Changes....

This is bound to be the craziest month of my entire life.
Sometime during the first week of May, my family of three is moving to Korea. We are allowed to take with us half of the allowed weight (12,000 pounds) that is based on my husband's rank and how many dependents he has (2). To break this down, we are allowed to bring 6000 pounds to Korea. When we first found out the destination of our next Army move, we made a lot of hard decisions about what items we would choose to take along and what we would sell, store, or give away. In the sell category are many pieces of furniture from our home, including all the living room furniture, the TV, the dining room table and chairs, and our old dresser. Also in that category are 2 bookshelves, a computer desk, miscellaneous clothing, toys, objects, etc. OH, and of course I couldn't forget....2 cars!
But of course there are complications to the simple task of "Sell, sell, sell!!". When do you choose to list your living room furniture for sale? When do you give up the table at which you eat all of your meals? When do you sacrifice the convenience of a vehicle for each driver? Not too long before you leave, because then you are left scrounging for places to sit, someone to drive you on your errands, and the last comforts of home before you uproot your lives and take them on the road. After all, once we arrive in Korea, what we do have shipped there won't arrive for a couple of months! So how long do we choose to live in limbo? To feel like all that makes us who we are is in transit?
The answer lies in the question. For those whose lives are based in objects, in possessions, and in how much they have, the decisions they would need to make would be 1,000 times more difficult than they are for us. We find our identities in Christ and in each other. We live our lives as children who are willing to give it all away if it means drawing closer to the Creator, to our Savior. The things in our house, things others might call the comforts of home, those do not bring us comfort. Every single thing I own can be taken away, destroyed, sold and carted off. But my salvation can never be taken from me, never stolen, and never sold. If I sell myself to the selfish desires of my heart, my Savior is always there, holding one hand as the other betrays him. He will accept me in all my filthy rags and renew my purity as no other can. I have offered my life as a living sacrifice to the One Who Makes All Things New, and he will never leave me nor forsake me.
So when we're faced with hard decisions that make the difference between going without and saving up things for ourselves, the choice is that much simpler. I will be a good steward of every blessing and every penny (or at least I'll try), but I won't let those things tie me down. I love my living room furniture, but what good does it do for anyone sitting in storage? Or how much better would it be to have it transported and possibly damaged? Or to find that adding that weight in tips the scales against us and causes us a loss of funds?
Instead, we made a sale of the furniture to a sweet, young, Christian couple who have just moved here to start the journey that we have just finished. For a nice discount they have just furnished their home with 9 pieces of good quality furniture in like-new condition. God provides for his own - that new couple and this slightly less new couple.
When we get to Korea, when we move in to a smaller, less convenient apartment in a brand new location with new and different obstacles, we'll still be coming home. Home is where the Lord leads us, and Home is where our family is together, loving each other and praising the Lord for his good graces that he works over every part of our lives. He'll get us through this month, help us make the decisions that matter, and provide for us every step of the way.
In the end, that's all I really have to say about the matter.

Hello Again

Wow. I forgot I had one of these until a friend told me they read the last one I wrote...which was in 2007. Right now it's 10:45 so I'm not writing a long blog...just a little update I guess.

I'm a mother to a beautiful 5 month old girl, wife to a wonderful husband who is a warrant officer in the U.S. Army, and, as always, a child of God. I work in my church and sing with the praise band and love all the people that I've met there. They have truly become my family here since I'm so far away from home.

Right now a lot of my focus is going into living healthier and getting down to the weight I've always wanted to be. I've lived a life I'm proud of, and I only want to work on being closer to the goals God has for me. I thank Him for all that I have, and all that I am.

My Christmas and New Year Break

Over Christmas break I ate a lot of food with the church family that I've grown really close to since i have been here. I spent Christmas Eve with one family and Christmas with another. It was not like the Christmases I've had before, but it was wonderful. Right after Christmas we went to Shenyang with Myles and she showed us around her town. We had a great time even though it was very cold! We came back on Thursday. By the way we took the train to get there and back and it was a new experience that was very interesting. I enjoyed it.
Since then John and I have been working on packing, studying for finals and due papers, and hanging out with our friends and church family. New Year's Eve John and I spent at home with a friend of ours named Nikki. She spent the night and we went out to eat at an indian restaurant and then watched two movies. It was fun and we enjoyed spending time with her.

That's pretty much it!

My Hometown

I am from a semi-small Missouri town called West Plains. Close to the border of Arkansas, we are considered mostly a hick town by those who don't actually live there. I am in no way a hick, hillbilly, or any other type of country folk, just to let you know.
The town has about 11,000 people and is actually kind of considered a bigger town among small towns. We have a walmart supercenter, two mcdonald's, three chinese restaurants, a million pizza places, several other grocery stores, a jCpenney, a taco bell, Burger King, Hardees, and Wendy's, as well as a sonic and a few choices in cell phone companies. So all in all we aren't bad off. We may not have everything and we may not be a metropolitan full of excitement, but the town is what i consider home and comfort and i love living there...most of the time.

i think that pretty much does it for that description.

About Me

Dear Reader,

It would be impossible to truly give you a glimpse of my soul just by writing a couple of paragraphs about my life. To really know anything about me, or anyone for that matter, you have to spend time with them. I don't mean ten minutes, and i don't mean time when they are in school or at work or around others. It is truly impossible for one human to understand another without being alone with them, without seeing a side of them that not everyone gets to see. Sometimes even then it is still impossible. What about those of us who don't understand ourselves really? How does anyone really get to know them? Well, they don't.

But what this post is out to accomplish is not to let anyone see the private me that i save for people like my husband or my mom. All this blog will really do is let you see what i let everyone see; the side of me that is familiar and well known; the details about me that aren't personal or intimate. So basically, the rest of this post is superficial and meaningless unless you have the rest of the information.

I am 19 years old and i have been married to my wonderful, handsome, loving husband for 6 months. We got married on june 10, 2006. Right now i am finishing up a 1 semester internship in China and then i will be going back to my hometown in MO, USA until my husband joins the army and we are sent whoever knows where. I am working at a college campus here helping chinese students on their english skills in writing and speaking. i am also a college student so i'm taking classes here too. In english of course. No, i don't speak chinese. I do speak a little bit of spanish, though. I have been a follower of Christ since i was 8 years old and i'm still growing every day 11 years later. i can't believe the path He's lead me on so far and i can't wait to see what lies ahead for me in the future. All the time, God is good. I hope that whoever you are reading this, you know that he loves you and desires for you to return that love.

So that's it for this post. Do you know me inside and out yet?