Since coming back to Colorado Springs after Christmas break, I have been trying to keep myself busy while Josh it at work. I have officially finished my degree and received my teaching license. Yay! It is so good to be done! However, now I have a lot of free time that I have been attempting to fill it up and be productive. After being in college for the last four and a half years, I am out of practice with having a lot of time to myself.
I've realized that when we are really busy, we want more free time, and when we too much free time, we wish we had something to keep us busy. I am trying to find a balance right now with the activities I have been starting. Here are a few of the things I am keeping busy with:
Volunteering at an elementary school
Babysitting two days a week
Tuesday Women's Bible study
Zumba and other exercising at the YMCA
Receiving voice lessons from a world-renown opera singer
Fiddler on the Roof rehearsals (performances in April)
Reading lots of books
Baking and cooking
DIY crafts
Singing in the Colorado Springs Chorale
Singing and Volunteering at church whenever I can
I thank the Lord for the opportunities he has provided me with during this season. If it wasn't cold outside, it would be summer for me. A summer in the winter. Being without a job is not the best feeling right now, but God has good things planned for me at home and in my community. I keep praying and hoping for a good future and a good teaching job, but I am enjoying my life right now.
Josh has been heavily working on finishing his first project for CEI. We would really appreciate prayers for his system to work so he can install and test it at the client's building. Thank you for your loving support and encouragement. We send our love from the land of the beautiful Rockies.
This past weekend, Josh and I sang in the Colorado Springs Chorale's "Deck the Hall" concert. We performed at the Pikes Peak Center in downtown Colorado Springs. It was such a good turnout and a wonderfully fun concert. A bell choir from a nearby city joined us as well; their performance was so amazing and interesting to watch. Someday, I think I might want to try being in a bell choir....maybe when I'm old and my voice is too warbly. Josh and I both had solos in the performance, which made it an extra special event for us.
On Saturday, we went to a small town called Cripple Creek to perform some selections from our concert at the Baptist church. Cripple Creek is an old mountain mining town, with a lot of old history...and a lot of casinos. Nevertheless, I found the little town charming. I found the little church we sang in even more charming. People from all over that mountainous area came to hear us, and they packed that little church to the brim. The concert was free, and donations were being taken for a local charity in need. Singing in that church was one of the most joyous things I have done in a long time. The people were closing their eyes, laughing, singing along, and joining in our musical celebration of Christmas. They were a warm a hospitable people, and so many people came up to me afterwards to thank us for singing. I was filled with joy and satisfaction that I had made these people happy with singing.
It has been a long, dusty road since moving to Colorado. I have never questioned my abilities and my faith more than I have in these recent months. But something about singing in that church with all of those people gave me hope. I felt truly joyful to be here. I felt at peace about moving here with Josh. Singing for the glory of God and the true meaning of Christmas was a true joy. I thought, "If this was all I did to celebrate Christmas, I would be content." I would be content to know that I had given all of my voice to Jesus to celebrate his birth with these humble people. "They sound like angels from heaven," was one comment made by an audience member. The angels sang the of Jesus' birth that very first Christmas, and we are still doing it today. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness in our lives. I know he is being faithful to me this Christmas. He gave me what I needed--HOPE. Hope that Josh and I are in the right place. No matter how hard some days feel, I have hope that God has a good future for us here. I just need to be patient enough to let it happen.
On Friday, Josh and I did some Christmas baking in our apartment. We also made a pizza that looked like a snowman and watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." We are celebrating Christmas in full swing and having a great time. Christmas makes us both giddy and happy. But we absolutely can't wait to celebrate Christ's birth and great gift with our families in a few weeks.
Josh and I also spent a night in downtown Denver. We booked a hotel
for one night that had a package to get discount VIP tickets to the Van
Gogh gallery at the Denver Art Museum. After we visited to art gallery,
we were walking around town and noticed a lot of people gathering along
the streets. We had no idea that Saturday night was the night for
Denver's Parade of Lights. After a nice dinner out, we joined the masses
to watch the parade of lights and floats go down Denver's downtown
streets.
