Napoleon

So we got a dog. We have always talked of getting a dog, and even came really close to getting one when we lived in Columbia (but found out- although not stated in our lease- that our apartment didn't allow dogs). Since we moved, and now have a house, we talked about it more and more. But everyday it was different: some days we were DEFINITELY going to get a dog, other days we COMPLETELY decided against it.

Regardless I was always looking online at puppies... because it is fun whether you're getting a dog or not. :) Danny and I are pretty similar in what we like as far as breeds go, although I like both small and big dogs- and Danny wants the biggest.

Well we had just decided the week before that we just WEREN'T going to get a dog, as we were trying to scrunch our budget yet again (trying to learn to live on as little as possible- this being a personal choice and not because we are poor missionaries- HAHA just want to make it clear that Crusade- through our supporters- provides well).

It was a moment of weakness- and talking about it for 5 years now, it was bound to happen sometime! And honestly I am not surprised that it took us for sure saying we weren't going to do it, that we actually bit the bullet and got a dog.

As you all know we have been trying for a baby for awhile now, and there are days where I am so sad that it hasn't happened yet, and days where I am like WOOHOO thank goodness we don't have that responsibility yet! After 5 years of no responsibility outside of ourselves (and not to sound too cliche) I thought we needed this. We need something to think about outside of ourselves, even if it is just a dog.

We now have to think about who will get up first in the mornings- especially since he is a puppy, one of us has to be with him at all times if he isn't kennel'ed. So who's getting up, who's taking him out to pee, again, and again, and again, what time should we leave the party to go let him out, should I call my mom and ask? Can we bring him along? Should we wet his food down so it is softer for him to chew, should we leave it? Is he having diarrhea, should I call my mom, should we spank him, or put him in a box when he pees in the house? How should we clean his pee up? Should I call my mom? Where is the towel, where is his chew toy, where is his blanket, did he pee on his blanket? Where is his bone, have you seen his tennis ball? Should I call my mom?

We are always trying to not be "that couple", but I guess this time it's okay if we get that label... because it's true.

We want a baby, and while waiting for the Lord's timing.... we got a dog. And although it pales in comaprison to what having a baby will be, for now we love our new responsibility, and addition to our family.

His name is Napoleon.

Today is the Last Day of Summer

"Don't you just love...fall? It makes me want to shop for back to school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." Shopgirl

I can hardly contain my excitement that tomorrow officially marks the first day of fall, thus what I have been longing for the entire month of September will actually be true. My most FAVORITE season I am so excited for you!!

Some of my favorite things about fall:

Apple Orchards,Cooking with apples AND pumpkins, Cool enough weather for jeans and a jacket - but no coat yet! Bonfires, Apple Cider on the stove, Candles that smell like cinnamon, or pumpkin, or apples (you see the trend here :) Windows open, Snuggling, Trees changing color, It's the Eve of the Christmas season, Back to school- yes secretly I love(d) school, MU football, Chief's football, Well just football season in general :) Eating Chili on Sunday afternoons while watching football, The Shryock Corn Maze, Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, any fall festivals, ... I could go on and on :)

Tonight if you get the chance you should go outside at dusk and see the Super Harvest Moon. Apparently it only happens every 20 years. You can read about it here: https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/

Here's a quick update on life. We are super close to our support being finished with just over $700/month left to raise. We found out that we get to go on Fall Retreat this weekend, seeing as we are so close to being finished (not supposed to do any ministry until we are fully funded- but they gave us an okay!) and are so excited about that. Fall Retreat is a weekend where students get to "get away" from school and their campuses and spend the weekend hanging out (Missouri schools go to Turkey Hill Bible Ranch ) hearing God's Word, worshipping, playing sports and connecting with other students. We are so excited to get to be there and begin building relationships with students. It is THIS weekend, so we are pretty excited.

Danny and I are continuing to look for a church home here and are hoping that God shows us one soon. We really want to begin plugging into community here.

Danny's brother Kenny got engaged this month, and we are just so excited for he and Brenda. Brenda is my age and (WOOT) an MU grad!! so of course she already feels like family :)

Still trying for that baby! It's been about 8 months, crazy to think that if we had gotten pregnant right away we would be due soon! WHOA! Trusting in God's timing.

