Home is where the Heart is.

Birmingham is starting to feel like home. We have loved getting our house settled, getting to know the city and making new friends. Browning is 2 months into his residency and he is loving the ED and loving his program. We love our church and have found an incredible small group to be a part of. The Tuesday after Labor Day I am going to start volunteering at a place called The Bell Center. It is an early childhood intervention center for kids at risk for developmental delay who were either born premature or have some sort of genetic disorder. This will enable me to still work with kids and keep up some of my child life skills! In just a few weeks I am going to start leading a college small group that I am very excited about it. As I am preparing to lead, the Lord has been molding me and teaching me so much about His Word. It has been such a blessing! I wanted to post some more pictures of our house. I have been slowly getting the house all situated and still have some more work to do and will post these at a later date! Enjoy!

The front of our house.

Sic 'Em Bears!!

Living room. Door leads to the mud room where the washer/dryer and Lady's bed are.

Living room.

More living room...

and some more...

Kitchen.

More kitchen...

Last kitchen view.

Dining area.

Dining

Bathroom.

Our bedroom.

More bedroom...

Last bedroom picture.

Guest room needs some work...

Our watch dog!

She hopes to see you come visit us!!!!

That is all for now! I have been crafting lots and just learned to sew! Stay tuned to see all I have done!

Sweet Homewood Alabama!

WARNING: This will most likely be a long post with several pictures. Please bear with me.

As some of you may know, back in March Browning had what is called "Match Day." During match day, each 4th year medical student received an envelope that says where they will do their residency. Browning matched to UAB in Birmingham! We have been so excited knowing this is where God has desired for him to train and for us to go on an adventure together.

(Me and Browning on match day!)

Fast forward until June and its time to pack up and move....We have now been settled in our new home in Homewood, Alabama (our city near Birmingham) for two weeks and so much has happened. Our adventures started at 7am on June 3rd in Houston. We were all packed up and ready to go when I attempted to start my car and the battery was dead.... What a perfect start to a 12 hour road trip.

(Browning, Browning's dad, and Ryan working on the car. Browning's mom and I were the cheerleaders.)                                    

After the first attempt to jump my car, it was up and running and we were on our way to Alabama. Special thanks to Ryan Rister for helping us load up the Penske, drive Browning's car to Birmingham and unload everything in our house!! He was such a life saver and we enjoyed having our first guest!

( Browning, me and Ryan as we say bye to Houston and hello to Alabama. And no, Browning and I did not plan our matching shirts...)

After several hours of driving we were all getting hungry. Browning wanted to get a roast beef sandwich from Arby's.... Well, I have never eaten there and never thought I would, but of course in honor of the movie 'Baby Mama' I knew I had to...

"I'd rather be at an Arby's right now. There is better food and cooler people there..."

Finally, 12 hours later, we all arrived in Birmingham, Alabama! The sun was setting over the mountains and the air smelt like fresh pine trees. Browning and I are so thrilled for this adventure the Lord has set for us! We spent the night with an incredible loving and generous family that has welcomed us into town with open arms. Monday morning, it was closing day. We were so excited to move into our first home. 

(We are excited about signing our lives away...)

After we signed it was time to move in. Unfortunately we woke up and it had stormed all night and during our signing, but after lunch it turned into a beautiful move-in day! 

(Here we are in front of our new house on a rainy day!)

After a few days of getting the house situated, we fell in love with a sweet dog we saw a picture of through an incredible dog rescue organization. We had a meet and greet with her and ended up taking her home with us. Her name is Lady and she is about 5-6 months old. She has completely stolen our hearts and we absolutely love her! Below are a couple of pictures of her... (We might be obsessed...)

(Browning with Lady)

(Lady being sweet with her gator)

(Chillin after a long walk)

(Lady the model...)

(Lady confused at music coming from my phone)

More posts to come with life updates and pictures of the house! We are really enjoying our time in Birmingham so far but really missed our family and friend back in Texas. We have a spare bedroom and would love visitors... just saying! 

Change.

Change; [cheynj]- to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of(something) different from what it is or from what it wouldbe if 
left alone: to change one's name; to change one'sopinion; to change the course of history.


Change occurs in life. Change occurs with marriage, with jobs, with friendships and with yourself. The one thing we do know is that God never changes or wavers. He declares in Malachi 3:6 that,    “I the LORD do not change..." What a glorious promise. If only in the midst of change we relied on His promises and trusted in His word. Although our lives on earth change and our circumstances are altered by various situations, the promise of God, is that He is alive and moving in it all. 


My work life has brought a lot of changes and emotions recently. Not bad, just different. A few months ago, I was told about a moving opportunity to a new unit. I thought about it for a couple days and decided I couldn't move from the ER, that I had grown to love so much. God had really taught me a lot and really strengthened me through my time in the ER and I couldn't let myself move from what was comfortable for me. Little did I know that the Lord had other plans in mind. A few more days went by and I couldn't stop thinking about this opportunity. I knew there was a reason I couldn't let the thought go. If I chose to move, my hours and responsibilities would look different. They would change. I prayed a lot about this opportunity. I talked with my husband, family, friends and more importantly God. I felt a tug that it was my time to move. To change. I left the ER in tears and anxiety. I moved to a new unit in June and have been there for a couple of months now. It sure is different, but it is good. It has been a change. It is what God desired for me at this time in my life. How could I argue with that? Ultimately, I still get to love on kids amidst hardships and help them and their families cope with their hospitalization and diagnosis. I have the best job in the world. 


