whirlwinds & blessings.

Whew! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been! Sorry I haven’t updated our blog recently- I’m ready to get back in the saddle with this blogging thoughJ! I’m trying to decide where to begin? Let me start with a brief overview of recently & then go further in depth- here’s our lives lately: July 15-17^th we headed to Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum with our dear potluck group as a last ‘hurrah’ before Ryan & Alys left for med school and we were living in Little Rock. July 18^th-27^th we were at “CSU”, which is the biennial Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as ‘cru’) conference held on the campus of Colorado State University. July 28-31^st we were back in Illinois for a few short days spent with family & of course the beautiful wedding of Mike & Kenzie- which I was beyond honored to be a part of. This week we have been re-adjusting & on Sunday Seth leaves for Honduras, working with FamilyLife, through the 14^th. The 16-18^th is mission training. We both leave for Costa Rica as part of FamilyLife on the 21^st & return the 28^th. Whew! I think that just about covers it! Now for the details…..

Creation Museum: We had been talking about this as a potluck for sometime. A while back we officially set the date & made the reservations. We all met at the hotel on Friday night and went to the creation museum on Saturday. Words can’t describe how thankful wear for these dear and precious friends. They have been one of the sweetest things we’ve known. I knew going into the weekend it was going to be so bittersweet. Sweet because we were able to spend a whole weekend with these awesome friends- but bitter because I knew it would be the last time in a long time we’d all be together. I think that mixed with the emotions of just recently moving (4 days earlier) and the unknowns ahead made it an emotional mix of feelings. We did have a blast, though! We will miss them so so much but will cherish the times we’ve had and the hopes of the future times we’ll have!

CSU: I have been debating of how to even put this week into words. I don’t know if I can. I wish I could because I want so badly for you to understand it & feel it & experience it with me. I’ll start by saying, this waaaay exceeded any expectation we had. This is a conference held every other summer on the campus of CSU (hence why we call the conference ‘csu’). All US Campus Crusade (now Cru) staff attends. There were about 5,000+ people in attendance. We were so beyond blessed to be a part of something so awesome & special. I’ll try to break it down:

     The drive out: on the way back from Kentucky we stopped at my parents hours for a quick supper & got to see my little brother, Chad, for a bit. He told us about this truck stop on I-80 that we couldn’t miss. We decided to drive to somewhere in Iowa that night & spend the night. On the way we’re looking for this truck stop when all of a sudden a “WORLDS LARGEST TRUCKSTOP” sign appears- I yelp “We have to stop!” & so we did. I imagine the looks on our faces when we walked in the front door looked something comparable to the movie “willy wonka & the chocolate factory”- when the winners of the contest walked into the chocolate paradise- haha! This place is amazing- it has a dentist, a barber, restaurants, showers, a museum, everything! Very well worth the stop. My suggestion- if you haven’t been there & you’re planning a trip on I-80 out in Iowa- stop there. It’s worth your time J. Anyways, we stop at a hotel that night & hit the road again in the morning. Somewhere in the middle of  nowhere, Nebraska I notice our air conditioning is actually blowing hot air, not cold air like it’s created to do. We ignore it for a bit & about 5 minutes later- it’s getting hotter. Hmmm. We decide it’s broken & that’s not a good thing considering it’s 95+ outside. Seth calls to a repair shop (found from our handy gps) and we head that way- Sidney, Nebraksa. As soon as we get on the off ramp I exclaim “What is that smell? Is that us?!” Seth replies “I could be, I’m not sure” (trying as hard as he can to keep his frantic wife calm by not telling the whole truth!) Again I exclaim “what’s that sound?! Is that us?! Are we going to explode?!” Seth replies “I don’t know what that sound is, but it doesn’t sound good”. I exclaim “but are we going to blow up?!?!” (I’ve watched too many movies I guess). Seth looks at me “No, baby, we’re not going to blow up. I want you to remember the memories we are going to make from this.” I know I tend toward the dramatic side, however when you’re in the middle of NOWHERE and don’t know ANYONE and it’s 95+ degrees and your car is sounding like a marching band with a nice hot rubber/metal smell- making memories are the last thing on my mind! We pull into Sidney & it literally looks like we are in an old wild west movie. We pull into the auto repair shop & a very very nice man takes a look at our car and tells us it looks pretty bad. Great- just what I love to hear! We tell him we are headed to Ft. Collins & ask if it would be safe to drive it there. He said it should be safe to drive but we CANNOT use the air conditioning no matter what (I won’t got into technical auto mechanic terms because you might laugh @ my attempt to explain what was wrong with our vehicle). So with a quick change of clothes into some shorts & the windows down we made our nice, warm, breezy drive to Colorado & made it safely- or so we thought! The next morning seth gets up to take our car to a local Honda dealer & they tell us we are “lucky” we made it. Apparently there was more wrong than we knew. Let’s attribute that to the hand of God’s goodness & provision! Amazingly, the Honda dealers gave us a rental car for no charge while they fixed our little problem car. God provided abundantly what we needed & safely!

