suffering

Trinity has a program called Trinity Wives Fellowship. This is a group for the wives of the seminary students. A couple of weeks ago I went to the kick off for the semester and got connected with a small group. We are studying 1 Peter. As I was studying the first part of the first chapter a few verses really stood out to me.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may

have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so 

that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even 

though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in 

praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7 

As Dave and I traveled to Muncie last week for the birth of my nephew, the trek reminded me of the last time we went to that hospital. It was to be with my Grandma Carr as she passed on to Heaven. Thinking of that reminded me of some of the suffering my family went through. Within one year, we lost my uncle and both of my grandmas. To add to that my parents also lost several of their close friends. It was a rough year. It was a year of suffering.  

As we went to the hospital for my nephews birth, I was reminded that even through the suffering of losing a loved one, there is also new life. Death is a part of life. A part that no one really wants to face because it hurts and we miss those we've lost.  But there is hope in Jesus Christ who will never leave us. This life is temporary and we can use everyday to rejoice no matter what the circumstances.  This will prove that our faith is genuine.  And we will be able to move through the suffering with joy.

Suffering comes in all different forms not only limited to death. Being far away from family and friends can feel a bit like suffering too.  Or doing something difficult that you know God has called you to do. And even battling an illness.  What a great reminder to REJOICE in ALL our suffering.

happy BIRTHday ethan!

Yesterday our nephew, Ethan, was born. He is the first son of my sister Elizabeth and her husband Randy. And the first grandchild. Dave and I were able to travel to Muncie on Saturday while my sister was in labor. We mostly spent time in the waiting room but got to go back and see her every once and a while. I'm so proud of her and Randy. I know that we were tired from being there late at night so I can only imagine how they felt.


Liz and Randy taking labor head on!!

I can't quite imagine what child birth is like, nor having a child. But I experienced something I've never experienced before this weekend.  I've had several friends have babies and I've been very excited to meet their new little ones. And I've come to love them as they grow. When Dave and I got married I also gained two nieces who I love like crazy. Like I said, there was something different. Something different about my sister having a baby. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to meet him. I couldn't wait to see what he looked like. To hold him and to look at all his features and decide who he looked like.

We waited at the hospital till midnight on Saturday. The nurse told us she had a lot longer to go, so if we wanted to go get rest we could come back when he was here. We got news that he was born at 4:42 a.m. Once I heard I couldn't sleep any longer! I had to get to the hospital. I finally got to see my sweet nephew about 8:30.

I walked in and saw Randy holding his new son. It was love at first sight. I couldn't believe he was here and he was so cute!! I couldn't believe this miracle that was in the arms of my brother-in-law. I couldn't take my eyes off him. I wanted to see every part of him! Finally my sister said, "Ethan." I had completely forgot to ask what his name was. It didn't even matter. Because I loved him.

I am so proud of my sister. I got to see a side of labor that I've only seen on TV shows. But this was my sister. To see her fight through the pain of contractions was unlike anything I've seen her do. And she looked beautiful the whole time! I love her so much!


Randy was amazing. He stayed by my sisters side and supported her every step of the way and kept us all informed. I know that it is hard to see someone you love in such pain. He did a great job.

Ethan is going to have great parents. He also has great extended families that are going to surround him with love and support as he grows. I can't wait to celebrate all his major milestones in life. Remembering the day he was born. And how I felt when I got to meet him.

01.22.2012 8lbs 3oz 21 inches

Happy Birthday Ethan! I love you so much!

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14

the bowl chair

My senior year of college I lived in a house with 5 other girls. I would say the first semester of that year was the best semester of my college experience. During that year, one of my best friends Ashlee put her beloved bowl chair upstairs where I lived. Her chair that I'm pretty sure came from a garage sale :) I'll have to check the back story to know for sure.  I grew very fond of the chair. It had a beautiful floral print and was the largest bowl chair I've ever been in. I used to watch TV for hours in that thing! I would even sleep in it!  After that year I inherited the chair! The chair has come along with me for the past 7 years. While I lived in Huntington, my youth kid Andrea claimed the chair. She always sat in it every time she came over.

The older I got, the less my back enjoyed that chair so it sat empty most of the time unless company came over. Before we moved, Dave firmly suggested getting rid of the chair :)  The first person I thought of when I knew we had to get rid of it was Andrea. She is about the same age as I was when I inherited the chair!  When I asked her she immediately said "yes!"

So the chair has been passed on, as it was passed to me. I know Andrea is loving it :)

Andrea the night she came to pick up the bowl chair

oh bob...ross that is

Many years ago, c2002, my good friend Kelsey and I decided we were going to be painters. We went to the store and got all the things we needed, canvas, brushes, paint, etc. We were so excited! We were pretty crafty girls and though this would be fun. Kelsey did well but mine was pretty weak. Needless to say, I don't think we ever picked up those brushes again :)


Kelsey and I c2005

Over the summer, my mom, sister, Carly and I had a girls night out and went to Wine and Canvas in Indy. For those who don't know, this is a place where you go and paint a picture start to finish with the help of an art instructor. It really is a great time and I highly recommend it for a girls night out or date night. Once we were there I instantly thought back to the experience with Kelsey. I wasn't feeling very confident in my skills, but with the help of an art instructor it went pretty well! 

