Back at it!

I had to figure out what I could write about that I am passionate about. I think that is key to keeping a blog in the first place. If you don't like what you write about, the chances of surviving in the 'blog world' are much more difficult.

So I sat down and hashed it out with the Lord:
- am I supposed to blog again at all?
- what do I write about?
-what would God be most glorified in me writing about?
- what topic would hopefully diminish pride and honor Him the most?

I realize after this that need a detailed plan if I'm going to commit to anything because I hate being a weak participant in anything. I realized a few things about myself as I asked the Lord about this blogging business:

I DO NOT SPECIALIZE IN COOKING, CLEANING, OR ANYTHING HOUSE- ORIENTED.

I have several friends that are cooking and household gurus and I thought I would leave that up to them. It's just something that I'm not very passionate about and I would feel very copy-cat- like. :)

So I have decided I could write very passionately about:
- Theology
- the books that I am reading and what I'm learning
- Sermons
- occasional personal tid-bits
- Drew and I's marathon training and how it ties in to our spiritual life

My prayer for any reader is that you would be edified and that you would fall more in love with our Lord and Savior. The prayer for myself is that I would remain a humble servant, maintain consistency, and stay focused on my Redeemer.

Let me know if there is anything that I could research and write about that you are interested in.
So, I'm back with a purpose!

my blog is dead for awhile

I cannot keep up with blogging. I'm not even sure i like it, therefore I am giving it a rest. (as if my 4 week writing spurts weren't break enough :) )

peace <3

Favorite Season

I love fall and I'm pretty sure I have said that at least a thousand times to everyone around me. This is my dream re-arrangement of the seasons:
Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Fall, Fall, and no winter. :) Is there such a place?

Reasons for loving fall:

1. the air just smells better
2. running with a sweatshirt and occasional head-band
3. getting a pumpkin candy holder that I don't put anything into actually
4. the colors of EVERYTHING
5. watching the days become shorter
6. seeing smoke in the air and smelling the 'bon-fire- smell'
7. apple pies up the wa-zoo!
8. Honey-crisp apples (they taste JUST like cidar, ooo yum!)
9. curling up with a blanket on a rainy cold day and staring outside while reading a book
10. hearing the leaves falling when the wind blows
11. hiking the Metro-parks in the middle of all those pretty trees!
12. excitement that is in the air for Thanksgiving and Christmas
13. buying tickets already for our church's Christmas concert
14. having fall parties
15. Halloween! (i can't wait to have kids for this! or at least a house where kids can knock on my door for candy, I will totally dress-up!)
16. cozy pj pants
17. the cool clouds that God makes on the more blustery days
18. this is the season for D and I's bdays and the time of year that we met 4 years ago.

see I can just keep going..... I LOVE FALL!!!!!

Children????

The biggest question as of late is: Am I ready for kiddos of my own???
A couple of my friends here in Akron have children, some are expecting, and some are just so plain excited about having them very soon. For a while I think I was in a honeymoon phase with wanting children. I didn't know as much about the birthing process, the no-sleep for .... well, forever, and breast-feeding. And now that I know about that more, I'm not so sure I'm so ready.

I mean, there are just some things that you are NOT told about giving birth. I will refrain from mentioning specifics. Obviously moms always say just how amazing and mysterious the birth is, but it is beautiful. Then why are all the moms contradicting their stories when I hear of being in labor for 2 days and the dads are saying that they have never heard their wife scream so hard in their life? That does not sound beautiful, mysterious, yes.

I love sleep, very much a morning person, but hardly a night-person. So, I know in this arena, I am being purely selfish. This was proven this last week. D & I were watching 3 girls for half the week and one of the girls woke me up at 3:30 am because she had a bad dream. I proceeded to stay awake until 5:30 only for my alarm to wake me up at 6:00 so I could get the girls out the door to school. I felt like a bag of trash all day for missing those crucial hours of precious sleep.