     The Conference: If I could sum our time up in one word it would be AMAZING. But since I’m a girl of many words I’ll explain. Tuesday morning we registered & walked into moby (this is csu’s arena where met everyday). Boom- all around us there are people. People laughing, talking, catching up. People who really really love Jesus. 5000+ of them, all in the same room. We took our seats & all of a sudden some of the most beautiful worship we’ve ever experienced began. And thus began our week. That morning Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love, Forgotten God, & Erasing Hell) spoke to us. He also spoke to us the next morning (Wednesday). I’m not even going to try to explain the talks at this time because I can’t do justice to the power of the Spirit & how mighty & alive & active God was working. Here is the link to watch any of the main sessions we heard during the week, if you want to listen to them- http://www.ccci.org/csu/index.htm. It’s hard to try to describe the week without going into detail- at the same time, this is a blog post not a book & I want to try to summarize. We spent our mornings worshipping & listening to speaks & in the afternoon there would usually be a list of seminars you could choose from to attend. Then we would meet back at moby in the evenings for more worship & a speaker. Usually after the evening session we had some form of “entertainment”. For example we got to see Tenth Avenue North, Tim Hawkins, David Crowder Band, the movie ‘Courageous’- which comes out in theatres in September (You should go to see it opening weekend- this determines how long it stays in theatres!!). We also heard talks from Dan Allender, IJM, and tons more! Seth & I were able to meet a lot of FamilyLife staff- which was great since we hadn’t met too many yet. We had a free day on Thursday & Seth & I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park & hiked. I forget how beautiful the mountains are until you are actually in them. We packed a lunch and hiked for a day & then drove to grand lake for dinner. The week ended with an incredibaly powerful-Spirit led- talk from David Platt (author of Radical) & some beautifully, powerful worship. I wish I could explain it better- but it into more vivid detail, but I’m not sure how. We were so so blessed with such an amazing week!  Here's some pictures of our day spent hiking:

I think I’ll end this post here. Next time I’ll talk about the beautiful wedding of Mike & Kenzie. I’ll also update on how things are & once we get our house ready- I’ll post pictures of it J!

 In the mean time, please pray for Seth’s trip to Honduras this next week. (This is a huge God story if you want to hear it, I’ll explain it sometime). Originally we both were going to go but with life being so crazy & us still being in boxes we decided it would be best for me to stay home & settle this place & for Seth to go. Seth will be traveling with another FamilyLife missionary named Gabe. Gabe has overseen Latin America for sometime & has been leading trainings in different countries there. Pray for their trainings- pray for those are being trained how to start a marriage & family ministry in their churches/small groups/neighbors & pray for the team that is going to be leading these trainings. Pray as God prompts you to pray for them. Also pray for me as I’m back in our new home by myself. I’m planning on keeping busy & possibly plan to visit my family in texas at the end of the week (since they are only a short 6 hour drive away now!). Pray for our marriage- that God will use this time & distance to unify & grow us- not isolate us in business.

