From Florida to Texas and back again...

Needless to say, with moving day only a week and a half away, things have been a little crazy around here.  I apologize for the lack of blogging & to several of you who have called & I haven't returned your call yet!  I really do intend and want to catch up with everyone---it just may be a few more weeks before I can.

Ben & I went to Texas for about 10 days, starting June 17th---in the mix we had 2 weddings to attend in Dallas, family to see in Ft. Worth, and house hunting..

The trip started off with some minor setbacks---but hey, trials are refining. We had been driving from Florida to TX for nearly 9 hours and were only 3 hours from our first destination in Fort Worth.   We were having a grand ol' time in the car listening to Narnia---I think it was Prince Caspian--- when we blew a tire.  Not gonna lie---it was sooo frustrating at the time.  The sun was going down, we were ill prepared, and we were just 30 minutes from the Texas border.  Thankfully road side assistance came to our aid & we were able to stay at a base nearby for the night.  It was definitely a chaotic situation at the time, but the Lord really did protect & provide for us--having a base nearby was a HUGE blessing---we were able to get all new tires the next day to ensure that didn't happen again.  

In Texas, the Lord really provided some wonderful people to help us find a place to live.  We weren't expecting it to be very difficult to find a place to rent in the town, but as we began to explore the town we discovered that there weren't many rentals, and those that did pop up, were quickly claimed.  It is also hard to determine where you are going to live when you don't really know the area. Thankfully, the pastor of the church we visited offered to tour us around town one day to help us look for rentals!  Seriously, it was amazing---talk about God's love in action through his people.  He, his wife & an elder really ministered to us through their servant hearts that day, and to top the day off, we actually did find a house to rent while we were with them!  It's in a great area that is very military friendly so we are super excited about that!

To put an end to a great trip we got to see my sweet friend Kyndall get married in such a God honoring wedding & reception---it was sooo beautiful & such an wonderful privilege to be a part of!  I wish I had pictures to post, but unfortunately I mooched off of other people's cameras the entire trip, so I will have to nab some of their photos later!

Ben & I are pretty exhausted from our traveling---its hard to comprehend packing ourselves up & making that long trip a second time, but I guess that's what has got to happen.  We are excited, but are looking forward to having the moving part behind us!

the first week of june....

and we are soo glad its Friday, and that Friday means date night in this house :)  Even though we are only going to order Mexican take-out tonight & bring it back home for an indoor picnic---its just what we need.  A little rest & relaxation in our home, just the two of us.

Monday, Ben had the day off for Memorial Day and we "celebrated" by organizing, cleaning and packing up some boxes for the upcoming move.  I made a cute little diaper bag for a sweet friend, and he took apart all his Star Wars Legos to be packed into their boxes for the move.  We actually had a great time just working side by side in what we affectionately call our "project room" for most of the day.  Later, I went swimming with our downstairs neighbor & her two little girls while our husbands went out to the store to get yummy food to cook together.   We just love that family. :)

The rest of the week has been pretty fast paced, with both of us working 8 hour days & trying to get paperwork finalized for the move.  But amidst the craziness, we have been blessed to have time to catch up with dear friends over dinner, before saying our goodbyes next month.   I think we are realizing more and more how blessed we have been to have such great friends in Pensacola---even though we may not see all of them on a weekly basis, its just so easy to pick right back up where we left off.   We are going to miss our friends here, but its encouraging to know that we will get to see some of the military ones again on this earth & many of the others, we know we will at least get to see them one day in eternity!  That makes goodbyes a little bit easier.

Our official move date is July 7th.  Its hard to believe its only a month away! We have a couple of weddings in TX to attend this month, so we are going to conveniently plan a house hunting trip to San Angelo while we are in TX to see 2 beautiful couples get married!

Pan Fried Egg Rolls

Never have really been an egg roll person---I am not really big on deep fried & I also don't usually like whatever it is that restaurants traditionally put in egg rolls.  BUT I made this recipe last night for Ben & myself & we both really liked it---in fact, he LOVED it.  The recipe was actually very simple, and once you have stocked up on some of the sauces in your pantry, it actually becomes a pretty inexpensive meal to cook.  Pair it with a side of rice or couscous and you are good to go!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (you can find this in the Asian food section)

12 oz fresh bean sprouts

1 zucchini cut into matchsticks

12- 8in egg roll wrappers

12 cooked medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

coconut oil for pan frying

Directions:

Combine 3 tablespoons of chili sauce with bean sprouts & zucchini, tossing well to coat  Work with one egg roll wrapper at a time & cover the rest to ensure that they don't dry up.  Place wrapper onto work surface with one corner pointing toward you.  Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of bean sprout mixture into center of wrapper.  Top with 2-3 shrimp and sprinkle with cilantro.  Fold lower corner of wrapper over filling; fold in the side corners.  Moisten the top corner of the wrapper with water; roll up ensuring that all the corners are nicely tucked in (otherwise you will get some spillage).  Place egg roll, seam down on a baking sheet.  Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, bean sprouts & cilantro.  Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 6 egg rolls, seam side down; cook 7 minutes or until golden, turning occasionally.  Place on a wire rack.  Repeat with remaining 6 egg rolls & 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.   Serve egg rolls with less sodium soy sauce or the sweet chili sauce & a side of rice.  Enjoy!

