Nathan's Birthday Cake

Most of you who know my man knows that he LOVES hunting. I had this idea for his birthday last year, but didn't get to it. So I stowed it away in my little book of ideas, and made it happen this year. So check out the cake I made him for his birthday... it was definitely a hit!

I don't know if you can tell from the fuzzy picture above, but I even made an arrow going into the side of this buck. What's a hunting cake without a good kill?

Visits from Friends

I feel like Nate and I have been so blessed with friends who have been faithful to visit. It is always refreshing to be with people who know me so well. I will admit, settling in Dayton has been hard. College was nice because none of us really had any huge responsibilities. We went to class, ate lunch together, lived together, and just spent all kinds of time with each other. Relationships, therefore, happened quickly! Here in Dayton its much slower, and I guess I expected it to some degree. It's been difficult to manage a full-time job, taking care of a home, cooking dinners, and trying to get closer with the people God's placed in our lives here.

It's a good lesson that every season is something new. I can't wait around and expect for Dayton to feel like Louisville. I don't think it will. But it will be a new blessing and a new thing all in itself. I know God didn't send us here to feel alone- and we have met several couples in our new church that we adore. It's just going to to take time to develop those deeper relationships. And that's okay.

In the meantime, God has been so gracious to give us friends who will brave the 2 hour drive to come stay the weekend with us. I love having them in my home!

Gettin' Organized!

As we're finally settling into Dayton and the busyness of full-time work, Nate and I have noticed lately how unorganized and unintentional we have been in a lot of areas of our lives. We've kinda just been surviving- which isn't bad. But what is is that we've watched our hearts for the Lord grow weak through lack of time spent with him, our bank account grow smaller through lavish spending, and endless battles over who's going to cook what on which night. These are new things were struggling through. So last week, we sat down and had what I called a "plan night". For any of you who know me well, this is no surprise. I love organization and method, and will make thousands of lists until I'm blue in the face.

Now, mind you, all these efforts to organize and plan are vain without the Lord's help, and a FULL understanding that we do not gain God's pleasure by having our lives and finances in order. It's easy for someone like me to default to legalism, to follow a plan "to the T" and feel empty doing it. So we're asking God to change our hearts and "fulfill every resolve we have for good work." I don't know if any of you can benefit from what we're doing, but I thought I would share nonetheless:

MEALS- This has been an area of struggle for us, especially as I have gone back to work full time. Neither one of us feels like cooking after a long day at work, but someone has to! Nate would complain that he didn't know what to fix or what we had in the house, so we have resolved to go grocery shopping together. That way, we both know what we're getting- and if Nate ever has to run to the store to pick up that one brand of coffee creamer I always get, he won't come home with something totally wrong! :) Also, I used to make a meal plan for the week- assigning one meal for a particular night. I've realized how unpredictable schedules can be, so now we're trying something new. I made two lists to put on our fridge- one that lists possible meals we can make with ingredients we currently have, and the other that lists possible sides and veggies. I guess its kinda "cafeteria style" planning. I'll let you know how it goes.

FINANCES- We have tried to budget and have done fairly well in the past. But after trying several methods, we have discovered that the cash envelope system works best for us. If I have full access to a debit card, I swipe it and swipe it with little self control. I don't see the money leave my hand, so it doesn't hurt to spend that $3 on junk from McDonalds until I look at my bank statement and see that $3 here and there really adds up! Now that we have two incomes, we want to be smart about saving- for long term things, and for vacations and things like that while we're still childless. We've also signed up to take Dave Ramsey's Financial class. We start that on Monday and I'm really excited.

TIME WITH GOD- As believers in Christ, we must be feasting on God's word and seeking Him in prayer. For His word is living and active and discerns the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. And how can I expect to be any different at work or in my every day life if I'm not constantly calling on the Holy Spirit to fill me and live through me? We need Him! But this is often the first discipline that gets chucked from my daily routine. Oh no, I'd rather unload our dishwasher and make our kitchen look clean than allow God's word to cleanse my heart. I've known for years that my time with Him is much better and much more consistent if I draw near to Him in the mornings, before all the hussle and bustle of the day distract my heart. This does mean getting up earlier, but its worth it, and I have to remind myself of that often! Nate and I have also realized that we're not praying much together anymore or seeking God as a couple. So now on Wednesday mornings, we've decided to get up together and read something and just go to God in prayer together for different things going on in our lives. Its been good to be with Nathan (and God) in this way again.