And last but not least, D's mom keeps telling me stories about what a monster he was as a child and infant, never sleeping, wrecking things right and left, and almost burying his brother in the sand-box. It's like she's warning me as she tells me these stories that my children will torture me.

I know that God will transform my thinking, and I pray He does because I REALLY do want children, actually 4, Lord-willing. I think this phase, I am contemplating and trying to understand the depth of responsibility and love that goes to each of our little ones. I really don't want to go into parenthood oblivious. I have loved D & I's last 2 years of marriage and love love LOVE being with him every moment we can. I am praying that God strengthens our marriage leading up to parenthood and every year after.

D& I can't wait to have children but we will continue to wait, think, and pray about this huge life-changing decision.

sChOoL dAzE

I am a teacher for 1st and 2nd grades this year and a private tutor for a 1st grade boy in Cleveland. Let me tell you about my favorite quotes or scenarios of the first week.......

1. "Hey you!" (what 1 student has called me for a week because he can't remember my name.)

2. "Where is my pencil?" (seriously, how hard is it to hold onto a pencil? Every time I ask them to get 1 out 1 seems to fly into the air and land in a place where no one can find it or they get snapped in half on "accident". Who has that much strength to make that happen on "accident?" I found some behind the door and in my bag, hmmm)

3. "Isn't he the man that freed the people with a different skin color?" (I was trying to read them a story about the birth of Jesus and they were tracing him back to Abraham. So I decided to ask the kids who Abraham was and I got, "Moses." "Jacob." Everyone but Abraham, sigh. Well, unto 1 kid says the original quote. My aide was watching me and laughing she says. I had THE most puzzled look on my face because I am stuck in Bible times not the 1800's! My aide helps me out by saying, "I think he means Abraham LINCOLN." Then a bee came and we headed back inside because children were no longer interested in the story but the bee.)

4. "Are you wearing a dress because you think you are pretty or something?" (My aide was asked this question by a boy student, who also started the year off by stating, "Are we going to do something less boring?" My aide answered back, "I am wearing a dress because I AM pretty!" ha!! )

5. "Not if they poop out the seeds." (My aide was reading a great book on sunflower seeds and how they grow and spread all over the earth. She read that the birds come and eat the seed and carry it away all over the earth and that is how that student responded.)

6. "My mom said, 'Look at your shirt. It looks like it has poop on it.' I looked and then I barfed!" (I was asking for the kiddos to tell me stories about forgiveness, maybe someone forgave them or they forgave someone else. Well, as you can see, if quickly got off track.)

Kids are NOT boring! Oh my goodness! I am keeping a quote book all year and will share sporadically with you about what is being said. Teaching this grade is so rewarding because they are still at the age that they like school and their teacher. I have already received drawings from students to me, lots of hugs, and tons of smiles every school day. They are super competitive though and so every game we play is a matter of life or death and somebody has always been accused of cheating, especially if it is the winning team. Sticker charts for good behavior are a big deal. If we forgot to put stickers on the chart, it is the end of the world! They are good helpers and love to hear praise from their teachers. I think I'm going to learn a lot this year from them.
They are adorable!

2 years

I can't believe that I have known Drew for 4 whole years and married to him for 2 of those years! If you don't know our 'story' here goes:
I was set on not marrying any Moody man for fear that I would give into the 'usual- Moodiness.' I am not sure at the time why I was so set against it, but I think deep down I wouldn't have minded. :) And on top of it, I was not going to marry anyone from the 'bro-sis' ( a system to help in the social aspect of Moody.) So Fall of 2005 rolled around, my junior year of school and I was loving life at this moment. So many solid friends, I loved being in Chicago, and there was always so much to do. My sister had a surprise birthday party for me in September, inviting old friends and my new 'brother floor.' Well, it just so happened that Drew was there that night and was interested a little in me.

then came time for the Chicago Marathon in October 2005. I was running in it, my family came the night before so they could cheer me on the next day. And Drew happened to meet my family that night. Drew and I kind of knew each other but were still just talking, not going on dates or anything. As soon as my sister started walking away she says, "I think he likes you!" I tried not to over-analyze that (yeah right!, I'm a girl!)

