Expectations

ex-pec-ta-tion: (noun)- a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

Lately, Jesus has been teaching me a lot about expectations. This word just kind of popped in my head the other night and I've been mulling it around my scattered little brain the past couple of days. I realized this word carries so much weight and that when we really stop to think about it, it changes the way we think about a lot of things.

I'm learning that I need to stop setting expectations and instead just be patient and trust that things will work out in God's timing, not my timing! The main area God is using to teach me this difficult but worthwhile lesson is in the job department. The expectations I've set for myself have caused so much frustration and tears as I've gone about a job search. You see, no one really prepares you for life after college. Sure, your major "prepares" you for a job but it doesn't guarantee one! I feel as though I was pretty blindsided and in no way expected it to be so difficult to get a job (granted, I'm super thankful I don't have my own classroom this year and can without a doubt say that I know the Lord was sparing me from that right now!). Anyways, I wasn't prepared for this whole life-after-college thing and think the transition from student to whatever you want to call this stage(?) is a much bigger deal than people give credit to haha. I was talking to my friend the other day and was struck by this whole idea. We discussed that life after school is wonderful (how can you not love the freedom from tests, papers, classes?!) yet at the same time, it's quite difficult! "What could be hard about it?," you might ask. Well...being a student was comfortable and familiar. I knew how to be a good student: I knew how to study for tests, write papers, and go to class. I had purpose in working towards my degree and I had good company to do it with. Here in lies the challenge...I've been a student for the past 18 years (and let me tell you, I had the whole "student" thing down pat haha) and now that I'm not, I feel a little lost to be honest. I know this time is so fleeting and that I won't feel this way for long. I also know there is so much I can be learning during this time and that I'm not alone! That said, however, I know that my reality is far different than the expectations I had established in my mind prior to graduating. The challenge now is to cast off these old expectations and learn to embrace this new reality, celebrating this time rather than lamenting over it!

In keeping with the word "expectations," I've thought back to this time of unemployment and how I would have dealt with it had my expectations been different. What if I hadn't expected to graduate and walk straight into a job? What if I hadn't expected this whole subbing thing to be a quick and easy process? What if I hadn't expected to find a perfect job right off the bat? What if instead of all these things, I had simply expected that God would take care of my needs and work everything out in His perfect timing? I know that if I would stop placing expectations on myself and my future, I would have a lot more peace and a lot less stress, aggravation, and frustration. Que the lesson God is currently teaching me: STOP having so many expectations and simply wait on Him to provide and work out all the messy details. I guess I should also listen to Jeremy's advice and "Expect the worst and pray for the best!" That way, I won't be disappointed if the outcome isn't exactly as I had hoped it would be!

Quick update: I will start subbing for Oldham Co. and Christian Academy of Louisville soon! The paperwork is all underway and after next week, things should be set for me to be on the official sub list. Wooo! I certainly hadn't expected this process to take an entire month but I'm glad things are almost ready and am getting excited to be back in the schools! Again with me and my expectations...God sure does have a funny way of getting through to me, doesn't He? ;)

These are a few of my favorite things...

I thought I'd take a couple minutes and share a few of my very favorite things! For those of you who know me, you know that when there's something I'm pretty crazy about, I just can't keep it to myself! So, without further adieu, here are some things I'm loving lately...

1) September

Yesterday as Jeremy and I were leaving church, we decided that September is an absolutely wonderful month! We discussed that it is a "humble" month and very unassuming...it doesn't demand attention like December (with Christmas) or June and July (with heat, holidays, and pool days). Instead, there really isn't anything that spectacular about the month when you think of it in terms of holidays and such. The thing is, however, this weather is AMAZING! I can't get over how many gorgeous days we've been having and could get used to living where the sky is blue, the air is crisp, and the sun is out...ALL year long! Hey, a girl can dream right?! Anyways, I've been loving this weather and hope you've had time to enjoy it too! There's really nothing better than a good book, an old quilt, and a quiet park if you ask me :)

2) Karen Kingsbury

Speaking of a good book, I'm hooked on any and every book written by Karen Kingsbury! She is a Christian Fiction author (think Nicholas Sparks with a heart for Jesus and voila, you have Karen Kingsbury haha). Lately, I've been reading the Bailey Flanigan Series and am currently on book three of four. I love these books because it is SO easy to relate with the character of Bailey. The way Karen Kingsbury writes, it's like she might as well be describing how I've felt at different times in my life and Bailey's character is super relatable. Her books are a lot of fun to read and through her love stories, she always points readers to the greatest Love Story there ever was!

