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

Adventures of the Unemployed: Staying Busy

It's been a while, right? Well, I've started diligently writing at weddingobsessions.wordpress.com. But I think some personal updates are in order!

I'm on this job hunt, and it is so hard in Clarksville. Just try this list. I'm not an RN or an engineer, and I haven't resorted to working at Sprint yet... But, I did just apply for a job at Austin Peay State that would be really great. I also submitted my resume/application to Kelly Services for a substitute position. This is just not fun, y'all. Praying that the Lord brings me to the right place.

Here are some projects I've been doing since I've had so much free time:

bought these vases at the thrift store - $3

the end result :)

(I love pumpkin candles)

same spray paint, but on a $4 lamp

$9 lamp shade from Target

because we needed a larger piece for the guest room

hammered spray paint - clearance for $6

vase $0.49

spray painted the blue frame and the birdcage candle holder from the wedding

made that headboard for $30

two 24x30 canvases hung horizontally, wrapped in fabric

made this cork wall cross using a cutout from a shoe box and hot glue.
repainted that nightstand ($15 on craigslist)

sanded the edges

2 cans of spraypaint ($12)

recovered the lamp shade ($4)

using spray adhesive ($7)

and a glue gun ($4 for a package of the sticks)

You could say that I stay busy. Now we need a desk for the guest room. I wouldn't mind re-covering the boring black office chair we have with some more of that fabric that's on the lamp! I think once I get a sewing machine from my mom and make a pillow, that will be my second move (the pillow will be my trial run/practice/can I do this? project). Look for pictures/info on that after Christmas. Austin's suggestion so far has been that I should start making and selling crafts like the ones pictured above, but I'm too shy about actually selling those things. I mean, they may not do very well and then what? I've already started working on remaking a lamp I got at Goodwill. Next I'm going to find a good deal on a lamp shade and sell it all for around $20, and maybe look to post a listing on Craigslist... along with our old TV once I clean it up :)

Anyway, Austin and I have been so, so happy now that we are in Clarksville and in a townhouse. We are going to Grace Community Church, and started attending a Small Group there too that's made of other newlywed couples such as ourselves. Now I'm going to get off this blog and start looking for more jobs on the county and city websites. Who knew it would be so rough? It is a small town, though; I guess I should've figured!

Love,
E

In Tennessee!

Aside from the bleak job outlook here, we're happy to be in Tennessee. We're glad that we've found a townhouse that suits our needs very well, but I'm pretty sad we can't get a puppy. They're not allowed in the townhouse, which is fine, since they wouldn't do well in one anyway. We do have a small front porch (just enough room for some chairs) that's absolutely adorable, and we have a large back patio that we're going to buy furniture for shortly. Perfect timing too, since a lot of places (like Target) are having big sales on outdoor furniture. A lot of Target's stuff is only online, but they still have cute stuff in the store. We have KMart here, too, and when we went in Mentor, Ohio, they had some cute sets we liked. We're waiting until after the move to look at those things.

Just to feed your imagination, here are some pictures of our townhouse:

We have one of the ones with the porch. This section actually isn't like ours, because the ones that come further out have a bay window on the bottom floor. I was a little partial to that because they have more square footage on each floor, but they didn't have one available. Ours has character anyway!

Living room

which leads to the kitchen

It's not the most updated and it doesn't open to the rest of the townhouse, but at least it's not a gallery kitchen. I hated that in our apartment in Mentor. The hotel we're in has a kitchen about half that size and no oven, but I'm thankful that we can cook and save some money!!

I've spent the day job hunting and blogging. Job hunting was not fun, because there isn't much of a market for event planners in Clarksville. I want to stay in the game though, so I started this new blog as per the recommendation of my mother (after I wrote Matt's bio for their wedding site. She loved it, I thought it was funny.. "he was touted as a chubby baby.." it gets better, too). Setting up the WordPress blog was confusing, but I chose it because you don't have to login to comment, and I hate that this website has over 1,000 views and no comments. So, maybe this will change that, but really, I hope it grows a lot. I went ahead and made two posts today, and I'm going to try to do five posts per week, at least. In case you're curious (I know you are) here's the site:

http://weddingobsessions.wordpress.com/

A lot of it so far is going to be based off of my own wedding, weddings I've been to, and my brother and Gennie's wedding, which I'm helping plan.

Aside from that, I bought foam piping, felt, ribbon and pins today so I can make a wreath. I guess I'll post later on the finished outcome. I've already cooked dinner, so when Austin comes home I'm going to reheat (improv-ed version of a southwestern black bean soup... with cream) and serve deliciousness. Until then, you can find me on the other side of the room, cutting little circles from felt. FUN!

