People... by Kristine

People I miss in my life (who, by means of moving to different states, are no longer accessible to hang out with all the time):

1. Allison Cunningham... hilarious, beautiful, Christ follower, learner and leader
2. Matt Howell... gifted, poetic, random, matty matt sax
3. Matthew, Naomi and Abby Reyes... best family a girl could ask for
4. Scott Reyes... dreamer, traveler, explorer, smart, tall skinny monster
5. Sarah Protzman... creative, thoughtful, engaging

People who are new to my life that will have to visit me in Nashville:

1. Erin Chaney... pensive, pursuer of dreams, talented, kind, giving
2. My Bible study girls... thought provoking, encouraging, accountability


I just wanted to throw a shout out to those of you who I miss and love.

Well, I apologize for the over-a-month delay in posting again. I finally got a job!!! Yippee! And I love it. I was in such a state of "I'm not good enough because no one wants to hire me" that I didn't know what to do with myself. I came to the realization that it doesn't matter if I do or do not have a job, Christ thinks I'm worthy, therefore I am. I don't understand why the world puts so much emphasis on what you do instead of who you are. Some people think you are what you do. I think you do what you are. Not that I'm saying I'm an administrative assistant at heart, but I like organizing things, helping people, and finding short cuts to things, and that makes me great at my job. However, I wish I could get paid for loving on children that have no one. That would be the greatest job ever. I wish I could run my own orphanage (obviously with Chris' help). Hopefully that dream will come true one day... in like 20 years or so.

Chris and I are still anxiously awaiting our move to Nashville. The months have flown by. We are down to just 3 months left in our count down. How crazy! I feel like I've been waiting forever, and it is going to be here before I know it. We've been looking at places to live and I think we've settled on either La Vergne or Smyrna; both are just 20 minutes south of downtown Nashville. The areas are gorgeous. Out in the county, next to a lake, lots of land. Nothing like Dallas. Last night Chris and I went to my work Christmas party. It was at Iron Cactus. As we were driving around downtown Dallas, we both were amazed at how we no longer have a desire to be "big city folk". We were frustrated with the traffic, the crowded parking lots, and the people that seemed to be everywhere around us at 730pm. I never in my life thought I would say I wasn't a city girl, but I'm not anymore. Crazy. We both desire so much more than what Dallas has to offer. We are excited to see what Nashville and the "country" can offer us. We need your prayers that what we find the country offers brings glory to God.

So nearly a month has gone by since my last post. I apologize. I told myself if I started a blog I would frequently write, but clearly that hasn't happened. A lot has happened in the last month. Chris and I went to Nashville for my friend's wedding and to check out places to live, since we will be permanent residents soon. Nashville is absolutely beautiful. The weather was fantastic, the streets and highways were surrounded by hills, and traffic was almost non-existent. Chris and I drove around the city for hours just amazed at how beautiful it was and how thankful we are we get to move there and start/raise a family there.  We are going back in three weeks. Chris's manager is setting him up with some co-writing sessions and I am going to meet with a realtor. It is all finally happening. As much as I love Dallas and love calling it home, it is time for us to move on. A little less than five months to go. I meant to take pictures and had my camera in my purse the whole time, but forgot. I am horrible at that. I promise in three weeks I post pictures of our new home. 

Chris and I love our new home group. We are studying Ephesians, my favorite book in the Bible and the verse my tattoo reads on my back. We are excited to be diving deeper into the Word and better understanding our God's purpose for our lives and the way he wants us to treat people. As much as I wish I could say I am real nice to everyone, I'm not. It's a huge area I struggle in and am really trying to become more Christ like in those situations. Especially now I figure since I'm moving I don't need any new friends so I'll smile and chat with no intention of making it something more. I confess this because I want to be better at it and if you see me doing that... stop me!!

I promise pictures will follow soon. Chris and I have been married a year and probably only have 15 non-wedding pictures together. Sad, huh?

Chris and I have started going to a new homegroup in Richardson. It's not that we stopped liking our old one, it's just that, since we will be moving soon we want to see how the start of a new homegroup looks like. How do we decide what to study? Time frame? What does the leadership role look like from the beginning? All we know is that once we do move, we want to find a great church to belong to and after becoming members be leaders in the church. Not meaning on staff or anything, just really involved. We talk a lot about how we are tired of just sitting back and absorbing information. We want to take on a position where we can build up disciples for Christ, and as well be covered in Jesus' dust ourselves! 

I start leading a Bible study tonight with 4 other women. I am so excited. I have never lead a Bible study before so I am praying that I know the right things to say. I just can't wait to pour into other people's lives by spending time with them and getting to really know them. Isn't that what the body of Christ is called to do?

Here are some pictures of our trip to San Antonio over Labor Day. We love Matthew, Naomi, Abby and that little baby boy growing in Naomi's belly!!

