning bush. I've always known the basic idea of this Old Testament story but never gave it much thought. This was an ultimate God moment for Moses. As he was talking about this experience for Moses, Pastor Brady took off his shoes and talked about the significance of God telling Moses to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. Not only was this a sign of respect but his shoes represented many other things in his act of surrendering to God...taking off our shoes represents leaving behind the material world where we rely on ourselves and what we provide for ourselves, taking off our shoes represents humbling ourselves...allowing vulnerability, and the act of taking off our shoes requires that we walk more deliberatly, with more care and with more thought to our steps.

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Then last night I began reading a new book that Travis gave to Matt awhile ago, i am not but i know I AM by Louie Giglio. I began reading and within the first few pages here it comes again. Exodus 3. Maybe God is trying to tell me something? Maybe God is telling me to walk slower. To walk deliberately. To pay attention. To watch for Him.

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Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?" God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He said, "Yes? I'm right here!" God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God...... God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM.

-Exodus 3:3-6, 14 The Message

what happens when my husband doesn't get enough sleep

What's wrong with this picture? I opened up my pantry this evening to find the following situation. My husband tells me that the milk being put in the pantry is my fault :) After being married for a year and a half we are truly living together full time for the first time and we are learning alot about each other. First of all, Matt says he's hasn't been getting enough sleep since we moved. Why? Plain and simple. Duh, It's my fault! Matt usually gets up between 5:45 and 6 am during the week to allow enough time to work out and get ready before heading off to work. This means he goes to bed when the grandpas and the grandmas of the world go to bed. But, as he has now revealed to me, he can go to bed at that time but can't actually fall asleep unless I am in bed with him. Thus, if I would prefer Matt be awake enough during the day to put the milk in our refridgerator instead of the pantry, I must adjust my life to go to bed right after the early bird special. I love my husband :)

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Don't you love how nicely he tucked that milk in there like that spot was just waiting for it?

Bonefish Grill: Warm Mango Salsa

Murfreesboro Fact #1: It's the restaurant capital of the U.S.

What shall we do about this?

Try everything, of course.

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My uncle is down here in Nashville on business this week so he's been taking us out for dinner. Sunday night we had Fox's Pizza. I had a personal taco pizza which was very good.

Find a local pizza joint. CHECK.

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Tonight we went to Bonefish Grill. Matt & Scott urged me to try the Mango Salsa on my seafood and I was skeptical at first. I am a skeptic no longer. First of all, this was definitely the best seafood I've had in my life and I've had quite a bit. I think what made it was the Mango Salsa. We left the restaurant wondering if we could buy it in MASSIVE bulk. And ta-da, they have the recipe on their website...so I'm sharing it with you all (ya'll) and urging you to give it a shot. It goes with pretty much any seafood. Matt had it on Mahi Mahi, Scott had it on Ahi Tuna and I had it on shrimp and scallops. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's amazing. Seriously, try it.

Bonefish Grill Warm Mango Salsa (8 servings)
A sweet, eastern accent.
Ingredients

1 cup red onions, charred and chopped (quarter inch pieces)

1 quart small diced mango (drained and chopped in quarter inch pieces)

1/4 cup diced red pepper (eighth of an inch pieces)

1/2 cup mango puree

1/4 cup scallions (chopped on bias)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

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Directions
Peel and slice red onion in 2 to 3 large pieces lay on hot grill and char.
Chop the red onion into quarter inch pieces.
Dice the Mango and red pepper.
Mix all the ingredients together
When ready to serve, heat in microwave or on stove top for three minutes. Add scallions and cilantro and serve over grilled fillet.

"a big big house where we can play football"

Moving to a new community 11 hours away from what I have considered home my entire life can be a bit daunting. Now #1 on our list of to-do's is actually finding a church home where we can truly become a part of the community, meet new people in the area, strengthen our relationship with each other and nourish our personal relationship with Jesus. We want a place that is real. If anyone knows me they know I'm not really one for dressing up or being anything that I am not. And if anyone knows anything about the south they probably know that church and your Sunday best and traditional worship is a big part of the culture. And maybe some grits :)

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So anyway, we decided to just start trying churches out and hoping to find the one where God wants us to be right now. Today we went to New Vision. Technically this is a Southern Baptist church which I find pretty funny (to think of myself attending a southern baptist church) However, it is nothing like what I would think of as a southern baptist church...it is very contemporary, and what a coincidence...they seem to have...a new vision. This church has 4 services with about 2500 people and is actually built right next to Stones River (the historic Civil War battle field). (This little tid bit of info is for my dad, the history channel buff, they had to get Congress approval to build the church so close to a Civil War battlefield and I'm sure he will want to check it out when the family comes down in a week or so :)

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So we entered and started worshipping and immediately Matt tells me that he knows the guitarist and that he was actually really good friends with him during his freshman year of college. It was ironic that today was New Vision's 20th anniversary celebration so the whole service went over the history of the church and their vision for the future. It was actually the perfect way to come to church to truly learn about it and get a feel for what they are all about. Somehow I feel like God knew this all along. We plan on attending New Vision again next week and so far it looks like God has made this process pretty easy. About 3 minutes into the service my heart and my Lord simply said, "yes, this is where you are supposed to be right now."

birth-day.

