six weeks of instagram

catching up on my last six weeks through instagram...

the bulk of my time has been teaching, homework, making communication systems for students and going to class...but hey eating pudding while i review reports isn't all too bad.

in my spare time {well the time that cuts into my sleep}...we finished projects around the house, i decorated for fall and we've been picking limes like crazy.

the weather finally cooled down enough to thoroughly enjoy my favorite salted caramel hot chocolate {always in a larger cup for the extra amazing'ness to be piled on}

a few fall themed projects at work, which includes sparkle pumpkins for those aren't too thrilled about pumpkin pulp texture.

i most definitely voted, then had a mock interview via skype for my sister's first vet school choice  later that night c:

God has kept me inspired by the little things in life.

and the boy has been doing car stuff, putting up with my crazy pinterest dreams i pinned during summer, playing with my label maker and just being plain amazing.

well there it is, life in the midst of the never ending schedule thanks to instagram c:

thanks jane, i've missed this!

life is burritoful

{and yes, a little plug in for the most delicious chipotle}

life is beautiful...and among all things, i am reminded of this in a little receipt on a night we decided to go out and just celebrate life. this has been a month of chaos, a month of change, a month of faith and a month of trust. it has truly been a time of giving and taking away. God has answered prayers we have been praying for over a year, yet He has chosen been to silent on the things currently stirring in my heart. but isn't it all just beautiful. their is beauty in the reliance we on Him to answer prayers in His perfect timing because it is just simply perfect, whether we understand it at the time or not. i am thankful for his grace, thankful for the desires He places in my heart and so incredibly thankful for His time.

~ecclesiastes 3:11

double blessings in psalms

last night as i was slipping into my covers 

and getting ready to say good night to the world, i was stopped. not physically stopped, but paused to listen to my heart. i heard a simple phrase, you should read your bible. hmmm...i thought, i usually don't read before bed {because i often fall asleep}, so i continued to wrap myself in my comforter but it just didn't feel right and i heard that soft whisper again. that's when i knew, this must be a God thing. i relinquished my sheets, jumped out bed and grabbed my bible. i began thumbing though the pages with this sweet girl, not really sure what i was looking for. i stumbled upon the book of psalms, david always seems to have good stuff to say so i began reading at psalm thirty`five. much of the next few chapters were beautiful and comforting reads about how big our God is. the verses were highlighted, underlined with squiggles and the occasional heart from my past reads. as i was going through psalm thirty`seven, i immediately had a dear friend come to mind and a tugging on my heart to share these verses with her. and i did just that, i shot her a quick text in case she was sleeping. ready for the God story? she wasn't sleeping, within minutes i received a response. at that moment she was looking up verses about giving fear to God and she had goosebumps that He laid that on my heart to share with her. how incredible is our God? how He goes out of His way to comfort and gently remind us that He is in control. ready for God story number two? then today on my break between student teaching and work, i read this passage again and God unraveled things in my own heart that needed change...double blessing. so glad i had faith in that soft voice and grabbed my bible instead of my pillow last night c:

psalm 37:1-9

do not fret because of those who are evil

or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither, 

like green plants they will soon die away.

trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

take delight in the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

commit your way to the Lord;

trust in Him and He will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, 

your vindication like the noonday sun. 

be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways, 

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

refrain from anger and turn from wrath; 

do not fret - it only leads to evil.

for those who are evil will be destroyed,

but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 

psalm 37:23, 24

the Lord makes firm the steps

of those who delight in him;

though they stumble, they will not fall,

for the Lord upholds them with His hand. 

hmmm...how many times did he say, 'do not fret'? and how often am i fretting about everything. at the end of verse eight it says, 'do not fret - it only leads to evil'. the very moment i begin to worry and agonize is the same moment i begin to doubt, question, blame others and/or let it affect my attitude...all of which leads me farther away from God. i especially love and take comfort in these words, 'though they may stumble, they will not fall'  because i am an imperfect person and i stumble and get stuck in routines often. i am so incredibly thankful that God scoops me up and gets me back on my feet every time, every day. 