3) Ollie's Bargain Outlet

This is a shameless plug for the most unassuming store in the world. The slogan for Ollie's is "Good Stuff Cheap!" and is very much like a K-Mart or Big Lots...trust me, it's not fancy but it's awesome! They have a HUGE book collection (with a lot of Christian books!) and they are even cheaper than Half Price Books only they're brand new! I recently bought the last two in my Karen Kingsbury series for $3.99 each...now that's a steal ha :) If you live in the area, be sure to check this place out! There is one off Mall Road in NKY and another here in Louisville off Dixie Highway.

4) Homey Projects

I've recently gotten on a kick of making our little apartment more "homey." Being that we're newlyweds (and I'm unemployed!), we don't have a lot of money to spend on fancy furniture and decorations. So...I've gotten quite creative and have been loving looking for cute things for our home while still being wise and frugal! I really like the "shabby chic" look and like older/rustic things way more than newer/modern things. I've been in and out of every Peddler's Mall in the area (if you haven't been to one before, just imagine "a giant yard sale that threw up indoors"...so says Jeremy ha) and several consignment stores (these are my favorite and have proven to have better finds than the Peddler's Malls). The other day, I got a pretty wooden box for $13 and a side table turned TV stand for $31. I added some cute baskets to store our DVDs in and am going to paint the TV stand tomorrow so that it matches the other tables in the room. I'm loving these little projects and think our family room has become my new favorite place to be (...oh and our new couches might help just a little ;)).

5) Caprese Salads

This past summer, I became obsessed with caprese salads! I don't like lettuce (I know, I'm a weirdo) so this is the perfect salad for me haha. They were (and still are) my favorite thing to eat and luckily, they're very easy to make and fairly good for you! All you do is slice up a ripe tomato, lay a piece of fresh mozzarella on top, and then add some fresh basil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and a little EVOO. I made one to go with our supper the other night and it was delicious!

6) Worship Music

Another thing I just can't ever get enough of is worship music. I'm kind of what you might call a "worship music junkie" and pride myself on knowing just about all the latest and greatest songs that are out there. Jeremy and I always laugh when the worship minister at church says, "We're going to learn a new song this morning!" because almost always, we already know the song by heart haha! Thankfully, being at Southeast has broadened my worship scope just a bit and we've actually learned a few songs we didn't know before we started attending. Here are a couple that I can't stop singing...literally...I can't stop (poor Jeremy ;)), as well as, a few that are just always the best if you ask me!

• "God be Praised/Our God Reigns" -New Life Worship
• "Open Up Our Eyes (Live)" -Elevation Worship
• "This is Amazing Grace" -Phil Wickham
• "Great Are You Lord (Live)" -All Sons & Daughters
• "Man of Sorrows" -Hillsong

7) The Big Four Bridge

Jeremy and I love walking across the Big Four Bridge in Louisville. I always refer to it as the "People Bridge" and many Louisvillians probably remember it as the bridge that leads to nowhere haha. This summer, they turned the old railroad bridge into a walking bridge that connects Kentucky and Indiana. Now, people can walk across the bridge from the Kentucky side and it's a lovely little stroll. They should be opening the other side soon (come on Indiana!) and we can't wait until we can explore the shops and restaurants on the Indiana side.

8) Duck Dynasty

I have to be honest, I've recently become a big fan of Duck Dynasty. Before this Fall, I had heard of the show and knew many people who really liked it, however, I'd never really sat still long enough to watch it. Well...let me give you one guess what's happening at our house come Wednesday nights at 10 ha! We're both hooked and I love watching this show with Jeremy then discussing it with everyone else we know who watches it! It's nice to have a show that spans across the generations and is just an entertaining and wholesome half hour of pure goofiness. #quackquack

9) Grandmas

I've said it once and I'll say it again, having Nanny and Nana close by is FOR SURE one of my favorite things about being in Louisville! I look forward to spending time with them each week and know without a doubt that God has used this time off of work to bless my relationships with women who are encouraging, loving, interesting, and spirit-filled! The other day, I told Nanny that I always feel bad when we're together because I know how much my mom would like to be with us. To this, Nanny just said, "Don't feel bad about it. Just enjoy it!" What wise and true words :)

10) iPhones

I am the official owner of an iPhone 5C and am loving it!!! Really, I think I'm just loving the new software update but the fact that I have a pink phone is something special too! I didn't expect to get to have this fancy piece of technology in my hands but it worked out with my contract running out and Jeremy getting to use my old iPhone so there you have it! Yay Apple products!