Please keep us in your prayers. And pray for my sister Mary, that she would find her strength in the Lord.

Thank you for your friendship!

Nic

Life is Busy

Sorry for the lack of post in July.

Let me summarize. :) Working on the house, working on support, working on the house, working on support, working on the house..... :)

In the last week of June and first week of July our support jumped from 70% to 80% in about 2 weeks. We couldn't believe it. Danny was calling it "Christmas in July"! Honestly I really believed that the rest of our support was just going to pour in over the following couple of weeks. God has other plans. It was last Thursday, going on the 3rd week of still being around the 80% mark (we had been at 82% and then lost some support) that I found myself in a heap of tears, crying to the Lord.

"Lord, but THIS is the way our support was going to come in, all these contacts in Springfield (only 1 responded to meeting with us) were supposed to want to meet us, and they were going to partner with us, and these people we are waiting on for decisions are all going to come on for BIG amounts and God THIS is the way we were going to be DONE by August!"

And the Lord gently showed me that "No, this was YOUR plan, I never promised this was the way I WOULD do it." Isaiah 55:8 says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways", declares the Lord.

Humbled.

The Lord prompted me to come and pray. Danny and I spent the afternoon in the MSU Crusade office praying to God, asking for direction. He answered.

In May (maybe April) Danny had the thought to count how many supporters we have that are our prayer partners, but are not financial partners. It was almost 150. He thought if every one of these people did partner with us financially, at only $5 a month, that would = nearly $750 in monthly support, if they partnered at $10 a month, almost $1500! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? We thought and prayed about sending out an ask to these supporters, but were hesitant because most of these have stated they either do not feel led to support us, or do not have the means to. We decided that if we were to do it, we would wait until we were closer to the end of our support, maybe 80%.

Well apparently we forgot about that. We hit 80% and I never even thought of it. We sat at 80% for 3 weeks, and last Thursday while praying for direction, the Lord put it on my heart again. We set out to work that afternoon and the Spirit led the writing of an ask letter. By Monday we had mailed 138 ask letters to our prayer supporters. Last night we had our first response, someone came on for $10/month. Praise the Lord! Please keep us in your prayers.

So on the much wanted update on the house... we are basically finished with the construction, all painting is done, and now we have actually begun unpacking... wow. I am so thankful for Danny's skills. You won't even believe it when you see it. I will post pics below.

Saturday we are leaving St. Joe, I can hardly believe it. We have loved our time here and have been so blessed to spend so much time with our families, and also reconnect with old friends. Looking forward again, to another new season.

Here are some pics!

This is with wood paneling pulled off, sheet rock up, mudding and sanding done, waiting on the "Drywall Dr." to come and lay on the texture.

Texture on, paint finished! (this is also with new carpet laid and furniture in :)

I am wanting to show how the space between the living room and kitchen looked after removing the wall. Below you will see the most beautiful frame Danny built around the opening.

This is the beam that Danny (with the help of some great guys) put up after first: putting up two temporary walls on either side, tearing down the original wall (sheet rock, on one side, wood paneling on the other) re-routing 4 electical outlets in the wall, tearing down original wall, then placing TWO 16 foot beams up to hold the load.

In this picture Danny is bolting the two beams together before sheet rocking over it.

This picture is taken from the same place as the one above it. Hard to believe isn't it.

Standing in living room facing kitchen before.

Standing in living room facing kitchen after. WOW! So thankful!

The Greatness of God

Take 10 minutes and read this. It is worth it.

I am not writing today to try to sum up the greatness of God, or to try to persuade anyone to think He is good, it actually doesn’t matter what you or I think, God is good regardless. He is God. That is what I want to talk about today.

A few weeks ago I was praying and had felt conviction about how I view each day. In a nutshell I am a planner. I plan out EVERY day in my mind, what I want to accomplish; where we’ll go, what we’ll do, how long I will do each thing, how I want to feel throughout the day. This I know is ridiculous. And I was convicted that “these are not my days, they are God’s days”. At the time I think I prayed something like “God I am sorry I make everyday about myself, help me to live my days for You and do what You want me to do with them.”

