T-Minus 5 And Counting

I did it again. I left you hanging from the last post waiting many days before this update. Good intentions don't always turn out the way you hope. So sorry......

Yes, we found a place to live and after a somewhat stressful two days, we decided on another apartment. It's just easier right now as we learn a new area, figure out where we'll be going to church, and also seeing if this job lasts longer than a year. A little cynical sounding, maybe, but it's the truth. It's hard to imagine actually putting roots down somewhere new, but maybe it will happen and in a year we'll be ready to look for something that feels more permanent.  We'll be in Franklin, TN which has everything we could possibly need in a one mile radius from our apartment, including a Publix. It's the little things.....

As the title of this posts implies, we drive away five days from now.

I think I just realized as I typed the words that I don't quite believe it yet. The weekend was spent sorting, storing, and beginning to pack. It's hard to get in a rhythm because we want "one last" time with someone or something and it just isn't possible to fit it all in. We've begun the goodbyes, or maybe more accurately, the see you laters. We now know that we will see friends and family because 4 hours is much closer than 13 and a lot of you came to Baltimore when we were there. We'll have two bathrooms this time so that's a big plus!

I have a couple of things I want to update you on. In my last post, I mentioned friends we know from our kids' high school days who are on a hard journey with their sweet baby girl. Jennifer personally updated her blog not too long ago so for any of you who want to see how God is carrying them through this tough time, you can click here.

A week from today, Tiffany and Nikki will be heading to Greece for a study abroad/sight-seeing trip that Tiffany got to bring someone with for school. They are quite excited but have a lot to do to get ready. If you want to keep up with them as they hopefully update along the way, click here for Tiffany's blog.

As hard as it's been to deal with moving and leaving family and friends again, God has been encouraging us with potential connections in the Franklin/Nashville area through other people. It seems like everywhere we've turned, someone is telling us about a church they know about or someone they know lives there, or else they used to live there and can tell us lots of things about the area. I know that might not seem like much, but when your heart is tired and weary, those glimmers of hope are huge! I'm as ready to go as I can be and I have the confidence that not only has God gone before us, but He's been there for quite some time. :)

Before I head to bed, I wanted to share with you that yesterday Hamp and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

For any couple that would be quite an accomplishment, but in today's world it's sadly becoming the exception and not the norm. I suppose it could make us appear pretty amazing to have reached that milestone, but if you're married (or even if you're not) I think you would agree with me that if were not for the grace and faithfulness of God, we never would have made it.

Many times we obeyed our way through seasons of frustration, difficulty, and selfishness knowing that what God had joined together was not to be separated by man. We don't understand each other sometimes, we don't have the same dreams sometimes, and we don't like each other sometimes. But that's when looking to the cross of Jesus reminds us that there's a bigger story going on. The same submission to His Father's will that Jesus displayed is available for us to choose and when we do, the things that divide us fade and we are brought together again by obedience. It might not make for a good Disney story, but it's a picture of the Greatest Story ever told and we are humbled and grateful to be small testimonies of it.

Because we were going to be working on packing while Hamp was home for the weekend, I had figured we'd just find a time to celebrate once we got settled. In retrospect, I apparently never passed along my conclusion to my hubby, so you can imagine my surprise when he pulled out a large box that contained a new pair of cowboy boots for me.

Sadly, I haven't had time to get pictures downloaded and organized on my computer so you'll have to settle for one from the internet. Mine aren't that colorful and I'm not quite sure exactly where and when I'll be wearing them yet, but Nashville seems like the place to begin. Speaking of Nashville, I have to give one last shout out to the new American Idol, Scotty McCreery!

He's a strong Christian young man and I'm excited to see how his career in country music takes off. It would appear I'll be in the perfect place to watch it happen, right?

If we come to mind this week, any and all prayers would be appreciated. There's a lot of unknowns ahead and while I'm getting better at being okay in the not knowing, it's still hard. Thanks and I'll keep you updated...really!!