Drew started making more of an effort to talk one-on-one with me. We would eat lunch together and linger for awhile, sometimes until we were kicked out of the cafeteria. One Friday night, Drew and I had tried to set-up an outing with quite a few of our friends, long-story-short, everyone backed out except us, because we didn't want to miss this opportunity to be together! We ended up at Mcdonald's (surprise, surprise for those who know Drew) and talked for hours. Then we talked to a homeless man about mysticism for the remainder of the night, we both learned more about each other in that moment.

Another week rolls by, and Drew's birthday is coming up. It just so happens that I am the "birthday-card-maker" for our floor and I wanted to make Drew's card especially good. :) And I was also supposed to let all the girls on the floor sign the card, but kind of "forgot" to let them, oops. So this card was all from me!

Another week rolls by and we finally got a group to go to Dairy Queen. Afterwards I was making a Target-run and asked if anybody wanted to join, hoping only Drew would say he would come. (I am sneaky, maybe borderline bad....) Drew was the only one wanting to come with, he made my grocery list out, shopped, and then he told me that he really liked me and wanted to pursue more of an intentional relationship with me. Of course I was ecstatic!! The rest is history.

We started officially dating December 11, 2005- engaged on February 13th, 2007 and married September 1st, 2007.

Drew is the love of my life, my bestest buddy, and my spiritual encourager. I can see Jesus in him. He is so joyful, loving, warm, lover of people, music-guru, best hugger/snuggler, wins the award for the most-carefully-made-coffee, points his index finger in the air when he's really excited, has to have all his books in a tidy pile on his desk, omelette king, faithful to drive our bomb-car, athletic (I'm not sure of a sport he can't play), and so much more.

And I married a Moody guy from my bro floor, go figure.
I can't wait to see how the Lord continues to transform us to look more like Him in this marriage.

Summer Vacation

I am taking the entire month of August off in between jobs.
It has been so refreshing! I don't think I could just not work for a long time. I need things to do always. Even with these past 2 weeks, I can't help but to make a schedule of things to do for the day. So here is what I have been doing:





1. Reading (this makes me happy)
I have read and am reading and hope to read before September: ( or leafing through)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Hunger for God - Piper
- Romans
- The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Main Street - Sinclair Lewis
- Giada's Kitchen

2. Cleaning
I have basically deep-cleaned most of our apt. and it feels good! I can walk into our closet now and find dishes in our cupboards.

3. Watching Lost with Drew
So, at first I wasn't so sure about this show. I allowed Drew just to update me each time he watched it but I didn't really get into it until one day. And since then, I have watched every episode wondering what will happen next.

4. Cooking better, more whole-foods meals.

5. Running and exercising
I love running and have seen how out of shape I have gotten over this past year in running. So, I try to run, eliptical, or walk each day. A life-long goal for fitness is that I would be able to still do 5 push-ups (real ones) when I am 80 years old (Lord-willing). So I am doing push-ups a few times a week. And lots of other various types of exercises.

6. I have got to spend 1/2 a week with my family in Toledo and Chicago.

7. Seeing some friends that I wouldn't get to normally throughout the week:
1 friend and I have gone running
1 friend and I did some school planning
Having friends over to watch Lost
Having Drew's family over for dinner and to send Mark off to Moody-chicago

8. Definitely getting to see and hang out with Drew during the day
Sometimes we will go to Barnes and Noble
or hikes or read together or go on drives through the valley
I could never spend enough time with him. We don't even have to be doing the same thing, just as long as we are together or in the same room; that makes me very happy. :)

9. getting to know my Savior better everyday ( some days are better than others)


So I will update in another 2 weeks to let you know of any other things that I am doing while I'm not working. I start teaching September 9th but will hopefully snag a part-time job before then.
May God be glorified in my time off!