God is bigger than our house

we have been house shopping since the beginning of the year, somehow cramming in at least one meeting a week with our realtor driving around the areas we wish we could afford and those we couldn't drive out of fast enough. there would be houses with great features but just a couple things that make us say bleh. then other possible homes we would walk into and see the potential. before each house hunting date, the boy and i prayed. we prayed HE would decide where we lived, where our future children would play, where our marriage would continue to grow, the house that would be used for His glory and blessing others. then it happened, about forty houses into our search we stepped into a house that caused our hearts to say yes, this is it.

it was God's house from the beginning, here's how the day went {eighty~eight days ago}. it was a saturday and i had just gotten off work. we decided that after looking at houses that day we would take a break because the boy was leaving on sunday for a few weeks of coastie training and i didn't want to go house hunting without him for the obvious reasons. as we were walking out of the door i got an update on my phone of a house that literally just went on the market. i glanced over the pictures and got excited...as i usually do about everything. we were able to fit it in as the last and final house we looked at. this house was in the perfect area, a place we were pretty iffy on if we could afford. it was cute, small and everything we wanted. and now the boy was the one getting a little excited about what we came across. i remember just looking at him, both of us sporting ridiculously large grins and knowing this was our home. so we did it, we wrote up our best offer we could give...going a little over asking price and volunteering to pay for items that are usually the seller's responsibility. i even typed up a little paragraph about who we were and how in love we were with the place, to add a little fluff c: we wanted this house, but most importantly we felt God tug on our hearts. 

fast forward about two and a half months now, purchasing this house has been like riding a never`ever`ever ending roller coaster that had up's and down's every single day. ends up the seller is a scam artist and her real estate agent was her sidekick. in the beginning it was a traditional seller with a wonderful family ....um no. that's the act they were playing, really she flips houses for a living. which is all fine and dandy, minus the fact she lied through her teeth every occasion she got and attempted to weasel us out of every penny left in our newly~wed savings. but we felt lead to this house, so we pushed forward, never gave up hope and held on tight for the ride. we prayed about every decision we made. some of her demands, we felt at peace about paying...but others we said no and miraculously she agreed to our biggest requests. God's hand was in the entire process and like always, he followed through on his promise.

alright now that i made you read first...here are some pictures.

 the night we got our keys.

opening the door for the first time and our first cooked frozen pizza meal c:

the boy was a little over taking pictures at that point...can you tell?

i cannot even tally the number of times things went drastically wrong when we were in escrow
but God is SO GOOD. 
He was bigger than every problem we encounter and stayed true.
this truly is His house and we are incredibly blessed to be apart of His plan. 

trading tv for worship

i love having background noise. while doing homework.chores.cleaning.cooking.crafting. lately my background noise has been tv shows on netflix...episode after episode has been playing the past few weeks while i go about doing whatever needed to be done around the house. a couple days ago i came home from work to the boy playing 'how he loves us' on his guitar. i felt a tug on my heart. a thought popped into my head, 'now this is background noise'. he continued to play while i cooked dinner and i reflected on these last weeks. there has been a difference in my attitude.thoughts.perspective. i decided to substitute my tv shows for worship music for a week...it's been four days now, and i can't even begin to say how much of a blessing it's been. i've added david crowder band's 'how he loves us' with the lyrics...i can seriously have this song on repeat for hours.

my world in Your hands

there has been so much uncertainty in our lives lately

trying to make decisions based on 
what we want, our future and what is expected of us

feelings of unfairness, frustration and no control

for a girl who loves planning, her to do lists and being prepared

uncertainty and the unknown is really difficult.

but while praying this song came on

You hold my every moment

You calm my raging seas

You walk with me through fire

and heal all my disease

i trust in You

i trust in You

i believe You're my Healer

i believe You are all i need

i believe You're my Portion

i believe You're more than enough for me

Jesus You're all i need

Nothing is impossible for You

Nothing is impossible for You

Nothing is impossible for You

You hold my world in Your hands

healer by hillsong

You hold my world in Your hands

i'm not sure if it can get any more powerful than that.

