Oh, America...

I haven't felt strongly one way or another about a candidate that's up for election... ever. I typically don't think either side is "right" (they're both imperfect), and while they both have some good ideas, they also tend to have some terrible ones. I also believe (and I think the Constitution may just back me up here...) that the President isn't a dictator, and that you can write your congressperson if you oppose or support anything the President does. There's no reason to complain when the power is in your pen!

What I do feel strongly about is that my citizenship is in heaven primarily - and that I am citizen of America secondarily and only temporarily. American Christians tend to confuse that. We think that this nation is the Promised Land, and that God wouldn't let anything happen to let it fall apart. We put a lot more worth into material, physical, and temporal things than we should (I am so guilty here!), and "in it not of it" can be hard to live out.

What did I mean when I said that we tend to think "that God wouldn't let anything happen to let it fall apart"?

When God says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV), at that point, Israel is still going to be captive for seven decades - and the Israelites are His people! The "welfare" and "future" and "hope" are all manifested in Jesus Christ. God has a vastly different picture of what welfare/prosperity is than we do.


Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) says this:


For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


And you can't forget the story of the Tower of Babel - Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV):

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

The key to remember is that God will be glorified no matter what happens to America (or any country), and that our lives should glorify Him first.

I'm not trying to be political - but we do have some thinking and praying to do as Christians in America.


Love,
E

PS - our trip was great! We're ready for another vacation... and hoping to go camping soon!!

Houston Update

You know you haven't updated your blog in a while when you have to read your last post to see what the last thing you wrote was! Come to find out, I haven't said a word since we left Clarksville, and it's been three months - hard to believe that time has gone by so quickly!

We think about Clarksville often. A small question in my head from time to time has been whether this was a mistake - to move back home. My mother said quite often that we had a wonderful life in Clarksville, and she would ask whether we were sure we wanted to give it all up. It's really too bad we can't have all our friends from Tennessee here in Houston; we miss them the most. We miss spontaneous boating trips, dinners, a lack of traffic, changing fall leaves, the winery, and most of all, our small group. I can't tell you how often I check to see if there are cheap flights to Nashville, it must be twice a week or more.

The consolation I have in moving here is that we are near our family, which was the premier driving force behind moving home. The second largest reason why we moved was Austin's and my job situation. He and I are both in the industries we went to school to be in: environmental engineering and event planning, respectively. In regards to these reasons, things are working out well, and we are getting into a groove at our jobs.

We also think we've found a church home at Ecclesia. We started going to a small group this last week, where the couple who host the group shared their testimony, and we felt just as welcomed as we did in our small group in Clarksville. We can't replace our friends and the bond we shared with our small group from Grace, but we can start new friendships and start growing alongside these new friends, and we have hope in the new relationships we will form.

In these transitional months, I can't say that my walk with Christ has been strong; I have a hard time fitting in my devotional times in the morning (no good excuse for that) but it has affected my relationships with others and my attitude. I don't think my relationship with Christ should depend on my location, my work or my schedule, but that all those things should hinge on my relationship with Christ (everything should hinge on Him) so I have some restructuring to do in my life, but Ecclesia has been a good starting point for that.

I still have the CDs in my car that I would blast on my way to work at the winery, we have pictures of our small group in our apartment, and many other things that remind us of our time in Clarksville; we miss it, and there is no denying that, but we also know that we are in the right place, for now.

As (I think?) I've mentioned before, Austin and I both feel the call to missions. I actually started seeing and feeling that call in 2010, but it hasn't seemed to be time for us to go yet, aside from my trips to Peru & Uganda that year. We're still waiting and seeking that God would make that clear to us. It's tempting to say "maybe it's time!" when we start to feel wearied by the things of this world (finances, jobs, possessions, etc), but we know God will make it happen, and make it clear if/when/how it is to happen. Until then, we wait - in Houston.

Love,
E

PS - we aren't going to Spain; I'm going to Maui for work so we're making that into a vacation, too!

Goodbye?

Why can't we get all the people in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.
- Charles M Schulz

I asked myself the same question the other day. Why can't I just take all these people I love with me? Why do I have to say goodbye? Such a hard question, really. I know this is all a part of life, but we really do love these people, and we love doing life with them. Honestly, the city of Clarksville, Tennessee doesn't have much to offer, but the people are fabulous. In meeting them, we are so blessed. We're better people because of them; they've helped us grow so much in the last ten months.