deep deep love

I am thankful for a thousand things that God has just given me:
1. an awesome hike that Drew and I went on that turned into an hour longer than what we had planned. (it also included going up a hill that felt like a mountain.)
2. sitting outside and reading everyday
3. not sitting inside, staring at a computer all day, and answering phones.
4. planning curriculum this morning with a girlfriend
5. running on Wednesday morning with a woman I really admire, respect and see Jesus in everyday.
6. legs to run
7. the finances to get our 'new car's' brakes and rotors replaced (I admit, I did worry a bit)
8. getting to watch "Lost' with Drew
9. seeing my sister and her husband here in the States.
10. salvation
11. reconciliation between a holy God and me through Jesus Christ
12. Harry Potter books
13. the joy to do things everyday
14. doing nothing
15. being able to have the time to reflect on God's goodness
16. fresh veggies and fruit from Kriegers (I can just walk in that store and instantly feel healthy)
17. have I mentioned my incredible husband?
18. laughter
19. the beauty of the Violet that I have had for 3 weeks now! (that is a record for me since I'm not so much of a 'green-thumb.')
20. being able to clean my house from top to bottom.

I believe that God loves to give gifts to His children and these are just the VERY FEW that have happened recently.

Natural Health

My latest hobby as of recently is finding out natural remedies that will improve my daily health, thus, improving my long-term health. This book was a good one to skim through. Here is a briefing from the book:

How many of your doctors ask you these types of questions when you go in for a check-up:
1. Do you go outside for exercise of any sort every day?
2. Are you going outside to obtain natural daylight?
3. Do you eat sweets as snacks, dessert, or with some frequency?
4. Do you drink water to quench your thirst, or do you get your liquid from juice, tea, sodas, etc?
5. Do you use a computer at work, home, both?
6. Do you relax with tv or a computer?
7. Do you take any form of nutritional supplement?

None of the doctors I have had recently have ever asked me these questions and they should! Why? Because these are a part of your daily life, what makes you who you are. Instead most doctors treat the symptom not the underlying cause. Maybe you're getting sick more often because you are moved apt buildings and the guy below you smokes like a chimney. Or maybe you switched jobs and you go in so early and leave so late that you never have the time to exercise.

The Basics of Health
1. Light- too little does not allow your body to absorb enough nutrients from your food. Get outside, even on the cloudy days
2. Water- acts as your body's lubricant and flushes out 'the bad guys'
3. Air- fresh unconditioned air is the best
4. Exercise outside- strengthens heart & provides vitamin D
5. Diet- the food you eat will affect you emotionally, physically, and mentally. Choose well.
6. Rest- allow time for recovery, healing, & growth
7. Relationships- God created Eve for Adam 'it is not good for man to be alone.' and this doesn't mean you have to be married; just be with people.
8. Supplements- 1 multiple vitamin per day (check to see if it has at least 50milligrams of Vitamin B to know if it is a good multi-vitamin or not.) And take plenty of Vitamin C & E.

How to Relieve PMS symptoms:
1. ditch the salty stuff, processed foods, fast food, and red meats.
2. eat less dairy
3. avoid caffeine
4. avoid sugar and alcohol (these will cause you to lose valuable electrolytes)

Just thought I could share with you my findings in this book.
I am constantly fascinated by nutrition, how we are able to help our bodies with the foods we eat, but mostly Americans abuse the foods that God placed on the earth and instead have turned into 'processed foods.' I hope I can take small steps to improve my eating habits.
Goal #1: Get rid of eating Doritos except for VERY RARE occassions, if even that.
I will need prayer for that. :)

London-town

This past week was quite a whirl-wind of wedding for my sister and her husband, Roger. God graciously allowed the funds for me to go to London for a week. He also guided the flights there and back safely. After watching too many episodes of 'Lost' before this trip, I was a little hesitant to fly. But I knew that after watching 'Lost', I was better off, with all that they have taught me, just in case that were to happen. :)

My plane landed Saturday, July 11th, and needless to say, I felt like a bag of trash. I had a migraine the day before, having to leave work early and go to the Dr. to make sure it was not anything more serious since I was leaving for London. Then the migraine, decided to develop into a head cold that lasted all week in London. The best part was seeing Jessi on the platform after riding on a train so we could finish the last leg of the trip together back to her apartment. She was beaming, as all brides do the week of their wedding, showing me her ring, which I had not seen before that moment. It was beautiful.

