Birthday girl

Happy Birthday, Bandy! I'm glad we are sisters! Hope you have a great birthday and a very blessed year.
Your lil' sis,
Lauren

Update on our house

We found a house in foreclosure a month ago today, and have been waiting for it to come on the market. The broker who showed it to us seems to think that it will hit the market in about 10 days, so we’ve been working with our realtor to get some paperwork signed ahead of time to be ready to make an offer the day it’s listed. I’ve been praying that God will give us favor and will allow us to get this house. We have been looking for houses up there since January, and are tired of Dad working 7 hours away, so this would be a huge blessing to be able to get this house. I’m looking forward to the day when we can all be together like a “real” family.

I’m busy with final preparations for our vacation, so I probably won’t blog for a few days. I hope you all have a blessed week!

It's not about me...

This post might seem kind of random, but it’s something that has been on my heart for awhile. I don’t know if my ramblings will make sense, but I’m going to give it a try!


“Even today we have people who live an inconsistent Christian life because they have become preoccupied with things that are external. Therefore they focus on their circumstances rather than focusing on God. And God desires that we grow in our ability to see Him in everything and to realize the importance of seemingly insignificant circumstances if they are used to deliver a message from Him.” ~From “Streams in the Desert”

It’s so easy to get caught up in life here on earth. We have school, jobs, church, and endless activities that demand our time and attention. Even if we are doing good things that will impact eternity we can get distracted from the purpose. Many Christians today— and I’m so guilty of this— forget about the eternal and focus on the temporal. We must seek to have an eternal mindset, to work with eternity in view, to live out our lives and faith in a way that points to our true destination. Life is more than a paycheck, a car, or a house. Life is more than a lay-off, an engine problem, or temporary housing. God is at work everywhere, in everything. I must find out how He is working, and seek to get involved. I must not get frustrated by my circumstances, but ask God what He’s trying to show me through them. I must not get depressed by feelings of insignificance, but allow God to speak to me and draw me closer to Him while He has me in this “hidden place.” I’m so tempted to get wrapped up in a career for myself, or do what I want to do, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m not on earth for me...Someone died for me, why should I live for myself??

More Good News!!

I heard back today about the application I turned in last week. I'm supposed to go up for an interview in a couple weeks. I've been feeling your prayers, God has given me a peace to know that He's got a plan, and I'm trusting Him to work out the details. I can't see the next step, so I just put my foot where He tells me to. Keep praying for me...I've got a lot of big decisions to make in the next few weeks.
Blessings to all of you!

Faith is believing what we do not see,

and the reward for this kind of faith

is to see what we believe.

~Saint Augustine

A whole new world!

Well, I got my braces off yesterday, so life is good! I tried out my new metal-free teeth by eating a chicken sandwich and pizza, and found out that eating is amazingly easy! :) I'm really enjoying this new freedom. My sisters made me a cake and cupcakes to celebrate "getting your braces off" day so it was a fun day for me! It was an ordeal trying to get the expander out, but after a few minutes of yanking and pain, it was gone. I can whistle, click my tongue on the top of my mouth, and chew gum now! After my dentist appointment, I went shopping with my mom and sister which was a lot of fun, and then went to renew my driver's license. I didn't really want to do that since I'm going to be moving, but I had no choice, and it was all worth it for the amazing picture I got!! I love it! :) For my first DL, the pic was fine, but the plastic backing on the card started peeling off that night, so I had to take it back in and found out they had put it on backwards, so they had to issue a new card. For reasons unknown to me, they had to take my pic again, and I was soo not ready for that. I had gotten sunburned and by that time was peeling, so it was a horrible picture to say the least. But now all that is behind me, and I have a decent looking license until I have to change it after I move!



Here's a picture of the new Lauren, along with a "before" picture. I must tell you how humbling it is to post the "before" picture, since I think my teeth looked awful, but I thought you would enjoy seeing the difference. lol! Soo, here's what a few thousand dollars can do!



Before:

After!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, and I got a new haircut, too! :)

The packing continues...