Change. As a result of this change, my work life has changed. My home life has changed. My hours have changed. My role on an inpatient unit has changed from my role in the ER. My perspective has changed. This change and challenge has allowed my relationship with our God to change. This was a leap of faith for me. This was a change God allowed me to make and allowed Him to work in me. This decision taught me a lot about trust. Trust taught me a lot about God's character. God's character is spoken through His scripture, just as He declared in Malachi. God NEVER changes. 


Our lives change. Our circumstances change. Our perspective changes. Our responsibilities change. We change. 
But the promise that will never change is that God never wavers. He never changes. May this promise encourage you today. Whatever your circumstances are, may you feel the presence of God. May His word bring your peace. Allow Him to change your heart. He has a lot to teach us and show us. Be moldable. 


Song Of The Day: The One You Need by Shane & Shane

yearn.

yearn

by shane barnard

holy design
this place in time
that i might seek and find my God
my God

Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn

Your joy is mine
yet why am i fine
with all my singing and bringing grain
in light of Him

oh You give life and breath
through Him You give all things
in Him we live and move
that's why i sing

acts 17:25-28, hebrews 12:28-29




As this song lingers in my mind, I can't help but desire this. As I read these scriptures, I can't help but desire Him, seek Him, yearn for Him and find joy in Him. These are such powerful and compelling scriptures.

"...God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, 

though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being..."

Acts 17:27-28

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

for our "God is a consuming fire."

Hebrew 12:28-29

What does it mean to yearn? By definition it means: to have an earnest or strong desire; long; to feel tenderness; be moved. After reading this definition and then reading this scripture, I can't help but wish I constantly lived my life yearning for Christ. He desires us to yearn for Him. He desires for us to desire Him. He moves mountains and He transforms our hearts. Countless times in scripture, God reaches out to His followers. He is a constant. He is the steady rock. He is our joy. He is our passion. Will you choose to let Him be these things for you? 

Why do we let a day pass and forget this? Why is it that we find more value and pride in our jobs, our things and our appearance rather than our salvation and relationship with the Lord? When we yearn for him, living water will flow from within us. I pray I would learn to live radically. I pray that we as a nation would learn what it means to take our faith seriously. More importantly that scripture and our God seriously. The gospel requires a response. As christians, we are not called to simply read scripture and pick and choose what we want to hear from God. He requires all of us when we make the choice to be His disciple, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. 

"Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple

must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

Luke 9:23

Is He worth it to you? May this be your prayer...

"My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God."

Psalm 84:2

Song of The Day: Yearn by Shane and Shane

Baylor

A few days ago I was asked the questions, "Why did you love Baylor so much?" and "What about Baylor makes it so great?" I sat in ponder for a minute because the question is a difficult one  to answer, yet so easy. My first response was, "EVERYTHING!" Then I began to reminisce on my four years at Baylor. Oh how I miss it.

I believe that the main reason I love Baylor so much is that the Lord completely mapped out my college experience and desired for me to spend my college experience there. I felt so blessed, encouraged, and loved by Him as I walked through my days at Baylor. I read something this morning that made me think about how right God is and how wrong we can be about our plans and desires. What I read was this:

"No one's agenda but God's will enthrone the Lord of glory. 

God sits in heaven and laughs- not because He thinks it's funny,

but because He knows the truth of the future. His plan will be carried out 

and His Son will be exalted."

This was such confirmation that not only did I desire to go to Baylor but that is what the Lord had planned for me. When I realized this, it made my time at Baylor much more purposeful. 

Another reason I think Baylor was so right for me and was so incredible was the people. Browning, who was my boyfriend all through college and now my husband was such a blessing to me at Baylor. He showed me the ropes of Baylor and challenged me to be a better person. The Lord blessed me with Browning to seeks after the Lord in a way that encourages me and teaches me so much about Him. Not only that but we were able to have so much fun going through college together! Next to Browning my best friends made my experience at Baylor one I will never forget. I remember praying in college that I would meet Christ following girls who would be my best friends. Little did I know that I would meet these girls and that God would surpass my expectations. He blessed me with friends who not only follow Christ, but who live it out, speak it loudly, enable me to learn from them and who are beyond willing to meet with me at any hour or the day and night to share what He is teaching me. Many of my memories at Baylor consist of prayer at Common Grounds with my friends, long walks around the bear trail with friends, excursions to the dam and searching for new adventures in the CO. These are SOME of the people who made my time at Baylor remarkable: 

Browning and I at Homecoming 2010

Friends at the Homecoming Parade 2010

Friends in Denver 2011!

Friends at Dodgeball Tourney!

Owls Nest

Beautiful Friends!

Fun adventures with friends!

These girls mean the world to me!

Kait and I at a Baylor soccer game!

Friends at a Baylor basketball game! Sic 'em!!

My sweet husband and I at a Baylor game!

There are many more amazing friends that I have from Baylor which are not pictured above, 

but I can only post so many pictures at a time. More to come in a later post.

Sic 'Em Bears and Keep Waco Wacko!

Song of the Day: Like an Avalanche by Hillsong United

Recommended Reading: Radical by David Platt

High School Days

I have decided to revert back to my high school days as I spend this rainy and cloudy day off cooped indoors...

Felicity was a TV show that I became addicted to thanks to a close friend of mine. I would watch 10 episodes in a row sitting in the same spot of my bed. I have found myself doing the same today...

Because of the show I became obsessed with Dean & Deluca, which is a coffee shop in New York that many of the characters in the show worked at. I went to New York for high school graduation and made it a priority to visit one of the Dean & Deluca's. It was my favorite part of the trip! I came home with this exact coffee mug that is to this day my favorite coffee mug to drink from. I love coffee!!

Song of the Day: Many Roads- Andrew Peterson