January 1, 2012
Farewell, 2011!
What an eventful year 2011 has been! Here are some highlights and some of my favorite pictures.
January: Six months pregnant, we flew to Wisconsin to visit Adam’s family and celebrate a late Christmas. They threw us a baby shower while we were there, and it was so fun to see so many friends and family! Next we flew straight to Arizona for a Larson family reunion. Thanks to weather we almost didn’t make it, but finally rolled in a day late. Again, it was so fun to see family! About this time, Adam decided to switch his major from Pastoral Counseling to Bible Exposition, and we started to wonder if we should move.
Somehow this was the only family picture I got in Wisconsin!
Some (not all!) of my extended family at our Christmas reunion
Cousins!
February: Back in South Carolina, we celebrated Adam’s 25th birthday when I took him on a surprise weekend away in North Carolina. We spent a day hiking around the waterfalls in the mountains (being careful not to get TOO far away from the car since I was almost eight months pregnant!) Then we visited the Biltmore Estates in Ashville and wandered around downtown Ashville a bit (before the pouring rain started).
Looking Glass Falls, North Carolina
The Biltmore Estates
March: Nesting kicked into full gear as we anticipated our baby’s due date. I still worked at the bookstore, spending all day bending down to shelve books. Some days I felt like just staying down on the floor once I got all the way down there! My mom came a few weeks before the due date, and we treated ourselves to pedicures, planted the garden, and waited for baby!
Nine months pregnant!
April: Baby’s due date came and went, and while I was thankful he wasn’t born on April Fool’s Day, I was so ready to meet him! Finally, on April 11 they induced me, and on April 12 Berean was born! There are no words to say what a wonderful gift we received that day. He is worth all the misery of pregnancy and labor a million times over. And, we decided he was just waiting until both Grandmas could be there, because (thanks to his late arrival) Grandma H. arrived a couple hours before he was born!
First Family Picture!
Coming home from the hospital
May: Grandma H. and Grandma L. went home, and we settled in to life with a newborn. We got our first smiles from Berean and fell more in love with him every day! Adam proved to be wonder dad, and would get up in the middle of the night to change Rean and bring him to me as I stumbled out of bed. Sleep deprivation and all, we LOVED being parents!
Smiles and Giggles!
Ready for safari!
June: We flew to Colorado for my sister’s wedding. Berean was eight weeks old, and while I was apprehensive about flying alone, he did amazing! Adam flew out a few days later and we had a blast at the wedding and loved introducing Berean to his Grandpa L., aunts, uncles, and old friends. Back in South Carolina, we celebrated my 27th birthday.
At the wedding
My favorite birthday gift
July/August: We had been questioning our future direction ever since Adam decided to change his major, and having Berean made us miss being near family even more. After a lot of prayer we decided that, since Adam was no longer pursuing a degree that was specific to the school in South Carolina, he wanted to transfer to a seminary closer to family. There aren’t any seminaries near Adam’s family, so we decided on one in Colorado and started preparing to move. We made sure to take Berean to the ocean (my favorite part of South Carolina!) and he was pretty impressed with the sand and waves.
Three months old
The ocean--one of my favorite places in the world
My favorite place, with my favorite boys!
September: We spent most of our “free time” working on projects around the house, getting it ready to sell. I was still absolutely loving getting to be a stay at home mom with Berean, who got cuter every day!
Five months old, first solid food!
Date night
Time to say goodbye to our beloved little house.
October: We said goodbye to our house and a few wonderful friends in South Carolina and hit the road. We decided to visit Wisconsin “on the way” since Adam had a few weeks before he had to start his new job in Colorado and Berean still hadn’t met the H. side of the family. We got to meet our new nieces and nephew who had been adopted from Colombia, South America in February. We relished every moment spent with Adam’s family and our Wisconsin church family!
Six Months Old
Little Bear Meets Old Bear
Grandma and Grandpa H and the Grandkids
November: We arrived in Colorado! For the first time since Berean was born we had family members close by to hug, cuddle, play with, babysit, and admire our sweet boy!
Playing piano with Grandma L
Thanksgiving Dinner, 2011
December: We celebrated Berean’s first Christmas, and the first time Adam has been in Colorado for Christmas with my family. It was so fun to watch Christmas through the eyes of a baby, and to be near family!
Berean's First Christmas
Christmas with a baby is so fun!
Cutest, sweetest little boy in the world. We are so blessed!