I made a goal of packing up one box a day. I was getting rather overwhelmed, so I decided just to simplify things and take it one step at a time. It's working great! I've got most of my stuff packed up now, except for my clothes, and most of those will stay until the very end, except for some winter clothes, that I still have in my closet. Everything is so uncertain right now. I haven't heard back about the application I turned in a week ago, and since then I found out that the choir I was in at church is going to be recording some songs. I would love to be able to record with them, but they start rehearsals in August and those will last 5 weeks. I just don't see how I could do that unless I don't get the job I applied for, so once again, I feel pulled in different directions. Of course, it doesn't do any good to worry about it, because I really can't do anything about it. Right now I'm just waiting to see how God works things out, and whatever happens will be His will, so that gives me the peace to wait. I love planning things; I would have my whole life planned out if God would let me, but that's not how it works, so I'm getting used to not knowing where I'll be or what I'll be doing in two weeks.


Speaking of planning things, did I mention that on top of everything else that's going on in my life right now, I'm planning a family vacation for 30 people? Well, I guess it's more like a reunion; I can't believe we are all going to be together! For the last few weeks I've been booking cabins, reserving tickets, and planning menus. Now that we are getting closer to the vacation, I'm busy buying food and other supplies, turning in final counts on tickets, and figuring out how everything is going to work. It's almost a full time job, but since I love to plan things, this has been fun for me. I just hope everyone else has fun!

Well, I gotta go pack up my box for the day!
Blessings!

Surrender

Earlier this year, I stumbled on a daily devotional book entitled “Streams in the Desert.” It’s been a life-saver this year, or maybe more accurately, a faith-saver. God has used it countless times to strengthen my weak faith and encourage my weary heart on the long, hard journey this year. Here’s something from a couple days ago that jumped out at me:

From the time of Abraham, people have been learning that when they obey God’s voice and surrender to Him whatever they hold most precious, He multiplies it thousands of times...This is exactly how God deals with every child of His when we truly sacrifice. We surrender everything we own and accept poverty— then He sends wealth. We leave a growing area of ministry at His command— then He provides one better than we had ever dreamed. We surrender all our cherished hopes and die to self— then He sends overflowing joy and His “life...that [we] might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). “After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised” (Heb. 6:15), and so will you. The moment of your greatest sacrifice will also be the precise moment of your greatest and most miraculous blessing...Indeed, there is nothing God will not do for those who will dare to step out in faith onto what appears to be only a mist. As they take their first step, they will find a rock beneath their feet.

God has been so faithful and patient with me; He never gives up on me. When I am weak, He is strong! The journey can be hard, but the lessons are priceless, and I've come to the place where I can thank Him for the lessons.

Excitement

One week from today I get my braces off!! I'm definitely looking forward to that event! I never really thought I would have straight teeth. Especially since I'm too old for braces- at least in my opinion. :) Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that my parents were willing to spend this much money on me, especially since I've been their most expensive child (they call me their "emergency room child" long story there), but I'm tired of people thinking I'm a teenager. I'm hoping that I'll look older without all this metal, plus I'll be able to eat anything I want without hassle! Life is already looking better! Chicken sandwiches, here I come!!!

I'm back!!

It is so good to be back home! I took some of my stuff up to my dad’s apartment this last weekend. Mom, Kaley, and Chris left on Friday and took a load with them, but I had to work, so I went up Saturday and Julia came with me. Do you know what it’s like taking a 6 ½ hour trip with a 7 year old? :) It actually wasn’t that bad; she sat there quietly for about the first 30 minutes, but then I guess the novelty of taking a road trip with big sis finally wore off, and she pulled out her DVD player and watched a movie. I had my iPod, so we were both happy! lol! We stopped once for lunch and gas and then hit the road again. It rained on us half of the trip, but it was a nice rain, and Julia took a nap, so really, it was a good trip! I spent Saturday evening unpacking my kitchen and doing dishes (I still don’t get a dishwasher, but since the whole family isn’t moving up yet, I shouldn’t have to do too many dishes!) I turned in a job application yesterday before I headed back home, so I’m praying that everything works out. I brought Chris home with me...do you know what it’s like taking a 6 ½ hour trip with a 13 year old boy?? lol! Well, he had a DVD player, too, but he watched a war movie, and my iPod couldn’t quite drown out all the shouts, guns, and cannons so it was interesting... :p We got to stop and see our grandparents on the way and have dinner with them, which was a nice break. Oh yeah, and my car got about 28 mi/gal, which is pretty good for a Mustang, don’t ya think? BTW, I like my car! :)