And we have hope for all these goodbyes - Houston may be 14 hours away from here, but many of our friends are in the Army, and may get relocated to Texas. And some of them may just need to fly down to see us! Of course, we'd love to come back and visit, but we are going back to not having any vacation time when Austin starts his new job. We also have hope in meeting again in heaven, but we do hope to see our friends again sometime before then!

I've felt that God is confirming us leaving Clarksville in the last few days, which is helping with the goodbyes, though it still won't be easy. I know that since we covered this issue in prayer - as many of you did, too - that we are headed in the right direction. I'm very excited for our future in Houston, for the friendships we already have and friendships that are yet to be made. Our hope is to get involved with some of the ministry opportunities we were involved with, as well as missions, and primarily, find a church home!

Tonight is my last night at our women's small group (we're reading So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore) and tomorrow is my last day at work; Austin's last day is Friday, and then we'll load everything up, and head out of here. We'll be in Houston on Sunday! If you'd like to help us move in the heat, please let us know! The more the merrier.

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.-Carol Sobieski & Charles Meehan, Annie 

Goodbye, Clarksville...

Love,
E

Anniversaries, Moves, and Stress

If you've seen any of my posts on Facebook, you know that we're moving into our apartment in Houston in 12 days. We are excited, but it's been a little stressful! Here's the back story:

We went to Houston May 16-20 to have some interviews. Austin interviewed with a company in the Galleria area that does water quality/water remediation - his dream job. We want to get involved with doing water-related missional work in Africa, which explains why the groom's cake at our wedding looked like this:

Living Water International is a Houston-based company that helps bring clean water to developing nations. We love what this company stands for.

Austin transferred from Texas State to UH to pursue Civil Engineering for the specific purpose of working with water/missions, so he felt getting actual experience in this field would be perfect. Anyway, our interviews were the 18th. Austin's went really well - so well, he kept me waiting in the car (I should have gone home!) while he went to lunch with his future co-workers. Who does that?! I had an interview very early in the morning, and was delusional because I was so worked up about the whole thing. I know people say that worrying means you have no faith, but I swear I was praying most of the night, honestly hoping it would mean I'd rest. My heart was beating too fast to rest, though! I don't know how I made it through that interview!

Last Tuesday, when I thought I couldn't stand waiting anymore, Austin got a call from his (future) company. Friday, he got the offer. Yesterday, he put in his notice here. And all weekend, we packed and worked and tried to prepare for this move. We have an apartment booked as well as all our utilities and insurance. Austin will be working down at the Eagle Fjord and, if I get the job (one more interview on the 27th!) I will be planning annual meetings/conventions for medical groups, such as radiology associations, etc. The company I'm interviewing with also manages the administrative aspects of those associations. I'm excited about it because it will be a weekend-free event planning position, so keep that in your prayers!

We now have 60+ boxes packed, and are down to the bare bones here. We still have a few things to work out, which is why things are stressful. We'll be back just in time to make it to the Niell (Strickland) family reunion, and, ironically, almost a year to the day that we left Houston to move to Cleveland!

We have truly made some fantastic friendships here in Clarksville, and some lasting memories: the Kentucky Derby, the Smoky Mountains, trips to Nashville and other adventures. Our sweet small group from Grace has made this time pass quickly, and so have our friends at work. I sincerely wish we could pack you all up and take you with us! We're looking forward to being close to family, and we will not miss the 14-hour trips back to Houston. We're not looking forward to the drive home with a 17' truck and car trailer!

On another note, we celebrated one year of marriage on Sunday! We both worked an event on Saturday at the winery, but the week before we spent a night out in Nashville celebrating our anniversary, complete with an art walk, a nice dinner, the Pancake Pantry and some macaroons (which I had been craving!). It was a great mini-trip to celebrate our time there!

Now we're looking into another trip to Europe for next year... maybe an anniversary trip! I'm thinking SPAIN! ;)

Love,
Elizabeth

Amazing Potatoes & a Road Trip

When I was in Houston for a friend's wedding/Easter last month, I remember telling some friends that I had found the key to making the best mashed potatoes ever. I made/am making them today & thought I'd share! My friends & husband said I didn't even need to use gravy, but I add brown gravy anyway!