The next day we slept in and went to a nearby
cafe for brunch. Then we went to the Buell Theatre to watch "White
Christmas" the musical. The tickets to the show were a wedding gift from
Josh's sister, Joy, and her husband, Philip. It was a wonderful show
and ended up being one of the best weekends we've had since we moved to Colorado. I
will share some pictures of our fun weekend.
Waking
up to the rays of the sun beaming bright against the Rockies. Finally having
our apartment pulled together and decorated in a homey fashion. Getting to know
wonderful people at church. Having many opportunities to explore the city and
surrounding area. Teaching in a classroom where I feel comfortable. Being part
of a professional choir with my husband. Experiencing God’s peace in life…
…these are all of the things I am thankful for since moving
to Colorado Springs.
I feel like I’m walking on a water bed sometimes…I keep
looking down at my feet hoping the next step won't send me flying off the
bed. I keep hoping my next decision, choice, or hope will land me on something
more solid. Sometimes it's fun walking on the water bed, and sometimes I just start
feeling sick to my stomach from the instability.
Moving away from home still has had its challenges. Josh and
I are feeling more and more comfortable every day we live here. It doesn't take
away the fact that I still love and want to know my family back in Idaho and
get to know Josh’s family better. Thank goodness for technology. If I had tried to do this 100 years ago with no Skype or cell phone, I would have quit a long time ago. Thank you, Lord, for useful technology!
Last week, we celebrated Thankgiving with family friends in
high prairie and mountains of Fairplay, CO. Josh’s sister, Joy, and
brother-in-law, Philip, were there as well. It was gorgeous up there, and so
relaxing. Being up at 10,000 feet altitude was also an adventure. I had the
worst headache of my life. Next time I will make sure to drink lots of water,
even if I’m not thirsty. Now only a few weeks until it will be Christmas break.
We will be taking a whirlwind trip to both Minnesota and Idaho during our
break. I am SO excited to see my family again. It has been WAY too long.
Student teaching has had many ins and outs as I get to know
the profession better. The dynamics of administration, teacher, and students
really help make up the character and reputation of the school. I still feel
like a novice when in comes to logistics in the teaching world. Teaching the
content is becoming more and more easy every day, but I often feel overwhelmed
with all of the office and administration work required of the teacher. I am
getting used to some of that, but I have a feeling my first year of teaching
will be a crash course in boring paperwork.
Every week is a bit tiring for both Josh and I. By Friday
all we want to do is relax. We usually borrow a movie from the library or
Redbox and have pizza. Oh, how I love those moments of peace and relaxation.
Every day seems like a battle to defeat the negative thoughts that Satan likes
to wiggle into my brain. Something may go wrong, but I’m learning to take it
as, “Wow…another piece of life fitting into the puzzle.” I have also learned
through this that I have a choice as to how I respond to problems or hard
times. I can either let it ruin my day, or I can turn the lemons into lemonade
(I might get a little more creative and add some strawberries to it and make it
strawberry lemonade). The point being, God has given me the tools, faith, and
grace to make it through each day, no matter how hard. Thankfully I have my
best friend by my side every day to help me through those tougher than tough
moments—love you, Josh! Thanks for being patient with me in these first few
months of marriage! It will be 4
months this week!
I know I have the most loving, caring, and selfless husband in the world. Monday night (or very early Tuesday morning) I began throwing up everything I had eaten for dinner. I had food poisoning, and it was wreaking havoc on my body for about 3 hours straight. Josh stayed awake with me and held back my hair while I continued to empty my stomach into the trash can. He then cleaned everything up after I was done. No girl ever actually dreams of this happening, but she does wonder when she gets married...how will he act when I am sick? I wasn't too worried, but this just confirmed how blessed I am to have Josh as my husband. I am now very confident that we will be able to love each other in sickness and in health. Not only this, but Josh proceeded to get sick after me. He never threw up, but we both stayed home from work yesterday because we both were feeling gross and completely exhausted.