Until next time here’s a new favorite song of ours:

“The Goodness of God”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrpJoM3L4Qs

Love you all!!!

thoughts from seth

For the ease of deciphering who is the author of blog post, we will post Seth's blogposts in the color red. Ang's will tend to range in colors- but she won't post in the color red :). Here are some thoughts from the mind of seth this morning:

So, I’m feeling a little bit like Gideon this morning. Maybe most of you know the story, but if you don’t or if you need a refresher, check it out in Judges chapter 7. God clearly calls Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites and the Amalekites, by putting a dew on the fleece that Gideon had laid out and keeping all of the ground dry. Just to be safe, Gideon asked God to show him again by placing a dew on all of the ground, but keeping the fleece completely dry. God did this and Gideon knew that God would deliver Israel by his hand. So Gideon gathers together his army to go fight the Midianites and Amalekites and comes up with about 32,000 men. We are not told the exact number in the Midianite/Amalekite army but the passage does say that they lined the valley like locusts and their camels where without number. That’s a lot! God tells Gideon to get rid of everyone that is afraid. Bam, 22,000 soldiers go home. Still God wants to be sure that the victory to come is recognized as His doing and no one else’s. He tells Gideon to have all the soldiers drink from a pond and whoever does not lap the water with his hand while staying alert, should be sent home as well. To me, this shows a sign of weakness and it knocks out another 9,700 men. Gideon is left with 300 men. God allows Gideon a little more assurance if he is doubting the victory. Gideon takes it, and sneaks up to some Midianite guards to hear one of the recounting a dream that the Israelites will be victorious over them.  Time for battle! Armed each one with a trumpet and a glass jar with a torch, God and the 300 men defeat the enormous Midianite/Amalekite army.

This is how I am relating this morning and perhaps some of you feel the same. You are all called to different places, whether it is your current job, schooling, ministry, family, or maybe you are heading somewhere new soon. For Ang and I it happens to be Little Rock, AR. We started this journey well over a year and a half ago, and I’m looking back, knowing I was full of fears and weaknesses. In a strange way I seemed to find comfort in those. In the same way that I would have found comfort in 32,000 soldiers, I found that I would get reassurance in my fears and weaknesses; I think because I could use them as an excuse or something to fall back on when I failed. This last 18 months has been a long grueling process of purging those fears and weaknesses (don’t worry, Ang, the process isn’t over yet J). But, I’m realizing that all God wants left is me at the very core, with nothing of my own, just all of me, wanting to bring him glory. So, we’ve been down here 5 days and I still having purging to do. Fears about fitting in at our new job, and meeting expectations, and getting everything transferred to Little Rock. Weaknesses of selfishness and pride and not leading our marriage. We have all been given the reassurance that we will be victorious in this life if we choose to follow Jesus. So, if the odds seem like they are against you or you don’t feel like you can face the battle ahead, you may be right where God wants you with the opportunity to bring Him so much glory! 

home sweet home?

The reality has been so much harder than I prepped myself for. I didn’t think saying goodbye would be so hard. So emotional. So heartbreaking. So scary. But it has been. I didn’t think I’d truly experience much of a culture shock. But I am. I didn’t really think it got that hot here. But it was still 100 degrees at 7:15pm. I didn’t know God would be so sweet to us. But He has been.

We took off Friday morning to move down south. My parents & my brother & sis-in-law (Jake & Jen) & their baby (Kylie Jo) & Seth’s parents came to help us move in. 5 vehicles, 2 trailers, 9 people, & 600 miles of road. We arrived around 4:15ish and after Seth & I practically signed our lives away to get the keys to our apartment, we walked into our new home. We started unloading the trailers & carrying in the boxes and boxes and boxes. Did I mention we chose to live on the third floor? We are beyond thankful for an amazingly hardworking & motivated family to help us unload & unpack!

The first night- that was easy. We had a full house full of family and slept very well due to pure exhaustion. The looming thought about everyone leaving us- not so easy. Saturday consisted of more unpacking & a tour of FamilyLife for our families. Then came the first hard part: my parents were going to leave for home. Wow. That was a lot harder than I thought. For both of us. Here they are- saying goodbye to their only grandbaby & son & daughter-in-law from Texas, & leaving their daughter & son-in-law in Arkansas. It was a quick & hard goodbye. Mom & I cried a lot.