That wraps up the biggest things we've discussed and implemented. I'm really excited too because we've signed up to go to a marriage conference put on by Family Life. That happens at the end of April.

Well, I don't know if that was beneficial to anyone else, but it was good to unload. Our jobs are going well. We're praying God would use our life and home and marriage for His glory and see Him doing that in small ways already. Marriage is better than its ever been. I praise God for the trials He's given us- for its made this time on the other side so much sweeter with Nathan. He is such a wonderful man. We miss Louisville and the fellowship we had there, but are trusting God to provide it here. I could go on and on. If there are other things you readers want to know, leave me a comment. Maybe then I'll know what to write about. :)

Workin' Woman

Hello blog world. Well, this is week 3 of working for Ash, and I really like it. I really enjoy being back in customer service- you meet so many different people from different places. Our bank is a small, hometown kinda thing, so you see the same people all week. It's great and really good for establishing relationships. I am done with training and now on my own... and its a bit scary! I feel like I'm constantly asking questions, and definitely look forward to things getting more comfortable and familiar. There's so much to learn! But I know its this way with any job, and I'll get more and more used to everything. It's kinda nervewracking being in charge of so much money! :) I've really enjoyed getting up in the mornings and having somewhere to be. It's a new phase for Nate and I to learn how to now balance work, our marriage, church, ministry, and our home, but we just have to depend on the Lord to be our Guide. Tonight, we're going out to Bonefish to celebrate my first real paycheck!

On another note, we now have a family living with us as well. The Whitacres are staying with us for a few months- they have an 18 month old boy and one on the way! So the Opie house is bustling with activity. But we're thankful that the Lord is using the house He gave us, and how He is shaping us through the process.

Well, that's all.

Got the job!

I am very thankful to let the blog world know that today, I got the job to be a teller at Liberty Savings Bank here in Dayton. I am so excited.

Waiting.

So sorry its been so long since I've written on this thing. We don't have internet at our house and don't plan on getting it for some time. Which means I am coming to the library regularly and have a short window of time to update myself on cyber-world.

We feel like we're finally settling into Dayton. In terms of the house, we've finished the kitchen, dining room, and living room and are taking a house-hiatus until after the new year. I'm starting to put pictures up on the wall which makes it feel so much more like a home. Not a ton to talk about... I've posted some pictures on Facebook. We've had a few Louisville/Lexington visitors which has been such a blessing to us. It brings a sense of normalcy to our lives, and its just nice to be around people who we really know and share deep fellowship with. We're always open to visitors!

We're enjoying and growing more comfortable in our church. There have been opportunities to have people in our home for dinner and to serve, and I really like that. It keeps me from growing introverted and selfish!

Nathan is still enjoying his job. He even had a conference this week and was making a presentation today. He is working so hard and getting adjusted to the 40-hour work week. I respect him so much for the way he is providing for us. In terms of my job, it has been slow. I've had several interviews which has been such a blessing from God, but nothing has worked out yet. I am waiting on Liberty Savings Bank here in town. I've had two interviews with them to be a teller and am really interested. I feel like they went well, but it just seems like job hunting involves A LOT of waiting! They said I should hear from them by tomorrow. I am running out of things to do in our home and am feeling lazy. Nathan gets up every morning to go to work, and sometimes I sleep in another two hours after he leaves. It doesn't seem fair! He's been great to encourage me and remind me that I can glorify God in any stage of my life (even if I'm staying home and making a Christmas garland so that our home feels more "homey")- but I am just ready to be working. I counted this morning and it's been 6 months since I've had a job! That is unheard-of for me.

