The Transition....

Well we've been here for a little over four weeks now and I finally feel like this is becoming "home". I'm not sure if I want it to feel like home just yet but it needs to. I guess I still feel so connected to life in fort worth that it feels odd to be so involved here as well.
I have definitely felt like the Lord has continued to confirm that we are where we need to be- doesn't always mean things will be easy or comfortable but knowing you are where you are supposed to be makes dealing with the transition and issues bearable and in the end- a lot more satisfying.
One of the ways the Lord has confirmed this move is through a simple study group of college girls who are reading through "Desiring God" by Piper- that meets on Sunday afternoons. God has reminded me that He has given me a heart for college girls and that I find so much joy in talking and sharing with them. I am very thankful that He has already given me some of the desires of my heart.
I am still anxious to get involved in some discipleship relationships and teaching opportunities but I know that will come.
The apartment deserves a little more credit than I originally gave it- but not much. =) I have almost every room "done" and put in order except our bedroom - it probably needs a little extra time. Before and after pics will be coming soon!

I have really been enjoying Moses' company. We go for walks almost everyday and he is becoming more and more obedient so I think we might just be able to keep him.


Now things have not been absolutely perfect with him- while he has had mostly good days- he has had a couple bad ones- and his bad ones have been really bad ones.
To give you a glimpse of those days I have included some pics below-
One day we were watching a movie in our bedroom and after it was over I opened the bedroom door to find that Moses peed in the hallway upstairs- so I went downstairs to grab the cleaning supplies to find this:






Yep- lots of piles of poop.
We took pics because we thought others would think we were exaggerating when we said " a lot of poop". The garbage bag we loaded it in- weighed at least 3 pounds. Ohhh so gross.
So Moses was umm.... "disciplined" and let's just say his tail did not wag for the the next 6 hours- and it always wags.
Since then he's been pretty good so hopefully he'll keep up the good work. He has really been enjoying his friends- Gus & Mattie. After wrestling around they both took a break and looked so cute together!


Mattie and Moses like to play a lot and we've started to call her his girlfriend.


Moses also enjoyed the lake with us the other day- it was beautiful so I took a couple shots.





I will try to be better about updating and maybe I'll be succesful in posting again this week.

Change... A Love / Hate Relationship.

For many of you who have not heard yet, Jason and I will be moving to Louisiana in a very short month. We are so excited and thankful that the Lord has given us direction and has prepared some incredible oppoutunitites before us. I am thankful that I serve a God who has my best interest at heart and even though He is not obligated to give me direction and guidance, He does and that is something to be incredibly grateful for.
So a lot is about to change. I will move to a state that I have never lived in before, downsize from a four bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment, probably have to say goodbye to my sweet dog Moses, get used to community laundary facilities, leave incredible friends, get out of my comfort zone and make new friends, leave a very God-centered church family,as well as leave the possibility of living near my family, and get used to not working with my best friend and husband everyday. Not to metion a whole list of other things I have not realized just yet.
But this change also brings so much good news and oppourtunitites and so I believe it is worth the tradeoff.
Moving means I first of all need to realize how good God has been to us in these last two years in Fort Worth. Our jobs, friends, and church have been such an amazing blessing that they will all be hard to "top". I am glad that it is hard to leave because that means that the Lord gave us a tremendous amount of gifts here- people invested their lives in us in a very short time and that is something to never take for granted.
Moving also means starting to flesh out a dream God has given both Jason and I and that dream is discipling internationals and helping them desire to go back home and reach their people for the glory of God. How incredible it is to know that God has not only given us that desire, but that He will accomplish it since He has started the desire, and that we are about to begin the journey!
Moving also means I finally will have a bigger oppourtunity to disciple college girls. For the last year the Lord has been overwhelming me with the desire to teach and invest in girls and the thought that I am going to be able to do that is about to make me explode with joy!
Moving also means learning to support and come alongside of Jason in a new way. He'll be embarking on some new territory and I will need to serve him and encourage him as he discovers and prays through what it needs to look like. I am excited about how the Lord will grow our marriage concerning this area!
And last and proabbly least, moving means I get to re create our home. I am so excited about being able to decorate a new place and embrace the difficulty of making an ugly apartment into a cozy and welcoming home. I'll post before and after pics- cause I'm a dork like that. =)
It's really hard to contemplate that I only have 24 days left here in Fort Worth, only 9 days left at work, 3 Sundays at church, and 2 more times to meet with our caregroup. Wow, that makes me tear up pretty quickly.
Please pray that this change will be bitter sweet in all the ways it needs to be and that God will be the One we rest in during this time. I was looking back through some journal entries I wrote a couple years ago and saw a statement I made that is still true today: I would rather have God's presence in the darkness than His absence in the light.

