Boatloads of change

There is a song by the Avett brothers that says "Shame, boatloads of Shame..."  For the longest time I thought it said, "Change, boatloads of change, day after day..."  That's the tune of our lives right now.  Every day brings about new challenges and new possibilities.  We are thrilled (and slightly terrified) with all that God has provided and the path he has set out before us.  We are wearing out the road between Edmond and Tulsa, having so much fun fixing up our new home: decorating, painting, placing our furniture, and keeping up the landscaping.  I am usually not a fan of Home Depot or Lowe's but lately I have even asked to go to those places!  Although moving and lots of life change can be stressful, I feel like we're right where God wants us.  Sometimes I just sit and think about the path is took to get here, the doubts and tears and delight and victory, and I am overwhelmed by God's direction and provision.
It's so easy to get bogged down by the cares and busyness of life.  I was reminded this morning in a message in Deuteronomy 6 where my priorities should remain.  First the author states that we shall love the LORD with all we are and all we have.  That the word should be on our hearts and we should teach them to our children, talk about them while sitting in our house, and when we're walking, lying down, and when we rise.  The author then reminds God's people that after he brought them out of slavery and provided for them on all sides that it is then that you should take care to not forget the LORD.  Conviction. I need Him every day.  I hate it when I get to the end of the day and have not spent time reading the Word.  I'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning.  It's my loss when I do not pray and learn from his life-giving Word. So... I'm working on it.
It's funny the things that happen when moving into a new (to us) home.  We found very random items in all rooms of the house: one men's dress shoe without laces, a balloon, bobby pins, eucalyptus leaves, empty wrappers, tons of dimes and pennys, etc.  The first week our water got turned off.  The second week our natural gas mistakingly got turn off.  This past weekend we spent two full days working in yard and painting.  It's funny how quickly I questioned, "Am I really that dirty?" when my only option is showering in ice cold water.  Brrrrr!
It has been and looks to be a rollercoaster year in our household.  Never a dull moment.

The new homestead.

I think we may be losing it.

Just after we closed on our Tulsa home!

Hopefully we can find a chair bigger than this, although we might compromise since it has OU on it.

Love the backyard!  Will be great for cookouts, football and Thunder game days.

Delight(full) April

Well tomorrow begins April and I already know it is going to fly by!  We have many fun things planned which I am thrilled to experience.  One of my bucket list items is being checked off this month.  I am going to attend a few days at the Masters golf tournament!  I can't believe it.  If you know anything about my family, you know I have grown up around golf, thanks to my amazing dad.  I learned how to drive a car by driving a golf cart.  Most of my summers were spent driving my golf cart to the pool with friends.  Sounds crazy.  I also LOVE going to the tournaments that come to Oklahoma.  I cannot wait to see the perfectly landscaped scenery and eat the food still priced from the 1970's.  Eeek what a dream come true!

We are also going to a concert in Tulsa starring the Avett Brothers at Brady Theater.  Growing up in Tulsa I never went to any venue at Brady, so I am delighted to finally attend a concert there.  I have heard great things about the experience.

We have recently found the home we will be living in when we move to Tulsa.  We are so excited and feel completely blessed to have found a great place to call home.  Tulsa has changed so much since I lived there 10 years ago!  Many days I have missed cycling or rollerblading on Riverside and picnicking at Woodward Park.  Tulsa also has many restaurants that we want to indulge in.  Our very favorite Mexican food restaurant from Dallas opened in Tulsa within the last year.  TBH (to be honest... haha) Mexican food restaurants were an integral part of our decision-making process on deciding where to go to Med school. Lol.  When I interviewed in Kansas City, we asked around about the where to get the best barbeque in KC.  We landed at Oklahoma Joe's.  And guess what... I recently learned that Tulsa now has Oklahoma Joe's!  I cannot believe it.  We love La Madeleine too, which is opening on Cherry St. soon.  (Can you tell we love to eat?!)

Saying that I graduated from high school ten years ago makes me feel REALLY old.  I cannot believe our reunion is this year!  I think Facebook makes the reunion a little different than it was years ago.  It's SO interesting how much life can change and also stay the same in ten years.  I hope I have time to sit and enjoy some tea/coffee with friends and catch up on their lives.  It is amazing to look back and see how small and significant decisions determine your life path.  What college to attend, what to major in, where to live, roommates, what sorority to chose, what classes to take, etc.  Seeing God's hand at work is mind-boggling at times.  I just have to trust in His hand and strive to keep my decisions honoring Him.

Sunshine and Fun times

Wow!  The weather in March this year really has been great in Oklahoma.  Since our summer last year was such a scorcher, the warm temperatures now make me a bit worried about the heat we might get this summer.  Oh well, I'll just enjoy what we have now!  Last weekend we spent all Saturday, literally 9:00-5:00, outside doing some much needed landscaping in our front yard.  Since we have lived here (three years now) we have not really ever paid any attention to our flower beds.  After the blazing heat of last summer, most of our shrubs were dead and crispy.  I enjoyed being out in the sun and working with the dirt last weekend.  When I was little I used to roll around in the mud as my dad did yard and garden work- I'm sure I was a huge help.  I probably would still play in the mud given the right opportunity!