then God tugged on my heart and i was reminded of the verse

"...when i was woven together in the depths of the earth,

Your eyes saw my unformed body.

all my days were ordained for me were written in Your book

before one of them came to be."

psalm 139:15

this lead me to another favorite passage

"look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in the barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

are you not much more valuable than they?

can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

...but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be given to you as well.

therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about itself."

matthew 6:26, 33-34

God knows what will take place every day of my life

i may not know, there will be uncertainty

but God knows, and there is such a comfort in that.

it's not my job to be worrying about these things

but to live righteously through him

when that happens, God's plan will unfold.

a break to blog

my breaks lately have been defined as

a chance to do the dishes, fold laundry or clean up the house

but i call them my breaks because i treat myself to hulu while i'm completing these chores :)

today has been a little caddywhompus

i had a make up session scheduled and canceled

then tried fitting in a student to run assessments but that didn't happen

then work meetings being postponed and then last minute texts of 'we're back on'

currently i'm at starbucks after my meeting, killing time and putting off some overdue reading..

since everything else has been crazy

i decided to push my to do list aside and visit some of my favorite blogs

and do a quick recap on my life.

visiting virginia

i believe i mentioned this but just in case...it was pure perfection :)

i started my post on it but have only gotten to day two

...it will be up soon...

romans chapter twelve

this chapter has been on my heart so much lately

i feel as if i can read it over and over and still pull something new from it

not conforming to the patterns of this world

staying humble and recognizing God's work through me

love as an action

with the craziness of life, getting all my assignments and work days complete

i sometimes forget that my day should be full of serving and loving others

i want to be different from the world, i want God to shine through me in everything i do

i LOVE this chapter.

birthdays

luckily i have several november birthdays coming up

an excuse to bake and craft, which i've been deprived up lately

i have loved these cake pops every since i saw them at starbucks...

of course i found the recipe on pinterest and will be attempting them soon.

husband winning

so i have received yet another present surprise from the boy last night

{that's three for him and only two for me}

my phone is my lifeline to work, school and most importantly 

my boy

but because i'm on it constantly, it's always dying :(

so he bought me a mobile power pack external battery thing

...not going to lie, i'm not tech savvy at all...

luckily the boy is, he said that i can recharge my phone up to four times 

with this dodad...just plug it in in my purse and i'm set...sweet!

and...it came with a velvet pouch... i scored.

you can see miss lynnee loves it too :)

yup, that boy is the best.

things i love: thursdays

so i'm thinking about starting a weekly post about the little things in life

you know..the things that just make you smile?

i thought it would:

a) keep me accountable for at least one blog a week

b) keep me positive about those little things i love

plus if i ever fall behind 

since 'things' starts with a 't'

it could always be 'things i love: tuesday'

yup...i thought that one out.

that sums it up

it was fun catching up

i'm off to a case to train a new tutor :)

happy hump day!

holy toledo sunday again

this week has been class, student teaching, studying, work, and NONSTOP homework

but it's all been focused on the boy

why?

because i leave in four days  to see him!

holy toledo it's going to be worth it.

i am caught up and almost ahead to where i need to be

so my days with my hubby can be focused on us and only US.

it is sunday again.

last sunday i took the morning off, focusing on God and enjoying the little things.

it most definitely paid off, because i could have not accomplished my week with out Him.

this sunday is a little different.

decided to catch up on my neglected blogs instead of working out :)

it's probably going to be a makeup~less and sweats day

and just a LITTLE less homework and a little more trip planning

but

my perfect caramel salted hot chocolate with all the extra amazingness 

will still come when i hit up my study group later this evening.

so all is good and right in my world. 

enjoy your sunday. let God use you in amazing ways.