It's really challenged me to evaluate where I find my worth. I will admit that, with the combination of being in a new place with no friends, having no job, staying home and doing menial tasks, I have really felt worthless as a person at times. But its really shown some inner-workings of my heart. I feel more valued as a person when I have friends, accomplishments, grand things I'm doing. But that shouldn't be the case. I should feel most valued because the God of the Universe sent His precious, sinless Son to die for my sins. That never changes, even when all my outside circumstances do! I still struggle to remember this daily- as the to-do list grows smaller every day. Just trying to enjoy this time that I have and use it to read more. Because I know a 40-hour work week will present its own challenges too.

Its fun to be in our home for the holidays. We're starting to decorate and plan for Christmas- looks like my family will come to Dayton, so I'm really excited about that! I guess that about does it on our end.

Been a While..

We don't have internet at our new house, so my access to the internet world (and this blog) is short and limited. I am at Panera enjoying the morning and thought I would let you all know whats going on. WARNING: This may be a bit long.

We are deep in projects at our new home, and I am so thankful that I am not working right now. The boredom I was experiencing for the few weeks before we got our house is long gone, and every morning I wake up with plenty to do! We decided to start on revamping the kitchen. And this will be, by far, the longest and most tedious project. It was outdated and covered in wood paneling (see below), so we decided to paint all the cabinets and panelled walls. I am a little nervous our older neighbors will be a little upset with us. They all talk about how skilled a woodsman the builder was.

SIDE NOTE: We found out that the man who built our house actually lived there for 50 years and was a skilled craftsman. That explains a lot of the character and cool spots of our house. We have a ton of storage and beautiful wood floors, and even a dumb waiter! I never knew what it was before we had one, but its just a small elevator that goes from the kitchen to the basement. The builder evidentley threw huge thanksgiving meals and had the basement full of people, so they would just send the food down the elevator!

Thanks to much help from my parents and Andy and Meredith, our kitchen is nearing completion! I have kinda gotten used to the mess our house is in right now. Dishes are scattered abroad and Dixie cups and bowls have become our "china". But its probably a good thing for a person like me to live in chaos for a while. I thrive on order, and can be a bit anal. Maybe this will help me to be a bit more flexible? I will post pictures when it's done and updated! It's so much fun to see how things change with a little bit (or a lot in our case) of paint. It's not a project I would suggest if you want a quick change. We've been in for 2 1/2 weeks and worked pretty faithfully every day on it. Perseverance to the end!!!

Something I feel like the Lord has impressed upon my heart the past few weeks is how important it is to be thankful in all cirumstances. Even as I posted the pictures of our house on Facebook, I found myself writing something negative about every room ("this wallpaper is ugly, we'll change this, the basement is creepy"). And as people in our lives ask how the house is coming and how we are enjoying it, my standard comment is, "well it's coming SLOWLY; i wish it was quicker!" Have I forgotten how I grumbled the previous months that we were living out of boxes and in a billion different places? How I didn't have anything productive to do?

I have been thinking about this verse and the surrounding ones in James 3, speaking of the power and restlessness of our tongues: "Look at the ships also; though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder... so also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things." I am learning that my moods and degrees of thankfulness are STRONGLY guided by the words that I allow to come out of my mouth. Just like the small rudder guides the whole ship, so my words often guide my wellbeing. If I am saying things like, "Oh its coming slowly, blah, blah, blah" I find myself getting discouraged when I come home to the mess that awaits us. I find myself feeling like this will never get done. I find myself complaining and forgetting to be grateful that Christ has richly blessed us with a home to live in! So Nathan and I both are fighting to be more thankful and verbally positive, trusting that that small rudder will guide these great ships into more holy and God-glorifying waters. We have so much to be grateful for- not just a house, but supremely that the God of the Universe has been pleased to bless us by sending His Son to die for the sins that we have committed against Him.

Lord Jesus, may we never reduce your gifts (children, homes, jobs, schedules, marriage, etc.) to mere subjects of complaints or burdens. May we always praise you with thankful hearts for the riches you graciously give to us!!!