11) Weekends

Last but not least, I must mention how much I love weekends! You could say that everyday for me is a weekend and to a point, you would be right. But the thing is, there is something so special about the weekend because it is truly a Sabbath. The other day, Jeremy and I were talking about weekends and he reminded me how important it is to take a break from our routine and just enjoy the day and God's presence all throughout it! We don't have to spend the day reading or cleaning or running errands, though we can if we want to! The point is, God gives us weekends to rest in Him and He delights when we delight!!! So whatever it is that makes us happy and refreshes our souls, that's exactly what we should be doing!

I hope you've enjoyed my little list of favorites! As always, thanks for taking time to read my blog and for listening to all my random thoughts/ideas/ramblings haha. I pray you'll be filled with joy this week and that you can feel God's nearness like never before!

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do it all for the glory of God." -1 Corinthians 10:31

Living, Learning, & Loving

It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote and I've been wanting to crank out a little bloggy blog for quite some time now but haven't sat still long enough to do it! Here I am without a job and "all the time in the world." Somehow, my time miraculously disappears though and I still find myself saying, "'Aint nobody got time fa dat!" hahaha. My how time will always be one of my most precious commodities! Anywho, let's not waste any more of YOUR precious time with my random ramblings ha!

Settled In...

I feel like Jeremy and I have finally gotten settled into doing normal life together! After the wedding, things were crazy and so new...we were still trying to get used to living together, sleeping together, and doing everything in between. With neither of us working, we didn't have a schedule or routine which was both awesome and super weird all at the same time! Well, fast forward a few short weeks and he was gone on his month-long business trip to Detroit. With that, our "new normal" was again thrown out the window and we had to adapt to the changes that came with being apart for four weeks. After all of that, he returned (Praise the Lord!) and now (about five weeks since he's been home), I feel like we have finally settled into a familiar routine. I'm really happy to be feeling more settled and like that we have a sense of normalcy to our days. It's quite an adjustment to not be in school anymore and we're both really enjoying the fact that our evenings aren't consumed by school work and studying for tests! Hello time to read FOR FUN! Say what?! It's quite funny actually...we are both such nerds that most of our free time in the evenings is spent side by side with our noses in a book! I'm so glad to have someone who likes to read as much (or more) than I do and love that we can spend time together just chilling and reading.

A few things that have helped me feel more settled into Louisville and married life have been some recent improvements to our little apartment. It's just so nice to make our apartment feel more like home with simple, sweet touches. The other day, we went hung some pretty curtains in our room and it looks so much more finished! I love the way our room looks now and think the curtains were a huge value add haha. (P.S-Jeremy's a saint for letting me pick out any kind I want...even if they are a little on the girly side! Thanks love!)

In addition to hanging curtains, I also made our front door look a hundred times better with a new Fall wreath! I'd been feeling crafty (and frugal) so I turned to Pinterest and got some ideas for a burlap wreath. I headed to Michael's, bought the supplies, then came home and was bound and determined to figure out how to make myself a sweet wreath! Well, as you could probably guess, it wasn't nearly as effortless to make as I had hoped and I quickly realized I was going to need a little assistance. Lucky for me, my husband is an engineer and was able to help (I mean...make) my wreath! Let's just say, I was the brains and he was the one with the follow-through! We made a great team and at the end of our craft night, I am quite proud of our little wreath and think it turned out great! Plus, now that we have the wreath made, I can just swap out the decorations on it according to each season! How cool is that?!

The last of our home improvements for now is....wait for it...a new couch!!! For those of you who know Jeremy and I, you know that we have wanted a new couch for quite a while! Luckily, my gracious parents have let us borrow one during our first few months at the apartment and though we were thankful we didn't have to sit on the floor, we've never been big fans of the couch and have wanted to get a new one when we could afford it. So...the other day after church, we decided we would just LOOK at the couches and get a good idea of how much money we should be setting aside for one when the time was right. Well, the time was right because we found a couch we really liked for a price we liked just as much!!! We're so excited to make our family room more comfortable and are looking forward to some cold winter days spent reading and relaxing on our new couch!