A New Favorite

This is going to be a weird post, but I had to share my new found love for these straws with someone, so I picked the blog world!  I recently purchased these stainless steel straws to use for drinking coffee in the morning.  Some of you who have been on coffee dates with me, know that I am weird and use straws in my hot coffee drinks.   I do it because I drink way too much coffee for a girl my age & don't want to end up with really yellowy teeth in 30 years.  But I love coffee and rather than throw in the towel & surrender to yellow teeth, or give up coffee altogether---I think I have found a nice solution.

Reusable Stainless Steel Straws.  Now I don't have to worry about flimsy plastic straws melting in my coffee, and better yet, I don't have to continually buy straws---I have about 4 of these guys to rotate during the week.  Thank you stainless steel straws for helping me keep my teeth un-yellowy.

It's Official

After much  prayer, waiting, countless conversations and musings over the "what ifs" of life, some more prayer, and oh did I mention, lots of waiting,  we finally have a glimpse into the direction our lives our headed!

B found out that he is going to go through re-training for a new job in good ol' Texas!

We couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to move back to TX for a while (training will take at least 8 months) and we are beyond belief blessed with the prospect of his new assignment!


Thanks so much for all your prayers & for hanging in there with us while we waited!  It is going to be hard to leave all the people here that have really become like a second family to us, we love them so dearly, but we couldn't ask for a better assignment, and can't wait to be closer to TX family & friends!

Expect to see the Carters rolling through TX with our big ol' UHaul sometime in July.  Feel free to drop by and see us any time---and if you so conveniently decide to visit us in July, we will be more than happy to put your hands to work w/ moving in ;)

whistle while you work

Well friends, I have entered the workforce...at least temporarily.   I was offered a clerical job last week, working about 8 hours a week, but that will only last for two months.  Ben and I talked about it and looked at our schedules for the next couple of months, and it just seemed to fit right in there.  One of the hesitations I usually have about taking a  job, is not knowing how long we will actually still be in P'cola, but since this job is just temporary anyway, that qualm took care of itself.  

I am enjoying being a busy little worker bee, and Ben and I are adjusting well to both having jobs--he has been really supportive :)    I think it has made us really cherish our time together, which is always a good perspective to regain.  

I am praying that the Lord will use me and Ben both as a light for His glory in our respective jobs.  




If you would like to pray for us, I would ask that you would pray for our hearts and minds to be open to whatever the Lord has for us in the coming months, specifically in regard to Ben's job.  There are a lot of unknowns in our lives right now, that will probably be at least partially revealed in the coming months, and we just want to have open hearts to what it is that God has in store.  

From Every Tribe

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" 

-Romans 10: 13-15

The unreached.  There are so many.  The Joshua Project states that out of the 16,349 people groups in the world, 6,644 are completely unreached with the gospel of Christ.  Thats a lot of the world population---somewhere around 40%.  I'll be honest, I didn't even realize how huge a percentage it was, until looking it up just now.  40% of the world has never heard the gospel, never held a Bible in their hands, has never heard the name of Jesus.  wow.  

Its almost unthinkable to those of us who live in the U.S. and hear the name of Jesus thrown around here and there, often so flippantly & even as a swear word.  But its true---there are almost 3 billion people out there who have never had the privilege of hearing the name of Jesus Christ.  

And yet in Revelation, it says that from EVERY tribe and language, people & nation, men were purchased for God by the blood of Jesus.  Ok, so we know that eventually people from every tribe, tongue & nation will know the Lord, but...

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

These are the questions that Ben & I have been presented with by our pastoral leadership.  We have been digging through the first several chapters of Revelation for a couple of months now, and have found ourselves in the middle of chapter 5 with some big questions.

Why, as a church and as individuals aren't we doing something to reach the unreached?  Why haven't we been praying for the unreached? Why do we worry so much about our comfortability and our lives here in the US, our job, our future, worldly possessions, and yet don't even think about the souls those that have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?


And after coming out of the "slap" of conviction all I can ask is: 

What are we waiting for?

The only way the unreached will be reached is through the preaching of the Word by those who are sent ("and how are they to hear without someone preaching?") and through praying-- for His glory, for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   This is not an "only if God calls you" sort of thing.  We are all called to make disciples, we are all called to pray for the glory of God to be made known, we are all to pray for His kingdom to come & His will to be done.  As Christians, we all have a part(s) to play in this.  

Ben and I realize that we can't go physically (yet)--but we can help send (how are they to preach unless they are sent?) people to go & we can pray, pray, pray.  

I found this neat little website badge on Holly Southerland's blog and am going to add it to mine.  It is a badge describing a different unreached people group every day.  This will be a good reminder to me to pray for the unreached daily, and by name.

Will you join me?