Our Blessing

Sorry for the crappy picture. But this is the first furniture purchase Larry and I have made in 5 minutes. We were at Rooms To Go Outlet getting a coffee table with our friends and decided to looks for some end tables and we came across this beauty. Now she's not much from this angle, but believe me, they are beautiful and in great condition. Larry and I saw it, looked at each other, looked at the price and we knew we wanted it. I even bargained with the lady at the store for a lower price. That was it, they were ours! YeAH!! But let me fill you in on how this usually goes. Larry and I decided we need to buy a certain piece of furniture. So, we set up a observation day, where we go to every store that might have what we want looking and recording prices. Now during this time, that usually takes an entire day, there is no thought of even buying. It is purely to decide what we want, which usually takes some arguing, I mean compromising. We are also looking for the best deal, because Larry and I are sticklers with money. Then once we have seen all that we can, we reconvene to discuss what our options are. Basically this takes usually 1 - 2 months, and we did it in 5 minutes. Oh, us newlyweds are growing up so fast.

Until next time.

xoxoxo

Manda

Finally Fitting in my own shoes

I am really starting to feel like Larry and I are supposed to be in South Carolina. We are finally at peace with being where we are at, which never happens when you have two adventure seekers. We found a new church called New River community church. It was by far the friendliest church I have ever been in. They really made you feel welcomed and they are starting a new series on themselves as a church and what their mission is. The pastor said something on Sunday that really stuck with me. He said, "You do all that you can do, and God will do all that he can do." And I think a lot of times we wait for God to step in and take over, when we should be sprinting and running hard living the life we are supposed to live. Treating others with compassion, love, truth and grace. God will intervene and show up when he needs to. The illustration he gave was about Jesus feeding 5,000 with 2 loaves of bread and 5 fish. God said, "Go and feed the people" and the disciples did, they had enough for everyone. I wish I trusted God when he sends me out with 2 loaves and expects me to feed 5,000. I need to take more risks for God. This is going to be it. Living in South Carolina, being a 4th grade teacher, and joining a small group. I am going to do all that I can do for him, the Creator and beloved of my life.

Larry and I have really made an effort to make a life for ourselves in South Carolina, especially with making friends. At my school, I have a small number of girls that are around my age without children, these are the women I have clung to. Quite perfectly, all of their husbands and Larry get along fabulous. I never realized how much time and effort it takes to really start and build friendships with people. Recently I made a huge mistake with one of the girls and lied to her about something really trival. I realized that I am more prideful and mindful of what people think of me, that I am about being true to what God says and that is "The Truth will set you Free". Long story short, after a close friend reminded me of this truth, I came clean with the friend, which was awful, but I'm so glad I did, because I need to cling to what is Truth and what is pure if nothing else. Stay true to the one who set you free. I am so grateful for Jesus, our ultimate Savior, who gives eternal grace.

Too Many Dreams

I always feel antsy and anxious to move on to the next big thing. I try to tell myself that I am so passionate for God that I want to serve him in any and every way that I can. But on the other hand, maybe my life has been just this charade of never getting attached to anything, always moving around and never settling down. I never felt like I was settling down with Larry. He was a guy that I knew I wanted to be around and be near. He gave off such an amazing energy that I knew I wanted to be running next to him for the rest of my life. Ever since I moved to South Carolina, I have been itching to move home to Michigan. But for the past four years in Michigan, I have been itching to move somewhere out of state. And now I am running my brain to figure out where I want to go next. I always believed that I liked staying in one place and setlling down, but something inside me gets excited at the thought of a new adventure. I want to be used in a powerful way by God. I want to meet people that God wants me to interact with. I want to serve him with my whole heart and I want to lay my dreams and recognitions down at his feet. I feel humbled at the thought of laying down my teaching career. You work your whole life for a degree to do what you are really passionate about (teaching). And then I realized that it doesn't mean that God can't have his hands in my lifelong dream of being a teacher. So, I am praying about my next move as a teacher and as a resident of South Carolina, waiting for my call from my Savior.

My First Blog

I have always wanted a place to share my thoughts. In college, I always wrote in a prayer journal but it always bothered me to write with a pencil. I found my mind going a mile a minute while my hand could only go so fast. I thought it would be so much easier just to state my requests to God than to write them all down. It was faster and lets face it, in a world of immediate satisfaction it was just so much easier. But the idea of a blog was put heavy on my heart. I have never been interested in one before. I always thought no one would want to read what I have to say and I really didn't have that much self worth to think that I had anything significant to say. But then I realized how much I think about things on a daily basis and how many random thoughts come into my mind. That's when the blog idea came up. What if I had a place where I could write all my random thoughts down? Only it wouldn't be writing and the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I needed to start my journey written (typed) down for God, myself and the world to see. So, this is only the beginning.