All week, I never felt as if I were in London. Even today, as people at church asked me, "What did you think?" I didn't know, I felt like I was still in America, but people were driving on the wrong side of the street, and Drew was not with me. I hope that I get to go back, with Drew, and get to take in the sights more. Next time, next time, but this time was all WEDDING!!

Jessi and Roger met at their church, St. Helen's pretty soon after Jessi moved to London in 2007. Roger is from England, just outside London, just an hour or less. I was able to meet Roger's family and they were very kind, full of help, and welcomed my family into their home the first day we arrived. And then, Roger's dads' patience and kindness was tested, when I left my purse at their home as my family was trying to catch a train in a hurry. He graciously turned around at the train station, drove back to their home, and returned it to me. I was very thankful!

Jessi and Roger were married on July 17th, 2009 at St. Helen's Bishopgate at 1pm. It was a beautiful ceremony. We sang "How Great Thou Art" as the first song of the wedding. St. Helen's was originally built, I think, in the 1600's. It is a smaller but very typical European church, with very high ceilings, and great detail marking the walls. But as we sang that song, with everyone in the church, it rose my affections for the Lord. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art! The high ceilings of the that church made that song seem ten times louder, as well.

After the ceremony, we had a dinner at St. Andrews, which is just down the street from St. Helen's. There we talked with Roger's family, listened to speeches given by my dad, Roger, and Roger's best man, Andy. From there, we proceeded to Dickens Inn, which is a little pub, at St. Katherine's Dock, where we danced, ate some more, watched the cake cut, and waved goodbye to Jessi and Roger. Side note, I was sitting in Heathrow Airport, talking to a lady headed back to Cleveland yesterday, as I was coming back. We were talking about where we were in the city for our stay and small world, she was staying just across the street from the reception, and she saw the sign that stated "Jessi and Roger Day's Wedding Reception." Small world.

As I think about the "Ralston family", what has now split off onto the Belden and Day families, I do get a little sad. My younger sister, Lindsay, now lives in Texas. My mom, dad, and brother are moving to Kansas City in just a few months. Jessi and Roger live in London. And Drew and I live in Stow, Ohio, where Drew grew up. It's a weird realization that family now is not what I thought family would be as I thought about it just 5 years ago. It's exciting to see what God has in store for us!

But, I hope that this realization of my family being split up locationally will cause me to pray more deeply for my family. I think I often forget about them, taking them for granted, consumed by everything going on in my world. But, I pray, that God will continue to transform us through His gospel, sanctifying us for that day when we will all be joined again, having been perfected because of the blood of Jesus Christ. How can I encourage them more prayerfully, through the gospel, and how can I love them each for who they really are?

I pray that through the marriage of Jessi and Roger that His name would be made great!
I have learned aLOT about God this past week and pray that He only continues to teach and grow me more and more.

Think about this....

"Busyness does not mean I am diligent
Busyness does not mean I am faithful
Busyness does not mean I am fruitful."
~CJ Mahaney~

"In all they ways, small as well as great; in all thy concerns, personal or relative, temporal or eternal, let him be supreme."
~Charles Bridges~

"The early Protestants rightly conceived of our callings as being much broader than our job. All of our roles in life are callings. Being a spouse, a parent, a church member, a neighbor, and a Christian are all callings."

