Life After Chapter 40...

... not Life After Chapter 7......or 13......those things I can't give advice about, but Chapter 40 is something entirely different.

On Sunday we had the pleasure of worshipping with Dave Edwards in our morning service. He delivered God's word in such a powerful way, invoking laughter and conviction and absolute praise. If he is going to be anywhere in your area, I strongly recommend going to hear him.

Below are my notes (an outline) of his message from Genesis Chapter 40.

"Frustration (or Chapter 40)"

Frustration = any time our expectations and reality collide.

Bibilically, the number 40 has extreme significance. It's often used to describe a period of testing. In our lifetime, we will all pass through our own Chapter 40.

(i.e. in our finances, marriage, raising children, sickness, etc.)

What to Do When We Find Ourselves in Our Own Chapter 40:

1. Recognize it as God's course of preparation (Genesis 40:3-5)
   - We shouldn't be so quick to view tough seasons as punishment from God.
   - God knew he would raise up Joseph as a great leader, but early on he had a problem with his mouth, and it often got him into trouble (i.e. thrown in a pit). God would take Joseph through a season of preparation.
   - We have to walk through these seasons because there's something on the other side.
2. Refuse to compromise (Genesis 40:14-15)
   In moments of frustration, we all have it in us to rationalize doing something we would never normally do. When a door of opportunity comes that will allow us to bring an immediate end to a Chapter 40 season, we can not compromise. Why?
   A. It prolongs the process (It cost Joseph another year in prison.)
   B. You'll miss the blessings of God. (Chapter 40's not all bad. Spiritual gifts are often uncovered during these times - Joseph's ability to interpret dreams.)
3. Request courage for the duration (Genesis 40:21-25)
   - We can not go through Chapter 40 alone, and we weren't intended to.
   - We need to daily request courage from God to endure until he brings us out on His terms and in His time table.
   - The good news is that after every Chapter 40, there is a Chapter 41!!!(and about a million Biblical examples of this) For every season of testing, there is a season of success.
   
   He ended his message by taking us all through what he calls The Chapter 40 Prayer. I wish I could remember all of the words, but the heart of it is just to ask God daily (sometimes hourly),
   

" Lord, give me the courage to stay with You
in my head
in my heart
and where you have me."

I have since taped this prayer to my bathroom mirror (for Mom, who is the queen of taping verses to our bathroom mirrors for years - and you thought we weren't paying attention).

What We've Been Up To....

We've been busy since the last time I posted! It all started last Wednesday night with our church's annual "Raise the Praise" worship service, part of the tradition we lovingly refer to as Awesome August.

Friday night Chase and I met up with another couple from his dental school class and went to see David Crowder Band at Briarwood. My ticket stub says "concert", but if you're familiar with DCB then you know that it was definitely a worship service. Two large projection screens displayed the words to every song, which made it even easier to sing along. It also allowed me to reflect on the words I was singing. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what I was singing before but I think I actually learned the real words to some of the more upbeat songs. God has truly given DC an amazing gift, in both songwriting and musical ability. The songs ranged from bluegrass to techno and DC played everything from a keytar (google it) to a wireless controller from the video game Guitar Hero. Amazing show. Amazing God.

Saturday I decided to further sharpen my domestic skills and attempt the Ooey Gooey Chocolate Ice Cream Cake pictured below. It was an all day affair (as in, a lot of steps and a lot of waiting in between each one). However, it was worth it. Thank you Paula Deen, thank you very much.

Click the cake to see the recipe

I took the cake to Josh and Katie's for 'Game Night'. For those of you not fortunate enough to witness a game night, here's a recap... Food, card games, arguing about the score, laughing at each other, board games, food, making fun of each other, arguing about game rules, food...and we usually quit just before someone's marriage falls apart (because we always play boys vs. girls). Typically Madelyn (Josh and Katie's lil one) chews on whatever game piece she can get her hands on: her go-to choices are usually the deck of Uno cards or the red Apples to Apples cards. However, this time it was our Cranium game that suffered a casualty when one of the dogs chewed the foot off of the little game piece. It was actually pretty funny and the game piece was so ugly to start with you barely even notice the missing foot.