I turned 23 yesterday. Or maybe by now it's 2 days ago...these mid twenties birthdays feel a little weird. Life feels like it goes by so much quicker then I remember when I was younger. It was a different sort of birthday. I spent most of the day by myself in our new apartment continuing to unpack and work while Matt worked. When he got home he brought me some nice suprises. The first season of PSYCH on DVD (secretly he wanted this for himself just as much as me so I think it was a mutually beneficial gift :) and a MASSIVE TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE. When I say this thing is chocolate, it's really chocolate. Like atleast 8 or so inches tall of pure chocolate covered in white chocolate shavings and chocolate frosting. So chocolate that Matt & I both have canker sores today from eating 1 piece. Oh heavenly chocolate.

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Before I continue on with my very action packed birthday evening, I wanted to share a completely unrelated photo of what my husband looks like when he wakes up in the morning. Someone looks a bit like a baby bird :)

So after salivating over my chocolate cake for a bit we decided to head up to Nashville to hang with the boys. I think until I meet some females here I'm doomed to hanging out with just boys. Atleast they are pretty cool guys :)

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Matt cutting up part of my cake to share. I took a normal photo and then Charlie asked me to retake it with this pose. Really, no one should have to see this in their lifetime...Looks like he's having a Charlie Jr. or we're just in the south. Oh how exciting is the iPhone. Sean, Adam and Ben.

Ashton is lame and is moving back to Houston as we speak so I took a photo of him making green bean casserole to preserve his memory in Nashville forever. Very epic.

After our cook-out in the rain we headed out to see the new Bond movie. I have to say that it is weird for me to be in a city and drive on interstates and realize that this is actually where I live. My whole life cities have been simply part of vacations or visits. Life feels new and different and covered in traffic.

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What I love about Nashville so far...

*digital cable with on-demand

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*having a gym within 30 seconds walking distance along with fresh chocolate chip cookies and tea (for Sundays of course :)

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*ridiculous amounts of shopping options (Ross, Marshall's, and Bed Bath & Beyond all right in a row...more on the beauty of Ross & Marshall's to come later as we spent about half our day in these 2 stores today)

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*knowing that if I wanted to try food from a restaurant I've never been to I have endless options living in the restaurant capital of the world. I've yet to actually exercise this option but I did have some Sonic which is good enough in itself.

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*feeling surrounded by new and different things where nothing is familiar and everything feels like a new opportunity.

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*our apartment and the fact that it is ours.

our 12 hour drive

Well, we made it. It took us about 12 hours to drive from Cedar Falls, Iowa to Murfreesboro, Tennessee with a 16 foot yellow Penske truck full of our crap towing our little red car behind. We started out around 6:45 am with freezing rain and pretty strong winds. We arrived sometime around 7 pm. It was a long day.
We drove right by the St. Louis arch...about the most exciting part of the drive. Tells you how exciting the drive through Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee is.

The sunset, at what seemed like 2 in the afternoon, was pretty. I thought it got dark early in Iowa but Nashville being farther east but still on Central time makes it get dark even earlier.

Finally we reached Nashville. It's a good 10 degrees warmer here than in Iowa but instead of snow it looks like it's just going to rain all winter.

Thankfully we had 4 of Matt's friends help us carry everything up our stairs. It took them less than 45 minutes to completely unload everything. 2 days later only about half of this room has been unpacked. I really thought this process would go quicker. And while I forgot to take a picture of our lovely yellow truck/car contraption I also forgot to take a photo of our help: the utterly famous Charlie Murphey, Jared from Subway, Issac and Justin. But we did take them out for dinner to Sonic. We're classy that way.

To assist with the unpacking process Matt came up with the genius idea of labeling boxes based on what room they belong in. Anything having to do with ALIENS belongs in the kitchen. This included, as seen below, an alien enema kit as well as things such as alien left ventricles. Anything going in the living room is some sort of HOLY RELIC including the Shroud of Turin, the Septor of King Herod and the Ark of the Covenant. Then Matt decided our bedroom should be labeled with PICTURES OF _____________'s MOM (we tried to include all of Matt's friends). Somehow this system failed as we couldn't really find anything without unpacking all the boxes.

So we're here. Our apartment is beautiful and the location is great. We love it so far and as soon as it doesn't look like a disaster zone I'll take some photos and share more about what it's like living here. P.S. How did I ever do without Comcast Cable On Demand? We've got thousands of movies, tv shows, sporting events, etc. to play whenever we want, included. Looks like something I definitely need :)

a place to call home

It's official. I'm entering a whole new stage in my life. And no, it's not the baby stage! Since Matt & I met when I was 13 and he was 14 we've never truly lived in the same state (that's like over 9 years of long distance dating/marriage). Even once we got married we've been commuting back and forth between his job as a pilot in Nashville and my photography business and family here in Iowa. We've finally decided that it's time for us to have our own "home" and try to actually live as a family as semi-normally as we can possibly manage. We'll still be doing our share of commuting as I still have my business with my mom in Iowa that is still going full force as well as working with Relevant out in Virginia but it is finally time for us to have a place that is just ours.