"Most Christians believe they can be a Christian at work. To do so involves being a diligent worker, being honest in one's dealings with an employer, and witnessing to fellow workers. But this still leaves the work itself untouched by one's Christian faith. The original Protestants were right in going beyond this and claiming that the work itself is a spiritual issue and a means of glorifying God. We can be Christians not only in our work but through our work if we view our work as an obedient response to God's calling."
~Leland Ryken~


*****I know that the time I do spend "busy" or not, is not viewed as an opportunity to take it to Jesus. Sometimes I just do the job not looking at Him, not asking Him for guidance or the faithfulness to complete the task He has given me. What if we gave Him every piece of time with our words and our deeds? What would we look like as believers? Probably a lot more like Jesus. "Not my will, but Thine."******

What should I pack in my suitcase?

In 3 weeks I will be in London, England not just as a tourist either. My sister, Jessi, is getting married to Roger Day on July 17th.
I will be there from July11th-July18th. I'm excited to see Jessi and where her and Roger will be living. I'm also excited because I've never been to London, I've been to N.W England (Liverpool & Manchester area) but never London.

So what should I pack? I already have the general items in mind but what are some things that I might never think of that you guys could help me with?

It's only 3 WEEKS AWAY!!!!!!

I love summer

I absolutely LOVE summer! It just makes the day seem so much better to just know that it is summer out and that the sun doesn't set until 9pm. I can't believe that it's May 17th and I'm wearing jeans and a turtleneck right now, gross, Ohio, gross. Maybe this time next month it will be 80 degrees everyday.

So here are some plans D&I have already:
The end of May: Drew's cousin, Lyndsay, is getting married to Stewart in South Carolina. Drew is driving down with his family but I can't go!!! My ( ) work, you substitute the word, has a black-out date on the 29th, the day before the wedding! boo.... But I will cheer them on, up here in Ohio.
This is really the only picture I have where you can kind of see Lyndsay. She is in the black& white dress behind the bride-to-be last year, which is her sister.

June is pretty low-key for us, other than Father's Day, traveling to see my family and celebrating with Drew's dad. The end of June we are going to celebrate the wedding reception of Craig Cyphers and his new wife-to-be.

Then July hits! For the 4th of July, Drew and I are going to be at Cedarville University for a worship conference for the Chinese church in our church.
I leave on July 11th to the great country of England to see Jessi and Roger get married on July 17th!!!!
This a picture of them at Christmas time. They are going to live in London but hopefully go to seminary in the states???? Then, we could see them for a couple of years. :) I will be in London helping with wedding plans all that week and leaving the day after the wedding on Saturday....

and then, Drew leaves on that Sunday, to take a week class at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago. Boo... he won't be with me in England and I won't be with him in Chicago, double-boo. I want to go to Chicago SO BAD this year some time to see our beautiful friends, the Suttons!

In August, Jess and Roger are coming to the states to have a state-side reception in Chicago. I'm glad that they are coming over for a couple of weeks or so. I think they may come and stay w/ Drew and I for a day or more. :)
Then I hope that at the reception here, I will get to see Lindsay, my younger sister. I miss her and haven't seen her for a while! She lives in Kansas City, MO.
Lindsay is in the middle of the 3 girls.

I will be a free-bird in August for reasons I cannot discuss at this moment. Don't get too excited, it has NOTHING to do with a baby, i promise. Then it will be fun because August and September are the months that are my absolute favorite for 2 obvious reasons: my birthday and D& I's anniversary. Then D's parents anniversary is August 7th and my parent's anniversary is August 29th. So I think we should all just go out for dinner and celebrate!

So this is the life of the Belden's over the summer and more details to be released as we know them later!!!!!

When I have more time

So, I 'm not that great of a blogger.
I read others.
I want to write everyday.
But I can't.
So for all those disappointed in
my blogging skills, or lack thereof,
I'm sorry.
Maybe when I get to have more
than a few hours after work.....
Maybe when the house cleans itself...
Maybe when I hire a robot to
sleep for me...
Maybe when I can hire a chef....
or maybe one day......
I will be an amazing blogger.