Amazing Slow-Cooker Potatoes

• 3 potatoes (Russet) chopped - peel if you want
• ~3/4 c milk
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c chopped onion

This makes more than enough for 2 people, and it actually cooked in 3 hours on the Low setting on my slow cooker. If you had more potatoes, I think you'd need more heat - in the past when I cooked for friends I use 5-6 potatoes and doubled the rest, cooked on High for about 4 hours. I don't peel them because I like the skins, but it doesn't make a difference either way.

Tip: with the milk it's best to start with too little and add more later if they're too dry instead of having runny potatoes; you can add more butter at the end if you want more moist potatoes. Eventually the potatoes absorb/blend the milk & butter.

The reason these potatoes are so darn good is that they cook in all those flavors and retain a lot more flavor and moisture. Besides, boiling them and draining the water and adding butter & milk is a huge pain, though I admit this works best for those of us who have the afternoon off to monitor these potatoes.

___________________________________________

In other news: We will be in HOUSTON on WEDNESDAY! (Three cheers for us!) Downside: contrary to popular belief, we are driving. Jealous? It's kind of a funny story, but we'll end up there for my birthday, and get to celebrate with friends and family. Hooray! Saturday, we'll head to Austin to see my hubby's grandma and sister. We'll also be celebrating one year of marriage just 26 days from today! (Three more cheers!) What will we be doing for said anniversary? Well, there may be an announcement soon! If there isn't, then we don't have alternate plans... and no, the announcement doesn't involve a baby, though we will be Aunt Liz & Uncle Austin come October. Tomorrow we'll know whether my his sister is having a boy or a girl! So much excitement in one page - it's unbelievable!!

Well, I'm off to do some serious laundry. Y'all enjoy those potatoes!

-E

Spring Update

I guess all of our friends and family deserve a little update on our happenings here in Tennessee!

We just celebrated nine months of marriage, which means we are 3/4 of the way through our first year! We're also celebrating six months in Clarksville this month, though sometimes I still wish we were celebrating the opportunity to move back to Texas... Yeah, I'm still learning to be happy here, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to move back home if I had the chance! It's also a beautiful spring so far, some of the trees have beautiful purple or white blooms and it's gorgeous driving down the highway. We've had a couple tornado threats and lightning struck the winery yesterday in a quick storm, but there was no permanent damage to the property. It's good that I work at a winery with a cellar so we can get underground safely if need be!

I've been working at the winery just over two months, and I couldn't be happier. It's a perfect job for this detail-oriented wine-loving planner! Things are about to pick up at the winery, too, with a twice-monthly jazz concert series and our annual Poor Man's sale, where people come and stock up on wine at ridiculously low prices (and yes, we take shipping orders that day).

We have also made some wonderful friendships here, especially from our young married small group with our church, and we entertain fairly often (something I love to do)! I'm even having coworkers over tomorrow night, since Austin will be in Nashville for a conference. If any of you know the story behind Austin's drink dispenser.. well, it's already out on the table for the party tomorrow... he won that one!

I was also grateful to host one of my best friends with us for a few days just this last week, but we still have a long list of people we would love to see in Tennessee (and she needs to come back, too)! We're just a short drive from the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and there are a lot of fun breweries in middle Tennessee as well.. but enough of me selling this place. We know you miss us.. you're reading our blog!

As we've said before, we don't know how long we'll be in Tennessee for, but Austin's plant is just starting up, and he's already started putting in overtime. There isn't much of a chance that we would relocate before the plant is fully launched, but the plans we think we have for the future seem to constantly change, so we try not to plan too much and we are reminded every day to live in the moment. It's the lesson we are perpetually learning - especially myself, because I like to plan everything!

I will be getting to visit Houston in about two and a half weeks for a friends wedding and Easter festivities, and I don't think the trip can come soon enough! My heart is longing to be in Texas as I see pictures of our friends at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! :) These trips to Texas always seem like whirlwind trips, but I enjoy them. We don't plan on being back in Texas until my family reunion in June/July, though we'll be primarily in Hunt, Texas. The next time we'll see our family after that is in November... so y'all had better come see us!

We miss our friends and family who are away from us, but I promise you're in our prayers. We'd love to know how we can pray for you, too, and a little life update from you all :)

Y'all take care!

All our love from Tennessee -

A&E

answers to prayer

In these last seven months of marriage (today is seven months!) we have certainly seen our share of highs and lows, and I believe that in some small way, God is teaching us to abound and to be brought low (Philippians 4:12). I don’t know how else to explain my life lately, but it has been divinely planned, and I can see God’s fingerprints everywhere. I’ve been reminded to pray in faith lately, and these verses testify that if you believe that the Lord will do it, your prayers will be answered.