{once this post goes up i'm back to obeying my crazy to do list}

sunday

i woke up this morning with sun streaming in my window, birds chirping and lynnee attacking the mirror on our wardrobe :)  after last nights reflection, i felt it on my heart to take some time to enjoy the little things.

i laid in bed for a half an hour, cuddled with lynnee and talked to my God.

then went to the gym...seriously haven't ran in months and it felt so good!

afterwards i went ran over to the store and bought new toothpaste 

{i accidentally bought the gross flavor last week, tried to ignore it and deal, but just couldn't}

i saw a bouquet of lilies and got them for the house

aren't they pretty and perfect?

i slowly drank and enjoyed my coffee in a pretty cup while getting ready

usually my morning coffee is thrown in a traveling mug

and gulped down on my way teaching

i also took the extra minutes for eye shadow...oh la la

still had some time before church so i played with lynnee

who had been following me around all morning

church was amazing. worship was perfect.

i decided to take the back roads home, so much prettier and curvier than the highway

listened to the music my boy had sent me and drove by all of God's beautiful creation

i saw starbucks on the way home and knew it was time for my salted caramel hot chocolate

i had been waiting for the weather to cool down just a little more...

but today i was going to settle with 70 degrees and get it

oh was it perfection

i asked for a tall salted caramel hot chocolate with extra whip, extra caramel and extra salt

bless her heart she put it in a grande cup to insure my extra amazingness

i couldn't resist and took a sip before taking a picture

i saw this sign and thought it was pretty cute... :)

came home, lit a candle and it's homework time

still doing it now...just took a little break

it was so refreshing taking that little time off, away from the worries of homework

putting God first and taking sometime for myself

my homework has been whizzing by...seriously all my readings made sense, my responses and papers have been just flowing perfectly. i'm actually caught up on what's due this week already and working on getting ahead right now. life is so much easier when God comes first.

oh, plus the boy had an extra duty day and studying

but

we still got to have some skype time and watched our favorite show

parks and recreation together.

yup, today was pretty amazing and renewing. just what i needed. 

god's to do list

the past few weeks i've been a little distant from God

distracted by the craziness of life and not seeking him everyday

only calling upon him when i think i need him 

i've been attempting to accomplish my to do list by myself, and solely myself

my mindset has been the following:

i'm working hard to be a good steward with what God has given me

if i put off devotions it's only because i'm trying to bring Him glory by doing my best at school and work

hmm...what sounds wrong with this?

i

oh but i did not realize this on my own

last night i was making my to do list on all the things that needed to be done before i left to see the boy

makeup sessions for work, papers and assignments due during my trip

i was beginning to feel overwhelmed

lindsay, why don't you let me help?

i stopped writing. 

my initial response was, well because i can do it myself

but then i reflected that every time i try to do things myself, things are harder

when i involve God, my things are lighter

i set aside my list and began to pray

i prayed that God would fix my mindset

i prayed that God would tell me the next step

put me first before your things, and i'll make sure your things are accomplished

{yup He definitely said 'things' because in my prayer i kept referring to them as all my 'things'}

it's so easy to get caught up with life
i feel like i put so many of my tasks as my priority
it's amazing how easily i forget to put the one who saved me first in my life

so blessed to have a God who loves me despite my craziness and my neglectfulness
He loves me enough to remind me, forgive me and never leave me
{how stinkin' amazing is his grace?}
God is most definitely number one on my to do list again.

so spoiled. so stoked!

so originally the plan was to visit the boy half way through training

but then the craziness of my new program was added to my work schedule and it looked near to impossible

not to mention it would cost a pretty penny to go visit him for such a short period

...but then we found out we got separation pay...
{you can tell we're newbies huh?}

 so we prayed
and i had a mini meltdown on skype
so we prayed some more

the next morning i re-looked into the possibility of going..

there were better flight options

professors pushed backed assignments 

and

some of my cases at work didn't have enough hours for october
aka..i am obligated to take time off

so i think it's a little obvious...but i'll go ahead and state the obvious

i'm going to see my boy!


i feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity. i know a deployment is in our future...so i am going to take full advantage of him being away from me in the states and having the freedom to just hop on a plane to see him.

so spoiled to have such an amazing husband.
so spoiled to have god help path a way for this trip.
so SO stoked to see my boy!