Catching Up

This is the start of the Belden Holiday Roll: Caramel Sticky Rolls. They are absolutely horrible for you but I think that is why they are so good. It's just from Betty Crocker. Not hard just time-consuming.
You roll them up w/ a brown sugar, cinnamon, & butter mixture and place them in a 13x9 pan that the bottom is covered w/ a corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter mixture. Yum!
After baking for 30-35 mins here is the finished result, gooey-yumminess!
Here is the ribbon memo-board that so perfectly covers up the electrical box in the kitchen. I should have just bought one at Kohls. It ended up being about just as expensive. :) But as least it's in the color and style I love. If you send me pix of your family I will hang them up.....
So here is our room painted yellow, I absolutely love it! How did I not know before now that just the right yellow can actually make you feel happier when you walk in the room? It just feels so cozy.

Yeah, for paint!! It's kinda hard to tell but it's a light, golden butter-yellow. It feels more cozy.
What our room looked like before we painted, BORING......


D & I got to watch this precious little boy, Isaiah, while his parents went out for a meal by themselves. We thought we'd get to watch him for 2 -3 hours but no! the parents came back within 40 minutes! D&I were so sad because as you can see, he's a cutie!

I got these flowers for V-Day from Drew and I kept them alive for 21 days!! This is miraculous people!


Tomorrow is Easter and my family's coming into Akron to celebrate w/ Drew & I and Drew's family. This is the 3rd year that we have done Easter together. I like it, it's nice to have everyone at 1 place.

Hopefully I will remember to take pix and post those. I think I want to feature a family member for a week in my next blog. Hmmm....... ok! I'm going for a walk outside on this gorgeous day!! i can't stay inside any longer!!!!

Recording

These are some of the people that make up the bands for our church services named Illuminate & Resonate. They have been recording last week and all this week so they can make a CD for our church. There has been so much hard work put into this by everyone.

I am so proud of my husband. This is his love, making music and allowing others to experience lyrics that are biblical and encouraging. I am so thankful to God that He allows my husband to express himself musically this way. There will be 6 songs. Drew wrote 4 of the songs just this last year.

Drew and Tim Bechtel have been in the "recording studio" non-stop. They have taken each part & dedicated many hours/ days to each part. Tim has been awesome directing the sound board and knows so much about how that massive thing all works together. Emily (Tim's wife) and I have been taking meals to them. They built a room up just for this recording in the church, and it's filled with sound breakers and all kinds of things I don't know the names of.

The usual scene when I come to see Drew is this: the sound board, Drew and Tim, and whoever else wants to listen in, headphones on, heads bobbing, heads shaking or nodding, thumbs up and downs, LOUD guitar with the amps up, coffee cups all around, guitar cases, pieces of microphones strewn over the floor, and the leftover meal of the day burning in a crockpot.

It already sounds SO GOOD and it hasn't been mastered or EQ'd at all!!! SO EXCITED to hear the finished product!!
So be looking for the music on Itunes come this summer tentatively!!!!!

Happy -Random

This is the Hanchey family miuns their adorable little 1 1/2 yr old girl. They treated Drew and I to an overnight trip to Kalahari, a HUGE indoor waterpark! It was amazing!! The hotel room had a Master Bedroom and a really nice living room area with a fireplace; full kitchen, everything!! It was Emma's 6th birthday and we got to celebrate with her!!!! Dan & Michelle are great and we are so excited to be adopted Aunt Ashley and Uncle Drew, aka known as Miss Ashley and Mr Drew. They are too cute! Emma was over last week and she wanted to get a marble out of my ear, her magic-trick. She stuck her little pinky finger in my ear as far as it would go, which was a little painful, and claimed to have found... a marble. Maybe that was what was making me so off-balance the past month. :)
We drove to Toledo Valentine's Weekend and saw my parents and Nick. We only get to go for about 24 hours because we leave right after I get off work and stay as late as we can Saturday night so Drew can lead music at church on Sunday morning. It never feels like we get to be there long enough. My mom feeds us like there are 10 coming instead of just Drew and I.