Next came Jake & Jen & Kylie Jo. They were going to leave a few hours later. After a quick dinner and a few last minute things, we walked them out to the car to say goodbye. That was so hard. Lots more crying.

Thankfully Seth’s parents were going to stay one more night so we didn’t have to say goodbye to everyone at one time. We ran some errands with them. As we were pulling in the parking lot of Home Depot I found myself staring at the people like I was expecting them to look different or something- like I was in Africa instead of Arkansas. We went into the store & I was asking a sales clerk a question. As I was listening to him I realized I had no idea what he was saying because I was stuck on something. His accent. I forgot people have southern accents here & they actually do sound a lot different than Illinois people. Not a big deal, I know, but it hit me at that moment- I’m in a new land & it doesn’t feel very familiar to me.

Later that night I just laid there, sobbing.

Me: are you sure this is what we are supposed to do?

Seth: absolutely baby, without a doubt.

Me: I want to go back home

Seth: I know you do, but I know without a doubt we are supposed to be here.

Me: yeah. I know…I might cry a lot.

Seth: I know, I’m ready for it.

Me: are you scared?

Seth: no, not really, I’m excited

Me: oh. well I’m scared…are you sure we are supposed to do this?

(multiply this exact conversation about 10 times since).

I called my mom about 11:00pm & sobbed to her for a while. It felt good to cry and to release all the unknowns and worries. We both cried together at the stinging reality that we now lived 600 miles apart.

We went to church this morning with Seth’s parents at a nearby church. It was huge. Much larger than any church we have back home. Here in the south- that’s common. People are also very nice in the south- that’s common here too- courtesy. Church was good. It was so good for our hearts to be there. Refreshing & needed. We met a few other FamilyLife staff. That was good for me- it helped relieve some of my intimidation factor of that “first day of school” feeling.

After church we had to say goodbye to Seth’s parents. The third and final goodbye. That was so hard. I wanted to cry out, “Take me with you, don’t leave me here!” Momma B and I cried a lot and hugged a lot. It was so hard to let them go. Seth & I stood there crying as we watched them drive away. “We are all alone now”, I cried to Seth as we walked up to our empty apartment. So again, we cried (more me crying than Seth). The same conversation as above played out again with Seth comforting me as best he could. I collapsed in his arms, crying. Tears of fear, of loneliness, of uncomfortable/unfamiliar, of being plain overwhelmed.

Me: are you sad?

Seth: *looks at me for a while & almost opens his mouth to reply*

Me: *while sobbing* it’s okay if you are…No wait… If you lose it, then I’m going to lose it and then that means you may not be sure if this is right... But if you need to lose it, it’s okay.

Seth: I am sad, but I’m so excited, baby. I know this is right. (Sometimes I’m so thankful for his stability).

Tomorrow is our first day at FamilyLife. I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m unsure. Seth is very excited. It feels like the first day of school. I told him we need to pick out our outfits for our first day J.

God opened me to a verse this morning & I have been clinging to it. He’s been so sweet to me. Isaiah 33:6 “and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure”. I love that- He will be the stability of this time for us. He is the constant & unchanging foundation.

Thanks again for all your prayers & your love. Even though this is hard, we know God is in the center of this and this is exactly right. I just wish that made it all the easier J.

goodbye & hello.

Bittersweet. Merriam-Webster’s definition: something that is bittersweet; especially: pleasure alloyed with pain. I’ve been calling everything bittersweet lately. If you’ve recently talked to me, you’ve probably heard me say it. My emotions have been on an ever-changing ride. Some moments I’m so excited for this thrilling & trailblazing journey ahead. Other times I’m like a 3 year old who is clinging to her mom’s leg because I don’t want to leave. Leaving is bitter. The journey that awaits us & the people we will meet & the things we will do- that’s sweet. But I’m in the leaving stage right now, so everything tastes pretty bitter. It tastes kinda like this: The other night I was in the garage going through some stuff & seth comes out holding a glass of what I thought was ice water. I grab for it before he has the chance to say otherwise & take a swig. NOT WATER!!!!! I immediately went from smiling to twisting my face in confusion at this bitter taste in my mouth. It was milk. Now imagine thinking you were going to taste water & instead you taste milk…yuck.