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So we're off to explore the wild blue yonder. Or atleast I feel like I am. Matt has lived on and off in Nashville all throughout college and for the last couple years since he has graduated and continued to work down there. From my visits I really enjoy the area and I am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

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So for all of you who have been wondering.

1. Yes, we're moving to Nashville. Next week. Ok, Matt will chide me if I say we're moving to Nashville. We're moving to the Nashville AREA but I think it's just easier to say Nashville because everyone knows where that is :) We're actually moving to Murfreesboro which is sort of a suburb south of Nashville.

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2. Yes, Art Of Light is still 100% in business and I will be back in Iowa for everything that I need to be there for. Since our business is about 75% on the computer it will be easy to work from wherever I am in the world.

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3. Yes, I would LOVE your prayers if you would like to offer them. I have never really lived away from Cedar Falls where my entire extended family has lived for generations and it will be a bittersweet time for me, adjusting to this new life. I am excited and nervous and completely ready for God to walk with us through this journey. Added bonus, we can't wait for people to come visit us :)

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Here are some pictures of our new "home". These obviously aren't our exact apartment but you get the idea. And I'll be sure to update with photos when we get all moved in.

God says yes.

God does not always answer prayers with "yes, I'll give you exactly what you think you want" or "yes, things are going to go your way" but I think He does answer every prayer. And I think He does answer every prayer in a positive fashion "yes, I'll give you exactly what you need" and "yes, I will love you and help you through this".

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Matt's surgery did not go as planned. In my mind I thought we'd go in at 7 am and we'd leave around noon with a fixed shoulder. I figured he'd be in pain but that by next week he'd be fine and ready for work. This is not what happened. Instead, we arrived at 7 am and did leave a little after 1 in the afternoon. But not with a fixed shoulder. We left with some pictures of the inside of his arm and a promise that he was going to need more serious surgery then what they had predicted. At this point it means he will be having surgery that will be him in an imobolizer for 1-3 months and some pretty intense physical therapy. He actually tore muscle away from bone and it looks like we'll be in for a little more than we bargained for. But I don't think God ignored our prayer or even said no to our requests. It was a hard day after he came out of surgery realizing that things hadn't gone our way and we could be in for some struggles with figuring out how Matt could work through 3 months of rehabilitation and how it would affect alot of aspects of our life that I won't go into right now. But today I feel very at peace with the whole situation. I've enjoyed washing my husband's hair and taking care of him and I know that God has the very best in mind for us.

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Matt's grandma passed away. She passed away with little suffering and I believe that our prayer for peace for the whole family was answered 10 fold. Matt's dad is on his way to New Zealand to spend some quality time with Matt's brother and we'll be having a memorial service for her after Christmas.
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I truly believe God answers EVERY prayer. My life this week has been testament to that.

prayer requests

tonight is a night for prayer requests. i've been a little MIA from the blog recently. all those parts of my life i will update the world on when things have settled a bit. for now, i'm asking for something that i often overlook myself. the power of prayer. so many times people will say "please pray for me for this" or "i will be praying for you" and it seems to be an automatic response that doesn't actually carry any weight behind it. do we REALLY pray? do we really allow god to be a part of our day or acknowledge that he has the power and desire to be a part of every little and big moment of our lives?

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now i am going back to the verse that i posted the other day because this chapter in philippians has been on my heart and with me for a couple weeks now. it is a strong commandment and promise.

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"in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. " philippians 4:6-7

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matt (that crazy husband of mine in the picture above) is having shoulder surgery tomorrow around 9 am. he tore a ligament in his shoulder a few months ago lifting weights. please pray that this surgery will be effective and that he will not have to have a more major reconstructive surgery to fix the problem. please pray that he recovers well and that there are no complications. as most of you probably know, matt had cancer when he was 16 so he is pretty used to being under the knife but it is never fun to have to go through surgery regardless. on that note, and in the spirit of praying to God in thanksgiving, matt has not had any issues related to his cancer in over 5 years. this is a huge blessing.

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on another note, matt's grandma kitty is in the hospital with complications from pnuemonia and cancer. unfortunately she is not improving and we are praying for peace for matt's family specifically matt's grandpa, dad and aunt. matt's dad is flying to new zealand on friday to spend time with matt's brother, david. please pray that god's love is with kitty and all of the family during this time and that god may be glorified throughout it all. matt's dad emailed us tonight to update us on her situation and it touched me to hear word of something beautiful amongst the pain. he shared how much it touched him to see his 85 year old dad completely devoted and unconditionally loving towards his mom. this in itself, that kind of love, is a gift from god, and a reason to pray in a spirit of thanksgiving.

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that is all for tonight.