Sunday morning = hard to get out of bed. But, alas, it was my turn to bring breakfast to class so I popped some sausage balls in the oven (which , by the way, always make my house stink - is it just me?). After church we rushed home to grab a quick bite to eat and then drove back to the church for an afternoon of yardwork with all the other YMs (young marrieds). We're about to wrap up our "Summer of Love" series based on the Francis Chan book, Crazy Love. This book is a MUST READ. Buy it today. Seriously.

One of the YM leaders had arranged for us to meet the practical needs of people in our community and week one=yard work. Our team of about 7 knocked out 2 yards in a few hours. I have never in my life picked up a weed eater, but I did on Sunday. Thanks to Josh for cranking it up and giving me a quick lesson, and a BIG thanks to Chase who always does the weed-eating at our house. I'll stick with the riding mower, thanks. We were blessed to be able to minister to some pretty amazing people (everyone has a story). I'm not sure what the next few weekends will involve, but I'm looking forward to it, and will bring a can of bug spray next time!

Blah Blah Blog

I've come to the conclusion that I'm terrible at this blogging thing, so here's a little bit of what has been going on with us...


A few weekends ago we drove up to Huntsville to see Matt and Sarah tie the knot.....unfortunately I didn't get any good shots - but the wedding was beautiful. I did grab my dear friend Ashley for a picture before she begins her 11 month journey across the world... seriously. Follow her HERE .

We also celebrated my Grandad's 80th birthday with a LOT of people and even more food. I think he was surprised to see so many old friends. After dinner he opened a ton of gifts. If you know my Aunt Sandy, then you know what came next. Several people shared a favorite memory or something that they admire or love about Grandad. He hates to be the center of attention, and he tried to laugh it off, but it was very emotional. I can't imagine how encouraging and humbling that must have been. We love you g-daddy!

Anniversary

Just two short years ago I married a man who, believe it or not, is more wonderful today than he was on July 28, 2007. I can hardly believe that two years have passed. We reminisced last night, with every statement seeming like it began with, "This time 2 years ago we were _______ ," or, "I remember feeling _______." The last two years have certainly been a growing process, but we're learning more about each other every day (and given our recent uncontested win of The Newlywed Game, I am further convinced that we are absolutely perfect for one another).

Below is one of our engagement pictures, taken in Big Spring Park.

And here's a shot from our wedding day...

Photo Credit http://www.mikerossphotography.com/

And just for fun, here's one from the honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

"Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

My commute to work every morning takes about 30 minutes...IF someone else hasn't shut down 65 or the Red Mountain Expressway. I recently came to the realization that my half hour commute was a big waste of my time when I spent it eating breakfast I missed because I got up late, perfecting my defensive driving skills, and being annoyed at the Max bus that always seems to get in front of me when I'm running late. Chase listens to Rick and Bubba in the mornings, and I gave that a shot for a while but I get tired of them and the 6 minute commercial breaks (no offense to my R&B Extreme Club friends). I also tried NPR for a while, and arrived to work feeling slightly more knowledgeable and a bit less frazzled. But recently NPR, being the news leader they are, has only been covering the political news (i.e. Obama healthcare plan). Mr. Obama has already interrupted my primetime TV to explain this to me, and I'm a little tired of hearing the constant heated discussion about it.

I recently accidentally discovered a radio station that I've never picked up before and was surprised to hear a Focus on the Family program. I've been listening to it every morning since then, and it has definitely made a difference in my mornings. For the last 3 mornings I've been following a discussion by husband/wife team Dr. Conway and Jada Edwards, leaders of an amazing and rapidly growing singles ministry at OCBF in Dallas, Texas. Check out their story and their new book at http://www.conwayandjadaedwards.com/ .

This morning I heard a reading from Confessions, by St. Augustine of Hippo. You can google this to read it in its entirety, but the beginning passage spoke to my heart and I've continued to think about it all day. It is my prayer that I will surrender to God the idea that things in my life have to be a certain way before I can be content.

Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise; your power is immense, and your wisdom beyond reckoning. And so we men, who are a due part of your creation, long to praise you – we also carry our mortality about with us, carry the evidence of our sin and with it the proof that you thwart the proud. You arouse us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you.