I’m horrible at goodbyes, in fact I dread them. Instead of saying “goodbye” I tend to end with something like “I’ll see you soon!” because that usually stops my tear ducts from breaking loose. And makes it easier. Who likes hard things? You might say Angela, it develops character & perseverance & is good for you. Well, whether I like “hard things” or not (which I don’t like them), they come, so I figure I might as well make them as easy as I can, right? I know, I know. But seriously, I’ve been leaving & saying “good-bye” to everything lately. I’ve said goodbye to our home in goodfield, friends, our bible study group, our potluck, our home church, the pregnancy resource center, OSF- my job, my co-workers, our family, town, community. I even found myself saying goodbye to my favorite restaurant the other day- may sound lame, but it’s my familiar.

On the other side of the coin- I love new things. I love dreaming & anticipating things. I love imagining and hoping and wondering. Moving is full of all new things. A new town, a new home, a new job, new skills, new friends, new church, new roads, new hobbies, new state, new everything.

In the word bittersweet, the bitter precedes the sweet. Such is life- the “bitter”/difficult precedes the “sweet”/exciting.

We move tomorrow morning. It’s pretty surreal & doesn’t seem to have hit me yet. We have been soaking in time with family and friends before we leave. This past month has flown by & it’s so hard to believe the time is already here!

Next time I post will probably be from our new home in Little Rock, Arkansas! Thanks for all your prayers and your love. Please keep praying as we make this transition and say goodbye to what we’ve known forever and hello to what’s ahead.

Rio D Braker

Rio D Braker was born on June 21st, 2011. He weighed 8lbs 3oz & was 20.25 inches long. He is a beautiful, perfect little miracle.

I love being an aunt. Don't get me wrong, I hope to be a mother some day, but i'm relishing my days as an aunt as well. I had the AMAZING privilege to be part of this miracle. Jackie asked if I would want to be in the labor & delivery room with her and take pictures of the whole day. I was honored & thrilled!

Day of Birth: At 4:10am we woke up to a text message saying Jay & Jackie were on their way to the hospital & we should head there as well. This was it, Rio was coming! I threw on some clothes, tossed my hair up & grabbed some freshly made coffee (kudos to my hubby for doing that first thing :)) & ran out the door. Haha, thinking back at it, our driving to the hospital was pretty comical. Seth & I drove separately to the hospital so he could go to work in a couple hours. We were convinced that we were going to miss Rio's birth (probably me more than him) so we were darting (eh..speeding) down Knoxville avenue at 4:30 am. We even devised a plan for talking to the police if we got pulled over! But we made it without need to initiate our plan. We parked & ran into the hospital. And I mean ran. We made a mad dash to the labor floor. Breathless we exit the elevator determined to make it in time for Rio's birth. We ran into Mom B & Bets & went to the nearest waiting room....all of us anxiously & excitedly awaiting news from Jay & Jackie. They took a walk and found us in the waiting area & informed us that they were going to walk for about an hour to help dilate some more. Seth then left for work & us girls talked & read magazines while we would look forward to getting updates from Jay on the progression. Eventually they found a room for Jackie & we were all able to be in there with her. Her mom and her sister, Amber, were able to travel over from Taylor to be with her too! Let me just say- she did AMAZING. I was so proud of her- she was very organized, determined, strong, focused, a fighter, and in the midst of it all, still had a smile on! Soon after things all happened in a blur. Labor progressed & she was ready to have this baby! We all gathered to the side of the room- praying, watching, & crying. Jay was an AMAZING coach & teammate for Jackie. All of a sudden.....Rio entered into this world. It was amazing, beautiful, miraculous. What a moment to be a part of- thanks for including us Jay & Jackie :). Below are some pictures of the day:

First family picture!

Sweet Rio, all wrapped up!

The crew- Betsy, Amber, me, Jan, Jackie, Rio, Jay, Mom B

Precious. daddy & his boy.

Aunt Ang's first time holding Rio

Uncle Seth's first time holding rio

I loooove Maggy's face here, so darling. She loved her new little cousin .