So ladies, if your man is willing to stand by you in your most disgusting and weakest moment, you know he is a true winner. This is how you know you are blessed with a loving husband who is a man after God's own heart.
Last night Josh and I were talking about our new life in Colorado Springs. I said that some days I feel like I have had my legs chopped off below my knees, and I am walking on nubs around Colorado Springs. I am still searching for purpose, relationships, and connection. Josh and I both had a good laugh especially when I concluded, "And my nubs hurt! Some days I feel like I am getting nowhere."
So the picture of me walking on just my knee nubs was pretty comical, but I know deep down that that is how I feel sometimes. The reason I still have the rest of my body is because Josh has filled me to the core with his love, perseverance, patience, and understanding. The fact that I am walking on nubs has nothing to do with him. Some days I feel frustrated that God would put me in a new place when he knows that I need people. But my mother-in-law recently enlightened me that maybe God is trying to pull me closer to Him and teach me what it means to really trust Him. Maybe He doesn't want me to be around as many people right now. I have always relied on a bunch of people to be around me to give me purpose, hope, love, and community, but maybe God doesn't want that for me right now. Patient endurance is my key phrase right now. I am so privileged to know so many people who have learned patient endurance in the Lord. I am inspired by their trust, and I pray that I will learn that too and not be stuck in a rut.
As for the future, I get to spend this weekend with my in-laws and next week back at Dordt College. I hope to get some good relational and social time in the near future. To God be all the glory.
Summer was a whirlwind! I can't believe all that has happened in the last month. I got married, went on a honeymoon, moved to a new city AND state, flew to Minnesota for our reception, and started a student teaching job. Right now, I am sick at home, missing my home and my family. Being married to Josh has been wonderful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. But I didn't realize until now how hard so many changes can be. Some days I am so busy, I don't even have time to think about it. Days like today, where I am home alone, I think about it a lot.
It has been hard adjusting to a new city, a new apartment, new bed, new set of responsibilities, new climate and altitude, and a new husband. Sometime I wonder how I can ever deal with all of this. I know the only One keeping me afloat right now is God. I COULD NOT do this without him. Things also come up unexpectedly, like a family tragedy. The night Josh and I came back from Minnesota, I got a heartbreaking call from my dad. My sister-in-law's sister, Anne, died fighting wildfires in northern Idaho. A tree fell on her and killed her instantly. I had only met Anne once, at my brother and sister-in-law's wedding, but I was really upset. My sister-in-law had already lost her father several years ago from complications of sledding injury. I was heartbroken for her family and weeped for them. With so much going on around me, and so much stress coming with moving and student teaching, the bad news was the tip of the iceberg.
Several weeks later, I know things are getting better. Josh and I have had some fun and wonderful moments where we can laugh and enjoy each others company. Other moments, I don't know how to feel. I miss my family and friends. I miss familiar surroundings. I miss the comforts of being around familiar people. I miss Idaho's beauty, even though Colorado Springs is beautiful as well. I feel alone in a very big place, and I have never dealt with homesickness before. I am getting used to living here, and the other day, I thought to myself, "This could be home." That is a big step for me, to even think that.
God has been the one to see me through all of this, and I know he is using this time to draw me closer to Him and to make me stronger in my faith. Some day I wonder, "Why am I here God? This doesn't exactly feel good right now!" I know God brought Josh and I here for a reason. I know our marriage will be stronger because we have to lean on one another so much. We have to rely on one another for enduring love and support when we have no one else around us to cheer us on. I thank God for giving me such a wonderful, understanding, and caring man such as Josh. I would not have been able to move to such a new place if it wasn't for his strength and support.
There has been a song that has been keeping me going through the summer. It is called "He Said" by Group 1 Crew. It talks about humans having to go through hard times, but always remembering that God will never give us more than we can handle. He will remain by our side. He will lift us up when we fall down. I have held onto that promise these last few weeks, and I will not forget it. Listen.