All in all, 2011 was a year full of new adventures and God’s care and faithfulness through it all. I can’t wait to see what God has for us in 2012!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
December 31, 2011
The Blog Liveth! As do we: in our parents’ basement! (Wait. What?!?)
What’s with the siren song tempting me to start every blog post with “Well”?!? (Or, worse still, an apology for taking so long to post.) Both options are about as exciting as watching grass grow. I stop my ears, siren song of well/sorry!!
Anyway.
We’ve been in Colorado almost two months now, and life is still pretty up in the air. We haven’t signed a lease on an apartment yet, mostly because Adam’s job situation is still in progress. He’s been working two jobs, but we’re really hoping he can get one better paying job (and actually have time to do little things like, you know, sleep and eat). He had a preliminary interview with a school bus company and they told him he has to do another interview in January, but if he passes the background check, etc, he’ll get hired. That’s very good news, since they pay significantly better than his current job and he would have regular hours (YAY!) instead of never knowing what his schedule will be from week to week. The only downside is that the training doesn’t start until February, and we won’t know until it ends in March whether he can get full time hours right away or only part time. But, even if he’s only hired part time he’d make almost as much as he’s making full time at his job now, so we’re really praying it will work out!
At any rate, we’ve decided it’s best to wait and see what happens before we sign a lease. The cost of living here is pretty high; we could afford a decent one bedroom off what Adam is making now, but we’d really prefer two. He also could end up driving a route on the other side of town from where we are now, so we need to know that before we can decide on a location. Or there’s always a small chance he wouldn’t get the job at all, so we don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch. So many unknowns! So, for the time being I am forcing myself to be patient and wait on God’s provision until we’re confident we’re making a wise decision.
I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. On the one hand, I am SO thankful that my parents are graciously letting us stay with them. There’s a stereotypical horror story about staying with your parents, but our experience couldn’t be farther from that stereotype. They’ve been gracious and encouraging and helpful and non-meddlesome, and have done their best to give us as much privacy as possible in a house that really wasn’t designed for two families. I’m also thankful for a chance to pay off our moving expenses and save for a deposit on our apartment so we don’t have to take it out of our savings.
On the other hand, I still really, really miss having a place of our own to call home. No matter how gracious your hosts are, living out of a suitcase in a room without four complete walls gets stressful. I also get a lot of fulfillment from creating a homey home environment, and it’s discouraging to not have a place where I can do all the wife and mother things I enjoy so much. I LOVED being a stay at home mom after Berean was born, and I just ache to have space where I can create order and beauty and functionality in our own little world with our own little routine. And last but not least, no matter what the circumstances, telling people that you’re living with your parents never makes you feel like you’re doing especially well in life, so it’s a bit of a blow to my pride….
On a little side note here, I have to say how it still amazes me sometimes that I get so much joy and fulfillment out of being a stay at home mom. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but I was afraid I would chaff a little–miss “ministry” and “stimulating conversation” and “freedom” and all that jazz. It’s not that I love those things any less than before or am any less passionate about them, but I think it’s that motherhood has been so much more wonderful and awe-inspiring and fulfilling than I ever dreamed possible. There’s probably a whole other blog post in this topic, though, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.
Anyway.
I suppose I’m learning (or at least wrestling with) a lot: blessings, thankfulness, perspective, patience, humility, etc. There was a picture that was all over Facebook this Christmas that put things in perspective:
I have to remind myself to mentally replace the right side of the picture with my “stresses” lately, whether that’s a picture of a home, new clothes, a computer that works better, or whatever. It seems obvious, for example, that we “need” a two bedroom apartment, until I think of the thousands of families living in one room shacks or on the streets or running for their lives from war zones and genocide. And I could make similar comparisons with all my issue right now. I am definitely blessed.
So, all that to say, not much has changed, except (hopefully) some of my mindsets and attitudes. I could probably get this tattooed on my forehead: Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
December 4, 2011
Berean’s First Thanksgiving
We celebrated Berean’s first Thanksgiving with my family a few weeks ago. He was TOO cute in his little turkey shirt, as you can see. He just bursts with personality, and I think I love him more every day! He just got his second bottom tooth, which is also too adorable for words. Love this little boy so much!
My mouth is open, bring on the food!!
What's up? I'm just chillin'. (Wink, wink)
I made sure to get these teeth before all the big holiday meals!