We have some exciting trips coming up in March and April and they couldn't come at a better time!  I think it is so refreshing to escape from the everyday work and activities that can become routine.  Even if you cannot actually travel to a different location, I think you can find renewal at home.  Last week on a gorgeous day I found great refreshment just relaxing in our backyard with a book and the sunshine warming my face.  After a winter of multiple days indoors, the sunshine seriously warms the soul.  (It's great for Vitamin D too which is always a plus).  I forget how amazing it is just to be still, physically and mentally, and enjoy God's beauty, especially during busy times.  During those moments or on vacation I try to lay aside my baggage of worry and strive to find my deepest faith and enjoy God's goodness.  I remember these verses:
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the LORD your God."  Isaiah 43:2-3
"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" Psalm 34:8

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to take refuge in the Lord.  What does that look like?  Dictionary.com states that refuge is anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape; a place of shelter, protection, or safety.  When life throws blazing darts and obstacles in our paths, I am discovering that whatever is our refuge is the one we go to for protection or escape.  I think many times I just try to "be strong" and handle it on my own accord, and do not tap into the power of the one that is with me and lives in me.  I think faith takes courage and I am SO glad that God says He is our refuge and also the author and perfecter of our faith.  I am going to strive to make Him my escape.  How do you "take refuge in him?"

Changes

So many of you know the we will be moving this summer to Tulsa.  Steven and I both had formed an image of how we thought this journey would turn out.  We had both been praying for wisdom and clear direction from the Lord, and boy did we get it.  It just wasn't the way we were expecting.  We're not disappointed, just a bit dumbfounded.  We keep saying, "Is this really happening?" "I can't believe this is the plan God has for us."  We get really excited thinking about where we're going to live, what our house might be like, the new restaurants we'll have access to (Mi Cocina!!), the places we can exercise and walk our dogs, etc.  I have strange emotions concerning moving back to where I grew up.  It is the same town, but so much has changed too.  My parents no longer live there, friends have moved away, new doctor, new hair stylist, new dentist, new church, new tailor; EVERYTHING will be different for us in just a few months.  We will soon be putting our house on the market.  This will be our first experience selling a house.  There is so much apprehension on my part about all these pieces falling into place.  Whew!  This entire journey has included faith in God at each individual day-by-day step and I don't see that ceasing anytime soon.  I am grateful to serve a gracious God that is faithful and knows my weaknesses.  It is so easy to worry about the tomorrows coming up.  I keep trying to remind myself that His power is perfected in weakness; when I am weak He is strong.  

I also SO excited to begin actual medical school!  Learning so much!  Honestly, I hope I can keep up.  Anatomy lab will be a bit weird at first.  Participating in my first surgery too.  Woa!  I feel like this season of my life just went into warp speed in the past two weeks.  I hope I can just focus on what each day holds and take it one day at a time.  Trusting in God and believing that He is walking before us.  

I am so grateful to my family and friends that have been a part of this ride with me.  You do not know how much God has used you to encourage and uplift me.  I know that the road ahead of me will be challenging so I long for your prayers and affirming words.  To God be the glory GREAT things he has done!
BIG shout out to my mom who helped me declutter our house last week!!  Love you!

New Year with New Things

So I haven't updated my blog in SO long.  Life has been full of ups and downs and curvy roads of unknown destinations.  I am delighted to say that I was accepted to a few different medical schools and still have one interview left [this week!].  I truly have been surprised by the outcome and blessed beyond my imagination.  At the beginning of 2011 I felt as if I was stepping into an abyss of unknown possibilities.  I have now titled 2011 as "Wilderness of the unknown."  I hoped for confirmation from God of the path I felt He was leading me on.  I had to walk forward in faith trusting that God had spoken to me.  My faith led me to decisions that seemed crazy.  2011 was definitely one of the toughest years of my life, yet also one where I learned more about God's character, which I am so thankful for.  One thing I said (but feel horrible for) was "If I am walking in God's will, why do I feel so alone?"  I was basing that statement on circumstances that did not go the way I had planned.  The MCAT was my nemesis and I had to take it THREE times!  I had to wait SO long for interviews, and the first one I got was in an unexpected location.  Although the circumstances did not unravel the way I though they would, and many times I felt alone, I knew deep in my heart that God was working his plan.  There were a few unexpected obstacles along the way I faced that almost made me give up.  Road blocks that didn't make sense or brought me to my knees in fear and sorrow.
2012 feels a bit different so far.  I believe that through the wilderness and waiting strength was gained and courage was formed.  I came to know a resilience that I didn't know I had.  I have been learning about the Patriarchs in the new testament (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives) and have really been trying to decipher what God could teach me through their lives.  So I landed upon the life of Sarah, Abraham's wife, and the woman described in Proverbs 31.  I know I will never live up to the qualifications of the woman in Proverbs 31 (I will never make all my family's clothes, lol) or Sarah, for that matter, but I've learned that those women exuded strength, dignity, and courage.  The Bible says "You are Sarah's children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening" [1 Peter 3:6] and in Proverbs 31 "Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come."
So my goal for this year is to allow and ask God to help me "put off my old self and be renewed in the Spirit of my mind" so I can be a person clothed with strength that laughs at the time to come, not fearing anything that is frightening.
There is so much that lies ahead of us- for me and my husband.  It would be so easy to get chained up by fear.  I was led to this verse today "Behold I am doing a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." [Isaiah 43:19]  May we forget our past and hardships of former times and press on to the hope God has for us in 2012.  New things!  May we trust Him who holds the future.