Love you all,

Elizabeth Marie

guest room inspiration

I made this in Paint. Don't judge me.

Still working on it. I want to add a couple more patterns. Maybe a covered bench at the end of the bed? I also have a brown duvet for the guest room, I may want to exchange that for a white one. Oh the things I can think! I think I might make the headboard square (I don't have a jigsaw to change the shape) and use a print fabric for that too, like this:

It would tie in the blue and tan and bring in this green color that I love!

Anyway... what do you think? I think this little project will keep me busy for a while. Not to mention that these paintings are going in this room, too.

Anyway.. we move in 3 days! (We think we're leaving Thursday afternoon, and we might tow my car behind the rented HHR to save the car the wear & tear. We'll see. We're going to a coffee shop to figure out all the lovely details and make phone calls!)

Love,

Elizabeth Marie

friendships

So, my heart has really been reevaluating my "friendships" lately. I mean, there are just some things that people post on Facebook, specifically, that I don't want to see. I changed my Twitter and deleted some people from Facebook already, but I don't know if this is silly or not. There are some people I keep on my Facebook friends (or kept) because I felt that maybe I was the only "light" they have. I fall short a lot (see the last two blogs for starters) so I don't know that they see it. And, I think in some cases, they post things I don't want to condone or have any part of - including seeing pictures of it. Thus lies the issue. To keep or not to keep? It's been on my heart, but am I being a prude or do we just not have anything in common? Would I talk to them if I saw them in a supermarket? "What would Jesus do?"

Paul drew a distinct line, and told us not to be apart of the world. Don't dabble in it, don't mess with it. It's a line we blur a lot as Americans (or maybe humans), and I admit I am guilty of that one. What does it mean in this instance?

For starters, the Gospel is a game-changer. It makes people mad, it makes people uncomfortable, and it makes people want to push back against it. Why? Because the heart of the Gospel surrounds the realness of Jesus Christ, and a lot of people - especially in Paul's day - didn't like that. To have Jesus proclaimed as their Messiah but not come wielding a sword to save them from the Romans and create a dominant Jewish nation was nothing short of disappointing to the Jews, so many didn't believe. Put into the perspective of all of creation, however, and it makes total sense. God sent His Son to reconcile a broken humanity to Himself, because nothing else could make the atonement for the real heartbreaking, heavy reality of our sin. And He acted as a servant - as a role model for Christians (ouch!) and He gave his life for both His glory and to reconcile His children to Himself.

He then conquered death! What caused death in the garden? Sin! So sin is conquered through the resurrection of Christ (why we celebrate Easter- NOT a bunny that drops eggs of candy). The battle is won for those who believe. And reading some of this, some people don't want to commit fully to this Gospel. Why? Because it means we can't dabble in this world. It means there's something greater than partying it up and "living the life," and other things that separate us from God's love. The reality is that we were created in the image of God, meant to worship Him alone, and that all other things we worship (or try to) will not satisfy us. Yeah, we were created for the purpose of worshiping, so in every moment of our lives, we are worshiping something!

That's just the start. I could keep going. My question, after all these things, is whether God would have me to continue to be friends with some people I met a long time ago that aren't good influences, even virtually. Am I flirting with the world by maintaining these friendships?

That's what's on my heart, and that's what I'm hoping God and I will be figuring out this week. Feel free to pray with me!

Striving to surrender each and every day,

Elizabeth Marie

receiving the good and the bad

First of all, I can't say that Cleveland is all bad. There are some cool things that have happened, which I feel I should write down in case I get really sad... which happens occasionally, but I think that's part of moving away.

1. Seeing my parents/Sam. That may have been a highlight, when Mom, Dad, and Sam were all in Cleveland for about three days. We went to the Rock & Roll hall of fame, baseball games (we even got club seats once!) and got to spend quality time with some of the people I missed the most right after we moved. Awesome!
   
   
2. Going to Finger Lakes, NY. That was amazing! It was beautiful, I got to try a ton of different wines, and take a tour of the beautiful Lake Canandaigua. We had an "experience" with hotels and bedbugs, but we finally found a good place to stay and went to Niagara Falls, Canada the following day. Austin also got to try the original Buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY!
   
   
3. Cleveland Wine Festival! We learned that they have really sweet wines here (I'm assuming by the temperatures here, that its Region 1, which explains all the ice wine) and we like robust reds, so that didn't quite hit the spot but it was still a very fun day.
   