Dayne couldn't wait to play with his new buddy. He already started reading him books about tractors!

All the boys with "D" as their middle name

Braker family :)

adam & cori {wedding}.

We just spent an amazing weekend with an amazing couple! Adam Bloom & Cori Hoerr were wed on Saturday, June 18th, 2011. I had the incredible privilege to be a bridesmaid in this beautiful wedding! Their heartbeat is that God would be the center of their lives & their marriage & I can say with full assurance that God was absolutely the center of this wedding & radiates out of this couple's hearts. Words can't express how much I love this girl and now this boy.

Us girls spent the friday before the wedding getting pampered. We started the festivities off with a lunch out at 309....mmmm delish! We had fun just being girls and giggling over the excitement of the wedding & being together! THEN we went next door to Natural Nails & each got a pedicure & manicure to beautify for the wedding. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for rehersal.

For rehersal dinner we ate at ONE WORLD...mmmm! It was a sweet night full of laughs, friends, and good memories. The next morning we ate some yumshish breakfast at the hotel & started getting ready :)! Out come the curling irons, rollers, hairspray, eye shadow, etc! We had fun talking & laughing as we got ready & then headed to downtown peoria for the pictures.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Full of God and full of love. And two became one. Mr & Mrs Bloom. Adam & Cori Bloom!

We headed to the reception at Dan & Kayla Hoerr's (Cori's Parent's) home. The flowers & decorations were GORGEOUS. The food was OUTSTANDING. The bride & groom were BEAUTIFUL. God was so glorified & provided so abundantly!!

Below are a few of my favorite pictures (I had to narrow down from 300+ pictures)

 Adam & Cori- groom & his bride.

 My benna & me

 Miranda & Curtis- love love them!



 My buddy and me

I absolultely LOVE this picture....I think they are beautiful!! 

Love this one too!!

This is at the hotel before we left to get pictures taken :) 

Their first meeting. It was so sweet & beautiful.

Cori & her parents :)

                                          Cori's holding baby Gia, Dusty & Erin's beautiful little girl!

 



As you can see, we had an awesome time celebrating with Adam & Cori!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Bloom :).

our life lately.

I really have been intending to update this for some time now. Also, I do intend to do a much better job once we move- hold me to it! Maybe I'll break this one apart into what's been going on since my last post:

Moving:
Yes, we are moving to Little Rock ( I know, old news :)). We were originally planning on moving today. However we've pushed our move date to July 8th when we officially become southerners for a year! It's actually one month minus 2 days from right now! We are currently living with our parents and all of our belongings are stuffed in two trailers (generously provided to us to keep our things in until we move!). Time just keeps flying by- right when I think I have toooons of time to do all my projects/see friends/etc, I realize I actually don't & better get moving on my huge to-do list :). However, I must admit that I love having a few lazy days while I can :). Currently we are both still working- seth is working full time with the exception of one day or so a week & I am very part time- usually 1-2 days per week. We are trying to spend as much time as possible with our family & friends before we leave :). We are realizing how much we are going to miss everyone & how blessed we've been to live where we have & close to who we have for our whole lives. We are excited, too, to meet wonderful people in Little Rock.

Us:
First of all, God is faithful & good. We've been reminded of that LOTS lately as satan continues to attack us (as previously mentioned in another blog post). God has told us to be open & honest with the hard times. And hard it has been lately. We are realizing just how tricky emotions can be, how stinkin' pride can lead to destruction, how walls are no good, how blame only causes more blame, how arguing can lead to weariness, and how in the midst of all the attacks & the destruction satan is trying to create- God has been refining us in a way we have never known before. We have Jesus fighting for us & during the battle He is molding us to better reflect Him & His love. We are very very very imperfect people who are in need of their Redeemer. Truly honest thought: We often wonder why God is sending us to ministry when we have so much work of our own to do? Honestly, We don't fully understand but God has placed an unwavering peace & confidence in our hearts this is exactly where He wants us for such a time as this. He has grown our desire & passion for FamilyLife's mission so much during the last 6 months. We are much better beginning to understand the battle that wages against the family & the marriage.  It's a powerful & beautiful thing- the family is. So am I trying to wrap this up in a bow? Nope. Honestly- we are crawling sometimes. Sometimes we are running hand in hand. Sometimes we are standing on the uncertain ground.  God is doing some re-modeling right now. But who doesn't love the finished product of a re-model? Something new & fresh & exciting....it's just the process that can be a little nerve-wracking at times :). With all this said- we are so thankful for eachother & to be on the journey together! We are so excited for what is ahead!