Asking

Two weeks ago at the Village, Matt Chandler gave a sermon that I cannot get out of my head. A part of it was about our prayer life. Are we lazy with prayer? Do we have idols that we are not willing to give up? Are we using God to get what we want? Are we asking, but not seeking? That really stood out to me. I so often pray about things that I want to change in my life, but rarely seek out ways to make them happen. I don't think I ever even thought about seeking. I know God wants me to seek Him, not so that I will get what I want, but to have a relationship with Him so He is the first one I run to. 

I love my church and the gift God has given Matt Chandler. Other than my family, I will miss the Village the most. I have grown so much over the past 2 1/2 years and I owe it all to that church. I pray that Chris and I find a church just as fulfilling in Nashville. If you get a chance, add that to your prayer list.

Olympics

I used to think I was an athlete... however, after watching the Olympics for 17 days straight, I realize I am FAR from being an athlete. I went for a walk today and got burnt out in 30 minutes (although I will credit some of that to the 100 degree heat). That is pretty sad considering that I used to swim for 2-3 hours a day in college. Needless to say I am motivated. I like feeling "strong", it makes me more confident in myself. I cannot put my self-consciousness on anybody but myself, even though I try to blame Chris. He loves me the way I am. I wish that for all my friends, for them to find someone who loves them just the way they are now, not some future version of them. Surprisingly many people fall in love with the person they want their mate to be, not the person they are. That makes me sad and fear for the possible relationships that are out there. Luckily I have the most amazing husband in the world! Not that I'm bragging or anything :)

Moving On...

My little brother is moving to Italy in 7 days... indefinitely. I am really proud of him. He has talked about moving to Italy to teach English for a couple of years now, and he's finally doing it! He doesn't know how long he is going to be gone. Maybe one year, maybe five. Crazy. I am going to miss him. He is a very big part of my and Chris' life and it is going to be weird without him. I hope we get to visit him. Scotty, we love you!

My little sister is moving to San Francisco in January to work with street kids and prostitutes. WOW!!! I am really proud of her too. She has come a long way the past 20 months. God is doing amazing things in her life and it is so exciting that she gets to use them for His glory. I am just such a proud big sister right now!!

What an emotional weekend it's been... Lauren Larsen delivered her baby on Thursday night, just before midnight, and on Friday just after lunch I got a phone call that the baby was not doing well and that we needed to pray for her because her chance of survival was 50%. My heart dropped. And I prayed... still am praying. I cannot imagine carrying a baby for 9 months and then not being able to hold him or take her home. I especially cannot imagine losing him. I would hope my faith would not be shattered, but I don't know that I can honestly say it wouldn't be. 

As of right now the baby is stable. I have no idea what is going on in Lauren or Matt's mind. Please pray that Lucia Life Larsen makes it through these next tough couple of days, that God would give her strength to fight, and breath life back into her. I beg you to pray with me. Pray with faith, for faith is what gets me through. 

Change?

Last week I finished reading the book Same Kind of Different as Me. I am not a reader, but it only took me 3 days to read it. It was one of the most powerful books I have ever read and I could not put it down, nor could I stop from crying. It really has got me thinking. What kind of a life am I leading? What am I called to do? Who am I called to help? And a number of other questions. I desperately desire to change myself from the inside out, but at the same time have no idea what that looks like. The past week I have been very mellow and confused. How do I go about a life change? So many things have been on my mind and I can't seem to figure it out yet. I know I will, I just don't like thinking about how long it might take me.

Chris and I are moving in April to Nashville. We are so excited. Dallas has become an enemy to me and I do not want to feel that way. I feel as though I don't belong here. I want my future to start now. But I also want to take some people with me. We can conclude that I am confused and contemplating a lot of things. I am so glad I have my husband beside me, with me all the way. I love him so very much.

My sweet friends

In the last two months tragedy has hit twice for two of my friends. Lindsay Killingsworth lost her mother and Lauren Woods lost her daddy. It is times like these when people start asking God why questions. I have been in the why situations before. Not too many times, but the few times I have it drew me further and further away from Christ. Like I can even begin figuring out why our great God and King does things. I don't know if it's fair for us to ask these type of questions, do you? All I know is that when God first made the world he was pleased because it was good. Therefore concluding me to believe that bad things are not from God. Death was not part of God's original plan, so I believe that ALL things bad come from Satan (I know that sounds cheesy "Christian-speak" but I can't think of a better way to say it). Yes, God allows them to happen, but if we had lived according to His original design, bad things would not happen. Thoughts?

Our life...

There are several marriages around us that are falling apart. Marriages that have only lasted a year. Thinking about that makes me not only sad, but feel that the devil is working overtime in ruining what is good in the world. However, Chris and I love each other more each day. Our relationship continues to grow and we are seeing the fruits of our faithfulness to each other and to God. Chris desires to help those marriages that are failing and I pray that will be my desire too. I never thought that someone could love me like Chris does and I thank God everyday for him and what he does for me, how he makes me feel, and the way he treats me. I am the luckiest woman to get to fall asleep and wake up to the love of my life everyday for the rest of our life together.