Saturday, August 25, 2012

Praise the Lord, O My Soul

We have been in Louisville for 4 weeks now.

We're pretty well settled into our apartment. The only room I have left with full boxes (other than the boxes of books still awaiting bookshelves) is our bedroom and I've been searching everywhere for my motivation to finish that, with no luck. But we definitely feel at home here.

Now that we've been here a few weeks and are settling in, I am noticing some expectations that I've had for this move and this season of our life that I had sworn I didn't have. I've been through a bit of a cycle of getting frustrated, losing my temper, whining, getting depressed, realizing I'm being ridiculous, repenting, and ruling my soul.

One of the biggest expectations I've had has been expecting this job that Tom had been pursuing to be the answer to all of our financial woes. Boy was I mistaken. Turned out the job is only commission, an independent contractor position, and Tom has to find all of his own leads. So far he has made a grand total of $125 in the 4 weeks we have been here and has spent more than that in gas and supplies. So now he is only doing that part time, hoping that he can get some deals going, and he has started working for pennies as a security officer overnights at a university hospital. Needless to say, I had to swallow my pride and repent, rule my soul and trust my husband and my Lord.

Just like every other period of job hunting and financial struggle, it seems many costly things come up. The Pontiac is out of service for now, having problems with the coolant reservoir. We replaced the reservoir with some help from a friend, but now the coolant is leaking from some yet to be determined location. So we are down to one vehicle until we can get the car looked at. With Kylee starting school we have had to get her uniform clothes, supplies, and now need to buy her new shoes. Then there was the whole me losing my phone thing... And now we are getting to the point that we need to get our Kentucky driver's licenses and register our vehicles and get in-state car insurance. The expenses seem to be piling up and the income is not. Thankfully we were approved for Kylee to receive free breakfast and lunch at school, which is definitely a big help.

But this is all the goodness of the Lord! We did know walking into this that it would be hard and we would be walking by faith. Every day I have to make the choice to not look at the things around me in the physical and trust my heavenly Daddy to take care of me. I'm holding on to the promises I find in His Word that echo in my spirit. One such promise is in Isaiah 26:3 - "You will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!"

I am resting in that perfect peace, keeping my eyes on Jesus. I am thankful for all of the wonderful gifts the Father has so graciously given and I trust Him to work everything out for our good so that we can continue on His mission here in the Highlands with Destiny Church.

The most rewarding aspect of our time here thus far is building relationships with the beautiful people at Destiny. We are overwhelmed with their joy and love and faith. Every opportunity we have had to get to know each of them more has been greatly cherished. What an incredible blessing to be in fellowship with such amazing brothers and sisters!

So there is a bit of an update for you all. Thank you everyone for all of your prayers, love, support, and encouragement as we continue to serve the Lord and His people in this community.

Here is a short video to make you smile:


Saturday, August 11, 2012

1 Corinthians 9:27

Maybe it's the lower altitude, which means more air weighing me down?

Maybe it's the fact that, for the first time in over a year, we are actually drying our clothes in a dryer?

Maybe it's still leftover weight from my last pregnancy that I've been trying to ignore for almost 2 years now?

Or maybe I'm just gaining weight. I don't have a scale to verify that theory, though. (Is there an iPhone app that I can use to weigh myself by standing on my phone??)

Whatever the reason, my clothes seem to be fitting a little more snug than usual. I'm slightly shocked because now we have a million stairs in our home that I climb and descend numerous times a day, we are pretty tight on money so extra snacking is a luxury we can't afford, and my full time job now is to wrangle my children and keep my house in order.

But, alas, my muffin top does not lie.

And so, to Jillian Michaels I turn, with my faithful companion and fellow sufferer by my side. Tom and I blew the dust off of her "The Biggest Winner!" 5-DVD boxed set (that we acquired for free some time ago), strapped on our sneakers, filled our water bottles, and enjoyed a nice, affordable butt-whipping.

Now I don't think I ever want to move again. Perhaps, for Tom's sake, I should take a shower before dragging my beaten bones to bed...

And maybe, just maybe, we will do it all over again tomorrow.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

One Week

We've been in Louisville for one week now. We're settling in pretty well. Almost done unpacking, which feels great! We just need some furniture like bookshelves and a desk to finish up.

The apartment is just big enough for the five of us. The girls love their big room that has enough room for sleeping and playing. It's kind of like their own little getaway upstairs. I'm adjusting to not having a dishwasher and only having one bathroom. Tom's man heart is loving all of the little projects he's needed to do. Josiah is finally sleeping in his room, but still hasn't slept in his bed. He's made a habit out of sleeping on his floor against the door. Poor little dude is having the hardest time adjusting.

Tom's job turned out to be different than what we were expecting, but for now he is giving it a try. He seems to be starting out great, which is encouraging. I'll let him tell of what he is doing and how he likes it.

I've had a few moments of being overwhelmed with the house, with the kids, with all of the logistics like getting Kylee set up for school and needing to figure out insurance. Tom has been great about speaking peace and grace over me and helping me where he can. The hardest thing has been Josiah's struggle with adjusting. He has been incredibly clingy and needy. It's completely understandable; this is a big change for such a little guy! Prayers for his dear, sweet heart would be much appreciated. This mama is exhausted! Thankfully there are amazing people in our church family at Destiny who have reached out to help with the kids and who have helped answer my questions about figuring out the logistics. I am more than blessed!

Speaking of Destiny Church: I LOVE being here in person and getting to know these amazing people! Our hearts are near bursting with love and joy for the people the Lord has called us to serve. I am looking forward to being in a more "normal" state in our house so we can have more time and space to connect with them. *happy sigh*



I love living in Louisville! This is such a beautiful city with so much to do. We enjoy living on Bardstown Road and being able to walk to shops and restaurants and even the church building. The people are great and I am even getting used to the very different style of driving. It will take some time for me to learn my way around, but I am so grateful for the Google Maps app on my phone in the meantime! I absolutely love all of the beautiful architecture and the plethora of green foliage here.



The mini people are still amazing. They bring me so much joy! I love that I have all of my time to take care of them and order our household. Kylee is super excited to start school in two weeks Chloe is sad that she doesn't get to start school yet and has assured me that she is happy I get to stay home with her but she is sad Kylee won't be home with her anymore. Josiah, despite all of his clingy-ness and troubles, is still absolutely hilarious. He talks all the time now and is climbing all over everything - including bathroom and kitchen cabinets. It blesses my mama heart that all 3 of them get along so well and dote on each other all day long. I love listening to their chatter and laughter as they play in Siah's room or eat lunch together. My heart is so full.