Life & everything else:
Below are some pictures of what we have been up to this spring/early summer :)

                              Mother's day- Bets & Maggy :)



 Dayners- what a little stud :)

 Maggy moo- what a sweet heart!

 Mom B & Maggy :)- precious!

 Me, BEBO NORMAN, & Seth. We went to a concent in the chicago area & were able to do a meet & greet with Bebo & Christ August. Also, we had FRONT ROW seats :). He's my favorite musician. God is mightly in his music & his heart. God has healed me & spoken to me alot through his lyrics :).

 This is us & Christ August. He is an awesome musician & great guy!! 

 

Us, in our front row seats :)!!! 

 Braker girls took a shopping day to chicago and of course ate at PF Changs :)!!

Picture of the hostesses at one of Jackie's baby showers :)



To wrap it up:

Sorry this was such a long post! I'll try not to wait so long next time! To wrap it up- we are moving soon, we love eachother & we love Jesus. We are continuing to walk this journey step by step & hand in hand.

P.S.

Some of my favorite tunes lately (can't get through a blog post without some new music, right?):

1. What a Savior- Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXpFsjSc-4

2. Your Name- Phil Wickham & Paul Baloche http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqCkRl26JbY

3. Faithful God- Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiTH7NGWzxA

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

Thank you, Jesus!

I suppose it makes perfect sense that the cross is on my heart this morning. I mean this is the day our Savior died on the cross. For us. Last night Seth & I watched “The Passion of the Christ”. He had never seen it & I told him I thought it was a great idea. Oh man, I forgot how vividly powerful that movie is. At many points I had to close my eyes because it was “too much” for me to watch. Too much for me to simply watch on a TV screen?!  Jesus had to actually endure it & I didn’t even have the strength to watch a video that portrayed the beating & torture He endured.  Wow. What a Savior we have- to endure unbelievable, relentless & unthinkable torment & mockery. And the crazy thing is He died for us….we weren’t even to be born for hundreds & hundreds of years but He personally knew we needed His salvation & He loved us that much. Not only that, but He carried the weight of our sin on His shoulders looong long before we were born. Not only ours, but everyone’s...ever. I cannot even begin to fathom the passion of His love for us & for His Father. Never has there been a greater example of obedience. Never has there been such a pure, true, passionate Love. When I was watching the movie I was just hit hard by how easy I forget the sacrifice He made. He left the most perfect place in Heaven & came here, not living for Himself but His heart beating for us sinners. He was fully man too. He had parents & friends. It really hurt Him. Just because He was God doesn’t mean He didn’t feel every whip, every mocking, every spit, every aching pain searing through His body. How could we not worship such a Love? Who are we to think we are sufficient on our own? Without Jesus we would be done for & doomed forever. The reoccurring  theme that continues to play in my mind is how He loves us like crazy, with such a passion & understanding, that He died for us.  There’s a song that I’ve been hearing a lot lately, and I absolutely love it. It’s a beautiful worship song. “To the Cross” by Paul Baloche.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO_V4bRIxvM

Lyrics:

Where can I go
But to the cross to the cross
For there my shame
You have washed away

Where can I go
But to the cross to the cross
For there You gave
Up Your life for me
You gave Your life for me

You stretched Your arms out wide
I lift my hands up high to my Savior
You stretched Your arms out wide
I lift my hands up high to my Savior

So Lord I run
To the cross to the cross
Surrender all to my Savior King
Be my everything

Chains are broken
Shame has fallen
All my sins are gone

What a Savior. He came to free us & save us. We don’t have to live in fear, in bondage, in complacency, in worries, in doubts, in anger, in addictions, in torment, in uncertainty, in loneliness, in the past, in unforgiveness, in pain, in shame, etc. He alone has the power to free us from such things. And to redeem us & make all things new. And He keeps inviting us to lay down at the foot of the cross because there is more power & strength there than anywhere else. Let’s just praise our Jesus for His magnificent & beautiful Love.