More than making our house a home, we have made our church a home! This past Sunday, we moved our membership to Southeast Christian and are now official members there. We had been wanting to do this for a while now and are so excited to get involved! It's such a blessing to be in Louisville and have a church that we absolutely LOVE! I know this church is going to be a place for us to grow and learn so much and we look forward to serving, loving, and making new friends here! God is doing some crazy, awesome things through Southeast and His people there and it's truly an honor to get to be apart of it!

Job Update...

Just for a quick job update, the subbing stuff is underway and I should start back in the classroom in the next couple of weeks! I am going to an orientation with Oldham Co. Schools next Wednesday and am also hoping to sub at Christian Academy of Louisville! To be honest, I'm excited and nervous about subbing. I think it will be great experience and will really let me "get my feet wet" and learn a lot! More than anything, I'm just trusting that the Lord will put me exactly where He wants me and where He can use me! I have such peace knowing that Jesus goes before me and that He's in control of all our circumstances and situations. He cares more about this job situation than I do and He won't lead me where He won't also be right there with me! Praise Him for His constant provision, direction, and peace about all of this!!! There's no way I could make it without Him!

Here's a picture from of my aunt's 2nd grade classroom...she's a great teacher and I had a fun time spending the day with her and her students :)

Lexington...

This past weekend, Jeremy and I got to spend some time in Lexington. We went down for CSF's World's Largest Water Balloon Fight (my fifth time!) and had a blast reconnecting with our precious friends. It was so wonderful to be back in the CSF community...oh how my heart had been missing it! While in Lexington, I got to spend some time with Auburn and Erin. I can't even describe what beautiful blessings these two are to me and I was so happy to have the opportunity to visit with them! When I got in the car to go home that evening, Jeremy said I was "teeming with life" and I just couldn't help but step back and realize how important relationships are and how blessed I am to have such incredible people in my life. The trip was fun, refreshing, and just what we needed! :)

So excited for Kellie-girl! Ahhhh so fun to be a freshman! 

Best doughnut I've ever had. Seriously...you have to try it! 

Auburn studying for Blocks while I read Karen Kingsbury and sip sweet tea!

Be Encouraged...

The other day, I was reading John 13 and was struck by Jesus' words to Simon Peter. He told him, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand" (John 13:7). This verse is in reference to Jesus washing His disciples feet and I want to be careful not to take it out of context. It did, however, get me thinking and encouraged me. Just as Peter didn't understand why Jesus was washing his feet, I often don't understand what Jesus is doing in a given situation at the time. Our vision is so limited and we can only see what's directly in front of us. But this verse reassures me that though I don't know what Jesus is doing, it's ok not to understand right now because in time, it will all make sense and I'll be able to see how He was moving and working things together for good. Though right now, I don't realize what He's doing (especially with regards to a job), I trust that later, I will understand just like Peter would understand later. It's alright for us not to understand everything right now and I honestly believe it's for the better...if we did understand, then we wouldn't need nearly as much faith, patience, or trust. It's in the unknowing that we have to rest in our Savior and trust that He will carry us, provide for us, love us, and grow us.

Another thought I had was from reading "Jesus Calling" the other day. I was reminded that Jesus' LAST recorded promise to His followers was "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:30).  I had never really stopped to process the weight of that verse and the peace it brings to me. No matter what, Jesus has promised us that He is always with us! Isn't that just amazing?!

Last but not least, I have to share my newest song obsession. The song isn't new but it is "So Southeast," as Jeremy and I would say. There are just some songs that make me think of Southland, some songs that make me think of Synergy, and some songs that make me think of Southeast. Well, this is one that just screams Southeast and has been my recent anthem! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do...I may or may not have it on repeat ALL the time! ;)

Here are a few other fun pictures of life lately...

A taste of what several of my afternoons have looked like recently... 

It's official! I received my diploma in the mail and am quite proud haha. 

Our last pool day of the summer...so sad to see them go!

 A perfect day in the park!

My wonderful small group just started reading Kyle Idleman's book, "gods at War" :)

 Nanny's teaching me how to cook, one meal at a time!

Nothing makes you feel more like a million bucks than getting flowers "just because." I'm so blessed :)