   
4. We got to go home for free! We spent quite a bit while we were there, but the flights were of no cost to us, which is a miracle in and of itself! We're looking forward to being back three times this winter, too. Houston will feel so warm coming from Tennessee!
   
   
5. I painted quite a few canvases! Don't be surprised, family, when you get one. Iamnotkidding.
   
   
6. We got to see The Avengers set! That was the highlight of my rainy Sunday (sorry Texan friends, I really would send you rain if I could and I AM praying that you get some).
   
   
7. We're going to CHICAGO! We're going to see The Second City, with Mark Amshey (only after eating at Gino's, of course) which is where famous people like John Belushi, Tina Fey, and so many others started out. We can't wait! There's also a free jazz festival and fireworks on the pier the next day, and Sunday after a brunch or something we'll head back to Mentor.

Obviously it isn't terrible, but considering that that's 7 things over the span of about 50 days (yes, it's been that long, which amazes me) in Ohio.. that's kind of a small ratio to me.

So, in the midst of all of this, I am struggling. Struggling because I just want to have a place that feels like home, and because I am not used to being so far away. Struggling, because I know that God has a real purpose for us in Ohio, but it didn't make sense to me for so long. I have some suspicions now, but it isn't clear and I'm sure it won't be until we've left, and maybe even later than that. But, God is funny. And Good. I wanted a new book [of the Bible] to read this morning, and I felt like I should read Job. I've read Job, and I had a feeling that God wanted me to read it, and that there was a really specific reason.

I read the first five chapters, and took little notes on some of the parts that I underlined me: the things that struck me about this passage. I'm just going to jot some of them down here, so you can see what God is doing (and then a podcast from a sermon at our church that slapped me in the face) and the things He is teaching me - whether I like it or not!

• Job 1: 1 "... and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil."
  I know this is the Bible and all, but this is the description of Job in the first verse. It's the first thing the writer says about him. Would this be the first thing someone said about me? Youch.
  
  {Job loses everything - livestock, posessions, children!}
• Job 1:20 "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped."
  Uh, excuse me... His first response is to grieve and worship even while he is grieving! No, I am definitely not going through the things Job did, but I can't say I responded this well when I was upset, missing something about/in Texas, or just feeling lonely here. It was more of a "why me, God? What is this all about?" (selfish!)
  
  
• Job 1:21 "And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
  Satan asked permission to do this to Job so that Job would curse the Name of the Lord, but instead, Job is blessing it. Satan definitely does things in our lives, attempting to turn our hearts from the one true God, but Job still worships - how would I respond?
  
  {Satan wasn't pleased with his response, so he asked permission again to go after Job's flesh}
• Job 2:7 "Satan...struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head."
  His wife later suggests he just "Curse God and die" - basically, "get it over with because this sucks so much." But Job persists:
  
  
• Job 2:9 "'... Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all this, Job did not sin with his lips."

In the next chapters, Job starts to kind of wonder why this is happening to him, and his friends come by, which I see both as encouragement to him, but I remember that they also ask/hint that maybe it happened because he sinned (he didn't, but that was the common belief then - bad things happened to you because you had sinned).

Job isn't an unfamiliar book to me. In fact, I remember reading it about a year and a half ago when I was going through a totally different time in my life. But the theme is the same: do we only "deserve" (funny word, we don't "deserve" anything good as sinners, but God is gracious to us beyond belief) the good stuff? And why, when the "bad" comes, do we not like to take it? We get mad at God and blame him because life isn't how we want it (selfish) and we aren't happy with it. Ouch! That's me. Life isn't what I want, and I'm not really happy with it.

It's just my periodic reminder I guess. Thank you, friends, for letting my share my struggles in this life with you, for letting me share about our marriage (which is amazing, and I love this man so, so much) and "Our New Life."

Here's the link to the podcast I was talking about before. It's from Acts, because they're working through it. I highly encourage you to listen to it, too. If you like it enough, you can start from the start ;) It was a good challenge for me, and I keep remembering how it was an unlikely place for Paul. What struck me was when the pastor, Alex, started talking about people in that Gateway congregation not wanting to live in Cleveland. What? Me? Not wanting to live here? What are you doing God?? Yeah, that just happened. Anyway.. check it out and see what we've been getting into each week up here in Cleveland, Ohio (or Mentor).

Please pray with us for friends who are going through big changes in their lives, for transitions here in the north to Tennessee and people who are literally a road block for us (loving them despite that), for our families whom we miss dearly, and for making new friends and building relationships and community in Tennessee.... and that fall would come soon because I'm dying to wear my boots!!

Love,

Elizabeth Marie