We give you so much praise & thanks Jesus!

Into the heart of the South!

Whew, it's been awhile since an update!! We just got back from a road trip to Texas & Little Rock! We went on the trip with the motivation to search out our future apartment in Little Rock. And since Texas is only 6 short hours deeper south, we couldn't pass up the chance to go visit our favorite Texans! We headed to Texas first to spend friday evening, saturday & sunday with Jake, Jen, & Kylie Jo. As always we had so much fun with them. Jake and Seth worked on a backyard patio bar (pictures below) & it turned out very nicely. I managed to get BURNT in just 1 hour of sitting outside without sunscreen (yes, I was warned to wear it). The sun is a lot hotter in Texas 92 degree weather! We spent a lot of the time just lovin' up that sweet girl & playing some long-awaited hand & foot card game with Jake & Jen. We are excited to live closer to them in a couple months! Seth & Jake are already dreaming up the projects they will build together. Below are some pictures from our Texas trip:

 She was trying to crawl on my lap & grab the camera strap, so it made for some hilarious pictures!

 Ahh, so stinkin cute!!

 Uncle Seth & Kylie Jo

 Aunt Ang & Kylie Jo

 Their neighbor took a group shot for us :)

 Dad & his girl

 Mom & her girl

 Beautiful Family

 This is one of my favorite pictures...Kylie Jo is lovin her Uncle Seth!

 Jake & Seth working on the patio bar

The finished project!

Sadly our time with the Weber's was short, but we packed up & we headed to Little Rock, AR on Monday morning. We arrived about 230 in the afternoon & had a meeting at FamilyLife @ 3. We met with the head of global department (which we will be working in) and talked for a while. Afterwards we went to the Blunier's home (FamilyLife Staff), where we would be staying that week. We had a great night of eating, talking & catching up. Tuesday morning starts our apartment hunt. I should preface this hunt with a few things: 1. From looking online & talking to people we pretty much thought we knew where we would live but thought it wise to still look at as many apartments as possible during our short stay 2. Goodfield, IL cost of living is not a good comparison to city living (aka, we underbudgeted :)). We searched really vigorously for 2.5 days. We looked at at least 13 apartments & a couple of them twice. Everytime we thought we had seen a great one, we found another great one. This makes for a difficult decision when we can both tend to be indecisive at times. We saw some beautiful, some not so great, some smelly, some in good areas, some in bad areas. We learned that EVERY apartment in the south includes a swimming pool, woohoo! Also we learned that Little Rock is an apartment metropolis. It seems that every corner we turned there stood another huge complex. We finally narrowed our search down to 4 apartments which we were going to look at thursday am before we headed back home. Before we ventured out on our last tour of the apts, we looked up reviews online & let's just say that crossed out two options very easily. So the search narrowed to 2 options. We visited both of them one last time & kept going back & forth and back & forth & back & forth. The 9 hour drive home we kept going back & forth. All friday we kept going back & forth. Both were very comparable in most all ways. We made lists, talked to friends, family, staff. We would have been very happy at either, so through some obvious provisions from God, we committed to our future apartment on saturday. Seth was getting ready to call & tell them we would like to live at their apartments & I started bawling. A little baffled, he asks "Are you okay?" I told him "I don't think i'm ready for this! I don't want to move away from our family & friends & familiar, It's all hitting me super hard, this makes it very official & the reality of moving away is not in the far off future any more". So I expect the next 2 months to be much of the same...ups & downs emotionally. But the one thing that stays the same is the peace that is passing my understanding. The unwavering knowing that this is where we are supposed to go regardless of the waves that may crash in the process. Someone told us this sunday at church...this is where faith gets wings & takes flight. As of right now our rent in goodfield expires at the end of may & our rent in little rock begins in june. We are trusting the All-knowing God who has led us this far to continue His perfect provision. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from a Bebo Norman song....."This task before me may seem unclear, but it, my maker holds".