Without much thought after that I continued on my way - getting my needs met my way (the flesh).

So side note- a year ago, when Danny and I were accepted to staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, I had a “meeting” over the phone, with a woman named Diane, whom, after reading my application suggested I read a book about my identity in Christ. My discipler at the time Elizabeth McKinney suggested Lifetime Guarantee by Bill Gillham. So for whatever reason (I am not sure yet) that I struggle with following through on things that I really want to follow through on, but I guess I am afraid too… I have only read the first chapter of that book… 3x mind you, but never gotten past it. I think because the 2^nd chapter begins by saying “Caution: make it your major purpose as you read this chapter to learn from the Holy Spirit what happened to you as a child.”(Gillham, 34). Whoa! Okay now moving on.

All of that to say that I was convicted about spending my days “for myself” and not “letting God live His days through me”, THEN I immediately went on and continued to get my needs met MY WAY- which I am learning IS THE FLESH. (Gillham chapter 1). So you know we read about the flesh throughout Scripture, and if you grew up in Christian circles you can probably quote those scriptures and nod your head when a preacher preaches about the flesh, but do you REALLY KNOW WHAT IT IS? Because I DIDN’T… I didn’t realize when I said that prayer a month ago, asking God to “help me live my days “for him”…” that he really would answer, and show me. God is good.

So #1 God answered through this book, Lifetime Guarantee by Bill Gillham. He is showing me what the flesh is “flesh refers to the old ways or patterns by which you have attempted to get all your needs supplied instead of seeking Christ first and trusting Him to meet your needs”… “how you have programmed your brain with earthly techniques for satisfying your needs for love and self esteem- again the greatest needs in life” (Gillham, 35).

So instead of what my usual actions are when I feel conviction- to try and “do better”--I am seeing these patterns, and habits throughout my day and (which have been built my whole life) that are my attempt to get my needs met, and instead going to God for those needs.

Here is an example. For my mom’s birthday Danny and I surprised her by scraping off the wall paper in her kitchen and painting it (a project she has been wanting to finish for awhile). When she got home and saw it- MY FLESH NEEDED TO KNOW that I had succeeded… I wanted to KNOW that it had met her every desire, that the color was perfect, and that she was going to enjoy it, because I NEEDED to fulfill that need in me for love and self esteem. My self esteem needed to be boosted and so I set out to accomplish that.. “Mom, what do you think? Is it perfect? What are you feeling right now? What was your first thought when you saw it? Do you just love it? “… Now see “questions” are a part of me (or were! Amen!), Danny can tell you that I will ask 100 questions after I do anything… because you see, my questions are my flesh pattern (one of them). They are an earthly technique I have created for getting my needs met. When they are answered, I am assured that I am “good enough”, I am “loved”, I am “appreciated”. Now I know what to confess, Lord, I confess my questions, and instead will choose to keep silent, and trust You for my self worth” Amen. And how much sweeter it is, when you don’t have to rely on the answers of other SINFUL humans in order to maintain your self esteem. I can rest in my identity in my Savior instead. But as Paul said in Philippians 3:3-4 “…for we… put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more.” In no means do I claim any of this as coming from myself, or my growth, but all God’s grace as He reveals His truth to me. Praise God for His goodness, all that is good in me is Christ. I know who I am apart from Christ, I am a selfish, tantrum thrower, who thinks her world is crumbling if something doesn’t go her way. Anything different that you see in me, is HIM.

“… I far more”. Take heart my dearest’s for Christ said "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I will share more about how God has specifically been showing me His goodness later. I am in awe of Him.

Nicole

Tutu's

So here is a quick post with some pics of the tutu's I have been making for our 3 nieces. They are super easy and I just googled "how to make a tutu" and spent some time sifting through what I thought would be the best way and which style fit what I was wanting. Click here if you want to use the site I found: Fairy Tu-Tu!