We had a glorious feast for Thanksgiving with all the traditional (at least for our family) foods: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing with raisins, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes (plain and with marshmallows), corn, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, all sorts of pickles and olives, rolls, sparkling cider, and six kinds of pie: French apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue, chocolate French silk, cherry cheese cake, and plain cheesecake, with ice cream and whipped cream for topping. I’m listing those for two reasons: 1) I’m curious if my grandchildren will someday read this and if the traditional foods will be the same or will have changed, and 2) because it’s really amazing to have so much food.
We started a tradition when I was a little girl where we would start the Thanksgiving meal with five kernels of corn on our plates. This is reportedly what the Pilgrims lived on for daily rations before they were able to take in their first harvest, thanks to the help and friendship of the native Americans. When they celebrated their Thanksgiving feast, they put five kernels on their plate to remind them of how far God had brought them. It is always really sobering to look at those five tiny kernels on our plates and then look up at the incredible meal in front of us. We take turns taking each kernel and saying one thing we are thankful for. We are very, very blessed!
Thanksgiving Dinner, 2011
Thanksgiving night we watched “The Pursuit of Happyness.” I love that movie and I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while now. I love it because it reminds me how blessed we are to have family who love us and will always be there for us in hard times. Every time I see the main character and his son sitting on the floor of the public bathroom in the middle of the night because they have nowhere else to go, cradling his sleeping son and crying, I think “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It’s easy to take good jobs, warm homes, and caring family and friends for granted. We are so blessed.
October 13, 2011
Six Months Old
Berean just turned six months old. I can’t believe it–where did the months go? We’re loving every day of discovery and development. He lights up our lives in more ways than I could ever express. I’m pretty convinced that he couldn’t get any cuter…and pretty convinced that he’s going to. :)
Berean, Six Months Old
Loving life! And boy do we love him!!
Praising God for our handsome, healthy, heaven-sent baby boy!
September 24, 2011
Our Home
I felt a little weepy the other day when the realtor put the For Sale sign in front of our house. It means we’ve officially said someone else can have our house if they want it. (Wait, WHAT?! No you can’t! Go away! MINE!!!)
Okay…I know I can’t say that. But that doesn’t meant I don’t want to.
So, I thought I’d post some pictures for posterity’s sake, and because our house makes me so happy. Oh, and if you (or someone you know) wants to buy a home in Columbia, let me know. I GUESS I’d let you buy it. But only because I know if you’re reading this I like you, so you’ll provide a good home for our house. So without further ado, the grand tour:
Our Happy Little Home
Our living room and front door. The blue/brown/green color scheme is so peaceful and soothing to me. It's a complete 180 from the Middle-Eastern-inspired gold and red apartment I had when I was single, and I've loved them both!
It's a travesty, but we've never used the fireplace. We didn't even think to use it when we moved in and the heater was broken and it was 40 degrees inside. Oh well--it sure is pretty to look at! I ADORE the paint color in this room. It's called Twilight: a gray-blue with purple undertones. Ah! Love!
Dining room. The chandellier in here makes me so happy--it replaced a hideous gold thing that I stared at in consternation and disapproval for a year and a half! (OH, and it is brushed nickle...it kind of looks gold in the picture. Ahk!) And I love the pretty table and chairs we got from wonderful friends!
Kitchen. Had we been here longer, I probably would have painted the cabinets white and put brushed nickle hardware on them. I love the pretty new floors and stainless appliances (the ones when we bought the house were a giant shudder of horror!)
The cheery breakfast nook!
Berean's room. The Poohbear decals go all the way around the room. His crib should be where that bed is, but it's still in our room, so....
Lots of sweet cuddles happen in that rocker. Warm fuzzies in my heart!
Hall bath. I love that shower curtain. Except that it shrunk. So if you buy it...don't put it in the dryer.
The office side of the office
The library/music room side of the office. We packed away two whole book shelves. Sniff. It's okay, little books! We'll be reunited again soon! The violin painting was Adam's grandma's. We miss her!! The piano music is open to a song called "Own Me." Get it? Subliminal messaging for potential home buyers?? Haha! Yeah...I doubt anyone will notice. ;)
Master bedroom. Someday I'm going to make a beautiful headboard. And stain the nightstands. And do a gorgeous ombre paint effect on our dressers. And....