And a close up for your viewing pleasure!

This experience boosted my confidence...a little. Probably everyone has this after they leave Wine and Canvas. The "well I could do this on my own" feeling. So ever since I've been wanting to do a little painting on my own. 

At our apartment in Indiana we didn't have cable so we were often limited on what to watch. One day I found myself watching a documentary on Bob Ross. I was so excited because I saw someone I knew being interviewed and found that Bob filmed "The Joy of Painting" in Muncie! I tried to catch his show when it came on but only saw it a few times. 

For Christmas my brother-in-law, Randy, got me a Bob Ross painting set! I was super excited. Dave, on the other hand, doesn't appreciate my new found love of Bob! :) I kept putting off trying the painting instructions that came with the set. But, I finally did it! And I can't believe that I'm actually putting this on here for everyone to see! But it's a pretty funny story :) Here is Bob's first painting ever (yes, I have a copy. jealous?):

And here is how mine turned out:

Happy Little Trees


My favorite parts are the sky and water. I know the picture quality isn't that great. And its still drying so the tape is still around the edges, but not to bad for my first Bob Ross!

I hope this post made you laugh a little. Because I laughed while writing it! Happy Painting!

trip to the windy city

On Friday we hopped on the train and went to the city! The train ride was fun. It took about an hour and 15 minutes. We both enjoyed looking at all the towns we went through on the way there!

We got to Union Station and frantically looked for a restroom...I guess there is one on the train. I understand that should be common knowledge...but I held it instead of searching the train for a bathroom!  It made the last bit of the train ride less enjoyable for me. But now I know!

Once we checked out Union Station we walked...and walked...and walked....and walked a little more! I thought maybe we did 10 or 15 miles that day, but when I looked on the map...it was only 2.5 miles. :) We went to Millennium Park where we saw the giant bean and skating rink.

 



We thought about skating but the line was really long. And it was crowded!

So we walked on! We walked up Michigan Ave and then made it over to Navy Pier. Not too much going on there in the winter. Although, it didn't feel like winter! It was 54 degrees out! What a great day to be in the city!

By the time we made it out to the end of the pier I was pretty much done walking! The temperature started to drop as soon as the sun started going down so we took a few last pictures and took a cab back to Union Station.

It was a great day! Couldn't have asked for better weather or better company!

and 5 makes a caravan

Our move up here went about as smooth as a move can go! We had a great group of friends and family help us! Here is the crowd that helped us on the Ft. Wayne end:

We had the truck loaded in just a half hour! Thanks to my wonderful husband packing our whole apartment in a very detailed manner. He had everything ready for when our friends showed up to help. I have to admit, that there were times that the living among boxes for 3 weeks drove me a little crazy, but it was all worth it to have the move go so smoothly.  My parents were also helping us on the Ft. Wayne end and my dad took this photo!

After packing up, we took off to Dave's parents to get a few more things. Check out this skilled rental truck driver!  What a stud!!

After lunch at Dave's parents house we were all ready to go! Ready with our FIVE car caravan! Dave lead in the rental truck, then my dad drove Dave's car, then my mom in their car, then me, then Dave's parents in their car! Whew!

It went really well till we hit the toll booths. We all got separated and it was nuts! I spent most of my drive calling the other 4 cars in in the caravan to make sure everyone was on track. But we made it! We had some great help on this side as well. Although, my picture taking skills weren't as good at the end of the day as at the beginning. Our parents helped so much by carrying in and unpacking! My dad's friend Mark, his wife Brenda and their daughter came from a nearby town to help. We also had a couple guys (Steve and Brad) and a couple boys (Drew and Justin) help us out as well! We did it all in about 9 hours! Not too bad! Did I mention the weather!?!? It totally cooperated with no snow or rain, I would even say it was beautiful out!

We are giving God all the glory for this move! We could see His hands on every aspect of the move. He protected and provided for our every need!

It only took us a few days to get everything unpacked and we are starting to feel at home here! More to come about our new home!

aka Jave and Dayma

I have really been into reading several blogs for the past year or so and was perfectly content with that relationship we had! You all write and I read!  I never thought I would start my own blog.  I had all these questions. Would I have enough to say? Would I post regularly? Would what I write about be interesting to others? After months of debating with myself (and having signed up for this blog a week ago) I'm finally writing my first post!

My inspiration for writing this blog comes from our most recent life adventure. Dave and I started praying about him starting school around August. I've known that this would probably be a chapter in our life at some point we just weren't sure when. We visited a school near home in Indiana and then a school in Deerfield, Illinois. I was really pushing for the school closer to home but I knew that Dave really wanted to go to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. About a week after we visited Trinity, Dave received a call that he was accepted into the Masters program. The following Tuesday we found out that Dave received the largest institutional scholarship Trinity offers and it is also the only scholarship they offer that you can get each year you are there. Then two days later we found out that he was accepted in the advanced placement program. And the following Tuesday we had a place to live. God really had this all in order!

We moved up here a little over a week ago, so our first big adventure as a married couple begins. And so does this blog. I hope you enjoy reading to keep up on what is going on with us.

                                                        our first picture, taken May 8, 2010
Jayma