Protein

I know that my car selling was a blessing, and I am grateful for a bike, and living close to work...but I had an unfortunate incident yesterday while riding to work.. I found out the hard way that riding a bike 15+ mph, a white shirt, and signing along, mouth open, to Taylor Swift, is nothing less then a protein filled snack and a poca-dotted shirt.
There were bugs ALL over my clothes, stuck on my face, and in my hair. It was, to say the least, repulsing, and a little embarrassing. EEEKKKK! Bla!

It's Saturday morning and I am doing the usual; at the coffee shop, on facebook, doing devotions, and paying bills. I feel so bless that we can actually pay our bills right now. Thank you Jesus.

I am daily in AWE at the blessings God gives me. It's not just the blessing of being here, it's the way He just works things out, helps me, and answers prayers....even the little ones. I am caught up in His grace and mercy.

I have been reading Daniel, thanks to a facebook status encouragement from DeBran.:) And it is quite a book. Although everyone knows the story of the three men in the fiery furnace, bear with me as I share.
In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose to worship God, and God alone, even to the point of possible death. No matter what, they were not going to worship anything, anyone else. They said in verse 16, "O Nebuchadenezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. BUT even if He doesn't, your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
What hits me the most is that they trusted God to the point of death. They believed that God could save them, but they were okay with dieing even if He chose not to save them. Bottom line...They worshiped God...God alone, they trusted Him with their lives.
So, as you know, they were thrown into the fire, three men, a fire so hot that the soilders who threw them in were burnt just from getting so close.
What happen to Shadrah, Meshach, and Abednego? Jesus did come, He came into the fire with them, walked around with them and protected them from every fiery flame, from the intense heat, and from all harmful things. Verse 24 says "But suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, 'Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?' 'Yes', they said, 'we did indeed, your Majesty.' 'Look!' Nebuchadnezzar shouted. 'I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren't even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks like a divine being!'" Later we read that King Nebuchadnezzar left his gods and idols to bow down and serve the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was saved because the these three men decided to trust in their Living God...no matter what.

My point...What would happen if we let Jesus walk around in the fires of our lives, instead of trying to do it alone, or complain about everything? What if we trusted Him with everything, no matter what!? What would happen if we voluntarily went into the fire, trusting Him with our all, the whole time?
If, and when we do this, think about the people around us, looking at our lives, our circumstances, or fiery trials....what do they see? Do they see us trusting the Lord...trusting Him so much that they want Him too?
I want to walk in all my fiery trials with the Lord, and I want to trust Him!! I want people to see my life, my trials, my heartaches, and my FAITH. And I want them to also trust and have faith in the God of all Gods, so that they too may walk always with the Lord, even in the firery trials of their lives.

Time in Cali

My time in Cali was rushed, exhausting, and fun. I woke up at 3:30 am my time (1:30 am cali time), arrived in Cali around noon, went to lunch with Mom and Emily, and headed home. That night we had rehearsal for the wedding...by the time we got done with rehearsal and dinner I was pretty much passed out in my food.

Friday we had a girls day at Glen Ivy. Super fun! We relaxed in the pools, did a mud bath, had lunch, and just enjoyed each other.

Saturday was the BIG DAY!!! Morning time was getting ready and running around. Shannon, Lindsay and I arrived at the wedding place around noon, practiced guitar for a while, and then got ready. It was nuts running around, but really fun. The music went well, and Mindy looked beautiful!

It was great to see my parents. They are the BEST!!!

Check out more pics on facebook

Video

Offical

Well, for me, it is offical-I am an Iowan. Not only do I have an Iowa license, they took my California one, so now I have NO proof that I am a native Californian, unless I wanna bust out my birth certificate, which I don't have!! UGH.
I didn't have to take a test, but I did have to get my eyes checked...I am so used to wearing my glasses that I couldn't read the test without them. Therefore I now have a restricted B license, saying that I have to wear the glasses! Again, UGH!!!! I need contacts!

So now we just have to make it official for Jason and Melvin (the truck) :)...then we are offical as a family. The puppies need no kind of ID really, so they were basically offcial the first time they peed and pooped on Iowa land.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We are heading to MN to go to Valley Fair, which from what I hear, is amazing! So, I'll see y'all next week. Peace!

Name Plate on my door

Jason started work this week. He said it is much slower than Cali Union work, but I think that's good for him. He's going to blow them away if he ever busts out at Cali speed. :) They work 10 hr days so we haven't really seen a lot of each other the last 4 days. Jason did find a carpool buddy, so I get the car every other day. :)

My work is going well, I love my boss and the people I work with. Basically, I ride my bike to work, go to the office, check email, and start on anything I can basketball related. If I don't have anything to do I just work on school. In case some of you don't know. I am working on my Masters in Sports Management. Apparently the athletic director doesn't really want us labeled as "Graduate Assistants", he let us know this week in a meeting that he wants us to know that we ARE "Assistant Coaches working on our Masters." Ha ha, not much different in your eyes? To us it is....especially because not many people know what a GA is. He made it clear that we are not "gophers", that we are an important part of the program...that made me feel pretty good. :) Not only do we have our own offices, we got name plates today!!!!


Right now work for me is pretty chill. But when season starts it's going to be crazy! I have a lot of responsibilities. A LOT! But this is exactly what I LOVE to do, and where God has called me right now. It's quite an honor.

As much as I miss California, my family, my friends, and my job...I truly believe that this was a great move for Jason and I. We both did have jobs in Cali, but Jason hated his, and now he gets to work in his element and is even making more!!! It is amazing what can happen when you step out of the boat and walk on water. Giving your life to God, and trusting Him is the best thing you can ever do!!! It may be scary, but it's worth it.