{seriously i haven't stopped smiling since last night when i booked the flight}

:)

gift in an email

What a week. School is kicking my butt.

For my own sanity I'm taking a break. One hour free from textbooks, work, reorganizing my schedule and the messy kitchen. An hour to enjoy a glass of merlot, cuddle with the Lynnee and catch up on blog world. 

..................................................

The other day I got an email  from Amazon....instantly got a yucky feeling because I was waiting for a textbook to arrive and thought it was another message delaying its arrival.. Instead the subject said, " a gift from 'the boy' ". Hmmmmm.

I opened the email and it was the MP3 of the Limbs And Branches tracks by Jon Foreman and a very VERY sweet message from my boy. 

My favorite song on the CD.

Your Love is Strong has been on repeat in my car, on my phone and in my house. It has been lifting me up on a daily basis and gotten me through this past week. So simple, so perfect and I love scripture in songs. 

THANK YOU boy for my perfect gift.

He always seems to know just what I need.

boy oh boy

I miss that boy.

I'm thankful it's only fourteen weeks, I'm thankful there's only a country instead of an ocean in between us and I'm very thankful he's safe. I know that other wives and families have it worse right now. I also know that we have a deployment in our future, so right now is the easier time. 

But I still miss him. 

Life is getting busier. Days are jam packed with student teaching, attending night classes, work...so my days fly by. My days flying cause my weeks to fly by which feels like the date of seeing that amazing boy of mine comes sooner.

But with that time flying perk comes with con's.

Typical days go from very early mornings to sometimes very late evenings...add in a time difference of three hours and there is limited opportunities for phone, skype and even instant message dates. 

Life just gets lonely without the boy.

When your use to having your best friend, your love, the one who can always make you laugh, the one who knows you best, encourages you, comforts you...when you're use to having them in person to kiss and love and talk to face to face everyday, then it turns into five minutes on the phone here and there...its kind of super extremely lame...the say the least. 

Some days are easier than others, some hours are harder than others. And during the hard and easy minutes, I think about the fact that I wouldn't trade it for anything. Several days ago God reminded me of that...I was having one of those missed calls kind of days, and became a little teary-eyed so I asked for a little strength. I was filled with memories, my life since I met that boy, everything we have over come, our friendship and how much I am in cheesy sappy love with him :) It was a tad overwhelming but so humbling. I wouldn't trade any of the struggles and hardships for what we have.

So thankful for God's gentle reminders. So thankful for our fourteen weeks. So thankful for the life my boy and I share.

god sent 846 candles

MY whole life God has been shaping and molding me to fit His perfect plan. All this has happened in both ways I have come to realize and ways I haven't come to understand yet. For these past few weeks, the path God had called me on became rough and bumpy. Doors seemed to close left and right, and I began to DOUBT. Doubt that I had heard God incorrectly and even doubt that God knew what He was doing. Yes, I was being very very human.

WALKED into church this Sunday...lights dimmed low, hundreds of candles lit and only a guitar propped up on stage. Worship began, acoustic guitar played old hymns and soft music. I sang to my Jesus and questioned the direction I was going...was I doing what He wanted? 

WHILE quietly listening to the church sing, I saw myself. I was in a special needs classroom going over our daily schedule. In this stillness I heard, "Yes Lindsay, this is right". Everything at that moment felt right, and feeling right was a great feeling. Yet, the human I am asked God for another CONFIRMATION. Confirmation that what I was hearing was truly Him and not in my head. 

AFTER worship and announcements had passed, the Pastor asked all the TEACHERS to stand up. He felt lead to lift up and pray over the educators in our community. The prayer he prayed were made up of the same words God spoke to me a year ago. Another tug on my heart and I heard, "This is the change I want you to make". 

CAN you say CONFIRMED?

I am in awe of how much my God loves me.

Personally loves me.