Master bath. There's no way to get the pretty purple shower curtain in the picture, unfortunately. It has a huge tub, which would be spectacular if I wasn't completely freaked out by all the bacteria and parasites that I am sure lurk in tubs, resisting my futile attempts to disinfect them to death. (In other words, I only take showers. With flip flops on. This is another topic that seems to come up much more often in my blog posts than I think it should. Hm.) There is also a great walk-in closet with plenty of room to display my RED SHOES! Oh, how I love them.
The raised bed square-foot garden Adam built. Uh...this picture may have been from last year. Because this year I may have planted the garden and then totally abandoned it to the savage South Carolina heat. I have gardener guilt. Although those of you who know me know that it probably died a kinder death at the hands of the elements than it might have at the hand of my black thumb. One thing remains this year, though: my beloved rosemary!! It survived three freak snowstorms and is growing spectacularly, without me doing ANYTHING to help it. Sniff. I already loved rosemary, and love it so much more now for it's valiant effort!
Well, there you have it, a tour of our beloved house. We have been SO blessed to live here. We’ve learned a TON about handyman skills, been able to have dogs, been surrounded by an environment that makes me feel cosy and happy, and made so many memories. It never could have happened without my incredible parents who have blessed us so generously. We love you!
I’m so sad to leave, but also trusting that God has great things and wonderful memories waiting for us in Colorado. And I know, ultimately, that Adam and Rean and time together are what will make our home, whether it’s a mansion or a cardboard box. Before you know it I’ll be blogging about our new apartment! Looking forward to it!
January 9, 2011
Travelin, travelin!
Adam and I just got back from an amazing whirlwind of a vacation. We were gone eleven days and packed more into those days than I thought possible! I’ll skip the flight horror stories since we’ve all had those—let’s just say it was bad, and were it not for both sets of parents coming to our rescue, the vacation would not have happened! Thank you so much, Mom and Dad Larson and Hamill!!
Our first stop was Arizona, where my extended family’s biennial (yes, I looked that up) Christmas get together was being held. My dad is one of nine children, so these reunions are a big deal, literally! I think it’s incredible that even though there are so many of us and we’re spread so far apart, everyone still makes it a point to come spend several days together every other Christmas. I have treasured relationships with my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I never would have had otherwise. What a blessing!
While we were there we had Christmas dinner, a gift exchange, and they even threw a shower for Adam and I, my cousins who just had a baby, and my sister and her fiancé, who just got engaged! And, of course, we spent many hours playing stinky peasant, mafia, Dutch blitz, Mexican train dominoes, and other games. (I’m assuming the pinochle tradition was continued at the home the ol’ folks were staying at, too, but I was not witness to it, as I was staying at the house with the young folks. Hehe.)
Next we flew to Wisconsin where I was in one of my best friend’s weddings. Thanks to our flight issues we missed the rehearsal but made it in time for the dinner and New Year’s party. We left before midnight so we could stop by a party some friends from our old church were having, and it was so fun to see so many of our friends, some of whom Adam has known since middle school! The wedding was Sunday, and I not only managed to fit into my bridesmaid’s dress (score!), but also refrained from fainting or falling during the ceremony. The funniest thing was that all three of the bridesmaids were pregnant and showing! (I told my friend that probably meant she was going to have honeymoon triplets. She was not amused. Hehe.) The bride was absolutely lovely, and it was so special to get to be a part of their celebration! I miss her so much, and am so happy for her and her wonderful husband.
Next we spent a few days with Adam’s family, where we celebrated Christmas again and were thrown another baby shower! The shower was so much fun and I felt so loved—thank you to everyone who planned and came to it! It was so fun to spend time with family, too, especially since the next time we’re all together there will be four grandkids added to the family! We also got to get together with a lot of friends from NTBI who we miss so much. I can’t believe we’ve been gone a year.
We had a wonderful time—how often do you get to see both sides of your family, be in a wedding, celebrate Christmas, be thrown baby showers, and meet with so many friends from school and church, all in one shot? We feel so blessed to have been able to go!
When we arrived back home late at night we hugged our dogs (who we left with a house sitter), inspected the house, and immediately went out and bought a carpet shampooer. Apparently the dogs’ gift to themselves in our absence was a vacation from being housebroken. Wa wa waaaa. But even that didn’t dampen our opinion of what a wonderful time we had!! And, miraculously, I was still glad to see my cuddle puppies. Good thing they’re so cute….
And now, back to reality! (Wait…what? Do I have to?)
September 18, 2010
Life-Changing Moment
You will never believe who waved at Adam and I the other day. At first all we could see was a fuzzy blur, then what did we see but a little face, and a little waving hand! A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll just post this (scroll down):
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Introducing: Baby Hamill!!