House Update

Sorry it has been a couple of weeks. Our life kind of got put on pause the past two weeks as we had 3 weddings & 2 graduations of dear friends! and then closed on our house on May 17th! Then spent a week trying to fix it up :) Support has kind of slowed down, which has been somewhat discouraging. I have been praying for $1000 a month to come in by the end of May, and we are not close to that mark. I totally believe God can do it, and know that if it is in His will, than He will do it... but we are supposed to pray big, and specifically right? So right now (and for the past several months) I am processing my emotions of praying specifically... then when God says no- how I react. I think I am going to try to read a book on prayer this summer. If anyone has any suggestions I will take them :) Kenny's girlfriend Brenda had this verse as her facebook status a few days ago: Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." I have read Romans before, probably more than a couple of times, and yet it is amazing how such a great verse can go unnoticed, and how the Spirit will use Scripture at different times to speak to us where we are NOW. Right now I rejoice in the hope of God finishing our support, I am trusting Him for patience and choosing that, believing that we are right where He wants us TODAY, and praying often. God's Word is alive and He does use it to speak to us. I am so thankful for it. Meditate on this verse, and I challenge you to see how you can rejoice in hope today, I pray that you can walk in patience in your struggles, and that you will have a heart to pray, God is so in love with you and takes great pleasure in you (thanks for that reminder Elizabeth).

Well I am going to post in a few days, some craft projects I have been working on. But without further ado, here are some pics of the house! As always we want to know how we can be praying for you.

Nic

Here is the Kitchen Before (Note how very UNcluttered it is... moving is messy!) :)

Kitchen After- but not finished. The header above the cabinets is a lighter yellow "Pale Daffodil", the main walls are brighter "Wildflower Honey". Putting the refrigerator in sure makes the kitchen seem smaller!

What you didn't know :

There was not a water hook-up for the fridge so Danny hooked up a water line and ran it under the floor boards of

the cabinets from the water line in the sink so that we could have a functioning ice-maker and filtered water!

This is my favorite part! I wish I had taken a "before picture of the laundry room. We didn't realize when we made an offer on the house that the laundry room only has room for 1 unit to fit in there...AND the hookup for the dryer was out in the garage. So Danny, MY MAN, spent over 6 hours (probably more) in the attic re-routing the electrical wiring for the dryer (because it has to have a special plug), then cutting the drywall and fitting a perfect electrical outlet, after dropping the wiring down through the wall, from the attic floor, hooking it up PERFECTLY and then cutting a dryer vent hole also PERFECTLY. Regan came over and lifted our new dryer onto the washer AND NOW we have both units in the SAME laundry room, and it is just PERFECT! Thank you sweetie! (and also thank you $8000 tax credit for our new stackable washer and dryer hehe)! Oh and I also painted it in "wildflower honey"

Guest room, I had just started taping the edges, so that we could start painting!

Guest room finished in "avacado".

Only one wall in the entire house still had wall paper on it. So we spent the first night stripping the wall paper off... never again.

This is the finished hallway, also in "avacado"

Addison (our niece) and Todd stopped by for a visit! Addison is helping paint the ugly wall while giving me her "cheese" face.

Master bedroom Before, well actually painting was in progress.

Master bedroom After! In "mountain ridge".

We bought a HOUSE!

Happy May everyone! So the three major hoops we had to get through in order to close on our house have now been conquered... jumped through.... whatever you would say HA! So now barring a major catastrophe we will close May 17th! We are SO THANKFUL to the Lord for His timing and orchestrating this. We LOVE this house. I will attach photos, but first I will tell you a little bit about it. It is a ranch style, which at first I didn't think that I wanted, but I do really like the layout of this house. Right now we are thinking we will knock out the wall separating the kitchen and living room, to create a more open layout. That will probably be the first order of business. There are a lot of options after that for Danny's craftsmanship and creativity to flow: building a deck, and finishing the attic. We are excited and thankful to the Lord for giving us this house to steward, and are so excited for how He will use it for His glory. Can't wait to have you over! If you want to be praying specifically for us. I am currently praying daily for God to bring in $1000 in monthly support during the month of May and would appreciate your joining me in this plea. Here are some pics.

2647 YAY!

My HUGE kitchen!!!!! So excited and thankful for this.

French doors!! :)

Bedroom... Hardwood floors! (I'm excited can't you tell)

Main bathroom!

Love you all. Let me know how to pray for you specifically.

Nic