Celebrating our 4th Valentine's Day together!! FOUR YEARS!! We started dating in Winter of 2005. We celebrated by going to Chipolte and Handels Ice Cream. Drew bought me cute shoes and roses. He is such a great gift-giver!

The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness by Tim Chester

Raise your hand if you feel like you can never get all that you need to get done, done. Raise your hand if you put people, God, or important tasks last on your list when you get busy?
Please read this book!! My older sister gave me this book at Christmas and it revolutionized how I thought about my busyness. It doesn't really tell you how to be less busy but rather what are your motivations of your busyness and what is it conveying about your heart with God. Is it an expectation that you feel the need to fulfill for someone else, pride, an excuse, what is at the root of your busyness?
I was super-convicted and I didn't feel bogged down at the end, feeling more busy. I even sighed a couple times almost feeling the stress and expectation levels decreasing as I continued to read.

Preserved

It is amazing to think how God has preserved my life for His sake for about 15 years. It's INCREDIBLE!! I am a human being and He is God! He has allowed me to grow consistently through His Word and in prayer. There are too many times to count the amount of days that I "just didn't feel like it." And yet, God was still with me.

I remember when I was about 11-15 years old, I loved to highlight my Bible. I think it was because the I liked to color. But then, I tried to preach a couple times on a verse just like I saw my pastor doing. I would be embarrassed if anyone found me doing that though. :) I remember when I was 12, I told God that I was going to read 1 verse everyday for my devotions. I remember many mornings doing that and at that time I was definitely compartmentalizing my love for God.

There were a few times I was called a Jesus freak at school and actually was proud & maybe a little zealously arrogant. But the Lord kept growing me even still. Throughout high school, I loved my youth group. God really used the friends in there and the leaders to help shape my personality and teach me spiritually. I desired to be a leader in there and was there as many times as the door was open.

Then it came time for college. The Lord led me to both of the colleges I attended through a skiing accident & working at a Christian sports camp in the summers. He spoke so clearly each time. He allowed me a few lonely nights at college where I would curl up in a pink Lazy-Boy and pour my heart out to Him. I loved reading the Word and dwelling on it. It was an entirely different level of desiring the Lord that had not existed before. He used my slightly introverted personality to cling onto a few spiritually-deep girls at my first college. Then in the summers throughout college, I worked as a counselor at a sports camp. It was definitely love-hate. I hated being away from my family and people that I really knew but I LOVED the way God would speak to me during my summers there. I would learn a thousand lessons each summer & that is what kept bringing me back to work there. Then God used that camp to open my eyes and hear to desire full-time ministry as a degree. I wanted so badly to love people and tell them about God. Then he led me to my second college.

This college poured buckets of God, His Word, and love for His people on my head! God humbled me so many times, so many times, that I wondered a few moments why I was there. There, He surrounded me with people who, for the most part, desired God, challenged me, got in deep conversations, also had lots of fun. Even in my most weary semester, He gave me a gracious roommate, so much daily strength, & friends that would pray. God also knew about a certain guy that would help sharpen me, challenge me, and just let me be myself. He brought me the best gift, other than salvation, my husband. My husband, has been such a picture of grace in my life. I cannot imagine life without this man. God placed Him in my life, while at my birthday party, at just the most interesting point in my college life. And ever since meeting my husband, God has used him to look at myself in the mirror & see who I really am: good or bad. I've had to face God in raw moments trying to decide if pride was winning the day or if I was willing to be humble and confess my sin.

At this stage of my life with God, He is teaching me so much about what love for His people really looks like. I have compartmentalized too long and it's time that I start actually living out what I say I believe. This is the first time in a few years that I have had a working environment of all non-christians, with a few exceptions. And also at this job, I'm being taught what perseverance, contentment, and true joy in Christ looks like even at a place that I don't like to work.

I'm excited to see how God continues to shape my life throughout the next 10 years & get to look back at these past years. It really makes me thankful for all that God has brought me through and that He really is my Rock and my Refuge. I could not live without Him and would rather not picture life without Him.