Lord-willing, April 2, 2011 will bring not only spring flowers, but a new little twig on the Hamill/Larson family tree! We are SO THRILLED and praising God for this little miracle!
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July 2, 2010
Points for South Carolina
I’ve lived in a decent number of places (this is state #5) and found things I’ve loved about each of them. I generally subscribe to the “bloom where you’re planted” model; I’m pretty sure there’s something great about just about anywhere (although I haven’t tested this theory in, say…nevermind. I’ll let you fill in that blank. Heh.) South Carolina has been a bit of an adjustment, but there are two things that are standing out as major points for the Palmetto State.
Point number one is, of course, THE OCEAN!!! I lived in California long enough to fall head over heels in love with the ocean. Interestingly enough, I never associated South Carolina with the ocean. In fact, I always assumed the only states with “real” oceans were California and Florida, so when friends in the northeast would talk about “going to the beach” I always did a mental double take. And then there are those friends (ahem, Coloradans and Wisconsonites) who talk about “going to the beach” and then drive to a muddy patch with a lake on the other side of it. Um, yeah. Not quite, sorry. But, no fear, I can now attest to the fact that South Carolina, at least, has a real live beach, complete with white sand, seashells, ocean waves, seagulls, and sunburns. And I am ECSTATIC! My only complaint about the South Carolina beaches is that they’re about an hour and a half away. But I guess that’s not really their fault.
Point number two for South Carolina is the spectacular flowers and flowering trees, particularly the Crepe Myrtles. When we were here last year to house hunt (I can’t believe it was a year ago!) I was stunned by the trees everywhere that were covered in lacy purple flowers. This year I’ve discovered they come in three varieties, hot pink, purple, and white. And believe me when I say they are EVERYWHERE. I’ve never seen such beautiful trees that bloom for so long. This year the pink ones are particularly prolific, and the purple ones are a little behind on the blooming. I already have dreams of planting one right in the middle of our front yard, in view of our front window. These pictures don’t do them justice, but here’s an attempt:
January 3, 2010
New Year, New Adventure
Hard to believe, but we’ve packed all our possessions into an 8x8x9 ft space! (Plus a car full of cleaning supplies for once we get there. Heh.) Friends and family showed up for a FRIGID day of loading and cleaning. I believe the temp was 5 degrees when we started–at one point one of the guys tilted the apartment window open to clean the outside, sprayed the glass cleaner, and it FROZE instantly! They had to scrape it off. Lol. Thank you so very much to everyone who helped us!
Once everything was finally done I went up to turn our keys into the main office. I walked in and got all choked up–it’s the end of six wonderful years at NTBI. God has taught me more than I could have dreamed when I first arrived (and spent three weeks crying in the bathroom!) He used NTBI to answer my prayer for Him to please, please teach me how to walk with Him in victory (which will be a lesson that will continue my whole life!) He gave me my first experience in full time ministry, proving to me that He’d given me the gifts He had for a reason, and He’d use them even if I’m not a man. I loved my time discipling and teaching the girls at NTBI more than I can say, and I learned SO much from my incredible coworkers. I’m so thankful they gave me the opportunity to blunder my way through my time as Dean of Women! As I left the building the sun was setting, and since the school is on the highest point in Waukesha I could see all the church spires and the smoke rising from chimneys with the sunset in the background. It was a beautiful way for us to say goodbye.
Today we said goodbye to our much-loved church, Redeemer EFC. When I think back to my time at Redeemer I think about Psalm 23, where God leads us beside quiet waters and lets us rest in green pastures. I was very burnt-out when I came to Redeemer, and I was determined to be a back row attender and nothing more. God is so gentle with me, and He used Redeemer as a quiet pasture where He graciously healed, refreshed, and renewed me through an incredible body of His followers. The first person who welcomed me was one illustrious Rick Hamill, who–little did I know–would soon become my father-in-law! My plan to stay uninvolved did not work, and I’m so thankful for the opportunities God gave me in spite of myself. I got to help spearhead a new Modern Worship Service, lead worship regularly, intern with women’s ministries, be involved in missions, and be discipled. I have the utmost respect for the leadership at Redeemer, from the pastors to the elders to the other worship leaders, and have loved being shepherded by them and serving under them. I’ve been mentored by incredible women of the Lord and learned so much from them and the way they have loved me and poured themselves into me. All in all, while we’re hardly the perfect church, Redeemer has blessed Adam and I more than I can say, and we are going to miss it terribly!