Worth the Effort....

So I have this great friend named Robin (www.rolesofrobin.blogspot.com) who shares my love in bargain shopping! We love being frugal with our money and thrive on getting good deals. Robin has for some time now, been writing about her amazing deals with her use of "price-matching" and coupons. (For anyone who does not know, Wal-Mart accepts any competitor's ads and will match their prices.) She has been encouraging everyone to save ads and flyers and use them at Wal-Mart (since they already have good prices). So I took her up on the challenge. I saved my ads, went through and found deals on the groceries I needed to get, wrote my list out and shopped away!
I was blown away at my savings!
So I thought I would share as a means of encouraging others to see how much money they could save. I know you may feel like it's too much of a hassle and maybe it isn't worth the effort for you but after I saw the receipt I knew I was going to be addicted. So here is a pic of just the groceries I used price matching on. The total I spent for these items was $27.96 (and that includes 13.5 lbs of meat!):



And here are the numbers:
2lbs of Velveeta Cheese: Regular Price: $4.98 Sale:$3.99 = Savings of $0.79
(2packs)Philadelphia Cream Cheese: Regular Price: $1.23 Sale: $0.99= Savings of $0.48
Ground Beef (4.5lbs): Regular Price: $10.21 Sale: $3.55= Savings of $6.66!!!!!
(2 packs) Green Giant Vegetable Steamers Regular Price: $1.27 Sale: $0.99= Savings of $0.56
Life Cereal- Regular Price: $2.25 Sale: $1.99= Savings of $0.26
(12) Limes- Regular Price $0.22 each Sale: $0.08 = Savings of $1.65
(5lb bag) Russet Potatoes: Regular Price $2.25 Sale: $1.29= Savings of $0.96
Whole Chicken Fryer: Regular Price: $4.98 Sale $2.74= Savings of $2.24
Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts: Regular Price $2.20 Sale: $1.99= Savings of $0.21
(3Cans) Rotel: Regular Price $0.83 each Sale:$0.37 each= Savings of $1.38
And last but my favorite:
(5 lbs)Boneless/ Skinless Chicken Breasts: Regular Price: $13.98 Sale: $1.27 (lb)= Savings of $7.63!!!!
So that means if I would have paid regular price I would have spent $50.72, and I only paid $27.96 which means I saved: $22.72!!!!

So there's my attempt to encourage you to take a little time and try out price matching. I also just got a Sunday paper and went through the coupons in there so it'll be interesting to see what great deals I can get with combining price matching and coupons.
It has been really interesting learning all kinds of new responsibilities as a wife this last year and a half. And honestly I've enjoyed learning to grocery shop, cook creatively, host dinners, learn ways to save or make money, and keep a clean, inviting home.
I'm actually really thankful that the Lord gave me this role and opportunity to take care of my house and the needs of my family. Although some days I'd love to have a chef, maid and probably a nanny (for future kiddos), I'm ultimately thankful that He gives me the grace and wisdom to slowly learn what it means to model my life after Proverbs 31. Hopefully I will remember to always see these roles as opportunities for growth and joy and not simply roles I am obligated to fulfill just because.

Treasures.....

Anyone who knows me, knows I love books. Not just any books, but normally books that are very rich in theology. Most of the books I love happen to be written by very old dead guys- but not all. I have not always been a big reader- actually not until the summer after my senior year of college (2004). But since that summer, I have been addicted to books that help me see God better. Since that summer I have accumulated about 150 books on my own, and they are precious treasures to me! So my friend Brienne (www.plantedheretogrow.blogspot.com) and I decided to post our top lists of books we love. I also decided to let you in on what is currently on my future reading list- I would love to finish this stack in the next 2 years or less. But we'll see....
I just finished a great book: "God's Abundant Life" by Henry Scougal modernized by Steve Hanchett. This book is an updated version of "The Life of God in the Soul of Man". The book was great but I think I'm going to read the original and just use Hanchett's version as a stepping stone. Sometimes when someone "updates" a book, things get lost and I do not want to miss out on any of Scougal's thoughts.
I am currently reading two books that I would already recommend: "The Silent and Soft Communion: The Spiritual Narratives of Sarah Pierpont Edwards and Sarah Prince Gill", by McCulley and Baker. I am also reading "Heaven A Far Better Place" by Eryl Davies.
So with no further ado Here is my top list of books I have read over the years that I would recommend: (I tried to make it a top ten list and just couldn't get it down any further) haha.