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
(Matthew 21:22 ESV)

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mark 11:24 ESV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:5-8 ESV)

Over the last several months, the pages of my prayer journal have been filled with several pleas to God, on behalf of our small group, and our family and friends. I've prayed, and seen things fulfilled, and I've cried over my prayers, not understanding why God didn't seem to be listening. But oh, He was! I just didn't stop to realize it. I had a suspicion that He may have His own timing, but I didn't invest my faith in that suspicion.

I've prayed over Matt and Gennie's wedding, their relationship, and their lives; I've prayed Matt would find a job, and after months without a single interview, he was finally hired, just before Christmas. I prayed Matt would pass the PE exam, and he did. I prayed Matt and Gennie would find a place to live, and that the Lord would help smooth over things in the days before the wedding, and He did: the wedding was beautiful! He was faithful.

I've prayed over my mom's reconstruction surgery, which went very well. She is still healing, but the Lord is being faithful to answer those prayers to heal her and restore her. I pray every day that the Lord would grant Mom and Grammy Cindy long, cancer-free lives, and I pray that for Laura and my dad as well. (I also pray that some people would quit smoking. It worked on my dad years ago!)

I've been praying that Meghan wouldn't have trouble finding a job as she prepares to graduate from Baylor Law, so that she and Sam can really start their life together - 8 years after they started dating.

Of course, I have prayed over our life here in Clarksville. I was so desperate to find friends when we got here, and I feel that every week, our relationship with our small group is getting better and better. There isn't one couple we don't love and enjoy being around - we are blessed in getting to occasionally host them at our home and enjoy time with them every week.

When I was looking for work, however, things seemed the most bleak. There were no job postings on CareerBuilder for an event manager in Clarksville, Tennessee. I've applied for jobs in Nashville, too, but they have been to no avail. In the busy holiday season, I cut back my applications, because there weren't many postings of interest, and I had visited Houston every week and a half or so between Thanksgiving and last weekend, so I wasn't in Clarksville very often, anyway.

The day we left to go to Houston for Matt and Gennie's wedding (last Wednesday) I got a phone call from the local winery, which I had applied to last September. They were updating their database and wanted to see if I was still in Clarksville and still interested. Thursday, I got a call for an interview. I was thrilled! I'd wanted this job all along, and it seemed that the Lord was in the process of working out His answer to my prayer. The interview was scheduled for Monday at 11:15 am, and by 3:30, they had called me back to offer me the position. Mind you, we had only been back in Tennessee for one day.

If that doesn't have God's handiwork all over it, I don't know what does!

Even more amazingly, the Lord ordained and aligned my quiet time readings to go with the situations I was facing.

Monday, the day of the interview:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
(James 4:13-17 ESV)

Before the interview, I have to say, I felt like I had it in the bag. I still felt anxious (who wouldn't?) but I felt that God had prepared me for this. Regardless, this was His reminder that we never know what tomorrow brings. Well, for me, tomorrow would be the first day of work.

Tuesday, (today) my first day of work:

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
(James 5:1-6 ESV)

Now, this position is part-time and won't make us rich by our standard, but this is a perfect reminder that though we will now have a little extra income, we will not get to keep any of the things we buy or money we earn when we pass from this earth. Perfect.

If you don't believe that our prayers make a difference, I entreat you to try praying. Pray over a life-change or a situation that you would like to see improved. Pray over something you've struggled with, and watch what the Lord will do. He is faithful and He wants to bless His children. He loves them. I'm not saying to pray for your sports car, because I'll tell you right now, the things that moth and rust destroy aren't high on His priority list. Ask for things like wisdom, solutions to problems, jobs/provision... not indulgences.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
(Luke 11:1-13 ESV)

So pray over your concerns, the things that trouble your heart, in faith, and see how faithful the Lord is.

I've seen a cute sign on Pinterest that I think is pretty true:
The Lord's 3 answers to prayer:
1. Yes
2. Not right now
3. I've got something better in mind (this one applies to a sports car, etc..)

Anyway, that's where we are right now. I've just got a couple hours until my first training shift at work, and I am excited!

Let us know how you've seen Christ answer prayers!

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)

I'm feeling quite overwhelmed by the love of Christ today. He is good to His children, for His glory and the good of those who love Him.

Love,
Elizabeth