Well, it’s back to work this week. Along with packing up more stuff, planning for the family vacation, and getting ready for friends who are staying the weekend! It’s going to be a busy week, but I’ll try to keep you updated...Have a great week!



The burden of suffering seems to be a tombstone hung around our necks. Yet in reality it is simply the weight necessary to hold the diver down while he is searching for pearls. ~Julius Richter

The packing begins

I've started boxing up my stuff. I have about 7 boxes just of kitchen stuff!! And I still have 3 boxes of dishes I'm not taking! I'm kind of excited about it, but I'm also nervous. I'm facing the unknown yet again. I know this will be good for me, and I'll enjoy living up there...but I'm going to miss everything I'm leaving behind. I don't like saying goodbye. It's so hard to let go of what is behind me and welcome all the new things. Yet another journey of faith! I've gone through this before, so I know it's gonna be okay, but it also reminds me of how many friends I've had to leave behind through the years. The friendships are never the same. But, this is all part of God's plan, and I choose to believe that He has good things in store.

I would like to find a time to get together with my church friends and maybe have lunch and take pictures before I have to move. This month is going to be so busy I don't know if I can squeeze it in, but we'll see what happens. :)

Freedom

What does freedom mean to you? I've been thinking about this a lot this week. I've thought of all the things I was able to do this week because I live in a free country.

• Go to church and worship God
• Pray in public over the food
• Go to work and earn money without having to give all of it to the government
• Listen to Christian music on the radio and my iPod
• Wear a Christian t-shirt
• Have 5 Bibles in my room
• Blog about my faith
• Take time off work to go see my dad and friends
• Put gas in my own car
• Sleep in my own bed in my own house
• Sleep in peace without worrying about terrorists
• Go to the airport to pick up my sisters who went on a mission trip
• Watch a Christian movie

Some of these things are such simple things, but thousands of Americans have died for these everyday rights. Today there are empty chairs across our country. Please don't ever forget their sacrifice.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Last weekend

Last weekend, we got to go see dad and look at more houses. We were able to look at one that is not even on the market yet. It has been foreclosed on, and the bank hasn't put it up for sale yet, but one of our realtors found out about it and was able to show it to us. We really like it, and are going to try to be ready to buy it when it hits the market. I think it would be the perfect house for us! I'm praying that everything will work out. Three of our house deals have fallen through, so maybe this house is the one God is having us wait for. I certainly hope so! I'm ready to get this over with, and my dad is pretty much sick of looking at houses! :) Meanwhile, dad went ahead and rented an apartment since he's been living in a hotel since January. He wants me to move up there with him and do his laundry, cook his meals, etc. :) so I'm planning to move in a few weeks and hopefully get a job. It feels strange now that I'm actually moving. I'm still trying not to think about it too much. :)

I also got to spend some time with my best friend, Alicia, and her family while we were up there. We had fun, of course! We had their amazing homemade pizza, a yummy dessert of ice cream and brownie bites, and then we went for a walk. Later we went to Sonic and I had my first java chiller! If you ever go with a couple friends, you should order one caramel hazelnut, one mocha hazelnut, and one caramel mocha. It will confuse the employees!

Here are some pictures:

Alicia and me!

me, Alaina, and Alicia

...and Alaina being...Alaina! Sorry, I haven't figured out how to put the text under the photos yet! :)

Disclaimer :D

I'm hoping to post on a regular basis, but July is going to be a crazy month for me. I'm going to be packing up and getting ready to move, making final preparations for our family vacation, and working on top of that! So be patient, and there will be more details to come...