14."Living Holiness" by Helen Roseveare

13. "Rachel's Tears"- The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott

12. "A Chance to Die"- The Life of Amy Carmichael by Elizabeth Elliot

11. "Power Through Prayer" by E.M. Bounds

10. "The Pursuit of God"- by A.W. Tozer

9. "A Hunger for God"- by John Piper

8. "The Believer's Joy" by Robert Murray McCheyne

7. "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper

6. "Stepping Heavenward"- Journals of Elizabeth Prentiss

5. "The True Christian's Love" by Thomas Vincent

4. "True Discipleship" by William McDonald

3. "Because We Love Him" by Clyde Cranford- I have now read this book 4 times all the way through and hope to read it at least four more times before I die. Absolutley priceless to me.

2. "Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer- by far the most effective and challenging book in the way I see God- I think every Christian should read this book.

1. "Valley of Vision" A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions by Arthur Bennett- I have also read this little book at least four times all the way through. This little treasure is what I read before I open my Bible during my time with the Lord. It is matchless in preparing my soul to meet and love God. This book is a springboard for worship.

Now here are the stacks which I hope to devour in the next two years:


I would love to hear anyone else's fav's- so feel free to leave me a comment.

"When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments." 2 Timothy 4:13

Ok, Ok, so I've shown a really pathetic commitment to blogging but I'm going to try to make a come back. Thank you Brienne for your patience and encouragment!

I have a million things I want to write about but fortunatley for you, I've shortened the list.

First of all I just want to begin this post by saying I am extremely proud of Jase! He graduated from seminary last month and not only finished but finished well. He makes it so easy to be a proud and grateful wife.

In light of graduation we have really been spending a lot of time talking and praying about the future. We are so ready to start pouring our lives into international students, and I am so hungry to really disciple some other hungry girls. There are times when I feel like I want to explode, but I quickly remember there are reasons why we are right where we are right now. Someone at church asked me this morning if I was disappointed that our plans for Memphis were not coming along as quickly as I was hoping they would, and I thought -some days yes, but most of the time God lets me remember not to be disappointed in anything that He has ordained. I need to be ready to rejoice even if it means sitting in the waiting room for a long time. He has always been so gracious and faithful to us that it would be hard, much less ignorant to question His purposes now. We are thankful for whatever He decides to do with us, and whenever He decides to do it.

Last weekend we decided to get away for a few days to really spend some time with the Lord so we stayed at a little lodge in Granbury. We spent most of the time just reading and praying and it was such a blessing to my soul, and I think to our marriage as well. While we were there we had some guests who just refused to stay away....

We did feed them a couple times after they showed up and jason even managed to teach them to jump and eat from his hand or catch it in mid air. It really was a lot of fun...
The lodge we stayed at was great, as well as cheap which just made it that much greater. We had this nice view....




So it really was a great weekend and we were thankful for the intimate time we were able to spend with the Lord.

Also wanted to show my latest "trash to treasure" project-
We were driving one day and saw four of these ugly chairs on the side of the road just waiting for the dumpster to pick them up- but since they were in great shape structurally I decided I would try to save them- so the before shot....

then after a little painting and "distressing"- it now has a "shabby chic" style...



Well this post became fairly long unintentionally so I'll go ahead and save the rest of my ramblings for later.

Starting over...

I used to be pretty good at keeping up with blogging, but then my husband came along and distracted me. So I am going to try and start this once again and hopefully I'll be able to keep it going.
In case your interested in my old blog you can find it here- http://www.xanga.com/YourAverageGirl -I would've just kept this one but it seems that no one uses xanga anymore so I'm starting fresh.

I really want for this blog to be a place of encouragment - I want it to be something that not only supplies an outlet for my thoughts but one that inspires and communicates truth as well. I would love for the Lord to use this to show Himself- and so I hope that He is what you long to see.
So why the title "All things for Him alone"? The Lord has logded 1 Corinthinas 10:31 deep within me and I am praying that it would be the testimony of my life; "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God". Although I fail reguarly at keeping this command it is what I desire to do and I know the Lord is able to supply all the grace I need to pursue it. The bigger my view of Him gets, the more this command will consume my life. This blog is for Him, and for His glory. I hope that is what keeps you coming back.