Our moving truck will be picked up tomorrow, and then we’ll drive away on Tuesday. The truck should be dropped off Thursday or Friday, and we’re going to clean and paint the house until it arrives. We’re staying with Adam’s parents until Tuesday, and enjoying just relaxing with them. Leaving family is going to be very hard. The sense of loss is definitely hitting us, especially Adam, who’s lived here his whole life. It’s a lot to give up: family, friends, church, school, jobs, ministries, and more. But I vividly remember how lost I felt when I arrived in WI, how much I felt like I gave up, and how abundantly wonderful God has made my time here. I couldn’t have imagined all He had in store for me: marriage, family, friends, church, school, jobs, ministry…. And I’m sure this next step will prove Him faithful all over again. As sad as I am to leave, I am so excited for this new adventure and so grateful for all the ways God has confirmed that this is where He’s leading us. I’m so excited to have a house and make it a home! We’re thrilled to start at CIU–it looks like an incredible place. I’ll be only a few hours from my best friend (ever since middle school!) and can’t wait to be in the same state as her again. And, I’m pretty sure the windex won’t freeze on the windows!
I’m excited to chronicle all the things God has ahead of us. To everyone we love in WI, we will miss you so much, but we’ll be back. And everyone in SC, I can’t wait to meet you!
October 30, 2009
A GPS and a Cliff…Dun Dun Dun!
Hard to believe, but our move is just over two months away. Or, should I say, our Fling-Ourselves-Over-A-Cliff-Into-The-Great-Unknown-And-Un-Paid-For adventure is just over two months away. I’ve been pondering the multitude of things that we’ll need to have once we move, like another car (so we can both work and do school), a laptop for Adam’s classes, high speed internet required for my classes…. And, yeah, I have no idea how we’re going to pay for them.
Before I started pondering all the necessities, I had been thinking about how nice it would be to have a GPS once we move. I vividly remember my (now hilarious, then not so much) adventure trying to find food the first night I arrived in Wisconsin. How nice it would have been to plug “grocery” into a GPS and NOT eat a dinner of beef jerky and gummy peachy rings that I finally found at the only open store I thought might have some semblance of food. But, I pretty much despaired of buying a GPS once I thought of all the other things we’ll actually NEED.
You may remember the episode of the couch God gave us. I was freaking out about whether or not we’d have a couch when we moved (rather than freaking out about, say, how we’d be able to buy groceries). So, God dropped a couch in our laps, which has been sitting in the basement for a year. It seemed like He was telling me, “Calm down, Tamara. I know what you need, and I’ll take care of it. And just to drive it home a little more thoroughly, here’s a couch. Which you don’t even need yet. Just so you remember I’ve got it under control.”
Well, last week, right about the time that I was resisting the temptation to mildly hyperventilate about all the things we’ll need and can’t afford, I randomly got into a conversation with a coworker about technology and fun toys…and GPS systems…which led to her saying they had a GPS they never use (which, incidentally, was the kind I wanted)…did we want to buy it…for a fraction of its original price…etc, etc. So, yes. We now have a GPS system. And I will be able to find grocery stores in our new city!
So, if God can provide a way for me to FIND the food, I’m supposing He can provide a way for us to DRIVE to the food, and BUY the food, and I think I shouldn’t worry. It kind of amuses me how BLATANT He is. He hasn’t provided the necessities for us yet, He’s provided the things we don’t really need and asked us to keep trusting Him and step off the cliff anyway, because we know the One who will catch us.
A quote from the couch episode:
“How does He know—and choose—such personal and detailed ways to show me He loves me? It’s absolutely the dumbest detail to take care of right now, and that’s part of why it speaks so sweetly to me. I’m sure what He’s telling me is that not only will He take care of everything, but that He cares even about the things that I think are too dumb for Him to bother with. He LOVES blessing me. Loves it.
“His provision isn’t a begrudging, give-you-the-bare-minimum-because-I-have-to sort, it’s lavish and joyful and personal…. It’s like one last little flourish on His extravagance. ‘See, Tamara? I’ve got it all taken care of, and I get a kick out of doing it. I’m so far ahead of you…you can chill a little. In fact, why don’t you come curl up on the couch for a while?’ ”
Maybe I’ll use our GPS to find a good spot to chill with God for a while.
